Chapter Four
Hearing to See
by
Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
Man proposes and God disposes. Proposal is directed upwards, and disposal comes down. The waves of suggestion and acceptance are all the Lord’s līlā.
naiva tasya kṛtenārtho nākṛteneha kaśchana
na chāsya sarva-bhūteṣu kaśchid artha-vyapāśrayaḥ
[“In this world, a self-realised person who rejoices in the soul does not accrue piety by the performance of actions, nor does he incur sin by abstaining from duties. Amongst all living entities, from the highest life-forms of the planet of Lord Brahmā down to the world of immobile organisms, he never depends on anyone for any personal demand whatsoever.”]
For one who is self-realised, any and every wave is welcome for he is able to read the deeper meaning.
ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta chātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam asks, “What is the conception of māyā?” Ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta: what seems to us to be the right reading of the environment, is actually not so. Artheṣu abhijñaḥ: the meaning and purpose of every incident is known to Kṛṣṇa. Many events are harmonised together and are for the purpose of serving Him. But when there is localised interest, there is a clash. Imperial and universal interests clash with provincial and local interests. Artheṣu abhijñaḥ. He alone can know why each straw is moving to this side or that. He is the only knower of everything.
Only He knows what purpose is served by the grass bending in the wind to this side, and not that. All these movements taken together in harmony, go to Him. Artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. He is not responsible to anything or anyone.
The universal meaning of every event and incident, even the movement of a piece of straw, is all-purposeful and all-meaningful to the Absolute. It all contributes to the absolute satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. That is the meaning of the phrase ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta.
Artheṣu abhijñaḥ. Artha means universal. And what is the real purpose of every movement? It is for the one universal Absolute. That absolute current goes towards the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. But that reading is not possible by the superficial jīvas. The jīvas cannot read or conceive the real meaning of everything. The jīva will have a different reading of the circumstances, but that will be superficial, and that is māyā. We may interpret in our own way the reason for an earthquake, or a storm, or anything, but that reading is from our local interest — the real meaning is hidden. This is māyā, and on the basis of that we are performing so many activities. All our interpretations are from the plane of local interest, so give it up!
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
Give up your local interest and identify yourself with the current of that plane of universal interest.
ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta chātmani
Without knowing the real meaning, what we feel and read is the wrong reading of the environment — it is māyā. We miss the universal purpose, and from local interest we read, “Oh, this is for this purpose; this is for that purpose.” But this is local interest. What we conceive, feel, trust, and believe is not in consonance with the universal reading: it is māyā. Even our belief is within the realm of māyā. Our conceptions will have no standing in the interest of the Absolute. What we read in the local interest, we will not find if we go to read from the universal interest.
Our disease of local interest and conception will be cured and removed when we see that everything is meant for Kṛṣṇa and we become one with that interest.
ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta chātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ
That feeling, that conception, is known as māyā: ‘what is not’. It is apparent, but not real. What is not real, that is māyā. Even what I think to be real, is not so. Mā-yā — mā means no, and yā means ‘what is not’. Apparently, it seems to be, but the fact is, it is not so: that is māyā. In such a plane we eliminate the infinite interest and instead we see things by measuring according to our own interest. We measure everything only from the angle of vision and stand-point of our own selfish interest. In this way we ignore the infinite representation, position, duty, and service. This is māyā.
Yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ: light and darkness both exist. The absence of truth is not truth; it is tama, darkness, ignorance, mistake, and error.
aham evāsam evāgre nānyad yat sad-asat param
paśchād ahaṁ yad etach cha yo ’vaśiṣyeta so ’smy aham
ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta chātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ
yathā mahānti bhūtāni bhūteṣūchchāvacheṣv anu
praviṣṭāny apraviṣṭāni tathā teṣu na teṣv aham
etāvad eva jijñāsyaṁ tattva-jijñāsunātmanaḥ
anvaya-vyatirekābhyāṁ yat syāt sarvatra sarvadā
The ontological base of the whole Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is contained within these four ślokas. The Lord is present everywhere in a direct or indirect way.
One in the uttam-adhikār (highest) stage makes no attempt to preach. Distribution of propaganda is for those in the madhyam-adhikār (middle) stage. It is there to take everyone from the narrow conception to the bright conception — from the improper to the proper conception, sambandha-jñān — and they will carry out their activities accordingly.
siddhānta baliyā chitte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa
To engage us more earnestly towards service sometimes hearing is necessary. To hear just for the sake of hearing is luxury. But hearing for engagement, that is proper hearing.
