Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance Day

Giriraj Swami: So, today we have gathered for the most auspicious celebration of the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was one of the most prominent acharyas in the disciplic succession after Lord Chaitanya, and his contribution to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and to the world was so great that one devotee called him the Seventh Gosvami. And much of the present Krishna consciousness movement that was inaugurated or founded by Srila Prabhupada is being conducted under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. And today, I will focus on some of the areas in which the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is continuing the work and mission of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was born in an aristocratic family, a devotional family, but throughout his life, he was afflicted by various illnesses. And so, the tremendous contribution he made was in the face of physically trying conditions. We shouldn’t think that he had an easy life or everything just came. Of course, it did come naturally in a way, but he really had to face many obstacles, even in terms of his physical health. In this year’s Vyasa-puja book, His Grace Kalakanta dasa wrote an offering, in which he listed different trials that Srila Prabhupada had faced, and suggested that Srila Prabhupada actually suffered. It wasn’t just an appearance of difficulties, but he actually suffered. But in spite of the difficulties, he continued. And that is a lesson for all of us, we also shouldn’t expect that things will come very easily or go very smoothly. But in spite of the difficulties and miseries, we should persevere in our efforts in Krishna consciousness.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was appointed to a very high position in the government service, Assistant Magistrate, which is practically the highest position that any Indian held in the government of India during the British rule. The British had the idea to inculcate in the Indians the idea that Indian culture was inferior to the British or the Western or the Christian culture. And so, in general, they kept the Indians down. But Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so qualified and so popular that they were obliged to appoint him to a very high position. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha, he had ten children, and in spite of very heavy responsibilities in the government service and as a family man, he still did so much direct service to the cause of Krishna consciousness. He utilized his time very expertly. After coming home from work, he would take a light meal and he would take rest at about eight o’clock, and then he would get up at midnight and write books. He wrote over one hundred books and songs; he made so many contributions. And from this, we can learn how we can also engage in direct service to the cause of Krishna consciousness in spite of many responsibilities in terms of family and work by very efficiently and enthusiastically using our time, using every moment possible for devotional service.

As a magistrate, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was very efficient. He would dispose of many cases in very short order. Judges are also judged in terms of how many cases they dispose of, and how many of their cases are appealed, and how many of their cases are overturned in appeal. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had the most outstanding record of any judge or magistrate. He disposed of so many cases so quickly, and by and large, people were satisfied with his judgments, and so, his decisions were not appealed or overturned. One famous case involved a yogi who falsely claimed to be an incarnation of Vishnu or Krishna. He would have an imitation rāsa-līlā every night, and many of the ladies in that area of Orissa would come to him and engage in these so-called pastimes. So, the more intelligent persons or sober persons, they complained to the British government, and the British administration considered, “This is a very delicate question because we are dealing with Hindu practices and Hindu sentiments. This would be very tricky for us to deal with.” So, they assigned the work to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. So, he went to the place where the yogi was engaging in his nefarious activities to test him, first of all.

So, he said to the yogi, “You are a devotee, you have such a great contribution to make. Why should you be here in some remote rural area in Orissa? You should come to Jagannatha Puri and worship Lord Jagannatha and be happy in the association of devotees.” So, upon hearing these words, the yogi’s offensive mentality came out, and he said, “Why should I go to Puri and worship a wooden statue?” So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura could conclude, beyond any doubt, that he was a pretender. And so, he decided to arrest him and bring him to trial. And Srila Prabhupada remarked, not specifically in relation to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura but in a more general sense, that the government should oversee the activities of sadhus and people who take the position of guru. He actually said they should license them. Just like nowadays you can’t just call yourself a doctor and begin to practice medicine. You have to take a course of study and you have to be licensed to practice as a doctor or a lawyer. And being a doctor mainly pertains to the body, which is not even as important as the soul. It is not as important as the soul, so what to speak about. . . So, if someone is going to entrust his body or his medical care to a doctor, you want to go to a doctor who is licensed. So in the same way, Prabhupada said that if people entrust their whole lives, their spiritual lives to some spiritual teacher, the teacher should be tested according to certain standards that are given in scripture. And if he doesn’t meet the qualifications, he should be declared unqualified or disqualified.

