TLC – The Teachings of Lord Caitanya—Part 04 VIHE

Giriraj Swami:

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [3 times]

What was the main theme of yesterday’s discussions?

Devotee: Bhakti is independent of karma and jnana.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, correct what was the theme of the Bhāgavatam class today? Yes, it was exactly the same.

So yesterday, we read two very striking verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam quoted by Lord Chaitanya to Sanatana Goswami, and there were some questions about the verses at the end of the class. And I thought I should make one or two points about each verse.

One verse appears as Text Twenty-eight and Chapter Twenty-two. (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 22.28)

ya eṣāṁ puruṣaṁ

sākṣādtmāma-prabhavam īśvaram

na bhajanty avajānanti

sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ patanty adhaḥ

TRANSLATION

If one simply maintains an official position in the four varṇas and āśramas but does not worship the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, he falls down from his puffed-up position into a hellish condition.

COMMENT

So the question was raised how someone who is engaged in varnashrama, which is supposed to be highest activity can fall down into hell? So to answer more clearly, we will see the verse more closely. Na bhajanty means does not worship and avajānanti means neglect. So here we find two types of persons who do not worship. One person does not know that Vishnu is the Supreme and therefore does not worship. The other person knows that Vishnu is the Supreme, but still he does not worship.

ya eṣāṁ puruṣaṁ sākṣād-
ātma-prabhavam īśvaram 

ātma-prabhavam means that He is the source of everyone for He is the father of everyone. If someone does not know who his father is, there is something wrong. Srila Prabhupada says, “If someone does not know who his father is there is something wrong. There is something wrong. He is mad, he is mad.” So we should know who our father is, and if someone does not know who his father is, there is something wrong. Na bhajanty and avajānanti if someone knows who his father is or who his master is but if he does not serve Him or respect Him, there also is something wrong, he is actually committing offenses. He is actually showing disrespect. Just like when Bhrigu Muni met Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma is the father of Bhrigu Muni, so Bhrigu Muni should have offered obeisances to him, but he did not offer obeisances to him, and therefore he was guilty of committing an offense. Although he did not take any action against Brahma or speak any words against Brahma, but because he failed to offer respect when he should have, he was guilty of disrespect or offense. So both types of persons who do not worship the Lord are either offensive or negligent. Ignorant, they’re ignorant. One is ignorant about the puruṣā and the other is neglectful of the puruṣā.

Devotee: [Unintelligible] 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there is some similarity, there are some similarities. In fact, one category of an ignorant person or neglectful person is the one who thinks that the puruṣā is one of the living entities under the material modes of nature. In other words, just like the demigods are living entities within the universe, they are not spiritual. So they may think that the puruṣā is also like them, not knowing that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the master of the modes of nature.

Devotee: These people following this are the example of karmis. it’s not really referring to demigod worshippers, or is it assuming that they would be demigod worshippers?

Giriraj Swami: Well, let me continue because in varnashrama-dharma there are so many duties for householders. So they offer sacrifices and other things but here the point is that how can someone who is following varnashrama-dharma fall down and go to hell. So because they don’t know about the Supreme Personality of Godhead or even if they know they don’t worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are guilty of gross ignorance or else gross neglect. And Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura especially has commented on this verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that if one does not have a bona fide spiritual master even if he is trying to be a religious person who’s following varnashrama-dharma, but eventually because he doesn’t have a bona fide spiritual master, he will become subject to speculative ideas about the Absolute Truth, and he will ultimately deviate. So the first step of the fall down is sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ—he falls from his position in varnashrama.

Now Srila Prabhupada has said that the beginning of human life is varnashrama, or in other places the beginning of human life is when one enquires into the Absolute Truth. So if one does not inquire into the Absolute Truth, if he does not know, who is the source of everything and then if he falls from his position in varnashrama, he will become unregulated. Unregulated means he will become sinful; he’ll become like an animal, and he’ll become sinful, and then due to sinful activities, he will fall down into hell.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, but even if we look at our own devotees, we see that many of our own devotees leave the association of other devotees with the idea that they will be good grihasthas, but when they leave the association of devotees, they gradually neglect the worship of the Lord and then they fall down to hell, we’ve seen practically. So this is the meaning. This is the meaning that without the association of devotees and without the worship of the Lord, although they have the intention of following varnashrama, but without the touch of devotional service they won’t maintain the position in varnashrama. Then they will deviate, become implicated in sinful activities and go to hell.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Sthānād means one’s position, and bhraṣṭāḥ like yoga-bhraṣṭāḥ with yogis.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Actually, that wasn’t our point here. Somebody brought it up. I think you are getting at the point that there is karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, and upāsana-kāṇḍa and whether demigod worship is in the upāsana-kāṇḍa and not karma-kāṇḍa? Or no, which is the idea?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: I think we should go ahead then after we finish the next verse, which is complementary to this, we’ll take questions, and then we’ll go to today’s verses. But just to conclude about the present verse, I’ll read one relevant quote from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gītā. So relevant. Chapter Six, Text Forty-seven.

TEXT 47

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ

mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ

sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ

TRANSLATION

And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

PURPORT

The word bhajate is significant here. Bhajate has its root in the verb bhaj, which is used when there is need of service. The English word “worship” cannot be used in the same sense as bhaj. Worship means to adore, or to show respect and honor to the worthy one. But service with love and faith is especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can avoid worshiping a respectable man or a demigod and may be called discourteous, but one cannot avoid serving the Supreme Lord without being thoroughly condemned. Every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus every living entity is intended to serve the Supreme Lord by his own constitution. Failing to do this, he falls down.

Devotee: There is another purport where Srila Prabhupada makes the statement that one does not make the aim of his activities in varnashrama-dharma to satisfy Krishna, then he will be unable to follow the rules and regulations of varnashrama-dharma [Unintelligible] Thus, he is not actually in varnashrama.

Giriraj swami: Text Thirty is very similar. Text Twenty-eight says that one who follows varnashrama but does not worship the Lord, he falls down. And Text Thirty says that if one imagines that he is liberated and does not worship the Lord, then he falls down. And in both cases, the persons are proud. The karmi who does varnashrama and does not worship Lord Vishnu is proud, he is not humble, but he is proud. And the jnani who tries to become liberated by impersonal speculation or yoga but does not serve the Lord is also proud.

Now yesterday, two understandings of the verse were presented. One understanding was that they imagine that they’re liberated, but they’re not actually liberated in brahmajyoti. They just imagine that they’re liberated and they fall down. And the other understanding was that they may even enter the brahmajyoti, but even having entered the brahmajyoti they will fall down because they’ve neglected the lotus feet of Krishna, and both understandings are possible. Both understandings are possible because in the translation in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada uses the words, “Although they accept severe austerities and penances and rise to the spiritual position to impersonal Brahman realization, they fall down again because they neglect to worship Your lotus feet.”

So it could be said, and in Sanskrit also it says:

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.32]

Having ascended by severe austerities and penances to the supreme position, and here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the same verse is translated by Srila Prabhupada.

PURPORT

Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said: “O lotus-eyed Lord, although non-devotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.”

COMMENT

And in the word for word translation, param-padam is translated ‘the highest position’ then in parentheses it says, ‘according to their imagination and speculation.’ – end parentheses. So the words may be taken as referring to the actual fact that they’ve achieved param-padam or it may be referring to the fact that they think that they’ve achieved param-padam but they actually have not, but there is no harm in either understanding. And this is the point that I wanted to make that the verses in the Bhāgavatam are so rich that they may have many correct meanings or many different understandings.

Just as Lord Chaitanya gave so many different meanings for the ātmārāma sloka. So we should be aware that the same verse can be understood differently and explained differently even by the same person, by Srila Prabhupada, in different contexts, and we should not be disturbed but we should understand that it’s the richness of the Bhāgavatam that allows the verses to be explained in different ways. And here the two explanations do not affect the main point, that bhakti is independent of other processes for success. In fact, bhakti becomes weakened by being mixed with other processes, whereas other processes are dependent on bhakti for success. Because here the goal of the jnanis is mukti, and if we say that by impersonal jnana or impersonal yoga, they don’t actually reach brahmajyoti unless there is some bhakti, there is no contradiction—it supports the basic thesis. And even if we say that they may reach brahmajyoti but they can’t stay there that also does not contradict the main thesis because as Srila Prabhupada said, “real mukti is eternal.” So even if they entered Brahman and come down, where is the mukti because it’s only temporary, it’s not permanent. So certainly if someone wants mukti, he wants permanent, not temporary mukti. So unless he has some touch of devotional service, he cannot get permanent mukti, and therefore he is also defeated in his attempts without bhakti. And here are the same words patanty adhaḥ—here patanty adhaḥ means that he imagined he was liberated and he fell down, or he was liberated in Brahman and he fell down. And in the other verse patanty adhaḥ means that he was in the material world trying to execute varnashrama-dharma, but he fell down into sinful activities. So not only can they not achieve success without bhakti, but without bhakti they can’t even maintain themselves in whatever position they’re in, but they will fall down. So that’s the conclusion.

Devotee: How does jnani have a touch of a bhakti wanting to achieve that success? And what is there for a practical application?

Giriraj Swami: I mentioned yesterday, were you here?

