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Rays of The Harmonist - Serve Cooperatively Under the Guidance of Sri Guru






HariKatha


HariKatha







This article from the Rays of The Harmonist Monthly On-line Edition is being resent by harikatha@harikatha.com.
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sri sri guru gauranga jayatah!

Year-4, Issue 3
Posted: 22 April 2011

Dedicated to
nitya-lila pravista om visnupada

Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja


Inspired by and under the guidance of
nitya-lila pravista om visnupada

Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja


Serve Cooperatively Under

the Guidance of Sri Guru

by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada


"Serve Cooperatively
Under the Guidance of Sri Guru",
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada


Question 1: What is the specific difference between perfection in chanting mantra (mantra-siddhi) and perfection in devotion to God (bhakti-siddhi)?

Answer: Perfection in chanting mantra (mantra-siddhi) leads to liberation from material entanglement. Only then does the devotee begin to perform pure devotional service (suddha-bhakti). In other words, he comes to the stage of immovable resolve in the performance of devotional service (nistha-bhakti), wherein he begins engaging in true devotional practice (sadhana-bhakti). But before this stage is reached, one passes through the stage of sadhana-kriya, also known as bhajana-kriya – the stage of spiritual development through practising the activities of devotional life.

agre mukti tabe karma-bandhan nasa
tabe se haite pare sri krsnera dasa

Caitanya-bhagavata (Madhya 17-104)

On achieving the perfection of the mantra, the sadhaka first attains liberation. At that time, his worldly, false ego no longer exists. Only from that time on does he attain the fortune of offering selfless service to Bhagavan, exclusively for the His pleasure. This alone is true servitorship (suddha-dasya), or pure devotional service (suddha bhakti).

Mantra-siddhi results in liberation, and bhakti-siddhi leads to prema. Only the devotee who has attained the stage of prema can be called a perfected devotee (siddha-bhakta), or a maha-bhagavata.

While mantra-siddhi results in liberation, even nama-abhasa (a semblance of the holy name) on its own can grant liberation. Sri krsna-nama is worshipped by the clan of liberated souls. It is said in scriptures:

krsna-mantra haite habe samsara-mocana
krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi-lila 7.73)

By chanting the krsna-mantra [i.e. gopala-mantra], one obtains freedom from material existence; but by chanting krsna-nama, one obtains Krsna’s lotus feet directly (i.e. krsna-prema).


Question 2: Should one give up the association of those who are greedy for money?

Answer: Money is the root cause of anarthas (that which diverts us from the true purpose of life). Money can only lead to auspiciousness if one is capable of using it to serve the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, money will only cause inauspiciousness, or further entanglement in material existence.

Therefore, those seekers of the truth who are engaged in hari-bhajana should not be enticed by the perishable wealth found in this world. What is actually required is greed for supreme eternal wealth – paramartha (the ultimate purpose of life).

One who truly wishes for the well-being of his soul must never be attached to material wealth, for if someone is attached to material wealth, he cannot be attached to paramartha – supreme, eternal wealth – and as a result, his life will pass in vain. Kindly bless me that for the remaining days of my life I will never have to see the face of such persons, who are averse to Bhagavan due to being full of greed for money.


Question 3: Is it beneficial for everyone to serve collectively and cooperatively?

Answer: Yes. We should all become one in purpose and cooperatively serve Sri Hari under the guidance of sri guru. It is imperative that brotherhood be maintained among all of us and that we remain engaged in serving Sri Hari in the association of bhaktas who are guru-nistha. We must all remain forever engaged in serving Lord Hari and sri guru just to please them.

When the living entity becomes busy chasing after selfish pleasure, he forgets about service to Sri Krsna, and as a result, he suffers. Therefore, it is always beneficial to remain engaged in service with a surrendered mood.


Question 4: Is the experience of worldly misery actually a manifestation of Bhagavan’s compassion?

Answer: Everything is the compassion of He who is the embodiment of compassion. “It is all for the best.”* Everything Bhagavan does, He does for our welfare, only. Wherever the embodiment of compassion may place someone, and whenever He may place them there, that person should stay there at that time with a smiling face and accept the gift or the chastisement of the Lord.

