Overview

In this early article by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda from The Gauḍīya (Vol.1, Issue 1) published in 1922, Sarasvati Ṭhākura compares Kṛṣṇa’s appearance during the rainy season in Vṛndāvana to His appearance in the heart of a receptive jīva. He also gives a warning about neglecting to observe the appearance of the Lord.

There are two kinds of objects in regards to śakti (potency) and śaktimān (the possessor of potency), namely, Īśvara and that which is subordinate. Subordinate objects or potencies are of two kinds, namely, cit-sakti-pariṇāma (the transformation of spiritual potency) and acit-śakti-pariṇāma (the transformation of material potency). Without transforming the īśvara-vastu, the subordinate potency transforms itself and reveals the potency of an object and assists in revealing the svarūpa (inherent nature) of Īśvara.

Through jṣāna alone, that Supreme Object is known as Brahman. Along with jṣāna, when sat, or eternal existence is added, that Object is known as Paramātmā, and in conjunction with ānanda (bliss), that Object is recognised as sac-cid-ānanda Bhagavān. All manifestations of the Lord emanate from Svayaṁ-Bhagavān – that is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is that Object who is Parameśvara, the Supreme Lord. He does not manifest as an avatāra of Bhagavān, in other words, He is the origin of all. He is the cause of all the avatāras, the cause of Paramātmā, and the cause of Brahman. He is the source of the cit-śakti, which means that He is the cause of jīvas and the universe.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is eternally present and full of consciousness and bliss; thus, there is no relevance of Him enacting that which is understood as ‘birth’ from the worldly perspective. At the time when a bound jīva turns towards Kṛṣṇa, then Śrī Kṛṣṇa appears within his heart. He arises in the jīva’s heart which is like the night because it is covered by darkness, just as He appears during the annual monsoon season. During the rainy season, Hari rests – therefore, He appears at midnight on the eighth day of the waning moon (kṛṣṇāṣṭamī) in the month of Bhādra. With all His potencies, Śrī Gaurahari, who is non-different from Vrajendra-nandana, made His appearance on the full moon of the month of Phālguna. He is the combined form of Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. Śrīmatī Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī appears every year at noon on the eighth day of the waxing moon (śuklāṣṭamī). The day of Bhagavān’s birth is in relation to the time of His appearance. Bhagavān’s birth etc. is eternal; thus, that birth which occurs every year in our present time is eternally going on as the appearance day of Bhagavān.

The object of worship for the Śrī Gauḍīyas, Bhagavān Vāsudeva, who is the cause of all causes and attracts all deserving jīvas, manifests from the untainted quality of viśuddha–sattva, appearing from the womb of Devakī, which is comprised of śuddha-sattva (pure goodness). In the house of Nanda, as the Son of Yaśodā, He expands His fame in the hearts of the jīvas through His mother.*(1)

The appearance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not merely a truth according to tradition, but it is an eternal and indisputable truth. The beginning of the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the object of worship for the Gauḍīyas, is the manifestation of the Gauḍīyas themselves. From now on, may the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance continuously resonate in the transcendental sky of the hearts of the Gauḍīyas.

For the past three years, along with the appearance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the appearance festivals of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ācāryas have been going on in the city of Calcutta. Two years ago, the Deity of Śrī Gaura, who is Vrajendra-nandana imbued with the sentiments and complexion of Śrī Rādhā, was established at the āsana of the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. One year ago, the Gauḍīya Maṭha was established at that same āsana.*(2) Also in the present year, that maṭha began to publish the Gauḍīya periodical which sings the narrations of Gaura-Kṛṣṇa. Removing the darkness of mundane external consciousness, and revealing the unparalleled form of Śyāmasundara which is deeply concealed by the Brahman effulgence, and through causeless and unbroken service to Adhokṣaja primarily through Gauḍīya kīrtana, it has ensured the satisfaction of the guardians of the ten directions.

Without the birth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, a jīva’s life is in vain. Those who do not experience a spiritual awakening and tendency on Kṛṣṇa’s appearance day festival merely pursue the superficial aspects of this external world and invite Bhagavān’s aversion towards them – this alone is their unfortunate result.

yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi tad apy asya tanu-bhā
ya ātmāntaryāmī puruṣa iti so’syāṁśa-vibhavaḥ
ṣaḍ-aiśvaryaiḥ pūrṇo ya iha bhagavān sa svayam ayaṁ
na caitanyāt krṣṇāj jagati para-tattvaṁ param iha

That which the Upaniṣads describe as non-dual is the effulgence of His form. The Puruṣa who is the indwelling monitor of the ātmā, manifests as His expansion. He Himself is also Bhagavān, complete with six kinds of opulence. There is no supreme truth (para-tattva) in this world greater than Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Caitanya. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.3)

These are the words of the best of Gauḍīya ācāryas, Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa, concerning the appearance of Kṛṣṇa.

