Planet ISKCON

Host:
Maharaj, my humble obeisances. Thank you so much for joining us on the Monks Podcast. It’s been a long-cherished aspiration for me to have you here. The blend of analytical rigor and devotional depth that you bring to your talks and writings is something I have deeply appreciated.

Many devotees who find inspiration in my classes have also expressed how much they value the deep insights and thoughtful analysis in your presentations. The integration of head and heart that you embody is rare—it’s easy to veer to one extreme or the other, but you harmonize both beautifully.

So, I’m grateful not just for what you do, but for who you are. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to serve you today. I recently came to know about your book on healing prayers, and I thought we could explore the topic of prayer broadly, with a specific focus on this work.

Welcome once again, and thank you very much.

Maharaj:
I’m happy to be with you this evening—or whatever time of day it is for your listeners. And yes, I appreciate your talks as well. I’ve listened to some of them and read your book on reincarnation. So we already have mutual respect, even though this is our first personal interaction.

Thank you.

Regarding the title of my book—it’s called Healing Prayers. This book is a translation from Russian, and the original title in Russian more accurately captures the core idea. The English title conveys the essence to a fair extent, though it’s not a perfect match.

At the beginning of the book, I describe three types of prayers. I analyze them in the context of devotional development. The first type is called Samprārthanātmikā. The word prārthanā means prayer, and sam comes from Sanskrit samyak, meaning “completely” or “fully.” So, this type of prayer refers to a mood where we fully surrender to the Lord—with our thoughts, our speech, and our actions.

This idea of completeness is central to the book. In the Russian title, “healing” is linked to restoring our wholeness—our completeness. What happens through our karmic experiences is that we become divided. A part of us—the spiritual essence—wants to draw closer to God and reestablish our lost relationship with Him. But another part—our material side—pulls us in a different direction.

These pulls may come from sinful impressions or even just worldly attachments—not necessarily sinful, but still material. So we become fragmented. The Samprārthanātmikā prayer is meant to heal this fragmentation—to restore the completeness of our being. That’s what “healing” means in this context: to heal our inner division, to bring us back into wholeness.

That’s the central theme of the book. It resonates with many because we all feel that inner dissonance. There is something broken, something unsettled within us. Healing, in this sense, is the process of becoming spiritually whole again.

Host:
That’s such a beautiful theme. As you were speaking, I was reminded that the words healing and whole actually come from the same root in English. The old English word “hælan” means to make whole, cure, or restore to health. And whole itself refers to being entire, unbroken, or unhurt.

So yes, the idea behind healing is really restoring the wholesomeness of our being. To become whole again—that’s the underlying purpose.

Maharaj:
Exactly. And that’s the idea behind the title. It’s about offering the whole being to God. But, as you rightly noted, before we can offer the whole being, that being must become whole. It must become integrated.

That’s what Samprārthanātmikā is about—prayers of complete surrender. But surrendering completely is not easy when we ourselves are incomplete. We can only surrender the part that wants to surrender—while other parts resist. So first, we need to reassemble ourselves—to gather and reintegrate the divided parts. Only then can we sincerely surrender.

Host:
That’s a profound insight. In modern English, there’s an expression: “That person really has it together,” meaning they’re composed and integrated. That idea of inner “togetherness” or composure is valued.

Also, the word integrity reflects the same idea—inner coherence or unity. Integration is necessary for integrity. It reminds me of the Bhagavad-gītā verse (2.41): vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kurunandana—being one-pointed, undistracted by fragmentation.

Maharaj:
Yes, exactly. And that’s why integrity—inner unity—is so essential for authentic devotion. When we’re fragmented, it’s hard to focus or offer ourselves completely. Healing prayers aim to restore that inner coherence.

Host:
Now Maharaj, in the Indian context, the words “healing” and “prayer” often carry a different connotation. With concerns about religious conversions, prayer and healing are sometimes associated with marketing tactics—especially when there are claims of miraculous physical healing. This creates skepticism.

But the healing we’re talking about here is spiritual, not physical—right?

Maharaj:
Yes, absolutely. We are not referring to physical healing in the miraculous sense. Physical illness may result indirectly from the unwholesomeness of our being, and when we restore our inner balance, some physical healing may follow. But that’s not the aim.

The focus here is spiritual healing. I definitely do not intend to bring into our tradition the kind of miracle-based “healing ministries” we sometimes see elsewhere. I want to distance myself clearly from that sensationalism.

Host:
Thank you for clarifying that. That brings me to another common question. Most people, even devotees, tend to pray more when something goes wrong in their material life.

For example, I met a devotee in the UK. Her newborn child was very sick. She said, “I feel I should pray to Krishna. But is that a material prayer? Should I be praying for something spiritual instead?”

But that child’s health was what was foremost in her heart. If she didn’t take that to Krishna, wouldn’t that mean hiding her heart from Him?

I shared some thoughts, but I’d love to hear your perspective. I said that “material” is a broad category. Praying for the destruction of someone out of jealousy—that’s completely anti-devotional. Praying for wealth or fame is generally considered material too, especially if it becomes the goal.

However, praying for strength to fulfill one’s dharma—like caring for one’s child—is different. That’s aligned with our responsibilities. And if we can think of Krishna while doing it, that becomes pro-devotional. As Prabhupāda often said: “Somehow or other, fix the mind on Krishna.”

Maharaj:
I completely agree. That’s a well-balanced explanation.

Satva-guṇa is a necessary springboard toward śuddha-bhakti. And before reaching pure devotion, we must be situated in dharma. So, if our prayers are linked with our dharmic responsibilities and ultimately aimed at bringing us closer to God, then they are harmonious with bhakti.

Also, we must remember—we are human. We have emotions, we have desires. Life itself means having desires. Only a stone is desireless.

If we can dovetail our desires with our devotion—as Śrīla Prabhupāda taught—then even seemingly material desires can become part of our devotional life.

So, when someone’s child is sick, or they themselves are suffering, and they feel compelled to pray—it’s not wrong. As long as they retain the devotional mood, there’s nothing inappropriate.

And as Prabhupāda would often guide, we can always pray:
“If You so desire, my dear Lord..

Host:
So, the phrase “if You so desire” means that we place the Lord’s will above our own. Our desire is secondary—present, yes, but subordinated. If our desire aligns with the Lord’s will, if it’s harmonious with His plan, then the prayer is fine. And if not, we give the Lord complete freedom not to fulfill it, knowing that ultimately, He is in control.

In this way, our prayer doesn’t interfere with our understanding of our position as His servant. So, that’s another angle from which we can view this issue.

Essentially, we pray, “My dear Lord, if You so desire, please…” This is something important to me—something I can’t just dismiss. But still, “if You so desire” remains a vital part of that prayer.

Maharaj:
Yes, that phrase gives the prayer its devotional character. And as you said, it also gives the devotee breathing space. We can express our heartfelt concerns while staying anchored in spiritual alignment.

The essence of prayer is to invest the heart. What is the point of mechanically praying for “pure devotion” when it doesn’t yet resonate deeply within? If I’m only repeating words that don’t reflect my present reality, my prayer becomes hollow.

But if my heart is genuinely yearning for something—something meaningful—then connecting that desire to the path of bhakti allows me to pray sincerely. That sincerity brings life to the prayer.

Host:
That’s such a vital point. Prayer is the language of the heart—it’s where the human heart reaches out to the divine heart. If we pray for something that’s not in our heart at that moment, the prayer becomes superficial.

So Maharaj, moving forward, you chose to focus on the prayers of Queen Kunti in your book. Was there a particular reason for choosing those prayers? They are exalted, pure devotional prayers—some are at a very high level. But how do you see their relevance in terms of the emotional investment you just spoke about?

Maharaj:
Yes, I chose those prayers because I believe they’re deeply relevant—even today.

In fact, this book originated from a seminar I gave to an audience that had gone through traumatic events—specifically, in Ukraine. I won’t go into details, but the audience had experienced bewilderment, pain, and deep questioning: “Why is this happening to us? Why on such a scale?”

My seminar aimed to address their emotional state and to help them make sense of what they were feeling. Queen Kunti’s prayers resonated strongly because, though she prayed from a highly exalted state, she too went through profound difficulties.

Sometimes we think our life is hard. But then we see the lives of the great devotees—and realize they went through much worse. Yet they continued to pray, to serve, to persevere. That makes their prayers deeply relatable.

Host:
Yes, that makes sense. So even though their consciousness was higher, the emotions they expressed can be shared by us at our level. Would you be able to share a particular prayer that speaks to feelings like abandonment or bewilderment? Something that helps devotees connect the words of the prayer to their own emotions?

Maharaj:
Certainly. At the very beginning of her prayers, Queen Kunti is standing before Krishna, who is about to leave Hastinapur. She runs to Him and begins offering prayers. Though she is Krishna’s aunt—a close relative—she begins by saying, “I cannot understand You.”

Now, we don’t even see Krishna directly, and we may doubt our connection to Him. But for Kunti, there was no doubt—He was her nephew, her protector, her well-wisher. And still, she says, “I am bewildered. I don’t understand what You’re doing.”

And rightly so. Krishna saved Arjuna and saved Maharaja Parikshit, but He didn’t save Abhimanyu—Arjuna’s son and Kunti’s grandson. Nor did He protect Draupadi’s sons after the war was over.

Kunti stood before Krishna with tears in her eyes, expressing gratitude despite her confusion. She didn’t demand an explanation—she began praying. And as her prayers progressed, we see a transformation. She began with bewilderment but gradually moved toward clarity and deeper understanding.

So, in a way, her prayers are an example of how prayer itself can help us understand what’s happening in our lives. It may not change the situation externally, but it brings peace and understanding internally.

Host:
That’s a powerful point—that prayer is not just for solving a problem, but for understanding it. Often, people think prayer is a way to persuade God to do what we want. One devotee once told me, “I’m afraid to pray because if Krishna doesn’t answer, my faith might get shaken.”

But prayer, as one of the nine limbs of bhakti, is meant for connecting with Krishna—not manipulating Him. When we pray with that mood, we don’t always get the result we expected, but we get a sense of Krishna’s presence. And that presence itself gives us relief.

Maharaj:
Exactly. Most of the time, the external problem doesn’t get “solved” in the way we imagined. But the real problem is often the condition of our heart.

When prayer purifies the heart, the problem is resolved at a deeper level. We often think the issue is out there, in the world—but often, it’s in here, within us.

Host:
That’s so true. And regarding extending the scope of scriptural prayers, sometimes when we study a verse, we may not relate directly to its literal meaning. But we can still find ourselves reflected in its broader spirit.

For example, when Queen Kunti says, “I cannot understand You,” that can certainly be interpreted philosophically as Krishna’s inconceivable nature. But at a more emotional level, it reflects our own confusion: What is Krishna doing in my life? Why is this happening? That emotional connection makes the verse meaningful.

Maharaj:
Yes, exactly. That’s the point I’m making in the book. If we analyze Kunti’s prayers, we see that before she asks Krishna for anything, she spends a long time expressing her understanding of Him.

Only at the very end does she offer a personal petition—for restoring her inner wholeness. But even that is framed within her understanding of Krishna’s nature.

This is important. If we immediately start asking someone for something without showing that we understand or appreciate them, even if the request is granted, the relationship doesn’t deepen.

But when we express our understanding first, it becomes a respectful and intimate exchange. That’s what prayer really is—a relationship.

And when someone feels understood, they are more likely to give—more likely to reciprocate. That’s true even in our human relationships.

So before asking, Queen Kunti expresses her understanding. That makes her prayer both legitimate and satisfying—not just for her, but for Krishna.

Host:
That’s such an important insight. Many scriptural prayers in the Bhagavatam follow this pattern: a long, heartfelt invocation before any request is made. As you explained, that invocation is not mere formality—it’s an expression of understanding and alignment.

Only then comes the petition: “Within Your purpose, my Lord, here is what I feel I need.” That transforms the prayer from a demand into a dialogue.

Maharaj:
Yes, and that’s what gives the prayer its beauty and its power—not just asking for something, but first expressing, “My Lord, I understand You. I trust You. I know who You are.”

Only then do we say, “Now, if You so desire…”

Host:
Yeah. So this would actually be a fascinating exercise—to look at many of the prayers in the Bhagavatam from that perspective.

My understanding is that before offering a petition, these prayers often begin by glorifying the Lord. It reminds me of that common saying: “Don’t tell God how big your problems are—tell your problems how big God is.”

So, many of the prayers that speak about God’s greatness are really a way of reminding ourselves that God is bigger than our problems—and that He has dealt with far greater issues before.

In that sense, these prayers are not just personal reminders, which we could easily do mentally; but by verbalizing them in a prayerful mood, we demonstrate that we understand who the Lord is and what His mission is.

Maharaj:
Yes, it’s very important to restore our proper perspective before we start praying. The natural human tendency is to see reality through a distorted lens—where things that emotionally agitate us seem exaggerated, and things that are actually important may seem trivial.

So before offering prayers, we need to correct our vision and bring reality into proper focus. That’s precisely what Queen Kunti does. Again and again, she reminds herself—and by extension, all of us—what the true perspective is: who we are and who the Lord is.

That is the essence of proper prayer: aligning our perception with reality.

Host:
That’s interesting—Prabhupada writes in Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad-gita that “intelligence means to see things in proper perspective.” And here you’re explaining how one of the purposes of prayer is also to restore proper perspective.

Later in that chapter, Krishna says: “dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yenamām upayānti te”—that when one serves with love, Krishna gives the intelligence to approach Him. So in a way, prayer helps us begin by remembering God is bigger than the world. And as we continue praying, that understanding becomes more deeply embedded within us.

Maharaj:
Exactly. Beautifully said.

Host:
Continuing on this theme, we often talk about scriptural prayers and personal prayers. Sometimes, the prayers we compose ourselves—based on our immediate situation—feel more spontaneous and emotionally real.

So, how important are scriptural prayers in our tradition? And how much room is there for personal prayers?

Maharaj:
Actually, all prayers must be personal. There’s no such thing as an impersonal prayer.

Even if we’re repeating a prayer composed by someone else, it must become our own prayer. If it doesn’t become personal—if it doesn’t connect to our heart—it’s not really a prayer. It’s just a parrot-like repetition of someone else’s words.

So yes, scriptural prayers are very valuable because they teach us how to pray. There’s a certain etiquette, a mood, a structure. I speak about this in my book as well.

But even then, we must try to connect with the emotional condition of the one who originally offered the prayer. At least we should attempt to cultivate similar emotions, even if they’re not fully developed within us yet.

And once we understand what it means to pray properly, we can compose our own prayers—spontaneously and sincerely. But again, both types must be personal. Impersonal prayers have no spiritual value.

Host:
That’s a powerful insight. “Personal” can refer to both the source of the prayer and the emotional investment in it. You’re emphasizing that emotional investment is non-negotiable.

We see this in Srila Prabhupada’s own life. When he arrived in America, he composed a deeply moving prayer aboard the Jaladuta. That prayer gives us a glimpse into his heart in a way that much of his formal writing doesn’t always show so vividly.

So while we have the Sanskrit scriptural prayers and the Bengali Vaishnava songs, Prabhupada’s English prayers also stand out because they feel more emotionally relatable.

Would you say that the more recent vernacular-language prayers are more relatable mainly because of the language, or is there something about the text itself?

Maharaj:
Yes, you’re absolutely right. The language and cultural context both make a difference.

Recent prayers, written in modern or vernacular languages, are usually easier to relate to. That’s understandable—they reflect our cultural environment, our emotional vocabulary.

But that’s also the job of the commentator—to remove the barriers between us and the scriptural prayers: language barriers, cultural barriers, emotional barriers. It’s not just about the prayers—even understanding sacred texts in general can be difficult due to these differences in time, culture, and worldview.

But a good commentator bridges that gap by helping us see how a text is still relevant.

Of course, the original Sanskrit texts are far more profound. They carry deep, multidimensional meanings. So although they’re harder to access, the reward of understanding them is also far greater.

That’s why Srila Prabhupada was so meticulous. He translated every single word and wrote extensive purports. He was trying to remove the barriers.

But often we’re just lazy—we say, “I can’t relate to this.” But the reality is, we haven’t labored enough to uncover the depths of these texts.

And as you know from your own study of the Bhagavad-gita, when we go back to these texts again and again, new insights emerge. We see things we didn’t see before. It’s like a miracle—something we thought we already understood suddenly reveals a new layer.

That’s the nature of scripture, especially Sanskrit scripture.

Vernacular languages like Bengali, Hindi, or English are much less profound—they often convey just one layer of meaning. But a single Sanskrit word can carry so many dimensions. That’s why the labor is harder, but the reward is deeper.

Host:
Thank you, Maharaj. Two of your points stand out. First, when we talk about expanding the ambit of scripture—making scriptural prayers personal—we can do so legitimately as long as we remain rooted in the mood of the original.

And second, it’s the role of commentators to help us overcome obstacles to personalizing these prayers. Srila Prabhupada removed many obstacles for his generation. But today, we may face new challenges in relating to scripture.

So it becomes our responsibility to understand what blocks us—or others—from developing a personal connection with scripture, and then work to remove those blocks.

Otherwise, scripture becomes like a museum artifact—something we admire from a distance but don’t experience as living and relevant.

Maharaj:
Exactly. That’s a great analogy. You go to a museum and see some ancient artifact in a glass case. It’s old, it’s valuable, but it’s dusty, lifeless—and it doesn’t touch your heart.

Unfortunately, some translations of scripture by so-called “academic scholars” feel exactly like that—something that has no connection to your life.

That’s why the job of a commentator is to bring life into the words of scripture—by showing their relevance.

And that’s not a one-time task. It has to be done again and again as time passes and cultures change.

