Vaishnavism - Real and Apparent

Foreword in the First Edition (3rd August, 1926 !" #ri #rimad $ha%tisiddhanta #arasvati &ha%ura 'ra!hupada

This brochure contains the essence of true Vaishnavism as revealed in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Geeta, the Bhagavata etc., and their teachings put into practice by Shri Chaitanya Deva. our things may stand in the !ay of realising the truth laid herein " the cloa#s of $high, or lo!% birth and station, $proficiency or deficiency in% !orldly #no!ledge, and $beautiful or ugly, male or female% form. The &ver"soul !ithin 'hom all individual souls are contained and to 'hom all souls #no!ingly or un#no!ingly submit, confutes our tric#s and talents. The !ords for every soul !ho spea#s from that life must sound vain to those !ho do not d!ell in the same thought on their o!n art. 'hen the !alls of time and space are ta#en a!ay !e lie on one side to the boundless deeps of spiritual nature and attributes of the Supreme (ord, find that there is another youth and another age than that !hich is measured from the year of our !orldly birth and realise that the scale of the soul is one and the scale of the senses and, understanding " the agents of the material mind " is another.

Vaishnavism - Real and Apparent

'u!lished on (e) 1* 2*13 12+3, '- . 'osted !" $ha%tisiddhanta #araswati . Arti)les on /induism

The soul in man is not the mind directing the organs of sense and action but the animation of the mind and these organs and the bac#ground of our e)istence. The angle of vision bet!een these individual souls and the &ver"soul is one and the same every!here, !hereas there is a distinctive variety and multiplicity of the angles of vision bet!een the material minds and the !orld of the senses.

These lines !ill probably create a desire to #no! in all details the essential nature of the *ternal or +bsolute Truth and prompt an honest and sincere en,uiry in all !ho !ill go through them. -is

Divine -oliness .aramahamsa .aribra/a#acharya Shri Shrimat Bha#tisiddhanta Saras!ati Gos!ami 0ahara/a, the .resident" acharya and &rganiser"in"chief of the Vis!a"Vaishnava"1a/a Sabha is ever ready to send -is associated counterparts " ideal devotees to e)plain at full length the said scriptures in Bengali, -indi and *nglish in any part of the !orld. -e has no other !or# than pouring perpetual benedictions on the suffering humanity and stopping the perennial springs of triple miseries their flesh is heir to.

2nvocation

(et us bo! do!n at full length to the +charya or Gurudeva $the preceptor% 'ho is no other than the associated counterpart of the Supreme (ord -imself and 'ho, being #indness incarnate, is ever busy in #indly operating on the cataractous eye of ignorance of all /ivas $souls, /ivatmas% !ith the spi#e of true #no!ledge, thus openeth their eternal spiritual eyes and anointeth them !ith the collyrium of pure, disinterested and unsmitten love of 3rishna $The 0ost .leasing +ttractor%, stopping further attac#s and enabling them to see -im face to face in -is blissful +bode.

(et us #iss over and over again the dust of the holy feet of the devotees of 3rishna !ho li#e .urpose"trees $3alpataru% yield the fruition of all our devotional desires, and !ho are oceans of #indness and purifiers of the fallen.

(et us prostrate before -im 'ho is the most munificent, the free" giver of the love of 3rishna " 'ho is 3rishna -imself, 'hose name is 3rishna"Chaitanya, the glo! of 'hose body dims the lustre of

li,uid gold and the graceful glance of 'hose lotus"eyes ma#es the devotees loo# upon annihilations $conscious and unconscious% as hellish e)istences, heaven as a castle in the air, the unsatiable and uncon,uerable organs of sense and action as venomous serpents devoid of poison"fangs and the universe as a blissful abode.

1eal Vaishnavism

The !ord 4Vaishnavism4 indicates the normal, eternal and natural condition, functions and devotional characteristics of all individual souls in relation to Vishnu, the Supreme, the +ll"pervading Soul. But such an unnatural, unpleasant and regrettable sense has been attributed to the !ord as to naturally ma#e one understand by the !ord, Vaishnava $literally a pure and selfless !orshipper of Vishnu%, a human form !ith t!elve peculiar signs $Tila#a% and dress on, !orshipping many gods under the garb of a particular God and hating another human form !ho mar#s himself !ith different signs, puts on a different dress and !orships a different God in a different !ay as is the case !ith the !ords 4Shaiva4, 4Sha#ta4, 4Ganapatya4, 45aina4, 4Buddhist4, 40ohammedan4, 4Christian4 etc.

This is the most unnatural, unpleasant and regrettable sense of the !ord, 4Vaishnava4, !hich literally and naturally means one !ho !orships Vishnu out of pure love e)pecting nothing from -im in return.

Vishnu, the Supreme, +ll"pervading Soul gives life and meaning to all that is. -e is the highest unchallengeable Truth devoid of

illusion every!here and through eternity. -e is Sat " ever"e)isting, Chit " all"#no!ing, +nanda " ever"blissful and fully free. -e is in /ivas and /ivas are in -im, as are the rays in the glo!ing sun and the particles of !ater in the vast rolling ocean. +s nothing but heat and light of the sun, and coldness, li,uidity etc. of the sea is found in the constituents of the rays and the particles of !ater respectively, so nothing but Sat, Chit or free"!ill and +nanda is found in the /iva.