So anyway, this particular yogi was creating a disturbance with his immoral, illicit activities. And so, Bhaktivinoda Thakura attempted to arrest him. This is also very interesting because Indian culture is so advanced and evolved, even the demons, even the rascals can be very clever, very cultured in a way. So anyway, in diplomatic behavior, if one tries reason and logic, good argument, and if that fails, one tries bribery. So, the yogi told Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “If you cooperate with me, I will give you great powers and you will become the king of India.” Well, that didn’t work. [laughter] Bhaktivinoda Thakura did apprehend him and take him to Puri. So, then the yogi threatened him and all the people associated with him, “If you do this, I will cause you all to become sick, and you will all die.” And the yogi actually did have powers, he actually had powers, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and his family members all became deathly ill. They had very high fevers, and it looked like they could die, they actually could die. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s wife appealed to him, “Please, let the yogi go. It is not worth the cost of our lives to bring the yogi to justice.” And many friends and well-wishers also suggested, “You are too valuable to lose your life over this issue, just let him go.” But Bhaktivinoda Thakura refused. And eventually, the day of the trial came, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura understood that the yogi had conserved his mystic powers in his hair.

Srila Prabhupada also said that it is common that a yogi will have his mystic powers in his hair. There is also the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah. Samson was so powerful, but when his hair was cut, he lost his power. Some of the modern yogis, you can see they also have hair. So, first thing in the trial, Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered the constables to cut his hair. And he did have mystic powers and of course he was making threats, and sparks actually came out of his hair. But anyway, Bhaktivinoda Thakura personally saw to it that his hair was cut, and eventually, he was found guilty of imitating Krishna, engaging in immoral, illicit, illegal activities, and he was sentenced to prison, served time in prison. And in prison, he wrote a note admitting that he had been an imposter, and he took his own life in prison.

So yes, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so fearless, so courageous, so determined. And although Bhaktivinoda Thakura was posted in Orissa, he was also the superintendent of the Jagannatha temple, but his heart hankered to be closer to the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He wanted to be posted in Nadia. But he was rendering such valuable service in the government that they didn’t want to let him go, they didn’t want to grant him a transfer. But eventually, his desire was so strong, and even though he did have such a responsible position and prestigious position and he had a big family to maintain, but finally, he said, “If you don’t transfer me, I am just going to give up government service and retire and just go.” So, then finally they posted him in Krishnanagar, which is near Navadvip, and eventually, he ascertained the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Because in the course of time, the Ganges River changed its course and the landscape changed, the terrain changed, and it was a question what was the actual birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So he studied maps, he consulted local people, and eventually, he had a vision of a mound of earth, out of which tulasis were growing. And he went to the place that he, I guess, believed was the birthplace and the local people also told him there was this place as he was looking, and he found it, and he considered that this was the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And then, he wanted that confirmed by his guru, his śikṣā-guru, Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, and he came and he confirmed it.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura built a bhajana-kuṭira in Godrumadvipa at Surabhi Kunj, which was the place where Nityananda Prabhu, Lord Nityananda, four hundred years earlier, had established the nāma-haṭṭa. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura revived the nāma-haṭṭa, made it a very powerful preaching movement in Bengal especially. And that too was later revived in a very big way by Srila Prabhupada and his followers, especially Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, he really spread the nāma-haṭṭa in Bengal and Orissa and now spread all over the world. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also built a house near Surabhi Kunj, in those days quite a nice house overlooking the Jalangi river. And devotees go there on parikramā when they go to Navadvipa. And you can see his bedroom, his chair, his table, his bed. And next to it was another room where his son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would sometimes stay. And also, there is the bhajana-kuṭira of his disciple, Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. So, very sacred place. And there is a balcony where he would chant japa.