Scriptures live only in a commentarial tradition. Without commentaries, they become lifeless. That’s why commentaries must continue to be written—to make the eternal truths of scripture relevant for the current audience.

Host:
That’s such a profound point. Just as the spiritual master lives on through their followers and their words, the scriptures live on through living commentarial traditions.

So maybe one last question, Maharaj. When we speak of relevance, how do we know whether we are genuinely drawing out something from scripture—or whether we are reading into it something that isn’t there?

For example, there was a commentator who tried to present the Gita as a book promoting nonviolence. Now while the Gita does touch on nonviolence, that’s clearly not its central theme.

So what guidelines can help us avoid reading our own ideas into scripture?

Maharaj:
For that—we must pray.

The human tendency is to read our own ideas into the text. As Srila Prabhupada warned, many people exploit Krishna’s words to support their personal agendas.

Why? Because they want their ideas to be seen as authoritative. And since Krishna is the highest authority, they try to use Him to validate their own thinking.

But Krishna is not here to be exploited. He is here to enlighten us.

That’s why Srila Prabhupada emphasized: Bhagavad-gita As It Is. He insisted on preserving the original intent with integrity.

So yes, we must be cautious, humble, and prayerful—because without sincerity and surrender, it’s very easy to distort scripture, even with good intentions.

I don’t want to show off my own erudition or scholarship. I don’t want to impose my own ideas onto the scriptures. That’s a matter of integrity.

And to maintain that integrity, again, we need to pray. That’s actually the meaning behind the title of the book—Prayers That Restore Integrity—because they help us realign ourselves with truth, rather than project our biases onto it.

Otherwise, yes, the temptation is always there—to insert our own ideas into scripture, to put our words into Krishna’s mouth. But I don’t think Krishna will be very pleased with that.

After all, Krishna enjoys the sweets cooked by Mother Yashoda—not thoughts and words cooked in our own minds!

Host:
(laughs) That’s a beautiful image! Thank you, Maharaj. So through prayer, we can learn how to pray—and also how not to pray.

Would you like to offer any concluding words—about your book or the broader topic of prayer?

This has been an incredibly illuminating discussion for me personally, and I’m sure it will be for all the viewers as well. I feel deeply inspired to read your book. We’ll include the book’s details and purchase link in the video description too.

Maharaj:
Thank you. As I mentioned, the book was originally written in Russian—Russian is my mother tongue. I’m much more comfortable writing and expressing myself in Russian.

This is the first time the book has been translated into English, so I’m kind of holding my breath. I don’t know how it will be received—but I hope readers will approach it kindly.

I’ve received some positive reviews so far, which is encouraging. But more than that, I wrote this book because I felt very deeply that this is an important topic to reflect upon and explore further.

Of course, any topic in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is profound. But meditating on the prayers of Queen Kunti—thinking about them deeply—definitely enhanced my own understanding.

It also gave me a lot of positive emotions while writing. And I sincerely hope that a reflection, even a small echo of those emotions, will reach the readers.

If someone finds faults in the book, I fully accept that. I’m just… doing my best.

Host:
Maharaj, you’re being very humble! You mentioned only a few positive reviews—but almost everyone in our movement who has read the book has given glowing praise, and those endorsements are right on the cover!

I’m confident this book will illuminate many devotees’ hearts and help them connect more personally with Krishna.

Usually, at the end of the podcast, I try to summarize our discussion. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to do that now in a few minutes—and then, if you’d like, you can share any closing reflections.

Maharaj:
Yes, of course. Please go ahead.

Host:
Thank you, Maharaj.

So today we explored the topic of prayer, particularly its connection to healing and wholeness.

We began by recognizing that we often feel fragmented—scattered by our various desires and disconnected from our spiritual center. Healing, in the deepest sense, is becoming whole again. When we are whole, our existence becomes wholesome.

In Russian, the words for “healing” and “wholeness” are more closely related, but even in English, the connection is there at the root level.

Now, when we speak of healing prayers, we’re not necessarily talking about miraculous physical cures. Instead, we’re referring to spiritual healing—restoring our connection with Krishna.

Of course, if someone is facing serious problems, it’s their dharma to address those practically—that’s not incompatible with spiritual life. As you noted, we should conclude our prayers, as Prabhupada advised, with “If You so desire, my Lord…” That mood of surrender is crucial.

Rather than categorizing prayers strictly as “material” or “spiritual,” we can understand that any prayer becomes spiritual when it is connected with Krishna in the right mood.

You mentioned how this book was born out of addressing devotees who were desolate, disturbed, and disoriented—and how, even though Queen Kunti is personally with Krishna, she still feels she can’t fully understand Him.

That feeling of incomprehension, even in the presence of the divine, is something all of us can relate to when life feels overwhelming or confusing.

Prayer, then, is not just about getting Krishna to act according to our desires—but also about understanding what He is doing and why.

You explained how Vedic prayers often begin with long introductions—glorifying the Lord—before any request is made. This reminds Krishna (and us) that we are praying with awareness of who He is, not simply demanding things like a list of errands.

Otherwise, prayer becomes transactional: “Give me this, give me that.” That kind of interaction doesn’t bring us closer to the Lord.

But when our prayer demonstrates understanding of Krishna’s nature and mission, then the act of praying itself draws us nearer to Him.

We also discussed how to make prayers personal. You emphasized that if there’s no emotional investment, it’s not a real prayer—it’s just parroting.

Helping others (and ourselves) invest emotionally in prayer is the role of a commentator. You said Srila Prabhupada did this beautifully for us—and now we must continue that work for others.

In that way, scripture becomes personal for us, and our connection deepens.

Finally, we discussed the fine line between reading from the scripture versus reading into it. You emphasized that we must approach scripture with integrity of intent—not trying to impose our own agendas, but rather trying to understand Krishna’s message.

You said, “To maintain that integrity, we must pray.” That really stayed with me.

And in that spirit, your book—which started as a Russian manuscript and is now available in English—is not just a scholarly work. It’s a spiritual journey.

I’m personally looking forward to reading it—and I hope we’ll have more interactions in the future. This has been an extremely stimulating and illuminating discussion.

Thank you so much for your time, Maharaj.

Would you like to share any final words?

Maharaj:
Thank you very much, Chaitanya Prabhu, for inviting me.

Yes, it’s always a joy to speak about Krishna consciousness—especially with devotees who are thoughtful and sincere.

I really appreciated your questions. They were deep and honest—not just formal or academic. That made the discussion very enlivening for me.

So I’m feeling joyful and grateful in my heart. Thank you again for having me on your podcast. Hare Krishna.

The post Bhakti Vijnana Maharaj Monks Podcast 209 – Healing prayers – Chaitanya Charan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

हरे कृष्णा।
आज हम भगवद्गीता के पाँचवें अध्याय पर चर्चा कर रहे हैं। अब तक की चर्चा को संक्षेप में देखें, तो भगवद्गीता की शुरुआत दूसरे अध्याय के सातवें श्लोक से होती है, जहाँ अर्जुन भगवान से एक मौलिक प्रश्न पूछते हैं — “मैं आपके शरणागत शिष्य के रूप में पूछ रहा हूँ, कृपया निश्चित रूप से बताइए कि मेरे लिए क्या श्रेयस्कर है?” और भगवान पूरे गीता में उसी प्रश्न का उत्तर विस्तार से देते हैं।

दूसरे अध्याय में भगवान विभिन्न दृष्टिकोणों से अर्जुन को कर्तव्य करने के लिए प्रेरित करते हैं, विशेष रूप से कर्मयोग के माध्यम से। तीसरे अध्याय में भगवान पुनः कर्मयोग की व्याख्या करते हैं — इस बार वे उसकी तुलना कर्मकांड से करते हैं, जहाँ व्यक्ति फल की आशा में यज्ञ करता है। लेकिन भगवान बताते हैं कि कर्मयोग उससे उच्चतर है, क्योंकि उसमें त्याग की भावना होती है।

चौथे अध्याय में, भगवान ज्ञान पर बल देते हैं — यह ज्ञान व्यक्ति को यह समझने में मदद करता है कि उसे कर्मयोग कैसे करना है। यानी “ज्ञान से कर्मयोग कैसे किया जाए।”
यहाँ हम एक उदाहरण से समझ सकते हैं — जैसे कोई दवाई हमें दी जाए। हम सबसे पहले उसका परिणाम देखना चाहते हैं: इससे बीमारी ठीक होगी या नहीं? फिर हम देखते हैं कि इसमें क्या-क्या सामग्री है। फिर, यदि हममें रुचि हो, तो यह भी देखते हैं कि किस कंपनी ने इसे बनाया है।
उसी तरह, भगवान भी कर्मयोग का विश्लेषण अलग-अलग दृष्टिकोण से करते हैं:

1. तीसरे अध्याय में – कर्मयोग का परिणाम (किया जाए या न किया जाए तो क्या होगा),
2. चौथे अध्याय में – कर्मयोग का ज्ञान (कैसे करना है),
3. और पाँचवें अध्याय में – कर्मयोग की चेतना (किस भावना से करना है)।

अब प्रश्न आता है — भगवान बार-बार एक ही बात क्यों कह रहे हैं?

इसका उत्तर अर्जुन के प्रश्न में छिपा है। पाँचवें अध्याय की शुरुआत अर्जुन के इस श्लोक से होती है:
“संन्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि।
यत् श्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम्।।”
(हे कृष्ण! आप कभी कर्म का त्याग बताते हैं, कभी कर्मयोग की महिमा गाते हैं — कृपया सुनिश्चित रूप से बताइए कि इन दोनों में से कौन-सा मेरे लिए श्रेयस्कर है?)

अर्जुन जानते हैं कि दोनों रास्ते अच्छे हैं — कर्मयोग भी और कर्मसंन्यास भी। लेकिन वे पूछते हैं कि इन दोनों में से बेहतर क्या है? यह प्रश्न उनकी परिपक्वता दर्शाता है। सामान्य व्यक्ति को पहले यह समझाना पड़ता है कि कुछ चीज़ें प्रेयस (तात्कालिक सुखद) हैं और कुछ श्रेयस (दीर्घकालिक कल्याणकारी)। लेकिन अर्जुन इस स्तर से आगे बढ़ चुके हैं — वे यह नहीं पूछ रहे कि क्या सुखद है, बल्कि पूछ रहे हैं कि इन दो शुभ मार्गों में से श्रेष्ठ कौन-सा है?

यह ठीक वैसा ही है जैसे कोई व्यक्ति यह नहीं पूछता कि “मैं पैसा खर्च करूं या सेविंग करूं?” बल्कि पूछ रहा हो: “सेविंग करूं तो किस योजना में करूं — FD में या mutual fund में?” — यानी वह जानता है कि सेविंग आवश्यक है, लेकिन बेहतर विकल्प जानना चाहता है।

तो भगवान अर्जुन के इसी गहन प्रश्न का उत्तर पाँचवें अध्याय में देते हैं — लेकिन केवल एक उत्तर देकर नहीं, बल्कि विभिन्न दृष्टिकोणों से। क्योंकि यदि कोई उत्तर पहली बार समझ में न आए, तो उसी बात को नए दृष्टिकोण से कहने पर वह समझ में आ सकती है।

भगवान वही बात अलग-अलग कोण से कहते हैं:

• कभी परिणाम के आधार पर (Third chapter),
• कभी ज्ञान के आधार पर (Fourth chapter),
• और कभी इंटेंट और चेतना के आधार पर (Fifth chapter)।

भगवान ने अर्जुन को ज्ञान की “तलवार” से युद्ध करने के लिए कहा — यह प्रतीकात्मक भाषा है। सवाल आता है — क्या अर्जुन को सच में शस्त्र उठाकर युद्ध करना है या केवल आत्मज्ञान के स्तर पर युद्ध करना है?

चौथे अध्याय में भगवान युद्ध का कोई प्रत्यक्ष उल्लेख नहीं करते। वास्तव में, भगवद्गीता में युद्ध का उल्लेख बहुत कम है — जबकि गीता रणभूमि में कही गई थी! 8.7 में और 18.17 जैसे कुछ श्लोकों में ही युद्ध का स्पष्ट उल्लेख आता है। इसका कारण है — भगवान मुख्य रूप से आंतरिक युद्ध पर ध्यान केंद्रित कर रहे हैं, जहाँ व्यक्ति को अपने संशयों, अज्ञान और वासनाओं से लड़ना है।

भगवान अर्जुन को कर्म करने की प्रेरणा दे रहे हैं — पर वह कर्म केवल बाहरी नहीं है, वह आंतरिक भी है।
इसलिए पाँचवां अध्याय इस बात को और स्पष्ट करता है कि सच्चा त्याग कर्म से नहीं, भावना से होता है। भगवान कहते हैं कि जो व्यक्ति फल की आसक्ति त्यागकर कर्म करता है, वही सच्चा संन्यासी है — और यही कर्मयोगी भी है।

जो पहले सुना है, वह अकसर भूल जाते हैं।
अगर हम किसी देश के बारे में अभी कोई बुरी खबर सुन लें, तो हम यह भूल जाते हैं कि उस देश ने पहले कितने अच्छे काम भी किए होंगे। वही मानसिकता अर्जुन के साथ हो रही है। गीता का ज्ञान गहरा और जटिल है। अर्जुन ने बहुत कुछ सुना, लेकिन जो हाल में सुना है, वही उनके मन पर प्रभाव डाल रहा है।

उन्हें याद है कि भगवान ने पहले कर्मसंन्यास की प्रशंसा की, लेकिन फिर भगवान ने कर्मयोग को करने के लिए प्रेरित किया। तो अर्जुन भ्रमित हो गए — “आप वास्तव में चाहते क्या हैं? मैं त्याग करूं या कर्म करूं?”

भगवान उत्तर देते हैं:
“सन्न्यासः कर्मयोगश्च निःश्रेयसकरावुभौ।
तयोस्तु कर्मसन्न्यासात् कर्मयोगो विशिष्यते।।”
(दोनों ही मार्ग कल्याणकारी हैं, लेकिन उनमें कर्मयोग श्रेष्ठ है।)

अब पाँचवें अध्याय की बात करें — इसमें कुल 29 श्लोक हैं। यह गीता के छोटे अध्यायों में से एक है। इस अध्याय में कई ऐसे श्लोक हैं जिन्हें हम अक्सर उद्धृत करते हैं — जैसे:

• “ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः”,
• “युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्”,
• “पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा”,
• “भोक्‍ता‍रं यज्ञतपसां” आदि।

इस अध्याय की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण बात है — “बन्धन और मुक्ति” का निर्धारण हमारी बाहरी क्रिया से नहीं, हमारी आंतरिक चेतना से होता है।

भगवान पहले बता चुके हैं कि हम कर्म करने से बच नहीं सकते। “Do nothing” का अर्थ यह नहीं है कि हम TV देखें, games खेलें या gossip करें — यह तो भी एक तरह का activity ही है। “कर्म न करने का प्रयास भी एक कर्म ही है।”
हमारी इंद्रियाँ हमेशा क्रियाशील रहती हैं — उन्हें निष्क्रिय बनाना संभव नहीं।

भगवान कहते हैं —
“ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः।”
(जो व्यक्ति अपने कर्मों को ब्रह्म में समर्पित करके, आसक्ति को त्यागकर कार्य करता है…)

इसका अर्थ यह है कि — शरीर की इंद्रियाँ स्वभाव से क्रियाशील हैं, वे अपने विषयों से संपर्क करेंगी, परंतु यदि हमारी चेतना भोग की भावना से रहित है, तो वह कर्म बन्धन नहीं उत्पन्न करता।

इंद्रिय-विषय यानी “sense-objects” — यह शब्द अपने-आप में नकारात्मक नहीं है। यह केवल दर्शाता है कि इंद्रियाँ किससे संपर्क करती हैं:

• आँखें — रूप से,
• कान — ध्वनि से,
• जीभ — स्वाद से।

अब स्वाद अच्छा हो सकता है, बुरा हो सकता है, या तटस्थ भी हो सकता है (जैसे वाहन का हॉर्न — न अच्छा, न बुरा, बस जानकारी देता है)।
तो हमें इंद्रियों से भागना नहीं है, बल्कि इंद्रियों का उपयोग नियत उद्देश्य से करना है।

जैसे कोई वाहन चला रहा है, तो वह आँखें बंद करके नहीं चला सकता। उसे इंद्रियों का उपयोग करना ही पड़ेगा, परंतु “भोग” के लिए नहीं, “कर्तव्य” के लिए।

भगवान यही कहते हैं —
अगर इंद्रियाँ उनके स्वभाव के अनुसार कार्य करें और मनुष्य उनसे आसक्त न हो, तो वह कर्म में रहते हुए भी मुक्त रह सकता है।

यही सच्चा कर्मयोगी होता है — जो कर्म करते हुए भी उसमें बंधता नहीं है, क्योंकि वह कर्म भगवदर्पण बुद्ध्या करता है।

इस अध्याय में आगे भगवान बताएंगे कि ऐसा कर्मयोगी कैसा होता है:

• वह शांत रहता है,
• सभी प्राणियों को समभाव से देखता है,
• और आत्म-साक्षात्कार के माध्यम से पूर्ण शांति को प्राप्त करता है।

इसलिए, पाँचवां अध्याय हमें यही सिखाता है —
“मुक्ति क्रिया से नहीं, चेतना से आती है।”
कर्तव्य करें, पर आसक्ति से मुक्त होकर करें — यही जीवन में संतुलन का मार्ग है।

Non-intrusive जांच और कार्य में भोग की भावना का अभाव:

आजकल हवाई अड्डों पर सुरक्षा जांच करते समय अधिकारी शरीर का निरीक्षण करते हैं, पर एक खास मर्यादा के साथ।
Non-intrusive का अर्थ है — ऐसा स्पर्श जिसमें व्यक्ति की गोपनीयता का सम्मान बना रहे।
इसलिए अमेरिका में सुरक्षा अधिकारी जब शरीर को जांचते हैं तो हाथ की पीछली तरफ (back side of the hand) से स्पर्श करते हैं — यह स्पष्ट संकेत है कि यह स्पर्श भोग के लिए नहीं, कर्तव्य के लिए है। इसे हम कह सकते हैं:
“Functional, not sensual.”

