THE GAUDIYA 1 AUGUST 2012

THE
GAUDIYA
Spiritual Monthly
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Vol. LV AUGUST 2012 No. 12
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May that great God Sri Gaurasundar Who is the very combined
Manifestation of Transcendental paramour Cupids Sri Radha-Krishna
protect you all, Whose both the Shoulders are like that of lion and Whose
both the Cheeks are brilliantly shining with the sweetest bliss showering
smiling Lips; ah, at times when He enters into that super-excellent
paramount devotional ecstatic perturbation in Love-in Separation His
character becomes so esoteric that the devotees of the highest order
who are Love in-Union with Sri Krishna they too cannot comprehend its
esoteric Aspect; and Whose Effulgence of the Body is far surpassing than
the molten unadulterated gold when shining with sun-shine.
Srila Prabodhnanda Saraswati
THE GAUDIYA 2 AUGUST 2012
T h e
monists may
claim that the
five transcen-
dental proje-
ctions of the
Absolute are
detrimental to
thei r whi ms;
so the
Supreme Lord
may redeem
those fallen souls of Myvadins and
Karmis, when they do approach Arhca
(Fasci mi l e of the Transcendental
Manifested Absolute in mundane region),
Antarymi (Immanent Aspect of the
Transcen-dental manifested Absolute),
Vaibhava (Manifestive Transcendental
Aspects of the Personal Absolute in the
Eternal as well as their disclosures in this
mundane spheres). Vyuha
(Transcendent Quadrantal Manifestat-
ions of the Personal Absolute), and Par
(Internal origin of the Personal Absolute),
instead of shouting with their tentative
arguments which have no locus standi.
THE PATHWAY TO HIGHEST
BLESSEDNESS
A stipendholder or a contractor
cannot be a Guru, nor a blind reader of
the Bhagavatam. First of all refrain from
approaching the professional priest. See
whether he devotes his time fully to the
Bhagavatam and to the service of God or
not.
* * * * * * * *
One will not attain salvation, if one
studies Vedanta for very many crores of
years. No good will be forth-coming out
of squeezing of nose (for yoga practice)
Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupd
even for eternity. True well-being will be
available to all the people if they listen to
the discourse of the Shrimad Bhagavatam
from one who is oneself a Bhagavata.
* * * * * * * *
Just as an infant considers its glass-
made toy more val uabl e than a
philosohers stone so a professor of jnna
does not hesitate to think of his jnna as
better than Prema (Love).
* * * * * * * *
All the accomplishment will be under
your thum, if you can take Hari-Nama,
being free from spiritual offences. The
people sunk in worldly affairs will not then
be able to do you any mischief.
* * * * * * * *
Two ways are found in the world in
order to earn knowledge about some
particular object. One is to make and
attempt for i t wi th the hel p of our
experience about the world; the other is
that, realising the inefficiency of the
worldly experience, we should entirely
surrender ourselves to the personage
who has come down from the realm to
which the required knowledge relates, and
acquire it from him through the ear.
Some one may question: When we are
inhabitants of this world, how, after fully
relinquishing our experience about it, can
we take refuge with some super-mortal
being? In answer it is to be said that it
will not do to get afraid of the difficulty; to
know the truth, there should be a great
strength of mind. You will not learn how
to swim, if, seeing the water, you get
afraid. Self-surrender is not a very difficult
thing; that is rather very natural and easy
for the soul. Whatever is contrary to self-
surrender, is rather unnatural and difficult.
THE GAUDIYA 3 AUGUST 2012
Thus Spake Srila chryadeva
He was the greatest Naiyyik and
Vedantist of the day in Eastern India. It
was he who introduced Navya Nyya for
the first time in Navadwipa. He studied
Navya Nyya at Mithila and committed to
memory the whole at Tattwachintmani
as no student was allowed to copy out
the famous manuscript on Nyaya and
carry it outside Mithila. He had gone over
to Orissa to take protection under the
Hindu King Sri Pratap Rudra, who in
recognition of his great erudition and
scholarship made him his Court Pandit.
His brother-in-law Sri Gopinth Achrya
was an enthusiastic believer in Sri
Chaitanyas Divinity: such faith was a
rebellion aginst Srvabhauma who did not
admit any form or attribute of the Absolute;
much less was he prepared to accept
the doctrine that Sri Chaitanya was an
Avatra, Srvabhauma was anxious to
convert Sri Chaitanya to Adwaitism and
began to teach Him Vednta. For seven
days Sri Chaitanya listened to him without
any comment and only on the eighth day
when Srvabhauma enquired whether He
understood his explanation, Sri Chaitanya
broke the si l ence repl yi ng that He
understood very well the aphorism as Sri
Vysa interpreted it in explaining the
Upani shad; but that hi s fanci ful
interpretation was unintelligible and did the
real meaning of the aphorism, for the
Vednta should be interpreted in the light
of the Upanishads. Shruti is the chief of
all truths which he ought not to undermine
by imaginate elaborations. Sri Chaitanya
added that the meaning of Vednta was
as clear as the sun that it should not be
hi dden by a cl oud of conj ectural
commentary.
According to Shankaras view the
Brahman i s
absolutely devoid
of any quality and
power and of all
distinguishable
f e a t u r e s ,
possesses no
attribute, and has
no i nternal
variety (swajtiya
vi jti ya bheda
rahitam), Shankara hol ds that the
Brahman is indeterminate and identical
with the individual soul; the knower, the
knowledge and the known merge in unity
losing their separate identities. The
Supreme personality of God is absurd as
it reduces it to the condition of limitation.
The Brahman is one reality without a
second either within or without. So there
is no activity, no cause to give rise to
action. The world is not the different, nor
is the jiva from the Brahman who is the
one and the same and admits no duality.
The whole phenomenal world is an illusory
appearance of the Brahman. Escape
from the ills of birth, rebirth and death is
the goal. The identity of self with the
Brahman is esatblished through the
instrcution, in the Vedantic maxim.
Sri Chai tanya Mahaprabhu
considered these tenets of Shankara one
by one, for Srvabhauma was the
greatest of all the Shankarite Vedantist
scholars, perhaps in the whole of Eastern
India, his knowledge being well-known in
all centres of learning. Sri Chaitanya
interpreted that the Brahman is indeed
devoid of phenomenal qualities, but He is
indeed full of non-phenomenal (Aprkrita)
qualities and full of infinite number of
infinite excellent attributes. The identity
THE GAUDIYA 4 AUGUST 2012
ALMANAC for the months of AUGUST & OCTOBER 2012
15.08.2012 Wed Demise of Sripd Bhakti Prasun Sdhu Maharj
17.08.2012 Fri Beginning of Sri Purushottama Vrata
27.08.2012 Mon Padmini Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between
5.49 and 9.32 a.m.
12.09.2012 Wed Param Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between
5.24 and 9.30 a.m.
16.09.2012 Sun Concluding day of Sri Purushottama Vrata
20.09.2012 Thu Advent of Sri Sitdevi, the Consort of Srila Advaita
chrya.
21.09.2012 Fri Advent of Sri Lalit Sakhi
23.09.2012 Sun ADVENT OF SRIMATI RDHIK in the afternoon
26.09.2012 Wed Prshva Ekdashi, Shravana Dwdahi, Advent of
Lord Sri Vmana Deva Fasting. Next day Prana
between 5.29 and 8.34 a.m.
