Gaura Vani 3/2014 - Sri Sri Radha Govinda Gaudiya Math

3/2014
Sri Sri R adha Govinda Gaudiya Math
For Sincere Seekers Of The Truth
All Glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāňga!
S
piritual topics may often sound unpleasing, whereas
discussions of sense gratification are always pleasing.
The audience often wants a speaker to speak about
what they like to hear, whereas a transcendentalist will want
to hear impartial truth even if the message sounds bitter.
Materialists busily search out their own happiness, whereas
transcendentalists eagerly seek Kŗşņa’s happiness. Materialists
do not follow Śrī Vyāsadeva, whereas transcendentalists follow
the path traversed by the mahājanas. Transcendentalists want
to follow the path shown by the great personalities; they follow
the descending path of Vedic knowledge, whereas materialists
follow the unauthorized, concocted, ascending path.
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
Editorial
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
Those who eternally serve Vişņu are called
Vaişņavas and those who do not, although
they are supposed to, are called non-Vaişņavas.
Non-Vaişņavas hear topics unrelated to Vişņu,
contemplate subject matters unrelated to Vişņu,
and consider eating, sleeping, mating, and defending as
religious principles.
It is our eternal function to hear and speak kŗşņa-kathā
and to follow in the footsteps of saintly persons. Remnants of
Lord Vişņu’s foodstuffs should form our regular meal. If we are
bereft of these services, we are non-Vaişņavas. As nondevotees,
we will suffer from various forms of distress, but the cause of all
our distress will be our aversion to serving the Lord. We suffer
because we do everything but serve the Lord. Controlled by
our own independence we have abandoned the Lord’s service
and instead have tried to get others to serve us. With such
a mentality, we pose as the doer. Because we forget that we are
meant to serve the Lord, misconceptions such as, “I am the
enjoyer,” “I am the proprietor,” “I am the director,” and, “I am
the seer” swallow us. Only when we approach a saintly person
can we know that we are not enjoyers or proprietors but simply
servants of the Lord. Serving Him is our ultimate duty.
A fruitive worker traverses the path of karma. Often,
•1•
“Only when we approach a saintly person
can we know that we are not enjoyers or proprietors
but simply servants of the Lord.”
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
•2•
such persons want to become famous by performing welfare
activities. They want to attract the attention and sympathy of
their relatives by serving them. However, karmic activities will
give us neither benefit nor freedom from material existence.
Therefore the devotees inform us that service to the Lord is our
prime duty—and not only our duty as human beings, but the
duty of the demigods, animals, and birds. Rather than heeding
the devotees’ words, people think that they have many duties
to perform and many responsibilities to carry out. They think
they have to be educated, civilized, to perform and rebuild
society, and they hope to enjoy family life, mastership, ride in
cars, and get their children married. These are all non-Vaişņava,
aversion to the Lord’s service.
Śaraņāgati – Surrender
Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ţhākur
Ātma-nivedana – Self Surrender
(Fourth Prayer)
with
Śrī Laghu-candrika-bhāsya
Gentle Moonlight Commentary
Śrīla Bhakti Raksak Śrīdhar Dev-Gosvāmī Mahārāj
nā karalu karama, geyāna nāhi bhela,
nā sevilu caraņa tohāra
•3•
jaďa-sukhe mātiyā, āpanaku vañca-i
pekhahu caudiśa āndhiyāra [1]
I have never performed any good works. I have never
acquired any knowledge. I have never served Your feet.
Maddened by mundane pleasures, cheating my own self, I see
darkness in all directions.
tuhu nātha! karuņā-nidāna
tuyā pada-paňkaje, ātma-samarpilu
more kŗpā karabi vidhāna [2]
O Lord! You are the source of all mercy. I have fully
surrendered myself at Your lotus feet; please make arrangements
to bestow Your mercy upon me.
pratijñā tohāra ai yohi śaraņāgata
nāhi so jānaba paramāda
so hāma duşkŗti, gati nā hera-i āna,
āb mago tuyā parasāda [3]
Your promise is that one who is surrendered will never
know illusion. I am most sinful and see no other shelter but
You; I now pray for Your mercy.
āna manoratha, niģśeşa choďata,
kab hām ha-ubhu tohārā
nitya-sevya tuhu nitya-sevaka muñi
bhakati-vinoda bhāva sārā [4]
When will I completely abandon all other desires and
become Yours? You are my eternal Lord, and I am Your eternal
servant. This is the essence of Bhaktivinod’s heart.
