THE GAUDIYA 1 NOVEMBER 2012

THE
GAUDIYA
Spiritual Monthly
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Vol. LVI NOVEMBER 2012 No. 3
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May that most Glorious Moon Sri Chaitanya Who came out from the
Nectarine Blissful Ocean of the womb of Sri Sachidevi shine on the transparent
sky-like hearts of you all. What a paramount Glory, He is the very Ocean of the
Transcendental Nectarine Bliss, ah, He puts on with pleasantly shining garment of
ultraviolet colour, the Hue of the Body is naturally brilliantly effulging having the
symptoms of all the Ashtasattvic spiritual perturbations as it were, the very
Embodiment of super-excellent Transcendental Love with all its sixty-four
characteristic.
Srila Prabodhnanda Saraswati
THE GAUDIYA 2 NOVEMBER 2012
Has any one
ever heard of such
a cl i max of the
attai nment of
abnegation? He
does not want
even Sri Krishna
wi thout the
service of Sri Rdh. Such a maximum
height of abnegation is not possible for a
man of this world, unless he has been,
like Raghuntha, drenched with the
moisture of the Grace of Sri Swarupa
Goswmi; none else can even explain this
standard of abnegation. Is it possible for
hi m to crave for the si x terrestri al
excellences as above, who does not want
Krishna even without service to Rdh?
What an amount of service done to the
highest Darling of Krishna and what a
degree of the highest love felt for Her can
endow one with such a spirit!
God has said (Bh.XI.26.26): A truly
i ntel l i gent person shoul d shun evi l
company but seek association with holy
saints who, with their instructions, gnaw
the knot of the worldly attachments of our
mind. The meaning is that for our true
well-being we should always accept the
guidance of the true Guru (spiritual guide)
and should not be misled by pseudo-
gurus. The Guru never accepts the
preyah-pantha (way to pleasure), but he
is a shreyah-pantha (i.e., he follows the
way to the true well-being). He gives
others (i.e., his disciples) the same
instruction to walk along the real path as
he has received from his own Guru, of
course a true one. If a disciple asks
permission of the Guru for drinking, he is
sure to disapporve of it and never to grant
it. When the Guru does not indulge the
disciple in his prayer for things after his
mind, he may dismiss the Guru. Such
disciples accept only the gurus that are
ready to supply fuel for their sensualism.
Acceptance of a guru has become a
fashion now-a-days, not for the disciples
true wellbeing, but for getting ones
sensual pleasures approved of. Such
appointments satisfy only the social or
family customs, like those of barbers and
washers.
As soon as a truth is ascertained,
it should be ardently given effect to
then and there. The span of our life
being very short, we should not mis-
spend even a moment, of what still
remains, in attending in our worldly
affairs but utilise it in the performance
of our service to Hari. King Khattwnga
and Ajmila attained their highest good by
spending only one muhurta (forty eight
minutes) and only the time of death
respectively in Lord Haris Service. Here
i s an anecdote to the poi nt. One
Sivnanda Bhattchrya, a Shkta by faith
i.e., worshipper of Goddess Kli or Durg,
sent his son Rmakrishna to purchase
some sacri fi ci al beasts, goats and
buffaloes, and other necessary articles
against the coming Durg Puj. When
Ramakrishna was returning home with
the purchases, he met Srila Narottama
Thkur, a holy saint of the highest order,
who after some instructive talk changed
the youths mind altogether, and the latter
let off the beasts to obtain initiation from
the Thkur and came back home empty-
handed. Sivnanda, expectantly looking
for his sons return with the goats and
buffaloes and other articles for the Devis
Puj, asked him eagerly about them,
seeing him return without them.
Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupd
THE GAUDIYA 3 NOVEMBER 2012
Thus Spake Srila chryadeva
The Asceti c was Sri Kri shna
Chaitanya identical with Krishna with His
Consort Varshabhanavi. The highest
opinion was given of Sri Ramananda by
Vasudeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya,
who was now an ardent devotee of Sri
Chaitanya. The Supreme Lord Sri
Krishna Chaitanya was eager to meet
Rai Ramananda who also at the same
time cherished an unknown hope of
coming in touch with the All-loving
Transcendental Entity of Sri Krishna.
Sri Chai tanya recogni sed Rai
Ramananda who also, catching sight of
a young and handsome Sanyasi, made
his obeisance as a religious Hindu prince
i s expected to do. Sri Chai tanya
embraced him reciting Name Krishna
and was overcome with emotion. The
Vedic Brahmins, who were ritualists,
were amazed to find the Sanyasi coming
into cotact with a person of lower caste,
though of high position. In response to
Sri Chai tanya s enqui ri es, Sri Rai
Ramananda shouted, I am that
unworthy servitor, a sudra and most
unfortunate. But it is the unbounded
mercy of Pandit Sarvabhauma that has
induced You to extend Your love to an
unworthy obj ect l i ke me. You are
debarred by the injunctions of Vedas to
see me and touch me which You have
ignored owing to Your boundless mercy
to me. But I see You do not care for this.
The Vedic Brahmins are now observed
showing their changed mentality and are
found to chant the Name of Krishna.
Sri Chaitanya was invited by a
Brahmin to his house on the Godavari.
In the eveni ng Rai Ramananda
accompanied by a single attendant,
incognito met Sri Chaitanya at the house
of Hi s host
and after the
exchange of
m u t u a l
cour t esi es,
they started a
d i s c o u r s e
which lasted
throughout the
night. Sri Chaitanya enquired into the
philosophy, doctrine and mysteries of
love of Sri Radha-Krishna, its object and
how this could be attained. To these
questions Sri Ramananda answered
readily.
Sri Chaitanya enquired and asked
him to cite the verses dealing with the
goal of our activities, Ramananda
answered:
1. Service to Vishnu is rendered by
performing the respective duties of an
individual. Vishnu is pleased by the
performance of ritualistic duties by a
person according to his particular status
and his particular condition in the four-
fol d cl assi fi cati on of soci ety.
Varnasrama dharma (Vishnu Purana).
2. Surrender to Me everything as to
whatever you want to do, whatever you
want to eat, whatever you want to offer
Me in your ritualistic performances,
whatever you are to bestow to others
and whatever austerities you want to
practice (Gita IX.27).
3. I call upon you to rely on Me
leaving aside all sorts of virutous
activities, even so you will be relieved
from the effects of sin and will not have
to repent for doing so (Gita XVIII.67).
4. When a person, set free from
limited entities, is found to be in an
THE GAUDIYA 4 NOVEMBER 2012
ALMANAC for the months of NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2012
15.11.2012 Thu Disappearance of Srila Vsudev Ghosh Thkur
21.11.2012 Wed Gopshtami, Goshtshtami, Disappearance of Srila Gaddhara Ds
Goswmi, Srila Dhananjaya Pandit and Srila Srinivschrya
24.11.2012 Sat Utthna Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 6.01 and
9.36 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Gaura Kishore Ds Bbji Maharj
27.11.2012 Tue Disappearance of Srila Bhugarbha Goswmi and Srila Kshiswara
Pandit. Demise of Srimad Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharj
28.11.2012 Wed Concluding day of Chturmsya Vrata, Urjvrata.
Rsotsava of Lord Sri Krishna. Disappearance of Srila
Sundarnanda Thkur. Advent of Srila Nimbrka chrya.
Krtika Poornima
29.11.2012 Thu Beginning of Ktyyani Vrata
05.12.2012 Wed Demise of Srimad Bhakti Sambandha Turyshrami Maharj
09.12.2012 Sun Utpann Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 6.10 and
9.43 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Narahari Sarkr Thkur Demise
of Sripad Bhakti Pramod Muni Maharj
10.12.2012 Mon Disappearance of Srila Kliya Krishna Ds Thkur
11.12.2012 Tue Disappearance of Srila Sranga Thkur
13.12.2012 Thu Demise of Srila Jagabandhu Bhakti Ranjan
undistrubed mood where no want is felt,
nei ther any passi onate desi re to
aggrandise himself; in that case he sees
equality in the phenomenal world and
thereby avials the opportunity of a higher
standard of devoton (Gita XVIII.54).
