domingo, 14 de agosto de 2011

Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, Śloka 1 Mathurā, 3 November 1996

Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, Śloka 1 Mathurā, 3 November 1996

I have told you to remember this first śloka of Upadeśāmṛta.

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ
jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

[A wise and self-composed person who can subdue the impetus to speak, the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the vehemence of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the agitation of the genitals can instruct the entire world. In other words, all persons may become disciples of such a self-controlled person.]

If we are chanting, remembering and reading many books, but are not being very careful to give up these six vegas, we cannot develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I know that so many devotees are taking shelter of Gurudeva and trying to do bhajana, but no advancement is coming. All the anarthas, unwanted desires, are still there. They may even have done bhajana for more than fifty years, but after some time they fell down. Not only one or two but several devotees, even many who had taken the renounced order, fell down, because they were not careful about giving up these six vegas. We may do bhajana, chanting nāma, for more than fifty or even one hundred years, but still all kinds of bad desires come in our hearts. Our mind is not controlled; our tongue is not controlled, our everything is out of control—and that is why we are not advancing.

Sometimes we pretend to be very big, big scholars, preachers and sannyāsīs, but by pretence we will not be successful. If you are not doing bhajana under the guidance of a bona fide Vaiṣṇava, you will still be subject to krodha. I have explained mano-vega and also jihvā-vega, so we should carefully try to control them. Yet I know that they cannot be controlled unless there is good association, good quality chanting and remembering—good bhakti. If bhakti will come, vegas will go. Otherwise they cannot go. So we should always try to search for good association, sat-saṅga.

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ - sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 22.54)

Those who are not taking association of devotees who are more developed than themselves will very soon fall down from the stage they have achieved. We are witnessing so many cases of this. We think that we can go into seclusion in the forest or any pleasant place and then we will be able to check all these vegas, because “we have become guru.” We feel no need to take higher association. “There is none like me. I’m a bona fide Vaiṣṇava. I have become ācārya.” After some time we see that māyā comes and enters through the mouth in the form of delicious foods. Māyā goes inside the heart of that devotee and he becomes more krodhī, more lusty, more of a cheater, and subject to other bad qualities. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is advising that we should try as hard as possible and weep for the mercy of bona fide Vaiṣṇavas and Kṛṣṇa. And we should be very cautious—we should not think that we can give up the association of the Vaiṣṇavas.

Today I was describing how Yaśodā did Pariśrama, so much hard labour, with great sincerity. Kṛṣṇa saw that his mother had become worried that she could not control her son, so then he easily came under her control. We must also try very hard. We should be like monkeys who catch hold of their mothers and also we should weep for Kṛṣṇa like the very little kitten—both combined.

We must weep for the mercy and also try our hardest. We should do both. If Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda prabhu see our sincerity, and at the same time our śaraṇāgati, our surrender, They will surely be very merciful to us and our anarthas will go in a very short time.

It has been told:

kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.3.25)

[Tolerance, effectual use of one’s time, detachment from worldly enjoyment, absence of pride, steadfast hope that Kṛṣṇa will bestow his mercy, intense longing to obtain one’s goal, always possessed of taste to chant the holy name, attachment to hearing narrations of the lord’s qualities, and affection for his abodes— these are the symptoms of the appearance of bhāva.]

First Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained that kṣānti means tolerance. For example, an occasion for anger may arise but, nevertheless, you will not become angry. “Someone has rebuked me but I should not get angry.” But still you cannot check your anger. If someone dishonours and insults you, you will become so furious and angry. You cannot control it. Only the devotees who are under the guidance of a bona fide Vaiṣṇava can check their anger, by the mercy of that Vaiṣṇava and Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, it is not possible. Those devotees will always remember this śloka from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāno
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.8)

[My dear lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently tolerating the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible to attain unalloyed service to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, for it has become his rightful claim.]

You should always remember these words when trying to do bhajana, especially if you have been initiated. Otherwise, māyā will come in the form of krodha and cover you. She will derail you at once.

What is the meaning of tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāno ?

Divya-jñānam comes to those who have taken shelter of a Vaiṣṇava and have taken dīkṣā. Their relation with Kṛṣṇa has been established and they are so enthusiastic to follow these instructions. Gradually, their relationship with Kṛṣṇa develops. They know who they are, who is Kṛṣṇa and what is their relation with him. Now they know the aim and object of their life and their sādhana-bhajana. Then they proceed directly to the goal, and they will remember that their guru has told them:

“Do not be angry!

