Krishna Talk
Krishna Talk 122 - Crows and Eagles by Rupanuga Dasa
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In his Niti-sastra, the wise brahmana statesman Sri Canakya Pandita has written:
prasada-sikhara-stho’pi
kakah kim garudayate
Even though perched on the pinnacle of a palace, can a crow become Garuda?
(Niti-sastra 16.6)
The metaphor given here is that of a crow, who poses and sits on the pinnacle of a palace and thinks he is an eagle. The eagle is deemed as the king of birds. He has attained that title, not because he sits on the highest peaks, but because he carries with him the grace and the tenacity of a king. That qualifies him for the title. If a crow imitates an eagle by sitting on the apex of a tree, it won’t instill in him the other qualities of an eagle. We live in a world of instant fame and fortune. Many individuals and groups, irrespective of their profiles and occupations, seek immediate success and the propensity to acquire a name for themselves. Yes – it’s all very flattering to have our voices heard amongst the crowd, to have many followers, to be the center of attention, and to have the fame and riches that comes with it, but then all at the sake of one’s integrity, self deception and ultimately deceiving the ignorant masses. The world has changed dramatically over the last century, not just demographically, but also in how we live our lives in this senseless, modern materialistic chaos. The majority of the people is impious and indulges in debauchery. Now and then, when someone does become inquisitive about the true meaning of life, their questions are ready to be answered by the ‘god-men’ who act has gurus and spiritual masters. They’re not difficult to find nowadays since they have sprung up practically everywhere.
Materially speaking, becoming a god-man definitely has its perks. Just imagine – wouldn’t it be a terrific opportunity to take a break from our dull lives, boring families and bullying bosses? Given the endeavor one needs to be even slightly successful in this world, becoming a god-man is probably the easiest way to attain instant fame and fortune. You can avoid the morning rush-hour simply by traveling around the globe in our own private jet and have all material comforts within reach. All one needs to do is invent some breathing techniques, some yogic exercises or package some speculative mantra meditation, then give it a Sanskrit name and pass it off as ‘spirituality’. Depending on how creative and innovative one wants to get, many tricks could be easily pulled off.
In this day and age, spirituality clearly isn’t about being spiritual and certainly has nothing to do with God anymore. This new brand of spirituality created by the god-men now comes with a business plan, along with marketing, syndication and publishing rights. If you manage to do it well, you can probably have a hundred asramas on six continents named after you! It’s certainly a lucrative way of life – the only sacrifice one has to make is simply to give up one’s daily struggle and hardships and start acting like God Who are these god-men? What are their true intentions and do they have any real concern for the lost souls in this material world? These god-men are no more than opportunists and businessman peddling their concocted, baseless philosophies in order to live in luxury. They claim that they have divine powers to perform miracles and extraordinary feats gullible people, in desperation, fall prey to their smooth talk and become their followers. They use many popular titles such as Sri Sri, Bhagavan, jagat-guru etc. and claim to be avataras, making a mockery of what the sastras say. However, titles don’t carry much weight when it comes to true excellence and authenticity. All these titles are acquired simply by their expertise in word-jugglery, in performing street magic and in social welfare work. Cap it off with saffron robes, a large rudraksa-mala and long hair and beards and they have the ignorant masses in the palm of their hands.
However, despite their success in attaining many followers, opening asramas, publishing books, performing welfare work etc. such god-men cannot maintain a proper spiritual standard. Because they are not on the platform of suddha-sattva (pure goodness), they eventually have to submit to their base natures again.
sva yadi kriyate raja
tat kim nasnaty-upanaham
Even if a dog is made king, he will still end up eating someone’s shoe. (Hitopadesa)
One who sincerely desires proper spiritual guidance will certainly find a true bona-fide spiritual master. But someone who wants to compromise their spiritual quest will only find imposters who will loot them in every respect and leave them in such a condition that they will finally lose all faith in the system of guru and disciple. That is why it is imperative that one should first understand what the sastras say about false gurus.
guravo bahavah santi sisya-vittapaharakah
durlabhah sad-gurur devi sisya-santapaharakah
One can find many gurus who can take away the wealth of the disciples, but there are few who can remove the miseries of their disciple. (Padma Purana)
There are also injunctions for abandoning such bogus gurus:
gurur apya avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanatah
utpatha pratipannasya parityago vidhiyate
A guru addicted to sensual pleasure and polluted by vice, who is ignorant and has no power to discriminate between right and wrong, or who is not on the path of suddha-bhakti must be abandoned. (Mahabharata, Udyoga-parva 179.25)
What are the qualifications of a true guru according to scripture? In the Visnu-smrti it says:
krpa-sindhuh su sampurnah
sarva-sattvopakarakah
nisprhah sarvatah siddhah
sarva-vidya-visaradah
sarva-samsaya-samchetta'
nalaso gurur ahrtah
One who is an ocean of mercy, who is fulfilled in all respects, who has all good qualities, who works for the benefit of all souls, who is free from lust, who is perfect in all respects, who is well-versed in the scriptures, who knows the science of Krsna, who can remove all the doubts of his disciples, and who is always alert in the service of Krsna is known as a genuine guru. (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 1.45-46)
It is also stated in Bhagavatam:
tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam brahmany-upasamasrayam
A person who is searching for the Absolute Ultimate Truth must surrender to a guru who knows the inner meaning of the Vedas, is fixed in the Absolute Truth, and is expert in sastra. (Bhag.11.3.21)
In his Upadesamrta, Srila Rupa Gosvami says:
vaco vegam manasah krodha vegam
jihva vegam udaropastha vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat
A peaceful sober person who can control the urge to speak, the mind, the urges of anger, the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world. (Upadesamrta 1)
That being said, it also doesn’t matter what caste the guru is from, as supported by this verse from Padma Purana:
vipra ksatriya vaisyas ca guruvah sudra janmanam
sudras ca guravas tesam trayanam bhagavat-priyah
A brahmana, ksatriya, or vaisya can be guru for the sudra class, but a Vaisnava, even if born a sudra, because he is dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be the guru of these higher orders.
Although a guru must have all the knowledge of the sastras, dry knowledge alone does not qualify a person to become a guru. In Srimad Bhagavatam it says:
sabda-brahmani nisnato na nisnayat pare yadi
sramas tasya srama-phalo hy adhenum iva raksatah
One may be expert in Vedic scholarship, but if he fails to understand the position of the Absolute Truth and doesn’t recognize Krsna as the supreme Personality of Godhead, all his study is a waste of time. His hard work will be his only reward, and his efforts will be like the labor of one who struggles to maintain a cow that has no calf and cannot produce milk. (Bhag.11.11.18)
Hence, the position of guru is like a ‘grand throne’ that may bring many followers, fame, wealth and knowledge, but these are not an indication of one’s greatness or authenticity. One’s greatness comes from one’s virtue and true teachings. It is sheer foolishness to think that anyone simply sitting on the throne of the guru is automatically great! Excellence is attained through efficacy – not by clinging to a tall throne. A true spiritual master has only come to deliver us from the heat of the huge forest fire of material life. Other than this, he has no other purpose but to rescue as many souls as possible. Pseudo-gurus, on the other hand, only have their own ignorance and confusion to offer to the world. The only miracle that needs to be performed by a guru is the miracle of his instructions – not any conjuring tricks with the willingness to deceive the common people and take them away from the true path to God. A false teacher seeks to bind himself to the energy of his neophyte followers, whereas a sad-guru receives all his energy from his divine guardians above. He has no need to bind himself to his followers – it is we who are dependent upon him and not vice-versa. Only by praying to Krsna sincerely and taking association of saintly persons can we find a genuine guru. Then with a humble demeanor and with sincere inquiry and service to him, we can tread the path of purification and actually understand the true purpose of human life.
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Krishna Talk 123 - Everything is by Mahaprabhu’s Grace by Swami B.G. Narasingha
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(The Following article is from a class given by Srila B.G. Narasingha Maharaja on Sri Gaura-purnima at Govindaji Gardens on 6th March 2004)
In the beginning of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami
says:
vande sri krsna caitanya nityananda sahoditau
gaudadaye puspavantau citrau san-dau tamo-nudau
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters, the devotees of the Lord, the Lord’s incarnations, His plenary portions, His energies, and the primeval Lord Himself, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are like the sun and the moon, and they have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauda (Bengal), on the banks of the Ganges, Nadia, to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.” (Cc. Adi 1.2)
This is a poetic inference. The sun and the moon cannot appear simultaneously on the same horizon. One will come, later the other will appear. They don’t come on the same line of the sky. That is physically impossible. It is a poetic inference. What is the sun? The sun gives light. What is moon? The moon gives light. Both the sun and the moon are luminaries – one in the day and one in the night. And both of them dissipate darkness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are compared to the sun and the moon, and they dissipate the darkness of ignorance that has found its seat in everyone’s heart in Kali-yuga.
It is my misfortune to have to say that even the most educated men and women of our modern times are scarcely better than fools. Even with a series of degrees and initials behind their names, they do not know who they are. They think that they are this body in most cases, which is only a combination of muscles, blood, and so many things that should be taken as rather disgusting.
For example, take a diamond studded gold watch, with a lapis or quartz
crystal face – each part of that watch has value. You smash it into pieces, but the gold is still good, the diamonds are good, and the quartz crystal is good. The body of the watch however is only useful if all the parts are together. Similarly, if any piece of the body becomes detached from it –
your tooth, your fingernail, your beautiful hair, you throw it into the wastebasket! But if it is all kept together, we think, “Oh! I am so beautiful! I am so handsome!”
We think we are this body. Everyone in this material world is under this basic misconception. Regardless of how great their education in this mundane world is, scientists, philosophers, poets, musicians, and so on – all of them are under this basic misconception of life. And if you ask, “Who are you,” then they will just give you a name which can be found in the phone book. They don’t know who they actually are. This is the prime origin of all pervading ignorance in this world. They only work for this body and this society. All ignorance begins from the concept of “I” and misidentifying with this body. This is called ahankara.
On the other side is a world of knowledge, and beyond that acquired knowledge is a world of activity that is unknown to them. What is that knowledge? Aham brahma’smi – I am spirit soul. I am not this body. That is vedantika. And Mahaprabhu gave much more clarification – jivera svarupa haye, nitya krsna dasa. This aham brahma’smi of the Vedanta is not actually sufficient because it is marginal. Mere marginality is a dangerous position to rest in as it can cause one to fall into the side of Mayavada. One can fall back into the material side. There must be positive knowledge. jivera svarupa haye, nitya krsna dasa. Mahaprabhu said, ‘nitya krsna dasa!’ You are the eternal servant of Krsna. ‘Eternal servant of Krsna’ means you always have been and you always will be. You are even now the servant of Krsna, but you are not acting on that knowledge because you don’t have it.
This is the primary defect in every civilization and in every species of life found anywhere in the universe. People get all excited about UFOs and alien beings. There are so many abduction theories, UFO cults and movements and people claiming to have been abducted by spacecraft. But the primary misconception is the same. You can be assured that the creature in the spaceship doesn’t know who he is, and does not know that he is an eternal servant of Krsna. Even the devas don’t know, though they have some glimpse. Just as during early morning, there is some light but it is not sufficient to read the newspaper, it is not sufficient to do any work, but there is some light. So demigods have some light, but they are caught up in the world of enjoyment and that enjoyment is always keeping the light dim. They cannot see clearly from their position. Demigods are constantly falling into the complications of this material world and fighting to save their position. Sometimes they become envious if a human being is performing a yajna that will elevate him to a higher position. Indra himself forgets his real position and becomes inimical, fighting against that person because his fear is that someone may come and take his chair and become king.
Fear is born from forgetfulness of Krsna. I have seen devotees forget Krsna also. Even practicing, neck-bead wearing, tilaka-wearing, japa-chanting devotees sometimes forget about Krsna and become fearful of a particular situation. Be it physical, financial, or whatever, we become forgetful; we worry or we try to do something outside of what Krsna has arranged. Generally that fails and we come back to our senses and remember that Krsna is our maintainer and He is arranging. What He arranges we will accept, be happy with, and be successful with. Many types of arrangements may not be favorable for the performance of pure devotion.
The Lord does not come here to please our senses. He does not come here to serve us. He comes to give us an opportunity for us to serve Him. To properly serve, surrender is necessary. Service without surrender is not actually service. That is something we call preliminary practice, but it’s not the real thing. There must be surrender, and then there can be service. That is why Mahaprabhu came – to engage us in the service of the sankirtana movement.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati knew that before the sankirtana movement of Mahaprabhu could spread all over the world, the place of His appearance must be manifest again in this world, and along with its manifestation, a great temple must be built there. From there, the potency would spread all over the world.
There are some people with the opinion that first sankirtana will spread all over the world, then all the foreigners will come to India and build that wonderful temple. There is some confusion about this. But Nityananda Prabhu says a great temple called the Adbhuta Mandira, (wonderful temple) will be built at the birth site of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and then, from that temple, sankirtana will go all over the world.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sarasvati Thakura, not being conditioned souls, not having Judeo-Christian backgrounds, not being foreigners, and not being egotistical, knew that first the order of the Lord must be served according to His direction and then accordingly the sankirtana mission would be successful. There was prerequisite work to be done, but they didn’t even know from where to begin because it was all hidden.
There is a saying, “Seek and ye shall find.” It’s an old saying. If you try, God is there to help you. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham – “I preserve what you have and I carry what you lack, and when the need is there I will be there to help you”. So with this fundamental understanding, they tried to locate Mahaprabhu’s birthplace. There was a place where people insisted it was – in the greater Navadvipa-dhama, but Bhaktivinoda did not feel confident that this was actually the true birthplace. Even his mantra-guru said, “This is the place,” but he did not feel confident with that, because his mantra-guru was not a liberated soul and was part of a group who were much less than liberated souls. Bhaktivinoda Thakura continued to search.
He looked through the available sacred texts and the first thing he ascertained was that the ancient town of Navadvipa is on the eastern side of the Ganges, not on the western side as it is known today. If a river was there two hundred years ago or thereabout, you would be able to see where it used to run without any difficulty. The riverbed would not disappear in one or two hundred years. It takes a long, long time before a riverbed disappears. In the district that is now known as Navadvipa, they could find nothing to indicate that the Ganges once ran through there. He concluded that the Ganges course originally ran in a more easterly location and found no possibility that the river came near to the current site. He knew it must be on the eastern side.
Firstly, scriptural evidence mentions Navadvipa and its location, and through that Bhaktivinoda conjectured the true location of Sri Navadvipa-dhama, but ultimately it came down to divine revelation. Bhaktivinoda Thakura had a vision wherein he caught a glimpse of the eternal Navadvipa in a particular direction. He saw this on more than one occasion from the rooftop of the Rani Dharmasala in Navadvipa. He would look towards what he thought was the area of the eternal Navadvipa, the place of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, At that time it had become rice fields with a couple of Mohammedan villages around it. No Hindu villages were in that area. One evening, while chanting his japa, he got a divine glimpse of the eternal Navadvipa. The next morning he went in that direction and while searching the area, he came to a place near a village owned by the Muslims. A natural tulasi garden grew wild there. Mohammedans don’t really care much about tulasi. When he entered that area, Bhaktivinoda could feel the presence of his own homeland.
