Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org
Sign in to follow this  
Pankaja_Dasa

Nama

Rate this topic

Recommended Posts

 

 

<center>

NAM BHAJAN

(A Translation from 6/4 chapter of

"Shri-Chaitanya-Sikshamrita")

 

of

 

SHRILA THAKUR BHAKTIVINODE

By

Paramahamsa Swami 108 Sree

SHRIMAD BHAKTI SIDDHANTA SARASWATI GOSWAMI

 

EDITED BY

Paribrajakacharya Tridandi Swami Sree Sreemad

BHAKTI VAIBHAVA PURI GOSWAMI MAHARAJ

the beloved disciple of His Divine Grace

Om Vishnupada 108 Shri

SHRIMAD BHAKTI SIDDHANTA SARASWATI GOSWAMI

</center>

 

 

Published by:

Bhakti Bigyan Nityananda Book Trust

Sree KRISHNA CHAITANYA MISSION (Regd.)

Sree Bhakti Vinod Ashram,

Ananda Nagar, H.K. Road, Berhampur(G.M)

Orissa, (INDIA), Ph-208400

 

 

 

 

NAM-BHAJAN

 

A survey on NAM-BHAJAN according to the different stages of Prem.

 

Prem alone is the purpose of the life of Jivas. Bhava (soul's feeling) develops into Prem. Turning their face towards Krishna, the more Jivas progress, the more do they approach the temple of Prem. Thus in considering the rights of Prem, we meet at the out-set with two sorts of circumstances-one is an intense longing for the unattained Prem, the other is the stage when the pedestal of Prem is already reached. There is no higher stage beyond the latter one- an incessant Rasa, is an undivided unique tatwa of that region. Devotees with utter craving for Prem who are still on the way to it, are again divided into two classes according to their love of seclusion or bustle-the one are called Viviktanandis who are close followers of approved usages, the other are known as Gosthyanandis and are ever happy in preaching. Deep meditation on Godhead is the discipline of Premi-Bhaktas and glorifying or singing the Name of Krishna is their preaching.

Acceptance of the favourable and denial of the antagonistic to Prem-Bhakti

In the state when there is an intense longing for the unattained Prem, the Premi-Bhaktas are exclusively devoted to Krishna-utter self-surrender marks them out. The Shrimat Bhagavata and the Geeta have very highly eulogized such refugees. If a devotee does not take absolute shelter under the cool shade of the gracious Feet of Krishna, what to speak of Prem ? He remains quite in the dark even about Bhava. A self-surrendering devotee should accept things that are only favourable to Prem Bhakti, and should deny everything, whatever it be, that is antagonistic or unfavourable to it. Such a devotee's only belief is that Krishna is the only Protector, that nothing else or none else but Krishna can save or protect him. He has not the least doubt about the fact that Krishna alone protects all. Devotees firmly and sincerely believe themselves to be very humble and insignificant. The faith of an earnest and exclusive devotee is that he himself can do nothing, that not even a straw moves without the will of Krishna.

Exclusive Surrender to NAM; Krishna and Krishna-NAM identified

Extremely self-surrendering devotees prefer most exclusively to embrace SHRI NAM to every other features of devotion. They have more and intense appetite for singing and meditating upon SHRI NAM than to anything else. Of all the means of Bhajan the Name of Bhagavan is most purely Spiritual. In describing the Absolute Duties, the Shri-Hari-bhaktivilas has spoken of the glories of singing and contemplating on NAM as the best-it has been given the foremost place. The Shastras declare that there is not the least difference between Krishna and KRISHNA-NAM, because the real nature of NAM is Spiritual-NAM manifests Himself as the "Chaitanya-Rasa-Vigraha" of Krishna.

How to progress in Bhajan ?

Try they must to realise their own Chit swarup who desire to realise the Form of Krishna and the Form of NAM. The practiser of Bhakti can never be dexterous in his God-adoration so long as he does not realise spiritual truth. So, how can he attain his object of pursuit ? The attainment of an absolute conception of spiritual truths causes the amelioration of Bhajan. Here we shall say something on this subject.

Krishna and Jivas

Many a time we have told before ( in Chaitanya Sikshamrita) with quotations from the Shastras that every Jiva is a spirit in molecule, the residence of Krishna is a spiritual Kingdom, Krishna is the spiritual Sun, the devotion to Krishna is a spiritual inclination, and KRISHNA-NAM is " Chit-Rasa-Vigraha." Now, we venture to show the relation between Spirit and devotees who are extremely anxious for Prem, and then shall show the means to the attainment of the highest bliss of the soul. If we have spiritual merit earned in previous births transcendental felicity will be enkindled in our heart. We have no appetite (Ruchi) for the knowledge of Brahman which is restricted to realisation of mere Chit only; for, spiritual sportive pastimes have no place in it.

Krishna-the sun; Jivas-the rays

The Saviour of the Iron Age Shri-KrishnaChaitanya declares the Vedas to be the only judge and shows the nine Prameyas from it. There is a broad discussion on it in the Shrimat Bhagavata. The Vedas have proved Jivas to be spiritual atomic parts of the Deity. Jivas are like rays from the Sun, Krishna; so the spiritual form of Jivas must be identified with the spiritual form of Godhead. But the difference lies in the fact that Krishna may be compared with the full Sun, while Jivas are His innumerable rays. Krishna is Lord of Lords-Jivas are His eternal servants.

Krishna purely spiritual

There is no denying the fact that the Residential Home of Krishna is in Parabyom or Goloka, Which is all spiritual. Vaikuntha, Chit-jagat etc. all refer to that spiritual region. The Bajashaneya Upanishad speaks of the form of Krishna to be purely spiritual; the Shwetashwatara Upanishad describes the eternal powers of Krishna, Who is superior to the best and higher than the highest; the Mundaka Upanishad shows "Bhakti" to be Chit-Rasa; and coming to conceive Krishna to be the Life of lives, the wise, after discarding all garrulity, dry wisdom and vain arguments, dive deep to see the bottom of their soul - they, after realising the Deity by dint of pure intuition, run after devotion. He who does this is a Brahmin; he who leaves this world without knowing Him is, so to say, a parsimonious fellow. But the fortunate who departs from this earth after realising Him is alone a Brahmin, i.e., a Vaishnava-devotee of Krishna. Such has been shown to be the nature of Bhakti or Devotion: O Ye Maitreya ! the soul alone is to be seen, heard, reflected and meditated upon, and realised by spiritual organs. All is then beyond any doubt known to us.

Eternal love between Krishna and Jiva

That Soul (Krishna) is dearer than the son, dearer than wealth, for He is Omniscient. Things that are sense-pleasing are never worth endearment; from the pleasure of the Great Soul all joy proceeds. Thus the eternal relation of eternal felicity between Krishna and Jive is Prem.

Absolute Truth beyond human Reasonings

What exact connection does there exist between this manifested and visible mundane world and the spiritual Sphere ? In going to search after spiritual truths, more than often we are deluded; after deep contemplation and discrimination we conclude Spirit to be something opposite of matter; pressing our wordly reasoning too far, we leave Chit-Rasa to the back-ground and are satisfied with an imaginative inarticulate and incomplete conception of spiritual Brahman. This is only an imagination of Chitswarup of Brahman; in such a stage, Brahman is in immutable, incorporeal, invisible or formless, without attributes and dry of Prem- This uncommon perception is like the 'Sky-flower!' And being enable to know the name, form, attributes and pastimes or diversions of that Chitswarup only, we turn to be inactive. Hence it is that all portents of Jivas come to pass due to this dry wisdom. This is well illustrated in the conversation between Vyasa and Narada .

