Author: Vishakha Dasi

Śrī Guru-Devatātmā

Vishakha Dasi

By Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Deva-Goswāmī Mahārāj.

In the descriptions of the path of pure devotional service in Srimad Bhagavatam, the phrases Guru-devatatma[1] and Gurv-atma-daivatah[2] have been used. In the explanations of the Acharyas of the bhakti scriptures, we find Gurur eva Devata Atma cha[3], that is, Sri Guru has been ascertained to be the worshippable object of our love. In the Vedas, unwavering bhakti yatha Deve tatha Gurau[4] [“As to the Lord, so to Guru”] has been mentioned. Acharyam Mam vijaniyat[5] [“Known Me to be the Acharya”]: this too is an instruction that has issued forth directly from the mouth of the Lord. Further, in the instructions of the Acharyas of the bhakti scriptures, statements can be seen, such as Mukunda-presthatve Guru-varam[6] and Kintu Prabhor yah priya eva[7], which have directed us in our vision of Sri Guru towards one who is dear to the Lord.

In vision full of unbridled faith (sraddha), variegated spiritual reality (chit-savisesa-tattva) shines brightly. When the aspect of Saktiman’s non-difference from the svarup-sakti is shown, then Sri Guru and the Lord are seen to be one. When, however, the state of eternal distinction between the recipient of service (sevya) and the servitor (sevaka) manifested by the svarup-sakti in the eternal Pastimes is seen, then Sri Guru reveals himself in the form of the greatest servitor. In the service within the four types of spiritual rasa, Sri Guru is recognised as the foremost shelter (asraya) of each respective rasa or the manifestation is seen of his descent into the distinct position of a servant of himself who is nondifferent from himself.

The Lord of His own accord distributes Himself through His sakti—this is indeed truthful and reasonable. Therefore, seeing otherwise gives latitude to mundane conceptions (martya-buddhi[5]). Furthermore, the Lord’s internal energy (antaranga-sakti) is also completely absorbed in Him: Mayi te tesu chapy Aham[8] [Krishna says, “As devotees are attached to Me, so I am attached to them.”]. If we lack vision of the distinction in the Lord between the recipient of service and the servitor, then we must be excluded from the eternal Pastimes. Up until the full purification (bhuta-suddhi) of the endeavouring soul (sadhaka jiva), the pertinence of vision of the Lord in Sri Guru is predominant. Then, in the realised plane, Sri Guru’s eternal manifestation as the highest servitor within the service of a particular rasa becomes established.

Sri Guru has eternal Pastimes. Sri Guru is not simply the liberator of the conditioned soul. Rather, Sri Guru’s primary and complete manifestation is in the realised plane in his Pastimes of giving inspiration for eternal service.

A guide-less and self-centred life is troublesome and unproductive. People given to fruitless speculation, being simply unable to understand the importance of Sri Guru, go on independently making a deceptive show of seeking the Lord. Only when they accept the real form of truth-seeking will the shelter of Sri Guru shine unmistakably as the proven origin of the gift of the highest auspiciousness.

At every level from the material universe up to Goloka and as the singular and complete giver of every rasa up to parakiya madhura-rasa[9], the ultimate manifestation of Sri Guru is Sri Krishna Chaitanyadev. Amidst the wealth of His heart in His Pastimes of magnanimity (audarya-lila), all manifestations of Sri Guru are existent. Therefore, if a soul receives even a trace of a semblance of the fortune of being sprinkled with a drop of His mercy, then they can be bathed in full with the hope of complete perfection. This pervades beyond all else and is fully endowed the highest of all excellences. May Sri Govinda Panchami [the appearance day of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur] and Sri Govinda Purnima [the appearance day of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu], the two greatest well-wishers of every soul, in their Pastimes of distributing Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, be pleased with us.

guru-rupa-harim gauram radha-ruchi-ruchavrtam
nityam naumi navadvipe nama-kirtana-nartanaih

[“I offer my obeisance to Gaura, the Supreme Lord in the form of Sri Guru, who is adorned with the heart and halo of Sri Radha and dances and chants His own Name eternally in Sri Nabadwip Dham.”]

