Letter 6 - The nature of the conditioned soul,...

The nature of the conditioned soul • Gaining worldly convenience cannot be called real mercy • The viśrambha-sevaka utilizes all conveniences in the service of Bhagavān • The home of a devotee who is exclusively dedicated to guru is a maṭha • Revealing a semblance of his svarūpa via humour

श्री श्री गुरु-गौराङ्गौ जयतः

śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ

Shri Krishna Prasad Dasadhikari Shri Nimananda Cloth Stores Ukilpara, P.O. Raiganj (West Dinajpur) North Bengal 5/5/1971

Śrī vaiṣṇava-caraṇe daṇḍavan-nati pūrvikeyam—

—Prabho! Your letter dated 5/3/71 came into my hands in good time in Navadvīpa. I could not understand the cause for concern when you do not receive news of me or a letter from me for many days. I did not know there was someone to worry about me. When I received your letter, I came to know I will not simply perish in a field somewhere “or along the banks of the Gomati River–maraṇaṃ ca gomatī tīre.” I will not have to lose my life, which is worth at least five rupees, in a gobhāgāḍa [a place where cow carcasses are thrown]. After two months, I am reading and replying to the letter you sent on 5/3/71. Surely this counts as a “gracious letter”. Despite, in an era of independence, all the touting of the slogan “This freedom is false”, what presently passes for “mercy” is letting people be whimsical and do as they please. If a person or persons experience some joy from receiving a letter drenched in such mercy, then what objection can I have? I have managed a checkmate for cheap. This is my special gain.

You wrote to Nava-yogendra to find out where I am preaching. He did not provide the address, or he could not. How can a parivrājaka (roaming mendicant), or bhavaghura, as the slang goes, have a definite address? It is to attain the state of “finding meals here and there and sleeping in the marketplace–bhojanaṃ yatra tatra śayanaṃ haṭṭa-mandire” that he has been designated a bhavaghura. The Nava-yogendras, the Catuḥsana (four Kumāras), Nārada, and others, and even Bhagavān have no purpose in finding a home in this bhavāṭavī (forest of material existence). “Devāḥ na jānanti, kuto manuṣyāḥ–the demigods do not know; what to speak of men?” Nowadays, from time to time, I have a great desire to live out a solitary life, which is why I put a veil over my head and attempt to live incognito. But when there is a shortage of food at the prominent haunts, the vigilance of the C.I.D. Co. (Criminal Investigations Department) increases. That is when they agitate the winds of the sky, track down my hidden outpost, and I get caught and arrested by them like a “defendant under investigation”. There is no escaping their clutches; they steal everything I have and cast me far away in a helpless condition. This is my ultimate predicament! To whom will I convey this woeful tale, and who will hear? 

There is no one in this world to listen or lend an ear to my pitiful crying. I had such hope that—

śuniyā āmāra duḥkha vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, āmā lāgi’ kṛṣṇe āvedibena pracura.

“Hearing of my woes, the Vaiṣṇava master will profusely petition Kṛṣṇa for me”.

However, 

se āśā viphala, se jñāna durbala, se jñāna ajñāna jāni;

“That hope did not bear fruit and that knowledge was weak; I know that knowledge to be ignorance.”^[1]

One person makes a saṅkalpa (oath) to perform Śrī Dhāma parikramā or, in other words, attempts to pull up the anchor of material attachment, while another gives more credence to the attachments of saṃsāra and says, “I did not have the good fortune [to go on parikramā].” He then becomes averse to engaging in the limbs of bhakti. Man creates his own fortune himself. Through sincerity and firm conviction, that good fortune arises. If the sādhaka makes no effort and blames everything on his luck and the fruits of his karma, he will not attain perfection in his sādhana. This cycle of saṃsāra is fearsome. This is a definite truth. 

Yet it is only through Kṛṣṇa’s saṃsāra that one attains the well-being of the soul. 

kṛṣṇera saṃsāra karo, chāḍi anācāra^[2]

“Engage in Kṛṣṇa’s saṃsāra and give up misconduct.”

This is a positive instruction. Knowingly, though having heard this, the jīva transgresses and drinks poison. This is the symptom of the conditioned soul. It is because the baddha-jīva cannot understand what is śreyaḥ [ultimately good for him] and what is preyaḥ [immediately palatable], that he thinks good to be bad and holds fast to what is bad for him, thinking it to be good. If man had a proper grasp of good and bad, if he were established in the discernment of truth and falsity, then he would never be able to make mistakes. One who has seen the truth is a pure living entity utterly devoid of the four flaws of bhrama, pramāda (the tendency to commit mistakes, become illusioned), and so forth. He is a self-realized sādhaka, entirely perfect, an eternally perfected mahāpuruṣa (great personality), a saint who sees all to be equal. If the baddha-jīva earns such a personality’s mercy, then and only then is he blessed, his life made a success.

By the mercy of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, you have been transferred to a convenient situation. This is without a doubt good news, but can it be called guru and Vaiṣṇavas’ genuine mercy or not? Whether or not getting good employment, winning a suit or court case, having one’s unhappiness or misery alleviated, and other such achievements are to be called “mercy” is a matter to ponder. Western materialists keep saying, “God, give us our daily bread.” Certain classes of India’s merchants utter the words “delāy de rāma–give to me, Rāma” and hanker for their livelihood from Bhagavān. Some even worship “Ruṭi

Bhagavān (the Bread God)” and have thus taught faith in God. In truth, these are all champions of apotheosis [attaining a so-called divine status]. Śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas do not hanker for earthly objects from Bhagavān. He is only to be prayed to for unconditional devotion. Praying for wealth, followers, etc. from the Supreme Father, Śrī Bhagavān, does not earn the title pitṛ-bhakti (devotion to the father) or bhagavad-bhakti. Rather, it comes in the category of mundane lust and hankerings.

