Today is a very super-excellent auspicious day as it is the disappearance day of nitya-lila-pravishta om vishnupada ashtottara-shata Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Srila Sarasvati Prabhupada, the original founder and acharya of our Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti mission. Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja very nicely glorified his Gurudeva by comparing him to a beautifully radiant moon which completely illuminates all directions with its rays; ‘sujanārvuda-rādhita-pāda-yugaḿ’. All of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s disciples were like rays of the moon— and he was the beautiful moon. Thus, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada preached through his disciples; all of whom were very qualified, for this reason, he sent them all over the world to preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Because Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself said:
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāmasarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
Chaitanya-bhagavata (Antya-khanda 4.126)
[In as many cities, towns and villages as there are on the surface of the earth, My holy names will be preached and chanted.]
So all of Gaurasundara’s eternal associates appeared in the world fulfilling every one of His desire, and especially Srila Narottoma dasa Thakura, who quoted one verse:
śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaḿ
sthāpitaḿ yena bhū-tale
svayaḿ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaḿ
dadāti sva-padāntikam
Sri Rupa Pranama
[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfil the desire of Lord Chaitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?]
“When will Sri Rupa Gosvamipada, who fulfilled all the desires of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, give me shelter unto his lotus feet? Then I will serve under the guidance of Rupa Manjari.” Because Srila Rupa Gosvamipada is the very nearest and dearest of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Rupa Manjari is the very nearest and dearest of Srimati Radhika.
So in our line, called rupa-anugatya-bhajana, our main goal is how to serve Srimati Radhika under the guidance of Rupa Manjari. And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada manifested this rupa-anugatya-bhajana-paddhati (the path of practice under Sri Rupa's guidance). This is very important in our spiritual lives.
Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada explained the five types of knowledge. The first is called pratyaksha-jnana, the direct knowledge with our senses. The second is paroksha-jnana, indirect knowledge. Third is aparoksha-jnana, which is knowledge of brahma, brahma-jnana. Fourth is called adhokshaja-jnana or vaikuntha-jnana, knowledge of Vaikuntha [awareness that goes beyond our material senses].
And the fifth knowledge is called aprakrita-jnana, which is knowledge of transcendental Goloka Vrindavana. Specifically, how the Vrajavasis serve Krishna in their transcendental moods, maintaining a relationship with Krishna as like their family member. This is called laukika-sad-bandhuvat-priti, meaning that the Vrajavasis have friendships with Krishna like a family member. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada manifested these types of transcendental knowledge—aprakrita-jnana, goloka-vrindavana-jnana.
I will briefly explain about these five types of knowledge. So, pratyaksha-jnana, knowledge from our material senses. Sometimes, our material senses do not give us perfect knowledge. This is because conditioned souls have four faults: bhrama (making mistakes), pramada (prone to illusion), vipralipsa (cheating propensity) and karana-apatava (incapable senses). Thus, sometimes our senses do not give us perfect knowledge—there are faults there.
Next comes paroksha-jnana, which means knowledge of heavenly planets, also called indirect knowledge. Then, there is aparoksha-jnana, also known as brahma-jnana, how to merge in Brahma— this should be rejected. Then there is adhokshaja-jnana, knowledge of the transcendental world, which is also called vaikuntha-jnana. Our shastras say that this vaikuntha-jnana, knowledge of Vaikuntha-dhama, is in the mood of opulence. Then, aprakrita-jnana, ‘prakritavat natu prakita’, knowledge of the transcendental world, Goloka Vrindavana, the relationship of those inhabitants to Krishna and how they serve Krishna like their family member; full of madhurya— a mood of sweetness is there.
For this reason, the Brahma-stutis, recited by Brahmaji explains:
aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁnanda-gopa-vrajaukasāmyan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁpūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.32)
[How greatly fortunate are Nanda Maharaja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhumi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend.]
