gaudiya math chennai / 'the gaudiya ' november 2012

THE GAUDIYA 1NOVEMBER 2012

THE

GAUDIYASpiritual Monthly

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May that most Glorious Moon Sri Chaitanya Who came out from theNectarine Blissful Ocean of the womb of Sri Sachidevi shine on the transparentsky-like hearts of you all. What a paramount Glory, He is the very Ocean of theTranscendental Nectarine Bliss, ah, He puts on with pleasantly shining garment ofultraviolet colour, the Hue of the Body is naturally brilliantly effulging having thesymptoms of all the Ashtasattvic spiritual perturbations as it were, the veryEmbodiment of super-excellent Transcendental Love with all its sixty-fourcharacteristic.

–– Srila Prabodhânanda Saraswati


Has any oneever heard of sucha climax of theattainment ofabnegation? Hedoes not wanteven Sri Krishnawithout the

service of Sri Râdhâ. Such a maximumheight of abnegation is not possible for aman of this world, unless he has been,like Raghunâtha, drenched with themoisture of the Grace of Sri SwarupaGoswâmi; none else can even explain thisstandard of abnegation. Is it possible forhim to crave for the six terrestrialexcellences as above, who does not wantKrishna even without service to Râdhâ?What an amount of service done to thehighest Darling of Krishna and what adegree of the highest love felt for Her canendow one with such a spirit!

God has said (Bh.XI.26.26): ‘‘A trulyintelligent person should shun evilcompany but seek association with holysaints who, with their instructions, gnawthe knot of the worldly attachments of ourmind.’’ The meaning is that for our truewell-being we should always accept theguidance of the true Guru (spiritual guide)and should not be misled by pseudo-gurus. The Guru never accepts thepreyah-pantha (way to pleasure), but heis a shreyah-pantha (i.e., he follows theway to the true well-being). He givesothers (i.e., his disciples) the sameinstruction to walk along the real path ashe has received from his own Guru, ofcourse a true one. If a disciple askspermission of the Guru for drinking, he issure to disapporve of it and never to grantit. When the Guru does not indulge the

disciple in his prayer for things after hismind, he may dismiss the Guru. Suchdisciples accept only the gurus that areready to supply fuel for their sensualism.Acceptance of a guru has become afashion now-a-days, not for the disciple’strue wellbeing, but for getting one’ssensual pleasures approved of. Suchappointments satisfy only the social orfamily customs, like those of barbers andwashers.

As soon as a truth is ascertained,it should be ardently given effect tothen and there. The span of our lifebeing very short, we should not mis-spend even a moment, of what stillremains, in attending in our worldlyaffairs but utilise it in the performanceof our service to Hari. King Khattwângaand Ajâmila attained their highest good byspending only one muhurta (forty eightminutes) and only the time of deathrespectively in Lord Hari’s Service. Hereis an anecdote to the point. OneSivânanda Bhattâchârya, a Shâkta by faithi.e., worshipper of Goddess Kâli or Durgâ,sent his son Râmakrishna to purchasesome sacrificial beasts, goats andbuffaloes, and other necessary articlesagainst the coming Durgâ Pujâ. WhenRamakrishna was returning home withthe purchases, he met Srila NarottamaThâkur, a holy saint of the highest order,who after some instructive talk changedthe youth’s mind altogether, and the latterlet off the beasts to obtain initiation fromthe Thâkur and came back home empty-handed. Sivânanda, expectantly lookingfor his son’s return with the goats andbuffaloes and other articles for the Devi’sPujâ, asked him eagerly about them,seeing him return without them.

Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupâd


Thus Spake Srila ÂchâryadevaThe Ascetic was Sri Krishna

Chaitanya identical with Krishna with HisConsort Varshabhanavi. The highestopinion was given of Sri Ramananda byVasudeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya,who was now an ardent devotee of SriChaitanya. The Supreme Lord SriKrishna Chaitanya was eager to meetRai Ramananda who also at the sametime cherished an unknown hope ofcoming in touch with the All-lovingTranscendental Entity of Sri Krishna.

Sri Chaitanya recognised RaiRamananda who also, catching sight ofa young and handsome Sanyasi, madehis obeisance as a religious Hindu princeis expected to do. Sri Chaitanyaembraced him reciting Name Krishnaand was overcome with emotion. TheVedic Brahmins, who were ritualists,were amazed to find the Sanyasi cominginto cotact with a person of lower caste,though of high position. In response toSri Chaitanya’s enquiries, Sri RaiRamananda shouted, ‘‘I am thatunworthy servitor, a sudra and mostunfortunate. But it is the unboundedmercy of Pandit Sarvabhauma that hasinduced You to extend Your love to anunworthy object like me. You aredebarred by the injunctions of Vedas tosee me and touch me which You haveignored owing to Your boundless mercyto me. But I see You do not care for this.’’The Vedic Brahmins are now observedshowing their changed mentality and arefound to chant the Name of Krishna.

Sri Chaitanya was invited by aBrahmin to his house on the Godavari.In the evening Rai Ramanandaaccompanied by a single attendant,incognito met Sri Chaitanya at the house

of His hostand after theexchange ofm u t u a lcou r tes ies ,they started ad i s c o u r s ewhich lastedthroughout thenight. Sri Chaitanya enquired into thephilosophy, doctrine and mysteries oflove of Sri Radha-Krishna, its object andhow this could be attained. To thesequestions Sri Ramananda answeredreadily.

Sri Chaitanya enquired and askedhim to cite the verses dealing with thegoal of our activities, Ramanandaanswered:–

1. Service to Vishnu is rendered byperforming the respective duties of anindividual. Vishnu is pleased by theperformance of ritualistic duties by aperson according to his particular statusand his particular condition in the four-fold classification of society.Varnasrama dharma (Vishnu Purana).

2. Surrender to Me everything as towhatever you want to do, whatever youwant to eat, whatever you want to offerMe in your ritualistic performances,whatever you are to bestow to othersand whatever austerities you want topractice (Gita IX.27).

3. I call upon you to rely on Meleaving aside all sorts of virutousactivities, even so you will be relievedfrom the effects of sin and will not haveto repent for doing so (Gita XVIII.67).

4. When a person, set free fromlimited entities, is found to be in an


ALMANAC for the months of NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2012

15.11.2012 Thu Disappearance of Srila Vâsudev Ghosh Thâkur

21.11.2012 Wed Gopâshtami, Goshtâshtami, Disappearance of Srila Gadâdhara DâsGoswâmi, Srila Dhananjaya Pandit and Srila Srinivâsâchârya

24.11.2012 Sat Utthâna Ekâdashi Fasting. Next day Pârana between 6.01 and9.36 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Gaura Kishore Dâs Bâbâji Maharâj

27.11.2012 Tue Disappearance of Srila Bhugarbha Goswâmi and Srila KâshiswaraPandit. Demise of Srimad Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharâj

28.11.2012 Wed Concluding day of Châturmâsya Vrata, Urjâvrata.Râsotsava of Lord Sri Krishna. Disappearance of SrilaSundarânanda Thâkur. Advent of Srila Nimbârka Âchârya.Kârtika Poornima

29.11.2012 Thu Beginning of Kâtyâyani Vrata

05.12.2012 Wed Demise of Srimad Bhakti Sambandha Turyâshrami Maharâj

09.12.2012 Sun Utpannâ Ekâdashi Fasting. Next day Pârana between 6.10 and9.43 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Narahari Sarkâr Thâkur Demiseof Sripad Bhakti Pramod Muni Maharâj

10.12.2012 Mon Disappearance of Srila Kâliya Krishna Dâs Thâkur

11.12.2012 Tue Disappearance of Srila Sâranga Thâkur

13.12.2012 Thu Demise of Srila Jagabandhu Bhakti Ranjan

undistrubed mood where no want is felt,neither any passionate desire toaggrandise himself; in that case he seesequality in the phenomenal world andthereby avials the opportunity of a higherstandard of devoton (Gita XVIII.54).

