Gopinath Acharya replied knowledge of the Summum Bonum the Absolute Truth is evidence of the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
Purport
Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya informed his brother in law, Gopinath Acharya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead may not have shown mercy to me but what is the proof of His having shown it to you. Kindly let us know about this. In reply to this Gopinath Acharya said the Summum bonum,the Absolute Truth and His different potencies are identical. Therefore one can understand the substance of the Absolute Truth by the manifestation of His different potencies. The Summum Bonum includes all potencies in one unit the Absolute Truth; combine with different characteristics is the original substance vastu. “parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate”
This beautiful story from Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, illustrates practically what is being spoken in this particular sloka that we are reading from today, that, knowledge of Absolute Truth can only be attained through one process and that is receiving the mercy of the Absolute Truth.
Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was one of the greatest of all the scholars of the Vedic literatures. Although he was a Grihastha, living a most pious and respectable life, he committed no immoral activities even in thought. He was so pure; he was a perfect brahmana; he was truthful; he was clean; he was completely honest; he was totally self controlled and he had studied the Vedas exhaustibly and he could explain the purport of the Vedas in such a way that even great renunciants, sannyasis, pundits from all over India was coming to study Vedanta from him. But he was in the school of Sripad Sankaracharya and therefore his explanations of all the scriptures were with the aim of trying to realize the Supreme Brahman as the infinite, all pervading impersonal Absolute in whom or ultimately we can enter into and have a non-differentiated existence within that Brahman tattva. And he was also a very older, senior person experienced in this world.
Vaishnavism is Highest – soul is Etenal Sevant of Krsna
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Jagganath Puri. He came alone. He was travelling with some of his associates but they did not like to see him carrying danda because danda means someone who is performing austerities who has renounced all of the pleasures of this world for the sake of service to the Supreme Godhead. The tridanda comprises of actual four sticks of bamboo for a vaishnava which means one’s body, mind, words and life are dedicated exclusively to the service of the lord without any distraction. And Mayavadi sannyasis, they carry ekadanda, which represents, that, by taking sannyas and surrendering to the supreme they become one with God.
So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for the sake of teaching, he performed an activity which is sometimes a great mystery, unless we understand it, from those great and fortunate souls, who are in His disciplic succession. He accepted Sanyaas in the Mayavad sampradaya. Why? Because the purpose of his taking Sanyaas was to get respectability from the people, so that, they would hear His message and at that time the Mayavad sampradaya was prevailing throughout India and people were very much respecting such sannyasis so he had His ekadanda. But Nityanada Prabhu was thinking, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is Krsna Himself. First of all, He is teaching servitude to Godhead. He is teaching that we are not one with God in all respects. We are one in quality with God, but in essence, we are the eternal servants of the Lord.
In the spiritual world we are always having a distinct relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead that’s is the very basis of vaisnavas philosophy, as has been taught by such great acharyas as Nimbarkacharya, Vishnuswami, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacharya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and all the descendents of these greatest of all acharyas and even alternately Sankaracharya confidentially revealed this truth. Although to the public he taught something vastly different. That the perfect state of realization of for the spiritual soul to be transported beyond the Viraja. The Viraja is the border between the material world and spiritual world and there we enter into the brahmajyoti which is called brahmana the all pervading light, effulgent light emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and those who achieve impersonal mukti, may temporarily enter into that light and be in a sleeping condition in the sense that they enter into the eternal existence but their consciousness of their, of the ananda sakti, the blissful potency within them, part of God, is Supremely undeveloped. They cannot conceive of having a relationship with God. They simply merge for sometime into the eternal existence of the Supreme truth. But the vaisnavas will never enter into that realm of consciousness because a devotee always wants to please the Lord. He always wants to serve the Lord. He does not want to be in a state of complete neutrality because the soul is ultimately dynamic. The soul is active. And we can see when a soul enters into a person’s body immediately there is action, there is breathing, there is heart beating, and then there is feeling, there is seeing, there is smelling, there is touching and there is thinking, and there is loving and there are so many experiences that come when the soul enters into the body. The soul is dynamic, part of God who is supremely dynamic. And every soul is searching for Krsna, for that lost love and in the brahmajyoti, there is no fulfillment of desire to love. There is simply the fulfillment of the desire to be relieved of the pains due to the duality of material existence. We see material life is a life of mundane dulaities- honour and dishonor, pain and pleasure, happiness and distress, success and failure, victory and defeat, heat and cold and sometimes the dualities cause us great happiness and sometimes terrible suffering that is the nature of this material world.
