R-s 4b ❤️‍🩹 In whom do I place my trust?

❧ Cc Madhya 19.144–150 ❧

Last week, in the first video, we went over the verse kṛṣṇa-bhakta—niskāma ataeva santa (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 19.149), but I mostly discussed just the Bengali grammar and didn’t explain the verse so deeply. This is such an important verse so I decided to make an extra video about it, which you can see below. Towards the end of the video, I go through a memorization practice session for the next verse (text 150): muktānām api siddhānām.

Because I’m so behind on everything, I’m just sharing the script I used for the video, which I modified and expanded a little for this posting. I’ll post the script I made for the latest video on text 151 (brāhmaṇḍa bhramite…) tomorrow.

The pure devotee is above material suffering

The pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa is niṣkāma, he has no desire for himself, so even if some great calamity may seemingly befall him, he is completely peaceful, undisturbed, and unfazed. We have seen many examples, like that of Prahlāda Mahārāja, Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, our Śrīla Prabhupāda and so on. Sometimes, as a pastime, apparent calamities happen to the great devotees. Why would Kṛṣṇa allow such things to happen to those so dear to Him? They are actually arranged by Kṛṣṇa to broadcast their glories to everyone throughout all time.

A circumstance that would cause extreme agony to any regular person, to the pure devotee is a cause of joy. Tomāra-sevāya, duḥkha haya ĵata, seo to’ parama sukha – That suffering experienced in Your service, O Lord, is indeed the topmost joy. (Ātma-nivedana, 5, by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura)

Our guru-varga are the direct associates of the Lord, we daily sing in the Gurvaṣṭakam (5) how they are immersed completely (lolupta) and always (prati-kṣana) in the mādhurya-līlā of Śrī Rādhikā-Mādhava, so whatever happens in this world to their physical bodies is so distant to them, it doesn’t affect them.

Although this verse applies to pure devotees, I once heard an explanation that made the verse relevant to someone like me.

How to attain peace? Attach myself to those completely attached to Kṛṣṇa

After my Śrīla Gurudeva’s disappearance, it was difficult time. Things got… strange, and disturbances continue on even today. This naturally happens when such a glorious personality returns to the nitya-līlā and this planet is left bereft of their physical presence.

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja said:

So there may be disturbances, rather we may say there should be. Disturbance must come, because my most beloved guru has withdrawn from amongst us. Should we like to live peacefully? Such a great curse, as it may be called, is thrown on my head, and should I like to live peacefully? In its retinue, disturbance must come, and we are to undergo them. But we must remain sincere, and we must face the difficulty in a proper way. That has come to train me to go in the right direction. What I have received from my Gurudeva, I understood in a rough way. Now, things have come in such an order that I have to scrutinize myself in every position. I have to analyze within me, atma-niksepa: Self analysis has begun. What I have got from him, I am under examination: in what way have I received it? Properly, or only showingly? The time has come to purify me, to test whether I am a real student, a real disciple, or only in face, only in confession I am his disciple. What is the real position of a real disciple? Should I live in the society, that is the depth of my creed? In what attitude have I accepted his teachings? How deep-rooted is it in me? The fire has come to test me, to test whether I can stand. Is my acceptance real? Or is it a sham, an imitation? This fire will prove that. So we must not be afraid of any adverse circumstances: sukhinah ksatriyah partha labhante yudham irdsham. Krishna says in the Gita that the battle you are facing, a happy ksatriya hankers after this.

from the article "The Environment is Your Friend"

So, at this time in 2011, I had moved to Puri. I think it was around this time that I heard an explanation of this verse kṛṣṇa-bhakta-niṣkāma that had a very deep impact on me. I can’t remember who I heard it from and how much of it is mixed with my own ideas, just so you know.

We hear about how Kṛṣṇa is like the sun:

kṛṣṇa—sūrya-sama, māyā haya andhakāra
jā̃ha kṛṣṇa, tā̃hā nāhi māyār adhikāra

"Kṛṣṇa is like the sun and māyā is darkness. Wherever Kṛṣṇa is present, the influence of māyā cannot remain." (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.31)

Kṛṣṇa is like the sun. The sun dissipates darkness. And another thing about the sun is that there are planets, countless asteroids and comets continuously orbiting around it.

I don’t know if this accords with Vedic cosmology (all this cosmology stuff is beyond me), but just take this example for whatever it’s worth. Trillions of objects are revolving around the sun. Some are moving closer at a slower speed (meaning they’re more peaceful, less frantic), and others at a large distance away from the sun rotating at higher velocity. But no matter the distance, everyone is on the rollercoaster ride of this material existence moving around and around, sometimes elated, sometimes devastated.

