Hare Krishna, Jaya Sri Krishna Caitanya Jaya Prabhu Nityananda
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda said that – “The Supreme Lord can reserve the right of not being exposed to our sense organs.”
By Srila Shyam Das Baba
From Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.23) we know the following words:
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23)
“The Supreme Lord is not obtained by expert explanations, by vast intelligence, nor even by much hearing. He is obtained only by one whom He Himself accepts. To such a person He manifests His own svarūpa.”
From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we know how Pitamah Brahmā was accepted by the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to manifest His own svarūpa—in front of him–
jñānaṁ parama-guhyaṁ me
yad vijñāna-samanvitam
sarahasyaṁ tad-aṅgaṁ ca
gṛhāṇa gaditaṁ mayā (ŚB 2.9.31)
The Personality of Godhead said:
Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is very confidential, and it has to be realized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully.
yāvān ahaṁ yathā-bhāvo
yad-rūpa-guṇa-karmakaḥ
tathaiva tattva-vijñānam
astu te mad-anugrahāt (ŚB 2.9.32)
All about Me, namely My actual eternal form and My transcendental existence, color, qualities and activities — let all be awakened within you by factual realization, out of My causeless mercy.
After getting the kṛpa of the Supreme Lord finally Brahmā was bound to express his absolute gratitude in front of Him in the following way—
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan (ŚB 10.14.29)
My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your Lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your Personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.
We know it very well that India (Bhāratavarṣa) is the Land of spiritual cultivation and those sages after long deliberation have given us immense treasure of divine knowledge (divya jñāna). Throughout the length and breadth of Bhāratavarṣa everywhere you can find countless temples or shrines etc. Those Bharat vasis (those who are staying in Bhāratavarṣa) they are spiritually inspired by birth because this land is identified as karma-kṣetra (where Vedic injunctions can be found in applied form).
It is also said that Bhāratavarṣa is the library of the whole world, and just like the sun rises in the east, similarly in the whole world wherever-whatever knowledge regarding jñāna-vijñāna, darśana, mathematics or astrology or technology etc. everything originally came from Bharatvarsa.
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞– 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐡ā𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐫ṣ𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐬ī, 𝐆𝐚ṅ𝐠ā, śā𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐫ā𝐦𝐚, 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐣, 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐜. 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐝-𝐠ī𝐭ā, 𝐌𝐚𝐡ā𝐛𝐡ā𝐫𝐚𝐭, 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐭𝐜. 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, “𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝?”
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐚 𝐣ñā𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 ś𝐚𝐛𝐝𝐚-𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦ā 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐬ā𝐝𝐡𝐮, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐭-𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐯𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐣ñā𝐧𝐚. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 āś𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚, 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬ā𝐝𝐡𝐮 𝐬𝐚ṅ𝐠ā, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐭–𝐝𝐚𝐫ś𝐚𝐧𝐚.
𝐆𝐚𝐮ḍī𝐲𝐚 𝐆𝐨ṣṭ𝐡ī𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢 Ś𝐫ī Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐡ā𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐯𝐚𝐭ī 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐯ā𝐦ī Ṭ𝐡ā𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚—𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐚ṁ𝐬𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐫𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭—“𝐆𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐫ā𝐤ṛ𝐭𝐚 𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐝”. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭—“𝐆𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟”. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 Caitanya 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐯𝐚𝐫ū𝐩𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 ś𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮-𝐕𝐚𝐢ṣṇ𝐚𝐯𝐚 (𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬) 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu Himself came on this earth just in the form of a pure sādhu to teach us how to do actual hari-bhajana avoiding duplicity. He took birth in Śrī Dham Mayapur to expose all of his bhajan mudra (how to do bhajan each and every step) but still nobody could realize or recognize Him as the Supreme Lord.
sadopāsyaḥ śrīmān dhṛta-manuja-kāyaiḥ praṇayitāṁ
vahadbhir gīr-vāṇair giriśa-parameṣṭhi-prabhṛtibhiḥ
sva-bhaktebhyaḥ śuddhāṁ nija-bhajana-mudrām upadiśan
sa caitanyaḥ kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yāsyati padam (Prathama Caitanyastaka)
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always the most worshipable Deity of the demigods, including Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā, who came in the guise of ordinary human being bearing absolute love for the Supreme Lord. He wanted to instruct His own pure devotional service to His own devotees. Ah! Will He again become an absolute object of my darśana?
In His manifested līlā He was seen all the time traveling here and there in the market or road etc. or at the bank of Gaṅgā, but who could recognize Him in true sense that is the main question. Even Kolavecha Śrīdhar His eternal pārṣada could not realize Him, then what to speak about Capal Gopal etc. those who have done great offence unto the Lotus Feet of Śrīman Mahāprabhu or His devotees.
𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐡ā𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐯𝐚𝐭ī 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐯ā𝐦ī Ṭ𝐡ā𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐒𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐢 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚) 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐡ā𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐫ṣ𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞.
Ś𝐫ī𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐩ā𝐝𝐚 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭—
“𝐍𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐬) 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐚 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥 (𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡) 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚, 𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐚—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
Nārada Pañcarātra says:
ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kiṁ
nārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim
antar bahir yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kiṁ
nāntar bahir yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim
“If the Supreme Lord Hari is worshiped, without practicing any austerity, then what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity the Lord is not worshiped then what is the use of such practice? If without practicing any austerity one finds the Lord manifest in his heart and his surroundings, then what is the need for such practice? If by practicing austerity one does not find the Lord manifest in his heart and surroundings, then what is the use of such practice?”
In one letter Svami Sadananda Dasa (when he was still in India), he wrote to Vamandas 4 January, 1961
My dear, dear Vamandas,
𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐊ṛṣṇ𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡! […] 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 “𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢” 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨-𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐨-𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 [𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧], 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐣 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥.
𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.
𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 (𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐦𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝) , 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐚, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢. […]
𝐈𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐜., 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐯𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐮-𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮-𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐡ṇ𝐚𝐯𝐚, 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡.