gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya april 2010

8/9/2019 gaudiya math chennai / The Gaudiya April 2010

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APRIL 2010 THE GAUDIYA

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THE

GAUDIYASpiritual Monthly

Vol. LIII APRIL 2010 No. 8

MANGALCHARANAM

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Your cooling Smiles are glorified, (i) Which overthrow all otherrasas with the continuous flow of their rasa (tasty sentimentalecstasy) of the full undivided Bliss, and (ii) Which issue forth theocean of ambrosia in an unrestricted flow.

-Sri Leelshuka Bilvamangala

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THE GAUDIYA APRIL 2010

Pithy Precepts of Srila PrabhupdThe savageconception ofphilosophy as well hasalso been discountedby means of criticaland ethical arguments.

For a long timeIndian Philosophy hadbeen mentioned in sixdifferent phases

bearing dissimilarmethods of exposition but in the course ofthe unrolling evolutionary process we havehad a few dozen philosophic views comingto us for our speculative considerations.Mind has been noticed as the functionalagent of agreeing or disagreeing with astandard position within the scope of itsfinitudinal range. It is termed conscienceorBuddhi when it is fixed. The egotisticfunction of mind in respect of mundaneobjects is called ahamkra or the

subjective tendency of lording it over apartial phenomenal aspect. The jiva orsoul is different from phenomenaldenomination, but the fetteredcondition of an individual soul hasassociation with the material world.

The five old schools of philosophyof India do not vouchsafe to bear identicalattitudes with the Vedanta philosophy.Some supersensuous methods arerevealed in comparative studies, though inthe beginning such warnings need not be

offered to the students of the Vedanta. Thescience of the Vedanta philosophy had alsodealt with the aspects of the constantchanges of form resulting from inevitabledevelopment and also elucidated theposition of permanent unalterable elementsin ever-altering forms.

The Vedanta deals with a themebeyond the finite views of phenomena. The

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subject dealt with in that particularphilosophy is not confined to any part ofthe material space, any definite span of timeor any object of sensuous perception madeup of any substance of this universe. Theactivities of a being are measured in time,the playground of a being either linear,superficial or cubical is accommodated inspace and the limited subjectivity or fleshlyentity is confined to phenomena. The

Vedantic scheme is quite different from suchlimited structural monuments though somepeople attempted to bring Vedanta withinthe prison bars of their senses.

The Vedanta expresses itself inordinary language quite dove-tailed into theviews of our ordinary intelligence, it graduallyheaves us up to the supersensuous regionswhere the senses cannot work by theirpresent implements or cannot help us withthe words of our ordinary commerce withfriends. The transcendental topics are

imparted slowly through the linguisic andrationalistic attainments by differentiating theplane of transcendence from the undesirabletransformable plane of enjoyments. As ithelps us on this progressive journey ofunderstanding we should not stick to astagnant view in order to gratify our senses

just because the rationality and harmoniouslanguage of the Vedanta seem to fit ourwhims. So the method of studying thisparticular philosophy involves a process ofeliminating all chances of confusing thetranscendence with our present plane of

thought.Apprehending Community:- The

special feature of Vedanta has a markeddistinction from other views of differentschools of thought. The epistemology, thecosmology and the ontology of Vedanticviews do not necessarily follow thehackneyed path of worldly argumentationsbased on phenomenal conceptions.


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Thus Spake Srila chryadeva

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Manu Samhita alsosays: we can dependon common sense andreason forVyavaharika-satyabut transcendentaltruth can be attainedonly through the Vedaswhich meansknowledge of God.

The Vedas aredivided into four as Ric, Yajur, Sama andAtharva. Each one again has got two partsof which one is called Mantra and the otheris called Brahmana. The Mantras arerequired for the performance of the Yajnas.The Brahmana explains the meaning of theMantras.

On the whole, the Vedas have threesections like (a) work section, (b) Devatasection and (c) knowledge section. The

work section speaks of the various yajnas.The Devata section speaks about theworship of the various Devatas, theknowledge section deals with the subjectof God (Brahma - Vidya).

Actions of the work-section are of twokinds as Sakama that is action with thedesire for the result, and Nishkama, thatis action to be performed correctly butwithout any desire for the result. Theintention of the sakama-karma is to enjoycomfort in this world and also to attain the

heaven after death for enjoying the heavenlycomforts. But such karmas cannot help theperson to avoid revolving in the cycle ofdeaths and births. The performance of thenishkama-karma gradually banishes thedesire for enjoyment of the things of sense-gratifications and thereby makes the heartpure. The highest advice of the work-section, the karmakanda, of the Vedas is

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the Nishkama-karma. Paroksha-jnana andAparoksha-jnana. The commonknowledge of the matters staated in theShastras is called the Paroksha-jnana. Thetranscendental knowledge or, in other wordsthe experience gained by the attainment tothe Parabrahma, God, the Supreme, is calledAparoksha-jnana or Vijnan.

The Upanishads are under theknowledge-section of the Vedas. All the

four Vedas have got Upanishads. Thederivative meaning of the word is upa-ni-shad--- That which dispels nescience, theattachment to worldliness; and at the sametime that which imports the knowledge forproceeding towards God, the Supreme isUpanishad. So, Upanishad is that whichdeals with the transcendental knowledge.The Upanishad is, also called Shruti. It isthe culmination of all the Vedas, the final sayof the Vedas, the end of the Vedas. TheUpanishad is, therefore, that shastra whichhelps the aspirant to reach God.

The Vedas, also, deal with other sixsubjects like (1) Shiksha, (2) Kalpa, (3)Vyakarana, (4) Nirukta, (5) Chhandah and(6) Jyotish.

Shiksha : deals with thepronunciation includingphonetics of the Suktas etc.

Kalpa : deals with the work-procedure of the yajnas.

Vyakarana : i.e. grammarNirukta : deals with the explanatorynotes of the words andphrases used in the Vedas.

Chhandah : deals with the prosody orthe science of versification.

Jyotish : deals with the calendar ofdates, time, occasion, etc.of the various functions

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ALMANAC for the months ofAPRIL & MAY 2010

14.04.2010 Wed Appearance of Srila Gaddhar Pandit Goswmi. Commencing ofPouring water to Sri Slagrm and Tulasi -- Keshava Vrata

15.04.2010 Thus Commencing of the month of Purushottama25.04.2010 Sun Padmini Ekdashi Fasting. Next day prana between 5.12 and

9.27 a.m.10.05.2010 Mon Vyanjuli Mah Dwdashi Fasting. Next day prana between 5.02

and 5.28 a.m.15.05.2010 Sat Concluding of the month of Purushottama. Concluding of pouring

water to Sri Slagram and Tulasi - Keshava Vrata.

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celebrating on suchoccasions. It is also dealswith the movements of theheavenly bodies

The authoritative Shstras which are thesources in the matter of establishing theAbsolute Truth are three in number asShruti-Prasthn, Smriti-Prasthn andNyaya-Prasthn.

The Purnas and histories are called theSmriti-Prasthn came under the historythough they are the national epics. As these

books are rather narrations of the subtlemeanings of the Vedas and help the readerto recapitulate the Vedic dictums, they arecalled the Smriti Prasthn. As the Gitawhich is found in the Mahbhrata, is aSmriti-Sshtra.

The Brahma-Sutra is called the Nyya-Prashtn. It is so named as the Sutras haveestablished a harmony or uniformity orsynthesis of the Upanishads by followingstrong logic. There are six philosophicaltreatises in India. They are (1) Snkhya of

the sage Kapila, (2) Yoga of the sagePatanjali, (3) Nyya of the sage Gautama,(4) Vaisheshik of the sage Kanad, (5)Purva-mimsha of the sage Jaimini and (6)Annotation of the Brahma Sutras by SriShankarchrya.

