Some
visuals were shown along with the narrator's
statement: "Sarasvati
Thakura
also did not allow his disciples to read such books as Gita-govinda,
Ujjvala-nilamani or Govinda-lilamrta." When the narrator said
the word "Gita-govinda," there was a full-screen showing of the cover
of Srila Narayana Maharaja's translation and commentary of
Sri Gita-govinda.
Here we find an unfortunate lapse of
courtesy, which we prefer to think must be
uncharacteristic of his holiness Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja. While
mentioning Rasa-lila, he might have displayed the cover of the Krsna Book,
written by his own Guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. [While writing in
his own publication that
Srila
Sarasvati
Thakura
did not allow disciples to read or discuss the most confidential parts of
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta,
he might have displayed his own Guru's edition of the same.]
However, he decided only to present the work
of Srila Narayana Maharaja, along with a warning not to read it. Are we to take
this as a charitable act of free publicity? If so, we are grateful.
He could have mentioned that the Gita-govinda
on the screen begins with an extra thirty-five pages of warnings to support his
own warning. His failure to do so unnecessarily portrays the book and its
commentator in an objectionable light. By token of the same logic,
Sri Jayadeva
Gosvami,
the original author of Sri
Gita-govinda,
along with
Srila
Rupa
Gosvami
and
Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja
Gosvami (the authors of
Ujjvala-nilamani and Govinda-lilamrta respectively) also stand inadvertently
condemned.
Further, in a recent posting on his
Krishna-talk internet article, Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja goes on to
confuse the act of publishing a confidential book with endorsing its
indiscriminate study, as if the two issues were the same. Little can be said to address such non sequitur without running the
risk of accrediting improper logic with substance.
The
question may be asked in a general sense: Why do
acaryas publish or even write confidential books in the first place? They know that most of us are not qualified.
Still, like affectionate parents who bequeath their treasures to their beloved
children on the condition of their coming of age, our merciful acaryas leave
the priceless transcendental treasure of their realizations in books for their
followers to relish when, one day, those followers are mature enough in their
bhakti to deeply appreciate them.
Are we to construe their generous provision
for our future an incriminating act of sahajiyaism? Better we accept it with a
properly adjusted sense of responsibility.
A. Reply to Krishna-talk statements
The following are Krishna-talk's specific
statements and our reply to each. Unfortunately,
these statements reveal the thoughts behind the documentary producer's
committing the otherwise simply tacit offense of showing the full-screen
pictures of Srila Narayana Maharaja's edition of Gita-govinda.
[Unlike the rest of our article, in this section,
"A," our words will not be in bold letters.]
Gosai.com/Krishna-talk statement:
It is quite
misleading that the publishers have posed
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
as having written that article expressly for Gita-govinda
Our
reply:
Sripad Narasingha
Maharaja is a very honorable Vaisnava sannyasi. We humbly request him to
reconsider his statement. The publishers of Srila Narayana Maharaja's
translation and commentary of
Sri Gita-govinda
never suggested to the reader that the Foreword was written
by
Srila Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada for the Foreword. The publishers wrote
in the subtitle of that Gita-govinda Foreword, "From 'Sri Caitanya's Teachings'
Chapter 14.""Sri Caitanya's
Teachings" is a compilation of articles by
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura, produced over half a
century before the publication of Srila Narayana Maharaja's edition.
Gosai.com/Krishna-talk statement:
It is a misnomer,
since the article presented there as a forward by
Bhaktisiddhanta was actually not written by Bhaktisiddhanta. The article
was originally written by Professor Nisikanta Sanyal and published in The
Harmonist magazine volume 26 #6 in November 1928 (it was later published as a
small booklet in 1931). The article was originally called
"The Erotic Principle and Unalloyed Devotion" and has been printed
and mistakenly attributed to Bhaktisiddhanta in many
Gaudiya
Matha
publications over the decades.
Our reply:
The article used in
the Foreword was published in chapter 14 of "Sri
Caitanya's Teaching" by
Sri Gaudiya
Matha
of Madras. It was edited by Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaja and several
other prominent devotees. The title of that chapter is
called "Krsna-prema." The same article is
presented in the huge "coffee table" Mandala Publication
"Sarasvati
Thakura" as the words of
Prabhupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta,
with the title "The Erotic Principle and Unalloyed Devotion."
There is an
article from the Harmonist, later printed as a booklet entitled "The
Erotic Principle and Unalloyed Devotion" by
Professor Sanyal.
