TLC – Teachings of Lord Caitanya to Sanatana Gosvami—Part 03

Giriraj Swami: So, this is the mercy of Krishna, that Krishna or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is giving nectar in the form of Krishna consciousness. But if, instead of wanting to drink nectar, the person wants to drink poison in the form of further entanglement in material existence, then somehow or other Krishna will arrange to take away the poison from the person and give him nectar instead. When the person experiences the higher taste of Krishna consciousness, he gives up the inferior desires for sense gratification. Here, the example is Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva Maharaja was the son of a king, but the king had two wives, and the favorite wife was not the mother of Dhruva. So one day, when Dhruva was playing on the lap of the king, or wanted to play on the lap of the king, his stepmother rebuked him, chastised him, and said, “You cannot sit on the lap of the king; you cannot sit on the throne. You are not born from my womb; you are not my child.” So Dhruva became very upset, and he went home and told his mother what happened. And he was determined that he should sit on the throne, that he should get the kingdom. So he asked his mother what to do.

His mother replied, “My dear son, I cannot do anything to help you because I am not the king’s favorite. The other wife is the king’s favorite; I cannot do anything.” Then Dhruva said, and he was only five years old, “Then who will help me?” So she said, “I think the Supreme Personality of Godhead can help.” Then Dhruva said, “Where can I find Him?” And his mother replied, “I do not know, but many sages and saintly persons go to the forest to find Him. So if you also go to the forest, you also may find Him there.” So Dhruva went to the forest as a small boy of five years, and he began to look for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He looked in the bushes, he looked in the trees, he looked everywhere. He inquired of all of the plants and all of the animals, “Where is God? I am looking for God.” So God, who is in everyone’s heart, He saw that Dhruva was anxious to find Him, so He sent His representative, Narada, to test him. Narada said, “My dear child, what are you doing here in the forest?” So he said, “I am looking for God.” So Narada said, “You are too young to come to the forest and perform austerities. You should go back home and play like the other boys, and when you are an old man, then you can come to the forest and look for God.” He was testing him. And Dhruva replied, because he had the kshatriya mood that, “If you can help me to find God, that is very nice. But if you want to tell me to go home, then you can go home because I am staying here, and I am looking for God.”

So then Narada was satisfied that he was sincere enough and serious enough. So he instructed him how to realize God by chanting the holy name of God and following various other instructions. Dhruva Maharaja followed the instructions of Narada so strictly and so carefully that within six months, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before Dhruva Maharaja and asked him, “What can I do for you? What can I give you?” And Dhruva Maharaja replied, “I don’t want anything.” And God said, “But what about the kingdom? You came here for the kingdom.” And Dhruva said, “No, now that I have got Your lordship, I don’t have any other desire.” And then he recited this verse,

TEXT 42

sthānābhilāṣī tapasi sthito ‘haṁ
tvāṁ prāptavān deva-munīndra-guhyam
kācaṁ vicinvann api divya-ratnaṁ
svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce

TRANSLATION

 “[When he was being blessed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Dhruva Mahārāja said:] ‘O my Lord, because I was seeking an opulent material position, I was performing severe types of penance and austerity. Now I have gotten You, who are very difficult for the great demigods, saintly persons and kings to attain. I was searching after a piece of glass, but instead I have found a most valuable jewel. Therefore I am so satisfied that I do not wish to ask any benediction from You.’

COMMENT

So the Bhāgavatam also explains the same fact,

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta paramaṁ puruṣa

Akāma, whether one is free from desires, sarva-kāmo, or whether one is full of desires, mokṣa-kāma, or whether one is desirous of liberation, in any case, one should engage in intense devotional service. Tīvreṇa indicates intensity. So here is the secret, that whether one has no desires or is full of desires or desires liberation, if he engages in intense devotional service, he will get the mercy of Krishna, and he will get something much better than material enjoyment or impersonal liberation. And getting the more valuable thing, he will give up the lesser thing. Just like someone who is looking for a piece of cut glass, if he gets a precious jewel, he will give up the pursuit for the broken glass.

