Inner Fulfilment

An Introduction to Inner Fulfilment

By Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

© 1995 Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math
All rights reserved by the Successor President-Acharya

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip, West Bengal, India

First Printing June 1995

Second Printing October 1995

Third Printing 2004

Originally compiled by Sri Mahananda Das Bhakti Ranjan in 1995.

This electronic version is prepared in 2023 as part of service to His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj.

Web address: www.scsmathinternational.com

Email: info@scsmathinternational.com

CONTENTS

· Preface ·

· Part 1: Searching for the Solution ·

· Part 2: The Vision of Goodness ·

· Part 3: Happiness in Higher Thought  ·

· Part 4: The Happiest Form of Life ·

· Part 5: A Labor of Love ·

· Part 6: Homeward Bound ·

·  Part 7: The Land of Beauty ·

·  Epilogue: The Key to It All ·

About the Author

The Logo of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s Mission

Headquarters of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Books and Publications of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

· Preface ·

The need for every one of us in this world is to solve the real problem of suffering caused by our existence in this mortal world. The solution is well-known to those special souls who are truly acquainted with the eternal spiritual realm, and they are able to impart that to others. It is the introduction to these secrets which is being expressed in this new booklet Inner Fulfillment.

I bow down with my full obeisances to my Spiritual Master, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, from whose books this present publication has been compiled, with the addition of newly transcribed selections from his taped discourses. Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj is the acknowledged head of all theistic schools and spiritualists of the modern age. His teachings are largely of the ‘post graduate’ grade, but he graciously gave much encouragement and clear directive for the newcomers to seriously take to the path of the attainable goal of life—joyful immortality.

There are almost two hundred publications from his Mission now available worldwide in over a dozen languages. Most of these publications assume that the reader already has some familiarity with the conceptions involved. However, Inner Fulfillment has been especially compiled to give an introduction for all sincere seekers whether or not previously acquainted with such topics.

Readers interested in further literature and information are invited to refer to the list of books and addresses at the back of this publication and to correspond with the Secretary of any of our principal centers worldwide.

This book is being published during the Centenary Year of my Srila Guru Maharaj in order to help further extend the treasures of his guidance to sincere souls the world over. As his successor and the Sevaite-President-Acharya of his worldwide Mission, it is a great duty for me, also a great joy, to broadcast his teachings and glories far and wide. I extend my happy appreciation to Sripad Mahananda dasa Bhakti Ranjan for bringing out this booklet Inner Fulfillment as one of our Mission’s introductory publications for mass distribution.

It is my prayer that the compilation of the selected texts herein may give nourishment, and new life, to all.

Humbly,

Swami B.S. Govinda

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math,

The Auspicious Day of Jagannathdev’s Rathayatra

30 June 1995

· Part 1: Searching for the Solution ·

The innate principle of life is to save one’s own self, to become immortal, to come out of ignorance, and to become happy.

Our very existence is being threatened at every second here where we live, our knowledge is being threatened to be covered by ignorance, and we are always being threatened to be swallowed by misery. These are our standing enemies, our born enemies which are constantly threatening us. We must fight them in a scientific way and find out how to get free from them. They threaten our very existence, our very knowledge, and our very sense of happiness.

bhidyate hrdaya-granthis, chhidyante sarva-samsayah

ksiyante chasya karmani, mayi drste ‘khilatmani

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 11.20.30)

When we gain a proper solution, all questions will disappear. That which is almost impossible and unthinkable, we will gain such a solution from the ancient scripture Srimad Bhagavatam. Such a stage is possible. What is that?

Bhidyate hrdaya-granthis—all the ties within the heart will be unloosened. The heart is full of different bindings. We tie ourselves with this idea, that idea—thousands of ideas. We are tied down by “I like this, I like that, I like it.” But there is a certain type of knowledge that may descend within us that will cause all these bindings to be unloosened at once. At once we will find that so many ties are all unnecessary: so unloosen them, unloosen them all. They are our enemies. We thought them to be our friends and wanted to tie ourselves with them. Unloosen! Unloosen! Unloosen! They are not friends but are all enemies. Therefore, all the ties of the heart are to be broken off. Bhidyate hrdaya-granthis is in the first stage: to become free of the ties of activity (karma).

The layer of knowledge is the next stage, chhidyante sarva-samsayah: there are so many doubts, doubts after doubts, but just as mist disappears, all doubts will be cleared. There is such a stage: a plane free from all doubt.

The Upanisads also come and say:

yasmin jnate sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati

yasmin prapte sarvamidam praptam bhavati

tad vijijnasasva tadeva brahma

Enquiry is good, but enquire like a proper man, in a proper, scientific way. Search. Search for the particular thing which equates to the search of everything. Come to search that thing which will solve your entire problem. Searching after this, searching after the wants of A, searching after B, searching after C—dismiss all these mad ideas. Search only after the one thing that will satisfy everything. It is possible.

Yasmin jnate sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati—if we know that one point, everything is known. If we get that thing, everything is achieved. Is it possible? Yes, it is possible! And when we come to such faith, then it is real faith (sraddha). It is possible—there is the central truth. If we know that, everything is known. If we get that, everything is got. So, if you want to be a student, study such a thing of absolute characteristic, the grand characteristic, not partial. Search for the whole, the conception of the whole. That will take us to the understanding of the one ruling polarity, the one unity, the oneness of the whole: the idea that the whole of our conception is being controlled and ruled from one point. The One is the whole, and the One is the Master of the whole; and if I can be acquainted with that One, I will be acquainted with the whole.

