gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya oct 09

8/14/2019 gaudiya math chennai / The Gaudiya Oct 09

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OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA

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THE

GAUDIYASpiritual Monthly

Vol. LIII OCTOBER 2009 No. 2

MANGALCHARANAM

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I have shelter with Sri Krishna, (i) Who is the Be-all and End-all of the sentiment of Amorous Passion, (ii) Who is adorned withthe peacock's feather, (iii) Who has eternally accepted Human Figure and (iv) Who is the Shelter of all (the people of) the world.

-Sri Leel shuka Bilvamangala

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Thus Spake Srilachryadeva

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It is precocious totry to acquire thecomplete knowledge by means of theincomplete humanefficiency. Those whoarrive at hastyconclusions areunable to get at thereal truth. First, listenand meditate on whatyou have listened and then speak. We have

no time to listen. The society, in whichwe are borne and brought up, is full of somuch materialism, that we cannot, whilein it, spare a single moment to deliberateon the eternal life beyond. We do not eventry to know our real self. In this world,the majority of people are engaged in work other than that of spiritual uplift: as the boys in playing, the youth in family affairs,the old in the preservation of health andwealth etc. The human beings are thusquite indifferent to the everlasting valueof life in preference of the worldlyinterests. Many say that it is not necessaryto think of the spiritual well-being insteadof making effort for the present interest inworldly affairs for the future.

" Kshetrakarma Bidhiyate " But itshould not be so. If learning is notacquired in the boyhood, much difficultyis surely to be experienced during the

following period of youth. The wellwisher of the society thinks for the well-being of others along with his efforts to maintainself-interest so that the spiritual upliftmentmay not be hindered by the grossmaterialism. If a man is, indeed wise, hewill at every step, consider the relation of the eternal existence with the day-to-dayactivities.

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Everything has two aspects, the outer and the inner. The outer one is the crustand inner one is the thing itself. Takethe example of a letter inside its cover.Likewise let every one do notunderstand the body to be the soul. The body is the outer crust. The soul is insidethat crust. "Get up, follow the path of the supreme good". The Vedas, by thissong of awakening, are exciting thedormant consciousness of the real-self of the jiva whose heart will be resounded by the heart-touching tune of this songof awakening. It will touch that heartwhere the apathy to worldly attachmenthas already awakened. He will pay heedto song who has realised that nothing of this world is the matter of his desire; thatnothing of this world will be able to givehim real peace; that no system or arrangement of this world is good for him but on the other hand, it is the sourceof boundless miseries. So he isimpatiently eager to listen to the adviceof the scriptures, the song of awakening.As the Sadhus are the bearers of this'Shabdabrahma ', so he runs to their feet.If the listening is perfect, the idea will be caught when the meaning is realisedthe correct behaviour will follow.Without right behaviour, the listening,chanting and so-called performance of

religion are baseless and meaningless.The result of the scriptural advice isachieved only after proper listening tothem and thereby realising their meaning and by adopting proper behaviour thereafter.

The entire humanity may becategorised into three groups. In the firstgroup are those who follow the life of

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THE GAUDIYA OCTOBER 2009

ALMANACfor the months of OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2009

09.10.2009 Fri Disappearance of Srila Narottama Th m

kur 11.10.2009 Sun Bahul mshtami. Dipping in Sri R mdh m Kund12.10.2009 Mon Appearance of Srila Veerachandra Prabhu. Demise of Srimad

Sakhicharan D ms B mb mji Mahar mj.14.10.2009 Wed Sri Ram m mm mm Ek m mm mmdashi Fasting. Next day P mrana between 5.36

and 9.27 a.m.18.10.2009 Sun Deep mvali, Lighting Lamps in Vishnu Temple19.10.2009 Mon SRI GOVARDHANA PUJA. Annakuta Mahotsava, Gopuja, King

Bali Puja. Appearance of Srila Rasik mnanda Prabhu20.10.2009 Tue Disappearance of Srila V msudeva Ghosh Th mkur 26.10.2009 Mon Gop mshtami, Gosht mshtami, Disappearance of Srila Gad mdhara D ms

Gosw mmi, Srila Dhananjaya Pandit and Srila Sriniv ms mch mrya29.10.2009 Thu Utth m mm mmna Ek m mm mmdashi Fasting. Next day P mrana between 5.44 and

9.28 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Gaura Kishore D ms B b ji Mhar j01.11.2009 Sun Disappearance of Srila Bhugarbha Gosw mmi and Srila K mshiswara

Pandit. Demise of Srip md Bhakti Pramod Puri Mahar mj02.11.2009 Mon Concluding day of Ch mturm msya Vrata, Urj mvrata. R msotsava of Lord

Sri Krishna. Disappearance of Srila Sundar mnanda Th mkur. Adventof Srila Nimb mrka Ach mrya. K mrtika Poornima

03.11.2009 Tue Beginning of K mty myani Vrata09.11.2009 Mon Demise of Srimad Bhakti Sambandha Tury mshrami Mahar mj

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worldly-mindedness ( pravrittim rga ). Inthe second group are those who followthe path of renunciation (nivrittim rga ).In the third group are those who aredevotees following the Bhakti-m rga .Almost hundred percent of the humanityare worldly-minded. Everyone wants toenjoy material things. The scripture saysthat from the very moment of birth themind of human being is directed towardsthe mundane affairs, the pravrittim rga .Consequently, they are placed in the cycle

of deaths and births (Samsra Chakra ).The recluse is an emanicipationist. Theformer, the worldly minded man, wantsto have, here, the material enjoyments andheavenly comforts there after death. Thedevotee does not want any of the two.Both of them are full of desire. Theemancipation is, however, capable of

entering into the devotees way of life, the Bhakti-M rga . Humbleness, the preliminary requirement to enter into the Bhakti M rga , is present in thenivrittim rga , the path of renunciation.The serving attitude has not, however developed, in them. The emancipation isconsidered by them as the summum bonum of life. But this attitude does notlead them to the Lotus Feet of the God,though their nivrittim rga is the first stepof the spiritual effort, theS dhana to reach

at the Lotus Feet of the god. Theconditions of the jivas are of three kindsas (i) those with the predominantsentiment of sensual enjoyments, (ii) thosewith predominant sentiment of abstinence,and (iii) those with the predominantsentiment of service to God or devotionto God.

