gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya july 2010

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

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JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA

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THE

GAUDIYASpiritual Monthly

Vol. LIII JULY 2010 No. 11

MANGALCHARANAM

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O Lord! Though the universe is Your Abode, though SriLakshmi is Your Consort, though Sri Brahma is Your son, so isalso Pradyumna (god of love), though the chiefs of the gods areYour attendants, yet Your Character (in Vraja) is wonderful.

-Sri Leelshuka Bilvamangala

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THE GAUDIYA JULY 2010

Pithy Precepts of Srila PrabhupdEach theme of an

Adhikarana has beenfully dealt with byPanchanga or five-fold positions of thelogical system of meeto p p o s i n g scontroversies. Theaphorisms have beensubjected to the

polemical views ofdifferent philosophical systems which maybe proved to go against the truth of theShrutis; and again the aphorisms aresupported by the Upanishad-Mantrasfollowed by Smritis and reasons offered infavour of the citatory passeges termed asBhashyas and their commentaries byerudite savants.

The leaders of interpretations havegiven us first hand information regarding theclassified subjects, Nyyas or Adhikaranas

briefly treated in the Sutras. Among thoseinterpreters we find contending views andexplanations. Some of them differed fromothers in grouping together the Mantrasunder the same heading of a particularsubject, and sometimes their views werefound palpably varying with one anotherdue to designed observations. They areall liable to contract the fourfold defects ofmisconception, inebriation, organicshortcomings and inclination for deceptionwhich do not permit them to have correctviews.

Aim and Object:-- The aim of theVedanta Philosophy is transcendentalLove of the Absolute, though theAbsolute has not been fully explainedas Akhilarasmrita - Murti(Evermanifested Emporium ofrelational beatitudes); but the subjecttreated in Vedanta will explain that

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Vedanta aims at no other object than thePersonality of the Absolute-undeviatedand unvitiated knowledge. The object ofinculcating the unique philosophy of Vedantacan be traced in the first two chapters ofRelativity and the third chapter ofProcedure to gain the only aim or goal. Theobject can further be traced in reconcilingthe apparently conflicting intellectual hymnsof the Upanishads, all of which tend to the

three-fold aspect of the unity viz., (1) therelative positions of the Absolute, (2) theprocedure of uniting the two positions oflover and the loved, apart from the temporalvitiation, deformities of individuation,interception of non-transparent stumblingblock and from opaque wranglingintransigentism due to our poor incapablesenses, and (3) the incessant beatitude.

The restless nature of mentalspeculation for variegated entities of thistemporal experience through the senses hasdissuaded us from having our final rest inindistinctive and undifferentiatedmanifestation. The erroneous idea ofcornering the Absolute in impersonalism inorder to avoid the miscomprehension ofplurality and temporal position of the objectin our view should not lead us to a zero-making policy to get rid of the numerals.The very project of eliminating the conceptsof the Absolute, though apparently it leadsus to One, will not be satisfied till we banishthe idea Oneness having been troubled bythe numerical reference of dualism in ourestablishment of unity. The impersonalsuggestion of dismissing the Knower wouldend our exploit of discoursing about theAbsolute.

If we are satisfied with having gainedwhat we wanted, that is to float on the watersof Knowledge, there will be no occasion foropening the question again.


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Thus Spake Srila chryadeva

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The Samadhi-bhasha should not bethe basis ofphilosophy. Nocorrect idea can beformed regarding theultimate Reality and thestate of emanicipationfrom experience

Pramana (authority) orthe testimony and experiences of seers andsaintly persons should form the basis ofspiritual knowledge. The Brahma Sutrastarts with the aphorism -- now, therefore,the inquiry about Brahman right throughthere has been an insistence on a rationalapproach to the religious reality. The verySecond Sutra tells us that the SupremeBrhaman is the Cosmic Ruler, the Creator,the Sustainer and Destroyer of the Cosmos.

Srimad Bhagavatam, a commentary onBrahma-Sutra written by Sri Vedavyasahimself, brought into Indian Philosophy theimplications of a new concept of Dharmawhich consists in the service of God, aworship of god without any motive ofdharma, artha, kama or even moksha.It declares that the Vedic sacrifices werefail and unrelaible boats incapable of savingmen from evil. The fruits of dharma asdefined by the Vedic injunctions lead topleasure of the flesh and its transitory.

Dharma cannot be identified with mere gainor fulfilment of desires. To see the SupremeSpirit, as the only truth taught by the Vedasas a whole is the result of a regular processof thinking, involving in order, understandingthe texts (Sravana), reflection (Manana) andassimilation (nidhidhyasana). Tattva-Jnanaor philosophical wisdom is not merely thesatisfaction of intellectual curiosity.

Frustration is written large on everyhuman attempt made today to solve the ever-complicating problems of our life. Everyventure to bring abot harmony and peace inany field ends in rupturous complexities of abaffling nature. In politics, we are beingdivided into innumerable quarrelling camps,every one of which claims to possess thepanacea for all evils. The ship of society

everywhere has shunned its ancientmoorings, but it finds no heaven, where itcan rest peacefully and repair its leakage.Daily widening gulfs divided the differentclasses in it and each individual thinks ofnothing but self-aggrandisement andconsiders his self as the centre of theuniverse. The ancient and traditional framesof the religion in which it once thrived sowell, have broken down everywhere.Inthese days of decadence, whenperverseness is the hall-mark of

individualism, when man has lost all hopeof the future and is always eager to take theworld as it is, scoffing at religion as visionaryand unrealistic, weaving dreamworlds for thedeluded, one naturally feels very shy tospeak of God, but He alone is the rock ofages.

Now science, mans main object ofglory and pride, today, is out of discover anew religion for us which will free humanityof all sectarian outlook and traditional

bounds, and will give us all a comprehensiveand rationalised view of life. Science hastaught us to lord it over nature, no doubt,but it has made us depend too much on heras well, who in turn takes her revenge andleaves life a wreck of it. Thus we losedaily the inner strength of life, which drawsits sap from a higher omniscient, eternalsource of existence so that all moral and


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ALMANAC for the months of JULY & AUGUST 2010

17.07.2010 Sat Her Panchami, Sri Lakshmi Vijaya

21.07.2010 Wed The return Car-Festival of Lord Sri Jaganntha. Appearance of Srila

Bhakti Kankana Tapasvi Maharj

22.07.2010 Thu Pakshavardhini Mahdwdashi Fasting. Next day Pranabetween 5.05 and 9.30 a.m.

25.07.2010 Sun Beginning of Chturmsya Vrata. Sri Guru Poornima.Disappearance of Srila Santana Goswmi

27.07.2010 Tue Demise of Srimad Bhakti Vijnna Ashrama Maharj

28.07.2010 Wed Demise of Srimad Bhakti Hridaya Vana Deva Goswmi Maharj

31.07.2010 Sat Disappearance of Srila Goplabhatta Goswmi

03.08.2010 Tue Disappearance of Srila Lokantha Goswmi

06.08.2010 Fri Kmik Ekdashi Fasting. Next day Prana between 5.12and 9.32 a.m.

10.08.2010 Tue Demise of Srimad Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhar Maharj

12.08.2010 Thu Demise of Srimad Bhakti Ketana Turyshrami Maharj

13.08.2010 Fri Disappearance of Srila Raghunandan Thkur and Srila Vamsi Ds

Bbji Maharj

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spiritual value of life become ineffective andfutile. We must get the balance or the ruinof the whole structure of moderncivilisation may be inevitable. Ourscriptures, our peculiar culture and religionteach us not to depend too much on theexternal world but to run our mind inwardtowards the rock of Truth Eternal. Ifproperly carried out, this will not depriveus of the hold on the external world, assome fear, but will rather strengthen itbecause the same All-pervading Truth rules

everywhere. This subjective view of life isthe rock-basis of all the Indian Schools ofThought. Our scriptuers divide it into threestages:- Karma (action), Jnana(knowledge) andBhakti (devotion). In thespiritual values of life, we find a perfectbalance as a whole. Every thing in theworld may dissolve but belief in God whichis the ultimate confession of all faiths of theworld remains.

