The interconnected mercy of Bhagavān and His devotees • Insights on yukta-vairāgya • The purpose of the maṭha and mandira
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Nīlācala Gauḍīya Maṭha
Gourbatsahi, Swargadwar (Purī)
21/11/1975
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! If you do not have patience, enthusiasm, hope, and eagerness, you will not reap proper results from anything. But the root of everything is to always nurture a special taste in kīrtana of śrī nāma. “Je-rūpe laile nāma prema upajaya[1] – chant in such a way that gives rise to divine love.” We have to adopt that means and move forward, towards the ultimate attainment.
Śrī nāma and nāmī and Bhagavān and His bhaktas are transcendental truths. If śrī nāma is merciful, then nāmī Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion is easily achievable; and if one receives the mercy of the devotees, the capacity develops to attain Śrī Bhagavān’s causeless mercy. The love, compassion, empathy, and mercy of the bhaktas and Bhagavān are truly not of this Earth and are beyond comparison. The attributes and glories of the bhaktas and Bhagavān are also immortal and eternal. With senses composed of matter, it is impossible to describe the glories and pastimes of the bhaktas, who are ananta-mahimā (infinitely glorious), and of Bhagavān, who is ananta-līlā (the performer of infinite pastimes).
At present, I am healthy. The mind, which identifies with the gross body, sometimes conceives of itself as healthy and sometimes as unhealthy. The soul’s health, however, is an eternal fact. As long as the jīva imposes the idea of “I” and “mine” on the gross body, he suffers pain, sorrow, and difficulty. “Dehe ātma-buddhi haya vivartera sthāna[2] – belief that the body is the self is where vivarta (delusion) takes place.” The predominance of the mental functions is observed where vision of the real truth (tattva-darśana) is lacking. “Ei bhālo, ei manda,—ei saba bhrama[3] – this is good, this is bad – all of this is delusion.” Judging what is auspicious or inauspicious or what is good or bad on the material platform is inherently flawed. If the sādhakas and sādhikās gain a respite from that, they have a chance at well-being. “Yathāyogya bhoga, nāhi tathā roga[4] – appropriate subsistence does not yield disease.” If I idealize this view and in the name of taking care of my body end up becoming a dehā-gehārāmī (someone who indulges in the pleasures of body and home), then where is the path of bhajana-sādhana or of real auspiciousness? Many strike up a chorus of “śarīram-ādyaṁ khalu dharma-sādhanam – the successful performance of dharma starts with the body” and end up imitating or following the atheist Cārvāka. “Ādhikye nyūnatāyāṁ ca cyavate paramārthataḥ[5] – [the devotee] does not accept too much, nor too little, as neither would serve his ultimate welfare.” This is the measure of yuktāhāra-vihāra (balanced consumption and recreation). Whatever little we need to accept or consume to maintain the health of this body, which is suited to performing bhajana of Bhagavān, is referred to in scripture by the words yathāyogya (suitable) or yukta (appropriate). This usage establishes a proper understanding of attachment and detachment; it also makes the difference between pure bhakti and gross sensualism very clear. …
A paramārthika-saṅghārāma (centre for spirituality) is called a maṭha. It can also be referred to as a hospital dedicated to treating the disease of material existence. It is a place of learning and was founded for spiritual teachers and students of both genders. The ultimate sovereign Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, who is līlā-puruṣottama (the Supreme Person and conductor of divine pastimes), is the supreme object of worship, and bhakti is the only medium to attain Him. The soul is capable of attaining that transcendental object of service by prema or prīti, through the means of sādhana. These are the teachings the śrī maṭha-mandira imparts, as it is a bhakti-pīṭha-sthāna (devotional establishment). Besides the association of bhaktas, there is no other way to attain bhakti. By the mercy of devotees, the seed of the vine of devotion, śraddhā, is attained. In the beginning, middle, and end of sādhana, good association is an absolute imperative, because bhakta, bhakti, and Bhagavān are eternal and synonymous. The bhakta is absorbed in the service of his adored deity, and Bhagavān, satisfied with that service, always resides in his heart. As the bhakta is without lust, Bhagavān never leaves the throne of his heart. Bhakti is such that it makes even Bhagavān subservient to the bhakta. Therefore, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said to Parīkṣit Mahārāja: “bhagavān-bhakta-bhaktimān[6] – the Lord Himself has devotion for His devotees.” If you study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you will be able to realize all of these things. Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 20.20)
[2] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 7.123)
[3] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 4.176)
[4] Duṣṭa Mana, Tumi Kisera Vaiṣṇava? (12) by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
[5] Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.108)
[6] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.86.59)
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