Niranjan Prasad Das (1912-2008)

Niranjan Prasad Das and Advaitadas, before Sadhu Baba's Samadhi, March 2000


Today I received a letter from my Guru-bhāi Golok Ghosh, informing me that my foremost Guru-bhāi Nirañjan Prasād Dās passed away on April 26, 2008. He was 96 years old and outlived his daughter Kṛṣṇā Dās by nearly two years. I will offer an obituary to this monumental bhakta later. A pdf file of my satsanga with him is available on my site, under the linktab 'Articles'.


আমার বন্ধু -এত বড় বন্ধু, এত বড় পারমার্থিক সম্পর্ক । এই সম্পর্ক ইহ-পর কালে ছিন্ন হবে ন । আমার সব আছে, কিন্তু এর মধ্যে অদ্বৈত আমার বড় বন্ধু । এইটা প্রশংসা নয় - এইটা truth, actually so"

'He is my friend, such a great friend. It is such a great spiritual connection. This connection will never be severed - not in this life nor in the next. I have everything, but among all this Advaita is my greatest friend. This is not a glorification, it is actual truth."

(Nirañjan Prasād Dās, Navadvīp, March 2000)

Various inquiries

Bhakta: I think among 64 items of bhakti, book distribution is also not mentioned but if any body does book distribution sincerely won't Kṛṣṇa take that? Kindly answer..........

Advaitadas: “Book distribution (if no money is stolen by the collector for his own purpose) is obviously a service rendered directly for the benefit of the Guru (paricarya sevā, as in sarvasvam vinivedya ca, “Everything must be offered to the Guru”, Hari Bhakti Vilāsa 2.10). No company profits from that. It can be included under viśrambhena guroḥ sevā, trustfully serving the Guru. Book distribution was of course not specifically mentioned there because in Rūpa Gosvāmī's days there were no printing presses so book distribution was not possible at the time.”

Bhakta: ‘Is there any truth in one getting the karma of someone who touches your feet?’

Advaitadas: “Look in Caitanya Caritāmṛta (Ādi 17.243-245):

eka-dina mahāprabhura nṛtya-avasāne

eka brāhmaṇī āsi’ dharilo caraṇe

caraṇera dhūli sei loy bāra bāra

dekhiyā prabhura duḥkha hoilo apāra

sei-kṣaṇe dhāyā prabhu gaṅgāte poḍilo
nityānanda-haridāsa dhari’ uṭhāilo

"One day, after His dancing, a brahmin woman came to hold Mahāprabhu's lotus-feet, taking the dust from His feet again and again. Seeing this, the Lord was endlessly distressed. At once He ran to the Ganges and jumped into it. Finally Nityānanda and Haridās pulled Him out again."

Bhakta: You told me (and śāstra says so) that one has to be humble at all cost. But when one is interacting in the world that is impossible.”

Advaitadas: How so?

Bhakta: "What if I were a policeman?"

Advaitadas: “I think that everyone can be humble including soldiers and cops; it is a question of nature, not of occupation. there are many humble cops and many proud 'saints'.

Bhakta: “But imagine if you have to catch a thief and he shoots at you, then you are forced to kill him....”

Advaitadas: Yes but that is my job then. It won't mean I can't be humble. Let me give you King Pratāpa-rudra of Orissa as an example. He was so humble towards Mahāprabhu, wasn't he? And yet he ordered many death sentences too, to criminals and opponents, and slaughtered many on the battlefield. He even ordered a death sentence on Rāmānanda Rāya's brother. Yet he swept the road in front of Lord Jagannāth and begged Mahāprabhu for his darśana. And when Mahāprabhu refused he humbly accepted that refusal.”

Bhakta: "In Mahānidhi Swāmī's edition of Ānanda Vṛndāvana Campū, in the chapter The Appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, page 31, it is said "The society girls visiting Nanda Mahārāja's house..." Society girls in Vraja Gokul? Wow! Can you say something about it?"

Advaitadas: The text is translated from Ānanda Vṛndāvana Champu 2.21-22. The word used by Kavi Karṇapura is actually vraja-nāgarīṇāṁ, which simply means 'the women of the town'. It does not refer to prostitutes or so, just the local cowherd women.”

Desire trees, rainbows, Dāsya Ras, Balarām Bhakti and Vṛndāvan’s Cupid

Bhakta: "Have you ever seen a kalpa taru?"

Advaitadas: "Every tree in Vraja is a kalpataru, as far as there are any left now. First the Muslims chopped down the forests, then the British and now the Hindus themselves get so much money that they all need to build a house in Vṛndāvana, as a socio-religious status symbol, without actually ever living there even. So there go the last kalpatarus. Anyway, kalpatarus only fulfill pure devotional desires, so only a pure devotee really benefits from them. In the Ānanda Vṛndāvana Campu it is described how the gopīs get all the paraphernalia of their services from the kalpa tarus in Vṛndāvana.  It is said, for instance, that when Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa finished frolicking in the water of Rādhākuṇḍa, the mañjarīs open the pumpkins on the branches of the kalpatarus and take out clean and fresh towels to dry Them with."

Bhakta: "Whenever Kṛṣṇa claims, in the līlā granthas, that He is the proprietor of all that is in Vraja, isn't that aiśvarya buddhi seeping through?"

Advaitadas: "No. You have to see it in the context of the līlā's socio-economic situation - Kṛṣṇa is not the son of a cobbler, His father is the king of Vraja. In such a feudal environment the political ruler is also the proprietor of the place. But the proprietor is Nanda, not Kṛṣṇa. Such is Nanda's influence that Jaṭilā is adviced by Paurṇamāsī, who is the authoritative local brahmin, to send her daughter in law Rādhā to go to his home daily to cook for Kṛṣṇa, though normally that is a breach of the etiquette."

Bhakta: "So dāsya rasa in Vraja is also still not aiśvarya?"

Advaitadas: "No way. The servants like Raktaka and Patraka consider Kṛṣṇa to be the son of the king and therefore an important local master, but never God Himself."

Bhakta: "In rasik literature Cupid is often called 'almighty'. Isn't that aiśvarya?"

Advaitadas: "No of course not. Mādhurya means that anyone in Kṛṣṇa's environment can be almighty, be it Cupid, Kaṁsa, Nanda Mahārāja, Jaṭilā, Lord Nārāyan (Nanda's deity) but never Kṛṣṇa Himself. In mādhurya-jñāna Kṛṣṇa is subjugated, in aiśvarya the devotees are. Of course in actual fact Kṛṣṇa IS almighty, but the rāgānugā bhakta forgets this at one stage (as does Kṛṣṇa Himself). If you see Kṛṣṇa as merely human without first realizing His almight everything becomes mundane or sentimental."

Bhakta: "Why is there a need for a separate Cupid in Vraja, often referred to in Rasik literature, while Kṛṣṇa is Himself also hailed as the Supreme Cupid?"

Advaitadas: "In his Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Gaṇoddeśa Dīpikā (38) Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has identified Cupid in Vraja as the gopa Ujjvala (it is quoted in Haridās Dāsjī's commentary on Dānakeli Cintāmaṇi verse 138). Just as Yogamāyā is omnipresent as an energy in Vraja līlā but she is also present as the person Paurṇamāsī, so it is with Cupid and Ujjvala. As a matter of fact, Hlādinī energy is present as Rādhikā Herself personally as well.”

Bhakta: "You quoted Sanātan Gosvāmī's Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta that the Gokula (prakaṭ) līlā of Kṛṣṇa and the Goloka (aprakaṭ) līlās are just the same, but is there not a verse someone that says that the light shines brighter in the dark (Kṛṣṇa's līlā in the material world) than in the light?"

Advaitadas: "Yes, that is in Viśvanāth Cakravartīpāda's comment on Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.14.37 - prapañca niṣprapañco'pi viḍambayasi bhūtale. However, this is for those who are on the outside looking in. When you are on the inside looking out (in the middle of the līlā) it wont make any difference. You won’t notice the difference."

Bhakta: "In another song on your website (1st song of Rāi Rākhāl) it is described how the gopīs get mesmerised by the flute playing of Balarām and all the other gopas."

Advaitadas: "In this līlā, called Gopāṣṭamī, once a year, Rādhā joins the cowherd boys in the meadows. They don't get mesmerised by the gopas' flute-playing as they do by Kṛṣṇa's flute-playing – that is not the point of it. Rādhā dresses up as Subal and goes out in the daytime with Kṛṣṇa. The gopas’ flute-playing is a signal that this unique opportunity is arising for Her and that delights Her. This is not an amorous līlā involving Balarām or so. What Balarām does with the gopīs is not our concern. It is not described in any grantha at all in our entire sampradāya. The only description of Balarām and the gopīs is in chapter 65 of the 10th canto and the ācāryas have written practically no comments on it. We are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, not of Balarām - ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa tanayaḥ

Bhakta: ‘I read in Smṛti Śāstra that one should not look at a rainbow. Is that because it will remind a brahmacārī of women?”

