An article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

[Guest guest]

Dear Maharajas, Prabhus and Matajis:

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his

devotees.

 

The following article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura appears in

1999 year's issue of *The Sarasvata Gaudiya Vaisnava*, an annual journal of

Sarasvata Gaudiya Vaisnava Association, Sridham Mayapur, Nadia, West Bengal,

India. This Association was convened by HH Jayapataka Maharaja on behalf of

Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust to help fulfill Srila Prabhupada's desires

to help reunite the disciplic descendants of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Thakura. The Association also meets once a year and also holds joint Vyasa

Puja celebrations of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila

Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

 

Especially at this time when several devotees do not mind associating with

the nondevotees or do not mind learning our scriptures from them or with

them, there are several very instructive points made by the great Simha Guru

in this article to be considered. I have also considered the following

article to be a sufficient rebuttal-in-anticipation to the speculative ideas

of devotees such as Shukavak Das.

 

Even though the article is long, I hope that you would be happy to read

this. Therefore I have taken the opportunity to send it to so many senior

devotees.

 

Your servant,

Vidvan Gauranga das

 

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"Understanding the Writings of Bhaktivinoda Thakura"

By Prabhupada Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakura

 

[An article originally published in the December 1931 issue of the Harmonist

magazine, under the title of "Thakura Bhaktivinoda"]

 

We avail of the opportunity offered by the advent of Thakura Bhaktivinoda to

reflect on the right method of obtaining those benefits that have been made

accessible to humanity by the grace of this great devotee of Krishna.

Thakura Bhaktivinoda has been specifically kind to those unfortunate persons

who are engrossed in mental speculation of all kinds. This is the prevalent

malady of the present age. The other Acharyas who appeared before Thakura

Bhaktivinoda did not address their discourses so directly to the empiric

thinkers. They had been more merciful to those who are naturally disposed to

listen to discourses on the Absolute without being dissuaded by the specious

arguments of avowed opponents of Godhead. Srila Thakura Bhaktivinoda has

taken the trouble of meeting the perverse arguments of mental speculations

by the superior transcendental logic of the Absolute Truth. It is thus

possible for the average modern readers to profit by the perusal of his

writings. That day is not far distant when the priceless volumes penned by

Thakura Bhaktivinoda will be reverently translated by the recipients of his

grace into all the languages of the world.

 

The writings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda provided the golden bridge by which the

mental speculationists can safely cross the raging waters of fruitless

empiric controversies that trouble the peace of those who choose to trust in

their guidance for finding the truth. As soon as the sympathetic reader is

in position to appreciate the sterling quality of Thakura Bhaktivinoda's

philosophy, the entire vista of the revealed literature of the world will

automatically open out to his reclaimed vision.

 

There have, however, already arisen serious misunderstandings regarding the

proper interpretation of the life and teachings of Srila Thakura

Bhaktivinoda. Those who suppose they understand the meaning of his message

without securing the guiding grace of the acharya are disposed to unduly

favor the method of empiric study of his writings. There are persons who

have got by heart almost everything that he wrote without being able to

catch the least particle of his meaning. Such study cannot benefit those who

are not prepared to act up to the instructions lucidly conveyed by his

words. There is no honest chance of missing the warnings of Thakura

Bhaktivinoda. Those, therefore, who are misled by the perusal of his

writings are led astray by their own obstinate perversity in sticking to the

empiric course which they prefer to cherish against his explicit warnings.

Let these unfortunate persons look more carefully into their own hearts for

the cause of their misfortunes. The personal service of the pure devotee is

essential for understanding of the words of Thakura Bhaktivinoda. The

spiritual meaning of the words of Thakura Bhaktivinoda, has been trying to

draw the attention of all followers of Thakura Bhaktivinoda to this all

important point of his teachings. It is not necessary to try to place

ourselves on a footing of equality with Thakura Bhaktivinoda. We are not

likely to benefit by mechanical imitation of any practices of Thakura

Bhaktivinoda on the opportunist principle that they may be convenient for us

to adopt. The guru is not an erring mortal whose activities can be

understood by fallible reason of unreclaimed humanity. There is an eternally

impassable line of demarcation between the savior and the saved. Those who

are really saved can alone know this. Thakura Bhaktivinoda belongs to the

category of the spiritual world teachers who eternally occupy the spiritual

position.

 

The present editor has all along felt it his paramount duty to try to clear

up the meaning of the life and teachings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda by the

method of submissive listening to the transcendental sound from the lips of

the pure devotee. The guru who realizes the transcendent meaning of all

sounds, is an a position to serve the absolute by the direction of the

absolute conveyed through every sound. The transcendental sound is Godhead,

the mundane sound, is non-Godhead. All sound has got these opposite

aptitudes. All sound reveals its divine face to the devotee and only

presents its deluding aspect to the empiric pedant. The devotee talks

apparently the same language as the deluded pedant who had got by heart the

vocabulary of the scriptures. But not withstanding apparent identity of

performance, the one has no access to the reality while the other is

absolutely free from all delusion.