5. Empiric knowledge should bethoroughly abandoned. We should followby our body, mind and word whateverpasses from the lips of a devoteeconcerning the transcendentalnarratives; whatever be our position, theunchallenging mood to listen todiscourses permits us to cross over theinsurmountable attitude of ignorance bypractising a submissive attitude(Bh.X.14.3).

Let us follow this path of eternal truthas shown by our great religious savants,then everything great and worthbegetting in our national life will come,of itself. This is the only Sanatana

Aryapath followed by the really great ofall countries.

Of all these five progressivereferences of approaching and servingthe Personality of God-head, SriChaitanya admitted the non-empiric fifthproposition which is free from all sortsof foreign conception mixed up with theactivity of animation. These dfferentstages lead to dhrama, artha, kama andmoksha which are not considered thefunction of the unalloyed soul who hasthe innate quality of eternity, knowledgeand bliss combined. The fruitive resultsare but temporal allurements; whereasdesertion of the same by dispelling allignorance due to phenomena isconsidered to be efficacious indismissing the temporal manifestations.Determination of self should not be mixedin any of the conceptions of physical orastral entity and the object of devotionshould not be restricted to any exotericor esoteric phenomena.


VEDANTA SUTRASWith the Achintya Bheda-Abheda Vada Commentary

‘GOVINDA BHASHYA’Srimad Bhakti Prajnan Yati Maharaj

INTRODUCTION

There are certain jivas who fromtheir very birth become subservient toAlmighty God and follow the path ofecstatic devotion. For them their verylife itself is the philosophy, because theyare the very embodiment of BrahmaVidya being absolutely free from fourdefectives viz. Bhrama, Pramad,Vipralipsa and Karanapatav inherent inevery engrossed human being. Theirvery utterance is the perfectphilosophical pronouncement. They arethe flying bards who come on theirsojourn on the earth for the fulfilment ofcertain mission of God. They are theembalmers to preserve the SanatanaDharma. They are the world teachers(Jagat Gurus), but they are very veryrare. Among the engrossed jivas, as Gita(Vide VII.3) says: manushyanamsahasreshu .... ‘among the thousands ofhuman beings some rare souls strive forattaining spiritual good, but among thosestriving souls some will be karmi or jnanior yogi or tapaswi but scarcely one canbe found who may get a proper guidancefor true spiritual achievement’. Onewithout having proper Guru is generallyled to the wrong path and therefore missthe bus.

Human beings are no doubt rationalbut for his higher achievement he musthave ethical and spiritual outlook.Therefore a religious outlook must berational, ethical and spiritual of whichphilosophy must be the foundation. As it

is said, religious practice without astrong and sound philosophicalfoundation is misleading or it bcomesfanaticism or Pashanda mata, againif all the philosophical declarationscannot be practically lived,philosophy itself becomes an utopianidealism. Religious life is for innerrenewal of the individual, forapprehension and apprecition of thedeeper values of life.

In Indian spiritual culture ethical lifeis a must. There are two methods forspiritual attainment viz. Inductive andDeductive processes. Among theaspirants generally larger number followthe inductive process and a few fortunateones take recourse to the Shrauta-Pantha or Deductive Process (viz. Pathof Grace). Thus in the philosophicalworld different ideologies are prevalent.They can be broadly divided into twogroups viz. (1) Heterodox and (2)Orthodox. So Sri Krishna DvaipayanaVyasa, Power-Incarnate of God forguiding the aspirant souls to the RoyalPath of true theism viz. for properspiritual attainment wrote the Aphorismsof the Vednta with intrinsic transcendentalvalues and consequently out and outrefuted the heterodox group. That wasin the Dwapara-yuga when the religioussky was thickened with pitchy darkenedclouds of not only atheism but evenpseudo theism like Pantheism,Henotheism, Monism (mayavad) so andso forth, he wrote this Vedanta anddispersed the darkness or nescience.


He drained out the entire polluted orobnoxious stagnant water with the supplyof pure and transparent fresh flow ofwaters. Therefore the Vedanta isotherwise known as Nyaya-Prasthanawhereas the Upanishads are accordinglyknown as Shruti-Prasthana and SrimadBhagavat Gita as Smriti-Prasthana. Wefind since then the orthodox groupaccepted Prasthana-trayas viz. Shruti,Smriti and Nyaya which are theundisputed authority in the matter ofPhilosophy and Religion for theSanatanist which is today misnomerlygiven name as the Hindu Religionwhereas this is actually SanatanaDharma –– Religion of the soul.

This Vedanta-sutra also is known as(i) Brahma-sutra, (ii) Shariraka-sutra, (iii)Vyasa-sutra, (iv) Badarayana-sutra, (v)Uttara-mimamsa and (vi) Vedanta-darshan.

Bhagavan Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu says: –– Veda na maniyaBuddha haila pashandi –– becauseBuddha’s non-acceptance of the authorityof the Vedas his religion is known asatheism. So the Sanatanistsunambiguously accept the Vedas as thesupreme authority in the matter ofphilosophy and theology. Now what is theVeda? Sri Vedavyasa in sutra 1.1.3already has spoken regarding this. Veda:the scripture which makes one to realisethe Supreme Reality: Vedayati DharmamBrahma cha Vedah: the literature whichestablishes the true aspect of SanatanaDharma and makes oneself to realise theSupreme God and thereby attaining finalbeatitude or summum bonum of life is theVeda. Sri Jiva Goswami in his Sarva-samvâdini although accepted tenpramanas but (i) bhrama, (ii) pramâda, (iii)vipralipsâ and (iv) karanâpâtava ––dosharahita-vachanât makah shabda-eva mulam pramânam. Gita (vide XII.24)

Tasmât shâstram pramânam: The ever-existing slef-revealed mahâvâkyas are theVedas–which have appeared from theSupreme God, not authored by anyhuman being. So the transcendentalsound, Shabda Brahman is known as theVedas. This Veda is divided into two parts,one part is Samhitâ and other one isBrâhmana. Generally the Veda is in theform of hymns which are otherwise knownas Mantra and collectively mantras areknown as sukta and entire sukta part isnamed as Samhitâ. In the Brâhmana partthere are rules and mantras for the yajnaperformance and this Brâhmana part isprincipally composed in the order of prose.Besides these, there are two moredivisions viz. Âranyaka and Upanishad orShruti. This Shruti portion is otherwisealso known as Vedanta with a view to bringthe very shesha essence of the Vedas.Therefore the Upanishads or shrutis arethe revelation of the esoteric aspect of theVedas. The connotative meaning of theUpanishads is: Brahmana upa samipenishidati anaya ityupanishad:–– Thedivine wisdom or Brahma-vidya whichmakes an aspirant soul to get releasedfrom the quagmire of maya and attainGod-realisation.

In the Chandogya Upanishad, Etasyava mahato bhutasya nih shvasitametadyad. Rik Vedah: The Rik-Veda came forthfrom the Breath of the Supreme God.Therefore the Veda is known as‘Apaurasheya’, not written by any author.Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, the Power-Incarnate of God discloses the esotericand philosophical Aspects of the Vedastogether with the hidden truth of theUpanishads in his Vedanta Sutras. In hisVedanta Sutras Sri Vyasadeva has takeninto account the views of seven Rishissuch as (i) Atreya, (ii) Asmarthya, (iii)Audulomi, (iv) Karshnagini, (v)Kashakritsu, (vi) Jaimini and (vii) Badari,


who were prevalent earlier, with a viewto censuring their concepts of the Tattva.