5. Empiric knowledge should be
thoroughly abandoned. We should follow
by our body, mind and word whatever
passes from the lips of a devotee
concerni ng the transcendental
narratives; whatever be our position, the
unchal l engi ng mood to l i sten to
discourses permits us to cross over the
insurmountable attitude of ignorance by
practi si ng a submi ssi ve atti tude
(Bh.X.14.3).
Let us follow this path of eternal truth
as shown by our great religious savants,
then everythi ng great and worth
begetting in our national life will come,
of itself. This is the only Sanatana
Aryapath followed by the really great of
all countries.
Of al l these fi ve progressi ve
references of approaching and serving
the Personal i ty of God-head, Sri
Chaitanya admitted the non-empiric fifth
proposition which is free from all sorts
of foreign conception mixed up with the
activity of animation. These dfferent
stages lead to dhrama, artha, kama and
moksha which are not considered the
function of the unalloyed soul who has
the innate quality of eternity, knowledge
and bliss combined. The fruitive results
are but temporal allurements; whereas
desertion of the same by dispelling all
i gnorance due to phenomena i s
consi dered to be effi caci ous i n
dismissing the temporal manifestations.
Determination of self should not be mixed
in any of the conceptions of physical or
astral entity and the object of devotion
should not be restricted to any exoteric
or esoteric phenomena.
THE GAUDIYA 5 NOVEMBER 2012
VEDANTA SUTRAS
With the Achintya Bheda-Abheda Vada Commentary
GOVINDA BHASHYA
Srimad Bhakti Prajnan Yati Maharaj
INTRODUCTION
There are certain jivas who from
their very birth become subservient to
Almighty God and follow the path of
ecstatic devotion. For them their very
life itself is the philosophy, because they
are the very embodiment of Brahma
Vidya being absolutely free from four
defecti ves vi z. Bhrama, Pramad,
Vipralipsa and Karanapatav inherent in
every engrossed human being. Their
very utterance i s the perfect
philosophical pronouncement. They are
the flying bards who come on their
sojourn on the earth for the fulfilment of
certain mission of God. They are the
embalmers to preserve the Sanatana
Dharma. They are the world teachers
(Jagat Gurus), but they are very very
rare. Among the engrossed jivas, as Gita
(Vi de VII.3) says: manushyanam
sahasreshu .... among the thousands of
human beings some rare souls strive for
attaining spiritual good, but among those
striving souls some will be karmi or jnani
or yogi or tapaswi but scarcely one can
be found who may get a proper guidance
for true spiritual achievement. One
without having proper Guru is generally
led to the wrong path and therefore miss
the bus.
Human beings are no doubt rational
but for his higher achievement he must
have ethical and spiritual outlook.
Therefore a religious outlook must be
rational, ethical and spiritual of which
philosophy must be the foundation. As it
is said, religious practice without a
strong and sound philosophical
foundation is misleading or it bcomes
fanaticism or Pashanda mata, again
if all the philosophical declarations
cannot be practically lived,
philosophy itself becomes an utopian
idealism. Religious life is for inner
renewal of the individual, for
apprehension and apprecition of the
deeper values of life.
In Indian spiritual culture ethical life
is a must. There are two methods for
spiritual attainment viz. Inductive and
Deductive processes. Among the
aspirants generally larger number follow
the inductive process and a few fortunate
ones take recourse to the Shrauta-
Pantha or Deductive Process (viz. Path
of Grace). Thus in the philosophical
world different ideologies are prevalent.
They can be broadly divided into two
groups viz. (1) Heterodox and (2)
Orthodox. So Sri Krishna Dvaipayana
Vyasa, Power-Incarnate of God for
guiding the aspirant souls to the Royal
Path of true theism viz. for proper
spiritual attainment wrote the Aphorisms
of the Vednta with intrinsic transcendental
values and consequently out and out
refuted the heterodox group. That was
in the Dwapara-yuga when the religious
sky was thickened with pitchy darkened
clouds of not only atheism but even
pseudo thei sm l i ke Panthei sm,
Henotheism, Monism (mayavad) so and
so forth, he wrote this Vedanta and
dispersed the darkness or nescience.
THE GAUDIYA 6 NOVEMBER 2012
He drained out the entire polluted or
obnoxious stagnant water with the supply
of pure and transparent fresh flow of
waters. Therefore the Vedanta i s
otherwise known as Nyaya-Prasthana
whereas the Upanishads are accordingly
known as Shruti-Prasthana and Srimad
Bhagavat Gita as Smriti-Prasthana. We
find since then the orthodox group
accepted Prasthana-trayas viz. Shruti,
Smri ti and Nyaya whi ch are the
undisputed authority in the matter of
Phi l osophy and Rel i gi on for the
Sanatanist which is today misnomerly
gi ven name as the Hi ndu Rel i gi on
whereas thi s i s actual l y Sanatana
Dharma Religion of the soul.
This Vedanta-sutra also is known as
(i) Brahma-sutra, (ii) Shariraka-sutra, (iii)
Vyasa-sutra, (iv) Badarayana-sutra, (v)
Uttara-mi mamsa and (vi ) Vedanta-
darshan.
Bhagavan Sri Chai tanya
Mahaprabhu says: Veda na maniya
Buddha haila pashandi because
Buddhas non-acceptance of the authority
of the Vedas his religion is known as
athei sm. So the Sanatani sts
unambiguously accept the Vedas as the
supreme authority in the matter of
philosophy and theology. Now what is the
Veda? Sri Vedavyasa in sutra 1.1.3
already has spoken regarding this. Veda:
the scripture which makes one to realise
the Supreme Reality: Vedayati Dharmam
Brahma cha Vedah: the literature which
establishes the true aspect of Sanatana
Dharma and makes oneself to realise the
Supreme God and thereby attaining final
beatitude or summum bonum of life is the
Veda. Sri Jiva Goswami in his Sarva-
samvdi ni al though accepted ten
pramanas but (i) bhrama, (ii) pramda, (iii)
vipralips and (iv) karanptava
dosharahita-vachant makah shabda-
eva mulam pramnam. Gita (vide XII.24)
Tasmt shstram pramnam: The ever-
existing slef-revealed mahvkyas are the
Vedaswhich have appeared from the
Supreme God, not authored by any
human being. So the transcendental
sound, Shabda Brahman is known as the
Vedas. This Veda is divided into two parts,
one part is Samhit and other one is
Brhmana. Generally the Veda is in the
form of hymns which are otherwise known
as Mantra and collectively mantras are
known as sukta and entire sukta part is
named as Samhit. In the Brhmana part
there are rules and mantras for the yajna
performance and this Brhmana part is
principally composed in the order of prose.
Besides these, there are two more
divisions viz. ranyaka and Upanishad or
Shruti. This Shruti portion is otherwise
also known as Vedanta with a view to bring
the very shesha essence of the Vedas.
Therefore the Upanishads or shrutis are
the revelation of the esoteric aspect of the
Vedas. The connotative meaning of the
Upanishads is: Brahmana upa samipe
nishidati anaya ityupanishad: The
divine wisdom or Brahma-vidya which
makes an aspirant soul to get released
from the quagmire of maya and attain
God-realisation.
In the Chandogya Upanishad, Etasya
va mahato bhutasya nih shvasitametad
yad. Rik Vedah: The Rik-Veda came forth
from the Breath of the Supreme God.
Therefore the Veda i s known as
Apaurasheya, not written by any author.
Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, the Power-
Incarnate of God discloses the esoteric
and philosophical Aspects of the Vedas
together with the hidden truth of the
Upanishads in his Vedanta Sutras. In his
Vedanta Sutras Sri Vyasadeva has taken
into account the views of seven Rishis
such as (i) Atreya, (ii) Asmarthya, (iii)
Audul omi , (i v) Karshnagi ni , (v)
Kashakritsu, (vi) Jaimini and (vii) Badari,
THE GAUDIYA 7 NOVEMBER 2012
who were prevalent earlier, with a view
to censuring their concepts of the Tattva.
The great Acharyas, the Path-
finders like Sri Shankara, Sri Ramanuja,
Sri Madhva, Sri Vishnuswami, Sri
Nimbarka and their followers as well as
other builders of philosophical thoughts
of the Sanatana Dharma accepted the
Vedanta-sutras as the supreme authority
in respect to the true philosophy and
religion. Further the Vedanta Sutras
reconcile the contradictory opinions of
different Rishis and also the variegated
literatures, on this account its another
name is Uttaramimasa, or Testament
viz. final judgement.
Sri Vyasadeva real i sed that
although the Vedanta is the undisputed
authority for the Philosophy and Religion
yet the sutras are so intrinsic with
esoteric presupposition that it puzzles the
brain of even extraordinary scholars and
therefore they may be wrongl y
interpreted so himself being directed by
his Guru Sri Narada wrote Srimad
Bhagavatam, as the empirical and true
commentary of his sutras (Vedanta). As
we find in the Garuda Purana: Bhshya-
ayam Brahma-Sutranam ... Lord Sri
Chai tanya Mahaprabhu accepted
Sri mad Bhagavatam as the true
commentary of the Vedanta Sutras.
In due course i nnumerabl e
commentaries were written on the
Vedanta-Sutras, of them principle ones
are (1) Sri Sankaracharyaa Advaita-
Vada or Absolutism otherwise known as
Monism, (2) Sri Ramanujas Vishishta-
Advaita-Vada or Qualified Monism, (3) Sri
Madhvacharyas Dvai ta-Vada or
Dualism, (4) Sri Vishnuswamis Suddha-
Advaita Vada or Pure Monism, (5) Sri
Nimbadityas Dvaita-Advaita-Vada or
Identity and Non-Identity theory and (6)
Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushans Achintya-
Bheda-Abheda-Vada or simultaneous
unthi nkabl e di sti ncti on and non-
distinction. Of them except Sri Shankara
others accepted from the Vedantic
conception that Vishnu-Krishna is the
Paratattva and Bhakti is the only means
to attain Him. Regarding Shankaras
monism I have discoursed it in my book
Lord Sri Chaitanya (vide P.198 to 207)
which I produce here.
Our Lord Sri Chaitanya interpreted
the Brahman as the infinite (Brihat), but
also as the Lord of every thing and full of
powers and attributes. He denied Sri
Sarvabhaumas contention that the
Brahman is formless (Nirkara), arguing
that some Shruti texts describe the
Brahman as Nirvisesha or without
attributes but what they did was to strip
it of mundane Vishesha or conditioned
attributes and qualities by way of
establ i shi ng the Transcendental
Attributes in order to make the Bliss
possible, as He is also Sacchidananda,
i.e., Sat or existence, Chit or intelligence
or consciousness, and nanda or Bliss.
nanda requires a subject and an object
to make it exist. nanda is absolutely
positive, requiring one to enjoy another,
the reciprocal activities of two entities.
Taittiriya Upanishad says the tman
(Brahman or God) exists (asti), shines
(bhti) and loves or pleases (priti). How
is priti or bliss possible if the Brahman
is devoid of all activity, duality, attributes
and so on? But as the Brahman is
Nirguna devoid of all attributes of Shakti
no action is possible in His case. Sri
Chaitanyadeva argued that the Brahman
i s not Ni rvi sesha Chinmtra or
undifferentiated consciousness alone, but
al so Savi sesha or capabl e of
accommodating all qualities, variety,
activities, etc., without being limited as
the individuals are liable to be limited in
THE GAUDIYA 8 NOVEMBER 2012
the conditioned world. This is possible
by virtue of infinite and wornderful
Potency. He cited verses from the Aitireya
Upanishad (I.1) in which the Brahman is
held to have created the world with His
Grace. He cited another verse from
Svetasvatara Upanishad (III.19) showing
that the Brahman has neither Legs nor
Hands but walks with Legs and takes hold
with His Hands, which means that the
Brahman has neither legs nor hands like
those of the mortal man, which are liable
to change and decay; but that He (God)
has Transcendental spiritual legs and
hands for His Bliss-making activities.
Some texts of the Shruti which call the
Brahman Nirvisesha or qualityless repeat
this to guard against imposing on, and
anthropomorphising the absolute spiritual
Brahman with the mundane cause-
space-time qualities. When the Shrutis
speak of the Brahman as Nirguna, they
mean to raise Him above mundane
gunas, or limitations, or products of
Prakri ti to whi ch the Brahman i s
Transcendent and of which He is the Lord.
When He is described as Savisesha, He
i s to be known as possessi ng a
Transcendental Form capable of doing
Lila or Sport, which is different from the
activities of the conditioned individuals
which are the effects of causes and
associated with wants, or imperfections.
Lila is the Activity of the Perfect Being,
proceeding from His absolute Nature,
from the spontaneous overflow of the
fullness of Joy and Bliss, without any
reference to wish-fulfilling desires. It is
merely the overflow of the abundance of
His Infinite, joyous Nature. Lord Chaitanya
explained this possibility of spiritual
Attributes in the Brahman, in contradiction
to the limitations of the finite, and at the
same time without any modification of the
Nature of Brahman in the possession of
His Attributes, introducing His three-fold
Shaktis (potency), sport-making, or
creative energy, which are inherent in the
Brahman as is heat in fire. Of these three
Shaktis or potencies, Chit-shakti is
directly and alone responsible to make
Him known as God by virtue of His Samvit
aspect, to manifest Gods existence, His
Suites and Paraphernalia, by virtue of His
Sandhini aspect, and to make Bliss
possible or, in other words make God
enjoy Bliss by virtue of His Hldini Aspect.
It is called Gods Svarupa or Antaranga
shakti. The second Shakti is called
Tatastha Shakti which evolves into
individuals. It is so called on account of
its lying between two Shakti Svarupa-
Shakti on one hand and My-shakti on
the other. Jivas have by nature the
inherent aptitude either to serve God in
obedience to Svarupa-shakti, whose
relation to jivas is to employ them in the
loving service of God which is the normal
condi ti on of j i va s functi on, or for
susceptibility to the influence of My-
shakti, in which case they come to the
mundane world and become liable to the
pleasure and pain of the world. The third
of the trio, My-shakti transforms itself
into the mundane world and receives jivas
by giving them a dual casing, one subtle
and one gross body, by which we mean
our mind and body, to enjoy and suffer in
the world. These three energies co-exist
with God and are neither earlier nor later
than He. They are inconceivably similar
to, and different from God, at the same
time, but God is their Source Spring, in
the course of thei r modi fi cati on or
concentration, just as rays affect the sun
intercepted by the clouds. Sri Chaitanya
objected to Sarvabhaumas interpretation
of God as devoid of potency (Nirvesha)
and incapable of manifestation without
undergoing modification.
(to be contd......)
THE GAUDIYA 9 NOVEMBER 2012
Honest enquiry is one of the most
essentil criteria and the beginning of
spiritual life: Athato Brahma Jijnasa of
the Brahma Sutra, Tasmad Gurum
prapadyeta jijnasu shreyamuttamam of
the Sri mad Bhagavatamthe
commentary of the Vedanta, Tadviddhi
pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya of the
Geeta and Saddharma-spriha of the
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu all these point
to the necessity of honest enquiry or
pariprashna at the commencement of
spiritual life.