The Lila Of Krishna

It is clear from the above that you never can know the spiritual sportive pastimes of Para-Brahman if you be dazzled by mere Chit-swarup of Brahman which is only a semblance of the eternal light of Chit . Brother ! look forward !! Enter into the Kingdom of Godhead after dashing through the brilliancy of Chit pure and simple-there you will be able to realise the spiritual pastimes of Godhead, then you will be able to taste the ambrosia of an incessant Brahma-Rasa No longer will your soul remain wooden-like. The name, form, attributes and Lila of the Supreme Being are manifested not by any earthly light but by a spiritual flame. The sun, the moon, stars, lightning and fire of this earth are quite unfit to give light to the other spiritual horizon. This spiritual light which is far beyond worldly lights brightens that Region.

This world a perverted reflection of the spiritual Atmosphere

A perverted reflection of that light do we think as supplying us with light; but in fact, it does not . While describing Brahmapur (the region of Brahman), the Chhandogya Upanishad gives us a comprehensive knowledge of it. The spiritual kingdom as displayed by the spiritual light is an ideal to this base earth. There is not the least tinge of baseness; while on the contrary only an all-pervading daintiness is its sweet affair. The fourteen mundane worlds are only a perverted reflection of that Sphere; the gross sun is a reflection of that light and its subtle reflection is seen in the mundane rays of dry wisdom arising from mind, conscience and consciousness. Our gross senses believe the gross sun to be a flash of lustre, and we are proud of the earthly knowledge which is gained by dint of the eight processes of Yoga that are actions of the subtle intellect, conscience and ego. All these are the seemingly natural workings of engrossed Jivas . Listening to the advice of Narada, while Dwaipayan Rishi was fully absorbed in the single and natural deep meditation of the soul, he fully and clearly saw the name, form, attributes and pastimes of the Supreme Person and also could know Maya, the shadow of Parashakti, to be shelterless to the Absolute Truth-could understand anartha of Jivas, the atomic Chit-tatwas, who are engrossed, fascinated and enslaved by Maya. And further coming to realise that such Jivas can come to perceive their own personal forms if absorbed in a profoundly meditative Bhakti-yoga, he compiled the Shrimat-Bhagavata, which describes the Spiritual pastimes of Bhagavan, The forgetfulness of his own eternal form and the Form of Krishna is the foremost anartha of a Jiva, whence arises his aversion to Krishna and as a result of which he is revolved by the wheel of Maya on the path of Karma. Thus the world is full of weal and woes. When Jivas take shelter under Bhakti, after discarding the basely-turned endeavours of the mundane wise reasonings of the eight processes of Yoga of the Karma margis (followers of Karma or fruitive acts) and of the arguments of the Sankhya school of Jnana margis (seekers of dry wisdom) which vainly try to refute things that are not God or His concerns, then alone the pure rays of spiritual intuition are enkindled in them by being naturally absorbed in Divine contemplation; the worldly pleasures then prick them like pinching thorns, and Krishna-prem is awakened in the heart. By these means only, they can be bIessed by the grace of Krishna-the spiritual Sun. No second help is there but this Divine grace to wash off all scrapes of the mind and to progress forward towards the eversheeny land of Krishna.

Vyasa and Narada

A sincere faith in pure devotion is the root cause of this non-laboured restraint on the senses together with the mind, and confine the soul in a deep contemplation on Godhead. When the happy moment came, Dwaipayan Rishi became doubtful about the rules and methods of Karma-kanda and vain Jnan-kanda and in reply to the question of his spiritual preceptor, Shri Narada Goswami, he said, "O Lord ! no doubt I have realised all truths, advised by Thee, still my soul, I know not why it finds no contentment! O Thou Son of Brahma, be kind to tell me the unimaginable and indescribable secret that lurks behind it. I beg this of Thee being greatly troubled at heart."

Then Narada Goswami replied, "O Vyas ! you have not striven to give a vivid picture of the pure Spiritual Pastimes of Bhagavan, as you have given a full description in other Puranas, Vedanta-Sutras and Mahabharata of the four main objects of human pursuit, viz., virtue, wealth, enjoyment and salvation. Thus you enjoy no contentment due to this your short-coming. Thus you have committed a great and heavy omission by giving too high an eulogy of castes and stages to be the soul's religion of Jivas . If any one, leaving aside such a conventional religion of the self, engages himself in the service of Hari, and if he slips before reaching the goal, can it for this reason be a calamity to him? If, on the contrary he strictly sticks to that conventional religion being utterly unmindful of HARI-BHAJAN, what better exalted goal does it afford ?" It is clear from the above that no second help is there but Hari-Bhajan. Jiva can attain his highest goal if he embraces NAM as a means to serve Hari.

Bhakti the very nature of soul

Vyasadeva then following up this Bhakti yoga absorbed himself in an easy meditation of Godhead. "Easy" is used here to show that devotion to Krishna is most innate in Jivatma. As it is an inherent and eternal religion of Jivas, it is called the 'easy' universal religion of every Jiva. Its workings develop in the following manner:-

The remembrance of Krishna

When Jivas come to realise that the path of Karma does not give them eternal good, whether it be the eighteen inferior Karma-Yajna or the eight subtle processes of Yoga neither can ever lead them to the highest goal-the servitude to Krishna which is their souls' religion, or again when they are fully convinced that there is not the least chance to attain perpetual felicity by mundane wisdom or limited knowledge that aims at the Spiritual Kingdom-both gained by endeavour of the subtle frame of mind, ego, etc. -finding no shore to catch, they thus, by the grace of Sadhus and Guru or Spiritual Preceptor, cry out to Krishna from the deepest recesses of their heart, "O Thou Krishna ! O Ye Restorer of the fallen ! Thine eternal servant though I am, I am cast into the deep abyss of the world and am badly dashed from shore to shore by its frowning waves of troubles and tribulations. Take me up, O my Lord ! to the shade of the cool dust of Thy Lotus Feet! O, have mercy on this wretched self!!" Then the All-merciful Lord lovingly taketh all Jivas up to His Feet.

The Company of Sadhus

When with sincere thrills of joy and tears trickling down the cheeks they constantly chant, hear and remember the Name of Krishna, they gradually reach the stage of Bhava. Appearing in the heart, Krishna erases their spots out and out from their mind, and thus cleansing their heart graciously blesseth them with His own Prem. Extreme humbleness and utter devotion are necessary to call Krishna to the heart. Then, when earthly knowledge, reasonings and strivings are completely burnt to ashes, the soul's eyes can perceive Bhagavan and His associated counterparts. If by discarding the company of Asat or dishonest fellows (Asat literally means "non-existence;" hence those who are unusually attached to the fair-sex and those who are nondevotees of Krishna both are called Asat, for things other than Krishna are transitory), one embraces the company of the good or Sat (opposite of Asat), he ere long gains a firm reliance and then through the stages of Nistha etc. reaches the ladder of Bhava. Those whose hearts are crooked will, beyond any doubt, run downstairs to Hell.

Two minds-spiritual and material

The fortunate ones who earnestly long to ascend the terrace of Prem, do sincerely and incessantly chant the Name of Krishna in the company of Sadhus. They do not have any appetite for any other feature of devotion. When in a short time by the grace of NAM the heart becomes closely attentive, the fruits of religious forbearance, control over sensual appetites, religious observances, with holding the breath by way of religious austerity, abstract religious contemplation, steady abstraction of the mind and indifference to external impressions are very easily gained without paying the least heed to all these. NAM alone is a complete suspension of the fleeting mental operations. The more the heart is pellucid, the more diverse Pastimes of the Spiritual Kingdom play in it. The flow of the milk of this felicity is so very fast running that no other means can give even the smallest drop of it. Jivas have no other wished-for-wealth than the grace of Krishna.

