The Ecstasy of Insignificance: Happiness Through Reality
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Vishakha Devi Dasi

A feeling of insignificance and a humble service attitude come not by astuteness, not by knowing some tricks, but by simple steadfastness in the process of Krishna consciousness. The Srimad-Bhagavatam tells us that Krishna showers all benedictions on those who consider themselves insignificant. Seeing them as significant, by His causeless mercy He shares with them the sweetness of devotional service. Insignificance is so inconceivably ecstatic that the Lord Himself desires it, as Srila Prabhupada describes: "Krishna says in Chaitanya-charitamrita, you will find, 'Everyone worships Me with awe and veneration. But if anyone worships Me without any awe, veneration, and treats Me as insignificant, I like that. I like that.' Continue reading "The Ecstasy of Insignificance: Happiness Through Reality
→ Dandavats"

The Simple Things He Taught Us
→ Dandavats

By Srimati Dasi

Srila Prabhupada gave us so much, so easily. There was no fanfare, for he was graciously unassuming, seeing himself simply as an instrument and messenger of his Guru Maharaja. Our conditioned nature may sometimes have trouble with this, for that nature tends to be a little gross, doubtful and forgetful. Perhaps the preciousness and potency of what Srila Prabhupada gave us has not really impressed upon our hearts. Perhaps our enthusiasm to follow the simple things he taught us has waned with the passing of time, or been butchered by mechanical, mindless habit. And so, let’s take another look at some of the simple things he taught us — this time, through the divine eyes of Srila Sanatana Gosvami. Continue reading "The Simple Things He Taught Us
→ Dandavats"

Obstacles to Recruiting
→ Dandavats

By Kalakantha Das

During his amazing eleven years of personal worldwide preaching, Śrīla Prabhupāda proved Krishna consciousness could transform everyone into Vaishnavas, regardless of their birth. People today can still be transformed, regardless of how social externals have changed over the years. However, in many parts of the world, today’s ISKCON constituencies have changed. In this chapter we will look at three principal obstacles to local recruiting and a solution for each. Continue reading "Obstacles to Recruiting
→ Dandavats"

Traveling Monk 2021-07-08 05:28:34
→ Traveling Monk

 

О, эти дни Кали не волнуют его
который ежедневно воспевает славу сына Яшоды,
каждое слово сладко, как чистый поток нектара,
успокаивающий, как сандалии и прохладный лунный свет. (Падявали, 41)

Oh, these days of Kali do not ruffle him
who daily sings the fame of Yasoda’s son,
each word sweet like a clear stream of nectar,
soothing like sandal and the cool lunar light.

 

(Padyavali, 41)

When we are in anxiety searching for a new job, how can we maintain our spiritual practices?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast


Download by “right-click and save content”

Transcription by: Sriman (Dr) Suresh Gupta Prabhu (Muzaffarnagar)

Question: When we are in anxiety searching for a new job, how can we maintain our spiritual practices like attending satsang programs, reading books etc.? Is it OK to just reduce my spiritual activities to only chanting the holy names?

Answer: In our material existence, there are going to be phases of high and low and we have to be flexible. We should not consider it to be our spiritual deficiency if we are not able to attend satsang programs on a regular basis. It is more of a practical necessity.

Just like, if we are going on the road and the road is crowded then naturally, we will go slowly and when the road becomes clear, we will move faster. Important is we should be moving in the right direction so that we get to the destination in due course. Similarly, sometimes in the journey of our life, many material things come up and the road becomes crowded because of which our spiritual activities may be reduced. That is fine in principle, as there will be phases like that.
If students have exams, they cannot be expected to come for the satsang programs. Job interviews in one sense are bigger than exams, so naturally there will be bigger anxiety. Having said that, it is also important to note that if we do not hear any Krishna-katha at all, but only do chanting, then our chanting will eventually become mechanical. Sometimes while hearing or reading scriptures something may calm our mind and may give us some strength and solace by which we will be able to prepare for exam or do our job search with more intelligence and better strategy.

We need to deal with emergencies in our life with our best efforts but at the same time we should not always equate maximum time with best efforts. Sometimes we get too much into the passion of doing something and may commit mistakes in haste. Hence, rather than seeing reading scriptures or attending satsang as an interruption while dealing with our material issues, we could see them more as a break which may reorient us. One may not necessarily spend a lot of time but still one can find ten-fifteen minutes to read something from the scriptures specially those sections which deals with the mind or problems created by the mind.
Memorising or reciting verses, singing some Vaishnava songs can also be very helpful. Singing Vaishnava songs can especially be very powerful if we can connect with them. Scriptures are largely intellectual, but Vaishnava songs bring both aspects together, intellectual and musical. Songs are relatively easy to absorb as it gives a very nice connection with Krishna.

It may happen that some days coming for the satsang may not give us as much strength as just taking darshan and praying to the Deities. There is no need to restrict our spiritual life only to chanting, simply because we need to focus on our job search. We can have something going on which gives us strength and which helps us deal with the situation better.

In general, there is no need to feel guilty about decreasing our spiritual activities while dealing with pressures of life. Krishna is always an understanding God. Often when challenges come in life, our mind often eternalises the present. The mind thinks that this problem will go on forever. We are very uncomfortable while travelling in a crowded train, but if we know that in ten minutes our destination will arrive, then we can bear the hardship. However, if we are told that we have to live in the train our entire life, then even half an hour will be intolerable. This is because the mind starts to build up things.

Similarly, we may think, if I do not find a job, I will be jobless my entire life. However, that is very unlikely because surely something will work out. If we look back in the past, the problems that had once caused us a lot of pain, are no longer there now. Similarly, this problem will also disappear. This sort of distancing ourselves from our situation and not letting the mind eternalise the present is what will help us going.

End of transcription.

When the Gita is spoken to one specific person, how can it be universal?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast


Download by “right-click and save content”

Transcription by: Dr Suresh Gupta (Muzaffarnagar)

Question: When the Gita is spoken to address the problem of one specific person, how can it be universal?

Answer: Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna about whether to fight the war or not. Although the context is war, but Gita also talks about universal principles that go beyond that context.

Consider an example of a doctor treating a patient along with an apprentice. Although the doctor is treating a specific case and the trainee may eventually face different type of cases in future, however the methodologies – how to examine and diagnose the patient, how to understand the symptoms, how to continue treatment based on the symptoms, how to administer the treatment, how to encourage the patient etc. – will remain the same. These are the principles that transcend the specific case and the apprentice doctor can learn these principles from the experienced doctor.

Similarly, Gita has a specific historical context. By studying Mahabharat, we can understand its context. In the Gita, after the first chapter, there are barely seven-eight references to the war. Gita largely talks about universal principles because Arjuna’s question was also universal. Had Arjuna asked, “Should I fight or not?”, Krishna would have answered, “Yes, you should fight”; then the discussion would have been over. However, Arjuna’s question was different. He asked Krishna, “I am bewildered about what is my dharma and therefore I am asking you, Oh Krishna, to please tell me, what is my dharma?” (BG2.07) Therefore, Arjuna is not asking Krishna, “Should I fight or not?” He asks Krishna, “What is dharma and specially what is my dharma?”. Gita’s discussion is answer to this question of Arjuna, which not specific but universal. Krishna’s answer is also universal and that is how Gita becomes a universal book.

Arjuna, although a warrior, does not restrict his question to a specific context. Here, Arjuna is not just a warrior who is overcome by fear and needs some courage. That is not the situation. Arjuna is actually confused about what exactly is his dharma. Sometimes, people think of dharma as religious duty, but dharma basically refers to the activity that harmonises us with the order of universe. There is orderly universe and when we act in a way by which we can come in harmony with that order, such an activity is dharma. And this principle is universal for everyone. Hence, in that sense, Gita becomes universal.

End of transcription.

Transcription in Hindi

प्रश्न: गीता एक व्यक्ति विशेष की समस्या को संबोधित करने के लिए बोली गई, तो हम यह कैसे कह सकते हैं कि यह हर व्यक्ति के लिए उपयोगी है?