Honest enquiry is the first and
foremost indication of the life of a beginner
with devotional attitude. He who is not
actuated to the enqui ry about
Transcendence, is callous and stupefied
in the matter of religion. Even the novice,
in the domain of religion, becomes
natural l y anxi ous to obtai n true
knowledge of the spiritual Realm even as
an i nqui si ti ve boy, curi ous to be
conversant wi th the obj ects of hi s
surrounding, puts hundreds of questions
to his parents, guardians and other
experienced persons at the dawn of his
new life. It is a practice with a customer
to provide himself with all necessary
information with regard to the articles that
he desires to have, prior to his purchase.
Likewise those who, being tired of the
worldly life, have felt the necessity of
acqui ri ng the knowl edge of
Transcendence, are actuated by the spirit
of honest enquiry on the eve of launching
into active spiritual existence.
But there exists a great gulf of
difference between mere idle curiosity for
rceiving informtion regarding religion and
the method of practising it, and the earnest
Honest Enquiry vs. Propitiation of Curiosity
Srimad B. B. Govind Maharaj
attitude of practising the same for true and
sincere devotioal life. In the language of
the Sastras, the one mode is called
desire for the fulfilment of idle curiosity
and the other is called the enquiring
attitude or Pariprashna. The impetus of
the propensity for fulfilling ones curiosity
originates from the thirst after gratifying
the senses. Whereas the enquiring spirit
is based on the stronghold of a serving
temperament. The enquiring attitude is
the first step to the growth of the serving
habit, whereas gratification of curiosity
acts as a pander to minister to the
passions from beginning to end. The
former engenders the inclination for
service which accelerates if regularly
followed, and the latter degenerates into
atheism by degrees. Curiosity is the
offshoot of temporary influx or excitement
of lust, while honest query or Pariprashna
is the effective result of self-surrender and
si ncere submi ssi on wi th mani fest
indication of a serving attitude. Persons,
who are engaged i n enl i gheni ng
themselves with different solutions of
theistic problem out of curiosity, often
abandon the practice of enquiring after
true and pure theism because of its
ulterior failure in supplying the needs of
satisfying their sensuous enterprise; and
so they endeavour to discover new
principles for the fulfilmnt of the same,
just like a debauchee who, after the
temporary relief of excitement of his lust,
becomes indifferent to his present
concubine and seeks for a second one
at the time of a new attack. A sensualilst
is seen to gratify his theistic curiosity in
the same manner as an immoral person,
welcoming the harlot under excitement
and di vorcng the same after the
THE GAUDIYA 10 NOVEMBER 2012
gratification of his lust. Lots of men
approach a true devotee and genuine
preceptor incognito with an apparently
enquiring attitude, but after accumulating
vari ous i nformati ons regardi ng the
Transcendental realm when they are
convinced that pure theism and unalloyed
devotion, inculcated by the Bhagavatam,
will never serve them in satisfying their
lust and will rather annihilate their innate
tendency for virute, wealth, desire and
salvation, their wrong underlying motive
stands exposed. In other words, they are
compelled to remove the garb, that so
long deceived others, of confusing honest
enquiry with the attempt for satisfying
curi osi ty whi ch resul ts from the
centralisation of the desire for propitiating
ones lust. Many a feeble hypocrite
harbours such a bogus idea of satisfying
his wrong curiosity under the apparent
show of an enquiring spirit. The attempt
to gratify curiosity under the apparent
show of an enquiring spirit. The attempt
to gratify curiosity by making a show of
honest enquiry is shown by some for a
moment, by others for a day, by some for
a week or a month or for a year or even
for a Yuga or a still longer period or for
the whole life.
On many occasions, the whole-
hearted attempt for appeasing the thirst
of gratifying ones curiosity appears in
the form of honest enquiry and leads men
into offering services in different forms.
Such outward show of devi ce for
appropriating gold, damsel, worldly fame
corresponding to their false display of
enquiring practice. The great impusle
generated by the supply of materials for
the satisfaction of passionate desires and
exploitation of good name, may often be
erroneously mistaken by people at large
for inquisitiveness and wonderful and
untiring zeal for offering sincere service.
But this hypocrisy is bound to be exposed
later on when it is beyond ones power to
ensconce the inner tendency when the
keen desire for propitiating senses
becomes tired and vexed without finding
new supplies. Many people are seen to
have submitted to the Feet of a Spiritual
Master after havi ng rai sed vari ous
questions and controversies prior to
initiation, so much so that they have
shown uncommon zeal for queries and
i n renderi ng servi ces i n di fferent
directions, but being cut to the quick at
the unchallengeable disposition and
severity, according to their judgement, of
the Bhagavatam, turn indifferent and
ultimately take recourse to the principle
of getting relieved by discarding for ever
the feet of the master.
How l ong can the suppl i es for
satisfying the curiosities continue to
overpower a person? Whenever any one
professes this to be his religion it wearies
him after ministering to his passions for
a time, and consequently he embraces
another faith conducive to the enjoying
practice, considering the previous one to
be monotonous.
It is the special characteristic of the
unalloyed doctrine of the Bhagavata that
it never serves the will of any jiva or
person. A mans curiosity continues only
so long as it has in its power to apply the
exoteric principles of the Bhagavata for
supplementing his sensuous activities.
But when the unsealed doctrine of the
Bhagavata exerts full influence over the
hypocrisy of mankind, the latter are no
loger candidates for accepting that
unadulterated gift. Only those persons,
who have the performance of many good
deeds to their account that have got their
function of the soul awakened and can
remain really attached to the exuberant
beauty of the Bhagavata. The pretext of
THE GAUDIYA 11 NOVEMBER 2012
enquirng in the mere attempt for satisfying
ones mental curiosity on the part of those
whose function of the soul has not been
awakened and whose senses are not
directed for rendering disinterested
service, never leads to any good result.
They ei ther turn opponents of the
Bhagavata faith by holding it to be stale
and monotonous without finding eternally
renovating avenues of service in it, or feel
attracted to some other religion which, in
thei r opi ni on, i s conduci ve to the
gratificaton of their senses. The mere
attempt at listening and chanting withers
and even ceases in no time if the enquiry
is not followed by submission, or if the
fi rst mani festati on of progressi ve
tendency for service is not based on the
strong desire for acquiring knowledge
about the Abolute Truth by the method of
sincere and complete self-surrender. If
the soul is not stirred with the message
of the Transcendental Realm, if he is not
actuated to devote his entire energy every
moment to the service of the Supreme
Lord by communicating the various
informations about Transcendence, after
the matter of the working of the electric
current, he will undoubtedly be expelled
from the spiritual platform, his activities
concerning body and mind reigning
supreme. Our soul or animation is a
votary to the Ever-New. The service of a
diverse character on the transcendental
plane is the function of the soul. This
function is visible in its perverted form in
the reflected region of the material world.
A man cannot stay long in the same
mood. The distinction between the
material world and the Transcendental
Realm consists in this that novelty in the
material world is the source of base and
l i mi ted i deas whereas that of
Transcendence is an inexhaustible
fountain of excellence. Inclination for
something new in the material world acts
as a phantom of a deer to delude men
into satisfying his senses, while the
hankeri ng after novel ty i n the
transcendental region gratifyng to the
senses of the Supernatural Being and
on this account it does not terminate
when the transendental realm tends to
become comprehensible on getting rid
of the veil of spiritual unconscientious-
ness. When we are freed from evils, we
acquire competency for listening and
chanting, which is void of monotony and
rather ramifies into rendering services in
a thousand ways.
