Category: Articles

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 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‘

In The Midst Of World Events

vishakhadasi1081 Comment

These dark things are always around us in many forms which we can see to varying degrees every day, and I’ve directly experienced this in a more extreme way in my past; but I feel that by trying to connect to the loving center together, we can purify ourselves and help purify those around us in our short lives.

This is a letter written recently by Varun, a sincere newcomer to Krishna consciousness, in response to a message from someone expressing deep frustration over current world events. Continue reading “In The Midst Of World Events” →

Avoiding Envy

0jayasri01 Comment

by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Deva-Goswami Maharaj. Speaking on 16 January 2006 from Sri Nabadwip Dham.

“For two or three days I have been thinking of how I can say this to the devotees: I am trying as possible, and they must also try as possible; but the cheṣṭā, the trying attitude, must be perfect, otherwise we will cheat our own selves.”

We cannot say that we are always expert and firm in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but we are trying. That is the nature of the Vaiṣṇava. The Vaiṣṇava is always saying, “I want to be a servant of the servant of the servant.” It is necessary to be more and more conscious about this matter. For two or three days I have been thinking of how I can say this to the devotees: I am trying as possible, and they must also try as possible; but the cheṣṭā, the trying attitude, must be perfect, otherwise we will cheat our own selves. This is very exclusive, but important for everyone.

What is religion? This is the first thing. Religion has so many forms, because people have so many natures. Not only humans, but dogs, cows, elephants, lions, tigers, jackals—everyone has some nature, and the jīva-soul is living everywhere. But religion is one for everyone. That is very important to consider.

We cannot get the human body easily.

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 7.19)

Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: so many births have passed before, and then by sukṛti, by good fortune, by the mercy of the servitors of the Lord, the Vaiṣṇavas, by the mercy of Guru—through so many channels the merciful rain has come to us, and we have got this human body.

There are 400,000 species of humans; but Mahāprabhu said,

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Ādi-līlā, 9.41)

[“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

Everywhere in this world there are many species of humans, but that is not sufficient: who has taken birth in Bhārat [India], where the earth is fertile for religion, where the Veda, Vedānta, and Upaniṣads appeared, where āmnāya—the knowledge that descends from the transcendental world through some particular qualified soul—appears, and where God, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, appeared in different incarnations; who receives the manuṣya-janma, the human body, here, has more fortune. Mahāprabhu clearly told this to us.

We see that in India there are so many religious ideals: māyāvad, viśiṣṭādvaitavād, Vaiṣṇavism, Madhvāchārya, and so on—so many. Jungle religion, village religion, and city religion take different forms in India, but the pure religious ideal is given in the Vedas, Vedānta, and Upaniṣads, and in a historical form in the Mahābhārata. There is an expression: yā nei Mahābhārate tā nei Bhārate, yata āchhe Mahābhārate sakala-i āchhe Bhārate. “What is not in Mahābhārata, that is not in India, and what is in Mahābhārata, that is all in India.” Then, we can believe that religion is full-fledged in Mahābhārata.

Who has given that to us? We have got some consciousness about different ideals of dharma, religion, but the giver is Vedavyās. Through Vedavyās we have got the knowledge of the Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣad, and so on. Finally, however, Vedavyās was not happy, because Vedavyās knew, “What I am giving is not palatable for everyone; it is the medicine for sick men, medicine for poor persons, but not medicine for healthy persons.” He did not know how to give this, and for that reason he was very unhappy. “I have given everything. I have given Mahābhārata: inside of that is Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, and we can say that the gist of Mahābhārata and the gist of knowledge is within Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. That has also been given.” But it was not given in a full-fledged way. In the battlefield you cannot say how the gopīs played with Kṛṣṇa! He indicated that as it was possible, but he knew it was not sufficient. He was thinking about this and then through telepathy his Gurudev Nārad Goswāmī came in front of him and asked,

“How are you?”

Vedavyās said, “Well, Prabhu, I am just thinking about your lotus feet, because I am not happy. I am not well. Physically I have no disease, but mentally I am unsatisfied.”

And Nārad Goswāmī said, “I understand that. For that reason I have come to see you, to give some nourishment to you.”

