Question: Maharaj, when chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra, how should we consider the position of Gurudev? Should we chant to please Guru? Should we chant because it pleases Guru? Should we pray to Guru to help us chant?
Srila Govinda Maharaj: We can understand the proper ideal for practitioners through the example of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. His example shows us the importance of both following the order of Gurudev to chant and satisfying him through our practice of chanting.
When Mahaprabhu was in Kashi [Varanasi] He came to the assembly of the mayavadi sannyasis headed by Prakasananda Saraswati. When He arrived He sat in the place where all the sannyasis would wash their feet before entering the assembly room. When Mahaprabhu arrived He washed His hands and feet, and then sat down in the washing area. While He was sitting there He also revealed His glory by showing a great effulgence from His divine form.
prabhave akarsila saba sannyasira mana
uthila sannyasi saba chhadiya asana
When all the sannyasis saw this effulgence, which appeared like that of Brahma, they were very attracted and surprised: «Oh! He is as bright as the sun!»
Prakasananda Saraswati was also surprised. Prakasananda Saraswati had heard that Sri Chaitanyadev had come to Kashi and was turning all the Kashi-vasis, the residents of Kashi, into Vaisnavas. Prakasananda was very angry about this and had told all his disciples, «Don’t associate with that Chaitanya!»
Without Prakasananda’s knowledge, a brahman had invited Mahaprabhu to his assembly. Mahaprabhu did not actually want to go there and join the company of the mayavadis, but He felt He needed to distribute His mercy to Prakasananda Saraswati for the satisfaction of His devotees. For that purpose He went there.
When Prakasananda saw Mahaprabhu’s divine effulgence and then His divine form sitting in a dirty place, he was stunned and thought, «Oh! How beautiful and attractive is the form of this boy!» He could not stay in his chair. He got up and said to Mahaprabhu, «Why are You sitting there? You are very nice-looking and Your form is very exalted. Please come inside. We are all gathered here. You are a sannyasi of our sampradaya. You are a little young but You are very bright. Why are You sitting outside? Please come in and take a seat.»
Mahaprabhu said, «No, no, no. I am very insignificant and inferior. You are the sampradaya’s guru and everyone here is a very great pandit. I am not qualified to join you.»
When Prakasananda saw Mahaprabhu’s great humility his mind softened. He took Mahaprabhu’s hand and said, «O Sripad! Please come inside and take a seat.»
After they came inside Prakasananda began to very affectionately question Mahaprabhu, «I have heard Your name. I know that You are a great pandit and that You are a sannyasi of our sampradaya. You have taken sannyas from the line of Bharati. That is not a high-class line of sannyas. It is a middle class, but You are certainly a member of our sampradaya. Why don’t You come to visit us? You should practise jnana-yoga, read the Vedanta-darsana, and discuss it with us. That is the duty of a sannyasi. You should regularly hear the Vedanta-darsana and preach Sankar Acharya’s teachings. You do not do that. Why? We cannot understand why You only chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra and dance. You are always chanting, dancing, crying, and laughing. Why do You always show Yourself in this way? Why are You always simply performing sankirtan?»
Mahaprabhu very humbly replied to Prakasananda Saraswati, «O sir, what can I say? My mind was not good when I took sannyas. I needed relief from the mundane environment; My mind went in a very renounced way, and I could not stay in the grhastha-asram. I came to My Guru and prayed, ‘Give Me sannyas.’ Also, when I was initiated I asked, ‘What is My duty?’ My Guru said,
murkha tumi, tomara nahika vedantadhikara
‘krsna-mantra’ japa sada, — ei mantra-sara
«‘You are foolish and unqualified. It is not necessary for You to read anything. You have no qualification to hear or read the Vedanta-darsana. You will not be able to understand its meanings. But You are coming to me for some advice, so I must tell You something. What can You do? You can do simply what is necessary in this Age of Kali:
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
«‘No one can achieve liberation in this Age of Kali without chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra is the only way to discover Your true nature and serve Krishna eternally. If You can chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra without offence You will get a very good result. You will feel Krishna-prema and get everything. Purely chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra is the goal of human life. You have a renounced nature, and You have fortunately taken a human birth. So chant ‘Hare Krishna’ and be happy. That is sufficient for You. It is not necessary for You to read the Vedanta-darsana or anything else.’»
Mahaprabhu continued His explanation to Prakasananda Saraswati, «Then on the order of My Guru I began chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. I did not know what I was doing, and I did not feel that I was chanting, or dancing, or crying. I was simply following the order of My Guru to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. For his satisfaction I was chanting. As I chanted in this way power came to Me from My Guru, and the Hare Krishna mahamantra automatically appeared in My heart. I felt the presence of Krishna within Me, and I felt many different things about Krishna. Krishna began to dance in My heart and then dance upon My tongue in the form of the Hare Krishna mahamantra.