Therefore, those persons, that have
not been bereft of their evil propensities,
consider the teachings of Bhagavata as
the conglomeratioin of speculations, as
they are bound to be perplexed and
consequently deceived and mortified
before their liberation from all sorts of
evils. This really indicates their lack of
honest enqui ry. The questi ons as
advanced and the service as rendered by
them, are not the queries incidental to
submission. They are rather manipulation
of the sense either for gratifying the
curiosity or a display of perversity under
pressure of desire. It should be taken as
gospel truth that such persons only
practice hypocrisyin submission, they
only desire for satisfyng lust in enquiry and
have a deliberate sinister motive behind
their mind in moving heaven and earth in
rendering the show of services, in case
they are not inspired with the electric
current of the renovating messages of
Transcendence. They only undertake
physical feats by reproducing hackneyed
words, the body is nothing, mind is
nothing and so on, like parrots, which will
soon be discontinued when their aural
activity weakens and their voice grows
hoarse. Those lip-deep words have not
THE GAUDIYA 12 NOVEMBER 2012
reached beyond their body and as they
have not appeared on the tongue from the
core of their hearts, they become more
and more attracted to the body even by
repeating the same. There can be no
trace of the real message of
Transcendence i n thei r borrowed
utterances, because there is not living
connection with the inexhaustible source
of Transcendence, their ear-boring
ceremony could not unseal the reservoir
of the Transcendental Auditorium. They
cannot comprehend the spirit of the
message of Transcendence. On the
contrary, though they hear it over and over
again, they only fall victims to the
passions, misconceiving them to be the
principles of satisfying their senses. It is
for thi s reason that those genui ne
messages of transcendence bring no
good to them and they in their turn retrace
to the former position thinking lightly of the
spiritual teachings of the Bhagavata,
regarding devotional principle practice and
mode of renderi ng servi ceas but
hackneyed deceptions. They become
converts to the faith that permits them to
satisfy this lust in different way. This is
inevitable as the Bhagavata would never
indulge them in satiating their lust. But
they try to maintain their show of piety by
produci ng l ame excuses of thei r
monotony and worthless-ness. In other
words they circulate that they are not to
blame and that the fault lies in the
principle.
There is a class of people possessed
of a hobby of tasting different religions for
ministering to their passions. They resort
to the abode of every sect for several days
being oppressed with a burning curiosity
and make a show of accepting the
pri nci pl e of Vai shnavi sm i n the
congregati on of devotees. They
sometims show the utmost promptness
in offering services, and thereby for
gathering materials that help to satisfy
their passion. All religions can more or
less be made to be a cloak for the satiation
of lust. But as the Bhagavata offers no
such indulgence, their inner motive is fully
exposed by the acid-test of spiritual
association and they are compelled to
give up their guise within a short time.
It then becomes evident to all that
their precious enquiring attitude and
rendering of services were the outcome
of wrong curiosity and the excitement for
the grati fi cati on of thei r sensuous
passions.
Let all the pious beware! Let them
neither enter the threshold of the temple
of true dvotees who are free from
hypocrisy and malice by putting on the
garb of honest enquiry and service for the
purpose of grati fyi ng thei r wrong
curiosities and sensuous desires, nor
accept those to be their spiritual kith and
kin who are guided by such mentality,
because this will expedite ones ruin.
Let them try to learn how to submit
and surrender. This self-surrender will
serve them as a reservoir or basis wherein
they will be in a position to preserve and
retain the nectared utterances of a
devotee. Then the stream of elixir rousing
to service will be infused in them which,
in the long run, will help them in reaching
the glorious Feet of Lord Krishna. It is
sheer hypocrisy to show the attitude of
honest enquiry after relinquishing the habit
of submission and self-surrender.
The attempt, too, for turning the
enquiring spirit, void of serving tendency,
into the instrument for showing mental
feats by way of satisfying idle curiosities
is deception to self as well as to others.
Hence let the pious beware of such
persons and their ways.
S
THE GAUDIYA 13 NOVEMBER 2012
Absolute God Realisation
through the process of
Vishuddha Bhakti Yoga
Sripad Bhakti Saurabh Narayan Maharaj
(Contd. from October issue)
THERE IS NO HAPPINESS
IN THIS WORLD
The external potency Maya being the
exact shadow of the Internal Potency,
whaterver found in this world is the
perverted reflection of all that exist in the
Divine Abode, without any content of
reality in it. That is why, nothing of this
world is capable of providing real
happiness and satisfaction to the jivas.
Worl dl y peopl e i magi ne to deri ve
happiness through the possession of
various worldly objects like wealth,
eatables, enjoyables, followers, land,
house etc., and strive hard to gain such
things. Soon after acquiring those
covetable objects, people find them quite
worthless and miserable. Then they start
searching for something else. This
frustrating experience continues in every
bi rth, upto the moment of death.
Therefore none of the varied section of
the society such as, king or begger, rich
or poor, rulers or the ruled, leaders or the
followers, angels or the demons, literate
or illiterate, masses or classes, animals
or i nsects etc. can fi nd any real
happiness in this world. All the fallen
souls run after the mirage-like delusion
of nescience in the hope of achieving
bliss. All the mundane cosmic worlds
come under the jurisdiction of the
uniquadrangular splendour of the Lord.
This is filled with the defects such as
grief, fear and death. If any one desires
to become free from these troubles, he
has to enter i nto the fi el d of tri -
quadrangular splendour of the Lord,
through the performance of pure
devotion. This world is also compared
to the dreamy state of the sentience. A
sleeping person may come across many
kinds of eatables and enjoyables and
relish them in his dream. Yet, nothing of
that dreamland can provide any real
satisfaction to him, as they are not real.
The worldly people due to their mundane
attachment and greed may succeed in
collecting huge amounts of wealth,
eatables in possessing riches and
buildings and by becoming leaders and
lords etc. Instead of providing any
amount of real happiness, these things
may result in adding to their burden of
sin and suffering.
GREED FOR WORLDLY WEALTH
Godless secularism is comparable
with the mighty demon of Satya-Yuga,
namely Hiranya Kashipu (wealth and
enjoyment). Even after conquering the
three worlds, this poor demon-king could
not enjoy even a drop of bliss, being
agitated due to lust, greed, anger,
delusion etc. All those who care for
worldly wealth and selfish enjoyment are
Hiranya Kashipus. The present day
Hiranya Kashipus in the form of wealthy
politicians, rich businessmen, high
profiled employees and all those who are
greedy for wealth and enjoyments, how
THE GAUDIYA 14 NOVEMBER 2012
can achieve any kind of real happiness?
The undue amount of worl dl y
possessi ons can rather cause a
considerable amount and tension and
anxiety to their masters. The sinfully
collected wealth shall cause hellish
reactions upon the society. On the other
hand, the innocent child Prahlada was
absolutely happy, secure, fearless and
was recognised as the saviour of the
humani ty by i mparti ng God-
consciousness through the process of
Shuddha Bhakti Yoga to all the sincere
human beings of this world. The God-
realised souls as well as those who
sincerely endeavour for God-realisation,
all these are the worthiest among the
human beings. Our polticians may opt
to recognise someones worldly merit
and prefer to bestow special benedictions
to him, whereas in due course of time
when that person becomes reborn as a
dog or a hog, can he claim any of these
honours? The spiritual welath of God-
realisation through Divine Love is the real
merit of the jiva souls, that deserves to
be honoured by providing them millions
of doctorates and billions of Noble Prizes.
PREMA BHAKTI IS THE HIGHEST
DIVINE WEALTH
As the Supreme Lord is realised
only through the Bhakti Yoga, the pure
devotees of the Lord are the greatest
among the human beings. They are the
possessors of the highest degree of
human values. Even a little association
with them is productive of eternal well
being to the living entities. Even the worst
among human beings get transformed
into the glorious gems, due to the
company of such pure devotees. The
true cause of the present national
degradation of majority of the masses
is due to the lack of holy company and
due to the absence of divine
narrations. Instead of implementing
hundreds of misleading programmes in
the name of uplifting the nation by
spending the national resources, the
common masses should be provided
wi th devoti onal teachi ngs i n hol y
company and should be made to listen
the nectarine narrations of Srimad
Bhagavatam. This will reform the entire
nation within no time and the citizens will
shine like the gems of, knowledge,
love and devotion. Then there wont arise
any necessity to prohibit the people from
committing any sins; because those who
faithfully listen to Srimad Bhagavatam will
never have any inclination to commit any
kind of forbidden act, as the first step of
their devotional journey. Further, they will
imbibe all-asupiciousness, shall rise
above the level of liberation, shall achieve
the rarest of the devotional fervour, realise
the condensed form of Divine Bliss and
shal l be capabl e of attracti ng the
Supreme Lord towards themselves.