Advaitadas: First of all, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta says ‘indra-dhanu śikhi-pākhā’, the rainbow reminds us of Kṛṣṇa’s peacock-feather crown’, secondly what will you do on the speedway, 100 m/h, when suddenly a rainbow appears in the sky? Close your eyes, crash and get killed? Thirdly, even the strictest brahmacārī cannot avoid seeing attractive women – they are simply there. One must transcend them. Viśvanatha Cakravartī says about that (SB 7.15.22 tika) : asankalpāt strī ramaṇādinā kāmotpattāvapi naiva strī mayā sambhoktavyeti sankalpa sadṛśān niścayāt kāmaṁ jayet  “The desire for women can be defeated by having a firm resolve, even if lust has arisen, realizing ‘This woman is not enjoyable for me’.

The Lord of Goloka, pre-planned action and the Guru’s mingling

Bhakta: "I think that the comments on these rasika books are sometimes a bit far-fetched and they always draw a most erotic conclusion."

Advaitadas: "This is called a rasika vyākhyā and is really the prerogative of the rasika bhaktas and acaryas. This type of books is their exclusive domain. As far as the general prerogative of a commentator or elaborator is concerned, he need to take care of just two parameters - rasābhāsa (perverted flavour) and viruddha siddhānta (controversial theories aka bogus philosophies)."

Bhakta: "Sometimes it seems that the Vrajavāsīs know that Kṛṣṇa is God. In songs and books about Vraja lila they sometimes acknowledge that directly or indirectly."

Advaitadas: "Yogamāyā often plays a very intricate game with them. She herself appears in the form of Paurṇamāsī, who even personally arranges much of the līlā. As she is a brahmin she is considered authority in the village community and on her order alone Rādhā goes cooking for Kṛṣṇa in the morning, which otherwise would have been immoral in the eyes of the pious villagers. She is also the most learned person in the community, so from her the simple villagers hear things from śāstra. She recites the Purāṇas to the gopīs, who want to be externally known as pious girls. Then they hear all kinds of things like Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of Goloka, and later they tease Him with it, never seriously considering that He actually is the Lord of Goloka."

Bhakta: 'Speaking of which, on page 5 of your Dāna līlā padas file (see madangopal.com  Literature - Song Translations) there is a song where Kṛṣṇa says to the gopīs:

"I am the Lord of Goloka — don't You recognise Me? All the great demigods like Brahmā are serving My feet and humbly call Me Hari, but You don't even lift Your face to look at Me!"

Advaitadas: "Yes but this is bragging only. The next couplet says:

"Hearing Krishna's words, fortunate Rāi became delighted at heart and spoke false rasika words: "Why did You leave Goloka to herd cows in this forest? What pleasure does the Lord of Goloka find here?", and three couplets later:

"You claim to be the Lord of Goloka, but then why do You have such a (wicked) mentality? Think deeply about the moral consequences of what You're doing."

So see, this is sheer mādhurya. Even if they know Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of Goloka, then still they rebuke and ridicule Him. "

Bhakta: "But She says, 'Why did you leave Goloka?' I thought the whole area was Goloka?"

Advaitadas: "She challenges: "If you are really Kṛṣṇa (as the Supreme Lord) then why did You leave Goloka?" This proves exactly that the gopīs are not aware that they are in Goloka, and that is the fun and the sweetness of the song."

Bhakta: "Where are they then?"

Advaitadas: "They are of course in Goloka, but they think it is just an ordinary forest."

Bhakta: "The demigods in Vraja, do they think that Kṛṣṇa is Nārāyaṇa or superior to Nārāyaṇa?"

Advaitadas: "Look at the Bhāgavata: Lord Brahmā prayed to Kṛṣṇa in Vraja: nārāyaṇo'ṅgaṁ nara bhū jalāyanāt (10.14.14) "Nārāyaṇa who lies in the water is your particle only."

Bhakta: I hear many weird explanations about the verse prakṛteḥ kriyamānāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (Bhagavad Gītā 3.27). Like, if you move your limbs it is not you who is doing it but the Supersoul."

Advaitadas: "My brother is a doctor and he is now also into spiritual literature, so we correspond on these things. He told me that it is scientifically proven that decisions are taken a split second after they are already carried out, which proves that our detailed movements are not really consciously decided, or not at all decided by us. Because of such discoveries he is now also seriously accepting the existence of God. prakṛteḥ means 'of material nature', and kriyamānāni means 'fully performed'. We act according to millions of automatisms, breathing, blinking the eyes, body language, scratching itches etc, without thinking about it. Although driving a car is a dangerous and responsible activity (especially with many devotees on board) we do it easily without attention even. We think about so many other things while driving."

Bhakta: "What about the demigods?"

Advaitadas: "The demigods are embodiments of the elements - air, water, fire, much of which our bodies and minds consist of. Craziness is a result of disturbed life-airs f.i. The demigods control these elements. We practise millions of automatisms, actually carried out by the demigods, so can you imagine the mega-intelligence of each of these devatās, that actually carry out the motoric functions of billions of living beings in one universe! Terabyte databases!"

Bhakta: “There is a translation of the Bhāgavata (7.12.11) which says that the gṛhastha approaches his wife in the season with the permission of the Guru.”

Advaitadas: “That is not a correct translation of that verse. The text says guru vṛttir vikalpena gṛhasthasyartu gāmināḥ.

The word vṛtti means: turning, rolling; being, existence, livelihood, maintenance; mode of being or acting, conduct, behaviour, esp. good conduct or respectful behaviour towards; devotion to or pursuit of; usage, practice, rule; nature, character, style (d.); action, activity, function or force of a word; commentary on a Sūtra. (Monier Williams)

And vikalpa means: alternative, choice between two or more; difference, variety; supposition, (false) conception; uncertainty, doubt. (Monier-Williams)

Neither of these words mean ‘permission’. guru vṛttir vikalpena means ‘the service of the Guru is optional for the gṛhastha, who is ṛtu gāmī, approaching the wife in her season. At that time Guru service is not possible. The context of the sentence is the brahmacārī’s duty of serving the Guru, which may or may not be possible for the gṛhastha, who usually does not live with the Guru. Śrīdhara Swami, Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī have not commented on this sentence, but the English translation of Gita press says so and the Hindi translation of Krishna Shankar Shastri too.

The above explanation has also been given by ācārya Vīra-Rāghava: gurvī vṛttir gurvānuvṛttiḥ strī saṅga rāhityādi rūpā brahmacarya vṛttiḥ gṛhasthasya tu vikalpena kadācid bhavet kadācin na syāt. kadā na bhavet? ……………ṛtu-gāmina iti. ṛtu gāmitvād guru vṛtti vikalpa iti bhāvaḥ. ṛtu-kāleṣu guru vṛttir nāstīti ca bhāvaḥ. asyā vṛttir duṣkaratvābhiprāyeṇa gurviti viśeṣaṇam upāttam. “The brahmacārī does not associate with women, so he can constantly serve the Guru, but that is not so for the gṛhastha, who can sometimes do and sometimes not do this service. When can he not do? …………. When he approaches his wife in the season. Then Guru service becomes an option. In the seasonal time the Guru is not served, for it will be difficult to accomplish.”

The point is that is not an item of Vedic culture that the Guru tells the disciple when to make a baby or that he mingles in the private lives of his disciples, period. Make no mistake, though. It is not that Sādhu Bābā did not protect his married disciples from māyā – he tought that not only the brahmacārīs, but also the gṛhasthas should beware of spilling genital fluids. It's not that anything goes.

Jala-brahma, prostitutes and Kṛṣṇa's eye-meals

Bhakta: "You didn't really explain the three (adhyatmika adhidaivik and adhibhautik) dimensions of the holy rivers, in your blog of February 6, 2007."

Advaitadas: "When the British came to India they considered the Hindus crazy for thronging to the rivers by the millions, thinking that a dip in them (like at Makar Sankranti or Kumbha Mela) would grant freedom from sin or even liberation. For them that was just idolatry and superstition, because they did not know the adhyatmika dimension of the holy rivers. jala brahma flows from the toe of Nārāyan - this is highly mystical. Yamunā is the daughter of the sun. Yet this is all over śāstra, including the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava śāstras. Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote a Yamunāṣṭakam praising the daughter of the sun - māṁ punātu sarvadāravinda-bandhu-nandinī."

Bhakta: "So is it the jala brahma or the material water which runs from the Himālayas?"

Advaitadas: "The tangible water sprouts from Gangotri, high up in the Himālayas, but the jala brahma sprouts from Nārāyan's toe. In the Bhāgavata (5.17.4) it is described that the Gaṅgā water is carried across the universe in billions of airplanes."

Bhakta: "Actually, all the ācāryas comment differently on this verse - they say that the travelling Ganges water and the billions of airplanes are two separate phenomena on that sky-path. You can read that also in the English translation of the Gita Press edition."


Advaitadas: "Oh thank you, that is very revealing."

Bhakta: "It is also said in one of the ācāryas' commentaries on the 5th canto that, though the (mystical) colour of Gaṅgā is pure white, because of the saffron dust of the feet of Viṣṇu, it is tainted red. Śrīdhara Swāmī writes in his commentary on the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that the Gaṅgā gets coloured saffron because of the saffron from the bodies of the goddesses bathing upstream."