27.09.2012 Thu Appearance of Srila Jeeva Goswmi
28.09.2012 Fri Appearance of Srila Sacchidnanda Bhakti Vinode Thakur
29.09.2012 Sat Sri Ananta Chaturdashi Vrata. Disappearance of
Srila Harids Thkur
02.10.2012 Tue Disappearance of Srimad Bhakti Vils Tirtha Goswmi
Maharj
06.10.2012 Sat Demise of Srimad Bhakti Srirupa Siddhnti Maharj
11.10.2012 Thu Indir Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between
5.35 and 9.27 a.m.
between the Supreme Being and the
finite is not a fact at all. The word
Brahman means the great Lord Vishnu.
The root meaning of Brahman means,
the great or endowed with the qualities
of perfection, and hence it cannot be
identified with the imperfect individual
souls. The individual souls are within the
control of myshakti; but God is the
controller of myshakti and through it
of the individual souls. Because He is
the source from which the world has
come into being and it is He Who
supports the world also. Brahman or the
Supreme Being is the Overlord of the
universe of organised and unorganised
matter of sentient and non-sentient
existence. Some texts of the Shruti
which call the Brahman nirvishesha or
qualityless use this term to guard against
investing the Absolute Spiritual Brahman
with the mundane cause-space-time
qualities.
THE GAUDIYA 5 AUGUST 2012
Thus, it is that the evils of nunneries
and the corruptions of the Akhras
proceeded. No, we are not to scandalise
the Savi our of Nadi a for these
subsequent evils. Luthers, instead of
cri ti cs, are what we want for the
correction of those evil by the true
interpretation of the original precepts.
Two more principles characterise
the Bhagavat, viz, liberty and progress
of the soul through-out eternity. The
Bhagavat teaches us that God gives us
truth and he gave it to Vyasa, when we
earnestly seek for it. Truth is eternal and
unexhausted. The soul receives a
revelation when it is anxious for it. The
souls of the great thinkers of the by-gone
ages, who now live spiritually, often
approach our enquiring spirit and assist
it in its development. Thus Vyasa was
assisted by Narada and Brahma. Our
Shastras, or in other words, books of
thought do not contain all that we could
get from the infinite Father. No book is
without its errors. Gods revelation is
absolute truth, but it is scarcely received
and preserved in its natural purity. We
have been advised in the 14th Chapter
of the 11th Skandha of the Bhagavat to
believe that truth when revealed, is
absolute, but it gets the tincture of the
nature of the receiver in course of time
and is converted into error by continual
exchange of hands from age to age.
New revel ati ons, therefore, are
continually necessary in order to keep
truth in its original purity. We are thus
warned to be careful in our studies of old
authors, however wise they are reputed
The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy,
Its Ethics and Its Theology
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur
(Contd. from July issue)
to be. Here we
have full liberty to
reject the wrong
idea, which is not
sanctioned by the
peace of
c o n s c i e n c e .
Vyasa was not satisfied with what he
collected in the Vedas, arranged in the
Puranas and composed i n the
Mahabharata. The peace of hi s
conscience did not sanction his labours.
It told him from inside No, Vyasa! you
cant rest contented with the erroneous
picture of truth which was necessarily
presented to you by the sage of bygone
days! You must yourself knock at the
door of the inexhaustible store of truth
from which the former ages drew their
wealth. Go, go up to the fountain-head
of truth where no pilgrim meets with
disappointment of any kind. Vyasa did it
and obtained what he wanted. We have
been all advised to do so. Liberty then is
the principle, which we must consider as
the most valuable gift of God. We must
not allow ourselves to be led by those
who lived and thought before us. We
must think for ourselves and try to get
further truths whi ch are sti l l
undiscovered. In the23rd text, 21
Chapter 11th Skandha of the Bhagavat
we have been advised to take the spirit
of the Shastras and not the words. The
Bhagavat is therefore a religion of liberty,
unmixed truth and absolute love.
The other characteristic is progress.
Liberty certainly is the father of all
progress. Holy liberty is the cause of
progress upwards in eternity and endless
THE GAUDIYA 6 AUGUST 2012
activity of love. Liberty abused causes
degradation and the Vaishnav must
always carefully use this high and
beautiful gift of God. The progress of the
Bhagavat is described as the rise of the
soul from Nature up to Natures God,
from Maya, to the absolute and the
infinite. Hence the Bhagavat says of
itself:
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It is the fruit of the tree of thought,
mixed with the nectar of the speech of
Shukadeva. It is the temple of spiritual
love! O! Men of piety! Drink deep this
nectar of Bhagavat repeatedly till you are
taken from this mortal frame!
Then the Sharagrahi or the
progressive Vaishnav adds:
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That fruit of the tree of thought is a
composition, as a matter of course of
the sweet and the opposite principles. O!
Men of piety, like the bee taking honey
from the flower, drink the sweet principle
and reject that which is not so.
The Bhagavat is undoubtedly a
difficult work and where it does not relate
to pictures description of traditional and
poetical life, its literature is stiff and its
branches are covered in the garb of an
unusual form of Sanskrit poetry. Works
on philosophy must necessarily be of this
character. Commentations and notes
are therefore required to assist us in our
study of the book. The best commentator
i s Sri dhar Swami and the truest
interpretor is our great and noble
Chaitanyadeva. God bless the spirit of
our noble guides.
These great souls were not like
comets appearing in the firmament for a
while and disappearing as soon as their
mission is done. They are like so many
suns shining all along to give light and
heat to the succeeding generation. Long
time yet when they well be succeeded
by others of their mind, beauty and
calibre. The texts of Vyasa are still ringing
in the ears of all theists as if some great
spirit is singing them from a distance!
Badrikashram! What an awful name!
The seat of Vyasa and the selected
religion of thought! The pilgrim tells us
that the land is cold! How mightily did
the genius of Vyasa generate the heat of
phiosophy in such a cold region! Not only
heated the locality but sent its ray far to
the shores of the sea! Like the great
Napolean in the political world, he
knocked down empires and kingdoms of
old and by-gone philosophy by the mighty
stroke of his transcendental thoughts!
This is real power! Atheist philosophy of
Shankhya, Charvaka, the Jains and the
Buddhists shudded with fear at the
approach of the spiritual sentiments and
creations of the Bhagavat philosopher!
The army of the atheists was composed
of gross and impotent creatures like the
legions that stood under the banner of
the fallen Lucifer; but the pure, holy and
spiritual soldiers of Vyasa, sent by his
Almighty Father were invincibly fears to
the enemy and destructive of the unholy
and the unfounded. He that works in the
light of God, sees the minutest things in
creation, he that works the power of God
is invincible Holiness in his heart, finds
(Contd. on page No.9)
THE GAUDIYA 7 AUGUST 2012
The mundane quallities, good,
bad and i ndi fferent, are al i ke
unacceptable to the spirit, who is our real
self, in our normal condition. The heroes
of this world are worshipped by their
fellow mortals because of the formers
possession of certain mundane qualities
in a higher degree than theirs. This is
no function of the soul who has no affinity
with any mundane qualities whatsoever.
Every mundane quality has its
source in love of the perverted ego which
is attached to transitory things of this
world and which wants to monopolise
the enjoyment of them. Persons under
the lead of false self-love value those
qualities which enable them to extort
enjoyment from other similar persons
and objects. But as the total stock of
available enjoyment is limited and is
bound to diminish by honest distribution,
one can hope to secure the Lions share
of such enjoyments only by depriving
others of their average share in them.
