VYĀSA-PŪJĀ - Hilo, Hawaii January 21, 2004
04 Jan 21 Hawaii - Vyāsa Pūjā
Tridaṇḍī svāmī Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedanta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja
VYĀSA-PŪJĀ
[Spoken on the āvirbhāva-tithi (Divine Appearance Day) of Śrīla Nārāyaṇa
Mahārāja]
Hilo, Hawaii January 21, 2004
In our Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya Sampradāya it is the custom that any
ācārya, who is widely spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the line of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, under the guidance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana
Vyāsadeva, will worship Śrīla Vyāsadeva and the Guru-paramparā on his birthday.
This worship is called Guru-pūjā and also Vyāsa-pūjā.
We have seen how our Gurudeva and his god-brothers used to very humbly
celebrate their Vyāsa-pūjā. This occasion is not meant for taking pūjā or
worship from disciples. On his birthday the ācārya worships his Guru and
Guru-paramparā, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Śrīmatī Rādhika
and others – in a mood of great respect. This is Guru-pūjā or Vyāsa-pūjā.
Why do we do Bhakti to Śrī Kṛṣṇa?
What is the reason that we pay so much respect to Śrī Gurudeva?
If we are gaining spiritual advancement from someone, we respect him.
No gain, no respect. Śrī Gurudeva always feels indebted to his Gurudeva and
Guru-paramparā.
Without Guru, Guru-paramparā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Kṛṣṇa,
what is there?
Nothing.
In other words there can be no spiritual advancement. Śrī Guru
considers that all the Tattva-jñāna, knowledge of established truths, that he
has, and whatever Bhakti he has, is due to Śrī Gurudeva and his Guru-paramparā.
Śrīla Gurudeva is not independent. He is dependent on his Guru-paramparā,
coming from Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Being a manifestation of Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself,
Śrīla Vyāsadeva is the root of all Gurus, and he has written in his books –
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Purāṇas and all others scriptures – about the great debt we
owe to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Alone, a person is never able to search out a bona fide Guru. If you
search on your own, you will accept a bogus Guru, because you don't know who is
Guru and what are his qualities and standards. You will have to judge by the
words of Vyāsadeva:
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy-upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.3.21)
Śrīla Vyāsadeva has given this definition of Guru, and our
Guru-paramparā has accepted it. If you are going to search out your Gurudeva
independently, I think that most of you will have bogus gurus who are fallen.
You will choose Australian kan-guroos – nothing more than that. When you will
have the association of a high class devotee you will have power to judge – not
before that. You will also have to take the help of a Vartma-pradarśaka-guru,
he who shows the path to the pure Guru. The Vartma-pradarśaka-guru will point
him out and tell you:
"Oh, he is really Guru"
Otherwise, how could you have known that Parama-Pūjyapāda Śrīla
Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja is Guru?
Could you have judged by your intelligence?
No.
On you own you are not even able to judge whether or not Śrī Kṛṣṇa is
the Supreme Lord.
Even Lord Brahma and Lord
Rudra are not able to judge.
muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.1)
The great sages and demigods
are bewildered about Him.
Even liberated persons could
not understand that the son of Nanda Mahārāja and Yaśodā-maiyā is the Supreme
Lord.
So Gurudeva is very
merciful. He will attract those who have sukṛti (sufficient past spiritual
pious activities) and he will reveal his purity in those devotees' hearts.
Śrī Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya
was, in another form, the priest of the demigods named Bṛhaspati. We cannot
imagine how learned he was, but still he could not understand that Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Lord.
When Śrīman Mahāprabhu
mercifully revealed that truth in his heart, then he understood. Otherwise, how
would he have been able to know?
Today we are celebrating
Guru-pūjā, because we are very indebted to our Gurudeva, the Guru-paramparā and
Śrīla Vyāsadeva. In India, all the various sampradāyas –Vaiṣṇava and Māyāvādi
as well – accept Śrī Vyāsa as Guru, and all worship him on the day of Guru-pūjā
without hesitation. We have heard from our Gurudeva that although Śaṅkarācārya
worshiped Vyāsadeva externally, he also said that Vyāsadeva was bhrānta,
meaning that he had spoken wrongly:
vyāsera sūtrete kahe ‘pariṇāma’-vāda
‘vyāsa bhrānta’—bali’ tāra uṭhāila
vivāda
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi
7.121)
"In his Vedanta-sutra
Śrīla Vyāsadeva has described that everything is but a transformation of the
energy of the Lord. Śaṅkarācārya, however, has misled the world by commenting
that Vyāsadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition to theism
throughout the entire world."