We are to search for the Master of the conscious plane. Almost everything depends upon consciousness. External sensations and perceptions all depend upon consciousness. A ‘thing’ means a perception of the thing by the eye or by touch, etc. Everything that we experience in this world is a cluster of perceptions, sensations—and the whole thing is based on consciousness. So, we are to search for the Master, the King of the conscious world. We have no engagement in this mundane world except to search for the cause, the prime cause. In different stages of life there is a gradation of cause up to the land of beauty and love. We are to withdraw there. Back to God, back to home. Back to the centre.

Home means not only consciousness. Consciousness is only on the way. Just as on a long journey there are so many hostels along the way, similarly, consciousness is on the way to the land of love and beauty—to the land of Krishna. First, we must cross consciousness, then we shall find sweetness (anandam, rasam). Anandam is controlling, not consciousness. Consciousness is the basis, but the real hankering of all of us is for happiness, ecstasy (anandam, rasam). Rasa (beauty) is controlling, and that can satisfy our inner hankering—not jnana (knowledge) and not consciousness. Consciousness is not the integer. What to speak of this material energy, even consciousness cannot satisfy our inner hankering. Our inner hankering is for satisfaction, happiness, sweetness, love, beauty, and mercy. Really, the inner analysis of our heart shows that we are all hankering for sweetness, for rasa, but we are wandering hither and thither for that rasa, and, frustrated, we come back with a slap on our cheek. We are endlessly wandering in this way, dictated by the forces of the external nature. We are wandering hither and thither, but we will not find the proper thing by this process.

Fortunately, agents from the high level come to our relief. By various means, with or without us being aware of it, they inject some special news, which, when accumulated, creates such an energy in us that “I must go back to my home!” We are told that our home is such, and that our fortune is connected with such a form of life. We must return back there. That is the campaign of Krishna consciousness, and that is the land of Vrindavan, the happiest domain, the most extensive plane which includes everything. This world is a negligible part of that infinite world, the infinite ocean of sweetness. All may be accommodated in that infinite world.

It is not idolatry, not hypnotism, not sentimentalism, not emotionalism, but it is concrete fact as much as we want happiness. Materialists are searching and think they are getting something, but they become frustrated by money and women. What is apparent is not real. They are deceived in such a way all through their lives, more or less.

So, we are fortunate if we receive in our lives guidance from Krishna conscious friends, who endeavor to recruit us to that domain: “Come to your senses. Come to your normal position. Come to your home.” You are all misguided like crazy men, running hither and thither for happiness and pleasure, but you are not getting it, which is common. The wild-goose chase of scientific researchers is trying to furnish you with more comforts of the transient, flickering type, but such attempts are going in the opposite direction. They are inviting you to get more comforts by the help of a gross conception, but you will not find the real thing there. You will have to go inside. Home is necessary. Instead, you are being carried to a foreign land, dependent upon foreign things for your happiness. Real happiness does not depend on the supply of these physical comforts. It is within, and it is independent of anything. Stone and electricity cannot produce comfort for you. That which can give comfort is superior in comparison to one who is searching for comfort. That which is inferior to you in nature will not give you comfort—your thirst can be satisfied and fulfilled only from the higher region, not from the lower. Therefore, do not madly search for your comfort in the lower nature but direct your search to the higher realm and take guidance from those friends who endeavor to recruit you to that domain.

To heed this call is the real wealth of life of each and every one of us.

· Part 2: The Vision of Goodness ·

Basically, the advice of Rig Veda, the first Veda that descends from the upper world to this world, is, “The primary requirement for all is to conceive that there is a world above (‘above’ means in the line of consciousness). Your highest identity is that of consciousness, and you must adopt that conscious world above you as your shelter.” You can live and move there. This is a radical change. Here, you are in the atmosphere of exploitation, but that is a land of service where you have to think in terms of service. That region is on your head, it is superior to the stuff you are made of. So, do you want that connection, or do you prefer to reign in hell rather than serve in heaven? What do you like? Consider it, and then come forward. You can have a prospect of attaining everything up to Krishna, the Absolute. Otherwise, you will have to revolve here, in this world of 8,400,000 species.

jalaja navalaksani sthavara laksa-vimsatih

krmayo rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksakam

trimsal-laksani pasvah catur laksani manusah

(Visnu Purana)

“There are 900,000 aquatic, 2,000,000 immobile, 1,100,000 worm-cum-insect, 1,000,000 bird, 3,000,000 animal and 400,000 human species.” These are the 8,400,000 classes of species throughout which you will have to wander in the world of action and reaction. You must select your path. Do you want to be a member of the land of immortality? Do you want janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi (birth, death, old age and infirmity), or do you want immortality? If you want immortality, you will have to pay for the ticket—you will have to obtain the visa and prepare yourself for such a categorical beginning.

