Letter 118 - Nothing is out of reach for those who are Akiñcana,...

Nothing is out of reach for those who are akiñcana • All qualification is attained through simple faith and conviction • As life is uncertain and time is short, it is imperative to study śāstra and seek out its essence • Gossiping about others causes fearsome damage to sādhana-bhajana • Be the honeybee, not the fly • Guru, Vaiṣṇavas, and Bhagavān grant qualification to those who have none • The speciality of Śrī Nṛsiṃhadeva • The importance of freedom and intimacy in being able to render service fully

श्री श्री गुरु-गौराङ्गौ जयतः

śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ

Śrī Śyāmasundara Gauḍīya Maṭha Milanpalli, Siliguri Darjeeling 28/2/1994

Kalyāṇīyāsu—

Dear——! I sent you a letter by courier this past date of 18/2/94. Prior to receiving this letter, you sent me a letter again on the date of 21/2/94. 

I answered all of the questions in your current letter in my previous letter. …

मारोबि राखोबि जो इच्छा त्õहारा,
नित्य-दास प्रति तुwआ अधिकारा

Mārobi rākhobi jo icchā tõhārā,
nitya-dāsa prati tuwā adhikārā^[1]

“Kill me or keep me, whatever You please. You have full authority over Your eternal servant.”

This is the surrendered soul’s surrender, or submission, of his soul. Those who have been able to become genuinely fully reliant on guru and Vaiṣṇavas and, above all, on Śrī Hari, have had all their doubts dispelled. It is they who are capable of gaining real peace and well-being in life. Those whose exclusive endeavours and conviction are directed towards sādhana-bhajana have no feelings of concern. They are thoroughly liberated from all the sorrows and sufferings, the burning and torment, of material existence. They are beyond all mundane good and bad, gross and subtle. For those who have been able to become akiñcana-niṣkiñcana (voluntarily possessionless), no object, material or spiritual, is inaccessible. Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas’ love and causeless compassion for them is forever manifest. If, in the matter of sādhana-bhajana, you always maintain amānī-mānada-dharma and shun prestige, you will find all perfection.

Those who, through service, can take Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas to be their own, are blessed. The sole duty and responsibility of one whose mind is fixed on service is to follow the instructions and directions of our guru-varga without any hesitation. Surely there is love and affectionate possessiveness in giving orders and instructions, as there will be in chastisement too. Chastisement without love and affection never works. Mundane qualification is not needed to follow the orders, directions, and instructions of guru and Vaiṣṇavas. All qualifications are fully acquired through simple faith and conviction. If one is to know tattva-siddhānta, one must become humble and free from the desire for prestige. As long as hatred, violence, envy, hankering for the fortune of others, vanity, pride, arrogance, and egotism are present, the questions that are truly beneficial for one’s soul do not arise and there remains no possibility of receiving such uplifting answers [that are beneficial to the soul]. Hence, one certainly has to nurture universal good qualities in one’s heart.

Although śabda-śāstra (scripture composed of the primeval word) is infinite, one has to engage in developing an understanding of it despite one’s short duration of life. Being aware that time is short, not delaying, and surpassing all obstacles and impediments, it is the duty of the intelligent man and woman to advance in sādhana. 

Even if you say [the following], you must maintain patience and steadiness:

केमने पाइबो, किछु ना पाइ सन्धान

kemane pāibo, kichu nā pāi sandhāna^[2]

“How will I achieve [my goal]; I cannot find the way”.

As our time is short, we have to gather up the essence. The one-pointed devotee who has submitted his soul to Śrī Hari, guru, and Vaiṣṇavas is ready to accept any sort of sacrifice. 

This is the fearsome oath (bhīṣma-pratijñā) of their lives. 

साधु-शास्त्र-गुरु-वाक्य—ए तिने करिया ऐक्य, आर ना करिहो मने आशा

Sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya—e tine kariyā aikya, āra nā kariho mane āśā

“The words of saintly personalities, scripture, and the holy teacher–align yourself with these three and do not aspire for anything else.” 

This is what we have to realize in life. It is precisely because “there is no certainty in life” that it is especially imperative to study the scriptures. One way or another, one has to allot time to that. If you have bhakti scriptures at home, then at some point, the opportunity to study and cultivate them will come.

If one can become clever about bhajana or grasp the essence of bhajana, then there is opportunity in every direction. Those who are discerning never spend their time pointlessly criticizing others. They make proper use of their time. The heart is defiled by gossiping about others. It causes fearsome damage to sādhana-bhajana. Adoring people’s general virtues is called pallava-grāhitā (“taking the buds”, or eclecticism). This is the honeybee’s nature. And the fly’s is to get trapped in things that are rotten, dead, or decomposing. Hence, to always consider and cultivate the positive side is intelligence.

