domingo, 28 de agosto de 2011

Real Vyāsa-pūjā by Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Gosvāmī Mahārāja

Real Vyāsa-pūjā

His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya aṣṭottara-śata  Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Gosvāmī Mahārāja

In his purport Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:

“Nityānanda Prabhu arranged for the Vyāsa-pūjā of the Lord... Since Vyāsadeva is the original Guru (spiritual master) of all who follow the Vedic principles, worship of the spiritual master through the agency of Vyāsadeva is called Vyāsa-pūjā.”

Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja introduced the ceremony of Vyāsa-pūjā in our line on his 50th birthday. From that day, every year it has been going on. On his 52nd birth anniversary, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja gave a lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, describing the meaning of Vyāsa-pūjā. He said:

“Vyāsa-pūjā means the pūjā of all Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas.”

From this statement we can understand the purport of Vyāsa-pūjā. It is not only the pūjā of Vyāsadeva, or of Kṛṣṇa, or of Gaurasundara, or of Guru. That is not real Vyāsa-pūjā. Vyāsa-pūjā means the pūjā of all pure Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. That is real Vyāsa-pūjā.

In this Bhaktivinoda-dhārā we find a mantra for Vyāsa-pūjā:

śrī dāmodara svarūpa, śrī rūpa, śrī Sanātana, śrī raghunātha, śrī Jīva, bhaṭṭa yuga, śrī kṛṣṇadāsa kavirājādi, śrīmad bhaktivinoda, śrīmad gaurakiśora dāsa, śrīmad bhaktisiddhānta sarasvatī, śrīmad bhaktivedānta svāmī padāṅka sarvebhyo gurave namaḥ

I offer my obeisances to the footprints of all the Gurus, Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, the devotees beginning with Śrīla Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Gaurakiśora Dāsa Bābājī, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī and Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda.

Vyāsa-pūjā means the worship of all of these Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas.

Merciful Gift

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said:

“Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta is the opinion of all Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācārya-mahājanas. Whatever Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta we have received, that is:

Guru-varga-dhana

The merciful gift of all the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas. That is their līlā-vaiśiṣṭya, the wonderful characteristics of the līlā of that Guru-Vaiṣṇava-Ācārya.”

Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta is the kṛpā-vaiśiṣṭya, the special characteristics of their merciful līlā. If we do not observe this festival, if we do not remember and glorify the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas, it will be a great disservice towards them. If we do not discuss their vaiśiṣṭya, their wonderful characteristics, if we remain inactive, not observing the appearance day and disappearance day of such Ācāryas, Mahājanas, then it will be an anyāya, a great injustice. Without their mercy we cannot understand this Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta. Though Śrīman Mahāprabhu is wonderfully merciful, indiscriminately giving Kṛṣṇa-prema, still, we cannot have it without their mercy.

No Compromise

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a great ācārya in our line, has said that if you want to develop pure bhakti, then you should not even slightly compromise with abhakti, non-devotion. Our revered spiritual master Śrīla Prabhupāda also said there should be no compromise.

Where is the question of compromise?

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura emphatically said:

“It is better to have an empty cowshed than to have a duṣṭa-goru, a wicked cow.”

That means that in this Bhaktivinoda-dhārā, in this flow coming from Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, there is no question of impurity, no question of checking the flow. Crookedness and enviousness are not allowed.

Best Type of Worship

In the eleventh canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa said to Uddhava:

mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā
sarva-bhūteṣu man-matiḥ
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.19.21)

The worship offered to My bhakta, My dear devotee, is better than worship offered directly to Me.

Also, in Caitanya-bhāgavata, Mahāprabhu said:

āmāra bhaktera pūjā — āmā haite baḍa
sei prabhu veda-bhāgavate kailā daḍha
(Caitanya-bhāgavata Ādi 1.8)

In the Vedas and Purāṇas the Lord has firmly declared:

“Worship of My devotees is better than worship of Me.”

Therefore, in this Vyāsa-pūjā Nityānanda Prabhu was offering worship and Mahāprabhu appeared in the form of Nityānanda Prabhu, because Nityānanda Prabhu is a bhakta. He is Balarāma.