“Diviva chaksur atatam…marisyeti, pasu-buddhim imam jahi. Do away with your animal consciousness that you are flesh and blood.” No, you are not limited to flesh and blood—you are a conscious unit, and you will not die. You are not a member of this dying world, where everything is sure to die on account of its malidentification. This world is forced upon you. “You must die, you must become infirm, you must be born, you must suffer from disease”—all these are misidentifications of your self with your body. This is animal consciousness (the consciousness that you are an animal), but you are not so, you are a conscious unit, you are spirit, a soul. Not only is the soul immortal, not only does God exist, not only is He the Absolute Dispenser of good and bad, but we ourselves are units of the conscious world. So, pasu-buddhim imam jahi, separate yourself eternally from that mania, from that misconception and false identification with this material aspect which is the result of your degraded life, and become reinstated in your glorious position as a soul. How is this possible? You are tatastha (marginal) by constitution, so you cannot stand on your own two feet. You must have some shelter—either mundane, within your mundane identification, or above that, with some shelter above your head. O tatastha-jiva, you must have shelter in the svarupa-sakti land, the ultimate land.

We must start our spiritual life from whatever environment we are placed in according to the result of our karma. We must begin our work of conquering all those samskaras (mundane tendencies) that comprise the mental encasement we are living in. “Tat te ‘nukampam susamiksamanah.” We should not only live in our present position without complaint but also consider it really necessary for our upliftment. In this way, we must accept whatever adversities that come to us as the grace of the Lord. We must cope. Adopting this positive angle of vision of goodness, we must think, “This is my real necessity. There is no error in the calculation of the Lord. This test has been extended to me for my benefit. To stand, to face and cross this opposition is my chance to progress in my life. This test has been given by Krishna to facilitate my progressive life.” We are advised in Bhagavatam to face all adverse circumstances in such an optimistic way, then we shall very easily and swiftly cross these walls of misunderstanding, this maya, become liberated, and, what is more, have participation in Krishna consciousness, a life of dedication. “Tat te ‘nukampam susamiksamano bhunjana evatmakrtam vipakam. Whatever I find undesirable here is the result of my previous karma, and by the good will of the Supreme, that previous karma is going to be finished. I will be relieved. I will be made fit for higher service to Him, so this has come.” That is the advice in Srimad Bhagavatam. “Do not quarrel with the environment. Try to be adjusted with it; correct your own ego. Everything is alright.” Your ego is demanding some sort of comfort from the environment, and that is the cause of this hitch. There is no hitch in the outside, no ailment, but your ego creates the problem within you. That false ego should be dissolved, and liquid nectar will flow and place you within the highest plane, the plane where there is no complaint, then your soul will find itself standing and walking in the smooth, affectionate movement of the most fundamental plane, and all false friends—the circumstances we think to be friends but which are really all false—will be withdrawn.

That is nirguna, the causeless, most fundamental flow of welfare in the Absolute Plane. That is bhakti proper. Bhakti means seva, divine service. It is a wave of the deepest plane, and it is causeless and irresistible. It has no beginning, no end—it is an eternal flow. Only my soul can take a stand in that plane and move in harmony with that plane.

“Katha ganam natyam gamanam.” It is mentioned in Sri Brahma-samhita, “All the talks there are as sweet as a song; all the movements there are as sweet as dancing.” Everything is sweet. Vrindavan is a plane of harmonious movement. We have to go back to that home. We have come out with the spirit of colonizing in a foreign land, with the bad purpose of exploitation. For the purpose of exploitation, we have come to colonize in this material world, and we suffer as a reaction. All material coverings must be eliminated, and our person within, our finest ego, must emerge: within this gross, mischievous ego, there is a finer ego, the soul, which is a child of the higher plane.

· Part 3: Happiness in Higher Thought  ·

Why is happiness eluding us? No matter how much we get, we always hanker for more. Such is the nature of every one of us in all fields and walks of life. How then can finite material objects and flickering bodily or intellectual pleasures satiate our infinite hankerings? For as long as we go on searching for happiness within the material plane, our efforts and endeavors are destined to be irrevocably frustrated. Due to their natural limitations, material objects and goals simply cannot satisfy our limitless hankerings. Only by seeking out the beauty and love of the unlimited spiritual realm can we hope to be successful in our common quest for lasting happiness.

The Lord is always there, even in the worst period of our lives. He is waiting, waiting to help us—we must only look up for His grace, with all sincerity. He is everywhere, waiting, “My boy, look at Me. Do not make much of the external environment. I am here, very near to you. You have cast your focus aside, you have cast your consciousness outside—make it internal and you will find Me here. You are looking down to secure servants and comforts, but if you look up, for existence higher than you, you will find Me in that plane. Look up! Do not look down, searching for servants.” You want to become a master and are thus searching for servants, hunting after things for your service. Take the opposite course, become a servant and search for your master, your Lord, then you will be uplifted, taken up to a higher domain. If you want to live in a higher domain, you will have to serve. If you want to be a master, then you will have to come down in the lower zone, where you can be a master.