The ingredients and attributes of the !hole must remain in the part in a smaller degree. So the part is identical !ith the !hole !hen ta#en ,ualitatively and different, !hen ta#en ,uantitatively. This is the true and eternal relation bet!een /iva and Vishnu. So -e al!ays prevails over /iva !ho is also ever sub/ect to -im. +s the service of the master is the fundamental function of the servant, so the service of Vishnu is natural and inherent in /iva and it is called Vaishnavata or Vaishnavism and every /iva is a Vaishnava. +s a person possessing immense riches is called a miser if he does not display and ma#e proper use of them, so /ivas !hen they do not display Vaishnavata, are called falses though in reality they are so.

1eal and apparent /iva

Shri Chaitanya Deva once being as#ed !ho -e !as, replied, 62 am neither a Brahmin, nor a 3ing, nor a Vaishya, nor a Shudra, nor a Sannyasin, nor a Vanacharin, nor a Grihastha, nor a Brahmacharin, but 2 am the servant of all the servants of Vishnu74 +t another time, Shri Sanatana .rabhu as#ed -im, 6'ho am 2 and !hy tritapa " the three #inds of afflictions trouble me86 Shri Chaitanya Deva ans!ered, 6Sanatana, you are a /iva, your real

self is the eternal servant of Vishnu9 but you have an apparent self " your mind and body !ith !hich the real 424 in stupor identifies himself. Tritap afflicts this apparent 424. The real 424 or /iva has put on these t!o mortal garments, the subtle and ever" changing mind $consisting of ever"increasing unsatisfied desires% and the physical body $consisting of five elements " earth, !ater, fire, air and ether%. The real 424 forgets his o!n true self and is, in conse,uence, !rapped up in these t!o !ears, inner and outer, and designates himself a -indu, a 0ohammedan, a Christian, a Brahmin, a male, a female, rich, poor and so on. These designations of creed, caste, ran# etc., not only change in different births but in one and the same birth9 " a -indu becomes a 0ohammedan or a Christian9 a 0ohammedan becomes a -indu, a Brahmin becomes a 4Brahmo4 or a Christian7 + street"boy becomes a :a!ab, a :a!ab becomes a beggar. +s changeability is the prime factor of the mind, it flies li#e a roaming bee on the !ings of desires and changes at !ill its name, colour, creed, habitation etc. &ne fre,uently goes from 4(og Cabin to 'hite -ouse4, from the seal to the cro!n. The s!eet si)teen changes into bitter si)ty "4The old order changeth yielding place to ne!.4 5iva in this manufactory of change, in this !hirlpool of birth and death, is called enslaved $Baddha or apparent%, ever engaged in forging the fetters of bondage.

The bondage of /iva

5ivas are of t!o #inds " $;% :itya"0u#ta $eternally free%, $<% :itya" Baddha $eternally enslaved%. ree /ivas are never enslaved. They are serving the Supreme God in five different functions= in -is eternal blissful abode, !here there is no change, no destruction, no misery. 5iva, once entered there never comes bac# here. The inconceivably narro!est line of demarcation bet!een land and

!ater or the line !here land and !ater meet is called Tata9 so also the meeting line of the Chit !orld or the eternal abode of the Supreme (ord and the +"Chit !orld or the Tata region of 0aya is called Tata. The po!er of the Supreme (ord displayed at the Tata is #no!n as the Tatastha $lying at the Tata% or marginal po!er. +ll the /ivas being the display of this po!er, have the inherent oscillating tendency and capability of going to the Chit or the +" Chit !orld. Tata not being a resting place, /ivas must go this side or that 9 those preferring the +"Chit, fell into the clutches of the &ctopus 0aya, !hen these mortal costumes of mind and body !ere put on him as a punishment. The satanic fren>y in !hich the /iva disli#es the blissful and eternal service of his 0aster and prefers to ,uench his thirstful desires of en/oy" ing matter, opens before him a perpetual spring of li,uid fire and poison at !hich he begins to drin# deep. Thus in going to lord it over 0aya, /iva became enslaved by her.

Daya or #indness to /iva

&ne apparent /iva considers himself $mentally and physically% less distressed than another /iva, feels for his distress and does something in the shape of relief or redress. This is but stopping or diminishing the unending miseries partly, locally or temporarily. 2t is fre,uently seen that a /iva !ho feels aggrieved and conse,uently abstains from committing !rong o!ing to !ea#ness or inability, recovers, at such relief, strength or ability enough to commit !rong to other /ivas. So it often happens that such apparently #ind services not only bring harm to the recipient but cause indirect in/uries to others. This is one aspect of the thing. (et us turn to the other. +s a gardener prunes a gro!ing tree, allo!ing its root to gro! freely and easily, as a physician treats a patient leaving the prime"disease undisturbed, so this sort of

temporary #indness stops, no doubt, the gro!th of the present inconveniences for a !hile but in no !ay uproots the cause !hence all these afflictions arise. This cause has been identified !ith the enslaved condition of /ivas. So real and permanent #indness consists in bringing before the enslaved /ivas a true and vivid picture of their natural, free and blissful e)istence and reinstating them in their true position. Thus real #indness is applicable to the real /iva and apparent #indness to the apparent /iva.