Advaitadas: "That is very beautiful, thank you."

Bhakta: "In the Bhāgavata (1.11.19) it is described that there are prostitutes in Dwārakā. Is that possible?"

Advaitadas: "Only one ācārya has written a ṭīkā to this verse. He gives 'actresses' as first translation of 'vāra-mukhya'. 'veśyā' or prostitutes is the secondary meaning. But anyway, if you want my take on it - Dwārakā is a big city and just as Yogamāyā arranges for an entire backdrop of rural beauty in Vraja for Kṛṣṇa's enjoyment, so she creates a wonderful city as a backdrop for his urban enjoyment as well. Whether these prostitutes actually practise their profession I do not know. I assume that these prostitutes are for decoration only."

Bhakta: (Jokes:) "We desired the prostitute and so we fell down from the spiritual world (laughter)."

Bhakta: "It is sometimes said that Kṛṣṇa can eat with His eyes, on the altar for instance when the offering is going on?"

Advaitadas: "It is described by Jīva Gosvāmī in his comments on Brahma Saṁhitā 5.32: haste'pi draṣṭuṁ śaknoti - He can see with His hands too. cakṣur api pālayitum - he can flee with his eyes, and tathānyad andy apy aṅgam anyaṁ kalayitum, he can see with his other limbs too."
Kṛṣṇa says in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa -

naivedyaṁ purato nyastaṁ dṛṣṭyaiva svīkṛtaṁ mayā

bhaktasya rasanāgrena rasam aśnāmi padmaja

"Simply with My glances I eat all food-offerings that are placed before Me. O Padmaja! I eat the flavour of the devotees' devotion only!" Kṛṣṇa is a great magician. This is, of course, aiśvarya. Madhurya Kṛṣṇa just eats with His mouth.”

Bhakti Sandarbha 173 in-depth

Recently one devotee probed me on the Bhakti Sandarbha text 173. I passed his inquiry on to Dr. Satya Nārāyan Dās of the Jiva Institute:

Revered Prabhuji,
Please accept my Rādhe Rādhe.
In Bhakti Sandarbha (173) it is said:

api cet sudurācāraḥ [gītā 9.30] ity-ādy-uktasyānanya-bhāktvena lakṣitā tu yā śraddhā sā khalu ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ [gītā 17.1] itival loka-paramparā-prāptā, na tu śāstrāvadhāraṇa-jātā | śāstrīya-śraddhāyāṁ tu jātāyāṁ sudurācāratvāyogaḥ syāt | para-patnī-para-dravya- [vi.pu. 3.8.14] ity-ādi-viṣṇu-toṣaṇa-śāstra-virodhāt | maryādāṁ kṛtāṁ tena ity ādinā tad-bhaktatva-virodhāc ca | na tu sā durācāratā tad-bhakti-mahima-śraddhākṛtaiva | api-śabdena durācāratvasya heyatva-vyañjanāt | tathā kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā ity-uttarāpratipatteḥ | nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ ity ādināparādhāpātāc ca |  tataḥ sā śraddhā na śāstrīya-bhakty-adhikāriṇāṁ viśeṣaṇatve praveśanīyā, kintu bhakti-praśaṁsāyām eva 

“The ananya bhak-ness (exclusive devotion) which is mentioned in the Gītā (9.30) verse: “Even if one commits very bad acts but is exclusively devoted to Me he is considered a saint” refers to popular faith which is attained through hearsay, as is referred to in the Gītā (17.1) verse: “Whoever gives up the rules of scripture and worships according to faith…” This, however, is not faith imbibed through the scriptures, because very bad behavior is impossible with such faith, and would contradict statements from Viṣṇu Toṣaṇa like "Lord Kṛṣṇa is never pleased by thieves or adulterers, or those who harm others." or Viṣṇu Dharmottara "One who does not follow the etiquette or protocol (maryādā) cannot be considered a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. The Lord is worshiped only by they who act in a saintly way." Very bad conduct cannot be the result of faith in the glories of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. The word api in the text (even if he commits very bad things..) also indicates how contemptible it is to behave very badly. If it weren’t, then the following verse (Gītā 9.31), ‘He will soon become righteous and attain lasting peace’, would make no sense and the offense of commiting sinful activities on strength of chanting the holy name would be committed. So this adjective (api cet sudurācāra) should not be accepted as referring to a devotee who has scriptural devotion, rather this statement is a glorification (of the process of devotion).

One devotee, however, asked me: “What about the urges? Are they not exempt from śāstrīya śraddhā? Don't you think a very very bad conduct can be forced by an urge?” He then quoted Śrīmad Bhāgavata 11.14.18:

bādhyamāno’pi mad bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ
prāyah pragalbhayā bhaktyā viṣayair nābhibhūyate

spoken by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about devotees who feel bad for their behavior but cannot avoid it. So we don’t understand what Śrī Jīva means with that no person with śāstrīya śraddhā would commit very sinful activities, which are glossed by the ācāryas as theft and adultery. These things seem not to depend on having either śāstrīya- or laukik śraddhā."

(SND) "Dear Advaita prabhuji
Dandavat. Jai Śrī Radha Madanagopal!
In this verse of Śrīmad Bhagavata, Bhagavan Śrī Kṛṣṇa clearly says that such a person is not overpowered (na abhibhuyate) by the sense objects. He is bādhyamana, i.e. troubled. The urges, because of prārabdha, appear in the mind but he is not subjugated by them because of the power of bhakti, which is more powerful than the urges (pragalbhayā bhaktyā). This is how I see the verse.
But if it is accepted that the verse means that such a devotee actually engages in sense pleasures then it is to be understood that these pleasures are not the sinful types, forbidden in the scripture i.e. himsa etc.
A devotee having śāstrīya śraddhā will not engage in such acts because it goes against his/her very śraddhā.
Satyanarayana Dasa

(AD) Revered Prabhuji,
Radhe Radhe
Thank you for your reply. I also thought that the SB 11.14.18 verse had that meaning. I tried to understand Viśvanāth Cakravartī's ṭīkā to it, but my Sanskrit is not good enough. I am quizzed a bit because he does mention the api cet sudurācāro verse in this ṭīkā. Could you explain the purport of Viśvanāth please? Thank you.

visvanathah : api ca, āstāṁ tāvad utpanna-bhāva-bhakta-kathā, yato bhaktau prathama-vartamāno’pi bhaktaḥ kṛtārtha evety āha—vādhyamāna iti prāyaḥ-pragalbhayā prāyeṇaiva prabalī-bhavantyā kim punaḥ pragalbhayā | yad vā, jñāni-prakaraṇe yathā durācāro jñānī nindiṣyate, jñānitvaṁ ca tasya niṣidhyate, yas tv asaṁyata-ṣaḍ-vargaḥ [bhā.pu. 11.18.40] ity ādinā tathātra bhakta-prakaraṇe durācāro bhakto na nindyo bhaktatvaṁ ca tasya na niṣiddham ity āha—bādhyamāna iti | yad uktam—api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk |
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag-vyavasito hi saḥ || [gītā 9.30] iti |
kiṁ cātra viṣayair bādhyamāno’pi viṣayair nābhibhūyata ity ubhayatrāpi vartamāna-nirdeśāt viṣaya-bādhyatva-daśāyām api viṣayābādhyatvaṁ bhakti-ṣaḍ-bhāvāt, yathā vairi-kṛta-kiñcicchastrāghātam prāptasyāpi na parābhaviṣṇutā śaurya-ṣaḍ-bhāvād iti | yathā vā, pīta-jvaraghna-mahauṣadhasya tad-divase āyāto’pi jvaro bādhako’py abādhaka eva tasya vinaśyad-avasthatvāt dināntare ca samyaṅ nāṣṭībhāvitvācca ||18||

(SND) Dear Advaita Prabhuji,
Jai Sri Radhe Shyama
I am giving the meaning below:
Let alone a devotee who has attained bhāva bhakti, even a bhakta who has just begin on the path is surely an accomplished person (kṛtārtha) - to say this Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks the present verse. prāyaḥ pragalbhayā means which is certainly becoming stronger (even such bhakti helps a neophyte bhakta in not getting overpowered by the viṣaya) then what to speak of the advanced state of bhakti. In the section describing a jnani a durācārī jñānī will be criticised and will be not be accepted as a jñānī, as in the verse beginning with yas tvasamyata ṣaḍ-varga. But in the section describing a devotee, a durācārī bhakta is not criticised nor is it said that such a person is not a devotee. This is said in this verse. This is also said in the verse of the Gita, api cet.
Furthermore, even while being troubled by the viṣaya he/she is not overpowered by the viṣaya -the present tense in both parts means that by the presence of bhakti the devotee is not troubled or remains above the trouble even when facing the trouble (i.e. is not being absorbed in the situation, and is aware that it is wrong to enjoy viṣaya). (SVCT gives an example) Just as when a warrior is attacked by an enemy and gets hurt by a weapon does not feel defeated or subdued because of his chivalry. (another example) As a sick man suffering from fever after taking a powerful medicine to dispel fever may still have fever on the day of taking the medicine yet he does not become cowed down by it because he feels the recovery from fever and because he knows that the fever will be gone completely the following day .
SND

(AD) Revered Prabhuji,
Thank you very much for the translation. My final question to get me convinced is this: Is the wound of the warrior and the fever of the sick man to be compared with the sensual desire or with the indulging in it? Thank you very much!!