After hearing this verse recited by Brahmaji, Lord Krishna smiled. Our shastra explains that this occurs because, when anyone glorifies the Vrajavasis, Krishna cannot conceal His mood. So Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, in his anubhashya (commentaries) on Chaitanya-charitamrita also explained that if anybody glorifies the Vrajavasis, Krishna becomes very happy. So for this reason, in Sri Manah-shiksha (verse 2), Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami very nicely explained how to glorify Vraja:
na dharmaṁ nādharmaṁ śruti-gana-niruktaṁ kila kuruvraje rādhā-krsna-pracura-paricaryām iha tanuśacī-sūnuṁ nandīśvara-pati-sutatve guru-varaṁmukunda-preṣṭhatve smara padam ajasraṁ nanu manaḥ
[O my dear mind, please do not perform either the routine religious activities resulting in piety (dharma) or the irreligious activities resulting in sin (adharma) as mentioned in the Shrutis or Vedas. Rather, you should render profuse loving service to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna Yugala here in Vraja, for the Shrutis have ascertained Them to be the highest principle of supreme worship and the Supreme Absolute Truth. Always meditate on Sacinandana Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is richly endowed with the complexion and sentiments of Srimati Radhika, as non-different from Sri Nanda-nandana. And always remember the spiritual master as most dear to Sri Mukunda.]
In most of the verses of Manah-shiksha, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami glorified how to submerge in vraja-prema. And Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said, “I want to give these types of vraja-prema, except now, this world is full of jungles. My whole life, I have spent cutting down these jungles.” Our shastra states that if a sadhaka does not cut the jungles from his heart, how will shuddha-bhakti (pure devotion) possibly manifest there? Because one’s heart is full of anarthas, unwanted things such as lust, anger, enviousness, duplicity and hypocrisy, or chala and kapata. With these present, how will shuddha-bhakti manifest in our hearts? First, a sadhaka has to remove all kinds of anarthas from his heart. Thus, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada very humbly said, “I spent my entire life cutting down jungles.”
He also gave so much nectar, vraja-prema, to those who were qualified. He distributed this prema because rupanuga-bhajana is our aim and objective. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada even mercifully gave his own identification in his pranama-mantra:
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-taleśrīmate bhaktisiddhānta-sarasvatīti nāmine
śrī-vārṣabhānavī-devī-dayitāya kṛpābdhayekṛṣṇa-sambandha-vijñāna-dāyine prabhave namaḥ
mādhuryojjvala-premāḍhya-śrī-rūpānuga-bhaktidaśrī-gaura-karuṇā-śakti-vigrahāya namo ‘stu te
namas te gaura-vāṇī-śrī-mūrtaye dīna-tāriṇerūpānuga-viruddhāpasiddhānta-dhvānta-hāriṇe
[I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. I offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Varshabhanavi-devi-dayita dasa (another name of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati), who is favoured by Srimati Radharani and who is the ocean of transcendental mercy and the deliverer of the science of Krishna. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personified energy of Sri Chaitanya’s mercy, who deliver devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Radha and Krishna, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Srila Rupa Gosvami. I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personified teachings of Lord Chaitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami.]
Here, he has given his own identification, ‘śrī-vārṣabhānavī-devī-dayitāya’ which means the very nearest and dearest sakhi of Vrishabhanu-nandini Srimati Radhika. First, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada cut and destroyed all apa-siddhanta; like those of sahajiya and sakhi-bhekis, who contaminated Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s philosophy. Especially in Bengal, in those times people were committing all kinds of sinful activities. They were thinking, “I just have to chant the holy names, there is no need for me to follow any rules of regulation. We can do anything we like.”
However, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada firmly preached against these sahajiyas and sakhi-bhekis from apa-sampradayas, and also against smarta-brahmanas. Because in those times, smarta-brahmanas created a deceitful business and began taking money from innocent people. But not only these sects; Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada preached against many others, like the Ramakrishna Mission, whо, along with some others followed this philosophy: “Yata mata tata patha - there are many opinions and also, there are many paths. You can take any path and you will still end up in the same final destination.”