Brahmacharya of the mind and of the soul

Should !e picture the very sad and deplorable mental and physical condition of the younger generation " the boys of schools and colleges8 ?e guardians, parents and !ell"!ishers of boys, ho! long !ill you !in# at the stealthy undermining of the vitality of your dear ones and be cruel to them8 'hile claiming a right over their mind and body for one4s o!n en/oyment, is it not fair that one should loo# after their proper and natural development 8 There is in every soul a strong ardour of religious >eal, !hich, though pent up, !ill gush and struggle out li#e rain from the throat of the over"flo!ing spout. -o! !ill the plants gro! if the preserving fences devour them8 Can anybody deny that the generation is going day by day to be mental and thus physical slaves to their senses8

0ere artificial restraint and austerity on the body and the mind, a mechanical regulation of diet and living in a solitary place do not constitute Brahmacharya, for they change their s#y not their mind, !ho scour across the sea. Then the animals in the 4>oo4 !ould have been the best Brahmacharins. Brahmacharya is the

po!erhouse !hence currents of +tma"/nana $#no!ledge of one4s o!n self% are generated !hich illuminates his blinded self, !ithholds all his evil propensities and set the !hole machinery in motion, so that this frail and rare but accidentally"got raft may get across the sea and anchor in the bay for eternity after carrying its passenger to his o!n home. +s a barren co! loo#s e)actly li#e a milch co!, but fails in giving mil# to the #eeper in return for his most attentive and faithful services !hich beget only further labour, so the so"called Brahmacharya, or a #no!ledge of the scriptures !ill, in no !ay, inspire +tma" /nana or real Brahmacharya in /ivas. By means and !ays a non" brahmacharin can never be a Brahmacharin.

2n essence, the mind and the soul $the /iva% are diametrically opposite " the former being restless, impetuous, changeable and ever busy in en/oying matter, !hile the latter is eternal, unchangeable, stable and incapable of en/oying matter. So real Brahmacharya rests in the soul, not in the mind.

The characteristic defects of the mind

The mind and the soul are hostile to each other. There is an eternal enmity bet!een them. 2n soul the four characteristic errors of the defective mind are totally !anting vi>., $;% mista#ing the mirage for !ater, the rope for the serpent9 $<% misapprehensive into)ication, $@% #no!ing things !ith imperfect senses9 $A% deceiving itself and others. +s the horse can not hold its o!n reins, so the mind can not guide itself " it is ever being guided by an unending and unsatiable bundle of desires in the shape of en/oyment or indifference " of doing good or evil. *ach individual mind differs from the other " no t!o identical minds are

to be found. The proverb goes " 4so many 1ishis, so many minds4. + mind can more easily hold a !olf by the ears than steady itself in spiritual e)perience. Be!are of this mind !hich, li#e a bad guide, appears before you and others in sheep4s clothing !ith.all the ferocity of a ravening !olf and li#e a professional running thief crying 6thief, thief6. 2n the follo!ing song of our preceptor the deceptive nature of the mind has been fully and clearly describedB

?e !ic#ed mind7 Thou art not a Vaishnava.Thy apparent chanting of -ari4s name in a lonely house is for attaining !orldly supremacy9 it is nothing but pure hypocrisy7 Dost thou not #no! that !orldly supremacy is as valueless as the dung of a boar and that it is one of the splendours of 0aya or illusion 'hy shouldst thou thin#, year in and year out, of !ealth and en/oyment 8 These are all fleeting and transitory7

'hen thou claimest !ealth as thine o!n, it creates in thee lusts for en/oyment. 0adhava " the (ord of all !ealth, should only and al!ays be served !ith it. 'hy dost thou trespass on the lusts of !omen !hose only and eternal proprietor is ?adava " 3rishna, the charmer of all en/oyers.

1avana " lust"incarnate, fought in vain !ith 1aghava " the (ove" incarnate, for the imaginary tree of the supremacy !hich is but a mirage. The supremacy thou see#est is li#e ,uic#sand ever receding from thy foothold. Thou canst never stand upon it and if thou insist on doing so, it !ill lead you to rac# and ruin. 2f thou can place thyself on the steady and solid standing" ground !hereon a Vaishnava ever stands, thy feet !ill never slip.

'hy dost thou suffer under the false hope of profaning -ari4s men " the devotees, and attaining their inherent spiritual eminence and boast of thy fruitless and foolish efforts8 +n un!orldly and eternal pre"eminence spontaneously follo!s the holy heels of a Vaishnava. The relation bet!een a Vaishnava $devotee% and Vishnu $the (ord% does not smell of 0aya $illusion% or !orldly deceit. 3no!est thou that thy seeming supremacy is as treacherous as a !oman devouring a dog4s flesh and thy feigning loneliness is totally hellish.

62 shall give up 43irtana4 " chanting (ord4s name, and besmear myself !ith supremacy " !hat is the good in searching for such eminence86 " if this be thy thought, #no!est thou for certain that 0adhavendra .uri did never deceive himself and commit theft in his o!n storehouse of perception li#e thee7

Thou shouldst never compare the unsolicited eminence follo!ing 0adhavendra .uri li#e an attending maid, !ith your seeming one !hich is li#e the dung of a boar. Thou hast dro!ned thyself out of envy in the filthy !aters of en/oyment and hast abandoned the perfections of #irtan.