ānera ki kathā, baladeva mahāśaya
yāṅra bhāva — śuddha-sakhya-vātsalyādi-maya

teṅho āpanāke karena dāsa-bhāvanā
kṛṣṇa-dāsa-bhāva vinu āche kona janā
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 6.76-77)

Because He is Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, Balarāma’s mood is:

Śuddha-sakhya-vātsalya

A mixture of pure sakhya‚ brotherhood, and vātsalya, parental love. What to speak of others, even He says, “I am kṛṣṇa-dāsa.”

Kṛṣṇa-dāsa-bhāva vinu āche kona janā

Are there any who are not kṛṣṇa-dāsa?

Nitāi Is Guru

That same Balarāma is Nitāi.

Guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 1.45)

Śāstra-pramāṇa describes that Kṛṣṇa appears as Guru.

Nityānanda offered Vyāsa-pūjā to Gaura because Gaura is Svayam-bhagavān, the Original Personality of Godhead. But when Nitāi was going to put the garland on Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, He saw Himself there. That means that Vyāsa-pūjā is His pūjā, Nityānanda’s pūjā, because Nityānanda is Guru. He is bhakta, bhakta-rūpa, Bhaktāvatāra.

pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ
bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ
namāmi bhakta-śaktikam
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 1.14)

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, who is non-different from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy.

Bhakta-rūpa is Caitanya, and Bhakta-svarūpa is Nityānanda. Mahāprabhu manifested the form of Nityānanda, because Guru is the manifestation of Nityānanda. These evidences are found in the Vedas and in the Bhāgavata. If you want to get prema-bhakti, the only means is that you should offer worship without duplicity. Serve pure Vaiṣṇavas without duplicity and get their mercy.

Then you will get the mercy of Mahāprabhu; then you will get prema. Otherwise you cannot get prema. Worshiping the Vaiṣṇavas and glorifying the Vaiṣṇavas’ names, forms, and pastimes is the only means.

Very Powerful

Serving the Vaiṣṇavas; taking the dust or the foot washing water of the Vaiṣṇavas; and adharāmṛta, tasting the remnants of the Vaiṣṇavas foodstuffs — these three are very powerful. No one can estimate or evaluate the potency in these three things. Therefore they are amūlya-vastu, invaluable.

Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura has therefore sung:

vaiṣṇavera pada-dhūli      tāhe mora snāna-keli
tarpaṇa mora vaiṣṇavera nāma
vaiṣṇavera ucchiṣṭa           tāhe mora mano-niṣṭha
vaiṣṇavera nāmete ullāsa
(Svaniṣṭhā 1 Prārthanā)

The dust of the Vaiṣṇavas lotus feet is my bathing water. My mantra for offering oblations, tarpaṇa, is the names of the Vaiṣṇavas. My mind is firmly convinced of the spiritual benefit obtained by eating the remnants of foodstuffs left by the Vaiṣṇavas. The names of the Vaiṣṇavas are my happiness.

Who Is a Vaiṣṇava?

Another question comes, Vaiṣṇava-ke?
Who is a Vaiṣṇava?

You should understand who is a Vaiṣṇava, otherwise you will be confused.

‘kanaka-kāminī,’    ‘pratiṣṭhā-bāghinī,’
chāḍiyāche jāre, sei to’ vaiṣṇava
sei ‘anāsakta,’         sei ‘śuddha-bhakta,’
saṁsār tathā pāy parābhava

yathā-yogya bhoga,          nāhi tathā roga,
‘anāsakta’ sei, ki ār kahabo
‘āsakti-rohita,’        ‘sambandha-sahita,’
viṣaya-samuha sakali ‘mādhava’

se ‘yukta-vairāgya,’           tāhā to’ saubhāgya,
tāhā-i jaḍete harir vaibhava
kīrtane jāhār,          ‘pratiṣṭhā-sambhār,’
tāhār sampatti kevala ‘kaitava’
(Duṣṭa Mana Vaiṣṇava Ke? 11, 12&13)

Money, women, and fame are like tigers. A Vaiṣṇava gives them up and keeps them at a distance. Such a devotee, who is without material attachments, is a Śuddhā-Vaiṣṇava. Such a devotee has conquered over the material world and its illusions of enjoyment.