This is the transcendental glory of the
loving devotion.
TRAITS OF THE PURE DEVOTEES
The following are the twenty eight
types of most important qualities of the
devotees, as told by Lord Krishna to Sri
Uddhava in Srimad Bhagavatam. A pure
devotee of Lord Kri shna i s,
compassi onate, non-mal aci ous,
forbeari ng, truthful , i mmacul ate,
equanimous, benevolent, free from lust,
self-controlled, polite, pure in thought,
detached, desi rel ess, temperate,
peaceful, steady, surrendered to Lord
Krishna, reticent, alert, profound, patient,
conqueror of the sixfold demerits, not
seeking self-prestige, giver of due
respect to all, adept, friendly, merciful,
and enlightened. Among these qualities,
self surrender to Lord Krishna is the chief
THE GAUDIYA 15 NOVEMBER 2012
character, and all others are the derivative
traits. That means, the one who is not
surrendered to Lord Krishna can have no
worthy quality, as he is simply riding over
the chariot of his own mental speculation
of mundane attachments, remaining
quite far away from the spiritual reality.
Those who do not possess these divine
qualities, happen to be the store house
of wicked traits. Such people act as
thorns on the path of human wellbeing.
Therefore, all those who intend to
contribute towards universal welfare
should learn and teach these qualities to
all the common masses.
KNOWLEDGE IS THE IDENTITY OF
THE SPIRIT
Genrally the knowledge or cognition
regardi ng vari ous obj ects i s the
i nformati on that hel ps us i n the
acquaintance of those objects. There
are various categories of knowledge, to
know about the principles of different
levels. A lamp which readily shows itself
and all the surrounding objects is given
as an example of knowledge. Among the
twofold principles of this world, matter is
devoi d of cogni ti on, whereas the
sentience is the very form of cognition,
like a lamp. Hence a living being can
know about himself as well as about the
surrounding objects. God is the form of
Absolute cognition or Omniscience,
whereas l i vi ng bei ngs are atomi c
cogni ti on or Anuchetana. The
Knowledge of the living beings is not only
very much l i mi ted, i t undergoes
degradation due to worldly entanglement
with Maya, due to the aversion to the
Lord. Therefore, the fallen jivas are
devoid of spiritual perception. All that they
possess is the defective knowledge of
sense-perception. God realisation or the
Divine visualisation is experienced by the
help of the devotional eyes of the pure
spirit, by applying the collyrium of pure
love to it. As the fallen souls are spiritually
blind, they remain ineligible to see God.
By the help of devotional performances
when their blindness is cured, then only
they can visualise the Supreme Lord.
VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF
KNOWLEDGE
Alongwith the downfall of the erring
jivas, their faculty of knowledge also
undergoes degradation. In the gross
physical level the knowledge takes the
form of logic , and in spiritual level, it
becomes realisation. The property of
instinct remains with all the living beings
including trees, creepers, plants, insects,
animals, reptiles etc. This instinct works
as the tendencies of eating, sleeping,
defending and mating. The human
beings who are exclusively attached to
these fourfold animal instincts, without
God-consciousness are equal to the
beasts. Those who work with logical
mentality are somewhat superior to the
beastly people. Based upon logic they
develop the knowledge of material
sci ence, technol ogy, engi neeri ng,
commerce, medicine, defence and try to
live a more comfortable and orderly life.
Yet, this also is useless due to its
insignificant and destructive nature. The
knowledge of realisation pertains to the
spiritual perception. When this is
strengthened by the help of devotioinal
cultivation in association with the pure
devotees of the Lord, the jivas shall be
able to achieve the transcendental
results alongwith the fortune of God-
realisation. These are the three types of
subjective knowledge. There are also
fi ve categori es of the obj ecti ve
knowledge such as, Pratyaksha
(direct sense-perception), Paroksha
(indirect sense-perception) experienced
by others, Aparoksha i s the
THE GAUDIYA 16 NOVEMBER 2012
metaphysi cal knowl edge beyond
Pratyaksha and Paroksha; the
knowledge about the Adhokshaja
Object is the transcendental knowledge
of Lord Narayana in the abode of
Vaikuntha. Adhokshaja Lord does not
come under the human range of vision.
One can see Him, only by the help of
His Own Mercy. The next level of Divine
Knowledge as Aprakrita is incorporated
in the Goloka Lila or Gokula Lila of
Vrindavan Dhama, which is absolutely
transcendental and relishable.
THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF REALITY
Living beings, inert matter and God
are the three basic Principles that have
pervaded the entire universe. As per the
Vedic Knowledge, this universe is created
by the transformation of divine potency
or energy. The Supreme Lord i s
Omni potent, Omni sci ent and
Omnipresent, possesses infinite energy,
its main divisions are, 1. Para Shakti
or Internal Potency, 2. Apara Shakti or
External Potency and 3. Jiva Shakti or
Marginal Potency.
(to be contd.....)
Nama Samkirtan
THE GAUDIYA 17 NOVEMBER 2012
Sages, Saints and Seers
Sri K.S. Ramaswami Sastri
(Contd. from October issue)
The reverence for the supreme
sages and saints and seers in India and
the belief in their power of visioning super
conci ous truths and seei ng and
communing with God and the faith in
their spiritual potency to work miracles
and also achieve the redemption of souls
have their parallels and counterparts in
other countries also in the course of the
ages. There is a universal belief that
those who love God and who are loved
by God because of thei r puri ty,
goodness, and affection for all living
beings and devotion to God have special
powers to bless and save because of
the grace of God.
I have had to adopt the alphabetical
order i n descri bi ng the l i ves and
teachings of the Rishis, as nothing is
known about the dates, nay, even the
centuries of their birth; and it is hence
impossible to settle their eras or their
priorities. The late Lokamanya B.G. Tilak
fixed the age of the Vedas as 5000 B.C.
in his famous work Orion and The Arctic
Home of the Vedas, having regard to
astronomical data. But other scholars
show how India was the birth-place and
home of the Aryans, and how the Vedas
do not refer to the incoming of the Aryans
into India from somewhere abroad and
how they refer to the Himalaya as the
Uttara Giri (the Northern Mountain).
Anyhow the dates viz. 3000 B.C. to 2000
B.C. assigned by the indologists of the
last century to the so-called Aryan entry
into India cannot be maintained. It is very
likely that an Aryan Colony went from
India to the Arctic regions and came back
after the glacial age there. Certain
passages in the Rig Veda (VIII.4.2 and
20.12) refer to Indra having been seen in
Roma. There are rival theories to-day
as to whether the Sumerians were
Aryans or Dravidians. Whatever be the
correct vi ew on that matter, the
Sumerians and the Aryans lived in the
Punjab. The Dravidians also lived in the
Punjab near Baluchistan. There are
affinities betwen the language spoken
there and the languages spoken in South
India. They are no-inflectional languages
whereas the languge spoken by the
Aryans was inflectional in its nature. Very
possi bl y both the Aryans and the
Dravi dans spread southwards.
Linguistic diversities do not necessarily
imply ethnic and racial differences. Their
cultures became blended and the Hindu
Religion was a blend of their religions and
cults and philosophies. The Hindus were
thus a uni ted peopl e wi th a
homogeneous cul ture for many
milenniums.
In this volume of the biographies of
the Rishis from Agastya to Yajnavalkya
who were the ancesters and
protagonists and propagandists of the
Hindu religion and culture, Agastya
symbolises the trek to South India and
the unification of the Hindu culture while
Suka who is the son of Vyasa and who
is the latest of the Rishis lived in our
Kaliyuga and gave us the religion of
Bhakti (devotion to God) which is the
si mpl est and hi ghest and most
efficacious of all the faiths leading to God
and is the true supreme universal
THE GAUDIYA 18 NOVEMBER 2012
religioin. He is hence the Rishi of our
age and is the latest and greatest of the
Rishis.