The great Acharyas, the Path-finders like Sri Shankara, Sri Ramanuja,Sri Madhva, Sri Vishnuswami, SriNimbarka and their followers as well asother builders of philosophical thoughtsof the Sanatana Dharma accepted theVedanta-sutras as the supreme authorityin respect to the true philosophy andreligion. Further the Vedanta Sutrasreconcile the contradictory opinions ofdifferent Rishis and also the variegatedliteratures, on this account its anothername is Uttaramimasa, or Testamentviz. final judgement.

Sri Vyasadeva realised thatalthough the Vedanta is the undisputedauthority for the Philosophy and Religionyet the sutras are so intrinsic withesoteric presupposition that it puzzles thebrain of even extraordinary scholars andtherefore they may be wronglyinterpreted so himself being directed byhis Guru Sri Narada wrote SrimadBhagavatam, as the empirical and truecommentary of his sutras (Vedanta). Aswe find in the Garuda Purana: Bhâshya-ayam Brahma-Sutranam ... Lord SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu acceptedSrimad Bhagavatam as the truecommentary of the Vedanta Sutras.

In due course innumerablecommentaries were written on theVedanta-Sutras, of them principle onesare (1) Sri Sankaracharya’a Advaita-Vada or Absolutism otherwise known asMonism, (2) Sri Ramanuja’s Vishishta-Advaita-Vada or Qualified Monism, (3) SriMadhvacharya’s Dvaita-Vada orDualism, (4) Sri Vishnuswami’s Suddha-Advaita Vada or Pure Monism, (5) SriNimbaditya’s Dvaita-Advaita-Vada orIdentity and Non-Identity theory and (6)Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushan’s Achintya-

Bheda-Abheda-Vada or simultaneousunthinkable distinction and non-distinction. Of them except Sri Shankaraothers accepted from the Vedanticconception that Vishnu-Krishna is theParatattva and Bhakti is the only meansto attain Him. Regarding Shankara’smonism I have discoursed it in my bookLord Sri Chaitanya (vide P.198 to 207)which I produce here.

Our Lord Sri Chaitanya interpretedthe Brahman as the infinite (Brihat), butalso as the Lord of every thing and full ofpowers and attributes. He denied SriSarvabhauma’s contention that theBrahman is formless (Nirâkara), arguingthat some Shruti texts describe theBrahman as Nirvisesha or withoutattributes but what they did was to stripit of mundane Vishesha or conditionedattributes and qualities by way ofestablishing the TranscendentalAttributes in order to make the Blisspossible, as He is also Sacchidananda,i.e., Sat or existence, Chit or intelligenceor consciousness, and Ânanda or Bliss.Ânanda requires a subject and an objectto make it exist. Ânanda is absolutelypositive, requiring one to enjoy another,the reciprocal activities of two entities.Taittiriya Upanishad says the Âtman(Brahman or God) exists (asti), shines(bhâti) and loves or pleases (priti). Howis priti or bliss possible if the Brahmanis devoid of all activity, duality, attributesand so on? But as the Brahman isNirguna devoid of all attributes of Shaktino action is possible in His case. SriChaitanyadeva argued that the Brahmanis not Nirvisesha Chinmâtra orundifferentiated consciousness alone, butalso Savisesha or capable ofaccommodating all qualities, variety,activities, etc., without being limited asthe individuals are liable to be limited in


the conditioned world. This is possibleby virtue of infinite and wornderfulPotency. He cited verses from the AitireyaUpanishad (I.1) in which the Brahman isheld to have created the world with HisGrace. He cited another verse fromSvetasvatara Upanishad (III.19) showingthat the Brahman has neither Legs norHands but walks with Legs and takes holdwith His Hands, which means that theBrahman has neither legs nor hands likethose of the mortal man, which are liableto change and decay; but that He (God)has Transcendental spiritual legs andhands for His Bliss-making activities.Some texts of the Shruti which call theBrahman Nirvisesha or qualityless repeatthis to guard against imposing on, andanthropomorphising the absolute spiritualBrahman with the mundane cause-space-time qualities. When the Shrutisspeak of the Brahman as Nirguna, theymean to raise Him above mundanegunas, or limitations, or products ofPrakriti to which the Brahman isTranscendent and of which He is the Lord.When He is described as Savisesha, Heis to be known as possessing aTranscendental Form capable of doingLila or Sport, which is different from theactivities of the conditioned individualswhich are the effects of causes andassociated with wants, or imperfections.Lila is the Activity of the Perfect Being,proceeding from His absolute Nature,from the spontaneous overflow of thefullness of Joy and Bliss, without anyreference to wish-fulfilling desires. It ismerely the overflow of the abundance ofHis Infinite, joyous Nature. Lord Chaitanyaexplained this possibility of spiritualAttributes in the Brahman, in contradictionto the limitations of the finite, and at thesame time without any modification of theNature of Brahman in the possession of

His Attributes, introducing His three-foldShaktis (potency), sport-making, orcreative energy, which are inherent in theBrahman as is heat in fire. Of these threeShaktis or potencies, Chit-shakti isdirectly and alone responsible to makeHim known as God by virtue of His Samvitaspect, to manifest God’s existence, HisSuites and Paraphernalia, by virtue of HisSandhini aspect, and to make Blisspossible or, in other words make Godenjoy Bliss by virtue of His Hlâdini Aspect.It is called God’s Svarupa or Antarangashakti. The second Shakti is calledTatastha Shakti which evolves intoindividuals. It is so called on account ofits lying between two Shakti Svarupa-Shakti on one hand and Mâyâ-shakti onthe other. Jivas have by nature theinherent aptitude either to serve God inobedience to Svarupa-shakti, whoserelation to jivas is to employ them in theloving service of God which is the normalcondition of jiva’s function, or forsusceptibility to the influence of Mâyâ-shakti, in which case they come to themundane world and become liable to thepleasure and pain of the world. The thirdof the trio, Mâyâ-shakti transforms itselfinto the mundane world and receives jivasby giving them a dual casing, one subtleand one gross body, by which we meanour mind and body, to enjoy and suffer inthe world. These three energies co-existwith God and are neither earlier nor laterthan He. They are inconceivably similarto, and different from God, at the sametime, but God is their Source Spring, inthe course of their modification orconcentration, just as rays affect the sunintercepted by the clouds. Sri Chaitanyaobjected to Sarvabhauma’s interpretationof God as devoid of potency (Nirvesha)and incapable of manifestation withoutundergoing modification.

(to be contd......)


Honest enquiry is one of the mostessentil criteria and the beginning ofspiritual life: ‘Athato Brahma Jijnasa’ ofthe Brahma Sutra, ‘Tasmad Gurumprapadyeta jijnasu shreyamuttamam’ ofthe Srimad Bhagavatam–thecommentary of the Vedanta, ‘Tadviddhipranipatena pariprashnena sevaya’ of theGeeta and ‘Saddharma-spriha’ of theBhakti-rasamrita-sindhu – all these pointto the necessity of honest enquiry orpariprashna at the commencement ofspiritual life.

Honest enquiry is the first andforemost indication of the life of a beginnerwith devotional attitude. He who is notactuated to the enquiry aboutTranscendence, is callous and stupefiedin the matter of religion. Even the novice,in the domain of religion, becomesnaturally anxious to obtain trueknowledge of the spiritual Realm even asan inquisitive boy, curious to beconversant with the objects of hissurrounding, puts hundreds of questionsto his parents, guardians and otherexperienced persons at the dawn of hisnew life. It is a practice with a customerto provide himself with all necessaryinformation with regard to the articles thathe desires to have, prior to his purchase.Likewise those who, being tired of theworldly life, have felt the necessity ofacquiring the knowledge ofTranscendence, are actuated by the spiritof honest enquiry on the eve of launchinginto active spiritual existence.

