(8/10) Solution to Internal Debates

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Siliguri, evening, 7 September 2019, part 8
Translated from Bengali

Many people fight arguing over who is higher, a brahman or a Vaishnav.

34) Question: What is the difference between a Vaishnav and a brahman?

Answer: A Vaishnav is a devotee of Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and a brahman is a devotee of nirguna Brahman (impersonal aspect of the Lord situated beyond the influence of the material modes of nature). The knower of the impersonal aspect of the Supreme Lord is called a brahman, and the knower of the personal aspect of the Lord is called a Vaishnav. If a brahman practises Krishna consciousness in the realisation of sambandha-jnana, he can become a Vaishnav – by the mercy of Vishnu, he can be saved from the hands of impersonalists and become an 'unadulterated brahman', or a Vaishnav. Sri jiva Goswami writes in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (177), referring to Sri Vyasadev's Garuda Purana, that one priest performing sacrifices is higher than a thousand ordinary brahmans, one person learned in the Vedas and all the other scriptures is higher than a thousand such priests, a Vaishnav is higher than millions of such learned experts, and just one devotee is higher than thousands of Vaishnavs. All Vaishnavs are brahmans, but brahmanism stands on the lowest steps of the ladder of Vaishnavism. Vaishnavs' qualities are much greater than the qualities of brahmans. A brahman is a servant of Vaishnavs: just as when a man has a lakh of rupees, he also has a thousand rupees, the same is true here too – if someone is a Vaishnav, they are automatically a brahman as well. The qualities of a brahman are included within the qualities of a Vaishnav.

This should be told to the brahmans. During the Durga-puja time in Kolkata, they recite all the bogus mantras, but whose tongue should mantras be uttered by? It is necessary to have the qualification for it. Otherwise, anybody can read a book and start reciting those mantras. People get some training in mantra recital and then are hired to do prayers. But this is your worship, so you must do it yourself – you cannot get others to worship the Lord for you.

36) Question: Why do pure Vaishnavs do collection?

Answer: The reasons why Vaishnavs do collection are these:

a) to deliver the souls that are charmed by Maya and consider that everything that exists for the pleasure of Krishna is meant for their own enjoyment, and who are thus attached to eating sin;
b) to tell them about Krishna consciousness, to bring them to the bona fide path and the path of eternal spiritual benefit;
c) materialists work very hard to earn their own food and clothes, and they think that they achieve material happiness in their life due to their own effort – due to their ignorance, they steal what is not theirs and enjoy sin. Therefore, pure Vaishnavs accept something from them to be merciful to these ignorant soul and help them unconsciously earn some sukriti. Pure Vaishnavs do collection to give mercy to the jiva souls, not to extort tax from them.

Some gurus come and say, 'Do whatever you want, just keep twenty rupees daily aside and I will come and collect it later.' Just as government imposes taxes on people, such gurus impose their taxes on jiva souls.

38) Question: What is the meaning of a Math?

If we were to write the true meaning of a math now, then we would have to write 'a math is a place for fighting,' but we cannot write this like that openly, and Srila Prabhupad also did not say that, so we wrote:

Answer: A Math is a centre for practising glorification of the Lord (Hari-kirtan). Hari-kirtan is its life and soul. A Math is where laziness, unrighteous behaviour, 'village' thoughts, 'village' talks or base material desires have no place whatsoever. That is why when you go door to door for collection, you will generally go through examination. Common people will criticise you saying that they are donors and you are beggars, i.e. they hold a higher position than you, that you are the recipients of their mercy; some will be ready to chastise you – as the result, your tolerance can grow, you will have an opportunity to be humble and give honour to others. Just by seeing your qualities of being humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree and respectful to others, common jiva souls will be benefited.

39) Question: Is there anything else a practitioner of Hari-kirtan should strive to do?

Answer: Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said: if someone tells something to you personally, you must not get angry. There is no fault in your guru-varga, scriptures, great souls who are supremely liberated, eternal associates of the Lord. Somebody can say something about them out of ignorance, but when you practise real kirtan, you must rectify the mistake of those who criticise – in this way you can give great benefit to these ignorant people. [Many people are like that. They say, 'Oh, these people are not practising what they are preaching, and sometimes they say wrong things. I would rather go to Vrindavan and stay alone on the bank of Govinda Kunda.' But you cannot bring benefit to anybody like this.] If you indulge your laziness and want to practise in seclusion to get a break from the criticism, then you will not have to rectify your character, but neither will you have a proper practising life. Because you want to get pratistha, you cannot tolerate it when others abuse you; you try to please others and to please yourself by pleasing others – as the result, you will be harmed spiritually, and I know you will leave the path of true spiritual benefit and take up an inauspicious path. Because you are my closest friends, I cannot do this to you.

40) Question: Who is a bona fide guru (sad-guru)?

Answer: It is a person who is, first of all, devoid of any cheating, who gives genuine advice on religion of the soul, or bhagavata-dharma (religion based on the precepts of Srimad Bhagavatam). Besides, a genuine guru is a person who does not have material defects (selfishness, etc.) because only bhagavat-dharma accepts the eternal and transcendental nature of the guru. There are many vitta-harankari gurus in this world (who steal your wealth, money, etc.), but there are very few santap-harankari gurus (who 'steal' material misery). A person who cannot save a conditioned soul from the cycle of birth and death and cannot sincerely engage them in the service of the Lord can never be called a guru.

41) Question: What does it mean to 'give up bad association'?

Answer: 'Association with women' means associating with those who live in this world with a view to enjoy, or who have an 'enjoyment' vision. Giving up this material vision is called giving up bad association. Giving up such low habits and trying exclusively, with one's mind, body and speech, to serve Krishna is called sannyas. Just being a Vaishnav is the topmost sannyas. Another name of Vaishnavs is paramahamsa. Our only duty is engage ourselves in the service of the Lord accepting whichever appropriate clothes within the varnasrama-dharma to show the dignity of the paramahamsa-vesa of our guru-varga.

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Length: 93 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Guru: Repository of Divine Love
2) Genuine Practising Life
3) Unconditional Service of Conditioned Souls
4) Be Kind
5) Fundamental Questions
6) Becoming a Devotee
7) Meaning of Spirituality
8) Solution to Internal Debates
9) Soul's Needs
10) Non-Sectarian Conception