How will I be able to recognize someone as a bona fide spiritual master?

[krsna 3]

"Those who are unwilling to show any duplicity, wish to be frank and straightforward, or in other words to exercise unambigiously the function of the soul, such really sincere persons are called sectarian and orthodox by those who practice duplicity. We will cultivate the society only of those who are straightforward. We will not keep company with any person who is not so. We must by all means avoid bad company. We are advised to keep at a distance of a hundred cubits from animals of the horned species. We should observe the same caution in regard to all insincere persons."

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

 

 

[krsna 3]

THE LIVING MRIDANGAS OF SRI CHAITANYA

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

 

The following is an excerpt from a lecture given by

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

on the

occasion of sending his first sannyasi preachers to the West :

 

All persons of this world are superior to us in every way as far as this world is concerned. Such material matters are not commodities that are to be coveted by us. We are merely beggars carrying the triple staff of renunciation and devoted to the chanting of the words of Sri Chaitanya. We have no more, nor any higher desirable object than the pleasure of serving sri-hari-guru-vaisnavas.

 

We are not the operators of the instrument; we are only the instruments. We must always bear this in mind. The triple bhiksus, tridandi-sannyasis, are the living mrdraga drums of Sri Chaitanya. We must constantly give forth our music at the lotus feet of Sri Guru. We should practice the function of the peripatetic preacher,

parivrajakacarya, of carrying aloft the victorious banner of the commands of the divine Sri Gaurasundar by constant submission to Sri Guru and the vaisnavas, fixing our eye on the pole-star of the heard transcendental voice.

 

We must always bear in mind that we have been initiated in the vow of peripatetic preacher for the sole purpose of promulgating the heart’s desire of Sri Guru and Gauranga.

 

If we are constantly inspired with the duty of discoursing about the truth under the guidance of Sri Guru, then no hankering after traveling, nor any veiled form of desire other than the chanting of Hari-Nama will ever strike any terror in our hearts.

 

— Lecture given in Madras, 18 March 1933

 

_______

 

*** These words are so vast that they cover the entire sky of the heart!

 

[krsna 3]

"All of you should remain in close co-operation with the objective to propitiate the Supreme Lord with wholehearted allegiance to the grace incarnate form, Gurudeva, who is the Absolute Counterpart of the Supreme Lord.

 

All of you should somehow maintain your livelihood in this most perishable non-eternal world, with the only objective of satisfying the Supreme Lord.

 

Don't give up worship of God inspite of hundreds of troubles, hundreds of humiliations and hundreds of abuses.

 

Don't be discouraged by seeing that most of the conditioned souls in this world are not accepting the service of Sri Krishna sincerely, without deceitfulness.

 

Never give up your own worship, and never give up your only wealth, the 'be-all and end-all' of your life, which is the hearing and chanting of the glories of Sri Krishna.

 

Always do Hari kirtan with the qualities of being humbler than blade of grass and more forbearing than tree."

 

-Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said this to his Disciples, just prior to entering Nitya Lila.

[krsna 3]

 

 

by Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

 

 

 

Although third birth may sound new to many persons, there are so many references to this in the scriptures. Those who have studied the Bhargaviya Manu samhita must have come across the following verse in the Second Chapter: matur agre dhi-jananam dvitiyam maunjibandhane, a brahmana gets his first birth from his mother (saukra-janma, seminal birth) and he gets his second birth by receiving the sacred thread (savitra-janma). When a twice born receives spiritual initiation in the form of hearing the Vedas (about ones relationship with the Lord) along with fire sacrifice, it is called third birth. The first birth is the birth from ones father and mother. After duly undergoing the purificatory processes one receives second birth from a father in the form of the acarya and a mother in the form of Gayatri.

 

When a twice born becomes qualified to serve the Supreme Lord, he gets his third birth from a father in the form of the spiritual master and a mother in the form of initiation mantras. In the ascending path, three births (the birth of the body, the birth of the mind, and the formal birth) are found. These three births are described in Srimad Bhagavatam as saukra, savirtra, and daiksa births. It is stated in Srimad Bhagavatam (4.31.10 and 10.23.40) as follows: kim janmabhis tribhir veha saukra-savitra-yajnikaih, A civilized human being has three kinds of births. The first birth is by a pure father and mother, and this birth is called birth by semen. The next birth takes place when the spiritual master initiates one, and this birth is called savitra. The third birth, called yajnika, takes place when one is given the opportunity to worship Lord Vishnu. And: dig janma nas tri-vrid yat tad dhig vratam dhig bahu-jnatam, "To hell with our threefold birth, our vow of celibacy, and our extensive learning!"

 

In his commentary on the later verse, Sridhara Svamipada has written: trivrit saukram savitram daiksam iti trigunitam janma. Sukrasambhandhi-janma visuddha-mata- pitrbhyam utpattih. savitryam upanayanena yajnikam diksaya. "There are three kinds of birth: saukra, savitra, and daiksa according to their different qualities. The saukra-janma refers to birth from a pure father and mother, the savitra-janma refers to birth by undergoing the sacred thread ceremony, and daiksa-janma refers to spiritual initiation before the sacrificial fire". Birth from a pure father and mother means brahmanad brahmanyam jatah, "a brahmana is born from a brahmana father and mother".

 

One who can ascertain the forefathers of his family beginning from Lord Brahma without any break, who can confirm that they have all properly undergone the ten purificatory processes, who can prove that there was never any intercaste marriages in his family and who can establish that before each pregnancy the appropriate samskaras have been performed -he is a seminal brahmana. The Vedic statement: asta varsam brahmanam upanayita, "a brahmana boy should be brought to an acarya for sacred thread ceremony at the age of eight" and the smrti statement: garbhastame bde kurvita brahmanasyopanayanam, "a brahmana should be awarded the sacred at the age of eight" refer only to the above mentioned brahmanas, not to the sons of brahmanas who have been accepted as brahmanas only for a few generations. In other words, it does not refer to those in whose family an intercaste marriage took place, to those who have undergone garbhadhana-samskara only once, or to those who have improperly or imperfectly undergone samskaras.

 

"Brahmanas from a few generations" means either the descendants of those who have taken birth in other varnas yet qualified themselves as brahmanas or those who were qualified brahmanas according to the process mentioned in the Vedic literatures. Just as the Gargya brahmanas were descendants of Sini, the son of Garga, the Maudgalya brahmanas were descendants of Mudgala, the Vasistha brahmanas were descendants of sage Vasistha, the son of Mitra from the womb of Urvasi, and so on innumerable such brahmana families, though not saukra brahmanas, will remain glorified as brahmanas as long as they continue to remain qualified, which is the root foundation of brahmanism.

 

If the descendants of either seminal or professional brahmanas do not possess the necessary qualifications, then they are also fallen.

 

It is stated in Mahabharata, Vana parva, Chapter 215 as follows:

Brahamanah pataniyesu

vartamano vikarmasu

Dambhiko duskritah prajnah

sudrena sadriso bhavet

 

"If a brahmana is engaged in sinful activities, if he is proud, or if he is a miscreant, then he falls to the level of a Sudra". According to this statement from the scriptures it is difficult in this age of Kali to ascertain who is in a pure unbroken seminal brahmana line and who is not. Therefore, through the ascending process it is very uncommon to identify a real twice born or thrice born. But those who receive the knowledge of serving the transcendental Lord through the process of disciplic succession and follow the Vedic injunctions, they are becoming qualified to undergo the samskaras mentioned in the Vedic literature. In this age of Kali, there is no other way of becoming purified.

 

Asuddhah sudra-kalpa hi

brahmanah kali-sambhavah

Tesam agama-margena

suddhir na sotra-vartmana

 

"The brahmanas born in the age of Kali are merely sudras. Their so- called Vedic path of karma is polluted and cannot purify them. They can only be purified by following the path of the Agamas or Pancaratras". Therefore, at present, a brahmana should accepted as such only if he follows the rules and regulations of the satvata- agamas, tantras, or Pancaratras, since the scriptures clearly mention that brahmanas born in this age of Kali are impure, or their purity is not maintained through seminal descent. Therefore according to Vedic injunctions, they cannot even become twice born in their impure state, and what to speak of becoming thrice born.

 

According to the process of Vaisnava literatures in pursuance of the Vedas, an impure person can become pure only by spiritual initiation; there cannot be any other arrangement for purification. It dies not matter in which family one is born, either in a so-called brahmana family or a lower family, if he wants to be purified in this age of Kali then he should earn his qualification to be twice born by firs t being initiated according to the rules and regulations of the Vedic Pancaratras and thereafter accept the signs of a twice born. It is stated in the scriptures:

 

Yatha kancanatam yati

kamsyam rasa vidhanatah

tatha diksa vidhanena

dvijatvam jayate nrinam

 

"As bell metal is turned to gold when mixed with mercury in an alchemical process, so one who is properly trained and initiated by a bona fine spiritual master immediately becomes a brahmana". Every human being must take Vaisnava initiation according to the proper Vedic Pancaratra process. Then he becomes a qualified twice born who must then accept the appropriate signs such as the sacred thread.

 

The paramahamsas, who are actually eternally perfect pure souls, are beyond the principles of varnasrama. They need not again purify themselves. Therefore they may also not accept the sacred thread, This does not mean, however, that they are in any way less than a thrice born. They are the spiritual masters of the brahmanas, and the brahmanas are their servants.

 

In ancient times there was only one Varna called hamsa. Later on, according to qualities and work, the four varnas were created (there were not four varnas in the beginning). Of course, there is a gulf of difference between the four varnas and their respective qualifications. Intelligent people should carefully consider this. Apart from the four varnas created by the Lord, the system of a sons purely inheriting the Varna of his father has also been accepted. This is called seminal Varna. But every reader of the scriptures knows that the seminal process is not the only way of ascertaining ones Varna. He certainly knows that among the one hundred sons of Risabhadeva, eighty-one of them became brahmanas, nine of them became ksatriyas, and nine became Vaisnavas. Apart from brahmana sons such as Saunaka, Gritsamada also had ksatriya, Vaisya and Sudra sons. The sons of the ksatriya Duritaksaya (Trayyaruni, Kavi and Puskararuni) became brahmanas.

 

In the dynasty of King Ajamidha, the brahmana Priyamedha was born. There are hundreds of such examples in the scriptures. Though Sathakopa Dasa, the spiritual master of Sri Sri Ramanujacarya Prabhu, was born in the family of a Sudra, he was a brahmana. And in the Gaudiya Vaisnava society, in the families of Srila Rasikananda Prabhu, Srila Raghunandana, Sri Hari Hoda, and others, performance of the twice born samskara is still current. This spiritual position of brahmanas, attained through spiritual initiation has been accepted by intelligent people from time immemorial. There is no need to be surprised by seeing or hearing

this.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Maybe not surprizing but very interesting.

I've been considering this thrice-born understanding recently, meditating on the words of Srila Guru Maharaj and as per usual this Krsna das draws out ever new interest from the vast ocean of nectar he swims in, this is also an interesting perspective of Mahaprabhu from Srila Sridhara Maharaj.

Excuse me for interjecting with the continuity of the mala of the threads you create, but I thought this somewhat complimentary.

Once again thanks to your service and inspiration.

 

The Deep Ocean of Ramananda Raya

In Ramananda Raya’s discourse we find everything from top to bottom. Only the sakhis, the girlfriends of Radharani are qualified to give information and impart the knowledge of Radha seva, the divine service of love. That is to be learned from one of the girlfriends of Radharani and to show that Mahaprabhu went to Ramananda Raya and questioned him. One after another, drawing out answers from Ramananda Raya. Kaviraja Goswami expressed it in this way - “Just as the cloud collects water drops from the ocean and again in the form of rain is pouring water into the ocean, Ramananda Raya is drawing everything from the Lord (Mahaprabhu) and like the cloud again he is returning those things to Mahaprabhu. From the ocean and to the ocean.” In substance everything is there. Mahaprabhu is inspiring Ramananda Raya and again he is showing how the disciple is receiving. In reality Mahaprabhu is inspiring loving service to the highest degree to Ramananda Raya, but outwardly He is just like a disciple questioning, showing that to understand about the highest loving service it is necessary to have a guru in the line of the gopis. In this way the gradation to the highest degree of loving service was given out by Ramananda Raya, and Mahaprabhu confirmed, “Yes, here it is found.”

Three stages were enacted by Mahaprabhu. The first as a disciple to take general spiritual initiation from guru, then after that, He is prepared to give that to the world, the preaching dress of renunciation was necessary and for that He took sannyas from Kesava Bharati. And the third stage, is when one gets admission into the higher life of loving service of gopi-bhajan, another advice was necessary and that was Ramananda’s position. He showed those three stages of our life, the highest bhajana being raga-bhajana, and to preach to the world in sannyas garb is also necessary. And also to get admission into the mantram, spiritual life in the beginning which He took from Iswara Puri. He also showed that example.

Both Ramananda Raya and Swarup Damodar are helping Mahaprabhu’s highest realizations. Only those two were the proper persons to attend Him in His antya-lila. One Brahman of dignified position came to Mahaprabhu to learn about bhakti. “I want to have instruction about Krishna from You.” Mahaprabhu stated, “But I don’t know about Krishna-katha, I am hearing from Ramananda, so you please go there.” So then he went and found Ramananda was engaged with some girls teaching them dancing - how to offer themselves before Jagganath. Returning to Mahaprabhu he complained, “Yes I went there and I found he is engaged in girl training so I came away.”

 

Mahaprabhu replied, “Yes, Ramananda is doing that and there is only one person in this world at present who can do that. Ramananda has got that right to train young girls how to direct their love towards Jagganath in the proper way. No other person. It can not be imitated. Don’t take it otherwise.”

So again he was sent back to him, and then Ramananda received him and spoke Krishna-katha all day to him. Then Pradyumna Misra was charmed, “How deep this love for Krishna is in Ramananda. The whole day has passed and still he is not feeling tied, going on and on. So mad in Krishna-katha, so full that he doesn’t even take food or water.” Then Pradyumna Misra came back to Mahaprabhu and reported, “Yes, Ramananda Raya has got deep affection for Krishna, so much so that when he comes to talk about Krishna he forgets himself totally, even the basic necessities of life, hunger and thirst, he forgets all these things. Yes Ramananda is like a vast deep ocean.”

 

TheTouch of Her Halo

Mahaprabhu never disclosed Himself as Radha-Krishna combined anywhere, but in front of Ramananda on the banks of the Godavari. To give admission to the public Radharani has unified with Krishna to distribute that highest service of the soul. Ramananda expressed “First I saw you as a sannyasi then as that Syama Gopal and now a glorious golden idol of a lady in Brajabasi dress is revealed. Speak plainly who are you? “Everywhere you see Krishna, you are cent per cent dedicated, so wherever you cast your glance you find Krishna. It is a mockery to conceal My real nature from you, I cannot hide from you. Through the power of your own dedication you know

everything.” Then He showed His real form. “My real color is not yellow, but by the touch of the halo of Radharani my blue body has been covered by Her lustre.” And Srimate Radharani is there, she does not have any other partner, but Krishna Himself, Swayam Bhagavan. No other face but God can stand with her. “So understand who I am, because Radharani does not accept anyone else as Her partner but Krishna - Rajendra Nandana. And it is she who has captured Me and has covered Me with her brilliant Halo. So understand who I am.” This He told to Ramananda Raya.

Ramananda lost his senses and fell in a swoon, then Mahaprabhu touched him again to awaken him, where he saw the sanyas form of Mahaprabhu telling him “now I am satisfied, as He got up to leave Ramananda was struck deaf and dumb. This sort of lila Mahaprabhu never expressed anywhere but at Vidyanagam on the bank of the Godavari where Prabhupad sent me to discover that sacred place in South India, and I was successful in that Quest.

In vaisnava seva

M Krsna das

[krsna 3]

OH YOU SONS OF NECTAR SONS OF THE NECTARINE OCEAN SEA;

PLEASE LISTEN TO ME.

 

YOU WERE BORN IN NECTAR. YOU WERE BORN TO TASTE NECTAR.

 

YOU MUST NOT ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE SATISFIED BY ANYTHING BUT NECTAR.

 

AWAKE ! ARISE ! SEARCH FOR THAT NECTAR.

 

SEARCH FOR SRI KRSNA REALITY THE BEAUTIFUL.

 

By - Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaj

 

[krsna 3]

TO THE DIVINE MASTER

AND

THE SUPREME LORD SREE KRISHNA CHAITANYA

THE HARMONIST

 

OR

 

SHREE SAJANATOSHANI

 

VOL. XXIX DECEMBER 1931, Chaitanya-Era 445 NO. 6.

 

 

 

 

Divine Transcendental Sound

 

You should be seeking for the genuine messenger of Transcendental Knowledge. He will come when we are deserving. Seeking after the genuine source is our first need. We require to find out from where to get Transcendental Knowledge. Otherwise we shall be whiling away our time and be perturbed by different advises. It is when we seek the company of persons who have made real progress on the path of pure devotion that our prayer will be attended to and He will send somebody to act on His behalf to tell us about Him.

We are to surrender all knowledge which is not adequate. Unless we do so we will have no chance of meeting the genuine person. We have to undo all that we have, otherwise we cannot expect to meet the genuine messenger. We must have ardent desire to seek the messenger of the Absolute Knowledge. When we are given something we delete some other thing which is found meager and faulty.

 

We are to seek Absolute Truth from Absolute Godhead, Fountain-Head of all Knowledge. Our present receiving instruments intercept and are for this defective aptitude not fit to enable us to grasp the full idea. The language of this world also obstructs the process. To offer the listening ear is alone necessary.

 

We should not be in a contradicting mood. If we contradict we won’t get satisfaction. When we are to seek the Absolute Knowledge we have to pray to God, the Absolute Knowledge, in our present crisis to criple all wrong knowledge.

 

When our prayer is acceded to we shall have access to the congregation of Sadhus, His agents and be enabled to pick up things of which we have no knowledge. We should pray for, not local truth but bonafide Truth. Offering of sincere prayer for this end is the first necessity.

 

The Absolute Truth has a Form. Material forms are now overpowering us. We should seek the Absolute Truth. He is not a molecular mass, not sulphuric acid, not a Nature’s product. We should be careful not to misunderstand.

 

The Absolute Truth is to come, to be visible, to us. Then only we can secure the Absolute Knowledge Who is quite different from any knowledge of this world. That Eternal Knowledge cannot be had here. We cannot also receive Perfect Knowledge, Empiricism should impress this on us.

 

No knowledge from ‘empiricists’, i.e., no knowledge drawn from the senses, will help us to gain the Absolute Knowledge which is not at all shaky but is Knowledge Personified through utterance of the bonafide messenger of the Absolute. It is perfectly useless to approach the empiricists for the true knowledge. They will enrich their disciples with mundane thought. If we do not pray for the Absolute Knowledge we shall be liable to fall into their clutches.

 

We, the true seekers require that a true messenger should come to us who will have no hankering for any temporary thing. As the Absolute Knowledge is ever-existing it must not be supposed to be the category of other knowledge. Our hearty prayer to the Divine Absolute who is not inanimate should be to the above effect. He can grasp, and understand our position well. He will then send His bonafide messenger who will speak all about Him. If we pray for the genuine agent He will send him with language and every equipment which will admit us to the Transcendental Region.

 

Our present environment is cubical. We cannot cross the cubical expansion. We know nothing about the fourth and higher dimensions. We do not know how we can cross over these difficulties. Unless a man talks in our language about that region and gives us access there through the Transcendental Sound we cannot understand. That Sound has a different character from the mundane sound. That Sound does not require to be supported by other senses. The Transcendental Word will serve every purpose. It will require no other test.

 

The distinctive face of the Transcendental Sound consists in this that we will have no necessity of exercising other sensuous activities, e.g., for ascertaining pleasantness of touch or temperature, etc. We would have no occasion to test when the sound is no part of the mundane vocabulary. In case of mundane vocabulary we find it necessary to test its correctness by four other senses and by previous experience. The Transcendental Sound will not require any such corroboration It clears all dirt, sweeps away everything detrimental to progress, through the lips of the messenger of Godhead. The agent of the Absolute is fully established in the Transcendental Region though he descends here as a messenger submitting the Transcendental Sound to our listening ears. When we are really in need Godhead will be merciful to send such a one according to our eligibility.

 

There are hundreds of processes by which Godhead can send His messengers and not in the shapes of human beings only. We must not be apathetic. All acquisitions of previous births and of this life will not give any real impression of the Truth but will give only wrong things. So we should be careful to seek only for the Absolute Knowledge. The Absolute Knowledge will be kind enough if we are bonafide seekers. Only then will He accede. He will then come to us through such symbols and signs as will enable us to shake off our connection with this world and come into contact with Him in the Form of the Transcendental Sound.

