Devotional Principles and Krishna The Supreme Vendantist

Posted in Labels:


































Krsna – The Supreme Vedantist


(Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)





In commemoration of the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's acceptance of sannyasa, we present an article written by him which was first published in Back to Godhead magazine, on October 20th, 1956).

Sannyasins who follow the philosophical path of acarya Sripada Sankara are now generally known as Vedantists. Those who follow the philosophical paths of Vaisnava acaryas such as acarya Sripada Ramanujacarya, Sripada Madhvacarya, Sripada Visnu-svami etc. are known as the Bhagavatas. The so-called Vedantists designate the followers of Vaisnava acaryas as Bhagavatas whereas for themselves they think that Vedanta philosophy is the monopoly subject matter for the studies of the Sankarites only. Following this principle, some other classes of sannyasins who are not recognized either by the Sankarites or by the Vaisnavites also designate themselves as Vedantists.  This latter class of Vedantists is now known all over the world as the preachers of Vedanta philosophy while they know nothing of the transcendental science. Vedanta philosophy is not a combination of several Sanskrit alphabets so that anyone and everyone can understand it simply by the A.B.C.D. knowledge of the Sanskrit language. Each and every letter of the Vedanta philosophy is a symbolic representation of transcendental sound, represented by the symbol of omkara and as such Vedanta philosophy has to be learnt from an authority like Sri Krsna, the Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gita the Personality of Godhead has emphatically asserted that He is the original compiler of Vedanta philosophy and therefore He is the only Supreme Master of it. The exact wordings from the utterances of Sri Krsna are as follows:
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto  mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
I am the Person who lives as the Super Soul (Paramatma) in the hearts of all living beings. It is from Me only that one recollects his past deeds and it is also from Me only that one forgets the same. I am not only the all-pervasive impersonal Brahman, but also I am living individually as the Paramatma within every living entity. I am the awarding authority of everyone’s fruitive actions. I do not exist simply as impersonal Brahman or the localized Paramatma but also I do appear as incarnations to instruct all the fallen souls for their deliverance. I am therefore the instructor of the Vedanta philosophy and the Vedic knowledge is meant for knowing Me only. As I am the Vedanta compiler and instructor, nobody knows Vedanta philosophy better than Me. I am the supreme Vedantist and I can deliver the fallen souls by disseminating the transcendental knowledge of Impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramatma and Myself as the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead. (Gita 15.15)
The Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Brahman. This has been recognized by Arjuna himself and in pursuance of authorities like the Seven Rsis, Narada, Vyasa, Devala, Asita, etc. Now how does the Supreme Authority of Vedanta philosophy teach us this great transcendental science in a nutshell? He says like this:
dvav imau purusau loke  ksaras caksara eva ca
ksarah sarvani bhutani kuta-stho’ksara ucyate 
There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every entity is called infallible. (Gita 15.16)
The Supreme Vedantist utters in the beginning of His Vedanta teachings the word dvau, or dualism. In the universe (loke) that contains lakhs and crores of different earths and planets, there are two classes of living entities. One is called ksara or the fallible entity, and the other is called aksara or the infallible entity. The fallible entities are the ordinary living entities or the jivas, whereas the infallible entities are the expansions of Visnu such as Rama, Nrsingha, Varaha, Kurma, Vamana, Baladeva, Kalki etc. The ordinary living beings are susceptible to the influence of material nature, but the infallible incarnations, or visnu-tattvas, are non-susceptible by the laws of nature. In the Varaha Puranam it is said that the Supreme Lord expands Himself by multi-forms of living entities. Some of them are called amsa or He Himself, whereas the others are called the vibhinamsa or He in His one of the potencies. The jivas or the living entities are therefore different potencies of the Supreme Lord whereas the Visnu incarnations as above mentioned are non-different from Him with all His potencies. That is the difference between the ksara or the fallibles and the aksaras or the infallibles. The ksara living entities are undoubtedly parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord and as such they are qualitatively non-different from the Supreme Lord, but so far as the quantity is concerned, there is a gulf of difference.
The Vedantist, therefore, who proclaims that the ordinary living entities are both qualitatively and quantitatively equal with the Supreme Lord is certainly misguided for his not having consulted the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, the original compiler of Vedanta. If Vedanta is an authority, one must accept its original compiler as the Supreme authority of Vedanta.
These novel Vedantists, who generally follow the path of Sripada Sankaracarya, were formerly called the ‘Mayavadins of Kasi’ (Benares). Benares was, and perhaps still is, the breeding and nursing place of these Mayavadi Vedantists. The reason is that Benares is the holy place resided by Visvanatha Siva. Åcarya Sankara was the incarnation of Siva. By the order of the Lord, he preached Mayavada philosophy in this age of Kali in the form of a brahmana sannyasi. This statement is confirmed in the Padma Purana as follows:
mayavadam asac-chastram pracchannam bauddham ucyate
mayaiva kalpitam devi kalau brahmana murtina
O Goddess, in the age of Kali, I will appear in the form of a brahmana to preach the false doctrine of Mayavada, which is simply covered Buddhism. (Padma Purana 6.236.7)
Therefore, the followers of Sankara were known as the Mayavadins of the Benares school. They were counterparts of the Mayavadins of Saranatha. This Saranatha is adjacent to Benares and in the older days the Mayavadins of Bodh-Gaya, or that of Saranatha, were always in debate with the Mayavadins of Kasi.
The Mayavadins of Saranatha, or the Buddhists, did not recognize the existence of spirit soul and they preached matter as all in all. Whereas the Mayavadins of Kasi preached that spirit soul is the basic principle of existence and matter is a superfluous false representation of the Real Spirit. So the fight was there between the two sections of Mayavadins. As a result of this, the Mayavadins of Bodh-Gaya or Saranatha were gradually driven out of India and the Mayavadins of Kasi became predominant in India. Gradually these Mayavadins took up Vedanta philosophy after they had come out victorious in the fight with the Buddhist Mayavadins and as such the Mayavadins of Kasi began to be known as Vedantists.
These Vedantists interpreted Vedanta in the impersonal feature in order to take the then converted Buddhist philosophers into their own fold. Lord Buddha preached nothing of the spirit and He stressed on the principles of ahimsa only as the preliminary and basic qualification for spiritual culture. We have already discussed this point in our article Lord Buddha in Back to Godhead. Sripada Sankaracarya gave a further push to spiritual realization with the conception of Brahman, the first vision of the Supreme Lord. (1) ‘Brahman’ (2) Paramatma and (3) Bhagavan – all these three are one and the same Absolute Truth, but they appear to be different by the different stages of realization only. How these different stages are realized is explained by the Supreme Vedantist Sri Krsna, who alone only knows Vedanta in its reality.
Thus, He first explains the realization of Brahman in the ksara and the aksara aspects. The ksara, or the fallen souls as we are, have to learn Vedanta for knowing the aksara or the infallible Brahman.  Aksara means Brahman – aksara paramam-brahman. The ksara are also undoubtedly Brahman in quality, but they are not Paramam-Brahman because they are fallible to the influence of maya (nescience).
The Mayavadi’s statement of the two categories of Brahman being equal in all respects is mistaken. It is a sort of class-argument, but it is not the de facto truth. In order to make the matter more distinct, the Supreme Vedantist Sri Krsna says that sarvani-bhutani, i.e. all the living common entities beginning from Brahma the original grandfather of the living being down to the insignificant ant, are all fallible creatures, whereas the Supreme Brahman is kutastha, or one who never changes his place or position. In the Amara-kosa the word kutastha is explained as follows: “That which remains in perfect order for all the time is called kutastha.” The kutastha-purusa, or the aksara-purusa, or the visnu-tattva is different from the ksara-purusa, or the ordinary living being subjected to the conditions of material nature. This distinction between the ordinary living being and the Supreme Lord is explained in the Bhagavata (11.16.11) as follows:
aparimita dhruvas tanu-bhrto yadi sarva-gatas
tarhi na sasyateti niyamo dhruva netaratha
ajani ca yan-mayam tad avimucya niyantr bhavet
samam anujanatam yad amatam mata-dustataya
 O my infallible Lord, had it been so that the innumerable living beings are by themselves all in all without anything Supreme, then they would not have been put under Your subjection. Even though it is accepted that the living entities are parts and parcels of the Eternal Being, still they are under Your subjection. Their qualitatively being one with You is never to be given up because that will alone make them one with the Absolute. It is being so, persons who consider that the ordinary living being and the Supreme Lord are equal in all respects are suffering from a malady of a wrong thesis, polluted with a poor fund of knowledge.