(SND) This was already answered. Either it is to be taken as only in the mind and not actually indulging in it; or if it is to be taken as indulging then it is not the forbidden type such as eating meat, having illegal sexual relation etc.

Tilaka, Svakīya bhāva and the good Yamadūtas

Bhakta: "Kṛṣṇa is described as wearing sandalwood tilak. I thought tilak was made of clay."

Advaitadas: "tilak for sadhakas is different from tilak of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, according to the rules. Rādhārāṇī's tilak is made of vermilion according to Govinda Līlāmṛta (2.77) and musk according to Vilāpkusumāñjali (24). Kṛṣṇa's tilak is made either of Gorocana (a bright yellow pigment secreted from a cow's kidney), or kunkum. Other sources say: kastūrī tilakaṁ lalāṭa paṭale "Kṛṣṇa has musk tilak on the forehead." As for the Vaiṣṇavas, Mahāprabhu put on Rādhākuṇḍa tilak after He discovered Rādhākuṇḍa, and since then Vaiṣṇavas who are dedicated to Rādhārāṇī do the same. Actually, throughout Haribhakti Vilāsa gopī candana tilaka is prescribed. "

Bhakta: "Why not Rādhākuṇḍa tilak then?"

Advaitadas: "Haribhakti Vilāsa was written purely on the basis of the ancient Purāṇas and śāstras, in order to give it, and thus our sampradāya, maximum credibility. That is also why festivals like Rādhāṣṭamī and Gaura Pūrṇimā are not included in it - these are not mentioned in any ancient Vedic śāstra. In this way other sampradāyas could not point their fingers at us and say: "You see, they are making all kinds of things up for their own group." That is why, despite the fact that they are not mentioned in Haribhakti Vilāsa, we do observe Gaur Pūrṇimā and Rādhāṣṭamī and we do wear Rādhākuṇḍa tilak. Of course Rādhākuṇḍa is but a small pond and there are millions of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas in north eastern India, so it is understandable that most Vaiṣṇavas cannot get their hands on it, so they may either use gopi candan or not wear tilak at all."

Bhakta: "A marriage of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa would spoil the parakīya rasa, but it is described in Padma Purāṇa and Garga Saṁhitā."

Advaitadas: "It does not spoil the parakīya rasa -  it simply isn't parakīya rasa.  Kṛṣṇa is complete and there is no feature missing in Kṛṣṇa, barring rasābhāsa and viruddha siddhānta of course, so Kṛṣṇa also has a married feature in Vraja. There is also bālya līlā, kumāra, paugaṇḍa, kiśora, Brahman, Paramātmā, Rāma, Narasiṁha, Nārāyaṇa...."

Bhakta: "All at the same time?"

Advaitadas: "Yes, as I just quoted from Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta in my last blog, verse 2.5.52:
"Just as God is one, but Śrī Kṛṣṇa still stays in many places in many forms, so it is with us, His servants."
We don't focus on Kṛṣṇa's childhood pastimes, but that doesn't mean they don’t exist. Similarly with the married Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Gopāl-Campū describes how Mother Yaśodā and Rādhārāṇī wait for Kṛṣṇa when He returns from the pastures, just like any wife and mother await a man when he returns from His job. That is there, but it does not provide the excitement of an extramarital affair as in parakīya bhāva."

Bhakta: "I thought that this marriage was just a play. Otherwise how can Rādhārāṇī be married to both Kṛṣṇa and Abhimanyu?"

Advaitadas: "In the svakīya rasa Rādhārāṇī is not married to Abhimanyu, only to Kṛṣṇa.  Their marriage can also be a play, performed as a joke. Parallel worlds."

Advaitadas: "Can you give more details about the process of death?"

Bhakta: "There are two types of Yamadūtas - the nice and the horrid looking. The nice ones take the pious souls on the dharma mārga to Yamarāj and the horrible looking Yamadūtas take the soul to Yamarāj on the path where there is a lot of suffering. Citragupta reads the pious activities, and Vicitragupta notes down all the impious activities. All are taken to Yamarāj. Devotees who did not attain perfection too; even Janaka Maharāj went there."

Advaitadas: "Can you quote some śāstra on this?"

Bhakta: "Sri Bhīṣma said to Yudhiṣṭhira (Skanda Purāṇa 6.226.19-28):
19. The hells in the abode of Yama are twenty-one in number. Creatures go there in accordance with their Karma.
20. Two Kāyasthas (scribes) in the abode of Yama are well known as Citra and Vicitra.
21. Citra records in writing the entire virtuous acts of a living being. Vicitra exerts himself and writes in full all the sins with great care.
22. The messengers of Yama born of Dharmarāja, are eight in number. They all take men under their control (to Yama's place) from the mortal world.
23. They are Karṇa, Vikarṇa, Vakranāsa, Mahodara, Saumya, Śānta, Nanda and the eighth one Suvākya.
24. Among these the first four are terrible in form. All of them take sinning people to the abode of Yama.
25. The latter four are gentle in form and features. All of them take virtuous people to the abode of Yama.
26. Those virtuous people ride in aerial chariots. They are attended upon by groups of Apsarās (celestial damsels).
27. The people are taken in accordance with the written report about their sinful and virtuous acts. There is no limit to the servants of these people."

Guru Pūrṇimā

mama śrī gurūpadiṣṭaṁ bhagavat kīrtana smaraṇa caraṇa paricaraṇādikam etad eva mama sādhanam etad eva mama sādhyam etad eva mama jīvātuḥ sādhana sādhya daśayoś tyaktum aśakyam etad eva me kāmyam etad eva me kāryam etad anyam na me kāryam nāpyābhilaśanīyaṁ svapne'pityatra sukham astu duḥkam vāstu saṁsāro naśyatu vā nā naśyatu tatra mama kāpi na kṣatiḥ

"The devotional practise of glorifying the Lord, remembering Him and serving His lotus-feet, as it has been instructed to me by my Guru is my goal and my life. It is impossible for me to give this up under any circumstance. This is what I desire and this is my duty. I have no other duty than this and I don't desire anything else, even in dreams! It may make me happy, it may make me unhappy, it may liberate me from material existence or it may not - that makes no difference to me at all"

(Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s comment on Bhagavad Gītā 2.41)

śarīraṁ surūpaṁ sadā roga-muktam 

yaśaścāru citraṁ dhanaṁ meru tulyam 

guror aṅghri-padme manaścen na lagnam

tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ

"One's body may be beautiful and always healthy, one's fame may be wonderful and bright, and one's wealth may be like a mount of gold. But if the mind is not fixed on the lotus-feet of the Guru, then what of it, what of it, what of it, what of it?"

ṣaḍ aṅgādi vedo mukhe śāstra-vidyā

kavitvañca gadyaṁ supadyaṁ karoti 

guror aṅghri-padme manaścen na lagnam 

tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ tataḥ kiṁ

"One may master the Vedas with its six philosophical theses, one may have memorised all the sacred scriptures and one may be able to compose the most exquisite poetic or prose verses. But if the mind is not fixed on the lotus-feet of the Guru, then what of it, what of it, what of it, what of it?" 

(Śaṅkarācārya’s Gurvaṣṭakam)

parānanda guro bhavat pade

padaṁ mano me bhagaval labheta

tadā nirastākhila sādhana śramaḥ

śrayeya saukhyaṁ bhavataḥ kṛpātaḥ

“O most blissful Guru! When my mind attains a place at your lotus-feet, all the tiresome labor of my spiritual practises (sādhana) will be finished, and by your Grace I will experience supreme happiness!”
(Śrīdhara Swāmī)

vijita hṛśīka vāyubhir adānta manas turagam 

ya iha yatanti yantum ati lolam upāya khidaḥ 

vyasana śatānvitāḥ samavahāya guroścaraṇam 

vanija ivāja santyakṛta karṇadharā jaladau

“The mind is like an reckless horse that even persons who have conquered their senses and breath cannot control. Those in this world who try to subdue the uncontrolled mind, but who abandon the feet of the Guru, encounter hundreds of obstacles in their cultivation of various adverse practices. O birthless Lord! They are like merchants on a boat in the ocean who have failed to appoint a captain.”
(Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.87.33)

Aniṣṭakārī jīva

Bhakta: "How you deal with rats, mice, cockroach? You kill them?"

Advaitadas: "Cockroaches and mosquitos; snakes and scorpions too - modeta sādhur api vṛścika sarpa hatyā - this is a verse from the 7th Canto by Prahlāda Mahāśaya; it means that even the sādhus rejoice at the killing of a snake or a scorpion. I had cockroaches in my flat 10 years ago, they took over the whole deity kitchen - what else could I do, to preserve the arcana? There were hundreds of them and counting.”

Bhakta: “You never had rats or mice?”

