The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Hawaii on January 18, 2002 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 79)

 

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: My heartfelt obeisances at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. And to my śikṣā-guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja.

Yesterday, we were discussing Bhajana-rahasya. We are coming to the fifth part, kṛṣṇa-āsakti (attachment to Kṛṣṇa). First, from niṣṭhā, ruci will come. A taste will come. In what subject will a taste come for? It will come for sādhana. This taste is divided into two: vastu-vaiśiṣṭya-apekṣiṇī and vastu-vaiśiṣṭya-anapekṣiṇī. After passing the stage of having so many anarthas in you, anarthas are still there, but nothing like nāmāparādha is there. They are there in a very minute form only.

The first kind of taste is when anyone sings very well, accompanied by a guitar, a harmonium, or many instruments, with a very sweet melody; it will be very tasteful. But if a high-class devotee sings while weeping, with a melting heart, if he is singing without an instrument and his voice is not so sweet, then that person will have no taste in hearing him sing.

If any deities are so well-dressed, then he will have a taste for having darśana of those deities. But if the same deities are not well dressed, he will have no taste in that. In ISKCON temples everywhere, whether or not bhakti is present, the deities are very well-dressed, and at the same time, three persons are blowing conch shells. Thus, in a very beautiful way, they are performing ārati. And with a very good melody, they are singing, “Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.” There are many people and fine-looking sannyāsīs carrying daṇḍas. Anyone who comes there will have a taste to see that and think, “Oh, it is so magical.” Again and again, he will come to see that.

This is taste. When the deities are well-decorated, and there is a nice tune in kīrtana, and everything is nice, then he will have a taste in that. He has a taste for all the bhakti practices, but only when the deities are well-decorated and everything is in place; otherwise, not. If he takes darśana of Śrīla Vaṁśī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and his deities, he will return from there, thinking, “Oh, there is nothing there.”

But the mood of Śrīla Vaṁśī dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is so high that he quarrels with his deities, “This Nitāi is very simple, but Mahāprabhu is very naughty. He told me to bring flowers, so I climbed a tree, but then another boy sent by Him pushed me off. Now my leg is broken. I will not worship You anymore. Go to another person.” He is quarrelling with his deities like this. He is weeping and quarrelling with his deities. We cannot be like that.

In this way, one’s taste depends on something, such as a good melody, good decoration, or anything else. The other kind of taste is unlike this. Whether or not the deities are dressed, he has a taste in that. He hears “Hare Kṛṣṇa” from very far away, and he faints. He thinks, “Where is that coming from?” and he will become faint. Like Śrīmatī Rādhikā, although Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s love is much superior to ruci, I am giving an example. She heard the name Kṛṣṇa from very far away. Someone was saying, “Kṛṣṇa,” and she became faint. These are the two classes of taste. Then, if he continues practising, his taste will be changed into āsakti.

Devotee: A question comes when hearing about these two stages of ruci. In one stage, the sādhaka is impelled from within to hear, chant, worship the deities, or perform any limb of bhakti because of an external cause. For example, in kīrtana, we hear very nice music and a sweet voice, along with all those other things. The next stage is when the sādhaka is so strong that he is unaffected by any external attractive or non-attractive circumstances. His heart and tendency are to perform these devotional activities.

We just heard how nicely the ārati is being performed in ISKCON. An ordinary person with no connection to bhakti may come and become very attracted to the very nice ārati. I just asked Śrīla Gurudeva what the difference is between this person’s taste and that of one who has gone through all the stages, anartha-nivṛtti, and is now reaching the end of niṣṭhā. Why is he still dependent on external attractions to develop his ruci for the holy name, hari-kathā, or the deities?

Śrīla Gurudeva said that this first stage of ruci, in which the sādhaka depends on these external attractions, signifies that some anarthas are still present. When he continues to perform these activities in sādhu–saṅga, he will reach the mature stage of ruci, where he will no longer depend on external things.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Here, there is no question of any general person having taste because their taste will only be worldly. The taste of any sādhaka who is coming to the stage of ruci is not worldly. His taste is somewhat transcendental. Niṣṭhā has come. He has passed over anarthas, and niṣṭhā has also come. After that, he came to ruci. General people will attend a kīrtana or ārati, and then they will quickly forget and leave. This is a worldly thing. If you want to develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you will have to pass through these stages.

