The eternal connection between guru and disciple • The speciality of the Śrī Rūpānuga Gauḍīyas’ process of bhajana • Our only resort is to pray for mercy • The transcendent nature of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas • The speciality of inner mood and service • The mercy and punishment of Vaiṣṇavas are equally beneficial • The meaning of pāda-sevana
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Śrī Nātha Dāsādhikārī
Shitalkuchi, P.O. – Gosair Hata Bhandar
Mathabhanga (Kochbihar)
4/1/1974
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! Although I promptly received all three of your letters, dated 27/2/73, 11/4/73, and 17/11/73, I am sad that I was unable to give any response by letter all this time. You wrote three letters: one after Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā, one after Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma parikramā, and one after the South India pilgrimage. Timewise, it has not been over a year since you wrote them, but counting by year, we have entered a new year. As it is always the eternal present in the transcendental realm, there is no place for the past or future. There, Śrī Bhagavān is eternal, His servant is eternal, and so too is service to Him eternal. As the connection between guru and disciple is eternal, there is no intervention of material time and space in their exchanges. Therefore, in that domain there is not even a question of a swift, delayed, or immediate response. Anyways, “better late than never”. It is my firm belief you recalled this proverb and maintained your composure, and you will do so in the future too.
“Hari-guru-vaiṣṇava—tinera smaraṇa, tinera smaraṇe haya vighna-vināśana[1] – remembrance of Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas destroys all obstacles.” In Chunchura, a spiritual saṅghārāma (centre for practising and preaching pure devotion) is very close to you [to where you live], and you have gained the opportunity to hear recitations of hari-kathā from the mouths of pure devotees. Know that this itself is Śrī Bhagavān’s special favour upon you. Hearing and reciting the glories of guru and Vaiṣṇavas bears infinite auspiciousness for the conditioned souls. That is why sādhus and śāstra instruct: “vaiṣṇavera guṇa-gāna karile jīvera trāṇa[2] – singing the Vaiṣṇavas’ qualities effects the deliverance of the conditioned soul.”
The speciality of the Śrī Rūpānuga Gauḍīyas’ process of bhajana is that when living in Vraja, they are thinking of Navadvīpa-dhāma at every moment, and when living in the Nava-vana (nine forests) of Gauḍa-bhūmi, they remain immersed in remembering the forest of Vraja. Therefore, Śrīla Narottama Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura have sung verses such as: “śrī gauḍa-maṇḍala bhūmi, jebā jāne cintāmaṇi, tā̃’ra haya vraja-bhūme vāsa[3] – those who know that land of Śrī Gauḍa-maṇḍala to be touchstone attain residence in the land of Vraja,” and “baḓo kṛpā kari’, gauḍa-vana-mājhe, godrume diyācho sthāna, ājñā dilā more ei vraje basi’ harināma karo gāna[4] – having great mercy on me, he has given me a place in Godruma, and ordered me to sit in this Vraja and sing the names of Hari.” Meditation on service is bhajana; and wherever you have the opportunity to do so becomes Śrī Vṛndāvana or Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma. “Je-dina gṛhe bhajana dekhi, gṛhete goloka bhāya[5] – the day that I see bhajana in my home, it becomes Goloka.” …
Besides the sincere yearning to serve śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, there is nothing else we should pray for. It is only by the power of their mercy that all the anarthas and aparādhas in our hearts are eradicated. Our only resort is to beg for the mercy of the devotees and Śrī Bhagavān. Weeping pitifully is the only means to attain causeless mercy. “Karuṇā nā ha’le kā̃diyā kā̃diyā, prāṇa nā rākhibo āra[6] – if you do not have mercy on me, I will not maintain my life anymore.” “O Lord! Whether You punish me or have mercy on me, I have no refuge but You in this material existence. Whether You hurl hundreds of millions of thunderbolts upon me or grant me the purest water, this devotee will wait anxiously and eagerly like a swallow for the water of Your mercy.”[7] This is the mood and language of one who is praying for mercy. Causeless mercy and unconditional surrender are interconnected, like a body and its parts. Spiritual practice and mercy – both are necessary, simultaneously. If one is lacking, it is impossible to attain perfection.
