The following is another installment of our classroom series:

Text two

atyahara prayasaas ca prajalpo niyamagraha jana-sangas ca laulyam ca sadbhir bhaktir vinaasyati

Eating too much or collecting more than necessary, performing extraneous endeavors that are against devotional service, speaking about mundane subject matters, neglecting the injunctions of the scriptures or blindly following scriptural injunctions, associating with mundane people and mental restlessness – these six things destroy devotional service.

Illumination by B. R. Sridhara Deva Goswami

Atyahara refers to whatever we collect, and also to feed oneself more than necessary. Whatever I collect, I want a portion of that thing. We are all busily engaged in collecting things for our sense satisfaction. Whatever we shall require, we can transform that into sense pleasure. Generally we fix things in such a way that we can collect the maximum money and with that money we earn some sense pleasure.

Our relationship with this mundane world should not be for sense pleasure, but we should work as much as required to keep this body fit. Money should be utilized not for sense pleasure but to satisfy our duty and the aim of our duty should not be to go downwards again but it will be for the apavarga—crossing these three necessities of life to seek for a higher purpose. Money should help us to discharge our duty and duty should be arranged in such a way that we shall inquire about our self and the environment – “Who am I? Where am I? What is my aim in life? What is real satisfaction?”

jivasya tattva-jijnasa nartho yaas ceha karmabhi

A human being is meant to inquire about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one’s activities.¹

That is the only requirement for us and that should be our only aim. That should be the object of our life. By amassing money, the real principle is lost. If we are not genuine, then we will be carried away by money towards the exploiting world. Money may be collected, but that must be distributed for the service of the sampradaya, for the service of the Vaishnavas. Amassing money is a sign of deviation.

Generally the devotees should engage themselves in the subjects of the Lord, but in the Gaudiya Matha we find they are handling money, motorcars etc, but for what purpose?

matala hari-jana visaya-range pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

It is to show what is the raga-patha. Generally it is thought that one must give up everything and only through internal love worship the Lord—not by external sources. Majesty and reverence are not necessary. But here we are extensively handling the wealth of the outer world. What is the meaning? The meaning is to show that the raga-patha is above all. The position of those that are followers of the raga-patha is very high. They have left everything and are taking the path of worshiping him in their heart. All this grandeur, all reverence, everything should go to serve them. Pujala raga-patha—everything has its fulfillment if it can be connected to worshiping the feet of those that are living in that plane. Majesty, awe, reverence, wealth—everything is only meant to serve those niskincanas who have made the Lord of love and beauty the all in all in their lives. The whole world must learn this for its own welfare, and to teach this to the world, the Gaudiya Matha is handling all these things.

While in Bombay one Bengali gentleman who was an officer in the mint asked me, “You have come to collect money but you are a very rich man.” I told him, “Yes, we say we are rich and we also say that we are beggars. Now we must come to some understanding. You say that we are very rich. Why, because we spend money like water? A man who has got so much money can spend his money like that. An ordinary man would agree that this must be superfluous money; otherwise a beggar would not spend money for such purposes. One who has got millions can throw away thousands for luxurious activities. You think we have got much money. But we say we are beggars with no money. Still we spend money in such a way. Now the question will come whether what we spend will be for a good purpose or a bad one. A doctor may not be wealthy, but he has got a motorcar because he can attend many patients thereby—this is not a luxury. Generally men will think that one who has got a car or a plane must be a moneyman of high order, then only can he keep such things. But for business purposes he may keep such things. A doctor may have many patients he can visit by motorcar. We also use things in that way. You may think that it is superfluous to decorate the Deity, but we think that this is the fulfillment of life. All good things must be used to serve Narayana. That is our creed. Beggars we are, but still we spend money like water—for decoration, for festivals, for distribution of prasadam. We beg money and we spend lavishly, but not for ourselves. We feel the necessity of our particular nature. The real question is how we spend the money, not how much money we have got. We are poor beggars; still we spend money like a rich man. A rich man would be afraid to spend money like that.” Wealth only has its fulfillment in the service of those that are above this monetary world. The greatest goal possible is to worship the Lord and connect Him with this world.

Useless Endeavors

It is mentioned in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu that it is prohibited to endeavor to build temples and all these things on a grand scale.

sanga-tyago vidurena bhagavad-vimukhaira janai asisyady ananuvandhitvam maharambhady anudyamauh

One should keep a distance from those who are averse to the Lord, avoid accepting too many disciples and not be overly enthusiastic about initiating great projects.²

When our Guru Maharaja was delivering lectures on the sixty- four kinds of devotion I marked that this is prohibited in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu but he was doing the same thing. On a big scale he was making propaganda. He was spending money in great quantities to construct temples and other things. That which has been prohibited by Rupa Gosvami, our Guru Maharaja had undertaken all those things. What would he say when this point comes up? He told, “Cut your coat according to your cloth.” This is a point of personal capacity. One man can manage an empire and he may find time for much leisure, and another man cannot even manage his own family of two or five members—the whole time he is engrossed there and becomes mad to manage that family. It is all a question of personal capacity.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written that there are two types of people. One reads and collects many things in the form of advice and understanding but cannot find the gist, the very substance of the thing. The other is the saragrahi who collects the very gist of everything and eliminates the burden. The saragrahi is the highest class of devotee. Externally he may be managing the government and society, but internally perhaps he is a gopi of Vrindavana. There he is another. He is doing his duty. In that way externally he is a king or he is a general. He is fighting. Such a double function one may have sometimes. In Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Bengali translation of this verse from Upadeasamrta he says, visaya-prayasa, which means a false errand, an enthusiastic attempt for something undesirable. To prefer a life of devouring each other and disturbing each other, that is undesirable. That is maya.

dvau bhuta-sargau loke’smin daiva asura eva ca visnu-bhakta smrto daiva asuras tad-viparyaya

There are two kinds of created beings in this world, godly and demoniac. Those dedicated to the devotional service of Lord Vishnu are godly, and those opposed to such service are demoniac.³

This is in Vishnu Purana. And in Gita:

dvau bhuta-sargau loke’smin daiva asura eva ca daivo vistaraasa prokta asuram partha me asrnu

O Partha, there are two types of people born into this world – the divine and the diabolical. I have described the divine in detail. Now listen to Me as I describe the diabolical.⁴

Asura means struggling for closer bondage, and deva means struggling towards the right direction. There are two sections struggling here – one towards the positive, the other towards the negative. To make oneself big at the cost of others is a concocted illusory line. Everyone is struggling to become big but that is an illusion – that ‘big’ is not really big. Real bigness is on the other side. To become big is easy. “I am a big man, I have something to be proud of.” But to accept that we are nothing in the face of the Absolute, to accept this creed in its true color, is very difficult.

The Vaisnava is also struggling, but to be reinstated into a harmonious life. That should be known here – all should struggle to be reinstated into the real harmony of the whole. Sincerely we should pray to the Lord, and we will find his help in no time. Then, in our innermost hearts, we shall find our connection with the fundamental plane of loving service to the Sweet Absolute. Then we shall find that the Lord of love is Krishna, the beautiful reality.

When a beginner is trying to conquer his senses, at that time he cannot avoid struggle. Progress means struggle of different types. Generally the time of trouble begins at the stage of the madhyama-adhikari. At the lower stage of the kanistha-adhikari, one does not measure how much devotion he is getting or not. With a peaceful mind he is engaged in arcana etc. But at the madhyama-adhikari stage, a real struggle begins in ones life. How to adjust—not only as advised by the scriptures, but also our social position, our relationship with the world, with the society, with education etc. The tendency to preach for propaganda comes at this stage. The madhyama-adhikari wants to extend himself and remove the difficulties in his environment and tries to convert the environment for that purpose. The madhyama-adhikari is a life of struggle and when he reaches the stage of uttama- adhikari, then he becomes peaceful in life. He sees everywhere that things are going well according to the will of Krishna. Very easily he can see the will of Krishna everywhere, so he has not much to struggle for. But when living in this ignorant plane of misconception, he acquires harmony by seeing both things – maya, and Isvara. He wants to install God consciousness, and he tries his hardest to remove the misconceptions. That is a period of struggle. Sadhana-dasa—this stage is full of struggle. Then when he comes to the stage of apana-dasa, he feels peaceful in bhava-bhakti and then prema-bhakti.

But there is again another struggle when he is already in lila. That is in another plane. In Vrindavana there is also competition, there is also struggle. Yasoda will think how to control this naughty child, “I failed. I can’t manage him.” In this way there is some sort of a struggle, but that is produced by yogamaya. Prema-bhakti is also dynamic in character, not static. Where there is something dynamic, there is some struggle. The competition is there. There is a play in the sakhya-rasa, two parties—one party wants to conquer another party. One says Krishna, another says Balarama. That is also a struggle. But that is purely of another type; that is transcendental play. And in madhurya-rasa also there are several parties – Radharani’s party, Candravali’s party, so many parties there are. And the servitors of every party are to manage for their own interest, the interest of their mistress.

That type of dynamic character means some sort of struggle, a sweet struggle. And here in this plane it is bitter. Here we have to struggle to remove the nescience and to invite pure knowledge. This struggle is a little bitter – not only that, it is tasteless and painful sometimes. But when we enter that higher arena, the struggle becomes more sweet. Lila means a sort of struggle.