Accepting only what is needed in the service of the Lord; he remains free from the diseased mentality of material enjoyment and dedicates himself to the Lord’s service. Free from all false attachments, he sees everything in relationship to Kṛṣṇa, understanding that everything is meant for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

He knows that to engage everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa is real renunciation. Because he understands that the true position of renunciation is in dedicating everything to Kṛṣṇa, he is truly fortunate. Although he lives within the material world he dwells within the revelation of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and experiences the extension of the spiritual world within the material world. On the other hand, one who chants the holy name of the Lord for name and fame is simply a hypocrite and a cheater.

Completely Detached

A Vaiṣṇava is one who has given up the desire for possessing kanaka and kāminī, gold and women. And:

Pratiṣṭhā-bāghinī

He is not running after name, fame, adoration or prestige. Such a person is a Vaiṣṇava, a pure devotee. A Vaiṣṇava is not attached to or attracted to kanaka, kāminī, or pratiṣṭhā — wealth, women, or prestige. He is completely detached from them. His only attachment is to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. A Vaiṣṇava has completely defeated the material world of Māyā. He is yukta-vairāgya — although he has everything, he is not attached. He is anāsakta, completely indifferent. He utilises everything for the enjoyment and loving service of Kṛṣṇa, Guru and Gaurāṅga.

‘āsakti-rohita,’        ‘sambandha-sahita,’
viṣaya-samuha sakali ‘mādhava’

He is fixed and established in his pure, eternal, loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He understands that everything found here in the material world is all paraphernalia for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment and there is nothing here for the jīva’s enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa is the only viṣayī, meaning one who has material wealth, land, property, and money. All of these things belong to Kṛṣṇa. One who knows this is a yukta-vairāgī, a renunciate who uses everything for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure, not a phalgu-vairāgī, a false renunciate. Such false renunciation is described:

kīrtane jāhār,          ‘pratiṣṭhā-sambhār,’
tāhār sampatti kevala ‘kaitava’

One may be doing kīrtana, dancing, chanting, and playing mṛdaṅga:

“Din-din-din-din-dāh!”

Playing the cymbals:

“Dāh! dāh! dāh!”

But he is only doing it for name, fame, and prestige. Whatever sampatti, reward, he gets is kaitava, only cheating. His bhajana is only duplicitousness, crookedness and enviousness. He is not a Vaiṣṇava. One should understand who is a Vaiṣṇava.

Best Worship

Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu in Bhakti-sandarbha quotes Padma Purāṇa:

teṣāṁ pūjādikaṁ gandha-
dhūpādhyaiḥ kriyate naraiḥ
tena prītiṁ parāṁ yāmi
na tathā mama pūjanāt

The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa says:

“One may offer pūjā, worship, to Me with gandha, scents, puṣpa, flowers, incense, lamp, etc., but if they never offer worship to My dear devotees with all these paraphernalia, I am not pleased with it.”

Kṛṣṇa says to Uddhava:

ādaraḥ paricaryāyāṁ
sarvāṅgair abhivandanam
mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā
sarva-bhūteṣu man-matiḥ

mad-artheṣv aṅga-ceṣṭā ca
vacasā mad-guṇeraṇam
mayy arpaṇaṁ ca manasaḥ
sarva-kāma-vivarjanam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.19.21&22)

My dear devotees render service to Me with great care and respect. They offer obeisances to Me with all their bodily limbs. They worship My devotees, which is greater than worship of Me. They see all living entities related to Me. They engage the entire energy of their bodies for Me. They engage their power of speech in glorification of My qualities and form. They dedicate their minds unto Me and try to give up all kinds of material desires. Thus My dear devotees are characterised.

These are Vaiṣṇavas. Kṛṣṇa says:

“Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā

The worship offered to them is better than worship offered to Me directly.”

That worship is Vyāsa-pūjā, the pūjā of all pure Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda expressed this at his Vyāsa-pūjā.

Ācārya-avatāra Kīrtana

Kṛṣṇa is Viṣaya-vigraha, the object of love, and Guru-Vaiṣṇava is Āśrayā-vigraha, the abode of love. The only activity of such Guru-Vaiṣṇavas is hari-kīrtana. They have no other activity.

