CONTENTS:
- No More Hankering No More Lamentation Because Krishna Will Take Care
- Srila Prabhupada Appreciation
Guru Maharaja’s instructions
1. NO MORE HANKERING, NO MORE LAMENTATION BECAUSE KRISHNA WILL TAKE CARE
Who is Lalita in Mahaprabhu’s pastime? Swarupa Damodara. What does Swarupa Damodara do? Swarupa Damodara is Mahaprabhu's servant, Mahaprabhu's secretary. Who is Vishaka? Ramananda Raya. What is he doing? Serving Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They are not saying come Caitanya Mahaprabhu let’s have a rasa dance. They are just serving Mahaprabhu.
The mood of a devotee is total attachment, Mahaprabhu’s devotees are totally attached to Him. There is a very nice example, one day Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Gadadhar Pandita were walking in Navadwip so they came to the forest near Alakananda river in Pariharaksetra. There was a bird, a parrot and Mahaprabhu called that parrot and said You are Suka, please tell us about Krishna. What did the parrot say? Gaura Gaura Gaura. No, you should speak about Krishna. That is the mood of a devotee. The ideal servant never leaves the feet of his master. We should never think that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a stepping stone, let us serve Him in dasya rasa and once I get madhurya rasa then Caitanya Mahaprabhu can be neglected. Actually a devotee’s mood is my only attachment is at the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu will give us RadhaKrishna. We would not desire rasa but Mahaprabhu will give because Mahaprabhu gives RadhaKrishna. By developing our attachment to Caitanya Mahaprabhu in dasya rasa we develop our relationship with RadhaKrishna. Mahaprabhu’s devotees many were in santa rasa, first person I can think of is Sarvabhauma Battacharya. In the beginning they are in santa rasa. Santa means neutral, neutral means no action the appreciation is there but here is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, here is Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The understanding is there but no activity, but when the service begins then it becomes action. When they start to serve the service begins in dasya rasa.
Actually our business is to become s devotee of our spiritual master. Spiritual master is actually Nityananda Prabhu, he is the manifestation of Nityananda Prabhu. Through the spiritual master we come to Nityananda Prabhu and Nityananda Prabhu takes us to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The spiritual master is the representative of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Radharani and Krishna. Sarvabhauma Battacharya was like santa rasa, the appreciation was there and the naturally he developed dasya rasa and then he was elevated to Vrindavan. It will depend on how much attachment, how much love one has developed for Krishna. You can say there is a difference because Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was such a learned person that when he recognized Caitanya Mahaprabhu as God, he recognized him as God in a very profound way. Who is Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya? He is Brihaspati, the guru of the demi-gods, he is so learned, he was the greatest scholar of all time. Naturally when he recognized Caitanya Mahaprabhu. What is santa rasa? Santa rasa is material attachments are completely given up, although he did not enter into the spiritual service, the heart became completely peaceful because of the attachment to the material nature. But then from there the activity of pure devotional service began in dasya rasa. We are in the material nature, we transcend the material nature and come onto the neutral platform. No more material nature but still, we did not enter into the spiritual nature that is santa. Transcending that plane we come to the spiritual nature and in spiritual nature is servitude, dasya. In the spiritual sky, ekale isvara Krishna, Krishna is the only Lord and Master and everyone else is the servant. It is not fully transcendental as yet, there is still some tinge of materialism but at least you have become engaged in dasya, service to Krishna and as you keep on serving the material things will automatically wear off. You are able to serve Krishna because of the mercy of Krishna. Santa rasa can be impersonalists or can be neutral personalists. When one does not accept the Lord in His form then he is Mayavadi. Although the Mayavadis try to enter santa rasa they can’t. Mayavadis don’t get santa rasa because their heart is so full of desires, therefore it is said krishnabhakta niskama ataeva santa. Only a devotee of Krishna is santa because he doesn’t have any desires, kama means desires and niskama no desires. bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakali asanta, bhukti those who want to enjoy material nature, mukti those who want liberation, siddhi the yogis who want yogic perfection they all are not santa, so that is the position. Only a devotee can be santa the others cannot be. They may seem very peaceful but in the heart they are asanta but they are not santa. They trying to but can’t. A devotees heart is naturally peaceful. How is it that a devotee’s heart is naturally peaceful? Prabhupada actually gives a very nice example: a child is crying and no matter how you try to pacify the child to stop crying nothing will help but as soon as the mother comes and picks up the baby then the child stops crying. Similarly, a living entity will remain asanta, will be crying, will be full of desires, will become very agitated until the time he gets the shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet and when he gets Krishna’s lotus feet then he automatically becomes peaceful. I can tell you from my own experience, maybe it happened to you also. I will just give you some experience I had when I got the nectar of devotion, that’s the first book I got and started reading and when I started reading it I felt this is what I was looking for. As I kept on reading I became more and more convinced about Krishna Consciousness. While reading the book, I made up my mind that I am going to surrender to Krishna. Now when I resolved that I would surrender to Srila Prabhupada, I felt that for the first time in my life I realized what peace actually is. I felt now I am surrendering to Prabhupada and Krishna and Krishna will take care of me I don’t have to worry about that. In a way that is the Brahma-bhutah realization, we don’t have anything to worry about. na socati na kanksati no more hankering no more lamentation because Krishna will take care. Just like a child doesn’t have any hankering doesn’t have any lamentation because he knows that my father and mother is there and they will take care of me. He doesn’t care what he wants and lost and he is happy just under the protection of his father. Similarly, a devotee when he surrenders unto Krishna he feels that way so that is the Brahmabhutah platform.
brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati (BG 18.54)
I think that happens to every devotee, when he decides to surrender to Krishna. Why does a devotee join the movement? Because he knows Krishna is God and he knows that his business is to surrender unto Krishna and when he surrenders unto him then he feels no more anxiety. Then after becoming a devotee he gets another kind of anxiety but that is spiritual anxiety. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains it very nicely in his Madhurya Kadambini, he says that there are different types of anarthas. One becomes a devotee but he has anartha so he goes through different stages the first stage is enthusiastic so when one joins he is very enthusiastic and he gives the example as a child gets a new book. Do you remember as a child when you got a new book, you become so attached to the book even you went to sleep with the book and you were all the time with the book but then you lost an interest, sometimes when you saw the book you were interested and sometimes not interested and that’s the next step sometimes intense and sometimes dilute, the attachment to Krishna sometimes very intense and then diluted? In this way one goes through different stages. A devotee when he joins he becomes very enthusiastic but then his enthusiasm begins to wane. Actually Krishna allows the living entity to desire whatever he wants and accordingly Krishna fulfils his desire. Why doesn’t Krishna take all the living entities out of the material nature? Why? Krishna can take everyone back to the spiritual world but why doesn’t Krishna do that? Krishna actually fulfills the desires of the living entity; Krishna has given the living entities the independence and they have the independence to desire. Now somebody who wants to enjoy himself Krishna fulfils his desire but putting him in the material nature. But when somebody desires that I want to serve Krishna then Krishna takes them back to the spiritual world. Some devotes desire to serve Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead which is a natural thing. Like if God is there and you are here what are you going to do? If you know that He is God what are you going to do? Are you going to tell him, “Hi Krishna, how are you doing?” and put your arm around His shoulder? No because when you know that He is God you have a natural way to think of Him. Like the way we see the Lord in the altar, when we see the deity in the altar do we go there and just put our arms around Him? Or do we try to climb on His back? No! We know He is God and God must be treated in a certain way and that is called awe and reverence. The natural relationship between the living entity and God is awe and reverence. Vrindavan relationship is a very special relationship. The relationship between Krishna’s devotees in Vrindavan is a very special relationship which Krishna actually allows to some very intimate devotees and in order to do that Krishna makes the arrangements through Yoga Maya. If they recognize Him as God then they won’t be able to deal with Him in that way. If Nanda Maharaja knows that here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead he would never ask Him to carry his shoes on His head. If Mother Yashoda knew that here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead she would never try to tie Him with a rope or chase Him with a stick in her hand. Krishna wants that kind of reciprocation so Krishna reciprocates with very intimate devotees for His pleasure and the arrangement is made by Yoga Maya. That is why no one can ever enter into Vrindavan. One cannot say, well, I will become Krishna’s friend and dasya rasa is not good enough, then just let me become Krishna’s friend then after two days you think just being a friend is not good enough let me become Krishna’s girlfriend and let me develop Madhurya rasa. No! It can never happen like that. In order to allow living entities to go to Vrindavan in order to develop a relationship with Krishna, Krishna came as Caitanya Mahaprabhu and as Caitanya Mahaprabhu He is allowing anyone to come to Vrindavan.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA APPRECIATION
I will just give you some experience I had when I got the nectar of devotion, that’s the first book I got and started reading and when I started reading it I felt this is what I was looking for. As I kept on reading I became more and more convinced about Krishna Consciousness. While reading the book, I made up my mind that I am going to surrender to Krishna. Now when I resolved that I would surrender to Srila Prabhupada, I felt that for the first time in my life I realized what peace actually is. I felt now I am surrendering to Prabhupada and Krishna and Krishna will take care of me I don’t have to worry about that.
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
In a way that is the Brahma-bhutah realization, we don’t have anything to worry about. na socati na kanksati no more hankering no more lamentation because Krishna will take care. Just like a child doesn’t have any hankering doesn’t have any lamentation because he knows that my father and mother is there and they will take care of me. He doesn’t care what he wants and lost and he is happy just under the protection of his father. Similarly, a devotee when he surrenders unto Krishna he feels that way so that is the Brahma-bhutah platform.
brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati (BG 18.54)
I think that happens to every devotee, when he decides to surrender to Krishna.
(The content of this E-Magazine was based on a Lecture given by HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on given at New Mayapur on 6 May 1994.)
(Compiled and edited by Hemavati Radhika Dasi)