1. Bhag. 1.2.10
2. BRS. 1.2.78
3. Vishnu Purana
4. Gita. 16.6

Q. I have heard that Krishna’s sister Subhadra is a form of Laxmi Devi, the goddess of fortune and consort of Narayana. Is this correct and can you tell me more about her?

A. Regarding Krishna’s sister, she is named Subhadra and thus her name indicates that she is active in two realms. Bhadra (auspicious) refers to her presiding over the material energy, as demonstrated when she exhibited this form to Kamsa (Bhadra Kali). Su (very) refers to her higher side as a form of Yogamaya, in which she presides over Krishna lila by making very auspicious arrangements to facilitate the will of Sri Krishna.

In the lila she married Arjuna. In terms of her representing the goddess of the material energy, she is Siva’s consort. As Yogamaya behind the scenes in Krishna lila, she is unmarried. Purnamasi and Vrinda-devi are her overt manifestations in the Vraja lila and neither of them are really married (as portrayed by Sri Jiva Goswami). To identify her with Laxmi is a bit of a stretch, but she is a goddess and she does bring good fortune.

Q. What is the connection between Krishna’s consort Srimati Radharani and Vrinda devi (Tulasi)?

A. Sri Jiva Goswami describes Vrinda devi as a forest nymph named Vrindarika, known by the nickname “Vrinda.” Purnamasi introduced her and Madhumangala to Krishna one after the other. As she placed Madhumangala’s hand in Krishna’s hand, Purnamasi told Krishna to keep the company of Madhumangala and thus make his life auspicious. Understanding that Madhumangala would bring the essence of joy to his lila, Krishna looked carefully at him and then embraced him sealing their eternal friendship. Vrinda was introduced and ordered by Purnamasi from that day forward to move about in service to Krishna at all times with great attention. Krishna then garlanded Vrinda and felt greatly encouraged by the prospect of her participation in his life.

Vrinda is possessed of affection and love for both Radha and Krishna, but Sri Rupa Goswami describes her as one of Krishna’s gopi messengers. She is well acquainted with the sacred geography of Vraja and overall her service is similar and related to that of Yogamaya. She is sometimes referred to as Krishna’s “lila shakti.”

Q. The Srimad-Bhagavatam describes Krishna’s pastimes with the cowherd girls (gopis) and in one place says that Krishna’s brother Balarama was romantic with the gopis as well. The text reads as though Krishna and Balarama were involved with the same gopis but the commentary to verse 10.65.17, which cites Sridhara Swami, Jiva Goswami, and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, states that this was not the case.

The question I have is why couldn’t Balarama, being an expansion of Krishna and thus the same divine person (God), also enjoy pastimes with Krishna’s gopis? Krishna and Balarama are one, so what could be wrong with this? Couldn’t the acaryas have commented as they did simply because an uninitiated reader of the Bhagavatam might consider it improper for Krishna and Balarama to be romantic with the same gopis?

A. Balarama is an expansion of Krishna, so in this sense they are one, but this does not override the fact that the two are emotionally different. Their emotional difference is vital, as Krishna’s play (lila), fueled as it is by divine love/bhava, thrives on difference. The bheda, or difference, in Sri Caitanya’s metanarrative of acintya bhedabheda (inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference) gives rise to lila. Thus Balarama is not one with Krishna in the sense that in his absence Balarama can substitute for him as Radha’s lover. Indeed, Balarama is respected by Radha as Krishna’s elder brother so she is not even romantic with Krishna in Balarama’s presence out of deference to him.  Thus knowing the truths that govern rasananda—rasa-tattva—the Goswamis have pointed out how the Bhagavatam does not say what it may appear to say on its surface. The Goswamis are revealing the feeling of the text as they understand its implications even better than its author Vyasa did—vyaso vetti na vetti va.

However, the text of the Bhagavatam itself depicts the relationship between Balarama and Krishna’s gopis as mutually reverential, rama-sandarsanadrtah. This is quite different from the spirit of their relationship with Krishna, and it prohibits the possibility of an intimate relationship between Balarama and Krishna’s gopis, who by love’s law were already married to Krishna. As for the paramour nature of their relationship with Krishna, there is no question of complicating it further by putting Balarama in the mix!

Earlier Krishna sent Uddhava to represent him and deliver a message to the gopis, but Uddhava had no experience of Vraja bhakti. Thus he could not convey Krishna’s heart to the Vraja sundaris. He explained philosophy to them and became bewildered by their bhava, srutibhir vimrigyam. As they unpacked the actual significance of Krishna message that Uddhava delivered, he himself became unglued by its implications. Thus after seeing what happened to Uddhava, Krishna sent Balarama to speak to the gopis to make sure that his heart message was conveyed. Balarama is most faithful to Krishna, and Balarama knows Krishna’s heart much better than Uddhava does. Balarama is a Vrajavasi, and therefore he knows what Vraja bhava is.

Thus Balarama expressed Krishna’s heart to the gopis and pacified them with the assurance that Krishna would return in a week’s time. His relationship with Krishna’s gopis is one of representing his brother faithfully, as Lakshman represented Ramachandra and never imagined enjoying Sita himself. After delivering Krishna’s message and pacifying the gopis to an extent, Balarama, following Krishna’s order to him before he left Dvaraka, pursued the marriage of another group of younger gopis who did not participate in rasa lila with Krishna. After getting the permission of the elders, Balarama married them without an overt celebration due to Krishna not being present to participate, his greatest joy being the pleasure of his younger brother, in separation from whom Balarama is not entirely himself. Balarama’s gopis are the gopis Krishna refers to in his eulogy of Balarama in the Bhagavatam‘s tenth canto, kurvanti gopya iva te priyam iksanena. Balarama danced with these gopis earlier in the springtime during Holi celebrations when Krishna killed Sankhachuda.

Balarama’s relationship with his gopis is one of maryada, not raga. The raga of Balarama is his sakhya reality, his friendly love for Krishna. He is Krishna’s best friend, and it is this higher aspect of Balarama that the Goswamis have focused on and opened a window to for all of us to view. This view shows Balarama in the best possible light. If we are to pursue love of Balarama, we shall pursue love of Krishna-Balarama, sambandhanuga raganuga bhakti.

There is no kamanuga with Balarama as there is with Krishna. He does not directly participate in parakiya-bhava. The secrets of his marriage to other gopis related above aside, his principal wives known to all are Revati and Vasudha in Dvaraka. He is well known for his marriage to these two. And again, this is not parakiya or kamanuga. It is ruled by maryada.

While it is true that Balarama manfests his sakti as Ananga-manjari, the younger sister of Radha, Ananga-manjari is not Balarama’s consort in Vraja. He is one with her in tattva in as much as sakti and its source saktiman are one, but the two are very different in bhava. Radha and Krishna are also one in this sense, but they are more importantly different. If they were not different but rather one in all respects–if Krishna as Radha (his sakti) fully tasted the mahabhava of parakiya–there would be no need for Sri Caitanya. Therefore, in Nityananda Rama’s lineage it is only Jahnava, a representation of Ananga-manjari in Gaura lila, who distributes parakiya-bhava, while Nityananda Rama himself distributes sakhya rasa. That said, it is of course also a fact that no one can taste parakiya-bhava without the blessing of Nityananda Rama—ara kabe nitaicand karuna karibe samsara vasana mora kabe tuccha ha’be.

The following is another installment of our classroom series:

The Impulse of the Tongue

Jihva-vegam – this means the urge for that which is very tasteful. I am a servant to that, a slave to tastefulness. Jihva-vegam means our attraction to a particular taste. One may have attraction for pungent, bitter, sweet or sour. That is jihva-vegam. The tongue always wants to taste that sort of thing. Whatever is tasteful may be detrimental to my health, yet I cannot control my tongue. Out of greed I may take something that may not be the proper diet for me. I take something, and then I take more but it is not necessary for my health. I should try not to fall prey to my tongue and become its slave. How to avoid jihva-vegam? The process is that whatever I am taking, I should think, “How has the sadhu, the guru, or God tasted it?” The material thing should be subservient and our attention should be directed towards the subjective feeling of the higher personalities, how they have tasted it. That is the key to escape from material taste.

Mahaprabhu tried to avoid sweet things, “I am a sannyasi so I must keep a standard. If I take sweet things, then everyone will do like that. It is not proper.” Then Svarupa-damodara said, “That is the negative side, but You will take prasada. That is the positive side. Jagannatha kaichi karyachena bhojana. You must

have direct experience of how Jagannatha tasted it.” From the objective world, to take it to the subjective, all feelings should be collected and applied towards the higher plane, and it must be drawn from the lower plane.

The Impulses of the Belly and Genitals

Jihva-vegam means the urge for that which is palatable to the tongue, and udara-vegam means the urge to fill one’s belly. We think, “No, I have not eaten. I have not taken much food. The belly seems to be very vacant to me. I shall take more.” That is udara-vegam. More and more – then it will swell. We should only take that amount of food that is necessary to keep up the health.

Upastha-vegam is the urge to get a pleasing sensation from the ladies and the desire for the company of women – for the men, the women and for the women, the men. We should try to check that tendency within us. That is mental; it is not even in the soul. That is only in the mind and that is the worst cause of our wandering in this world. Even from the tree to the demigods this sort of tendency is flowing and we must be very cautious not to fall prey to such a flow. It is a universal and very powerful flow and we must try our best to keep aloof from the flow of that plane as much as possible.

tomara kanaka bhogera janaka
kanakera dvare sevaha madhava
kaminira kama nahe tava dhama
tahara malika kevala yadava

Your wealth is simply used for mundane pleasure but you should use it in the service of Madhava. The desire for women is not your business because Krishna is their only true master.¹

The enjoying aspect of women is not for you, it is only reserved for Krishna – tahara malika kevala yadava. Krishna is the only enjoyer of the beauty of anything to be enjoyed from the women section. It is mentioned there, literally in this verse.

One gentleman came to our Guru Maharaja in Calcutta and said, “What do you mean by this? Then who are we? Have you written this in the literal sense? That all the women are meant only for the enjoyment of Krishna, only and none else?” Prabhupada answered, “Yes, yes! That is the true naked meaning of this. Such a type of enjoyment is meant only for Krishna, and all others are trespassers.” Kanaka – money. The master of money is Narayana, Laksmipati, and we are all his servants more or less in different ways. And Baladeva, the guru, is the master of name and fame. Kanaka, kamini, pratistha. Kamini is to be adjusted for the Krishna conception, otherwise we are lost. It must be adjusted with him. Any lady consciousness must have connection with Krishna.

Intelligent Adjustment

We are told that this jihva-vegam, udara-vegam, and upasthavegam are in a line. They all help each other. We must be very careful to be rid of them. They cause so much disaster in one’s life and have spoiled so many lives. We should be careful in our dealings with them. We must be very cautious about all these animal tendencies within us. Rather we are slaves to them. These different types of mentalities are masters and I am their slave. We must be independent of all these ‘masters’.

kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesas
tesam jata mayi na karuna na trapa nopasantih
utsrjyaitan atha yadu-pate sampratam labdha-buddhis
tvam ayatah saranam abhayam mam niyunksvatma-dasye

For so long I have obeyed the wicked dictates of lust, anger, greed, madness, delusion, and hatred, yet they never took pity on me, and I have felt neither shame nor the desire to give them up. O Lord of the Yadu Dynasty, now that my intelligence has been awakened, I am leaving them behind. I surrender myself unto You who grants fearlessness. Please now engage me in Your service.²

These desires are my lords and they are using me as their slave, and such a helpless life I am leading here. In the name of a human being I have got so many shameful tendencies within me that even an animal cannot come to such a low standard. This is our self-analysis; our real nature will be like this – a shameful nature within. Our real enemies are within, not without. And within, the Lord is there in the heart and the kingdom of the Lord is much higher. We have that consolation, hope and prospect. We must give a bond and try to keep that promise, then help will come from that higher plane and it will drive away all these superficial enemies that are dancing like demons on the surface of our mind. They must be driven away. And help will come from within, if we seek it and if we cooperate.

The agents of the Lord are more powerful. If we really invite them, then the sadhus, the agents of the Supreme Lord, will come and drive away all these things. These demonic demonstrations on the surface of the mind will be driven away forever and we will have happy engagement in the service of the Lord. We will be free from all these demonic masters. That is not a cheap achievement. Gradually it will be controlled. If you want to hunt an animal, it takes some time to kill it. These anarthas are there and to dispense with them, some time is necessary. But the energy to kill them, to remove them, should be gathered by us from higher sources. Then with less energy we can do away with them.

kiba se karite para, kama krodha sadhakare
yadi haya sadhu-janara sanga

What can lust and anger do to the practitioner who takes shelter of saintly association?³

What harm can lust, greed and anger do to a seeker of the truth who is on the path of divine realization, if he can have the intimate association of a sadhu? In other words, they cannot do anything because something is being spent but it is a sideincome. If help is coming from the higher then that supersedes the expenditure to the lower and the lower thing cannot do any harm – kama krodha sadhakare. And there is also kausala. Kausala means intelligent adjustment – we can get relief. In this regard Narottama Thakura says,

kama krsna karmarpane, krodha bhakta-dvesi jane
lobha sadhu-sanga hari katha
moha ista-labdha-bine, mada krsna-guna-gane
niyukta kariba yatha tatha

I will use lust in the service of Krishna, anger against those who are inimical towards the devotees and greed for associating with sadhus and hearing krsna-katha. I will become bewildered only when I cannot attain my worshipable Lord. Madness will manifest when I intensely glorify the divine qualities of Krishna. In this way I will utilize all of these.⁴

Kama krsna karmarpane – some impulse we feel within. Try to utilize that force and regulate it in the service of Krishna. Krodha bhakta-dvesi jane – try to use anger towards those who are antagonistic to the sadhus, the krsna-bhaktas. Lobha sadhu-sanga– you may try to engage greed by hearing from the lips of the sadhu. Moha ista-labha bine – sometimes depression comes. Try to utilize it when you are separated from the sadhu. Mada krsna guna-gane – sometimes overflowing energy appears within us. Engage that overflowing energy in dancing and chanting the name of Krishna. Niryukta kariba yatha tatha – try to regulate all these things in the service of Krishna. If you do this you will be free from them in no time.

asankalpaj jayet kamam
krodham kama-vivarjanat
arthanartheksaya lobham
bhayam tattvavamarsanat

With strong determination, one should give up lusty desires and anger by rejecting the objective for sense gratification. On should give up greed by evaluation of the obstacles of accumulating wealth and by analyzing reality one should abandon fear.⁵

In the Bhagavatam it is mentioned by Devarsi Narada, asankalpaj jayet kamam – you have so many designs and plans to carry out. Asankalpa – don’t enter! Don’t allow yourself to enter such ambitious speculations. Don’t allow yourself to be busy with such big ambitious engagements in life. Krodham kama-vivarjanat – bad temper sometimes comes within you, so withdraw from the beginning. Don’t identify yourself fully with a particular plan – if any hindrance comes to you, you will be fully entangled. If you are not addicted to a particular plan then there is no chance of being excited. Arthanartheksaya lobham – you have so much greed for money. You have to discriminate, “What is the charm of money?” Whatever you can construct, that automatically vanishes in course of time, so what is the charm of money? Bhayam tattvavamarsanat – and if you have any fear or apprehension then you have to discriminate – tattvavamarsanat. So many things are combined – matter, water, ether, which come and stay for sometime and then disappears. Birth and death, in the course of nature, is coming and going everywhere. Every second something is born and every second something is dying. Calculating in this way you should leave your fear. A long list is given there in Bhagavatam and in the conclusion it is said:

rajas tamas ca sattvena
sattvam copasamena ca
etat sarvam gurau bhaktya
puruso hy anjasa jayet

Through devotion to the spiritual master one can easily conquer the modes of passion and ignorance by cultivation of the mode of goodness and giving up attachment to those modes.⁶

Master of the World

Etat sarvam gurau bhaktya puruso hy anjasa jayet – all these undesirable things can be checked only by concentrating one’s attention to the service of guru. “My guru has ordered? Then no fear, because my absolute guide has ordered it.” We may take this advantage and everything will disappear in no time. Very easily you will be able to cross over all these difficulties if you concentrate only on the divine feet of your guru. “He is my guide, I am not my own. I belong to him. Whatever he will instruct I must do without caring for my individual loss and gain.” In this way, whatever we have got, we may try to utilize that as much as possible in the service of the Lord and in that way He may be able to purge these anarthas from our heart very soon and very easily.

Etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat – one who can control all these animal tendencies, who is master of his own self and his own mind, can be master of the world. He is a Goswami proper. He is eligible to give instruction and make disciples all over the world and the number of disciples cannot make him deviate from his standpoint. These are the sadhus who come under the flag of Sri Caitanyadeva. All these things are recorded for our benefit and caution in the Upadesamrta which was given by Mahaprabhu through Rupa Goswami to us in detail.

1. Vaisnava ke? – 3
2. Cc.Madhya 22.16
3. Premabhakti- candrika 2.11
4. Prema-bhakti-candrika 2.10
5. Bhag. 7.15.22
6. Bhag. 7.15.25

Q. Are the demons that Krishna fights within his earthly play (prakata-lila) his eternal associates? It appears not, as in the spiritual world there are no demons or nondevotees. However, it is said that Putana, the female demon who was killed by baby Krishna, attained a position in the spiritual world as his nurse, so she must have been fully purified of contamination due to contact with him. Since Krishna’s lilas are eternal what happens to those who play the parts of demons in his prakata-lilas?