“What, Prabhu, you know my situation?”

“Yes, I know!”

jugupsitaṁ dharma-kṛte ’nuśāsataḥ
svabhāva-raktasya mahān vyatikramaḥ
yad-vākyato dharma itītaraḥ sthito
na manyate tasya nivāraṇaṁ janaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.15)

[The people in general are naturally inclined to enjoy, and you have encouraged them in that way in the name of religion. This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions.]

“What can I say to you? You have given everything, but it has not properly manifested, and it will not enter into the heart of everyone, because they do not even know where they are living! You need to settle them; they need to stand in their own land, and then you can give them everything else. They have no land, they are refugees here; you have given them some food, some dress, etc. but they have not got proper accommodation.

You have given,

naiṣkarmyam apy achyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na chārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.12)

[Knowledge of self-realisation, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilised for the devotional service of the Lord?]

When he received these special teachings from Nārada Goswāmī, Vyāsadev meditated; Nārada had also told him, “I am giving this mantram, this knowledge to you, and if you meditate on it, it will reveal itself to you.” Then Vyāsadev meditated and he saw,

bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite ’male
apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ cha tad-apāśrayām
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.4)

[Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service [bhakti-yoga] without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under full control.]

Vyāsadev saw the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His paraphernalia, His devotees, His chit-śakti, His jīva-śakti, His māyā-śakti—everything. Then by the grace of his Gurudev Nārada Goswāmī, he composed the Śrīmad Bhāgavat. ‘Composed’ means that he explained what knowledge he received from Nārada Goswāmī. Then he wanted to distribute that knowledge to others, but he considered: previously he gave so much knowledge to everyone, and now he wanted to give something new, some correction, so who, better than him, could present this knowledge? Then he remembered Śukadev. Only that boy, strī-pum-bhidā na tu sutasya vivikta-dṛṣṭeḥ [“who is so pure that he does not distinguish between male and female bodies” SB: 1.4.5], only that boy can give it. Then he searched for his own boy, Śukadev.

Śukadev had forgotten everything. Pariniṣṭhito ‘pi nairguṇye: he was always existing on the platform of transcendental knowledge. But Vedavyās searched for him and gave him that knowledge, and Śukadev Goswāmī distributed that knowledge in Parīkṣit Mahārāj’s assembly; then Sūta Goswāmī spoke that at the meeting of 60,000 ṛṣis. Vedavyās then composed the full history of Kṛṣṇa-līlā, of that divine abode, and so many beautiful things. Vyāsadev collected everything and gave it to Śukadev; Śukadev gave everything; and then Vyāsadev composed everything and gave it to us, in the divine form of Śrīmad Bhāgavat.

Vyāsadev mentioned that Śrīmad Bhāgavat is the divine form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: padau yadiyau prathama dvitīyau (“The first and second cantos are His two feet.” —Padma-purāṇa), and so on.

kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha
kalau naṣṭa dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko ’dhunoditaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.3.43)

[“After Lord Kṛṣṇa departed for His abode along with religious principles and transcendental knowledge, this Purāṇa, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has arisen like the sun in this Age of Kali to enlighten those who have no spiritual vision.”]

These are all historical matters, which you know already. What I want to say, what I have been thinking about how to present to you all for two or three days—and it is necessary to follow what I shall say now, that will be so important and so good for my friends—that is, dharma, what I started with: what kind of dharma are we practising?

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
(SB: 1.1.2)

[Here, the highest dharma, in which cheating is utterly rejected, is given for the sadhus who are free from envy.] 

That religion: we are the practitioners of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that divine form of religion. That is dharma. Projjhita-kaitavo: we have been given so many explanations from our preceptors, but the main thing we must avoid is kaitava, cheating. And, paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ: we must not be envious. This is the vital point. Paramo nirmatsar: be that kind of sādhu, that kind of practitioner. Envy is very bad.

We are searching for our spiritual life, which is clean from jñāna-karmādy anāvṛtam [the coverings of jñāna and karma]. Ānukūlyena Kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā [“The highest type of devotion is cultivated according to Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction.” Brs: 1.1.11]. We want to worship our Lord with love and affection. With love and affection: this is the very vital point, because otherwise we cannot be engaged fully, and that is necessary. This is the first thing. And the second thing is: do not be envious. It is harmful for our spiritual movement, our spiritual life. It is very harmful and you must avoid that.