This is neither exaggeration nor imagination; it is something scientific. You can enjoy only those that are of a lower position. So, by attempting to enjoy, mean association becomes inevitable. Only by preparing yourself for higher service will you be able to come in contact with your soul’s higher position. Sacrifice. By sacrifice you go up; by the enjoying spirit you will have to go down. We have to understand what is exploitation and enjoyment, and what is higher service. Divine service is pure, and in that service there is also a pure type of joy and ecstasy. By giving we become gainers, and by extorting we become losers. This scientific truth should be understood. By robbing things from others, someone can find superficial satisfaction, but underneath there is some suspicion that the result will not be very good, “Some reaction will come to attack me.” To exploit by stealing provides some sort of enjoyment, but happiness is also enjoyed by big donors through their giving in charity. There is a difference in quality between these two sorts of happiness, and we are to distinguish between them. There are different conceptions of happiness in different planes, and a comparison is to be drawn between the qualitative differences in the pleasure derived. We are to conceive of different planes of life. The life of higher service is divine life. The Absolute God is there. Everything is for Him. Everything here is for His pleasure. But how can we attain this divine life? What is mundane and what is divine? We are to differentiate it, we are to examine it in order to accept divine life.

What is God? God is not an order supplier. If I am sick, I am not to just ask, “O God, cure my sickness!” And if I am poor, I should not only pray, “O God, give me money!” Such a mercenary connection is not very happy, but still it has some meaning because at least there is a thought that there is some supernatural power and that He can do wonders. However, it is better to want God without expecting anything mundane from Him. We should want God, who is the source of all this opulence, and we should not want anything else which we consider valuable. We are to depend on Him, “O Lord, give me what is good. I am an imperfect being, so I do not know what is good and what is bad. Please provide whatever You consider to be good for me.” This is an improvement over praying to Him for mundane benefits. But best is to accept the creed of unalloyed service to the Highest, “I want You, my Lord, nothing else.” And what will be our connection with Him? Service. “I want only Your service.”

In the beginning, we might think that we are losers, but ultimately we will gain. Apparently, we are giving ourselves, we are sacrificing our selfish interests, but, in a subtle sense, we gain thereby. This ontological truth should be appreciated. It is neither a dogma nor blind faith; it is based on higher, unprejudiced reasons.

Our life is unfulfilled and we want fulfillment, there is no doubt, but what type of fulfillment should we hanker for and search after? We know we are in want, and, at the same time, we yearn to remove our want and obtain satisfaction. No doubt, this is so for everyone. But how to make progress from an unfulfilled life towards fulfillment? To do that, we are to search for God. We must search for Him.

· Part 4: The Happiest Form of Life ·

Absolute love and charm are all-accommodating. None can deny it. Love is so universal that none can say, “I do not want love.” One may say, “I do not want any grandeur, any power,” but never, “I do not want love.” Sometimes, one may even go as far as to say, “I do not want justice.” Of course, generally, it is an exception, but it may still be said, “I do not want justice. By justice that man will suffer; rather, let me suffer and that man be saved.” Just as Jesus Christ said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” By that prayer, Lord Christ set justice aside, “No, justice may go on this side; let me be the sufferer.” So, we can take the risk of dismissing justice, but we cannot avoid love. We can give up everything but that hankering for love.

If we have the eye to see, we can give up everything in the world for love, prema. Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam came to give us that most valuable thing. In the plane of love, God takes the form of Krishna, and that is the most fundamental and the most subtle plane behind all this variegated creation. So, come to that plane. Try to penetrate into that plane where God is Krishna and where paraphernalia is Vrindavan. Try to anyhow have admission in that plane, and you will find there the happiest form of life.

Mercy is more beautiful than justice. We cannot think of blaming the spirit of justice, but, at the same time, we cannot deny that there is mercy over justice. But one who can extend mercy over justice must have power to give due compensation—the Lord has such power of compensation. Krishna is such an aspect of the Lord that He can give mercy through love and affection, and we want to live in that environment by any means. Mahaprabhu came to show that to be the plane for which we should strive. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said, “In no time the intelligentsia of the world will come to understand that this is the highest conception of attainment of all humans as well as of everything else in the whole of creation. The intelligentsia cannot be misguided for long by so many other proposals of the highest attainment which are only giving partial achievement. Many things are going on in religion in the name of the highest solution of our life, but what Mahaprabhu has given very soon will be detected by the intelligentsia of the world, and all will flock to the banner of Sri Chaitanyadev and will sing the glory of Mahaprabhu and Krishna.”

The fulfilment of our hearts’ satisfaction is in the Krishna conception of the Absolute. He is the Lord of love, beauty, ecstasy and happiness, which is the innermost necessity of us all. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Go straight to Vrindavan by this special train. Do not try to break your journey anywhere as that will only be a loss of time and energy.” He also said, “Whoever you find, give them Krishna consciousness!” Just as in a famine-stricken country, you will give food to whoever you find to save them, but this is a hundred times more urgent. So, you are to inject Krishna consciousness. Tell them, “A loving Lord is above your head seeing everything—you only have to connect with Him and His servants. His servants are very, very kind and magnanimous. Somehow get some connection with them and try to go to your home. Here, nowhere is home. Your home is only there.” For example, a madman may be wandering here and there, but if he is cured of his madness, he will go straight from the street to his home. He will not continue wandering in the street endlessly like a vagabond, but he will go straight home to satisfy himself and his near and dear ones, his guardians.

kim pramatasya bahubhir, paroksair hayanair iha

varam muhurtam viditam, ghatate sreyase yatah

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.12)

“Imperceptibly, many, many years pass uselessly in the life of a person intoxicated by mundane pleasures. It will be better if he realises, even only for a moment, that he is losing valuable time as he may thus become serious to attain his eternal benefit.” Here Sukadev Goswami says that one moment is sufficient to solve the whole problem of life if it is properly utilised in sadhu-sanga. Try at any cost to utilise the opportunity of sadhu-sanga, the association of Krishna’s agent. What is the necessity of living for ages and ages if we are unconscious of our own interest? One moment properly utilised is sufficient to solve the whole problem of our life because of which we are eternally wandering about in this plane. We must be wakeful to our personal interest, not negligent.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to direct us to our real interest within, “You do not know your own heart. You are a foreigner to your own heart and its demand. There is wealth within your heart, try to find it. Eliminate foreign things, and you will find your heart to be a temple of Krishna.” With the help of a proper guide, search your own heart and you will find Krishna there. This is not a foreign thing to you. Every heart is a temple of the Lord. It is your property, it is your home. Back to God, back to home.