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SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITAAN INTRODUCTION Sripad B.S.Narayan Maharaj

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(Continued from August issue)Physical and mental progress by

neglecting the spirit produces clever devils whose vicious nature tend todestroy the world. A spirituallyenlightened person alone is the realhuman being, others are subhuman andinhuman beasts. Therefore, you shouldtake 10% care of your physical body,15% care of your mind, and 75% careof your self or the spirit in holyassociation by offering absolute love tothe Supreme Lord, brotherly affectionto all the living beings and balanceddetachment towards all the worldlymatter like body, wealth, relatives,household, eatables, enjoyments, belongings etc. This is the only paththat leads you to absolute success.LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE:--Knowledge in this world has threedimensions such as physical, mentaland spiritual. Knowledge pertaining tothe physical level is known as 'instinct'which remains with all the living beingslike men, women, animals, beasts,insects, birds, trees etc. in the form of eating, sleeping, defending and mating.Knowledge in the mental level isknown as 'logic' which is exhibited bythe human beings and partly by someanimals. Mundane logic or the mentalreasoning of the fallen jiva s dependsupon the imperfect informationscollected by the defective senses.Therefore, this empiric logic isdefective, deceptive, limited, distorted,eclipsed, imperfect and misleading.This is unfit in the quest of the absolutereality due to its inherent defects. It

can only give some limited informationregarding the relative situations andtransitory objects of this world.Knowledge in the spiritual level is knownas the realisation, which is acquired bythe pure spirit through divine revelationwhich transcends the barriers of time andspace. This pure revealed knowledgealone can help us in the achievement of self-realisation and God-realisation. Thespiritual realisation also augments eternalrighteousness, noble humanism, God-consciousness, pure devotion, divinelove and absolute success. SrimadBhagavad Gita is the quintessence of thisabsolute divine revelation whichtranscends the limitations of sense- perception and mental-speculation. Atthe absence of this exalted divine

wisdom, the mundane knowledge of sense-perception and mental speculationmisguides the human society by producing confusion, perversion,ignorance, selfishness, deception,inhumanness and down fall. Spirituallyignorant people live in total darkness,remaining ignorant about their own realform, real nature, real duty, real situation,real success etc., and vainly waste their own lives in false pursuits and harmfulactivities. The Gita provides spirituallight to the human beings that enablesthem to realise themselves, understandthe cosmos and to visualise the SupremeAbsolute Lord. Without the knowledgeof Gita, human beings are just like blindfrogs living in a dried up well, falling intothe mouth of the dragon of time.Aversion towards the Gita is the greatestmisfortune on the part of human beings.

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MAHBHRATA Sri M.C.Mahesh(Contd. from August issue)

Duryodhana sneeringly twitchedhis face and left the chamber in a huff.

Calling his friends and dependantshe met them in conclave and expressedhis desire to perform the R jasuyasacrifice. On their advice Duryodhanamet his priests, who voiced their

disapproval "As long as Yudhishthirais alive you cannot get coronated asemperor, as the canons of the R jasuya prohibit the existence of rivals.However, you can perform the exaltedVaishnava sacrifice that fetches meritequal to that obtained by executing the

R jasuya . You must subjugate theinimical kings first."

Karna set out on the task of conquering all hostile princes and

nobles. What four of the Pndavas didon the eve of the R jasuya , Karnaaccomplished single-handed. Hemoved about like a raging fire all over ancient India and suppressed many a belligerent monarch and warrior. Thearmour he wore saved him from deathin all battles, and he emergedunparalleled and victorious.

Duryodhana began the preparations for the commencement of

the Vaishnava Yajna. Goldsmithsfashioned a golden plough in their anvils and Duryodhana personally ploughed the sacrificial land. Thoughthere was a spectacular display of weath and though the hospitality waslavish, people felt that the R jasuya of Yudhishthira had been far moreimpressive.

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Karna took an oath to kill Arjuna,in the presence of Duryodhana and hisfollowers, after the sacrifice came to aconclusion, "Till I meet Arjuna in battleand send him to the god of death, I willnot allow my servitors to wash my feet.I will not partake of wine or anyintoxicating viands. And if any

br hmana asks me for a favour, I willnot refuse him anything."The irascible ascetic Durvasa

came to Hasthinapura with tenthousand of his disciples and students.Fearing the deadly wrath of the sageDuryodhana attended on them punctiliously. Pleased with him,Durvasa magnanimously offered a boon. Taking the chance to harm thePndavas, Duryodhana pleaded with

Durvasa to meet them in their forest-abode and bless them. He knew thatthe akshaya p tra or inexhaustiblecopper-vessel, bestowed by Surya,would become empty after Draupadihad partaken of her food for the day.And so he requested Durvasa to go after midday. Finding the Pndavas slack in their hospitality and unable to provide food and drink for his retinue,Durvasa was sure to pronunce a curse

in a fit of temper.Durvasa came to the cottage of thePndavas and Yudhishthira washed hisfeet in the traditional manner. It wasevening, and Durvasa said that hewould come for food after bathing in anearby stream. Surrounded by tenthousand of his disciples, Durvasa left.On witnessing the massive "

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OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA 9

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cherished queen and rule over myfertile land?"

Setting down the wicker-basket of forest-flowers that she was carrying,an annoyed Draupadi warned him.

"Duhshala is my sister-in-law,and you are like a brother to me. Donot tarnish this sacred relationship. Acoward that you are, you cannot facemy husbands in straight battle!"

A love-lorn Jayadratha wasincited into sin by his own innatewickedness and he lifted Draupadi andthrew her into his chariot.