NAM is spiritual-the object of persuit

NAM is spiritual. Wisdom, vows, meditation, abnegation, mental quietness, virtue, contrivance none of these can ever equal NAM. Know it for certain that NAM is the highest salvation, NAM is the highest end, NAM is the noblest final beatitude, NAM is eternally existing, NAM alone is the supermost devotion, NAM is the highest intellect, NAM is the best Priti and NAM alone is the brightest remembrance. NAM is the seed and NAM is the fruit to Jivas-NAM is their Lord and NAM alone is the supremost object of their worship. NAM is their best Preceptor.

NAM is beyond time and space

The Vedas have described the spirituality of the Name of Krishna and Nam to be the highest truth. "O Lord ! reasonably judged we have Thy Name to be higher than the highest and so do we chant Thy NAM. NAM-BHAJAN is not bound by any rule- NAM is beyond all virtuous acts-He is Spiritual-He is virility and lustre in a person. All the Vedas have been manifested from this NAM. NAM is bliss, NAM is Ananda . We can excellently be devoted to Him. NAM is worship and NAM is to be worshipped; Thy Feet are to be held in veneration. Repeatedly we fall prostrate at those. Thy lotus-feet and anoint the body with the pollen thereof. In order to lead the soul to its highest stage, devotees mutually discuss on NAM and sing His glories. They believe Thy Name to be Chaitanya in person, and always sing and hear Kirtan which is identical with Thy NAM (name)-they are purified by it. NAM alone is sat ever-existing. The essence of the Vedas is NAM, the Absolute Truth and Whose Form is Sat-Chidananda (Sat ever-existing, Chit-all-knowing, and Ananda-all-bliss). O Vishnu ! it is only by the grace of Thy Name that we are capable of offering hymns to Thee. So we should adore and pray to Thy NAM alone." In His own "Eight glorious Precepts" Shriman Mahaprabhu has spoken of the glories of NAM; He has also given a glimpse of the gradual steps of NAM-BHAJAN in those Eight precepts. His "Consider thyself humbler than the grass" shloka hints at how to adore NAM after avoiding the ten profanations; His "Man or money I want not" shloka speaks of the selflessness of NAM-BHAJAN in a devotional spirit - devotion unactuated by any lustful motive; "O Thou Son of Nanda" shloka tells us how to make a plaintive report to the Lord; the last two shlokas describe the processes of Vraja-bhajan where one loves Krishna to serve Him either in Sambhoga(union) or in Vipralamba Rasa (deeper union in separation) or in both after being completely and spontaneously attached to Shrimati(Radha). The Shastras have eulogized so highly and so often the glories of NAM that their name is legion-to describe them is to write a big volume like the Shri Hari-Bhakti-Vilas. So, we have hardly any more space in this small volume to discuss them at length. Thus here putting a stop to the glories of NAM, we attempt a very short survey of the processes of NAM-BHAJAN.

A devotee should be aware of the Form of Krishna-Nam

Devotees, who are desirous of ascending the terrace of Prem, should remember a few points even before entering the field of NAM-BHAJAN. Firstly, they should know it for certain that the form of Krishna, the form of Krishna's Name, the form of the service to Krishna and the form of Krishna's servants are eternally free-are eternally spiritual ! Krishna, His abode and His paraphernalia are all spiritual and beyond the grasp of Maya, the illusory energy. No mundane consideration exists in Seva or service. The seat, room, garden, forest, the Jamuna and every other thing of Krishna are spiritual and hence untouchable by matter. They are further aware of the fact that this their belief is not a blind worldly-faith-it is absolutely true and eternal. The exact forms of all these do not in truth manifest on this earth. Such ideas may perpetually reign in the pure heart of pure devotees. Here, the fruit of all these spiritual practices is self-realisation. Those who have realised the form of Krishna as well as of their own self, do ere long attain Vastu-Siddhi (enter the eternal pastimes of Krishna in the Spiritual Kingdom and gain personal service of Krishna). Here in this world, devotees can only get a glimpse of those immaterial things. The first stage to it is freedom from the bondage of Maya-the climax is Prem.

The Processes of Nam-Bhajan

The realisation of truths that are beyond the grasp of matter is called Swarup-Siddhi. This is a true knowledge of the relationship between Krishna and Jivas, and when this is acquired, the endeavour for Prem as a means and Prem as an object of pursuit are gained. The spiritual region of Krishna, His spiritual name, His divine attributes and spiritual pastimes-the necessary object of pursuit-come under Prem. This is delineated in the Prasnopanishad.

NAM-Incarnation of Krishna

NAM has been accepted on all hands to be an Incarnation of Krishna on this earth. A word though He looks to be, still by His unimaginable powers He is Spiritual and is a special Incarnation of Krishna. As Krishna and His Name are identical, Krishna has descended to the earth as NAM; so, KRISHNA-NAM is the first introduction to Krishna. With determination to reach Krishna, Jivas must first accept the Name of Krishna. In going to determine the significance and origin of Hari Nam, Shri Gopalguru Goswami, the dearest disciple of Shri Swarup Damodar Goswami, writes; Blessed are they no doubt who utter

'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare'

even indifferently (from the Agni-puran); those who chant are free from every spot of sin (from the BrahmandaPuran); Shri-Krishna-Chaitanya-Mahaprabhu simply collected them together. These Hare Krishna utterings, coming out from the lips of Shri Chaitanya, inundated the whole world with the flood of Prem; Glory be to this NAM by His will !" Hence, Shriman Mahaprabhu, as mentioned in the Chaitanya Charitamrita and the Chaitanya Bhagavat, Himself sang and taught jivas to count these sixteen names of thirty-two letters in beads of Tulashi. Shri Gopalguru Goswami explains these sixteen names in the following way:-

The meaning of Nam

At the utterance of Hari, all sins are washed off from the heart of the wicked. As the flame will burn the finger even though unconsciously you thrust it into the fire, similarly even the very casually pronounced Hari Nam will burn every bit of sin in you. That Hari-Nam after bringing the Absolute Truth, whose form is Chidananda, to light, destroys Avidya or illusion and its works. All this is the work of Hari-Nam . Or as He takes off the three-fold pangs of miseries, distresses and afflictions, hence He is called Hari (lit, to steal way) . Or Hari is so called because He drives out all the three-fold distresses of every animate and inanimate being, or because the mind of the fourteen worlds is charmed by hearing and singing the Spiritual Attributes of Hari or as He, by His exceeding beauties before which the loveliness and beauty of a thousand Cupids hide their face in shame, fascinates all men and incarnations, He is called Hari ; and in the Vocative case of Hari, it is Ha-re. Or again, according to the views of the Brahma-Samhita, -She Who fascinates the mind of Hari by Her Prem-Swarup, attachments, and love is Hara or in other words Shrimati Radhika, the daughter of Brisabhanu, and in the Vocative case of Hara it is Ha-re.

The meaning of 'Krishna' according to the views of Agama is derived from Krishna and means that this Krishna Who is Ananda in Form and attracts every object is Para-Brahman. Krishna when in the case of address is also Krishna. The Agama says, "O Ye Goddess ! all guilts and sinful motives vanish from the heart at the very sound of Ra and the door in the form of Ma is attached to it in order to shut out those evils from re-entering the heart. This 'Ra' and 'Ma' together give us Rama." The Puranas have further said that Krishna, Who is cleverer than the cleverest, more witty than the greatest wit, Who is the Presiding Deity of all spiritual pastimes and Who is eternally engaged in spiritual dalliance with Shri-Radha, is termed as Rama.