उत्तर: गीता श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुन के बीच एक संवाद है जिसका उद्देश्य अर्जुन को युद्ध के लिए प्रेरित करना था। यद्यपि इसका संदर्भ युद्ध है, किन्तु गीता उन सर्वव्यापी सिद्धांतों के बारे में अवगत कराती है जो युद्ध के संदर्भ से परे हैं।

एक ऐसे डॉक्टर के उदाहरण पर विचार करें जो प्रशिक्षण लेने वाले एक नौसिखिया डॉक्टर के साथ एक रोगी की चिकित्सा कर रहा है। यद्यपि चिकित्सक एक विशिष्ट रोग की चिकित्सा कर रहा है और प्रशिक्षु डॉक्टर को भविष्य में विभिन्न प्रकार के रोगियों का उपचार करना पड़ सकता है, किन्तु अनुभवी डॉक्टर की कार्यप्रणाली जैसे – रोगी की जाँच कैसे करें, उसके लक्षणों को कैसे समझें, लक्षणों के आधार पर उपचार कैसे करें, रोगी को प्रोत्साहित कैसे करें इत्यादि – समान ही रहती है। चिकित्सा के ये सर्वव्यापी सिद्धांत किसी रोगी विशेष से परे होते हैं और प्रशिक्षु डॉक्टर इन सिद्धांतों को अनुभवी डॉक्टर के मार्गदर्शन में सीख सकता है।

इसी प्रकार गीता का भी एक विशिष्ट ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ है। महाभारत के अध्ययन से हम इसके प्रसंग को समझ सकते हैं। गीता में पहले अध्याय के बाद युद्ध का उल्लेख कदिचित् सात-आठ स्थानों पर ही दिखाई पड़ता है। किन्तु मुख्यतः गीता सर्वव्यापी सिद्धांतों के बारे में ही चर्चा करती है क्योंकि अर्जुन का प्रश्न भी ऐसा ही था। यदि अर्जुन ने पूछा होता, “क्या मुझे युद्ध करना चाहिए?”, तो श्रीकृष्ण ने उत्तर दिया होता, “हाँ, तुम्हें युद्ध करना चाहिए”; तो गीता की चर्चा यहीं समाप्त हो गई होती। किन्तु अर्जुन का प्रश्न भिन्न था। उसने श्रीकृष्ण से पूछा, “मैं अपने धर्म के बारे में भ्रमित हूँ, कृपया मुझे बताऐं, मेरा धर्म क्या है?” (गीता २.०७)। यहाँ, अर्जुन श्रीकृष्ण से अपनी परिस्थिति सम्बंधित प्रश्न नहीं पूछ रहा है कि “क्या मुझे युद्ध करना चाहिए या नहीं?” वह श्रीकृष्ण से एक सामान्य प्रश्न पूछता है, “धर्म क्या है, और विशेष रूप से मेरा धर्म क्या है?”। गीता की सम्पूर्ण चर्चा अर्जुन के इसी प्रश्न का उत्तर है, जो किसी विशेष परिस्थिति से बंधा नहीं है अपितु हर व्यक्ति पर लागू होता है। अर्जुन की भाँति जीवन में हम सभी यह जानना चाहते हैं कि हमारा कर्तव्य क्या है। गीता में श्रीकृष्ण का उत्तर सभी के लिए है। इस तरह गीता एक ऐसा ग्रंथ है जो हर व्यक्ति के लिए है।

अर्जुन, यद्यपि एक योद्धा है, किन्तु अपने प्रश्न को किसी विशिष्ट संदर्भ तक सीमित नहीं रखता है। गीता में अर्जुन मात्र एक योद्धा नहीं है जो भय से परास्त हो गया है और जिसे थोड़े साहस की आवश्यकता है। वह स्थिति नहीं है। अर्जुन वास्तव में अपने धर्म के बारे में भ्रमित है। कई बार लोग धर्म को रीति रीवाजों से अधिक नहीं समझते, किन्तु वास्तव मेें धर्म मूल रूप से उन गतिविधियों का नाम है जिन्हें करने पर हम समूचे ब्रह्माण्ड के साथ अपना सामंजस्य स्थापित कर सकते हैं। यह समूचा ब्रह्माण्ड एक व्यवस्था पर आधारित है और जब हमारे कार्य इस व्यवस्था के अनुरूप होते हैं तो ऐसी कार्यों को धर्म कहा जाता है। और यह सिद्धांत सभी के लिए सार्वभौमिक, सभी पर समान रूप से लागू होता है। अत: इस अर्थ में गीता हर किसी के लिए उपयोगी हो जाती है।

End of transcription.

Gadadhara Pandit Disappearance
→ Ramai Swami

From the time that he was a boy, Gadadhara Pandita was always in the association of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Gadadhara Pandita’s father’s name was Sri Madhava Misra; his mother’s name was Sri Ratnavati Devi. They lived close to the house of Jagannatha Misra in Mayapura. Sri Ratnavati Devi looked upon Sacidevi as if Sacidevi were her big sister. The two of them were always spending time with each other.

At the time of His childhood pastimes, Gaurahari used to often play with Gadadhara Pandita. They both went to the village school together to study. Gadadhara Pandita was a year younger than Gaurahari. Gadadhara had so much affection for Gaurahari that he could not leave his company even for a moment. 

In the Gaura-ganodesa-dipika it has been explained by Kavi Karnapura that in Vraja-lila Sri Gadadhara Pandita was the daughter of Vrsabhanu—Srimati Radharani.  This is confirmed in the notebooks of Svarupa Damodara as well as in the songs of Sri Vasudeva Ghosa Thakura.

According to Sri Caitanya Caritamrta: “No one can describe the characteristics and ecstatic love of Gadadhara Pandita. Therefore another name for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Gadadhara Prananatha, “the life and soul of Gadadhara Pandita.” No one can say how merciful the Lord is to Gadadhara Pandita, but people know the Lord as Gadaira Gaura, “the Lord Gauranga of Gadadhara Pandita.”

Gadadhara Pandit also took the renounced order of life and went to Jagannatha Puri to be with Lord Caitanya. Accepting ksetra sannyasa (a renunciate who never leaves the dhama), he served the Deity of Tota-Gopinatha with full love and devotion. Regularly, Sri Krishna Caitanya came to relish Sri Gadadhara’s rasika reading of Srimad Bhagavatam. Lord Caitanya concluded His manifest pastimes “by entering the Deity of Tota-Gopinatha.

Although Gadadhara Pandit was barely forty-eight when the Lord departed, he quickly became old because of the intense anguish he felt in separation from his beloved Lord Gaurasun­dara. He couldn’t stretch his arms to offer a garland to his Deity. Understanding His servant’s difficulty, Sri Tota-Gopinatha sat down to facilitate Gadadhara’s loving service. To this day, Sri Tota- Gopinatha is the only sitting Deity of Krishna.

 According to some authorities, a short time after Lord Caitanya’s disappearance Sri Gadadhara Pandit joined His eternal pastimes by entering his beloved Deity of Tota-Gopinatha. His danta (tooth) samadhi stands near the Vamsi Gopala temple in Vrndavana.

Saturday, July 3, 2021
→ The Walking Monk

Montreal, Quebec

 

A Kind of Freedom

 

Karuna Sindhu is a safe driver behind the wheel and so I was his passenger, safely seated as we moved along eastward bound. It was momentous because this morning marked my first time beyond the Ontario border in approximately 16 months. We both felt a kind of freedom; enjoying what we could not for all this time. Entering into the city of Montreal was a sweet sensation and being greeted by the community of Vaishnavas I haven’t seen (many of them fairly new to bhakti) for so long was a real breath of fresh air.

 

After some prasad, a shower and a nap, we headed for the Bay on St. Catherine’s St. for kirtan. Residents of Montreal are not foreign to viewing and hearing a group of Krishnas chanting by the side of the street. Kirtan is kept up quite regularly and during the pandemic if kirtanwas not allowed in the metro subway due to COVID, then food disbursement was. Yes, in some of the colder months the city allowed for prasadam to be distributed as it was an essential practice.

 

The public know us, yet tourists know us less. Nevertheless, we were liked. Speaking of “liked,” in the evening, our gathering at “Nandagram” Country Farm attracted the more committed members in addition to some newcomers. It was a campfire experience and liked by all. Once you get started with this type of thing, you just find it hard to finish. Chanting can be an addiction.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km


 

Friday, July 2, 2021
→ The Walking Monk

Yorkville, Ontario

 

Looking at People

 

All went fairly smooth, for the day, with indoor services involving services to our resident monks, classes and meetings on the phone as periodical sun rays shafted through windows, broken up by intermittent cloud casting and serious rain. It’s hard to believe that our west coast is so dry and, in Canada, of all places, hearing that there are record breaking hot spells, when in central zones, like here, there are regular downpours.

 

One village, Lytton, in British Columbia, that I walked through, hit a temperature the other day of 46° C/over 120° F. Two days ago, a train came through and its wheels sparked a fire that took down 90% of the place (population 250). It’s devastated. I recall how normally it is rather barren with sparse coniferous trees growing along mountain-side country while the mighty Thompson River makes its way. Evacuation was inevitable. Much of the now displaced population is indigenous. It is sad. It is the material world with its sukha dukha, glad and sad reality.

 

Now with Toronto’s wetness behind me and rain drained, I could get out, so I made my way five blocks to trendy Yorkville, for fun, to catch a glimpse of sleek-dressed night strollers and slow-moving motorist in the fanciest sports cars. It was with a trite entertainment that I somewhat enjoyed while I sat on a bench. Faces weren’t sad. They also were not happy, but pleasure-seeking they were. “You’re looking in the wrong place,” I wanted to shout out, while I fingered through my mantra beads. “Touch your spirit.”

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km


 

Thursday, July 1, 2021
→ The Walking Monk

Etobicoke/Scarborough

 

West End, East End

 

Nothing major but I was feeling a bit woozy from the vaccine I received yesterday, nevertheless I wanted to keep busy. In that regard priestly duties were put to motion. It started with a visitation to Nimai Nitai’s home. Among his family friends was someone’s birthday; Jyoti is her name. She’s a young mother. We celebrated with a cheese cake.

Now you may ask what is it with my involvement in a birthday and what does it have to do with priestly duties? Well, my role in a spiritual community may not just be centered on activities of faith and devotion. It is necessary, I find, to stay connected with the community and to address human/social needs. Birthdays are important to people. 

A second obligation came in the form of another visit to a family in the east end. Nitai Gaura, from Guyana, passed away at 80 yesterday morning. He was a peaceful and good soul. Since I can’t make it to the cremation on Sunday (I’ll be at a wedding in Montreal) I felt a deep compulsion to go and give support to the family. Karuna Sindhu kindly drove me to this household, as he did for our morning visit, so that we could chant mantras in his honour. It was sweet being with the family and friends.

