Some Statements Should Be Made In The Closet

[Guest guest]

Some Statements Should Be Made In The Closet

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Dear devotees, I beg your blessings.

 

Please indulge me as I share a few more thoughts on the astonishing proposal

being argued lately by a few devotees to correct Srila Prabhupada's ''personal

ecstasies,'' as he has called his own writings.

 

Someone recently has said that it makes perfect sense that we should change

Srila Prabhupada's books, to make them, I suppose, more acceptable to the

public, and widening the prospective audience by making them more 'politically

correct.' Maybe these devotees are honestly analyzing the situation and are

concluding that changing the books is the best thing to do. To them, it makes

perfect sense. But who among us is going to decide that 'this is good, let's

keep it', 'or this is bad, trash it!'

 

Any devotee who has read our books even a little knows that "making perfect

sense" does not make something a reality according to the Vaisnava school of

thinking. Whatever makes sense to one scholar now may be rejected later, and

whatever we surmise as true due to our seeing how much sense it makes, will

not make the same sense to all other men, or even to us later on. Everything

is always changing in the material world. Values and morals are always

changing according to the fickle nature of those captured my the three modes

of nature. In the dual nature of this relative atmosphere, there are no

conclusive realities but always there are two sides. So as aspiring seekers of

the truth, we must look elsewhere for what is actually real. For that we must

take shelter of disciplic succession.

 

"Taking shelter" of param para means always following closely in the footsteps

of our predecessor and whatever we say concerning this philosophy is identical

with what we have submissively heard from our guru, though spoken is our own

words. An actual disciple has given up speculating, accepting that all

previous conceptions of life and God are invalid due to our four defects. He

has become determined to let the truth come down from the transcendental

platform through every word that comes from the mouth of the pure, unalloyed

devotee of Krsna. That is why we abandon speculation and seek the truth

through submissive hearing. And what we have heard and only what we have

heard, we repeat that same idea without any adding or deleting what we don't

like, or what we think others will not like. We do not change it to suit the

world. Rather, we present it as it is and let the world come up to the higher

standard.

 

That is why in Vaisnava preaching about the process of devotional service, we

generally do not say things like, "I think," or "it makes perfect sense'' to

me ," etc. Any philosophical assertions about Krsna consciousness that begin

with these words would be one's own opinions and are undoubtedly debatable,

subjective assertions and will not hold up to be true in all circumstances.

Nor could they be accepted as part of the devotional science. Srila Prabhupada

said that any statements by devotees that start with phrases like these should

be "made in the closet" and he would laugh.

 

The one undenyable reason for this, of course, is because the conditioned soul

has four defects. Therefore, no matter how much we try, how much sense we

have, or how much education and academic knowledge we have gained, there will

always be problems with receiving our understanding by this deductive,

ascending process, or making philosophical assertions based on such

understanding. For example, I might say "It makes perfect sense," but to whom

is it making perfect sense? If we look closely, what we mean is that it makes

perfect sense to me right now, with my limited knowledge and imperfect senses.

I am saying ''it seems to be correct under the circumstances, as far as I can

judge."

 

But this is certainly not a safe place to put our faith. That fact is basic to

our Krsna conscious understanding. Usually when we come to Krsna

consciousness, we are thoroughly frustrated with our speculations that just go

in circles and get us nowhere. From the beginning we learned from Srila

Prabhupada and from the teachings of Krsna consciousness that today we may

have some intelligence and can see some pet conception so logically and to our

teeny brains everything may seem correct, but someday our intelligence may

fail, as it did in the case of Arjuna, and our mind will become confused. We

will then ''fall down,'' bewildered in our pursuit of knowledge by logic and

reason and by our acceptance of ''what makes perfect sense." So, safely we can

only put our faith in taking shelter of the actual words of Krsna's

confidential servants.

 

Otherwise, taking shelter of logic and speculation is full of dangers.

Eventually, our material intelligence may fail us and everything will crash in

our life. And when this eventuality finally takes place, we will again be lost

and in the end will have to seek out advise from someone who is not under the

control of the mind and material intelligence. But we already have the perfect

captain to steer us out of the darkness. We are all safely traversing the

material ocean if we are just patient and let the devotional process gradually

work for us. Let's not jump ship and start swimming to some island made of

quicksand, or, in other words, let us not again start relying on our own

powers of reason and logic, or following the advice and guidance of

nondevotees.

 

Instead, if we follow the path of pridelessness and humble submission to the

pure devotee's guidance, accepting him as fully capable of bringing us to the

other side, there will be no danger. We do not have to take control by

starting to improve his already perfect writings. Just by carefully following

his footsteps, without interfering, everything will be under Krsna's control

and He will protect us and release us from the reactions of all of our past

sins as He has promised. Eventually the desired results will come,

supernaturally, and by Krsna's grace.

 

So as bhaktas and disciples we are required to give up all this speculation.

That means whatever concepts about Krsna or devotional service we have

concocted, or the pursuit of the absolute truth that we have created in our

teeny brains by reason and logic, should be abandoned. "Religion is enunciated

by the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Whatever He creates is transcendental

and He reveals to us whatever knowledge we need from within when we practice

this submissive hearing of His pure devotee. All other vibrations are

temporary and circumstantial. We cannot concoct anything and follow it,

because It leads nowhere. We know that. That's why we were so happy to finally

take shelter at Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet.

 

Whatever comes from the mouth of our beloved spiritual master leads straight

to Krsna because it is non different from Krsna. The transcendental sound

vibration from the lips of an unalloyed devotee like Srila Prabhupada is His

internal potency. To hear and to follow such instructions, one comes into

direct contact with Krsna through the agency of His internal potency. To

associate with Krsna means that one gets the benefit of the antiseptic and

prophylactic qualities of Krsna and thus becomes purified and enter the

transcendental atmosphere!

 

This is the secret of devotional service. To follow the advice of conditioned

souls will not have the same effect. The results will only be temporary. By

following in their footsteps, we may develop your mind, or heal our bodies, or

enhance our relationships, but we will not ever be freed from the clutches of

the modes of nature and will simply have to take another birth in order to

receive the benefit of such pious or "good" pursuits. But you will not develop

your love of God, because love of God can be reached by only one process. That

process is devotional service. And we can not whimsically add or subtract to

this transcendental process.There are certain practices that have been created

by Krsna that if we follow them without offenses and with service to his pure

devotee, we will gradually develop the blessing of love of God. This gradual

development of Krsna consciousness is independent of any outside influence. It

is completely directed by Krsna through His internal potency.

 

So best we take Krsna's advise, and simple give up all these ''other processes

of religion, and just surrender to Him.'' In other words, abandon everything

except the nine processes of devotional service, and we will eventually reach

the highest goal. In the Second Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Chapter

entitled "Pure Devotional Service: A Change in Heart," Srila Prabhupada says

this change is a natural, expected result. We shall gradually feel the ecstasy

of Krsna consciousness. He said that if it does not happen naturally, "it is

due to offenses only." I pray with you to be protected from such offenses.

 

With great respect for the Vaisnavas, Mahananda dasa