These six treatises have not been ableto pinpoint the Paratattva or the Ultimate

Truth. Sriman Chaitantya Mahprabhu hasdeclared (Vide.C.C.M.25.55) that theTattva has not been stated in the sixphilosophical treatises but what has been toldby the Mahjanas is the Truth or Tattva.The intellect of man, greatman, Rishi, greatrishi and devata have got defects of fourtypes of limitations as Bhrama (mis-identification), Pramda (constant shifting ofmental forces), Karanptava (inefficiencyof the indriyas) and Vipralips (self-flattery).So there is every possibility of committing

errors in their decision or conclusions.Sripd Vallabhchrya had accepted,besides these three Prasthnas, a fourthprasthna viz. the Shrimad Bhgavatam. Hesaid If any doubt arises about the meaningcontained in any part of the Shrutis, thesolution can be had from the Gita. Theconfusion about any part of the Gita can becleared by the Nyya Prasthn. Any doubtor confusion arising from the Brahma Sutracan be dispelled by the Srimad Bhgavatam,the self-reveled Truth. The eternal truth that

got its revelation in the trasparent soul of SriVysadeva while he was in a tranceultimately took its shape SrimadBhgavatam in the form of Shabda-Brahma.Shrimad Bhgavatam comes under theSmriti Prasthn to those who accept onlythree Prasthnas.

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APRIL 2010 THE GAUDIYA 5

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In this manner the universality of theself-evident Bhakti in all the locations andall the individuals is established. The nextword sarvada or always of the chatuhshloki establishes the eternity of thisaccomplished devotion.1. BHAKTI DURING COSMICCREATION:

Lord Sri Krishna instructs to SriUddhava, -- O Uddhava, the eternalrighteousness known as the BhagavataDharma of devotional love is present in thedivine utterance known as the Vedas. As itbecame extinct due to the passage of time,during the beginning of the cosmic creation

I revealed the same to the creatorBrahma(Bh.11.14.3). Latter on too thisdivine propagation can be found duringdifferent occasions.2. BHAKTI DURING CATACLYSM:

Sri Vidura enquires with sageMaitreya, - During the total cosmiccataclysm when Lord Hari dwells in thecausal ocean Ekarnava on the bed ofAdisesha, who are the divine servitors whoserve the Lord, and thereafter whichassociates of the Lord enter into divinetrance? (Bh.3.7.37). This shows that,Bhakti is eternal even during the forfoldcosmic dissolution, as it transcends the limitsof cosmic time and space.3. BHAKTI DURING ALL THEAGES:

Sage Shukadeva tells to king Parikshit,-- whatever result that is attained bymeditation during Satyayuga, by sacrifice

during Teretayuga, by worship duringDvaparayuga, -- can be fully and easilyachieved in the age of Kaliyuga by thedevotional chanting of Lord Haris DivineNames. (Bh.12.3.52). Sri Vishnu Purana

says, -- Whichever hour or moment thatpasses idle without the remembrance ofLord Vasudeva happens to be mostdisastrous, evilsome, illusive and misleadingon the part of human beings. This showsthat, human beings should incessantly chantthe Divine Names.4. BHAKTI IN ALL SITUATIONS:

Devotion can be cultivated by thehuman beings in all situations of theirexistence, as shown below:

(a) Sri Prahlada listened to Hari Katha

from Sri Narada, while in the womb of hismother and acquired devotion. (b) Dhruvacultivated devotion during tender age ofchild-hood. (c) Kings like Ambarishapractised devotion during tender youth. (d)Dhritarashtra etc., performed devotionduring old age. (e) Ajamila performeddevotional act during the time of death. (f)King Chitraketu cultivated devotion whileexisting in heaven. (g) Even after reachinghell Bhakti can be conducted, as narratedin Sri Narasimha Purana, -- Even thosewho reached hell, by performing thechanting of divine Names of Lord Hari gotdeliverance and attained to heavens. Inthe words of sage Durvasa to the Lord, --even hellish beings attain liberation byuttering Your Divine Names, which areomnipotent and all-gracious likeYourself.(Bh.IX.4.62). Sri Shukadevatells to Sri Parikshit, -- O king, the yogis

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UNIQUE, UNIVERSAL AND SUPER EXCELLENTSRI KRISHNA BHAKTITHE SEED OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM

Sripad B.S.Narayan Maharaj

(Contd. from March issue)


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who are detached from this world if desirous

of achieving fearlesness, they should adoptthe devotional chanting of the divine Namesof Lord Hari. This Hari Nama Samkirtanais decided to be the befitting performancefor such yogis. (Bh.II.1.11) Likewise,Bhakti is the unique and universalprescription for all the aspirants starting fromthe neophytes up to the highest accomplisheddevotees.

Analytic or prohibitive examples fromBrihan Naradiya and Padma Purana, --

What is the use of the acts like Vedic study,pilgrimage, penance or sacrifice for thosewho lack devotion to Lord Hari? Forthose who possess devotional love for LordHari, what is the need of studying variousscriptures, conducting penances andsacrifices or performing thousands ofVajapeya Yajnas?

Sri Shukadeva instructs king Parikshit.-- I offer my repeated obeisances to LordHari of eternal glory and boundlessauspiciousness, without serving Whom the

aspirants like Tapaswi (doers of penance),Yashaswi (successful in the world), donars,knowers of Mantras, moralists etc. cannever become successful in their respectiveendeavours. (Bh.II.4.17). Withoutdevotion to Lord Hari, no one canachieve success or auspiciousness.PURE DEVOTION IS GOD-CENTRIC:

Holy life of devotional culture alwaysremains absolutely God-centric , whereasnon-devoted lives of fallen souls are of self-centric nature. Saintly persons can neverappreciate anything that is devoid ofdevotion. Sri Shukadeva tells to SriParikshit, -- whenever the nectarine riverof divine narrations does not flow,whichever place that is not occupied by holydevotees who fondly drink deep that nectar,wherever the divine sacrifice of Hari NamaSamkirtana is not performed, joyfuldevotional festivals with dancing, singing,

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playing the musical instruments and honouring

of saintly devotees does not take place, --such places should be known as most unfitfor dwelling, even though it may verily beBrahma Loka itself. (Bh.V.19.23).SELFISHNESS POLLUTES DEVOTION:

Devendra, the king of demigods whorepeatedly prostrated at the Lotus Feet ofLord Krishna, by touching the same throughhis gem-studded golden diadem by desiringfor the killing of demon Narakasura etc., whengot his desire fulfilled, now being intolerant in

giving the Parijata flower-tree to the Lord,thoughtlessly engaged in battle with LordKrishna Himself. Alas! how drastic is thisact and how ugly is this selfishness! Eventhese demigods endowed with Sattva gunatoo are imbibed with polluted hearts ofpassionate ignorance due to their selfishattitude. Fie to their worthless heavenlyopulance. (Bh.X.59.41)BHAKTI IS THE MEANS AND THEEND IN ITSELF:

The acts of devotion performed through

sense-organs are termed as SadhanaBhakti, devotional sentiments nurtured by thepure mind are known as the Bhava Bhakti,whereas the eternal spiritual function of thefully enlightened individual soul towards thesupreme Lord is known as the divine love orPrema Bhakti. When the devotional pathis honestly followed under the guidance ofpure devotees, the Sadhana Bhakti getsmatured into Bhava Bhakti and the BhavaBhakti gets matured into Prema Bhakti. Theseed of Bhakti received by the grace of Guruand Krishna should be sown in the pure heartand should be regularly watered through thehearing and chanting in holy association. Theseed gets germinated and starts to grow as acreeper to reach the desire tree of LordKrishnas Lotus Feet. During this period itshould be protected from various perils thatarise due to offences like Nama-aparadha,Vaishnava-aparadha etc.