Although today was Canada Day, I had fun reconnecting with people. Oh, incidentally, we have restarted our “stairway kirtans” and in our evening sessions passersby get abuzz. Tonight I got specific about how I greeted them. “Happy Canada Day!” They responded with a smile, each one of them.

May the Source be with you!



 

 

Tuesday, June 29, 2021
→ The Walking Monk

Ramsden Park, Toronto

 

Through the Tranquility

 

I’ve known Devananda for many years. He grew up in London, Canada, area. I know little about his Jewish descent, but he adopted to eastern ways like I did. Pursuing life in India; living like a yogi/sadhu of sorts was his calling. He’s been active in China and India and teaches shiatsu and massage therapy.

 

It’s great when he comes around, being about the same age we have something to share about experience in the yoga field, although my chosen approach has been more in the bhakti line. There is, however, more in common than different, despite being taught by different gurus.

 

We had prasad together and our lunch was something he really liked. Devananda has this genuine interest to see a better world (and again we share, in this one, the same attitude); that the forces of materialism are very strong in this part of the world.

 

He actually took a chance on his bike to dodge the wet oncoming storm. The coast was clear for his arrival to meet at a safe place near the temple. Well, rains came, and we had to shelter ourselves from what seemed like a monsoon. Once the rain and wind calmed, he headed for his apartment in the nick of time before a new installment of thunder and rain.

 

Once that cleared, I snuck over to the park. It was great. The storm chased people away, or at least deterred them from coming. I had the green all to myself for minutes – minutes that moved me closer to Krishna, in some way. I saw Him through the tranquility.

 

May the Source be with you!

1 km


 

Birthday Reflections
→ Dandavats



Today is the day my parents invited me into this world! I am grateful to God for the gift of life. And in gratitude l have composed a short poem with visuals, based on various vicissitudes of my life. Several times l should have died, but somehow God gave me repeatedly another chance.

Read More...

(This post has been viewed 334 times so far)

The Role of the ‘Second Class’ Guru
→ Dandavats

By Krishna dharma das

“In his prayers to the spiritual master, Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Ṭhakura confirms that all the revealed scriptures accept the spiritual master to be identical with the Personality of Godhead because he is a very dear and confidential servant of the Lord. Gaudiya Vaishnavas therefore worship Srila Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in the light of his being the servitor of the Personality of Godhead. In all the ancient literatures of devotional service and in the more recent songs of Srila Narottama dasa Ṭhakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura and other unalloyed Vaishnavas, the spiritual master is always considered either one of the confidential associates of Srimati Radharani or a manifested representation of Srila Nityananda Prabhu.” Continue reading "The Role of the ‘Second Class’ Guru
→ Dandavats"

Bhakti Charu Swami Glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Iskcon Kolkata

Video of HH Bhakti Charu Swami glorifying Srila Prabhupada's Journey to USA in a packed Netaji Indoor Stadium which seats 12,000 people. To inaugurate the ISKCON 50th Anniversary year, on August 13th in Kolkata a grand celebration was held with the participation of thousands of devotees from 108 countries, spiritual leaders and dignitaries such as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. Continue reading "Bhakti Charu Swami Glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s Journey to USA
→ Dandavats"

WSN May 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats

By Vijaya Dasa

In June, Melbourne had a very successful month. It became the No. 1 temple in Australasia in the Large Temple category, with 3,390 book points (a 26% increase). It’s been a long time since Melbourne was in first place. Congratulations! In the Medium Temple category, London was No. 1, with 3,018 book points. Once Srila Prabhupada was asked by a reporter in London why he had come. Srila Prabhupada explained that the British rulers and viceroys plundered India and took away whatever they thought was valuable but left behind the most valuable things, so he had come to give these to the British. The reporter wanted to know what they were. Srila Prabhuapda told him that the ancient scriptures and the holy names of Krishna are India’s real treasures. And he’s still giving them to the British. In the Small Temple category, here's a surprise: Siliguri, India (a city I've never heard of) was the No. 4 temple in the world, with 11,134 book points. I hope we’ll see more big results from the devotees there. Mangalore, India, in the Maha-small Temple category, did 4,442 book points, which is pretty good for five or fewer devotees. Continue reading "WSN May 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

How can we cultivate the mode of goodness when we are puppets of the modes?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast Hindi

Transcription by: Srimati Tanvi Tayal Mataji (Noida)

प्रश्र: हम अपने भीतर सत्वगुण को कैसे बढ़ाऐं जब हम जानते हैं कि हम तीनों गुणों के हाथों में कठपुतलियाँ हैं?

उत्तर: हम इन गुणों की कठपुतलियाँ हैं, इसका अर्थ यह है कि हम इन गुणों से पूरी तरह स्वतंत्र नहीं हैं। किन्तु हमारे पास थोड़ी बहुत स्वतंत्रता है जिस से हम यह निर्धारित कर सकते हैं कि हमें किस गुण से प्रभावित होना है। इसका अर्थ यह है कि माना कि हम कठपुतली हैं किन्तु हम किस गुण की कठपुतली बनना चाहते हैं इसका निर्णय हमारे हाथ में है।

हमें यह समझना चाहिए कि हमारे पास एक नियमित दायरे में असीमित स्वतंत्रता है। जैसे एक गाय को रस्सी के द्वारा खूँटे से बांध दिया जाए तो उस रस्सी की लम्बाई के अंदर उस गाय के पास चलने फिरने, उठने बैठने की असीमित स्वतंत्रता होती है। किन्तु उस नियमित दायरे के बाहर हमारी स्वतंत्रता असीमित नहीं है। उदाहरणार्थ, जैसे हम पक्षियों की भाँति उड़ नही सकते क्योंकि हमारे पक्षियों की तरह पँख नहीं हैं।

हमें अपने भीतर उन प्रवृत्तियों की ओर ध्यान देना है जिनपर निर्णय लेना हमारे हाथ में है। संभव है कि इन प्रवृत्तियों में से किन्हीं को हम न बदल पाऐं। उदाहरणार्थ, हम किसी प्रख्यात गायक की तरह गाना न गा पाऐं। किन्तु हमारे भीतर कई मनोवैज्ञानिक प्रवृत्तियाँ ऐसी हैं जिनकी मात्रा को कम या अधिक करना हमारे अधिकार क्षेत्र में है। जैसे कुछ लोग अधिक आलसी होते हैं ओर कुछ कम। इस प्रकार की प्रवित्तियों को हम बदल सकते हैं। कैसे? अपने विचारों ओर अपने बाहरी वातावरण को बदल कर। जैसे एक व्यक्ति देर से उठता है और इस कारण वह अपने अध्यात्मिक नियमों का उचित ढंस से पालन नहीं कर पाता। यदि ऐसा व्यक्ति ऐसे वातावरण में रहे जहाँ सभी लोग देर से उठते हों तो इससे तमोगुण और उत्तजित होगा। किन्तु यदि वही व्यक्ति ऐसे लोगों के साथ सोता है जहाँ सब लोग सवेरे जल्दी उठ जाते हों तो इन सभी लोगों के सात्विक गुणों का प्रभाव उस पर भी पड़ेगा। यह एक बड़ा सीधा-सादा उदहारण है जिसको विस्तार कई अन्य परिस्थितियों पर किया जा सकता है। यदि हम ऐसी परिस्थितियों का चुनाव करें जो एक किसी गुण विशेष में स्थित हों तो हम उन गुणों को अपने भीतर बढ़ा सकते हैं।

यदि हम अपने भीतर किसी विशेष प्रकार के विचारों को घुसने की अनुमति देते रहें तो हम उन विचारों से सम्बंधित गुणों का विकास करेंगे। उदाहरणार्थ, अत्यधिक रजोगुणी पुस्तकें पढ़ना, अत्यधिक समाचार पत्र पढ़ना और फिल्में इत्यादि देखना, इन सब से रजोगुण बढ़ेगा। किन्तु इसके विपरीत यदि हम अध्यात्मिक पुस्तकें अथवा सात्विक साहित्य पढ़ते हैं तो उससे हमारे भीतर सत्व गुण बढ़ेगा।
खाली समय में हम किन बातों पर चिन्तन करते हैं उससे भी हम अपने भीतर गुणों को प्रभावित कर सकते हैं। सात्विक विचारों पर चिन्तन से सत्व बढ़ता है किन्तु रजोगुणी विचारों के चुनाव से रजोगुण बढ़ेगा। हमारे चिंतन के चुनाव द्वारा भी हम अपने भीतर के गुण निर्धारित करते हैं।

भूतकाल में हमारी आदतों के कारण कई परिस्थितियों में हमारा चुनाव एक निश्चित ढर्रे पर होता है। इन आदतों को बदलने के लिए संभव है कि हमें एक बड़ा प्रयास करने की आवश्यकता हो किन्तु यह सम्भव है। हमें डटे रहना होगा। अपने लिए बाहरी और भीतरी परिस्थितियों का चुनाव कर हम अपने गुणों को निर्धारित कर सकते हैं।

ये छोटे-छोटे निर्णय होते हैं जो हम अपने दैनिक जीवन में ले सकते हैं किन्तु लम्बे समय में इनका प्रभाव बहुत गहरा हो सकता है। इन निर्णयों के उचित चुनाव द्वारा हम अपने जीवन को एक नई ऊँचाई पर ले जा सकते हैं।

End of transcription.

Truly extraordinary!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 May 2021, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.19.27)

One of Prabhupada’s intimate followers after Prabhupada’s departure had a period where it was difficult to connect. For many devotees after Prabhupada left, it was not so easy. Those disciples of Prabhupada who had his association and who were there during his time, were there during the difficult period when Prabhupada left and ISKCON went into the hands of new leaders. As a result, many withdrew. So as they withdrew, the standard of Krsna consciousness also went down a little bit, or externally the practices of Krsna consciousness at least did. But the connection of Krsna within the heart did not disappear so easily. Even if a devotee, after a prolonged practice, is now interrupting his practice, Krsna still remains in his heart. Once that faith that Krsna is the Supreme Lord is there, once the credit of all the service is there, then Srila Prabhupada says in the Srimad Bhagavatam that one is rasa-graha. Rasa-graha means that one has the taste of transcendental mellows. So therefore, one cannot just turn away from Krsna and Krsna does not turn away from that devotee. Neither does the spiritual master. So the devotee in particular that I am speaking about was Upendra. Upendra was such a close servant of Prabhupada in the early days. When Upendra died after having not such a good period, then at the end of his life he sat up in bed and said, “Prabhupada you have come.” He saw Prabhupada in the end! So the amount of mercy that we accrue in this movement is truly extraordinary.

The article " Truly extraordinary! " was published on KKSBlog.

TOVP Vijaya Murti Progress Update
- TOVP.org

Here we are showing you the final stage of completing the Vijaya murti: painting. You can see how the colors blend in very well with each other.

Ambhoda mataji has refined the blending of colors and already displayed her talents in the painting of the Jaya murti. Our next update report will be the completion of Vijaya.

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

Is it really possible to be happy while you yourself see so much suffering in yours like as well as everywhere around?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Mahadeva:

I am just looking for a single honest soul that can say that he has got this joy and is unaffected by whatsoever happening around him ? What kind of attitude is expected – to be oblivious.

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast Hindi

Transcription by: Sriman Amit and Srimati Nidhi Agrawal (Noida)

प्रश्न – अपने और दूसरों के जीवन के दुखों को देखकर भी क्या आनंदपूर्वक भक्ति की जा सकती है?

उत्तर – यदि भक्त इस जगत के दुखों को अनदेखा करते तो भौतिक जगत से उन्हें कोई लेना देना ही नहीं होता अपितु वे भौतिक संसार से संबंध समाप्त करके वृंदावन या मथुरा में जाकर बसते और केवल अपनी मुक्ति के बारे में सोचते। ऐसा अवसर श्रील प्रभुपाद जी के जीवन में भी आया था लेकिन उन्होने सत्तर वर्ष की अवस्था में भी भक्ति की राजधनी वृंदावन को त्यागकर अधोगति की राजधानी न्यूयार्क को चुना, क्योंकि उनमें दया और करुणा थी। अन्यों के दुख को देखकर उन्हें दुख होता था और वे उन्हें दुख की परिस्थिति से निकालना चाहते थे। अन्यों के दुख से अप्रभावित रहना एक उन्नत भक्त के लक्षण नहीं है। अन्यों के दुख को अनदेखा करने का तो प्रश्न ही नहीं उठता।

अन्यों की सहायता करने की इच्छा प्रशंसनीय है, किन्तु यह सहायता कैसे करनी है, उसका ज्ञान और क्षमता न होने पर इसका परिणाम विपरीत भी हो सकता है। उदाहरण के लिए जैसे कोई व्यक्ति डूब रहा होता है तो वह डूबने वाले की सहायता तब तक नहीं कर सकता जब वह स्वयं तैरना न जानता हो। यदि सहायता करने वाला स्वयं बँधा हो तो वह किसी अन्य बँधे हुए व्यक्ति को बंधनमुक्त कैसे करा सकता है। यदि सहायता करने वाला स्वयं रोगी हो तो वह किसी अन्य रोगी की सहायता नहीं कर सकता। ये तीनों उदाहरण दिखाते हैं कि यदि हमें सही मायनों में अन्यों की सहायता करनी है तो अपने अंदर आध्यात्मिक विकास और विश्वास होना चाहिए। उदाहरणार्थ, यदि मैं रोग से संक्रमित हूँ और उसका उपचार स्वयं नहीं ले रहा हूँ पर अन्यों पर उसे लागू कर रहा हूँ तो मैं स्वयं और सहायता लेने वाले, दोनों को रोग से संक्रमित कर सकता हूँ।
इस भौतिक जगत के दुख अधिकतर स्वप्रेरित हैं। इसका उदाहरण हैं नशीले पदार्थों एंव इन्द्रिय सुखों का व्यसन। इन व्यसनों से उत्पन्न दुख तो हमें स्पष्ट दिखाई देते हैं। वास्तव में हमारे समस्त दुखों का कारण हमारे इस जन्म के या फिर पूर्व जन्म के कर्म होते हैं।

इस भौतिक जगत में सभी जीव दुखी हैं। महारानी कुंती ने श्रीमद्भागवतम् में जीव के दुखी रहने के तीन कारण बताए हैं – अविद्या काम कर्मभिः (भागवतम् 1.8.35)। अविद्या के कारण जीव इस ज्ञान से अनभिज्ञ रहता है कि वास्तविक सुख की प्राप्ति कहाँ से होती है। इससे काम उत्पन्न होता है और भौतिक सुख भोगने की कामना के फलस्वरूप हम जो कर्म करते है उससे कर्मबंधन में फँस जाते हैं और फिर भौतिक जगत में पीड़ा भोगते रहते हैं।

महारानी कुंती समस्त दुखों और पीड़ाओं से बचने का उपाय बताती हैं – श्रवणस्मरणार्हाणि – श्रीकृष्ण के बारे में श्रवण और स्मरण करें। इससे हमें उत्तम रस का अनुभव होगा, हमारा अन्तःकरण शुद्ध होगा तथा हमें भवबंधन से मुक्ति मिलेगी। अध्यात्म के सभी मार्ग श्रीकृष्ण की भक्ति पर जाकर संपन्न होते हैं। भक्ति में हम अपनी साधाना और सेवा साथ-साथ कर सकते हैं। अधिकतर सेवा कृष्णभावना के प्रचार पर आधारित है। साधना द्वारा हमें उत्तम रस की अनुभुति होगी जिसे हम श्रीकृष्ण के संदेश का प्रचार करके हम अन्यों के साथ बाँट सकते हैं। श्रीकृष्ण की भक्ति एक औषधि की भाँति है। कृष्णभक्त अपने अनुभव का प्रचार करके अन्यों के दुख को दूर कर सकते हैं। यदि किसी ने भक्ति का स्वंय अनुभव नहीं किया है, तो वह अन्यों को इसका अनुभव कैसे करा सकता है?

अन्यों के दुखों को दूर करने के लिये पहले स्वयं कृष्णभक्ति के आनंद का अनुभव करना आवश्यक है। जब हम किसी कृष्णभक्त से जुड़ जाते है तब उसके माध्यम से हम श्रीकृष्ण से जुड़ जाते हैं। इससे हम अपने जीवन में एक ऐसे हाथ का अनुभव करते हैं जो हमें भवसागर से खींचकर बाहर निकाल रहा हो। जब कोई हमारा एक हाथ पकड़कर हमें बाहर खींच रहा हो तब हम अपना दूसरा हाथ अन्यों की ओर बढ़ाकर उन्हें भी भवसागर से बाहर निकाल सकते हैं। जब हम किसी उपचार का प्रयोग करके ठीक हो जाऐं या हो रहे हों तभी हम अन्यों को उस उपचार के बारे में बताकर उसकी सहायता कर सकते हैं। जैसे एक व्यक्ति स्वयं बंधनमुक्त हो जाए तभी वह अन्यों को बंधनमुक्त होने में सहायता कर सकता है।

सारांश में यह प्रश्न ही नहीं उठता की हम अन्यों के दुख को अनदेखा करें। लेकिन यदि उस पीड़ा के बारे में हमें कोई ज्ञान नहीं हो तो हम उसका उपचार भी नहीं कर सकते हैं। एक भक्त होने के नाते हमें स्वंय तो भक्ति के मार्ग का अनुसरण करके आनंद का अनुभव करना चाहिए लेकिन साथ ही साथ उस उपचार का प्रचार करके अन्यों की पीड़ा को भी दूर करना चाहिए।

End of transcription.