Dhaumya's remonstrances were invain and Jayadratha rode away with hisill-gotten quarry.

The Pndavas returned not verylate, and learnt of Draupadi's abductionfrom a sorrowing Dhaumya. Wearingtheir armour and tying their weaponsto their breastplates, the five warriors pursued the runaway king. Overtakingthe wicked captor, Arjuna and othersshot at his supporters. The soldiers of Sindhu fell and rolled in the mud, andwere trampled by their own boltingchargers. Getting panickly at the sightof this devastation, Jayadratha freedDraupadi and rode on in mortal fear.

Bheema and Arjuna decided to pursue the offender, but Yudhishthirawarned them gently "For Duhshala'ssake, spare the life of this wretch."

The others returned to their dwelling with a trembling Draupadi.Arjuna's arrows zipped past the

offender and pierced his coursers.Jayadratha lept down and tried to fleeon foot to save his dear life. Bheemaoverpowered him and pummelled himwith his fist. Arjuna pulled back anuncontrollable Bheema, and repeated

Yudhishthira's advice.Bheema spared Jayadratha's life, but cut his hair grotesquely leaving patches of irregular tufts. BindingJayadratha with cords of hemp, he said"If you declare that you are a slave of Yudhishthira and the sinless Draupadiwhom you have so shamefullywronged, your life will be spared."

Bheema flung his captive at thefeet of his elder and Draupadi, back inthe hermitage. Yudhishthira spared hislife, and strangely enough the proudand self-conscious Draupadi endorsedthe clemency. Yudhisthira freedJayadratha from slavery and undid thecords of fibre that bound him.

Jayadratha was sore and sick beyond endurance, and he did notreturn immediately to his kingdom. Onthe serene banks of the Ganga he performed intense askesis to pleaseShiva. Shiva is bound by the call of anydevotee, saint and sinner alike, and isthe easiest of the gods to please.

Jayadratha looked up and saw themaster of ascetics. There was a fleecycrescent-moon on his matted tresses.The river Ganga on whose banks theaskesis was performed was seenspouting forth from the Lord's head.Shiva's azure face had three eyes, withthe eye of omniscience in the middleof his forehead. He worerudr ksha

beads on his arms and chest, and hadsmeared three lines of holy-ash on hishead. Poisonous serpents wereslithering down his neck and arms, andthe master of death was immune to their venom. He held aloft a trident that hada drum down beneath the three prongs.

"Ask!" said Shiva "If it is withinmy power, it will be given."

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Jayadratha promptly mumbled"Then let me slay the Pndavas in battle."

Shiva smiled pitifully and saidwith a half suppressed sneer, "Even Icannot outdo them in combat! Krishna protects them, and Krishna is the soulof the cosmos. Have you not heard thatArjuna and Krishna are incarnations of the primordial god Nr yana and thearchetypal human Nara? You cannotface them in any battle. However, youcan check the advance of the other Pndavas once --- just once. It willcome to pass in a great war that is sureto occur. And you can choose the timeof this partial victory by rememberingme."

Shiva disappeared, and in anambivalent frame of mind Jayadrathawent back to his kingdom.

The sage Mrkandeya came tovisit the Pndavas again, and theillustrious seer narrated the tale of Satyavan and Savitri. Every Hinduknows this tale of the victory of achaste wife over fate and death, andevery succeeding age has preservedthis cherished tale as a motif of itsethos. Mrkandeya left, and thetwelve-year exile almost came to anend.

A pious mendicant lived near the precincts of the cottage of thePndavas. He used to ritually kindlefire everyday by rubbing two pieces of wood. The fire would be preserved for the day in an utensil shaped like amortar. These kindling-sticks were dry pieces of tinder, but were as effectiveas flint for producing fire.(During ancient days, br hmanas used toritually kindle fire for their sacrifices-

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everyday. Three fires were worshipped

by them everyday in their sacrifices--the ahavaniya, g rhapatya and dakshinagni. In the first of these three

fires libations were offered to the Vedicdemigods like Indra and Varuna. The

second fire was used to discharge theobligatory rituals that formed a part of their everyday routine. This fire wascarefully tended and never exinguished,and when the br hmana died he wascremated with the g rhapatya fire. In

the third fire oblations were offered tothe manes or the departed ancestors, toquieten the cravings of their subtle-bodyand grant them peace. ) One day, a deer was romping and frisking in themendicant's cottage. The mortar andtinder-sticks were hung from a tree, andthese got entangled in the horns of thedeer. The deer apparently got frightenedand ran away wildly, carrying thekindling-sticks and mortar in its tangled

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OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA 11(

DO GOOD TO OTHERS Sri Nimananda Dasadhikary Sevatirtha

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(Contd. from August issue)At once all things, animate or

inanimate felt the desire and came outfor the construction. The sea, over which the bridge was to be constructed,remained still, the stone refused to sink,the squirrel brought straws as buildingmaterials. Thus in no time was the bridge constructed.

These illustrations clearlyindicate that one Supreme Being pervades through all, great or small,animate or inanimate. In Hissatisfaction lies the satisfaction of all.If He is served all are served, and if Hedesires their service, they all feel thecall.