You are all very qualified and very clean-hearted personalities, born in the Western world, because you do not know what is what but you have joined by your sukṛti. Your good fortune is behind you, pushing you, and you have joined in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness can reveal everywhere and you have all had this opportunity. But the obstacle is envy, so do not be envious of others, and always be affectionate and loving. Have a ‘loveful’ heart. Mahāprabhu said everyone should be merciful. Jīve doyā, Nāme ruchi, Vaiṣṇava-seva: serve the Vaiṣṇavas, chant the Holy Name of Lord Kṛṣṇa with love and affection, and be merciful to everyone. In this way proceed in the line of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the real religion of the jīva-soul.

Vedavyās said it! Projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇām. This gives us the opportunity to receive more and more promotion from this environment. We can very easily cross the specific gravity of the illusory environment. Everywhere there is some specific gravity and we can avoid that specific gravity and that illusion.

Dhṛ dhātu man dharma: dharma can hold us and give us firmness. Holding is necessary for any substance. Our position must be substantial, and that will develop if we can practise Kṛṣṇa consciousness with love and affection. Submission is the first condition and that is the launching pad from where we will throw ourselves. That launching pad must be substantial.

‘śraddhā’-śabde — viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya
(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 22.62)

[Sraddha means confident, firm faith that all activity is fulfilled through devotion to Krishna.]

This is necessary.

When I hear that other institutions are getting some joy in the line of preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I feel a joyful heart, and through that I think I have got some more nourishment from this world. Otherwise how is it possible that our Mission is spreading around this world, especially to some of the atheistic countries, like Russia, like Hungary, like China, like Poland?

My days are passing and I see and feel that I will leave very soon. All my friends and family and the devotees of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj are proceeding, but I want them to be very serious about their practising life. Within this religion that they have taken, Mahāprabhu’s three directives are living and they must follow these. There is no other way!

tṛṇād api su-nīchena taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

[“The Lord’s Name is to be always chanted by one who is more humble than a blade of grass, tolerant like a tree, free from desire for respect, and who offers respect to others.”]

Hari-kīrtan is most essential. It is not necessary for us to capture a Ganges full of scriptures in our brain. At present Mahāprabhu has given us Hari-nām.

nāmaikaṁ yasya vāchi smaraṇa-patha-gataṁ śrotra-mūlaṁ gataṁ vā
śuddhaṁ vāśuddha-varṇaṁ vyavahita-rahitaṁ tārayaty eva satyam
(Padma-purāṇa)

 [If a devotee once utters the Holy Name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that Holy Name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, or properly joined or vibrated in separate parts.]

If we proceed with offence then the result will not come quickly, but if we will proceed in our line without offence we will get the result very quickly. Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu said this. Then we will try as much as possible.

Our religion is Bhāgavat-dharma, Vaiṣṇava-dharma, jaiva-dharma. That is our religion. There are eighty-four hundred thousand species in this world; we are one of those species and we have received a super-chance, because we have the lotus feet of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the nondifferent form of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. At least we heard the name of Śrī Chaitanyadev!

We have this opportunity, and you are present here in Nabadwīp Dhām, so you must try to observe the mood of devotion of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, His teachings, His divine mission, and activity.

Mahāprabhu said,

pṛthivīte āchhe yata nagarādi-grāma
sarvatra prachāra haibe mora nāma
(Śrī Chaitanya-bhāgavat: 4.126)

[“My name will be spread in every town and village in the world.”]

Now that is happening: everywhere, in every country, people are chanting and dancing. When I see the list of our ashrams worldwide I am surprised. You are all so fortunate and great, because Kṛṣṇa Himself has entered into your heart, and He will not leave you. You also cannot leave Him, whatever situation will come in your life. But you must be merciful to everyone and continue your spiritual life.