A. Sri Jiva Goswami says that one of the distinguishing features of Sri Krishna is that when he kills demons they attain spiritual liberation (mukti), which is a characteristic that is unique among all appearances of the Godhead. Five types of mukti are mentioned in the scriptures. They are salokya (being promoted to the realm of God), samipya (becoming an associate of God), sarupya (attaining a form like that of God), sarsti (attaining opulences like those of God), and sayujya (merging into the effulgence of God). Of the five types of mukti, Gaudiya Vaishnavas reject sayujya because it is devoid of an intimate personal relationship with Sri Krishna. Actually, devotees of Krishna are not interested in attaining any kind of mukti. In Srimad-Bhagavatam Krishna says, salokya-sarsti-samipya-sarupyaikatvam apy uta diyamanam na grhnanti vina mat-sevanam janah: “My devotees do not accept salokya, sarsti, sarupya, samipya, or oneness with me (sayujya)—even if I offer these liberations—in preference to serving me.” (SB 3.29.13)

As for the demons killed by Krishna, most attained sayujya-mukti. Some, such as Aghasura and Paundraka, attained sarupya-mukti, and others attained the status that they had previous to appearing as demons and from there progressed on to attain prema (divine love). Of these, only the demoness Putana directly attained prema. This is because in a motherly manner she offered baby Krishna her breast milk. Although she was attempting to kill him, Krishna mercifully accepted her in this way—as his nurse, whereby she attained his eternal abode. Thus it is clear that the demons appearing in the prakata-lila other than the appearances of Jaya and Vijaya are not Krishna’s eternal associates but rather materially conditioned souls who for various reasons appear as demons during his manifest lila. Many of these reasons are explained in Sri Garga-samhita, wherein the previous lives of many demons are revealed. A Bengali translation from the original Sanskrit by Pujyapada Sridhara Deva Goswami is in print.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura points out that Krishna’s apparent punishment of the demons or unrighteous is in fact an act of mercy because the final result of this punishment is liberation. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his Govinda Bhasya commentary on Vedanta-sutra says that the demons killed by Krishna experience not only the death of their gross material body but the demise of their subtle body as well. The subtle body carries the soul from one gross body to another. The subtle body consisting of a state of mind is the basis of the gross body that one acquires in the next life. When the subtle body of the unrighteous person is destroyed by Krishna, the person’s attitude toward him immediately changes, for his opposition to Krishna was a product of his subtle body–his unrighteous disposition. On the demise of the subtle body, his hostility toward Krishna is transformed into love for Krishna. Thus at the moment of death he sees Krishna as the greatest object of affection. His liberation is not directly a result of being killed by Krishna but rather the result of his newfound love for him.

Jaya and Vijaya, the devotees of Vishnu who came to the material world and played the role of demons, are of course exceptions. Sri Jiva Goswami writes in Krsna-sandarbha that these two gatekeepers of Vaikuntha do not appear every time the lila is manifest, but rather materially conditioned souls come to play the roles these devotees had played in the lila in accordance with the will of Bhagavan. In his Laghu Bhagavatamrta, Sri Rupa Goswami cites Visnu Purana‘s conversation between Maitreya and Parasurama concerning Jaya and Vijaya. Srila Prabhupada comments on this section of the Purana and Sri Rupa Goswami’s insight as follows:

This discussion between Maitreya Muni and Parasara Muni centered on whether devotees come down into the material world in every millennium like Jaya and Vijaya, who were cursed by the Kumaras to that effect. In the course of these instructions to Maitreya about Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, and Sisupala, Parasara did not say that these demons were formerly Jaya and Vijaya. He simply described the transmigration through three lives. It is not necessary for the Vaikuntha associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come to take the roles of his enemies in all the millenniums in which he appears. The “falldown” of Jaya and Vijaya occurred in a particular millennium; Jaya and Vijaya do not come down in every millennium to act as demons. To think that some associates of the Lord fall down from Vaikuntha in every millennium to become demons is totally incorrect.

Thus it appears that whenever Krishna lila manifests the roles of demons are usually filled by different souls. Krishna’s killings of demons are not eternal lilas but rather occasional, and as such they are much more open to variation than his eternal lila is. However, Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika informs us that the former doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya, did again appear as demoniac persons during the lila of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They appeared as the drunken brothers Jagai and Madhai, who offended and assaulted Mahaprabhu’s principal associate Nityananda Prabhu. In the mood of Krishna the demon slayer, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was about to kill these two miscreants, but Nityananda stopped him and instead bestowed mercy upon them–turning them into devotees. He kept Mahaprabhu from killing them by reminding him that in this age (Kali-yuga) everyone is more or less unrighteous and deserving of punishment. Rather than chastisement, in Kali-yuga the unrighteous are delivered by the holy name of Krishna whereby they are cleansed of their sinful nature and ultimately liberated in Krishna prema—pure love of God.

See also: With the Help of the Demons http://www.swami.org/pages/swami/articles/asuras.php

Q. You say that Gaudiya Vaishnavas reject sayujya mukti because it is devoid of an intimate personal relationship with Krishna. However, don’t some Vaishnava sects understand sayujya mukti in a more positive light?

A. The sruti says, dva suparna sayujya: “two in sayujya,” indicating that sayujya can be understood to be the basis of all other types of liberation. So sayujya mukti does carry different meanings for different Vaishnava sects, some of which are positive. Particularly, the Madhva and Ramanuja sects understand sayujya as being a sense of oneness or intimacy with God. This is differentiated from the Gaudiya notion of sayujya as merging into the effulgence of God and being devoid of a relationship with him. We follow Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja, who in Caitanya-caritamrta clearly distinguishes sayujya mukti from other types of liberation. He describes sayujya as being outside the gates of Vaikuntha, the transcendental world of Krishna/Narayana.

In any case, it is important to note that the Vaishnava understandings are distinct from the Advaitin understanding of sayujya mukti wherein the individual soul is said to lose all sense of personal identity and become God in all respects. Even though the Gaudiyas deprecate sayujya mukti, their understanding of it is also distinct from that of the Advaitins in that they do not acknowledge the absolute demise of individuality.

To obtain further insight on this topic read my commentary on Gopala-tapani Upanisad: http://swamitripurari.com/2010/08/gopala-tapani-upanisad/

See also: Mayavadis, Brahmavadis, and Sayujya Mukti http://swamitripurari.com/2004/05/mayavadis-brahmavadis-and-sayujya-mukti/

__________________________

Questions or comments may be submitted at www.swami.org/sanga/ or email the moderator at sangaeditor@swami.org.
Back issue archive: www.swami.org/archives/

The following is the first installment of our latest classroom series: Sri Upadesamrta, with Illuminations by Srila B. R. Sridhara Deva Goswami, published by Gosai Publishers, 2009.

Text One

vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

A self-controlled person who can overcome the impulses of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to instruct the whole world.

Illumination by B. R. Sridhara Deva Goswami

One time our Guru Maharaja (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura) arranged to preach in Vrindavana for the full month of Kartika. He chose to speak from the basic teachings of the Upadesamrta of Srila Rupa Goswami. His attention was always focused on the basics, because he felt that the fruits of devotion will come naturally. Pour water onto the root and the fruit will come by itself. Upadesamrta contains the substance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings in the language of Srila Rupa Goswami. These eleven verses of Upadesamrta were inspired by the advice of Mahaprabhu and Rupa Goswami put that advice into poetic language.

Guru Maharaja himself spoke for several days on the boundary line between Radha kunda and Shyama kunda. He read and explained the Upadesamrta. Srila Prabhupada explained Upadesamrta and nothing of Govinda-lilamrta or Visvanatha Cakravarti’s Sri Krishna Bhavanamrta. The higher topics of madhurya lila, Radha-Krishna’s amorous pastimes, were left aside. His attitude was, “People are ripe in sahajiya, imitation of devotion. Just try to make them understand, to enter the plane of bhakti. That is so great; what to speak of Krishna lila – that is far, far above.” These were his words.

Pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange – the whole sphere is taken at a respectable distance on the head. Go on working in the lower level, to show proper respect to the highest thing, don’t venture to enter – fools rush in where angel’s fear to tread. With this idea, he dealt everywhere.

The Impulse of Speech and the Mind

Vaco-vegam means the urge to speak. One is habituated to speak too much. That tendency to speak is always there, whether it is good or bad. There is no time to discriminate—always talking and talking. I may speak anything and everything and then later repent, “Why did I say like this? I should not have said such a thing only to pain the hearts of others.” When the force comes from within to say something we cannot control it. “I am straightforward—I can say anything and everything to anyone and everyone! I may even abuse a sadhu.” This should not be. We must try to control that force coming from within in the form of speech.

Manasa means mental waves. Sometimes the rush of some idea may overtake me and manipulate me. It is very difficult to control the mind. The mind may be absent. We may engage our body but I may think something bad. To control the mind some responsibility is necessary. We must accept responsible actions and service—then we can control the mind. Otherwise the mind is independent. It may run hither and thither. We must take some responsibility to control the mind by engaging it in the service of Krishna and his servants.

It is difficult to control the inner mind, but when we preach to others, we cannot but be all-conscious. We cannot talk irrelevantly. We can easily have concentration when we talk about Krishna—that is kirtana. I may begin with some japa but my mind wanders here, there and everywhere. But when I am engaged in kirtana, I must be fully attentive. In that way we can control the mind, which is very difficult to capture and to utilize.

ostha-spandana matrena
kirtanam tu tato varam

Simply by moving the lips to chant the Lord’s holy name one can attain the greatest benefit.¹

Special stress has been put on kirtana by Mahaprabhu. Kirtana means to preach. The environment is prepared to attack me, I should rather take up the offensive than the defensive—I shall attack the environment! Kirtana means to take the offensive. The whole environment is surcharged with the offensive spirit. They are coming and attacking me from different directions, through different ideas that are like spies that are already within us: their agents. I shall take the offensive and attack the environment with the power that I have received from my Guru Maharaja. That means kirtana. That means preaching. This is what we are told by our Guru Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. Preaching means to attack the environment, not to lie down passively and allow others to take the position. Japa is very feeble, a weak thing. You will begin your japa and when you are aware you will find that your mind is marketing in some other place. But when you are talking about Krishna to others, you will be fully attentive. That is automatic attention. Therefore you can control the mind by preaching.