Because the good parts of the duality are temporary. We know that in due course of time we have to suffer. So to be, so to extinguish the attachments to the sources of sufferings, which are the dualities of material creation, we want to go beyond duality and enter into a state of oneness. So mukti in the impersonal sense is simply the annihilation of desire, the annihilation of concealing dualities within this material existence. But the shastras explain that there is something far beyond that, which the vaisnavas aspire for and that is transcendental vareigatedness, in pure spiritual desire in relationship with the Supreme form of the lord Sat cit ananda vigraha and that is Krsna or Krsna, who is the source of everything, even the paramatma and Bhagavan and Brahman, is existing exchanging loving rasa or mellows with His devotees in so many beautiful loving pastimes and to enter into those pastimes is the perfection and the essence of all the souls’ desire. It is the original natural position for every living entity.
So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, he had every qualification except one. He did not receive the mercy of the lord because ultimately that is the only qualification that can elevate one to understanding Krsna, the Absolute Truth. To realize Krsna, it cannot be, it cannot take place by any amount of yajna; it cannot take place by any amount of tapasya; it cannot take place by any amount of learning the shastras; by following the strictest highest moral principles; it can only come about when the lord bestows His mercy upon us and reveals Himself to us by His own sweet will.
Lord Caitanya is Krsna In Mood of Srimati Radharani
So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Krsna Himself entered into Jagganath Puri. He saw Lord Jagganath and in the mood of a devotee Sri Radha Rani when he saw Jagganathdev Sri Krsna, He felt he ran toward him and fell at the feet of Jagganath unconscious and he was in such a state of ecstatic love that all the symptoms of his life were unmanifest and some people thought that perhaps he is dead and other priests they were thinking perhaps he is just a pretender because there are so many pretenders and they didn’t know what to do some were thinking of beating him and some were thinking of picking him up and taking him out of the temple but Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was very wise. He understood this person is in ecstasy. He is very special. So he ordered the guards of the temple, bring him to my home and there he tested him in many ways. He couldn’t find any heart beat; he couldn’t find any breath pulse nothing. But when he placed some very fine cotton fibers close to his nose there was slight movement, so he understood that he is alive but how to bring him back to consciousness. There are various remedies explained in Vedas of how to bring a person in such a state of spiritual consciousness back to external awareness and he tried all of them and nothing happened so he was very worried and very concerned.
In Kaliyuga Chanting Holy Name Is the Only Way
Meanwhile Nityananda Prabhu and the other devotees, they came to Jagganath Puri and went to Jagganath temple and when Nityananda Prabhu saw Lord Jagganath, he also started felling unconscious. The devotees caught him and there he asked Gopinath Acharya. Gopinath Acharya was a resident of Navadwip and a dear friend and associate, he was a great devotee and associate of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu but he moved to Jagganath Puri and he was told that Lord Caitanya is at the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. So when they came and they saw the condition of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they had big big kirtan. Nityananda Prabhu and all of the devotees just began dancing in transcendental happiness and very very loudly calling out Krsna’s Holy Names. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Knowing that there is no way to awaken the lord except the loud chanting of his Holy Names. This is also very instructive. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya tried all the various Vedic rules to bring a person back to consciousness but he could not do. Similarly in this age of kali yuga the original god consciousness within all of us, there is no other way to awaken it, except the loud chanting of the Holy Names. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Chanting Brings Supreme Good Luck
By performing various rituals; by so many mudras and so many pujas and so much recitation of slokas and so many things like this, penances, tapasya. Here in India it is a great wonder how many inventions there are to somehow or other get good luck. We have seen people draw things on their children to keep away bad omens and sometimes they draw. I can’t say all this. Even Prabhupada, he said his mother would spit on him for good luck it’s a Bengali ritual. ( Maharaj’s laughter). So there are so many things like this. But actually so we can get good luck and we can get some prosperity we may even get some liberation from suffering but in this age of kaliyuga to awaken the mercy of Krsna within our heart, there is only one way and that is the loud chanting of Hari Naam. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
So as they loudly chanted the Holy names, to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya’s great amazement Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu just leaped in the air and started dancing in ecstasy and the devotees when they witnessed this, they were even more happy and blissful in the chanting of the Hari Naam. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya’s seeing this was simply struck with wonder. He had never never never ever seen such a joyful blissful existence as the relationships amongst these devotees and with great honour and respect to this great sannyasi Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he told them, that why don’t you go to see Lord Jagganath and have prasada. But we will arrange someone to go with you to see Jagganath to protect you and Sarvabhauma shortly after this, he was very much loving Lord Caitanya. He had great affection for him but he had a fatherly type of love because he was even older than Lord Caitanya’s father. He was practically like his grand father. He said you are only twenty four years old and you are so beautiful, Gaur Sundar was such a beautiful golden complexion and lotus like eyes long, long, arms that reach beyond his knees, his nose, his mouth, his every limb, his every part of the body was the very personification of the highest beauty. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was thinking for such a young beautiful person like you, to have taken sannyas it is very difficult because all ladies, all matajis will be too much attracted to you, how will you maintain your vows. There is only one way,, you have to have clear discrimination what is matter and what is spirit unless you totally make a differentiation between matter and spirit what is illusion and what is truth. This World and all of its temptations according to
Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya is an illusion.
