THE GAUDIYA 1 JANUARY 2013

THE
GAUDIYA
Spiritual Monthly
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Vol. LVI J ANUARY 2013 No. 5
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Sri Chaitanya Mahaprahu Who is here compared with Transcendental
Moon when sheds Its beam into the hearts of a jiva at once nescience of his
heart is totally dispersed (scattered) and forthwith swells the ocean of Nectarine
Bliss and makes him float in that unending waves of the Ecstatic spiritual
perturbations; nay, at His appearance the entire world which was so long
suffering from the scorching sun-like perturbations of triple misery of the illusory
maya now got saturated with Bliss being endowed with the showers of His
Divine Love. May the effulgent Glow of that eternal Moon (He Himself) ever
shine in your Transperent heart.
Srila Prabodhnanda Saraswati
THE GAUDIYA 2 JANUARY 2013
A stipend-
holder or a
c o nt r a c t o r
cannot be a
Guru, nor a blind
reader of the
Shrimad Bhaga-
vatam. First of all
refrain from approaching the
professioinal priest. See whether he
devotes his time fully to Bhgavata or not.
All the time of one who is steeped or
accomplished in Para-Brahman is fully
occupied with the service of God.
From whom is the Bhagavatam to
be heard? The Bhagavatam is to be
heard from or to be studied with a true
Vaishnava. The Bhagavatam cannot
come out of the mouth of one who is
not a Bhagavata or true devotee.
Pretending to be a reader of the
Bhagavatam one such leads others
astray. He is deceived himself and, as
such, he deceives others. How can the
Bhagavatam which is not different from
Shri Bhagavan have a full play on the
tongues of the professional readers who
pose as scholars conversant in reading
it before others, but have no true
devotion in Him, being engaged in
worldly enjoyments? On the plea of
discoursing on the Bhagavatam, they
only gratify their own senses instead of
the senses of Shri Krishna. A person
anxious for his true well being should
never come in contact with such
professional readers and thereby court
their own downfall, falsely thinking that
they would get true benefit by accepting
them as true Gurus and listening to
them as disciples.
How can those act as Jagad-Guru or
true instructors of people who are busy with
the maintenance of their wives and children,
who give full steps to their desire for
enjoyments arising out of illusion, who try
to employ God Who is the highest Entity
to be adored and served, for supplying
them fuel for the fire thereof? What do we
see in the Srimad Bhagavatam and in the
conduct and preaching of Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu and His devotees? Such
people as cherish in their hearts fear,
affliction, wrong illusory ideas, deisre,
greed, feeling of discomfiture, concerning
body, wealth, friendly relation, etc., on
account of their attachment to some
second object besides Him, have not
surrendered themselves to God. Such
non-dedicated persons cannot advise
others to surrender themselves to God.
Even if they give verbal instructions
therefore, such preaching bereft of the
practical examples in their own conduct is
not effective. Only such a Mahabhagavata
(great devotee of God) as is a nishkinchana
(having nothing to call his own in the world)
and has sincerely surrendered himself to
Krishna or is His exclusive servitor all the
twenty-four hours of the day can
legitimately occupy the Acharyas seat.
Those who attend to the service of
Gods Name, Gods Dhama (Abodes) and
Gods Desire (Kama) are the only
persons really adorable in the world. No
being can extricate himself from wrong
understandings due to maya without
doing service to Shri Nama (Divine
Name). As the result of service to Shri
Nama, men can get rid of all prejudices
and be settled in the service of Kishna-
Desires (Kishna Kama-Seva).
Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupd
THE GAUDIYA 3 JANUARY 2013
Thus Spake Srila chryadeva
Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami
followed and materialisedthe author of
Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi, perhaps the
best book on the love of Srimati Radha
for Sri Krishna was the brother of the said
Venkata Bhatta. These two
distinguished followers of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu who contributed so much
to the literature and doctrine of Gaudiya
Vaishnavism came from among the
Srivaishnavas of South India.
Next His important visit was to
Madurai, then called Southern Mathura
where He was invited by a Brahmin, who
was a great devotee of Sri
Ramachandra. He was so much
aggrieved and suffering from agony that
he forgot to cook for Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu although noon passed. On
enquiry by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as
to why he did not cook his meal, the
devotee answered, If and when
Lakshman collects and brings from
forest the vegetables, fruits and roots,
then Sita will cook. Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu understood the depth of
devotion of the devotee to Sri Rama.
The Brahmin hurriedly cooked and
offered food to Sree Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu in the afternoon, but the
devotee himself was on fast. Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked him why
he was in so much sorrow. Then the
devotee said, there is no need of my
living. I heard today that Sita, mother of
the world was abducted by the demon. I
shall give up my life by jumping into fire
or water. How can I hear that the mother
of the whole word, Mahalakshmi Sita
Thakurani could be touched by a demon?
My body is burning from the time I heard
it. Why I did not die? What is the good
of my life ?
S r i m a n
Mahaprabhu
consoled him
saying, you
should not think
like this. Being
learned why dont
you think properly before
committing suicide. Sita is the consort
of God, and embodiment of spiritual
Bliss, none through physical eyes can
see Her far Ravana could touch Her.
Herself is all spiritual. Ravana abducted
the illusory Sita that semed to him like
Sita herself. At the approach of Ravana,
Sita disappeared and She sent an
illusion of Herself before Ravana. Her
spiritual body is beyond the reach of
physical senses this is the teaching
of Vedas and Puranas. For things
spiritual do not reveal themselves to the
physical senses. Believe what I say and
never think otherwise. The great
devotee got consolation took his meal
and then desired to live.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came
to Rameshwaram and heard the
recitation of Kurma Purana at the
assembly of Brahmins, about the story
of Sitas devotion to Sri Ramachandra.
Seeing Ravana, Sita took shelter under
the Fire-god who concealed Sita Devi
from Ravana and Ravana abducted
Maya-Sita or illusion of Sita or false Sita.
And the Fire-god kept Sita in the illusory
Sita to disappear in fire and brought
before Rama the real Sita. Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu made a copy of the above
statements written in palm leaves and
for convincing the Ramabhakta Brahmin
of Madurai took the original writings with
THE GAUDIYA 4 JANUARY 2013
ALMANAC for the months of J ANUARY & FEBRUARY 2013
18.01.2013 Fri Demise of Srimad Bhakti Vilas Bharati Maharaj
22.01.2013 Tue Putrad Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 9.08 and
10.01 a.m. Demise of Srimad Bhakti Sharan Madhusudan Maharj
23.01.2013 Wed Appearance of Srila J agadish Pandit
30.01.2013 Wed Demise of Sripad Nitynanda Brahmachri
31.01.2013 Thu Demise of Srimad Nayannanda Ds Bbji Maharj
01.02.2013 Fri Appearance of Srila Goplabhata Goswmi, Disappearance of Srila
Rmachandra Kavirj
02.02.2013 Sat Disappearance of Srila J ayadeva Goswmi Srila Lochan Ds Thkur
03.02.2013 Sun Demise of Srila Bhakti Vils Thkur
06.02.2013 Wed Shat til Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 6.19 and
10.00 a.m. Demise of Srila Gaddhar Ds Bbji Maharj
15.02.2013 Fri Vasanta Panchami. Advent of Sri Vishnu Priy Devi, Appearance
of Srila Pundarika Vidynidhi, Srila Raghuntha Ds Goswmi, Srila
Raghunandana Thkur, Disappearance of Srila Viswantha
Chakravorty Thkur. Demise of Srimad Bhakti Vivek Bhrati
Maharj. Saraswati Puja
Him leaving the copy with the Brahmins
there. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
came back to Madurai and gave the said
leaves to the Brahmin. These events
were to be found in both Kurma Purana
as well as in Brihat Agni Purana. The
Fire god being prayed by Sita created a
shadow Sita and the ten faced Ravana
abducted the shadow of original Sita. In
the midst of Fire-ordeal the illusory Sita
entered into Fire and the Fire god
brought the original Sita before
Ramachandra. All the sorrows of the
Brahmin vanished. He read and read the
said leaves. He fell at the Feet of Sri
Chaitanya Mahapabhu and washed His
Feet with his tears of joy and told Him
that He was really Sri Raghunandan. He
adored Sri Chaitanya saying, You are
Lord Ramachandra Incarnate in the
guise of a Sannyasi. You have saved
me from grave sorrow.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made an
extensive tour of the whole of South India
up to the Cape Comorin, visited every
palce of pilgrimage, had discussions with
the then leaders of religious
Sampradayas of South India and
preached to them the superiority of
Bhakti, gave them new light to perfect
what was wanting in them. Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu also accepted the
philosophical doctrine from the
Srivaishnava and assimilated them in His
Own doctrine. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
discovered in the course of His tour of
South India two precious treatisesSri
Brahma Samhita and Sri Krishna
Karnamritam, which He brought, and
introduced and popularised among His
Own followers.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited
Udupi, the head-quarters of the Madhva
Sampradaya and had discussion with
their then Head. But He differed from
them on the conception of Sadhya and
Sadhana.
