HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE 3 страница
In the same way, Krishna just wants to have a relationship with us. So He disturbs us in this way or that, or from time to time sends us some special maha-prasadam or a nice garland of lotus flowers just to in some way or other remind us that He still exists, waiting patiently behind the whole cosmic affair. He has His hand everywhere, and behind that hand is the rest of His person, who is so sweet and adorable and enchanting and full of rasa. So though we may feel mistreated in some way or disturbed or dismayed by various situations, when we see within our heart of hearts the all-attractiveness of His beautiful face, we will no longer feel inclined to bear any grudges. Why? Because we know He always has our best interest at heart and that, ultimately, He loves us, even if by His prankish behavior He makes us shed a stream of tears for the rest of eternity.
Another fitting illustration is seen in the contrast between the mentality of a dog and that of a lion. If one throws a dog a bone, the dog will always run after the bone. If one throws a bone to a lion, however, the lion, lifting his head and licking his lips, will turn to check out who it was that threw the bone, considering the thrower to be a tastier prospect, a tastier entity than the thrown! It is better to have the consciousness of a lion than to have the consciousness of a dog. In other words, instead of becoming primarily concerned with or entangled by the external phenomenon itself, it is better to pursue the tastier entity, the higher taste, by looking to see who has placed the external phenomenon before us. And who will we see? We will see that supremely prankish cowherd boy, Vrajendranandana Shyama, who, by His inscrutable desire, has expanded innumerable cosmic arenas in which He may directly and indirectly enact His various sportive lilas. That is Krishna consciousness.
The world-view of the uttama-adhikari maha-bhagavata is achieved by conscientious cultivation of the same, by practicing to perceive the underlying absolute reality behind the illusory relative manifestations. The means and the end are identical. When one becomes habituated to that practice, then such habit becomes second nature. Only on the uttama-adhikari platform of advanced internal absorption in Krishna consciousness does one perfectly envisage the world in proper perspective, in terms of the highest understanding. The ultimate understanding is that everything is under Krishna’s control, and that because Krishna is the supremely lovable absolute well-wisher of all living entities and because He is all good, His control always has its all- good, ultimately beneficial objective and outcome. The uttama- Vaishnava always sees the ultimate-good cause behind all the manifested events of this world. He never loses sight of that vision by adopting an illusory or semi-illusory mode of understanding, even when “coming down” to the position of an acarya for preaching. The kanistha-bhakta’s angle of vision, though approaching the threshold of spirituality, is still rather mundane or erroneous on account of extensive egocentricity. The madhyama-adhikari Vaishnava’s perception, though considerably advanced toward the spiritual platform by way of determined sharanagati, has yet to transcend all tinges of mundanity. Hence it is semi-illusory and thus only partially valid. However, the perfectly liberated non-illusory acuity of reality, which is the absolute transcendental visionary platform, is the prerogative of the uttama-adhikari alone and no one else. Attaining the perfection of Krishna consciousness most certainly demands one’s evolvement to no less than the uttama-Vaishnava platform of perception. Anything short of that would be considered unnatural or artificial. It is highly unlikely that a sadhaka will advance to the uttama-adhikari platform without an attentive endeavor to purposefully culture the internal and external consciousness of an uttama-adhikari. The culture of internal consciousness means to be absorbed in the pursuit of one’s aspired-to position in the nitya-lilas of the Lord by cultivating the appropriate aprakrita-bhava, and the culture of external consciousness means to pursue the rasika perception of the phenomenal world as per the principles presently under discussion. A case in perfection is the instance of Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaja being harassed by boys jestingly throwing stones at him as he was riding down the road on a bullock cart. Turning to them, he spontaneously chastised, “I know who You are [Krishna], and if You don’t stop teasing me, I’m going to tell Mother Yashoda about Your nonsense misbehavior!”
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He Radhe-Shyama! In the last, anything seemingly unjust, unreasonable, or wrong from the relative standpoint may well directly or indirectly serve as a venerable eye-opener, constituting a formative impetus to one’s pitiably crying out for Your special causeless mercy in complete self-surrender. Such could not but be seen as integral to Your absolute, perfectly synthesized, all good, complete whole arrangement for the ultimate deliverance of even such as Your single, most insignificant, all but forsaken, inconspicuous, long-lost aspiring maidservant. For me, any other outlook would be illusory. I gratefully offer You my humble obeisances again and again.