इसी तरह, गीता में भगवान कहते हैं कि जब हमारी इंद्रियाँ इंद्रिय-विषयों से संपर्क करें, तो उसमें भोग की भावना न हो, केवल कर्तव्य की भावना हो।
जैसे कोई डॉक्टर मरीज़ का परीक्षण करता है — वह स्पर्श है, पर उसमें कोई इंद्रिय-तृप्ति की भावना नहीं होती।
कर्म का मूल्य उस कर्म के पीछे की चेतना से तय होता है।

भगवान कहते हैं:

“ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः…”
(जो व्यक्ति अपने कर्मों को ब्रह्म में समर्पित करके, आसक्ति रहित होकर कार्य करता है…)

तो कार्य होते हुए भी यदि चेतना भोग से रहित है — वह कर्म बंधन नहीं बनता।

पद्मपत्र पर जल की तरह…

भगवान यह स्थिति एक सुंदर उपमा से समझाते हैं:

“पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा”
जैसे कमल-पत्र पर जल टिकता नहीं है, वैसे ही योगी भौतिक वस्तुओं के संपर्क में तो रहता है, पर उनमें आसक्त नहीं होता।

जैसे अर्जुन युद्ध कर रहे हैं, पर उनका उद्देश्य न बदला लेना है, न घृणा करना है, बल्कि समाज की रक्षा के लिए अपने क्षत्रिय-कर्तव्य का पालन करना है।

शांति का रहस्य:

भगवान इस अध्याय में “शांति” शब्द बार-बार दोहराते हैं। क्यों?
क्योंकि अर्जुन का युद्ध बाहर नहीं, भीतर चल रहा है।
बाहर का युद्ध तो तय था — कौरवों से — पर जब अर्जुन ने अपने स्वजनों को देखा, तो उनके मन में द्वंद्व उत्पन्न हो गया।

भगवान समझाते हैं — यदि तुम इस ज्ञान और चेतना से कर्म करोगे, तो जो भीतर का अशांत युद्ध है, वह शांत हो जाएगा।

“युक्तः कर्मफलं त्यक्त्वा शान्तिमाप्नोति नैष्ठिकीम्”
(जो युक्त है — जो योग में स्थित होकर फल की आसक्ति त्याग देता है — वही निश्चल शांति प्राप्त करता है।)

बाहरी यात्रा और अंदरूनी यात्रा:

बाहरी कार्य भले संसार में हो, पर यदि उद्देश्य आत्म-शुद्धि है, तो वह हमें भगवान के और करीब ले जाता है।

जैसे कोई गृहस्थ परिवार की सेवा के लिए नौकरी करता है — वह बाहर तो घर से दूर जाता है, पर वास्तव में अपने परिजनों के लिए ही जाता है। ऐसे ही जब हम भक्ति के उद्देश्य से कार्य करते हैं, तो बाहर संसार में रहकर भी हम भगवान के करीब जाते हैं।

उदाहरण:
हनुमान जी राम के संदेश के लिए लंका गए। भले वह भौगोलिक रूप से राम से दूर गए, पर अपने सेवाभाव से वह राम के और करीब आ गए।
प्रभुपाद जी वृंदावन से अमेरिका गए, पर वहां जाकर उन्होंने संसार भर में हजारों लोगों को वृंदावन से जोड़ा।

तो दिशा नहीं, चेतना निर्णायक है।

कर्म के तीन कारक – जीव, जगत, जगदीश:

भगवान आगे बताते हैं कि कोई भी कार्य तीन तत्त्वों से पूर्ण होता है:

1. जीव – अर्थात हमारी स्वतंत्र इच्छा (free will)
2. जगत / प्रकृति – परिस्थिति, संसाधन, शरीर आदि
3. जगदीश / ईश्वर – परमेश्वर की अनुमति और संकल्प

उदाहरण:
एक चोर चोरी करता है – यह उसकी स्वतंत्र इच्छा है।
पुलिस उसे पकड़ती है – यह जगत की व्यवस्था है।
जज उसे सज़ा सुनाता है – यह जगदीश की स्वीकृति है।

तीनों कारक मिलकर ही सज़ा (या फल) मिलती है।
यदि केवल चोर है, पर पुलिस नहीं पकड़ती, या जज सज़ा नहीं सुनाता, तो वह जेल नहीं जाता।
इसलिए भगवान कहते हैं —
कोई भी कर्म फल तभी देता है जब तीनों कारक सक्रिय हों।

अंत में एक प्रश्न:
कभी लोग पूछते हैं — यदि कोई आत्महत्या करना चाहता है, तो हर कोई कर क्यों नहीं पाता?
कई बार प्रयास करने के बावजूद व्यक्ति बच जाता है।

क्यों?
क्योंकि केवल व्यक्ति की इच्छा पर्याप्त नहीं —
यदि जगत की परिस्थिति और ईश्वर की अनुमति न हो, तो वह कार्य सिद्ध नहीं होता।

क्या जो हुआ वही उचित था? — नियति, इच्छा और जिम्मेदारी

कभी लोग पूछते हैं –
“अगर कोई कार्य हो गया और वह सफल हो गया, तो क्या इसका अर्थ यह है कि वह कार्य नियति के अनुसार ही होना था? और यदि नियति के अनुसार हुआ था, तो फिर उसे पाप क्यों माना जाए?”

यह प्रश्न गूढ़ है, लेकिन समझने योग्य है।
हां, कुछ बातें नियति से घट सकती हैं।
लेकिन जो हुआ, वह नियति से हुआ — इसका अर्थ यह नहीं कि वही करना हमारे लिए धर्म-सम्मत था।

यह विचार थोड़ा जटिल लग सकता है, पर एक उदाहरण से यह स्पष्ट हो सकता है:

महाभारत में अठारहवीं रात, जब युद्ध समाप्त हो गया था और पांडवों का शिविर विश्राम कर रहा था,
अश्वत्थामा चोरी से शिविर में घुसकर सभी को नींद में मार डालता है।
उसे लगता है कि उसने पांडवों को मार डाला, जबकि वास्तव में उसने उनके पुत्रों और बाकी सैनिकों की हत्या की।

लेकिन इस भयावह कर्म से पहले ही अश्वत्थामा को एक विचित्र, भयानक रूप दिखाई देता है —
जिसे वह पहचान नहीं पाता और तीर चलाने लगता है, पर उस पर कोई असर नहीं होता।
वह जान जाता है कि यह शिवजी का रूप है।
वह उनके चरणों में गिरकर कहता है,
“मैं जो करने जा रहा हूं, वह बहुत पाप है — मुझे क्षमा करें।”

शिव जी स्पष्ट करते हैं — यह विचार ही पापपूर्ण है,
“शत्रु को भी नींद में मारना अधर्म है।”

अश्वत्थामा जवाब देता है:
“जब अर्जुन और अन्य पांडवों ने मेरे पिता द्रोणाचार्य को ध्यान की अवस्था में मार दिया,
तो मैं क्यों न वैसा ही करूं?”

पर यह तथ्यात्मक रूप से गलत था।
द्रोणाचार्य को मारने की कोई सामूहिक साज़िश नहीं थी।
केवल धृष्टद्युम्न ने उन्हें मारा था, और अर्जुन सहित कई योद्धा उस पर क्रोधित भी हुए थे।
अतः अश्वत्थामा की यह सोच दुष्प्रेरित और झूठी धारणा पर आधारित थी।

उसका इरादा बदले का था – और वह भी अंधा बदला।

जब वह शिवजी से शक्ति पाता है और उसे तलवार मिलती है,
तो उसे लगता है — “अब मेरे पास शक्ति है, इसका अर्थ है मैं सही हूं।”

यह वही अहंभाव है जैसे “I have the power” वाले कॉमिक्स में दिखाया जाता है।
परन्तु “शक्ति होना” और “धर्मसंगत होना” एक ही बात नहीं हैं।

क्या शक्ति मिलना प्रमाण है कि कार्य सही है?

मान लीजिए कोई लड़का गुस्से में है, और किसी आतंकवादी संगठन से उसे बंदूक मिल जाती है।
तो क्या केवल इस शक्ति को प्राप्त कर लेना उसे सही कर देता है? नहीं।

Success ≠ Righteousness

एक कार्य सफल हो गया — इसका यह अर्थ नहीं कि वह धर्मसम्मत भी था।

उदाहरणस्वरूप, अश्वत्थामा को तलवार मिल गई, उसने सबको मार डाला —
पर उसका मूल इरादा क्या था?
व्यक्तिगत क्रोध और बदला।
और इसी कारण उसे पाप का कठोर फल भोगना पड़ा।

कार्य की सफलता किन पर निर्भर है?

शास्त्र बताते हैं कि कोई भी कार्य तभी सिद्ध होता है जब तीन चीज़ें साथ आती हैं:

1. जीव की इच्छा (Free Will)
2. प्रकृति की सुविधा (Means & Circumstances)
3. ईश्वर की अनुमति (Sanction by the Lord)

उदाहरण के लिए:
एक व्यक्ति आत्महत्या करना चाहता है।
कभी वह सफल होता है, कभी कोई आ जाता है और वह बच जाता है।
तो इच्छा थी, पर शायद ईश्वर की अनुमति नहीं थी, या प्रकृति ने साथ नहीं दिया।

तो जब कोई कार्य सिद्ध होता है — वह इन तीनों के समन्वय से होता है।

किंतु आरंभ कहां से होता है?

सबसे पहले जीव की इच्छा से।
यही आधार है – उसी के अनुसार ईश्वर अनुमति देते हैं और प्रकृति साधन देती है।

परन्तु — केवल सफलता से यह नहीं सिद्ध होता कि कार्य धर्मसंगत था।
क्योंकि नियति का एक पक्ष समय और परिस्थिति से जुड़ा होता है,
पर धर्म का निर्धारण होता है चेतना और उद्देश्य से।

जीव, ईश्वर और प्रकृति – गीता का दृष्टिकोण:

गीता के अनुसार:

• जीव चाहता है
• ईश्वर अनुमति देते हैं
• प्रकृति उस इच्छा को साकार करती है

मान लीजिए आत्मा एक ड्राइवर है और शरीर एक गाड़ी है —
अब बैलगाड़ी की सीमाएँ अलग होती हैं, हवाई जहाज़ की अलग।
ड्राइवर दोनों को हवाई जहाज़ की तरह नहीं चला सकता।
पर ड्राइवर तय करता है कि गाड़ी को कहाँ ले जाना है।

इसी तरह — हम शरीर और प्रकृति की सीमाओं के भीतर रहकर
अपनी इच्छा, चेतना, और उद्देश्य के अनुसार गति की दिशा तय करते हैं।

भगवान कहते हैं – “नवद्वारे पुरे देही न कर्वं न कारयन्।”

इस शरीर को एक नगर के समान समझो। जैसे किसी शहर में बहुत कुछ घटता है – लोग आते हैं, जाते हैं, कुछ काम होता है, कुछ नहीं होता – वैसे ही इस शरीर में भी अनेक क्रियाएँ होती हैं। लेकिन जैसे हम शहर में आने-जाने वाले हर व्यक्ति से न तो मिलते हैं और न ही उनके जाने पर दुखी होते हैं, वैसे ही इंद्रियों के माध्यम से आने वाली सभी जानकारी या अनुभवों को हमें भोग की दृष्टि से नहीं देखना चाहिए।

जब कोई अनुभव आता है, हमें देखना चाहिए – क्या यह अनुभव मुझे सेवा के लिए प्रेरित कर रहा है? क्या इससे मेरा शुद्धिकरण हो रहा है? यदि हम ऐसा दृष्टिकोण अपनाते हैं, तो प्रकृति अपने स्वभाव के अनुसार कार्य करेगी, लेकिन हम उस कार्य से बंधेंगे नहीं। इस संपूर्ण प्रक्रिया में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण तत्व है – “हमारी इच्छा।” हमारी इच्छा हमारे नियंत्रण में है; भगवान की स्वीकृति और प्रकृति की व्यवस्था हमारे नियंत्रण में नहीं हैं।

इसी आधार पर भगवान आगे बताते हैं – जब कोई यह समझता है कि शरीर और आत्मा अलग हैं, और कार्य के फल से आसक्त हुए बिना सेवा भावना से कार्य करता है, तब वह विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्न श्लोक की भावना को प्राप्त करता है – सबको समभाव से देखता है। यह दृष्टिकोण liberation (मुक्ति) की दृष्टि है।

यह विभाग (17–26) दो हिस्सों में बँटा है:

• 17–19: व्यक्ति की चरम (peak) चेतना कैसी होनी चाहिए – परम सत्य पर केंद्रित, सबमें आत्मा का दर्शन।
• 20–26: इस चेतना तक पहुँचने की प्रक्रिया – सुख-दुख में समभाव, इच्छाओं को सहना, अंतःमुख होना और अंत में ब्रह्मनिर्वाण की प्राप्ति।

फिर भगवान कहते हैं – जो इस चेतना में स्थिर हो जाता है, वह सबके लिए कल्याणकारी बन जाता है और भगवत्प्राप्ति की दिशा में आगे बढ़ता है। और पाँचवें अध्याय के अंतिम श्लोकों (27–29) में भगवान छठे अध्याय का पूर्वावलोकन (preview) देते हैं – कि कैसे कर्मयोगी आगे चलकर ध्यानयोग या भक्तियोग की ओर बढ़ सकता है।

पाँचवा अध्याय अब तक के अध्यायों में सबसे “गंभीर तत्वज्ञान” वाला अध्याय है। जहाँ पहले अध्यायों में कर्म और ज्ञान का सामान्य विवेचन हुआ, वहीं यहाँ पर भगवान कार्य के कारणों (causality/etiology) और कर्म के पीछे के तत्वों – जीव, ईश्वर और प्रकृति – के समन्वय की विस्तृत विवेचना करते हैं।

इस अध्याय का सार इस प्रकार है:

1. कर्मयोग, संन्यास से श्रेष्ठ क्यों है? – क्योंकि कर्मयोगी भीतर से अनासक्त रहते हुए बाहर से कर्म करता है और यह अनासक्ति व्यक्ति को मुक्ति की ओर ले जाती है।
2. कर्म के पीछे की संरचना (causality): कोई भी कार्य तभी सफल होता है जब जीव इच्छा करता है, ईश्वर अनुमोदन करते हैं और प्रकृति उसे कार्यरूप में परिणत करती है।
3. व्यक्ति के नियंत्रण में क्या है? – केवल अपनी इच्छा। बाकी दो (ईश्वर की अनुमति और प्रकृति की क्रिया) व्यक्ति के बस में नहीं हैं।
4. ज्ञान और समदृष्टि का योग: जब व्यक्ति इस तत्वज्ञान को आत्मसात करता है, तो सबमें आत्मा का दर्शन करता है और उसकी चेतना परमात्मा की ओर उन्मुख होती है।
5. कर्मयोग का परिपाक: अंततः कर्मयोग व्यक्ति को ध्यानयोग या भक्तियोग की ओर अग्रसर करता है।

यह अध्याय जीवन के बाहरी कर्म और आंतरिक चेतना के बीच संतुलन का बेजोड़ उदाहरण प्रस्तुत करता है – जैसे हनुमान जी राम के लिए लंका गए थे, राम से दूर होते हुए भी राम के और निकट हो गए। वैसे ही जब चेतना शुद्ध होती है, तो व्यक्ति जगत में रहते हुए भी भगवान के और पास पहुँचता है।

“क्षेत्र” का अर्थ है कार्य करने की या प्रभाव डालने की सीमा — यानी area of influence।
कुछ लोगों का क्षेत्र छोटा होता है — जैसे मुझे गुस्सा आए, तो शायद मैं केवल कुछ कठोर शब्द बोल दूं।
किसी पुलिस अधिकारी को गुस्सा आए तो शायद वह किसी पर लाठी चला दे।
किसी सैनिक को गुस्सा आए तो वह गोली चला सकता है।
और अगर किसी देश के राष्ट्रपति को गुस्सा आए — जैसे अमेरिका या रूस के — तो शायद वह परमाणु बटन दबा दे, जिससे लाखों लोगों की मृत्यु हो सकती है।

तो गुस्सा सबको आता है, पर उसके परिणाम क्षेत्र की सीमा पर निर्भर करते हैं।

जिसका influence बड़ा है, उसके कर्मों का प्रभाव भी उतना ही बड़ा होगा। और लोगों को यह बड़ा क्षेत्र क्यों मिला है? — उनके पूर्वकर्मों के कारण।
यदि कोई राजा, लखपति, या राष्ट्रपति बना है, तो यह उसके पिछले पुण्य कर्मों का फल है। परंतु उस शक्ति का प्रयोग वह कैसे करता है — यह उसकी वर्तमान स्वतंत्र इच्छा (free will) पर निर्भर है।

भगवान क्षेत्र देते हैं, पर उसमें हस्तक्षेप नहीं करते।
जैसे कोई व्यक्ति मेहनत से पैसा कमाता है — अब वह उस पैसे से शराब पिए या बचत करे, यह उसका व्यक्तिगत निर्णय है। सरकार उसमें हस्तक्षेप नहीं करती।
वैसे ही यदि किसी ने पूर्वकर्मों से एक बड़ा क्षेत्र पाया है और वह उस क्षेत्र में दुरुपयोग करता है, तो भगवान उसे रोकते नहीं हैं — क्योंकि भगवान ने हर जीव को स्वतंत्र इच्छा दी है।

पर इसका यह अर्थ नहीं है कि उसे कर्मफल नहीं मिलेगा।
कर्म का फल मिलेगा, पर वह तुरंत नहीं आ सकता। जैसे कोई बैंक अकाउंट में बहुत पैसा रखता है — वह अय्याशी करता है, फिर भी कुछ समय तक उसका प्रभाव नहीं दिखता।
पर वही व्यक्ति जिसका अकाउंट खाली है, वह छोटी-सी गड़बड़ी से तुरंत कंगाल हो सकता है।
तो कभी-कभी पूर्वकर्म हमारे वर्तमान दुष्कर्मों के फल को टाल देते हैं, लेकिन टालते हैं, मिटाते नहीं।

जैसे कोई दसवीं मंज़िल से कूदे तो कुछ ही सेकंड में नीचे गिर जाएगा। लेकिन कोई हवाई जहाज़ से कूदे, तो गिरने में ज़्यादा समय लगेगा।
हो सकता है गिरते समय उसे हवा भी अच्छी लगे, पर अंत निश्चित है — गिरना और टूटना।

तो इससे क्या समझ आता है?