Translator’s Notes:

(1) The name Yaśodā means to bestow (dā) fame (yaśa).

(2) The word āsana means a seat, not in the sense of a chair etc, but the abode where a personality resides. The first name of the Gauḍīya Maṭha at Ultadanga Road was ‘Bhaktivinoda Āsana.’

(Translated into English by Swami Bhaktivijṣāna Giri)

Overview

Continuing with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda’s exposition on the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, in this article from Sajjana Toṣaṇī (Vol.20, Issue 7) published in 1917, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura describes the magnanimous nature of Śrī Caitanya, His non-difference from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the magnanimity of the devotees, and the erroneous conclusions of the gaura-nāgarīs.

Articles in This Series:
There is no generosity in the fourteen worlds or elsewhere that matches that of Śrī Gaurasundara. Those who have taken shelter at His feet, having received such unparalleled mercy, are also generous in distributing it with open hands. That highest, most effulgent bhakti-rasa, which was not given in the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara-yugas due to the unworthiness of the jīvas, has now been offered even to those who are unqualified. Śrī Nanda-nandana’s boundless sweetness is available to the eternally perfected devotees who are free from offences and expert in bhajana. Yet, our worshipable Śrī Śacī-dulāla, the crest-jewel of magnanimity, is tirelessly engaged in freeing the weak jīvas from their intoxicated materialistic mentality, from their offences and from their temporary conceptions, and engaging them in the supremely rare, intimate service of Śrī Vrajendra-nandana.

In order to liberate the bound jīva from the clutches of corrupt, deceptive teachers, that Śrī Gaurahari has said that those devotees who possess a proper service attitude towards Bhagavān, who have renounced all material adherence and are eager to cross the ocean of material contamination, should not engage in any association with or advice from women and those who are associated with women. If one does so, one will be tormented by material desires and will be expelled from a pure position amongst the devotees of Śrī Gaurahari for eternity. *(1)

The only worshippable object is Śrī Gaurasundara, who is non-different from Śrī Vrajendra-nandana. He alone is the Controller of all jīvas, the Supreme Lord of matter, the embodiment of sac-cid-ānanda who is without beginning, the origin of all, and the cause of all causes. Mahāprabhu-Kṛṣṇa is the sole supreme viṣaya (object of love) of aprākṛta-rasa. Śrīmatī Rādhikā is His avalambana (support) or aprākṛta-āśraya (transcendental subject in love). Baladeva is the expansion of the viṣaya – His prakāśa (direct manifestation) or vaibhava (pastime-avatāras), of that viṣaya. From the vaibhava-avatātas of the viṣaya, the spiritual realm and all the prabhāva-avatāras manifest, firstly as Vāsudeva who is the viṣaya–vigraha of aiśvarya-rasa, the mellows of awe and majesty. From Rādhikā – the original āśraya – all the damsels of Vraja, who are vaibhava-avatāras of the āśraya, those who are prakāśa-avatāras of the āśraya headed by Revatī, the queens of Dvārakā, the Lakṣmīs in Paravyoma, and occasional avatāras such as Sītā, are eternally manifested.

The Lord, who is the sole object of supreme sweetness, the embodiment of sac-cid-ānanda, the Son of Yaśodā, has Himself eternally accepted Rādhikā’s own service-oriented heart disposition, in the form of Śrī Gaurāṅga, accepting the mood (bhāva) of the āśraya within Kṛṣṇa’s independent abode of Goloka, where They engage in eternal playful pastimes. Kṛṣṇa has no other eternal līlā apart from gaura-līlā where He accepts the mood of the āśraya. Accepting the mood of the viṣaya, there is no other eternal līlā of Gaurāṅga except for kṛṣṇa-līlā. That bestower of madhura-rasa, being most magnanimous, remains eternally worshipable by Śrī Rūpa who has proclaimed:

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

I offer my respects unto Kṛṣṇa, who is supremely magnanimous, who distributes kṛṣṇa-prema and has appeared in a golden form with the name ‘Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.53)

Thus, He is always engaged in His eternal worship. In a sweet language, the magnanimous devotee, Kavirāja Gosvāmī has written that by material analysis, one cannot falsely adorn Mahāprabhu as a nāgara (a lover of women), and a sādhaka cannot perform bhajana adorned as a nāgarī (a female lover). In relation to taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa, or gaura-līlā, there is no secret deception or immorality. The supreme truth has been taught by that most magnanimous One. He is not a debauchee with the mood of a gaura-nāgarī.

mahāprabhura bhakta-gaṇera vairāgya pradhāna
yāhā dekhi prīta hana gaura-bhagavān