Sometimes, if you are looking for something, you may go to some place and say, “This is not the place,” then you come out and you intuitively feel, “Ah! This is it” – some feeling comes over you internally. Ultimately feeling is the best way of knowing. In the beginning, you have to hear from an authority to receive knowledge, but ultimately you have to feel the truth in your heart and know it as such. Not because I or someone else said so – it has to come by revelation, by feeling, by realization. So when he entered that tulasi garden he felt, “Oh! This is a divine place.” And he suspected that this might be the place of Mahaprabhu’s birth.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura had come to know Jagannatha Dasa Babaji as his siksa-guru, sad-guru, his real guru. Bhaktivinoda always gave formal respect to Vipina-vihari Gosvami, his mantra-guru, who was more or less a social icon of the guru establishment. But his heart was one with Jagannatha Dasa Babaji. Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul.
The way of the Vaisnavas is not without confirmation. You think or know something, but you don’t let your head get as big as an elephant and think, “Yes, yes, I know. No one can tell me.” I have seen some successful preachers who, after getting a thousand or two thousand disciples, have this attitude, “No one can tell me. I know what I’m doing.” But that is never the way of a Vaisnava. Even the greatest Vaisnava yearns for some confirmation, some association, someone to talk to about those higher, important things.
Bhaktivinoda didn’t think, “I am a liberated soul. I know what I am doing. No one can tell me. This is Mahaprabhu’s birth place – said and done!” He brought Jagannatha Dasa Babaji there. At this time Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was so old that he never walked anywhere. The community had arranged a strong servant to carry him wherever he needed to go in a basket. He was over hundred and ten years old or so at that time. He was also blind. When he got there, before the man could even set down the basket, Jagannatha jumped out of the basket and started dancing and performing kirtana. He was at an age when he couldn’t even walk, what to speak of jump out of a basket. He couldn’t see where he was. As far as he knew, he could have been anywhere. But with the internal eye of devotion he could understand that he was in the Yogapitha. He had been brought to the epicenter of caitanya-lila. That was an ecstatic moment for the few blessed souls that were there at that time.
Based on Jagannatha Dasa Babaji’s experience, Bhaktivinoda concluded that this was Yogapitha. Then he set out to prove it through historical and archeological records, literary evidence and notations in every possible way. But even without any of the evidence, he knew it was so due to the experience of Jagannatha Dasa Babaji.
That is what we do. I don’t know if I am a spirit soul or not, I don’t know if Krsna is God or not. I don’t know, but my guru knows. My guru knows and that is good enough for me. I accept my guru’s statements, and then I can argue and put forward scriptural evidence, show archeological records etc. to prove that his statements are conclusive. But if I don’t know from that original point, then how would I know? I wouldn’t know. That is the way of Vaisnavism; you don’t know, your guru knows, and based on that you know.
Some people recently said, “Guru knows everything. He knows that someone is snatching money; he knows that someone is dying; he knows that someone ate too much sweet rice; he knows that someone is burning the sweet rice. He knows all these things.” It must drive him crazy to know all these things! One can’t even sit in a room with three people talking without getting aggravated. I remember, Prabhupada would not be sitting in a room with so many people talking and just adjust to that. He wanted some peace and quiet. But these people say, “Guru knows everything!” Prabhupada said, “Yes, guru knows everything means that he knows Krsna. Krsna is everything.” So he knows – everything is Krsna. If Krsna reveals something he may know that. If He doesn’t reveal, how he will know that?” So later on, some people said, “Well, he told you that because you weren’t ready for the truth.” That particular gentleman doesn’t know that we were so crazy that if Prabhupada had told us to cut off your head, we would cut off your head. Whatever he said, that was the truth. We were young, very committed, and very fanatical at that time. What to speak of explaining, if Prabhupada knew everything and said, “Yes, I know everything,” we would have jumped and said, “Jaya!” No one would doubt it. If anyone had a doubt about it, we would have got him by the neck and carried him out.
Because of Jagannatha Dasa Babaji’s confirmation, Bhaktivinoda felt resolved that they had found the birthplace of Mahaprabhu. For those ordinary people who don’t have guru-nistha, guru-bhakti or guru-sraddha, we have to convince them by different arguments because these people try to challenge our faith. Pure faith won’t hold up in court. You will need evidence. It went to court and there they concluded that the birthplace of Mahaprabhu was the Yogapitha in Mayapura.
The governor of Bengal came to Mayapura – he was the second most powerful man in India and the third most powerful man in the world. First, there was the King of England, then the Viceroy in Delhi, and third was the Governor of Bengal. So the third most powerful man in the world came to Mayapura. Sarasvati Thakura even went so far as to get the third most powerful man in the world to verify this! Why? So that poor fools would not be misguided by the cheaters who claimed that some false place was the birthplace of Mahaprabhu. Still, across the river on the western side they are making crowing sounds, “Mayapura isn’t actually the real place!” They built a temple there long before Bhaktivinoda. But Nityananda’s prediction never came true. After they built their temple, the Holy Name of Krsna, never spread all over the world from there.
Srila Bhaktivinoda and Srila Sarasvati Thakura built and inaugurated the temple at Yogapitha and not long after, Krsna Consciousness spread all over the world. You will be hard pressed to find a place in the world, even amongst the aboriginal cultures or even in the most isolated parts of the world, where no one has heard of Krsna. I’ve gone to places in Africa – “The Dark Continent” – with the thought that I was going to tell the people about Krsna because nobody there had ever heard about Him. And as soon as I stepped off the plane, one man just looked at us and said, “Hare Krsna!” Already done! Of course, there were a few million there that didn’t know about Krsna. The point is that one man knew then – but if you go there now, more than thirty years later, many more people know about Krsna.
It started there from Yogapitha. From there, devotees came to join Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and were instructed on what to do, and they went out and did that and it was principally one man – Srila Prabhupada. He came to the distant western hemisphere with Krsna Consciousness. Now many descendants of Sarasvati Thakura’s disciples and grand disciples can be found all over the world – from Siberia to South Africa, from New York to London. They are all over the place.
CROWS AND DOGS
The Sahajiyas in Navadvipa and their supporters are doing nothing except going on the Internet and complaining. They are nowhere and doing nothing to fulfill the prophecy. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Anyone can talk big, and everyone is – but who is actually doing anything? Who did it and who is still doing it? Who is spreading the Holy Name? Those who have connection with Navadvipa-dhama, Mayapura, Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta – they are doing it, and the others are like the crows who come and sit on the trees and criticize everything underneath. It is said that the dogs bark when the caravan passes. Many elephants are walking on the road and the local dogs come out and make noise. But the elephants continue and gradually the sound of the dogs just dies out. These critics of Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta are no more than crows or barking dogs actually. Unfortunately, they will probably have to take birth in those species in their next life, or possibly worse.
It’s one thing to not know about Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna, or the great souls, but its completely another thing if you do know. You come in connection with the truth, yet you criticize and fight against it. It would be better to remain in ignorance for another million lifetimes – then you would live just according to your karma, and one day you may know the truth, act upon it, and go back to Godhead.
We have even seen people that tried to give us trouble in our asrama. They thought that this asrama would be finished. Now they have become drunkards. They don’t even believe in Krsna. The same people who were making so much noise don’t even consider themselves as Hindus. And in the meantime, Krsna Consciousness goes on. The parade goes on, the dogs bark…
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission now has been moving forward for over five hundred years, and it has had high points and low points. But the Holy Name of Krsna is still out there, on every continent, in every major city, town and practically every village in the world. It’s out there. But there’s always somebody that doesn’t know yet. Even in India.
I see among the young people living in India, and I wonder, “How is it that they were born in India?” They should have been born in Brooklyn, but they were born in a certain environment, in a modern house and such. I doubt that those people even know who Ganesa is – what to speak of Krsna and Mahaprabhu. But they are born within a days train ride of the holy land of Navadvipa, or within an hour or two-hour flight. It’s so close, yet they are so far away.
To preach Mahaprabhu’s mission one doesn’t have to go to the other side of the world. There are plenty of people just within a few hundred meters of this gate who still do not know the importance of their life, how to perfect it, who Krsna is, what devotion is, about the Holy Name of Krsna, or about the grace of Mahaprabhu. And even amongst us, how clearly do we understand that? We don’t have to be everywhere in the world to preach. You can do that right where you are, right in your own state.
Once Tripurari Maharaja and I met an old disciple of Sarasvati Thakura at Bagh Bazaar Gaudiya Matha in Kolkata. He was very nice and cordial and was happy to see us. Tripurari Maharaja said, “When are you going to preach in the west?”
He said, “Well, there are almost one billion people here in India. Don’t you think there is work here also?” We were young and thinking, “Real work is in America. Real work is in England.” That was our young ego.
Mahaprabhu’s work is everywhere. It is right here in our own village; it’s in our own states; in our own country, and it is in foreign countries also. But nowadays, because Prabhupada went to the west, all of the preachers go to the west. Hardly any of the preachers of Krsna Consciousness preach in India. I sometimes say critically that they go to the west to make disciples of people who struggle their whole life to follow the four regulative principles, but they neglect to preach to the people who live here in India, who are born followers of the four regulative principles. There are just ordinary village people who probably are not even drinking water outside of their own house, what to speak of eating non-vegetarian food and the like. Of course, there is a lot of non-veg and such here, but there are also families and traditions that have maintained a pure lifestyle and have still not heard about Mahaprabhu.
I know this about many of the big world preachers – they spend the whole year going to mleccha-desa for preaching because that’s where the money is. India is rich, but very tight. Money in India is very community-oriented. People give to their community-gurus and all that, by caste, birth, etc. But these preachers all go outside of India – I’m talking about real devotees of Krsna. They spend more time preaching to mlecchas, who can hardly even follow the basic principles of sub-religion, and they neglect preaching here in India, and now there is probably more need of preaching in India than there is in the west.
The people of the world are interested in higher standards of living, environmental issues, spiritual topics, and meditation. There is an inclination this way. But these same things in India have become social embarrassments. A great section of Indian society is embarrassed to associate itself with its own culture. They dress, eat, think, and live like westerners. They drive like Indians, but in every other manner they want to be western, and maintain the attitude, “I am not an Indian.” There are millions of them here.
BLESSINGS AND DIVINE GRACE
I know people who have so much money, but they can’t get any service done. They can’t even think of some service to engage in. But they have money. Money alone does not enable us to serve Krsna. It requires blessings and divine grace. Inspiration is necessary. When that is there, we will be able to serve even if Laksmi hasn’t built her palace here. Money might not be forthcoming yet, but still we will be able to do something. But without the blessings of our acaryas, without the blessings of the Supreme Lord, even if we are multi-millionaires, we won’t be able to do much good. The first thing that is necessary is their blessings and then service will follow. Not that we will get money and then we will perform service, that we will offer it to them because they need it – No! The Lord doesn’t need it. God doesn’t need anything we have or do.
Blessings are from Srimati Radharani, Mahaprabhu and the acaryas in our disciplic line. They are necessary. We should try to please them with our personal behavior, our exercises, and our service. Then we will have success. Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sarasvati Thakura who knew that for the Holy Name to spread all over the world, the service of Mayapura was essential. In those days it took two days to get there by train. Now it takes three hours by car, but it took two days to get there by train or boat. It makes today’s village look like a metropolis. It was just rice fields. There was nothing material worth going out there for. And it was dangerous. That’s why it took two days to get there, because you would reach there at night, but you wouldn’t dare cross the Ganges at night because the river pirates would rob you. It was a treacherous area, because Maya and her agents had dominated that place. River pirates, dacoits, and gundas were plenty in number. But they knew that this must first be established according to the wish of the Supreme Lord and then accordingly, great good can be done all over the world. They did it in that way. We should understand what is to be done first and how to progress practically in our spiritual life, not thinking that we should jump to the topmost position. When we have not actually finished the first course, why should we want to jump to the final one?
This appearance day of Mahaprabhu is a good day to remember that everything comes by His grace. We should sincerely pray for His grace. There are many prayers and slokas we can recite to ask for the blessings of Mahaprabhu. Even if we don’t do that, in our mind we should remember, “Everything is by His grace. Any success in this world is only by His grace.”
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(The Following article is from a class given by Srila B.G. Narasingha Maharaja on Sri Gaura-purnima at Govindaji Gardens on 6th March 2004)
In the beginning of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami
says:
vande sri krsna caitanya nityananda sahoditau
gaudadaye puspavantau citrau san-dau tamo-nudau
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters, the devotees of the Lord, the Lord’s incarnations, His plenary portions, His energies, and the primeval Lord Himself, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are like the sun and the moon, and they have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauda (Bengal), on the banks of the Ganges, Nadia, to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.” (Cc. Adi 1.2)
This is a poetic inference. The sun and the moon cannot appear simultaneously on the same horizon. One will come, later the other will appear. They don’t come on the same line of the sky. That is physically impossible. It is a poetic inference. What is the sun? The sun gives light. What is moon? The moon gives light. Both the sun and the moon are luminaries – one in the day and one in the night. And both of them dissipate darkness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are compared to the sun and the moon, and they dissipate the darkness of ignorance that has found its seat in everyone’s heart in Kali-yuga.
It is my misfortune to have to say that even the most educated men and women of our modern times are scarcely better than fools. Even with a series of degrees and initials behind their names, they do not know who they are. They think that they are this body in most cases, which is only a combination of muscles, blood, and so many things that should be taken as rather disgusting.
For example, take a diamond studded gold watch, with a lapis or quartz
crystal face – each part of that watch has value. You smash it into pieces, but the gold is still good, the diamonds are good, and the quartz crystal is good. The body of the watch however is only useful if all the parts are together. Similarly, if any piece of the body becomes detached from it –
your tooth, your fingernail, your beautiful hair, you throw it into the wastebasket! But if it is all kept together, we think, “Oh! I am so beautiful! I am so handsome!”
We think we are this body. Everyone in this material world is under this basic misconception. Regardless of how great their education in this mundane world is, scientists, philosophers, poets, musicians, and so on – all of them are under this basic misconception of life. And if you ask, “Who are you,” then they will just give you a name which can be found in the phone book. They don’t know who they actually are. This is the prime origin of all pervading ignorance in this world. They only work for this body and this society. All ignorance begins from the concept of “I” and misidentifying with this body. This is called ahankara.
"AHAM BRAHMA’SMI" IS NOT SUFFICIENT
On the other side is a world of knowledge, and beyond that acquired knowledge is a world of activity that is unknown to them. What is that knowledge? Aham brahma’smi – I am spirit soul. I am not this body. That is vedantika. And Mahaprabhu gave much more clarification – jivera svarupa haye, nitya krsna dasa. This aham brahma’smi of the Vedanta is not actually sufficient because it is marginal. Mere marginality is a dangerous position to rest in as it can cause one to fall into the side of Mayavada. One can fall back into the material side. There must be positive knowledge. jivera svarupa haye, nitya krsna dasa. Mahaprabhu said, ‘nitya krsna dasa!’ You are the eternal servant of Krsna. ‘Eternal servant of Krsna’ means you always have been and you always will be. You are even now the servant of Krsna, but you are not acting on that knowledge because you don’t have it.
This is the primary defect in every civilization and in every species of life found anywhere in the universe. People get all excited about UFOs and alien beings. There are so many abduction theories, UFO cults and movements and people claiming to have been abducted by spacecraft. But the primary misconception is the same. You can be assured that the creature in the spaceship doesn’t know who he is, and does not know that he is an eternal servant of Krsna. Even the devas don’t know, though they have some glimpse. Just as during early morning, there is some light but it is not sufficient to read the newspaper, it is not sufficient to do any work, but there is some light. So demigods have some light, but they are caught up in the world of enjoyment and that enjoyment is always keeping the light dim. They cannot see clearly from their position. Demigods are constantly falling into the complications of this material world and fighting to save their position. Sometimes they become envious if a human being is performing a yajna that will elevate him to a higher position. Indra himself forgets his real position and becomes inimical, fighting against that person because his fear is that someone may come and take his chair and become king.
Fear is born from forgetfulness of Krsna. I have seen devotees forget Krsna also. Even practicing, neck-bead wearing, tilaka-wearing, japa-chanting devotees sometimes forget about Krsna and become fearful of a particular situation. Be it physical, financial, or whatever, we become forgetful; we worry or we try to do something outside of what Krsna has arranged. Generally that fails and we come back to our senses and remember that Krsna is our maintainer and He is arranging. What He arranges we will accept, be happy with, and be successful with. Many types of arrangements may not be favorable for the performance of pure devotion.
The Lord does not come here to please our senses. He does not come here to serve us. He comes to give us an opportunity for us to serve Him. To properly serve, surrender is necessary. Service without surrender is not actually service. That is something we call preliminary practice, but it’s not the real thing. There must be surrender, and then there can be service. That is why Mahaprabhu came – to engage us in the service of the sankirtana movement.
FIRST THE TEMPLE, THEN SANKIRTANA!
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati knew that before the sankirtana movement of Mahaprabhu could spread all over the world, the place of His appearance must be manifest again in this world, and along with its manifestation, a great temple must be built there. From there, the potency would spread all over the world.
There are some people with the opinion that first sankirtana will spread all over the world, then all the foreigners will come to India and build that wonderful temple. There is some confusion about this. But Nityananda Prabhu says a great temple called the Adbhuta Mandira, (wonderful temple) will be built at the birth site of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and then, from that temple, sankirtana will go all over the world.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sarasvati Thakura, not being conditioned souls, not having Judeo-Christian backgrounds, not being foreigners, and not being egotistical, knew that first the order of the Lord must be served according to His direction and then accordingly the sankirtana mission would be successful. There was prerequisite work to be done, but they didn’t even know from where to begin because it was all hidden.
There is a saying, “Seek and ye shall find.” It’s an old saying. If you try, God is there to help you. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham – “I preserve what you have and I carry what you lack, and when the need is there I will be there to help you”. So with this fundamental understanding, they tried to locate Mahaprabhu’s birthplace. There was a place where people insisted it was – in the greater Navadvipa-dhama, but Bhaktivinoda did not feel confident that this was actually the true birthplace. Even his mantra-guru said, “This is the place,” but he did not feel confident with that, because his mantra-guru was not a liberated soul and was part of a group who were much less than liberated souls. Bhaktivinoda Thakura continued to search.
He looked through the available sacred texts and the first thing he ascertained was that the ancient town of Navadvipa is on the eastern side of the Ganges, not on the western side as it is known today. If a river was there two hundred years ago or thereabout, you would be able to see where it used to run without any difficulty. The riverbed would not disappear in one or two hundred years. It takes a long, long time before a riverbed disappears. In the district that is now known as Navadvipa, they could find nothing to indicate that the Ganges once ran through there. He concluded that the Ganges course originally ran in a more easterly location and found no possibility that the river came near to the current site. He knew it must be on the eastern side.
Firstly, scriptural evidence mentions Navadvipa and its location, and through that Bhaktivinoda conjectured the true location of Sri Navadvipa-dhama, but ultimately it came down to divine revelation. Bhaktivinoda Thakura had a vision wherein he caught a glimpse of the eternal Navadvipa in a particular direction. He saw this on more than one occasion from the rooftop of the Rani Dharmasala in Navadvipa. He would look towards what he thought was the area of the eternal Navadvipa, the place of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, At that time it had become rice fields with a couple of Mohammedan villages around it. No Hindu villages were in that area. One evening, while chanting his japa, he got a divine glimpse of the eternal Navadvipa. The next morning he went in that direction and while searching the area, he came to a place near a village owned by the Muslims. A natural tulasi garden grew wild there. Mohammedans don’t really care much about tulasi. When he entered that area, Bhaktivinoda could feel the presence of his own homeland.
Sometimes, if you are looking for something, you may go to some place and say, “This is not the place,” then you come out and you intuitively feel, “Ah! This is it” – some feeling comes over you internally. Ultimately feeling is the best way of knowing. In the beginning, you have to hear from an authority to receive knowledge, but ultimately you have to feel the truth in your heart and know it as such. Not because I or someone else said so – it has to come by revelation, by feeling, by realization. So when he entered that tulasi garden he felt, “Oh! This is a divine place.” And he suspected that this might be the place of Mahaprabhu’s birth.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura had come to know Jagannatha Dasa Babaji as his siksa-guru, sad-guru, his real guru. Bhaktivinoda always gave formal respect to Vipina-vihari Gosvami, his mantra-guru, who was more or less a social icon of the guru establishment. But his heart was one with Jagannatha Dasa Babaji. Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul.
The way of the Vaisnavas is not without confirmation. You think or know something, but you don’t let your head get as big as an elephant and think, “Yes, yes, I know. No one can tell me.” I have seen some successful preachers who, after getting a thousand or two thousand disciples, have this attitude, “No one can tell me. I know what I’m doing.” But that is never the way of a Vaisnava. Even the greatest Vaisnava yearns for some confirmation, some association, someone to talk to about those higher, important things.
Bhaktivinoda didn’t think, “I am a liberated soul. I know what I am doing. No one can tell me. This is Mahaprabhu’s birth place – said and done!” He brought Jagannatha Dasa Babaji there. At this time Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was so old that he never walked anywhere. The community had arranged a strong servant to carry him wherever he needed to go in a basket. He was over hundred and ten years old or so at that time. He was also blind. When he got there, before the man could even set down the basket, Jagannatha jumped out of the basket and started dancing and performing kirtana. He was at an age when he couldn’t even walk, what to speak of jump out of a basket. He couldn’t see where he was. As far as he knew, he could have been anywhere. But with the internal eye of devotion he could understand that he was in the Yogapitha. He had been brought to the epicenter of caitanya-lila. That was an ecstatic moment for the few blessed souls that were there at that time.
Based on Jagannatha Dasa Babaji’s experience, Bhaktivinoda concluded that this was Yogapitha. Then he set out to prove it through historical and archeological records, literary evidence and notations in every possible way. But even without any of the evidence, he knew it was so due to the experience of Jagannatha Dasa Babaji.
GURU KNOWS EVERYTHING!
That is what we do. I don’t know if I am a spirit soul or not, I don’t know if Krsna is God or not. I don’t know, but my guru knows. My guru knows and that is good enough for me. I accept my guru’s statements, and then I can argue and put forward scriptural evidence, show archeological records etc. to prove that his statements are conclusive. But if I don’t know from that original point, then how would I know? I wouldn’t know. That is the way of Vaisnavism; you don’t know, your guru knows, and based on that you know.
Some people recently said, “Guru knows everything. He knows that someone is snatching money; he knows that someone is dying; he knows that someone ate too much sweet rice; he knows that someone is burning the sweet rice. He knows all these things.” It must drive him crazy to know all these things! One can’t even sit in a room with three people talking without getting aggravated. I remember, Prabhupada would not be sitting in a room with so many people talking and just adjust to that. He wanted some peace and quiet. But these people say, “Guru knows everything!” Prabhupada said, “Yes, guru knows everything means that he knows Krsna. Krsna is everything.” So he knows – everything is Krsna. If Krsna reveals something he may know that. If He doesn’t reveal, how he will know that?” So later on, some people said, “Well, he told you that because you weren’t ready for the truth.” That particular gentleman doesn’t know that we were so crazy that if Prabhupada had told us to cut off your head, we would cut off your head. Whatever he said, that was the truth. We were young, very committed, and very fanatical at that time. What to speak of explaining, if Prabhupada knew everything and said, “Yes, I know everything,” we would have jumped and said, “Jaya!” No one would doubt it. If anyone had a doubt about it, we would have got him by the neck and carried him out.
Because of Jagannatha Dasa Babaji’s confirmation, Bhaktivinoda felt resolved that they had found the birthplace of Mahaprabhu. For those ordinary people who don’t have guru-nistha, guru-bhakti or guru-sraddha, we have to convince them by different arguments because these people try to challenge our faith. Pure faith won’t hold up in court. You will need evidence. It went to court and there they concluded that the birthplace of Mahaprabhu was the Yogapitha in Mayapura.
PREACHING FROM YOGAPITHA
The governor of Bengal came to Mayapura – he was the second most powerful man in India and the third most powerful man in the world. First, there was the King of England, then the Viceroy in Delhi, and third was the Governor of Bengal. So the third most powerful man in the world came to Mayapura. Sarasvati Thakura even went so far as to get the third most powerful man in the world to verify this! Why? So that poor fools would not be misguided by the cheaters who claimed that some false place was the birthplace of Mahaprabhu. Still, across the river on the western side they are making crowing sounds, “Mayapura isn’t actually the real place!” They built a temple there long before Bhaktivinoda. But Nityananda’s prediction never came true. After they built their temple, the Holy Name of Krsna, never spread all over the world from there.
Srila Bhaktivinoda and Srila Sarasvati Thakura built and inaugurated the temple at Yogapitha and not long after, Krsna Consciousness spread all over the world. You will be hard pressed to find a place in the world, even amongst the aboriginal cultures or even in the most isolated parts of the world, where no one has heard of Krsna. I’ve gone to places in Africa – “The Dark Continent” – with the thought that I was going to tell the people about Krsna because nobody there had ever heard about Him. And as soon as I stepped off the plane, one man just looked at us and said, “Hare Krsna!” Already done! Of course, there were a few million there that didn’t know about Krsna. The point is that one man knew then – but if you go there now, more than thirty years later, many more people know about Krsna.
It started there from Yogapitha. From there, devotees came to join Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and were instructed on what to do, and they went out and did that and it was principally one man – Srila Prabhupada. He came to the distant western hemisphere with Krsna Consciousness. Now many descendants of Sarasvati Thakura’s disciples and grand disciples can be found all over the world – from Siberia to South Africa, from New York to London. They are all over the place.
CROWS AND DOGS
The Sahajiyas in Navadvipa and their supporters are doing nothing except going on the Internet and complaining. They are nowhere and doing nothing to fulfill the prophecy. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Anyone can talk big, and everyone is – but who is actually doing anything? Who did it and who is still doing it? Who is spreading the Holy Name? Those who have connection with Navadvipa-dhama, Mayapura, Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta – they are doing it, and the others are like the crows who come and sit on the trees and criticize everything underneath. It is said that the dogs bark when the caravan passes. Many elephants are walking on the road and the local dogs come out and make noise. But the elephants continue and gradually the sound of the dogs just dies out. These critics of Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta are no more than crows or barking dogs actually. Unfortunately, they will probably have to take birth in those species in their next life, or possibly worse.
It’s one thing to not know about Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna, or the great souls, but its completely another thing if you do know. You come in connection with the truth, yet you criticize and fight against it. It would be better to remain in ignorance for another million lifetimes – then you would live just according to your karma, and one day you may know the truth, act upon it, and go back to Godhead.
We have even seen people that tried to give us trouble in our asrama. They thought that this asrama would be finished. Now they have become drunkards. They don’t even believe in Krsna. The same people who were making so much noise don’t even consider themselves as Hindus. And in the meantime, Krsna Consciousness goes on. The parade goes on, the dogs bark…
PREACHING WHERE THE MONEY IS
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission now has been moving forward for over five hundred years, and it has had high points and low points. But the Holy Name of Krsna is still out there, on every continent, in every major city, town and practically every village in the world. It’s out there. But there’s always somebody that doesn’t know yet. Even in India.
I see among the young people living in India, and I wonder, “How is it that they were born in India?” They should have been born in Brooklyn, but they were born in a certain environment, in a modern house and such. I doubt that those people even know who Ganesa is – what to speak of Krsna and Mahaprabhu. But they are born within a days train ride of the holy land of Navadvipa, or within an hour or two-hour flight. It’s so close, yet they are so far away.
To preach Mahaprabhu’s mission one doesn’t have to go to the other side of the world. There are plenty of people just within a few hundred meters of this gate who still do not know the importance of their life, how to perfect it, who Krsna is, what devotion is, about the Holy Name of Krsna, or about the grace of Mahaprabhu. And even amongst us, how clearly do we understand that? We don’t have to be everywhere in the world to preach. You can do that right where you are, right in your own state.
Once Tripurari Maharaja and I met an old disciple of Sarasvati Thakura at Bagh Bazaar Gaudiya Matha in Kolkata. He was very nice and cordial and was happy to see us. Tripurari Maharaja said, “When are you going to preach in the west?”
He said, “Well, there are almost one billion people here in India. Don’t you think there is work here also?” We were young and thinking, “Real work is in America. Real work is in England.” That was our young ego.
Mahaprabhu’s work is everywhere. It is right here in our own village; it’s in our own states; in our own country, and it is in foreign countries also. But nowadays, because Prabhupada went to the west, all of the preachers go to the west. Hardly any of the preachers of Krsna Consciousness preach in India. I sometimes say critically that they go to the west to make disciples of people who struggle their whole life to follow the four regulative principles, but they neglect to preach to the people who live here in India, who are born followers of the four regulative principles. There are just ordinary village people who probably are not even drinking water outside of their own house, what to speak of eating non-vegetarian food and the like. Of course, there is a lot of non-veg and such here, but there are also families and traditions that have maintained a pure lifestyle and have still not heard about Mahaprabhu.
I know this about many of the big world preachers – they spend the whole year going to mleccha-desa for preaching because that’s where the money is. India is rich, but very tight. Money in India is very community-oriented. People give to their community-gurus and all that, by caste, birth, etc. But these preachers all go outside of India – I’m talking about real devotees of Krsna. They spend more time preaching to mlecchas, who can hardly even follow the basic principles of sub-religion, and they neglect preaching here in India, and now there is probably more need of preaching in India than there is in the west.