References

1:

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.37)

“Forgetfulness (of the true self), misconception (of one’s identity—identification with the body and adoption of the mentality of being the rightful enjoyer of the fruits of one’s actions), and fear (suffering, samsara) created by immersion in duality (interest separate from that of the Lord and pride in the body) arise by the influence of the Lord’s illusion for those who are averse the Lord. Thus, the wise, those for whom Sri Guru is one’s worshippable Lord and dearest beloved, should serve the Lord with unalloyed devotion.” 

2:


tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare cha niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurvātma-daivataḥ
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais-tuṣyed ātmātmado hariḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.21–2)

“Therefore (because there is no lasting fulfilment in the material world), those who are in search of the highest good should surrender to a Guru who is adept in Sabda-brahma (revelations of the Divine, the scriptures) and Parabrahma (direct experience of the Divinity), and who is an abode of tranquility (unaffected by anger, greed, etc.). Those for whom Sri Guru is the dearest beloved and worshippable Lord should sincerely and submissively learn from him those practices of devotion whereby Sri Hari, He who gives Himself (to His devotee), is satisfied.” 

3: The phrase Sri Guru-devatatma, originating from Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.37, is explained by Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur in his Sarartha-darsini-tika as Gurur eva Devata Isvara atma presthas cha yasya tatha drstih sannity arthah: one has vision of Sri Guru as one’s worshippable Lord and dearmost beloved. 

4:

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
(Śvetāsvatara-upaniṣad: 6.23)

“The subjects we’ve discussed (all the teachings of the scriptures) are revealed to the great soul who has pure devotion to the Lord, and so also to Sri Guru.” 

5:

āchāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhichit
na martya-buddhyāsūyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.17.27)

[Lord Krishna to Uddhava:] “Know Me to be the Acharya. Never disrespect him, consider him a mortal, or be envious of him. He is the embodiment of all the gods.” 

6:

na dharmaṁ nādharmaṁ śruti-gaṇa-niruktaṁ kila kuru
vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa-prachura-paricharyām iha tanuḥ
śachī-sūnum-nandīśvara-pati-sutatve guru-varaṁ
mukunda-preṣṭhatve smara padam ajasram-nanu manaḥ
(Śrī Manaḥ–śikṣā: 2)

“O mind! Never engage in the dharma or adharma described in the Vedas. Rather, render full service to Radha and Krishna here in Vraja. Always remember the son of Sachi to be the son of Nanda and your beloved Gurudev to be Krishna’s dearmost.”  

7:

sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī-charaṇāravindam
(Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam: 7)

“I offer my obeisance unto the lotus feet of Sri Guru, who is said by all the scriptures and so also considered by the sadhus to be the Lord Himself and yet is the Lord’s dearmost.”  

8:

samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu chāpy aham 
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.29)

[Lord Krishna:] “I am equal towards all beings. I have no friend and no foe, but as those who serve Me with devotion are attached to Me, so too I am attached to them.” 

9: parakiya madhura-rasa: madhura-rasa, lit. ‘sweet taste’, is a relationship of conjugal love with the Lord. This most developed of all relationships with the Lord contains within it the qualities of all the other relationships. Madhura-rasa is of two types: (1) svakiya: lit. ‘one’s own’; serving the Lord as one’s husband, and (2) parakiya: lit. ‘another’s’; serving the Lord as one’s paramour. Parakiya madhura-rasa is found only in Sri Vrndavan Dham in relation to Sri Krishna and was given to the world in full as the highest possible spiritual attainment by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

Translator’s note: For ease of understanding, the terms ‘Sri Guru-tattva’ and ‘Sri Guru-pada-padma’, which are used synonymously and repeatedly throughout the Bengali text of this article, have been rendered simply as ‘Sri Guru’ throughout this English translation.

Translated from the original Bengali article published in Sri Gaudiya Darsan, Volume 5, Issue 8, on Thursday 11 March 1960 and in the Sri Vyasa Puja Offering edition of Sri Gaudiya Darsan published on 30 October 1983.

Originally published on premadharma.org

The Glories of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh

Vishakha Dasi

Prepared in honour of the 129th appearance day celebration of His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Deva-Goswāmī Mahārāj.