•4•
Commentary by Śrīla BR Śrīdhar Mahārāj
(3) pratijñā tohāra: “Your promise.” As Rāmacandra
proclaims:
sakŗd eva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate
abhayam sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vratań mama
(Rāmāyaņa: Yuddha-kāņďa, 18.33)
“Anyone who even once sincerely surrenders unto Me,
declaring, ‘I am Yours’, and prays for fearlessness—it is My vow
that I will always grant that to them.”
gati nā hera-i: “I see no other shelter.” This sentiment has been
expressed by Śrī Yāmunācārya in his Śrī Stotra-ratna (22):
na dharma-nişţho’smi na cātma-vedī
na bhaktimāńs tvac-caraņaravinde
akiñcano’nanya-gatiģ śaraņya
tvat-pāda-mūlań śaraņam prapadye
“O Supreme Refuge, I am not religious, I do not know the
nature of the soul, and I do not have any devotion to Your
lotus feet. I am bereft and have no other shelter. Such as I am,
I surrender unto the soles of Your feet.”
•5•
Amŗta Vānī
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
Some people say that everyone is equal.
Are they correct?
H
ow can the honest and dishonest, devotee and
nondevotee, pious and impious, literate and illiterate,
demigod and Supreme Lord, chaste and unchaste,
religious and irreligious, light and dark, constitutional and
conditional, as well as devotional service and nondevotional
service be equal?
Everything seems easy to those who are unaware of internal
objects or who cannot enter more subtle understandings
of them. A foolish boy may claim that his illegible writing
has meaning because the writing of an intelligent person
has meaning. If illegible writing and meaningful writing are
considered equal, foolish people will think that anyone trying
to make a distinction between them is guilty of sectarianism or
partiality. If we appeal to those who have no understanding of
the Supreme Lord Hari to discuss topics about Hari and their
conclusion, they will say that to reveal the conclusion would
be sectarian. Then they would say that refuting an improper
conclusion amounts to blasphemy. They think that because
we don’t know everything, better to balance the account by
calling everything equal. In this way, everyone will be pleased
and we will have created no enmity. But truth and falsehood,
•6•
devotional and non-devotion, are never one.
For those devoid of devotional sentiment, who feel no
necessity to serve the Supreme Lord, who do not want actual
benefit, and whose life’s goal is material enjoyment and fame,
devotional service and pseudo devotional service appear as
one.
“Everything seems easy to those who are unaware
of internal objects or who cannot enter more subtle
understandings of them.”
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
•7•
With Sincerity to Safety
Śrīla Bhakti Rakşak Śrīdhar Dev-Gosvāmī Mahārāj
adhişţhānań tathā kartā
karaņań ca pŗthag-vidham
vividhāś ca pŗthak ceşţā
daivań caivātra pañcamam
(Bhagavad-gītā 18.14)
Any event is a combination of many things. But those that
are sincere, that are eager to help their own self really, they
cannot be misguided for long. That should be our solace, our
consolation. “If I do not like to be a party to deceive myself,
then none can deceive me in this world.” That fairness of mind
one should have, because the vigilant eye of the Absolute is
always there. We must have such confidence and such faith
that the vigilant eye of the Supreme is everywhere. I may not
see that, but He is my best friend and only I want to come
to Him and He knows it. So, to Whom I am going, He is
looking at everything although I may not. The Absolute is the
absolute possibility. The finite is to go to meet the Infinite! It
is the most audacious, the most impossible thing, and we are
going to make it possible by our inner urge. Our inner urge,
that is everything.
Question: So the calculating mentality may not be our best
friend?
Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: It may not be of great help. Of course
•8•
we cannot avoid calculation when we are in a certain stage. But
still we should know that the calculative mentality may not be
of much help ultimately. Prayer is more powerful to seek the
help of the highest to whom I am trying to go. If I seek His
help, then He will send some agent to me. If I should get such
an agent on my side along the way, then I will be more secure
in my progress. Prayer, prayer and śaraņāgati. Prayer reaches to
Him only when we surrender.
But calculation may be of the nature of self-analysis: “Here
I have nothing, I have no power, so how can I be lifted? My
knowledge and my judgment are futile and have got no power.
My free will, my judgment, my everything is so meager. So
how can it come in contact and make some progress regarding
the infinite? This is impossible!” In this way self-analysis will
take us to surrender.
Surrender and prayer will be of primary importance to any
spiritual student. Śaraņāgati means surrender. As much as we
make surrender towards Him our prayer will be genuine. When
I shall see myself as clearly helpless then only will my prayer be
substantial and then the help will come accordingly.
On the whole there is only one most important factor sādhu-sanga. So many things are all interdependent but first
importance is to be given to sādhu-saňga. But sādhu-saňga is
also affected by the results of so many previous events. So many
things are all interdependent but still some points have been
given more stress. More importance has been given to firstly
sādhu-saňga, then śāstra, then śaraņāgati, then prayer. Though
•9•
“Prayer reaches to Him only when we surrender.”