Sriman Mahaprabhu teaches that jiva is in reality the servant of Krishna.The fundamental function of everysoul, whether in the garb of a man or of a tree or of a stone, is to serveKrishna, their Lord. In service of Himonly lies the salvation of the jiva . Hewill have to regain through service the plane of consciousness which he haslost through his non-serving attitude.Hence good done to the body is not thehighest good, neither is good done tothe mind so; good done to the soul iswhat is the real good, the highest good.It is the supreme duty of every one to

serve Him and help others to do thesame. There should be no flickering,no wavering and no running away. If we fail in it, we commit a double crime--- we commit suicide and, at the sametime, help others do the same directlyor indirectly. We commit a doublecrime when we kill any life for our food, we commit a double crime whenwe cut trees for fuel to cook our food,

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we commit a double crime when wecut stones for the construction of our house, we commit a double crimewhen we draw water for our drink. Inevery such action if it is not done as asacrifice unto Krishna and for Hissatisfaction, we commit there two-foldcrimes. Let the cook prepare

vegetables for Him, the drawer drawwater for Him, the hewer fell trees for Him, the mason make construction for Him, the plough-man open his furrowsfor Him, the scientist make inventionsfor Him and so on. Let the wholeuniverse be one temple in which areengaged His several servants in servingHim in their different capacities. Thenature of works make no difference inthe quality of devotion. All these areservices to Lord Kishna, and all doing

these for Him are His servants.Remember Lord Krishna is theAbsolute Master of the whole universe:He is the sole Lord of sacrifice; Headmits no partner in this business.Whatever we think, whatever we do,whatever we consume must be firstdedicated unto Him, lest we becomeusurpers. In the matter of ascertainingthe nature of the offerings, that is, whatshould be offered to Him and what not,we shall have to refer to our scriptures.

We should not do anything, think anything and consume anything if it isnot warranted by the scriptures. Thescriptures embody the will of Krishnaand one, who transgresses thescriptures, transgresses His will, andconsequently, his offerings will not beacceptable to Him. A servant mustalways do the will of his Lord or he isnot a servant.


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Let the patriot always remember that the freedom for which he is fightingat present is another bondage. Theworld is a prison-house; and whatever we do here for the re-adjustment of our position as a mundane entity, we onlymanage thereby to strengthen its wallsagainst us. So long as we are in this prison-house, our talk of freedom withreference to our existence here ismerely the talk of changing cells. Thethings that we fight to possess, possessus in turn. Our attempt to become their lord leads us to become their servants.Thus we run from one subjection toanother. This is a punishment, andKrishna wills it. There will be no flyingaway from this long chain of subjections. Let us not then confine our attention to such seeming gains which,in reality, entail on us a heavy loss. Letus rise above all fetich and superstitionand view things from quite a differentangle of vision, view them with spiritual

eyes, when they will appear in their true perspective colours. Let us embrace thewhole world with a loving heart andthereby prove ourselves worthy of thedescent from that All-loving Father onhigh. Evil strengthens evil and hatredstrengthens hatred. If we desire to freethis world of its evils, then let us returnevil with good, hatred with love andanger with smile. We should turn our right cheek to them who smite us onthe left. Knowledge cannot be gained

by superstition and love not by hatred.Gain love by loving and service byserving. Approach all with a loving andserving attitude, and we will find alldoing the same to us in return. So longas we bare ill-will to the tiger, the latter will have the same feeling towards us.But as soon as we become God-loving,the tiger will forget its ferocity and loveus. For did not the mad elephant, which

was intended to kill Prahlad, take himon his back and dance in ecstacy? Didnot the venomous serpent intended to bite him, wear a loving look and beginto play on his lap? None did him anyharm. Such is the influence one God-loving exercises even on these wildmischievous animals whose nature it isto do wrong. Let us then, even whenhurt by our enemies, say "O Lord!forgive them, for they know not whatthey are doing." Let us reciprocate their ill-will with love for them.

Sriman Mahaprabhu came with thismessage of love and invited all to preachit in every part of the world. Against itthere can be no party. All are equallyinterested. Questions of caste, creed or colour do not arise. Sriman Mahaprabhudid not recognise superiority of any onmere consideration of high birth, age,rank, learning etc. According to Himhe who serves Krishna is the greatest of all. He says:-- (to be contd..)

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The Special Characteristics of the Acharya Prof. Sri Nishi Kanta Sanyal (Contd. from August issue)

Another special charcteristic thatwe notice in this Acharya is that he isever successful in carrying out what heonce resolves to accomplish. For himthere is no such word as 'impossible',and no one considers it worth his while

to confront him with the plea of impossibility. He is sure to carry to itsconclusion whatever he undertakesdespite all difficulties, that seem toordinary people to be insuperable,standing in the way of the progress of his efforts, he is privileged to view asinevitable what appears to those whoare ignorant of the real truth as whollyimpossible. In predicaments in whichwe are reduced to despair and areunnerved by apprehensions of utter futility he piles up what appear to our judgment further mountains of theimpossible in order to transform all thatformidable means of accumulatedimpossibilities into the goldenmountain ranges of smiling possibilities.

Not one of the resolves that he hasever conceived has been found to haveremained unexecuted. In this respecthe is comparable to the fine head of a

titanic figure of embodied divineservice the fertile germinating soil of a perennial succession of springingshoots of a never ending chain of themost perfect resolves of the service of the Lord. Those who are unable tocarry to their fruition thoseconceptions, or who happen to lag behind, fail to preserve any further

connection with the wonderful caput.Those limbs that prove unfit to servethe head can never continue to share itslife. This remarkable fact is noticeablein connection with every act of serviceresolved upon with consummate skill by this great Acharya. He never

believes that the worldly can serve thetranscendental, that utilitarian activitiesare of any help in the service of God.He never believes that the spiritualreligion can be promulgated by meansof money or by the heroes of worldlyachievements. He maintains that by thespirit of serving the transcendentalalone all that is worth gaining isrealised. Where such spirit of serviceis lacking the value of all the riches of this world is less than a bad brassfarthing. If the zeal for serving thetranscendental be absent the hero of action is as useless as a dead man. Hesays that it is possible for one tocontinue to be a preacher of the religion just so long as his inclination for suchservice remains in tact. In the absenceof the pure spirit of service themagnificent edifices fail to retain their character of temples of God and thedwellings of His devotees and

inevitably degenerate into the brothelsof Ganja smoking rascals. He says thatthe sacred monastery (Sri Math ) is theonly place of pure Kirtan . The placewhere the service of the Lord in shapeof pureKirtan that is free from allmundane quality is wanting, will beautomatically transformed either intothe hermitage ( shrama ) for the practice