The Counting of NAM

Devotees, who thirst for Prem and are on the way to it, sing and realise this Hare-Krishna-Nam by counting, While chanting and remembering the Name, incessantly they remember His spiritual characteristics by way of explaining to the mind the meanings of Nam. By this means their heart is very soon freed from every spot of scrapes and becomes pure and stainless ; and with the morning-twilight of NAM as the heart is purified by constant remembrance, NAM dawns in the horizon of the pellucid heart with full shining rays.

Sadhak and Siddha

Those who have accepted NAM are either self realised devotees or are still trotting onward to self-realisation . Of these, the latter class of devotees are divided according to their early and advanced stages. Devotees, besides these, who are eternally free, no more confound the soul with the body, never identify themselves with body and mind. Devotees in their early stage begin to chant the Name by a fixed number, and as they gradually increase the countings, they come to a stage when their tongue stops not for a moment from singing NAM. Though choler-tongued by Avidya, devotees in their first stage have no taste for NAM, still a patient and continuous utterance of the Name proves to be the only remedy; now they feel uneasy if stopped from singing the Name, and a constant and regardful chanting produces a supreme liking for Him. Zeal and earnestness to avoid sacrileges to NAM are very needful in the first stage, which can be done only by an avoidance of the wordly-minded men and in the company of devotees. Incessant chanting of NAM will, when the first flow has passed away, naturally increase a love for the Name and kindness to Jivas. In this Karma, Jnana and Yoga have nothing to do. If their workings be even then strong, they may help the devotees of NAM in maintaining their livelihood. If KRISHNA-NAM be sung with a firm inclination, it will ere long cleanse the heart and burn Avidya ; and when Avidya vanishes, the brighter illumination of a true unbiased abnegation and a sense of the relationship between Krishna and Jivas will appear in the heart. Numberless times has this been proved to be true among the wise .

Lamenting prayer to NAM

With a happy heart one should re-collect the meaning and form of NAM and should pray to Krishna with a heart-rending lamentation and this will draw the grace of Krishna which will lead him onward in the path of BHAJAN ; or else, births will pass in vain like Karmis and frustrated Jnanis .

The yoked and the free

Those who are bent on BHAJAN may be divided into two distinct classes . Some bear only the burden, others appreciate the real worth of things. Those who long for enjoyment or for self-destroying salvation and are attached to worldly affairs are only yoked to the heavy load of virtue, wealth, enjoyment and salvation-they are unaware of the fact that Prem is the best sap . So, such loadbearers fail to progress in BHAJAN inspire of their utmost strivings, whereas the essence-seekers aiming at Prem-tatwa very soon reach the longed for ultimate. They are called Prema-rurukshu (those who earnestly strive for ascending up to the region of Prem) ; they alone can in a very short time ascend up to the sphere of Prem or easily become Paramahansas. Thus when he, who so long simply did bear burdens only, learnt to love the Truth in the company of Sadhus and soon also turns to long for Prem .

Reverence and desire for service of Godhead awakened in the company of devotees

Good acts done in previous births, that look forward to devotion, invigorate reverence and a strong desire for the service of Godhead, which reverence and desire turn into an appetite for devotion in the company of devotees. BHAJAN along with true devotees awakens Sadhan bhakti that looks forward in expectation of Prem. If one adopts the processes of Sadhan as directed by true and pure devotees, he will ere long almost turn mad for ascending the stage of Prem where it can be tasted ; but again this Prem will remain far in the back-ground if he associates with half -true devotees and cannot exclusively devote himself to the service of Krishna . In this stage, (1) his strong love for the fleeting world (2) his identification of the soul with the material frame of flesh and blood and the subtle body of mind, (3) his knowledge of things other than Krishna, and (4) his extreme servile attitudes towards Maya do not at allow him to regard and love true devotees-crafty thoughts beguile his heart. In this way the practisers of devotion have to remain long confined to the early preliminary rights of a devotee in his first stage. Reliance and faith in Krishna they have no doubt, but it is so tender, fickle and so unsteady that they may at any moment be led away by contradictory arguments of conflicting schools and accordingly they may come by the company of so-called preceptors and Sadhus. In order to make steady this their perturbed state of mind, they are to learn by the process of deduction (the path of Sruti from a true spiritual preceptor, the true process of worship . A firm faith in NAM will be awakened in the heart after worshipping the Deity in this way for a long time ; then at last they are bent on Nam-Bhajan in the company of devotees .

The case is different with those few lucky ones who have an exclusively firm faith in Krishna-NAM ; they take, by the unbounded grace of Krishna, shelter at the feet of such a spiritual guide who is an ontologist of NAM, i.e. who has realised and does see the Swarup (form) of NAM. Of the rights of such a preceptor, Shri Mahaprabhu says that though formal initiation may not be necessary still a guide is essential in NAM-Bhajan The mere letters of NAM may be had at any place and from anybody, but the profound and unknown truth that is lurking behind those letters can only be exposed by the grace of a true preceptor who is purely devoted to Krishna ; the grace of the spiritual guide alone can pass over from the early twilight of NAM to the pure light of it and can save them from the ten sacrileges hindering the true service of NAM

Namabhasa

Those who are devoted to Nam have already from the beginning attained the stage of the second class of devotees, because they are aware of the Swarup (form) of NAM. They are practically no longer bound to Namabhasa (utterance of name avoiding the ten profanations). Truly speaking, they earnestly desire Prem-they are true Premarurukshu. It is their religion to have Prem for Krishna ; they make friendship with true Vaishnavas, they cast kind glances at and show compassion to tender and unsteady Vaishnavas, and they are indifferent to those who being puffed up with false vanity of their erudition are malicious and inimical to the devotees and Sreemurti of Bhagavan. Failing to distinguish right from wrong, the beginners who are confined to the primary rights only sometimes fall into deplorable condition ; the middle order of Vaishnavas who are earnestly anxious for Prem, behave differently from the three classes of Vaishnavas and soon are blessed with Prem or ascend to the highest or superior order of Vaishnavas. These middle orders of Vaishnavas are best to be associated with.

These Prema-rurukshu devotees chant and tell their beads three lacs of times in twenty-four hours, and such felicity they find in NAM that a moment they cannot spare without Him ; then when no time can be kept in time of sleep, etc. They become incessant in their BHAJAN. Repeated remembrance of the meaning of NAM as explained by Shri Gopal Guru Goswami will, by degrees, drive out every scrap from the nature of man and then NAM appears in person before the spiritual eyes of the devotee. When the swarup (form) of NAM fully appears, it is identical with the spiritual form of Krishna - the appearance of the swarup of NAM is the appearance of the swarup of Krishna. The more clearly and purely is NAM visible, the more BHAJAN proceeds in the presence of His swarup, the more do the three elements of which primordial matter is said to be composed, namely satwa (The strand of goodness), Raja(the strand of activity) and Tamo(the gloom of pride, haughtiness etc. of the lowest inherent principle), disappear and there appear the spiritual attributes of Krishna in the heart of the devotee. Then again, when there is a happy union of the name, form and attributes of Krishna, and devotees in their BHAJAN see them, the lila (pastimes) of Krishna is awakened by the grace of Krishna in their pure heart as soon as they are absorbed in deep and easy natural meditation. Incessantly then does NAM dance on their tongue, the form of Krishna is then visible to their soul's eye, all the attributes of Krishna are then observed in their heart and the bud of lila blooms in their soul while they are buried in meditation. In this stage, five conditions of the practising devotee are to be noticed.

