Love of God is Dormant in the Heart of the Jiva and Crows and Eagles
Posted in Labels: Love of God is Dormant in the Heart of the Jiva and Crows and Eagles
Love of God is Dormant in the Heart of the Jiva
ANSWER: In summary Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has stated that love of God is dormant in the heart of the jiva where as some of the early acaryas have said that there is no svarupa-sakti in the jiva. This is the basic difference that some people point to as a defect or concoction of Bhaktivinoda -- that he has differed from the previous acaryas.
However, we find a similar understanding in Caitanya-caritamrta by Kaviraja Gosvami supporting the conception of Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
nitya-siddha krsna-prema sadhya kabhu
naya
sravavadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya
sravavadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya
"Pure love for Krsna is eternally
established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained
from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the
living entity naturally awakens." (CC. M. 22.107)
Krsna-prema means love of God (Krsna) and 'karaye udaya' means to
awaken. When something is awakened it is assumed that it was previously
sleeping or dormant. Thus love of God is dormant in the heart of the
conditioned soul in the same way that fire is dormant in wood. When wood comes
in contact with fire it will then ignite. That is to say that when a
conditioned soul comes in contact with a liberated soul (guru) he will then
awaken to his eternal life of loving and serving Krsna. Many babajis and so-called scholars in Vrndavana give a different interpretation to the above. They say that the guru instills prema in the heart of a disciple and that before the connection with guru no trace of prema exists there. However, although learned to some extent these babajis and so-called scholars are not very deep philosophers. What the main difference between spirit and matter is they no not know.
There are of course many distinctions between matter and spirit, but the final and most important distinction is that matter has no capacity to love. Only the jiva can love. This love is perversely manifest in the conditioned soul and purely manifest in the liberated soul. But in either case, liberated or conditioned, the tendency to love is there in the jiva.
For the so-called scholars of this world the sastra is the highest truth, but for the devotees the realizations of the pure devotees are more important. The sastra shows the way, but the realizations of the pure devotees are the conclusive truths. The so-called scholars do not realize that Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a liberated soul and that his bhakti-samadhi gives us much needed clarification to various topics found in the sastra.
The critics of Bhaktivinoda Thakura are blind to self-evident truths. They study the scriptures for lifetimes, but they never arrive at the conclusion or the realized knowledge of the scriptures. To instruct such lay students of the sastra Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written in his Tattva-sutra as follows:
"This Tattva-Sutra is obtained and proved by the
eternal realization. Therefore, it can be known as the very essence of the
Vedas. This is originated from the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna-Caitanya, and hence,
is the origin of all the revealed scriptures. Only the Reality has been
accepted in this treatise. The Divine Knowledge is characterized as the Sun
whereas all the scriptures (sastra)
are rays of that Sun. This saying reveals that no scripture can contain the Divine
Knowledge to the fullest extent. The self-evident knowledge of the jivas is the source of
all the scripture. This self-evident knowledge should be understood as
God-given. The sages endowed with compassionate hearts have received this
self-evident knowledge (axiomatic truths) from the Supreme Lord, and recorded
the same in the scriptures for the benefit of all jivas. This recorded portion of this
primeval knowledge (God-given to the jiva)
has been manifested in the form of the Vedas.
"The independent cultivation of
the self-evident knowledge is always necessary. This is the important thing
needed in understanding the Truth along with the study of the scriptures. Since
the knowledge (Divine Knowledge) itself is the origin of the scriptures, those
who disregard the root and depend upon the branches cannot have any well-being.
Now, it may be argued that, when all the scriptures have been derived of the
self-evident faith, where is the need for honoring them? The answer is that, in
the conditioned state of the jivas,
the real knowledge is covered by the darkness of ignorance. In the devotional
cultivation associated with retraction, when the hidden Reality is gradually
manifested in the state of bhakti-samadhi,
the jivas will
be realizing the self-evident knowledge.
"Beginning from the time of cosmic
creation until today, a great amount of knowledge about the Reality has been
discovered by the sages. Apart from that limitless knowledge discovered, still
the sages are occasionally delivering many new facts about the Reality,
obtained in their devotional trance of samadhi.
All these discovered principles may be called as the scriptures. By the help of
a certain principle another one may be properly understood. Therefore, it is
imperative to carefully record all these discovered principles of Reality.
Without following this process, the ultimate conclusions of the discovered
principles can never be attained.
"Sri Brahma, the original
proponent of the scriptures enlightened Sri Narada with the principles of Reality
discovered by himself and advised him to develop the same by the further
discovery of other Divine Principles.
"All the discovered principles of
the Reality will get added to the scriptural knowledge and help the future
developments of the same. Therefore, those who believe in the self-evident
faith, they can never disparage the scriptures if at all they are intelligent
in the study of them. But, those who are not endowed with the study of the
principles of bhakti, which is the essential purport of the scriptures, their
scriptural learning is only a waste of labor.
"Therefore, the essence-seekers'
conclusion is that, all the principles will be decided by the help of
self-evident knowledge. All the scriptures should be understood by the help of
that unalloyed knowledge. But, this rule does not apply to those whose
self-evident knowledge has been adulterated with the empirical knowledge. Hence
the following aphorism,
"Scriptural ordinances are
intended for the regulation of the ignorant human beings whereas those who are
endowed with discretion and Divine Wisdom are not controlled by them.
"Similarly, Manu also has
elaborately explained the importance of scriptures and finally told the
following:
"In this way; in all the
scriptures these two signs can be seen viz., 1) honor of the revealed
scriptures in general, 2) secondary importance of the scriptures in comparison
to the self-evident faith. But, the authors of the scriptures do not clearly
indicate the lightness of the scriptures. The reason for such an attitude is
that, the meritorious people who are authorized to discard the scriptural
binding can naturally become independent of the scriptures by the help of the
hidden indications of the scriptural authors and also by their own purified
knowledge. Such meritorious persons can carry on the sinless activities by the
help of his own intellect as well as by the advice of the scriptures. In that
stage, the scriptures will not have any binding over them but only they serve
as their guides. On the other hand those who are unable to understand their own
spiritual path due to the lack of self-evident knowledge and due to ignorance
who may not be able to ascertain their duties and fall into misery due to
sensuality, for such people the scriptural ordinances are imperative. Such
persons should not know that there is any way for them apart from the bindings
of the scriptures. When they become authorized due to their advancement, they
will be able to know this secret by the suggestions of the scriptures.
"Since knowledge itself is the
root of the scriptures the one who has attained that self-evident knowledge
will not be ruled by the scriptures, but only they guide him with advises. In
case of ignorant people, this is not so. They must be governed by the rules of
the scriptures for their upliftment, if not they will have their inevitable
down fall due to the sensual addictions. If it is argued that, instead of
governing by means of tedious rules, let the scriptures help the ignorant
people by means of friendly advises. The reason for such an attitude is that
the ignorant people do not understand their own good and bad due to the lack of
knowledge. Due to the instinctual habits they will engage in wanton activities.
"Since their nature is mostly
inclined towards the gratification of the senses, for their spiritual
betterment the scriptures try to reform them through many types of tricks, by
applying coercion, and with skillfulness etc. Often the scriptures threaten the
ignorant people with punishment of the hell, at times they put forth the
temptations of heavenly enjoyments. Again, they reform the human beings
depending upon their inclinations. In many scriptures one may see the sanction
of liquor, polygamy, killing of animals etc. All those are meant for the
gradual control of the barbarian human beings by means of sanctioning some type
of restricted activities according to their inclination. By their gradual
reformation, the scriptures want to put them in the path of detachment. The
many types of fruits mentioned along with those activities are only meant for
attracting the attention of the ignorant followers.
"An argument may arise in this
regard that, this 'Tattva-Sutra'
also being a scripture, why the secret purport of the scriptures has been
openly given here? The answer is that, this book of 'Tattva-Sutra' has been published for the
benefit of the self-realized Bhagavata
devotees. They are authorized to know about all these thoughts. By the help of
these aphorisms, their intellect will become favorable for the cultivation of
Divine Love. Therefore, the author has openly declared here the scriptural
secret.
"Devotees of the Supreme Lord are
not controlled by the scriptures since their activities are congenial to the
Divine Wisdom.