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(to be continued )


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MAHBHRATASri M.C.Mahesh(Contd. from March issue)

Duryodhana got wind of Shalyasmove from his spies, and decided toforestall him and obtain his assistance. Hehad cozy camps of woven fabric set up allthrough Shalyas way, and Shalya wasinvited by his henchmen and entertainedwith food and drink. Shalya thought thatthis warm hospitality was Yudhishthirasgesture and accepted the attentions of theservitors. But very soon he came to knowthat the lavish welcome he received wasDuryodhanas, and he summoned the hostto his presence.

Duryodhana, I am pleased with yourhospitality and attentions. But why on earthdo you do this to a potential enemy?

However I am pleased with you andwill cetainly grant any boon you ask for.

Then please do join us with all your

followers and help me in battle.I will not go back on my pledgedword -- I will certainly join you and fightmy nephews. However, I will go toUpaplavya and take leave of Yudhishthira,and also seek his pardon.

Shalya reached Upaplavya, brokenand dispirited, and gently broke news toYudhishthira as to how he was cheated bythe crafty Kuru prince.

Yudhishthira apparently maintained acomposed demeanour, but was overcome

by fear and stooped to sin. He askedShalya a boon that was so uncharacteristicof his chivalrous nature The whole worldknows that you are as skilled as Krishna isin the science ofashwahridaya -- the artof harnessing horses to battle-chariots anddriving them to victory. The Kauravas willcertainly make you drive Karnas chariotin his final contest with Arjuna. Then, you

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must belittle Karnas prowess anddestabilise his psyche thus making him weakand susceptible. Arjuna has a chance ofwin only then--you must do this cowardlydeed for my sake.

Shalya agreed, and took unwilling leaveof his nephews after prophesying theirvictory. The very gods had suffered such achequered life before and had ultimatelyconquered themselves and later, theirenemies. Many such morally upliftingdidactic tales were narrated by Shalya to asorrowing Yudhishthira to hearten his fallingspirits.

The Mahabharata delineates the mixedtexture of every person with strikingsublimity. The poet says that their ethicalhues were neither stark black nor pure whitebut grey--and this depiction is seen inYudhishthiras crafty request that exposed

open his innate weaknesses. That such aperson as righteous as Yudhishthira, whowas known as Dharmaraja (the suzerain ofrectitude) and Dharmaputra (the son of thegod of morality), could stoop to such sin isindeed a wonder, and the episode is one ofa portrayal or inherent human fraility.

Several embattled legions came toUpaplavya and Hasthinapura on requestand invitation to take part in the climacticbattle that would usher in a new order ofthings. The earth shook under the heavy

tread of thumping war-elephants. Theclatter hooves and the rattle of chariot-wheels fissured the very earth. Rank afterrank of serried soldiers marched to the beatof drum and the boom of trumpets. Thedust raised by the gathering armies roseabove the horizon and settled hazily in anoverarching canopy.

To Upaplavya came the Yadava

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warrior Satyaki with his war-horses andfootmen. Viratas army was marshalled intobattle order and the old king was joined byhis son Uttara, who had now outgrown fearand had blossomed into a warrior.Druapadas preferred help wasmaterlialising, and his men were drawn intobattle-order by the warlike Dhrishtadyumnaand Shikhandi. The sons of Draupadi werepresent by the side of their uncles.Abhimanyu was there with his half-brothers,twanging his bowstring and sharpening his

arrows. Ghatotkacha had come with hisarmy of swarthy demons on the summonsof his father. Among the other kings andprinces who came to the assistance of thePandavas was Kuntibhoja, now old andfeeble but ready for action. The compositemight of the Pandava army added up to atotal of seven akshauhinis or warlikecohorts.

For all his sin and disrepute, the armyof Duryodhana was numerically superiorand eleven akshauhinis came to his

assistance. His own loyal brothers andShakuni and friend Karna were by his side,as also the four elders at court -- Bheeshma,Drona, Kripa and Ashwatthama. The saintlyVidura refrained from taking sides, andwould not assist his sinful nephews in battle.Susharma and all his brothers and followerscame with the vast Trigarta army on theirtrail . Then came Narakasuras sonBhagadatta with a mighty army of swarthyelephants. Jayadratha brought the immensearmy of Sindhu to help his brother-in-law.There was Bhurishravas, who was relatedto Dhritarashtra as a cousin, and he was anunrivlled swordsman. He could thrust arapier through any shield, and fenceunconquerably with any foe. One of hisancestors ruled a petty principality on thefrontiers of north-western India, and hadblood-ties with the Kurus. The Bhurishravashad a grudge against Satyakis family, and

this lifelong vendetta fired his valour and thirstfor revenge. Shalya came to redeem hispromise, and steeled his will to face hisnephews in battle. And there wasKritavarma, the Yadava prince who hadchosen to side with the Kurus. Krishna kepthis word and sent his hardy Narayanas to

join ranks with Duryodhana. Barring ahandful of peaceloving kings, almost all thewarlike kingdoms of ancient Indiaparticipated in this cataclysmic tussle.

Drupadas family priest reached the

portals of Hasthinapura and was welcomedby the Kuru elders. Addressing Dhritarashtrain the council-hall he said The kingdom ofKuru is the patrimony of both Yudhishthiraand Duryodhana, as Pandu was the son ofthe then ruling monarch Vichitraveerya asmuch as you are. The years of banishmenthave been spent, and honouring youragreement you must now return the fertileprovince of Indraprastha to the Pandavas.

Karna glowered at the ambassador andinterrupted rudely Arjuna was discovered

by us before the stipulated period ofincognito was spent. The Pandavas andDraupadi must return to the woods foranother span of twelve years, as per thewager of the dice-game.

Bheeshma retorted with righteousvehemence Our astronomers postulate thatthe period of concealment ended beforeArjuna exposed himself, according to boththe solar and lunar calendars. My calculationshave been corroborated by theirreckonings....

I saw how well you managed to fight inViratas country. Did you defeat Chitrasenain combat and rescue our prince? Yearsback, you were vanquished by Arjuna in themelee that followed Draupadis brides-choice festival. Your skill is not even aninfinitesimal speck of Arjunas prowess!Dhritarashtra made peace among his courtiersand turned to Drupadas emissary I will

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deliberate upon this issue and soon sendSanjaya to negotiate with the Pandavas.

It was not long before Dhritarashtrascharioteer and counsellor Sanjaya reachedUpaplavya as a messenger of peace.Virata and Drupada were seated to hearthe message and some of the other principalallies of the Pandavas were also present.Surrounding their statesman Krishna thePandavas sat, and the illustrious princessDraupadi had also ventured to hear theenvoy speak.

Sanjaya spoke to Yudhishthira first Icome as a harbinger of peace.Dhritarashtra wants you to eschew allthoughts of war and think of establishingpeace.

Yudhishthira was startled on hearingthe introductory message and perceptivelyguessed what would follow My crookeduncle accuses me of provoking a combat!It is he who has kept alive the embers of

jealousy glowing in Duryodhanas psyche.Who does not know of his avarice that was

expressed go leefully at every throw of thefatal dice? He so happy when we lost allour possessions....

Only an accursed fool will plunge intocombat when he can get his due by peacefulmeasures. If our share of the ancestralkingdom is given to us there will be no war.

Sanjaya continued to deliver thedoting kings message that was warped byavarice But the stubborn Duryodhana willnever return your patrimony that he hasseized so greedily. Why not go back to

the woods or live as a dependant of yourmarital-relations like the Yadavas? Will aconquest built upon the corpses of yourkinsmen and elders give you any pleasure--- even more so as you are so peace-loving and righteous? Life is evanescentand as fickle as a bursting bubble. Howlong will you enjoy a kingdom gained by adevastating debacle?

