Tears in Navadvipa

Dear Devotees, Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Pranams!

I have just returned from a five-day stay in Navadvipa Dhaama. While chanting and performing services, I noticed one special characteristic of Shri Navadvipa Mayapura Dhaama. The tears of affection towards the Lord and the Acharyas roll down effortlessly and suddenly in Navadvipa Dhaama while chanting or even while performing other services. In Navadvipa, one's heart and mind suddenly (dhaamera vichitra shakti hathaat taahaare…) becomes absorbed in Bhakti (devotion) without voluntary effort. In Navadvipa, one does not need to make a big endeavor to remember the Lord. It arises on it's own if the devotee is sincere (mantra chaitanya paaya, anaayaase tare). Navadvipa Dhaama can effortlessly raise us from the lowest material modes of nature to the pure remembrance of Lord Gaura Krishna with the least endeavor on our part. The only thing required is faith in the Navadvipa Dhaama Tattva and one will be able to experience the miraculous benefits of Navadvipa Dhaama. It is undoubtedly the most merciful place to visit in the whole of creation.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.

Comment on this Post

Don't jump over Prabhupada...

Dear Swami Gaurangapada, Dear Devotees
Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances.

i have already few times heard a statement "Don't jump over Prabhupada", which is supposed to be existent among the modern devotees. In my case i came across it in connection to reading and deepening one's knowledge and attachment to the writings and teachings of our previous acharyas, especially those of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada and Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. According to my understanding of the mentality of the devotees who use this term,  i can conclude that it means in other words: "First try to read, understand and implement the instructions of Shrila Prabhupada before You do the same with the books and vani of other predecessor acharyas." Which also would mean, that if for example Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada did some things differently, the way Shrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada did, is more important.

So my question is: To what extent the necessity is there to first approach the vani and books of Shrila Prabhupada before the of the other predecessor acharyas? What about the shastric evidence on this issue? How to correctly understand the meaning of "Don't jump over Prabhupada"?

Thank You very much

Yours,
Matus

Comment on this Post

Re: Six Questions about Rasa

Respected Swamiji and Vaisnavas,

   Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Sorry about the bug that happened at the last paragraph in my last reply. I had forgotten to finish it. What I meant was that for the conditioned soul at my level it is enough to concentrate on chanting for the time being. There really is nothing taboo or wrong about the reading and discussing topics on rasas provided one is sufficiently advanced enough and if one can stop making too many speculations from what one hears or reads.

  We really deal with two problems. On one hand are those who indulge in unwanton and indiscriminate reading and end up like the sahajiyas. In the other case it is the other extreme. A neophyte in devotion has this bad tendency to judge everybody on the basis of one's own experience. At this stage one expects everyone to go the way one goes. If something is forbidden for oneself at one stage, then the neophyte goes so far to consider that this is the highest rule of siddhanta for everyone and for all time. I have seen this crop up quite often in the mantraraja chanting issues. The neophyte has no power to distinguish between what is naimittika (occasional) and what is nitya (eternal) dharmas (see Jaiva Dharmas).

For eg. Some newly manufactured modern day apasampradayis claim that there is no need to go to other acaryas for siksha (which comes from institutionalism)  or diksha (spoken by the Kartabhajas and ritviks --  see the book on apasampradayis in Nitaai Veda). Without being adequately disciplined by a spiritual master, the neophyte has a danger to go on his own track and do anything to support his own views -- indeed all the apasampradayas can be said to fall in these two categories.

  This second tendency is based on the fact that a neophyte thinks all others are neophytes or lower (Mr. Frog in the well philosophy). Morever the person may not have any proper knowledge of the sastras to make things worse and it is unfortunate as now a situation is coming about where if one says even a little information about Radha Krishna lila, etc. immediately that person is branded 'sahajiya' -- even if he is a pure devotee. Gour Govinda Swami says that we have no power to identify a sadhu ourselves

Devotee: How does one recognize a sadhu?

Gour Govinda Swami: Cry before Krishna. Only He can help you to find a sadhu. You can’t recognize a sadhu. You have no vision to see the sadhu. If you try by yourself to recognize sadhu, then you will be cheated. If you are serious, then cry before Him. “O Krishna! I am your servant!” This is not an external cry. It is internal. Then Krishna, who is in your heart, will see that you are crying and he will help you. He will make arrangement for you to meet such a sadhu. That is the arrangement of Krishna. When you meet such a person you will feel some spontaneous attraction from the core of your heart. That attraction is the proof. If you are really crying for it then Krishna can make an arrangement. It is impossible for you, but nothing is impossible for Krishna.

 

Certainly we can see that this is badly needed. It has become like a meaningless taboo or superstition not to talk about these topics, like various social misconceptions. People may end up committing offences to great devotees by this and ruin their future. This will ultimately lead to rejecting the devotional movement as science rejected religion.

   In other words, one should be properly educated on all these matters. It is not a taboo or a sin to discuss the rasa shastras, but also there is a limit to how much one should know based on one's development. Only the pure devotee is entitled to enter this ocean without restriction. But we should have some knowledge of these matters and also how NOT to misuse it. Ultimately this is the job of the bonafide spiritual master. So let us all surrender to the lotus feet of the guru and have faith in his words! Haribol Gaura Premanande!

   This is what I wanted to mention in the last reply, but I accidentally sent it off without writing and I felt it gives an impression like I'm saying, "Don't read or talk about rasas. Only chant" Please forgive me for that mistake. Some things are for conditioned souls and some things are at a higher level. In my case, I have had some bad misunderstandings myself as far as these topics are concerned and so I am very wary of reading them. This has further been influenced by the environment around me. So I felt that I should stick to chanting. However if you say that I can hear, than I have no objection. But only that I should hear from the right source, right?

Aspiring to be your servant,

Srinath

 

Comment on this Post

Re: Six Questions about Rasa

Respected Swamiji and Vaisnavas,

   Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! In the Caitanya Charitamrta Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says that it is from a neutral point of view (where one is not situated in any of the rasas) that there is a gradation of rasas. However for a devotee who has advanced so far as to reach the spiritual platform and attained his svarupa, his own rasa is what gives him the greatest happiness and is the topmost.

   For e.g. Hanuman who is in Dasya rasa cannot imagine climbing on the shoulders of Lord Rama or playing like the cowherd boys and that does not give him any happiness.

     Srila Prabhupada here gives his opinion :

   Tivrena bhakti-yogena mano mayy arpitam. Mayi, "unto Me, the Supreme Lord, Krsna." This is Krsna consciousness. Always thinking of Krsna, mayi. That will help. Tivrena bhakti-yogena. Always... That is also advised in Bhagavad-gita: man-mana, mad-bh... Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. Your mind should be engaged always in Krsna. Krsna or Rama, which form ever you like-Visnu form, or Lord Visnu, Narayana, Kapiladeva. There are innumerable forms of God. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. So Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, Krsna, Kapiladeva, Balarama -- there are so many forms. So any one of Them, whichever you like... Everyone is... Just like Hanuman. He liked Ramacandra forms, and Arjuna liked Krsna's form. But there is no difference between Rama and Krsna. Ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu [Bs. 5.39].

Sometimes foolish people question us that "You are worshiping Krsna. Why you do not worship Rama?" Rama and Krsna, there is no difference. But anyone has got his liking. Just like Hanuman has liking to worship Lord Ramacandra, and the gopis had the liking to worship Krsna. That does not make any difference. It is like... Ye yatha mam prapadyante [Bg. 4.11]. Krsna, the Lord, appears in different way. Sometimes the gopis... The Krsna went away from the gopis, and the gopis were searching out Krsna. So in some place Krsna was sitting in the Visnu form. So the gopis passed through that Deity, and they did not offer much respect. "Oh, He is Visnu. All right, namaskara." Because they wanted to see Krsna. There is no difference between Krsna and Visnu, but every devotee has got some inclination, love Krsna. Ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan [Bs. 5.39]. So therefore Krsna is all-pervading in different murtis. Therefore in the Vaisnava-sampradaya some of them, they worship Radha-Krsna, and some of them worship Sita-Rama. And some of them worship Laksmi-Narayana. Some of them worship Rukmini-Krsna. There are so many devotees. But all of them are the same, Vaisnava. All of them are the... But not demigods. Visnu. So chanting, bhakti-yoga means to chant Visnu. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]. And Visnu has got so many forms. So either you chant Hare Rama or you chant Hare Krsna, it is the same. There is no difference. Sometimes they first of all place "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." And sometimes they place "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna..." There is no difference. Sometimes they say, "No, it should be Hare Rama first." Sometimes they..., "No, Hare Krsna." But that is not very important, childish. Any, either you say Hare Rama or Hare Krsna, the same. So this is to be done. Tivrena bhakti-yogena.

 

  Many people who read that Madhura rasa is highest often go around treating some devotees as superior and other devotees as inferior and , as some say, "We worship Radha Krishna. Why should we listen to devotees of Lord Rama or Nrsimha or observe their festivals?" Really wrong attitude. Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura has warned that only a foolish person thinks one Vaisnava to be greater and another Vaisnava to be lesser in the Caitanya Bhagavata in several places. Vaisnavas and rasas are transcendental and are beyond the ordinary mundane conceptions of higher and lower. Barging in with theoritical knowledge alone will result in many mistakes. What the gosvamis address as higher or lower is not like the material conceptions of higher and lower at all. In fact actually every devotee gains his greatest bliss in their respective constitutional positions. Knowledge of the rasa shastras has to be backed by an equal amount of spiritual realisation, or else it is very dangerous in the hands of the neophyte.

 

  My understanding from Hadai Nityananda Dasa's writings and the talks I personally had with him goes as follows : Therefore the only right thing for a conditioned soul like me to do is keep an open mind and not trouble myself too much over these matters -- anyway it is all thought by the material mind in terms of material experience and as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada says, "The materialistic demeanor cannot possibly stretch to the transcendental autocrat." So why try to understand what is currently impossible to understand? As a matter of fact, Siddhanta Sarasvati said that reading these topics is for those who have chanted 64 rounds for 10-15 years -- the statistic may be one thing, but the meaning is that it must be accompanied by the stamp of spiritual realisation. Otherwise the results are more often than not, catastrophic, as is seen by the apasampradayas.

 

 Everything is there in the names of Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and everything will eventually be revealed at the right time. One must be patient and humble. This is my understanding which I got from your talks. Of course, it is plainly obvious that you have discussed these things for the benefit of fallen souls like myself. Thank you so much and I pray that I continue to keep receiving your mercy.

 

 

Aspiring to be your servant,

 

Srinath

 

Comment on this Post