The master calls, “Oh you, please bring me a glass of water.” But the student remains sitting. “Did you hear me?”
“Yes, I heard.” But still he remains sitting tight — that sort of hearing won’t do!
There is a saying amongst the sahajiyā section: “Gurudev asked for a glass of water, but I am engaged in Hari-nām. ‘No, Gurudev, I’m engaged in Hari-nām.’” This is self-deception.
Especially in the beginning, the importance will be the consideration of urgency. In Gurudev, bhajan will be present as service in a higher degree, not in us. By serving him, I can partake in the higher quality of kīrtan, and that can come within me and improve the quality of my bhajan. Sādhu-saṅga and Nām-kīrtan are important. Nām-kīrtan has been recommended, but not without the association of the sādhu. That sādhu will be the higher, superior quality devotee, and sādhu-saṅga means serving him. Saṅga does not mean just bodily association but saṅga is possible only through the serving attitude — not by opposite dealing or idlely sitting. Saṅga means sat-saṅga.
dadāti pratigṛhṇāti guhyam ākhyāti pṛchchhati
bhuṅkte bhojayate chaiva ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam
[“Offering gifts in charity, accepting gifts in charity, revealing one’s mind in confidence, enquiring confidentially, accepting prasād, and offering prasād.”]
These are the six kinds of association with a sādhu. Higher association is only possible with a serving attitude. Otherwise, there is no saṅga. Lower association means exploitation and enjoyment, but higher association can only be achieved through service. By proper association the quality of your service will increase, so sādhu-saṅga — sādhu-sevā — is of most importance.
The Gauḍīya Maṭh stresses the importance of sādhu-saṅga — serving the sādhu. Whatever you do by the command of the higher devotee will, through him, surely connect you with a higher conception of the Absolute. Whatever you do, do with that connection from above and carry out his order.
We have the experience of one sannyās godbrother who, leaving the order and engagement of his Gurudev, went to the holy place of Badarik Ashram, and our Guru Mahārāj punished him for that. So, we can see that without the order from above, even going to the holy places may be punishable.
Without sādhu-saṅga we cannot connect with the higher level. Therefore, even chanting the Name may not be Vaikuṇṭha-nām.
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
So, the universal necessity is to learn and acquire a serving attitude, and if that is applied to Nām-bhajan, or any bhajan, that will be of great help to you.
Jihva means the tongue, and Nāmādi means the Nām, rūpa, guṇa, and līlā. On the tongue the Lord’s Name (Nām) will appear; within the eye, His form (rūpa); within the mind, His qualities (guṇa); and in the heart, His Pastimes (līlā): all these will come down to you, and everything about you will connect with that Vaikuṇṭha-tattva.
So, it is not just a question of increasing the quantity, but the quality must be present. To be real bhakti, sevonmukha and sevā presuppose surrender, and all this presupposes sādhu-saṅga. It all originates from the association of a sādhu. From the positive direction it can come to us, so we must be thankful to that positive source. The Lord is there, but His grace is coming through His agents. So, His agents should be welcomed and dealt with properly.
Whatever we can collect with our energy, we should devote towards sādhu and śāstra. Sādhu and śāstra are our two friends everywhere.
My Guru Mahārāj, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Prabhupād, one day explained what is a sādhu, and what is karma. He then proceeded to explain that if a sādhu orders, “Bring me a flower”, but when you bring the flower he says, “No, now bring me some water”, and you object, “No, you ordered a flower and I brought it. Please accept this flower.” That will be karma.
The sādhu is free. To thrust upon him his previous desire will be karma. At every moment he is free, so to follow his past will, will be karma. Always you are to be expectant for the immediate need.
In the battlefield, if the general orders the army, “March this side”, then after noticing the circumstances to have changed, he says, “No, go this other way!” Then it won’t do for the soldiers to object by saying, “No! You have already ordered us to go in this direction.”
Similarly, the sādhu and Guru are always free, and their order should be taken in such a way. It is not that we shall stick firmly to their first order, but they are living and independent.