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It is certainly a fact that all events of the past, present, and future on the relative material time continuum transpire on account of the all-perfect sanction of the absolute, ever-present Supreme Will. Further, it should be well ascertained that in all circumstances every living entity involved is in some way or other effectively moved toward the ultimate surrender of the soul, or at least indirectly engaged by superior arrangement to instrumentally catalyze such surrender in someone. Undoubtedly, everything is perfectly arranged by providence to interactively elicit whatever various responses are circumstantially required to progressively effect every interrelated individual’s ultimate reform. For instance, when cows and other animals (or people) are mercilessly slaughtered (physically or psychologically), perceptive individuals will at least wince upon sympathetically imagining the victims’ painful plight. The more insightful will cry or at least shudder when considering the butcher’s hellish future. Such observable Kali- yuga phenomena may actually serve to awaken or augment, to some extent, a pious soul’s natural, inborn quality of compassion. If that much is accomplished, then it may certainly be concluded that Maya’s distressful manifestations have successfully promoted a gradual progress to someone’s ultimate good. Persons with shastric vision will soberly understand that both the tortured animals (or people) and the consequently tortured slaughterers are progressively reaping their karmic destinies under the influence of the three material qualities. Both the tortured and the torturer will in due course realize the sufferings of material existence and eventually turn inward toward Godhead. They will thus progressively attain complete perfection at some future point in time. No conditioned soul is an island. All living relativities in this world are always, knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, at least remotely in some way or other interactively instrumental in fulfilling the reformatory purposes of the cosmic manifestation. The apparently endless sojourn of the jivatma through the relative time warp of this ephemeral cosmic dimension will anyway be experienced as a mere dreamlike flash in eternity when one has, at long last, accessed the real- time eternal realm of the Absolute. At that point, the cumulative sufferings that were subconsciously retained from experiences over innumerable lifetimes will, no doubt, positively serve to dynamically enhance the wakened soul’s appreciation of the bliss of ultimate enlightenment. Therefore, the wise with the vision of eternity lament neither for the living nor for the dead.
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Yet, powerful Krishna conscious preachers remain ever perturbed to see “sanctioned” ignorance or forgetfulness of Krishna, which constitutes the very basis of all “sanctioned” sufferings of the conditioned living entities. They thereby feel compelled or “sanctioned” to show mercy by helping to elevate the fallen to Krishna consciousness whenever plausible (“sanctioned”), to expedite everyone’s progress to final beatitude. Was the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb’s desecration of numerous Visnu temples not “sanctioned”? Was his breaking to pieces hundreds of deities not “sanctioned”? Was his paving the walkways up to the Islamic mosques with the pieces of the broken deities not “sanctioned”? Was his terrorizing innumerable brahmanas and Vaishnavas not “sanctioned”? Was the envious Kazi’s order to cane Haridasa Thakura in twenty- two market places not “sanctioned”? Would any soft-hearted Vaishnava condone, appreciate, or laud these “God-sanctioned” atrocities? The offended advance by their “sanctioned” praying or crying out to Krishna, their exercised tolerance, and their mercifully applied forgiveness. The sympathetic onlookers, deploring and remonstrating against the demonic mentality of the atheist, advance by their “sanctioned” sorrowful lacrimation and their “sanctioned” endeavors to either practically protect or at least verbally or mentally honor and support the Lord and His devotees. And the offenders advance by inevitably meeting their “sanctioned” total destruction, reducing their “sanctioned” false pride to “sanctioned” ashes! If fortune favors them, they may then hope to enjoy a “sanctioned” humbled fresh start.
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In Kali-yuga, we may consider ourselves theistically enriched to the extent that we actually help to promote the cause of congregational kirtana of Krishna’s Holy Name. Conversely, we may be considered as atheistical to the extent that we minimize or obstruct (by committing various offenses) the propagation of shuddha-nama-sankirtana. We would do well to remember that in this age both the godly and the demoniac dwell in the same body, the extent of the latter proportionate to the measure of anarthas yet to be eradicated. It really depends on an individual’s purity of purpose. Was the litigious disunity within Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s Gaudiya Matha, whereby his illustrious preaching mission became markedly dysfunctional, not “sanctioned”? Would not the ability or inability to learn important and perhaps rather costly lessons from all such reprehensible ungodly stagecraft be absolutely “sanctioned” in view of some far-reaching ultimate design or purpose? Would history’s horrific recurrence be anything but utterly “sanctioned”? Would not our continued ignorance of the consequences of our own unthinkable self-aggrandizing affronts to the dignity and integrity of our acarya’s mission be well “sanctioned”? How long will we, claiming to be Vaishnavas, opt to slight, disrespect, belittle, or mistreat others out of a risky, false, condescending sense of ascendancy? If we won’t learn anything from the “sanctioned” instant or eventual outcome of our own “sanctioned” blatantly whitewashed folly, perhaps at least someone will somewhere along the line. That alone would make the whole “sanctioned” charade worth a little something.
In the final analysis, it may be admitted that any pervertedly reflected illusory manifestation within this cosmos may purposefully pose to prospectively either entangle, liberate, or transcendentally enrapture one, consonant with the degree of spiritual eligibility governing the way one sees and responds to Maya’s multi-functional demeanor. For example, with all due respect to Maya Devi’s empowered most- recognizable expansion in the shape of a psychophysical woman, a so-called man, bewildered by material absorption, misidentifying himself as purusa or enjoyer and succumbing to an entangling labyrinth of lusty obsessions, foolishly identifies the womanly form as a most desirable and inspirational object of gross or subtle selfish sense delectation. To a lusty man the world appears as if filled with lusty women. He thus, by harboring intensified attachments to vain, romanticized objectives, degrades himself, running the risk of rebirth into an illusory prison-suit body bearing the shapeliness of a mayic psychophysical woman. Thus the materially conceived “he” ironically gets “himself” reborn as a materially conceived “she.” Such is Maya’s joke!
The somewhat knowledgeable, however, who has become wary of Maya’s allurements, will wisely see the same womanly form as “mother,” an expansion of the supreme form of material motherhood, goddess Durga. In this material world, “mother” means one who gives corporeal birth, and for one who is born, death is certain. So, she who will give birth and concomitant death within this material world shall be deftly esteemed by a vigilant aspiring transcendentalist as “mother,” the personification of repeated birth and death. Steering clear by cautiously maintaining a respectful distance, the aspirant will traverse the path of liberation, intelligently circumventing the shackles of sex attraction, the binding force of this material world.
Yet, an elevated Vaishnava acquainted with higher truths concerning the spiritually substantial reality of which this material world is merely a shadow will ably see everything in a different light. He transcends the relatively mundane principles of both pravritti (inclination) and nivritti (disinclination) that refer to material connections. Clearly, he realizes that the temporary, shadowy manifestations of this world, stemming originally from the substantial spiritual names, forms, qualities, and activities of the eternal realm of Goloka, can absolutely serve in various ways to remind a pure devotee of the supreme eternal reality of Radha-Krishna lila. He will therefore allow the sight of the illusory womanly form within this world, which faintly resembles the radiance of spiritual muliebrity, to prompt within himself an internal recollection of the supreme root of all minor expanded varieties of femininity. This original feature of all transcendental womanhood is none other than Shri Radha, who mothers not the material existence of repeated birth and death but rather spiritual birth into eternal loving devotion.
A subordinate king’s attitude toward the emperor’s envoy conspicuously reflects his general attitude toward the emperor. As a well-wishing emissary coming on behalf of the emperor’s government to examine the condition of a subordinate is to be properly honored, so similarly any expanded form of femininity should be honored as a representative of Radha. This entire material world, Devi Dhama, is comprised of prakriti, the expanded feminine energy of Radha. Such energy in any form is meant primarily to remind one of Radha and is ultimately meant to be engaged so as to serve Her purposes in the matter of assisting to satisfy Her beloved Shyama. Herein lies the essence of the yukta-vairagya principle. A thoughtful Vaishnava, therefore, will recognize in any manifested feminine figure the symbolic ambassadress, or messenger maidservant, of Shri Radha, the supreme empress of irresistible supra-mundane feminine attraction for the enchantment of Shri Krishna. Externally maintaining a respectful distance from Radha’s messenger (duti) so as not to commit offense, while humbly considering himself to be unqualified to directly associate with her as long as he remains in the sadhaka-deha, he will simply pray from within that she mercifully inform her svamini (Radha) about his pure devotional intents. Internally offering eternal allegiance to Radha’s lotus feet, he will beg to remain ever supportive and covetous of Her loving service. Then Maya Devi, being very much satisfied, will mercifully serve in Her primary feature as Yoga Maya to transcendentally connect the devotee to the lilas of the Lord. Such externally prompted reflective remembrance of Shri Radha and Her gopi friends and maidservants thus elevates the devotee far beyond the mundane influences of the physical field, unlocking a treasure chest of blissful internal absorption in Krishna consciousness.