At present, there is no need to give charity anywhere to Nṛsiṃha, Kṛṣṇa, and Viṣṇu. You are very poor. I know that well. 

Therefore, Śrī Vāmana-deva does not ask for any charity from you. 

वैष्णवेर आवेदने कृष्ण दयामय

Vaiṣṇavera āvedane kṛṣṇa dayāmaya^[3]

“Kṛṣṇa becomes merciful upon the requests of the Vaiṣṇavas.”

This is the real truth. If guru, Vaiṣṇavas, and Bhagavān have accepted you as Their own, then what worry do you have? They grant qualification to those who have none. To grant the unworthy worthiness is characteristic of śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas’ causeless compassion.

Man follows special rules out of a sense of love, attachment, and duty. Then a specified deadline, or calculation of time, cannot keep him contained. Still, one has to maintain consideration of time, place, and person in order to ensure balance. Sorrow and suffering, irritation and torment, meeting and separation go side by side with sādhana-bhajana and increase our patience and enthusiasm. This is the reality of life. If one learns to fathom the deep import of every activity in one’s life, then difficulties on the path of sādhana do not seem like difficulties. …

Śrī Nṛsiṃha-deva dispels all the obstacles and impediments to the sādhana-bhajana of crazy men and women and grants them opportunities. 

This is His affection for the devotees. Jagad-guru Śrīla Sarasvatī Prabhupāda has written: 

“Even though there is a predominance of reverence in the considerations of vātsalya pertaining to Śrī Nṛsiṃhadeva, Nṛsiṃhadeva, as the personification of vatsala-rasa, brought Prahlāda very close. Within Śrī Nṛsiṃhadeva, within His vatsala-rati, exists vātsalya-rasa. It is by the vātsalya-rasa for Prahlāda that Śrī Nṛsiṃha appears. Vātsalya is one of the main rasas, whereas the rasas of Matsya, Kūrma, and Varāha are secondary. Gaurasundara adopted the six arms of Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, and Nṛsiṃhadeva and became Gaura-Rāma, Gaura-Kṛṣṇa, and Gaura-Nṛsiṃha. According to other opinions, Kṛṣṇa, Baladeva, and Gaura have had their own manifestations of six arms. This has speciality. This is why this is a main rasa.”

Śrīdāma and other sakhās put their feet on Kṛṣṇa’s shoulders and put their full weight on Him. They give Kṛṣṇa their remnants. It is not advisable to impair one’s service by deliberating on whether one is equal or superior [to the object of one’s service]. It is necessary to ensure the elegance of service. The notion of reverence more or less means depriving the sevya (the object of service). Madhura-rasa is mukhyatama (the most predominant), vatsala-rasa is mukhyatara (predominant), and sakhya-rasa is mukhya (dominant). In each of them, vipralambha, or the concept of separation, is powerful. And śānta, dāsya, and gaurava-sakhya (reverential friendship) are mixed with a mood of reverence. If the sevaka does not find extensive latitude for service, then he becomes incapable of fully serving the master. If there is not an abundance of intimacy, then he does not have the ability to render all types of service.

It is necessary to realize all of this tattva-siddhānta in the heart.

“Falling in love with a conditioned soul entails a state of bondage, whereas the love and affection of liberated personalities enables the conditioned soul to attain bhakti, prema-bhakti.” 

I was delighted to learn of this philosophical insight. Money is not everything for man. There are many superior things like dignity, magnanimity, generosity, and discretion. Independence that is subservient to another, rather than individual independence, is what effects advancement in sādhana-bhajana. As man proceeds in life, whether he wishes it or not, many errors, mishaps, and shortcomings occur. Regret and remorse are the best atonement or means of regulation. The bona fide guru never abandons those who have taken shelter of him. Remember this. Śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas are patita-pāvana, deliverers of the fallen. Personalities as merciful, compassionate, and gracious as them are very rare in this world. Take my affectionate blessings. Iti—

Your eternal well-wisher,
Śrī Bhaktivedānta Vāmana

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Śaraṇāgati^, Mānasa Deha Geha (3) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

[2]:

Prārthanā^, Jaya Jaya Śrī Kṛṣṇa^- Caitanya Nityānanda (5) by Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura

[3]:

Śaraṇāgati^, Kabe Śrī Caitanya More (6) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura