Questions & Answers
Question #1
How can we tell whether a person actually has
transcendental qualities, when they may only
superficially appear to have all the symptoms of a
mahabhagavata? There seem to be many people who are
expert at pretending. So, being a kanishata, how can
we tell what is their real intention in order to
expose them?
Answer to Question 1
Maybe there is qualified guru in your area . Sastra
explains that you should always take shelter at the
lotus feet of a high class, bona fide braja-rasika
guru and learn all tattva-siddhanta from him if you
want to attain the highest perfection. Raghunath Das
Gosvami in his Stavavali explains:
anaradha radha padambhuja renum
anasrita vrinda tavim tad padamkam
asambhasya tad bhava gambhira cittam
kutah syama sindho rasasyava ga ha
How is it possible to immerse oneself in the ocean of
syama-rasa (sringara-rasa) without worshipping the
dust of Srimati Radhika's lotus feet, without taking
shelter of Vrindavan, which is decorated with Her
footprints, or without serving Her devotees, whose
grave hearts are always absorbed in love for Her.
Srimad Bhagavatam states that a high-class, bona fide
guru has three qualifications:
1. He knows all sastra, puranas and upanisads
2. He is detached from all material things
3. He has realisation about the Divine Couple,
Radha-Krsna
Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 11, has the folowing sloka:
tasmad gurum prapadyate
jigyasu sreyam uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahma upasamasrayam
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta (Madhya Lila, 22.65) states:
sastra yukte sunipuna drdra sradhavana
uttama bhagavata sei tarah ei samsara
An actual uttama-bhagavata is called a bona fide guru.
If a kanistha adhikari is pretending to be a
maha-bhagavata, then a madhyama adhikara devotee will
clearly understand his kapatya, duplicity. This is
because a madhyama adhikari knows sastra. A pretender
never practices bhajana and sadana. Only by knowledge
he preaches. A pure devotee has this symptom:
ksantir avyatha kalatvam viratir mana sunyata
asa bandha samukantha nama gane sada-ruci
asakti tad-gunakyane pritis tad vasati sthale
ityadayo 'nubhavah syur jata-bhankure jane
(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu Bindhu 1.3.25)
yasya yat sangatih punso
manivat syat sa tad gunah
sva kularddhyai tato dhiman
sarva yuttanai eva samsrayet
(Jaiva-Dharma, chapter 17, page 406)
"Just as a jewel or crystal reflects the colour of the
object with which it is in contact, so a person
develops qualities according to the company he keeps.
Therefore, by keeping association with suddha-bhaktas,
one can become a suddha-bhakta. Thus, the association
of sudha-bhaktas is the root cause of good fortune."
So, the last conclusion is that a kanistha adhikari
does not perform bhajana and sadhana. He is only
showing his activities of an uttama-adhikari.
Not everyone will shelter to the lotus feet of a bona
fide guru. Not everyone will get a bona fide guru.
Fortunate jivas will come in contact with a bona fide
guru, so Jaiva-Dharma explains the seventh sloka of
Dasa-mula-siksa:
yada bhrahmam brahmam hari-rasa-galad-vaisnava-janam
kadacit sampasyan tad-anugamane syad ruci-yutah
tada krsnavrttya tyajati sanakair mayika-dasam
svarupam vibhrano vimala-rasa-bhogam sa kurute
"When in the course of wandering amongst the higher
and lower species in the material world, a jiva is
able to behold a Vaisnava absorbed in the flowing rasa
of sri-hari-bhakti, ruci arises in his heart for
following the Vaisnava way of life. By chanting
sri-krsna-divya-nama, he gradually becomes free from
his conditioning. Step by step he then gains his
intrinsic, cinmaya-svarupa (transcendental form), and
becomes quaified to taste the pure and spiritual rasa
of a direct service to Krsna."
Question # 2
During Braja Mandala Parikrama we go to so many holy
places, and so many benedictions are offered to those
who visit these places, i.e. "By bathing here all
material desires will go and you will attain the lotus
feet of Radha and Krsna." So, does the person have to
be of a certain qualifiacation for these results to be
realized? You see so many people, like my brother, who
traveled to and even lived in these places, with no
apparant result. Why is this?
