544 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
ida te vapur natha gopala-balarn
sada@ me manasy avirastam kim anyaih
kuveradtmajau baddha-mirtyaiva yadvat
tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca
tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha
na mokse graho me ’sti damodareha
“Dear Lord, always remembering Your childhood pastimes at Vrndavana is better
for us than aspiring to merge into the impersonal Brahman. During Your childhood
pastimes You liberated the two sons of Kuvera and made them great devotees of
Your Lordship. Similarly, | wish that instead of giving me liberation You may
award me such devotion unto You.” In the Hayasirsiya-Sri-nardyana-vyiiha-stava, in
the chapter called Ndrdyana-stotra, it is stated:
na dharmam kamam artham va
moksam vd varadesvara
prarthaye tava pddabje
dasyam evabhikamaye
“My dear Lord, | do not wish to become a man of religion nor a master of economic
development or sense gratification, nor do | wish for liberation. Although | can
have all these from You, the supreme benedictor, | do not pray for all these. | simply
pray that | may always be engaged as a servant of Your lotus feet.’ Nrsimhadeva
offered Prahlada Maharaja all kinds of benedictions, but Prahlada Maharaja did not
accept any of them, for he simply wanted to engage in the service of the lotus feet
of the Lord. Similarly, a pure devotee wishes to be blessed like:Mahdaraja Prahlada
by being thus endowed with devotional service. Devotees also offer their respects to
Hanuman, who always remained a servant of Lord Rama. The great devotee
Hanuman prayed:
bhava-bandha-cchide tasyai
sprhayami na muktaye
bhavan prabhur aham dasa
iti yatra vilupyate
“I do not wish to take liberation or to merge in the Brahman effulgence, where the
conception of being a servant of the Lord is completely lost.’ Similarly, in the
Narada-paficaratra it is stated:
dharmartha-kaGma-moksesu
neccha mama kadacana
tvat-pdda-pankajasyadho
jivitam diyatam mama
