Introduction
1: Characteristics of Pure Devotional
Service
2: The First Stages of Devotion
3: Eligibility of the Candidate
for Accepting Devotional Service
4: Devotional Service Surpasses
All Liberation
5: The Purity of Devotional
Service
6: How to Discharge Devotional
Service
7: Evidence Regarding Devotional
Principles
8: Offenses to Be Avoided
9: Further Considerations
of Devotional Principles
10: Techniques of Hearing
and Remembering
11: Aspects of Transcendental
Service
12: Further Aspects of Transcendental
Service
13: Five Potent Forms of Devotional
Service
14: Devotional Qualifications
15: Spontaneous Devotional
Service
16: Spontaneous Devotion Further
Described
17: Ecstatic Love
18: Character of One in Ecstatic
Love
19: Devotional Service in
Pure Love of God
20: Transcendental Mellow
21: Qualities of Çré
Kåñëa
22: Qualities of Kåñëa
Further Explained
23: Kåñëa's
Personality
24: Further Traits of Çré
Kåñëa
25: Devotees of Kåñëa
26: Stimulation for Ecstatic
Love
27: Symptoms of Ecstatic Love
28: Existential Ecstatic Love
29: Expressions of Love for
Kåñëa
30: Further Features of Ecstatic
Love for Kåñëa
31: Additional Symptoms
32: Symptoms of Continuous
Love
33: Indirect Expressions of
Ecstatic Love
34: The Nectar of Devotion
35: Neutral Love of God
36: Transcendental Affection
(Servitude)
37: Impetuses for Kåñëa's
Service
38: Indifference and Separation
39: Ways of Meeting Kåñëa
40: Reverential Devotion of
Sons And other Subordinates
41: Fraternal Devotion
42: Fraternal Loving Affairs
43: Parenthood
44: Devotional Service in
Conjugal Love
45: Laughing Ecstasy
46: Astonishment and Chivalry
47: Compassion and Anger
48: Dread and Ghastliness
49: Mixing of Rasas
50: Further Analysis of Mixed
Rasas
51: Perverted Expression of Mellows
Nectar of Devotion Preface
Preface
The Nectar of Devotion is a summary
study of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, which was written in Sanskrit
by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda. He
was the chief of the six Gosvämés, who were the direct disciples
of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. When he first met Lord Caitanya, Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda was engaged as a minister
in the Muhammadan government of Bengal. He and his brother Sanätana
were then named Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika respectively,
and they held responsible posts as ministers of Nawab Hussain Shah. At
that time, five hundred years ago, the Hindu society was very rigid, and
if a member of the brähmaëa caste accepted the service of a Muhammadan
ruler he was at once rejected from brähmaëa society. That was
the position of the two brothers, Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika.
They belonged to the highly situated särasvata-brähmaëa
community, but they were ostracized due to their acceptance of ministerial
posts in the government of Hussain Shah. It is the grace of Lord Caitanya
that He accepted these two exalted personalities as His disciples and raised
them to the position of gosvämés, the highest position of brahminical
culture. Similarly, Lord Caitanya accepted Haridäsa Öhäkura
as His disciple, although Haridäsa happened to be born of a Muhammadan
family, and Lord Caitanya later on made him the äcärya of the
chanting of the holy name of the Lord: Hare Kåñëa, Hare
Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
Lord Caitanya’s principle is universal.
Anyone who knows the science of Kåñëa and is engaged
in the service of the Lord is accepted as being in a higher position than
a person born in the family of a brähmaëa. That is the original
principle accepted by all Vedic literatures, especially by Bhagavad-gétä
and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The principle of Lord Caitanya’s
movement in educating and elevating everyone to the exalted post of a gosvämé
is taught in The Nectar of Devotion.
Lord Caitanya met the two brothers
Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika in a village known as Rämakeli
in the district of Maldah, and after that meeting the brothers decided
to retire from government service and join Lord Caitanya. Dabira Khäsa,
who was later to become Rüpa Gosvämé, retired from his
post and collected all the money he had accumulated during his service.
It is described in the Caitanya-caritämåta that his accumulated
savings in gold coins equaled millions of dollars and filled a large boat.
He divided the money in a very exemplary manner, which should be followed
by devotees in particular and by humanity in general. Fifty percent of
his accumulated wealth was distributed to the Kåñëa conscious
persons, namely the brähmaëas and the Vaiñëavas;
twenty-five percent was distributed to relatives; and twenty-five percent
was kept against emergency expenditures and personal difficulties. Later
on, when Säkara Mallika also proposed to retire, the Nawab was very
much agitated and put him into jail. But Säkara Mallika, who was later
to become Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé, took advantage
of his brother’s personal money, which had been deposited with a village
banker, and escaped from the prison of Hussain Shah. In this way both brothers
joined Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu.
Rüpa Gosvämé first
met Lord Caitanya at Prayäga (Allahabad, India), and on the Daçäçvamedha
bathing ghäöa of that holy city the Lord instructed him continually
for ten days. The Lord particularly instructed Rüpa Gosvämé
on the science of Kåñëa consciousness. These teachings
of Lord Caitanya to Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda
are narrated in our book Teachings of Lord Caitanya.
Later, Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé Prabhupäda elaborated the teachings of the Lord
with profound knowledge of revealed scriptures and authoritative references
from various Vedic literatures. Çréla Çréniväsa
Äcärya describes in his prayers to the six Gosvämés
that they were all highly learned scholars, not only in Sanskrit but also
in foreign languages such as Persian and Arabic. They very scrutinizingly
studied all the Vedic scriptures in order to establish the cult of Caitanya
Mahäprabhu on the authorized principles of Vedic knowledge. The present
Kåñëa consciousness movement is also based on the authority
of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda. We
are therefore generally known as rüpänugas, or followers in the
footsteps of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda.
It is only for our guidance that Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
prepared his book Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, which is now presented
in the form of The Nectar of Devotion. Persons engaged in the Kåñëa
consciousness movement may take advantage of this great literature and
be very solidly situated in Kåñëa consciousness.
Bhakti means “devotional service.”
Every service has some attractive feature which drives the servitor progressively
on and on. Every one of us within this world is perpetually engaged in
some sort of service, and the impetus for such service is the pleasure
we derive from it. Driven by affection for his wife and children, a family
man works day and night. A philanthropist works in the same way for love
of the greater family, and a nationalist for the cause of his country and
countrymen. That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder
and the nationalist is called rasa, or a kind of mellow (relationship)
whose taste is very sweet. Bhakti-rasa is a mellow different from the ordinary
rasa enjoyed by mundane workers. Mundane workers labor very hard day and
night in order to relish a certain kind of rasa which is understood as
sense gratification. The relish or taste of the mundane rasa does not long
endure, and therefore mundane workers are always apt to change their position
of enjoyment. A businessman is not satisfied by working the whole week;
therefore, wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he
tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent
in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his actual
business activities. Material engagement means accepting a particular status
for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and
forth is technically known as bhoga-tyäga, which means a position
of alternating sense enjoyment and renunciation. A living entity cannot
steadily remain either in sense enjoyment or in renunciation. Change is
going on perpetually, and we cannot be happy in either state, because of
our eternal constitutional position. Sense gratification does not endure
for long, and it is therefore called capala-sukha, or flickering happiness.
For example, an ordinary family man who works very hard day and night and
is successful in giving comforts to the members of his family thereby relishes
a kind of mellow, but his whole advancement of material happiness immediately
terminates along with his body as soon as his life is over. Death is therefore
taken as the representative of God for the atheistic class of men. The
devotee realizes the presence of God by devotional service, whereas the
atheist realizes the presence of God in the shape of death. At death everything
is finished, and one has to begin a new chapter of life in a new situation,
perhaps higher or lower than the last one. In any field of activity—political,
social, national or international—the result of our actions will be finished
with the end of life. That is sure.
Bhakti-rasa, however, the mellow
relished in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, does not finish
with the end of life. It continues perpetually and is therefore called
amåta, that which does not die but exists eternally. This is confirmed
in all Vedic literatures. Bhagavad-gétä says that a little
advancement in bhakti-rasa can save the devotee from the greatest danger—that
of missing the opportunity for human life. The rasas derived from our feelings
in social life, in family life or in the greater family life of altruism,
philanthropy, nationalism, socialism, communism, etc., do not guarantee
that one’s next life will be as a human being. We prepare our next life
by our actual activities in the present life. A living entity is offered
a particular type of body as a result of his action in the present body.
These activities are taken into account by a superior authority known as
daiva, or the authority of God. This daiva is explained in Bhagavad-gétä
as the prime cause of everything, and in Çrémad-Bhägavatam
it is stated that a man takes his next body by daiva-netreëa, which
means by the supervision of the authority of the Supreme. In an ordinary
sense, daiva is explained as destiny. Daiva supervision gives us a body
selected from 8,400,000 forms; the choice does not depend on our selection,
but is awarded to us according to our destiny. If our body at present is
engaged in the activities of Kåñëa consciousness, then
it is guaranteed that we will have at least a human body in our next life.
A human being engaged in Kåñëa consciousness, even if
unable to complete the course of bhakti-yoga, takes birth in the higher
divisions of human society so that he can automatically further his advancement
in Kåñëa consciousness. Therefore, all bona fide activities
in Kåñëa consciousness are amåta, or permanent.
This is the subject matter of The Nectar of Devotion.
This eternal engagement in bhakti-rasa
can be understood by a serious student upon studying The Nectar of Devotion.
Adoption of bhakti-rasa, or Kåñëa consciousness, will
immediately bring one to an auspicious life free from anxieties and will
bless one with transcendental existence, thus minimizing the value of liberation.
Bhakti-rasa itself is sufficient to produce a feeling of liberation, because
it attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa.
Generally, neophyte devotees are anxious to see Kåñëa,
or God, but God cannot be seen or known by our present materially blunt
senses. The process of devotional service as it is recommended in The Nectar
of Devotion will gradually elevate one from the material condition of life
to the spiritual status, wherein the devotee becomes purified of all designations.
The senses can then become uncontaminated, being constantly in touch with
bhakti-rasa. When the purified senses are employed in the service of the
Lord, one becomes situated in bhakti-rasa life, and any action performed
for the satisfaction of Kåñëa in this transcendental
bhakti-rasa stage of life can be relished perpetually. When one is thus
engaged in devotional service, all varieties of rasas, or mellows, turn
into eternity. In the beginning one is trained according to the principles
of regulation under the guidance of the äcärya, or spiritual
master, and gradually, when one is elevated, devotional service becomes
automatic and spontaneous eagerness to serve Kåñëa. There
are twelve kinds of rasas, as will be explained in this book, and by renovating
our relationship with Kåñëa in five primary rasas we
can live eternally in full knowledge and bliss.
The basic principle of the living
condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one
can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every
living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at
least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings.
The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone
can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to
love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information
where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy.
That missing point is Kåñëa, and The Nectar of Devotion
teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Kåñëa
and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful
life.
In the primary stage a child loves
his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he
begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even
the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even
by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly
fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully
satisfied only when it is reposed in Kåñëa. This theme
is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how
to love Kåñëa in five different transcendental mellows.
Our loving propensity expands just
as a vibration of light or air expands, but we do not know where it ends.
The Nectar of Devotion teaches us the science of loving every one of the
living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Kåñëa.
We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such
great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right
method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a
cool head. The Nectar of Devotion teaches all men how to perform the simple
and natural method of loving Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. If we learn how to love Kåñëa, then it is
very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It
is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one’s
stomach. The method of pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying
foodstuffs to the stomach is universally scientific and practical, as every
one of us has experienced. Everyone knows well that when we eat something,
or in other words, when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created
by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly,
when we pour water on the root, the energy thus created is immediately
distributed throughout the entirety of even the largest tree. It is not
possible to water the tree part by part, nor is it possible to feed the
different parts of the body separately. The Nectar of Devotion will teach
us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything,
everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life.
As far as material necessities are
concerned, the human civilization at the present moment is very much advanced
in living comfortably, but still we are not happy, because we are missing
the point. The material comforts of life alone are not sufficient to make
us happy. The vivid example is America: the richest nation of the world,
having all facilities for material comfort, is producing a class of men
completely confused and frustrated in life. I am appealing herewith to
such confused men to learn the art of devotional service as directed in
The Nectar of Devotion, and I am sure that the fire of material existence
burning within their hearts will be immediately extinguished. The root
cause of our dissatisfaction is that our dormant loving propensity has
not been fulfilled despite our great advancement in the materialistic way
of life. The Nectar of Devotion will give us practical hints how we can
live in this material world perfectly engaged in devotional service and
thus fulfill all our desires in this life and the next. The Nectar of Devotion
is not presented to condemn any way of materialistic life, but the attempt
is to give information to religionists, philosophers and people in general
how to love Kåñëa. One may live without material discomfiture,
but at the same time he should learn the art of loving Kåñëa.
At the present moment we are inventing so many ways to utilize our propensity
to love, but factually we are missing the real point: Kåñëa.
We are watering all parts of the tree, but missing the tree’s root. We
are trying to keep our body fit by all means, but we are neglecting to
supply foodstuffs to the stomach. Missing Kåñëa means
missing one’s self also. Real self-realization and realization of Kåñëa
go together simultaneously. For example, seeing oneself in the morning
means seeing the sunrise also; without seeing the sunshine no one can see
himself. Similarly, unless one has realized Kåñëa there
is no question of self-realization.
The Nectar of Devotion is specifically
presented for persons who are now engaged in the Kåñëa
consciousness movement. I beg to offer my sincere thanks to all my friends
and disciples who are helping me to push forward the Kåñëa
consciousness movement in the Western countries, and I beg to acknowledge,
with thanks, the contribution made by my beloved disciple Çréman
Jayänanda brahmacäré. My thanks are due as well to the
directors of ISKCON Press, who have taken so much care in publishing this
great literature. Hare Kåñëa.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
13 April 1970
ISKCON Headquarters
3764 Watseka Ave.
Los Angeles, California
Invoking auspiciousness: Lord Çré
Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause
of all causes, the reservoir of all rasas, or relationships, which are
called neutrality (passive adoration), servitorship, friendship, parenthood,
conjugal love, comedy, compassion, fear, chivalry, ghastliness, wonder
and devastation. He is the supreme attractive form, and by His universal
and transcendental attractive features He has captivated all the gopés,
headed by Tärakä, Pälikä, Çyämä, Lalitä,
and ultimately Çrématé Rädhäräëé.
Let His Lordship’s grace be on us so that there may not be any hindrance
in the execution of this duty of writing The Nectar of Devotion, impelled
by His Divine Grace Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté Gosvämé Prabhupäda.
Let me offer my respectful obeisances
unto the lotus feet of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
Prabhupäda and of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté
Gosvämé Prabhupäda, by whose inspiration I have been engaged
in the matter of compiling this summary study of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu.
This is the sublime science of devotional service as propounded by Çré
Caitanya Mahäprabhu, who appeared five hundred years ago in West Bengal,
India, to propagate the movement of Kåñëa consciousness.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
begins his great book by offering his respectful obeisances unto Çré
Sanätana Gosvämé, who is his elder brother and spiritual
master, and he prays that Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu may be very
pleasing to him. He further prays that by residing in that ocean of nectar,
Çré Sanätana Gosvämé may always feel transcendental
pleasure in the service of Rädhä and Kåñëa.
Let us offer our respectful obeisances
to all the great devotees and äcäryas (holy teachers), who are
compared to sharks in the great ocean of nectar and who do not care for
the various rivers of liberation. Impersonalists are very fond of merging
into the Supreme, like rivers that come down and merge into the ocean.
The ocean can be compared to liberation, and the rivers to all the different
paths of liberation. The impersonalists are dwelling in the river water,
which eventually comes to mix with the ocean. They have no information,
however, that within the ocean, as within the river, there are innumerable
aquatic living entities. The sharks who dwell in the ocean do not care
for the rivers which are gliding down into it. The devotees eternally live
in the ocean of devotional service, and they do not care for the rivers.
In other words, those who are pure devotees always remain in the ocean
of transcendental loving service to the Lord and have no business with
the other processes, which are compared to the rivers that only gradually
come to the ocean.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
prays to his spiritual master, Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé,
for the protection of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu—“The Ocean of the
Pure Nectar of Devotional Service”—from the argumentative logicians who
unnecessarily meddle in the science of service to the Lord. He compares
their arguments and logic to volcanic eruptions in the midst of the ocean.
In the midst of the ocean, volcanic eruptions can do very little harm,
and similarly, those who are against devotional service to the Lord and
who put forward many philosophical theses about the ultimate transcendental
realization cannot disturb this great ocean of devotional service.
The author of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu,
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, very humbly submits
that he is just trying to spread Kåñëa consciousness
all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work.
That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Kåñëa
consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé. We should never think of ourselves as great
preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to
the previous äcäryas, and simply by following in their footsteps
we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.
Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu
is divided into four parts, just as the ocean is sometimes divided into
four parts, and there are different sections within each of these four
divisions. Originally, in Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, the ocean
is divided like the watery ocean into east, south, west and north, while
the subsections within these different divisions are called waves. As in
the ocean there are always different waves, either on the eastern side,
the southern side, the western side or the northern side, Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu
similarly has different waves. In the first part there are four waves,
the first being a general description of devotional service. The second
concerns the regulative principles for executing devotional service, and
the third wave, devotional service in ecstasy. In the fourth is the ultimate
goal, love of God. These will be explicitly described along with their
different symptoms.
The authorized descriptions of bhakti,
or devotional service, following in the footsteps of previous äcäryas,
can be summarized in the following statement by Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé: “First-class devotional service is known by one’s
tendency to be fully engaged in Kåñëa consciousness,
serving the Lord favorably.” The purport is that one may also be in Kåñëa
consciousness unfavorably, but that cannot be counted as pure devotional
service. Pure devotional service should be free from the desire for any
material benefit or for sense gratification, as these desires are cultivated
through fruitive activities and philosophical speculation. Generally, people
are engaged in different activities to get some material profit, while
most philosophers are engaged in proposing transcendental realization through
volumes of word jugglery and speculation. Pure devotional service must
always be free from such fruitive activities and philosophical speculations.
One has to learn Kåñëa consciousness, or pure devotional
service, from the authorities by spontaneous loving service.
This devotional service is a sort
of cultivation. It is not simply inaction for people who like to be inactive
or devote their time to silent meditation. There are many different methods
for people who want this, but cultivation of Kåñëa consciousness
is different. The particular word used by Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé in this connection is anuçélana, or cultivation
by following the predecessor teachers (äcäryas). As soon as we
say “cultivation,” we must refer to activity. Without activity, consciousness
alone cannot help us. All activities may be divided into two classes: one
class may be for achieving a certain goal, and the other may be for avoiding
some unfavorable circumstance. In Sanskrit, these activities are called
pravåtti and nivåtti—positive and negative action. There are
many examples of negative action. For instance, a diseased person has to
be cautious and take medicine in order to avoid some unfavorable illness.
Those who are cultivating spiritual
life and executing devotional service are always engaged in activity. Such
activity can be performed with the body or with the mind. Thinking, feeling
and willing are all activities of the mind, and when we will to do something,
the activity comes to be manifest by the gross bodily senses. Thus, in
our mental activities we should always try to think of Kåñëa
and try to plan how to please Him, following in the footsteps of the great
äcäryas and the personal spiritual master. There are activities
of the body, activities of the mind and activities of speech. A Kåñëa
conscious person engages his words in preaching the glories of the Lord.
This is called kértana. And by his mind a Kåñëa
conscious person always thinks of the activities of the Lord—as He is speaking
on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra or engaging in His various pastimes
in Våndävana with His devotees. In this way one can always think
of the activities and pastimes of the Lord. This is the mental culture
of Kåñëa consciousness.
Similarly, we can offer many services
with our bodily activities. But all such activities must be in relationship
with Kåñëa. This relationship is established by connecting
oneself with the bona fide spiritual master, who is the direct representative
of Kåñëa in disciplic succession. Therefore, the execution
of Kåñëa conscious activities with the body should be
directed by the spiritual master and then performed with faith. The connection
with the spiritual master is called initiation. From the date of initiation
by the spiritual master, the connection between Kåñëa
and a person cultivating Kåñëa consciousness is established.
Without initiation by a bona fide spiritual master, the actual connection
with Kåñëa consciousness is never performed.
This cultivation of Kåñëa
consciousness is not material. The Lord has three general energies—namely
the external energy, the internal energy and the marginal energy. The living
entities are called marginal energy, and the material cosmic manifestation
is the action of the external, or material, energy. Then there is the spiritual
world, which is a manifestation of the internal energy. The living entities,
who are called marginal energy, perform material activities when acting
under the inferior, external energy. And when they engage in activities
under the internal, spiritual energy, their activities are called Kåñëa
conscious. This means that those who are great souls or great devotees
do not act under the spell of material energy, but act instead under the
protection of the spiritual energy. Any activities done in devotional service,
or in Kåñëa consciousness, are directly under the control
of spiritual energy. In other words, energy is a sort of strength, and
this strength can be spiritualized by the mercy of both the bona fide spiritual
master and Kåñëa.
In the Caitanya-caritämåta,
by Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé,
Lord Caitanya states that it is a fortunate person who comes in contact
with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kåñëa.
One who is serious about spiritual life is given by Kåñëa
the intelligence to come in contact with a bona fide spiritual master,
and then by the grace of the spiritual master one becomes advanced in Kåñëa
consciousness. In this way the whole jurisdiction of Kåñëa
consciousness is directly under the spiritual energy—Kåñëa
and the spiritual master. This has nothing to do with the material world.
When we speak of “Kåñëa” we refer to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, along with His many expansions. He is expanded by His plenary
parts and parcels, His differentiated parts and parcels and His different
energies. “Kåñëa,” in other words, means everything and
includes everything. Generally, however, we should understand “Kåñëa”
to mean Kåñëa and His personal expansions. Kåñëa
expands Himself as Baladeva, Saìkarñaëa, Väsudeva,
Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Räma, Nåsiàha and Varäha,
as well as many other incarnations and innumerable Viñëu expansions.
These are described in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam to be as
numerous as the uncountable waves. So Kåñëa includes
all such expansions, as well as His pure devotees. In the Brahma-saàhitä
it is stated that Kåñëa’s expansions are all complete
in eternity, blissfulness and cognizance.
Devotional service means to prosecute
Kåñëa conscious activities which are favorable to the
transcendental pleasure of the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, and
any activities which are not favorable to the transcendental favor of the
Lord cannot be accepted as devotional service. For example, great demons
like Rävaëa, Kaàsa and Hiraëyakaçipu were
always thinking of Kåñëa, but they were thinking of Him
as their enemy. This sort of thinking cannot be accepted as bhakti, or
Kåñëa consciousness.
The impersonalists sometimes misunderstand
devotional service in such a way that they divide Kåñëa
from His paraphernalia and pastimes. For example, the Bhagavad-gétä
is spoken on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, and the impersonalists
say that although Kåñëa is of interest, the Battlefield
of Kurukñetra isn’t. The devotees, however, also know that the Battlefield
of Kurukñetra by itself has nothing to do with their business, but
in addition they know that “Kåñëa” does not mean just
Kåñëa alone. He is always with His associates and paraphernalia.
For instance, if someone says, “Give something to eat to the man with the
weapons,” the eating process is done by the man and not by the weapons.
Similarly, in Kåñëa consciousness, a devotee may be interested
in the paraphernalia and locations—such as the Battlefield of Kurukñetra—which
are associated with Kåñëa, but he is not concerned with
simply any battlefield. He is concerned with Kåñëa—His
speech, His instructions, etc. It is because Kåñëa is
there that the battlefield is so important.
