Author: Maa Parvathy Baul
{The following is excerpted from Maa Parvathy Baul’s teaching of the corresponding pada of Dijo Chonḍidāsh with her students}
Podo: Prem Piriti Je Jōn Jānoye
Pōdokōrtā: Dijo Chonḍidāsh
Bromhānḍo bæpiyā āchhōye je jōn, keho nā dækhōye tāre
One who pervades himself all over the universe, no one sees him.
Prem piriti je jōn jānōye, shei she pāite pāre ।
one who knows the way of Love (Prem)
one who knows Piriti,
That one can find him.
Piriti piriti tinṭi ākhoro, jānibe bhōjono shār ।
Pi ri ti, pi ri ti, three aksharas, is the essence of sādhanā.
Rāg mārge je jōn bhōjono koribe, prāpti hoibe tār ।।
One who will do the sādhanā in the Rāg Mārga, they will find it.
3.
Mrittikār upōre jōlero bōshoti, tāhāro upōre ḍheu।
Tāhāro upōre piriti/piritir bōshoti, tāhā ki jānōye kyeu ।।
The body, the element of earth,
The cosmic water, there on this earth,
Constantly cycling, coming and going
One who finds sthiti (stillness)
Taking their seat (bōshoti), the sadhak is unmovable.
That is Piriti.
Does anyone know?
Yes, the sadhaka knows.
4.
Rōshero piriti
Piriti is of rasa,
roshiko jānōye,
Who knows rasa? The connoisseur or the lover, knows.
Who is that lover?
rōsho udgārilo ke ।
The lover is the one who gave us the rasa.
(that is, Sri Krishna, the highest lover roshiker roshik)
Shōkolo tæjiyā jugōlo hoiyā, goloke rohilo she ।।
He left everything and remained with Sri Lakshmi in yugal in Golaka.
Putro porijōn shōngshāro āpon,
Leave your son, daughter, family, husband, wife, everything.
shōkoli/shōkolo tæjiyā lekho ।
Leave everything and commit to this path.
Piriti korile tāhāre pāibā,
Find the benefit of Piriti, and through the Piriti, find the Divine.
monete bhābiyā dækho ।।
Contemplate very well, make yourself very sure, and follow the path.
6.
Piriti piriti tinṭi ākhoro, piriti tribidho mōto ।
Pi-ri-ti, these three syllables, three aksharas, represent three different types.
Bhojite bhojite
When you do your sādhanā, again and again, through the days and many years
niguṛo hoile,
It will intensify The way sugar syrup turns slowly to crystals
And then to jaggery
As you stir.
hoibe æki mōto ।।
Then, it will all become one.
7.
Pōrokiyā dhōn shōkolo prodhān,
The wealth of porokiyā (that is: the “other” body, the body that travels beyond life)is primary
jōtono koriyā loi ।
We keep it with great care.
Noishṭhiko hoiyā bhōjono korile,
With great attention and discipline, if one does sādhanā,
pōddhoti shādhoko hoi ।।
One become a sādhaka with a clear method.
8.
Pōddhoti hoiyā rōsho āshhādiyā, noishṭhik probritti hoi ।
Arrive in this place of discipline
Maintain structured practice.
Then when you realize something, the rasa aswādhan,
This Pririti is the highest form of practice, reaching formlessness, the sweetness comes inside
Tāhāro chōron hridōye dhoriyā, Dijo Chonḍidāshe kōy ।।
So Chandidas says, when a sādhaka arrives on this plane, where one has icchā to experience this Piriti, I hold his feet in my heart.
COMMENTARY
One who will do the sādhanā in the Rāg Mārga, they will find it. One who is there all over the universe in everything, everywhere, is there in me also. Because the Baul has said something that is there in the universe is there in my body. So when I contemplate on the One, who is praised across the universe, is there in me, and no one sees Him. We don't even realize it. We cannot see with the physical eye.
When you come to Chandidas, the word, Piriti, is the most essential. In the Rigvedas, there is something called the Nāsadīya Sūkta, where they ask the question of how the universe was created.
So “Piriti,” this word, “Pi-ri-ti”... Vishnu is in the Anantashayana… in the water. This water is not just the sea, it is the cosmic water.
And the word, “Pi,” comes from that cosmic water. Ri” is when the churning of the ocean happens, and “Ti” is the amrit that comes after this churning of the ocean, and when the realization comes that the Essence and I are the same, when I become you, āmi tumi hoye jāyi. In the sense, Tat tvam asi, or “I am that.”
So “Pi, Ri, Ti,” three words, has all the meaning.
This is Chandidas’ contemplation throughout this Sahajiya pada. This cosmic water is also there in the human body. In Baul, it is called “Brahmavastu.” Because this holds the source of creation. And in the physical body, we can find this cosmic water, which holds the sperm or the water that holds the egg of the woman in the ovaries, or that water from where the child’s body is built because that is the source of creation.
So the Baul is working with those elements of the body. So the moment Sahajiya comes, this word becomes most important, the cosmic water.
Who gave this cosmic water to us?
Vishnu, Mahanarayan, Sri Krishna. He is the roshiker roshik. He is the highest lover.
The Baul path or the Sahajiyā path is known as the Rāg Mārga. The moment there is bhakti and yog together, it's called Rāg Mārga.
The moment there is sādhanā that is Rasa Sādhanā with the presence of a couple, it is called Rāg Mārga. The path of love, and also the Divine.This is a secret. Because the Sahajiya sādhanā is a Guhyati Guha sādhanā.