Unless the Āśraya-Vigraha-Avatāra Ācārya-Śrī-Gurudeva does kīrtana, how can you understand the tattva of the Viṣaya-vigraha?
How can you understand the tattva of the Nāma, Rūpa, Guṇa, Parikara, and Līlā of Viṣaya-vigraha — the truth about the name, form, qualities, associates, and pastimes of the Supreme Lord?

We cannot understand unless Ācārya-Gurudeva does kīrtana. No one can understand the Śāstra-avatāra, the incarnation of all śāstras‚ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is the vāṇī, the message incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. No one can understand the Bhāgavata-tattva, the purport of this Śāstra-avatāra, unless Ācārya-Gurudeva, who is Āśrayā-vigraha, does kīrtana. Śrī-Nāma and Śrī -mantra have appeared in this material world as Śabda-avatāra. But unless Ācārya-Avatāra does kīrtana in the ears of the śiṣya, disciple, it will not be effective.

You will find that the mantra and the holy name are written there in śāstra, grantha. One may say:

“Yes, the mantra is written here, so I’ll chant it.”

But unless the Mahānta-Guru, Āśrayā-Vigraha-Ācārya does kīrtana in the ears of the śiṣya, it will never be effective. It is absolutely necessary. Śrī-Nāma, Śrī -mantra, and grantha-Bhāgavata are all Viṣaya-vigraha. Without the kīrtana of the Āśrayā-vigraha they will never manifest. Try to understand. Mahāprabhu will help you. Nityānanda Prabhu will help you.

One may think:

“If I do arcana, worship of the deities in the temple, then I can understand everything.”

No.

You cannot understand adhokṣaja, that which is beyond sensory perception. The Viṣaya-vigraha will never manifest without the kīrtana of the Āśrayā-vigraha, Ācārya-avatāra, Guru, Vaiṣṇava. This is absolutely necessary. Therefore pūjā offered to them is a superior type of pūjā:

Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā

Therefore when Nityānanda Prabhu offered Vyāsa-pūjā, Mahāprabhu manifested the form of Nityānanda:

“I am Nityānanda.”

That is Guru-pūjā, Vyāsa-pūjā. This is the purport here.

Kīrtana Is Required

Mahāprabhu has written:

Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31)
One should always do kīrtana of the names of Hari. Our Tattva-ācārya Jīva Gosvāmī in his Sandarbha has written:

yadyapyanyā bhaktiḥ kalau kartavyā tadā kīrtanākhyā bhakti-samyogenaiva
(Bhakti-sandarbha 273 & Krama-sandarbha)

Even though in the age of Kali one may perform the above eight branches of bhakti, nevertheless, one must perform kīrtana as the principal way of advancing in sādhana-bhakti.46
In Kali-yuga, although one may cultivate other types of bhakti such as smaraṇam, arcanam, vandanam, dāsyam and sakhyam, still, one should cultivate these other types of bhakti only with kīrtana — that is kīrtanākhyā bhakti.

One must accept a Sādhu-Guru-Ācārya-Vaiṣṇava and hear kīrtana from him. Kīrtana is required.

Who does kīrtana?

Āśraya-avatāra, Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya, Vaiṣṇava-Guru does kīrtana. Without his kīrtana you cannot understand this Bhakti-tattva. Therefore Jīva Gosvāmī says:

Kīrtanākhyā bhakti-samyogenaiva

And this is our siddhānta. One must approach such a Guru-Ācārya-Vaiṣṇava who is Āśraya-vigraha. His only activity is Hari-kīrtana. Unless the Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya-Guru-Vaiṣṇava does kīrtana, Bhakti-tattva cannot be revealed to you. Although other processes of bhakti are there in Kali-yuga, without the kīrtana of the Ācārya-avatāra, Bhakti-tattva cannot be understood.

The pūjā of the Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya-Guru-Vaiṣṇava is the topmost pūjā. Therefore Vyāsa-pūjā is known as the pūjā of all Śuddha-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas. At the conclusion of the Vyāsa-pūjā festival on his 52nd birth anniversary, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja gave a lecture and said:

“Real Vyāsa-pūjā is the pūjā of all Śuddhā-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. It is not only the pūjā of Vyāsa, not only the pūjā of Kṛṣṇa or of Gaurasundara. It is not just Guru-pūjā. It is the pūjā of all Śuddhā-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas. Therefore in our Bhaktivinoda-dhārā we find this mantra in the Vyāsa-pūjā Paddhati:

śrī dāmodara svarūpa, śrī rūpa, śrī sanātana, śrī ragunātha, śrī jīva, bhaṭṭa yuga, śrī kṛṣṇadāsa-kavirājādi, śrīmad bhaktivinoda, śrīmad gaurakiśora dāsa, śrīmad bhaktisiddhānta sarasvatī, śrīmad bhaktivedānta svāmī padāṅka sarvebhyo gurave namaḥ”

This is Vyāsa-pūjā.