Now, how does one actually come to the stage of bhakti? This is the big question. Lord Chaitanya says that when some fortunate soul comes into contact with Krishna’s devotees, he can begin bhakti and thus become liberated from material existence. And beyond being liberated from material existence, he can achieve love for Krishna. The question will arise, what is the cause of good fortune? Generally, people consider the cause of good fortune to be pious activities. But what is the nature of the pious activities that lead one to devotional service? Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that there are three types of pious activities, or sukriti. On page 350, the purport to Text Forty-five; one is called that is bhogonmukhī sukṛti, pious activity which leads to material enjoyment. In other words, karma-kāṇḍa. Another type of pious activity, mokṣonmukhī sukṛti, leads to liberation. In other words, jñāna-kāṇḍa. And another type of pious activity leads to devotional service, bhakty-unmukhī sukṛti.

So, what is the type of pious activity that leads to devotional service? It is the service of devotees or devotional service performed without knowledge of devotional service. We see many examples in the life of Srila Prabhupada of persons who rendered service to Srila Prabhupada without knowing who Srila Prabhupada is, without knowing who is a bhakta, without knowing who is Bhagavān, and without knowing what is bhakti. Just like we read in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, how Srila Prabhupada gave one lecture in New York, and after the lecture, he just asked one man who was sitting in the audience to help him distribute books. Now, the man in the audience didn’t know who was Srila Prabhupada, what is a pure devotee, he didn’t know what is devotional service or anything, but somehow or other, he did it. So such activities constitute bhakty-unmukhī sukṛti, pious activities that lead to devotional service. Another example, when Srila Prabhupada first came to New York and would walk on the street, he would greet people by saying “Good morning.” So some devotees asked, “Why do you say ‘Good morning’? Why don’t you say ‘Hare Krishna’?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “If I say ‘Hare Krishna,’ they may become shocked. But if I say ‘Good morning,’ then they will become pleased, and most likely they may say ‘Good morning’ back to me. And by saying ‘Good morning’ to me, by showing some respect or appreciation for me, they begin their devotional service.”

So here again, they do not know who is Srila Prabhupada, what is a pure devotee. They just see some elderly gentleman has said “Good morning,” he seems to be a nice man; I should say “Good morning” back to him. So this is bhakty-unmukhī sukṛti, some sort of devotional activity performed even without the knowledge of the performer. But there is much more required to actually come to the stage of bhakti, but this is the beginning. Now we come to Text Forty-nine on page 352:

TEXT 49

sādhu-saṅge kṛṣṇa-bhaktye śraddhā yadi haya
bhakti-phala ‘prema’ haya, saṁsāra yāya kṣaya

TRANSLATION

 “By associating with a devotee, one awakens his faith in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Because of devotional service, one’s dormant love for Kṛṣṇa awakens, and thus one’s material, conditioned existence comes to an end.

COMMENT

So this is actually what makes one eligible to render devotional service, sraddha, which means faith and attraction, specifically faith and attraction to the messages of Krishna heard from the mouths of devotees. Unless one awakens to sraddha, or faith and attraction, one cannot begin devotional service. And how does this faith and attraction awaken? This is the crucial point.

TEXT 50

yadṛcchayā mat-kathādau
jāta-śraddhas tu yaḥ pumān
na nirviṇṇo nāti-sakto
bhakti-yogo ‘sya siddhi-daḥ

TRANSLATION

 “ ‘Somehow or other, if one is attracted to talks about Me and has faith in the instructions I have set forth in the Bhagavad-gītā, and if one is neither falsely detached from material things nor very much attracted to material existence, his dormant love for Me will be awakened by devotional service.’

COMMENT

So, yadṛcchayā is translated here as “somehow or other." But if we look deeply at the word yadṛcchayā, we will find that there must be something more than just chance involved. Because chance is actually no explanation. Just like the scientists say that the universe was created by chance, or life was created by chance. Actually, chance is no explanation at all. Chance has no meaning. So another meaning of yadṛcchayā, which is most appropriate here is, “by its own sweet will." In the First Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the same word comes, and in the purport, Srila Prabhupada uses the word “free,” and says that Narada Muni wanders freely throughout the universe because he is bhakta. Similarly, bhakti is also free. One may get it, or one may not get it, even after thousands and millions of endeavors. And similarly, the association of devotees is also free. One may get it, or one may not get it, even after making so many efforts. Therefore, in the Eleventh Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we find bhakti sanjāyate bhakti, that bhakti comes from bhakti. Just as Krishna is completely independent to appear wherever and whenever He likes, and no one can force Him to appear, so similarly, bhakti is also independent, and she can appear wherever and whenever she likes, by her own sweet will.