«I do not dance actually, or chant, or cry. From within My heart, Krishna dances, and then His Name takes control of Me. You may see Me dancing, chanting, crying, roaring and doing so many things, but they are all the movements of Hari-nam. It is not actually My desire to do all these things. I am very shy to act in that way. But what can I do? I am following the order of My Guru Maharaj. By his power this type of result is coming to Me and giving Me this type of mood.
«When this began happening to Me I thought I had become mad. I went back to My Gurudev and asked,
kiba mantra dila, gosani, kiba tara bala
japite japite mantra karila pagala
«‘What kind of mantram have you given Me? I did not know how powerful this mantram was. When I chant it I become like a madman.’
«My Gurudev replied, ‘This is the actual result of chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. All mundanity stops if You chant this mantram properly. You are very fortunate that You have become filled with such transcendental knowledge and the full ecstasy of Krishna.’
«My Gurudev encouraged Me in this way and also told Me to try to spread this consciousness to others. So what can I say?
nama nache jiva nache nache prema dhana
jagata nachaya maya kare palayana
«‘When someone chants the Hare Krishna mahamantra without offence Krishna will dance in their heart and then upon their tongue.’»
«When I began to follow the order of My Gurudev the Divine Name of Krishna began dancing within My heart. As I continue to chant and dance by the will of Hari-nam whoever hears that dance of Krishna in the form of sound vibration from My tongue also begins to dance. Then Krishna enters their hearts and begins dancing there. And not only this, the wealth of Krishna-prema that appears in everyone’s heart, that prema-dhana, also dances. I Myself do not know anything, but I am seeing that now the whole world has automatically begun dancing with Me by the will of Hari-nam and the wave of Krishna-prema. Hari-nam has begun dancing and chanting from within My heart and automatically the attention of everyone’s mind has been overcome by that dancing movement. I am simply following the order of My Gurudev and all of this is happening. I do not actually know what is what.»71
Mahaprabhu expressed Himself in the assembly of sannyasis to Prakasananda Saraswati in this way. Then Prakasananda argued, «Yes. This is good. But you must hear Vedanta-darsana.»
Mahaprabhu humbly replied, «Yes sir. You are master. You can read it, and I will hear from you.»
Prakasananda began to speak about the Vedanta-darsana, and while he spoke Mahaprabhu did not say anything. Finally Prakasananda asked, «Can You understand anything I am saying?»
Mahaprabhu replied, «By the mercy of My Gurudev I can understand the meanings of the sutras from the Vedanta-darsana that you are reading. But I cannot understand the commentary you are giving.»
Prakasananda said, «What? You cannot understand my commentary?»
Mahaprabhu said, «No. I cannot understand, that is, I think what you are saying is wrong.»
Prakasananda began to debate, «Why? Why do You think it is wrong?»
Mahaprabhu said, «You are saying that the final attainment given in the Vedanta-darsana is nirakar, nirvises Brahma — formless, impersonal Brahma. But this is not true. I feel in My heart that Brahma has power, form, and beauty. And not only do I feel this in My heart; everyone who mixes with Me also feels it. So I must conclude that Brahma has a divine form and divine qualities. I also think that if Krishna is merciful to you, then you will feel it also.»
In this way Mahaprabhu expressed His heart and through that explained to Prakasananda Saraswati how Sankar Acharya’s interpretation of the Vedanta-darsana is wrong. After this Prakasananda was defeated. He held his tongue and the debate was finished. Even though he was defeated by Mahaprabhu, after the debate was finished, Prakasananda thought, «Oh! Mahaprabhu, how humble He is.»
The meeting of Mahaprabhu and Prakasananda Saraswati passed in this way. Another day Prakasananda saw Sri Chaitanyadev going to take His bath in the Ganges. Mahaprabhu was dancing on His way, chanting Hare Krishna with a crowd of people dancing along behind Him. Prakasananda was stunned to see Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan. From far away Prakasananda saw Mahaprabhu dancing in Krishna-prema with so many pious souls in sankirtan in the middle of the road. He was very attracted, and thought, «Oh! I need this actually! What have I been doing my whole life? I have been a sampradaya guru for so long, but I see now that I need what this young man has. He is following His Guru’s order and has become intoxicated with a mood of divine ecstasy. He dances and chants the Hare Krishna mahamantra as tears pour from His eyes. His whole body trembles and He perspires. All ecstatic symptoms appear in His body. He is so happy and joyful. What am I doing sitting in the chair of an acharya?»