Renunciation is the primary principle of the devotees of Mahāprabhu. Seeing this, Gaura Bhagavān becomes happy. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 6.220)

prabhu kahe vairāgī kare prakṛti sambhāṣaṇa
dekhite nā pāroṅ āmi tāhāra vadana
durvāra indriya kare viṣaya-grahaṇa
dāravī prakṛti hare munerapi mana

The Lord said – I cannot look at the face of a renunciate who converses with women. The senses are so strong that they desire to accept the objects of the senses. Even the mind of a muni is attracted to the wooden form of a woman. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 2.117-118)

prabhu kahe mora vaśa nahe mora mana
prakṛti-sambhāṣī vairāgī nā kare darśana

The Lord said – My mind is not under My control! It refuses to see a renunciate who speaks with women. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 2.124)

tabe śrīvāsa tāra vṛttānta kahila
yaiche saṅkalpa yaiche triveṇī praveśila
śuni hāsi prabhu kahe suprasanna citta
prakṛti darśana kaile ei prāyaścitta

Then Śrīvāsa gave a report of Choṭa Haridāsa’s decision and how he entered the Triveṇi. Hearing this, the Lord smiled and with a happy heart replied – This is the atonement for one who looks lustfully at women. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 2.164-165)

asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra
strī-saṅgī eka asādhu kṛṣṇābhakta āra

The conduct of a Vaiṣṇava is to reject materialistic association such as those who are attached to women, the impious and those who are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.87)

bhakta-vatsala kṛtajṣa samartha vadānya
hena kṛṣṇa chāḍi paṇḍita nāhi bhaje anya

The Lord is most kind to His devotees, most capable and magnanimous. A learned person will never abandon the worship of Kṛṣṇa for anyone else. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.95)

If all those persons who, in the name of gaura-bhajana that follow the practices of the sahajiyās, bāulas, cuḍādhārīs, gaura-nāgarīs, etc., abuse pure devotees with harsh language, considering them to be materialistic like themselves, then due to this, the world will not recognise such gaura-nāgarīs as magnanimous, and only the devotees will understand who is truly magnanimous. The magnanimous Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī has written rasa-śāstras that clearly explain that rasa which is related to material objects, for the benefit of the foolish followers of modern philosophies, spiritually immature practitioners that will come in the future, as well as their group leaders. For that reason, none of the conclusions of the ungenerous gaura-nāgarīs have found a place in his books.

No devotee of Gaura desires to become a false devotee. Is it necessary to adopt this false mood of being a nāgarī , this false, imaginary conception, and to be a false devotee, when in His pastimes, Kṛṣṇa Himself, accepting the mood of the āśraya, has neither manifested this in gaura-līlā, nor given any qualification to manifest it? Is it necessary to pretend to be a devotee, and in the absence of any śāstrika evidence, proper reasoning, or the authority of the mahājanas, impose immoral behaviour to the pure and impeccable character of Gaurāṅga? You simply make yourself out to be an obstinate person who is opposed to Kṛṣṇa.

No one who is genuinely magnanimous gives encouragement to a false devotee. The supremely magnanimous Gaurasundara does not say that there is no atonement for one who engages in pāpa. One who is a pure devotee, inclined towards the service of Hari, neither engages in pāpa which is rooted in personal sense enjoyment, nor gives encouragement to pāpa. In order to teach the devotees about aversion to Hari, Śrī Gaurasundara did not secretly engage in indulgent behaviour or immoral acts with the women of Nadīyā. Hari Dāsa Ṭhākura, the associate of Gaura, did not secretly engage in immoral activities with the prostitute sent by Rāmacandra Khāṅ. Mother Mīrābāi is not the consort of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. It is astonishing that, based on their erroneous interpretations of the śloka, antaḥ kṛṣṇa bahir gaura,*(2) some jīvas known as gaura-nāgarīs who are opposed to Gaura, describe Him, not as the supremely magnanimous jagad-guru, but as a clandestine debauchee. Such a mistaken belief that Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are immoral has led the indulgent gaura-nāgarīs to become opponents of Gaurāṅga and to mislead others.

I hope that the magnanimous pure devotees will, by making the false devotees of Gaura hear transcendental narrations of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, destroy the inner desires of the gaura-nāgarī group which are rooted in mundane sensual pleasure. If this is done, then everyone will recognise pure gaura-bhaktas to be sajjanas (virtuous devotees) and vadanya (magnanimous).

Translator’s Notes:

1) ‘Association with women’ in this context obviously refers to illicit association with women.

2) The verse, antaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ bahir gauraṁ (‘Internally, He is Kṛṣṇa and externally, He is Gaura’) was composed by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and is found in his Tattva Sandarbha. The gaura-nāgarīs misinterpret this verse and claim that antaḥ kṛṣṇa means that Mahāprabhu internally nurtured the mood of Kṛṣṇa as a nāgara (playboy) and enjoyed with the women of Nadīyā, but externally showed the form of Gaura.