One day, he was looking across the balcony, and he had a vision of a wonderful temple and a whole community of devotees engaged in the service of the Lord, a whole township, a whole city. And this temple at adbutha mandir, it was mentioned by Locana dasa Thakura in one of his books that Nityananda Prabhupada, Lord Nityananda predicted that there would be an astounding temple rising up in Mayapur and a whole community of devotees engaged in the service of the Lord. So, naturally, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, son and in a way disciple, he took up that. Well, before that, actually Bhaktivinoda Thakura wanted to build a temple at the birthplace, and he personally took up a collection, he went door to door. He was such a prestigious person; he went door-to-door begging people to contribute whatever they could for the construction of the temple. Imagine say governor Schwarzenegger going door-to-door to take up a collection for a religious shrine, it would be quite unusual. But anyway, just comparing things that are not to be compared. But he did that, and one of the main newspapers in Calcutta, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, appealed to the citizens that the noble Bhaktivinoda Thakura will be coming door to door, everyone should contribute his mite to the worthy cause. And I believe it was that, his family name was Ghosh. Prabhupada knew Taran Kanti Ghosh and his father was Tushar Kanti Ghosh. And his father was quite a prominent Bengali intellectual. I believe he was the one that called Bhaktivinoda Thakura the seventh Gosvami.

So, anyway, he was so humble, he went door to door, door to door, and raised a collection and built the original temple of Lord Chaitanya at the birthplace in Mayapur. But as far as a whole community of devotees, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura made the beginning. In Mayapur, you can also see some cottages, a few of his disciples, householder disciples built cottages, and he himself established the Gaudiya Math there with brahmacharis and sannyasis. But this project also came through disciplic succession to Srila Prabhupada, and he really wanted to develop the Mayapur city. Certainly, more has been done to establish the Mayapur city than was ever done before, and it is, it is growing, it is definitely taking shape. And Srila Prabhupada also wanted to build a magnificent temple to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for the Pancha-tattva in Mayapur. And one year, I was serving in the Calcutta temple, and Srila Prabhupada arrived from London, and he was so enthusiastic about the Mayapur project, the big temple, that in London, he had actually drawn a design for what the temple would look like, what the first building would look like. And when he arrived in Calcutta, he was just so enthusiastic he pulled out the blueprints and he was showing everyone. He actually worked on it with our dear godbrother Nara Narayana Prabhu, and he was just so enthusiastic, so excited, and so enthusiastic. And, of course, that enthusiasm spread to us.

But then, he did something very interesting and very instructive. He called a meeting with the devotees, the senior devotees at least, and right when everyone was at the peak of their enthusiasm for the project, he raised the question of the flooding in Mayapur. Because quite frequently, during the rainy season, the Ganges floods and the area becomes submerged under water to different degrees. So, he was saying, “If we build the city there, if we build the temple there, it could be flooded, the whole thing could be lost.” So, he raised the question, “Should we even build the temple and try to establish this city there?” Of course, he was Srila Prabhupada, he had so much authority, and then on top of it, his logic was so powerful, his intelligence was so powerful. So, he took that position very strongly, and he suggested that we consider alternative locations for the temple, and he suggested Birnagar, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s, it was one of his places of residence, a very nice place in Bengal, very nice atmosphere. So, we were convinced, we were persuaded. And then again, he brought up Mayapur, and in the end, he concluded we should go ahead and do it in Mayapur. Even though there is that risk and there is that difficulty, we should go ahead. But the whole exercise really illustrated an important principle that Srila Prabhupada often mentioned, which is that in whatever we do, we should be very careful and cautious, and we should use our intelligence.

And Srila Prabhupada defined intelligence as seeing the same thing from different angles of vision, from different points of view. He didn’t want us to just blindly rush forward, “We are going to fulfill Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s prophecy, we are going to fulfill Nityananda Prabhu’s desire.” We are in the material world, and in the material world, there are many dangers. There is danger at every step, and Prabhupada wanted us to be very cautious and careful and see things from different angles of vision, not just rush ahead based on blind faith or enthusiasm. And then, at the end of the discussion he had with the devotees there, he said, “If you all build this temple for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.” So, he has that power.

In fact, maybe we will sing, at the end, a song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Ohe Vaishnava Thakura, and he says that he prays to the Vaishnava that, “You have Krishna and you have the power to give Him to us, so we are running behind you, shouting ‘Krishna! Krishna!’” So, that is the truth, the Vaishnava possesses Krishna. Krishna comes under the control of the love of the pure devotee, and if the pure devotee is pleased with our service, he can deliver Krishna to us. And that is really how we progress. Yes, we make our effort, we have to make our effort, but ultimately, our success depends on the mercy of higher authorities. If we please them by our sincere efforts to serve and follow their instructions, if they are satisfied, they can deliver Krishna to us. So, we should submit ourselves at their lotus feet, roll in the dust of their lotus feet and beg them for their mercy, we have no other hope, we have no other hope. Our effort isn’t really what brings success, our effort is there because we have to make our effort, it is our duty.

I recently read in His Holiness Radhanath Swami’s memoir The Journey Home, that one night, he was spending the night with Ramesh Baba in Barsana, and there was news that there was a tiger on the prowl, and the tiger had already attacked people, maybe even killed them. And in those days, Barsana was, that whole area of Vraja was much less built up than now, still a lot of it was jungle. Srila Prabhupada’s friend in Vrindavan, Babaji, with the house near the Krishna-Balarama temple. He said that when he moved to Vrindavan, which was maybe 1930s, he could walk from Raman Reti to Govardhana Hill in the middle of the day and never see the light of the sun, the forest was so thick. Say the 1930s, that was just forty years before Prabhupada began the Krishna-Balarama temple. The forest was so dense you could walk up all the way from Raman Reti to Govardhana Hill and never see the light of the sun. So, Barsana, we can imagine even at that time, the forest and the tiger was. . . And some people were even suggesting to Babaji that he should leave the place because it wasn’t safe, but he said, “No, I am surrendered to Srimati Radharani.”

So, he took rest outside and [Unintelligible 00:41:17]. And Radhanath Swami thought, Well, if he is going to stay there, I will stay there with him. So, he laid down and he had a little wooden stick by his side. So, Radhanath Swami asked, “Well, that wooden stick?” He said, “Yes, there is a tiger on the prowl.” And Radhanath Swami said, “Well, what is that little wooden stick going to do against a ferocious tiger? It will be completely useless.” And Ramesh Babaji replied, “I know, but we have to make our effort. Actually, we are just depending on the mercy of Srimati Radharani, we have no other protection, but we have to show that we are making an effort, that we are not just doing nothing and depending on Their kindness. So, that is why I am keeping the stick.”

So, the same principle really applies to all of our devotional practices; we have to show we are making the effort, but we have no ability to move forward one inch in devotional service without mercy. And, of course, the more effort we put in, you could say, the more result we will get because we are showing how sincere we are and how eager we are. But it is really the mercy of the superior acharyas and the Supreme Personality of Godhead that enables us to move forward even one iota. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he was in that mood, every acharya is in that mood because that is how they get the mercy and strength to really practice and preach Krishna consciousness. And so, there is this song, Ohe Vaisnava Thakura. And Srila Prabhupada also demonstrated this principle in a very unique, very special context, unique way. When I was in Madras, I was the first devotee from ISKCON to go there to preach. So, I was meeting various prominent people, and many of them were interested, but one who took very keen interest was the Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Veeraswami.

Anyway, towards the end of Prabhupada’s visit to Madras after a five-day program, very successful program, Justice Veeraswami arranged a pandal program for Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. And he invited all the other High Court judges and High Court advocates to attend. And in Srila Prabhupada’s talk, he quoted the verse from Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka about the six Gosvamis, tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat, that although they were very highly placed people, maṇḍala-pati, they rejected that all as insignificant, tucchavat, and they joined the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, Srila Prabhupada was appealing to these leaders, High Court judges and advocates, that they should also give up their prestigious positions and join the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So, after the program, the Chief Justice invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to his home for prasāda. And before the meal, he presented Srila Prabhupada this little silver statue of Krishna, beautiful silver statue. And amongst all the adult devotees, there was one child, Sarasvati, the daughter of Shyamasundara and Malati. And she was maybe three or four years old. And Srila Prabhupada engaged her in a very dramatic way. He held this little statue of Krishna in front of her, and he said, “Sarasvati, who is this?” And Sarasvati said, “It is Krishna.” And he was holding it right in front of her, and she was very attracted to this object. And then, Srila Prabhupada moved the deity and put him behind his back. And then he said, “Sarasvati, where is Krishna?” And immediately, she started looking everywhere. When you are a few years old, you don’t perceive things the same way as adults do. So, she started looking everywhere, “Where is Krishna?” She got so filled with anxiety, she was just looking everywhere in a state of extreme anxiety. And then, Prabhupada would again say, “Sarasvati, where is Krishna?” And again, she’d be looking, looking, looking, looking, “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?” but she couldn’t find him.