?e !ic#ed mind, bearest in mind that solitary devotion is propagated in disguise by the adopters of evil means. Thin#est thou over and over again !hat Supreme (ord Gauranga #indly taught us addressing Sanatana .rabhu !ith the utmost care. Dost not forget for a moment the t!o most valuable !ords -e taught " apparent and real, apathy and sympathy, freed and enslaved " never confuse the one !ith the other. Singest thou the (ord4s name aloud.

-e is a Vaishnava !ho is never a victim to the tigress of !ealth, beauty and fame. -e is indeed apathetic and a pure devotee. The transitory !orld is to him as a sna#e is to its charmer. -e is indeed apathetic !ho moderately parta#es of things necessary for, and in favour of devotion " neither belo! nor above par " avoids all en/oyments and is ever free from diseases. -e loo#s upon every thing as his (ord as !ell as 0adhava4s, and not meant for his o!n en/oyment. This identity !ith, as !ell as attachment for, the things of 0adhava " is real apathy. ortunate indeed is he !ho is thus attached to -ari and !ho sees -ari4s (ila or splendour in the realm of matter. -e is rich in hypocrisy !ho sings the (ord4s name to attain eminence. orsa#ers of matter out of fear or desire and en/oyers thereof are both e,ually :on"vaishnavas. Shun the company of both. Thou canst neither o!n nor diso!n the things of Vishnu and thus run mad after en/oyment or renunciation.

The mind of 0ayavadins can never thin# of 3rishna and in a mood of imaginary salvation condemn a Vaishnava. &h mind7 Thou art a servant of the Vaishnavas and thou shouldst al!ays hope for attaining devotion. 'hy shouldst thou han#er after solitude8 + false renouncer calls himself a forsa#er " and can never be a Vaishnava, as he abandons his servitorship and dro!ns himself in solitude. 'hat4s the gain in ac,uiring that seeming good8

*ver engagest thyself in the service of Shri 1adha and #eepest aloof from the sna#y en/oyment. Singest the (ord4s name not for glory or supremacy. 'hy shouldst thou run after false retirement for devotion, leaving aside the !orship of Shri 1adha, your eternal &b/ect of !orship8

The d!ellers of Bra/a are the real ob/ects of preaching, and they being living agents and meant for preaching do not aspire after supremacy and are strong enough to instil life into the audience. .reaching is the symptom of vitality. Song of 3rishna does not smell of any attempt for supremacy.

The -umble servant of Shri 1adha and her (over al!ays hopes for #irtan and begs of all to sing the name of his (ord aloud. 'hen meditation !ill spontaneously follo! #irtana, then and then only solitary devotion and renunciation !ill be natural.

T!o minds " material and spiritual

The mind can never sit idle. 2t !ill either create a hell out of heaven or a heaven out of hell. 2t is li#e drift"!ood floating on the ebb and flo! of good and evil, right and !rong, virtue and vice. +s good -omer sometimes nods, it ever commits !rong in cleaving to that !hich seems to be evil and abhorring that !hich seems to be good, and vice versa. *very mind has its o!n !ay of loo#ing at things9 so !hat one mind establishes, the other destroys, nay the same mind re/ects today !hat it accepted yesterday, as every life is a series of surprises or e)periences. The things one no! regards as fi)ed, shall, one by one, detach themselves, li#e ripe fruits, from one4s e)perience and fall. The !ind shall blo! them, none #no!s !hither " the landscape, the figures, Calcutta, (ondon, :e! ?or#, the 1oyal Throne, the .residential Chair " are facts as fugitive as any institution past or any !hiff of mist or smo#e, and so is the society and so the !orld. 2ntimately alluring and attractive !as a man to you yesterday, a great hope, a sea to s!im in9 no! you have found his shores, found it a pond and you care not if you never see it again. The proverb goes, " 6Today

#ing, tomorro! nothing.6 There are t!o minds9 one, the spiritual mind or the mind of the soul or /iva, the other, the material mind !hich has !illing, feeling and perception of the material !orld. The spiritual mind can neither attach itself to, nor detach itself from, the ob/ects of this #ingdom of meat and drin# nor is it liable to any change or modification in this !orld of the senses. The tongue may stab the material mind and stri#e into it a cureless !ound, !hereas no stab can !ound and #ill the spiritual mind. +n iron ball and the fire are t!o distinctly different things9 but !hen the former is #ept " in an intimate touch !ith the latter, the former plays the role of the latter by radiating heat and light and burning other things, so the material mind, though in reality purely a matter and devoid of life and its attendant energy, having been closely in touch !ith the spiritual mind from eternity, e)hibits its borro!ed activity, li#e an elephant run amuc#, uncontrolled by the driver, through the ten organs of action and sense in the shape of good and evil, right and !rong, virtue and vice, philanthropy and self"en/oyment, benevolence and miserliness etc. There is no !a#ing, dreaming or sleeping in the spiritual mind, !hereas the physical one !a#es, sleeps and dreams9 it creates, preserves and destroys and 6gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.6 2n doing so it sometimes busies itself !ith the fleeting, frivolous and despicable en/oyments of the !orld, sometimes it abstains from these things and chooses at !ill an imaginary god as the ob/ect of meditation and !orshipful adoration, considers itself a meditator and plunges itself in solitary meditation or !orships an idol of !ood, clay or metal as a !or#able god " as a means of attaining $;% Salo#ya $the e)istence in the plane of God%, $<% Samipya $pro)imity to God%, $@% Sarupya $li#eness to God%, $A% Sarsti $e,ual glory of God%, and $C% Sayu/ya $absorption in God or annihilation%. 2t thus turns itself an idolater as a meditator or as an idol"!orshipper. (i#e a d!arf uplifting his hands to catch at the moon it sometimes tries to taste the succulent pastimes of the Supreme (ord in -is

