Where Can I Get Relief?

The activities of çré-guru, as well as his form, qualities and pastimes, are all very beautiful to the eyes of the sädhaka-bhakta. In his meditation, he sees the beautiful lotus feet of çré-guru. Upon seeing those lotus feet he feels a soothing effect in his afflicted heart. He is afflicted with three täpas, sufferings: ädhyätmika, sufferings arising from one’s own mind and body; ädhidaivika, sufferings arising from nature; and ädhibhautika, sufferings arising from other living entities. When the disciple meditates on the beautiful lotus feet of çré-guru his affliction is cooled down and he simultaneously also perceives the fragrance coming from the lotus feet of çré-guru, like the sweet scent that comes from the lotus.

The bhramara, bumblebee, wanders everywhere; he goes to various types of flowers. There is one type of flower that grows in India, which is known as the ketaké flower. It has a very nice scent and it has thorns like the rose plant, the only difference being that the thorns of the ketaké flower grow on its petals. When the bumblebee attracted by the scent goes to the ketaké flower, his wings get caught and are torn by the thorns and he gets so much pain. He thinks, “Oh, my wings are torn and I am in so much pain. Where can I go? Where can I go where there is shelter, where there is no pain, no affliction, and only peace? Where can I get relief?” After wandering here and there, at last he comes to the lotus flower and finds cool, soothing shelter. “Oh, this is such a soothing place!” So he takes shelter in the lap of the lotus flower, which gives him a cooling effect. Besides that, the lotus allows the bumblebee to suck its sweet honey and get nourishment.

Similarly, the jéva – brahmäëòa brahmite kona bhägyavän jéva – wanders in innumerable universes throughout innumerable species of life in the material world, and he is getting only suffering, misery, pain and torture; no happiness, no cooling effect. He is only burning in the saàsära-dävänala, the blazing forest fire of material life. This material world is compared to a blazing forest fire. Generally no one lights a fire in a forest, but fire ignites automatically when two pieces of wood, effected by the wind, rub together, and the whole forest burns. The animals suffer greatly from this burning. Similarly, in this material world, the conditioned souls are burned by the three types of sufferings: ädhyätmika, ädhibhautika and ädhidaivika. They get a burning sensation. So, after wandering in innumerable species of life, at last a bhagyavän-jéva, a fortunate soul, comes to the lotus feet of çré-guru and finds shelter in the cooling shade at guru’s lotus feet. Çré-guru gives him shelter, and just as the bumblebee sucks the sweet honey from the lotus, similarly, guru-päda-padma, the lotus feet of guru, allows that soul to suck the nice honey there and get real nourishment, premänanda, real happiness.