Yes, "Every wave is favourable"—with properly adjusted vision.

vishakhadasi1081 Comment

I received this question in response to an article of Srila Gurudev’s posted awhile ago:

In regards to your recent post of Srila Gurudeva’s beautiful words of encouragement. Please could you explain to me this: here he says:

“Whatever is considered good and whatever is considered bad in this mundane world—everything is bad here. Maybe that is affection, or maybe that is enviousness. Maybe that is apparently good or bad, but everything is bad.”

Then, my question is: in other places we are hearing, that ‘Everything is good’ and that ‘every wave is favorable’… how shall we explain or harmonize these two?

I thought I would post my response here for the clarification of any others who may have had the same question:

In response to the points that you brought up:

Here Srila Gurudev is referring to everything coming from the wave of the material energy—not how we will perceive and respond to it.

Srila Gurudev quotes this famous verse of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (3.4.176),

‘dvaite’ bhadrābhadra-jñāna, saba — ‘manodharma’
‘ei bhāla, ei manda’, — ei saba ‘bhrama’

“In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying ‘This is good’ and ‘This is bad’ is all a mistake.”

And similarly in Srimad Bhagavad-gita it is repeatedly pointed out that everything pertaining to the material energy should be seen with equal vision because it is all standing on a false platform; it is all within the plane of mundane duality:

sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
(2.38)

“Considering pleasure and pain, gain and loss, and victory and defeat to be one and the same—fight. No sin will be incurred by you.”

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni chaiva śvapāke cha paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
(5.18)

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater.”

From a devotional perspective, everything coming from the material wave, whatever the material energy has to offer to us, whether superficially good or bad (wealth, poverty, beauty, ugliness, fame, obscurity, etc) is of temporary value and will ultimately take us away from Krishna so it should all be seen as unfavourable.

Everything coming from the spiritual wave, on the other hand, is positive and to be embraced, because however it may manifest, whether apparently favourable or unfavourable, it is coming from the plane of truth and can thus adjust us to Reality the Beautiful.

As Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur sings in Atma-nivedana,

tomāra sevāya, duḥkha haya yata,
seo ta’ parama sukha
sevā-sukha-duḥkha, parama sampada,
nāśaye avidyā-duḥkha

“All the distress I encounter in Your service is also my greatest happiness. Both the distress and the happiness that come from engagement in Your service are my greatest fortune; they both destroy the distress of ignorance.”

As we’ve heard from Srila Sridhar Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur in his final days was fond of the expression “Religion is proper adjustment.” So, yes, “every wave is favourable”—with properly adjusted vision. It is all about in what interest what we see and experience is being considered. For example, say you receive a million dollar job offer from a big corporation. You could make a lot of money, but in order to do so you would have to give up all association, service, preaching, etc. Therefore through the lens of spiritual vision you may reject the proposal as being unfavourable to your devotional life. Or on a more base level, say somebody offers you a hamburger, or drugs, etc. A relative or an old friend who loves us dearly may want to sit and discuss many topics with us which are no longer of any interest to us. On a more subtle level, in our day-to-day service life we have to constantly discriminate and make decisions as to what is favourable and unfavourable.

Pratikulya vivarjanah, “Rejection of the unfavourable” is actually one of the six limbs of surrender so it is quite a crucial part of our devotional life. This whole process however is not contradictory to the concept that “every wave is favourable”. Srila Sridhar Maharaj defines progress as “elimination and new acceptance”. Through the devotional lens, in the interest of a higher truth, to reject something which otherwise may be considered favourable, actually clarifies and strengthens our own faith and conception. To assert, “No, I reject this as unfavourable to my spiritual life” is actually a supremely positive moment because it is an embrace of higher truth, it is an embrace of Guru and Gauranga and all they are trying to give us.

This idea that “every wave is favourable” is not something to be applied in a passive way. This is a dangerous way in which this concept can be applied. It is not that everything should be accepted at face value in a passive way. Rather everything must be seen in terms of the higher interest and at times in order to assert the higher interest we may need to resist the mayic flow. Perceiving the environment in terms of the higher interest may entail a fight at times. Someone is coming to attack or insult Guru and Vaishnava and I will sit passively because “every wave is favourable”? That response brings us to the Brahman conception. No, I must assert myself in their interest and protect them. I will see this as a service opportunity and in that way “every wave is favourable.”