Yudhishthira was stunned by thecallousness of his blind uncle who wastwisting morality so pervertedly to suit hismaterialistic ends. He turned dumbfoundedon Krishna, who replied to Sanjaya, I willMyself come as an ambassador toHasthinapura and try for an honourableconciliation. Any war is mutually destructiveand we want to avert the destruction of anancient clan. I even wish that these evildesperadoes be spared the punishment ofdeath.

Arjuna did not like this conciliatorymessage and asked Sanjaya to warn hisopponents that they would fall like swarmsof moths before a searing conflagration.

Yudhishthira was seized byconsternation at Arjunas threat and madeone last effort to crack a settlement TellDuryodhana to give me five cities -- onefor each of us -- and a war can still beaverted. I want the townships ofVaranavata, Jayanta, Indraprastha,Vrikaprastha and Makandi. If these five

setlements are bestowed on us, we will callof the war.Yudhishthira asked Sanjaya to inspect

the might of the army he had collected andedescribe the same to the headstrongDuryodhana when he went back.

The righteous Sanjaya returned to thepresence of his blind master and censuredhim severely for making him carry a callousmessage. He said that he would deliverYudhisthiras reply in the open court on themorrow, and retired for the night.

The night was dark and gloomy andold king was shifting uneasily in his bed.Growing more pensive with the advance ofnight he desperately called for Vidura.

Vidura, my mind is one harrowingbundle of despair. Can I ever get somesleep?

You are stricken by avarice andgreed, and hence this fear has

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overwhelmed you. Even now, if you repent

for your past misdeeds and resolve torestore his land to the guileless Yudhishthira,you will certainly get sleep.

But my sleeplessness dates furtherback! Is my sons avarice the real causefor it?

Yes, your restlessness dates to an erafurther back in time -- when Yudhishthiracame with his brothers and Kunti from thehundred-peaked hill Shatashringa. The verythought of sharing your land with the sonsof your dead brother made you pensiveand restless. Why, even years before thisincident occurred you had lost your sleep--- when Duryodhana was born and severalill-omens were seen you called me andquestioned me whether Pandus eldest sonwould take precedence in claiming thethrone!

Vidura gave a long discourse on theduties and responsibilities of a good rulerand on the established norms of goodconduct. He gave didactic sermons and

described several interesting allegories,hoping to instil some sense in the warpedand clouded intellect of the misguided king.He spoke about the four measures to beadopted by kings in chronologicalsuccession while dealing with foes--peace,the giving of gifts to appease the contenderand for preventing ruin, sowing discord inthe enemuy ranks to destabilise them, andlastly force. He expatiated on the nature oftreaties and wars and several otherconcerns of real-politik. Some of these

sermons have machiavellian undertones, butthese are present pandemically in the entireroyal-lore of the Mahabharata! Moreimportant than these schemes are Vidurasexpositions on morality, and these are moreconventional and universal in theirapplication. The real core of Viduraspreachings lie in these treatises on ethics.

Changing over from real-politik to

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ethics and from ethics to metaphysics, Vidura

said the human body has nine doors oropenings and three pillars that support itsstructure. There are five witnesses watchingover the fate of this structure. The nine doorsare the sense-organs like the eyes, ears,nostrils and mouth through which the objectsof the phenomenal world are perceived. Thethree supporting pillars of the body are themind, intellect and ego. The sense-impressions gathered from the nine doors areprocessed by the mind. The intellect acts asthe faculty of discrimination, analysing theworkings of the mind and rationalising on itschoices. The ego is the substratum uponwhich al these activities are superimposed.The five witnesses that sustain these activitiesare the five vital-airs and when these departfrom the body the person is said to be dead.This death is, however, only one transitoryphase in the eternal flux of life, for the deathof the physical body is survived by the mind,intellect and ego....

The human body can be allegorically

likened to a chariot, and the soul is thephenomenal cosmos. The horses are similar


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to the senses that are forever attracted by

these objecs and in eternal pursuit of them.The intellect is the charioteer and the reinshe uses to control the bolting horses is themind. When the intellect properly directsthe functioning of the mind the horsesharnessed to the chariot are bridled and treadone continuous, straight path. The travelleror the self then reaches his final destination,beatitude....

A dead person is cast away into thefuneral pyre with piteous mourns and

harrowing lamentions. With hair dishevelledand clothes all awry, his kith and kin weepfor him for a while. Very soon they returnback and his very presence is forgotten. Thebody which he nourished and identified withis reduced to cinders. However, he stilllives on -- and he is kept company by hisown ambivalent deeds, sinful and righteous.Therefore should a person constantlyendeavour to practise the nuances of virtue-- this keeps company to the subtle-bodythat survives physical death, and transports

him to better celestial realms....Speak on, O wise Vidura! mutteredDhritarashtra in his mental agony Yourwords are like ambrosia showered on adying man to revive him. Now, I wish toknow about brahman.

This is the horizon of myunderstanding of eschatology andmetempsychosis. However, the ancient andimmortal sage Sanatsujata, who is forever ayoung youth as a result of his askesis, willspeak more on transmigration and death. I

will try to call him telepathically -- I havehope he will respond to my unspokenrequest.

Vidura meditated on the prsence ofSanatsujata and the clairvoyant ascetic heardthe call of the incarnation of death, the verysame death that he had overpowered yearsago. Sanatsujata materialised in the innerchambers of the king and greeted the

personification of death and morality who had

summoned him. Vidura spoke about thedesire of the king to gain knowledge of theunsolved mysteries of life and death, andSanatsujatas long discourse is a classic texton the problem of existence. The medievalcommentator and philosopherShankaracharya systematised theseteachings in his glosses and purports and hashailed this passage, traditionally known asthe Sanatsujatiya, as being on par with theBhagavad Geeta.

Sanatsujata begins with an account ofhow he made his physical body immortal andever-youthful. However, even this state canexist only for one cycle of creation. Duringthe cosmic deluge the five elements thatconstitute the physical body are withdrawnback to their source, and the body has tofall. This relative immortality is acquired bypractisingbrahmacharyaand eschewing thesatiation of all desires -- however petty theymight be. This science is the crux of the pathof psychic-control and mystic-meditation

that Patanjali systematised in his Yoga Sutrasyears later. Celibacy and the lack of desiresare the substructure upon which the entirearchitectonic of psychic-control isconstructed. Just as death overpowers thebody is not caused by the demigod Yamawho presides over thepithris or departedancestors, but by the presence of desire thatspawns a whole array of negative psychic-currents -- greed, anger, envy and untruth.Yama merely metes out justice in the form ofdeath when these negative psychic-currents

manifest themselves.However, such physical immortality

cannot last forever and the aspirant after truthpasses on to celestial worlds after the cosmicdeluge. Interestingly, these celestial worldsare themselves impermanent and aredissolved during the celestial deluge! Eventhe subtle-body composed of the mind,intellect and ego falls and disintegrates then.


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Starting from the creator Brahma down to ablade of grass on mundane earth, allcreatures and worlds are transient andfleeting. Brahma lives only for a hundredaeons or celestial years and loses hisindividual personality or the ego after the finalarmageddon.

But where does this transmigrationend? asked Dhritarashtra querulously Isthere any imperishable noumenon beyondall these fleeting phenomena?

The search for Truth ends in an

absorption inbrahman. replied SanatsujataAnd this brahman can be cognised bypractising true silence or mental quietude.When the meditational practise progressesinternally, the locus of individualconsciousness is shifted from the gross bodyor visible cosmos to the subtle body orcelestial cosmos. Proceeding further, oneidentifies oneself with the causal body or theabode of the ego. When even the notion ofthis individual personality is sublimated, thepresence ofbrahman is realised.....