This is the overt malice that prompts all
our activities on the mundane plane. The
successful person in this mundane
game is able to attain the goal of his
selfish ambition at the expense of others.
He is a real benefactor of his victims in
as much as his activities stand in the
way of their sensuous gratifications. But
those vi cti ms general l y suppose
themselves to be injured by the activities
of men of outstanding worldly capacities.
They dishonestly try to share in the spoils
of the hero by expedients that are
cal cul ated to di scourage al l such
acti vi ti es. The communi sts and
socialists are in this sense more selfish
(Contd. from July issue)
The Vaishnavas accept Anthropomorphism and Apotheosis
Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
than the hero-worshippers. The latter do
not claim an equal share of the good
things of the world with their spoilers.
They allow the heroes to enjoy the fruits
of their genius under the conviction that
humanity is on the whole benefited by
the activities of the latter, and would be
foolish and suffer loss if they did not
encourage thei r benefactors by
accepting a lesser share of the fruits of
thei r l abours. The communi ti es,
however, do not believe that the hero will
be discouraged by being refused the
Lions share of the fruits of his labours.
The communists do not attach very great
value to the labours of any single
individual. They hold that the individuals
share in promoting the well-being of the
communi ty i s al most negl i gi bl e i n
compari son wi th the share of the
community itself. The course of progress
in their opinion would be cleared of
impediments, without being weakened in
any way, by the adoption of the principle
of equal distribution of the joint fruits of
the labours of the community, among its
constituent members.
The heroes themselves confess
their want of love for their fellows by their
acceptance of the Lions share of the
supposed frui ts of thei r superi or
exertions. They stand in need of the
community as much as the community
stand in need of the heores for the
multiplication of opportunities of selfish
enjoyment of both. This also, on the
same principle of selfishness, is bound
to lead to a scufffle between the fwo for
the Lions share. The communists claim
not only the Lions share but the whole
thing for the community. They disbelieve
THE GAUDIYA 8 AUGUST 2012
and distrust the profession of unselfish
inclinations by the heroes. In other words,
they hold the heroes to be as selfish and,
therefore, as malicious by nature as the
average individual. The superior talents
of the hero are on this hypothesis sure to
serve the dicates of his inborn selfishness
and mal i ce unl ess kept from such
mi schi ef by the pressure of the
counteracting selfishness and malice of
the community.
This is no doubt a very dark view to
take of the achievements of the heroes
and the communists. It is due to the very
nature of worldly enjoyment and its
relation to the perverted ego. So long as
the soul is under the sway of worldly
ambitions he cannot but be selfish and
malicious.
The apparent love for transitory
things is identical with envy and malice
against our fellow-beings are the cause
that prompts us to profess our love for
transitory things. The heroes with all their
talents are inured to show their apparent
love for transitory things in as much as
they are bound of be envious of their
associates.
But the Vai shnavas are never
malicious like heroes, as they are friendly
and loving to one and all, having a true
perspective of all animate and inanimate
world. They have no inclination to serve
as competitors of the idol heroes of this
world. The self-manifest existence of the
Absolute Truth is welcomed by them in
preference to the seeming and transitory
display of this world. The impersonalists
who ignore the perpetual manifestations
of Godhead and His transcendental
Realm, do, indeed, in accordance with
thei r wrong vi ew, assert
anthropomorpism against the Vaishavas.
But they have got no assurance of non-
existence or non-manifested existence of
Godhed. So they need not be so
intemperately audacious as to insinuate
all theistic ideas to belong to the category
of the speculations of designing men.
The impersonalists ignore the perpetual
manifestation of Godhead and His
transcendental Personality and Realm
by dint of groundless assumption.
The charge of apotheosis applies
onl y to empi ri c rel i gi oni sts. The
Absolutists take their stand on the
perpetual manifestation of Godhead, to the
spi ri t, i n Hi s spi ri tual Form. The
Absolutists take their stand on the
Omnipotence and Mercy of Godhead in
asserti ng Hi s appearance on the
mundane plane, in His spiritual Form, to
bridge the otherwise unbridgeable gulf that
separates the mundane from the spiritual,
for the purpose of effecting the deliverance
of fallen souls that struggle to free
themselves from their fetters. The
Vaishnavas distinguish between the force
of physical Nature and the force behind
spiritual Nature. The mundane force is
i mpersonal and as such both
unintelligible and foreign to the spirit.
Those impersonalists who accept the
force behind physical Nature as the
ultimate position are philosophically
advocates of the total suppression of the
soul on account of his incompatibility with
inanimate Nature. The spiritual is wholly
incomprehensible except as perfection of
the personal. Distorted personality is,
indeed, the cause of all the trouble of man,
but it is, with all its faults, infinitely better
than any impersonal condition, which is
the ideal of these empiricists who are
unduly partial to abstract speculation on
the Absolute from the platform of the
relative. The counsel of impersonalists
is one of unqualified self-annihilation. To
avoid the blunder of apotheosis they fall
into the far greater blunder of denial of the
THE GAUDIYA 9 AUGUST 2012
spiritual personality of the Absolute.
The impersonal position is perfectly
useless to man. It leads to no positive
code of conduct. It i s bound to
discourage all distinction of right and
wrong and all individuality. It accepts the
goal of a non-moral, non-distinctive
merging with the blind forces of physical
Nature. On this barren and mischievous
hallucination man as man can build no
system of conduct except that of passive
and complete subordination to the laws
of physical Nature. It is the animal life,
the life of stocks and stones, to which
man has to reduce himself, if he follows
the advice of the impersonalists to its
logical conclusion. This is even worse
than the worship of deified man. The
impersonalist prefers the deification of
the animal and dead mater to the deifi-
cation of man. This is out Heroding Herod.
S
The impersonalists are not content
with reducing man to the condition of
matter. In their anxious concern (?) for
guarding against the degradation of the
idea of Godhead they propose to reduce
Him to a condition not very different from
what they propose regardi ng Hi s
devotees. They opine that as Godhead
i s One, He shoul d be voi d of al l
manifestations and turn into Zero and will
then be purloined of all associations with
His counterparts. Such impersonal ideas
should never prevail over the theists who
are rational enough to distinguish
themselves from the anthropomorphists
and hero-worshippers on the one hand
and the advocates of the sui ci dal
hypotheti cal Uni t or Zero of the
Impersonalists on the other.
no difficulty against unholy things and
thoughts. God works through His agents
and these agents are styled by Vyasa
himself as the Incarnation of the power
of God. All great souls were incarnations
of this class and we have the authority
of this fact in the Bhagavat itself:
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O! Brahmins! god is the soul of the
principle of goodness! The incarnations
of that principle are innumerable! As
thousands of watercourses come out of
one in-exhaustible fountain of water, so
these incarnations are but emanations
of that infinitely good energy of God which
is full at all times.
The Bhagavata, therefore, allows
us to cal l Vyasa and Narada, as
Shaktyavesha Avataras of the infinite
energy of God, and the spirit of this text
goes far to honour all great reformers and
teachers who lived and will live. The
Vaishnav is ready to honour all great men
without distinction of caste, because
they are filled with the energy of God. See
how universal is the religion of Bhagavat.
