Success of faith

Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion
Volume One -- Chapter Three -- The Success of Faith
by Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written:

    sakala chadiya bhai
    sraddhadevira guna gai
    yanra krpa bhakti dite pare

    "Giving up everything, let us sing in praise of Sraddha-devi - faith - whose grace can take us to Krsna."

Sraddha, faith, is the most subtle thing, and it is also the most tangible. It is not imaginary. We must realize that it is reality, it is concrete, and not merely an abstract sentiment of mere individual consciousness. Faith is universal as the most fundamental element that can connect us with the finest objective.

Power and grandeur are not proof of faith

Through electricity or radio we can establish communication over a long distance. The science is very subtle, and not known to anyone and everyone, yet, we cannot deny its existence; it has its tangible position. But faith is much more subtle, and through it one can establish both higher contact and reciprocation. Subtle faith is not approachable by anyone and everyone; it has its tangible existence and it may function in any circumstance if we have its peculiar contact. We cannot give false statements that we possess it; our power and grandeur are not necessarily any proof of its presence in us. Despite great pomp and show, all we personify may be falsehood. We should be very cautious to maintain our contact with genuine faith.

The main qualification for faith

Of course, sincerity is the main requirement for faith's connection. No price, however valuable in this world, can purchase it. The qualification is laulyam - our sincere and earnest desire for the thing. No one can purchase
the Absolute, and no price can purchase Him. The absolute necessity is our sincere desire and earnestness. With insincerity, we cannot make trade with Him; He is not so foolish as to become an object of trade for anybody! Sincere desire for Him is required, and that will awaken the conception to serve Him. We want Him, sincerely - through affection. We love Him, so we desire Him. And to love means to sacrifice for the object of our love. Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu has given a beautiful definition of the word 'Bhagavan': bhajaniya sarva-sad-guna-visista - "The Supreme Lord, Bhagavan is of such a nature that everyone who comes in contact with Him will want to serve Him and to sacrifice themselves for His satisfaction." This is the result of faith in its developed form. He is so noble, we shall think that if we die to satisfy Him, our life's objective will be fulfilled. His noble quality is such that it draws so much sacrificing spirit for Him; it draws everything towards Him. "Die to live." Faith is such.

The agents of faith

We are in the ocean of faith, and the devotees are the essential agents. Each helps the other. We are much relieved from the fatigue and trials of a long journey if we have a companion or the association of a group. Similarly, in this ocean, if we obtain the help of devotees of similar nature to ours, that will be most conducive. Even our Guru Maharaja, in a speech he delivered on Vyasa-puja, his Holy Appearance Day, addressed his disciples, "Vipada uddharana bandhugana: Oh my friends, who can give me relief from danger." "To me, you are my deliverers from danger! In the ocean of faith, it is very difficult to journey onward alone, so you have come to help me in my dangerous, ambitious journey in the infinite. You have come, and you are engaging me in talking about only Him, and so, you have given me some engagement. Otherwise, to live and move alone in the infinite is very difficult, troublesome and dangerous. You have all come to hear something, and in this exchange of talks about Him the situation has been made very safe and easy to journey so far toward Vaikuntha."

Faith is the only capital - Faith in the real devotees brings us to a tangible thing

We must be conscious of our real position when we are searching for Krsna. It is not easy, and also, it is very easy - both simultaneously. Faith is the only capital by which we can make our journey towards the Infinite. Bhakti, devotion, has no beginning and no end (ahaituky apratihata). There is no beginning - it is there already. Before we came to know about it, it was there. It was there, it is there, it will be there. No one ca resist it - that bhakti, that faith, is irresistible. It is part of the eternal substance. Its very nature is eternity - none can oppose it. We only have to make contact and associate with it, and the wave will carry us towards our goal. And if we can have the company of the devotees, the journey becomes very easy and pleasant, whereas to go alone is very difficult. In the progress of our contact with faith, when we come to take benefit from devotees and have faith in them, we are more safe and our progress is also tangible - it comes to reality. From a vague, abstract position, faith becomes deeper within us. We can then recognize many others with the same objective in life, and the journey becomes easier. It becomes conceivable. It comes into measurement. When we have faith in the real devotees, we can come into contact with such a tangible thing. Thus, the position of the devotees is very important in our journey, especially in the middle stage. In the primary stage, not much importance is given to the devotees. With only a vague conception from the scriptures and with the help of previous accumulated merits (sukrti), the journey is begun. But gradually, the beginners find that to journey onwards in the infinite is not an easy thing: "We thought that with a little progress we could attain the desired end, but now we find that it is not so." When we come to consider the real position of devotion, of what is God - He is universal, He is the ultimate goal - we may gradually become disappointed. But if along the way we take help from the devotees of similar objective, we shall feel much relief by their company, even though the destination may be far away. The difficulties of the journey are more prominent in the second stage. In the primary stage, we are not very exclusive in our objective, and so,we do not experience much difficulty. Real difficulties begin when we enter into the journey exclusively, with no other objective than to engage our whole energy towards that high and elevated path. And if we actually achieve a touch of the highest stage, the maha-bhagavata stage, the journey again becomes easier. But the middle portion is difficult, and at that stage the devotees are very important to save us. This is the period of both tangible acquisition and difficulty; our failings on the path to realization are to be rectified in this middle stage.

