HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE 9 страница
Shrimati Radharani in Her inimitable Krishna conscious absorption transcendentally experiences more distress than the combined distresses of all the conditioned souls of the entire material existence put together. Although Her “distresses” are transcendental and ananda-maya, as opposed to the niggardly nature of a baddha-jiva’s suffering, they are nonetheless very real and unimaginably excruciating. In truth, Her anxieties over the condition of the incarcerated baddha-jivas, as represented in the lamentations of Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to Thakura Haridasa, constitute but a minor feature of Her complete whole domain of loving afflictions. It is of little wonder that a soft- hearted para-duhkha-duhkhi devotee, upon knowing these things, might opt to compassionately seek in various ways to somehow help mitigate Her severe amorous excruciations. How could we conceive that such an attempt to assist in the services of Her preponderant internal “home” affairs is in any way less noble than the attempt to alleviate the relatively insignificant sufferings of the minute individuals of this world? If anything, the consideration of the magnitude of necessity pertaining to the primary plight of Radha all the more amplifies the reason to laud the internal affairs of those enlightened individuals seriously endeavoring to qualify themselves to become Radha’s palya-dasis through strenuous antaranga-bhakti-bhajana. They are neither in the least bhukti-kami nor mukti-kami nor svananda-kami.
In any case, neither the genuinely pure-hearted gosthy- anandis nor the bona fide, high-minded, internally inclined bhajananandis ever purposefully act for their egocentric personal benefit. Their only aim is to make others happy – for K a’s satisfaction ultimatelyKrishna, which is the very basis of their own fulfillment. By the satisfaction of Krishna through any program of loving service, the entire creation is benefited, in the same way that by watering the root of a tree, all leaves, flowers, and fruits are automatically nourished. The presence of merely one pure devotee of either standing in this world can sustain the entire planet. However, for a sadhaka, particularly in Kali-yuga, no sort of internal bhajana or asta-kaliya-lila-manasa- seva can ever secure the superlative result without the practitioner at regular intervals functioning to help uplift the populace by loudly broadcasting the sankirtana of the Holy Names of Radha and Krishna. After all, hari-nama-sankirtana does happen to be the yuga-dharma for this current age. It is seen that although certainly situated as topmost paramahamsa- bhajananandis, the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, headed by Shri Rupa, faultlessly epitomized this principle both by their regular performance of Krishna-kirtana and by their efforts to elucidate the principles of vraja-bhakti-bhajana in their many writings that have effectively served to propagate the truths about unalloyed devotion down through the generations. Indeed, one would do well to notice that though the Gosvamis always absorbed themselves internally in the search for Radha and Krishna through feelings of separation (viraha-bhajana) and in fact did not actually distinguish themselves as gosthy-anandi itinerant preachers, still, they externally benedicted the people of this world by the fruits of their resolute ananda-maya-bhajana. The incomparable, unswerving life of concentrated bhajana fortitude exemplified by the Gosvamis and their followers in and of itself stands ever monumental in the hearts of the anuragi Vaishnavas and perennially serves as a pre-eminent paragon for the world at large, conspicuously expressing the greatest good to all faithful aspirants on the path of inwardly progressive antaranga- bhakti-bhajana for all time to come.
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Ultimately, both real bhajanananda and real gosthy-ananda spontaneously spring from the ananda-maya platform under the influence of the Lord’s hladini-shakti or svarupa-shakti, as per the evolvement of bhava and prema when one transcends the influence of the three modes of material nature. Anything short of that, however boastful, could hardly be more than a semblance of the real thing with relatively little efficacy on any front. Hence, a consummate gosthy-anandi of any stature always stands on the solid underpinnings of advanced internal bhajana. Moreover, the transcendentally situated niskincana ananda- maya-bhajana-kari, even though veiling himself from the worldly purview, ever enhances the world by dint of his very presence in all purity.
