VYĀSA-PŪJĀ - Hilo, Hawaii January 21, 2004
04 Jan 21 Hawaii - Vyāsa Pūjā
Tridaṇḍī svāmī Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja
VYĀSA-PŪJĀ
[Spoken on the āvirbhāva-tithi (Divine Appearance Day) of Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja]
Hilo, Hawaii January 21, 2004
In our Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya Sampradāya it is the custom that any ācārya, who is widely spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, under the guidance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva, will worship Śrīla Vyāsadeva and the Guru-paramparā on his birthday. This worship is called Guru-pūjā and also Vyāsa-pūjā.
We have seen how our Gurudeva and his god-brothers used to very humbly celebrate their Vyāsa-pūjā. This occasion is not meant for taking pūjā or worship from disciples. On his birthday the ācārya worships his Guru and Guru-paramparā, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Śrīmatī Rādhika and others – in a mood of great respect. This is Guru-pūjā or Vyāsa-pūjā.
Why do we do Bhakti to Śrī Kṛṣṇa?
What is the reason that we pay so much respect to Śrī Gurudeva?
If we are gaining spiritual advancement from someone, we respect him. No gain, no respect. Śrī Gurudeva always feels indebted to his Gurudeva and Guru-paramparā.
Without Guru, Guru-paramparā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, what is there?
Nothing.
In other words there can be no spiritual advancement. Śrī Guru considers that all the Tattva-jñāna, knowledge of established truths, that he has, and whatever Bhakti he has, is due to Śrī Gurudeva and his Guru-paramparā. Śrīla Gurudeva is not independent. He is dependent on his Guru-paramparā, coming from Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Being a manifestation of Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself, Śrīla Vyāsadeva is the root of all Gurus, and he has written in his books – Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Purāṇas and all others scriptures – about the great debt we owe to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Alone, a person is never able to search out a bona fide Guru. If you search on your own, you will accept a bogus Guru, because you don't know who is Guru and what are his qualities and standards. You will have to judge by the words of Vyāsadeva:
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy-upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.3.21)
Śrīla Vyāsadeva has given this definition of Guru, and our Guru-paramparā has accepted it. If you are going to search out your Gurudeva independently, I think that most of you will have bogus gurus who are fallen. You will choose Australian kan-guroos – nothing more than that. When you will have the association of a high class devotee you will have power to judge – not before that. You will also have to take the help of a Vartma-pradarśaka-guru, he who shows the path to the pure Guru. The Vartma-pradarśaka-guru will point him out and tell you:
"Oh, he is really Guru"
Otherwise, how could you have known that Parama-Pūjyapāda Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja is Guru?
Could you have judged by your intelligence?
No.
On you own you are not even able to judge whether or not Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord.
Even Lord Brahma and Lord Rudra are not able to judge.
muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.1)
The great sages and demigods are bewildered about Him.
Even liberated persons could not understand that the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā-maiyā is the Supreme Lord.
So Gurudeva is very merciful. He will attract those who have sukṛti (sufficient past spiritual pious activities) and he will reveal his purity in those devotees' hearts.
Śrī Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was, in another form, the priest of the demigods named Bṛhaspati. We cannot imagine how learned he was, but still he could not understand that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Lord.
When Śrīman Mahāprabhu mercifully revealed that truth in his heart, then he understood. Otherwise, how would he have been able to know?
Today we are celebrating Guru-pūjā, because we are very indebted to our Gurudeva, the Guru-paramparā and Śrīla Vyāsadeva. In India, all the various sampradāyas –Vaiṣṇava and Māyāvādi as well – accept Śrī Vyāsa as Guru, and all worship him on the day of Guru-pūjā without hesitation. We have heard from our Gurudeva that although Śaṅkarācārya worshiped Vyāsadeva externally, he also said that Vyāsadeva was bhrānta, meaning that he had spoken wrongly:
vyāsera sūtrete kahe ‘pariṇāma’-vāda
‘vyāsa bhrānta’—bali’ tāra uṭhāila vivāda
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 7.121)
"In his Vedanta-sutra Śrīla Vyāsadeva has described that everything is but a transformation of the energy of the Lord. Śaṅkarācārya, however, has misled the world by commenting that Vyāsadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition to theism throughout the entire world."
Śaṅkarācārya is therefore not really a śiṣya, disciple, and Śrīla Vyāsadeva does not accept his so-called respect and pūjā.