Śaṅkarācārya is therefore
not really a śiṣya, disciple, and Śrīla Vyāsadeva does not accept his so-called
respect and pūjā.
We should try to know the
heart of Gurudeva – what he really wants. Don’t cook as you wish. Don't do
anything as you like. This is not service to Gurudeva. We should try to know
the mood of Gurudeva – what he wants and what Lord Kṛṣṇa wants. Try to realise
this and try to please Kṛṣṇa. Whatever you do should be done to please Kṛṣṇa.
Here, Śrī Kṛṣṇa means the whole Guru-paramparā, Kṛṣṇa Himself, and especially
Śrīmatī Rādhika and all the gopīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Nityānanda
Prabhu. Whatever you do should be done to please Guru and Gaurāṅga. You
should only marry – to please Kṛṣṇa. You should only not marry – to please Kṛṣṇa.
The gopīs married their husbands to please Kṛṣṇa. They thought:
"We will serve Kṛṣṇa in
Parakīyā-rasa."
If they had married Kṛṣṇa there would have been no Parakīyā-rasa.
We are very fortunate to come have come to this Guru-paramparā line of
Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and our Gurudeva. This line is
perfect. In this line you can very easily have the topmost Bhakti,
Vraja-bhakti. You cannot have it anywhere else.
Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja came to this world and to Western
countries only to deliver these truths, and they are present in his books for
those qualified to see them. However, due to the fallen state of his audience
he had to begin his preaching by cutting the jungles of Māyāvāda, sakhī-bhekī,
sahajiyā and other philosophies – and then his period of stay in this world was
over. Lord Kṛṣṇa called him:
"Please return here. I am sending your successor to take your
place"
So he left. He could have stayed here longer, but he saw the mood of
his Gurudeva and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and he went to fulfil their desires.
Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā is observed for the purpose of pleasing Kṛṣṇa, and it
has been celebrated since the very beginning of our paramparā. Śrī Śukadeva
Gosvāmī first performed Vyāsa-pūjā to his Gurudeva, Śrīla Vyāsadeva himself.
Then, Śrīla Suta Gosvāmī performed Guru-pūjā to his Gurudeva, Śrī Śukadeva
Gosvāmī. Just before replying the questions of the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya he
prayed:
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ
dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhāva
putreti tan-mayatayā taravo ‘bhinedus
taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim ānato ‘smi
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.2)
"I offer praṇāma to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who can enter the hearts
of all living beings. When he left home without undergoing the purificatory
processes such as accepting the sacred thread, his father Śrī Vyāsadeva cried
out, 'O my son!' As if they were absorbed in that same feeling of separation,
only the trees echoed in response to his call."
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī prayed:
"O Śrī Vyāsadeva, my father and Guru, how marvellous you are!
And how merciful!
You are causelessly merciful! You dragged me from the forest and from
Māyāvāda philosophy to your lotus feet, and you taught me Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By
your mercy I was totally changed."
This is the job of a Guru.
The bona fide Guru does not consider that his disciples are his
property; He does not think, "They are my property." Nowadays I see
this going on. So-called gurus think that their disciples are their property;
so they accept all their offerings and fall down. A real guru never thinks like
that.
At the time of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu there was a meeting in the
evening after Nagara-saṅkīrtana in the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita. In the meeting
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu announced:
“Tomorrow is Vyāsa-pūjā. Śrīvāsa, we will observe Vyāsa-pūjā here in
your courtyard.
Do you have the paraphernalia?”
Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura replied:
"Oh, yes. I have sacred thread, betel nut, rice and all other
required ingredients and paraphernalia."
Mahāprabhu ordered:
"We should be ready at nine in the morning."
All others came on time the next day, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Himself arrived somewhat late and saw that all were waiting for Him. He asked:
"Why are you waiting?
Nityānanda Prabhu is My Guru – My Guru-varga (senior). It seems that he
is My elder brother, but I see him in relation to his Gurudeva, who is My
Param-gurudeva (grand spiritual master). Nityānanda is My Gurudeva's Guru and
he still greater; so He will do Vyāsa Pūjā.”
[Nityānanda Prabhu had taken Dīkṣā from Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha, the Guru of
Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, who was in turn the Parama-guru of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu was actually Śrī Mādhavendra Purī’s god-brother,
but He accepted him as His Śikṣā-guru.]
Before Mahāprabhu’s arrival, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Śrī Advaita Ācārya and
all others had requested Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu to perform Vyāsa-pūjā. They had
told Him:
"Please begin."
Nityānanda Prabhu replied:
"Yes, yes, I am just about to do it. I will do it right now."