The people of the world are interested in higher standards of living, environmental issues, spiritual topics, and meditation. There is an inclination this way. But these same things in India have become social embarrassments. A great section of Indian society is embarrassed to associate itself with its own culture. They dress, eat, think, and live like westerners. They drive like Indians, but in every other manner they want to be western, and maintain the attitude, “I am not an Indian.” There are millions of them here.
BLESSINGS AND DIVINE GRACE
I know people who have so much money, but they can’t get any service done. They can’t even think of some service to engage in. But they have money. Money alone does not enable us to serve Krsna. It requires blessings and divine grace. Inspiration is necessary. When that is there, we will be able to serve even if Laksmi hasn’t built her palace here. Money might not be forthcoming yet, but still we will be able to do something. But without the blessings of our acaryas, without the blessings of the Supreme Lord, even if we are multi-millionaires, we won’t be able to do much good. The first thing that is necessary is their blessings and then service will follow. Not that we will get money and then we will perform service, that we will offer it to them because they need it – No! The Lord doesn’t need it. God doesn’t need anything we have or do.
Blessings are from Srimati Radharani, Mahaprabhu and the acaryas in our disciplic line. They are necessary. We should try to please them with our personal behavior, our exercises, and our service. Then we will have success. Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sarasvati Thakura who knew that for the Holy Name to spread all over the world, the service of Mayapura was essential. In those days it took two days to get there by train. Now it takes three hours by car, but it took two days to get there by train or boat. It makes today’s village look like a metropolis. It was just rice fields. There was nothing material worth going out there for. And it was dangerous. That’s why it took two days to get there, because you would reach there at night, but you wouldn’t dare cross the Ganges at night because the river pirates would rob you. It was a treacherous area, because Maya and her agents had dominated that place. River pirates, dacoits, and gundas were plenty in number. But they knew that this must first be established according to the wish of the Supreme Lord and then accordingly, great good can be done all over the world. They did it in that way. We should understand what is to be done first and how to progress practically in our spiritual life, not thinking that we should jump to the topmost position. When we have not actually finished the first course, why should we want to jump to the final one?
This appearance day of Mahaprabhu is a good day to remember that everything comes by His grace. We should sincerely pray for His grace. There are many prayers and slokas we can recite to ask for the blessings of Mahaprabhu. Even if we don’t do that, in our mind we should remember, “Everything is by His grace. Any success in this world is only by His grace.”
_______________________________________________________
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Krishna Talk 124 - Sri Sri Gaurasundara Avirbhava Vasare by Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaja
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(This Bengali bhajana was composed by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Gosvami Maharaja commemorating the divine appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)
Sri Sri Gaurasundara Avirbhava Vasare (The Appearance Day of Sri Gaurasundara)
(1)
aruna vasane, sonara suraja
udiche keno re aja
vasanta susama, ujari apana
dhale keno jagamajha
On this day, why has the Golden Sun arisen wearing red cloth? Why has the wonderful season of Spring descended to the earth?
(2)
taru gulma-lata apurva barata
bahe keno phale phule bhrnga o vihange keno heno range sangita taranga tule
Why are all the trees, shrubs and creepers full of fruits and flowers? Why do the birds and bees sing their songs with such bliss?
(3)
patita durjana keno re garjana
ullase phatiya pade vidya kula dhana abhimani jana
keno mlana duhkha bhare
Why are the most fallen and wicked people now effulgent and full of happiness? Why have those with great knowledge, noble birth, material wealth, and great pride become so unfortunate?
(4)
akasa vatasa ghucaiya trasa
asvase bhasaye deya
sadhu-jana mana sukha vitarana
avese unmada haya
A heavenly wind has dispelled all worries and has brought hope, and the sadhus have become mad with a bliss that is spreading everywhere.
(5)
caudikete dhvani ki apurva suni
bahu-jana uccarola
hare krsna rama nama divya-dhama
hari hari hari bala
Never before has such a sound been heard – from all directions, a thousand voices chanting the Names of Hare, Krsna and Rama! Everywhere becomes the divine abode of the Holy Name. Hari Hari Hari bol!!!
(6)
phalguni purnima hindola rangima
sujana-bhajana rage sankirtana sane marama gahane
na jani ki bhava jage
During the full Moon of the month of Phalguna, on the colorful day of the swing festival, the devotees worship the Lord with love. No one can comprehend the feelings and sunstance that awakens within the heart from this sankirtana.
(7)
sandhya samagama tapana magana
keno hema ghana kole
aparupa kata purava parvata
suvarna candrama bhale
As twilight nears, the warm sun sets; but why is his golden hue embraced by a dark cloud? That indescribably beautiful Golden Moon has arisen, illuminating the eastern mountains.
(8)
suvarna candrama pasiche nilima
se nila bilina heme
ithe kiba bhaya sadhu-jana gaya
kalanka na rahe preme
The Golden Moon covers the dark blue sky, and its darkness disappears into gold. At that moment the sadhus sing that divine love has descended and no contamination can remain.
(9)
mahajane bale grahanera chale
sange nama sankirtana
gaura-candrodaya papa rahu ksaya
candra-sobha prema dhana
The mahajanas have explained that this eclipse is a trick to make everyone chant the Holy Name in sankirtana. When Gauracandra descended, the sins of Rahu were destroyed and the moon was filled with the wealth of illustrious love for Krsna.
(10)
marmmajna sakale kahe kutuhale
nilima bilina cande
channa avatara lukana kahara
radha-ruci-rupa-cande
All those who understand the essence of everything become ecstatic when the Dark Blue hides within Moon. He is the hidden avatara who hides Himself under the moon of the effulgent beauty of the love of Sri Radha.
(11)
ithe hena stuti radha-bhava dyuti
suvalita syamarao udilo gauranga nama-prema sanga
jaya jaya gora gao
This prayer is to the beautiful Lord Syama, who now has the heart and halo of Sri Radha – Gauranga, who had descended and brought nama-prema (love for the Holy Name). Continuously chant, “Jaya Jaya Gaura!”
_______________________________________________________
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Krishna Talk 125 - Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusani Part 1
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
View online:
http://www.gosai.com/writings/prakrta-rasa-sata-dusani-part-1
This publication of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani by Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, with the Anuvrtti Commentary of Srila B.G. Narasingha Maharaja is being presented in five parts. Part one begins with a Preface by Svami B.V. Giri and a Forward by Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada.
PREFACE
Although obscure to many devotees today, Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani was well known amongst the Gaudiya Vaisnava community during the time of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada. It was relished by the rupanuga Vaisnavas and despised by the Sahajiya communities for its condemnations of their mundane practices committed in the name of suddha-bhakti (pure devotion). Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani was first written in 1917 by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and published in the Sajjana-tosani magazine (9th edition, 19th Volume). During his lifetime it was republished in the Gaudiya magazine and in the book Vraja-mandala Parikrama (1935). We now live in a time when Sahajiyaism is no longer confined to Bengal, Orissa and Vrndavana. The pollution of prakrta-rasa has now crossed the borders of India and found its way to foreign lands. Thus, Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani is as relevant now as it ever was, if not more so. As in the time of Srila Sarasvati Thakura, the true followers of Sri Rupa Gosvami will appreciate the cautionary advice given in this book. Similarly, they will also value the contribution of Srila Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha Maharaja in the form of his Anuvrtti commentary. Nonetheless, those pretenders that dupe themselves into thinking that they can make spiritual advancement by eliminating the scientific step-by-step process of bhakti, will reject the intelligent advice found in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani. In this regard, there is a famous Sanskrit maxim:
ajnana-varasandena
prasupto nara-gardabhah
kah samarthah prabodham tam
jnana-bheri-satair api
"Who is capable of waking, even with hundreds of drums of knowledge, that ass of a man who sleeps with the eunuch of ignorance?"
This publication of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani will surely find favour with the predecessor acaryas and the followers of Sri Rupa Gosvami.
Sri Rupanuga-dasanudasa Svami B.V. Giri
Amongst the higher classes of men in this world, there are three paths that traverse through the kingdom of transcendental beliefs. These are generally known as karma, jnana and bhakti. The path of karma is the process for attaining transitory pleasures that are enjoyed by the jivas ensnared in material bondage. The path of jnana is the renunciation of temporary results and provincial interests in order to discover the undifferentiated Brahman. The path known as bhakti transcends both karma, jnana and material nature completely, in order to cultivate activities that are favorable in serving Krsna. On the path of bhakti there is a clear distinction between devotional practice (sadhana) and the achievement of devotional practice (sadhya). It is understood that there are three stages – devotional practice, the awakening of bhava (devotional sentiments) and prema (pure love for Sri Krsna). As one cultivates and acquires knowledge about the goal of bhakti, the various stages of bhava and love of Krsna, problems may arise. The process of becoming free of these problems is known as anartha-nivrtti (the removal of unwanted elements). The conceptions established in this work (Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani) can be found in the supremely wonderful pastimes of Sri Gauranga-sundara as well as those of the Gosvamis, who are His eternal associates in those pastimes.
Sri Siddhanta Sarasvati
(Part One, Verses 1-17)
(1)
prakrta cestate bhai kabhu rasa haya na
jadiya prakrta-rasa suddha-bhakta gaya na
O brother! By material endeavors rasa can never appear. Pure devotees never sing about the mundane rasa of this material world.
(2)
prakrta-rasera siksa-bhiksa-sisye caya na
rati vina yei rasa taha guru deya na
A disciple never wishes to beg for instructions regarding material rasa. The guru never gives rasa that is bereft of rati, (divine attachment to Sri Krsna).
Although material engagements remotely resemble the transcendental rasa or lila of Sri Krsna, it has been concluded by self-realized spiritual masters that material engagement never produces rasa. No amount of ignorance produces knowledge, no amount of darkness produces light, and no amount of material engagement produces Krsna consciousness. Would-be gurus in search of name, fame and material gains often encourage their disciples to enjoy material nature, but a bona-fide guru never encourages or instructs his disciple how to increase material enjoyment or to expand the affairs of the material world. Mundane family life is, by and large, a unit of selfish interests focused around the bodily concept of life and before one can make spiritual advancement one must abandon such a false pretext of life. Giving up attachments to the bodily concept of life, a devotee should become attached to Sri Krsna above all else.
vapur-adisu yo ‘pi ko ‘pi va
gunato ‘sani yatha tatha-vidhah
tad ayam tava pada-padmayor aham adyaiva maya samarpitah
“O my dear Lord, I may be living within a body of a human being, or as a demigod, but whatever mode of life I do not mind, because these bodies are simply by-products of the three modes of material nature, and I, who am in possession of these bodies, am surrendering myself unto You.” (Sri Yamunacarya, Stotra-ratna 49)
However, pseudo-disciples approach spiritual life as yet another means of increasing their material enjoyment. Thinking that God is there to fulfill their material desires, they ask for blessings from the spiritual master to become materially opulent. When the pseudo-guru and the pseudo-disciple are brought together they make a complete mockery of Krsna consciousness and of the bona-fide disciplic succession of gurus and disciples.
(3)
nama rasa dui vastu bhakta kabhu jane na
nama rase bheda ache, bhakta kabhu bale na
A devotee does not consider the Holy Name and divine rasa to be two separate things. Thus, at no time does a devotee exclaim, “There is a difference between the Holy Name and rasa.”
(4)
‘aham-mama’ bhava-sattve nama kabhu haya na
bhoga-buddhi na chadile aprakrta haya na
The Holy Name never appears to those that are conditioned to think in terms of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The stage of transcendence cannot be reached if the enjoying attitude is not abandoned.
There is a certain class of men that consider the Holy Name of Krsna, and the pastimes of Krsna to be of two different substances. Although giving some recognition to the potency of krsna-nama, these persons contend that one can only realize the perfection of bhakti-rasa by exclusively hearing and discussing the lilas of Krsna and particularly the rasa-lila or the amorous pastimes of the Lord with the gopis (cowherd girls of Vrndavana). Such persons give little attention to the necessity of purely chanting the Holy Name (suddha-nama) and give more attention to the process of lila-kirtana, rasa-katha and smaranam. In a word, these persons have been categorized as sva-kuhaka, or self-deceivers. What is unknown to the self-deceivers is that krsna-nama reveals rasa in proportion to one’s being freed from anarthas or material contamination in the heart. Thakura Bhaktivinoda in his Bhajana-rahasya describes four types of anarthas and four categories within each type. The four types of anarthas are:
1) tattva-vibhrama – illusion about spiritual knowledge
2) hrdaya-daurbalya – weakness of heart
3) aparadha – offenses
4) asat-trsna – material desires Illusion about spiritual knowledge is of four types:
1) sva-tattva bhrama – illusion about one’s original position as a tatastha-jiva
2) para-tattva bhrama – illusion about nature of the Supreme Lord
3) sadhya-sadhana bhrama – illusion about the processes of sadhana and prema-bhakti
4) virodhi-visaya bhrama – illusion regarding subjects unfavorable to Krsna consciousness Weakness of heart is of four types:
1) tucchasakti – attachment to objects not related to Krsna
2) kutinati – deceitfulness
3) matsaryam – enviousness
4) pratistha – desire for fame Offenses are of four types:
1) krsna-svarupa-aparadha – offenses towards the form of the Lord
2) nama-aparadha – offenses towards the Holy Name of the Lord
3) krsna-tadiya-aparadha – offenses to the devotees
4) jiva-aparadha – offenses to other living entities Material desires are of four types:
1) aihikesvaisana – desire for material objects
2) para-trikesu – desire for heavenly comforts
3) bhuti-vancha – desire for mystic powers
4) mumuksa – desire for liberation In material life one sees everything as an object of enjoyment.
That self-centered world-view is called aham-mameti – “everything is mine, everything is for my enjoyment, I am the center of existence.” In this stage of consciousness one cannot relish transcendental mellows (rasa). It is necessary to first become free from the spirit of enjoyment – to see one’s self as servant rather than master. Krsna-nama, when chanted without offense under the guidance of a bona-fide spiritual master, purifies the heart of the conditioned soul and simultaneously reveals bhakti-rasa accordingly.
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrapita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ahajani nanuragah
“O my Lord, in Your Holy Name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many Names, such as Krsna and Govinda, by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your transcendental potencies in those Names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering Them. My Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your Holy Names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the Holy Name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.” (Siksastakam 2)
tac-ca nama-rupa-guna-lilamaya-sabdanam srotasparsah. prathamam namnah sravanam-antah-karana-suddhyartham-peksam. suddhe
cantah-karane rupa-sravavena tad-udaya-yogyata bhavati.samyagudite ca rupe
gunanam sphuranam sampadyeta, sampanne ca gunanam sphurane
parikara-vaisisthyena tad-vaisisthyam sampadyate tatas-tesu
nama-rupa-guna-parikaresu samyak sphuritesu lilanam sphuranam susthu bhavati.