Then, finally someone said, “Sarasvati, who has Krishna?” And then Sarasvati’s eyes opened and her face lit up with recognition and she said, “Prabhupada has Krishna.” And then she looked at Prabhupada with such joy and expectation, and she started to run up to Prabhupada, and then Prabhupada took the Krishna out from behind his back and gave it to her. And I was thinking, Wow! Prabhupada illustrated such a profound truth, and it is just like the song of Bhaktivinoda Thakura that, “You have Krishna, and you have the power to deliver Him to us.” But to get Krishna from the Vaishnava, get love of Krishna, we have to be eager like Sarasvati. She was so eager, and she was so anxious without Krishna, “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?” Prabhupada quoted that last verse of the Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka, he rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindi-vane kutaḥ, that the six Gosvamis, they were wandering all over Vrindavan and crying, “Oh Krishna, O Radharani, O Lalita, where are You? Are You at Govardhana Hill or are You on the banks of the Yamuna?” And these were their moods in executing Krishna consciousness. So, when we have that eagerness and that intense longing and desire, separation, then, Krishna, by the mercy of the devotee or devotees, will gradually manifest Himself to us. We have to have that eagerness. And that eagerness arises when we become purified. And we become purified when we make the effort, concerted effort.

Once, I had a dream a couple of years ago, and in this dream, Srila Prabhupada said to me, “You have to be mad for Krishna.” And, it was a nice dream, and then, I think shortly thereafter, Radhanath Swami came to stay with me and I mentioned the dream to him. And when I said that, “Mad for Krishna,” he said, “Oh, that is a very advanced stage.” So, it is not something to be taken lightly, “Mad for Krishna,” but it should be our goal. And we approach that goal by really making strenuous efforts, unstinting, not holding anything back. Not, “So much for Krishna and so much for me,” but no, “Everything for Krishna, nothing for me,” in that mood. Of course, we have to keep our body and soul together, that is also one of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s instructions, that, yes, our goal is kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, to always chant the holy name of Krishna. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura raises the question, “Well, what about maintaining our body or our family’s bodies?” And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that to take care of the body or to take the measures necessary to maintain the body, which also includes working, earning money, spending money, the time spent on that does not violate the principle of kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, always chanting the holy name of Krishna, if we do it, just enough to meet our requirements so that we can use the time, all the other time for Krishna kirtan.

So, he was also very practical. There are so many instructions, so many wonderful books. Of course, Harināma-cintāmaṇi is a small book about chanting the holy name, but Jaiva Dharma, Sri Caitanya Siksamrita is so full of valuable instructions. And in Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses kaniṣṭhā, madhyam, and uttamā devotees, and, of course, the Bhāgavatam. Of course, everyone, all of our acharyas follow the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the basic authorities. So, the Bhāgavatam says, in relation to the madhyam-bhāgavata, prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ, that he gives his love to Krishna, he makes friendship with devotees, he is merciful to the innocent, and he neglects, kṛpopekṣā, he neglects the envious. So, almost everyone in the material world is envious of Krishna. Unless you are a pure devotee, you do have some envy of Krishna. But there are people who are really envious. They don’t want to hear about Krishna, and if you are pursuing Krishna consciousness, they discourage you. They may try to put obstacles, they may try to convince you, so many things, even our own family members. So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses this neglect of non-devotees or avoiding the association of non-devotees, asat-saṅga-tyāga, — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra strī-saṅgī’ — eka asādhu, ‘kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says asat; sat is a word for devotee. So, asat means non-devotees—asat-saṅga-tyāga, we should give up the association of non-devotees.