But He was not doing it. He simply remained in his seat. Then, when Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu came He at once ordered Nityānanda Prabhu:
"Why are You delaying?
You should begin Vyāsa-pūjā."
Nityānanda Prabhu then took a very beautiful and fragrant garland and
placed it around the neck of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, saying:
"You are the same as
Lord Kṛṣṇa"
And then He began to perform
the ārati and worship of Mahāprabhu.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu became
ashamed, thinking:
"Why is He doing this?"
Nityānanda Prabhu – Baladeva Prabhu – possesses full knowledge of all
tattva (established truths). In
fact, His lotus feet stand on the head of all tattvas. He replied:
"What I am doing is
correct. We should try to please the worshipable deity of Śrīla Vyāsadeva –
Rasamayī Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is Akhila-rasāmṛta-sindhu (an ocean of the nectar of
pure transcendental mellows). This is Vyāsa-pūjā."
The history of Śrī
Vyāsa-pūjā began at the beginning of the world, when the Vedas were first
created. Vyāsadeva divided Veda into four sections, and after that he further
explained them in the form of the Purāṇas and the Upaniṣads. The Śvetāśvatara
Upaniṣad states:
yasya deva parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
"Only unto those great
souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all
the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed."
For those who have the
supreme Bhakti for the lotus feet of Parama-brahma, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and equal Bhakti for the lotus feet of their Gurudeva (who
reveals Lord Kṛṣṇa to them), the essence and all meanings of the Vedas, along
with Bhakti, will manifest in their hearts.
You should not think of
Gurudeva like a fashion. In fact, you should have more faith in Guru than in Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa will never cheat you, but even if He will cheat you, Śrī Gurudeva will
not cheat you. And you should not try to cheat Gurudeva by trying to hide the
contents of your heart and thinking:
"Oh, Gurudeva should
not know."
He knows everything, so why
attempt to cheat him?
At the time of Śrīla
Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja there were no disciples advanced enough to
understand what kind of faith one must have in the lotus feet of Gurudeva, nor
were they able to understand his identity and mission. His disciples thought
only that their Gurudeva had come to spread Nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is not his
greatest glory. This is one aspect of his glory, but there is more. His real
glory is that he is Dayita-dāsa. Śrīmatī Rādhika is Dayita, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s most
beloved, and Her dāsī is Śrī Gurudeva. This is his supreme glory. You
should realise who he is.
If a person who claims to be Guru is not actually that glorious, how
can he give kṛṣṇa-prema to the whole world?
If he has no kṛṣṇa-prema, not even a scent of kṛṣṇa-prema, how can he
give it?
If he has no Rāgānugā-bhakti, how can he give it?
If he does not even have Vaidhī-bhakti – like Prahlāda Mahārāja who
performed Śravaṇam-kīrtanam Viṣṇu-smaraṇaṁ (pure hearing, chanting and
remembering the Supreme Lord) – how can he preach?
Such so-called gurus are fallen, and other fallen persons will think:
"Oh, my Gurudeva is very, very high"
But he is actually fallen like his disciple. So you must learn and realise how to
discriminate.
In one of the Upaniṣads
there is a history of a Guru and his disciple Āruṇi. Āruṇi’s Gurudeva decided
to test him, to see how surrendered he was to him. He told Āruṇi:
"It is raining and night has fallen. Go at once go to the
field."
The field was some distance away and there was much rain and also
severe cold, and Āruṇi had no umbrella or any other protection. Still, his
Gurudeva ordered him:
"Go to the field and collect water there for paddy. You must
reinforce the dam so that the water will not go to the other fields."
His Gurudeva then gave him a spade.
Āruṇi said:
"Without any cover, Gurudeva, how I can go?
Please give me an umbrella, or at least a blanket or any other means of
protection."
His Gurudeva replied:
"No, you should go at once."
Āruṇi then went to the field in the downpour and severe cold of dark
night. The water was not remaining in the field, because the dam was broken, so
Āruṇi took that spade and began to put some earth on the dam to hold the water.
But he failed. Such heavy rain and strong current was coming that all the earth
was being washed away. Thinking:
"I have failed to do
this task"
He could not return to
Gurudeva. Rather, after some consideration, in order to check the water he laid
his own body down beside the dam, and thus he succeeded in keeping some water
in the field. The whole night his body was tortured by the water
current, but still he was somehow able to sleep.
In the morning Gurudeva saw
that Āruṇi had not returned. He asked:
"Where is Āruṇi?
I sent him to check the
water, but he has still not returned."
He then went to the field and called out:
"Āruṇi!
Where are you?
What are you doing?"
