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EDITORIAL February 12, 2000 VNN5457 Comment on this story The Duty Of Vaishnava Brahmins In The Age Of Quarrel, Violence And Hypocrisy BY JAGANNATHA TIRTHA DAS EDITORIAL, Feb 12 (VNN) — (Part One) By the Lord's universal system of seasonal changes, the Age of Kali has been inflicted upon the Earth for about 5,000 years. Previously, there existed the Golden Age, the Bronze Age, the Copper Age, and now the Iron Age has befallen us. This Iron Age of Kali is characterized by overt acts of violence, squabbling over trifles, and hypocritical behavior on the part of even those who dress in the garb of priests. For the embodied soul to act completely free from duplicity with regard to hypocrisy is most difficult, so most minor faults can and should be forgiven,
A self realized soul is theoretically above the pushing and the pulling of the senses, so it becomes difficult to teach the Vaishnava science to others, when we, ourselves are still victims of our senses in this Age of Kali. Still, we must become expert teachers of the science, despite our personal faults. It is not enough to be "Krishna conscious". Even Kamsa, the enemy of Lord Krishna, was Krishna conscious. We must endeavor to become "self realized". There is a general lack of genuine "self realization" in this age because this is the "Forbidden Zone". It is "taboo" to become self realized, or even to talk about it sincerely with a friend. Due to a lack of genuine self realization, even Vaishnava Brahmins, who are always supposed to be situated in non-dual Brahma bhuta realization at the very least, fight like frustrated school children, over that which is already pronounced by the eternal time factor to be dead and gone anyway, such as our worldly position, power, and our roles in history. What we think we are attached to is already gone. Seeing this is our freedom. Political wrangling is not good for Vaishnavism, nor are the concomitant offenses (aparadhas) that accompany such fighting and political maneuvering helpful to anyone. Argument, logic and debate become more or less useless in the Age of Kali, because of the superficial influence of the false ego, and one's own disingenuous sense of superiority. Some will agree and others disagree to one's argument. There is always a more powerful intellectual somewhere, a greater authority. Even Lord Chaitanya Himself was instructed by his own spiritual master to not attempt to understand the Vedas at length. It is simply recommended in this Age to take shelter of the holy names of the Lord. The names of God are unlimited, nonmaterial, holy, liberating and nonsectarian, although religious movements themselves generally take on the form of sectarian cliques. Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spoke strongly against such sectarianism, indicating that sectarianism and two party feelings were the two greatest deterrents to progressive human life. This is quite reasonable as all souls are an integral, eternal part of the family of God, either on the Earth or within the Vaikuntha atmosphere. The Vaishnava Brahmin is a self realized soul, and enjoys himself within himself in due course of time. He becomes atma-rama, self satisfied, and as a matter of consequence, there is no need for fighting and arguing. He does not see himself as a big shot, or a heavy guru. Instead, he sees himself as a servant of all, master of none. A true guru even sees himself as the servant of his own disciples, not as master. For the sake of his service and their learning, he accepts the position of teacher. Thus, he never fights with any other religionist or Vaishnava. He is respectful to all. Due to the onset of the Age of Kali, even the so-called Brahmins in the story of King Nriga were bickering over possession of one measly cow, mistakenly donated by accident once to each Brahmin by the King. Genuine Brahmins would not even consider fighting over the possession of a cow. Wrongfully cursed by the two hotheaded, irrational Brahmins, who refused to become reasonable, the hexed King Nriga took birth as a lizard in a well, but was eventually liberated by the divine touch of Lord Krishna. It appears that fighting between members of the priestly caste is found even within the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam. As a matter of Vaishnava brahminical duty however, senseless fighting and squabbling should be avoided at all costs, given up altogether. The basic reason for this is that the people of the world come to Vaishnava websites on the Internet, and to Krishna temples of various descriptions and lineages. As the world observes and experiences first hand the collective Vaishnavas' duplicitous, inconsistent and hateful behavior, they laugh, or become unimpressed by 85 page treatises on this issue or that. If the Vaishnavas are absorbed in fighting about every nit picky detail, then the whole mission is spoiled. Vaishnavism is simply not taken seriously. In a nutshell, one's psychology will be expressed in his actions. Serious practitioners will see through the counterproductive uselessness of argumentation, and then distribute books, prasada and the holy names of the Lord on a day to day basis. Others, who wish to sit on a throne and received worship, will simply argue about their own superiority and conclusions. Those who tout themselves as the greatest intellectuals on the planet cannot even stop bickering about almost anything. If everyone is at everyone else's throat over nothing, then what can be accomplished in a practical manner regarding saving souls, regenerating the planet Earth, subduing society's criminal elements, closing slaughterhouses and abortion clinics, and eliminating the selfish, demonic interests that control the governments of the world? All devotees, including those of opposing camps, should be seen as particles of mercy to be found within the transcendental body of Lord Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. As such, we are all the personal family of God, residents of Goloka. The vision of the mahabhagavata Vaishnava is that all souls, even non-devotees, are serving Krishna well: "Everyone follows my path in all respects". Still, it is best to serve the Lord positively, and not in a negative manner such as Kamsa. Truly, every single Vaishnava on the planet is the representative of the disciplic succession. Krishna has accepted all those who are chanting his holy names. Others, who are being excluded from the pastimes of Sankirtana yajna, are most unfortunate, and have not sufficiently received the mercy of the Lord. You, the Vaishnava, are that Mercy Association. As such, when we meet others, we should think: "I am this individual's one and only connection to Krishna. If I do not help this person, then I am wasting both Prabhupada's and Lord Krishna's time and energy. He could die tomorrow, and be much worse off in samsara for my lazy mentality. In addition, I am condemning this person to 'God knows' how many more births and deaths by my nonchalance." Therefore, all fighting and bickering should be carefully avoided by those who want to attract others to the Vaishnava