(Translated by Swami Bhaktivijṣāna Giri)

We continue the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, with Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s explanation of kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa – taking exclusive shelter of Kṛṣṇa. This article was first published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 21, Issue 3, in 1918

Articles in This Series:
Of the twenty-six qualities of a Vaiṣṇava that have been mentioned, apart from taking exclusive shelter of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa), the remaining twenty-five qualities are considered to be marginal. The quality of taking exclusive shelter of Kṛṣṇa is solely defined as the inherent or primary quality. One who does not possess the quality of exclusive surrender to Kṛṣṇa cannot truly possess the remaining twenty-five qualities; or even if those qualities manifest in him, in the absence of this one quality they cannot remain in him permanently. Other qualities can be feigned and displayed by those who are not sādhus, but a non-devotee can never become one who takes exclusive shelter of Kṛṣṇa.

Only a devotee is exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is the foundational principle of the Supreme Lord. From Him have arisen Śrī Baladeva Prabhu, the quadruple expansions beginning with Vāsudeva and Saṅkarṣaṇa, the Puruṣa-avatāras, and the occasional avatāras. When a jīva comes to know the three Puruṣa-avatāras, he becomes freed from all worldly concerns, and by realising the purity of the Vaikuṇṭha realm, he can understand that eternal servitorship (nitya-dāsya) is his true nature. That Śrī Kṛṣṇa-candra – who is the sac-cid-ānanda vigraha who gives shelter to all, who is beginningless, the source of all, and the cause of all causes – is the sole refuge of the jīva. Separated from Him, the jīva has no other destination whatsoever. A jīva who rejects the shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and wastes time in māyāvāda, karma-kāṇḍa, and various other desires under the guise of pseudo bhakti, cannot become exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Furthermore, simply saying “I am surrendered to Kṛṣṇa” does not remove one’s aversion to Kṛṣṇa.

Only one who is an akiṣcana (who possesses no material desires) is truly exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. When one says ‘akiṣcana,’ one does not mean a māyāvādī, nor a karma-kāṇḍī sannyāsī, nor, in the language of those who possess other desires, does it refer to material poverty. The sole characteristic of one who is surrendered, or akiṣcana, is that his life is imbued with the purpose of serving Kṛṣṇa. Only when a jīva becomes exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa does he become indifferent to all the glories of material māyā that are unrelated to Kṛṣṇa. Far from accepting all these glories, he flees from them out of fear of becoming entangled in them.

One who strongly adheres to varṇāśrama-dharma cannot become an akiṣcana or surrendered. Only by abandoning all dharmas and taking exclusive shelter of Kṛṣṇa can one be called kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa. The characteristics of surrender are of six types:

Determination to act in accordance with favourable circumstances.
Avoidance of unfavourable circumstances.
Firm conviction that, “Apart from Kṛṣṇa I have no other protector.”
Acceptance of Kṛṣṇa as one’s sole protector and maintainer.
Complete self-surrender to Kṛṣṇa, refraining from any endeavour other than His service.
Rejecting pride and attachment to all kinds of mundane things, and always remaining utterly humble in one’s mind.
Possessing these six characteristics of surrender, a devotee completely surrenders himself to Kṛṣṇa.

A devotee who has taken sole refuge in Kṛṣṇa has no inclination to take shelter in those things which have no connection to Kṛṣṇa. However, those persons who, out of a desire to attain the recognition of being a Vaiṣṇava, deceptively present themselves as exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, and unjustly consider their own severe criticism of the pure bhakti of true devotees to be a sign of exclusive surrender, are certainly classified as false devotees or hypocrites.

By nature, a devotee does not interfere in the affairs of others, does not forcefully protest unnecessarily, shows no malice towards others, and has no envy. It is the inherent nature of those who are not sādhus to harbor enmity towards God and the devotees; this is not surrender to Kṛṣṇa alone, but merely aversion to Kṛṣṇa. Whenever a hypocritical or false devotee does become exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he then realises the harm caused by his enmity toward Hari, guru, and the Vaiṣṇavas, and gradually becomes freed from the traces of his non-Vaiṣṇava tendencies.

Although exclusive surrender to Kṛṣṇa is extremely rare for a jīva who is averse to Hari, through the association of sādhus, his attention is drawn to this fundamental quality or svarūpa-lakṣaṇa (inherent characteristic) of a devotee. Gradually, abandoning envy and hypocrisy, he advances in the ideal of a devotee and steadily attains progress.

(Translated by Swami Bhaktivijṣāna Giri)