This is the summary understanding
of what Kåñëa consciousness is. Without this understanding
one is sure to misunderstand why the devotees are interested in the Battlefield
of Kurukñetra. One who is interested in Kåñëa
becomes interested in His different pastimes and activities.
The definition of a pure devotee,
as given by Rüpa Gosvämé in Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu,
can be summarized thus: his service is favorable and is always in relation
to Kåñëa. In order to keep the purity of such Kåñëa
conscious activities, one must be freed from all material desires and philosophical
speculation. Any desire except for the service of the Lord is called material
desire. And “philosophical speculation” refers to the sort of speculation
which ultimately arrives at a conclusion of voidism or impersonalism. This
conclusion is useless for a Kåñëa conscious person. Only
rarely by philosophical speculation can one reach the conclusion of worshiping
Väsudeva, Kåñëa. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä
itself. The ultimate end of philosophical speculation, then, must be Kåñëa,
with the understanding that Kåñëa is everything, the
cause of all causes, and that one should therefore surrender unto Him.
If this ultimate goal is reached, then philosophical advancement is favorable,
but if the conclusion of philosophical speculation is voidism or impersonalism,
that is not bhakti.
Karma, or fruitive activities, are
sometimes understood to be ritualistic activities. There are many persons
who are very much attracted by the ritualistic activities described in
the Vedas. But if one becomes attracted simply to ritualistic activities
without understanding Kåñëa, his activities are unfavorable
to Kåñëa consciousness. Actually, Kåñëa
consciousness can be based simply on hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.
Described in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam are nine different
processes, besides which everything done is unfavorable to Kåñëa
consciousness. Thus, one should always be guarding against falldowns.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
has also mentioned in this definition of bhakti the word jïäna-karmädi.
This karmädi (fruitive work) consists of activities which are unable
to help one attain to pure devotional service. Many forms of so-called
renunciation are also not favorable to Kåñëa conscious
devotional service.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
has also quoted a definition from the Närada-païcarätra,
as follows: “One should be free from all material designations and, by
Kåñëa consciousness, must be cleansed of all material
contamination. He should be restored to his pure identity, in which he
engages his senses in the service of the proprietor of the senses.” So
when our senses are engaged for the actual proprietor of the senses, that
is called devotional service. In our conditional state, our senses are
engaged in serving these bodily demands. When the same senses are engaged
in executing the order of Kåñëa, our activities are called
bhakti.
As long as one identifies himself
as belonging to a certain family, a certain society or a certain person,
he is said to be covered with designations. When one is fully aware that
he does not belong to any family, society or country, but is eternally
related to Kåñëa, he then realizes that his energy should
be employed not in the interests of so-called family, society or country,
but in the interests of Kåñëa. This is purity of purpose
and the platform of pure devotional service in Kåñëa
consciousness.
NoD 1: Characteristics of Pure Devotional
Service
Chapter One
Characteristics of Pure Devotional
Service
In Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Third Canto, Twenty-ninth Chapter, verses 12 and 13, Çréla
Kapiladeva, while instructing His mother, has given the following characteristics
of pure devotional service: “My dear mother, those who are My pure devotees,
and who have no desire for material benefit or philosophical speculation,
have their minds so much engaged in My service that they are never interested
in asking Me for anything—except to be engaged in that service. They do
not even beg to live in My abode with Me.”
There are five kinds of liberation,
namely to become one with the Lord, to live with the Supreme Lord on the
same planet, to have the same features as the Lord, to enjoy the same opulences
as the Lord and to live as a companion of the Lord. A devotee, what to
speak of rejecting material sense gratification, does not even want any
of the five kinds of liberation. He is satisfied simply by discharging
loving service to the Lord. That is the characteristic of pure devotion.
In the above statement by Kapiladeva
from Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the actual position of a pure
devotee is described, and the primary characteristics of devotional service
are also defined. Further characteristics of devotional service are described
by Rüpa Gosvämé with evidences from different scriptures.
He states that there are six characteristics of pure devotional service,
which are as follows:
(1) Pure devotional service brings
immediate relief from all kinds of material distress.
(2) Pure devotional service is the
beginning of all auspiciousness.
(3) Pure devotional service automatically
puts one in transcendental pleasure.
(4) Pure devotional service is rarely
achieved.
(5) Those in pure devotional service
deride even the conception of liberation.
(6) Pure devotional service is the
only means to attract Kåñëa.
Kåñëa is all-attractive,
but pure devotional service attracts even Him. This means that pure devotional
service is even transcendentally stronger than Kåñëa
Himself, because it is Kåñëa’s internal potency.
Relief from Material Distress
In Bhagavad-gétä, the
Lord says that one should surrender unto Him, giving up all other engagements.
The Lord also gives His word there that He will protect surrendered souls
from the reactions of all sinful activities. Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé says that the distresses from sinful activities are
due both to the sins themselves and to sins committed in our past lives.
Generally, one commits sinful activities due to ignorance. But ignorance
is no excuse for evading the reaction—sinful activities. Sinful activities
are of two kinds: those which are mature and those which are not mature.
The sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment
are called mature. The many sinful activities stored within us for which
we have not yet suffered are considered immature. For example, a man may
have committed criminal acts, but not yet been arrested for them. Now,
as soon as he is detected, arrest is awaiting him. Similarly, for some
of our sinful activities we are awaiting distresses in the future, and
for others, which are mature, we are suffering at the present moment.
In this way there is a chain of
sinful activities and their concomitant distresses, and the conditioned
soul is suffering life after life due to these sins. He is suffering in
the present life the results of sinful activities from his past life, and
he is meanwhile creating further sufferings for his future life. Mature
sinful activities are exhibited if one is suffering from some chronic disease,
if one is suffering from some legal implication, if one is born in a low
and degraded family or if one is uneducated or very ugly.
There are many results of past sinful
activities for which we are suffering at the present moment, and we may
be suffering in the future due to our present sinful activities. But all
of these reactions to sinful deeds can immediately be stopped if we take
to Kåñëa consciousness. As evidence for this, Rüpa
Gosvämé quotes from Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Eleventh
Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, verse 19. This verse is in connection with Lord
Kåñëa’s instruction to Uddhava, where He says, “My dear
Uddhava, devotional service unto Me is just like a blazing fire which can
burn into ashes unlimited fuel supplied to it.” The purport is that as
the blazing fire can burn any amount of fuel to ashes, so devotional service
to the Lord in Kåñëa consciousness can burn up all the
fuel of sinful activities. For example, in the Gétä Arjuna
thought that fighting was a sinful activity, but Kåñëa
engaged him on the battlefield under His order, and so the fighting became
devotional service. Therefore, Arjuna was not subjected to any sinful reaction.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
quotes another verse from the Third Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Thirty-third Chapter, verse 6, in which Devahüti addresses her son,
Kapiladeva, and says, “My dear Lord, there are nine different kinds of
devotional service, beginning from hearing and chanting. Anyone who hears
about Your pastimes, who chants about Your glories, who offers You obeisances,
who thinks of You and, in this way, executes any of the nine kinds of devotional
service—even if he is born in a family of dog-eaters [the lowest grade
of mankind]—becomes immediately qualified to perform sacrifices.” As such,
how is it possible that anyone actually engaged in devotional service in
full Kåñëa consciousness has not become purified? It
is not possible. One who is engaged in Kåñëa consciousness
and devotional service has without doubt become freed from all contaminations
of material sinful activities. Devotional service therefore has the power
to actually nullify all kinds of reactions to sinful deeds. A devotee is
nevertheless always alert not to commit any sinful activities; this is
his specific qualification as a devotee. Thus Çrémad-Bhägavatam
states that by performing devotional service a person who was born even
in a family of dog-eaters may become eligible to take part in the performance
of the ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. It is implicit
in this statement that a person born into a family of dog-eaters is generally
not fit for performing yajïa, or sacrifice. The priestly caste in
charge of performing these ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas
is called the brähmaëa order. Unless one is a brähmaëa,
he cannot perform these ceremonies.
A person is born in a brähmaëa
family or in a family of dog-eaters due to his past activities. If a person
is born in a family of dog-eaters it means that his past activities were
all sinful. But if even such a person takes to the path of devotional service
and begins to chant the holy names of the Lord—Hare Kåñëa,
Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare—he
is at once fit to perform the ritualistic ceremonies. This means that his
sinful reactions have immediately become neutralized.
It is stated in the Padma Puräëa
that there are four kinds of effects due to sinful activities, which are
listed as follows: (1) the effect which is not yet fructified, (2) the
effect which is lying as seed, (3) the effect which is already mature and
(4) the effect which is almost mature. It is also stated that all these
four effects become immediately vanquished for those who surrender unto
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu, and become engaged
in His devotional service in full Kåñëa consciousness.
Those effects described as “almost
mature” refer to the distress from which one is suffering at present, and
the effects “lying as seed” are in the core of the heart, where there is
a certain stock of sinful desires which are like seeds. The Sanskrit word
küöam means that they are almost ready to produce the seed, or
the effect of the seed. “An immature effect” refers to the case where the
seedling has not begun. From this statement of Padma Puräëa it
is understood that material contamination is very subtle. Its beginning,
its fruition and results, and how one suffers such results in the form
of distress, are part of a great chain. When one catches some disease,
it is often very difficult to ascertain the cause of the disease, where
it originated and how it is maturing. The suffering of a disease, however,
does not appear all of a sudden. It actually takes time. And as in the
medical field, for precaution’s sake, the doctor injects a vaccination
to prevent the growing of contamination, the practical injection to stop
all the fructifications of the seeds of our sinful activities is simply
engagement in Kåñëa consciousness.
In this connection, Çukadeva
Gosvämé speaks in the Sixth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Second Chapter, verse 17, about the story of Ajämila, who began life
as a fine and dutiful brähmaëa, but in his young manhood became
wholly corrupted by a prostitute. At the end of his wicked life, just by
calling the name “Näräyaëa [Kåñëa],” he
was saved despite so much sin. Çukadeva points out that austerity,
charity and the performance of ritualistic ceremonies for counteracting
sinful activities are recommended processes, but that by performing them
one cannot remove the sinful desire-seed from the heart, as was the case
with Ajämila in his youth. This sinful desire-seed can be removed
only by achieving Kåñëa consciousness. And this can be
accomplished very easily by chanting the mahä-mantra, or Hare Kåñëa
mantra, as recommended by Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. In
other words, unless one adopts the path of devotional service, he cannot
be one-hundred-percent clean from all the reactions of sinful activities.
By performing Vedic ritualistic
activities, by giving money in charity and by undergoing austerity, one
can temporarily become free from the reactions of sinful activities, but
at the next moment he must again become engaged in sinful activities. For
example, a person suffering from venereal disease on account of excessive
indulgence in sex life has to undergo some severe pain in medical treatment,
and he is then cured for the time being. But because he has not been able
to remove the sex desire from his heart, he must again indulge in the same
thing and become a victim of the same disease. So medical treatment may
give temporary relief from the distress of such venereal disease, but unless
one is trained to understand that sex life is abominable, it is impossible
to be saved from such repeated distress. Similarly, the ritualistic performances,
charity and austerity which are recommended in the Vedas may temporarily
stop one from acting in sinful ways, but as long as the heart is not clear,
one will have to repeat sinful activities again and again.
Another example given in Çrémad-Bhägavatam
concerns the elephant who enters into a lake and takes a bath very seriously,
cleansing his body thoroughly. Then as soon as he comes onto shore he again
takes some dust from the earth and throws it over his body. Similarly,
a person who is not trained in Kåñëa consciousness cannot
become completely free from the desire for sinful activities. Neither the
yoga process nor philosophical speculations nor fruitive activities can
save one from the seeds of sinful desires. Only by being engaged in devotional
service can this be done.
There is another evidence in the
Fourth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Twenty-second Chapter,
verse 39, wherein Sanat-kumära says, “My dear King, the false ego
of a human being is so strong that it keeps him in material existence as
if tied up by a strong rope. Only the devotees can cut off the knot of
this strong rope very easily, by engaging themselves in Kåñëa
consciousness. Others, who are not in Kåñëa consciousness
but are trying to become great mystics or great ritual performers, cannot
advance like the devotees. Therefore, it is the duty of everyone to engage
himself in the activities of Kåñëa consciousness in order
to be freed from the tight knot of false ego and engagement in material
activities.”
This tight knot of false ego is
due to ignorance. As long as one is ignorant about his identity, he is
sure to act wrongly and thereby become entangled in material contamination.
This ignorance of factual knowledge can also be dissipated by Kåñëa
consciousness, as is confirmed in the Padma Puräëa as follows:
“Pure devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness is the
highest enlightenment, and when such enlightenment is there, it is just
like a blazing forest fire, killing all the inauspicious snakes of desire.”
The example is being given in this connection that when there is a forest
fire the extensive blazing automatically kills all the snakes in the forest.
There are many, many snakes on the ground of the forest, and when a fire
takes place, it burns the dried foliage, and the snakes are immediately
attacked. Animals who have four legs can flee from the fire or can at least
try to flee, but the snakes are immediately killed. Similarly, the blazing
fire of Kåñëa consciousness is so strong that the snakes
of ignorance are immediately killed.
Kåñëa Consciousness Is All-auspicious
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
has given a definition of auspiciousness. He says that actual auspiciousness
means welfare activities for all the people of the world. At the present
moment groups of people are engaged in welfare activities in terms of society,
community or nation. There is even an attempt in the form of the United
Nations for world-help activity. But due to the shortcomings of limited
national activities, such a general mass welfare program for the whole
world is not practically possible. The Kåñëa consciousness
movement, however, is so nice that it can render the highest benefit to
the entire human race. Everyone can be attracted by this movement, and
everyone can feel the result. Therefore, Rüpa Gosvämé
and other learned scholars agree that a broad propaganda program for the
Kåñëa consciousness movement of devotional service all
over the world is the highest humanitarian welfare activity.
How the Kåñëa
consciousness movement can attract the attention of the whole world and
how each and every man can feel pleasure in this Kåñëa
consciousness is stated in the Padma Puräëa as follows: “A person
who is engaged in devotional service in full Kåñëa consciousness
is to be understood to be doing the best service to the whole world and
to be pleasing everyone in the world. In addition to human society, he
is pleasing even the trees and animals, because they also become attracted
by such a movement.” A practical example of this was shown by Lord Caitanya
when He was traveling through the forests of Jhärikhaëòa
in central India for spreading His saìkértana movement. The
tigers, the elephants, the deer and all the other wild animals joined Him
and were participating, in their own ways, by dancing and chanting Hare
Kåñëa.
Furthermore, a person engaged in
Kåñëa consciousness, acting in devotional service, can
develop all the good qualities that are generally found in the demigods.
It is said by Çukadeva Gosvämé in the Fifth Canto of
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Eighteenth Chapter, verse 12, “My
dear King, persons who have unflinching faith in Kåñëa
and are without any duplicity can develop all the good qualities of the
demigods. On account of a devotee’s high grade of Kåñëa
consciousness, even the demigods like to live with him, and therefore it
can be understood that the qualities of the demigods have developed within
his body.”
On the other hand, a person who
is not in Kåñëa consciousness has no good qualities.
He may be highly educated from the academic point of view, but in the actual
field of his activities he can be seen to be baser than the animals. Even
though a person is highly educated academically, if he cannot go beyond
the sphere of mental activities then he is sure to perform only material
activities and thus remain impure. There are so many persons in the modern
world who have been highly educated in the materialistic universities,
but it is seen that they cannot take up the movement of Kåñëa
consciousness and develop the high qualities of the demigods.
For example, a Kåñëa
conscious boy, even if he is not very well educated by the university standard,
can immediately give up all illicit sex life, gambling, meat-eating and
intoxication, whereas those who are not in Kåñëa consciousness,
although very highly educated, are often drunkards, meat-eaters, sexmongers
and gamblers. These are practical proofs of how a Kåñëa
conscious person becomes highly developed in good qualities, whereas a
person who is not in Kåñëa consciousness cannot do so.
We experience that even a young boy in Kåñëa consciousness
is unattached to cinemas, nightclubs, naked dance shows, restaurants, liquor
shops, etc. He becomes completely freed. He saves his valuable time from
being extravagantly spent in the way of smoking, drinking, attending the
theater and dancing.
One who is not in Kåñëa
consciousness usually cannot sit silently even for half an hour. The yoga
system teaches that if you become silent you will realize that you are
God. This system may be all right for materialistic persons, but how long
will they be able to keep themselves silent? Artificially, they may sit
down for so-called meditation, but immediately after their yogic performance
they will engage themselves again in such activities as illicit sex life,
gambling, meat-eating and many other nonsensical things. But a Kåñëa
conscious person gradually elevates himself without endeavoring for this
so-called silent meditation. Simply because he is engaged in Kåñëa
consciousness he automatically gives up all this nonsense and develops
a high character. One develops the highest character by becoming a pure
devotee of Kåñëa. The conclusion is that no one can truly
have any good qualities if he is lacking Kåñëa consciousness.
Happiness in Kåñëa
Consciousness
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
has analyzed the different sources of happiness. He has divided happiness
into three categories, which are (1) happiness derived from material enjoyment,
(2) happiness derived by identifying oneself with the Supreme Brahman and
(3) happiness derived from Kåñëa consciousness.
In the tantra-çästra
Lord Çiva speaks to his wife, Saté, in this way: “My dear
wife, a person who has surrendered himself at the lotus feet of Govinda
and who has thus developed pure Kåñëa consciousness can
be very easily awarded all the perfections desired by the impersonalists;
and beyond this, he can enjoy the happiness achieved by the pure devotees.”
Happiness derived from pure devotional
service is the highest, because it is eternal. The happiness derived from
material perfection or understanding oneself to be Brahman is inferior
because it is temporary. There is no preventing one’s falling down from
material happiness, and there is even every chance of falling down from
the spiritual happiness derived out of identifying oneself with the impersonal
Brahman.
It has been seen that great Mäyävädé
(impersonalist) sannyäsés—very highly educated and almost realized
souls—may sometimes take to political activities or to social welfare activities.
The reason is that they actually do not derive any ultimate transcendental
happiness in the impersonal understanding and therefore must come down
to the material platform and take to such mundane affairs. There are many
instances, especially in India, where these Mäyävädé
sannyäsés descend to the material platform again. But a person
who is fully in Kåñëa consciousness will never return
to any sort of material platform. However alluring and attracting they
may be, he always knows that no material welfare activities can compare
to the spiritual activity of Kåñëa consciousness.
The mystic perfections achieved
by actually successful yogés are eight in number. Aëimä-siddhi
refers to the power by which one can become so small that he can enter
into a stone. Modern scientific improvements also enable us to enter into
stone, because they provide for excavating so many subways, penetrating
the hills, etc. So aëimä-siddhi, the mystic perfection of trying
to enter into stone, has also been achieved by material science. Similarly,
all of the yoga-siddhis, or perfections, are material arts. For example,
in one yoga-siddhi there is development of the power to become so light
that one can float in the air or on water. That is also being performed
by modern scientists. They are flying in the air, they are floating on
the surface of the water, and they are traveling under the water.
After comparing all these mystic
yoga-siddhis to materialistic perfections, we find that the materialistic
scientists try for the same perfections. So actually there is no difference
between mystic perfection and materialistic perfection. A German scholar
once said that the so-called yoga perfections had already been achieved
by the modern scientists, and so he was not concerned with them. He intelligently
went to India to learn how he could understand his eternal relationship
with the Supreme Lord by means of bhakti-yoga, devotional service.
Of course, in the categories of
mystic perfection there are certain processes which the material scientists
have not yet been able to develop. For instance, a mystic yogé can
enter into the sun planet simply by using the rays of the sunshine. This
perfection is called laghimä. Similarly, a yogé can touch the
moon with his finger. Though the modern astronauts go to the moon with
the help of spaceships, they undergo many difficulties, whereas a person
with mystic perfection can extend his hand and touch the moon with his
finger. This siddhi is called präpti, or acquisition. With this präpti-siddhi,
not only can the perfect mystic yogé touch the moon planet, but
he can extend his hand anywhere and take whatever he likes. He may be sitting
thousands of miles away from a certain place, and if he likes he can take
fruit from a garden there. This is präpti-siddhi.
The modern scientists have manufactured
nuclear weapons with which they can destroy an insignificant part of this
planet, but by the yoga-siddhi known as éçitä one can
create and destroy an entire planet simply at will. Another perfection
is called vaçitä, and by this perfection one can bring anyone
under his control. This is a kind of hypnotism which is almost irresistible.
Sometimes it is found that a yogé who may have attained a little
perfection in this vaçitä mystic power comes out among the
people and speaks all sorts of nonsense, controls their minds, exploits
them, takes their money and then goes away.
There is another mystic perfection,
which is known as präkämya (magic). By this präkämya
power one can achieve anything he likes. For example, one can make water
enter into his eye and then again come out from within the eye. Simply
by his will he can perform such wonderful activities.
The highest perfection of mystic
power is called kämävasäyitä. This is also magic, but
whereas the präkämya power acts to create wonderful effects within
the scope of nature, kämävasäyitä permits one to contradict
nature—in other words, to do the impossible. Of course, one can derive
great amounts of temporary happiness by achieving such yogic materialistic
perfections.
Foolishly, people who are enamored
of the glimmer of modern materialistic advancement are thinking that the
Kåñëa consciousness movement is for less intelligent
men. “I am better off being busy with my material comforts—maintaining
a nice apartment, family and sex life.” These people do not know that at
any moment they can be kicked out of their material situation. Due to ignorance,
they do not know that real life is eternal. The temporary comforts of the
body are not the goal of life, and it is due only to darkest ignorance
that people become enamored of the glimmering advancement of material comforts.
Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has therefore said that
the advancement of material knowledge renders a person more foolish, because
it causes one to forget his real identity by its glimmer. This is doom
for him, because this human form of life is meant for getting out of material
contamination. By the advancement of material knowledge, people are becoming
more and more entangled in material existence. They have no hope of being
liberated from this catastrophe.
In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it
is stated that Prahläda Mahäräja, a great devotee of the
Lord, prayed to Nåsiàhadeva (the half-lion, half-man incarnation)
as follows: “My dear Lord, I repeatedly pray unto Your lotus feet that
I may simply be stronger in devotional service. I simply pray that my Kåñëa
consciousness may be more strong and steady, because happiness derived
out of Kåñëa consciousness and devotional service is
so powerful that with it one can have all the other perfections of religiousness,
economic development, sense gratification and even the attainment of liberation
from material existence.”
Actually, a pure devotee does not
aspire after any of these perfections, because the happiness derived from
devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness is so transcendental
and so unlimited that no other happiness can compare to it. It is said
that even one drop of happiness in Kåñëa consciousness
stands beyond comparison with an ocean of happiness derived from any other
activity. Thus, any person who has developed even a little quantity of
pure devotional service can very easily kick out all the other kinds of
happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification
and liberation.
There was a great devotee of Lord
Caitanya known as Kholävecä Çrédhara, who was a
very poor man. He was doing a small business selling cups made from the
leaves of plantain trees, and his income was almost nothing. Still, he
was spending fifty percent of his small income on the worship of the Ganges,
and with the other fifty percent he was somehow living. Lord Caitanya once
revealed Himself to this confidential devotee, Kholävecä Çrédhara,
and offered him any opulence he liked. But Çrédhara informed
the Lord that he did not want any material opulence. He was quite happy
in his present position and wanted only to gain unflinching faith and devotion
unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. That is the position of pure devotees.