THE GAUDIYA 5 JANUARY 2013
Sarvabhauma employing logical
dilemmas, syllogisms and devices, tried
to defend the monistic position of
Shankara but our Lord established that
the philosophy of Love and Devotion to
God Krishna is the logical outcome of the
teaching of the Vedanta, refuting all
Sarvabhaumas opinions to the contrary.
He pointed out that the Vedas teach three
truthsSambandha, Abhidheya and
Prayojana which aim at Krishna, Krishna
Bhakti and Prema or Love of Krishna
respectively.
It is interesting to note that our Lord
unable to accept Shankaras view, which
He ruthlessly refuted in order to esatblish
Theism proper on the solid basis of the
Vedanta, found no fault with him
personally and even honoured him as
great Acharya, saying Shankara was an
avatara of Shiva commanded by God to
hide Him from the jivas, to make them
averse to Him by promulgating false
theories so that the people should live in
their conditioned state in the world, and
never cease to produce endless
posterity, that is to say, for the working of
the mundane world. Our Lord quoted
Padma-Purana as follows: Shiva says
to Parvati, this theory of Maya is a flase
doctrine, a veiled form of Buddhism, I
myself, O goddess, promulgated this
false theory in the Kaliyuga taking the
garb of a Brahmana. This attitude of our
Lord Sri Chaitanya towards Shankara has
been faithfully followed by the Gaudya
Vaishnavas.
On a close examination, the
current tradition among the Vaishnavas
that Shankaras Mayavadism is crypto-
Buddhism will be found more or less true.
Both Buddhists and Shankarite scholars
refuse to accept jivas and Iswara as
realities in an absolute sense, on which
depends the first principle of theism or
devotion. They are equally atheistical in
the sense that both ignore the subject as
well as the object of devotion.
Shankaras Moksha which means the
absolute identity of the jivas with the
Brahman is very much the same as the
I am nullity, of the Buddhists. However,
we are not here concerned with the
differences between the universal
consciousness of Mayavadism and the
void of Buddhism; it will suffice to say that
Buddhists are atheists because of their
open opposition to the Vedas, and
atheism such as that of Mayavadism
under the guard of Vedic sanctioin, is
more than Buddhism. That both aim at
destroying spiritual Love and Service as
the eternal function of jivas towards the
Transcendental Personality of God, and
that as Buddha differs from the Vedas
so also the Iswara and Maya theories of
Shankara are incompatible with Vedic
and Upanishads to support his Maya
Theory which is more akin to Buddhism
than to orthodox Vedic religion. This
tendency to place Buddhists and
Shankarites in the same class by
Vaishnavas is further strengthened by the
prevalent belief that Gaudapada,
VEDANTA SUTRAS
With the Achintya Bheda-Abheda Vada Commentary
GOVI NDA BHASHYA
Srimad Bhakti Prajnan Yati Maharaj
(Contd. fromDecember issue)
THE GAUDIYA 6 JANUARY 2013
Shankaras Parama Guru, was himself
a Buddhist and wrote a commentary on
the Buddhist book Madhyamika Karika.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan remarks that
Gaudapadas work bears traces of
Buddhist influecnce, especially of the
Vijnanavada and Madhyamika. This
attitude of the orthodox Vaishnavas
towards the Shankarite monists was
certainly current at the time of the
composition of the Padma Purana which
describes the Shankarite Advaitism as
Avaidika and crypto-Buddhism if the said
passages are not considered spurious.
Yamunacharya also shows similarity
between Advaitism and Buddhism in
hisSiddhitraya, stating that Adviatavad-
ins and Buddhists do away with the
distinctions of knower, Known and
knowledge, and that the Advaita traces
them to Maya, while Budhists, trace them
to Buddhi.
It is the traditional belief that Sri
Madhvacharya met Sri Vyasadeva at
Badrinath and being admired by him he
wrote a commentary of the Vedanta. For
elaboration or further illustration of his
own commentary he wrote two more
Tikas on it. Sri Madhvacharya says:
Divine Hari is the highest conception of
God, the world is true. There is a five-
fold eternal relation between God, human
soul and matter, the individuals are the
servants of Hari and there is a gradation
of fitness among atomic souls. To unfold
the eternal function true to his proper
nature brings about the emancipation of
each soul. The practice of performing
this pure function is Bhakti. The
scriptures, direct perception and
inference are its testimony. Realisation
of the God Hari is possible by following
the whole body of the scriptures.
After Sri Madhvacharya many
Acharyas of his Sampradaya have written
different Tika or Bhasya mainly for
refuting the Mayavada of Sri Sankarites.
Sri Vishnuswamis Bhasya on Vedanta
is known as Sarvajna Sukta and
established Hldinya samvidslishtah
sacchi -dnanda svarah
svavi dyasamvri to j i vah
samklesanikarakarah: God is All-
intelligence, All-existence and All-Bliss, in
the embrance of Hladini and Samvit
(shakti) whereas jivas is enveloped in his
own avidya which is the abode of all
sufferings. Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhva
are not so clear regarding the essential
Potency (Shakti) of God as Sri
Vishnuswami. Vishnuswami says: The
Body of God is Sat-Chit-Ananda, His
eternal devotees body is also chid, jiva
and maya both are not separate entity,
they are dependent in relation to Him, and
these two are also having their eternal
existence. Sri Sridhara Swami was the
next glorious Acharya of his Sampradaya.
Sri Vallabhachrya also accepted this
Theory. Sri Nimbarkacharyas
commentary is known as Vedanta-
Parijata-Saurabha. He accepts that
essentially Brahman is quite distinct from
jiva and maya but they are all eternal from
this point identical. God is the only
dependent and Indwelling Reality of all
realities both animate and inanimate who
are His integral parts and absolutely
depend on Him for their existence. There
is one plenary conscious-ness forming
the background of unity of all infinitesimal
souls and Prakriti who being His parts,
are always so and never lose their
character in the whole who is Absolute
and therefore self-suficient and self-
contained. His God is Sri Krishna, the
Supreme Being of All-existence,
Intelligence and Bliss in their infinite
degree. His Body is Transcendental. He
is an Abode of all beauty, tenderness,
charms and sweetness, and He lives in
THE GAUDIYA 7 JANUARY 2013
a Divine city (Vyomapura). Srimati
Radhika is His Hladini Potency. The jiva-
souls are numerous and are regarded as
atoms possessing also knowledge and
bliss, being the servitors of Krishna.