The association of devotees is of ultimate importance

When we enter into war, in the beginning we have much hope. We feel confident. But the real test is when the fighting begins. And when we finally conquer, we again become very satisfied. But the middle - when the war is being conducted - that is the difficult period. At that time, our co-workers, our comrades who fight along-side us, are very, very important to us. "I am not alone, but there are many others battling alongside me in that middle fighting period of war.� Those companions are important. Some may disappear from the field but there will be others to encourage me. Similarly, on this journey, we may see that many stalwarts are falling. It may discourage us to see such respected persons -going away - falling in the middle path. Nonetheless, in the midst of those unfavorablecircumstances there are others who are bravely making progress with unflinching faith, and they will help us. To stick it out to the end is difficult - but important and valuable. The test comes and shows how much faith we have. Nothing comes in vain, and we must take everything that happens in that way. There may be so many stalwarts, like Bhisma and Drona, who fall flat in the battlefield, but still we must go on (karmany evadhikaras te, ma phalesu kadacana, Bg. 2.47). We are out to fight to the end. We must achieve our end of life, and we can imbibe such firmness from the character of the devotees. The sastra will also offer helpful advice, but the association of the devotees is nonetheless of ultimate importance.

How to persevere on this journey?

We need lasting faith, not flickering faith: "Oh, I attempted for some time but I did not find any tangible fruit from bhakti, so I left"; or, "To me, it seemed very, very vague. When I began, I thought this to be something tangible that I would quickly attain, but it is not so. It is uncertain. I am giving so much energy for the cause, but still the desired result is not achieved." Previous tendencies also draw from the negative side, and so we find that many stalwarts are falling. Still, we have to persevere in this journey, and we shall have to take courage from those who are standing and who are deeply engaged. Though it is told hundreds of times that the Absolute is infinite, in the beginning we still tend to take it in the conception of the finite. We are accustomed to think of anything and everything in terms of finite. So, although we hear that it is infinite, it is Vaikuntha, it has no limit - we nonetheless cannot grasp the proper meaning. But when we make practical progress, many new conceptions must come to our knowledge. Now, when our Guru Maharaja addressed his disciples as vipada uddharana bandhu-gana, "My dear friends who have come to deliver me from danger," we should, of course, recognize such a statement from both the relative and absolute standpoints. Students are a necessary part of a professor - when a professor has students, he feels the practical utility of his life has been successful. Thus, from the relative point of view, disciples can help the Acarya. But from the absolute stand-point, Krsna's will is everything, and the nitya-siddha or eternally perfect great souls who inwardly know the Lord's intentions cannot be disturbed by any danger in any respect, but outwardly such an appearance may be manifest in their dealings.

By mutual understanding and discussion, a nectar arises to nourish the devotees

    mac-citta mad-gata-prana
    bodhayantah parasparam
    kathayantas ca mam nityam
    tusyanti ca ramanti ca
    (Bg. 10.9)

Mac-citta: "Their attention is in Me"; mad-gata-prana: "Their energy is also spent for my cause"; bodha-yantah parasparam: "They mutually assist one another." This reminds us of the 'Napoleonic chair.' Once, when stranded in a marsh, Napoleon arranged that each man sit on the lap of another, in a circular formation; each automatically protected the other from the otherwise fatal cold and they could all remain awake to pass the whole night of intolerable cold. Otherwise his army would have perished. So, by mutual help, one devotee is asking questions, another is answering, and they are both getting engagement. The questioner is giving some energy and the answerer is also energizing. Bodhayantah parasparam: those of equal standing exchange their thoughts about Krsna - kathayantas ca mamnityam - and thereby their blissfulness is generated. By mutual understanding and discussion, a kind of nectar arises that nourishes the devotees. "One is asking something about Me and another is answering, and thereby that discussion creates a flow of nectar that nourishes both parties." Tusyanti ca ramanti ca: "Satisfaction is generated from that mutual understanding, and it develops up to ramanti ca, up to the quality of the absolute reciprocation, the wholesale transaction.' It rises up to that standard, ramanti ca, and again I give them a further installment, an illumination of new light (dadami buddhi-yogam tam), and they take a new course and are promoted into the 'suicide squad,' that squadron which is eligible for every type of service."

To be competent for any type of sacrifice or service

That particular type of 'soldier' is competent to fight on the land, in the water, in the sky or in any circumstances, and he is prepared for any form of fighting, any form of service. "I direct them to that section." Yena mam upayanti te (Bg. 10.10). Unconditional service: they are ready for any service demanded of them. They are ready to sacrifice their lives for any form of service, and that peculiar group is in Vrndavana. I mentioned to Sripada A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja that in Gita, after ramanti (10.9) comes buddhi-yoga and then upayanti (10.10); according to me, the meaning is that ramanti or divine service in madhura-rasa progresses through buddhi-yoga or yoga-maya, up to upayanti, or the highest plane of service in Vrndavana. Sripada Swami Maharaja responded, "What more could it mean than this!" Hence, upayanti means kama-rupa. In his Bhakti--rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami has mentioned sambandha-rupa and kama-rupa, the two types of Ragatmika-bhakti, or devotion rendered by the Eternal Associates of the Lord, headed by the residents of Vraja. In sambandha-rupa the Lord's Associates cooperate according to their fixed relative positions of dasya, sakhya, vatsalya or madhura, whereas in kama-rupa they come forward to serve any necessity that is demanded of them. They are ready to serve any and every desire of the Absolute. They are like that group of soldiers who have been trained to do any service in the war without being limited to fighting only in a particular division such as the army, navy or air force. They are prepared for all sorts of service, anywhere. Such is the kama-rupa group. This is upayanti te; they are awarded the instruction (dadami buddhi-yogam tam) by which they earn such capacity in the service of the Supreme. Krsna is ready to cooperate with the servitors in any position. In Mathura, He gave even Sairindhri, Kubja, the chance to render higher service. Krsna is prepared for anything, and so the other side, His servitors, must also be prepared in that way. The high conception of kama-rupa is very, very abstruse. It is most difficult for ordinary mortals to comprehend.

    tesam evanukampartham
    aham ajnana-jam tamah
    nasayamy atma-bhava-stho
    jnana-dipena bhasvata
    (Bg. 10.11)

    "I am so indebted to those devotees that whenever they feel the pain of My separation, I cannot tolerate it. I immediately run to cooperate with them in accepting My service. Such is the intensity of the demand I feel from them."