Lord caitanya- Supreme Master
It is all temporary. It is like a dream. Therefore mind must be fixed in truth, in Brahman, and in order to do this you have to very very intensively and carefully study the vedanta philosophy. Then you can, at all times, at every moment, discriminate between truth and illusion and then you will be protected. So he was actually in a mood of a servant, taking the role of a teacher and he also told Lord Caitanya that you have taken sannyas from the Bharati sampradaya. But there is a higher sampradaya Saraswati sampradaya, I can have you reinitiated into a higher sampradaya, higher line. So Gopinath Acharya, He understood, this is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What nonsense He is speaking, talking about teaching Him what is the illusion. He is the Supreme Truth. He is the creator of the illusory energy “maya adhyeksena prakrti suya sa cara caram”. The whole material existence of maya is working under the direction of the supreme Lord Sri Krsna. What is that anyone can teach Him.” vedaham samtitani vartmanani chaarjun I bhavishyarhi ch bhutani mam tu ved kashchan” Krsna says I know everything. I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening at the present, all things that are yet to come. I know all living beings. I am seated in everyone’s heart. I am directing everyone’s wandering according to their innermost desires. What is it unknown to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? And yet Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya wanted to teach Him, how to not fall down in to the illusory energy. And he wants to promote Him to a higher sampradaya, so that he would make better spiritual advancement.
Lord Caitanya-Hidden Incarnation
Gopinath Acharya could not tolerate, although, he was the son in law of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. Son in law treats the father in law like a father in cultured families but in this, he could not tolerate. With all respect, he told Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya this is all nonsense. Why you are saying like this? He is not subjected to any of these material designations. He is the Supreme Godhead. Then Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya said you are speaking not according to shastra. He is not the Supreme Godhead. The Supreme Godhead is declared in the scriptures that He appears only in three yugas. He is known as triyugi and Gopinath Acharya explained and he started quoting from so many shastras, how he is called triyugi because he appears as Supreme Godhead in three yugas but in the age of Kaliyuga he appears as covered incarnation ‘channa avatar’. He appears in the role of his own devotee, to give, by his example, the process of achieving love of Krsna. He is the Yuga avatar and he explained with so much evidence that Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and his disciples, they just could not understand and ultimately Gopinath Acharya is explaining the essence of all knowledge.
Enthusiasm to Serve, Pleases Krsna
Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya you are a great pundit and a great scholar and a great logician better than anyone but because you have not received the mercy of the lord, you cannot understand him, even if he is standing right before you. He is right in your house and this is a fact. On the path of bhakti we have only one purpose and one goal to please Krsna because by pleasing Krsna we receive his mercy when we simply receive His mercy, He is kind to reveal Himself to us otherwise we can never know him.
Rupa Goswami explains how we receive the Lord’s mercy. It is through the process of surrender and what is the process of surrender? To serve the lord under the direction of his devotees with enthusiasm and patience.
Enthusiasm means we cannot be lazy. We have to be willing to step forward against all odds even if we have to turn against the trends of society. We have to step forward with enthusiasm. Some people, they feel that why you devotees are so much religious. We should go to temple on Sunday, may be sometimes and you can do a little puja at the home in the morning. So why you just want to talk about Krsna all day long. Why you just wanted to be going with the devotees so much and doing so much seva what is this? It is not sociable. It is not the way our society is run these days. There is a time and there is a place for everything. In this way people are content, to very lazy spiritually to work very very hard, for their families, for their occupation, for their nation, for their ego, for their senses put a little time aside for god and consider themselves religious, pious. Work is worship.