A viśrambha-sevaka (intimate servant) of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas, however, who is exclusively dedicated to their service, obtains every advantage, convenience, and necessary qualification in the course of his sādhana. Without praying to Śrī Bhagavān, he obtains all these things, and because “his every endeavour is for Kṛṣṇa’s sake–kṛṣṇārthe akhila ceṣṭā-viśiṣṭa”, everything he obtains proves favourable for bhakti. Therefore, he does not, like the karmī (elevationist) or jñānī (salvationist), invoke gross and subtle gratifications. 

He knows:—

āsakti rahita, sambandha sahita, viṣaya samuha sakali mādhava;

“One who is devoid of attachment yet endowed with relationship (sambandha) sees Mādhava as the source and sum of all objects of the senses”^[3]

That viśrambha-sevaka’s vow is this: 

tomāra dhana, tomāya diye, tomāra haye rai;

“I deliver Your wealth unto You and remain Yours”.

Such a person is a soul offered in submission, free from all material possessions, exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, and fixed in the dharma of giving respect to all and expecting none in return. True benefit is reaped from serving that devotee whose exclusive life goal is bhagavad-bhakti. He alone is jagad-guru (spiritual master of the world).

When the construction work on the house begins on the day of Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā, then surely it will manifest as the seat or temple of the followers of Vyāsa. May the schools of thought that oppose Vyāsa not be honoured in that place and may the pūjā-pañcaka^[4] be forever conducted there. If the jīvas can follow the example of Śrī Vyāsa-guru, they can attain their true well-being. It is indicative of conviction in Śrī Vyāsa-guru to be inspired in that regard and enlighten others. The endeavours involved in establishing a pīṭha (place of worship) of śrī guru executed by devotees who are exclusively dedicated to the service of guru are surely praiseworthy. Guru-pīṭha means an āśrama, maṭha, or śrī mandira. Therefore, though the topic of gṛha-praveśa [a ceremony performed upon entering a new home] has been proposed, it does not pertain to the gṛhamedha or blind well of a bhogī (sense enjoyer) or the physically engrossed (dehārāmī), which is all about sense enjoyment and leads to hell. Rather, it has to be referred to as maṭha-praveśa (entering a new temple) because spiritual students dwell forever in an āśrama or maṭha, keeping themselves engaged in the service of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas and their minds absorbed in sādhana-bhajana. There is only one duty that has been ordained for every sādhaka or sādhikā, regardless of whether they are in the brahmacārya-āśrama, gārhasthya-āśrama, or sannyāsa-āśrama. Hence, in this case, the gṛha, or home, is a maṭha, and the maṭha is a home–they mean the same thing, being set up to achieve the same purpose.

Will Śrī Vāmana obtain one cottage for rest and bhajana-sādhana at the Dhādikā Āśrama in alms? Of course, I will not seize the whole āśrama and everyone in it on the pretext of begging three paces of land. This much I can swear before noon. Surely, I will not be cheated of gaining assistance, since I am the dāsī of Vanamālī Śrī Hari. I accept the leadership of Śrī Tulasī, the dearly beloved of the golden-complexioned Śrī Rādhārāṇī and the crown jewel of connoisseurs, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and I strive to realize the real tattva about Them. If I have a little place to stay, there will be no trouble in collecting everything else. I will have lemon and salt with me. All I will have to ask the gṛhasthas for is rice, dahl, vegetables, spices, and whatnot. There should be a jñāna-kāṇḍa, toilet facility, built alongside the āśrama. This is indispensable for everyone, be they renunciates or householders. If I have the opportunity to go to Dhadika in the month of Śrāvaṇa–Bhādra, I will have a chance to test everything in person.

[First, I was in] Siuri [Bengal] and, afterwards, Ranibahal, and then Asanbani [Jharkhand], where I met with——Prabhu and talked with him. U——Prabhu also came to Ranibahal and met with me; he told me about his misfortune. When I think of his condition, I have compassion for him, but everything is a lesson from Śrī Bhagavān. The sad thing is that now, in his old age, he is having to work the oil mill of material existence by himself. The amazing thing is that even in such conditions, we do not feel any disinterest [in material life]. Saṃsāra is a battlefield and a school. We all will have to take lessons from this world; there is no end to these lessons. Those who can see the example of others and then be cautious themselves are the most intelligent. Such persons are truly expert at bhajana. Attaining bhagavad-bhakti is their ultimate success.

[My] body is really not well. Still, I have to go out travelling a lot. All these places are about five miles from the Pakistan border [East Pakistan, later Bangladesh]. Two or three days ago, a great many people were injured by Pakistani gunfire and admitted to the local hospital. There is no benefit to fearing for one’s life. Please accept my daṇḍavats. Iti—

Servant of the servant of the Vaiṣṇavas,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Quoting from two different songs from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Kalyāṇa-kalpataru and Śaraṇāgati –Kabe Śrī Caitanya More Koribena Dayā (5) and Vidyāra Vilāse (2)–Śrīla Mahārāja is expressing his humility and the excruciating separation he feels from the Vaiṣṇavas. He is not, in any way, suggesting that Vaiṣṇavas are liable to disappoint those who seek their aid.

[2]:

Gītāvalī, Nadīya Godrume(4) by Śrī Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

[3]:

Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s song “Duṣṭa mana tumi”.

[4]:

Worship of seven groups of five: vyāsa-pañcaka, kṛṣṇa-pañcaka, sanakādi-pañcaka, pañca-tattva-pañcaka, upāsya-pañcaka, ācārya-pañcaka, and guru-pañcaka.