(5/9) The Answer Is One

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vaishnav Seva Programme, Kolkata,
29 January 2021, part 5

There is a way to escape. ‘There is only one question, and there is only one answer.’ Who said this? Sukadev Goswami. I will tell you this story very briefly. We have printed it in a small book recently. There are two new small books. One is about the knowledge of the self (atma-jnana) – it is a lecture that Srila Gurudev gave in Mexico. There were some policemen present at that lecture, and after they heard it, they took initiation from Gurudev! Gurudev originally gave that lecture in English, and I have translated it into Bengali. The other book is about the history of Srimad Bhagavatam’s appearance.

When Parasara Muni, Vedavyas and many other great sages gathered at the assembly of Pariksit Maharaj, Sukadev Goswami came to that assembly stark naked (he lived on the transcendental plane and was not conscious of the external world). He asked Pariksit Maharaj, ‘What is your question? What do you want to know?’ Pariksit Maharaj answered, ‘How can I get real benefit?’ Hearing it, Sukadev said, ‘O King, what you have asked is the right question! There is only one question, and there is only one answer.’ Then, answering that question, Sukadev Goswami spoke the whole of great Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Sukadev Goswami spoke for seven days. Suta Goswami heard it at that assembly and later told it to the sixty thousand sages who were doing a fire sacrifice in Naimisaranya. After that, Srimad Bhagavatam was written down as a book. It was not originally written by anyone. People often ask who wrote Bhagavatam, but nobody wrote it.

When Vyasadev felt disturbed in his mind, his guru, Narad Goswami, came to see him in Badarikashram, and Vyasadev told him, ‘Gurudev, I do not feel peace at heart.’ Narad Goswami said then, ‘How will you get peace? You have produced so many scriptures, including Bhagavad-gita, all the Puranas and Vedas, but this is all khichuri (hodgepodge)!’

You know, they are cooking here so many things – rice, dal, subji (vegetables), shukta (a bitter preparation), chutney, sweet rice – if you mix everything together, will you get the taste? So, for example, you read Gita: yes, it is the primary scripture, but there is karma-yoga, sankya-yoga, jnana-yoga, and then only bhakti-yoga. There are many teachings inside it.

So, Narad Goswami said, ‘Think of such a scripture where there would be only bhakti-yoga and by reading which people would be able to reach the Lord.’ You cannot reach the Lord through any karma, jnana or any yoga – you can reach the Lord only through devotion (bhakti).

Following the order of Narad Goswami, Vyasadev created an exclusive scripture, which later became Srimad Bhagavatam.

In the meantime, Sukadev Goswami had spent twelve years in the womb of his mother. When he was asked to come out, he said, ‘I will not come out because if I do, I will be attacked by illusion.’ Then, some sages came and suggested to Vyasadev, ‘You have the power to stop Maya (illusion), so why do you not stop illusion for five minutes to let him come out?’ Vyasadev asked Sukadev, ‘Will five minutes do? Will you come out then?’ Sukadev agreed, ‘Yes, five minutes is enough.’ When Vyasadev stopped Maya for five minutes, Sukadev came out and immediately ran to the forest – he did not even see anyone around him. He was as if blind – he had eyes, but he did not see anything in this world; he only saw the Lord and simply went wherever his glance fell. Even girls bathing naked in the river in the Himalayas felt nothing when Sukadev passed by, but when they saw Vyasadev coming, they quickly threw some clothes on to cover themselves.

Moreover, Sivji Maharaj said, ‘Aham vedmi, Suka vetti, Vyasa vetti na vetti va. I know it, Sukadev Goswami (the son of Vyasadev) knows it, but Vyasadev himself may or may not know it.’ So, Vyasadev gave such great power to Sukadev that Sukadev could give everything to this world, and that is Bhagavatam-katha. If we follow this Bhagavatam – if we embrace that kind of high thinking, if we think about that kind of highest attainment – then we will realise that we are all children of nectar. We all have one father – the Lord.

ঈশ্বরঃ পরমঃ কৃষ্ণঃ সচ্চিদানন্দবিগ্রহঃ ।
অনাদিরাদির্গোবিন্দঃ সর্ব্বকারণকারণম্ ॥

isvarah paramah krsnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam

‘Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.’

(Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.1)

This is who we must think about, and if we can leave this world thinking about the Lord, then we will be able to leave the bondage of illusion.