 

In the Transcendental Sound there is no dividing difference between sound, color, etc. Unless He grants our prayer we cannot make any progress whatsoever by the help of our divided sense-experience. We should pray to meet the Guru, Who can transmit the Transcendental Sound. We will then be relieved of our temporal understandings. Eternal non-shaky understandings are required. If we have no such desire we shall be simply waiting for the next life. Outside things of this world will then tempt us. They presume we shall be attracted by their figures promising to supply with something positive. But they will part from us after showing only their deceptive inclination to be serviceable.

 

If we have the help of the Transcendental Sound we shall have strength to make progress through company of persons who have no other inclination but to heave us to that region. We should meet such persons who should not be predominated over by the earthly aspects. The outside appearance will only lead us to wrong things. Many yogis etc., have gone astray in this way. We should see whether the person on whom we depend has firm inclination for the Absolute, whether he would never be deceiving us in the matter of securing us access to, not the region of three dimensions but, the Realm of the Absolute.

 

We should be sending our prayer to the Fountain-Head. We should show our aptitude for serving the Absolute. When we are true, when there is no hypocrisy, we shall then have the sight of the messengers of the Absolute, not in the shape of a human being only, who have no other aptitude but to heave us up. This can be had only through prayer to the Absolute. The prayer should be to this effect. `I know not what you are, what sort of color, etc., you have. I pray to know how I am to approach you’. He will then send things here which will show us His Perfect Form by rejecting all sorts of deluding features.

 

There will be arrangement by the Supreme Lord for enlightening the bonafide inquirer. We shall be relieved of all our impressions received by mundane exertions by something positive from the other region. It will produce in us apathy for picking up knowledge by such exertions. Exertions through the medium of the senses will lead to a wrong direction.

 

Let us leave off the challenging temper, offer our lending ear and hear what the messenger says. We will clear up doubts; by interrogatories. The messenger need not be targeted as our flatterer. He will be speaking in the most insolent way. He will undeceive us by bitter words. If we have any hankering for the Truth we should submit to listen. The first duty of the messenger of the Absolute is to cut off our wrong impressions, to change our taste. It is an unpalatable duty. But we shall make progress by his regulation. You should be prepared for bitter words for the undoing of whatever you have learnt. `You should only hear Me and I take all responsibility.’ The Geeta gives us this assurance.

 

`You need not be anxious for looking after your interests. I will look after all your interests. When you have surrendered unconditionally leaving aside all acquired impressions I will look after your interests and you need not be any more anxious about them’.

 

It is this kind of temperament that alone would lead us to all that we desire. If we simply go on puzzling over the thoughts of all the speculative philosophers, etc., we shall only be misled. If we prove to be peaceful and avail of the chance of lending our ear to the Transcendental Sound, we would make progress towards the Absolute and be relieved of all impediments. Hearing of Transcendental Sounds and descriptions is the medium that should be taken recourse to. This alone is wanted.

 

Visualizing enterprises are not required. That is our present habit. But we need not be puzzling with that. We should only pay sufficient attention to the Transcendental Sound. We shall only put questions to be met by the messenger who is well up with all information. He is a practical guide. One who has got the transcendental treasure can give us something to meet the expenses of our journey to that region. Otherwise we shall be cooped up and our days will pass for nothing.

 

The theistic side of our disposition should be cultivated with all patience. We should have the determination to hear patiently what graciously comes to us from that quarter. The true spirit or God-loving spirit is necessary when we want to single out the genuine messenger. We should then be charmed to find that every wish fully satisfied and that we are no longer dissuaded by any preventing temptations. Firm affinity for serving the Absolute is the one essential criterion for being successful, the first thing to pray for.

 

The next thing is to abide by His Providence and wait for His messenger who has every inclination to serve Him, to devote everything he has for the Absolute and has no wrong aptitude to deceive. Every Elevationist is a deceiver. Every Salvationist is also a deceiver as the selfish motive of neither would trace the True Transcendental Object. If one has any selfish motive he will be summarily dismissed as he has no desire to hear but only to look after his present temporary interests. But the seeming present interests are really doing him harm. If he surrenders them to Him He will do everything to shake off his lure of all temporary interests.

 

Most people are attending to the senses. They are thereby misguided in selecting the messenger of the Absolute. Elevationists are troubled by men who deprive by enriching them by the words that he is to attend to the present comfort of his senses. All Paradise-seekers belong to the category of fruitive workers who propose to get pleasure through the senses which they hope to retain in next life in order to gain pleasure there. The soul should be intelligent enough not to have such wrong desire. Our longest lien in heaven will end when the destructive energy will act and we shall be thrown off. On this plane the destructive energy has greater potency than the building energy. Such temporary enjoying mood should cease in a truly intelligent being. We should not be indulging in such mood. The temporary situation in heaven comes to an end automatically when all resource of good qualities of the enjoyer is exhausted. Such a person after such repeated disillusionment begets the desire to follow the wrong process of seeking after salvation with the object of merging his individual soul with the Oversoul. By such process we lose ourselves.

 

Our need is that we should be ever exercising all our efforts for the attainment of bliss. This need we are also feeling at present. But the pseudo-salvationists advise that we should commit suicide to be relieved of everything. But this sort of salvation has very little lien to disturb my thought. Such sort of advice of salvation should be non-co-operated. What kind of freedom will it be if their is no location for me? This is altogether wrong. I require eternal understanding, existence and bliss for my own individual self. This can only be had by coming in contact with the Transcendental Object Who is never subject to change in space and time.

 

Through a devotion i.e., by serving the Absolute Person, we can have what we need. The Absolute is not to be identified with any Nature’s product. He cannot be enjoyed. But on the contrary, He is the Sole Enjoyer. We feel pain and pleasure. We welcome all sorts of Bliss, we discard all pain. So we are agents for receiving uninterrupted bliss. We require help from other things e.g., such external helps as food to be consumed, air for breathing, etc. This experience has given us to understand that we always require help which is not to be supped by us but by some other things. We require such help at every step.

 

If such help is coming from transitory things to one who cannot retain his position for eternal time, such help will be quite inappropriate and inadequate. It will be useless for our purpose. If we are only helped by the Absolute we may get our true remedy. If we understand this we would know that the path of devotion to the Absolute is the only path of our true salvation and true elevation.

 

The securing of pseudo-elevation and pseudo-salvation available by our own initiative can not be described as the royal road. That help can only come from Him. If we serve Him, co-operate with Him, if all our acts are restricted to Him, He will certainly have mercy and guide us. In the Geeta, the Divine Personal Godhead gives us (mankind) this assurance, "Surrender everything you consider you have and with a pure soul come to Me, leaving your mortal coils and your mentality. Because you are denied, you are misled and I will give you everything that will convince you that the path of seeking everything from the All powerful is the only proper one and this will give you everything and at other paths will take you away from your object.

 

 

[krsna 3]

Q. - This is the only subject in which all of us are most vitally interested But what about serving humanity?

 

A. - To help humanity in the best which is to enlightened them about the Absolute Truth. All this trouble has come own to our diffidence in regard to the loving mood of approaching Him. When the Divine Call will come we will be regulated and get amply what we require.

 

[krsna 3]

A THOUSAND TEACHINGS

 

 

A METHOD OF ENLIGHTENING THE DISCIPLE

BY

Sripad Shankara Acarya

PART - I CHAPTER - I

 

1. We shall now explain a method of teaching the means to liberation for the benefit of those aspirants after liberation who are desirous (of this teaching) and are possessed of faith (in it).

 

2. That means to liberation, viz., Knowledge, should be explained again and again until it is firmly grasped, to a pure Brahmana disciple who is indifferent to everything that is transitory and achievable through certain means, who has given up the desire for a son, for wealth and for this world and the next, who has adopted the life of a wandering monk and is endowed with control over the mind and senses, with compassion etc., as well as with the qualities of a disciple well-known in the scriptures and who has approached the teacher in the prescribed manner and has been examined in respect of his caste, profession, conduct, learning and parentage.

 

3. The Sruti also says, "A Brahmana after examining those worlds which are the result of Vedic actions should be indifferent to them seeing that nothing eternal can be achieved by means of those actions. Then, with fuel in his hands he should approach a teacher versed in the Vedas and established in Brahman in order to know the Eternal. The learned teacher should correctly explain to that disciple who has self-control and a tranquil mind and has approached him in the prescribed manner, the knowledge of Brahman revealing the imperishable and the eternal Being". For only when knowledge is firmly grasped, it conduces to one’s own good and is capable of transmission. This transmission of knowledge is helpful to people, like a boat to one who wants to cross a river. The scriptures too say, "Although one may give to the teacher this world surrounded by oceans and full of riches, this knowledge is even greater than that". Otherwise there would be no attainment of knowledge. For the Srutis say, "A man having a teacher can know Brahman", "Knowledge received from a teacher alone (becomes perfect)", "The teacher is the pilot", "Right Knowledge is called in this world a raft", etc. The Smriti also says, "Knowledge will be imparted to you" etc.

 

4. When the teacher finds from signs that knowledge has not been grasped (or has been wrongly grasped) by the disciple he should remove the causes of non-comprehension which are: past and present sins, laxity, want of previous firm knowledge of what constitutes the subjects of discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal, courting popular esteem, vanity of caste etc., and so on, through means contrary to those causes, enjoined by the Srutis and Smritis, viz., avoidance of anger etc., and the vows (Yama) consisting of non-injury etc., also the rules of conduct that are not inconsistent with knowledge.

 

5. He should also thoroughly impress upon the disciple qualities like humility, which are the means to knowledge.

 

6. The teacher is one who is endowed with the power of furnishing arguments pro and con, of understanding questions and remembering them, who possesses tranquillity, self-control, compassion and a desire to help others, who is versed in the scriptures and unattached to enjoyments both seen and unseen, who has renounced the means to all kinds of actions, who is a knower of Brahman and is established in it, who is never a transgressor of the rules of conduct and who is devoid of shortcomings such as ostentation, pride, deceit, cunning, jugglery, jealousy, falsehood, egotism and attachment. He has the sole aim of helping others and a desire to impart the knowledge of Brahman only. He should first of all teach the Sruti texts establishing the oneness of the self with Brahman such as, "My child, in the beginning it (the universe) was Existence only, one alone without a second", "Where one sees nothing elseAll this is but the Self", "In the beginning all this was but the one Self" and "All this is verily Brahman".

 

7-8. After teaching these he should teach the definition of Brahman through such Sruti texts as "The self, devoid of sins", "The Brahman that is immediate and direct", "That which is beyond hunger and thirst", "Not-this, not-this", "Neither gross nor subtle", "This Self is not-this", "It is the Seer Itself unseen", "Knowledge-Bliss", "Existence-Knowledge-Infinite", "Imperceptible, bodiless", "That great unborn Self", "Without the vital force and the mind", "Unborn, comprising the interiorn and exterior", "Consisting of knowledge only", "Without interior or exterior", "It is verily beyond what is known as also what is unknown" and "Called Akasa (the self-effulgent One)"; and also through such Smriti texts as the following: "It is neither born nor dies", "It is not affected by anybody’s sins", "Just as air is always in the ether", "The individual Self should be regarded as the universal one", "It is called neither existent nor non-existent", "As the Self is beginningless and devoid of qualities", "The same in all beings" and "The Supreme Being is different" – all these support the definition given by the Srutis and prove that the innermost Self is beyond transmigratory existence and that it is not different from Brahman, the all-comprehensive principle.

9. The disciple who has thus learnt the definition of the inner Self from the Srutis and the Smritis and is eager to cross the ocean of transmigratory existence is asked, "Who are you, my child ?"

10-11. If he says, "I am the son of a Brahmana belonging to such and such a lineage; I was a student or a householder and am now a wandering monk anxious to cross the ocean of transmigratory existence infested with the terrible sharks of birth and death", the teacher should say, "My child, how do you desire to go beyond transmigratory existence as your body will be eaten up by birds or will turn into earth even here when you die ? For, burnt to ashes on this side of the river, you cannot cross to the other side".

12-13. If he says, "I am different from the body. The body is born and it dies; it is eaten up by birds, is destroyed by weapons, fire etc., and suffers from diseases and the like. I have entered it, like a bird its nest, on account of merit and demerit accruing from acts done by myself and like a bird going to another nest when the previous one is destroyed I shall enter into different bodies again and again as a result of merits and demerits when the present body is gone. Thus in this beginningless world on account of my own actions I have been giving up successive bodies assumed among gods, men, animals and the denizens of hell and assuming ever new ones. I have in this way been made to go round and round in the cycle of endless births and deaths, as in a Persian wheel by my past actions and having in the course of time obtained the present body I have got tired of this going round and round in the wheel of transmigration and have come to you, Gurudev, to put an end to this rotation. I am, therefore, always different from the body. It is bodies that come and go, like clothes on a person", the teacher would reply, "You have spoken well. You see aright. Why then did you wrongly say, ‘I am the son of a Brahmana belonging to such and such a lineage, I was a student or a householder and am now a wandering monk ?"

14-15. If the disciple says, "How did I speak wrongly, Gurudev ?", the teacher would reply, "Because by your statement, ‘I am the son of a Brahmana belonging to such and such a lineage etc.,’ you identified with the Self devoid of birth, lineage and purificatory ceremonies, the body possessed of them that are different (from the Self)".

16-17. If he asks, "How is the body possessed of the diversities of birth, lineage and purificatory ceremonies (different from the Self) and how am I devoid of them ?", the teacher would say, "Listen, my child, how this body is different from you and is possessed of birth, lineage and sanctifying ceremonies and how you are free from these". Speaking this he will remind the disciple saying, "You should remember, my child, you have been told about the innermost Self which is the Self of all, with its characteristics as described by the Srutis such as ‘This was existence, my child’ etc., as also the Smritis and you should remember these characteristics also".

18. The teacher should say to the disciple who has remembered the definition of the Self, "That which is called Akasa (the self-effulgent one) which is distinct from name and form, bodiless and defined as not gross etc., and as free from sins and so on, which is untouched by all transmigratory conditions, ‘The Brahman that is immediate and direct’, ‘The innermost Self’, ‘The unseen seer, the unheard listener, the unthought thinker, the unknown knower’, which is of the nature of eternal knowledge, without interior or exterior, consisting only of knowledge, all-pervading like the ether and of infinite power – that Self of all, devoid of hunger etc., as also of appearance and disappearance, is, by virtue of Its inscrutable power, the cause of the manifestation of unmanifested name and form which abide in the Self through Its very presence, but are different from It, which are the seed of the universe, are describable neither as identical with It nor different from It and are cognized by It alone.

19. "That name and form though originally, unmanifested, took the name and form of ether as they were manifested from that Self. This element called the ether thus arose out of the supreme Self, like the dirt called foam coming out of transparent water. Foam is neither water nor absolutely different from it. For it is never seen apart from water. But water is clear and different from the foam which is of the nature of dirt. Similarly, the Supreme Self, which is pure and transparent, is different from name and form, which stand for foam. These – corresponding to the foam – having originally been unmanifest, took the name and form of the ether as they were manifested.

20. "Name and form, as they became still grosser in the course of manifestation, assumed the form of air. From that again they became fire, from that water and thence earth. In this order the preceding elements penetrated the succeeding ones and the five gross elements ending with earth came into existence. Earth, therefore, possesses the qualities of all the five gross elements. From earth, compounded of all five great elements, herbs such as paddy and barley are produced. From these, after they are eaten, are formed blood and the seed of women and men respectively. These two ingredients drawn out, as by a churning rod, by lust springing from ignorance and sanctified by Mantras, are placed in the womb at the proper time. Through the infiltration of the sustaining fluids of the mother’s body, it develops into an embryo and is delivered at the ninth or tenth month.

21. "It is born, or is possessed of a form and a name and is purified by means of Mantras relating to natal and other ceremonies. Sanctified again by the ceremony of investiture with the holy thread, it gets the appellation of a student. The same body is designated a house-holder when it undergoes the sacrament of being joined to a wife. That again is called a recluse when it undergoes the ceremonies pertaining to retirement into the forest. And it becomes known as a wandering monk when it performs the ceremonies leading to the renunciation of all activities. Thus the body which has birth, lineage and purificatory ceremonies different (from the Self) is different from you.

22. "That the mind and the senses are also of the nature of name and form is known from the Sruti, ‘The mind, my child, consists of food’.

23. "You said, ‘How am I devoid of birth, lineage and sanctifying ceremonies which are different (from the Self) ?’ Listen. The same one who is the cause of the manifestation of name and form and who is devoid of all connection with sanctifying ceremonies, evolved name and form, created this body and entered into it (which is but name and form) – who is Himself the unseen Seer, the unheard Listener, the unthought Thinker, the unknown Knower as stated in the Sruti text, ‘(I know) who creates names and forms and remains speaking.’ There are thousands of Sruti texts conveying the same meaning, for instance, ‘He created and entered into it’, ‘Entering into them He rules all creatures’. ‘He, the Self, has entered into these bodies’, ‘This is your Self’. ‘Opening this very suture of the skull He got in by that door’, ‘This Self is concealed in all beings’, ‘That Divinity thought – let Me enter into these three deities.’

24. "Smriti texts too elucidate the same truth; for example, ‘All gods verily are the Self’, ‘The Self in the city of nine gates’, ‘Know the individual Self to be Myself’, ‘The same in all beings’, ‘The witness and approver’, ‘The Supreme Being is different’, ‘Residing in all bodies but Itself devoid of any’, and so on. Therefore it is established that you are without any connection with birth, lineage and sanctifying ceremonies".

25. If he says, "I am in bondage, liable to transmigration, ignorant, (sometimes) happy, (sometimes) unhappy and am entirely different from Him; He, the shining One, who is dissimilar in nature to me and is beyond transmigratory existence, is also different from me; I want to worship Him through the actions pertaining to my caste and order of life by making presents and offerings to Him and also by making salutations and the like. I am eager to cross the ocean of the world in this way. So how am I He Himself ?"

26. The teacher should say, "You ought not, my child, regard it so; because a doctrine of difference is forbidden.’ In reply to the question, "Why is it forbidden", the following other Sruti texts may be cited: "He who knows ‘that Brahman is one and I am another’ does not know (Brahman)", "He who regards the Brahmanical caste as different from himself is rejected by that caste.He who perceives diversity in Brahman goes from death to death", and so on.

27. These Srutis show that transmigratory existence is the sure result of the acceptance of (the reality of) difference.

28. "That, on the other hand, liberation results from the acceptance of (the reality of) non-difference is borne out by thousands of Srutis; for example, after teaching that the individual Self is not different from the Supreme One, in the text, "That is the Self, thou art That", and after saying, "A man who has a teacher knows Brahman", the Srutis prove liberation to be the result of the knowledge of (the reality of) non-difference only, by saying, ‘A knower of Brahman has to wait only so long as he is not merged in Brahman’. That transmigratory existence comes to an absolute cessation, (in the case of one who speaks the truth that difference has no real existence), is illustrated by the example of one who was not a thief and did not get burnt (by grasping a heated hatchet); and that one, speaking what is not true (i.e., the reality of difference), continues to be in the mundane condition, is illustrated by the example of a thief who got burnt.

29. "The Sruti text commencing with ‘Whatever these creatures are here, whether a tiger or’ etc., and similar other texts, after asserting that ‘One becomes one’s own master (i.e., Brahman)’ by the knowledge of (the reality of) non-difference, show that one continues to remain in the transmigratory condition in the opposite case as the result of the acceptance of (the reality of) difference, saying, ‘Knowing differently from this they get other beings for their masters and reside in perishable regions’. Such statements are found in every branch of the Veda. It was, therefore, certainly wrong on your part to say that you were the son of a Brahmana, that you belonged to such and such a lineage, that you were subject to transmigration and that you were different from the Supreme Self".

30. Therefore, on account of the rebuttal of the perception of duality, it should be understood that, on the knowledge of one’s identity with the Supreme Self, the undertaking of religious rites which have the notion of duality for their province and the assumption of Yajnopavita etc., which are the means to their performance, are forbidden. For these rites and Yajnopavita etc., which are their means, are inconsistent with the knowledge of one’s identity with the Supreme Self. It is only on those people that refer classes and orders of life etc., to the Self that Vedic actions and Yajnopavita etc., which are their means, are enjoined and not on those who have acquired the knowledge of their identity with the Supreme Self. That one is other than Brahman is due only on account of the perception of difference.