“Hearing of the Holy Name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord and His devotees is called sravana. The practice of sadhana-bhakti depends on hearing the Holy Name of the Lord. It begins with sravana, which purifies the heart of a devotee. This hearing process grants liberation from the filthiness of sense gratification, and purifies the heart. In this way, by hearing transcendental sound about the form of Sri Krsna, gradually the complete form of the Lord begins to awaken within the heart. After this the qualities of the Lord arise within the heart. As the qualities of the Lord fully manifest themselves, the different specific aspects of the Lord’s service and pastimes gradually awaken. In this way, the Holy Name reveals the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes in all their splendor and beauty with all their different branches.” (Krama-sandarbha 7.5.18)
However, when one neglects becoming freed from anarthas and instead engages in lila-kirtana and rasa-katha, the result is the opposite of purification. One makes offences. Due to offences anarthas are increased, and one’s prospect for perfection in devotional life is greatly diminished, if not completely destroyed.
(5)
prakrta jadera bhoge krsna-seva haya na
jada-vastu kona-o kale aprakrta haya na
While finding pleasure in mundane matter, service to Krsna can never be conducted. Mundane objects can never be considered as spiritual at any time.
(6)
jada-satta vartamane cit kabhu haya na
jada-vastu cit haya bhakte kabhu bale na
Spiritual consciousness can never be present in a mundane condition. A devotee never says that any mundane object is actually spiritual.
(7)
jadiya visaya-bhoga bhakta kabhu kare na
jada-bhoga, krsna-seva – kabhu sama haya na
A devotee never performs mundane deeds to please his material senses. Material pleasure and service to Krsna are never the same.
Krsna consciousness can never manifest in the mundane aptitude of the conditioned soul and therefore it is necessary to undergo the process of purification. Without purification one’s endeavors in spiritual life are a waste of time.
atah sri krsna namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
“The Holy Name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Krsna are divine and transcendental. They cannot be experienced by material senses. The Lord manifests Himself spontaneously on the tongue of a devotee who is eager to serve Him.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.109)
The mood of the pseudo-devotee is to enjoy Krsna. Such persons hear about Krsna, but simply go on increasing material desires for kanaka (wealth), kamini (women) and pratistha (fame). However, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu strongly warns those interested in spiritual advancement not to go down that path.
na danam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
“Oh Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.”
(Siksastakam 4)
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has added to this warning as follows:
kanaka kamini pratistha baghini
chadiyachi jare sei ta’ vaisnava
“One becomes a Vaisnava when he has freed himself from the clutches of the tigress of wealth, women and worldly prestige.” (Vaisnava Ke – 11)
The pure devotee of Krsna does not do anything that is not for the pleasure of Krsna. That is pure devotional service.
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karma anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir-uttama
“Performing activities that are exclusively for the pleasure of Krsna are known as uttama-bhakti, pure devotional service. Such activities are without the desire for material profit, gain or tinged by philosophical speculation.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.1.11)
(8)
nija-bhogya kame bhakta ‘prema’ kabhu bale na
‘rase dagamaga acha’ sisye guru bale na
Selfish material desires are never called prema by a devotee. The spiritual master never tells the disciple that, “You are overflowing with divine rasa.”
(9)
‘rase dagamaga ami’, kabhu guru bale na
jadiya rasera katha sisye guru bale na
The spiritual master never says, “I am engrossed in divine rasa.” The spiritual master never engages in talks with his disciples about mundane topics.
(10)
jada-rasa-gane kabhu sreyah keha labhe na
krsnake prakrta bali’ bhakta kabhu gaya na
Nobody can achieve the highest good by glorifying mundane activities. A devotee never declares that Sri Krsna is a mundane personality.
(11)
namake prakrta bali’ krsne jada jane na
krsna-nama-rase bheda suddha-bhakta mane na
Since Krsna cannot be understood through matter, a devotee never says that Krsna’s Holy Name is mundane. A pure devotee never acknowledges any difference between the Holy Name, Sri Krsna and divine rasa.
(12)
nama rase bheda ache, guru siksa deya na
rasa-labha kari’ sese sadhana ta’ haya na
The spiritual master never teaches, “There is a difference between the Holy Name and rasa.” Even upon attaining rasa, ones’ sadhana is never completed.
The Mayavadi guru falsely teaches that he is God and that his disciple is also God. And the pseudo-devotee, posing as guru, claims that he is absorbed in rasa and that his disciple is also absorbed in rasa. Both these categories of gurus and disciples are in ignorance and illusion. Regarding the Mayavadi, it should be understood that the living entity (tatastha-jiva) does not become God at any time. As regards the pseudo-guru, it should be understood that one who has actually attained the highest stage of pure devotional service (rasa) never claims to have done so and certainly never tries to teach his disciple that which is unteachable. In the words of Thakura Bhaktivinoda, “If anyone says that he will teach you the sadhana of rasa, he is an imposter or a fool.” (Caitanya-siksamrta 7.1)
In numerous places in the writings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the pseudo-guru has been compared to the she-demon Putana, who offered her poison breast in the hope of killing baby Krsna. The pseudo-guru offers prema-rasa and other such achievements in bhakti that are compared to the poison offered by Putana. One who tastes this poison is most certainly doomed, their devotional creeper being poisoned in its early stage. Therefore the first duty of a sincere devotee is to reject all such she-demon gurus. However, the pseudo-disciple embraces the foolish proposals of the pseudo-guru and such victims often fall into being initiated into the process of siddha-pranali, to conceive of one’s self as a manjari – a female attendant of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Such victims of the pseudo-guru do not realize their misfortune and thus fall into utter ruin. Those who follow the advice of such a pseudo-guru by mentally conceiving of themselves as manjaris, when in fact they are still conditioned by the material modes of nature, fall away from the path of pure devotion and become Sahajiyas, pretenders. Once, the revered devotee Srila Bhakti Pramoda Puri Maharaja commented that the manjari pretenders will not attain the aprakrta-svarupa (spiritual form) of a gopi or a manjari in their next life – rather they will be born again in the material world as mundane females. Therefore it is better to heed the advice of the verses in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani.
(13)
krtrima panthaya name rasodaya haya na
rasa haite krsna-nama vilomete haya na
No one can make rasa manifest in the Holy Name by artificial means. The notion that Krsna’s Holy Name originates from rasa is backwards and incorrect.
(14)
rasa haite rati-sraddha kakhana-i haya na
sraddha haite rati chada bhagavata gaya na
It can never be that rasa is present first and then it becomes rati or sraddha. Rati develops from sraddha – the Bhagavata never sings anything other than this.
It is the common misunderstanding among pseudo-devotees and some neophytes that simply by hearing about higher topics concerning the rasa-lila of Krsna that one will develop attachment for such topics and thus one’s sadhana, or practicing life, will prosper. Based on the teachings of Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati is making it very clear in the verses of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani that those who think that they can attain rasa without first having attained rati, and prior to that having attained anartha-nivrtti, have understood the process of pure devotional service in reverse. This reverse process can be compared to that of rubbing dry grass against the udder of a cow and expecting to get milk from her mouth. It is simply not possible. When Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says above that no one can make rasa appear in the Holy Name by artificial means, he is referring to the pseudo-devotees who sometimes make a show of shedding crocodile tears. However, such show-bottle ecstasy does not produce rasa. Mental imitation of devotion is possible, even without a tinge of pure devotion. The mere display of external characteristics does not prove the presence of pure devotion.
nisarga-picchila-svante
tad abhyasa-pare ‘pi ca
sattvabhasam vinapi syuh
kvapy asru-pulakadayah
“Whenever shedding tears, horripulation, etc. are seen in a person whose heart is soft externally and hard internally, and who is habituated to crying, rapture, etc. even though they do not possess a semblance of divine emotion – such an imitative sentiment should be known as totally unsubstantial and lifeless.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 2.3.89)
prakrtya sithilam yesam
manah picchilam eva va
tesv-eva sattvikabhasah
prayah samsadi jayate
“Persons whose minds are sithilam and picchilam (soft and slippery) generally manifest such symptoms known as sattvikabhasa during festivals when there is a performance of kirtana.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 2.3.91)
(15)
rati-yukta rasa chada
suddha-bhakta bale na
sadhanete rati rasa,
guru kabhu bale na
A pure devotee never speaks of anything other than rasa, graced with rati. The spiritual master never says that rati and rasa are found within sadhana-bhakti.
(16)
bhava-kale ye avastha sadhanagre bale na
vaidhi-sraddha sadhanete raganuga haya na
It is never said that the awakening of bhava appears prior to the practice of sadhana-bhakti. The activities of vaidhi-sraddha (faith only in regulated devotion) can never give rise to raganuga-bhakti.
(17)
bhavera ankura ha’le vidhi ara thake na
raganuga sraddha-matre jata-rati haya na
When bhava manifests, the necessity for following scriptural injunctions no longer prevails. Mere faith in raganuga-bhakti does not give rise to rati.
The following is a statement by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
“We have no objection to the hearing and chanting of Krsna’s lila. Actually, Sri Hari’s lila must be heard and chanted. Then only will the fallen, natural taste for hearing about our own activities and our eagerness to hear useless talks be vanquished. There is no other remedy than this. “Factually there is no difference between chanting about the Lord’s pastimes and chanting about the Lord’s srngara-rasa. The conditioned jiva who still has anarthas should hear and chant about the pastimes of Lord Gauranga and the childhood pastimes of Krsna. If the unqualified attempt to hear and speak about the confidential pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna it will not bring auspiciousness to them, rather it will bring misfortune.
“We should hear the Lord’s glories only from Sri Gurudeva or the like, A true devotee will say – ‘I will only hear hari-katha from the holy lips of Sri Gurudeva and I will hear and speak about the Bhagavata that Sukadeva spoke from his lotus mouth. With guru-nistha I will hear and discuss about Krsna’s Name, form, qualities and pastimes according to the path of pure devotion, as taught by Sri Gauranga as I have heard from Gurudeva. I will not hear from anyone else.’
“Hearing and chanting is certainly the best way, but it is not auspicious for anyone and everyone to hear and discuss intimate pastimes. Hearing and discussing the confidential pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda is the topmost type of worship and our eternal bhajana. However, this type of bhajana should not be taken to the public as it is unfitting and offensive. “Apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha (You must not disclose your confidential mood of bhajana to one and all) – one who desires all good fortune should follow this advice given by the acaryas. In a public assembly of different people we should chant the Holy Name, as well as prayers and songs that are in the mood of servitorship (dasya-rasa). When we have attained the proper qualification and we are in the association of only rasika devotees, then we may hear more intimate songs and at the time of hearing such songs we may confidentially express our own bhajana according to our eternal position (svarupa). If we do otherwise we will attain the opposite result. If these songs must be abandoned to set a standard, then so be it! We must give some benefit to the public. The practice of singing publicly the Lord’s intimate pastimes by those who have not given up sense enjoyment and the desire for wealth are the activities that give Kali an occupation!” (Sri Srila Prabhupader Upadesamrta)
In the tone of simha-guru, Sarasvati Thakura also cautions as follows:
“Those who are barren of the treasure of love for Krsna – propelled by duplicity – declare to the whole world their false attainment of prema, although in reality, by an external display of prema or by announcing it to one and all, it is positively impossible for such hypocrite destitutes who are deprived of the wealth of krsna-prema to ever attain it. To make their great fortune known to everybody, adepts of Prakrta-Sahajiyaism often expose to each other insincere external symptoms of prema (such as shedding of tears). Rather than calling such hypocrite Sahajiyas as premika, real suddha-bhaktas go as far as to completely reject their association, knowing it to destroy bhakti. Suddha-bhaktas never teach one to designate such persons as ‘bhaktas’ thus equaling them with suddha-bhaktas. At the rise of genuine prema, the jiva hides her glory and strives for krsna-bhajana. “The hypocrite Prakrta-Sahajiya party, in their greed for wealth, women and fame (kanaka-kamini-pratistha), offend suddha-bhaktas by labeling them as darsanik-pandita (great philosophers), tattva-vit (ontology experts), or suksma-darsi (acute observers), and in turn they adorn themselves with the titles rasika, bhajananandi, bhagavatottama (uttama-bhagavata), lila-rasa-panonmatta (intoxicated by drinking sweet mellows of lila), raganugiya-sadhakagraganya (the foremost aspirants on the path of raganuga-bhakti), rasajna (the knowers of rasa), rasika-cudamani (unsurpassed rasikas) etc. “Having contaminated bhajana-pranali with the waves of their own materialistic emotions, they become attached to abominable practices; what they actually adore in themselves is pseudo-Vaisnavism. These kinds of preachers go to describe aprakrta-rasa, making their respective mundane emotions a part and parcel of krsna-seva. Unaware of aprakrta vipralambha-rasa, they take prakrta-sambhoga, which in essence is a perverted reflection of rasa (virasa), as actual rasa.” (Cc. Antya 20.28, Anubhasya)
The pseudo-disciple will say that, “Gurudeva is giving prema,” and such pseudo-devotees canvas everyone and anyone to come and accept this most rare gift. “Gurudeva is so merciful,” they exclaim. However, their so-called gift of prema is like the musk that gypsies sell during Kumbha Mela. At first glance the musk looks and smells like the genuine thing. But upon closer examination it is discovered that the so-called musk is simply cheaply scented cow-dung rolled into balls and covered with goatskin. Their imitation gift of prema is similar to this
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Krishna Talk 126 - Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusani Part 2
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
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Part Two Verses 18-28
(18)
ajata-ratike kabhu bhava-labdha bale na
raganuga sadhakere jata-bhava bale na
It should not be said that bhava has been achieved when rati has still not yet developed. A raganuga-bhakta never says that sadhakas (neophytes) have achieved the manifestation of bhava.
(19)
raganuga sadhakere labdha-rasa bale na
raganuga sadhya-bhava rati chada haya na
A raganuga will never say that neophytes have achieved the stage of rasa. Sadhya-bhava (divine emotions that are the goal of raganuga-bhakti) is never attained without first experiencing rati.
(20)
bhavankura-samagame vaidhi-bhakti thake na
rucike ratira saha kabhu eka jane na
Once the seed of bhava appears, vaidhi-bhakti is no longer present. One must never consider ruci and rati to be the same thing.
(21)
raganuga balile-i prapta-rasa jane na
vidhi-sodhya jane kabhu raganuga bale na
Rasa can never be achieved simply by talking about raganuga-bhakti. One who is still in need of being purified by following the scriptural injunctions (vaidhi-bhakti) can never be said to be a raganuga devotee.
(22)
sadhanera purve keha bhavankura paya na
jade sraddha na chadile rati kabhu haya na
One can never experience bhava before performing sadhana-bhakti. One who cannot reject faith in materialism can never attain rati.
(23)
jata-bhava na haile rasika ta’ haya na
jada-bhava na chadile rasika ta’ haya na
If bhava has not yet appeared, one can never become a rasika. One can never become a rasika if mundane emotions are not abandoned.