God’s sanction ≠ God’s intention.

भगवान की अनुमति और भगवान की इच्छा में अंतर है।
भगवान कभी यह इच्छा नहीं रखते कि कोई आतंकवादी आकर निर्दोष लोगों को मार डाले।
लेकिन अगर वह व्यक्ति ऐसा करना चाहता है, और उसे वैसा करने की क्षमता मिली है, तो भगवान उसकी स्वतंत्रता का उल्लंघन नहीं करते।

कुछ लोग कहते हैं, “सब भगवान की इच्छा से होता है।”
पर यह शास्त्रसम्मत नहीं है। ऐसा कोई श्लोक नहीं है जो कहे कि हर कार्य भगवान की इच्छा से होता है।
हाँ, भगवान सर्वोच्च नियंत्रक (supreme controller) हैं, पर वे अकेले नियंत्रक (sole controller) नहीं हैं।
जीव, ईश्वर और प्रकृति — ये तीनों मिलकर इस जगत को संचालित करते हैं।
भगवद-गीता (13.23) में भगवान कहते हैं:

“उपद्रष्टा अनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः…”
— मैं सब देखता हूं, अनुमति देता हूं, लेकिन कर्म में बंधता नहीं हूं।

भगवद-गीता 9.6 में भगवान कहते हैं:

“यथा आकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान्।”
— जैसे वायु आकाश में विचरण करती है पर आकाश उसे रोकता नहीं, वैसे ही आत्मा इस शरीर रूपी क्षेत्र में विचरण करती है।

तो जैसे आकाश वायु को अनुमति देता है लेकिन उसे दिशा नहीं देता, वैसे ही भगवान sanction तो करते हैं, पर हर क्रिया की intention उनकी नहीं होती।

अतः जब कहा जाता है — “Not a blade of grass moves without God’s will” — तो उसमें “will” को समझना ज़रूरी है:
वह “will” sanction है, intention नहीं।

प्रैक्टिकल निष्कर्ष:
हमें सत्संग में आते रहना चाहिए, जैसे आप आ रहे हैं। भक्तों से जुड़िए, मार्गदर्शन लीजिए। जब हम स्वयं में गिरावट अनुभव करते हैं, तब भी resilient रहिए — यानी, गिरें लेकिन उठें भी।
कभी हम consistent नहीं रह पाते — यानी लगातार उच्च भाव में नहीं रह पाते — तब भी persistent बने रहिए।
शुद्ध भावना से सेवा की इच्छा ही हमारी सबसे बड़ी संपत्ति है — और भगवान उसी को देखते हैं।

तो जब भी हम गिरें, तुरंत रुकें और स्वयं को बदलने का प्रयास करें।
Resilience का अर्थ है — हम गिरेंगे, लेकिन तुरंत उठेंगे।
और जब हम यह अभ्यास करते रहेंगे, तो धीरे-धीरे हम समझ जाएंगे कि किस परिस्थिति में हम बार-बार गिरते हैं।
तब हम अधिक सजग और सावधान रहकर उस परिस्थिति में गिरने से बच सकते हैं।

कभी-कभी ऐसा भी होता है कि समस्या क्यों आ रही है — यह समझना कठिन होता है।
जैसे समुद्र में लहरें क्यों आती हैं? यह हम नहीं जान सकते।
लहरें आना तो सामान्य है, पर कभी-कभी कोई लहर इतनी बड़ी होती है कि वह किसी को बहाकर ले जा सकती है।

तो हम क्या करें?
हम लहरों को रोक नहीं सकते, लेकिन हम लंगर (anchor) से खुद को बाँध सकते हैं।
अगर समुद्र में कोई मज़बूत लंगर है और हम उसे पकड़ना सीख लें, तो चाहे कितनी भी बड़ी लहर आए, वह हमें डगमगाएगी ज़रूर, पर बहुत दूर नहीं बहा पाएगी।

इसलिए चिंता मत करो अगर कभी-कभी कुछ गलत हो जाए।
प्रश्न यह नहीं है कि हम गिरे या नहीं।
प्रश्न यह है कि गिरने के बाद हम क्या करते हैं?

हम माया को नहीं पकड़ सकते — वास्तव में माया ही हमें पकड़ती है।
माया को रोकना कठिन है, लेकिन भगवान को पकड़ना संभव है।
क्रोध आएगा, लोभ आएगा, ईर्ष्या भी आएगी — और कभी-कभी हम उनसे प्रभावित होकर कुछ गलत कर भी देंगे।
लेकिन अगर हम भगवान को थामे रहें, तो वह प्रभाव सीमित रहेगा।

If we hold on to Krishna long enough, nothing else can hold on to us for that long.
— यदि हम कृष्ण को पर्याप्त समय तक थामे रखें, तो कोई भी चीज़ हमें उतने समय तक थाम नहीं सकती।

क्योंकि हमारा कृष्ण के साथ का संबंध शाश्वत है, अनित्य चीज़ें केवल थोड़े समय तक ही हमें प्रभावित कर सकती हैं।

और यही सबसे महत्वपूर्ण है।

(थोड़ी देर हो गई है, लेकिन यह बात मन से मन तक की थी।
अब हम यहीं इस कक्षा को विराम देते हैं।)

श्रीमद् भगवद-गीता की जय!
श्रील प्रभुपाद की जय!
सभी भक्तवृन्द की जय!

The post Hindi – Chapter 5 Bhagavad Gita And Decision Making Bhagavad Gita Overview Chaitanya Charan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Question: In our Gaudiya tradition, is perfection attained by Sadhana Siddhi or Kripa Siddhi?

When it comes to technical questions like this, opinions often become strongly polarized, depending on which particular scriptural references are prioritized by which devotees. Broadly speaking, if a system of classification has not been repeatedly emphasized by our Acharyas, then—according to my understanding—we should avoid becoming too fixated on it. Especially, we should not make such classifications central to either our philosophy or our practice.

If we examine the broader body of writings by Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, or Bhaktivinoda Thakur, this particular categorization (Sadhana Siddhi vs. Kripa Siddhi) is not a major theme in their teachings.

That said, we can analyze this topic from four perspectives:

1. As involving two different processes,
2. As referring to two different sets of individuals,
3. As reflecting two different emphases, and
4. As corresponding to two different stages of spiritual growth.

Let me explain these one by one.

1. Two Different Processes?

Are Sadhana Siddhi and Kripa Siddhi referring to two entirely different processes? I don’t think that is stated anywhere in our tradition. It’s not that if you follow a particular guru or chant a certain mantra or perform a specific puja, then you’re on the path of Sadhana Siddhi, whereas another practice would put you on the path of Kripa Siddhi.

2. Two Different Categories of Individuals?

Do these terms refer to two different kinds of people—some who attain perfection through sadhana and others purely through mercy? That seems more plausible and does align with some scriptural references. However, there is no clear description suggesting that one can shift from one category to the other.

If this classification is meant to describe people who are already liberated, then it serves more as historical information for us and carries little practical relevance. Moreover, this view raises philosophical questions: Is God partial in bestowing mercy on some without any effort on their part, while requiring great endeavor from others? And are those who receive mercy without effort completely devoid of any personal initiative?

We might consider Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, such as with Jagai and Madhai. One could argue they received mercy without effort. Yet, they engaged in sincere endeavor after receiving that mercy, demonstrating their gratitude. This suggests that effort and mercy are interconnected rather than mutually exclusive.

3. Two Different Emphases?

Rather than seeing Siddhi as some mystical state, we can understand it as the culmination of a pure and deep relationship with Krishna. All of us have an eternal relationship with Him, and perfection lies in restoring that relationship. As with any genuine relationship, reciprocity is essential. We strive to serve Krishna, He is pleased, and He reciprocates by revealing more of Himself.

This reciprocity can be:

• Transactional: Like with devata worship, where we give something and get something in return.
• Transformational: As seen in loving exchanges (dadāti pratigṛhṇāti etc.), where mutual giving leads to deeper love.

In either case, effort and mercy are both involved. The onus in a relationship cannot rest solely on one party. While no one denies the role of endeavor or mercy, some scriptural stories highlight extraordinary mercy without prior effort—but such cases are rare and not meant to be normative.

4. Two Different Stages?

Could it be that Sadhana Siddhi and Kripa Siddhi refer to different stages of spiritual growth? During our purification stage, sadhana is certainly essential, though grace (kripa) also plays a part. Then, perhaps at the stage of spiritual revelation—when our eternal svarupa is manifest—only kripa operates.

In our Gaudiya tradition, especially post Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, the system of Siddha-pranali, where a practitioner meditates on a specific associate’s form and service in a particular rasa, is not emphasized. So, how exactly one’s svarupa is revealed is not extensively discussed in the writings of Srila Prabhupada or Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

In fact, when Prabhupada was asked about the meaning of “nikunja-yuno rati-keli-siddhyai”, he humbly replied, “That is none of your business.” He didn’t speak much even about his own svarupa. At the same time, he did affirm, “I have given you everything to go back to Godhead,” indicating that revelation will come by mercy and we don’t need to perform specific sadhana for that stage.

Concluding Thoughts:

So finally, while both sadhana and kripa are important, their relative emphasis may vary depending on the context. In the Damodar Lila, the two fingers—endeavor and mercy—both had to come together for the rope to bind Krishna. Similarly, when Kala Krishnadas fell away despite being in Mahaprabhu’s association, Srila Prabhupada commented that even the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot help us if we are not determined. Mercy cannot substitute for free will or determined effort.

Yet, in other cases—like Putana—where the effort was minimal or even malicious, mercy still prevailed. She could have come to kill Krishna in many ways, but came disguised as a motherly figure—and for that, she was elevated.

Hence, Kripa Siddhi and Sadhana Siddhi may reflect different emphases rather than rigid categories. If such categorizations are not central to our acharyas’ teachings, we should avoid making them central to our own philosophy or practice. If others strongly adhere to specific views based on certain scriptural references, it may be difficult—if not impossible—to challenge or change their perspective.

Therefore, it is often wiser to adopt the understanding that is most reasonable for us, while recognizing that others may operate with different conceptions. As long as those conceptions are aligned toward Krishna and spiritual progress, sometimes the best way to co-operate is to co-operate—that is, to operate differently but in the same direction.

Thank you.

The post Which is the path to perfection Kripa Siddhi or Sadhana Siddhi in the Gaudiya tradition? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Recently, I was in New York for the 50th annual Rathayatra down the city’s grand 5th Avenue, while on our TOVP fundraising tour. During my visit I also attended the welcome ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s life-sized murti to the first temple in New York at 26 Second Avenue, now a museum and sacred tirtha for devotees to visit. For those who don’t know, in 1966 this storefront came with a prophetic sign above its front window that read, ‘Matchless Gifts’.

The kirtan was blissful, and speeches by Radhanath Swami and other Prabhupada disciples were inspiring. Many spoke about their realizations of the early ISKCON days and Srila Prabhupada’s mood. I was also asked to speak about Srila Prabhupada, and one of the things I mentioned is that the TOVP is actually the Greater Matchless Gifts.

The smaller Matchless Gifts was a tiny, insignificant storefront on the lower East side of Manhattan, but the Greater Matchless Gift that was born from this will be the largest temple in modern India, and the epicenter of kirtan and spiritual education and practice for the universe. This Matchless Gifts is the expansion of the smaller version, and is poised to bring the gift of Krishna prema to every soul in the entire world.

As the new devotees in 1966 could not recognize the significance of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the western world, and how the Hare Krishna explosion would reach every country within the next twelve years producing over 5000 initiated disciples and more than one hundred temples worldwide, we are also limited in our understanding and realization of the significance of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. Srila Prabhupada, however, had this universal vision, and carrying out his order with faith to manifest this project is our bounden duty.

The TOVP will deliver the matchless gift of Krishna consciousness to millions of souls, directly and indirectly, influencing the masses of people to take up the yuga dharma and go back to Godhead for an eternal life of knowledge and bliss in the pastimes of Sri Krishna.

Please do your part to help complete the construction of this historic project. It’s scheduled to open in 2027, the 50th Disappearance Anniversary year of Srila Prabhupada during a three-month-long celebration that will astound the world.

You can help by visiting the TOVP website Seva Opportunities Page and selecting an option within your reach. If you have already given, please make an offering again into this transcendental yajna of service.

You can also view our Campaigns-At-A-Glance brochure and select your seva option from there.

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
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Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

The ISKCON Mayapur Master Plan office joyfully offers the free, online flipbook “Biodiversity in Bhakti Yoga” — a heartfelt visual and meditative offering designed to reconnect hearts with the sacred natural world of Sri Mayapur Dhama.

Featuring over 500 breathtaking images of local flora and fauna, accompanied by spiritual insights from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, this offering invites viewers to see nature through the lens of Krishna consciousness. As part of the ‘CONNECT with Sri Mayapur-dhama’ project, it encourages us to perceive and remember the Lord in every aspect of creation—promoting mindful devotion, compassionate living, and a deep spiritual bond with Mother Earth as an expression of our bhakti.

READ FLIPBOOK

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://s.tovp.org/whatsappcommunity1
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News & Texts: https://s.tovp.org/newstexts
Store: Posted byTemple of the Vedic PlanetariumJune 24, 2025Posted inUncategorized

Sri Gadadhara was the consant companion of Mahaprabhu from the time of their childhood. His father’s name was Sri Madhva Misra and his mother’s name Sri Ratnavati-devi. They lived very near the house of Sri Jagannatha Misra in Mayapura. Ratnavati-devi thought of Saci-devi as her own sister, and always used to visit her.

During their childhood, Sri Gaura Hari and Gadadhara would play together, sometimes at Mahaprabhu’s house and sometimes at Gadadhara’s house. They both studied together at the same school. Gadadhara was a few years younger then Nimai. Nimai couldn’t remain without Gadadhara even for a moment and Gadadhara likewise couldn’t stand to be separated from Nimai.

In the Gaur-ganoddesa-dipika, it is described that that person who in Vraja was the daughter of Sri Vrsabhanu Raja, namely Srimati Radharani, is now celebrated as Sri Gadadhara Pandita.

Gadadhara was from his very childhood very serene, patient, calm, quiet, fond of solitude and very renounced. Nimai Pandit during the time of His precocious youth would ask his fellow studentsmeaningless, fallacious questions in logic.

Gadadhara however, was not especially fond of this pastime, and therefore he sometimes used to remain at some distance from Nimai. But Nimai wouldn’t allow him to get away. He would tell him – “Gadadhara! In a very short time I’ll become such a Vaisnava that Lord Brahma and Lord Siva themselves will come to My door.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, upon going to Gaya Dham, first began to manifest Krsna-prema. There he enacted the pastime of accepting the shelter of Sri Isvara Puri. After returning to His house He began to exhibit a new life.

Day and night He floated in the ocean of love of Krsna. Gadadhara, upon seeing the Lord showering of tears in love for Krsna, also began to cry in ecstatic love. From this time, Gadadhara Pandita was always at Mahaprabhu’s side.

One might ask a question, if Lord Chaitanya is Radha and Krsna combined, where is the necessity for the appearance of Gadadhara Pandit?

The answer to this is that it has been explained that Mahaprabhu is Krsna in search of the loving sentiment of Radha for Krsna. Sri Gadadhara Pandita represents that bhava personified, and thus he has appeared to be at the side of Mahaprabhu to assist him in his search. In this explanation, Gadadhara gives his unalloyed love to Lord Gauranga willingly.

It has also been explained that Krsna has stolen the bhava of Radha and appears as Mahaprabhu, Radha Krsna combined. Gadadhara represents that which is left of Radha after Krsna steals her bhava.

There’s a story in connection with Sri Gadadhara Pandit that when He was very old and trying to render service to Tota-Gopinath, He couldn’t reach to put the garland around the neck of the Deity.

To reciprocate with His loving service, the Deity knelt down to accept the flower garlands of His beloved Gadadhar, who is none other than His beloved Srimati Radharani incarnate as mentioned previously.

To this day the Deity of Tota-Gopinath in the temple remains in a kneeling position to accept the eternal service of His beloved Gadadhara. A slight crack which is still to be found near the right knee of Sri Gopinathji is the spot where Mahaprabhu is said to have entered the Deity.