Advaitadas: “I had rats in Sudevī's house in Rādhākund. I just locked them out with iron plates boarded on the door. You don’t kill rats because they die in a lonely place and stink terribly; sometimes you can't find the corpses….”

Bhakta: “Yes, but there's too in Bhāgavatam a verse that says one shouldn`t kill them....”

Advaitadas: “Rats? I don’t remember that.”

Bhakta: “I don`t remember rats but mosquitoes and others..”

Advaitadas: “No no, such a verse is not there - Sādhu Bābā specifically allowed us to kill aniṣṭakārī jīva, and I already quoted the confirmation from the 7th canto, modeta sādhur api…” (SB 7.9.14)

Bhakta: “aniṣṭakārī jīva?”

Advaitadas: "That means ‘harmful creatures’. Rather, the śāstra says that the snake is so envious that feeding it milk will only increase its poison. Anyway, let me explain the logic of killing mosquitos: they are killers because they carry killer diseases, malaria and dengue fever. If someone assaults you with a syringe with AIDS will you knock him down or allow him to poison you with the injection? Surely you will strike him down - it is the same thing. This is not compassion - it is foolishness. That's why Sādhu Bābā spoke of aniṣṭakārī jīva. Not that you go out and kill millions of sweet cows and so.”

Chat June 9, 2008

Girish is white

After hearing, back in the days, from my senior-most Guru-brother Nirañjan Prasād Dās that Lord Shiva is white-complexioned I have been hoping to find some indication of it in śāstra. Today I found this exquisite verse in Sanātan Goswāmī’s Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta (2.3.50)

karpūra gauraṁ tri-dṛśaṁ dig ambaraṁ 

candrārdha-mauliṁ lalitaṁ tri-śūlinam

gaṅgā-jalāmlāna jaṭāvalī-dharaṁ

bhasmāṅga-rāgaṁ rucirāsthi mālinam

“His body coloured gaura like camphor, having three eyes, being dressed just by the directions (naked), wearing a half moon crown and carrying a lovely trident, wearing matted locks sprinkled by Ganges-water, His body anointed with ashes and wearing a lovely garland of bones…..”

Though the word Gaura is usually translated as golden, Monier Williams gives as first meaning ‘white’ -

white , yellowish , reddish , pale red, shining , brilliant , clean , beautiful

white , yellowish (the colour), the filament of a lotus , gold

This finding is added as a footnote to page 5 of ‘Satsanga with Niranjan Prasad Das’, on www.madangopal.com, linktab 'Articles'.

Śukadeva, the cosmos, fall-vāda.

Bhakta: "It is sometimes said that Śukadeva Gosvāmī is originally a parrot of Smt. Rādhārāṇī. Is that true?"

Advaitadas: "Not to my knowledge."

Bhakta: "One says it is mentioned in Jīva Gosvāmī's Gopāl Campu?"

Advaitadas: "I haven't found it there."

Bhakta: "Or perhaps in a commentary on it?"

Advaitadas: "None of the leading acaryas have written a comment on Gopāl Campu. I have one here by Vīracandra Goswāmī, but that is not the son of Nityānanda Prabhu, but some less known person."

Bhakta: Does the verse "aham vedmi śuko vetti, vyāso vetti na vetti vā; bhaktyā bhāgavatam grahyam, na buddhyā na ca ṭīkayā " (''I (Shiva) know the meaning of the Bhāgavata, as does Śuka. Vyāsa may or may not know it. The Bhāgavata is knowable by devotion, not through the brains or the commentaries." indicate anything about Śukadeva being a parrot?"

Advaitadas: "No, not at all. This verse just shows us that the Bhāgavata cannot be understood through the intellect, but by devotion."

Bhakta: "Bhānu Swami has issued a new book on the 5th Canto cosmology, based entirely on the bona fide comments on chapters 16-26 by Śrīdhar Swāmī, Jīva Goswāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī etc."

Advaitadas: "That is very interesting, if it contains the original Sanskrit text of these comments."

Bhakta: "It does. It explains that the Vedic model is based on more of an astral dimension of seeing things. That could explain the mystery of Ugrasena's bodyguards and Nanda's cows. It is compared in this book with Parīkṣit, who is said to have had the whole of Jambudvīp under his control, king Pṛthu had the whole bhū-maṇḍala and Dhruva had the whole universe under his control. What they had under their control? The subtle levels. There you find descriptions of 10,000,000 people and so, but that was possible because it was all on the subtle level."

Advaitadas: "Kṛṣṇa's līlā is not subject to laws of material time and space and hence such fantastic figures are easily possible. If even the mind, which is just a subtle material instrument, can conceive of this, then what to speak of the capacity of Kṛṣṇa's transcendental internal potency sandhini, that displays all these divine realms?"

Bhakta: "Someone came with yet another indication from the Bhāgavata (2.5.19) that we fell down from the spiritual world."

Advaitadas: "No, that is again wrong. This is what the ācāryas say about this verse: Jīva Gosvāmī’s Krama Sandarbha ṭīkā of SB 2.5.19 -

kīdṛśam api badhnanti. tatrāha nityadā muktam api. nanv idaṁ viruddham. tatrāha - māyinam iti. māyā’tra māyā-kṛto moha ucyate. sa cānādir iti eveśa-vimukhasya tasya māyā - pāravaśyād eva. tena ca guṇāveśa eva bandha iti. 

“It is said that the living being is eternally liberated, so how can he be bound? How to solve this contradiction? To this is it said 'māyinam - the delusion is caused by māyā'. He is averse to the Lord from beginningless time and subject to māyā, who keeps him bound in the modes.”

Viśvanātha Cakravartī's ṭīkā of SB 2.5.19 says -

pūrvokta-yuktyā bhagavataḥ pṛṣṭhadeśa-sthānāṁ jīvānāṁ pṛṣṭha-deśa-sthayā māyayā svata eva saṅga-sambhavād iti bhāvaḥ. nitya-muktam iti jīvasya yathā anādy-ajñānaṁ tathā anādi-jñānam apy astīti saptamānte vyaktībhaviṣyati -

“According to previously proposed logic, the conditioned souls are situated at the back of the Lord, where māyā is situated, and that association (with māyā) is by itself or naturally (svata eva) so. Their ignorance and knowledge are both beginningless, as will be revealed at the end of the seventh canto.”

 (Viśvanātha himself has repeated this explanation in his comment on SB 3.7.10, where he also stated there is no reason for our conditioning in this world) And that 10% of jīvas have fallen from the spiritual world is completely new to me even - it is even more bizarre, since there is first of all no limit to the number of jīvas (S.B. 10.87.30) so what is 10% of unlimited, and secondly, it is best to first prove that anyone has fallen from the spiritual world at all before coming with percentages. There is of course no evidence for any of this. tasmacchāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te (Bhagavad Gītā 16.24) - "Therefore one must act according to evidence from the revealed scriptures."

Sādhu Bābā's songbook and adjusting siddhānta

Bhakta: "In the evening Ārati song of your Guru's āshram's songbook there is a mentioning of Gaur Gopāl. How can Mahāprabhu be a cowherd?"

Advaitadas: "The non-difference of Kṛṣṇa and Gaura does not extend that far. It does not express itself in non-different pastimes. Gaur līlā is quite different from Kṛṣṇa līlā - it is a missionary līlā, a līlā of renunciation, while Kṛṣṇa has no mission at all - He is just enjoying Himself. In no phase of His līlā is Mahāprabhu tending cows, yet through such names as Gaura Gopāl we are reminded that He is Kṛṣṇa."

Bhakta: "Then, at the end of that song it is described that Raghunāth Dās Gosvāmī cries out hu hu."

Advaitadas: "Exclamations are quite different in Indic languages. The word he (pron: hey, as in he rādhe braja devike ca lalite) in India is translated as 'O!' in the west and hā hā is translated as 'Alas!'.

Bhakta: "In Gaura's evening ārati you see that conch-shells resound. Isn't this aiśvarya?"

Advaitadas: 'As I said before, though Gaur and Kṛṣṇa are non-different there is a great difference in their pastimes and manifestations. There is an overall attitude of reverence towards Gaura (with the exception of His wife, mother and sometimes Nitāi-Cānd) throughout the three phases of His pastimes, Mahāprabhu would not eat from Rāmānanda Rāy, but in Kṛṣṇa līlā the cowherds climb on Kṛṣṇa's shoulders when He loses a game!"

Bhakta: "In the Rādhā-evening ārati it is described that She is sitting on a jewelled throne. That seems to be aiśvarya too."

Advaitadas: "Smt. Rādhārāṇī is not the daughter of a cobbler - She is a princess, the daughter of a chieftain. She is not living in a clay hut on the side of the road like so many beggars. The Mādhurya is obvious in everyone's attitude in Vraja - the mañjarīs, little 12/13 year old girls are kicking the Lord out of the kuñja - that is extreme mādhurya! As for the jeweled furniture, we have discussed before that some of this may have been decsribed as such to attract people with glitz. Anyway, what would be the alternative? Shall we seat our princess on the floor, which is so cold in winter and so hot in summer?"

Bhakta: "But somebody wrote that in your āśram, he could have left it out. I wonder why he wrote it?"

Advaitadas: "No no this is a big mistake. These songs we sing in Sādhu Bābā's āśram are not composed by us - they are the general arati songs for the entire Gauḍīya Sampradaya. They are being sung by millions of bhaktas all over Bengal, Bangladesh, Orissa, Manipur, Agartala and Vraja. They are very old too."

Bhakta: "Still the jewelled throne could have been edited out of the song to increase or preserve the madhurya."

Advaitadas: "We do not edit songs, nor is it aiśvarya. We can not seat our princess in any discomfort."

Bhakta: "But if there is too much opulence then it is no longer rural."

Advaitadas: "I agree with that, but again, She is a rural princess, daughter of a local chieftain."

Bhakta: "But then who makes all these things? It is very intricate to manufacture such furniture. In the countryside it must be as simple as possible."

Advaitadas: "Mādhurya does not mean cro magnon or neanderthal, caveman. In the Bhāgavata, early 10th canto, there are such sweet descriptions, yet Nanda Mahārāja also gives profuse charity. They were not walking in deer skins and living in caves like cavemen, having no skills and no sciences. Even here in the west if you go to the countryside or to the woods you will have roads and internet connections, yet the surrounding is very sweet. Perhaps you have seen the 94-episode Hindi Mahābhārat, which was produced in 1988? There is a nice episode in it about Kṛṣṇa's Vraja līlā. There I found the perfect balance between a joyful and comfortable life for Kṛṣṇa within the sweet rural environment. Nanda Mahārāja's house was not a mega palace there but also not a clay hut."

Bhakta: "Then, on page 33 and 35 of the same songbook, is a description of khol mangal, all kinds of rituals are mentioned there..."

Advaitadas: "Yes, the tradition does more about Utsavas (festivals like Gaura Pūrṇimā, Janmāṣṭamī, Nṛsiṁha Caturdaśī etc.) than just fasting and feasting. There are days of preparation, lectures held, 24 hours kīrtan and a day called ādhivāsa - a kīrtan held on the eve of a big celebration (the songs are included in that songbook). Water is brought from the Ganges or Yamunā, banana trees are cut and placed in prescribed places on the utsava-grounds, there is a ceremony called Ghāṭ-sthāpan (establishing the pots) etc. etc. Items like collecting Gaṅgā-water and cutting banana trees wont be possible in the west, but at least ādhivāsa- and 24 hour kīrtan can be organized in devotee societies. Before the Bhāgavata-lecture is given sandal pulp and flowers should be offered to the book, the prasād of which is then usually offered to the khol (mṛdaṅga), and the sandal-prasād is given to the devotee-audience, in the proper sequence according to the devotees' seniority. Proper respect is to be given to khol and karatālas - one should not step on them or over them, f.i. Since I was never in charge of such things while in India I do not know all the technical details. When I last attended the utsavas in Sādhu Bābā's āśram in Kārtik 2003 I told my, now late, sister Kṛṣṇā that some of the rituals would be impossible to perform in the west and she said 'Then just do hari-nāma'.

Bhakta: "Then, on page 33, betel leaves are mentioned. Ordinary jīvas should not take that."

Advaitadas: This song is written by Parameśvar Dās, one of Nityānanda Prabhu's 12 cowherds, and is sung by all Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. It is authoritative. Though betel leaves are bad for the teeth and for the heart, and I surely don't recommend profuse use, it is not strictly prohibited."

Bhakta: "I thought it was an intoxicant."

Advaitadas: "No it is not an intoxicant. I took it many times when I was in Navadwīp, but it never did anything to my mind at all."

Bhakta: "Isn't it sometimes better or even necessary while preaching to adjust the philosophy?"

Advaitadas: "In my own experience in preaching to scientifically thinking people I realize how difficult it is to preach the actual siddhānta, which is much more abstract than the way it was originally preached to us westerners. It is usually not understood or accepted by such people that many things are 'inconceivable' 'causeless' or 'beginningless', so I have a lot of understanding for those who did adjust and simplify the philosophy, like fall-vada and meritocratic varṇāśrama, to preach and appeal to the rationalistic western public. Most westerners also don't have the simple acceptance that Indians have. Still, the śāstrik truth must be preached as it is, even if it is more difficult to comprehend for people in general."

Dui prabhu santāne jagat hobe prabhumoy

Obituary – Madangopal Goswami.

Today I received the sad news that Prabhupād Madangopāl Gosvāmī, the main Nityānanda Vaṁśa Goswāmī in Navadvīp in the past 40 years, passed away in Kolkata on June 4th. "He was about 67. He had been seriously ill since over 6 months. He had brain surgery and suffered severely in a semi conscious state.

I had only a single darśan of Prabhu on October 2, 2003 in his home in downtown Navadwīp – This is an edited transcript of that darśan from my Indian diary of that day:

"darçana of Madana Gopāla Gosvāmī. He tells me that (back in the 1970s) he offered Jagadānanda to do pārāyaëa at his place but after some time he complained "Why are you sitting higher than us?" Then he told him: "I am a kulina brāhmaṇa - I should not even take water from your hand, but still I let you do pārāyaëa here. You cannot give pārāyaëa any more. dainya is the life of bhakti. (Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered:) maryādā rakṣaṇa hoy sādhura bhūṣaṇa. ("Observing the etiquette is the ornament of a sādhu", CC Antya 4..130) We have been doing these ceremonies here for 70 years.” Jagadānanda came back a little later and offered apologies.

About the qualification for having the title Prabhu he says: “prakṛṣṭa rūpe jini avasthāna koren tini prabhu”. pra means prakṛṣṭa, super-excellent, and everyone who is situated in super-excellence is thus prabhu. Mahāprabhu said to Nityānanda Prabhu: dui prabhu santāne jagat hobe prabhumoy - “The descendants of the two Prabhus (Nityānanda and Advaita) will make the whole world full of such prabhus.” The Gauḍīya Sampradāya's goal is to become low, however, not to become prabhu. Indian tradition is such that if in a Brahmin family even a fool is born he is called pandit, like pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. So it is with us - everyone in our families is called prabhupāda. Who will save the world if you and I and everyone will do muni-dharma (mauna)? Mahāprabhu gave the example of the grave responsibility of the sannyāsī by rejecting Choṭa Haridās even when he killed himself. 

He asks me if I wear dhoti etc in the west. I tell him no, only mālā. He agrees that dhoti is too cold in the west, but I should wear tilaka. People will inquire about it and that would be a good way of preaching.”

Prabhu was a very dynamic preacher, travelling widely across north eastern India and Bangladesh. In decades of intense preaching he initiated 10s of 1000s of disciples. Prabhu is survived by his three sons Jay Gopāl, Nitya Gopāl and Prem Gopāl Goswāmī.

Parasites in the Bhāgavata

In Śrīmad Bhāgavata (11.25.15) a person in tamo guṇa is described as being a parasite -

yujyeta śoka-mohābhyāṁ nidrayā hiṁsayā'śayā

"Such a person is characterised by lamentation, delusion, sleep, violence and hope."

"Why is hope tamo-guṇa?" I wondered. Śrīdhar Swāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī explain:

udyamābhāvena kevalam āśayā yujyeta

"There is an absence of endeavour and only expectation."

C.L. Goswami of the Gita Press translates the word āśayā as "...by expectation of help from others (through indolence caused by dullness)."

Monier Williams on āśā: "wish , desire , hope , expectation , prospect".

More on the rasas of the inert

Bhakta: "Do clouds have consciousness? They are living entities?"

Advaitadas: "In both the material world and the spiritual world. There was the Samvartaka cloud that was sent by Indra to Vraja to shower the Vrajabāsīs so that Kṛṣṇa had to lift Girirāja. parjanyād anna sambhavaḥ  (B.Gītā 3.14)

Bhakta: Is the cloud in dāsya rasa? What is his attitude?

Advaitadas: Look at Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.21.16 - sakhyur vyadhāt - The clouds are in sakhya rasa. They rendered loving service to Kṛṣṇa by shading Him like an umbrella. Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments on this verse that the cloud is in sakhya rasa because it shares Kṛṣṇa's complexion with Him and they both remove others' distress with a downpour of rasa (rain in the cloud's case). svīya vidyud garjanābhyāṁ pīta-vastra veṇu-nādayoḥ sāmyaṁ dṛṣṭvā ca sakhibhāvam abhimanyamānaḥ “Seeing he is equal to Kṛṣṇa with the rumbling sounds he makes, with his lightning (in the form of Kṛṣṇa's yellow cloth) the cloud identifies himself in sakhya-rasa.” hanta hanta sakhya-bhāva-vanto’pyātmānaṁ kṛtārthayantītyāhuḥ – The gopIs lament about the clouds “Alas! Alas! Even those who are in the mood of friendship with Kṛṣṇa (sakhya bhāva) have become blessed by serving Him.”

The cows are also not in śānta rasa, but in vātsalya rasa, according to Viśvanātha Cakravartī's commentary on S.B. 10.21.13 - na ca tatrāpi vātsalya-bhāva eva mohane hetur astīti vācyam “The cows (not the calves) are in vātsalya rasa", and sva manasaḥ kroḍe eva vātsalyāt sthāpayantyas tasthuḥ  “The cows stand still as they take Govinda within their hearts through their tear-filled eyes and embrace Him out of vātsalya bhāva..."

Bhakta: Speaking of clouds, what līlā is Kṛṣṇa playing in the rainy season? Some Rāsa-līlā?

Advaitadas: Jhulan, in August. He sits on the swing with Rādhikā and gets all soaked from the rain."

Bhakta: "That sounds unpleasant."

Advaitadas: Nothing is unpleasant in Kṛṣṇa-loka, it is warm and the rain is like nectar. Though we are in Nara līlā (human like pastimes) ultimately Yogamāyā does have to perform all kinds of tricks. For instance, it is really impossible for a married girl to spend every night 7 hours with a paramour, every single night, even in western culture, let alone the strictly controlled Vedic culture, how come the gopīs never get pregnant etc. etc. So many miracles are still happening in the human-like līlā."

Bhakta: "In Surata Kathāmṛta (54) it is said: "...the bees, that are like panegyrists, sing Your glories." Are they fully conscious? But they don't talk....

Advaitadas:" Same thing here - on the one hand these are human pastimes, in which bees do not speak, but on the other hand the spiritual sky is full of consciousness. In Vraja Vilāsa Stava (72) Raghunāth Dās Gosvāmī offers a long śloka to the bees of Vraja alone. They do a great service, causing great romantic incitement. In Govinda Līlāmṛta (14.1-4) a bee brings Rādhikā into the divine madness of prema vaicittya, in which She falsely thinks that Kṛṣṇa has left Her though He is right there with Her! She speaks like mad to a bee in the Bhāgavata (bhramara gīta, 10.47.12-21) - bees have the same complexion as Kṛṣṇa and nature too (going from flower to flower as He goes from gopī to gopī) - ye bhṛngāḥ paritas tayoḥ sukhabharaṁ vistārayanti - the bees always give great joy to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The bees actively assist in the most intimate pastimes, in the above-mentioned manner and also by buzzing dangerously close to Rādhikā so that She jumps into Kṛṣṇa's arms, afraid to be stung by them. In a sense they are much closer than Nanda and Yaśodā, in all their simplicity. Their humming is called 'the kettledrums of Cupid" by the ācāryas."

Bhakta: "How does one ultimately end up with Mañjarī bhāva?

Advaitadas:
"1. In the course of studying the Gosvāmīs' books you will eventually come across the books of Raghunātha Dās Gosvāmī.
2. You may receive it from Śrī Guru.
3. You may hear about it from a sādhu.
4. Rādhikā will reveal it to you from within.

Some intellectuals come cross it in their systematic studies and feel some attraction and may even take initiation into this sādhana, but since their main drive is intellectual curiosity (jijñāsu, Bhagavad Gītā 7.16) they later change the topic of their studies and leave the practise behind just as easily."

Bhakta: "Rādhikā says in Surata Kathāmṛta (77) "My body vomits sweat-drops" - I thought there was no jugupsa rasa (sub-mellow of disgust) in mādhurya rasa?"

Advaitadas: "In Vedic aesthetics this is somehow used often without aiming at the effect of disgust. There are many instances of this in the Gosvāmīs' books, I can only now think of tavodgīrnaṁ bhojyam in Vilāpa Kusumāñjali (56) wherein Tulasī covets the food vomited out by Rādhikā. I think this should more be seen as spitting out, and even then there is no disgust or horror involved - it is just an expression Vedic poets use often, like that."

Bhakta: 'And then there is all the mentioning of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa's long nails..."

Advaitadas: "Yes well as you know nails (bones) and hairs are impure according to sadācāra vidhi, but such rules do not apply to the spiritual world. In Vilāpa Kusumāñjali (18) Tulasī offers to wipe Rādhikā's toilet with her hair and Kṛṣṇa has long nails so He can claw open the ropes used to tie up the calves, or to scratch Rādhikā with during Their amorous pastimes. Everyone also has long hair in the spiritual world, though materially that is also not considered so pure."

Bhakta: "Someone I know has seen Kṛṣṇa's eyes and says they are brown."

Advaitadas: "One should not impose one's imagination upon an eternal, transcendental and immutable form. Kṛṣṇa's pupils are dark-blue like a bee, the eyeballs are a bit lighter blue, then there is the eye-white and finally He has red borders around the eyes. This is in śāstra."

Pratiṣṭhā in the Smṛti-śāstra

Beautiful verses exist in the Gosvāmīs' books, like Haribhakti Vilāsa and Manaḥ Śikṣā, warning against and condemning pratiṣṭhā, or seeking glorification of oneself. However, in the more ancient śāstras there are some nice verses too. For instance, in the Bhāgavata (11.11.39 - yes, everything is in the Bhāgavata!) Śrī Kṛṣṇa says to Uddhava: kṛtasyāparikīrtanam "One should not glorify one's own devotional services."

In a footnote of the Gita Press Edition, C.L. Goswami quotes the Smṛti: dharmaḥ kṣarati kīrtanāt "One's virtue (dharma) is depleted by (self-) glorification."

Though pure bhakti is not regular virtue or dharma, the same warning undoubtedly goes for the path of pure bhakti - one deprives oneself of the result (prema) of bhakti by proclaiming one's own glory.

Vidhi-automatism

A recent messenger-chatlog:

bhakta: "Some people, when ready, will follow all the rules of Haribhakti Vilāsa."

Advaitadas: I think that is impossible,: even in India - you need a lot of money to feed brahmins and give so many donations every fortnight.

bhakta: But I think we better just focus on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa worship: the 5 basic ones (living in Vraj, chanting, hearing the Bhāgavat, sādhu sanga and deity worship).

Advaitadas: Right, the 5 basic ones - at least.

bhakta: Many rules are anyway rejected in rāga mārga, is that so?

Advaitadas: Not many but some, see Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s comment on Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 1.2.296: meditation on Dvārakā, worshiping the Queens there, mudrā, ahaṁgropāsana and nyāsa.”

bhakta: But all these rules and cautions to not make mistake will cause you just to think about them, not Kṛṣṇa, so what is the point - all the rules have to help to remember Kṛṣṇa.

Advaitadas: Well that is not really true: you don’t think about the way to hold your japa mālā or to drive your car - its an automatism: and so most rules we also follow without thinking about them.

bhakta: Right. Still, many details will spoil the main focus...what do you think?”

Advaitadas: Not really - all our daily manners like sleeping, walking, breathing and speaking so many languages are also automatisms. You can think of other things while doing them; similarly sadācāra rules don’t stop one from thinking of Kṛṣṇa, as they are automatized.

bhakta: SP (ACBS) simplified.

Advaitadas: Oh, all Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Gurus simplify, not just ACBS: we all have to. Hari Bhakti Vilāsa is for devatās, not for humans.

bhakta: It is at least very high standard. Not even from the Manu Saṁhitā you can follow everything: it is for another yuga.

Advaitadas: That especially not: that was never the śāstra of the Gosvamis anyway: Manu Samhita is for varṇāśrama : really Indian ancient varṇāśrama, karma mārg.

bhakta: Many quotes in Hari Bhakti Vilāsa are from Purāṇas that were for other yugas: I brought it to you just to compare it to Hari Bhakti Vilāsa quotes from the Purāṇas: rules for other yugas you cannot apply all to the Kali yuga people, not even devotees.

Advaitadas: That too, though Hari Bhakti Vilāsa is written just 400 years ago, it is clearly for Kali yuga.

bhakta: But the quotes are from different Purāṇas, written for other yugas.

Advaitadas: Yes: anyway, everyone agrees that it isn’t possible to follow it all, but that doesn’t mean Sanātan Goswāmī was pressured by smārtas to write that: nitya siddhas are not pressured by conditioned souls. He also did not write things to please them or flatter them: Sanātan Goswāmī was under the sole command of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

bhakta: Just the Vaiṣṇava comunity was criticized that they don't have set of rules: so he compiled them from the Purāṇas.

Advaitadas: That is allright with me: that is the purpose of Hari Bhakti Vilāsa: to present us as a proper sampradāya: and a sampradāya needs a smṛti.

bhakta: "The Hari Bhakti Vilāsa is the first book with elaborate rules and regulations."

Advaitadas: For Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, yes.

bhakta: When it was written the smārtas stopped criticizing the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.”

Advaitadas: Yes

bhakta: They saw we have something very elaborate so some became Vaiṣṇavas: but we don't follow the rules and regulations just for the sake of following them: how that śloka goes in the NOI?

Advaitadas: atyāhāra prayāsaś ca: prajalpo niyamāgraha – niyamāgraha can mean over-emphasis on rules or under-emphasis on rules, but anyway, point taken.”

Balarāma on armchair scholars

On madangopal.com (Linktab 'Articles', the 'Wisdoms'-file, page 2) I have added this verse, spoken by Śrī Balarāma to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya, Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.78.26:

adāntasyāvinītasya vṛthā paṇḍita-māninaḥ

na guṇāya bhavanti sma naṭasyevājitātmanaḥ

“Those who vainly consider themselves learned, but are neither self-controlled, nor humble, so they don’t attain good characters, are just like actors on a stage."