"Therefore, when the self-realized
devotees ordain any new arrangement, they should be agreed with as a religious
code, even if such new arrangements are not found in the scriptural dictums of
the previous sages." (All of the above quotes are from Sri Tattva- Sutra by
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, pages 191-204)
If one is genuinely interested in Krsna
consciousness he should know that scholarship does not necessarily lead to real
devotion or love of God.
bahu-sastre bahu-vakye citte bhrama
haya sadhya-sadhana srestha na haya niscaya
"If one becomes a bookworm,
reading many books and scriptures and hearing many commentaries and the
instructions of many men, this will produce doubt within the heart. One cannot
in this way ascertain the real goal of life." (CC, Adi-lila, 16.11)
The search for knowledge is certainly misleading in
our ultimate quest for pure devotional service. In fact, although somewhat
necessary in the beginning of devotional service, it nonetheless becomes the
prerequisite for pure devotional service that one become free from knowledge, jnana-sunya-bhakti. By
knowledge it is meant the spirit of ascertaining the Absolute Truth with a
calculative approach, the attempt to capture the infinite in one's fist. In the
ultimate issue Krsna is unknown and unknowable. Sastra points the way, but only faith can
reveal the higher plane. By jnana-sunya-bhakti
it is meant the plane of Divine Love that is free from any calculation and does
not consider even the opulence and power of the Lord. This is the standard of
pure devotion of the eternal residents of Goloka Vrndavana. The mastery of knowing everything must be hatefully rejected if we are to approach the highest domain, jnana-karmady-anavrtam. It is not possible to "know" anything about the infinite, either in magnitude or quality. The infinite is a flow of autocracy, so what can we "know" of it? Whatever we "know" at present can all prove false in a moment simply by His will.
Krsna is the unconquerable - ajita, but He becomes conquered -jita, by the love of pure devotees not by the knowledge of scholars or the study of many books.
What will make spiritual life successful is that one must learn to love Krsna and serve His devotees. That is the happy life of Krsna consciousness.
Crows and Eagles
(by Rupanuga Dasa)
prasada-sikhara-stho’pi
kakah kim garudayate
Even though perched on the pinnacle of a palace,
can a crow become Garuda? (Niti-sastra
16.6)kakah kim garudayate
The metaphor given here is that of a
crow, who poses and sits on the pinnacle of a palace and thinks he is an eagle.
The eagle is deemed as the king of birds. He has attained that title, not
because he sits on the highest peaks, but because he carries with him the grace
and the tenacity of a king. That qualifies him for the title. If a crow
imitates an eagle by sitting on the apex of a tree, it won’t instill in him the
other qualities of an eagle.
We live in a world of instant fame and fortune. Many individuals and groups, irrespective of their profiles and occupations, seek immediate success and the propensity to acquire a name for themselves. Yes – it’s all very flattering to have our voices heard amongst the crowd, to have many followers, to be the center of attention, and to have the fame and riches that comes with it, but then all at the sake of one’s integrity, self deception and ultimately deceiving the ignorant masses. The world has changed dramatically over the last century, not just demographically, but also in how we live our lives in this senseless, modern materialistic chaos. The majority of the people is impious and indulges in debauchery. Now and then, when someone does become inquisitive about the true meaning of life, their questions are ready to be answered by the ‘god-men’ who act has gurus and spiritual masters. They’re not difficult to find nowadays since they have sprung up practically everywhere.
We live in a world of instant fame and fortune. Many individuals and groups, irrespective of their profiles and occupations, seek immediate success and the propensity to acquire a name for themselves. Yes – it’s all very flattering to have our voices heard amongst the crowd, to have many followers, to be the center of attention, and to have the fame and riches that comes with it, but then all at the sake of one’s integrity, self deception and ultimately deceiving the ignorant masses. The world has changed dramatically over the last century, not just demographically, but also in how we live our lives in this senseless, modern materialistic chaos. The majority of the people is impious and indulges in debauchery. Now and then, when someone does become inquisitive about the true meaning of life, their questions are ready to be answered by the ‘god-men’ who act has gurus and spiritual masters. They’re not difficult to find nowadays since they have sprung up practically everywhere.
Materially speaking, becoming a god-man
definitely has its perks. Just imagine – wouldn’t it be a terrific opportunity
to take a break from our dull lives, boring families and bullying bosses? Given
the endeavor one needs to be even slightly successful in this world, becoming a
god-man is probably the easiest way to attain instant fame and fortune. You can
avoid the morning rush-hour simply by traveling around the globe in our own
private jet and have all material comforts within reach.
