| Special On-line Edition for the Disappearance Day of
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada
sri sri guru gauranga jayatah! ![[Rays of The Harmonist Monthly On-Line Edition Banner-logo]](http://saraswativinode.com/logo3.jpg) |
| Year-3, Special On-line Edition
Posted: 25 December 2010
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| Dedicated to
nitya-lila pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja
Inspired by and under the guidance of
Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja
|
Appearing in English for the first time
“O Sadhaka, Come To Know This In Your Life”
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada
sri sri gandharvika-giridharibhyam namah
Sri Caitanya Matha,
Sridhama Mayapura
5 August, 1926
My dear ****,
I received your detailed report in your letter dated the 21st day of Asadha (June-July). When I received your letter, I was in Sri Jagannatha-vallabha Matha in Sri Purusottama (Puri). Then, after staying in Bhuvanesvara and Cuttack for a few days, I went to Sri Gaudiya Matha (in Kolkata). After being away for ten or twelve days, I have finally returned here .
You have been serving and protecting the Varanasi Matha completely on your own, so I understand why your mind has prompted you to write a letter of this nature.
“krame krame paya loka bhava-sindhu-kula”
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya-lila 16.237)
, for one only crosses over this ocean of material existence and reaches the shore of transcendental existence by progressing step by step.
Genuine eagerness to attain the goal (samutkantntha), service to Sri Krsna (krsna-seva), service to Sri Krsna’s devotees (karsna-seva), chanting the holy name (sri nama-kirtana) and being bound by the hope that you will be successful on the spiritual path (asa-bandha), all bring about one’s spiritual welfare. If we remain constantly engaged in all varieties of endeavours for the sake of Sri Krsna, we cannot be overpowered by the various allurements of maya. You should always hear and chant, and read our Gaudiya magazine as well as the books of the mahajanas (the exalted spiritual authorities). In this way you will never succumb to lethargy in the process of studying and assimilating our siddhanta (perfect spiritual conclusions).
You should engage in mutually hearing and speaking harikatha with all the devotees there with you. As you progress in bhajana you will gradually experience a mood of humility and insignificance within your heart. You already know that the most exalted devotee always considers himself to be the lowest of all – sarvottama’ apanake ‘hina’ kari mane (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 23.26). Furthermore, aspiring for the spiritual welfare of others leads to progress in our own bhajana.
Although service to Sri Krsna (krsna-seva), service to Sri Krsna’s devotees (karsna-seva) and chanting of the holy names (sri nama-kirtana) are three different activities, they all share a common objective. Moreover...
• By engaging in sri nama-sankirtana, one simultaneously performs service to Sri Krsna (sri krsna-seva) and service to His devotees (sri karsna-seva).
• Be serving the Vaisnavas – that is, by sri karsna-seva – sri nama-kirtana and service to Sri Krsna are performed.
• And by serving Sri Krsna, sri nama-kirtana and service to His devotees are performed.
The evidence for this is found in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.3.23):
sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam
yad iyate tatra puman apavrtah
sattve ca tasmin bhagavan vasudevo
hy adhoksajo me namasa vidhiyate
When situated in the absolutely pure state of existence known as ‘vasudeva’, one becomes aware of the all pervasive existence of Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for in that state the Supreme Being is revealed without any covering. I offer myself to that Lord, who is beyond ordinary sense perception.*
_____________________
* In vasudeva consciousness, or when the consciousness is in suddha-sattva, the soul is under the direct control of the internal potency. In that state, he perceives that the Absolute, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva Sri Krsna, is present in all his devotional activities. Specifically, He is present within sri krsna-seva, within sri karsna-seva, and within sri nama-sankirtana.
By reading and reciting Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, one is able to simultaneously perform service to Sri Krsna and sri nama-sankirtana. The same benefit is also achieved by reading and reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam in the association of devotees. In performance of arcana, these three activities are also accomplished. And through the performance of genuine nama-bhajana as well, the same result is beautifully achieved.
* * *
You should perceive your former life and the impressions from it as conducive to performing bhajana. In other words, you should realize that the unfavourable conditions of your past are in fact a platform for the manifestation of favourable ones in the present. It is the very calamities that arise in unfavourable conditions that subsequently give birth to favourable conditions for bhajana. Everything within this visible world is verily an instrument for serving Sri Krsna, but our aversion to seva inverts our intelligence, which consequently engages us in trying to enjoy these things.
Only when transcendental knowledge manifests in our hearts and we are finally able to perceive everything in relation to Sri Krsna, will we be safe from the effects of the poisonous fruit of pratistha (honour and recognition).
cancala-jivana-srota pravahiya, kaler sagare dhaya
Sri Radha-krsna Pada-kamale Mana
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
The precarious current of your life is relentlessly pouring into the ocean of time.
When a person has attained this wisdom, his tendency to serve Sri Hari will manifest at every step. Therefore, it is our duty to accept, with a satisfied heart, whatever pleases Sri Krsna. If Sri Krsna feels happy by keeping me in a state of aversion to Him, even then I shall respectfully accept any suffering I must consequently endure.
“Tomara sevaya, duhkha hoya yato, se-o to’ parama sukha – all the troubles I may encounter while serving You are actually the cause of great happiness” (Saranagati, Part 2, Song 8). This is the realization of the Vaisnavas. You should try to follow this. When one’s anarthas (unwanted conditions) are purified through service to Sri Krsna, then those very conditions become the cause of artha or prayojana – the most desirable, permanent welfare.
All the anarthas evident in the former way of life{this sounds weird, but we can’t just say former life, since that ambiguously indicates either ‘previous birth’ or ‘previous lifestyle’} of Sri Bilvamangala Thakura, in the philosophical accounts of Sri Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya in Puri, and in the illogical-arguments presented by Sri Prakasananda Sarasvati in the assembly of mayavadi sannyasis at Varanasi, eventually turned out to be krsna-sevamaya, full of service to Sri Krsna. Therefore, you should not at all worry about former anarthas. If we intensely engage in hearing and chanting, our present anarthas will not become prominent.
Our lives will only last a very short time, so until death arrives, you should try to serve Sri Hari with honesty and sincerity. Following in the footsteps of the great spiritual authorities (mahajanas) is the only path that leads to spiritual welfare.
You should contemplate the words “aham tarisyami duranta-param... – I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by worshipping the lotus feet of Mukunda” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.23.57).
I hope that everyone there is enthusiastically engaged in hari-kirtana and in the service of Vaisnavas. Please convey my heartfelt regards to everyone in a manner that is appropriate for each of them.
Due to the result of our previous karma, sometimes we remain healthy and sometimes we become ill. But the moment we consider ourselves actually healthy, we in fact enter into a state of aversion to Krsna. And as a result we begin to imagine that Vaisnavas who are more advanced than we are, are actually inferior to us. On account of this, Krsna keeps us in various states of distress, pain, illness and disturbance in our life. Thereafter, we try to understand the meaning of the verse beginning “tat te ’nukampam... – Whenever a devotee experiences distress, he perceives it as the Lord’s mercy upon him” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8).
When we become deeply absorbed in subject matters that have no connection to Sri Krsna, then we are plagued by the urge to quarrel with the people of this world. And even when we are constantly busy serving Sri Krsna, the people of this world attack us.
I hope that you are well.
With my blessings forever,
Sri Siddhanta Sarasvati
Translated from Srila Prabhupadera Patravali*
by the Rays of The Harmonist team _____________________
* Srila Prabhupadera Patravali is a compilation of letters from Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. |
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