You should judge yourself and assess your current situation. How deep or shallow water are you standing in? I know that if I am not giving proper honour to some of you or not talking with you, someone will think, “I will not come here anymore. He is not giving attention to me.” I know so many who left our classes. But one who has passed through the proper channel — anarthas have gone away somewhat, and after niṣṭhā, ruci is coming — will have some taste in all these things. Even if we rebuke him, he will still come and hear.

First, Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained how we should chant the holy name so that prema will arise. For this, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quoted one verse from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, “tṛṇād api sunīcena.” Here, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is quoting something more. If a sādhaka has taste, then he will think like this:

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya

Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka (5)

[“O My Lord, O Kṛṣṇa, son of Mahārāja Nanda, I am Your eternal servant, but because of My own fruitive acts I have fallen into this horrible ocean of nescience. Now please be causelessly merciful to Me. Consider Me a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.”]

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura used to pray in this manner. At night, he would take his mālā, and while weeping, he would chant these ślokas with tears in his eyes and a melting heart. He would pray, “O Nanda-nandana, I have left Your service. I do not have any mood for You. I am in the ocean of birth and death. I am very unhappy. Please take me out of that and engage me in Your service. I am Your eternal servant. You have purchased me. You have a claim to do this, You have the right to do this.”

tomāra nitya-dāsa mui, tomā pāsariyā
paḍiyāchoṅ bhavārṇave māyā-baddha hañā

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 20.33)

[“I am Your eternal servant, but I forgot Your Lordship. Now I have fallen into the ocean of nescience and have been conditioned by the external energy.”]

kṛpā kari’ kara more pada-dhūli-sama
tomāra sevaka karoṅ tomāra sevana”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 20.34)

[“Be causelessly merciful to Me by giving Me a place with the particles of dust at Your lotus feet so that I may engage in the service of Your Lordship as Your eternal servant.”]

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is saying, or I am myself explaining, that when a sādhaka crosses the stage of ruci and enters the stage of āsakti, he becomes so humble that tears automatically come to his eyes, and his heart melts.

nayanaṁ galad-aśru-dhārayā
vadanaṁ gadgada-ruddhayā girā
pulakair nicitaṁ vapuḥ kadā
tava nāma-grahaṇe bhaviṣyati

Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka (6)

[“My dear Lord, when will My eyes be beautified by filling with tears that constantly glide down as I chant Your holy name? When will My voice falter and all the hairs on My body stand erect in transcendental happiness as I chant Your holy name?”]

He repents, “I am so worthless. I have no taste in Your names and all those things.” Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura used to weep in this manner. At that time, when āsakti is somewhat matured, he can realise his siddha-deha (eternal identity). You should know that we have this material form — it features very beautiful eyes, curly hair, and beautiful cheeks. We are very, very strong, beautiful, everything. Similarly, we have a transcendental form. It is very beautiful, and it is sat-svarūpa, saccidānandamaya (entirely composed of eternity, consciousness and transcendental bliss).

It is like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is sat-cit-ānanda. He has a beautiful form, but it is not a worldly form. How can any worldly person see Him? How? If anyone has some connection with Yogamāyā, then, like a light that takes power from a powerhouse, one can have light. But if you flip a light switch, the connection to the power source is cut off, and there will be no light. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is sat-cit-ānanda-ghana (the condensed form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss). His form is also sat-cit-ānanda. All His qualities are like that; they are transcendental.

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 17.136)

[“Therefore, material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.”]

What we are chanting is not the pure name. When, by causeless mercy, Nāma Prabhu will come and dance on your tongue, then it is the pure name. What we are chanting is only a vibration of air, only a vibration coming from our throat and tongue. They are material words only, an effort made by our material senses. But upon seeing our condition and prayers, when Nāma Prabhu comes, and will dance on your tongue, then it is the pure name. If the pure name comes, then at once, more than āsakti will automatically come. It will come only in the stage of rati, not now.

Try to chant the pure name like this, always, without interruption. Upon seeing your effort, your endeavour, Kṛṣṇa will come in the form of His name, and He will dance on your tongue. At that time, there will be no laziness, no sleepiness, nothing. You will always be very happy, always. That is the pure name. We should try to do this, so that Kṛṣṇa’s name should come and dance on our tongue. Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes should come and reveal themselves in your heart. Then so much ānanda will come, so much happiness.

You cannot realise this now. When it comes, then you can realise this. Words cannot explain it; it cannot be. Try to chant always, always, always. Then, when it comes, you will realise all these things. This is the transcendental name. It will come from your heart, taking the form of tears. Those tears are also transcendental because they are related to the pure name.

At that time, everything worldly will be forgotten. At that time, you will not remember anything worldly like relations, sense gratification and beauty.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura used to do it in this manner, and he has left us a line to follow. We should try to follow. At that time, Kṛṣṇa may hear his prayers; otherwise, not.

ṣaḓ-aṅga śaraṇāgati hôibe ĵā̃hāra
tā̃hāra prārthanā śune śrī nanda-kumāra

 Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya Prabhu Jīve Dayā Kôri’ (5)

[“Whoever embodies each of these six facets of śaraṇāgati has their prayers heard by the son of Nanda Mahārāja.”]*

Otherwise, He will not hear your prayers. If you have strong śaraṇāgati, thinking, “Kṛṣṇa is very powerful. He is always saving me, protecting me, nourishing me. He must support and nourish me,” if this faith is there, then He will hear your prayers — otherwise not. There are so many lakhs (thousands) of people in this world. Almost all of them are unhappy. They weep bitterly, but Kṛṣṇa never hears them. They are praying, “O God, O my God,” but He will not listen to them because they are not surrendered. So, you must be surrendered, then Kṛṣṇa will hear you.

If anarthas are present and you have not surrendered, He will hear you but neglect you. Why? If you are chanting the holy name and thinking, “What to do? Nowadays, all my businesses are down. Now my business is going to be stopped. There is not enough income. What to do? Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa.” What will happen? There will be no effect, because Kṛṣṇa will not hear you. He will neglect you. He thinks, “These material things are like poison, and he wants poison. Why should I give him poison?” He will not hear you.

But when Kṛṣṇa thinks, “He knows that all these material things are like poison and he only wants Me, to serve Me,” then Kṛṣṇa will hear you. In the first stage, Kṛṣṇa is like the antaryāmī (Supersoul). He is like a sākṣī (witness), Paramātmā. He will neglect you. An example is a judge who hears from both parties and remains neutral. But if he thinks, “He is alright, and he is weeping for the right thing, and he has come for a favourable judgment,” then he can give a judgment that is favourable to that person. So first, Kṛṣṇa resides in our heart like a sākṣī (witness). When anyone surrenders himself, then He will not be like a witness. What will He be? He will hear you and do accordingly. You should repeat what I said.

Devotee: If Kṛṣṇa hears our prayer that we want something material and don’t sincerely want His service, then He sees we want something that will hurt ourselves. He will hear the prayer but neglect to fulfil our desires because He doesn’t want to hurt us.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He may not hear him.

Devotee: Or He won’t hear us at all. But if we sincerely want His service, then He will pay attention. If we are śaraṇāgata — if we take everything favourable for His service, reject everything unfavourable, are very meek and humble, are fully surrendered and see Him as our only maintainer and protector — He will hear and fulfil that desire.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You can hear one example. In the assembly of the Kauravas, Duryodhana, Duśāsana, Karṇa, Śakuni, and all others were going to insult the Pāṇḍavas. By trickery, they defeated the Pāṇḍavas in a game of gambling. They controlled them and made them lose Draupadī in a gambling match. Then Duryodhana told Duśāsana, “I want you to take off her garments, and she should be naked. Then, while naked, she should sit on my lap. I want you to do this at once.”

Like a demon, he started to do this. How strong was he? He had the power of ten thousand elephants. He started to pull the sārī off her. At that time, what did Draupadī do? She looked towards the five Pāṇḍavas, thinking, “They will help me.” They were coming to help, but Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja stopped them and said, “Let us see what will happen.” He had complete faith that Kṛṣṇa would come. That is why he said, “We should not help her.”

Duśāsana pulled her sārī. She looked upon Bhīṣma Pitāmaha, Droṇācārya, Kṛpācārya, and many others, thinking, “They will save me.” But they could not save her. Then she prayed to Kṛṣṇa, “O Kṛṣṇa!” But she was still holding onto her veil with her teeth. Kṛṣṇa was in Dvārakā, surrounded by so many queens. He immediately became in a hurry and they asked Him, “Why are You in a hurry?”