মায়ারে করিয়া জয় ছাড়ান না যায় ।
সাধুকৃপা বিনা আর না দেখি উপায় ॥

mayare kariya jaya chhadana na yaya
sadhu-krpa bina ara na dekhi upaya

‘It is impossible to conquer illusory environment and break free from it. I see no other way to get relief except by sadhus’ mercy.’

(Prarthana, Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

We must become surrendered souls.

তদ্­বিদ্ধি প্রণিপাতেন পরিপ্রশ্নেন সেবয়া ।
উপদেক্ষ্যন্তি তে জ্ঞানং জ্ঞানিনস্তত্ত্বদর্শিনঃ ॥

tad viddhi pranipatena, pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam, jnaninas tattva-darsinah

‘You will be able to attain knowledge by satisfying the divine master with submission, relevant enquiry and sincere service. The enlightened souls who are learned in scriptural knowledge and endowed with direct realisation of the Supreme Absolute Truth will impart divine knowledge to you.’

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

We must have complete, full surrender. We sing every morning:

দৈন্য, আত্মনিবেদন, গোপ্তৃত্বে বরণ ।
‘অবশ্য রক্ষিবে কৃষ্ণ’—বিশ্বাস পালন ॥
ভক্তি-অনুকূল মাত্র কার্য্যের স্বীকার ।
ভক্তি-প্রতিকূল ভাব-বর্জ্জনাঙ্গীকার ॥
ষড়ঙ্গ শরণাগতি হইবে যাঁহার ।
তাঁহার প্রার্থনা শুনে শ্রীনন্দকুমার ॥

dainya, atma-nivedana, goptrtve varana
‘avasya raksibe krsna’—visvasa palana
bhakti-anukula matra karyera svikara
bhakti-pratikula bhava—varjanangikara
sad-anga saranagati haibe yanhara
tanhara prarthana sune sri-nanda-kumara

‘(1) Humility, (2) self-submission, (3) accepting that the Lord is your maintainer, (4) keeping faith that “Krishna will certainly protect”, (5) engaging only in what is favourable to devotion, (6) rejecting what is unfavourable to devotion. Lord Krishna hears the prayers of those who surrender to Him in these six ways.’

(Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur)

You think that if you wear beads on your necks, it means that you are devotees, but if you wear neck beads and do both what is favourable to devotion and what is not favourable to devotion, how can you then be devotees? It is the same as thinking, ‘I will drink alcohol, and I will drink milk’ – if you do this, you will not get any benefit from drinking milk. We must accept that which is healthy and wholesome, and we must reject that which is unwholesome and harmful. People say, ‘Oh, I can give up everything, but I cannot give up fish.’ They cry, ‘There is such nice fish in the pond, how can I resist it?’ Gambling, intoxication, illegal sex and meat-eating are unfavourable to devotion – these things must be given up. You saw us doing a fire sacrifice just now: if I put one spoon of ghee into the fire and then one spoon of water, you tell me if it is possible to do a fire sacrifice like this or not. We must offer only ghee. If we put only ghee, then we can do a fire sacrifice. But there are people who think, ‘I will eat meat, fish, everything, and I will just chant the Holy Name after that!’ That is why it is said:

অসাধুসঙ্গে ভাই কৃষ্ণনাম নাহি হয় ।
নামাক্ষর বাহিরায় বটে তবু নাম কভু নয় ॥

asadhu-sange bhai krsna-nama nahi haya
namaksara bahiraya bate tabu nama kabhu naya

‘Brother, the Name of Krishna cannot be chanted in bad association: it may certainly sound like the letters of the Name, but it can never be the Name proper.’

(Sri Sri Prema-vivarta, Srila Jagadananda Pandit)

Such chanting may only sound like the Holy Name, just as karma and service look the same. When a cat is carrying a mouse in its mouth and when it is carrying its kitten in its mouth, it looks the same, but when the cat is carrying its kitten, it is taking it, for example, to some warm place, but when it is carrying a mouse, is it carrying it out of affection? Of course not. So, chanting the letters of Holy Name and chanting the pure Holy Name, just as doing service and karma, may look the same, but these are two completely different things. You should always remember this.

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READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Vaishnav Rites
2) Disciple's Life
3) Sincere Spiritual Life
4) Eternal Servants
5) The Answer Is One
6) "Give Me These Alms"
7) Remembering Haridas Thakur
8) Poverty of Mind
9) "Come, Dear Mind, Come"