NOD – VIHE Nectar of Devotion—Part 05

Giriraj Swami: So, today we will dive into the second wave of the eastern side of the ocean of The Nectar of Devotion, sādhana-bhakti. The definition of sādhana-bhakti is given in the second verse of the second wave of the eastern division which is found on the bottom of page seventeen in the verse book: 

TEXT 1.2.2

kṛti-sādhyā bhavet sādhya-

bhāvā sā sādhanābhidhā

nitya-siddhasya bhāvasya

prākaṭyaṁ hṛdi sādhyatā

TRANSLATION

When transcendental devotional service, by which love for Kṛṣṇa is attained, is executed by the senses, it is called sādhana-bhakti, or the regulative discharge of devotional service. Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity. The awakening of this eternal devotion is the potentiality of devotional service in practice.

COMMENT

Here the primary characteristic is that one engages in the service of the Lord with the senses and the mind, and the secondary characteristic is that by such practice of sādhana-bhakti one awakens bhāva-bhakti. If we are engaging in sādhana-bhakti or we think we are engaging in sādhana-bhakti but we don’t reach the goal of bhāva-bhakti, then in one sense we are not actually engaged in sādhana-bhakti at all because the practice of sādhana-bhakti should end in the attainment of bhāva-bhakti. Now here, Rupa Gosvami says that bhāva or love of Godhead is nitya-siddhasya or eternally present within the heart of the living entity. Love of Godhead is eternally present in the heart of the living entity. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that a child has the innate capacity to walk, and by practicing the innate capacity is aroused. If he didn’t have the innate capacity to walk, even by practice, he could not learn to walk. So similarly, if bhāva was not eternally existing or if love of Godhead was not eternally existing, then simply by practice with the mind and the senses one could not develop love for Krishna. The love is there within the heart and the heart has to be cleansed by the practice of sādhana-bhakti especially by the practice of chanting Hare Krishna, and then the covering which conceals love of Godhead is removed and love of Godhead becomes manifest. 

There are two divisions in sādhana-bhakti: vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti and rāgānugā-sādhana-bhakti. When one follows the regulative principles out of obedience to the spiritual master and scriptures without any taste, or without any liking or longing, it is called vaidhī-bhakti. And now Rupa Gosvami will explain about vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti. He quotes one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 2.1.5 which appears in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.7:

TEXT 1.2.7

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā

bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ

śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca

smartavyaś cecchatābhayam

TRANSLATION

O descendant of Bharata, O Maharaja Parīkṣit, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone’s heart as Paramātmā, who is the Supreme controller and who always removes the miseries of living entities must always be heard about from reliable sources and he must be glorified and remembered by one who wishes to become fearless. 

COMMENT

So everyone in material existence is fearful. We don’t like to be fearful, but we are fearful especially of death or any harm in relation to the body which culminates in death. So even if someone does not have the natural attraction for hearing, chanting, and remembering Vishnu or Krishna but if he wants to become free from fear, which we all do, and if he wants to become free from miseries, which we all want, then he should engage in hearing and chanting and remembering Krishna. So Rupa Gosvami has included the verse as evidence in support of the principle of vaidhī-bhakti, obedience to the scripture and also because the verse mentions the three main processes of vaidhī-bhakti which is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇu-smaraṇaṁ—hearing, chanting, and remembering. Now there are so many rules and regulations. We might be confused as to what regulative principle is most important or what regulative principles are less important. So Rupa Gosvami quotes one verse which gives the main principle of vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti, which is Text 1.2.8 in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu on page twenty:

TEXT 1.2.8

smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur

vismartavyo na jātucit

sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur

etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ

TRANSLATION

Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Lord Viṣṇu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.

COMMENT

So here there are two words: vidhi, which means positive injunctions and niṣedhāḥ which means negative prohibitions. So there are so many positive injunctions and negative prohibitions in the scriptures, but they are all servants of one positive injunction which is to always remember Krishna and all of the negative prohibitions are servants of the one negative prohibition to never forget Krishna. Now if we follow some injunction, we will get some benefit. So all the benefits that could be derived from following all of the injunctions in the scriptures can be achieved just by following the one injunction to always remember Krishna and all of the consequences of violating the prohibitions in the scriptures can be achieved if one violates the one prohibition to never forget Krishna. Just like if one always remembers Krishna, he will achieve the highest benefit which is love of Krishna which is a greater achievement than dharma, artha, kāma, and moksha. So one gets the greatest benefit by always remembering Krishna, and we could say that the worst punishment one could get is going to hell. And as we will read in the next verses, if one forgets Krishna he will go to hell.

Now Srila Prabhupada gives a very nice purport here. He says: “There are many regulative principles in the shastras, and directions given by the spiritual master. These regulative principles should act as servants of the basic principle, that is, one should always remember Krishna and never forget Him. This is possible when one chants the Hare Krishna mantra.” In The Nectar of Devotion also, Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the chanting of Hare Krishna here. Therefore, one must strictly chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra twenty-four hours daily. One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Krishna consciousness movement, we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary if one wants to remember Krishna and not forget Him. So sometimes devotees get the idea that they have more important service to do than chant and they neglect to complete their rounds. But actually, if we don’t chant our rounds, we run the risk of forgetting Krishna.

When we were in Gorakhpur, one American young man joined us, and he was intelligent. He was new, and he was intelligent. So he questioned Srila Prabhupada that if all service is absolute, [then] why do we have to chant sixteen rounds? Why can’t we just do any service? And Srila Prabhupada answered, but the boy did not accept. There was some further discussion and argument, and again when the boy asked, “If all service is absolute, [then] why do we have to chant sixteen rounds?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead wants you to chant sixteen rounds.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “If you want, you can just chant sixteen rounds and the rest of the day you can eat and sleep. I give you special benediction, but you must chant sixteen rounds.” I believe the purport is that we should not consider ourselves to have too much important service to chant sixteen rounds. If we can only chant sixteen rounds and spend the rest of the day eating and sleeping, it is alright. But don’t be so busy with important service that you can’t chant sixteen rounds. There were many times when Srila Prabhupada perceived that the devotees were becoming too involved in practical service at the expense of chanting and hearing, and he did not approve.

There was one time in Bombay at seven in the evening, Srila Prabhupada was sitting on the terrace, and Haridasa Prabhu was fanning him. So Prabhupada noticed that there was no kirtan coming from the temple at the time of ārati. So Srila Prabhupada said, “Where is the kirtan?” And Haridasa said, “Well there is no kirtan; the devotees must be busy.” So Prabhupada sent him, “See where they are. See what they are doing.” And Haridasa came back, and he said, “They are nowhere to be found. They must be out preaching.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “We are successful in Krishna consciousness by the mercy of the Lord, by pleasing the Lord and not by personal effort.” 

Devotee: Say someone doesn’t live in the temple because of their job [Unintelligible] can you. . . spiritual programs. . . still make out. . .[Unintelligible 00:17:20]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Srila Prabhupada understood the problems of householders who are earning, and in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Narada’s instructions on householder life, he says that one must daily associate with devotees and hear the discussions of the pastimes of the Lord. And in the purport, Srila Prabhupada comments that, “The householders should arrange their work so that they can spend at least three hours in the association of devotees hearing and chanting about Krishna.” And he mentions that the three hours can be at a stretch, in the morning or in the evening, even if the householder can’t come both in the morning and the evening. But here again, the sixteen rounds are most important because in another conversation, one disciple asked Srila Prabhupada about the position of some devotee who had to work in a factory, and whether the devotee should leave the work or not. Srila Prabhupada said, “He can leave his job, or he may keep his job, it is up to him.” Then he was saying that the main thing is to follow the regulative principles. Then in one stage, the disciple said, “But he spends so much time at the job, by the time he comes home at night, he is so tired, he can’t finish sixteen rounds.” Then Prabhupada stopped. It was his morning walk. Prabhupada stopped, put his cane down and said, “What? He can’t complete his sixteen rounds? Then he is an animal. He is an animal!”

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:19:50]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we read that bhāva-bhakti is very difficult to achieve unless one has attachment for Krishna in the process of devotional service. So by following the regulative principles, one should develop some taste and attraction for Krishna and bhakti. If he does not, then it will take a long time to get bhāva.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: No, it is not automatic. Krishna gives it, or the Vaishnava gives it when your desire is intense enough. But by following the regulative principles, the desire develops. In Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, “You should be Krishna conscious. But if you can’t be Krishna conscious spontaneously or naturally, then you should follow the rules and regulations of bhakti-yoga because by following the rules and regulations of bhakti-yoga, one develops a desire to attain Me.” But unless one has a strong desire to attain service to Krishna, he can’t get Krishna’s mercy. We have to cry to get Krishna’s mercy and Krishna’s service—not just by mechanical, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. . . you actually have to want it. So we have to feel that if I don’t get it, I will die; my life is useless, and I should just die. One time when we were traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, one devotee asked him, “What will be our business here?” Srila Prabhupada said, “Here our business will be to cry for Krishna.” Unless we feel separation from Krishna and cry in the mood of separation, we won’t get Krishna. We won’t get Krishna’s mercy; we won’t get the service to Krishna we want.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada did say [that] if we chant sixteen rounds and follow the four regulative principles and do our best to spread the saṅkīrtana movement throughout our life, then we can go back to Godhead in this life. It is true. But again, there may be some consideration because we should chant without offense. If we chant without offense, then certainly we can go back to Godhead in one life, even if we only chant sixteen rounds without offense, but I don’t know if I chanted one name without offense so far. But if we can chant sixteen rounds without offense and follow the four regulative principles and serve the saṅkīrtana movement, then certainly we can go back to Godhead. That is the mercy of the Lord that He will help us. But later on, in The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada talks about sādhana-siddha and kṛpā-siddha, and he gives the example, that generally one enters the university and if he attends the classes and does the work, he can pass the exam and graduate, get a degree. But sometimes, someone who never attended the university, does some distinguished service to the nation or to the society, and he is awarded an honorary degree. So we should not expect an honorary degree. We should follow the regular process and at the same time expect the mercy of the Lord. So Mother Jadurani, would you like to comment?

Mother Jadurani: Yes, especially in the west we like everything easy, but when Prabhupada writes to say that [Unintelligible] is to create interest so that they will come, just chant Hare Krishna and be happy. But he doesn’t explain [Unintelligible] that is there in his books [Unintelligible] But the easy promise is there to create interest so that we will come in, and how difficult it really is becomes explained once we are hooked.

Later it will be explained by Giriraj Swami the later stages of devotional service [Unintelligible] if I can just experiment it more [Unintelligible] so much work has to be done [Unintelligible] 95 percent ok unless there is special consideration from Krishna [Unintelligible].

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. As we make advancement, we should increase our chanting and hearing. True, but Prabhupada says, “In our Krishna consciousness movement we have recommended that the neophyte chants at least sixteen rounds.” So she says that if we become more than neophytes we may be expected to chant more than sixteen rounds. So I would say yes, that as we make advancement, we can increase our chanting and hearing, and by our advancement we can inspire others to do service. Like Srila Prabhupada said, there are four classes of persons: 

1.  Lazy intelligent
2.  Active intelligent
3.  Lazy foolish and
4.  Active foolish

So he said that lazy-intelligent is the best. He just sits in one place but by his intelligence, he inspires others to work, and he does so much through others, and he said sometimes if there is a good chance we can go to preach. So Srila Prabhupada was the perfect example of lazy-intelligent. Almost all the time he was just sitting in his room behind his table, and if there was some chance to preach, he might go to the temple for an hour or go out somewhere. Then the next category is active-intelligent. He has good intelligence to know what to do, and he does it. And then the next category is lazy-foolish. He is foolish, and he has many bad ideas but fortunately he is lazy. So he never does anything about it. And the worst category is active-foolish. He has bad ideas, and he is very active to implement them.

So as devotees, if we actually become advanced in Krishna consciousness, we can become lazy-intelligent. It does not really mean that we are lazy, but we appear to be lazy outwardly but inwardly we are very busy, thinking about Krishna and how to serve Krishna and by such elevated Krishna consciousness we can inspire others to work. One time I was the temple commander of the pandal program in Bombay, and one evening Srila Prabhupada came early to the pandal, and the place set aside for Prabhupada to sit and meet people and rest was dirty. There were some paper cups with some drinks and just some refuse scattered about and the sofas were not in order. Everything was messy. So when Srila Prabhupada came, I was very upset that the room was not proper. So I said, “Srila Prabhupada, I am sorry I couldn’t get the room ready on time.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “You are one person. How much work can one person do?” Then he said, “It is better to be able to control five asses than to work like an ass yourself.”

So, we shouldn’t fear that by increasing our spiritual activities, or by increasing our Krishna consciousness that our practical service will decrease. Even if we do less practical service ourselves but by our Krishna consciousness, we can inspire so many others to do so much service. Like Srila Prabhupada, just by his Krishna consciousness or by his spiritual potency, he could just give one word and hundreds of devotees would immediately run. He could make one statement, one sentence, and a devotee would devote his whole life to fulfilling it. So the best thing is to become Krishna conscious. That will be the best way to spread Krishna consciousness also. But we should not imitate. Once Srila Prabhupada noticed that one devotee was not to be seen. So he said, “Where is the devotee?” So I went and I found the devotee and I asked him what was happening. So he said, “I am being lazy-intelligent.” So, I went back and told Srila Prabhupada the answer and Srila Prabhupada said, “Oh I know his lazy intelligence. It is. . . [Srila Prabhupada makes snoring sounds] You go and tell him I want him to be active-intelligent.” So we should not artificially imitate either, but we should act on the platform which is appropriate for us and gradually advance.

So, we only have a couple of minutes left. I will just give a hint about the end of the Chapter, and then we will finish it properly next time. But Srila Prabhupada said that if someone does not chant sixteen rounds, he is an animal, and it sounds like a strong statement. But whatever Srila Prabhupada said can actually be supported by scripture and we will read that if someone engages in varnashrama-dharma, but he does not engage in devotional service to Krishna, he will fall down from his position in varnashrama. Varnashrama is the beginning of human life. Without, dharmena hina paśubhiḥ samana, without dharma or without varnashrama, one is an animal. So actually, what Srila Prabhupada said is correct. We will discuss the actual verses on Tuesday.