Wasn’t it immoral for Rama to exile Sita on just a rumour?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast Hindi

Answer: First of all Lord Ram did not banish or abandon Sita. If we have to use the word banish clearly in the sense in which it is used for Lord Ram when He was banished by Kaikeyi’s arrangement, then He had to go into the forest in the jungle where He had to fend for Himself and they had no ready home over there, they had no one to take care of themselves. So first thing that Lord Ram did not banish Sita like that. She was still within His kingdom under the care of Valmiki and Valmiki was under the care of Lord Ram directly he was in His kingdom and Lord Ram is the supersoul in the heart of all living beings and He is the supersoul in the heart of Valmiki also and Valmiki Rishi by his foresight he understood what was happening and he told the female hemits that were there in his hemitage to take care of Sita just like there own daughter. So in that sense Sita was certainly not banished the way Lord Ram was banished. So banish is too harsh a word and it is not proper to use it in this context. Now still the question remains why did Lord Ram send Her out of His palace when there was no fault on His side. So there are three different factors involved over here. There is the principle that this is not just from Vedic culture but this is also in European _________, it was there Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. Srila Prabhupada would quote that the idea is that actually for a king to be able to effectively rule the people, the king himself has to be exemplary and that exemplariness has to manifest expression all walks of his life. So one of the exemplariness of the king is detachment. Now what kind of detachment is expected from the king. Although the king has the best opulences that anybody else has in the kingdom, but still the king is expected to use these opulences for the sake of dharma and for the sake of dharma he has to be ready to sacrifice those opulences. So for example when there is a sacrifice, the king is supposed to use the wealth that he has for performing sacrifice and while performing sacrifice the king is meant to give profuse charity to the priests who are there and the priests are not just official priests, the sages who are there, they are meant to be devotee to god entirely. So the idea is that the king has to be an ideal exemplar of dharma. So as a part of being exemplar of dharma one is that in the Vedic culture it is understood that family attachments are obstacles on the spiritual path. At a particular stage in a person’s life family attachments are important in the sense that they are also a part of a person’s duty so that the person can make spiritual progress but at the same time those duties if they diverted or diversed from the spiritual perspective then they just become material and taking care of ones family members is to some extent done even in the non human species also. So there is certainly nothing spiritual about that. So Lord Ram when he came to the world, He wanted to exemplify the dharma in the most extraordinary way. So that he did by showing that he had no attachment to His wife. So now if Lord Ram had really any attachment then He would have married some other wife later. He did not do that. It was not that He was personally concerned with His enjoyment. Some people say that for the sake of His own reputation, He gave up His wife. But at best a reputation can give a person only material pleasure so if material pleasure was all that was His interest and if reputation was all that was His interest then He could always have preserved the reputation by having some other wife, but he never did that. So at the time of there marriage, He had promised Sita that He would take a ekapathni vrta, He would not accept any other wives and His fidelity to Sita is seen through His keeping that vrta and further if we see although when yagnas are to be performed, the husband and wife have to sit together. Now although there was no one who could substitute for Sita unless Lord Ram married and there was pressure on Him that if you have to perform the yagna ashwameda kratu dikshita Rama, He had to perform ashwameda and other yagnas, so for that He had to have a queen with Him, so then He made images of Sita, golden image of Sita and that image was what sat with Him. So if we are looking at it, there are two aspects there is attachment and then there is responsibilty. Detachment does not mean irresponsibility and attachment is not necessarily irresponsibility. So if Lord Ram had been irresponsible or as the word here in the question uses immoral, then He would have just not cared for Sita at all, if Sita had just been a means for His reputation and because She was a spot on His reputation, He would have given Her up. Then He could just have abandoned Her entirely. He would not even have told Lakshmana  to take Her to Valimiki’s ashram. He would just have told Her get out of my palace but He carefully arranged for Lakshman to have Her taken to the hermitage of Valmiki and again He did not marry anyone else even when there is obligations required it to some extent. So of course when the sages saw that they just told them that the yagna can be performed with the image also and He did that. The fact that He went to the extreme of doing that indicates that he was not irresponsible or immoral just concerned about worldly pleasure through reputation or enjoyment. Lord Ram himself was very principled. So what He is exhibiting through sending Sita away from His palace is not irresponsibility or immorality but detachment and exemplary conduct. So detachment means that as far as setting up the dharma is concerned one is not ready to compromise at all. One is ready to sacrifice any pleasure that is required for the setting up of dharma. So this is from Lord Ram’s perspective. Now we might argue that actually if Sita had been at fault then all this might have been ok, but Sita was not at fault if there is just a rumour somewhere then why take a rumour so seriously. He could just have confronted those people who where having those rumours and corrected them and infact that was Lakshman’s impulse. He felt that I want to who is saying this, I will go and set them straight but Lord Ram knew that the point here was not to set to silence one voice or to correct one misconception. The point here was to represent a principle and the principle was that the king should be spotless. So spotless that even rumours are not possible about such a person. Now in today’s socio politically _______ what to speak of rumours, even when evidences are there, even at that time the administrators, the politicians, the kings don’t care and they continue to hold on to there post and to do there irreligious, corrupt and immoral activities. So it’s very difficult for us to comprehend this level of morality. None the less this was what Lord Ram exemplified. So Lord Ram had a conflict in between His duty as a family member, as a husband and duty as a king and He did His duty as a king by exemplifying detachment and He did His duty as a husband by ensuring that Sita was cared for although She was not cared for directly in His palace by Him but She was cared in His kingdom through His representatives, sages who were there and elderly hermits that were there in the sage’s hermitage. So now the most agonising and to some extent emotionally difficult to accept this is from Sita’s perspective. So you could say what was Sita’s fault that She had already gone through the agni pariksha and She had already proven Her chastity, first of all She had maintained Her chastity despite all the allurements of Ravana. Both Ravana had threatened Her as well as tempted Her. So She maintained her chastity despite it all and then She proved Her chastity by going through the agni pariksha and then even after that She had undergo the mortification of being rejected by Lord Ram. So certainly this is very heart rending and firstly we have to understand that the whole Ramayan, every scripture there is a story line, there is philosophy and there is a rasa. There is a emotional experience that that scripture suppose to offer and that emotional experience is purifying, uplifting and eventually liberating. So in the Ramayan the primary emotional experience that is offered is called as karuna rasam. Karuna rasam is not exactly compassion but we can’t have compassion for the Lord or His associates but the idea is that normally compassion is invoked when we see somebody else suffering. So seeing the Lord suffering and the Lord gracefully accepting that suffering that inspires attraction to the Lord within us and that emotion which arises is purifying. So the whole purpose of the Ramayan is primarily to give, it is written _____ rishi is called as the adhi kavi and is called as the adhi kavya, the first poetry. So it is meant to promote that feeling and that is actually promoted first through Lord Ram’s exile, although Lord Ram just as Sita when She was sent to the forest She was utterly faultless. Similarly when Lord Ram himself was sent to the forest, He was utterly faultless. Now there was just some circumstance by which Dasharatha was bound and Lord Ram had to be sent to the forest. So similarly there was some circumstance by which Lord Ram was bound and Sita had to be sent to the forest. So we may say that there are differences in the situation that Lord Ram could have rejected the rumours but then we could also say Dasharatha could have rejected His word to Kaikeyi. Dasharath maharaj was king, Lord Ram was king also but the important principle over there is that there is something deeper being communicated over here. The communication is that even the Lord when he descends to the world to perform His pastimes, He has to some extent suffer and the way He accepts suffering with grace is what is meant to be taught for all time to come. So that is the lesson.So if we are going to blame then Lord Ram could have blamed Dasharatha maharaj which he did not do and similarly Sita did not blame Lord Ram. She understood why He had done it and although it pained her immensely just as it pained Lord Ram to go to the forest and not be there in the kingdom with His parents and with the citizens but He accepted it, similarly Sita also accepted it. So now is this meant to become a stereo type or a model for everyone, obviously not. The principle of sacrifice is something which is exemplary but the idea that somebody creates suffering upon somebody else to invoke that spirit of sacrifice is a perverse understanding. So it is not that the Ramayan recommends that step mothers conspire to send their stepsons into exile nor does the Ramayan recommend that, pregnant wives be abandoned. Every scripture if you don’t understand it in it’s proper context and purpose distorted lessons can be taken from it and this may unfortunately happened sometimes but that is not at all the intent of the Ramayan. The intent of the Ramayan is to first of all stimulate within us intense emotional attraction towards the Lord and His consort by seeing how They are suffering and secondly through Their suffering They exemplify to us how we can gracefully accept suffering when it comes in our way. But the idea that we should impose suffering upon others is a complete perversion and if that has happened, that is unfortunate and that is regrettable and the vaishnava acharyas especially in the Sri sampradaya, they have actually taught that Lord Ram’s exiling mother Sita was to invoke this karunya rasa, Jiva goswami also talks about it and from the rasa point of view there is a higher experience also that love in separation is higher than love in union in the sense that the emotions become intensified. They say that “the heart grows fonder in the absence of the beloved”. So Lord Ram wanted to give Sita that highest experience of love in separation and for that purpose this happened. So overall we can understand this at multiple levels, at the first level from the administrative point of view as a king Lord Ram had to set the example of complete detachment so that He could exemplify dharmic detachment for His citizens and He did that but on the other hand Lord Ram as a husband was not irresponsible, He arranged for the care of His pregnant wife, then from the still higher perspective of the Ramayan, it exemplifies to us how even the Lord undergoes suffering with grace and inspires us to accept whatever suffering we undergo in our lives because of our past karma to also accept it gracefully. It also increases emotional attraction towards the Lord in our hearts and lastly it enables Sita and Ram to taste the supreme rasa of love in separation which is the highest emotional experience between lovers.

Thank You.

 
Transcription in hindi

Transcribed by – Niramala Shorewala Mataji (Kaithal)

प्रश्न- क्या भगवान राम का सीतादेवी का त्याग करना अनैतिक नहीं था? क्या किसी अफवाह की कारण किसी पति को अपनी पत्नी का त्याग करना चाहिए? क्या एक पति होने के नाते श्रीराम का यह एक अनुत्तरदायी व दोषपूर्ण कृत्य नहीं है?