śrīmach-chaitanya-sārasvata-maṭha-vara udgīta-kīrtir jayaśrīṁ
bibhrat saṁbhāti gaṅgā-taṭa-nikaṭa-navadvīpa-kolādrirāje
yatra śrī-gaura-sārasvata-mata-niratā gaura-gāthā gṛṇanti
nityaṁ rūpānuga-śrī-kṛtamati-guru-gaurāṅga-rādhājitāśā

“Displaying the victory flag of its celebrated glory, the great Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh shines near the bank of the Ganges in Śrī Nabadwip Dhām within Śrī Koladwīp, Śrī Gupta Govardhan. There the followers of the conception coming from Śrī Gaurāṅga to Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur, who eternally aspire to serve Śrī Guru, Śrī Gaurāṅga, and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda in the line of Śrī Rūpa, chant Śrī Gaurāṅga’s glory.”

His Divine Grace Śrīla B.S. Govinda Mahārāj’s expanded Bengali translation:

“In Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām—the divine, wish-fulfilling abode nondifferent from Vṛndāvan—near the beautiful bank of Śrī Bhāgīrathī—Śrī Gaṅgā Devī, the Lord’s river who purifies the fallen—in Śrī Koladwīp, which nondifferent from Girirāj Govardhan, the best of great Maṭhs, the illustrious Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh, shines eternally, displaying the wealth of its glory and astonishing all moving and inert beings with the cooling, affectionate shade of the flying victory flag of its ever-increasing, celebrated renown. In this supremely beautiful divine ashram, the followers of the conception coming from Śrī Gaurāṅga to Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur—the surrendered devotees dedicated to serving Kṛṣṇa according to His desires—constantly glorify the Names and qualities of the supremely munificent origin of all Avatārs, Lord Śrī Śrī Gaurasundar, with hopeful hearts, eternally intent upon the loving service of Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā Govindasundar and Their associates under the supreme guidance of the storekeepers of the inexhaustible wealth of sweet, brilliant prema, Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunāth.”

The Dynamic Divinity

Vishakha Dasi
Mahaprabhu

Listen to original audio here

The process is always dynamic. Everything is dynamic in character, progressive. It is līlā and nava-navāyamān [ever-new]. The conception of the Infinite is not a stagnant one but a dynamic one. The infinite is dynamic. But to have such a conception of Infinite, of course, is very difficult.

The Infinite is infinite, not static but dynamic. He is līlāmaya. Līlā means nava-navāyamān, ever-new. This a characteristic of the Infinite, and we are to take direction from this. It is not, however, that the Infinite is in want and is dynamic to have fulfilment. It is not that. It is the nature of the Infinite to be dynamic. This is called līlā. The very nature of the Infinite’s existence within eternity is līlā. The Infinite is always satisfying Himself, and that movement is always a pleasing and moving thing. The pleasure, the ecstasy, itself is of moving character. This is līlā. In it, there is no want to be fulfilled.

kahibāra yogya naya tathāpi bāule kaya
kahile vā kebā pātiyāya
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 2.49)

“This should not be discussed. Still, one cannot but talk about it like a madman. But if one goes on talking and talking in this way, who will believe what is said? No one will waste their time listening to this madman’s delusion.”

āmi—eka bātula, tumi—dvitīya bātula
ataeva tomāya āmāya ha-i sama-tula
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 8.290)

“I am a madman, and you are also a madman of the same type. So, you have come to listen to these delirious statements. We are of the same section. I am mad, and you are also mad. So, we feel enjoyment in such mad talk.”

This is Rāmānanda Rāy and Mahāprabhu.

yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 2.69)

[“Those who have full self-control are awake in that which is night for all beings, and all beings are awake in that which is night for the sages who see.”]

gaura-nāgaro-varo nṛtyan nijair nāmabhiḥ
(Śrī Chaitanya-chandrāmṛta: 132)

Mahāprabhu Gaurāṅgasundar is dancing, taking His own Name and dancing. He utters different sounds, receives some impressions from them, and dances. Getting impressions from the sound of His own Name, He dances. The cause is the effect. In logic perhaps, I have heard the term petitio principii. The movement is circular, like the Napoleonic chair.

