Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, summer 2024, Poland)

(continues from the previous Monday)

One special quality of the mahajanas is that they are merciful. And due to this mercy, they are so very compassionate that observing the conditions of the Earth and their fellow living beings, they are heartbroken – so much so that profuse tears come down from their eye. And their tears wet not only their bosom, but also the earth. Still, they are moving forward, trying to follow this divine guidance, this divine invitation that is extended to them. And by this, in the mud created by their tears, their footsteps mark the path. So mahajana yena gatah sa pantha – whatever is done by the mahajana is the standard of action; whatever is the topic of thinking for a mahajana, this should be an ideal for us; and whichever kind of feeling a mahajana has, this should be again our cherished desire to be allowed to the circle of that feeling.
So, following the mahajanas, very soon you will become an atmajana – a small soul. But Krishna likes the small things, Krishna likes the newcomers. We learn this from tradition – that He is not satisfied with the opulent offering at the Vaikuntha, but He is very ready to take this patram pushpam phalam toyam[1] – a little water, some flowers. And when you read this verse, you might think ‘Yes, this krishna-bhakti is a very economical religion. A little water, some flowers – and God Supreme is satisfied. It’s so easy to buy His satisfaction! Yeah, this is my religion: minimum input, maximum output’. This is our business mentality applied in spiritual affairs – it is supported by the shastra, even Krishna says “All right, give Me a little water and I’m satisfied.” But have you ever checked the next verse? “And all else. Whatever you do, whatever you give, whatever you think, whatever you offer – give everything to Me.” See, He is a tricky person! ‘Give Me something little; and then give Me everything that you have!’ I think we are all on the hook. We tried with the small things – first we gave a little water and now He expects the rest  – “give Me everything else that you have”.
And what do you have? They say in a western household there are 10000 different objects. But if you go home, don’t start to count how many different objects you have: one, two, three – don’t start to count, you have, we have too many. Yet ultimately, we have only two things on this planet Earth, only two – one is our life and the other is our love, right? The prana that we have and the prema that we have. These are the only two possessions that we have. So what does it mean ‘all in’ – only these two. A few flowers or little water are outside of you, these are external objects – no value, nothing special. ‘Whatever you have’ means your own treasures: one is your life and the other is the essence of your life – this is affection, love. Only these two things we have to give.

(to be continued)

1. Bhagavad Gita 9.26