Try to keep company with the successful candidates

In an examination hall, many of us may sit for the examination, yet many are unsuccessful and fall back. But we are not to dwell on them. Rather, we shall try to keep company with the successful candidates. They should be the focus of our attention, and with their help we shall progress. Progress means selection and elimination, and there is no end of making progress. We must take courage to that extent. Everywhere and in whatever direction we may go, we shall find both successful and unsuccessful candidates. We shall try to avoid the unsuccessful. Some may be brilliant in the primary classes, but in progressing further, we find that they are proving dull and cannot pass the test. And there may be many who were not very successful in the primary classes but flourish in higher education. Thus, we should not be discouraged and disappointed on hearing that so many once respected stalwarts are falling away. We should try to feel the actual soil. We need a sincere acquaintance with the soil on which we are moving. It is unintelligible to the fullest extent, but we must spare some energy to cultivate a deeper feeling for where we are, what we want, and where we are going. We must have a deeper feeling for the plane of our objective and achievement. We must not allow ourselves to be captured by the outer charm of things, but we should try to feel and trace the reality as our friend.
Liberation belittled

    klesa-ghni subhada moksa-
    laghuta-krt sudurllabha
    sandrananda-visesatma
    sri-krsnakarsini ca sa
    (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Purva 1.17)

    "Uttama-bhakti, the purest devotion, is the vanquisher of all sin and ignorance, and the bestower of all auspiciousness; liberation is belittled in the presence of such devotion, which is very rarely attained, the embodiment of the deepest ecstasy, and the attractor of Sri Krsna Himself."

Even if we achieve liberation from all the undesirable forces around us, pure devotion undermines this position of liberation (moksalaghuta-krt). We may be a liberated soul, free from the reactions and apprehension of the future, but association with the positive engagement, bhakti, is much more difficult to attain (sudurllabha). To obtain a 'passport' is not the same as securing a 'visa.' One may have a passport, but in order to secure a visa it will have to be necessary to undergo more trouble. In other words, we may be released by the reactionary plane, yet we may not have entrance into the higher plane. To have entrance there is far beyond this liberation. The qualification to eagerly aspire to give oneself wholly for the other plane of life is hardly to be found in anyone. Such a person has no motive to acquire anything for the plane in which he had previously been living for so long. Furthermore, if he is appointed to be a preacher, an agent to do relief work here, he will execute that duty solely under the appointment of, and in the interest of, that higher plane, without any attachment that "I shall bring some good to the people." He will think, "I must put myself wholly at the disposal of the higher plane, and I shall not be eager to become an acarya, a spiritual master. Otherwise, there is the danger of committing namaparadha, offense against the Lord's name." Asraddadhane vimukhe 'py asrnvati, yas copadesa sivanamaparadhah. It is an offense to give the holy name to the faithless. It betrays the motivation to gain a 'position' in the higher sphere. This is a type of mundane attachment, a spiritual tradery, as is the habit of caste 'Goswamins' and other spurious lines. Rather, the healthy attitude should be, "If I am appointed from above, then I shall serve as appointed, and that too, only for the interest of those who have appointed me. I am entering that rank solely for the interest of that higher land." That should be the pure and perfect approach. So, with a passport alone we cannot hope to enter easily into that higher plane which is sudurllabha, very rarely attained. But if we can enter, we shall feel sandrananda visesatma, "Yes, the very plane itself is most happy and full of independent spirit. I desired to secure a 'visa' to enter this country, and now I find that it really is as promised. I directly perceive that I am breathing in a far higher, sweeter atmosphere - a homely atmosphere that far excels anything of my previous soil." And finally, sri-krsnakarsini ca sa: Krsna Himself, Reality the Beautiful, who attracts the hearts of all - even He is attracted by the dedication of his surrendered servitor. Neither power nor knowledge have any play in this domain, but the Sweet Absolute is captured by the love of His devotee.

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Jiva controversy easily resolved

Dear Vaisnavas,

         Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

         The question on whether the soul falls from Vaikuntha is a serious controversy in devotional circles. However this can be easily resolved with a simple little understanding. My last article happened to hit the subject of resolving the controversy, so I thought it better to complete that work in this article. This could be called an appendix to the article I wrote in 2 parts. It�s a little realisation I had while reading, so I thought I would share it.

SB 3.25.29
PURPORT
'Sometimes it is asked how the living entity falls down from the spiritual world to the material world. Here is the answer. Unless one is elevated to the Vaikuntha planets, directly in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is prone to fall down, either from the impersonal Brahman realization or from an ecstatic trance of meditation.'

   So here 'spiritual world' includes the brahmajyothi as given by Srila Prabhupada Himself. He says that one can fall down from the spiritual world if one is elevated only up to brahmajyoti and not up to the Vaikuntha planets. Therefore the falldown from the spiritual world is highly dependent on what is the definition of thw terms 'spiritual world' and 'Vaikunta'.