“Someone is calling Me.”

“Why don’t you go there?”

“Because they have not fully surrendered.” After that, Draupadī relinquished her grip on her sārī with her teeth and, with her two hands raised in the air, she prayed, “O Govinda! I am wholly surrendered to You,” and closed her eyes. She thought, “Whatever will happen, it should happen,” like this. Kṛṣṇa at once ran to her so quickly that He even forgot to take His shoes. He quickly ran there and in a second. He came and became the garment or cloth of Draupadī. Duśāsana was pulling, pulling, pulling, and pulling. Finally, he became tired and could no longer pull.

So, if you are not fully surrendered, with both hands in the air, then Kṛṣṇa will not hear you. You know Kṛṣṇa is very crooked. But when He comes into our heart, oh, you cannot get Him out, never and never. You should try to surrender fully, then Kṛṣṇa may come. Otherwise, only chanting the holy name will not do. You are chanting, but remembering worldly things, “Oh, my husband has left me, my wife has left me. What to do? What to do?” If you are chanting like this, Kṛṣṇa will neglect you.

Then Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that after giving up anarthas, a relationship with Kṛṣṇa will come. You have a very beautiful form and all transcendental moods, and you also have some special relationship with Kṛṣṇa. These relationships are divided into five kinds: śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya. Among these five relationships, the topmost is mādhurya, thinking, “I am the beloved of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is my beloved,” like this. “Only Kṛṣṇa is my beloved, and I am the beloved of Kṛṣṇa.”

These kinds of relationships will come at that time. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is telling Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāja:

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17)

[“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā (Supersoul) in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”]

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.18)

[“By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.”]

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ
kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ
sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.19)

[“As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.”]

Devotee: Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā (Supersoul) in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses the desire for material enjoyment from that devotee who has been doing proper hearing and chanting. Such a devotee has developed a strong desire to hear His messages. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains how Kṛṣṇa comes and cleanses our material desires. First, we must hear from the proper source. We must hear from one who is a realised soul.

yāha, bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne
ekānta āśraya kara caitanya-caraṇe

 Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 5.131)

[“ ‘If you want to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,’ he said, ‘you must approach a self-realised Vaiṣṇava and hear from him. You can do this when you have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.’ ”]

One should go to the lotus feet of a mahā-bhāgavata devotee, surrender and hear from such a personality. Then he will show one how to take shelter and do ekāntika-bhakti (one-pointed bhakti) and ultimately take shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa is there within the heart of that very advanced, realised soul.

kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dite pārô,
tomāra śakati āche

Ohe! Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura (4)

[“ Kṛṣṇa is yours, so you have the power to give Kṛṣṇa. I am only a beggar running behind you, calling out ‘Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!’ ”]

Kṛṣṇa is within his heart, and when he is speaking hari-kathā, then Kṛṣṇa — who is situated within his heart — manifests in the form of sound (śabda-brahma). He then enters into the heart of that devotee who has been hearing attentively with the mood of surrender that Śrīla Gurudeva has been explaining.

Because the devotee opened his heart to hear hari-kathā, Kṛṣṇa entered that heart and saw, “Oh, this is my family member. He has taken shelter of My family member.” Then He comes with His broom, and Kṛṣṇa enters that heart and starts to clean, only through this hearing process. By this process of hearing, Kṛṣṇa Himself in the form of transcendental sound comes, and He does everything.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You should firmly believe in these ślokas of Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam. This is the process. Keep your hands on your heart and decide whether or not you follow that process. Judge for yourself whether or not you are following. Then your heart will answer, “No, we are not following.” Try to do it like this. If you follow that process…

Why have I come? Our guru-varga inspired me to inspire you to follow this process. If you adopt this process, you will be very happy (it rains heavily), and tears will come like rainfall. Gaura-premānanda!

* 1. Acceptance of that which is favourable for bhakti 2. Rejection of that which is unfavourable 3. Faith in Kṛṣṇa’s protection 4. Acceptance of the Lord as one’s only maintainer 5. Submission of the self 6. Humility

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in and/or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)