But there exists a great gulf ofdifference between mere idle curiosity forrceiving informtion regarding religion andthe method of practising it, and the earnest

Honest Enquiry vs. Propitiation of CuriositySrimad B. B. Govind Maharaj

attitude of practising the same for true andsincere devotioal life. In the language ofthe Sastras, the one mode is called‘‘desire for the fulfilment of idle curiosity’’and the other is called ‘‘the enquiringattitude or Pariprashna’’. The impetus ofthe propensity for fulfilling one’s curiosityoriginates from the thirst after gratifyingthe senses. Whereas the enquiring spiritis based on the stronghold of a servingtemperament. The enquiring attitude isthe first step to the growth of the servinghabit, whereas gratification of curiosityacts as a pander to minister to thepassions from beginning to end. Theformer engenders the inclination forservice which accelerates if regularlyfollowed, and the latter degenerates intoatheism by degrees. Curiosity is theoffshoot of temporary influx or excitementof lust, while honest query or Pariprashnais the effective result of self-surrender andsincere submission with manifestindication of a serving attitude. Persons,who are engaged in enligheningthemselves with different solutions oftheistic problem out of curiosity, oftenabandon the practice of enquiring aftertrue and pure theism because of itsulterior failure in supplying the needs ofsatisfying their sensuous enterprise; andso they endeavour to discover newprinciples for the fulfilmnt of the same,just like a debauchee who, after thetemporary relief of excitement of his lust,becomes indifferent to his presentconcubine and seeks for a second oneat the time of a new attack. A sensualilstis seen to gratify his theistic curiosity inthe same manner as an immoral person,welcoming the harlot under excitementand divorcng the same after the


gratification of his lust. Lots of menapproach a true devotee and genuinepreceptor incognito with an apparentlyenquiring attitude, but after accumulatingvarious informations regarding theTranscendental realm when they areconvinced that pure theism and unalloyeddevotion, inculcated by the Bhagavatam,will never serve them in satisfying theirlust and will rather annihilate their innatetendency for virute, wealth, desire andsalvation, their wrong underlying motivestands exposed. In other words, they arecompelled to remove the garb, that solong deceived others, of confusing honestenquiry with the attempt for satisfyingcuriosity which results from thecentralisation of the desire for propitiatingone’s lust. Many a feeble hypocriteharbours such a bogus idea of satisfyinghis wrong curiosity under the apparentshow of an enquiring spirit. The attemptto gratify curiosity under the apparentshow of an enquiring spirit. The attemptto gratify curiosity by making a show ofhonest enquiry is shown by some for amoment, by others for a day, by some fora week or a month or for a year or evenfor a Yuga or a still longer period or forthe whole life.

On many occasions, the whole-hearted attempt for appeasing the thirstof gratifying one’s curiosity appears inthe form of honest enquiry and leads meninto offering services in different forms.Such outward show of device forappropriating gold, damsel, worldly famecorresponding to their false display ofenquiring practice. The great impuslegenerated by the supply of materials forthe satisfaction of passionate desires andexploitation of good name, may often beerroneously mistaken by people at largefor inquisitiveness and wonderful anduntiring zeal for offering sincere service.

But this hypocrisy is bound to be exposedlater on when it is beyond one’s power toensconce the inner tendency when thekeen desire for propitiating sensesbecomes tired and vexed without findingnew supplies. Many people are seen tohave submitted to the Feet of a SpiritualMaster after having raised variousquestions and controversies prior toinitiation, so much so that they haveshown uncommon zeal for queries andin rendering services in differentdirections, but being cut to the quick atthe unchallengeable disposition andseverity, according to their judgement, ofthe Bhagavatam, turn indifferent andultimately take recourse to the principleof getting relieved by discarding for everthe feet of the master.

How long can the supplies forsatisfying the curiosities continue tooverpower a person? Whenever any oneprofesses this to be his religion it wearieshim after ministering to his passions fora time, and consequently he embracesanother faith conducive to the enjoyingpractice, considering the previous one tobe monotonous.

It is the special characteristic of theunalloyed doctrine of the Bhagavata thatit never serves the will of any jiva orperson. A man’s curiosity continues onlyso long as it has in its power to apply theexoteric principles of the Bhagavata forsupplementing his sensuous activities.But when the unsealed doctrine of theBhagavata exerts full influence over thehypocrisy of mankind, the latter are nologer candidates for accepting thatunadulterated gift. Only those persons,who have the performance of many gooddeeds to their account that have got theirfunction of the soul awakened and canremain really attached to the exuberantbeauty of the Bhagavata. The pretext of


enquirng in the mere attempt for satisfyingone’s mental curiosity on the part of thosewhose function of the soul has not beenawakened and whose senses are notdirected for rendering disinterestedservice, never leads to any good result.They either turn opponents of theBhagavata faith by holding it to be staleand monotonous without finding eternallyrenovating avenues of service in it, or feelattracted to some other religion which, intheir opinion, is conducive to thegratificaton of their senses. The mereattempt at listening and chanting withersand even ceases in no time if the enquiryis not followed by submission, or if thefirst manifestation of progressivetendency for service is not based on thestrong desire for acquiring knowledgeabout the Abolute Truth by the method ofsincere and complete self-surrender. Ifthe soul is not stirred with the messageof the Transcendental Realm, if he is notactuated to devote his entire energy everymoment to the service of the SupremeLord by communicating the variousinformations about Transcendence, afterthe matter of the working of the electriccurrent, he will undoubtedly be expelledfrom the spiritual platform, his activitiesconcerning body and mind reigningsupreme. Our soul or animation is avotary to the Ever-New. The service of adiverse character on the transcendentalplane is the function of the soul. Thisfunction is visible in its perverted form inthe reflected region of the material world.A man cannot stay long in the samemood. The distinction between thematerial world and the TranscendentalRealm consists in this that novelty in thematerial world is the source of base andlimited ideas whereas that ofTranscendence is an inexhaustiblefountain of excellence. Inclination for

something new in the material world actsas a phantom of a deer to delude meninto satisfying his senses, while thehankering after novelty in thetranscendental region gratifyng to thesenses of the Supernatural Being andon this account it does not terminatewhen the transendental realm tends tobecome comprehensible on getting ridof the veil of spiritual unconscientious-ness. When we are freed from evils, weacquire competency for listening andchanting, which is void of monotony andrather ramifies into rendering services ina thousand ways.

Therefore, those persons, that havenot been bereft of their evil propensities,consider the teachings of Bhagavata asthe conglomeratioin of speculations, asthey are bound to be perplexed andconsequently deceived and mortifiedbefore their liberation from all sorts ofevils. This really indicates their lack ofhonest enquiry. The questions asadvanced and the service as rendered bythem, are not the queries incidental tosubmission. They are rather manipulationof the sense either for gratifying thecuriosity or a display of perversity underpressure of desire. It should be taken asgospel truth that such persons onlypractice hypocrisyin submission, theyonly desire for satisfyng lust in enquiry andhave a deliberate sinister motive behindtheir mind in moving heaven and earth inrendering the show of services, in casethey are not inspired with the electriccurrent of the renovating messages ofTranscendence. They only undertakephysical feats by reproducing hackneyedwords, ‘the body is nothing’, ‘mind isnothing’ and so on, like parrots, which willsoon be discontinued when their auralactivity weakens and their voice growshoarse. Those lip-deep words have not


reached beyond their body and as theyhave not appeared on the tongue from thecore of their hearts, they become moreand more attracted to the body even byrepeating the same. There can be notrace of the real message ofTranscendence in their borrowedutterances, because there is not livingconnection with the inexhaustible sourceof Transcendence, – their ear-boringceremony could not unseal the reservoirof the Transcendental Auditorium. Theycannot comprehend the spirit of themessage of Transcendence. On thecontrary, though they hear it over and overagain, they only fall victims to thepassions, misconceiving them to be theprinciples of satisfying their senses. It isfor this reason that those genuinemessages of transcendence bring nogood to them and they in their turn retraceto the former position thinking lightly of thespiritual teachings of the Bhagavata,regarding devotional principle practice andmode of rendering service–as buthackneyed deceptions. They becomeconverts to the faith that permits them tosatisfy this lust in different way. This isinevitable as the Bhagavata would neverindulge them in satiating their lust. Butthey try to maintain their show of piety byproducing lame excuses of theirmonotony and worthless-ness. In otherwords they circulate that they are not toblame and that the fault lies in theprinciple.

