— { SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION, I } —

CHAPTER NINE
FAITH IN THE LAND OF SACRIFICE

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is putting the questions and Sri Ramananda Ray is answering: in this posing, the entirety of theological development was expressed there on the banks of the Godavari River. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is magnanimity and sweetness combined. And that meeting on the banks of the Godavari was the only time Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed His real identity. He revealed it to Sri Ramananda Ray in that place only, and we never find it anywhere else. Rasa-raja, mahabhava—dui eka rupa: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is both Radha and Krishna combined. The most secret portion of the Truth was shown there, only once; and we never find that it was expressed in any other place.

The whole cause of existence is twofold: the Predominated Part of Beauty and the Predominating Part of Beauty. This has been taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam. Not power or force, but beauty and love is the Prime Cause. This is a new grant to the world, which was never given to the world before: the Prime Cause of the whole infinity is beauty and love. And this is the speciality of Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So we need not be afraid. Apprehension is a superficial thing—it is maya, illusion. In the depth of our life’s achievement, there is no apprehension; all is love and beauty. Our future is guaranteed in a most optimistic way In his Brihad-Bhagavatamritam, Srila Sanatan Goswami tries his best to take us through the path of gradual development in devotion. Prahlad Maharaj has been accepted as the basis, the beginning of pure devotion, suddha-bhakti, in peacefulness or santa-rasa. Hanuman is above that, in servitorship, or dasya-rasa. Above that are the Pandavs in friendship or sakhya-rasa. And Uddhav is somewhat in friendship, connecting with parenthood, vatsalya-rasa, and consorthood, madhura-rasa. In this way, adherence in devotion for Krishna automatically flows towards Vrindavan. The acme is in Vrindavan. This is also found in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s conversation with Sri Ramananda Ray.

Tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas-tabhyo ‘pi sa radhika (Sri Upadesamrita, 10): and the high devotion of Srimati Radharani is categorically different from that of all the Gopis. The type of service found in Her is practically unaccountable, inconceivable. Srutibhir vimrgyam (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.47.61): the Rishis, the Seers, saw that the Vedic mantras were eternal. They are not creators of the mantras in the Vedas, they are only seers and feelers of spiritual current; they are only observers. The knowledge that is contained in the Sruti (Vedas) is not created by anyone or anything. It is eternal and flowing. The Rishis are onlookers and recorders. And that Sruti has come to reveal the Fundamental Truth underlying the whole creation; still, they are only inquisitive of something, they are inquiring about something. What that thing is, they do not know. They are only searching for the highest revelation that ever came down in the world. They are only searching for that reality, but they have not yet come into its connection. And this is Krishna-bhakti and Vraja-bhakti—loving devotion for Krishna in Vrindavan. And Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam came with the quality of that type of adherence to the Truth: unconditional surrender, adherence, searching, and serving attitude, seeking such fortune of serving the Truth. That higher type of truth and existence is such that if we can be only seekers after it, we may consider ourselves to be possessors of the highest fortune. We can really post ourselves in the path leading to that Highest Truth.

That quality is the very basis and the degree of self-surrender (atma-nivedanam). Whatever beautiful and valuable things we come across, we cannot but surrender ourselves to them. That is the criterion. If we come across anything higher within our vicinity, our appreciation means surrendering ourselves unto that. So according to the degree of our surrender, we have to measure what degree of quality of truth we have come across. That can be measured only according to the degree and intensity of surrender, or how much we could surrender to what we came into connection with, to the point of no return. And the true devotees know no satisfaction or fulfilment of feeling that “I have it.” They feel no trace of such satisfaction that “I have achieved it.” Never. The inner sweetness of the truth and its infinite characteristic is such. It attracts. It can attract to the highest degree and magnitude. When some of the Brahmanas performing sacrifices wanted their wives to attend the yajna, some of the ladies were on their way to see Krishna at the time. One Brahmana came and forcibly opposed this. He stopped his wife, “No! I will not allow you to see Krishna.” He stopped her body, but the life expired. The dead body remained there. She felt so much attraction to have a darshan, a divine glimpse, of Krishna. Immediately a lifeless body stood there, the life vanished.

