Chapter 4: The Honest Enquire

We should note the difference between a servant and a trader. Many approach with some trading purpose, but the character of the real devotee should be that of a servant. Śrī Prahlāda Maharaja has mentioned that one who associates with the sādhus, wanting something in return for his personal interest, is making ‘trade’ with the sādhus. He thinks, «How much can I gain, and how much shall I have to give?’’ But a pure devotee should not have any such separate interest. Rather, he should try to merge within the interest of the Lord. In whatever position he is, it does not matter — whether he is a brahmachārī, a sannyāsī, a gṛhastha, a vānaprastha or any other position — he must be willing to merge (viśate tad anantaram).

He will not like to keep any separate account. His sole objective will be to enter into the family of the Godhead. This is the very basis of pure devotion. Tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā, viśate tad anantaram (Bg. 18.55). We want to surrender, to be one of common interest with the Lord, and not to approach, ask some questions, pocket the answers, and then make trade with them elsewhere in any way. Once, when I was being asked many questions, I replied, «This is not an enquiry office.» The inquisitive want to satisfy their idle curiosity; or, they want to be masters of many keys — that they will be able to give solutions to everyone’s problems, and attain some status. They have many motives but they cannot understand the real necessity.

We require specific articles to execute worship, such as incense, flowers, lamp, etc. Similarly, if we wish to realise the supersubjective plane, there are three specific necessities: praṇipāta, paripraśna, and sevā. Without these three ingredients, our search will be imitative, unsubstantial and farcical.

Praṇipāta means ‘to fall flat near the feet of the worshippable’: «I have come to the end of all enterprise with my previous plane of life; I could find nothing there to fulfill my life’s objectives. Finally, after ‘completing my errands,’ I have come here.» This is the practical symptom of praṇipāta.

Paripraśna means ‘sincere enquiry.’ Honest and sincere enquiry is allowed. The spirit of such enquiry is, «I want to know how I can be utilised in any way. All the charm for living elsewhere is over. My sole enquiry is ‘How can I be utilised here?’ «

And sevā, service, is the all-important factor. «I have come to serve and to be utilised for the cause of the subject about which I have enquired. I have not come to take anything from here. I have come only to serve, with no other motive.»

tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigachchet
samit pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham

Abhigachchet means samyak-gachchet — ’not with a return ticket.’ Abhimeans samyak, ‘fully.’ I have completely lost my charm for the previous life; I have come to surrender to śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham, one who can teach me, being already in a position in the divinity and possessing both theoretical and practical knowledge about the objective. Without this process, everything will be futile.

tasmād gurum prapadyeta, jijñasuh śreyah uttamam
śābde pare cha nisnātam, brahmany upaśamāśrayam

Tasmāt means ‘consequently’ — because the candidate has lost all charm for the world of his previous experience — he has consequently approached with the sole objective of seeking an honourable place here for his future life. Prapadyeta means prapannam, ‘surrender’; he will exclusively devote himself for the cause. Jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam: he has come in search of a higher life. «The lower lives are over; can I have an elevated life here?» He is therefore surrendering to one who is versed in both aspects of the truth — the reality (pare) as well as the literary description of that reality (śabde, or śruti-śāstre), which is revealed truth extended from the higher quarter, beyond this world of sensual experience (Bhā: 11.3.21).

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja refused to accept any boons offered to him by the Lord. He said, «One who accepts boons in return for his service to You is not Your servant but a merchant» (na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik, Bhā: 7.10.4). Those who approach Guru and Kṛṣṇa with their separate interest have come only to make trade. They have come to acquire something to satisfy their own purpose. We must be very cautious to avoid such traits within ourselves. For what have I come? There may be many motives.

After a famous renowned Goswāmin who was well-versed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam had explained the Bhāgavatam in a public gathering, Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, who was present during the lecture, later ordered his servant, «Purify this place with water and cowdung!»

The servant was wonderstruck. «Why? It is already purified; the recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhāgavata-kathā, took place here.»

Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Bābājī said, «You heard Bhāgavatam, but I heard only ‘money, money, money.’» In other words, The Goswāmin had been very eager to have Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī present at his lecture; the publicity that Śrīla Bābājī was present to hear his explanation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would give the lecturer greater scope to make more money in his trade. He came to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam only for that purpose, and not to satisfy Bhāgavatam or Kṛṣṇa. He came for his own business; not for the purpose of Bhāgavatam. Trading with Bhāgavatam is an offence, aparādha, against the Bhāgavatam, most detrimental to pure devotion. One’s attitude in devotion is all-important. Śrīla Śrīdhara Swāmī, the renowned commentator of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has stated, sā chārpitaiva sati yadi kriyeta, na tu kṛtā satī paśchād arpyeta: «Devotional services must be first offered to the Lord, then performed; not performed and offered afterwards.»

We should be already committed when we come to serve, and not that we shall collect capital and later try to utilise it in the service of the Lord. The commitment is to Him, to Kṛṣṇa. I have come to know about Him for Him, not for me or anyone else. Then, why is there a preaching department for others’ benefit? That department exists only because of the instruction from above. Only if I receive an impression from that higher quarter, «Go and preach,» shall I do so, and only then will my preaching be service, and never if it is done for the name and fame that «I am a good preacher doing good work, etc.»