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of austerities prompted by the desire of self-seeking as opposed to service dueto the preponderance of the force of theadulteratedSattva (rational) quality or by the prevalence of ther jasik (active)quality will degenarate into thecommunity of the village in other words the sacrificial settlement for the practice of the sexual function, or bythe predominance of thet masik (ignorant) quality be converted into thedens of gambling, ganja smoking andother dissipations. It is for this reasonthat he is not in favour of accumulationof riches in anyMath . He maintainsthat if the accumulated wealth fall intothe hands of persons who aredisassociated from God suchMaths aresure to degenerate sooner or later into places of this world which is the realmof unspiritual activities instead of retaining their character as places of

Kirtana that is free from all mundane

quality.The special character of thelanguage of Sri Siddhanta SaraswatiThakur constitutes one of the mostremarkable peculiarities of this greatAcharya. Language is fashioned bythought. Language is the externalmanifestation of the inner mental state.The mind of this Acharya transcendingthe tracks of all mundane thought is perennial with the mood of spiritualservice radiant with the light of purecognition and the whole compass of histhoughts wears the fresh charm of theconstant endeavour to minister to the pleasure of the senses of Krishna. It isto be expected that the language of sucha person should correspond to thisunique characteristic of his thought.

Everyone is in a position to realisefor himself the unbridgeable gap that

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completely separates the language used by this great Acharya from that which prevails in the ordinary literature andintercourse of the world. The directionof thought and of ideal of the world of today is towards selfish mundaneenjoyment. The nature of suchenjoyment is often liable to bemisunderstood for the reason that it possesses a double aspect. There is theattempt to enjoy positively or directly by means of the senses all the visible

and conceivable objects of phenomenal Nature. And secondly there also existsthe endeavour after indirect or negativeenjoyment of those very objects. And both of these possess this respectivegross and subtle forms. This longingfor worldly enjoyment in its positiveand negative forms assumes a visibleshape in the literature of the Age.

If we care to analyse with even solittle attention the tendency of all currentlinguistic efforts we should be able tomake the discovery that with theinstrumentality of speech the linguistsare madly riding in every direction onthe wild quest of enjoying Nature incountless ways. The consuming fire of lust whetted by the enjoyment of woman who is after all only aninfinitesimal part of Nature in her infinite vastness, directs its billionflaming tongues on the Arch-Enchantress herself for the gratification

of its unextinguishable thirst for selfishenjoyment, in the shape of the vocalefforts of the modern world. It is theold performance of the builders of theunfinished tower of Babel.(to be contd.)

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The performance of the chant of the Name of Sri Krishna withloud voice, is alone the highest form of doing good to others.


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THE FORTUNATE SOUL Sri Bhakti Vidagdha Bhagavat Maharaj

(Contd. from August issue)Just with that hope, Muchukunda

Maharaj was sleeping inside the cavefrom Satya Yuga until the end of theDwapara. Lord Sri Kishna Himself entered in the cave in guise of destroying Kalayavana and blessing theking Muchukunda with His Divine

Darshana . Therefore the potency of themercy of a greatVaishnava can never decrease in the laps of time.

The great Vaishnava Acharya SrilaViswanatha Chakravarti Thakur hascategorised fourteen different steps inthe process of self realisation. From thevery lowly conditioned state uptorealisation of Krishna-M dhurya a jivahad to pass through all these fourteensteps. At the very beginningS dhu

Kripa.

In some special instances where a particular conditioned soul bismearedhimself withVaishnava Apar dha ,offences against devotees of the Lord.Such a person disqualify himself toreceiveSadhu Kripa , even if theSadhuis willing to give his mercy. Hisdurdamaneeya Vaishnava Apar dhawill not allow him to receive the blessings. Such an incident has beendiscribed with an episode of DakshaPrajapati in Srimad Bhagavatam 4thCanto and 6th Canto.

Sri Narada Muni advised Daksha'ssons to renounce all materialattachments and search for the ultimategoal Vaikuntha. By his advice 11,000sons of Daksha took renouce order of life, in an early age. Devarshi Naradanow thought that "the dynasty of

2 .

Svayambhuva Manu are accepted by theSupreme Lord through me. Such arethe cases of Priyavrata, Uttanapada,Dhruva etc. Even king Pracheena Barhi,who was very much attached to materialfrutive activities was also delivered.His ten sons named as Prachetasas, andtheir grandsons 10,000 Haryaswas and1000 Sabalaswas are also startedwalking towards the Supreme Lordfrom the human life. Only in betweenDaksha, the son of Prachetasa still playing in the dark well of materialhouseholder's life. So I will also deliver him. Now he was very sad ater hearingall this offsprings have acceptedrenounce order of life. Now this is themost suitable time to give Anugraha toDaksha Prajapati. Although at the present moment he is not searching for me, I must go to his house, my self."

Now Narada Muni arrived at thehouse of Daksha Prajapati to shower his blessings upon him. But Daksha hadVaishnava Aparadha from his previouslife, when he was the son of Brahmaand his daughter Sati was the wife of Shiva. He cursed Lord Shiva should be bereft of his Puja in any fire sacrifice.In Srimad Bhagavatam 4th Canto thatfamous episode has been described indetail. Sati ended her life with Yogagni, just to detach her relationship with anoffencive father. As a result of offendingthe Lord Shiva, who is greatestVaishnava, Daksha suffered a lot and hishead was slaughtered by Veerabhadra,an associate of Shiva, the sacrificialground was destroyed by the enragedassociates of Lord Shiva.

S i.

. m

lif e.

ro p erreaso nh e

bla

(to be continued )


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pr

-h

n

or

!

Questions and Answers for a value based living Sri Gopal Das

(Contd. from August issue )Q: Why does the God of death

sentence everybody to death?A: The God of death knows that

all the people will succumb to theLord's deluding potency Maya.

Q: What blunder have the peoplecommitted?

