— { DIVINE ASPIRATION } —

CHAPTER TWO:
CONNECTION WITH THE CENTRE

One must be given admission in order to enter into the Lord’s family of servitors. That is diksa, initiation. Through diksa, one receives divya-jnanam, divine knowledge, enlightenment; he can understand, “Krishna is my Guardian, He is my all-in-all.” And leaving all other duties, one promises to go towards Krishna for His service. The function of diksa is to impart such knowledge. And the disciple himself also invites this knowledge: “I belong to Krishna, wholesale. I am His property, He can use me in any way. I am not free to leave Him; my fate is all within His service, within His area of service, and not outside.”

Krishna Himself gives us this assurance: “You are My own. Your interest is My interest; My interest is your interest. We are one and the same.” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu tells Sanatan Goswami:

diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana,
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya 4.192)

“At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Krishna accepts him to be as good as Himself.”

The Lord accepts us as His own and takes the responsibility of everything for us, good and bad. And according to our surrender, such consciousness also awakens in us. Divya-jnanam is real knowledge; it is proper knowledge, absolute knowledge, independent of all our separate interests. From the absolute standpoint, He has got full rights over everything, including myself. From my side, I will think I am to be used by Him exclusively and by none else—this sort of transaction, is diksa. Divya-jnanam or divine knowledge, means to understand this and to do accordingly. Without this, we are suffering from avidya, ajnana—from ignorance, from a false notion about the environment. We are ignorant of the proper estimation of the environment and ourselves.

What is the cause of this? It is separate interest. I have separate interest, and so many others also have separate interest There are many interests, not harmony in the One, central interest. This is at the root of our ajnana, our ignorance. When we are conscious of the common Centre,—that it is Home, it is beautiful, it is sweet, and all such things—then we get a proper estimation of our connection with the Whole; we get divya-jnana, real divine knowledge.

Student: What is the meaning of ‘eternal relationship’? It is said that the disciple is eternally related to his guru. When one takes initiation from guru, is that relationship eternal?

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: First we must understand that the very nature of our existence is of a subordinate character. The soul is of marginal potency, tatastha-sakti, and as such, no direct connection with Krishna is possible in our constitutional position. But only through some agent—through guru, the Lord’s representative—are we to have His connection, and not directly. Since we are tatastha-sakti, since we come from the marginal potency, we must connect with Krishna through His internal potency. In the internal potency, all are serving the Lord eternally.

DIVINE HIERARCHY

In that internal potency, there is gradation. There we find conceptions of personality and hierarchy: some are nearer to Krishna than others. There is a hierarchy in this way, just as in a bureaucracy all are not very intimate with the king, but some are near, and others further away. The internal sakti, the potency of Krishna, is like this: the nearer to the Source, the greater its intensity. Just as the heat and light is more intense near the sun. Similarly, near Krishna there is more serving spirit, and further away from Him that tendency becomes less, in serving, in affection, and all such attributes. Krishna’s internal potency is such: the nearer to the Centre there is more interest for the Centre, and further away that ‘Central interest’ becomes a little slack. All those of the internal potency are subservient to their higher service-group; but the intensity of service-attachment may be more or less. Such hierarchy is there. And the Lord Himself is in the extreme position—He is an Autocrat. We are to adjust ourselves with such an Autocratic Centre.

KEY TO SUCCESS

We must be prepared for anything; anything from the environment may come to us, but we are to face it with optimism. That is the key to success in our life. The highest advice is given in Srimad Bhagavatam:

tat te ‘nukampam susamiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidhanam namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya bhak

(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8)

“One who, in the hope of achieving Your grace, tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds and passes his days practicing devotion to You with his mind, words and body, is truly eligible for becoming Your unalloyed devotee.”

We have no ability to interfere with the environment; to do so will only be a useless waste of energy. Rather, we must try to correct ourselves, so that we can adjust with the circumstances we find surrounding us. We have been advised that the best estimation we can make about the environment is to see it and understand it as a grant. A grant means something which is given. But from where is this grant coming? It is coming from my Lord and He is my Guardian. He is Supreme; He is Autocrat. So, what is coming from Him is His grace. We are living by His grace always and it is not a matter of ‘right’. That we are living and existing at all is not our birthright! Whether we exist does not matter to the Infinite Whole. So, tat te ‘nukampam susamiksamano: whatever comes is His grace; it is not earned by my right, my ability, or my qualification. Our well-guided estimation about the environment should be such.

And we must be satisfied with whatever grant we get. It is not a matter of right; we are not to see with the eye of any right, whether we are getting our own ‘quota’ or not. “Am I getting my own portion, my own share?”—this should never be our attitude. At the same time, we must try to see that whatever trouble we find is self-acquired: “Due to my own defective position, I am in such a condition. I am so low, so mean.” Our vanity will have to disappear forever when we realise fully our dependence on His grace: “I have got no position; I am fully dependent on His grace. My whole existence, whole prospect, everything—it is only on account of His grace.”

KRISHNA’S PROPERTY

Mahaprabhu said, Krsnera nitya-dasa: consider yourself, know yourself, to be the slave of the Supreme Lord. A slave has got no rights; he is the property of another. The slave has no rights, but at the same time, by his master’s grace, he can enter the highest place, in the highest position. Such is the prospect of the slave of the Supreme Lord Krishna.

It is possible only through service. Service means to satisfy Him, not to satisfy me. But when I am determined to exist only for Him, to maintain my existence for Him, when I can think: “I am for Him, and everything is for Him”—then I have some position. As Hegel told, “Reality is by Itself and for Itself.” So everything is for Krishna; He is for Himself, and when I am for Him, I have some position. As much as I can dedicate myself to Him, such a substantial position I may acquire. My position depends on my rendering sincere service to the Prime Cause. Mahaprabhu said:

jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’
krsnera ‘tatastha-sakti’, ‘bhedabheda-prakasa’

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 20.108)

“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krishna because he is the marginal energy of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, as a molecular particle of sunshine is one with and different from the sun.”

The soul is of the marginal potency. From the independent standpoint, it can be seen that he has something in common with the Lord and something different from Him; such a position is inconceivable. Krishna is all-in-all, and the soul has a dependent position as His potency. The Owner is He, and if we are conscious of that fact, we can thrive. We can improve our position, and we may also get the higher position. We may enter into the most confidential service only if we can satisfy the permanent servitors of that highest conception.

Who is the highest servitor, who can serve Him best—they should be the subject of our highest reach. Our aim should be to enter into their group. And that is Radharani’s group. To enter into Her group, Her camp, Her association—that is radha-dasya.

DIE TO LIVE

Service is our life; it is everything for us. We thrive only by it. Whenever we want to become a master, we deviate from that, we go away, we degrade. By serving, we live, and by trying to make ourselves master, by lording it over others, we die.

So, you will have to ‘die to live’—by dying to your false ego, your self-aggrandising tendency, you can live in the world of divine service. Everyone is trying to live in this world avoiding physical death. They are trying to ‘live without death’, and that of course is not possible. Just as it is not possible in the ordinary sense to live without death, so you who are aspiring for divine life, should not try to live without death! Die now! Die to both your exploiting and renouncing tendencies in order to really live in service divine.

Don’t try to live in the plane of exploitation. That type of ‘living’ is to face death. But to die for Him, for Krishna, is to really live. The position of the Centre and our relation with the Centre is such. The Hegelian theory that we should ‘die to live’ because ‘Reality is by Itself and for Itself’ is very applicable in vaisnavism.

THE BLACK BOX

Our false ego should be dissolved, and the ego of self-searching should awake. God-searching is self-searching; to search for Krishna is really to search for our own higher interest. If you search for Krishna, your own interest is also included therein. So, only search for Krishna with the spirit of service, not with the spirit of enjoyment.