There is a class of people possessedof a hobby of tasting different religions forministering to their passions. They resortto the abode of every sect for several daysbeing oppressed with a burning curiosityand make a show of accepting theprinciple of ‘‘Vaishnavism’’ in thecongregation of devotees. Theysometims show the utmost promptness

in offering services, and thereby forgathering materials that help to satisfytheir passion. All religions can more orless be made to be a cloak for the satiationof lust. But as the Bhagavata offers nosuch indulgence, their inner motive is fullyexposed by the acid-test of spiritualassociation and they are compelled togive up their guise within a short time.

It then becomes evident to all thattheir precious enquiring attitude andrendering of services were the outcomeof wrong curiosity and the excitement forthe gratification of their sensuouspassions.

Let all the pious beware! Let themneither enter the threshold of the templeof true dvotees who are free fromhypocrisy and malice by putting on thegarb of honest enquiry and service for thepurpose of gratifying their wrongcuriosities and sensuous desires, noraccept those to be their spiritual kith andkin who are guided by such mentality,because this will expedite one’s ruin.

Let them try to learn how to submitand surrender. This self-surrender willserve them as a reservoir or basis whereinthey will be in a position to preserve andretain the nectared utterances of adevotee. Then the stream of elixir rousingto service will be infused in them which,in the long run, will help them in reachingthe glorious Feet of Lord Krishna. It issheer hypocrisy to show the attitude ofhonest enquiry after relinquishing the habitof submission and self-surrender.

The attempt, too, for turning theenquiring spirit, void of serving tendency,into the instrument for showing mentalfeats by way of satisfying idle curiositiesis deception to self as well as to others.Hence let the pious beware of suchpersons and their ways.

S


Absolute God Realisationthrough the process of

Vishuddha Bhakti YogaSripad Bhakti Saurabh Narayan Maharaj

(Contd. from October issue)

THERE IS NO HAPPINESSIN THIS WORLD

The external potency Maya being theexact shadow of the Internal Potency,whaterver found in this world is theperverted reflection of all that exist in theDivine Abode, without any content ofreality in it. That is why, nothing of thisworld is capable of providing realhappiness and satisfaction to the jivas.Worldly people imagine to derivehappiness through the possession ofvarious worldly objects like wealth,eatables, enjoyables, followers, land,house etc., and strive hard to gain suchthings. Soon after acquiring thosecovetable objects, people find them quiteworthless and miserable. Then they startsearching for something else. Thisfrustrating experience continues in everybirth, upto the moment of death.Therefore no’ne of the varied section ofthe society such as, – king or begger, richor poor, rulers or the ruled, leaders or thefollowers, angels or the demons, literateor illiterate, masses or classes, animalsor insects etc. can find any realhappiness in this world. All the fallensouls run after the mirage-like delusionof nescience in the hope of achievingbliss. All the mundane cosmic worldscome under the jurisdiction of theuniquadrangular splendour of the Lord.This is filled with the defects such asgrief, fear and death. If any one desires

to become free from these troubles, hehas to enter into the field of tri-quadrangular splendour of the Lord,through the performance of puredevotion. This world is also comparedto the dreamy state of the sentience. Asleeping person may come across manykinds of eatables and enjoyables andrelish them in his dream. Yet, nothing ofthat dreamland can provide any realsatisfaction to him, as they are not real.The worldly people due to their mundaneattachment and greed may succeed incollecting huge amounts of wealth,eatables in possessing riches andbuildings and by becoming leaders andlords etc. Instead of providing anyamount of real happiness, these thingsmay result in adding to their burden ofsin and suffering.

GREED FOR WORLDLY WEALTH

Godless secularism is comparablewith the mighty demon of Satya-Yuga,namely Hiranya Kashipu (wealth andenjoyment). Even after conquering thethree worlds, this poor demon-king couldnot enjoy even a drop of bliss, beingagitated due to lust, greed, anger,delusion etc. All those who care forworldly wealth and selfish enjoyment areHiranya Kashipus. The present dayHiranya Kashipus in the form of wealthypoliticians, rich businessmen, highprofiled employees and all those who aregreedy for wealth and enjoyments, how


can achieve any kind of real happiness?The undue amount of worldlypossessions can rather cause aconsiderable amount and tension andanxiety to their masters. The sinfullycollected wealth shall cause hellishreactions upon the society. On the otherhand, the innocent child Prahlada wasabsolutely happy, secure, fearless andwas recognised as the saviour of thehumanity by imparting God-consciousness through the process ofShuddha Bhakti Yoga to all the sincerehuman beings of this world. The God-realised souls as well as those whosincerely endeavour for God-realisation,– all these are the worthiest among thehuman beings. Our polticians may optto recognise someone’s worldly meritand prefer to bestow special benedictionsto him, whereas in due course of timewhen that person becomes reborn as adog or a hog, can he claim any of thesehonours? The spiritual welath of God-realisation through Divine Love is the realmerit of the jiva souls, that deserves tobe honoured by providing them millionsof doctorates and billions of Noble Prizes.

PREMA BHAKTI IS THE HIGHESTDIVINE WEALTH

As the Supreme Lord is realisedonly through the Bhakti Yoga, the puredevotees of the Lord are the greatestamong the human beings. They are thepossessors of the highest degree ofhuman values. Even a little associationwith them is productive of eternal wellbeing to the living entities. Even the worstamong human beings get transformedinto the glorious gems, due to thecompany of such pure devotees. Thetrue cause of the present nationaldegradation of majority of the massesis due to the lack of holy company and

due to the absence of divinenarrations. Instead of implementinghundreds of misleading programmes inthe name of uplifting the nation byspending the national resources, thecommon masses should be providedwith devotional teachings in holycompany and should be made to listenthe nectarine narrations of SrimadBhagavatam. This will reform the entirenation within no time and the citizens willshine like the gems of, –– knowledge,love and devotion. Then there won’t ariseany necessity to prohibit the people fromcommitting any sins; because those whofaithfully listen to Srimad Bhagavatam willnever have any inclination to commit anykind of forbidden act, as the first step oftheir devotional journey. Further, they willimbibe all-asupiciousness, shall riseabove the level of liberation, shall achievethe rarest of the devotional fervour, realisethe condensed form of Divine Bliss andshall be capable of attracting theSupreme Lord towards themselves.This is the transcendental glory of theloving devotion.

TRAITS OF THE PURE DEVOTEES

The following are the twenty eighttypes of most important qualities of thedevotees, as told by Lord Krishna to SriUddhava in Srimad Bhagavatam. A puredevotee of Lord Krishna is, ––compassionate, non-malacious,forbearing, truthful, immaculate,equanimous, benevolent, free from lust,self-controlled, polite, pure in thought,detached, desireless, temperate,peaceful, steady, surrendered to LordKrishna, reticent, alert, profound, patient,conqueror of the sixfold demerits, notseeking self-prestige, giver of duerespect to all, adept, friendly, merciful,and enlightened. Among these qualities,‘self surrender to Lord Krishna’ is the chief


character, and all others are the derivativetraits. That means, the one who is notsurrendered to Lord Krishna can have noworthy quality, as he is simply riding overthe chariot of his own mental speculationof mundane attachments, remainingquite far away from the spiritual reality.Those who do not possess these divinequalities, happen to be the store houseof wicked traits. Such people act asthorns on the path of human wellbeing.Therefore, all those who intend tocontribute towards universal welfareshould learn and teach these qualities toall the common masses.