Questions

Devotee: Śabda-brahma is Kṛṣṇa in sound vibration?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. One has to hear. It is not that:

“All right, tapes are there, I’ll hear the recorded tapes.”

Śabda-brahma will never descend.

Devotee: It doesn’t descend through transmission of tape?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: No, no.

Devotee: Only when you are personally sitting there with a pure Vaiṣṇava?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. Now in this material scientific age so many techniques are there. People say:

“No more teachers are required. We’ll teach through television.”

Nonsense. Śabda-brahma will never descend.

Devotee: What if one is a disciple of a bona fide Guru, then later on that Guru stops his līlā.

What should one do?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Līlā is always there:

adyāpiha sei līlā kare gaura-rāya,
kona kona bhāgyavān dekhibāre pāya
(Bhakti-ratnākara 1.57)

Tauranga’s pastimes are still going on. People say:

“Oh, Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu has disappeared.”

But that is not the fact. Tauranga’s līlā is going on. One who is very fortunate and has vision, he can see how gaura-līlā is going on.

Devotee: That means that Guru is always there?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. He is always there. His līlā is going on.

Devotee: I may think:

“I have already taken the dust of the lotus feet of my Guru. Now he is not here. So I don’t need that dust anymore.”

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Darśana is there. The Guru is always there if you have the eye to see. If you are a sat-śiṣya you can always see how the Guru is present.

Devotee: How can we see Guru?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Blind man!

If you are endowed with that vision you can see. I never lost sight of my Guru. I see my Guru is always there. Therefore I cannot say:

“Nitya-līlā-praviṣṭha”

It is so painful to me.

No!

He is here.

Devotee: Do you have to be a pure devotee to see a pure devotee?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes!

That vision is required. If you have no vision then you are a blind man.

How can a blind man see?

The object is there.

What is required to see the object?

The first thing is the eye. Next is light.

You may be endowed with vision, but if there is no light, how can you see?
Can you see in the darkness?

Therefore two things are required, first vision and then light. Even if you are endowed with eyes, if there is no light then you can’t see.

What is that light?

The enlightenment by the mercy potency.

If you are devoid of that, how can you see?

Devotee: Anarthas are like clouds in front of the eye?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes, yes. Anarthas are like clouds covering the sun. The eye is covered.

Devotee: Can one see Guru appearing in different forms, or is he coming in dreams?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: He may come in a dream. He has different forms also, just as Kṛṣṇa has different forms. Kṛṣṇa has so many manifestations. Therefore we have described in our book Śrī Guru-vandanā about Samaṣṭi-Guru and Vyaṣṭi-Guru.

Devotee: What are those kinds of Gurus?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 1.45)

Scripture describes that it is Kṛṣṇa who appears as Guru. Kṛṣṇa is one. Guru-tattva is also one. Guru is one, but he appears in different, different forms. That is Samaṣṭi-Guru. The particular forms such as Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta, this person and that, this is Vyaṣṭi-Guru.

Devotee: When Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī left, Guru was still there?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes.

Devotee: Guru is always present?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes, always present.

Devotee: Because Guru is non-different from Kṛṣṇa, we understand that to be a Guru is not an easy thing.

So why is it said that someone maybe on the level of Kaniṣṭha or Madhyama and be Guru?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: All are Gurus. There is Kaniṣṭha-Guru, Madhyama-Guru, Uttama-Gurus. Divisions are there. What you deserve you get. Kṛṣṇa knows what you deserve, so He makes an appropriate arrangement for you.

Devotee: Some devotees are not accepting Guru now. They are saying:

“I’ll just accept śāstra.”

Gour Govinda Svāmī: How can you understand śāstra?

Devotee: But we have seen, as in Russia, that some devotees have only gotten books and they are now chanting, worshiping the deity, and preaching.