31. "If Vedic rites were to be performed and not meant to be renounced, the Sruti would neither have declared the identity of oneself with the Supreme Self unrelated to those rites, their means, castes, orders of life, etc., which are the conditions of Vedic actions, in unambiguous sentences like ‘That is the Self, thou art That;’ nor would it have condemned the acceptance of (the reality of) difference in clauses such as ‘It is the eternal glory of the knower of Brahman’, ‘Untouched by virtue, untouched by sin’, and ‘Here a thief is no thief’, etc."

32. "The Srutis would not have stated that the essential nature of the Self was in no way connected with Vedic rites and conditions required by them such as a particular class and the rest, if they did not intend that those rites and Yajnopavita etc., their means, should be given up. Therefore, Vedic actions which are incompatible with the knowledge of the identity of oneself with the Supreme Self, should be renounced together with their means by one who aspires after liberation; and it should be known that the Self is no other than Brahman as defined in the Srutis".

33. If he says, "The pain on account of burns or cuts in the body and the misery caused by hunger and the like, Gurudev, are distinctly perceived to be in me. The Supreme Self is known in all the Srutis and the Smritis to be ‘free from sin, old age, death, grief, hunger, thirst, etc., and devoid of smell and taste’. How can I who am different from Him and possess so many phenomenal attributes, possibly accept the Supreme Self as myself, and myself, a transmigratory being, as the Supreme Self ? I may then very well admit that fire is coll ! Why should I, a man of the world entitled to accomplish all prosperity in this world and in the next and realise the supreme end of life, i.e., liberation, give up the actions producing those results and Yajnopavita etc., their accessories ?"

34. The teacher should say to him, ‘It was not right for you to say, ‘I directly perceive the pain in me when my body gets cuts or burns’. Why ? Because the pain due to cuts or burns, perceived in the body, the object of the perception of the perceiver like a tree burnt or cut, must have the same location as the burns etc. People point out pain caused by burns and the like to be in that place where they occur but not in the perceiver. How ? For, on being asked where one’s pain lies, one says, ‘I have pain in the head, in the chest or in the stomach.’ Thus one points out pain in that place where burns or cuts occur, but never in the perceiver. If pain or its causes viz., burns or cuts, were in the perceiver, then one would have pointed out the perceiver to be the seat of the pain, like the parts of the body, the seats of the burns or cuts.

35. "Moreover, (if it were in the Self) the pain could not be perceived by the Self like the colour of the eye by the same eye. Therefore, as it is perceived to have the same seat as burns, cuts and the like, pain must be an object of perception like them. Since it is an effect, it must have a receptacle like that in which rice is cooked. The impressions of pain must have the same seat as pain itself. As they are perceived during the time when memory is possible (i.e., in waking and dream, and not in deep sleep), these impressions must have the same location as pain. The aversion to cuts, burns and the like, the causes of pain, must also have the same seat as the impressions (of pain). It is therefore said, ‘Desire, aversion and fear have a seat common with that of the impressions of colours. As they have for their seat the intellect, the knower, the Self, is always pure and devoid of fear’.

36. "’What is then the locus of the impressions of colours and the rest ?’ ‘The same as that of lust etc.,’ ‘Where again are lust etc., ?’ ‘They are in the intellect (and no where else) according to the Sruti – lust, deliberation, doubt’. ‘The impressions of colours and so forth are also there (and nowhere else) according to the Sruti – what is the seat of colours ? The intellect’. That desire, aversion and the like are the attributes of the embodiment, the object and not the Self, is known from the Srutis ‘Desires that are in the intellect’, ‘For he is then beyond all the woes of his heart (intellect)’. ‘Because It is unattached’, ‘Its form untouched by desires’ and from Smritis such as ‘It is said to be changeless’, ‘Because It is beginningless and without attributes’ and so on. Therefore (it is concluded that) impurity pertains to the object and not to the Self.

37-38. "Therefore you are not different from the supreme Self in as much as you are devoid of impurities such as the connection with the impressions of colours and the like. As there is no contradiction to perceptional evidence etc., the supreme Self should be accepted as oneself according to the Srutis. ‘It knew the pure Self to be Brahman’, ‘It should be regarded as homogeneous’, ‘It is I that am below’, It is the Self that is below’, ‘He knows everything to be the Self’, ‘When everything becomes the Self’, ‘All this verily is the Self’, ‘He is without parts’, ‘Without the interior and exterior’, ‘Unborn, comprising the interior and exterior’, ‘All this verily is Brahman’, ‘It entered through this door’, ‘The names of pure knowledge’, ‘Existence, Knowledge, Infinite Brahman’, ‘From It’, ‘It created and entered it’, ‘The shining One without a second concealed in all beings and all-pervading’, ‘In all bodies Itself bodiless’, ‘It is not born and does not die’, ‘(Knowing) dream and waking, He is my Self, thus one should know’, ‘Who (knows) all beings,’ ‘It moves and moves not’, knowing It, one becomes worthy of being worshipped, ‘It and nothing but It is fire’, ‘I became Manu and the sun’, ‘Entering into them He rules all creatures’, ‘Existence only, my child,’ ‘That is real, That is the Self, thou art That’.

"It is established that you, the Self, are the supreme Brahman, the One only and devoid of every phenomenal attribute, from the Smritis also such as ‘All beings are the body of One who resides in the hearts of all,’ ‘Gods are verily the Self’, ‘In the city of nine gates’, ‘The same in all beings’, ‘In a Brahmana wise and courteous’, ‘Undivided in things divided and ‘All this verily is Vasudeva (the Self).’"

39. If he says, "If, Gurudev, the Self is ‘Without interior or exterior’, ‘Comprising interior and exterior, unborn’, ‘Whole’, ‘Pure consciousness only’ like a lump of salt, devoid of all the various forms, and of a homogeneous nature like the ether, what is it that is observed in ordinary usage and revealed in Srutis and Smritis as what is to be accomplished, its (appropriate) means and its accomplishers and is made the subject-matter of contention among hundreds of rival disputants holding different views ?"

40. The teacher should say, "Whatever is observed (in this world) or learnt from the Srutis (regarding the next world) are products of Ignorance. But in reality there is only One, the Self, who appears to be many to deluded vision, like the moon appearing more than one to eyes affected by amaurosis. That duality is the product of Ignorance follows from the reasonableness of the condemnation by the Srutis of the acceptance of (the reality of) difference such as ‘When there is something else as it were’, ‘When there is duality as it were, one sees another’, ‘He goes from death to death’, ‘And where one sees something else, hears something else, cognizes something else, that is finite and that which is finite is mortal’, ‘Modifications (i.e., effects e.g., an earthen jar) being only names, have for their support words only, it is earth alone (i.e., the cause) that is real’ and ‘He is one, I am another’. The same thing follows from the Srutis teaching unity, for example, ‘One only without a second’, ‘When the knower of Brahman’ and ‘What delusion or grief is there ?’"

41. "If it be so, Gurudev, why do the Srutis speak of diverse ends to be attained, their means and so forth, as also the evolution and the dissolution of the universe ?"

42. "The answer to your question is this: Having acquired (having identified himself with) the various things such as the body and the rest, considering the Self to be connected with what is desirable and what is undesirable and so on, though eager to attain the desirable and avoid the undesirable by appropriate means – for without certain means nothing can be accomplished – an ignorant man cannot discriminate between the means to the realisation of what is (really) desirable for him and the means to the avoidance of what is undesirable. It is the gradual removal of this ignorance that is the aim of the scriptures; but not the enunciation of (the reality of) the difference of the end, means and so on. For it is this very difference that constitutes this undesirable transmigratory existence. The scriptures, therefore, root out the ignorance constituting this (false) conception of difference which is the cause of phenomenal existence by giving reasons for the oneness of the evolution, dissolution, etc., of the universe.

43. "When ignorance is uprooted with the aid of the Sruti, Smriti and reasoning, the one-pointed intellect of the seer of the supreme Truth becomes established in the one Self which is of the nature of pure Consciousness like a (homogeneous) lump of salt, all-pervading like the ether, which is without the interior and exterior, unborn and is within and without. Even the slightest taint of impurity due to the diversity of ends, means, evolution, dissolution and the rest is, therefore, not reasonable.

44. "One who is eager to realise this right knowledge spoken of in the Sruti should rise above the desire for a son, wealth and this world and the next which are described in a five-fold manner and are the outcome of a false reference to the Self, of castes, orders of life and so on. As this reference is contradictory to right knowledge, it is intelligible why reasons are given regarding the prohibition of the acceptance of (the reality of) difference. For when the knowledge that the one non-dual Self is beyond phenomenal existence is generated by the scriptures and reasoning, there cannot exist side by side with it a knowledge contrary to it. None can think of chillness in fire or immortality and freedom from old age in regard to the (perishable) body. One, therefore, who is eager to be established in the knowledge of the Reality should give up all actions with Yajnopavita and the rest, their accessories, which are the effects of ignorance".

HERE ENDS A METHOD OF ENLIGHTENING THE DISCIPLE.

 

CHAPTER - II

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHANGELESS AND NON-DUAL SELF

45. A certain Brahmacharin, tired of the transmigratory existence consisting of birth and death and aspiring after liberation, approached in the prescribed manner a Knower of Brahman established in It and sitting at ease and said, "How can I, Gurudev, be liberated from this transmigratory existence ? Conscious of the body, the senses and their objects, I feel pain in the state of waking and also in the state of dream again and again after intervals of rest in deep sleep experienced by me. Is this my own nature or is it causal, I being of a different nature ? If it be my own nature, I can have no hope of liberation as one’s own nature cannot be got rid of. But if it be causal, liberation from it may be possible by removing the cause."

46. The teacher said to him, "Listen, my child, it is not your nature but causal".

47. Told thus the disciple said, ‘What is the cause, what will bring it to an end and what is my nature ? That cause being brought to an end, there will be the absence of the effect and I shall come by my own nature, just like a patient who gets back the normal condition (of his health) when the cause of his disease is removed".

48. The teacher said, "The cause is Ignorance, Knowledge brings it to an end. When Ignorance, the cause, will be removed, you will be liberated from the transmigratory existence consisting of birth and death. You will never again feel pain in the states of waking and dream".

49.The disciple said "What is that Ignorance ? What is its seat ? (What is its object?) and what is Knowledge by means of which I may come by my own nature?"

50. The teacher said, "You are the non-transmigratory Supreme Self, but you wrongly think that you are one liable to transmigration. (Similarly), not being an agent or an experiencer you wrongly consider yourself to be so. Again, you are eternal but mistake yourself to be non-eternal. That is Ignorance."

51. The disciple said, "Though eternal, I am not the Supreme Self. My Nature is one of transmigratory existence consisting of agency and experiencing of its results, as it is known by evidences such as sense-perception etc. It is not due to Ignorance. For it cannot have the innermost Self for its object. Ignorance consists of the superimposition of the qualities of one thing on another e.g., well-known silver on well-known mother-of-pearl or a well-known human being on a (well-known) trunk of a tree and vice versa. An unknown thing cannot be superimposed on a known one and vice versa. The non-Self cannot be superimposed on the Self, for It is not known. Similarly, the Self cannot be superimposed on the non-Self for the very same reason".

52. The teacher said to him, "It is not so. There are exceptions. For, my child, there cannot be a rule that it is only well-known things that are superimposed on other well-known things, for we meet with the superimposition of certain things on the Self. Fairness and blackness, the properties of the body, are superimposed on the Self which is the object of the consciousness ‘I’, and the same Self is superimposed on the body".

53. The disciple said, "In that case the Self must be well-known owing to Its being the object of the consciousness ‘I’. The body also must be well-known, for it is spoken of as ‘this’ (body). When this is so, it is a case of mutual superimposition of the well-known body and the well-known Self, like that of a human being and the trunk of a tree or that of silver and mother-of-pearl. (There is, therefore, no exception here). So what is the peculiarity with reference to which you said that there could not be a rule that mutual superimposition was possible of two well-known things only ?"

54. The teacher said, "Listen. It is true that the Self and the body are well-known, but they are not well-known to all people to be objects of different knowledges, like a human being and a trunk of tree. (Question). How are they known then ? (Reply). (They are always known) to be the objects of an undifferentiated knowledge. For, no one knows them to be the objects of different knowledges saying, ‘This is the body’ and ‘This is the Self’. It is for this reason that people are deluded about the nature of the Self and of the non-Self and say, ‘The Self is of this nature’ and ‘It is not of this nature’. It was this peculiarity with reference to which I said that there was no such rule (viz., only well-known things could be superimposed on each other)."

55. Disciple: "Whatever is superimposed through Ignorance on anything else is found to be non-existent in that thing, e.g., silver in mother-of-pearl, a human being in the trunk of a tree, a snake in a rope and the form of a frying pan and blueness in the sky. Similarly, both the body and the Self, always the objects of an undifferentiated knowledge, would be non-existent in each other if they were mutually superimposed. Just as silver etc., superimposed on mother-of-pearl and other things and vice versa are always absolutely non-existent. Likewise, the Self and the non-Self would both be non-existent if they were similarly superimposed on each other through Ignorance. But that is not desirable as it is the position of the Nihilists. If, instead of a mutual superimposition the body (alone) is superimposed through Ignorance on the Self, the body will be non-existent in the existing Self. That is also not desirable. For it contradicts sense-perception etc. Therefore the body and the Self are not mutually superimposed due to Ignorance. (If they are not superimposed) what then ? They are always in the relation of conjunction with each other like pillars and bamboos".

56. Teacher: "It is not so. For in that case there arises the possibility of the Self existing for the benefit of another and being non-eternal. The Self, if in contact with the body, would be existing for the benefit of another and be non-eternal like the combination of pillars and bamboos. Moreover, the Self, supposed by other philosophers to be conjoined with the body, must have an existence for the sake of another. It is, therefore, concluded that devoid of contact with the body the Self is eternal and characteristically different from it".

57. Disciple: "The objections that the Self as the body only is non-existent, non-eternal and so on, hold good if the Self which is not conjoined with the body were superimposed on it. The body would then be without a Self and so the Nihilist position comes in".

58. Teacher: "No. (You are not right). For we admit that, like the ether, the Self is by nature free from contact with anything. Just as things are not bereft of the ether though it is not in contact with them, so, the body etc., are not devoid of the Self though It is not in contact with them. Therefore the objection of the Nihilist position coming in does not arise.

59. "It is not a fact that the absolute non-existence of the body contradicts sense-perception etc., inasmuch as the existence of the body in the Self is not known by these evidences. The body is not known to exist in the Self by perception etc., like a plum in a hole, ghee in milk, oil in sesame or a picture painted on a wall. There is, therefore, no contradiction to sense-perception etc."

60. Disciple: "How can then there be the superimposition of the body etc., on the Self which is not known by sense-perception etc., and that of the Self on the body ?"

61. Teacher: :It is not a (valid) objection. For the Self is naturally well-known. As we see the form of a frying pan and blueness superimposed on the sky, there cannot be a rule that it is things known occasionally only on which superimposition is possible and not on things always known".

62. Disciple: "Gurudev, is the mutual superimposition of the body and the Self made by the combination of the body etc., or by the Self ?"

63. The teacher said, "Does it matter if it be made by the one or the other ?"

64. Questioned thus the disciple said, "If I were only a combination of the body etc., I would be non-conscious and would exist for the sake of another only. Therefore the mutual superimposition of the body and the Self could not be made by me. If on the other hand, I were the Self I would be characteristically different from the combination of the body etc., would be conscious and, therefore, would exist entirely for myself. So it is I, a conscious being, who make that superimposition, the root of all evils, on the Self".

65. Thus told, the teacher said, "Do not make any superimposition, if you know it to be the root of all evils".

66. Disciple: "Gurudev, I cannot but make it, I am not independent. I am made to act by someone else."

67. Teacher: "Then you do not exist for yourself as you are non-conscious. That by which you are made to act like one dependent on another is conscious and exists for itself. You are only a combination (of the body and other things)."

68. Disciple: "How am I conscious of pain and pleasure and also of what you say, if I be non-conscious ?"

69. Teacher: "Are you different from the consciousness of pain and pleasure and from what I say or not ?"

70. The disciple said, "It is not a fact that I am not different from them. For I know them to be objects of my knowledge like jars and other things. If I were not different, I could not know them. But I know them; so I am different. If I were not different, the modifications of the mind called pain and pleasure and the words spoken by you would exist for themselves. But that is not reasonable. For pleasure and pain produced by sandal paste and a thorn respectively and also the use of a jar are not for their own sake. Therefore the purposes served by sandal paste etc., are for the sake of me who am their knower. I am different from them as I know all things pervaded by the intellect".

71. The teacher said to him, "As you are possessed of consciousness, you exist for yourself and are not made to act by anyone else. For an independent conscious being is not made to act by another as it is not reasonable that one possessed of consciousness exists for the sake of another possessing consciousness, both being of the same nature like the lights of two lamps. Nor does one possessed of consciousness exist for the sake of another having no consciousness; for it is not possible that a thing exists for itself for the very fact that it is non-conscious. Nor again is it seen that two non-conscious things exist for each other, as wood and a wall do not serve each other’s purpose".

72. Disciple: "But it may be said that the servant and the master are seen to serve each other’s purpose though they are equally possessed of consciousness.

73. Teacher: "It is not so. For I speak of consciousness belonging to you like heat and light to fire. It is for this reason that I cited the example of the lights of two lamps. Therefore, as changeless and eternal consciousness, like the heat and light of fire, you know everything presented to your intellect. Thus when you always know the Self to be without any attribute, why did you say, ‘I experience pain and pleasure again and again during the states of waking and dream after intervals of rest in deep sleep ?’ And why did you say, ‘Is it my own nature or causal ?’ Has this delusion vanished or not ?"

74. To this, the disciple replied, "The delusion, Gurudev, is gone by your grace; but I have doubts about the changeless nature which, you say, pertains to me".

Teacher: "What doubts ?"

Disciple: "Sound etc., do not exist independently as they are non-conscious. But they come into existence when there arise in the mind modifications resembling sound and so on. It is impossible that these modifications should have an independent existence as they are exclusive of one another as regards their special characteristics (of resembling sound etc.,) and appear to be blue, yellow, etc. (So sound etc., are not the same as mental modifications). It is therefore inferred that these modifications are caused by external objects. So it is proved that modifications resemble sound etc., objects existing externally. Similarly, these different modifications of the mind also are combinations and therefore non-conscious. So, not existing for their own sake they, like sound etc., exist only when known by one different from them. Though the Self is not a combination, It consists of Consciousness and exists for Its own sake; It is the knower of the mental modifications appearing to be blue, yellow and so on. It must, therefore, be of a changeful nature. Hence is the doubt about the changeless nature of the Self".

75. The teacher said to him, "Your doubt is not justifiable. For you, the Self, are proved to be free from change and therefore perpetually the same on the ground that all the modifications of the mind without a single exception are (simultaneously) known by you. You regard this knowledge of all the modifications which is the reason for the above inference as that for your doubt. If you were changeful like the mind or the senses (which pervade their objects one after another), you would not simultaneously know all the mental modifications, the objects of your knowledge. Nor are you aware of a portion only of the objects of your knowledge (at a time). You are, therefore, absolutely changeless".

76. The disciple said, "Knowledge is the meaning of a root and therefore surely consists of a change; and the Knower (as you say) is of a changeless nature. This is a contradiction."

77. Teacher: "It is not so. For the word knowledge is used only in a secondary sense to mean a change called an action, the meaning of a root. A modification of the intellect called an action ends in a result in itself which is the reflection of Knowledge, the Self. It is for this reason that this modification is called knowledge in a secondary sense, just as the action of cutting a thing in two is secondarily called its separation in two which is the ultimate result of the action of cutting the thing.

78. Being told thus, the disciple said, "Gurudev, the example cited by you cannot prove that I am changeless".

Teacher: "How ?"

Disciple: "For, just as the ultimate separation (into two) is used secondarily for the action of cutting which is the meaning of a root, so the word knowledge is used secondarily for the mental modification which is the meaning of a root and which ends in the result that is a change in Knowledge. The example cited by you, therefore, cannot establish the changeless nature of the Self".

79. The teacher said, "What you say would be true if there were a distinction existing between the Knower and Knowledge. For, the Knower is eternal Knowledge only. The Knower and Knowledge are not different as they are in the argumentative philosophy."

80. Disciple: "How is it then that an action ends in a result which is Knowledge.

81. The teacher said, "Listen. It was said that the mental modification, called an action, ended in a result which was the reflection of Knowledge. Did you not hear it ? I did not say that a change was produced in the Self as a result (of the modification of the mind").

82. The disciple said, "How then am I who am changeless, the knower, as you say, of all the mental modifications, the objects of my knowledge ?"

83. The teacher said to him, "I told you the right thing. The very fact (that you know simultaneously all the mental modifications) was adduced by me as the reason why you are eternally immutable".