उत्तर- श्रीराम ने माता सीता का न तो बहिष्कार किया था और नहीं त्याग। अगर हम देश निकाला का सही अर्थ देखें तो जैसे भगवान राम को चौदह साल के वनवास के लिए भेजा गया था, जहाँ वन में उनके पास न घर था न ही कुछ और साधन, श्रीराम ने माता सीता को इस प्रकार का देश निकाला नहीं किया था। सीतादेवी उनके राज्य में वाल्मीकि आश्रम में उन्हीं की देखरेख में थीं। श्रीराम सभी प्राणियों के हृदय में परमात्मा रूप में स्थित हैं। वे वाल्मीकि मुनि के हृदय में भी स्थित थे। वाल्मीकि मुनि त्रिकालदर्शी थे। वे समझ गए थे कि क्या हो रहा है और उन्होंने अपने आश्रम में रहने वाली स्त्री सन्यासिनों को कह दिया था कि सीता देवी की देखरेख एक पुत्री की तरह होनी चाहिए। इस दृष्टिकोण से श्रीराम ने सीतादेवी को देश निकाला नहीं दिया था।

फिर भी इस संदर्भ में यह प्रश्न रहता है कि श्रीराम ने सीतादेवी को अपने महल से बाहर क्यों किया जबकि सीतादेवी का इसमें कोई दोष नहीं था।

इस विषय के आंकलन में हम तीन पक्षों के दृष्टिकोणों पर विचार करके करेंगे – (i) श्रीराम का दृष्टिकोण (ii) सामाजिक दृष्टिकोण (iii) शास्त्रों का दृष्टिकोण।

श्रीराम का दृष्टिकोण – वैदिक संस्कृति में ही नहीं यूरोपीय संस्कृति में भी ये मान्यता है कि राज्य की पटरानी को पूर्णतया संदेहरहित होना चाहिए। एक राजा को अनुकरणीय होना चाहिए और इस बात का प्रदर्शन उसके जीवन के हर स्तर पर दिखना चाहिए। राजा के अनेक गुणों में से एक है वैराग्य। पूरे राज्य में राजा के पास सर्वश्रेष्ठ ऐश्वर्य होता है किंतु राजा उसका उपयोग धर्म की रक्षा के लिए करता है। उदाहरणार्थ, धार्मिक कार्यों में राजा अपनी संपत्ति का ब्राह्मणों में भरपूर दान करता है।

राजा धर्म का प्रतिनिधि होता है। वैदिक संस्कृति के अनुसार अत्यधिक पारिवारिक आसक्ति आध्यात्मिक जीवन में एक बाधा बन जाता है। गृहस्थ जीवन में पारिवारिक संबंधों का महत्व होता है क्योंकि ये व्यक्ति के कर्तव्य निर्वाह का भाग होते हैं। कर्तव्यों का निर्वाह आध्यात्मिक विकास के लिए आवश्यक है। किन्तु यदि यही पारिवारिक संबंध उसे अध्यात्मिक प्रगति से दूर ले जा रहे हैं तो वे भौतिक हो जाते हैं। देखा जाए तो इस प्रकार परिवार जनों की देखरेख पशु पक्षी भी करते हैं, तो इसमें विशेष रूप से आध्यात्मिक कुछ नहीं। जब श्रीराम धरती पर अवतरित हुए तो उन्हें धर्म पालन का सर्वोच्च आदर्श स्थापित करना था। सीतादेवी का त्याग करके उन्होंने सिद्ध किया कि वे अपनी पत्नी के प्रति अनावश्यक आसक्त नहीं थे। यदि वे आसक्त होते तो बाद में किसी अन्य स्त्री से विवाह अवश्य करते।

कुछ लोग कहते हैं कि श्रीराम ने अपने मान सम्मान को बचाने के लिए सीतादेवी का त्याग किया। यदि ऐसा होता तो वे अश्वमेध यज्ञ में अपना मान बढ़ाने के लिए दूसरा विवाह कर सकते थे। यज्ञ करने के लिए उन्हें एक रानी की आवश्यकता थी और उनपर ऋषि मुनियों द्वारा दूसरे विवाह के लिए दबाव भी था। किन्तु उन्होंने दूसरा विवाह नहीं किया। वे अपने एकपत्नी व्रत पर अडिग रहे और सीतादेवी के प्रति अपनी निष्ठा का परिचय दिया। यहाँ दो पक्ष हैं एक है आसक्ति दूसरा वैराग्य। वैराग्य का अर्थ अनुत्तरदायी और आसक्ति का अर्थ उत्तरदायी नहीं होता है। यदि श्रीराम उत्तरदायी नहीं होते तो सीतादेवी के बारे में बिल्कुल चिंता नहीं करते। यदि सीता देवी केवल एक मान सम्मान का प्रश्न होतीं तो श्रीराम उनका पूर्णतया त्याग कर सकते थे। वे सरलता से उन्हें महल से बाहर निकाल सकते थे। किंतु उन्होंने श्रीलक्ष्मण को आदेश देकर सीतादेवी को वाल्मिकी आश्रम तक पहुंचाया। इन बातों से साफ पता लगता है कि श्रीराम अनुत्तरदायी व अनैतिक नहीं थे। उन्हें अपने मान सम्मान व भौतिक सुख से कोई लगाव न था। वे सिद्धांत के पक्के थे। सीतादेवी को महल से भेजकर उन्होंने वैराग्य और धर्मपालन का सर्वश्रेष्ठ उदाहरण प्रस्तुत किया। धर्म पालन के लिए वे कुछ भी त्याग करने के लिए तैयार थे।

अब हम यह आंकलन कर सकते हैं कि यदि सीतादेवी का दोष होता तब ये त्याग उचित था किंतु किसी अफवाह के कारण ये किया गया। क्या किसी अफवाह को इतनी गंभीरता से लिया जाना चाहिए?
सामाजिक दृष्टिकोण – श्रीराम अफवाह फैलाने वालों से बात करके उनकी शंका दूर कर सकते थे जैसा कि इस अफवाह को सुनकर श्रीलक्ष्मण ने तुरंत कहा था कि ऐसा कौन कह रहा है। श्रीराम जानते थे कि वास्तविक समाधान किसी एक आवाज को दबाना नहीं था। वास्तविक समाधान इस सिद्धांत की स्थापना था कि एक राजा को नितांत निष्कलंक होना चाहिए। निष्कलंक इतना कि उसके बारे में लेषमात्र भी संदेह न हो। वर्तमान समय के नेता अफवाहों की बात तो दूर ठोस सबूत होने पर भी नहीं मानते और पदों पर बने रहते हैं। ऐसी स्थिति में हमें श्रीराम की उच्चकोटि की नैतिकता को समझने में कठिनाई हो सकती है। सीतादेवी का त्याग कर उन्होंने अपने राजधर्म का पालन किया तथा सीतादेवी को वाल्मीकि आश्रम में भेजकर अपने पति धर्म का पालन किया।

शास्त्रों का दृष्टिकोण – सीतादेवी के लिए इस निर्णय को स्वीकार करना अत्यंत दुखदायी था। इसमें सीतादेवी का क्या दोष? सीतादेवी ने अग्नि परीक्षा देकर अपनी पवित्रता का प्रमाण पहले ही दे दिया था। रावण के फुसलाने और धमकाने पर भी उन्होंने अपनी पवित्रता पर आँच नहीं आने दी। इस पर भी श्रीराम ने उनका त्याग किया। यह अत्यंत दुखदायी है। हमें यहाँ समझना चाहिए कि शास्त्रों की कथाओं में तीन पक्ष होते हैं – (i) कथा (ii) दर्शन (iii) रस। शास्त्र की कथाऐं हमें भावनात्मक अनुभव प्रदान करती हैं। यह भावनात्मक अनुभव हमारा शुद्धिकरण करता है, हमारी चेतना को ऊपर उठाता है और अंततः हमें मुक्ति प्रदान करता है।

रामायण हमें मुख्य रूप से करुण रस प्रदान करती है। जब हम श्रीराम को देखते हैं कि वे कैसे समभाव और शालीनता से अपने दुखों को स्वीकार करते हैं तो यह रस हमें भगवान राम के प्रति आकर्षित होने के लिए प्रेरित करता है। इनसे जो भावनाऐं उभरती हैं वे हमें शुद्ध करती हैं। वाल्मीकि ऋषि को आदि कवि कहा जाता है। रामायण का मुख्य उद्देश्य है इन भावनाओं का पाठक में संचार करना। सर्वप्रथम यह भावना श्रीराम के वनवास की कथा से आती हैं। जैसे जब सीतादेवी का त्याग किया गया तब वे निर्दोष थीं, वैसे ही जब श्रीराम को वनवास भेजा गया तब श्रीराम भी दोष रहित थे। परिस्थितियों के कारण महाराज दशरथ वचनबद्ध थे और श्रीराम को फलस्वरूप वनवास जाना पड़ा, ठीक उसी प्रकार परिस्थितियों के कारण श्रीराम बंधे हुए थे और सीतादेवी को वाल्मीकि आश्रम जाना पड़ा।

यहाँ हम कह सकते हैं कि दोनों परिस्थितियों में अंतर था। श्रीराम अफवाहों को सुनकर अनसुना कर सकते थे। तो फिर हम यह भी कह सकते हैं कि महाराज दशरथ कैकेई की मांगों को ठुकरा सकते थे। लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि इन दोनों परिस्थितियों में एक महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि जब भगवान धरती पर अवतरित होते हैं और लीला करते हैं तो उन्हें भी दुख सहन करना पड़ता है। इन दुखों को वे शालीनता व सहजता से स्वीकार करते हैं। यह सीख देना ही इस कथा का मूल उद्देश्य है। यदि दोष ही देना था तो श्रीराम महाराज दशरथ को दोष दे सकते थे और सीतादेवी श्रीराम को दोष दे सकती थीं। किंतु दोनों ने ही ऐसा नहीं किया। सीतादेवी को अतिशय दुख हुआ कि श्रीराम ने उनका त्याग किया किन्तु वे समझ सकती थीं कि किन परिस्थितियों ने श्रीराम ने ऐसा किया। ऐसे ही श्रीराम को भी वनवास का दुख हुआ किंतु उन्होंने स्वीकार किया क्योंकि वे समझते थे कि किन परिस्थितियों में ऐसा हुआ।

तो क्या हम सभी को ऐसे त्याग का अनुसरण करना चाहिए?

नहीं, ऐसा नहीं कह सकते। त्याग का सिद्धांत अनुकरणीय और कठोर है। किंतु यह विचारधारा कि कोई जानबूझकर किसी को दुखी करे जिससे किसी दूसरे व्यक्ति में त्याग की भावना उत्पन्न हो तो यह एक दोषपूर्ण और आधारहीन समझ है। रामायण इस बात की अनुमोदन नहीं करती कि माँऐं अपने सौतेले पुत्रों को वनवास भेजें। रामायण यह अनुमोदन भी नहीं करती कि गर्भवती पत्नी को त्याग दिया जाए। किंतु यदि हम शास्त्रों को सही ढंग से न समझें तो हम उनकी शिक्षा का त्रुटिपूर्ण अर्थ लगा लेते हैं। रामायण का उद्देश्य है कि करुण रस के माध्यम से हमारे भीतर भगवान के प्रति आकर्षण की भावना उत्पन्न हो। श्री संप्रदाय के आचार्यों और श्रील जीव गोस्वामी ने भी यह बताया है कि श्रीराम का सीतादेवी का त्याग करना करुण रस में है। रस के दृष्टिकोण से यह एक उच्च अनुभव है। मिलन से विरह का प्रेम उच्च स्तर पर है क्योंकि इसमें भावनाएँ और तीव्र हो जाती है। ऐसा कहा जाता है कि विरह में हृदय प्रेमी की स्मृति में मग्न हो जाता है। तो श्रीराम को सीतादेवी को इस उच्च कोटि का अनुभव कराना था, इसी कारण ऐसा हुआ।

सामान्यतः इस घटना को हम अलग-अलग स्तर पर समझ सकते हैं । पहले स्तर पर भगवान राम को धर्मपालन का उद्देश्य स्थापित करना था। फिर चाहे उन्हें अपनी पत्नी का त्याग ही क्यों न करना पड़े। इससे उनके वैराग्य की भावना का पता लगता है। दूसरा वे अनुत्तरदायी नहीं थे। श्रीराम ने सीता देवी का त्याग नहीं किया उन्होंने अपनी पत्नी सीता की वाल्मिकी आश्रम में व्यवस्था की थी। एक ऊंचे स्तर पर भगवान राम हमें अपने उदाहरण से दिखाते हैं कि कैसे उन्होंने स्वयं भी दुख का अनुभव किया और कितनी शालीनता से इन परिस्थितियों का सामना किया। हमें भी अपने जीवन में आए दुखों का सामना इसी प्रकार करना चाहिए। अंततः यह घटना भगवान राम और माता सीता को कारुण्य रस अर्थात विरह में प्रेम का उच्च अनुभव कराती है।

 
End of transcription.

Is Happiness Really All Relative?
→ ISKCON News

Happiness…. The most sought-after experience that human society is striving to achieve, is still an underestimated and untapped experience beyond the reach of the majority.  Many believe they have reached that state of happiness, but have they? It was a nice sunny tropical afternoon. On my daily commute back home, I was looking out through […]

The post Is Happiness Really All Relative? appeared first on ISKCON News.

TKG Academy Holds Triumphant Graduation Ceremony After Successful Pandemic School Year
→ ISKCON News

After a successful school year of keeping all students safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the TKG Academy in Dallas, Texas held a graduation ceremony on May 27th that felt “triumphant,” according to Vice Principal Gopi Gita Dasi. During the event, three students who had attended TKG Academy since preschool graduated from Twelfth Grade, while the […]

The post TKG Academy Holds Triumphant Graduation Ceremony After Successful Pandemic School Year appeared first on ISKCON News.

TKG Academy Holds Triumphant Graduation Ceremony After Successful Pandemic School Year
→ ISKCON News: Latest Stories

After a successful school year of keeping all students safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the TKG Academy in Dallas, Texas held a graduation ceremony on May 27th that felt “triumphant,” according to Vice Principal Gopi Gita Dasi. During the event, three students who had attended TKG Academy since preschool graduated from Twelfth Grade, while the rest of the school’s thirty-three students received end-of-year certificates.

Lord Jagannath Sravana Festival Leads up to Central New Jersey Ratha Yatra
→ ISKCON News

An online “Sravana Festival,” with a series of Zoom talks by illustrious guests about the pastimes of Lord Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is setting the mood for the upcoming Ratha Yatra celebrations at the ISKCON temple in Plainfield, New Jersey and on the Atlantic City boardwalk. The nectarean spiritual talks, which are taking place every […]

The post Lord Jagannath Sravana Festival Leads up to Central New Jersey Ratha Yatra appeared first on ISKCON News.

Sri Srivasa Pandit’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Srivasa Pandit is one of the members of the Panca-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 Pandit, and Narada Muni as Srivasa Pandit.

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 Panca-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 Pandit 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 them all.

Srila Prabhupada also mentions that ISKCON too 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 giving us this introduction to 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 that 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 Pandit’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 Caitanya 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 it. 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 Pandit.

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 worshiped 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 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 Yasoda 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 would come to wake Him up in the morning. And then he would be separated from the young gopis.

When Krishna returned from the pasturing grounds in the late afternoon and the gopis gazed at Him, 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, during the kirtans at his house, Srivasa Thakura would lock the doors, 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 Capala, 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 Capala 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 Capala 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 Capala was burning with leprosy, suffering unbearable pain.

One day when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed nearby, Gopala Capala 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 Vrndavana 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 Krsna, 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 chanting of the holy name—the treasure of krsna-prema—and delivered all who were sinful and fallen, even Jagai and Madhai. Although this Gopala Capala 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 He could deliver him. So he appealed to Mahaprabhu, 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. For your offense against Srivasa Thakura, you will fall into hellish conditions for millions of lifetimes. He is My pure devotee.” After some time, Gopala Capala 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. It is the recommended way and the fastest way—to go to the Vaishnava you have offended, throw yourself at his feet, and beg for forgiveness. Gopala Capala 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 Pandit, “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 Pandit 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 Pandit 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. Soon 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 Pandit 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.”

By now the brahmachari was trembling with fear, and he came out of hiding. Still, he thought, “I was so fortune 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’s 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 Caitanya 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 have a Muslim tailor, Abdul, at our Juhu temple, and he sews 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 in other places, 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 Pandit) 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, 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-pancami festival with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami. Hera-pancami 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 catches 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, Lord Jagannatha, feeling separation from His other devotees, 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 Nilacala, which is like Dvaraka (or Kurukshetra), down the road to Sundaracala, to the Gundica temple, which is considered to be Vrindavan.

The day before the Ratha-yatra is Gundica-marjana, during which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees clean the Gundica 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 Gundica 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 Sundaracala in her own procession. At the gate of the Gundica 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 that is 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 Yasoda, 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 Yasoda 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. He lifted a great mountain and held it on one finger 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 Yasoda looked into Krishna’s mouth. Krishna and Balarama were playing with Their friends, and all the boys joined with Balarama to complain to Mother Yasoda 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.” Yasoda 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 Yasoda 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 Pandit, 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 Yasoda 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 Yasoda 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 Yasoda. 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.” And these topics are on the spiritual platform. 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 Pandit’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 Pandit’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 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 Pandit and his eternal Lord and master, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Srivasa Pandit (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 requires.

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 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 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 Him 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 Panca-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 Pandit’s disappearance day, June 28, 2008, Moorpark, California]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appreciating the devotees (video)
→ Dandavats

By Gadadhar Pandit Das

It is our responsibility to regularly express our appreciation for the devotees. An appreciation that must be genuine, accurate, specific, and educated. Success is a result of team effort and credit must always be shared. This practice eliminates envy, unifies and strengthens the fight against isolation and material influences. Continue reading "Appreciating the devotees (video)
→ Dandavats"

TOVP Book of the Week #14
- TOVP.org

A Mousetrap for Darwin: Michael J. Behe Answers His Critics

By Michael J Behe

In 1996 Darwin’s Black Box thrust Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe into the national spotlight. The book, and his subsequent two, sparked a firestorm of criticism, and his responses appeared in everything from the New York Times to science blogs and the journal Science.

His replies, along with a handful of brand-new essays, are now collected in A Mousetrap for Darwin. In engaging his critics, Behe extends his argument that much recent evidence, from the study of evolving microbes to mutations in dogs and polar bears, shows that blind evolution cannot build the complex machinery essential to life. Rather, evolution works principally by breaking things for short-term benefit. It can’t construct anything fundamentally new. What can? Behe’s money is on intelligent design.