If they can be engaged twenty-four hours each day in devotional service
they do not want anything else, not even the happiness of liberation or
of becoming one with the Supreme.
In the Närada-païcarätra
it is also said that any person who has developed even a small amount of
devotional service doesn’t care a fig for any kind of happiness derived
from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification or the five
kinds of liberation. Any kind of happiness derived from religiousness,
economic development, liberation or sense gratification cannot even dare
to enter into the heart of a pure devotee. It is stated that as the personal
attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect
and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development,
sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the
Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness
derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Kåñëa,
but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without
the devotee’s asking.
The Rareness of Pure Devotional Service
In the preliminary phase of spiritual
life there are different kinds of austerities, penances and similar processes
for attaining self-realization. However, even if an executor of these processes
is without any material desire, he still cannot achieve devotional service.
And aspiring by oneself alone to achieve devotional service is also not
very hopeful, because Kåñëa does not agree to award devotional
service to merely anyone. Kåñëa can easily offer a person
material happiness or even liberation, but He does not agree very easily
to award a person engagement in His devotional service. Devotional service
can in fact be attained only through the mercy of a pure devotee. In the
Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya 19.151) it is said, “By the mercy
of the spiritual master who is a pure devotee and by the mercy of Kåñëa
one can achieve the platform of devotional service. There is no other way.”
The rarity of devotional service
is also confirmed in the tantra-çästra, where Lord Çiva
says to Saté, “My dear Saté, if one is a very fine philosopher,
analyzing the different processes of knowledge, he can achieve liberation
from the material entanglement. By performance of the ritualistic sacrifices
recommended in the Vedas one can be elevated to the platform of pious activities
and thereby enjoy the material comforts of life to the fullest extent.
But all such endeavors can hardly offer anyone devotional service to the
Lord, not even if one tries for it by such processes for many, many thousands
of births.”
In Çrémad-Bhägavatam
it is also confirmed by Prahläda Mahäräja that merely by
personal efforts or by the instructions of higher authorities one cannot
attain to the stage of devotional service. One must become blessed by the
dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, who is completely freed from
the contamination of material desires.
In the Fifth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Sixth Chapter, verse 18, Närada also says to Yudhiñöhira,
“My dear King, it is Lord Kåñëa, known as Mukunda, who
is the eternal protector of the Päëòavas and the Yadus.
He is also your spiritual master and instructor in every respect. He is
the only worshipable God for you. He is very dear and affectionate, and
He is the director of all your activities, both individual and familial.
And what’s more, He sometimes carries out your orders as if He were your
messenger! My dear King, how very fortunate you are, because for others
all these favors given to you by the Supreme Lord would not even be dreamt
of.” The purport to this verse is that the Lord easily offers liberation,
but He rarely agrees to offer a soul devotional service, because by devotional
service the Lord Himself becomes purchased by the devotee.
The Happiness of Becoming One with
the Supreme
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
says that if brahmänanda, or the happiness of becoming one with the
Supreme, is multiplied by one trillionfold, it still cannot compare to
an atomic fraction of the happiness derived from the ocean of devotional
service.
In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya Prahläda
Mahäräja, while satisfying Lord Nåsiàhadeva by his
prayers, says, “My dear Lord of the universe, I am feeling transcendental
pleasure in Your presence and have become merged in the ocean of happiness.
I now consider the happiness of brahmänanda to be no more than the
water in the impression left by a cow’s hoof in the earth, compared to
this ocean of bliss.” Similarly, it is confirmed in the Bhävärtha-dépikä,
Çrédhara Svämé’s commentary on the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
“My dear Lord, some of the fortunate persons who are swimming in the ocean
of Your nectar of devotion, and who are relishing the nectar of the narration
of Your pastimes, certainly know ecstasies which immediately minimize the
value of the happiness derived from religiousness, economic development,
sense gratification and liberation. Such a transcendental devotee regards
any kind of happiness other than devotional service as no better than straw
in the street.”
Attracting Kåñëa
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
has stated that devotional service attracts even Kåñëa.
Kåñëa attracts everyone, but devotional service attracts
Kåñëa. The symbol of devotional service in the highest
degree is Rädhäräëé. Kåñëa
is called Madana-mohana, which means that He is so attractive that He can
defeat the attraction of thousands of Cupids. But Rädhäräëé
is still more attractive, for She can even attract Kåñëa.
Therefore devotees call Her Madana-mohana-mohiné—the attractor of
the attractor of Cupid.
To perform devotional service means
to follow in the footsteps of Rädhäräëé, and
devotees in Våndävana put themselves under the care of Rädhäräëé
in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words,
devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly
under the control of Rädhäräëé. In Bhagavad-gétä
it is confirmed that the mahätmäs, or great souls, are under
the protection of daivé prakåti, the internal energy—Rädhäräëé.
So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Kåñëa,
devotional service attracts even Kåñëa Himself.
This fact is corroborated by Kåñëa
in the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Fourteenth
Chapter, verse 20, where He says, “My dear Uddhava, you may know it from
Me that the attraction I feel for devotional service rendered by My devotees
is not to be attained even by the performance of mystic yoga, philosophical
speculation, ritualistic sacrifices, the study of Vedänta, the practice
of severe austerities or the giving of everything in charity. These are,
of course, very nice activities, but they are not as attractive to Me as
the transcendental loving service rendered by My devotees.”
How Kåñëa becomes
attracted by the devotional service of His devotees is described by Närada
in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Seventh Canto, Tenth Chapter,
verses 48 and 49. There Närada addresses King Yudhiñöhira
while the King is appreciating the glories of the character of Prahläda
Mahäräja. A devotee always appreciates the activities of other
devotees. Yudhiñöhira Mahäräja was appreciating the
qualities of Prahläda, and that is one symptom of a pure devotee.
A pure devotee never thinks himself great; he always thinks that other
devotees are greater than himself. The King was thinking, “Prahläda
Mahäräja is actually a devotee of the Lord, while I am nothing,”
and while thinking this he was addressed by Närada as follows: “My
dear King Yudhiñöhira, you [the Päëòava brothers]
are the only fortunate people in this world. The Supreme Personality of
Godhead has appeared on this planet and is presenting Himself to you as
an ordinary human being. He is always with you in all circumstances. He
is living with you and covering Himself from the eyes of others. Others
cannot understand that He is the Supreme Lord, but He is still living with
you as your cousin, as your friend and even as your messenger. Therefore
you must know that nobody in this world is more fortunate than you.”
In Bhagavad-gétä when
Kåñëa appeared in His universal form Arjuna prayed, “My
dear Kåñëa, I thought of You as my cousin-brother, and
so I have shown disrespect to You in so many ways, calling You ‘Kåñëa’
or ‘friend.’ But You are so great that I could not understand.” So that
was the position of the Päëòavas; although Kåñëa
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the greatest among all greats, He
remained with those royal brothers, being attracted by their devotion,
by their friendship and by their love. That is the proof of how great this
process of devotional service is. It can attract even the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. God is great, but devotional service is greater than God because
it attracts Him. People who are not in devotional service can never understand
what great value there is in rendering service to the Lord.
Chapter Two
The First Stages of Devotion
The three categories of devotional
service which Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé describes
in Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu are listed as devotional service in
practice, devotional service in ecstasy and devotional service in pure
love of Godhead. There are many subheadings in each of these categories.
Generally it is understood that in the category of devotional service in
practice there are two different qualities, devotional service in ecstasy
has four qualities, and devotional service in pure love of Godhead has
six qualities. These qualities will be explained by Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé later on.
In this connection, Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé suggests that the person eligible for Kåñëa
consciousness, or devotional service, can be classified by his particular
taste. He says that devotional service is a continual process from one’s
previous life. No one can take to devotional service unless he has had
some previous connection with it. For example, suppose in this life I practice
devotional service to some extent. Even though it is not one-hundred-percent
perfectly performed, whatever I have done will not be lost. In my next
life, from the very point where I stop in this life, I shall begin again.
In this way there is always a continuity. But even if there is no continuity,
if only by chance a person takes interest in a pure devotee’s instruction,
he can be accepted and can advance in devotional service. Anyway, for persons
who have a natural taste for understanding books like Bhagavad-gétä
and Çrémad-Bhägavatam, devotional service is easier
than for those who are simply accustomed to mental speculation and argumentative
processes.
To support this statement there
are many authoritative assertions by the learned scholars of bygone ages.
According to their general opinion, a person may become governed by certain
convictions derived by his own arguments and decisions. Then another person,
who may be a greater logician, will nullify these conclusions and establish
another thesis. In this way the path of argument will never be safe or
conclusive. Çrémad-Bhägavatam recommends, therefore,
that one follow in the footsteps of the authorities.
Here is a general description of
devotional service given by Çré Rüpa Gosvämé
in his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu. Previously, it has been stated
that devotional service can be divided into three categories—namely devotional
service in practice, devotional service in ecstasy and devotional service
in pure love of God. Now Çré Rüpa Gosvämé
proposes to describe devotional service in practice.
Practice means employing our senses
in some particular type of work. Therefore devotional service in practice
means utilizing our different sensory organs in service to Kåñëa.
Some of the senses are meant for acquiring knowledge, and some are meant
for executing the conclusions of our thinking, feeling and willing. So
practice means employing both the mind and the senses in practical devotional
service. This practice is not for developing something artificial. For
example, a child learns or practices to walk. This walking is not unnatural.
The walking capacity is there originally in the child, and simply by a
little practice he walks very nicely. Similarly, devotional service to
the Supreme Lord is the natural instinct of every living entity. Even uncivilized
men like the aborigines offer their respectful obeisances to something
wonderful exhibited by nature’s law, and they appreciate that behind some
wonderful exhibition or action there is something supreme. So this consciousness,
though lying dormant in those who are materially contaminated, is found
in every living entity. And, when purified, this is called Kåñëa
consciousness.
There are certain prescribed methods
for employing our senses and mind in such a way that our dormant consciousness
for loving Kåñëa will be invoked, as much as the child,
with a little practice, can begin to walk. One who has no basic walking
capacity cannot walk by practice. Similarly, Kåñëa consciousness
cannot be aroused simply by practice. Actually there is no such practice.
When we wish to develop our innate capacity for devotional service, there
are certain processes which, by our accepting and executing them, will
cause that dormant capacity to be invoked. Such practice is called sädhana-bhakti.
Every living entity under the spell
of material energy is held to be in an abnormal condition of madness. In
Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is said, “Generally, the conditioned
soul is mad, because he is always engaged in activities which are the causes
of bondage and suffering.” Spirit soul in his original condition is joyful,
blissful, eternal and full of knowledge. Only by his implication in material
activities has he become miserable, temporary and full of ignorance. This
is due to vikarma. Vikarma means “actions which should not be done.” Therefore,
we must practice sädhana-bhakti—which means to offer maìgala-ärati
(Deity worship) in the morning, to refrain from certain material activities,
to offer obeisances to the spiritual master and to follow many other rules
and regulations which will be discussed here one after another. These practices
will help one become cured of madness. As a man’s mental disease is cured
by the directions of a psychiatrist, so this sädhana-bhakti cures
the conditioned soul of his madness under the spell of mäyä,
material illusion.
Närada Muni mentions this sädhana-bhakti
in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Seventh Canto, First Chapter,
verse 32. He says there to King Yudhiñöhira, “My dear King,
one has to fix his mind on Kåñëa by any means.” That
is called Kåñëa consciousness. It is the duty of the
äcärya, the spiritual master, to find the ways and means for
his disciple to fix his mind on Kåñëa. That is the beginning
of sädhana-bhakti.
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu
has given us an authorized program for this purpose, centered around the
chanting of the Hare Kåñëa mantra. This chanting has
so much power that it immediately attaches one to Kåñëa.
That is the beginning of sädhana-bhakti. Somehow or other, one has
to fix his mind on Kåñëa. The great saint Ambaréña
Mahäräja, although a responsible king, fixed his mind on Kåñëa,
and similarly anyone who tries to fix his mind in this way will very rapidly
make progress in successfully reviving his original Kåñëa
consciousness.
Now this sädhana-bhakti, or
practice of devotional service, may also be divided into two parts. The
first part is called service according to 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 argument. Another part of sädhana-bhakti is called rägänugä.
Rägänugä refers to the point at which, by following the
regulative principles, one becomes a little more attached to Kåñëa
and executes devotional service out of natural love. For example, a person
engaged in devotional service may be ordered to rise early in the morning
and offer ärati, which is a form of Deity worship. In the beginning,
by the order of his spiritual master, one rises early in the morning and
offers ärati, but then he develops real attachment. When he gets this
attachment, he automatically tries to decorate the Deity and prepare different
kinds of dresses and thinks of different plans to execute his devotional
service nicely. Although it is within the category of practice, this offering
of loving service is spontaneous. So the practice of devotional service,
sädhana-bhakti, can be divided into two parts—namely, regulative and
spontaneous.
Rüpa Gosvämé 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.”
These principles of vaidhi-bhakti
are also described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Second Canto,
First Chapter, verse 5, where Çukadeva Gosvämé instructs
the dying Mahäräja Parékñit as to his course of
action. Mahäräja Parékñit met Çukadeva Gosvämé
just a week before his death, and the King was perplexed as to what should
be done before he was to pass on. Many other sages also arrived there,
but no one could give him the proper direction. Çukadeva Gosvämé,
however, gave this direction to him as follows: “My dear King, if you want
to be fearless in meeting your death next week (for actually everyone is
afraid at the point of death), then you must immediately begin the process
of hearing and chanting and remembering God.” If one can chant and hear
Hare Kåñëa and always remember Lord Kåñëa,
then he is sure to become fearless of death, which may come at any moment.
In the statements of Çukadeva
Gosvämé it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is Kåñëa. Therefore Çukadeva recommends that one
should always hear about Kåñëa. He does not recommend
that one hear and chant about the demigods. The Mäyävädés
(impersonalists) say that one may chant any name, either that of Kåñëa
or those of the demigods, and the result will be the same. But actually
this is not a fact. According to the authorized version of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
one has to hear and chant about Lord Viñëu (Kåñëa)
only.
So Çukadeva Gosvämé
has recommended to Parékñit Mahäräja that in order
to be fearless of death, one has to hear and chant and remember the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, by all means. He also
mentions that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sarvätmä.
Sarvätmä means “the Supersoul of everyone.” Kåñëa
is also mentioned as éçvara, the supreme controller who is
situated in everyone’s heart. Therefore, if some way or other we become
attached to Kåñëa, He will make us free from all danger.
In Bhagavad-gétä it is said that anyone who becomes a devotee
of the Lord is never vanquished. Others, however, are always vanquished.
“Vanquished” means that after getting this human form of life, a person
does not come out of the entanglement of birth and death and thus misses
his golden opportunity. Such a person does not know where he is being thrown
by the laws of nature.
Suppose one does not develop Kåñëa
consciousness in this human form of life. He will be thrown into the cycle
of birth and death, involving 8,400,000 species of life, and his spiritual
identity will remain lost. One does not know whether he is going to be
a plant, or a beast, or a bird, or something like that, because there are
so many species of life. The recommendation of Rüpa Gosvämé
for reviving our original Kåñëa consciousness is that
somehow or other we should apply our minds to Kåñëa very
seriously and thus also become fearless of death. After death we do not
know our destination, because we are completely under the control of the
laws of nature. Only Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is controller over the laws of nature. Therefore, if we take shelter
of Kåñëa seriously, there will be no fear of being thrown
back into the cycle of so many species of life. A sincere devotee will
surely be transferred to the abode of Kåñëa, as affirmed
in Bhagavad-gétä.
In the Padma Puräëa, also,
the same process is advised. There it is said that one should always remember
Lord Viñëu. This is called dhyäna, or meditation—always
remembering Kåñëa. It is said that one has to meditate
with his mind fixed upon Viñëu. Padma Puräëa recommends
that one always fix his mind on the form of Viñëu by meditation
and not forget Him at any moment. And this state of consciousness is called
samädhi, or trance.
We should always try to mold the
activities of our lives in such a way that we will constantly remember
Viñëu, or Kåñëa. That is Kåñëa
consciousness. Whether one concentrates his mind on the four-handed form
of Viñëu or on the form of two-handed Kåñëa,
it is the same. The Padma Puräëa recommends: somehow or other
always think of Viñëu, without forgetting Him under any circumstances.
Actually this is the most basic of all regulative principles. For, when
there is an order from a superior about doing something, there is simultaneously
a prohibition. When the order is that one should always remember Kåñëa,
the prohibition is that one should never forget Him. Within this simple
order and prohibition, all regulative principles are found complete.
This regulative principle is applicable
to all varëas and äçramas, the castes and occupations
of life. There are four varëas, namely the brähmaëas (priests
and intellectuals), the kñatriyas (warriors and statesmen), the
vaiçyas (businessmen and farmers) and the çüdras (laborers
and servants). There are also four standard äçramas, namely
brahmacarya (student life), gåhastha (householder), vänaprastha
(retired) and sannyäsa (renounced). The regulative principles are
not only for the brahmacärés (celibate students) to follow,
but are applicable for all. It doesn’t matter whether one is a beginner—a
brahmacäré—or is very advanced—a sannyäsé. The
principle of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly
and not forgetting Him at any moment is meant to be followed by everyone
without fail.
If this injunction is followed,
then all other rules and regulations will automatically fall into line.
All other rules and regulations should be treated as assistants or servants
to this one basic principle. The injunctions of rules and regulations and
the resultant reactions are mentioned in the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Fifth Chapter, verses 2 and 3. Camasa Muni, one of the nine sages who came
to instruct King Nimi, addressed the King and said, “The four social orders,
namely the brähmaëas, the kñatriyas, the vaiçyas
and the çüdras, have come out of the different parts of the
universal form of the Supreme Lord as follows: the brähmaëas
have come out from the head, the kñatriyas have come out from the
arms, the vaiçyas have come out from the waist, and the çüdras
have come out from the legs. Similarly, the sannyäsés have
come out from the head, the vänaprasthas from the arms, the gåhasthas
from the waist and the brahmacärés from the legs.”
These different orders of society
and grades of spiritual advancement are conceived in terms of qualification.
It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä that the four social orders
and the four spiritual orders are created by the Lord Himself, in terms
of different individual qualities. As the different parts of the body have
different types of activities, so the social orders and spiritual orders
also have different types of activities in terms of qualification and position.
The target of these activities, however, is always the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä, “He is the supreme
enjoyer.” So, whether one is a brähmaëa or a çüdra,
one has to satisfy the Supreme Lord by one’s activities. This is also confirmed
in Çrémad-Bhägavatam by a verse which reads, “Everyone
must be engaged in his particular duty, but the perfection of such work
should be tested by how far the Lord is satisfied with such activities.”
The injunction herein is that one has to act according to his position,
and by such activities one must either satisfy the Supreme Personality
or else fall down from one’s position.
For example a brähmaëa,
who is born out of the head of the Lord, has as his business to preach
the transcendental Vedic sounds, or çabda-brahma. Because the brähmaëa
is the head, he has to preach the transcendental sound, and he also has
to eat on behalf of the Supreme Lord. According to Vedic injunctions, when
a brähmaëa eats it is to be understood that the Personality of
Godhead is eating through him. It is not, however, that the brähmaëa
should simply eat on behalf of the Lord and not preach the message of Bhagavad-gétä
to the world. Actually, one who preaches the message of the Gétä
is very dear to Kåñëa, as is confirmed in the Gétä
itself. Such a preacher is factually a brähmaëa, and thus by
feeding him one feeds the Supreme Lord directly.
Similarly, the kñatriya has
to protect people from the onslaughts of mäyä. That is his duty.
For example, as soon as Mahäräja Parékñit saw that
a black man was attempting to kill a cow, he immediately took his sword,
wanting to kill the black man, whose name was Kali. That is a kñatriya’s
duty. Violence is required in order to give protection. In Bhagavad-gétä
Lord Kåñëa directly gave His order to Arjuna to commit
violence on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, just to give protection
to the people in general.
The vaiçyas are meant for
producing agricultural products, trading them and distributing them. And
the working class, or çüdras, are those who haven’t the intelligence
of the brähmaëas or the kñatriyas or the vaiçyas,
and therefore they are meant to help these higher classes by bodily labor.
In this way, there is full cooperation and spiritual advancement among
all the different orders of society. And when there is no such cooperation,
the members of society will fall down. That is the present position in
the Kali-yuga, this age of quarrel. Nobody is doing his duty, and everyone
is simply puffed up by calling himself a brähmaëa (intellectual)
or a kñatriya (soldier or statesman). But actually such people are
without status. They are out of touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
because they are not Kåñëa conscious. Therefore, the
Kåñëa consciousness movement is intended to set the whole
of human society in proper condition, so that everyone will be happy and
take profit from developing Kåñëa consciousness.
Lord Çré Kåñëa
instructed Uddhava that by following the injunctions of the social and
spiritual orders of human society, one can satisfy the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and as a result of such satisfaction the whole society gets
all the necessities of life amply and without difficulty. This is because,
after all, the Supreme Personality of Godhead maintains all other living
entities. If the whole society performs its respective duties and remains
in Kåñëa consciousness, there is no doubt that all of
its members will live very peacefully and happily. Without wanting the
necessities of life, the whole world will be turned into Vaikuëöha,
a spiritual abode. Even without being transferred to the kingdom of God,
by following the injunctions of Çrémad-Bhägavatam and
prosecuting the duties of Kåñëa consciousness all human
society will be happy in all respects.
There is a similar statement by
Çré Kåñëa Himself to Uddhava, in the Eleventh
Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Twenty-seventh Chapter,
verse 49. The Lord says there, “My dear Uddhava, all persons are engaged
in activities, whether those indicated in the revealed scriptures or ordinary
worldly activities. If by the result of either of such activities they
worship Me in Kåñëa consciousness, then automatically
they become very happy within this world, as well as in the next. Of this
there is no doubt.” We can conclude from this statement by Kåñëa
that activities in Kåñëa consciousness will give everyone
all perfection in all desires.
Thus the Kåñëa
consciousness movement is so nice that there is no need of even designating
oneself brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya, çüdra,
brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha or sannyäsé.
Let everyone be engaged in whatever occupation he now has. Simply let him
worship Lord Kåñëa by the result of his activities in
Kåñëa consciousness. That will adjust the whole situation,
and everyone will be happy and peaceful within this world. In the Närada-païcarätra
the regulative principles of devotional service are described as follows:
“Any activities sanctioned in the revealed scriptures and aiming at the
satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are accepted by saintly
teachers as the regulative principles of devotional service. If one regularly
executes such service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the
direction of a bona fide spiritual master, then gradually he rises to the
platform of serving in pure love of God.”
Chapter Three
Eligibility of the Candidate for Accepting Devotional Service
On account of his association with
mahätmäs, or great souls one hundred-percent in the devotional
service of the Lord, one may attain a little bit of attraction for Çré
Kåñëa. But at the same time one may remain very much
attached to fruitive activities and material sense enjoyment and not be
prepared to undergo the different types of renunciation. Such a person,
if he has unflinching attraction to Kåñëa, becomes an
eligible candidate for discharging devotional service.
This attraction for Kåñëa
consciousness in association with pure devotees is the sign of great fortune.