Similarly, the tertiary purpose of all varieties of mundane political wrangling within or without the confines of any religious institution would be to endlessly embroil and entangle those who are externally oriented. The secondary purpose of the trite, gracelessly perpetrated power-politics, diplomacy, espionage, sabotage, back-stabbing, subterfuge, intrigue, and managerial baboonery abounding amongst the neophytes would naturally serve to dismay or disgust the disinterested intermediate devotees. These apolitical madhyama-adhikari Vaishnavas scrupulously avoid all such social vulgarities, valuing each fleeting moment as if it were their last. Dissociating themselves as far as possible from the prakrita-bhaktas, they concertedly focus on their devotional services of hearing and chanting, etc. and remain relatively freed from the time and energy squandering perplexities of institutional strife.
No doubt the actual primary purpose of everything within this cosmos, including all the petty little interpersonal, interdepartmental, interinstitutional, international, and interplanetary conflicts inevitable at practically every Kali-yuga turn in life, is to someway or other remind the progressive antaranga-bhaktas of Krishna and His various pastimes. Political intrigue in its original supramundane feature certainly exists in the highest spiritual realm, Goloka Vrindavana. As in this world, only in a pure way, it dramatically serves to thicken the plot! So, when circumstantially noticing the bogus claptrap, caballing, and sheer tomfoolery of this plane, the resolute pure-hearted sadhakas and rasika Vaishnavas may solace themselves to some extent by reflectively remembering the likes of dina-keli- or mukta-carita-kathamrita by recalling the alarming antics of Jatila and Kutila or by musing upon the original, absolute, contentious rivalry between the followers of Radharani and the followers of Candravali. As they turn disadvantage into advantage, seeing substance within shadow, they are transported to the plane of transcendental bliss. Thus, they remain self-satisfied in all circumstances. Let the calamities come again and again – and again and again and again – te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam dridha-vratah!
Still, my heartfelt feelings are that we could hardly expect to legislate or despotically enforce real love and trust by injudiciously compelling the stringent orthodox letter of the law, let alone wrongheaded, illiteral, or fictive fanatical contortions thereof. It just ain’t polite. Rather, I would prefer to suggest that by constant unbiased recourse to the law’s dynamics, essential purpose, or inner spirit, in a facilitative temper we might hope to more or less naturally engender the desirable fruit in proportion to the purity of our perception of cogitable reality, as relevant to individual time, space, heart, and circumstance. That one would barbarously blunder to grandiloquently exhibit, time and again ad nauseam, one’s unseemly, spiritually perverted ishvara-bhava or inordinate appetite for peremptorily governing everyone and everything (well . . . everything except, of course, one’s own materially anchored domineering manner of manipulatively controlling and controlling everyone and everything and everything else) hardly says much for one’s measure of devotional sobriety, theocratic fitness, or accomplishment in Krishna consciousness.
Leadership or managerial positions dare not be exploited as incumbencies from which to intimidate or brutishly lord it over the Lord’s devotees on the pretext of “getting the job done.” The pure devotional service attitude and that which is vitiated by the hostile, egoistically grounded lording propensity smack not of the same tenor. Guru is commander-in-chief – not demander-in-chief. Guru-parampara is chain of command – not chain of demand. Guru and subsequent representatives are not to demand services on behalf of the Lord. Rather, on the basis of visibly ideal character, they are to command or elicit such by openly demonstrating the unalloyed selfless service attitude toward the Lord and the world about. It is not the institution that makes the man; it is the man that makes the institution.
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