The five conditions of a Sadhak

1. Sravan-dasha. 2. Varan-dasha. 3. Smaran-dasha. 4. Aapan-dasha. 5. Prapan-dasha.

The happy mood which the devotee feels at the time of listening to the object of pursuit and the means to hear from the lips of a true Spiritual Preceptor may be called Sravan-dasha. In this stage, every bit of knowledge about how to take NAM without committing any sacrilege to Him and of the processes and fitness of taking NAM is gained ; this facilitates the continuity of NAM.

When fit to receive, the strung-together beads of NAM-PREM can be had of Shri Gurudeva, i.e. the disciple with every delight and from the deepest recesses of his heart cordially welcomes the boon of surrendering himself to the feet of Shri Guru for pure and unalloyed BHAJAN and receives invigorating strength and faculty from him ; this is Varan-dasha. (i.e. the choice of Shri Guru for Bhajan by the acceptance of NAM and strength from Him).

Remembrance, contemplation, concentration, constant meditation and trance (final beatitude) are the five processes of Smaran. From remembrance of the Nam, the devotee thinks of the form which gives him a steady conception of the attrributes ; this steady conception of the attributes gives him a firm conviction pursuing the lila of Krishna and having entrance in the lila he is completely absorbed in Krishna-Rasa. This is Aapan-dasha. By these Smaran and Aapan the devotee can know and adore the eternal and daily lila of Krishna at eight different periods of the day ; and when he is deeply absorbed in it, he realises his own self and that of Krishna. These self-realised devotees are Paramahansas.

Then at the time of his departure from this world, the devotee, by the grace of Krishna, becomes an associated counterpart of ideal object of his worship in Vraja and thus attains the summumbonum of NAM-BHAJAN.

Should then all who are seekers after Prem leave the stage of a house-holder and accept Sanyas or the fourth stage ? The answer is that, be he in bustee or solitude, in palace or bower, be he in the stage of a Grihastha, or a Vanaprastha or Sanyas- in whatever stage he may be, the Prema-rurukshu should prefer to live in that stage only which will be favourable to the attainment of Prem and should at once desert the stage that is a burden or antagonistic to his BHAJAN In this connection, the lives of Shrivas Pandit, Shri-Pundarik Vidyanidhi, Shri Ramananda and other Personal Attendants of Krishna are worth recollection. They are all born Paramahansas. Ribhu, Janaka etc. in the days of yore are seen to be Paramahansas even though they led the lives of house-holders ; while on the contrary, finding the household-life to be detrimental and a bar to BHAJAN, Shri Ramanuj Swami, Shri Swarup Damodar Goswami, Shri Madhavendra Puri Goswami, Shri Handas Thakur, Shri Sanatan Goswami and Shri Raghunathdas Goswami, all renounced the stage of a householder and accepted Sanyas.

Krishna's loving beauty is so enamouring that even the god of lusts is charmed by Him and Krishna Himself being charmed by His own beauty and loveliness covets the pleasure enjoyed by the best of His lovers- Shri Radha, by lovingly serving such a Form as His. So anointing Himself with the lustre and complexion of Shri Radha and having been imbued with Her ardent longings of love, Krishna is ever dallying as an exemplary lover of Himself as Shri Gauranga. Shri Krishna, the essential nature of the Supreme Being-the only Real and Eternal Truth is the only Object of love and Shri Gauranga the possessor and distributor of that love. Krishna is simultaneously dallying with His dear consort in the groves of Vrindavana and tasting the extract of love-succus flowing from His consort as Shri Gauranga at Navadwip, Himself singing Krishna's name and teaching others how to love Krishna and sing His name. In so doing He distinguishes pointedly the real name, identical with the Object Himself, from the apparent or false one which is taken profanely, blasphemously or in vain. He emphasises that in this Kali yuga worldly people indulge in (1) duplicity, (2) intoxication, (3) sensuality, (4) killing of animals, (5) mercenariness and so are unable to meditate upon, or worship Vishnu and to perform Vedic sacrifices. So the chanting of Krishna's name is the only meditation, the only sacrifice, the only worship in this Kali age- Name is the means, Name is the end. But it should be noted with the utmost care that Krishna's name is not mere combination or utterance, and appearance is not identity. The fire and the gloworms though similar in appearance are not identical . The minutest spark of fire set consciously or unconsciously, seriously or play-fully will instantaneously burn an inflammable thing, whereas a thousand glow worms will not be able to do that even in a thousand years. Krishna's Name is identical with Krishna Himself and pregnant with all the properties and attributes of Krishna. So His Name, unlike all other names, is full of energy, perfect, eternal, pure, devoid of illusion and eternally free. Aurora is sufficient to dispel the darkness of night and to drive the wild animals to their lairs and thieves and dacoits to their resorts; it enables us to distinguish the various objects of senses and ushers the advent of the glowing lamp of heaven. So does Namabhasa (the utterance of name avoiding the ten profanations) stop poverty from planting our pillows with thorns, destroy our worldly hankerings and dispel the illusory gloom, so that we may see the Name face to face. When the ever-burning sun peeps out of the eastern horizon its ever-effulgent rays make us see it face to face and feel its golden rays and enable us to see all objects bathing therein. The sun is seen and felt by us with its own rays and heat and not with the help of any other glowing object. The brightest candles of the universe put together cannot make the sun visible to us. When our dreamy nights are at an end, when we shake off the torpor, open our eyes, turn them to the east, we see the Name-Sun with all his glory and beauty.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest guest

 

by

 

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness

 

(September 23, 1969, London, England)

 

So today is a very auspicious day, Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s birthday. Here is the picture of Thakura Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda. He was one of the acaryas of this disciplic succession from Krsna. We have got a succession table from Krsna, genealogical table. There are two kinds of genealogical tables, one by the semina -- father, his son, his son, like that. That is material genealogical table. And there is one spiritual genealogical table, disciplic succession. Just like Krsna. Krsna, the original father, Supreme Personality of Godhead, He spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahma, Lord Brahma. He spoke to Narada. Narada spoke to Vyasa. Vyasa spoke to Madhvacarya. So in this disciplic succession, Lord Caitanya, from Lord Caitanya, the six Gosvamis, and similarly, coming down, down, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja, then my spiritual master, then we are next generation, my disciples.

 

 

 

So there is a disciplic succession. And the acaryas, they’re authorities. Our process of knowledge is very simple. We take it from the authority. We don’t speculate. Speculation will not help us to come to the real knowledge. Just like when we are in difficulty, in legal implication, we go to some authority, lawyer. When we are diseased we go to a physician, the authority. There is no use, speculation. Suppose I am in difficulty in some legal implication. I simply speculate, “I shall be free in this way and that way.” That will not help. We have to go to the lawyer who knows things, and he gives us instruction that “You do not do this, then you’ll be free.” Similarly, when we are diseased, if I speculate at home that “My disease will be cured in this way and that way,” no. That is useless. You go to an authorized physician, and he will give you a nice prescription, and you’ll be cured. That is the process of knowledge. But in the modern age people think that “I am free, I am independent, and I can make my own solution.” That is rascaldom. That’s not good. So Arjuna, when he was talking with Krsna as friend, but when he saw that there was no solution talking like this, he surrendered to Krsna. He said, sisyas te ’ham, aham: “Myself, I surrender unto You as Your disciple.” Sisyas te' ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam. Prapannam means surrender. So that is the Vedic injunction, that if you want to know transcendental knowledge or science. Transcendental means beyond the scope of your direct perception.