Krishna is Beauty—Reality the Beautiful. Beauty absorbs us. The mayavadis, the impersonalists, say that the Brahman absorbs the individual soul so much that no trace of it remains. But this is an artificial conception of absorption. In the real conception of absorption, the existence of the seer of the truth is not done away with. He remains, but he is absorbed with life. He is so absorbed and attracted that he becomes one. Even maintaining his separate existence, he is always one, full of Krishna consciousness to the highest degree, and this is visible to the world outside. The ‘oneness’ of the mayavadis is of course crossed in the beginning. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na sochati na kanksati, samah sarvesu bhutesu: “I am one with Brahman”—that stage is surpassed, and then—mad bhaktim labhate param, devotion is attained. There is oneness in divine attraction, union, and separation, in different lila or pastimes. To maintain the setting of lila, the lila is maintained. Here, complete absorption and oneness does not mean that everything is annihilated. Lila is also eternal; the Lord’s nama (name), rupa (form, beauty), guna (qualities), parikara (entourage), lila (pastimes) all are eternal. His relationship is a dynamic thing, not a static one. There is even union in separation. There is unity in every stage. The dynamic character of His pastimes requires unity, otherwise His Self-giving and the devotees’ God-attainment would have been impossible.

When I entered Sri Gaudiya Math, I received Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s small Bengali book, Saranagati, for the very first time. It was so sweet to me that I purchased several copies and distributed them amongst my friends. Its price was only four paise. It is so sweet, it touched my heart. I thought, “Here is Krishna—Krishna-katha (talks of Krishna) is Krishna Himself. Here is talk about Krishna, the adhoksaja, the transcendental.” I later composed a short commentary when I was in Nandagram, and it is published along with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s commentary in Bengali.

I wrote an introductory poem to the commentary of Saranagati:

svairacharabdhi-sammagnan, jivan gauranghri-pankaje
uddhrtya saranapatter, mahatmyam samabodhayat

“All the conditioned souls are sammagnan—they are diving or struggling in the ocean of svairachara or pleasure-seeking—anyabhilasa—immoral or whimsical activities, energising there. Gauranghri-pankaje uddhrtya: taking them out of that ocean, you put them in the lotus—you took them to the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga. You collected them from the wide, troubled ocean, and gave them to the lotus feet of Gauranga. Uddhrtya sarana-patter mahatmyam samabodhayat: and so, having placed them there, you began to instruct them about the great nobility of and high value of saranagati, exclusive surrender. Samabodhayat: you tried to make them understand and realise the efficacy of saranagati proper. You, my Gurudev, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad did so, so I bow down unto you first.”

Then I also wrote a verse offering obeisances unto the writer of Saranagati, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur.

When our appreciation for saranagati comes, we will realise that we have come into the relativity of a great substance. Otherwise, one cannot find the necessity of saranagati at all. “Why saranagati? We want mastery over everything!” Modern science, the exploitationists, the karmis—they want everything under their control. But this is just the opposite, and opposite to the highest degree. In this, we shall find such a great and noble aspect of nature that we will voluntarily offer ourselves to be an eternal servant of it. “I am in the relativity of such a magnanimous, noble thing!” Saranagati, herself, is reality. She contains Krishna within her boundary. Come to saranagati, and you will find Krishna. The halo of Krishna is saranagati. Through saranagati you can approach the Krishna conception, but not by inquiry. Not by barren inquiry, but sincere and substantial inquiry—and that requires saranagati. Pranipata, pariprasna and seva. Pranipata: first you must give exclusive respect to Him. If you want to approach Him at all, the first qualification is pranipata: you must surrender. We are approaching a great thing, great in the infinite. And then, there is pariprasna, inquiry, to a certain extent. And then service—to be utilised by Him. To serve means to taste the juice. Only by serving can we connect, feel, and have any experience. This is just the opposite of enjoyment and indifference. Enjoyment, indifference—and service. And there is service as duty, and service as love—loving service. Thus, service is generally of two kinds. Service from the standpoint of duty is found in Vaikuntha. Of course, that also fetches something. But service in love, service actuated through love only, is the most amply giving. That gives us amply. And there is also a gradation therein—santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura. This is reality. In this material world, in the world of ‘enjoyment,’ we also find the most intense enjoyment in lady-love, but this is the perverted reflection of reality. But there in the divine plane, in devotional service, divine consorthood is found in madhura-rasa. There also, in that section of devotees, there are gradations of servitors.