· Part 5: A Labor of Love ·

The idea that I shall have to labor to live is very dishonorable, so ancient scholars searched for a position where we can live without labor, where we can live easily, without pain. They started a campaign to discover, or invent, such a position.

Sometimes, naiskarma (a life without karma) receives much appreciation within the society. People want to live without troubling themselves to labor. For example, capitalists consider man-labor so impertinent that they want to eliminate it by using computers and so many machines in place of it. Ancient scholars tried very hard to discover a social position for all souls in which they can live without labor, without karma (naiskarma), and they came to consider that self-satisfaction (atmaramata) could be achieved by complete withdrawal. To back up this conception, they considered that Buddha and Sankara came to give us relief by pointing out that there is a stage of samadhi similar to what we feel in a sound sleep. They describe that if we can reach that plane of no labor, we will be able to live happily, without any trouble. Sukadev Goswami agreed, “Yes, naiskarma can be found there,” but he gave a new form of naiskarma in Srimad Bhagavatam, “You say that work is painful, that work is dissipating; you say that labor is a waste of energy, but now I am going to give you an ideal of life where there is no dissipation—you will labor but without dissipation of energy.”

Service to the Lord is not labor. It is a giver, a sustainer. It does not deplete vitality but sustains one more and more. Pure service is life-giving, not life-taking—not vitality-killing but vitality-supplying. It is true for the eternal plane, especially the Goloka area, where everything is a labor of love. Without labor, the residents of Goloka will think themselves to be fasting, and when engaged in labor, they will think themselves to be well fed. Service is nourishing. Service is not depleting or killing. Therefore, our attempt should not be so much for knowledge, for trying to know everything, but it should be directed towards how we can utilize ourselves in the highest function, which is service.

Service, service, service. Do not be afraid that service is going to deplete your energy. Service is life-giving. It is feeding you properly. Service! We are to understand that slavery to Krishna is a most dignified position and everything against that ideal is meanness. The only standard of life for a gentleman is to understand and accept the position of subordination to the Absolute Truth. To admit what is proper and real, and on that basis make one’s life advanced, is not meanness. To understand one’s proper position and duty and to discharge it—to accept what is truth—is what a gentleman’s life is. What is considered to be meanness will be removed very soon, and what is really beneficial to our welfare will increase.

You are at present in an adulterated conception of your own life. The mind, intelligence and exploiting energies of different kinds are all adulteration. So, all kinds of adulteration will be eliminated from your existence. When your existence is purified, your real self within will come out in its pristine glory, and you will find that you have a happy devotional connection with the Supersoul, the super-knowledge. You will come in touch with knowledge proper—a clear, personal type of knowledge—with its paraphernalia and systematic existence.

Whatever you are attracted to at present in this mundane plane will be transferred, and affection proper will be discovered. At present, your affection, attraction, and love are misdirected, but they will find their proper place and position. The special characteristic of that plane is that you will have a real place and position where these faculties of affection and attraction will find special support, a proper place to which they will be directed. This is devotion.

· Part 6: Homeward Bound ·

Devotion is above all. Saranagati, surrender, is the highest property of everyone. If we surrender to Him, He may graciously make His Name known to us, then we will be able to know Him. In the Upanisads, it is said, “Yam evaisa vinute tena labhyah: He can be known only to those whom He chooses to make Himself known to.” Otherwise, no one can know Him against His will—He has reserved all rights of not being exposed to the senses of anyone and everyone. He is so high that He can do that. If He does not wish to make Himself known, no one can know Him, and whenever He wishes to make Himself known to someone, they can know Him. This is His position.

On the order of his gurudev Devarsi Narada, Vedavyas gave the scripture Srimad Bhagavatam as the conclusion of his teachings. After he gave the Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-gita, etc., the last gift of Vedavyas in the world of scriptures was Srimad Bhagavatam. The message of this Bhagavatam is that beauty is above all, not knowledge or justice. Mercy is above justice. Affection, love, beauty, charm, harmony are above all, and this absolute conception of the ultimate reality is in the Krishna conception. Beauty is above knowledge and power. Knowledge is above power, and beauty, charm, love are above knowledge. That is the supreme. Srimad Bhagavatam has declared, “Krsnas tu Bhagavan svayam: the Krishna conception of Godhead is the most original conception of the Absolute.” This is the prime declaration of the Bhagavatam: the Lord (Beauty) is above all, and awe, reverence, power, etc. are below Him.

Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev pointed out, “Go to the beautiful—Reality the Beautiful. He is your highest attainment. Hanker for neither power nor knowledge, but hanker for service of the Beautiful, then you will be taken in and given entrance into the land of the Beautiful.” This is the highest realization. Do not waste your energy by engaging yourself in any other pursuits; go straight to jnana-sunya bhakti (devotion without any pursuit of knowledge). With the help of sadhu-sanga (association of saints), take the name of the Lord and try to march straight onwards to the Krishna conception of Godhead. Krishna consciousness is our highest achievement, which was given to us by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended, “Do not waste your energy on anything else. Utilize your energy for the Krishna conception of Godhead.” So, we are trying to make our progress in this line. At the same time, we are also asking our friends to try to embrace this life, too. The fulfillment of life for every particle of existence in this world can be found here. March towards universal good. It does not matter wherever you are or whoever you are—take your course towards Krishna consciousness. This is the highest fulfillment of the life for everyone. You are only to turn your face towards Him and march, and the Sweet Absolute, Sri Krishna, will welcome you. This is the campaign of Gaudiya Vaishnavs.

Srila Rupa Goswami described Krishna in a scientific way as akhila-rasamrta-murtih. Our hearts hanker for satisfaction and happiness of different types, but Krishna is the emporium of all such rasas, or flavors of ecstasy. All types of rasas are there in Krishna; He is the personification of them all, so everyone can find their corresponding place in Him alone, and nowhere else. He is Krishna, akhila-rasamrta-murtih (embodiment of all types of ecstasy): all our necessary satisfaction is personified in Him. So, only He can say, “Give up everything and come to Me. You will not have to repent—you will find your highest satisfaction here.” No one else has ever said such a thing in any place. Only Krishna has said this, and Mahaprabhu pointed out, “Go directly to that side, do not go any other way. March straight towards the Krishna conception—that is your home.”

It is easy, and it is also difficult. It is easy because it is our inborn tendency, it is our home, and we will not find satisfaction anywhere else, so we must go there and there is hope that we may reach there one day. But the difficulty is that we are far away from that home comfort now, we have lost that land.

Simplicity is the first prerequisite qualification. If you are really sincere, then you cannot but automatically come under the divine feet of Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev. It is so plain and so unartificial. Love is a plain truth that should attract everyone. Even more so than general love, Divine Love will attract all normal persons, it cannot but be so. It is only necessary to be sincere and unprejudiced. The antithesis is the only thing drawing us back from God; otherwise, we will find that plane to be a plane of universal love. ‘Universal’ does not mean a particular part of a universe but the whole. Love comes from the Absolute. Is there such a fool in the midst of mortality in this world who will not worship Him who even the immortal worship? It is a great wonder that there can be such a person who will avoid such worship just to undergo all the mortal sufferings.

“Achintya-bhedabheda.” Everything is His will. It is the greatest adventure to search for Krishna, to search for the root of the whole infinite. It requires sufficient courage and preparedness to face the risk. When so much courage is required and so much risk is involved to go to discover the North Pole or the highest peak of the Himalayas, then what to speak of the courage required to find out the absolute cause of the whole. It is necessary to have internal, or spiritual, courage. We are to have soul’s courage and have the confidence of deep faith. We are to understand the noble character of the faith within us. Without electricity, we cannot have connection with the moon and other planets—our hands and eyes cannot contact that. We cannot even see what is within our own body without the help of some apparatus. But faith can connect us with the farthest things. All other methods fail. Faith is substantial, it is not part of an illusion of the mind. The whole mind is a concocted thing, a source of forgery, but faith is not to be found there—faith is a function of the soul. Through faith (sraddha), the soul can approach and see the higher world. So, it is by faith that we can approach the highest, noblest things, not by our hand or by the help of any mundane elements.

·  Part 7: The Land of Beauty ·

“Where every word is a song, every step is a dance,

and the flute is the dearmost companion…”

(Sri Sri Brahma-samhita)

Every word is a song, but this is not a sound of this plane—it comes from some other world, from a world that is so soft, so sweet, so heart-capturing, a world where correct behavior occurs most sweetly and harmoniously. Every word is like a song (katha ganam). Every movement is sweet, like dancing (nrtyam gamanam api). That world has been described in this way: everything is replete with the highest degree of beauty. This is a land of beauty, where everything is beautiful, everything has a touch of divine beauty. The prime cause is charming, attracting, and He captivates our heart and soul. There is a land of such existence, and our aspiration is for such a life (Radhika-Madhavasam). We can sincerely foster the idea to feel attraction to a life of such a plane where everything is of a musical character. This is Vrindavan.

Vrindavan is so friendly, so sweet, so near to us, and such a well-wisher of ours. We are quite at home there—sweet, sweet home. “Svarupe sabara haya, Golokete sthiti: in our innate and innermost existence, we are members of that plane.” We have come out and scattered our consciousness all over the surface now. Cover, cover, cover—there are so many layers, and they are all dry things. But the substance, the spirit, is within. If I eliminate this bodily cover, the mental cover, the liberation cover, the Vaikuntha cover, then I may enter the land of Vraja. Vrindavan resides within me, and there I can find my friends everywhere: they are my friends and relatives, and they will give me all-pleasing experience, ecstasy.