But Krsna explains in Gita “satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah. namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta apasate” that you must constantly be chanting my names and you must be endeavouring with great determination, that is the path of real religion “manmana bhava mad namaskuru”. Always think of me, not just on Sundays, not just a few minutes while you are doing some puja in the morning, always think of me, become always my devotee, always be worshipping me”tesam satatam yuktanam… priti purvakam”. Krsna explains who is the person who is worthy of my mercy. One who is constantly engaged in my loving service that is truth and anyone who teaches anything less than that is not teaching truth and our Guru Maharaj Srila Prabhupada on behalf of all of the great acharyas of this sampradaya was very uncompromising because when he came to the west he found so many people are compromising.
Power To Transform comes Through Parampara
One of the most popular yogis of the west, just last December, I was giving a lecture. He came to my lecture and I met him. He was one of perhaps, the most biggest, famous yogi in the west. He is not so much any more because of some difficulties but at a time he was very very famous person and he was astounded by what Prabhupada did. He is actually an honest man in one sense, in that he really had appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and he really wanted to elevate people according to his realizations. So he said to Srila Prabhupada that when I came to the west and all these other yogis and all these other gurus. We understood how fallen these people are and we were thinking, lets elevate them by teaching message therapies and will teach them some yoga asanas and pranayam. Some dhyan, some meditation but you are giving bhakti, you are giving the highest thing. You are telling them to surrender everything to Krsna that is the ultimate. How can you expect these young people to? But they are, this is what shocks us. We could not believe it. We will never say surrender to Krsna. We will say you stand on your head for sometime. The blood will go into your brain, it will make you more peaceful. You do some pranayam, it will help your lungs, it will also make your mind little more controlled and so many other things, meditation find some peace, go within, but to tell them to surrender to God twenty four hours a day, impossible. We could have never dreamt of mentioning such a thing, although it is there in the Vedas but you came and not only that, you were having shaved head, sadhu clothes. You didn’t compromise anything and yet there are thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people surrendering to Krsna. We can’t believe it. You have done what none of us could even dream, could be done.
Srila Prabhupada did not compromise and he didn’t compromise when he responded to this yogi either. He said if you know that surrender to Krsna is the highest, why are you cheating people by telling them something else. And so what he got after praising Srila Prabhupada. He was praising him. Devotees couldn’t praise Srila Prabhupada this way, this man was. Then Prabhupada chastise him then why you are cheating. If you know surrender to Krsna then why don’t you tell them that. Then the person was very silent because he knew this was the truth. But he did not have that power.
That power comes through the disciplic succession. Without the mercy of the parampara no one can have that power “ Krsna sakti bina nahe pravartane” The grace and mercy of Krsna comes through his own process that he has created “evam parampara praptam imam rajarsayo viduh” So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya understood, I am sorry He could not understand, because he simply cannot receive the mercy of the lord. So Gopinath Acharya told him when the lord is merciful to you then you can see him by His mercy. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya began his teachings to Lord Caitanya, how nice Lord Caitanya was so humble. What he would do to give Krsna bhakti to someone. This no other incarnation has done like this. He sat for seven days all day from morning till night hour after hour after hour after hour just listening to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya’s interpretations of Vedanta sutra. Because he knew unless He listened carefully, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya would not be receptive to receive His mercy. So they sat in the Jagganath temple after one day, two day, three day, four day, five day, six day, seven day. Can you imagine sitting and listening to mayavadi philosophy all day long for seven days? Having not enough rest to awake when we are hearing Krsna’s lila for more than an hour or so. Because of our conditioned state but actually as we make spiritual advancement that one of the symptoms is we stay awake when are talking about Krsna. This is the sign of spiritual advancement because we are eager to hear “srnvatam sva katha Krsna..suhrt satam” “nasta prayesu.. nityam bhagavaty sevaya”
When we become eager to hear Krsna sees that we are so satisfied hearing about the glories of the Lord that He become satisfied and that is the process of purification because actually our heart does not become purified by any mechanical process your heart become purified when Krsna is pleased that you are developing an eagerness to hear His glories from within the heart He cleanses.
