An Introduction to

Spiritual LifeParts One to Four of this booklet were compiled from

informal discourses given by

çr^la Bhakti Rak£ak çr^dhar Dev-Goswåm^ Mahåråj

The Founder-President-Äcåryya of çr^ Chaitanya Såraswat Maéh, Nabadwip, India

http://www.scsmath.comPart Five was originally published in 1934 in The Harmonist

Home Comfort was originally compiled and printed in 1992 and expanded in 1994 as a 2nd Edition

under the direction of The President Äcåryya

çr^la Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswåm^ Mahåråj

under whose direction this revised and further expanded6th printing is prepared in 1998

Transcribed by çr^pad B.S. Tridaòài Mahåråj andçr^ Mahånanda dåsa Bhakti Rañjan

Published by çr^ Rasabdhi Brahmachary,Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Kolerganj, P.O. Nabadwip, Dt. Nadia, West Bengal, India

All glories to çr^ Guru and çr^ Gauråíga

HHHHoooommmmeeee CCCCoooommmmffffoooorrrrtttt6th Printing

About the Author

çr^la Bhakti Rak£ak çr^dhar Dev-Goswåm^ Mahåråj is aveteran ascetic preceptor of the original traditional saintlysuccession ordained by çr^ Chaitanya Mahåprabhu, and he is the founder Äcåryya of the holy temple of puredevotion in Nabadwip, West Bengal, India, known as theçr^ Chaitanya Såraswat Maéh. Established by çr^la çr^dharMahåråj in 1941, this sacred place of worship has becomethe gem of pilgrimage for devotees the world over whoare true aspirants for gaining entry into the divine land of surrender unto the Absolute Good. His spiritualrepresentation is hailed throughout the annals of spiritualIndia, not only for his encyclopaedic command of therevealed Scriptures, but for his undisputed acumen as a bona fide commentator of the archives of scripturaltreasures which were revealed by the venerable saintlypreceptors of the East. He is an unprecedented oracle who draws out the inner meaning and substance of theScriptures in an ever-progressive, expanding, dynamic,and living conception.

In 1985, three years prior to his departure from thismortal world, çr^la çr^dhar Mahåråj fulfilled a personalheart’s desire he had cherished for over forty years: heconferred the holy order of sannyåsa upon his mostbeloved, confidential, and most senior associate-servitor,çr^mad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Mahåråj. çr^la çr^dharMahåråj, ever renowned for his keen intellect and spiritualforesight, could envisage the grave necessities of hismission in the future. He therefore named çr^mad B.S.Govinda Mahåråj as his successor Äcåryya-President forhis own Maéh, çr^ Chaitanya Såraswat Maéh, and itsaffiliated branches.

Foreword to the First EditionI am feeling very fortunate to have come within the

personal association of çr^la Bhakti Rak£ak çr^dhar Dev-Goswåm^ Mahåråj, our çr^la Guru Mahåråj, and now to havethis chance to introduce this introduction booklet. Through-out his whole life çr^la Guru Mahåråj practised what hepreached. The sincere practitioners are themselves anintroduction to the subject of genuine, joyful, spiritual life, but they are not able to visit everyone personally. Thereforewe are taking the opportunity afforded by the modernscientific age in order to print books to broadcast widely suchwisdom. The vibration emanating from a printing press inthis way can beneficially influence not only this mundaneworld, but it can even conquer souls already established inthe spiritual plane. It is therefore very joyful and satisfying to see the manifestation of this publication, Home Comfort—An Introduction to Inner Fulfilment. It is a selection from ourDivine Master’s lectures introducing the subject of theisticspiritual life, and, for the service of his Divine Mission, it hasbeen reproduced in print-form by the sincere efforts of thestudent practitioners here.

Up until his last days in this mundane plane çr^la GuruMahåråj would bestow his mercy upon the conditioned soulsin the form of lectures which he would sometimes delivercontinuously hour after hour. From his example we canunderstand the injunction of the Scriptures that until our lastbreath we must try to practise service to the transcendentalservice world—and give that same opportunity to others.

If anyone will carefully read this booklet with sincerity,he must be benefitted and receive inspiration, as well as the opportunity, to reach towards that life of true innerfulfilment.

Humbly,Swåm^ B.S. Govindaçr^ Chaitanya Såraswat Maéh8 February 1992

PART ONE

Please listen attentively towhat I shall explain. In a scien-tific way I shall try to explainthe subject to you, in general,independent of all religiousconceptions.

First of all we are to under-stand that there are three planesof life: the plane of mund-ane enjoyment, the plane ofrenunciation, and the plane ofdedication. The plane of enjoy-ment is where we are atpresent, more or less. Mundaneenjoyment means exploitation;and without exploitation, nonecan exist in this plane:

ahaståni sahastånåìapadåni catu£padåm

laghuni tatra mahatåìj^vo j^vasya j^vanam

“Those that have hands liveon those who have no hands.Four-footed animals live ongrass, creepers, etc. and the biglive on the small.” Everything isfull of life: creepers, grass, andtrees also have life, but withoutexploitation none can maintaintheir body here.

This is the plane of exploita-tion, and, as Newton’s thirdlaw says, to every action thereis an equal and opposite reac-tion. By exploitation one takes aloan, and to clear that loan hewill have to go down. In this

way, there are so many j^vas(souls) going up and down, upand down due to action andreaction in the plane of exploita-tion. Society is trying to exploitto the utmost; everywhere thereis the attempt to live at the costof others. Without it life isimpossible in this area becausethis is the plane of exploitation.

The Buddhists, the Jains, thefollowers of çaíkara, and somany others are trying to getout of this entanglement ofexploitation and to find a lifewhere there is no exploitation,no action and reaction. Toavoid action and reaction they

Mundaneenjoyment meansexploitation, andis reactionary

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try to find a position of renun-ciation, and they come to aconception similar to dreamlesssleep, that of samådhi: to with-draw completely from theobjective world and to remainin the subjective plane. Withoutallowing their feelings to moveinto the lower plane, theyalways keep a subjective posi-tion, and that is something likedreamless sleep.

The Vai£òava section—thosewho serve the Supreme Person-ality of Godhead—are of the

opinion that there is anotherworld, the world of dedication.That dedication is just theopposite of exploitation. In themundane plane every unitwants to exploit the environ-ment, but in the plane ofdedication, every unit wants toserve the environment; and notonly the environment, but thereal key to the life of that planeis to serve the Centre. We areliving in an organic whole, soevery point must be true to theorganic Centre. The explanationis given in çr^mad-Bhågavatamby the analogy of serving theroot of a tree:yathå taror m¨la-ni£ecanenatùpyanti tat-skandha-

bhujopaßåkhåèpråòopahåråc ca yathendriyåòåìtathaiva sarvårhaòam acyutejyå

In the Vedic literature also,we find it said, “Try to find theone by knowing whom every-thing is known:”

yasmin jñåte sarvvamidaì vijñåtaì bhavati

yasmin pråpte sarvvamidaì pråptaì bhavati

tad vijijñåsasva tadeva brahma

There is a central point byknowing which, everything isknown, by attaining whicheverything is attained. The longand short of the entire Vedicadvice is to try to find out thatCentre. Therefore try to find

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Renunciation islike dreamless

sleep, but we areto awaken to

the search for the Centre

out that Centre. In the begin-ning some may think this to bea ludicrous claim: “By knowingone, everything is known, bygetting one, everything isgot—what is this? Only a mad-man can say such a thing!” So,an analogy is given in çr^mad-Bhågavatam: when you pourwater onto the root of a tree, thewhole tree is fed, and if you putfood into the stomach, thewhole body is fed, similarly, ifyou do service to the Centre,everything is served. It is possi-ble, and to do that, means toenter the plane of dedication.Avoiding the plane of exploita-tion, and also that of renuncia-tion, try to enter the plane ofdedication. Your åtmå, yoursoul proper, is a member of thatplane. That is the real world,whereas this is the pervertedreflection.