.
Answer to Question 2
The holy places are very powerful. If anybody lives in
a holy place, especially in Navadvipa, his heart will
be purified and he will attain his ultmate goal. It is
stated in Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Madhya-lila,
22.133: "The power of these five principles is very
wonderful and difficult to reconcile. Even without
faith in them, a person who is offenceless can
experience dormant love of Krsna simply by being a
little connected with them."
So this verse gives us the conclusion that if anyone
is niraparadhi but has no sraddha, if he connects with
these five things, bhava must arise in his heart. So
Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta states:
sadhu sanga nama kirtana bhagavata sravana
mathura vasa sri murtira sradhaya sevana
sakala sadhana srestha ei panca anga
krsna-prema janmai ei pancera alpa-sanga
Even Srila Jiva Gosvamipada mentions these things in
his Sandharbas. Ganga-jala purifies everyone's heart,
but the fishermen every day early in the morning take
bath in the Ganga, but their hearts are not purified.
Why? So, Jiva Gosvamipada in this context has given
this answer. The fisherman has no faith that the water
of the Ganga is transcendental (brahma-drava). The
Ganga does not purify his heart, and he is also an
offender. For both reasons, Ganga-devi does not purify
his heart. So the first step of bhakti is called
sraddha:
sraddhavan jana haya bhakti adhikari (CC)
Whoever has shraddha for Bhagavan, bhakta and
tadiya-vastu, he can attain pure devotional service.
So gurudeva in his class has told many times about
saranagati and sraddha. If offenders again and again
touch the dust of Braja Mandala and humbly pray to the
lotus feet of guru and Vaishnava, after a few years
the transcendental dust of Braja-bhumi will give
mercy. How did our gosvamis do sadhana-bhajana in
Braja-mandala? If you follow their footsteps, then
your heart will be purified, and you will attain the
highest perfection: he radhe braja devike.
How can we tell whether a person actually has
transcendental qualities, when they may only
superficially appear to have all the symptoms of a
mahabhagavata? There seem to be many people who are
expert at pretending. So, being a kanishata, how can
we tell what is their real intention in order to
expose them?
Answer to Question 1
Maybe there is qualified guru in your area . Sastra
explains that you should always take shelter at the
lotus feet of a high class, bona fide braja-rasika
guru and learn all tattva-siddhanta from him if you
want to attain the highest perfection. Raghunath Das
Gosvami in his Stavavali explains:
anaradha radha padambhuja renum
anasrita vrinda tavim tad padamkam
asambhasya tad bhava gambhira cittam
kutah syama sindho rasasyava ga ha
How is it possible to immerse oneself in the ocean of
syama-rasa (sringara-rasa) without worshipping the
dust of Srimati Radhika's lotus feet, without taking
shelter of Vrindavan, which is decorated with Her
footprints, or without serving Her devotees, whose
grave hearts are always absorbed in love for Her.
Srimad Bhagavatam states that a high-class, bona fide
guru has three qualifications:
1. He knows all sastra, puranas and upanisads
2. He is detached from all material things
3. He has realisation about the Divine Couple,
Radha-Krsna
Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 11, has the folowing sloka:
tasmad gurum prapadyate
jigyasu sreyam uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahma upasamasrayam
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta (Madhya Lila, 22.65) states:
sastra yukte sunipuna drdra sradhavana
uttama bhagavata sei tarah ei samsara
An actual uttama-bhagavata is called a bona fide guru.