The first two paragraphs of the article in the Foreword of Sri Gita-govinda are
roughly the same as a section somewhere in the middle of
Professor Sanyal's
article, and that section is subtitled "The Sexual Principle." However,
the rest of the article is completely different, although the topic is the same.
Regarding
Professor
Sanyal's
Harmonist article,
Srila
Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada certainly read and
approved in writing the statements therein, as seen by the Foreword he wrote
glorifying the article. It may be noted, however, that
this is not the Foreword of Srila Narayana Maharaja's edition of
Sri Gita-govinda that
Sripad Narasingha Maharaja refers to on his website.
Gosai.com/Krishna-talk statement:
The so-called 'Forward
to
Gita
Govinda' is actually
Professor
Sanyal's
article with a two paragraph add-on at the beginning taken from a lecture by
Bhaktisiddhanta wherein he speaks briefly about
Jayadeva
Gosvami.
Our reply:
There was no
add-on. There are clearly two separate parts of the Foreword. One part contains
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura's
article from the book "Sri
Caitanya's
Teachings", edited by Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaja. The other part
of the Foreword has a different title, which states, "Foreword: A few
words from
Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura
on Gita-govinda." It is subtitled as follows:
"The following discourse was delivered in 1932 on the eve of the 446th
commemoration of Sri
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's appearance."
Also, it is eight paragraphs, not two.
For the
information of the readers, there are two separate books in this regard. One is
called "Sri
Caitanya's
Teachings," and that book contains the articles by
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura
Prabhupada.
There is another book, called "Sri
Krsna Caitanya,"
and that is by Professor
Sanyal. Srila Prabhupada
Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja wrote in a letter (Mar. 14, 1967): "The late
Prof.
N.K.
Sanyal was my god-brother and his
book, "Krsna
Caitanya," is approved and
authoritative. It will help us a great deal because my spiritual master has
given his approval to this book."
Gosai.com/Krishna-talk statement:
It is indeed a
ruse when the publishers of Gita-govinda say that if the followers of
Bhaktisiddhanta do not translate and comment upon Ujjvala-nilamani,
Gita-govinda, etc. that these books will then be the exclusive property of the
Sahajiyas. To the contrary, in doing so, the publishers of Gita-govinda have
entered the domain of the Sahajiyas and shown us their true colors.
Our reply:
We are simply sad
to read this statement, which is an attempt to dishonor our worshipful
siksa-guru Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja by calling him a sahajiya. Our
Prabhupada quotes his Prabhupada on the subject of sahajiyas: "Such an
advanced devotee has nothing to do with the sahajiyas, who manufacture their
own way and commit sins by indulging in illicit sex, intoxication and gambling,
if not meat-eating. Sometimes the sahajiyas imitate advanced devotees and live
in their own whimsical way, avoiding the principles set down in the revealed
scriptures. The sahajiyas' understanding of the love affairs between Radha and
Krsna is not bona fide because they do not follow the principles laid down by
the Six Gosvamis."
We simply pray to
the honorable Sripad Narasingha Maharaja that he will be so kind as to
reconsider and then retract his statements.
Regarding
Gita-govinda, he may kindly consider all the warnings regarding qualification
to read the Gita-govinda that are given in Srila Narayana Maharaja's own
Introduction, as well as the other front-matter of the book. It is interesting
to note the last paragraph of
Srila
Sarasvati
Thakura's
article, which graces the Foreword in Srila Narayana Maharaja's edition:
"No idea of the positive nature of the function of the higher plane
corresponding to the sexual activity of this world can be conveyed to those who
are not completely free from the disease of mundane sexual desire. It is for
this reason advisable to abstain from all empiric study of the descriptions of
the amorous activities of the Divinity until one has actually been freed from
every worldly passion by the preparatory service of
Sri
Krsna under the direction of a
bona fide spiritual master."
Regarding
Narasingha Maharaja's statement, "It is indeed a ruse when the publishers
of Gita-govinda say that if the followers of Bhaktisiddhanta do not translate
and comment upon Ujjvala-nilamani, Gita-govinda, etc. that these books will
then be the exclusive property of the Sahajiyas": It is worth noting Srila
Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada's lecture at Sri Radha-kunda in 1932, later
published in "The Gaudiya" in 1934. There he said, "We must
retrieve asta-kaliya-lila from the hands of the sahajiyas."
B.
Srila
Narayana Maharaja
- a contemporary universal teacher
The respected reader is invited to log on to
Srila Narayana Maharaja's website, www.purebhakti.com.