A: God has provided intelligenceand power of discrimination for thehuman being so that the human beingwill use them to evolve the soul andcome back to Him. Instead he usesthem in perverted ways and proveshimself unworthy of the human birth bestowed to him. He stops theevolutionary process that has beengoing on for millions of births.

Q: How foolish is the human

being?A: Even though he is sentenced todeath, birth after birth, he does notapproach Lord Krishna with a mercy plea to acquit him. If he surrenders toHim completely He can release him,from the cycle of birth and death andhe can also enjoy eternal happiness.

Q: What is Maya?A: In brief Maya is a deluding

potency of Lord Krishna which makesyou think, that which is real as un-realand that which is unreal as real.

Q: When will one come to knowthat all that is going on in the world isonly like a dream?

A: Only when one wakes up fromsleep, he comes to know, that all thathe had experienced during sleep wasonly a dream. Similarly when youcontact and awaken the soul

consciousness in you, you will come toknow that, all that is going on in theworld is similar to a dream. The soul isalways awake.

Q: Who goes to the Moon?A: Only the ignorant who do not

know their real identity go to the moonfar far away to get fleeting happiness.

Men of wisdom who identifythemselves with the soul, go to themoon right inside you the soul, (Divinelight), to get eternal happiness andenlightenment.

Q: What is the worldly personliving for?

A: The worldly person is living toenjoy only the peal of the fruit (the body).

Q: What is the spiritual person

living for?A: The spiritual person is living toenjoy the fruit itself (enlighten the soul).

Q: A worldly person is said to be aridiculous person. Why?

A: Is it not ridiculous of a prson,to be concerned of things which doesnot concern him, when he is thoroughlyignorant of things concerning his ownself? Who he is? Where does he comefrom? Where does he go from here?What is the purpose of the human birth?etc.

Q: Who is a human being who doesnot cultivate human qualities?

A: He is a creature in human formor an animal in human form.

Q: What is the duty of a puppet?A: To dance to the tune of the

master. (to be continued)

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(Contd. from August issue)Worldly minded fallen souls being

corrupted by lust, anger, greed andselfishness, they remain averse to thedevotional and spiritual activities. Insuch a degraded condition, thesematerialists fail to perform any kind of spiritual virtue. This is the main reasonfor the misfortune of the maximum percentage of human beings dwellingin this world. Those who associate withholy souls since their young age never become a victim to such unfortunatetrends. One should know that, nondevotional life of worldly attachmentis an ocean of evils and sufferings. Allour senses should remain engaged inthe devotional service of the SupremeLord, to achieve permanent wellbeing.The material objects available in thisworld are just meant for the fulfilmentof our needs. Undue meddling with thematerial objects shall cause downfall.It is in the same manner as a shipremaining in an ocean should remainalways cautious about the water of theocean. If the water of the ocean isinadvertantly allowed to enter the boat,it shall get drowned and ruined. Youmay remain in an ocean of materialism, but never allow them to enter your heart. One may remain in the world butonly Lord should be allowed to remainin the heart. That is jagat (world)outside and Jagannath (the Lord)

inside for a successful life. In Gita alsoLord Krishna explains that the worldlyattachment of the living beings resultsin their destruction by continuously

causing desire, anger, delusion, mentalderrangement, loss of intelligence anddoom.32. AVOID PSEUDO ABNEGATION:

As we have learnt that, balancedabnegation is very much conducive tothe universal wellbeing, we should precisely understand about the proper practice of this process. Sri BhaktiRasamrita Sindhu explains it as follows(B.R.S.1.2.255,256): 'balanced

abnegation is that which a devotee witha dispassionate attitude accepts onlysuch worldly matters which arefavourable for the devotional progress by renouncing everything else.' Sucha matured devotee accepts whatever isuseful for the service of Lord Krishna, by discarding all that is not favourablefor devotional service. There is onekind of fake abnegation known as the pseudo abnegation practised by non

devotional salvationists. Such peopleabruptly discard all kinds of materialobjects including those which arefavourable for divine service.Rejecting the devotional objects is notonly foolishness, but also it is crimeand offence towards the Lord. This pseudo abnegation is not useful for devotion. Devotees should always

BALANCED ABNEGATIONOR JUDICIOUSNESS IN WORLDLY AFFAIRS

Sri B.S.Narayan Maharaj

!

fthewae


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practise balanced abnegation andcarefully avoid pseudo abnegation.Bhakti is said to be the mother, whereasknowledge and abnegation are her children. When pure devotion isgenerated by the help of holyassociation, the divine knowledge and balanced abnegation follow this puredevotion, without any kind of extraeffort. On the other hand, thematerialistic knowledge and pseudoabnegation that are found with the nondevotional and worldly minded peopletend to increase their worldly bondage. Non devotional knowledge and dryabnegation harden one's heart and rootout the tender sentiments of devotion.We should always keep away fromthese negative factors.33. THE REAL INTELLIGENCE :

Snakes generally prey upon frogsand swallow them. These frogs are somuch greedy that, even when coughtinto the mouth of snakes, they greedilystretch their tongues long enough tocatch some flying insects nearby.Similarly, majority of the human beingsin this world remain constantly runningafter various objects of sense pleasure,even when the all-devouring time putsan end to their worldly existence! Theymake themselves so busy in vain pursuits that, hardly they find any timeto think about the absolute reality or tostrive for their own permanentwellbeing. Rarely a few among themillions of worldly people may ponder about the affairs happening in this worldand wonder as to the real meaningunderlying these events. Every createdentity and object just remains here for only a short duration of time to meetwith inevitable destruction. Hence one

can conclude about the worldly affairsas "all the constructions of this worldare just meant for destruction". Anordinary thinker may wonder as to thereal purpose of the creator in adoptingsuch a universal law of colossuldestruction. While thinking from thespiritual point of view only, one can getthe answer for this enigma that, one hasto sacrifice all kinds of petty interestsfor securing a great treasure. Those whoalways remain sticking to the pettyaffairs can never achieve any kind of great success in this world. Undueattachment to silly matters is quitefoolish, as it deprives one of worthysuccess in life. The one who spends alittle and gains a huge wealth inexchange is termed to be an intelligent person, whereas the one who spends ahuge wealth and in turn gains some sillycoins is known as an idiot.