After seeing Mahaprabhu’s divine form in sankirtan Prakasananda was heavily convinced that he could not remain in his position. Prakasananda thought that he would talk to Chaitanyadev when he saw the Lord again. Later when he saw Mahaprabhu coming down the road again chanting in a dancing mood, Prakasananda fell at Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and took Mahaprabhu’s foot dust on his head. He said, «Oh! I am very foolish. You have everything and I have nothing. All ecstasy, joy, and happiness abide in Your body, and Your eyes show that. I have been practising jnana-yoga for so long, but what have I got? Nothing. I have got nothing. I need Your mercy. You are the embodiment of Hari-nam-sankirtan. You must be that, otherwise my mind could not have been attracted to You. And You must be Krishna. You are distributing Krishna consciousness to everyone, and it is not possible for anyone to do this except Krishna Himself. Only Krishna has the power to do that, so You must be nondifferent from Krishna.» In this way Prakasananda took shelter at the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.
Mahaprabhu said, «What are you doing? You are a sampradaya guru.»
Prakasananda prayed, «Prabhu, please do not cheat me now. I feel it is necessary to surrender to You, and I feel You are distributing the supreme wealth to all jiva-souls. Please do not deceive me now.»
There is a verse of Srila Bilvamangal Thakur which expresses the heart of Prakasananda Saraswati at this time:
advaita-vithi-pathikair upasyah
svananda-simhasana-labdha-diksah
sathena kenapi vayam hathena
dasi-krta gopa-vadhu-vitena
«I was a Brahma-jnani, and I was following the conception of so ’ham: ‘I am Brahma.’ No one could defeat me or convince me of anything otherwise. I was happily situated with full regard in the conception of advaita-marg [monism]. I was the worshipped headmaster of advaita-marg, the guru of the sampradaya. I held the highest chair, and I sat on my throne in great satisfaction. But then all of a sudden Krishna, the Gopa-vadhu-lampat (cunning playful cowherd boy) attracted my mind with His qualities, beauty, glory, and love. By attracting my mind (sathena) He tricked me and made me His maidservant. Krishna is so merciful that He forcibly took my heart and engaged it in the service of the gopis. He has not only made me His maidservant; He has captured my heart with His divine Pastimes and made me fall flat on the ground.»
This is Bilvamangal Thakur’s heart expression, and Prakasananda Saraswati’s heart expression is very similar: «Suddenly Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Kashi and attracted my mind. He smashed my advaita (monistic) conception and made me His servant.»
It is greatly inconceivable to think that Prakasananda Saraswati was transformed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in this way, but already it has happened. Prakasananda Saraswati clasped the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu and apologised: «I have made a great offence to You. You are doing what is actually necessary for everyone. Please give Your Hari-nam to me.» In this way Prakasananda Saraswati re-took initiation (diksa) from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Through this example we can understand that it is not necessary to read the Vedanta or the Vedas or anything, and that it is not necessary to imagine or focus on anything external. In Kali-yuga it is only necessary to chant Hare Krishna without offence under the guidance of our Gurudev. The proper and best ideal for everyone is to follow the order given by our Gurudev. We may not know how much we will be able to do that, but with our full energy — heart and soul — we must try. If we can proceed in that way without offence a good result will come to us. There is no doubt.
In His conversation with Ramananda Ray in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu rejected the famous verse from Srimad Bhagavad-gita (18.66): sarva-dharman parityajya Mam ekam saranam vraja. In Srimad Bhagavad-gita Krishna explained to Arjuna many things on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. For our benefit He explained karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, abhyasa-yoga, bhakti-yoga, and so on. Then at the conclusion of Srimad Bhagavad-gita Krishna said,
Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma suchah
«You must avoid non-religion, and religion also. Exclusively take shelter at My lotus feet. If any sinful reactions come to you I will take care of them. Have no fear.»
This is the first and main task of our spiritual life. If we can take shelter at Krishna’s lotus feet then Krishna will fully take our charge. Everyone generally thinks that this is the supreme, conclusive verse of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. But when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu summarily rejects this verse, we are confused. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Ray about the ultimate goal of life, and step by step Ramananda Ray offered progressive conclusions: varnasram-dharma, karma-misra-bhakti, jnana-misra-bhakti, yoga-misra-bhakti, and so on. Mahaprabhu summarily rejected them all, including this celebrated verse of Srimad Bhagavad-gita, sarva-dharman parityajya. Who can explain the cause of this? Only an expert like Srila Guru Maharaj. I once asked Srila Guru Maharaj, «Why did Mahaprabhu summarily reject this verse?»
