Today, during his Bhāgavata-pāṭha, Satya Nārāyan Bābā discussed Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā on Śrimad-Bhāgavata 1.9.26, where he says: kintu vairāgyaṁ cet sadaiva bhikṣavo bhaveyus tadā rāgas ced gṛhastha eva sadeti "A vairāgi should be vairāgī throughout life and a gṛhastha should be a gṛhastha throughout life if that is their true propensity." If vairāgya isn't there at age 50 one has either not properly followed gṛhastha dharma or one is simply not inclined towards vairāgya."
When I ask Satyanārāyan Bābā about the Haribhakti-vilāsa verse amārgastho sanmārgo vā gurur eva janārdanaḥ ("Whether on the path or off it, the Guru is always God"), he says that if the Guru is not on the path he cannot bestow siddhi, just as blind faith in a counterfeit medicine will not cure your disease. He reminds me of the verse I quoted earlier -
guror apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ
utpatha pratipannasya parityāgo vidhīyate
"If the Guru is arrogant, does not know right from wrong and is devious he is to be fully rejected".
I ask him about the muktānām api siddhānām verse (Śrimad-Bhāgavata 6.14.5), if that means that those who merged into brahman can really proceed to bhakti. He says muktānām refers to jīvanmuktas (those liberated in this body), not to atyantika muktas, fully liberated souls. Kṛṣṇa may take a soul out of brahman, because individuality is eternal, even in brahma-līna. A drop of water remains a drop, also when it is part of an ocean.
Edited December 16, 2008
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