Lecture from BR Swami Maharaj

 

 

We were talking about the essence of devotee life. There was one instance, where Srila sridhara Maharaj revealed it. It was on an ekadasi day and some disciples of Srila Prabhupada came to visit him. They performed kirtan at noon, so when the kirtan finished Sridhara Maharaja invited them to take prasada. One of them, a sannyasi, said: "Actually Maharaja, I'm observing full fast on ekadasi. I've been doing this for almost 20 years. This is my vow." He was about to reject but then in the next moment he realized that he can not disobey the superior order. He said: "Yes Maharaja, I have done this fasting for so long time and it is my vow, but as you are requesting me to take prasada, I will take." Upon hearing this Srila Sridhar Maharaj was very happy. He commented at that time: "Yes, he understood the essence of vaishnavism". So this is the essence of vaishnavism, to be obedient to superior agent. To be obedient to the guru in the first place and from this obedience, everything else will show. We will be able to adjust all other aspects of life to this. Because we need this mercy, guru kripa, vaisnava kripa, to be able to function in this world. Otherwise we can not maintain ourselves. We can not be brahmacaris, grhastas, vanaprastas or sannyasis. We can't fullfill the mission of life if we don't have the mercy. The Srimad Bhagavatam actually says that Kali Yuga means that brahmacaris will not be clean (will maintain impropper relationships), not actual brahmacaris. Grhastas who are generelly supposed to work hard and mantain their family and support the other members of the society, will be beggars and try to live easily without too much work, asking money from the government or however. The vanaprasthas will live in the village. Vanaprasta actually means forest dweller, but they will be living in the village, enjoying their previous comforts. This is attachment to comfort instead of tapasya. And the sannyasis will be greedy for wealth, instead of renouncing. This is the opinion of the Srimad Bhagavatam regarding brahmacaris, grhastas, vanaprastas and sannyasis of kali yuga. Kali yuga means that we are not in a good standing. This is our situation. But if we have at least some little bit of sincere desire in the heart and we somehow by the arrangement of the supreme Lord come in contact with a genuine spiritual master, a representative of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then some hope is there. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami is glorifying the devotees of Mahaprabhu, offering his obeisances unto them, who are like wells of spiritual inspiration, from whom a current of love and mercy is flowing to the desertlike hearts of the people of kali yuga. This current can save us. It can wake us up. It can give us a chance to give it a try and it can make us perfect. And this perfection is in the purpose, the sincerity of purpose. Humility of the heart, knowing that we can fail at any moment. And if failing, we get up and aproach the vaisnavas with more sincerity and pray to them that they help us to move on. 

We are all in the same boat of constant failures, so no one should jugde the others becuase of their mistakes. Rather we should glorify the others becuase of their sincere effort to continue the struggle. And the sincere effort is to realise one' mistakes and not blaming others. Realise the mistakes and develop a more determined approach to our practice. More humble attitude in the service, more dandavats and more nice and kind words of encouragment to others. It works like this. So all this is the duty of a disciple. As Gurudeva says it is a natural symptom of a member of a spiritual congregation to be preoccupied with the well being of the others. He says further that the indifference towards others is just a symptom of impersonalism and material egotism, of being preoccupied only with oneself, one's own spiritual advancment and peace is imperosnalism. and material egotism is to be preoccupied with one's own gain and profit. Both are egotism. One is gross material, and the other apparently spiritual. This is in a practical field, not so much philosophy. But at the same time, we have to understand the things properly. Taking care for others wellbeing is not just sentimentalism. In the words of Bhaktivinod Thakura, sentimentalism is atheism. We have to know what is the real benefit for us. We have to be determined to follow it with heart and soul. In other words, we have to be surrendered to the teaching of Guru and Gauranga. Then we can also be preoccupied with the wellbeing of others. This will empower us. We just have to connect everyone and everything with the service of our spiritual master. We have to come to the understanding that we are neither enjoyers, propriators or controllers. The guru is. And we can help others with our proper behaviour, proper representation of the teachings of the spiritual master. We should be very careful not to become indepedent. Because if we are independent, how can we preach a proper relationship to the Guru? We need benedictions for everything. As Sridhara Swami, the famous commentator of the Srimad Bhagavatam, said that a service must be offered first and accepted. Then it is service. Of course there is a level of something called spontaneous service, but this is elevated. In general terms, it will only be our speculation, impulses from our karma and jnana inclinations. Even if we become brahmanas or sannyasis, or whatsoever in a way opposed to what the Srimad Bhagavatam said, what we mentioned above as kali yuga, even if we dare to thin that we can be something, nothing is won, only lost. We might think that we know it better than the Bhagavatam, than the guru, than the vaisnavas. Mahaprabhu said, I am not a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra, neither brahmacary, grhasta, vanaprasta or sannyasi. I'm only aspiring to be a servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord of the gopis. This is our line. Servant of the servant of the servant.

Servant of Krishna is not a very elevated concept. Servant of the servant is more close. It means servant of the guru. But it's not compete. We have to be servants of the servants of the servants. Then Krishna and Guru will be pleased. This is the final defeat of the ego. Because serving Krishna, I may be so proud that I consider myself to not need a Guru. Serving the Guru I may still be so proud and so not being able to serve the vaisnavas. The goal is to serve the vaisnavas at every step, in accordance with the teachings of the guru and the previous acaryas. Then the ego will be finished. As Gurudeva said, we read the last two times, you have to see every devotee around you as a unique opportunty to serve a vaishnava. Unique and most valuable. So we have to be happy with this, then we will be disciples. We will be aspiring vaishnavas. Becoming proud in the name of serving Krishna or the Guru will only make us more crazy. So we are serving the vaisnavas in their efforts to serve the Guru. And we are serving them sometimes in their effort to continue, to pass a difficult moment. Humility should be put always above all. Pride is our enemy. Mahaprabhu said, humbly chant, be humble, tolerant, respectful, do not ask respect and chant. All this should be there, these qualities and the chanting. And the area where we are practicing the qualities are in our service in the association of the devotees. This is a big task. But we have to continue with determination, knowing that mercy can solve everything. We have to feel like addicts for this divine mercy. Being eager to catch and preserve it in any way possible.

So in this way, I would say we can stop here.

//Bhakti Raksaka Swami