 

 

 

So spiritual knowledge is beyond the scope of our sense speculation. Beyond the scope. Just like when a soul, a spiritual spark only, leaves this body, you cannot see. Therefore, atheistic class of men, they speculate, “There may be a soul, there may not be soul.” Or, “The bodily function was going like this, now it stopped. The blood corpuscles now cease. It is no more red, it is white, therefore life.” These are speculation. This is not actual knowledge. Actual knowledge you get from the authority, Krsna. He says, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati. Just like the soul is passing through different stages. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe. Deha, deha means this body. Asmin dehe, in this body, there is dehi. Dehi means who is the owner of this body. That is soul. That is passing through childhood, boyhood, babyhood, youthhood, old age. Everyone, you can perceive that you were a child, you were a baby, you were a boy. Now you are young or old man. So you are there. So as you are passing through different types of bodies, similarly, when you give up this body you accept another body. What is the difficulty? Tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati. There is no question of becoming astonished, how transmigration of the self, soul, takes place. The vivid example is there. Simply you require little intelligence. That intelligence is developed through the instruction of acarya. Therefore, Vedic injunction is not to acquire knowledge by speculation. That is useless. Athapi te deva padambuja-dvayam janati tattva prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi, na canya eko ’pi ciram vicinvan. Ciram vicinvan. Ciram means for thousands of years you can speculate; you cannot understand what is God. That is not possible. But if you receive knowledge from the devotee, he can deliver you. Therefore Vedic injunction is that tad-vijnana... In order to understand tad-vijnana... Vijnana means science. If you want to know the transcendental science, then you must approach a guru. Tad-vijnartham. In order to, if you are at all interested to understand the spiritual science. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet. You must approach guru. Guru means this disciplic succession, as I have explained.

 

 

 

So Bhaktivinoda Thaura is an ideal guru. He was not a sannyasi. He was grhastha, householder, living with family, wife, children. Still, he was guru. So anyone can become guru. Not that a sannyasi can become guru. A householder also can become guru, provided he knows the science. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when He was talking with Ramananda Raya... Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a sannyasi, very highly born in brahmana family, very learned scholar. So He was talking with Ramananda Raya, a grhastha, governor of Madras. And He was questioning, and Ramananda Raya was answering. That means he was taking the part of guru, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu was taking the part of a disciple. So he was hesitating, Ramananda Raya. He thought himself that “I am a grhastha. I’m not even a brahmana. Besides that, I am dealing in material affairs. I am governor, politics. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a sannyasi, born of a high-class brahmana family. So it does not look well that I shall teach Him.” So he was hesitating. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Oh, why you are hesitating?” He said, kiba vipra, kiba sudra, nyasi kene naya,

 

yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei guru haya. He said, “Don’t hesitate. Either one may become a brahmana or one may become a sudra.” Kiba vipra, kiba sudra. Vipra means brahmana, and sudra. Sudra is the fourth-grade human being. Brahmanas the first-grade. So kiba vipra, kiba sudra. He may be a first-grade human being or the lowest grade human being, or he may become a sannyasi or a grhastha. It does not matter. Anyone who knows the science of Krsna, he can become a guru. This is the verdict. Because spiritual science does not belong to the bodily platform, it is on the spiritual platform. It is very nice. Just like when you go to a lawyer or to an engineer or to a physician. You do not inquire whether he’s a brahmana or sudra. Simply you have to know whether he’s a lawyer. That’s all. Whether he’s a physician actually. If he knows the medical science, he may be a brahmana, he may be a sudra, he may be a sannyasi, he may be a householder. It doesn’t matter. Your business is with a physician, with a lawyer. Similarly, your business is to understand Krsna. So anyone who knows Krsna perfectly, you have to go there. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet. It is Vedic injunction. It is not that you have to approach a sannyasi or a grhastha or an Indian or American. No. Gurum. And guru means who knows the science of Krsna.

 

 

 

So, this Bhaktivinoda Thakura was grhastha, very responsible officer, magistrate. And he was so exalted that he would come from his office generally at five o’clock, then take his supper and immediately go to bed. Immediately. Say at seven o’clock in the evening he goes to bed, and he wakes up at twelve o’clock. So suppose he goes to bed at seven o’clock in the evening and wakes up at twelve o’clock at night. It is sufficient sleep, five hours. One should not sleep more than five to six hours. Minimize as far as possible. The Gosvamis used to sleep not more than one and a half hour, or two hours. Sleeping is not very important thing. Even big politicians, they used to sleep for two hours. So especially in spiritual line, they should minimize as far as possible eating, sleeping, mating, defending. Minimize. Gradually it comes to nil. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, he was eating only a little piece of butter every alternate days, not daily. So this Bhaktivinoda Thakura, regularly he was coming from his office, and after taking his supper immediately he goes to bed, and wake up at twelve o’clock, and he used to write books. He wrote. He left behind him about one hundred books. And he excavated the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, organized how to develop that birth site, Mayapur. He had so many business. He used to go to preach about Caitanya’s philosophy. He used to sell books to foreign countries. In 1896 he attempted to sell Life and Precepts of Caitanya in the McGill University in Montreal. So he was busy, acarya. So one has to adjust things. Not that “Because I am grhastha, householder, I cannot become a preacher. “It is the business of the sannyasi or brahmacari.” No. It is the business of everyone. The whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. The present civilization is animal civilization. They do not know anything beyond eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That’s all. This is animal civilization. Animal does not know beyond these four principles of life: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That’s all. No. Human life is meant for something else: “What I am? What is God? What is my relation with God? What is this material world? Why I am here? Where I have to go next?” So many things one has to learn. Athato brahma-jijnasa. This is human life. Not that eat and sleep and have sex life and die someday like cats and dogs. Therefore, there is need of acaryas, teachers, for propagating spiritual knowledge, Krsna consciousness. Bhaktivinoda Thakura, although he was a grhastha, householder, a government officer, magistrate, but he was acarya. So from his dealings, from his life, we should learn how one can become a preacher in any stage of life. It doesn’t matter what he is.

 

 

 

There was one incidence, very interesting. When he was magistrate in Jagannatha Puri. The system is, Jagannatha temple is a very big establishment. In the temple fifty-six times daily, bhoga is offered. And you’ll find in the temple always at least five hundred to one thousand people gathered. And they come from outside, and prasada is ready. If you go and ask in the Jagannatha temple that “We are one hundred men come from outside. We want prasada,” yes, immediately ready. So it is a huge temple. This is one temple, but there are many other thousands of temple in India where prasada is distributed. Now it is minimized by our present government. They think that it is unnecessary expenditure. They are minimizing. But not unnecessary expenditure. They do not understand. Formerly, in India there was no necessity of hotel. Anyone goes anywhere, even in a village, he goes to a temple, prasada is ready. There is no need of going to a hotel. You pay or don’t pay. If you say that “I want little prasada,” “Yes, take it.” That is the system still. There is the Nathadvara temple in Rajasthan. You pay two annas only. Two annas means one cent. You get sumptuous prasada for two mens, all very nice prasada, still. So prasada distribution in temple is longstanding usage. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura... The Jagannatha temple is managed by a body, and it is the custom that the local magistrate of the district, he becomes the president, or manager.