Srila Guru Maharaj explained, «This verse advises one to take shelter at Krishna’s lotus feet. Up to this point it is very nice advice, but what will one do once one has surrendered at Krishna’s lotus feet? That is not explained in this verse. Mahaprabhu taught exclusive devotion — surrendered life with service — but in this verse of Srimad Bhagavad-gita there is no explanation of how to lead a life of service. For that reason Mahaprabhu rejected it.»
Later in their conversation Ramananda Ray presented another verse to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which offered an explanation of how one can begin to actively lead a life of surrendered service to Krishna:
jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
ye prayaso ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyam
This verse explains, «Throw away whatever knowledge you have acquired prior to surrendering! Jnane prayasam udapasya! Your mundane knowledge has no place in the plane of transcendental devotion. A surrendered soul should throw out not only his previous knowledge but also all attempts for acquiring any further mundane knowledge. Then he can submit himself fully and live a life of real devotion. This is the vital point, ‘Namanta eva jivanti: be surrendered and alive with mercy. Fully surrender to Krishna and chant His Holy Name.’
«Sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir: you can stay in the jungle, or a house, or an ashram or the ocean, or anywhere; that is not a problem. Anywhere at any moment you can engage yourself physically, mentally, and verbally in Lord Krishna’s service. This means chanting the Lord’s Holy Name, and through that ye prayaso ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyam: the Lord Himself will be attracted and bestow His mercy upon you.
«But san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam: the source of your spiritual connection with Krishna and your practice of service to Him is the satam (sadhu), and without the sadhu’s connection you cannot connect with Krishna, satisfy Krishna, or fully attract His mercy. What you hear from the pure devotee, the sadhu, is the food with which you are alive in Krishna consciousness; what you receive from the sadhu is your very spiritual existence.»
Srila Guru Maharaj composed a verse that beautifully explains how we connect with the Lord and His service through the sadhu. This verse is the dearest and highest verse for me in life. Still so much light comes to me from this verse, and with that I am fully satisfied.
Sri-srimad-bhagavat-padambuja-madhu-svadotsavaih sat-padair
niksipta madhu-bindavas cha parito bhrasta mukhat gunjitaih
yatnaih kinchid ihahrtam nija-para-sreyo ’rthina tan maya
bhuyo-bhuya ito rajamsi pada-samlagnani tesam bhaje
When Srila Guru Maharaj composed and finished his Prapanna-jivanamrtam he wrote this verse confessing, «What I have presented in Prapanna-jivanamrtam is not my own property. I have actually only collected this ecstatic property from the devotees.»
His expression is: «The super devotees are like bees always tasting the ecstatic, honey-like nectar of the lotus feet of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, who is the cause of all causes (sarva-karana-karanam), the Supreme Controller (Paramesvar), the origin who has no origin (anadi-adih). As a lotus is always full of nectar, so bee-like devotees are always collecting the nectar from the unlimited ocean of nectar that is the Lord’s lotus feet and tasting that through their super mood of devotion. As they taste that nectar they sing the glories of that nectar and their Master, Lord Krishna.
«If anyone tastes honey and sings at the same time, then naturally a few drops of honey must fall down from his mouth as remnants. Devotees who ecstatically glorify their Lord — who are always drinking, and drinking, and drinking, and intoxicatedly glorifying their Lord — always spill many drops of nectar from their mouths in all directions as they dance and sing.
«Here in this book, Prapanna-jivanamrtam, I have collected those many drops of eternal, transcendental ecstasy that are falling from the mouths of the Lord’s devotees as their mercy. For both myself and you all I have collected those falling drops of nectar and made a plate for everyone to taste that nectar and be supremely benefitted. I am so grateful and indebted to all the devotees who glorify their Lord and taste the nectar of His lotus feet that here at the conclusion of my work, Prapanna-jivanamrtam, I now bow down to all of them again and again. Bhuyo-bhuya ito rajamsi pada-samlagnani tesam bhaje: again and again I glorify the lotus feet of all of these devotees: the devotees who collect nectar directly from the Lord’s lotus feet, the devotees who drink the nectar collected from the Lord’s lotus feet, the devotees who catch and distribute the drops of nectar which fall from the mouths of the devotees drinking the nectar collected from the Lord’s lotus feet, and the devotees who accept that nectar which is offered to them after it has been collected, tasted, dropped, caught, and distributed. I take upon my head the dust of the feet of all of these sincere devotees, whose hearts are filled with divine hankering.»72
In this way Srila Guru Maharaj finished his composition Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam. More explanation of this verse is possible, but shortly I have explained something. Through this you can understand the explanation of saranagati that Srila Guru Maharaj has given in his book, as well as the conclusion of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His conversation with Ramananda Ray: jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam (SB:10.14.3), surrendered devotional life means living on the remnants of the devotees who live on the Lord’s remnants, living on the mercy of the devotees who live on the mercy they receive from the Lord.
