Text 47
yāte vaṁśī-dhvani-sukha, nā dekhi’ se cāṅda mukha,
yadyapi nāhika ‘ālambana’
nija-dehe kari prīti, kevala kāmera rīti,
prāṇa-kīṭera kariye dhāraṇa
yāte — in which; vaṁśī-dhvani-sukha — the happiness of hearing the playing of the flute; nā dekhi’ — not seeing; se — that; cāṅda mukha — moonlike face; yadyapi — although; nāhika — there is not; ālambana — the meeting of the lover and beloved; nija — own; dehe — in the body; kari — I do; prīti — affection; kevala — only; kāmera — of lust; rīti — the way; prāṇa — of life; kīṭera — of the fly; kariye — I do; dhāraṇa — continuing.
“Even though I do not see the moonlike face of Kṛṣṇa as He plays on His flute, and although there is no possibility of My meeting Him, still I take care of My own body. That is the way of lust. In this way, I maintain My flylike life.
In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the lovable Supreme Lord is the supreme shelter. The Lord is the supreme subject, and the devotees are the object. The coming together of a subject and object is called ālambana. The object hears, and the subject plays the flute. That the object cannot see the moonlike face of Kṛṣṇa and has no eagerness to see Him is the sign of being without ālambana. Externally imagining such a thing simply satisfies one’s lusty desires, and thus one lives without purpose.