And who are non-devotees? strī-saṅgī’ — eka asādhu, one is a person who is attached to sense gratification, especially the opposite sex for sense gratification. strī-saṅgī’ — eka asādhu, ‘kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra, and the other is just ābhakta, someone who is not a devotee of Krishna. So, we are supposed to shun the association of non-devotees. But what do we do if we have family members who are non-devotees? What do we do if we work in a place with non-devotees? So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura answers that avoiding their association does not mean that we cannot have normal human interaction with them as is expected in a workplace or in a family. But it means that we should not associate with them in relation to our spiritual advancement. We shouldn’t take their advice in relation to our spiritual progress.

And the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, “Narada’s Instructions on Ideal Family Life,” he says the same thing, that if you are a devotee and a family member or family members tell you that you should lead a different kind of life. It happens all the time. The Bhāgavatam says outwardly, you should agree and say, “Yes, what you say is very good,” but inwardly, you should continue in your own determination and keep your life simple. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses this point, “Should we abandon family members who are not devotees?” And he says no. Of course, that would depend on one’s ashram. He says no, but just keep the association of devotees for your spiritual advancement. And that is the other point about the importance of the association of devotees. And in Harināma-cintāmaṇi, well, first Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the holy name in general, and then he discusses the ten offenses. And the first is sādhu-nindā, blaspheming devotees. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is very analytical and very precise. So, with each of the ten offenses, he begins by defining the terms, which is natural, it is logical. So, sādhu-nindā; Well, nindā is easy, nindā means to criticize, to blaspheme, to find fault. But sadhu, who is a sadhu?

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the different qualities of a sadhu mentioned by Krishna in the Eleventh Canto, and one is mat-śaraṇa, he has taken shelter of Krishna. And Srila Krishna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami also lists twenty-six qualities of a devotee, mainly based on those mentioned in the Eleventh Canto. And out of the twenty-six qualities, one is kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa, one who has taken exclusive shelter of Krishna or the holy name of Krishna. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if one has that primary qualification of having taken shelter of Krishna or the holy name of Krishna, he or she is considered a sadhu even if he or she does not have the other twenty-five qualities. And if one has the other twenty-five qualities but does not have the qualification of having taken exclusive shelter of Krishna, then the other twenty-five qualities are not of much value. So, that is the real qualification for a sadhu. And if someone has surrendered to Krishna, taken shelter of Krishna, he or she is a sadhu.

And then, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses possible grounds for criticizing a sadhu. Then he says, “Okay, well, this is a sadhu, this person has taken shelter of Krishna, but they might criticize the person because the person has taken a low birth or because the person is of a lower caste or because the person had engaged in sinful activities before taking shelter of Krishna and Krishna’s devotees or because the person still has traces or vestiges of sinful activities even after coming to the association of devotees.” One might think one could criticize like that, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says no, these are all sādhu-nindā, they are all sādhu-nindā. So, we have to be careful about this, because the sadhus, our spiritual advancement depends on the association of sadhus, our practical service to the mission depends on the cooperative effort of the sadhus. So, if we blaspheme, find fault, back-bite, we are going to destroy our devotional service. And then, Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses people who could be considered sadhus, but who actually are not sadhus. Because, we don’t want to mistake a sadhu for an asādhu. Sometimes people will say, “Oh, you are not a devotee, devotees are humble, you are not humble so you are not a devotee.” But Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if you are surrendered to Krishna, even if you don’t have the other twenty-five qualifications such as humility, you are still considered a sadhu, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ. But we also don’t want to mistake an asādhu for a sadhu.