On being asked to do a particular service, one disciple told our Guru Mahārāj, “I need to know my programme of what to do at least one week in advance.” But Śrīla Prabhupād replied, “But I received the order only five minutes ago, so how could I inform you earlier?” So, it is not a dead matter.
Of course, the beginners will not be able to accept that. They will receive their specific instructions just as a young boy is given the duty to every day practise writing the alphabet, “A B C … ”. That is a particular stage, but then he will be taught how to spell by using those letters in a certain way. And presently at every moment he will be using the letters in many ways according to the necessity of writing. The order may come to take down a dictation, to write this and that. Just repeating “A B C … ” is not sufficient.
So, in the beginning of devotional life the student is asked, “Do this thing. Do that thing.” But when he will come in connection within the living substance, he will be prepared in such a way for a new order to come, and he will have to follow that with all alertness.
When I was in Vṛndāvan, I had a desire to meet with one sādhu who was the most famous and respected siddha-bābājī of that place. I had the chance to stay with him for a few days, but my Śrīla Prabhupād, after circumambulating Vraja Maṇḍal, told me he was a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī. He explained that this bābājī was only copying as a student what are accepted as the practices of a sādhu. He was following the stereotyped direction. He was chanting the Lord’s Names, doing mādhukarī, fasting, reading Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and performing the various formal duties recommended for the beginners, but he was not coming in contact with the living thing. He was simply undergoing training. He was simply following the training period.
In the armed forces when the new recruits are in the training period, they are asked to do something repeatedly, “Do this! Do this! Do this!” So, they engage themselves in that way.
The kaniṣṭha-adhikārī does not know the spirit and therefore cannot connect with the living substance. He, therefore, is in the preparatory life of a devotee, and he will repeatedly engage in those practices.
Anyhow, I had already gone to see this bābājī two or three times in the evening. I sat there silently. He had many disciples there who respected him, with two or four staying by his side. Nobody said anything to me, and he could not tell that I was from the Gauḍīya Maṭh. I tried my best to read him.
On one occasion that I saw him, it was the holy Nṛsiṁha Chaturdaśī day, and a reading from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam was begun. He recited and sometimes he spoke about various things. I continued my watch over his activities, movements, etc. As I watched him, it was sometimes as if I was noticing Guru Mahārāj indicating to me that bābājī’s nature.
After two or three days I came up with the conclusion that this man was trying his best from this plane to go up. But our Guru Mahārāj has come down from there and has a living programme with a purpose to fulfil. He does not belong to this world, but he has come from the spiritual world with some order. Our Guru Mahārāj has come down with something positive to give to the world. He has some order and plan: “Go and do this!”
But that bābājī was trying his best to follow what has been recommended in the scriptures. We can read about Rūpa, Sanātan, and others and accordingly have some idea and try to practise that. But that is theoretical practising: “This has been recommended, let me practise all these things, and then I will get my desired result.” One who follows in this way is a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī. But the desired end and living result will come by working under the direction of Gurudev and sādhu who are already members of that plane. And that is not theoretical, but practical. The difference is there in the practical necessity.
In this way I had also come to the conclusion, later to be confirmed by Śrīla Guru Mahārāj, that this bābājī was a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī.
Soldiers are sometimes ordered to do ordinary things — not only fighting but also shovelling, clearing jungle, and many other duties. When marching against the enemy, whatever duty will come in their front, they are to do that. The circumstances are practical and living. It is not mock-fighting, but a real fight, and at every moment they are not always fighting. The preparation to a fight has more value than fighting in a mock-fight during a training period, even though the mock-fight seems like real fighting.
When the soldiers in the actual field find it necessary to do some other duties such as clearing the jungle, making a bridge, or a path, etc., that will have more value than a practice fight in peaceful circumstances.
Of course the position of the general — of the Gurudev — is all-important; he must be real, not a sham or imitation. If the sādhu or Gurudev is genuine, to clean up his stool and urine may fetch more than worshipping the Deity. That is because such activity has a practical connection. So, under the guidance of a real Āchārya, whatever we do — whether it be cooking, looking after the cows, personal service, or so many other duties — that will have more value than my independent reading of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. That is possible because the Āchārya is actually leading spiritual life and he has his mission to do, and if we can help him, that will fetch some higher result for us. And I will be paid by his coin, and not by any gross thing.