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EDITORIAL February 21, 1999 VNN3118 Prema Bhakti BY GAURAHARI DAS EDITORIAL, Feb 21 (VNN) — The true science of prema-bhakti is a very deep and confidential subject. It is not meant to be spoken about in public within the earshot of beings who still have not cleansed their hearts of envy, competitiveness, criticism, and false prestige. But if it is not shared within a public forum, those who are honest, pure-hearted and sincerely looking for the jeweled path of prema- bhakti will not be able to connect with it. The path of prema, divine love is of such a nature that even if those with an impure heart hear of it, by the will of God they will not understand it anyway. In this mood I would like to share part one of a transcribed class called "Understanding prema- bhakti." Oh critics please forgive me for not being able to satisfy everyone in this sharing. It just is not possible to do this because living beings in this world are situated at different points on journey back home to eternal spiritual world. Personally, I do not feel qualified discussing this sacred science of Prema bhakti that is very close to the heart of God, but by the grace of the great liberated souls who are connected with the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, like A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivinode Thakur, Rupa Goswami, Ragunnatha das Goswami, Ramananda Raya, Prabhodananda Saraswati, and many of their intimate friends, I have developed an insatiable passion for this subject. It is only by their mercy can I have even a particle of attraction for this sacred path. Haribol Gaurahari das UNDERSTANDING PREMA BHAKTI Part One Gaurahari das: So we are reading from a couple of different books. One is Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta and the other is Caitanya Mangala. We are just meandering across some of these verses that are filled with this bhakti rasa. So,"Only those who yearn to drink the nectar of Sri Krishna's lotus feet can know the glories of the tasters of the rasa of His service, the beautiful girls of Vraja. Brahma knows well the glories of those who have taken birth in Vraja, and Uddhava knows well the glories of the Vraja gopies, therefore Bramaji prayed to take birth there. And Uddhava prayed to attain the dust of the feet of the beautiful girls of Vraja." See the way that both Uddhava and Brahma got such desire is by seeing such devotion manifest and they were ready to understand it. Uddhava was very advanced, he is very attached to Krishna. So, Krishna wanted to help him to attain a deeper love for Him. So the only way Krishna could do this is by giving him the association of His devotees who have that kind of love, a deeper love. So, this creates a yearning for it, the yearning to taste bhakti rasa, this devotional mellow of Love of God. That's how Lord Caitanya was spreading His sankirtan movement. Mainly by tasting this mellow of bhakti rasa, people that saw Him tasting it began to yearn for it. So, this yearning is actually what brings it to you. That's what they call spiritual greed. Just like there are people that are on the path of bhakti, and they are following rules and regulations of devotional service or they are following some other spiritual path and they are working very hard to get some connection. Or, they may read about this bhakti rasa and they kind of know it's there but it's kind of like a dream, you don't quite know what it is and how to attain it. And, you've got to struggle real hard for it. But, there is a point when a person on the path is open and purified enough where they are open to meeting an advanced devotee of bhakti rasa. And then when you get their association you start to see how much easier things get. How automatically by associating with them as they are tasting this rasa of devotion, this connection and union with God or Krishna, that you start developing this desire for it. See, practically without endeavoring. So, that's how the yearning begins. Like it says here: "Only those who yearn to drink the nectar of Sri Krishna's feet can know the glories of the tasters of rasa." So, the first stage is how to develop that yearning. And that yearning is to be developed by association of what they call advanced devotees or those who have attained union with God. Ultimately all paths converge on that. Here is another verse: "When prema bhakti reaches its mature state, an indescribable immense wealth of maha bhava arises, which if analyzed with the vision of tattva, tattva means truth, is seen to dance on the very head of the kingdom of all happiness." So, the external symptoms of this maha bhava are great unhappiness and sorrow. "And even though internally they are feeling an indescribable ecstasy, Sri Krishna cannot tolerate seeing these external symptoms in his dear devotees. Therefore he does not easily bestow this prema bhakti. Another reason is that upon seeing prema devotee's symptoms of sorrow and pain with their external vision, worldly people become confused and do not desire to engage in bhakti. They even laugh at such devotees and therefore Sri Bhagavan does not easily bestow such prema bhakti. Just as glass and gold are easily attained but attaining chintanamy is extremely rare." Cintamani is something that is very magical, it gives you whatever you desire--something like that. "In the same way the pleasures of smarga and mukti, (liberation) are easily attainable, but this prema bhakti is very rare. Sometimes Sri Bhagavan bestows this prema bhakti upon those intelligent persons who exclusively desire it and are free from material desires. I am not able to describe the real nature of prema bhakti. Even if I were to describe some of its more moderate symptoms, it could easily be misconstrued. Therefore the devotees who composed the scriptures did not