It is not intended for a certian class of
the Hindus alone but it is a gift to man at
large in whatever country born and
whatever soci ety bred. In short
Vaishnavism is the Absolute Love binding
al l men together i nto the i nfi ni te,
unconditioned and absolute God. May its
peace reign for ever in the whole universe
in the continual development of its purity
by the exertion of the future heroes, who
will be blessed according to the promise
of the Bhagavat with powers from the
Almighty Father the Creator, Preserver,
and the Annihilator of all things in Heaven
and Earth.
S
(Contd. from page 6.)
THE GAUDIYA 10 AUGUST 2012
This episode from the basis of the
worship that was practised by Sri
Chaitanyadeva and His associates and
explained by them in their numerous
published works for the benefit of all
souls. Sri Krishna can only be truly
served in the spirit. In the spirit He is
served in two ways viz. (1) directly or by
the method of union and (2) indirectly or
the method of separation. The meeting
at Kurukshetra made possible a third
method which is higher than the two
former viz. the realisation of separation
in union. There is no more exquisite
form of loving worship than this. But as
it is the highest form of worship it is also
at the same time the least susceptible of
misunderstanding even in the sinful state.
Sri Chaitanyadeva teaches us that Sri
Krishna can only be worshipped in this
world if we eschew all desire of our own
happiness and never try with the physical
body and worldly mind to imitate the
pasti mes of the Vraj agopi s. The
pastimes of Sri Vrindaban can only be
properly realised in the form of pure
spiritual longing for union with Sri
Krishna, Who is All-love and All-holiness,
which is not possible of actual realisation
in this corrupt world. The highest
worship that is possible in this world is
therefore essentially negative in character
viz. abstention from all selfish enjoyment
and submission to the good preceptor in
order to obey the theistic scriptures which
are unintelligible to our worldly intellect
and which enable our souls to realise the
nature of the only form of worship that is
acceptable to Krishna. No one in this
corrupt age need be considered a fit
spiritual preceptor who does not himself
follow with all his heart the practice
recommended by the shastras as
i nterpreted by the mercy of Sri
Chai tanyadeva, Who has made i t
intelligible even to fallen souls who care
to know.
(Contd. from July issue)
S
The Solar Eclipse at Kurukshetra
Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
THE GAUDIYA 11 AUGUST 2012
This description forms the main and
essential outline of the constitution of the
uni verse and the i nterconnecti on
between the uni verse, and the
subordinate Divine hierarchy, and it is
absolutely necessary to have a clear
conception of it constantly in view, in
trying to understand the Avatara of Sri
Kri shna. For, when the Supreme
Parabrahman comes down to a
particular Brahmanda for the benefit of
the latter, it becomes the supreme duty
of the Rulers of the Brahmanda to render
such homage and servi ces to the
Supreme Lord, as may be necessary for
the fulfilment of the particular Divine task,
for which the Parabrahman has come
down to it and any neglect of the
legitimate duties on the part of these
subordinate rulers, will have its own
consequences. I shall turn to a detailed
discussion of this question in later.
Over and above the Brahmanda
there lies the eternal Vaikuntha. The Lord
of this supreme Vaikuntha is Sri Maha
Vishnu, from Whom all the Brahmandas
have sprung and in Whom they all
dissolve at the end of Pralaya. He is the
Supporter of all the Brahmandas in the
Universe, and is the Final and Ultimate
Authority in respect of the several
Brahmandas. In fact, the several
Brahmandas are the emanations from
Him and He pervades the whole universe,
every particle of it, down to the lowest
atom or electron. Thus Sri Maha Vishnu
is the Giver of Moksha or Liberation.
Sri Krishna
Sri C. Gopinatham
(Contd. from July issue)
Now beyond this Vaikuntha upon
which, the whole universe with its
innumerable Brahmandas is based and
from which the latter derive their support
and maintenance, lies the Celebrated
Gol oka, the Worl d of Worl ds, the
Unchangeable and Everlasting World,
the Abode of Lord Sri Krishna, the God
of Gods, he Supreme and Ultimate Lord,
the Sanatana Parabrahman, from Whom
all the Divine Hierarchy, including Sri
Maha Vishnu and Parama Shiva, have
evolved, and to Whom they are all
subordinate. It is also here that exists
the Moola Prakriti, the Para-Shakti, the
Vishnu Maya, or Yoga-Maya. It is this
Lord of Goloka, Who is known by the
name of Sri Kri shna, and Who i s
represented as Vrajendranandana,
constantl y pl ayi ng on Hi s Di vi ne
Wonderful Flute, and disseminating the
sweet notes of Love of that music
throughout the worlds, and thus giving
spiritual life and support to them. It is
here that the Ultimate Moolaprakriti,
known as Sri Radha Mahadevi, the Life
Principle of the Goloka Lord, resides and
is in constant attendance upon the
Supreme Parabrahman. It is here, that
the various spiritual laws, Vedic Hymns,
and Mantras, exist in the Forms of Gopis,
who form the Constant Companions of
Sri Radha Mahadevi, the Eternal and
Ultimate Moolaprakriti. It is here, that the
Gopalas are in constant service of the
Supreme Lord Sri Krishna.
Summari si ng the above
constitution, we have, first, the Universal
THE GAUDIYA 12 AUGUST 2012
Lord Sri Krishna, of Goloka. Then, we
have Sri Maha Vishnu of Vaikuntha.
These two everlasting and permanent
Worlds exist outside the cluster of
Brahmandas. Then, we have the
innumerable clusters of Brahmandas, all
springing up from the Maha Vishnu, in
Whom they exist and from Whom they
derive their support and sustenance.
Each Brahmanda has its own Lord called
Garbhodashayi Vishnu, Who has evolved
from Lord Sri Maha Vishnu of Vaikuntha,
and Whose abode lies in the Ocean of
Waters outside each Brahmanda. There
is a Garbhodashayi Vishnu for each
Brahmanda, and the number of
Garbhodashayi Vishnus in the Universe
i s as countl ess as the number of
Brahmandas themselves. All these
Vishnus have evolved from the Self-
Same Sri Maha Vishnu. This Vishnu
exercises general control over His
Brahmanda. From this Vishnu, have
evolved, Lord Vishnu of Sweta Dwipa, and
Lord Brahma, the creator. From Lord
Brahma again, has evolved Lord Shiva,
also called Neelalohita Rudra. It is these
Three Deities, Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva, who are usually known by the
name of Trimurtis, the Trinity of each
brahmanda. Brahma is the creator, and
Vishnu is the Preserver and Protector,
while Shiva is the destroyer of the
fourteen worlds of the Brahmanda. Out
of the fourteen worlds, the control and
admi ni strati on of three worl ds i s
consigned to Indra, the lord of the three
worl ds. So far as the Bhl ooka i s
concerned, each Brahmanda has its own
Bharatavarsha, the chosen land of the
gods, the land specially selected by Sri
Maha Vishnu for His Manifestation or
Avatara. Thi s spi ri tual l and of
Bharatavarsha is presided over by Nara-
Narayana, as stated before.
These are the fundamental
essentials of cosmology and of the
constitution of the Divine Hierarchy, and
a clear conception thereof is essential for
understanding the real nature of the
Avatara of Sri Krishna. It has already
been pointed out that the Sri Krishna
Avatara of Padmakal pam i s the
Manifestationof the Supreme Lord Sri
Krishna of Goloka who accommodated
within Himself the followings:
(i ) Lord Narayana Ri shi of
Badarikashrama,
(ii) The Ksheera Sagara Vishnu of
Sweta Dwipa,
(iii) Karana-abdi-shayi Vishnu and
(i v) The Sri Maha Vi shnu of
Vaikuntha.