Śrīla Bhakti Rakşak Śrīdhar Dev-Gosvāmī Mahārāj
• 10 •
many things are there, a complex and interdependent interhelp,
but still if we are to select some principle thing for our help
the first thing will be sādhu-saňga, association with those more
advanced than myself, and next importance will be given to the
śāstra, the advices of the great sādhus. With these two we shall
take practical steps in śaraņāgati. Śaraņāgati is real when it is
sincere. And sincerity means, “I am helpless. By self-analysis
I am helpless.” As much as I consider myself to be helpless my
prayer to the Lord will be accordingly intense, and the help
from that side will come to that degree. Saňga means serving
attitude, not physical contact but serving. Higher things can be
contacted only through the relationship of serving tendency,
not otherwise.
Question: Therefore is prayer a more benedicting activity?
Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Prayer also should be pure. “O Lord
give me my bread,” is also a prayer. And another type of prayer
is: “Please save me, I do not know what is my real interest.
Please enlighten me.” There are so many different types of
prayer and how we pray is determined by our association and
our spiritual advice.
Question: Is praying for the revelation of the Absolute more
important than glorification of the Absolute?
Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Yes. “Please You reveal within me what
truth is, who am I, where am I, what is my goal of life and how
to reach there. Why am I suffering? I do not know how to get
out of this miserable life, so please help me. I do not know, but
only I can guess that You are goodness, ecstasy and happiness.
• 11 •
I want You. I am very tired of my present situation, I cannot
tolerate it any longer. Please take me up.”
Question: Should that type of prayer be given more importance
and stressed more than the glorification of the Absolute?
Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: The prayer to the highest degree that we
find is: “I want Your connection. You may utilize me. You may
think me to be Yours and keeping me in Your connection utilize
me according to Your sweet will. I have no particular claim nor
aspiration that I must attain this or that, but only I want to be
“Higher things can be contacted only through the
relationship of serving tendency, not otherwise.”
Śrīla Bhakti Rakşak Śrīdhar Dev-Gosvāmī Mahārāj
• 12 •
Your faithful servant and so You please utilize me in any way
You like. Only that inseparable connection with You I want.
I am Your slave: I want to be Your slave. Your connection I want:
Your sincere connection, and You know best what connection
that is. I do not know what is what, but You know what is best.
Only consider me as Your own and utilize me.” That should be
the nature of our prayer.
Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata
Ādi-khaņďa, 2nd Chapter (80-105)
by Vyāsa Avatār Śrīla Vŗndāvan Dās Ţhākur
Śrī Advaita Ācārya explained all the scriptures that are found
in the three worlds, and concluded that devotional service to
the lotus feet of Kŗşņa is the essence of all teachings.
Commentary by Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī:
In the Mahābhārata-tātparya (1.53) it is stated:
paramo vişņur evaikas taj jñānań mukti-sādhana
śāstrāņāń nirņayas tv eşa tad anyan mohanāya hi
“Vişņu is the one Supreme Lord. Knowledge of Him is the
means of liberation. He alone is the object of the scriptures.
To conclude anything else is a cause of delusion.”
Śrī Advaita Ācārya always preached that one should
eternally take shelter of the service of Kŗşņa’s lotus feet, as
this is the essence and goal of all scriptures within the three
• 13 •
worlds. Śrī Advaita Prabhu preached that devotional service
to Kŗşņa is the essence of all scriptures and the only objective
of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which is Śrī Vyāsadeva’s natural
commentary on the Brahma-sūtra, the fountainhead of all
scriptures. By preaching Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, He checked all
kinds of false speculation and conclusions that are opposed
to pure devotional service. He thus endeavored to establish
the attitude of service to the Supreme Lord in the hearts of
His audience.
Śrī Advaita Ācārya would enthusiastically worship Kŗşņa
with tulasī-mañjarīs and Ganges water. He loudly called for
Kŗşņa in great spiritual ecstasy. That sound vibration pierced
the covering of the universe and was heard in the Vaikuņţha
planets. On hearing Advaita Prabhu’s cries of love, Lord
Kŗşņa personally appeared, for He is controlled by the love
of His devotees.Therefore Śrī Advaita Ācārya is the best of all
Vaişņavas. There is no comparison to His devotional service
in the entire universe. In this way Advaita Ācārya resided
in Nadia in great distress due to people’s lack of devotion.
Everyone in the entire world was engaged in materialistic
activities; no one was engaged in worshiping or serving
Kŗşņa.
Some people worshiped Vāśulī (Caņďi or Durgā) with
various ingredients, and some people worshiped the Yakşas
with meat and wine. People would constantly dance, sing, and
play musical instruments in a great commotion, but they never
• 14 •
heard the supremely auspicious Names of Kŗşņa.