To regard śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas as mortals is the attitude of the offensive and hell-bound. Śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas never reap the results of karma. Souls who are enamored with māyā see that their behaviour resembles that of mortal beings and lose their faith. Scripture therefore utters this cautionary message: “jata dekho vaiṣṇavera vyavahāra-duḥkha, niścaya jāniho seha parānanda-sukha[8] – know that whatever distress you observe in Vaiṣṇavas is surely the most blissful happiness.” They are not overwhelmed by the transience of heat, cold, rain, etc., like those aggravated by the threefold miseries of this realm, and they tolerate it all with a smile on their face. Because they are not absorbed in material objects, they have equal regard for friends and enemies, and consider praise and insult to be equal. However, when the sevaka or sādhaka is serving and worshipping śrī guru and Bhagavān, he draws on his personal bhāva-sevā, or feelings of service. By preparing meals and designing dresses and ornaments suitable for winter or summer, his heart’s natural, simple inclinations manifest. This fosters moods of sneha (tender affection), mamatā (possessive attachment), and vātsalya-bhāva (parental instincts). In the absence of beholding the Lord face-to-face, the bhakta attains eternal vision of Śrī Bhagavān through the transcendental moods of dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, etc. Know that both pratyakṣa- (direct) and parokṣa-darśana (inner vision) are eternal. There is a difference of heaven and hell between the union and separation of this world and the corresponding transcendental phenomena of sambhoga- and vipralambha-bhāva. Vaiṣṇava philosophers have accepted that of the two, the experience of separation is sweeter and superior to that of meeting. Such truths cannot be grasped if there is egotism, lack of faith, and hypocrisy.
Antaryāmī, the indwelling Supersoul, reserves the right to deal mercy or punishment by revealing or concealing Himself. The mercy and punishment of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas are synonymous. That is why the terms sneha-śāsana (loving chastisement) and kṛpā-daṇḍa (merciful punishment) have been used in scripture. Those whose very lives are for the welfare of all souls and whose constant predispositions are that of acute empathy for the suffering of others have the same intent, whether offering discipline or pronouncing a curse. Differences in service and competence dictate the differences in how the truth appears in the hearts of the sādhakas and sādhikās in different ways. This is tattva and siddhānta (a fundamental truth and conclusion). If one accepts one’s adhikāra (individual level of competence), then there is no further reason to fear anything; therefore, there is no question of rousing discontent. Only in the case of souls who have not sought shelter is there a place for fear and offence, because they have not accepted their adhikāra.
You are truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit holy places in the company of sādhus. Many people visit holy places, but the fact that “the fruit of going to a holy place is the company of sādhus – tīrtha-phala sādhu-saṅga[9]” is a matter unknown to many. It is only as a result of saintly company that one becomes acquainted with the differences and specialities between tīrthas, or holy places, and śrī dhāma (the Lord’s own abode). Indulgent and sportive, mankind fancy themselves globetrotters in the greed to satiate their senses, whereas the devotees embrace environments that are favourable to the performance of bhajana and thereby become blessed. “Gaura āmāra, je saba sthāne, karalo bhramaṇa raṅge, se saba sthāna heribo āmi, praṇayi bhakata saṅge[10] – in the company of loving devotees, I will see all the places that my Gaura cheerfully roamed.” This is what constitutes the pāda-sevana limb of bhakti for those keen on performing bhajana. Should they perform parikramā of śrī dhāma, the conditioned souls are released from their bondage of illusion, and transcendental attachment for Śrī Bhagavān is born. “Viṣaye je prīti ebe āchaye āmāra, sei-mata prīti hauk caraṇe tomāra[11] – may I have the kind of love I have for the objects of the senses for Your lotus feet.” This is what the devotees who are circumambulating śrī dhāma pray for.
There is no need for any sort of wisdom or knowledge in writing a letter. The mind’s natural, simple expression manifests through the medium of the letter. Mood and language are the letter’s vehicle. They do not depend on any sort of academic qualification. Moreover, for a father, his child’s half-garbled babbling is most delightful. In that, neither flaw nor quality is taken into account. Therefore, there is no criterion by which to determine qualification or disqualification in this regard.
How do I gain auspiciousness? In order to know and understand this, one seeks guidance or the acceptance of śrī guru. This is what is called submission. If this sort of mood stays in the heart, a person can attain ultimate benefit. Your sincerity and firm conviction in service will fortify you in life. Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 1.21)
[2] Śrīla Prabhupāda-vandanā (18) by Śrī Gopāla-govinda Mahānta
[3] Prārthanā, Gaurāṅgera Du’ṭī Pada (4) by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
[4] Śaraṇāgati, Gurudeva! Baḓo Kṛpā Kari’ (1) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[5] Śaraṇāgati, Śuddha-bhakata (5) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[6] Śaraṇāgati, Gurudeva! Kṛpā-bindu Diyā (4) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[7] Untitled prayer from Stavamālā by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī beginning “viracaya mayi daṇḍaṁ…”
[8] Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.240)
[9] Kalyāṇa-kalpataru, Mana, Tumi Tīrthe Sadā Rata (3) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[10] Śaraṇāgati, Śuddha-bhakata (3) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[11] Gītāvalī, Prabhu Tava Pada-yuge (5) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
Comments