The real world is where everyunit is dedicating itself to thewhole, represented by theCentre, just as in a healthy bodyevery atom will work for thewelfare of the whole body. If anatom works for itself, it exploitsto the extreme, and such localworks for local interest areclearly bad. Every part of thebody, and every atom, is towork for the welfare of thewhole system. There is a Centre,and by the guidance of that itwill work.

What is the position of theCentre? It is mentioned inBhagavad-g^tå,

sarvva-dharmmån parityajya, måm ekaì ßaraòaì vraja

(Bg. 18.66)Kù£òa explains His position:

“Abandon all dharmmas (duties)and just surrender unto Me.”

Now I want to represent thisconception from another stand-point.

Hegel was a good Germanphilosopher and his philosophyis known as perfectionism. Hehas given an idea: the AbsoluteTruth, the Prime Cause of every-thing, must have two qualifica-tions. What are they? It must beby itself and for itself.

The Prime Causeis by itself and foritself

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Please try to pay attention. Byitself means that He is His owncause—nothing else createdHim. If anything has createdHim, that creator will have theprimary importance. Therefore,to be the Absolute He must beanådi, eternally existing and notcreated by anything. The Abso-lute must have this qualification.

The next qualification is thatthe Absolute Truth is for itself.He exists for His own satisfac-tion, not to satisfy any other. IfHis existence is to satisfyanother entity, then He will besecondary, and they for whose

satisfaction He is living willhave the prime position.

Therefore, the Absolute musthave these two qualifications:He is His own cause, and Heexists only to satisfy Himself, tofulfil His own purpose. TheAbsolute is by itself and foritself. If any straw moves, itmoves to fulfil the purpose ofthe Absolute. Everything—every incident, and whateverhappens—must have to be forHis satisfaction. So the realcurrent is His l^lå, His Pastimes,but ourselves we are guided byseparate interest: family interestor country interest or socialinterest or humanitarianism,etc. But in the infinite consider-ation it is all only a tiny part,and we are all engaged inacting for such separate interest.There is a clash betweeninnumerable separate interestsand so there is trouble. But wemust leave all our so-calledspecial interests, come out frommisunderstanding, and try toattain the function of a unitactive for the cause of the whole.

The conclusion of Bhagavad-g^tå given by Kù£òa is “Sarvva-dharmmån parityajya—Give upall your duties which you thinkat present you have to discharge,and—måm ekaì ßaraòaì vraja—surrender to My feet.”

ahaì tvåì sarvva-påpebhyomok£ayi£yåmi må ßucaè

4

The Absolute isHis own causeand He existsonly to satisfy

Himself

“I shall release you from allthe troubles of which you canever conceive.”

In other words you are toremember to be faithful to theCentre. At present all yourrespective duties are for localinterest, but give up the localidentification of your owninterest and merge totally in theinterest of the organic whole.

We see that if a police officertakes even three rupees for hisown purpose, he is punished,but if he kills so many for theinterest of the country, he isrewarded. Similarly, whateveris done for the satisfaction ofthe whole is good, but if you doanything for yourself or anylocal friend, you will have to bepunished. In an industry, wehave no right to take a bribe forour personal purpose, at thesame time we have no right tocall a strike, to close down thelabour force, for then theindustry will be destroyed.

Neither exploitation norrenunciation will do. Exploita-tion is clearly bad, and becausewe have no right to go on strike,renunciation is also bad. In anorganic whole the commoninterest is that everyone mustbe dedicated to the Centre, andto the Centre means to thewhole. When we put food intothe stomach, the stomach willdistribute it properly to every

corner according to its necessity.That sort of life is Vai£òavism.There is an organic whole, andwe are a part of that. We haveour special duties in connectionwith the whole, and that isproper dedication for the whole.We are not to put food into theeye, or into the nose, or the ear,or anywhere except the stomach,then only will it be distributedproperly and the whole organ-ism will be healthy. All of usare parts of the whole universe,and our duty is to work for the

We are parts ofthe wholeuniverse, and ourduty is to workfor the benefit ofthe whole

5

whole, and that is devotion,dedication, surrender. Andhow are we to know aboutthat? We will receive help fromthe revealed Scriptures, andfrom the many saints and agentswho are also coming from thatplane to bring us into harmony.

The religion of highest har-mony has been given byMahåprabhu çr^ Chaitanyadevwho explained devotion on thebasis of çr^mad-Bhågavatam, thebook which is understood to bethe real conclusion of all therevealed Scriptures. In this wayHe explained that energy or

power is not the highest thing,but knowledge is above it.Knowledge can control powerand give a beneficial result, butfurther, knowledge itself alsoholds a lower position: above itis love and affection, and that isthe highest. Neither knowledgenor power, but only affectioncan give us fulfilment of life.

Mercy is higher than justice.Justice only exists where thereis the necessity of laws, rules,etc., but in the realm of theAbsolute Autocrat, who is theAbsolute Good, there can be noquestion of any apprehensionabout Him. He is AbsoluteGood, and Absolute Good isAbsolute Love and Affection,and that is home! Back to God,back to home. What is home? Itis where we find that we are inthe midst of our well-wishers. Ifwe do not care for our ownbenefit, then there are so manywho will take care of us—infact the whole environment willtake care of us—and that ishome. That is the domain of the Absolute, and we can enterinto His service, the highestposition, and thereby see theaffection, love, harmony, andbeauty that exist there. All thesequalities are similar and theyconstitute the nature of thePrime Cause and Good, and weare to go there.

Misusing our free-will we

6

Affection, love,harmony, and

beauty constitutethe nature of the

Prime Cause

have been somehow led astraybut now we are being called,“Come home, back to God andback to home, the highest posi-tion, the land of love.” This is,in general and in short, the sumtotal which I have presented toyou—this is the Kù£òa concep-tion in Bhagavad-g^tå and inçr^mad-Bhågavatam, and it is theconception that has been givenby çr^ Chaitanyadev. This çr^Chaitanya Såraswat Maéh andthe whole of the Gauà^yaMission is preaching only forthat. “Go to the Centre, useyour life for total dedication tothe Centre, and the Centre is allabove justice. It is all-merciful,affectionate, loving, and beauti-ful.”