Mahaprabhu came with this news for us, “O souls! You are children of that soil. Why are you suffering here, My children, My boys (amrtasya-putrah)? Your home is so resourceful, so sweet, but you are running in this desert! What is this? Come! Leave this poisonous charm. This misguided charm (maya) is suicidal. Leave this apparent charm! It is poisonous. The witch Maya has charmed you and keeps you here spellbound. Come along with Me! I shall take you to your home, which is so very sweet!” This is the general call of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

Srimad Bhagavatam tells us that this should be the course of our life, our cherished goal. Home, sweet, sweet home. You are children of that soil. This one word “home” is the goal. Why is it the highest goal? Because it is your home: “Svarupe sabara haya, Golokete sthiti. By your innate nature, you belong to Goloka.” This one word “home” is sufficient to attract you. You are wandering in a foreign land, but there is your home. You will get home comfort there, and you will not be able to deny it. So, back to God, back to home. Back to Godhead.

A man should be judged by his ideal. The greatness of the ideal he is trying to realize is to be noted. The man of the future, the man of tomorrow, should be judged by his ideal. If his ideal is great, he is great, because if he is sincere, he will reach it tomorrow or very soon. So, our ideal is the all-important factor. We may not attain our high ideal very easily because it is not some inferior ‘merchandise’ to be disposed of cheaply in the market; it is most valuable. But the cost does not matter—we should feel within, “I want no less than that highest thing, that advaya-jnana, the Goodness Autocrat, the Supreme Commander of everything. I want Him, nothing less, and I should live and move feeling within myself that, whatever I shall do at every second, I am meant for that ideal. I have no time to waste, I have no time to hesitate. If I move at every moment and in every way with the ideal in my heart, I shall always make some progress towards it. If I can just stay in touch with my ideal, it will guide and inspire me. In any and every action, whatever I shall do or not do—whether I am eating, resting, etc.—my ideal will be overhead. That will gradually take me out of all these entanglements and enticements, and, one day or another, I shall be able to reach it.”

Back to Godhead—there is home. Unsettled, we are running hither and thither with no principle of life, so our position is very sad. This is a troublesome life. To think, ‘I cannot put my faith anywhere,’ means that I cannot find a friend anywhere. I am friendless, moving amongst foreigners, or maybe enemies. But I must have a friend or some friendly atmosphere. I must come into such company where I can put full faith, that I can believe and trust; otherwise, my life will be miserable. If wherever I cast my glance I think, “I cannot trust, I cannot trust! All are enemies!”—to live in such an atmosphere is to live in a prison-house. “All uncertainty, all untrustworthiness”—that is a very deplorable position. So, by God’s grace, sraddha should come to us, “I can not only trust and believe but also show regard to a personality of a higher position (gurum evabhigachchhet).”

So, the destination has been settled. But how shall I reach it? When shall I reach it? Those who come to my aid to take me there are my masters, my gurus (siksa-gurus and diksa-gurus). Whoever helps me to go there is my guru, my guide who will help me to reach my located destination, the station of my innermost hankering (Radhika-Madhavasam prapto yasya prathitah krpaya sri-gurum tam nato ‘smi). He has helped me to locate my destination, he has educated me how and what to aspire after, and how to reach that highest aspired shelter. I have attained all these things through him. He is my all-in-all in life, the master of my life. He is the helmsman of the boat (guru-karnadharam). Accepting him and surrendering unto him, I have boarded his boat, and he is taking me towards the goal of my life.

·  Epilogue: The Key to It All ·

This Nabadwip Dham, on the banks of the Ganges, has such great value, especially for the realization of our highest self, as recommended by Sriman Mahaprabhu. It is a land of love, sweetness, charm and beauty—all are synonymous. It is heart-capturing. Our real existence is in neither our knowledge nor our power but in our hearts. Our real, proper identification is with our hearts. So, the all-important factor in our lives is in which direction our hearts are moving. It is a heart-transaction.

Mahaprabhu recommended, “Do not rely on your knowledge, reasoning capacity, or power. It is the heart transaction that is all-important.” The inner factor of your existence is in your heart. So, try to guide your heart towards sweetness—towards home. Our real home is not here, where we are wandering around with no certainty throughout 8,400,000 species according to our karma. Only in a human birth, with the help of the divine agent, can we go back to our home, to home and affection. Home is there where the environment takes care of us, our fortune, and our comfort independent of our consideration. The affectionate paraphernalia there will help us very lovingly. So, we should make good use of this opportunity to go back to God, back to home, our sweet, sweet home.

Mahaprabhu recommended the path, “Taking the help of the divine agent and revealed scriptures, try to go there yourself.” Your present position is uncertain. It is not fixed where you will be carried after death by the current of your previous karma; therefore, try make best use of whatever time is available to you before your death. You have freewill, so the days before your death are, to some degree, in your hand to use: use this time with the utmost care for God realization. There is nothing as important for all of us as this. The common advice for us all is “Give up all your duties and jump into the only duty to go back home.” There, everything is full and complete, and everyone will look after your real interest. You must go there. Back to God, back to home.