Thus, the quantitative difference between the living being is ever to be maintained, even after the attainment of mukti, because after mukti only, the nitya-yukta or the eternal upasana service begins.
As far as the impersonalists are concerned, they can know this much distinction between the ksara and the aksara-purusas. Above the Impersonalists and empiric philosophers, there is the yogi who meditates upon the Paramatma feature. For them it is said like this:
uttamah purusas tv anyah  paramatmety udahrtah
yo loka-trayam avisya bibharty avyaya isvarah
Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself, who has entered into these worlds and is maintaining them. (Gita 15.17)
Paramatma is clearly mentioned here as anya, or different from atma and His realization by the yogins is still a more perfect vision of the Supreme Truth than that of the Impersonal Brahman. The yogins are a better class of spiritualists than the impersonalists or the Mayavadis of Kasi. The Mayavadis of Kasi are higher than the Mayavadins of Bodh-Gaya or Saranatha, and the yogins of Prayaga like Bharadvaja Muni etc. are still higher spiritualists than the Mayavadins of Kasi. The Bhagavad-gita accepts this fact in the following cloak, namely:
tapasvibhyo 'dhiko yogi jnanibhyo'pi mato'dhikah
karmibhyas cadhiko yogi tasmad yogi bhavarjuna
The yogis are a better class of spiritualists than the ascetics and the empiric philosophers. The yogis are undoubtedly better than the ordinary fruitive worker and therefore O Arjuna, you just try to become a yogi. (Gita 6.46)
The ordinary yogis in the state of trance experience the presence of the localized aspect of Paramatma. This Paramatma is Isvara, or the Supreme Lord, but not the jivas or the controlled being. Paramatma is the Super Soul. The thesis that the Paramatma and the atma are equal and the same is a wrong theory. Had it been so, then there would be no need of adding the word param or ‘the superior’ to the word atma. That makes the difference clearer. Paramatma is avyaya i.e. aksara or kutastha, without any change. He does not become subjected to the conditions of material nature. This is the truth in all Upanisads. Both the Paramatma and the atma have been compared with two birds sitting on the tree of this material body, but one is observing the activities of the other as a witness and not taking part in the action. The neutral observer is therefore Paramatma and the stage actor is the atma. When the atma stops his material activities in the state of nirvikalpa-samadhi, he is called a perfect yogi. So this yogi is a better spiritualist than the jnani who will, after many births of speculation, become a mahatma to observe the lotus feet of Vasudeva.
Next to this are the devotees who directly render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord. This realization of the Absolute Truth is the highest realization of spiritual value and this is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita as follows:
yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah
Amongst all the yogins the topmost yogi is he who has always within him the feature of Me (Sri Krsna) and thus he has the required devotion and performs devotional activities (bhajate). He is the highest yogi in My opinion. (Gita 6.47)
These bhakta-yogins are better than the ordinary yogins and their feature of spiritual realization is still more greater. The bhakta-yogins accept Sri Krsna as the Purusottama, which is clearer than Paramatma realization. The Absolute Truth is realized by the jnanis as impersonal Brahman, by the yogins as the localized Paramatma and by the devotees as Bhagavan, Who is full with all the potencies of Brahman and Paramatma as confirmed in all the scriptures including Bhagavad-gita.
Thus, transcendental realization of Sri Krsna is the highest realization of Vedanta. Sri Krsna is the highest realization of visnu-tattva because all other incarnations are, though equal in potency, either plenary parts or parts of the plenary parts of Sri Krsna. But Sri Krsna is the Primeval Lord and the cause of all causes. That is the verdict of Brahma-samhita, Bhagavata and Mahabharata etc. But we should always remember that there is no difference of potencies between the different amsa incarnations of Godhead.
Realization of Brahman and Paramatma is also a transcendental mellow (rasa) which is called santa-rasa, a transcendental stage where the transcendental activities are non-manifest. Manifestation of transcendental activities is visible from the transcendental dasya-rasa and this rasa increases more and more in the sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa and madhurya-rasa.
The Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is full with all the twelve mellows. Out of these twelve rasas, five are direct transactions with the Supreme Lord, whereas the remaining seven are indirectly connected. Kamsa, Jarasandha and many other enemies of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna dealt with Him indirectly in the bibhatsa-rasa, or the method of fearfulness. But because that rasa, or mellow, was employed indirectly to the Supreme Being, His enemies were also awarded Brahman sayujya-mukti i.e. becoming one with the Lord in existence. The impersonal monists aspire after this Brahman sayujya-mukti which is obtained even by the inimical jivas. Therefore, mukti or liberation is a by-product of devotional service. The yoga system is also mixed up devotional service. As long as the jnanis only indulge in dry speculation, they have no chance of mukti. When they also mix up devotional service with metaphysical speculations, it is only then that mukti, or liberation, becomes possible. But for pure devotional service, neither jnana or yoga is necessary at all. Such processes may be helpful to a certain extent, but they are not absolutely a necessary requirement. On the contrary, such processes sometimes become a great hindrance to the progress of pure devotional service. Sannyasa is the process of the jnanis or yogins, but for the devotee there is no necessity of accepting the order of sannyasa.
Devotional service can be offered from any stage of life and by devotional service only, one can obtain the result, if he at all desires, like that of jnana, yoga, karma, tapasya or any other thing in the category of yajna.
sarvam mad-bhakti yogena mad-bhakto labhate’njasa
The ordinary yoga system culminates in attaining trance for experiencing the presence of Paramatma within us. But still, the better system of yoga is the system of Purusottama-yoga. The Supreme Vedantist describes this system of Purusottama-yoga as follows:
yasmat ksaram atito'ham aksarad api cottamah
ato 'smi loke vede ca prathitah purusottamah
Because I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I am not only higher than the ordinary living being (ksara), but I am above the aksara Brahman and also above the uttama-purusa Paramatma. As such, everywhere, either in the Vedic literature or by popular conception, I am famous as Purusottama or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Gita 15.18)
The Vedanta conclusion is therefore like this – primarily there are two classes of living entities namely the ksara and aksara. The ksara are the ordinary jivas and the aksara is the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is realized by the ksara-jivas in three different phases. The phases are (1) Impersonal Brahman (2) Localized Paramatma and (3) The Supreme Lord Bhagavan. This realization may be described with the example of seeing a mountain. The Himalayas, when they are observed from a long distance, appears like big cloudy object. When one goes nearer, they appear like a big hilly land, but when one actually enters into the region he sees the Himalayas in all its natural beauty with all the living entities residing there. Similarly, if Vedanta is studied through one’s A.B.C.D. academic qualification of speculative habits, one can know the Absolute Truth as the Impersonal Brahman or something just opposite to our sensuous knowledge. When Vedanta is studied from the angle of vision of a yogi, who has completely stopped sense indulgence, the Absolute Truth becomes visible in his own self as the Paramatma feature. But above all these, when Vedanta is studied from the angle of Sri Vyasadeva (who is an empowered incarnation of Godhead) the original compiler of Vedanta-sutras and its annotation Srimad Bhagavatam, there the Absolute Truth is revealed in His substantial feature, or Param Satya. The Vedanta-sutra begins with the sutra, janmadyasya yatah and with this sutra also the genuine commendation Srimad Bhagavatam also begins. Srimad Bhagavatam excludes carefully the four primary principles of the common Vedas, namely the practice of religiosity, the planning of economic conditions, the fulfillment of sensual desires and at the end to get salvation by mental speculation. The Vedanta-sutras and Srimad Bhagavatam are one and the same thing and their purpose is explained in the Bhagavad-gita in the chapter of Purusottama-yoga. A perfect Vedantist is a devotee of Sri Krsna. Impersonal Brahman is the glowing effulgence of the Supreme Person, as light is to fire. Bhagavan Sri Krsna, the Purusottama, is fire Himself. Brahman and Paramatma are therefore emanations of Sri Krsna, and that is the verdict of the great philosophy of Vedanta-sutras – so much adored all over the world along with Bhagavad-gita.