 

 

 

So Bhaktivinoda Thakura was manager in that sense, because he was magistrate. The managing committee was being presided by him. So there was a complaint. In Orissa, this Jagannatha temple is situated in Orissa. Utkala. Utkala, this state, was originally belonging to Dhruva Maharaja. His son’s name was Utkala, Maharaja Utkala. Anyway, so this Utkala, there was a pseudo yogi. He declared himself that... Just like you’ll find nowadays also, there are so many rascals declaring that “I am incarnation of God.” And they know some mystic power, play some jugglery, and foolish people take them: “Oh, he’s God.” So there appeared one like such pseudo God, Visnu, in a village of Orissa. And he was dancing rasa dance, and foolish people were sending their daughters and wife to dance with him. You see? There were so many. Not only that. People are so foolish, they do not know. They want to be cheated, and these cheaters come. He declared that “I am God. I am Visnu.” So there were sane men also. They took objection, “What is this nonsense? This man is dancing with ladies and girls.” So they filed a complaint. At that time it was British rule. They complained to the governor or the commissioner, very high officer. The commissioner knew that Bhaktivinoda Thakura... His name was Kedaranatha Datta. Datta. Kedaranatha Datta, his household name. So the commissioner of the division, he knew that Kedaranatha Datta is a religious man, and he’s magistrate in charge. So he handed over the case for inquiry, “What is this complaint? You please inquire and do the needful.” So he was a pure devotee, and he understood that “This rascal is a bogus man, cheating people. I must inquire.” So he went to the village in plain dress with some constables, police constables. They were also in plain dress. And as soon as he approached that rascal yogi, he said, “Oh, you are Kedaranatha Datta. So, very nice. You are... I shall make you king of India. Please don’t try to bother me.” Because he could know that “He has come to inquire about my rasa-lila.”

 

 

 

So Bhaktivinoda Thakura first of all said, “Sir, you are such a great yogi. Why you are in the village? Why don’t you go to Jagannatha Puri? There is temple and Lord Jagannatha is there. Better you go there and see the Lord and be happy. Why you are in this village?” “Oh, Jagannatha? Ah, that is made of wood. I am personally the Supreme Lord. That is made of wood.” Oh, then Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he was a devotee, he became fire. He was insulting. Arcye sila-dhar gurunu nara-matu. According to sastra, if somebody thinks... Just like here is Deity. If somebody thinks, “Oh, it is made of stone.” It is stone to the eyes of the nondevotee, but it is personally Supreme Personality of Godhead to the devotees. It requires the eyes to see. So devotee sees in a different angle of vision. Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when He entered Jagannatha temple immediately He fainted: “Oh, here is My Lord.” And the nondevotee is seeing: “It is wood, a lump of wood.” Therefore, to the nondevotee, He remains always as wood, but to the devotee He speaks. That is the difference. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena. If God is everything, why wood, through wood and stone, God cannot manifest? If God is everything? According to Mayavada philosophy. That’s a fact. God, omnipotent. He can express Himself even through wood and stone. That is God’s omnipotency. That is called omnipotency. Not that God is unable to express Himself through wood and stone. Then how He’s omnipotent? Omnipotent means His potency can be expressed through anything. Because anything, everything is the expansion of God’s energy. Parasya brahmanah saktis tathedam akhilam jagat. The whole world is manifestation of different energies of God. Therefore, just like through the energy of electricity the electric powerhouse, although far, far away from this place, was expressing. There is electricity. Through this glass, through these wires, the power can be expressed. There is a process.

 

 

 

So Bhaktivinoda Thakura became very much... because a devotee cannot tolerate blaspheming another devotee or God. So as soon as he said that “Why shall I go to Jagannatha Puri to see the wooden Jagannatha? I am personally Visnu,” Bhaktivinoda Thakura immediately ordered his constables, “Arrest him. Arrest this rascal.” So he was arrested. And when he was arrested, he had some yogic mystic power. All the constables, Bhaktivinoda Thakkura, and his family members became affected with high fever, 105 degrees fever. So when he came back, his wife became very much disturbed that “You arrested Visnu, and we are all going to die. We have now high fever.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, “Yes, let us all die, but this rascal must be punished.” This is the view of pure devotee. So he was put into the custody. And there was a date fixed for his trial, and all these days Bhaktivinoda Thakura himself and his family especially, they were suffering from high fever. Maybe that yogi was planning to kill the whole family. But it was going on as fever. So on the trial day, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Kedaranatha Datta, when he came to the bench the man was presented, the so-called yogi, and he had big big hairs. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered that “Bring one barber and cut his hair.” So no barber dared. The barbers thought, “Oh, he’s a Lord Visnu. If I offend, as he’s suffering from fever, so I shall also die.” So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered that “Give me the scissor. I’ll cut.” So he cut his hairs and ordered him to be put into jail for six months, and in the jail that Visnu incarnation managed to take some poison, and he died.

 

 

 

So this is one of the incidents. There are many incidences. He was very strong man. He punished many pisacas in the tirthas who exploit visitors. So, this is the position of devotee. In spite of his becoming a responsible magistrate, a householder, still, he was acarya. So we have to follow the acarya. If we at all, if we are at all interested in spiritual science, then we must follow the Vedic instruction, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet. We must approach. You cannot have spiritual knowledge simply by speculating. Impossible. Simply waste of time. Srama eva hi kevalam. You must go to the... In the Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is recommended, acaryopasanam. Acarya-upasana. Not only worshiping the Lord, but also the acarya. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija. Guru, acarya, and Krsna. One should seek favor of both of them. Not that “I am now seeking favor of Krsna. What is the use of guru or acarya?” No. You cannot overlap acarya and go to Krsna. That is not possible. Krsna will not accept you. Just like if you want to see a big man you should go through his secretary, through his orderly, doorkeeper; similarly, our process is acaryopasanam, go through the acarya. That is the injunction of the Vedas. Tarko 'pratistha. If you want to enter into the spiritual world, you cannot get through simply by arguments. Because there is no limit of argument. I place my argument in one way. Another man, who is better arguer, he places his argument in a different way. So if you simply go on arguing, it is not possible. Tarko’ pratistha. It will never help you. Argument. Srutayo vibhinnah. If you think that “I shall read scriptures and I shall understand God,” no, that is also not possible. Srutayo vibhinnah. Scriptures are also different. Because scriptures are made according to time, circumstances, people. Just like Bible. Bible Lord Jesus Christ preached in the desert, Jerusalem. Or where it is? People who were not so advanced. Therefore his first instruction is “Thou shall not kill.” That means they were very much engaged in killing affairs. Otherwise, why is this instruction? And actually, it so happened that they killed Jesus Christ. So that society was not very enlightened society. So a scripture for a society which is not very enlightened and a scripture for a society which is very enlightened must be different. Just like a dictionary. For the schoolboy, a pocket dictionary. And for a college student, international, big dictionary. Both of them are dictionaries. But the small pocket dictionary is not equal to the big dictionary. Because it is different made for different classes of men. So scriptures are made according to different classes of men. There are three classes of men: first-class, second-class, and third-class. The third-class man cannot understand the philosophy and scriptural injunctions of the first-class man. That is not possible. Higher mathematics cannot be understood by the small schoolboys who are simply trying to understand “Two plus two equal to four.” But “Two plus two equal to four” is equally good to the higher mathematics student. But still, higher mathematics and lower math is different. Therefore it is said, srutayo vibhinnah: the scriptures are different. So if you simply try to understand what is God by reading scriptures, you cannot achieve. You must approach a guru. Just like a medical book. It can be available in the market. If you purchase one medical book and study and you become doctor, that is not possible. You must hear the medical book from a medical man in the college, medical college. Then you will be qualified. And if you say, “Sir, I have read all the medical books. Recognize me as a medical practitioner,” no, that will not be.

 

 

 

So, srutayo vibhinnah. Scriptures are different. Arguments, that is also not helpful. One man may argue better than me. Then philosophy. The philosophy, it is said, nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam. One philosopher is differing from another philosopher. Just now today Syamasundara has purchased one book about different philosophers. So that you also cannot ascertain what is truth. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah, you should have to follow the great acaryas. Then you will... tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet, srotiya brahma-nistham. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasu sreya uttamam. Anyone who is inquisitive to understand higher truths, he must surrender to guru. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasu sreya uttamam. One who is inquisitive, who is now inquiring about transcendental subject matter. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. So all the sastras says, in our Vaisnava sastra also, Rupa Gosvami says, adau gurv-acaryam: “In the first beginning, you must take shelter of a bona fide guru.”