Metaphysical speculation,divorced from real spiritual vision, isbound to lead to nowhere. But those whohold the view that the investigations thatconfines itself within the limits of sensuousexperience is self-sufficient, are not lessmisguided than the metaphysicians who lookdown upon the conclusions of the NaturalScienes. The real blunder is committed ifwe suppose that the metaphysician and thescientist exhaust between them the methodof quest of the Truth, as the one method leadsto zero and the other to diverging pluralism.

Even the Natural Scientist cannothypothetically admit the unity of the goal. Butmere admission of unity is not of much valuein the face of the actual existence of anincreasing complexity of hopelessly divergentconclusions of the different Sciences. Thelife of man is fortunately a unity. He cannotalso place himself under the guidance of anyparticular Science.


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SRI GURU PRESHTHATHE BELOVED OF SRI GURUSripad B.S.Narayan Maharaj

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FORE WORD BY TRANSLATOR :(About the book, the author and

the subject matter)Appearing in the holy land of Bengal,

Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhurevealed to the world, the paramountDivine science of Prema Bhakti, the

quintessence of Vedic Religion. Heflooded the whole country by the delugeof Divine Love through Sri Krishna NamaSamkirtana which was relished andembraced by millions of fortunate citizensof Bharata Varsha, irrespective of caste,creed, colour, age, sex and region.Innumerable devotees from all walks of life

joined Him and accepted His allegiancefrom the regions of Goud Mandal (Bengal),Vraja Mandal (Mathura-Vrindaban) andKshetra Mandal (Puri, Orissa). The sixGoswamis of Vrindaban, KingPrataparudra, Pandit SarvabhaumaBhattacharya, Narottam Das Thakur,Krishna Das Kaviraj, VrindavandasThakur, Vishvanatha Chakravarti andmillions of others adopted this path ofKrishna Bhakti and spread the same forthe permanent well being of the humanityby presenting thousands of monumentalvolumes of their writings. However, duringthe latter years, meritless people intruded

into this devotional system and through theirmisguided thoughts and polluted dealings,they presented an ugly picture in the nameof devotional religion. As a result of it, thecommon people not only misunderstoodthe true religion, but also they becamedeprived from the pristine benefit ofdevotional love. Those who mis-represented the loving devoion of Lord Sri

Chaitanya are classified into thirteen groupsas follows, -- Aavul, baavul, Kartabhaja,neda nedi,darvesh, sanyi, sahajiya,sakhibheki, smarta, jaat gosain, atibadi,chuda dhari and gauranga-nagari. Duringthid period of crisis, the great reformer-devotee, Thakur Srila Bhakti Vinode (1838-

1914) appeared in this world and revivedthe pristine glory of Gaudiya Vaishnavareligion, for the benefit of the entire world.He is compared to king Bhagiratha of yore,who brought down river Ganga from heavento the earth.

Thakur Srila Bhakti Vinode revived thePrema-Dharma of Lord Sri Chaitanya fromits degradation and upheld the same fromall angles of its prominence, and propagatedit among the general public. Apart fromwriting monumental works on Sri

Chaitanyas philosophy, theology, religion,ethics, kirtans etc., through nearly a hundredbooks, he also published monthlymagazines and periodicals in variouslanguages. He was a scholar in languageslike Bengali, Hindi, Oria, English, Sanskrit,Parsi etc. Lord Sri Chaitanyas actualbirthplace had lost sight of the people dueto the frequent changes in the course of riverGanga and its tributaries. Srila BhaktiVinode Thakur discovered the same and

presented to the devotional world, for whichthe gentle people of the entire world areindebted to him. For the purpose ofextensively propagating this religion of love,he appointed Prabhupad Srila BhaktiSiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur ashis sole successor.

After finishing the academic studies,Srila Saraswati Thakur (then known as

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Vimala Prasad) started his exclusive spiritual

endeavour at Sridham Mayapur from 1905AD, after receiving spiritual initiation fromSrila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharajduring the year 1900. By remaining in thatsecluded place, he completed the chantingof one billion divine Names before startinghis public mission. After a few years he gavespiritual initiation to two young devoteeswho constantly served Srila Prabhupad.The first devotee was Sri Ashwini Haldarof Ballal Dighi of Sri Mayapur, who was

named as Vaishnava Das. The seconddevotee Sri Panchanan Samaddar ofVinodenagar in Jessore district, who wasnamed as Paramananda Vidyaratna, whois the author of this booklet. As he wasclosely associated with Prabhupad SrilaBhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, he waswell versed regarding the history of the entiremission. Also he had the fortune of hearingHarikatha from Srila Bhakti Vinode Thakurand from Srila Gaur Kishore Das BabajiMaharaj. When he was studying in theprimary school, he had the occasion oflearning from Sri Kunjabehari VidyabhushanPrabhu (then known as Umapati), who wasstudent of higher class in the same school.Their boyhood friendship grew further in SriMayapur under the discipleship of theirSpiritual Master. Sri Paramananda Prabhucame to Srila Prabhupad at his tender ageof thirteen years and received initiation inthe year 1913. Kunjada Prabhu (laterknown as Srimad Bhakti Vilas Tirtha

Goswami Maharaj) took initiation during theyear 1915.

Srila Prabhupad accepted TridandaSanyas in the year 1918 and began the DeityService of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Gandharvika-Giridharijeu. During that timeSri Kunjada was a house-holder and heused to work in the general post office ofCalcutta. By hearing the soul-stirring

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spiritual narrations from the holy mouth of

Srila Prabhupad, Sri Kunjada becamemarvelled and dedicated himself fully in theservice of Sri Guruji. After a few years SriKunjada humbly reuested Srila Prabhupadto arrive to Calcutta to shower his graceupon the large section of the society to maketheir lives fruitful by showing them rightdirection. Getting the approval of SrilaPrabhupad, Sri Kunjada took a building atNo.1, Ultadanga Junction Road of NorthCalcutta for Rs.50/-monthly rent, in the year

1918. Srila Prabupad established Sri BhaktiVinode Asan in that building to begin thepreaching programme. Starting themissionary activities necessitated hugeamount of funds. As there was no income tothe mission, Sri Kunjada had to incurrecurring debts to maintain the mission. Thisentire affair became possible due to thecombination of the super-human personalityof Srila Prabhupad on the one hand,alongwith Kunjadas indomitable spirit andthe boundless desire for preaching Harikatha

to the masses. Later on, when SrilaPrabhupads message started creating impactupon the minds of the public, devotees in theform of house-holders, Brahmacharis,Sanyasis, members and admirers grew innumber. As Sri Kunjada was at the veryroot of this Gaudiya Mission, nobody couldthink of the mission independent of SriKunjada. Hence anyone envious towardsSri Kunjada was to be branded as quiteunfriendly towards Srila Prabhupad.

The Bhakti Vinode Asan later becameknown as Sri Gaudiya Math in the year 1920and after ten years in 1930 it was shifted toBagh Bazar temple, which was donated bySri Jagabandhu Dutta Prabhu by theprompting of Sri Kunjada. During thebeginning years of the mission, Sri Kunjadaused to manage all the expenses of themission by borrowing from his near and dear.

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(to be contd..... )


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

It was the fateful morning of the firstdays battle and the two hosts wereassembled facing each other like thegatherings of clouds during a thunderstorm.It was an awesome ensemble bristling withweapons and banners jutting out of theserried ranks of war.

Seeing the larger and more well-equipped army of his foes Yudhishthira grewapprehensive and expressed his qualms toArjuna.

Our foes have eleven divisions asagainst our seven cohorts. Can we everconquer the indomitable Bheeshma inwar?

King, Krishna Who has masteredthe five senses is on our side. Whereverdharma is, there is found Krishna and

wherever Krishna is, there is found victory.

What phalanx would yourecommend to Dhrishtadyumna for placingour hosts in battle order? Our dispositionsmust be traced out on the basis of a definitestrategy, as a brute deployment of oursmaller army will only result in adevastation.

I recommend the needle-formationas an effective tool for combating ournumerically superior foes. Our frontsshould resemble projecting spikes with ourflanks forming the shafts. Ourreinforcements can be placed in the rear.

The assembled cohorts presented acolourful pageant that is expressed vividlyby the poet. Leading the Kuru hosts wasBheeshma, the pater-familias of the race.He wore a silver headgear and white

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armour, and to his silver chariot was yokedhorses as white as the moon. Atop his silverparasol was a flag depicting the emblem ofa palm-tree surrounded by five stars. OnDronas canopy fluttered a pennant thatbore the traditional motifs of a priest and awarrior---a water-jar on a deerskin and abow. The acharya was a dreadful

combination of priestly intelligence and awarriors might. Kripas standard bore theinsignia of a bull. Pink like a lotus in bloom,Ashwatthama of ethereal splendour rode onhis chariot that had a banner depicting a lointail. There were other characteristicpennons and streamers but the emblem ofa rope tyng an elephant---the pennant ofKarna--was missing, as Karna had stayedaway from battle. Duryodhanas blue-silkwas covered by a hardy breastplate and hisflowing hair was bound by an imperialcoronet that was a wreath of gems. On hisembroidered flag was the motif of a cobrawith outspread hood. The allies and vassalsof the Kurus had canopies and pennants asspectacular as that of their master. Somehad embossed designs and some werewoven in golden and silver filigree. Shalyasflag had a pennant depicting a ploughshareand on Jayadrathas canopy the pennon ofa wild-boar fluttered in the morning wind.

Though smaller in size and range theartial panoply of the Pandava hosts was noless striking. The golden chariot embellishedwith the finest of gemstones and yoked tofour moon-white horses was driven byKrishna. Though he wore armour he cariedno weapons, and he held the reins in hislotus-pink palms that juxtaposedaesthetically with his blue complexion. His

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lips were ruddy and his mischievous eyes

were now contemplating on the end of anaeon. Similar to him in physique andcompledion but looking a little older was thelithe archer Arjuna who could shoot witheither hand. Atop his canopy was the flagwith the ensign of an ape that the world wellknew. In a cloth of fabric woven into a finetexture was the pennant of the royalYudhishthira depicting stars clusteringaround the moon. There were two drumsthat were hung from his flag-pole and they

used to reverberate with the sound of doom.On Bheemas flag was a fearful lion and onthe pennants of Nakula and Sahadeva couldbe seen the ensigns of a deer and a swan.Their sons had standards as impressive astheir sires. An elegant peacock flaunting itsmulticoloured tail was woven on the flag ofthe dauntless prince Abhimanyu.Ghatotkachas chariot was more hardy andsumptuous and was made of grey metal anddry wood and pulled by swarthy horses.

Atop his flag was the emblem of a vulturethat contrasted sharply with the moreaesthetic design of Abhimanyus insignia.The poet figuratively represents the refinedskill of Arjunas son and the brute might ofthe demon by showing a marked distinctionin their emblems. The banners of Satyakiand of Virata and his son Uttara all bore themotif of a lion.

The tussle was about to begin and theancient Indian code had several covenants

that regulated the course of battle. Theseunwritten nuances prevented a legitimatebattle from descending into a disorderly andinhumane melee.

Dhrishtadyumna and Bheeshma, thecommanders of the contending armies, metin the midst of the two forces and laid downthe laws that would govern the battle. Achariot-warrior could engage himself only

with a chariot-warrior, and a soldier mounted

on an elephant could fight only anothersoldier mounted on an elephant. Likewise,combatants mounted on horses andinfantrymen could oppose only similarlyordered ranks. Conch-blowers, drummers,animals, mahouts and charioteers and othernon-combatant servitors could not beharmed. These warriors were to be sparedtheir life--a soldier seeking mercy, a retreatingwarrior, a warrior without an armour orweapons and a soldier engaged with another

contender in battle. Divine weapons werenot to be used on the rank and file of thearmy that were ignorant of their usage.Everyday, the battle would cease withnightfall and hostilities were to be renewedat dawn. During the nght the contenderscould meet each other in amity in any of thewarring camps! Several warriors were notallowed to hem in one contender and kill him.

Sanjaya continued to narrate the eventsof the battle to Dhritarashtra. It is interesting

to note that Kurukshetra is also called asDharmakshetra or the field of religiousactivities. Several sacrificies had beenconducted during the days of yore on thisbattleground.

Bheeshma, the field-marshal of theKaurava army, blew on his conchshell andannounced the commencement of hostilities.All the Kaurava soldiers responded, blowingon their conchshells and beating onkettledrums. The loud blare of trumpets was

also heard and the resulting boom andconfusion was a veritable cacophony. ThePandavas now responded, and Krishna andArjuna blew on their shells---thePanchajanya and the Devadatta--seated asthey were in their heavenly chariot pulled bymilk-white coursers.

Arjuna was seized by avague feeling ofuncertainty and he leaned forward and spoke

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to Krishna Drive my chariot to the midstof this battleground. I wish to have apanoramic view of all my contenders whohave gathered together to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarasthra.

Krishna cracked his whip and thehorses trotted lethargically to the midst ofthe field.

Arjuna scanned with apprehension thechieftains who led the legions of both armies.To his sudden desperation he realised that

they were his nearest kinsmen, nowtempted by greed and folly to turn partisanand take opposing sides.

He turned listless and limp with fear.His bow slipped slithering down from hisnerveless hand. He was now perspiringand the drops of sweat on his azure browseemed like a misty dew that had settledon a blue-lily. His mind was whirling inconsternation and his limbs were nowtrembling.

Having resolved in grief that he wouldnot fight he slumped down on the terraceof his chariot.

Turning in his despondency to the all-knowing Krishna he spoke out his gnawinggrief Only sin will accrue to us if we slaythe evil-minded sons of Dhritarashtra. Iwould rather yield to them unresisting andbe slain by them! They see no distress inthe destruction of a hoary race and its time-honoured traditions. But we know better

and we must avert an internecinecatastrophe. Even if were to acquire thelordship of all the three universes--gross,subtle and causal--I would not slay mykinsmen in battle. This earthly kingdom isabsolutely trifle and petty to worth acataclysm.....

I feel sick with reprehension and amunable even to stand erect .....

Leading my foes are my spotlesslypure grandsire Bheeshma, the pater-familiasof our race, and the doughty archer Dronawho taught me all I know of warfare. I cannever hurt them even in righteous battle!

Perhaps my understanding is cloudedand I do not see reason. People say thatYou are a God, and perhaps they are right.I surrender myself to Gou--guide me tochoose a proper course of action. All thetenets of morality land the subtle nauncesof their intended spirit are known only to

You.

Krishna gives a reply in seventeenconsecutive discourses that constitutehundreds of verses, and perhaps there areinterpolations in this text itself. The firstsermon is on the path of analytical wisdom.Krishna differentiates between the self andthe body and postulates that the self survivesthe death of the physical body. Just as aman casts off worn-out garments and wearsnew apparels, the self casts off the slough

of a decrepit body and enters a new one.The body is likened to a husk or an outer-covering, and the self or the kernel isimperishable. Therefore there was nothingto grieve in the destruction of kinsmen, sincethey are eternally alive as immortal souls.