The Ramanuja Sampradaya (Divine Succession founded by Sri Ramanuja Acharya) is divided into two, the Tenkalai and Vadakalai sections. Vadakalai refers to those who give more importance to the Vedic scriptures, and Tenkalai are those who give stress to the Tamil scriptures. They are known as Alwars, beginning from Sathakopar or Nammalwara. In the process of surrender, the Tamilian school lay stress on marjjara-nyaya, or the maxim of the cat. Marjjara means ‘cat.’ In the cat’s dealing with her kitten, the kitten does not do anything, whereas the mother catches the kitten’s neck in her teeth and moves it here and there, wherever she likes. The kitten is passive, no attempt can be seen on its part. He simply accepts whatever the mother does. She feeds him, moves him, etc. This is marjjara-nyaya. The Vedic school, which was headed by Desikacharya, favour the markata-nyaya, the maxim of the monkey. The cub catches hold of the mother’s body, and then the mother wanders and moves the cub here and there. But the beauty of the cub is to clasp the mother’s body. So the Vedic school says, “You have free will, O jiva soul—you have something to do. In saranagati, you have your part to play. It may be very small, but still you have some part to play. You are endowed with free will, so you must properly utilise your free will.” And in the Tenkalai system they say, “No, we have nothing to do. We only need to think that we are His, and He will do whatever is necessary on our behalf.” This is the difference between the two schools. The Vedic school holds that some action for free will is necessary. Your pure acceptance and consent is necessary, and the rest will be done by the Lord. But your consent or free will of acceptance, however meagre it may be, must be present. This is pure consent. And the Tenkalai section hold that we have nothing to do.

Our consideration is nearer to this Vadakalai school, the Vedic school. The jiva has something to do in the way of cooperation or consent. Otherwise, how can the jiva be a part of the Absolute? If the jiva has nothing to do, then everything is God’s lila, spontaneous pastimes, and the jivas are all dolls of play in the hand of the Lord. No doubt, this may be so in the highest stage of realisation. but that stage is yet to be attained. In the beginning, one has to acquire such a position. Because the jiva is part of the subjective world, he is naturally endowed with freedom. There can be no consciousness without freedom. Because he is an infinitesimal particle, his freedom is also very small. Still, because he is spirit, he cannot but possess free will. In divine service that freedom is maintained, otherwise vilas, freedom of movement in pastimes, cannot be maintained. In Goloka, everyone is mostly actuated by feeling, by Yogamaya (internal divine potency); they are actuated by love, but still they have their meagre personal consideration, and that is influenced by the all-good and favourable environment of the divine plane. Otherwise, how would they maintain their particular name, pastime, and service? So, individuality in the atomic energy is maintained all through. We do not deny the influence of the environment, but the environment cannot devour the personal character of existence of anything and everything.

Of exploitation and renunciation (bhukti and mukti), renunciation is more dangerous, because it holds a greater position than exploitation. It can exploit more, just as half-truth is more dangerous than falsehood. It can misguide the devotees more. It has its own special glamour, over and above exploitation. It can capture the scholars. One who wants relief can think, “Oh, this is the conception of relief; there is no further.” Renunciation captures those who may have been making real progress towards their good, and tells them, “Yes, you have come here, you have succeeded.” It captures them in the name of the higher plane. Renunciation holds some prestige over exploitation; people think, “Oh, that must be the highest goal.” So, in this way, half-truth is more dangerous than falsehood.

se du ‘era madhye visayi tabu bhala
mayavadi-sanga nahi magi kona kala

(Saranagati, 27)

“The association of a materialist is preferable to that of a mayavadi.”

If the mayavadi can make you enter into the cell of sayujya-mukti, the liberation of merging with the Absolute, you are finished. There is no calculable time when you will be able to emerge from it. But if you are in materialism, visaya, the recruiters may come to you. You may get the chance of meeting a preacher in this material world. But in sayujya-mukti you are nowhere. It is very difficult and rare to awaken you from the deepest possible sleep. So that is more dangerous, as half-truth is more dangerous than falsehood.

The mayavadi may even try to bring others into his impersonal conception, because he is suffering from that disease. He thinks that impersonal liberation is the highest, so he recruits for his own purpose. Ye nye ‘ravindaksa vimukta-maninas tvayi astabhavad avisud-dha-buddhayah (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.2.42). They do not perceive the mistake in their calculation, but they think they have attained the highest type of liberation, and so they try to recruit others for their purpose. But there is a mistake in their calculation. They are not aware of the fact. They are misguided and they also help to misguide others. How can one who is not established in the truth guide others towards the truth? If it had been possible for him to know the truth, he would have gone toward the land of truth himself; but he has no knowledge of it. He has miscalculated.

Yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyah: but there is a conscious land, and whoever is accepted by that land can enter it. Otherwise, by dint of one’s own power, no one can enter that land. This point has been missed by the mayavadis. That is an independent element; the soil is independent. Matter is not independent, and the soul is ‘independent’ here in the material world. But the conscious world is made of supersoul—the very soil is independent. If the minutely independent soul accepts that land, he can enter that land, otherwise not. There is such a land. So the question of becoming a slave must arise.

The highest qualification within us is our acceptance of the slave mentality for the Absolute. This is the only way to be earnest for the association of the highest existence. We must be ready to accept slavery to its perfection, and then we will be allowed to enter into that domain. Otherwise, we have no hope. It is not very easy to embrace slave mentality—eternal slavery. Slavery is also our future prospect. Are you ready to think like this? You have to be so broadminded and hopeful that such a higher entity exists. Your hope and faith will have to be of such a magnanimous type to enter that land. You will sign the bond, the contract: “I am going to accept eternal slavery! I want to enter that land!” You have to search your fortune, and sign the bond of slavery: the association there is so high that I want that association, even as a slave. I earnestly hanker for that sweet land where my meager personality can become a slave. Such intense faith is necessary, where all other experience, even knowledge, fails. Only faith can carry us there.

Sraddha—faith in devotion to Krishna is the unit with which the whole structure has been constructed there. All is faith. The land of faith. There, faith holds autonomy. Everything moves through faith—no calculation, no robbing, no stealing, no cheating. This is automatic there in the land of faith. None of this nasty life. “I shall always be alert that I may not be cheated in the land of so many cheats; Here, I always have to be alert—I will be cheated, I will be cheated.” That is a nasty life. So we must enter into a life where there is automatically no cheating, no calculation, and no reasoning. All are good—all are busy to give you something. Here, we are suffering from the opposite. But there, everyone is promoting you in your progress, pushing you towards your highest fortune. Such a land is there. To become a slave there is really to become a master. Whoever tends most toward slavery will be held by all as the head! Just as in love of country. If a leader is most sacrificing, he naturally becomes the head of the party. Sacrificing is his qualification. Generally, men have faith in one who has sacrificed much for the country, and they take him as their leader. But here in the mundane world, love of country is only extended selfishness. They will fight with another country. Or, for humanitarianism they will fight with other minerals or the vegetable or the animal kingdom. They are constructing a great civilisation at the cost of the vegetable and mineral substances. The ‘civilised’ section are busy only to exploit nature, and that will have to be paid to the farthing to clear the debt.