So the tricky part is knowing when to respond to situations in a passive or active way. And there’s no ‘one size fits all’ here, we will have to consider on a case by case basis, also factoring in individual capacity and responsibility.

I hope this is somewhat helpful. I’m also reminded of this short article I wrote a couple years ago, which is somewhat related.

Humbly,

—Vishakha dasi.

Systematic approach

0jayasri01 Comment

Srila B.R. Sridhar Deva-Goswami Maharaj discusses the importance of developing a clear and systematic understanding of the nature of reality and the path chalked out by our Gurus.

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In a scrutinising way we are to find the differences between the layers of knowledge. They are, Bhū, Bhuvah, Maha, Jana, Tapa, Satya, Virajā, Brahmaloka, Vaikuṇṭha, Goloka. These are the layers of different position and different planes of charm. Ultimately we are charmed by something and become a slave to that. Everything has got its own specific charm, and we are to compare and to dismiss and accept, eliminate and accept. We are to understand what is the peculiarity of Bhūloka, and then what is Bhuvaloka, Mahaloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka, and Satyaloka within the jurisdiction of exploitation. Gradually exploitation is being lessened, decreased. In Satyaloka there is a slight attraction for pleasure, for exploitation. There is the least exploitation in Satyaloka. There is more concern for the eternal position of the soul, independent of material acquisition and enjoyment. They do not like the enjoyment of these material things; they are more self-sufficient. They are ātmārāma: they find more pleasure in the perception of their own self. Ramanti means the fixed pleasure, and where? In their own soul. More or less they can find the nature of their own soul, and they are satisfied with that. They are ātmārāma, self-satisfied. That is found in Satyaloka mostly. They can realise the position of their own soul, so they have no material body. No exploitation is necessary to preserve this material body, and they are charmed by the beauty of their own soul and more or less engaged there. Ātmārāma: who is finding pleasure in their own self, their eternal self. Then:

ātmārāmāś cha munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta guṇo hariḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.7.10)

[“Those who are self-satisfied and unattracted by external material desires are also attracted to the loving service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose qualities are transcendental and whose activities are wonderful. Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is called Kṛṣṇa because He has such transcendentally attractive features.”]

Those that are self-satisfied, that are found in the last extremity of this exploiting world, who are not dependent on the exploitation of this material world, they have got some charm over their plane, and they find Hari there. Hari is such that can attract the attention of those that are self-satisfied. Ātmārāma is a conception of liberation, liberation from the exploiting tendency of the environment. If they feel attraction for some other thing, then that thing must be superior to the human self; otherwise how is it that the attention of those that are self-content can be drawn to something else? That must be finer. So it is a proof that Hari is not this side of the world, but on the higher side. They feel causeless attraction for Hari. Then the ecstasy which we can get in association with Hari must be of a higher degree than what we find in our own self.

prāyeṇa munayo rājan nivṛttā vidhi-ṣedhataḥ
nairguṇya-sthā ramante sma guṇānukathane hareḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.7)

[“O King Parīkṣit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.”]

These are the proofs that Hari is not this side, within the natural production, as the Śaṅkarites, māyāvādīs say. It is nirguṇa, it is beyond this world. They do not care for satya, raja, tama [the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance]. They are posing as such, and still they find satisfaction in the discourse about Hari. So Hari must be on the higher side.

tasyāravinda-nayanasya padāravinda–
kiñjalka-miśra-tulasī-makaranda-vāyuḥ
antar-gataḥ sva-vivareṇa chakāra teṣāṁ
saṅkṣobham akṣara-juṣām api chitta-tanvoḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.15.43)

The scent of the tulasī which has contact with the holy feet of Nārāyaṇ disturbed these peoples who are ātmārāma, the chatuḥsan [four kumāras], who are self-sufficient, self-satisfied. Their attention is attracted by the sweet scent of the tulasī which has got contact with the holy feet of Nārāyaṇ. That snatched away their attention, so that must have some superior position. In this way it is proved within reason that Vaikunṭḥa is over Brahma, and not this side  of Brahma, as the Śaṅkarites, māyāvādīs, argue.