While the metaphysiscs of theargument is perfect and though the reasoningproceeds with logical thoroughness, itsconcretisation as an ethical system thatworks on the empirical plane appears to

be an inference that lacks experientialcontent. This same faulty extension of thepostulation of an immortal self to a systemof ethics that condones violence at thetransactional level is an error pandemic toall texts on advaita vedanta. The dualisticschools of Indian philosophy have a bettersystem of empirical etchis, as their doctrinesare based upon the love the individual soul

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has for God. However, most of their

metaphysics is cumbersome and ratherfaulty!

Perhaps a systematisation thatsynthesises the philosophy of the Gita withthe aesthetics and ethics of the BhagavataPurana may offer a solution.

Krishna enumerates the characteristicsof a sthitaprajna. It is desire that eruptsfirst in the psyche of a person and it is thisdesire that produces the secondarymanifestations of anger and loss of peace.The sthitaprajna is singularly free of thistaint of desire and is hence forever at peace.

The chapter concludes with a fewverses on disinterested action. A person isadvised not to hanker after the results ofones actions but to dedicate them to GodHimself. This is perhaps one of the novelpreachings of Krishna--the other discoursesfollow the beaten-track of the Upanishads.

The gospel of disinterested action is

taken up for a critical analysis. The conceptof yajna that is described in the liturgicalportions of the Vedas is delineated. Whenhe created the empirical worlds. the four-faced Brahma assigned various duties tomankind and to the lesser gods. Theselesser gods were given control over theforces of nature. When sacrifices wereperformed to satiate their subtle bodies withofferings and chants, they responded byaltering the laws that governed by the forcesof nature by making them more benign tomankind. Thus cherishing each other,humans and gods upheld the cosmic forceof righteousness that is picturised as awheel. It is quite interesting to note thatGautama Buddha borrowed the symbolismof the wheel, and it is still a popular motif inBuddhism that captures its sublime ethos.

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revelation to a bamboozled Arjuna I

imparted this mystery to the sun-god who isalso known as Vivasvan during the beginningof creation. Vivasvan taught this profoundwisdom to his son Manu, the archetypalhuman who heralded the beginning ofcivilisation in our hoary land. From Manuthis teaching passed on to his son Ikshvakuwho was the progenitor of the solar dynastyof kings in our land. Due to the efflux oftime and the gradual eroding away ofrighteousness on earth, this knowledge has

become obsolete and out of practice. I havenow revived this ancient tradition bypreaching to you its abstruse mysteries.

Arjuna looked up in bewildermentYou and I took birth on earth ascontemporaries. How then did you initiateVivasvan when the consmos was created?

Krishna was not puzzled by Arjunasignorance. He knew that he was theSupreme God Vishnu Himself Who hadtaken birth as sage Narayana on earth when

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creation began. Nara had emerged fromHis own being as His alter-ego, but Arjunahad now forgotton that it was the spirit ofNara that infused his self. These two sageshad meditated on the alpine peaks of theHimalayas during the period when the RigVeda was composed. The Purusha Suktaof the Rig Veda is a sacred hymn that isdedicated to sage Narayana.

Krishna again smiled enigmaticallyYou are identifying yourself with your bodyand your understanding is warped by themist of ignorance. I can anchor Myself toa reality beyond the confines of this bodyand can hence see beyond birth and death....

Have you never felt even a vaguesensation that the two of us have alwaysbeen together, meeting at birth and driftingaway at death--only to reunite again?

The Lord added that He was bornaeon after aeon on earth whenever dharmawas in fear of decay--to protect the virtuousand destroy the wicked.

Leaving Arjuna to reflect over themystery of metempsychosis, Krishna wenton with an account of the various sacrificestthat are dear to God. In the lowest rung ofthe ladder are physical sacrifices. Morerefined are the occult sacrifices practisedby the followers of the path of psychic-control. They regulate the flow of theincoming and outgoing breath and offer theresults of the same to God. Greater still isthe practise of silence: this silence is howeverthe stillness of the mind.

The ultimate sacrifice is the perceptionof the one non-dual existence, and this isthe knowledge taught in the Upanishads. Itis in this stage that one cognises that theoblations in a sacrifice are brahman and thatthe sacrificial-fire is also brahman. Theworshipper is also brahman and the deity

invoked in the ritual is also brahman. This

cognisance is the pinnacle of spiritualexperience.

A practitioner of psychic-control sholudsit in solitude on a seat made up of threetiers: a mattress of kusha grass forms thebase and this is covered by deerskin. A clothis spread over the deerskin and the aspirantmeditates on this seat. Patanjali systematisedthe teachings of this chapter centuries laterin his aphorisms. In this system ofphilosophy, the aspirant meditates on seven

psychic centres or plexuses that arepicturised as lying in the various parts of thehuman body. However, this symbology isnot to be taken too literally and is to be usedonly as an aid to concentration: though thefirst five plexuses pertain to the five grosselements and may be said to reside in thehuman body, the sixth and seventh plexusespertain to the subtle and transcendentalbodies and should not be confused with theorgans of the human body where they are

picturised as residing. Krishna says that onehuman birth is inadequate to practisepsychic-control and attain to the Truth.However, there is no loss in an attempt asthe progress made in one birth is carried onto the next in the form of subtle imprints andthe seeker does not have to start afresh.

When a man thinks of Krishna at thetime of his death he is absorbed in God anddoes not take any more births. Therefore,an aspirant after liberation should constantly

think of the lotus-feet of the Lord. Even thecreator Brahma has a birth and death: helives on for a hundred celestial years. Athosand aeons on earth is a day for Brahmaand another thousand aeons constitute hisnight. When Brahma wakes up from hiscosmic slumber the galaxies appear and life-forms are born. When the creator goes tosleep the cosmos is withdrawn back into its


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undifferentiated state. However, this cosmicplay is within the ambit of space, time andcausation. The abode of Krishna is beyondthis jugglery, reaching which man is nevermore born again in the whirling of thephenomenal cosmos. There are two pathsby which a dying person travels to celestialworlds --- archiradimarga or devayanaanddhumadimarga orpitriyana. The firstpath is generally taken by those who dieduring the bright-fortnights ofuttarayanawhich culminates in the summer solstice,

when the sun is overhead the tropic ofCancer. The text also postulates that theaspirant passes away in broad daylight. Thesecond path is generally taken by thoseaspirants who pass away during the dark-fortnights of dakshinayana whichculminates in the winter solstice, when thesun is directly overhead the tropic ofCapricorn. If the soul passes away at night

durng this period it travels by the second path.

The soul which departs by the first pathhas its consciousness detach itself from theperishable body in a rather smooth transition.There is a supernal light guiding this soul, andseveral celestial messengers crowd aroundit to escort it to higher worlds. From thereonly progression occurs and the self passeson to more fine and more invisible worlds tillit reaches the abode of Krishna. The selfthat travels by the second path has itssentience detach itself from the perishable

body in a rather jerky transition. A celestialgloom envelops the soul and it wallows inthis darkness of ignorance for a while. Itacquires a new identity after passing throughphases of experiences in heaven and hell, andis reborn again on earth. This transmigrationor metempsychosis ends only by the graceof Krishna.

(to be continued)

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Sridham MayapurThe Holy Birth-Place ofThe Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Prof. Sri Nishi Kanta Sanyal

Sridham Mayapur, situated on thecentral one of the nine islands constitutingholy Navadwip, contains the abode of SriJagannath Misra, the House of God, inwhich the Supreme Lord, Sri KrishnaChaitanya, was born 524 years ago, in the

year 1486 AD. The islands were formedby the branching arms of the Bhagirathi. Wereserve for a subsequent section thediscussion regarding the identification of theholy site of Nativity.