We should try to know the heart of Gurudeva – what he really wants. Don’t cook as you wish. Don't do anything as you like. This is not service to Gurudeva. We should try to know the mood of Gurudeva – what he wants and what Lord Kṛṣṇa wants. Try to realise this and try to please Kṛṣṇa. Whatever you do should be done to please Kṛṣṇa. Here, Śrī Kṛṣṇa means the whole Guru-paramparā, Kṛṣṇa Himself, and especially Śrīmatī Rādhika and all the gopīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Whatever you do should be done to please Guru and Gaurāṅga. You should only marry – to please Kṛṣṇa. You should only not marry – to please Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs married their husbands to please Kṛṣṇa. They thought:
"We will serve Kṛṣṇa in Parakīyā-rasa."
If they had married Kṛṣṇa there would have been no Parakīyā-rasa.
We are very fortunate to come have come to this Guru-paramparā line of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and our Gurudeva. This line is perfect. In this line you can very easily have the topmost Bhakti, Vraja-bhakti. You cannot have it anywhere else.
Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja came to this world and to Western countries only to deliver these truths, and they are present in his books for those qualified to see them. However, due to the fallen state of his audience he had to begin his preaching by cutting the jungles of Māyāvāda, sakhī-bhekī, sahajiyā and other philosophies – and then his period of stay in this world was over. Lord Kṛṣṇa called him:
"Please return here. I am sending your successor to take your place"
So he left. He could have stayed here longer, but he saw the mood of his Gurudeva and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and he went to fulfil their desires.
Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā is observed for the purpose of pleasing Kṛṣṇa, and it has been celebrated since the very beginning of our paramparā. Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī first performed Vyāsa-pūjā to his Gurudeva, Śrīla Vyāsadeva himself. Then, Śrīla Suta Gosvāmī performed Guru-pūjā to his Gurudeva, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Just before replying the questions of the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya he prayed:
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ
dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhāva
putreti tan-mayatayā taravo ‘bhinedus
taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim ānato ‘smi
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.2)
"I offer praṇāma to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who can enter the hearts of all living beings. When he left home without undergoing the purificatory processes such as accepting the sacred thread, his father Śrī Vyāsadeva cried out, 'O my son!' As if they were absorbed in that same feeling of separation, only the trees echoed in response to his call."
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī prayed:
"O Śrī Vyāsadeva, my father and Guru, how marvellous you are!
And how merciful!
You are causelessly merciful! You dragged me from the forest and from Māyāvāda philosophy to your lotus feet, and you taught me Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By your mercy I was totally changed."
This is the job of a Guru.
The bona fide Guru does not consider that his disciples are his property; He does not think, "They are my property." Nowadays I see this going on. So-called gurus think that their disciples are their property; so they accept all their offerings and fall down. A real guru never thinks like that.
At the time of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu there was a meeting in the evening after Nagara-saṅkīrtana in the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita. In the meeting Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu announced:
“Tomorrow is Vyāsa-pūjā. Śrīvāsa, we will observe Vyāsa-pūjā here in your courtyard.
Do you have the paraphernalia?”
Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura replied:
"Oh, yes. I have sacred thread, betel nut, rice and all other required ingredients and paraphernalia."
Mahāprabhu ordered:
"We should be ready at nine in the morning."
All others came on time the next day, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself arrived somewhat late and saw that all were waiting for Him. He asked:
"Why are you waiting?
Nityānanda Prabhu is My Guru – My Guru-varga (senior). It seems that he is My elder brother, but I see him in relation to his Gurudeva, who is My Param-gurudeva (grand spiritual master). Nityānanda is My Gurudeva's Guru and he still greater; so He will do Vyāsa Pūjā.”
[Nityānanda Prabhu had taken Dīkṣā from Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha, the Guru of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, who was in turn the Parama-guru of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu was actually Śrī Mādhavendra Purī’s god-brother, but He accepted him as His Śikṣā-guru.]
Before Mahāprabhu’s arrival, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Advaita Ācārya and all others had requested Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu to perform Vyāsa-pūjā. They had told Him:
"Please begin."
Nityānanda Prabhu replied:
"Yes, yes, I am just about to do it. I will do it right now."
But He was not doing it. He simply remained in his seat. Then, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came He at once ordered Nityānanda Prabhu:
"Why are You delaying?
