Rest is as necessary as service, but should not detract from it • Śrīpāda Trivikrama Mahārāja • The transcendent love and compassion of the Vaiṣṇavas • Heartfelt endeavour and simplicity vanquish aparādha
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Nīlācala Gauḍīya Maṭha
Gourbatsahi, Swargadwar (Purī)
30/8/1976
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! If one can engage this aged cow of a body in the service of Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas, one can know its purpose to have been fulfilled. If one ends up living for the comforts of home and body, then where is one’s advancement in sādhana-bhajana? Becoming distressed by winters and summers, etc. often hinders one’s resolve to render service. As important as it is to exert oneself rigorously in service, it is just as necessary to rest one’s body so one can do bhajana. The two are synonymous. Rest is for service; rest should not detract from service. These are two complementary states of being. Ārāma (rest) devoid of longing for the joy of service is hārāma (forbidden) and is in the category of mundane lust and hankering. One should never impose material ideas on transcendent truths, as this begets aparādha.
Śrīpāda Trivikrama Mahārāja is especially affectionate to destitute and unfortunate people like me, which is why he made his auspicious journey to Navadvīpa to confer with me. But I, due to misfortune, was cheated of seeing him, having left to go preaching just before he arrived. The well-being of all of us and that of the mission was contingent on that consultation. Whatever happens, we will have a chance to discuss this matter later, when I return from preaching.
There is nothing equal to the Vaiṣṇavas’ transcendent love and compassion. If a soul who wishes to perform bhajana can appreciate this compassion, then they will surely reap good fortune. Being able to understand the chastisement and compassion of guru and Vaiṣṇavas is indicative of great fortune. Human beings who are attached to the objects of the senses mistake the compassion of Bhagavān and His devotees for cruelty and their chastisement for anger and lack of sympathy. In reality, chastisement and mercy are employed for the same purpose. “Vajrād-api kaṭhorāṇi mṛduṇi kusumād-api[1] – more brutal than a thunderbolt and softer than a flower.” It is imperative to take this notion to heart. The supremacy of one who can grasp mood and intention is acknowledged everywhere.
The meaning of the words “vandõ muĩ sāvadhāna mate” is that one will have to become free from offences and praise the feet of śrī guru-pādapadma. Offences to śrī nāma, offences to the dhāma, offences while rendering service, and other countless types of flaws and mistakes have been noted in the realm of sādhana-bhajana. This is not something to despair about. By heartfelt endeavour and simplicity, all unfavourable conditions will vanish, and all types of good fortune will arise. Rejecting that which is unfavourable, one will have to accept that which is conducive for bhakti. This is the ultimate verdict. That is the instruction of the statement: “tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya satsu sajjeta buddhimān[2] – an intelligent person gives up bad company and associates with devotees.”
In service, there is no notion of rest. The dharma of service is eternal, and it has a continuous momentum, so why would Bhagavān’s sevakas and sevikās look for a chance to rest? In sleep, in dreams, and in waking – in all states of being, the perpetuity of sevā-dharma is proven. … Please accept my heartfelt blessings. Please convey my daṇḍavat-praṇāmas and blessings of auspiciousness appropriately to all the other devotees. Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 7.73)
[2] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.26.26)
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