Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 12.05.2019 morning, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Monday)

I would like to share with you some pearls from the advice of Gurudev, if you agree. So, from one lecture here about a verse of the “Bhagavatam”, First Canto. He says: “Yamuna is more sacred than the Ganges”. Everybody knows that the Ganges is a holy river. Of course, most of the people in the West don’t know why. But for us Yamuna is more sacred. Do you know why? Because the Ganges comes from the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu, it brings the foot-water of God. But in Yamuna, Radha-Govindaji are bathing and playing in the water. So, it will carry a different quality to all those who respect it properly. 

Then Gurudev says: “At the same time, spiritual things are absolute. Therefore, we have to be very careful in differentiating between them. Same is the situation with the different rasas. The attraction to a certain direction, or rasa, is subjective, but the superiority of madhurya-rasa is an objective fact. Therefore, a devotee should respect the quoted lower platforms, but at the same time, try to reach the highest”. 

Then Gurudev mentions that “In some experiments they try to decrease the bodily heat of insects in order to make their life longer. Why? Because people want to elongate their own life span. But this is only an attachment. You cannot get rid of bodily self-identification on the bodily platform or the mental platform. The goal is not to collect more and more information, but to get rid of the contamination. This is the way to regain the original consciousness. The point to get rid of this aham-mama conception ,“I” and “mine”. It’s better to put Krishna in the center instead of putting ourselves in the center. Even Shankaracharya said at the end of his life his siddhanta, conclusion: “Bhaja Govinda, worship Govinda”. Why? Because speculation will not help you, just worship. 

And an advice of Shrila Shridhara Maharaj: “Before, in the old times, following the varnashrama-dharma principles helped people to get purified. Today, the maha-mantra will bring this purification process.” 

These are some drops for consideration.

Another time, in 1985, in summer, Gurudev said that the karma for children starts when they are 8 years old. Why? Because it depends on the development of the individual consciousness. Before that, children act according to their instincts. Then he said: “On the higher planetary systems there are no atheists.” So, if you meet an atheist, that means it is not heaven yet. 

Other times he mentioned: “A devotee should never ever be morose, because this is a direct sign of illusion.” And we should avoid illusion. So you are forbidden to be sad. And you know, when you are 20 years… I wouldn’t say ‘old’, but 20 years young, and listening to such advice you say “Yes, correct!”. But hardly ever we understand the depth of such a simple sentence. Why? Because if we don’t perceive the natural happiness, then we are not close to our spiritual identity. The joy of self is an everlasting principle. So, if we are forbidden to be sad, that means: come closer to your spiritual identity. 

But don’t think that you had joined a jolly excursion in bhakti-yoga. It is rather a long and sometimes tiresome journey. Yet step by step we should come closer to this original sat-chit-ananda inner identity. And I think at the end our smile is much more profound than at the beginning. Usually in the first moments there is not so much meaning of our smile in spiritual life. Later on our smile should turn first of all into a wisdom smile, then into a spiritual or divine smile. 

But as we are very far from these standards, because we don’t know how to brush our teeth, sometimes we don’t read the signs properly. Just remember this beautiful story with Shrila Prabhupada, when one devotee wanted to paint a picture of him. Of course Prabhupada said “No, I cannot sit here with you for hours and days so that you can finish the picture, but I can give you a photograph and you paint the picture.” After one year Shrila Prabhupada returned to the same place and he asked “Have you accomplished your picture?” Then the disciple said, “No, no, I did not.” “Why?” “Because on that photograph you look so sad.” And then Prabhupada said, “Sad? That was a moment of ecstasy.” So, we need to read the signs properly. And for that we need a very delicate education. 

(to be continued)