There, one can freely read or download his books and hundreds of his lectures.
About 500 of his lectures are posted on his website, and from that it is plain
to see how he is carefully cultivating bhakti in the hearts of the conditioned
souls. For example, he discusses topics like Bhagavad-gita, Druva Maharaja, the
conversation between Devahuti and
Lord Kapiladeva,
King Citraketu,
Prahlada Maharaja, Ambarisa Maharaja,
Lord Krsna's baby and
childhood pastimes, and Sri
Siksastakam.
He discusses Sri
Brhad-bhagavatamrta's explanation of the five types of uttama bhaktas, the
history of Srimad-Bhagavatam as given in the First Canto, and
Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's
mission and pastimes. He also discusses the glories of the Lord's incarnations
and of our predecessor acaryas on their respective appearance and disappearance
days.
Finally,
he discusses the glory and topmost krsna-prema of the gopis and especially
Srimati
Radhika.
Service to Her lotus feet is the goal of all our Gaudiya-sampradaya acaryas.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, he teaches that without knowing
the goal (the sadhya) no one can engage seriously in the bhakti process (the
sadhana).
C. Regarding the title
"Unconventional Teachers"
This section discusses
the reason for titling our article and website "Unconventional
Teachers." All of the self-realized acaryas in our disciplic succession -
from Lord Brahma to Srila Vyasadeva to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to Srila
Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada to his pure followers of the present day - are
universal teachers and "unconventional teachers" at the same time.
We conditioned souls
inevitably try to "freeze" the teaching of an acarya in order to
promote it in the manner of a marketable commodity. However,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saravati
Thakura
strongly challenged the conception of fixed rules that were to be applied to
everyone at all times. He favored the
very personal, adhikara-specific, unconventional guidance of a living acarya -
a point which is often hard to appreciate for today's self-taught, multi-media,
distance learning generation. The following excerpt is from
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura's article, "The
Killing of Putana" (printed in the January l932 edition of The Harmonist,
or
Sree
Sajjanatoshani):
"The
Supreme Lord Sri
Krsna
Caitanya, in pursuance of the
teaching of the scriptures, enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the
teachers of the eternal religion. It does not follow that the mechanical
adoption of the unconventional life by any person will make him a fit teacher
of religion. Regulation is necessary for controlling the inherent worldliness
of conditioned souls. But no mechanical regulation has any value even for such
a purpose.
"The
bona fide teacher of religion is neither any product nor the favorer of any
mechanical system. In his hands no system has likewise the chance of
degenerating into a lifeless arrangement. The mere pursuit of fixed doctrines
and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true spirit of doctrine or
liturgy.
"The
idea of an organized church in an intelligible form indeed marks the close of
the living spiritual movement. The great ecclesiastical establishments are the
dykes and the dams to retain the current that cannot be held by any such
contrivances. They, indeed, indicate a desire on the part of the masses to
exploit a spiritual movement for their own purpose. They also unmistakably
indicate the end of the absolute and UNCONVENTIONAL guidance of the bona fide
spiritual teacher." (emphasis is ours)
By describing spiritual guidance as
"unconventional", Srila Sarasvati Thakura, the universal teacher
himself, teaches that any one specific statement of his, such as "Do not
read Govinda-lilamrta" is NOT universally applicable at all times, all
places, in all circumstances and for all audiences. We cannot believe that our
most respectful superior Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja would quote his
Guru Maharaja as saying that such a statement universally and eternally applies
to all.
We all agree about the necessity for
caution with rasa and extreme caution with rahasya. But the non-publication of
rasa-sastra by one acarya does not preclude the publication of rasa-sastra by
another.
Srila
Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada clearly regards
preceptorial guidance as UNCONVENTIONAL and therefore not subject to the
formulaic compression of the simplistic motto.
Regarding the
title "Unconventional Teachers," three syllables are identical in
syntax to Universal Teacher. Un + ve + al are common to both Unconventional and
Universal. Unconventional Teacher is immediately recognizable as an elaboration
of Universal Teacher. The words "unconventional teachers" was
inspired by the above-mentioned article written by
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura himself.
This
eternal principle of unconventionality gives rise to the apparent differences
in the approaches of all authentic acaryas - although there is no difference in
their message or mission. If only universal teachers could be cloned from the
stem cells of a few contextual phrases, we would not have to rely on prayer,
introspection and the causeless mercy of
Sri
Krsna to find genuine guidance on the path
to
Goloka
Vrndavana.