84. Disciple: "If this is so, Gurudev, what is my fault when the mental changes resembling sound etc., and resulting in the reflection of Knowledge, My own nature, are produced in Me who am of the nature of changeless and eternal Consciousness?"

85. Teacher: "It is true that you are not to be blamed. Ignorance, as I told you before, is the only fault".

86. Disciple: "Gurudev, why are there the states of dream and waking (in me) if I am absolutely changeless like one in deep sleep ?"

87. The teacher said to him, "But you always experience them (whenever they arise)."

88. Disciple: "Yes, I experience them, at intervals but not continuously".

89. The teacher said, "They are then adventitious only and are not your own nature. They will surely be continuous if they were self existent like Pure Consciousness which is your own nature. Moreover, they are not your own nature inasmuch as they are non-persistent like clothes and other things. For what is one’s own nature is never seen to cease to persist while one is persisting. But waking and dream cease to persist while Pure Consciousness continues to do so. Pure Consciousness, the Self, persisting in deep sleep, whatever is non-persistent (at that time) is either destroyed or negated inasmuch as adventitious things, never the properties of one’s own nature, are found to possess these characteristics; for example, the destruction of money, clothes, etc., and the negation of things acquired in dream or delusion are seen".

100. Disciple: "But, Gurudev, when this is so, Pure Consciousness Itself has to be admitted to be adventitious like waking and dream. For it is not known in deep sleep. Or, (it may be that I have adventitious consciousness or) am non-conscious by nature".

101. Teacher: "No. (What you say is not right). Think over it. It is not reasonable (to say so). You may look upon Pure Consciousness as adventious (if you are wise enough); but we cannot prove It to be so by reasoning even in a hundred years, nor (can It be proved to be so) even by a dull man. As the consciousness (that has for its adjuncts mental modifications) is a combination, no one can prevent its existence for the sake of another, its manyness and destructibility by any reasoning whatever; for we have already said that whatsoever does not exist for itself is not self-existent. As Pure Consciousness, the Self, is self-existent. No one can prevent Its independence of other things inasmuch as It never ceases to exist".

102. Disciple: "But I have shown an exception, namely, I have no consciousness in deep sleep."

103. Teacher: "No, you contradict yourself".

Disciple: "How is it a contradiction ?"

Teacher: "You contradict yourself by saying that you are not conscious when, as a matter of fact, you are so".

Disciple: "But, Gurudev, I was never conscious of consciousness or anything else in deep sleep."

Teacher: "You are then conscious in deep aleep. For you deny the existence of the objects of Knowledge (in that state), but not that of Knowledge. I have told you that what is your consciousness is nothing but absolute Knowledge. The Consciousness owing to whose presence you deny (the existence of things in deep sleep) by saying, ‘I was conscious of nothing’ is the Knowledge, the Consciousness which is your Self. As It never ceases to exist, Its eternal immutability is self-evident and does not depend on any evidence; for an object of Knowledge different from the self-evident Knower depends on an evidence in order to be known. Other than the object the eternal Knowledge, that is indispensable in proving non-conscious things other then Itself, is immutable; for It is always of a self-evident nature. Just as iron, water, etc., which are not of the nature of light and heat, depend for them in the sun, fire and other things other than themselves, but the sun and fire themselves, always of the nature of light and heat, do not depend forr them on anything else; so, being of the nature of pure Knowledge It does not depend on an evidence to prove that It exists or that It is the Knower."

104. Disciple: "But it is transitory knowledge only that is the result of a proof and not eternal Knowledge".

105. Teacher: "No. There cannot reasonably be a distinction of perpetuity or otherwise in Knowledge. For it is not known that transitory Knowledge is the result of a proof and not eternal Knowledge, as Knowledge Itself is such a result".

106. Disciple: "But eternal Knowledge does not depend on a Knower while transitory Knowledge does so as it is produced by an intervening effort. This is the difference".

107. Teacher: "The Knower which is the Self is then self-evident as It does not depend on any evidence (in order to be proved)."

108. Disciple: "(If the Knowledge of the Self be independent of an evidence on the ground that It is eternal), why should the absence of the result of an evidence with regard to the Self be not so on the same ground ?"

Teacher: "No, it has been refused on the ground that it is pure Knowledge that is in the Self".

109. "Whom will the desire (to know a thing) belong to, if the Knower depend on an evidence in order to be known ? It is admitted that one who is desirous of knowing a thing is the knower. His desire of knowing a thing has for its object the thing to be known and not the knower. For, in the latter case, there arises a regressus ad infinitum with regard to the knower and also with regard to the desire to know the knower, inasmuch as the knower of the knower and so on (are to be known). Moreover, there being nothing intervening, the knower, the Self, cannot fall into the category of the known. For a thing to be known, becomes known, when it is distanced from the knower by the birth of an intervening desire, memory, effort or an evidence on the part of the knower. There cannot be the knowledge of an object in any other way. Again it cannot be imagined that the knower himself is distanced by anyone of his own desire etc. For memory has for its object the thing to be remembered and not one who remembers it; so has desire for its object the thing to be desired and not one who desires it. There arises, as before, an inevitable regressus ad infinitum if memory and desire have their own agents for their objects.

110. Disciple: "But the knower remains unknown if there is no knowledge which has for its object the knower".

111. Teacher: "No. The knowledge of the knower has for its object the thing to be known. If it has for its object the knower, there arises a regressus ad infinitum as before. It has already been shown that, like the heat and light of the sun, fire and other things, the Knowledge which is changeless, eternal and self-effulgent has an existence in the Self entirely independent of everything else. I have already said that if the self-effulgent Knowledge which is there in the Self were transitory, it would become unreasonable that the Self existed for Itself and that being a combination It would get impurities and have an existence for the sake of another like the combination of the body and the senses. How ? (Reply:) If the self-effulgent knowledge in the Self were transitory, It would have a distance by the intervention of memory etc. It would then be non-existent in the Self before being produced and after being destroyed and the Self, then a combination, would have an existence for the sake of another like that of the eye etc., produced by the combination of certain things. The Self would have no independent existence if this knowledge were produced before it was in It. For it is only on account of the absence or presence of the state of being combined that the Self is known to exist for Itself and the non-Self for another. It is, therefore, established that the Self is of the nature of eternal and self-effulgent knowledge".

112. Disciple: "How can the knower be a knower if he is not the seat of the knowledge produced by evidences ?"

113. The teacher said, "The knowledge produced by an evidence does not differ in its essential nature whether one calls it eternal or transitory. Knowledge (though) produced by an evidence is nothing but knowledge. The knowledge preceded by memory, desire, etc., and supposed to be transitory and that which is eternal and immutable do not differ in their essential nature. Just as the result of the transitory actions of standing etc., the meanings of roots, preceded by motion etc., and that of the permanent ones not so preceded do not differ in their essential nature and there are, therefore, the identical statements, ‘People stand’, ‘Mountains stand’, etc.; so, the knower, though of the nature of eternal knowledge, is called a knower without contradiction inasmuch, as eternal knowledge is the same as one produced by an evidence (as regards their essential nature)".

114. Here the disciple starts an objection: "It is not reasonable that the Self which is changeless and of the nature of eternal Knowledge and not in contact with the body and the senses should be the agent of an action like a carpenter in contact with an adze and other instruments. A regressus ad infinitum arises if the Self unconnected with the body, the senses, etc., were to use them as Its instruments. As carpenters and others are always connected with bodies and senses there is no regressus ad infinitum when they use adzes and other instruments".

115. Teacher: (Reply): "Agency is not possible without the use of instruments. Instruments, therefore, have to be assumed. The assumption of instruments is of course an action. In order to be the agent of this action, other instruments have to be assumed. In assuming these instruments still others have to be assumed. A regressus ad infinitum is, therefore, inevitable if the Self which is not joined with anything were to be the agent.

"Nor can it be said that it is an action that makes the Self act. For an action, not performed, has no existence. It is also not possible that something (previously existing) makes the Self act as nothing (except the Self) can have an independent existence and be a non-object. For things other than the Self must be non-conscious and, therefore, are not seen to be Self-existent. Everything including sound etc., come to exist when they are proved by mental functions resulting in the reflection of the Self in them.

"One (apparently) different from the Self and possessed of consciousness, must be no other than the Self that is free from combination with other things and existing for Itself only.

"Nor can we admit that the body, the senses and their objects exist for themselves inasmuch as they are seen to depend for their existence on mental modifications resulting in the reflection of the Self (in them)."

116. Disciple: "But no one depends on any other evidence such as sense-perception etc., in knowing the body."

117. Teacher: "Yes, it is so in the waking state. But at death and in deep sleep the body also depends on evidences such as sense-perception etc., in order to be known. Similar is the case with the senses. It is the external sound and other objects that are transformed into the body and the senses; the latter, therefore, also depend on evidences like sense-perception etc., in order to be known. I have said that knowledge, the result produced by evidences, is the same as the self-evident, self-effulgent and changeless Self".

118. The objector (the disciple) says, "It is contradictory to state that knowledge is the result of evidences and (at the same time) it is the self-effulgent Self which is changeless and eternal".

The reply given to him is this: "It is not a contradiction."

 

"How then is knowledge a result ?"

"It is a result in a secondary sense: though changeless and eternal, It is noticed in the presence of mental modifications called sense-perception etc., as they are instrumental in making It manifest. It appears to be transitory, as mental modifications called sense-perception etc., are so. It is for this reason that It is called the result of proofs in a secondary sense."

119. Disciple: "Gurudev, if this is so, independent of evidences regarding Itself, eternal and changeless knowledge, which is the Consciousness of the Self, is surely self-evident and all things different from It and therefore non-conscious, have an existence only for the sake of the Self as they combine to act for one another (in order that the events of the universe may continue uninterruptedly). It is only as the knowledge of the mental modifications giving rise to pleasure, pain and delusion that the non-Self serves the purpose of another. And it is as the same knowledge and as nothing else that it has an existence. Just as a rope-snake, the water in a mirage and such other things are found to be non-existent except only the knowledge by which they are known; so, the duality experienced during waking and dream has reasonably no existence except the knowledge by which it is known. So having a continuous existence, Pure Consciousness, the Self, is eternal and immutable and never ceasing to exist in any mental modification. It is one without a second. The modifications themselves cease to exist, the Self continuing to do so. Just as in dream the mental modifications appearing to be blue, yellow, etc., are said to be really non-existent as they cease to exist while the knowledge by which they are known has an uninterrupted continuous existence; so, in the waking state also they are reasonably really non-existent, as they cease to exist while the very same knowledge continues to do so. As that knowledge has no other knower, it cannot be accepted or rejected by Itself. As there is nothing else (except Myself, the aim of my life is fulfilled by your grace)."

120. Teacher: "It is exactly so. It is Ignorance due to which the transmigratory existence consisting of waking and dream is experienced. It is Knowledge that brings this Ignorance to an end. You have thus attained Fearlessness. You will never again feel pain in waking or in dream. You are liberated from the misery of this transmigratory existence".

 

Disciple: "Yes, Gurudev".

[krsna 3]

 

BHAKTI

 

By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada

 

Bhakti is often misunderstood. Such misunderstanding may be of different kinds. Those who are very much addicted to the pleasures of the flesh are liable to mistake such pleasure as love of God.

 

Most people nowadays are anxious to acquire wealth and fame and other good things of this world. They often profess appreciation for the religion of love that was preached by Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya. Mahaprabhu, as is well known, was opposed to barren asceticism. This attitude of His is much liked by ail persons who live a luxurious life.

 

But bhakti or devotion is not bhoga or enjoyment of the pleasures of the senses. There cannot be a greater calumniation of a pure devotee than to call him a worshipper of the goddess of worldly prosperity.

 

The conduct of a devotee is unintelligible to both bhogis (epicureans) and tyagis (ascetics). It is also not less unintelligible to those who study the shastras by themselves or under teachers who are not true devotees.

 

Few people are sufficiently open-minded to be prepared to recognise the great mercy of Mahaprabhu in rebuking the student, who had studied the shastras under a teacher who had no idea of religion, when the said student, forgetting the propriety of conduct of a kanistha adhikari (neophyte) towards the highest order of devotees, presumed to find fault with the conduct of Mahaprabhu Himself in taking the name of "Gopi" instead of that of Krishna.

 

Similarly Srivas Pandit's conduct in requiring the assistance of a scavenger for removing wine, meat and other articles for the tamasic worship of the goddess of worldly desires, that had been placed at the doorstep of his house by Gopal-Chapal in order to discredit him in the eyes of the people, has also been misunderstood by certain persons who think it is the business of human life to grow rich and live a life of pleasures.

 

The pure devotees, by their sharp rebukes, direct our attention to the gravity of the offence of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the conduct of pure devotees, which is the greatest possible obstacle in the way of the attainment of love of God, although it is liable to be regarded as comparatively trivial by most people, it is, therefore, necessary not to rashly declare such conduct of the pure devotees to be prompted by malice or anger, especially as it is in reality the most unambiguous expression of the highest magnanimity.

[krsna 3]

 

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Goswami

 

The idea of an organized church in an intelligible form, indeed, marks the close of the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical establishments are the dikes and the dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the masses to exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also unmistakably indicate the end of the absolute and unconventional guidance of the bona-fide spiritual teacher.

 

 

 

[krsna 3]

 

THE NECESSITY OF GURU

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

 

Question: Can one worship Krishna without being under the guidance of gurudeva?

 

Srila Prabhupada: Never. Our only aim in life is to cultivate Krishna consciousness.

 

This can only be done under the guidance or instruction of a devotee of Krishna. Sri Varshabhanavi devi (Srimati Radharani) is most favored by Krishna. Worshipping her is most favorable for worshipping Krishna. No one is more favorable than Sri Radha. Those who are very dear to Srimati Radharani are all our spiritual masters. We, the Gaudiya vaisnavas, are the worshippers of Krishna, who belongs to Radharani.

 

The Gaudiya vaisnavas are more on the side of Radharani than on the side of Krishna. Sri Gurudeva is non-different from Srimati Radharani.

 

Only by getting the favor of the most favored is it possible to cultivate Krishna-consciousness. When one is not under the guidance of the most favored, one will not find anything favorable for the cultivation of Krishna consciousness or for the pursuit of Krishna’s happiness. Instead, one will find that one’s heart is dominated by the demoniac desire for one’s own happiness. One has to give up such tendencies, which are unfavorable for devotion, and one has to give up all pride and arrogance.

 

A devotee can find all opportunity to serve Krishna only when he wants to serve Krishna under the guidance of gurudeva. But unfortunately, we have forgotten to make any effort to make Krishna happy; instead, we have become busy in pursuit of our own happiness.

 

Alas! Instead of making Krishna the head of our household, we are acting in the role of the householder and we have become attached to our family life. But if we want what is good for us, then we have to become careful while we are alive in this human body. Otherwise we will be deceived; we will miss our golden opportunity.

 

— Mandala Publishing Group. Prabhupada Saraswati

Thakur, page 93-94. Eugene, Oregon. 1997.

 

[krsna 3]

The advent of Thakur Bhaktivinode

 

 

by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura

 

 

The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6

 

 

 

We avail of the opportunity offered by the Anniversary Celebrations of the advent of Thakur Bhaktivinode to reflect on the right method of obtaining those benefits that have been made accessible to humanity by the grace of this great devotee of Krishna.

 

Thakur Bhaktivinode has been specifically kind to those unfortunate persons who are engrossed in mental speculation of all kinds. This is the prevalent malady of the present Age. The other Acaryas who appeared before Thakur Bhaktivinode did not address their discourses so directly to the empiric thinkers. They had been more merciful to those who are naturally disposed to listen to discourses on the Absolute without being dissuaded by the specious arguments of avowed opponents of Godhead.

 

Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode has taken the trouble of meeting the perverse arguments of mental speculationists by the superior transcendental logic of the Absolute Truth. It is thus possible for the average modern readers to profit by the perusal of his writings.

 

That day is not far distant when the priceless volumes penned by Thakur Bhaktivinode will be reverently translated, by the recipients of his grace, into all the languages of the world.

 

The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode provide the golden bridge by which the mental speculationist can safely cross the raging waters of fruitless empiric controversies that trouble the peace of those who choose to trust in their guidance for finding the Truth.

 

As soon as the sympathetic reader is in a position to appreciate the sterling quality of Thakur Bhaktivinode's philosophy the entire vista of the revealed literatures of the world will automatically open out to his reclaimed vision.

 

Serious Misunderstandings

 

 

There have, however, already arisen serious misunderstandings regarding the proper interpretation of the life and teachings of Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode.

 

Those who suppose they understand the meaning of his message without securing the guiding grace of the Acarya are disposed to unduly favour the methods of empiric study of his writings.

 

There are persons who have got by heart almost everything that he wrote without being able to catch the least particle of his meaning.

 

Such study cannot benefit those who are not prepared to act up to the instructions lucidly conveyed by his words.

 

There is no honest chance of missing the warnings of Thakur Bhaktivinode. Those, therefore, who are misled by the perusal of his writings are led astray by their own obstinate perversity in sticking to the empiric course which they prefer to cherish against his explicit warnings. Let these unfortunate persons look more carefully into their own hearts for the cause of their misfortunes.

 

Service of the pure Devotee is Essential for Understanding

The personal service of the pure devotee is essential for understanding the spiritual meaning of the words of Thakur Bhaktivinode. The Editor of this Journal, originally started by Thakur Bhaktivinode, has been trying to draw the attention of all followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode to this all-important point of his teachings. It is not necessary to try to place ourselves on a footing of equality with Thakur Bhaktivinode. We are not likely to benefit by any mechanical imitation of any practices of Thakur Bhaktivinode on the opportunist principle that they may be convenient for us to adopt. The Guru is not an erring mortal whose activities can be understood by the fallible reason of unreclaimed humanity. There is an eternally impassable line of demarcation between the Saviour and the saved. Those who are really saved can alone know this.Thakur Bhaktivinode belongs to the category of the spiritual world-teachers who eternally occupy the superior position.

 

The present Editor has all along felt it his paramount duty to try to clear up the meaning of the life and teachings of Thakur Bhaktivinode by the method of submissive listening to the Transcendental Sound from the lips of the pure devotee. The Guru who realises the transcendental meaning of all sounds, is in a position to serve the Absolute by the direction of the Absolute conveyed through every sound. The Transcendental Sound is Godhead, the mundane sound is non-Godhead. All sound has got these opposite aptitudes. All sound reveals its Divine face to the devotee and only presents its deluding aspect to the empiric pedant. The devotee talks apparently the same language as the deluded empiric pedant who had got by heart the vocabulary of the Scriptures. But notwithstanding apparent identity of performance, the one has no access to the reality while the other is absolutely free from all delusion.

 

Mechanical Repetition Condemned

Those who repeat the teachings of Thakur Bhaktivinode from memory do not necessarily understand the meaning of the words they mechanically repeat. Those who can pass an empiric examination regarding the contents of his writings are not necessarily also self-realised souls. They may not at all know the real meaning of the words they have learnt by the method of empiric study.Take for example the Name "Krishna". Every reader of Thakur Bhaktivinode's works must be aware that the Name manifests Himself on the lips of His serving devotees although He is inaccessible to our mundane senses. It is one thing to pass the examination by reproducing this true conclusion from the writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode and quite another matter to realise the Nature of the Holy Name of Krishna by the process conveyed by the words.

 

Thakur Bhaktivinode did not want us to go to the clever mechanical reciter of the mundane sound for obtaining access to the Transcendental Name of Krishna. Such a person may be fully equipped with all the written arguments in explanation of the nature of the Divine Name. But if we listen to all these arguments from the dead source the words will only increase our delusion. The very same words coming from the lips of the devotee will have the diametrically opposite effect. Our empiric judgment can never grasp the difference between the two performances. The devotee is always right. The non-devotee in the shape of the empiric pedant is always and necessarily wrong. In the one case there is always present the Substantive Truth and nothing but the Substantive Truth. In the other case there is present the apparent or misleading hypothesis and nothing but un-truth. The wording may have the same external appearance in both cases. The identical verses of the Scriptures may be recited by the devotee and the non-devotee, may be apparently misquoted by the non-devotee but the corresponding values of the two processes remain always categorically different. The devotee is right even when he apparently misquotes, the non-devotee is wrong even when he quotes correctly the very words, chapter and verse of the Scriptures.

 

It is not empiric wisdom that is the object of quest of the devotee. Those who read the scriptures for gathering empiric wisdom will be pursuing the wild goose chase. There are not a few dupes of their empiric Scriptural erudition. These dupes have their admiring under-dupes. But the mutual admiration society of dupes does not escape, by the mere weight of their number, the misfortunes due to the deliberate pursuit of the wrong course in accordance with the suggestions of our lower selves.