This is a general backgroundof Vai£òava religion, of çr^madBhagavad-g^tå and çr^mad-Bhågavatam and a brief historyof all conceptions of religion—that is, exploitation, renuncia-tion, and dedication are thethree planes of life, and the soulproper is a member of the landof dedication. All are dedicatingunits but somehow, by misusingtheir partial free-will, they have entered into the world of exploitation. Buddha, Jain,Pareßanåth and others havehelped those who want to with-draw from here, to get out ofthe entanglement of exploita-tion—of action and reaction—

by complete retirement. Theyhave said that after retirement,the soul can live happily. Still,there may be the possibility ofagain becoming entangled inthis trap, but where the reallyfree souls live, all are dedicatingunits, and when we want totrace what is harmonising themand maintaining them in thatplane we shall see that all areworking for the whole, and thewhole is represented by the oneAbsolute Good. We are to seeall these things, and for this thehuman birth is very valuable.In connection with the sådhus—

Only by misusingour free-will havewe entered this plane ofexploitation

7

the saints, the agents—we shalltry our best to get out of thisentanglement and enter into theland of love, dedication, andaffection.

We have already publishedseveral books, and there aremany old scriptures which alsohelp us understand properlyand in a more detailed wayabout all ontological aspects ofreligion.

PART TWO

Our home is full of freedom,more comfort—everything. It isa place where there is a naturaltransaction of faith, love, affec-tion, etc. It is inconceivable. TheUpani£ads say, “Don’t ventureto test the unthinkable planewith your reasoning. That planereally is beyond the capacity of your thought. It is under adifferent set of laws. Yourmathematical calculations andconclusions in this world areacquainted with points, planes,and solids. At present you are aman in the world of solids, andyou have some limited assoc-iation with planes and points ina somewhat abstract way, there-fore how can you calculateabout higher things of whichyou have no knowledge? Theways of living and the laws ofthat country are all unknown toyou, so you cannot try to debateabout that. That plane is ofquite a different nature.”

If your understanding islimited to the laws of water,then how can you calculateabout air? Similarly if you arefamiliar only with the laws ofair, how can you make anycalculation within the sphere ofether? Therefore, don’t rush tobring within your experimentallaboratory those items whichare beyond the capacity of

8

We are residentsin the world ofsolids, but the

higher plane is ofquite a different

nature

your thinking, for that will befoolishness.

Higher things do exist, butthe general man in this worldhas no knowledge about them.We are indeed experiencers andhave some knowledge, but onlyto a particular degree andstandard. We cannot venture tocalculate what is beyond ourreach. But if those who actuallyhave experience of that planewill come to us and give ussome information, then we canmake some comparison: “Thisgentleman of a particularexperience of ether has writtenin this way, another gentlemanwho has experience and hasalso experimented about etherhas written in another particularmanner.” In this way we cangain some understanding fromtheir investigation and theirreal connection with the subjectmatter.

In the section of those inves-tigating about telescopes, wecan make a comparison of theirfindings. The experience of oneresearcher with his telescope isof a certain type and we canalso learn about the experienceof others with their particulartelescopes. With the informationavailable to us from their actualconnection with the telescopesand their experiments, we maybe able to conclude that perhapsa certain telescope was more

powerful, another more power-ful in a particular field, etc. So,we have some limited capacityto compare what has beendiscovered beyond our sensesby means of the telescope, eventhough we ourselves may nothave a telescope.

The subject of the higherthings discovered by the mental“telescope,” or soul’s “teles-cope,” has been dealt with inthe Scriptures. Such subjectmatter is known by the saints,and we are to take their help in

We are to learn ofhigher thingsfrom those whoare trulyacquainted with them

9

order to have entrance withinthat land. We are not at presentin a position to have experienceof the higher plane, but later, bythe help of the saints and Scrip-tures, when we shall ourselveshave that type of telescope, wewill be able to have such higherexperience.

sve svehadhikåre yå ni£éhåsågunåè parik^rttitåè

“To pay attention to yourown plane is admirable.”

acintyaè khalu ye bhåvåna tåìs tarkeòa yojayet

Don’t let the argumentativespirit overshadow everything.Argument is not all in all: it is

not that it must be the resort ofevery belief. The spiritual realmis acintya, inconceivable, butstill we are to try to understandthings according to our capacity,faith, and realisation. Above all,we have to accommodate withinour mind that sweetness issweet, and truth is truth, how-ever strong it may be, but weshould not take any standardfrom here and apply it to thathigher realm.

If one has no eyes but anothercan see, the blind man willnaturally seek help from theone who has vision. We are also blind to what is within our-selves otherwise what is thenecessity of consulting a doctor?The doctor can see what wecannot: he will diagnose andthen we will undergo treatment.Naturally we will have respectand will give him somethingfor his assistance—it is notunreasonable.

The Guru is the specialistdoctor, and we will understandhis qualification when we cometo see that what he says is realand not imaginary. Such visionwill depend upon the degree ofawakenment of the eye. If onewho is blind is treated by acapable doctor he will graduallydirectly perceive, “Yes, I beginto see something. I now havesome eye experience.” Fromthat time on he won’t care for

10

We needtreatment from

the specialist forour blindness

the speculative opinions of theother blind people, but he willhave his direct capacity to see.With the coming of sight he canunderstand that the applicationof the medicine has some realeffect.

Scientific understanding isalso similar. In earlier days whenFaraday discovered electricity,many people laughed, “What isthis? It is mere curiosity. Whatutility can we have from thiselectricity?”

I once read an account ofFaraday demonstrating anexperiment to show the effect ofhis discovery. He generatedelectricity with a machine andthen he showed small pieces ofpaper being moved by thatelectric current. Many weresatisfied to see his new discov-ery, but then a lady remarked,“But after all this, Mr. Faraday,what practical benefit shall wederive from this luxury play ofyours.”

Faraday replied, “Madam,please can you tell me what isthe utility of a newborn babe?”His point was that when a babyis born we are to take care ofhim, then, when grown, hisenergy will be put to work use-fully. Similarly, some considerthat God consciousness is onlya luxury, a fashion, or likeplaying—that it has no practicalapplication or direct utility.

But when God consciousnessbecomes intense, those whoexperience it will see all otheractivities, however apparentlyimportant, to have no value.Why? Because ultimately wewant to live. We don’t want todie.

To live is the main necessityand the general necessity of allof us. No one can deny thatthey want to live, and not onlylive, but live happily, properly,and consciously. Furthermore,we want to avoid all affliction,misery, etc.

When God consciousness

No one can denythat they want tolive happily,properly, andconsciously.

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arises within someone, he cansee clearly, “Why is everyoneengaged in a wild goose chasein this material world? Every-one wants happiness, but all are running after an imaginaryphantasmagoria.”

Happiness can never be withmortal things. We are making atransaction with the mortalworld, but that cannot bringsatisfaction; it can only lose ourenergy. What we collect on oneside, disappears on another. Awise man should neither acceptnor tolerate this sort of waste ofenergy as the principle of life.