Lord Caitanya Can Only Clean Our Hearts
Just like we have heard the story of Caitanya Mahaprabhu cleaning the Gundica temple. How expert He was in cleaning the temple before Lord Jagganath rath yatra. Jagganath goes from Jagganath Mandir to Gundica Mandir. When we did our Jagganath Puri yatra all of you went into the Jagganath temple everyone except me. I was the only foreigner because of my low birth, I am not entitled to go in but in this way Lord Caitanya, knowing, how can Jagganath come into this temple unless it is spotless clean. So he and His devotees under His instructions cleaned the temple so nicely they cleaned the temple. They took just broom and they swept and they swept and they swept until all the dust and all the dirt and all the sand and all the particles was gone and Lord Caitanya said let us clean it again. It is not clean enough for Lord Jagganath to come. So again they cleaned and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself after so many cleanings, He had every one devotee for all of the devotees dust and particles in one pile and He himself worked so hard in cleaning this temple that His pile of dirt and dust and sand was bigger than all of others accumulated together and when they started taking hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bucket of water and cleaning it and cleaning it and cleaning it until the whole temple of, every part of it, the altar, the cooking room, kitchen hall, the deity room, the kirtan hall everything was spotless immaculate shiny and then the devotees had big kirtan and loudly chanted the holy names.Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsan Krsna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki jaya. So this cleaning of Gundica Temple, the acharyas tell us is actually Lord Caitanya teaching us how we should clean our hearts and ultimately we have to, the way, ultimately its Krsna that cleans our heart.Lord Caitanya proved that he is the best cleaner of heart. In fact He is the only one, who can clean our hearts. He is living within our heart and when He sees that we are sincere in strictly following the principles of bhakti and humbly serving the vaisnavas and in this mood when He sees that we are chanting His holy names, then through his Holy Name which is non different from Him and through His own presence within our heart He does all the cleaning He wipes away all the anarthas and all the misconceptions and all the upadhis and then He reveals himself to us and awakens our love for Him “Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti ”. We can only see Krsna when our eyes are anointed with the salve of love and only Krsna can put that anointment in our eyes, when He is pleased by our sincerity. So Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personaltiy of Godhead, sat there in Jagganath temple for seven days, listening to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Sarvabhauma after his lessons he looked at the Lord and he said I instructed you and you have not asked any questions. I do not know whether you understand or do not understand. Some questions you must have. Some response; Say something.
Goal of Vedanta Is Unconditional Loving Service To Krsna
Lord Caitanya said with your permission I will speak. I understand Vedanta Sutra. Its easy to understand. Vedanta Sutra, it’s so clear, it’s like the Sun at noon. But your interpretations are like a big black cloud and completely obscured the real meanings of it. Haa. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya had never heard anything like this. People from all over the world were coming and touching his feet. You are the authority. Tell us. Lord Caitanya told him that everything, you said is nonsense it’s all wrong. You have completely distorted Veda Vyas’s words. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a man with complete self control of the mind and senses. He said if you say like this then You tell what is the truth of Vedanta Sutra. He challenged Him. You say that everything I say is wrong. Then you tell me what the truth is.
Lord Caitanya Transforms Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya
So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said yes, and He proceeded to speak and as He spoke He completely defeated and annihilated every single point that Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya had said and here was the greatest debater in the world sitting there speechless before the Lord and then he established that the true meaning of Vedanta Sutra, is the true meaning of all the Vedas. That the ultimate goal of life is unmotivated, uninterrupted loving service to the Supreme Personality of God Sri Krsna. When Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya heard these explanations, he understood that this is correct. That no one, but the Supreme Lord Himself could explain in this way. And he fell at the feet of Lord Caitanya. The next morning Lord Caitnaya came to bring Jagganath prasad for Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, he got up and took that prasad with enthusiasm. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed to Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, after Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya surrendered himself unconditionally to the Lord. He revealed His six armed form of sat bhuja, the divine form. Sarvabhauma saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu right before his eyes transform into such a beautiful wonderful murti. He had six arms, two were green in color and he was holding the bow and arrow of Sri Ramchandra, the son of Dasarath, two were bluish in color, Shyam and they were playing the beautiful flute venu of Sri Krsna and two were beautiful golden color holding the danda and kamalandu of Gaurasundara. In this way Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya understood that yes He is the Supreme Lord because he had received the mercy of the Lord and when Gopinath Acharya had seen Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya became such a devotee, he was simply overjoyed and ecstatic love that lord Caitanya had given His mercy and how his life is perfect. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya became so enraptured in bhakti that he even changed one of the most important slokas of Srimad Bhagavatam
“tat te ‘nukampam su-samikshamano
bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam
hrid-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak”.