AGASTYA
One of the Brahmas sons was
Marici. His son Kashyapa whose sons
were Aditas, one of them was Mitra
whose son was Agastya who married
Lopamudra, princess of Vidarbha.
Agastya told her to throwaway her silk
garments and diamond jewels. She did
so and wore the deerskin and the bark
dress given by him. They lived together
in righteous happiness. Agastya once
went to a King named Srutarvan for
some wealth. But that king said: My
expenses equal my income. I am unable
to give you what you want. Agastya then
took hi m to antother Ki ng named
Vratnasvan and made the same request.
That King also gave a similar answer.
The Rishi them took both those Kings to
a king named Trasadasya and made the
same request. That King also gave a
similar answr. All the Kings than told the
Ri shi , An Asura name Il val a has
enormous wealth. Let us go to him.
They did so. Ilvala had a yonger brother
named Vatapi. The Asura was in the habit
of making Vatapi take the form of a sheep
and killing and cooking him and serving
the flesh as food. After the guest had
eaten he used to call: Come Vatapi.
Vatapi used to take own form and rip
upon the belly of the guest and come out
killing the guest in that process. Ilvala
went through the same trick in the case
of Agastya. But Agastya quietly said:
Vatapi! Be digested. (Vatapi Jeerno
Bhava). That was the end of Vatapi.
Ilvala became terrifed and gave each of
the Kings 1,000 cows and 10,000 gold
coins, and gave to Agastya 20,000 cows
and 20,000 gold coins. Once Agastya
asked his wife; Do you want 1,000
ordinary sons or 100 sons each equal
in glory to ten persons or 10 sons equal
in glory to one hundred persons or one
son more glorious than 1,000 persons?
She said, Let me have one son equal in
glory to 1,000 sons. Agastya said Be it
so! A glorious son named Tridasyu was
born to her. Even at its birth the child
recited the Vedas.
A remarkable incident in Agastyas
life was as follows. The Sun used to go
around Mount Meru. The Vindhya
mountain said, Am I not important? Go
round me also. The Sun said, That is
not Gods Command to me. Then the
Vindhya shot up to the height of the sky
and prevented the march of the Solar orb
to illumine the universe. The Gods then
sought Agastyas help. He told the
Vindhya, I wish to go to South India.
Resume your old height. The mountain
did so. He crossed over and said: Keep
this height till I return. The mountain is
hence having its present low height.
(This story is in the Vana Parva of the
Mahabharata).
(to be contd.......)
Srivas Angan
THE GAUDIYA 19 NOVEMBER 2012
Sri Krishna
Sri C. Gopinatham
(Contd. from August issue)
How the Brahma of our Brahmanda,
and the Indra of our trailoka, have become
lost in oblivion and how Sri Krishna had
to teach them a lesson and enlighten them
on their true position, I shall discuss in
connecti on wi th the i nci dent of
Vatsapaharana by Brahma at Vrindavana,
in our Lords fifth year, and in connection
with the Govardhana dharana incident, in
His seventh year.
Thirdly we have the internal evidence
furnished by the Life of our Lord and His
various Leelas at various places, which
points to the conclusion that the Sri Krihna
of Dwapara is not one and the same
throughout His earthly sojourn, but that He
was different at different places. Analysing
the Sri Krishna of the last Dwapara, we
have three Krishnas, from the standpoint
of the three places, where our Lord lived
in our midst. We have first the Sri Krishna
of Brindavana. Secondly, we have the
Krishna of Mathurapuri, thirdly and lastly,
we have the Krishna of Dwaraka. The
mode of Life led by each of these three
Krishnas and the Leelas performed by
each of Them is quite different from those
of the other and throw a flood of light on
the real nature of the Avatara at those
various places and connections. The
most di ffi cul t, i ntri cate and
incomprehensible Krishna out of the three
Krishnas aforesaid is the Krishna of
Brindavana, Whose Deeds and Leelas
there form a stumbling block to the
spiritual world up to the preent day. The
secret and mysteri ous Leel as at
Brindavana encated by the Goloka
Parabrahma i n company wi th Hi s
Moolaprakriti, Sri Radha Mahadevi, the
Queen of Brindavana, and Her attendant
spiritual companions, the Gopis of
Goloka, constitute mighty Gordion-knot
which the world has not been able to cut
successfully. The Gopalas and the Gopis
of the Bri ndavana, wi th whom the
Brindavana Krishna sported and played
and danced, are no other than the spiritual
Beings of Goloka, and incarnated on
earth, along with their Lord Krishna of
Goloka, to do service at His Divine Feet,
during the earthly sojourn of Goloka
Parabrahma. The Gopal as of
Brindavana, were in constant attendance
on Him palying and sporting with the
Supreme Parabraha and doing service
to the Lord and obeying His orders and
doi ng Hi s bi ddi ngs. The Gopi s of
Brindavana are the constant companions
of Radha Mahadevi, their spirtual Queen,
Who is no other than the Moolaprakriti of
Goloka, in constant attendance upon the
Supreme Parabrahma of Goloka, whence
She came down to the earth with Her
attendant spiritual retinue to do service
to the Lord.
Now, in this connection, it is a fact
noteworthy that the Parabrahma, Who
chooses to come down to the earth as
an Avatara, never comes single. The
Parabrahma, Who comes down, i s
al ways fol l owed by Hi s attendant
devotees and spiritual paraphernalia. It
is just like a king making a tour throughout
his dominions. The king never comes
single and is always accompanied by his
minsters and secretaries and private
secretaries. Just in the same way,
THE GAUDIYA 20 NOVEMBER 2012
Parabrahma in the course of His Avatara,
never come down single. It is because,
on the one part, the attendant spiritual
forces have to render service to the Lord,
and on the other part, the latter would run
the ri sk of l osi ng thei r constant
communion with their Lord, and service
at His Feet.
Moreover, the Parivara Devatas will
have a special advantage, when they
accompany the Avatara Purusha. When
engaged in the service of an Avatara, the
Pari vara Devatas have better
opportunities of courting and winning the
Divne Grace, by virtue of the special
envi ronment, than when they are
engaged in the service of the Moola
Parabrahman in the normal state. To
illustrate what I mean: The king sitting on
his throne, and exercising his authority,
is quite different from the king making his
tour through hi s domi ni ons. Hi s
subordinate officials, who accompany
him in his tours, have better fecilities and
opportunities of approaching their royal
master and obtaining the royal grace
under such conditions than when the king
i s i n hi s capi tal and si tti ng i n the
admnistrative robes and capacity.
Now the most important souls,
which incarnated at Gokula Brindavana
are residents of Goloka, as clearly set
forth in Purana and Radha Mahadevi is
the Moolaprakriti at Goloka and is the
Spiritual Queen of Lord Sri Krishna.
Nanda is one of the personal attendants
of the Lord of Goloka, and Sudama and
eleven other Gopa companions of our
Lord at Brindavana, are also the personal
attendants of Lord at Goloka. Most of the
younger Gopis at Brindavana are the
spiritual attendants of Sri Radha Devi of
Goloka. The Gopalas and Gopis of
Brindavana are unique souls, and form
quite a distinct section which did service
to the Lord and obtained the fullest Divine
Grace within that brief space. There is a
direct contrast between these Brindavana
Vasis and the Dwaraka-pura Vasis. The
ideals of each were different. This
fundamental difference would throw light
not only on the difference between these
two classes, but also on the nature of the
parti cul ar Ki shna Who mani fested
Himself at Brindavana and at Dwaraka.
The Krishna of Brindavana is quite
different from the Krishna at Dwaraka.