All their comfort is more than a loan. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants his followers to be agents to preach Krishna’s devotion to the public (yare dekha, tare kaha, ‘krsna’ upadesa)—speak about the special prospect of the land of Krishna, Vrindavan.

To give oneself is the substance of devotion

sravana-kirtanadinam, bhakty-anganam hi yajane
aksamasyapi sarvaptih, prapattyaiva harav iti

(Sri Prapanna-Jivanamritam, 1.40)

If one is not able, or does not have the opportunity, to execute the different forms of services to Krishna, if he has only saranagati, he will accomplish everything in the future. Saranagati will give everything. Saranagati is the most fundamental and basic substance in the devotional world. The whole structure of the devotional world is based on saranagati. Without saranagati there can be no real entrance into the domain of service. Saranagati is the very life and essence of devotion, so it must be present in all forms of services. Without saranagati, service will be mere imitation, mere lifeless activity, and not devotion proper. Saranagati is the first condition. Prahlad Maharaj has said: manye tad etad akhilam nigamasya satyam, svatmarpanam svasuhrdah paramasya pumsah: the whole gist of Vedic teachings is svatmarpanam—to give and fully dedicate oneself to the Lord. To give oneself is the substance of all devotional activity. This is also stated by Sri Sridhar Swamipada in his commentary of the nine basic devotional practices (sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam, etc.). If devotional hearing, chanting, etc., is already dedicated to Him, only then will it get recognition as devotion, bhakti. Otherwise, everything is bogus. If I hear to fulfil my mundane purpose, then it is no longer bhakti. If I perform kirtan or speak Hari-katha to make some money, then it will not be bhakti. “Whatever I shall do, it is for Him.” That sort of bond must first be ‘signed’ and then whatever will be done on that basis will be recognised as bhakti. This is the foundation of bhakti. Without saranagati, all attempts will be exploitation, renunciation, meditation (karma, jnana, yoga), anything but bhakti. “The result must always go to my Lord; I am His slave—nitya dasa.”

“I am wholly His servant, without any independence to keep my independent property. Whatever I shall acquire, or whatever I shall do, the owner is He.” Jivera svarupa haya Krsnera nitya-dasa: nitya dasa means eternal servant, that is, slave. He has the right to make or mar, to do anything with me as He likes, according to His sweet will. So whenever we perform devotional hearing, chanting, remembering, with this feeling, that will be devotional activity. But if that is withdrawn, everything will go to hell. If the plank of the dancing stage is withdrawn, the whole show is gone. Therefore with saranagati, self-dedication, devotion is possible. Only the activity of the man of dedicated self can be reckoned as bhakti. He does everything on behalf of Krishna. He always takes Krishna’s side, abandoning all separate interest for the fruit of his work.

Consciousness of separate interest (dvitiyabhinivesatah) has made us separate from Krishna. The common interest is solely in Him. Then only our service will be bhakti. Without that, everything is lost. Saranagati must be present in order to have living devotion, otherwise hearing and chanting are only forms, not life. Therefore saranagati means exclusive connection and identification with the interest of Krishna. And Krishna is not directly seen by us, so we serve the Guru and the Vaishnav who are dear to Him. According to the degree of our self-abnegation in self-surrender we will be benefited, and the specific characteristics of santa-, dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- or madhura-rasa will develop, and there are also subdivisions within these rasas. In this way, the devotee will be properly located. But without saranagati, all the formal practices will lose their life and will become something other than bhakti, either in the plane of exploitation or the plane of renunciation; but the plane of dedication is the land of devotion.

By His sweet will, sometimes the attention of the Lord is drawn towards the most needy, and sometimes a more qualified person may be ignored. We cannot interfere with His independence: “Why have You shown mercy in this case, and not in mine?” We cannot take Him under law. That is not saranagati or surrender. When we put such a question to Him, we deviate from the position of saranagati; we cannot expect to be enlisted, even in the primary class.