KNOWLEDGE IS THE IDENTITY OFTHE SPIRIT

Genrally the knowledge or cognitionregarding various objects is theinformation that helps us in theacquaintance of those objects. Thereare various categories of knowledge, toknow about the principles of differentlevels. A lamp which readily shows itselfand all the surrounding objects is givenas an example of knowledge. Among thetwofold principles of this world, matter isdevoid of cognition, whereas thesentience is the very form of cognition,like a lamp. Hence a living being canknow about himself as well as about thesurrounding objects. God is the form ofAbsolute cognition or Omniscience,whereas living beings are atomiccognition or Anuchetana. TheKnowledge of the living beings is not onlyvery much limited, it undergoesdegradation due to worldly entanglementwith Maya, due to the aversion to theLord. Therefore, the fallen jivas aredevoid of spiritual perception. All that theypossess is the defective knowledge ofsense-perception. God realisation or theDivine visualisation is experienced by thehelp of the devotional eyes of the pure

spirit, by applying the collyrium of purelove to it. As the fallen souls are spirituallyblind, they remain ineligible to see God.By the help of devotional performanceswhen their blindness is cured, then onlythey can visualise the Supreme Lord.

VARIOUS CATEGORIES OFKNOWLEDGE

Alongwith the downfall of the erringjivas, their faculty of knowledge alsoundergoes degradation. In the grossphysical level the knowledge takes theform of ‘logic’ , and in spiritual level, itbecomes ‘realisation’. The property ofinstinct remains with all the living beingsincluding trees, creepers, plants, insects,animals, reptiles etc. This instinct worksas the tendencies of eating, sleeping,defending and mating. The humanbeings who are exclusively attached tothese fourfold animal instincts, withoutGod-consciousness are equal to thebeasts. Those who work with logicalmentality are somewhat superior to thebeastly people. Based upon logic theydevelop the knowledge of materialscience, technology, engineering,commerce, medicine, defence and try tolive a more comfortable and orderly life.Yet, this also is useless due to itsinsignificant and destructive nature. Theknowledge of ‘realisation’ pertains to thespiritual perception. When this isstrengthened by the help of devotioinalcultivation in association with the puredevotees of the Lord, the jivas shall beable to achieve the transcendentalresults alongwith the fortune of God-realisation. These are the three types ofsubjective knowledge. There are alsofive categories of the objectiveknowledge such as, –– ‘Pratyaksha’(direct sense-perception), ‘Paroksha’(indirect sense-perception) experiencedby others, ‘Aparoksha ’ is the


metaphysical knowledge beyondPratyaksha and Paroksha; theknowledge about the ‘Adhokshaja’Object is the transcendental knowledgeof Lord Narayana in the abode ofVaikuntha. Adhokshaja Lord does notcome under the human range of vision.One can see Him, only by the help ofHis Own Mercy. The next level of DivineKnowledge as ‘Aprakrita’ is incorporatedin the Goloka Lila or Gokula Lila ofVrindavan Dhama, which is absolutelytranscendental and relishable.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REALITY

Living beings, inert matter and Godare the three basic Principles that havepervaded the entire universe. As per theVedic Knowledge, this universe is createdby the transformation of divine potencyor energy. The Supreme Lord isOmnipotent, Omniscient andOmnipresent, possesses infinite energy,its main divisions are, –– 1. Para Shaktior Internal Potency, 2. Apara Shakti orExternal Potency and 3. Jiva Shakti orMarginal Potency.

(to be contd.....)

Nama Samkirtan


Sages, Saints and SeersSri K.S. Ramaswami Sastri

(Contd. from October issue)

The reverence for the supremesages and saints and seers in India andthe belief in their power of visioning superconcious truths and seeing andcommuning with God and the faith intheir spiritual potency to work miraclesand also achieve the redemption of soulshave their parallels and counterparts inother countries also in the course of theages. There is a universal belief thatthose who love God and who are lovedby God because of their purity,goodness, and affection for all livingbeings and devotion to God have specialpowers to bless and save because ofthe grace of God.

I have had to adopt the alphabeticalorder in describing the lives andteachings of the Rishis, as nothing isknown about the dates, nay, even thecenturies of their birth; and it is henceimpossible to settle their eras or theirpriorities. The late Lokamanya B.G. Tilakfixed the age of the Vedas as 5000 B.C.in his famous work Orion and The ArcticHome of the Vedas, having regard toastronomical data. But other scholarsshow how India was the birth-place andhome of the Aryans, and how the Vedasdo not refer to the incoming of the Aryansinto India from somewhere abroad andhow they refer to the Himalaya as theUttara Giri (the Northern Mountain).Anyhow the dates viz. 3000 B.C. to 2000B.C. assigned by the indologists of thelast century to the so-called Aryan entryinto India cannot be maintained. It is verylikely that an Aryan Colony went from

India to the Arctic regions and came backafter the glacial age there. Certainpassages in the Rig Veda (VIII.4.2 and20.12) refer to Indra having been seen inRoma. There are rival theories to-dayas to whether the Sumerians wereAryans or Dravidians. Whatever be thecorrect view on that matter, theSumerians and the Aryans lived in thePunjab. The Dravidians also lived in thePunjab near Baluchistan. There areaffinities betwen the language spokenthere and the languages spoken in SouthIndia. They are no-inflectional languageswhereas the languge spoken by theAryans was inflectional in its nature. Verypossibly both the Aryans and theDravidans spread southwards.Linguistic diversities do not necessarilyimply ethnic and racial differences. Theircultures became blended and the HinduReligion was a blend of their religions andcults and philosophies. The Hindus werethus a united people with ahomogeneous culture for manymilenniums.

In this volume of the biographies ofthe Rishis from Agastya to Yajnavalkyawho were the ancesters andprotagonists and propagandists of theHindu religion and culture, Agastyasymbolises the trek to South India andthe unification of the Hindu culture whileSuka who is the son of Vyasa and whois the latest of the Rishis lived in ourKaliyuga and gave us the religion ofBhakti (devotion to God) which is thesimplest and highest and mostefficacious of all the faiths leading to Godand is the true supreme universal


religioin. He is hence the Rishi of ourage and is the latest and greatest of theRishis.

AGASTYA

One of the Brahma’s sons wasMarici. His son Kashyapa whose sonswere Aditas, one of them was Mitrawhose son was Agastya who marriedLopamudra, princess of Vidarbha.Agastya told her to throwaway her silkgarments and diamond jewels. She didso and wore the deerskin and the barkdress given by him. They lived togetherin righteous happiness. Agastya oncewent to a King named Srutarvan forsome wealth. But that king said: ‘‘Myexpenses equal my income. I am unableto give you what you want’’. Agastya thentook him to antother King namedVratnasvan and made the same request.That King also gave a similar answer.The Rishi them took both those Kings toa king named Trasadasya and made thesame request. That King also gave asimilar answr. All the Kings than told theRishi, ‘‘An Asura name Ilvala hasenormous wealth. Let us go to him’’.They did so. Ilvala had a yonger brothernamed Vatapi. The Asura was in the habitof making Vatapi take the form of a sheepand killing and cooking him and servingthe flesh as food. After the guest hadeaten he used to call: ‘‘Come Vatapi’’.Vatapi used to take own form and ripupon the belly of the guest and come outkilling the guest in that process. Ilvalawent through the same trick in the caseof Agastya. But Agastya quietly said:‘‘Vatapi! Be digested’’. (Vatapi JeernoBhava). That was the end of Vatapi.Ilvala became terrifed and gave each ofthe Kings 1,000 cows and 10,000 goldcoins, and gave to Agastya 20,000 cowsand 20,000 gold coins. Once Agastyaasked his wife; ‘‘Do you want 1,000

ordinary sons or 100 sons each equalin glory to ten persons or 10 sons equalin glory to one hundred persons or oneson more glorious than 1,000 persons?’’She said, ‘‘Let me have one son equal inglory to 1,000 sons.’’ Agastya said ‘‘Be itso!’’ A glorious son named Tridasyu wasborn to her. Even at its birth the childrecited the Vedas.

A remarkable incident in Agastya’slife was as follows. The Sun used to goaround Mount Meru. The Vindhyamountain said, ‘‘Am I not important? Goround me also’’. The Sun said, ‘‘That isnot God’s Command to me’’. Then theVindhya shot up to the height of the skyand prevented the march of the Solar orbto illumine the universe. The Gods thensought Agastya’s help. He told theVindhya, ‘‘I wish to go to South India.Resume your old height’’. The mountaindid so. He crossed over and said: ‘‘Keepthis height till I return’’. The mountain ishence having its present low height.(This story is in the Vana Parva of theMahabharata).

(to be contd.......)

Srivas Angan


Sri KrishnaSri C. Gopinatham

(Contd. from August issue)

How the Brahma of our Brahmanda,and the Indra of our trailoka, have becomelost in oblivion and how Sri Krishna hadto teach them a lesson and enlighten themon their true position, I shall discuss inconnection with the incident ofVatsapaharana by Brahma at Vrindavana,in our Lord’s fifth year, and in connectionwith the Govardhana dharana incident, inHis seventh year.

Thirdly we have the internal evidencefurnished by the Life of our Lord and Hisvarious Leelas at various places, whichpoints to the conclusion that the Sri Krihnaof Dwapara is not one and the samethroughout His earthly sojourn, but that Hewas different at different places. Analysingthe Sri Krishna of the last Dwapara, wehave three Krishnas, from the standpointof the three places, where our Lord livedin our midst. We have first the Sri Krishnaof Brindavana. Secondly, we have theKrishna of Mathurapuri, thirdly and lastly,we have the Krishna of Dwaraka. Themode of Life led by each of these threeKrishnas and the Leelas performed byeach of Them is quite different from thoseof the other and throw a flood of light onthe real nature of the Avatara at thosevarious places and connections. Themost difficult, intricate andincomprehensible Krishna out of the threeKrishnas aforesaid is the Krishna ofBrindavana, Whose Deeds and Leelasthere form a stumbling block to thespiritual world up to the preent day. Thesecret and mysterious Leelas atBrindavana encated by the Goloka

Parabrahma in company with HisMoolaprakriti, Sri Radha Mahadevi, theQueen of Brindavana, and Her attendantspiritual companions, the Gopis ofGoloka, constitute mighty Gordion-knotwhich the world has not been able to cutsuccessfully. The Gopalas and the Gopisof the Brindavana, with whom theBrindavana Krishna sported and playedand danced, are no other than the spiritualBeings of Goloka, and incarnated onearth, along with their Lord Krishna ofGoloka, to do service at His Divine Feet,during the earthly sojourn of GolokaParabrahma. The Gopalas ofBrindavana, were in constant attendanceon Him palying and sporting with theSupreme Parabraha and doing serviceto the Lord and obeying His orders anddoing His biddings. The Gopis ofBrindavana are the constant companionsof Radha Mahadevi, their spirtual Queen,Who is no other than the Moolaprakriti ofGoloka, in constant attendance upon theSupreme Parabrahma of Goloka, whenceShe came down to the earth with Herattendant spiritual retinue to do serviceto the Lord.

Now, in this connection, it is a factnoteworthy that the Parabrahma, Whochooses to come down to the earth asan Avatara, never comes single. TheParabrahma, Who comes down, isalways followed by His attendantdevotees and spiritual paraphernalia. Itis just like a king making a tour throughouthis dominions. The king never comessingle and is always accompanied by hisminsters and secretaries and privatesecretaries. Just in the same way,


Parabrahma in the course of His Avatara,never come down single. It is because,on the one part, the attendant spiritualforces have to render service to the Lord,and on the other part, the latter would runthe risk of losing their constantcommunion with their Lord, and serviceat His Feet.

Moreover, the Parivara Devatas willhave a special advantage, when theyaccompany the Avatara Purusha. Whenengaged in the service of an Avatara, theParivara Devatas have betteropportunities of courting and winning theDivne Grace, by virtue of the specialenvironment, than when they areengaged in the service of the MoolaParabrahman in the normal state. Toillustrate what I mean: The king sitting onhis throne, and exercising his authority,is quite different from the king making histour through his dominions. Hissubordinate officials, who accompanyhim in his tours, have better fecilities andopportunities of approaching their royalmaster and obtaining the royal graceunder such conditions than when the kingis in his capital and sitting in theadmnistrative robes and capacity.

Now the most important souls,which incarnated at Gokula Brindavanaare residents of Goloka, as clearly setforth in Purana and Radha Mahadevi isthe Moolaprakriti at Goloka and is theSpiritual Queen of Lord Sri Krishna.Nanda is one of the personal attendantsof the Lord of Goloka, and Sudama andeleven other Gopa companions of ourLord at Brindavana, are also the personalattendants of Lord at Goloka. Most of theyounger Gopis at Brindavana are thespiritual attendants of Sri Radha Devi ofGoloka. The Gopalas and Gopis ofBrindavana are unique souls, and formquite a distinct section which did service

to the Lord and obtained the fullest DivineGrace within that brief space. There is adirect contrast between these BrindavanaVasis and the Dwaraka-pura Vasis. Theideals of each were different. Thisfundamental difference would throw lightnot only on the difference between thesetwo classes, but also on the nature of theparticular Kishna Who manifestedHimself at Brindavana and at Dwaraka.The Krishna of Brindavana is quitedifferent from the Krishna at Dwaraka.

The Sri Krishna of Brindavana had,as stated above, twelve chief sakhasamong the Gopalas. Their names asgiven in Srimad Bhagavatam, areSridama, Subala, Stoka Krishna,Vrishabha, Bhadrasena, Arjuna,Devaprastha, Varudhopa, etc. Sridamaand Sudama are the chief of the twelve.These twelve Sakhas are the personalattendants of the Lord at Goloka. Thefact that these Gopalas are mentioned byname in Bhagavata is significant. If theseboys were merely the shepherd boys,casually born at Brindavana, and casuallycame into contact with the Lord, therewas no necessity to name them specially.Of course, this is not a forcible argument,but the pictue presented to the BrindavanaKrishna in all its details is that of theGoloka Lord, of which the group of thesetwelve Gopalas forms one aspect.

Again turning to Nanda, the proprietorof Goloka and Brindavana, he is theimmediate personal attendant of theGoloka Lord. Nanda played a veryimportant part in the Krishnavatara. Hehad incarnated long before theAvatarapurusha. By the time theSanatana Parabrahman descended to theearth, Nanda was carefully bringing up theseveral Gopalas and Gopis whoincarnated from Goloka and preparingthem for the service to the Impending Lordof Goloka. (to be contd......)


This Mayik Potency is the pervertedreflection of My Internal Self ConsciousEnlightening Potency (Yoga Maya) which isthe other one.

Now this Bahiranga Shakti has eightcomponents –– earth, water, fire, air andether, the five gross elements and mind,intelligence and ego, the three subtleelements. The five gross elements have fivefold properties –– smell, taste, colour, touchand sound. These eight components are theoffshoots of My Apara Prakriti (ExternalDeluding Mayik Potency). 4

Jiva, as marginal potency of the Lord

Eú∫zÆu™oÀnƒãÆÁÊ üNw̨ uoÊ uƒuÚ ™z ú∫Á™Ω @\yƒßÓoÁÊ ™“Á§Á“Áz ÆÆztÊ áÁÆ|oz \ToΩ @@ 5 @@Apareyamitastvnyâm

prakritim viddhi me parâm |jeevabhutâm mahâbâho

yayedam dhâryate jagat || 5 ||™“Á§Á“Áz = O mighty armed (Arjuna) ,

FÆÊ = this, Eú∫Á = external Mayik Potencyis lower, uƒuÚ = know, üNw̨ uoÊ = the Potency,Fo: oÏ EãÆÁÊ = which is different from this, ú∫ÁÊ= and is supreme, \yƒßÓoÁÊ = known as JivaPotency , ™z = which is also Mine, ÆsÁ =and by which, Ft™Ω = this, \ToΩ = materialworld, áÁÆ|oz = is supported.

O Mighty armed Arjuna! This external

(Contd. from October issue)Mayik Potencyis lower.Know thePotency whichis different from this and is supreme, knownas Jiva Potency, which is also Mine and bywhich this material world is supported.

This Jiva Potency i.e. Para is superiorto Mayik Potency i.e. Apara. And this isalso called as Tatastha or Marginal Potencyas it ies in between the Lord’s ChitAntaranga and Achit Bahiranga Potenciesand is liable to take a move towards thespiritual world manifested from ChitPotency or towards the fourteen worlds thathave emanated from Achit Potency accordingto his serving or enjoying tendency which isdeeply rooted in his very essence.

Please refer SvetashwataraUpanishad–6.16; Vishnu Purana 6.7.60;Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Leela20.108,109,111. 5

The Lord declares that He distinct fromthese two and is the final cause

of the Universe

Lo˘Ázåyuå ßÓoÁuå Ã√ƒÁ|mynÆÏúáÁ∫Æ @E“Ê Nw̨ nŒÁÀÆ \To: üßƒ: üpÆÀosÁ @@6@@Etadyoneeni bhutâni

sarvâneetyupadhâraya |aham kritsnasya jagatah

prabhavah pralayastathâ || 6 ||

»y»yTÏª TÁ{∫ÁWïÁ{ \Æo:

SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA

»y™ÙTƒËyoÁÃõo™ÁzDÜÆÁÆ: CHAPTER-VII

uƒrÁåÆÁzT: DHYÂNA YOGA


GúáÁ∫Æ = Bear in mind, Fuo = that,Ã√ƒÁ|my = all, ßÓoÁuå = beings––sentient andinsentient, LooΩ = have these (two potenciesi.e. Apara Shakti - External MayikPotency, Tatastha or Jiva Shakti -Marginal Potency), ÆÁzåyuå = as the sourceof birth, E“Ê = I am, üßƒ: = the Prime Causeof Creation or the place of orgin andsustenance, osÁ = and also, üpÆ: = the placeof dissolution, Nw̨ nŒÁÀÆ = of the entire, \To:= Universe.

Bear in mind, that all beings –– sentientand insentient, have these two Potencies i.e.Apara Shakti - External Mayik Potency,Tatastha or Jiva Shakti - Marginal Potencyas the source of birth. I am the Prime Causeof Creation or the place of orgin andsustenance and also the place of dissoutionof the entire Universe.

Please refer Iteriya Upanishad I.1.1,2;Bhagavad Gita IX.10. 6

Lord declares, that besides Himthere is nothing else

™: ú∫o∫Ê åÁãÆoΩ uN˛uØÁtuÀo áå±ÁÆ @™uÆ Ã√ƒ|u™tÊ üÁzoÊ ÃÓfiz ™umTmÁ Fƒ @@ 7 @@Mattah parataram nânyat

kinchidasti Dhananjaya |Mayi sarvamidam protam

sutre maniganâ iva || 7 ||áå±ÁÆ = Arjuna! (Winner of wealth), å

EãÆoΩ uN˛uØÁoΩ = nothins else, EuÀo = is, ú∫o∫Ê= superior or equal, ™: = to Me, Ãƒ̇ = all,FtÊ = this Universe, üÁzoÊ = is strung (or existsand through), ™uÆz = in Me, Fƒ = like, ™umTmÁ:= a group of gems, ÃÓfiz = on a thread.

Arjuna! Winner of wealth! Nothing elseis superior or equal to Me. All this Universeis strung (or exists and through) in Me like agroup of gems on a thread. (Nothing canexist independent of Me.)

Please refer Svetasvatara Upanishad3.10; 3.8,9; 6.8; Vedanta Sutra 3.2.36;Srimad Bhagavatam 5.3.16; 1.3.28;Bhagavad Gita 11.43; ChaitanyaCharitamrtia Madhya Leela 20.152,153;8.133; Brahma Samhita 5.1; GopalatapaniUpanishad; Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1;Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. 7

∫ÃÁzD“™õÃÏ N˛Á{ãozÆ üßÁuÀ™ ΔuΔÃÓÆ|ÆÁz: @ümƒ: Ã√ƒ|ƒztz Ï Δ£t: Qz úÁ{ª Ê åw Ï @@ 8 @@Rasoahamapsu kaunteya

prabhâsmi shashisuryayoh |pranavah sarvavedeshu

shabdah khe paurusham nrishu || 8 ||N˛Á{ãozÆ = Arjuna! (son of Kunti), E“Ê =

I (am), ∫Ã: = the taste, EõÃÏ = in water,EuÀ™ = (I) am, üßÁ = the light, ΔuΔ = in themoon, ÃÓÆ|ÆÁz: = and the sun, ümƒ: = (I am)the Pranava, Ãƒ| = in all, ƒztz Ï = Vedas, Δ£t:= (I am) the sound, Qz = in sky (akasha),úÁ{ª Ê = and manliness, åw Ï = in man.

Arjuna! O son of Kunti, I am the tastein water. I am the light in the moon and thesun. I am the Pranava in all Vedas. I am thesound in sky (akasha) and manliness in man.

Krishna illustrates the Truth that He isthe Maintainer of the Universe. He exists inthe elements since He maintains them throughthe sense objects, which are His Vibhutis.

Jut as He entered into the Universe,His effect, in the form of Paramatma, andalso He exists in the form of the cause ofthese effects (taste in the water etc.)

Refer Srimad Bhagavatam XI.16.34. 8

úÏlÆÁz Tãá: úwuá√ÆÁØÁ oz\≥ÁÁuÀ™ uƒßÁƒÃÁ{ @\yƒåÊ Ã√ƒ|ßÓoz Ï oú≥ÁÁuÀ™ oúuÀƒ Ï @@ 9 @@Punyo gandhah prithivyamscha

tejaschâsmi vibhâvasau |


Sri Hari Hara Kshetra

(to be contd....)

jeevanam sarvabhuteshutapaschâsmi tapasvishu || 9 ||

úÏlÆ: = (I am) the natural or sactified,Tãá: = smell, úwus√ÆÁÊ = in earth, EuÀ™ Y = Iam also, oz\: = the heat, uƒßÁƒÃÁ{ = in fire,\yƒåÊ = I am the lilfe-giving principle, Ã√ƒ| =in all, ßÓoz Ï = beings, EuÀ™ = I am , oú: =penance (tapas), oúuÀƒ Ï = in those whoperform penance.

I am the natural or sanctified smell inearth (i.e. ‘natural’ or ‘pleasing’ applies toall the elements). I am also the heat in fire,i.e. the pleasing form of fire or power of fire,the essence –– that which can burn,illuminate and relieve cold in all things. I amthe life-giving principle in all beings i.e. theiressence. I am penance in those who performpenance, i.e. toleration of suffering viz.dualilties such as heat and cold in theperformers of penance.

Sri Advaitacharya worshippingSriman Mahaprabhu

gaudiya math chennai / 'the gaudiya ' november 2012

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