It is confirmed by Lord Caitanya that only the fortunate persons, by the
mercy of both a bona fide spiritual master and Kåñëa,
will get the seed of devotional service. In this connection, Lord Kåñëa
says in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Eleventh Canto, Twentieth
Chapter, verse 8, “My dear Uddhava, only by exceptional fortune does someone
become attracted to Me. And even if one is not completely detached from
fruitive activities, or is not completely attached to devotional service,
such service is quickly effective.”
Devotees may be divided into three
classes. The devotee in the first or uppermost class is described as follows.
He is very expert in the study of relevant scriptures, and he is also expert
in putting forward arguments in terms of those scriptures. He can very
nicely present conclusions with perfect discretion and can consider the
ways of devotional service in a decisive way. He understands perfectly
that the ultimate goal of life is to attain to the transcendental loving
service of Kåñëa, and he knows that Kåñëa
is the only object of worship and love. This first-class devotee is one
who has strictly followed the rules and regulations under the training
of a bona fide spiritual master and has sincerely obeyed him in accord
with revealed scriptures. Thus, being fully trained to preach and become
a spiritual master himself, he is considered first class. The first-class
devotee never deviates from the principles of higher authority, and he
attains firm faith in the scriptures by understanding with all reason and
arguments. When we speak of arguments and reason, it means arguments and
reason on the basis of revealed scriptures. The first-class devotee is
not interested in dry speculative methods meant for wasting time. In other
words, one who has attained a mature determination in the matter of devotional
service can be accepted as the first-class devotee.
The second-class devotee has been
defined by the following symptoms: he is not very expert in arguing on
the strength of revealed scripture, but he has firm faith in the objective.
The purport of this description is that the second-class devotee has firm
faith in the procedure of devotional service unto Kåñëa,
but he may sometimes fail to offer arguments and decisions on the strength
of revealed scripture to an opposing party. But at the same time he is
still undaunted within himself as to his decision that Kåñëa
is the supreme object of worship.
The neophyte or third-class devotee
is one whose faith is not strong and who, at the same time, does not recognize
the decision of the revealed scripture. The neophyte’s faith can be changed
by someone else with strong arguments or by an opposite decision. Unlike
the second-class devotee, who also cannot put forward arguments and evidences
from the scripture, but who still has all faith in the objective, the neophyte
has no firm faith in the objective. Thus he is called the neophyte devotee.
Further classification of the neophyte
devotee is made in the Bhagavad-gétä. It is stated there that
four classes of men—namely those who are distressed, those who are in need
of money, those who are inquisitive and those who are wise—begin devotional
service and come to the Lord for relief in the matter of their respective
self-satisfaction. They go into some place of worship and pray to God for
mitigation of material distress, or for some economic development, or to
satisfy their inquisitiveness. And a wise man who simply realizes the greatness
of God is also counted among the neophytes. Such beginners can be elevated
to the second-class or first-class platform if they associate with pure
devotees.
An example of the neophyte class
is Mahäräja Dhruva. He was in need of his father’s kingdom and
therefore engaged himself in devotional service to the Lord. Then in the
end, when he was completely purified, he declined to accept any material
benediction from the Lord. Similarly, Gajendra was distressed and prayed
to Kåñëa for protection, after which he became a pure
devotee. Similarly Sanaka, Sanätana, Sananda and Sanat-kumära
were all in the category of wise, saintly persons, and they were also attracted
by devotional service. A similar thing happened to the assemblage in the
Naimiñäraëya Forest, headed by the sage Çaunaka.
They were inquisitive and were always asking Süta Gosvämé
about Kåñëa. Thus they achieved the association of a
pure devotee and became pure devotees themselves. So that is the way of
elevating oneself. In whatever condition one may be, if he is fortunate
enough to associate with pure devotees, then very quickly he is elevated
to the second-class or first-class platform.
These four types of devotees have
been described in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä, and
they have all been accepted as pious. Without becoming pious, no one can
come to devotional service. It is explained in Bhagavad-gétä
that only one who has continually executed pious activities and whose sinful
reactions in life have completely stopped can take to Kåñëa
consciousness. Others cannot. The neophyte devotees are classified into
four groups—the distressed, those in need of money, the inquisitive and
the wise—according to their gradations of pious activities. Without pious
activities, if a man is in a distressed condition he becomes an agnostic,
a communist or something like that. Because he does not firmly believe
in God, he thinks that he can adjust his distressed condition by totally
disbelieving in Him.
Lord Kåñëa, however,
has explained in the Gétä that out of these four types of neophytes,
the one who is wise is very dear to Him, because a wise man, if he is attached
to Kåñëa, is not seeking an exchange of material benefits.
A wise man who becomes attached to Kåñëa does not want
any return from Him, either in the form of relieving distress or in gaining
money. This means that from the very beginning his basic principle of attachment
to Kåñëa is, more or less, love. Furthermore, due to
his wisdom and study of çästras (scriptures), he can understand
also that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
that after many, many births, when one becomes actually wise, he surrenders
unto Väsudeva, knowing perfectly well that Kåñëa
(Väsudeva) is the origin and cause of all causes. Therefore, he sticks
to the lotus feet of Kåñëa and gradually develops love
for Him. Although such a wise man is very dear to Kåñëa,
the others are also accepted as very magnanimous, because even though they
are distressed or in need of money, they have come to Kåñëa
for satisfaction. Thus they are accepted as liberal, broad-minded mahätmäs.
Without being elevated to the position
of a jïäné, or wise man, one cannot stick to the principle
of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The less intelligent
or those whose intelligence has been taken away by the spell of mäyä
are attached to different demigods on account of the influence of the modes
of nature. The wise man is he who has thoroughly understood that he is
spirit soul and not simply a body. Because he realizes that he is spirit
and Kåñëa is the supreme spirit, he knows that his intimate
relationship should be with Kåñëa, not with this body.
The distressed and the man in want of money are in the material concept
of life, because distress and need of money are both in relationship with
this body. One who is inquisitive may be a little above the distressed
and the man in need of money, but still he is on the material platform.
But a wise man who seeks Kåñëa knows perfectly well that
he is spirit soul, or Brahman, and that Kåñëa is the
supreme spirit soul, or Parabrahman. He knows that the spirit soul, being
subordinate and finite, should always dovetail himself with the infinite
and supreme soul, Kåñëa. That is the relationship of
the wise man with Kåñëa.
It can be concluded that a person
who is freed from the bodily concept of life is an eligible candidate for
pure devotional service. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä
that after Brahman realization, when one is freed from material anxieties
and can see every living entity on an equal level, he is eligible to enter
into devotional service.
As stated before, there are three
kinds of happiness—material, spiritual and devotional. Devotional service
and the happiness due to its execution are not possible as long as one
is materially affected. If someone has desire for material enjoyment or
for becoming one with the Supreme, these are both considered material concepts.
Because the impersonalists cannot appreciate the spiritual happiness of
association and the exchange of loving affairs with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, their ultimate goal is to become one with the Lord. This concept
is simply an extension of the material idea. In the material world, everyone
is trying to be the topmost head man among all his fellow men or neighbors.
Either communally, socially or nationally, everyone is competing to be
greater than all others, in the material concept of life. This greatness
can be extended to the unlimited, so that one actually wants to become
one with the greatest of all, the Supreme Lord. This is also a material
concept, although maybe a little more advanced.
However, the perfect spiritual concept
of life is complete knowledge of one’s constitutional position, in which
one knows enough to dovetail himself in the transcendental loving service
of the Lord. One must know that he is finite and that the Lord is infinite.
Thus it is not possible to actually become one with the Lord even if one
aspires for this. It is simply not possible. Therefore, anyone who has
any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and
more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense,
cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service. Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé has therefore compared possessing these bhukti
(material) and mukti (liberation) desires with being influenced by the
black art of a witch: in both cases one is in trouble. Bhukti means material
enjoyment, and mukti means to become freed from material anxiety and to
become one with the Lord. These desires are compared to being haunted by
ghosts and witches, because while these aspirations for material enjoyment
or spiritual oneness with the Supreme remain, no one can relish the actual
transcendental taste of devotional service.
A pure devotee never cares for liberation.
Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu prayed to Kåñëa, “My dear
son of Nanda, I do not want any material happiness in the shape of many
followers, nor immense opulence in wealth, nor any beautiful wife, nor
do I want cessation from material existence. I may take birth many times,
one after another, but what I pray from You is that my devotion unto You
may always remain unflinching.”
The attention of a pure devotee
is so much attracted to glorification of the Lord’s pastimes, name, qualities,
forms, etc., that the devotee does not care for mukti. Çré
Bilvamaìgala Öhäkura has said, “If I am engaged in devotional
service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence
everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think liberation stands
at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me.” To pure devotees, therefore,
liberation and spiritual emancipation are not very important things.
In this connection, in the Third
Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Chapter Twenty-five, verse
36, Kapiladeva has advised His mother, Devahüti, as follows: “My dear
mother, My pure devotees are charmed by seeing My different forms, the
beauty of My face, the structure of My body so enchanting. My laughing,
My pastimes and My glance appear to them so beautiful that their minds
are always absorbed in thoughts of Me and their lives are dedicated fully
unto Me. Although such people do not desire any kind of liberation or any
kind of material happiness, still I give them a place among My associates
in the supreme abode.”
This evidence from Çrémad-Bhägavatam
gives assurance to the pure devotee of being elevated to association with
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
remarks in this connection that one who is actually attracted by the beauty
of the lotus feet of Çré Kåñëa or His service,
and whose heart, by such attraction, is always full with transcendental
bliss, will naturally never aspire after the liberation which is so valuable
to the impersonalists.
A similar passage is also there
in the Third Canto, Fourth Chapter, verse 15, of the same book, wherein
Uddhava addresses Lord Kåñëa and says, “My dear Lord,
for persons who are engaged in Your transcendental loving service there
is nothing worth obtaining from religiousness, economic development, sense
gratification or liberation—although happiness from these different sources
can be very easily had by them. In spite of such facilities, my dear Lord,
I do not aspire to achieve any such results. My only prayer is that I may
have unflinching faith and devotion unto Your lotus feet.”
A similar passage appears in the
Third Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter, verse 34, wherein Kapiladeva instructs
His mother and says, “My dear mother, devotees whose hearts are always
filled in the service of My lotus feet and who are prepared to do anything
for My satisfaction, especially those fortunate devotees who assemble together
to understand My qualities, pastimes and form and thus glorify Me congregationally
and derive transcendental pleasure therefrom, never desire to become one
with Me. And what to speak of becoming one with Me, if they are offered
a post like Mine in My abode, or opulence like Mine, or even personal association
with Me with similar bodily features, they refuse to accept, because they
are satisfied simply by being engaged in My devotional service.”
In Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Fourth Canto, Ninth Chapter, verse 10, King Dhruva says, “My dear Lord,
the transcendental pleasure derived by meditation upon Your lotus feet,
which is enjoyed by the pure devotees, cannot be approached by the transcendental
pleasure derived by the impersonalists through self-realization. So how
can the fruitive workers, who at most can aspire to promotion to the higher
heavenly planets, understand You, and how can they be described as enjoying
a happiness similar to the devotees’ happiness?”
Chapter Four
Devotional Service Surpasses All Liberation
How much a devotee is seriously attached
to the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be
understood from the statement of Mahäräja Påthu (Ädi-räja)
which is described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Fourth Canto,
Twentieth Chapter, verse 24. He prays to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
thus: “My dear Lord, if after taking liberation I have no chance of hearing
the glories of Your Lordship, glories chanted by pure devotees from the
core of their hearts in praise of Your lotus feet, and if I have no chance
for this honey of transcendental bliss, then I shall never ask for liberation
or this so-called spiritual emancipation. I shall simply always pray unto
Your Lordship that You may give me millions of tongues and millions of
ears, so that I can constantly chant and hear of Your transcendental glories.”
The impersonalists desire to merge
into the existence of the Supreme, but without keeping their individuality
they have no chance of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme
Lord. Because they have no idea of the transcendental form of the Supreme
Lord, there is no chance of their chanting and hearing of His transcendental
activities. In other words, unless one is already beyond liberation, one
cannot relish the transcendental glories of the Lord, nor can one understand
the transcendental form of the Lord.
A similar statement is found in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Fifth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter,
verse 44. Çukadeva Gosvämé addresses Parékñit
Mahäräja there and says, “The great soul King Bharata was so
much attached to the service of the lotus feet of Kåñëa
that he very easily gave up his lordship over the earthly planet and his
affection for his children, society, friends, royal opulence and beautiful
wife. He was so very lucky that the goddess of fortune was pleased to offer
him all kinds of material concessions, but he never accepted any of these
material opulences.” Çukadeva Gosvämé praises this behavior
of King Bharata very highly. He says, “Any person whose heart is attracted
by the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Madhusüdana, does not care even for that liberation which is aspired
to by many great sages, what to speak of material opulences.”
In the Bhägavatam, Sixth Canto,
Eleventh Chapter, verse 25, there is a similar statement by Våträsura,
who addresses the Lord as follows: “My dear Lord, by leaving Your transcendental
service I may be promoted to the planet called Dhruvaloka [the polestar],
or I may gain lordship over all the planetary systems of the universe.
But I do not aspire to this. Nor do I wish the mystic perfections of yoga
practice, nor do I aspire to spiritual emancipation. All I wish for, my
Lord, is Your association and transcendental service eternally.”
This statement is confirmed by Lord
Çiva in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Sixth Canto, Seventeenth
Chapter, verse 28, wherein Lord Çiva addresses Saté thus:
“My dear Saté, persons who are devoted to Näräyaëa
[Kåñëa] are not afraid of anything. If they are elevated
to the higher planetary systems, or if they get liberation from material
contamination, or if they are pushed down to the hellish condition of life—or,
in fact, in any situation whatever—they are not afraid of anything. Simply
because they have taken shelter of the lotus feet of Näräyaëa,
for them any position in the material world is as good as another.”
There is a similar statement by
Indra, the King of heaven, in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Sixth
Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, verse 74. There Indra addresses mother Diti
in this manner: “My dear mother, persons who have given up all kinds of
desire and are simply engaged in devotional service to the Lord know what
is actually their self-interest. Such persons are actually serving their
self-interests and are considered first-class experts in the matter of
advancing to the perfectional stage of life.”
In the Seventh Canto of the Bhägavatam,
Sixth Chapter, verse 25, Mahäräja Prahläda says, “My dear
friends born into atheistic families, if you can please the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Kåñëa, then there is nothing more rare in
this world. In other words, if the Supreme Lord Kåñëa
is pleased with you, then any desire you may have within the core of your
heart can be fulfilled without any doubt. As such, what is the use of elevating
yourself by the results of fruitive activities, which are automatically
achieved in all events by the modes of material nature? And what is the
use for you of spiritual emancipation or liberation from material bondage?
If you are always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord and
always relishing the nectar of the lotus feet of the Lord, then there is
no necessity for any of these.” By this statement of Prahläda Mahäräja
it is clearly understood that one who takes pleasure in chanting and hearing
the transcendental glories of the Lord has already surpassed all kinds
of material benedictions, including the results of pious fruitive activities,
sacrifices and even liberation from material bondage.
Similarly, in the same Seventh Canto,
Eighth Chapter, verse 42, when the demigods are offering prayers to Lord
Nåsiàha, Indra the King of heaven says, “O supreme one, these
demons talk of our share of participation in the performances of ritualistic
sacrifices, but simply by Your appearance as Lord Nåsiàhadeva
You have saved us from terrible fears. Actually, our shares in the sacrificial
performances are due to You only, because You are the supreme enjoyer of
all sacrifices. You are the Supersoul of every living entity, and therefore
You are the actual owner of everything. Long were our hearts always filled
with fear of this demon, Hiraëyakaçipu. But You are so kind
toward us that by killing him You have removed that fear from within our
hearts and have given us the chance to place Your Lordship within our hearts
again. For persons who are engaged in the transcendental loving service
of Your Lordship, all the opulences which were taken away from us by the
demons are counted as nothing. Devotees do not care even for liberation,
what to speak of these material opulences. Actually, we are not enjoyers
of the fruits of sacrifices. Our only duty is to always be engaged in Your
service, for You are the enjoyer of everything.”
The purport of this statement by
Indra is that beginning from Brahmä down to the insignificant ant,
no living entities are meant for enjoying the material opulences. They
are simply meant for offering everything to the supreme proprietor, the
Personality of Godhead. By doing so, they automatically enjoy the benefit.
The example can be cited again of the different parts of the body collecting
foodstuffs and cooking them so that ultimately a meal may be offered to
the stomach. After it has gone to the stomach, all the parts of the body
equally enjoy the benefit of the meal. So, similarly, everyone’s duty is
to satisfy the Supreme Lord, and then automatically everyone will become
satisfied.
A similar verse is found in the
Eighth Canto, Third Chapter, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, verse
20. Gajendra says there, “My dear Lord, I have no experience of the transcendental
bliss derived from Your devotional service, so therefore I have asked from
You some favor. But I know that persons who are pure devotees and have,
by serving the lotus feet of great souls, become freed from all material
desires, are always merged in the ocean of transcendental bliss and, as
such, are always satisfied simply by glorifying Your auspicious characteristics.
For them there is nothing else to aspire to or pray for.”
In the Ninth Canto of the Bhägavatam,
Fourth Chapter, verse 67, the Lord of Vaikuëöha replies to Durväsä
Muni thus: “My pure devotees are always satisfied being engaged in devotional
service, and therefore they do not aspire even after the five liberated
stages, which are (1) to be one with Me, (2) to achieve residence on My
planet, (3) to have My opulences, (4) to possess bodily features similar
to Mine and (5) to gain personal association with Me. So when they are
not interested even in these liberated positions, you can know how little
they care for material opulences or material liberation.”
There is a similar prayer by the
näga-patnés (wives of the Käliya serpent), in the Tenth
Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Sixteenth Chapter, verse
37. The näga-patnés say there, “Dear Lord, the dust of Your
lotus feet is very wonderful. Any person who is fortunate enough to achieve
this dust does not care for heavenly planets, lordship over all the planetary
systems, the mystic perfections of yoga, or even liberation from material
existence. In other words, anyone who adores the dust of Your lotus feet
does not care a fig for all other perfectional stages.”
There is a similar statement in
the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, verse 21, wherein the Çrutis,
the Vedas personified, pray to the Lord as follows: “Dear Lord, it is very
difficult to understand spiritual knowledge. Your appearance here, just
as You are, is to explain to us this most difficult subject of knowledge
of the spirit. As such, Your devotees who have left their domestic comforts
to associate with the liberated äcäryas [teachers] are now fully
merged in the devotional service of Your Lordship, and thus they do not
care for any so-called liberation.”
In explaining this verse it should
be noted that spiritual knowledge means understanding the self and the
Supersoul, or Superself. The individual soul and the Supersoul are qualitatively
one, and therefore both of them are known as Brahman, or spirit. But knowledge
of Brahman is very difficult to understand. There are so many philosophers
engaged in the matter of understanding the soul, but they are unable to
make any tangible advancement. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
that out of many millions of persons, only one may try to understand what
is spiritual knowledge, and out of many such persons who are trying to
understand, only one or a few may know what is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. So this verse says that spiritual knowledge is very difficult
to achieve, and so in order to make it more easily attainable, the Supreme
Lord Himself comes in His original form as Çré Kåñëa
and gives His instruction directly to an associate like Arjuna, just so
that the people in general may take advantage of this spiritual knowledge.
This verse also explains that liberation means having completely given
up all the material comforts of life. Those who are impersonalists are
satisfied by simply being liberated from the material circumstances, but
those who are devotees can automatically give up material life and also
enjoy the transcendental bliss of hearing and chanting the wonderful activities
of Lord Kåñëa.
In the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Twentieth Chapter, verse 34, Lord Kåñëa says to Uddhava,
“My dear Uddhava, the devotees who have completely taken shelter of My
service are so steadfast in devotional service that they have no other
desire. Even if they are offered the four kinds of spiritual opulences,*
they will refuse to accept them. So what to speak of their desiring anything
within the material world!” Similarly, Lord Kåñëa says
in another passage of the Bhägavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fourteenth Chapter,
verse 14, “My dear Uddhava, a person whose consciousness is completely
absorbed in My thought and activities does not aspire even to occupy the
post of Brahmä, or the post of Indra, or the post of lordship over
the planets, or the eight kinds of mystic perfections, or even liberation
itself.” In the Twelfth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Tenth Chapter, verse 6, Lord Çiva says to Devé, “My dear
Devé, this great brähmaëa sage Märkaëòeya
has attained unflinching faith and devotion unto the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and as such he does not aspire after any benedictions, including
liberation from the material world.”
Similarly, there is a statement
in Padma Puräëa describing the ritualistic function during the
month of Kärttika (October-November). During this month, in Våndävana
it is the regulative principle to pray daily to Lord Kåñëa
in His Dämodara form. The Dämodara form refers to Kåñëa
in His childhood when He was tied up with rope by His mother, Yaçodä.
Däma means “ropes,” and udara means “the abdomen.” So mother Yaçodä,
being very disturbed by naughty Kåñëa, bound Him round
the abdomen with a rope, and thus Kåñëa is named Dämodara.
During the month of Kärttika, Dämodara is prayed to as follows:
“My dear Lord, You are the Lord of all, the giver of all benedictions.”
There are many demigods, like Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva, who
sometimes offer benedictions to their respective devotees. For example,
Rävaëa was blessed with many benedictions by Lord Çiva,
and Hiraëyakaçipu was blessed by Lord Brahmä. But even
Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä depend upon the benedictions of Lord
Kåñëa, and therefore Kåñëa is addressed
as the Lord of all benefactors. As such, Lord Kåñëa can
offer His devotees anything they want, but still, the devotee’s prayer
continues, “I do not ask You for liberation or any material facility up
to the point of liberation. What I want as Your favor is that I may always
think of Your form in which I see You now, as Dämodara. You are so
beautiful and attractive that my mind does not want anything besides this
wonderful form.” In this same prayer, there is another passage, in which
it is said, “My dear Lord Dämodara, once when You were playing as
a naughty boy in the house of Nanda Mahäräja, You broke the box
containing yogurt, and because of that, mother Yaçodä considered
You an offender and tied You with rope to the household grinding mortar.
At that time You delivered two sons of Kuvera, Nalaküvara and Maëigréva,
who were staying there as two arjuna trees in the yard of Nanda Mahäräja.
My only request is that by Your merciful pastimes You may similarly deliver
me.”
The story behind this verse is that
the two sons of Kuvera (the treasurer of the demigods) were puffed up on
account of the opulence of their father, and so once on a heavenly planet
they were enjoying themselves in a lake with some naked damsels of heaven.
At that time the great saint Närada Muni was passing on the road and
was sorry to see the behavior of the sons of Kuvera. Seeing Närada
passing by, the damsels of heaven covered their bodies with cloth, but
the two sons, being drunkards, did not have this decency. Närada became
angry with their behavior and cursed them thus: “You have no sense, so
it is better if you become trees instead of the sons of Kuvera.” Upon hearing
this, the boys came to their senses and begged Närada to be pardoned
for their offenses. Närada then said, “Yes, you shall become trees,
arjuna trees, and you will stand in the courtyard of Nanda Mahäräja.
But Kåñëa Himself will appear in time as the foster son
of Nanda, and He will deliver you.” In other words, the curse of Närada
was a benediction to the sons of Kuvera because indirectly it was foretold
that they would be able to receive the favor of Lord Kåñëa.