(to be contd.)

j e

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AESTHETIC CULTURE

Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

The proper cultivation of thesense of beauty that is latent in the soulis grossly neglected by the people of thisworld pre-occupied with the never-ceasing struggle for perpetuating their ugly animal existence. In theuncivilized state the simple needs of thisunaesthetic life are easily procured, andman would seem to be in a better position to attend to the dictates of hissuppressed aesthetic nature. But actualexperience has shown that thishypothetical leisured savage is no moreattentive to the principles of true beautythan toiling civilized humanity. That,however, is not the reason why thesavage state appears to be loathsome tocivilized man. In proportion as man becomes civilized, he affects to have

become aware of the grossly unaestheticcharacter of man in the state of hisuncovered nature. Mundanecivilizations have taught man to hidethose admitted deformities of his natureunder the external thin coating of polishsupplied by the fine arts, etiquettes andconventions of civilized society.

Civilized man is a more clever andmore constructive opponent of truereformation. The fine arts derive their inspiration as well as their material from physical nature, the source of allugliness. In the words of Shakespearethe only function of art is to hold up themirror to physical nature. The attemptto exploit nature for one's gratificationis not the only mundane aesthetic performance. The interest attaching tothe attempt to reproduce nature bymeans of art is due to the fact that man

is kept in countenance by thecontrivance of the deluding potencyoffering him the chance of suchfictitious performances for hiding hisand her ugliness. The improvement of scientific knowledge becomesnecessary for this purpose.

The art of reproducing nature possesses this fictitious aesthetic valuealso only so long as it is a strictlysubordinate purpose. The sensuousmind is pleased by the contemplationof nature by the law of association, the process being connected with our bodily needs. The mind is therebyenabled to project itself into the more palpably ugly affairs of the body by proxy. This is done in different ways.In painting, the process takes the shape

of the skilful use of appropriateshading, grouping, expression and posture which impart to the pictorialcomposition its value, by suggestingfurther possibilities of sensuousgratification.

All realistic representation has to be enlivened by a subtle idealismreferring to the body. The function of art has been supposed to co-exist ingiving a local habitation and a name(referring to the connection of the ideawith the body) to airy nothings, the possiblilty for such achievement beingsupposed to be open only to the'aesthetic' (or unaesthetic ?) faculty of the 'designing' artist. This is 'theconsecration and the poet's dream'.There are successful art critics who areable to analyse a good song into itsgross motif and constituents. They are


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* K Yryh gx v s s w qe a fg szxaAvf kc f a * .tew q

n

n

n um

in the know. They can appreciate the performances of the artist by reducingthem to the terms of the known'commonplace' viz. the gross animalneeds of the body. The managementof the stage, for instance, becomes anart in the hands of a person who knowshow pleasant illusions and surprisescan be produced by the manipulationof ordinary and familiar reactions of the light on the retina. The basis of artis experience of the physical body and

capacity for acquiring such experience.There are persons who are devoid of the physical sense-apparatus for appreciating music. No amount of theoretical training can make up for theabsence of this 'natural' basis of artistictemperament in their case.

The principle of the aestheticquality in art is traceable to the possibility of providing indirectgratification for the body and mind bythe resources of experience, by themanipulation of material objects inthier relation to the physical body. Thefaculty that is able to discern what islikely to be generally pleasing for this purpose in a particular composition, isthe artistic faculty. The creative sideof this faculty, expresses itself indifferent forms and in terms of differentmaterials. But art ultimately appealsto the senses and to the mind which isthe king (as well as slave) over thesenses. If the object be to please theeye, colour is used as the material, andthe resulting composition is varioslydesignated as painting, decoration etc.

Proportion, symmetry, dueassortment, etc., are not themselvesalso imponderable and unanalysable principles. They appear to be so onlyat first sight and by a kind of illusion

due to defects of the senses. The eye,ear and every sense-organ are capableof being imparted a fair measure of thisimprovised aesthetic capacity by carefuldrilling. The highest artistic capacity issupposed to be a gift of nature only bydeference to an agelong superstition.But man hopes to be able to manufactureall the geniuses of the bygone times withthe progress of scientific knowledge.Little children are actually imparted theoutlook of all the great geniuses of the

olden days in the kindergarten classesof modern infant schools.The nation, which happens to

possess the best country, the bestlibraries and laboratories, the besttrained scholars, statesmen, etc., quicklyoutdistances the achieve-ments of everyother nation in the different fields of human endeavour, including theaesthetic. Every nation is also anxiousnot to be left behind in this race of civilization. The theory of the survivalof the fittest in the struggle for existenceis by no means the fiction that some of the pilanthropists still affect to think itis.

The term 'commercialism' perhaps best expresses the typical method of theimmediate modern Age. Everything is being rapidly and visiblycommercialised. The nation, that possesses the strongest commercialorganisations and capacity, is also themost successful in the struggle for all-round efficient international existence. Nothing, however, is so easy now-a-days as the manufacture of experts.Andcivilization is being made in its turn bythe experts in the laboratories. Nothingthat will sell can be made except withthe help of the most up-to-dateworkshop. (to be continued)

20


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y y T T{W{ \o:

SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITAy T yo

u oyzD:CHAPTER-II PzT: SMKHYA YOGA

.

by b e tt e th

'

k n

b

(Contd. from August issue)

EXtY utuo ouo: @ utoo ooz t:Qo uN@@

Avchyavdmscha bahun-vadishyanti tavhith |

nindantastava smarthyamtato duhkhataram nu kim || 36

o = Your, Euo:= enemies,

uto:= condemning, o= your, = skill for fighting, utuo= will alsospeak, = many, EXtY=unspeakable mean words likecowardice etc., uN = what else, t:Qo= will cause you more pain,oo:= thanthis ?