And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions three categories of asādhus who are often mistaken for sadhus. And one is the Mayavadi. Mayavadis are not considered sadhus by this definition, they are not actually sadhus. Sadhu means devotee, the Mayavadis are not considered sadhus, although they may dress as sadhus and may be considered as sadhus by others. The other category, or another category, is the atheists. There are even atheists who are considered sadhus. Buddhists, some Buddhists, not all, but some Buddhists are atheistic, definitely non-theistic, but we are not naming any particular group or individual here. And then the other category, third category is dharmadhvaji. Dharma means religion, and dhvaja means flag. So, dharmadhvaji means someone waving the flag of religion, but he is not really a devotee. Dharmadhvaji means a pretender. Just to help you understand not to find fault with anyone, but in the previous administration here in the government of the United States, many people had the feeling that some of the political leaders were like dharmadhvajis, raising the flag of religion, being Christian, but they weren’t. So, these are three categories of asādhus, non-devotees who are sometimes mistaken as sadhus.

Now, Srila Prabhupada regularly criticized people who were revered as spiritual leaders in India. And as he said in his own words, that, “Perhaps for the first time, I am the only one who is exposing them as fools and rascals.” A very heavy statement. And many people would become upset with Srila Prabhupada when he would criticize some of the revered popular religious figures or so-called religious figures of India. There was one man in Juhu, he actually, I think he moved to Juhu later but he had attended the first Bombay pandal. And Prabhupada was criticizing Shankaracharya, and this person, very intelligent person, very austere and quite well read, years later, he came to me and he said, “I was attending that pandal program, and when Prabhupada would criticize Shankaracharya, I would think, ‘Who does this man think he is? Now, Shankaracharya is perhaps the greatest acharya in the history of India, and who does he think he is to criticize him?’” So, he had negative thoughts about Srila Prabhupada, but somehow or other, later, he got one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, either Teachings of Lord Caitanya or Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which the whole history of Lord Shiva coming as Shankaracharya to bewilder the atheists by preaching Mayavada philosophy. He read it, and he understood it, and he came to me and he said, “After reading this book, I realized that everything that Prabhupada was saying was true.” And then he surrendered, he became a devotee.

So, one other incident involved Srila Prabhupada’s almost constant companion on his morning walks in Juhu beach, Dr. Patel, Dr. C.P. Patel. One morning in particular, Dr. Patel brought up some famous, popular religious figure of India, praising him. And Srila Prabhupada said, “He is a rascal.” He said, “He is a rascal.” Dr. Patel got upset, “Now, how can you say that he is a rascal?” And Prabhupada said, “I am not saying, Krishna is saying, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. I am not saying, Krishna is saying. It is a simple test. Is he surrendered to Krishna or not? If he is not surrendered to Krishna, he is a rascal, he is a fool, he is a demon. I am not saying, Krishna is saying.” But anyway, Dr. Patel really got upset because Prabhupada had really picked on someone cherished by Dr. Patel. And Dr. Patel raised his voice and Prabhupada raised his voice back. And Dr. Patel raised his voice more and Prabhupada raised his voice more, and finally, they were literally shouting at each other. And it was scary actually, it was scary. And Dr. Patel’s cronies who usually supported him, they tried to restrain him. They were saying, “Swamiji has a heart condition, don’t upset him so much.” And it was like in a boxing ring, the bell rings, the round is over, but they are still. . . and the referee is trying to pull them apart and their trainers are pulling them, they wouldn’t stop. But then, finally, his people pulled him away.

So, there are many details to this story. But then Dr. Patel stopped coming. For the first time in years, he stopped coming. He would usually come to Prabhupada’s room and escort him, take him in his car or walk with him to the beach or at least meet up with him at the beach. But after this, he didn’t come. And Prabhupada also said, “All right. From now on, no discussion, we will only read the Kṛṣṇa book on the morning walk.” So, we would read the Kṛṣṇa book. And Dr. Patel was avoiding. And then, one morning, the way he describes it, Prabhupada was walking one direction, maybe near the ocean, and Dr. Patel was walking the opposite direction, far from the ocean. And the way he described it, something in his heart just made him change directions and walk straight to Srila Prabhupada, and he bowed and offered respect to Srila Prabhupada’s feet and he said, “Prabhupada, I am sorry, but I have been taught to respect all the accredited saints of India.” And Prabhupada said, “Yes, and I have been taught to say who is a saint and who is not a saint.”