The Lord’s devotees are not only worshippable; they are most worthy of our service. Lord Siva has explained the significance of serving the Lord’s devotees.
aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param
tasmat parataram devi tadiyanam samarchanam
Once Parvati Devi asked her Lord, «Who is supremely worshippable?»
Lord Siva said, «Visnu is supremely worshippable. What question is there about that?»
Parvati Devi thought, «I am not worshipping Lord Visnu, I am serving my Lord, Siva.» A little doubt came to her, «Is what I am doing right or wrong?»
Lord Siva saw her face and said, «I am not saying I am a devotee of Visnu, but that is actually who I am. So you have nothing to fear.»
Parvati Devi thought, «My Lord, Siva, is undoubtedly worshipping Visnu. I am worshipping him. So that is the best for me.»
Tasmat parataram Devi Tadiyanam samarchanam: Lord Siva’s expression was, «Satisfying Visnu’s devotees is even better than worshipping Visnu Himself.»
Krishna personally explains that service to His devotees is the best way to serve Him:
ye me bhakta-janah partha na me bhaktas cha te janah
mad-bhaktanam cha ye bhaktas te me bhakta-tama matah
Krishna says, «I do not consider someone who thinks, ‘I am Krishna’s devotee’ to really be My devotee. He is My devotee, but I do not consider him so much. I consider someone who is a devotee of My devotee to be My real devotee.»
Srila Guru Maharaj very nicely explained Krishna’s mood in this verse. Krishna’s feeling is, «The flow of My mercy is always going everywhere to all of My devotees, but My devotees are constantly serving Me twenty-four hours a day and never giving Me a chance to worship or satisfy them. I always feel I am indebted to My devotees for their loving service, and when I do not get a chance to serve them I feel hopeless. When I see My devotees’ devotee serving My devotees I specially bestow My mercy upon them, and in that way I am able to serve My devotees.
«I also consider the service of My devotees’ devotee most valuable; the conditioned souls are suffering so much in the material world, and My devotees’ devotees try to collect those suffering souls and engage them in My service through their Gurudev, My devotee. I am always sad to see the conditioned souls’ sadness, and I am eager to serve My devotee. So I am especially interested in bestowing My mercy upon My devotees’ devotees, to nourish them in their distribution of the service of My devotee. That dispels all the suffering of the conditioned souls and satisfies My own desire to satisfy My devotees.»
In this way we can understand that serving Krishna’s devotees is the best way to serve, and that our service to Krishna’s devotees easily reaches Krishna. If we are real worshippers of Krishna, then we must try to satisfy Krishna by serving His devotees.
Devotee: Gurudev, what do you expect from me as your disciple?
Srila Govinda Maharaj: As possible by you, always chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra without offence and try to serve Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharvika Giridhari. If you have the opportunity to serve Them, do not waste that. Always remember your spiritual life by practising the nine forms of bhakti-yoga given in Srimad Bhagavatam,
Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam
archanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam73
Among these, the process of sravan-kirtan is best: hear from Guru–Vaisnava and chant the glories of Guru–Vaisnava, the Lord, and the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Serve your Gurudev and your Siksa-gurus, the Vaisnavas around you. If you proceed in that way you must be benefitted. Sravana-kirtana-jale karaye sechana (Cc: Madhya, 19.152): sravan-kirtan in the association of the devotees will best nourish us. If we hear and chant the Lord’s glories in the association of the sadhus, the illusory environment will not be able to attack us. But we must hear from a proper Vaisnava and chant without making Vaisnava-aparadh. If we can proceed in that way with good association the result of our practice will increase ten times more, or maybe a hundred times more.
Our practice in devotional life is always under the instruction of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Sometimes there is a little difference between Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and Srila Saraswati Thakur, but Srila Guru Maharaj gave us our method according to Srila Saraswati Thakur’s line. We follow that. What method others may follow I cannot say, but we follow the method given by our Guru Maharaj.
atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah
«Krishna’s Name, Form, Qualities, and Pastimes cannot be grasped by our mundane senses, but They can be revealed to us through our service attitude.»