But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said, “This philosophy is completely wrong.” Still, some apa-sampradayas insisted, “If you want to go to the market, you can go anyway you want, and you will still arrive at the market.” Except, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada explained that if you want to go to the transcendental world, to Goloka Vrindavana, you should be one-pointed with Krishna— otherwise you cannot go.
For example, if you write a letter, the postman will see the address, and accordingly, the letter will be delivered to the address that has been written. If you write the address as somewhere in London, that envelope will go to London. If you write Germany, it will go there, and if you write France, it will go there, to a different country— not to the same destination. In the same way, you must first determine what your perfection goal is, and where you will go.
‘Yata mata tata patha’, this conception is completely wrong! And in this regard, our shastra states:
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 17.186)
[One should accept whatever progressive path the mahajanas advocate.]
There is only one path: following the footsteps of our bona fide sampradaya-acharyas. Otherwise, we will never attain our perfected goal. Hence, Bhaktisiddhanta Srila Sarasvati Prabhupada cut these false philosophies and also the philosophy of mayavadis, impersonalists. They proclaim, “Aham brahmasmi ("I am Brahman."), prajnanam brahma ("Prajnana is Brahman." or "Brahman is Prajnana."), sarvam khalvidam brahma ("All this is Brahman.") and tat tvam asi ("Atma is Brahman."). Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada had to pierce through their philosophy as there is only one path to properly perform sadhana-bhajana.
He also completely dismissed the sahajiyas’, sakhi-bhekis’ philosophies on ahamgraha-upasana (meditation on the self as one with God). In this way, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada explained, “No! Everybody has to perform bhajana and sadhana under the direct guidance of a bona-fide, genuine guru.” Simultaneously, he also gave us a drop of nectar from sweet Vraja.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada explained how to develop our bhajana and sadhana through the process of adau shraddha, tatah sadhu-sanga, anartha-nivritti, nishtha, ruchi, asakti, bhava and finally, prema— this is called the siddha-pranali (perfect process). Previously, many people, especially those from apa-sampradayas, would say their siddha-pranali is, “Just come and you can quickly take your manjari-svarupa and begin doing sadhana-bhajana.” However, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said, “No! First, you slowly remove all anarthas from your heart, and simultaneously you will realise your constitutional form.”
So how can one come to this realisation? Srila Rupa Gosvamipada explained the process: adau shraddha, tatah sadhu-sanga, anartha-nivritti, nishtha, ruchi, asakti, bhava and then, prema. And this is the perfect siddha-pranali. There is also another perfect siddha-pranali which Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu manifested:
tṛṇād api sunīcenataror iva sahiṣṇunāamāninā māna-denakīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
Shikshashtaka (3)
[One who is humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree, who gives due respect to others without desiring it for himself is qualified to always chant the holy names of Sri Hari.]
‘Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ’ - only chant the holy names. But, how will you chant pure holy names, shuddha-nama? Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada explained that if you want to chant shuddha-nama, you have to associate with a shuddha-bhakta. And with the association of the shuddha-bhakta, slowly, shuddha-nama will manifest on your tongue. This is the process.
So, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada cut the philosophies of sahajiyas, sakhi-bhekis and other apa-sampradayas like smarta-brahmanas— who even tried to kill to him, attacking him near Paramatala market in Mayapura. At that time, thousands and thousands of pilgrims were performing Navadvipa-dhama parikrama. Suddenly, those from the apa-sampradayas began to throw bottles full of acid into the crowds of pilgrims, thus torturing them, and the pilgrims all began to flee.
Now, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada was protected by his nearest and dearest disciple, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja, who at the time was named Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari. Then, Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari brought him to a village house and Srila Prabhupada hid there.
