Chapter One: Devotees Pilgrimage

Devotee: Please tell us something about Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama (circumambulation).

Srila Gurumaharaj: We should try to become more acquainted with the realistic view of Nabadwip. There are so many divisions in this Nabadwip Dham: mainly nine. It is mentioned that they represent the nine sections of devotion:

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
archanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

Simantadwip represents sravana-bhakti, hearing about Krsna. Chanting about Krsna, kirttan, is in Madhyadwip; serving the Lord’s feet, pada-sevanam, is here in Koladwip; worshipping with ghee lamp, etc., arccanam, is in Rtudwip; offering prayers, vandanam, is in Jahnudwip; rendering service as servant, dasyam, is in Modadrumadwip; rendering service to the Lord in the relationship of a best friend, sakhyam, is in Rudradwip; and full self-surrender, atma-nivedanam, is represented in Sri Antardwip, Mayapur. They have connection with these nine main types of devotional conceptions respectively. When travelling to these places we are reminded by the incidents connected with them how such representation comes from each place. All of them taken together promote our understanding as to what is devotion proper.

Atma-nivedanam, full self-surrender, is the basis of all. After atma-nivedanam the plane of life will be categorically changed. After surrendering to the central direction, whatever will be done by us will come to have recognition as devotion. That is devotion. Atma-nivedanam is selflessness plus self-surrendering. Self-surrendering presupposes selflessness. Selfish actions come to an end and selflessness is also crossed, and then self-surrendered life begins - and that is devotion proper.

The life of a devotee has no individual or provincial interest. He works only for the universal interest of the Whole Absolute. Devotees are soldiers of that plane. Whatever they may do, the suggestion and inspiration comes from the centre, the Absolute Good. Thought apparently they seem to be members of this plane of quarrel, in their heart their connection is with the Absolute Good; therefore their colour has completely changed. The valuation of the devotees’ movements has completely changed although apparently they seem to be doing everything almost in a similar way to the mundane persons. Mundane persons eat, and the devotees also appear to eat, but actually they are not eating: they are rendering service to the remnants sent by the eating: they are rendering service to the remnants sent by the Lord. In this way they are going on.

tvayopabhukta-srag-gandha-vāso- ’laṅkāra-charchitāḥ
uchchhiṣṭa-bhojino dāsās tava māyāṁ jayema hi

Uddhava says in Srimad-Bhagavatam, «We shall conquer the whole of the deluding energy (Maya) by only one thing. And what is that? We shall accept everything with the spirit of service. Whatever You, O Lord, send to us, you have already taken and enjoyed, and we shall serve those remnants and thereby the whole of the deluding energy will be devastated.»

One of my learned professor Godbrothers was challenged by his younger brother who was perhaps a graduate, «What do you do there in the Math? What we do, you also do there.»

The professor replied, „No, no, you do not do what we do in the Math.«

„You do not eat?«

„No, we do not eat.«

„Then what do you do? With my own eyes I have seen you eating.«

„No, we don’t eat. We don’t eat like you; we don’t put solid things into our stomachs like you. We render service to Mahaprasadam. What we do is beyond your understanding. We don’t eat like you. We have no spirit of consumption. We don’t consume anything, but we honour the remnants of the Lord.»

Such will be the difference between all the activities of the true Vaisnavas and the worldly men. Apparently the Vaisnavas seem to do the same things as others are doing: walking, sleeping, eating, engaging others in activities, earning money, spending, and so many apparently similar things; but the standpoint is totally different. It is connected with the centre. They abide by the direction of the central movement whereas the worldly men are guided by their provincial, local interest. The difference is that one is guided by the local, and the other by the Absolute, and that difference is very, very great. The Vaisnavas are on the other side of selflessness, the other side of renounced life. Between the worldly men and the Vaisnavas is the realm of complete renunciation. One is on one side the other is on the other side.

What proper devotion is, must be realised. Generally, it may not be understood by the apparent movement of the devotees, but it is to be realised by the question of adjusting the angle of vision. The angle of vision is to be changed.

There are so many incidents, stories, and sceneries connected with Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama, but all are meaning to help us in our life of absolute adjustment. If one can catch that, then by his parikrama through different holy places and his hearing about local ‘historical’ incidents he will receive eternal instructions in various conceptions of devotion. He will receive encouragement in this way.

It is not lie the parikrama of the ordinary people in the general Hindu section of society who also go out on pilgrimage. The general people come in contact with the holy places and they have some holy association, but their main object is to gain some unseen help in their present life. They want their desires of this present life to be satisfied by some invisible help form the demigods. It is punya-karmma  — to acquire good merit to help success in their present life according to their conception. It is not Suddha-bhakti.

The objective of the Gaudiya Math people is quite different and it cannot be reckoned in any of the different planes the present educational section are hunting fore. The present-day scholars cannot even think that purely spiritual life is possible at all. They consider that spiritual life may be only concoction that others are suffering from. According to the so-called scientific scholars, the spiritual searchers are fighting with their shadow, hunting after impossibility and imaginary things. They consider the devotees to be running after phantasmagoria and superstition.

yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ

But on the other side, we think that in the name of concrete reality they are running after phantasmagoria  — just the opposite. They are running after the mortal achievements. They think immortality is not possible, and Socrates had to pay a heavy price for expressing that the soul is immortal. At the cost of his life he announced that the soul is immortal. They objected, «No, nothing is immortal, therefore it is foolish to neglect the mortal pleasures, so let us enjoy whatever there my be.» That was their viewpoint.

The normal viewpoint is that we want to be wakeful in that plane of life which is darkness to them. The basis is that the soul is immortal and there is an immortal world  — it is not only immortal but it is nectarean reality. Srnvantu visve amrtasya puttrah: «O you sons of nectar, be mindful. You are eternal and you are children of that soil. Why do you suffer so much. You have become victims of mortality but really you are not so. You have an inconceivably higher prospect of life. Come back. Come back to your own plane. Come back home.» That is the general call of the Upanisads, the most ancient revealed Scripture.

The attempt of the followers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does not only call for theistic life, but it calls for theism in its full fledged condition; that is family life with God  — family life with the Absolute Beauty and Charm. «Your place is just on the lap of the affectionate father, or just on the lap of the beloved consort.»

«Do or die» is the slogan of Mahaprabhu’s followers. Let us try. Let us strive our utmost to achieve what is our own real prospect. No compromise. There must be no compromise along the way, but we must fight to the finish and we must be prepared for that. Our Guru Maharaj, Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura, was the Acaryya of the whole Gaudiya Math and he was of such nature. He was not haphazard or prepared to make any compromise  — nothing of the kind.

Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura had to begin his fight almost single-handedly against the whole of the world - against all the different stages of culture ever known to the world. His only support was Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sriman Mahaprabhu. He proceeded with ‘heart within and God over head’. On his head was Mahaprabhu and Bhagavatam. He stood alone to fight out Their cause. Not only did he want to fight in Bengal, the provinces of Mahaprabhu, and not only in India, but he wanted to fight outside as well.

He wanted to attack the highest position of the present civilisation  — the Western world, the scientific civilisation. They are so proud with their present achievements, but Srila Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad wanted to break down the whole structure of the present false civilisation. He wanted to demolish it and construct a divine temple over the ruins. He wanted to construct a temple of God over the mundane world. He wanted to present not any half-truth, but the fullest: in his words, «full-fledged theism» in accordance with Srimad-Bhagavatam. We are not to stop halfway or be satisfied with partial progress, but we are to only engage in wholesale dealings, and that is given by Srimad-Bhagavatam.

avismṛtiḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ

The conception of theism follows these lines. It is continual existence under the holy protection of the divine Feet of Krsna: to maintain one’s life of continuous engagement with all sorts of activities, while thinking, «The guide is upon my head. The Divine Feet of Krsna are upon my head.» With this attitude we can easily remove what is foreign within us in no time at all. The continual remembrance of Krsna’s Lotus Feet, of Krsna’s connection, will in no time disperse all the difficulties along the way, as well as all meanness and all that is not dignified. Our Srila Guru Maharaj said, «The Gaudiya math stands for the dignity of the human race.» We are to understand that slavery to Krsna is a most dignified position. And everything against that ideal is meanness. The only standard of life for a gentleman is to understand and accept the position of subordination to the Absolute Truth. To admit what is proper and real, and on that basis make one’s life advance, is not meanness. To understand one’s proper position and to understand one’s proper duty and discharge it  — that is gentleman’s life; to accept what is truth. What is considered to be meanness will be removed very soon. And what is really for our welfare and beneficial to us, that will increase.

You are at present in an adulterated conception of your own life. The mind, intelligence and exploiting energies of different kinds are all adulteration. So from your existence will be eliminated all kinds of adulteration. It will be purified and your real self within will come out in its pristine glory, and you will find you have a happy devotional connection with the Supersoul, the Super-knowledge. You will come across knowledge proper  — a clear, personal type of knowledge  — with its paraphernalia and systematic existence.

Whatever you are attracted to at present in this mundane plane will be transferred. Affection proper will be discovered. At present your affection, attraction, and love are misdirected, but they will find their proper place and position. The special characteristic is that you will have a real place and position where these faculties of affection and attraction will find a special support, a proper place to which they will be directed. This is devotion.