Such a wise person can seeanother plane of life. He can seethat he is not a party to thismortal world which is like aplace of playing. He will feel, “Iam immortal. I am a member ofthe eternal world but I havesomehow become entangled inthis mortal aspect of existence.So, as soon as I can shake offthis connection I shall thenstand in a normal position.” Hewill find that he himself—thesoul, the feeler, the conceiver—is a member of another soil buthe has become entangled with-in this mortal pain-producingworld. This is a miserable world.With the strength of his realisa-tion he can make improvementin his progress to the immortalplane.

As proof positive comesbefore us we shall feel sure,“Now I see these things andhear these things, and thisexperience is all more real thanthe world about me. The worldis vague, but what I now see andhear is more real than that.”

A direct transaction is pos-sible with the soul, with God,and with God’s land. Where weare presently living is the planeof indirect transactions: first theeye, ear, etc. collect experience,then it goes to the mind beforewe can have experience of thisworld. But in the case of thesoul, we can feel everything

12

The mortal worldcannot bring

true satisfaction; it can only lose

our energy

directly ourselves without thehelp of any instrument.

Through a microscope we seeone thing, and through thenaked eye we see somethingelse. There is a difference.Through the eye, ear, etc. wehave some experience of thisworld, but concerning the soul,if we can withdraw from the“progress” in the negative side,we shall be able to feel, “Oh!This is the nature of the soul.”We shall directly feel who weare without the help of anyinstrument.

The soul can see itself, it canfocus upon itself and throughintrospection he will realise hisvery nature. Through the pro-cess of introspection the soul,without the help of any otherinstrument, will percieve allpossible conceptions of himselfdirectly. He will then under-stand his own soil: he will gainthe conception of a higher typeof soil. On that positive side hewill discover: “I do not die.”

The material plane is theplane of misrepresentation andmisunderstanding, but in thehigher plane there is no misun-derstanding. Once admittedthere, our conception, though itmay be partial, will be clear andtrue. Anyone having thatexperience will be convincedand he will be determined to goforwards.

Socrates could feel that thesoul was immortal. He was sointense with his feeling that hedid not give any value to hisown life in this mundane world.He neglectfully disconnectedhimself from this worldbecause with great convictionhe knew the soul to be immor-tal. Christ also was so muchconvinced of his Lord that hedid not give any care for thehappiness and pleasures of thisworld: he neglectfully rejectedit all.

Throughintrospection thesoul will gain theconception of ahigher type of soilof immortality

13

There are many thingsinvisible to this fleshy eye thatare visible with the eye ofknowledge. We can concedethat the eye of knowledge cansee many things which thefleshy eye cannot. Similarly adeep vision exists by which wecan see things in a different,more hopeful way: “Come andsee!” An eye cannot see when itis covered by a cataract, butwhen the cataract is removedthe eye can see. Ignorance islike a cataract in our eye thatcauses us blindness. Our visionis only superficial, but deepervision can see many things.

This eye backed by the eye of knowledge can see manythings—deeper and deeper.

Our apparent sight has novalue. Real value is present inthe seer who can see withdeeper vision. And all are notequal: there are the wise, thewiser, the even wiser… There isgradation, and according to hiscapacity the seer will see.

It is easy to see that at presentwe are members of this mortalworld, but by what are weconnected? It is our body that isthe member. If we can go abovethe body we can go to the mind,then on to the intelligence, thento the soul. We will find thatthe plane where the souls live iseternal, and the soul itself isalso eternal. From there we can go on to search after theSupersoul, the origin of all ourthoughts. The Supersoul islikened to the sun which is theorigin of all rays of light. Oncewe find a ray of light we canapproach the sun from whichall rays emanate. Similarly,from the conception of our ownselves, knowing ourselves to beparticles of consciousness, wecan search out a plane of super-consciousness, super-knowledge, and super-existence.In this way we can progress tothe ultimate cause, the source of all. But we cannot go justaccording to our own whim

14

With deep visionwe can see in adifferent, more

hopeful way

and freedom, some sort of helpfrom that plane is indispensablynecessary. Such help comes inthe form of Guru, the Vai£òavas,and other agents of that land.With their help we can makehonest progress towards thegoal.

At present we are as ifmonarchs of all we survey, butwhat we survey is all transient,mortal, and reactionary. If welook scrutinisingly we will seeit is all reactionary. What ispleasing today, will later onturn into pain, therefore wemust seek a good positionsomewhere else, a good placeto build our home elsewhere. Inthe course of that search wewill find that we do have ourown home, and it is all-perfect.

“Home. Back to God, back tohome—sweet, sweet, home.”This sort of feeling we shall findwithin us if we are fortunate tobe allowed a little participationby the grace of the canvassersof that land: the agents of theLord. We shall be taken to thatproper soil and we shall gainsome solid familiar type ofconception of what our realhome is like. In this way weshall progress to that side.

In the beginning we maythink that we shall be going to some unknown quarter:“Innumerable living entities arehere around me in my present

world, but where I am nowtrying to go, that is uncertain. Itseems imaginary and abstract.”However when we begin ourjourney we will gradually findthat almost all existence is inthat side, the side where all aretruthful. We shall find that thismaterial side is very meagreand limited, and here there isonly a tiny representation of thetruth.

From here we may think thatmost of the existence is here andonly a very few special souls go

In the course ofour search we willfind that we dohave our ownhome, and it isall-perfect

15

from here to the immortal worldsuch as Socrates, Muhammad,Buddha, etc. But gradually wewill come to understand thatthe higher world is infinitelygreater than the mundaneportion we see here. We willgradually come to understandthat as in a country a few peopleare confined in a hospital or a prison and are suffering,similarly a few persons are here in this mundane plane aspunishment. As this becomesclearer to us we shall feel more

courage to proceed, and withgreater speed will shall runtowards our home. Let us gohome, and the nearer we are tohome, our speed will increasemore and more, “Oh. This is myhomeland!”

At present we are outsideand our mind is also focusedoutside. We are helplesslymoving. Our hope lies only inthe grace of the divine agents.They come to pick us up andwarn us, “What are you doing?Don’t go on that side. It is theland of danger, the land ofdeath. Come along with me. Ishall take you to the land ofeternal nectar.” Those agentscome to arouse us from ourslumber, our ignorant madness.They are the Vai£òavas, andthey have also given the Scrip-tures which give some historyof the land outside and of thesaints who have gone there.Through the Scriptures ourfaith will gradually developand we will increasingly keepassociation with the sådhus. Inso doing we shall make everquicker progress.

One’s own feeling is theguarantee as to whether he ismaking real progress or not.Hùdayeòåbhyanujñåto. He willreceive approval from his ownheart that he is making realprogress. Otherwise, a manmay be coaxingly taken in a

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The agents ofdivinity, come to

give us news ofour homeland:

the land of eternal nectar

particular direction only to feelfrustration after some time, but such a transaction is notgenuine—it is false, a hoax. Inthe name of religion so manysuch things do go on, like atrade, but that does not meanthat real realisation and realemancipation do not exist.Hùdayeòåbhyanu jñå to— theultimate guarantee is theapproval of your own heart,“Yes. Really this is what I want.From the innermost core of myheart I feel the desire to danceto find that such progress ispossible.”