Gour Govinda Svāmī: You cannot understand. In śāstra, mantra is there. Nāma is there. But unless it comes out from the lips of Sad-Guru, Śrī Guru, your chanting will never be effective. The potency will never be there.

Devotee: But they say that smṛti-śāstra is coming from the lips of Vaiṣṇavas, so we are hearing smṛti.

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. This is how śāstra manifests. When it comes out from the lips of Sad-Guru, Śrī Guru, then it manifests. Though śāstra is there, by itself it will never manifest to you. It’s a question of manifestation.

Devotee: Other persons say that we can hear from the commentaries of the Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas.

Gour Govinda Svāmī: For that reason it is said:

bhaktyā bhāgavataṁ grāhyaṁ
na buddhyā na ca ṭīkayā
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.313)

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can only be understood by bhakti, not be dint of one’s intelligence or by reading commentaries.

You cannot understand Bhāgavata by taking help of the ṭīkās, commentaries. So many commentaries are there. One may think:

“Yes, I am a scholar. It is all written in Sanskrit. I know the language so I can read and understand it.”

No!

You can only understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by bhakti. You cannot understand Bhāgavata by dint of your material scholarship, learning, intelligence, or by taking the help of the commentaries.

No, no.

Hear from Ācārya and then you can develop bhakti. Unless you hear, how can you understand just by reading?

You cannot understand. Grantha-avatāra will never manifest to you. You will only see paper, and black and white.

Nothing else.

Devotee: Then what is the meaning of the bṛhad-mṛdaṅga-saṅkīrtana?

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī has said that our kīrtana is bṛhad-mṛdaṅga-saṅkīrtana, the printing press.

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. That will inspire you. Just one book distributed spreads so far. First you read the book and then one friend says:

“Oh, let me read it.”

Then he lets someone else read it. In this way it spreads so much. The sound of the mṛdaṅga only goes from here to there. But the bṛhad-mṛdaṅga spreads so far. That will inspire you. You will think:

“Who is the source?

Let me go and see and hear from him.”

Devotee: So first you hear and then if you read the same thing in the śāstra...

Gour Govinda Svāmī: Yes. It is only in Kali-yuga that books are required. In other yugas there are no books. Just by hearing once they would never forget.

But in this Yuga, if I ask you to repeat what you have heard after class, how much can you repeat?

You will have already forgotten ninety to ninety-five percent. Only five percent you may be able to repeat. Books are required. Therefore Vyāsadeva came and wrote books. In other yugas there are no books. They will help you remember:

“Oh yes. I have heard. Now it is here.”

Devotee: In your book Śrī Guru-vandanā, you have described this flow of nectar as padma-madhu. You said that it comes to a devotee who is a sincere hearer. So someone who is very sincere to hear from Guru and serves Guru, he may get that nectar even though he may not have physical contact?

Gour Govinda Svāmī: You should be greedy. Physical contact is required. You must hear directly, not just by listening to tapes. Śabda-brahma will never descend through a tape. One must hear from a physically present Śrī Guru.


  • Purandar Acharya le gusta esto.
  • Rama Kānta Dāsa Ācārya-avatāra Kīrtana

    Kṛṣṇa is Viṣaya-vigraha, the object of love, and Guru-Vaiṣṇava is Āśrayā-vigraha, the abode of love. The only activity of such Guru-Vaiṣṇavas is hari-kīrtana. They have no other activity.

    Unless the Āśraya-Vigraha-Avatāra Ācārya-Śrī-Gurudeva does kīrtana, how can you understand the tattva of the Viṣaya-vigraha?
    How can you understand the tattva of the Nāma, Rūpa, Guṇa, Parikara, and Līlā of Viṣaya-vigraha — the truth about the name, form, qualities, associates, and pastimes of the Supreme Lord?

    We cannot understand unless Ācārya-Gurudeva does kīrtana. No one can understand the Śāstra-avatāra, the incarnation of all śāstras‚ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is the vāṇī, the message incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. No one can understand the Bhāgavata-tattva, the purport of this Śāstra-avatāra, unless Ācārya-Gurudeva, who is Āśrayā-vigraha, does kīrtana. Śrī-Nāma and Śrī -mantra have appeared in this material world as Śabda-avatāra. But unless Ācārya-Avatāra does kīrtana in the ears of the śiṣya, disciple, it will not be effective.

