The Meaning of Sahajiya

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj,
23 December 2012

Today I went to the Santiniketan University, and last night we went to a house that belongs to the brother of the Indian president and had a programme there. They organised a fair for intellectual people. Before we did not make a programme there, but this time there is a little progress and yesterday and today there was a large assembly there. About 200 devotees came for prasadam. The house is small, it accommodates not more than 40 devotees, but there was a loudspeaker outside, so when I gave the lecture today it could be heard miles around.

Actually, it is hard to preach in that area because they are all educated people and they are brought up as brahma-jnani [interested in impersonal aspect of the Lord], following suska-jnan [dry knowledge], mayavadi—they believe that Krishna has no form. Many years ago I preached there and brought two families to Gurudev's lotus feet, and they always ask me to come here for preaching. The people there are all mayavadis, nastik. Bhakti Vinod Thakur said that those who believe in existence of God but do not believe that God has a form, are equal to nastik (atheist)—they actually do not believe in God. That is the kind of people who gather there.

Many foreigners come to the Santiniketan University to learn Bengali and Sanskrit. They do not believe in reincarnation—they do not believe that a jiva soul always changes the body and that after death we are born again.

So, I went to preach there. I gave some lecture there and initiated one person today. They were very happy to hear the lecture. One old man asked me today what the meaning of sahajiya is.

We sing this song, you know it:

যশোমতী-নন্দন ব্রজবর-নাগর
গোকুলরঞ্জন কান

yasomati-nandana vraja-vara-nagara
gokula-ranjana kana

Sri Krishna, who is known as Kan, is Yasoda's darling son, Vraja's paramour, Gokula's delight...

বিপিনপুরন্দর নবীন নাগরবর
বংশীবদন সুবাসা

vipina-purandara navina nagara-vara
vamsi-vadana suvasa

He is the king of Vraja's forests and the best of young paramours. He beautifully plays the flute.

Who is called navina nagar? Nagar means one who has more than one wife; navin means always new. So, navina nagara means one who always takes a new girl. Bhakti Vinod Thakur writes this about Krishna. Krishna can do that, it is not a problem, but if we are going to do that—if we imitate what Krishna does—then we become sahajiyas. Sahajiya people always want to imitate, to practise Krishna's Pastimes (what Krishna did), Mahaprabhu's Pastimes (what Mahaprabhu did). That was my answer, and they were very happy to hear it.

I have told before also this story of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj Srila Prabhupad. Many boys would eat sweets and fruit without paying for it—they wanted to do what Krishna was doing. They said, "Why not? Krishna did that before, so why cannot we do it?" And Swami Maharaj replied, "OK. Krishna also lifted the Govardhan Hill with His one little finger, but you cannot do that. If you can do it, then you can steal sweets." Srila Swami Maharaj gave this example.

Question: We find in Srimad Bhagavatam and the Vaishnav songs there are many preparations that pure devotees cook for Krishna. If we cook those preparations, is it considered sahajiya or not?

Cooking for Krishna is not sahajiya. We cook for service, for Krishna, but we cannot do what Krishna did for our own enjoyment. We cook to please Krishna, to make Krishna happy. Do you understand? It is not like you are doing some nonsense and think you are making Krishna happy.

At the same time, if you cook for your own happiness, for your own enjoyment, that is sahajiya. If you use Krishna's name, use Gurudev's name saying, "Oh, I am cooking for Guru, Krishna," but actually you cook and eat it yourself without offering it to Guru, Krishna, it is sahajiya.

Question: Now how can I cook without thinking about myself? It is very difficult...

It is not difficult. Everything is for Krishna, so cooking is for Krishna too. There is nothing difficult in that. When you cook and offer it to Krishna, you can immediately die after that, then you cannot take the food. You should think, "I want to cook something for Krishna, but I do not know whether I will be alive or not—I can die at any moment..."

Question: What is the difference between mayavadis and sahajiyas?

Mayavadis are very dangerous—they are much more dangerous than sahajiyas. Sahajiyas believe that Krishna exists, He plays, He has a form, and they want to be like Krishna, but mayavadis do not believe Krishna has a form (nirakar), they are atheistic. That is the difference.

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