You should begin Vyāsa-pūjā."
Nityānanda Prabhu then took a very beautiful and fragrant garland and placed it around the neck of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, saying:
"You are the same as Lord Kṛṣṇa"
And then He began to perform the ārati and worship of Mahāprabhu.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu became ashamed, thinking:
"Why is He doing this?"
Nityānanda Prabhu – Baladeva Prabhu – possesses full knowledge of all tattva (established truths). In fact, His lotus feet stand on the head of all tattvas. He replied:
"What I am doing is correct. We should try to please the worshipable deity of Śrīla Vyāsadeva – Rasamayī Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is Akhila-rasāmṛta-sindhu (an ocean of the nectar of pure transcendental mellows). This is Vyāsa-pūjā."
The history of Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā began at the beginning of the world, when the Vedas were first created. Vyāsadeva divided Veda into four sections, and after that he further explained them in the form of the Purāṇas and the Upaniṣads. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad states:
yasya deva parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed."
For those who have the supreme Bhakti for the lotus feet of Parama-brahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and equal Bhakti for the lotus feet of their Gurudeva (who reveals Lord Kṛṣṇa to them), the essence and all meanings of the Vedas, along with Bhakti, will manifest in their hearts.
You should not think of Gurudeva like a fashion. In fact, you should have more faith in Guru than in Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will never cheat you, but even if He will cheat you, Śrī Gurudeva will not cheat you. And you should not try to cheat Gurudeva by trying to hide the contents of your heart and thinking:
"Oh, Gurudeva should not know."
He knows everything, so why attempt to cheat him?
At the time of Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja there were no disciples advanced enough to understand what kind of faith one must have in the lotus feet of Gurudeva, nor were they able to understand his identity and mission. His disciples thought only that their Gurudeva had come to spread Nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is not his greatest glory. This is one aspect of his glory, but there is more. His real glory is that he is Dayita-dāsa. Śrīmatī Rādhika is Dayita, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s most beloved, and Her dāsī is Śrī Gurudeva. This is his supreme glory. You should realise who he is.
If a person who claims to be Guru is not actually that glorious, how can he give kṛṣṇa-prema to the whole world?
If he has no kṛṣṇa-prema, not even a scent of kṛṣṇa-prema, how can he give it?
If he has no Rāgānugā-bhakti, how can he give it?
If he does not even have Vaidhī-bhakti – like Prahlāda Mahārāja who performed Śravaṇam-kīrtanam Viṣṇu-smaraṇaṁ (pure hearing, chanting and remembering the Supreme Lord) – how can he preach?
Such so-called gurus are fallen, and other fallen persons will think:
"Oh, my Gurudeva is very, very high"
But he is actually fallen like his disciple. So you must learn and realise how to discriminate.
In one of the Upaniṣads there is a history of a Guru and his disciple Āruṇi. Āruṇi’s Gurudeva decided to test him, to see how surrendered he was to him. He told Āruṇi:
"It is raining and night has fallen. Go at once go to the field."
The field was some distance away and there was much rain and also severe cold, and Āruṇi had no umbrella or any other protection. Still, his Gurudeva ordered him:
"Go to the field and collect water there for paddy. You must reinforce the dam so that the water will not go to the other fields."
His Gurudeva then gave him a spade.
Āruṇi said:
"Without any cover, Gurudeva, how I can go?
Please give me an umbrella, or at least a blanket or any other means of protection."
His Gurudeva replied:
"No, you should go at once."
Āruṇi then went to the field in the downpour and severe cold of dark night. The water was not remaining in the field, because the dam was broken, so Āruṇi took that spade and began to put some earth on the dam to hold the water. But he failed. Such heavy rain and strong current was coming that all the earth was being washed away. Thinking:
"I have failed to do this task"
He could not return to Gurudeva. Rather, after some consideration, in order to check the water he laid his own body down beside the dam, and thus he succeeded in keeping some water in the field. The whole night his body was tortured by the water current, but still he was somehow able to sleep.
In the morning Gurudeva saw that Āruṇi had not returned. He asked:
"Where is Āruṇi?
I sent him to check the water, but he has still not returned."
He then went to the field and called out:
"Āruṇi!
Where are you?
What are you doing?"
Āruṇi answered in a weak voice, speaking like an almost dead person:
"Oh Gurudeva, I am here"
Gurudeva then approached him, took his hands, and said:
"Stand up.”
