Essential Truth Spoken Concisely Is True Eloquence

[gHari]

Yet another Thakura Treasure! This one is to be found in the Hare Krsna Encyclopedia:<blockquote>In the second chapter of his book "Brahmana and Vaisnava" entitled Harijana-khanda (page 86 in ISKCON edition from 1999), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura states:<blockquote>"Who are the Harijanas, or Vaisnavas, and what makes them different from the nondevotees? I am quoting various evidence from the scriptures and sentiments of devotees in this Hari-jana-khanda to answer these questions.

 

"Before acquiring material designations, the living entity is supremely pure. Even though he is not engaged in serving the Supreme Lord, he remains situated in the neutral position of santa-rasa due to his marginal nature. Though the living entity born from the marginal potency does not at that time exhibit a taste for serving the Lord due to a lack of knowledge of realization, his direct propensity of serving the Supreme Lord nevertheless remains within him in a dormant state. Though the indirect propensity of material enjoyment, which is contrary to the service of the Lord, is not found in him at that time, indifference to the service of Hari and the seed of material enjoyment, which follows that state of indifference, are nevertheless present within him.

 

"The living entity, who belongs to the marginal potency, cannot remain indifferent forever by subduing both devotional and nondevotional propensities. He therefore contemplates unconstitutional activities from his marginal position. As a sleeping person dreams that he is active in the physical world without actually being involved in activities, when the dormant indifferent living entity of the marginal potency exhibits even a little apathy to the service of the Supreme Lord and situates himself in a neutral, unchanging condition for even a little time, he is infected by impersonalism. That is why the conditioned soul desires to merge in the impersonal Brahman, thus exhibiting his mind's fickle nature. But due to neglecting the eternal service of the Lord and thereby developing the quality of aversion to the Lord, he cannot remain fixed in that position. In this way aversion to the Lord breaks his concentration of mind and establishes him as the master of this world of enjoyment.

 

"Maya, the external energy of the Supreme Lord, then induces the marginal living entity to enjoy this world through her covering and throwing potencies and thus shows the living entity the reality of being averse to the Lord's service.

 

"At that time the living entity considers himself the king of enjoyers, and being situated in the mode passion he takes the position of Brahma and creates progeny. The living entities who are born from Brahma, the grandfather of everyone, expand themselves in families of Aryans and brahmanas. In this world of duality, however, living entities who are covered and thrown under the control of the external energy naturally become envious. This enviousness further creates pride, illusion, greed, anger, and lust and induces the living entities to dance frantically in aversion to the Lord. At that time they forget both that they were born from Grandfather Brahma and the Lord's instructions in the Vedas.

 

"And on the platform of progress, if a living entity cultivates transcendental sound vibration and revives the process of remembering the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, he then achieves scientific spiritual knowledge. By this process, all anarthas are destroyed and he becomes situated in a supremely auspicious position.

 

"The mood that arises when one is manipulating his senses is called vilasa, or enjoyment. The meaning of vairagya, or renunciation, is to become averse to the accumulation of sensual knowledge. The conditioned souls who are overwhelmed by the illusory energy of Hari become temporary enjoyers of this world under the control of Maya's covering and throwing potencies. But if such persons fortunately meet devotees who are constantly remembering Krsna, then they can give up insignificant material enjoyment and receive the opportunity to attain transcendental knowledge.

 

"Although due to forgetfulness of Krsna the perverted movement of the senses is considered temporary and adverse, when they are properly employed in eternal subjects their disease of transience is destroyed and they give up the desire to embrace such transient objects. Then that person appreciates the following verse from the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, which is the mercy of Sri Sanatana and compiled by Srila Gopala Bhatta, the disciple of Tridandipada Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati, who was a servant of Sri Gauranga and born in an Andhra brahmana family.

<center>

grhita-visnu diksako

visnu-puja-paro narah

vaisnavo 'bhihito 'bhijnair

itaro 'smad avaisnavah

</center>

"One who is initiated into Sri Visnu's mantras and who is devoted to worshiping Lord Visnu is called a Vaisnava by those who are learned. One who is devoid of these practices in not a Vaisnava."

 

"Although the eternal living entity is constitutionally favorably inclined towards the Supreme Lord, due to his indifference towards the eternal service of the Lord he is eligible for being controlled by Maya. When one tries to measure material objects with his sensual knowledge, he simply increases his enjoying propensity day after day. That he is eligible for achieving transcendental knowledge - this ancient memory he also often forgets. As a result of being covered and thrown and considering himself the enjoyer of this world, such a person has no power to discriminate between good and bad, rather he considers temporary and unreal subjects as permanent and favorable for his enjoyment."</blockquote>The jiva is the eternal servant of Krsna because he "is constitutionally favorably inclined towards the Supreme Lord", but before falling down he serves Him only in santa-rasa which in fact is not direct pure devotional service. As for the higher rasas, Srila Prabhupada says that the pure devotee can never forget Krsna and we cannot argue with that.</blockquote>

You've got me addicted, Krsna das. I spend all day in that thread, the thread, recognizing who is true master. The Thakuras take a thousand words and boil them into ten; writing sentences that leave the whole being stunned in awe by making the complex simple seemingly within reach.