 

Those who repeat the teachings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda from memory do not

necessarily understand the meaning of the words they mechanically repeat.

Those who pass an empiric examination regarding the contents of his writings

are not necessarily also self-realized souls. They may not at all know the

real meaning of the words they learnt by the method of empiric study. Take

for example the name "Krishna." Every reader of Thakura Bhaktivinoda's work

must be aware that the name manifests Himself on the lips of His serving

devotees although He is inaccessible to our mundane senses. It is one thing

to pass the examination by reproducing this true conclusion from the

writings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda and quite another matter to realize the

nature of the holy name of Krishna by the process conveyed by the words.

 

Thakura Bhaktivinoda did not want us to go to the clever mechanical reciter

of the mundane sound for obtaining access to the transcendental name of

Krishna. Such a person may be fully equipped wjth all the written arguments

in explanation of the nature of the divine name. But if we listen to all

these arguments from the dead source, the words will only increase our

delusion. The very same words coming from the devotee will have

diametrically opposite effect. Our empiric judgment can never grasp the

difference between the two performances.

 

The devotee is always right. The non-devotee in the shape of the empiric

pedant is always and necessarily wrong. In the one case there is always

present the substantive truth and nothing but substantive truth. In the

other case there is present the apparent or misleading hypothesis and

nothing but untruth. The wording may have the same external appearance on

both cases. The identical verses of the scriptures recited by the devotee

and the non-devotee, may be apparently misquoted by the devotee but the

corresponding values of the two processes remain always categorically

different. The devotee is right even when he apparently misquotes, the

nondevotee is wrong even when he quotes correctly the very words, chapter

and verse of the scriptures.

 

It is not empiric wisdom that this is the object of quest of the devotee.

Those who read of scriptures for gathering empiric wisdom will be pursuing

the wild-goosechase. There are not a few dupes of their empiric scriptural

erudition. These dupes have their admiring under-dupes. But the mutual

admiration society of dupes does not escape by the mere weight of their

number, the misfortune due to the deliberate pursuit of the wrong course in

accordance with the suggestions of our lower selves.

 

What are the scriptures? They are nothing but the record by the pure

devotees of the divine message appearing on the lips of the pure devotees.

The messages conveyed by the devotees are the same in all ages. The words of

the devotees are ever identical with the scriptures. Any meaning of the

scriptures that belittles the function of the devotee who is the original

communicant of the divine message contradicts its own claim to be heard.

Those who think that the Sanskrit language in its lexicographical sense is

the language of the Divinity are as deluded as those who hold that the

divine message is communicable through any other spoken dialects. All

languages simultaneously express and hide the Absolute. The mundane face of

all languages hides the Truth. The transcendental face of all sound

expresses nothing but the Absolute. The pure devotee is the speaker of the

transcendental language. The transcendental sound makes His appearance on

the lips of His pure devotee. This is the direct, unambiguous appearance of

the Divinity. On the lips of non-devotees the Absolute always appears in His

deluding aspect. To the pure devotee the Absolute reveals Himself under all

circumstances. To the conditioned soul, if he is disposed to listen in truly

submissive spirit, the language of pure devotee can alone impart the

knowledge of the Absolute. The conditioned soul mistakes the deluding for

the real aspect when he chooses to lend his ear to the nondevotee. This is

the reason why the conditioned soul is warned to avoid all association with

nondevotees.

 

Thakura Bhaktivinoda is acknowledged by his all-sincere followers as

possessing the above powers of the pure devotee of Godhead. His words have

to be received from the lips of pure devotee. If his words are listened to

from the lips of nondevotee they will certainly deceive. If his works are

studied in the light of one's worldly experience, their meaning will refuse

to disclose itself to such readers. His works belong to the class of eternal

revealed literature of the world and must be approached for their right

understanding through their exposition by the pure devotee. If no help from

the pure devotee is sought, the works of Thakura Bhaktivinoda will be

grossly misunderstood by their readers. The attentive reader of those works

will find that he is always directed to throw himself upon the mercy of the

pure devotee if he is not to remain unwarrantably self-satisfied by the

deluding results of his wrong method study.

 

The writings of Thakura Bhaktivinoda are valuable because they demolish all

empiric objections against accepting the only method of approaching the

Absolute in the right way. The person to whom the acharya is pleased to

transmit his power is alone in a position to convey the divine message. They

cannot and were never intended to give access to the Absolute without help

from the pure devotee of Krishna. They direct the sincere inquirer of the

truth, as all the revealed scriptures do, to pure devotee of Krishna to

learn about Him by submitting to listen with open mind to the transcendental

sound appearing on his lips. Before we open any of the books penned by

Thakura Bhaktivinoda, we should do well to reflect a little on the attitude

with which as the indispensable pre-requisite to approach the study. It is

by neglecting to remember this fundamental principle that the empiric

pedants find themselves so hopelessly puzzled in their vain endeavor to

reconcile the statements of the different texts of the scriptures. The same

difficulty is already in process of overtaking many of the so-called

followers of Thakura Bhaktivinoda and for the same reason.