 

 

 

So this Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s birthday, we should adore, we should worship, because in the modern age he reintroduced the disciplic succession. From Caitanya Mahaprabhu... Five hundred years ago, Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught this philosophy, but within two hundred years... Because this material world is so made that whatever you introduce, in due course of time it will deteriorate. You make a nice house, but after one hundred years, two hundred years, or nowadays, even after fifty years, it becomes dilapidated. That is the nature’s law, kala. Time will destroy everything. Now, British empire, such a big, vast empire, now it is finished. The kala, the time, will make everything finished. That is material. Anything material, it has birth, it has growth, it has got some opulence, then dwindling, then finished. That is the way of material. So we are interested in spiritual subject matter. Therefore the process is adau gurv-acaryam. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is our process. Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master, we cannot make any progress. It is impossible. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura happens to be acarya, one of the acaryas. And he has left behind him many books. Caitanya-siksamrta, Jaiva Dharma. These are very important books. They’re in Bengali, in Sanskrit. And many songs. He has prepared many books of song. The song, Ei nama gaya gauracand madhura svare, that is Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s song. So we are trying to present Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s books also in English translation. Gradually you will get it. So our adoration, our worship to Bhaktivinoda Thakura today because he may bless us to make peacefully progress in Krsna consciousness. Acarya-upasana, simply by the blessings of the acaryas we can make very rapid progress. Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau. If we... Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah... We sing every day. By the mercy of the spiritual master, acarya, we immediately get the blessings of Lord. Immediately. Yasya prasadad. Yasya means “whose”; prasadad, “benediction.” By the benediction of the spiritual master. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. If spiritual master, acarya, is pleased, then you should know that Krsna is also pleased. You should know through. This is not very difficult. Just like you are working in office. If your immediate officer, boss, is pleased, that means the proprietor of the firm, he’s also pleased. Although you do not see him. This is fact. Your immediate boss, if he’s pleased. So similarly, we, our business, this spiritual line, is guru-krsna-krpa. We have to first receive the merciful benediction from the acarya, and then Krsna will be pleased and He’ll also give His blessings. Mad-bhakta. There is a version in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, mad-bhakta pujyabhyadhika. He says, Krsna says, that “If anyone worships Me directly and if anyone worships Me through the acarya, he’s better devotee who is coming to Me through acarya.” Mad-bhakta pujyabhyadhika.

 

 

 

So our, this Vaisnava philosophy, process, is to go through the acarya. Servant of the servant of the servant. We should try to become servant of the servant. Gopi-bhartu .-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. Dasa-dasanudasah. We should not approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. That is not good. That will not be... In the Vedic injunction also it is said, yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau. If one has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yatha deve, and similar faith in guru... Of course, we must accept bona fide guru. Then it is disciplic succession. And that is also not very difficult to select, who is bona fide guru. Bona fide guru means he presents himself as servant of God. He does not pose himself falsely that “I am God.” This is bona fide. It is not difficult to find out bona fide. But this is the test. If anyone says that “I am guru, I am God,” then he cannot be guru. Because he has no knowledge. How he is God? But he can cheat some people. That is different thing. You can cheat all people for some time and some people for all time, but not all people for all time. That is not possible. So these kinds of guru, who poses themself that “I am God,” he’s a false guru. The bona fide guru will say that “I am servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna,” or God. Servant of. That is the business of guru. He serves Krsna as Krsna desires; that is his business. That is also not very difficult. Krsna says, Krsna desires, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, that “You give up all other engagement; just surrender unto Me, and I’ll give you protection.” Krsna says. So guru’s business is that “You simply surrender to Krsna.” What is the difficulty? Simply repeat the same thing. Not for himself, but for Krsna. He’s bona fide guru.

 

 

 

So our this Krsna consciousness movement is very bona fide because we say the same thing as Krsna says. We don’t make any addition, alteration. Not like big scholars like, “It is not to Krsna...” Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru, and the scholar interprets, “It is not to Krsnaa.” Just see...foolishness. Krsna directly says, “unto Me.” He says, “Not to Krsna.” Misleading. Such misleading guru will not help you. So therefore to find out a bona fide guru means that he does not change the words of Krsna. That is his position. He places everything as it is, and he has understood thoroughly the science. Jijnasuh sreya uttamam. Guru, what is the symptom of guru? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. Those who are inquisitive to understand higher scientific knowledge, uttamam. Uttama means higher. Uttama, madhyama, adhama. There are three words. First-class, second-class, third-class. So spiritual knowledge is uttamam. Anyone who is inquisitive to understand first-class knowledge, he requires to go to a guru. Those who are interested in third-class knowledge, they do not require any guru. Third-class knowledge means animal knowledge: how to eat, how to sleep. How to make arrangement for eating, how to make arrangement for sleeping, that is third-class knowledge. Because the animals also try for this kind of knowledge, how to eat, how to sleep. Therefore this kind of knowledge is third-class knowledge. And second-class knowledge is “What I am?” Athato brahma-jijnasa. The Vedanta. That is second-class knowledge. And first-class knowledge, when he actually understands what he is, he is eternal servant of Krsna, and engages himself in the service of the Lord, that is first-class knowledge. And therefore, as soon as he comes to the first-class knowledge platform, he becomes happy.

 

 

 

brahma-bhuta prasannatma

 

na socati na kanksyati

 

sama sarvesu bhutesu

 

mad-bhakta labhate param

 

 

 

So after being liberated from the material concept of life by the blessings of Krsna and guru, one comes to the platform of first-class knowledge, where he engages himself directly in the service of the Lord. That is first-class knowledge. First-class knowledge means beyond liberation. Second-class knowledge is trying for liberation. Third-class knowledge means in bondage, like animal. The animals, they are bound up by the particular type of body and has no, I mean to say, possibility of becoming liberated. That is animal life. But human life is better than animal life because he, if he likes, he can make himself liberated from this bondage of material body. That is the facility. He can understand himself what he is. He can understand what is God. He can understand the relationship between God and himself. He can understand what is this material world. Because there are thousands of books of knowledge. Take it from Bhagavad-gita. Everything is there. And it is meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs. Cats and dogs cannot understand, but a human being can understand.

 

 

 

So this Krsna consciousness movement is to enlighten people to utilize his very nice life, human form of life, utilize it properly. To utilize it properly means to revive his dormant Krsna consciousness. The Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, is there already. It is developed in human form of life. But it is now covered because due to our association with this material world for unlimited years background. We are coming through different species of life. Millions and millions of years passed away. Suppose I was a tree sometimes. I was standing up for ten thousand years in one place. We have passed through. That’s a fact. That is evolution. Now we have the opportunity of light. If you don’t use this opportune moment and again go back to the cycle of evolutionary process, jalaja nava-laksani sthavara. So this is a great science. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for the people to study this science in school, colleges, or universities. They are simply teaching people that “You work hard and gratify your senses.” That’s all. Therefore a section, younger section, they have been disgusted. They have refused to cooperate with this society on account of this disappointing education. And it will increase. Because this sort of education cannot give peace or prosperity to the people. Problems are increasing. Therefore, our request is that if you want to decrease or completely finish all the problems of life, take to Krsna consciousness in the process of disciplic succession and you’ll be all happy.

 

 

 

Thank you very much.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...