 

What is Shastra?

What are the Scriptures? They are nothing but the record by the pure devotees of the Divine Message appearing on the lips of the pure devotees. The Message conveyed by the devotees is the same in all ages. The words of the devotees are ever identical with the Scriptures. Any meaning of the Scriptures that belittles the function of the devotee who is the original communicant of the Divine Message contradicts its own claim to be heard. Those who think that the Sanskrit language in its lexicographical sense is the language of the Divinity are as deluded as those who hold that the Divine Message is communicable through any other spoken dialects. All languages simultaneously express and hide the Absolute. The mundane face of all languages hides the Truth. The Transcendental face of all sound expresses nothing but the Absolute. The pure devotee is the speaker of the Transcendental language. The Transcendental Sound makes His appearance on the lips of His pure devotee. This is the direct, unambiguous appearance of Divinity. On the lips of non-devotees the Absolute always appears in His deluding aspect. To the pure devotee the Absolute reveals Himself under all circumstances. To the conditioned soul, if he is disposed to listen in a truly submissive spirit, the language of the pure devotee can alone impart the knowledge of the Absolute. The conditioned soul mistakes the deluding for the real aspect when he chooses to lend his ear to the non-devotee. This is the reason why the conditioned soul is warned to avoid all association with non-devotees.

 

To understand one must hear from a pure devotee

Thakur Bhaktivinode is acknowledged by all his sincere followers as possessing the above powers of the pure devotee of Godhead. His words have to be received from the lips of a pure devotee. If his words are listened from the lips of a non-devotee they will certainly deceive. If his works are studied in the light of one's own worldly experience their meaning will refuse to disclose itself to such readers. His works belong to the class of the eternal revealed literature of the world and must be approached for their right understanding through their exposition by the pure devotee. If no help from the pure devotee is sought the works of Thakur Bhaktivinode will be grossly misunderstood by their readers. The attentive reader of those works will find that he is always directed to throw himself upon the mercy of the pure devotee if he is not to remain unwarrantably self-satisfied by the deluding results of his wrong method of study.

 

The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode are valuable because they demolish all empiric objections against accepting the only method of approaching the Absolute in the right way. They cannot and were never intended to give access to the Absolute without help from the pure devotee of Krishna. They direct the sincere enquirer of the Truth, as all the revealed scriptures do, to the pure devotee of Krishna to learn about Him by submitting to listen with an open mind to the Transcendental Sound appearing on His lips. Before we open any of the books penned by Thakur Bhaktivinode we should do well to reflect a little on the attitude, with which as the indispensable pre-requisite, to approach its study. It is by neglecting to remember this fundamental principle that the empiric pedants find themselves so hopelessly puzzled in their vain endeavour to reconcile the statements of the different texts of the Scriptures. The same difficulty is already in process of overtaking many of the so-called followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode and for the same reason.

 

The person to whom the Acarya is pleased to transmit his power is alone in a position to convey the Divine Message. This constitutes the underlying principle of the line of succession of the spiritual teachers. The Acarya thus authorised has no other duty than that of delivering intact the message received from all his predecessors. There is no difference between the pronouncements of one Acarya and another. All of them are perfect mediums for the appearance of the Divinity in the Form of the Transcendental Name Who is identical with His Form, Quality, Activity and Paraphernalia.

 

The Absolute appears on the lips of a pure sadhu

The Divinity is Absolute Knowledge. Absolute Knowledge has the character of indivisible Unity. One particle of the Absolute Knowledge is capable of revealing all the potency of the Divinity. Those who want to understand the contents of the volumes penned by the piece-meal acquisitive method applicable to deluding knowledge available to the mind on the mundane plane, are bound to be self-deceived. Those who are sincere seekers of the Truth are alone eligible to find Him, in and through the proper method of His quest.

 

In order to be put on the track of the Absolute, listening to the words of the pure devotee is absolutely necessary. The spoken word of the Absolute is the Absolute. It is only the Absolute Who can give Himself away to the constituents of His power. The Absolute appears to the listening ear of the conditioned soul in the form of the Name on the lips of the sadhu. This is the key to the whole position. The words of Thakur Bhaktivinode direct the empiric pedant to discard his wrong method and inclination on the threshold of the real quest of the Absolute. If the pedant still chooses to carry his errors into the Realm of the Absolute Truth he only marches by a deceptive bye-path into the regions of darker ignorance by his arrogant study of the scriptures. The method offered by Thakur Bhaktivinode is identical with the object of the quest. The method is not really grasped except by the grace of the pure devotee. The arguments, indeed, are these. But they can only corroborate, but can never be a substitute for, the word from the living source of the Truth who is no other than the pure devotee of Krishna, the concrete Personal Absolute.

 

Bhaktivinoda's greatest gift

Thakur Bhaktivinode's greatest gift to the world consists in this; that he has brought about the appearance of those pure devotees who are, at present, carrying on the movement of unalloyed devotion to the Feet of Shree Krishna by their own wholetime spiritual service of the Divinity. The purity of the soul is only analogously describable by the resources of the mundane language. The highest ideal of empiric morality is no better than the grossest wickedness to the Transcendental perfect purity of the bonafide devotee of the Absolute. The word 'morality' itself is a mischievous misnomer when it is applied to any quality of the conditioned soul. The hypocritical contentment with a negative attitude is part and parcel of the principle of undiluted immorality.

 

Those who pretend to recognise the Divine Mission of Thakur Bhaktivinode without aspiring to the unconditional service of those pure souls who really follow the teachings of the Thakur by the method enjoined by the scriptures and explained by Thakur Bhaktivinode in a way that is so eminently suited to the requirements of the sophisticated mentality of the present Age, only deceive themselves and their willing victims by their hypocritical professions and performances. These persons must not be confounded with the bonafide members of the flock.

 

Hypocritical followers are deceived

Thakur Bhaktivinode has predicted the consummation of religious unity of the world by the appearance of the only universal church which bears the eternal designation of the Brahma Sampradaya. He has given mankind the blessed assurance that all Theistic churches will shortly merge in the one eternal spiritual community by the grace of the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna Chaitanya. The spiritual community is not circumscribed by the conditions of time and space, race and nationality. Mankind had been looking forward to this far-off Divine Event through the Long Ages. Thakur Bhaktivinode has made the conception available in its practicable spiritual form to the open minded empiricist who is prepared to undergo the process of enlightenment. The key stone of the Arch has been laid which will afford the needed shelter to all awakened animation under its ample encircling arms. Those who would thoughtlessly allow their hollow pride of race, pseudo-knowledge or pseudo-virtue to stand in the way of this long hoped for consummation, would have to thank only themselves for not being incorporated in the spiritual society of all pure souls.

 

These plain words need not be misrepresented, by arrogant persons who are full of the vanity of empiric ignorance, as the pronouncements of aggressive sectarianism. The aggressive pronouncement of the concrete Truth is the crying necessity of the moment for silencing the aggressive propaganda of specific untruths that is being carried on all over the world by the preachers of empiric contrivances for the amelioration of the hard lot of conditioned souls. The empiric propaganda clothes itself in the language of negative abstraction for deluding those who are engrossed in the selfish pursuit of worldly enjoyment.

 

But there is a positive and concrete function of the pure soul which should not be perversely confounded with any utilitarian form of worldly activity. Mankind stands in need of that positive spiritual function of which the hypocritical impersonalists are in absolute ignorance. The positive function of the soul harmonises the claims of extreme selfishness with those of extreme self-abnegation in the society of pure souls even in this mundane world. In its concrete realisable form the function is perfectly inaccessible to the empiric understanding. Its imperfect and misleading conception alone is available by the study of the Scriptures to the conditioned soul that is not helped by the causeless grace of the pure devotees of Godhead.

 

[krsna 3]

 

 

RESIDENTS OF THE TEMPLE

 

["Matha" is a Sanskrit and Bengali word meaning: "a monastery, temple,

hermitage, school, or college." The following essay speaking about the

qualifications, activities, and attitude of the residents of a matha, was

translated from a Bengali article that first appeared in an issue of Nadiya

Prakasa, the daily devotional newspaper started by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Saraswati Thakur. As was common practice for the journals started by Srila

Saraswati Thakur, no name was given for the author of this article. Nor did

the book it was published in give a date, however it is clear that it was

written sometime after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. --

Editor]

 

Mathanti vasanti chatra yasmin iti mathah - that place where spiritual

students are living under the subordination of an acarya is a matha. A

general house is for sense enjoyment but the matha is an institution for the

service of the Supreme Lord Hari. That place where the mood of enjoyment is

very prominent, everyone is very busy trying to establish their superiority

and are full of anxiety how to become the lords of others. In contrast to

that, is the place of non-duplicitous topics of service to the Lord where

the principal of subordination is fully present and every one is trying to

be good.

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada, the crest jewel among the

followers of Sri Rupa Goswami has established matha or mission in order to

serve the visaya-vigraha or supreme object of worship, under subordination

of the asraya-vigraha, or abode of shelter, of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas who

are the followers of Sri Krishna Caitanya Deva the inaugurator of the

sankirtana movement.

 

The word "matha" always indicates that which is both the shelter adhara, and

the object of shelter adheya, understood as both the abode of the Lord and

the residents there who are asraya-vigraha the personifications of shelter.

 

The matha is the place where the Lord's deity form is surrounded by many

pure hearted devotees who are always engaged in discharging loving service

under the guidance and instruction of their spiritual master. matha means an

organization, a regular permanent assembly or mission of devotees where

everyone is engaged wholeheartedly in congregational chanting of the holy

name of Lord Hari. There the resident devotees twenty-four hours a day,

following the instructions of their spiritual master, engage in preaching

the holy name and maintain perfect transcendental harmony, enjoying

themselves along with others in loving devotional service to the deity of

Lord.

 

In ancient times Vishnu temples were called mathas. So, the matha is not a

modern imaginary concept. Submission is the very life of the matha. The

principle of subordination is the backbone of devotional service and another

name for bhakti. The residents of the matha render non-duplicitous

devotional service to the spiritual master, twenty-four hours a day. Unless

one's subordination is genuine, one cannot be addressed as a matha-vasi, a

resident of the matha. The other meanings of the word matha-vasi are:

antebasi - "one dwelling in the guru's asrama";siksarthi - "one who is

desirous of learning"; and sisya - "a student or a disciple". The

matha-vasi, strives to understand the desire of his guru by rendering menial

service unto his lotus feet. To fulfill the guru's desire is the only duty

of a matha-vasi.

 

One who is artificial or duplicitous in the service of the acarya is not

eligible to live in the matha. Such artificial behavior leaves the religion

of brahmacarya, sannyasa, vanaprastha, and grhastha unprotected. The extent

that one is actually a matha-vasi can be determined by one's love and

non-duplicitous dedication to the lotus feet of acarya of the matha.

 

In spite of unbearable troubles, severe calamities, and immense humiliation,

a real matha-vasi will never give up the service of his guru. He never feels

discouraged to see the reluctance of common masses of this universe to

accept non-duplicitous devotional service, rather he remains steady in his

own bhajana; krsna-katha-sravana-kirtana. Considering himself lower than the

straw in the street and being more tolerant than a tree such a devotee

always engages in the kirtana of Hari under the guidance of the

asraya-vigraha, in order to satisfy the transcendental senses of the

absolute truth. He knows that life after life the dust of his guru's lotus

feet is his eternal position and his everything. He is not attached or

detached to anyone in this material world. So much danger may come, everyone

in this world may become independent [i.e.: Uninterested in spiritual

matters], still I will not give up my vow of serving Sri Guru and Gauranga,

that kind of sincerity and determination should always be present in the

heart of a real matha-vasi.

 

A matha-vasi should always consider himself to be maintained by his guru.

Considering himself lower than the straw in the street, his attitude is that

I am the property of my spiritual master. Knowing his own position he is a

beggar of and a dependent on mercy. He is always hankering for mercy and is

more tolerant than a tree. He is forgiving. He has neither enemies nor

friends in this material world. He sees everyone equally. He considers any

kind of danger and distress to be the mercy of the Lord and is undisturbed.

Considering himself a wretched beggar he is always praying for mercy. He is

always free from desires for false prestige and position. Knowing that guru

and Krishna reside in every living entity, he respects everyone accordingly.

Carrying on his head the order of Sriman Mahaprabhu, he chants the holy name

of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw

in the street; being more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false

prestige and being ready to offer all respect to others. In this state of

mind he chants the holy name of the Lord constantly.

 

Matha-basis never speak prajalpa, gossip or frivolous talks unrelated to

Krishna. They always practice yukta-vairagya engaging everything in the

service of the Lord. He is very loyal servant and decorated by humility. He

never considers himself to be the lord of anyone, but rather sees everyone

as his guru. Recognizing the sincere service attitude of those vaisnavas who

are rendering non-duplicitous service at the lotus feet of Sri Guru as the

hladini-krpa-vrtti - the mercy of the Lord's internal potency, the

matha-vasi offers sincere respects to them, while he himself, decorated with

a mood of non-duplicitous humble servitorship always remains eager to follow

the ideal constant service attitude exhibited by his spiritual master. He

never criticizes or talks about others. Since his heart is always strongly

searching for the absolute truth the faultfinding nature does not touch him.

Concentrating his mind upon the Lord, he is always chanting the holy name of

Krishna. He is determined to give up materialistic association and is always

associating with and hankering for more association of devotees. He is

always waiting for and expecting mercy.

 

Based on his internal realization, he has strong faith that there is no

other recourse than getting the mercy of sadhu-guru. A beggar of mercy, he

is always engaged in loving service with his body, mind and speech. He

always offers respect to others with folded hands. He is always thinking in

his mind, amara saman hina nahi e samsare - "No one in this world is more

fallen than myself." This consideration naturally arises in his heart. He

never forgets the lotus feet of the Lord even for a fraction of moment. In

happiness or distress, good fortune, and danger, in all situations, he is

always absorbed in devotional service. He considers everyone his guru. He

never acts for himself. He is always engaged in the service of guru and

Krishna. He loves Sri Guru and Gauranga and considers them his own. He is

affectionate and clever. Krsna krpa karivena drda kari jane - "He has full

faith that Krishna will shower His mercy." He is always connected with his

worshipable deity. Describing Srila Raghunath Das Goswami; Shivananda Sena

said (Cc. antya 6.253):

 

ratri-dina kare tenho nama-sankirtana

ksana-matra nahi chade prabhura carana

 

"He chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra all day and night. He never gives

up the shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even for a moment.

 

There is a difference between the matha-vasi and the niskincana nirjana-vasi

(those who have no material possessions and who are staying in a solitary

place or living under the shade of a tree). The matha-vasi follows certain

rules and regulations under the guidance of a bona-fide acarya and thereby

obtains the most auspicious thing. The niskincana nirjana-vasi doesn't act

under anyone's guidance.

 

The matha is a spiritual hospital. For their eternal benefit various types

of bhava-rogis, (patients suffering from the disease of conditioned life)

are staying there. One should not consider that all of the patients are in

same category. Among the bhava-rogis some are suffering from chronic

disease, some are getting better and some are almost well. So one should not

consider them all on same level. In this hospital there is a sadhu-vaidya

(spiritual doctor) and he has assistants. One should not consider this

doctor and his assistant as patients. The diet and accommodation for a

patient is not the same as that of a healthy man. So one should not become

bewildered seeing different arrangements in the hospital. To advance

spiritually one should follow the prescribed rules and regulations under the

guidance of the spiritual doctor.

 

[krsna 3]

 

 

By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

 

Shri Krishna Chaitanyadeva is the Supreme Teacher of all teachers of this world and the ideal possessor of intelligence that is the highest of all.

 

It should be our only duty to constantly chant those words regarding the cleansing of the mirror of the heart of which He speaks in His Eight Precepts (Shikshastakam).

 

We are only the bearers of the Transcendental World. We shall never in any way hesitate to offer every honour and facility, for which they are eligible, to all persons of this world. We must pray to all for the boon of aptitude for the service of Krishna.

 

We shall come across many persons in this world, possessing an endless variety of characters, disposed or hostile to the service of Krishna. But we should not slacken in our loving service of the Lord of our hearts and should offer due honour to all persons.

 

We will have opportunities, as we approach different persons in all parts of the world with the vendor's bag of the discourse of Hari, to see a good many sights, to hear much, and to seek to derive much benefit from our experience.

 

May we never forget that all entities of this world are essentially protégés of the Lotus-feet of Shri Guru for helping the expansion of His service.

 

May we always remember that all excellences must only be prepared to wait with the utmost eagerness on the particle of dust of the Lotus-feet of my Shri Guru; otherwise they are merely the mirage devised by the deluding potency for our ruin.

 

I wish to remind those friends of mine who are proceeding to the West for preaching the words of Shri Chaitanya, the two precepts of my Master Shri Rupa:

 

(1) “The constant endeavour for cultivating relationship with Krishna of a person who, being free from all mundane affinity, enjoys the entities of this world, having due regard to the propriety of each case, in pursuance of his purpose, is called the proper kind of renunciation.”

 

(2) “The abnegation, by persons desirous of liberation, of entities that have an affinity with Hari in considering their mundane nature, is termed renunciation possessing little real value.”

[krsna 3]

 

 

"May we never forget that all entities of this world are essentially protégés of the Lotus-feet of Shri Guru for helping the expansion of His service."

 

 

 

noun

 

protégés, protégées:

 

1. A person (male and female respectively) under the guidance, protection, tutelage, patronage, etc of someone wiser or more important.

 

Thesaurus:

 

student, disciple, pupil, charge, dependent, ward, discovery;

 

Antonym: guardian, tutor.

 

Etymology: 18c: from French protéger to protect.

[krsna 3]

 

by

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura

(This is a reproduction of a conversation with Major Rana N. J. Bahadur at Armadale, Darjeeling on June 14th, 1935. It was originally published in The Harmonist (Vol. XXXI, No.21) on the 27th of June, 1935.)

 

 

Question: I cannot understand this world.

 

Answer: It is camp life. This world is not our original abode. It is meant for certain purposes. After that we are to proceed to our original home. This world is not a desirable place. It is not good to be enticed to stay here for a long time, forgetting our original abode. We stay there with Godhead. We are the eternal servants of Godhead. When we decide to lord it over the universe we are allowed these facilities for temporary purposes. They do not serve our eternal purposes. It would be better to seek for a place where we can find the real peace. Here we are always liable to be disturbed. By these disturbances Providence wants to teach us that world is not our eternal habitation, but that all real peace is to be found in Him. Being thus troubled we would naturally like to go back to the original place. Life in this world should be conducted peacefully instead of in the spirit of retaliation. We should learn to suffer all these things by submitting to His Holy Wishes. If we do so we may have that very peace here. It is because we are ambitious to dominate that we are brought here. Conditions here are so that they dovetail the whole position. If we require more than we are allowed, we are in trouble. We should better go back into our own position, to our only Friend. He is the only Resort of all our needs and desires. But if we take the burden upon ourselves to run into wrong we run into troubles in the shape of our daily transactions. We should not be so tempted. The aesthetic culturer's offers are meant to delude us when they lead us to think this world to be a comfortable place. All real improvement should lead to Godhead. It should give us all useful things by which to get rid of these temptations. As we are men we should lend our ears to know about the better situation of the transcendental world where the best aspects of the Reality are exhibited. Here we suffer from the difficulties of our eclipsed vision. It is, therefore, better to look after that region where all sorts of manifestive Nature are in vogue.

 

The servitors of Godhead will always look to our interest. Here our friends sometimes like us and sometimes they turn against us. But here there is opportunity of hearing about our original home from the lips of persons who are quite familiar with the same. If we neglect the opportunity we shall repent in the long run. Their words will lift us and change our mentality. All sorts of puzzling questions will be solved if only we give our lending ear to those persons who have very little to do with this world. Our situations in this world are liable to change like fogs and mists. As intelligent men our prudent nature should manage sometimes to hear of the transcendental world and the manifestive nature, instead of being unaccountably diffident. Such incredulous attitude will not give us the opportunity.

 

This external body will be changed and also our present situations. But we have got a transcendental frame. As soon as we will learn that the transcendental frame is working in us, this mortal coil will cease to trouble. The people of the West think that the mind is the soul. We differ from them. There exists an ample Indian literature in support of the view that the soul is the proprietor of the mind. The mind is the proxy of the soul to deal with the external world in five different relations as husband and spouse, master and servant, parent and child, as friend and as neutral. The soul is now enwrapped by some other foreign agency. Body is different from apparel. The soul is enwrapped by the gross and subtle material bodies. They are meant for the use of the soul for a certain period. When the true activity is latented the mind acts with the impetus of the senses alone, covering the soul by the material molecular substances. But the soul is the real entity.

 

The senses are the working things, some of them for external and some for internal use. Grossness has an attraction for the ordinary run of people. It is meant for such people. Even the so-called philosophers are found to to the slogan that the gross material body should have the preference in all religious affairs of this world (sariram adhyam kalu dharma sadhanam). They are very busy with the gross and subtle material things, ignoring the very health of the soul. The material things will change. This change sometimes gives us facilities and sometimes hinders our progress. But the soul does not change and cannot be destroyed, although he is susceptible of being covered up by the subtle or abstract form of material grossness in the shape of our passing mentality which is a gift of Maya. She has given us the senses to measure the pleasing things for selfish aggrandisement. Religious people think they need not gratify the senses which are meant to delude only. As for instance we are liable to be deluded if we suppose the air of the atmosphere to be meant for our enjoyment or for the purpose of giving us temporary pleasures. That very opportunity will be taken away to let us know that is is not meant for our good.

 

We are liable to be troubled by these impeding agents. Their number will show us that they are more numerous than the things that can give us bliss, the only thing that should be sought. The whole ecstatic centre is in Godhead. All pleasing sensation of this world, if properly judged, is found to hold for temporal purposes only, in order to have our fruits later on. It is the training plane. On this plane we are liable to suppose that everything is meant to serve us. But the real truth is that we are to serve Godhead in the five different capacities. It is only when we deem it fit to come down to this world to lord it over other finite entities for our enjoyment that our real position happens to be forgot to some extent. This contingency arises when we want to deprive our Lord. That tendency was innate with us. It led us to prefer this temporal region by our own desire. These entanglements will be slowly removed when the true suggestions will come to us on our meeting with persons who are cognisant of our interest.

 

Optimistic people are apt to avoid such apparently pessimistic thoughts. They prefer to run into the troubles. But we should have the only Resort in the Absolute. Aural reception is the only track that we should follow. We should be prepared to hear how we can live a peaceful life and aspire after eternal bliss from the Absolute who can give it. Unless we submit to Him there is no possibility of getting to the Eternal Region. If we do otherwise we would be multiplying speculations that will only be checks. Instead of posing as the predominating agent we should pose as predominated agents in order to serve Godhead Who is the Source of all manifestive things; and all activities should tend to Him without hoping for any commercial return. We are Philistians averse to theological thought. We are for making money, earning fame and enjoying pleasures. This is the natural inclination here. All this non-Absolute propaganda is due to aversion to the service of the Absolute. We should, therefore, lend our ear to the descriptions of Transcendence in order to be able to understand how to get the true fruit of the soul instead of being misled by the mind. The mind is the proxy of the soul. He is always on the look-out for aggrandising his own interest at the expense of the principal if the latter thinks to pass his days in indolence, when he will be naturally deluded by the mind. The slumbering soul requires to be roused up. The best use of our intelligence, foresight, desirability, should be to make progress towards the eternal life. Temporal pleasures are bound to trouble us in the long run.

 

Question: What is the difference between shanti and ananda (peace and bliss)?

 

Answer: Impersonalists think that Godhead should offer a neuter race. Buddha thought cessation of perception at the end. Sankaracharya argued that Godhead should have no form at all, that there should not be any sexological question in regard to Him, that everyone should go back to the Absolute, that there should be no difference between the individual soul and Godhead, the three situations of the Observed, observer and observation being merged into one viz., the Brahma who is full of joy and at the same time void of joy, there being no distinction between the two. The third school is the devotional school. According to this school whatever we find here such as trees, rivers, hills, etc., are all present in the transcendental world. Here we have only screened entities and sometimes miss the sparks of the Reality.

 

Question: Why does the study of Philosophy not give me peace now?

 

Answer: Because we choose to stick to the miserable situation and do not pay attention to Godhead.

 

 

[krsna 3]

 

NOTES FROM A DISCOURSE

 

(Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati speaking to Miss Maximiani at the Gaudiya Math, Calcutta, on June 29, 1935. Transcribed in shorthand by Sj. Anil Kanta Ganguli, B.A.)

 

 

The Supreme Lord cannot be known through our intellectual efforts. Unless He gives us the power of knowing Him, we cannot know Him. It is His mercy. If He is not at all merciful to us, we won't be able, by our strenuous exertions, to approach Him. The thing is that we have to approach Him and He has to give us the facility of approaching Him. He is the Autocrat - He is the Despot - He has the fullest freedom. We cannot, by our flimsy little way of thinking and by any of our attempts, reach Him in any way.

 

So, craving is the only need in us by which we can surmount all there difficulties, the barriers and the impediments of these phenomena. The objective references of the reciprocated entities of our senses, will never disclose Him unless He is so lenient to show us that latitude as to be approachable by us. This is the only method by which we can approach the Absolute. It will be a tremendous task for us to have an access to Him through our intellectualism and labour and our senses confined to finite things. So we should show our aptitude for craving His mercy. This is bhakti. Bhakti represents devotion - transcendental devotion. Transcendental devotion need not be covered by our thoughts, fruitive attempts or desire for salvation.

 

If we mix up bhakti with worldly ideas - finitudinal ideas - it will not lead us to the Absolute. Our ideas are wrong, they are quite inadequate for the purpose of leading us to the Absolute. Unless the Absolute condescends to be seen or worshipped by us, it would be quite useless to make efforts to approach Him. At the same time, we need not be diffident to approach Him - to try to have an access to Him. We must not think that He is within our reach and expect that our prayer will be attended to by Him.

 

So, there are two cardinal points which we should examine. First of all He is Absolute. He should have a willing attitude to meet us and at the same time we should also have some sort of hankering for Him, leaving aside all sorts of troublous agents which we call our associates - leaving these aside we are to approach Him. If we want to zoomorphise, phytomorphise, or neuterise Godhead, if we try to find any masculine or feminine feature in Godhead, if the neuter aspect of Godhead is welcomed, we would be simply missing the opportunity of having an access to Him - we would be simply led astray. Godhead is not necessarily neuter, masculine or feminine as we see here with our defective and temporal senses. We should simply submit to Him:

 

sarva dharman parityajya mamekam sharanam braja,

aham twan sarva papebhyo mokshayeesyami ma shuchah

 

Sree Krishna is singing this for Arjuna's purpose. He says He will give warranty of saving everyone of us if he or she submits to Him alone and none will have to run any risk of their own - all risks will lie in Him. He declares He will give us salvation. He is full - all sorts of inadequacies can be fulfilled by His true wishes. We can get rid of all our troubles if we simply submit to Him.

 

As He should descend to meet us, so we should also be unalloyed and quite set free from all sorts of wrong associations we have imbibed during our social life, otherwise, carrying all these references of this mundane world, we cannot have access to the transcendental region. We should not persist in our wrong ideas - in prayers such as 'give us this day our daily bread'. We cannot have a morsel of bread unless He desires to give it to us. We need not waste our time that way. These prayers are not required for approaching Him. We are quite ignorant of what is to be asked from Him. We do not know what will be for our good. We should only crave for His mercy. This is the only attitude we should have.

 

Shri Krishna is the greatest attractor. We should want to be attracted by Him. The thing is if we have diffidence to be attracted by Him, if we try to avoid or evade His conference of mercy on us, we should be simply entangling ourselves with the measuring temperament. Now we are very busy to measure with our senses all the finitudinal objects of this universe. This is empiric education. This sort of empiric education is offered to us to impede our course towards the transcendental region. So we should be very careful not to be deluded by the influence of the measuring tendency - we should be very careful not to be degraded by this. We should not accept the policy of retaliation - for by doing so we should be simply engaging ourselves for that purpose only.

 

We should be always careful not to be meddling with external ideas and thoughts. If we engage ourselves with all these things in order to have some enjoyment of our senses, we should surely be misguided by alluring friends of the phenomena. The finiteness of these things is quite inadequate for our purpose. We require the full thing - the Absolute. We should simply part with the wrong ideas and thoughts which we have incorporated with us. The phenomenon should be deleted - should be abandoned - during the course of our journey to the transcendental plane. The Absolute is He Who does not require a finite object or a finite place. He has infinite, eternal knowledge. He has got eternal expansion. He is full of bliss. We are always hankering after bliss - but bliss can never be had here. So meddling with the undesirable objects of the phenomena, we cannot expect to reach that destination. So the only course is bhakti. We should not attempt karma, jnana, rationalism, agnosticism, good action, charity and all such rubbish. They are the impediments of our approach to the Object. The Object should be the Absolute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This article was originally published in The Harmonist.)

[krsna 3]

HARIDÄSA ÖHÄKURA

 

One of The World’s Greatest Saints

By

Srila Bhakti Siddhänta Saraswati Thäkura

 

(Translated by Çrépäda Bhakti Vijïäna Bhäraté Mahäräja)

Originally published by Sri Chaitanya Sridhara Sangha, The Netherlands, 1986)

 

 

Haridäsa Öhäkura was entirely devoted to the service of

Lord Hari. This great devotee made his appearance in this

world in the village of Buòhana towards the end of the 15th

Century. In order to understand the significance of his

appearance, it is necessary to have some ideas about the

state of the society of Bengal at that period. The caste

system had lost all its propriety and its so-called purity and

was simply only another name for malpractices, because of

gross abuse to the principles of sanätana-dharma.

At that time the so-called opinion of religious

communities was nothing more than a narrow-minded

sectarian view. The Hindu society had become swollen

with the pride of caste-consciousness and showed contempt

for those who formed the lower caste society, in the name

of religious endeavour. The people were selfish in different

ways, in order to maintain themselves. The caste-conscious

section of society became hostile to the Vaiñëavas (the

worshippers of Lord Viñëu), and attacked the sanätanadharma

in many ways. The chronic disease of casteconsciousness

penetrated through the bones and marrow of

the Hindu society.

On the other hand the narrow-minded Muslim society

was oppressing the Hindu community with different forms

of malice, hatred and aggression. The followers of the

Muslim religion failed to appreciate the real greatness of

sanätana-dharma, and never slackened in their attempts to

impede the progress of the religion of the Hindus.

The passionate aggressive spirit of these two parties

brought untold suffering on the society in Bengal. The

wealthy class of society were uninterested in religious

practices and the opinion that luxury, materialistic pleasure

and material power were the all-in-all was prevalent.

Everyone within the Hindu community was so busy in the

external display of religious practices, that it would not be

exaggerating to say that there was not a single person who

had any understanding or sympathy for the real method of

pure devotion. Everyone was under the misconception that

to attain the spiritual kingdom in the next world, one had

to undergo very rigid vows, as propagated in the yoga

system.

The following of vows or the accepting of the sannyäsa

order all pointed to the paths of intelligence, the sympathy

of enjoyment, and the liberation of spiritual suicide.

The Hindus as time had absolutely no respect for the

path of pure devotion, as they had many doubts regarding

the highest attainment of life, which is simply the pure

chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord. It was during these

dark times of Bengal approximately 30-35 years before the

appearance of Lord Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu that Lord

Brahmä, as the personality of Haridäsa Öhäkura, displayed

his transcendental activities in the village of Buòhana. The

actual site of Buòhana is not known at the present day. It is

not possible to find any information about the boyhood

activities of Haridäsa Öhäkura in any authoritative

literatures. We cannot rely or place our trust on any recent

books on the subject, because they offer fictitious accounts,

bearing the names of old authors.

It is the opinion of some, that the appearance of Lord

Brahmä in the Yavana community was the atonement for

his offence of stealing the cows and cowherd boys. Then

again there are some who hold the opinion that Prahläda

Mahäräja had become visible through the activities of

Haridäsa Öhäkura. It has been mentioned in the Gaura

Ganodeça Dépikä that Prahläda Mahäräja and Lord Brahmä

were Haridäsa Öhäkura.

When Haridäsa Öhäkura had grown up, he had no

interest in the principles and social customs of the Yavana

community, but could be seen only constantly chanting the

Holy Name of the Supreme Lord Hari. There is no mention

of any formal initiation or personality who inspired him to

incessantly take the Name of the Supreme Lord. In the

example of Haridäsa Öhäkura we can see that he propagated

that the living entity should pray to the Supreme Lord to

give up anyu expectations for material desires.

After he reached this decision of fully surrendering unto

the Supreme Lord by accepting His Name, he left the

village ofBuòhana and took his residence in a solitary place

known as Benapola. Here he began to loudly chant the

Holy Name of Lord Çré Kåñëa. At that time it was the

custom that those born in a Yavana family were bound to

use the Yavana language for the purpose of worshipping

God. But such narrowmindedness never occurred in the

heart of the magnanimous Haridäsa Öhäkura. He came with

an attitude of disconcern, always accepting the universal

principles. The highest charity which could be given to the

living entity was to remain where he sat, always chanting

the Holy Name of God in Benapola. He was endeavouring

so much in his attempt to take full shelter of the Lord’s

Holy Name that there was a feeling of hostility towards him

among the Hindu community.

Some pure-hearted persons were delighted when they

saw his practices of unprecedented love for the Holy Name

of the Lord, though others, who were very encious, were

not really subdued by the devotional endeavours of

Haridäsa. One of the degrading leaders by the name of

Rämachandra Khan was very well known in those parts. He

formed a party of persons who devised a method to hamper

Haridäsa Öhäkura in his devotional services.

Khan had an immense following and great material

prosperity, which made him very proud. Then Khan advised

some of his evil-minded friends to prepare themselves for

the bad deeds of harassing a pure devotee of the Lord.

Haridäsa Öhäkura had originally belonged to another

district, so he was an alien to this area. When he came to

the village where Khan was the leader, he had intentions of

constantly chanting the Mahä-mantra Hare Kåñëa Hare

Kåñëa Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Räma Hare Räma Räma

Räma Hare Hare.

He did not give any support to the bad deeds of Khan.

Although Haridäsa Öhäkura was born in a Yavana family

he would always utter Hare Kåñëa, the Holy Name of the

Lord in the Sanskrit language and accordning to Khan this

was improper by the injunctions of Vedic scriptures. Then

Khan voluntarily decided to create trouble for Haridäsa

Öhäkura, as he thought that he was a weak-minded person,

being sentimental for the present moment. Khan thought

that Haridäsa had become a sädhu renouncing sense

enjoyment and going away from the material world, taking

to the path of spiritual life. The Khan decided to send a

prostitute in order to degrade the spiritual character of

Haridäsa Öhäkura.

That evening at the approach of darkness, Haridäsa was

chanting the Holy Name of the Lord with undivided

attention. While engaged in chanting, all his senses were

being used in the service of the Supreme Lord Kåñëa.

At this time the prostitute sent by Khan appeared before

him. She was very beautiful and made a display with many

lusty gestures, which were born of her sensual passionate

heart. She tried her utmost to divert the attention of

Haridäsa Öhäkura away from the service to the Holy Name

of Kåñëa. She tried in the early evening hours, the midnight

hours as well as the approach of dawn to produce an effect

in his heart. He was firm in his conviction in chanting the

Holy Name of Kåñëa. He was not enchanted by her

gestures.

When he was not obstructed in his service to the Lord,

which would have made another contitioned soul fall away

from spiritual life, she had a change of heart and realised

her attempt to gain his attention had failed.

So she returned at sunrise to Khan, reporting everything

as it happened. The hard-hearted Khan instructed her to try

again at night to captivate the heart of Haridäsa Öhäkura.

When she went under the instruction of Khan, she

again continued to put herself in such a way as to prevent

the devotional practices of a pure devotee. Three successive

nights passed away with Haridäsa chanting and still she

could not seem to divert him from the service to the

Supreme Lord. When she would request him to engage in

illicit sex with her, he would answer by persisting that he

would join her later. After he had finished chanting his

required number of Names of Kåñëa, he could never be

diverted by sinful activities, even though they might be

close by.

But a person who is interested in liberation is unable to

forego the temptation of such lusty desires. While the

supernatural character of Haridäsa Öhäkura changed the

lusty heart of the prostitute, the following night she threw

herself at his feet and in a repenting spirit said: “I am

addicted to the sinful activities of lust and fully

contaminated by it. You are the greatest of all devotees and

are engaged in the service of Lord Kåñëa. The evil

propensities of my heart have been destroyed by your

association and by the force of your transcendental nature. I

am now ready to take the transcendental knowledge,

following in the footsteps od the great spiritual masters who

teach the Çrémad-Bhägavatam. By your casual mercy give

me direction, by which I can follow the path of pure

devotion.”

 

[krsna 3]

Haridäsa Öhäkura, who was very compassionate to all

the living entities, forgot about the bad profession of the

prostitute and rescued her from the deep well of sensual

desires by engaging her in chanting the Mahä-mantra Hare

Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Räma Hare

Räma Räma Räma Hare Hare. Such mercy can only be met

by the causeless mercy of a pure devotee.

As time passed by, Haridäsa Öhäkura understod from

this incident that most of the villagers who had supported

Khan were opposed to his personal devotional practices.

Therefore, after he converted her, she was engaged in

practices of pure devotional service. Then he left the place.

He went to another area, where he could carry on without

being disturbed in his worship of Lord Çré Kåñëa. The

prostitute gave her ill-earned money to the local brähmaëas

and began residing in the place where Haridäsa Öhäkura

had been living.

By his mercy she became busy in chanting the Holy

Name of Lord Kåñëa and came to be regarded with great

reverence in society. When Haridäsa Öhäkura had defeated

Khan in his malicious attempt to divert his practices from

the Supreme Lord, there was a great feeling of

mailicousness, which came into the heart of Khan.

Consequently, later when Lord Nityänanda arrived with

his entourage of Vaiñëavas, the followers of Khan treated

him and his followers with contempt. They would not give

them a place to stay. Khan told Lord Nityänanda that he

had arranged a place where they could stay in his cowshed.

Lord Nityänanda, being insulted, left for another village.

After Haridäsa Öhäkura left the place of Beëapola, he

went to the Nadia district to the village of Phulia. This is

situated midway between Ramaghat and Çantipura. By this

time, Adwaita Prabhu, whose origin was not known at that

time, settled down in Çantipura. Haridäsa Öhäkura, in the

company of Adwaita Prabhu, began to ecstatically fill his

mind with devotional topics and engaged himself

constantly in chanting the Holy Names of Lord Kåñëa.

After leaving all worldy pleasures of any type, he passed his

days immersed in the bliss of the Holy Name. During this

period there was a powerful community of brähmaëas in the

village of Phulia. These brähmaëas were unfavourable

towards Haridäsa Öhäkura. He would daily bathe in the

Ganges river, which flowed near the village. When

Haridäsa was bathing, he would chant the Holy Name of

the Supreme Lord Kåñëa very loudly. This brought

opposition from the other side from several brähmaëas in

the village of Kulia, who were opposed to the worship of the

Holy Name in this way.

The Hindu brähmaëas were very envious of the pure

devotee of the Lord. They agreed with local Muslims to

form a conspiracy against Haridäsa Öhäkura and have him

punished by the chief Kazi of that area. They charged him

with promoting a social disorder. By the order of the Kazi,

Haridäsa Öhäkura was brought before him. As an

administrator of the district the Kazi had a large number of

criminals under arrest. When Haridäsa Öhäkura came

before the Kazi, he was honoured and was offered a seat.

The Kazi, who was aware of his honour, said: “You have

had the good fortune of taking birth in a Yavana family

which is a very high lineage. But, having taken birth in

such a high family within the higher rings of society, how is

it that you have decided upon the religion of the Hindus?”

He continued: “The Muslims look down upon the Hindus

with great contempt. They feel aversion against accepting

any food touched by them. Therefore, why is it that you

have lowered yourself by violating the religious custom of

your ancestry? By such behaviour in this world how will it

be possible for you to attain deliverance in the next life? If

you are prepared to accept my good advice, then you should

readopt the social customs of the high Yavana family and

again be initiated into the Yavana religion, which will

destroy the sins that you have committed.”

Haridäsa Öhäkura had infringed upon the social codes,

which had been given by the Yavanic society and thus for

this reason he was taken before the administrator of the

Nadia district at the request of the Yavanic community.

This community was desirous of safe-guarding their

traditional customs in the society.