Śukadev also says:

pariniṣṭhito ’pi nairguṇya uttama-śloka-līlayā
gṛhīta-chetā rājarṣe ākhyānaṁ yad adhītavān
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.1.9)

“Oh Mahārāj Parīkṣit, you all know that I am well established in nirguṇ Brahma. My position has proved that I am beyond the charm of this mundane world. Cent per cent I have no charm for any material temptation, and still I have some special charm to hear about the līlā of Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvan. My attention was forcibly snatched towards that, so that must be on the other side, on the higher side of this world. That is not among the pleasing attractions of this mundane world. This is the sweetness, the elegance, of that Kṛṣṇa-līlā: it is aprākṛta [appearing humanlike, yet divine], it is adhokṣaja, transcendental. This is the proof: that those that have got no charm, the least charm for this mundane pleasure, are reverentially attracted towards those similar things that are very high on the other side of the Brahma, Parabrahma world, and not this mundane world.

Hallucination is dangerous: it may draw our attention to any side and every side. These are the sound calculations towards the transcendental līlā of Kṛṣṇa and we must strictly stick to this sort of judiciousness and judgement. Otherwise we may be misled, misguided. Who is Christ, who is Mohammad, who is Śaṅkara, who is Rāmānuja, and who is Chaitanya? What is their position and what are their subtle differences? We are to measure by these standards of subtle knowledge.

With great scrupulousness and discrimination we are to follow and examine all these specialties of these different layers or planes of existence. Otherwise, puzzled and perplexed, we shall accept anything and everything  in the name of anything and everything, We must make a strong, systematic, study, and the differences between the different layers of thought must be very accurately understood, improved, and followed. Otherwise we are in danger. At any moment anyone may say, “Oh I have finished all these things, it is all nothing! What Charvak says, that is well and good.” This reaction may come.

Generally, we must try to understand the nature of three planes: the plane of exploitation, the plane of renunciation, and the plane of dedication. Then we are to calculate. If you understand the proper evaluation of these planes in general, then in fine points you can also try to calculate how much renunciation, how much exploitation, how much dedication is mixed with it, and then make an evaluation. We must be well versed in the intrinsic knowledge of these three planes first, and then understand the gradation, and how the development is possible, in a mathematical way. Then we cannot be removed from our present fixed position. Otherwise, if we are uncertain, anyone may try to convince us and we will fall prey to their whimsical representation. No stability: today I am a Chaitanyite, the other day I am a Śaṅkarite, the other day I am a Buddhist, another day a Muslim, and another day I am an atheist.

Unity in diversity

0jayasri01 Comment

Śrīla B.S. Govinda Mahārāj speaks on the need for harmonious dealings between different groups and missions within Krishna consciousness.

Śrīla Jājāvar Mahārāj and Śrīla Guru Mahārāj had completely separate moods, but in one way they are the same. That is that both are practising Kṛṣṇa consciousness, both are good devotees of Kṛṣṇa, and both are very sincere. I am seeing this from the middle point, not as Guru Mahārāj’s disciple. As a disciple of Guru Mahārāj, I must see my Guru as supreme, but I am not telling this in that way. This is through realisation. Sometimes both would fight heavily—I do not want to tell about that type of fighting—but that reaction did not come to me, and this is what I want to establish in my friends’ heart.

Śrīla Guru Maharaj would debate with his godbrothers in a very high way. He would debate with Swami Maharaj in Kolkata, on some days up to two o’clock. And in Nabadwip, Jājāvar Mahārāj would come for discussion with Guru Mahārāj and stay for one month or two months in Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh, only for discussion in the matter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Guru Mahārāj is an ocean of transcendental knowledge and Guru Mahārāj’s godbrothers knew that if they came to Guru Mahārāj, they would be satisfied. Until they reached satisfaction, they would debate with Guru Mahārāj, and heavily debate. The effect of that could come to us in a negative way, but it did not; that effect always came to us in a positive way. It is the mercy of Jājāvar Mahārāj and the mercy of Guru Mahārāj. You see my application of their names: first I gave the name of Jājāvar Mahārāj, and then I gave the name of Guru Mahārāj. Do you understand? This is the proper application.