 

The person to whom the acharya is pleased to transmit his power is alone in

a position to convey the divine message. This constitutes the underlying

principle of the line of succession of the spiritual teachers. The acharya

thus authorized has no other duty than that of delivering intact the message

received from all his predecessors. There is no difference between the

pronouncement of one acharya and another. All of them are perfect mediums

for the appearance of the Divinity in the form of the transcendental name

who is identical with His form, quality, activity and paraphernalia.

 

The Divinity is absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge has the character of

indivisible unity. One particle of the absolute knowledge is capable of

revealing all the potency of the Divinity. Those who want to understand the

contents of the volumes penned by Thakura Bhaktivinoda by the piece-meal

acquisitive method available to the mind on the mundane plane are bound to

be self-deceived. Those who are sincere seekers of the truth are alone

eligible to find Him and through the proper method of His quest.

 

In order to be put on the tract of the Absolute, listening to the words of

the pure devotee is absolutely necessary. The spoken word of the devotee is

the absolute. It is only the Absolute who can give Himself away to the

constituents of His power. The Absolute appears to the listening ear of the

conditioned soul in the form of the name on the lips of the sadhu. This is

the key to the whole position. The works of Thakura Bhaktivinoda direct the

empiric pedant to discharge his wrong method and inclination on the

threshold of the real quest of the Absolute. If the pedant still chooses to

carry his errors into the realm of the Absolute Truth, he only marches by a

deceptive by-path into the regions of darker ignorance by his arrogant study

of the scriptures. The method offered by Thakura Bhaktivinoda is identical

with the object of request. The method is not really grasped except by the

grace of the pure devotee. The arguments, indeed, are these. But they can

only corroborate, but can never be a substitute for, the words from the

living source of the truth who is none other than the pure devotee of

Krishna, the concrete Personal Absolute.

 

Thakura Bhaktivinoda's greatest gift to the world consists in this that he

has brought about the appearance of those pure devotees who are at present,

carrying on the movement of unalloyed devotion to the feet of Sri Krishna by

their own wholetime spiritual service of the Divinity. The purity of the

soul is only analogously describable by the resources of the mundane

language. The highest ideal of empiric morality is no better than the

grossest wickedness to the transcendental perfect purity of the bona fide

devotee of the Absolute. The word "morality" itself is a mischievous

misnomer when it is applied to any quality of the conditioned soul. The

hypocritical contentment with a negative attitude is part and parcel of the

principal of undiluted immorality.

 

Those who pretend to recognize the divine mission of Thakur Bhaktivinoda

without aspiring to the unconditioned service of those pure souls who really

follow the teachings of the Thakura Bhaktivinoda by the method enjoined by

the scriptures and explained by Thakura Bhaktivinoda in a way that is so

eminently suited to the requirements of the sophisticated mentality of the

present age, only deceive themselves and their willing victims by their

hypocritical professions and performances. These persons must not be

confounded with the bona fide member of the flock.

 

Thakura Bhaktivinoda has predicted the consummation of religious unity of

the world by the appearance of the only universal church, which bears the

eternal designation of the Brahma-sampradaya. He has given mankind the

blessed assurance that all theistic churches will shortly merge in the one

eternal spiritual community by the grace of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna

Chaitanya. The spiritual community is not circumscribed by the conditions of

time and space, race and nationality. Mankind has been looking forward to

this far off divine event through the long ages. Thakura Bhaktivinoda has

made the conception available in its practicable spiritual form to the

open-minded empiricist who is prepared to undergo the process of

enlightenment. The keystone of the arch has been laid which will afford the

needed shelter to all awakened animation under its ample encircling arms.

Those who would thoughtlessly allow their hollow pride of race,

pseudo-knowledge or pseudo-virtue to stand in the way of this long hoped for

consummation, would have to thank only themselves for not being incorporated

in the spiritual society of all pure souls.

 

These plain words need not be misrepresented by arrogant persons who are

full of the vanity of empiric ignorance as the pronouncement of aggressive

sectarianism. The aggressive pronouncement of the concrete truth is the

crying necessity of the moment for silencing the aggressive propaganda of

specific untruth that is being carried on all over the world by the

preachers of empiric contrivances for the amelioration of the hard lot of

conditioned souls. The empiric propaganda clothes itself in the language of

negative abstraction for deluding those who are engrossed in the selfish

pursuit of worldly enjoyment. But there is positive and concrete function of

the pure soul, which should not be perversely confounded with any

utilitarian form of worldly activity. Mankind stands in need of that

positive spiritual function of which the hypocritical impersonalists are in

absolute ignorance. The positive function of the soul harmonizes the claims

of extreme selfishness with those of extreme self-abnegation in the society

of pure souls even in this mundane world. In each concrete realizable form

the function is perfectly accessible to the empiric understanding. Its

imperfect and misleading conception alone is available by the study of the

scriptures to the conditioned soul that is not helped by the causeless grace

of the pure devotee of Godhead.