Because they are atomic they are liable
to be in association with the
beginningless maya of three-fold quality
which is external potency of God. In a
word, the soul is diferent but not separate
from God. He recognises sixfold Prakriti
and nine fold Bhakti.
Ramanuja tells us that Shankaras
God is no God at all. Ramanujas God is
a synthetical while possessed of Chit and
Achit. The qualities of Sat (Being), Chit
(consciousness) and Ananda constitute
His Supreme Personal Character, while
the individuals are also personal in a way
peculiar to them. The distinctions
necessary for characterization are
implied within himself. The Divine
qualities of God are wisdoms, power and
Love which are distinct from the souls
and matter.
In his absoluteness God keeps His
personality capable of communion in
fellowship with the distinctive souls who
may be in touch with God by virute of their
sameness, while their distinctions keep
them always separate and subservient
to Him for His Divine Sports. God is
accessible through Bhakti or Prapatti. His
God is Lakshmi-Narayana of Vaikuntha.
He manifests Himself in the five-fold
mode (1) Para as Sri Narayana, (2)
Vyuha: Vasudeva, Samkarshana,
Pradyumana, Aniruddha, (3) Vibhavas:
Avataras, (4) Antaryamin Monitor-Soul
and (5) Archa: The Srimurtis.
Regarding four Acharyas detailed
views one may reffer to my divine
masters book Sri Chaitanyas Concept
of Theistic Vedanta page.167 to 185 of
3rd edition and also read my Lord Sri
Chaitanya and His Mission from page 322
to 334, 340 to 426 and also 220 to 236.
There are four parts or chapters of
the Vedanta sutras. In the 1st and 2nd
parts or chapters we get Sambandha-
tattva, in the 3rd part or chapter Abhidheya
or Sadhana-bhakti and in the 4th part or
chapter Prayojana Tattva or final pursuit
viz. Krishna-Prema.
The 1st part or chapter contains four
sections and first section contains eleven
sub-sections or Adhikaranas and thirty
one sutras. In the first Adhikarana or sub-
section we find Enquiry of Brahman,
Supreme Reality. In the 2nd Adhikarana:
Brahman is the creator, sustainer and
destroyer of the universe that is
established, in the 3rd Adhikarana the
reveled scriptures are the authority in
establishing the Tattva; reasoning or
empiricism can not establish the Tattva.
Veda or Transcendental Sound is the
authority to establish the Truth. The
Vedas are the direct pronouncement of
God Himself. In the 4th Adhikarana all
the Valid Shastras establish that Sri Hari
is the Supreme God and therefore the
aim of the scriptures is to establish this
Truth. In the 5th Adhikarana: Although Sri
Hari is known through the Vedas yet He
is beyond any knowledge. He reveals
through His own prerogative that is
intuitive wisdom (samvit) gives the
subjective-realisation of Him. In the 6th
Adhikarana: Sri Hari is devoid of
phenomenal qualities but He possess
non-phenomenal transcendental
qualities. He is Sat-Chit-Ananda-
Vigraha. In the 7th Adhikarana the
Purusha dwelling in the sun and which
they realise through their divine vision the
exalted devotees are the sme Reality viz.
Sri Hari, the Supreme. In the 8th
Adhikarana: The Akasha that is spoken
in the Upanishad as the substratum of
THE GAUDIYA 8 JANUARY 2013
the universe is none but Sri Hari, the
Supreme. In the 9th Adhikarana the
Prana spoken in the Chandogya
Upanishad is referred to Sri Hari, the
Supreme because He is the creator,
sustainer and the final Resort of the jivas.
In the 10th Adhikarana: the jyoti referred
in the Upanishad is none but Sri Hari
because the whole universe is only one
part of His Splendour. So all the powers
or shaktis are emanated from Him. In
the 11th Adhikarana: the Upanishadic
Prna is entitled to Sri Hari, the
Supreme; jiva-soul is not identical with
God.
In the 2nd section of the 1st chapter
there are seven sub-sections or
Adhikaranas and all total there are 33
Sutras.
In the 3rd section of the 1st chapter
there are eleven sub-sections and all total
there are 43 sutras and in the 4th section
of the 1st chapter there are eight sub-
sections with 28 sutras. Therefore in the
1st chapter there are all total 4 sections
with thirty seven sub-sections and 135
sutras.
In the 2nd chapter there are also
four sections. In the 1st section of the
2nd chapter there are fifteen sub-
sections. 37 sutras and in the 2nd
section there are 19 sub-sections with
51 sutras and in the 4th section there are
11 sub-sections with 20 sutras.
Therefore in the second chapter there
are all total 4 sections with 53 sub-
sections and total 153 sutras.
In the 3rd chapter there are also 4
sections. In the 1st section there are six
sub-sections and 28 sutras, in the 2nd
section there are seventeen sub-
sections and 42 sutras. In the 3rd section
there are 33 sub-sections and 68 sutras
and in the 4th section there are 16 sub-
sections and 52 sutras. Therefore in the
3rd chapter all total there are 72 sub-
sections and all total 190 sutras.
In the 4th chapter there are also 4
sections. In the 1st section there are 13
sub-sections and 19 sutras. In the 2nd
section there are 10 sub-sections and 21
sutras. In the 3rd section there are 9 sub-
sections and 16 sutras and in the 4th
section there are 11 sub-sections and 22
sutras. Therefore in this chapter there are
all total 43 sub-sections and total 78
sutras.
(to be contd.......)
J ust as a blazing fire reduces every piece of fuel to ashes, even so,
unflinching devotion to Me (Sri Krishna), strikes at the root of all sins.
The performance of expiatory acts, such as penance, liberal gifts, observance
of religious vows, etc., no doubt delivers a sinner from the various sins he has
committed. But these actions are incapable of removing the impurities caused
by the practice of irreligious activities guided by the impulse of sin. It is only by the
service of the Lord that this impulse of sin can be totally destroyed.
Bhaktas, by meditating with love upon the ever-effulgent Toes of the Lotus
Feet of the Supreme Lord gradually destroy the evil knots of Karma easily; but
those Yogis, who have experienced even Nirvikalpa Samadhi, though
dispassionate, having control over their flowing senses, could not succeed in
their efforts to cut assunder the knots of Karma. Hence, avoiding all those futile
attempts for controlling the senses, serve Bhagavan Sri Vasudeva with loving
devotion.
THE GAUDIYA 9 JANUARY 2013
Sridhara was a great devotee of
Vishnu and regular worshipper of the
Ganges. He used to spend his night
chanting aloud the Names of Sri Hari to
the great annoyance of his neighbours.
He was very poor and lived upon selling
sheaths, spathes, banana-leaves etc.
The Lord Sri Chaitanya was very fond of
joking with him whenever He met him.
The Lord asked him as to why he, being
a worshipper of Lakshmi-Narayana, had
been always in want of even bare
necessities of food and clothing, while
worshippers of other minor gods had
been rolling in wealth and prosperity.
At this, poor Sridhara replied: O
Lord! Yet time, the respector of none,
glides equally with one and all, whether
the princes living luxurious lives with their
henchmen, or the poor always labouring
under want and poverty, or the animals
depending entirely on the gift of nature.
Time keeps them always engaged in
reaping the consequences of their
respective actions as willed by God.