But Kṛṣṇa always and forever remains at the center—fixed and unchanging. He is nirvikāra, he never undergoes any transformation. He is unaffected by the material energy.

Similarly, the pure devotees, Kṛṣṇa’s associates, are 100% connected to Him. They, like Kṛṣṇa, are completely unchanging and unaffected. They aren’t like any of these objects at a distance from Him rotating around and around.

So the best, most sure way—really the only way—we can experience any peace, is if we are able to attach ourselves to one who is already attached to Kṛṣṇa. Then we too can get released from this topsy-turvy material existence and become śānta, peaceful.

We can never directly attach ourselves to the Kṛṣṇa sun. It is unimaginably far away. So Kṛṣṇa has sent His dear ones to this world, they are Krsna’s direct extensions, whose only business in coming here is to bring us there to our true home.

How to remain forever disturbed? Attach myself to anyone else

You know what will guarantee continued disturbance in our lives? If I attach myself, I give my heart, to any person other than the Lord’s dear mahā-bhāgavata devotees. It doesn’t even matter if someone is an advanced Vaisnava. If they aren’t on this level, fully connected to Kṛṣṇa, then they’ll bring us along with them rotating in the ups and downs of material life. When I say “giving my heart”, I mean placing all our delicate, precious heart-felt faith, śraddhā, in someone.

Something I was thinking about is what is the duty of a disciple of some guru who is on a higher level, but not of mahābhagavata status? Should the disciple fully offer his heart to such a person?

This is not a topic I’ve delved into deeply and I have lots of questions, so I’m interested to hear your thoughts. What I’ve understood is that guru is taking an enormous responsibility for the disciple.

Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (1.77) states:

rājñi cāmātyajā doṣāḥ
patnī-pāpaṁ sva-bhartari
tathā śiṣyārjitaṁ pāpaṁ
guruḥ prāpnoti niścitam

"The faults of a counselor fall on his king, and a the sins of a wife fall on her husband. In the same way a spiritual master attains the sins of his disciple. That is certain."

I’m sure there are deep explanations of this verse, but at any rate, that disciple’s guru, although maybe not perfect, is making an enormous sacrifice for him. So the disciple is always indebted and must show deep gratitude. Unless that guru has gone off the path, is making severe vaiṣṇava-aparādha or is barring his disciple from associating with a mahā-bhāgavata, should the disciple have the fortune in coming in contact with one, then that disciple must always deeply honor and follow his guru. But fully surrendering his heart to that person? That I don’t know. Let me know if you’ve heard anything more on this topic.

I’ve seen it happen many times that persons gave their heart, put their entire faith in a nice devotee, and then that devotee, being a conditioned soul, didn’t always pass all of māyā’s tests and the faith of that person was either damaged or even completely shattered. Someone I know whose faith was hurt in this way even began to doubt our guru-varga. The details are too disturbing to mention here. It was a real eye-opener for me how dangerous it is to offer full faith to a conditioned soul. After understanding this principle a little, I became a lot more cautious and my mind wouldn’t get as disturbed by fall downs of devotees, even those I had much regard and affection for.

My duty is only to pray

I learned that I have to be so selective of whom I place my heartfelt śraddhā in. If it is not in my fortune, if I haven’t accrued the necessary sukṛti to be graced with the physical association of mahā-bhāgavata like my Gurudeva again in my life, then that’s beyond my control. All I can do—what I must do—is pray every day for that kind of saṅga. And surround myself with those who are truly longing so that maybe their longing will spark in my heart as well.

In order to give motion to any substance within the material world some energy is needed. For example, with the help of excessive combustion, rockets can carry a space shuttle across all the layers of the atmosphere. Similarly, in the stage of sādhana, the sādhaka will only make advancement when the fire of separation from guru and Kṛṣṇa is present. If properly ignited and blazed in the heart, this fire of separation can even take the jīva beyond the many layers of this material creation to the spiritual world. When the sādhaka associates with a devotee who is already experiencing the intense fire of separation, that fire is ignited within his own heart.

Translated by Rays of the Harmonist team
(adapted from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā, Year 4, Issue 11)

If I’m sincere in my prayers then maybe, just maybe, Kṛṣṇa will one day be merciful to me and send someone, but it really isn’t up to me and, as we’ll learn in the next verse: such an opportunity is extremely, extremely rare. We may not have it at all times. My prayer should be that in this life or in any future life, I never try to fill this gap in my heart of not having a living sādhu by selecting just some person that attracts me.