I must have engagement from the higher office, and only on their behalf I shall preach; then it will be genuine preaching. Otherwise, it will be trading. Na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa uai vaṇik: Prahlāda Mahārāja has warned us against this trading mentality in the name of spiritual truth.

Devotion is a separate and distinct plane where we live only for the centre; we aspire to live and move only as an agent of the centre, never disconnected from the centre — this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Reality is for itself, and we must strictly abide by this rule. He is for Himself, everything is for Him — and I am for Him. And whatever I do must also be for Him. We must strictly adhere to this conception, and always examine whether what we are doing is for Him or for any other part, however important we may think it to be.

And what is the guarantee? The guarantee is Vaiṣṇava and śāstra. One should not be so audacious to think that he can conceive the whole thing; one should do everything with the approval of a Vaiṣṇava (vaiṣṇavera ānugatya). In the beginning, when I joined Gauḍīya Maṭh, my Godbrother Professor Sanyal remarked one day, «If we read Bhāgavatam on our own accord, we may perhaps acquire some knowledge, etc., but not bhakti, devotion. But if a Vaiṣṇava orders us to read, our reading will be in devotion. « Even reading of the scriptures is not devotion unless done on the order of the Vaiṣṇava; independent reading is only knowledge-seeking. By following the Vaiṣṇava, our bond with the Lord is guaranteed. Sādhu-saṅge kṛṣṇa-nāma: in the company of the devotees, chanting the name or whatever service we render is guaranteed to reach Him. And what is the guarantee of that? The reply will be, «His agent is saying so, and I am therefore engaged. I am not my master — I am his servant.» Such consciousness must be genuine, as far as possible; success depends on this principle.

Reality is for itself. This truth, however hard it may seem, must be accepted. ‘Die to live,’ and ‘Reality is by itself and for itself — these sayings of Hegel can be very nicely employed by the Vaiṣṇava school.

ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñanāṁ, bhoktā cha prabhur eva cha

In Śrī Gītā, we find that ‘Reality is by itself and for itself’: «I am the Lord and Enjoyer of all sacrifices.» Thus, Śrī Śrīdhara Swāmīpāda has remarked, «First surrender, then serve.» Otherwise you will try to acquire something, pocket it, and fly away. No. Sign the contract for everything that is given to you, then do the needful service without relying on yourself.

Is such a life desirable? We have to think it out: there is so much risk — ’Die to live.’ Must we first die in order to live in the future? Are we prepared to take such a risk.’ Are we sufficiently disgusted with the present environment that we can risk so much for some bright future? «I shall jump!» Are we disgusted enough to take such a step?

If I am sincere to myself, and if I have a glimpse of the bright future, then only can I take such a risk. Otherwise, no one would be so foolish to take such a risk and jump, giving up the present for the uncertain future. To feel the courage to jump, one must have caught a glimpse of even the tiniest ray of such a bright existence.

Sukṛti, devotional merit, and śraddhā, good faith, are required. If only a point of noble faith has arisen in one’s heart, he may take such a bold step and he must jump; otherwise it is impossible. First śraddhā, then sādhu-saṅga and bhajana-kriyā: with faith, when one has the association of the devotees, the practices of devotional service follow. With faith, one can embrace the process of realisation. Sakala chāḍiyā bhāi, śraddhādevīra guṇa gāi: give up everything and with your utmost energy praise the nobility of faith, the ray for a new and noble life.

Even great scholars and stalwarts of the religious world cannot comprehend the quality of the life of surrender to Kṛṣṇa (na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ, Bhā: 6.3.19); what, then, can common humans comprehend?

Those remaining outside may be trying, but they have not yet come to the soil.

When prospecting for oil or minerals, one may see many outer symptoms indicating the presence of those elements within the earth below, but only after penetrating deeper can one confirm his find. Despite many outer symptoms without substance, only when the search has reached to a certain stage can one know, «Yes, we have struck oil, or iron, or gold.» So, Śrī Chaitanyadeva said, eho haya, āge kaha āra: «The divine life you are searching for is; now go further.»

In this way, with good faith, śraddhā, one can thus progress. Faith must be of this nature: if we supply food to the stomach, naturally the whole body will be nourished; we shall not try to nourish a particular part by a local injection. If we supply water to the root, the whole tree will be fed. Similarly, by faith we can realise that if we do everything for Him, the centre of Beauty Personified, everything will be very beautifully done. With all your might contribute your quota, however small, and from that point your efforts will be distributed beautifully. And this is the highest harmony. The highest life for every part is of the nature of harmony with the whole.

If you have a good cook, why try to cook separately yourself? If you simply assist him according to his directions, your ingredients cooked by his hands will be tasteful to all. So engage yourself with that principle. Whatever might you have, however small, place it at the disposal of the highest beauty, love divine, and it will be distributed; and you will also be inundated with the highest quality and degree of joy and fulfillment. Such a life of devotion has been recommended as the key to our life. Prahlāda Mahārāja, who is a śuddha-bhakta, a pure devotee, of the primary stage, śānta-rasa, has warned us of the contamination of the ‘trading temperament’; it is a great danger in our approach to pure devotion (na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik). So we must scrutinise ourselves and abandon this trading temperament. At its root is pratiṣṭhā — the quest for self-establishment, name and fame. Genuine devotion is devoid of such a temperament.