How to Associate with Saintly Devotees

How to Associate with Saintly Devotees

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Our nature is determined by the company we keep. We acquire the characteristics of the people with whom we associate.

yasya yat-sarigatih purnso manivat syat sa tad-gunah sva-kula-rddhyai tato dhiman sva-yuthdn eva sarhsrayet

“Like a mirror, a person takes on the qualities of those with whom he comes in contact. One who is intelligent should therefore seek the company of those who have the same ideals in order to develop their good qualities in himself.”

The Bhagavata also says,

sango yah sarhsrter hetur asatsu vihito’dhiyd
sa eva sddhusu krto nihsangatvdya kalpate
(BRS 1.2.229).

“If one keeps the company of the wicked, then the result will be a life of deep entanglement. Even if we don’t judge who is a good person and who is bad, we will still receive the results of such association. On the other hand, if we associate with the saintly, we will be freed from all material attachment.”
(SB 3.23.55)

The Bhagavata goes on to detail the results of bad association:

satyarit saucam days maunah buddhir hrih srir yasah ksamd samo damo bhagas ceti yat-sangdd ydti sariksayam

DEVOTEES

tesv asdntesu mudhesu khanditdtmasv asddhusu sarigarh na kurydc chocyesu yosit-hridd-mrgesu ca

“One should at all costs avoid association with those lamentable creatures who have become the playthings of the opposite sex. They are lacking in peace, are constantly bewildered, and their concept of self is fragmented. Indeed there is no enchantment more powerful, no bondage for one surer than that which comes through the association of the opposite sex and through the association of the womanizer.

By keeping such company, one loses the qualities of truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, intelligence, modesty, beauty, reputation, forgiveness, control of the mind and senses, and good fortune.”

(SB 3.31.33-35)

However, it is not enough to simply avoid bad association. It is our duty to carefully seek out and associate with saintly persons. In the Bhagavatam, Kapila Deva lists the signs of what kind of sadhus we should associate with:

titiksavah hdrunikdh suhrdah sarva-dehindm ajdta-satravah sdntdh sddhavahsddhu-bhusandh

mad-dsraydh hathd mrstdh srnvanti kathayanti ca tapanti vividhds tdpd naitdn mad-gata-cetasah

to ete sddhavah sadhvi sarva-sariga-vivarjitdh sarigas tesv atha to prdrthyah sariga-dosa-hard hi to

Kapila Deva said, “O mother! Saintly persons who are tolerant, merciful and friendly to all creatures, who do not make enemies and are peaceful, ornament the society of the pious. They take shelter of me and engage in constantly hearing and chanting about me. The various kinds of material miseries thus do not affect them, because they are always filled with thoughts of my pastimes and activities. O virtuous lady! Sadhus such as these are free from all attachment. You should pray for the association of such holy men, for that will counteract the pernicious effects of contact with unholy persons.”

(SB 3.25.21, 23-4)

We should not prejudge anyone on the basis of their dress, thinking they are or are not sadhus.Even after we have given up faultfinding, gossip and criticism, we should still look for these qualities in someone before we accept them as a sadhu.

becoming a society of the cheaters and the cheated.

Let us remember this: sadhus are not numerous. Nowadays, genuine saintly devotees are so rare that I found it difficult to find a single person fitting the above description, though I traveled all over Bengal in search of such a one.

Mahadeva Shiva told Devi, “O Bhagavati! Out of thousands and thousands of people seeking liberation, perhaps one will actually achieve the signs of liberation. Of those who achieve liberation, hardly any ever attain spiritual perfection. Of those liberated and spiritually perfected beings, perhaps one shall some day become a devotee of Lord Narayan as the result of associating with saintly devotees. The pure devotee is completely peaceful and therefore very hard to find.”

Now if a devotee of Narayan in the peaceful mood (santa-rasa) is as rare as that, is there any need to tell you how much rarer is a devotee of Krishna in the erotic mood?

In this Age of Kali, we have lost all idea of what standards of behavior apply to the sadhu. It is distressing to observe that we. We consider devotees of Krishna with all the signs and accept anyone who wears the dress of a renunciate as a saint – symptoms described by Kapila above to be supreme amongst saintly person, no matter how unqualified they are. We are thus all sadhus. Association with such highly advanced devotees is of the greatest importance.

Lord Brahma tells us what will come of such association:

tavad ragadayah stenah tavat karagrharii grham tavan moho’righri-nigado yavat krsna na to janah

“In our conditioned state, desire and hatred are like thieves that steal our spiritual wealth. When we are conditioned, our family and household become like a prison in which we are trapped. And our illusion is like the chains to which we have been shackled. This is our distressful condition, O Krishna, until we become attached to the company of your pure devo tees and are able to reside in their midst.

From that day onward, desire no longer acts like a thief that robs us, but becomes a friend and remains completely fixed on your lotus feet. From that day onward, our home becomes transcendent and an abode of eternal bliss. From that day onward, even our bewilderment serves the goal of devotion and helps us to advance in spiritual life.” (SB 10.14.36)

Therefore Lord Brahma goes on to pray,

tad astu me natha sa bhuri-bhago bhave’tra vanyatra to va tirascam yenaham eko’pi bhavaj jananam bhutva niseve tava pada-pallavam

“O my lord, allow me to have that great good fortune, either in this life or somewhere else, even if it be in the body of a lowly creature, whereby I can live amongst your intimate devotees and serve your lotus feet.” (SB 10.14.30)

By the association of pure devotees of Krishna we achieve such an elevated state. Now it is very important that we consider what we need to do in order to get such devotional association. The popular opinion is that if we find a sadhu, then we can get the benefit of associating with him by paying obeisances to him, massaging his feet, drinking the water that washes his feet, eating the remnants of his food and giving him a little money. It is true that these activities show respect to the sadhu and it is certain that some benefit accrues from such service, but this is not sadhu sanga.

The Bhagavatam tells us what is meant by sadhu sanga:

to vai vidanty atitaranti ca deva-mayah stri-sudra-huna-sabara api papa jivah yady adbhuta-krama-parayana-sila-siksas tiryag jana api kim a sruta-dharana ye

“By surrendering to and learning from the pure devotees of the Lord, the wonderful hero, even people from groups leading sinful lives, such as unchaste women, the laborer class, the Huns and other uncivilized tribes, or even the birds and beasts, can not only understand the illusory energy, but become liberated from its clutches. In view of this, what can we say of the learned and self-controlled?” (SB 2.7.46)

In this verse, the compound word adbhuta-krama-parayanasila-siksah can be broken down as follows: adbhuta-krama (“the wonderful hero”) refers to Lord Krishna. Parayana means “dedicated to”; those who are dedicated to the wonderful hero, Krishna, are the devotees. The word sila means “character.” Thus, the entire compound refers to those who make all efforts to learn (siksa) from the example and teachings of the devotees and then to follow them.

Only those who make such an effort, and no one else, can truly know the nature of the illusory energy. And they alone can completely cross over the illusory energy All those who are normally disqualified from making spiritual progress-women, lower castes, outcastes or foreigners, what to speak of the birds and beasts-can learn from the devotee’s way of being and thus easily cross over the material ocean.

This being the case, can there be any doubt that learned scholars who follow the example and character of the devotees also easily escape the illusory energy?

The purport is that though someone may be learned and have taken a high birth, if he does not follow the devotees, there is no chance that he can overcome the powerful force of Maya. Birth in a high caste has no ultimate benefits. Nor do diligent study of the scriptures and dry renunciation result in liberation.

Riches and physical beauty are of no help, either. Only if you make a great effort to understand the character of the pure devotees and follow their way of acting and being can you hope to attain pure devotional service to Krishna.

We often see materialistic persons bow down to the saintly persons and say, “O merciful one! Give me your blessings for I am exceedingly lowly How can I be freed of my materialistic tendencies?” However, these words are a kind of pretense, because in their minds, such persons think that the only real gain is monetary and the only purpose of life is accumulating material goods.

Such people’s hearts are filled with an obsession for accumulation. Day and night they think about how they can improve their social standing. They are afraid that the devotee might curse them that they will lose their riches, so they make a false show of humility and devotion.

If the pure devotee ever should truly bless them and say, “May your desire for sense gratification be gone forever and all your wealth be lost,” the materialist would answer, “O revered sir, such blessings are in truth a curse. If such things were to happen, they would not do me any good, only ruin me.” Do you see how I their behavior is hypocritical?

We may have come into contact with saintly persons many times in our lives, but no benefit has come to us from this association because of our duplicity. Therefore we should be careful to sincerely follow the example set by the sadhus we meet. That will result in our making some spiritual advancement.

Say to yourself: I will always try to learn all about the nature and character of the genuine sadhu, and then I will try to form my own character on that sadhu’s model. This is the teaching of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

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