Shortly after, all of the sahajiyas began to attack that home. Now, Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari told Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, “Prabhupada give me your saffron cloth and take my white cloth.” At that time, Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari was still wearing a white cloth. However, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said, “If you stay alone, they will kill you.” Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari responded, “Gurudeva, if you stay in this material world, you can deliver millions and millions of living entities. I am like a small, insignificant ant. If I die, there is no harm.”
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said, “No, No, I do not want to give this sannyasa cloth.” But Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari persisted, and took Prabhupada’s sannyasa cloth. Then, as he stayed inside the house, Prabhupada safely escaped through the back door. In this way, Srila Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari protected his Guru.
This is an excellent example of guru-seva, which means how to serve our Gurudeva with our body, mind and speech. Many times Srila Gurudeva, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, when he talked about his Guru, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja, his heart melted, and tears began rolling down from his eyes. This pastime shows how Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja or Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari, protected and saved his Guru’s life. Just like Ramanujacharya’s disciple, Kuresha, who also protected his Guru:
guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyāsarva-labdhārpaṇena casaṅgena sādhu-bhaktānāmīśvarārādhanena ca
Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.7.30)
[One must accept the bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him with great devotion and faith. Whatever one has in one’s possession should be offered to the spiritual master.]
Guru-seva, guru-bhakti, are called the backbone of our bhajana and sadhana. Whenever we discuss Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s life history, or when we discuss Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja’s life history, our heart’s automatically and spontaneously manifest this lila: how Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja nicely served his Prabhupada-padma.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada once said, “I will build one hundred and eight temples.” At that time, Sri Sarojavasini-devi [the aunt of Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari] replied, “Oh, you are like a man who sleeps on the ground, covered with a hole in his blanket and thinks of himself as a king. You have no money, no assistants and no brahmacharis. How are you going to build so many temples? And who will manage them?” With his fingers, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada indicated to Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari and said, “My Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari will maintain all the temples.”
Thus, Vinoda-bihari Brahmachari fulfilled all the desires of his Gurudeva, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada. All our acharyas have also fulfilled all the desires of their Guru’s, because this is one of the symptoms of a bona-fide disciple. A bona-fide disciple, his only aim and objective is, “How will I fulfil all the desires of my Gurupada-padma?” ‘Śrī guru mano 'bhīṣṭaṁ, caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭam’.
In this way, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada preached all over the world through his disciples. Especially in Western countries, where our Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja fulfilled his Guru’s desires, and now all Western devotees are completely indebted to Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja.
As mentioned, today is a very super-excellent auspicious day as it is Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s disappearance day. For this reason, I want to speak these verses where Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja glorified his Gurudeva in a poem called Srila Prabhupada Arati:
(1)
jaya jaya prabhupādera ārati nehāri
yoga-māyāpura-nitya-sevā-dānakārī
(2)
sarvatra pracāra-dhūpa saurabha manohara
baddha-mukta alikula mugdha carācara
(3)
bhakati-siddhānta-dīpa jvāliyā jagate
pañca-rasa-sevā-śikhā pradīpta tāhāte
(4)
pañca mahādīpa yathā pañca mahājyotiḥ
triloka-timira nāśe avidyā durmati
(5)
bhakativinoda-dhārā jala-śańkha-dhāra
niravadhi vahe tāhā rodha nāhi āra
(6)
sarva-vādya-mayī ghaṇṭā bāje sarva-kāla
bṛhat-mṛdańga-vādya parama rasāla
(7)
viśāla-lalāṭe śobhe tilaka ujjvala
gala-deśe tulasī-mālā kare jhalamala
(8)
ājānu-lambita-bāhu dīrgha kalevara
tapta kāñcana-varaṇa parama sundara
(9)
lalita-lāvaṇya mukhe sneha-bharā hāsi
ańga-kānti śobhe jaiche nitya pūrṇa-śaśī
(10)
yati-dharme paridhāne aruṇa-vasana
mukta kaila meghāvṛta gauḍīya-gagana
(11)
bhakati-kusume kata kuñja viracita
saundarye saurabhe tāra viśva āmodita
(12)
sevādarśe narahari cāmara ḍhulāya
keśava ati ānande nirājana gāya
Srila Prabhupada Arati
This is a very nice and beautiful arati. In the Sanskrit word arati, ar means direct and ati means deep attachment. So here, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Gosvami Maharaja properly and perfectly glorified his Gurupada-padma Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada also assisted in manifesting the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, called Yogapitha. He established many temples, and explained how all the jivas, baddhas and muktas, would worship Thakuraji. He taught that Thakuraji should be worshipped with the five types of ingredients, and he gave an explanation about them all. First, he clarified about incense: ‘sugandha saurabha manohara’ - to spread Gurudeva's hari-katha means to spread his beautiful lotus fragrance, called saurabha. What is the meaning of the incense offerings? They emanate a wondrous fragrance, sugandha. It is the sweet mood of Gurudeva, which is not mixed with a mood of opulence. It is entirely in madhurya, sweetness, the mood of the Vrajavasis.