The Sri Krishna of Brindavana had,
as stated above, twelve chief sakhas
among the Gopalas. Their names as
gi ven i n Sri mad Bhagavatam, are
Sri dama, Subal a, Stoka Kri shna,
Vri shabha, Bhadrasena, Arj una,
Devaprastha, Varudhopa, etc. Sridama
and Sudama are the chief of the twelve.
These twelve Sakhas are the personal
attendants of the Lord at Goloka. The
fact that these Gopalas are mentioned by
name in Bhagavata is significant. If these
boys were merely the shepherd boys,
casually born at Brindavana, and casually
came into contact with the Lord, there
was no necessity to name them specially.
Of course, this is not a forcible argument,
but the pictue presented to the Brindavana
Krishna in all its details is that of the
Goloka Lord, of which the group of these
twelve Gopalas forms one aspect.
Again turning to Nanda, the proprietor
of Goloka and Brindavana, he is the
immediate personal attendant of the
Goloka Lord. Nanda played a very
important part in the Krishnavatara. He
had i ncarnated l ong before the
Avatarapurusha. By the ti me the
Sanatana Parabrahman descended to the
earth, Nanda was carefully bringing up the
several Gopal as and Gopi s who
incarnated from Goloka and preparing
them for the service to the Impending Lord
of Goloka.
(to be contd......)
THE GAUDIYA 21 NOVEMBER 2012
This Mayik Potency is the perverted
reflection of My Internal Self Conscious
Enlightening Potency (Yoga Maya) which is
the other one.
Now this Bahiranga Shakti has eight
components earth, water, fire, air and
ether, the five gross elements and mind,
intelligence and ego, the three subtle
elements. The five gross elements have five
fold properties smell, taste, colour, touch
and sound. These eight components are the
offshoots of My Apara Prakriti (External
Deluding Mayik Potency). 4
Jiva, as marginal potency of the Lord
+4|---4| a+|- ||a +|
-|~ -| |4|| 44 + +|4 - -4-
Apareyamitastvnym
prakritim viddhi me parm |
jeevabhutm mahbho
yayedam dhryate jagat || 5 ||
|4|| = O mighty armed (Arjuna) ,
;4 = this, +| = external Mayik Potency
is lower, ||a = know, a+ |- = the Potency,
;- - 4| = which is different from this, +|
= and is supreme, -|~ -| = known as Jiva
Potency , = which is also Mine, 4v| =
and by which, ;+ = this, -4- = material
world, +|4- = is supported.
O Mighty armed Arjuna! This external
(Contd. from October issue)
Mayik Potency
is lower.
Know the
Potency which
is different from this and is supreme, known
as Jiva Potency, which is also Mine and by
which this material world is supported.
This Jiva Potency i.e. Para is superior
to Mayik Potency i.e. Apara. And this is
also called as Tatastha or Marginal Potency
as it ies in between the Lords Chit
Antaranga and Achit Bahiranga Potencies
and is liable to take a move towards the
spiritual world manifested from Chit
Potency or towards the fourteen worlds that
have emanated from Achit Potency according
to his serving or enjoying tendency which is
deeply rooted in his very essence.
Please refer Svetashwatara
Upanishad6.16; Vishnu Purana 6.7.60;
Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya Leela
20.108,109,111. 5
The Lord declares that He distinct from
these two and is the final cause
of the Universe
)-|+||+ ~-||+ =||-4++|4
+-|-4 -4- a~ az4--v| .
Etadyoneeni bhutni
sarvneetyupadhraya |
aham kritsnasya jagatah
prabhavah pralayastath || 6 ||
||4= 4||| -4-
SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA
|a4+|-|
=--| .4|4 CHAPTER-VII
|a|+4| 4 DHYNA YOGA
THE GAUDIYA 22 NOVEMBER 2012
.++|4 = Bear in mind, ;|- = that,
=| | = all, ~ -||+ = beingssentient and
insentient, )-- = have these (two potencies
i.e. Apara Shakti - External Mayik
Potency, Tatastha or Jiva Shakti -
Marginal Potency), 4| +||+ = as the source
of birth, = I am, a~ = the Prime Cause
of Creation or the place of orgin and
sustenance, -v| = and also, az4 = the place
of dissolution, + -|-4 = of the entire, -4-
= Universe.
Bear in mind, that all beings sentient
and insentient, have these two Potencies i.e.
Apara Shakti - External Mayik Potency,
Tatastha or Jiva Shakti - Marginal Potency
as the source of birth. I am the Prime Cause
of Creation or the place of orgin and
sustenance and also the place of dissoution
of the entire Universe.
Please refer Iteriya Upanishad I.1.1,2;
Bhagavad Gita IX.10. 6
Lord declares, that besides Him
there is nothing else
a +- +|4- |+||+|-- ++|4
|4 =|+ a|- = |4| ;
Mattah parataram nnyat
kinchidasti Dhananjaya |
Mayi sarvamidam protam
sutre manigan iva || 7 ||
++|4 = Arjuna! (Winner of wealth), +
4- |+||- = nothins else, |-- = is, +-
= superior or equal, a = to Me, = = all,
;+ = this Universe, a| - = is strung (or exists
and through), |4 = in Me, ; = like, |4|
= a group of gems, = = on a thread.
Arjuna! Winner of wealth! Nothing else
is superior or equal to Me. All this Universe
is strung (or exists and through) in Me like a
group of gems on a thread. (Nothing can
exist independent of Me.)
Please refer Svetasvatara Upanishad
3.10; 3.8,9; 6.8; Vedanta Sutra 3.2.36;
Srimad Bhagavatam 5.3.16; 1.3.28;
Bhagavad Gita 11.43; Chaitanya
Charitamrtia Madhya Leela 20.152,153;
8.133; Brahma Samhita 5.1; Gopalatapani
Upanishad; Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1;
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. 7
=|.-= +|-4 a~||- |=44|
a =+ + n +|= +
Rasoahamapsu kaunteya
prabhsmi shashisuryayoh |
pranavah sarvavedeshu
shabdah khe paurusham nrishu || 8 ||
+|-4 = Arjuna! (son of Kunti), =
I (am), = = the taste, -= = in water,
|- = (I) am, a~| = the light, | = in the
moon, =44| = and the sun, a = (I am)
the Pranava, = = in all, + = Vedas, +
= (I am) the sound, n = in sky (akasha),
+| = = and manliness, + = in man.
Arjuna! O son of Kunti, I am the taste
in water. I am the light in the moon and the
sun. I am the Pranava in all Vedas. I am the
sound in sky (akasha) and manliness in man.
Krishna illustrates the Truth that He is
the Maintainer of the Universe. He exists in
the elements since He maintains them through
the sense objects, which are His Vibhutis.
Jut as He entered into the Universe,
His effect, in the form of Paramatma, and
also He exists in the form of the cause of
these effects (taste in the water etc.)
Refer Srimad Bhagavatam XI.16.34.
8
+4| 4+ +|+4|| --|||- |~|=|
-|+ =~- -+|||- -+|- :
Punyo gandhah prithivyamscha
tejaschsmi vibhvasau |
THE GAUDIYA 23 NOVEMBER 2012
Sri Hari Hara Kshetra
(to be contd....)
jeevanam sarvabhuteshu
tapaschsmi tapasvishu || 9 ||
+4 = (I am) the natural or sactified,
4+ = smell, +|v4| = in earth, |- = I
am also, -- = the heat, |~|=| = in fire,
-|+ = I am the lilfe-giving principle, = =
in all, ~- = beings, |- = I am , -+ =
penance (tapas), -+|- = in those who
perform penance.
I am the natural or sanctified smell in
earth (i.e. natural or pleasing applies to
all the elements). I am also the heat in fire,
i.e. the pleasing form of fire or power of fire,
the essence that which can burn,
illuminate and relieve cold in all things. I am
the life-giving principle in all beings i.e. their
essence. I am penance in those who perform
penance, i.e. toleration of suffering viz.
dualilties such as heat and cold in the
performers of penance.
Sri Advaitacharya worshipping
Sriman Mahaprabhu