 About the Author

Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj is a veteran ascetic preceptor of the original traditional saintly succession ordained by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he is the founder Acharya of the holy temple of pure devotion in Nabadwip, West Bengal, India, known as the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. Established by Srila Sridhar Maharaj in 1941, this sacred place of worship has become a gem of pilgrimage for devotees the world over who are true aspirants for gaining entry into the divine land of surrender unto the Absolute Good. His spiritual representation is hailed throughout the annals of spiritual India, not only for his encyclopaedic command of the revealed scriptures but also for his undisputed acumen as a bona fide commentator of the archives of the scriptural treasures revealed by the venerable saintly preceptors of the East. He is an unprecedented oracle who draws out the inner meaning and substance of the scriptures in an ever-progressive, expanding, dynamic, and living conception.

In 1985, three years prior to his departure from this mortal world, Srila Sridhar Maharaj fulfilled his heart’s desire that he had cherished for over forty years: he conferred the holy order of sannyas upon his most beloved, confidential, and most senior associate-servitor, Srimad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Srila Sridhar Maharaj, renowned for his keen intellect and spiritual foresight, could envisage the grave necessities of his mission in the future. He, therefore, named Srimad B.S. Govinda Maharaj as his successor Acharya-President for his own Math, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and its affiliated branches.

On 4 December 2009 His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj proclaimed among his western and eastern devotees that after him the Mission was to continue under the exclusive, incomparable guidance of His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, who carried the preaching banner of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math with staunch, unswerving dedication up until his last manifest pastimes.

* * *

“Our real home is full of freedom and comfort. It is a place where there are natural transactions of faith, love, and affection. Misusing our free will, we have somehow gone astray. But now we are being called, ‘Come home, back to God and back to home, the highest position, the land of love.’”

The Logo of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

By His Divine Grace
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj￼

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, where sankirtan is always going on, is inside Krishna’s flute, and the sound om, which is the very gist meaning of gayatri, comes from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, radiating merciful rays. Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj explains that everything is found within om—coming from Krishna’s flute, its meaning is “Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi. Krishna’s flute does not make any other sound except for the glorification of Srimati Radharani.” That is the real meaning and gist of the gayatri mantram.

The position of the guru is like water; the servitors of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math are like lotuses; and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, worshipped in His divine form of Radha-Krishna (om), is the sun. The sun’s merciful rays nourish the lotus, but if there is no water—if one cannot take shelter of Sri Guru and His grace—then the lotus becomes burnt by the rays of the sun.

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s Mission

srimach-chaitanya-sarasvata-mathavara-udgita-kirtir jaya-srim

bibhrat sambhati ganga-tata-nikata-nabadwipa-koladri-raje

yatra sri-gaura-sarasvata-mata-nirata-gaura-gatha grnanti

nityam rupanuga sri-krtamati-guru-gauranga-radha-jitasa

‘At this supremely enchanting divine ashram, destitute and spiritually loving devotees of Sri Gaura-Saraswati, who are expert at favourable practices of Krishna consciousness, constantly chant within their hopeful hearts the glories of Lord Sri Sri Gaurasundar, the greatly magnanimous source of all incarnations of the Lord, following in strict adherence the line of Sri Sri Rupa-Raghunath, the inexhaustible storehouse of the wealth of divine ecstatic consorthood love, and being eternally eager to engage in the loving service of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govindasundar and Their associates. This effulgent and supremely worshippable King among all temples, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, is situated within Koladwip, which is non-different from Sri Govardhan, the King of Mountains, on the enchanting bank of the revered Bhagirathi River, who rescues all fallen souls, in Sri Nabadwip Dham, a holy abode of touchstones, non-different from Sri Vrindavan. Capturing Jayasri (the Goddess of Victory – Srimati Radharani), it exists eternally, leaving the entire creation of moving and non-moving entities astonished in the extremely cooling and loving shade of the soaring victory flag of its ever-increasing celebrated renown.’

(The translation of the verse is rendered from the original Bengali translation written by Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.)

Headquarters
of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Road,

Kolerganj, W.Bengal, 741302

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Bhanjipur, Tarakeshwar,

 Hooghly, West Bengal, 712410

Phone: +91 96093 02310

Please see scsmathinternational.com for other addresses in India and worldwide.

Books and Publications of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

(English language)

(Available at scsmathinternational.com)

By Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Search for Sri Krishna Reality the Beautiful

Sri Guru and His Grace

The Golden Volcano of Divine Love

Subjective Evolution of Consciousness

Loving Search for the Lost Servant

Centenary Anthology

Divine Aspiration

Exclusive Guardianship

Golden Staircase

Heart and Halo

Holy Engagement

Home Comfort

Inner Fulfillment

Ocean of Nectar

Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamaritam

Sri Sri Prema-dhama-devam Stotram

Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion – Volumes I, II, III, IV

By Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Divine Servitor

Dignity of the Divine Servitor

Divine Guidance

Golden Reflections

The Benedictine Tree of Divine Aspiration

Affectionate Guidance

Life’s Destination

In Search of the Original Source

Nectarean Glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu

Religion of the Heart

Revealed Truth

By Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj:

Guidance – Volumes I, II, III, IV

Guidance (Issues 1–30): collections of lectures (electronic)

Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala

Sri Puri Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala

By Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur:

Saranagati

Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya

Dasa-mula Tattva

The Bhagavata

Other scriptures:

Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali (Kirtan Guide)

Holy Name and Offences to Be Avoided

Service Life

Srimad Bhagavad-gita

Sri Sri Prema-vivarta

Sri Brahma-samhita

(Many more publications in various languages are available at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in India and abroad. Please contact any of the Mission’s temples for further information.)