Brahman is the invisible substratumbehind the fleeting projections that take onthe form of visible galaxies. He isincomprehensible and too great to delineatedanthropomorphically. The four Vedas andeven their appendages--the Upanishads thatspeculate on the ultimate reality -- cannotportray his real nature in gross language. Heis a presence that can only be realised!

Sanatsujata disappeared asmysteriously as he came, and the old kingwas transformed neither by the ethics ofVidura nor by the metaphysics ofSanatsujata.

When the morning horizon was suffusedwith the ruddy splendour of the rising sun,the Kuru nobles and courtiers entered thecouncil-hall to hear Sanjaya speak.

At the old kings command Sanjayanarrated the message of Yudhishthira and hisrequest for obtaining five cities in order to

avert a war. He blamed the king more thanhis adamant son as the cause of all impendingruin, even as Yudhishthira had done so to him.Duryodhana, for all his sins, was a stout fighterand hoped to meet his foes in battle. But thecrooked king hoped to avert a catastropheeven without parting with a penny of hisfraudulent gain. Thus admonished severelyin the presence of all his courtiers by a merecharioteer, remorse overtook Dhritarashtraand he pleaded with his son to part with hisill-gotten gain. Duryodhana mocked

hilariously at Yudhishthiras message andadded that he was begging for five townshipsin fear of his numerically superior army.

Yudhishthira is no fool to mention thenames of the cities he wants! interposedVidura He is highly sarcastic and his requestis almost ironical. No seasoned statesmanwill expect an enemy to bestow on him fivetowns scattered all over the kingdom. Willan enemy brook the presence of his rival inisolated pockets all over his place?

(to be continued.)


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The real Acharya and our DutySri Kirtanananda Brahmachari

As truly said in the Bhagavata, onemust, in order to know and realise theAbsolute Truth, first of all serve and worshipthe Holy Feet of the real and True Master(Sat Guru).

To truly worship His Lotus Feet, onemust be nearest of Them, and to be nearestis to transcend Maya, or all mundaneexistence. This is a condition which isabsoultely indispensable, but most difficultof fulfilment for fallen beings. For the RealMaster ever lives by the inscrutable Will andPower of Personal Godhead in theTranscendental Region of Eternal Existence,knowledge and Bliss, althoughsimultaneously He seems or appears, in ourmaterialised perception, to live and movein this phenomenal world of ours as amortal man in material form. This is due to

the misfortune of fallen souls embodied inmatter when their spiritual form withspiritual senses lies hidden by their finer andgrosser material forms. As they transcendmatter and discover their spiritual eternalforms, their true perception and rightworship of the true master with theirspiritual senses, -- and through Him that ofGodhead, -- commences. People in theirfallen and ignorant state cannot properlyunderstand and realise this transcendentalcharacter of the Vaishnava-Acharya -- the

Nearest and Dearest Constant Servant ofthe Supreme Absolute Lord Sri Krishna thePersonal God-head, and His Messenger,Preacher and Messiah in this world for thetime. Does not then the worship of peoplefettered by Maya reach the Holy Feet ofSat Guru? Yes, surely there is hope forthem, and that a most encouraging one. Forthe Sat Guru comes down for them, and in

His unbounded mercy He does accept theirworship, however low and imperfect andby His most gracious acceptance He purifiesand makes it perfect, -- only when they quitesincerely seek after and take refuge in theHoly Feet of the Acharya and completelysurrender themselves to His mercy.

Full resignation again is a thing most

difficult and inconceivable to people, worldlyignorant and wiseacres alike. For, in mattersspiritual, they are both equally ignorant.They, in their empirical wisdom, are apt toreason that such surrender is nothing butfoolish slavery and therefore self-strangulation! To submit to the absolutemercy and control of a Guru, another humanbeing (?), is but to impede all freedom, andhamper all onward progress of a man: it isthe lowest depth of degradation and is

nothing short and living death, At the illusionor Maya! Ah! the darkness of ignorance!!Here lies the crux of the whole thing. Hereis the question to live or to die. This is howMaya or Nescience wages her eternal waragainst transcendental knowledge. But theMessiah of Harmony i.e. Sat Guru evercomes down when the world needs Himmost, and He always comes down in thehour of its extreme need, to save, lift andredeem the fallen people from the clutchesof pedantic Ignorance, and to announce

most emphatically once again to the worldthe Message of the Eternal Absolute Truth,--- That Maya or Illusive Power ofGodhead is insurmountable by men bythemselves; it is only when they take shelterin the Eternal and Transcendental Feet ofGodhead that they can overcome her. Thatthe question of submitting or not to anAcharya that confronts a man is but the


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acid-test put byMaya to test the sincerity

or otherwise of the man under her controlwho wants to free himself from her bondageto return back to his Eternal Home, and tolive the eternal life to unalloyed bliss. Thatsubmission to a Guru orAcharya is nosuicide, -- it is but seeking to live a true andeternal life free from all misery, and full ofpermanent and ever-increasingtranscendental Joy-in-Service.

Without submission to Histranscendental light and guide, and without

His assistance, how else can one dispel thegloom and travel the way? Even in this finitematerial world within the reach of theirsenses, people can hardly learn anythingwithout any help of some sort or other fromanother, and yet how much little they knowof the vast Nature! To think and to say thatone can make his way, independently of anyextraneous help, from matter to spirit, fromthis finite mortal to the infinite immortal regionbeyond the range of the material senses, andcan know and perceive Godhead Who is

the Discloser and Protector of the InfiniteUniverse, is certainly preposterous andsheer arrogance.

It is only the exceptionally fortunate thatrealise the necessity of approaching ortaking initiation from the Sat Guru andbelieve in His spiritual character. But thisfortune is not the one of piling up riches andof beastly enjoyment in the material world.It is the fortune of sincere belief and reliancein Personal God-head and His dear

Devotees, -- in the Supreme Lord Vishnuand the Vaishnavas, -- a fortune earned bytruly selfless and devotion-inspiring deedsin the past. In short, it is a fortune of truetheism or belief, -- a rare treasure in thisworld where atheism in deluding garbs ofall descriprions boldly treads all over.

ButAcharya comes down to free theworld from this all-devouring atheism which

o u t

is nothing but a trap beautifully and

temptingly spread out byMaya to catch theunwary, and the pseudo-theistic masters andservants. He declares and preaches mostassuredly and emphatically that theismproper consists of the belief in the AbsoluteSupremacy of Krishna, the ConcretePersonal Absolue God-head, His Eternal andSpiritual Name, Form, Qualities andPastimes -- all identical One Whole, as quitedifferent from and opposed to materialnames, forms, qualities and actions and this

world, which are different from one another,as well as of the complete submission andunconditional selfless service to God-headthrough perfect and implicit obedience to theGuru or Acharya Who is the TrustedRepresentative of the Supreme God-headon the earth. And again lip-deep belief is nobelief: it must be a living faith inspiring andmoulding the whole life and all actions of thebeliever. Anything falling short of thisstandard in whatsoever degree will be amixed thing and no true belief.

To be a master and to enjoy the worldi.e., to be served and not to serve, inwhatever way it may be, is atheism pure andsimple. To serve and not to be served is inthe very constitution of ajiva, and it is whenhe forgets his real nature that he proceedsto usurp the function of a proprietor andenjoyer of the world. In other words, hethen becomes a master of the world or playsthe role of Lord Krishna and tries to enjoythe world by means of his senses in all

possible ways. But the world as well as heis, in substance, God-heads possessions orproperties and a possession or property ofHis has certainly no right to claim and enjoyit as his own. And yet enjoyment is not hislot. In his fancied enjoyment he onlybecomes an all-bound slave of the world of

Maya.

14

(to be contd..)