Commentary by Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī:
Dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments are forms of
intoxication technically called tauryatrika. Persons who aspire
for auspiciousness should never come under the influence of
such activities. Such activities induce one to forget Kŗşņa. But
dancing, singing, and playing instruments for the service of
Kŗşņa are forms of cultivating Kŗşņa consciousness. By such
processes, the living entity is supremely benefited. Those
who give up the intention of serving Kŗşņa while engaging in
dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments out of greed
for their own material sense enjoyment are unable to chant
Kŗşņa’s Names, which bestow supreme benefit. Material sound
vibrations never allow one to cultivate Kŗşņa consciousness,
rather they attract one to remain busy in sense gratification
and thus spoil everything.
The devotees headed by Advaita Ācārya were distressed
on seeing the people engaged in so-called auspicious activities
that were not related to Kŗşņa. By nature, the heart of Advaita
Ācārya was full of compassion, so He mercifully contemplated
how to deliver the living entities. “If My Lord descends, then
all these fallen souls would be delivered. My name, ‘Advaita
Sińha,’ will be justified when I cause the descent of the beloved
Lord of Vaikuņţha. I will make the Lord of Vaikuņţha appear
in this world, and we will dance, chant, and thus deliver the
fallen living entities.” With this determination, Advaita Ācārya
• 15 •
constantly served the lotus feet of Śrī Kŗşņacandra with fixed
mind. Lord Caitanya repeatedly confirmed that He incarnated
due to the desire of Śrī Advaita Prabhu.
Śrīvās Paņďit resided in Navadvīp. Lord Caitanya enjoyed
many pastimes in his house. Śrīvas Paņďit and his three brothers
continually chanted the Names of Kŗşņa. They would take
three baths daily in the Gangā and then worship Lord Kŗşņa.
Many other devotees lived incognito in Nadia. By the will of
the Lord, Śrī Candraśekhar, Jagadīś, Gopīnāth, Śrīman Paņďit,
Murāri Gupta, Śrī Garuďa Paņďit, and Gangādās all took birth
before the Lord. If I listed the names of all the devotees this
book would increase in size, so I will mention those names
that I know at the appropriate time. All these devotees were
engaged in their prescribed duties, they were all magnanimous,
and they knew nothing other than the devotional service of
Lord Kŗşņa. They all had friendly relationships with each other,
although they were unaware of each other’s identity. The hearts
of these devotees burned on seeing the people of the world
devoid of devotion to Lord Vişņu. Because they could not find
anyone interested in hearing topics of Lord Kŗşņa, they would
engage in kīrtan by themselves. They would remain together
for a couple hours in the house of Advaita Prabhu and mitigate
their distress with topics of Kŗşņa.
• 16 •
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
Sārārtha-Darśini-tikā
Commentary by
Śrīla Viśvanāth Cakravartī Ţhākur
Śrīmad Bhagavatam 11.14.15
na tathā me priyatama
ātma-yonir na śaňkaraģ
na ca saňkarşaņo na śrīr
naivātmā ca yathā bhavān
Neither Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saňkarşaņa, the
goddess of fortune nor even my own self are as dear to me
as you are.
Śrīla Viśvanāth Cakravartī Ţhākur: “How much is the
devotee dear to you?” Śrīla Śrīdhar Svāmī says “Even Brahmā,
my own son, Śiva, arising from my svarūpa, Saňkarşaņa, my
brother, Lakşmī, my wife, and my own form, are not as dear
to me as the devotee. However, out of great joy, he praises
Uddhava specifically.” Though Brahmā and others are also
devotees, their identity as son, ańśa, brother or wife is more
prominent than their devotee portion. According to the rule
that things are designated by predominant qualities, they
should be designated as son, ańśa, brother and wife rather than
as devotees. In persons like Nanda and Yaśodā, their bhakta
• 17 •
portion is much greater than their identity as parents, because
of the greatness of their prema. Thus they are called devotees
rather than parents. They are dearest to Kŗşņa. Darśayańs
tad-vidāń loka ātmano bhŗtya-vaśyatām, the Lord displays the
attribute of coming under the control of his devotees. (SB
10.11.9) Thus they are called devotees, and they bring Kŗşņa
under their control. The excellence of Yaśodā is praised:
nemań viriñco na bhavo
na śrīr apy aňga-sańśrayā
prasādań lebhire gopī
yat tat prāpa vimuktidāt
“Neither Lord Brahmā, nor Lord Śiva, nor even the goddess
of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord,
can obtain from the Supreme Lord, the deliverer from this
material world, such mercy as received by mother Yaśodā.”
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.9.20)
Another meaning is, “Among all these devotees, you are the
dearest. Hear this from my mouth.” Among all the devotees
Uddhava is the best. The gopīs however are the best of all,
since Uddhava prayed for the dust from their feet. This is the
conclusion of the Vaişņavas.
• 18 •
Śrīmad Bhagavatam 11.14.16
nirapekşań muniń śāntań
nirvairań sama-darśanam
anuvrajāmy ahań nityań
pūyeyety aňghri-reņubhiģ
I always follow the footsteps of my pure devotees, who
are free from all personal desire, are rapt in thought of my
pastimes, are fixed in me, without any feelings of enmity,
and are equal to all conditions of the world. Let me be
purified by the dust from their feet!