science. Who will be attracted by fighting? An atmosphere of bickering, squabbling and fighting scares everyone away. One soul may be converted, but a thousand are lost to the illogic and the counter-productive anti-spirituality of irrational bickering, political BS, and a hostile environment. The fighting between Vaishnavas is most similar to the body of God getting sick. If, for example, Lord Chaitanya's body is having convulsions, and is found gasping for breath, the different limbs punching one another, and writhing on the ground uncontrollably, we must do all we can to revive the Lord. This may be likened unto the cold and fever that seasonally overtakes Lord Jagannatha. The devotees take good care of Jagannatha, and the Lord gradually recovers. Every devotee who exists in the physical world is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the most munificent incarnation, Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We must not be content with seeing the Lord in convulsions. The fighting must stop immediately. This is the first Vaishnava principle: "Friendly to all." Those who continue to needlessly fight are killing the body of the Lord, and killing themselves as well because of offenses, and spreading poison on the unlimited leaves of the Chaitanya tree, despite all their pujas, arotikas, chanting, etc. Because the distressed souls of Kali Yuga are suffering miserably, we cannot afford the luxury of such a self indulgent waste of time as internal fighting. Lord Chaitanya can not be pleased with the self disintegration of His movement, the various limbs, branches, and leaves drying up. To illustrate another example, we must consider that the winning team in any sport is the one which functions best as a unit. Individually they are persons with unique lives and various sets of circumstances. But, as a team, they must function in complete cooperation, harmony and unity. The only way that a team makes it to the Super Bowl is when each and every player exceeds the normal parameters of desire, and transcends to a superhuman platform of individual and collective will power. The team with the greatest enthusiasm, will power, tenacity, cooperation and drive generally wins the game. All the other teams come in second place or worse. The old saying goes: "Second place is the first LOSER." Losing is not an option for Krishna conscious individuals or the international collective assembly of Vaishnavas. By internal fighting, bickering, back biting, and squabbling, you become a loser. By verbally killing the personalities of others who are ultimately a part of the transcendental body of Lord Chaitanya, you have pronounced your own death sentence. In a spiritual sense, by committing offenses upon others, you have poisoned the leaves of the Chaitanya tree, and figuratively speaking, tried to kill the body of God. (I am not taking issue here with those who want to prosecute miscreants who have committed criminal activities. Those who have committed crimes such as murder, rape, child molestation or embezzlement should be apprehended, tried and convicted in a court of law.) The world will embrace Krishna consciousness when the world sees that Vaishnavas are individual and corporate winners, responsible team players who possess the winning spirit that makes any corporation in this world excel. This spirit of excellence and a sense of personal pride in achieving the goals of self realization and creating a green and clean, crime free heavenly Planet Earth will attract everyone to Lord Chaitanya's movement. In this regard, it may also be mentioned that both Krishna and Balaram have never lost a fight. (against demonics). Real winners in Krishna consciousness are self realized, ghostyanandi or bhajananandi souls. They are confident in they actions, because they take dictation from the Lord in the Heart. They do not commit unnecessary self destructive offenses. Those who persist in killing the characters of others will prove to be losers in the end. They will not be able to surmount the various difficulties that arise from offenses. Therefore, the fighting spirit should be reserved ONLY for that which is EVIL in our world, and not toward other devotees of the Lord from any sect, religion, or denomination, with the exception of Hindu Mayavada schools. Absolute Truth descends from Goloka, and is not the property of any one organization. Political stances in the name of religion are never Absolute, but are generally contaminated by the False Ego. Nothing productive comes from arguing about different philosophical positions that can never be resolved. Different people have their personally profound spiritual realizations, and won't change based upon another's argument. You cannot make the other party bow down at your feet. So why try? Without fail, the other party or group becomes offended and the exact opposite of what you have intended is achieved. In other words, by trying to force others to accept your viewpoint as the "superior" position, you simply make the other party more firmly resolved that his stance is the true and correct one. This is the reason that 1 of the 26 qualities of a Vaishnava is that he never argues with anyone. Those who argue never win, even if they win. They simply stiffen up the other person's neck and solidify their fighting spirit. The Vaishnava Brahmin, trained in the movements of the mind and intelligence, recognizes the positive psychology of non-argumentative behavior. It is specifically this agitated, fighting spirit that rules the Age of Kali, and is responsible for the needless wars of the past 2,000 years: Christians and Muslims...Hindus and Muslims...Protestants and Catholics...Palestinians and Jews, etc. It is all the same. It is all simply intolerance of others who are also the eternal servants of the Lord, but who have different views than yours. It must be recognized by everyone with true spiritual intellect that arguing and fighting never solve any problems, but only escalate feelings of mistrust, hatred and misgivings in general. It is the duty of the Vaishnava Brahmin to study the Vedas and remain pure within and without. It is also the duty of the Brahmins of Kali Yuga to avoid fighting with members of other Vaishnava sects and with members of other religions as well. This does not mean that we have to abandon the fighting spirit, or friendly philosophical discussion. There are true Evils in the world today that need to be addressed, opposed and successfully eliminated. The specific duty of the Kali-Yuga Brahmin is that each priest must selectively choose a mission that deals with the practical elimination of the everyday Evils within society, and make this goal his life's work. In this way, his true individual brahminical power takes on tangible form as one's "Life's Mission", and is not squandered in useless, counter productive arguing. Death is, after all, coming soon. This "goal setting, mission oriented mentality" thus makes one's life a spiritual success. Because there are so very many demonic end, part one Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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