So, acharyas have to do that, but it is not nindā. It can be, but it is not nindā if they do it to help people who could be misled by them, to help people who could fall into a bad association, thinking that they were getting the association of a saintly person. But otherwise, nindā-śūnya. Rupa Goswami says, “One should take shelter of a Vaishnava whose heart is completely free from the propensity to criticize others,” nindā-śūnya. They have no desire, pure devotee just wants to chant the holy name and hear about Krishna and preach the message of Krishna, they have no interest in criticizing others, even non-devotees, demons. But for the sake of preaching, for the sake of Krishna’s mission, Mahaprabhu’s mission, the previous acharyas’ mission, they do it just to help others to free them from false attachments so they can take to Krishna consciousness. Or even if they are in Krishna consciousness, to prevent them from unknowingly falling into bad association and being diverted. So, that is the mercy of the acharya, the sadhu, the preacher. But otherwise, they have no interest in criticizing anyone or anything. They are happy just to gently hear about Krishna.

So, today is a most auspicious day. We really take this opportunity, of course, our system is paramparā. We approach our immediate spiritual master and through him the predecessor acharyas, but on special days like today, on appearance days and disappearance days, we can approach, it is also by the mercy of our spiritual master, but we can approach them directly, like we did. We offered directly puṣpāñjali. And we can beg him, “Please give me your mercy, please give me some of what you have, which I want desperately. And even if I don’t have the desire, the desire is not very strong, please give me the desire, make my desires stronger.” Wherever we are on that path of desire, we can pray to get the desire, to increase the desire, because it all depends on desire. Everything depends on desire. Krishna fulfills all desires. If what we really desire is Krishna and Krishna’s service, He will fulfill our desire. And the way we show our desire is by making the effort, by spending the time. If we spend the time chanting, trying to chant with attention, even if we aren’t even able to pay attention that well, our mind is still, but we just take the time to make the effort, Krishna will see, “Oh, this person is taking the time to try to develop his relationship with Me.” By reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, even if we don’t understand exactly what we are reading, even if we can’t appreciate it or relate to it, but if we just spend the time reading, trying to understand, hoping to come to appreciate it, then Krishna, the previous acharyas will say, “Oh, this person is spending the time.”

It is association, chanting means associating with Krishna, reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam means associating with Krishna, “This person wants My association. He is taking the time to be with Me.” And so, Krishna will reciprocate. But it is just showing Krishna we want to develop a relationship with Him. We are not qualified, by His mercy it will give us the qualification, but it is just showing Him we want to develop our relationship with Him by spending time with Him. To develop a relationship with someone, you have to spend time with the person. So, chanting with attention, spending time with Krishna, reading Prabhupada’s books, spending time with Krishna, worshiping the deity, śraddhānvita, with faith, not just mechanically, externally, worshipping the deity with faith and devotion, spending time with Krishna. When Krishna sees we want to spend time with Him, develop our relationship with Him, He will help us, we just have to spend the time, make the effort.

And Bhaktivinoda Thakura and all of our teachers and acharyas, they want us. Prabhupada was holding Krishna. He actually wanted to give Krishna to Sarasvati, but he could only really properly give it to her when she was sufficiently anxious, sufficiently eager. When her desire was strong enough that she would really appreciate it. So, they have Krishna, they have the power to give Him to us, they want to give Him to us, but they don’t want to cast pearls before swine. They want us to really value what they have to give us. And when we really get a sense of what that most valuable treasure is and really want it and are taking time to develop our relationship with Krishna, with the devotees, and they see that that is really what we want and nothing else, then they will fulfill our desire by their mercy. And if that is what we want, if Krishna and Krishna’s service is all that we want, we will get it by their mercy. Hare Krishna.

So, I know we have gone late. Of course, no breakfast. But I did think for those who have the time and can stay, we will sing that song, I requested Mukunda Datta Prabhu to sing that song, Ohe Vaishnava Thakura, in which Bhaktivinoda Thakura expresses the mood that we all want to have and develop. And, like offering a drop of Ganges water to the Ganges, we can offer that mood, in his words, to him, so that he will give us a drop of faith in the holy name.

Hare Krishna.