Eating, drinking, merry making, sleeping,
coition and such like sensual pleasures
are common factors both in man and
animal, but worship of Hari to His
pleasure is the exclusive right of human
beings ignoring which they cannot claim
to be superior to other animals. The
worldly people run after mundane
ameliorations while the Vaishnavas
whom the goddesses of wealth, learning
and salvation are ready to serve with
folded hands, posing themselves as poor
are always engaged in their devotional
services of the Lord and so hardly find
any time for such temporal and frivolous
pursuits. At this the Lord Sri Chaitanya
said, No, you have enough hidden
treasure and yet pose yourself to be
poor to deceive the public. I will certainly
expose you to others if you fail to promise
me my due share. But Sridhara who
lived from hand to mouth pleaded inability
to spare anything from the small stock
of vegetables he had for sale.
Thus Sridhara wanted to avoid
further remonstrances with the Lord.
But the Lord was pertinacious in His
demands. At last Sridhara had to yield
with a promise to give Him gratis
everyday His daily consumption of
vegetables such as sheaths, spathes,
radishes, banana-leaves etc. Now the
Lord was satisfied and said to him. O
Sridhara, what do you think of me?
Sridhara replied, Why? you are a
Brahmin and a part and parcel of
Vishnu. No you have failed in your
assumption; I am a milk man and the
Father of the Ganges you worship
praising in hymns all her glories was the
Lords retort. At these seemingly
offensive words Sridhara muttered; Sri
Vishnu, Sri Vishnu and said, O Pandit!
Have you no regard even for the Ganges?
Men grow wiser with their age, but I see
You are moe flippant and fidgety as you
grow older. But ah! poor Sridhara failed
to recognise his own Lord due to the
influence of His Yoga-maya. Nobody
knows the Lord unless He reveals
Himself to him.
By this the Lord teaches us that
super-mundane treasure which poor
Sridhara accumulated by selling banana
leaves and radishes can never be
SRIDHAR A GREAT DEVOTEE OF LORD VISHUNU
Sripad B.V. Paramahamsa Maharaj
THE GAUDIYA 10 JANUARY 2013
attained by millionaires in million of births;
and that the Ecstatic Bliss which the
Vaishnavas derive from Haribhajana
(worship of Sri Hari) for physical wants
and distresses not with-standing, will not
even be cognisable, not to speak of
realisation by the worldly minded people
owing to their pride in high pedigree,
abundant wealth, vast learning,
handsome appearance and hankering
after worldly name and fame, all these
being ephemeral and baneful in the long
run have no attraction for the
Vaishnavas. The Supreme Lord Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not attainable
by wealth, lineage and learning but only
by single minded loving devotion. The
prominent feature which characterise the
devotees of the Lord is their aversion to
worldly enjoyment, a feature which
exceedingly delights the Lord.
One day Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
accompanied by Sri Nityananda Prabhu
met the devotees of Navadwip who had
assembled at the House of Pandit
Srivas. When the congregational chant
of Holy Name of Sri Krishna began as
usual, the Lord revealed Himself, out of
His Own accord, in all His Magnificence,
Glory, Power, Beauty, Intelligence and
Freedom, and sat on the throne of Sri
Vishnu in the Temple of Pandit Srivas.
This is known as the Grand revelation of
the Lord, as it lasted for seven praharas
i.e. twenty one hours. The Lord asked
His devotees to perform His Abhisheka
(Installation Ceremony) which was done
under the auspicies of Sri Advaita
Acharya with various puja offerings such
as burning incense, candle light, fruits,
flowers, garlands, Ganges-water, milk,
curds, ghee, honey and sweets of
various kinds. Foliage of Tulasi smeared
with sandal paste was offered at the
Lotus Feet of the Lord by the devotees
reciting the ten lettered Gopala Mantra.
Sri Nityananda Prabhu held a Royal
Umbrella on His Head and Sri Narahari
Thakur fanned the Lord with a Chamara
(fan made of tail hairs of yak). The
devotees who had began to sing hymns
in praise of the Lord, and the qualities
and Deeds of His various manifestations
in different ages. The Lord was pleased
to accept with pleasure a variety of
sumptuous repast to the great
satisfaction of His devotees. He then
began to remind them of their past secret
mishaps of life and His succor therefrom.
He called Pandit Srivas, Advaita Acharya
and Gangadas Pandit. Then Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called for
Sridhara who had no sooner heard the
Lords desire to see him than he fell into
a swoon and was brought before the
Lord was pleased to welcome him with
an encomium his sacrificing in the past
many a devotional life in the service of
the Supreme Lord Sri Vishnu.
In his present life the Lord, after a
long love quarrel, managed to secure
from him gratis His daily consumption
of vegatables such as, banana, sheaths,
spathes etc. Despite his penury, he used
to spend half of his daily profits in the
worship of the Ganges and the
remainder went for his maintenance. He
was as truthful as Yudhishtira of hoary
antiquity. He used to spend the whole
night in chanting aloud the Holy Names
of Sri Krishna to the great chagrin of his
neighbours. The Lord then asked
Sridhara to have His Darsan at which
Sridhara hymned a prayer which pleased
the Lord so much that He was ready to
grant him even Ashta-Siddhi (eightfold
yogic perfections). Let the selfsame
brahmin who used to snatch away the
banana leaves and sheaths from me, be
my eternal Lord, wherever and
whenever, I may be born; and let His
(Contd.. on page 18 )
THE GAUDIYA 11 JANUARY 2013
Absolute God Realisation
through the process of
Vishuddha Bhakti Yoga
Sripad Bhakti Saurabh Narayan Maharaj
Such fortunate souls do not expect for
anyother prompting for becoming God-
conscious. Even the casual hearing of the
divine narrations awaken their inspiraion
about the Divine Glory, as in the case of Sri
Prahlada, who heard Sri Harikatha from sage
Sri Narada Rishi, while he was in his
mothers womb. In the case of other
aspirants, listening to the divine accounts may
produce the seed of faith, yet it may not
develop due to the defects like various
deviations.
In the words of Sri Prahlada we find
about the different deviations that are faced
by the common people. (Bh.7.9.38)
+-+--+v|= |++|v
=-a|4- +|-+=|+ -|
+||- |+ ~4|-
-|-+ +v - 4|- ||| +|+
Sri Prahlada Maharaj out of humility
supplicates as follow:
O the Lord of Vaikuntha! My
wicked mind is quite averse to the nectarine
accounts of Your Name, Form, Quality and
Sports, just as the sugarcandy is not relished
by the billious tongue. My mind being
polluted due to the desire of worldly
pleasure, lusty desires, due to greaf, fear and
greed for wealth, how can I meditate upon
Your Divine Glory?
This is the general situation of the
common people of this world. According
Brahma Vaivarta Purana, the sinful heart can
not believe God
4|- +|+-- |=+ +4 -|+ |
+ |- =-44 |a-4|- =: |a =+ | -v|
++ --|+- +4||+= -
=-=4 |- |+ a||+ -|4-
When the human heart remains polluted
due to heaps of sins, it fails to perceive the
truthfulness of the scriptures, as well as the
glory of the holy preceptor. When the
spiritual virtue collected through innumerable
births, becomes strengthened, it generates
faith for holy company. Listening to the
scriputers in the association of saintly
devotees generates affinity, fervour and
Divine Love towards Lord Krishna. The
seed of the devotional creeper gets germi-
nated in the worthy heart purified due to
spiritual virtue. This seed when sown in the
human heart steeped in sin, greed, lust,
selfishness and worldliness becomes
ineffective, as those negative trends act like
stones, rocks, thorns, dirt and toxins, to
prevent the germination of the seed of
devotion.
J OURNEY TO THE ABODE OF
DIVINE LOVE
The knowledge of jivas absolute
relationship with the Supreme Lord
instigates the devotee to undertake
devotional performance. It should be
(Contd. fromDecember issue)
THE GAUDIYA 12 JANUARY 2013
constantly nurtured by the discussion about
the Means (Abhidheya) and the End
(Prayojana), as revealed in the devotional
scriptures. The Means is the devotional
process which provides constant awareness
of the Supreme Lord, which cures the basic
disease of aversion towards the Lord. The
regular devotional worship of the Lord is
the essential nature of the Means. This
devotional performance, in turn strengthens
the knowledge of relationship. The End or
Prayojana is essentially the realisation of
Divine Sweetness. This Bliss of God-
realisation roots out all kinds of sorrow and
misery. The principles of means (Bhakti)
and end (Prema) are the self-evident
properties of the pure spirit. They should
be uncovered or discovered in the heart of
the devotee, by discarding the non-spiritual
coverings that have been thickly covered
upon the individual spirit. While cultivating
the devotional process, one should discard
all kinds of nondevotional deceptions. In
this regard, Lord Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu has clearly instructed the
teachings to Sri Sanatana Goswami, in the
allegory of a destitute, as follows.
KARMA, J NANA, YOGA AND
BHAKTI
This is the Pauranic narration of a
destitute person, suffering due to the lack of
wealth. A fortune-teller comes to him and
informs that his rich father has kept a huge
amount of wealth for his sake, somewhere
in that house and gone away for ever. He
also instructs to that poor man that, he
should strive to get that wealth to become
free from poverty and to achieve richness.
Regarding the means of attaining that wealth
the fortune teller says that, by digging in the
southern direction, various dangerous
insects like vasps, hornets etc., will come
out and shall bite him. By digging in the west,
a goblin (Yaksha) will come out and
confiscate the wealth. By digging in the
north, a black python shall come out and
swallow everyone. By digging a little in the
eastern direction, the pitcher of immense
wealth will be easily available. In this case,
the advice of the Vedas and Puranas is
comparable to the fortune-tellers advice.
They collectively teach the process of
devotional service to Lord Krishna and
inform about the comparative merits of the
fourfold prevalent processes such as,
Karma, Yoga, J nana and Bhakti, by
respectively indicating the fourfold directions
of south, west, north and east. The Vedic
scriputres enlighten the human beings that,
the path of Karma results in only
sufferings. Yoga marga creates
innumerable obstacles and finally confiscates
the real wealth, J nana marga destroys its
followers just as a black python swallows
the human beings; whereas, Bhakti Marga
fully pleases Lord Krishna and effortlessly
provides divine Love Krishna Prema, the
highest spiritual wealth. Vedic scriptures
instruct about the divine Relationship, Means
to achieve it and the End or the ultimate Goal
of human lilfe, which are, Krishna,
Krishna Bhakti and Krishna-Prema
respectively. Aversion to the basic disease
of the fallen souls, which is the root cause of
all kinds of sufferings found in the Universe.
This age-long aversion of the fallen souls gets
increased due to the allurements of the
eclipsing material potency. Devotional
performances provide cure to this dangerous
disease of worldliness, by inducing
affectionate affinity of the Lord.
ACHIEVING FEARLESSNESS
THE GAUDIYA 13 JANUARY 2013
~4 |-|4||~|+ - -4|+||++ --4 |+4 4| .- |-
-|44|-| 4 + |~- a ~+-4 +4 4 =+ -|-|
,~|.++.-..)
When a living entity turns averse to the
Lord, he consequently enters into the
darkness of nescience and undergoes
degradation. Over and above this erring
individual self, Maya provides twofold
coverings in the form of a subtle body and a
gross body and keeps him arrested within
those twofold cages. Such a jiva forgets his
real spiritual identification and misidentifies
his gross body as himself and undergoes
grief, fear etc. due to the destructible nature
of his physical body. Likewise the averse
jivas forget the Lord and also themselves.
Their secondary affinity towards the
mundane objects becomes a constant
source of grief, fear and death. In such a
despicable situation of mundane suffering,
those who desire fearlessness, should
surrender to the holy preceptor to attain
divine knowledge and devotional faith.
Under the guidance of the holy preceptor,
one should practise pure devotion and whole
heartedly serve the Supreme Lord, by
observing Sri Bhagavata Dharma. As the
fear is generated due to the Maya of the
Lord, the remedial measure is to approach
the Lord through sincere devotional service.
When the jivas turn averse to the object of
primary attachment God, and come
towards Maya, they acquire affinity to the
objects of Maya, which termed as the
secondary affinity, productive of fear and
insecurity, by making the jivas to forget their
own real nature and real duty. As this event
of jivas downfall has occured beyond the
time and space of this mundane universe, it
is termed as beginningless. So the history
of this downfall is not available withing the
range of mundane time. The Lord has
declared in Srimad Bhagavad Gita (VII.14)
that, no one can come out of the clutches of
Maya, without surrendering to Himself.
ALL ADORABLE CHARACTER
OF THE LORD
| + .| -
) -|a -- ) |=a |-| |a4| .v|
~4|++-
- |+ - |+4-|v| ~- - = =| - +| 4
,~|.-.-..)
Due to the nescience of Maya, the fallen
jivas undergo endless sufferings of birth,
death, rebirth, old-age, disease etc. The
faithful aspirants of devotion should
constantly engage in the affectionate service
of Supreme Lord Sri Hari, Who is eternally
dwelling in the pure hearts of the jiva souls.
Lord Hari is characteristically the sole object
of devotional love, most dear to the
devotees, absolute Truth, possessor of
Absolute Beauty, the Prime Preceptor,
Omnipotent and Omnipresent. Devotees
must serve Him in all pleasing manners with
constant affection and blissful disposition.
This process not only bestows eternal joy
to the devotees, besides it also roots out
the ignorance and nescience of Maya, which
hurls down the jivas into the cycle of
repeated births and deaths. As the
devotional cultivation is the prime duty of
the living beings, one has to ascertain the
organs, equipments and the ingredients
required for that devotional culture. In this
regard, the above mentioned verse reveals
that, the Supreme Lord Vasudeva is always
dwelling within the hearts of all the living
beings. Therefore, there is no need to search
Him somewhere else, and no need to invite
Him from somewhere else. There is no need
THE GAUDIYA 14 JANUARY 2013
to any such exercise. His worship too is
most natural and most congenial, as He is
the most beloved of all the living beings,
the ultimate and essential Object related
to everyone, the possessor of absolute
divine qualities Who provides happiness to
all, and the all-pervading Lord Who is
available everywhere to the surrendered
devotees. The Lord is the Supreme Object
of everyones eternal love. Yet He never
causes any kind of anxiety, tension or distress
like the mundane relatives. That Indwelling
Monitor is not only the Essential Lord of
all the individual spirit-souls, also He is
endowed with absolute divine qualities like
opulence, valour, glory, beauty, knowledge
and abnegation in infinite degree. As the
Lord is all-pervading, there is no need to
search Him some-where, or the question of
losing Him does not arise at anytime. Being
free from the intoxication of non-devotional
matters, when a sincere person deeply
ponders upon these basic qualities of the
Lord, his mind is sure to get engaged in the
glory and sweetness of the Lord forever.
The pure devtional process bestows Divine
Love, the highest spiritual wealth for the
devotees. His service constitutes of always
singing His Names, hearing about His
Deeds, offering obeisances, meditating upon
Him etc. When these devotional
performances are regularly conducted in a
disciplined manner, in holy association and
with good conduct, not only it besows
Divine Love, but also provides liberation
from the horrible clutches of mortality.
TRANSCENDING THE
RELATIVITY
The pure jiva souls who are engaged
in the loving devotion of Lord Krishna,
remain free from the mundane relativity and
inertia (inertness), as they transcend the
phenomenal limitations of time and space.
While time is the Lord in this world, it is an
humble servant in the Divine Abode, where
it functions as the eternal present tense.
The phenomenal time, due to its triple
divisions like future, present and past, acts
as an agent in the creation, maintenance and
destruction of every mundane object of this
world. In fact, there is no present tense in
this world. In fact, there is no present tense
in this world. What we call present tense is
only a thin margin between future and past,
that too is fleeting. As the time proceeds
from future tense, imediately it turns out to
be past tense, with an incredible speed.
Every day we observe that, everything of
this world is entering into the pages of
history. The wheel of time is constantly
revolving by grinding and smashing everything
and every living being in this world.
(to be contd.......)
We are neither enjoyers nor abnegators of mundane entities.
We recognise as our highest objective
the desire for carrying with veneration the shoes
of the transcendental order of the Paramahamsas.
Srila Prabhupad
THE GAUDIYA 15 JANUARY 2013
Sages, Saints and Seers
Sri K.S. Ramaswami Sastri
(Contd. fromDecember issue)
Rishis Marichi, Angiras, Atri,
Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu were the sons
of Brahma. Angiras was born from
Brahmas face in the Swayambhuva
manvantara. He was born from Agni (God
Fire) in this Vaivasvata manvantara. He
performed pearless austerities and shone
like the God of Fire and surpassed him in
glory. Agni felt that the Creator had
created a new God of Fire. He told
Angiras: Please be the God of Fire. I
shall be subordinate to you. Angirasa
replied: God has created you as the God
of Fire. I shall be your eldest son. Agni
agreed and accepted Angiras as his son.
On another occasion he drawn up all
the waters on the earth. He then created
a cosmic tidal wave and filled the earth
with water once again. On another
occasion God Vayu (the God of wind)
offended him and led and hid himself.
Thus Angiras had wonderful divine
potencies.
The Sage Sanaka asked Angiras: By
knowing which principle can we know the
whole universe? Angiras replied we must
know both Paravi dya (the higher
knowledge) and Apara Vidya (the lower
knowledge). The latter consists of the
four Vedas, Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa
(rules relating to sacramant), Vyakarana
(grammar), Nirukta (Vedic dictionary)
Chchandas (prosody) and Jyoti sha
(astronomy). Para Vidya is the knowledge
by whch we can attain God. The universe
arises from God and is reabsorbed into
God just as the web is produced from and
then self-withdrawn into the spider, as
trees come out of the earth, and as hair
emerges from the body. God shines in
the hearts of living beings. Soul and God
are the arrow and the target. Fit the arrw
to the bow of Pranava (Om) and shoot the
arrow to reach the target. Soul and God
are two shining birds on the same tree.
The soul bird eats the sweet and bitter
fruits in the tree. The God-bird looks on
without eating the fruits.
ASHTAVAKRA
The Rishi Uddalaka had a pupil
named Khagodara who served his guru
with abundant faith and zeal. The Guru
gave his daughter Sujata in marriage to
him. When she was in the family way, the
child in her womb uttered words to the
father who was reciting the Vedas. The
words were After hearing your vedic
recitation I have come to know the words.
But your pronunciation is wrong. The
father got angry and said: As your mind
is crooked, let your body also be crooked.
Let your body have eight curves and
bends. The child was born with eight
curves and bends and was named
Ashtavakra. Before it was born Sujata told
her husband: You are very poor. A child
is going to be born to us. Get some wealth
from King J anaka. He went to J anaka.
There was a debate in the Kings court
between him and Vadin. As the result of a
bet in the controversy Khagodara was
thrown into ocean as he was beaten in
the controvarsy. Uddalaka came to know
this and told Sujata to keep the matter a
secret from the child. Uddalakas son
Swetaketu and the boy grow up together.
Swetaketu told the boy about Uddalaka:
This is not your father. He is your
THE GAUDIYA 16 JANUARY 2013
mothers father. He is my father. Then
Ashtavakra asked his mother Sujata.
Who and where is my father? She was
afraid of telling an untruth and told him
the truth. Then he and Swetaketu went to
King J anakas palace. The Royal servants
thought them to be ordinary boys and
would not allow them to go in. Ashtavakra
said: Age depends not on years but on
wisdom. The King understand the boys
greatness. The boy took part in a
controversy with Vadin in the Kings court
and was victorious in it. Ashtavakra then
demanded that Vadi must be plunged into
water. Vadin said: I am the son of Varuna
who is the God of ocean. I shall enter the
ocean. Ashtavakra will now see his father
coming out of the ocean. Khagodara
came out of the ocean and was happy to
meet his son. They and Swetaketu then
went to their hermitage. Khagodara asked
his son to bathe in a river. As soon as
Ashtavakra bathed there, the crrokedness
of his body disappeared. The river was
thereupon named Samanaga (the
straightener). (This story occurs in the
Vana Parva of the Mahabharata).
ARISHTANEMI
On one occasion a prince of the
Mehaya clan went for hunting. He saw at
a distance a young Rishi Arishtanemi clad
in deerskin. He deemed him to be a deer
and shot an arow at him. The arrow
pierced the target and the young rishi fell
down dead. When the prince went near
the quarry, he found but that a grievous
sin he had committed. He ran up to his
elders and told them what a sin he had
committed. They saw the corpse and ran
up to the rishis father. The latter offered
arghya and padya (water for washing their
hands and feet). They told him: We are
great sinners unworthy of your respect.
Be merciful and forgive us. They told the
facts to him. He showed the young Rishi
to them and said: Here is the person
whom you presume to be dead. They
felt astonished at that turn of events. He
replied, We are leading righteous and
holy lives. We are living in a holy place.
Hence no one can harm us. They fell at
his feet and went away to their palace.
Atri story relating to Atri occurs as a
fascinating episode in Valmikis
Ramayana (Ayodhya Kanda Ch.117,119).
Rama takes Sita to fall at the feet of Atri
and Anasuya and get their blessings.
Anasuya applauds highly Sitas devotion
to Rama and her following him into the
forest during his exile. Sita describs to
her how Rama won her hand by his
heroism in bending and breaking Sivas
bow. Anasuya decorated Sita with beautiful
and divine dresses and jewels and
garlands. Rama was highly pleased by
such decoration and praise. Thus the
respect shown by Sri Rama and Sita and
Lakshmana to the ancient Rishi Atri and
his wife Anasuya and the affectionate
blessings bestowed on them by the sage
and his wife form a charming and moving
episode in the great Epic of India.
ANANDA ALIAS CHAKSHUSHA
He was born as the son of Anamitra.
His mother fondled the child. The child
laughed. She asked hm why he laughed.
The child said: Do you see those two
cats? You regard me as belonging to you.
They regard me as their prey. Later on
one of the cats took the child and left it in
the cradle of a prince born to a King
Vikrantha and took the Kings child and
left it in the cradle of another child, and
killed and ate the last-mentioned child.
King Vikranta called the child in the cradle
in his palace as Ananda. During the boys
Upanayana the priest asked him to
prostrate before his mother i.e. the
Queen. The boy said: Her child is living
THE GAUDIYA 17 JANUARY 2013
elsewhere. I am another womens child.
The child then narrated all the facts and
said: In our many births, each person
has many mothers. We must rise above
birth and death. He performed severe
tapas (austerity). God Brahma appeared
before him and said: You must be born
as the sixth Manu and help the world to
tread the path of Dharma. Thereupon
Ananda stopped his tapas. He was
afterwards born as the Chakshusha Manu
was the sixth of the Manus and led the
world in the path of Dharma. (This story
occurs in the Markandeya Purana).
APASTAMBA
This sage had a highly loyal and
devoted wife named Akshasutra. Their
son was Karki. On one occasion when a
Brahmin had to perform a sraddha, he was
not able to get suitable Brahmins. He
spread Darbha and invoved his ancestors
and Visva Devas and Maha Vishnu there.
At that time Apastamba appeared there.
The Brahmin fed him and asked him in
the usual way: Are you satisfied?
Apastambha said, Get me a morsel of
food and some curd. The Brahmin
became by such a reply and he became
infructuous. He took some water in his
palm and poured it and pronounced a
curse. The sage said: Let the water stop,
without falling. That miracle happened.
Hence he became known as Apastamba
(He worshipped the water from falling).
Apastamba then told the Brahmin. Do
not examine the Sraddha Brahmin too
much. Accept such as are available,
provide they utter the gayatri mantra and
are men of pure conduct.
(This story occurs in the Brahma
Purana)
Apastamba has given to the world a
SmritI, and a Grihya Sutra manual
(containing two MaNtra Prasnas) which is
followed by innumerable Hindus even
today.
ASURI
He was a great sage who attained a
full vision of God. When he was in an
assembly of sages, the Rishi Panchasikha
came there. He put searching questions
about spiritual matters. Asuri answered
all of them and delivered an astonishing
discourse on the supreme Being. The
Bhagavata says that he got this
knowledge from Kapila. Panchasikha
became a great admirer of Asuri who
accepted him as his disciple. Asuris wife
Kapilai treated Panchasikha as her own
child.
(This story occurs in the Santi Parva
of the Mahabharata).
ATREYA
This great sage had high spiritual
powers (siddhis) and was able to go from
planet to planet and from star to star and
even to heaven itself. He went once to
Indras Heaven. Indra gave him nectar
(amrita) and made his dancing maidens
(apsaras) dance before him. The sage
saw all the glories of Indras heaven, and
felt an inner urge to live in a similar
heaven. He returned to his hermitage and
said to his wife: I hate this drab and dirty
place. I want to live in a heaven like
Indras heaven. She tried to dissuade
him in vain. He requested Viswakarma to
build for him a heaven like Indras heaven,
the Asuras (demons) invaded it and
attacked him. He was in mortal dread and
requested Viswakarma to withdraw the
new heaven which threatened his very
life. Viswakarma did so. Atreya went back
to his old hermitage on the banks of the
Gautami river and lived in contentment
and happiness.
(This story occurs in Brahma Purana)
T
THE GAUDIYA 18 JANUARY 2013
Lotus Feet be my supreme command,
who used to assume himself with love
quarrels at the time of my selling those
articles. Bhakta Sridhara accepted
nothing but the whole hearted loving
service of the Lord at all time and under
all circumstances. He who does not
slander a Bhagavata Vaishnava but
regards Gurus without approving their so
called socio religious conduct, attains
the Lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu and is blessed with Divine
Love by his grace.
The Lord Sri Chaitanya was so kind
and affectionate to poor Sridhara that He
deigned to make a delicious repast
prepared of milk and gourd offered by
him overnight His Sannyasa thereby
showing the people of the world that even
the humblest offering of pure devotee is
accepted by the Lord while varieties of
rich palatable dishes offered without any
devotional aptitude are rejected by Him.
Take the case of king Duryodhana and
poor Vidura. When Duryodhana
prepared a sumptuous feast for Sri
Krishna as his Guest at Hastinapur, the
Lord refused such unholy repast as it
contained not iota of love in it, while
accepted with great relish the handful
grains of rice offered by Vidura with
sincere warmth of devotion and love.
(Contd. frompage No.10)
S
Sri Sri Radha Govindajew of Srila Rupa Goswami
Jayapur, Rajasthan
THE GAUDIYA 19 JANUARY 2013
Sri Krishna
Sri C. Gopinatham
Thus we are able to realise that Sri
Krishna of Vrindaban was really the Lord
Krishna of Goloka, that the Vrindavana
Gopis with Radha Mahadevi as their
Queen, that Nanda, Yashoda and several
Gopa-kumaras were no other than the
personal attendants of the Goloka Lord,
that the cows of Vrindavana and their
calves, were the descendants of Sri
Surabhi Devi of Goloka, come down with
the Lord to render service. Brahma
himself, seems to have realised the real
essence of the Avatara, when He breaks
forth into a strong eulogium in honour of
the Gopal inhabitants of the Nandavraja,
in stanza 32 of Chapter XIV of the tenth
canto.
In this stanza, Brahma
characterises Sri Krishna, Who
appeared before him as the Sanatana
Paripurna Paramananda Parabrahman.
Brahma breaks forth into this
exclamation, in connection with
Vatsapaharana incident. Brahma,
through his Rajoguna, through egotism
and pride, could not realise the full force
or real significance of the Avatara. But
the Lord, out of His unbounded Grace
and Mercy, manifested to His subordinate
Creator, Brahma, at least, the Divine
Form of Sri Maha Vishnu, though not the
Transcendental, Supreme Form of the
Sanatana Parabrahman, Sri Krishna of
Goloka. But the words used by Brahma
would specially apply to the Lord of
Goloka, Who is the One Sanatana,
Permanent, Unchangeable
Parabrahman Sri Krishna. All other
Parabrahmans have evolved out of that
One Supreme Mula Parabrahman.
These expressions clearly indicate that
the Vrindavana Sri Krishna was the
Supreme Sanatana Parabrahman of
Goloka, though we have to take them at
a discount on the ground that they have
proceeded from the lips of one who does
not seem to have realised Him fully. But
words, which come out of the lips of
beings under a spiritual trance, bear a
meaning deeper than that actually
intended by, or known to such a speaker.
It might be, that these words came
spontaneously out of the lips of such a
great personage as Brahma, although he
might not have intended them.
These are the main considerations,
on which the statements made in this
chapter in support of the theory, are
based. A consideration of the other
chapters also contains occasional
references to this theory.
One important question, which
arises in this connection is, how is it that
Veda Vyasa, to whom we are deeply
indebted for the Bhagavatam does not
refer to Radha Mahadevi anywhere in the
four corners of the Dasama Skandha?
Why does he not describe Sri Krishna
anywhere as the Lord of Goloka, much
less the Gopalas and the Gopis of
Vrindavana, as the incarnated souls of
Goloka? Why does he omit to make
mention of such an important
Parabrahman as Goloka Krishna in the
Avatara of Sri Krishna? Again, why does
not Brahma at least, our creator, who has
invited this Parabrahman into his
Brahmanda, refer to the Advent of the
Goloka Lord anywhere on the various
(Contd. fromDecember issue)
THE GAUDIYA 20 JANUARY 2013
occasions on which he had the
opportunity to do so? How does it
happen that such an important
personage as Brahma failed to realise
or perceived the real nature of the
Avatara Purusha? These are questions,
which must be satisfactorily answered,
if we wish to accept the theory here down
as established.
Now, the important personages or
divines who could be expected to be in
the know of this Divine Secret are (i)
Brahma, the creator, (ii) Indra, Lord of
the three worlds, (iii) Sage Narada, who
was in constant touch with the Avatara
Purusha in His various activities, (iv)
Veda Vyasa, who has composed the
Purana for the information and benefit of
the world.
Of these divine personages,
Brahma is the most important from the
standpoint of his position as the lord of
our Brahmanda. It was he, who invited
the Parabrahman into His Brahmanda,
for his own benefit and for the benefit of
his subjects and children in the
Brahmanda. He is the person most
interested in knowing the Real Secret.
Now, there are three or four important
occasions, on which Brahma came into
contact with the question, and could
have known the Secret. But on all the
occasions, I am compelled to submit,
with due respect and veneration to our
grand-father, that He seems to have
failed on all those occasions. The very
first occasion, on which he could have
caught a glimpse of the Secret, was
when Brahma, followed by Rudra and
Indra and other gods, approached
Swetadwipa Vishnu of the Milky Ocean.