But before we proceed to do so wedesire to offer certain considerations whichwill make it appear that the quest of theholy site of Advent is part and parcel of theeternal function of all pure souls. It is notthe purpose to prejudice the reader against,

or, in favour of, any local sect or narrowcreed. We assure the reader that we haveno ambition of leading a crusade againstrationalism (which by the way is allowed,on grounds that will hardly bear scrutiny, tobe the chartered monopoly of the empiricsciences) in the venerable, but withal much-abused, name of dogmatic theology.Neither do we bind ourselves down tocredal methods that are followed by non-theological thinkers who engage ininvestigations, no doubt very useful for

limited purposes, of water-tightcompartments of truth. We stand againstall unnecessary dogma whether scientific orotherwise. We, therefore, in announcingour purpose and method at the very outsethereby crave the patience of the modernreader for extending his and herunprejudiced hearing to a free rationaldiscussion of a universal subject that vitally

concerns everybody. The real Truth has theeternal quality of being one. So there needbe no sectarianism among those who arenot really resolved to avoid the Truth, whenIt presents Itself, under the fatal lure ofprejudices and interests less than the

universal.

The objection that is naturally to beexpected on the very threshold of adiscussion on the holy Site of Nativity is thatan unimportant village belonging to aparticualr region of this mundane earth neednot be claimed to be identified in any specialsense with the activities of the Divinity. Sucha procedure it is apprehended would be acontradiction in terms as it would localisethe universal and particularise the general.

As such objection is likely to suggest itselfin a more or less conscious form to allpersons who are given to speculate on theAbsolute it is best to begin with an attemptto offer a rational answer to the question.

The Absolute can be neither abstractnor concrete in the sense in which weordinarily understand those two terms thatis to say by reference to the phenomena ofthis world as objects of our sensuousexperience. The concrete and abstract, theparticular and general, are equally relative

notions. If the Absolute at all exists It mustbe identical with none of those. So we neednot oppose those who say that the Absoluteis concrete, by the argument that It isabstract. We should base our objection ona more logical ground and say that theAbsolute cannot be identical with theconcrete of our experience and shouldrequire the teacher of the Absoulte to explain


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what he means when he considers that theAbsolute is concrete.

No one, therefore, need object toSridham Mayapur being of the nature ofthe Absolute on the ground that it is not anabstraction but merely a concrete entity.Everyone is fully justified in objecting toaccept as the Absolute Truth the village ofMayapur of our experience. If SridhamMayapur be an absolute entity It cannotbe the familiar hamlet in Bengal bearing thename of Mayapur. Therefore, those who

are anxious to find out the site of the oldvillage of Mayapur in the firm and honestbelief that it is identical with SridhamMayapur and advertise their supposeddiscovery of the geographical site as thatof the Absolute, contradict themselves anddeserve no hearing from those who are atall disposed to think clearly on the subject.The search for Sridham Mayapur is a verydifferent affair from the search of thearchaeologists for the geographical site ofthe old Bengal village. The latter need not

be advertised as a piece of news which itis obligatory on all persons to know for thepurpose of knowing themselves. It isnecessary for every one of us to search outSridham Mayapur to be delivered from thedelusion of all limited location for good.

Our experience tells us that truth asan abstraction of the concrete is notsubstantially different from the concrete. Ifwe choose to hold the view that theconcrete is explained by the abstract we

only travel more in a vicious circle. Becauseit may be affirmed with equal truth that theabstract is explained by the concrete. Soour view amounts to no more than this thatour expericence of them explains theconcrete and the abstract. Our experienceis, therefore, the only test of truth. Whatwe experience we declare to be true. Thegeographical village of Mayapur is true in

o u t

this sense. The Absolute has no existenceby this test.

But our experience can never beidentical with the object of such experience.If we suppose a blind man to be capable ofseeing objects this experience cannot be heldto be correct as it is corrigible by morecareful observation. Therefore, allexperience is not true as it is capable of beingmodified by further scrutiny of the object ofexperience. Thus we make a distinctionbetween subjective and objective truth.

What a thing is in itself we call its subjectivetruth. What a thing appears to ourconsciousness we call its objective truth. Thequestion we are discussing is really this. Issubjective truth related in any way to theobjectvie truth? This relationship is thesubject of investigation of those who areengaged on the quest of the Truth.

This at once gives rise to perplexingissues. What is subject ? What is object?What really is the nature of the relationshipthat we actually experience as existing

between them?It is the conclusion of those who believe

in Sridham Mayapur that our experiencecannot furnish any satisfactory answer tothese questions which are part and parcelof our nature and which imperatively demanda true solution if we are not prepared to moveaimlessly in a state of perpetual ignoranceof ourselves. The only way of getting rid ofthis ignorance is by honestly engaging in thequest of Sridham Mayapur, the eternal

dwelling place of the Divinity, Who is thesource of true enlightenment.If the nature of the quest is admitted it

follows that hte method of such quest is alsobound to be different form archeological orany other method with which we are familiarand which for the reason share in the sameimperfection and unsuitability inherent inignorant activities which we call experience.

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(to be contd....)


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Teaching Method of Sri ChaitanyaPrabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami ThakurIn order to be acquainted with

Chaitanya Devas method of teaching wemust have recourse to Sri ChaitanyaCharitamritam, as He has left no book ofHis own composition indeed, nothing saveand except His Eight teachings(Shikshashtakam). A few more shlokas arefound in the Padyavali, but they do not giveus any systematic idea of His teachings.There are a few booklets which are said tobe the works of the Supreme Lord, butthey do not seem to be authentic. TheGoswamis have left us some works of theirown in which the teachings of Sri ChaitanyaDeva are found in abundance but there isnothing in them which is stated to be fromthe pen of the Supreme Lord. Sri ChaitanyaCharitamritam is an authoritative work whichabounds with precepts which are Hisaccording to the evidence of the Goswamis;

hence it is that this book carries respectinall quarters. The author composed it shortlyafter Mahaprabhus time. Some of thedirect disciples of Mahaprabhu, such as SriDas Goswami and Rupa Goswami helpedthe author in the enterprise. This work hasbeen enriched by materials gathered fromSri Chaitanya Chandrodaya Nataka by SriKavi Karnapura which appeared for theSanskrit knowing section and Sri ChaitanyaBhagavata by Sri Brindavan Das Thakurwhich went on to describe only the early

life of the Lord. We are led to follow SriKrishnadas when we weigh differentcircumstances.

During the twenty four years of Hishouse-hold life He taught the glory of thetranscendental Name of Hari and theimperative necessity of chanting, in thecompound of Srivasas house, on the bankof the Ganges, in the Sanskrit schools, or

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on the way and, after his renouncing theworld, in His instructions to Sarvabhaumaat Purushottama Kshetra, to RayaRamananada at Vidyanagar, Venkata Bhattaat Srirangam, Vallabha Bhatta and RupaGoswami and, in the shape of hints toRaghupati Upadhyaya at Prayaga, andSanatana and Prakashananda at Benaras.We can safely pick out His teachings from

these sources.

It was His infinite love for the peopleof this world that prompted Mahaprabhuto preach Vaishnavism or eternal functionof the soul to all throughtout India.

He went to some countries Himselfand preached there, while to others He sentpreachers endowing them with supernaturalpowers and abilities. Theirs was loveslabour. They got no reward orremuneration for their services nor hoped

for any. No true religion can have a holdon the people, if not preached by menof sterling worth and character. Henceit is that though mercenaries are engaged inthe preaching of certain doctrines now-a-days, they can do very little of appreciablevalue.

We find in the Eighth Chapter of theFirst Part (Adilila) of Sri ChaitanyaCharitamrita that Sri Krishna Chaitanya inHis five-fold manifestation blessed theworld with the gift of the transcendentalName and Love for Krishna. Rupa andSanatana were despatched to Mathura.They were commissioned to propagate thedoctrine of Bhakti which is the only servingfunction of the unalloyed soul fostered infavour of Krishna without any ambition foramelioration or salvation. Nityananda wassent to Gauda which He overflowed withBhakti. He Himself went to the Deccan


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and travelled from village to vilage of whichthe inhabitants were taught the system ofreciting the transcendental Name of SriKrishna, relieved them from the bondageof worldly affinity.

The mainspring of the teachings ofMahaprabhu is this that love for Krishna isthe eternal religion of Jiva or individual soul.The soul cannot remain devoid of it for ever.But he forgets Krishna and is dominatedby illusion (Maya) and, as a result, becomesattracted towards other objects, hence this

Dharma wellnigh conceals itself in someinner cell of the soul. It is for this that Jivasuffers misery in this world. But if the Jivaever becomes lucky enough to recollectthat he is the eternal servant of God,he reverts to his own eternal naturewhich is his normal condition. Belief inthis truth is the root of all good.

Faith arises in two ways. Some men,when their tenure of bondage nears the end,by virtue of their cumulated good fortuneof previous births, recoup their innateaptitude to rely on Krishna. ChaitanyaCharitamrtia, Middle Part, Ch.23, says thatif by a stroke of fortune a Jiva happens toembrace transcendental faith, he acquiresa love for the company of self-realisedsouls, Shraddha is the word used here. Itmeans faith. Chaitanya Charitamrita saysShraddhameans firm faith in this that if youhave devotion to Krishna, nothing remainsto be done. So we can fairly determinethat full reliance on Krishna satisfies all that

we covet for. When we are freed fromdisturbance by a turn of good luck,Shraddha which lies in a dormant state inour eternal nature wakes up in ourdevotional activities. Whenever a man isfound to have such determinate reliance onthe Absolute, his devotional temperprogresses gradually in the company ofexperienced and worthy devotees and he

can then dispense with his unpromising habitswhich prove to oppose his advancements.His confidence turns toNishtha (undeviatingcontinuity), Ruchi (taste), Asakti(attachment to the transcendental reality), and

Bhava (a combination of feelings indicativeof love, ecstatic and assiduous devotion).

Spontaneous Shraddha, if it springsvigorously, voluntarily flows through thechannel ofRaga, and, without caring for themandatory injunctions of the Shastrassuccessfully follows its own career through

the region ofBhava, or, in other words,Ratifor Krishna, to consummation. But theasirants mild conviction is ameliorated bythe sound arguments of a good preceptor.To follow the injunction of a preceptor aswell as to study the Shastras is found to bethe basis of ones conviction; and theguidance of the Shastras is essentiallynecessary as a rule. In Adileela, Ch-7, wehave, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said My lord, listen to the cause of it. Mypreceptor found that I was a fool and said,

You have not the capacity for mastering theabstrue Vedanta. Recite the Name ofKrishna incessantly. This is the best ofmantras. Themantraof Krishna will relieveyou from the bondage of worldly affinity. TheName of Krishna will take you to the Feetof Krishna. In this Iron Age there is no otherreligion than the Name. The Name is theessence of all mantras this is the purportof the Scriptures. Having said this he taughtme a Shloka to recite and ponder. TheShloka runs thus:

z| z| z|{ Nz@N{ nz nz nz Tuos @@

Haris Name, Haris Name It is theName of Hari alone: In this Iron Age, thereis no other way at all, none at all, none atall.

y

(to be continued)


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The Almighty Lord of the univrseWhom we call Sri Krishna is indeedpossessed of endless attributes. But it issaid that sixty-four prominent attributes ofthe Supreme Lord are especially visible tothe devotees eyes. The names and

descriptions of these attributes areelaborately detailed in the Bhakti-shastrasor the cults or scriptures of love. Thereader is to refer to the Bhakti-rasamritaSindhu by Rupa Goswami as theauthoritative workd on the subject. In thepresent article we shall attempt to noticetwo salient qualities of our beloved Lord His poetry and His Art. The poetic skill ofSri Krishna is only shadowed forth in allthe different spheres of the phenomenal

universe and substantial in thesupersensuous and transcendental world.The transcendental world is a grand

volume of poetry. It is composed by theskilful hand of the Divine poet and aboundsin lines of the most exquisite beauty andharmonious melody. It is a storehouse ofthe noblest and sublimest sentiments anddoes often suggest thoughts whose verysweetness yieldeth proof, that they are bornfor immortality. age cannot wither it norenjoyment stale its infinite variety. It is

musical as is Apollos lute and a perpetualfeast of nectared sweets where no crudesurfeit reigns. It furnishes lessons of thehighest truth and wisdom and lifts itsreaders above the low-thoughted care ofa frail and feverish being into regions mildwhere beyond these voices there ispeace. The life of the human soul forms amost interesting chapter of this beautiful

OUR LORD SRI KRISHNATHE MASTER POET AND MASTER ARTIST

Sri Visweswar Dasadhikari

c

Book of poetry. The souls that inhabit thelower order of beings and in fact all livingorganisms, nay, the dead matter itself, formits pictorial pages.

But the hardest of all tasks under thesun we all know is to read properly and

correctly a volume of poetry. Never is apoet so much grieved at heart as by onewho fails to read his works aright. Theoffended heart of the poet bleeding, as itwere, from the readers roads, seems tocry out in bitterness -- I pray you mar nomore of my verses by reading them ill-favouredly. But such are the mercy andtolerance of the All-merciful Sri Krishna thegreat author of the Divine volume of poesythat when instead of reading His gloriousworks aright we trample upon them in sheerfolly and pride and wilfully shut our eyes tothe lessons furnished by them, nay, damnthe very name of Him Who made them all,the All-wise Supreme Lord does not with-hold from us His saving mercy, butunceasingly loves us with the over-flowinglove and watches us with the same paternalcare, for He knoweth our frame, Heremembereth that we are dust. It,however, falls to the lot of very fewindividuals, and they are certainly blessed,

to study at all the works of Sri Krishna.Most of us have not the eyes to see andears to hear and consequently we fly fromSri Krishnas works, perfect and infallibleas they are, to revel in the productions ofmayawhich at best contain only half-truthsand which only serve to make ourconfusion worse confounded. But SriKrishna is always Sri Krishna whether we


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see Him or not and His world is a volume

of poetry whether we read it or not. In Hisworld the earth and the sky are all filledwith poetry. Fire, air, ether and water areall redolent of poetry. There is poetry inthe sun and the moon, in the stars andplanets, lakes and rivers, springs andcataracts, hills and valleys, seas andmountains, the lilies of the field, the warblersof the forest, the children of the nursery,the beauties of the harem, in fact, all creationwhich is there animate breathe true poetry

and sing the praise and glory of Sri KrishnaWho turns all darkness into light. Thepoetry in the infants smile, the motherscare, the sisters affection, the wifes love,the friends sympathy, the patrons kindnessof this world are but pale distortedunwholesome reflections of the poetry ofVaikuntha. The poetry in the dawn ofinfancy, in the bloom of youth, the glory ofmanhood, the sun-set of life is realised onlyin the sphere of the spirit. What devoutman can uplift his eyes to the floor ofheaven, inlaid with patience of bright goldand not exclaim like the Psalmist lost in aweand wonder by reminiscence of the unseen,When I consider the heavens, the workof Thy fingers the moon and the stars whichThou hast ordained, what is man that Thouart mindful of Him? Blessed is he wholives to see Sri Krishnas works even inthe delusive world of matter and mind.Blessed is he who contemplates SriKrishnas works and smiling says, My

Lord made them all! Blessed is he whois enraptured with the real poetry of theworld of spirit.

But how shall we realise the beautyof Sri Krishnas Divine poetry? Theworld is too much with us and we areimmersed in a round of bestial and sensualpleasures. The fine eye and ear whichenable us to appreciate this supersensuous Y

beauty have not yet been developed in us.To be able to feel this poetry and to be enrapportwith Sri Krishna Who is naturesGod, require the most sincere and life-longpractice justly called Sadhana without whichmen are but gilded loam or painted clay.We must entirely kill the beast in us and fullyevolve our divinity to be able to form anythe least conception of the divine nature andscope of Sri Krishnas poetry. This poetryis not the baseless fabric of a dream ora thing of beauty founded on airy

nothing. It is more real and substantial thananything our eyes can see and our sensescan perceive. The worldly wise cannot valuethis poetry, the cool, calculating callous mancannot appreciate its beauty. In the worldof poetry the child is truly the father of theman, the softer sex is assuredly the stronger,the heart imparts lessons to the head.Without this poetry life loses all its charmand the world with all its pomp and vanitiesseems to be weary, stale, flat and

unprofitable. The absence of this poetrymakes a man sick of life and disposes himto fly willingly unto the jaws of death. Theabsence of this poetry gives rise to rapine,plunder, mans inhumanity to man and, inshort, all the ills that flesh is heir to. Themost unhappy of mortals is he who has nopoetry in himself. To be deprived or devoidof this poetry is to be deprived or devoid ofevery form of bliss. A man without thispoetry is not a man in the true sense of theterm. Well may we say with the Sweet

swan of Avon, immortal Shakespeare,(taking the word music in a morecomprehensive sense)--

The man that hath no music in himself,Nor is not movd with concord of sweet sounds,Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils,The motions of his spirit are dull as night,

And his affections dark as Erebus:Let no such man be trusted.


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Attempts are made from time to timeto make the Kingdom of Heaven descendon earth. They are of different characters.One set of such attempts is being constantlydirected to effect the world-peace.

Peace is a most blessed thing. Thereare none who do not desire it and yet thereare few who get it. Peace-makers have

been hailed at different times. The politicalhistory of the world has seen many such.They come at an opportune moment. Theirextraordinary qualities of head and heart atonce call them to a power where in thecircle of the great they are still moreheightened by the frequent clash of forces.This enables them to hold sway over theminds of millions who, in their extremeeagerness to have peace, come clusteringround them ready to work under their

dictation. Very soon these redoubtablepersonalities succeed in inaugurating an eraof a world-peace.

But ere long the people have settledin their conviction they find that they aredeceived. The peace which they have gotis but the seed of another unrest of stillgreater intensity, ready to germinate at anymoment. The halo of the great names ofthese peace-makers soon becomestarnished and obscure. They are compelledto abdicate their unique position. Some-body else is then pushed up to their positiononly to share their lot.

Such is the fate of every humanconception of peace. It promises much butgives little. Peace enforced by arms is asfutile as that enforced by law. Social andmoral conventions too count for very little.In every such case a partys interest has

THE WORLD PEACESri Nimananda Sevatirtha

been safeguarded. Laws, arms,conventions can hardly be trusted ascorrective. They can keep the sword in thescabbard and hide the intention in the heart,but cannot affect the motive that calls fortheir action. Temporal suspension ofhostilities should not beguile us as peace.The holding back of an evil design should

not pass as love.Again, the arms strengthen the hands

of a protector as the laws strengthen thoseof the ruler. But what is there to preventtheir abuse? Do we not very often hear ofthe lawless law and the oppression by arms?What conventions are there that will promiseprotection from a miscreant ready to violatethem?

Hence we talk of peace but we do notget it. We find it neither in the political life

nor in the social. It is a commodity hardlyto be found in this world of ours. But is itreally so? Is it not in the lot a human beingto enjoy it? Can we not make the Kingdomof Heaven descend on earth?

We can enjoy peace. Hitherto wehave failed to get it simply because of thefact that we employed wrong methods toobtain it. It is a heavenly thing and it mustbe secured by a heavenly method. Ourbody and mind are not heavenly and hence

the peace dictated by the body as well asthat dictated by the mind is not peace. Wemust hear the dictation of the soul in thismatter. Soul is all love, and hence peaceinaugurated on the principles of soul is whatis real peace. The soul loving God lovesall. It is all-accommodating.

Teachers of this Love Divine aregenerally misunderstood; people


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unaccustomed to study things without theirreference to flesh and blood, tracedisturbance of all social and moralconventions in their teachings. Addressingsuch an assembly Christ said, Think notthat I am come to send peace on earth. Iam come to set a man at variance againsthis father, and the daughter against hermother, and the daughter-in-law against hermother-in-law . He meant to say therebythat love contracted on the strength ofblood-relationship is no love. A God-loving

son is sure to go against his father who doesnot love God. In such a going away fromones father there is peace. There is piecein the rebellion against all the social andmoral conventions, if that is prompted byDivine Love. There is peace when Prahladdisobeyed his father Hiranyakashipu whoentreated him not to worship Lord Krishna.There is piece when Arjuna commandedby Lord Krishna, killed in the battle ofKurukshetra his relatives includingBhishma, his own grand-fathers step-brother. There is peace when Christcrucified alive prayed to God saying,Father, forgive them, for they know notwhat they are doing. There is peace whenyou turn your right cheek to him who smitesyou on the left, he being your brother.There is peace in peace as well as in itsdisturbance. God know how to maintainpeace and His ways, although contradictoryand apparently detrimental to its cause,conduce to it.

In Srimad Bhagavat a beautifulpassage occurs equally denouncing all tiesof love and friendship made on the strengthof flesh and blood. It is as follows:--

Guide is not he nor he the relative,Father is not be nor he the mother,God is not he nor he the husband,

If they not save from the death impending.

Those who do not know God, cannotclaim our friendship. Our attachment tothem in reference to our mundane relation isbut transitory and most uncertain. Then whois my father, who is my mother and who aremy relatives whom I can trust for eternal andunbreakable love? In the language of theBible we say, Behold my mother and my

brethern! For whosoever shall do the willof my Father which is in heaven, the sameis my brother, sister, and mother.

Hence the divine love must be lookedupon as the only cementing material capableof keeping us togehter. The differences thatexist between one nation and another willautomatically get adjusted if reference ismade to it. The world-peace is possible onlywhen we cease to become of the world,when the good of the world ceases to

become our good. The local interests thatdrive us asunder and always bring us incolision with others, cannot hold their own,when the divine love as the interst of interestsbecomes the object of our pursuit.

The soul--not the body and mind---perceives everything in relation to God. Itis only by submitting to the dictates of thesoul that we can aspire to attain the world-peace. The world-peace has not hithrtobeen possible only because the politicianshave not either cared for, or only shown lip-deep loyalty to the dictates of the soul thatremain recorded in our scriptures. Apolitician must be God-loving first.God-less politics is sure to sow seedsof unrest everywhere.

YHare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||


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(Contd. from June issue)

Pancha Maha Yajnas --

E r: uowro o|m@zz t{z u{|o wrzDuous\@@ Tgm ozz tgm|uo @ (ytTo 7.14.8)

The Yajnas are sacrificial rites to the

gods are five fold, viz.