Srivasa Pandita is one of the members of the Pancha-tattva:sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasa. Vedic authorities state that in the current Age of Kali, Krishna came as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Balarama came as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Similarly, Maha-vishnu appeared as Advaita Acharya, Srimati Radharani as Gadadhara Pandita, and Narada Muni as Srivasa Pandita.

panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
  bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
  namami bhakta-saktikam

“I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, who is nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy.” (Cc Adi 1.14)

Panca-tattvatmakam: The Pancha-tattva comprise one truth on the absolute platform. Lord Chaitanya is bhakta-rupa, Krishna in the form of a devotee. Lord Nityananda is svarupakam, the expansion of a devotee. Advaita Acharya is bhaktavataram, the avatar of a devotee. Srivasa Thakura is bhakta, a devotee. And Gadadhara Pandita is bhakta-saktikam, the energy of the Supreme Lord who supplies energy to the devotees—the devotional energy, Srimati Radharani.

In the Adi-lila of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes the tree of Lord Chaitanya. The tree itself is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and at the same time Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the gardener who tends to the tree. This tree, like any tree, has a trunk, limbs, and branches. The limbs and branches and leaves are devotees—the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says that he is listing such devotees for his own purification, just to glorify them, and that he cannot distinguish between who is higher and who is lower; he wants to glorify them all. And Srila Prabhupada remarks that this is the attitude of a pure devotee. A pure devotee respects all devotees. He does not distinguish that some should be respected and some not; he respects all of them.

Srila Prabhupada also mentions that ISKCON is a branch of the Chaitanya tree. In reality, Prabhupada himself is a most important branch of the Chaitanya tree, but in his humility he says that ISKCON is a branch. So, all the devotees in ISKCON, who are attached to ISKCON, are leaves on the Chaitanya tree. And we should respect and honor them all.

After introducing the Chaitanya tree, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami begins to describe specific devotees, and the first he describes is Srivasa Thakura. For our purification, we shall read now the first verses of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Trunk, Branches, and Subbranches of the Caitanya Tree.” And then we shall discuss more about Srivasa Thakura.

TEXT 1

sri-caitanya-padambhoja-
  madhupebhyo namo namah
kathancid asrayad yesam
  svapi tad-gandha-bhag bhavet

TRANSLATION

Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The example of a dog is very significant in this connection. A dog naturally does not become a devotee at any time, but still it is sometimes found that a dog of a devotee gradually becomes a devotee also. We have actually seen that a dog has no respect even for the tulasi plant. Indeed, a dog is especially inclined to pass urine on the tulasi plant. Therefore the dog is the number one nondevotee. But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement is so strong that even a doglike nondevotee can gradually become a devotee by the association of a devotee of Lord Caitanya. Srila Sivananda Sena, a great householder devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, attracted a dog on the street while going to Jagannatha Puri. The dog began to follow him and ultimately went to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was liberated. Similarly, cats and dogs in the household of Srivasa Thakura were also liberated. Cats and dogs and other animals are not expected to become devotees, but in the association of a pure devotee they are also delivered.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

This is an important verse to begin the description of the Chaitanya tree. The tree describes the devotees, and here Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami glorifies the power of the devotees: by their power, even a doglike nondevotee can become a devotee and taste the nectar at the lotus feet of the Lord.

In six days we shall observe Jagannatha Ratha-yatra, and that date is also the disappearance day of Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Srila Sivananda Sena. Every year, Sivananda Sena would take a party of devotees from Bengal to Orissa for the Ratha-yatra, and one year a dog joined them. Sivananda Sena was so merciful that he accepted the dog as part of his party, so much so that when they had to cross a river by boat, he paid the boatman extra to take the dog.

One day, when Sivananda Sena had to attend to some work, his servant forgot to feed the dog. And when Sivananda came and inquired, “Did you feed the dog?” he discovered that it had not been given its meals. Sivananda Sena immediately sent ten men to find the dog, but they could not find it. And Sivananda Sena felt so sorry, he fasted.

The next day too they did not see the dog, but when they reached Puri they saw it sitting a little distance from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was throwing it remnants of green coconut pulp and requesting it to chant the holy names “Hari,” “Krishna,” and “Rama.” Sivananda Sena, out of his humility, offered obeisances to the dog, feeling that he had been an offender, because he had neglected to serve it properly. The following day, however, no one saw the dog, for it had been liberated and gone back home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the holy names.

This is the strength of the mercy of a pure devotee. By the mercy of such a devotee, one gets the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—the opportunity to chant the holy names of Krishna—and in the end goes back home, back to Godhead.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-krsna-caitanya-nityananda
jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaita Prabhu, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Srivasa!

TEXTS 3–6

The description of Lord Caitanya as the gardener and the tree is inconceivable. Now hear with attention about the branches of this tree.

The associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were many, but none of them should be considered lower or higher. This cannot be ascertained.

All the great personalities in the line of Lord Caitanya enumerated these devotees, but they could not distinguish between the greater and the lesser.

I offer my obeisances unto them as a token of respect. I request them not to consider my offenses.

TEXT 7

vande sri-krsna-caitanya-
  premamara-taroh priyan
sakha-rupan bhakta-ganan
  krsna-prema-phala-pradan

TRANSLATION

I offer my obeisances to all the dear devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the eternal tree of love of Godhead. I offer my respects to all the branches of the tree, the devotees of the Lord who distribute the fruit of love of Godhead.

TEXT 8

srivasa pandita, ara sri-rama pandita
dui bhai—dui sakha, jagate vidita

TRANSLATION

The two brothers Srivasa Pandita and Sri Rama Pandita started two branches that are well known in the world.

PURPORT

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (90), Srivasa Pandita (Srivasa Thakura) is described as an incarnation of Narada Muni, and Sri Rama Pandita, his younger brother, is said to be an incarnation of Parvata Muni, a great friend of Narada’s. Srivasa Pandita’s wife, Malini, is celebrated as an incarnation of the nurse Ambika, who fed Lord Krsna with her breast milk, and as already noted, his niece Narayani, the mother of Thakura Vrndavana dasa, the author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, was the sister of Ambika in krsna-lila. We also understand from the description of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata that after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s acceptance of the sannyasa order, Srivasa Pandita left Navadvipa, possibly because of feelings of separation, and domiciled at Kumarahatta.

COMMENT

Sivananda Sena resided at Kumarahatta, and Srivasa Thakura came to live near him. Later, Vasudeva Datta also took up residence there.

Kumarahatta is a very important place. It is the birthplace of Isvara Puri, whom Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted as His guru. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went there on pilgrimage and visited His guru’s birthplace, and He took dirt from the ground there and kept it in His cloth, and every day He would eat a little bit of the dirt. Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Adi-khanda 17.98–103) describes:

“The Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya, personally visited the birthplace of Isvara Puri. The Lord said, ‘I offer My obeisances to the village of Kumarahatta, where Sri Isvara Puri appeared.’ He cried profusely at that place and spoke nothing other than the name of Isvara Puri. He took some dust from the birthplace of Isvara Puri and tied it in His cloth. The Lord said, ‘The dust from the birthplace of Isvara Puri is My life, wealth, and living force.’ The Lord exhibited such affection for Isvara Puri, because He takes pleasure in increasing the glories of His devotees.” Even today, devotees take dirt from the same place.

It is said that, following the example of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, every disciple should visit the birthplace of his spiritual master. Last November, His Holiness Radhanath Swami and I visited Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace in Calcutta. Srila Prabhupada took birth under a jackfruit tree, and we visited the tree. We also saw the Deities and temple that his mother would visit. I imagined how she would pray to that Deity of Krishna for the child in her womb and how after the child’s birth she and all the relatives would pray for his well-being.

TEXT 9

sripati, srinidhi—tanra dui sahodara
cari bhaira dasa-dasi, grha-parikara

TRANSLATION

Their two brothers were named Sripati and Srinidhi. These four brothers and their servants and maidservants are considered one big branch.

TEXT 10

dui sakhara upasakhaya tan-sabara ganana
yanra grhe mahaprabhura sada sankirtana

TRANSLATION

There is no counting the subbranches of these two branches. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu held congregational chanting daily at the house of Srivasa Pandita.

COMMENT

This sankirtana that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed at Srivasa-angana is significant. There is a parallel between the pastimes of Sri Krishna Chaitanya and the pastimes of Krishna, and the nocturnal kirtan at Srivasa-angana in gaura-lila corresponds to the rasa-lila in Krishna’s pastimes. It was the highest ecstasy. To enable Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His confidential devotees to enter deeply into the kirtan and relish its mellows without disturbance, Srivasa Thakura would lock the door to his house. Only the most confidential devotees were allowed.

Srila Prabhupada comments that to spread Krishna consciousness, when we have large-scale congregational chanting of the holy name, we keep our doors open for everyone to participate, and that by the grace of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu this policy has brought good results. But the special kirtans held at Srivasa Thakura’s residence at night were reserved for only the most intimate devotees, so that they could freely experience and manifest their ecstasy, which they could do only in the association of devotees. A pure devotee will not do that if there are outsiders.

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Gargamuni dasa once told Prabhupada that sometimes he felt like crying in the kirtan. Prabhupada replied, “That’s all right, because you are chanting with devotees and they will understand.” Otherwise, devotees don’t manifest such symptoms of ecstasy.

TEXT 11

cari bhai sa-vamse kare caitanyera seva
gauracandra vina nahi jane devi-deva

TRANSLATION

These four brothers and their family members fully engaged in the service of Lord Caitanya. They knew no other god or goddess.

PURPORT

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has said, anya-devasraya nai, tomare kahinu bhai, ei bhakti parama-karana: if one wants to become a pure, staunch devotee, one should not take shelter of any of the demigods or -goddesses. . . .

COMMENT

This is an important point, especially for Hindus who are used to worshipping gods and goddesses. Sometimes even after such people come to the association of devotees and hear the philosophy of Krishna consciousness and to some extent understand it, they are reluctant to give up their worship of demigods. They may think, “Our ancestors worshipped demigods, so how can we stop?” Sometimes their deities have been passed down through generations in their family and they are afraid that they will displease their ancestors or deities if they stop the worship—that Lord Shiva or Durga or whoever will be displeased. But according to the Bhagavad-gita, one should not worship gods and goddesses. Rather, one should take full shelter of the Supreme Lord Krishna, and if one does so, the demigods too will be pleased. Lord Krishna states,

ye ’py anya-devata-bhakta
  yajante sraddhayanvitah
te ’pi mam eva kaunteya
  yajanty avidhi-purvakam

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way.” (Gita 9.23)

sarva-dharman parityajya
  mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
  moksayisyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Gita 18.66)

To engage fully in the service of Krishna or Krishna Chaitanya and to know no other god or goddess is an important qualification. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami could have mentioned many other qualities of Srivasa Thakura and his family, but he specifically mentioned that they had full faith in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and did not worship any devas or devis.

Five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna exhibited the pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. The residents of Vrindavan were used to worshipping Indra, who is the king of heaven and demigod in charge of rainfall. Lord Krishna told them to take the paraphernalia that they had gathered for the indra-yajna and use it instead to worship Govardhana Hill, the cows, and the brahmans. And because the Vraja-vasis had simple faith in Lord Krishna, they did what He said.

Due to some false pride and illusion, Indra became angry when his worship was stopped. But what was the result? Although Indra became angry and sent torrents of rain to inundate Vrindavan, Lord Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill and held it up as an umbrella to give shelter to all the residents of Vrindavan. And the result was that they were able to be with Krishna continuously for one week, 24/7. Every day, under ordinary circumstances, they would be with Him for some time but then they would be separated. In the early morning, for example, Krishna and Balarama would be with Their mother and father, but then They would go out to the fields to tend to the cows and Their parents would be separated from Them. Almost all of the residents of the Vrindavan village would be separated from Them during the day; only the cowherd boys would be with Them. But in the late afternoon, when Krishna came back from the pasturing grounds, He would again enter His home and be with Nanda and Yashoda and others there, and He would be separated from the cowherd boys. Then in the middle of the night He would sneak out to meet the gopis, and then He would sneak back before His mother came to wake Him up in the morning. And then he would be separated from the young gopis.

When the gopis gazed at Krishna as He returned from the pasturing grounds in the late afternoon, they would curse the creator, Brahma, for creating eyelids. Even the momentary blinking of their eyes, that momentary separation from the sight of Krishna, felt like yugas, like many thousands of years, because they had such intense attachment (anuraga) for Him. And so the gopis prayed to Krishna,

atati yad bhavan ahni kananam
  truti yugayate tvam apasyatam
kutila-kuntalam sri-mukham ca te
  jada udiksatam paksma-krd drsam

“When You go off to the forest during the day, a tiny fraction of a second becomes like a millennium for us because we cannot see You. And even when we can eagerly look upon Your beautiful face, so lovely with its adornment of curly locks, our pleasure is hindered by our eyelids, which were fashioned by the foolish creator.” (SB 10.31.15)

So, there was constant meeting and separation, and the separation was terrible for the Vraja-vasis, because they had such deep love for Krishna. But during the govardhana-lila the Vraja-vasis could be with Krishna continuously. The gopis, the elder cowherd men and ladies, the cowherd boys, the servants, and the animals all got to be with Krishna continuously. So, by giving up their worship of Indra and following Krishna’s instruction to worship Govardhana Hill (which is nondifferent from Krishna), they did not lose. Rather, they gained continuous, close association with Krishna. So, if we give up the worship of demigods or goddesses and take fully to the service of Krishna, we will not lose. Rather, we will gain in the most wonderful way.

Because Srivasa Thakura would lock the doors of his house during the kirtans, some people became angry. The Caitanya-caritamrta describes that, being excluded, some of these nonbelievers (pasandis) burned with envy and plotted against Srivasa Thakura. The leader of the nonbelievers was a brahman named Gopala Chapala, and he assembled paraphernalia for the worship of the goddess Bhavani (Durga) and placed it outside Srivasa Thakura’s door to defame him, because generally the worshippers of the goddess Bhavani, Durga, or Kali, are considered lower class. They drink wine and eat meat. For a Vaishnava, such things are anathema. So, Gopala Chapala wanted to defame Srivasa Thakura, and alongside the paraphernalia for the worship he placed a pot of wine.

In the morning, when Srivasa Thakura opened the door and saw all the paraphernalia, he immediately called for the respectable gentlemen of the neighborhood. He told them, “Just see, here is the paraphernalia for the worship of Bhavani.” There was a banana leaf and some rice and red sandalwood paste—and the jug of wine. He said, “Every night I worship the goddess Bhavani. Now all you respectable gentlemen can understand my actual position—who I really am—and you can take whatever action you deem fit.”

Of course, the respectable brahmans and other members of the higher castes could understand what had happened, that some envious person had wanted to defame Srivasa Thakura and desecrate his house. So they called for a sweeper, a hadi, to dispose of all those untouchable things and purify the place by mopping it with a mixture of water and cow dung.

Three day later, Gopala Chapala was afflicted with leprosy. Blood oozed from sores all over his body, and he was attacked by germs and insects. The position of a devotee is such that anyone who offends any devotee suffers. And that is also the Lord’s mercy. By punishing the offender, He simultaneously protects His devotees from being offended further and prevents the offender from committing more offenses. He helps the offender realize his mistake and make progress in spiritual life. So Gopala Chapala was burning with leprosy, suffering unbearable pain.

One day when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed nearby, Gopala Chapala appealed to Him, “You are an incarnation of God. You have come to deliver the fallen souls. I am very fallen and wretched. So please deliver me.” Of course, it is true that Lord Chaitanya came to deliver the fallen souls, but He really came to deliver them from material existence altogether—not from any particular condition—by distributing the holy name and krsna-prema. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura prayed,

golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana,
           rati na janmilo kene taya
samsara-visanale, diva-nisi hiya jvale
           judaite na koinu upaya

“The treasure of divine love in Goloka Vrindavan has descended as the congregational chanting of Lord Hari’s holy names. Why did my attraction for that chanting never come about? Day and night my heart burns in the fire of the poison of worldliness, and I have not accepted the means for relieving it.”

vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta hoilo sei,
             balarama hoilo nitai
dina-hina yata chilo, hari-name uddharilo,
             tara saksi jagai-madhai

“Lord Krishna, the son of the King of Vraja, became the son of Saci, and Balarama became Nitai. The holy name delivered all those souls who were lowly and wretched. The two sinners Jagai and Madhai are evidence of this.”

Lord Chaitanya brought the practice of chanting the holy name—the treasure of krsna-prema—and delivered all who were sinful and fallen, even Jagai and Madhai. Although this Gopala Chapala was very sinful and insulting, he had one good quality: he was simple. He accepted Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and had faith that Mahaprabhu could deliver him. So he appealed to Him, and Mahaprabhu called him a sinner and told him, “Because of your sins, you are suffering.” And that is a fact: whatever suffering we experience in this world is due to our sins. The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu explains that suffering is due to sin and that sin is due to ignorance. Thus the only way to really become free from suffering is to become free from sin and ignorance—in other words, to become enlightened in transcendental knowledge, engage in devotional service, and ultimately go back to Godhead.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him, “You are envious of pure devotees. That is the worst sin. I shall not deliver you. Rather, I shall see you bitten by these germs for millions of years. Srivasa Thakura is My pure devotee, and for your offense against him, you will fall into hellish conditions for millions of lifetimes.” After some time, Gopala Chapala actually took shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Lord mercifully instructed him, “If you approach Srivasa Thakura and get his mercy—and if you do not commit such sins again—you will be freed from the effects of your offenses.”

That is the only way to be relieved from vaisnava-aparadha—to go to the Vaishnava you have offended, throw yourself at his feet, and beg for forgiveness. Gopala Chapala did that. He took shelter of the lotus feet of Srivasa Thakura, and by Srivasa’s mercy he was freed from all sinful reactions.

