Exploitation, Renunciation, Dedication

Exploitation, Renunciation, Dedication 

by Śrīla B. R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja

Modern science is only increasing the circumference of this world, the world of exploitation. According to Newton, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. We must be conscious of the fact that all acquisition is ultimately nullity, because like a boomerang reaction will come back again to produce zero.

This is actual scientific knowledge. But modern scientific progress is no progress, or progress in the wrong direction. It is like borrowing money. Taking a loan is not money at all. Whatever we take from nature will be extracted from us to the paise. So there is no gain. We are within the circumference of the exploiting world. Every object we take from nature is like a loan. But the loan must be cleared, rest assured.

The Quest Of Life

The first principle of any living being is to live, to save himself. That should be the starting point of our whole endeavor for progress or knowledge. In the Upaniṣads we find asato mā sad gamayo, tamaso mā jyotir gamayo, mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamayo. This indicates what should be the primary tendency of our quest in three phases. First, I am transient and mortal, make me eternal. Next, I am ignorant and in nescience, take me from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light.

Then, I am in sorrow and misery, guide me to ānandam, joy and a fit life there. These should be the real goals of life, and any research must begin here only. Sac-cid-ānandam, satyaṁ śivaṁ sundaram. These should be the subject matter of our research, the line of our approach: to save oneself and save the world, to remove the darkness of ignorance and get the light of knowledge, and to remove misery and get the nectar of the sweet, sweet life. Scientific knowledge which avoids or ignores this is simply false, wild goose-chasing.

And it is self-destructive or suicidal. Very soon atomic researchers are going to prove that their science devours itself. The civilization already created by it sucks its own blood. Modern man is feeding on the flesh of his own friends or of himself. Material science and knowledge means only this. But this is not knowledge. Real knowledge must absorb yourself and others in eternal life, full knowledge and peaceful existence.

This is our conception. This is what gurudeva has given to us. Our Guru Mahārāja came to spread this sort of knowledge and we came hankering. Hungrily we felt ourselves looking for such things. Still I am engaged in that sort of quest, and that should be the real life for one and all who are in this mundane world. There should not be any other quest or any other engagement. There should be nothing of the kind. Then that will be real life.

Return To Zero

And renunciation is not the remedy. That is the next point. The Buddhists and Shankarites say, “Yes, renunciation is the remedy, leave everything.” But the vaiṣṇavas come with a third proposal. They know it is temporary living in the land of exploitation, but one cannot exist without engagement. Only renunciation means withdrawal, to return to zero. That is not desirable.

So the vaiṣṇavas say that there is a land of dedication, and that is normal, where every unit is a dedicating unit. And dedication must be towards the center. Our inner ātmā, not mind or mundane intelligence, but transcending all these things our real conception is the soul which has some relationship with the subtler realm. The land of dedication begins with Vaikuṇṭha and ends in Goloka.

Retirement Is Hell

Vaikuṇṭha is the land of calculative dedication in terms of constitution and bound by law. But Goloka is the layer of spontaneity. It is desperate, careless of its own self—so intense. That is the highest, and by the work of dedication of all it becomes a very heavenly area. All dedicating, none extorting, so happiness of the highest degree is to be found there. Everyone is enjoying there. If all are idle men and they meet together that will be like hell. But if all the working men co-operate together there will be immense opulence.

Because everyone is dedicating to the highest degree, opulence or bliss is flowing everywhere. There is no want. All Kṛṣṇa consciousness, pure beauty and love reigns there. The king is that of beauty and love, where there is no force of labor, but all is a labor of love. Beauty and love are controlling, not power. That is Goloka. This is Gauḍīya vaiṣṇavism. And Mahāprabhu and His followers carry the banner of such creed.

Idea Behind The Sound

And where do we start? Through nāma, divine sound, it is easy to begin the spiritual quest. The most subtle thing in our experience here is sound. And it is cheap, much easier than dravya, yajña and so many other things which are to be gathered. Sound comes freely and without any expense. So our research can begin with sound, but that sound must be of divine characteristic.

Just as the medicine in a homeopathic globule cannot be shown by the outer figure, so also only when sound, the name Kṛṣṇa comes from the proper person, then Kṛṣṇa’s will is there within. In other words, Kṛṣṇa from the mouth of a sādhu and Kṛṣṇa from the mouth of an ordinary person is not one and the same. Just like the potency of the homeopathic globule depends on the medicine within.

The idea behind the sound, from where it comes, whether from Vaikuṇṭha, Goloka, or some particular rasa, to that place the sound will gradually assert itself and take you there. The sound, Vaikuṇṭha-nāma-grahaṇam, must come from the infinite world, Vaikuṇṭha, not from any mundane origin. So the inner potency is to be discerned and detected. To a certain extent I am able to give some idea.

Sacrifice To The Center

What is the meaning of dedication or sacrifice? Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ‘nyatra loko yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. Work should be done only as a sacrifice. All other work is mere energizing force. And yajño vai kṛṣṇaḥ, ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca. The Lord or Guardian says that it must be devoted towards Me, to My satisfaction, otherwise it is not yajña. Sacrifice means that it must be for the Absolute center, and not for any provincial interest, sectarian purpose or anything else. It must go to the Absolute and then it will be real yajña.

Other yajña, devatā-upāsanā (demigod worship) will go up and then come down. So devatā-upāsanā is saguṇa, and My upāsanā is nirguṇa. Saguṇa means under the influence of māyā, the good and bad of this world. And nirguṇa means that of Absolute characteristic, which has value everywhere. Just as the standard of money is not currency like the dollar, yen or ruble, but gold, so rasa is the standard of realization of the Absolute. Provincial ideas, sectarianism or anything like that won’t do. Such provincialism will be devatā-upāsanā, not worship of Myself.

The attempts of the little-brained persons will certainly be futile—going up and coming down. Ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ‘rjuna. “I am the only enjoyer of everything, and I am friendly to all. When you can realize that I am all in all and that I am a friend to you at the time, then all misgivings will disappear in you.” My guardian is the Absolute all-fearful power. My interest is represented in Him. I may not know of my own real interest, but He knows it better. So I don’t have to be afraid that the management is with Him.

Absolute good is an autocrat and that is the best arrangement. The Absolute good must be concentrated there in the autocrat. He must have complete freedom, then everyone will be benefited because He is all good. So there should be no misgivings, no apprehension, then one’s heart will be filled with peace only.

Friends Everywhere

Śreyān dravyamayād yajñāt. By sacrifice and yoga also, dedication is promoted. By dedication we live and grow, and by exploitation we die and go down. By renunciation we become zero and stand still like in deep slumber. So both exploitation and renunciation must be given up and dedication to the center and to all in connection with the center, must be taken up. I shall not exploit anything, at the same time I must not dismiss anything. Everything is friendly to me. One should see with this vision. In Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati, “I am everywhere.

Only see in that connection, with that angle of vision. Try to find Me, and everything in Me. Then you will be out of danger. Otherwise, that which is non-God will take you otherwise. If you can see the connection of God everywhere then you are safe. No one will be your enemy. You will have no foes, you are in the midst of friends. He is everywhere and everything. He is not lost in My sight, and I am not lost in his sight.”

In Bhāgavatam it is also mentioned, sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyet bhagavad-bhāvam. One who can always see My connection with everything, and accordingly see what will be his connection with Me, is properly adjusted. He can adjust with everything. He can see things perfectly, otherwise he cannot avoid punishment. Yamarāja, the punishing judge, won’t allow us to escape.

Sacrifice For Krishna

One who performs yajña towards Kṛṣṇa with this sort of knowledge, is the real type of yajña. But other types of yajña mentioned in the Vedas, for propitiating different gods or demigods is not yajña proper. One who performs such yajñas does not know the purpose of the scriptures. Only when it is done for Kṛṣṇa, then the yajña is performed in truth.

One’s conception of Kṛṣṇa must also be proper. The māyāvādīs and others also recognize Kṛṣṇa, but they see Him as a part of māyā. This is not correct. We must have the view of nirguṇa Kṛṣṇa. Such vision will depend on our faith which is acquired by previous sukṛti. Faith is necessary. Intellectual approach based on false ego will not help.

False Ego

The false ego means the ego who is receiving and transmitting false information, false knowledge. The ego is like a yantra or machine. Like a computer the false ego is receiving false news and transmitting false news. It is engaged with what is not wholesome and what is opposite to our real interest. Our innate tendency is to live. This is our inner nature or inner necessity.

But if that is not being transmitted, it is working against my interest, and that is false. The ego is like the computer, but because it is dealing with falsehood it is called false ego. False information means that one is not acquainted with reality. There may be false duality or real duality. Everything may be real, but if our conception is false then everything will be false.

Connect With The Infinite

Tarko ‘pratiṣṭhaḥ. Argument alone cannot bring us to the conclusion. Śraddhā is necessary, for discussion alone cannot give birth to any fruitful thing. The conclusion is so high that only śraddhā can reach it, and nothing else. The electromagnetic ether can reach the sun, moon and stars, but not the air or other media. So to approach the infinite world, the knowledge or experience of this world will not help, but only śraddhā comes to our aid. The intellect or knowledge is like the vāyumaṇḍala, the air around the globe.

What is learned through the experience of the earth cannot pierce through the domain beyond. Only the ether connects everything. So śraddhā, faith, can connect us with the farthest quarter and take us there. Faith is the basis and by dedication to Kṛṣṇa we can reach the highest platform of perfection.

(An article originally published in The Guardian of Devotion – the Calcutta edition of 1986. Unedited by Sri Guru Vandana, except for minor orthographical changes.)