1.Brahma Yajna - which is performed bythe study of the Vedas;

2. Pitri Yajna - offering oblations to themanes or the souls of deceased ancestors;

3.Deva Yajna - offering clarified butter tothe gods by burning it in the holy fire;

4.Bhuta Yajna - offering food to otherbeings;

5.Manushya Yajna - (and) offeringhospitality to guests. 12

Relief from five-fold sins

rubu: oz Xoz |uNu{: @`\oz oz nV z YnnNmo@@23@@

Yajnashishtshinah santo

muchyante sarvakilbishaih |bhujnate te tvagham pp

ye pachantytmakrant || 13

o: = Devotees; Eu: = eating;rub = the remnants of Yajna, LordKrishna, Whose limbs are the devas, i.e.,after worshipping the Supreme Lord;

Xoz = are released from; |uNu{:= all sins accumulated since beginningless

time, viz.panchasuna etc.;oz = Those;: = sinners i.e. non-devoted; z Yuo= who cook food (which is meant for the

Lord of Sacrifice with His limbs devas) ;EnNmo= for their own nourishment;`\oz = eat; EV o = sin only.

Devotees eating the remnants of Yajna,Lord Krishna,Whose limbs are the devas,i.e. after worshipping the Supreme Lord,are released from all sins accumulated sincebeginningless time, viz. Panchasuna etc.Those sinners i.e. non-devoted, who cookfood(which is meant for the Lord of Sacri-fice with His limbs devas) for their own

nourishment, eat sin only.

Panchasuna: Fivefold sinsKandani peshani chulliudakumbhi cha marjani |Panchasuna grihasthasyatabhih svargam na vindati |

Vishnu Smriti 59.19.201. Kandani i.e. killing of animals in

the pestle and mortar; 2.Peshani i.e. kill-ing in the grinding stone ; 3. Chulli i.e.killing in the furnace or hearth; 4.

Udakumbhi i.e. killing under the waterpotand 5.Marjani i.e. killing with broomstick.13

Yajna by which men obtained foodis the purest ritual and Supreme Beingis established in it

Euo ou \|t: @ruo \|z r: N|: @@14@@ u n

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y y T T{W{ \o:

SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITAyTyo

ufioyzD: CHAPTER-III

N|zT:KARMA YOGA


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and te

o

ea

N| z uu q@on|To un rz uoueo@@15@@Anndbhavanti bhootni

parjanydannasambhavah |yajndbhavati parjanyo

yajnah karmasamudhbavah || 14

Karma brahmodbhavam viddhibrahmksharasamudbhavam |

tasmtsarvagatam brahmanityam yajne pratishthitam || 15

ou =Animated beings; uo =arise; Eo= from food, for the foodtransfroms into semen and blood which

nourishes the body.;: = The arisingE = of food;\|o= is from the rain;\|: = The rain ; uo = arises; ro= from the yajna;r = and the yajna;t: = arises ;N|= from action; uut= know that; N| = prescribed action;Gt= arises ; = from Brahman orVedas; = Vedas are Brahman ;t= arises(originate);

Eq = in the transcendental WordOm, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, the

Absolute; oo = Therefore; |To = the All-pervading Supreme LordSri Krishna; uoubo= is establishedi.e. is attained viz. one will get the lovingdevotion at the Lotus Feet of All-Beaufiful

Sri Krishna; un= eternally; rz = inYajna.

Animated beings arise from food,for the food transforms into semen and

blood which nourishes the body; The aris-ing of food is from the rain. The rain arisesfrom the yajna; and the yajna arises fromaction. Know that prescribed action arisesfrom Brahman or Vedas; Vedas or Brah-man arises (originate) in the TranscendentalWord OM, the Supreme Lord SriKrishna, The Absolute. Therefore, the All-pervading Supreme Lord Sri Krishna is

22

(Cont. in page 24)

established i.e. is attained viz. one will get

the Loving Devotion at the Lotus Feet of All-Beautiful Sri Krishna,eternally, in yajna.14,15

L uo|o YN o|oy : @EVuutz zV s| \yuo @@16@@

Evam pravartitam chakramnnuvartayateeha yah |

aghyurindriyrmo

mogham prtha sa jeevati || 16

s| = O Arjuna; : = he; : =Eo|uo does not follow; F = here; YN = this cycle (above said);L= thus;uo|o= established; EV: = lives a sinful life;Fut:= addicted to sensual pleasures;\yuo = (he) lives; zV = in vain.

O Arjuna, he who does not follow herethis cycle (abovesaid) thus established livesa sinful life addicted to sensual pleasures (andhe) lives in vain. 16

Self-contended person is free frommundane attachment

nnuoz tnowoY : @Enz Y obo N utoz @@17@@

Yastvtmaratireva syd-tmatriptashcha mnavah |

tmanyeva cha santushta-stasya kryam na vidyate || 17

:o =That; = person; o= who is; Enuo L = a lover of his trueself (knowing his eternal relationship as ser-

vitor of the Supreme Lord); Enowo Y = issatisfied with the soul (i.e. being engaged inhis eternal and natural Transcendental loving

service );ob: = is contended (enjoys theDivine Bliss which is the real END of this

human birth); Enu L = only with thesoul (i.e. he will not have any attachmentother than the Divine Lotus Feet of All-Bliss-


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24

(Cont. from page 22)

(to be continued)

by what is done and nor has he any loss orvice by what is not done in this world. Tohim, there is nothing to be gained as an object(as one who delights in the eternal LovingService of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna,the only Object of worship, will not haveany objective of this world. So, whateverhe does or does not do , all tend to universalgood) in all this world.

Refer Srimad Bhagavatam VI.17.31;II.4.18; XII.7.9; XI.2.42; and BrihadAranyaka Upanishad I.4.10. 18

What a striver should do in order toattain the state of God-realised soul

otMo: oo N N| Y @EMoz YN| zuo @@19@@

Tasmdasaktah satatamkryam karma samchara |

asakto hycharankarma parampnoti poorushah || 19

oo = Therefore,oo = always,Y = perform,N|= obligatory prescribedactions, N= that is to be done,EMo: =without any atachment for their fruits,:= man,Ezuo = attains,= the realisationof the souls eternal function of unalloyedservice to the Absolute Person, which is theclimax of all duties enjoined by the scriptures,

EYu = only by doing,N|= his obligatoryprescribed duties, EMo: = without anyattachment.

Therefore, always perform obligatorty

prescribed actions. That is to be donewithout any attachment for their fruits. Manattains the realistion of the souls eternalfunction of unalloyed service to the AbsolutePerson, which is the climax of all dutiesenjoined by the Scriptures, only by doinghis obligatory prescribed duties without anyattachment. 19

ful Lord Sri Krishna); utoz = he hasno; N= action to perform; o = byhim.

( Fettered with the wheel of action,the jivas perform their duties for dutyssake.) That person who is a lover of histrue self (knowing his eternal relationshipas servitor of the Supreme Lord) is satis-fied with the soul (i.e. being engaged in hiseternal and natural Transcendental lovingService ) is contended (enjoys the DivineBliss which is the real END of this hu-man birth) only with the soul (i.e. he willnot have any attachment other than theDivine Lotus Feet of All-Blissful Lor d SriKrishna), he has no action to perform byhim. 17

{ o Nwozsz| Nw ozz NY @ Y |oz NuYts| : @@18@@

Naiva tasya kritenarthonkriteneha kashchana |

na chsya sarvabhuteshukashchidarthavyapshrayah || 18

o = For him (abovesaid person whoengages in his eternal transcendental Loving

Service), { Es|: = there is no gain orvirtue,Nwoz = by what is done, NY =and nor has he any loss or vice, ENwoz =by what is not done,F = in this world,E Y = to him, NuYo= there is nothing,Es|: = to be gained as an object (asone who delights in the eternal LovingService of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna,the only Object of worship will not haveany objective of this world. So whateverhe does or does not do, all tend to universal

good),|oz= in all this world.For him (abovesaid person who

engages in his eternal TranscendentalLoving Service), there is no gain or virtue

gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya july 2010

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