Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 04.01.2019 evening, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

Question: I have lived in Sveta Gora, in the monastery, and I know that in Christian vows there is some hierarchy. For example, obedience is higher than the other two – chastity and poverty. And I also read some shivaist book where the vows were the same, but none of them were higher than the others. How is it in the vaishnava line?
Swami Tirtha: For example, if there is a debate between monks, the ultimate argument is “For the sake of the sacred obedience, please accept my opinion”. And then you have no escape, you have to say, “Yes, I accept this”. It is a very strong commitment. So, yes, we can say this is a high priority.
So your question is if there is such a priority in the vaishnava line? Well, in this respect we should refer to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions. Because in His very famous Eight verses of his instructions, the most quoted is humility: “Be more humble than a blade of grass. Be more tolerant than a tree. Give all respect to others without expecting any respect towards yourself. And in this way you will be able to chant the holy names permanently.“[1] It is a beautiful verse. And if we really embrace the meaning of this verse, I am sure that we can apply proper humility in the proper place and time.
But how many times do we catch ourselves that we quote this verse and we act in the opposite manner! We say to others, “You have to be more tolerant than a tree if you associate with me.” Or “Prabhu, why are you not humble as a blade of grass?” This is useless! First apply this principle to yourself. Try to give respect to all – with this you never lose. Because what is the goal? The goal is to chant the holy names in a proper mood. So if we have this open-hearted, pure, innocent, humble mood, then it is easier to grasp the spiritual essence. Nevertheless, our acharyas also tell that we should apply this principle of humility with the sane saints, not with the insane materialists.
But basically, we should acquire this inner quality of humility. Not to show the external signs and to be a puffed up person on the inside, but rather the opposite. And this is also a very good invitation. I told you this story, it is included in the Sharanagati, Year Four or something, that once there was a public lecture and after that there was some private discussion. And I observed somebody in the audience – a young man paying full attention. You have been giving lectures, so you know – when you scan the audience, you see some faces, but suddenly you notice some special attention. So after this lecture, we were talking, I was inquiring: “Who are you, what are you doing?” You know I’m not a talkative person, but this time I had to talk a lot, because he was absorbing. I was talking for almost one hour and he didn’t interrupt, he was only absorbing. Then somehow I mentioned that humility is very important in spiritual life. And then he said, “Yes, humility! I think I have to learn what real humility is.” Then I was quite impressed, I have to tell you. Because if he is paying full attention, with a very humble state of mind, and when humility is mentioned, he says, “Yeah, I have to learn this” – that is a very good sign. And then what happened? He became a devotee. So if somebody is sensitive about humility, that is a good sign.
May I tell you another good sign? Bhajan is a very good sign. Another time there was another public lecture. It was a full-scale lecture with a slideshow, and talk like this, and discussion like that, and a cooking course, and everything – going on for hours. We started at 8 in the evening and after midnight we were falling apart, of course… And then somebody from the audience asked, “Can we have one more bhajan?” What a moment! And then what happened? This person also became a devotee. And she brought her future husband to become a devotee as well. And she also brought her brother to become a devotee. She was a yoga practitioner. And after this, she told me, “I have been doing yoga for years. And all the time, they mentioned this, samadhi, samadhi, and I didn’t understand. Now, after the bhajan, I know what did they mean.”
So, there are some good signs. If you are attracted to humility, if you are attracted to bhajans, what to speak of if you are attracted to prasadam, you are a proper candidate for becoming a devotee. Yes, this is our priority list.

(to be continued) 

1.  Shikshashtaka, 3