Again and again in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani the systematic development of the stages of bhakti are being stressed and stern warning is given that there is no alternative or short cut to this process. One must begin the process of pure devotional service and follow it step by step. The ontological development of pure devotional service is outlined in the following sloka of Sri Rupa Gosvami.
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya
tato ‘nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatha
athasaktis tato bhavas tatha premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah
“In the beginning there must be faith (adau sraddha). Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees (sadhu-sanga). Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and follows the regulative principles of devotional service under his orders (bhajana-kriya). Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits (anartha-nivrtti) and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service (nistha). Thereafter, one develops taste (ruci) and attachment (asakti). This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the performance of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify (bhava), and finally there is an awakening of love (prema). This is the gradual development of love of God for the devotee interested in Krsna consciousness.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.4.15-16)
In the stage of vaidhi-bhakti one performs devotional service according to rules and regulations. When the heart is free from anarthas, the devotee becomes fixed in devotional service and begins to develop a taste for the Holy Name of Krsna, for the service of Krsna and to all things related to Krsna. The devotee’s taste develops into attachment to Krsna and when that attachment matures it is sometimes called rati. Then follows bhava and prema. When the need to be purified by following scriptural injunctions (vaidhi-bhakti) still remains, a devotee cannot be said to be a raganuga. Raganuga-bhakti necessitates that one has come to the stage of ruci. In other words, one must first dispense with all anarthas in the heart before becoming qualified to perform raganuga-bhakti. The following is a quote from Thakura Bhaktivinoda:
“When a devotee following the path of vaidhi-bhakti abandons his various material desires and executes bhajana according to the instructions of the scriptures, the spiritual master and the Vaisnavas, then taste (ruci), manifests in his bhajana. When ruci thus appears, he abandons the path of vaidhi-bhakti and enters the plane of raganuga-bhakti.” (Piyusa-varsini-vrtti commentary on Upadesamrta)
Those who do not wish to progress in Krsna consciousness step by step, but instead prefer to jump ahead to rasa, are sometimes called ‘gatecrashers.’ It is also to be understood that simply by talking about rasa does not mean that one has attained the stage of raganuga-bhakti. Talk is cheap, whereas the actual qualifications for rasa are very rare. It is also seen that the pseudo-guru claims himself to be a ‘rasika,’ when in fact he still manifests the symptoms of kama, krodha, and lobha – lust for wealth, anger toward anyone who does not blindly accept him as guru, and greed to initiate anyone who crosses his path – even though such persons may have already been duly initiated by a bona-fide spiritual master. Such deluded persons think that they have attained raganuga-bhakti simply by hearing the lilas of Krsna, but such persons should remember that krsna-lila is also sometimes available in comic books in India. It should not go without mention that many of the pseudo-gurus, past and present, claiming to be on the platform of a rasika, display the classic symptoms of narcissism. Narcissism is a material condition (a psychological illness) wherein one suffers from:
1) a grandiose sense of self-importance,
2) a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, and ideal love,
3) a belief that he is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people,
4) a requirement for excessive admiration and worship,
5) a sense of entitlement – unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his expectations,
6) a despotic mentality, repressing and exploiting others,
7) a lack of empathy, unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings or needs of others,
8) envy of others, also believing that others are envious of him,
9) an arrogant or haughty attitude. Such persons are never truly rasika.
(24)
mula-dhana rasa-labha rati-vina haya na
gache na uthite kandi vrksa-mule paya na
It is not possible to attain the original treasure of rasa without first attaining rati. When one does not climb the tree, one cannot collect the fruits.
In Kalyana-kalpataru, Thakura Bhaktivinoda says, “dusta-phale karile arjana” – if one wants fruits without taking the trouble to climb the tree, what sort of fruits can he expect? The fruits will be ruined or rotten. Without proper progression, it is all imagination – a madman’s feat! In this light Srila B.R. Sridhara Maharaja has quoted the following verse stating that it is the death-blow to the gatecrashers and sentiment mongers.
upajiya bade lata ‘brahmanda’ bhedi yaya
‘viraja’ ‘brahmaloka’ bhedi ‘paravyoma’ paya
tabe yaya tad upari ‘goloka-vrndavana’
krsna-carana-kalpa-vrkse arohana
“The creeper of devotion is born, and grows to pierce the wall of the universe. It crosses the Viraja River and the Brahman plane, and reaches to the Vaikuntha plane. Then it grows further up to Goloka Vrndavana, finally reaching to embrace the wish yielding tree of Krsna’s lotus feet”. (Cc. Madhya 19-153-4)
The implication of this verse is that real bhakti takes its birth in the plane of vaidhi-bhakti and only after crossing all lower stages of consciousness does it go beyond material conception and enter the consciousness of Vaikuntha. But even there the creeper of devotion does not yet yield fruit. The fruit of pure devotion is only yielded after having attained the platform of spontaneous love, raga-marga, in Goloka Vrndavana. Srila Sridhara Maharaja used to say that the neophyte’s engagement in krsna-lila is simply a dreamy thing. The real raganuga-bhaktas are aloof from such dreamy states because they are fully awake in the service or Hari, guru and Vaisnava.
(25)
sadhane anartha ache, rasodaya haya na
bhava-kale nama-gane chala-rasa haya na
Rasa will not dawn in one if anarthas remain in the stage of sadhana. A deceptive mentality cannot be present when the Holy Name is chanted at the stage of bhava.
(26)
siddhanta-vihina haile krsne citta lage na
sambandha-hinera kabhu abhidheya haya na
The consciousness cannot be truly fixed upon Krsna if one is bereft of the proper philosophical conception. When there is no knowledge of ones relationship with the Lord (sambandha), there can be no abhidheya (performance of devotional activities).
(27)
sambandha-vihina-jana prayojana paya na
ku-siddhante vyasta-jana krsna-seva kare na
That person who is devoid of sambandha-jnana can never attain the ultimate goal of life (prayojana). One who is bewildered by philosophical misconceptions is not performing devotional service to Krsna.
(28)
siddhanta-alasa-jana anarthata’chade na
jade krsna bhrama kari’ krsna-seva kare na
That person who is idle in understanding philosophical conclusions never becomes free from anarthas. One who considers Krsna as belonging to the mundane platform can never render service to Him.
Proper understanding of pure devotional service can be divided into three categories, sambandha (fundamental knowledge of one’s relationship with Krsna), abhidheya (knowledge of the proper performance of devotional activities), and prayojana (knowledge of the ultimate goal of life). Without proper knowledge of one’s relationship with Krsna (sambandha) it is not possible to serve Krsna (abhidheya) and without serving Krsna one cannot attain the ultimate goal of life (prayojana). Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally taught the principles of sambandha to Sri Sanatana Gosvami and the principles of abhidheya to Sri Rupa Gosvami. To understand prayojana one should closely examine the Priti-sandarbha of Jiva Gosvami and the writings of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. Without proper philosophical understanding and following in the footsteps of the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, it is not possible to get prema-prayojana (the perfection of love of Krsna) simply by shedding tears and putting on theatrical performances for the public. Those who are lazy to understand proper siddhanta (philosophical conclusions) or who maintain improper philosophical understandings (apa-siddhanta) can never be free from anarthas and thus can never progress properly in Krsna consciousness. Such persons often think that simply by serving the institution of the guru, they are serving Krsna and thus will automatically go back to home, back to Godhead. They judge the success of their endeavors simply by measuring size, material opulence, temples, Deities, devotees, and members, with no concern for proper philosophical understanding. But from the above verses it is clear that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura does not agree with such thinking. Without proper philosophical understanding, one cannot get free from material contamination, nor can one properly perform devotional service. Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami states that one should not avoid philosophical controversy out of laziness.
siddhanta baliya citte na kara alasa
iha haite krsne lage sudrdha manasa
“A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Sri Krsna.” (Cc. Adi. 2.17)
Our spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada was adamant that his disciples should have a proper philosophical understanding and thus he wrote many books in English for that purpose. Unfortunately many of his disciples do not take advantage of their spiritual master’s books, do not study them deeply, and thus they advance the lame purposes of society consciousness, rather than the transcendental purposes of Krsna consciousness. The most prominent philosophical misunderstanding among such institutionalized devotees is probably their misconstrued idea that they are the only bona-fide representatives of Krsna on Earth and that only through their institution can a jiva be liberated from material bondage. Such institutionalized devotees are also of the opinion that the living entities found in this material world (baddha-jivas) originally fell down from their position in the spiritual world, from being eternally liberated (nitya-mukta-jivas). These, and other similar misconceptions, are due to a range of anarthas and principally arise from a lack of philosophical understanding of Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta.
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(This Bengali bhajana was composed by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Gosvami Maharaja commemorating the divine appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)
Sri Sri Gaurasundara Avirbhava Vasare (The Appearance Day of Sri Gaurasundara)
(1)
aruna vasane, sonara suraja
udiche keno re aja
vasanta susama, ujari apana
dhale keno jagamajha
On this day, why has the Golden Sun arisen wearing red cloth? Why has the wonderful season of Spring descended to the earth?
(2)
taru gulma-lata apurva barata
bahe keno phale phule bhrnga o vihange keno heno range sangita taranga tule
Why are all the trees, shrubs and creepers full of fruits and flowers? Why do the birds and bees sing their songs with such bliss?
(3)
patita durjana keno re garjana
ullase phatiya pade vidya kula dhana abhimani jana
keno mlana duhkha bhare
Why are the most fallen and wicked people now effulgent and full of happiness? Why have those with great knowledge, noble birth, material wealth, and great pride become so unfortunate?
(4)
akasa vatasa ghucaiya trasa
asvase bhasaye deya
sadhu-jana mana sukha vitarana
avese unmada haya
A heavenly wind has dispelled all worries and has brought hope, and the sadhus have become mad with a bliss that is spreading everywhere.
(5)
caudikete dhvani ki apurva suni
bahu-jana uccarola
hare krsna rama nama divya-dhama
hari hari hari bala
Never before has such a sound been heard – from all directions, a thousand voices chanting the Names of Hare, Krsna and Rama! Everywhere becomes the divine abode of the Holy Name. Hari Hari Hari bol!!!
(6)
phalguni purnima hindola rangima
sujana-bhajana rage sankirtana sane marama gahane
na jani ki bhava jage
During the full Moon of the month of Phalguna, on the colorful day of the swing festival, the devotees worship the Lord with love. No one can comprehend the feelings and sunstance that awakens within the heart from this sankirtana.
(7)
sandhya samagama tapana magana
keno hema ghana kole
aparupa kata purava parvata
suvarna candrama bhale
As twilight nears, the warm sun sets; but why is his golden hue embraced by a dark cloud? That indescribably beautiful Golden Moon has arisen, illuminating the eastern mountains.
(8)
suvarna candrama pasiche nilima
se nila bilina heme
ithe kiba bhaya sadhu-jana gaya
kalanka na rahe preme
The Golden Moon covers the dark blue sky, and its darkness disappears into gold. At that moment the sadhus sing that divine love has descended and no contamination can remain.
(9)
mahajane bale grahanera chale
sange nama sankirtana
gaura-candrodaya papa rahu ksaya
candra-sobha prema dhana
The mahajanas have explained that this eclipse is a trick to make everyone chant the Holy Name in sankirtana. When Gauracandra descended, the sins of Rahu were destroyed and the moon was filled with the wealth of illustrious love for Krsna.
(10)
marmmajna sakale kahe kutuhale
nilima bilina cande
channa avatara lukana kahara
radha-ruci-rupa-cande
All those who understand the essence of everything become ecstatic when the Dark Blue hides within Moon. He is the hidden avatara who hides Himself under the moon of the effulgent beauty of the love of Sri Radha.
(11)
ithe hena stuti radha-bhava dyuti
suvalita syamarao udilo gauranga nama-prema sanga
jaya jaya gora gao
This prayer is to the beautiful Lord Syama, who now has the heart and halo of Sri Radha – Gauranga, who had descended and brought nama-prema (love for the Holy Name). Continuously chant, “Jaya Jaya Gaura!”
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Krishna Talk 125 - Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusani Part 1
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
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This publication of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani by Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, with the Anuvrtti Commentary of Srila B.G. Narasingha Maharaja is being presented in five parts. Part one begins with a Preface by Svami B.V. Giri and a Forward by Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada.
PREFACE
Although obscure to many devotees today, Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani was well known amongst the Gaudiya Vaisnava community during the time of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada. It was relished by the rupanuga Vaisnavas and despised by the Sahajiya communities for its condemnations of their mundane practices committed in the name of suddha-bhakti (pure devotion). Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani was first written in 1917 by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and published in the Sajjana-tosani magazine (9th edition, 19th Volume). During his lifetime it was republished in the Gaudiya magazine and in the book Vraja-mandala Parikrama (1935). We now live in a time when Sahajiyaism is no longer confined to Bengal, Orissa and Vrndavana. The pollution of prakrta-rasa has now crossed the borders of India and found its way to foreign lands. Thus, Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani is as relevant now as it ever was, if not more so. As in the time of Srila Sarasvati Thakura, the true followers of Sri Rupa Gosvami will appreciate the cautionary advice given in this book. Similarly, they will also value the contribution of Srila Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha Maharaja in the form of his Anuvrtti commentary. Nonetheless, those pretenders that dupe themselves into thinking that they can make spiritual advancement by eliminating the scientific step-by-step process of bhakti, will reject the intelligent advice found in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani. In this regard, there is a famous Sanskrit maxim:
ajnana-varasandena
prasupto nara-gardabhah
kah samarthah prabodham tam
jnana-bheri-satair api
"Who is capable of waking, even with hundreds of drums of knowledge, that ass of a man who sleeps with the eunuch of ignorance?"
This publication of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani will surely find favour with the predecessor acaryas and the followers of Sri Rupa Gosvami.
Sri Rupanuga-dasanudasa Svami B.V. Giri
INTRODUCTION
Amongst the higher classes of men in this world, there are three paths that traverse through the kingdom of transcendental beliefs. These are generally known as karma, jnana and bhakti. The path of karma is the process for attaining transitory pleasures that are enjoyed by the jivas ensnared in material bondage. The path of jnana is the renunciation of temporary results and provincial interests in order to discover the undifferentiated Brahman. The path known as bhakti transcends both karma, jnana and material nature completely, in order to cultivate activities that are favorable in serving Krsna. On the path of bhakti there is a clear distinction between devotional practice (sadhana) and the achievement of devotional practice (sadhya). It is understood that there are three stages – devotional practice, the awakening of bhava (devotional sentiments) and prema (pure love for Sri Krsna). As one cultivates and acquires knowledge about the goal of bhakti, the various stages of bhava and love of Krsna, problems may arise. The process of becoming free of these problems is known as anartha-nivrtti (the removal of unwanted elements). The conceptions established in this work (Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani) can be found in the supremely wonderful pastimes of Sri Gauranga-sundara as well as those of the Gosvamis, who are His eternal associates in those pastimes.
Sri Siddhanta Sarasvati
PRAKRTA RASA SATA DUSANI
(Part One, Verses 1-17)
(1)
prakrta cestate bhai kabhu rasa haya na
jadiya prakrta-rasa suddha-bhakta gaya na
O brother! By material endeavors rasa can never appear. Pure devotees never sing about the mundane rasa of this material world.
(2)
prakrta-rasera siksa-bhiksa-sisye caya na
rati vina yei rasa taha guru deya na
A disciple never wishes to beg for instructions regarding material rasa. The guru never gives rasa that is bereft of rati, (divine attachment to Sri Krsna).
ANUVRTTI
Although material engagements remotely resemble the transcendental rasa or lila of Sri Krsna, it has been concluded by self-realized spiritual masters that material engagement never produces rasa. No amount of ignorance produces knowledge, no amount of darkness produces light, and no amount of material engagement produces Krsna consciousness. Would-be gurus in search of name, fame and material gains often encourage their disciples to enjoy material nature, but a bona-fide guru never encourages or instructs his disciple how to increase material enjoyment or to expand the affairs of the material world. Mundane family life is, by and large, a unit of selfish interests focused around the bodily concept of life and before one can make spiritual advancement one must abandon such a false pretext of life. Giving up attachments to the bodily concept of life, a devotee should become attached to Sri Krsna above all else.
vapur-adisu yo ‘pi ko ‘pi va
gunato ‘sani yatha tatha-vidhah
tad ayam tava pada-padmayor aham adyaiva maya samarpitah
“O my dear Lord, I may be living within a body of a human being, or as a demigod, but whatever mode of life I do not mind, because these bodies are simply by-products of the three modes of material nature, and I, who am in possession of these bodies, am surrendering myself unto You.” (Sri Yamunacarya, Stotra-ratna 49)
However, pseudo-disciples approach spiritual life as yet another means of increasing their material enjoyment. Thinking that God is there to fulfill their material desires, they ask for blessings from the spiritual master to become materially opulent. When the pseudo-guru and the pseudo-disciple are brought together they make a complete mockery of Krsna consciousness and of the bona-fide disciplic succession of gurus and disciples.
(3)
nama rasa dui vastu bhakta kabhu jane na
nama rase bheda ache, bhakta kabhu bale na
A devotee does not consider the Holy Name and divine rasa to be two separate things. Thus, at no time does a devotee exclaim, “There is a difference between the Holy Name and rasa.”
(4)
‘aham-mama’ bhava-sattve nama kabhu haya na
bhoga-buddhi na chadile aprakrta haya na
The Holy Name never appears to those that are conditioned to think in terms of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The stage of transcendence cannot be reached if the enjoying attitude is not abandoned.
ANUVRTTI
There is a certain class of men that consider the Holy Name of Krsna, and the pastimes of Krsna to be of two different substances. Although giving some recognition to the potency of krsna-nama, these persons contend that one can only realize the perfection of bhakti-rasa by exclusively hearing and discussing the lilas of Krsna and particularly the rasa-lila or the amorous pastimes of the Lord with the gopis (cowherd girls of Vrndavana). Such persons give little attention to the necessity of purely chanting the Holy Name (suddha-nama) and give more attention to the process of lila-kirtana, rasa-katha and smaranam. In a word, these persons have been categorized as sva-kuhaka, or self-deceivers. What is unknown to the self-deceivers is that krsna-nama reveals rasa in proportion to one’s being freed from anarthas or material contamination in the heart. Thakura Bhaktivinoda in his Bhajana-rahasya describes four types of anarthas and four categories within each type. The four types of anarthas are:
1) tattva-vibhrama – illusion about spiritual knowledge
2) hrdaya-daurbalya – weakness of heart
3) aparadha – offenses
4) asat-trsna – material desires Illusion about spiritual knowledge is of four types:
1) sva-tattva bhrama – illusion about one’s original position as a tatastha-jiva
2) para-tattva bhrama – illusion about nature of the Supreme Lord
3) sadhya-sadhana bhrama – illusion about the processes of sadhana and prema-bhakti
4) virodhi-visaya bhrama – illusion regarding subjects unfavorable to Krsna consciousness Weakness of heart is of four types:
1) tucchasakti – attachment to objects not related to Krsna
2) kutinati – deceitfulness
3) matsaryam – enviousness
4) pratistha – desire for fame Offenses are of four types:
1) krsna-svarupa-aparadha – offenses towards the form of the Lord
2) nama-aparadha – offenses towards the Holy Name of the Lord
3) krsna-tadiya-aparadha – offenses to the devotees
4) jiva-aparadha – offenses to other living entities Material desires are of four types:
1) aihikesvaisana – desire for material objects
2) para-trikesu – desire for heavenly comforts
3) bhuti-vancha – desire for mystic powers
4) mumuksa – desire for liberation In material life one sees everything as an object of enjoyment.
That self-centered world-view is called aham-mameti – “everything is mine, everything is for my enjoyment, I am the center of existence.” In this stage of consciousness one cannot relish transcendental mellows (rasa). It is necessary to first become free from the spirit of enjoyment – to see one’s self as servant rather than master. Krsna-nama, when chanted without offense under the guidance of a bona-fide spiritual master, purifies the heart of the conditioned soul and simultaneously reveals bhakti-rasa accordingly.
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrapita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ahajani nanuragah
“O my Lord, in Your Holy Name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many Names, such as Krsna and Govinda, by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your transcendental potencies in those Names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering Them. My Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your Holy Names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the Holy Name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.” (Siksastakam 2)
tac-ca nama-rupa-guna-lilamaya-sabdanam srotasparsah. prathamam namnah sravanam-antah-karana-suddhyartham-peksam. suddhe
cantah-karane rupa-sravavena tad-udaya-yogyata bhavati.samyagudite ca rupe
gunanam sphuranam sampadyeta, sampanne ca gunanam sphurane
parikara-vaisisthyena tad-vaisisthyam sampadyate tatas-tesu
nama-rupa-guna-parikaresu samyak sphuritesu lilanam sphuranam susthu bhavati.
“Hearing of the Holy Name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord and His devotees is called sravana. The practice of sadhana-bhakti depends on hearing the Holy Name of the Lord. It begins with sravana, which purifies the heart of a devotee. This hearing process grants liberation from the filthiness of sense gratification, and purifies the heart. In this way, by hearing transcendental sound about the form of Sri Krsna, gradually the complete form of the Lord begins to awaken within the heart. After this the qualities of the Lord arise within the heart. As the qualities of the Lord fully manifest themselves, the different specific aspects of the Lord’s service and pastimes gradually awaken. In this way, the Holy Name reveals the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes in all their splendor and beauty with all their different branches.” (Krama-sandarbha 7.5.18)
However, when one neglects becoming freed from anarthas and instead engages in lila-kirtana and rasa-katha, the result is the opposite of purification. One makes offences. Due to offences anarthas are increased, and one’s prospect for perfection in devotional life is greatly diminished, if not completely destroyed.
(5)
prakrta jadera bhoge krsna-seva haya na
jada-vastu kona-o kale aprakrta haya na
While finding pleasure in mundane matter, service to Krsna can never be conducted. Mundane objects can never be considered as spiritual at any time.
(6)
jada-satta vartamane cit kabhu haya na
jada-vastu cit haya bhakte kabhu bale na
Spiritual consciousness can never be present in a mundane condition. A devotee never says that any mundane object is actually spiritual.
(7)
jadiya visaya-bhoga bhakta kabhu kare na
jada-bhoga, krsna-seva – kabhu sama haya na
A devotee never performs mundane deeds to please his material senses. Material pleasure and service to Krsna are never the same.
ANUVRTTI
Krsna consciousness can never manifest in the mundane aptitude of the conditioned soul and therefore it is necessary to undergo the process of purification. Without purification one’s endeavors in spiritual life are a waste of time.
atah sri krsna namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
“The Holy Name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Krsna are divine and transcendental. They cannot be experienced by material senses. The Lord manifests Himself spontaneously on the tongue of a devotee who is eager to serve Him.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.109)
The mood of the pseudo-devotee is to enjoy Krsna. Such persons hear about Krsna, but simply go on increasing material desires for kanaka (wealth), kamini (women) and pratistha (fame). However, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu strongly warns those interested in spiritual advancement not to go down that path.
na danam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagadisa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi
“Oh Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.”
(Siksastakam 4)
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has added to this warning as follows:
kanaka kamini pratistha baghini
chadiyachi jare sei ta’ vaisnava
“One becomes a Vaisnava when he has freed himself from the clutches of the tigress of wealth, women and worldly prestige.” (Vaisnava Ke – 11)
The pure devotee of Krsna does not do anything that is not for the pleasure of Krsna. That is pure devotional service.
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karma anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir-uttama
“Performing activities that are exclusively for the pleasure of Krsna are known as uttama-bhakti, pure devotional service. Such activities are without the desire for material profit, gain or tinged by philosophical speculation.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.1.11)
(8)
nija-bhogya kame bhakta ‘prema’ kabhu bale na
‘rase dagamaga acha’ sisye guru bale na
Selfish material desires are never called prema by a devotee. The spiritual master never tells the disciple that, “You are overflowing with divine rasa.”
(9)
‘rase dagamaga ami’, kabhu guru bale na
jadiya rasera katha sisye guru bale na
The spiritual master never says, “I am engrossed in divine rasa.” The spiritual master never engages in talks with his disciples about mundane topics.
(10)
jada-rasa-gane kabhu sreyah keha labhe na
krsnake prakrta bali’ bhakta kabhu gaya na
Nobody can achieve the highest good by glorifying mundane activities. A devotee never declares that Sri Krsna is a mundane personality.
(11)
namake prakrta bali’ krsne jada jane na
krsna-nama-rase bheda suddha-bhakta mane na
Since Krsna cannot be understood through matter, a devotee never says that Krsna’s Holy Name is mundane. A pure devotee never acknowledges any difference between the Holy Name, Sri Krsna and divine rasa.
(12)
nama rase bheda ache, guru siksa deya na
rasa-labha kari’ sese sadhana ta’ haya na
The spiritual master never teaches, “There is a difference between the Holy Name and rasa.” Even upon attaining rasa, ones’ sadhana is never completed.
ANUVRTTI
The Mayavadi guru falsely teaches that he is God and that his disciple is also God. And the pseudo-devotee, posing as guru, claims that he is absorbed in rasa and that his disciple is also absorbed in rasa. Both these categories of gurus and disciples are in ignorance and illusion. Regarding the Mayavadi, it should be understood that the living entity (tatastha-jiva) does not become God at any time. As regards the pseudo-guru, it should be understood that one who has actually attained the highest stage of pure devotional service (rasa) never claims to have done so and certainly never tries to teach his disciple that which is unteachable. In the words of Thakura Bhaktivinoda, “If anyone says that he will teach you the sadhana of rasa, he is an imposter or a fool.” (Caitanya-siksamrta 7.1)
In numerous places in the writings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the pseudo-guru has been compared to the she-demon Putana, who offered her poison breast in the hope of killing baby Krsna. The pseudo-guru offers prema-rasa and other such achievements in bhakti that are compared to the poison offered by Putana. One who tastes this poison is most certainly doomed, their devotional creeper being poisoned in its early stage. Therefore the first duty of a sincere devotee is to reject all such she-demon gurus. However, the pseudo-disciple embraces the foolish proposals of the pseudo-guru and such victims often fall into being initiated into the process of siddha-pranali, to conceive of one’s self as a manjari – a female attendant of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Such victims of the pseudo-guru do not realize their misfortune and thus fall into utter ruin. Those who follow the advice of such a pseudo-guru by mentally conceiving of themselves as manjaris, when in fact they are still conditioned by the material modes of nature, fall away from the path of pure devotion and become Sahajiyas, pretenders. Once, the revered devotee Srila Bhakti Pramoda Puri Maharaja commented that the manjari pretenders will not attain the aprakrta-svarupa (spiritual form) of a gopi or a manjari in their next life – rather they will be born again in the material world as mundane females. Therefore it is better to heed the advice of the verses in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani.
(13)
krtrima panthaya name rasodaya haya na
rasa haite krsna-nama vilomete haya na
No one can make rasa manifest in the Holy Name by artificial means. The notion that Krsna’s Holy Name originates from rasa is backwards and incorrect.
(14)
rasa haite rati-sraddha kakhana-i haya na
sraddha haite rati chada bhagavata gaya na
It can never be that rasa is present first and then it becomes rati or sraddha. Rati develops from sraddha – the Bhagavata never sings anything other than this.
ANUVRTTI
It is the common misunderstanding among pseudo-devotees and some neophytes that simply by hearing about higher topics concerning the rasa-lila of Krsna that one will develop attachment for such topics and thus one’s sadhana, or practicing life, will prosper. Based on the teachings of Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati is making it very clear in the verses of Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani that those who think that they can attain rasa without first having attained rati, and prior to that having attained anartha-nivrtti, have understood the process of pure devotional service in reverse. This reverse process can be compared to that of rubbing dry grass against the udder of a cow and expecting to get milk from her mouth. It is simply not possible. When Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says above that no one can make rasa appear in the Holy Name by artificial means, he is referring to the pseudo-devotees who sometimes make a show of shedding crocodile tears. However, such show-bottle ecstasy does not produce rasa. Mental imitation of devotion is possible, even without a tinge of pure devotion. The mere display of external characteristics does not prove the presence of pure devotion.
nisarga-picchila-svante
tad abhyasa-pare ‘pi ca
sattvabhasam vinapi syuh
kvapy asru-pulakadayah
“Whenever shedding tears, horripulation, etc. are seen in a person whose heart is soft externally and hard internally, and who is habituated to crying, rapture, etc. even though they do not possess a semblance of divine emotion – such an imitative sentiment should be known as totally unsubstantial and lifeless.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 2.3.89)
prakrtya sithilam yesam
manah picchilam eva va
tesv-eva sattvikabhasah
prayah samsadi jayate
“Persons whose minds are sithilam and picchilam (soft and slippery) generally manifest such symptoms known as sattvikabhasa during festivals when there is a performance of kirtana.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 2.3.91)
(15)
rati-yukta rasa chada
suddha-bhakta bale na
sadhanete rati rasa,
guru kabhu bale na
A pure devotee never speaks of anything other than rasa, graced with rati. The spiritual master never says that rati and rasa are found within sadhana-bhakti.
(16)
bhava-kale ye avastha sadhanagre bale na
vaidhi-sraddha sadhanete raganuga haya na
It is never said that the awakening of bhava appears prior to the practice of sadhana-bhakti. The activities of vaidhi-sraddha (faith only in regulated devotion) can never give rise to raganuga-bhakti.
(17)
bhavera ankura ha’le vidhi ara thake na
raganuga sraddha-matre jata-rati haya na
When bhava manifests, the necessity for following scriptural injunctions no longer prevails. Mere faith in raganuga-bhakti does not give rise to rati.