Nṛtyan nijair Nāmabhiḥ: His own Name is the cause of His dancing. The suggestions from different Names are coming to Him, those impressions are creating some energy, and that energy is making Him dance. He is a dynamo creating ecstatic energy, and that is the cause of His dancing. Taking His own Name, He is dancing. This is His līlā. Such is Gaurāṅga and His moving ecstasy.

In my Prema-dhāma-stotram, I wrote that He is the ultimate reality, the Absolute. Why? Two things are represented in Him. One, He dances in ecstatic joy as a result of a feeling within, and two, by chanting, He distributes that to others. He finds Himself in ecstasy and distributes that to others. This is Gaura, and the highest principle of ecstatic energy is such. It cannot but be such. He is of a dancing mood; He is fulfilled in Himself. His dancing explains that His inner propensity is that of ecstatic joy, and kīrtan means distribution of that to the public, to the environment. It is assertive. The ecstatic joy is assertive, self-assertive and self-distributed. This we find only in Gaurāṅga. So, Gaurāṅga is the highest entity. In that way, I have dealt with it there. In ecstatic joy, He is dancing, and through kīrtan, He is distributing Himself to others (ātma-vaṇṭanam). He is offering, distributing, Himself to the environment. This is His līlā.

ānanda-līlāmaya-vigrahāya
hemābha-divya-chchhavi-sundarāya
tasmai mahāprema-rasa-pradāya
chaitanyachandrāya namo namaste
(Śrī Chaitanya-chandrāmṛta: 11)

This dhyān [meditation] is from Śrī Prabodhānanda Saraswatī, the Guru of Gopāl Bhaṭṭa Goswāmī. It is a beautiful stanza coming in praise of Śrī Chaitanyadev.

Ānanda-līlā-rasa-vigrahāya: immersed in ecstatic Pastimes, He is rasa personified. Hemābha-divya-chchhavi-sundarāya: He is golden beauty, ecstatic beauty, emitting golden lustre, a most beautiful, divine figure. Mahāprema-rasa-pradāya: He distributes the highest divine love with His movements, His words, and His every gesture and posture. Chaitanyachandrāya namo namaste: I bow my head down to this Śrī Chaitanyadev.

In Archana-kaṇa, this has been taken up for our dhyān. When we meditate on Mahāprabhu, we should do so in this way.

Source

Spoken 21 February 1982

References

ko ’yaṁ paṭṭa-dhaṭī-virājita-kaṭī-deśaḥ kare kaṅkaṇaṁ
hāraṁ vakṣasi kuṇḍalaṁ śravaṇayor bibhrat pade nūpurau
ūrdhvīkṛtya nibaddha-kuntala-bhara-protphulla-mallī-sragā–
pīḍaḥ krīḍati gaura-nāgara-varo nṛtyan nijair nāmabhiḥ
(Śrī Chaitanya-chandrāmṛta: 132)

“Wearing a silk sash around His waist, bracelets on His wrists, a necklace across His chest, earrings on His ears, bells on His ankles, and a garland-crown of blooming jasmine flowers atop His top-not of wavy hair—who is that golden king of revellers who frolics, dancing to the chanting of His own Names?”

ātma-siddha-sāvalīla-pūrṇa-saukhya-lakṣaṇaṁ
svānubhāva-matta-nṛtya-kīrttanātma-vaṇṭanam
advayaika-lakṣya-pūrṇa-tattva-tat-parātparaṁ
prema-dhāma-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram
(Śrī Śrī Prema-dhāma-deva-stotram: 66)

“I offer my obeisance to the abode of divine love, Śrī Gaurasundar, the embodiment of complete, self-manifest, dynamic ecstasy. Maddened by experience of Himself, He dances, chants, and distributes Himself. Replete with this unparalleled characteristic, He is the Supreme Absolute Truth.”

ānanda-līlāmaya-vigrahāya
hemābha-divya-chchhavi-sundarāya
tasmai mahāprema-rasa-pradāya
chaitanyachandrāya namo namaste
(Śrī Chaitanya-chandrāmṛta: 11)

“To the embodiment of ecstatic Pastimes, to the divine, splendorous golden personification of beauty, to the giver of the nectar of the highest divine love, to the moon Śrī Chaitanya, I bow again and again.”

Originally published on premadharma.org as ‘The Highest Entity‘