PART THREE

Normally in this world weare men of action, men whoexploit the environment andnature in order to gatherenergy. Always there is theattempt to collect more andmore energy to use at ourcommand, and to save some-thing so it may be utilised inthe time of necessity. In general,that is the very nature of thosewho live here. And if anyhindrance will come in thatattempt then it is consideredthat those circumstances arevery bad because they opposethe object of life here, which is to collect more energy. However,to remind us about the impor-tance of the inner wealth we areadvised that the outer naturecannot do as much harm to usas our internal nature can do in its apathy to collect morewealth for the inner existence:

17

the man within. We are to bemindful of this point: whatcomes from outside is not soimportant—it all comes andgoes. Even the body which is at present the centre of ourthoughts will vanish, thereforewhat is the necessity of collectingso much energy in connectionwith this body? Awaken fromwithin your soul the properman within you. Try to findhim and try to collect help forhim. This campaign is possibleonly with the connection of the

sådhu, the saint.We shall be the loser on any

day in which we do not meetwith a saint, and hear anydiscussion about the innermeaning and substance of life.Be conscious of this. In allrespects and anyhow, be mind-ful of your own person. Lookafter your own interest byfinding your own self. Beunmindful towards the externalworld and circumstances anddive deep into the reality, yourinner wealth. Find your innerself and the inner world withinwhere your inner self is living.Try to find that home. Back toGod, back to home. Utilise yourenergy only for going home,and not for wandering into theland of others: the land ofdeath. Try to avoid the land ofdeath at any cost, and alwaystry to find out the eternal soil.You are to find out that you area member of that soil. Try tounderstand what is your home,and why that is your home.What does home comfort mean?It means it is the natural placewhich is our birth-right. Wehave to face the fact that we are not at home. But if there issome hankering within us tosearch for that, we are fortu-nate.

Our necessity is to find how that inner thirst can bequenched. Our feeling should

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Find your innerself and the inner

world withinwhere the inner

self is living. Tryto find that home

be: “The world is here and I amhere, but I am unsatisfied. Howcan my inner self be satisfied.”We are in want, therefore bywhat process can this want be removed? For the present we have this fleshy body, but to know anything and every-thing about the body—aboutthe bones, nervous system,blood, etc.—is all unnecessary.To know about the compositionof the blood, etc. is just unneces-sary detail. Our enquiry shouldbe regulated in this way: “Whoam I, and why am I troubled? Ido not know how to rid myselfof these problems.” This is thegeneral question and we are tobe concerned with that.

“Athåto brahma-jijñåså—fromwhere have I come? How am Iliving, and what is my future?”These are the main questionsthat should concern us, and wemust concentrate the whole ofour energy to find the solution.This does not only apply to justone person—myself—but this isthe concern of all creation.

To seek the source of every-thing is the nature of properenquiry, but to enquire afterthis and that and so manyhundreds of things is simply awaste of energy. The ßåstric(Scriptural) enquiry has beencouched in such a way: “Fromwhere have I come? Whatsustains me? What is my future?

Why am I uneasy, and how canI acquire my inner fulfilment?”All enquiry should follow thisstandard way, otherwise thereis some disease of enquiry: itwon’t be proper enquiry. Moreand more curiosity may arisewithout end, therefore we mustlearn how to question, how toenquire, and in that way ourenergy will have some valueand won’t be wasted.

Enquiry is bona fide when it is directed towards how tofulfil the real goal, therefore we are to save our energy andregulate it in the proper channel.This is Kali-yuga—the age of

From where haveI come? How am Iliving, and whatis my future?

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quarrel—and our real and onlyhelpful necessity in life is thecompany of the establishedsaints and the Holy Name ofKù£òa—sådhu-saíge kù£òa-nåma.Otherwise, deviating from that,we may be misguided at anyand every step. sådhu-saíge kù£òa-nåma ei måtra cåisaìsåra jinite åra kona vastu nåi

çr^ Chaitanya Mahåprabhugave this as the substance of alladvice, and there is nothingmore useful than this to help usget out of undesirability.

He says that to chant Kù£òa-nåma but without the associa-

tion of the sådhus also meansthat it will be very difficult forus to proceed. Therefore in oneword the solution is in sådhu-saíga. We are to secure thecompany of a standard realisedsoul, then everything will fallinto place, and the king of thesådhus is the Guru. Gurudeva isthe king of the the good-menwho can give guidance. For oneto be Guru it means that he can guide us satisfactorily,otherwise whom can we believeand trust to our utmost under-standing, and to whom can wefully submit and surrender?The Guru is where our enquirywill be fulfilled to its utmostnecessity. From him higherdirection will come from above,from a more and more elevatedsphere of love. We are toconnect with that high andsubtlemost wave and we willbe more benefitted. This is thegeneral idea.

On the whole, we are to tryto always be at the disposal of the higher agency, at thedisposal of the higher thinkersof the higher provinces. In thatway we shall come in connec-tion with the higher and mostsubtle layer of life. There aredifferent waves of differenttypes and interests, and ofdifferent loss and gain, but toconnect with the highest shouldbe our aim.

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In one word thesolution lies in

“sådhu-saíga,”associating

with the saints

We are to see that the charmof this life is finished. Alreadywe have had good experiencethat this is all stale. After all,wherever there are the fourenemies, janma, mùtyu, jarå,vyådhi—birth, death, old age,and disease, there cannot beany real happiness. Whereverthere is death there cannot beany happiness. In such a planewe are always under the threatof death, so there is no charm:all charm is completely finished.Therefore, with eagerness wemust make enquiry as to wherewe shall be able to live. We mustselect a higher plane where wecan really live.

yad gatvå na nivartante, tad dhåma paramaì mama

(Bg. 15.6)In çr^mad Bhagavad-g^tå Kù£òa

says, “The place from whichthere is no returning to thisdeathly plane is My supremeabode.”

