Verse 2.1.191

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.191:

त्वम् एतस्य प्रभावेन चिर-जीवि भवान्वहम् ।
ईदृग् गोपार्भ-रूपश् च तत्-फलाप्त्य्-अर्ह-मानसः ॥ १९१ ॥

tvam etasya prabhāvena cira-jīvi bhavānvaham |
īdṛg gopārbha-rūpaś ca tat-phalāpty-arha-mānasaḥ || 191 ||

tvam–you; etasya–of that (mantra); prabhāvena–by the power; cirajīvī–long-lived; bhava–may you be; anu-aham–always; īdṛk–like this; gopa-arbha–of a cowherd boy; rūpaḥ–in the form; ca–also; tatphala–for receiving that mantra’s fruit; āpti–for the fortune; arha–worthy; mānasaḥ–having a mind.

“May you live long by the power of chanting this mantra. May you always remain in this form of a cowherd boy. May your mind become fit to experience the result of chanting the mantra, or in other words, fit to directly see Śrī Madana-gopāla-deva and experience all His playful pastimes.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Gopa-kumāra might say, “From your words (beginning with yad yat, verse 189) one can infer that mantrajapa (chanting to oneself) can fulfill all desires. However, japa and other means to achieve desires become perfected only after a long time. Then what is so special about the power of japa to perfect or obtain those desires in this very lifetime? Moreover, what is the guarantee that the embodied soul will live long enough to do so?”

Gopa-kumāra’s guru wants to remove all such doubts. Therefore, to confer a blessing on Gopa-kumāra, he speaks this verse beginning with tvam. He says, “By this mantra’s potency you will have a long lifespan. However, you may have a doubt that, due to old age and other bodily transformations, you may not be able to experience the complete happiness of perfection (siddhi).” Blessing Gopa-kumāra, Śrī Gurudeva says, “Therefore, always remain in this form of a cowherd boy. May you continue in this same youthful, beautiful form without aging. My second blessing is that your body of a cowherd boy will not be limited by time, like the lifespans of the residents of Brahmaloka (Satyaloka), whose lives are measured in terms of kalpas (days of Brahmā). Rather, your present form will always remain intact. With the same form you will be able to enter Vaikuṇṭha and the other spiritual abodes as well. [This will be described later.] Factually, this form of a cowherd boy is unchangeable; being born in Vraja, it is transcendental.”

Śrī Gopa-kumāra might worry, “By pursuing various ambitions (saṅkalpas), I will obtain wonderful varieties of sense enjoyment that will distract my mind. Where, then, is the chance to be happy?”

To dispel this doubt, Śrī Gurudeva says, “By the power of japa, everything is possible. Your mind will become suitably fit, and thus you will become qualified to receive the fruit of directly meeting Śrī Madana-gopāla-deva and joining His playful pastimes, a result that is beyond the power of words to describe. The contaminated desires (anarthas) that are unfavorable for attaining the ideal result will never arise in your heart. Furthermore, by my blessings, even upon attaining the position of an emperor or of Indra, you will remain unaware of the existence of planets such as Svargaloka or Maharloka. This benediction is only to have you to successively achieve happiness that is superior to that which you previously experienced, and thus gradually make you eager to achieve the topmost happiness.”

The words of Śrī Nārada in Chapter Five will clarify this.