Srila Gurudevas Mission Article of Śrīpāda Premānanda Prabhu, penned by Rasik Mohan das While Śrīla Gurudeva resided in Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā, the brahmacārīs who served in the temple inquired into deep spiritual truths from him. One time a brahmacārīs asked a question about the first verse of the Brahma-sūtras and the invocation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. janmādy asya yato . . śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.1 janmādy asya yataḥ – Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.2 [That Brahman (the Supreme Spirit) is He from whom the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes arise.] Śrīla Gurudeva replied in a wonderful manner that revealed the essence of his mission. He explained that the living entities are the separated parts and parcels of God, just as individual sparks that emanate from a fire, or particles of light in the rays of the sun. mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati Bhagavad-gītā 15.7 [O Arjuna! I am the Lord of all. All souls are My parts and they are all eternal. Due to being conditioned and opposed to Me, they are struggling intensely with the mind and the senses in this material world.] How can those souls lost in material nature be awoken to the reality of their real existence? How can they be given pure consciousness? This process is established by Lord Śrī Caitanya. For so long as one is not sprinkled with the transcendental vraja-rasa, until then one’s soul has not had janma, true birth, ādi, growth, asya, and so on; the soul has no real life or knowledge, she is in a dormant stage. By dry knowledge or fruitive action the soul will never be awakened; her pure spiritual form will never manifest. What is that rasa? God personally came to this world and performed rāsa-līlā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in this world to taste the specialty of this rāsa-līla. Līlā-dhātu, līlā means a process by which this nectar of loving relations is obtained. To give that rāsa-līlā, the process of nourishing the soul, great teachers and leaders of th e Gauḍīya Sampradāya sometimes hide it, or deprive people of it, or make an excuse not to give. They say, “Wait for some lives. Wait until you have some proper development in bhakti.” But when will that happen? When Rūpa-Raghunātha took this conception of Lord Śrī Caitanya and began distributing this unnata-ujjvala rasa, Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu came and bound it within the ṣaḍ-sandharbas, in six strong chests. Now, the leaders say, “We will give this rasa when people become qualified.” Why don’t they give? There is the fear of lack of qualification, for it is said: naitat samācarej jātu manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād yathā ‘rudro ’bdhi-jaṁ viṣam Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.33.36 [Those who are not powerful controllers, who are helplessly controlled by the laws of karma, should never imitate the Lord’s pastimes even within their minds. Like a person who foolishly imitates Lord Śiva by drinking poison (as Śiva drank the terrible poison generated from the churning of the ocean), they will certainly be destroyed.] Due to this fear there was no one to distribute. All were afraid. Śrīla Gurudeva said, “If greed is there to eat a rasagullā, why be afraid? That is our soul food. We have to have it. Then, why should we check our greed due to fear of anything? Except for this vraja-rasa, by any other process the soul will never blossom or get spiritual consciousness.” Śrīla Gurudeva fearlessly said again and again: vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ śraddhānvito ’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.39 [Anyone who faithfully hears or describes the Lords playful affairs with the young gopis of Vṛndāvana will attain the Lords pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.] In the introduction to rāsa-līlā, it is said, “śraddhānvito ’nuśāṇuyād,” if someone has śraddhā, faith, affection, and love, then go near him and hear. Hearing is our supreme duty. By hearing and hearing, this rasa will go inside. It will give strength to the soul to blossom in its true consciousness. Vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhira—the pastimes that Kṛṣṇa performed with the Vraja-devis, that process by which Kṛṣṇa distributed this nectar to them, giving complete satisfaction by bestowing His own service, Śrīla Gurudeva brought this, and distributed it everywhere. This mādhurya-rasa is the topmost. If anyone is fixed and present in this rasa, then go near him and hear with faith the pastimes of rāsa-lila. Śraddhānvito ’nuśāṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ. They have śraddhā and love and are describing this. Go there and hear from them without having doubts. By hearing and hearing, śraddhā will arise. The intelligence to take it will come and that rasa will enter inside. If we have no faith, then our hearts will be closed and words will not go inside, due to our contempt. What will happen by hearing? bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ hrd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ If through hearing, just one drop of rasa goes inside our heart, even a small amount, then the effect of millions of lifetimes of our heart disease will quickly be dispelled. Tatkṣanat, immediately! At once this disease will be finished. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Parīkṣita Mahārāja, “There will be no delay.” There is no need for so much austerity. There is no need to do anything else. Hear from those who have this deep love and faith! But who has śraddhā? Who has love? Those persons who taste and tasting this vraja-rasa, they want to make others taste it. Except for this rasa the soul cannot get spiritual welfare by any other means. But why don’t many gurus give this? They have that fear—naitat samācarej jātu—without being Rudra, if one drinks poison, he will die. But for he who is not afraid of death, who knows that the soul never becomes old and never dies, and that the body is destined to die, he declares that he will die by drinking this nectarean poison only! By this we will die to live! Our material condition will perish, and our spiritual life will begin. I heard this declaration from Śrīla Gurudeva a thousand times. He said, “If you have to die, than die by drinking this poison. We will hear this rāsa-līlā only! We will speak about this rāsa- līlā! But we will not take any mundane poison. Everyone dies for the mundane rasa, but we will take the poison which destroys material existence at the root, and gives birth to our spiritual form in Vraja!” What will happen by taking this nectar of the Vraja-devīs’ glories? First—bhakti parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ —the love and topmost devotion of the Vraja-devīs situated in madhurya-rasa will be attained, and automatically our heart disease will be destroyed. By taking the material poison of mundane relationships, the relation of the soul with Kṛṣṇa is covered, but by taking the medicine of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the Vraja-devīs, the poison of material life and relationships is destroyed and pure love of Kṛṣṇa will awaken in the heart. Therefore, what person would not hear or try to follow and take this nectar? Śrīla Gurudeva is nivṛtta-tarṣair, free from all material desires. He has come to this world by the will of Kṛṣṇa and has satisfied and nourished the world by this rasa-līlā, the process of giving pure nectar to the soul. Therefore, he is not concerned or fearful about anything. There is no one able to make him turn back. He will certainly give this rasa to whoever takes his shelter and who wants this rasa. That person will definitely attain spiritual perfection. But by no other means can one get this. Śrīla Gurudeva never feared and never hid this nectar. He would say, “If any want to criticize, let them. I will never stay silent out of fear. I will distribute this vraja-rasa only.” The Vraja-devis are one pointed to Sri Kṛṣṇa. No one else is appointed like them. They are the greatest of personalities. The endeavor to bring others into the shelter of their lotus feet is the endeavor and conception of our disciplic succession following Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīman Mahāprabhu. A disciple must strive to see the specialty of Sri Guru. This madhurya-rasa is the ādi-rasa, primordial mellow or flavor. It is topmost. Distributing this is fulfilling the heart’s desire of Vyāsadeva. For this reason Sri Guru is described as non-different from Vyāsa. Śrī Guru distributes this rasa, giving the living entities qualification to enter into Vraja. – Article of Śrīpāda Premānanda Prabhu, penned by Rasik Mohan das
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 17:29:11 +0000
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