This verse says, what is the qualification of a person who achieves the perfection of liberation. It is spoken by Lord Brahma, the Spiritual Master and father of living beings within this creation, that one who is suffering the most terrible crisis reversals and pains of this world stands before the lord in that condition, with folded palms and a grateful heart and says thank you my Lord. I deserve worse but by your kindness, I am thinking you are allowing me to take shelter of you in this condition. It is your mercy. A person who can do that, that’s all you have to do in this world. If you can just do that, liberation is your rightful claim. So Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was thinking that what is this mukti pade. If you surrender to the supreme Lord like this why did they talk mukti. Vedvyas made a big mistake. He should have said bhakti pade sa daya bhak, then you achieve bhakti. So when he met Lord Caitanya he showed him I have added it to Srimad Bhagavatam and brought it to a higher understanding. It is perfect. It is the mature realization, the ultimate conclusion of all knowledge by the author of all Vedantas, Ved Vyas You cannot change and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya said after getting Your mercy and tasting the sweetness of Krsna Consciousness or bhakti I hate the word mukti. I can’t tolerate it. This idea of giving up Your servitude to Godhead to want to be Godhead despise this word and then Lord Caitanya explained to him, actually the perfection of mukti is bhakti. So when Ved Vyas is saying mukti he is obviously talking about bhakti because everything in that verse is the definition of bhakti. So you should leave it as it is but I am very happy with you for having such a nice feeling in your heart. So in this way Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was transformed and became one of the most intimate loving associates of Lord in this Lila.
Chanting With Humility Attracts Krsna
So we should know from this wonderful narration that the achievement in our life, that we are aspiring for through all of our activities is just to get the mercy of the Lord “yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto ‘pi” and it is not so difficult to get the mercy of the lord, if we get the mercy of His devotees, if we get the mercy of the great Spiritual Masters. The mercy of the lord is non different. Just like, there is a beautiful sloka, where Lord Sri Krsna explains, that when you feed the lord’s devotees Krsna personally eats through their mouth. In fact when you feed the Deities with love and devotion Krsna enjoys what you offer but when you feed his surrendered devotees through their mouth he enjoys it even more. Why? Because to please the servant, is most pleasing to the master and how do we please the servants of the lord? Simply by learning from them and faithfully and honestly practicing what they teach us. With this spirit, with the mood, I will please Guru, I will please vaisnavas. In this way I will please Krsna. We may perform our activities very nicely. The yagic brahmanas performed the rituals very nicely, expertly. You know the story in Vrndavan when the yagic brahmanas were performing big big yagna and every particular mantra and every particular ritual was done with perfect timing, perfect pronunciation, perfect execution but it didn’t please Krsna and their wives, they didn’t do any of those things. They brought some food in the forest and said Krsna Please take it we are willing to risk everything to bring this food to You. Our husband said you stay with us. When the cowherd boys went to the husband, to the brahmanas, Krsna wants some food please give. They said we are too busy with our rituals we don’t have time. So they went to the wives. Oh we will go. The husbands said O you cannot go, you have to help us, but they went. Haribol! They risked everything to please Krsna. Because they did that they didn’t offer with any mudras, mantras or anything else. They just gave it to Krsna and Krsna revealed Himself in His most beautiful Supreme form within their hearts before their eyes. They achieved the perfection of life. They got the mercy of Krsna because they pleased Krsna. And that is the aspiration that we all have whatever activities we should not become, we want to perform all of the rituals of Krsna Consciousness very carefully. We want to perform all the rules and regulations very honestly. We want to live by our vows very strictly but we should understand, it has to be in the consciousness of the servant of the servant of the servant with the mood to please the Lord and his devotees and our spiritual Master because that mood is what actually is bhakti and that is what will attract the mercy of Sri Krsna.
In all religions throughout the world people who lose the grasp of this essence, they become so much attached to the externals, that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to bring us the essence “Trnad api sunicena taror iva sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtanyah sada harih” that’s all. We do not taste the nectar of the holy name because we are chanting offensively. There are ten offenses to the chanting. If you can chant offenselessly, the Holy name will awaken ecstasy within your heart.. Every syllable will awaken divine ecstasy. If our chanting is not awakening divine ecstasy in spite we have seen sometimes instead of awakening put us to sleep. Why? We have to struggle to chant our japa struggle. But that struggle is an act of devotion and through that struggling gradually we remove the ten offenses and Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya taught if you just follow the principle of “Trnad api sunicena taror iva sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtanyah sada harih”. There is no offenses to your chanting.
This verse is, this is all in all of spiritual life. If you are more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, ready to offer all respect to others, expect none from others in return your chanting will be offenseless. Your ecstasy of the Holy Name will constantly be awakening within your heart throughout eternity. This is our goal for the pleasure of the Lord.
Thank You very much. Hare Krsna