ANUVRTTI
The following is a statement by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
“We have no objection to the hearing and chanting of Krsna’s lila. Actually, Sri Hari’s lila must be heard and chanted. Then only will the fallen, natural taste for hearing about our own activities and our eagerness to hear useless talks be vanquished. There is no other remedy than this. “Factually there is no difference between chanting about the Lord’s pastimes and chanting about the Lord’s srngara-rasa. The conditioned jiva who still has anarthas should hear and chant about the pastimes of Lord Gauranga and the childhood pastimes of Krsna. If the unqualified attempt to hear and speak about the confidential pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna it will not bring auspiciousness to them, rather it will bring misfortune.
“We should hear the Lord’s glories only from Sri Gurudeva or the like, A true devotee will say – ‘I will only hear hari-katha from the holy lips of Sri Gurudeva and I will hear and speak about the Bhagavata that Sukadeva spoke from his lotus mouth. With guru-nistha I will hear and discuss about Krsna’s Name, form, qualities and pastimes according to the path of pure devotion, as taught by Sri Gauranga as I have heard from Gurudeva. I will not hear from anyone else.’
“Hearing and chanting is certainly the best way, but it is not auspicious for anyone and everyone to hear and discuss intimate pastimes. Hearing and discussing the confidential pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda is the topmost type of worship and our eternal bhajana. However, this type of bhajana should not be taken to the public as it is unfitting and offensive. “Apana bhajana-katha na kahibe yatha tatha (You must not disclose your confidential mood of bhajana to one and all) – one who desires all good fortune should follow this advice given by the acaryas. In a public assembly of different people we should chant the Holy Name, as well as prayers and songs that are in the mood of servitorship (dasya-rasa). When we have attained the proper qualification and we are in the association of only rasika devotees, then we may hear more intimate songs and at the time of hearing such songs we may confidentially express our own bhajana according to our eternal position (svarupa). If we do otherwise we will attain the opposite result. If these songs must be abandoned to set a standard, then so be it! We must give some benefit to the public. The practice of singing publicly the Lord’s intimate pastimes by those who have not given up sense enjoyment and the desire for wealth are the activities that give Kali an occupation!” (Sri Srila Prabhupader Upadesamrta)
In the tone of simha-guru, Sarasvati Thakura also cautions as follows:
“Those who are barren of the treasure of love for Krsna – propelled by duplicity – declare to the whole world their false attainment of prema, although in reality, by an external display of prema or by announcing it to one and all, it is positively impossible for such hypocrite destitutes who are deprived of the wealth of krsna-prema to ever attain it. To make their great fortune known to everybody, adepts of Prakrta-Sahajiyaism often expose to each other insincere external symptoms of prema (such as shedding of tears). Rather than calling such hypocrite Sahajiyas as premika, real suddha-bhaktas go as far as to completely reject their association, knowing it to destroy bhakti. Suddha-bhaktas never teach one to designate such persons as ‘bhaktas’ thus equaling them with suddha-bhaktas. At the rise of genuine prema, the jiva hides her glory and strives for krsna-bhajana. “The hypocrite Prakrta-Sahajiya party, in their greed for wealth, women and fame (kanaka-kamini-pratistha), offend suddha-bhaktas by labeling them as darsanik-pandita (great philosophers), tattva-vit (ontology experts), or suksma-darsi (acute observers), and in turn they adorn themselves with the titles rasika, bhajananandi, bhagavatottama (uttama-bhagavata), lila-rasa-panonmatta (intoxicated by drinking sweet mellows of lila), raganugiya-sadhakagraganya (the foremost aspirants on the path of raganuga-bhakti), rasajna (the knowers of rasa), rasika-cudamani (unsurpassed rasikas) etc. “Having contaminated bhajana-pranali with the waves of their own materialistic emotions, they become attached to abominable practices; what they actually adore in themselves is pseudo-Vaisnavism. These kinds of preachers go to describe aprakrta-rasa, making their respective mundane emotions a part and parcel of krsna-seva. Unaware of aprakrta vipralambha-rasa, they take prakrta-sambhoga, which in essence is a perverted reflection of rasa (virasa), as actual rasa.” (Cc. Antya 20.28, Anubhasya)
The pseudo-disciple will say that, “Gurudeva is giving prema,” and such pseudo-devotees canvas everyone and anyone to come and accept this most rare gift. “Gurudeva is so merciful,” they exclaim. However, their so-called gift of prema is like the musk that gypsies sell during Kumbha Mela. At first glance the musk looks and smells like the genuine thing. But upon closer examination it is discovered that the so-called musk is simply cheaply scented cow-dung rolled into balls and covered with goatskin. Their imitation gift of prema is similar to this
_______________________________________________________
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Krishna Talk 126 - Prakrta Rasa Sata Dusani Part 2
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
View online:
http://www.gosai.com/writings/prakrta-rasa-sata-dusani-part-2
Part Two Verses 18-28
(18)
ajata-ratike kabhu bhava-labdha bale na
raganuga sadhakere jata-bhava bale na
It should not be said that bhava has been achieved when rati has still not yet developed. A raganuga-bhakta never says that sadhakas (neophytes) have achieved the manifestation of bhava.
(19)
raganuga sadhakere labdha-rasa bale na
raganuga sadhya-bhava rati chada haya na
A raganuga will never say that neophytes have achieved the stage of rasa. Sadhya-bhava (divine emotions that are the goal of raganuga-bhakti) is never attained without first experiencing rati.
(20)
bhavankura-samagame vaidhi-bhakti thake na
rucike ratira saha kabhu eka jane na
Once the seed of bhava appears, vaidhi-bhakti is no longer present. One must never consider ruci and rati to be the same thing.
(21)
raganuga balile-i prapta-rasa jane na
vidhi-sodhya jane kabhu raganuga bale na
Rasa can never be achieved simply by talking about raganuga-bhakti. One who is still in need of being purified by following the scriptural injunctions (vaidhi-bhakti) can never be said to be a raganuga devotee.
(22)
sadhanera purve keha bhavankura paya na
jade sraddha na chadile rati kabhu haya na
One can never experience bhava before performing sadhana-bhakti. One who cannot reject faith in materialism can never attain rati.
(23)
jata-bhava na haile rasika ta’ haya na
jada-bhava na chadile rasika ta’ haya na
If bhava has not yet appeared, one can never become a rasika. One can never become a rasika if mundane emotions are not abandoned.
ANUVRTTI
Again and again in Prakrta-rasa Sata-dusani the systematic development of the stages of bhakti are being stressed and stern warning is given that there is no alternative or short cut to this process. One must begin the process of pure devotional service and follow it step by step. The ontological development of pure devotional service is outlined in the following sloka of Sri Rupa Gosvami.
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya
tato ‘nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatha
athasaktis tato bhavas tatha premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah
“In the beginning there must be faith (adau sraddha). Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees (sadhu-sanga). Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and follows the regulative principles of devotional service under his orders (bhajana-kriya). Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits (anartha-nivrtti) and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service (nistha). Thereafter, one develops taste (ruci) and attachment (asakti). This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the performance of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify (bhava), and finally there is an awakening of love (prema). This is the gradual development of love of God for the devotee interested in Krsna consciousness.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.4.15-16)
In the stage of vaidhi-bhakti one performs devotional service according to rules and regulations. When the heart is free from anarthas, the devotee becomes fixed in devotional service and begins to develop a taste for the Holy Name of Krsna, for the service of Krsna and to all things related to Krsna. The devotee’s taste develops into attachment to Krsna and when that attachment matures it is sometimes called rati. Then follows bhava and prema. When the need to be purified by following scriptural injunctions (vaidhi-bhakti) still remains, a devotee cannot be said to be a raganuga. Raganuga-bhakti necessitates that one has come to the stage of ruci. In other words, one must first dispense with all anarthas in the heart before becoming qualified to perform raganuga-bhakti. The following is a quote from Thakura Bhaktivinoda:
“When a devotee following the path of vaidhi-bhakti abandons his various material desires and executes bhajana according to the instructions of the scriptures, the spiritual master and the Vaisnavas, then taste (ruci), manifests in his bhajana. When ruci thus appears, he abandons the path of vaidhi-bhakti and enters the plane of raganuga-bhakti.” (Piyusa-varsini-vrtti commentary on Upadesamrta)
Those who do not wish to progress in Krsna consciousness step by step, but instead prefer to jump ahead to rasa, are sometimes called ‘gatecrashers.’ It is also to be understood that simply by talking about rasa does not mean that one has attained the stage of raganuga-bhakti. Talk is cheap, whereas the actual qualifications for rasa are very rare. It is also seen that the pseudo-guru claims himself to be a ‘rasika,’ when in fact he still manifests the symptoms of kama, krodha, and lobha – lust for wealth, anger toward anyone who does not blindly accept him as guru, and greed to initiate anyone who crosses his path – even though such persons may have already been duly initiated by a bona-fide spiritual master. Such deluded persons think that they have attained raganuga-bhakti simply by hearing the lilas of Krsna, but such persons should remember that krsna-lila is also sometimes available in comic books in India. It should not go without mention that many of the pseudo-gurus, past and present, claiming to be on the platform of a rasika, display the classic symptoms of narcissism. Narcissism is a material condition (a psychological illness) wherein one suffers from:
1) a grandiose sense of self-importance,
2) a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, and ideal love,
3) a belief that he is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people,
4) a requirement for excessive admiration and worship,
5) a sense of entitlement – unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his expectations,
6) a despotic mentality, repressing and exploiting others,
7) a lack of empathy, unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings or needs of others,
8) envy of others, also believing that others are envious of him,
9) an arrogant or haughty attitude. Such persons are never truly rasika.
(24)
mula-dhana rasa-labha rati-vina haya na
gache na uthite kandi vrksa-mule paya na
It is not possible to attain the original treasure of rasa without first attaining rati. When one does not climb the tree, one cannot collect the fruits.
ANUVRTTI
In Kalyana-kalpataru, Thakura Bhaktivinoda says, “dusta-phale karile arjana” – if one wants fruits without taking the trouble to climb the tree, what sort of fruits can he expect? The fruits will be ruined or rotten. Without proper progression, it is all imagination – a madman’s feat! In this light Srila B.R. Sridhara Maharaja has quoted the following verse stating that it is the death-blow to the gatecrashers and sentiment mongers.
upajiya bade lata ‘brahmanda’ bhedi yaya
‘viraja’ ‘brahmaloka’ bhedi ‘paravyoma’ paya
tabe yaya tad upari ‘goloka-vrndavana’
krsna-carana-kalpa-vrkse arohana
“The creeper of devotion is born, and grows to pierce the wall of the universe. It crosses the Viraja River and the Brahman plane, and reaches to the Vaikuntha plane. Then it grows further up to Goloka Vrndavana, finally reaching to embrace the wish yielding tree of Krsna’s lotus feet”. (Cc. Madhya 19-153-4)
The implication of this verse is that real bhakti takes its birth in the plane of vaidhi-bhakti and only after crossing all lower stages of consciousness does it go beyond material conception and enter the consciousness of Vaikuntha. But even there the creeper of devotion does not yet yield fruit. The fruit of pure devotion is only yielded after having attained the platform of spontaneous love, raga-marga, in Goloka Vrndavana. Srila Sridhara Maharaja used to say that the neophyte’s engagement in krsna-lila is simply a dreamy thing. The real raganuga-bhaktas are aloof from such dreamy states because they are fully awake in the service or Hari, guru and Vaisnava.
(25)
sadhane anartha ache, rasodaya haya na
bhava-kale nama-gane chala-rasa haya na
Rasa will not dawn in one if anarthas remain in the stage of sadhana. A deceptive mentality cannot be present when the Holy Name is chanted at the stage of bhava.
(26)
siddhanta-vihina haile krsne citta lage na
sambandha-hinera kabhu abhidheya haya na
The consciousness cannot be truly fixed upon Krsna if one is bereft of the proper philosophical conception. When there is no knowledge of ones relationship with the Lord (sambandha), there can be no abhidheya (performance of devotional activities).
(27)
sambandha-vihina-jana prayojana paya na
ku-siddhante vyasta-jana krsna-seva kare na
That person who is devoid of sambandha-jnana can never attain the ultimate goal of life (prayojana). One who is bewildered by philosophical misconceptions is not performing devotional service to Krsna.
(28)
siddhanta-alasa-jana anarthata’chade na
jade krsna bhrama kari’ krsna-seva kare na
That person who is idle in understanding philosophical conclusions never becomes free from anarthas. One who considers Krsna as belonging to the mundane platform can never render service to Him.
ANUVRTTI
Proper understanding of pure devotional service can be divided into three categories, sambandha (fundamental knowledge of one’s relationship with Krsna), abhidheya (knowledge of the proper performance of devotional activities), and prayojana (knowledge of the ultimate goal of life). Without proper knowledge of one’s relationship with Krsna (sambandha) it is not possible to serve Krsna (abhidheya) and without serving Krsna one cannot attain the ultimate goal of life (prayojana). Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally taught the principles of sambandha to Sri Sanatana Gosvami and the principles of abhidheya to Sri Rupa Gosvami. To understand prayojana one should closely examine the Priti-sandarbha of Jiva Gosvami and the writings of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami. Without proper philosophical understanding and following in the footsteps of the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, it is not possible to get prema-prayojana (the perfection of love of Krsna) simply by shedding tears and putting on theatrical performances for the public. Those who are lazy to understand proper siddhanta (philosophical conclusions) or who maintain improper philosophical understandings (apa-siddhanta) can never be free from anarthas and thus can never progress properly in Krsna consciousness. Such persons often think that simply by serving the institution of the guru, they are serving Krsna and thus will automatically go back to home, back to Godhead. They judge the success of their endeavors simply by measuring size, material opulence, temples, Deities, devotees, and members, with no concern for proper philosophical understanding. But from the above verses it is clear that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura does not agree with such thinking. Without proper philosophical understanding, one cannot get free from material contamination, nor can one properly perform devotional service. Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami states that one should not avoid philosophical controversy out of laziness.
siddhanta baliya citte na kara alasa
iha haite krsne lage sudrdha manasa
“A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Sri Krsna.” (Cc. Adi. 2.17)
Our spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada was adamant that his disciples should have a proper philosophical understanding and thus he wrote many books in English for that purpose. Unfortunately many of his disciples do not take advantage of their spiritual master’s books, do not study them deeply, and thus they advance the lame purposes of society consciousness, rather than the transcendental purposes of Krsna consciousness. The most prominent philosophical misunderstanding among such institutionalized devotees is probably their misconstrued idea that they are the only bona-fide representatives of Krsna on Earth and that only through their institution can a jiva be liberated from material bondage. Such institutionalized devotees are also of the opinion that the living entities found in this material world (baddha-jivas) originally fell down from their position in the spiritual world, from being eternally liberated (nitya-mukta-jivas). These, and other similar misconceptions, are due to a range of anarthas and principally arise from a lack of philosophical understanding of Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta.
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