blissful abode !ith its passionate senses, identifying the perverted reflection !ith the real ob/ect. The mind, !hile giving the bridle to its passions and desires and being itself fully sub/ect to affliction, grief and distress, considers itself free from these things and e)tends its helping hand to an e,ually suffering mind. 2ts #no!ledge of good and bad, happiness and misery, donor and the recipient, la! and disorder regarding things other than the Supreme (ord is nothing but a series of blunders and is li#e /umping from the frying pan into the fire or li#e s!imming bet!een Scylla and Charybdis.

2ts utterance, ho!ever s!eet and sound, its meditation, ho!ever deep, long and undisturbed, though apparently true have no reality and are ever sub/ect to change and destruction. Sometimes it imitates the activities of the spiritual mind and pic#s its o!n poc#et. +n abnormal heat in the body caused by #eeping a clove of garlic under the armpit or e)posing the body to the scorching sun, and the heat caused by fever, though similar in perception, are not the same thing " the former is artificial, empiric and inductive, !hile the latter is natural, spontaneous and deductive9 the activity of the germ !or#ing !ithin, bursts forth in the shape of feverish heat, headache etc. 'hen the spiritual mind sets about his dormant devotional activities and his inherent love of God begins to blossom forth at the touch of the eternal, superior ecstatic *nergy incarnate as his deliverer, tremor $3ampa%, tears $+sru%, stupefaction $Stambha%, perspiration $Sveda%, horripilation $.ula#a %, pallor $Vaivarnya%, humility $Dainya%, throbbing, $Vepathu%, e)ultation $-arsha% etc. appear on the body as spiritual changes $Satvi#a vi#ara%. Sometimes changes of this nature and appearance are noticed on the bodies of emotional persons !hose minds are so supple and susceptible as to easily produce those peculiar signs at the clangour of the drum and the cymbal, s!eet music or the li#e. These are mere

effects of the cause9 and the effects disappear as soon as the cause is !ithdra!n, as the fever"loo#ing heat disappears from the body as soon as it is !ithdra!n from the burning rays or the garlic is removed from the arm"pit. +s the pendulum oscillates bet!een t!o e)tremes, so the mind oscillates bet!een en/oyment and abstinence. 'hen it gets tired !ith the meat and drin# of this !orld, the busy strife of the dinning city, the griefs and !oes of s!eet home, the guilty mind seems to a!a#e and e)hibits a life of retirement, non attachment or reclusion, oftentimes, vainly directing its energies to annihilate the imperishable and indestructible devotional energy of the spiritual mind " to reduce it to nothing so that it can never feel, !ill or perceive " it may never come across the fleeting, changeable, and afflicting things of pleasure and pain. Sometimes one male mind feels the !ant of a female mind, and thus a male body gets united !ith a female body through the bond of !edloc#. :o sooner is this !ant fulfilled than fresh !ants of !ealth and home and hearth arise. 'hen it rolls in !ealth and the s!eet smile of !ife and children cheers it, alas, the grim reaper !hose name is death, reaps, !ith his #een sic#le the bearded grain and the flo!ers that gro! bet!een at a breath7 Then it realises that it !as drin#ing poison from a cup of gold. Thus it happens that the spiritual mind feels that it is fallen in an ocean !hose !aters of deep !oe are brac#ish !ith the salt of human tears, and that it is !ithin the /a!s of lusts and anger li#e so many shar#s and crocodiles s!imming therein, enchained !ith ardent longings, totally unfriended and shelterless. -e sha#es off the torpor and realises that the material mind had so long been vainly playing !ith the fleshy forms #no!n as the !ife, the son etc. and fleeting /oys li#e so many unsteady limpid drops of !ater on a lotus"leaf. -ad satiation been in strength 0yro and &phellius !ould have been happy9 had it been in !ealth Croesus !ould have been happy9 neither lies it in po!er nor in all these things together, for :ero, Sardanapalus and +gamemnon sighed and !ept and tore their hair and !ere the slaves of circumstances

and the dupes of appearances. The spiritual mind realises that he is living li#e a double"caged bird !hich identifies its o!n living self !ith the material cages, that the cages he is living in are ever sub/ect to change and decay and though they loo# fresh and alive they are nothing but dust and !ill crumble into dust. The subtle cage of the material mind is !ithin the gross cage of the physical body. The material mind is dancing li#e a /ac#da! !ith the borro!ed plumes of a peacoc#. -e reflectsB