Who can deny that there is a speciality in
the presentations in each of our acaryas? The perfect acaryas preach according to
time, place, circumstance and audience. According to these four, our acaryas
employ various strategies in their preaching. For this reason, no one can
demand a fixed, homogeneous meta-narrative.
We
find that the same audience receives different instructions from an acarya as
that audience matures in bhakti; there are so many examples of this.
Srila Sukadeva Gosvami was speaking
Srimad-Bhagavatam to Maharaja Pariksit, who was a resident of Dvaraka and
Sri Krsna's relative
there. In order to encourage him, Sukadeva Gosvami appeared to express the idea
that Lord Krsna is the true son of Devaki and Vasudeva and was carried by him
to the house of Yasoda devi, who had just given birth to a baby girl. Later,
because
Srila
Sukadeva
Gosvami
wanted Maharaja
Pariksit
to come to the understanding that
Sri Krsna's
real parents are Nanda Baba and Yasoda-devi, he uttered verses containing the
words "pasupangajaya" and "jayati te'dhikam janmana vrajah"
in the 14th and 31st chapters of the Tenth Canto. This is
all explained in the Tenth Canto commentaries of our previous acaryas.
Our
Srila Prabhupada,
a follower of
Srila
Sukadeva
Gosvami,
did a similar thing. In Nectar of Devotion, one of his earliest books, he wrote
that Nanda Maharaja is the foster-father of
Sri
Krsna. Then, in his Tenth Canto
translations and commentaries, as well as those in
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrta, he
established that Krsna is fully the son of Nanda Baba and Yasoda-devi, and only
partly the son of Vasudeva and Devaki.
Here is an example which shows that
different acaryas will say apparently different things to different audiences
of different qualifications - while there is really no contradiction in their
ideas. The example is given by
Srila
Sarasvati
Thakura
himself, from his article that was printed as the Foreword of Srila Narayana
Maharaja's edition of Sri
Gita-govinda:
"Sri
Sukadeva's
hesitation to divulge the secrets of the Vedas is well founded. The conduct of
Sri Jayadeva
Gosvami
in speaking without reserve is equally in order if we remember that his book
cannot be understood at all by those who are lacking in the highest spiritual
culture."
Another example:
Srila Rupa
Gosvami and
Srila Jiva
Gosvami are always of the same
opinion.
Srila
Jiva
Gosvami
is always under
Srila
Rupa
Gosvami's
guidance. Outwardly, externally, it sometimes seems that they have different
opinions, but they are actually never of different opinions. It appears
outwardly that
Jiva
Gosvami tried to establish
svakiya-vada, the idea that Radha and Krsna or Krsna and the gopis are married,
whereas
Srila
Rupa
Gosvami
clearly established that Sri
Krsna
and the gopis are paramours (parakiya-vada).
Srila Visvanatha
Cakravarti
Thakura has reconciled this. He has explained in
great detail how
Jiva
Gosvami is actually saying the
same thing as
Rupa
Gosvami. We understand
Srila Jiva
Gosvami through the viewpoint of
Srila
Cakravartipada.
Moreover,
Srila
Jiva
Gosvami
himself has clarified this in his commentary on Ujjvala-nilamani. There he
states that he was explaining something for the sake of unqualified persons who
could not understand the superiority of parakiya-rasa, but that his own
personal conclusion was the same as that of
Srila Rupa
Gosvami.
In the same way, Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Pujyapada Srila
Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami
Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, and our Guru Maharaja Srila
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are all in the same line. Outwardly, to some, it
may sometimes be seen that they have different opinions, but really this is not
so. Those who are not on their level see circumstantial, outward, and apparent
differences in opinion. In so doing, such persons may criticize one acarya and
glorify another - but wrongly, not understanding either of their actual moods
and siddhanta.
As quoted above from
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura's article, "The mere
pursuit of fixed doctrines and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true
spirit of doctrine or liturgy." Or, stated otherwise, "You cannot be
my follower simply by quoting me to everyone."
D.
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura and raga-marga
As all bona fide acaryas have done,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada has cautioned
conditioned souls not to imitate an advanced, raganuga devotee. At the same
time, he came to this world to inspire true raganuga-bhakti - and especially
rupanuga-bhakti - in their hearts. Srila Sarasvati Thakura is sri gauravani murtaye, the embodiment of Mahaprabhu's teachings
and mission. Mahaprabhu's mission is:
prema-rasa-niryasa karite asvadana
raga-marga bhakti loke karite
pracarana
rasika-sekhara
krsna parama-karuna
ei dui hetu haite icchara
udgama
"The Lord's desire to appear
was born from two reasons: He wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows
of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on
the platform of spontaneous attraction (raga-marga or raganuga-bhakti). Thus He
is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all." (Caitanya-caritamrta,
Adi-lila 4.15)
This mission is the same as that of
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura's father and spiritual
preceptor,
Saccidananda Srila
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura.
Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura
writes in his Jaiva-dharma:
“The pure spiritual jiva's relationship with the material world is completely
terminated when Sri
Krsna
wills. Until this time, the jiva's relationship with
the material world can only tend toward its eventual cessation (ksayonmukha). In the ksayonmukha
stage, the jiva's intelligence attains freedom from
matter to the extent of svarupatah jada-mukti (bhava-bhakti), but not to the extent of vastutahjadamukti (prema-bhakti). When one attains the stage of vastutah jada-mukti, the ragatmika-vrtti or mood of the ragatmikas,
is awakened in the pure jiva both in terms of his internal spiritual identity (svarupa) and constitutional state (vastu). This ragatmika-prakrti is the nature of the eternal residents of
Vraja. The jiva who in the ksayonmukha stage follows
in the wake of the ragatmika nature is known as raganuga, one who follows the way of raga. This
condition of raganuga should be ardently sought after by the jivas.
“As long as this condition is absent, human
intelligence remains spontaneously attached to mundane objects." (Sri
Jaiva-dharma, Chapter 3)
E. The Glory of
Srila
Prabhupada Sarasvati
Thakura
In this regard we present three classes given
by Srila Narayana Maharaja. The first is a discourse given in
Vrndavana, India,
in 1991:
HIS LAST
DAYS
"Srila Sarasvati
Thakura
Prabhupada
knew that he would soon be going to his Master, and therefore he gave some
final instructions to his disciples. Our Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhakti Prajnana
Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, was there, as were Gosvami Maharaja, Bhakti Vilasa
Tirtha Maharaja and others.
"He told those in attendance, 'I am unhappy. I have
come for a mission - to give the things that
Sri
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu
came to give. He has ordered me to give the teachings of vipralambha (the mood
of separation) and gopi-prema. He ordered me to teach the reasons that He came
to this world, and to share His gifts.
"'However, most of my time was spent in cutting the
"jungles" of mayavada, sahajiya-vada, sakhi-bekhi
and all other non-devotional ideas. If there is a mayavada jungle, the seeds of
bhakti will not sprout. I therefore had to cut so many jungles, and still there
are so many jungles left throughout the world. Most of my time was spent in
clarifying philosophical points.'
"Saying this, his mood changed and his face became
reddish. Then he spoke the following verse:
yasyah kadapi
vasanancala-khelanottha-
dhanyati-dhanya-pavanena
krtartha-mani
yogindra-durgama-gatir madhusudano
'pi
tasya namo 'stu vrsabhanu-bhuvo dise
'pi'
["Obeisances to the direction
that faces Sri
Vrsabhanu's
daughter. When the breeze coming from that direction playfully moves the edge
of His garment, Lord
Krsna,
who cannot be attained by even the kings of yogis, thinks that His life has now
become a great success." (Sri Radha-rasa-suddha-nidhi, text 2)]
"Srila
Prabhupada Sarasvati
Thakura then explained how Krsna
is obedient to
Srimati
Radhika. He said, 'There is a nice
verse by
Srila
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami:
"'smara-vilasita-talpe
jalpa-lilam analpam
krama-krti-parihinam bibhrati tena
sardham
mitha
iva
parirambharambha-vrttaika-varsma
ksanam api mama radhe netram
anandaya tvam'
["O
Radha, who, without going anywhere else stays on the couch of amorous pastimes,
talking for a long time with Lord Krsna and embracing Him so strongly that Your
two forms appear to become one, please, for even a moment, delight my
eyes." (Sri
Stavavali,
Sri Prema-purabhidha-stotra,
text 4)]
"'Sri
Krsna
is very obedient to
Srimati
Radhika. She is always full of
pride, because Krsna is Hers. She has madiya-mayi-bhava, which means that She
always thinks, "Krsna is Mine." Candravali has the mood of
tadiya-bhava: "I am Krsna's." Krsna is controlled by Radhika only,
because of Her madiya-bhava.
"'Srimati
Radhika is svadina-bhartrika. This
means Sri
Krsna
is controlled by Her. Svadina bhartrika is of two kinds: maitri and sakhya.
Madiya and tadiya are two parts of madhurya-rasa or paramour love, and they are
each divided into two parts: maitri-mood and sakhya-mood. When love is
slackened by sincerely requesting something, as in a prayer, that is called
maitri. When priti (love) becomes prominent and prayer becomes secondary, that
type of svadina-bhartrika is called sakhya. Candravali becomes
svadina-bhartrika with maitri as the prominent mood (bhava), whereas Radhika
becomes svadina-bhartrika with sakhya-bhava. At that time,
Srimati
Radhika
can order anything She likes from Krsna, and He will carry out those orders -
He will do so even if He gets a hint of an order. He will always be ready to
carry out an order, even if there is only a hint of it. Regarding Candravali's
order however, He will only carry out Her prominent orders; she must tell Him
what she wants. In this way, Radhika is most prominent among all the gopis.'
"Srila
Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura
was ordered by Sri
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to help all devotees
understand that
Srimati
Radhika is the most powerful among
all the gopis, and that in order to become Her dasi (maidservant), we will have
to become rupanuga. Without being rupanuga - without the guidance of
Sri Rupa-manjari - we
cannot serve Radhika.
"Sri
Krsna's
priya-narma sakhas (His most intimate of cowherd friends) like Subala and
Sridama are inclined towards
Srimati
Radhika. They are pleased when
Radhika and Krsna meet. There are also some priya-narma-sakhas who facilitate
Candravali's relationship with Krsna, but
Prabhupada Sarasvati
Thakura was greatly inclined to
Srimati
Radhika,
in favor of rupanuga. He was rupanuga. He wanted to distribute this idea of
Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu:
we want to be the servants of
Sri Rupa-manjari,
so that we can serve Sri Sri
Radha and Krsna - not Candravali
and others like her.
"Srila
Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada's idea was to preach
rupanuga-bhakti. Actually it was not to preach it, for rupanuga is not
preached. His idea was to inspire devotees for this service to
Srimati
Radhika.
At the end of his manifest stay in this world, however, he told his followers,
'I could not do this, so I am unhappy. You should all gather and come under the
shelter of asraya-tattva (the principle of the pure devotee - the reservoir of
love for Krsna). Who is asraya-tattva? Guru is asraya-tattva. Living in such
shelter, you should serve the Divine Couple Sri Sri
Radha and Krsna under the guidance of
Sri
Rupa-manjari.' This was the root motive
for all his activities - to give this to the world."
GAURA-VANI
PRACARINE
The following is excerpted from another class
by Srila Narayana Maharaja, given on
Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura's
appearance day, February 21,
2003, in
Olpe, Germany:
"His (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada's) pranama-mantra
addresses him as gaura-vani sri-murtaye, the embodiment or personification of
gaura-vani, just as Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja is gaura-vani pracarine.
We must contemplate deeply to uncover the inner meaning of this. Gaura-vani
refers to that which Lord
Gaura
(Sacinandana
Gaurahari) preached, and what He
inspired in the heart of
Srila
Rupa
Gosvami
- the glorification of the mood of the gopis and
Srimati
Radhika.
"Sri
Gauracandra
told His associates, 'Oh Nityananda, Oh Haridasa Prabhu, go from door to door
and preach: bolo krsna, bhaja krsna, karo krsna: chant the names of Krsna,
worship Krsna and serve Krsna.' This is gaura-vani.
"Gaura-vani is also what
Sri
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu
discussed with Sri
Raya
Ramananda and
Sri Svarupa
Damodara
in the Gambhira, especially His hidden revelation of the meaning of the first
and last two verses of Sri
Siksastakam.
"Gaura-vani
is also the love and affection explained by
Srila Rupa
Gosvami in Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu,
Sri Ujjvala-nilamani,
Sri Vidagdha-madhava
and Sri Lalita-Madhava.
"Our entire disciplic succession descended to this
world from
Goloka
Vrndavana, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura
is one of the most prominent acaryas. If he had not come,
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's
mission would have turned into sahajiyaism, wherein all philosophy is
asat-sampradaya (outside any bona fide disciplic succession). If one is not
serving his Gurudeva, if he does not have strong belief in him and is not
following his line of thought, such a person is a sahajiya. This is taking
place nowadays. Because the actual message of our parampara is being preached,
such persons are somewhat stopped. But I do not know what will happen after I
leave this world. A very dangerous stage is coming.
"Many devotees left their Guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta
Swami Maharaja, and went to Radha-kunda. They wanted to remember
asta-kaliya-lila, the pastimes which
Lord
Krsna performs with His associates in the
eight periods of the day and night - not as gopis, but 'goopis'
- and for this offense they have gone to hell. They became 'babajis', keeping
two, three, or four widows, and they began to relish their so-called
'parakiya-bhajana.' They wanted to jump over the authorized process; they did
not want to practice bhakti-yoga, the path of spiritual realization through
devotional service to Lord
Krsna.
They wanted to be gopis by paying two pennies to any bogus person who would
'give' them siddha-deha (one's perfected spiritual identity) and tell them,
'You are such and such gopi.' Such cheaters give a name and other information
about that so-called gopi, and after some time their disciples imagine
themselves absorbed in Sri Sri
Radha-Krsna's most confidential
pastimes in the kunjas (secluded forest groves). Do not go in that direction.
"Some persons of ill character who were rejected
from the
Gaudiya
Matha also go to Radha-kunda to
become babajis in that asat-sampradaya. Such loose-character and unqualified
persons imagine themselves absorbed in meditating on the asta-kaliya-lila of
Radha and Krsna in Their midnight
and end-of-the-night pastimes. At those times Radha and Krsna meet alone in a
kunja, half naked and kissing each other. What will that 'meditator' think?
Material ideas will come to him. He is bound to see such pastimes as material,
and this is wrong.
The pastimes
of Sri Sri
Radha-Krsna
are transcendental. Only saintly persons like
Sri
Sukadeva
Gosvami
who was a brahmacari (a celibate, unmarried student) from his birth, Narada
Muni who is a liberated soul, or
Lord Sankara
who is an ideal personality can properly think of asta-kaliya-lila.
"Offer obeisances to such pastimes and try to
practice bhakti-yoga as our predecessor acaryas have taught us. Begin from
the root of the tree, become qualified to climb, and then gradually reach the
top. At that time you can relish the fruits of the tree. Otherwise, you will
have nothing but false ideas. Try to follow
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura,
our Gurudeva Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja and Srila
Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja."
THE GIVER OF
MADHURYA-BHAKTI
Based on an explanation of
Srila Sarasvati
Thakura
Prabhupada's
pranama mantra, Srila Narayana Maharaja gave a discourse on his appearance day.
This discourse was given in Singapore,
on the evening of February 13, 2001:
"This is the appearance day of Jagad-Guru Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and therefore we should discuss his glories.
"Namah om visnupadaya krsna-presthaya bhutale,
srimate bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvatiti-namine. In this pranama mantra it is
stated: bhaktisiddhanta sarasvati.
Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura has given birth to the
murtiman-vigraha of bhakti-siddhanta, the personification of the doctrines of
bhakti. In
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura
there is all the knowledge that Krsna gave to Brahma, Brahma gave to Narada,
Narada gave to Vyasa, and thus, by disciplic succession, came through the
rupanuga Vaisnavas down to
Srila
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura
and
Srila
Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. All the
philosophical truths, of the Vedas, Upanisads, and all other scriptures, were
embodied in
Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami
Thakura. If any person came to
argue philosophy with him, that person was at once defeated and was bound to
accept all his teachings.
"Namah om visnupadaya krsna-presthaya bhutale. He
was very near and dear to Krsna - very near and dear - in that male form. But
who is he really? In the second sloka of his pranama mantra it is stated: sri
varsabhanavi-devi-dayitaya. He is really the eternal maidservant of
Srimati
Radhika.
He is so very dear to Radhika in his form as Nayana-manjari. As Mahaprabhu's
associate he is
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Gosvami,
and as the associate of Radha-Krsna Conjugal he is Nayana-manjari. What is the
meaning of the name Nayana-manjari? As one's eyes are very dear to one,
Nayana-manjari, who is the personification of the eyes of
Srimati
Radhika,
is so near and dear to Her. She is always serving
Srimati
Radhika.
"Thus,
Srila Siddhanta
Sarasvati
Thakura
has two forms. One form is as
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's associate, not only
in this world but also in
Goloka
Vrndavana, in Svetadvipa.
And, in Vrndavana also, as Nayana-manjari she serves
Srimati
Radhika.
You have seen in
Srila
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Vilapa-kusumanjali how the manjaris serve Radha-Krsna
Conjugal. Nayana-manjari serves Them in those same ways.
" Krpabhdaye. He is not called an ocean of mercy
only because he gave us harinama. He gave so much more. He brought
Goloka
Vrndavana.
He brought the love and affection of the gopis to this world. If he had not
brought all these things, we would never have heard of them. He is therefore an
ocean of mercy.