Then there was another person, a brahmachari who practiced austerities and ate only milk and fruits. Repeatedly, daily, he begged Srivasa Pandita, “Please allow me to witness the sankirtana in your house at night. I will be ever grateful to you.” He begged and pleaded, and finally Srivasa Pandita relented: “I know you are a good soul. You are a strict brahmachari and eat only fruit and milk. I think you are eligible to see the Lord’s dancing, but you will have to remain hidden, because the Lord has ordered that no one be allowed in the house.”

Srivasa Pandita secretly brought the brahmachari inside the house and hid him. During the kirtan, Lord Chaitanya and His other associates chanted and danced, but they did not experience their usual ecstasy. After a while, the Lord remarked, “Today I do not feel the same ecstasy while dancing. Perhaps someone is hiding inside the house. Please tell the truth.”

Srivasa Pandita became afraid and said, “My Lord, I assure you that there are no nonbelievers in the house—only a brahmachari, a qualified, sinless brahman who eats only milk and fruits. He had a strong desire to see You dance. Still, You are right, my Lord. He is hiding here.”

The Lord became furious and said, “Take him out of this house immediately. What is his qualification to see My dancing? How can one develop devotion to Me simply by drinking milk?”

“Just by drinking milk no one can attain Me,” the Lord declared. “A person may be a renunciant without mundane attachment, but if he does not surrender to Me I do not accept him. On the other hand, even a low-caste dog-eater who takes full shelter of Me I accept.”

Hearing all this, the brahmachari was trembling with fear, and he came out of hiding. Still, he thought, “I was so fortunate to see the Lord dance. And now I am receiving the appropriate punishment.” He accepted the Lord’s chastisement as mercy. And the Lord, understanding the brahmachari’s heart, blessed him. He told him, “Do not try to attain power through penances and austerities. Rather, render loving service unto the Supreme Lord Krishna. That is the highest activity.” And the Lord placed His lotus feet on the brahmachari’s head.

Another brahman came to witness the kirtan at Srivasa-angana, but because the door was locked, he could not enter, and he returned home disappointed. The next day, he met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, broke his brahman thread, and cursed Him: “You will never enjoy material happiness.” When Lord Chaitanya heard this curse, He felt great jubilation. He took it as a blessing: “I will be free of material enjoyment.”

Even the cats and dogs in Srivasa Thakura’s house were delivered. In Caitanya-bhagavata, after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard Srivasa Thakura speak with great faith and love for Nityananda Prabhu, He blessed him, “Everyone in your household, including your pet dogs and cats, will find complete shelter in My devotional service.”

Srivasa Thakura had a Muslim tailor. (We also had a Muslim tailor, Abdul, at our Juhu temple, and he sewed our cloth.) This tailor stayed near Srivasa-angana and used to sew garments for Srivasa Thakura and his family. One day the tailor saw Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dancing. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced in ecstasy not only in His private kirtans but on other occasions as well, and the tailor, seeing the Lord’s dancing, became enchanted. Lord Chaitanya understood the tailor’s mind and mercifully showed him His original form as Krishna. Then the tailor began to shout, “Dekhinu! Dekhinu!”—I have seen! I have seen! In ecstatic love, he danced with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he became a first-class Vaishnava and prominent devotee of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Anyone who takes shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can be delivered. It does not matter if one is a brahman, a brahmachari, a milk-drinker, a meat-eater, or a Muslim. These are not qualifications or disqualifications. Anyone who takes shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or, better yet, His devotee (the tailor was a servant of Srivasa Pandita) can get the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and obtain love for Krishna.

In His ecstatic mood, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Srivasa Thakura, “Please bring My flute,” because He was in the mood of Krishna. But Srivasa replied, “The gopis have stolen it.” When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He became ecstatic. He said, “Please say more. Please say more.” Srivasa Thakura began to describe the mellows of Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Please say more. Please say more.” Then Srivasa Thakura described more—how Krishna played on His flute and the gopis wandered in the Vrindavan forest, and how Krishna celebrated the rasa dance and played in the Yamuna. “Please say more. Please say more.” Srivasa spoke more and more about the mellows and pastimes of Krishna in Vrindavan, especially the rasa-lila. Thus the two of them passed the entire night, and when morning came, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Srivasa Thakura and Srivasa was satisfied.

These are some of the earlier pastimes, from when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu resided in Navadvipa. Eventually Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, left Navadvipa, and settled in Jagannatha Puri, and Srivasa Thakura, in separation from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, moved to Kumarahatta.

Every year, Sivananda Sena would lead a party of devotees from Bengal to Orissa to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, participate in the Ratha-yatra, and stay with Him for caturmasya, the four months of the rainy season. One year, Srivasa Thakura observed the Hera-panchami festival with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami. Hera-panchami is a very special festival. Two weeks before Ratha-yatra is Snana-yatra, the public bathing of Lord Jagannatha, after which Lord Jagannatha retires to His private quarters and for two weeks does not see His devotees. It is said that He caught a cold from the Snana-yatra, and so for two weeks His wife Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, serves Him faithfully, giving Him special drinks and infusions, represented by fruit juice, to help Him recover and feel better.

After two weeks, feeling separation from His other devotees, Lord Jagannatha takes permission from Lakshmi to go out. Really, He wants to meet and reciprocate with His devotees in Vrindavan. So, in the Ratha-yatra, He proceeds on His chariot from Nilachala, which is like Dvaraka (or Kurukshetra), down the road to Sundarachala, to the Gundicha temple, which is considered to be Vrindavan.

The day before the Ratha-yatra is Gundicha-marjana, during which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees clean the Gundicha temple to make it fit to receive the Lord. And the next day is the Ratha-yatra procession. Then, for about eight days, Lord Jagannatha stays in the Gundicha temple. But after four or five days, Lakshmi becomes impatient: “Where is my husband? He said He was just going out for a ride. Where is He? He should be back.” Restless and angry, she takes her maidservants and travels to Sundarachala in her own procession. At the gate of the Gundicha temple, she sends her maidservants to arrest the principal servants of Lord Jagannatha, which they do. They bind the servants around the waist and make them fall down at her lotus feet. And they berate the servants, making them the butt of jokes and loose language.

During this pastime Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, and Srivasa Thakura had a discussion. Srivasa Thakura, as the incarnation of Narada Muni, a great devotee of Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha, became ecstatic seeing the opulence of the goddess of fortune, the eternal consort of Lord Narayana. He told Svarupa Damodara, “Just see how opulent my goddess of fortune is. Vrindavan’s opulence consists of a few flowers and twigs, some minerals from the hills, and a few peacock feathers. When Jagannatha was in Vrindavan, Lakshmi wondered, ‘Why did Lord Jagannatha give up so much opulence and go to Vrindavan?’ Then, to make Him a laughingstock, she decorated herself and brought her maidservants to deride Him and His servants. Finally, His servants submitted to her and promised to bring Lord Jagannatha before her the very next day, and the goddess of fortune, being pacified, returned to her apartment.” Thus Srivasa Thakura joked with Svarupa Damodara, as described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 14. 213–215):

amara laksmira sampad—vakya-agocara

“ ‘Just see! My goddess of fortune is opulent beyond all description.

dugdha auti’ dadhi mathe tomara gopi-gane
amara thakurani vaise ratna-simhasane

“ ‘Your gopis are engaged in boiling milk and churning yogurt, but my mistress, the goddess of fortune, sits on a throne made of jewels and gems.’

arada-prakrti srivasa kare parihasa
suni’ hase mahaprabhura yata nija-dasa

“Srivasa Thakura, who was enjoying the mood of Narada Muni, thus made jokes. Hearing him, all the personal servants of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began to smile.”

Then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself spoke.

prabhu kahe,—srivasa, tomate narada-svabhava
aisvarya-bhave tomate, isvara-prabhava

“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Thakura, ‘My dear Srivasa, your nature is exactly like that of Narada Muni. The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s opulence is having a direct influence upon you.

inho damodara-svarupa-suddha-vrajavasi
aisvarya na jane inho suddha-preme bhasi’

“ ‘Svarupa Damodara is a pure devotee of Vrndavana. He does not even know what opulence is, for he is simply absorbed in pure devotional service.’ ” (Cc Madhya 14.216–217)

Then Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who is an incarnation of the gopi Lalita-devi, one of Srimati Radharani’s most confidential girlfriends, glorified Vrindavan’s opulence. He said that the natural opulence of Vrindavan is like an ocean and that the opulence of Dvaraka and Vaikuntha cannot be compared even to a drop of that ocean. He said that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in all opulences, and that His opulences are fully manifest only in Vrindavan. He paraphrased and elaborated upon a verse from Sri Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
  laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
  govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of laksmis, or gopis.” Govinda, Krishna, the cowherd boy, is served by hundreds of thousands of laksmis in the form of gopis. In fact, these gopis are considered super laksmis. The laksmis in Vaikuntha are only expansions of these gopis. In Vrindavan, the houses and land are made of cintamani stones; the trees are kalpa-vrksas, wish-fulfilling desire trees; and the cows are surabhis, who deliver oceans of nectar-like milk.

Svarupa Damodara then quoted a related verse by Bilvamangala Thakura, to glorify the opulence of the gopis and Vrindavan:

cintamanis carana-bhusanam angananam
  srngara-puspa-taravas taravah suranam
vrndavane vraja-dhanam nanu kama-dhenu-
  vrndani ceti sukha-sindhur aho vibhutih

“The anklets on the damsels of Vraja-bhumi are made of cintamani stone. The trees are wish-fulfilling trees, and they produce flowers with which the gopis decorate themselves. There are also wish-fulfilling cows, which deliver unlimited quantities of milk. These cows constitute the wealth of Vrndavana. Thus Vrndavana’s opulence is blissfully exhibited.” (Brs 2.1.173, Cc Madhya 14, 228)

And he quoted another verse from Sri Brahma-samhita (5.29):

sriyah kantah kantah parama-purusah kalpa-taravo
  druma bhumis cintamani-gana-mayi toyam amrtam
katha ganam natyam gamanam api vamsi priya-sakhi
  cid-anandam jyotih param api tad asvadyam api ca

“The damsels of Vrndavana, the gopis, are super goddesses of fortune. The enjoyer in Vrndavana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. The trees there are all wish-fulfilling trees, and the land is made of transcendental touchstone. The water is all nectar, the talking is singing, the walking is dancing, and the constant companion of Krsna is His flute. The effulgence of transcendental bliss is experienced everywhere. Therefore Vrndavana-dhama is the only relishable abode.” (Bs 5.56, Cc Madhya 14.227)

Actually, the opulence of Vrindavan is greater than that of Vaikuntha. But the special quality of Vrindavan is that its opulence is covered by an exquisite sweetness so powerful that the pure devotees in Vrindavan forget that Krishna is God. In Vaikuntha the devotees are aware of the Lord’s opulence and worship Him with awe and veneration. They act as His servants (dasya-rasa) or at most as reverential friends (gaurava-sakhya-rasa); there is no sense of equality with the Lord. But in Vrindavan the devotees are able to enjoy ecstatic, intimate relationships with Krishna, with full freedom, because they forget that He is God.

If the residents of Vrindavan were conscious that Krishna is God, the cowherd boys could never play with Him as equals like they do. Sometimes Krishna and the cowherd boys compete in sport, and if Krishna loses, He has to carry the other boy on His shoulders. This is unheard of in Vaikuntha; if someone got up on Lord Narayana’s shoulders, he would immediately be expelled. And Krishna’s parents, Nanda and Yashoda, and others in the parental mood, such as Ambika, feel that Krishna is dependent on them. Ambika is Krishna’s nurse in Vrindavan; she suckles Krishna. And Malini, Srivasa Thakura’s wife, is her incarnation. So she has that maternal mood. Such devotees, in vatsalya-rasa, feel that they have to take care of Krishna. The cowherd boys feel that they are Krishna’s equals, His friends, and the elders feel like they are Krishna’s parents and guardians, that Krishna is dependent on their care and protection.

In fact, Krishna is providing everything for everyone. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam: He is the singular eternal one among so many eternal beings, and He is the singular conscious entity among so many conscious entities. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman: He is the one, singular, eternal conscious being who is providing all the necessities and fulfilling all the desires of the many, plural, eternal conscious beings. He is providing for everyone, but still Mother Yashoda is thinking, “He is my son. If I don’t feed Him, He will starve.” She can think that way because her attachment for Him as a mother for her son is stronger than her awareness of His divine opulence. Most of the time she forgets; she is not even conscious that He is the Lord. And most of the time, the residents of Vrindavan forget.

Sometimes Krishna enacts deeds that remind them of His godly opulence, such as when He lifted Govardhana Hill. After He did so, the elder cowherd men were confused and approached Nanda Maharaja. “Your Krishna is no ordinary boy,” they said. “He lifted a great mountain and held it in one hand for seven days. And as a mere infant, He sucked out the life of the powerful demoness Putana. And He killed many powerful demons and performed many wonderful feats. He is no ordinary person. He might be a demigod—or even Lord Narayana Himself.” They weren’t sure. “Still,” they continued, “we have constant affection for your son—and He has natural attraction for us.” They were bewildered. But when they thought of Krishna’s humanlike pastimes, they became overwhelmed with parental affection. They thought of all the times He had become frightened, the times He had felt hungry, the times He had done mischief. And they remembered how He had become happy when they had coddled Him and sad or angry when they had neglected Him. Thinking of Krishna’s childlike, humanlike behavior (nara-lila), they became overwhelmed with parental affection and forgot His divine opulence.

Once, Mother Yashoda looked into Krishna’s mouth. Krishna and Balarama were playing with Their friends, and all the boys joined with Balarama to complain to Mother Yashoda that Krishna had eaten earth. Sometimes, when children are at a certain age, they put anything into their mouths. Krishna said, “No, Mother. They are lying.” Yashoda replied, “But even Your brother Balarama says that You ate dirt.” Krishna said, “He is lying, too. But if you have any doubt, you can look.” “All right. Open Your mouth. I will see.”

So, Krishna opened His mouth, and Mother Yashoda looked inside, and there she saw the entire cosmic manifestation. She saw all moving and nonmoving entities, all directions, the material elements, the sky and stars and planetary systems. She saw the living entities, the modes of nature, time, and karma. She saw everything. She even saw herself and the land of Vraja. And she was struck with doubt and wonder. Was she dreaming, or hallucinating, or being mystified by some illusion of the material nature, perhaps created by the demigods? Or was she having a vision caused by her son’s mystic power? “All right,” she said. “Close Your mouth. Just don’t do it again.” Even then, she still thought of Krishna as her son. Although Krishna is always full in all opulences, His display of opulence does not diminish His pure devotees’ love for Him—as a son or a friend or a beloved. That is vraja-bhakti.

In this discussion with Srivasa Pandita, Svarupa Damodara glorified the opulence of Vrindavan, but that opulence is covered by the sweetness of these intimate relationships, in which the devotees forget that Krishna is God and, to reciprocate with His devotees’ love, Krishna also forgets that He is God. When Mother Yashoda threatens Krishna with a stick and Krishna becomes afraid, He is not pretending. He actually feels like a child, and He feels afraid. In her prayers, Queen Kunti remarks that she sees the image of Krishna with Mother Yashoda standing with ropes to bind Him: Krishna is crying, and His tears are washing the mascara around His eyes. The same Krishna who is feared by fear personified is afraid of Mother Yashoda. And thinking of this contradiction, Kunti becomes bewildered.

gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
  ya te dasasru-kalilanjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
  sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

“My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me.” (SB 1.8.31)

These are elevated, transcendental topics—not easy to understand. Although we may have theoretical knowledge, we still tend to identify with the body and act on the bodily platform: “I” and “mine.” Still, hearing these topics is part of the process of purification. By offenseless hearing of the Lord’s activities, even without complete understanding, we can become attracted and purified. And we want to be attracted, to desire to serve in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, and ultimately in Krishna’s pastimes. We do not want to remain bound to temporary, material affairs and engrossed in ephemeral, mundane relationships.

One night, during the kirtan at Srivasa-angana, a calamity took place. One of Srivasa Pandita’s sons, who had been ill, died. Naturally, Srivasa’s wife, Malini, and others were distraught, but Srivasa said, “Keep quiet. We must not disturb Mahaprabhu’s kirtan.” So, nobody cried or said anything. After the kirtan was over, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who is God and knows everything) said, “There must have been some calamity here.” When Srivasa told Him, “My son died,” Sri Chaitanya replied, “Why did you not tell Me earlier?” He went to the place where the son was lying dead and asked him, “Why are you leaving Srivasa Thakura’s home?” The son replied, “I stayed here as long as my destiny allowed. Now that the time is over, I must proceed to my next destination, according to Your order. I am Your eternal servant, a dependent living being, and I move by Your desire.”

By this exchange between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srivasa Pandita’s dead son, everyone in the household was enlightened with spiritual knowledge. There was no cause for lamentation. They realized the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita (2.13):

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
  kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
  dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” Actually, everyone changes his or her body even in the same lifetime. Just as one has a baby’s body, then a youth’s body, and eventually an old person’s body, similarly, at the time of death, one accepts another body. And dhiras tatra na muhyati: the sober are not bewildered by such a change.

The body is like dress. Just as one discards an old and useless garment and puts on a new one, similarly, when the body is old and useless, the soul leaves it and takes on a new body.

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
  navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
  anyani samyati navani dehi

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Gita 2.22)

Ultimately, everything is under the control of the Lord, and all the more so in the case of devotees. Everything and everyone is under the control of the Lord, and these principles were manifested in the exchange between the dead son of Srivasa Pandita and his eternal Lord and master, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Pandita (and Malini), “You have lost one son, but Nitai and I are your eternal sons, and We shall never leave you.” Malini is Ambika in krsna-lila, so she is in the mood of a mother, or nurse. But whoever we may be, if we just surrender to Krishna and offer everything to Him, we will not lose. Rather, we will gain unlimitedly. Srivasa and Malini lost one son, who was encaged in a temporary, miserable body, but they gained two sons who are eternal.