After that, Kuvera’s two sons stood as two big arjuna trees in the courtyard
of Nanda Mahäräja until Lord Dämodara, in order to fulfill
the desire of Närada, dragged the grinding mortar to which He was
tied and struck the two trees, violently causing them to fall down. From
out of these fallen trees came Nalaküvara and Maëigréva,
who had by then become great devotees of the Lord.
There is a passage in the Hayaçérña-païcarätra
which states, “My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, I do not
want any resultant benediction from my religious life, nor do I want any
economic development, nor do I want to enjoy sense gratification, nor liberation.
I simply pray to be an eternal servant at Your lotus feet. Kindly oblige
me and give me this benediction.”
In the same Hayaçérña-païcarätra,
after Nåsiàhadeva wanted to give benedictions to Prahläda
Mahäräja, Prahläda did not accept any material benediction
and simply asked the favor of the Lord to remain His eternal devotee. In
this connection, Prahläda Mahäräja cited the example of
Hanumän, the eternal servitor of Lord Rämacandra, who also set
an example by never asking any material favor from the Lord. He always
remained engaged in the Lord’s service. That is the ideal character of
Hanumän, for which he is still worshiped by all devotees. Prahläda
Mahäräja also offered his respectful obeisances unto Hanumän.
There is a well-known verse spoken by Hanumän in which he says, “My
dear Lord, if You like You can give me salvation from this material existence,
or the privilege of merging into Your existence, but I do not wish any
of these things. I do not want anything which diminishes my relationship
with You as servant to master, even after liberation.”
In a similar passage in the Närada-païcarätra
it is stated, “My dear Lord, I do not wish any perfectional stage by performing
the ritualistic religious ceremonies or by economic development or by sense
gratification or liberation. I simply pray that You grant me the favor
of keeping me under Your lotus feet. I do not wish any kind of liberation
such as sälokya (to reside on Your planet) or särüpya (to
have the same bodily features as You). I simply pray for Your favor that
I may be always engaged in Your loving service.”
Similarly, in the Sixth Canto, Fourteenth
Chapter, verse 5, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Mahäräja
Parékñit inquires from Çukadeva Gosvämé,
“My dear brähmaëa, I understand that the demon Våträsura
was a greatly sinful person and that his mentality was completely absorbed
in the modes of passion and ignorance. How did he develop to such a perfectional
stage of devotional service to Näräyaëa? I have heard that
even great persons who have undergone severe austerities and who are liberated
with full knowledge must strive to become devotees of the Lord. It is understood
that such persons are very rare and almost never to be seen, so I am astonished
that Våträsura became such a devotee!”
In the above verse, the most important
thing to be noted is that there may be many liberated persons who have
merged into the existence of the impersonal Brahman, but a devotee of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Näräyaëa, is very, very
rare. Even out of millions of liberated persons, only one is fortunate
enough to become a devotee.
In Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
First Canto, Eighth Chapter, verse 20, Queen Kunté is praying to
Lord Kåñëa at the time of His departure, “My dear Kåñëa,
You are so great that You are inconceivable even to great stalwart scholars
and paramahaàsas [fully liberated souls]. So if such great sages,
who are transcendental to all the reactions of material existence, are
unable to know You, then as far as we are concerned, belonging to the less
intelligent woman class, how is it possible for us to know Your glories?
How can we understand You?” In this verse, the particular thing to be noted
is that the Personality of Godhead is not understood by great liberated
persons, but only by devotees such as Queen Kunté in her humbleness.
Although she was a woman and was considered less intelligent than a man,
still she realized the glories of Kåñëa. That is the
purport of this verse.
Another passage which is very important
is in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, First Canto, Seventh Chapter,
verse 10, and is called “the ätmäräma verse.” In this ätmäräma
verse it is stated that even those who are completely liberated from material
contamination are attracted by the transcendental qualities of Lord Kåñëa.*
The purport of this verse is that a liberated soul has absolutely no desire
at all for material enjoyment; he is wholly freed from all kinds of material
desires, yet still he is irresistibly attracted by the desire to hear and
understand the pastimes of the Lord. We may therefore conclude that the
glories and pastimes of the Lord are not material. Otherwise, how could
the liberated persons known as ätmärämas be attracted by
such pastimes? That is the important point in this verse.
From the above statement it is found
that a devotee is not after any of the stages of liberation. There are
five stages of liberation, already explained as being (1) to become one
with the Lord, (2) to live on the same planet as the Lord, (3) to obtain
the same bodily features as the Lord, (4) to have the same opulences as
the Lord and (5) to have constant association with the Lord. Out of these
five liberated stages, the one which is known as säyujya, or to merge
into the existence of the Lord, is the last to be accepted by a devotee.
The other four liberations, although not desired by devotees, still are
not against the devotional ideals. Some of the liberated persons who have
achieved these four stages of liberation may also develop affection for
Kåñëa and be promoted to the Goloka Våndävana
planet in the spiritual sky. In other words, those who are already promoted
to the Vaikuëöha planets and who possess the four kinds of liberation
may also sometimes develop affection for Kåñëa and become
promoted to Kåñëaloka.
So those who are in the four liberated
states may still be going through different stages of existence. In the
beginning they may want the opulences of Kåñëa, but at
the mature stage the dormant love for Kåñëa exhibited
in Våndävana becomes prominent in their hearts. As such, the
pure devotees never accept the liberation of säyujya, to become one
with the Supreme, though sometimes they may accept as favorable the other
four liberated states.
Out of many kinds of devotees of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the one who is attracted to the original
form of the Lord, Kåñëa in Våndävana, is considered
to be the foremost, first-class devotee. Such a devotee is never attracted
by the opulences of Vaikuëöha, or even of Dvärakä,
the royal city where Kåñëa ruled. The conclusion of Çré
Rüpa Gosvämé is that the devotees who are attracted by
the pastimes of the Lord in Gokula, or Våndävana, are the topmost
devotees.
A devotee who is attached to a particular
form of the Lord does not wish to redirect his devotion to other forms.
For example, Hanumän, the devotee of Lord Rämacandra, knew that
there is no difference between Lord Rämacandra and Lord Näräyaëa,
and yet he still wanted to render service only unto Lord Rämacandra.
That is due to the specific attraction of a particular devotee. There are
many, many forms of the Lord, but Kåñëa is still the
original form. Though all of the devotees of the different forms of the
Lord are in the same category, still it is said that those who are devotees
of Lord Kåñëa are the topmost in the list of all devotees.
NoD 5: The Purity of Devotional
Service
Chapter Five
The Purity of Devotional Service
All of the previous instructions
imparted by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé in his broad
statements can be summarized thus: as long as one is materially inclined
or desirous of merging into the spiritual effulgence, one cannot enter
into the realm of pure devotional service. Next, Rüpa Gosvämé
states that devotional service is transcendental to all material considerations
and that it is not limited to any particular country, class, society or
circumstance. As stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, devotional
service is transcendental and has no cause. Devotional service is executed
without any hope for gain, and it cannot be checked by any material circumstances.
It is open for all, without any distinction, and it is the constitutional
occupation of the living entities.
In the Middle Ages, after the disappearance
of Lord Caitanya’s great associate Lord Nityänanda, a class of priestly
persons claimed to be the descendants of Nityänanda, calling themselves
the gosvämé caste. They further claimed that the practice and
spreading of devotional service belonged only to their particular class,
which was known as Nityänanda-vaàça. In this way, they
exercised their artificial power for some time, until Çréla
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura, the powerful äcärya
of the Gauòéya Vaiñëava sampradäya, completely
smashed their idea. There was a great hard struggle for some time, but
it has turned out successfully, and it is now correctly and practically
established that devotional service is not restricted to a particular class
of men. Besides that, anyone who is engaged in devotional service is already
at the status of being a high-class brähmaëa. So Çréla
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura’s struggle for
this movement has come out successful.
It is on the basis of his position
that anyone can now become a Gauòéya Vaiñëava,
from any part of the world or any part of the universe. Anyone who is a
pure Vaiñëava is situated transcendentally, and therefore the
highest qualification in the material world, namely to be in the mode of
goodness, has already been achieved by such a person. Our Kåñëa
consciousness movement in the Western world is based on the above-mentioned
proposition of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté
Gosvämé Prabhupäda, our spiritual master. On his authority,
we are claiming members from all sections of the Western countries. The
so-called brähmaëas claim that one who is not born into a brähmaëa
family cannot receive the sacred thread and cannot become a high-grade
Vaiñëava. But we do not accept such a theory, because it is
not supported by Rüpa Gosvämé nor by the strength of the
various scriptures.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
specifically mentions herein that every man has the birthright to accept
devotional service and to become Kåñëa conscious. He
has given many evidences from many scriptures, and he has especially quoted
one passage from Padma Puräëa, wherein the sage Vasiñöha
tells King Dilépa, “My dear King, everyone has the right to execute
devotional service, just as he has the right to take early bath in the
month of Mägha [December-January].” There is more evidence in the
Skanda Puräëa, in the Käçé-khaëòa
portion, where it is said, “In the country known as Mayüradhvaja,
the lower-caste people who are considered less than çüdras
are also initiated in the Vaiñëava cult of devotional service.
And when they are properly dressed, with tilaka on their bodies and beads
in their hands and on their necks, they appear to be coming from Vaikuëöha.
In fact, they look so very beautiful that immediately they surpass the
ordinary brähmaëas.”
Thus a Vaiñëava automatically
becomes a brähmaëa. This idea is also supported by Sanätana
Gosvämé in his book Hari-bhakti-viläsa, which is the Vaiñëava
guide. Therein he has clearly stated that any person who is properly initiated
into the Vaiñëava cult certainly becomes a brähmaëa,
as much as the metal known as kaàsa (bell metal) is turned into
gold by the mixture of mercury. A bona fide spiritual master, under the
guidance of authorities, can turn anyone to the Vaiñëava cult
so that naturally he may come to the topmost position of a brähmaëa.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
warns, however, that if a person is properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual
master, he should not think that simply by the acceptance of such initiation
his business is then finished. One still has to follow the rules and regulations
very carefully. If after accepting the spiritual master and being initiated
one does not follow the rules and regulations of devotional service, then
he is again fallen. One must be very vigilant to remember that he is the
part and parcel of the transcendental body of Kåñëa,
and that it is his duty as part and parcel to give service to the whole,
or Kåñëa. If we do not render service to Kåñëa
then again we fall down. In other words, simply becoming initiated does
not elevate one to the position of a high-class brähmaëa. One
also has to discharge the duties and follow the regulative principles very
rigidly.
Çré Rüpa Gosvämé
also says that if one is regularly discharging devotional service, there
will be no question of a falldown. But even if circumstantially there is
some falldown, the Vaiñëava need have nothing to do with the
präyaçcitta, the ritualistic ceremony for purification. If
someone falls down from the principles of devotional service, he need not
take to the präyaçcitta performances for reformation. He simply
has to execute the rules and regulations for discharging devotional service,
and this is sufficient for his reinstatement. This is the mystery of the
Vaiñëava (devotional) cult.
Practically there are three processes
for elevating one to the platform of spiritual consciousness. These processes
are called karma, jïäna and bhakti. Ritualistic performances
are in the field of karma. Speculative processes are in the field of jïäna.
One who has taken to bhakti, the devotional service of the Lord, need have
nothing to do with karma or jïäna. It has been already explained
that pure devotional service is without any tinge of karma or jïäna.
Bhakti should have no tinge of philosophical speculation or ritualistic
performances.
In this connection Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé gives evidence from Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Eleventh Canto, Twenty-first Chapter, verse 2, in which Lord Kåñëa
says to Uddhava, “The distinction between qualification and disqualification
may be made in this way: persons who are already elevated in discharging
devotional service will never again take shelter of the processes of fruitive
activity or philosophical speculation. If one sticks to devotional service
and is conducted by regulative principles given by the authorities and
äcäryas, that is the best qualification.”
This statement is supported in Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
First Canto, Fifth Chapter, verse 17, wherein Çré Närada
Muni advises Vyäsadeva thus: “Even if one does not execute his specific
occupational duty, but immediately takes direct shelter of the lotus feet
of Hari [Kåñëa], there will be no fault on his part,
and in all circumstances his position is secure. Even if, by some bad association,
he falls down while executing devotional service, or if he doesn’t finish
the complete course of devotional service and dies untimely, still he is
not at a loss. A person who is simply discharging his occupational duty
in varëa and äçrama, however, with no Kåñëa
consciousness, practically does not gain the true benefit of human life.”
The purport is that all conditioned souls who are engaged very frantically
in activities for sense gratification, without knowing that this process
will never help them get out of material contamination, are awarded only
with repeated births and deaths.
In the Fifth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam
it is clearly stated by Åñabhadeva to His sons, “Persons engaged
in fruitive activities are repeatedly accepting birth and death, and until
they develop a loving feeling for Väsudeva, there will be no question
of getting out from these stringent laws of material nature.” As such,
any person who is very seriously engaged in his occupational duties in
the varëas and äçramas, and who does not develop love
for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva, should be understood
to be simply spoiling his human form of life.
This is confirmed also in the Eleventh
Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Eleventh Chapter, verse
32, in which the Lord says to Uddhava, “My dear Uddhava, any person who
takes shelter of Me in complete surrender and follows My instructions,
giving up all occupational duties, is to be considered the first-class
man.” In this statement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is understood
that people who are generally attracted to philanthropic, ethical, moral,
altruistic, political and social welfare activities may be considered nice
men only in the calculation of the material world. From Çrémad-Bhägavatam
and other authentic Vedic scriptures we learn further that if a person
simply acts in Kåñëa consciousness and discharges devotional
service, he is considered to be far, far better situated than all of those
persons engaged in philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic and social
welfare activities.
The same thing is still more emphatically
confirmed in Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fifth
Chapter, verse 41, in which Karabhäjana Muni addresses Mahäräja
Nimi as follows: “My dear King, if someone gives up his occupational duties
as they are prescribed for the different varëas and äçramas,
but takes complete shelter, surrendering himself unto the lotus feet of
the Lord, such a person is no more a debtor, nor has he any obligation
to perform the different kinds of activities we render to the great sages,
ancestors, living entities and family and society members. Nor has he any
need to bother executing the five kinds of yajïäs [sacrifices]
for becoming free from sinful contamination. Simply by discharging devotional
service, he is freed from all kinds of obligations.” The purport is that
as soon as a man takes his birth, he is immediately indebted to so many
sources. He is indebted to the great sages because he profits by reading
their authoritative scriptures and books. For example, we take advantage
of the books written by Vyäsadeva. Vyäsadeva has left for us
all the Vedas. Before Vyäsadeva’s writing, the Vedic literature was
simply heard, and the disciples would learn the mantras quickly by hearing
and not by reading. Later on, Vyäsadeva thought it wise to write down
the Vedas, because in this age people are short-memoried and unable to
remember all the instructions given by the spiritual master. Therefore,
he left all the Vedic knowledge in the form of books, such as the Puräëas,
Vedänta, Mahäbhärata and Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
There are many other sages, like
Çaìkaräcärya, Gautama Muni and Närada Muni,
to whom we are indebted because we take advantage of their knowledge. Similarly,
we are obliged to our forefathers, because we take our birth in a particular
family, where we take all advantages and inherit property. Therefore, we
are indebted to the forefathers and have to offer them piëòa
(prasäda) after they are dead. Similarly, to the people in general
we are also indebted, as well as to our relatives, friends and even animals
such as cows and dogs who render us so much service.
In this way, we are indebted to
the demigods, to the forefathers, to the sages, to the animals and to society
in general. It is our duty to repay them all by proper discharge of service.
But by the one stroke of devotional service, if someone gives up all obligations
and simply surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is no
longer a debtor, nor obliged to any other source of benefit.
In Bhagavad-gétä also,
the Lord says, “Give up all your occupations and just become surrendered
unto Me. I give you assurance that I shall give you protection from all
sinful reactions.” One may think that because he is surrendering unto the
Supreme Personality of Godhead he will not be able to perform all of his
other obligations. But the Lord says repeatedly, “Don’t hesitate. Don’t
consider that because you are giving up all other engagements there will
be some flaw in your life. Don’t think like that. I will give you all protection.”
That is the assurance of Lord Kåñëa in Bhagavad-gétä.
There is additional evidence in
the Agastya-saàhitä: “As the regulative principles of scripture
are not required by a liberated person, so the ritualistic principles indicated
in the Vedic supplements are also not required for a person duly engaged
in the service of Lord Rämacandra.” In other words, the devotees of
Lord Rämacandra, or Kåñëa, are already liberated
persons and are not required to follow all the regulative principles mentioned
in the ritualistic portions of the Vedic literature.
Similarly, in the Eleventh Canto
of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Fifth Chapter, verse 42, Karabhäjana
Muni addresses King Nimi and says, “My dear King, a person who has given
up the worship of the demigods and has completely concentrated his energy
in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has become
very, very dear to the Lord. As such, if by chance or mistake he does something
which is forbidden, there is no need for him to perform any purificatory
ceremonies. Because the Lord is situated within his heart, He takes compassion
for the devotee’s accidental mistake and corrects him from within.” It
is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä in many places that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, takes a special
interest in His devotees and declares emphatically that nothing can cause
His devotees to fall down. He is always protecting them.
NoD 6: How to Discharge Devotional
Service
Chapter Six
How to Discharge Devotional Service
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
states that his elder brother (Sanätana Gosvämé) has compiled
Hari-bhakti-viläsa for the guidance of the Vaiñëavas and
therein has mentioned many rules and regulations to be followed by the
Vaiñëavas. Some of them are very important and prominent, and
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé will now mention these
very important items for our benefit. The purport of this statement is
that Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé proposes to mention
only basic principles, not details. For example, a basic principle is that
one has to accept a spiritual master. Exactly how one follows the instructions
of his spiritual master is considered a detail. For example, if one is
following the instruction of his spiritual master and that instruction
is different from the instructions of another spiritual master, this is
called detailed information. But the basic principle of acceptance of a
spiritual master is good everywhere, although the details may be different.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé does not wish to enter
into details here, but wants to place before us only the principles.
He mentions the basic principles
as follows: (1) accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide
spiritual master, (2) becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning
how to discharge devotional service from him, (3) obeying the orders of
the spiritual master with faith and devotion, (4) following in the footsteps
of great äcäryas (teachers) under the direction of the spiritual
master, (5) inquiring from the spiritual master how to advance in Kåñëa
consciousness, (6) being prepared to give up anything material for the
satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa
(this means that when we are engaged in the devotional service of Kåñëa,
we must be prepared to give up something which we may not like to give
up, and also we have to accept something which we may not like to accept),
(7) residing in a sacred place of pilgrimage like Dvärakä or
Våndävana, (8) accepting only what is necessary, or dealing
with the material world only as far as necessary, (9) observing the fasting
day on Ekädaçé and (10) worshiping sacred trees like
the banyan tree.
These ten items are preliminary
necessities for beginning the discharge of devotional service in regulative
principles. In the beginning, if a neophyte devotee observes the above-mentioned
ten principles, surely he will quickly make good advancement in Kåñëa
consciousness.
The next set of instructions is
listed as follows: (1) One should rigidly give up the company of nondevotees.
(2) One should not instruct a person who is not desirous of accepting devotional
service. (3) One should not be very enthusiastic about constructing costly
temples or monasteries. (4) One should not try to read too many books,
nor should one develop the idea of earning his livelihood by lecturing
on or professionally reciting Çrémad-Bhägavatam or Bhagavad-gétä.
(5) One should not be neglectful in ordinary dealings. (6) One should not
be under the spell of lamentation in loss or jubilation in gain. (7) One
should not disrespect the demigods. (8) One should not give unnecessary
trouble to any living entity. (9) One should carefully avoid the various
offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord or in worshiping the Deity
in the temple. (10) One should be very intolerant toward the blasphemy
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, or His
devotees.
Without following the above-mentioned
ten principles, one cannot properly elevate himself to the platform of
sädhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice. Altogether, Çréla
Rüpa Gosvämé mentions twenty items, and all of them are
very important. Out of the twenty, the first three—namely accepting the
shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, taking initiation from him and
serving him with respect and reverence—are the most important.
The next important items are as
follows: (1) One should decorate the body with tilaka, which is the sign
of the Vaiñëavas. (The idea is that as soon as a person sees
these marks on the body of the Vaiñëava, he will immediately
remember Kåñëa. Lord Caitanya said that a Vaiñëava
is he who, when seen, reminds one of Kåñëa. Therefore,
it is essential that a Vaiñëava mark his body with tilaka to
remind others of Kåñëa.) (2) In marking such tilaka,
sometimes one may write Hare Kåñëa on the body. (3) One
should accept flowers and garlands that have been offered to the Deity
and the spiritual master and put them on one’s body. (4) One should learn
to dance before the Deity. (5) One should learn to bow down immediately
upon seeing the Deity or the spiritual master. (6) As soon as one visits
a temple of Lord Kåñëa, one must stand up. (7) When the
Deity is being borne for a stroll in the street, a devotee should immediately
follow the procession. (In this connection it may be noted that in India,
especially in Viñëu temples, the system is that apart from
the big Deity who is permanently situated in the main area of the temple,
there is a set of smaller Deities which are taken in procession in the
evening. In some temples it is the custom to hold a big procession in the
evening with a band playing and a nice big umbrella over the Deities, who
sit on decorated thrones on the cart or palanquin, which is carried by
devotees. The Deities come out onto the street and travel in the neighborhood
while the people of the neighborhood come out to offer prasäda. The
residents of the neighborhood all follow the procession, so it is a very
nice scene. When the Deity is coming out, the servitors in the temple put
forward the daily accounts before Them: so much was the collection, so
much was the expenditure. The whole idea is that the Deity is considered
to be the proprietor of the whole establishment, and all the priests and
other people taking care of the temple are considered to be the servants
of the Deity. This system is very, very old and is still followed. So,
therefore, it is mentioned here that when the Deity is on stroll the people
should follow behind.) (8) A devotee must visit a Viñëu temple
at least once or twice every day, morning and evening. (In Våndävana
this system is followed very strictly. All the devotees in town go every
morning and evening to visit different temples. Therefore during these
times there are considerable crowds all over the city. There are about
five thousand temples in Våndävana city. Of course it is not
possible to visit all the temples, but there are at least one dozen very
big and important temples which were started by the Gosvämés
and which should be visited.) (9) One must circumambulate the temple building
at least three times. (In every temple there is an arrangement to go around
the temple at least three times. Some devotees go around more than three
times—ten times, fifteen times—according to their vows. The Gosvämés
used to circumambulate Govardhana Hill.) One should also circumambulate
the whole Våndävana area. (10) One must worship the Deity in
the temple according to the regulative principles. (Offering ärati
and prasäda, decorating the Deity, etc.—these things must be observed
regularly.) (11) One must render personal service to the Deities. (12)
One must sing. (13) One must perform saìkértana. (14) One
must chant. (15) One must offer prayers. (16) One must recite notable prayers.
(17) One must taste mahä-prasäda (food from the very plate offered
before the Deities). (18) One must drink caraëämåta (water
from the bathing of the Deities, which is offered to guests). (19) One
must smell the incense and flowers offered to the Deity. (20) One must
touch the lotus feet of the Deity. (21) One must see the Deity with great
devotion. (22) One must offer ärati (ärätrika) at different
times. (23) One must hear about the Lord and His pastimes from Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Bhagavad-gétä and similar books. (24) One must pray to the
Deity for His mercy. (25) One should remember the Deity. (26) One should
meditate upon the Deity. (27) One should render some voluntary service.