describe it because it would appear repugnant to foolish people who have no knowledge of tattva." So these mellows of devotion are only to be really shared with people who are ready to receive it. Because it is very difficult to understand. You have to be very intelligent. You have to have gone through a process of purification. It's like A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, he didn't emphasize teaching this prema bhakti. He only gave a generally description of it. Because even in most of his students, they were not ready. Even if a prema devotee appeared many of his students even now would not understand them. They would throw them out of the temples. You have to be very very humble to be able to receive an advanced devotee, prema devotee. You have to be cured of the disease of envy and false prestige. Because prema is very powerful and generally Krishna is very careful, like we read here, of bestowing it, because people can't understand and many times they will commit offenses when they see such devotees because they just don't know. You don't know when you are handling a jewel because you are used to handling glass all of the time. See this book was written before Lord Caitanya's descent. So, generally Bhagavan only bestows prema bhakti to an intelligent person who exclusively desires it and is free from all material desires. But, that's not necessarily the case now. Because when Lord Caitanya descended He was given it to everyone. So just like how that translates practically even now, it's like, if you meet a devotee who has prema and you may not be free of material desires, but a desire will be born in you for bhakti. But it's just a matter of going through the purification. To get into that level of prema you have to be completely purified of all material taints. That means you will come very quickly to the level of being equal in honor and dishonor. You will not be seeking to be understood because all of that--you will see in your own process it's a block. It keeps you from that level, so it will just force you to come out. So you have to be very desirous to get through, all your stuff is gonna come up. So Lord Caitanya wasn't waiting and the devotees now who have this prema are not waiting. If you take their association, your are just going to go through the mill. Like that poem I read you by Kahlil Gibran. "if love finds you worthy it will direct your course-just as love crowns you, so shall it crucify you.." That's a few quotes from his poem on love. That's Divine Love, that's what it does. So when you are with a prema devotee, you are associating with Divine Love. And if you stay in their association, it's going to crown you. You are going to taste this nectar according to your capacity, but you are also going to get crucified. Because it's going to go down to your roots and 'shake them from their clinging to the earth'. The earth is the external energy of God, your material conceptions. All of what your soul has taken as security--all that stuff has to be let go of. "Only those who taste rasa can know the sweetness and exhaltation of that prema bhakti. Hey Gopa Kumara, you are an eternal resident of that place called Gokul. Therefore by Sri Krishna's mercy, you will also soon understand this confidential matter. Sri Gopa Kumara said, Hey Brahmana, the words of Sri Narada increased my yearning for the darshan of the Lotus feet of my worshipable lord, Sri Gopal, and for the sentiments of that type of prema bhakti." See when one hears glorification of this level of Love of God from a devotee who understands it from personal experience, one develops that kind of a yearning. It increases one's desire. See, therefore you can attain it. Like Ramananda Raya, who is an associate of Lord Caitanya, in his conversation with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, said, "It's only by gaining the association of the gopis can one enter Vrndavan" So, how do we know we got the association of a gopi is we have to see if they are exhibiting symptoms of prema bhakti. True symptoms of prema bhakti. "But at that very moment thinking that both of these hopes were very difficult to attain, I was plunged into an ocean of sorrow. Then Sri Narada consoled me by saying, although this is a very deep secret and it should not be revealed here in Vaikuntha, compelled by your impatience I shall speak." So, anyway I don't want to go into this because it's kind of a very deep concept here. I'm going to skip over. "That Goloka is attained only by those devotees who follow the Vraja-vasis thoroughly their thoroughly selfless prema for Sri Krishna in the mellows of dasha, sakya, vasalya and madurya." So, dasha is servitude, sakya is friendship and vasalya is parental love and madurya is this conjugal love. One has to follow that kind of prema and follow in the footsteps of those kinds of devotees. But, if you are opposed to that kind of bhava, then you can't follow it. Like in the next verse it says, "those devotees who see Bhagavan or God as the Paramashiwra, cannot attain that prema because fear and reverence are always present in such ashiwra bhava". So there are many worshippers of God that are like that in this great awe and reverence. And if a real prema devotee who comes from Vrndavana appears, they will consider that devotee to be disrespectful. Because their relationship with God is in this respectful mood. So if you see a gopi pulling the ear of Krishna or making jokes at his expense, you will be freaked out. You will not be able to understand their mentality. So, that's why there is the different dham. You have the Vaikuntha dham with devotees that see Krishna in that certain mood of opulence. But then again the Lord can't reveal all of His nature, therefore you can't taste the full extent of His opulence. All of the Lord's opulence are actually exhibited in Vrndavana. That's where you see the full range of His behavior, character, qualities and nature. So, if you are only used to worshiping God in this awe and reverence you will not understand or be open to understanding the Lord's deeper nature. You're just not ready for it. You just don't want it. Some devotees are eternally satisfied worshiping God in awe and reverence. So that's the same thing in our little sanga here it could be very much misconstrued. Most of the beings are worshiping the Lord in awe and reverence now. Even if they are worshiping Radha and Krishna. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said most people are worshiping Lakshmi-Narayana. The deity turns into the form that you are really qualified to worship. Even if it is Krishna you see Krishna as Lakshmi-Narayana. Even though you may not know it but your behavior will exhibit that mood. That's why when Gopa Kumara was in these different worlds that he visited, many times that deity would turn into the Gopal deity when he was worshipping. Because that was his mentality. That was his level of worship. "Prema is only perfected when the devotee sees Bhagavan as his best friend in life. Even though that Prema resembles worldly love, it does not exist in the material world within the eight material coverings or even in Vaikuntha." So that's what you have to ultimately come to. See, when you are with a Prema devotee you will very quickly see that you have no friend in this world other than God. Because everything will abandon you and you will abandon it. Because that's the only way this Prema can arise in the heart because it's very intense. You have to very intensely love the Lord as your only worshippable object. See, in the eyes of a devotee who has this Prema, when he looks into the eyes of even other beings he sees his worshippable Lord. And that's how other beings turn into Krishna for him. That's what it means to see Krishna everywhere. So the Lord has to become your best friend and only shelter. That is like the laser beam that pierces through the illusion. When your consciousness is like a honeybee very intensely focused on its object, the honey. And that's Krishna for the devotee. You pop through the illusion. It takes an intense awakening of this kind of love. You just pop! And when you are looking at another person you are seeing that it's actually the Lord behind the face. So like Lord Caitanya said in Caitanya-Caritamrta, 'A devotee sees Krishna both within and without.' Because in the illusion everyone is relating to Krishna and they just don't know it. That's illusion. That child that you have, that's actually Krishna, but, there are all these coverings that are hiding that fact. You are only getting a distorted view of that truth. See, the body, which is composed of the five elements, earth, air, fire, water and ether. That's covering that truth of Krishna, behind the face you are relating to God. And then you've got the subtle coverings behind the personality and the false ego. See, and that's covering-the false ego is saying, 'I'm not God, I'm not God, I'm Bill, I'm Joe, I'm Mary, I'm not God, I'm not Krishna.' See that's the false ego. It creates its own identity. But all of that is hiding the truth, the absolute truth. You have to get through all of that to actually see God. That's why the wild card is that most people are not liberated and beyond these material coverings. So if you are around a devotee, remember we were looking at those slides, those pictures that were taken of me when I was in these certain states, and you remarked, 'This will do a lot more than words'. There is an old saying, 'A picture is worth a thousand words.' Because when you can see a picture of a devotee or see a devotee in ecstatic union with God, it goes right through all those coverings right into the heart and awakens the heart. See, that's another reason when Lord Caitanya descended here He was able to convert so many people. Because He was a living picture of the truth. He was tasting His relationship with the Lord and people who would see that, it would pierce through all those coverings and awaken the Lord in their heart. So the devotee is the wild card. Its like you are playing poker and you are dealt all these cards. And if you have two jokers its like a wild card and it makes more powerful your hand. So, generally like I read before, only a person who is free from material desires may attain this prema. But if you have a couple of wild cards, and the wild card is the devotee, in association with those who have developed this prema, your hand becomes more powerful. And you can get this kind of love even before liberation, before you are free of material desires, if you just hang in there and get purified. Become like Clare, remember that movie we saw, when Clare meets St. Francis and this is symbolic of a qualified disciple who is ready to associate with a highly elevated devotee like St. Francis, a saint. She finally comes to him and says, 'Listen, I'm not seeking to be understood anymore, I want to understand. I don't want to be loved, I want to love.' This is the mood of a very elevated disciple or student who is worthy to receive. Otherwise if you always want to be understood, how can you be with another being and be their friend? You are in the maya, the illusion, you are always going to create problems. That's why not only is the Lord the shelter of others, but even His devotee is the shelter because they have the same nature. When they are with you they are with you. You know, there for you. It doesn't matter that you don't understand them. That's why you have to get through all of that to be such a personality, so you can be a shelter for others. About the Author | Other Stories by this Author Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9902/ET21-3118.html
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