What Brahma heard from the aerial
voice while he was in Samadhi, was that
Para Purusha would be born in the house
of Vasudeva, and that the Lord of Lords
(Iswareswara, this is the expression
used) would destroy the earthly burden
with His Kala Shakti. This was what
Brahma heard in His Samadhi, and what
he announced to the attendant gods.
(to be continued....)
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THE GAUDIYA 21 JANUARY 2013
Four classes of men averse to
serve the Lord
+ | ++|-+| :| a+- +|+|
|44|+-a|+| |= ~|||-| +
Na mmdushkritino moodhh
prapadyante nardhamh |
myaypahritajnn
surambhvamshrith || 15 ||
:| =Those worldly minded men
who are hedonistic or altruistic by nature,
and those fools equal to animals are bent on
securing physical and mental ameoliarations
of the world, being quite in the darkness
about any knowledge of transcendence.
Think that, I, Vishnu,amlike Indra, attainable
by pious actions, and that I am like the jiavs,
controlled by karma, +|+| =though
attaining the status of the highest of humans
by being born in a high family such as that of
a brahmin, become the lowest of men by
exclusive absorption in materialistic, poetic
works, / For sometime they attain the
styatus of a human by accepting the
process of bhakti, but then reject it by
their own will, thinking that it is not useful
as a practice for attaining the goals. They
become the lowest (adhama) because of
giving up bhakti. Those who lead moral
life in the beginning, but ultimately
(Contd. fromDecember issue)
become atheists
on the score of
their vanity of
high lineage, scholasticismor wealth, |44|
+-a|+| =who worship Impersonal
Abstract Brahman by My Maya though well
versed in the Vedantic philosophy, and are
therefore, prone to disparage Me, and My
devotees owing to their demonic
temparament and are thus deprived of the
transcendental knowledge regarding the
truths viz. 1. that I am the Supreme Lord
endowed with all powers; 2. that the jivas
in their essence are the eternal servants of
Me, the Supreme Lord; 3. that the
relationship that exists between the jivas and
Me is eternal and that between fallen souls
and the phenomenal world is transient and
4. that the link connecting the jivas with Me
is Divine Love / those who uphold such
untenable and unaccountable wrong
theories as Monism, Buddhism(Nihilism),
Materialism, Atheismetc. their intelli-
gence having been perverted by My
Deluding potency Maya. They think that
Narayana residing in Vaikuntha is
obtainable by constant bhakti but not
Krishna or Rama, Who they consider
humans. These fools think that I have a
human body, |= ~| ||-| =take
the shelter of the mood of Asuras; Asuras
like Jarasandha, seeing My Form, attack it
with arrows. They even try to destroy My
||4= 4||| -4-
SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA
|a4+|-|
=--| .4|4 CHAPTER-VII
|a|+4| 4 VIJ NNA YOGA
THE GAUDIYA 22 JANUARY 2013
Form inVaikuntha by their bad arguments,
based on faulty logic such as insisting on visible
proof, and therefore prone to disparage Me
and My devotees owing to their demonic
temperament./ They cast aspersions on My
Transcen-dental Beautiful Human Form
manifested in the mundane plane and ever
pour fourth their vials of wrath and vile
innuendoes against My Transcendental
Amorous Pastimes in My Blissful Realm,
++|-+ =are called evil minded, ill-fated
persons, | + a+- =who are not at all
inclined to surrender themselves to Me, the
Supreme Lord.
Those worldly minded men who are
hadonistic or altruistic by nature, and those
fools equal to animals are bent on securing
physical and mental ameoliarations of the
world, being quite in the darkness about any
knowledge of transcendence think that, I,
Vishnu,am like Indra, attainable by pious
actions, and that I am like the jiavs,
controlled by karma; though attaining the
status of the highest of humans by being born
in a high family such as that of a brahmin,
become the lowest of men by exclusive
absorption in materialistic, poetic works. /
For sometime they attain the status of a
human by accepting the process of
bhakti, but then reject it by their own will,
thinking that it is not useful as a practice
for attaining the goals. They become the
lowest (adhama) because of giving up
bhakti. / Those who lead moral life in the
beginning, but ultimately become atheists
on the score of their vanity of high lineage,
scholasticismor wealth, who worship
Impersonal Abstract Brahman by My Maya
though well versed in the Vedantic
philosophy, and are therefore, prone to
disparage Me, and My devotees owing to
their demonic temparament and are they
deprived of the transcendental knowledge
regarding the truths viz. 1.that I am the
Supreme Lord endowed with all Powers;
2. that the jivas in their essence are the
eternal servants of Me, the Supreme Lord;
3. that the relationship that exists between
the jivas and Me is a eternal and that between
fallen souls and the phenomenal world is
transient and 4. that the link connecting the
jivas with Me is Divine Love / those who
uphold such untenable and unaccountable
wrong theories as Monism, Buddhism
(Nihilism), Materialism, Atheismetc. their
intelligence having been perverted by My
Deluding potency Maya. They think that
Narayana residing in Vaikuntha is
obtainable by constant bhakti but not
Krishna or Rama, Who they consider
humans. These fools think that I have a
human body; take the shelter of the mood
of Asuras; Asuras like Jarasandha, seeing My
Form, attack it with arrows. They even try
to destroy My ForminVaikuntha by their bad
arguments, based on faulty logic such as
insisting on visible proof, and therefore prone
to disparage Me and My devotees owing to
their demonic temperament./ They cast
aspersions on My Transcendental
Beautiful Human Formmanifested in the
mundane plane and ever pour fourth their
vials of wrath and vile innuendoes against
My Transcendnetal Amorous Pastimes in
My Blissful Realm; are called evil minded,
ill-fated persons, who are not at all inclined
to surrender themselves to Me, the Supreme
Lord. 15
Four classes of men prone to
worship the Lord
-|+| ~-- | -+| =+|-+|.-+
|-| |-a|=v|v| a|+| ~-~ +.
THE GAUDIYA 23 JANUARY 2013
(to be contd...)
Chaturvidh bhajante mm
janh sukritinoarjuna |
rto jijnsurarthrthi
jnni cha bharatarshabha || 16 ||
- + =O Arjuna, - | +| =Four
classes, = + |-+ -+| = of righteous people,
who observe Shastric rules of regulated life/
the strict adherents of Varna Ashrama
Dharma, ~-- | =are eligible to worship
Me, ~-~ =O Arjuna, the great among
the Bharata clan, |- =(They are) 1.
Fruit seekers who remember Me, when they
are afflicted with grief and sorrow / some
are distressed and therefore willing to get
relief fromtheir impending troubles such
as poverty, disease etc. (Gajendra is an
example of this type), |-a|= =2. the self-
deluded moralists, being seekers after real
knowledge, feel the necessity of My
Existence and remember Me, as the object
of knowledge worth acquiring (Saunaka is
an example of this type) , v|v| =3. the
maya-ridden pedants not satisfied with the
idea of an ethical God, know Me as the
Supreme Lord of all ethics and religios,
submit to Shastric rues of regulated life and
remeber Me as the bestower of boons /
some are seekers of worldly ameliorations
(Dhruva is an example of this type) , a|+|
=4. the worshipers of Abstract Brahman
and of All-pervading Paramatman, not
content with their imperfect knowledge of
the same, betake themselves to the pure
transcendental knowledge regarding My
Real Name, Form, Attributes, Sports and
Realm, the veil of ignorance is then withdrawn
from them and they as eternal servitors take
absolute shelter in Me as the Supreme Lord
(Suka is an example of this type).
Sri Panchatattva