I mentioned yesterday, and Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu gives the example that some person will get the association of pure devotees with the idea of merging into Brahman and in the association of pure devotees, he will chant Hare Krishna, and he will hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other things, but he will see them as a process for realizing Brahman. And in the association of pure devotees, he will experience the reflection of spiritual ecstasy and the reflection of spiritual ecstasy or rati ābhāsa is so powerful that it can give liberation. Like nāmābhāsa, nāmābhāsa is so powerful that it can give liberation. So if a jnani chants in nāmābhāsa and experiences rati ābhāsa, he can be liberated. Although he maintains the desire for liberation, there is some danger here, there is some danger. That if he commits offenses then he will not be liberated. There is a difference between nāmābhāsa and nāmāparādha. It’s like there is a difference between a Brahmavadi and a Mayavadi. So if someone is not offensive to Krishna, but he just thinks that by Krishna’s name, he can get liberation or by association with Krishna’s devotees, he can get liberation, he can, much more easily than by doing all the severe penances or the austerities that the impersonalists do. This shows how powerful bhakti is.

Devotee: Yes, the question is why would anyone go to the Brahman after associating with pure devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Well, if by associating with pure devotees they become pure devotees, then they won’t go to Brahman, they will go to Krishna and not everyone who associates with pure devotees becomes a pure devotee. Some become offenders, I mean it’s not automatic, but if they associate in the right way, then certainly they’ll get Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Correct, correct.

Devotee 2: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: It’s right in the Text that we are reading, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.32. This verse ye ‘nye ‘ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas which is quoted from Madhya-līlā Chapter Twenty-two, Text Thirty, is originally found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.32 so what I read was from 10.2.32. No, it’s the same verse but with two different translations.

Okay now we come to today’s verses, which are very important for all of us because they explain how people who engage in devotional service become free from all maya, and we are in maya, at least I am. On one walk with Srila Prabhupada, he was encouraging me and praising me and then at the end of the conversation, I said, “Sometimes,” something like, “Sometimes the same thing turns into maya.” Srila Prabhupada stopped and turned to me and said, “Sometimes turns into maya? You are always in maya!”

So this is at least for me, this section is important. All these qualities are not different from Him, His pastimes are not different from Him. So when we hear the pastimes of Krishna, Krishna is present and in the presence of Krishna, maya cannot stand. So we always allow the pastimes of Krishna to enter our hearts through our ears, then all the dirty material things will go away.

In the Tenth Canto we find the same statement, at the end of the description of the rāsa dance, Śukadeva Gosvami tells Maharaja Parīkṣit in conclusion that, “One who hears about the playful activities of Krishna and the young gopīs of Vrindavan – śraddhānvito,” śraddhānvito means with eagerness. Eagerness is very important, with thirsty ears, ears thirsty to drink the nectar. “One who hears the pastimes with such eagerness or describes them, he very quickly becomes sober, and he becomes cured of the disease of the heart called lust.”

So here also the same fact is stated. Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura also comments that someone may say that first I should free the heart from lust then bhakti will come but Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura says, “No, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you hear the pastimes of Krishna, and bhakti will come, and when bhakti comes then all of the lust will be vanquished.”

So in other processes, knowledge and detachment are required but here even if one is lusty, angry, greedy, and everything that some of us like me are, still we can practice bhakti and by the mercy of bhakti we will become free.

So we should continue in all circumstances. That’s the main point and as long as we continue, then by the mercy of Krishna and the Vaishnavas and bhakti, we will be free. Now here’s another important point which is very good for us because we sometimes change our mind, we decide to surrender but then we change our mind and decide that we shouldn’t surrender so much, maybe to some extent but not so much, then what will happen to us?

So here the Lord Himself tells us:

sakṛd eva prapanno yas
tavāsmīti ca yācate
abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai
dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama        [Madhya-līlā 22.34]

TRANSLATION

 ‘It is My vow that if one only once seriously surrenders unto Me, saying “My dear Lord, from this day I am Yours,” and prays to Me for courage, I shall immediately award courage to that person, and he will always remain safe from that time on.’

COMMENT

So if only once we sincerely surrender to the Lord and we say, “My dear Lord, I am yours. You can do with me whatever You like. I am Your property.” And then later on, we start to think, Did I do the right thing? But still, because we surrendered once the Lord will, He’ll take care of us, He’ll keep track of us, and He’ll take care of us.

TEXT

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī ‘subuddhi’ yadi haya
gāḍha-bhakti-yoge tabe kṛṣṇere bhajaya        [Madhya-līlā 22.35]

TRANSLATION

“Due to bad association, the living entity desires material happiness, liberation or merging into the impersonal aspect of the Lord, or he engages in mystic yoga for material power. If such a person actually becomes intelligent, he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by engaging himself in intense devotional service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

TEXT

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param        [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.10]

TRANSLATION

“ ‘Whether one desires everything or nothing, or whether he desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service.’”

COMMENT

Now why is he intelligent? He is intelligent because if he wants to merge into the impersonal brahman, what is the impersonal Brahman? The impersonal Brahman is the. . . [END OF RECORDING]