VNN Editorial - So Now You Must - Trinad Api Sunicena...

EDITORIAL November 6, 2000 VNN6383 Comment on this story

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So Now You Must - Trinad Api Sunicena...

BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI

EDITORIAL, Nov 6 (VNN) — To the assembled Vaisnavas:

Hare Krsna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my fallen obeisances.

When Srila Prabhupada was present on the planet, we all became inspired by Srila Prabhupada's words and by his example which was in total accordance with his words. Srila Prabhupada inspired us with his pure love for everyone and his words and actions in that accord. There was no material motive in Srila Prabhupada, only pure love that is possessed of the pure devotee of Krsna.

Yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah
Sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate

"Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets, all the world pursues."

We had practical vision and experience of Srila Prabhupada's love for all living entities, his equal-minded vision (BG 5.18) and his humility, Srila Prabhupada's only desire being that of giving the process for development of Krsna consciousness to the whole world, that of wanting to link the jivatma with Krsna, his never desiring anything material for himself. This is the desire of all suddha bhaktas, to link the jiva with Krsna. Thus, the suddha bhakta has no material desires; s/he simply works for the welfare of all other living entities. Their anxiety is in seeing the jivas pain in trying to enjoy separately from Krsna, and the pain of Krsna in His wanting the fallen jivas to be properly reunited with Him.

Srila Prabhupada's words to everyone and the example he always set were in complete line with this mentality in accordance with the Guru parampara, sastra and sadhu. In CC Antya 4.101,102, when Srila Sanatan Goswami was speaking to Srila Haridas Thakur, Sanatan Goswami explained:

Apane acare keha na kare pracara pracara karena keha na karena acara
Acara pracara namera karaha dui karya tumi sarva guru tumi jagatera arya

"Some behave very well but do not preach the cult of Krsna consciousness, whereas others preach but do not behave properly. You simultaneously perform both duties in relation to the holy name by your personal behavior and by your preaching. Therefore you are the spiritual master of the entire world, for you are the most advanced devotee in the world."

Srila Prabhupada's desire was that we as his disciples carry on his mission in trying to become Krsna conscious ourselves and to give this process for development of Krsna consciousness to everyone that we should meet. Srila Prabhupada said to the devotees in 1972, "So, now you must ö all of my senior disciples and leaders ö become very, very much aware of your grave responsibility to the human society for delivering them and utilize every moment in the best manner possible. I am successful only because I am following strictly the orders of my Guru Maharaj and do not deviate. Therefore people will respect what I am saying, and they listen because I do not say one thing and do another. So now you are doing my work and you shall be like me and be yourselves the worthy representatives of our disciplic succession."

So this is what Srila Prabhupada wanted, that we should follow in his footsteps in terms of our preaching (by words) and our behavior. Srila Prabhupada wanted us to become bonafide Vaisnavas. Srila Prabhupada called this, "your grave responsibility." His instruction, "So now you are doing my work and you shall be like me and be yourselves the worthy representatives of our disciplic succession."

A proper disciple takes the words (every word) of his/her spiritual master with the utmost attention; the instruction of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciple. It is only by the mercy of the spiritual master and suddha bhakta that one can enter into the eternal loving service of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.

In this Kali Yuga, the only means for development of Krsna consciousness is to chant the Holy Name of the Lord.

harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anytath

iti sodasakam namnam kali kalmasa nasanam natah parataro payah sarva vedesu drsyate

"After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime in this age of Kali than the chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra."

Tatha caivottamam loke tapah sri hari kirtanam
Kalau yuge visesena visnu prityai samacaret

"The most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Sri Hari. Especially in Kali Yuga, one can satisfy the Supreme Lord Visnu by performing sankirtan."

But it is not simply a matter of vain repetition. Lord Caitanya explained that one must chant with a particular quality; that of humility:

Trinad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniya sada harih

Lord Caitanya's words, the third verse of the Siksastaka. "One should think oneself to be more humble than the blade of grass, more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name of the Lord constantly." It is explained that only in this state of consciousness can one truly chant the Holy Name. Other than one's chanting with this consciousness, Krsna will not reveal Himself through His Holy Name. As practitioners who are desirous of becoming devotees, we must ardently aspire to develop this quality of humility. Without that quality, our chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra can not yield the full results meant to be obtained from its chanting. Humility means to realize one's position as a tiny jiva, a part and parcel of Krsna, a servant of the servant. But the false ego is so strong and we are so much bound up by it. That desire for wealth, name, fame, position, profit, adoration, distinction and gain has such a hold over us, and afflicts our consciousness, thus influencing everything we do. How to get rid of these anarthas?

The realization of our true position with relation to Krsna may not be there, but at least by hearing from the bonafide Guru and sadhu, taking proper association with them, and hearing from the words of sastra, we can have the understanding of what it is we should be striving for. Knowing for what goal we should be aspiring and beginning to practice so that we may eventually come to that platform, eventually, with proper desire, association and devotion, we will attain the goal. Srila Rupa Goswami explains that patience (dhairyat), conviction (niscayat), enthusiasm (utsaha), and proper association (sadhu sanga ö including avoiding association not conducive to the development of Krsna consciousness) are the necessary ingredients for attaining the goal of Krsna bhakti.