Then Haridäsa Öhäkura replied to the Kazi as follows:

“This material world is merely the illusory energy of the

Supreme Personality of Gofhead. True religion is not the

monopoly of either the Yavana or Hindu community,

therefore there can be no danger of worshipping the

Supreme Lord Kåñëa who is the common object of worship

for both communities. The Supreme Lord is beyond all

material objects. He is eternal and indivisible and the

Absolute Reality. He is the perfect truth and one who

worships Him in this manner according to instructions from

Him, he is not unneccessarily ready to create disorder by

ignoring the differences in personal qualities. It is the

Supreme Lord who has caused me to take birth in the

Yavanic family. It is He who has engaged me in the

activities of chanting Hare Kåñëa, Hare Räma, which will

yield the highest benefit. The Supreme Lord may also cause

one to take birth in a high brähmaëical family within the

Hindu community and make him turn into a Yavana

because of his Yavanic propensities. Such is the will of the

Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa, who is ever benevolent. I am

willing to accept any punishment which you are prepared to

reprimand me with, but I will not follow the Yavanic

customs nor give up the highest beneficial activities of

chanting the Holy Name of Lord Kåñëa.” The Kazi now

began to blaspheme the Supreme Lord, when he scolded

Haridäsa Öhäkura. At last Haridäsa Öhäkura said: “Even if

you cut my body to pieces and I give up my life, still the

Holy Name of Lord Kåñëa will never leave my lips.”

Hearing this, the Kazi became enraged and sent Haridäsa

Öhäkura to be punished to death by being severely whipped

in 22 market places in the district.

While Haridäsa Öhäkura was being whipped, he

employed himself in constant recollection of the Supreme

Lord Çré Kåñëa and chanting Kåñëa’s name very loudly. He

remained unaffected by the whipping. The pious persons of

those places noticed the severity of the infliction upon him

and openly disagreed with the authorities. On the other

hand those who were envious and wicked, rejoined. Some

people apprehended that a very bad reaction would fall

upon the Kazi and those who aided him in the brutal

persecution of a pure devotee. In the same way that

Prahläda Mahäräja was tortured by Hiraëyakaçipu, now

Haridäsa Öhäkura was being oppressed and humiliated by

the Yavanas. Bearing the intolerable pain, he would say:

“Have mercy upon all these living entities, O Supreme Lord

Kåñëa! May none of them offend You by their treatment of

me.”

During the whipping of Haridäsa at last the Yavanas

began to say: “The whole Yavana community will suffer the

terrible consequence of the inhuman practices, because you

are such a great saint. You life has not been ended by our

prolonged and terrible beating. The Kazi will put all of us

to death, because we are not able to kill you.” Hearing this,

Haridäsa Öhäkura felt much pity upon the Yavanas, who

were beating him when he exhibited the external pastimes

of quitting his mortal life. The evil-minded Yavanas, in

order to prevent him from any good results in his future life

joked, that his dead body should be thrown in Ganges

River, so that in this way no scriptural injunctions could be

performed upon it. At this time Haridäsa Öhäkura was in

meditation and occupied with the constant recollection of

Lord Çré Kåñëa’s pastimes.

The Yavanas, who were ordered by the Kazi to throw

the body in the Ganges, were unable to do so. They could

not inform the Kazi of their inability to kill him. They were

thoroughly defeated in their endeavour and at last desisted

from their wicked endeavours. Hearing this the Kazi came

to him, who was deeply absorbed in a meditative trance.

When he came from his trance the Kazi begged from him

the following: “I am convinced that you are a great saint

and are of no worldly nature. Forgive me for my many

faults. No one in the heavenly, earthly or hellish planetary

systems are able to understand your real nature. You may go

wherever you may like and we will never oppose you.” So,

he then returned to the village of Phulia without being

daunted in the least by the terrible persecution of the

Yavanas. At that time the village of Phulia was a very

populated and important centre of the brähmiëical

community. The brähmaëas at Phulia received Haridäsa

Öhäkura very cordially on his return. They had witnessed

his devotional practices and recognised his transcendental

love for Lord Çré Kåñëa. They sympathised with his

misfortunes and discussed amongst themselves the cause of

his suffering. He said to them: “I have been a great offender

and have heard the Yavanas blaspheme Lord Viñëu and yet

I did not oppose them or prevent them from doing so.

Therefore consequently I had to suffer and that suffering

was necessary for my own good. I should not have openly

heard the offences which they spoke about the Supreme

Personality of Godhead.” Even though he was in the full

spirit of humility he was not able to save the Kazi’s family

and his followers. Shortly afterwards the Kazi’s family with

all its members perished. The pure devotee was unopposed

to taking the Holy Name day and night by any person.

The village of Phulia on the banks of the Ganges was

transformed into Vaikuëöha and ceased to be a place within

the domain of Mäyä because of his chanting Hare Kåñëa.

Once, a very large serpent came upon the residence of

Haridäsa Öhäkura. He was not in the least bit fearful of the

grace of the serpent. He took the Holy Name of the Lord in

an unconcerned manner and lived in the same room with

the great serpent. Later on he was persuaded by the

brähmaëa residents of the village and his friends to leave the

place where the serpent was residing. At this time the

serpent on his own accord departed from the residence. The

brähmaëas were filled with wonder at this extraordinary

event.

At a later incident at a house of a certain wealthy man a

snake charmer was exhibiting a scene of the suppression of

the great serpent Käliya by Lord Kåñëa with dancing and

singing. Haridäsa Öhäkura accidentally arrived at that spot

and from a distance watched the performance. The dancing

and singing of the snake charmer excited Haridäsa Öhäkura

to remember the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa and then he

fainted in devotional ecstacy. Upon recovering he began to

sing. He displayed all the symptoms of ecstacy within his

body. The snake charmer stopped his performance and

stood silently on the side with his palms joined together

watching his devotional ecstacies. Following this the

spectators joyously sprinkled themselves with the dust

which had been touched by the feet of Haridäsa Öhäkura.

At this time a hypocritical brähmaëa, hankering after the

respects offered to Haridäsa Öhäkura, pretended to have

gone into a trance in imitation of him. He was beaten black

and blue by the snake charmer which made him take to his

heels. When asked the reason for his doing so, the snake

charmer made the following remarks: “You should know

that this brähmaëa is a hypocrite vainly seeking after the

honour shown to Haridäsa Öhäkura, who is a mahäbhägavata.

Therefore he has committed a grave offence at

his holy feet by trying to be superior to him.”

Neither birth nor wealth is the criterion of Kåñëa’s

devotees. To prove this, Haridäsa Öhäkura was born in a

non-Hindu family and even Lord Brahmä the creator, Lord

Çiva the destroyer and the holy River Ganges the purifier,

yearn for his company. Uttering once Haridäsa Öhäkura’s

name leads unto the Lotus Feet of Lord Kåñëa. Just the sight

of one who has taken shelter at the holy feet of Haridäsa

Öhäkura relieves one from the bondage of the material

world’s energy. I thank my stars that I have had the proud

privilege of singing his glories before a large gathering og

fortunate persons like you who have been blessed with his

darçan.

Unfortunately, some of the Hindu atheists tried their

utmost to undervalue the supremacy of loudly chanting by

all sorts of unfair means. But Haridäsa Öhäkura proved in

full the capacity of loudly chanting by citing the following

text from Bhägavatam:

“Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues chant Your

Holy Name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such

persons are worshippable. Persons who chant the Holy

Name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of

austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good

manners of the äryans. To be chanting the Holy Name of

Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of

pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything

required.” (Bhägavatam, 3.33.7)

“Oh king, constantly chanting of the Holy Name of the

Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless

and fearless way of success for all, including those who are

free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all

material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by

dint of transcendental knowledge.” (Bhägavatam, 2.1.11)

“Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the

Holy Name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle

for the living entity in human society.” (Bhägavatam,

6.3.22)

“Who but the self-annihilators or slaughterers of animals

will desist from chanting aloud the glories of the Supreme

Lord Kåñëa, constantly sung by the liberated souls. It is the

only cure for the world’s diseases and a thrill of delight and

sweetness to the ears and hearts of the listeners.”

(Bhägavatam, 10.1.4)

“The Holy Name of Lord Kåñëa who is the sweetest of

all divine names, the Supreme Good of all good things and

the self-effulgent eternal lovely fruit of the creeper of the

Vedas, when uttered but once, attentively or inattentively,

ensures deliverance of all human beings, o chief of the

Bhågus.” (Prabhäsa Khanda)

Haridäsa Öhäkura further added that loud chanting of

the Holy Name of Kåñëa is twice blessed. It blesses him that

chants and them that listen including even the birds,

beasts, plants, trees, stones and all other things that live

under the sun; while the mutterer of the Holy Name does

good to himseld only (Naradiya Puräëa).

Sorely aggrieved at the anti-devotional nature of the

world, Haridäsa Öhäkura arrived at Çrédhäma Mäyäpura

where he received a hearty welcome from the Vaiñëavas

with Advaita Ächärya as their head. He then joined the

banner of Näma-saìkértana inaugurated by the Supreme

Lord Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu.

The glorification of Haridäsa Öhäkura which was

written by Våndävana däsa Öhäkura says: “Be thou glorified,

Haridäsa Öhäkura. You have established the immaculate

glories and supremacy of the Holy Name, Hare Kåñëa, all

over the world. Some practice but do not preach, while

others preach but do not practice the chanting of the Holy

Name. The twin services of the Holy Name, namely

preaching and practising the chanting, go hand in hand in

the teeth of all opposition. You have done both. You are

therefore the Nämächärya. You are the spiritual bestower of

the Holy Name, and the world teacher in this respect. You

are an invaluable asset among the holy entourage of the

Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa Chaitanya Mahäprabhu.”

nikhila-çruti-mauli ratna mälä

dyuti néräjita-päda-paìkajänta

ayi mukta-kulair upäsyamänaà

paritas tväm hari-näm saàçrayämi

“O Holy Name! The tips of the toes of Your Lotus feet

are eternally worshipped by the glowing effulgence radiating

from the gemmed chapters of the Upaniñads, the crest jewels

of the Vedas. You are eternally adored and chanted by great

liberated souls like Närada and Çréla Çukadeva Goswämé. O

Hari Näma! Clearing myself of all offences, I take complete

shelter of You.”

 

[krsna 3]

 

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[krsna 3]

 

INTRODUCTION TO SHRI KRISHNA

 

The ebullient human nature is regulated by censorious warning from ceremonial agencies. The sound waves irritate the auditory nerves and, the helping, prior experiences lead the aural reception to the brain for quodlibetic exploitation. Over this, a remedy is suggested by the epistemological order to approach unending transcendental nature of vibratory movements without indulging in restless disproving temper of an empiricist.

 

The characteristic feature of mundane sounds is that the sounds retire after pointing out an object of the phenomena whereas the transcendental nomenclature is naturally endowed with the manifestation of the object in full without the assistance of temporary limited gross or subtle entourages of matter suitable to reciprocate the different senses as in the case of sensuous scrutiny.

 

The Harmonist deals with the introduction to Shri Krishna, Krishna Bhakti or devotional system and the solution of attaining Krishna's love, the highest desirability of eternal blissful wisdom of the Pure Soul now posing as a miserable candidate of an enjoying mood.

 

Ray Ramananda has invoked the blessing of Murari's dance attended with music and musical sounds which blended the association of Sri Krishna's Entourage with His Absolute manifested Pastimes in the activities of the Eternal Associates of the all-time Greatest Benefactor of souls, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya. All the three sections of non-begging devotees who have love for the All-love are expected ipso facto to welcome The Harmonist as their real friend.

 

 

 

- Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This brief introduction was originally published in The Harmonist, Vol XXXI-1 (1934) )

[krsna 3]

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK 'SREE KRISHNA CHAITANYA'

 

MEN of culture are often found to devote themselves in acquiring knowledge of various subjects which could prove efficacious to them in their needs; so we may not confuse to accept all readers in the same line of thought. The best scrutinisers of knowledge in their cultural extension should possess all skill and dexterity to get their most covetable end having had a care for Eternity and uninterrupted Blissful unalloyed Knowledge. This incarnate of the acme of knowledge-seekers will be the best reader of this book when they can have the privilege of comparing the merits of different views of pure theists. Mental speculationists have diverse objects of investigation and their diversity of seeking Knowledge would simply disturb the peaceful mentality having been tempted by the duping features of external manifestations, quite suitable and dove-tailing the present purposes of enjoyment by their imperfect senses.

 

The writer has got the prime object of furnishing a comparative study in which the position of a reader has the highest place. This is his only ambition, of healing the depraved mentality of the so-called culturists of True Knowledge. But the readers have different motives of utilising the product of their enterprise of perusing the book. One class of readers are found to criticise the merits and demerits of the writer in order to establish their superiority, with a view to puff up their vanity. Another class is observed to muse over the subject by spending their time for the gratification of their senses. The third section of readers mean to profit by reading the book in order to regulate their Life for a better purpose. The under-estimation of a desirable element for some utilisation through temporal gratification of senses, would not equipoise the third position of the reader who will surely mark the distinctive situation by comparing other things and agree with the author in spending his valuable time for true amelioration.

 

The body of the book will appear before readers as a historical account of the Journey of life of a Hero. But the Hero is not an ordinary mundane hero for a hallucinative ambition with a spiritual tinge. The account will no doubt show that the targeted Object of the manifestive spiritual world is Eternal and identical with the Hero of the speaker. Hasty conclusions will be pouring forth to oppose this by welcoming anthropomorphic and apotheotic thoughts. The delineations will prove that the Object pointed to is beyond the comprehension of crippled senses. And the Absolute Eternity made up of Pure Knowledge and Incessant bliss is never to be had within the compass of our senses. All objects of the phenomena which are comprehended by senses have temporal situation and deformed entity void of different 'qualities' that are always submissive to senses.

 

Sree Krishna-Chaitanya's inculcations of the Personality of Godhead cannot be restricted to or accused as Idolatry. Idols are constructed of mundane materials and are subject to the inspection of senses. The Eternal Absolute does not exactly submit to these senses, as He does not put Himself as a shareholder of phenomenal things. Whichever comes under senses has equal value with one of Nature's products and forms to be a subject of the jurisdiction of senses. The Eternal Absolute is inconceivable by limited senses. The partially eclipsed views of the Absolute are shaky, non-absolute, liable to transformation and under the clutch of the span of Time. The physical limitations are all accommodated in Space, Time and particular entities. The naming of the Transcendental Absolute through the lips of a mundane agent will surely seek after a size, a colour, etc., and must undergo the ocular examination. The Transcendental Absolute should in no case submit to our dermal perceptions, neither to our nasal or lingual activities as well.

 

The Transcendental Sound has got a distinctive denomination from mundane sounds which often tend to submit to the test of other senses. As the Transcendental Sound has not been originated in mundane phenomena, He will not be diffident in showing His true phase whose manifestive realisations are identical with the Name Himself. In that case the essence of such Sound would not permit the different entities of the same Object; as we find in phenomenal objects tracings of numerical base instead of the integral unit. The differential values are integrated in the Transcendence. So there is indication of One Object by the dinning of the etherial vibrations in different positions. These sounds converge in One Point Who is known as the Absolute. This Absolute is on the Eternal plane of All-Knowledge and Incessant Bliss and can have manifestive Absolute phases with Him. If the various sounds are put into this chaotic plane, there is no reconciliation of a synthetic method. This unharmonising tendency will surely bring a contending and unpleasant atmosphere which we experience everyday.

 

The uneclipsed phase of the Integral Sound will not in any case bring rupture, but harmonise the contending phase due to the intervention of foreign intrusion. The demarcating lines of comprehending the same thing through the chambers of senses would lead to mundane enjoyment; whereas the ignorance of enjoying things through limited scope would put the enjoyer within the barriers. When the Observer is One, He sees everything and exercises all His Senses for His Own gratification. But the servitors who are fractional entities cannot have any harmonious situation unless all of them have got one aim of being predominated over by the Absolute. The question of relativity does not become a barrier, as we notice such deformities in these phenomena which are subject to Individuality, Space and Time. This situation, solving the difficulties of mundane relativity and Absolute, has been finally settled by the Transcendental unspotted manifestive phase, instead of wrongly Inculcating a hallucinative theory of Absolute by negativing the conception of diversities.

 

The numerical situations of the different entities here have got a relative representation which is certainly condemnable for its undesirability. The glaring desirable features of relativity as delineated in the Transcendence should not be anthropomorphised by our poverty-stricken knowledge and narrow views of phenomenal disorders. In the Absolute Region we find descriptions of mutual Manifestive phases, the Master there being One with millions of servitors of four different classes. We further notice the Absolute as the Eternally Blissful Son of the Entity of Unalloyed Knowledge. The Absolute Friend is the Cynosure of all friendly eyes, as the Single Object of friendship. He is the Consort of depending consorts and is the Predominating Singular Object of unalloyed love of predominated objects. Whereas, in the mundane plane we find many predominating agents together with predominated sentients. People need not puzzle themselves with the ascription of a motherly idea in the Supreme Absolute, as the seeming features of parents here have got a dignified position which is nothing but a perverted conception of the Real manifestive Absolute. Moreover we find that the parents get the opportunity of serving their only coveted child from His very Birth in different capacities. So the Eternal position of the Master is retained intact from the very Advent of the Child. If we are to accept services from the Lord, Whom we have to render our service, we are simply misled. The Divine Absolute should not be classed as our servitor, as our eternal position is to render our all-time and whole-hearted services to Him alone. A deviation from this will be tampering the very principle of transcendental devotion. The author has wisely delineated these crucial points in the Instructive Life of the Supreme Lord.

 

The enjoying temperament of this temporal world will find a good jerk in the line of thought of approaching the Transcendence. Sree Krishna-Chaitanya, the greatest world-teacher, has exhibited to his taught the transcendental loving principle of unalloyed souls towards the Absolute All-love where phenomenal dirts could not possibly contaminate the pleasant situation of Manifestive Relativity. The unalloyed devotional exhibition in the Pastimes of Sree Krishna-Chaitanya and His followings are the best and greatest Boon that could be had in the quest of the Absolute. Readers might have noticed one thing in the vital principle of Transcendence of the Desertion of the enjoying mood and the affinity for temporal deformed objects. This abnegation at the very outset will create a puzzling sensation among the youngsters who have embarked on the journey of life to aim after sensuous enjoyment in temporal phenomena. So they may hastily discard the principle of showing diffidence for their much-coveted dream of enjoyment in this world. Sree Krishna-Chaitanya has defined the proper use of the Relief that is offered by the non-meddling with mundane affairs in an enjoying mood. He has not asked anybody to adopt the indolent processes of non-co-operating with the phenomenal objects. He has rather instructed to practise accepting mundane things when we can trace the connections of the essence of such things with Sree Krishna, the Manifested Fountain-head of the Absolute. His disclosure has set right the topsy-turvy, hodge-podge situation of this apparently chaotic world. He has further cautioned the renouncers not to summarily reject the association of relative things for fear of their proving to be detrimental to alienating the peaceful soul from the mundane troubles by associating themselves with the purposes of the manifested Absolute.

 

The busy people of this world have decided that the gratification of senses should be the essential aim of all our enterprises here as well as in the next world. So they have deemed it fit to adopt the principle of an ethical religion supplying their wants and to fulfil whatever we are in need of. These triple results are the covetable solutions of the enjoying calibre of sentient entities. This sort of mentality is found in the enjoyers. But there is an opposite section who believes that unless such desiring agencies are stopped, no eternal good can be expected. So they have formulated a different goal for their purpose. These men consider that salvation is required from phenomena by practising a non-co-operative mood from all and even the necessaries of life, which tantamount to suicidal commission. By following the high-sounding words of annihilation in the Absolute by dismissing the three respective positions of observer, observation and observed, they covet to be finally rescued from phenomenal troubles.

 

The Supreme Lord Sree Krishna-Chaitanya has neither encouraged the enjoying elevationists nor the renouncing Salvationists. He has prescribed the pure theistic thought of spiritual devotion to the Personality of All-love by the loving function of the unalloyed souls instead of plunging into the ocean of miseries which offer extreme troubles to elevationists and to persons who, having bitter worldly experience, desire to terminate their animation by the process of annihilation. The Supreme Lord has thereby settled the question of transmigration. The Semites have, however, adopted a principle, by rejecting the theory of metempsychosis, to dispense with the long extending life of a migratory element. The love of the Absolute can never be attained by men who seek after their aggrandisement or after their liberation. Persons, who entertain the view of their actual freedom from such selfish propensities, can have the privilege of knowing what Prema is—which has no bartering system of 'give and take' policy. The unalloyed souls are meant to love the All-love with the identification of their eternal loving element. The loving souls are not at all dissatisfied whether the Supreme Lover is inclined to grant their prayer, on the very understanding that their loving connection is inseparable. They at the same time prove themselves to be quite content as their only lover has deemed it fit to discard them and thereby enjoy by the services offered by them. The consideration of exchange has confined the elevationists and Salvationists to their respective gains; whereas, no such gain is aimed at by devotees who have thoroughly comprehended their positions of non-traders. This unalloyed love can never be expected in any agents who have got ulterior motives of satisfying their pleasing and enjoying demeanour. Unalloyed service can only be found in Prema which has a special characteristic of pure sacrifice without any remuneration in return. No enjoying mood can have any place in that unalloyed function.

 

The transcendental love should never be compared with the lustful mundane position of an enjoyer. Prema reaches its acme in consorthood and the lower stages in filial love, friendship, services and in neutrality. So this Amorous transcendental love has no comparison with other loving affinities.

 

The cardinal point of this unique progression of love has got a steady infinite dimension of activity which can have no equal in our experience. The Absolute Prema is never to be confused with the shaky position of nuptial love of mundane mortal people which tends to have reciprocal interest. But as it has no bearing with deformed relativities, no claim can be asserted to combat with the challengers through arguments.

 

The historical account connected with the Pastimes of the Absolute need not be mixed with the mundane activities of transformable entities. But the elaboration of transcendental accounts must not be discouraged owing to the bitter experiences we have of our temporal life here. The incidental mentions of history bear a reference of earthly things liable to be perished in time. The essence of history need not be kept at arm's length in consideration of worldly associations which necessitate the existence of components of matter or motion.

 

Descriptive accounts of history help us in considering the relation between the already acquired knowledge and the welcoming of new thoughts. But in the present case, where we are to deal with a case beyond Nature's phenomena, we should be cautious not to confuse with human frailties and mixing up with temporal defective impressions of mundane relatives. Historicity of things need not be summarily rejected if it renders help to comprehend the direction and nature of the transcendental views. So every branch of knowledge has efficacy to offer us first aid towards our advancement in the Region beyond Nature.

 

The transcendental sensuous Activities of the Absolute have got transcendental reference and avoid submitting to human senses which are but frail and inadequate. The descriptions of the Transcendental Pastimes of the Absolute need not be confused with metaphorical analogy, strictly confined to our present situation, of acquiring knowledge. Allegories are figments and are treated as innovations of older thoughts in a systematic way in order to place a certain view of things. If they are meant for the purpose of the Transcendent and not for our sensuous gratification, we can accept them for the safety of our transcendental health instead of eliminating even the purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[krsna 3]

Mental speculations may drag us to some secular purpose which we should avoid for the sake of studying the Absolute Transcendent Who has no contending character to expel the variegated similar manifestations as we often perceive through our senses. So the author has described the Deeds which bear a resemblance to that of history and allegory provided they are not improperly carried to mundane restrictive merits.

 

History, fiction or poems have worldly values; but when they help us towards the topics of Transcendence we need not have an anthropomorphic disposition. If we bring down the Eternal Pastimes, the Character of the Transcendence is proselytised more or less to our sensuous purpose—a solemn offence which we should not do.

 

Our intellectual advancement has proved the three different ways of attaining to our different goals: (1) one track is known as fruitive track to propitiate deities to meet and fulfil our demands by physical and mental entities. The dearth of desired objects keeps us at a lower level and we want an amelioration and elevation from the lowest level to the highest summit. In that case we consider ourselves to be actors or perpetrators of our intended actions. When we are actuated by such exciting mood we entertain a definite result which can serve our purpose best. This activity of our physical and mental entities is strictly confined in temporal and inadequate phases. (2) The quest of a different track is insistently urged on our intellectual function when we want to desert the fructifying demeanour of the mind. Desertion from the active life shows us a different track of seeking the Absolute Intelligence by the process of intellectualism. We want to sever our pleasure-seeking aptitude in our passionate desires to destroy all sorts of selfishness accrued in Nature's temporary association. Renunciation from all temporal activities in this plane of deformities offers us a mentality of stupefaction which may be termed as abnegation. In the artificial process of dissociating ourselves from the temporarily meddlings with foreign things which are set apart from our entity, the actor merges himself in the Object pursued, dismissing his active functions. This conglomeration is effected by the synthetic process of grouping together limited things into an accumulative effect; but the accumulation of diametrically opposite elements would never alone yield an opposite element, save in the analogy of enhanced angularities as in the case of two right angles. The neutral position of unalloyed intellectualism would lead us to the result of the extended idea of limitation. Speculative method of synthetical activities terminates in undifferenced situation of Knower, knowledge and the object of knowledge.

 

(3) But the advancement would prove that the track of transcendental devotion towards the Absolute is quite free from the summation of the fruitive activities as well as the desertion from having a selfish desire to get a lion's share as a co-sharer. The tracks of elevation and salvation have very little to do in leading to the track of Devotion, as the devotional process has no object of encouraging the fruitive activities in extricating out the Variegated Transcendental Eternal situation. The very process of salvation indicates in time the two different predicaments of the situation which is a bar to the purpose of Eternity. The Devotional process is quite independent of the two systems of fruit-seekers or enjoyers and abnegators or avoiders of self-destructive enjoyment. Readers will no doubt secure the true rationalistic view from the writings of this author. Pure devotional aptitude need not wait for any help from the two other tracks but is quite independent of them. Devotion can only be carried out when the unalloyed position of the soul is determined. Such function should have no component of two other foreign garments which have more or less enshrouded the unalloyed soul in the two planes of association and dissociation with temporal things. The devotional functions of the unalloyed soul need not be observed by placing patches of clouds which are adaptable for the limited plane, eclipsing the true aspects of the true eternal plane of devotion.

 

The Absolute Knowledge should not bear any reference of deviation and whenever there is the different views we find that the different aspects deprive us of the exact entity of the thing by our polytheistic views of the one thing. The Absolute Truth is ever ready to welcome the different approaches of the atomic parts of the Unalloyed Absolute. But when those atomic parts are mixed up with foreign views they need not be dovetailed with the Absolute like unalloyed entities associated with the Unalloyed Absolute. The distorted demeanour of the mind cannot approach the Unalloyed Absolute by the easy-going mandate of receiving all sorts of services that may be rendered to the One; but that One need not have a disfigured entity which is far off His original Beautiful and Sublime Existence. If the Object of our approaching be considered to be contaminated with evil associations inviting our nefarious aptitude of enjoyment, we cannot expect to include ourselves to submit to His Wishes.

 

First of all, the Object need not be tampered in any way by our whimsical mood and our determination of self need not accompany any anthropomorphic deformities which have no bearing in Him. The different relations we experience in society should be carefully watched in the case of associating ourselves with the Internal Absolute. We need not carry the defects and unpleasant pains along with us when we trace out our eternal relations with Him. The Absolute Knowledge need not undergo the variegated form of the enjoyable articles, sentient and insentient we meet here. But we are to approach Him with our serving mood for His Eternal Enjoyment. We must not be thinking of eliminating all foreign attributions in us unless we mean to please Him by considering ourselves to be exactly suiting to His purpose which may not be proving to create His annoyance as we experience on this painful plane here. A close reading of the accounts of Sree Krishna-Chaitanya will certainly lead us to the Manifestation of the Absolute in proper order.

 

If we have a sincere heart to associate ourselves with the Absolute, we must not be considering Him to be our Servitor but we should pose ourselves in the position of a servitor to suit one of His relationships. Our entities will then be different ingredients of the service-holders of the Absolute. But as we are in the habit of securing enjoyments as lords, we have got a quite different determination of self as to lord it over other existences besides our own. In order to set right this awkward taste, we should approach a true serving friend who can regulate our evil propensities which are the bars of the true functions of the unalloyed soul. We cannot make profit by the association of the people who are very busy to culture their wrong habits as enjoyers of this world instead of eliminating the undesirable inculcations of associating with temporal things. The company of non-devotees and the counsels of apathetic disposition towards the Absolute should by all means be avoided. If we fail to get rid of such intoxicants, we are liable to miss the devotional functions of the unalloyed soul, without making any progress towards the march for our eternal welfare.

 

The question of occupation has been decided by the Personality of the Supreme Lord in the all-time engagement of all individual souls proper for the Absolute. The occupation of the mind is found to meddle with temporal objects of phenomena; whereas the parts of the body have no other suitable position to fit themselves for limited and temporal purposes. All acts should tend to acquire virtue and happiness. All virtues and happinesses should lead to sacrifice instead of captivating the soul for mundane purposes only. All such dissociating mood with worldly sensuous attainment tends to the occupation of the Absolute and this occupation should be no other function but go to show the interest of the Absolute. The very conception of the external structure and the internal existence, which is also considered as a subtle garment, must not forfeit the interest of the Principal who is known to own these two environments. The interest of the Principal, 'soul', should have no ephemeral acquisition like the consumption of the mind and the body. Altruism may prove to suffice for the higher aims of soul; but such deluding features should not bar the progress of the soul in any way. The body and the mind are shifting agents which, though at present incorporated with the soul, tend to the temporary aggrandisement of the incorporated changeable parts. So attention should be drawn to the interest of the soul proper whose functions should not at all be crippled by the seeming necessaries of the mind and the body revolting against the Eternal Blissful Knowledge, viz., the Absolute.

 

Our all-time occupation need not be confined to the highest reference of mental culture in pure and simple altruism, where the reference of the Absolute along with the reference of our behaviour towards the lower creation is neglected. The inclusion of an indirect service to an Impersonal God or our charitable disposition to some extent towards lower animals by tutored sympathising mentality, is optional and not compulsory.

 

The Great Absolute should predominate over the crippled forms of infinitesimal absolutes who may appear at the outset as illustrations of non-absolute. If the synthetic process of all isolated entities does not go to One Undeviated Object of the Absolute, it would prove to be a chaotic emporium of unassimilating differences; so our mentalities require rectification to arrange their order in a particular line. One of our friendly co-sharers should come forward to explain before us the nature of the course that should be adopted for our methodic comprehension of the irregularities in one line. This unparallelled mercy of the One Friend and His associates is to regulate the disorderly conduct of the body and the mind. The rhetorical principle of the predominating and predominated functions in their bases of activities could give us the result of one of the four ingredients that follow when we are relieved of the worldly deformed conceptions in the pure spontaneity of a defined nature of eternal relationship that exists between the Absolute and the significatory aspects of the internal parts of the Absolute.

 

Whenever the specification of the Predominator is prominent, we necessarily find the reciprocal predominated aspects, which may prove to be more than One, as distinguished from the case of the Predominator. The Predominating Agent has a singular significance over the multifarious predominated. This portion of the analysis of the Transcendental Integer has become the most conspicuous explanation offered to mankind by any of the guiding leaders to bring us towards the Transcendence, Earnest readers will no doubt find this unique explanation offered by the writer in the line of instructions received by him from the Transcendental Hero, Whose Career and accounts have been portrayed in this book.

 

The peculiar feature noticed in men apart from the lower creation is this that the former can exchange thoughts and have the superiority of utilising their experience through the recollections from history and acquired branches of knowledge. They can show their felicitous mood in listening to Scriptures also. So a comparative student can easily demarcate the line of the best and full apart from transitory experiences of this world. The question of Eternity, Full Knowledge and Bliss cannot be dealt by other agencies of life save man; so man need not neglect the position of the Absolute in the Ever-existence, in Full Knowledge void of all sorts of ignorance and ills that flesh is heir to, and Beatific Constancy of the Fountain-head. The solution of human life should tend towards the approach of the Absolute Who is always courting us to offer His help towards the fulfilment of the inadequate speciality we have in us. And in order to gain an approach we should require the guidance of an individual in whom we can place our reliance, instead of being credulous with the strugglers of this world.

 

The Supreme Lord has left in this world a band of His followings who are always helpful to mankind instead of deluding the intellectuals to turn themselves idealists and evil-doers with an apparent phase of seekers of their welfare. The author will no doubt be gratified if any of the readers can see his way to scrutinise the Subject of the Transcendence in Whom we are all vitally interested by sparing his valuable time to go through this book.

 

Before concluding this Foreword, I would like to introduce to the respected readers the aspiring attitude of enlightening his readers on the Transcendental Entity of Sree Krishna as well as His Phase of Instructor in Sree Krishna-Chaitanya in the following points, with references to the context.

 

(N.B.—All the references are to chapter and verse of the tenth skandha of Srimad Bhagavatam).

Krishna is possessed of an unlimited intellect (84.22).

Krishna is inaccessible to sensuous knowledge (16.46).

Krishna is Lord of the infinity of worlds (69.17).

Krishna wields the power of creating the unlimited (87.28).

Krishna carries the impress of limitless power (87.14).

Krishna is possessed of inconceivable potency (10.29).

Krishna is unborn (59.28, 74.21).

Krishna solves all heterogeneous views (74.24).

Krishna is vanquished by exclusive devotion (14.3).

Krishna is Inner Guide (1.7).

Krishna is the Withholder of the energy of the wicked (60.19).

Krishna is the Giver of salvation to jivas that are free from vanity (86.48).

Krishna ordains the worldly course of conceited jivas (86.48).

Krishna is Primal God (Deva) (40.l).

Krishna is Primal Person (Purusha) (63.38).

Krishna is overwhelming flood of bliss (83.4).

Krishna possesses fulfilled desire (47.46).

Krishna is self-delighted (60.20).

Krishna is the opponent of the sensuous (60.35).

Krishna is sung by the best of hymns (86.23).

Krishna is the dispeller of the night of pseudo-religion (14.40).

Krishna is devoid of increase and decrease (48.26).

Krishna is efficient and material cause (10.29).

Krishna is the only Truth (14.23).

Krishna is Awarder of the fruit of work (49.29).

Krishna is not subject to the consequences of work (84.17).

Krishna is the Seer of cause and effect (38.12).

Krishna is the Person who is time (1.7).

Krishna is Time's Own Self (70.26).

Krishna is even the Time of time (56.27).

Krishna is Present in the heart of every animate entity, like fire inside wood (46.36).

Krishna is Grateful (48.26).

Krishna is the Augmentor (like the Full Moon) of the ocean of earth, gods, twice-born and animals (14|40).

Krishna is the Tormentor of cannibalistic persons (14.40).

Krishna is the Destroyer of the pride of the arrogant (60.19).

Krishna is the Root-Cause of the origin, etc., of the world (14.23).

Krishna is the Cause of the world (40.l).

Krishna is the Creator of the world (70.38).

Krishna appears as if possessed of a body like that of mundane entities, for the good of the world (14.55).

Krishna is the Guru (centre of gravity) of the world (80.44).

Krishna is the Refuge (Ashraya) of jivas (individual souls) who are afraid of birth and death (49.12).

Krishna is devoid of birth (46.38).

Krishna is equally the Internal Guide, Cause and Director of jivas (87.30).

Krishna is the Destroyer of the miseries of persons who employ themselves in meditating upon Him (58.10).

Krishna is of the fourth dimension and self-manifest (66.38).

Krishna is Worthy of being gifted (74.24).

Krishna is the Punisher of the wicked (69.17).

Krishna is the God of gods (80.44).

Krishna is rarely cognisable by the gods (48.27).

Krishna is unconcerned about body, house, etc. (60.20).

Krishna is the Supreme Ruler of the greatest gods (73.8).

Krishna is the Exponent of Religion (69.40).

Krishna is the Eternal Son of Nanda (14.1).

Krishna is Visible to man with great difficulty (71.23).

Krishna's Presence mocks the world of man (70.40).

Krishna is the Object of palatable drink of the human eye (71.33).

Krishna is the Internal Guide of all (31.4).

Krishna is Worthy of the worship of all the worlds (69.15).

Krishna accommodates all the worlds (59.30).

Krishna is the Manifestor of all light (63.34).

Krishna is unstinted in giving Himself away to one who recollects Him (80.11).

Krishna is the efficient Cause (87.50).

Krishna, although devoid of all mundane quality, assumes mundane qualities by His Inconceivable Power for the purposes of creation, etc. (46.40).

Krishna is not subject to change (64.29).

Krishna is not capable of discrimination, by reason of being void of any extraneous covering (87.29).

Krishna is the Giver of Himself to those who covet nothing (86.33).

Krishna loves those who covet nothing (60.14).

Krishna does no work (60.20).

Krishna is Human, Hidden, Primal Person (Purusha) (44.13).

Krishna is Present in the hearts of jivas like the five elements (82.45).

Krishna is the Supreme Sorcerer (70.37).

Krishna is Supreme Godhead and the Internal Guide of all (56.27).

Krishna is the Crest-jewel of those whose praises are sung by the sacred lore (71.30).

Krishna is Primal Person and Ever-existing (14.23).

Krishna is the Highest among the Objects of worship (74.19).

Krishna is the Healer of the miseries of the submissive (73.16).

Krishna is the Destroyer of the sins of the submissive (31.7)

Krishna is the Destroyer of the distress of the submissive (73.8).

Krishna is the Residue after the Cataclysm (87.15).

Krishna is devoid of touch with mundane senses (87.28).

Krishna is the Soul and Friend of all animate entities (29.32).

Krishna is devoid of distinction appertaining to an alien (63.38, 44).

Krishna is Inconceivable by His Nature (70.38).

Krishna is the Master of the Universe (70.37).

Krishna is the Nourisher of the Universe (85.5).

Krishna is the Sun that cheers the lotus of the kindred of the Vrishnis (14.40).

Krishna is the God worshipped by the Brahmanas (69.15).

Krishna is the Foremost of the Brahmanas (84.20).

Krishna is the Originator of Brahma (40.l).

Krishna is the Worshipped of Brahma (31.13).

Krishna loves His devotees (48.26).

Krishna wears Forms in accordance with the wishes of His devotee (59.25).

Krishna is eternally Present in Mathura (1.28).

Krishna is devoid of the sense of kinship and regards all in the same way (46.37).

Krishna is beyond all Measuring Potency (Maya) (63.26).

Krishna is subdued by the love of Judhisthira (72.10).

Krishna is concealed by the screen of Maya from the sight of the people (84.23).

Krishna does not follow the ways of the world (60.36).

Krishna is the Destroyer of the fear of the mundane sojourn of the submissive (85.19).

Krishna is the Womb of the Scriptures (16.44, 80.45, 84.20).

Krishna is Sree Guru's Own Self (80.33).

Krishna is devoid of hankering for wife, offspring, etc. (60.20).

Krishna is the Ordainer of the worldly sojourn and of the summum bonum (1.7).

Krishna is the Cause of all entities (85.4).

Krishna is the Friend of the good (69.17).

Krishna is devoid of discrimination as of kinship (63.38, 44).

Krishna is Existence (56.27).

Krishna possesses true desire (80.44).

Krishna is the True Entity (87.17).

Krishna is True of speech (48.26).

Krishna is True of resolve (37.12).

Krishna sees with an equal Eye (16.33).

Krishna is the Cause of all causes (14.56-57, 63.38, 87.16).

Krishna is the Originator of all (59.28).

Krishna is the Soul's own self of all jivas (individual souls) (14.55).

Krishna is Omniscient (16|48).

Krishna is All-seeing (38.18).

Krishna is the Embodiment of all gods (74.19, 86.54).

Krishna is the Seer of all (16.48).

Krishna is the Lord of all (37.23).

Krishna is the Stay (Ashraya) of all entities (82.46).

Krishna is All-pervasive and Eternal (9.13).

Krishna is the Soul of all elements (86.31).

Krishna is the Knower of the minds of all elements (81.1)

Krishna is the soul's self of all elements (74.24).

Krishna is the inner Soul of all elements (37.11).

Krishna is the Internal Guide of all elements (47.29).

Krishna is the Cause of the origin of all elements (64.29).

Krishna is the Limit of all good (84.21).

Krishna is Omnipotent (37.12).

Krishna is the Lord of Lakshmi, the Presiding Deity of all riches (47.46).

Krishna is the Internal Guide of all (63.38, 72.6).

Krishna is the Stay (Ashraya) of all (40.15).

Krishna is Witness and Seer of Self (86.31).

Krishna is the Refuge of the good (80.9).

Krishna is most difficult to serve (88.11).

Krishna is the Friend of one's heart (48.26).

Krishna is the Withholder of Creation (82.45).

Krishna is Withholder, Creator and Preserver (63.44).

Krishna is the Master of the functions of creation, etc. (16.49, 37.12).

Krishna is devoid of distinction as of kinship (74.21).

Krishna is devoid of distinction as between kin and alien (72.6).

Krishna indwells the Universe created by Himself (48.19).

Krishna is satisfied by the taste of His Self-Delight (72.6).

Krishna is the Destroyer of the worldly sojourn of His devotees (60.43).

Krishna is the Wearer of body according to His Wish (1.7).

 

Sree Krishna-Chaitanya Math,

Brindaban, Muttra.

Camp: Office of the circumambulation of the circle of Braja, Muttra (UP.)

 

SIDDHANTA SARASWATI

24th Nov., 1932.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This text was originally published as a foreword to the book 'Sree Krishna Chaitanya', written by His Divine Grace's disciple Nisikanta Sanyal, and published by the Gaudiya Math in 1933.)

[krsna 3]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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