The qusestion which naturally arises
with reference to the answer given is how
do you make out that this is the case,
when Srimad Bhagavatam, which is the
best authority on the subject, does not
expressly say so: and when there is no
other standard work of authority relating
to the period, to support this answer. No
doubt it is so, but my humble submission
is that there is ample material, ample
evidence, both intrinsic and extrinsic,
whi ch dri ves us to the i rresi sti bl e
conclusion that this latest Avatar of Sri
Krishna is the Avatar of the Goloka Lord
in Whom all the other Divinites are
include.
Firstly, we have the Name of Sri
Krishna Itslef, the Name of the Avatar,
which roughly and readily suggests that
the Lord of Goloka is there. I have
already stated that it is the Lord of Goloka
THE GAUDIYA 13 AUGUST 2012
only, Who is known by the Name of Sri
Krishna, and that there is no other Deity
known by that name, in the whole
category of Divine Hierarchy. This is the
first circumstance, by which we may
conclude that, Sri Krishna of Dwapara,
was the Krishna of Goloka the main and
fundamental essence of the Avatara.
Secondl y, we l earn from the
Puranas, that Sri Krishnas Avatara takes
place once only in every Manvantara, and
that is, during the 28th Mahayuga, at the
junction period of Dwaparayuga and
Kaliyuga. Now, we must have some idea
of what a Manvantara means. The word
loosely means the age of a Manu. What
is the age of a Manu? The Puranas divide
Time into four Yugas Krita, Treta,
Dwapara and Kali. These four yugas
constitute one Mahayuga. The total
number of human years making up a
Mahayuga is 43 lakhs and 20 thousands.
Seventy one such Divine Mahayugas
make one Manvantara. It is during this
long period of a Manvantara, that Sri
Krishna Parabrahman comes down to
Bharatavarsha, onl y once, for the
purpose of conferring benefits on our
Brahmanda and such an Avatara takes
place during the 28th Mahayuga, at the
junction period between Dwapara and
Kali yugas. We are now in the 28th
Mahayuga of the present Manvantara,
called Vaivasvata Manvantara, and have
just passed the Dwaparayuga a little
more of 5000 years ago, and are now in
the first quarter of Kaliyuga. From these
important data, we might safely conclude
that the latest Avatar of Sri Krishna must
have been that of Lord Sri Krishna of
Goloka.
Here at thi s poi nt, i t wi l l be
interesting to consider why Lord Sri
Kri shna of Gol oka, the Supreme
Parabrahman of the infinite Universe,
consisting of innumerable Brahmandas
should have made it a rule to appear and
manifest Himself in our Brahmanda, only
once in every Manvantara (?) The answer
i s si mpl e. There are i nnumerabl e
Brahmandas, which have to be blessed
and protected by Hi s i mmedi ate
presence, and we have our own turn
once i n every Manvantara. Such
Avataras take place in other Brahmandas
also. The next question which arises is
why should the Supreme Parabrahman
at all care to visit any Brahmanda when
its administration is entrusted to worthy
and capable rulers and protectors. The
answer is this. Brahma and other rulers
of the Brahmanda are Deities with limited
powers and capacities. By long and
continued attention towards their duties,
their spiritual powers begin to decline in
process of time. They begin to forget the
true origin of their powers and are
deluded into the belief that they are the
sole rulers of the world. This mistaken
notion of their position and powers begins
to react upon their powers which begin
to decline. It is with a view to put them in
mind of their true position, to remove from
their minds false notions of their power
and dignity, to chuch out from their minds
any vanities which spring up by lapse of
time, to re-enervate and re-instate them
in their proper places, to inspire them
wi th the necessary energy and
spirituality, that the Supreme Lord of
Goloka vouchsafes His immediate
presence to our Brahmanda and blesses
His children with His Immediate
Presence.
(to be contd.......)
THE GAUDIYA 14 AUGUST 2012
Sri Krishna Tattva
Sri Rakhal Chandra Ghosh
According to all authorities Sri
Krishna Tattva is absolute cognitive
Principle unlimited by anything else.
From His very nature, therefore, he is
unattainbable by our intellectual faculties
as they are at present constituted.
Human knowledge is based upon limiting
relativity and cannot conceive of the
Absolute who includes both and is
unlimited by time and space; and this will
be more apparent if we take into account
the following considerations.
Human mind according to the
scriptural doctrine of transcendental
psychology itself falls into the category
of material objects. It is not luminious in
itself but gets light from the soul and
appears to us as something different in
nature from material objects which it
takes cognizance of. But how does this
cognition take place? Just as the moon
getting light from the sun which, let it be
acknowl edged, i s sel f-l umi nous,
transmits the same to other objects, so
the mind which is a very fine material
organ enlightens other with external
objects and perceive them as separate
entities.
The above explanation will tend to
remove the difficulty which at one time
appeared to be almost insurmountable
viz., how the mind communicates with
matter. Like only knows its like and there
being categorically no similarity between
mi nd and matter i t seems to be
paradoxical that the one should know the
other and communication between them
be at all possible. Mind is not really
different in its nature from other physical
obj ects but appears to be so i n
consequence of borrowed light which it
gets from quite a different source. The
mind cannot know anything by itself.
Being armed with this power from the
soul it may get ilnto touch with physical
objects by means of the grosser organs
which are subservient to the mind, and
being attached to those material objects
in such a way that it is impossible for the
soul of detach hi msel f from them
afterwards. Di fferent rel i gi ous
communities of the world taking the
misapplied human intellectual faculties
for their guide have attempted to discuss,
which they have no competence to do,
about Sri Kri shna i n the way of
uninformed polemics, reviews etc.
The above is intended to explain that
the inward light of the soul aberrating
through the medium of a material object,
viz., the mind becomes entangled in the
objects which are unlike him in nature and
rationally enough becomes dissatisfied
with them in whatever profusion and
varieties they may be enjoyed because
an object that is of the category of the
self-conscious can alone fully commune
th his fellow. All our external preception
is condtioned by this unnatural dualism.
The mind intercepting and distorting leads
the soul to the light of the soul consider
himself as smething akin to the objects
of which he takes cognizance and in this
unnatural position thinks that he is the
creator of such knowledge.
If, therefore, we persist in making
use of this imperfect instrument i wil be
qite inefficient to take us to absolute
THE GAUDIYA 15 AUGUST 2012
knowl edge. We shal l al ways fi nd
ourselves surrounded by the wall of our
own mental perceptions which originate
from the above mesalliance and cannot
even get a gl i mpse of absol ute
knowledge, Sri Krishna, the ultimate and
final Cause of everything. There are
various religious sects in India who
having attempted to ascertain absolute
knowledge with the help of their imperfect
intellectual faculties, have inevitably gone
astray, arriving at altogether erroneous
conclusions.
Srimad Bhagavatam which gives
the unambiguous exposition of the
Vedanta, the hi ghest authori ty i n
transcendental Philosophy, describes
this ultimate Principle as One to Whom
even the greatest misguided intellectual
giants have no access.
The same authority teaches us that
Sri Kri shna Tattva i s beyond our
sensuous experience and is not an object
of three dimensions. We are capable of
conceiving with our present intellectual
faculties things up to the third dimension
only. But Vishnu Tattva is a thing that
contains everything from the fourth to
infinite dimensions and Sri Krishna Tattva
appears as the crowning point of Vishnu
Tattva. It follows, therefore, that it is
utterly impossible for us to conceive of
Sri Krishna Tattva like Whom or greater
than Whom thereis no other principle.