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Shri Krishna TattvaSri Rakhal Chandra Ghosh

According to all authorities Sri KrishnaTattva is absolute cognitive Principleunlimited by anything else. From His verynature, therefore, He is unattainable by ourintellectual faculties as they are at presentconstituted. Human knowledge is basedupon limiting relativity and cannot conceiveof the Absolute who includes both and isunlimited by time and space; and this willbe more apparent if we take into accountthe following considerations.

Human mind according to the scripturaldoctrine of transcendental psychology itselffalls into the category of material objects.It is not luminous in itself but gets light fromthe soul and appears to us as somethingdifferent in nature from material objectswhich it takes cognizance of. But how doesthis cognition take place? Just as the moongetting light from the sun which, let it be

acknowledged, is self-luminous, transmitsthe same to other objects, so the mind whichis a very fine material organ enlightens otherwith external objects and perceive them asseparate entities.

The above explanation will tend toremove the difficulty which at one timeappeared to be almost insurmountable, viz.,how the mind communicates with matter.Like only knows its like and there beingcategorically no similarity between mind andmatter it seems to be paradoxical that the

one should know the other andcommunication between them be at allpossible. Mind is not really different in itsnature from other physical objects butappears to be so in consequence ofborrowed light which it gets from quite adifferent source. The mind cannot knowanything by itself. Being armed with thispower from the soul it may get into touch

2

with physical objects by means of thegrosser organs which are subservient to themind, and being attached to those materialobjects in such a way that it is impossiblefor the soul to detach himself from themafterwards. Different religious communitiesof the world taking the misapplied humanintellectual faculties for their guide haveattempted to discuss, which they have nocompetence to do about Shri Krishna in theway of uninformed polemics, review etc.

The above is intended to explain thatthe inward light of the soul aberrating throughthe medium of a material object, viz., themind becomes entangled in the objectswhich are unlike him in nature and rationallyenough becomes dissatisfied with them inwhatever profusion and varieties they maybe enjoyed because an object that is of thecategory of the self-conscious can alone fully

commune with his fellow. All our externalperception is conditioned by this unnaturaldualism. The mind intercepting anddistorting leads the soul to the light of thesoul consider himself as something akin tothe objects of which he takes cognizanceand in this unnatural position thinks that heis the creator of such knowledge.

If, therefore, we persist in making useof this imperfect instrument it will be quiteinefficient to take us to absolute knowledge.We shall always find ourselves surrounded

by the wall of our own mental perceptionswhich originate from the above mesallianceand canot even get a glimpse of absoluteknowledge, Shri Krishna, the ultimate andfinal Cause of every-thing. There arevarious religious sects in India who havingattempted to ascertain absolute knowledgewith the help of their imperfect intellectualfaculties, have inevitably gone astry, arriving

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at altogether erroneous conclusions.Srimad Bhagavatam which gives the

unambiguous exposition of the Vedanta, thehighest authority in transcendentalPhilosophy, describes this ultimate Principleas One to Whom even the greatestmisguided intellectual giants have no access.

The same authority teaches us that ShriKrishna Tattva is beyond our sensuousexperience and is not an object of threedimensions. We are capable of conceivingwith our present intellectual faculties things

up to the third dimension only. But VishnuTattva is a thing that contains everythingfrom the fourth to infinite dimensions and ShriKrishna Tattva appears as the crowningpoint of Vishnu Tattva. It follows, therefore,that it is utterly impossible for us to conceiveof Shri Krishna Tattva like Whom or greaterthan Whom there is no other principle.Human intellect by its own unaided exertioncannot get even a glimpse of this ultimatePrinciple unless Shri Krishna Himself makesHim known to fractional beings like

ourselves making the inconceivable possible.This raises an important question. How

is it possible for finite minds to communewith the infinite and absolute Principle? Theprocedure described in Hindu philosophyand scriptural literature may be thus stated:

The ultimate principle, as Integer, at firstreveals Himself to some fortunate fractionalanimations and favours them with the powerof transmitting the same to other fractionalbeings and it this way through the chain of

spiritual mediums or preceptors and theirdisciples the knowledge has come down tothe present age. The disciple hears theteaching from the preceptor who can makethe disciple realise the same by the grace ofShri Krishna and in this way the knowledgeof the ultimate Principle is obtained. It isevident, therefore, that the first act ofrevelation came through the grace of theultimate Principle and the same grace has

ever been flowing through the spiritual

channel. If any body, however powerful hemay be in intellectual equipment, attemptsto get at the absolute knowledgeindependently of this grace through his ownexertion all his efforts will end in failure,because by the very constitution of thematerial human intellect the soul will see in itsmirror nothing but a distorted reflection andany attempt to break through the bondageof this abortive knowledge by means of suchprocess will prove utterly hopeless.

It has been noticed above that the firstrevelation comes to some uncommonlyfortunate person who in his turn favours thosewhom he is led by this light to consider asdeserving.

This is the case when the power ofgrace chooses to flow through the channelof spiritual preceptor. But it must beremembered that the same ultimate Principleis not bound by any law except His own will.He is quite independent and can act as Hepleases. He can come down directly to this

gross material world. Even then, whileappearing and acting like misguided beings,He is not affected by the infirmities that arereal in their case. The apostate beings cannotthrough their own exertion get themselvesemancipated from this world of ignoranceand the grace which flows through thepreceptorial channel as described aboverefrains from bestowing general emancipation.It is under these circumstatnces that theultimate Principle Himself descends to thisworld to bestow the general grace upon all

misguided beings. The ordinary channel ofgrace overflows its banks and the wholeworld becomes deluged, as it were, with theflood of grace and the consideration ofdeserving or undeserving, rich or poor,versed in learning or illiterate, vanishesaltogether and general emancipation followsas a matter of course.

(to be contd..)


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All the Scriptures such as Shruti,Smritis, Puranas etc. sing throught-out theglory of the service of Acharya, the truepreceptor. It is no vain laudation with anyulterior motive, but it is their sinceredeclaration out of infinite mercy for poorcreatures of the world in bondage. For the

service of the true preceptor is really theonly means without any alternativewhatsoever for a creature in the state ofbondage for getting rid of the evilsconsequent on embracing Maya andregaining the service of Godhead Absolute,Krishna, which is the very essence of thereal life of an individual soul or Jiva. Thescriptures declare the Acharya as associatedcounterpart of Godhead, or the GodheadHimself in the form of the subject class

(E \oy) and as such is no other thanthe Divinity Himself. The Acharya descendsto the mudane plane in the form of theperfect servant of Godhead with the missionof reminding the fetteredjivasouls of theirabsolute freedom in the blissfultranscendental home and making the sameavailable to them by the eternal service ofGodhead. By surrendering to this servingassociated counterpart of the Godhead a

jiva can attain to the subjective Godhead.

By constant service of thetranscendental teacher, all ignorance ofthe mind of an enthralled souldisappears, the mirror of his heartbecomes purged of all dross and thenonly in his chastened heart dawnsspontaneously the transcendentalknowledge of the Brahman, capable ofyielding the highest good.

But strangely enough ajiva would

The Service of the Transcendental PreceptorProf. J.M.Ghosh

c

never care for, nor can come within therange of a good preceptor so long ashis desire for sensuous enjoymentcontinues strong. The Scripture says, ----

A brahmin after having enjoyed theworlds earned by his meritorious deeds andrealised their worthlessness should have a

feeling of disgust at such deeds, as the(transcendental) world which is not areward of virtuous acts, is never attainableby them.

Then such a disgusted brahminshould, with the purpose of knowing theabsolute Truth, completely surrender himselfin a serving mood to the Acharya who is amaster of the scriptures and is also firmlydevoted to Brahman, the AbsoluteGodhead.

It is further said in the Sruti, ---These words (with regard totranscendental truths) reveal themselves(i.e. their true import) to the high-souled onewho has as much superior devotion to thetrue preceptor as to the Supreme Godhead.

