(9/13) Beyond Jnana-Misra Bhakti

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Vyasa Puja Adhivas
Nrisingha Palli, 31 December 2020, evening, part 9

The next kind of devotion is jnana-misra bhakti. Such devotees strive to accumulate some knowledge. They chant the Holy Name because they believe that the Holy Name can give them some knowledge. This is jnana-marga (the path of knowledge). This is worship of Brahma. The followers of this line can also believe that man is God.

One time, Ramachandra Puri told it to his guru, Srila Madhavendra Puripad. At that time, Srila Madhavendra Puripad was reciting a sloka from Srimad Bhagavatam and crying, and Ramachandra Puri came to him and asked, 'Gurudev, why are you crying? You are Brahma [transcendental]!' You can often hear brahmans say, 'Guru Brahma Guru Visnu Guru Devo Mahesvara (guru is Brahma the Creator, guru is Vishnu the Maintainer, guru is Maheshwar, the Destroyer).' Hearing this, Madhavendra Puripad cried, 'Get out! Get out, you sinner! I am suffering from agony, and you are coming to give me more agony! I have not been able to become anything! How can I serve Krishna? How can I get service to Radharani? Where am I to go to find Krishna? Where am I to go to find Kanu? I am dying in this agony, and you come to give me more agony!!' He kicked Ramachandra Puri out: his guru renounced him. As the result of that, he became an offender of Vaishnavs.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj explains guru-tattva very beautifully in his book Sri Guru and His Grace. There, he compares a disciple to a lotus flower, and the guru to a pond where the lotus flower grows. You can see the logo of our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, it also features a lotus flower and the gayatri-mantra meaning around it. Our interpretation of the gayatri-mantra is 'Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi (গায়ত্রী-মুরলীষ্ট-কীর্ত্তনধনং রাধাপদং ধীমহি): Krishna's flute does not make any other tune except the glorification of Srimati Radharani; that is the real meaning and gist of the gayatri-mantra.' Many great souls compare the gayatri-mantra to the Sun, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj said that the meaning of the gayatri-mantra is a prayer that our mind, heart and soul may always remain at the holy feet of Srimati Radharani. We pray that our mind may always be at the holy feet of the Divine Couple.

Srila Prabhupad said very nicely:

মাতল হরিজন কীর্ত্তন-রঙ্গে ।
পূজল রাগপথ গৌরব-ভঙ্গে ॥

matala hari-jana kirtana-range
pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange

'From afar we shall worship the raga-patha, the path of spontaneous affectionate service, while we ourselves shall live within the Vedic guideline.'

(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad)

We will chant Hari-kirtan – we will chant, 'Nitai Gaura!' and dance – and where will our mind be? At the holy feet of Radha-Krishna. This kind of worship of Radha-Krishna is called raga-path; it is a plane that has nothing to do with any rules and regulations. We will worship that plane in our minds and hearts. Remember this. These are very beautiful things.

So, I was going to tell you about our Math's logo. You can see in the logo a lotus flower surrounded by water. When the lotus is in the water, it lives in it nicely, but once you pull the lotus out of the water and keep it somewhere outside, the lotus will dry up. When the lotus is in the water, it is nourished by the water and the soil. Here, this water and soil are compared to gurudev, and the lotus is compared to us, lowly, fallen souls. So, just as a lotus dries up when you take it out of water and soil, we too will dry up if we are taken out of the shelter of our guru. The sun in the logo is compared to the Lord. Once we are taken out of our guru's shelter, the sun (the Lord) will destroys us. Even the Lord cannot save us then. In other words, if your guru gets angry with you, even the Supreme Lord cannot do anything in this case – even the Lord will say, 'You are an offender to My devotee's holy feet!' If you offend the Lord's own, then even the Lord Himself cannot save you. There is a saying in Bengali, 'Krsna rusta hale Guru rakhibare pare, Guru ruste hale Krsna rakhibare nare (কৃষ্ণ রূষ্ট হলে গুরু রাখিবারে পারে, গুরু রূষ্ট হলে কৃষ্ণ রাখিবারে নারে): if Krishna, the Lord, becomes angry, gurudev can protect; if gurudev becomes angry, Krishna cannot protect you.' Therefore, we must always stay in the shelter of our gurudev. Only after you take shelter of a bona fide guru can you practise Krishna consciousness. This is the rule how it is done. That is why we say:

সম্বন্ধ জানিয়া ভজিতে ভজিতে
অভিমান হউ দূর ॥

sambandha janiya bhajite bhajite
abhimana hau dura

'I pray that my ego goes away and I may worship the Lord knowing the relationship.'

(Sri Kalyan-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

Our ego will go away if we understand relationship. Why do we in Gaudiya line call each other 'Prabhu'? When we say 'Prabhu', it means we say, 'I am your servant (das), and you are my master (prabhu).' That is why you should not call each other by names – call each other 'prabhu' (or 'didi' if addressing a lady). We must give honour to everybody. We sing in one of the kirtans:

সকলে সম্মান করিতে শকতি
দেহ' নাথ ! যথাযথ ।

sakale sammana karite sakati,
deha natha! yatha yatha

'O Master! Please give me strength to give proper honour to everyone.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

'O Gurudev! Please give me the power, the strength to give honour to everybody.'

শক্তিবুদ্ধিহীন আমি অতি দীন
কর মোরে আত্মসাথ ॥

sakti-buddhi-hina ami ati dina
kara more atma-satha

'I have no power, no intelligence, I am very poor. Please hijack me.'

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

What does 'hijack' mean? Does it mean hijacking your money? We say, 'Oh, he has hijacked my money and made off with it!' So, we are saying in the kirtan, 'Gurudev, please hijack me! Take me away! Steal me! I am floundering in illusion, but you please rescue me and give me the right to serve (seva-adhikar) Radha-Krishna's holy feet in Goloka Vrindavan.' This is what we must pray for at gurudev's holy feet. We must want seva-adhikar (the right, or qualification, to serve). We often chant also, 'Seva-adhikara diya, ei bara more kare daya. Please be merciful to me this time, give me the right to serve.'

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Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Spiritual Conscience
2) Trust the Lord
3) Service Is Not a Chore
4) May You Live Clean Life
5) Four Biggest Hurdles
6) Internal Meaning of Initiation
7) Amidst What Are You Sitting?
8) Karma-Misra Bhakti
9) Beyond Jnana-Misra Bhakti
10) Indomitable Power of Mercy
11) Learn to Behave as Sadhu
12) Preparing for Festival
13) External and Internal Opulence