The false ego must be dissolved. Bhidyate hrdaya-granthih: there is a knot in the heart, and it must be cut asunder (Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.20.30). ‘Ego’ means, the stored collection of separate interests of different types. Just as when an airplane has crashed, the authorities search the wreckage trying to find the ‘black box’, the record of the airplane’s flight. Similarly, our material ego is like our black box; our ‘plane’ is passing through different lives, but the box is there with the recording. There we can trace from where a person is coming and to where he will go. His karma in its most subtle form is reserved in that recording box. There are specialists who can read if any previous birth was as a tiger, an insect, or horse or some other species. And they can also see what the destination of any next life will be. This can all be traced in the ego. That ego should be totally dissolved so that our soul’s future destination will be in the spiritual existence and nowhere in the material world. There are so many planes of life in the universe of three dimensions: Bhur-, Bhuvah-, Svah-, Maha-, Jana-, Tapa-, Satya-loka. Our goal, our destination, should not be any of them. Neither should we go to Viraja, the area beyond all the qualities of material nature, nor to Brahmaloka, the non-differentiated world of spiritual light. Our aim should be only: “I want to have a ticket for Goloka, for Vrindavan. I want to go there to live; I have heard, and I feel, that there is my true home, the home of my previous generations.” Such feelings will come to us. When our inner self awakens we will feel, “I only want to go there.” And Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu are distributing tickets to that land.

INNER TASTE

The inner liking is ruchi, taste; taste is the vital unit, not knowledge. Mahaprabhu gave recognition to the inner taste. That is our capital. That is the realm of the heart; there the brain has no function. The brain may sanction something, but the heart may take me in some other direction; in this way we are generally guided by our heart, not by our brain. The brain cannot control everything; it may do so to a certain extent only. But the heart is the innermost guiding principle; the inner taste is guiding us toward our goal. So, we must be more concerned with that.

To improve our taste, we only need good association—association with the sadhus, with those who have Krishna consciousness within them. In the world of devotion it is not the brain that is valuable, but earnest, sincere hankering for Krishna. And Krishna is Reality the Beautiful. But He is also an Autocrat; that must also be our consideration, that the highest cannot be subservient to anything. This is clear and reasonable because Krishna holds the highest position. He should not be dependent on any other thing. And yet, He is dependent only on those who have that very conception about Him—that He is the highest. With them, naturally ‘oneness’ is there—the common interest binds them together. There is binding, attraction—the Attractor and the attracted. And Krishna is all-attracting.

SAFE POSITION

There is Krishna and His own. When we have some connection with a real devotee of Krishna we have a tangible position. Otherwise, we are nowhere; we are lost in the infinite. But whenever we come in contact with a devotee, with an agent of His who is moving here in this world for His interest, then we have found some substantial position.

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata bija

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 19.151)

“Wandering throughout the material universe, the very fortunate living entity who receives the grace of guru and Krishna receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.”

We are wandering endlessly in this universe. When we come in connection with a devotee of Krishna, then we get some hope, some support, some safe position.

UNTRACEABLE POSITION

Without such substantial connection, we are lost in infinity. All our movement here—from where we have come, to where we are going, what we are doing—is going on endlessly, but to no point, to no good. When connected with local interest, such movement has no value in relation to the Infinite, the interest of the Centre. It is like a ball being kicked: with one kick the ball is running in one direction, with another kick it is going a different way. Kicked from different directions it is going now this side, now that. Our position is like that: a ball being kicked. But when we come to have association with one who has got some substantial connection with the real Centre, then we have acquired some tangible position; we are counted within the calculation from the Centre; we have got some position there; we are traceable. Otherwise, we are nowhere. We have no position. Our position is untraceable. We are wandering, passing through the universe in such a way.

WHICH BRAHMA

This is the position of all souls within the universe. From this viewpoint even Brahma, the creator of this material world, has no tangible position. The position of guru Brahma, of Brahma in his function as guru, has a different consideration, but Brahma in his general function as the creator of any solar system may not have any tangible position in the universal calculation.

When Brahma first approached Krishna, Krishna sent His servant to ask, “Which Brahma has come?” And Brahma thought, “What is this? Is there any other Brahma? I am all-in-all, the creator of all and everything, whatever we see, we feel.” Still, he had to tell Krishna, through His servant, “It is the four-headed Brahma, father of Sanaka, who has come to meet You.” Then he was taken inside the hall, and He was filled with wonder at what he saw there: “Oh, so many Brahmas are here! Hundred-faced, thousand-faced, million-faced Brahmas are here, and with their big and gorgeous figures they are commanding bigger, greater universes than me. The creators of so many greater solar systems are here!” He was astonished.

PLANE OF LOVE

The Infinite can accommodate everything. We are to make some tangible connection with that Infinite; we are to find some substantial position in relation to Him. But what direction will we take to go there? How are we to make such progress? It is only through love and affection.

Affection is beyond calculation; it exists in a plane beyond calculation. It is that force which is controlling without the need of any brain; a kind of intuition. The affection of the mother for the child is found everywhere, even in the birds, beasts, and insects. The parent bird comes with some intuitive affection for the fledglings when they are growing to feed and nurture them. Then she goes away. In this way the intuitive force of affection is going on to conduct the world’s affairs. It is unaccountable; we do not know from where it comes, but it comes to do its service and disappears. That sort of tendency comes from the area of affection, of love. And we are to take shelter under that wave, wherever we find it available. That can help us as we are wandering throughout the creation.

SATANIC BRAIN

The human brain, when misdirected, is going to destroy the whole world by inventing atomic energy! The discovery of atomic energy is for mass destruction. We are so ‘civilised’ on the negative side. But civilisation on the negative side is suicidal. To kill one another—is such civilisation a development? Should we call this improvement? It is rather the product of the satanic brain. Satan is not a desirable thing; it is an indirect, undesirable force. Killing, destroying, destruction is satanic activity. Those of such satanic brains are agents of destruction.

But the constructive elements are affection, love, sincerity, self-giving, and surrendering. All these are based on surrender; love is always based on surrender. And that high thing, that noble thing, we shall try to imbibe. The most noble thing is self-giving. To give is nobleness; to assert, to exploit, is satanic. And to surrender for higher things is godly.

Further, Mahaprabhu also said, “Who are you to give? Already you belong to Him. And how do you belong to Him? Not by any contact, but by your nature. You are a servant. You are Krsna-das, a slave of Krishna. By your very existence, you are subservient to Him. And you want the opposite thing: you want to become a Krishna, a God? You want to take His position? Your aspiration is just the opposite, and because you cannot thrive in this attempt, because you cannot become that Krishna, then you want to commit suicide, to enter the renunciation zone; you want liberation, mukti. You want to enter eternal slumber, samadhi, brahma-sayujya—all these unnatural things. But come forward in the natural way, knowing that you are a servant, and in that position you will thrive.” This is Mahaprabhu’s advice.

A NOBLE LIFE

We are so accustomed to satisfying our interests in the world of exploitation that we cannot think that we live by serving. By dying to our concocted self as an exploiter, we can live: this very thing we can’t understand. By giving we get, we thrive, and by taking we go down, we lose. But we are so conditioned with the thought of the opposite thing that by gathering everything for ourselves we will be unable to think how it is possible that by giving ourselves we can be greater. But the solution is in that very thing: we must ‘die to live’.

bhidyate hrdaya-granthis, chhidyante sarva samsayah
ksiyante chasya karmani, drste khilatmani

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.20.30)

“When the soul directly beholds Me as the Supreme Soul within all souls, the knot of mundane ego in the heart is pierced, all his doubts are destroyed, and the chain of fruitive actions is annihilated.”