Āruṇi answered in a weak
voice, speaking like an almost dead person:
"Oh Gurudeva, I am
here"
Gurudeva then approached him, took his hands, and said:
"Stand up.”
He gave Āruṇi a blanket, embraced him, and said:
"Oh, you have passed the examination. Now I bless you that all
kinds of knowledge – everything that I have learned from the Vedas – shall
manifest in your heart. You shall realise all this knowledge and you shall be
like me."
At once, without delay, in a moment, Gurudeva had performed a miracle!
Āruṇi became knowledgeable in all the Vedas. This was the examination
of "cruel" Gurudeva, who was actually very soft.
In another Upaniṣad you can see the history of Upamanyu, who was a
disciple of Dhaumya Ṛṣi. Upamanyu came to his Gurudeva and prayed:
"I want Brahma-jñāna (knowledge of spirit beyond matter) Please
give me this."
His Gurudeva replied:
"Brahma-jñāna is a very secret and powerful thing. You will have
to stay in my gurukula for twenty-five years and graze the cows. After
twenty-five years I will give you Brahma-jñāna if you are qualified."
Upamanyu then began to graze the cows, and after six months to one year
Dhaumya Ṛṣi called him and asked:
"Upamanyu, although I never give you anything to eat, you are very
strong and healthy.
What do you eat?"
He answered:
"When the calves drink milk and some remnant is left, I take
that."
His Gurudeva ordered:
"Oh, why you are doing that?
You should not do that."
But he did not tell him what to do. Upamanyu again went out with the
cows, and after some days Dhaumya Ṛṣi called him and asked:
"Oh, you are still very
strong.
What you are eating?
Are you drinking milk?"
"No, no!"
"Then what do you
eat?"
"When the cows are
resting they chew their cud. Some foam comes outside their mouths and I take
that. There are hundreds of thousands of cows, so I am okay."
"I have not given you
permission to do this, so why you are doing it?
You should not take that
foam. They are my cows."
Upamanyu again went out with
the cows, and after some days, when one day he did not return with the cows in
the evening, Dhaumya Ṛṣi began searching for him. He called out:
"Where is Upamanyu?
O Upamanyu, what are you doing?
Where you are?"
"Gurudeva, I’m in a
well."
"Why are you in a
well?"
"Because you told me
not to take the foam of the cows, so I took the juice from a plant and I became
blind. That is why I am here. I have fallen in the well."
Gurudeva approached him,
pulled him out, and told him:
"First your eyesight
shall be restored, and then all Vedic literature and Brahma-jñāna shall come to
you. No need of waiting twenty-five years – you are qualified."
Upamanyu is an example of Guru-seva. If you will give your life,
surrender yourself like Upamanyu and Āruṇi, then you will receive Brahma-jñāna.
But you will not get Vraja-bhakti; this type of Prema is very high.
At the time of Śrī Vyāsa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Baladeva went to the
gurukula of Sāndīpani Muni. At that time Sudāma Vipra from Dvārakā was also
there. He was a Brāhmaṇa and the same age as Kṛṣṇa. One day the wife of their
Gurudeva told Kṛṣṇa and Sudāma:
"I have no wood for cooking and no wood for the fire sacrifice. Go
to the forest and bring some wood."
They went, and while they were out in the forest a heavy rain came with
severe cold and wind. There was so much rain that they could not see where to
walk. Everywhere the fields were flooded. The boys had gathered some bundles of
dry wood, and now they took shelter under a dense tree and stood there the
entire night. At the same time, they were holding the wood on their heads so
that the wood would not get wet. In the morning, Sāndīpani Muni personally came
out of his āśrama searching for his disciples, calling out:
"Where are Sudāma and Kṛṣṇa?"
"We are here."
"Why did you not return to the āśrama?"
"Oh, there was such a flood."
The two boys were trembling
from the cold. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, yet He was trembling and obeying
His Gurudeva. When one will be submissive like this, Bhakti will then manifest
in his heart. Bhakti is not so easy – I think you understand this. You will
have to surrender like Kṛṣṇa did. Then Guru will be happy. He will give his
blessings and benedict you with Brahma-jñāna or even more than that.
Sāndīpani Muni embraced both
boys and blessed them by saying:
"You have come to me to
learn all 64 arts and all Vedic knowledge. I bless you that everything shall
come in your heart – at once."
Kṛṣṇa already had all
knowledge, but not Sudāma, so by serving his Gurudeva he received his blessings
of Vedic knowledge and realisation. You should try to be like that.