Association is most important:

Sadhu sanga sadhu sanga sarva sastra kaya
Lava matra sadhu sanga sarva siddhi haya

Even one moments association with a suddha bhakta can give one Krsna prema. Because the soul is naturally attracted to Krsna, one will be attracted to the words and person of the sadhu, providing that one is not too sinful in nature. Simply by the suddha bhakta's presence, so much benefit is derived, what to speak of taking proper association with such a suddha bhakta. The sadhu cuts away the false ego of the conditioned jiva, and although the cutting may be painful, ultimately it will relieve one of the source of his ultimate pain.

A truthful person will never be offended hearing the truth. Only an offender to truth will feel offended when hearing truthful words being spoken. The sadhu speaks the truth, and to the extent that our hearts are possessed of truthfulness, we will be receptive to hearing his words. Even if at first our ego feels a jolt, if we are truthful, that jolt will subside and submit to the truth, and gratefulness for that truth will bathe our consciousness.

One essential element of humility is truthfulness; one's ability to honestly assess oneself, to recognize and admit to one's own faults and defects being a conditioned jiva. Sadly, many of us desire and to try to create some false image of ourselves for others so that they will put us on a pedestil. Only through honesty with ourselves can we begin to make real progress in spiritual life. In order to clean out the dirt, one has to first recognize its presence, admit to oneself that it is there, and then one can do the necessary to remove that dirt. Without this consciousness of truthfulness, how can we make tangible progress?

Bramanda bhramite kona bhagavan jiva guru krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija "The living entities are wandering up and down within the universe. The fortunate living entity by the mercy of Krsna, gets the opportunity to associate with a bonafide spiritual master, and by the mercy of the spiritual master and Krsna, that person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service." By the mercy of the spiritual master one gets the mercy of Krsna, (yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado yasya prasadana gatih gato pi) but this mercy comes only through surrender and service to the order of one's (bonafide) spiritual master and service of the (bonafide) sadhu. There is no other way. For one who rejects or deviates from the order of the spiritual master, his life becomes useless: (CC Adi 12.10)

Acaryera mata yei sei mata sara tanra ajna langhi cale sei ta asara

"The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless."

Vaisnavism is not a matter of institutionalism; it is a matter of surrender to the bonafide spiritual master; surrender to the suddha bhakta, for it is only through this method that one can get Krsna prema.

Guru is not some rubber-stamped thing, elected or appointed by conditioned souls. The guru is selected by Krsna due to the Krsna bhakti possessed by him, and his adherence to the order of his predecessor Guru and the Guru Parampara. Other than this, there is not other criteria of qualification. It is not a matter of material qualification, material ability, intellectualism, charisma, or the like. It is a matter of one' s genuine bhakti.

"By the mercy of the spiritual master, a blind man can see the stars at night, the dumb man can recite beautiful poetry, and the lame man can walk." Thus, the mleccha, yavana, and candala can become fully Krsna conscious by the mercy of the pure devotee, and one's sincere desire and surrender to such a suddha bhakta.

Srila Prabhupada gave us everything for development of full Krsna consciousness. It is only we, who through our own ignorance, bodily consciousness, selfishness, and material desires ö both gross and subtle ö who have caused havoc in the temples, even to the extent of turning sincere and serious people away from Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet.

Handing over the management of ISKCON to various leading disciples in 1972, the spiritual potency of ISKCON began to gradually diminish due to material contamination setting in, at first slowly, but gradually increasing more and more. Loving exchanges between devotees were sacrificed, and money became "God" to many of the ISKCON leaders. Devotees began to be judged, not based upon their genuine surrender, but based upon their material externals. In 1977, with Srila Prabhupada's exit from this material realm, going on to his nitya lila, ISKCON became more and more, a materialistic religious institution, whose leaders' main concerns were more on money, politics, positional gain, pratistha, and the like; something very different from what Srila Prabhupada wanted and preached, and from the personal example that Srila Prabhupada himself had set for us.

Srila Prabhupada's aim was not to make money, build big temples, or to get numbers. These things externally were there, but only for the propagation of Krsna consciousness according to kala, desha, patra, to give people the opportunity for development of love of Godhead in the taking up of the process of Krsna consciousness. Materialism never entered into the consciousness of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada's only desire was to distribute love of Krsna, and in doing so, he preached the truth with no compromising of it. It was that truth and Srila Prabhupada's personal example of living truth to which we were attracted. Why now have we changed things? Why now has the desire for money, women, (men), name, fame, position, and the like overcome us to the extent that we have compromised what Srila Prabhupada has taught, to the extent that we have lost our honesty, integrity, humility, our Krsna bhakti? We must ask ourselves, "Are we trully connected to Srila Prabhupada?" How many of us can genuinely answer, "Yes!"? If not, then we must go back to the basice and think, "Trinad api sunicena·"

How many of us are sacrificing our Krsna bhakti for money and position, for some chapatis and ghee, for sense enjoyment, name and fame? Where has our purity gone, both in our words and in our actions? Do we identify ourselves as temple presidents, GBCs, sannyasis (some being SINyasis), gurus, or as dasadasanudas? Do we depend upon Guru and Krsna's grace or upon politics, money and unscrupulous means of attaining what it is we are trying to get?