Innumerable neophyte “preachers” out on the most congested streets of the most important cities in the world, clangorously bellowing the semblance of hari-nama-sankirtana either on the offensive stage (pratibimba-namabhasa) or the clearing stage (chaya-namabhasa), could hardly accomplish for the spiritual welfare of the conditioned souls what could be achieved by the lips of even one reclusive forest-dwelling shuddha-nama-bhajananandi. Admittedly, aparadha-nama can offer the putrid fruit of karmic sense gratification (bhukti) within the cycle of repeated birth and death. Chaya-namabhasa can also at best free the heart from material contamination (anartha- nivritti), augmenting one’s chances for liberation from material existence (mukti), up to granting residence in Vaikuntha-loka. Even so, neither aparadha-nama nor abhasa-nama chanted by the millions could ever in a billion years impregnate the heart of anyone with shuddha-bhakti-shakti, enkindling the jiva’s dormant vraja-prema, as would a single recitation of shuddha-nama.
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Nama-aparadhis, who generally favor the bhogya-darshana of Shri Guru, are more or less parasites within the institutional “body” of the spiritual master. They have not actually evolved to the status of spiritually functional constituents. Though donning kanthi-mala and Vaishnava tilaka, worshiping the deity, professing loyalty to Shri Guru, paying lip-service to the philosophy of full surrender, holding lofty ecclesial or priestly positions, and having ample opportunity for spiritually elevating sadhu-sanga, they in fact remorselessly behave rather like kali- celas or kaitava-bhaktas (typically categorized as pratibimba- bhaktabhasa), with little scope for much tangible spiritual advancement on account of their unrelenting gross and subtle exploitative tendencies. Indeed, their fanfare of devotional fervor may be comparable, at best, to cracking nuts with a shalagrama-shila. Individuals who have yet to surpass the stage of chanting chaya-namabhasa, even though earnestly struggling to clear away offenses against the Holy Name along with their concomitant repercussions, are comparable to the shadow of a devotee (chaya-bhaktabhasa) or bhakta-praya, the mere likeness of a devotee. The chaya-bhaktas, though potentially nearing the threshold of pure devotion, are not thus far to be accepted as pure devotees in the true sense. Though affiliated with sampradayic society through bhagavata or pancaratrika initiation and having recourse to graceful, spiritually powerful sadhu-sanga and pure devotional scriptures, all such said unqualified neophytes could have, at best, but a semblance of shuddha-bhakti. Quite often, due to imprecise perception, unwarranted attachment to narrow comprehension of the acarya’s instructions, confusion, or sheer juvenile speculative notions about what they imagine to be the reality of Krishna consciousness, they disastrously obscure, adulterate, or even obliterate the essential substance of spiritual life. Espousing rampant, wide-ranging institutionally integrated erroneous dogmas while clinging to barely-understood institutionalized ritualistic formulas and formalities, they in due course imprudently project or spread a relatively distorted semblance of the pure devotional atmosphere upon the milieux of a bona fide spiritual establishment. Thus generating a vitiated semblance of the acarya’s sampradaya, such unskillful persons knowingly or unknowingly form a virtual impasse for those inadequately acquainted with the Gaudiya siddhanta, fatefully hindering the latter’s hopes of gaining even a glimpse of what would truly constitute ultimate paramarthika attainment.