When we offer the ghee lamp, we offer five wicks - pancha-dipa. This means that we serve our ishtadeva with the five moods - shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. In this way, we enlighten the place and the whole universe. Especially the innermost place where Radha and Krishna meet, nikunja-bhavana.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada defined conceptions like ‘pancha-rasa-seva-sikha’, the five types of prominent rasas: shanta, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya-bhava; the pancha-maha-dipa, that is pancha-prema.
Madhurya-prema also manifests in five ways, also known as Srimati Radhika’s five types of sakhis: sakhis, nitya-sakhis, prana-sakhis, preshtha-sakhis and prana-preshtha-sakhis. Amongst Her associates, nitya-sakhis and prana-sakhis are called those with manjari-bhava. In Jaiva-dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura very clearly described the topic of manjari-bhava, the eleven moods and five stages— eka-dasha-bhava and pancha-dasha.
It is also explained that in the transcendental world, this madhurya-bhava is further divided into sambandhatmika and kamatmika. Sambandhatmika is found in the hearts of Nanda, Yashoda, Subala and Sridama as they serve Krishna with their sambandha— called sambandhatmika-bhakti. The gopis prema is called kamatmika-bhakti, and here kama means transcendental divine love.
premaiva gopa-rāmāṇāṁkāma ity agamat prathāmity uddhavādayo ’py etaṁvāñchanti bhagavat-priyāḥ
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.2.285)
[Although the dealings of the gopis with Krishna are on the platform of pure love of Godhead, such dealings are sometimes considered to be lusty. But because they are completely spiritual, Uddhava and all the other dearmost devotees of the Lord desire to participate in them.]
So there is transcendental lust, aprakrita-kama which divides again into: sambhoga-iccha-mayi and tat-tat-bhava-iccha-mayi. Sambhoga-iccha-mayi means that sometimes Lalita or Vishakha independently meet with Krishna. For this reason, they belong to the sambhoga-iccha-mayi-bhakti category. The other is tat-tat-bhava-iccha-mayi-bhakti, which means that some gopis, whether nitya-sakhi and prana-sakhi, are absolutely one-pointed towards Srimati Radhika. Not even in their dreams, would they think of independently meeting with Krishna. They are completely one-pointed with Srimati Radhika.
And for this reason all kinds of moods, bhavas, from Srimati Radhika automatically manifested in the hearts of the manjaris. There is also bhava-ullasa-rati. Many of these topics are discussed in Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s book, Jaiva-dharma. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada preached on how a sadhaka can develop his sadhana-bhajana and eventually enter in manjari-bhava.