In this verse we find the key to Srila Saraswati Thakur’s method, which Srila Guru Maharaj followed and I am the example and witness to. Prabhupad Srila Saraswati Thakur gave us the line that a service attitude (sevonmukhe) means the service of Guru–Vaisnava. His line is that Krishna’s Divine Name and so on will be revealed in your heart (svayam eva sphuraty adah) through the service of Guru and Vaisnava. Many Vaisnavas may read many sastras and follow many different religious processes in their life, but our line is that nothing is necessary except a life of service to Krishna under the guidance of a proper Guru and Vaisnava. We need only to try to practise Krishna consciousness heart and soul under the guidance of a proper Guru or Vaisnava. In that way we will proceed to our destiny in the plane of dedication, beyond the planes of exploitation and renunciation. Serving under the guidance of Guru–Vaisnava brings us into that plane of dedication.
Sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ’tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat74
Through surrender to Krishna’s devotee gradually all property will come to us. Very easily and very suddenly all spiritual quality and qualification, which is very rare to receive, will appear in your heart. The Srimad Bhagavatam (10.80.34) says, «Guru-susrusaya yatha: service to Guru–Vaisnava is our line of progress.» When we have the proper mood of surrender then we will engage in the practices of devotion under the guidance of a proper sadhu.
Atah Sri-Krsna-Namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih: we cannot see Krishna’s divine form or hear His Divine Name. If we try to go to Krishna directly, overstepping the sadhu, we will never see Krishna’s real form. We will only go down into the garbage of illusion (sahajiyaism) again and again. It is necessary to understand what the Holy Name of Krishna is, and what it is not, if we actually want to chant the Holy Name. From our mundane position we do not understand Krishna, but He can reveal Himself in our heart if we try to connect with Him with love, affection, chastity, and sincerity through the proper channel of His devotee.
The Holy Name appears in this world as the transcendental vibration form of the Lord, and that transcendental vibration appears through the channel of Guru-parampara, through the heart of the Sadhu–Vaisnava. Only a pure mood of devotion can inspire the Holy Name to descend, so if we connect ourselves with a devoted servitor of the Lord who has the pure mood of chanting, we can also come into connection with the Lord’s Holy Name.
If we can receive the Holy Name from our Gurudev and remember the mood and process in which our Gurudev and the great Vaisnavas chanted the Holy Name, then the Holy Name will gradually reveal Himself in our hearts. On our own we are not qualified to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra, but through the connection, inspiration, and guidance of the sadhu the mood and qualification to perfectly chant the Holy Name will come to us.
Srila Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj was a very highly elevated sadhu with a very renounced mentality. He was always deeply connected with the Lord’s eternal Pastimes in the transcendental world and feeling separation from Krishna. He lived in isolation from society and sometimes would call out to the Lord spontaneously. He was a pure Vaisnava who chanted the pure Holy Name.
Once someone heard the glories of Babaji Maharaj and began to imitate him. That person built a hut near Babaji Maharaj and began copying the practices and activities of Babaji Maharaj. When Babaji Maharaj heard of this he said that this man should not become an imitationist. He said to him, «You are chanting the Lord’s Name and living in a hut, but you are not really chanting to please the Lord. You are seeking name and fame (pratistha) in this world. You are trying to become famous as a perfected saintly person (siddha-mahapurus), and for that purpose you are chanting and showing yourself in this way. Your activities will neither be successful nor give you proper devotional results.
«If an unmarried woman goes to a labour room to produce a child and shows so many symptoms of giving birth, will a child be born? Never! First a woman is married, then she mixes with her husband, then she becomes pregnant, then a baby begins to grow in her womb, and then, after two hundred and eighty days, she will produce a child. When the time comes for the woman to give birth it will not be necessary to tell her, ‘Now you should go to the labour room.’ Like an unmarried woman going to a labour room you have foolishly moved into a hut and begun to show to others that you are chanting, ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Krishna’. You may show many symptoms of ecstasy or renunciation, but your activities will not produce anything real. You don’t have any real connection with Krishna or Krishna-nam: you have not served any of Krishna’s devotees or understood their devotional mood of chanting. You are only pursuing your mundane fame.»
This is a very hard but also very clear example for us. If we are sincere and actually want to satisfy Krishna through our devotional life, then we will always try to serve Him under the guidance of our Gurudev in the association of sadhus.
We must approach Krishna and chant His Holy Name in the proper channel. There is a systematic way for us to proceed in our spiritual life:
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango ’tha bhajana-kriya
tato ’nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha ruchis tatah75
First firm faith in Krishna consciousness (sraddha) is necessary. Through our sincerity and sraddha we will get the association of a proper sadhu, not an imitation sadhu. If we do not serve a real Guru or a real Vaisnava we will be cheated sometimes. A real sadhu serves Krishna twenty-four hours a day, and through a real sadhu’s association our faith, service attitude, and devotional property will increase. We will be inspired by the sadhu to serve Krishna twenty-four hours a day. But Srimad Bhagavatam instructs us that we should not immediately serve the Lord in the same way that the sadhu does:
isvaranam vachah satyam tathaivacharitam kvachit
tesam yat sva-vacho-yuktam buddhimams tat samacharet
«Do not imitate what the sadhu does. A sadhu may do something that is helpful for someone in a higher stage but not helpful for someone in a lower stage. Sadhu-sanga means trying to practise our spiritual life under the guidance of a sadhu. Sadhu-sanga means following the instructions given by the sadhu, not imitating the sadhu’s behaviour.»
If someone can properly follow the sadhu’s instructions and proceed under the sadhu’s guidance, then they will be engaged in bhajana-kriya, real spiritual practising life. Through proper bhajana-kriya we will come to the stage of anartha-nivrtti, the removal of our unwanted habits. In the stage of anartha-nivrtti our hankering for mundane things will leave us, our senses will become controlled, and our conditioned nature will be removed. Anartha-nivrtti will not happen, however, unless we proceed in our bhajana-kriya with strong faith, love, and affection.
For anartha-nivrtti to come to us, love and affection for other practitioners is necessary. Practising life is ‘suffering life’ — practising life is not an easy life. If we do not have love and affection for other practitioners it will be too painful and we will not be able to proceed successfully. Why should we suffer more than we already are in this mundane world? We should be humble, be tolerant, give honour to others, and make everyone our friend. In this way we can proceed happily in our practising life. Someone may come and abuse us, «Oh! You are Vaisnavas. You are very bad. You are doing this and that.» But we will not be influenced by their comments if we have love and affection for our practising life and other practitioners. Someone may make comments, but we will proceed systematically through sincere and chaste service with love and affection.
If we engage in our spiritual practices of chanting the Holy Name, serving the sadhus, cleaning the temple, doing parikrama of the temple, and so on, with the desire to fulfil the instructions of our guardians — Sadhu, Guru, and Vaisnava — with love, affection, and faith, then anartha-nivrtti will automatically come to us. That is real exclusive devotional practice. Thereafter the stages of nistha (firm service), and ruchi (taste) will come to us.
Until the stage of ruchi no one is in a safe position; there is still possibility of falling down. During the stage of bhajana-kriya we cannot say someone is really qualified. And even after the stage of anartha-nivrtti, when material attachment has gone, we are still bound by the reactions to our previous sinful activities. Only when ruchi comes is everything cleared. Maya thinks, «Aho! I must run away. He is not under my jurisdiction.» When ruchi, loving attachment for the Lord’s service, comes into our heart, then we will be safe.
raso ’py asya param drstva nivartate76
When we come to the stage of ruchi we will feel, «Oh! This is very beautiful and without this I cannot live.» When such taste will come to us we will be fully situated in devotion. Then all the auspicious symptoms of bhava, priti, prema, and so on will gradually appear in our heart.
In this way we understand the teachings of our Guru Maharaj and Srila Saraswati Thakur: «Serve Krishna, serve Guru, serve the Vaisnava, and serve the Mission of our Gurudev. Gurudev gives us service that is satisfying to Krishna, and Krishna is satisfied when we serve Guru–Vaisnava.»
Question: Can you please explain how we can avoid confusing emotion with devotion?
Srila Govinda Maharaj: Sometimes we are practising and serving emotionally. That means we are blindly following our mind’s idea of what is good and bad. Sometimes our mind tells us something is good and we follow that idea of our mind. Acting in that way we do many things emotionally, but those activities may only be subha-karma (pious acts). They will not be actual devotion.
Srila Guru Maharaj gave an example: Gurudev may perform puja and order us, «Bring some water.» We will then bring some water to Gurudev, but Gurudev may suddenly change his order and say, «Oh, water is not necessary now. Bring some flowers.»
If we say to Gurudev, «You ordered me to bring some water. I have followed your order to bring you water» and we give Gurudev that water, then our action will be subha-karma. It will not be devotion (bhakti).
With primary enthusiasm we may want to do more and more service to Guru–Vaisnava. But in the primary stage we won’t be attentive to see whether our service is appropriate, to see whether it is actually pleasing to Guru–Vaisnava, to see whether it is what they actually want. In the primary stage we do not consider these things and only think that our own activity will take us to a higher position. We do not consider how and why the advice of Guru–Vaisnava is coming to us.
