The glories of guru and Vaiṣṇavas are indescribable • If one can give up ego and deceit, one can attain the mercy of Vaiṣṇavas • Anthropomorphism and apotheosis • The transcendent nature of Bhagavān’s devotees • Service of vāṇī, the divine word • How to be clever about bhajana
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Govinda-candra Dāsādhikārī
Gram + P.O.—Shripati-nagar
24 Pargana
4/1/1972
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! The supremely merciful Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas are always anxious about dispelling the conditioned souls’ antagonism and are full of affection. It is solely the conditioned soul’s efforts to turn toward Bhagavān that prove his sincerity and make his sādhana successful. Every human being has gained worthiness and competence through this sādhana-bhajana, while any state of being contrary to that [sādhana-bhajana] is defined in scripture as unworthiness or incompetence.
The minute, mortally entangled soul truly cannot describe the transcendental glories and qualities of guru and Vaiṣṇavas. “Brahmāṇḍa tārite śakti dhare jane jane, ei veda-purāṇe guṇa gāya jebā śune. Tathāpi mūkera bhāgya manera ullāsa, doṣa kṣami’ mo-adhame kara nija-dāsa[1] – Each and every Vaiṣṇava has the power to deliver the whole universe. Such are their qualities as sung about in the Vedas and Purāṇas. Even though I am inept, it is my great fortune and delight [to try to glorify them]. Kindly forgive the faults of this wretch and make me your servant.” The Vaiṣṇava author of this poem has thus expressed his natural humility. The pure name of Bhagavān can only be uttered by a tongue composed of pure consciousness, as it is not something that can be grasped by the gross senses. That transcendental śrī nāma-brahma is attentively served by senses that are inclined toward service and personally manifests itself to the sādhakas and sādhikās. “Ananta rākhilo nāma anta nā pāiyā[2] – he is called Ananta because He has no end.” Thus, that divine object is limitless and beyond the grasp of the senses. If the seven seas were the ink, the Himalaya’s Mt. Gauri the quill, and the Earth herself the paper, it would still be impossible to describe the glories of guru and Bhagavān properly. They are resplendent in their own glory, to reveal which they do not require any other medium. As soon as the Sun and Moon appear, so does their splendour. They too are like that.
Only he whose heart is free from deceit and who has offered up his soul will realize and experience the mercy of Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. “Hari, guru, vaiṣṇava—tinera smaraṇa; tinera smaraṇe haya vighna vināśana[3] – remembrance of Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas destroys all obstacles.” Only he who yearns for the happiness of serving these three eternal truths gains mental and spiritual peace and supreme bliss. “Prasīda paramānanda, prasīda parameśvara[4] – be pleased with me, O reservoir of bliss; be pleased with me, O Supreme Lord.” “Yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande paramānanda mādhavam[5] – I venerate that Mādhava, who is the abode of bliss and by whose mercy I may attain said bliss.” By these prayers, one can attain nityānanda (eternal bliss) or premānanda (the bliss of divine love). “Ātma-nivedana, tuwā pade kari, hainu parama sukhi; duḥkha dūre gelo, cintā nā rahilo, caudike ānanda dekhi[6] – having offered my soul at Your feet, I have become sublimely joyful. My distress has gone far away, no worries remain, and I see bliss in all four directions.” It is this that constitutes the sādhaka or sādhikā’s full degree of surrender, or the one-pointed offering of their soul. If one can relinquish mundane ego, if one can become free from deceit, one can truly acknowledge oneself as wretched and bereft, thereby earning eligibility for the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas. You should strive to progress along the path of your life strictly in this mood.
The fundamental truth, or tattva, of śrī guru is a singular indivisible (akhaṇḍa) vision of the truth. “Gurute manuṣya-buddhi nā karo kakhana – never consider guru an ordinary human being.” This is anthropomorphism, or imposing the prohibitions of mundane perception onto that which is supramundane. To see the worshipful śrī śālagrāma-śīlā as an ordinary rock, to judge Vaiṣṇavas by their race or caste, to think of the water that has washed the feet of Viṣṇu or the Vaiṣṇavas to be regular water, to think the mantras that contain the names of Śrī Viṣṇu to be ordinary sounds, and to equate the God of all gods, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with the presiding demigods and goddesses, are all specific instances of a blatant offence that consists of superimposing the qualities of inert matter onto consciousness. The opposite sort of assumption has also been condemned in scripture. For example, to think that this inert body composed of five elements is the soul, to think that a blood relative is one’s true relative, to think regular dirt is worthy of worship, and to think material rivers are holy is apotheosis, or elevating inert matter to the status of conscious divinity, and is also an aparādha. Śrī gurudeva is not a kuṇapa, a bag of bones and flesh, a body made of five elements. He is not engaged in mundane pursuits like the karmīs, jñānīs, and yogīs.