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One who chants shuddha-nama is actually a shuddha- bhakta in the real sense. And the simple truth is that only a shuddha-bhakta, whether gosthy-anandi or bhajananandi, can do much substantial good for anyone. Without chanting shuddha- nama, who can honestly claim to be having nama-ruci? Without chanting shuddha-nama, who can responsibly claim to be doing any kind of empowered jiva-daya? Without chanting shuddha- nama, who can sensibly claim that Vaishnava-seva has been truly accomplished? Furthermore, one might consider this point: those who are actually pandita or learned in all the scriptural conclusions see all living entities with equal vision. One who loves Krishna loves everyone – cares for everyone – not only humans. Mahaprabhu, Lord Gauranga, expressed this when He asked Thakura Haridasa about the deliverance of earless beings like snakes, trees, and stones. There are innumerable microbes floating in just one cubic inch of air. There would naturally be so many trees, creepers, insects, lizards, rodents, birds, and other creatures within or around our shuddha-nama bhajananandi’s bhajana-kutira – how many souls would be residing within his very body? The extent to which these countless souls would benefit by circumstantially associating with his pure-hearted supplication of shuddha-nama would be inestimable. The contextual implication would be that if we were to generously extend the concept of gosthi (family) to those other than human beings, then it would not be wrong to also consider the genuinely pure-hearted bhajananandi a gosthy-anandi. He at least inadvertently, if not consciously, does the highest good to the greater “family” within his sphere of influence by instrumentally serving to prompt the advent of Shri Hari-nama Prabhu, who mercifully dances within his heart, on his tongue, and in the atmosphere about him. Any sound vibration produced anywhere on this planet is believed to encircle the Earth seven times before dissolution. This makes it possible for his chanting to purify the ethereal atmosphere of the whole world. The result would be all the more powerful if he would be living in Vrindavana, where the purificatory benefits mount a thousand fold. No man is an island.
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From another perspective, it may be inferred that even though the nirjana-bhajananandi outwardly appears to take the nirjana position, apparently neglecting to expand the “family” of devotees in this dimension, he could hardly be nirjana in the absolute sense in that he, in the course of his inner-dimensional absorption, remains ever associated with the constituent vraja- jana members of Krishna’s eternal “family” through the agency of manasa-seva. He is never actually really alone. Because he selflessly serves to favorably expand the bliss (ananda) of Krishna’s “family” (gosthi) of eternal associates, he may surely, in the fullest sense, also be honored as gosthy-anandi. The purport is that until one at least approaches the stage of realizing one’s eternal ananda-maya relationship with the Supreme Absolute Reality in one of the five primary transcendental vraja-rasas, no one should out of envy, spite, or feelings of superiority toward others proudly or self-righteously proclaim oneself to be either gosthy-anandi or bhajananandi, much less dare to denounce one or the other on the basis of perverse lopsided religio-institutional bias or immature, subjectively predisposed shallow superstition. It is better, as a matter of common decency, to humbly try to chant the Holy Name with all self-effacement while endeavoring to progressively qualify oneself to unobtrusively assist the Lord and His devotees in whatever small way possible, as inspired by one’s indwelling monitor guru and confirmed by His various external representatives.
Bearing all this in mind, it might be argued from one angle or another that the only major consideration in this connection is the satisfaction of guru and Krishna – that if preaching, primarily through the medium of transcendental book distribution, is what satisfies them, then one need not look beyond the vigorous execution of that activity alone to achieve ultimate transcendence. Then again, it might be argued that if one is engaged in the activity of transcendental book distribution, one is Krishna conscious. Okay, fine. However, one might perspicaciously ask, “How Krishna conscious?” How “Krishna conscious” does “Krishna conscious” have to be before “Krishna conscious” could be considered “Krishna conscious” enough to be fully “Krishna conscious”? To what extent could a new bhakta be perfectly “Krishna conscious”? It is declared that anyone who follows the four disciplinary restraints – no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, and no gambling – and chants a minimum of sixteen rounds of hari-nama-japa daily is qualified to make disciples all over the world. Yahoo! Fantastic! So then, if it is just a matter of outward animation, new bhaktas also follow the four regulative principles and chant a minimum of sixteen rounds even without having been initiated. Even robots can do that! Maybe they should also be allowed to initiate disciples all over the world. Why only the institutionally rubber-stamped “gurus”? Robots could also be programmed to distribute books, or offer aratrikas, or clang a pair of karatalas for that matter. Let us ask ourselves a crucial question – Is it what we do, or the actual level of consciousness behind what we do, that is ultimately important?