(28) One should think of the Lord as one’s friend. (29) One should offer
everything to the Lord. (30) One should offer a favorite article (such
as food or a garment). (31) One should take all kinds of risks and perform
all endeavors for Kåñëa’s benefit. (32) In every condition,
one should be a surrendered soul. (33) One should pour water on the tulasé
tree. (34) One should regularly hear Çrémad-Bhägavatam
and similar literature. (35) One should live in a sacred place like Mathurä,
Våndävana or Dvärakä. (36) One should offer service
to Vaiñëavas (devotees). (37) One should arrange one’s devotional
service according to one’s means. (38) In the month of Kärttika (October
and November), one should make arrangements for special services. (39)
During Janmäñöamé (the time of Kåñëa’s
appearance in this world) one should observe a special service. (40) One
should do whatever is done with great care and devotion for the Deity.
(41) One should relish the pleasure of Bhägavatam reading among devotees
and not among outsiders. (42) One should associate with devotees who are
considered more advanced. (43) One should chant the holy name of the Lord.
(44) One should live in the jurisdiction of Mathurä.
Now, the total regulative principles
come to an aggregate of sixty-four items. As we have mentioned, the first
are the primary ten regulative principles. Then come the secondary ten
regulative principles, and added to these are forty-four other activities.
So all together there are sixty-four items for discharging the regulative
practice of devotional service. Out of these sixty-four items, five items—namely
worshiping the Deity, hearing Çrémad-Bhägavatam, associating
among the devotees, saìkértana, and living in Mathurä—are
very important.
The sixty-four items of devotional
service should include all of our activities of body, mind and speech.
As stated in the beginning, the regulative principle of devotional service
enjoins that all of our senses must be employed in the service of the Lord.
Exactly how they can be thus employed is described in the above sixty-four
items. Now, Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé will give
evidence from different scriptures supporting the authenticity of many
of these points.
NoD 7: Evidence Regarding Devotional
Principles
Chapter Seven
Evidence Regarding Devotional Principles
Accepting the Shelter of a Bona
Fide Spiritual Master
In the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Third Chapter, verse 21, Prabuddha tells Mahäräja Nimi, “My dear
King, please know for certain that in the material world there is no happiness.
It is simply a mistake to think that there is happiness here, because this
place is full of nothing but miserable conditions. Any person who is seriously
desirous of achieving real happiness must seek out a bona fide spiritual
master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of a spiritual
master is that he must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by
deliberation and arguments and thus be able to convince others of these
conclusions. Such great personalities who have taken shelter of the Supreme
Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, are to be understood
as bona fide spiritual masters. Everyone should try to find such a bona
fide spiritual master in order to fulfill his mission of life, which is
to transfer himself to the plane of spiritual bliss.”
The purport is that one should not
accept as a spiritual master someone who is fool number one, who has no
direction according to the scriptural injunctions, whose character is doubtful,
who does not follow the principles of devotional service, or who has not
conquered the influence of the six sense-gratifying agents. The six agents
of sense gratification are the tongue, the genitals, the belly, anger,
the mind and words. Anyone who has practiced controlling these six is permitted
to make disciples all over the world. To accept such a spiritual master
is the crucial point for advancement in spiritual life. One who is fortunate
enough to come under the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master is sure
to traverse the path of spiritual salvation without any doubt.
Accepting Initiation from the Spiritual
Master and Receiving Instructions from Him
Sage Prabuddha continued to speak
to the King as follows: “My dear King, a disciple has to accept the spiritual
master not only as spiritual master, but also as the representative of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul. In other words, the
disciple should accept the spiritual master as God, because he is the external
manifestation of Kåñëa. This is confirmed in every scripture,
and a disciple should accept the spiritual master as such. One should learn
Çrémad-Bhägavatam seriously and with all respect and
veneration for the spiritual master. Hearing and speaking Çrémad-Bhägavatam
is the religious process which elevates one to the platform of serving
and loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
The attitude of the disciple should
be to satisfy the bona fide spiritual master. Then it will be very easy
for him to understand spiritual knowledge. This is confirmed in the Vedas,
and Rüpa Gosvämé will further explain that for a person
who has unflinching faith in God and the spiritual master, everything becomes
revealed very easily.
Serving the Spiritual Master with
Faith and Confidence
Regarding accepting initiation from
the spiritual master, in the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Seventeenth Chapter, verse 27, it is stated by Lord Kåñëa,
“My dear Uddhava, the spiritual master must be accepted not only as My
representative, but as My very self. He must never be considered on the
same level with an ordinary human being. One should never be envious of
the spiritual master, as one may be envious of an ordinary man. The spiritual
master should always be seen as the representative of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and by serving the spiritual master one is able to serve all
the demigods.”
Following in the Footsteps of Saintly
Persons
In the Skanda Puräëa it
is advised that a devotee follow the past äcäryas and saintly
persons, because by such following one can achieve the desired results,
with no chance of lamenting or being baffled in his progress.
The scripture known as Brahma-yämala
states as follows: “If someone wants to pose himself as a great devotee
without following the authorities of the revealed scriptures, then his
activities will never help him to make progress in devotional service.
Instead, he will simply create disturbances for the sincere students of
devotional service.” Those who do not strictly follow the principles of
revealed scriptures are generally called sahajiyäs—those who have
imagined everything to be cheap, who have their own concocted ideas, and
who do not follow the scriptural injunctions. Such persons are simply creating
disturbances in the discharge of devotional service.
In this connection, an objection
may be raised by those who are not in devotional service and who do not
care for the revealed scriptures. An example of this is seen in Buddhist
philosophy. Lord Buddha appeared in the family of a high-grade kñatriya
king, but his philosophy was not in accord with the Vedic conclusions and
therefore was rejected. Under the patronage of a Hindu king, Mahäräja
Açoka, the Buddhist religion was spread all over India and the adjoining
countries. However, after the appearance of the great stalwart teacher
Çaìkaräcärya, this Buddhism was driven out beyond
the borders of India.
The Buddhists or other religionists
who do not care for revealed scriptures sometimes say that there are many
devotees of Lord Buddha who show devotional service to Lord Buddha, and
who therefore should be considered devotees. In answer to this argument,
Rüpa Gosvämé says that the followers of Buddha cannot
be accepted as devotees. Although Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation
of Kåñëa, the followers of such incarnations are not
very advanced in their knowledge of the Vedas. To study the Vedas means
to come to the conclusion of the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead.
Therefore any religious principle which denies the supremacy of the Personality
of Godhead is not accepted and is called atheism. Atheism means defying
the authority of the Vedas and decrying the great äcäryas who
teach Vedic scriptures for the benefit of the people in general.
Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation
of Kåñëa in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
but in the same Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is stated that
Lord Buddha appeared in order to bewilder the atheistic class of men. Therefore
his philosophy is meant for bewildering the atheists and should not be
accepted. If someone asks, “Why should Kåñëa propagate
atheistic principles?” the answer is that it was the desire of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead to end the violence which was then being committed
in the name of the Vedas. The so-called religionists were falsely using
the Vedas to justify such violent acts as meat-eating, and Lord Buddha
came to lead the fallen people away from such a false interpretation of
the Vedas. Also, for the atheists Lord Buddha preached atheism so that
they would follow him and thus be tricked into devotional service to Lord
Buddha, or Kåñëa.
Inquiring About Eternal Religious
principles
In the Näradéya Puräëa
it is said, “If one is actually very serious about devotional service,
then all of his purposes will be served without any delay.”
Being Prepared to Give Up Everything
Material for Kåñëa’s Satisfaction
In the Padma Puräëa it
is stated, “For one who has given up his material sense enjoyment and has
accepted the principles of devotional service, the opulence of Viñëuloka
[the kingdom of God] is awaiting.”
Residing in a Sacred Place
In the Skanda Puräëa it
is also said that for a person who has lived in Dvärakä for six
months, for one month, or even for one fortnight, there is awaiting elevation
to the Vaikuëöhalokas and all the profits of särüpya-mukti
(the privilege of having the same four-handed bodily features as Näräyaëa).
In the Brahmä Puräëa
it is said, “The transcendental significance of Puruñottama-kñetra,
which is the eighty-square-mile field of Lord Jagannätha, cannot be
properly described. Even the demigods from higher planetary systems see
the inhabitants of this Jagannätha Puré as having exactly the
same bodily features possessed by one in Vaikuëöha. That is,
the demigods see the inhabitants of Jagannätha Puré as being
four-handed.”
When there was a meeting of great
sages at Naimiñäraëya, Süta Gosvämé was
reciting Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and the importance of the
Ganges was stated as follows: “The waters of the Ganges are always carrying
the flavor of tulasé offered at the lotus feet of Çré
Kåñëa, and as such the waters of the Ganges are ever
flowing, spreading the glories of Lord Kåñëa. Wherever
the waters of the Ganges are flowing, all will be sanctified, both externally
and internally.”
Accepting Only What Is Necessary
In the Näradéya Puräëa
it is directed, “One should not accept more than necessary if he is serious
about discharging devotional service.” The purport is that one should not
neglect following the principles of devotional service, nor should one
accept the rulings of devotional service which are more than what he can
easily perform. For example, it may be said that one should chant the Hare
Kåñëa mantra at least one hundred thousand times daily
on his beads. But if this is not possible, then one must minimize his chanting
according to his own capacity. Generally, we recommend our disciples to
chant at least sixteen rounds on their japa beads daily, and this should
be completed. But if one is not even able to chant sixteen rounds, then
he must make it up the next day. He must be sure to keep his vow. If he
does not strictly follow this out, then he is sure to be negligent. That
is offensive in the service of the Lord. If we encourage offenses, we shall
not be able to make progress in devotional service. It is better if one
fixes up a regulative principle according to his own ability and then follows
that vow without fail. That will make him advanced in spiritual life.
Observing Fasting on Ekädaçé
In the Brahma-vaivarta Puräëa
it is said that one who observes fasting on Ekädaçé
day is freed from all kinds of reactions to sinful activities and advances
in pious life. The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase
one’s faith and love for Govinda, or Kåñëa. The real
reason for observing fasting on Ekädaçé is to minimize
the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Lord
by chanting or performing similar service. The best thing to do on fasting
days is to remember the pastimes of Govinda and to hear His holy name constantly.
Offering Respect to the Banyan Trees
In the Skanda Puräëa it
is directed that a devotee should offer water to the tulasé plant
and ämalaka trees. He should offer respect to the cows and to the
brähmaëas and should serve the Vaiñëavas by offering
them respectful obeisances and meditating upon them. All of these processes
will help the devotee to diminish the reactions to his past sinful activities.
Giving Up the Company of Nondevotees
Lord Caitanya was once asked by
one of His householder devotees what the general behavior of a Vaiñëava
should be. In this connection, Lord Caitanya replied that a Vaiñëava
should always give up the company of nondevotees. Then He explained that
there are two kinds of nondevotees: one class is against the supremacy
of Kåñëa, and another class is too materialistic. In
other words, those who are after material enjoyment and those who are against
the supremacy of the Lord are called avaiñëava, and their company
should be strictly avoided.
In the Kätyäyana-saàhitä
it is stated that even if one is forced to live within a cage of iron or
in the midst of a blazing fire, he should accept this position rather than
live with nondevotees who are through and through against the supremacy
of the Lord. Similarly, in the Viñëu-rahasya there is a statement
to the effect that one should prefer to embrace a snake, a tiger or an
alligator rather than associate with persons who are worshipers of various
demigods and who are impelled by material desire.
In the scriptures it is instructed
that one may worship a certain demigod if he is desirous of achieving some
material gain. For example, one is advised to worship the sun-god if he
is desirous of getting rid of a diseased condition. For a beautiful wife,
one may worship Umä, the wife of Lord Çiva, and for advanced
education one may worship Sarasvaté. Similarly, there is a list
in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam for worshipers of all demigods,
according to different material desires. But all of these worshipers, although
they appear to be very good devotees of the demigods, are still considered
to be nondevotees. They cannot be accepted as devotees.
The Mäyävädés
(impersonalists) say that one may worship any form of the Lord and that
it doesn’t matter, because one reaches the same destination anyway. But
it is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gétä that those who are
worshipers of the demigods will ultimately reach only the planets of those
demigods, while those who are devotees of the Lord Himself will be promoted
to the Lord’s abode, the kingdom of God. So actually these persons who
are worshipers of demigods have been condemned in the Gétä.
It is described that due to their lusty desires they have lost their intelligence
and have therefore taken to worshiping the different demigods. So in the
Viñëu-rahasya these demigod worshipers are forcefully condemned
by the statement that it is better to live with the most dangerous animals
than to associate with these persons.
Not Accepting Unfit Disciples, Constructing
Many Temples or
Reading Many Books
Another stricture is that a person
may have many disciples, but he should not act in such a way that he will
be obliged to any of them for some particular action or some favor. And
one should also not be very enthusiastic about constructing new temples,
nor should one be enthusiastic about reading various types of books, save
and except the ones which lead to the advancement of devotional service.
Practically, if one very carefully reads Bhagavad-gétä, Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Teachings of Lord Caitanya and this Nectar of Devotion, that will give
him sufficient knowledge to understand the science of Kåñëa
consciousness. One need not take the trouble of reading other books.
In the Seventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Thirteenth Chapter, verse 8, Närada Muni, while discussing with Mahäräja
Yudhiñöhira the various functions of the different orders in
society, especially mentions rules for the sannyäsés, those
persons who have renounced this material world. One who has accepted the
sannyäsa order of life is forbidden to accept as a disciple anyone
who is not fit. A sannyäsé should first of all examine whether
a prospective student is sincerely seeking Kåñëa consciousness.
If he is not, he should not be accepted. However, Lord Caitanya’s causeless
mercy is such that He advised all bona fide spiritual masters to speak
about Kåñëa consciousness everywhere. Therefore, in the
line of Lord Caitanya even the sannyäsés can speak about Kåñëa
consciousness everywhere, and if someone is seriously inclined to become
a disciple, the sannyäsé always accepts him.
The one point is that without increasing
the number of disciples, there is no propagation of the cult of Kåñëa
consciousness. Therefore, sometimes even at a risk, a sannyäsé
in the line of Caitanya Mahäprabhu may accept even a person who is
not thoroughly fit to become a disciple. Later on, by the mercy of such
a bona fide spiritual master, the disciple is gradually elevated. However,
if one increases the number of disciples simply for some prestige or false
honor, he will surely fall down in the matter of executing Kåñëa
consciousness.
Similarly, a bona fide spiritual
master has no business reading many books simply to show his proficiency
or to get popularity by lecturing in different places. One should avoid
all these things. It is also stated that a sannyäsé should
not be enthusiastic about constructing temples. We can see in the lives
of various äcäryas in the line of Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu that they are not very enthusiastic about constructing
temples. However, if somebody comes forward to offer some service, the
same reluctant äcäryas will encourage the building of costly
temples by such servitors. For example, Rüpa Gosvämé was
offered a favor by Mahäräja Mänsiìgh, the commander-in-chief
of Emperor Akhbar, and Rüpa Gosvämé instructed him to
construct a large temple for Govindajé, which cost vast amounts
of money.
So a bona fide spiritual master
should not personally take any responsibility for constructing temples,
but if someone has money and wants to spend it in the service of Kåñëa,
an äcärya like Rüpa Gosvämé may utilize the
devotee’s money to construct a nice, costly temple for the service of the
Lord. Unfortunately, it happens that someone who is not fit to become a
spiritual master may approach wealthy persons to contribute for temple
constructions. If such money is utilized by unqualified spiritual masters
for living comfortably in costly temples without actually doing any preaching
work, this is not acceptable. In other words, a spiritual master needn’t
be very enthusiastic for constructing temple buildings simply in the name
of so-called spiritual advancement. Rather, his first and foremost activity
should be to preach. In this connection, Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja recommended that
a spiritual master print books. If one has money, instead of constructing
costly temples, one should spend his money for the publication of authorized
books in different languages for propagating the Kåñëa
consciousness movement.
Straightforwardness in Ordinary
Dealings and Equilibrium in Loss and Gain
There is a statement in the Padma
Puräëa: “Persons who are engaged in Kåñëa consciousness
should never be disturbed by some material gain or loss. Even if there
is some material loss, one should not be perturbed, but should always think
of Kåñëa within himself.” The purport is that every conditioned
soul is always absorbed in thinking of materialistic activities; he has
to free himself from such thoughts and transfer himself completely to Kåñëa
consciousness. As we have already explained, the basic principle of Kåñëa
consciousness is to always think of Kåñëa. One should
not be disturbed in material loss, but, rather, should concentrate his
mind upon the lotus feet of the Lord.
A devotee should not be subjected
to lamentation or illusion. There is the following statement in the Padma
Puräëa: “Within the heart of a person who is overpowered by lamentation
or anger, there is no possibility of Kåñëa’s being manifested.”
The Demigods
One should not neglect to offer
due respect to the demigods. One may not be a devotee of demigods, but
that does not mean that he should be disrespectful to them. For example,
a Vaiñëava is not a devotee of Lord Çiva or Lord Brahmä,
but he is duty-bound to offer all respects to such highly positioned demigods.
According to Vaiñëava philosophy, one should offer respect
even to an ant, so then what is there to speak of such exalted persons
as Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä?
In the Padma Puräëa it
is said, “Kåñëa, or Hari, is the master of all demigods,
and therefore He is always worshipable. But this does not mean that one
should not offer respect to the demigods.”
Not Giving Pain to Any Living Entity
This is the statement of Mahäbhärata:
“A person who does not disturb or cause painful action in the mind of any
living entity, who treats everyone just like a loving father does his children,
whose heart is so pure, certainly very soon becomes favored by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.”
In so-called civilized society there
is sometimes agitation against cruelty to animals, but at the same time
regular slaughterhouses are always maintained. A Vaiñëava is
not like that. A Vaiñëava can never support animal slaughter
or even give pain to any living entity.
NoD 8: Offenses to Be Avoided
Chapter Eight
Offenses to Be Avoided
In the supplementary Vedic literature,
there is the following list of thirty-two offenses in the matter of serving
the Lord: (1) One should not enter the temple of the Deity in a car or
palanquin or with shoes on the feet. (2) One should not fail to observe
the various festivals for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
such as Janmäñöamé and Ratha-yäträ. (3)
One should not avoid bowing down before the Deity. (4) One should not enter
the temple to worship the Lord without having washed one’s hands and feet
after eating. (5) One should not enter the temple in a contaminated state.
(According to Vedic scripture, if someone dies in the family the whole
family becomes contaminated for some time, according to its status. For
example, if the family is brähmaëa their contamination period
is twelve days, for the kñatriyas and vaiçyas it is fifteen
days, and for çüdras thirty days.) (6) One should not bow down
on one hand. (7) One should not circumambulate in front of Çré
Kåñëa. (The process of circumambulating the temple is
that one should begin circumambulating from the Deity’s right-hand side
of the temple and come round. Such circumambulation should be performed
outside the temple structure at least three times daily.) (8) One should
not spread his legs before the Deity. (9) One should not sit before the
Deity holding the ankles, elbows or knees with one’s hands. (10) One should
not lie down before the Deity of Kåñëa. (11) One should
not accept prasäda before the Deity. (12) One should never speak a
lie before the Deity. (13) One should not talk very loudly before the Deity.
(14) One should not talk with others before the Deity. (15) One should
not cry or howl before the Deity. (16) One should not quarrel or fight
before the Deity. (17) One should not chastise anyone before the Deity.
(18) One should not be charitable to beggars before the Deity. (19) One
should not speak very harshly to others before the Deity. (20) One should
not wear a fur blanket before the Deity. (21) One should not eulogize or
praise anyone else before the Deity. (22) One should not speak any ill
names before the Deity. (23) One should not pass air before the Deity.
(24) One should not fail to worship the Deity according to one’s means.
(In Bhagavad-gétä it is stated that the Lord is satisfied if
some devotee offers Him even a leaf or a little water. This formula prescribed
by the Lord is universally applicable, even for the poorest man. But that
does not mean that one who has sufficient means to worship the Lord very
nicely should also adopt this method and try to satisfy the Lord simply
by offering water and a leaf. If he has sufficient means, he should offer
nice decorations, nice flowers and nice foodstuffs and observe all ceremonies.
It is not that one should try to satisfy the Supreme Lord with a little
water and a leaf, and for himself spend all his money in sense gratification.)
(25) One should not eat anything which is not offered first to Kåñëa.
(26) One should not fail to offer fresh fruit and grains to Kåñëa,
according to the season. (27) After food has been cooked, no one should
be offered any foodstuff unless it is first offered to the Deity. (28)
One should not sit with his back toward the Deity. (29) One should not
offer obeisances silently to the spiritual master, or in other words, one
should recite aloud the prayers to the spiritual master while offering
obeisances. (30) One should not fail to offer some praise in the presence
of the spiritual master. (31) One should not praise himself before the
spiritual master. (32) One should not deride the demigods before the Deity.
This is a list of thirty-two offenses.
Besides these, there are a number of offenses which are mentioned in the
Varäha Puräëa. They are as follows: (1) One should not touch
the Deity in a dark room. (2) One should not fail to strictly follow the
rules and regulations in worshiping the Deity. (3) One should not enter
the temple of the Deity without first making some sound. (4) One should
not offer any foodstuff to the Deity which has been seen by dogs or other
lower animals. (5) One should not break silence while worshiping. (6) One
should not pass urine or evacuate while engaged in worshiping. (7) One
should not offer incense without offering some flower. (8) Useless flowers
without any fragrance should not be offered. (9) One should not fail to
wash his teeth very carefully every day. (10) One should not enter the
temple directly after sexual intercourse. (11) One should not touch a woman
during her menstrual period. (12) One should not enter the temple after
touching a dead body. (13) One should not enter the temple wearing garments
of red or blue color or garments which are unwashed. (14) One should not
enter the temple after seeing a dead body. (15) One should not pass air
within the temple. (16) One should not be angry within the temple. (17)
One should not enter the temple after visiting a crematorium. (18) One
should not belch before the Deity. So, until one has fully digested his
food, he should not enter the temple. (19) One should not smoke marijuana,
or gaïjä. (20) One should not take opium or similar intoxicants.
(21) One should not enter the Deity room or touch the body of the Deity
after having smeared oil over his body. (22) One should not show disrespect
to a scripture teaching about the supremacy of the Lord. (23) One should
not introduce any opposing scripture. (24) One should not chew betel before
the Deity. (25) One should not offer a flower which was kept in an unclean
pot. (26) One should not worship the Lord while sitting on the bare floor;
one must have a sitting place or carpet. (27) One should not touch the
Deity before one has completed taking bath. (28) One should not decorate
his forehead with the three-lined tilaka. (29) One should not enter the
temple without washing his hands and feet.
Other rules are that one should
not offer foodstuff which is cooked by a non-Vaiñëava, one
should not worship the Deity before a nondevotee, and one should not engage
himself in the worship of the Lord while seeing a nondevotee. One should
begin the worship of the demigod Gaëapati, who drives away all impediments
in the execution of devotional service. In the Brahma-saàhitä
it is stated that Gaëapati worships the lotus feet of Lord Nåsiàhadeva
and in that way has become auspicious for the devotees in clearing out
all impediments. Therefore, all devotees should worship Gaëapati.
The Deities should not be bathed in water which has been touched by the
nails or fingers. When a devotee is perspiring, he should not engage himself
in worshiping the Deity. Similarly, there are many other prohibitions.