Then, mrittikā, which is the earth, above the earth, there is water. And above that, there are waves, and above that, is the place of love, or love is consecrated beyond these waves. When we say, mrittikā, māṭi, that is the body, the element of earth.
Jōlero bōshoti, cosmic water, which is there on this earth. Tāhāro upōre ḍheu, every month, every occasion, the body rebuilds and recycles. That is the ḍheu, it comes and goes.
Tāhāro upōre, one who finds the stithi or the stillness or the seat (bōshoti) that is unmovable, beyond these waves or cycles, that is Piriti.
Piriti means sthithishīl, something that does not change, something that is permanent. We are calling it love, but love does not explain everything, we know what it is with more explanation.
Tāhā ki jānōye kyeu, does anyone know? The sādhaka knows. One who is working with the body knows when there is a cycle, the ḍheu (wave). Why does it happen? Waves happen because of the wind, i.e. the breath. The body is continuously breathing. And the Yogi circulates his breath. He works with his breath. Then he arrives in stithishīl, in a controlled situation, that is the place of Piriti.
It is another place, another dimension of reality, another dimension of Loka or the earth. Vishnu does not live with other gods in heaven. We never say heaven or hell. We say lokas. There are different dimensions.
There is a book by Tarashish Gonghopadhay, “Debloker Amritosandhane,” "In search of Amrit Loka".
On our earth's plane, there is a fourth dimension that we cannot see with our eyes or go there with our physical bodies. And this is called, in Sanskrit, Amrit Loka. It exists on this earth, in this world. The Tibetan Buddhists call it Shambhala or Shangri-La. And the Hindus call it Gyanganj.
That is where Mahavatar Babaji and many other sādhaks, Ramthakur, have gone. So, it is the plane of the yogis. If a yogi is blessed, he can go to Gyanganj. It is a country that no one can reach without yoga. And they have different entrance points. Badrinath, if you go beyond the last village, Maanagram, and beyond that you have to go 20 kms, that is Sapthapanthi, and beyond that, there is a passage. In the story in Mahabharata, of Yudishtira, Panchali, Arjun, everybody went towards heaven through this passage. So they were probably going to Gyanganj or Shambhala. There are many different entry points - Tibet, and the borders of Tibet and Arunachala. But even if you go to these places, you will not see them. It has to open to you.
So Golaka is another plane where Vishnu resides with Lakshmi. Try to see that there are so many planes in this world, there are so many other lokas or planes beyond what we can see. So we need to develop our capacity to be able to see that. So we have to work on ourselves. And even through your songs, even if you did not visit that place, it doesn't matter, but at least you can imagine there is a place like that. So when you have this very strong imagination inside you, it is real. And then you manifest that for your listeners. So that they get the rasa of these several dimensions we are talking about.
It sounds contradictory. Because the Baul said that if I have to find my Divine, I have to find it in this world itself. The whole Brahmandam is in my body. My body is made from my mother and father. So, how can I detach myself from my mother and father? They are also of this universe.
And to see “shohoj mānush bhoje dækh nā re mon, dibbo gæne” (O my heart, contemplate on the Sahaj Manush, and see the divine knowledge) or “Ei mānushe shei mānush āche” (This human holds that man of the heart).
So then, why is he asking us to leave everything? He is not asking us to leave in the material sense. He is saying, “Cut the attachments.” You have to live with everyone. The Baul always lives in a community, sharing with each other. The first and last word of the Baul is sevā. If you don’t have people, for whom are you doing sevā? But, if you have any attachment to your sevā, then you will not get the full fruit or the freedom that the sevā brings to you.
So, this is why he said, to leave away the attachment and sign up for this path.
So if we leave everything, and sign up for this, what is the benefit we are going to get?
Similarly, bhajana will intensify. So, those who think, “Oh, I am doing this every day, so today I will do this, tomorrow I will do this, day after tomorrow,” then nothing will intensify.
You have to repeat the same thing. Even though it feels like, “Oh, I am repeating the same thing, I am not learning anything new.” But that element itself will teach new things. You will discover that there is nothing left to gather more but to discover what is inside of you.
So when it becomes niguṛ, or intensifies, Shaukiyā means this body, and porokiyā is the other body.
Porokiyā has two meanings, one is a completely different person in front of you. Shaukiyā means the ātman and the body that you carry. Today, you have this body. In your next birth, you will have another body. This is the second meaning of porokiyā.
But, in the misunderstanding of the Baul, when we say porokiyā, people think that they need to have many wives or husbands, and if they have a wife, they will go out to find another spiritual partner. That is not Baul. Baul has never said that. Yugal Sādhanā always happens between a man and a woman in a committed relationship.
Porokiyā is a very important word but hugely misunderstood.
With a very beautifully structured methodical practice. It is not a fantasy but more practical and real in its nature. It is action-oriented, which is Baul, which is bartamān (in the present).
So pōddhoti shādhoko is the Bartamān Panthi. And this wish will come only when the rasa will become niguṛ, when you have really made it into crystal sugar, then this icchā to taste the sweetness of Piriti will come inside.
The word Dwija (Dijo) is also important. Twice born. Not everyone can become Dwija. Only one who is born with a physical body and reborn with a spiritual body. It is used for the highest scholars or very advanced sadhakas, like masters and Goshāi. Chandidas is before Caitanya. The word, Goshai, was used after Caitanya.
{Excerpt from Maa Parvathy Baul’s teaching of the corresponding pada of Dijo Chonḍidāsh with her students}
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