  Actually the words spiritual world or Vaikuntha have different usages. An examnination of the writings of the acaryas reveals very different usages for the same terms

      1) Vaikuntha -- the Lord's abode. Here Vaikuntha means Vaikuntha planets
      2) Spiritual world --- Vaikunta + Brahmajyothi
      3) Spritual world --- refers to only the Lord's abode.  The Vaikunta Planets
      4) Vaikuntha -- includes the Brahmajyothi along with the abodes of Visnu
      5) Spiritual world -- Includes Brahmajyothi with the abodes of the Lord. Often called 'spiritual sky' to make the meaning clear.
      6) Brahmajyothi -- an invariant term, it refers to the effulgence that is the border between the Vaikunta planets and the material world. The marginal line is also called tatastha when it refers to an imperceptibly fine line between the spiritual and material realms.

The above quote had the usages 1 and 2 of the terms.

So depending on the usage, there is a general rule to interpret a particular quote

1) If we say that the soul falls from Vaikunta or the spiritual world, then Vaikunta includes the Brahmajyothi and so the souls coming from the Brahmajyothi can be considered part of Vaikunta.
2)When it is said that no one and nothing falls from Vaikunta, here Vaikunta or spiritual world refers to only the abode of the Lord minus the brahmajyothi. 

Either way you look at it, neither interpretation supports the theory that a jiva in Navadvipa Goloka can come down to the material world by falling down. To say that the eternal devotees of the Lord, who are our spiritual masters are capable of falling down and leaving the Lord is a severe Vaisnava aparadha and is also an offensive statement against the Lord, The Lord's abode, and the process of bhakti itself. Therefore that is another form of Mayavada (atheistic) philosophy. One type of atheist says that the Lord can be bewildered, the other says that his eternal devotees can be bewildered to fall to the material world.

Such kinds of interpretation are seen in The Govinda Bhashya by Baladeva Vidyabhushana. He says that names like Siva, Brahma, etc refer to Visnu when used in the ultimate sense, otherwise they refer to the demigods as all names are names of Visnu. (last sutra of part 1)

Either way it is accpeted by a proper interpretation according to the Sastras that no one falls from the abode of the Lord. Everyone comes from the marginal line, the brahmajyothi as confirmed by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Sridhara Maharaja, Swamiji and all other acaryas including Prabhupada. It depends on whether the brahmajyothi is considered part of Vaikunta or separate from it.

The whole controversy is only a tragedy of misinterpretation by word jugglery without properly consulting the scriptures and the teachings of all the previous acaryas of the guru parampara. Letters written to support such statements are merely approximations stripped down for the understanding of individual cases and so cannot be in the same league as the scriptures. Sometimes an acarya may explain something totally different from the scriptural facts according to the plan of the Lord, but that cannot be accepted as final.

This is also confirmed by Srimad Bhagavatam and other sastras where it is said that one is safe only when one is in the position of devotional service. Please note that the word used in the verse 10.2.32 is parama padam which actually refers to impersonal brahman and not to Vaikunta as bhakti happens to be missing there.

There are statements in Srimad Bhagavatam and other Puranas which state that one can go to the abode of Visnu for a long duration of time and come back to the earth. Why is that? The answer is remarkable. I have to thank a disciple of Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja for this one. It comes from Krishna Kathamrta Bindu #187, in an appendix to an incident from the  Vishnudharmottara Purana quoted by Srila Jiva Gosvami.

PRAPANCHIKA VAIKUNTHA
One question arises here: How can someone attain the Lord�s abode and then return to the material world? After all, Krishna says in the Gita (15.6), yad gatva na nivartante � �Once attaining my abode, one never  returns  to this material world.� However,  the Bhagavatam  (8.5.5 and other places) and other Puranas describe an abode of Lord Vishnu within  the material universe. That planet is sometimes referred to as Prapanchika Vaikuntha [�prapancika" means �consisting of the five material elements�]. There are many descriptions of persons attaining that place and then returning to this material world.

So this one quote is sufficient to resolve the controversy. I hope it helps those who keep have such doubts like this. In my last article the issue of the jiva falldown had been indirectly resolved to a great extent. So I decided to continue and finish the part which was left incomplete there.

There is a similar controversy in the two branches of the Sri Sampradaya where one party claims that kaivalya (merging in Brahman) lies outside Vaikunta while the other claims it is part of Vaikunta for the same reasons. However both accept that it is inferior to the abode of the Lord.

When I said we should avoid the controversy, I meant that we should not get into this business of arguments and counter arguments which leads to all the hate politics and bigoted sectarianism rampant today like a global  plague, which in turn resuts in very grave Vaisnava apardha by means of blaspheming our acaryas and other devotees. We should always avoid that.

With this, the article I had planned to write is truly concluded. I again thank you for your patience in reading through till the end and giving me the chance to serve you and all Vaisnavas. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

In your service,

Srinath

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

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Re: The Mercy of Nityaananda Gauraanga Naama

Bhaktar

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Please accept my humble pranaam..