For example, one should not cross or step over the flowers offered to the
Deities, nor should one take a vow in the name of God. These are all different
kinds of offenses in the matter of executing devotional service, and one
should be careful to avoid them.
In the Padma Puräëa it
is stated that even a person whose life is completely sinful will be completely
protected by the Lord if he simply surrenders unto Him. So it is accepted
that one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes
free from all sinful reactions. And even when a person becomes an offender
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, he can still be delivered
simply by taking shelter of the holy names of the Lord: Hare Kåñëa,
Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
In other words, the chanting of Hare Kåñëa is beneficial
for eradicating all sins, but if one becomes an offender to the holy names
of the Lord, then he has no chance of being delivered.
The offenses against the chanting
of the holy name are as follows: (1) To blaspheme the devotees who have
dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord. (2) To
consider the names of demigods like Lord Çiva or Lord Brahmä
to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viñëu.
(Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu. But one who is
a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently
as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks
that he can chant “Kälé, Kälé!” or “Durgä,
Durgä!”and it is the same as Hare Kåñëa, that is
the greatest offense.) (3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master.
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the
Vedic version. (5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Kåñëa
to be imagination. (6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of
the Lord. (7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name
of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy
name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one
may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Kåñëa
to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and
should be avoided.) (8) To consider the chanting of Hare Kåñëa
one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive
activities (karma-käëòa). (9) To instruct a faithless
person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting
the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed
about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful
cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore
it is better not to instruct them in this matter.) (10) To not have complete
faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments,
even after understanding so many instructions on this matter.
Every devotee who claims to be a
Vaiñëava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly
achieve the desired success.
NoD 9: Further Considerations of
Devotional Principles
Chapter Nine
Further Considerations of Devotional
Principles
Blasphemy
One should not tolerate blasphemy
of the Lord or His devotees. In this connection, in the Tenth Canto, Seventy-fourth
Chapter, verse 40, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Çukadeva
Gosvämé tells Parékñit Mahäräja, “My
dear King, if a person, after hearing blasphemous propaganda against the
Lord and His devotees, does not go away from that place, he becomes bereft
of the effect of all pious activities.”
In one of Lord Caitanya’s Çikñäñöaka
verses it is stated, “The devotee should be more tolerant than the tree
and more submissive than the grass. He should offer all honor to others,
but may not accept any honor for himself.” In spite of Lord Caitanya’s
being so humble and meek as a devotee, when He was informed about injuries
inflicted on the body of Çré Nityänanda, He immediately
ran to the spot and wanted to kill the offenders, Jagäi and Mädhäi.
This behavior of Lord Caitanya’s is very significant. It shows that a Vaiñëava
may be very tolerant and meek, foregoing everything for his personal honor,
but when it is a question of the honor of Kåñëa or His
devotee, he will not tolerate any insult.
There are three ways of dealing
with such insults. If someone is heard blaspheming by words, one should
be so expert that he can defeat the opposing party by argument. If he is
unable to defeat the opposing party, then the next step is that he should
not just stand there meekly, but should give up his life. The third process
is followed if he is unable to execute the above-mentioned two processes,
and this is that one must leave the place and go away. If a devotee does
not follow any of the above-mentioned three processes, he falls down from
his position of devotion.
Tilaka and Tulasé Beads
In the Padma Puräëa there
is a statement describing how a Vaiñëava should decorate his
body with tilaka and beads: “Persons who put tulasé beads on the
neck, who mark twelve places of their bodies as Viñëu temples
with Viñëu’s symbolic representations [the four items held
in the four hands of Lord Viñëu—conch, mace, disc and lotus],
and who have viñëu-tilaka on their foreheads, are to be understood
as the devotees of Lord Viñëu in this world. Their presence
makes the world purified, and anywhere they remain, they make that place
as good as Vaikuëöha.”
A similar statement is in the Skanda
Puräëa, which says, “Persons who are decorated with tilaka or
gopé-candana [a kind of clay resembling fuller’s earth which is
produced in certain quarters of Våndävana], and who mark their
bodies all over with the holy names of the Lord, and on whose necks and
breasts there are tulasé beads, are never approached by the Yamadütas.”
The Yamadütas are the constables of King Yama (the lord of death),
who punishes all sinful men. Vaiñëavas are never called for
by such constables of Yamaräja. In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
in the narration of Ajämila’s deliverance, it is said that Yamaräja
gave clear instructions to his assistants not to approach the Vaiñëavas.
Vaiñëavas are beyond the jurisdiction of Yamaräja’s activities.
The Padma Puräëa also
mentions, “A person whose body is decorated with the pulp of sandalwood,
with paintings of the holy name of the Lord, is delivered from all sinful
reactions, and after his death he goes directly to Kåñëaloka
to live in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
Accepting Flower Garlands
The next instruction is that one
should put on flower garlands which are offered to the Deity. In this connection,
in the Eleventh Canto, Sixth Chapter, verse 46, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Uddhava says to Kåñëa, “My dear Kåñëa,
I have taken things which You have used and enjoyed, such as garlands of
flowers, saintly articles, garments and ornaments, and I eat only the remnants
of Your foodstuff, because I am Your menial servant. So, therefore, I am
sure that I shall not be attacked by the spell of material energy.” The
purport of this verse is that for any person who simply follows these rules
and regulations of decorating the body with the marks of tilaka of gopé-candana
or sandalwood pulp, and who puts on the garlands which were offered to
Kåñëa, there is no question of being conquered by the
spell of material energy. At the time of death, there is no question of
such a person’s being called by the constables of Yamaräja. Even if
one does not accept all the Vaiñëava principles, but still
takes the remnants of foodstuff offered to Kåñëa, or
kåñëa-prasäda, he will gradually become qualified
to rise to the platform of a Vaiñëava.
Similarly, in the Skanda Puräëa
Lord Brahmä tells Närada, “My dear Närada, anyone who puts
on his neck the flower garland which was formerly used by Kåñëa
becomes relieved from all disease and reactions to sinful activities, and
gradually he is liberated from the contamination of matter.”
Dancing Before the Deity
In the Dvärakä-mähätmya
the importance of dancing before the Deity is stated by Lord Kåñëa
as follows: “A person who is in a jubilant spirit, who feels profound devotional
ecstasy while dancing before Me, and who manifests different features of
bodily expression can burn away all the accumulated sinful reactions he
has stocked up for many, many thousands of years.” In the same book there
is a statement by Närada wherein he asserts, “From the body of any
person who claps and dances before the Deity, showing manifestations of
ecstasy, all the birds of sinful activities fly away upward.” Just as by
clapping the hands one can cause many birds to fly away, similarly the
birds of all sinful activities which are sitting on the body can be made
to fly away simply by dancing and clapping before the Deity of Kåñëa.
Bowing Down in Honor of the Deity
In the Näradéya Puräëa
there is a statement about bowing down and offering respect to the Deity.
It is said there, “A person who has performed a great ritualistic sacrifice
and a person who has simply offered his respectful obeisances by bowing
down before the Lord cannot be held as equals.” The person who has executed
many great sacrifices will attain the result of his pious activities, but
when such results are finished, he has to take birth again on the earthly
planet; however, the person who has once offered respects, bowing down
before the Deity, will not come back to this world, because he will go
directly to the abode of Kåñëa.
Standing Up to Receive the Lord
In the Brahmäëòa
Puräëa it is said, “A person who sees the Lord’s Ratha-yäträ
car festival and then stands up to receive the Lord can purge all kinds
of sinful results from his body.”
Following the Deity
A similar statement is there in
the Bhaviñya Puräëa, in which it is said, “Even if born
of a lowly family, a person who follows the Ratha-yäträ car when
the Deities pass in front or from behind will surely be elevated to the
position of achieving equal opulence with Viñëu.”
Going to the Temple of Viñëu
or to Places of Pilgrimage
It is stated in the Puräëas,
“Persons who attempt to visit the holy places of pilgrimage, like Våndävana,
Mathurä or Dvärakä, are actually glorified. By such traveling
activities, they can pass over the desert of material existence.”
In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya there
is a statement about the benefit of visiting the temples of Lord Kåñëa.
As we have explained previously, in Våndävana, Mathurä
and Dvärakä the system is that all the devotees take advantage
of visiting various temples situated in those holy places. It is stated
in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, “Persons who are impelled by pure devotional
service in Kåñëa consciousness and who therefore go to
see the Deities of Viñëu in the temple will surely get relief
from entering again into the prison house of a mother’s womb.” The conditioned
soul forgets the trouble of living within the mother’s womb during birth,
but it is a very painful and terrible experience. In order to make an escape
from this material condition, one is advised to visit a temple of Viñëu
with devotional consciousness. Then one can very easily get out of the
miserable condition of material birth.
Circumambulating the Temple of Viñëu
It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya,
“A person who is circumambulating the Deity of Viñëu can counteract
the circumambulation of repeated birth and death in this material world.”
The conditioned soul is circumambulating through repeated births and deaths
on account of his material existence, and this can be counteracted simply
by circumambulating the Deity in the temple.
The Cäturmäsya ceremony
is observed during the four months of the rainy season in India (approximately
July, August, September and October), beginning from Çrävaëa.
During these four months, saintly persons who are accustomed to travel
from one place to another to propagate Kåñëa consciousness
remain at one place, usually a holy place of pilgrimage. During these times,
there are certain special rules and regulations which are strictly followed.
It is stated in the Skanda Puräëa that during this period, if
someone circumambulates the temple of Viñëu at least four times,
it is understood that he has traveled all over the universe. By such circumambulation,
one is understood to have seen all the holy places where the Ganges water
is flowing, and by following the regulative principles of Cäturmäsya
one can very quickly be raised to the platform of devotional service.
Arcanä
Arcanä means worship of the
Deity in the temple. By executing this process one confirms himself to
be not the body but spirit soul. In the Tenth Canto, Eighty-first Chapter,
verse 19, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, it is told how Sudämä,
an intimate friend of Kåñëa’s, while going to the house
of a brähmaëa, murmured to himself, “Simply by worshiping Kåñëa
one can easily achieve all the results of heavenly opulence, liberation,
supremacy over the planetary systems of the universe, all the opulences
of this material world, and the mystic power of performing the yoga system.
The events leading to Sudämä’s
murmuring this statement are as follows. Çré Kåñëa
had ordered His friend Sudämä to go to a brähmaëa’s
house and ask for some food. The brähmaëas were performing a
great sacrifice, and Çré Kåñëa told Sudämä
to plead with them that He and Balaräma were feeling hungry and needed
some food. When Sudämä went there, the brähmaëas refused
to offer anything, but the wives of the brähmaëas, upon hearing
that Çré Kåñëa wanted some foodstuff, immediately
took many palatable dishes and went to offer them to Çré
Kåñëa. In the Viñëu-rahasya, also, it is
stated, “Any person within this world who is engaged in the worship of
Viñëu can very easily achieve the ever-blissful kingdom of
God, known as Vaikuëöhaloka.”
Rendering Service to the Lord
It is stated in the Viñëu-rahasya,
“Any person who can arrange for service to the Lord in the same way that
a king is given service by his attendants is surely elevated to the abode
of Kåñëa after death.” Actually, in India the temples
are just like royal palaces. They are not ordinary buildings, because the
worship of Kåñëa should be performed in just the way
that a king is worshiped in his palace. So in Våndävana there
are many hundreds of temples wherein the Deity is worshiped exactly like
a king. In the Näradéya Puräëa it is stated, “If
person stays in the Lord’s temple even for a few moments, he can surely
achieve the transcendental kingdom of God.”
The conclusion is that those who
are rich men in society should construct beautiful temples and arrange
for the worship of Viñëu, so that people may be attracted to
visit such temples and thereby be offered the opportunity of dancing before
the Lord or chanting the holy name of the Lord, or else of hearing the
holy name of the Lord. In this way, everyone will be given the chance to
elevate himself to the kingdom of God. In other words, even a common man,
simply by visiting such a temple, will be able to attain the highest benedictions,
not to mention the devotees who are constantly engaged in the service of
the Lord in full Kåñëa consciousness.
In this connection, there is a statement
in the Fourth Canto, Twenty-first Chapter, verse 31, of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
wherein King Påthu says to his subjects, “My dear citizens, please
note that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is actually the deliverer
of all fallen, conditioned souls. No demigod can perform this act of delivering
the conditioned souls, because the demigods themselves are conditioned.
A conditioned soul cannot deliver another conditioned soul. Only Kåñëa
or His bona fide representative can deliver him. The Ganges water which
is flowing down from the toe of Lord Viñëu falls upon the earthly
planet and other planets and thereby delivers all the conditioned sinful
living entities. So what need is there to speak of the deliverance of persons
who are always engaged in the service of the Lord? There is no doubt about
their liberation, even if they have stocks of sinful activities from many,
many births.” In other words, a person who is engaged in the worship of
the Deities can minimize his stock of sinful reactions coming from many,
many previous births. This process of worshiping the Deity has already
been described, and one should try to follow these rules and regulations
seriously.
Singing
In the Liìga Puräëa
there is a statement about glorifying and singing about the Lord. It is
said there, “A brähmaëa who is constantly engaged in singing
the glories of the Lord is surely elevated to the same planet as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Lord Kåñëa appreciates this singing
even more than the prayers offered by Lord Çiva.”
Saìkértana
When a person loudly chants the
glories of the Lord’s activities, qualities, form, etc., his chanting is
called saìkértana. Saìkértana also refers to
the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.
In the Viñëu-dharma
there is a statement glorifying this process of congregational chanting:
“My dear King, this word Kåñëa is so auspicious that
anyone who chants this holy name immediately gets rid of the resultant
actions of sinful activities from many, many births.” That is a fact. There
is the following statement in Caitanya-caritämåta: “A person
who chants the holy name of Kåñëa once can counteract
the resultant actions of more sinful activities than he is able to perform.”
A sinful man can perform many, many sinful activities, but he is unable
to perform so many that they cannot be wiped out by one single uttering
of Kåñëa.
In the Seventh Canto, Ninth Chapter,
verse 18, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Mahäräja Prahläda
offers the following prayers to the Lord: “My dear Lord Nåsiàha,
if I can be elevated to the position of Your servant, then it will be possible
for me to hear about Your activities. You are the supreme friend, the supreme
worshipable Deity. Your pastimes are transcendental, and simply by hearing
of them one can counteract all his sinful activities. Therefore, I shall
not care for all those sinful activities, because simply by hearing about
Your pastimes I shall get out of all the contamination of material attachment.”
There are many songs about the Lord’s
activities. For example, there is the Brahma-saàhitä, sung
by Lord Brahmä; Närada-païcarätra, sung by Närada
Muni; and Çrémad-Bhägavatam, sung by Çukadeva
Gosvämé. If these songs are heard by any person, he can easily
get out of the clutches of material contamination. There should be no difficulty
in hearing these songs of God. They are coming down from many, many millions
of years ago, and people are still taking advantage of them. So why, at
this time, should one not take full advantage and thus become liberated?
In the First Canto, Fifth Chapter,
verse 22, of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Närada Muni tells
his disciple Vyäsadeva, “My dear Vyäsa, you should know that
persons who are engaged in executing austerities and penances, studying
the Vedas, performing big sacrifices, chanting the hymns of the Vedas,
speculating on transcendental knowledge and performing charitable functions
have for all their auspicious activities simply to gain a place in the
association of devotees and chant the glories of the Lord.” It is indicated
here that chanting about and glorifying the Lord is the ultimate activity
of the living entity.
Japa
Chanting a mantra or hymn softly
and slowly is called japa, and chanting the same mantra loudly is called
kértana. For example, uttering the mahä-mantra (Hare Kåñëa,
Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare)
very softly, only for one’s own hearing, is called japa. Chanting the same
mantra loudly for being heard by all others is called kértana. The
mahä-mantra can be used for japa and kértana also. When japa
is practiced it is for the personal benefit of the chanter, but when kértana
is performed it is for the benefit of all others who may hear.
In the Padma Puräëa there
is a statement: “For any person who is chanting the holy name either softly
or loudly, the paths to liberation and even heavenly happiness are at once
open.”
Submission
In the Skanda Puräëa there
is a statement about submission unto the lotus feet of the Lord. It is
said there that those who are sober devotees can offer their submission
to Kåñëa in the following three ways: (1) samprärthanätmikä,
very feelingly offering prayers; (2) dainyavodhikä, humbly submitting
oneself; (3) lälasämayé, desiring some perfectional stage.
This desiring some perfectional stage in spiritual life is not sense gratification.
When one realizes something of his constitutional relationship with the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, he understands his original position and
wants to be reinstated in this position, either as friend, servant, parent
or conjugal lover of Kåñëa. That is called lälasämayé,
or very eagerly desiring to go to one’s natural position. This lälasämayé
stage of submission comes in the stage of perfect liberation, which is
technically called svarüpa-siddhi, when the living entity understands,
by perfect spiritual advancement and revelation, his original relationship
with the Lord.
In the Padma Puräëa there
is a statement of submission in feeling by devotees praying to the Lord:
“My Lord, I know that young girls have natural affection for young boys,
and that young boys have natural affection for young girls. I am praying
at Your lotus feet that my mind may become attracted unto You in the same
spontaneous way.” The example is very appropriate. When a young boy or
girl sees a member of the opposite sex there is a natural attraction, without
the need for any introduction. Without any training there is a natural
attraction due to the sex impulse. This is a material example, but the
devotee is praying that he may develop a similar spontaneous attachment
for the Supreme Lord, free from any desire for profit and without any other
cause. This natural attraction for the Lord is the perfectional stage of
self-realization.
In the same Padma Puräëa
there is a statement about submission in humbleness. It is stated there,
“My dear Lord, there is no sinful living entity who is more of a sinner
than myself. Nor is there a greater offender than myself. I am so greatly
sinful and offensive that when I come to confess my sinful activities before
You, I am ashamed.” This is a natural position for a devotee. As far as
the conditioned soul is concerned, there is no wonder that he has some
sinful activities in his past life, and this should be admitted and confessed
before the Lord. As soon as this is done, the Lord excuses the sincere
devotee. But that does not mean that one should take advantage of the Lord’s
causeless mercy and expect to be excused over and over again, while he
commits the same sinful activities. Such a mentality is only for shameless
persons. Here it is clearly said, “When I come to confess my sinful activities
I become ashamed.” So if a person is not ashamed of his sinful activities
and continues to commit the same sinful activities with the knowledge that
the Lord will excuse him, that is a most nonsensical proposition. Such
an idea is not accepted in any part of the Vedic literature. It is a fact
that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one becomes washed clean of
all sinful activities from his past life. But that does not mean that after
being washed off, one should again begin sinful activities and expect to
be washed again. These are nonsensical propositions and are not admitted
in devotional service. Someone may think, “For a whole week I may commit
sinful activities, and for one day I will go to the temple or church and
admit my sinful activities so that I can become washed off and again begin
my sinning.” This is most nonsensical and offensive and is not acceptable
to the author of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu.
In the Närada-païcarätra
there is a statement of submission accompanied by the desire for perfection.
The devotee says, “My dear Lord, when shall that day come when You will
ask me to fan Your body, and according to Your pleasure, You will say,
‘You just fan Me in this way’?” The idea in this verse is that the devotee
is desiring to personally fan the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
That means that he is desiring to become the personal associate of the
Supreme Lord. Of course, any devotee in any capacity, either as servant,
friend or conjugal lover, always has direct association with the Lord.
But according to his different individual taste, a person desires for just
one of these relationships. Here the devotee is desiring to become a servant
of the Lord and desires to fan the Lord, as does His internal energy, Lakñmé,
the goddess of fortune. He also wishes that the Personality of Godhead
will be pleased to give him directions as to how to fan. This submission
with transcendental desire, or lälasämayé vijïapti,
is the highest perfectional stage of spiritual realization.
In the same Närada-païcarätra,
there is another expression of submission, wherein the devotee says, “My
dear Lord, O lotus-eyed one, when will that day come when on the bank of
the Yamunä I shall become just like a madman and continue to chant
Your holy name while incessant tears flow from my eyes?” This is another
perfectional stage. Lord Caitanya also desired that “a moment will appear
unto me as twelve years of time, and the whole world will appear to me
as vacant on account of not seeing You, my dear Lord.” One should feelingly
pray and become eager to render his particular type of service to the Lord.
This is the teaching of all great devotees, especially Lord Caitanya.
In other words, one should learn
how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique, and he
should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in some particular
type of service. This is called laulyam, and such tears are the price for
the highest perfection. If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagerness
for meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way, that is the price
to enter into the kingdom of God. Otherwise, there is no material calculation
for the value of the ticket by which one can enter the kingdom of God.
The only price for such entrance is this laulyam lälasämayé,
or desire and great eagerness.
Reciting Notable Prayers
According to great learned scholars,
the whole Bhagavad-gétä contains many authorized prayers, especially
in the Eleventh Chapter, where Arjuna prays to the universal form of the
Lord. Similarly, in the Gautaméya-tantra all the verses are called
prayers. Again, in Çrémad-Bhägavatam there are hundreds
of prayers to the Lord. So a devotee should select some of these prayers
for his recitation. In Skanda Puräëa the glories of these prayers
are stated as follows: “Devotees whose tongues are decorated always with
prayers to Lord Kåñëa are always given respect even by
the great saintly persons and sages, and such devotees are actually worshipable
by the demigods.”
Those who are less intelligent want
to worship different demigods for some material gain rather than worship
Kåñëa. But here it is stated that a devotee who is always
engaged in offering prayers to the Lord is worshipable even by the demigods
themselves. The pure devotees have nothing to ask from any demigod; rather,
the demigods are anxious to offer prayers to the pure devotees.
In the Nåsiàha Puräëa
it is stated, “Any person who comes before the Deity of Lord Kåñëa
and begins to chant different prayers is immediately relieved from all
the reactions of sinful activities and becomes eligible, without any doubt,
to enter into the Vaikuëöhaloka.”
Partaking of Prasäda
There is this specific statement
in the Padma Puräëa: “A person who honors the prasäda and
regularly eats it, not exactly in front of the Deity, along with caraëämåta
[the water offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, which is mixed with seeds
of the tulasé tree], immediately can achieve the results of pious
activities which are obtained through ten thousand performances of sacrificial
rites.”
Drinking Caraëämåta
Caraëämåta is obtained
in the morning while the Lord is being washed before dressing. Scented
with perfumes and flowers, the water comes gliding down through His lotus
feet and is collected and mixed with yogurt. In this way this caraëämåta
not only becomes very tastefully flavored, but also has tremendous spiritual
value. As described in the Padma Puräëa, even a person who has
never been able to give in charity, who has never been able to perform
a great sacrifice, who has never been able to study the Vedas, who has
never been able to worship the Lord—or, in other words, even one who has
never done any pious activities—will become eligible to enter into the
kingdom of God if he simply drinks the caraëämåta which
is kept in the temple. In the temple it is the custom that the caraëämåta
be kept in a big pot. The devotees who come to visit and offer respects
to the Deity take three drops of caraëämåta very submissively
and feel themselves happy in transcendental bliss.
Smelling the Incense and Flowers
Offered to the Deity
In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya there
is a statement about the incense which is offered in the temple: “When
the devotees smell the good flavor of the incense which is offered to the
Deity, they thus become cured of the poisonous effects of material contamination,
as much as one becomes cured of a snakebite by smelling the prescribed
medicinal herbs.” The explanation of this verse is that there is an herb
found in the jungles which expert persons know how to use to revive the
consciousness of one who is bitten by a snake. Simply by smelling that
herb one becomes immediately relieved of the poisonous effects of the snakebite.