To be a disciple of a
Rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava is still far superior, and for that you will have to follow
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. Still
more sacrifice is required to achieve the type of Bhakti they offer. When Śrīla
Rūpa Gosvāmī’s disciple, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, corrected Vallabhācārya in order
to defend the glory of his Gurudeva, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī told him:
“You were disrespectful to a
learned Brāhmaṇa. He was only trying to help me by correcting my
manuscript. You should return home."
Jīva Gosvāmī then went to Nanda Ghata, still in Vraja Mandala, where he
stayed in a crocodile hole. He fasted there and was on the verge of starving,
thinking:
"If Gurudeva is not happy, I should give up my life."
He became so sick that it seemed there was no hope for him to remain
alive. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī once passed through the area where he was
staying, he saw his condition, and then went to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and asked
him:
"What is your duty to the jīva?"
Rūpa Gosvāmī replied:
"To help the jīva attain kṛṣṇa-bhakti."
"Then why have you rejected Jīva?"
Rūpa Gosvāmī began to weep. Sanātana Gosvāmī brought Jīva back and Rūpa
Gosvāmī gave him medical help and nursed him back to health. Jīva Gosvāmī
fulfilled the desire of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Another perfect example of Guru-seva is Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu placed him in the hands of Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara, and
Raghunātha dāsa served his Guru with his heart. He did not just massage him;
this external seva will not do so much. To massage the heart, to please
Gurudeva – this is what is needed.
How can we please Guru?
How did Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī please his Gurudeva, Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu?
He knew His heart and he wrote Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu, Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi,
Lalita Mādhava, Vidagdha Mādhava and other books.
Mahāprabhu was extremely happy when Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote the verse,
yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ sa eva hi varas tā eva caitra-kṣapās
te conmīlita-mālatī-surabhayaḥ prauḍhāḥ kadambānilāḥ
sā caivāsmi tathāpi tatra surata-vyāpāra-līlā-vidhau
revā-rodhasi vetasī-taru-tale cetaḥ samutkaṇṭhate
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līla 1.58)
"That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is
now again my master. These are the
same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī
flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba
forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my
mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the
Revā under the Vetasi tree. That is my desire."
The nature of the pure Vaiṣṇavas
in our paramparā is that when they sprinkle their mercy upon you, you will
enter Rāgānugā-bhakti. Under the guidance of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī you will serve
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, with a leaning towards Śrīmatī Rādhika. This truth is
very, very secret, and I have brought you here to understand it. Śrīla
Prabhupāda, Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Mahārāja wanted to give this, and it is
explained in his books, but you were not mature enough at that time for him to
discuss it openly in his classes. Therefore, following in the line of our
ācāryas and by his desire, I am revealing many things about Rāgānugā-bhakti.
No one else is speaking like
this. All are silent, but I am not silent. In our entire paramparā hardly
anyone will give this. I want you all to have Rāgānugā-bhakti. To get it,
however, you will have to surrender and really become like the devotees I have
described today.
Don’t be like Ekalavya. No
Guru will name his disciple Ekalavya. We have no connection with him. He was a
demon, not a guru-bhakta. Droṇācārya told him:
"I will not teach you
archery"
He replied
"I must learn from
you"
He made a statue of Droṇācārya
and learned everything from him (in the form of that statue). When Droṇācārya
later on came to the forest and saw his skill, he was in wonder and asked him:
"How have you
learned this?"
"Oh, without your mercy
I could do nothing. I received your mercy by worshiping your deity, and in this
way I have become very expert in archery"
Droṇācārya was not pleased
with Ekalavya, who he knew wanted to fight with Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavan and His
associates like the Pāṇḍavas. He therefore asked him:
"Where is your Guru-dakṣiṇā?
I want your right hand
thumb.
“Ekalavya then cut off his
thumb and gave it to his Guru, and later on, during the Battle of Kurukṣetra, Kṛṣṇa
finished him by the use of His cakra.
We should not try to be like
Ekalavya. Someone may want Bhakti so that by the power of Bhakti he can destroy
his enemy, but that is not good.
What is the actual method to
come to bhakti?
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
"One can chant the holy
name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the
straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all
sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respects to others. In such a
state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly."
(Śikṣāṣṭaka 3)
This is the way by which we
achieve Bhakti. You will have to sacrifice and you will have to become śaraṇāgata,
completely surrendered. Śrī Kṛṣṇa explained this in Bhagavad-Gita. He
played the part of Guru and Arjuna played the part of the disciple. Because Kṛṣṇa
is Guru, we must obey Him if we want kṛṣṇa-prema. This prema is much higher
than Brahma-jñāna.
Now I will worship my Guru-paramparā and offer puṣpāṅjali.
Guru-paramparā and Śrīla Vyāsadeva are also here. I am very happy with the
arrangements today.
Gaura Premānande