I’m sometimes attracted “Oh such beautiful harikathā with the conclusions of all the shastras so perfectly and authentically presented, oh so many nice qualities, humility, compassion, such nice kirtan, such a loving community,” and I want to give my heart there, but no, may I never become allured and fall in such a trap. Cakṣu-dāna dilā jei, janme janme prabhu sei – he who gives the gift of transcendental vision is my master birth after birth.

Basing all relationships on what nourishes my guru-niṣṭhā

The criteria that our acaryas give for what makes one a genuine śikṣā-guru is that person only ever increases our nistha, faith, connection with my own dikṣā-guru.

Śikṣā-guru and dīkṣā-guru are one in tattva. What you wrote is correct. He who gives instruction on service to guru is called the śikṣā-guru. Not just any person who quotes scriptures can be called śikṣā- guru. The duty of the śikṣā-guru is to fix one’s attachment to the lotus feet of one’s dīkṣā-guru. If one’s śikṣā-guru creates discord with one’s dīkṣā-guru, he ceases to be śikṣā-guru. Therefore, dīkṣā-guru and śikṣā-guru are accepted to be categorically identical. Only their pastimes and activities distinguish them from one another. This must be understood.

-from a letter written by Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja in 1961

There are many other similar quotes by our ācāryas on this topic.

Even with friendships that I have with people on my own level, I should look deeply within and see if it is favorable to that connection or not. Any person or sādhu that diminishes my dedication to my Gurudeva must be kept at a distance.

As we have heard, our connection to Gurudeva is not bound by material time or space. So Gurudeva is just as accessible now as he has ever been. But my lacking is that I am not sincerely making the endeavor to connect with him by listening to his harikathā in a mood of surrender.

Someone might think that this attitude is too exclusive. “What, does that mean you turn your back to all the rest of the wonderful Vaisnavas in this world because they don’t happen to be the same as your Gurudeva?”

No, this is not the case at all.

Genuine appreciation of others

When our sole focus is connecting with śrī gurudeva, then our appreciation of others becomes all the more deep and genuine. My connection with others is no longer based on how much satisfaction, validation, recognition, or whatever other temporary benefits I may get out of him or her. I need all the help I can get to remember my connection with my Gurudeva. Ekāki āmāra nāhi pāya bala.

Instead of focusing on differences I have with certain god-brothers and god-sisters, what if I just focused on their individual unique connections with Śrīla Gurudeva? Their relationships with him is of such glory and value that I can never estimate.

Gurudeva said this applies to even those who are uninitiated. The person may not be a god-sibling or my senior. It applies to any person who shows the slightest reverence to my Gurudeva. To that person I will feel deep gratitude. Who cares about whatever faults someone has? That will all wash away one day and what will be left remaining, ultimately, is that person’s faith. Pure faith is the first quality that develops within, which we will keep for eternity even in perfection. It’s the first glimpse into my real, eternal nature.

My Paramgurudeva, Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajnāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, said:

Even if a sādhaka suffers from every sort of fault, guru-niṣṭhā alone is capable of granting him entrance into the kingdom of paramārtha (the greatest wealth, prema). In the absence of guru-niṣṭhā, however, all good qualities combined cannot help a sādhaka reach the realm of paramārtha. As such, guru-niṣṭhā is the cornerstone in the attainment of divine love for Kṛṣṇa.

from the book Kṛti-ratna, "Pangs of Separation from a Disciple"

I shall look for that one quality in everyone that I also want for myself. Everyone in the path of bhakti has some unique connection and that is why they are here. Whatever faults someone has is irrelevant and temporary. But what is true, significant and spiritual, eternal, is the faith, to whatever degree it has developed.

I’m struggling. I’m constantly failing the tests I’m put through. But that’s alright. All I need to do is develop this mood in my heart: guru-sevaka haya mānya āpnara, to revere the servants of śrī guru, and I’m guaranteed success in spiritual life.

What is the symptom of one who has guru-niṣṭhā? He will give proper respect even to a dog that is related to his guru. If he does not give proper respect to everyone related to his guru, whether they are initiated or not, if he has no regard and honour for them, then his honour for his guru is actually a show. He has no real guru-niṣṭhā.

– Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
9 February 2004 Murwillumbah, Australia

Only when this has developed will my desire for bhukti, mukti and siddhi dissipate, and I too, being connected to Śrīla Gurudeva, will become niṣkāma and ataeva, therefore, always śānta, peaceful and happy.