Thank you for your story, it is good to hear and every word is beautiful. I myself experienced the same thing about chanting; the Mahamantra by itself without the mantrarajas Nityananda and Gauranga is not very much, especially to such a fallen individual like myself. Swamiji has revealed to us something that is already there in so many writings but most people do not see it or take heed. Gaurakrishna is a confidential avataar who is not recognized by all Vaishnavas. Similarly, not all people who recognize Him as who He is, will take up chanting the mantrarajas even though they are written down in the books they own. His best Devotees not only recognize Him but they also chant His sweet and holy naam when they hear or read about it. All of us fall at some time or make mistakes... and I think that no matter what happens, we will never completely discard the chanting of Gauranaam, especially since it is His mercy and grace that we heard about the naam sometime.

The reply in this thread from Damodara Svarupa Dasa is nectar. Nityananda Balaraam's lotus feet is the only shelter. I am very insignificant and the lowest of the low, but I do ask you to please reflect on this truth about Nityananda. Do not discard this nectar, there is nothing sweeter than to know who Nityananda is and to surrender to His lotus feet.

Jaya Nityananda! Jaya Nityananda! Jaya Nityananda!

Please keep and relish this treasure of the mantras you have.

Your servant, and aspiring devotee of Nitaai.

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Re: Is impersonal merging temporary or permanent

Dear Hadai prabhu, Swamiji and all devotees,

     Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

     One very interesting point there was that I had originally planned to write about impersonal brahman alone, but as I wrote many more things came spontaneously and it also went over to Paramatma realisation too.

      A few lines got lost in Part 2 in the process of copy pasting from notepad to the editor (my fault of course). I apologize for the omission, but I see that remarkably it has not adversely diminished the substance of the article in any way . It�s the mercy of the Lord.

These lines are filled in the following places:

PART 2..... These lines come in between the sixth and seventh paragraphs. Starting with the start of the 6th para ...."In this way both Brahma Sayujya........"  and it ends at the start of the 7th para "However even Isvara sayujya...........etc."

   (After the start of the 6th paragraph.......)

     "........ In Brahma Sayujya, some devotee can come like Narada Muni and pull us out, but In Isvara Sayujya no devotee can come and save us as we have merged into the Lord's form and no devotee has the desire to merge into the Lord's body although they can travel to the brahmajyothi because impersonal brahman is the Lord's effulgence. Hence in Isvara sayujya the jiva soul is doomed not to achieve devotional service by any means of its own limited potency. To get out of here is vitually impossible and it is so difficult that it is therefore said  "spritual suicide", "irreversible" or "the annihilation of existence" or "the soul is doomed in by merging into the Lord".  But even these are "virtual...." because it is subject to the Lord's wishes.

        The reason why it is so much more difficult to get out of this one is because the Lord's devotees are not there to help us out. Now we know why it is essential to take shelter of a devotee to reach the Lord. Otherwise this is the kind of fate that the soul can obtain if one tries to attain the Lord without taking shelter of his devotees.

But even here the Lord takes mercy and gives the souls another chance by putting them out that merged condition and giving them another chance. However the mercy of the Lord is far more difficult and rare to attain than the mercy of his devotees and so this happens only very rarely compared to even being stuck in the brahmajyothi.  But the Lord can even make Isvara sayujya come to an end and he is all powerful so he can take the souls out of the merged condition. But this takes much, much longer time than it takes to get out of the brahmajyothi and so examples of souls getting out of Isvara Sayujya is very very rare. But there are cases where it has happened, so even though getting out of Isvara Sayujya may seem impossible, the Lord does make it possible. But the Lord will show his mercy can never be truly known, so it is described as irreversible. But Srimad Bhagavatam has given instances where it has happened. 

    So Isvara Sayujya is not the end of the road.............."   (7th paragraph continues from this point).

    I am very grateful that you are all very pleased despite my very haphazard service full of goof-ups. I do not deserve any praise. It is you all who told this to me and by your mercy, you have inspired this realisation in my heart and I have simply written back your own words in the form of an article. So All glories to Swami Gaurangapada!  All glories to Hadai Nityananda Dasa prabhu and All glories to all the devotees of the Lord, whether I know them or not! All glories to Nityananda Gauranga and Radha Krishna!

Aspiring to be of some service to you all,

Srinath

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Re: Is impersonal merging temporary or permanent

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

Dear Swamiji, Srinath Prabhu and devotees, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Srinath Prabhu these articles are wonderful! You have described it so clearly and it is so full of the mercy of the Lord! While reading your articles tears came into my eyes realizing how inclusive your realizations have become and how wonderfully the Lord is manifesting Himself within your life. You are a wonderful soul and I am so happy with your beautiful spiritual development. May our Lord Nityananda and our Lord Gauranga and the supreme loving couple Sri-Sri Radha Govinda continuously bless you and give you loving service at Their feet.

A happy servant,

Hadai Nityananda dasa

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

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Re: Is impersonal merging temporary or permanent

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru parampara! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

  This is the continuation of the article from where I left off earlier.

PART 2

      In the same way in the Vedanta Sutra some opponent argues with Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana's statement that the Lord's activities are eternal. The opponent argues that the spiritual world must be static or tries to deny the personality of Godhead. ".....Because the Supreme Lord is by nature eternal, it may be said that His activities performed with His associates in His childhood and other ages are also eternal. In this way His many different activities, from beginning to end, may all be considered to be eternal. However, it is illogical to say that there can be an eternal previous action that is followed by another action. If the previous action is followed by a subsequent action, then the eternality of the previous action is destroyed. If one action is eternal then any subsequent action must be performed by a different person. To say that the subsequent action is performed by the same person contradicts both scripture and direct experience. Every action has a beginning and an end. Without beginning and end no action can be brought to completion, and without such beginnings and ends there can be no experience of the nectar of transcendental mellows (rasa). For these reasons, how can it be possible that the Lord's activities are eternal? If the Lord's activities were eternal they would be still and unchanging, like a painted picture. If it is said that the same actions are repeated again and again and in that way they are eternal, then I say that there are bound to be times when the beginning of the action is different, and thus the subsequent actions will become changed, and the action would then not be repeated in the same way as before. Therefore, how can it be that the activities of the Lord are eternal? Therefore it should not be accepted that the activities of the Lord are eternal.......". (From Vedanta Sutra Chapter 2 Pada 3, Sutra 10, Adhikarana 1 and beyond......)

     To this Baladeva gives various statements from the scriptures to refute such mundane logical analysis. The Lord's activities are all right here, right now. He doesn't have anything like past and future pastimes as Hadai prabhu revelaed in his realisation of Lord Nityananda acting as a child. This can be understood only by the grace of the Lord and not by logic. I write this to caution the reader against speculating logically like this and spoiling his knowledge and spiritual advancement by the danger of mental speculation.

       So coming back to Mukunda's case. The whole thing was a pastime to demonstrate these facts to us. By Hadai prabhu's very brief explanation many things came elaborately to me and I have tried to describe them as far as possible. The statments glorifying the impersonal liberation merging into Brahman are actually hurting the Lord because they deny the supremacy of His personality and devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Gauranga Krishna.

      An interesting question would be then : Why do the Vedas (Veda is generic for scriptures) glorify oneness with Brahman and the impersonal feature so much in so many statements? The answer is that the impersonalist takes a wrong approach to realise the Lord. Actually the truth is that realisation of the personality of Godhead includes impersonal brahman realisation!!!! .....That's right. Brahman realisation is included within realisation of Gauranga Krishna. But realising the impersonal brahman by realizing the personality of Godhead is actually the correct way to approach the Lord. This statement has been quoted in different ways but it is now clear to me. We are so much against Mayavada that when someone says something about impersonal brahman realisation we get angry. But we must not forget that brahman realisation is included in bhagavan realisation.

        Coming to Paramatma realisation by the way, there are also many process mentioned in the Vedas like astanga yoga for realisation of the Paramatma or the Supersoul. Just as the Vedas glorify impersonal brahman, they also glorify the localised Parmatma or the Supersoul feature of the Lord and there are many statements in favour of Paramatma realisation. Paramatma realisation is superior to Brahman realisation because we realise that the Lord has Form and personality. But it is inferior to Bhagavan realisation as we do not realise the Personality of Godhead beyond the point of merely knowing he is personal. Pure Bhakti is not found in Paramatma realisation. There is no room for loving devotional relationships with the Lord and prema, or Love of Godhead is not present there. That is present only in Bhagavan realisation. In another light, the mystic yogis who practice astanga yoga and realise the Supersoul are in a way worse than the impersonal brahmavadis. The reason is that if they come to the stage of Paramatma realisation and do not cultivate bhakti, then they end up committing spiritual suicide by merging into the form of the Lord or Isvara Sayuja leading to loss of individual consciousness. Therefore only Paramatma realisation alone is also impersonalist in the ultimate sense as its ultimate result takes the soul away from bhakti and away from the personality of Godhead. The realisation of the yogis is therefore covered impersonalism because at the heart of it they too desire to become the Lord.

        In this way both Brahma Sayujya (oneness with the impersonal effulgence) and Paramatma/Isvara Sayujya (oneness with the personal form of the Lord) are both impersonal realisations. In Brahma Sayujya some devotee make happen to show some mercy and pull the soul out of that condition. But in Isvara sayujya of the mystic yogi, no devotee can come to save us.

     However even Isvara sayujya is not the end of the road. It is not eternal for the Lord and he can show His mercy, making it temporary by taking the souls of the merged condition and giving them another chance for performing bhakti. This is very rarely done, but eventually every jiva ending up in such a fate is given another chance just like the impersonal brahmavadis. There is always another chance, second, third, millionth, etc...It is endless. Sisupala and Dantavakra attained Isvara Sayujya with Krishna, but they remained there only for a short time and were brought back out to their normal position in Vaikunta as the Gatekeepers. Similarly for Kamsa. In a different manner Bhaktivinode writes that he was only able to get sayujya mukti, but later on he was given another chance for devotional service and he obtained pure Love of Godhead (prema) in Navadvipa by worshipping Lord Gauranga and so obtained a spiritual body fit for associating with the Lord. That fact is only hinted in the Srimad Bhagavatam which says that Kamsa attained a spiritual body just like that of the Lord. But actually that was how he got it.

     In The Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, Srila Prabhupada writes that Brahman realisation is realisation of sat (eternity), paramatma realisation is realisation of sat and cit (eternity andknowledge), and Bhagavan realisation is realisation of sat-cit-ananda (Eternity, Knowledge and Bliss) in full Vigraha or form (Form here means the personality of Godhead). This itself indicates that both realisation Brahman and Paramatma are included in realisation of Bhagavan. Being in the introduction to the Gita, it is understood that this is among the very first things a student of spiritual science has to know -- that everything is included in the realisation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the devotee is the most perfect transcendentalist. Impersonal brahmajyothi is the effulgence of the Lord and Paramatma (The Supersoul) is his partial expansion. By realisation of the Lord we also realise his effulgence and all his parts and parcels as the Whole includes its parts.