Actually this manjari-bhava was indiscriminately distributed by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. Those who are greatly fortunate, saubhagyavana, will accept this mood. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada also explained that, those who are saubhagyavana-jivas, will take shelter of the lotus feet of a bona-fide Guru and hear this katha:
anāradhya rādhā-padāmbhoja-reṇumanāśritya vṛndāṭavīḿ tat-padāńkamasambhāṣya tad-bhāva-gambhīra-cittānkutaḥ śyāma-sindho rasa-syāva-gāhaḥ
Sankalpa Prakasha Stotra (1)
[Without worshipping the pollen of Sri Radha's lotus feet, without taking shelter of Vrindavana, which bears Her footprints, and without respectfully greeting the great souls whose hearts are filled with deep love for Her, how will one be able to plunge into the nectar ocean of love for Lord Krishna?]
Śyāma-sindho means shringara-rasa, and those who want vraja-parakiya-shringara-rasa, have to follow these three principles: first, they must be one-pointed with Srimati Radhika, called radha-eka-nishtha. Second, they have to reside in Vrindavana, and in Vrindavana, they have to always stay in radha-patya-bhumi, meaning only in the places in Vrindavana where Srimati Radhika dominates—like Radha-kunda, Nidhuvana and Nikunjavana. And third, they have to associate with very high-class exalted vraja-rasika sadhu and guru:
tāra bhakta-saṅge sadārasa-līlā-prema-kathāye kare se pāya ghanaśyāma
Ana katha na bolibo (9)
by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura
[A person who, in the company of the devotees, again and again hears the stories of the pure love in the rasa-dance pastimes will attain Lord Krishna, who is dark as a monsoon cloud.]
Always associate with high-class exalted vraja-rasika sadhu and guru, and listen to Krishna’s sweet and amorous pastimes, then you will attain the highest perfected goal. So in this way, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada established these conceptions, because jivas manifested from tatastha-shakti, the marginal potency of the Lord, with one specific latent potency within his heart.
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu nayaśravaṇ
ādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya
Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila 22.107)
[Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.]
And by just listening to krishna-katha, these dormant things will awaken in your hearts. You have this already. Srimati Shyamarani Didi actually manifested Gurudeva’s desires, she manifested the book, Svarupa of the Jiva, and that book is very important. Everybody, again and again, has to read this book, otherwise you will become confused, and perhaps you will go to some other babajis line where they incorrectly teach, “According to your association, you will get that certain identity,” which is a complete misconception.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada preached all over the world, because babaji-sampradayas created many misconceptions about Gaudiya sampradayas. Many mistakenly believed that Gaudiya sampradayas, that means those who are coming in the line of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, were only chewing the seeds of mangoes and not taking the juice. However, this conception is completely wrong. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, and all our guru-varga, explain first, how sadhakas can remove anarthas from their hearts. Because if you do not remove anarthas from your heart, you cannot realise shuddha-bhakti.
Those who are very qualified can search these things and realise what Prabhupada has given to us. All of his associates, especially Srila Gurudeva, Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, preached this mood all over the world, this gopi mood. Especially how everyone can submerge in the moods of manjari-bhava. Because without manjari-bhava-upasana, our lives are incomplete. Thus, everyone has to become absorbed in Srila Gurudeva’s lila-katha, hari-katha, and submerge in the mood of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada.
I again and again bow down my forehead unto the lotus feet of my Gurupada-padma and to all of our guru-varga, and to Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis.
vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
Thank you to all those who are listening to my hari-katha. I pay my obeisances to the lotus feet of all my audience, because Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada also told, “They (members of the audience) are my real gurus. Because if they would have not come in front of me, to whom would I have spoken hari-katha? I am a conditioned soul and if I do not speak hari-katha, then maya-katha will come and will catch my throat.” Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada humbly said these things. So, all of the audience members, they are my guru. Guru protects his disciples from maya, and in the same way, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada told, “All the audience, shrota, they are my guru as they protect me from maya.”
vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
Thank you for your kindness. Hare Krishna!
Date: 20 February 2022 Location: Zoom
Transcriber: Chandrika dasi (UK) Editor: Sanatana dasa (USA) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia) Proofreader: Chandrika dasi (UK) Image: Navina-krishna dasa (Holland)
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