The Impulse of Anger

Then there is krodha-vegam. Krodha means anger. When anger comes, it creates a disaster and a reaction is inevitable. We must try to check that sort of flow of the mind towards anger. We shall not try for anger, but what we have we shall try to utilize it for the service of Krishna.

yad karosi yad asnasi
yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat taspasyasi kaunteya
tat kurusva mad-arpanam

O Kaunteya, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, whatever penances you may undertake—do that as an offering unto Me. (Gita 9.27)

Good or bad, whatever is within you, that must be thrown away for the object of Krishna’s service. It may be adjusted in this way: I have got anger and that anger should be utilized in favor of the service of the Lord. Krodha bhakta-dvesi-jane, whoever comes to attack the devotees, I will use my anger against him. We make the best of a bad bargain. So many tendencies are in my mind and when I want to transform them wholesale within my mental system, I shall try to adjust them in connection with divine service. I shall try to utilize them in that stage.

In some stages it may seem that a devotee becomes angry by even a little cause, but that anger should not be classified as ordinary anger. His anger will do good to the person with whom he is angry, it is for the well being of the man with whom he is angry. They cannot be judged independently. Mahaprabhu was angry sometimes. When Mahaprabhu was going on with kirtana, they closed the door and one brahmacari who was only drinking milk and nothing else wanted to enter. He thought that, “I must be considered to be purest because I drink only milk, nothing else. Why have they closed the door to me?” Then at last when the door was opened, and he asked why the door was closed to him, Mahaprabhu replied, “Simply drinking milk is no qualification. The real qualification is Krishna consciousness.”

This has been seen many times. There was some misbehavior done against Srivasa Pandita. A tantrika placed some wine and other things at the door of Srivasa’s house at night in order to ridicule him. Srivasa Pandita opened the door and saw wine, meat and other nasty things. Then he went to his neighbors and said, “Please see how I am a tantrika. Every night with the help of this meat and wine I worship Goddess Kali.” Then those gentlemen felt very disturbed, “Who is the rogue who has done this thing?” When Mahaprabhu was informed he was very much enraged and said, “That man will have to suffer!” Later, that man whose name was Capala Gopala got leprosy. Sometimes in this world some anger is shown by the incarnation of God himself, and some devotees also. But that is not harmful. It is for the good of the person. The excitement found in a devotee should not be taken as ordinary.

We have to quarrel. Sometimes we may have to engage in litigation; sometimes there are differences in our realizations concerning the proper meaning of the particular mantras of the scriptures, or a particular point. There may be differences and discussions. It is not undesirable. Sometimes it is necessary. Generally we are to think that we are not in a perfect condition, our differences will be due to our realization, our degree of realization. Everything varies, but differences amongst the main principles is deplorable and will cause disturbance to the newcomers. It is a great catastrophe for the newcomers. They have come with open faith of a very mild standard; their faith is not so high, not so intense that they will be able to tolerate many things which seem to be like discord. The difficulty is with them. Whenever such things are happening, generally the madhyama-adhikari Vaisnava should try to keep the beginners outside. They should not be allowed to enter into these discussions and differences; the quarrel, litigation and all these things. This is only reserved for madhyama-adhikaris. It is undesirable for the beginners to see the differences between the higher personalities whom we consider to be upper rank. When they observe such quarrelling the lower class cannot but be disturbed. Try to avoid this as much as possible. At that time they may give their attention towards the scriptures. There is less quarrelling, but in scriptures there is also quarrelling, because their recommended advice is for different stages. Progress means quarrel. Elimination and acceptance, that means quarrel. One condemns another, progress means such. We can’t avoid it altogether, but still progress is there. We must not be afraid.

1. Hari-bhakti-vilasa 11.453

Q. I regularly read Sanga and find it very scholarly and free of envy of other spiritual groups. However, a guru who belongs to another organization initiated me, and your approach to the teachings is somewhat different than his. Is this a problem.

A. I am happy to know that my writings have been helpful to you. Our diksa guru connects us to the sampradaya of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by initiating us into the chanting of Krishna nama and Krishna mantra. Within Mahaprabhu’s sampradaya there are many instructing (siksa) gurus capable of helping us take advantage of the mantras imparted to us by our diksa guru. While the instructions of gurus may vary regarding details, they are one in principle, as they all teach the same subject: love of Krishna.  My writing tends to focus on principles rather than on details. If anything I write differs from details that you have heard from your diksa guru, then I hope you will be mature enough to be able to sort that out for yourself.

Q. What if a person has an attraction for an advanced Vaishnava other than his or her own guru?

A. It is not uncommon for a disciple initiated by one guru to develop an affinity for another sadhu in the same lineage. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism there is a long history of this, and we find instances of it even among the eternal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Two prominent examples are Sri Raghunatha dasa and Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, who each developed deeper attachment to their siksa gurus than to their diksa gurus. While respecting all of our teachers, we may be drawn more to one than to another, and that guru or teacher will naturally have a special place in our heart. We should follow our heart to the extent that its attraction does not take us beyond the parameters of scriptural advice.

Practically speaking, the most important guru to any disciple is the one who is helping him or her make spiritual progress at that particular point in time. A truly qualified guru will be interested only in our spiritual progress, nothing more. If our initiating guru sees that another sadhu is better suited to help us, he or she will encourage us to take advantage of that association. Of course, a disciple may become attracted to another guru, or even a so-called guru, for less than spiritual reasons. Therefore, the initiating guru may have to carefully consider the matter before he or she blesses the disciple to take guidance from another teacher on an ongoing basis.

In any event, the task before the disciple remains the same: to always place oneself under the guidance of a higher Vaishnava. At times this may not be a popular or easy thing to do, but it is certainly imperative for spiritual advancement. Making spiritual progress takes a lifetime of commitment, or more accurately, many lifetimes. While there may seem to be greener pastures elsewhere, before concluding that the present pasture can no longer nourish us, we must be careful to make the best use of our present learning environment regardless of any difficulties we are facing.

Q. I lost faith in my spiritual master and the institution that he belongs to. Is there a proper way to end my relationship with him? Should I give back the japa beads that he chanted upon and gave me?

A. It is important to be grateful to all those who have helped us make progress in spiritual life, regardless of their shortcomings. If we find that for scripturally sound reasons we have to end a relationship with a particular Vaishnava who served us in the capacity of guru, we should begin by expressing gratitude for everything that devotee has done for us. However, this would be a rare case. In many cases there is no need to end one’s relationship with an initiating guru whose lack of knowledge or poor character shows itself at some point. Instead, one can simply place oneself under the guidance of a highly qualified instructing guru and continue to respect one’s initiating guru from a distance. However, if the guru’s moral character deteriorates and his or her standing in actual Vaishnavism becomes negligible, there is sufficient cause to break one’s relationship with such a guru altogether. The illustrious Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura made this abundantly clear by his example that involved exposing pseudo-Vaishnava gurus and reinitiating their disciples.

Hopefully your loss of faith in one Vaishnava and the institution he is affiliated with is not a loss of faith in the ideal of Gaudiya Vaishnavism altogether. Of course, people can reject their guru for the wrong reasons, but I pray that this is not the case in your circumstances. I also pray that you will continue your spiritual life under good guidance.

Q. Can a devotee who is not self-realized but who strictly follows the instructions of scripture and his spiritual master become a diksa guru? Would such a guru be able to deliver his disciples by giving them the same siksa he has received?

A. It is possible for an advanced devotee who is not yet perfected in realization to serve in the capacity of guru. In this regard Pujyapada Sridhara Deva Goswami gave the following example of three types of gurus: (1) A devotee who has two feet in the spiritual world and extends one foot to the material world. (2) A devotee who has one foot in the material world but has extended his or her other foot to the spiritual world. (3) A devotee who has two feet in the material world but whose eyes are always looking to the spiritual world.

His description of three types of gurus roughly corresponds with Sri Jiva Goswami’s following description of three types of maha bhagavatas (superlative devotees): (1) The bhagavat-parsada-deha-prapta is one who has attained his or her spiritual body and is fully functioning within it. An example of this type of devotee is Narada, who upon attaining perfection received his vina and a suitable spiritual form from Bhagavan. (2) The nirdhuta-kasaya is one who is free from material desire but not yet perfect in terms of the cultivation of love of God. An example of this kind of devotee is Sukadeva Goswami, who although free from material desire (nirgrantha) became interested in the lila of Krishna. (3) The murcchita-kasaya is one who is not entirely free from the influence of the mode of goodness (sattva-guna) but whose absorption in bhakti is such that any seed of material desire that remains in his or her heart has no opportunity to fructify. An example of this type of devotee is Narada, who was blessed with Bhagavan’s darsana before his realization was perfect, a blessing intended to inspire him to perfect himself.