All one needs to do is invent some breathing techniques, some yogic exercises or package some speculative mantra meditation, then give it a Sanskrit name and pass it off as ‘spirituality’. Depending on how creative and innovative one wants to get, many tricks could be easily pulled off.
All one needs to do is invent some breathing techniques, some yogic exercises or package some speculative mantra meditation, then give it a Sanskrit name and pass it off as ‘spirituality’. Depending on how creative and innovative one wants to get, many tricks could be easily pulled off.
In this day and age, spirituality
clearly isn’t about being spiritual and certainly has nothing to do with God
anymore. This new brand of spirituality created by the god-men now comes with a
business plan, along with marketing, syndication and publishing rights. If you
manage to do it well, you can probably have a hundred asramas on six continents
named after you! It’s certainly a lucrative way of life – the only sacrifice
one has to make is simply to give up one’s daily struggle and hardships and
start acting like God Who are these god-men? What are their true
intentions and do they have any real concern for the lost souls in this
material world?
These god-men are no more than opportunists and businessman peddling their concocted, baseless philosophies in order to live in luxury. They claim that they have divine powers to perform miracles and extraordinary feats gullible people, in desperation, fall prey to their smooth talk and become their followers. They use many popular titles such as Sri Sri, Bhagavan, jagat-guru etc. and claim to be avataras, making a mockery of what the sastras say. However, titles don’t carry much weight when it comes to true excellence and authenticity. All these titles are acquired simply by their expertise in word-jugglery, in performing street magic and in social welfare work. Cap it off with saffron robes, a large rudraksa-mala and long hair and beards and they have the ignorant masses in the palm of their hands.
These god-men are no more than opportunists and businessman peddling their concocted, baseless philosophies in order to live in luxury. They claim that they have divine powers to perform miracles and extraordinary feats gullible people, in desperation, fall prey to their smooth talk and become their followers. They use many popular titles such as Sri Sri, Bhagavan, jagat-guru etc. and claim to be avataras, making a mockery of what the sastras say. However, titles don’t carry much weight when it comes to true excellence and authenticity. All these titles are acquired simply by their expertise in word-jugglery, in performing street magic and in social welfare work. Cap it off with saffron robes, a large rudraksa-mala and long hair and beards and they have the ignorant masses in the palm of their hands.
However, despite their success in
attaining many followers, opening asramas,
publishing books, performing welfare work etc. such god-men cannot maintain a
proper spiritual standard. Because they are not on the platform of suddha-sattva (pure
goodness), they eventually have to submit to their base natures again.
sva
yadi kriyate raja
tat kim nasnaty-upanaham
Even if a dog is made king, he will still end up
eating someone’s shoe. (Hitopadesa)tat kim nasnaty-upanaham
One who sincerely desires proper
spiritual guidance will certainly find a true bona-fide spiritual master. But
someone who wants to compromise their spiritual quest will only find imposters
who will loot them in every respect and leave them in such a condition that
they will finally lose all faith in the system of guru and disciple. That is
why it is imperative that one should first understand what the sastras say
about false gurus.
guravo
bahavah santi sisya-vittapaharakah
durlabhah sad-gurur devi sisya-santapaharakah
One can find many gurus who can take away the
wealth of the disciples, but there are few who can remove the miseries of their
disciple. (Padma
Purana)durlabhah sad-gurur devi sisya-santapaharakah
There are also injunctions for abandoning such bogus gurus:
gurur
apya avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanatah
utpatha pratipannasya parityago vidhiyate
A guru addicted to sensual pleasure and polluted by
vice, who is ignorant and has no power to discriminate between right and wrong,
or who is not on the path of suddha-bhakti
must be abandoned. (Mahabharata,
Udyoga-parva
179.25)utpatha pratipannasya parityago vidhiyate
What are the qualifications of a true guru according to scripture? In the Visnu-smrti it says:
krpa-sindhuh
su sampurnah
sarva-sattvopakarakah
nisprhah sarvatah siddhah
sarva-vidya-visaradah
sarva-samsaya-samchetta'
nalaso gurur ahrtah
One who is an ocean of mercy, who is fulfilled in
all respects, who has all good qualities, who works for the benefit of all
souls, who is free from lust, who is perfect in all respects, who is
well-versed in the scriptures, who knows the science of Krsna, who can remove