Do not be dissatisfied!

Be satisfied with what you have.”

Thus they will be content.

“If anyone is beating me like the Mohammedans did to Haridāsa Ṭhākura in twenty-two market-places, I should remember how he never became angry.” He said to them:

“You can cut me into lākhas and lākhas of pieces, but I will never, never, never give up harināma. I will always do harināma no matter what.”

Although they were beating him in so many markets and abusing him so much, still he never became angry.

Why?

He thought, “I have done something for which I should be punished, so now I am receiving what I deserve. I have done so many wrong things in my past lives and now I have to taste all these reactions. Thus, they are beating and insulting me. All this is due to my past activities, so I should tolerate. Whether I am laughing or weeping, I will have to tolerate.” So he became very calm and quiet.

Devotees especially should think, “If I have some sukṛti, good impressions from past births, it has come from harināma. If I have chanted kṛṣṇa-nāma, not aware of his auspiciousness, still so much benefit comes.” doing harināma even in ignorance will not be fruitless. If someone chants “Hare Kṛṣṇa” for his father, mother and sons rather than for Kṛṣṇa, still he will get so much good result because kṛṣṇa-nāma is so powerful.

I know that if people are insulting and beating me here and there, I must have done something wrong in my past lives. Take the tridaṇḍi-bhikṣu in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

You remember the tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī?

He had been a family man, a brāhmaṇa, and so rich. He never cared for his wife, children, villagers, or neighbours— he never cared for anyone. He never paid any tax to the government and he never gave any charity. If anyone came for a donation, he would take a lāṭhī, stick, and run after that person. He would never give anything. One time some government officials came and took all of his belongings. Then that night more people came and set his home on fire, and everything was burned. His sons and wife declared:

“You should leave our home.”

And thus he became helpless, completely alone.

By some good fortune he met a Vaiṣṇava. Becoming very polite and gentle, he fell flat at the lotus feet of that Vaiṣṇava:

“Save me, save me from all these calamities. I’m so worried—so many sufferings and difficulties have come to me. My boys, my wife, all my relatives, villagers and neighbours have sent me out of my house and village. I am now penniless with nothing to eat and no possessions at all.”

The Vaiṣṇava told him:

“Do not be worried. I am giving you the kṛṣṇa-mantra. By this you will have everything you like. You can even get salvation, and after salvation you can serve Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana or in Vaikuṇṭha, as you like.”

He became happy and the Vaiṣṇava gave the renounced order to that penniless brāhmaṇa. He told him to go and beg in his own village from his neighbours.

The Vaiṣṇava gave him some pots and ordered:

“Go there at once.”

When he reached his village, his wife and children, his neighbours and all the villagers became furious and began to abuse him:

“You are an imposter, pretender, hypocrite!

You are an offender!”

Saying all these things, they began to beat him. They took his pot and put stool in it instead of rotī. They snatched his daṇḍa and beat him with it. Then they dragged him away.

He reported this to Gurudeva who replied:

“Oh yes, very good! You should again go to that place.

Did you also abuse them and try to beat them?”

“No, Gurudeva.”

“Again go and tolerate.”

He returned and again they did the same, but he was quite silent. He was thinking:

tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāno
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

He was remembering this śloka and thinking:

“Gurudeva has kindly given me this tridaṇḍi-veśa to serve Mukunda, so as long as I have this body, I will have to tolerate all difficulties. Kṛṣṇa is so merciful that he has given me a chance to rectify myself.” He went back to his village again and again. Then all the villagers observed a change in him:

“He is so sincere now. He is not speaking a word of protest despite our abuse.”

Gradually they developed so much honour for him.

Gurudeva told him:

“Now you are able to serve Kṛṣṇa, so come on.”

So we should try to give up all our anger and other bad qualities in our characters. If we can observe this, certainly Kṛṣṇa will be very glad. We try not to smoke, because it has been written in the four basic rules and regulations that we should not smoke, we should not take wine, we should not drink, we should not look at ladies with lust. We should not kill any animal or any person. These four rules are basic. Sometimes we outwardly follow them, but we never worry about our anger or lust. A man can indulge his lust and change his wife ten times, or women may change their husbands so many times, ten times, more than that! They are not concerned for the future consequences.

Some devotees may lie and cheat others, saying:

“I’m taking this donation to serve my Gurudeva and Kṛṣṇa,”

And they keep everything for themselves. Sometimes, kindly, they give one fourth of that donation to their Gurudeva and three-fourths they put in their pocket. We don’t take heed of all these bad qualities, because they are so deeply hidden in the heart. I know there are also so many lusty persons. But it is more dangerous to lie and cheat than to take a cigarette or to drink. More dangerous, but we are not concerned.

Understand?

We don’t drink, but we can indulge our lust as we like. We can cheat by collecting funds of so many lākhas and lākhas rupees. We can take a motor car worth 75 lākhas, saying:

“I am going to serve my Gurudeva. Kindly give me some donation and I will serve Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”

But that whole amount goes into his pocket and thus he falls down. So we should very carefully try to follow all these instructions.

If you have krodha, beware! Krodha is very, very dangerous for all, but especially for beginners. When anger is aroused, knowledge is lost. We become fools, unable to distinguish right from wrong or to understand what will be the fruit of our behaviour. Then our bhakti is lost. If we fight with our Gurudeva, we will think that we know as much as him, even if he is a bona fide guru. So many persons, now as well as in the past, have come to Gurudeva, who is so qualified, but yet they do not follow his orders. Instead they abuse him:

“Oh, you do not know anything.”

I have seen persons like this. They become so angry but this behaviour is not favourable for bhakti. To abuse Gurudeva, to fight or to be angry with him is much worse than smoking cigarettes, telling a lie or stealing. This is so dangerous.

We know how lusty Bilvamaṅgala was, but he was changed in a day. You know Ajāmila—he became such a wonderful devotee by the touch of four Viṣṇudūtas, so we should try to follow all these teachings internally. Do not just make an outward show, like not taking cigarettes, for example. This will not help so much. We do not put so much stress on not taking cigarettes or meat—these things will automatically go. I know that Swāmījī once told me:

“When I go to Western countries, I will allow the boys to come in my hostel, and I will supply eggs, meat, and wine if they want.”

I asked:

“Why?”

“Oh, the power of kṛṣṇa-nāma is very wonderful. I will tell them that you can take all these things but chant kṛṣṇa nāma. and in a very short time, they will be transformed into good devotees.”

I know that he made hippies happy, so happy that they became nice devotees.
We do not put so much stress on outward things, but we stress:

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegam, jihvā-vegam udaropastha vegaṁ

If you do not control your stomach, so many diseases will come and lust is bound to come. You cannot check it. So we should try and pray to Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Rūpa, Sanātana, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, that mercifully they should empower us so that we can give up all our bad habits and become bona fide Vaiṣṇavas. Do not try to hide anything from a Vaiṣṇava, Guru or Kṛṣṇa, because after sometime it will become a very big blunder. If there are blunders, you cannot check the reactions.

Understand?

If we do not express our inner feelings and inner lusty desires to our guru and Vaiṣṇavas, if we try to hide these things, they will become more and more powerful and one day they will engulf us.

So do not try to hide anything from the Vaiṣṇavas. I know that some of you are hiding things. Some among you are hearing hari-kathā and also writing prema-kathā, love letters, to others in your group.

I know, because if I did not know, how can I be a Vaiṣṇava?

So you should believe me when I tell you that I know everything you have in your hearts. Do not try to hide anything.

Guru knows everything if he is bona fide, so do not try to conceal and hide all these things. You should have faith in me and I will try to give medicines for these diseases and certainly you will recover!

Gaura premānande!


  • Rama Kānta Dāsa vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegam, jihvā-vegam udaropastha vegaṁ

    If you do not control your stomach, so many diseases will come and lust is bound to come. You cannot check it. So we should try and pray to Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Rūpa, Sanātana, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, that mercifully they should empower us so that we can give up all our bad habits and become bona fide Vaiṣṇavas. Do not try to hide anything from a Vaiṣṇava, Guru or Kṛṣṇa, because after sometime it will become a very big blunder. If there are blunders, you cannot check the reactions. 

    Understand? 

    If we do not express our inner feelings and inner lusty desires to our guru and Vaiṣṇavas, if we try to hide these things, they will become more and more powerful and one day they will engulf us.

    So do not try to hide anything from the Vaiṣṇavas. I know that some of you are hiding things. Some among you are hearing hari-kathā and also writing prema-kathā, love letters, to others in your group. 

    I know, because if I did not know, how can I be a Vaiṣṇava? 

    So you should believe me when I tell you that I know everything you have in your hearts. Do not try to hide anything.

    Guru knows everything if he is bona fide, so do not try to conceal and hide all these things. You should have faith in me and I will try to give medicines for these diseases and certainly you will recover!

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