I have added this before the next śloka of the Bhāgavata (10.78.27), which was already posted in that file:

etad artho hi loke’sminn avatāro mayā kṛtaḥ

badhyā me dharma-dhvajinas te hi pātakino’dhikāḥ

"It is for this reason that I have descended to this world – to kill those who pretend to be virtuous. They surely are worse than sinners.”

Though Lord Balarāma speaks about Romaharṣaṇa, whom He had just executed with a blade of grass, the verses are in plural case, and so apply to all high-flying armchair intellectuals, of all times.

Phone Sanga (20)

Bhakta: "Is there anything in śāstra about how Vaiṣṇavas should greet each other?"

Advaitadas: "No. Neither haribol nor Jay Rādhe are mentioned in Gaura līlā śāstras. It is open, though most devotees say Rādhe Rādhe or Jay Rādhe."

Bhakta: "Returning to the topic of Dimock, he is not considered a devotee because he had not associated with Vaiṣṇavas...."

Advaitadas: "No I didn't say that. Surely he associated with Vaiṣṇavas, but your parents have also associated with you for the 30 years you have been a devotee and they never became devotees themselves. Although sādhu sanga works wonders, it does not automatically convert everybody."

Bhakta: 'He may not be initiated but he may still be a devotee. Some people may be initiated but do not have so much devotion. How can you tell?"

Advaitadas: "I have already shown from śāstra (in the previous blog) that a Vaiṣṇava is someone who is initiated and actively engaged in Lord Viṣṇu's worship, and that all others are non-devotees. It is true that many initiated devotees have become non-devotional, but at one point in their life they had so much devotion that they took dīkṣā, which is an act of surrender - dīkṣā kāle bhakta kore ātma samarpan (CC Antya 4). One of the persons who comes to Kṛṣṇa is the curious (B.Gita 7.16, jijñāsu). That is typically a westerner, who doesn't know anything about Vedic religion. They go very deeply into this, studying all the śāstras, but when their curiosity is satisfied they leave. Others are distressed (ārta) because of some broken love affair, and take to celibacy, but when their heartache is over they leave too. In the process they may have taken initiation and are thus marked devotees. Some surrender was there. There is a difference between an initiated and non-initiated devotee. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī says: kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta "Mentally honour those who say Kṛṣṇa" (non-initiated bystanders and sympathisers), dīkṣāsti cet praṇatibhiḥ "but when there is dīkṣā you must offer full obeisances." (Upadeśāmṛta) That is the difference between the sympathising bystander and someone who took dīkṣā.  In India an initiated devotee is called āśrita, a person who took shelter. All glories to them (dīkṣāsti cet praṇatibhiḥ)!"

Bhakta: "In the previous phone sanga you mentioned the hyperboles and figurative statements in the Bhāgavata. Where can we read about it?"

Advaitadas: "Unfortunately at this stage there is not much about this in English yet, but look at this in Jīva Gosvami's Bhagavat Sandarbha (109):

yathā ca siṁho devadatta ity atra gauṇyā vṛttyā śaurya-guṇa-yukte devadatte siṁha-śabdaḥ pravartate. yathā ca gaṇgāyāṁ ghoṣa ity atra-lakṣaṇayā vṛttyā gaṇgā-śabdas tasminn ity asambandhe taṭe pravartate 

"siṁho devadatta (lion Devadatta) does not mean that he literally is a lion, but that he is (a human being) endowed with the quality of (lion-like) heroism. Similarly, though 'gaṅgāyāṁ ghoṣaḥ' literally means 'a village in the Ganga' it of course means 'a village on the bank of the Ganges'.

Bhakta: "Is there an injunction that one must chant one's 64 rounds in the morning?"

Advaitadas: "No. nāmnāmakāri bahudha nija sarva śaktis tatrārpita niyamita smaraṇe na kāla "All divine energy is there in the name and there is no rule on the time for chanting it. Some devotees have early morning or late night shifts and they cannot chant in the morning, so they have no choice but to chant on other times. The morning is good because the mind and body are fresh and so the mode of goodness reigns. The name is always great, though, also in the evening because then it dispels the predominant mode of ignorance (fatigue)."

Bhakta: "I was surprised that in Nikuñja Keli Virudāvali, Viśvanāth Cakravartī is praising Kṛṣṇa only, while, as a mañjarī, he should be just into Rādhārāṇī."

Advaitadas: "All ācāryas, even those who were fervently into mañjarī bhāva, like Raghunāth Dās Gosvāmī and Viśvanāth Cakravartī, have done their fair share of praising Kṛṣṇa as well. Raghunāth Dās Gosvāmī also wrote Madan-gopāl Stotram, Gopal-rāja Stotram, Vraja Vilāsa Stava, Prayers to Mt. Govardhan etc. etc. No ācārya has written exclusively about Smt. Rādhārāṇī."

Bhakta: "We have discussed before that sthāyi-bhāva cannot be changed, yet in Caitanya Caritāmṛta we see that even Satyabhāmā covets the fortune of the gopīs."

Advaitadas: "The women of Mathurā praise the gopīs in Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.44.14-16, and the queens of Dvaraka do so too in Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.83.43. The fact that they know about the gopīs' glories does not mean that they actually can enter into gopī-bhāva, however. Look at Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.16.36, where it is described that Lakṣmī could never attain Kṛṣṇa's feet, even after eternal penance! nāyaṁ sriyo'nga u nitanta rateḥ prasādaḥ (Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.47.60) If ever a person is seen to graduate from aiśvarya to mādhurya, from vaidhi to rāga, then it must be understood that the latter, not the former, was his sthāyi-bhāva. For instance, in his ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavat 10.83.43, Viśvanāth Cakravartī says that the 8 principal queens could not be swayed from their (Dwārakā-) feelings towards Kṛṣṇa, but secondary queens were later kidnapped by Kṛṣṇa and taken to Gokula."

Bhakta: In Nikuñja Keli Virudāvali, (29) it is said that Kṛṣṇa bites Rādhā's lips and then drinks the nectar and sprinkles it on Her. Is that blood?"

Advaitadas: "Hahaha, no - Kṛṣṇa is not a vampire. That is horrid, and horror in relation to Kṛṣṇa is rejected as jugupsa rati, the secondary rasa of disgust. saptamyās tu rater vasāt (Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 2.5.41) - Jugupsa does not apply to Kṛṣṇa, most specially within madhura rasa. Otherwise, biting is a common item of Vedic lovemaking (see Kāma-sūtra). In retrospect these things like sprinkling are not mentioned in the Sanskrit of Nikuñja Keli Virudāvali 29. I must have taken this interpretation from the Bengali translation."

Bhakta: "Speaking of jugupsa, do the gopīs have hair under their armpits?"

Advaitadas: "It looks bad, and I have never read of a mañjarī service of shaving Rādhā's armpits."

Bhakta: "One Vaiṣṇava organization claims that Vaikuṇṭha will ultimately be folded and everyone will ultimately get into mañjarī bhāva."

Advaitadas: "That would be wholly contrary to the principle of sthāyi-bhāva. Besides, there is not a shred of evidence for that theory. Vaikuṇṭha is eternal and eternal means eternal. sthāyi-bhāva means permanent emotion, and permanent means permanent. Can you imagine, not only countless jīvas would transfer to Goloka, but Lord Nārāyan would cease to exist altogether? That is crazy. When Jīva Gosvāmī speaks of the eternality of the spiritual sky in Prīti Sandarbha (10) he specifically quotes a verse from Śrīmad Bhāgavat (3.15.14) that describes Vaikuṇṭha. vaikuṇṭhasya bhagavato jyotir-aṁśa-bhūtā vaikuṇṭha-loka-śobhā-rūpā yā anantā mūrtayas tatra vartante.

Bhakta: "But everybody will want the highest thing..."

Advaitadas: "That is subjective. Everyone thinks they have the highest relationship with God anyway and is satisfied with that. With such logic the cowherd boys and Nanda-Yaśodā would also go extinct, or what? You must understand things with śāstra (scripture) and yukti (common sense) and such theories have neither. Also the idea that there will be no Kalki avatāra after Mahāprabhu's yuga is nowhere in śāstra, like Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta, and not even in the Caitanya-śāstras."

Bhakta: "(In connection with this) I read that Śrīmad Bhāgavat is not written for this kalpa."

Advaitadas: "That is absurd. The Śrīmad Bhāgavat we are reading is meant for people of this Kali-yuga, not for another yuga - kalau naṣṭa dṛśam eṣā purāṇārko'dhunodita (Śrīmad Bhāgavat 1.3.43). Can you imagine we are reading a Śrīmad Bhāgavat for the wrong kalpa?"

Bhakta: "But other Purāṇas are spoken for or in other kalpas."

Advaitadas: "Let it be. śāstraṁ bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalam - śrī caitanya mahāprabhor matam idam - Mahāprabhu has said that the Śrīmad Bhāgavat is the spotless authority."