Srila Prabhupada advises that instead of being absorbed in these temporary relationships that last only as long as the body (at most), we should rather develop our relationship with Krishna, or Sri Krishna Chaitanya, which is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. This relationship develops by offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy names and pastimes of the Lord. Offenseless, attentive chanting cleanses the dust from the mirror of the mind (ceto-darpana-marjanam), and thus one is able to realize one’s constitutional position as an eternal servant of Krishna, an eternal servant of Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. One still does one’s duties in the world—that is another thing—but one gives one’s heart to Krishna, to one’s relationship with Krishna, and realizes eternal, blissful, spiritual love.

jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
  jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
  ye prayaso ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyam

[Lord Brahma said to Krishna,] “Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words, and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.” (SB 10.14.3)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu noticed that Srivasa Thakura never went to earn anything for his family’s maintenance. So one day He asked, “Srivasa, I see that you never go anywhere. How will you maintain your family?” Srivasa replied, “I do not want to go anywhere.” Mahaprabhu said, “But you have a big family. What will happen to them?” “Whatever is destined will come,” he replied. “If that is your mentality,” Mahaprabhu said, “then you should take sannyasa.” “I am not ready for sannyasa,” Srivasa objected. “I do not have the power to take sannyasa.” “Then how will you maintain your family?” Mahaprabhu asked. “These days, if you do not make some effort, nothing will come. Then what will you do?” Srivasa clapped his hands thrice and said, “One. Two. Three.” Mahaprabhu asked, “What does that mean?” Srivasa Thakura replied, “If for three days no food comes and I have to fast, I will tie a rock around my neck and drown myself in the Ganges.”

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard this, He became agitated and roared, “Srivasa, what are you saying? Why should you fast three times? Have you forgotten My words in the Bhagavad-gita (9.22)—ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate / tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham: ‘Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have’? Not even once will you be lacking. Even if the goddess of fortune herself becomes poverty-stricken—even if she becomes a beggar—your house will never know want. I will personally bring whatever you need.”

Of course, what the Lord says in the Gita is true, though such constant concentration on Krishna is not so easy. But if one does come to the stage of always meditating on Krishna without deviation, the Lord will arrange whatever one needs. In that stage, one depends completely on the mercy of the Lord. Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham—as people surrender to Krishna, He rewards them accordingly. If one thinks, “I will make my own arrangement,” the Lord will think, “All right, he’s making his own arrangement, so I need not worry about him.” The Lord reciprocates according to our degree of surrender.

It could be said that previously the culture was more conducive to a brahminical way of life, and that is true, but still, what Lord Chaitanya said is also true.

There is a famous story of a brahman who was reading the Bhagavad-gita, and when he came to the verse in which Krishna says, “To those who concentrate on Me exclusively, I preserve what they have and carry what they lack (yoga-ksemam vahamy aham),” he thought, “Well, no. Krishna might send it through somebody, but He will not come personally.” (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Thakura, “I will come personally if need be.”)

ananyas cintayanto mam
  ye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam
  yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

“Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.” (Gita 9.22)

When the brahman came to the words vahamy aham, “I carry,” he scratched them out with red ink. He did not believe that Krishna would personally carry what the devotee required.

Later, the brahman went out to beg alms. There are different ways by which brahmans maintain themselves, and one is to go out and beg alms. So, while the brahman was gone, a young boy came to the brahman’s house with a rod across his shoulders, and suspended from the ends of the rod were baskets full of rice, dal, flour, ghee, and vegetables—everything one needed to prepare a feast. It was such a heavy load that the boy could hardly carry it. He barely managed to reach the door. The lady of the house, the brahmani, asked, “Who are you?” He said, “Your husband sent me. I have brought all these ingredients for you. He will be coming soon. Please cook a nice feast for him. He will be hungry.” She cooked a big feast and invited the boy to stay. But the boy replied, “No, if I take too long, your husband becomes angry with me, so I will have to go.” And when he turned to leave, she saw slashes on his back—wound marks—which were red with blood.

Eventually the husband returned, dejected. He said, “I tried all day, and not one person gave me anything. I did not get even one grain of rice. Today we shall have to fast.” She said, “No, you sent that boy with so many provisions. I have already cooked a big feast.” “No, I didn’t send any boy.” “You did. He brought all these ingredients. But when I asked him to stay, he said that if he delayed, you would become angry with him. He already had wounds from you on his back.”

The brahman thought of the Bhagavad-gita. He looked in his copy to where he had cut the words vahamy aham, and he saw that the red ink was gone. Then he knew: “That boy was Krishna.” The Bhagavad-gita is the Lord Himself. By cutting those words in the Gita, he had cut the body of the Lord. And he understood that Krishna, true to His word, had come personally and carried what His devotee lacked (yoga-ksemam vahamy aham).

That is a high level of Krishna consciousness—to always be absorbed in Krishna, without deviation—but that is our goal. And the more we have faith in Krishna, the more we will be able to chant and hear about Krishna with exclusive attention. We won’t be distracted, worrying, “From where will the money come? How will we pay the bills?”—or whatever—so many anxieties. As we develop more faith in Krishna, we are able to surrender more, to Krishna and to the process of bhakti-yoga, to chanting and hearing the holy name and glories of the Lord and serving the Lord’s devotees. We are confident that Krishna will take care of us.

Devotees never go hungry. Once, many years ago, I asked a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada, “Krishna consciousness is so nice—just chanting, dancing, feasting, and philosophy, with no anxiety—is there any austerity?” And he replied, “The austerity is that there is too much to eat. To honor the prasada and to please the devotees, we may have to eat more than we want.”

We have much to learn from the example of Srivasa Thakura, from his dealings with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees. And we have much to learn from all the members of the Pancha-tattva, and from all the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—from the branches, subbranches, and leaves of the Chaitanya tree, including the present members of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual family and transcendental household.

Sri Srivasa Thakura ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srivasa Pandita’s disappearance day, June 28, 2008, Moorpark, California]

srivas-pandito dhimaan yah pura narado munih

purvataakhyo muni-varo ya aasin narada-priyah

sa rama-panditah srimams tat-kanistha-sahaodarah

“Intelligent Srivaasa Pandita had previously been Narada Muni, the best of the sages. Srivaasa’s younger brother, Sriman Rama Pandita, had previously been Narada’s close friend Parvata Muni” (Gaura Ganodesh Dipika 90.)

Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura, the Vyasadeva of Sri Gaurasundara’s pastimes, has sung the praises of Srivasa Pandita in this way:

“It was in Srivasa Pandita’s house that Sri Caitanya enacted His pastimes of sankirtana. Those four brothers (Srivasa, Sri Rama, Sripati and Srinidhi) were continuously engaged in singing the names of Sri Krsna. They worshipped Sri Krsna and bathed in the Ganges thrice daily.”

These four brothers previously lived in the district of Sri Hatta. Later on they came to reside on the banks of the Ganges. There they regularly used to attend the assembly of devotees who gathered at Sri Advaita Acarya’s house to hear the Srimad Bhagavatam and engage in congregational chanting of the Holy Names. Gradually the brothers became very close friends of Sri Jagannatha Misra, with whom they would chant and listen to the Bhagavatam.

In all matters Srivasa was the leader of the four brothers. By the strength of his devotion, he could understand that Sri Krsna was going to appear in the house of Jagannatha Misra.

Srivasa Pandits’s wife’s name was Sri Malinidevi. She was a very close friend of Sri Sacidevi and was always very helpful to her. Srivasa and Malini gave Sacidevi and Jagannatha much advice how to raise their new son. Srivasa and Malini were just like a mother and father to Sri Gaurasundara.

After Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, Srivasa Pandit came to live at Kumarhatta. Every year he would go with His brothers to see Mahaprabhu at Puri. He also regularly came to see Sri Sacimata in Navadwip and would spend a few days there during those times.

When Mahaprabhu came from Nilacala to see His mother and the river Ganges, He also stopped at Kumarhatta to see Srivasa.

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When the goal matters more than the credit, creativity takes over.

When Lakshmana was dying and the Sanjeevani herb was urgently needed, Hanuman didn’t waste time identifying the exact plant.

He lifted the entire mountain.

Not perfect. But effective.

Leadership Lesson:

Impact > Perfection. Action > Analysis.

Sometimes, “done” is better than “just right.”

Takeaway for Today’s Leaders:

If you’re unsure which detail matters most—bring the whole mountain.

Serve the mission, not your ego.

The post Hanuman: Mission Over Method appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Join us in celebrating Sri Krishna Janmashtami at Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Temple (ISKCON Auckland) on Saturday 16th August 2025 starting with a special candlelit Maha Mangal Arati. This festival commemorates Lord Krishna's Divine Appearance with fasting, chanting, Krishna katha, arati, kirtan and joyous midnight celebrations at 1229 Coatesville Riverhead Hwy, in Kumeu. All are welcome! Hare Krishna.

Today is the appearance day of Sri Vakresvara Pandita, one of Lord Chaitanya’s most dear associates. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 10.17–20) states, “Vakresvara Pandita, the fifth branch of the [Caitanya] tree, was a very dear servant of Lord Caitanya’s. He could dance with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally sang while Vakresvara Pandita danced, and thus Vakresvara Pandita fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows. ‘O Candramukha! Please give me ten thousand Gandharvas. Let them sing as I dance, and then I will be greatly happy.’ Lord Caitanya replied, ‘I have only one wing like you, but if I had another, certainly I would fly in the sky!’ ”

In his purport to text 17, Srila Prabhupada writes, “In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (71) it is stated that Vakresvara Pandita was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Visnu (Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna). He could dance wonderfully for seventy-two continuous hours. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu played in dramatic performances in the house of Srivasa Pandita, Vakresvara Pandita was one of the chief dancers, and he danced continuously for that length of time. Sri Govinda dasa, an Oriya devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has described the life of Vakresvara Pandita in his book Gaura-krsnodaya. There are many disciples of Vakresvara Pandita in Orissa, and they are known as Gaudiya Vaisnavas although they are Oriyas. Among these disciples are Sri Gopalaguru and his disciple Sri Dhyanacandra Gosvami.”

A contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu named Devananda Pandita had no faith in Mahaprabhu and thus avoided Him, but fortunately, Devananda Pandita developed great faith in Vakresvara Pandita and rendered service to him. And by Vakresvara Pandita’s mercy, Devananda Pandita developed faith in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and ultimately achieved His shelter.

Concerning this incident, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Antya 3.485–487) confirms the efficacy of serving pure devotees and the results one attains by doing so: “The service of Vaishnavas is superior to the service of Krishna. All scriptures, headed by Srimad-Bhagavatam, confirm this. There may be a doubt whether the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will attain perfection, but there is absolutely no doubt that those who are attached to serving the Lord’s devotees will attain perfection. Therefore service to the Vaishnavas is the best means of deliverance.”

Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930)—A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mrdanga. He gave me Radha-Krsna vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannatha ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father.”

As devotees, we try to encourage and facilitate our children’s Krishna consciousness, as Prabhupada’s father did with him—an effort that is solidified when our children find their eternal spiritual masters.

Later, Srila Prabhupada wrote one of his disciples, “You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. Relationship of father and son on spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationship is ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna consciousness. Your sincerity and service mood will always help you in advancing your genuine cause.”

We are indebted to all our fathers, biological and preceptorial. To those still with us, we wish you Happy Father’s Day. To those who have left us, we love you and miss you, and we shall try to act in such a way as will please you—and Krishna, the Supreme Father.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Sri Vakresvara Pandit was present with Sriman Mahaprabhu during His pastimes in Navadwipa and after his acceptance of Sannyasa he also accompanied Him to Jagannath Puri.

During the time of the Lord’s residence in Puri he continued to live with Him there as well. Sri Vakresvara Pandit took birth in the village of Guptipara near Triveni. He was an especially proficient dancer and kirtaniya and could dance continuously for 72 hours.

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began His pastimes of congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Sri Hari in Navadvipa, Sri Vakresvara Pandit was an important singer and dancer in that assembly.

Vakresvara Pandit’s worshippable deity is Sri Sri Radha-kanta, whom he worshipped in Kasi Misra’s house, which was also the residence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Gambhira).These Deities are still being worshipped there to this day.

Here is a link to an article I wrote for the 2023 ISKCON Communications Journal:

ICJ14_05_Krishna_Dharma_ISKCON’s_initiation_system_v4-1

[Missing pdf file]

‘Celestial Dynasties’ refers to those of the sun and moon gods, in which both Lord Rama and Lord Krishna respectively appeared. The ninth canto traces both lines up to their appearances, giving details of their significant ancestors such as King Ambarisha, who overcame the powerful mystic Durvasa; Parasurama, who destroyed the world’s kshatriyas twenty-one times; Pururava, who married the celestial girl, Urvasi; King Yayati, who wed Sage Shukra’s daughter, Devayani, only to be cursed by him with premature old age; plus many other fascinating accounts of sages, kings and gods who preceded the two divine incarnations. The authors give a dramatic rendition of the original text, which both entertains and educates, bringing out the profound messages of the Bhagavatam.

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While Vali faced the threat of likely dying, trapped in a cave where he had gone to kill a demon, he found the entrance blocked completely by a large boulder—one that couldn’t have sealed the cave so precisely by natural means. Still, he didn’t have to remain inside the cave for years, as Ram had to in the forest. Of course, for Vali, there was no guarantee he would survive inside the cave or ever be able to come out.

In contrast, Ram had the archery skills and survival expertise to endure 14 years in the forest and return after the prescribed period of exile. Comparing the two situations illustrates how difficult it is to evaluate whose distress was greater—both would have been shocked by their sudden change in fortunes.

Ram went from being a crown prince to suddenly becoming an exiled pauper. Vali went from being a heroic victor—having just killed a terrorizing demon and expecting a hero’s welcome—to being trapped indefinitely, perhaps permanently, in a dark cave that could well become his tomb, just as it had for the demon he had defeated.

Despite the injustice he suffered, Ram tried to offer a positive outlook when speaking with courtiers and citizens who expressed dismay, disbelief, and even disgust at the way he had been treated. He said it was his joy to render a difficult service to his father by honoring his word. He added that he welcomed the chance to grow through the association of sages in the forest while still young, rather than waiting for retirement in his later years. He also saw it as an opportunity to pave the way for his younger brother—whom he considered like a son—to be installed as king.

In Vali’s case, there is no record of him trying to frame his situation positively—understandably so, as he had no one to talk to. Yet the fact that he ultimately survived and escaped the cave demonstrates his resourcefulness and resilience—both admirable qualities.

Equally admirable is the incredible positivity Ram displayed, ensuring that the adverse situation he faced didn’t embitter him. Rather than letting his exile ruin him, he allowed it to refine him, transforming misfortune into a platform for grace.

The post Conflict resolution Part 2 Ramayan wisdom Ram and Kaikeyi versus Vali and Sugriba appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

When provoked, how do you respond? With rage—or with resolve?

Captured and humiliated by Ravana, Hanuman allowed the enemy to tie his tail and mock him.

But once his tail was set ablaze, he didn’t lash out blindly.

He turned the fire into a message.

He burned Lanka strategically—not as revenge, but as a warning.

Leadership Lesson:

Real power is not in reacting emotionally, but in responding with clarity and purpose.

Takeaway for Today’s Leaders:

Leadership requires restraint and precision.

Don’t fight just to vent. Fight to send a message—and make an impact.

The post Hanuman: Burning Lanka with Purpose appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Born as Duhkhi Krishnadasa in Orissa, Shyamananda Prabhu was raised in a humble, pious family. From a young age, he displayed detachment from material pleasures, deep love for the Holy Name, and sincere devotion. 

He was sent by his guru, Hridaya Chaitanya Prabhu, to study under Srila Jiva Goswami in Vrindavan. There, through humble service and intense bhajana, he received the special mercy of Srimati Radharani. 

A pivotal moment in Shyamananda Prabhu’s life occurred while sweeping the groves of Vrindavan. He discovered a golden anklet (nupura) and kept it respectfully. Later, he had a divine vision of Srimati Radharani, who pressed that anklet to his forehead, leaving a unique tilaka mark shaped like a foot ornament. 

From that moment, he became known as Shyamananda—meaning one who received the mercy of Shyama (Krishna) through the grace of Radha.

Empowered by Jiva Goswami’s blessings, Shyamananda Prabhu traveled to Odisha and Bengal, where he preached Gaudiya Vaishnavism with great power and love.

After conquering in all directions Shyamananda returned to Gopi-ballabhpur where he observed a great festival for some days. Then he came to Uddanda Raya Bhui’s house, at Nrsimhapur where he held a great festival. On the first day of the dark fortnight in the month of Asar Sri Shyamananda Prabhu left this world.

Shyamananda Prabhu’s puspa samadhi and the place where he found Srimati Radharani’s ankle bracelet is just across the street from Sri Sri Radha-Shyamsundara’s temple in Vrndavana. Sri Sri Radha-Shyamsundara are his worshippable Deities.

An accusation I often hear levelled at religion is that it causes so many conflicts. As the recent tragic events unfolded in the Middle East, some have indeed pointed the finger of blame at religion, as at least a factor in the long-standing dispute. Writing for the ‘Big Think’, Adam Lee observed: “…what I do believe is that that it (the Israel Palestine conflict) is being inflamed and prolonged by religious zealotry on both sides.”