"Krsna sambandha-vijnana dayine prabhave namah. In
this world we have a relationship with our father and mother and our immediate
family. We think, 'She is my mother, he is my father, and he is my brother.'
But we are not satisfied with that. We want to be a husband or wife, girlfriend
or boyfriend. But still we are not satisfied.
"From where have these relationships come? They come
from
Goloka
Vrndavana. There is actually only one
relationship - with Krsna. He is not a father there. He is like a friend, like
a baby, or like a beloved. In the constitutional form of our soul, there is a
relationship with Krsna. We have now forgotten this due to Maya, but we have a
relationship. All the relationships of these bodies are false and temporary.
They remain only for some days, but the relationship in our constitutional form
is eternal.
"We want love. We want something. We first loved our
mother, then our father, then our brothers, then other relatives, and then our
neighbors. But we were never satisfied. Then we collected wives or husbands,
and when we were not satisfied, we got divorced and changed the old ones for
new ones. But still we were not satisfied. You cannot be satisfied. No
one can ever be satisfied. When you meet with Krsna and serve Him, then you
will be satisfied. This is a transcendental relationship, and this relationship
is given by Guru. Prabhupada gave this, and this relationship will be
forever. It was for this end that he gave the mantra 'klim krsnaya govindaya.'
"Madhuryojjvala premadya sri rupanuga bhaktida. He
explained all these truths. He actually came only to give this
madhuryojjvala-prema, this gopi-prema, which
Srila Rupa
Gosvami has written about in his
books and which
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu came to this world only
to give. 'Krsna is our beloved' - he came to give this and nothing else.
"Srila
Siddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura
Prabhupada
has written in his articles: 'I came only to give this, but my whole time was
spent in cutting jungles.' Pujyapada Srila Swami Maharaja also did this in
Western countries. He came to this world to give love and affection for Krsna,
but to whom could he give it? He was preaching to unqualified people, and
therefore he wanted to make a platform for this love, by cutting the jungles of
atheist and mayavada misconceptions. He thus fertilized the field by plowing
and cutting jungles, and most of his time went in this. He could not preach as
he wanted, but he stored so many deep truths about gopi-prema in his books.
"Prabhupada
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura
also did this. In Radha kunda, in his last days, he said that if anyone is only
cutting jungles, cutting the arguments of mayavadis and so on, and not
accepting the mood of the gopis as taught by
Rupa Gosvami,
not worshiping Radha-Krsna Conjugal, not following the line of
Rupa
Gosvami,
then even their chanting will not be sufficient to help them. After some time
they will become weak and give up all devotional practices. Then they will
become nirvisesavadis and mayavadis, as so many are
now becoming.
"Sri
rupanuga
bhaktida.
Srila
Prabhupada descended to this
world, and all our disciplic acaryas also came, only for preaching this
rupanuga Vaisnavism. But they had so little time.
"From
the beginning, therefore, I was very alert to avoid cutting jungles - because
our guru-varga had already cut them down. I considered that I must do something
affirmative. I therefore accepted this and I preached it from the beginning.
Now, however, coming to the Western countries I began to think, 'To whom shall
I tell this?' Now I also have to cut down some jungles. When I am in Vrndavana
or Navadvipa, however, I mainly speak about the high class of sweet pastimes of
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu and Radha and Krsna.
"So
Srila
Prabhupada was like an ocean of
madhuryojjvala-prema. He wanted to distribute it, and he distributed it. If he
did not, then from where have we collected these things? All glories to
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati
Prabhupada.
All glories to all his associates. All glories to Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami
Maharaja. All glories to all the assembled devotees."
IN REPLY TO THE VIDEO/DOCUMENTARY STATEMENTS
In
Paderborn, Germany, April 2006, Srila Narayana
Maharaja was presented with the video/documentary statements 1 and 2, and
commented:
"You should know that when they were doing Vraja
Mandala parikrama at Radha-kunda,
Srila Prabhupada
gave a talk which is quoted in The Gaudiya. He said, 'Up until now I have spent much of my time cutting the
jungles of mayavada and all other philosophical misconceptions. But you should
not think that my hari-katha is only up to there. I want to tell you that what
our Gosvamis have described, what
Sri
Caitanya
Mahaprabhu
enacted in the Gambhira, what Mahaprabhu discussed with
Raya Ramananda
and
Svarupa
Damodara, Rasa-lila and other related
topics are the main objective of our life. Don't think that defeating mayavada philosophy
is my main preaching. Try to come to this line.'"
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