So what is the spirit of saranagati? “If You come to consider my case, calculate my position, I have no hope. I am such a mean fellow; if You come to calculate right and wrong about me, I have no hope. So I have come to that school of Yours where only mercy will be my hope. I want only Your mercy, but if You come to examine me, I have no hope.” This is the primary necessity in our saranagati, in our surrendering. Surrender means this. Surrender does not allow us to think, “Why have you shown grace to him and not to me?” This is anti-surrendering temperament. No calculation. “If You come to calculate, I have no hope; so if You can show me some grace—some causeless mercy—then I have that hope. I have come to this department of the Lord, by surrendering. Anyone may have His voluntary mercy, but I may not. If I hesitate and think about justice, then I am already canceled from the list. My name will be struck from the register.”

This is one of the finest points in saranagati. What is surrender, and what should be the quality of surrender? Marabi rakhabi ya ichchha tahara (Saranagati, 11): “According to Your sweet will, You can make or mar me.” With such understanding we can go to surrender. Calculation is not allowed in that department of causeless mercy. Mercy may be extended to everyone except me, but I have nothing to complain about. What more can one give than this? This is the thunderbolt from the blue! To become saranagata, to surrender, means to leave all prospects—to be so emptied—“I have no prospect”; to be fully emptied, and then to surrender. There cannot be the least application in the petition: surrender means a clean slate. Complete dependence upon Him means He can make or mar. I must admit my Master’s right to make or mar. I am a slave. Mahaprabhu says, jivera svarupa haya Krsnera nitya-dasa.

That is Your constitutional position. Have you enough boldness to admit it? Can you admit that your Master has full rights over you? “Yes! My Master has fullest rights over me. I am ready to go to eternal hell to supply His slightest pleasure.” Such narrations—as for example, we have heard the story about when the Gopis were ready to supply their foot-dust as ‘medicine’ to alleviate Krishna’s ‘headache’—such narrations we may hear as very sweet to our ears, but to accept is horrible. Jivera svarupa haya Krsnera nitya-dasa; no risk: no gain. Whole risk: whole gain. Such confidence is necessary. A free, clear, and bold choice. Are you ready for that? Krishna is not like a sweetmeat, that His price may be so cheap or so expensive. He is everywhere—He is nowhere. He may say, “You all belong to Me,” or, “I don’t care for any of you.” We are inhabitants of that land now, and really, by constitution we have every right to serve Him. It is the truth, and we must be bold enough to ‘call a spade a spade.’

Can you accept that you are the eternal servant—you are a slave of Krishna? And Krishna is so dignified that even His slave holds the highest position: Krishna’s nature is such that He does not hesitate to serve even His slaves. He is so great and magnanimous. Aham bhakta-paradhino, hy asvatantra iva dvija (Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.4.63): “I feel My tendency to serve My devotee in such a way that I am not independent; I feel Myself to be under their direction.”

This is the nature of devotion—bhakti. Bhakti is infinitely more wonderful than jnana, knowledge. To ‘know everything’ is a very charming temptation. That makes one think that he has become the master of almost everything. But seva, service, is far above this kind of consciousness. Real knowledge practically becomes your servant, if you follow the path of surrender, saranagati. The Infinite comes within the fist of the finite. Can you imagine it? Is it imaginable? Sometimes we hear about a great general falling into the clutches of a loving girl—a great dictator who commands a whole country’s forces may be in the clutches of a girl. Sri-Krsnakarsini cha sa: and Lord Krishna, the Autocrat, is controlled by love, and nothing else. Divine love, prema, is such, that it can control the Absolute Autocrat. Even He can be controlled, and this is the clue. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute this; the Master of masters came with this offer: “This path will lead you to a plane where you will be able to control the Master of masters.”

brahmadi ye prema-bhakti-yoga vanchha kare
taha vilaimu sarva prati ghare ghare

(Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Adi 5.152)

Mahaprabhu came as the most gracious Descent. He brought such nectar, even a drop of which is aspired after by the masters of the creation and dissolution of this visible world, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva.

CONTENTS

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