Why has this mood come to us? It has come to us by the mercy of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. I am always giving my obeisance to Jājāvar Mahārāj, and always giving my obeisance to Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. They are showing different moods, but from those different moods, we are not getting any negative feeling. How shall I give this mood to my friends and brothers? I am always thinking about that. This is the only thing that can save us. Otherwise nothing can save us. I heard many things from Jājāvar Mahārāj, and I heard many things from Guru Mahārāj also. When they would debate they were fighting, but we did not lose our śraddhā, our faith, to Guru and Vaiṣṇava. We did not think that Jājāvar Mahārāj is bad and Guru Mahārāj is good. We would never think that, although they would take completely different lines. Sometimes one would take what could be considered a nastik, atheistic, line, and another would take a theistic line.

The godbrothers of Guru Mahārāj were all great paṇḍits and highly qualified, and they all came often to see Guru Mahārāj. We can name that Vaikhānas Mahārāj: he was a great paṇḍit and highly qualified. When they came, they would debate with Guru Mahārāj, and questions and answers were always going on, sometimes for the whole day. They would eat, rest, and then again go to Guru Mahārāj for questions and answers. Their discussion would go on in a challenging way, not an asking way: they wanted to know from Guru Maharaj. Some of them were senior to Guru Maharaj, but they would ask Guru Mahārāj. They needed some conclusion of the fact. They would debate scriptural matters and many things with Guru Mahārāj. But I did not lose faith with them: I have full regard for Goswāmī Mahārāj, full regard for Mādhav Mahārāj, and full regard for Vaikhānas Mahārāj. There were many qualified Mahārājs there, and they all looked at me as their boy. They were not thinking, “He is a disciple of Śrīdhar Mahārāj, he is a disciple of another.” When they came, they also brought some disciples with them. Somebody brought two disciples, somebody brought four disciples; but we did not feel at that time that, “I am one group, he is another group.” When Jājāvar Mahārāj’s disciples came we behaved with each other like twin brothers. We had very nice feelings between us. When any godbrother died, Guru Mahārāj was crying, and not only outwardly crying, but heavily crying. He would become sick. Guru Mahārāj had that type of affection for his godbrothers. When we heard that Jājāvar Maharaj’s disciple Bhaṭṭa Kṛṣṇa died, Goswāmī Mahārāj’s disciple died, and the disciples of other Mahārājs, then we would also cry for them.

Why can we not establish this type of relationship now? I do not understand. Actually, I know where there is a gap, but I cannot fill up that gap. I am trying to fill that gap. I went to the West, and I told this conception in another way. This morning someone said that I did not come with party feelings; I came to the West to establish our Gurus’ conception, and that is the supreme conception. I did not come for taking sides. I am not a campaign-man, and we have that feeling from our birth.

When I joined, the next day Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī came to see Guru Mahārāj, and Guru Mahārāj asked Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī, “See this boy. This boy told this, this, this, this, this, and you know about that. You examine this boy.” What good feelings! Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī examined me in many ways in song. At that time I had told that I know Vaiṣṇava songs, and Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī knew many songs, more than Guru Mahārāj.

He examined me in many ways, and he told, “Yes Mahārāj, he knows something.” They were happily talking.

When Guru Mahārāj heavily told something to Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī Mahārāj I was very sad, and I gave objection to Guru Mahārāj: “Why did you tell this?” I had a very close relationship with Guru Mahārāj and I could say anything to Guru Mahārāj. That was our relationship. I asked, “Why did you tell this to Bābājī Mahārāj? He is always helpful for our Mission, always affectionate with you, is keeping high regard in his heart for you, but you behaved like an ordinary man, and it is giving me pain.”

That was when Guru Mahārāj sent him out from the Maṭh; and Guru Mahārāj’s answer was very high thinking. Guru Mahārāj said, “I cannot make offence to my Guru. Prabhupād Sāraswatī Ṭhākur did not want that any of his disciples will go to hear sahajiyā kīrtan, and he is going to do that. He may be my best friend, but not more than Prabhupād.” This was Guru Mahārāj’s answer. “Prabhupād Saraswatī Ṭhākur did not like it, and he is my best friend. Why is he doing it? I told him many times, but he is not listening. Then, it is very difficult, very difficult to tell him, but I must tell, otherwise I will make offence to my Guru.” Guru Mahārāj was also crying, his heart was crying, but he could not ignore his Guru. We have got that type of feeling for Vaiṣṇavas, for Gurus, for godbrothers.

I received a letter this morning from a disciple of Śrīla Swāmī Mahārāj, and he stated many times in the letter, “Your Guru Mahārāj and my Guru Mahārāj, your Guru Mahārāj and my Guru Mahārāj, your Guru Mahārāj and my Guru Mahārāj”. We are not habituated with this conception, and we are not speaking in that way. This is making differentiation, “Your Guru Mahārāj and my Guru Mahārāj.” This is not a good conception, but they are habituated with that conception, and that is the difficulty. It is necessary to remove this conception. We are all in one family. That conception should come first.

My father, my uncle, my grandfather, my uncle’s son, and my nephew—we are all in one family. Why will we quarrel? This is the first thing. The second thing is that if anybody is going a different way, we will try to keep them in our sampradāya with a harmonising mood. That will be good for our society. We are very few in this world: there are three hundred crores of people [one crore is ten million], but how many are we in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Very few. There is no percentage, maybe zero point zero, zero, five (0.005%),  and if we quarrel, then how can we try to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Some persons took initiation from me in Guadalajara, and the Iskcon guru came immediately and talked with me and was happy with me. He said to me, “Mahārāj, those persons took initiation from you, but they are serving in our Iskcon Mandir. Now they are your disciples. Then what is your desire? They will serve Iskcon or not?” He directly asked me.

And I told him, “Why will they not serve Iskcon?  I cannot understand. They are doing service in Iskcon and I think it is very good. They can serve. But you also must be sober with them, and don’t abuse Guru–Vaiṣṇava in any way to them, and they will happily serve you.” This is the real conception.

Many of the sannyāsīs came to see Guru Mahārāj, and with those sannyāsīs many of the devotees also came, but we never abused their gurus and we never thought that they were outside of our society. We are thinking we are in one family: he is my uncle’s son, he is my brother, he is my cousin. Our friends are going in this mood, and sometimes the disciples of other Mahārājs are coming to our Maṭh to see me. Parvat Mahārāj, Goswāmī Mahārāj, Mādhav Mahārāj, Jājāvar Mahārāj: their disciples are coming to see me sometimes, and if you see our mood, you will be surprised. You cannot understand that he is not a disciple of Guru Mahārāj, and that I am not a disciple of his Guru. Our relationship is going in this way, and with this feeling, we are happy with our family.

I am always thinking, thinking, thinking of this, and every day this is my headache. Many letters come from the West, and all the letters are not very sweet. Some letters are a little bitter, some letters are a little sour. Many things are in those letters. The man who wrote this morning was inspired when I went to America. He was alone. Now he wants to come in our society and see my preaching mood. But his mood is always, “My Guru, your Guru, my Guru, your Guru.” It is first necessary to remove this. Guru is one. Our feelings will come that way and it is not necessary to take the name of his Guru, and it is not necessary to take the name of my Guru. We are all brothers.

The ‘Sonhood of Godhead’ is living in the middle. That is Mahāprabhu’s conception, the ‘Sonhood of Godhead’.  ‘Sonhood’ means that he has a father and a mother; he has uncles, sisters, nephews; he has friends, he has servants; he has many things. He is living in the centre and the family is around. That is the Sonhood of Godhead, and we are the servants of the servants of Godhead. That is Kṛṣṇa, Nanda-gopa-kumārāya: He is the son of Nanda Mahārāj, and we are worshipping Him. Then, it will be a very happy thing if we can make our relation with everyone harmonious and good.

This article has been prepared from an informal discourse given by Srila B.S. Govinda Maharaj in Kolkata, India, December 1992. The original recording is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we67kgX_5k4&t=556s
And a raw transcript as well as audio file is available here:
http://jayasri.org/kolkata-dec-1992/