We would do well to remember that neither guru nor Krishna really need our patrams (leaves) or puspams (flowers). They are pleased by bhakti alone. And just as bhakti is realized by degrees, so also is guru’s satisfaction, which is an evolvable thing, answering to the quality of Krishna consciousness more so than to the quantified outward display of “devotional service.” Though apparently aroused by the disciple’s external actions, guru’s pleasure, marked by profuse blessings for further progress in Krishna consciousness, must indeed be based upon the qualitative dynamics of the disciple’s internal service attitude to be real, solid, and spiritually legitimate. In fact, it may be reasonably established that the resolute desperation to discover the details of one’s internal constitutional identity as an eternal resident of Vraja in itself affirms the initial sign of Shri Guru’s profound benedictions upon a disciple. If such ardent solicitude is lacking, one might do well to wonder to what extent Shri Guru’s satisfaction has actually been invoked.
Some less-than-philosophically-astute individuals attempt to purposefully popularize as institutional dogma a fallacious understanding that by externally serving Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement in vaidhi bhakti alone one will automatically pop up somehow or other in vraja-lila after the end of the present life – an unverifiable post-dated check. They insist that one need not currently concern oneself in the least with the cultivation of any internal program of raganuga- sadhana. “Just blindly put your duty-bound nose to the vaidhi bhakti grindstone. Don’t think; just do! Ma shucah!” This sort of crafty conclusion, manipulatively framed to camouflage the spiritual inadequacies or incompetence of a movement’s post- founder embryonic leadership, may serve to conveniently dodge or altogether evade deeper queries about the much- anticipated here-and-now practical application of esoteric Rupanuga Gaudiya Vaisnavism – at least temporarily. But it hardly does justice to the subject; moreover, it commits a manner of violence against the progressive quest of a sincere candidate who perhaps actually deserves promotion to higher- level, internal Krishna conscious pursuits.
At a cursory glance, frequently adduced passages from Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s Shri Caitanya-candramrita and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Shri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya may appear to allude to this erroneous impression. However, these statements could never persuade anyone who has ventured to seriously scrutinize the various scriptural texts and commentaries of the Six Gosvamis and their followers to subscribe to such idiocy. The correct conception is quite the sound of a different drummer and also not so unmelodious. It is said in Caitanya-candramrita that yatha yatha gaura-padaravinde
. . . – “to whatever extent a pious person becomes devoted to the lotus feet of Lord Gaura, to that extent the flood of the nectar of Radha’s lotus feet spontaneously arises in his heart.” The word “extent” is crucial here. Similarly discussed is the matter of attaining the service of Krishna in all primary rasas, through the preliminary worship of Gauranga Mahaprabhu in dasya-bhava. Here, the word dasya-bhava in relation to the service of Mahaprabhu certainly does not connote reverential servitude in terms of the vaidhi bhakti format, any more than it would when used to denote the rasa of servitude to Krishna in Vraja. Rather, particularly for those souls who have the innate capacity for the conjugal rasa, the word dasya-bhava should serve only to indicate one’s spontaneous attitude of loving service to the merciful Radha aspect of Gaura’s personality. Serving Lord Caitanya in dasya-bhava becomes tantamount to serving Shrimati Radharani in dasi-bhava (radha-dasya).
Generally, in the Rupanuga-sampradaya, one is advised to dive deep into the ocean of service to Lord Gauranga’s Navadvipa lilas, internally conceiving oneself to be a kishora- brahmana who, as a servant of the servant (dasanudasa) of Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, accordingly assists to augment Mahaprabhu’s relishment of various vraja-bhavas. In doing so, one transitionally surfaces in the nectarean ocean of Radha’s madhurya-lilas as a blissful kishori-gopi maidservant of the maidservant (dasy-anudasi) of Shrimati Lalita Devi within the group of Radha’s sakhis in the land of Vraja. The Rupanuga approach to gaura-lila and Krishna-lila is not the dull-headed affair of the prakrita-bhaktas. Indeed, a conscientious internal culture of bhavas is most certainly required – a culture above and beyond though not necessarily exclusive of the external apparently vaidhika program of missionary duties. With this in mind, the basic unconditional service attitude practiced at the very onset of a novice’s humble surrender to the acarya’s external missionary training program may be easily adapted and internally applied at a more mature stage to fittingly promote the true, cognitive, esoteric evolvement of one’s eternal constitutional bhava-deha or vraja-svarupa.
When Gaura’s mercy will flood the heart with an aspiration to serve Radha’s vraja-lilas, one will come to appreciate the value of service to the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda. Just as Gauranga inclusively embodies the bhavas of Krishna’s foremost svarupa-shakti counterpart, Shri Radha, so also, Nityananda Rama inclusively embodies the foremost baladeva-svarupa- shakti-tattva who appears in Vraja as the younger sister of Radharani, Shrimati Ananga Manjari. Balarama’s Kali-yuga avatara as Nityananda is markedly more than Baladeva Himself in that He, unlike Balarama, can directly relish the internal mood of loving service to the lotus feet of Radha, in the madhurya-rasa parallel to Gaura’s relishment of radha-bhava. As previously mentioned, Krishna and His supreme svarupa-shakti counterpart, Shri Radha, though morphologically differentiated, are ontologically one. So also is the case with Baladeva and His topmost svarupa-shakti expansion, Ananga Manjari, from whom Balarama’s own personal consorts such as Varuni and Revati expand. All the members of Krishna’s family, including Balarama, possess the deepest regard, affection, and love for the sweetest, most eminently loveworthy Shrimati Radharani. Yet, owing to certain social constraints, Balarama, as Krishna’s older brother, is practically dispossessed of any opportunity to directly express His love for Her. So, to fulfill His most confidential desire to serve Radha’s lotus feet, He accepts an expanded feminine form as Her younger sister. Still He Himself, in His masculine Baladeva svarupa, is unable to directly relish the experience of being in the position of His shakti-tattva expansion, just as Krishna is unable to directly relish the moods of Radha. He, therefore, in gaura-lila, accepts the bhava and complexion of His supreme self-same svarupa-shakti counterpart to experience that which was transcendentally impossible in Krishna-lila. Thus Balarama manifests the form of Nityananda Rama in the same way that Krishna dons His Gaura svarupa to savor the ultimate loving disposition of Radha in vipralambha- maha-bhava. As Krishna and Balarama are one, so, similarly, Radha and Ananga Manjari are one. In fact, Ananga Manjari is celebrated as a veritable second Radha. Yet, by the will of Balarama, she acts as dasy-anudasi in the capacity of a prana- sakhi (upa-manjari of Lalita Sakhi) in the service of Radharani, just as Balarama Himself functions as servitor Godhead to assist svayam-rupa Krishna in various ways. Balarama as servitor Godhead is adi-guru in the vatsalya, sakhya, and dasya rasas. Similarly, Balarama’s expanded madhurya-svarupa, Ananga Manjari, is the madhurya-rasa adi-guru, who most compassionately acts as the liaison linking the jivas with the confidential services of Radha and Krishna. Her position as Radharani’s younger sister greatly facilitates this role. This is a hint as to the import of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura’s statement heno nitai bine bhai, radha-Krishna paite nai. Indeed, it is only by Nitai’s boundless mercy upon the most fallen conditioned souls that the vraja-gopis’ superexcellent spontaneous devotional bhavas have been made readily accessible to the whole world. Just as Ananga Manjari is the special mercy manifestation of Radha, so Nityananda (in the mood of Ananga Manjari) is the special mercy manifestation of Gaura (in the mood of Radha). By Nitai’s special causeless mercy, one becomes free from material attraction, attains the land of Vraja, and finds shelter at the lotus feet of the Six Gosvamis headed by Shri Rupa. By seriously acquainting oneself with the writings of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavana and their authorized representatives, one accesses the truths concerning parakiya-rasa-maya Radha-Krishna and the appropriate bhajana- kriya required for attaining Their eternal relationship on the path of spontaneous loving devotion.
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