The same example is applicable: when a person comes to visit the temple
and smells the incense offered to the Deity, he is cured at that time from
all his material contamination.
Any devotee coming into the temple
should always offer something to the Deity—fruit, flowers, incense, etc.
If one cannot offer anything in cash, something else must be offered. In
India the system is that all the ladies and gentlemen who come in the morning
to visit the temple bring so many things. Even one morsel of rice or one
morsel of flour can be offered. It is a regulative principle that one should
not go to see a saintly person or the Deity in the temple without any offering.
The offering may be very humble, or it may be priceless. Even a flower,
a little fruit, a little water—whatever is possible—must be offered. So
when a devotee comes to offer something to the Deity in the morning, he
is sure to smell the good flavor of the incense, and then at once he will
become cleansed of the poisonous effect of material existence.
It is stated in the Tantra-çästra,
“If the smell of the garland which was offered to the Deity in the temple
enters into a person’s nostrils, immediately his bondage to sinful activities
becomes cleared. And even if one has no sinful activities, still, by smelling
such remnants of flowers, one can advance from Mäyävädé
[impersonalist] to devotee.” There are several instances of this, a prime
one being the advancement of the four Kumäras. They were impersonalist
Mäyävädés, but after smelling the remnants of flowers
and incense in the temple, they turned to become devotees. From the above
verse it appears that the Mäyävädés, or impersonalists,
are more or less contaminated. They are not pure.
It is confirmed in Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
“One who has not washed off all reactions of sinful activities cannot be
a pure devotee. A pure devotee has no more doubts about the supremacy of
the Personality of Godhead, and thus he engages himself in Kåñëa
consciousness and devotional service.” A similar statement is in the Agastya-saàhitä:
just to purify the impurities of our nostrils, we should try to smell the
remnants of flowers offered to Kåñëa in the temple.
Touching the Deity
In the Viñëu-dharmottara
there is a statement about touching the lotus feet of the Lord. It is said,
“Only a person who is initiated as a Vaiñëava and is executing
devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness has the right
to touch the body of the Deity.” In India there was agitation during Gandhi’s
political movement because the lowborn classes of men like street-sweepers
and caëòälas are prohibited, according to the Vedic system,
from entering the temple. Due to their unclean habits they are prohibited,
but at the same time they are given other facilities so they may be elevated
to the highest grade of devotional service by association with pure devotees.
A man born in any family is not barred, but he must be cleansed. That cleansing
process must be adopted. Gandhi wanted to make them clean simply by stamping
them with a fictitious name, harijana (“children of God”), and so there
was a great tug-of-war between the temple owners and Gandhi’s followers.
But anyway, the present law is the
law of all scripture—that if anyone is purified he can enter into the temple.
Actually, that is the position. Only one who is properly initiated, who
is properly following the rules and regulations, can enter, and touch the
Deity—not all. And one who touches the body of the Deity, following such
regulative principles, is immediately delivered from the contamination
of material sins, and all of his desires become fulfilled without delay.
Seeing the Deity
In the Varäha Puräëa
there is a statement praising the seeing of the Deity of Çré
Kåñëa in the temple. A devotee says there, “My dear Vasundharä,
any person who goes to Våndävana and sees the Deity of Govindadeva
is free from the courthouse of Yamaräja and is allowed to enter into
the highest planetary system, in which reside the demigods.” This means
that even an ordinary person who goes to Våndävana out of inquisitiveness
and by chance sees the temple, especially that of Govindadeva, even if
he is not elevated to the spiritual kingdom, is still assured promotion
to the higher planetary systems. This means that simply by visiting the
Deity of Govinda in Våndävana one becomes highly elevated in
pious life.
Observing Ärati and Celebrations
of the Lord
In the Skanda Puräëa there
is the following description of the result of seeing ärati (worship)
of the Deity: “If someone sees the face of the Lord while ärati is
going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions coming from many,
many thousands and millions of years past. He is even excused from the
killing of a brähmaëa or similar prohibited activities.
As we have already explained, there
are different ceremonies to be observed, such as the birthday of Kåñëa,
the birthday of Lord Rämacandra, the birthday of some prominent Vaiñëavas,
the ceremony of Jhulana-yäträ with the Lord sitting on a swing,
and Dola-yäträ (the Lord’s activities in the month of March).
In all festivals the Lord is seated on a car, and the car moves through
different streets of the city so that people may take advantage of visiting
the Lord. In the Bhaviñya Puräëa it is said, “In such
a ceremony, if even a caëòäla [dog-eater], simply out
of curiosity, sees the Lord on the cart, he becomes counted as one of the
associates of Viñëu.”
In the Agni Puräëa it
is stated, “Any person who in gladness sees the worship of the Deity in
the temple will obtain the results of kriyä-yoga which are described
in the Païcarätra scripture.” Kriyä-yoga is a system of
practice much like practical devotional service, but it is especially meant
for the mystic yogés. In other words, by this gradual process the
mystic yogés are eventually elevated to the devotional service of
the Lord.
NoD 10: Techniques of Hearing and
Remembering
Chapter Ten
Techniques of Hearing and Remembering
Hearing
The beginning of Kåñëa
consciousness and devotional service is hearing, in Sanskrit called çravaëam.
All people should be given the chance to come and join devotional parties
so that they may hear. This hearing is very important for progressing in
Kåñëa consciousness. When one links his ears to give
aural reception to the transcendental vibrations, he can quickly become
purified and cleansed in the heart. Lord Caitanya has affirmed that this
hearing is very important. It cleanses the heart of the contaminated soul
so that he becomes quickly qualified to enter into devotional service and
understand Kåñëa consciousness.
In the Garuòa Puräëa
the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there, “The
state of conditioned life in the material world is just like that of a
man lying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake. This is because both
such unconscious states can be ended by the sound of a mantra.” When a
man is snake-bitten he does not die immediately, but first becomes unconscious
and remains in a comatose condition. Anyone who is in the material world
is also sleeping, as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty
and his relationship with God. So materialistic life means that one is
bitten by the snake of mäyä, illusion, and thus, without any
Kåñëa consciousness, is almost dead. Now, the so-called
dead man bitten by a snake can be brought back to life by the chanting
of some mantra. There are expert chanters of these mantras who can perform
this feat. Similarly, one can be brought back into Kåñëa
consciousness from the deadly unconscious state of material life by hearing
of the mahä-mantra: Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa,
Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma,
Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
In the Fourth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Twenty-ninth Chapter, verse 40, the importance of hearing of the pastimes
of the Lord is stated by Çukadeva Gosvämé to Mahäräja
Parékñit: “My dear King, one should stay at a place where
the great äcäryas [holy teachers] speak about the transcendental
activities of the Lord, and one should give aural reception to the nectarean
river flowing from the moonlike faces of such great personalities. If someone
eagerly continues to hear such transcendental sounds, then certainly he
will become freed from all material hunger, thirst, fear and lamentation,
as well as all illusions of material existence.”
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu
also recommended this process of hearing as a means of self-realization
in the present age of Kali. In this age it is very difficult to follow
thoroughly the regulative principles and studies of the Vedas which were
formerly recommended. However, if one gives aural reception to the sound
vibrated by great devotees and äcäryas, that alone will give
him relief from all material contamination. Therefore it is the recommendation
of Caitanya Mahäprabhu that one should simply hear from authorities
who are actually devotees of the Lord. Hearing from professional men will
not help. If we hear from those who are actually self-realized, then the
nectarean rivers, like those which are flowing on the moon planet, will
flow into our ears. This is the metaphor used in the above verse.
As stated in Bhagavad-gétä,
“A materialistic person can give up his material hankerings only by becoming
situated in Kåñëa consciousness.” Unless one finds a
superior engagement, he will not be able to give up his inferior engagement.
In the material world everyone is engaged in the illusory activities of
the inferior energy, but when one is given the opportunity to relish the
activities of the superior energy performed by Kåñëa,
then he forgets all his lesser pleasures. When Kåñëa
speaks on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra, to the materialistic person
it appears that this is simply talk between two friends, but actually it
is a river of nectar flowing down from the mouth of Çré Kåñëa.
Arjuna gave aural reception to such vibrations, and thus he became freed
from all the illusions of material problems.
In the Twelfth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Third Chapter, verse 15, it is stated, “A person who desires unalloyed
devotional service to Lord Kåñëa, who is praised by transcendental
sound vibrations, should always hear about His glorification and transcendental
qualities. This will surely kill all kinds of inauspiciousness in the heart.”
Expecting the Lord’s Mercy
In the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter,
verse 8, it is said, “My dear Lord, any person who is constantly awaiting
Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, and who goes on suffering
the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances
from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated, for
it has become his rightful claim.”
This statement of Çrémad-Bhägavatam
should be the guide of all devotees. A devotee should not expect immediate
relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is
free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means
continued suffering or enjoying of past activities. If one has finished
his material activities then there is no more birth. This is possible only
when one begins Kåñëa conscious activities, because such
activities do not produce reaction. Therefore, as soon as one becomes perfect
in Kåñëa conscious activities, he is not going to take
birth again in this material world. A devotee who is not perfectly freed
from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Kåñëa
consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments.
When such impediments arise he should simply think of Kåñëa
and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his
days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the
abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into
the kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is däya-bhäk.
Däya-bhäk refers to a son’s becoming the lawful inheritor of
the property of the father. In a similar way, a pure devotee who is prepared
to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Kåñëa
conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental
abode.
Remembrance
Some way or other, if someone establishes
in his mind his continuous relationship with Kåñëa, this
relationship is called remembrance. About this remembrance there is a nice
statement in the Viñëu Puräëa, where it is said,
“Simply by remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead all living entities
become eligible for all kinds of auspiciousness. Therefore let me always
remember the Lord, who is unborn and eternal.” In the Padma Puräëa
the same remembrance is explained as follows: “Let me offer my respectful
obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Kåñëa, because if someone
remembers Him, either at the time of death or during his span of life,
he becomes freed from all sinful reactions.”
Meditation
To meditate means to engage the
mind in thinking of the form of the Lord, the qualities of the Lord, the
activities of the Lord and the service of the Lord. Meditation does not
mean anything impersonal or void. According to Vedic literature, meditation
is always on the form of Viñëu.
In the Nåsiàha Puräëa
there is a statement about meditation on the form of the Lord. It is said
there, “Meditation focusing on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead has been accepted as transcendental and beyond the experience
of material pain and pleasure. By such meditation, even one who is grossly
miscreant can be delivered from the sinful reactions of his life.”
In the Viñëu-dharma
there is a statement about meditation on the transcendental qualities of
the Lord. It is said, “Persons who are constantly engaged in Kåñëa
consciousness, and who remember the transcendental qualities of the Lord,
become free from all reactions to sinful activities, and after being so
cleansed they become fit to enter into the kingdom of God.” In other words,
no one can enter into the kingdom of God without being freed from all sinful
reactions. One can avoid sinful reactions simply by remembering the Lord’s
form, qualities, pastimes, etc.
In the Padma Puräëa there
is a statement about remembering the activities of the Lord: “A person
who is always engaged in meditation on the sweet pastimes and wonderful
activities of the Lord surely becomes freed from all material contamination.”
In some of the Puräëas
the evidence is given that if someone is simply meditating on devotional
activities, he has achieved the desired result and has seen face to face
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this connection, there is a story
in the Brahma-vaivarta Puräëa that in the city of Pratiñöhänapura
in South India there was once a brähmaëa who was not very well-to-do,
but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself, thinking that it was because
of his past misdeeds and by the desire of Kåñëa that
he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he was not at all sorry
for his poor material position, and he used to live very peacefully. He
was very openhearted, and sometimes he went to hear some lectures delivered
by great realized souls. At one such meeting, while he was very faithfully
hearing about Vaiñëava activities, he was informed that these
activities can be performed even by meditation. In other words, if a person
is unable to actually perform Vaiñëava activities physically,
he can meditate upon the Vaiñëava activities and thereby acquire
all of the same results. Because the brähmaëa was not very well-to-do
financially, he decided that he would simply meditate on grand, royal devotional
activities, and he began this business thus:
Sometimes he would take his bath
in the River Godävaré. After taking his bath he would sit in
a secluded place on the bank of the river, and by practicing the yoga exercises
of präëäyäma, the usual breathing exercises, he would
concentrate his mind. These breathing exercises are meant to mechanically
fix the mind upon a particular subject. That is the result of the breathing
exercises and also of the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly,
even quite ordinary persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance
of the Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had
fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations
that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments,
helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his respectful obeisances
by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the dressing, he began
to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very nicely. After cleansing
the temple, he imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver,
and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy water.
Not only did he collect water from the Godävaré, but he collected
from the Ganges, Yamunä, Narmadä and Käveré. Generally
a Vaiñëava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from
all these rivers by mantra chanting. This brähmaëa, instead of
chanting some mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from
all these rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all
kinds of paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood
pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these waters,
flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities
to Their satisfaction. Then he offered ärati, and with the regulative
principles he finished all these activities in the correct worshiping method.
He would daily execute similar performances
as his routine work, and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then
one day the brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had
prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation
to the Deity. However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because
the sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot. (This
preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet
rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice had been prepared
by the brähmaëa very recently, he wanted to touch it so that
he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As soon as he
touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately was burnt by
the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke. Now, when he looked
at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was wondering in astonishment
how this could have happened. Because he was simply meditating on touching
the hot sweet rice, he never thought that his finger would actually become
burnt.
While he was thinking like this,
in Vaikuëöha Lord Näräyaëa, seated with the goddess
of fortune, Lakñmé, began to smile humorously. On seeing
this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune attending the Lord
became very curious and asked Lord Näräyaëa why He was smiling.
The Lord, however, did not reply to their inquisitiveness, but instead
immediately sent for the brähmaëa. An airplane sent from Vaikuëöha
immediately brought the brähmaëa into Lord Näräyaëa’s
presence. When the brähmaëa was thus present before the Lord
and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole story. The brähmaëa
was then fortunate enough to get an eternal place in Vaikuëöha
in the association of the Lord and His Lakñmés. This shows
how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally situated in
His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuëöha, He was
present also in the heart of the brähmaëa when he was meditating
on the worshiping process. Thus, we can understand that things offered
by the devotees even in meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help
one achieve the desired result.
NoD 11: Aspects of Transcendental
Service
Chapter Eleven
Aspects of Transcendental Service
Servitorship
In the opinion of the karmés
(fruitive workers), offering the results of karma is called servitorship.
But according to Vaiñëava äcäryas like Rüpa
Gosvämé, servitorship means constant engagement in some kind
of service to the Lord.
In the Skanda Puräëa it
is said that those who are attached to ritualistic activities, the four
orders of social life and the four orders of spiritual life, are considered
devotees. But when devotees are actually engaged in offering service to
the Lord directly, these must be bhägavatas, or pure devotees. Those
who are engaged in fruitive activities, or prescribed duties according
to the four orders of social and spiritual life, are not actually pure
devotees. But still, because they are offering the result to the Lord,
they are accepted as devotees. When one has no such desire, but acts spontaneously
out of love of God, such a person must be accepted as a pure devotee. The
conditioned souls who have come into contact with the material world are
all more or less desirous of lording it over material nature. The system
of varëäçrama and the prescribed duties under this system
are so designed that the conditioned soul may enjoy in the material world
according to his desire for sense gratification and at the same time gradually
become elevated to spiritual understanding. Under these prescribed duties
of varëa and äçrama there are many activities which belong
to devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness. Those devotees
who are householders accept Vedic ritualistic performances as well as the
prescribed duties of devotional service, because both are meant for satisfying
Kåñëa. When householder devotees perform some Vedic ritualistic
duties, they do so to satisfy Kåñëa. As we have previously
discussed, any activity aiming at satisfying the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is considered devotional service.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
describes one who is fit for becoming engaged in devotional service. He
says that persons who are neophytes and who have developed a little love
of Godhead are not interested in the activities of sense gratification,
in proportion to their devotion. But if there is still some attraction
for sense gratifying activities, then the result of such activities should
be offered to Kåñëa. This is also called engagement in
the service of the Lord, with the Lord as the master and the worker as
the servant.
In the Näradéya Puräëa
there is a statement of how this servitorship is transcendental. It is
said there that a person who is constantly engaged in devotional service
by his body, mind and words, or even a person who is not practically engaged
but is simply desiring to be so, is considered to be liberated.
Devotional Service in Friendship
Devotional service in friendship
can be divided into two categories: the first is to act as the confidential
servant of the Lord, and the other is to act as the well-wisher of the
Lord. The devotee who has confidence in devotional service to the Lord
systematically follows the rules and regulations, with the faith that he
will achieve the platform of transcendental life. The second type of devotional
friendship is to become a well-wisher of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In Bhagavad-gétä it is said that the Lord accepts a preacher
as the most dear servant. Anyone who is preaching the confidential message
of the Gétä to the people in general is so dear to Kåñëa
that no one can be equal to him in human society.
In the Mahäbhärata, Draupadé
says, “My dear Govinda, Your promise is that Your devotee can never be
vanquished. I believe in that statement, and therefore in all kinds of
tribulations I simply remember Your promise, and thus I live.” The purport
is that Draupadé and her five husbands, the Päëòavas,
were put into severe tribulations by their cousin-brother Duryodhana, as
well as by others. The tribulations were so severe that even Bhéñmadeva,
who was both a lifelong brahmacäré and a great warrior, would
sometimes shed tears thinking of them. He was always surprised that although
the Päëòavas were so righteous and Draupadé was
practically the goddess of fortune, and although Kåñëa
was their friend, still they had to undergo such severe tribulations. Though
their tribulations were not ordinary, Draupadé was not discouraged.
She knew that because Kåñëa was their friend, ultimately
they would be saved.
A similar statement is there in
the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Second Chapter,
verse 53, where Havi, the son of King Åñabha, addresses Mahäräja
Nimi: “My dear King, a person who never deviates even for a moment from
engagement in service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Person (engagement
which is sought even by great demigods like Indra), with firm conviction
that there is nothing more worshipable or desirable than this, is called
the first-class devotee.”
Çré Rüpa Gosvämé
says that a neophyte devotee who has simply developed a slight love of
Godhead is certainly a prospective candidate for devotional service. When
he becomes firmly fixed in such devotional service, that assured status
becomes a confidential part of his devotional service.
Sometimes it is found that a pure
devotee lies down in the temple of the Lord in order to serve Him as a
confidential friend. Such friendly behavior of a devotee may be accepted
as rägänugä, or spontaneous. Although, according to regulative
principles, no one can lie down in the temple of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, this spontaneous love of Godhead may be grouped under devotional
service in friendship.
Surrendering Everything to the Lord
Regarding complete self-surrender,
there is a nice description in the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Twenty-ninth Chapter, verse 34, where the Lord says, “A person who has
completely surrendered unto Me and has completely given up all other activities
is protected by Me personally, both in this life and in the next. In other
words, I wish to help him become more and more advanced in spiritual life.
Such a person is to be understood as having already achieved särñöi
[having equal opulences with the Supreme].” It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä
that as soon as a person surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kåñëa,
Kåñëa takes charge of him and gives him a guarantee of
protection from all sinful reactions. He also instructs from within, so
that the devotee may very quickly make advancement toward spiritual perfection.
This self-surrender is called ätma-nivedana.
According to different authorities, self is differently defined. Self is
sometimes considered to refer to the spirit self, or soul, and self is
sometimes considered to refer to the mind or to the body. Full self-surrender,
therefore, means not only surrendering one’s self as spirit soul, but also
surrendering one’s mind and body to the service of the Lord. Çréla
Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura has sung a nice song in this connection.
While offering himself as a fully surrendered soul, he said, “My mind,
my household affairs, my body, whatever is in my possession, my dear Lord,
I offer to You for Your service. Now You can do with them as You like.
You are the supreme possessor of everything, so if You like You can kill
me, or if You like You can give me protection. All authority belongs to
You. I have nothing to claim as my own.”
Çré Yämunäcärya,
in his prayers to the Lord, has expressed a similar idea in the following
words: “My dear Lord, I may be living within some body as a human being
or as a demigod, but whatever mode of life, I do not mind, because these
bodies are simply by-products of the three modes of material nature, and
I, who am in possession of these bodies, am surrendering myself unto You.”
In the Hari-bhakti-viveka, there
is a statement regarding how one can offer his body in self-surrender.
There the devotee says, “My dear Lord, as a sold animal has no need to
think about his maintenance and sustenance, so, because I have given up
my body and soul unto You, I am no longer concerned with my maintenance
and sustenance.” In other words, one should not bother about his personal
or family maintenance or sustenance. If one is actually surrendered in
body and soul, he should always remember that his only concern is to be
engaged in the service of the Lord.
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé
says that devotional service in friendship and devotional service in self-surrender
are two difficult processes. Therefore such relationships with the Lord
can very rarely be seen. Only for the advanced devotees are these two processes
easily executed. The purport is that it is very rare to see surrender which
is mixed with sincere ecstatic devotion. One must give himself completely
to the will of the Lord.
Offering a Favorite Article
In the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
Eleventh Chapter, verse 41, Lord Kåñëa tells Uddhava,
“My dear friend, if someone offers Me the best thing in his possession,
or anything which is very pleasing to him, he will be eternally benefited.”
Performing All Endeavors for Kåñëa
In the Närada-païcarätra
there is a statement of how one can act in all spheres of life for the
satisfaction of the Lord. It is stated there that a person who is actually
in devotional service must be engaged in all kinds of activities—those
prescribed in the revealed scriptures and also those which are accepted
for livelihood. In other words, not only should a devotee engage himself
in the prescribed duties of devotional service which are mentioned in the
revealed scriptures, but he should also perform the duties of his practical
life in Kåñëa consciousness. For example, a devotee who
has a great establishment or factory may offer the fruits of such a material
possession for the service of the Lord.
Being a Surrendered Soul
In the Hari-bhakti-viläsa there
is the following statement about self-surrender: “My dear Lord, a person
who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he
is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words,
can actually relish transcendental bliss.”
In the Nåsiàha Puräëa,
Lord Nåsiàhadeva says, “Anyone who prays unto Me and takes
shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts
of calamities.”
Serving Trees Such as the Tulasé
In the Skanda Puräëa there
is a statement praising the tulasé tree as follows: “Let me offer
my respectful obeisances unto the tulasé tree, which can immediately
vanquish volumes of sinful activities. Simply by seeing or touching this
tree one can become relieved from all distresses and diseases. Simply by
offering obeisances to and pouring water on the tulasé tree, one
can become freed from the fear of being sent to the court of Yamaräja
[the King of death, who punishes the sinful]. If someone sows a tulasé
tree somewhere, certainly he becomes devoted to Lord Kåñëa.
And when the tulasé leaves are offered in devotion at the lotus
feet of Kåñëa, there is the full development of love
of Godhead.”
In India all Hindus, even those
not belonging to the Vaiñëava group, take special care of the
tulasé tree. Even in great cities where it is very difficult to
keep a tulasé tree, people are to be found very carefully keeping
this plant. They water it and offer obeisances to it, because worship of
the tulasé tree is very important in devotional service.
In the Skanda Puräëa there
is another statement about tulasé, as follows: “Tulasé is
auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply
by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by
hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness.
Anyone who comes in touch with the tulasé tree in the above-mentioned
ways lives eternally in the Vaikuëöha world.”