'hat relish can there be in this decaying body, made up of the five decomposable elements and full of putrescence and impurity8 Shall !e not mind for a moment that this perishable and ever"changing body is liable to !rath, ambition, illusion, fear, grief, envy, hatred " separation from those !e hold most dear and association !ith those !e hate8 'hat relish can there be for material en/oyments !hen !e are e)posed to hunger, thirst, disease, decrepitude, emaciation, gro!th, decline and death. The universe is tending to decay, " grass, trees, animals, spring up and die. 0ighty men are gone leaving their /oys and glories. Beings still greater than these have passed a!ay " vast oceans have dried " mountains have been thro!n do!n, the polar star displaced, the cords that bind the planets rent asunder, the !hole earth deluged !ith flood " in such a !orld !hat relish can there be for fleeting en/oyments8 (iving in such a !orld are !e not li#e frogs /umping in a !ell8

To get rid of the deception of this false and treacherous seeming friend, !e should be sincerely suppliant before the Supreme (ord and !ater our couch !ith tears9 -e !ill receive our prayers, have mercy on us and out of -is naturally loving #indness, appear before us as the preceptor, !ith all the proficiency in the scriptures and fully free from the han#erings of the senses, to rid

us from the clutch of the !ic#ed mind, !hich has flame all around and death !ithin, to cut asunder all its #nots and hitches and to dispel all our dar#ness of the heart as an elephant runs a!ay from the dar#est recesses of the /ungle at the approach of the lion and the veil of dar#ness is !ithdra!n from the surface of the earth at the advent of +urora. Then the mind !ill brood over its guilty !oes li#e a scorpion girt by fire.

The supplications of the spiritual mind

&ne material mind prays to another material mind $both of !hom are being eternally and e,ually afflicted by three #inds of miseries% for relief or help. 2ts prayers are but han#erings after en/oyment and are al!ays caused by !ant, fear and an)iety. There is no material mind " !hether of a #ing or a tenant, a lord or a servant, a master or a pupil, the strong or the !ea#, the rich or the poor, the scholar or the dunce " !hich can ever be relieved of !ant or fear9 !hereas the spiritual mind never prays for daily bread, any sort of material relief, !orldly prosperity, a life devoid of all miseries, a life in heaven dipped in celestial bliss or a peaceful e)istence in the #ingdom of God. -e has no such prayer, but is ever suppliant before the Supreme (ord and insists on the continuity of his loving service !hich is never at an end. +s soon as he perceives the !ic#ed and inimical activities of the material mind, he supplicates thus before a Vaishnava !ho has no !ant, fear or terrors of birth and death and is po!erful enough to deliver all spiritual minds from the clutch of the material mindB

Vaishnava Tha#ur, the ocean of #indness, 2 ta#e shelter at thy lotus"feet. -ave mercy on me, your humble servant, and purify me !ith the cool shade of your holy feet. Chec# my proneness to

pollute myself by $;% using offensive and hurtful language to others, $<% floating adrift !ith various frivolous and despicable passions, $@% using harsh !ords, $A% coveting palatable things, $C% giving loose to my appetite, $D% han#ering after lasciviousness9 " rid my grovelling self of the si) evils of $;% putting by things in e)cess, $<% going against devotion by adhering to that !hich is forbidden and abhoring that !hich is favourable, $@% indulging in useless idle gossips, $A% retarding devotional progress and accelerating the contrary, $C% #eeping company !ith the non" devotees and remaining aloof from the devotees, $D% floating !ith changeable vie!s and transfuse into me the si) virtues of $;% eagerness for !al#ing in devotional ordinances, $<% firm conviction and sincere faith, $@% patience and perseverance in devotion, $A% adherence to the favourable en/oinments and abhorrence for prohibitions in devotion, $C% forsa#ing the company of the effeminate tied to a !oman4s apron"strings and the impious, $D% follo!ing the footsteps of the righteous men. 2 have been !aiting for your company, bereft of !hich 2 am totally po!erless to sing the name of the Supreme (ord $3rishna%9 so be #ind enough to instil in me reverence and enrich me !ith the !ealth of the (ord4s $3rishna4s% name as 3rishna is yours and you can give -im to me " a beggar, bereft of all !orldly !ealth and follo!ing you chanting 43rishna4, 43rishna4.

Vaishnavas are the !ealth of this !orld. They !ho serve the Supreme (ord under his $Vaishnava4s% guidance, !al# in the commandments of the (ord and follo! -is observances, the rest live and die in vain. The best ornament of our head should be the dust of their feet, the best food, the remnants of their dish and the best drin#, the !ater that !ashes their holy feet " these and only these can rene! devotional love in us. 'ho but a Vaishnava !ill save our blinded selves from being led by the blind and from the onsets of ever"increasing insatiable lusts, anger,

covetousness, illusion and egotism8 'e are groping in the dar# labyrinth of this !orld and #no! not !hither lies our !ay.

The advent of Shri Chaitanya Deva

2t !as in the year ;AED +.D. that Shri Chaitanya Deva appeared before us at 0ayapura in +ntard!ipa Fthe island at the core or centre of the nine $nava% islands $d!ipa% of !hich :avad!ipa consistsG on the eastern ban# of the holy Ganges and lived there for the first t!entyfour years of -is stay here playing the part of house"holder. -e accepted as his father, 5agannatha 0isra a respectable Brahmin .andita of Sylhet, then settled at :avad!ipa, and Sachi Devi, an ideal Brahmin lady of the time as -is mother. -e had a human form so perfectly built, so lustrously comple)ioned, so highly statured and so lovely as purely inconceivable in a human body, and possessed such a pleasing and overpo!ering intelligence before !hose effulgence the brightest and sharpest human intelligences burned li#e glo!" !orms.