Śrīla Viśvanāth Cakravartī Ţhākur: Moreover, just as the
devotee follows me, I, being invisible to the devotee, follow
the devotee. Śukadev Gosvāmī has described me as bhagavān
bhakta-bhaktimān: the Lord who is devoted to his devotee.
(SB 10.86.59) The devotee contemplates my form, qualities,
pastimes and associates (muniń). Śrīla Śrīdhar Svāmī explains
the word pūyeya as follows. The Lord thinks “Let me purify
the universe which exists within me.” Jīva Gosvāmī says pūyeya
means, “Let me become purified of the fault of not being able
to repay the devotion of my followers.” Actually bhakti cannot
exist without taking the dust from the feet of the devotees,
and without bhakti, one cannot experience the sweetness of
my rasa. I have established this rule. Therefore, I also should
become absorbed in the full sweetness of my rasa like a devotee
by bhakti.
• 19 •
Śrīmad Bhagavatam 11.14.17
nişkiñcanā mayy anurakta-cetasaģ
śāntā mahānto 'khila-jīva-vatsalāģ
kāmair anālabdha-dhiyo juşanti te
yan nairapekşyań na viduģ sukhań mama
Those who are without any desire for personal
gratification, whose minds are always attached to me,
whose intelligence is fixed in me, who are great in the
estimation of the public because of affection for all
beings, and whose consciousness is never affected by
opportunities for sense gratification—such persons enjoy
in me a happiness available only for those without desire
for liberation or material happiness. Others cannot know
this happiness.
Śrīla Viśvanāth Cakravartī Ţhākur: Since the happiness of
experiencing my form and qualities can be attained only by
bhakti, no other process is recommended. The devotees are
without material possessions. “But even jñānīs are like that.”
Their minds are attached to me. They are affectionate to all
jīvas because they want to give them bhakti-rāsa. They are
then considered great by the population (mahāntau). Their
intelligence is cut off from enjoyment, even if it comes. The
happiness that they relish in me they alone know, and not
others. Why? This happiness arises only in those who have no
expectation of liberation or material enjoyment.
• 20 •
Process of Surrender
Śrīla Bhakti Sādhak Muni Mahārāj
(Quotations taken from Divine Aspiration by
Śrīla Bhakti Raksak Śrīdhar Mahārāj.)
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj reads from Divine Aspiration:“So it
is not by the form but by the spirit, the real position, that things
should be judged. Whatever we think we are achieving or
understanding by our local or provincial experience, if we are
accepting that local interest as our standard, it has no value.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: It is very important
that we understand this. The local or
provincial consciousness, the level where
most of us are moving, means “personal
interest”. In this way I am serving Kŗşņa
for my own interest, for my bliss, for my
name, fame, profit...for so many reasons.
Many people on the level of local interest
are just on the border to the next step, which is madness.
Through this local interest level of understanding they want to
know the universal interest. We have to be careful about this.
“If we are accepting that local interest as our standard, it has
no value.”
If we want to understand the teachings from pure devotees,
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and the bhakti-śāstra (devotional
• 21 •
scriptures) by our local interest, how much can we realize? We
have not the capacity to understand. With this approach, our
commentary on the śāstra is very limited. Therefore it is said
that these things have to be accepted first, then realized. We
don’t understand many things from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, or
from Bhagavad-gītā, but still we accept. According to BhaktiRasāmŗta-Sindhu, “śraddhā” means to have faith in the śāstra.
Having faith that perfection is found in what is given to us
in the śāstra, and also in the teachings of saints in the bona-fide
succession, is the beginning of spiritual life. Otherwise, if we
make local interest our standard with which to judge the śāstra,
then our efforts will have no value and we will not get any
benefit. We will think that the aim of life is to follow the four
regulative principles.
Divine Aspiration: “That is to say, it has value, but only temporary
value, because it is partial. Its locality is partial. It is a part of
space, and also part of time, and that is all of limited value. That
kind of local standard is to be applied to ordinary persons, but not
to the nirguna servitors.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: This local consciousness, personal
interest, can be applied in this mundane world – to the world
of the gunas (rajas, tamas, sattva) where there is madness. But
you cannot apply it to the universal interest, nirguna – it is
a plane free from the influence of the material gunas.
• 22 •
Divine Aspiration: “The activities of such nirguna servitors
may appear to be similar, doing seemingly undesirable
things such as stealing, lying and fighting, but because their
motivation is from the nirguna plane, they are not bad.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Materialists can never understand
these things. They always judge from the level of their local,
or material, vision. Their judgment is based only on external
details. They are not able to understand.