 





Devotional Principles


(Swami B.B. Vishnu)





After wandering in this material world for many lifetimes, by the mercy of guru and Krsna, the seed of devotion is awakened within our heart. The process starts with a little faith (adau sraddha) and this faith leads us to seek answers (pariprasna) and the association of devotees (sadhu-sanga), those who are practitioners of the devotional process. The cultivation of this seed of the creeper of devotion is the substance of our devotional life.
brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
mali hana kare sei bija aropana
sravana-kirtana-jale karaye secana
According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. By the mercy of both Krsna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service. When a person receives the seed of devotional service, he should take care of it by becoming a gardener and sowing the seed in his heart. If he waters the seed gradually by the process of sravana and kirtana [hearing and chanting], the seed will begin to sprout. (Cc. Madhya 19-151-2)
Just like a tender new plant, we must nurture this creeper carefully so that it will grow. Water, fertilizer and avoidance of harsh conditions or treatment, bad soil, being stepped on and being crowded out by weeds, ensure the healthy growth of a plant. The devotional creeper is similar, its healthy growth is assured by following carefully the positive practices of bhakti and avoiding certain negative aspects.
These verses imply the gradual and healthy growth of the creeper — if the process of devotion is followed properly, then bhakti will thrive. The positive aspects of devotional life (yama) are to first find a guru (guru-padasrayas tasmad), follow his instructions and thereby serve the guru and devotees, and engage in daily devotional practices, such as chanting the Holy Names of Krsna on beads, associating with devotees and regularly hearing about the Lord from the devotional scriptures (nityam bhagavata-sevaya).
The negative aspect (niyama) requires that one avoid activities unfavorable to devotional service, such as meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling. Other unfavorable activities to be avoided are association with those not interested in devotion (asat sanga tyaga), avoiding offenses to devotees, the Lord, His Name and anything related to the Lord or His devotees.
An offense to a devotee is the most detrimental activity one can have in devotional life. Such an offense is called the mad elephant offense (hati-mata) because of the great harm it does to our devotional creeper, like an elephant trampling a garden. If we unfortunately make such an offense, but we are remorseful and understand that we have made an offense, then it is not difficult to rectify. The only remedy for an offense to another devotee is to sincerely apologize and beg forgiveness from the very devotee whom we have offended. The key is sincerity, for as we know well, no one appreciates an insincere apology.
It is also necessary to overcome our pride and admit our mistakes, for pride (pratistha) is perhaps our greatest enemy. Humility, pridelessness and tolerance are most important qualities for a Vaisnava and are said to be the ornaments of a true devotee (sadhava' sadhu-bhusana'). Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has stated that humility is one of the most important qualifications for chanting the Lord's Holy Name — trnad api sunicena (Siksastakam 3). As soon as one surrenders to Krsna, giving up all other activities, one is immediately considered to be a liberated soul — jivan-mukta' sa ucyate (Brs. 1.2.187).
Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana
It is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.5, parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam – that a human being is defeated in all their activities as long as they do not know the goal of life. One can understand this goal when they are inquisitive about their spiritual position. Knowledge of this spiritual or constitutional position is divided into three classes, as described by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: ataeva bhagavate ei 'tina' kaya sambandha-abhidheya-prayojana-may – "One's relationship with the Lord (sambandha), activities in devotional service (abhidheya), and the attainment of the highest goal of life, love of Godhead (prayojana), are the subject matters of Srimad-Bhagavatam." (Madhya 25.131)
We must want to know who we are, what the environment is, what God is, and what the relationship is between ourselves, God and the world we live in. Knowledge of these four items, sambandha-jnana, is the knowledge of one's relationship with the Supreme Person as the center of all relationships. When we hear properly from authorized sources, such as the guru and scripture, our understanding awakens and we will come to understand our actual position as an eternal servant of Krsna — jivera 'svarupa' haya krsnera 'nitya-dasa (Cc. Madhya 20.108). Understanding this is an essential step in self-realization. However real hearing means to act upon what we hear. Otherwise we have not heard properly.
And this is the next step, acting upon this knowledge. This is called abhidheya, or activity in relationship with the Lord and His devotees. This is our real occupation, engaging in the practical activities of devotional service to Krsna.
Thus, if we can understand our relationship with the Lord and act accordingly, our mission in life will be fulfilled. After properly executing our duties, when we attain the highest goal of life, pure love of God, we are said to have achieved prayojana, or the fulfillment of the ultimate goal of life.
The substance of this process is in the abhidheya, theactivities that we perform. Regular activities performed in devotional service are called sadhana-bhakti — engaging in the prescribed duties of devotional service. There are nine processes described by Prahlada Maharaja:
sravanam kirtanam visno' smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam
The nine kinds of devotional service are hearing about Krsna, chanting about Him, remembering Him, offering service to His lotus feet, offering Him worship in the temple, offering prayers to Him, working as His servant, making friendship with Him and unreservedly surrendering to Him. (Bhag. 7.5.23)
bhagavan-prapti-hetu ye kari upaya
sravanadi bhakti – krsna-praptira sahaya
It is only by devotional service, beginning with hearing, that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the only means to approach Him. (Cc. Adi 7.141)
One can directly approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by executing these nine kinds of devotional service. Hearing about the Lord is the most important of the nine aspects of devotional service, for if we are simply given a chance to hear about Krsna, our devotion will surely develop — Sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya (Cc. Madhya 22.107). Love of God is dormant in everyone, and if one is given a chance to hear about the Lord, certainly that love develops.
Each of these nine processes is so potent that any one of them guarantees success, what to speak of engaging in all of them, as in the case of Ambarisa Maharaja. Pure devotion is free from speculation and the desire for knowledge as well as the desire for material gain — karma-jnanavrtam (Brs.) That is, real devotional service is performed only to please the Lord, and not for one's own benefit. Of course, when devotional service is performed purely, the maximum benefit is achieved and one does benefit greatly. Of all of the processes, chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is the most important. It is emphasized by our gurus that all success in devotional life is guaranteed if we can regularly chant this mantra carefully.
Sadhana-bhakti is the diligent practice of the regulative principles of devotional service. This first stage of devotion is rendered under the direction of a pure devotee, and is practiced out of duty, knowing that engaging in all these activities is essential to ensure one's advancement in devotional life. As one's mental disease is cured by a psychiatrist, so sadhana-bhakti cures the conditioned soul from their madness under the spell of material illusion. When the heart is freed from unwanted habits (anartha-nivrtti) one becomes firmly fixed in devotional service and begins to develop a taste for the Holy Name of Krsna and devotional service to Krsna. One's progress can be analyzed in a very scientific way as we become free from unwanted habits and become attached to our devotion. It is described that this is just like the feelings a hungry person has when eating to their satisfaction — Bhakti' paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat (Bhag. 11.2.42). The difference is that when our stomach becomes filled we become uninterested in food, however, when we become filled with Krsna, our attachment for Krsna only increases and we want more of Krsna. In fact we become so attached that we feel that we cannot live without Krsna.
In this way, a sadhaka orpractitioner of bhakti, can see their positive advancement in devotional service by how they are developing attachment to all things related to Krsna and simultaneously becoming detached from all things unfavorable to devotional service. Additionally, an inverse proof of the process becomes evident when we look at the results of activities which are unfavorable for devotional service. Those who don't chant regularly or sincerely, who offend devotees or anything related to Krsna, who associate with non-devotees, etc, they are seen to lose their taste for the Holy Name, for the association of devotees and for devotional life in general. In other words, by engaging in activities unfavorable to devotional life, we lose our taste for devotional life and drift away. Srila Prabhupada writes:
Now this sadhana-bhakti, or practice of devotional service, can also be divided into two parts. The first part is called regulative principles: one has to follow these different regulative principles by the order of the spiritual master or on the strength of authoritative scriptures, and there can be no question of refusal. That is called vaidhi, or regulated. One has to do it without any argument. Rupa Gosvami defines the first part of devotional practice, or vaidhi-bhakti, as follows: 'When there is no attachment or no spontaneous loving service to the Lord, and one is engaged in the service of the Lord simply out of obedience to the order of the spiritual master or in pursuance of the scriptures, such obligatory service is called vaidhi-bhakti.'
"The second stage of devotional service is called raga-bhakti, in which a devotee automatically and enthusiastically engages in the various services of the Lord out of sincere desire. By performing raga-bhakti in loving transcendental service one can even control the Supreme Powerful Lord. Raganuga refers to the point at which, by following the regulative principles, one becomes a little more attached to Krsna and executes devotional service out of natural love. As one's devotional service becomes mature, the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee, and all fear is totally vanquished forever.
Bhakti begets bhakti, bhaktya sanjataya bhaktya (Bhag. 11.3.31, devotion produces more devotion. As our taste for devotional service increases, we automatically increase our service with the result that the reciprocation of the Lord also increases, further increasing our taste for devotion.
The Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana were so absorbed in their devotional activities that they forgot to eat and sleep — nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau. Even while exhibiting the most extreme renunciation, they were experiencing the greatest pleasure from their activities — premonmada-vasad asesa-dasaya grastau pramattau sada.
Prayojana
The ultimate goal of life is pure love of God, prema pumartho mahan. A devotee who has achieved this pure love of God, is not concerned with his position in this material world or even the next (spiritual world). They are fully satisfied to simply be engaged in the Lords service. Liberation is the concern of the neophyte, while serving and pleasing the guru and Krsna are the only concerns of the advanced devotee. Pleasing the guru and pleasing Krsna are one and the same, for the self-realized guru's desires are non-different than those of Krsna. Pleasing the guru and Krsna also means pleasing the devotees, for all devotees are very dear to the Lord — kascin me priya-krttama' (Gita.18.69). It is essential to understand this point, for by pleasing the devotees, we please Krsna automatically.
To understand these desires of Krsna and guru properly, is one of the most important aspects of a devotees' life, for without this, all one's efforts will lead us away from Krsna, not towards Him. There is a fine line, a subtle difference between the pure line drawn by our acaryas and the not so strict or impure line followed by many in the name of pure devotion. So much has been written about the highest position or aspects of devotion, and many choose to imitate its form, rather than understand its substance and qualify themselves. It is so easy to imitate, but to be a true Rupanuga, or follower of Srila Rupa Gosvami and our line of acaryas, we must enter deeply into an understanding of the essence of their teachings as given to us by our guru.
The emphasis of our nearest acaryas is to respect this highest position, the prayojana, the ultimate goal from a distance and to realize that we are very far from it. In particular, our parama-guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, has given a sloka emphasizing just this, as related by Srila B. R. Sridhara Deva Gosvami:
Pujala raga-patha gaurave-bhange — very sweet. The raga-patha is on the head. We are servants of the raga-patha. We are in vidhi-marga, under sastrika rule. We must live and move under sastrika rule, and always keep the raga-patha upon our head. The whole tenor of Guru Maharaja's (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's) life was such: "That is high, very high, and from below we are to honor that." We must establish this conception, the proper regard for that higher lila, throughout the entire world: "That is too high." (Follow The Angels, Part 2)
To quote from The Standard for Higher Lila, an article enunciating the proper qualifications for hearing higher spiritual topics:
The so-called followers of rasika-gurus have written, 'The highest good can be obtained by anyone who faithfully hears krsna-katha from a bona-fide rasikacarya.' They then cite Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura in an attempt to justify the hearing of confidential lilas by the unqualified: 'A person averse to hearing these lilas will never attain perfection. I refuse to hear his name.' What they fail to state, however, is that Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, does not say that one who is unqualified to hear such pastimes must hear, or should hear such pastimes. Being averse to hearing the Lord's lilas and being properly qualified to hear the Lord's pastimes are two completely different things. One rejects hearing the lila of Krsna due to the preference of being engaged in maya, illusion, while the latter is concerned with proper qualifications before hearing the Lord's confidential pastimes so as not to make any offense.
Further, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada stated, "Raga-katha is high, but in our small mouth it doesn't look nice. Hearing such high words from our little mouth, devotees whose life and soul is bhajana will laughingly push us away." (Prabhupader Patravali)
We should therefore take warning from our realized acaryas, that we must approach higher topics very carefully and then only under the instruction of our guru directly. We must not be impatient, and jump like monkeys over the clear instructions of our acaryas.
If we simply chant the Holy Name sincerely in earnest and follow the instructions of our guru, everything will be revealed when it is time to be revealed. This process is a descending process and no material effort on our part can produce spiritual results. As no amount of darkness can produce light, so, no amount of non-devotional activities can help our devotion.
The non-devotees are engaged in a hard struggle to enjoy their senses in this material world but in the end they will be defeated by old age, disease and eventually death. However, we are engaged in a struggle to control our senses and please Krsna by our devotion. And we will be successful, for this is inherent in the process, success is guaranteed. Krsna, speaking to us via his great devotee Arjuna, assures us of this in Bhagavad-gita 18.65.
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te pratijane priyo 'si me
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.  





Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 


(My humble salutations to   H H Sri Swami Prabupada ji  and  swami B B Vishnu 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)

0 comments