 

gHari

[krsna]

Antim-Vani

 

The last message of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur before His disappearance on 23 December, 1936 at Sri Gaudiya Math, Bagbazar, Calcutta.

 

 

 

"I have given trouble to many persons. As I have been compelled to speak the undeceitful truth, and have urged persons to worship God (Sri Hari) sincerely without deceitfulness, many persons may even have considered me to be their enemy. By inspiring them to be eagerly devoted to Sri Krishna sincerely without ulterior desires and deceitfulness, they will someday be able to understand why I have given trouble to them.

 

 

All should propagate the teachings of Sri Rupa and Raghunatha with great enthusiasm. Our highest and ultimate goal of life is to become the holy dust-particles of all the devoted successors of Srila Rupa Goswami. All of you should remain intimately united with whole-hearted allegiance to the Grace-Incarnate-Form-Gurudeva-(the Absolute Counterpart of the Supreme Lord) with the purpose of propitiating Him, Who is identical with Absolute Undivided Knowledge. All should live in this most perishable world somehow within limited means only for the object of worshipping Sri Hari. Don't give up Haribhajan in spite of hundreds of calamities, hundreds of scoldings and hundreds of harassments. Don't be disheartened to see that most of the conditioned souls of the world are not adoring the message of unadulterated pure devotion to Sri Krishna. Don't give up hearing and chanting 'Krishna-katha' (the glories of Sri Krishna- His Name-Form-Attributes-Pastimes), which is the life and only wealth of a true devotee. Always chant Harinam being humbler than a blade of grass and more forbearing than tree.

 

We cherish the desire of dedicating this body, which is equal to an inert mass of matter, a product of the material energy of the Lord, for oblation to Sankirtan-yajna of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with His personal associates. We are not desirous of getting the worldly name and fame of becoming a renowned man of action (Karmabir), or a god of piety (Dharmabir), but rather, we want to be the dust of the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Goswami, which is our actual wealth and our 'be-all and end-all'. The pure devotional channel of the flow of succession of Srila Bhakti Vinode Thakur will never be stopped. All of you should take the vow of propagating this pure devotional flow of thought with more earnestness and perseverance to fulfil the desire of Srila Bhakti Vinode Thakur. Amongst you there are many deserving proficient persons who are competent to do this-

 

We pray repeatedly by holding grass between our teeth- 'We only want to be the dust particles of the lotus feet of Sri Rupa Goswami in every birth'.

 

As long as we are in the grip of the shackles of non-eternal relations of this world prison-house, there will be, inevitably, numerous inconveniences and difficulties but we should neither be infatuated by those discomfitures nor should we think that our object of life is only to endeavour to remove disadvantages. It is necessary for us to have a clear conception of what our objective will be during our very existence in this world and how our eternal life will be after the removal of all worldly drawbacks and difficulties. It is also expedient that we should have a solution for whatever problems we face in this world in regard to attraction and repulsion, that is to say, whatever we want and whatever we do not want. As much as we shall remain aloof from the Lotus Feet of Sri Krishna, as much will be the grip of worldly attractions and repulsions. We can realise the transcendental sweetness of the loving service of Sri Krishna when we are eligible to perform chanting of the transcendental Holy Name- 'Sri Krishna' that is beyond the domain of worldly attraction and repulsion. Krishna-katha apparently seems startling and perplexing. All so-called human beings are struggling more or less, knowingly or unknowingly, to eliminate obstacles causing hindrance to our realisation of the Eternal Objective. Our only necessity is to have access into the Blissful Transcendental Abode, transcending all feelings of conflict.

 

We have no attachment or detachment to anybody in this world. All arrangements in this world are momentary. It is essential for everybody to get the Highest Objective- Absolute Bliss. Let all of you be blessed by getting the service of the Original Absolute Counterpart- Grace Incarnate Form of the Supreme Lord by means of the attributes of one-pointed devotion and concord. Let the holy stream of the sacred devotional thought of the associates of Srila Rupa Goswami continue to flow uninterruptedly. We should never be indifferent under any circumstances to Sri Krishna Sankirtan-yajna, which can bestow sevenfold principal attainments. When there will manifest increasing devout devotion to Sankirtan, we will achieve all attainments. Let all of you propagate the teachings of Sri Rupa-Raghunatha with great enthusiasm and undaunted spirit, taking absolute shelter of the personal associates of Sri Rupa Goswami".