Divine Aspiration: “…because their motivation is from the
nirguna plane, they are not bad.“
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: It is just like Arjuna. He did not want to
fight in the battle of Kurukśetra, because he was thinking, “My
grandfather, my Guru, so many relatives are there – I cannot
fight.” He put down his bow saying, “I will go to the forest.”
But Kŗşņa is not speaking from this level to him. He is
speaking from the nirguna level. He speaks Bhagavad-gītā and
says, “You cannot kill anyone, because we are all eternal souls.”
dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumārań yauvanań jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati
(Bhagavad-gītā 2.13)
He explains, “You are soul, just the body changes all the
time and dies and comes again.” So you cannot kill the soul.
“By My order you should do this.” He is describing all the
• 23 •
processes until He comes to,
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekań śaraņań vraja
ahań tvāń sarva-pāpebhyo mokşayişyāmi mā śucaģ
(Bhagavad-gītā 18.66)
“Give up all these dharmas, all these religions, all these
activities on lower levels, and just surrender to Me. I will
protect you. Don’t be afraid.” This is the basis of spiritual life.
At the end Arjuna says, “Yes, my Lord, I surrender to You.
Tell me what to do and I will do as You tell me.”
Devotee: Arjuna already says this in the beginning:
kārpaņya-doşopahata-svabhāvaģ
pŗcchāmi tvāń dharma-sammūďha-cetāģ
yac chreyaģ syān niścitań brūhi tan me
śişyas te 'hań śādhi māń tvāń prapannam
(Bhagavad-gītā 2.7)
“My nature has been overcome by weakness. My mind is
bewildered about dharma (my function). I ask You what is best.
Please tell me with certainty. I am Your student. Please instruct
me, who have surrendered to You.”
Without Arjuna's surrender Bhagavad-gītā would never
appear.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Yes, this is mentioned again and again. It
is the teaching made by Kŗşņa’s will. Actually, Arjuna was also
• 24 •
an expansion of Kŗşņa. It is just for our understanding that they
speak Bhagavad-gītā, not because Arjuna did not understand.
So, lying, stealing and killing, all these things, if coming from
the proper motivation, the nirguna platform, they are not bad.
Their nature is of a different order.
Divine Aspiration: “It is said, ‘meghacchanam na durdinam,
tadinam durdinam manye.’ A good day or a bad day is not to
“We have to purify our heart by chanting the Name
and by giving up the desire to enjoy this world.”
Śrīla Bhakti Sādhak Muni Mahārāj
• 25 •
be judged by the weather, but the day we do not talk about, or
cultivate understanding of the Supreme Being, our Lord, is hopeless
and non-productive. It is a wasted day if there is no consultation
about Him, if we forget our own Lord. He is the be-all and end-all
for us, the all-in-all in our life. He is our Lord of lords.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Sometimes we can check ourselves when
there is rain, snow, or it’s cold outside, and we think that day
will be heavy. No, the day will be heavy if we do not speak
hari-kathā, if we do not speak about Kŗşņa. The weather has
no value for us. We should not be influenced by the weather
situation. This is mundane consciousness.
Divine Aspiration: “There is a verse in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
(12.12.55),
avismŗtiģ kŗşņa-padāravindayoģ
kşiņoty abhadrāņi ca śań tanoti
sattvasya śuddhiń paramātma-bhaktiń
jñānań ca vijñāna-virāga-yuktam
Here it is said, ‘avismŗtiģ kŗşņa-padāravindayoģ.’ Do not
forget the divine lotus feet of Kŗşņa. Because by the continuous
remembrance of Kŗşņa, all the undesirable things, the dirty things
within you, will have to leave (kşiņoty abhadrāņi).”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: What I want to add to this is, that we
have to come to this level.
• 26 •
Divine Aspiration: “By the continuous remembrance of Kŗşņa,
all the undesirable things, the dirty things within you, will have
to leave.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: We have to see that our problems
do not come from outside, our problems come from us.
Whatever problems we face, it is not the environment that
makes us suffer, it is ourselves, it is our karma. We can see
a knife as a weapon for killing, or we can see it as a means for
saving a life, making an operation, cutting bread, or whatever.
It is our vision that determines how we see these things.
Divine Aspiration: “Without Kŗşņa consciousness, without
consciousness of Divinity, all mundane things are like dirt. That
dirt should be removed. It should be destroyed by the continuance
of Kŗşņa consciousness. That remembrance cleans out all the dirt,
and it extends to our real welfare. ‘Ca śań tanoti’, it produces
from within real goodness. ‘Sattvasya śuddhiń’, when the alloy is
eliminated from your ego, from your present self-conception, then
your whole existence is purified. Your self-conception is false ego – it
is full of alloy, and that will be destroyed by your continued Godconsciousness. As your existence is purified, gradually you will find
the Lord, Paramātma, within yourself (paramātma-bhaktiń).
You will be able to understand who you are, jivātma, and who is
supporting you from above, Paramātma.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: That’s a wonderful level to see things
• 27 •
– when we can see Kŗşņa everywhere, and know that Kŗşņa
arranges everything that happens. As soon as we think that our
environment is going against us, that we have been attacked
and have to fight back, immediately we are in troubles,
immediately māyā has caught us.
Divine Aspiration: Then ‘jñānań ca vijñāna’, you will find the
special type of God conception, that will show to you the Lord
and His potency – the different potencies and the owner of those
potencies. You will feel the effect of these two-fold – both the nonattraction to the mundane world, and properly adjusted attraction
towards the truth. You will feel such development within you.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: We should understand how
the advancement in the spiritual life goes on. Just
by understanding this point – just by always remembering
Kŗşņa, that everything what comes as a test from His side is
necessary. Happiness also comes from Him.
mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoşņa-sukha-duģkha-dāģ
āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāńs titikşasva bhārata
(Bhagavad-gītā 2.14)
Negative and positive things come like summer and winter,
day and night. They will come, and these things should not
disturb us. As long as we are in a material world, there will always
be problems. We cannot avoid them; we just have to tolerate
it. If we think we can escape from this, we just get more and
• 28 •
more into troubles. So we have to learn to tolerate difficulties
as Kŗşņa’s arrangement. We should see Kŗşņa behind all things.
“Be dhīra, sober, don't worry, learn to tolerate without being
disturbed, O son of Bhārata.” This is the advice that Kŗşņa gives
in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā.
That same thing is spoken in every śloka. In every line and
word we will find the same expression that He wants to tell
us, that everything depends on how you look at it. If we see
that everything is His arrangement, then we understand, and
realization will come automatically. We will conclude, “Oh,
it is working like this, it is perfect.” If we can tolerate His
arrangements, then we will see how mystically Kŗşņa helps His
devotee. This is the art of becoming Kŗşņa conscious.
Devotee: To tolerate is one thing, but to welcome it is even
better. Is it not?
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: First we have to learn to tolerate, then
we can come to the level of Kuntī Devī and other such
devotees. Our problem is that we cannot tolerate troubles. We
cannot tolerate some situations because we cannot see Kŗşņa
in it. We think it is coming from someone else. If we cannot
accept the trial, Kŗşņa will again push us into the same
situation. He will push us all the time until we give up and say,
“Ok, if you want to kill me, I am ready.” If we surrender in this
way, that’s the only thing that Kŗşņa wants from us. After that
we will suddenly realize, “Oh, actually, what was the problem?
• 29 •
This is what makes a devotee –
a devotee never gives up devotional practices.
Śrīla Bhakti Sādhak Muni Mahārāj
• 30 •
There was no problem, the problem was only me.” But we are
unable to accept these things when we are in trouble. It is very
hard, and we cannot take it.
Devotee: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Prabhupād says that “religion”
means proper adjustment.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Proper adjustment means that whatever
will come, we adjust to it. Prabhupād is speaking from the
nirguna level, he never speaks from the mundane level.
Whatever happens, we have to develop faith in the śāstra,
that is necessary. Kŗşņa says, “I will protect you, I will give
whatever you need and maintain whatever you have.” If the
Supreme Lord Himself speaks like this, why should I worry?
Why should I fight for something? He will maintain me.
Devotee: But we are not really surrendered to Him. That is our
problem. Therefore we fear that help from His side might not
come.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: But why do we not trust Kŗşņa? Why do
we have no faith in Him? First, we are not surrendered, and
second, we still have so much attachment. We know that we
have many impure desires, that we are rascals, so we are afraid
and not sure that He will protect us.
Devotee: I think that’s why the sarva dharman parityajya is in the
• 31 •
18th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. In the first seventeen chapters
He gives instructions about removing these attachments, then
at the end He says, “Now you are ready.”
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Yes, it is perfect – as it is. We should
understand it in the line of bona fide ācāryas, then we will get
benefit. So what do we have to do?
Devotee: We should risk something. We should try.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: This is the problem that we have, that
we don’t dare to risk. We are not sure that he will care for us
because we are rascals.
Devotee: Is surrender just an act or is it a process?
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Prabhupād says that surrender is a stepby-step process. We cannot immediately surrender to Kŗşņa.
We can speak like this, but only on the level of cheating. But
in this process there is no place for cheating. Kŗşņa is arranging
everything, and whatever He arranges – whatever problems we
face – comes because He wants us to surrender, He wants us to
develop faith in Him. And how do we get faith? By purifying
our heart. We have to purify our heart by chanting the Name,
by giving up the desire to enjoy this world. This is the process
given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all our ācāryas.
• 32 •
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
(CC Ādi 17.21)
There is no other way, no other way, no other way. We
should not change this philosophy. Nowadays many change it.
There are so many philosophies, so many strange things.