Another example given is that if one follows the sun fast enough one will always bask in its rays, even though one has not yet attained the sun globe. Similarly, one who proceeds steadily in the direction of prema, guided by a taste for divine service, is always blessed by Bhagavan, even though he or she has yet to attain prema. Following the lead of such a devotee is a safe course to take.

Q. Thank you so very much for your teachings and your books. I particularly love your commentary on Bhagavad-gita. I am very interested in becoming your student and perhaps being initiated. How would I go about doing this?

A. Sri Rupa Goswami explains that to advance in Krishna consciousness there are four things that should be in place. He writes:

gurupad asryam tasmat krishna diksadi siksanam visrambhena guroh seva sadhu vartmanuvartanam

“One must take shelter of sri guru, receive diksa and siksa from him or her, render faithful affectionate service to the guru, and follow the path of the saints.”

Taking shelter means that after hearing from the guru for some time, the beginner or novice who has developed faith and affection for the guru sincerely approaches him or her for initiation. During this period the guru in turn considers the qualifications and sincerity of the novice. If the guru feels that he or she is sincere, the guru will impart the mantra (diksa) to the novice, explaining its significance along with other relevant instructions (siksa). The initiate is then required to render faithful affectionate service to the guru. Ongoing devotion to guru and Krishna in the association of advanced devotees is what Sri Rupa is referring to when he tells us to follow the path of the saints. Only through such devoted service (bhakti) can the import of the mantra be realized.

While details may vary, these principles from Sri Rupa form the foundation of all bona fide guru-disciple relationships in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. Anyone desirous of making real progress in Krishna bhakti should consider them carefully and take them to heart. The guru manifests to the disciple though his words; being in his physical presence at all times is not required. Therefore, those interested in becoming my initiated students must first hear from me for some time. This can be done by listening to my lectures (see www.swamitripurari.com). They should also study my books and other Gaudiya literature, as well as the Sanga archives posted on my website. If they are inspired by my words and are ready to follow the path of the saints as Sri Rupa says, then they can meet with me at one of my monasteries; Audarya, Madhuvan, or Saragrahi, to discuss initiation.

In any case, I am very pleased to hear that you are appreciating my commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and that you want to advance in Krishna consciousness. Bless you for your interest in the path of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I pray that by his grace, you will overcome all obstacles and find shelter at the feet of a bona fide guru in the Gaudiya sampradaya.

See also: Faith In Sri Guru
http://swami.org/pages/sanga/2006/2006_9.php

95. om yo ’sau jagrat-svapna-susuptim atitya turyatito gopalah |

Om. Gopala transcends the three states of consciousness: wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep; he is even beyond the fourth state of divine consciousness. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

Among the Hindu sages, consciousness is generally considered to encompass four dimensions: waking (jagrata), dreaming (svapna), dreamless deep sleep (susupti), and transcendence, referred to simply as the “fourth” (turiya). Each dimension represents a successively more profound experience of the nature of being.

The first two dimensions represent the experience of the physical and mental planes, in which consciousness perceives itself through the medium of the senses and the mind. The physical world is the world of everyday experience, and the mental world is the world of greater possibilities drawn from the experience of the physical or waking state but not limited by its jurisdiction. It affords a greater sense of the freedom that corresponds with the nature of the self. Each of these dimensions, however, conceals to a large extent the possibility of the soul, which exists independently of the senses and mental system. Should these two—the mind and senses—shut down, the soul itself can rest.

In a limited way, we experience this in dreamless deep sleep. Similarly, when the world of physical and mental experience begins to withdraw and ultimately shut down, as the expansion of the world represented by the outgoing breath of Visnu reverses with his inhalation, all materially conditioned souls enter susupti. In dreamless deep sleep, they exist in restful experience independent of the world of the mind and senses until the world again manifests. At that time in conformance with the constraints of karma under which they are still bound, all materially conditioned souls again enter the stream of life. If they are fortunate, in one of their innumerable lives they can reach the shore of transcendence, the fourth dimension: turiya, self- and God-realization. In this dimension, being is experienced from the vantage point of the Godhead.

Gopala-tapani, however, seeks to take us to a fifth dimension, and thus here in its next-to-concluding words it states, turyatito gopalah. Moksa, liberation, including devotional liberation, is turiya (the fourth dimension), but Vraja prema in which Gopala Krishna is realized is beyond the “fourth.” It is the fifth goal of life, pañcama-purusartha—prema vastu. This prema, or selfless, spontaneous love, is the highest ideal, to which Gopala Krishna bows and through which he is realized.

96. eko devah sarva-bhutesu gudhah
sarva-vyapi sarva-bhutantaratma |
karmadhyaksah sarva-bhutadhivasah
saksi ceta kevalo nirgunas ca ||

One Supreme Deity is hidden in every living being. He is the all-pervading, indwelling soul of all creatures. He is the director of the activities of creation, the resort of all beings, the witness, and consciousness, unique and free from material qualities. ((This text is also found in Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.11.))

In his conversation with Narayana, Brahma questioned how the singular Supreme Brahman can at the same time be fourfold, as in the case of the catur-vyuha. In this verse Narayana anticipates further doubts from Brahma regarding the Supreme Soul’s becoming many, as in the case of the innumerable jiva souls. How does he do so? Here Narayana explains that he enters into each soul and hides within them. Taittiriya Upanisad (2.6.1) states that Brahman desired to become many, so ’kamoyata, bahu syam prajayeyeti. He then created and entered his creation, tat srstva tad evanupravisat. He became the many souls and also entered into them, where he hides waiting to be discovered as the jiva realizes its brightest prospect in life: to meet its master and know his love.

Because God is all-pervasive, his entrance into the world is different from that of ordinary jivas, who are limited by time and space. Such jivas perceive the material sky to be all-pervasive, but God’s all-pervasiveness is not merely like that of the sky, for he is indwelling at the same time that he is all-pervading. He rests in the heart of all jivas, and indeed, within every atom of material existence, while he simultaneously pervades the entirety of the material world. Furthermore, being the director of all beings, he is not like the God of the Mimamsakas, who sets up the world but remains uninvolved in it, allowing it to be ruled by the principle of karma. Because he is the resort of all beings, no being is equal to him, unlike what the Nyaya philosophers hold. He is both the efficient and ingredient cause of the world. He is not transformed from his transcendent status into the world of matter, for he is witness to it all and thus remains unchanged. The world is the transformation of his sakti. He, being nirguna, is pure consciousness free from material qualities and unique in that he possesses innumerable potencies.

97. rudraya namah | adityaya namah | vinayakaya namah | suryaya namah | vidyayai namah | indraya namah | agnaye namah | yamaya namah | nirrtaye namah | vayave namah | kuveraya namah | isanaya namah | brahmane namah | sarvebhyo devebhyo namah |

Salutations to Rudra. Salutations to Aditya. Salutations to Vinayaka. Salutations to Surya. Salutations to Sarasvati. Salutations to Indra. Salutations to Agni. Salutations to Yamaraja. Salutations to Nirrti. Salutations to Vayu. Salutations to Kuvera. Salutations to Isana. Salutations to Brahma. Salutations to all the gods.

In this text consisting of fourteen salutations, Narayana shows Brahma how to worship the one Supreme God as he appears in different forms. Sri Prabodhananda considers all the personalities mentioned to be vibhutis, or manifestations of God’s divine power. By this power, others are able to do God’s work.

98. dattva stutiµ punyatamam brahmane sva-svarupine |
kartrtvam sarvabhutanam antardhane babhuva sa˙ ||

After giving this most sacred hymn, Narayana accepted Brahma as a manifestation of himself and bestowed on him mastery over all creatures. Then Narayana disappeared.

With this and the following verse, Durvasa concludes his teaching to Gandharvi and the gopis, having recited the sacred conversation between Narayana and Brahma. He mentions here that after receiving Narayana’s instruction Brahma was empowered by him for the work of creation and thereby accepted by Narayana as an empowered manifestation of himself, avesavatara.

99. brahmane brahma-putrebhyo naradaya yatha srutam |
tatha proktas tu gandharvi gacchadhvam svalayantikam || iti ||

I have told you, Gandharvi, exactly what was said to Brahma, to Brahma’s sons, and to Narada, just as I have heard it. You and all the gopis may now go home.

Thus Gopala-tapani-sruti rests. May all who read it now go home following the teaching of this text, which points us in the proper direction. May Sri Prabodhananda Saraswati, Sri Jiva Goswami, Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and the host of commentators whose work preceded this commentary be pleased with it. I offer it unto my divine guardians, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Goswami, on this Purnima day in the month of July 2003, which corresponds with the day commemorating the disappearance of Sri Sanatana Goswami, the divine architect of the Gaudiya sampradaya. May he also be pleased with this commentary and mercifully bestow sambandha-jñana on those who study it carefully in the mood of devotion to Sri Gaura-Gopala.

79. om tat pranatmane
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

I offer obeisances to the soul of the life breath. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

With this verse Narayana begins a seventeen-verse prayer (stuti) glorifying Gopala Krishna as the essence of all forms of God, the Supreme Brahman. Previously it was shown that the pranava omkara represents Krishna. Here Narayana states that he is pranatma, the soul (atma) of one’s life air (prana). Sri Prabodhananda says that “Krishna is deserving of the commitment of one’s entire life breath. That which is designated by the pranava is not prana, which is, after all, unconscious matter, but that supreme substance possessing multiple energies, Brahman.”