I have seen my Guru Maharaja's ISKCON transform into something other than what our beloved Guru Maharaj was trying to give us. The real ISKCON is a society based upon association for the development of Krsna bhakti, not materialism. Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON has now become transformed.

Purity is no longer the force pushing on this mission established by Srila Prabhupada. We have sacrificed that purity, and in essence, we have pushed out that which our Guru Maharaj has given to us, out of ISKCON, (thus, the other names I have used in referring to the present-day institution which I feel is no longer properly representative of Srila Prabhupada, his desires and mood).

This lack of purity has internally caused a loss of love and trust amongst devotees and to the people to whom we preach to. Externally, due to our materialistic consciousness, our compromising of the philosophy, lack of realization, we now resort to so many low-handed, out and out dishonest (even illegal) practices to get money to support the institution, some of the leaders ("sannyasis" at that) even stealing so many funds for their private (materialistic) use. In the process, so many sincere devotees have suffered both emotional and physical abuse at the hands of such leaders and their foolish followers. (Foolish in that they do not have the discrimination to know who is a bonafide sadhu, and thus they take the materialistic leader as a "pure" devotee and fanatically follow with foolish blindness.)

Every year praises to Srila Prabhupada are given at his Vyasapuja, but have we truly given our hearts to Srila Prabhupada? Have we accepted the mood that our Guru Maharaj WANTED us to accept? Have we REALLY given our lives to Srila Prabhupada and his service? Have we learned to chant Hare Krsna properly, and develop our love for Guru, Vaisnavas, and Krsna? It all begins with humility: trinad api sunicena·

Krsna explains to Uddhava (SB 11.11.29-31) "A saintly person is merciful and never injures others. Even if others are aggressive he is tolerant and forgiving toward all living entities. His strength and meaning in life come from the truth itself. He is free from all envy and jealousy, and his mind is equal in material happiness and distress. Thus, he dedicates his time to work for the welfare of all others. His intelligence is never bewildered by material desires, and he has controlled his senses. His behavior is always pleasing, never harsh and always exemplary and he is free from possessiveness. He never endeavors in ordinary worldly activities, and he strictly controls his eating. He therefore always remains peaceful and steady. A saintly person is thoughtful and accepts Me as his only shelter. A saintly person is very cautious in the execution of his duties and is never subject to superficial transformations, because he is steady and noble, even in a distressing situation. He has conquers over the six material qualities, namely hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death. HE IS FREE FROM ALL DESIRE FOR PRESTIGE AND OFFERS HONOR TO OTHERS. He is expert in reviving the Krsna consciousness of others and therefore NEVER CHEATS ANYONE. Rather, HE IS A WELL-WISHING FRIEND TO ALL, BEING MOST MERCIFUL."

In CC Madhya 22.78-80, Lord Caitanya explains, "Devotees are always merciful, humble, truthful, equal to all, faultless, magnanimous, mild and clean. They are without material possessions, and they perform welfare work for everyone. They are peaceful, surrendered to Krsna and desireless. They are indifferent to material acquisitions and are fixed in devotional service. They completely control the six bad qualities, (lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, illusion) and eat only what is necessary. They are not inebriated. They are respectful, grave, compassionate, and without false prestige. They are friendly, poetic, expert and silent."

Lord Caitanya goes on to quote SB 3.25.21, "Devotees are always tolerant and very merciful. They are the well-wishers of every living entity. They follow the scriptural injunctions, and because they have no enemies, they are very peaceful. They are decorated with the qualities of the sadhu."

Lord Caitanya continues, (quoting Srimad Bhagavatam), "It is the verdict of all sastras and great personalities, that by serving a pure devotee, one attains the path of liberation. However, by associating with materialistic people who are attached to material enjoyment and women, one attains the path of darkness. Those who are actually devotees are broadminded, equal to everyone and very peaceful. They never become angry, and they are friendly to all living entities. The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one's dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees is most essential. The spiritually powerful message of Godhead can be properly discussed only in a society of devotees, and it is greatly pleasing to hear in that association. If one hears from devotees, the way of transcendental experience quickly opens, and gradually one attains firm faith that in due course develops into attraction and devotion."

Only with humility can one accept the words of the sadhu, and through the acceptance of those word can we truly change our lives.

Praying for the mercy of the Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnavas,

I remain your servant,

Mahavegavati Dasi
Hare Krsna

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