When I hear such suggestions, my first thought is that they are based on a misconception of religion. Dictionaries usually describe it as a system of belief in a supernatural power. That is where disagreements tend to arise, as the above writer points out. My beliefs may well differ from and even conflict with yours, and hence, there are many faiths, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc, each asserting that their particular set of beliefs is true, while all others are misguided.

The ancient Sanskrit Vedas, however, offer a unifying definition. In Sanskrit, the word for religion is dharma. This translates more accurately as the essential nature of a thing, such as wetness in water. In the case of a person, this nature is service. We must serve someone or something, be it our boss, family members, country, or maybe just our dog. Even if we have no one to serve, we will still serve our minds and senses, which constantly demand satisfaction in one way or another. We cannot sit peacefully for long before one bodily demand or another impinges upon us, and we must act to satisfy it.

Vedic wisdom tells us this service propensity is meant for God. This is real religion, the dharma of the soul. Undoubtedly, the adherents of all the faiths mentioned earlier and most others will concur despite their external differences. Whatever our practices, the aim must be to know and love God, to unite with him and serve him eternally. When we serve anything other than God, we are never satisfied; we constantly search for the lasting fulfilment that no amount of sensual pleasure or material relationships can provide. As Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.”

So, what goes by the name of religion these days is usually just the rituals meant to evoke our mood of divine service. Thus, religious fights are based not so much on religion itself but on the perceived means of attaining its goal, which should be love, specifically for God. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna sums this up in a simple directive: “Always think of me, offer me your respects, worship me and become my devotee. Surely then will you come to me.” This, in essence, is what all theistic faiths advocate, so what sense does it make to squabble over the practices it may be couched in? Better, surely, to focus on those practices and evoke your divine love.

Genuine followers of any faith exhibit godly qualities. They all have their saints who are invariably peaceful, compassionate and deeply spiritual. Indeed, something is going wrong if your so-called religion produces a desire to eliminate the followers of another faith. The Mahabharata says, “If your spiritual practices do not make you gentle, they are useless.” Sometimes, force might be required to maintain law and order, as we also learn from Mahabharata, but only as a last resort and never to oppress and terrorise others.

I feel saddened when I see religion blamed for conflict and violence, as the solution is portrayed as the problem. The very point of spiritual practice is to make us saintly—free of lust, greed, envy, anger and all such base urges. How else can we get rid of these impurities? They are the real problems causing our disputes and can attach themselves to any cause, not just an idea of religion. How many millions have died in conflicts where no religious fervour was involved? Both world wars, for example.

Krishna provides a perfect peace formula in the Bhagavad Gita. “Do everything for my pleasure. Accept me as the proprietor of all the world. See me as your greatest friend and well-wisher.” My spiritual teacher, Srila Prabhupada, once said that to achieve the brotherhood (or sisterhood) of man, we must accept the fatherhood of God. Proper spiritual practice brings us to that realisation, recognising our common humanity, indeed the commonality of all beings as parts of the one Supreme. There is no question of hatred touching the heart of one endowed with such a vision. Their love for God is extended to all his creatures.

Such universal love seems a distant utopian dream as we look with horror at the unspeakable images flashing across our screens of late. But each of us can at least transform ourselves. After all, we are the world we want to change. Krishna gives simple directions in the Bhagavad Gita, always chant his name, whatever name of God you prefer, and try to please him in everything we do, particularly by showing kindness to all. In this way, we can do our best to bring about world peace, one soul at a time.

Even mighty heroes sometimes forget their strength.

Before the leap to Lanka, Hanuman stood unsure—doubting whether he could cross the ocean.

It took the calm words of Jambavan to reignite his memory and awaken his power.

“You can do this,” said Jambavan.

And Hanuman soared—not just physically, but mentally and spiritually.

Leadership Lesson:

Self-doubt can paralyze even the best.

True leadership lies in rekindling your strength—and sometimes, letting others help you see it.

Takeaway for Today’s Leaders:

Surround yourself with people who remind you of your strength.

Confidence isn’t arrogance—it’s rediscovered ability.

The post Hanuman: Confidence Rekindled at the Shoreline appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

One of the biggest challenges we face is learning to deal with problems critically. What makes difficult situations even more complex is that we rarely look at them objectively — that is, we don’t ask, “What exactly happened?” Instead, we view them subjectively, focusing on two things: how the situation affected us, and what we think motivated the other person to act in a way that harmed us.

Especially when the impact on us is significantly negative, we tend to assume that the other person wanted to hurt us — that their intent was malicious. This assumption makes reconciliation extremely difficult. However, when we’re able to differentiate between these two dimensions — the reality of the impact and the perceived intent — we lay the foundation for meaningful reconciliation.

With this in mind, let’s look at two incidents in the Ramayana where mistakes occurred, and how the other party responded to them.

Consider the case of Vali and Sugriva. Sugriva felt deeply wronged. He believed Vali had deliberately abandoned him to die and even orchestrated his entrapment. This suspicion led him to break ties and go his own way.

But now let’s look at a more extreme case — that of Lord Rama. Rama, who was supposed to become the king of a powerful and prosperous kingdom, was exiled for 14 years. The sentence felt not only unjust but also degrading — as if he were a common criminal, being punished with a penalty just a step below capital punishment. And this life-altering decision was thrust upon him on the very morning he was to be crowned king.

Exile for Rama meant not just the loss of royal comforts, but also a life full of physical hardship, constant uncertainty, and the ever-present risk of danger and injury — and all this for 14 long years.

Compared to this, while Vali’s suffering was also sudden and unpleasant, Rama’s response to his own suffering was far more composed and exemplary.

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In this canto we hear the fascinating tale of Gajendra, king of elephants in the celestial realm, who was a saintly king in his previous life. Assailed by a mighty crocodile, he recalls his former devotion to Krishna and invokes his presence with heartfelt prayers. Then begins a long account of a conflict between the gods and Asuras, resulting in several divine incarnations, including Mohini, the Lord’s form as an exquisite female, and Vamana, a dwarf brahmin. The Asuras conquer the heavens and seize control of the universe, only for Vamana to trick the Asura king, Bali, into giving everything back to the gods on the plea of begging for just three paces of land. Finally we hear about Matsya, the Lord’s fish incarnation, who comes to the rescue of King Satyavrata during a great deluge that inundated the worlds. Krishna Dharma and Chintamani Dhama Dasi vividly bring these stories to life while bringing out the profound devotional teachings they evince.

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Most of us discover at a fairly young age that the world is not a bed of roses. The carefree joys of childhood were brutally interrupted for me when I was just seven and I lost my mother. Navigating my way through an uncertain world after that, I encountered much more pain in the shape of a less than loving stepmother. It was enough to make me rather circumspect about the prospects of a trouble-free life. I tried to make the best of it, of course, but it was only when I came across the messages of the Bhagavad-gita that things began to make sense. Learning that the material world is intrinsically a place of suffering and that we belong somewhere else came as a great relief. It wasn’t that I was exceptionally unfortunate; all of us are in the same rocking boat, according to the Gita.

The pandemic has brought that message home all too starkly for many of us. It has been a particularly difficult time, and for some it has brought terrible grief. A workmate lost four members of his family to Covid, at a time when it was not possible to be with them at the last or even perform their funeral rites. Such pain is hard to imagine, although as a practising Muslim he found comfort in his faith, accepting it as the Lord’s supreme and inscrutable will. Thankfully, I have not had to endure such loss during the pandemic; although recalling my own trauma of losing my mother, I could at least relate to the pain a little. Grief is the hardest of all sufferings, according to the Mahabharat. It robs us of our senses and very ability to function. When a loved one dies, it leaves a gaping hole in your life. Going back to normal is near impossible, and you have to learn how to somehow cope with a new reality.

Like my work friend though, we can find solace in the words of scripture. The Gita tells us we are all eternal souls, temporarily dwelling in mortal frames. It therefore shocks us when suddenly something we took for granted as a part of our lives is cruelly taken from us. We can’t easily process it, as we are meant for eternal existence where nothing and no one ever passes away. Again, the Gita’s message is that we belong to the spiritual world, the abode of God, our ever-loving father and friend. Somehow we have fallen from there to this world of ever-shifting sands where nothing stays the same and everything we hold dear is lost in time.

This is ultimately the cause of all anxiety. Many of us have also had to deal with this and even bouts of depression during these difficult times. Anxiety is really just uncertainty—‘what will happen?’—and this stems from us knowing that we really don’t have any control. The world is rapidly changing even as we watch; we can’t hold onto anything and so often we have to accept things we never bargained for or wanted. This can be depressing at times; we want life to be predictable and certain, to bring happy things and joy, but sadly that is not always the way it happens.

There are some powerful instructions in this regard in the Ramayana. Some time after Lord Rama was banished to the forest, his brother Bharata brought him the news of his father’s passing. Rama was distraught to hear this, a grief that was compounded by his feelings of guilt at not having been there when he died, and not being able to conduct his funeral ceremony. He censured himself and lamented loudly, but seeing that the many others present were also giving way to sorrow to see him grieve, he gradually calmed his mind and began to speak profound words of consolation. “In this world the embodied soul is moved by the all-powerful force of Providence,” said Rama. “No one can control that power. All gains must end in loss, every meeting ends in separation and all life has its end in death.”

It is perhaps a hard message, but its truth is undeniable. Rama also pointed out that the power to prevent one’s own death does not exist in one grieving for another. C.S.Lewis said, “No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.” We know that the fate that befell those we have lost awaits us all. The Gita therefore tells us to strive for the eternal, get free of this world of suffering where we do not belong.

But even while we are in this world we can find tranquility by following the guidance of the Gita. It tells us that complete peace comes when we realise three things. The first is that our real happiness lies in serving the Supreme, not in our own attempts to enjoy. The more we try to exploit this world for our happiness, the more we suffer. This is becoming all too apparent as we witness global events like climate change and of course the pandemic unfolding around us. But the Gita assures us that when we give ourselves to divine service these problems will vanish, and a deep sense of joy and satisfaction begins to envelop us.

The second key point is that we are not the controllers. As they say, ‘your anxiety will end when you accept that you are not the general manager of the universe’. As Rama pointed out, the all-powerful force of Providence or God controls this world and indeed us. Everyone is trying to be happy, but still we see so much suffering. Why? The Gita says it is because we do not recognise God’s control and follow his guidance, which is meant for our greatest good. Which leads to the last point, the Lord is our truest friend. This one can sometimes be hard to understand. When things go wrong in life and we face difficulties, it tests our faith. “Why has God done this to me?” Or to our loved ones, especially when we are trying our best to be good people. But we must know that Krishna is preparing us for far greater things than we can even imagine. There will surely be some tests, but when see God’s hand working they become uplifting and transformational. Pressure turns coal into diamonds, and we are all diamonds in the rough, waiting to shine again in our original brilliance.

The strength we need will come from Krishna if we constantly connect with him through our practises. This can also greatly help in alleviating the strain on our relationships that the lockdown has so often brought on us. My spiritual teacher Srila Prabhupada said that the brotherhood of man will come when accept the common fatherhood of God. When we pray together, we stay together. But even if our family members do not join us and it is just us alone practising, we will still see wondrous changes around us as we begin to change. By realising the three points above our aching hearts will become assuaged, all anxieties will be dispelled, and we will find true and lasting peace.

In this canto we first meet Prahlad, a prince in the race of Asuras, fierce enemies of the gods. An exalted saint, he excites the ire of his demonic father Hiranyakshipu by his devotion to Krishna. The demon tries in every way possible to kill his son until at last he is confronted by Krishna’s half man, half lion incarnation, Nrshinghadeva. After this is a conversation between the celestial sage Narada and King Yudhisthira, in which Narada describes in detail the ancient Vedic system of organising society known as varnashrama dharma. A dramatic retelling that vividly brings the text to life and helps the reader go deeply into the transcendental mystery of the great Sanskrit classic, Srimad Bhagavatam.

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Sometimes, the greatest act of leadership… is leaving.

Vibhishana was Ravana’s brother. A trusted advisor. A royal insider.

But when Ravana refused to return Sita, Vibhishana spoke out. He was mocked, insulted, and finally exiled.

And so, he walked away. From power. From comfort. From blood ties. Not because he was disloyal— But because he was loyal to a higher truth.

Leadership Lesson: Leaders must sometimes make hard choices: Choosing principles over popularity. Truth over tradition.

Vibhishana didn’t abandon his people. He stayed loyal to dharma.

Takeaway for Today’s Leaders: What are you willing to walk away from… to walk in integrity?

The post Vibhishana: When Walking Away Is the Bravest Choice appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Back in 1972 I was a 17 year-old sea cadet. My ship had docked in Bombay and I stepped onto that exotic shore in search of reasonably priced souvenirs. Under the intense encouragement of a shopkeeper I came close to purchasing a fine ivory chess set costing most of my week’s wages before I spotted a little figurine of Krishna. He exerted a strange attraction over me and after handing over my hard-earned rupees I left with him in my pocket. The god of love, I thought. I could do with a bit of love.

Fast forward to 1979 and a rainy summer’s day in England. My seafaring days were over, and I was hitchhiking in search of more meaningful things, although I had no idea where to find them. When a kindhearted driver picked me up and asked where I was headed, I had to frankly admit that I didn’t know. “No problem,” he said. “You can ride with me for a while.”

It turned out he was a disciple of Srila Prabhupada named Hetu, and as he drove, he pointed to a book on the dashboard. “That’s the Bhagavad Gita. I’d like to hear it. Why don’t you read it aloud?”

I was happy to oblige and soon my mind was reeling under the force of the Gita’s powerful verses. I’d never read anything like it. “Who wrote this?” I asked.

“Lord Krishna,” he replied. “He’s the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

I sat for a moment or two trying to take that in. Still nestling in my rucksack was the little figurine from Bombay. It seemed he was not just the god of love. “Godhead?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

“The all-powerful Supreme Lord. My guru used the term to stress that God is a person, like you and me.”

“You mean we’re all God?” I asked. I had long suspected this possibility, but Hetu quickly squashed that notion.

“Not at all. Krishna is the whole and we are the tiny parts. Think about it, if you were God would you be wandering aimlessly in soaking wet clothes, trying to hitch a lift from someone else?”

He had a point. I wanted to know more about this personality who had been with me these last seven years. By now I was quite attached to him and felt he was my lucky charm, even though my luck had reduced me to a near penniless itinerant. “So why is he called Krishna?” I asked.

“Krishna means ‘all-attractive’,” replied Hetu. “A rich or famous person is attractive, right? Well, Krishna has all wealth, all fame, all beauty, knowledge, power, and anything else you can imagine. Everything belongs to him. He’s God, after all.”

I gazed at the rainy road. Krishna’s attractiveness had certainly seemed to work on me. Hetu explained that his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, was Krishna’s authorised representative. Perhaps my lucky charm had indeed brought me some good fortune. “Is there somewhere I can find out more?” I asked.

“Sure,” said Hetu. “I’ll take you to Bhaktivedanta Manor where Krishna lives. They’re just about to celebrate his birthday.”

“Where he lives!? Birthday? What do you mean?” I looked wide-eyed at Hetu.

“Let’s go and find out,” he said, pressing the accelerator of his old van as we turned onto the M1. Soon we were pulling into the driveway of a fine old mock Tudor building. Hetu took me into the shrine room and there, standing on a golden altar in all his shining, bejewelled glory was a full-size version of my small figurine. My mouth fell open at the splendid sight. Surely only God himself could look like that. I’d never seen anyone dressed and decorated so beautifully.

“So when is his birthday? Will there be a cake?” I asked, trying to imagine what that might be like.

“In a few days,” said Hetu. “It’s really his anniversary, of course. He was actually born 5000 years ago, and we celebrate that day every year on what is known as Janmashtami.”

I was incredulous. “How can God be born? Isn’t he like, eternal?”

“Certainly, but sometimes he appears in this world so we can get to know him better. The Bhagavad Gita explains that he comes to re-establish righteousness and deliver the faithful from worldly suffering.”

“He must be overdue a visit, then,” I replied. “There’s a bit of a shortage of righteousness these days.”

Hetu laughed. “You’re right, but the wonderful thing about Krishna is that just by hearing about his earthly pastimes we can feel his presence. Also, by chanting his names. God is not limited like us. He is absolute, which means he can incarnate in sound vibration.”

I gazed at Krishna standing serenely on the altar. I had so many questions. The devotees suggested I stay for a few days. “You can join in with the Janmashtami celebrations.” God’s birthday party sounded good to me. No doubt there would be some great munchies. I agreed and a few days later found myself fasting for the day. “We have a big feast at midnight,” the devotees said. “But first we fast to honour the Lord’s appearance.”

I looked at my watch. Nine am. How would I last till midnight? The devotees said there would be food for guests, but I decided to give it a go. I needed to do something for my little Krishna who had brought me so far. The day quickly passed with much joyous chanting and dancing, as well as talks about Krishna’s ‘pastimes’ when he appeared. These proved to be thoroughly fascinating and I hardly noticed my growling stomach. Finally, midnight arrived and Krishna was revealed in his magnificent birthday outfit. We danced away another half hour and at last sat down to a stunning array of vegetarian goodies, which I began to demolish at world record speed. What a day. My life would never be the same again.

In this volume, we see how Krishna saves his devotee from degradation. Beginning with the famous story of Ajamila, the brahmin who fell from an exalted position to become a ruthless robber and cheat, only to be miraculously redeemed at the very moment of death. Then we hear how Indra, king of the gods, insulted his guru and as a result was overpowered by the demonic races, led by Vritra, a supernatural colossus who had been conjured for the god’s destruction. The twist in this tale is that the demon was a great saintly devotee of Krishna. Finally, we hear how Diti, mother of the demons, gains her salvation.

Through all these narrations we see how, no matter how fallen you are, if you have any divine service to your credit, Krishna will find a way to save you.

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