Verse One

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ
jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

The urge of speech, the urges of the mind and anger, the urge of the tongue, the urges of the belly and the genitals—the sober person who can control all these urges can instruct the entire world.

Bhasya by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

guru-krpa-bale labhi’ sambandha-vijnana
krti-jiva hayena bhajane yatnavan [1]

Attaining a proper conception of their relationship with the Lord by the mercy of Sri Guru, fortunate souls engage in the Lord’s service.

sei jive sri-rupa-gosvami mahodaya
‘upadesamrte’ dhanya karena nischaya [2]

Srila Rupa Goswami has certainly blessed such souls with Sri Upadesamrta.

grhi grha-tyagi bhede dvi-prakara jane
upadesa bheda vicharibe vijna-gane [3]

There are two types of practitioners—householders and renunciants, and the wise will conclude that there are different instructions for each of them.

grhi prati ei saba upadesa haya
grha-tyagi prati iha parakasthamaya [4]

All these instructions are for householders, and they are of utmost importance for renunciants.

vakya-vega mano-vega krodha-vega ara
jihva-vega udara-upastha-vega chhara [5]
ei chhaya vega sahi’ krsna-namasraye
jagat sasite pare parajiya bhaye [6]

Those who tolerate the six base urges—the urges of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals—by taking the shelter of Krishna’s Name can control the world and conquer fear.

kevala saranagati krsna-bhaktimaya
bhakti-pratikula tyaga tara anga haya [7]

Exclusive surrender is made up of devotion to Krishna. Rejecting that which is unfavourable to devotion is one of its limbs.

chhaya vega sahi’ yukta-vairagya-asraye
name aparadha-sunya ha-ibe nirbhaye [8]

Those who tolerate these six urges in the shelter of proper renunciation will without fear become free from the offences to the Name.

Piyusa-varsini-vrtti by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

sri-sri-godrumachandraya namah

I offer my obeisance to the moon of Sri Godrumadwip.

yat-krpa-sagarodbhutam upadesamrtam bhuvi
sri-rupena samanitam gaurachandram bhajami tam
natva grantha-pranetaram tika-karam pranamya cha
maya virachyate vrttih piyusa-parivesani

I serve Gaurachandra, from the ocean of whose mercy the nectar of instruction, the Upadesamrta, was produced and brought to the world by Sri Rupa. Offering my obeisance to the author of this text (Sri Rupa) and the commentator (Sri Radha Raman Das), I write this commentary that showers that nectar, Piyusa-varsini-vrtti.

anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama
(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: Purva-vibhaga, 1.11)

[“Pure devotion is constant endeavour to please Krishna that is free from fleeting desires and unobstructed by exploitation and renunciation.”]

The practice of devotion based on the acceptance of the favourable and rejection of the unfavourable that is prescribed in this verse is extremely necessary for devotees. Acceptance of the favourable and rejection of the unfavourable are not limbs of pure devotion itself, but are limbs of surrender, which gives one the qualification for devotion and is the primary characteristic of faith.

anukulyasya sankalpah pratikulya vivarjanam
raksisyatiti visvaso goptrtve varanam tatha
atma-niksepa karpanye sad-vidha saranagatih
(Vaisnava-tantra)

[“Accepting the favourable, rejecting the unfavourable, confidence that Krishna will grant His protection, embracing Krishna’s guardianship, fully offering oneself, and humility are the six limbs of surrender.”]

In this verse, rejection of the unfavourable is prescribed. One who can meticulously tolerate the urges of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals can instruct the entire world.

sokamarsadibhir bhavair akrantam yasya manasam
katham tatra mukundasya sphurtti-sambhavana bhavet
(Sri Padma-purana)

[“The Lord does not appear in the hearts of those who are disturbed by lamentation, anger, and other disorders.”]

Lust, anger, greed, bewilderment, pride, and envy—it is known through the purport of this verse that these disturbances always arise in the human mind and engross it in the mundane through the urge of speech—using words that disturb others; the urge of the mind—various desires; the urge of anger—using harsh words; the urge of the tongue—craving the six different tastes, namely sweet, sour, astringent, salty, pungent, and bitter; the urge of the belly—eating excessively; and the urge of the genitals—craving male-female union. As a result, no pure practice of devotion takes place within the heart. Our Acharya Srila Rupa Goswami started first of all with this verse to make the hearts of those endeavouring to serve fit for devotion. Trying to check these six urges is not itself the practice of devotion. Rather, it is the practice of making oneself fit to enter the temple of devotion. There are instructions for checking these six urges on the path of karma and the path of jnan, but such methods should not be followed by devotees. Hearing about Krishna’s Name, Form, Pastimes, and so forth, chanting about them, and remembering them is itself devotion.

During devotional activities, these six urges arise and disturb the practice of immature practitioners. At that time, in their endeavour to give up the ten offences to the Name through unconditional surrender, devotees are able to avoid these obstructions by the mercy of the Name and the power of pure devotees’ association.

srutvapi nama-mahatmyam yah priti-rahito ’dhamah
aham-mamati-paramo namni so ’py aparadha-krt
(Sri Padma-purana)

[“Fallen souls who, even after hearing the glories of the Name, have no love for the Name and remain engrossed in the conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are offenders to the Name.”]

Devotees practise proper renunciation (yukta-vairagya); they should not practise dry renunciation. Thus, there is no prescription for them to give up all contact with material affairs. As soon as the urge of the mind—thirst for the mundane—goes away, the urges of the eyes, nose, and ears become controlled. Therefore, those who conquer the six urges and follow the soul conquer the world. This instruction to tolerate these urges is mainly for householder devotees, as renunciants have already completely given up all these urges before renouncing their homes.