Guru-tattva has been deliberated in its ontological aspect. As such, guru, Vaiṣṇavas, and Bhagavān are related, like limbs to a body, and they are situated on the transcendental platform. That is why when Śrī Bhagavān appears in this earthly realm, the arrival of His devotees is also witnessed. Precisely like Śrī Bhagavān Himself, His devotees have no mortal birth, death, or bondage in karma. Those who have taken shelter of a bona fide guru and absorbed their minds in performing bhajana of Śrī Hari are, without a doubt, most fortunate. Why would they be unfortunate? They have nothing that can be called misfortune. “Durdaiva āmāra, se nāme ādara, nā hailo dayāmaya; daśa-aparādha, āmāra durdaiva, kemone hoibe kṣaya[7] – my misfortune, O merciful Lord, is that I do not have honour for Your holy name. The ten offences to the holy name are my misfortune. How will I get rid of them?” This is what is defined in scripture and other places as the misfortune of mankind, of the conditioned souls who are averse to Kṛṣṇa. …
When you get the chance, write articles and send them. I was very delighted to see one of your poems published in our Śrī Patrikā. Send in a good article for our first issue of the year, the Patrikā published in the month of Phālguna. I will edit and submit it. Know this too to be vāṇī-sevā (service of the divine word). “Sarasvatī—kṛṣṇa-priyā, kṛṣṇa-bhakti tā̃’ra hiyā, vinodera sei se vaibhava[8] – Sarasvatī is the dearly beloved of Kṛṣṇa; devotion to Kṛṣṇa is her heart and she is the splendour of Vinoda.” It follows that by this means, one gains the opportunity to serve Śuddhā-Sarasvatī (the pure Goddess of Knowledge), Siddhānta-vāṇī (the message of conclusive spiritual truths or that of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda), and Vinoda-vāṇī (the message of divine bliss or that of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura). By service to śrī nāma, śrī dhāma, and śrī gaura-kāma, that is, by fulfilling Śrī Gaurasundara’s innermost desire, one can attain His unparalleled compassion. In a regulated fashion, you should observe your vow of chanting śrī nāma, study the sacred books, and serve Śrī Patrikā. If you write articles and poems, you will surely have to study and discuss various scriptures. Always follow this method of service.
If you proceed while always safeguarding a singular focus and firm conviction, you will meet with good fortune. Truly spiritual persons do not reject the social and conventional world. “Antara-niṣṭhā karo bāhye loka-vyavahāra acirāt kṛṣṇa tomāy kariben uddhāra[9] – internally, keep your conviction; externally, be sociable, and shortly Kṛṣṇa will effect your deliverance.” Śrīman Mahāprabhu only directed this teaching toward Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī in order to impart it to the whole world. “Anukūla-kṛṣṇānuśīlana – favourable absorption in Kṛṣṇa” is the goal, and so it is necessary to keep unfavourable situations under control as much as one is capable. Only he who can take everyone along with him [be considerate of everyone and encourage them] will have his dignity and glory endure in the world. Therefore, one has to pass one’s time in this world, this place of tough trials, with a proper understanding of morphology and ontology. Only those who are unwavering and immovable in these concepts are truly clever. Being clever about bhajana is what proves the sādhaka or sādhikā’s worthiness. Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Vaiṣṇava-vandanā (11–10) by Śrī Devakīnandana dāsa
[2] Śrī Kṛṣṇer Aṣṭottara-śata-nāma (14) by Dvija Haridāsa
[3] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 1.21)
[4] Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad
[5] Śrīdhara Svāmī’s maṅgalācaraṇa to Bhāvārtha-dīpikā
[6] Śaraṇāgati, Ātma-nivedana (2) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[7] Śaraṇāgati, Hari He! Tomāre Bhuliyā (3) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[8] Kalyāṇa-kalpataru, Mana re Keno Karo Vidyāra Gaurava (4) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[9] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 16.239)
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