The word prana is often used to refer to the fivefold life air, which the soul is said to be floating on within the body. The fivefold division of this life air is prana, apana, udana, vyana, and samana. The movements of the body are generated from the heart, and all subsequent movement, which is made possible by the senses, is powered by the life airs. The main air passing through the nose in breathing is called prana. The air that passes through the rectum as evacuated bodily air is called apana. The air that pervades the entire body and adjusts the foodstuff within the stomach is called samana. The air that passes through the throat during breathing is called udana. The air that governs muscular functioning is called vyana.

In the Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.9) the situation of the soul in relation to prana is explained as follows:

eso ’nur atma cetasa veditavyo
yasmin pranah pañcadha samvivesa
pranais cittam sarvam otam prajanam
yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma

The atomic soul is floating in five kinds of bodily airs. When purified from the influence of these airs, it shines forth and can be known by perfect intelligence.

Prana is mentioned in all but one of the verses in this stuti. The other four life airs, apana, vyana, udana, and samana, are mentioned in verses 81, 83, 85, and 87, respectively. Sri Prabodhananda comments that because prana is situated in the heart and vyana pervades the entire body, these two airs are predominant and are thus related more closely to Krishna himself. Apana, samana, and udana, on the other hand, are more closely related to his secondary features or expansions.

Narayana points out that along with his being the soul of everyone’s life air, Krishna is also the soul of the three worlds—bhuh, bhuvah, svah—which represent the physical, mental, and intellectual planes of experience. Since the jivas in which he dwells as the inner soul pervade the three worlds, he is the soul of all jivas and the entire world.

The fact that it is Krishna whom Narayana is glorifying and equating with pranava omkara is clear from the following verse, in which his names Krishna, Govinda, and Gopi-jana-vallabha are once again used and identified with the pranava omkara, the Supreme Brahman.

80. om sri-krsnaya govindaya gopi-jana-vallabhaya
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to Krishna, Lord of the cows and lover of the gopis. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

81. om apanatmane
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to the soul of the downward breath. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

82. om krsnaya ramaya pradyumnayaniruddhaya
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Obeisances to Krishna, Balarama, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

83. om vyanatmane
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to the soul of the breath that governs muscular functioning (vyana). Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

84. om sri-krsnaya ramaya
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to Krishna who is the same as Ramacandra (or Balarama). Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

85. om udanatmane
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to the soul of the breath that passes through the throat (udana). Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

86. om krsnaya devaki-nandanaya
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to Krishna, the son of Devaki. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

87. om samanatmane
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the soul of the life air that pervades the whole body. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

88. om gopalaya nija-svarupaya
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. Obeisances to Gopala, the true form of the Supreme Truth. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

89. om yo ’sau pradhanatma gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the soul of the source of the material energy (pradhana). Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

90. om yo ’sav indriyatma gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the soul of all the senses. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

91. om yo ’sau bhutatma gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the soul of the material elements. Om, this is is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

92. om yo ’sav uttama-puruso gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the Supreme Person. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

93. om yo ’sau param brahma gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the Parabrahman. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

94. mµ yo ’sau sarva-bhutatma gopalah
om tat sad bhur bhuvah svas tasmai vai pranatmane namo namah |

Om. That Gopala is the soul of all beings. Om, this is the truth throughout the three worlds. I offer repeated obeisances to him who is verily the soul of prana.

75. sa hovacabjayonih | vyaktanam murtinam proktanam katham tv abharanani bhavanti |
katham va deva yajanti rudra yajanti brahma yajanti brahmaja
yajanti vinayaka yajanti dvadasaditya yajanti vasavo yajanti gandharva
yajanti | svapadanugantardhane tisthati ka |kam manusya yajanti |

The lotus-born Brahma asked: How is it possible for the manifest murtis of the Lord that were previously mentioned to have ornaments? And how do gods such as the Rudras, Brahma, the sons of Brahma, the Vinayakas, the twelve Adityas, the Vasus, and the Gandharvas worship them? Which murti returns to his own abode and which remains after disappearance? Which murti do human beings worship?

As this new section of the text begins, Brahma expresses the doubts that arose in him on hearing Narayana’s description of the twelve deities of Mathura’s twelve forests (2.32). The text in the manuscript that this translation and commentary are derived from reads vyaktanam murtinam (manifest deities). However, both Visvesvara Tirtha’s commentary and the following verse leave room to reasonably conjecture that the manuscript he was working with may have read avyaktanam murtinam (unmanifest deities). Thus Brahma may have asked, “How is it possible for the unmanifest murtis of the Lord that were previously mentioned to have ornaments?” Prabodhananda also comments that some manuscripts read vyaktanam murtinam (separate deities), which would then make the verse say, “How is it possible for the separate murtis of the Lord that were previously mentioned to have ornaments?”

Brahma wants to know in what manner the gods worship these deities. The word va (or) implies that he also wants to know which gods worship which Deities. His confusion arises partly from the teaching that Narayana/Krishna is worshipable by everyone, while previously, in verse 33, it was mentioned that certain gods worship certain Deities. Brahma also wants to better understand Narayana’s description of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth deities of the Mathura forests, who were respectively described as being invisible (antardhane), as having returned to Vaikuntha (sva-pade), and as remaining on the earth (bhumisthe) and being worshiped by humans.

76. sa hovaca tam hi vai narayano devah | adya avyakta dvadasa-murtayah
sarvesu lokesu sarvesu devesu sarvesu manusyesu tisthanti |

Lord Narayana said to Brahma: The twelve originally unmanifest forms are present in all worlds, among all gods and all humans.

Here Narayana responds to the first question: “How can these deities be decorated when they are unmanifest in form?” Narayana tells Brahma that these deities, while unmanifest in the sense that they only manifest to those who worship them, are nonetheless eternally existing in all worlds among both gods and humans. They are adya, original, or eternally existing without beginning. Sri Jiva Goswami comments that the word adya means anadi-siddha, “existing in the same perfect state without any beginning.” He adds that the word avyakta means that they are unmanifest to anyone other than those who worship them and that the word tisthanti underscores the idea that these deities are manifest only to their worshipers.

Thus Brahma’s first question concerning how deities that are unmanifest can be ornamented is answered by Narayana in conjunction with describing how they are worshiped by the various gods. By their worship, the deities become manifest. If Brahma’s question is how the twelve manifest deities can be worshiped when the teaching thus far has emphasized the exclusive worship of the one Supreme Brahman—a question about how one deity can also be many—Narayana begins his answer in this verse and concludes it in the following one.

77. rudresu raudri brahmany evam brahmi devesu daivi
manusyesu manavi vinayakesu vighna-nasini adityesu jyotir
gandharvesu gandharvi apsara˙sv evam
gaur vasusv evam kamya antardhane prakasini ||

I am worshiped by the Rudras in my form as Rudra, on Brahmaloka as Brahma, to the gods as God, to humans as a human. Among the Vinayakas my form is that of the remover of obstacles, Ganesa; to the Adityas I am light; to the Gandharvas I appear as a Gandharva; to the Apsaras I appear as Gau, whose form is revealed in song; to the Vasus I appear as the desirable Vasavi; and after I disappear, I then appear in the invisible form Aprakasini [or the form that sometimes reveals itself, Prakasini].

These twelve forms are different manifestations of the same God as he appears to specific groups of worshipers. Their appearance and ornamentation reflect the hearts of their devotees. The many forms of the one God are one with the pure hearts of his devotees. God is fully present within love of God, and there is no meaning to God independent of love of God. Indeed, we are well advised to venerate love of God more than God himself.

This truth accounts for the spiritual bias that fuels the liberated worlds of sacred aesthetic rapture (rasananda). Thus this obscure yet important section of Gopala-tapani provides a sruti reference for this experience of the Vaisnavas.

The word gauh, which usually means “cow,” is the cause of some confusion. Does this mean that God appears to the Apsaras as a cow? Prabodhananda Saraswati solves this problem in the following way: “The word gauh should be understood here to be derived from the verbal root gai, ‘to sing.’ The name thus means ‘one whose form is revealed by song.’ ” It is explained here that the deity described as invisible is called Prakasini, visible only in the heart of his devotees. The deity that remains on earth is the one worshiped by the human beings who are Brahman-realized.

78. avirbhava-tirobhava sva-pade tisthati |
tamasi rajasi sattviki manusi vijñana-ghana ananda-ghanah
sac-cid-anandaika-rase bhakti-yoge tisthati ||

The murti that is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest remains in his own abode. His forms, whether human or in the modes of ignorance, passion, or goodness, are the embodiment of spiritual realization and joy, and are permanently situated in bhakti-yoga, exclusively characterized by eternity, knowledge, and bliss.

More details are given here about the deity who in texts 33 and 75 was described as having gone to his own abode (Vaikuntha). Prabodhananda Saraswati comments that this murti, which is “sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest,” occasionally descends to this world and at other times remains situated in his own abode (sva-pade). The word sva-pade is taken as significant by Sri Prabodhananda and indicates that in his opinion this Deity is the source of Mathura’s other eleven deities. “His own abode” is Goloka, which, Sri Prabodhananda says, is a special manifestation of earthly Vrndavana.