He gave Āruṇi a blanket, embraced him, and said:
"Oh, you have passed the examination. Now I bless you that all kinds of knowledge – everything that I have learned from the Vedas – shall manifest in your heart. You shall realise all this knowledge and you shall be like me."
At once, without delay, in a moment, Gurudeva had performed a miracle!
Āruṇi became knowledgeable in all the Vedas. This was the examination of "cruel" Gurudeva, who was actually very soft.
In another Upaniṣad you can see the history of Upamanyu, who was a disciple of Dhaumya Ṛṣi. Upamanyu came to his Gurudeva and prayed:
"I want Brahma-jñāna (knowledge of spirit beyond matter) Please give me this."
His Gurudeva replied:
"Brahma-jñāna is a very secret and powerful thing. You will have to stay in my gurukula for twenty-five years and graze the cows. After twenty-five years I will give you Brahma-jñāna if you are qualified."
Upamanyu then began to graze the cows, and after six months to one year Dhaumya Ṛṣi called him and asked:
"Upamanyu, although I never give you anything to eat, you are very strong and healthy.
What do you eat?"
He answered:
"When the calves drink milk and some remnant is left, I take that."
His Gurudeva ordered:
"Oh, why you are doing that?
You should not do that."
But he did not tell him what to do. Upamanyu again went out with the cows, and after some days Dhaumya Ṛṣi called him and asked:
"Oh, you are still very strong.
What you are eating?
Are you drinking milk?"
"No, no!"
"Then what do you eat?"
"When the cows are resting they chew their cud. Some foam comes outside their mouths and I take that. There are hundreds of thousands of cows, so I am okay."
"I have not given you permission to do this, so why you are doing it?
You should not take that foam. They are my cows."
Upamanyu again went out with the cows, and after some days, when one day he did not return with the cows in the evening, Dhaumya Ṛṣi began searching for him. He called out:
"Where is Upamanyu?
O Upamanyu, what are you doing?
Where you are?"
"Gurudeva, I’m in a well."
"Why are you in a well?"
"Because you told me not to take the foam of the cows, so I took the juice from a plant and I became blind. That is why I am here. I have fallen in the well."
Gurudeva approached him, pulled him out, and told him:
"First your eyesight shall be restored, and then all Vedic literature and Brahma-jñāna shall come to you. No need of waiting twenty-five years – you are qualified."
Upamanyu is an example of Guru-seva. If you will give your life, surrender yourself like Upamanyu and Āruṇi, then you will receive Brahma-jñāna. But you will not get Vraja-bhakti; this type of Prema is very high.
At the time of Śrī Vyāsa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Baladeva went to the gurukula of Sāndīpani Muni. At that time Sudāma Vipra from Dvārakā was also there. He was a Brāhmaṇa and the same age as Kṛṣṇa. One day the wife of their Gurudeva told Kṛṣṇa and Sudāma:
"I have no wood for cooking and no wood for the fire sacrifice. Go to the forest and bring some wood."
They went, and while they were out in the forest a heavy rain came with severe cold and wind. There was so much rain that they could not see where to walk. Everywhere the fields were flooded. The boys had gathered some bundles of dry wood, and now they took shelter under a dense tree and stood there the entire night. At the same time, they were holding the wood on their heads so that the wood would not get wet. In the morning, Sāndīpani Muni personally came out of his āśrama searching for his disciples, calling out:
"Where are Sudāma and Kṛṣṇa?"
"We are here."
"Why did you not return to the āśrama?"
"Oh, there was such a flood."
The two boys were trembling from the cold. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, yet He was trembling and obeying His Gurudeva. When one will be submissive like this, Bhakti will then manifest in his heart. Bhakti is not so easy – I think you understand this. You will have to surrender like Kṛṣṇa did. Then Guru will be happy. He will give his blessings and benedict you with Brahma-jñāna or even more than that.
Sāndīpani Muni embraced both boys and blessed them by saying:
"You have come to me to learn all 64 arts and all Vedic knowledge. I bless you that everything shall come in your heart – at once."
Kṛṣṇa already had all knowledge, but not Sudāma, so by serving his Gurudeva he received his blessings of Vedic knowledge and realisation. You should try to be like that.