Accordingly Srila Kaviraj Goswamisays in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, --- Asone serves Krishna and the Guru, thebondage of Maya goes off and one gainsthe Feet of Krsihna.

All these quotations unanimously pointto the one paramount truth that one seriouslyintent upon getting the eternal unalloyedservice of the God-head must have to learnand practise it by submission to the guidanceof the true preceptor and by serving him aswell, and that there is no other way. Thetrue preceptor gradually drives off all earthlydesires of elevation (i.e., superior


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enjoyments in higher worlds in future births)and salvation (i.e., identification with andultimate merging of the individual soul inBrahman) from the mind of the surrenderingdisciple, instils in him a hankering for reallyunselfish service of the Absolute Godheadand teaches him how to serve Him. Butsuch a relation between the preceptor andthe disciple, and the teaching of the pureservice of Godhead are quite out of questionwhere the teacher and the taughtconsciously or unconsciously exploit eachother for self-gratification. In such a casethere is really no submission to guru and sono service of him, nor any teaching of theservice of Godhead. The teacher in seekingthe gratification of his own senses cannotseek the pleasure of the senses of theAbsolute Enjoyer, Krishna, and totallyforgets this supreme duty and loses eventhe capacity for understanding the truenature of the service of God-head. Suchhas been the miserable lot of the class ofprofessional pseudo gurus and ofunprofessionals too who pose themselvesas saviours of the people who are generallycredulous and ignorant in respect of mattersspiritual. The relation of preceptor anddisciple of this class is only a royal road toeternal perdition, whereas the sincereservice of the true transcendental preceptoris the high way to the transcendental realmof eternal bliss. For the true preceptor isperpetually and firmly established in theconstant service of Godhead, and so hecannot but engage the disciple too in suchservice. As the true preceptor has indeed,no other task for a single moment than theservice of God, he can find out none butsuch service for his disciple too. Hence theservice of the Sat-Guru is simultaneouslythe service of Guru and the servie of God.

And this is the best, surest, most natural andsimplest of means. Nay, this is the onlymeans, and there is no other, for beingreinstated in the truly spiritual life.

Seekers of spiritual truth are certainlyacquainted with the name of the greatVaishnava Acharya Sree Ramanuja whosaved the world from the clutches ofMayavada of Sree Shankara and Karmavadaof the Smartas, and preached instead thesweetness of the service of Godhead by thedevotee. Once he set out for Mount Sree inthe company of his pupils and proceeded onhis way with loud singing of the Name ofHari. In two or three days they came to avillage where two disciples of Ramanuja hadtheir home. One of them, Yajnesha was veryrich, and the other Varadacharya happenedto be very poor. Sri Ramanuja sent inadvance two of his disciples to informYajnesha of their coming.

(to be contd...)

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Questions and AnswersSri Gopal Das

(Contd. from March s issue)Q. When will one take to the spiritual

path ?A. Only when one comes to know

that he is a part and parcel of God and thathe is now separated from God, will hefindout ways and means to go back to Him.

Q. Is death an unhappy event ?A. Not at all. One is very happy whenhe gets a new set of clothes to wear.Similarly one who has identified himself withthe soul enters a new body full of energyafter death, to carry on his journey to Godskingdom. Unfortunately death is the mostfearful thing for the worldly person.

Q. Who can set God Realisation ?A. Only about 0.01% of the worlds

population are wanting to know the truth

and purpose of life. About 50% of thepeople who want to know the purpose oflife and live up to it, do not get a Guru toproceed further. Out of the remaining 50%,who get a Guru, 50% are not able to liveup their Gurus expectation and so they arenot able to proceed further. Of the remainingdisciples who follow their Gurus instructionsfaithfuly, only those who are really mad afterGod get God Realisation. This should notdiscourage anyone from taking the spiritualpath. God expects everyone to come to

Him after getting the human birth. So atleast try to be one among the creamy layerof mankind, so that God will be pleased toknow that you have made a serious attemptto know the purpose of life and live up to it.Please note. Those who live identifyingthemselves with the perishable body and donot live upto Gods expectations, will takebirth only in the lower species after death.So one should take the earliest opportunity,

from this very moment to transform onesself and live up to Gods expectations.

Q. Is man working to his full potential?A. No man who identifies himself with

the perishable body can work to his fullpotential. First of all he is only engagedwith the cover and not the essencethroughout his life. That itself is a huge

drawback. He proves unworthy of thehuman birth. Then as Bhakta PrahladMaharaj has said the average man spendshalf his age in sleeping, so even the bestbusinessmen, top executives of any country,best engineers and best doctors are onlyusing a minute portion of the potentialavailable with them. Why do they notidentify themselves with the dynamic soulthe essence and driving force in the bodywhich is always awake every moment oftheir lives? Only an ardent and sincere

devotee of the Lord, who is mad after theSupreme Being, the cause of all causes, canclaim to be working almost to the fullpotential available with him.

Q. How could a lady be called abeauty queen?

A. How could a lady be called abeauty queen when she is practically bodydeep in ugliness and only skin deep inbeatitude? The skin hides the mass ofugliness beneath the skin and the ignorant

man falls a prey, being deceived by theskin. What a pity?Q. Who is fit to be called a beauty

queen?A. Only a lady of explicit character

could be called a beauty queen.Q. How should a human being live?A. Simple living and high thinking is

what one should adopt in his life and not


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KYygvsswq e a fgszxaAvfkc f a*tewq

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high living and low thinking.

Q. The worldly person is trying to gethappiness from what sort of objects?

A. The worldly person who is ebbingwith life is trying to get happiness fromobjects which have no life in them. Howcan one get real happiness from things whichhave no life in them? The following objectshave no life in them, eatables, drinks, dress,money, jewellery, foot wear, moveableproperty, landed property, machines andvarious kinds of transport etc. Even the

human body has no life in it, it is inert matter,and the human being wants to get happinessfrom it. What a pity? It is the soul whichinfuses life in the human body, consisting oflifeless flesh etc.

Q. By trying to get happiness fromlifeless objects, what does he become?

A. He is having life in the form of thesoul in the body and he having life becomesa slave to things which have no life in them.How foolish? The worldly person is madafter such lifeless objects. This purpose of

life is only to enjoy those objects andnothing more. Those lifeless objects shouldbe used only as a means to live. Do notbecome a slave to those lifeless objects.

Q. From where can he get realhappiness?

A. The human being can get realhappiness by identifying himself with thesoul, the driving force in the body and mixingwith devotees of God, who all identifythemselves with the soul. Those who

identify themselves with the soul, the lifegiving force in the body are alwaysconcerned with the life giving force in allsentient and insentient objects in the world.Their energies are not wasted in enjoyingthe objects of the world. Their energiesare conserved and vitalised more and moreby utilising the objects of the world in theservice of their beloved Lord.

Q. What happens to the human being

as day by day passes by?

A. As each and every day passes by,he or she is getting nearer and nearer todeath. So he or she must make the best useof the time, because a moment gone is gonefor ever, it will not come back to you.

Q. The worldly people go to Templesfor what purpose?

A. They go to temples to ask favoursfrom God. They expect God to serve themto lead a happy worldly life.

Q. Why does a devotee go to temple?

A. A devotee goes to the temple toserve God. He goes to chant His Namesand glorify Him, and hear about His Lilas.He is happy to do some service in the templeto please the Lord.

Q. What happens when wealth is lost?A. When wealth is lost nothing is lost,

because one day you may lose wealth andnext day you may gain wealth.

Q. What happens when health is lost?A. When health is lost some thing is

lost, because you are not able to carry outyour daily duties in life.

