Sri

Vyasa Puja
201 3

Celebrating the appearance of our beloved Gurudeva

Srila Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha Maharaja

Srila Gurudeva Pranama

Planets of Faith by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja Can the Guru Make Mistakes? by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja The Post of Guru by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja A Wrong Civilisation by rla A.C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda Problems & Solutions by rla rdhara Deva Gosvm Mahrja Sri Sri Radha Krsna by rla Bhakti Pramoda Pur Gosvm Hari-katha in Purusottama Ksetra by rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura Gitara Janma Rahasya by rla Bhaktivinoda hkura What are We Looking For? by rpda Bhakti Bhvana Viu Mahrja

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Getting with the Plan by Haridsa Bbj Mahrja Heart & Halo by Svm B.V. Giri Mahrja The Meaning of Diving Deep by Dhra-lalita Ds What Have We Got to Lose? by Advaita crya Dsa Brahmacr Deva-deva Jagat-pate by Rpnuga Dsa Brahmacr Vaisnavism & Religious Equality by Gaura Gopla Dsa Brahmacr Mission Events

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Offerings

Acknowledgements

Articles

Planets of Faith
by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja

ast week I came across some discussion on the internet regarding raddh the importance of faith. Is it essential or only a necessity for the beginner? Personally, I would like to see more discussion on this topic, because I see it as an area of siddhnta that is little understood by a vast majority of the Gaudya Vaiavas residing in western countries. I say amongst those Vaiavas residing in western countries because, at least amongst the followers of rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura in India I have never found any lack of understanding in that area. To the contrary whatever meagre reference I have to that sublime point has been gained by their association. I have seen in the works of rla Bhaktivinoda hkura that raddh has been described as the halo of rmat Rdhr and I have heard this also from rla rdhara Mahrja. Amongst the Gauyas, the Supreme Goddess of Fortune, rmat Rdhr, is called raddh-dev or the predominating Deity of faith. She is faith personified. She has more faith and deeper faith in Ka than any other entity. Therefore, faith must be given the highest position. Surely it is not simply an abstract concept for beginners with no essential purpose for advanced souls. There is a nice analogy in this respect in that Ka is like a dark rain cloud on the dark moon night (He is indistinguishable, unknown and unknowable). In other words we cannot see or distinguish the cloud from the night sky. However, when there is lightning, a flash of light in the night sky, at that time we are given the capacity to see the cloud. By light we can thus distinguish the cloud. Similarly, rmat Rdhr is the only agency by which we can know or realise Ka. She alone has the capacity to reveal Ka to the fallen conditioned souls and that capacity is Her investment in all living beings which appears in the heart as faith, raddh. Thus She is known as raddh-dev. In Gauya siddhnta the higher position is given to faith rather than to knowledge. In fact, the verse yasya-deve-par-bhaktir confirms this point of Gauya siddhnta: yasya deve par bhaktir yath-deve tath gurau tasyaite kathit hy arth prakante mahtmana Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed. (vetvatara Upaniad 6.38) Our Guru Maharaja, rla A.C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda, was very fond of this verse. If one does not have proper faith in Hari, guru and Vaiava then ones progress in Ka consciousness will be next to nil. Knowledge, even the study of the Vedas, will be to no avail unless one has raddh in guru and Ka.

It is a fact that raddh is often confused with the blind faith of various mundane religionists and others. The faith/belief that there are many gods or that Durg, Indra, Gaea, or Jesus is God is not actually raddh anymore than having a university degree means that one is a brhmaa. A brhmaa means one who knows what is Brahman/Parabrahman. Similarly, raddh means the conviction that by serving Ka all other purposes are served. We are not interested in mere credulity. raddh, faith proper, is the instrument to understand and to know the higher subjective realm. Knowledge (jna) is useful only in as much as it destroys ignorance and increases our raddh. Only raddh which takes us to surrender, aragati, can fulfill the hearts innermost hankering and aspiration. Here is a nice quote from rla rdhara Mahrja in regards to the limitations of knowledge:

An intellectual understanding of Ka consciousness is impossible. Just as a bee cannot taste honey by licking the outside of a glass jar, one cannot enter the domain of higher spirit through the intellect.
The innermost hankering of every living soul is for beauty, love, affection and harmony not for power, knowledge, or anything else. This is the diagnosis of the whole creation in time and space their common cause is one. But it is rare for a soul to reach such a clear stage of hankering for reality as to understand this point. Few souls are to be found in this world who are really conscious of their innermost necessity, who realise, We want Ka! We want Vndavna! Such sincere souls are not easily found. An intellectual understanding of Ka consciousness is impossible. Just as a bee cannot taste honey by licking the outside of a glass jar, one cannot enter the domain of higher spirit through the intellect. Only by service will Ka be satisfied and come down, only then will we be able to understand the nature of the higher plane. This is Vedic knowledge. We are taasth-akti, marginal potency, and if we want to know any truth about higher reality, we must realise that it is more subtle than our existence it is super-subjective. It can touch us, but we cannot climb up to that domain out of our own sweet will. Only if we are given the grace which can take us up can we go. One who has this understanding will be able to combat all the existing intellectualists. The intellect has no capacity to enter into the higher subjective area. That Supreme Truth is atndriya-manasa gocara beyond the plane of the senses, mind and intellect. This 3

expression, manaso vapuo vco vaibhavam tava gocara by Brahm, admitting to Ka that He was beyond the reach of his body, mind and words, was not only a lip-deep statement of the mouth. If we want to know the Absolute Truth, the only condition for realising Him is a submissive attitude. In that way, He may be satisfied with our attempt and reveal Himself to us. Divine revelation is not a matter of research within this world we should have a sincere heart to serve. In rmad Bhgavatam it is written: matir na ke parata svato v mitho bhipadyeta gha-vratnm adnta-gobhir viat tamisram puna puna carvita-carvanm Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclination towards Ka is never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both. (Bhg. 7.5.30) rmad Bhgavatam tells us that we can try to enter the world of higher reality through intellectualism, but we will again come back, baffled in our attempts. If we try to press with our intelligence to enter into that domain, we will come back dissatisfied in despair and will wander here within this mortal world again and again. reya sti bhaktim udasya te vibho kliyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye tem asau kleala eva iyate nnyad yath sthla-tuvaghtinm O Lord, those who want to have a clear conception of You through their intellect find their attempts useless. Their endeavours end only in frustration, like those who try to beat rice from an empty husk. (Bhg. 10.14.4) So jna, knowledge, is like an empty husk. Energy and knowledge are only outer aspects. The real substance, the rice, is devotion love. That is the tasteful thing within. Other things are covers (jna-karmdy-anvtam). But what is within the cover is tasteful, eternal, auspicious, and beautiful: satyam, ivam, sundaram. Beauty is reality, ecstasy is reality, everything else is only an outer cover with the cover, we cannot get the substance within. Then our life becomes a disappointment. So the conclusion being that if we neglect the importance of raddh we will ultimately not be successful.

can the guru

by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja

e must always hold our guru in the highest regard. The disciple must see the guru as the representative of Ka. The guru is never to be considered as an ordinary man, jva-tattva. crya m vijnyn nvamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhysyeta sarva-deva-mayo guru One should know the crya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods. (Bhg.11.17.27)

Because the guru is representing Ka at every moment he is no longer seen by the disciple as an ordinary jva. He is understood in the eyes of the disciple as guru-tattva. Whatever the guru does will be seen by the faithful disciple as wonderful, pure, perfect, and always representing Ka. Therefore, in the eyes of the disciple the guru never makes a mistake. The non-disciple section, however, may find fault with our guru. They may regard him as an ordinary man and this is intolerable for a genuine disciple. If by chance the guru misspells or incorrectly pronounces a word the enthusiastic neophyte disciple will feel his guru is right and, if necessary, the dictionary should be changed. But the non-disciple will see such a thing as a mistake. A more senior disciple will consider that if the non-disciple section sees a so-called mistake committed by his guru that they will consider him an ordinary man and therefore miss the chance to take to Ka consciousness. A senior disciple will consider the necessity to correct whatever so-called mistake his guru has made for the benefit of the non-disciple section. While correcting his gurus so-called mistake a sincere disciple will think, Oh, my guru is so kind. He is showing some defect just to give me a chance to serve him. 5

Our Guru Mahrja, rla A.C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda used to say, You are all helping me to spread this Ka consciousness movement all over the world. But we were thinking that he was so kind that he allowed us some service in his mission. Actually, rla Prabhupda did not require our help and whatever we are doing in the right way is simply by his grace. rla Prabhupda could have spread this movement singlehanded and actually he did that.

make mistakes?
Similarly, rla Prabhupda used to say that, Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu could have spread Ka consciousness all over the world, not just India. But He is so kind that He has given us some service in His sakrtana movement. This is the mood of all great cryas and spiritual masters in our disciplic succession. There is a danger for the disciple if he considers the so-called mistakes of his There is a danger for the guru to arise from the conditioning of the disciple if he considers three modes of material nature. Therefore, the so-called mistakes of we must be very careful how we associate with the guru and in what consciousness his guru to arise from the we observe his activities. Even the senior conditioning of the three disciple will experience great difficulty if he modes of material nature. proudly thinks that his guru is dependent on his services. So Ka has said, crya m vijnyn Know the crya as My very self. There can never be a material defect in Ka. He is purely transcendental acyuta, above the senses and the laws of material nature. The disciple must always remember this loka and maintain such regard for his guru. There is no difference between your guru and my guru yet we will not necessarily see others gurus in the same way as we see our guru. In a private gathering of our godbrothers and godsisters we may express such exclusive vision that our guru is the best of millions of jagat-gurus and it must be so. Otherwise why have we come to the shelter of our guru?

the post of

by rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja

(The following is a conversation between rla Guru Mahrja and a godbrother in 1996) Godbrother: When your disciples recite the jaya-dhvni prayers after krtanas in the temple etc. they refer to Your Holiness as a paramahasa. Are you actually a paramahasa, a topmost swan-like devotee? Guru Mahrja: What am I? That I know very well. I am the very fallen and lowly servant of Ka. You, my godbrother, may also have such a perception of me. But my disciples they will not see like that. The post of the guru is paramahasa. The disciple does not see anything ordinary about his guru. He has such a vision of his Gurudeva. The disciple only sees the inspired side of the Vaiava who is his Gurudeva. He sees and he is interested only with the investment or delegation of Ka within his Gurudeva. For example, once, I was discussing my earlier devotional life with one of my disciples, Rdh-Mdhava Dsa, and I informed him that just prior to taking sannysa I was an ordinary brahmacr preaching in Africa, to which he immediately replied, Ordinary? Never! The post of the guru is paramahasa. At the same time the guru is relative. All will not see him as guru. His disciples see him as absolute, but the godbrothers, or a friend, or a relative of his previous family will not see him as absolute. Each will see him according to their individual relationship with him. We must give respect to the post of guru. Of course, one should have the necessary qualification guru-niha and nikicana-bhakti firm faith in the order of his Guru Mahrja and freedom from the desires for power, profit, adoration and distinction before accepting the post of guru and accepting disciples. It will be very difficult to say from an objective point of view who is or who isnt a paramahasa. For example, if I ask you if rla Prabhupda was a paramahasa you will say yes, but what is your proof? Can you say? What is your proof? 7

Godbrother: Well, rla Prabhupda came to America alone and he published many books on the topic of Ka consciousness. Guru Mahrja: Yes, rla Prabhupda did that and much more, but that is external. Do you mean to say that if an old man simply comes to America and publishes some books about Ka that we should consider him a paramahasa? No. Then what is your actual proof? Godbrother: I have my faith and I know it in my heart that rla Prabhupda is a paramahasa. Guru Mahrja: Yes! That is your proof. Your faith is your proof. Faith allows us to know, to understand, to measure the standard and that is our only real proof. You can seek help from the scripture to know some of the necessary qualifications to become guru, but ultimately we must hear from our heart. That is the real proof. It is a subjective experience. It is a matter of knowing from the inner flow of the heart. It is not objective but subjective. The knowledge of the position of the guru descends from above. Ka Himself reveals the guru to a prospective candidate. Ka chooses who will be guru and for whom. It is not a matter of voting a man to the post of guru nor is the position of guru understandable by those who have no faith. yasya deve par bhaktir yath-deve tath gurau tasyaite kathit hy arth prakante mahtmana Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed. (vetvatara Upaniad 6.38) The qualification to know the truth to understand the position of the guru, depends on raddh, our faith. If we have proper faith then the truth is revealed in our heart and there is no greater proof than that. We may judge the position of so many persons in this world by their various qualifications and disqualifications, but if we try to understand what is guru in that way we will be baffled. 8

Godbrother: But the guru must be pure and perfect. Guru Mahrja: Yes, he must be pure, he must be perfect,but what is your conception of purity and perfection? In which way shall we consider that he is perfect or not? How shall we understand his purity? By Vedic standards the gops were impure. They were unchaste from the material point of view but what was their standard of spiritual purity? They are actually the purest of the pure because they simply wanted to satisfy Ka. They have no separate desire other than to please Ka. in ka-lila, the wives of the Vedic brhmaas were also more pure than their husbands because they simply tried to satisfy Ka and His friends. Also Rmnanda Rya was a dra, a government servant, therefore he was impure by Vedic standards and as such, a sannys should never touch such a person. But Caitanya Mahprabhu rejected such measures of purity and impurity and embraced Rmnanda Rya. Not only that, but He accepted Rmnanda Rya as His rasa-guru. We cannot know what is spiritual purity simply by trying to measure it by material standards. One may perfectly follow the four regulative principles for many, many lifetimes but he may remain impure. On the other hand one may not expertly observe the regulative principles, yet he may still be a pure devotee of Ka. Godbrother: But thats not possible. rla Prabhupda taught us to strictly follow the regulative principles, otherwise we cannot go back to Godhead. Guru Mahrja: Yes, we may strictly follow the regulative principles, but without surrender to guru and Ka where is our purity? It remains only material purity. There are many brhmaas and sannyss in India who strictly follow the four regulative principles, yet they are great oppressors and offenders to Caitanya Mahprabhus movement. Similarly, there are examples of many devotees who were not so strict about the regulative principles, but they were pure devotees nonetheless. Godbrother: Like who? Guru Mahrja: Like rla Prabhupdas father for example. Everyone knows rla Prabhupda dedicated his Ka Book to, Gaura-mohn De, a pure devotee of Ka. Yet his father kept a hookah, a water-pipe, in his house for entertaining saintly persons and he sometimes supplied them with gaj. So what was his purity if he supplied a water-pipe and gaj to his guests? If you do such things, your godbrothers will drive you out with a stick. You will be cast out from the society. So what was the purity of rla Prabhupdas father that he took him to be a pure 9

devotee of Ka? His purity was that he simply desired that his son would become a pure devotee of rmat Rdhr. He prayed to all those saintly person whom he entertained to please give this blessing to his son. That was his purity. He simply desired for his son to become a pure devotee of rmat Rdhr. We have to judge purity from the inner plane, not from the external circumstances. Another example is Puarka Vidynidhi. When he came to Navadvpa he was sitting in his luxurious house smoking a water-pipe, wearing costly clothing and perfumes. From his external appearance and habits he seemed to be a materialist. But when he heard the verse, aho bak yam stana-klaka recited by Mukunda Datta he became mad with love of Ka. aho bak ya stana-kla-ka jighsaypyayad apy asdhv lebhe gati dhtry-ucit tato nya ka v daylu araa vrajema O, how amazing it is! The sister of Baksura (Ptan) desiring to kill r Ka, smeared poison on her breasts and forced Ka to drink her milk. Even so, Lord Ka accepted her as His mother, and so she attained the position of a nurse. Of whom should I take shelter but the most merciful Ka? (Bhg. 3.2.23) When Puarka Vidynidhi heard this verse he became very serious and soon shivering and the shedding of tears in ecstasy became manifest in his body. He began to roll on the floor and cry, Of whom should I take shelter but the most magnanimous Lord? Where should I take refuge without such a Lord? Puarka Vidynidhi had so much devotion for Ka within, but outwardly he appeared to be an ordinary materialist. Godbrother: Is there more than one pure devotee manifest on the planet at a time? Guru Mahrja: Certainly. rla Prabhupda used to say that there were many pure devotees living in Vndvana chanting 100 rounds of japa daily. But it is not so easy to find such devotees because they usually keep themselves hidden from the public eye. Many of rla Prabhupdas godbrothers were also pure devotees rpda Keava Mahrja, rla rdhara Mahrja, and Ka Dsa Bbj Mahrja just to name a few. As rla Prabhupda once said, My spiritual master did not initiate fools. A neophyte devotee who has some faith in his guru thinks that his guru is the only paramahasa. Amra guru, jagat guru My guru is jagat-guru. This thinking will be troublesome for the disciple. The neophyte does not understand the faith of others he thinks that everyone must be of his mark. The neophyte must make progress in his vision otherwise he runs the risk of committing offences and again falling back into the mundane world.

10

There is not simply one guru or one pure devotee but many. This point has not been properly understood by the general body of devotees. For example, just after the disappearance of our rla Prabhupda it was said that there were only eleven pure devotees. Now, it is widely said that there are no pure devotees at all! The propaganda machine goes on, but where is the proper understanding? Where is the knowledge and realisation? There is always a plurality of gurus ceta-guru, vartmana-pradaraka-guru, sik-guru, nmaguru, mantra-guru, sannysa-guru, rasa-guru, stra-guru, dhma-guru, parama-guru, etc. There are many gurus, but the neophyte devotee has trouble to understand what is actually guru so he sometimes accepts one (or eleven) and rejects another (or everyone). The search for guru is not limited to your society, mine, or anyone elses. Guru is a universal principle, not a sectarian concern. rla Prabhupda had to leave the Gauya Maha started by his spiritual master in order to preach and pursue the truth. Similarly, we have had to leave the Iskcon movement to maintain the proper conceptions of the Gauya Vaiava sampradya. Not only us, but many have had to leave Iskcon to find a bona-fide guru and to maintain the proper standards of purity, free from vaiava-apardha, since the disappearance of rla Prabhupda. Godbrother: Can one have two gurus? Guru Mahrja: Why two gurus? One can have hundreds of gurus if necessary. For example, if in a previous life one has accepted a guru, but due to his own shortcoming he could not achieve success, then in a future life he will be given another chance. He will meet r Gurudeva in a future life, but that may or may not be the same identical personality who was his guru in the past. But he will get a guru that is sure. We may pass many lifetimes being helped by many gurus before we reach perfection. Godbrother: But what about this lifetime? Can one have more than one guru in this lifetime? For example, you have first, second and sannysa initiation from rla Prabhupda but you also have a disciple relationship with rla rdhara Mahrja. How is that possible? Guru Mahrja: That is also not a new thing. It is more the standard in our parampar to have two or more gurus rather than having only one. In fact, rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura often remarked that the eka-guru-vds (those who preach the philosophy of having only one guru) will certainly have a difficult time achieving perfection. If you study our guru-parampar carefully you will see that many of our cryas such as Ka Dsa Kavirja Gosvm, who offers respect to Rpa and Raghuntha at the end of every chapter of the Caitanya-caritmta, had two or more gurus. Actually, after the disappearance of rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura, many of his disciples accepted sik from rla rdhara Mahrja. Our rla Prabhupda also accepted rla 11

rdhara Mahrja as his sik-guru. And on the order of rla Prabhupda, I have also accepted rla rdhara Mahrja as my sik-guru and that has been a great blessing for me. Godbrother: Wouldnt it be better if everyone was just a tvik-crya and initiated disciples on behalf of rla Prabhupda?

rla Prabhupda also accepted rla rdhara Mahrja as his sik-guru. And on the order of Prabhupda I have also accepted rla rdhara Mahrja as my sik-guru and that has been a great blessing for me.
Guru Mahrja: That is all right, but we are not Sikhs. That is the conception started by Guru Govind Singh. He announced that there would be no more gurus only that a body of tvikcryas would initiate. Since then, Sikhism has become a dead religion. We are not interested in that. We are members of a living conception, a living sampradya. This tvik-crya idea is a dead conception. Where is the life? The life means I must become pure, I must surrender, I must embrace a life of unalloyed devotion and I must preach. But what are the tvik-cryas doing? Nothing! Simply sitting back and pointing with the finger of their crippled faith toward the socalled disqualifications of others. They say no one is qualified to hold the post of guru. They see only disqualification in everyone. They are like Duryodhana. But we should not see like that. We should try to see like Yudhihira Mahrja. There is a storyone day Ka met with Duryodhana and Yudhihira Mahrja. Ka asked Duryodhana to go out into the kingdom and bring back a person more qualified than himself. Duryodhana was highly qualified in the military sciences. Duryodhana went out and at the same time Ka requested Yudhihira Mahrja also to go out into the kingdom but to find a person less qualified than himself. Yudhihira Mahrja was also highly qualified in all the military sciences and more. After some time, both men returned alone, empty handed. Ka then inquired from each why they had returned alone. Duryodhana said, I could not find anyone more qualified than myself. And Yudhihira said, I could not find anyone less qualified than myself. Do you see? Those with the tvik mentality are like Duryodhana, they cannot see the good qualities of others. In this way, what they want to say is that they alone are qualified at least to judge the qualifications of others. This kind of thinking is avaiava, against the devotional line. 12

Another argument is this the tvik-cryas are saying that no one is qualified, but they have not seen everyone so how do they know for sure? It is the same old story a man says he has not seen anyone who has seen God, therefore he says, nobody has seen God. But how does he know? Has he met everyone and inquired, Have you seen God? No. And if he met someone who said he had seen God would he believe him? Probably not. Consider this point also rla Prabhupda had at least five-thousand disciples. Many of them are still carrying on in Ka consciousness even to this day. Now you want to say that none of them have become qualified? None of them have have become Ka conscious? If that is true then why on earth would you want to become a disciple of rla Prabhupda? After all, not even one of his disciples became qualified even after following the process for almost thirty years. Then what will be the use of you following that process? Certainly it must be defective. If someone is a professor but none of his students have qualified to pass the examination, then why should I want to enroll as one of his students? I would do much better for myself to find a professor who has some qualified students. Then at least I might have a chance to qualify myself. Do you follow? Those who are preaching this tvik-crya conception are actually doing great harm to rla Prabhupdas movement. This tvik idea is a dangerous conception. It simply leads to the grave. It has no life. Godbrother: But how can we know for sure if a godbrother is a qualified paramahasa or not? Guru Mahrja: First you must surrender and become a pure devotee of Ka and your spiritual master, then you will know for sure who is who. It takes one to know one.

13

wrong civilisation

by rla A.C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda

hen we speak of civilisation, we mean the civilisation of human society, individual or collective, nation or people and it bears a meaning of a gradual process of evolution of a certain standard of life. The etymological explanation of the word civilisation, as we find often in the dictionary, is the state of being refined in manners from the rude savage life and improved in arts and learning. Thus by civilisation we mean a progress of life towards a certain desired ideal by the human race only. Civilisation is applicable to human society only, because in other forms of life there is no possibility of a gradual process of improvement in the standard of life. Generally speaking, objects that are visible to our naked eyes are divided into two broad groups. The one is animation and the other is dead matter. In the animate group we find that a life is born, stays here for a certain period of time and then dies. According to r Gt matter cannot have any separate existence:

apareyam itas tv any prakti vidhi me parm jva-bhta mah-bho yayeda dhryate jagat Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature. (Gt 7.5) With the birth of a living being we see a certain quantity of matter also, as a covering of the living being and with the advancing age of the particular living being the material covering also undergoes a gradual change. When the living being leaves that material covering, the corpse remains as dead matter for a different purpose independently of the living being with whom it had been born. We cannot, however, accept the theory of life being born out of matter, but it is not at present the subject matter of our discussion. Empiric science only deals with matter. We, therefore, accept the authority of r Gt which defines life as the principle which holds together this material universe. Under the circumstances, progress is applicable to life only and not to dead matter which is always subservient to life. The animate kingdom is divided into two groups namely the sthvara and the jagama. The sthvara means that which cannot move from one place to another, under which heading comes plant and stone life. Modern science has more or less accepted the vegetable kingdom as having life, but the Hindu scriptures state that there is also life in stone e.g. the hills etc. The jagama are those that can move from one place to another. Amongst the jagama group are aquatic animals, animals that move on land and those that fly in the air. Amongst animals that move on land the human form of life is considered to be the highest. There are different gradations of man beginning from life in the most savage and barbarous state of society, to the most polished and advanced form of cultured society. Whenever there is animation there is also free initiative which is the prime symptom of life and civilisation can be interpreted as the development of this initiative. Man is a rational 16

animal. We can distinguish the human form of life from other forms of animation by the principle of rationality. The more the rationality of man individually or collectively is developed, the society is considered to be more civilised. All other animals are as if under the guidance of Mother Nature. Men are considered to be her elderly children who are given a certain amount of freedom to make the best use of their rational portion of life which is a special gift to them. Therefore, a man without rationality is no better than the lower animals. It is quite reasonable therefore, to think that the misuse of this rational portion of life may result in our being degraded from this highest form of life to the lowest one. The Darwinian theoryof the gradual progress of species by differentiation and development may be partially correct, but according to the authorities of the Vedas and the Gt etc., a human form of life is considered to be a better chance for the soul which if not properly used, causes the offender to be hurled back into the whirlpool of lower births and deaths in the cycle of eighty-four lakhs of types of life. It is said therefore, in the Bhgavata: labdhv su-durlabham ida bahu-sambhavnte mnuyam artha-dam anityam apha dhra tra yateta na pated anu-mtyu yvan nireyasya viaya khalu sarvata syt After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober person should immediately endeavour to attain the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Ka consciousness is possible only for a human being. (Bhg.11.9.29) We have got this human form of life after crores of births and deaths and therefore, it should not be misused. But the modern trend of civilisation is more or less suicidal to the policy of this progress of life and therefore, it can be termed as wrong civilisation. The word progress denotes movement from one state to another. But if, out of our misunderstanding, the movement is directed towards the wrong side, the progress becomes degradation and this is what we think has happened in the modern trend of civilisation. In the lower form of life we cannot understand what is really good for us, but in the human form of life we have the highest developed form of consciousness to study the phenomenal objects and naturally, inquisitiveness arises within ourselves to know what we are and about the real nature of this world and the creator. There is no denying the fact that this inquisitiveness never arises in the consciousness of the lower animals and as such, the true function of a human being is to culture this part of his special gift by a systematic quest for the proper solution of the above metaphysical questions. There is no difference of physical necessities between a lower animal and a human being, and unless and until we engage ourselves in the study of the metaphysical questions and reach to the absolute goal, the so-called civilisation of human society may be termed as polished animalism. 17

Unless and until we engage ourselves in the study of the metaphysical questions and reach to the Absolute goal, the so-called civilisation of human society may be termed as polished animalism.

The civilisation that had developed in ancient India had a different vision, and the sages, who were able to discover the real necessities of human civilisation, were above the mere physical wants. They discovered four common principles of animal life. They are as follows: hra i.e. the principle of eating or drinking nidr i.e. the principle of sleeping bhaya i.e. the principle of fearing from others maithuna i.e. the sexuality If our civilisation is bound up within the walls of these four categories, we must accept that we have not improved the rational portion of our life by an inch. These four principles of life are common to the lower as well as the higher forms of life. In plain language these four principles cover only the physical wants of our life and they may be termed as sensuous enjoyments sought after by all classes of animals. The objects that minister to these sensuous enjoyments are called viayas and they are equally attainable by all forms of animation. Nature has given us sufficient resources to fulfill this aspect of our life and they are supplied to us even without any effort on our part and even in the most degraded form of our existence. Let us, therefore, think over our present position to ascertain whether we have endeavoured for something more than these. 18

The so-called civilisation of modern society is more or less an organised expression of all the abovementioned sensuous enjoyment, and all improvements in science, art, manners or learning are targeted towards this end only. It will take a long time for us to go into the details of the list of these sensuous enjoyments. The scholars of the scriptures call them the traps of the deluding energy. Why they are called traps may be understood by the close perusal of the following lines. We have undoubtedly learnt the art of preparing good dishes for the relish of our palate, and invented varieties of foodstuff which the lower animals cannot do. But the results derived by eating the cooked or uncooked foodstuff are the same, both to animals and to human beings. Our civilisation in this connection has not helped us in the least to prepare such foodstuff by eating which, we can make our material body immortal any more than the lower animals. Science and art or culture have deceived us as far as this point is concerned.