Actual devotion means trying to satisfy Guru–Vaisnava according to their instructions. A proper and attentive mood of devotion is to always keep our eyes open to see if what we are doing is really satisfying to our Master or not. Gurudev has told us, «Chant Hare Krishna.» But if I am in a place where Gurudev is discussing something important with some Vaisnavas, and I begin making noise, «Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare» then that is not chanting in a mood of devotion. Devotional mood means considering whether Gurudev is happy or not with our activity. It is true that Gurudev has ordered us, «Chant Hare Krishna loudly», but it is always necessary to consider the place, time, and circumstances, and then wisely try to do service. This is devotion.
A proper Guru or Vaisnava has no self-interest or self-satisfying tendency. Such a real devotee has no interest in being served. Rather he is always engaged in Krishna’s service. If we follow the service-order and guidance of a proper Vaisnava to engage in service of Krishna or His devotees, then our action will enter the category of devotion through that proper Vaisnava’s qualification. Devotion begins by offering ourselves to Krishna by taking a vow that we will not do anything that is not in service to Krishna. But Krishna is transcendental, and we cannot offer anything to Him directly. We do not have that capacity or qualification. We must offer our service to Krishna through Guru–Vaisnava — through the devotees who have the capacity to directly serve Krishna. When you serve Krishna under their guidance all responsibility for Krishna’s service goes to them, and all the proper results of service come to you. Krishna knows you are serving Guru–Vaisnava for His satisfaction, not for their personal interest, so Krishna must be satisfied with you.
Sometimes we may be going on in our practising life but feel that we are not progressing. We may be engaged in service and chanting the Lord’s Holy Name but feel that our faith is not becoming stronger, joy is not coming into our heart, and our mind is not becoming fulfilled by our devotional mood. At that time we must try to get the association of a good Vaisnava. We must search for a real practitioner who is practising Krishna consciousness twenty-four hours a day and get his association.
Dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prchchhati
bhunkte bhojayate chaiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam
Sadhu-sanga means associating with the sadhu like he is our own relative, associating with him in an affectionate, regardful way. This means giving him gifts (materials for service), feeding him, asking him questions, taking his advice, and so on. Through this type of affectionate association with the sadhu we will be able to understand and feel why we are not inspired in our practising life. If there is any offensive mood within us, the good association of the sadhu will wash it away. The association of a great sadhu can melt our hard heart and inspire us with a mood of real dedication. When we see the sadhu engaged in the Lord’s service twenty-four hours a day, our hearts will become joyful. We will feel much inspiration to follow him and connect with the devotional plane ourselves.
Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah77
Devotion is so sweet, and gradually in the finest, most affectionate, and lovely way it will reveal itself in our heart by the grace of the Lord’s devotee. Through the service and grace of the Lord’s devotees we will see the Lord’s divine play expressed everywhere. Through our tendency to serve, and our service to Guru–Vaisnava, we will be cleanly and clearly qualified. Nowhere will we not see the sweet, affectionate, and lovely movements of the Lord’s transcendental service world.
71 Sriman Mahaprabhu’s Guru, Sri Isvar Puri, quoted this verse:
evam-vratah sva-priya-nama-kirtya
jatanurago druta-chitta uchchaih
hasaty atho roditi rauti gayaty
unmada-van nrtyati loka-bahyah
«Chanting the Name of their beloved Lord, those who have dedicated their lives to Him develop deep loving attachment to Him. Their hearts melt and they loudly laugh, cry, shout, sing, and dance like madmen, unconcerned with the public.»
vande nanda-vraja-strinam pada-renum abhiksnasah
yasam hari-kathodgitam punati bhuvana-trayam
«I constantly offer my obeisance to the Vraja-gopis, whose singing of Krishna’s glory purifies the three worlds.»
sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam
archanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau bhaktis chen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha tan manye ’dhitam uttamam
«Hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshipping, praying, considering oneself a servant, considering oneself a friend, and surrendering the self — if devotion consisting of these nine practices isfirst offered to the Supreme Lord and then directly performed I consider that the greatest learning.»
74 «The Supreme Lord is immediately bound within the heart by the fortunate souls who desire to hear Srimad Bhagavatam (from the mouth of the Vaisnava).»
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango ’tha bhajana-kriya
tato ’nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha ruchis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudanchati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah
«First faith, then association with sadhus, then engagement in service, then the eradication of evils, then constancy, then taste, then attachment, then ecstasy, and then love. These are the stages in the awakening of a practitioner’s love.»
76 «Seeing the Supreme, a wise soul’s taste for the mundane disappears.»
77 «Although Krishna’s Name, Form, Qualities, and Pastimes cannot be grasped by the material senses, They manifest themselves on the tongue and to the other senses through one’s service attitude.»