Now, someone may say that to get bhakti depends on the mercy of Krishna. If someone gets the mercy of Krishna, he can get bhakti. But then the question will arise: Why does Krishna give bhakti to some and not to others? Then Krishna would be partial. But Krishna is the father of everyone; He has to be equal to everyone. So the explanation that the mercy of Krishna is the cause of the bestowal of bhakti cannot be accepted. Then, someone may propose that the mercy of the bhakta is the cause. And someone again might argue: Then the bhakta is partial, because he will give mercy to some and not to others. But if we look at the description of the madhyam bhakta, we will see that he is supposed to and by nature, he does make distinctions. He makes distinctions between the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees, the innocent persons, and the envious, and he deals differently with each category. Prema maitrī kṛpā upekṣā. He gives his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he makes friendship with the devotees, he shows mercy to the innocent, and he neglects the envious. So the bestowal of mercy is the function of the madhyam bhakta, and the madhyam bhakta does discriminate to whom he should give mercy and to whom not. If he sees some sincere soul, he may become inspired within his heart and pray to Krishna to give mercy to that person. And when the bhakta prays to Krishna to give mercy, then Krishna gives mercy. Or in other words, the mercy of Krishna follows the mercy of the bhakta.

We find in the story of Kaliya-naga, that the wives of Kaliya-naga were great devotees, and although Kaliya-naga was envious and angry and offensive, but after being purified by the kicks of the lotus feet of Krishna, after the Kaliya serpent was defeated then the wives of the Kaliya serpent prayed to Krishna to give mercy to their husband. Then Krishna gave mercy to their husband, and he became delivered by the mercy of Krishna. So first comes the mercy of the devotees who pray to the Lord for mercy, and then the Lord gives mercy. Another example took place in Navadvipa dhāma. There was one king named Samudra Sen during the time of Krishna. So, he wanted to have the darshan of Krishna. So in the meantime, the Pandavas were going all over India on behalf of Maharaja Yudhisthira, to get all of the lesser kings to surrender and pay tribute to Yudhisthira as emperor. And nobody would dare to challenge the Pandavas. But Samudra Sen thought that if I challenge them, and if they come into difficulty, then Krishna will definitely come to save them, and I will have the darshan of Krishna. So with this intention, he fought so heroically against Bhima, that Bhima was in trouble. He couldn’t defeat him at all. And Bhima felt so embarrassed that this tiny little king of Bengal, I can’t defeat him. I defeated so many big warriors, and I can’t defeat him. This is so embarrassing. And actually, he was in trouble himself. So he began to pray to Krishna. And Krishna, hearing the prayers of Bhima, appeared to Samudra Sen. But, Bhima did not see Him. Only Samudra Sen saw Krishna, and seeing Krishna, he put down his bows and arrows, and tears flowed from his eyes. He felt so much ecstasy to have the darshan of the Lord. And meanwhile, Bhima became very happy. He thought, Oh, he is giving up the fight. He is afraid of me. He is crying. He put down his bows and arrows.

So although the context was a little different, but still, because of the prayers of Bhima, Samudra Sen got to have the darshan of Krishna. And then Krishna, showed His form as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And then from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He showed Himself to be Radha and Krishna combined. Of course, although the king was only a sādhaka, he was able to see, whereas Bhima was in sākhya-rasa, so he could not see it. So here, the point is that the mercy of Krishna follows the mercy of the devotee. When the devotee prays for the mercy of Krishna, then the mercy of Krishna follows the mercy of the devotee. So we can say that the appearance of bhakti is caused by the mercy of the devotee. And if the devotee, specifically the madhyam adhikārī, shows mercy to some and not to others, there is no contradiction because that is the nature and the duty of the madhyam bhakta. The uttamā bhakta cannot show mercy to some and not to others. Why?