Your enemies condemning your skill for fighting will also speak manyunspeakable mean words like cowrdiceetc. What else will cause you more painthan this ? 36

Lord says the reward of a righteouswar here or hereafter:

oz u T u\n zz y@ otunoe N{oz Nw ouY: @@ 37

Hato v pr psyasi swargamjitv v bhokshyase maheem|

tasm t uttishtha kaunteya

yuddh ya kritanischayah|| 37

N{oz= Arjuna (O son of Kunti)!, o: = if killed in war, u = youwill attain,T= heaven, u\n = if you win the war,zz= you will enjoy,

= this world,oo = therefore , NwouY:= deciding (to fight),t=this war, Gunoe= arise.

O Arjuna! If you killed in war youwill attain the heaven. If you win thewar you will enjoy this world. Thereforedeciding to fight this war, arise. 37

The Lord propounds the law of work in the world, free from sin:

Qt:Qz z Nwn { \ ooz t [ {

Sukhaduhkhe same kritvlbhlbhau jayjayau|

tato yuddhya yujyaswanaivam p pamav psyasi || 38

oo:=Therefore, zNwn= treatingas equal, Qt:Qz= pleasure and pain,

{=gain and loss, \\{ = victory u n

f f


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an d te

o

ea

-

and defeat,[

= prepare, t

=for the war, L= thus, Eu =you will not incur,= sin.

Therefore treating as equal, pleasure and pain, gain and loss,victory and defeat, prepare for the war,thus you will not incur sin. 38

Nishkma karma (Bhakti) leads toliberation:

L ozD uuo WPzu z|Tzun wm @ Moz s| N|u @@ 39 Esh teabhijit smkhye

buddhiryoge tvimm shrinu |budhy yukto yay prtha

karmabandham prahsyasi || 39

s|= O Arjuna! L = this, ut:= knowledge, Pz= about the truth i.e.,matter and soul,Euuo= has beenexplained,oz= to you, wm= listen,

FzTz o= to this knowledge aboutBhakti Yoga i.e., loving service to theSupreme Lord, Mo:= getting, t = the knowledge of which, u =you will completely give up, N|= bondage of karma (action).

O Arjuna! This knowledge aboutthe truth i.e., matter and soul has been

explained to you. Now, listen to thisknowledge about Bhakti Yoga i.e.,loving service to the Supreme Lordgetting the knowledge of which youwill completely give up the bondageof karma. 39

The power of Bhakti Yoga:

zuNzD uo nz utoz @

| oz oz @@ 40 Nehbhikraman shosti pratyav yo na vidyate| svalpamapyasya dharmasyatr yato mahato bhay t || 40

F = In this (Bhakti Yoga i.e.,devotional service), Euo := thereis no loss of,EuN= initial effort,

n: = nor sin, utoz= is also seen(even if given up in the middle), Eu= even a little,E |= of thisdharma i.e., devotional service, oz=delivers (the devotee),o: o =from the terrible object of fear i.e.,worldliness. 40

In this (Bhakti Yoga, i.e. devotionalservice) there is no loss of initial effortnor sin is also seen (even if given up inthe middle). Even a little of this dharmai.e. devotional service delivers (thedevotee) from the terrible object of fear

i.e. worldliness. 40 Devotional Service -- surest method

of deliverance:

unN u zNz Nt @ Q oY u zD u @@41

Vyavas y tmika buddhirekeha kurunandana |

bahush kh hyanant shchabuddhiyo-vyavas yinm|| 41

Nt= O descendent of Kuru --Arjuna!, F = in the practice of thisloving service i.e. Bhakti Yoga,

unN= one pointed or stead fast, ut : LN L= intelligence is exclusivelyone -- viz. a genuine devotee thinks "my

22

ahu

(Cont. in page 24)


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an d

i

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sadhana is to serve the Lotus Feet of theLord, to remember and glorify Him asinstructed by my Guru, that is only mygoal, that itself is the essence of my verylife; and it is impossible for me to giveup, this is only my desire; this is only myduty and no other function than this; evenin dream I do not hanker after anythingelse, by this I am happy or sorrowful or my samsara is destroyed or not there isno loss for me" -- such inflinchingdevotion is possible only with sinceredevotees.) t:= that knowledge,Eu= (other than in Bhakti Yoga,the knowledge is not definite, that is why)of those who are wanting in attachmentfor Me i.e. desirous of ulterior objects,

Q: Eo: Y= (in karma yoga, as theobjects of hankering) are unlimited, andthe attention is diverted to multifariousobjects.

O descendent of Kuru, Arjuna! Inthe practice of this loving service i.e.

Bhakti Yoga, one-pointed or steadfastintelligence is exclusively one (viz. agenuine devotee thinks -- my sdhanais to serve the Lotus Feet of the Lord, to remeber and glorify Him asinstructed by my Guru; that is onlymy goal; that itself is the essence of my very life, and it is impossible for me to give up; this is only my desire;this is only my duty and no other function than this; even in dream I donot hanker after anything else; by thisI am happy or sorrowful or mysamsara is destroyed or not there isno loss for me -- such unflinchingdevotion is possible only with sinceredevotees). But knowledge (other thanin Bhakti Yoga, the knowledge is notdefinite, that is why), of those who arewanting in attachment for Me, i.e. ,desirous of ulterior objects (in karmayoga, the objects of hankering) areunlimited and the attention is diverted

to multifarious objects. 41 (to be continued)

Sri Krishna Nama Samkirtana is the most potent,important, and the highest means of attaining KrishnaPrema like a Mantra, imbued with the power of attraction,attracting its desired object, obtainable with great difficulty, even from a great distance.

Hearing the auspicious Accounts and Deeds of Sri Krishna and His Descents, an aspirant, unabashed, should move about in this world, alone, singing His Songs, and Names suggestive of His Pastimes.

Brihat Bhagavatamritam

(Cont. from page 22)

gaudiya math chennai / the gaudiya oct 09

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