So before we are competent enough for correcting the gross mistakes that have crept into our present system of civilisation, we must be awakened souls.
By our inventions of various kinds of up-to-date furniture and sleeping accommodations in the most fashionable and comfortable cushions with decorated electric lights and fans, which are considered to the best gifts of modern civilisation, we have not improved the quality of our sleeping more than the lower animals. On the contrary, our conventional and extraordinary arrangements for sleeping-comforts have brought forth in their turn an ugly disease known as insomnia which the lower animals do not dream of. Recently we read in the papers that a Marwari millionaire offered a few lakhs to anyone who could cure his insomnia. We cannot, therefore, be proud of our civilisation from this point of view, as the lower animals are free from such maladies. Similarly we have not been able to minimise the volume of our fearfulness by inventing or improving the art of killing others. The lower animals such as dogs are always envious of fellow dogs, and we do not think we are less envious of our fellow men by the advancement of our present civilisation. Individually or collectively we are always fearful of our fellow brothers out of fear for loss. The dogs can improve their collective interests and combine in a society at a certain locality and, influenced by the extended selfishness, they can effectively make an attack on another dog or group of dogs from a different locality. We do not think we have much improved this dog qualification in ourselves any more than they. One man is afraid of another fellow man in spite of the slogans of equality and fraternity etc., and in a broader sense, one community or nation is afraid of another community or nation. The ideals of political philosophy in the shape of the League of Nations are, therefore, prospering at the expense of the less organised nations. So in this respect also, we are no better than the lower animals. 19

And lastly, in the matter of sexuality, we do not think we have made any greater advancement than the lower animals. There are many animals who are expert in producing more children than ourselves, and there are many more animals who can abstain from sexuality more voluntarily than ourselves. Human society has developed a sense of hypocrisy in matters of sexuality with the advance of civilisation. The leaders of society now openly reject the ideals of the voluntary checking of sexuality as is enjoined by religious scriptures. They have adopted artificial means of birth-control, while on the other hand, they are too much eager to introduce the re-marriage of widows who have been accustomed to abstain from sexuality. They are equivocal at one, and at the same time, they are for increasing or decreasing the rapid growth of population. These symptoms prove nothing but encouragement of sensuous enjoyment for all, irrespective of social or economic restraint. But this sort of unrestricted sexuality is absent from the society of the lower animals. It is quite evident therefore, from the study of the above facts, that the trend of the present civilisation in its crude sense, is no improvement on the animal portion of our life, and therefore, it may be safely concluded that we are in the trap of the deluding energy. By the progress of the present system of civilisation we have no chance of improving the status quo inspite of our having been given a chance of utilising the rational part of our life. In other words, the whole arrangement is an unqualified failure. And because it is a failure even on the highest ideals of manners and improvement in arts and literature there is always a tint of canine barbarism within. The present civilisation is not a healthy one. The big cities which are considered to be the highest gifts of modern civilisation, are in many respects worse than big forests. They are infested with organised gangs of criminals and robbers who are far worse than the wild beasts of the forests. But simple condemnation of the present system of civilisation is not all. We must try to find out the cause of it. After all we are human beings and it lies in our power to rectify the mistakes already committed and take up the proper path for actual progress. r Gurudeva can alone teach us how even the traps of the deluding energy can be utilised for the service of the absolute by the awakened soul. So before we are competent enough to correct the gross mistakes that have crept into our present system of civilisation, we must be awakened souls. We have been pulling too much stress on the material side of our existence, and therefore, the whole thing has been merely a destructive contrivance, without any reference to the constructive side of civilisation pertaining to the living entity we mean the necessity of the soul. As we have already mentioned herein, before that, matter has no separate useful existence from life. So our present civilisation which puts too much importance on the material side without any reference to the life or soul, is undoubtedly found to be wrong civilisation. It is quite understandable that a house has no useful existence if there is no living resident within 20

the house. The upkeep of the material house is needed as much as is congenial to the health of the living residents within the house. But if we misunderstand the whole position by mistaking the house for the residents and go on polishing and improving the house only, it certainly does not show any good use of our intelligence. When there is an outbreak of fire, the fire brigade members show their ingenuity by saving the lives within the house and not simply by extinguishing the fire itself. Extinguishing is not to be neglected, but the lives within the house must be saved at all costs. It will be no wisdom to extinguish the fire at the cost of the lives within. The authors of modern civilisation have given too much weight to the exoteric view of human life, and therefore, it cannot satisfy the same members of human society who possess the esoteric view. The wrong type of civilisation can be accepted as being good in itself only by dormant souls, and it requires to be overhauled from every side by those who are awakened. Some four-hundred and fifty years ago Lord Caitanya Himself appeared as a great religious teacher in Bengal to bring this message of the awakened soul home to everybody. That remains the only hidden treasure for all humanity, nay, for the whole of this mundane universe. The whole world is painfully labouring under the pressure of a wrong civilisation and paying a heavy toll for all the misdoings. The beginning of human civilisation properly dates only from the establishment of varrama-dharma. The system of varrama-dharma was in practice long ago in India, but with the fall of the indigenous civilisation of India, varrama-dharma has also been wrecked. The time is ripe for the revival of varrama-dharma under the guidance of the teachings of Lord Caitanya, and we are glad that there is a missive light already shining. The modern civilised people are out to lord it over nature or my, and they are trying their utmost to control the forces of my, but they do not know that my cannot really be overcome by any conditioned soul. An awakened soul can point out that all our frail tactics to avoid the traps of the deluding energy are nothing but a waste of energy and are like throwing stones in the darkness. Therefore, a warning halt should be sounded for the endeavours of all conditioned souls if they do not desire to be victims of my. The message of Lord Caitanya needs to be broadcasted all the world over for a thorough over-hauling of the wrong civilisation. (This article was originally written in English by rla Prabhupda for The Harmonist magazine Volume 33, Number 3 on November 25th, 1936)

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he present honourable Prime Minister of India, r Jawaharlal Nehru has suggested peaceful co-existence as an antidote to the principal problems faced by todays extroverted state of world affairs. Everyone accepts that due to the overzealousness of warmongering nations, there is a chance of complete annihilation of world peace. If the policy of peaceful co-existence is followed to the point, then there will be no necessity of spending millions to finance defense machinery and armies, nor will there be a need to invest millions in maintaining the department of defence to protect the country. Instead, if that money is utilised in developing other activities for the country, then the nation will become prosperous and the ordinary citizens of the country will be able to live in peace. If the above policy attains more prominence, then the necessity of a police force, which is kept for the welfare of the common people, will also reduce this is a fact. Although it may seem impossible to the human intellect at present, it is a clue to peace for Indian politics. Now it needs to be seen what is the origin of the aforementioned policy. It is easily discernable to an impartial acute observer. Its origin lies in a belief in the world within us, in other words, a belief in the Supreme. If the jva is not guided by his belief in the inner world, or knowledge of dharma, he cannot follow the path of peaceful co-existence. This means that there is no possibility of peace in the negative world until the jva enters into connection with the positive world. When one is in connection with the positive world 23

then one realises the insignificance of small and great, profit and loss, happiness and distress, and victory and defeat found within this negative world. When one studies the history of spirituality, one finds that the mahtms, who were expert in spiritual topics, instead of focusing on making permanent arrangements to stay in this mortal or external world, utilised their entire endeavour in obtaining membership in the internal or eternal world. In such efforts, they also achieved success. They only accepted whatever elements or products that were easily obtainable in this world for maintaining their lives. One has to bid goodbye today or some days later to this plane. If one tries to make a permanent arrangement to stay in this temporary hotel-like world, he will attain no permanent gain except for increasing the intensity of his misery. There are famous mahtms in history who, in spite of obtaining a very long life spanning many yugas, considered it very negligible compared to eternity. Considering things in this way, they set an example by residing under a tree, absorbed in meditating on the eternal spiritual world. Even some mahtms considered it a waste of time to collect clothes for the body and remained naked. This is the country of that great culture. Therefore it needs to be seen what are our problems and what are their respective solutions. Needless to say that the policy of peaceful existence is only momentarily successful in alleviating the raging problems the world is facing it is not a permanent solution. This is because the element that creates or forms our problems is the one that possesses the inclination to acquire jna and perform activities namely the consciousness. In reality, the necessity of food and clothing are not the prime problems. Countries that have sufficient food and clothing and immense wealth also cannot avoid problems. They do not have less problems and suffering. Presently, America is the most prosperous country. But if we analyse America a little closer, you will find that those who are famous as the wealthiest amongst them, who are immersed in all sorts of worldly enjoyment, have the highest record of suicide amongst all the countries of the world. Therefore it needs to be seen where the fault lies. It makes no sense for a person who is completely bereft of food to hope for food, or for one who is ultimately bereft of peace to hope for peace. Similarly, expecting solutions to problems from living entities who are always bogged down by problems is also futile. The solutions to all problems have been given by the all-knowing Bhagavn Veda-Vysa through the medium of the sun-like pura, the rmad Bhgavata and the rmad Bhagavad-gt which occupy the highest positions in saintly conclusions. rmad Bhagavad-gt and rmad Bhgavata have manifested to provide solutions to the most serious problems ever faced. From the words of Mahtm Bhma we come to know that the great warrior Arjuna had the power to defeat a whole army of eighteen akauhins (one akauhins consisted of 218,700 troops) in a moment. Yet in spite of his being so immensely powerful and being capable of creating such massive destruction, he was perplexed in solving the problems that he faced. At that time rmad Bhagavad-gt appeared. 24

On the other hand, when we see the position of one who was worshipped as the undisputed sovereign controlling the destiny of all his subjects (Parikit Mahrja) when he understood that he had been given seven days notice that he would depart from this world, thenone can imagine the grave problem confronting him. You will see that his problem far surpasses all other problems commonly faced by us. At that time, what manifested to give him proper guidance was the rmad Bhgavata that which eradicates sorrow, illusion and fear (okamoha-bhayaph). rmad Bhgavata or Bhagavad-gt have not cultured any sectarian concept. In a universal manner they have given us solutions. Even if we are enamored by all kinds of problems, they have given us the thing that can give us real peace. For this reason these two suns are shining brightly in all countries for all time in their full splendour. Take the case of rmad Bhgavatawhen Parikit Mahrja was deeply concerned about the dilemma he was in after hearing various opinions from great men and sages, at that moment, by divine providence, ukadeva arrived. The enquiry of Parikit is not that of any particular group or class of people, it is not even confined to the human species it is relevant to all conscious jvas. At that final moment he only had one question what activity within this very short phase of time can lead to attaining supreme auspiciousness and transcendental peace? In what way is it possible to obtain the greatest benefit? Parikit was affected by this problem the giver of the solution was ukadeva. One is in an extreme crisis and the other is the solution-giver at that extremely critical situation. On this point there are similar comparative narrations in the rmad Bhgavata through which you can understand more detail. Hearing Parikits question r ukadeva, who is self-satisfied and worshipped even by the denizens of Brahmaloka, became satisfied and replied, O King, this question of yours is not only relevant to you this question is relevant to the entire world and is a most pertinent one. rotavydni rjendra nana santi sahasraa apayatm tma-tattva gheu gha-medhinm O best of kings, those who are engrossed in materialistic household affairs and are blind to knowledge of the self, find thousands of subject matters to hear about within human society. (Bhg. 2.1.2) In this world, from animals, birds, insects (both flying and non-flying), to the different levels of human beings all are busy trying to satisfy their own requirements. Eating, sleeping, sense gratification etc. is their requirement, and this requirement is the root cause of all problems. Yet all of them are ignorant of self-realisation (antmavit). This is because one who is self-realised (tmavit) only has one programme. Those who have not seen themselves

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or have not learnt to see their actual requirement, will only accept those things that they consider to be necessities. But those who know themselves, who know their actual necessity, will accept your question as the real question or the only question. The programme of those who are antmavit will always be booked for eternity. That is because they are gheu ghamedhinm (engrossed in materialistic household affairs). The only programme of the tmavit is to be delivered from the clutches of ignorance. The only programme of a person who has submerged under water will be to try and save himself. Despite all kinds of external endeavours that are made to improve this world, all such attempts still remain confined to the realm of mortality. ajnenvtam jna tena muhyanti janatava The living entities are bewildered because their knowledge is covered by ignorance. (Bhg. 5.15) Entrapped in illusion and suffering miserably, those who are antmavit do not achieve any result other than running from one body to another. Their consciousness is fully covered by ignorance and by identifying themselves with the material body, they revolve eternally, subjugated by birth and death. No immediate relief can be obtained in spite of increasing ones wealth, followers or equipping oneself with more weapons. House and home, wealth, close relatives and dear friends none of these things are mine. Even my body does not belong to me. Identifying ones body as I or mine is an animalistic mentality. While I continue to think of these things as I or mine I will surely continue to face problems of birth, death, old age and disease. Yet, at that time, I will surely be tricked into transmigrating from one body to another. Thus, in this way, for all eternity, I will never be able to discover the path that will deliver me from these problems. The Bhgavata has said, You have not even learnt how to look at these problems properly. The way to look at these problems is svapne yath ira-cheda (like the cutting off of ones head in a dream). The man who is sleeping shouts in his dream, I have been caught by a tiger! He only needs to be woken up to solve the problem that he is facing. If he is woken up, he will see that everything is fine. He will see that the hope of relief that keeps him absorbed day and night in innumerable programmes are actually no ones problem. ukadeva has said, tva tu rjan mariyeti pau-buddhi this means that death is animal conception. You cant die! You wont die! So many types of problems are not yours. Back to God become situated in the self! muktir-hitvnyath rpa sva-rpea vyavasthiti Liberation is the permanent form of the living entity after he gives up his gross and subtle bodies. (Bhg. 2.10.6) 26

Reject any material form! You are a member of the spiritual sky. That which you are thinking is nectar is actually poison. What you are thinking is happiness is actually sorrow; those things that you consider to be mine and yours are nothing. It is all ignorance. asato m sad gamaya tamaso m jyotir-gamaya mtyor mmta gamaya From falsity, lead me to truth; from darkness lead me to light; from death lead me to immortality. (Bhad-rayaka Upaniad 1.3.28) Leaving behind ignorance, advance towards light. Make your journey from matter to consciousness you will be saved from unnecessary garbage to make the best of a bad bargain. All philosophers that are searching for the self, both in the eastern and western world, say the same thing. All of them say instead of chasing the hawk outside, first try to touch your own ears. * In the Vedas and other scriptures, various reformatory measures are mentioned for ignorant jvas that are mentally deranged to guide them to become truly self-centred. When the uncultured jvas are disciplined through all these injunctions that will raise them to the plane of the tma, then they will be able to realise their true identity. yato yato nicalati mana cacalam asthiram tatas tato niyam yaitad tmany eva vaa nayet The nature of the mind is flickering and unsteady. However, one should always endeavour to control the mind from its wanderings and bring it back under the control of the tm. (Gt 6.26) All endeavours progress from shadow to substance, from phenomena to reality. It is a one-way journey and this is considered to be real bhta-uddhi (purification of the self). Once bhta-uddhi happens, then everything is solved. Although with pure knowledge one can overlook or ignore ones connection to this world, again one faces a problem regarding that other (spiritual) world which we try to conceive of from here. Therefore I will speak a little on this topic and conclude my speech. We find various cryas teaching various ways of how to undergo the journey from the mundane to the spiritual. From our perspective, a constellation of stars may look as if they are all on a single plane in spite of actually being many light years away from each other. Similarly, there are vast differences amongst the spiritual contributions of various cryas. And if we understand them properly, then we will fully realise the unique contribution of r Caitanyadeva. I have found the solutions to all these topics very beautifully explained in
* This refers to a Bengali proverb which advises a foolish man to first touch his ears to be sure that they are still there before running after a hawk, whom he thinks has stolen his ears.

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the Rmnanda-samvda portion of r Caitanyacaritmta. Under proper guidance if you read the eighth chapter of the Caritmta you will be able to clearly understand all these things. Depending on different levels of perfection there are also different levels of endeavour required to achieve them. On the basis of their individual realisations and dedication, cryas have shed light in different directions with the intention of bringing auspiciousness to the lives of the jvas. But due to the influence of the wonderful effulgence of r Caitanyadevas supreme magnanimity, other lights have paled into insignificance. The primeval Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, full of eternity, bliss and knowledge. He is the possessor of all opulence and in order to distribute Himself fully, He Himself glorifies the process of achieving the highest goal attainable by a sdhaka and executes that Himself in order to teach others by His own example. Then, only by His mercy, one can realise Him as the sva-bhajana-vibhajanaprayojanvatr-bhagavn (the original Supreme Lord whose goal is to come and distribute His own worship and simultaneously taste His own intrinsic ecstasy). Thus we can make our lives successful by chanting the prama-mantra spoken by r Rpa: namo mah-vadnyya ka-prema pradyate kya ka-caitanya nmne gaura-tvie nama O most munificent avatra! You are Ka Himself appearing as r Ka Caitanya. You have assumed a golden colour and You are distributing love of Ka. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You. (Cc. Madhya. 19.53)

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We can briefly find a summary of the most vital essence of the ambrosial teachings of r Caitanya in the Rmnanda-samvada. Mahprabhu, during His human-like pastimes asked, paa loka-sdhyera-niraya With the help of evidence from proper authorities, explain the goal for which the jvas should engage all their endeavours. This question regarding the ultimate goal arises in the heart of the jva due to good fortune accumulated over several lifetimes. In the first stra of the Vednta philosophy, athto brahma-jijs, the cryas have presented that conclusion in an elaborate and clear way. Here, Mahprabhu desires to listen to the answers to these questions in a straightforward manner from Rma Rya. Why? sa yat prama kurute lokas-tad-anuvartate Whatever standard a great man sets, the whole world will follow. (Gt 3.21) It is not a question of merely repeating something, but to prove it through strika reasoning with the help of authorised evidence. In the process of answering Mahprabhus questions, Rmnanda continued to raise various important theories and in this way, he gradually concluded by arriving at the highest stage of achievement. Rya kahe svadharmcarae viu-bhakti haya What is ones true duty (sva-dharma)? It is performing ones activities according to varrama. What is the the ultimate goal (sdhya)? It is devotion to Viu. Who is Viu? He that pervades the entire universe (Viva vypnoti). He is the knower of the field of activity (ketra-ja) the soul within the body, and the very soul of the soul. He is the owner the internal substance of the whole cosmos. Anor-ayn mahato mahyn (He is the smallest of the smallest and the greatest of the greatestKath Upaniad 1.2.20). His satisfaction is the ultimate goal. Here, Rya Rmnanda has taken the side of the moralists (niti-vds) and said that the ultimate way to attain devotion to Viu is by following ones dharma according to vara and rama. However, Mahprabhu said that realising ones relation with the Lord through the medium of varrama is restricted within the boundaries of the material world eho bhya ge kaha ra (This is external, speak more!). In other words Such a process is meant for those who are preoccupied with externals. It is a long process. Therefore speak about the direct approach. Then prabhu kahe eho bhya ge kaha ra rya kahe ke karmrpaa sarva-sdhya-sra The Lord said, This is external, speak more! Rmnanda said, To offer the results of ones actions to Ka is the essence of all perfection. (Cc. Madhya. 8.59) prabhu kahe eho bhya ge kaha ra rya kahe svadharma tyga ei sdhya-sra 29

The Lord said, This is external, speak more! Rmnanda said, Giving up ones occupational duties according to the system of varrama is the essence of all perfection. (Cc. Madhya. 8.61) prabhu kahe eho bhya ge kaha ra rya kahe jna-mira-bhakti sdhya-sra The Lord said, This is external, speak more! Rya Rmnanda said, The essence of all perfection is devotion mixed with knowledge. (Cc. Madhya 8.64) Karma-mira-bhakti (devotion mixed with fruitive work), naikarma (activities free of karmic reaction) and jna-mira-bhakti (devotion mixed with empirical knowledge) these are not the ultimate goal, nor are they the means to achieve it. Although there is a delineation of progressive advanced stages, each of them has a mood of considering oneself knowledgeable, or a certain consideration of measuring oneself. Each of them is tinged by my. But then rya kahe jna-nya-bhakti sdhya-sra Rya said, Bhakti devoid of jna is the essence of spiritual practice. (Cc. Madhya 8.66) Then Mahprabhu said, eha haya meaning that, Now the real path is being taken. Devotion free of knowledge (jna-nya-bhakti) is the starting point of true devotion. Even in The Bible we see that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge is the cause of fall down. I want to understand everything! this tendency must be rejected. This is because the very intelligence to estimate is faulty by nature. What to speak of knowing Him with our tiny brains, we cannot even fully measure a small atomic particle! For this reason the Bhgavata has given the following point, jne praysam udapsya namanta eva jvanti your capability to grasp reality is very insignificant and limited. There are personalities who know about your real benefit innumerable times more than yourself! You simply need to hatefully reject

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(udapsya) your desire to be all knowing and embrace the path of dedicating your life serving the Lord (namanta eva jvanti). You will see,just like being in an elevator or a lift, you will be raised to a position in Vaikuha. Whatever was binding you will become your obedient follower. And moreover, san-mukharit bhavadya vrtm once you learn to give a submissive hearing to this, you will see that your journey through eighty-four million species will be terminated. And where should you apply your hearing? You should hear from the one who can properly guide you. There should be guidance proper. Only this will save you. Whatever condition you are situated in (sthne sthita), from there itself you attend. You will see that everything will become clear. This is because only the words of the Bhgavata emanating from the lips of a sdhu can save us. For the one who follows this, in spite of the Supreme Lord being impenetrable, difficult to attain, and of an unconquerable nature, ultimately he can capture Him. Throughout the Bhgavata there are phrases such as, bhaktyham ekay-grhyam (I am attained only by devotion). Under the shelter of sdhusaga and jna-unya-bhakti, even ordinary people can attain service to the Supreme Lord, whereas without it, even an intellectual giant cannot. For this reason Baladeva Vidybhaa, in his commentary to the Vednta, has proven the importance of sdhu-saga by citing various evidences. The sdhu is the living source. Even if one has no good quality, due to the influence of association of a sdhu one becomes sarvair-guais tatra samsate (all good qualities reside with him). Due to the influence of sdhu-saga even a very abominable person can become an instrument of service to the Bhgavata. Seeing with an attitude of worship or service is vaikuha-darana. Many, like Miss. Mayo* in spite of having preached about the filthiness of such worship, have actually never experienced even a slight trace of true worship. They will be thousands and thousands of miles away from the proper understanding of worship. One who is able to approach it with a true mood of worship has nothing to fear. Fear itself runs away upon seeing such a person. One who takes shelter of such a worshipful attitude completely destroys all filthy sentiments and misconceptions that very auspicious intelligence is the only way to be delivered from the bewildered consciousness that we are in. We find this teaching in the Bhgavata verse, vikridta vraja-vadhu. Your misconception, your malady, your heart disease of lust will all be cured if you take shelter of a worshipful attitude. Those persons that composed the Liga Pura etc, dont you think they possessed a little common sense no, did they have less knowledge or intelligence than you possess?
* Katherine Mayo (1867-1940) was an American historian and political writer. Mayo became notorious for her book Mother India in which she denounced Indian culture and religion. The book was condemned by many for its racist tone and in a review of the book, Mayo was criticized by Gandhi as having the mentality of a drain-inspector.

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But still they wrote still they took the position of transcending duality such as sorrow and illusion and wrote only for our eternal benefit. Why? Their sole intention was to release us from the fear of the ghost of this material world to permanently bury our ideology of enjoyment to frustrate our materialistic mentality. Lest the jvas see bhagavata-tattva from a mundane perspective, ukadeva Gosvm, who already had knowledge of Brahman (brahmajna) and was completely self-satisfied (tmarma), warned the great assembly of principal religious leaders like Atri, Vasiha, Cayavana, Agastya etc. when he introduced himself You all know that I am well situated in the realisation of the nirgua plane, therefore, you should remember,if my mind becomes enchanted by the narrations of someones character and I become so attracted that I forget everything, then those stories cannot be about an ordinary mundane person who is full of lust. I never speak about things pertaining to this world. I am presenting to you the summum-bonum, and without taking shelter of His feet, no auspiciousness can be obtained. tapasvino dna-par yaasvino manasvino mantra-vida sumagala kema na vindanti vin yad-arpaa tasmai subhadra-ravase namo nama I offer my repeated obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, who is all-auspicious. Without offering their actions unto Him, neither the performers of austerities, nor the great givers of charity, nor the mystics, nor those who are expert in Vedic mantras, nor those who are most virtuous can attain any result without dedication to Him. (Bhg. 2.4.17) Saying this, he established the transcendental platform of his dialogue. Therefore those who see Ka or His pastimes with mundane intelligence, are not only deceived, but they also commit a great offence, and as a result, they never obtain darana of r Caitanya and their own identity remains concealed from them. Bhagavn is supramundane (turya-vastu). Everything about Him is comprising of reality, auspiciousness and beauty (satya-iva-sundaram). In every way r Caitanyadeva has declared to the world that His worship is beautiful, and the method of that worship is also so beautiful that any person can achieve it by following the path shown by r Caitanya govindbhidam indirrita-pada hasta-stha-ratndivat He that is known as Govinda, whose feet Lakm takes shelter of, becomes like a jewel in the hand of His devotees. (Siddhnta-ratam 4) The Lord becomes just like his play-doll, and that itself is the highest manifestation of the supremacy of the all-powerful independent Bhagavn (sarva-tantra sva-tantra bhagavn). 32

For this reason Kavirja Gosvm has said, kera yateka khel sarvottama nara-ll (The most attractive play of Ka is His human-like pastimes Cc.Madhya 21.101). This is the fullest adjustment of the Lords form (sarvottama nara-ll) where His devotees, who have taken shelter of Him see His all-accommodating form as the incomparable ymasundara (atula ymasundaram) and completely serve Him eternally in five rasas. This is the very zenith of achievement. ya labdhv cpara lbha manyate ndhika tata. Upon gaining this, one thinks there is no greater gain (Gt 6.22) r Caitanya-candra has made that thing which is very rare to achieve into something which is very easy to achieve. That is why He is the most munificent and magnanimous. For this reason rla Prabhodnanda Sarasvatpda has exhorted and appealed very earnestly to the jvas of this world to take shelter of r Caitanya-candras feet by saying: dante nidhya taka padayor nipatya ktv ca kku-atam etad aha bravmi he sdhava sakalam eva vihya drd caitanya-candra-carae kurutnurgam Taking a straw between my teeth I fall at your feet and beseech you again and again, O noble men, whatever you know please cast it far away and cultivate attachment for the lotus-feet of r Caitanya-candra. (Caitanya-candrmta 8.90) (This lecture was delivered by rla rdhara Mahrja in 1955, during the month of December in Navadvpa)

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Sri Sri Radha Krsna

The Fountainhead of All Tattvas

By rla Bhakti Pramoda Pur Mahrja

n the text of r Nrada-Pacartra, in the Second Rtra, Sixth Chapter, it is written Just as r Ka is the universal father, r Rdh is the universal mother. Both of them are fundamentally the same. Just as milk and its whiteness are non-different, similarly there is no difference between Them. r Rdh, who resides at the chest of r Ka, is like the left part of His body. r Rdh is situated at the chest of r Nryaa as Mah-Lakm, as r Sarasvat She is the mother of scholars; She is the daughter of the ocean of milk (kiroda-sindhu) situated at the chest of r Viu as r Lakm-dev; again She is situated in Brahmaloka on the chest of r Brahm as r Svitr-dev. In ancient times Dev appeared as the personification of r Haris mercy as Bhagavat by the power of the demigods and after annihilating the demons, gave Indra, the king of the Devas, his kingdom back safely. By the order of r Ka, that eternal Bhagavat, the illusory potency of Viu, later appeared in the form of Sat, the daughter of Daka. Again after leaving her body due to hearing blasphemy of her husband, she appeared as Prvat, the daughter of Himdr, who is the very personification of all power and the destroyer of all obstacles, Durg-dev. It is only r Rdh who is the very personification of the supreme intelligence and wealth of Paramtm r Ka; it is only She who is the personified SvargaLakm, who dwells in the residence of Indra in the heavenly planets; She is Rja-Lakm who resides in the houses of kings of this earth, She is Gha-Lakm who dwells within the homes of ordinary people; She is the village-goddess of various villages; She is the source of truth found in water (satya-svarp), She is the source of smell within the earth (gandha-rp), the source of sound within ether (abda-rp) and the source of beauty in the moon (obha-rp). She is lustre and the source of lustre found in the sun and great kings; She is the burning potency of fire and the personification of all strength found in the living beings. During the time of creation that Goddess is the principal controller of material nature (mla-prakti-ivar) She is the mother of Mah-Viu. Mah-Viu is great and all-expansive all the universes manifest from the pores of His body, hence He is naturally famous as Vsu and since His Lord is r Ka, He is famous as Vsudeva. Therefore, one Ka, due to His various pastimes, manifests infinite numbers of different forms. There is no difference between the powerful (aktimn) and the power (akti). The only distinguishing characteristic is that the Power is under the control of the Powerful. Just as r Ka is the male fountainhead (a), the Lord of lords (sarvevarevara) and the primeval, original Godhead (svayam-Bhagavn), similarly, r Rdh is the female fountainhead (ain) who is the main reservoir of all potencies She is the highest potency of the Lord (svarpa-akti), the original feminine form (svayam-rp) and the original Goddess (svayam-bhagavat). r Ka is completely powerful (pra-aktimn) and r Rdh is the complete potency (pra-akti). In Vraja, the second bodily expansion of svayam-rpa r Ka is the original Sakarana, svayampraka r Baladeva. This Ka-Balarma of Vraja manifest Their opulence (aivarya) as the first catur-vyha in Dvrka, namely r Vsudeva, Sakarana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. In MahVaikuha this manifests as the second catur-vyha. In this second catur-vyha, r Balarma takes the form of Mah-Sakarana, whose partial representation is the first puruvatra, 36

Krbdhiy who is lying on the Causal Ocean. He is the principal cause of the countless material universes. He then fills up half of every universe with water emanating from the pores of His body and in that He manifests Svetadvpa where He lies on the bed of eay. As He lies there, Lakm-dev serves His lotus-feet. He becomes Garbhoday the second puruvatra. From the lotus emanating from His navel, Brahm is born. He again becomes the third puruvatra lying on the ocean of milk the Paramtm within the hearts of every individual living being in the material universe. The second puruvatra, Garbhadakay, enters every universe as the indwelling Paramtm of the collective living beings (samai-jva), and the first puruvatra, Krdakay, is the indwelling Paramtm of all living entities of the countless collective universes. Thus, one Ka, by the effect of His inconceivable potency (acintya-akti) has manifested His catur-vyha forms He also manifests infinite forms such as Brahm, Viu, Mahevara etc. The non-dual eternal form of the Absolute appears as the sound of the one-syllabled praava (o) and, although it expands into many syllabled forms such as Sri Gopla, Rma etc. those various forms are based on knowledge of the one non-dual Absolute. vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattva yaj jnam advaya brahmeti paramtmeti bhagavn iti abdyate Seers of the truth state that the non-dual knowledge of the Absolute is referred to as Brahman, Paramtm, and Bhagavn. (Bhg.1.2.11) This interpretation from the Bhgavata should be followed. The r Gopla-tpan ruti has also said: ekam-evdvitya brahma myay tu catuaya The Lord, who is one without a second, by His potency expanded Himself into four. (Gopla-tpan Upaniad 2.67) This means that that Absolute Truth, who is one without a second, by His own eternal potency, has manifested the catur-vyha. The syllable a of the praava manifested Rma, the son of Rohi. The syllable u has given rise to Pradyumna and from the syllable m Aniruddha appeared. The syllable a presides over all and represents the awakened state (jgrata). The syllable u presides 37

over the dream state (svapna), and the syllable m corresponds with the state of sleep (suupti). But Ka is turya-vastuHe is transcendental to the aforementioned three conditions of jgrata, svapna and suupti. He is the inexplicable half-syllable that cuts off the vowel, the complete sound of the praava and the Complete Absolute (pra-brahma). The whole universe rests upon Him, the ever blissful Ka. Due to the nature of non-difference between the Powerful and the Power, r Rukmi is like Ka and is the Creator of the universe (jagat-kartr), the giver of all wealth (sarva-sampaddayin), the basis of material nature (mla-prakti) and the Lords highest potency (svarpaakti). Due to her identification with r Ka, she is also worshiped through praava and represented by it. Once Rukmi is presented, then r Rdh is automatically presented. In the Skanda and Matsya Puras it is mentioned: rukmi dvravaty tu rdh vndvane vane Rukmi is in Dvrka what Rdh is in the forest of Vndvana. It is said in the k Pariiha: rdhya mdhavo devo mdhavenaiva rdhik vibhrjante jneu Among all persons, it is Rdh in whose company Mdhava is especially glorious, as She is especially glorious in His. For this reason it is mentioned in the Nrada-pacartra that during the time of the creation of the universe, Mla-prakti-var, the primeval Goddess of material nature (r Rdhik Herself) gave birth to the Mah-Vir-Purua, Krbdhay Mah-Viu, who is the cause of infinite numbers of universes. In the Brahma-vaivarta Pura, Prakti-khanda, (2nd and 3rd Chapters), the description of the appearance of Mah-Viu has been given in thisway At the beginning of the entire creation, r Ka, desiring to create by His own will, divided Himself into two. From the left part of His body He assumed the form of a beautiful woman and from the right part He assumed a male form in other words, He manifested the forms of r Rdh-Ka. After this, They performed rasa in the rsa-maala for a period of Brahms lifetime. (rsa-kra cakra ha yvad vai brahmao vaya). Rdh, who is situated in the heart of Ka, who is more dear to Ka than His own life, delivered an egg after being pregnant through Ka for a period of one hundred manvantaras. Seeing that egg She became morose and when She threw it into the water, Ka cursed Her that, Because You have abandoned Your offspring, henceforth You can never have any children. However, although You will be bereft of offspring, You will remain eternally young. The manifestations that take birth from You will also be barren, but for eternity they will also possess vitality and youth. 38

Thereafter, from the tip of the Goddess Rdhs tongue, the white complexioned Sarasvatdev, the goddess of all scriptures, appeared dressed in yellow garments and holding a v and books. Then Rdhr further divided and Kamal-dev (Lakm) appeared from Her left side. The right part of Her remained as the form of Rdh. Seeing this, Ka also divided His form. His right half remained as the two-handed Ka, His left half manifested the fourhanded Nryaa. By the will of Ka, and by the will of Sarasvat and Rdhr, Lakm became the consort of Nryaa. Nryaa went to Vaikuha. Due to being manifest from r Rdh, Lakm and Sarasvat remained childless. After this, from the limbs of Nryaa, many four-handed associates, who were as effulgent as Viu, were born. From Kamal-devs limbs millions and millions of maidservants manifested. All of them became companions of Lakm. Then, from the pores of r Kas body, innumerable gopas appeared and from the pores of r Rdhs body, innumerable gopiks were born. However, due to Kas curse, they were all childless. Then, from the limbs of Ka, Durg-dev appeared, who is known as Santan (the eternal one), Viu-my (the potency of Viu), Nrya (the energy of Nryaa) and n (she who fulfills all desires). It is her illusory potency that has bewildered the three worlds. After this, from the lotus-navel of r Ka (from Garbhoday) appeared four-headed Brahm and on his left was a woman of unparalleled beauty (Svitr). This husband and wife chanted many prayers to Ka. Then Ka further divided Himself and His left part became Mahdeva, while His right part remained the same as the Lord of the gopks. Mahdeva, with his five mouths, started ka-nma krtana. Meanwhile, the egg, after remaining in the water for a lifespan of Brahm, split in two and from within a beautiful child emerged as effulgent as millions of suns combined and feeling the pangs of hunger, He began to cry. This was the Master of countless material universes, Krbdhiy Mah-Viu. In every universe there is a Brahm, Viu and iva existing. Therefore He is the Master of each and every Brahm, Viu and iva within all those countless universes. Goloka and Vaikuntha are the only two places that are eternal. All the material universes are of a transitory existence, just like a drop of water. Mah-Viu, after attaining knowledge, began meditating on r Ka. Ka appeared before Him and blessed Him with a boon of becoming equally knowledgeable as Himself and being free from disease, lamentation, old age, death etc. r Ka also gave Him the supreme secret six-syllable mah-mantra o kya svh in His right ear and advised Him to continuously meditate on His mother, the chaste r Rdhik. Simply by the glance of Mah-Viu, prakti is activated and gives birth to all that is animate and inanimate in this material world. It is He, in the form of Garbhoday, that accepts Brahm on His lotus navel. It is from His forehead that the eleven Rudras manifest etc. Thus, many similarities can be seen between the statements of r Nrada-pacartra and the Brahma-vaivarta Pura. In r Viu Pura, this Brahma-vaivarta Pura has been termed as the tenth Pura daama brahma-vaivartam.

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In the aforementioned r Nradya it is written adau samucchared rdh pact kaca mdhavam viparta yadi pahet brahma-haty labhed dhruvam r ko jagat tto jagan-mt ca rdhik pitu ata-guai mt vandy pujy garyas (Nrada-pacartra, 2nd Rtra, 6th Chapter, Verses 6-7) This means that after pronouncing the word Rdh, one should pronounce the word Ka or Mdhava (m means Lakm, dhava means Lord, thus Mdhava means the Lord of Lakm). If someone chants it in the opposite way, he will surely incur the reaction of killing a brhmaa. r Ka is the Supreme Father of the universe. r Rdhik is the Supreme Mother of the universe. The mother is a hundred times more respectable, worshippable and honourable than the father. (Translated from r Caitanya-v, Vol. 16, Issue 7, published on 1st September 1976)

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n the afternoon of the 11th April (1936), retired Deputy Collector ryukta Amarendrantha Pla Chaudhur of Rgha came to Caaka-parvata and heard hari-kath in the presence of rla Prabhupda. rla Prabhupdas wonderful instructions are presented below:

Above all else, remembrance of Hari is the most essential thing. This depends upon ravaa, and krtana. ravaa leads to krtana and krtana further leads to smaraa. We are in the midst of all sorts of calamities! Many times, this type of consideration forces us to cultivate a taste for hari-kath. Only through the continual hearing of hari-kath does krtana and smaraa occur. Whenever we perform krtana of Hari, then immediately remembrance of Hari comes to us. The awakening of the natural taste to hear and chant leads to self-surrender (tma-samarpaa). radhnn sarve vior-rdhana param tasmt paratara devi tadyn samarcanam (Padma Pura 6.253.176) This means that of all engagements, the service of Viu is the best engagement, and taking the association of those who serve Him and serving them is an even greater engagement then our life will be a life of surrender. In this world we accept the unholy association of various kinds of people. We have rejected the service of Ka, who transcends mundane perception (adhokaja), and we take up public service etc. which only gives fleeting results. Only if Bhagavn gives us His mercy will we attain the association of a sdhu who performs krtana of pure hari-kath.

rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat Gosvm Prabhupda

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We must consider the life after we leave this present body. There is a huge chasm between ourselves and the Supreme Controller, and it is necessary to bridge that gulf. Then we must cross the bridge without plunging into that abyss, in order that we may come before Him. Form, taste, smell, sound and touch these things are constantly charming us. We should hear how we may become associated with Bhagavn. Some of us have employment, some have a business and others are doing something else. Yet even after accepting retirement, we still continue to ruminate over the memories of such activities. Birth after birth we have performed public service. Even animals behave in various ways for the benefit of their own kind. But as humans, should we not attain a higher promotion? Everything here is of a temporary and mortal nature; but what have we discussed in connection to that which is eternal? The significance of this human life is that it enables us to deliberate upon the next life and eternal life. In this life we are able to hear hari-kath and speak hari-kath, and this is the only method by which remembrance of Hari is awakened. We have no other activity to do here except hari-kath. King Parkit only had seven days, but there is no certainty that we even have seven days! Our necessity is to perform krtana of the rmad Bhgavata such discussions on the rmad Bhgavata are not meant for earning money and food. Later that evening, sitting at the Bodhyana-kura, rla Prabhupda spoke the following glorious instructions that are written below: Ka is full of mercy, He is the Complete Reality. Similarly His mercy also bestows complete mercy. The Complete Reality gives Himself to the incomplete. In this way the incomplete can easily attain the Complete Reality. Without approaching the Complete it is impossible to achieve complete auspiciousness. If we attain finite happiness or limited happiness, then we will not be completely satisfied. 43

r-ka-caitanya-day karaha vicra vicra karile citte pbe camatkra If one deliberates upon the mercy of r Ka Caitanya, ones heart will be struck with wonder. (Cc. di 8.15) Due to His compassion for everyone, r Caitanyadeva instructed all of us to perform constant hari-nma-krtana. Whoever has heard this statement, Constantly chant hari-nma, has also been given this instruction. There is no time when one should not chant hari-nma hari sad krtanya (Hari should always be glorified). rman Mahprabhu said, May r-kasakrtana be fully victorious. By hearing krtana one will begin to perform it, and by performing krtana, smaraa arises. When the person performing krtana glorifies Hari, then he is able to remember hari-kath. Bhagavn is full of great compassion and He has given us the opportunity to perform ravaa and krtana of bhagavata-kath. The rmad Bhgavata declares: kaler doa-nidhe rjannasti hy eko mahn gua krtand eva kasya mukta-bandha para vrajet O King, Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, yet it has one great quality he that performs ka-krtana can certainly attain liberation from material bondage and receive entrance to the highest destination. (Bhg.12.3.51) In life and in death, we have no other refuge or activity than performing krtana of ka-kath. For one who properly performs krtana of Ka, his whole tma is completely bathed in sev-rasa. Just as when a mirror is covered with dust and we cannot see our own reflection within it, similarly, when we perform activities other than the krtana of ka-kath, then different types of coverings surround the mirror of our consciousness and we cannot see our own svarpa. If we perform krtana of He who is allattractive then, by His mercy, we can easily become attracted to Him. ka-vara tvika sagopgstra-pradam yajai sakrtana-pryair yajanti hi su-medhasa In the age of Kali, Ka appears in a golden form, chanting the two syllables k-a. He descends along with His weapons, potencies and eternal confidential associates. Those with fine intelligence worship Him by the performance of sakrtana-yaja. (Bhg.11.5.32) 44

Those persons who possess fine intelligent (su-medhasa) are the ones who perform krtana of ka-kath, and those persons with crooked intelligence (ku-medhasa) harbour other desires (anybhila) such as the desire for jna, karma and ritualistic sacrifices. Vrabhnav (rmat Rdhr) constantly chants ka-nma. She is not simply the effulgence of Ka. In actuality She is none other than Ka Himself. We can hear the words of r Rdh in the pda of Cadsa: kev sunila yma nma kera bhitara diy, marame paila go kula karila mana pra Who made Me hear the Name of yma? When it entered My ears and into My heart, it agitated my mind and My life-airs. Vrabhnav is the greatest of all who possess good intelligence, and Gaura-sundara is the principal personality amongst those who possess good intelligence: nmnm akri bahudh nija sarva-aktis tatrrpit niyamita smarae na kla etd tava kp bhagavn mampi durdaivam idam ihjani nnurga O my Lord, Your Name bestows auspiciousness upon all and You have unlimited Names by which You reveal Yourself. In such Names You have kindly invested all Your divine potency. And in chanting these Names, there are no strict rules concerning time or place. Out of Your causeless mercy, You have descended in the form of divine sound, but my great misfortune is that I have no love for Your Holy Name. (ikakam 2) We do not know the reality that is Ka thus Ka has placed all His potencies within kanma, and has descended in this world in the form of His Holy Name. Amongst His secondary Names (gaua-nma) there are some differences between the Name and the Named (abda and abd) He who is indicated by the Name. But in regards to His primary Names there is no difference. There is no consideration of eligibility when one takes up the chanting of the Holy Name; however in worship of the Deity, eligibility is a consideration. For example, one should have accepted dk, taken bath etc. There is no consideration of time, place or circumstance in connection to hari-krtana. It is necessary to perform krtana loudly. If one does not perform loud krtana of hari-kath, but simply engages in gossip as if he had five mouths, then he will be seized and devoured by the serpent of time. The fact is that such people cannot understand that hari-krtana is the greatest type of compassion, so some of them say: ml jape l, kara jape bhi yo pn man man jape usko balihri ji 45

Hey l! You are chanting on beads? O brother, you are chanting on your hand? Whoever can chant within his mind, I say to him, bravo! Do not speak hari-kath loudly! Just chant within your mind. As a result of such advice, people simply talk drivel because they are most enthusiastic to engage in useless talks. This has been forbidden by Mahprabhu. His declaration is krtanya sad hari (always perform krtana of Hari) and nma-ll-gudnm-uccair-bh tu krtanam (krtana means to loudly call out the Lords Name, pastimes, qualities etc.). One who performs loud krtana is most munificent; he never commits violence towards others. But for one who takes up silence who does not perform ka-krtana his suppression of the urge to speak becomes an inauspicious practice, both for himself and for others. In his minds he constantly thinks about the objects of the senses; he commits violence unto himself and also to others. Thus, Mahprabhus instruction is to always perform krtana. Whoever hears your krtana, if they are your friends, then they will rectify any mistakes within it. Also, if you go on performing krtana without any type of duplicity, caityaguru (the Lord within the heart) will correct any mistakes found there. If cunningness and the desire for prestige are present in ones heart, you will take to the so-called religious practice of silence (mauna-dharma). Baka parama-dhrmika (the silent meditation of the crane is the most virtuous of all). Being driven by their deceit, those who follow the path of silence will suddenly perform sinful activities. In order to cultivate their own selfish interests, they become a maun (those that take a vow of silence) a dhyn (those that sit and meditate) and behave in a disruptive way with others. If there is no krtana of ka-kath in the world, the path of distress will gain greater strength. That person who does not distribute Kas mercy according to time, place and circumstance and thereby shows cruelty to others, eventually kills himself. There are two types of people who do not perform ka-krtana firstly there are those that are extremely foolish this means impersonalists (Myvds), offenders (apardhs), those performing so-called meditation (dhyns), those that take a so-called vow of silence (mauns) etc. Then there are others who do not actually perform ka-krtana, but nevertheless continue to think, We are performing ka-krtana. Apart from hari-krtana, everything else that remains is mere babbleit is simply the shrieking of a she-jackal. Apart from ka-kath, nothing else should be allowed to enter our ears. Therefore, one must hear topics about Mahprabhu and His teachings (gaura-vihita-ravaa) and only then one can glorify Mahprabhu and His teachings (gaura-vihita-krtana). The gates of ravaa and smaraa are closed for those who are mauns. Those who neglect the remembrance of Hari, endeavouring for a solitary life and taking up vows of silence ultimately block the path to ravaa and krtana. The rmad Bhgavata says: vata raddhay nitya gata ca sva-ceitam ntidrghea klena bhagavn viate hdi 46

For those who always hear with faith about the Lord, and sincerely make endeavours to do so, within no time the Lord Himself manifests in their heart. (Bhg.2.8.4) Bahubhir-militv yat krtanam tadeva sakrtanam krtana which is performed by many people is known as sakrtana. What is r Gauya Maha doing at present? Many preachers perform krtana of hari-kath in many different ways. Some perform hari-krtana with the help of tunes and rhythm, some by dancing, some by giving classes at diorama exhibitions and some by writing books. Sakrtana is not for satisfying peoples material senses through the medium of tunes (sura), rhythm (tla), tempo (laya) and metre (mna) or making a loud noise for some other similar purpose. Actually, such is not genuine krtana of Ka. When we say ka-sakrtana, it should be understood to be the transcendental krtana of the transcendental name, the transcendental form, the transcendental qualities, the transcendental pastimes and the special characteristics of the transcendental associates of the transcendental Ka. Again, ka-krtana is also not performed by neglecting sura, tla, mna and laya. Sura, tla and mna should all be used for ka-krtana. The six rgas and the thirty-six rgins are the servants of ka-krtana. The proper way of performing hari-krtana is by engaging ones body, mind and words (kya-mana-vkya). Krtana with our mind, krtana with our words and krtana with our body must be performed simultaneously. If the mind is not engaged in ka-krtana, if it is always inattentive, then it is not actual krtana of Ka. What does Nrada do? At every moment he performs ka-krtana with all his senses. What does five-headed iva do? He performs ka-krtana. What does four-headed Brahm do? Kakrtana. Vysa, uka, the four Kumras and ea all perform ka-krtana. All the personalities in our guru-varga perform ka-krtana and none of them observes so-called vows of silence. Bhgavata-dharma is not a dharma that observes so-called silence it is krtana-dharma, it is sakrtana-dharma. In r Gauya Maha, whoever is preaching by compiling books or writing articles for periodicals are actually performing ka-krtana. They are performing ka-krtana through the medium of the Big Mdaga which also includes opening a post-office and establishing a printing press. Organising exhibitions is also ka-krtana. Some perform kakrtana through their own good conduct. In order that this ka-krtana does not fade into thin air, it is being recorded in books, so that people in the future will also be able to hear this kakrtana. However, those who only perform solitary meditation and remain in silence can hardly even benefit themselves and indeed they cannot give any benefit to others at present, what to say of the future? (First published in The Gauya, Vol. 14, Issue 37)

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48

Gitara Janma-rahasya
The Secret of the Lords Appearance According to the Gita By rla Bhaktivinoda hkura
In the beginning of rmad Bhagavad-gts fourth chapter, which is entitled Jna-yoga (the yoga of knowledge), Bhagavn r Kacandra told Arjuna that previously He had instructed the sun-god on the topic of the perfection of nikma-karma (activities without material desires) within jna-yoga. The sun-god explained this knowledge to Manu, who in turn instructed Ikvku. In this way the saintly kings obtained realisation of yoga via the parampar. This system of yoga almost perished due to its absence for a long time. This knowledge was given by Him to Arjuna because Arjuna was His devotee and friend. After hearing this from r Ka, Arjuna played the role of a materialistic historian and put forward the argument, O Ka! Srya was born many years before and You were born in recent times. How can I believe that You have instructed Srya on the abovementioned yoga many years before? r Ka answered 49

bahni me vyattni janmni tava crjuna tny-aha veda sarvi na tva vettha parantapa ajopi sannavyaytm bhtnm-varopi san prakti svm-adhihya sabhavmy-tmamyay yad yad hi dharmasya glnir bhavati bhrata abhyutthnam adharmasya tadtmna sjmyaham paritrya sdhn vinya ca duktm dharma-sasthpanrthya sabhavmi yuge yuge janma karma ca me divyam eva yo vetti tattvata tyaktv deha punar-janma naiti mmeti sorjuna (Gt 4.5-9) r Ka said, My dear Parantapa Arjuna! Both you and I have passed through many births. Being the Supreme Lord, I remember all of them. You are a minutely conscious jva, hence you dont remember any of them. Whenever I descend to the world, My perfected devotees also appear with Me to nourish My pastimes. But I am the only all-knowing Purua who is cognizant of everything. Although all of you and I come to this world again and again, there is a categorical difference between My appearance and yours. I am the Master of all creation, beyond birth and imperishable by nature. With the help of My internal potency, I appear in this world. But the jvas are controlled by My my-akti to take birth in this world. In this way they cannot remember their previous births. As a result of their karma, taking shelter of their subtle body (liga-arira), they attain another birth. I appear in the form of demigods and even in the lower species etc. This occurs only due to My independent desire to this effect. Unlike the jva, My pure conscious form is not covered by a gross and subtle body. Whatever eternal form I have in Vaikuha, that very same form I manifest effortlessly in this material realm. You may ask, how does pure consciousness manifest within the material realm? Listen My power is indisputable and beyond the reach of all types of thought processes. Therefore whatever can be possible through it cannot be understood simply by your reasoning. It is enough if you dutifully understand with your normal intelligence that Bhagavn, who is unimaginably powerful, is not bound by any regulation pertaining to this material world. By His will He can manifest the entire vaikuha-tattva effortlessly in its pure form in this mundane world, or convert the entire material creation into the spiritual world. In that place, My form of eternity, bliss and knowledge (saccidnanda-vigraha) is beyond the rules of this material realm and in spite of manifesting in this world, it remains completely pure. How can it be doubted? Although my, who controls the jvas, is also owned by Me, one must also understand that My very own nature is spiritual. My potency is one, yet to Me that potency is spiritual while to the conditioned jvas it is the illusory potency and has various kinds of influence. 50

I appear only due to My supreme will. Whenever I desire, I manifest. Whenever there is degradation in dharma and a rise of adharma, then I manifest due to My own will. My rules and regulations governing universal affairs are unconquerable. However, due to the influence of time, when all these rules and regulations lose their qualities for no particular reason except for faults arising with the passing of time, adharma gains more prominence. Except for Me there is no one who is capable of rectifying those faults. Therefore I appear with My own cit-akti in this material world and rectify the degradation of dharma. It is not that I appear only in the land of Bhrata. Depending on the necessity, I appear in all places inhibited by demigods or demons due My own will. So do not think that I never appear in the land of Mlecchas and other lower races. Depending on the extent and depth to which those men have accepted true dharma as their own religion, then that much degradation is also rectified and I safeguard dharma as a aktyvea-avatra. But in the land of Bhrata, since varrama-dharma is effectively practiced there as ones prescribed duty (sva-dharma), I consider the countrymen of this land as My subjects and I am more concerned in mercifully establishing dharma there. Therefore you will observe all the most charming avatras such as the yugvatras, aa-avatras etc. within the land of Bhrata. Where there is no varrama-dharma there is no proper execution of nikma-karma-yoga or the perfection of jna-yoga or the ultimate achievement of bhakti-yoga. But if it is observed amongst the lower classes (outside the varrama system) that there is a significant advancement in bhakti, it should be understood that it is the result of a devotees mercy that there is a sudden connection established. Within the saintly kings and others who are My devotees, I give them the empowerment in order to establish varrama-dharma. But for those sdhus who are great devotees, to save them from non-devotees, it becomes essential for Me to descend. Thus, by becoming the yugvatra I protect the sdhus and I isolate the non-devotees and establish them in the religions meant for annihilation (nya-dharma), and by preaching the devotional processes of hearing and chanting, I establish the jvas eternal constitutional position. It is said that I descend in every age from this you can accept that I also descend in the age of Kali. The avatra for the age of Kali will establish the most rare prema only with the help of the paraphernalia used in krtana. Since He has no other purpose, in spite of this avatra being the best of all avatras, He is hidden from the common people in general. My greatest devotees will naturally be especially attracted by that avatra. You will also be able to observe this by descending as His associate. This avatra, who is the deliverer from the age of Kali, will only annihilate the evil propensity. Apart from that, there is no killing of demons as in other ages. This is the supreme secret regarding this hidden avatra.

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One who realises through proper deliberation of previously revealed knowledge, the inconceivable spiritual potency through which I accept My divine birth and activities, never takes birth again after he leaves his body. He comes under the influence of the manifestation of My spiritual potency, the hldin-akti, and achieves My eternal service. Those who, due to lack of proper knowledge, come to the conclusion that My birth, activities and form are manifest from this material world and are temporary and mundane, are cast into this cycle of birth and death as a result of their ignorance. By coming to such conclusions, men under the influence of materialistic activities, remain entangled in mundane deeds. Without the mercy of a sdhu, they cannot attain pure devotion.

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What are We Looking For?

by Svm B. B. Viu

hat are you looking for? What does it mean to be happy? Can we find happiness in a funny joke?

Once Emperor Akbar asked his minister Birbal, What is the difference between you and an ass? Birbal measured the distance between himself and the emperor and replied, About three feet! This anecdote is quite funny, but this temporary good feeling we experience while laughing is not equivalent to real happiness. Are we happy after finishing a tedious job? Again, this is not real happiness, only relief from the tedium. Curing a headache does not mean that we automatically feel well but the neutral feelings of no pain/no pleasure may seem like pleasure in comparison to our previous pain. What is it we really seek? Comfort? Safety? Knowledge? Warmth? Love? Security? Peace? Sustenance? In reality, we not only seek, but desire all of the above and much more. All of these are required for us to be peaceful and content. However, we find repeatedly that when 53

the goal we have set is reached, we are not satisfied. Why is this? Perhaps, as the Vedas suggest, we are looking in the wrong place. Perhaps we just dont know what is what and we are trying to settle for something less that the real thing. Unfortunately, the education that most of us receive simply perpetuates the animal propensities of hra, nidra, bhaya and maithuna eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Without a proper guide for our spiritual journey one is totally lost, without real clues as to how to lead a proper life. Proper education is essential. One must know what is the right thing to do, what is in our best interest and where it will lead us. Knowledge gives us power because we can understand our options and how our pursuance of such will play out what will happen to us when we act in a certain way or various other ways. We have options such as apparent control over our own destiny. How we act changes our future and we have the freedom to do anything we like. Yet we almost always choose a less fortuitous path. Even if we do find some satisfaction, it is temporary or illusory at best, as is everything in this material world. So why should we bother?We bother because it is the inherent nature of all humans to desire happiness (nando mayobhyast) and to repeatedly believe that we can find ultimate happiness, so we attempt to achieve it again and again, only to be frustrated and disappointed. This is the nature of this material world to lull us into a false sense of comfort and satisfaction with lower ideals. Our life flitters about, taunting us with moments of apparent happiness, which disappear only too quickly amidst our many endeavours. Do we know what real satisfaction or happiness is? We have to ask the right questions to the right person to get the right answers and most people wont or cant. Even if we ask the right questions, to whom shall we ask them? Who is qualified to answer them? Who can teach us the most important things in life? Those who are more earnest in their quest look far and wide for lifes secrets. Our greatest gift from the Lord is free will the freedom to do anything our heart desires. We even have the freedom to do wrong. Unfortunately we have misused this wonderful gift to exploit our senses and the result is that we are stuck here in this material world a veritable prison house where we have no actual control over our lives. We are all forced to act in certain ways by the modes of nature and our innate qualities, often without a conscious choice on our parts prakte kriyamni guai karmi sarvaa. Thus we are servants of our senses, our minds, our desires, etc. Although we are engaged in so many activities, we are not the controller. We are not even able to control the activities we are involved in. Nor do we understand the Controller behind everything, the Absolute Truth, God, or Ka as we know Him. Where shall we focus our endeavour? How do we know what is important and what to do? Unfortunately most humans and all animals do not know the purpose of life and therefore waste their lives engaging in inconsequential endeavours and activities. We spend our lives learning and utilising that knowledge to facilitate our lives. Knowledge is available everywhere, but 54

real knowledge is more difficult to locate. Our premise is that the ancient Vedic literatures of India, the most voluminous set of books known to mankind, contain everything we need to know about the purpose and goal of life. The Vedic conception declares firmly that we must search out the truth now athto brahmajijs. And all the Vedas lead us to Ka, some directly, some indirectly vedai ca sarvair aham eva vedya all the Vedas help us to understand Ka. In the Bhagavad-gt Ka states that we should come to Him in an indirect way: sva-dharme nidhana reya. Then, later He instructs us to come directly sarva-dharmn parityaja mm eka araa vraja. What is our purpose of existence? To serve Ka. What do we want? Happiness. What is true pleasure? Absorption in devotional service. What should we do? Engage in unalloyed devotional service. What is our goal? Pure love of God. Our aspiration? To serve our Lord eternally. How will we achieve it? Listen carefully, for all will be revealed. When Santana Gosvm, the Prime Minister for the Mohammedan government in Bengal, presented himself to r Caitanya Mahprabhu he asked, ke mi, kene mya jre tapa-trya Who am I? And why am I suffering the threefold miseries? Santana then asked what was his real duty and who he was. Even though Santana was the Prime Minister he did not know who he actually was and what his eternal duties were.

When Santana Gosvm, the Prime Minister for the Mohammedan government in Bengal, presented himself to r Caitanya Mahprabhu he asked, Who am I? And why am I suffering the threefold miseries?

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Because anything acquired by our reason will not satisfy us, rla rdhara Mahrja states that instead of simple inquiry as proclaimed by the Vedas (brahma-jijs), we must accept knusandhna and begin the search for r Ka. That is, our only business is service to our Lord Ka. rla rdhara Mahrja writes in Absolute Harmony: Everyone wants pleasure, all are searching after happiness, but they do not know how to search it out properly. What is true lasting pleasure? A scientific search of pleasure or bliss will reveal knusandhna. All seeking will culminate in Him, the emporium of all rasas, the epitome of all taste., the combination of all different types of that pleasing substance which alone can supply ecstasy, love and harmony within us. This essential truth is illustrated very nicely by Ka Dsa Kavirja Gosvm in the Caitanyacaritmta. Madhya-lila 20.127-136, where there is the narration of an astrologer who is describing a poor mans fortune to him. The man, whose father left him a fortune, does not know he is actually rich. The astrologer said, The treasure is in this place, but if you dig toward the southern side, wasps and drones will rise and you will not get your treasure. If you dig on the western side, there is a ghost who will create such a disturbance that your hands will not even touch the treasure. If you dig on the northern side, there is a big black snake that will devour you if you attempt to dig up the treasure. However if you dig up a small quantity of dirt on the eastern side, your hands will immediately touch the pot of treasure. These verses are summarized in verse 135: Revealed scriptures conclude that one should give up fruitive activity, speculative knowledge and the mystic yoga system and instead take to devotional service, by which Ka can be fully satisfied. In an indirect way, the astrologer indicated the path of bhakti to this poor soul for this was his real treasure, not the wealth that was buried. Ka Dsa Kavirja Gosvm goes on to describe the actual goal of bhakti-yoga to become situated firmly in devotional service. Our process is called bhakti-yoga and the first step is to find a qualified spiritual master who can instruct us in these principles of devotional service and guide us in their execution. The quintesimally profound Bhagavad-gt introduces us to our spiritual nature and states that we need to find a bona-fide spiritual master: tad viddhi praiptena paripranena sevay upadekyanti te jna jninas tattva-darina Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realised souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. 56

This is the most important step in the spiritual process to approach a qualified spiritual teacher and render service unto him, Ka and the devotees. Our own guru, rla A. C. Bhaktivednta Svm Prabhupda, states in his Nectar of Devotion, Satisfaction of the self-realised spiritual master is the secret of success in spiritual life. The nature of the true guru has been captured in the Gurvakam. Its final verse states that only by the gurus mercy can we get Kas mercy and conversely, without the blessings of our guru, it is impossible to make spiritual advancement, duly illustrating the essential role of our guru. He will teach us the philosophy, train us in the regulative principles of devotional service and guide us along the path, giving us shelter at every step guru-pdraya. Real happiness is achieved on a deep level by the careful practice of devotional service. These principles are designed as a complete programme to immerse the aspirant in devotional activities, such as hearing, chanting and remembering Ka. The process of devotional service is so perfect and complete that even though the practitioner may have difficulty following, yet because the process itself is perfect, success is assured. Nevertheless, we must be extremely eager for success. rla Prabhupda quotes our predecessor crya, rla Rpa Gosvm in his Padyval, that laulyam, or eagerness, is the price one must pay for success in bhakti-yoga. ka-bhakti-rasa-bhvit mati kriyat yadi kutopi labhyate tatra laulyam api mlyam ekala janma-koi-suktair na labhyate Pure devotional service in Ka consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay. (Cc. Madhya 8.70) If we are eager to achieve our goal then we will be more determined in our endeavours. In any worthwhile engagement sacrifice is necessary we must ignore many things to focus on our goal. But what, or which sacrifice is necessary in bhakti-yoga? In essence, we must simply focus on our sdhana (daily practices of bhakti-yoga), minimizing our bodily necessities. A number of famous devotees went to great extremes to maintain their devotional integrity Bali Mahrja abandoned the order of his guru (to follow the Lords direct instruction), Vibhana gave up his relatives to achieve perfection, Prahlda gave up his demoniac father, Bhrata Mahrja rejected his mother, Khavga Mahrja left the worship of the demigods and the yaja-patns neglected their husbands to be with Lord Ka. The higher taste of Ka consciousness is all satisfying, with everything else paling in comparison. Those who have tasted or experienced the sweet reciprocation of the Lord for their devotional activities never wish to give this taste up, for once experiencing the higher taste, they only wish to give up the lower pleasures/tastes. This is related nicely in the Bhagavad-gt 2.59 param 57

dv nivartate experiencing this higher taste one is fixed in consciousness. Only the unalloyed service of r Ka is satisfying, for nothing else resonates so deeply on the soul level. No amount of material energy, no quantity of wealth, nor any amount of anything other than devotion will truly satisfy our heart of hearts. Pure devotees reject anything short of pure devotional service, deriding liberation, karmic material achievements and other shortsighted goals. Simply being engaged in devotional activities is so pleasing to the jva soul that no other activities are required. All the ordinary mundane activities that we engage in every day will never be finished. All the material desires we have will never be fulfilled and similarly, the soul can never be happy unless engaged in devotional service. So the platform of ultimate and eternal happiness is none other than the platform of devotional service. Chant the Names of Ka and Be Happy! Hare Ka Hare Ka Ka Ka Hare Hare Hare Rma Hare Rma Rma Rma Hare Hare

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Getting with the Plan

by Haridsa Bbj Mahrja

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n this world every living entity has his or her own plans. It is these plans that take us all over the universe, enjoying and suffering in different material situations. The result of these plans is death, both materially and spiritually. If we want to relieve ourselves of this burden and transcend the material realm we must abandon our own plan and wholeheartedly follow the plan of the sat-guru. There is really only one thing we need to do to become successful spiritually and that is to abide by the order of r Guru. Even the suggestions of guru must not be neglected if we wish to make any spiritual advancement. The old axiom, Your wish is my command, is a good one when dealing with sat-guru. We should always follow to the best of our abilities the advice and suggestions of r Guru and not doubt his vision, wisdom and direction. If we do have doubt and follow that, then the path of devotion becomes a very difficult road wrought with disaster. Arjuna followed his doubts in the beginning and Ka described them as demons. Only after surrendering to Ka and following His plan did Arjuna become successful. Only then was he able to render pure devotional service. r Guru is sometimes compared to the captain of an ocean-going ship. Even in this material world one would be foolish to take a long trip on a boat with a captain whom one did not fully trust. How much more important is it to have faith in the person who will take us across the ocean of birth and death? We must deal with r Guru with the utmost care and attention. Even what may appear to be a small detail from a spiritual point of view may be very big. If r Guru asks for a glass of water, one should not think, Oh, let me bring milk instead after all, milk is better. It is said one cannot fully understand the mind of a great Vaiava. We do not always have to understand why he wants something. It is better to just 60

comply with the order or request without second-guessing.By bringing milk I have obstructed my gurus plan and failed to carry out his order. Because I think my plan is better, I have committed an offence by second-guessing and considering that I know what is good for r Guru. When one takes this mentality a step further and completely rejects the orders of guru, considering oneself to have a better plan,he commits the most grievous of offences vaiava-apardha. Today is Nirjala-Ekda and many devotees around the world will be observing a complete fast, even abstaining from water and sleep. The benefits of such a fast are glorified in many scriptures. But if r Guru tells me that I should offer a grand feast on this day and eat sumptuously if I follow that order, the result will be millions of times more beneficial than observing even the most rigid of austerities on this day.The foremost Ekda instruction that outweighs all others is that on this day, one should follow the order of r Guru. Eating or fasting is less important than following the order of our guru on this day. The story of Ekalavya comes to mind. Ekalavya desired to become the greatest archer of all time, and with this in mind approached Drocrya to become his apprentice disciple. But Drocrya refused to teach him, instead he tested his faith. Ekalavya was bull-headed and determined to learn archery fromDrocrya who taught Arjuna and made him the greatest archer. Ekalavya went to the forest and fashioned an image of Drocrya out of clay.Then he began to practice archery in front of this idol I use the word idol here because this image of guru was a concoction and not sanctioned by Drocrya. Concentrating his mind on the image, Ekalavya gradually became most expert in archery. It was Drocryas plan that Arjuna would be the greatest archer in the world, and he went as far as promising Arjuna that no one would ever be greater than him at the art. But Ekalavya had a plan of his own that obstructed the plan of his so-called guru. One day, the Kauravas and the Pavas went together for a walk in the forest when they suddenly saw something quite astonishing. Lying peacefully on the ground was a dog whose mouth had been sewn closed by seven arrows. The boys thought that one who could perform such an extraordinary feat was undoubtedly the best archer in the world. They also thought that perhaps he was even better than Arjuna. As they continued to penetrate deeper into the dense forest, they came across an unknown archer tirelessly practicing his marksmanship. It was he who had shot the arrows at the dog because the animal had been barking and disturbing his concentration. When the boys returned to the palace, they related the incident to Drocrya in detail. Arjuna humbly reminded Drocrya of his promise that no one would ever excel him in archery. Drocrya, who was very surprised to hear of the existence of such an expert bowman, went to the forest with Arjuna to meet him. When they reached Ekalavyas cottage, they saw him sitting down before the clay image of Drocrya and shooting arrows with great expertise. 61

As soon as Ekalavya saw them, he paid them due respects, honoring Drocrya as his master. When Drocrya heard that Ekalavya considered him to be his guru, he requested daki from him. Daki is the donation or gift given to a guru. In ancient times, masters used to extract their due daki from their disciples at the time of initiation. Ekalavya stood with folded palms in front of Drocrya and told his master that he was ready to do whatever he ordered. Drocrya then demanded that Ekalavya give him the thumb of his right hand. Though the loss of the thumb meant that he would no longer be able to shoot, Ekalavya cut it off without hesitation. We can understand from this story that all of Ekalavyas practice was for naught and it displeased Droncrya, his supposed guru. Although he became a great archer, his accomplishments were an irritation to Droncrya and an obstruction to his plans. We should not be like Ekalavya when it comes to our guru. We should desire to fit into the plan of r Guru not continue with our own plans under the guise of following him. It is better that we go on our own admitting that we are not surrendered, rather than to artificially declare ourselves surrenderedfollowers when we are not actually following and have our own ideas of what is good for us. Faith in guru is the necessary key in our endeavour towards Ka. Because Ekalavya lacked faith, his path was obstructed. Drocrya tested his faith and Ekalavya failed. Any endeavour we engage in without the sanction of guru, any austerity or penance done

Ekalavya worshipped the form of guru but not the substance. He did not take the instruction of his guru to heart.
on our own whim does not fall into the category of bhakti. Unless one is such an advanced soul that he can hear the Lord speaking to him directly from the heart, the best course is to follow the advice, instructions and plans of a sat-guru. And if we are really hearing the Lord from within, He will be directing us to follow the plan of our guru. Following this is the safest path that assures success. 62

Ekalavya worshipped the form of guru but not the substance. He did not take the instruction of his guru to heart. Drocrya had good reason not to instruct him in the science of archery. A surrendered soul would have simply accepted the order of guru and asked what service he could offer. Instead, Ekalavya disregarded the desire of his guru and used his gurus image as a means to accomplish his own ambition for fame in the material world. He maintained enmity in the form of envy towards Arjuna whom he desired to surpass, and using the form of his so-called guru, he continued to pursue his own selfish goal. Externally he appeared to be surrendered to Drocrya worshipping his form, but his show as a surrendered soul was all a sham. His endeavour was not sanctioned by his guru or any higher Vaiava and was therefore nothing but more accumulated karma for poor Ekalavya. He was so close externally to Ka and Kas associates, but internally he was far away. Eventually, Ekalavya was awarded impersonal liberation in the effulgence of Ka, the destination of mystic yogs and demons. Sadly, today in the Vaiava world there are many who give precedence to form and mundane achievements over cultivating the internal spirit of the cryas in our sampradya. Externally, such souls appear to be Vaiavas, surrendered to the movement of Caitanya Mahprabhu, but internally they are like Ekalavya. Having disregarded the essence, they have opted for the form. Considering wealth, temples and many followers to be a sign of success, they plow forward without the sanction of a bona-fide guru. They trample over many spiritual laws thinking themselves safe in their societies. Like Ekalavya, they appear to be worshipping the forms of great souls, but just like Ekalavya they are nothing more than idol worshippers. Externally they appear to be successful in the same way that Ekalavya appeared successful, but internally they are no better than him.

The sure sign of sincerity is recognising that the instructions and plans of r Guru are none other than the instructions and plans of Ka.
If we want to become successful spiritually we must not detach ourselves from the desires and plans of r Guru and our cryas. The sure sign of sincerity is recognising that the instructions and plans of r Guru are none other than the instructions and plans of Ka. We must develop the strong faith that whatever is coming from my guru is coming from Ka. Whatever comes into our minds, adverse to the desire and plans of r Guru, are the workings of My. With such a mentality, the path towards Ka becomes very clear and easily traversed. The sragrh Vaiavas are seekers of the essence and not the form. We should aspire to become like that giving up our own personal ambitions in this material world. Surrendering ourselves 63

completely at the feet of r Gurudeva, we should aspire to have a small part in his plan. Even the smallest part of r Gurudevas play is millions of times better than being the star of our own illusory show. This article is written as a personal reminder that I should always try to rid my mind of the Ekalavya-like mentality and surrender myself at the feet of r Guru and the Vaiavas. It is a reminder that this surrendering process must take place everyday. Everyday I must try to surrender a little more than the day before. Aspiring to become the friend of all living entities, this article is submitted on the day of Nirjala-Ekda of the year 2013 by Haridsa Bb.

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Heart

Halo
by Svm Bhakti Vijna Giri
he following is an excerpt from a class by Bhakti Vijna Giri Mahrja, given on Gaura Prim 2013. There is a very famous verse composed by rla Svarpa-Dmodara Gosvm through which we can understand the vaiihya (speciality) of Mahprabhu. anarpita car cirt karuayvatrna kalau samarpayitum-unnatojjvala-ras sva-bhakti-rya hari purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandpita sad hdaya-kandare sphuratu va ac-nandana May the son of ac-dev be transcendentally situated in the inner-most chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in Kali-yuga by His causeless mercy and inaugurated the sakrtana movement in order to bestow what no avatra ever offered before the most sublime and radiant mellow of mdhurya-rasa. (Cc. di 1.4) r Caitanya Mahprabhu is known as the yugvatra and He appears for two reasons. What are those two reasons? Ka Dsa Kavirja Gosvm says that He appears for yuga-dharmapravartana, in order to propagate the yuga-dharma. This is predicted by Karabhjana i in the Eleventh Canto of the rmad Bhgavatam:

The Reason for Mahaprabhus Descent

ka-vara tvika sagopgstra-pradam yajai sakrtana-pryair yajanti hi su-medhasa In Kali-yuga Ka appears in a golden form, chanting the two syllables k-a. He descends along with His weapons, potencies and eternal confidential associates. Those with intelligence worship Him by the performance of sakrtana-yaja. (Bhg.11.5.32) In the age of Kali, Ka appears, not in a blackish form (ka-vara), but tvika, in a golden form. And, sagopgstra-pradam He comes with His associates and His weapons. Generally the Lord holds a cakra, mace or sword, but in this avatra it is different. Then, Karabhjana i says, yajai sakrtana prayai He will initiate yaj-sakrtana. There are different types of yajas, but in Kali-yuga the main yaj is sakrtana-yaj. Yajanti hi sumedhasa who worships that golden avatra? Su-medhasa those that are most intelligent. Not just intelligent, but su-medhasa. The prefix su accentuates something, so su-medhasa means the most intelligent people will worship that personality. Another verse is found in the Bhgavatam explaining what is yuga-dharma: kte yad dhyyato viu trety yajato makhai dvpare paricaryy kalau tad-dhari-krtant Self-realisation which was achieved in the Satya-yuga by meditation, in Tret-yuga by the performance of different sacrifices, and in Dvpara-yuga by worship of Lord Ka can be achieved in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Holy Names. (Bhg. 12.3.52) In Kta-yuga, the yuga-dharma was meditation (dhyna). In Treta-yuga, very elaborate homas were performed. In Dvpara-yuga, very elaborate Deity worship. But, kalu tad-dhari-krtant in Kali-yuga the yuga-dharma is nma-sakrtana. Sakrtanaika pitarau the initiator of that sakrtana is r Caitanya Mahprabhu. When r Caitanya Mahprabhu comes to initiate and propagate nma-sakrtana He does so in the mood of Gaura-Nryaa. Mahprabhu appears every Kali-yuga as Gaura-Nryaa in order to propagate the yuga-dharma and through that nma-sakrtana all living entities can attain moka. It is the opinion of rla Vndvana Dsa hkura, who wrote the first biography of Mahprabhu known as r Caitanya-bhgavata, that the aspect of Mahprabhu as Gaura-Nryaa is actually the avatra of Kiradakay Viu, Paramtm. This is because Paramtm has some sympathy for all the living entities. He resides in the hearts of all jvas and witnesses their suffering, therefore, He appears as Gaura-Nryaa in order to alleviate that suffering. But in the twenty-eighth Kali-yuga, once in a day of Brahm, r Caitanya appears, not only as Gaura-Nryaa, but as Rdh-Ka combined. To spread nma-sakrtana He appears as the yugvatra, Gaura-Nryaa. But when Mahprabhu takes sannysa and performs His puruottama-ll (pastimes in Jaganntha Pur), that is not Gaura-Nryaa; that is Rdh-Ka combined. Mahprabhus appearance as the yugvatra to spread nma-sakrtana is only one 66

reason for His appearance in this world. Ka Dsa Kavirja Gosvm explains that yuga-dharma pravartana is actually anusaga-prayojana it is auxiliary, it is not primary. The yuga-dharma of nma-sakrtana is spread in every Kali-yuga, and that is for the masses that is for everyone, irrespective of their caste, gender etc. Therefore it is said, bahirge sage kare nma-sakrtana for humanity at large, Mahprabhu performed nma-sakrtana. This brings us to the second, and most important reason why Mahprabhu came. This is mentioned in the Caitanya-caritmta: r rdhy praaya-mahim kdo vnayaivsvdyo yendbhuta-madhurim kdo v madya saukhya csy mad-anubhavata kda veti lobhttad-bhavdya samajani ac-garbha-sindhau harndu Desiring to understand the glory of rmat Rdhrs love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realises the sweetness of His love, The Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appears from the womb of ac-devi as the moon appears from the ocean. (Cc. di 1.6) Ka desired to understand the glory of Rdhrs love. He wanted to experience the happiness of Rdhr when She experiences His love. Therefore, Ka appears as Mahprabhu, endowed with the emotions of rmat Rdhr. This is actually the primary reason why Mahprabhu appears in this world. In the words of r Jva Gosvm, sva-bhajana vibhajana prayojanvatra sva-bhajana means that He is tasting Himself. Vibhajana also He is distributing Himself. And He is the prayojanvatra He is giving lifes ultimate goal to the living entities. Therefore, Mahprabhu takes the mood of rmat Rdhr. We can also look at this in more detail. If we see through stra-yukti, reasoning based on the stras, then we can understand that Ka is the Absolute kas tu bhagavn svayam. He is replete with all unlimited opulence, He creates, maintains and destroys unlimited universes etc. This is accepted on the basis of stra-yukti. But now a question ariseswhen is God no longer God? Is Ka always God? Is He always Supreme? When we take rasa-vicra (deliberation of rasa) into account, then Ka is no longer God. When we apply rasa-vicra then the Absolute is no longer Supreme. Through the subjective perception of His devotees such as Nanda, Yaod, Sudm, rdm, Lalit, Vikh and Rdhr, He is not Supreme. They see Him in the role of my son, my friend, my lover. The residents of Vraja perceive Ka through the lens of rasa and this causes a dilemma for Him. In the Bhagavad-gt, the Lord has made a promise. He says: ye yath m prapadyante ts tathaiva bhajmy aham mama vartmnuvartante manuya prtha sarvaa 67

As they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pth. (Gt 4.11) As My devotees surrender to Me, I reciprocate with them accordingly. But in Vndvana, Ka has a problem specifically He finds a problem in regards to the gops. The gops come to meet with Ka at night. They have left everything their families, their reputations, everything has been sacrificed in order to meet with Ka. They care for nothing and no one. This is recognized by Uddhava: sm aho caraa-reu-ju aha sy vndvane kim api gulma-latauadhnm y dustyaja sva-janam rya-patha ca hitv bhejur mukunda-padav rutibhir vimgym The gops of Vndvana gave up their husbands, children, and families who are difficult to renounce, and sacrificed even their religious principles to take shelter of the lotus-feet of Ka, which are sought after even by the Vedas themselves. O grant me the fortune to take birth as a blade of grass in Vndvana, so that I may take the dust of the lotus-feet of those great souls upon my head. (Bhg. 10.47.61) Ka tells them, Why are you here? You should go back to your homes! You will be rejected by your family and by society. But the gops did not care. You cannot send us away like this! We dont care for these things reputation, family etc. We came to serve You. We will not go! Due to their intense and high level of aragati, Ka becomes fully indebted to them. He tells them: na praye ha niravadya-sayuj sva-sdhu-ktya vibudhyupi va y mbhajan durjara-geha-khal samvcya tad va pratiytu sdhun I am not able to repay My debt to you properly even within a lifetime of the demigods. You are free from any kind of deceit. You have worshipped Me, cutting all family ties which are very difficult to overcome. Thus, let your own wonderful deeds be your compensation. (Bhg. 10.32.22) He says, I cannot repay this debt! You have surrendered everything to Me. rla rdhara Mahrja says that Ka tells them, I am an infinite storehouse. I have given you everything and there is nothing more left that I can give you. You have made Me bankrupt! He that is unlimited, aea, finds His limit in Vndvana. He that is unconquerable, ajita, is conquered by His topmost devotees. This is what happens to Ka when He meets with rmat Rdhr and the gops in Vndvana. He becomes indebted to the gops and this becomes a problem, since He has already promised in the Gt that He will reciprocate with His devotees level of surrender. But in this case, He cannot reciprocate He has nothing to give. Therefore Ka has to become r Caitanya. Just as the gops gave everything up for Ka, Ka as 68

Mahprabhu becomes a canvasser for Rdhr and the gops. He comes to give that which has never been given before.

r Caitanyadeva, also gives everything up. Tyaktv sudustyaja-surepsita-rjya-lakm even the association of the Goddess of Fortune, Viu-priy and Lakm-priy. In the words of rla rdhara Mahrja, Mahprabhu becomes a canvasser for Rdhr and the gops. He comes to give that which has never been given before anarpita car. And what is that thing that was never given before? It is unnatojjvala-rasa. Unnata means highest. Ujjvala means the most splendorous that rasa which is the highest and most magnificent in particular, parakya-rasa. Parakya-rasa means that conjugal rasa which is not consummated by marriage. A married woman may have a secret lover that is parakya-bhva. rla rdhara Mahrja gave a unique definition of the parakya-rasa that Mahprabhu is cultivating. He explains that the environment that we live in demands everything from us it claims our time, our energy, our money everything. We are like the dutiful wife, and the environment that we live in is like our husband. We serve that environment hand and foot. But if we disobey that environment to serve Ka, that is like parakya-rasa. In other words, Mahprabhu is spreading disobedience against the environment, disobedience against society, disobedience against our family, even disobedience against the stra. stra dictates that we should follow so many rules and regulations, varrama-dharma, upa-dharma etc. but ultimately, on the highest level, even that is rejected. This is the specialty of what r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to give and to experience Himself also. Ka is considered to be the viaya-tattva, or the Supreme Enjoyer. Rdhr is the ultimate raya-tattva, who takes shelter of the viaya-tattva. When both viaya-tattva and raya-tattva combine, that is Mahprabhu. Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura says that, Mahprabhu is 69

not simply Rdh, and Mahprabhu is not merely Ka Mahprabhu is the personification of the intense embrace of Rdh and Ka. That is rdh-bhva-dyuti suvalitam He becomes, in the words of rla rdhara Mahrja, the heart and halo of Rdhr; He imbibes the mood (bhva) and lustre (dyuti) of rmat Rdhr. And who is enhancing that mood for Mahprabhu? His most intimate associates, Rya Rmnanda and Svarpa-Dmodara Gosvm who, in ka-ll, are Rdhrs most confidential friends, Lalit and Vikha. In this mood, the Lord spreads the highest rasa, mdhurya-prema. He is giving this, but how do we access this gift of Mahprabhu? Prabodhnanda Sarasvat, in his Caitanya-candrmta, explains: yath yath gaura-padravinde vindeta bhaktim kta puya-rai tath tathot-sarpati hdya-kasmd rdh-padambhoja-sudhambu rai As much as one can devote his full attention to the lotus-feet of r Caitanya, to that extent he will be able to taste the nectarine service of the lotus-feet of Rdhr in Vndvana. (Caitanya-candrmta 88) He says that in order to come to the lotus-feet of rmat Rdhr and taste the same sweetness that Mahprabhu Himself tastes, we must worship the lotus-feet of r Gaurga Mahprabhu. Prabodhnanda says that there is a speciality in Mahprabhu that cannot be found in any other avatra: rako-daitya-kula hata kiyad ida yogdi-vartma-kriymrgo v praka-kta kiyad ida y-dikam v kiyat mediny-uddharadika kiyad ida premojjvaly mahbhakter vartma-kar par bhagavata caitanya-mrti stuma (Caitanya-candrmta 56) He says, What is the benefit of other avatras like Narasiha and Rmacandra killing so many demons? What is the point of so many avatras such as Kapila and Dattatreya coming to teach different systems of yoga? What is so glorious about the guvatras, Brahm, Viu and iva, creating, maintaining and destroying the universe? How auspicious is it that Varha lifts the earth out of the Garbhodaka Ocean? I dont consider the activities of these other avatras to have much importance. The most important thing is that r Caitanya has appeared in this age of Kali to give that which has never been given before that unnatojjvala-rasa. Therefore we should glorify Him. That is the speciality of Mahprabhu, and these are the reasons why He came.

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The Meaning of Diving Deep

71

As Expressed by rla rdhara Mahrja

by Dhra-lalit Dev Ds
his material world is a place of discord and disharmony, especially in Kali-yuga. Even devotees may fight, find fault or disagree with each other on a particular topic. In the middle of such disharmony how are we to keep a balance and a solid consciousness full of divine thoughts? How are we to remember ourselves as the devotees servant as well as Kas? How are we going to perform our devotional service with the appropriate consciousness? Our materially diseased mind is always looking for the defects in others or in the environment. Rarely do we look for the defects within. Even devotees live in fear sometimes fear of poverty, fear of being neglected etc., and this fear may paralyze his or her ability to surrender to guru and Ka. Since Ka reciprocates according to his/her degree of surrender, where does the sdhaka stand? We are practicing Ka consciousness and the answer must come from developing the correct consciousness. With the guidance of guru and Ka, we must come to realise what this consciousness is. With our faith (raddh) and with our intelligence (buddhi), we must dive deep. This point is well explained by rla rdhara Mahrja. He says: Dont be a member of discord and create a world of discord, but try to be a member of the world of harmony. This is a way that in no time, in a very short time, you can come in connection with the world of harmony. He assures us that once our mind is set, we can come to this realisation in a very short time. How can we understand this point? rla rdhara Mahrja further explains that in this plane it is like the ocean with many waves on the surface. But if we dive deep, no waves can disturb us. On the surface we see so many disturbing small waves clashing, always there is an argument, a difference of opinion, difference of interests etc. But if we connect with the deep sea, there is no such wave-clashing. The clashing plane is made of the three guas. It is the gua plane, the sattva, rajas and tamas of My. In that plane we are separated from Bhagavn, from Ka, and it creates clashes between the consciousness of separatism. But when we dive deep, we come in touch with the more universal characteristic of the world. Vaikuhas quality is nirgua not only nirgua, not only do we become free of duality, but also we become full of the quality of love a welcoming adoration. We will find positive love when we go deeper into this world and that is what Vndvana is what Ka consciousness is. It does not produce a disturbance, it produces love. It is not even the land of justice, but the land of mercy, the land of love. Love means one who compensates for the shortcomings of others that is love. By self-dedication one may compensate others inadequacies. That is the land of love, the land of mercy. That is Vndvana, the deepest existence of Ka consciousness. And before that, there is Vaikuha 72

consciousness, the land of justice. But we are here in this myika world, a world that clashes with injustice Bhr, Bhuva, Svar, Maha, Jana, Tapa, Satyaloka, the brahmaa a world where separate consciousness clashes and separate interest fights each other. If we were to pass through Brahmaloka and enter there, we would find equilibrium. Then, as Gopa Kumra did, (the hero of Santana Gosvms book, Bhat-bhgavatmtam) we would come to Vaikuha, the land of justice. Then again going deeper, if we could make progress, we would find Ka consciousness, the land of divine love. In this land, everyone is compensating for each others shortcomings. Actually, they are not defects really, but still the tendency is there due to our finite nature. But through love and mercy, such sacrifice gives others happiness and sustains the general happiness of the place. Everyone is contributing something out of their love, and that is the land of Vndvana, Ka consciousness, that has been given in the rmad Bhgavatam. r Caitanya Mahprabhu came to point out that consciousness, making it easy for us to understand through the mercy of rla Kavirja Gosvm in his Caitanya-caritmta. Now it is up to us to practice this very mentality, to pray to get closer to it everyday. A statement was made on the banks of the Godvar River. There, in his famous conversation with Rmnanda Rya, Mahprabhu began in a very general and comprehensive way:

We should look deeper than performing ordinary duties such as what has already been ordered in the Vedas and Upaniads. Eho bhya This is superficial, go deeper!
prabhu kahe paa loka sdhyera niraya rya kahe sva-dharmcarae viu-bhakti haya (Cc. Madhya 8.57) What is the goal of our life? Please explain with quotations from scriptures. It is not only I that wants to hear your simple statements, but I want to also hear evidence. Why? To determine what is our goal in life. The answer came from Rmnanda Rya, I shall recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life. If one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original Ka consciousness. Sva-dharma means varrama-dharma, the duties you have to discharge. You must discharge them without any remuneration (varrama-dharma-nikma), without any particular mundane aim. If you go on with your duties that are in the realm of varrama-dharma, you will get viubhakti. Rya Rmnanda said that viu-bhakti is the destination our adherence is to He who pervades everywhere. We must give up the spirit of exploitation and renunciation because they keep us from approaching Ka. We must live a spiritual, deeper life pertaining to a deeper plane, which is subtler. We should connect our duties with that consciousness.

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The Lord replied eho bhya ge kaha ra. We should look deeper than performing ordinary duties such as has already been ordered in the Vedas and Upaniads. Eho bhya This is superficial, go deeper! Then, Rmnanda Rya suggested ka-karmrpaa (offering the results of fruitive activities to Ka). Varrama-dharma is fixed in convention, which generally means to perform external activities. Those who follow that, do not care even to give up the fruit of their actions even if they did, they have no direct consciousness of Ka or Viu. Varrama is more for religious principles performed as a routine. They perform Durg Pj, rddha, and so many practices and they may or may not know how this work links with Ka. They may or may not know. But it is better to have a direct consciousness that Ka is the authority, and whatever we are doing in varrama, or in this case, socially (since varrama-dharma is a thing of the past), all the fruits must be offered to Ka. With this consciousness, if we perform our duty, all social, religious, national or physical activities, whatever we do with our present body (if we are aware of the connection with Ka), will take us closer to the goal of life. Then, Rmnanda Rya came with a new light: rya kahe ke karmrpana sarva-sdhya-sra To offer the results of ones activities to Ka is the essence of all perfection. (Cc. Madhya 8.59) Someone may say, O Lord, how can it be possible for me to give up all obstacles on the path of spiritual realisation, fix my mind upon You and become Your unalloyed devotee? Surely this is not possible for me. The answer to this objection is found in the Bhagavad-gt when r Ka spoke the verse: sarva-dharmn parityajya mm eka araa vraja aha tv sarva-ppebhyo mokayisymi m uca Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear. (Gt 18.66) Therefore, we must be particular with the object of life in this case r Ka, and not be so conscious of the activities themselves. Thus, the object of our life will mean more to us. We need to pay more attention to the object and less importance to the form of the activity, whether we are a katriya, a brhmaa, a vaiya or a dra that does not matter. We must have no attachment for our external propensities. We must not pay too much attention to our external tendencies because the form of our circumstances may change and our duties with them. But Mahprabhu replied to Rmnanda Rya that, This is also superficial, go ahead, go deeper! Then, Rmnanda said: rya kahe jna-mira bhakti sdhya-sra Devotional service mixed with empiric knowledge is the essence of perfection. (Cc. Madhya 8.64) 74

brahma-bhta prasanntm na aucati na kkati sama sarveu bhteu mad bhakti labhate parm One who is transcendentally situated at once realises the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. (Gt 18.54) Now we come to the stage of identifying ourselves with spirit. We understand that we are souls with nothing to do with this mundane world, so any loss or gain in this mundane world is of no use to us. Our prospect is in the world of the soul, the world of consciousness, and we have nothing to do with this material world. When one reaches the brahma-bhta platform, he is already established in the consciousness that he is the soul proper, has nothing to do with matter and thus he feels some sort of satisfaction. His serving attitude now becomes more pure; it is performed on the spiritual plane and untainted by mundane aspirations. But this is also superficial. He is on the verge, but he has not entered the domainhe is just waiting at the door, at the marginal position. He has not entered yet. The ego, the I, is very strong, and he still wants to have the account of loss and gain. He still thinks he is the master. The key is in his hands. So he is the master, and not the servant. From the position of a master he is making inquiries. Jne praysam udapsya one must give up the endeavour for knowledge. If you want to enter into the domain of Ka, you have to realise that everything is superior to you. You stand with your head erect and that wont do. You have to go there to be a slave, not a master. You must bow your head to enter into that land. From here your life will be one of a servant eternally. Of course, you may expect to be educated about this line, how good it is, how great it is, how it is useful to you. You will be allowed to ask honest inquiries. You will be made to understand that your external position is negligible. However, your aspiration and eagerness, the purity of your purpose, has real consideration there, while your present position does not. The recruitment from that side will consider the purity of your purpose not your present position in that capacity. jne praysam udapsya namanta eva jvanti san-mukharit bhavadya-vrtm sthne sthit ruti-gat tanu-v-manobhir ye prysao jita jito py api tais tri lokym Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds. (Bhg. 10.14.3) Apparently, it seems that you are going to be a slave but the result is the opposite ajita jita (the unconquerable is conquered). If you can accept such a position of surrender and slavery, that 75

Ajita, who can never be conquered, is conquered in this process. He is the Master of slaves, but He sometimes wants to become the slave of His slaves. This is the key to success. We can get the highest gain through this path. Mahprabhu said to Rmnanda, This statement is very good. Ajita is being jita. By surrendering we capture. I admit it is the plane of love divine. By giving, we can get as much as we risk. As much as we surrender, Ka will reciprocate accordingly. Mahprabhu said to Rmnanda Rya, I accept that here it begins, this is uddha-bhakti. Then he tells him again, Go further. Then, uddha-bhakti develops from a crude form to a more developed state. It must take the shape of nta, dsya, sakhya, vtsalya and mdhurya-rasa. Awe and reverence, splendor and grandeur, pomp and apprehensive respect all these gradually vanish due to more confidence in devotional service. The object of our worship or love changes in another way. The heart is full of service of a peculiar type that is the criterion. In that way we shall progress and become like the inhabitants of Vndvana who consider Ka a thousand times more valuable than their own lives. They have so much affection for the Lord. We have to make arrangements for His interest in all respects and a wholesale dedication for His satisfaction by every atom of our existence. In this material world there is fear and anxiety. We cannot avoid it. It is the nature of this world. The lower segment of the living entities such as the animals are under the spell of fear. Are we to remain in such an animalistic consciousness, full of fear and anxiety? By diving deeper we can come to Ka consciousness. And by surrendering fully to Ka we can reach that plane of fearlessness. It is a long process which takes time. We may be fearful to let go of our safe plank in this material ocean full of huge waves at first, but once we do, we are free to dive deeper and deeper. There we find the unqualified grace of Ka underground, with no connection to karma or jna. Our inquiries should be honest, concerned with increasing our service rather than an accumulation of knowledge. Then gradually we will find our position in Kas service amongst His dearest devotees. As rla rdhara Mahrja points out himself, it is not enough to set our goal just to get out of My. We should aim at finding our service capacity with Ka. Not only to get out of the negative side, the reservation, but the positive process should be considered and taken. (rla rdhara Mahrja)

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What Have We

raddh is a wonderful substance. In no time it transports us beyond the calculations of this world. The raddh that I speak of is not the same as it is perceived by the majority of temple-goers. A worldly petition cannot be couched inside real raddh. On the other hand, raddh also cannot harbour the feeling, I have nothing to ask, I am satisfied with what I have and I worship my Creator out of gratitude. The Vedic aphorism, athto brahma-jijsa marks the beginning of ones spiritual transaction and raddh is the currency. If there is no transaction, where is the question of currency? raddh is our wealth that gives us impetus to march towards the Absolute Truth. Empiric philosophers and scientists will eventually deduce through logic that this material world is futile. They fight a losing battle since they will never replace this world of sensory experience with the positive experience of the spiritual world something that will always elude the mundane senses. However, it does not take a philosopher to understand the Absolute Truth. In the Bhagavad-gt, Ka says, rutvapyenam veda na caiva kacit even after hearing about the Absolute Truth some dont understand. Spiritual knowledge is such that while a great scholarly philosopher goes amiss in understanding the Absolute Truth, a simplehearted person graced with raddh will find no difficulty. After all, it does not require complex deductions to understand that a rose is beautiful, but it does require eyes that can appreciate beauty. By nature, raddh propels one towards beauty, charm and sweetness specifically towards Ka, the Absolute Reality. raddh can only be for knusandhna the search for r Ka. It can be said that when the hazy conception of brahma-jijsa takes a definite shape, it is knusandhna. It is our greatest fortune that in this age r Nitynanda Prabhu who is none other than r Baladeva, is calling people of faith (raddh-vn jana he), Take the Name of Ka, search for your greatest treasure in r Ka. What have you got to lose? rla rdhara Mahrja says knusandhna is the ripe fruit of the Vedas the plane of rmad Bhgavatam. The Vedas are branched in many directions that cater to the spiritual progress of seekers at different levels. Much of the Vedas deal with karma-kaa which prescribes many 77

Got to Lose?

by Advaita crya Dsa Brahmacr

rituals that will award higher births, wealth, power, and lead to material enjoyment. People that follow karma-kaa are essentially selfish, and as per Bhagavad-gt, they do not attain the resolve to fix their minds on the Supreme Lord until they are shaken by the character of an unalloyed devotee of Ka endowed with raddh. We find in the earthly pastimes of r Ka that the yaja-patns were most intensely attracted to Ka simply by hearing about His qualities, whereas, their husbands did not even recognize Him even when He was at their doorsteps. The ritualistic brhmaas were more interested in calculations and rituals prescribed in the Vedas. But the attraction of the yaja-patns was such that they rushed out to meet Ka and Balarma without considering their status within varrama as the wives of brhmaas, or their duties towards their husbands. They would even give up their lives when thwarted in their attempt to meet Ka. Kunt-dev says, bhavatodarana yarhi hkm iveitu On not being able to see You, the senses wither away. Such is the fire of knusandhna that it devours all the charms of mortal existence. We have heard expressions from devotees that they are ready to accept millions of births if, after that, they are assured to have the mercy of Ka. We have also heard devotees curse their own selves to take millions of births when there is the slightest error on their part in serving their guru. One wonders what has happened to the value of mortal existence? The life that we are trying to hold on to so desperately seems only like a tool to achieve the death of our present selves. Die to live each death is a death of our selfish being and a birth of fresh dedication to Ka. By embracing death in this way, the fear of death is subdued and thereby the greatest calamity of life is defeated. What then have we got to lose? rla rdhara Mahrja says that externally we need not move mountains or oppose river currents in the form of long periods of penance, elaborate yajas, grand Deity worship, agayoga, or any physically taxing vows in order to reach the Absolute Truth. Only the divine 78

sound of the Holy Name is sufficient in all respects when taken with true humility. Although he says, internally we will have to cross many oceans and planets in the form of different layers of ego to reach the true plane of humility. When we take a step towards sdhu-saga and accept a guru, we begin our internal journey towards true humility. Even though there is no necessity to move mountains or oppose river currents, we will do all those things if it pleases our guru and thereby make progress internally. Bhakti, parenubhava and viraktir devotion, transcendental experience of the Lord, and detachment from things not related to Ka happen simultaneously for the one who finds true humility in wholehearted surrender to ones guru (prapadyamnasya). The guru inspires us to search for r Ka and teaches us the secrets of devotional service. More than anything else, he shows us our aspiration, our ultimate engagement in the service of r r Rdh-Ka. In one of his lectures, rla Guru Mahrja says that our aspiration is to become a madman. We find the same feeling in the songs of rla Bhaktivinoda hkura. Should we accept millions of births just to become a madman? On the contrary, even a million births is not enough to repay our guru for giving us this aspiration. To be madly in love with Ka is no small achievement. For the worldly-minded majority, anything that does not conform to worldliness is abnormal. For the sober, worldliness is a disease. The followers of Mahprabhu are the best amongst the sober because, not only do they conquer worldliness, but just by diving into the depths of humility they reach the zenith of spiritual realisation and make Ka their own. Still, when the highest goal of human life is to become a madman, what have we got to lose? rla rdhara Mahrja teaches us that in the line of Mahprabhu, intense humility and separation and the highest aspiration go hand in hand. This is very exclusive to the line of Mahprabhu beginning with r Mdhavendra Pur. The gops, although being the most favored by Ka, talk of themselves as just being ordinary women, fallen in the deep well of household affairs (geham jum). They think that Ka is the property of yogs and liberated souls. Yet, Uddhava, the most confidential and dear associate of Ka, is wonderstruck by the intense feeling of the gops. He thinks, Fie, oh fie! My knowledge has become my greatest enemy; What should I do? Where can I find such a simple heart as that of the gops? Even after a million births I will not succeed in achieving a fragment of the amount of love that the gops have for Ka. Let me just roll in the dust of their lotus-feet and purify myself (asm aho caraa renu jum). This is also our aspiration. rla Bhaktivinoda hkura gives us a vivid glimpse of our aspiration in the following prayer. The hkura is alive in this contemplation and out of his causeless compassion towards us, he has gifted us this gem of a song: kabe gaura-vane, suradhun-tae h rdhe h ka bale kdiy beba, deha-sukha chi nn lat-taru-tale 79

When, oh when will I wander here and there, weeping under the shade of the trees and creepers along the banks of the celestial Gag in Navadvpa? I will cry out, O Rdhe! O Ka! and I will completely forget about all the so-called pleasures of this material body. va-paca-ghete, mgiy khiba piba sarasvat-jala puline puline, ga-gai diba kari ka-kolhala When will I be able to live so simply by begging some food from the homes of the untouchables who live here and there? I will drink the water of the Sarasvat, and in ecstasy I will roll to and fro on the banks of the river, raising a loud uproar of Ka! Ka! dhma-vs jane, pranati kariy mgiba kpra lea vaiava-carana renu gya mkhi dhari avadhta-vea When will I bow down to all the inhabitants of the holy land of Navadvpa and receive a bit of their causeless mercy? I will smear the dust of the Vaiavas lotus-feet all over my body, and I will wear the dress of a mad wandering mendicant. gaua-vraja-vane, bheda n dekhiba haiba varaja-vs dhmera svarpa, sphribe nayane haiba rdhra ds When I factually observe that the transcendental land of Navadvpa is non-different from r Vraja-bhmi, then I shall be transformed into a Vraja-vsi also. Then I will see the true form of the transcendental realm opening up before my very eyes, and I will thus become one of the maidservants of rmat Rdhr. Ill keep this article short not only out of courtesy towards the reader, but also because the topic that I speak of may become too high for my small mouth. Ka is infinite, therefore the topics related to Him are also infinite and infinitely sweet. However, it is beyond my diseased state to have a taste for even a fragment of it. And yet, my Gurudeva, the most competent representative of the purest line of Mahprabhu, has shown us this aspiration out of his causeless mercy. This is our saving grace. Otherwise, what have we got to lose?

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Deva-deva Jagat-pate
by Rpnuga Dsa Brahmacr

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ome of us are very fortunate to be under the shelter of a bona-fide spiritual master who is imparting the true meaning of Vedic knowledge. By the mercy of r Guru and Hari, we are bestowed the knowledge of understanding the qualities of the Supreme Lord and His position according to our capabilities. One of the foremost philosophical points for a devotee to understand is the distinction between the Absolute Truth and His subordinates. Unless one comes in connection with the Vaiava tradition, it is highly unlikely for anyone to understand the Supreme position of r Hari. Hence, at times, common people may find it very hard to understand or accept the fact how Ka is the Supreme Being. However, a devotee who has the proper understanding of the Vedic scriptures and is under the shelter of r Guru will always understand the difference between the worship of r Hari and the demigods. Generally in India, the worship of demigods is predominant and depending on different regions, sects and ancestries one is thoroughly committed to different demigods, either due to the desire for material prosperity or simply due to lack of proper knowledge. Vaiavas on the other hand, have no interest in worshipping or meditating on demigods. The sole purpose of their existence is to develop pure love towards the Supreme Godhead and serve Him eternally. Anything outside this process is considered worthless and insignificant. At the same time, a Vaiava never disrespects the demigods. He clearly knows that they are serving the Supreme Lord in their own capacities and are directly empowered by Him. The demigods are assigned to various tasks managing the material world, just like the appointed subordinates of a head of state or a king carrying out different duties. Since they hold some elevated position and powers, they can easily grant benedictions to those who seek material benefits. But a Vaiava has a much higher understanding of the ontological position of the demigods and never indulges in their worship. Seeking material benedictions is for less intelligent beings who are driven by lust, greed and selfishness. antavat tu phala te tad bhavaty alpa-medhasm devn deva yajo ynti mad-bhakt ynti mm api The results achieved by persons of little intelligence are temporary. Those that worship the demigods reach them, but My devotees attain Me. (Gt 7.23) The common idea that is floated around in the present era of spiritualism by so-called gurus and spiritual preceptors is, Regardless of what or whom you worship, you will attain the Absolute Truth because all paths leads to the same destination whether you worship a powerful deva, dev, a fake god-man or just an ordinary rock covered with vermillion and turmeric! This idea of all is one is fallacious and one of the many reasons why there are so many misconceptions about Bhagavn. On the battlefield of Kuruketra, the Supreme Lord r Ka spoke directly to His dearmost friend and student Arjuna about the different aspects of demigod worship and also about those who worship Him directly. 82

Those who desire material prosperity and seek worldly pleasures worship the demigods and may even attain the respective planetary systems of those gods in this material world for a limited period of time. But a devotee of the Supreme Lord, who is self-realised and who only seeks to serve the lotus-feet of r Hari, will attain the supreme abode of Godhead and reside there eternally. When Ka Himself assures us of this through His own words, we should never be bewildered by other forms of worship, practices and affiliations to lesser personalities. One may argue that even demigods are highly praised in the Vedic scriptures and they too seem to possess many supernatural qualities. But a person with higher intelligence understands that it is the Supreme Lord who creates and empowers demigods with their various potencies, positions and prestige, just like a government servant may enjoy a certain status and benefits while holding office. However, once his term is finished, he is not entitled to the same benefits. Similarly, demigods may have to take birth again in lower planets depending on their actions, or at times they may even advance to the spiritual abode of the Supreme Lord after rendering devotional service to Him from their positions. prajpati ca rudra cpy-aham eva sjmi vai tau hi m na vijnito mama my-vimohitau r Ka said The Prajpatis, iva and others are created by Me, though they do not know that they are created by Me because they are deluded by My illusory energy. (Mahbhrata) nryaa paro devas tasmj jta catur-mukha tasmd rudrobhavad deva sa ca sarva-jt gata Nryaa is the Supreme Being and from Him Brahm was born, from whom iva was born. From Him the demigods attained all knowledge. (Varha Pura) vede rmyae caiva pure bhrate tath dv-ante ca madhye ca hari sarvatra gyate In the Vedas, the Rmyaa, the Mahbhrata and Puras, from the very beginning to the end, as well as within the middle, only Lord Hari is glorified. (Hari-vaa) There is a multitude of stric references establishing r Hari as the supreme authority over all the demigods. stra also clearly mentions the different results one procures when worshipping the demigods as opposed to the worship of the Absolute Truth. In the Skanda Pura, Brahm tells his son Nrada: vsudeva parityajya anya deva upsate sva-mtara parityajya vapac vandate hi sa

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One who neglects the worship of Vsudeva and worships other gods is like one who gives up his own mother to show respect to a lowborn woman who eats dogs. r Madhvcrya states: vior upekaka sarve vidvianty-adhika sura pataty-avaya tasmai hari tai ca ptita All the demigods become hateful towards one who ignores Viu. Such a fallen person is pushed into the darkest regions by them. Therefore, one who is initiated with viu-mantra never worships demigods in order to gain material benefits, to solve mundane difficulties or overcome astrological doas etc. This is also explained in the Rev-khaa of Skanda Pura: sakalpaca tath dna pit-devrcandikam viu-mantropadiha cen-na kuryt kua-dhraam If one is initiated into the mantra of Viu, one should avoid sakalpa, dna, worship of the forefathers and demigods, nor wear kua. The Vasiha-sahit also states: nitya naimittika kma dna sakalpam eva ca daivam karma tath paitra na kuryd vaiavo ghi A householder Vaiava should not perform any fruitive activities prescribed on a daily or periodic basis, those arising from personal desire, charities or vows that are in connection with either the worship of the demigods or the worship of the ancestors by rddha and tarpana. In relation to this verse, rla Gopla Bhaa Gosvm, in his Sat-Kry-Sra Dpik, says: What to speak of brahmacrs and others, even ghasthas who are initiated by a bona-fide guru with viu-mantra being under the complete shelter of the Lord must never perform any rites apart from the worship of Lord Viu. Gopla Bhaa Gosvm also quotes the following verse from the Rudra-ymala: itre ca devn manas yadi pjana viu-bhaktas tu kurute hy-apardht pataty-adha If a devotee of Viu worships any other demigod even in his mind, he falls down because of this offence. 84

r Gopla Bhaa Gosvm elaborates: What to speak of anything else, even if a devotee of Lord Viu does such activities out of illusion, bewilderment or carelessness, he falls down because of committing sevpardha and nmpardha (offences to the service and the Holy Name of Lord Viu). What happens? One who is bound with the ropes of such material activities, sometimes goes to the heavenly planets and sometimes goes down to the lower planets. That is his position. In other words, those who neglect the worship of Ka in order to worship devas, devs, ngas, bhtas etc. do so under the influence of the Lords illusory energy and make offences at the Lords lotus-feet. r Madhvcrya states, tad bhaktnm upekak kuryur viv api dveam Those who neglects Hari and His devotees are to be considered offenders at the lotus-feet of the Lord. Of all offences, vaiava-apardha is the most dangerous and distances one from service to the Supreme. In reality, by serving and worshipping the spiritual master, all problems can be overcome because r Guru is sarva-devamaya the sum-total of all the demigods. r Guru is regarded as higher than all the demigods because of his complete surrender to the lotus-feet of the Lord. He is never perturbed by the material elements and he is solely dependent upon the mercy of the Supreme and never forgets Him. Despite their elevated material status, demigods are mira-bhaktas (mixed devotees) who engage in sense-gratification and sometimes forget their temporary positions due to the illusory potency of My. Thus, a devotee is always better situated than the demigods in terms of pleasing the Lord and attaining His supreme abode. However, as aspiring devotees we should never neglect to show respect to Kas appointed representatives, the demigods (pjya devas tata sad). A true Vaiava shows respect to all jvas, whether it be a demigod, a human, an animal or even an insect. Such a humble attitude will help us to become better servants of r Hari, r Guru and the Vaiavas.

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Vaisnavism & Religious Equality

by Gaura-Gopla Dsa Brahmacr
istory shows us that numerous religions and cults existed throughout the ancient world. Some, such as those of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mayans, Olmecs, Phoenicians, Babylonians and Assyrians were practiced for thousands of years and affected vast numbers of people. However they all have one thing in common - they were prevalent for a period of time but ultimately faded away and only exist today in our history books. Despite the predictions of their priests, the fervor of their prayers and the conviction of their followers, they did not carry on into eternity. At present, the vast majority of theists in the world count themselves as followers of the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In relation to some of the religious systems that preceded them, these Abrahamic faiths are still quite young. The oldest of the three, Judaism, was formulated sometime between 400-200 BCE. However, this is still very recent in terms of human history on this planet. Arguments to set the roots of these three religions with Abraham (approx. 1800 BCE) and other Old Testament prophets have been disproven by modern scholars due to a lack of any tangible evidence. Despite their claims of being the eternal word of God, these Abrahamic religions, just like their predecessors, can be traced back to a human source. Everything that is born in this temporary world has a beginning and an end. Therefore, at some point in the future, they will suffer the same fate as all the manmade religions that came before them. However, long before the Greeks built their temples to Apollo, before the cult of Osiris came into existence, before the Assyrians began their worship of Ashur, the Vedic culture of India was thriving with its timeless system of self-realisation. Archaeological evidence has proven the worship of Viu/Ka predates all known religions of the world. While the man-made belief systems of this world will come and go as they always have, Vedic knowledge comes from an eternal source and thus, will continue to exist in the future. The Vedas are known as apaurueya, or untainted by the faulty senses of mortal man. Unlike other religious scriptures, the Vedas are not attributed to any author; they do not point to a higher source of knowledge and their texts have not been altered or revised. rla Vysadeva is well known as the compiler of the Vedas in their written form, but he does not claim credit as the author of this vast body of knowledge. This knowledge originates from its eternal source outside of this temporal realm. While the Vaiavas put emphasis on certain portions of the Vedas that pertain to self-realisation and the worship of Ka, the whole canon of Vedic knowledge is creditable. The core of Vedic literature describes in minute detail the nature of the soul and our eternal relationship with God. Yet we find that the theology found in other religions mainly deals with basic morality and fails to evolve beyond that. 88

Despite all this, some modern practitioners of Vaiavism (perhaps due to sentimental attachment to previous religious beliefs) find it necessary to augment their devotional disciplines with practices and ideas from other religions. They feel the need to include such things as Buddhist meditational techniques, alternative readings of the Bible and studies on the lives of various holy men of other faiths. Beyond this, many Vaiavas engage in interfaith discourses in order to find similarities between the eternal Vaiava system of santana-dharma and the temporary man-made religions of this world. They hope that such comparisons will accord them broad acceptance in modern society. Yet ultimately, such mundane comparisons are a compromise of faith and will only dilute the essential teachings of santana-dharma. Such dialogue can only be maintained on a very superficial level because when one analyses the teachings of these various faiths, philosophical equality is out of the question. The inevitable result of interfaith discussion will be the practitioner of Vaiavism trying to equate Ka with the deities worshipped in these Abrahamic religions. After analyzing the nature of these Abrahamic gods, a true Vaiava would find such comparisons nonsensical at the very least and offensive at best. Even one quote about the God of Abraham from the books of these religions should be enough to convince any discerning devotee that the sweet personality of r Ka is incomparable and cannot be associated with such fabricated deities. For the benefit of the reader I have included a few comparative quotes from the Abrahamic scriptures and the Vaiava texts From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on his way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him.Go up baldhead, they shouted, Go up baldhead! The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces. (2 Kings 2:23-24) In contrast with this contemptible and merciless scenario where God sends bears to tear little children to pieces due to the whimsical curse of his follower, the next two quotes are from Vaiava stra regarding the nature of a true devotee of God. From these verses wes see that Ka does not condone capricious acts of violence and expects His devotees to tolerate all insults and to reject identification with the material body: ati-vds titiketa nvamanyeta kacana na cema deham ritya vaira kurvta kenacit 89

One should tolerate all insults and never fail to show proper respect to any person. Avoiding identification with the material body, one should not create enmity with anyone. (Bhg. 12.6.34) r-bhagavn uvca kplur akta-drohas titiku sarva-dehinm satya-sro nvadytma sama sarvopakraka The Lord said: O Uddhava, a saintly person is merciful and never injures others. Even if others are aggressive he is tolerant and forgiving toward all living entities. His strength and meaning in life come from the truth itself, he is free from all envy and jealousy, and his mind is equal in material happiness and distress. Thus, he dedicates his time to work for the welfare of all others. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to other gods, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. (Exodus 20.5) That the Jewish nation is the only nation selected by God, while all the remaining ones are contemptible and hateful. (The Talmud, Zohar Vayshlah 177b) In contrast to the above quotes where God is described as jealous and racist, Ka has clearly stated below that He is impartial, equal to all and does not envy any person: samo ha sarva-bhteu na me dveyo sti na priya ye bhajanti tu m bhakty mayi te teu cpy aham I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him. (Gt 9.21) Lo! Those who disbelieve our revelations, we shall expose them to the fire. As often as their skins are consumed we shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment again. Lo! Allah is ever Mighty and Wise. (Quran 4.56) In the Vedic literature, there is no such thing as eternal damnation even for those who reject Ka. He is merciful to all living beings: roma-kpa-bhramat-koi-koi-brahma-maala prasva ga-sahana jagan-mtar jagat-pita 90

O Ka, millions of universes emanate from the pores of Your transcendental body. O father and mother of the universe, just as a mother tolerates the offences of her children, You tolerate the offences of the living entities. (Ka-ll-stava 39.154) These are just a few comparisons to show how dissimilar these conceptions of God are with Ka. Are these really the words of God? Are these even the words of a civilised nation? Although The Bible states in the Book of Genesis that man was created in the image of God, it would seem from his flawed character that the God of Abraham was actually created in the image of man a man who is jealous, vindictive, unforgiving, bloodthirsty, racist and genocidal. He is devoid of any real divine qualities. There are no redeeming or endearing characteristics to be found in him whatsoever. He can only be compared to a malevolent and delinquent child who has been given super powers over mankind. Is there any comparison to be made with Ka here? A religion that after thousands of years has not understood the fundamental nature of God does not deserve to stand next to Vaiavism. What is the neccessity to seek acceptance from religions professing to be religions of peace, that have been spread through violence, intimidation and corruption? The practitioner of Vaiavism has a veritable banquet of transcendental understanding within his grasp why should he go searching for spiritual nourishment from a confusing amalgam of manufactured creeds? When one attempts to seek acceptance from these religions it validates their false philosophies and misrepresents the path of santana-dharma. The defining reason why Vaiavas should maintain a separate identity from other religious beliefs is that Vaiavas are personalists. The Vaiava philosophy teaches a message of a personal and individual God who is knowable, beautiful and captivating. All other faiths, whether it is Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, Sikhism or Hinduism, teach a non-personal conception of God. To them, God is either unknowable, unattainable, one with everything and everyone, or simply non-existent. Impersonalism (nirvieavda) and voidism (nyavda) are the complete antithesis of Vaiava philosophy. For Vaiavas to try and find theological similarities and claim that all roads lead to Rome is to belittle the teachings and activities of the entire parampar. This is not to incite hatred towards people of other faiths, but to promote real knowledge and real understanding free from misguided ideas. With such a wealth of knowledge and understanding, it is the duty of all Vaiavas to share this with others. Sharing the knowledge of Ka and showing the example of what the human form of life is truly meant for is a real example of interfaith relations. The Ka conception is the pinnacle of theism in its purest form. It does not need to be augmented or altered to fit. Without a doubt, full satisfaction will be found in the flawless teachings of r Ka. eka stra devak-putra-gtam eko devo devak-putra eva eko mantras tasya nmni yni karmpy eka tasya devasya sev (Git-mhtmya 7) 91

In this present day, people are very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. Therefore, let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world Bhagavad-gt; let there be one God for the whole world r Ka; one hymn, one mantra, one prayer the chanting of His name: Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare/ Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare; and let there be one work only the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (rla Prabhupda Introduction to Bhagavad-gt)

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mission

events

Govindaji Gardens
Report by Svam B.V. Giri

Janmastami 2012
By the mercy of rla Guru Mahrja and r r Gaura-Rdh-Mdhava, our Janmam celebrations were very successful in 2012. Both the rama devotees and our congregational members began preparations two months ahead by sending out invitations, collecting donations and bhoga and arranging for lighting, car parking, security etc. A new dress was presented to the Deities on Janmam made from purple silk that rpda Mdhava Mahrja had brought from China recently. Our thanks go to Gopla Ds Mtj for her service of designing and overseeing the work on the outfits. In the morning of Janmam, rla Guru Mahrja gave class and then gave hari-nma initiation to four devotees Santana Dsa, Mdhava Dsa, Paramtm Dsa and Rma Dsa. Throughout the day there were various activities such as bhajanas, krtanas, a yaj, flute-recitals, nagesvaram, a rathotsava, rati etc. An estimated eight-thousand people came to Govindaj Gardens to take darana of r r Rdh-Mdhava, participate in the krtanas and to honour prasdam.

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Vysa-Pj 2012
For the first time, r Vysa-Pj was held outdoors due to the dry spell that we experienced during the monsoon season in Karnataka. After offering guru-pj to rla Prabhupda at the samdhi, Guru Mahrja sat on his vyssana under the banyan tree to receive homage from the devotees. rpda Viu Mahrja spoke first and glorified Guru Mahrja and explained how he is always thinking of his disciples welfare. Various disciples read their offerings and finally rla Guru Mahrja spoke some words glorifying our guru-varga. Finally guru-pj was offered to Guru Mahrja and gifts were presented to him by disciples and well-wishers. In turn, rla Guru Mahrja presented gifts to all the devotees who had helped make our recent Janmam festival a success.

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Govardhana Pj 2012
During the auspicious month of Krttika, we celebrated Govardhana Pj. Our new cows were nicely decorated and worshipped along with r Giri-Govardhana. Special thanks go to Deepa Mtj for the wonderful peacock-dress that she designed and made for the Deities.

Go-seva
In October 2012 Vmanadeva Dsa purchased two cows for Govindaj Gardens. Lakm and Ekda are two Jersey cows that are presently being taken care of by Gaura-Gopla and Satyarja. Also, prior to the purchase of the cows, Jagadvara Prabhu helped to renovate our old gol in the rama.

Kannada Bhagavad-gt
In December 2012 Gosai Publishers printed rla Guru Mahrjas Bhagavad-gt commentary in Kannada. The translation was done by Caitanya Dsa with help from ymasundara who edited the text and Rasiknanda who did the design and layout.

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Mah Kumbha-Mela 2013

In February rla Guru Mahrja attended the Mah Kumbha-Mela in Allahabad accompanied by rpda Viu Mahrja, Giri Mahrja, Kuja-vihr, Rpnuga and Gaura-Gopla. Guru Mahrja was enthusiastic to be at the Mela and spoke of his experiences of the 1977 Kumbha-Mela with rla Prabhupda and the 1989 Kumbha-Mela. While at the Mela, Guru Mahrja took the opportunity to preach to many of the foreign guests at the camp as well as some of the local Hindu pilgrims. Quite a few Bhagavad-gts were distributed by our devotees as well as Devavision Kumbha-Mela DVDs.

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Gaura Purnima 2013

The 528th appearance of r Caitanya Mahprabhu was celebrated by our devotees on March 27th 2013. The Deities were dressed in a new multicoloured dress designed by Deepa Mtj. After the morning class there was chanting of rla rdhara Mahrjas Prema-dhma-deva Stotra and bhajanas continued throughout the day. At 5:00pm there was an abhieka for Mahprabhu followed by a rathotsava and rati. Everyone then honoured Mahprabhus prasdam.

Pnihi Mahotsava and Ratha-ytr 2013

In July 2013 our devotees celebrated both the Pnihi Cra-dah Mahotsava of rla Raghuntha Dsa Gosvm and Lord Jagannthas Ratha-ytr festival. Guru Mahrja gave specific instructions last year how he wanted the Pnihi festival to be celebrated. Accordingly, devotees sat outside under the banyan tree and listened to the story of Raghuntha Dsa Gosvm from r Caitanya-caritmta. An rati was offered to r r Gaura-Niti and devotees partook of a variety of flat-rice preparations. A few weeks later, Ratha-ytr was celebrated with class by rpda Viu Mahrja and Giri Mahrja about the significance of Lord Jagannthas ratha festival and culminated in a rathotsava where devotees performed sakrtana while pulling Lord Jagannthas chariot around the temple compound.

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Himalayan Pilgrimage
In early May, myself and Gaura Gopla Dsa travelled for four weeks to North India to see the Himalayan Chr-dhma (Yamunotr, Gagotr, Kedarntha and Badarntha) and to take photos and footage for an upcoming Devavision documentary. Starting at the holy city of Haridvra, then moving on to ikea, we first went to the source of the Yamun River at Yamunotr then onto Gagotr and Gaumukh, the source of the Gag. The long trek to the Ganges Glacier was an amazing experience, albeit physically taxing. Yet despite the austerity, taking darana of the famous glacier was a reward in itself. Our next stop was Kedarntha, the temple of iva nestling at the base of the mighty Himalayas. Here we saw the samdhi of the great propounder of Myvda philosophy, di akara. Our final destination was Badarntha, the famous temple of Lord Viu and the cave of rla Vysadeva in the village of M. Fortunately for us, we managed to safely return to Govindaj Gardens a week before tragedy struck Uttarkhand when massive floods devastated the whole area.

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Gaudiya Touchstone Three new issues of Gaudiya Touchstone, our online magazine, were published in September 2012, January 2013 and May 2013. The new issues cover a wide range of topics such as the Mah-Kumbha-Mela, the temple-town of Melkote, UFOs, essays on Indian art, scientific topics as well as essays by rla Guru Mahrja and our previous cryas. rla Guru Mahrja is the Editor-in-Chief of the publication, Rasiknanda Dsa has been providing the layout and Advaita crya Dsa is the webmaster.

Archiving, Transcribing and Translations Beginning in 2012 we started to archive all of rla Guru Mahrjas audio files, photos, videos and correspondence for future reference, articles and publications. We were able to purchase a 12TB digital storage system for this important project. Additionally, we have been transcribing Guru Mahrjas lectures as well as the talks of rla rdhara Mahrja for use in books and on-line publications. Santana Dsa has also been helping considerably to translate Bengali articles and lectures of our previous cryas, such as rla rdhara Mahrja, rla Pur Mahrja, rla Sarasvat hkura and rla Bhaktivinoda hkura into English.

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Monthly Prasdam Distribution Every month our devotees have been going from village to village near to Govindaj Gardens performing nma-sakrtana and distributing r Ka prasdam. This service is being organised by ymasundara Dsa and Gurudsa.

Weekly Programmes in Mysore and Mandya Preaching programmes have been going on regularly in Mysore and Mandya with the help of Madhumagala, Balarma and Bhakta Vishal. Most of the programmes have been held in local temples as well as the homes of our congregation. In March, Gurudsa helped to organise a Bhagavad-gt yaja in K. Shettahalli in Mandya District where many copies of our Kannada Gt were distributed.

Gardens This last year was a busy one in the rama gardens. The bamboos that were originally planted in the early days had become old and dry and their thick roots were destroying the walkways. Most of the bamboos were removed with great effort and burned. Where they used to grow, the devotees have been busy planting flowers, tulas-bushes and trees.

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Kaliya Mardana Krsna Asrama - Mulki

Report by Kuja-vihr Dsa The Klya-mardana Ka rama in Mulki (rama Surf Retreat) had another great year from August 2012 to August 2013. The rama received about 135 to 150 guests during that time and most of them stayed with us for an extended period. We received great testimonials from all our guests who highly appreciated the rama ambience, the surfing experience, Gaura-naarjas yoga classes, the taste of Ka prasdam and the friendliness of the rama members. Many of the guests showed a keen interest in Ka consciousness and left the rama with copies of rla Guru Mahrjas Bhagavad-gt. In January 2012 the rama bought a new Zodiac inflatable boat and 15Hp motor to take guests along the ambhav River. In December 2012, one of our guests from Australia, Chris Wood, helped us build a wood-fired mud oven for cooking bread, pizzas etc. rla Guru Mahrjas friend and our rama well-wisher, Bollywood actor Mr. Sunil Shetty and his brother Dhanajaya Shetty donated a brand new SeaDoo jet-ski and from now on there will be plenty of jet-ski activities in addition to surfing at the rama.

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Surfing Federation of India Events

Report by Rpnuga Dsa

The Spice Coast Open Surf Event

The Surfing Federation of India (SFI) was established in 2011 by our devotees from the Mantra Surf Club at the Klya-mardana Ka Arama in Mulki to make surfing an acknowledged sport in India. SFI is now recognised as the National Governing Body for surfing in India by the ISA (International Surfing Association) which is the World Governing Authority for Surfing. One of the prime objectives of SFI has always been to hold Indias first official surfing event to promote and develop the sport in India. The event got underway at Kovalam Beach in Kerala from May 3-5, 2013 with the support of the Kerala Tourism Department. Altogether, more than 100 participants from around India took part in Spice Coast Open and a few foreign surfers also took part in the open category. Jonty Rhodes, the ex-South African cricketing star, who is also an avid surfer and who has a huge fan base in India, inaugurated the event with some inspiring words to all the participants. Later he addressed the media about surfing and praised the efforts of SFI in promoting the sport in India. SFI had also roped in international judges from Thailand to preside over the programme. Over the course of three days, the event had an excellent crowd turnout with lots of curiosity about the sport of surfing. The event got extensive national media coverage and wide publicity throughout the duration of the event. The Spice Coast Open came to an end with a prize distribution ceremony which included surf trophies, cash awards and many consolation prizes for winners and participants.

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Stand Up Paddling Expedition in the Himalayas

During the surfing event in Kerala, there was a discussion between Rpnuga, Kirtannanda and a friend of our Mulki rama, April Zilg who is the Stand Up Paddling (SUP) ambassador to India, about leading a SUP expedition to some of the worlds highest altitudes in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Previously, SUP had only been done at an altitude of 7,000 feet, whereas our expedition would begin at 12,000 feet. For the next few weeks, the crew prepared themselves rigorously training and getting ready for the expedition. The journey began from Manali in Himachal Pradesh and went towards Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. The challenge that laid ahead was to pass through some of the highest mountain passes in the world, get acclimatised to altitude sickness, erratic weather and extreme terrains. The task was to explore large bodies of water and river rapids, take out our SUP boards and paddle in the freezing waters at higher altitudes. In normal conditions, SUP requires good balance, strength and endurance. In their case, they needed more than all of these, 10 fold! We managed to go to some of the worlds highest lakes and grade-four river rapids at an altitude of 16,000 feet, setting a world record for Stand Up Paddle. It was physically and mentally exhausting for the crew. The challenges they faced were sometimes the simplest of everyday things such as finding good food/shelter as well as battling out tough terrains and weather conditions. Ultimately the expedition was a great success and in a few months time it will be widely published across many magazines around the world and will officially enter the Limca Book of Records.

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Czech and Slovakia Sanga

Report by Paca-Tattva Dsa At present our saga in Czech and Slovak Republic has eight initiated disciples, eight accepted candidates and sik disciples, eight aspiring devotees and around twenty supporters and friends. We have two main projects going on one is an rama guesthouse at Premnanda Prabhus place near Kadan. The other is a land development project in Moravia, near Ostrava in Czech Republic. All our members meet regularly for festivals like Gaura-Prim, Janmam, summer camps and whenever rla Guru Mahrja comes to visit us. Devotees also meet locally on a week to week basis in different places like Kadan, Brno, Ostrava, Dolna Sucha for krtana, ka-kath and prasdam. There are also other services such as book translating, publishing, book distribution, public lectures, preaching programmes etc. Also, for public relations and preaching we have started a new website www.poutsrdce.cz. We are regularly translating rla Guru Mahrjas articles into Czech and sharing them with our devotees. So far we have printed five books of rla rdhara Mahrja and one of rla Guru Mahrja and we working on more. All the devotees are moving forward on the path of bhakti at an individual speed, but one the whole the saga is developing more and more. All our members are looking forward to rla Gurudevas visit in December after a long 19 months separation.

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Jardines Govinda - Chical, Mexico

Report by Haridsa Bbj Mahrja This year there was a lot of progress at Jardines Govinda. Haridsa Dsa and Yugadharma Dsa came to live at the rama this year. Girirja took residence at Govardhana Hill. Our sdhana programme was increased with an rati for Govardhana Hill. The gardens around the rama and Govardhana Hill were competed. The walkways around the gardens have improved and continue to improve. There are walkways all around the rama and Govardhana Hill now. An overhang to protect the krtana hall and temple from rain was also installed. A farming project was started on several hectares of land. The programme at Jardines Govinda was expanded into Huejutla where a saga of devotees is developing. A new grove of fruit trees was started in the lower garden and a fruit orchard was started near Govardhana Hill. Rainbow, our new cow, took residence at the rama along with two peacocks, two rabbits and a dog. Also, plans were hatched to secure land for another rama on the Gulf Coast towards the ocean from Huejutla.

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Centro Bharati - Guanajuato, Mexico

Report by Daruka Dsa This past year in Guanajuato has been a busy and eventful one for the devotees at Centro Bharati. With the launching of an Indian-Mexican fusion restaurant back in October of 2012, along with an Indian boutique clothing and gift shop, bakery, rooftop garden, as well as offering massages and aga-yoga classes. Each devotee has been instrumental in making Centro Bharati a reality under the direction of Bhakti rrpa Mdhava Mahrja. From the cooks, to the bakers, to the restaurant waiters, everyone here has learned and grown a lot in their area or areas of service. With little to no experience of running such an operation with various businesses all under one roof, all the devotees have taken on many new tasks and challenges. Our first ever Spanish publication (Mahprabhu, El Santo de la India) was presented to Guru Mahrja. It is a series of articles by our cryas on Mahprabhus teachings which was compiled, translated and designed by Maitreya Dsa, Ekantha Dsa and Druka Dsa. Most of the devotees here, being new in Ka consciousness, have received countless amazing classes by both rla Guru Mahrja and Mdhava Mahrja. There has been a lot of mercy and grace distributed to this sincere group of devotees in Guanajuato. Now, in this coming year, there are plans to start weekly programmes that will be open to the public so that the mercy can continue to be distributed and shared with all other sincere individuals.

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Huejutla Sanga - Mexico

Report by Janrdana Dsa The Huejutla saga in the Huasteca Hidalgo area is part of the Jardines Govinda project. At present, we have around fifteen to twenty members in our saga who are mainly close friends and family members. Our weekly programmes are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and are focused on training new recruits. There are different bhajanas and krtanas, lectures on the basic philosophy of Ka consciousness, a chance for questions and answers and also cooking classes. Finally the programme closes with some light prasdam offered to all our guests. The Huejutla saga has manifest primarily by the akti of rla Guru Mahrja who, through His mercy, has blessed us so that this programme is becoming a remarkable success. In fact, it is already showing tangible results. We already have three new young aspirants who are very sincere and enthusiastic, that are being introduced gradually to different types of service. The Huejutla saga is a new project that is being supported primarily by our mentor and advisor r Haridsa Bbj Mahrja, who with his guitar and his sweet singing, has captivated the hearts of our guests, and in a very simple and spontaneous way, takes us through the waves of the Holy Name. Haridsa Bbj Mahrja is currently our local leader from Jardines Govinda in Mexico, and together we have established quite a compact and mature team, so that we can now move forward after more than four years, to work on different tasks and challenges connected to these projects. On this occasion we want to offer our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Bbj Mahrja for his dedication, tolerance and faith in the Jardines Govinda project. In October 2012 one of our dear devotees in Mexico, Bhadr Mtj passed away after a short illness. She was the wife of Janrdana Prabhu and the mother of i Dsa, Ka-krtana Ds and ymala-majar Ds. All the devotees in Mexico miss her association and offer their heartfelt pramas to Mother Bhadr.