'ith all these superhuman gifts and possessions, -e led the life of an ideal Vaishnava and !ith a vie! to establish an e)emplar life of a pure and sincere devotee, e)tremely painful at the separation of -is Divine (over, complaisant and compliant to please -im by doing the highest good to -imself and to others by -imself adopting the life of an ideal devotee and by ma#ing others adopt a similar life. +s propagation and practice or precept and e)ample do rarely go hand in hand, -e himself practised !hat -e preached. -e sho!ed practically that devotion lies in all souls and not in the accompanying minds and bodies and that neither the delible stamp of birth, !orldly #no!ledge and riches

do in any !ay stand in the !ay of devotion nor do lo! birth, ignorance and poverty help or endanger devotion. The soul obliterates his individuality before the !orld, and disclaims these designations. -e #no!s that he is lo!lier than the grass, more forbearant than a tree, himself honourless and honours other souls and, that be sings the praise and glory of -ari day and night !hether the material mind sleeps or !a#es, the physical body busies itself or is at rest and even !hen he gives up for ever these t!o coils of the body and the mind. 'hen the soul, not the material mind, surrenders himself to a Vaishnava and chants the name of 43rishna4 under his guidance and follo!ing his devotional en/oinments, $;% the activities of the material mind eternally prevailing over and enshrouding the soul or the spiritual mind gradually diminish, $<% the forest"fire caused by the friction of material minds is put out not to burn any more, $@% the efflorescent beams of Divine Bliss open the buds of spiritual !eal, $A% transcendental !isdom bursts forth the shell of !orldly #no!ledge, $C% the ocean of bliss s!ells up, $D% the soul tastes at every sip the succus of Divine (ove, $H% !herein all souls are immersed casting off the impurities of the material mind.

+long !ith the soul4s casting off the torpor of the illusory gloom reigning over him from eternity, the prayer of the material mind for !orldly !ealth, for dear ones, and for mental proficiency in !orldly #no!ledge diminishes and he longs for eternal devotion unborn of motive or desire in !hatever situation his (ord pleases to place him.

Chaitanya Deva as a Gardener

This distinctive inherent activity of the soul,!hich is called devotion and !afts the spiritual mind above all sordid thoughts, !as not only propagated by Shri Chaitanya Deva but -e -imself !as an embodiment of it and proclaimed that -e !as a gardener possessing and nurturing the immortal and ever"fruitful tree of Divine (ove, the innumerable and succulent fruits !hereof are hanging li#e figs on a fig"tree and that -is business !as to distribute these fruits to the rich and the poor, the high and the lo! ali#e !ithout any price and consideration and thus to play the part of a most munificent giver. -e renounced the !orld and too# up the tas# of distributing Divine (ove to all /ivas !ho !ere groping after the Spiritual by describing -im as invisible or !ere oblivious of their o!n true selves as !ell as of the real nature of their most .leasing and (oving +ttractor. This forgetfulness on the part of /ivas is the root of all evils and sufferings9 so -e entreated one and all to taste of this divine fruit and contribute their share in distributing the fruit of Divine (ove and en/oined that the best use of their lives lay in doing the highest and eternal good to themselves and to others and in practising at all times spiritual !eal to others !ith their life, !ealth, intelligence and speech. -e said, 62n so doing the !aves of the !orld cannot stand in your !ay as your steps are ordered by the Divine (over and -e delights in your !ay. There may be a seeming fall but fear not nor be utterly cast do!n as -e holds you up !ith -is hand. 2f you are dumb, you !ill be a persuasive tal#er, if your legs are crippled, you !ill cross the +lps !ith ease and your !ords !ill need no bell to call people together and no constable to #eep them " these !ill dra! the children from their play, the old from their armchairs, the invalid from their !arm chamber. Those !ho feel that their hardened nec#s are !ithin the guillotine of birth and death !ill flo! in torrents li#e patients to efficient doctors and !ill be effectually cured having received your efficacious remedy !hich is ever effective in its !or#ing. ?our eye is on the eternal, conse,uently your intellect !ill gro! and your opinions and actions !ill have

such a beauty and strength !hich no learning or combined advantages of other men can rival. 3no! that Divine +ssessors come up !ith us into life " no! under one disguise, no! under another li#e a police"man in a citi>en4s clothes " !al# !ith us step for step through this !orld of senses to carry us to our ever" blissful abode.6

+pplication of real #indness to /ivas

Shri :ityananda .rabhu, +dvaita"acharya .rabhu, Shri 1upa and Sanatana Gos!amins and Tha#ur -aridasa " the dear and ever" associated generals, of Shri Chaitanya Deva !ere deputed in rendering practical #indness to the ever"suffering humanity byB $;% spending their !hole time and energy in devotional activities, $<% chanting aloud the (ord4s name day and night, $@% singing -is praise and glory, $A% compiling volumes of devotional !or#s, $C% reclaiming and restoring the sacred sites, $D% going from door to door and begging of the sleepers and dreamers thereof to arise, a!a#e and !orship43rishna, tal# about 3rishna, ta#e -is name and #no! that -e is their father, mother, !ealth and life9 that they have no other ob/ects of !orship save and e)cept 43rishna4. +s the t!igs, leaves, flo!ers, fruits and the branches of the tree " their rest " are actually fed by feeding the roots and as the limbs of the body are properly nourished by putting the food into the stomach, so the innumerable gods, sages, forefathers, #ings, animals are fully and properly appeased if 3rishna, !herein lie all of them together, is !orshipped. +s continual sho!ers of rain cannot feed the leaves nor enliven them, unless and until the rain!ater is ta#en up by the roots and as the limbs are unable to get any nourishment from the food unless it is put into the stomach, so none can accept any present or e)act adoration

directly from meat unless all presents are made over to 3rishna and -e is !orshipped.

+ll souls or /ivas in their true selves are related to 3rishna, the &ver"soul, either as $;% -is mute servants, " the flute, the rod etc., $<% -is servitors, -is gardeners, -is s!eepers etc., $@% -is friends, playmates, $A% -is parents :anda"?ashoda, $C% -is consorts " Shri 1adha and her attendants. This relation being eternally fi)ed is neither inter"changeable nor transferable. 3rishna, the .rime Cause, the (ord of all lords, the Supreme of all Gods, is embued fully !ith the si) divine pre"essences " $2% 'ealth, $<% 0ight, $@% Glory, $A% Splendour, $C% 'isdom, $D% Dispassion " dilute in -is over"flo!ing love and all"charming beauty. -e is the only (over and the only ob/ect of love. This love, fully free from all earthly dross of lusts and passion, ma#es the (over serve -is beloved ones and the beloved ones their (over " this love dro!ns all conceptions of Divine Sovereignty and possession of the above si) pre"essences. The eyes of the beloved are al!ays blind to notice the sovereignty or adorability of the ob/ect of love. The beloved ones, spontaneously deem themselves either e,ual or superior to the ob/ect of love, in conse,uence the former playfully ascends the shoulder of, chastises or ta#es to tas# or brings up !ith affectionate care, the latter. The love of 3rishna is thus characterised. 3rishna4s loving beauty is so enamouring that even the god of lusts is charmed by -im and 3rishna -imself being charmed by -is o!n beauty and loveliness covets the pleasure en/oyed by the best of -is lovers Shri 1adha, by lovingly serving such orm as -is. So anointing -imself !ith the lustre and comple)ion of Shri 1adha and having been imbued !ith -er ardent longings of love, 3rishna is ever dallying as an e)emplary lover of -imself as Shri Gauranga. Shri 3rishna, the essential nature of the Supreme Being " the only 1eal and *ternal Truth is the only ob/ect of love and Shri Gauranga the possessor and

distribitor of that love 3rishna is simultaneously dallying !ith -is dear consort in the groves of Vrindavana and tasting the e)tract of love"succus flo!ing from -is consort as Gauranga at :abad!ipa, -imself singing 3rishna4s name and teaching others ho! to 2ove 3rishna and sing -is name. 2n so doing -e distinguishes pointedly the real name, identical !ith the &b/ect -imself, from the apparent or false one !hich is ta#en profanely, blasphemously or in vain. -e emphasises that in this #ali"yuga $era% !orldly people indulge in $;% duplicity, <% into)ication, $@% sensuality, $A% #illing of animals, $C% mercenariness and so are unable to meditate upon, or !orship Vishnu and to perform Vedic sacrifices. So the chanting of 3rishna4s name is the only meditation, the only sacrifice, the only !orship in this 3ali"age " :ame is the means, :ame is the end. But is should be noted !ith the utmost care that 3rishna4s name is not mere combination or utterance of letters. + similarity in utterance and appearance is not identity. The fire and the glo!"!orm though similar in appearance are not identical. The minutest spar# of fire set consciously or unconsciously, seriously or playfully !ill instantaneously burn an inflammable thing, !hereas a thousand glo!!orms !ill not act in a thousand years. 3rishna4s name is identical !ith 3rishna -imself and pregnant !ith all the properties and attributes of 3rishna. So -is name, unli#e all other names, is full of energy, perfect, eternal, pure, devoid of illusion and eternally free. +urora is sufficient to dispel the dar#ness of night and to drive the !ild animals to their lairs and thieves and dacoits to their resorts, enables us to distinguish the various ob/ects of senses and ushers the advent of the glo!ing lamp of heaven. So does :amabhasa $the utterance of name avoiding the ten profanations% stop poverty from planting our pillo!s !ith thorns, destroy our !orldly han#erings and dispel the illusory gloom, so that !e may see the :ame face to face. 'hen the everburning lamp peeps out of the eastern hori>on, its ever"effulgent rays ma#e us see it face to face and feel its golden rays and enable us

to see all ob/ects bathing therein. The sun is seen and felt by us !ith its o!n rays and heat and not !ith the help of any other glo!ing ob/ect. The brightest candles of the universe put together can not ma#e the sun visible to us. 'hen our dreamy nights are at an end " !hen !e sha#e off the torpor, open our eyes, turn them to the east, !e see the :ame"sun !ith all his glory and beauty.