Desiring to visit the dhāma • Chanting without offences • Guru has more love and affection for his daughters because he is śakti • Our guardians favour their youngest and most foolish • The characteristics of the genuine guru and disciple • The scriptures are always uniquely accessible
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Nīlācala Gauḍīya Maṭha
Gourbatsahi, Swargadwar (Purī)
7/4/1972
Snehāspadāsu—
Mā Umā! The ability to pacify the mind by any means possible is the definition of determination and steadiness.[1] Know for certain that herein lie surrender and auspiciousness. Who does not have a desire to hear the glories of holy places and śrī dhāma and visit them in the company of sādhus, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas? Therefore, both nurturing this fine desire and lamenting the obstacles to its fulfilment are favourable for the performance of bhajana. In the future, your sukṛti (spiritual merits) and good fortune will grant you the opportunity to behold śrī dhāma in the association of guru and Vaiṣṇavas, so do not let your mind be disturbed.
The unconditional mercy of sādhu and guru amounts to all the provisions the soul requires. Souls bound by māyā turn toward Kṛṣṇa by the mercy of guru. Simplicity of heart and freedom from offences enable one to appreciate the grace of Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. Not becoming inclined toward bhajana is the greatest misfortune and the worst of luck. Śrīman Mahāprabhu taught the world when he expressed His humility to Prakāśananda Sarasvatī:
guru more mūrkha dekhi karilo śāsana
mūrkha tumi, tomār nāhi vedāntādhikāra
kṛṣṇa-nāma japa sadā,—ei mantra sāra[2]
[My guru saw that I was a fool and chastised me, saying: “You are a fool; you are not qualified to study Vedānta. Chant Kṛṣṇa’s name always – this is the essence of all mantras.”]
Thus this is the greatest nectar of instruction and blessing for the souls of this world. “Niraparādhe nāma laile pāya prema-dhana[3] – if one chants the holy name without offences, one will attain the treasure of divine love.” To perform kīrtana of a fixed number of the mahā-mantra, consisting of sixteen names and thirty-two syllables, utterly free from offence is the greatest of all instructions.
You are pained that you would be able to render more service to me directly if you were not my daughter but my son! The words son and daughter are used because there are two fields [roles] in which specialities of service exist. And if the soul of the living entity is proven by scripture to be a form of śakti, feminine potency, then what objection can one have about being a daughter? “Gītā-śāstre jīva-rūpa śakti kari’ māne – in the Bhagavad-gītā, the form of the soul is deemed to be that of śakti.” This you have read in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta [Madhya-līlā 6.163]. The possessor of infinite potencies, līlā-puruṣottama Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the sole enjoyer, and as His potencies, all souls are His maidservants, to be enjoyed by Him. Śrī gurudeva is also āśraya-jātīya-vigraha, Śrī Bhagavān’s beloved maidservant. Hence, though as guru-tattva he has fatherhood imposed on him, because he is śakti, he has more love and affection for his daughters. As long as gross misidentification with male or female genders persists, it is not possible to serve the ever-fresh Cupid, Śrī Gopīnātha, in person. Only if the soul can relinquish from its core, yoṣit-bhāva (the attachment between man and woman), does Śrī Bhagavān bestow upon the soul the qualification for His service, wherein there is no predominance of mundane masculinity or femininity. You will attain the fruit of direct service by means of parokṣa, or bhāva-sevā [indirect service via an inner mood], which makes bhāva-sevā a practical or tangible phenomenon. Scripture has accepted the eternity of the object of service, the servant, and service itself – all three. “Nitāiyer caraṇa satya, tā̃hāra sevaka nitya[4] – the feet of Nitāi are truth and His servant is eternal.”
If the sādhaka or sādhikā can grasp the matter of their own ineligibility, it means the possibility of their well-being has revealed itself. This is a proven fact. Mundane egotism and duplicity are the crucial hindrances to performing sādhana-bhajana; they make the soul blind with delusions, which jettisons him far from the path of bhakti. You have written, calling yourself my only “ineligible child”. That is precisely why I am so worried and concerned about how you can become qualified, how you can maintain your existence in this earthly world and in the spiritual world. “Je jata patita haya, tava dayā tata tāya[5] – the more fallen one is, the more merciful You are.” This statement proves that nurturing, caretaking teachers and guardians favour their youngest, most foolish children and keep a sharp, watchful eye on them. Expressing the feelings of the heart does not require a different sort of language. A toddler’s incoherent babbling is the language of his heart, and that is how he draws everyone’s attention.
Scripture allows for one to employ a tactic of indifference toward those who are malicious. Neglect of those who bear malice toward Bhagavān and His devotees is their due punishment. Disciplined persons accept such punishment in a positive way and are worthy of the title “disciple”. A real, bona fide sad-guru does not make anyone his disciple; he sees them as the opulence of Śrī Bhagavān, who is the supreme object of his service. Śrī guru-pādapadma, who is Kṛṣṇa’s beloved, has conveyed his eternal form to be that of an “ayogya-kiṅkarī – unworthy maidservant”. In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapters 80–81, in the story of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Sudāmā, Guru Śrī Sāndīpani defines the duties of a bona fide disciple as follows: “A disciple’s discipline is to follow the guru’s orders without question, and full surrender is the measure of accepting that discipline.” It is by affectionate punishment that the heart is surely purified. Each and every genuine sādhaka or sādhikā wants only to advance along his or her life path according to śrī guru-pādapadma’s orders, directions, instructions, and wishes.
The delay in responding to your letter is not indicative of your misfortune. The soul’s independence and self-determination are only ever auspicious if they are subservient to Śrī Bhagavān’s will. Śrī Bhagavān is supremely compassionate, and attaining His causeless mercy is indicative of good fortune. His pastimes are infinite and His glories are infinite; it is only by the light of His mercy that we can truly behold Him and realize His glory. By the grace of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, dumb men become talkative and cripples gain the ability to scale mountains. “Kākere garūḍa kare aiche dayāmaya[6] – so merciful is He that He turns crows into eagles.” Even if you are ignorant, you will gain knowledge, and as per my wish, you will try to write articles and poems on many topics. Study Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā routinely. Read Śrī Caritāmṛta, Jaiva-dharma, Śikṣāṣṭaka, Upadeśāmṛta, Śaraṇāgati, and Śrī Gauḍīya-gīti-guccha routinely. In the absence of face-to-face company with sādhus, there is sādhu-saṅga via scripture, which, in other words, means that the study of authoritative scriptures is something that is always uniquely accessible. In order to become acquainted with sat-siddhānta (pure conclusions) it is imperative to study the various sacred texts in a calm and steady fashion. This is what will solidify the proclivity for bhakti. … Iti—
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana
[1] Śrīmatī Umā Dīdī: “He had promised to take me to Purī, but could not, due to considerations of etiquette.”
[2] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 7.71–72)
[3] Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 4.71)
[4] Prārthanā, Nitāi-pada-kamala (4) by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura
[5] Śrī Bhajana-rahasya (3.13) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
[6] See Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 12.182)
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