Devotee: He sees everyone as devotee.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, he sees that everyone is already a devotee. So there is no need to pray to Krishna to make someone a devotee. He sees that everyone is already devotee except himself. So if the uttama-adhikārī wants to bestow mercy, he has to come to the platform of madhyam adhikārī, or he has to act on the platform of madhyam adhikārī, because it is the function of the madhyam adhikārī to show mercy. But then, what about our proposition that bhakti comes from bhakti? Here also, there is no contradiction because what is the definition of bhakta? The definition of bhakta is one who has bhakti. So because the bhakta has bhakti in his heart, he may be inspired by the bhakti in his heart to give mercy. Or in other words, when bhakti wants to make her appearance in anyone’s heart, she does so through the medium of the bhakta. The bhakti in the heart of the bhakta inspires him to give mercy, to pray for mercy, and so on. So, that is yadṛcchayā, somehow or other, by some good fortune. Mat-kathādau means kṛṣṇa-kathā. There are two types of kṛṣṇa-kathā: one is talks about Krishna, like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and another is talks by Krishna, like Bhagavad-gītā. So when one gets the mercy of the devotee and Krishna, one can develop faith in talks about Krishna or by Krishna. Talks which tell about devotional service: When one awakens faith in devotional service, he can begin the process of bhakti-yoga. But here also, there are some considerations. Na nirviṇṇo nāti-sakto; na nirviṇṇo, means that he should not be too detached; or, in other words, he should not be too attached to artificial renunciation. And nāti-sakto, he should not be too attached to material enjoyment. If he is too attached to false renunciation and the desire for mukti is too prominent, then he will go for jnana. He won’t go for bhakti. And if he is too attached to material enjoyment, then he will go for karma; he won’t go for bhakti.

So, if someone is not too attached or too detached but is balanced, he can take to bhakti. Because when we preach, we try to create the situation where the person gives up attachment to artificial austerities or attachment to material enjoyment. Therefore, when we preach, we have to criticize the inferior processes of karma and jnana, and the inferior fruits of bhukti and mukti. Then, by preaching, if the person becomes free from too much detachment or too much attachment, he can become eligible for devotional service. Of course, some persons are naturally inclined to bhakti, and even without much preaching, they are not overly attached to artificial renunciation or to material enjoyment. But otherwise, preaching means preparing the person to come to this stage where he can accept devotional service. In the old days when we first joined in America, many young people had ideas of false renunciation. Almost every Sunday at the feast, there would be some guests who wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t take milk, wouldn’t take sugar, wouldn’t take grains. So they were attached to some sorts of artificial austerities. And in order to get them to take to Krishna consciousness, we had to break their artificial austerities and explain that this is prasāda, this is higher than abstaining from milk, white sugar, white flour, or whatever else they had vowed not to take. And many times, we broke their vows, and they became very happy when they took kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

So the basic requirement is sraddha and if one gets the mercy of the devotees and is not too attached or too detached, his faith in the process of bhakti will awaken. He can take to the process of devotional service and attain the perfection of kṛṣṇa-prema.

So, are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:40:42]

Giriraj Swami: Raghava Pandit Prabhu says that in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami compares the desires for bhukti and mukti to witches which haunts the conditioned soul. And he says that as long as one is haunted by the witches of desires for bhukti and mukti, he cannot really relish the sweet taste of devotional service.

So the original definition is, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, that uttamā-bhakti should not be covered by any other desire or any other process. So someone may begin the practice of devotional service, but unless he gives up the desire for bhukti and mukti, he cannot really taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness. Actually, one can taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness when he becomes free from offenses. But as long as he has desires for bhukti and mukti and tries to use devotional service to achieve either sense gratification or liberation, then he will be involved in offenses, and he won’t be able to taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness. So it says here one should not be too attached or too detached. That means there may be some inclination towards bhukti, or towards mukti, but not so strong that he can’t take the bhakti. But as long as the desires for bhukti and mukti persist, he can’t really taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness. He will be struggling on a lower platform. But then again, by practicing devotional service, he may become free from the desires. Then he can make advancement and come to the higher stages where he can actually taste the nectar of Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:44:15]

Giriraj Swami: He says there are different types of mukti. So if the devotee wants to go back to Godhead, is that against the principles?

Well, if he desires to go back to Godhead, he is not yet a pure devotee, but still, it is not bad. Srila Prabhupada has explained the mentality of different devotees influenced by different modes. So the devotee influenced by the mode of ignorance will think, I am the only real devotee here. Nobody else is really a devotee. Nobody else is doing any real service. I am the only one. Then someone influenced by the mode of passion will think, I want to become the best devotee. I want to be known as the best devotee. And someone influenced by the mode of goodness will think, I want to go back to Godhead. And a pure devotee who is transcendentally situated will think, I just want to serve Krishna. So one devotee even asked Srila Prabhupada, “If I want to become famous as being a good devotee, is it all right?” Srila Prabhupada said, it is not bad; it is all right. It is like people, they want to do some extraordinary service so people will recognize them, “You are a great devotee.” So even that, Srila Prabhupada did not discourage, especially in relation to book distribution, because Srila Prabhupada was so anxious that devotees would distribute his books. So he encouraged them to any extent, and he also had faith that by the potency of book distribution or by the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they would become purified and make advancement. And that is the desire to be recognized or the desire to become famous. So what to speak of the desire to go back to Godhead? It is not so bad. Actually, we should desire to go back to Godhead until we come to the stage where we have no other desire except to serve Krishna. Once Bhurijana Prabhu said to Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada, I don’t want to go back to Godhead; I just want to serve you.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Don’t make me come back again here to accept your service.” Actually, we should want to go back to Godhead, but we should not think that going back to Godhead is limited by time and space. When we enter pure devotional service, we are back to Godhead.

So for tomorrow, if you can read up to page 394, not tomorrow—tomorrow is Gaura-purnima. So by Thursday, so definitely in two days, you can complete the reading. And by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy, you could complete it in two hours. You don’t even need two days.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hare Haribol!

[ANOTHER LECTURE BEGINS]

Giriraj Swami:

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Last time, we discussed the eligibility of the candidate for devotional service. The main requisite is that the person should have faith in talks about Krishna. And at the same time, he should not be too attached or too detached. Faith develops in the association of devotees, and therefore the association of devotees is most important. Now on page 356, we come to one of the most important verses in Caitanya-caritāmṛta,

TEXT 54

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya

TRANSLATION

“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.

COMMENT

How? Because by a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can get the seed of devotional service. And when the seed of devotional service sprouts into a plant and bears fruit, the person gets all success. And what is the evidence from scripture?

TEXT 55

tulayāma lavenāpi
na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya
martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ

TRANSLATION

“ ‘The value of a moment’s association with a devotee of the Lord cannot be compared even to the attainment of the heavenly planets or liberation from matter, and what to speak of worldly benedictions in the form of material prosperity, which is for those who are meant for death.’

COMMENT

Two things can be compared if there are similarities between them. Here, Shaunaka Rishi says that the value of a moment’s association with a pure devotee cannot be compared even to elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. So why they cannot be compared? They cannot be compared because they are not similar. Why are they not similar? Because by a moment’s association with the devotee, one gets bhakti, and the fruit of bhakti cannot be compared to elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. The fruit of bhakti is kṛṣṇa-prema, and the happiness that one derives from kṛṣṇa-prema far exceeds the happiness of heavenly enjoyments and far exceeds the happiness of impersonal liberation. So, they cannot be compared. Furthermore, the happiness of devotional service is eternal, whereas the happiness in elevation to the heavenly planets and even elevation to the impersonal brahman are temporary, Patantī adah, again, they fall down. So there is no comparison. Now, what actually is faith? Here Is another important verse on page 360

TEXT 62

‘śraddhā’-śabde — viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya

TRANSLATION

“Śraddhā is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Kṛṣṇa one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service.

COMMENT

Pure devotional service is jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam. It cannot be covered by any other process like fruitive work, impersonal speculation, mystic yoga, artificial austerities, or any process. Now, in order to enter into pure devotional service, one has to have faith that by not performing the other activities, he will not lose. And he has to have faith that by engaging in devotional service, he will gain everything that he would have gained by performing any of the other activities. So this is faith, and we should know the definition of faith and what is the evidence? The evidence is quoted in Text Sixty-three:

TEXT 63

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

TRANSLATION

“ ‘By pouring water on the root of a tree, one automatically satisfies the trunk, branches and twigs. Similarly, by supplying food to the stomach, where it nourishes the life air, one satisfies all the senses. In the same way, by worshiping Kṛṣṇa and rendering Him service, one automatically satisfies all the demigods.’

COMMENT

So, we don’t have to worship anyone apart from Krishna, and we don’t have to serve anyone apart from Krishna because just by satisfying Krishna, everyone becomes satisfied, just as by satisfying the stomach, all of the parts of the body become satisfied. There is one story from Mahābhārata about Duryodhana, who was always envious of Arjuna and the Pandavas, and he was always thinking of how to put the Pandavas into difficulties. So, he knew that Durvasa Muni was very temperamental. He was so cunning, he thought, I should send Durvasa Muni to the house of the Pandavas. And if he is not properly received with his ten thousand disciples, he will become angry and curse them. Now, Draupadi had one blessed pot that could produce any amount of food until she took food. So deliberately, Duryodhana sent Durvasa Muni with his ten thousand disciples to the house of Draupadi and the Pandavas after they had all taken prasāda. And definitely, according to Vedic hospitality, they had to invite the sage and all of the ten thousand disciples to take food, although they had no means because they were living in the forest.