Sri Prabodhananda hears this deity speaking about his manifest and unmanifest pastimes in Vrindavana in the following verses, which he attributes to the Gautamiya-tantra:26

This beautiful land of Vrindavana is my eternal abode. The woods that extend for five yojanas are veritably my own body. The Kalindi River, which flows through it, is the Susumna channel that carries the currents of pure nectar. Living there in subtle form are the gods and other beings, and I, who am the essence of all the gods, never abandon this wood at any time. In every age, I am sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest, but this effulgent, transcendental aspect of my abode is not perceptible to the mundane sense of sight.

Although his different forms appearing in the world are apparently in different modes of nature (animal forms, godly forms, and so on), they are not under the influence of material nature. His form is described here as being “the embodiment of spiritual realization and joy” and “permanently situated in bhakti-yoga, exclusively characterized by eternity, knowledge, and bliss.”

He can be perceived in the pure condition of bhakti-yoga by those who have knowledge (vijnana) characterized by realization of his form, qualities, and pastimes, which are the antithesis of unconscious matter. In explaining this, Prabodhananda Saraswati comments that the word ghanah in this verse means “solid” or “dense,” and thus ananda-ghanah means “solidified spiritual energy” or “spiritual energy that has taken form.” Ananda-ghanah (solidified joy) also indicates a form that is the antithesis of all distress. As Krishna is constituted of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, so too is pure devotion.

Q. The book Hari-bhakti-vilasa is said to present the standard for worship in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, but no one seems to be following the procedures it contains very strictly. How important is it for Gaudiya Vaishnavas to try to follow Hari-bhakti-vilasa?

A. Gopala Bhatta Goswami and Sanatana Goswami, the authors of Hari-bhakti-vilasa, were both personal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Still, I am not aware of any modern Gaudiya Vaishnava sect that follows Hari-bhakti-vilasa to the letter. Indeed, in this day and age trying to do so would be next to impossible. A devotee in the lineage of Gopala Bhatta Goswami, Srivatsa Goswami of the Radha-Ramana temple in Vrindavana, once told me, “No one follows Hari-bhakti-vilasa more strictly than our lineage.” Hearing this I laughed and replied, “So you do not follow it completely either.” His subsequent silence spoke volumes.

The history of Hari-bhakti-vilasa involved the need to establish standards of behavior and worship for the Gaudiya lineage in a religious culture in which the rule-based and love-less smriti of the smarta-brahmanas was prominent. The book was an effort to provide a structure for our sampradaya to support its members and lend credence to the lineage in the climate of the times. It is an important and empowered book, yet acaryas in our lineage have found room to forego some of its recommended procedural details while establishing the principle they are intended to support.

Q. Hari-bhakti-vilasa says something to the effect that without receiving mantra-diksa, chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (harinama) on its own will not take one back to Godhead. How are we to understand this?

A. Harinama surely has the power to deliver one from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) as well as to bestow ecstatic love of God (prema). However, diksa, or initiation into the chanting of the 18-syllable Krishna mantra, is essential in terms of helping materially conditioned souls take full advantage of the liberated name of God—harinama. The idea is that we can use all the help we can get.

The 18-syllable Krishna mantra consists primarily of names of Hari, particularly Krishna, Govinda, and Gopi-jana-vallabha. Within the mantra, these names appear in the dative case, indicating an indirect object or recipient (“to Govinda I offer myself,” for example). In contrast, the vocative case is used in directly addressing or invoking a person or thing, which is how the names appear in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In the Krishna mantra, the names are preceded by the kama-bija (seed) and followed by svaha, or the giving of oneself. Thus the Krishna mantra fosters self-surrender (saranagati), which is the platform on which bhajana and lila-seva are successfully performed. It also reveals one’s svarupa, or relationship with Krishna, who is non-different from his name.

The Krishna mantra facilitates a particular relationship with the divine name. When this is revealed, the efficacy of the mantra is realized and one can then continue to chant harinama such that one’s nama bhajana is fully informed with realized knowledge—sambandha jnana. Such nama bhajana nourishes lila smaranam and together the two, harinama and the meditation on one’s relationship with the divine name, give one Krishna prema.

Thus it is important not to avoid mantra diksa, as even Krishna and Sri Krishna Caitanya accepted mantra diksa to set an example for others to follow.

Q. Some devotees say that chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is sufficient to install the Deity (arca vigraha) in a home or temple. Others refer to Hari-bhakti-vilasa, which indicates that a certain ritual (prana pratistha) needs to be performed in order to make any Deity installation complete. What is your understanding of this?

A. The arca vigraha, or arca avatara, should be properly installed under the auspices of one who has fixed the deity within his or her heart. First sri murti appears in a realized soul’s heart, and from there it is established externally as a sharing of that Vaishnava’s divine love. In other words, the Deity appears to accept seva from us through the will of the Vaishnava acarya. If his will is in place, the deity will fully manifest. The will of the Vaishnava is the heart of the descent of the arca avatara. All other procedures are secondary and serve simply to assist the will of the acarya.

Thus we find that while important, the procedures cited in Hari-bhakti-vilasa regarding deity installation are details that are expendable at the discretion of the acarya. By his divine will, my Guru Maharaja established many deities throughout the world and in doing so he modified the procedures given in Hari-bhakti-vilasa as he saw fit. In short, if the will of the Vaishnava is behind the installation and nothing else, it is complete, but if all the other procedures are in place and the Vaishnava’s will is absent, the installation is not complete. The appearance of Krishna in any form is tied to the love that his devotees have for him. Indeed, love of Krishna and Krishna are one. You cannot have one without the other.

Q. During Chaturmasya, a four-month period during India’s rainy season, a vow of austerity involving fasting from certain foods is encouraged. Skanda Purana and other scriptures state that this vow is compulsory for everyone, and in his Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 4.169) Srila Prabhupada concurs saying that observance of Chaturmasya is obligatory for all asramas. Srila Prabhupada also states that the main purpose of the Chaturmasya vow, which ends in Kartika, a very holy month for Vaishnavas, is to reduce sense gratification.

However, although this is stated in his Caitanya-caritamrta, and we know that his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta followed this vow, our Srila Prabhupada didn’t establish Chaturmasya as a regular observance in his society as he did with Ekadasi. Why is this? Is it because Chaturmasya is only applicable in India where people are forced to curb their activity during the rainy season?

A. Srila Rupa Goswami does not mention the observance of Chaturmasya as being a limb (anga) of bhakti. However, Rupa Goswami cites evidence from Padma Purana supporting the observance of Urja-vrata during the month of Damodara/Karttika. This is the last of the four months of Chaturmasya and such observance is an anga of bhakti.

Aside from Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, observance of the Chaturmasya vrata is advocated in Hari-bhakti-vilasa in relation to Vishnu bhakti, and Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura strictly followed this. However, in the larger picture we find that the strict observance of Chaturmasya on the part of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was not followed in the same measure by his most prominent disciples who had direct contact with the Western world. Thus its relativity is brought to light. Indeed, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura himself only observed Chaturmasya strictly for four or five years before starting his mission, and he was advised by Thakura Bhaktivinoda to forgo such strict observance, which Krishna in the Srimad Bhagavatam states does not have the power to attract him in the way that sadhu sanga does (SB 11.12.1-2). Although some of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s disciples continued to follow strict Chaturmasya vows within the mission, he instructed his disciples that produce grown at any of the mission’s monasteries could be offered to the deity and honored by the devotees during Chaturmasya despite the fact that such foods were supposed to be prohibited for Chaturmasya.

The real purpose behind such observance is to promote the spirit of self-giving. Pujyapada Sridhara Deva Goswami comments on the observance of Chaturmasya and similar vows thus: “Only to effect self-giving all these advices have been devised in different ways suited to different environments. But the very substance for all such observances is samarpanam (wholesale dedication of the self). Just as the ghee is poured into the fire, put yourself into the fire and gradually give yourself into the hands of the sadhu.”

Thus we should try to embrace the essence of the observance of Chaturmasya and similar vows. Penance and austerity have little value in and of themselves. Giving one’s heart is real giving. It should also be noted that observing festivals for Hari (another anga of bhakti) should be in consideration of one’s resources. Thus it may be reasonable to consider that observing Chaturmasya vows with regard to details should be done in accordance with one’s resources, and one’s resources are largely determined by one’s environment.

As mentioned above, observance of the Urja-vrata related to the Kartika month has been differentiated from the Chaturmasya vows as an anga of bhakti. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura places it on the same level as observing Ekadasi, identifying it as something that both directly and indirectly promotes raga-bhakti. About its observance, Sri Jiva Goswami writes as follows, commenting on a verse from Padma Purana:

“The month is affectionate just as Damodara is affectionate. Thus a little service to Damodara becomes multiplied if performed during that month. Uru-karaka means a person (in this case the month) who accepts something very small and makes it big, like a person who feels extremely indebted and performs great actions for another person. Similarly, his month, called Kartika month, gives great benefit. It takes what is meager and makes it significant. Svalpam uru-karakah means ‘The month of Damodara is a future giver of huge results for a little service.’ ”

Thus I would advise observance of the Kartika vrata and I would not stress strict observance of Chaturmasya outside of India. Again, even within India such observance, although recommended, is not an anga of bhakti, whereas the observance of Kartika is.