_____________________
* This saying appeared in English in the original Bengali article.

All the benedictions or punishments conferred by Bhagavan are for our benefit only. When the material energy (maya-sakti) of Bhagavan rewards us, we tend to cherish it. And when she chastises us we consider it a source of pain. But the devotees even honour her chastisement, considering that its purpose is to help them achieve the Lord’s mercy. With a smiling face they accept it with patience and see it as the manifestation of the Lord’s blessings.

Those who are unable to perceive that worldly inauspiciousness is in fact the mercy of Bhagavan are invariably unsuccessful in their continual search for happiness and progress in this world.


Question 5: Why is it that not all those who live among the devotees are good people?

Answer: Although it is a fact that where light is present, there is no darkness, on the back of any illuminated object, darkness can still be found. Wherever we find light, some darkness, however little, also exists; wherever there is virtue, there also exists the necessity for the presence of some evil, albeit in a covered form, for the splendour of light cannot be shown without the presence of darkness; the importance of learning can only be perceived in the presence of foolishness; and were there to be no distress, we could not realize the reason for which happiness exists at all.


Question 6: Is it necessary for our life to be an exemplary one?

Answer: A devotee should always be cautious that his own exemplary character is not seen to be otherwise by people in general. Those with tender faith (komala-sraddha) face trouble at every step and are unable to perceive someone’s inner moods. They can only take external forms and actions into consideration.


Question 7: What is our ailment?

Answer: Accumulating material sense objects unrelated to Krsna just for the purpose of indulging in selfish pleasure is our primary ailment. We experience pleasure through the mundane rasa of sense objects, but we do not experience pleasure in the names of Sri Krsna, the topmost sense object, or in serving Him. This is our misfortune.

Just as a person suffering from jaundice does not like the taste of crystallized sugar cane (misri), on account of our attachment to material sense gratification, which keeps us averse to Sri Krsna, we do not experience any taste in chanting Sri Krsna’s sweet names, or in serving Him. When the body is infested with poison, even honey tastes bitter.

And yet, the only cure for jaundice is sugar candy. By regularly eating sugar candy, jaundice gradually subsides, and then one starts to relish the sweetness of the candy. In the same manner, by regularly chanting sri krsna-nama and performing devotional service, whether willingly or unwillingly, our aversion to Bhagavan will diminish and our attachment to material objects will be cut away. It is then that one starts to realize the sweetness of serving Bhagavan. At that time, the sweetness of sri krsna-nama will manifest on its own, and we will be initiated through our transcendental senses into our eternal service to the transcendental visaya-vigraha (Godhead, or the originating object of love).


Question 8: What is the duty of a devotee who is faced with worldly discomfort?

Answer: Everything is the desire of the Supreme Lord. So if we undergo some trouble, we should simply be tolerant, since there is no other way than to wait for the mercy of the Lord. Lord Sri Nrsimhadeva always protects the devotees from all kinds of difficulties. Therefore, as soon as we are situated in the realm of bhakti, no concern for our sustenance and protection will remain. Upon surrendering to Bhagavan, all the disturbances in the material world subside.


Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
from Srila Prabhupadera Upadesamrta
Questions re-numbered for this on-line presentation


 

_____________________
Srila Prabhupadera Upadesamrta is a compilation of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada’s instructions in question-and-answer form.


 

Next Issue – Year 4, Issue 4: “False Ego Versus True Ego”, 22 May 2011
Visit Rays of The Harmonist Monthly On-Line Edition at purebhakti.com for a complete list of articles
Download PDFs of the Rays of The Harmonist bi-yearly magazine from purebhakti.com
Order original hard copies of the Rays of The Harmonist bi-yearly magazine from bhaktistore.com


 

  

Rays of The Harmonist On-line; Year 4, Issue 3, "Serve Cooperatively
Under the Guidance of Sri Guru", by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License to ensure that it is always freely available.

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