A respectable person never injures another person’s dignity • Being doubtful of others is the cause of distress • The necessity of selfless renunciation • Only if we can relinquish our individual selfishness and be tolerant of suffering can we find auspiciousness • One should never test guru and Vaiṣṇavas
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Vinoda-bihārī Gauḍīya Maṭha
28 Haldar Bagan Lane,
Kolkata–700004
14/1/1987
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! You wrote that you read my letter and have understood everything, but I think you do not read my letters with inner vision. If you did, you would not treat me harshly. You said that you are not worthy of writing me a letter, that you are scared to write me a letter, and that you do not know what to write where. I think these statements are imagined and you are just coming up with excuses.
I always write you letters and whatnot in a suitably natural fashion. Whatever is my actual impression of you is expressed in the letter I have written. There is no artificiality in this. The form in which your love and affection reveals itself to me is what I write in my letters. Perhaps, from your own perspective, you cannot grasp whether you are loving or not. Only he who can perceive that [affection] can understand who is worthy of being given respect.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teaching is “dainya, dayā, anye māna, pratiṣṭhā-varjana, cāri-guṇe guṇī hai’ karaho kīrtana[1] – humility, compassion, respect for others, and the shunning of prestige – develop these four qualities and perform kīrtana.” This is amānī-mānada dharma (the religion of forgoing pride and giving respect to others). A respectable person never injures another person’s dignity. That is his nature. He cannot rid himself of his soul’s natural disposition, as that is his ornament, or adornment.
Being doubtful of others is the cause of distress. Rather than calling it deceptive, it would be more accurate to call it the source of mental disturbance. In the Gītā, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra addresses His friend Arjuna as He delivers an instruction to all the inhabitants of the world: “The ignorant, unfaithful, and doubtful – these three types of people cannot find happiness in life.” If you harbour the dogma of doubt and suspicion, then you too will never find peace of mind.
Only if we can relinquish our individual selfishness, be tolerant of suffering, and heed our responsibilities can we find auspiciousness. In order to honour love’s demands from those who seek it, there is much we must concede to sacrifice. This is a paramount truth, widely accepted by the wise. Without selfless renunciation, one cannot attain Bhagavān, who is the form of truth (sad-vastu). Acceptance of this sort of renunciation is necessary in order to obtain the mercy of guru and Vaiṣṇavas as well.
Those who are prepared to accept whatever renunciation is necessary never exercise doubt or lack of faith in guru and Vaiṣṇavas. This [lack of faith] will precipitate the downfall of the sādhaka or sādhikā rather than their advancement in sādhana-bhajana. One should never test those who have passed beyond śraddhā-bhakti, beyond sneha and mamatā. Rather, to be tested by them is a matter of great fortune, as such a test yields auspiciousness for the soul. Guru and Vaiṣṇavas do not need to be taught; they are not students. They are the testers and judges. If we can establish our reliance and faith in their integrity, we will reap ultimate good.
If he who possesses bhakti for Śrī Bhagavān places a particular individual in the distinguished seat of his affection, it never means that he becomes biased or narrow-minded. Rather, his generosity and large-hearted dignity will strengthen. Sādhu, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas, who see everyone equally, are accustomed to perceiving the souls of all living entities. They earn the title mahātmā (great soul) because of their magnanimous sentiments for Śrī Bhagavān [and His creation]. They are accustomed to offering all candidates honour, high and low. Because they behold the soul and Supersoul within all living entities, they offer obeisances to absolutely everyone, giving no particular attention to whether one is a horse, cow, donkey, dog-eater, neophyte devotee, woman, or man. “Jīve sammāna dibe jāni’ kṛṣṇa-adhiṣṭhāna[2] – they give respect to all living entities, knowing them to be the abodes of Kṛṣṇa.” This is their large-heartedness, or great magnanimity. If we can pass this sort of test of patience and fortitude from guru and Vaiṣṇavas, our lives will be successful.
I too, at present, am a student, a trainee, someone seeking love in the school of this world. I trust that one day I will pass this test in patience and gain the qualification to become a teacher. Then I will forever behold with utmost regard those I have accepted as my loving and affectionate guardians. They can point out my flaws and they can be merciless to me, but as someone craving their love, I will await their sympathy and compassion. This is my dharma. I will not place blame on anyone else. Rather, I will sit here hoping to gain their extraordinary love and affection. I will strive to realize the purport of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Upadeśāmṛta verse “utsāhān-niścayāt dhairyāt”[3]. Who is to be angry with whom? Who will shower blessings on whom? I am responding to your call for affection, not your request, so that I may not be deprived of affection. Accept my well-wishes. Iti—
Forever your well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Gītāvalī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kīrtane Jadi (7) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[2] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 20.25)
[3] Upadeśāmṛta verse 3: (1) Enthusiasm [for performing bhakti-sādhana], (2) firm faith and determination, (3) patience, (4) performing activities favourable for bhakti, (5) giving up bad association, and (6) adopting the pure behaviour of sādhus – by these six qualities bhakti is nourished and accomplished.
Comments