åbrahma-bhuvanål lokåè, punar åvartino ’rjjuna

måm upetya tu kaunteya, punar janma na vidyate

(Bg. 8.16)He instructs Arjjuna, “A

permanent position is only pos-sible in My plane. All occupa-tions in this plane, even that ofa king, are all just as in a dream.So if you want to get out of thisdreaming life and enter intoreality then raise yourself to the

standard of finding the plane ofreality, however subtle it maybe, for that cannot be devouredby death. Collect your energy tobuild up something permanent.At present you are investingyour energy in something thatis going to be demolished at the next moment—a foolishattempt.”

uddhared åtmanåtmånaì, nåtmånam avasådayet

åtmaiva hy åtmano bandhur,åtmaiva ripur åtmanaè

(Bg. 6.5)

Raise yourself tothe standard offinding the planeof reality… it cannot bedevoured by death

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“Note that you are your ownfriend. But you are your ownenemy also. You are your ownenemy if you don’t take goodcare of your own developmentfor your real progress. But youcan be your own friend, andnone can give as much help toyou as you, yourself, can do.”

bandhur åtmåtmanas tasya, yenaivåtmåtmanå jitaè

(Bg. 6.6)“If at all you can have any

self-control then collect yourenergy from going astray anddirect it to the proper channel

where you can really thrive,and then you will be your realfriend. However, if you allowyourself to be led by the varioussenses of lower nature whichare always trying to move in the land of exploitation,reaction, and suffering then youare your own enemy. Considerall these things.”

vimùßyaitad aße£eòa, yathecchasi tathå kuru

(Bg. 18.63)“Consider and consider

deeply, then take the right stepas to what to do.” The humanlife is very valuable. You havethe power of discrimination,but that will be denied you if,compelled by the reactionarywave, you have to go into the body of a tree, a beast, orwherever. Can you say forcertain that in your next lifeyou will not be degraded intoan animal body? What guaran-tee is there that you won’t be?

It is not that all action and allprogress takes place only in therealm of death. Progress is notlimited just to darkness andignorance, but if you reallyparticipate in positive progressyou will be able to feel whatreal progress is. Hùdayeòåbhya-nujñåto—you will feel andconceive the progress with yourinner approval, your heart’sapproval. It is not that somebogus hope has been given and

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Be your ownfriend: none can

give as much helpto you as you,

yourself, can do

you will be taken into a foreignland to be murdered, tortured,mistreated, etc. There is noquestion of that. bhaktiè pareßånubhavo viraktiranyatra cai£a trika eka-kålaèprapadyamånasya yathåßnataè syustu£éiè pu£éiè k£ud-apåyo ’nu-ghåsam

(Bhå: 11.2.42)This famous ßloka of çr^mad-

Bhågavatam explains that whenyou eat something, your bellywill give witness. It will say,“Yes I am eating.” Hunger willbe satisfied, the body nourished,and there will be the fulfilmentof having been fed. The bodywill be nourished and will gainstrength, and, along with allthis, will be your own innerapproval of having eaten. Fur-thermore there will be no longerany feeling of necessity to eatmore and more. Similarly inspiritual life so many symp-toms will come to give proof ofyour progress.

We now have a human body,and this is the most valuabletime for us, but it is being lostdue to misapplication. Ourmost valuable energy is beinglost through misappropriation.Utti£éhataè jågrataè prapyo varånnibodhataè—so, awake, arise,and engage yourself not onlyfor you, but address others alsoto engage in this campaign, and that in turn will give youfurther help in a particular way.

The main thing is that underthe guidance of a higher agentwe should engage ourselves indevotional activities and have abusy programme so there maynot be any spare time to go onwith any trifling mundane mat-ters. Such a busy programme inthe association of the devoteeswill be very helpful for us.

In spiritual life somany symptomswill come to giveproof of yourprogress

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PART FOUR

Internal self-satisfaction, todisregard the present environ-ment of the troublesome world,is a valuable asset. It is nearingthe soul area. Real bhakti, devo-tion, is ahaituk^, causeless; it isits own cause. It is causelessand it is by itself. As Hegel said,reality is by itself. Reality is notan abstract thing, but realitymeans a system, a system that exists by itself. It is anådiand ahaituk^, it is eternal, andnothing can produce it. Bhakti isits own cause. These are thedefinitions that have been givento help us to understand whatis bhakti. It is not created bysome other thing, it is thereeternally, but it is only coveredand should be uncovered,discovered. It is there in apotential form. By outside helpit will gradually and progres-

sively come out: it is as ifsleeping—it is necessary torouse it. Anyåbhilå£a, karmma,jñåna—fleeting desires, and theorganised attempts for bothexploitation and retirement orindifference, are the covers. Wehave to remove these coversand then bhakti will emerge inall its pristine glory.

To have affinity and attractiontowards the higher truth is veryrarely found, especially in thismodern age where the directionof thought is all towardsexploitation, even of knowl-edge. Knowledge being alsosubservient to exploitation iscreating havoc. Atomic energyand so many other kinds ofscientific research are the causeof great apprehension: the worldis threatened with destructionat any moment. This scientificknowledge has brought us tosuch a position that at anymoment the whole thing maybe finished! This knowledge issuicidal. The increase of suchknowledge in this world meansthe result is that we are going tocommit suicide. Exploitationmeans reaction. So, if we are to accept general, wholesale,exploitation then the result will be pralaya, mahå-pralaya,destruction—wholesale. In anyway, whether by the atomicbomb or by any other naturalincident, the pralaya will come,

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and after that, again creation:birth and death, birth anddeath… Each individual will beborn and die again, and thewhole solar system will also beborn and will die again andagain without end.

If we are to get out of thisentanglement, we must leavethis atmosphere experienced byour senses. In Bhagavad-g^tåand in the Upani£ads also it ismentioned, indriyåòi paråòyåhur. Our senses hold the prin-ciple position, because if theeye, ear, nose, touch, etc. aregone, then the whole world isgone from us. Because we havesenses we have our world. Inthe world of experience, oursenses are all-important. Then—indriyebhyaè paraì manaè—themind is within. And what is themind? It is the faculty within uswhich selects, “I want this, Idon’t want that.” We have aliking for something, and adisregard for something else,and this is the principle of themind within us. It is moreimportant than the sensesbecause if I am unmindful, aperson may walk in front of mebut it is possible that I will say,“Oh, I did not notice him. I didnot see him and I could nothear him. I was unmindful.” So,mind is in the centre, and that ismore important than oursenses.

The senses are more impor-tant than the external world,and the mind is more importantbecause if the mind does notreceive, then the senses, whichare like so many doors, areuseless. Then—manasas tu paråbuddhir—there is another prin-ciple to be traced within us, afine thing called reason, buddhi,and what is its characteristic?The mind will say, “Oh, I shalltake that,” but buddhi says, “Ohno. No, don’t take that, it willcause some damage. You rathertake this, it will give you bene-fit.” That faculty of selection,that reason, is a higher princi-ple in us.

Because we havesenses we haveour world, buthigher is the mind

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Then—buddher yaè paratas tusaè—that which is superioreven to the intelligence is thesoul himself.