Q. What happens when character islost?

A. When character is lost everything islost because only a man of character can besuccessful in any job he is asked to do. Hewill be a master of circumstances and not aslave to circumstances.

Q. Has not every creation of God aright to live?

A. Every creation of God has everyright to live, because they are made to live.No one has the right to kill another creationof God, just for pleasure and sensegratification.

Q

(to be contd.)

The real object of education isto know oneself and also toknow the ultimate Reality.


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y y T T{W{ \o:

SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITAyTyo

uoyzD: CHAPTER-II

PzT:SMKHYA YOGA

bybette th

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(Contd. from March issue)

He (devotee), who has engaged his

senses in the service of Blissfultranscendental Lord, active and awake inthat spiritual knowledge of his ownself andof Godhead which is dark as night to allworldly minded people. To a saint (ordevotee) who has realised his ownself (aseternal servitor) and Godhead thatworldliness in which all beings are awake(are waltering in the foul sink of worldlinessand hankering after their own selfish endsare enthralled by my and are subject to

mundane relativities) is dark as night. 69

Person with well-balanced wisdomnot affected when accepts the senseobjects.

E|mYuoe -t: uuo to @otnN uuo z|

uozuo NNy @@70@@puryamnamachalapratishtham-samudrampah pravishanti yadvat |tadvatkm yam pravishanti sarvesa shntimpnoti na kmakmee || 70

to= Just as , E: = rivers,uuo= flow into,t: =the ocean,E|m

= which always remains full,uoe = andremains, EY = undisturbed (rivers byentering into sea cannot create any swell of

water in it, or if rivers do not flow in doesnot dry also), oto= similarly, : = he(the self-controlled devotee),z| = (evenwhen) all,N: = desires,uuo = enter, = him, Ezuo = (he) gets, uo =tranquility (cannot be disturbed by thedesires), = and not,NNy = one whois a slave of passions.

Just as rivers flow into the ocean whichalways remains full and remains undisturbed(rivers by entering into sea cannot create any

swell of water in it, or if rivers do not flow indoes not dry also); similarly he (the self-controlled devotee) even when all desiresenter him he gets tranquility (cannot bedisturbed by the desires). And not one whois a slave of passions. 70

u N: |Yuo u:w: @u|z uWN: uouTXZuo @@71@@

Vihya kmnyah sarvn pumamshcharati nihsprihah |nirmamo nirahmkrahsa shntimadhigacchati || 71

: = only he who,u = givingup,| = all, N= desires, Yuo =moves about,uw: =who is indifferent tomundane affinities,u|:= without the sense u n

f f

T


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and te

o

ea

of possession,uN: = and who hasshaken off egoism,: = he, EuTXZuo =attains, uo= Bliss.

Only he who giving up all desiresmoves about, who is indifferent to mundaneaffinities, without the sense of possessionand who has shaken off egoism, (he) attainsBliss. 71

L y usuo: s|{ uuo @usnoN{Duu|mwXZuo @@72@@

Esh brhmee sthitih prthanainm prpya vimuhyati |sthitvsymantakleapibrahmanirvnamricchati || 72

s|= O Arjuna (son of Pritha--Kunti),L = this, usuo: = is the eternal state,

y= of realisation of the Blissful

Supreme Lord, = attaining, L= thisstate, uuo = one does not get

deluded. usn = Having realised, E=this,EoN oz Eu = even at the time of death,J XZuo = (one) attains,u|m= the Blissful, = Transcendental Lord.

O Arjuna (son of Pritha--Kunti), this isthe eternal state of realisation of the BlissfulSupreme Lord. Attaining this state one doesnot get deluded. Having realsied this evenat the time of death one attains the BlissfulTranscendental Lord. 72

Conutuo ytTtTyounut zTfiz

yNwm\|tz WPzTz utoyzD: @@2@@

Aum tatsaditi Srimadbhagavadgeetsu-upanishatsu brahmavidyym

yogashastre Sri Krishnrjuna samvdesmkhya-yogonma dviteeyoadhyyah ||

Here ends the 2nd Chapter titledSmkhya Yoga for the pleasure of

devotees, following the Acharyascommentaries.

22

a h u

(Cont. in page 24)

ufioyzD: CHAPTER-IIIN|zT:KARMA YOGA

Arjunas query

E\| GY[y YznN|moz o ut\|t| @

ounN N|um Vzz uz\u Nz @@1@@Arjuna uvcha Jyyasee chetkarmanastemat buddhirjanrdana |tatkim karmani ghore mmniyojayasi Keshava || 1

E\| GY= Arjuna said,\t| =Krishna (Tormentor of His Own men by His

Own My / one who is the object of entreatyfor those desiring their ultimate benefit),Nz= Keshava (Controller of Brahma and Shiva),

Yzo= if,ut:= unmixed pure intelligence ofloving devotion,o= is considered,oz= byyou,[y = as superior,N|m: = to action(filled with triple gunas),oo= then,uN = why,uz\u= do you engage,= me,Vzz= inthis dreadful,N|um = action?

Arjuna said, O Krishna, Keshava, if


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B

B

e

o

a r

5

24

(Cont. from page 22)

(to be continued)

unmixed pure intellegence of loving devotionis considered by you as superior to action(filled with triple gunas), then why do youengage me in this dreadful action?

Janrdana - Tormentor of His own menby His own my / one who is the object ofEntreaty for those desiring thier ultimatebenefit./ Destryoer of Samsara.

Keshava - Controller of Brahm andShiva. Shiva says to Krishna in Harivamsa-- Ka iti....... nma bhk---- ka

means Brahma, and isha means me, thelord of all embodied beings; both of us arisefrom Your Body. Therefore You are calledKeshava.

You whose instructions cannot betransgressed since you control even Brahmaand Shiva, Keshava, being requested by me,(Arjuna), who desire the ultimate benefit,should clearly tell me what is most beneficial(Janrdana). 1

uzmz Mz ut zy z @otzN t uuYn z zzD @@2@@Vymishreneva vkyenabuddhim mohayaseeva me |tadekam vada nishchitya

yena shreyoahampnuym || 2

zu F = you seems to confuse(which appear to me to be),Mz = withwords,uzm = ambigious (some timespraising about action and some other times

praising jnna),z = my,tu = mind,oo= therefore,t = tell,LN = only one ofthem,z = by which, E = I,uuYn =being sure of what is to be done, E =can attain, z: = Bliss.

You seems to confuse (which appearsto me to be to my limited intelligence) withwords ambiguous (some times praising

about action and some other times praisingknowledge), my mind. Therefore, tell onlyone of them (which is essentially good forme) by which, I being sure of what is to bedone, can attain Bliss. 2

yTYzNzDuutu ue zMo V @rzTz WP N|zTz zuT @@3@@

Sri Bhagavn uvchaLokeasmindvividh nishth

pur prokt maynagha |jnnayogena smkhynmkarmayogena yoginm || 3

yTY = The Blessed Lord said,EV = O sinless one (Arjuna), Eu= inthis,zNz = world,utu = two kinds of,ue = faith or discipline,zMo = have clearlybeen mentioned, = by Me, = before(in previous chapters),rzTz = the pathof knowledge,WP= for the followersof Samkhya-yoga, i.e., pure hearted whodiscriminate between eternal and transiententities,N|zTz = and the path of actionwithout desire, offered to Me,zuT = forthe pure hearted aspirants.

O sinless one (Arjuna)! In this world,two kinds of faith or discipline have clearlybeen mentioned by Me before (in previouschapters) -- the path of knowledge for thefollowers of Samkhya-yoga, i.e., purehearted who discriminate between eternal

and transient entities and the path of actionwithout desire, offered to Me, for the purehearted aspirants. 3

fi TyouYY e e o @ofi uuYo w u uu t{ u @@

-- t m

gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya april 2010

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