     However, the reverse is not true. By realising Brahman and Paramatma, it does not mean we realise the Personality of Godhead. Therefore Brahman realisation or Paramatma realisation alone by themselves are incomplete. Incomplete realisation of the Lord is strongly discouraged as it leads to the impersonalists committing all types of offenses against the Personality of Godhead and his devotees. For this reason Brahma-Sayujya is described as the ultimate cheating process. Isvara Sayujya by merging into Paramatma is declared as far worse then even Brahma Sayujya because the impersonalist is ignorant of the Lord's form and personality. But In Paramatma realisation we understand that the Lord has Form and Personality yet we do not realise the Personality of Godhead and end up merging into him. That is even worse. The whole point is that realising Brahman and Paramatma separately without realisation of Bhagavan is incomplete and it's the wrong way to go about it. That is very painful for the Lord. We just don't want exclusive brahman realisation or brahma-sayuja. Rather Brahman and Paramatma must be realised by realisation of Bhagavan.

     It is for this reason that Baladeva Vidyabhushana says that the state attained by a devoteee is indeed Sayujya (meeting the Lord) and not something different. There are two types of Brahma Sayujya and Isvara Sayujya as Swamiji pointed out to me in another post. One is experienced by the devotees and that is the actual sayujya as it is included in pure bhakti. The other Sayujya leads to spritual suicide and is completely abhorred with repulsion by all devotees of the Lord. Kaivalyam narakayate....

     Real sayujya in its true meaning indicates devotional service. And in that big ocean of Sayujya, the smaller puddles of Brahma-Sayujya and Paramatma Sayujya are automatically included in their proper form where it pleases the Lord and also does not take the jiva away from bhakti by putting him into a merged unconscious condition. The oceanic expansion of devotional service automatically includes the smaller pools of all other realisation of Brahman and Paramatma, but realisation of the small puddle in the street does not mean that one realises the vast ocean that is the origin of the puddle. The frog in the well cannot understand the ocean and thinks the well is the greatest, but those who can understand the ocean can understand the small well in its proper perspective as being subordinate to the ocean.

       Summing up this is the the real picture of Brahman realisation and Paramatma realisation. So the impersonalistic statements in the Vedas are a warning, not to fall into the trap of only realising impersonal brahman or only localised Paramatma and hurt and beat the Lord. Instead they must be realised as included in realisation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in pure loving devotional service. Therefore the net conclusion of this whole realisation is that :

  1)The Lord is beyond time and space and he can make turn permanent into temporary. Therefore impersonal merging into Brahman or Paramatma is not permanent and there is always another chance for bhakti, although it is obtained only rarely with great difficulty.
  2)Bhakti is the Supreme process of realisation and the very nature of the jiva soul itself. It is never destroyed even in the merged condition and can be revealed under all circumstances.
  3)And Realisation of Bhagavan is the highest realisation and includes all other realisations including Brahman and Paramatma realisation.

  I apologise for all my limitations in presenting such a high topic. Invariably there will certainly be mistakes as I am only a beginner who isn't fit to be called a devotee at all. But by the mercy of the spiritual masters and their order that I write this article, I have written it. I am sorry that this reply has been delayed so long, because my attention was concentrated on facing my ongoing college examinations. I am very grateful to Hadai prabhu for having made a fool like me realise this little bit of truth. He could have written the reply Himself, but he gave me this chance to serve all of you out of his own magnanimity, although I am completely unworthy of it. Once again I thank the reader for having taking so much time and effort to go through a voluminous post like this and I humbly request you to forgive me for all the inconveniences I may have caused you.

Concluded.

Daaso'smi,

Srinath

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

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Re: Is impersonal merging temporary or permanent

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

           Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru parampara! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

   Hadai Nityananda Dasa prabhu and I had a very wonderful and very deep talk on this sometime back. I apologise for not having put it up sooner. But here it is. The explanation is lengthy and I request your patience to read as far as one can go.

PART 1

   It is commonly said that merging into brahman completely destroys one's existence and the jiva loses all love of Godhead forever by this. However permanently and forever here actually means 'virtually forever and permanently' because having gone beyond the material world to the marginal position of residing in the brahmajyothi, a jiva will again come back to the material world only after so long, time immemorial, that for all purposes we can assume the soul is gone 'forever' as we say when we talk about time frames beyond anyone's ability to comprehend. As a matter of fact, the mind is incapable of comprehending things beyond time as it itself is created within the time frame of the material world.

   However it is important to know that the Lord lies completely beyond all time and space. What is unlimited from our perspective is not limited for the Lord because the spiritual world is always in the 'eternal present' where all past, present and future and everything near and far are all there in Him at once. I can give a crude example. Take the set of numbers between 1 and 2. This [1,2] set is unlimited by its own measurement as we can count an infinity of numbers within this time. However compared to the set of all numbers in existence, it is very limited and a very tiny part. Similarly time and space of this material world are limited from the spiritual perspective. Which is why Prabhupada describes it as a cloud in a corner of the sky. How is it possible cannot be understood mentally.

   Similarly the falldown of the soul. Acaryas have described it as beginningless and also having a beginning when the soul desires to come from the marginal line, the brahmajyoti. How is that? Answer is that in material terms it is an eternity as this happens outside time and space and so we cannot trace a beginning in time however far into the past we look. But beyond time and space, it happens and since the brahmajyoti is not a permanent resting place, jivas come from there to the material world or go to the spiritual world. That's about all of it that can be expressed in words. Failure to accept it and try to resolve it using intellectual means has caused the controversy of the jiva falldown which I will not discuss further as it is merely distractive gossip for sadhakas.