If a kanistha adhikari is pretending to be a
maha-bhagavata, then a madhyama adhikara devotee will
clearly understand his kapatya, duplicity. This is
because a madhyama adhikari knows sastra. A pretender
never practices bhajana and sadana. Only by knowledge
he preaches. A pure devotee has this symptom:
ksantir avyatha kalatvam viratir mana sunyata
asa bandha samukantha nama gane sada-ruci
asakti tad-gunakyane pritis tad vasati sthale
ityadayo 'nubhavah syur jata-bhankure jane
(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu Bindhu 1.3.25)
yasya yat sangatih punso
manivat syat sa tad gunah
sva kularddhyai tato dhiman
sarva yuttanai eva samsrayet
(Jaiva-Dharma, chapter 17, page 406)
"Just as a jewel or crystal reflects the colour of the
object with which it is in contact, so a person
develops qualities according to the company he keeps.
Therefore, by keeping association with suddha-bhaktas,
one can become a suddha-bhakta. Thus, the association
of sudha-bhaktas is the root cause of good fortune."
So, the last conclusion is that a kanistha adhikari
does not perform bhajana and sadhana. He is only
showing his activities of an uttama-adhikari.
Not everyone will shelter to the lotus feet of a bona
fide guru. Not everyone will get a bona fide guru.
Fortunate jivas will come in contact with a bona fide
guru, so Jaiva-Dharma explains the seventh sloka of
Dasa-mula-siksa:
yada bhrahmam brahmam hari-rasa-galad-vaisnava-janam
kadacit sampasyan tad-anugamane syad ruci-yutah
tada krsnavrttya tyajati sanakair mayika-dasam
svarupam vibhrano vimala-rasa-bhogam sa kurute
"When in the course of wandering amongst the higher
and lower species in the material world, a jiva is
able to behold a Vaisnava absorbed in the flowing rasa
of sri-hari-bhakti, ruci arises in his heart for
following the Vaisnava way of life. By chanting
sri-krsna-divya-nama, he gradually becomes free from
his conditioning. Step by step he then gains his
intrinsic, cinmaya-svarupa (transcendental form), and
becomes quaified to taste the pure and spiritual rasa
of a direct service to Krsna."
Question # 2
During Braja Mandala Parikrama we go to so many holy
places, and so many benedictions are offered to those
who visit these places, i.e. "By bathing here all
material desires will go and you will attain the lotus
feet of Radha and Krsna." So, does the person have to
be of a certain qualifiacation for these results to be
realized? You see so many people, like my brother, who
traveled to and even lived in these places, with no
apparant result. Why is this?
.
Answer to Question 2
The holy places are very powerful. If anybody lives in
a holy place, especially in Navadvipa, his heart will
be purified and he will attain his ultmate goal. It is
stated in Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Madhya-lila,
22.133: "The power of these five principles is very
wonderful and difficult to reconcile. Even without
faith in them, a person who is offenceless can
experience dormant love of Krsna simply by being a
little connected with them."
So this verse gives us the conclusion that if anyone
is niraparadhi but has no sraddha, if he connects with
these five things, bhava must arise in his heart. So
Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta states:
sadhu sanga nama kirtana bhagavata sravana
mathura vasa sri murtira sradhaya sevana
sakala sadhana srestha ei panca anga
krsna-prema janmai ei pancera alpa-sanga
Even Srila Jiva Gosvamipada mentions these things in
his Sandharbas. Ganga-jala purifies everyone's heart,
but the fishermen every day early in the morning take
bath in the Ganga, but their hearts are not purified.
Why? So, Jiva Gosvamipada in this context has given
this answer. The fisherman has no faith that the water
of the Ganga is transcendental (brahma-drava). The
Ganga does not purify his heart, and he is also an
offender. For both reasons, Ganga-devi does not purify
his heart. So the first step of bhakti is called
sraddha:
sraddhavan jana haya bhakti adhikari (CC)
Whoever has shraddha for Bhagavan, bhakta and
tadiya-vastu, he can attain pure devotional service.
So gurudeva in his class has told many times about
saranagati and sraddha. If offenders again and again
touch the dust of Braja Mandala and humbly pray to the
lotus feet of guru and Vaishnava, after a few years
the transcendental dust of Braja-bhumi will give
mercy. How did our gosvamis do sadhana-bhajana in
Braja-mandala? If you follow their footsteps, then
your heart will be purified, and you will attain the
highest perfection: he radhe braja devike.