In this way we are to traceout the elements. More impor-tant than the external world areour senses; more importantthan our senses is our mind;and above the mind is reasonwhich is even more important,more fine and more reliable;and—buddher yaè paratas tusaè—there is another thingabove the buddhi, and that is oursoul. And what is its nature, its

characteristic? It is like light. In the Scriptures an example

has been given that on a moon-lit night there may be a cloud inthe sky which has covered themoon—but the cloud is seen bythe light of the moon. The com-piler of the Vedas, Vyåsadeva,says the åtmå is like that illumi-nating moon. Or, like the sun: acloud has covered the sun, butthe cloud is seen by the light ofthe sun. Similarly, the åtmå is apoint of light within us, andbecause it is in the backgroundwe can feel our mental system.If the light is withdrawn, theneverything is dead. The mentalsystem, the intelligence, thefaculty of choice, and so manychannels through which wegain knowledge from outside,will have no value if that lightis withdrawn. That light is theåtmå, a point of a ray of light,and it is quite categoricallydifferent from all other thingshere. The soul is a particle oflight and there is a land of lightmade of souls, and in this waythere is development again:from the subjective to super-subjective, from soul to Super-soul, åtmå to Paramåtmå. Just asin this world we find ether, air,heat, water, then earth, thenstone, and in this way there is development in materialexistence, similarly in the finer

26

The soul is like aparticle of light

and there is a land of light

made of souls

world there is also development:from the intelligence to thesoul, then to the Supersoul, tothe Super-supersoul… In thisway the subjective side goestowards the infinite. It is super-subjective.

Darwin in his theory of evo-lution says that everythingcomes from matter. He saysthat even within the womb,first there is something materialwhich grows, and from thatgrowth of matter, knowledgealso gradually grows. Ingeneral terms he thinks thatconsciousness comes out ofmatter. But the followers of therevealed truth do not believe inthat. They say that conscious-ness is all in all, and everythingis floating on the ocean of con-sciousness. That is subjectiveevolution. Darwin talks ofobjective evolution, but theVedic Scriptures say thateverything comes under thecategory of subjective evolu-tion. As Bishop Berkeley, oneEuropean philosopher said, “Itis not that the mind is in theworld, but the world is in themind.” Everything is floating in the plane of consciousness.Consciousness presupposeseverything.

Darwin’s section say that inthe beginning was the fossil.But what is a fossil? A fossilmeans a particular conception,

and that is a part of conscious-ness. Therefore, we contendthat consciousness is the mostoriginal subject. Whatever youmay say to be the beginning,before that, consciousnessexisted, otherwise you cannotgive any statement aboutanything. So, the Vedic truthstates that Brahman—the all-pervading impersonal aspect ofthe Absolute—is the source of the souls, and above the soul, åtmå, is the Supersoul,Paramåtmå. In the mundane

Everything floatsin the plane ofconsciousness.Consciousnesspresupposeseverything

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worlds all development is inthe black side, but there is alsoa bright side: the eternal world,which exists with so manyjoyful activities—so manywaves in the ocean of blissful-ness and joy.

In this way we are to under-stand what should be our dutyin this life, what is the specialimportance of the human life,and how to utilise that. Thereare so many religious opinions,but we seekers after truth shallhave to find a harmonising

solution amongst them, and forthat we are to enter into somecomparative study.

It is mentioned in the Scrip-tures that we should not changeour position very easily. Forexample a commander will sayto his army, “Don’t changeyour position. Rather, die to keep it.” But when thechance will come, he will say,“Go forward.” Similarly, theßåstra, the Scriptures, have told, “Wherever you are bornaccording to your previouskarmma, wherever you havetaken your stand, don’t try toleave there otherwise there isthe possibility you will godown.” But at the same time,when a proper chance comes,they say, “March on towardsthe Absolute! Make furtherprogress.” So, in Bhagavad-g^tåit is given, “Don’t easily loseyour present position acquiredby your previous action—rather, die there!” But thenagain, Kù£òa comes to say:

sarvva-dharmmån parityajya, måm ekaì ßaraòaì vraja

“When you get the chance of marching towards theCentre, you must do it at allcost.” This is the revolutionarymethod. There is the con-stitutional method and therevolutionary method. Therevolutionary method is to takethe risk of anything and every-

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March on, marchforward towardsthe central truth,

for this humanlife gives the best

opportunity

thing and march on, marchforward towards the centraltruth, and, because this humanlife gives the best opportunity,we shall do whatever is neces-sary for that.

Only in the human life doyou practically have the use of your discrimination anddecision. If you lose this posi-tion and go to animal life orvegetable life, no one knowswhen you will again come backto be able to take independentand voluntary decision. There-fore this human life is mostimportant and you should notmisuse it only in the practicesof animal life: åhåra, nidrå, bhaya,maithuna—to eat, to sleep, to beunder apprehension at everyminute, and to have sensepleasure, because this you willget everywhere. If you willbecome an animal or go any-where else—to become a bird, aworm, an insect, etc.—you willget all these enjoyments, but toculture about your soul, aboutreligion, about your properfunction, that chance you willnot get anywhere else otherthan in the human form of life.In the company of the saints theentire position may be dis-cussed, in this way you canmake progress in your life andsave yourself. But if havingreceived a human birth, youlose this chance, you are com-

mitting suicide, or even morethan that! One commits suicidewho having received the chanceof a human birth does not try tohelp himself properly, to try forhis wholesale relief.

Don’t commitsuicide—make progressand save yourself

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PART FIVE

çr^ Guru and

His Grace

The following essay by çr^la B.R. çr^dhar Dev-

Goswåm^ Mahåråj was originally published in

1934 in The Harmonist.

To err is human. To err isinevitable for all, being not per-fect. Still, no one wants toremain imperfect. There is anelement within all that is ani-mate that tends towards perfec-tion. If it were not so, we wouldfeel no want at all. Our ten-dency towards perfection is cer-tainly very weak and limited;

otherwise we could attain thegoal at once. Our limited capac-ity and tendency for perfectionmakes room for the guide orGuru.

The imperfect is not so if it isnot in need of help, and thatalso from beyond itself. Theperfect is not perfect if He can-not assert Himself or help oth-ers, and that too, of His ownaccord. So the guidance to per-fection or Absolute Truth isnecessarily a function of theAbsolute Himself, and thedivine agent through whomthis function manifests is çr^Guru or the divine guide.

For a seeker of the AbsoluteTruth, submission to the Guruis unavoidable. A class ofthinkers believes, however, thatwhen scientific research is pos-sible, why cannot higher spiri-tual knowledge also be evolvedfrom within? Such people areignorant of the most essentialnature of absolute Knowledge,that He alone is the AbsoluteSubject and all else includingourselves constitutionally standonly as an object to His omni-scient vision. It is impossible forthe eye to see the mind; it canhave some connection with themind only when the latter caresto mind it. In a similar way, ourconnection with absoluteknowledge depends mainly onHis sweet will. We must solely

30

depend on His agent, or thespiritual master, through whomHe likes to distribute Himself.

Our human society with itsfinest culture forms but aninfinitesimal part of the dynam-ic absolute. How, except by thedirect and positive method ofrevelation, dare we hope tocomprehend or evolve any con-ception of the supernaturalknowledge of the uncondi-tioned infinite? All intellectualgiants prove themselves butpygmies before the absoluteomniscient omnipotence whoreserves the right to giveHimself away through His ownagents alone.