Human intellect by its own unaided
exertion cannot get even a glimpse of this
ultimate Principle unless Sri Krishna
Himself makes Him known to fractional
bei ngs l i ke oursel ves maki ng the
inconceivable possible.
This raises an important question.
How is it possible for finite minds to
commune with the infinite and absolute
Principle? The procedure described in
Hindu philosophy and scriptural literature
may be thus stated:
The ultimate principle, as Integer, at
first reveals Himself to some fortunate
fractional animations and favours them
with the power of transmitting the same
to other fractional beings and in this way
through the chain of spiritual mediums
or preceptors and their disciples the
knowledge has come down to the present
age. The disciple hears the teaching
from the preceptor who can make the
disciple realise the same by the grace of
Sri Krishna and in this way the knowledge
of the ultimate Principole is obtained. It
is evident, therefore, that the first act of
revelation came through the grace of the
ultimate Principle and the same grace
has ever been flowing through the
spiritual channel. If anybody, however
powerful he may be in intellectual
equipment, attempts to get at the
absolute knowledge independently of this
grace through his own exertion all his
efforts will end in failure, because by the
very constitution of the material human
intellect the soul will see in its mirror
nothing but a distorted reflection and any
attempt to break through the bondage of
this abortive knowledge by means of
such process will prove utterly hopeless.
It has been noticed above that the
fi rst revel ati on comes to some
uncommonly fortunate person who in his
turn favours those whom he is led by this
light to consider as deserving. This is
the case when the power of grace
chooses to flow through the channel of
spiritual preceptor. But it must be
remembered that the same ultimate
Principle is not bound by any law except
His own will. He is quite independent and
can act as he pleases. He can come
THE GAUDIYA 16 AUGUST 2012
down directly to this gross material world.
Even then, while appearing and acting
like misguided beings, He is not affected
by the infirmities that are real in their
case. The apostate beings cannot
through thei r own exerti on get
themselves emancipated from this world
of ignorance and the grace which flows
through the preceptorial channel as
described above refrains from bestowing
general emancipation. It is under these
circumstances that the ultimate Principle
Himself descends to this world to bestow
the general grace upon all misguided
beings. The ordinary channel of grace
overflows its banks and the whole world
becomes deluged, as it were, with the
flood of grace and the cosideration of
deserving or undeserving, rich or poor,
versed in learning or illiterate vanishes
altogether and general emancipation
follows as a matter of course.
The alternative method prescribed
for attaining absolute knowledge is by
studyi ng the Shastras. Now the
conception of Shastras as is generally
formed of the world by transcendental
philosophers has some peculiarity about
it. The Shastras deal with the matters
which we cannot realise by our limited
intellectual faculties, with knowledge
whi ch l i es beyond our l i mi ted
comprehension. It is said that the
knowledge which we can hope to attain
by our present reasoning power must
necessarily be limited by the process of
experience and even that of the process
itself is also never free from doubts and
difficulties.
The Shastras are the result of the
intuitive spiritual knowledge of the
enlightened sages and such knowledge
is absolutely free from any delusion,
mistakes and other drawbacks. The
proper subject-matter of the Shastras is
transcendental knowledge and if any
Shastra deals with any matter which is
attainable by our unaided reasoning
power it cannot be properly called
Shastra to that extent, this portion being
merel y wrong verbal performance
(Arthavada).
It will be evident that this method is
also dependent on the first method. We
are not to question the authority of the
Shastras. For once we admit that they
are the outcome of the i ntui ti ve
knowledge of inspired minds no room for
any di scussi on i s l eft about the
correctness or otherwi se of such
knowledge. The real difficulty emerges
in the shape of right interpretation of the
Shastras. It wi l l be general l y
acknowledged that to understand an
author the reader must be inspired with
categorically similar thought. If it were
possible for the author to transfer in tact
the ideas he conceives in his own mind
to that of the reader there would be no
difficulty at all. But such is not the case
here. The author must take the help of
an instrument called language to convey
his thoughts to the reader, and the
language mundane is unable to convey
the spiritual thought of the author. In going
through the writing of the spiritual thinkers
of the world the reader is frequently
impressed with the fact that they are trying
hard to express themselves in words that
are liable to be musunderstood but
cannot find in the current vocabulry any
word to convey their real meaning.
But the difficulty does not end here.
When the author has by the grace of
Krishna put down his thoughts in suitable
works the reader must be prepared to
receive them in his turn. But every man
THE GAUDIYA 17 AUGUST 2012
has got his own understanding power
and every mans understanding has got
i ts own pecul i ar fal l aci ous
characteristics. It is, so to speak, a kind
of spectacl es of hi s own and i n
assimilating the thoughts of an author
he must necessari l y use hi s own
spectacl es i n the present
circumstances. The result is that the
same thing having been looked up
through different distorting spectacles
appears to be different to diferent minds.
Every individual is standing on his own
sphere of mental platform and even if a
thing of higher sphere is divulged to him
in odrinary language he will try to realise
it according to the capacity and bent of
S
O my tongue! You want to prattle always and waste the precious
time for nothing. You do not remeber even for a single moment that the
time once spent, can never come back at any cost. There is no power on
earth that can give back the lost time. You waste this precious time without
understanding, that death is fast approaching. Like frogs on the banks of
tanks, lakes, or rivers who by their usual croakings, invite their own death
in the form of snakes who make them their easy prey, you too, by your
idle gossips shamelessly waste the valuable time unmindful of the fast
approaching death with its wide open jaws. You do considerable havoc to
a human being by your prattles and by your uncontrolled eating. Do not
waste the time any more like this, be wise. Go on repeating the Divine
Krishna Mantra constantly, which has the capacity to destroy all your
enemies, both internal and external, the One that is specially worshipped
by all the Upanishads, the One that eradicates the very root cause of our
repeated cycle of births and deaths, the Mantra that dispels the
accumulated heaps of nescience, the One that is the very source of all
noble and high achievements, the Mantra that marvellously saves us from
the virulent poisonous influence of the powerful sense-objects and their
fleeting pleasures of this world and the blessed Mantra that fulfils the very
purpose of this precious human birth.
The Glory of Mantra
his own mind and will find it necessary
to receive the original idea accordingly,
and if it be described, elaborately to make
him realise the original idea as revealed
to the autor it will be found necessary to
drag him up to the higher level.
The above short note should go
some way to bring home to every thinking
mind the fact that Sri Krishna Tattva
Who is identical with absolute knowledge,
is unattainable even with the help of the
Shastras. This can be realised only by
those humble souls who surrender
themselves unconditionally to the feet of
those beloved servants of the Lord, whose
errand here is to take up the fallen souls
to their own spiritual level.
THE GAUDIYA 18 AUGUST 2012
Karma Jnana and Bhakti
Sripad B.S. Narayan Maharaj
A karmi conducts worldly activities
for gaining sense-pleasure with an
enjoying mood, whereas a devotee
conducts such activities which are
favourable for pure devotion and are
pleasing to the Supreme Lord. In going
to lord over maya, a Karmi becomes her
slave and suffers the consequences,
whereas a devtoee affectionately serves
his beloved Lord and the Supreme Lord
al so graci ousl y reci procates the
sentiments of His unalloyed devotees.