 
Author: By Michael J. Behe
Published: November 17, 2020
Book/File size: 4430 KB / 560 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback

 
BUY ON AMAZON  

  Residents of India will have to search for this book on www.amazon.in

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

TOVP Vedic Science Essays on the Website
- TOVP.org

Visit the TOVP Vedic Science Essays section on our website to read short and interesting essays by prominent ISKCON authors and scholars on several topics relating to relevant current topics.

On the Main Menu of the TOVP website hover above the Vedic Science tab, and when the scroll down menu appears click on Vedic Science Essays. Subjects include the following by authors such as Michael A. Cremo (Drutakarma Das), Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa Das), Ashish Dalela (Rsiraja Das), Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana Das) and Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Das):

  • Cosmology & Astronomy
  • Evolution
  • Creationism
  • Consciousness
  • Spiritual Science
  • God & Science
  • Karma & Reincarnation
  • Vedic Philosophy
  • East Meets West
  • Forbidden Archeology

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

Srivasa Pandit Disappearance
→ Ramai Swami

According to Sri Gaura Gannoddesha Dipika, Srivasa Pandita is none other than the incarnation of Narada Muni, who had appeared to assist Sri Caitanya, his beloved Lord, enact the heart melting pastimes of Navadvipa. 

Srivasa pandita and his family members had originally hailed from Srihatta (Sylhet,currently situated in Bangladesh) and later moved over to reside at Navadvipa. Srivasa Pandita had appeared in this world about 30 years before the birth of Lord Caitanya. He is one of the members of the panca-tattva.

Sriram pandita, Srivasa’s younger brother, was the incarnation of Parvata Muni, a close friend of sage Narada. Srimati Malini Devi, the wife of Srivasa pandita, was previously the nurse Ambika in Krishna lila, who used to feed little Krishna, with her own breast milk. Malini devi was an intimate friend and companion of Saci mata, and regularly shared her advice on how to raise up mischievous Nimai.

Later, after Lord Gaurasundara had accepted His sannyasa initiation and moved over to Jagannatha Puri, Srivasa pandita together with his family, being unable to bear the mournful separation from their beloved Lord, shifted to a place called Halisahar, located on the other side of the Ganges. His worshipable Gaura-Nitai deities are till this day being served at a place called Chinsurah, where one can obtain their mesmerizing darsana.

Yogini Ekadasi
- TOVP.org

The 11th day of Krishna Paksha (Moon’s waning Phase) in the month Ashada (June – July) is observed as Yogini Ekadasi. It is considered a very auspicious and rewarding day to fulfill one’s wishes and destroy all the sins of a lifetime. This day is also known as Ashadi Ekadasi, and observing vrata (vow) on this day is equivalent to feeding 88,000 pious brahmins/priests.

As Gaudiya Vaishnavas, our main aim during ekadasi is to decrease bodily demands so we can spend more time in seva, especially hearing and chanting about the Lord. It’s recommended to chant extra rounds and stay up all night chanting and hearing the Lord’s glories.

It is also auspicious to donate to Vaishnavas and Lord Krishna’s service on ekadasi and we invite our readers to consider this occasion to donate towards either the new Pankajanghri Das Seva Campaign to complete Lord Nrsimha’s Wing in the TOVP, or sponsor an abhisheka for the installation of the new Prabhupada murti in the TOVP in October.

Below are links to both campaign pages on the TOVP website:

Prabhupada Murti Abhisheka
Pankajanghri Das Seva

 

Yogini Ekadasi

from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana

Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Supreme Lord, I have heard the glories of the Nirjala Ekadasi, which occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Jyeshtha (May – June). Now I wish to hear from You about the suddha Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Ashadha (June – July). Kindly describe to me all about it in detail, Oh killer of the Madhu demon (Madhusudana).”

The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, then replied, “Oh king, I shall indeed tell you about the best of all fasting days, the Ekadasi that comes during the dark part of the month of Ashadha. Famous as Yogini Ekadasi, it removes all kinds of sinful reactions and awards supreme liberation.

“Oh best of kings, this Ekadasi delivers people who are drowning in the vast ocean of material existence and transports them to the shore of the spiritual world.
In all the three worlds, it is the chief of all sacred fasting days. I shall now reveal this truth to you by narrating a history recounted in the Puranas.

“The king of Alakapuri – Kuvera, the treasurer of the devas – was a steadfast devotee of lord Shiva. He employed a servant named Hemamali as his personal gardener. Hemamali, a Yaksha like Kuvera, was very lustfully attracted to his gorgeous wife, Swarupavatii, who had large, enchanting eyes.

“Hemamali’s daily duty was to visit Manasarovara Lake and bring back flowers for his master, Kuvera, with which he would use them in the puja offerings to lord Shiva. One day, after picking the flowers, Hemamali went to his wife instead of returning directly to his master and fulfilling his duty by bringing the flowers for the puja. Absorbed in loving affairs of a bodily nature with his wife, he forgot to return to the abode of Kuvera.

“Oh king, while Hemamali was enjoying with his wife, Kuvera had begun the worship of lord Shiva as normal in his palace and soon discovered that there were no flowers ready to be offered in the midday puja. The lack of such an important item (upachara) angered the great Koshad-yaksha (treasurer of the devas) even more, and he asked a Yaksha messenger, ‘Why has dirty-hearted Hemamali not come with the daily offering of flowers? Go find out the exact reason and report back to me in person with your findings.’ The Yaksha returned and told Kuvera, ‘Oh dear lord, Hemamali has become lost in freely enjoying coitus with his wife.’

“Kuvera became extremely angry when he heard this and at once summoned lowly Hemamali before him. Knowing that he had been remiss and dawdling in his duty and exposed as meditating on his wife’s body, Hemamali approached his master in great fear. The gardener first paid his obeisances and then stood before his lord, whose eyes had become red with anger and whose lips trembled in rage.
So enraged, Kuvera cried out to Hemamali, ‘Oh you sinful rascal! Oh destroyer of religious principles! You are a walking offense to the devas! I therefore curse you to suffer from white leprosy and to become separated from your beloved wife! Only great suffering is deservedly yours! Oh lowborn fool, leave this place immediately and betake yourself to the lower planets to suffer!’

“And so Hemamali fell at once from grace in Alakapuri and became ill with the terrible affliction of white leprosy. He awoke in a dense and fearful forest, where there was nothing to eat or drink. Thus he passed his days in misery, unable to sleep at night due to pain. He suffered in both winter and summer season, but because he continued to worship lord Shiva himself with faith, his consciousness remained purely fixed and steady. Although implicated by great sin and its attendant reactions, he remembered his past life because of his piety.

“After wandering for some time here and there, over mountains and across plains, Hemamali eventually came upon the vast expanse of the Himalayan mountain ranges. There he had the wonderful good fortune to come in contact with the great saintly soul Markandeya Rishi, the best of ascetics, whose duration of life it is said, extends to seven of the days of Brahma.

“Markandeya Rishi was seated peacefully at his ashrama, looking as effulgent as a second Brahma. Hemamali, feeling very sinful, stood at a distance from the magnificent sage and offered his humble obeisances and choice prayers. Always interested in the welfare of others, Markandeya Rishi saw the leper and called him near, “Oh you, what sort of sinful deeds have you done to earn this dreadful affliction?’

“Hearing this, Hemamali painfully and ashamedly replied, ‘Dear sir, I am a Yaksha servant of lord Kuvera, and my name is Hemamali. It was my daily service to pick the flowers from the Manasarovara lake for my master’s worship of lord Shiva, but one day I was negligent and was late in returning with the offering because I had become overwhelmed with lusty passion for enjoying bodily pleasures with my wife. When my master discovered why I was late, he cursed me in great anger to be as I am before you. Thus, I am now bereft of my home, my wife, and my service. But fortunately, I have come upon you, and now I hope to receive from you an auspicious benediction, for I know that devotees such as you are as merciful as the Supreme Lord (Bhakta Vatsala) and always carry the interest of others uppermost in their hearts. That is their – your nature. Oh best of sages, please help me!’

“Softhearted Markandeya Rishi replied, ‘Because you have told me the truth, I shall tell you about a fast day that will benefit you greatly. If you fast on the Ekadasi that comes during the dark fortnight of the month of Ashadha, you will surely be freed of this terrible curse.’ Hemamali fell to the ground in complete gratitude and offered him his humble obeisances again and again. But Markandeya Rishi stood there and lifted poor Hemamali to his feet, filling him with inexpressible happiness.

“Thus, as the sage had instructed him, Hemamali dutifully observed the Ekadasi fast, and by its influence he again became a handsome Yaksha. Then he returned home, where he lived very happily with his wife.”

Lord Sri Krishna concluded, “So, you can readily see, Oh Yudhishthira, that fasting on Yogini Ekadasi is very powerful and auspicious. Whatever merit one obtains by feeding eighty-eight thousand brahmins is also obtained simply by observing a strict fast on Yogini Ekadasi. For one who fasts on this sacred Ekadasi, she (Ekadasi Devi), destroys heaps of past sinful reactions and makes him most pious. Oh King, thus I have explained to you the purity of Yogini Ekadasi.”

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Ashadha-krishna Ekadasii, or Yogini Ekadasi, from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana.

This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree).

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/