To our best knowledge andsincerity, however, we shouldsee not to submit to a falseagent. Here of course, we can’thelp ourselves very much;because in our present state weare mainly guided by our previ-ous saìskåra or acquirednature. “Birds of the samefeather flock together.” Yet,although we are generally over-powered by habit, there is stillthe possibility of free choice toa certain extent, specially in thehuman species, otherwise cor-rection becomes impossible,and punishment merevengeance. Reality can assertitself. Light does not requiredarkness for its positive proof.The sun by itself can establish

its supremacy over all otherlights. Before an open and unbi-ased eye, the sad Guru (realguide) shines above all profes-sors of phenomenon.

çr^ Guru manifests himselfmainly in a twofold way — asthe director from within andthe preceptor from without.Both functions of the absolutehelp an individual soul — a dis-ciple — to reach the absolutegoal. In our fallen state we can-not catch the proper directionof the inner guide, so the merci-ful manifestation of the precep-tor without is our sole help andhope. But at the same time it is

31

The real guide shines above allprofessors of phenomenon

only by the grace of the Guruwithin that we can recognizethe real preceptor without andsubmit to his holy feet.

A bona fide disciple mustalways remain fully awake tothe fact that his highest spiritu-al fortune is but a graciousgrant from the Absolute Lord,and not a matter of right to bedemanded or fought out.Constitutionally, we areequipped only to be properrecipients of God’s favour. Inthis connection it should beclearly understood that an indi-vidual soul can never be sub-stantially the same as the

Absolute Person. Not even inhis liberated or fully realizedcondition can an individualsoul be one with Godhead. Themisconception of one-ness hasbeen introduced from the sloth-ful non-discrimination of theAbsolute Personality from theluminous orb around His eter-nal, spiritual, and blissfulhome. In fact, an individualsoul constitutes only a part of aparticular power of intermedi-ate value of the Supreme Lord,and as such he is capable ofbeing converted from bothsides. He differs from theAbsolute Entity both in quanti-ty and quality, and is merely adependent entity on the abso-lute. In other words, theAbsolute Lord Kù£òa is themaster, and an individual j^vasoul is His constitutional subor-dinate or servant.

Such a relationship is con-stant and really wholesome forthe j^va. The apprehension ofslavery does not arise becauseof his free choice and immensepositive gain. The freedom andindividuality of the j^va are notonly unharmed by surrender tothe Absolute Good, but theyreally thrive in Him alone.Individual freedom and interestare the part and parcel of thosewho are of the absolute, and sothey are quite at home there, asa fish is at home in water or an

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The constant andreally wholesome

relationship forthe soul

animal in a healthy atmosphere.But the freedom as well as allother qualities of the SupremePersonality are unlimited andtranscendental, and so only bytheir partial functions they har-monize all relative entities.

çr^ Guru is not exclusively thesame as the Supreme LordHimself, but he fully representsthe essence of the whole normalpotency and embodies the mostcomprehensive and excellentservice and favour of the Lord.As he is the fittest servitor of theLord, he is empowered by theLord to reinstate all misguidedsouls to their best interest. So,Guru is the divine messenger ofimmortal hope and joy in thismortal and miserable world.His advent is the most auspi-cious and happy event to thesuffering animation, and can becompared to the rising of themorning star that can guide thetraveller lost in the desert. Agentle touch of çr^ Guru’s merci-ful hand can wipe off the inces-sant tears from all weepingeyes. A patriot or philanthropistmakes the problem only worsein his frantic and futile attemptto alleviate the deep-rootedpain of a suffering soul, as anignorant doctor does in eagerlyhandling an unfortunatepatient. Oh the day when thispoor soul realizes the causelessgrace of çr^ Gurudeva.

Abbreviations

Bg.: — çr^mad Bhagavad-g^tå Bhå: — çr^mad-Bhågavatam

çr^ Guru’s handcan wipe off theincessant tearsfrom all weeping eyes

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Publications (A selection of English editions)

a) By and about çr^la B.R. çr^dhar Dev-Goswåm^:

Centenary AnthologyExclusive GuardianshipGolden Volcano of Divine LoveHoly EngagementHome ComfortLoving Search for the Lost ServantSearch for çr^ Kù£òalSermons of the Guardian of Devotion Sri Gaudiya Darshan (Periodical from

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math)çr^-çr^ Prapanna-j^vanåmùtam—(Positive

and Progressive Immortality)çr^la Guru Mahåråj — His DivinePastimes & Precepts in Briefçr^mad Bhagavad-g^tå—(The Hidden

Treasure of the Sweet Absolute)Subjective Evolution—(The Play of the

Sweet Absolute)

b) By and about çr^la B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswåm^:

Dignity of the Divine ServitorDivine GuidanceGolden ReflectionsDivine Message of the DevoteesThe Benedictine Tree of DivineAspirationThe Divine Servitor

c) Various (in English):Relative Worlds (by çr^la Bhaktisiddhånta

Saraswat^ ëhåkur)çr^ Brahmå-saìhitå (Bengali/English)çr^ Chaitanya Mahåprabhu—His Life &

Precepts (by çr^la Bhaktivinod ëhåkur)çr^ Chaitanya Saraswat^—(The Voice of

çr^ Chaitanyadev) #1çr^ Chaitanya Saraswat^— #2 (Colour)

And: Bengali, Gujurati, Hindi,Czech, German, Hungarian, Italian, Oriyan, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish…

(Enquiries welcome)

Kù£òa said: “Why did you stay away? Why have you been living away from home for so long? How was it possible foryou? How could you bear My separation? You left Me, and youhave been passing lives after lives without Me. Still I know whattrouble you took to return to Me. You searched for Meeverywhere, and went to beg from house to house, and youwere chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed tearsfor Me. I know all these things. I was with you. And now, aftergreat trouble, you have again come back to Me.”

—“Loving Search for the Lost Servant”by çr^la B.R. çr^dhar Dev-Goswåm^ Mahåråj

Please consider:“The outer nature cannot do as much harm to us as ourinner nature can do in its apathy to collect more wealth forthe inner existence: the man within.”

“The nature of the progressive substance is eternalexistence, knowledge, and beauty. The one harmonisingorganic whole contains all similarities and differences, heldinconceivably in the hand of the Absolute. And there is noanarchy in the absolute power. Nonetheless, mercy isfound to be above justice. Above judiciousness, thesupreme position is held by love, sympathy, and beauty: ‘Iam the absolute power, but I am friendly to you all.Knowing this, you need never fear (çr^mad Bhagavad-gita5.29).’ This revelation relieves us of all apprehension: weare not victims of a chaotic environment, but it is judicious,considerate—and the ultimate dispenser is our friend.”

—“Positive and Progressive Immortality” by Swami B.R. Sridhar

We have much food for the thoughtful. You are humbly invited, without any

obligation, to write, enquire, and participate for your own inner fulfilment

of this valuable life.

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Kolerganj, P.O.Nabadwip, District Nadia, W.Bengal, PIN 741302, INDIA.

You are invited to contact:

Thought provoking, with clear,practical guidance for livinglife more fully each day.

It makes the prospect ofbecoming joyfully immortal, a reality.

Most readable… …it giveshope and strength to all.

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Kolerganj, P.O. Nabadwip, District Nadia, PIN 741302, W.B., India