   So in the same vein, even impersonal merging into brahman is truly not permanent in the spiritual plane in which the past, present and future are all there in one place. So our eternity in material bondage and an unlimited time of merging in Brahman is nothing more than an instant for the Lord and when we reach the spiritual world, we are eternal devotees there. And our spiritual life is also without beginning and end because the Lord and his devotees exist in the eternal present. All souls are eternally devotees always and so bhakti has no beginning or end. But right now it is covered by other things. And when the covering is lifted the bhakti becomes visible. As a matter of fact, in absolute terms, it is a misnomer to say that a soul becomes a devotee -- because the soul is always a devotee. Actually the devotion simply becomes revealed to oneself and to others. That's the whole process. Which is why we all stop seeking and realise that we are walking over the treasure that is always with us, right here, right now.

    Therefore, the jiva souls who attain sayujya with brahman or the Lord are never gone forever. They continue to exist as spiritual sparks, however they are unconscious with their consciousness merged in Brahman, as Prabhupada pointed out. This state is known as susputi and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana mentions this to be the fate of the impersonalists who lose their consciousness in Brahman. But this sleeping position is actually not permanent as it is against the nature of the jiva to be unconscious. The jiva souls will have to regain consciousness. So from the marginal line of the brahmajyothi, the jiva has a choice between the material and spiritual worlds. If the jiva souls do not cultivate devotion from the platform of impersonal brahman, they will again fall down to the material plane as brahmajyothi is not a resting place. This is confirmed by Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.32

     ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraḿ padaḿ tataḥ
patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-ańghrayaḥ

     SB 10.2.32: [Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.

     So even liberation in brahman is not permanent. And the Srimad Bhagavatam goes on to say that even in impersonal Brahman, there is residual material contamination as there is the risk of falling to the material world. The Lord always gives a second, third, millionth and unlimited chances to attain devotional service. The proof is that Gopa Kumara in Brihad Bhagavtamrta attained impersonal Brahman realisation, but he was able to progress and reach Goloka. Similarly the Kumaras and many others. As a matter of fact, all souls start from impersonal brahman which is the marginal position and attain the Lord eventually!! That is the astonishing fact.

     So in our perspective merging into brahman is permanent. But the Lord can make it temporary. But Lord Gauranga Krishna is fully omnipotent and he is beyond time and space. So he can make the unlimited limited, the limited unlimited and the permanent to be temporary. He can make the 'permanent' merging temporary by bringing the souls out of the merged condition and giving them another opportunity for devotional service. He does not doom the jiva forever. We make it last as long as we do not surrender our freedom to him and try to be God ourselves. So permanent and temporary are relative terms and how long a jiva remains merged is upto the jiva alone. So we cannot give a general rule as to when everyone will come back or when everyone will reach the Lord. But we have to rest assured with the fact that everyone will reach the Lord eventually. In spiritual terms, no jiva stays forever in the material world. Eventually everyone we know will become devotees and attain their respective spiritual positions. When they choose to do so is in their hands. But they will all be liberated (here liberation means attaining the goal of bhakti) and reach the spiritual world. Just as we cannot say when they fall down from the brahmajyothi or how long they stay in the impersonal efflugence, we cannot also say when they will attain the Lord. Everything that has a beginning must come to an end. So everyone will certainly become devotees because even the entanglement is not permanent. Spiritually it is temporary and just lasts for an infinitesimal amount of time which is practically zero for the Lord.

     Let us take the example of Mukunda in the pastimes of Lord Gauranga in the Chaitanya Bhagavata. Mukunda had been associating with the wrong company of materialistic and impersonalist Mayavadis and wherever  and in their midst he spoke various statements minimising the glory of the personality of Godhead and pure devotion. Lord Caitanya declared, "He who declares that there is something superior to devotional service actually beats me with a stick." The statements of the impersonalists are simply deadly weapons with which they hurt the tender soft form of the Lord. Lord Gaura also said, "In Kasi there lives an impersonalist named Prakasananda Sarasvati who continuously wounds me with sharp weapons by decrying my personality."
   
   So for these severe offenses, Mukunda was actually in a situation where he would be permanently denied the association of the Lord and his circle of devotees as happens to all the blasphemers. But however, the Lord showed his mercy and reduced it to 10 million years. A jubliant Mukunda was so ecstatic that he forgot everything else and all that mattered to him was that he would get back the Lord's association. Seeing this Lord Gaura was so happy that he immediately made the 10,000,000 years to be zero and immediately called for Mukunda to come and enjoy his association. So here he made the permanent not only temporary, but also zero and gave him instant mercy! But here's something even more interesting. The Lord then says, "Mukunda. You are my eternal devotee and you were never bewildered and you are always dear to me." So remember what I said earlier. From the point of the Lord, the beginningless bewilderment of the material world is actually zero and the soul is always a devotee eternally.

       So from nitya-baddha the jiva becomes nitya-siddha. On the absolute level, the jiva is always a devotee and his devotion is without beginning and end even though materially it may appear that the soul attains the spiritual world at some point. Sadhaka siddha is a term to show that the soul was in the material world for a while and had to be brought to the Lord by another devotee's mercy. But otherwise, the soul is an eternal devotee in the spiritual world.

     In the upcoming parts of the article I will reveal something that Hadai Prabhu revealed to me that surprised me as much as it may surprise many other sadhakas. Thank you for your patience having read upto such a length. I once more humbly request the reader to devote sometime to the rest of the article and also forgive my limitations for all my slip ups and many mistakes.

To be continued....

Daaso'smi,

Srinath

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

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