    You will find that the mantra and the holy name are written there in śāstra, grantha. One may say:

    “Yes, the mantra is written here, so I’ll chant it.”

    But unless the Mahānta-Guru, Āśrayā-Vigraha-Ācārya does kīrtana in the ears of the śiṣya, it will never be effective. It is absolutely necessary. Śrī-Nāma, Śrī -mantra, and grantha-Bhāgavata are all Viṣaya-vigraha. Without the kīrtana of the Āśrayā-vigraha they will never manifest. Try to understand. Mahāprabhu will help you. Nityānanda Prabhu will help you.

    One may think:

    “If I do arcana, worship of the deities in the temple, then I can understand everything.”

    No.

    You cannot understand adhokṣaja, that which is beyond sensory perception. The Viṣaya-vigraha will never manifest without the kīrtana of the Āśrayā-vigraha, Ācārya-avatāra, Guru, Vaiṣṇava. This is absolutely necessary. Therefore pūjā offered to them is a superior type of pūjā:

    Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā

    Therefore when Nityānanda Prabhu offered Vyāsa-pūjā, Mahāprabhu manifested the form of Nityānanda:

    “I am Nityānanda.”

    That is Guru-pūjā, Vyāsa-pūjā. This is the purport here.

    Kīrtana Is Required

    Mahāprabhu has written:

    Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
    (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31)
    One should always do kīrtana of the names of Hari. Our Tattva-ācārya Jīva Gosvāmī in his Sandarbha has written:

    yadyapyanyā bhaktiḥ kalau kartavyā tadā kīrtanākhyā bhakti-samyogenaiva
    (Bhakti-sandarbha 273 & Krama-sandarbha)

    Even though in the age of Kali one may perform the above eight branches of bhakti, nevertheless, one must perform kīrtana as the principal way of advancing in sādhana-bhakti.46
    In Kali-yuga, although one may cultivate other types of bhakti such as smaraṇam, arcanam, vandanam, dāsyam and sakhyam, still, one should cultivate these other types of bhakti only with kīrtana — that is kīrtanākhyā bhakti.

    One must accept a Sādhu-Guru-Ācārya-Vaiṣṇava and hear kīrtana from him. Kīrtana is required.

    Who does kīrtana?

    Āśraya-avatāra, Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya, Vaiṣṇava-Guru does kīrtana. Without his kīrtana you cannot understand this Bhakti-tattva. Therefore Jīva Gosvāmī says:

    Kīrtanākhyā bhakti-samyogenaiva

    And this is our siddhānta. One must approach such a Guru-Ācārya-Vaiṣṇava who is Āśraya-vigraha. His only activity is Hari-kīrtana. Unless the Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya-Guru-Vaiṣṇava does kīrtana, Bhakti-tattva cannot be revealed to you. Although other processes of bhakti are there in Kali-yuga, without the kīrtana of the Ācārya-avatāra, Bhakti-tattva cannot be understood.

    The pūjā of the Āśraya-Vigraha-Ācārya-Guru-Vaiṣṇava is the topmost pūjā. Therefore Vyāsa-pūjā is known as the pūjā of all Śuddha-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas. At the conclusion of the Vyāsa-pūjā festival on his 52nd birth anniversary, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja gave a lecture and said:

    “Real Vyāsa-pūjā is the pūjā of all Śuddhā-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. It is not only the pūjā of Vyāsa, not only the pūjā of Kṛṣṇa or of Gaurasundara. It is not just Guru-pūjā. It is the pūjā of all Śuddhā-Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava-Ācāryas. Therefore in our Bhaktivinoda-dhārā we find this mantra in the Vyāsa-pūjā Paddhati:

    śrī dāmodara svarūpa, śrī rūpa, śrī sanātana, śrī ragunātha, śrī jīva, bhaṭṭa yuga, śrī kṛṣṇadāsa-kavirājādi, śrīmad bhaktivinoda, śrīmad gaurakiśora dāsa, śrīmad bhaktisiddhānta sarasvatī, śrīmad bhaktivedānta svāmī padāṅka sarvebhyo gurave namaḥ”

    This is Vyāsa-pūjā.

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