When our whole ‘separate-interest-box’ is dissolved, we will find a common interest with our Lord. We will feel, “My interest is one with His, and I am to do my duty according to my might.” That is the normal life in relation to the Organic Whole.

PROPER ADJUSTMENT

The attempt to properly adjust ourselves is also very important in striving to arrive at the conclusion of our life’s purpose. We must consider: “How are we to utilise ourselves?” We are presently in a perplexed condition, and perplexity means dissatisfaction with our present circumstances. How do I find out how I can be utilised in the service of the Lord? This requires proper adjustment from us.

If the Lord says to us, “Take your seat here,” but I want to run hither and thither for some other services, and still the Lord says, “No, you stay here, sit here, by My side.” What should we do? Should we sit, or say, “No, I want to do some work?” We will have to sit as He has asked, to satisfy Him.

Yet, this is also one kind of temperament of a devotee: “I can’t sit idly by Your side, some sort of service must be given to me.” That also is not to be rejected in every case. The main principle is that with good connection, everything may be good. It is the connection which is all-important: Krishna’s connection, Krishna consciousness. In different ways, different persons may go on with their service. It is not that everything must be stale or stereotyped.

DEEPER ASPIRATION

Our sincere attitude for the truth is all-important. Our searching mood—krsnanusandhan, to search for Krishna and none else—such a temperament is very valuable. “I am not satisfied by so many things, but my heart is aching for Him. I have heard from many sources about Krishna; I want to be very near to Him.”

Then, to be nearer to His devotees is still more tangible and real. When we have some practical faith in the association of His real servitors, then we acquire something substantial in our path of progress. By Him, that association is made possible and available for our help. So the position of one who has abstract attraction for Krishna is considered to be primary; but one who has aspiration for Krishna’s servants, rather than for Krishna Himself, is in a better position.

isvare tad-adhinesu,
balisesu dvisatsu cha
prema-maitri-krpopeksa,
yah karoti sa madhyamah

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11:2:46)

“The devotee in the intermediate stage of devotional service is called a madhyam-adhikari. He loves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to the innocent, and disregards the envious.”

archayam eva haraye,
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu chanyesu,
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11:2:47)

“A devotee who faithfully worships the Deity, but does not properly respect the vaisnavs or the people in general, is called a materialistic devotee and is considered to be in the lowest position of devotional service.”

The beginners in devotion want Krishna and not His devotees, but those who have some tendency to attain friendship and association with the devotees of Krishna have something tangible, something real. That is a higher position because by such aspiration one’s real spiritual life is insured. Na tad-bhaktesu chanyesu, sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah—those who are practising devotion, who want to cultivate Krishna consciousness through worship of the archa-murti, the Deity, through reading books, or in any other way, but who are avoiding the bona-fide servitors of the Lord, are in the ordinary, primary stage. But when some practical sympathy is felt in the heart for Krishna’s devotees, that fortunate person has got something tangible in their life, and their position is more reliable, safe, and progressive.

ONLY KRISHNA

When nothing but the Krishna conception can satisfy the devotee—when all the waves coming to him from every direction, whether good or bad, are connected with Krishna—then his position is better still. To the devotee in that stage, good and bad are both good because he sees everything as connected with the Centre. For example, it may happen that a devotee leaves the Mission and the devotional association. By his good fortune, he came to connect with the Mission, but now he is going away; such a circumstance is an unfortunate thing. And another devotee whose heart is pained to see such a bad or unfortunate circumstance, is in a bona-fide position. His heart is aching for that man who has fallen from Krishna consciousness; so, despite the unpleasant circumstances, his position is good. And conversely, when so many are coming to preach Krishna consciousness, carrying the flag of Mahaprabhu from corner to corner of this world, that same devotee’s heart is feeling pleasure, and that is all good. So in Krishna consciousness, both good and bad are good. Anything relating to Krishna consciousness—good or bad, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, but all concerning Krishna—is good.

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