THAKUR BHAKTIVINODE

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Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada

 

 

THAKUR BHAKTIVINODE

The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6

 

"We avail of the opportunity offered by the Anniversary Celebrations of the

advent of Thakur Bhaktivinode 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. Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 Acaryas who appeared

before Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode has taken the trouble of meeting the perverse

arguments of mental speculationists by the superior transcendental logic of the

Absolute Truth. It is thuspossible 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode will be reverently translated, by the

recipients of his grace, into all the languages of the world.

The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode provide the golden bridge by which the

mental speculationist 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 a

position to appreciate the sterling quality of Thakur Bhaktivinode's philosophy

the entire vista of the revealed literatures 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode.

Those who suppose they understand the meaning of his message without securing

the guiding grace of the Acarya are disposed to unduly favour the methods 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode. 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 the

spiritual meaning of the words of Thakur Bhaktivinode. The Editor of this

Journal, originally started by Thakur Bhaktivinode, has been trying to draw the

attention of all followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode to this all-important point

of his teachings. It is not necessary to try to place ourselves on a footing of

equality with Thakur Bhaktivinode. We are not likely to benefit by any

mechanical imitation of any practices of Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 the fallible reason of

unreclaimed humanity. There is an eternally impassable line of demarcation

between the Saviour and the saved. Those who are really saved can alone know

this.Thakur Bhaktivinode belongs to the category of the spiritual

world-teachers who eternally occupy the superior 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode by the method of

submissive listening to the Transcendental Sound from the lips of the pure

devotee. The Guru who realises the transcendental meaning of all sounds, is in

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 empiric

pedant who had got by heart the vocabulary of the Scriptures. But

notwithstanding 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode from memory do not

necessarily understand the meaning of the words they mechanically repeat. Those

who can pass an empiric examination regarding the contents of his writings are

not necessarily also self-realised souls. They may not at all know the real

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

example the Name "Krishna". Every reader of Thakur Bhaktivinode's works 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 Thakur

Bhaktivinode and quite another matter to realise the Nature of the Holy Name of

Krishna by the process conveyed by the words.

Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 with 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 lips of the devotee will have the 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 the Substantive Truth. In

the other case there is present the apparent or misleading hypothesis and

nothing but un-truth. The wording may have the same external appearance in both

cases. The identical verses of the Scriptures may be recited by the devotee and

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

corresponding valuesof the two processes remain always categorically different.

The devotee is right even when he apparently misquotes, the non-devotee is

wrong even when he quotes correctly the very words, chapter and verse of the

Scriptures.

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

read the scriptures for gathering empiric wisdom will be pursuing the wild

goose chase. 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 misfortunes

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 Message

conveyed by the devotees is 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 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 a truly submissive spirit, the language of the 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

non-devotee. This is the reason why the conditioned soul is warned to avoid all

association with non-devotees.

Thakur Bhaktivinode is acknowledged by all his sincere followers as possessing

the above powers of the pure devotee of Godhead. His words have to be received

from the lips of a pure devotee. If his words are listened from the lips of a

non-devotee they will certainly deceive. If his works are studied in the light

of one's own worldly experience their meaning will refuse to disclose itself to

such readers. His works belong to the class of the 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 Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 of

study.

The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode are valuable because they demolish all

empiric objections against accepting the only method of approaching the

Absolute in the right way. They cannot and were never intended to give access

to the Absolute without help from the pure devotee of Krishna. They direct the

sincere enquirer of the Truth, as all the revealed scriptures do, to the pure

devotee of Krishna to learn about Him by submitting to listen with an open mind

to the Transcendental Sound appearing on His lips. Before we open any of the

books penned by Thakur Bhaktivinode we should do well to reflect a little on

the attitude, with which as the indispensable pre-requisite, to approach its

study. It is by neglecting to remember this fundamental principle that the

empiric pedants find themselves so hopelessly puzzled in their vain endeavour

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 Thakur Bhaktivinode and for the same reason.

The person to whom the Acarya is pleased to transmit hispower 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 Acarya thus

authorised has no other duty than that of delivering intact the message

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

pronouncements of one Acarya 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 the piece-meal acquisitive method applicable

to deluding knowledge 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, in and through the proper method of His quest.

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

pure devotee is absolutely necessary. The spoken word of the Absolute 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 words of Thakur Bhaktivinode direct the empiric pedant to discard

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 bye-path into the regions of

darker ignorance by his arrogant study of the scriptures. The method offered by

Thakur Bhaktivinode is identical with the object of the quest. 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 word from the living source of the Truth who is no other than the pure

devotee of Krishna, the concrete Personal Absolute.

Thakur Bhaktivinode's greatest gift to the world consists in this; that he has

brought about the appearance of those puredevotees who are, at present,

carrying on the movement of unalloyed devotion to the Feet of Shree 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 bonafide 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 principle of undiluted immorality.

Those who pretend to recognise the Divine Mission of Thakur Bhaktivinode

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

follow the teachings of the Thakur by the method enjoined by the scriptures and

explained by Thakur Bhaktivinode in a way that is so eminently suited to the

requirements of the sophisticated mentality of the present Age, only deceive

themselves andtheir willing victims by their hypocritical professions and

performances. These persons must not be confounded with the bonafide members of

the flock.

Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 Shree Krishna Chaitanya.

The spiritual community is not circumscribed by the conditions of time and

space, race and nationality. Mankind had been looking forward to this far-off

Divine Event through the Long Ages. Thakur Bhaktivinode 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 key stone 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 pronouncements of aggressive

sectarianism. The aggressive pronouncement of the concrete Truth is the crying

necessity of the moment for silencing the aggressive propaganda of specific

untruths 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 a 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

harmonises the claims of extreme selfishness with those of extreme

self-abnegation in the society of pure souls even in this mundane world. In its

concrete realisable form the function is perfectly inaccessible 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 devotees of Godhead."