Now let us try to understand a little
about Bhakti. The Internal Potency of the
Supreme Lord which is absolute and
transcendental, is vested with her triple
aspects viz., Sandhini (manifestation),
Samvit (cognition) and Hladini (bliss).
Each aspect mentioned is responsible
for the various spiritual details of the
Transcendental Abode. The Samvit and
Hladini aspects mentioned above,
associ ated together form Bhakti -
Potency. By the causeless Grace of
Lord Krishna and His intimate devotees
when this devotional potency (Bhakti-
Shakti) is imparted to the soul of an
extremely fortunate person, then alone
such a person becomes a confirmed
devotee of the Lord. A genuine devotee
can make other sincere aspirants also
devoted to God in the same manner as
a lighted candle can enlight many other
candles; or just as an awakened person
can awaken many other sleeping people.
Wi thout attai ni ng the causel ess
Grace of Lord Krishna through His
devotees no one can eligible to become
(Contd. from July issue)
a true devotee of Him. Loving devotion
to God is quite a rare of the rarest that it
is very difficult to find such competent
aspi rants. Worl dl y and cel esti al
enjoyments can be easily got by virtuous
deeds; sal vati on can be got by
gnosticism whereas, such thousands of
emans cannot make one competent for
Bhakti.
Affection endeavour and cultivation
of loving service for the satisfaction of
Lord Krishna through thought, word and
deed is the characteristic nature of
Bhakti, which should be congenially
conducted for ever.
This Bhakti or loving devotion to Lord
Krishna has three stages as, 1. Sadhana
Bhakti or the devotional performances
like audition, chanting, remembering etc.,
done by the help of physical body; 2.
Bhava Bhakti or the devoti onal
sentiments in the pure mind of a devotee
and 3. Prema Bhakti or the Divine Love
to Lord Krishna arising in the unalloyed
jiva-soul. The various types of devotional
performances shall be elaborated in the
chapter devoted for the same. Bhava
Bhakti is said to be the sprout of Prema
or a fractional part of the sun like dazzling
principle of Prema. The stage of Bhava
transends phenomenal nature and
therefore i t i s characteri sed wi th
unalloyed existence (Shuddha Sattva).
The Bhakti-Shakti mentioned above
when imbibed by the spirit of a fortunate
aspirant, he shall be able to attain this
Bhava Bhakti, which is productive of
absolute knowledge of Divinity by the
grace of Samvit Shakti as well as the
THE GAUDIYA 19 AUGUST 2012
transcendental relish of Divinity by the
grace of Hladini Shakti. When this
nectarine relish attains its fullness, it then
reaches the stage of Prema. The
greatness of Krishna-Prema is even
beond the enumerations of the revealed
scriptures. Bhava-Bhakti manifests
nine-fold signs in the dealings of those
who are endowed with it. These signs
are as follows, 1. unperturbedness in
all conditions, even while there remains
a cause for perturbation, 2. non-wasting
of time as in non-devotional and worldly
pursuits, 3. detachment from mundane
affairs, 4. not seeking prestige for oneself,
5. hopefulness in the attainment of Lord
Krishnas Grace, 6. eagerness to get a
glimpse of the Lord, 7. unending relish
in singing the Divine Names of Lord
Krishna, 8. attachment for hearing about
the Qualities of the Lord and 9. loving
desire to dwell in the Divine Abodes like
Mathura.
Bhakti to Lord Krishna is like a
blazing fire which destroys all the evils
in no time. Bhakti is characterised with
following six-fold attributes. 1. dispeller
of all the sufferings, 2. all-auspicious, 3.
superior to liberation, 4. rare of the rarest,
5. productive of condensed spiritual bliss
and 6. the very attractor of Supreme Lord
Krishna. The essential nature of Bhakti
is that it is the absoute attachment to the
Supreme Lord Krishna; by conducting
every activity as congenial to His service
and pleasure which in turn produces
Divine Love (Krishna-Prema) in the heart
of devotee. Thi s i s the hi ghest
summum-bonum of human life. It is the
prime duty of human life to endavour for
securing the devotional love to the
Supreme Lord.
Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, an
unparalleled spiritual teatise by Srila
Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami explains
us, how an aspirant shall get the highest
weal th of Kri shna Prema, i n the
instructions of Lord Chaitanya to Sri
Rupa Goswami in the holy place of
Prayaga. Every sincere aspirant treading
the path of God should pay fullest
attention to this teaching. When the
innumerable jiva-souls endlessly roam
through the mundane worl ds by
undergoing birth, death, transmigration,
rebirth etc., some or other extremely
fortunate jivas among them shall happen
to receive the seed of Bhakti-creeper by
the causel ess Grace of Guru and
Krishna. The aspirant endowed with
spiritual virtue when receives this seed
in the form of spiritual faith from sadguru,
he as a gardener sows this worthy seed
in the tilled and fertile field of his heart.
After sowing the seed, gardener regularly
sprinkles the same by the enlivening
water in the form of hearing and chanting
about the Divine Names and Divine
Narrations in holy association. In due
course the creeper of devotion grows
from the heart of the aspirant devotee and
it continues to rise above by piercing the
limits of mundane worlds (Brahmanda).
Furhter the creeper of Bhakti crosses the
demarcating river Viraja or the abode of
Impersonal Brahma-Jyoti and reaches
the transcendental Abode of Paravyoma
Vaikuntha. While transcending the
phenomenal worlds the creeper sustains
its growth by attaining the exclusive grace
of Lord Krishna. Jiva soul is atomic and
insignificant phenomenal universe, it
tends to get lost due to its littleness. At
this period, by the special grace of
Krishna-Bhaktas, the Grace of Lord
Kri shna comes to hi s rescue.
The function of that Divine Grace is as
THE GAUDIYA 20 AUGUST 2012
follows. The Hladini-aspect pertaining to
the Internal Potency of Lord Krishna is
highly powerful for protecting the jiva
from non-distinctiveness during his
pasi ng phase from mundani ty to
Transcendence, she advances forth and
manifests the Devotional Sentiments
(Bhava Bhakti) in the purified heart of the
aspirant. By the help of these devotional
sentiment the devotee gets imbibed with
added attachment to the Supreme Lord
and attains further upliftment. Without
the grace of Hladini-Shakti, jiva souls can
never become merited to acquire the
wealth of Prema. By the strength of
Hladini Shakti alone the aspirants shall
cross the impersonal abode of Brahma-
Jyoti and reach the Paravyoma
Vaikuntha. The upper apartment of
Paravyoma is the Super Transcendental
Goloka Vrindavana of Lord Krishna. After
reaching this highest Abode, the creeper
of devotion takes refuge in the Wish-
Yielding-Tree, verily the Lotus Feet of Lord
Krishna and begins to produce the Fruit
of Prema. During this entire process, the
gardener shall remain sprinkling the root
of the creeper with the water of hearing
and chanting of Divine Names. While the
Bhakti-creeper is germinated and grown,
the aspirant should take special care of
a few other matters. The various
offences against holy devotees are
compared to wild elephants which if are
allowed to arise, they root out and
destroy the devotional creeper itself. The
devotee should therefore be quite careful
to keep away from offences against
Divine Name and Vaishnavas. Another
matter of consideration is that, while
pouring the water of hearing and chanting
for the growth of the Bhakti-creeper, often
many types of weeds and evil plants grow
on the same ground and prevent the
growth of the main creeper. These
weeds appearing in the heart are verily
i n the form of desi res for sel fi sh
enjoyment, salvation, occult powers, lust,
si nful propensi ti es, i dl e or evi l
attachments, violence to beings, cruelty,
hypocrisy, desires for name and fame,
piety, wealth, profit, etc. The gardener
should cautiously nip these weeds in the
bud and keep the heart clean and
conducive to the growth of Bhakti-
creeper. While following this course of
careful gardening, the Bhakt-creeper
shall regularly produce the fruits of
Krishna-Prema which the gardener shall
partake with limitless joy. This eternal
Krishna-Prema itself is the highest
summum bonum of human life, in
comparison to which the four-fold
pursuits viz., piety, wealth, objects of
desire and salvation are quite insignificant
as blade of grass.
S
Srivarshabhanavi Dayita Das
(before Sanyasa of Prabhupad Srila Bhakti
Siddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakur)
THE GAUDIYA 21 AUGUST 2012
Perfection of the path of devotion
|~4|+| --
4|==+| +|v 4|4 4|+ +|4
=4 =4 | 4v| a|-4|= - +
Sri Bhagavnuvcha --
Mayysaktamanh prtha
yogam yunjan madshrayah |
asamshayam samagram mm
yath jnsyasi tachchrinu || 1 ||
|~4|+| = The Blessed Lord sid,
+|v = Arjuna, son of Pritha, +| = with
your mind, |== = attached steadfastly,
|4 = to Me, +|4 = taking refuge in Me
only (giving up the attachment in jnana and
karma), 4|+ = practising, 4|4 = the
Transcendental knowledge, 4v| = how,
a|-4|= = you will know, | = Me, the Lord
of all beings, =4 = fully with My associates,
My Powers and My Abode, = 4 =
undoubtedly, -- = listen to that.
The Blessed Lord said, Arjuna, the son
of Pritha, with your mind attached
steadfastly to Me, taking refuge in Me only
(giving up the attachment in Jnana and
Karma), practising the Transcendental
Kowledge, how you will know Me, the
Lord of all beings, fully with My associates,
My Powers and My Abode undoubtedly,
listen to Me. 1
Sri Krishna
is to be realised
by the only transcendental process of Bhakti
the eternal function of all jivas and not by
any other methods either of Jnana (abstract
knowledge) or of Karma (fruitive action),
however sattvika it may be. The sugar candy
of Krishna Nama, Krishna Rupa and
Krishna Guna finds no flavour in a tongue
embittered by the bile of nescience or
ignorance. So long as there is bile of karma,
jnana, tapas, yoga etc., in the spiritual
system, the natural flavour of the Holy
Name, Form, Attributes and the Sportings
of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna finds no
relish.
Samagram One shoud not think
that he will know everything of the Lord,
because it is impossible to know everything
about the Lord, Who is Infinite.
Please refer Srimad Bhagavata
11.20.32,33; Svetasvatara Upanishat 6.15;
S.Bh.11.14.11; Bh.G. 18.55; S.Bh.
10.47.59; S.Bh,6.16.44; S.Bh. 11.2.42;
Bh.G. 12.5; S.Bh. 8.24.38; S.Bh. 12.4.39;
Bh.G. 7.7; S.Bh.11.14.21; Ch.Ch.M.22;
S.Bh. 10.14.4; and Bh.G.14.27.
a|+ -. =|a|+|+ 4|-4-
4-a|-| + ~4|.4-a|-4|4- -
(Contd. from July issue)
||4= 4||| -4-
SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA
|a4+|-|
=--| .4|4 CHAPTER-VII
|a|+4| 4 VIJNNA YOGA
(to be contd...)
THE GAUDIYA 22 AUGUST 2012
Paramagurudev
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
Sripad B.V. Paramahamsa Maharaj
Sun shines eternally
Only to dispel the darkness,
Helping men to live wisely,
Swami Bhaktisiddhanta is like that sun.
Chosen souls are sent to earth
By the almighty Lord of universe
To reform the educated illiterates
Swami Bhaktisiddhanta is that great chosen soul.
Realised souls are ageless!
Age is not a bar was service;
Sacrifice is their sole motive
Swami Bhaktisiddhanta is a proof.
Great men may be many on earth
But rare are architects of humanity,
Who rebuilds souls with Divine Spirit
Such example is Swami Bhaktisiddhanta.
A smiling Rishi is like shining moon,
Attracting men, women and children,
Infusing cool wisdom in their bosom
Such Rishi is Swami Bhaktisiddhanta.
Body, giving eternal ideas, may perish
But their concept will not;
They live as long as sun and moon live
Swam Bhaktisiddhanta belongs to such eternity.
Lest us live as dust particles
Swami Bhaktisiddhantas lotus feet and
Continue to beg his blessings
For, his treasury of love is for all.
S
THE GAUDIYA 23 AUGUST 2012
INDEX TO THE GAUDIYA the Volume LV - 1 to 12
(September 2011 to August 2012)
IssueNo. PageNo.
A
A Lecture in Vrindaban 6 17
Ambarisha and Durvasa 5,6 13,13
An Analysis of Human ... 10,11 7,7
An extremely fortunate.. 2 17
B
Beware of Human Beings 5-9 7 in every issue
Bhaktiyoga 1 100
C
Characteristics of a ....... 8 19
D
Diurnal Worship 1 72
E
Editorial 1 61
F
Fundamental Vaishnavism 1 84
H
How to chant ... 3 15
K
Karma, Jnana and Bhakti 11,12 18,18
M
Mangalacharanam 1 to 12 68, 1 in
every issue
Monotheism 1 79
My First Appeal to My...... 2 19
N
Nama,Namabhasa and ... 6 19
Ninefold Devotion 1 108
O
Ourselves 1 66
P
Para-Brahma & Maya 5,6,7 11,11,12
Parama Gurudev 12 22
Pithy Precepts of Srila... 2-12 2 in every
issue
Purification 1 83
R
Rasakreedai 1 116
S
Secret of Success 9 19
Simultaneous Distinction 10 18
Spiritualism is the ... 6 5
Sridham Mayapur 2-8 13 in every issue
Sri Guru Preshtha 2-4 5,5,5
Sri Krishna 9,11,12 17,15,11
Sri Krishna Tattva 12 14
Srila Raghunath Das... 3-10 17,15,15,15,16,17,
15,16
Srimad Bhagavadgita 2-12 21 in every issue
Sri Navadwip Dham 7 20
Sri Rupa Siksha 7,8 14,15
Sri Sri Advaitacharya 9,10 11,12
Srivigrahasya ....... 1 69
T
That the Vaishnavas ..... 8-12 9,9,9,9,7
The Bhagavata: Its ....... 5-12 5 in every issue
The Glory of Mantra 12 17
The qualified for .... 1 101
The Realising Relationship 5 19
The Service of Srimurti 2 13
The Solar Eclipse at .... 9-12 13,13,12,
Thus Spake Srila Acharya 2-12 3 in every issue
The Spiritual Call 3,4 19,17
The Spiritual Questions 5 17
The Summum Bonum 1 95
The Temple of Jaganna.. 2-4 10,11,11
The World Peace 4 19
V
Vaishnavas are ....... 2-7 8,8,9in every
issue
Vaishnava and Vaishnavism 2- 4 15,13,14
What makes many ..... 7 19
Ways of the world 8 11
Y
IssueNo. PageNo.