But everybody is on the way – Christians, Muslims, Jehovah’s
Witnesses – they all have their level of belief, faith and trust
in God. There are different levels, but everything is OK. It is
arranged like this by Kŗşņa, so we cannot speak badly about
anything. Not everybody can understand or follow Śrīmad
Bhāgavatam. For those who are not ready now, or do not even
have a desire to understand that there is something beyond this
mundane world, for them there must also be some process.
The Vedas are written for various classes of people. For
instance, there it can be found that if you want to eat meat,
you offer it to Kali. These things are going on here also – even
today the Christian’s have St. Hubertus and the hunters ask
for his blessing. We cannot do anything with such things. We
cannot agree, but there is a class of men who are on this level.
Some say, “I am a vegetarian, I only eat sausages, no meat.”
There are such kinds of people. But for them there also have to
be some regulations. Their understanding is in accordance to
the level where they are. The more you advance, the more you
can understand that they have the right to practice where they
are. They have to pay the bill for these things. They have to go
through the whole process; they have to suffer for it. If we, as
• 33 •
devotees, would act like this, we would be terribly punished.
However if they do it, they will not be punished, because their
level of consciousness is just a little above the animals. They are
not conscious of what this life is about; they do not understand
that there is a soul in every living being.
When we get the chance to develop an understanding of
the Supreme Lord as given in the Vedas, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam,
Bhagavad-gītā or Caitanya-Caritamrita, and we miss this
chance, that is a very sad situation.
We do not know where our desires will bring us in the next
life. One wrong desire will make us go through many lifetimes
in the material world, until we will get the chance again. It
is natural and logical. If we have the desire to enjoy ladies,
then we have to enter that level of enjoyment. Then we forget
everything about Kŗşņa, or at least Kŗşņa goes far away. And
in the next life this enjoyment continues, and maybe Kŗşņa is
forgotten for hundreds of lifetimes. Then one day we will be
beaten properly and again start praying, “Please, save me!”
Devotee: But how can we give up our desires?
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: Desires are there. It is our desire to enjoy
that we have to work on. Desire will always be part of the
material world. Wherever we look we will see the same thing –
dogs running after dogs. It is just whether I have any taste for
this or not? If we get a higher taste then just like Yāmunācārya
we will spit on these things. Such kind of pleasure is not real
• 34 •
pleasure; it is a very low class pleasure. But this does not go away
from one day to another. We cultivated this desire and this low
class enjoyment for thousands and millions of lifetimes, and
because of this we are here. In a few months we want to give it
up. The process has started, but don't expect that just from one
day to another day we will be free from this bondage.
Devotee: But it doesn’t mean never.
Śrīla Muni Mahārāj: This is what makes a devotee – a devotee
never gives up devotional practices. Even if we think, “There is
no hope for me, but what else can I do? I have to go on. I am
a hopeless case. What should I do? I broke all connections in
this world. What to do? I became an instrument of the Lord
and He will arrange things properly for me.” If He wants, then
these desires and troubles will not touch us anymore. But He
has to see our sincerity. We cannot go to the Lord, “Now
I want to give up these things because they are torturing me, so
please, take it away.” But then we turn around, see a lady, and
say: “Oh...!” Such business we cannot do with Him.
• 35 •
Māyā means “that which is not.”
That which is not
the Supreme Lord.
The Lord is the positive
and māyā is the negative idea
devoid of God.
Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ţhākur
• 36 •
Permanent Temple Program
Sunday Festival
17.00 Bhajan • 18.00 Lecture • 19.00 Sandhya Ārati
•19.15 Tulasī Parikramā • 19.30 Prasādam
• 20.25 Śāyan Ārati
Morning Program (daily)
4.30 Mangala Ārati • 4.45 Tulasī Parikramā
• 5.00 Bhajan follows Japa • 7.45 Śrīňgara Ārati, follows
Bhajan • 8.25 Bhagavad-gītā-paţha, follows lecture from Śrī
Caitanya Caritāmŗta • 9.15 Guru-Pūja, follows Bhoga Ārati
• 9.30 Prasādam
Evening Program (daily except Sunday)
19.00 Sandhya Ārati • 19.15 Tulasī Parikramā, follows Bhajan
• 19.55 Lecture • 20.30 Śāyan Ārati, follows Prasādam
Bhajan – spiritual songs • Ārati – temple ceremony
• Prasādam – spiritual vegetarian food
Hare Kŗşņa Hare Kŗşņa Kŗşņa Kŗşņa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Ācārya Nitya-līlā-pravişţa Om Vişņupād 108 Śrī Śrīmad
Bhakti Vaibhav Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāj
Sri Sri R adha Govinda Gaudiya Math
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission
Wienerbergstrasse 29A/Top3 • 1120 Vienna
Tel. +43 18 120 574 • www.radha-govinda.org