“Shri Rama’s holy name is like a desire tree in Kali Yuga and is the root of all auspiciousness. Whoever remembers it gets all perfections in the palm of their hand and supreme bliss at every step.” (Dohavali, 28)

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राम नाम कलि कामतरु सकल सुम:न्गल कन्द ।
सुमिरत करतल सिद्धि सब पग पग परमानन्द ॥

rāma nāma kali kāmataru sakala suma:ngala kanda ।
sumirata karatala siddhi saba paga paga paramānanda ॥

1. Kamadhenu

“Okay, I guess that must be the meaning, based on the component Sanskrit words. You have ‘kama’ and you have ‘dhenu’. This is a wish-fulfilling cow. Are you sure this isn’t supposed to be understood only symbolically?

“Basically, the symbolism would be in the milk production from the cow. There is little effort required from the human population in order to reap the benefits. Milk flows from the cow. The cow merely needs to glance upon its children.

“Contrary to the horrors that take place in the commercial production in the modern day, a single cow can produce enough milk for an entire community. You would be amazed. If the cow is protected, if it feels safe, if it has ample time to spend with the children, there is no question of shortage.

“Anyway, the kamadhenu is supposed to produce anything asked for. The kama aspect relates to desire. Who wouldn’t want one of these? I can understand why Vasishtha Rishi was attacked over this. Amazing that a rishi possessed such a cow and yet he didn’t fall into degradation, into a life of gambling, sense enjoyment, or meat eating.”

2. Kamataru

“These are desire-trees, you say. They are prominent in the heavenly region. Are you sure there isn’t some symbolism to this concept, either? You know, a tree magically produces fruit. Most of these trees are self-maintaining. You just have to wait for the proper season and the fruits might fall off by themselves.

“The kamataru is supposed to grant any desire, immediately. In that case, money can grow on trees. You could ask for endless wealth. Jewels. Valuables. Silk garments. An expensive crown. I guess you could get whatever you asked for. That would be really cool.”

3. Chari Phala

“This refers to the four fruits of a material existence. Dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. A cultured person has an interest in all four. They like to be religious, to an extent. They don’t want to go around living life devoid of a proper objective.

“Artha is necessary to maintain that life, to provide enough to eat and to have a roof under which to sleep. Kama is the ability to enjoy the results of work. Of what use is profit if you can’t spend it? If it merely gets stored in a bank account, what difference does that make?

“Moksha is the final release. Live life in such a way that you don’t have to repeat the experience. Moksha is the negation of material existence. To have these four rewards together, in a single lifetime, is rare. Any person would feel fortunate to attain them.”

…

Goswami Tulsidas explains that these rewards are nothing compared to love and devotion to the holy name of Rama. That devotion is itself like a desire-tree. Everything necessary can be milked out of it. The chari-phala is not as important when there is attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

How can it be that anything is superior to a desire-tree? How could anything be greater than moksha? Especially when that moksha does not cancel out sense enjoyment, attention to religious duty, and the ability to work. How could anything be better?

The Vaishnava saint is speaking from experience. They are not interested in the desire-trees found in heaven. The holy name of the Supreme Lord is everything to them. They want nothing else. They are not interested in the four rewards.

A person can only provide such testimony if there is a higher taste. If they are experiencing something better, they will cast aside the inferior. Bhagavad-gita explains the same concept, through the words param-drishtva.

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
रस-वर्जं रसो ऽप्य् अस्य
परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते

viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ‘py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

Experiencing something better puts other interactions into the proper perspective. There is something superior to the kamataru. The enjoyment from devotion is not of this world, and so it is not limited by this world. It is not affected by time or space.

In Closing:

Not of this world in source,
So not limited in course.

Where even the heavenly tree,
Of time and space not free.

Desires from heavenly cow,
But something superior now.

Holy name of Shri Rama to chant,
Everything and more to grant.

Categories: the three

Tags: dohavali, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, tulsidas