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Offerings

Offering from

Dear Guru Mahrja, Please accept my head at your lotus-feet. The past year has been a very good one here at Jardine Govinda in Mexico. Although we are a small crew, by your mercy, much has been accomplished. This year Girirja took residence on the hill that you started back in 2010. Within the kura of Girirja were installed sacred earth, water and prasdam from many holy places around Govardhana Hill in India including, Govinda-kua, Manas-Gag, Dana-nirvartanakua, Kusuma-sarovara, Dana-Ghati, Indra-Tla, The Temple of Harideva, Rdh-kua and yma-kua. After He took residence, we began the worship of Govardhana Hill adding it to our morning programme. Directly after magala-rati and tulas-pj, before class, we do Govardhana pj and all the devotees circumambulate the Hill happily chanting the Holy Names. The garden around Govardhana Hill is completed now with many flowing plants in all seasons. This year we saw the garden around the rama grow profusely and we completed planting a variety of exotic shrubs, fruit and flower trees and a large assortment of perennial and annual flowering plants. We even found malat near the rama and have begun to cultivate it for the pleasure of Mahprabhu, Girirja and the Vaiavas. There are now walkways completely encircling the rama. No more mud on the feet or in the krtana hall during the rainy season! A first class overhang was added to the veranda and krtana hall that nearly blocks all the rain from entering those areas. The rock and cement road to the top of the hill, where the rama sits is being worked on daily and should be finished within a few months. No more getting stuck in the rainy season! The rama truck was upgraded this year. We began a farming project that is now well underway and covers around four hectares. A grove of fruit trees has been started that will eventually cover a couple of acres of land or more. This year r Ka Caitanya Mahprabhu along with His devotees journeyed to both Huejulta in Hidalgo and to the wonderful Centro Bharati in Guanajuato. We were blessed with two 109

Gaura-Prim Festivals this year!!! Rainbow, the rama cow took residence this year and a first class barn and corral were built for her. Other animals such as peacocks and rabbits have been added to the rama menagerie. The programme at Jardine Govinda in the state of St. Luis Potosi was expanded to Huejutla, in the state of Hidalgo this year, where we now have regular gatherings. A nice saga is slowly growing in Huejutla with devotees who are regularly visiting Jardine Govinda. Seeds have been planted to establish another rama on the Gulf Coast of Mexico toward the ocean from Huejutla and we will be searching this year for a suitable spot. A Mulki style rama is in the ether and could very well become a reality within the next year or so! I have rarely seen such an enthusiastic and fired up bunch of devotees. Although a relatively small group, the quality is very big. Everyone here agrees that none of this could have happened without your blessings and support. With my head at your feet I humbly beg your continued blessings so that this project can become as you once alluded to, The nicest rama in the Western World. With your support and backing along with our guru-varga, we are seeing this slowly coming to a reality. It is only by your mercy that such a dream could come true. With my head at your feet begging for your continued mercy I offer my humble respects thousands of times. Su seviente, Bbj

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We find in the Eleventh Canto of the rmad Bhgavatam that before r Ka returns to His eternal abode, He instructs His beloved devotee Uddhava by stating, crya m vijnyn nvamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhysyeta sarva-deva-mayo guru One should understand that I am non-different from the crya and one should never disrespect him. One should not envy him, considering him to be an ordinary man, because he represents all the demigods. (Bhg. 11.17.27) In this somewhat mystical and revelatory verse, r Ka warns us that we should not see the humanness of Kas agent based upon our own objective observations and experiences (na martya-buddhysyeta). The position of r Guru is subjective. r Ka becomes accessible to us in the form of the crya. The Bhgavata says yasya skd bhagavat jna-dpa-prade gurau martysad-dh ruta tasya sarva kujara-aucavat For one with faulty intelligence who considers his guru who bestows unto him the torchlight of knowledge and is non-different from the Lord to be an ordinary mortal, then all that he has heard from the guru becomes as useless as bathing an elephant that comes out of the water, simply to get dirty again. (Bhg. 7.15.26) In his commentary to this verse rla Vivantha Cakravart hkura writes ki ca saty bhyasym api bhaktau gurau manuya-buddhitve sarvam eva vyartha bhavatty-ahayasyeti. skd bhagavatti bhagavad-aa-buddhir api gurau na kryeti bhva. If one considers his spiritual master to be an ordinary man everything he does becomes useless. If one even considers the guru to be a mere expansion of the Supreme Lord instead of one within whom the Lord is directly present and thinks him to be an ordinary human, 111

then whatever he has heard, such as the dik-mantra etc. and his process of hearing and meditation all become useless. rla Cakravart hkura further emphasises this point in his Guruvaakam wherein he says skad-dharitvena (the spiritual master is non-different from Hari). However, in the same composition, he also writes, nikuja yuno rati-keli-siddhyai (the spiritual master is expert in uniting r r Rdh and Govinda in the groves of Vraja). In other words, upon finer analysis, by seeing r Guru as Kas agent, we see him further as the agent of Kas potency in the primary mellow of mdhurya-rasa. Thus, r Guru is observed as the delegated representation of rmat Rdhr (rdh-priya-jana). In the Gauya Vaiava siddhnta, the concept of guru-tattva culminates in the understanding of r Guru as the representative of Rdhr. This is how the true disciple is supposed to view the spiritual master. rla rdhara Mahrja explained that r Guru is never considered to be jva-tattva. He is always seen as guru-tattva. He is to be seen as a nitya-siddha not as a sdhana-siddha or a kp-siddha. It is not that the spiritual master has achieved a particular position it is to be thought that he has descended from the eternal satvata-plane in order to collect the maximum raddh from the disciple. Such thinking is not meant to be some sort of self-delusion on the part of the disciple wherein he pretends that his guru is a nitya-siddha in order to attain some benefit. The inspiration descending in the heart of r Guru is r Ka revealing Himself to the disciple. But if we cultivate the disease of attempting to see the spiritual master objectively and allow such mundane criterion to somehow diminish our appreciation of that descent, then we are simply cheating ourselves. Such objective experience transforms us into guru-apardhs and deceives us so that we will never recognise spiritual substance. In this regard we are reminded of an incident when a famous professor came to meet rla Sarasvat hkura and declared that he had intimately known hkura Bhaktivinoda and had even recited the Gt in his presence. Sarasvat hkura replied, You never met rla Bhaktivinoda! The professor was shocked, What are you saying? I gave many lectures in front of him! I know all his children, including you! Sarasvat hkura exclaimed, What to say of lecture from Gt to him, you were never able to see him! Bhaktivinoda had no children because he was not of this material world. He kept himself hidden from those who thought they saw him. The professor protested and finally left in a huff. Sarasvat hkura turned to his followers and said, As long as one maintains mundane vision, one can never see rla Bhaktivinoda. We should become an object of his vision!

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A disciple should never think that, My spiritual master is expert in spiritual matters, but in managerial or so-called mundane affairs he is fallible and prone to err. If one truly sees guru as a delegated power, then whatever activities he performs, the faithful disciple will always see them as all-perfect and instructive. He will see that his guru is eternally on the all-accommodating nirgua plane and leading his life without any material reference. For this reason, the disciple must always show great caution when associating with the spiritual master so that he never considers the so-called mistakes of his spiritual master to be products of the modes of material nature. Being the direct delegation of Rdhr, if we make offences at the lotus-feet of r Guru, then we become deprived of the mercy of rmati Rdhr (apa-rdhto become distant from Rdh). Upon being deprived of Her mercy, we can never attain the mercy of Ka: satyam satyam puna satyam satyam eva puna puna vin rdh-prasdena mat prasdo na vidyate I tell you this is true, this is true, again I tell you this is true, this is true, again and again without the mercy of Rdh, one will never know My mercy. (Brahmaa Pura) Some years ago, you told me that the most difficult service for a devotee is to be in close proximity to his spiritual master. Therefore, on this day of Vysa-Pj, my heartfelt prayer at your lotus-feet rla Guru Mahrja, is that you kindly forgive me if I have made the grievous offence of guruu nara-mati (considering r Guru to be an ordinary human being). I pray to rman Mahprabhu that He may bless me by removing my cataract-like ignorance so that I may develop the eyes to see your true glories. Hari-jana-kikarbhsa Svm Bhakti Vijna Giri

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances. I feel fortunate to have been brought into the association of yourself and all other fortunate devotees of our mission. Being born in a Hindu family, I had some minimal acquaintance of the Vedas, Upaniads, Puras and the Itihsas however, they were all but pieces of a big puzzle. Under your shelter I understood how they fit together, not only theoretically, but more so practically. I feel sad that the current society has watered down the role of the guru to a farce. No wonder society is in such a pitiable state. In the Bhagavad-gt Ka says that, Whenever pure religion is jeopardized (dharmasya glni), I manifest Myself to re-establish it. The victims of irreligion may wonder what Ka is waiting for religion is already non-existent. But actually, Ka has already sent and will continue to send His representatives for the upliftment of society. In the Bhgavatam, Ka says to Uddhava that the crya should be given the same position as Himself (Ka) crya m vijniyn. The crya gives us the darana of Ka through the medium of sound by giving us specific instructions. Indeed, it is only through hearing from the guru can we have darana of Ka. tva bhakti-yoga paribhvita ht saroja sse srutekita-ptho nanu ntha pusm O my Lord, Your devotees can see you through their ears by the process of bona-fide hearing, and thus their hearts are cleansed, and you take Your seat there. (Bhg. 3.9.11) Ka also says to Uddhava that one must never disrespect the crya (nvamaneyta karhicit). The crya is the best of men and he puts the scriptural injunctions in practice so that the common people can follow. Ka says How a great man behaves the common people follow or imitate. However, since the devotees are above the ordinary, more is expected. The devotee is expected to crossover the barrier of narrow mindedness (kaniha mentality) and give more emphasis to the v (instructions) than to the vapu (form). Indeed, it is not 114

possible to serve the guru, even in form, without properly understanding the imports of his teachings in such a case, only offences are made. Even though he may have manifested in a material body, the crya should never be considered an ordinary mortal. The crya is the master of his senses, and he has an intimate connection with Ka. Even Ka is obliged to fulfill his wishes (aham bhakta paradhino) therefore, the crya is a great controller (vara). The crya is never a durcr (sinner) however, it is not our duty to impose the rules of this world upon him (sadcra and durcra). Indeed, the position of an crya is transcendental therefore, all his activities are intrinsically pure. It is on us to discern with wisdom and accept only those actions that are backed by his instructions (v). In this we way we avoid imitation and succeed in following the guru in substance without making offences. var vaca satya tathaivcarita kvacit tem yat sva-vaco yukta buddhims tat samcaret The statements of a great person (vara) are always true, and the acts they perform are exemplary when consistent with those statements. Therefore one who is intelligent should carry out their instructions. (Bhg. 10.33.31) The position of an crya (guru) is difficult and grave. It is certainly a thankless task. Out of unfathomable compassion towards the fallen souls, and out of attachment towards the desires of Mahprabhu, you have accepted this role. Although eternally seated in the position of an uttama-bhakta, you have taken up the duties of a madhyama for our benefit. What can be more glorious than that? In reality, there is not much to write about the mundane, and yet there is so much literature on it. It is as if My is continuously presenting the same thing in infinite forms to lure the fertile intellect of her captives. The great writers with all their subtleties did not meet the mark due to the lack of a guru who can impart the understanding of the true nature of this world. Ironically, even though I am most dull and fallen, just by coming under your shelter, I have received a topic that is full of variety and inexhaustible by words. And only by your mercy will my words be pleasing to the ears of the devotees and Ka, even if grammatically incorrect (bdhavatyapi). Your servant, Advaita crya Dsa

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Gurudvo, pijmte prosm moje uctiv poklony: Gurudvo, chci Vm podkovat, e jste m pijal za svho ka.Od doby, co jsem od Vs obdrel zasvcen, se snam dodrovat Vae pokyny a t podle monost ve vdom Krny. Nkdy je to tk, zvlt kdy v rodin nenachzm podporu. Na druhou stranu to vnmm jako pozitivn, protoe z duchovnho pohledu jsem vce pipoutvn ke Krnovi a stle jasnji si uvdomuji, e je to Vae milost. A nic jinho nezstane v tomto materilnm svt, jen Vae milost zstane navdy. Dkuji. Hare Krna. Alarntha Dsa

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Mi querido padre espiritual: No tengo muchas palabras para expresar todo lo que quisiera, pero mis sentimientos son de profundo respeto, amor y fe a usted. Me ha dado una gran conexin hacia la verdad absoluta, Ka y los devotos, yo se que solo con la ayuda de esa conexin puedo tratar de luchar cada da contra mi mente, maya y alcanzar la meta. Con su gua, conocimiento, ejemplo y gran misericordia usted es una fuente de inspiracin, entusiasmo y amor para todos. Le agradezco mucho el poder dejarme servirlo a usted en el proyecto aqu en Mexico junto con todos los devotos que ahora los siento como a mi verdadera familia. Su hija espiritual, Anaga-majar Dev Ds

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble and sincere obeisances at your lotus-feet on this most auspicious day of your appearance. I do not know what my life would have been if you were not in it. Life is dead without Ka consciousness. Its like drowning in the deep and dark well without even realising it. May I never forget how blessed my life is because of your love and compassion for me. May my life be always engaged in your service. All glories to you. Your servant, Anurdh Dev Ds

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Drah Swam Bhakti Gauravo Narasingho Mahradi, Pijmte prosm moje pokorn poklony. Vy jste pro m ten nejmoudej lovk na cel Zemi. Jste asn due, kter ze svho velkho soucitu pomh nm pokleslm a daleko mn pokroilm dum, abychom se postupn vymanily z hmotnho zapleten. Velmi Vm dkuji, e jsem mohla loni pobvat ve Vaem ramu u pekrsn eky Kaveri a e jste mi dal zasvcen. Opravdu si toho vm a dky Va milosti zanm nkdy pociovat, jako bych se z role obsluhovan zanala ji konen pesunovat do skutenho postaven ns vech vnch sluebnic naeho Nejvyho Pna Krsny. Za vechno Vm z celho srdce dkuji, k jste tu s nmi jet mnoho let astn ve slub svm duchovnm uitelm, vainavm a r Krsnovi. S lskou a ctou Vae kyn- sluebnice Asta-sakh ds

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I offer my sincere obeisances unto the lotus-feet of my spiritual master, r r Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja who is a wish-fulfilling tree for all devotees. O Gurudeva! May you always be the object of my vision. I offer my obeisances unto the spiritual master of the entire world, rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja whose glance is full of mercy and is the bestower of transcendental bliss. All glories unto you on this special day. All glories, all glories to the lotus-feet of my Gurudeva, that are sasra-sgara-vimocaka (that which saves us from the ocean of birth and death). May your glories be sung eternally throughout the three worlds. The servant of your lotus-feet, tm-tattva Dsa

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Govindaj Gardens Place of harmony, fulfillment and inner peace. Found through dedication; seless-service. Place of the holy association. Training ground, next life preparation. Place of worship, place to aspire. Manifestation of r Gurus desire. Holier than Gag or any other ground. Place of ka-kath where r Govinda can be found. Residence of bhaktas, uddha-aktas; Those who preach doctrine of acintya bhedbheda-tattva. Kuruketra, where all opposing doctrines are put to test And all doubts are put to rest. This amala-siddhnta is taught by the true followers of Srila A.C.Bhaktivednta and by that knower of tattva-sra named rla Bhakti Rakaka rdhara. For all these, Govindaj Gardens, place second to none Is to us the most worshipable one. Dsa Baladeva

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Jaya rla Gurudeva, Please accept my humble pramas unto the dust of your lotus-feet. In spite of being in such invaluable association of pure devotees conditional souls like us, have spent so many lifetimes of ignorant lifestyles and it is hard to get out of this illusion and comprehend our true identity of saccidnanda-svarpa. However, I have full faith that under your guidance and shelter, anyone who is sincere will achieve the highest goal of life. It is said in Bhagavad-gt: manuy sahasreu kacid yatati siddhaye yatatm api siddhn kacin m vetti tattvata Out of countless souls, some have reached the human form of life, and among many thousands of human beings, some endeavour to attain direct perception of the individual soul and Supersoul, and among many thousands of such aspirants who have attained to seeing the soul and the super soul, only a few receive actual perception of Me. (Gt 7.3) You are a pillar of faith, and you show this by your dealings and example. Guru Mahrja, I feel extremely fortunate to have been accepted by you. My-dev can have no influence around a stalwart devotee like you, who is living a life exemplifying pure devotion and servitude to her master. As long as we remain under your shelter and fully surrender ourselves to your divine service, where is the need for us to fear anything? We are even protected from the influence of My-dev. This is also declared by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gt: daivi hy e guamay mama my duratyay mm eva ye prapadyante mym et taranti te This divine potency of Mine which consists of the three modes of material nature is extremely difficult to defeat. Yet those that take shelter of Me can cross beyond it. (Gt 7.14) 122

Who else but you, Guru Mahrja, can make us a part of that divine family and bring us back to Godhead? As it is mentioned in Caitanya-caritmta: sdhu-saga, sdhu-saga- sarva stre kaya lava mtra sdhu-sage sarva-siddhi haya A moments association with the sdhu awards all success, and this is the verdict of all the scriptures. (Cc. Madhya 22.54) You have made it possible for us to have this association and now it is up to us to be able to make the most of it. By accepting me as your disciple and utilizing me in the service of Ka, you have turned my inabilities into abilities. With these words, on this auspicious day of your appearance Gurudeva, I once again offer myself wholeheartedly at your lotus-feet. Please accept this soul in your service eternally. Your insignificant servant, Balarma Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, I offer my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. All glories unto you! r guru-caraa-padma, kevala bhakati sadma bando mui svadhna mate jhra prasde bhi, e bhava toriy ji, ka prpti haya jh hte The lotus-feet of the spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus-feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Ka. Every year as your auspicious appearance day approaches I try to think of what I have learned and felt in the last year due to your divine Grace and the wonderful Vaiavas in our saga. I am reminded that I should recall these things not only at certain times in the year but to practice counting my blessings every day. I feel so far away from being able to give you even a particle of real and selfless love, as you give to us all so easily and constantly, but there is nothing else to do but try! Perhaps to try and to fail and to try again but never give up practicing to live a life of loving service. Your most wondrous self personifies the possibility and joy inherent in such a pursuit. The stories of your pastimes in Africa so many years ago always causes me to think on the meaning and manifestation of faith. I try to wrap my mind around what it would mean to believe in something so strongly you would risk your life to share it. Through your lifes example it is evident there are things truly worth risking everything for. Through your words and actions You protect the siddhnta from corruption and the the devotees from harm. You are our guide, the most caring friend and greatest caretaker. You live by the truest principles and care only for what is genuine and not the trappings of this realm which disturb and overwhelm so many of us. It seems we could never be more unsafe then when we stay in our comfortable homes, never straying far. We are never more perilously situated than in a life lacking dedication to real truth and beauty. 124

You demonstrate how truly actions speak more loudly than words. It is unwavering dedication in the commotion, that in this material world is the key to the door of the infinite. You are fearless and fierce but also the most merciful. You inspire us to see how every moment is another chance to live focused on serving the Absolute Truth. We are so self-centred and petty but you never give up on those of us that stutter and start and stop again. We are all most indebted to your boundless compassion for our struggling selves. Every time I have the fortune of being in your presence I am overwhelmed with how a life of Ka Consciousness seems not only real and possible, but necessary. You could inspire the most darkened soul to reach towards a life of sweetness and charm. For those of us that do not live in the rama all the time, it is the greatest blessing that there are wonderful sanctuaries now in several places in the world. I feel so fortunate to have spent some time in Centro Bharati this year. The material plane is a terrible and difficult place without the guidance of those dedicating their lives to living truly. I am deeply grateful for the chance to associate with the devotees and to render whatever service I may to you and them. The rama centers in Mexico and India are truly a refuge for any weary heart. It is in those places in association of the loving devotees that it is so clear that our constitutional position has nothing to do with this world at all. Blissful servitude is what we are made of and happiness our natural state. In that, there is true and sweet hope. Whatever I may have that is worth having, whatever I may come to know that is worth knowing, is only through your Grace. rla Guru Mahrja ki jaya! Your servant, Bhakta Priy Ds

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, All glories to you on this most auspicious anniversary of your appearance day on this earth. Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus-feet. Gurudeva, your transcendental lotus-feet are my only shelter. Just by remembering them, all auspiciousness manifests in my life this gives me spiritual energy and devotion to progress in Ka consciousness. Gurudeva, many impossible things in my life became possible by your mercy. Sometime in utter helplessness and distress, I pray for your mercy to transform my addiction towards material things to spiritual subjects. In a householders life, developing love for material things is very easy, but to understand that this human life is meant for the service of r Guru and r Ka requires unfathomable mercy of the guru. The realisation that all of ones activities should be focused in the service of r Guru and Ka can be understood and gained only by aragati to Sri Guru. Gurudeva, I consider myself very fortunate for being in the association of your bona-fide disciples, who are all surrendered souls not just by words, but by action and purity of heart. Your spiritual grace endows them with transcendental energy to carry out their services sincerely. Their constant association guards me from taking any wrong steps in the devotional path and gives a feel of security to this most insignificant soul. All glories to them too. Gurudeva, please bestow upon me the capacity to endure all the trials that are encountered in the course of my sdhana and to execute the duties as a sincere disciple for the pleasure of r Guru and Ka as well as to remain as an insignificant part of r Gaurga Mahprabhus most exalted mission of sakrtana. Gurudeva, I consider that my life can only be successful if I am able to please you and Lord Gaurga by rendering service sincerely at your holy lotus-feet and your associate Vaiavas. 126

anyath araa nsti tvameva araam mama tasmt kruya bhvena raka raka gurudeve O Gurudeva, you are the only shelter for me; there is no other shelter for me other than you. Please be merciful unto me and protect me from material entanglement. I humbly pray for your eternal mercy. The most insignificant servant of your servants, Caitanya Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, all Glories to you and your grace! Almost every year when I sit down and meditate upon this offering to you, one of the first things that comes to mind are the devotees. Kas mercy comes through the devotees. Each one of the special and one-of-a-kind devotees in this mission are here because of you. Because of how you awakened them, how you continue to inspire them, how you treat them, how you uniquely relate to each and every one of them, and how you share Ka consciousness with them. It is your affectionate character that charms us all. There is an undenying sense of safety and harmony when you are present. All the devotees unite as a family and a real home atmosphere manifests. rla Guru Mahrja, you personify patita-pvana (friend of the fallen). Gracias for your unwavering dedication and commitment in helping guide such lost and conditioned souls in this world towards the ultimate goal of life love of God (prema-prayojana). You have told me time and time again that this spiritual path and more specifically Gauya Vaiavism, is built on three spiritual principles raddh, aragati and sev (faith, surrender, and service). rla rdhara Mahrja says, Faith, raddh, is connected to the soul and the mind is connected to matter. You go on to explain, raddh comes from the spiritual world. It transcends matter and it is an experience that confirms reality and ultimately encourages us towards surrendering to Ka. Additionally, raddh and aragati presuppose sev. First surrender, then serve: tad viddhi praiptena paripranena sevay. Surrender means complete obedience to the will of Ka and not to that of anything else. First surrender (praipt) then the serving mood (sev) manifests. And to surrender one must have faith raddh. All three are interconnected and support each other. On a more geographical note, Mexico has been blessed by your presence and your continued eagerness to share Ka consciousness. The abundant opportunity and variety of services you have provided for us all is indeed more than many of us could have conceived of. May we take up this blessing that has been so graciously gifted upon us and serve you with full affectionate reciprocation. Your undeserving chilln, Druka Dsa 128

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Daavats rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. By giving me the opportunity to be in the rama and serve in the association of devotees, you have made it very clear to me that the very first step of Ka consciousness is to accept the fact that we cannot serve Ka without the help of r Guru and the devotees that association and guidance are necessary. There are many people outside doing many different things and trying to make decisions and plans for the future. I am sure even I would have been confused about my future and life especially now, entering my twenties. But I am fortunate to have the guidance of the devotees and your Divine Grace. You have guided me in the proper path of Ka consciousness without which I too would have ended up somewhere else according to my own interests. I will do my best to follow this path and learn more about Ka consciousness. I am very grateful that you have taken me under your shelter. I will always try to improve my service. Your servant, Dhruva Dsa

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Daavats rla Guru Mahrja, T me haces vibrar con tu perspectiva del tiempo y el espacio. T amplias la visin de esta alma cada. T tienes el remedio ante los ataques de mis demonios. T eres la accin andante de mis dudas. T inspiras a saborear el Santo Nombre. T cargas en tu espalda sin yo poderle ver a todos tus amados Gurus. T alivias con solo dirigir una mirada o no hacerlo. T cargas con esa chispa del todo atractivo. Tu tolerancia, humildad y respeto me recuerdan que son principios bsicos y eternos. An as no tengo la capacidad de poder rendirme ante ti gran alma que derrama ros de misericordia. Esto es lo que escucha un discpulo de su maestro espiritual: Nuestras afirmaciones son materiales, cualquier cosa que digamos est entre mezclada con la suciedad de las palabras, pero t sentirs cul es la verdad. Las argumentaciones no tienen fundamento aqu ya que es intil su aplicacin respecto a las verdades inescrutables; yo s que no podrs realizar en un momento est verdad, pero entre ms cultives los asuntos CIT en mayor proporcin ser evidente la diferencia entre el CIT y la materia. Tu cuerpo es material y todas sus funciones tambin lo son pero en realidad t no eres materia sino una entidad atmica consciente CIT, entre ms sepas acerca de tu ser ms sentirs que tu naturaleza esencial es superior al mundo material . No te beneficiars con tan solo escucharlo si yo te lo digo sino que entre ms despiertes carcter CIT a travs del cultivo de Harinama, mejor ser tu concepto del mundo CIT. La mente y el habla tienen ambos origen en relacin con la materia y no 130

pueden tener acceso a los asuntos CIT a pesar de los grandes esfuerzos que se realicen, como lo menciona el sruti Taittiriya Upanisad que dice: Las palabras junto con la mente retroceden del Brahman sin poder obtenerle, te aconsejo que no le preguntes a ninguno la conclusin de esto, ms bien sintelo dentro de ti mismo, yo tan solo te doy indicios . Lo que se menciona aqu ha sido el ejemplo con tus palabras, actos, instrucciones etc. Con profundo respeto agradezco tu presencia y poder estar conectado a ti. Gracias, por darme destellos de la esclavitud divina. Tu aspirante a sirviente, Ekanath Dasa.

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I offer my most humble obeisances unto the sacred lotus-feet of His Divine Grace pjyapda rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja. The root of all devotion is dedication to the guru. The path of pure devotion is one of absolute surrender and dependence on the divine guide, by whose grace one is enabled to overcome all personal deficiencies and obstacles, and to ultimately attain the highest goal of life (love of Godhead). The guru is most dear to the Supreme Lord Himself and is thus His perfect representative. To bestow His mercy upon all those on the plight of conditioned existence, the Lord Himself sends His dear associates to this world. Thus the spiritual preceptor extends the grace of divinity by exhibiting the life of the devotee in his pure character and spiritual dealings, and also by expounding on sacred literatures for our enlightenment. He imparts the mantra and gives detailed instruction on the worship of the Divine Name. He is the protector, maintainer, and worshipable deity of the spiritual aspirant and all perfections ensue by sincerely following him. By your grace we are all on that path. One day we hope we will attain perfection through the disciplic succession. Your servant, Gaura-Naarja Dsa

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A Vaiavas connection to the parampar is of vital importance to his spiritual well-being. The parampar is a potent river of transcendent spiritual knowledge a connection through which the Vaiava gains the mercy of his guru and vicariously the mercy and goodwill of all the cryas who came before. There is no better way to progress ourselves than under the merciful shelter of r Guru. Without that shelter, the very first step in our devotional life, adau raddh (first have faith) will not flourish beyond the seed state. This is because all of our potency and spiritual growth comes by the blessing of r Guru. It is never by our own endeavour that we make forward progress. Our philosophy is one of the descent of divinity and all things favorable to devotion so how can we possibly hope to make progress from our own lame position? Our only connection to divinity is through service, and our only connection to service is through guru. The bhakti-lat-bja can remain a dry seed for lifetimes until it is cultivated and watered by the careful compassion of the spiritual master. Gurudeva, without my connection to you, nothing is possible. If I have any value as a living entity it is through my association with you. Always praying for your grace, this spiritually crippled servant of yours bows his head to you. Gaura Gopla Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my pramas and this humble attempt to glorify you on this very special day. Our Guardian, rla rdhara Mahrja, has wonderfully described the function of Gurudeva in the following way: The imperfect is not so if it is not in need of help, and that also from beyond itself. The perfect is not perfect if He cannot assert Himself or help others, and that too, of His own accord. So the guidance to perfection or Absolute Truth is necessarily a function of the absolute Himself, and the divine agent through whom this function manifests is r Guru or the divine guide. Divine help comes to imperfect souls from the Absolute Himself through the divine medium, rla Gurudeva. When I think about that help, the first thing that I can think of is hearing about the Absolute Truth from the mouth of His pure representatives. In one of his purports rla Prabhupda explained how Nrada Muni developed the transcendental qualities of the devotees by associating with and hearing from them: Simply by associating with the devotees and by eating the remnants of their foodstuff, he gradually developed the transcendental qualities of the devotees. By such association, his taste for chanting and hearing the transcendental glories of the Lord became prominent, and because the glories of the Lord are non-different from the Lord, he got direct association with the Lord by means of sound representation. When I hear you talk about transcendental topics, I feel connected to the transcendental realm. Just hearing from you for a short while was enough to make a huge impact on me. It had such an effect that it changed my life completely, changed my heart and even my destiny. Hearing from you is the most important thing in my whole life because from that everything else comes proper conception, proper attitude, proper serving mood, spiritual strength and devotional qualities. For me, that is the most essential thing in my whole existence. 134

Hearing from you has such a power because you are pure representative of the Supreme Lord r Ka and you always carry Him in your heart. You dont have any personal interests, you do everything only for the satisfaction of the Supreme. You are selfless, humble and fully surrendered. You are very merciful, kind, loving and compassionate to conditioned souls like myself. You are Kas pure devotee and His pure servant. The way you convey the message of the absolute world, be it through your classes, informal talks or writings, is so deep, beautiful, interesting, powerful, amazing and pure. I consider myself most fortunate to have the blessing to hear from you and have your association, guidance and protection. On this day I humbly beg for your blessing to become a worthy recipient of the transcendental message you are mercifully distributing. Always aspiring for your mercy, Your humble servant, Gopla Ds

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Jaya rla Guru Mahrja! We are incredibly grateful and happy about your divine appearance on this planet. We are amongst the most fortunate of our generation to have been sheltered and affectionately disciplined by your authentic and divine grace. You mercifully gave us service to r Rdh-Govinda and Mahprabhu along with their incarnations and servants like r Narasihadeva and our illustrious parampar. Your actions are exemplary, your activities and lls will be praised for generations. Your contributions will be studied and adopted by our grandchildren. We wish you a wonderful and transcendental appearance day, and offer a small poem in your praise: r Guru Ray of Viu Heart of the Deep Dark Blue Loving Servant of the Golden Hued Attracting Luminous Moons into Your Orbit You Dance Around the Central Sun Radiating Its Divine Purpose to Everyone We Celebrate You, Oh Lover of Absolute Truth! You Are the Guiding Luminary and Shelter of Sincere Souls! Your servants, Govardhana Dsa, Ka-priy Ds, Llmta and Vyu

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Daavat-pramas rla Guru Mahrja, Desde que llego a huejutla la vida me cambio por completo. Gracias por darme la oportunidad de servirle y por darme la iniciacin que en tanto tiempo haba esperado, me siento afortunada por darme la dicha de cantar los santos nombres de Kra y ser mi gua, mi maestro espiritual. Gracias por estar en nuestras vidas Su cada sirvienta, Govinda Ds

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N Uggdg ! v ZgtPUU U, sQAi U K CjAiz Cez CAzsPgz Vz U DAi r sQ Uz zjVj. v zAi v PguAz EAz U P iq vz CP zAij. QPV J PzPAq qVzg DAi qz DzswPV Av JAz Az . Aii Cvz U j d iq Cvvz CP zAij. J QP D DPAPUAz gPV z v zAi gvU CP CU JAz v rPv. EAw v zz Ug z

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Drah Guru Maharaja, Prosm pijmte moje uctiv poklony v tento pzniv den vaeho zjeven. om ajna-timirndhasya jnjana-alkay cakur unmlita yena tasmai r-gurave nama Vzpomnm, kdy jsme ped tymi roky cestovali po Indii, na nae prvn setkn v RdhaDmodara Templu. Chodvali jsme pravideln na vae rann pednky a m vce jsem od vs naslouchal a ml va svatou spolenost,tm vce jsem si uvdomoval, e jste ta prav osoba, kterou bych si pl nsledovat jako hlavnho duchovnho mistra. Za nae setkn vdm pedevm upmnmu a nebojcnmu Panca Tattva Prabhu, kter to v tch dobch neml vbec jednoduch, pesto spoustu oddanch dovedl a k vam lotosovm nohm. Pi va nvtv esk Republiky na jae roku 2012 jste zasvtil nkolik oddanch vetn m a tak probhlo mnoho diskuz ohledn nach ivotnch situac. Jeden z dleitch bod byl, abychom obstarali njak msto, kde se budou sdruovat oddan a spolen si budou pomhat rozvjet vdom Kriny. O dva msce pozdji nael Zbynk inzert, kter byl velice vhodn a koupili jsme kus pozemku s malou chatou na samot v pknm a klidnm prosted nedaleko hor. Toto msto je pirozen dost odkav a dn velk vstavby tam nebudou mon, avak jako poustevna pro kluky bez rodin, se zd bt ideln.S vam poehnnm se pokusme toto msto postupn rozvinout, pstovat si vlastn zeleninu,mt vlastn zdroj vody a t ve vtm klidu v stran. Dky vm jsme pili do kontaktu s knihami a uenm rly Bhakti Rakaka rdhara Dva Gosvmiho a rly Bhakti Pramoda Pur Maharje. Dky studiu knih tchto velkch du meme lpe a mnohem hloubji chpat knihy A.C.Bhaktivdanty Svmho Prabhupdy. Modlm se u lotosovch nohou Pna Nitjnandy, aby m obdail duchovn silou, dky kter budu lep a upmnj kandidt na bhakti jgu. Dkuji mnohokrt za ve co pro ns dlte. Vechna slva vm. V k Hamsa-rpa Dsa

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Querido rla Guru Mahrja. Daavat-pramas. Quiero decirle como me siento en Jardines Govinda. Hace un poco mas de un ao, yo continuaba en la escuela, y usted sabe que yo no quera estar ah, por mucho tiempo insist en que me dejaran salir e irme a Jardines Govinda, usted tambin quera que yo me fuera al rama y por su misericordia ese da llego. Sal de la escuela y me fui a vivir al rama. Quiero darle las gracias una vez mas. Gracias a usted pude desarrollarme, aprender, convivir y disfrutar de la compaa de los devotos. Es lo mejor que me ha pasado en esta vida. Estoy muy feliz de estar aqu, vivir con los devotos y hacer servicio, en verdad no creo conocer algo mejor que asociarse con los devotos de Ka. Y el tiempo pasa y siento que la felicidad dentro de mi crece un poco mas. Estoy realmente emocionado por todos los eventos que sucedern en Jardines Govinda, en primer lugar la llegada de la vaquita, que es algo muy maravilloso. La construccin del camino. Y despus cuando los primeros turistas lleguen al rama que sera algo histrico. Y ahora usted que me ha inspirado a introducirme al mundo de la competicin en bicicletas. Todo eso gracias a su misericordia. Quiero pedirle humildemente que nos deje seguirle prestando un poco de servicio y no deje de venir a Jardines Govinda por favor. Jaya rla Guru Mahrja! Su tan cado sirviente. Haridsa Dsa

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Daavat-pramas! Ofrezco mi ms respetuosas reverencias a los pies de loto de mi guru, rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja. o ajna timirndhasya jnjana alkya cakur unmlitam yena tasmai r gurave nama Gracias por su misericordia eh podido estar junto a los devotos, y compartir esta vida espiritual con cada uno de ellos, gracias a su misericordia eh podido estar aqu y eh podido ser parte de su familia espiritual, comenzando en este camino y esperando obtener sus bendiciones para continuar a sus pies de loto, sirviendo a usted y cada uno de los devotos. El crecimiento que eh tenido es gracias a usted con sus palabras, sus clases, sus enseanzas, me gusta mucho tener la misericordia de Ka de poder escucharlo y aprender siempre de sus palabras y acciones. La convivencia con sus devotos no se compara con nada en este planeta y hace que quiera seguir en este camino de espiritualidad con todos y cada uno de ustedes, sirvindole a usted y sus devotos con gran entusiasmo y rendicin. De nuevo, muchas gracias por la misericordia de Ka de estar junto a usted un ao ms brindndole mi servicio a usted y a sus devotos, mis queridos hermanos. Gaura-Haribol! Su fiel sirviente y amigo, vara Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my koi daavat-pramas to your lotus-feet. Parents take care of their sons/daughters by giving them so much love and care. The only way the children can fully repay their debts to their parents is to lead them to the path of bhakti. But how can we ever repay our debts to Gurudeva who himself leads us and guides us on the path of bhakti? Gurudeva, I am forever indebted to you and always wish to remain your loving servant. The least I could do is recollect some invaluable verses from r Caitanya-caritmta and rmad Bhgavatam glorifying and explaining the nature of Sri Guru. yadyapi mra guru caitanyera dsa tathpi jniye mi thra praka Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of r Caitanya, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord. guru ka-rpa hana strera pramne guru-rpe ka kp karena bhakta-gae According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Ka. Lord Ka in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees. crya m vijnyn nvamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhysyeta sarva-deva-mayo guru One should understand that I am non-different from the crya and one should never disrespect him. One should not envy him, considering him to be an ordinary man, because he represents all the demigods. (Bhg. 11.17.27) jve skt nhi tte guru caittya-rpe ik-guru haya ka-mahnta-svarpe 142

Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such a spiritual master is none other than Ka Himself. In spite of the clear statements from the scriptures, I am so lax in my service towards Your Holiness. I pray that your lotus-feet may grant me raddh and thereby I can surrender to you and hence our Lord r Gaurahari. Please instill in me an attitude of loving service towards the Vaiavas and r Gaurahari like you have already done with my godbrothers and godsisters. Always your loving servant, Jaganntha Dsa

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All glories and pramas to you Gurudeva on this most divine day. Ka cannot dismiss the guardian very easily because the Guardian has a solid position in the Lords relationship. If we enter into the domain of our guardians care, our position will be assured. Our only solace is that we are going through His agent. Hes so kind and benevolent that He has sent His agent to recruit us, and that is our hope. We must be thankful for that, and not be become traitors to His agent. We must be cautious to see we do not betray His agent, for thereby we betray ourselves. The cause of the guru-disciple relationship that manifests in the life of a spiritual seeker is the sweet will of the Divine Couple, r r Rdh-Ka. It is divinely ordained that one who seeks pure devotional service to Them shall be introduced to Them through Their divine representative, r Gurudeva. As r Gurudeva is a living principle of guru-tattva, he is a direct expansion of the grace of the Divine Couple, and is thus a natural transparent medium for the seekers to enter into the eternal life with Them. r Guru is known as an affectionate guardian, friend, and guide a kind messenger of immortal divine hope and prospect. It is r Gaurga Mahprabhu, the highest manifestation of r guru-tattva, who has beautifully revealed its conclusive truths to the world. He revealed that, when a person aspires to live a life of dedicated service, earnestly seeking shelter in the ambrosial embrace of r Rdh and Kas blissful, loving pastimes, r Guru appears. You, dear Gurudeva are that divine and affectionate Guardian. You are the one to give us that which is most high, as you are most dear to the Divine Couple. You give this in a most charming, affectionate, practical and spiritual way. You are the great example of those who you deeply and dearly love all of the Divine Guardians before you. You show loving affection to them always and it touches their hearts, as you touch our hearts. You are a wonderful harmoniser. I am most fortunate and deeply thankful to to be under your divine care, dear wonderful Gurudeva. Begging always for the mercy to serve you, the Vaiavas and Ka. With humble affection, Jhnav Dev Ds 144

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Dear Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances. I feel incapable to glorify you on this auspicious day of your appearance. But I will try at least to express my neverending gratitude to you, as after I met you, my life has changed a lot by your divine influence. I appreciate your deep knowledge in different areas of history and religions and how you are able to connect this knowledge in context with Ka and clearly explain why serving Ka is really the highest perfection in life. You teach us discrimination as to what real Ka consciousness is and what are deviations. By this clear logic you save devotees from different traps they could meet during their journey. I also wonder how nicely you are able to engage devotees in different kinds of service to the Supreme Lord. Different people are in different situations, but you can guide them to find how they can happily add ka-sev to their daily activities according to their nature and their condition. You showed me the real meaning of rla Prabhupdas words: If you want to serve Ka, it isnt necessary to completely change your life. Stay where you are, and just add Ka consciousness to activities you already do. That is really a great help to my life. Thank you so much for this. I pray that I could be engaged more and more in your divine service as I realise it is the only way for me to learn that there is no real pleasure in this material world. I want to really understand the fact that the only meaning of life is life with Ka in the centre. For us, who are not on the level where we can see Ka directly, the spiritual master is His representative. So I pray I can please you somehow. And last but not least I wish you all success in your nice activities and good health. Your unworthy servant, Janaka i Dsa 145

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Querido rla Guru Mahrja, Por favor acepte mis ms humides reverencias postradas a sus pies. Todas las Glorias a rla Prabhupda, en sta ocacin del da de Su Vysa-Pj quiero permitirme recordar con mucho respeto y cario a nuestra querida Bhadr Mtj. Madre Bhadr fu realmente una gran pionera incansable y determinada a lograr que el sueo de un proyecto de Conciencia de Ka en Mxico se diera. Siempre mantuvo muy escondido ese deseo enorme de que un da un gran proyecto bajo la gua de un Gran Maestro y Lider llegara hasta ste lugar recndito y olvidado. Una mujer de un perfil muy pequeo pero de un corazn muy grande fuerte y lleno de esperanza. Nunca baj la guardia en su propsito de arreglar todo para el tiempo en que usted y sus devotos llegaran a sta tierra...desde entonces ella fu muy feliz y satisfecha de que su sacrificio haba valido la pena. Ella no tena otro propsito en la vida que servir a nuestra misin, servir a Guru Mahrja y Sus devotos; sus ltimos aos los pas absorta en Servico Devocional sin esperar reconocimiento alguno, nunca reclam atencin o aprecio por su Servicio, slo trabajaba y trabajaba sin esperar ninguna retribucin, era tan humilde y renunciada que francamente espantaba, tan limpia de cuerpo y mente; tan simple y certera en su hablar, y experta en resolver detalles en la cocina; siempre hara un festival de prasdam de la nada, y siempre satisfaca los paladares ms exigentes con slo unos instantes de servicio en la cocina; era experta en hacer preparaciones rpidas vistosas y siempre a tiempo para ser ofrecidas; nunca se dobleg ante ninguna dificultad por seria que pareciera, siempre se mantuvo de pie en los momentos difciles y dispuesta a enfrentar cualquier reto. Madre Bhadr nunca exigi nada para s, nunca exigi reconocimiento alguno. Hoy en el Glorioso dia de Su Vysa-Pj quiero pedir perdn a Bhadr Mtj por todas mis faltas a su santa persona y a travs de Usted Guru Mahrja lograr dar paz y esperanza a mi corazn afligido por la perdida de tan gran alma que definitivamente no supimos apreciar y valorar, y que ahora que se ha ido nos a roto el corazn por la separacin. Madre Bhadr Vivir por siempre en nuestros corazones y ser la luz que ilumine nuestro camino en momentos difciles. Con su ejemplo nos deja una gran herencia y una gran joya para nuestra misin; esa herencia y esa joya son su humildad y entrega sin reservas. Su sirviente ms insignificante y caido Janrdana Dsa 146

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, I offer my respectful obeisances onto your lotus-feet. Every year I sit down to write an offering and I feel that I have absolutely no realisation to express it shows how much knowledge I really have! Your association, your sharp lectures, your respect for your gurus, your wonderful devotees, your service and your dedication to the Lord all this will always reside within me and will never leave my simple heart. Your goal is my full time mission. Often I remember all that I just mentioned above and repeatedly I ask myself the question, What did I do in my past life to get so close to such great spiritual master as you? O Gurudeva, I beg you again and again to give me your association that I lack. All glories to you, on this wonderful occasion and I hope to serve you sincerely. On this special occasion, thank you for allowing me to express a few simple and humble words towards you. Your eternal servant, Krtannanda Dsa

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Hace un ao que llegue a Guanajuato y tambin hace un ao que empece a ejecutar actividades con conciencia de Ka., Esta nueva vida para mi a sido de muchos cambios, aveces de resistencia, difcil cuando me doy cuenta que tan cada estoy, tratando de despertar y de recordar a cada momento que no soy este cuerpo, y de no olvidar mi posicin como sirviente., ahora se que estos das han sido de pura misericordia. Poder aprender y escuchar todo lo que comparte con tanta humildad y con ganas de hacernos saber la verdad, la mas dulce verdad que jamas haya escuchado, y sin ningn propsito mas que, el hacernos despertar. para comenzar nuestro regreso al verdadero hogar. Muchas Gracias Guru Mahrja! Por esta oportunidad de poder servirle. Con mucho aprecio su servidora, Kior Dev Ds

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you on this most auspicious day of your appearance! jagadhlda-kraka-madhu-v vana-ll-kathmta-dna-patim patitdhama-dhrai-loka-gati praammi svm-narasigha-pdam I offer my obeisances unto the lotus-feet of rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja, whose sweet instructions bring joy to the whole world. He is the guardian of the treasure of nectarean pastimes of Vndvana and is the shelter of the most fallen souls on the earth. Life moves at intervals of incredible speed. Distractions and duties are easy to get occupied in. Despite this, I cannot forget the power of your teachings. Try as I may, they are burned into the recesses of my heart, a powerful truth unable to be neglected. I am guilty of my pride and independence, and feel completely humbled to have the privilege of your association and instructions. When feeling lost I take shelter in your Bhagavad-gt, and its immutable knowledge. Your commentary on this greatest of classics, was highly anticipated, and exceeded all expectations. Thank you for adding this gem to the vast collection of spiritual truth we so fortunately have available. rla Guru Mahrja, you have my continuous respect and loyalty. In whatever ways I may best serve you, I pray to have the prospect. All glories to you, on this day, and on all to come! Your servant, Ka-Krtana Dsa 149

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Daavat-pramas Acepte mis humides reverencias a sus pies de loto. Amado Padre espiritual, infinitas gracias por todo lo que nos das, como; misericordia, tolerancia y compacion. Gracias a nuestro amado rla Prabhupda, estas Tu hoy aqui con nosotros, tal como un padre amoroso. A si como mi amada Bhadr Mtj, dejo en mi, guellas y enseanzas enormes. A si mismo Usted Gurudeva esta forjando en mi, la Fe firme en sus palabras, el amor y respeto por los devotos y Ka. Es tan sorprendente, ver como esta Usted, constantemente contagiandonos, inyectandonos tanto entuciasmo a cada momento, nos esta enseando con su propio ejemplo, Su sencilles, rendicion, entrega, y todas tus maravillosas cualidades como, la Fe firme, en la verdad absoluta, es tan fuerte, me dejan perpleja al contemplar, tu andar, tu predica. Soy inmerecedora de tener tu asociacion, tu misericordia, tan solo al tenerlo como un gran Padre Espiritual, como lo es Usted. Que el Seor de nuestros corazones lo proteja siempre. Su insignificante hija espiritual, Ds Ka-krtana

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Jaya rla Guru Mahrja! Please accept my respectful obeisances unto your lotus-feet. O rla Guru Mahrja, you are the most wonderful and merciful personality that I have ever met in my life. I am thankful to my parents for bringing me under your guidance. You have given me the opportunity to try and render some insignificant service unto your lotus-feet and to your dear disciples. I offer my obeisances unto my spiritual master who is the master of giving the Holy Name of Ka to everyone and also the ultimate leader on the right path of devotional service to guru and Ka. The worship of r r Rdh-Ka and Mahprabhu with the highest understanding of pure Ka consciousness can be found here at Govindaj Gardens, thus making it the Vndvana of South India. r Jaganntha-deva, the Lord of the universe and the saviour of all devotees, has also manifested and accepts service from His dear devotees in Govindaj Gardens, thus making it the Nlacala-dhma of South India. Lord Narasiha-deva the protector of His devotees in times of danger is worshiped here with the highest attention and proper understanding, thus making the Govindaj Gardens the ultimate place of worship of r Narasiha-deva. The magnificent Govardhana Hill along with Govinda-kua is also here as part of this holy dhma, thus making Govindaj Gardens the ultimate place for rendering service to r Guru and Ka. One must thank his lucky stars to be under your constant guidance and to worship and render service to all the Deities at Govindaj Gardens. Again I offer my obeisance unto my spiritual master who has showered his unlimited mercy upon me and has enabled me to serve him and his disciples who have the highest understanding of the Gaudiya Vaiava sampradya. All of your disciples in Govindaj Gardens, Mulki, Mexico and all over the world are such fortunate souls to have such a great personality like you as their spiritual master, guardian and well-wisher on the path of devotion to Ka. We are most fortunate in this age of Kali where mys energy is everywhere because you have given us the power to overcome that, to be completely surrendered to you and render service unto your lotus-feet. Again I offer my respectful obeisances to that spiritual master who opened our blinded eyes from the darkness of ignorance and liberated us from the ocean of repeated birth and death. 151

Only out of his immense compassion does the personality of Godhead reveal himself as the spiritual master, Therefore in the dealings of an crya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the lord. He is the supreme personality of servitor Godhead. It is our fortunate moment to take shelter of such a great Vaiava. Who is called raya-vigraha, of the manifestation of form of the lord of whom one must take shelter. (CC. di. 146, Purport) O Gurudeva, you are the highest Vaiava that we have the opportunity of worshiping, and we pray for your kind mercy upon us. Your unlimited teachings in line with the guru-parampar, your sdhana and your realisations in Ka consciousness are our guiding light towards the worship of r Guru and Ka. Although I am an ignorant fool and have committed many offences and mistakes while serving you and your disciples, I hope that I can attain forgiveness from all and I beg for your mercy to be under your lotus-feet to serve you for many more lives to come. Your lotus-feet servant, Kuja-vihr Dsa

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Mi querido Padre Espiritual nama o viupdya ka-kp r-mrtaye rmate bhakti gaurava narasigha iti nmine namo crya-sihya gaura-day svarpie su-siddhnta prakya ku-darana vinine Gurudeva, Quiero expresarle mis sentimientos muy sinceros en este da tan especial, para todos nosotros como familia espiritual. Se que no tengo ninguna buena cualidad , soy una persona materialista,adicta a los deceos mundanos; vale ms una gota de agua que mi misma persona. Solo puedo decirle que usted es para m el motivo de mi vida, el motor de mi cuerpo, la sangre de mis venas,y que sin su inspiracin no tiene importancia estar aqu. Cuando me examino, no encuentro nada de valor. Por lo tanto, su misericordia es esencial para mi Con mucho respeto y afecto su hija espiritual y servidora Kunt Dev Ds

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Le fresco unas respetuosas reverencias a sus misericordiosos pies rla Guru Mahrja. Quien es el mejor ejemplo para aquel devoto nefito que aspira al xito en la comprensin de la meta divina. Gurudeva, estoy escribiendo una ofrenda para usted , pero me cuesta tanto trabajo ser humilde y sincero, Tengo sinceridad pero esta cubierta por muchas cosas desagradables , Mis demonios son tan horribles que no me dejan ni siquiera seguir los principios regulativos de un devoto de r Ka. Dentro de toda la misin si no es hablar de mas, de todo el mundo, soy el disimulo mas nefito, Tengo poco mas de 1 ao bajo su cuidado y nunca e tenido el gusto de conversar directamente con usted, no se aprovechar sus enseanzas . Pero solo por su gracia puedo estar sirviendo a sus discpulos y eso es demasiado. Y solo gracias a usted y a lo poco que comprendo, puedo decir que tengo un algn propsito para continuar viviendo. Lakmaa Dsa, su sirviente nefito.

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Drah Guru Maharja! Pri prleitosti Vho sviatku si uvedomujem viac ako inokedy, ak pecilna milos je to, e ste ma prijal pod svoju ochranu.. Ete vea vec musm zmeni , aby sa mj ivot uberal tm sprvnym smerom. Viem, e bez Vaej pomocnej ruky by som bol stle v hlbokej nevedomosti. Nedokem slovami vyjadri to, o ctim vo svojom srdci. Vae nebojcne sprvanie a spsob, ako konte v rznych ivotnch situcich, to je pre ma ten najlep vzor, ktor nasledujem v duchovnom aj benom ivote. S hlbokou ctou V sluobnk Loka-guru Dsa

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N Uggdg ! v ZgtPUU U, vgAvgV j AQv Aidz gvgVg v, v OzAiAz sUAv z d v sdAi Ai zAi P jU zQ MAz Cvvz CP zAigwj. v zAiAi Az jU j guAi zP DQAi Av AiiU ggAz yv. v CUzsz Qv CxP CxVz. DzU v jU Cvvz gvzqU U gz zs vjPnj. D P g DvwU AiPUAx CvAv giU zAigwj. sQiUz zjAi, v zAiAi zjz, vAz svgV v zvgV g szU vAAz. PqAizV PjPAiAzg v Pg PV JAzAU v zAi gvV v DAiz v GAi CP zAiAv v rPv. EAw v zz zsAUz

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My respectful obeisances unto you, my spiritual master, rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja. You are the fathomless reservoir and protector of all the illustrious conclusions of pure devotion, resplendent in the pastimes of loving dedication and distinguished amongst those endowed with divine intelligence who freely grants our true fulfillment of life. I offer myself unto him who has manifest the divine loving attachment to the holy service of Lord r Ka and who possesses a wonderful proficiency in all devotional rites of the Vaisnavas. I bow down to the holy feet of the pure Vaiavas who are like desire trees, able to fulfill all the devotees aspirations. The Lords devotees are comparable to an ocean of causeless mercy as they deliver the fallen souls from material existence. I offer all respects unto them. Your fallen soul, Mah-mantra Dsa

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Gurudeva, Maestro, Amigo, Padre. j gurm hy avicray La orden del maestro espiritual se debe obedecer sin hacer consideraciones de ningn tipo. gurura j haya balavn La orden del maestro es muy potente, Estos versos expresan mi deseo y mi meta. Tengo la ignorancia, no tengo sabor por el santo nombre, pero aun as la fe, los pensamientos y deseos que tengo, es el poder comlacerlo lo mas que yo pueda. Quiero servirle en lo que sea posible, en cualquier oportunidad que se me presente. Por favor utilizame en cualquier cosa. Un simple gusano pero con sinseridad. Maitreya Dsa para servirle a usted y a Dios.

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Most dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble daavat-pramas. I will eternally worship the day when you kindly manifested yourself in front of me. It was in Karttika 2009 at Rdh-Dmodara Mandira where the most auspicious connection in my whole life was made. Since then, me and many of my friends have found complete shelter at your lotusfeet. Gradually you have become our most beloved Guardian, our dk and ik Gurudeva, our loving father and ever well-wisher. I eternally worship that day which brought us divine mercy in the most wonderful way the opportunity to meet face to face a real sdhu, a sat-guru Vaiava, who is willing to help us on the path to Ka consciousness. Since that day many things happened and everything is just an amazing miracle. We are hearing from you and about you, we are seeing and observing you, we are talking about you we are amazed and find you just wonderful we are unable to discover the extent of your unlimited glories and transcendental position. It is simply wonderful carya-vat exactly as Ka explains to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gt 2.29 regarding the nature of the spirit soul. Guru-tattva is just like that difficult to understand, easy to wonder. In spite of this difficulty, at least we understand that the essential point is to please you, to satisfy you, to make you happy. So far we can understand that our love for you will be shown in how much we are able to follow your instructions, develop true Vaiava relationships and cooperate in fulfilling your desire to establish your mission in Czech Republic through printing and distributing books, sharing Ka consciousness with others, developing an rama and farm projects and creating a healthy devotional community with Ka in the centre in Czech Republic. I am begging, asking and praying please give me a drop of your mercy so that I can be instrumental in your mission as much as possible. Dear Gurudeva, you are our shelter, guide and hope. Please stay with us forever only with you do our lives have meaning. Your servant, Paca-Tattva Dsa 159

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Daavats Guru Maharaja, With great enthusiasm I pursued the pleasures of mundane things until recently. The walk alone in the pathless woods fails to provide the thrill anymore. The rapture from the lonely shores seems incomplete. The silence inside the mountain caves seems devoid. The jugglery of words in ordinary books seems meaningless. The cobweb of relationships and its pursuits have proven to be endless. The company of mundane people has proven to be deceptive. While still in the clutches of my senses I have nothing worthy to offer to you. Out of many million of thoughts that my mind has produced so far, rare are those dedicated to you. I pray on this auspicious day that out of the remaining ones, I can dedicate a few conscious and focused thoughts in your service. When my eyes fall upon a mundane object, help me redirect my vision to your lotus-feet in my heart. When my ears lends themselves to mundane sounds, help me redirect them to the sounds of the Holy Name. When my nose pursues the smells of mundane particles, help me redirect it to the smell of flowers at your lotus-feet. When my tongue craves mundane tastes, help me satiate the craving by partaking the prasdam that you have honored. When my skin attracts mundane things, help me redirect the attraction to touch the dust under your holy feet. rla Sarasvat hkura says, If I do not remember the lotus-feet of r Guru at the beginning of every new year, every new month, every new day and every new moment, then Im sure to fall into far greater inconveniences. Trhi mm, Gurudeva, trhi mm! In the service of your servants, Paramtm Dsa 160

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Drah Guru Mahard, pijmte prosm m uctiv poklony. gurudeva! kp-bindu diy, koro ei dse tpek ati hna sakala sahane, bala diy koro nija mne spha-hna Mil Gurudvo, jste jako slunce, kter mi svt na cestu a hejiv paprsky mi dodvaj slu kret dl. Vae slova jsou jako ist pramen vody, kter has mou ze. Nevm jestli vs kdy budu schopen potit. Pesto si troufm vs podat, abyste se ode me neodvracel. Dkuji vm mnohokrt v nevdn sluebnk Premananda Dasa

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Who is r Gurudeva? crya m vijnyn nvamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhysyeta sarva-deva-mayo guru One should understand that I am non-different from the crya and one should never disrespect him. One should not envy him, considering him to be an ordinary man, because he represents all the demigods. (Bhg. 11.17.27) The crya has been identified with God Himself. He has nothing to do with the affairs of this mundane world. He appears before us to reveal the light of the Vedas and bestows upon us the blessing of full-fledged freedom, after which we should hanker at every step of our lifes journey. yasya prasdd bhagavat-prasdo yasy prasdt na gati kutopi dhyya stuvas tasya yaas tri-sandhya vande guro r-cararavindam I bow down to the lotus-feet of r Gurudeva. By his grace, we achieve the grace of Ka; without his grace, we are lost. Therefore, we should always meditate on r Gurudeva, and pray for his mercy. (Guruvaakam, 8) This is the position of r Guru, by whose grace we can get everything. We can get the grace of Ka, without whose grace, we have no other prospect. So, in this way, we must have reverence for he who has given us our first connection with Ka consciousness. All glories to the lotus-feet of our divine master, rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja, who without a doubt has the quality of a real sdhu, his mercy is beyond our understanding and without mercy what good is there that we can really benefit from? It has been my good fortune to serve r Gurudeva in the last five months and now I can say from a very practical point of view that these qualities are present. Now I pray that Ka keeps me close so that I can fulfill the ultimate goal of life beside my Gurudeva. Begging for your mercy, Gurudeva. Your friend and aspiring servant, Dsa Puruottama 162

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Jaya rla Guru Mahrja, Even while entering Ka consciousness, a person has to suffer many problems due to My. When we try to understand Ka, My will test us continuously. My is another power of Ka. She never gives freedom to anybody to disturb Ka. So while entering Ka consciousness, she sees whether we have come to be consciousness of Ka or if we have come to disturb Ka? She will test us firmly. This is the duty of My. So, as Srila Guru Mahrja has told us, in the beginning we have to face such My. Every devotional instruction should be performed in a proper manner so that while performing sakrtana we will not be confused. If we avoid such rules, My will be ready to catch us. We are all in the middle of the sea so we can expect disturbances at any time. Sat-saga has helped me in so many ways. Through sat-saga in the rama Viu Mahrja, Giri Mahrja, ymasundara Prabhu and all the brahmacrs have helped me in my Ka consciousness. Your servant forever, Rma Dsa

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yadyapi mra guru caitanyera dsa tathpi jniye mi thra praka Although, I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of r Caitanya Mahprabhu, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord. Just as sunlight cannot be separated from sun and therefore non-different from the sun, similarly r Guru cannot be separated from the Absolute Truth. (Cc di 1.45) Every fortune, every blessing and every teaching always comes with a price. In this material world, where so much is always subject to change, where so many activities, relevant or irrelevant to human nature go on very few care for each other or even themselves. Many fail to understand or seek higher standards of basic human life and yet what is bestowed upon meaningless and mindless inquiries of this world comes with a price. A price of dedication, determination or wealth. Many find their solace in the basic understanding of human life. Duty to self and others, duty to nation, duty to family and moral ethics form the perfection of their lives. It is rare that some amongst them venture into a plane of higher understanding of the self and of higher consciousness. It is rare that some will subject themselves to brahma-jijs. For them, Mahprabhu makes the arrangement of a divine representative a spiritual master who, by his causeless mercy, delivers even the lowest of jvas. He comes to cleanse our heart, purify our consciousness and prepare us for divine service. He accepts us under his shelter and guides us on the path of devotion. But this too comes with a price a price of dedication, faith and surrender. I offer my most humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet, dear rla Guru Mahrja. It is by your causeless mercy that I have an opportunity to be an insignificant part of Mahprabhus movement. Fortunate is my position to have come under your guidance, though I have no qualification whatsoever. You have taken me under your shelter, guiding me at every step of my devotional life and giving me a chance to serve the highest aspect of devotional principles. It is most unfortunate that I fail to see it. Though the highest conception is being distributed, I fail to accept it. It is one thing to receive a great fortune, but it is another to be able to use that fortune wisely. 164

The path of devotion is one of constant awareness and is paved with a proper attitude of service. Only you can guide me on that path. I seek your mercy, so that I can properly understand the aspects of aragati, better serve the Vaiavas and, dedicate myself on the path of devotion with firm conviction. By your exemplary life you have set the benchmark of devotion. You have imbibed the motto of rla Sarasvat hkura in your life and taught us the proper way by which to approach the highest conception. mtala hari-jana krtana rage pjala rga-patha gaurava-bhage I once again offer my sincere respects unto your lotus-feet. I shall forever be in your debt and forever be your servant. I humbly request that you forgive my mistakes and bless me so that I can become a better servant. Your eternal servant, Rasiknanda Dsa

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Dear Guru Mahrja, Please accept my eternal daavat-pramas at the dust of your lotus-feet, on this auspicious day of your Vysa-Pj. There are many special days in the Vaiava calendar to celebrate, but still, for a Vaiava no day is as special as the gurus appearance day. Gurudeva, you are the manifestation of rla Vysadeva and no amount of chosen words are sufficient to describe your transcendental qualities and services for the Lord. Your words are non-different from Kas words. You alone can bring back our lost relation to Him. Gurudeva, you are the confidential representative of God. I am entirely depending on your mercy as you alone can lead me to the ultimate goal of life. Today in the sinful age of Kali the world is full of bogus-gurus who are all self-interested, false, and teach yoga or various meditation techniques for good health while labeling it as a spiritual process and thus misleading the innocent people for selfish reasons. Being a neophyte devotee, It is really my good fortune to be empowered by you in the service of the Lord. Your unconditional divine love and mercy is the only food for our spiritual advancement. From birth to death there are many teachers in ones life, but it is ri Gurus grace which helps us escape from material bondage. Gurudeva, all your teachings are based on the highest principles of the Absolute Truth. Only under your authority and direction can I achieve kakp. Please give me the shade of your lotus-feet forever. Your eternally fortunate servant, Ratna-cintma Dev Ds

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He andado hasta lo indecible en los caminos de lo ilusorio. Lo que no es, se ha agolpado por interminables vidas en mi ser. Los conceptos errados han hecho de mi una piltrafa sin sentido. Como seguir abrevando de lo errneo? Como seguir empeado en ser feliz en el pantano de la infelicidad? Como buscar desesperadamente el solaz en los soldados falibles? Como buscar lo eternamente verdadero en lo temporalmente engaoso? Y entonces un llamado de amor verdadero, desde lo profundo del ser se manifest por la misericordia de Ka en mi amado y siempre misericordioso Gurudeva. Y entonces de la piltrafa de este mundo de muerte surgi el beneplcito del conocimiento eterno y siempre dulce. Y entonces de los dolores humanos, Gurudeva ungi con sus manos de felicidad la vida verdadera y siempre feliz. Mi Gurudeva es un rayo, un Len y un Loto. Rompe con todo lo que nos detiene, protege el verdadero ser con todo el corazn y nos da la siempre fresca y nueva fragancia de la realidad espiritual. Mi Gurudeva es un ser de infinita misericordia por los mas cados y los mas vejados.... aqu estoy yo, la prueba de eso. Me atrapo, me arropo y me cuido... Solo contemplar sus actividades y su profunda devocin por Ka y su devotos hacen que los cuervos de las dudas desaparezcan para no volver mas. Mi Gurudeva por su profunda devocin de servicio a sus amados Gurus ha establecido dos lugares en Mxico donde un tpico y promedio mexicano ha recibido el Yuga-dharma. Era una tarde de luna llena en Guanajuato y desde ah mi Gurudeva lanzo su misericordia para que todos los mexicanos despertramos nuestro Yuga-dharma. 167

Mi Gurudeva por su infinita misericordia de Ka en l, nombro a Govinda dasi y nos mostr el poder de su amor por las almas cadas y condicionadas, sin importar nada mas que el deseo sincero de servir al Seor de los ojos de loto. Sin que importe nada mas, ni los problemas relativos de la existencia, los estigmas sociales o los juicios de miras cortas. El perdn y el amor en nombre de la misericordia sin causa. Mi Gurudeva impacto tanto la existencia de Bhadr Mj que su vida se convirti en una ofrenda de amor a Ka en el altar de Jardines Govinda, en el altar de Mahprabhu. Bhadr Mtj por la inspiracin de r Guru en su corazn dedico su vida y la culmino en lo que Bhaktivinoda hkura expresa: Estn equivocados aquellos que dicen que los Vaiavas mueren, los Vaiavas mueren para vivir y mientras viven, expanden el santo nombre por doquier Bhadr Mtj estaba en esa categora, siempre cuidando, protegiendo, enseando, guiando y formando nuevos devotos. Mi Gurudeva, mi eterno bienqueriente, mi dulce y mas cierto amigo encumbra toda la misericordia de Ka en sus palabras, me ocupa en servicio y me cuida de mi mas grande enemigo: yo mismo. Hoy en el da de su gloria aparicin en este mundo, trato de glorificar lo mas glorioso y no encuentro trminos para describir la bondad y la misericordia del devoto mas querido del Seor Ka. Aquel que da su vida por los dems, aquel que derrama en cada momento el increble amor por Ka. A usted, mi querido y amado Gurudeva, Jagat-guru Svm rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja, mis reverencias postradas cientos y cientos de veces. A sus pies. i Dsa

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Querido Padre Espiritual: La gracia de Ka una vez ms ha tocado mi vida al permitirme expresar por escrito lo agradecida que estoy de recibir su instruccin y estar cerca de usted. Slo refugindome en usted y cantando el santo nombre ser capaz de apreciar la misericordia en mis hermanos espirituales. Gracias por estar aqu y por iluminar mi existencia. Su sirviente Rukmi Ds

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Dear Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet and my inept attempt to glorify you. The world celebrates many different events, personalities and achievements almost everyday of the year. Some are political, social, economic, artistic or religious. But none of these seem to have much significance over a period of time and as time goes by, many of these simply fade away and become history. They are not forever. But the worship of r Guru and the observance of his appearance and disappearance has always been a momentous occasion and an eternal activity. Throughout the Vedic literature and from time immemorial, one can find many examples of the guru-disciple relationship, its reverence and the topmost worship of r Guru amongst His disciples. yadyapi mra guru caitanyera dsa tathpi jniye mi thra praka Although, I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of r Caitanya Mahprabhu, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord. Just as sunlight cannot be separated from sun and therefore non-different from the sun, similarly r Guru cannot be separated from the Absolute Truth. (Cc di 1.45) Hence, as we gather here today to celebrate the divine appearance of our beloved Gurudeva, parama-pjyapda rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja, we should and must remember that today is not an ordinary day or a mundane gathering of like-minded individuals. This particular day holds very significant importance in all our lives because our relationship with r Guru is eternal caku dana dilo yei, janme janme prabhu sei. r Guru is no ordinary being, He is not a conditioned soul, but kt-hari the direct potency of r Hari. His guidance and his mercy is always eternal and without any discrimination. Engaging us in Mahprabhus eternal sakrtana movement is His only activity. As conditioned souls and in the most deplorable situation, we are sailing in a boat called the material world which is being consumed by the rapid fire called My. Yet we are busy accumulating many worthless 170

objects of desire without understanding the grave situation we are in. By our own past sukti and by the causeless mercy of the Lord, we have found the shelter of a bona-fide spiritual master, He is acting as a true agent to help us escape the agony of this burning boat of the material world and to attain the abode of service and dedication. We shouldnt be sitting idle or wasting the opportunity of maximising our chances to attain the lotus-feet of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, It becomes very important to understand how our most deplorable situation has actually become more favourable towards us because r Guru and the guru-varga are constantly guiding us and Mahprabhu is being merciful. The pradas of Mahprabhu are even more merciful, hence our only hankering and duties should be towards these positive elements. Ultimately this is the only hope and benediction in this world. Thus, I humbly pray again and again that I always remain in the line of our illustrious guruvarga, serving Ka through his agents and always hankering to achieve the dust of those who attain the lotus-feet of r Rpa and r Raghuntha. Once again, taking the opportunity of putting myself at your lotus-feet and begging acceptance, I sign off as yours eternally Rpnuga Dsa

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rla gurudeva! tava ubha vysa-pj vsare mora praati Dear rla Gurudeva, kindly accept my offering on the auspicious occasion of your Vysa-Pj. tomra kp vin ki che mra ei ati hna sad viay malina What hope is there without your mercy for this most lowly and dull materialistic person. sihera ni tumi diycho abhaya ei ati kudra jvere Like a lion you have given protection to this tiny soul. dua hna mana sad kare kapaa mora jvana mjhe My wicked mind is always cunningly deceiving me in this life. tomra ahaituki kp mora dia ei tmasa jagata mjhe Your causeless mercy is my guiding light within this dark world. araa laite pri jena tomra pade kama kara apardha jadi ghae Let me fully surrender to your lotus-feet. Kindly forgive me if I commit any offence. tomra pda-padme ei minati jena r-guru vaiava o bhagavne hai avicala moti I beg at your lotus-feet that I develop unflinching dedication to r Guru, Vaiava and Bhagavn. 172

durbala cacala mana sad my pralabhana ei ati sankate abhaya-caraa diycho ami jadiyo gua-hna mi My mind is weak and flickering. My is always enticing me. In this grave situation your lotusfeet give me fearlessness although I have no qualification. tomra pada-tale ei mgi vravra j kichu mora bhvi th diy jena sevi abirata tomra r caraa I earnestly beg at your feet that whatever I think belongs to me, I may use to serve your holy feet always. nija karma phale viaye halhale parechi durnivr tabuo mi si mane r guru vaiava ahaituki kp habe mora ire By the reaction of my own karma I have fallen into the poison of materialistic life. Still I hope in my mind that I will receive the causeless mercy of Guru and Vaiava on my head. abirata sebibo tadera pada-dhli hdaya nirmala kari srthaka habe mnava jvana mora Then I will continuously serve the dust of their feet with a pure heart and my human life will be successful.

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My dear eternal father, Please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. Dear Guru Mahrja, every year I try to write my offering and I fail miserably trying to glorify you. How can I completely glorify you and your activities in this lifetime? It is said that Anantaea with his unlimited mouths could never complete his glorification of the Lord how then can I even think of glorifying you with my unworthy mouth? Every moment of your life has been an example to me, showing me how to lead an auspicious life in the service of r Guru and Gaurga. On this day you took birth 68 years ago, seemingly as an ordinary person as you grew you left your house although you did not come in contact with your spiritual life immediately, you led the ascetic life of a brahmacr doing yoga, meditation, eating simply, and renouncing all material things for a life of austerity. You have shown a perfect example of how a person should renounce everything and meditate upon the Lord and live a life of simplicity the life of a brahmacr. When you came in contact with your spiritual master, you devoted your life to him and served him without reserving anything once again showing the perfect example of how one should serve his guru with full surrender. From the beginning you engaged yourself in the process of studying and book distribution as your life and soul. To fulfill your gurus desire and to please your guru, you went to Africa to preach with enthusiasm and determination. To spread the message of r Caitanya Mahprabhu you had to overcome many obstacles. Due to the many dangerous risks in pushing on r Caitanyas sakrtana movement that you took on in Africa, you became well known amongst your godbrothers and also to your guru as a fearless preacher of Ka consciousness. Where many others would have failed, you were successful with your sincere dedication to your guru. Once again, a perfect example of how a disciple should dedicate himself with enthusiasm and determination to a guru. Just like a slave without any selflessness, his only desire should be to please his master. 174

A verse from Hari-bhakti-vilsa gives the following definition of a guru: One who is an ocean of mercy, who is fulfilled in all respects, who is possessed of all good qualities, who always works for the benefit of all souls, who is free from lust, who is perfect in all respects, who is well-versed in the scriptures and who is always alert in the service of Ka is to be known as a guru. Compared to your mercy and kindness even the space in the universe is limited, what to speak of the ocean. Your qualities can be compared to the great cryas in our sampradya. You have alway worked restlessly to keep us from going off track and getting lost again in the material world. Never have you desired anything for yourself, only for the benefit of others you let us serve your louts feet by your kindness and mercy. You give the nectar that you received from your gurus but I am unfortunate, having not been able to taste the nectar that my godbrothers and godsisters have received and tasted. My dear eternal father, I beg for your forgiveness for the offences I have committed. Keeping these thoughts in mind I pray to remain in your service. Your servant, Satyarja Dsa

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rla Guru Mahrja, I offer my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. By your mercy I got the Holy Name and by chanting the Holy Name I will become free from offences. To me there is no one except you who can purify the fallen souls. When we get a taste for chanting the Holy Name our life will be successful. Without the Holy Name our life is useless. In this human life, if anyone chants the Holy Name of Ka offencelessly, he will eventually develop Ka consciousness and become a devotee of Ka. rla Guru Mahrja, you are the best example. Whoever has firm faith in Ka is never deceived. I am very fortunate to be your disciple. It is all by the mercy of r Ka. Your eternal servant, Sevnand Ds

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tasmd guru prapadyeta jijsu reya uttamam bde pare ca nita brahmay upaamrayam Therefore, any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realised the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters. (Bhg. 11.3.21) Recently, a famous Indian politician remarked It is rather easy to find a genuine guru, but not a genuine disciple. This is not true. r Guru is the leader. Good leaders are always scarce in this world. The majority of the population are followers and only a very few will be leaders. r Guru, as a leader, is very special and occupies the highest place because only he can lead the faithful disciple to the highest goal of human life. This world is always wrought with problems. When rman Mahprabhu appeared, Muhammadans were ruling this country. There is no need to mention how difficult times those were for the followers of santana-dharma. Sometime before this, r Vidyraya, an crya in the lineage of di akara inspired and led two converted Muslim youths, Hakka and Bukka, to establish a Hindu empire to defend the country and santana-dharma against Muslim aggression. Thus was born the Vijayanagar Empire which ruled a glorious 300+ years over large parts of India. During the time of rla Bhaktivinoda hkura, rla Sarasvat hkura and rla Prabhupda, the British were ruling India. So many national leaders worked to arouse rra-bhakti in people to fight the British. In both the above scenarios, the rpnugas didnt care for the external situation. They went on preaching the highest goal of life to sincere seekers. This is very significant. It very well drives home the point that at every time in history and at present, this world is plagued by problems. r Ka has told in the Bhagavad-gt that this world is dukhlayam and avatam. To fix the problems of this world can at best only be done properly by a Vaiava, as a rjai or as 177

an crya. Knowing that we live in Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the rpnuga cryas rightly didnt try to fix the problems of this world politically. The rpnugas cryas enlightened people that it is not worth fighting political struggles in Kali-yuga. It is destined to get worse with time. Rather, they inspired sincere seekers of truth to work for the highest goal of human life prem-pumartho mahn that the fountainhead of pururtha, the crest jewel of all goals of life, is to love Ka, prema-bhakti, pure love of God. All other prospects look so bleak in front of this. We also learn from the lives and conduct of Vaiavas that no matter what the external situation is, if one is fully dependent on r Ka and completely absorbed in His service and the service of His disciples and r Guru, then one need not fear anything, not even death. The Muhammadan ruler, Chand Kazi, was opposed to sakrtana. But by the grace of rman Mahprabhu he was converted and the sakrtana movement went unhindered. We have so many such examples of Vaiava cryas throughout history. At the present moment too, there are so many disturbances in the world. On this auspicious day of your appearance, rla Guru Mahrja, I humbly pray at your lotus-feet may I not be distracted or attracted by the disturbances or lurings of this world. May I always fix my mind and intelligence to attain the fifth and the highest pururtha ka-prema, under your leadership. Your unworthy servant, r Gopla Dsa

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wAi Ugdg, zPUU UgP uU. NA Ce wgAzs eAd PAii | ZPgvA Ai v Ug B || AiV AP jAi Vvgx sQUg gAi gAW B N Ugz F PU PAi MAz Ai r Pr. MAz JVAv PVz. U QAi Pl Ai ir, Pq Av Aiiz jwAi AiQP DPAPU U AiPU EzAv zP U CU. PAiAz D, Czz g Aii AiUvAi V. v Pz zg f sUz PgU. CAv Pn uU EAw PgUz AzgP z Uwz z

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Daavats rla Guru Mahrja. Please accept my humble koi koti pramas onto your lotus-feet. By your causeless mercy and grace I feel fortunate to have developed some taste in this process of Ka consciousness. r Gurudeva shows the path to perfection and the disciple has to make the endeavour to reach there. You have mercifully laid a strong foundation for everyone in Ka consciousness. You are an expert in engaging the devotees. The attention you give to your disciples is unfathomable. The service that is given to each and every disciple is done with purpose. On may see that, not only in their quality of service, but in their attitude as well. You have always placed service attitude above many things and so we, your disciples, are fortunate to have the most wonderful association on the planet. Your instructions are both profound and practical. In this way you give hope to everyone who comes across you. I am really happy with the service that you have given me in Kliya-mardana Ka rama, such as helping run the surf retreat, and surf instructing, and giving me a chance to interact with many people who are interested in spiritual life and being able to share my life changing experiences in my life in the rama. By your causeless mercy I can improve my service and my service attitude and sdhana. I hope you are happy with my service. I love each and every moment at the rama. Thank you very much for guiding the devotees and me through your love, care, instructions, chastisement and by your personal example. Although a disciple can never repay the debt received from his guru, the only real offering that a disciple can give is the proper understanding of what he has heard from his guru and the cryas. I beg you please forgive my mistakes that I may have committed. Please guide this unworthy soul. Your unworthy servant, yma-kua Dsa

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Querido Padre Espiritual: Por la Gracia de Ka y los Vaiavas me encuentro de nuevo aqui tratando de expresarle mis sentimientos de gratitud. Pero como puedo siquiera describir esto que nos esta pasando? Ha venido a Mexico como un regalo mandado por rla Prabhupda a esear, corregir y mostrar el camino del servicio devocional. Por su misericordia podemos felizmente hacer servicio en Jardines Govinda, Centro Bharati e incluso Huejutla. Me he dado cuenta que la vida es corta y es fundamental tomar refugio a los pies de loto del Seor amigo de los caidos y de sus adorables devotos, ya que es este mundo solo hay sufrimiento. Por eso mi querido Padre Espiritual, tan solo permitame mantenerme a su servicio nacimiento tras nacimiento. A sus pies ymal-majar Ds

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All glories to r Guru and Gaurga, Youre the savior of all fallen souls. Youre the wonder of all wonders. Youre the essence of the Mah-mantra. Youre the master of masters. Yaod-nandana is yours, you have the power to give Him to me. By your mercy we get good association with more advanced devotees. By your mercy we get a service opportunity to Gaura-Rdh-Govinda. By your mercy we visit Vndvana once in a week (r Narasigha Caitanya Maha) By your mercy we get a lot of nectar from your books, chanting, service and association of sdhus and prasda. By your mercy we become free from the network of my. O rla Guru Mahrja, please accept our humble daavat-pramas unto your lotus-feet on this auspicious day. We pray for your endless mercy. Please grant that our service to you will grow more and more. Your servants servants, ymnanda Dsa & Bhakti Dev Ds

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Dear Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. rla rdhara Mahrja says: Ordinarily we may think that feeling is the last of all, but no, it is first. Feeling, real feeling has been given such a high position. We are all under feeling. We are all searching, and feeling is commanding. We think feeling is the result, No. Feeling is commanding everything. First feeling, then thinking, then willing. Before reading this description I had always thought feelings are something related to our emotions. This is true when it comes to the feelings of this world which are simply mundane. All the attachments, lust, anger, greed etc. that we experience in this world are all feelings we have for or against something or somebody. Those feelings die with the death of this body. Thinking and willing rules here in this world and feeling is mostly considered emotional. Thinking and willing happens through the mind, but feeling is something which is experienced in our heart and not in the mind. Real feeling is experienced only by the tm when it comes in connection with a superior tm. Why are we in this rama? Why did we come here? You have established this rama to provide us shelter. Whatever reason it may be which brought us here, ultimately we are here to develop a feeling a feeling of love for Ka and His devotees which is the highest type of feeling. With these senses we are never going to have any experience about Ka, but it is the feeling in the heart which can give us the experience of Ka. To have such a feeling one has to take shelter of a person who has the experience of the higher type and who can make others also experience it. He is r Guru the direct representative of Ka. You have taught us that neither our thinking nor our willingness can ever help us to know Ka, but only through aragati, only when we have the feeling that nothing belongs to me and everything belongs to guru and Ka, only then Ka reveals Himself. You have taught us the philosophy to help us understand better, you have given us association of devotees and in this association we serve. Service leads to realisations and realisations give us a deeper vision into reality. 183

The mood of the spiritual master prevails on all his disciples and depending on the depth of a disciples realisation, he will catch the inner mood of his spiritual master. Usually people get lost and lose faith seeing the external attributes of a bona-fide guru. They fail to catch the internal mood with which the spiritual master has come to preach. They are only charmed by the external characteristics. r Guru will be performing actions suitable for the present circumstances which, for a neophyte, may look very ordinary or even mundane and they cannot understand the purpose behind them. With his superficial vision he cannot see the mood with which the spiritual master is serving his guru. For example, in our rama we have all the latest technology being used in serving Ka. Whenever we have any visitors to the rama, almost everyone is charmed by the beauty of the rama. It is so well presented that many ask us whether we get lot of funds from the west. The difference is that most of the gurus use money for personnel sense gratification, but you Guru Mahrja use it to present Ka in a way to show that He is the ultimate enjoyer. There is purity and class in whatever you do. Those that are allured by externals can never understand your mood. They seriously lack deeper vision. Hence serving the spiritual master is the only way by which one can experience and understand the inner mood of r Guru. Without service there will be no appreciation and one will either leave the association or end up committing offences. Give to live we have always seen you giving things to devotees. Whatever it may be, you use it for sometime then you are giving it away to the devotees. By doing so you are setting the example of being a sannys. As a guru and crya you have given us the highest conception of the Holy Name of Ka. By giving us your blessings you take away our miseries. By giving instructions you guide us on the path of devotional service. There is only giving all throughout and whatever is given to you, you offer that also to your guru. Before ending, I would like to quote this famous line from rla Sarasvat hkura: pjala rga-patha gaurava-bhage rla rdhara Mahrja quoted this very often in remembering the mood of rla Sarasvat hkura as this was the very mood with which rla Sarasvat hkura came to preach the philosophy of Mahprabhu. Similarly, what is your mood? Pracra karye siddhnta-sarasvat-sam kam With the same mood as rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura, you do not tolerate any slight deviations in the distribution of that sublime nectar. Thus, being a tiny soul, I pray at your lotus-feet that I may be able to serve and revere this mood, keeping it always upon my head. Your servant, ymasundara Dsa

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Dear Guru Mahrja Please accept my obeisances. Your speaking has attracted me and after so many years I again had a feeling of trust and genuineness. Tattva-dari, you cannot ignore this, I said to myself. This inspiration is too prominent to be disregarded. So I followed and since then you still live in me in the form of sound. Through thick and thin it did not fade away and like honey it is regularly coming back to me. Since then my understanding of siddhnta and philosophy became the most clear I have ever had in my life. But...life is tragicomical and it is ironic that my capabilities of being able to do something practical above the daily maintenance family duties is the least in my life. For so many years I could preach and translate and lecture and do things and now, when my understanding is maturing by contact with you and our parampar, I am left with little field open. A paradox in action. Seems everything has its time. And even in times of digesting what I have got and just sharing it weekly with few friends, I remember you a tyg, not having to bother with the raising of children you did take care of few, even not being your own! Like the father. Tattva-dari, be humble! Dont you see this nice example? And that gives me a hope that everything has its value and some day may come where I will be able to do a little more than to deliver a few jars. Trusting that there is something higher surpassing me in action and the ways of our Lord Caitanya are unfathomable, I try to remain your servant. Tattva-dar Dsa

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Dear Gurudeva, I offer my humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet, I offer my respects unto you who has shown all devotees what is pure devotion to Lord Ka, His associates, His pure and great cryas and their pastimes. It is due to our past sukti that we have come in connection with you. After coming into Ka consciousness we came to know what life is about. It is by your mercy that we are in your close association and blessed by your grace. Gurudeva, keep showering your spiritual mercy upon all our devotees so that we may continue on the path of devotional service and knowledge. Yours eternally, Uddhava Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my most humble obeisances unto the dust of your holy lotus-feet! On this most auspicious occasion of your holy Vysa-Pj I wanted to express my deepest gratitude to your Divine Grace for accepting me under your shelter and teaching me the utmost importance of cultivating a proper serving attitude. There is practically no occasion when I heard you talking about Ka consciousness that you didnt stress, either directly or indirectly, the importance of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord. In the words of rla rdhara Mahrja, Such intense engagement in the service under the guidance of Vaiava is an all-important factor that can connect us with the spiritual world. rla Rpa Gosvm gave us an essential instruction in the following verse: ata r-ka-nmdi na bhaved grhyam indriyai sevonmukhe hi jihvdau svayam eva sphuraty ada One cannot understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, qualities and pastimes of r Ka through ones materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him. (Bhakti-rasmta-sindhu 1.2.234) While commenting on this verse rla rdhara Mahrja explains that all our senses are mundane and cannot come in touch with aprkta. Therefore there must be something to connect this mundane with transcendental and that is sevonmukhata our earnest desire to serve Him, to satisfy Him. On His own accord the Lord will reveal Himself to us. That is the only way to connect this physical world with Vaikuha and Vndvana. Knowing this important truth I must admit that Im failing to do enough to put it into practice and I pray for your causeless mercy to help me overcome my shortcomings that are preventing me from engaging more intensely in the service under your expert guidance. Your insignificant servant, Vaiavnanda Dsa 187

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Dear rla Gurudeva, Please accept our repeated humble obeisances unto your lotus-feet. na me prthsti kartavya triu lokeu kicana nnavptam avtavya varta eva ca karmai O Prtha, I have no duty to perform whatsoever in the three worlds. I lack nothing nor do I need to gain anything yet I still engage in activities. (Gt 3.22) rla Guru Mahrja, only by your mercy have we understood that you have no duty to perform in this world. You lack nothing nor do you need to gain anything in this world, but you still engage in Ka conscious activities only for the benefit of all fallen souls (like us). We beg you to always give us the strength to follow your footsteps which is the purpose of our lives. Your servants forever, Vmanadeva Dsa & Prema-majar Dev Ds

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my obeisances. Again comes to us the wonderful opportunity to express our appreciation for your unending mercy and hopefully our ever-deepening understanding of guru. Printed in a beautiful publication, by the service of your staunch disciples, we are able to offer to you what we can muster from our hearts and deepen our relationship with our true family. Gracias. Gurudeva, you provide us a bona fide service connection to the highest truth. In the line of r Rpa, your guardians are rla Bhaktivinoda and Sarasvat hkura. You have surrendered and served so completely to our guardians, rla rdhara Mahrja, rla Puri Mahrja and rla Prabhupda. Through your actions of body, your depth of mind and force of words you give form to the ideals after which we aspire. Your are the highest exemplification of trida. From your ka and that which we receive from the words of rla rdhara Mahrja, we can understand that if we look with the proper eyes, guru can be found in many places, but it is from you rla Guru Mahrja that we learn to see. om ajna-timirndhasya jnjana-alkay cakur unmlita yena tasmai r-gurave nama You see Ka in everything. You press us to be aware of the world, aware of the present and the past. On so many occasions you have overwhelmed us with ever fresh observations of this material world and countless dates from history. A simple buenos dias transforms into an in-depth critique of civilisations old and new. In all of these things, you show us the sweet absolute. You see what we yet cannot. tad-vijnrtha sa gurum evbhigacchet samit-pi rotriya bramha-niham (Muaka Upaniad 1.2.12) 189

For our eternal benefit, you see right through us, what we have and what we lack. In this way your provide us with the perfect knowledge and a gentle push or sometimes a firm kick in the right direction. Whatever we need, you have the capacity to give it to us exactly how we need it. rla Viu Mahrja said it best: Fearless and lion-like You are exceptionally strong and confident in your preaching and in confrontations, yet have a gentle and soft nature in Vaishnava dealings. Kind to the devotees You understand the necessities of your disciples and devotees of the mission and go to great effort to give them your association and assistance, making their devotional experiences wonderful. Guru Mahrja, on far too many occasions, you sacrifice your energy to be with your disciples. You go above and beyond the call to provide us with your direct association. sdhu-stra-guru-vkya, cittete kariy aikya (Cc. di 7.48) You are a treasured touchstone. This is our great fortune. I recall many occasions, a few of which have occurred right here in Mexico, in which you open the flood gates and become a smiling fountain of enthusiasm. With whomever you speak, or whomevers hand you shake, enthusiasm surely follows. You came to Mexico just a short time ago, now something has started here that will surely be a legacy. The proof is in the large and beautiful saga that has been happily engaged in service. Here in Mexico, our programme moves fast. Steady sdhana, more service than we can fill our days with and always the opportunity to go beyond, to go deeper. Never do you let us forget that our service is not money collection, but the sakrtana of Lord Gaurga. I hope that these few words may return to you the appreciation, respect, amazement, friendship, faith and love you magnanimously give to all of us. Gracias. Su hijo espiritual y sirviente indigno, Vsudeva Dsnu-dsa

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Dear rla Bhakti Gaurava Narasigha Mahrja, Today and every day I bow to your lotus-feet. You are my dearest person in the world and I constantly pay tribute to you. My only wish is to serve you life after life, because it is you who is the liberator of the fallen souls. I could not for a long time so clearly define why I feel such a strong paternal bond, until I came across this explanation by rla Prabhupda in his purport to rmad Bhgavatam 3.5.7: The Lord appears in this universe in different incarnations like Matsya, Krma, Varha and Nsiha, and He manifests His different transcendental activities for the welfare of the twice-born, the cows and the demigods. The Lord is directly concerned with the twiceborn or civilised men. A civilised man is one who has taken his birth twice. A living entity takes birth in this mundane world due to the union of male and female. A human being is born due to union of the father and mother, but a civilised human being has another birth by contact with a spiritual master, who becomes the actual father. The father and mother of the material body are so only in one birth, and in the next birth the father and mother may be a different couple. But the bona fide spiritual master, as the representative of the Lord, is the eternal father because the spiritual master has the responsibility to lead the disciple to spiritual salvation, or the ultimate goal of life. Therefore, a civilised man must be twice-born; otherwise he is no more than the lower animals. Your grace is beyond the knowledge of ordinary human beings. Your mercy flows out from you in all directions and rains down on the poor creatures as a spray of flowers from the sky. Your mercy is boundless. Your grace is elusive. Your grace is the grace of the Lord Caitanya. You are avyakta-mrga-vit. Your surrendered soul, Vijaya-Ka Dsa

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Dear rla Guru Mahrja, Please accept my humble obeisances. On this most auspicious day of your appearance, thank you for giving me the opportunity to say a few words in praise of Your Divine Grace. I always remember the time I heard you say, In the beginning of Ka consciousness our goal is to add Ka to our days. But when we become truly advanced in Ka consciousness, our goal is to add our days to His. This statement has been on my mind recently as I go about my days, and observe how I am spending my time. Am I really making an effort to add Ka to my day? How is my attitude and awareness towards this? Am I being enthusiastic or careless? I am ashamed to find this is not always consistent and I know I can do more, and will start doing so. It is by your kind efforts, and the efforts of other Vaiavas that I have any connection at all, and that I can provide what little service I may presently. Due to your merciful reminder of the opportunities I have been given in this life, I have very much been contemplating what that means and how it should positively influence the choices I make. Having spent some years outside the rama, and some time living on my own, this has highlighted to me the absolute necessity of maintaining association, service and sdhana in whatever way possible. For without any of those things, this life is a waste of time. Furthermore I am very grateful that I have the ability to do any kind of sdhana on my own thanks to Your Grace. I pray I have the continued opportunity to remain connected to the shelter and instructions found in service to your holy lotus-feet. I would be completely lost without you and your disciples being the light to guide my way and pull me back from my and ignorance. I look forward to being able to having a chance to serve you soon when you visit. All glories to r Guru and Gaurga! Your servant, Vraja-kiora Dsa 192

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Daavat-pramas rla Guru Mahrja! For your disciples, this day gives us the opportunity to share with you our heartfelt gratitude, respect and celebration for your well wishers, appreciation, while for those who have not yet received the opportunity to meet you, this day goes by as any other. With each individuals perspective varying views are held, just as the various groups of people in the wrestling arena regarded Ka in different ways when He entered it with His elder brother, Balarma: The wrestlers saw Ka as a lightning bolt, the men of Mathur as the best of males, the women as Cupid in person, the cowherd men as their relative, the impious rulers as a chastiser, His parents as their child, the King of the Bhojas as death, the unintelligent as the Supreme Lords universal form, the yogs as the Absolute Truth and the Vnis as their supreme worshipable Deity. (Bhg. 10.43.17) As your disciples, we have the amazing opportunity to assist in your service to your Guardians; rla Prabhupda, rla rdhara Mahrja, and rla Pur Mahrja, in different circumstances across the globe. And while the scenery changes; from Mexico, to India, the US and Europe, your mood and intensity to share the essence of Ka consciousness Rdh consciousness respectfully and harmoniously transgresses culture, language and customs to reveal deeper and deeper truths in the everyday. This opens our eyes, to help us real-eyes that Reality the Beautiful is at play in a most simple, yet profound way, everywhere, that we cannot but be charmed and pray to surrender wholesale to your words, realisations and instructions to surrender wholeheartedly at your feet. Gracias for the service opportunity here in Mexico, where, with a very unique approach you engage all in the Lords divine energy from Zapata Burgers to jugos for carniceros, taqueros, and all forms of karms and materialists we are all so incredibly fortunate. Gracias siempre para su misericordia, pura y sin causa, Humble pramas Your aspiring servant, Vraja-leela Ds 193

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Hare Ka Guru Mahrja, Please, accept my obeisances, all glories to this auspicious day! sasra-dvnala-lha-lokatrya kruya-ghanghanatvam prptasya kalya-guravasya vande guro r-cararavindam (Guruvaka 1) Although I am not worthy to be part of your family, only thanks to your infinite mercy I may have the opportunity to be part of the camp of aspiring devotees. I thank r r Gaura-Niti for allowing me to meet you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to be able to stay in touch with devotees. Without your love Id be completely lost. Only you, who are the absolute worthy representative of r Ka, can give me, a miserable soul, a hope to make a small step forward in spiritual realisation. All glories to you! Offering petals at your feet to honor your holy person. Your eternal servant, Vraja-sundar Dev Ds

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Pramas, Mi Querido Padre Espiritual. En estas fechas todos los devotos esperamos con ansia a que llegue este dia, donde le expresamos lo que usted son su infinito amor y misericordia nos hace sentir. A mi me hace muy feliz poder ofrecerle al menos unas cuantas palabras. Gracias por venir a Mexico a poner esa chispa de entusiasmo en mi para tratar de hacer seva en Jardines Govinda y tambien por aquel dia en el que me dio iniciacion en la conciencia de Ka, ese dia se me quedo grabado en la mente. Tambien gracias por la fuerza que nos da a mi y a mis hermanos espirituales de seguir sirviendolo y tambien por la gran oportunidad de cuidar a la pequea Rainbow. Muchas Gracias por todo Guru Mahrja. Su sirvient, Yuga-dharma Dsa

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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following devotees who helped with the publication of this years Vysa-Pj book Bhakta-prya Ds Ka-Krtana Dsa Leda Garcia da Eira Paca-tattva Dsa, Vijaya-Ka Dsa and the devotees of our Czech and Slovakian sagas i Dsa and Rukmi Dev Ds Rpa-Santana Dsa Santana Dsa ymal-majar Ds Vaiavnanda Dsa and Gopla Ds Vraja-kiora Dsa