all the doubts of his disciples, and who is always alert in the service of
Krsna is known as a genuine guru. (Hari-bhakti-vilasa
1.45-46)sarva-sattvopakarakah
nisprhah sarvatah siddhah
sarva-vidya-visaradah
sarva-samsaya-samchetta'
nalaso gurur ahrtah
It is also stated in Bhagavatam:
tasmad
gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam brahmany-upasamasrayam
sabde pare ca nisnatam brahmany-upasamasrayam
A
person who is searching for the Absolute Ultimate Truth must surrender to a
guru who knows the inner meaning of the Vedas,
is fixed in the Absolute Truth, and is expert in sastra. (Bhag.11.3.21)
In his Upadesamrta,
Srila Rupa Gosvami says:
vaco
vegam manasah krodha vegam
jihva vegam udaropastha vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat
A peaceful sober person who can control the urge to
speak, the mind, the urges of anger, the tongue, belly and genitals is
qualified to make disciples all over the world. (Upadesamrta 1)jihva vegam udaropastha vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat
That being said, it also doesn’t matter what caste the guru is from, as supported by this verse from Padma Purana:
vipra
ksatriya vaisyas ca guruvah sudra janmanam
sudras ca guravas tesam trayanam bhagavat-priyah
A brahmana,
ksatriya, or vaisya
can be guru for the sudra
class, but a Vaisnava, even if born a sudra,
because he is dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be the guru of
these higher orders.sudras ca guravas tesam trayanam bhagavat-priyah
Although a guru must have all the knowledge of the sastras, dry knowledge alone does not qualify a person to become a guru. In Srimad Bhagavatam it says:
sabda-brahmani
nisnato na nisnayat pare yadi
sramas tasya srama-phalo hy adhenum iva raksatah
One may be expert in Vedic scholarship, but if he
fails to understand the position of the Absolute Truth and doesn’t recognize
Krsna as the supreme Personality of Godhead, all his study is a waste of time.
His hard work will be his only reward, and his efforts will be like the labor
of one who struggles to maintain a cow that has no calf and cannot produce
milk. (Bhag.11.11.18)sramas tasya srama-phalo hy adhenum iva raksatah
Hence, the position of guru is like a
‘grand throne’ that may bring many followers, fame, wealth and knowledge, but
these are not an indication of one’s greatness or authenticity. One’s greatness
comes from one’s virtue and true teachings. It is sheer foolishness to think
that anyone simply sitting on the throne of the guru is automatically great!
Excellence is attained through efficacy – not by clinging to a tall throne.
A true spiritual master has only come to deliver us from the heat of the huge forest fire of material life. Other than this, he has no other purpose but to rescue as many souls as possible. Pseudo-gurus, on the other hand, only have their own ignorance and confusion to offer to the world. The only miracle that needs to be performed by a guru is the miracle of his instructions – not any conjuring tricks with the willingness to deceive the common people and take them away from the true path to God. A false teacher seeks to bind himself to the energy of his neophyte followers, whereas a sad-guru receives all his energy from his divine guardians above. He has no need to bind himself to his followers – it is we who are dependent upon him and not vice-versa.
Only by praying to Krsna sincerely and taking association of saintly persons can we find a genuine guru. Then with a humble demeanor and with sincere inquiry and service to him, we can tread the path of purification and actually understand the true purpose of human life.
A true spiritual master has only come to deliver us from the heat of the huge forest fire of material life. Other than this, he has no other purpose but to rescue as many souls as possible. Pseudo-gurus, on the other hand, only have their own ignorance and confusion to offer to the world. The only miracle that needs to be performed by a guru is the miracle of his instructions – not any conjuring tricks with the willingness to deceive the common people and take them away from the true path to God. A false teacher seeks to bind himself to the energy of his neophyte followers, whereas a sad-guru receives all his energy from his divine guardians above. He has no need to bind himself to his followers – it is we who are dependent upon him and not vice-versa.
Only by praying to Krsna sincerely and taking association of saintly persons can we find a genuine guru. Then with a humble demeanor and with sincere inquiry and service to him, we can tread the path of purification and actually understand the true purpose of human life.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to
H H Sri Swami B G Narasingha ji and Sri Swamy Rupanuga Dasa ji for the collection)
(The Blog is reverently for all the seekers of truth,
lovers of wisdom and to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the
spiritual path and also this is purely a non-commercial blog)
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