To be a disciple of a Rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava is still far superior, and for that you will have to follow Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. Still more sacrifice is required to achieve the type of Bhakti they offer. When Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s disciple, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, corrected Vallabhācārya in order to defend the glory of his Gurudeva, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī told him:
“You were disrespectful to a learned Brāhmaṇa. He was only trying to help me by correcting my manuscript. You should return home."
Jīva Gosvāmī then went to Nanda Ghata, still in Vraja Mandala, where he stayed in a crocodile hole. He fasted there and was on the verge of starving, thinking:
"If Gurudeva is not happy, I should give up my life."
He became so sick that it seemed there was no hope for him to remain alive. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī once passed through the area where he was staying, he saw his condition, and then went to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and asked him:
"What is your duty to the jīva?"
Rūpa Gosvāmī replied:
"To help the jīva attain kṛṣṇa-bhakti."
"Then why have you rejected Jīva?"
Rūpa Gosvāmī began to weep. Sanātana Gosvāmī brought Jīva back and Rūpa Gosvāmī gave him medical help and nursed him back to health. Jīva Gosvāmī fulfilled the desire of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Another perfect example of Guru-seva is Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu placed him in the hands of Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, and Raghunātha dāsa served his Guru with his heart. He did not just massage him; this external seva will not do so much. To massage the heart, to please Gurudeva – this is what is needed.
How can we please Guru?
How did Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī please his Gurudeva, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?
He knew His heart and he wrote Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu, Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi, Lalita Mādhava, Vidagdha Mādhava and other books.
Mahāprabhu was extremely happy when Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote the verse,
yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ sa eva hi varas tā eva caitra-kṣapās
te conmīlita-mālatī-surabhayaḥ prauḍhāḥ kadambānilāḥ
sā caivāsmi tathāpi tatra surata-vyāpāra-līlā-vidhau
revā-rodhasi vetasī-taru-tale cetaḥ samutkaṇṭhate
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līla 1.58)
"That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasi tree. That is my desire."
The nature of the pure Vaiṣṇavas in our paramparā is that when they sprinkle their mercy upon you, you will enter Rāgānugā-bhakti. Under the guidance of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī you will serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, with a leaning towards Śrīmatī Rādhika. This truth is very, very secret, and I have brought you here to understand it. Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja wanted to give this, and it is explained in his books, but you were not mature enough at that time for him to discuss it openly in his classes. Therefore, following in the line of our ācāryas and by his desire, I am revealing many things about Rāgānugā-bhakti.
No one else is speaking like this. All are silent, but I am not silent. In our entire paramparā hardly anyone will give this. I want you all to have Rāgānugā-bhakti. To get it, however, you will have to surrender and really become like the devotees I have described today.
Don’t be like Ekalavya. No Guru will name his disciple Ekalavya. We have no connection with him. He was a demon, not a guru-bhakta. Droṇācārya told him:
"I will not teach you archery"
He replied
"I must learn from you"
He made a statue of Droṇācārya and learned everything from him (in the form of that statue). When Droṇācārya later on came to the forest and saw his skill, he was in wonder and asked him:
"How have you learned this?"
"Oh, without your mercy I could do nothing. I received your mercy by worshiping your deity, and in this way I have become very expert in archery"
Droṇācārya was not pleased with Ekalavya, who he knew wanted to fight with Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavan and His associates like the Pāṇḍavas. He therefore asked him:
"Where is your Guru-dakṣiṇā?
I want your right hand thumb.
“Ekalavya then cut off his thumb and gave it to his Guru, and later on, during the Battle of Kurukṣetra, Kṛṣṇa finished him by the use of His cakra.
We should not try to be like Ekalavya. Someone may want Bhakti so that by the power of Bhakti he can destroy his enemy, but that is not good.
What is the actual method to come to bhakti?
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
"One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly."
(Śikṣāṣṭaka 3)
This is the way by which we achieve Bhakti. You will have to sacrifice and you will have to become śaraṇāgata, completely surrendered. Śrī Kṛṣṇa explained this in Bhagavad-Gita. He played the part of Guru and Arjuna played the part of the disciple. Because Kṛṣṇa is Guru, we must obey Him if we want kṛṣṇa-prema. This prema is much higher than Brahma-jñāna.
Now I will worship my Guru-paramparā and offer puṣpāṅjali. Guru-paramparā and Śrīla Vyāsadeva are also here. I am very happy with the arrangements today.
Gaura Premānande
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario