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GAUDIYA
Spiritual Monthly

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Vol. LIII OCTOBER 2009 No. 2

MANGALÂCHARANAM

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I have shelter with Sri Krishna, (i) Who is the Be-all and End-
all of the sentiment of Amorous Passion, (ii) Who is adorned with
the peacock's feather, (iii) Who has eternally accepted Human Figure
and (iv) Who is the Shelter of all (the people of) the world.

-Sri Leelãshuka Bilvamangala

OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA 1

˛
 Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupâd
The enlightening hymns of Chhândogya have impressed us
that he who can surpass all conceptions of limitation, knowing
the Indestructible Personality of the Absolute, is alone not a
kripana but is a Brâhmana. So the Supreme Lord asked
Râmânanda to explain his knowledge of Transcendence in order
to shake off the popular crippled view of ascertaining Him by the
outward phase. We have surveyed the different aspects of
knowledge derived through the medium of the senses. The
comparative merits of pious seekers of virtue against the fallen
creatures who have entangled themselves in sinful acts, have been
delineated as the stepping-stone of the staircase of Religion. The second step is
known as the maintainer of the neutrality of virtue and sin, practitioner of the neutral
phase of distinctive temporal specification in dismissal of manifestation, and finally
the rejecter of the three aspects of observer, observation and observed against the
enjoying mood of the religionist. The third step inculcates the process of devotion
as the medium free from the indirect method of negation of temporary phenomena.
Then comes the fourth step where the ambitious fruits desired by elevationists and
salvationists are not traceable. The Supreme Teacher admits the claim of loving
devotion against the non-loving substratum of clouded and unclouded gains which
are in other words rupturous and void of love. We deal here with the different
perspective phases of devotional love which has very little to do with the ordinary
situation of the numerous shareholders of this mundane existence.
The Object of devotion has no co-sharer to dissuade the ambition of a true
aspirant. The unalloyed free soul has an innate volcanic activity known as love for
the One Object and he is never to be expected to pick up anything for his own which
would rouse up jealousy of birds of the same feather, but to achieve the only success
of directing all interests from their contending activities to the One. This One is not
to be supposed to discourage any favoured servitor from his particular phase of
loving service.
To determine the Object of eternal love by the eternal true servitor, no foreign
element is to be tentatively introduced to create a distraction from the Absolute
Truth. Love may be effected in five successively different stages by the Lover to the
loved. The very Embodiment of Love has the Sole Entity of inviting the eternal
loved servitors through their five different Ratis innate in them. Whenever love is
attempted from a lower level it has a necessary tinge of reverence. Love is the
principal entity in the tie uniting the two. In mundane phenomena love is described
as ephemeral and non eternal. But when the lover and the loved are both eternally
reciprocated, such love is not to be confused with our present experience of what is
denominated as mundane love. The element in a subtle, gaseous form, when
condensed, becomes a liquid in the language of the scientist, and the liquid can in
its turn be solidified by gradual development. From transcendental non-relativity
love is traced to change its subtle form, taking the shape of unalloyed loving service
to loving friendship and then to confidential loving friendship.

2
2 THE GAUDIYA OCTOBER 2009
 Thus Spake Srila Âchâryadeva
It is precocious to
try to acquire the
complete knowledge
by means of the
incomplete human
efficiency. Those who
arrive at hasty
conclusions are
unable to get at the
real truth. First, listen
and meditate on what
you have listened and then speak. We have
no time to listen. The society, in which
we are borne and brought up, is full of so
much materialism, that we cannot, while
in it, spare a single moment to deliberate
on the eternal life beyond. We do not even
try to know our real self. In this world,
the majority of people are engaged in work
other than that of spiritual uplift: as the
boys in playing, the youth in family affairs,
the old in the preservation of health and
wealth etc. The human beings are thus
quite indifferent to the everlasting value
of life in preference of the worldly
interests. Many say that it is not necessary
to think of the spiritual well-being instead
of making effort for the present interest in
worldly affairs for the future.
"Kshetrakarma Bidhiyate" But it
, b the correct behaviour will follow.
should not be so. If learning is not
acquired in the boyhood, much difficulty
is surely to be experienced during the
following period of youth. The wellwisher
of the society thinks for the well-being of
others along with his efforts to maintain
self-interest so that the spiritual upliftment
may not be hindered by the gross
materialism. If a man is, indeed wise, he
will at every step, consider the relation of
the eternal existence with the day-to-day
activities.
p
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
Everything has two aspects, the outer
and the inner. The outer one is the crust
and inner one is the thing itself. Take
the example of a letter inside its cover.
Likewise let every one do not
understand the body to be the soul. The
body is the outer crust. The soul is inside
that crust. "Get up, follow the path of
the supreme good". The Vedas, by this
song of awakening, are exciting the
dormant consciousness of the real-self
of the jiva whose heart will be resounded
by the heart-touching tune of this song
of awakening. It will touch that heart
where the apathy to worldly attachment
has already awakened. He will pay heed
to song who has realised that nothing of
this world is the matter of his desire; that
nothing of this world will be able to give
him real peace; that no system or
arrangement of this world is good for
him but on the other hand, it is the source
of boundless miseries. So he is "
impatiently eager to listen to the advice
of the scriptures, the song of awakening.
As the Sadhus are the bearers of this
m.
'Shabdabrahma', so he runs to their feet.
If the listening is perfect, the idea will
be caught when the meaning is realised
Without right behaviour, the listening,
chanting and so-called performance of
religion are baseless and meaningless.
The result of the scriptural advice is
achieved only after proper listening to
them and thereby realising their
meaning and by adopting proper
behaviour thereafter.
n
The entire humanity may be T
categorised into three groups. In the first
group are those who follow the life of
3
 worldly-mindedness (pravrittimârga). In
the second group are those who follow
the path of renunciation (nivrittimârga).
In the third group are those who are
devotees following the Bhakti-mârga.
Almost hundred percent of the humanity
are worldly-minded. Everyone wants to
enjoy material things. The scripture says
that from the very moment of birth the
mind of human being is directed towards
the mundane affairs, the pravrittimârga.
Consequently, they are placed in the cycle
of deaths and births (Samsâra Chakra).
The recluse is an emanicipationist. The
former, the worldly minded man, wants
to have, here, the material enjoyments and
heavenly comforts there after death. The
devotee does not want any of the two.
Both of them are full of desire. The
emancipation is, however, capable of
entering into the devotees way of life, the
Bhakti-Mârga. Humbleness, the
preliminary requirement to enter into the
Bhakti Mârga, is present in the
nivrittimârga, the path of renunciation.
. The serving attitude has not, however
developed, in them. The emancipation is
considered by them as the summum
bonum of life. But this attitude does not
lead them to the Lotus Feet of the God,
though their nivrittimârga is the first step
of the spiritual effort, the Sâdhana to reach
at the Lotus Feet of the god. The
conditions
ervic of the jivas are of three kinds
as (i) those with the predominant
sentiment of sensual enjoyments, (ii) those
with predominant sentiment of abstinence,
and (iii) those with the predominant
sentiment of service to God or devotion
to God.

ALMANAC for the months of OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2009

09.10.2009 Fri Disappearance of Srila Narottama Thmâkur
11.10.2009 Sun Bahulmâshtami. Dipping in Sri Rmâdhmâ Kund
12.10.2009 Mon Appearance of Srila Veerachandra Prabhu. Demise of Srimad
Sakhicharan Dmâs Bmâbmâji Maharmâj.
14.10.2009 Wed Sri Rammm â Ekmm âdashi Fasting. Next day Pmârana between 5.36
and 9.27 a.m. .03 2 9

18.10.2009 Sun Deepmâvali, Lighting Lamps in Vishnu Temple

19.10.2009 Mon SRI GOVARDHANA PUJA. Annakuta Mahotsava, Gopuja, King
Bali Puja. Appearance of Srila Rasikmânanda Prabhu
20.10.2009 Tue Disappearance of Srila Vmâsudeva Ghosh Thmâkur
26.10.2009 Mon Gopmâshtami, Goshtmâshtami, Disappearance of Srila Gadmâdhara Dmâs
Goswmâmi, Srila Dhananjaya
e Pandit and Srila Srinivmâsmâchmârya
29.10.2009 Thu Utthmm âna Ekmm âdashi Fasting. Next day Pmârana between 5.44 and
9.28 a.m. Disappearance of Srila Gaura Kishore Dmâs Bâbâji Mharâj
01.11.2009 Sun Disappearance of Srila Bhugarbha Goswmâmi and Srila Kmâshiswara
Pandit. Demise of Sripmâd Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharmâj
02.11.2009 Mon Concluding day of Chmâturmmâsya Vrata, Urjmâvrata. Rmâsotsava of Lord
Sri Krishna. Disappearance of Srila Sundarmânanda Thmâkur. Advent
of Srila Nimbmârka Achmârya. Kmârtika Poornima
03.11.2009 Tue Beginning of Kmâtymâyani Vrata 9.28
09.11.2009 Mon Demise of Srimad Bhakti Sambandha Turymâshrami Maharmâj

4 THE GAUDIYA OCTOBER 2009

m
 SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA
AN INTRODUCTION
Sripad B.S.Narayan Maharaj
(Continued from August issue)
Physical and mental progress by
neglecting the spirit produces clever
devils whose vicious nature tend to
destroy the world. A spiritually
enlightened person alone is the real
human being, others are subhuman and
inhuman beasts. Therefore, you should
take 10% care of your physical body,
15% care of your mind, and 75% care
of your self or the spirit in holy
association by offering absolute love to
the Supreme Lord, brotherly affection
to all the living beings and balanced
detachment towards all the worldly
matter like body, wealth, relatives,
household, eatables, enjoyments,
belongings etc. This is the only path
that leads you to absolute success.
LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE:--
Knowledge in this world has three
dimensions such as physical, mental
and spiritual. Knowledge pertaining to
the physical level is known as 'instinct'
which remains with all the living beings
like men, women, animals, beasts,
insects, birds, trees etc. in the form of
eating, sleeping, defending and mating.
u
Knowledge in the mental level is
known as 'logic' which is exhibited by
the human beings and partly by some
animals. Mundane logic or the mental
reasoning of the fallen jivas depends
upon the imperfect informations
collected by the defective senses.
Therefore, this empiric logic is
defective, deceptive, limited, distorted,
eclipsed, imperfect and misleading.
This is unfit in the quest of the absolute
reality due to its inherent defects. It
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
can only give some limited information
regarding the relative situations and
transitory objects of this world.
Knowledge in the spiritual level is known
as the realisation, which is acquired by
the pure spirit through divine revelation
which transcends the barriers of time and
space. This pure revealed knowledge
alone can help us in the achievement of
self-realisation and God-realisation. The
spiritual realisation also augments eternal
righteousness, noble humanism, God-
consciousness, pure devotion, divine
love and absolute success. Srimad
Bhagavad Gita is the quintessence of this
absolute divine revelation which
transcends the limitations of sense-
perception and mental-speculation. At
the absence of this exalted divine
wisdom, the mundane knowledge of
sense-perception and mental speculation
misguides the human society by
producing confusion, perversion,
ignorance, selfishness, deception,
inhumanness and down fall. Spiritually
ignorant people live in total darkness,
remaining ignorant about their own real
form, real nature, real duty, real situation,
real success etc., and vainly waste their
own lives in false pursuits and harmful
activities. The Gita provides spiritual
light to the human beings that enables
them to realise themselves, understand
the cosmos and to visualise the Supreme o
Absolute Lord. Without the knowledge
of Gita, human beings are just like blind
frogs living in a dried up well, falling into
the mouth of the dragon of time.
Aversion towards the Gita is the greatest
misfortune on the part of human beings.
5
 Gita compassionately invites the entire
humanity to cultivate this supreme
divine culture of loving devotion and
to avail the choicest blessings of the all-
blissful Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, to
enjoy infinite joy in eternally serving
Him in His transcendental abode known
as Goloka-Vaikuntha.
PROOF OF THE ABSOLUTE:--
Veracity of various facts depends
upon the befitting proofs of established
evidences in this world. There exist
eight types of scriptural evidences such
as, --- sense perception, inference,
analogy, revealed sound, tradition,
absence of acquirement, presumption
and probability. Among these eight fold
evidences, the 'revealed sond' alone is
the proper evidence in the spiritual
matters. The other seven kinds of
evidences can be accepted, only if they
remain fully allegient to the revealed
sound. This revealed sound transcends
the limitations of phenomenal nature of
time and space. When the great sages
like Narada, Veda Vyasa, Yajnavalkya
etc. achieve spiritual perfection through
their devotional performance of divine
consciousness, they transcend the
barriers of time, space and phenomenal
qualities. In such a state of devotional
trance they achieve divine communion
and receive the divine revelations
regarding the absolute reality. These
revelations are eternal, absolute, perfect
and infinite as they are the direct words
of the Supreme Lord. When you tune
your radioset perfectly to the wave
length of the broadcasting station, you
can receive the message of that radio
t
centre. Similarly, the spiritually
enlightened sages tune their spirits to
the divine revelations of the
transcendental abode of the Supreme
6 THE GAUDIYA
Lord by dint of their loving devotion
and in turn they receive the messages
of divine truth which are known as the
Vedas and Upanishads. Gita is the
cream of all the Upanishads, hence it
is the absolute evidence and universal
advice of the Supreme Reality.
P
BE HONEST AND IMPARTIAL:--
Avoidance of all kinds of evils,
acceptance of regular holy company
and adherance to good conduct are liek
essential for the students of the Gita.
The noble qualities like penance, purity,
compassion and truth are the four
pillars of righteousness. The evils like
intoxication, illicit company, butchery
and gambling are the fourfold evils that
destroy these four pillars of
righteousness by enhancing pride,
impurity, cruelty and falsehood.
Therefore, those who engage in the acts
of drinking liquor, illicit sex, meat-
eating and gambling are ineligible to
cultivate the culture of Gita. A follower
o be of Gita should transcend the triple
qualities of phenomena and avoid
demonical traits to reach the platform
of pure goodness and divine excellence.
Those who harm other humanbeings
and innocent animals are demonical
brutes. A devotee of Gita should be a
pure vegetarian and he should accept
only consecreted food (Prasâdam) that
is offered to the Supreme Lord. He
should be the wellwisher of all the
for living beings in this world.
WITHOUT GITA THERE IS NO WELL
BEING:--
Gita discloses the various facets
and traits of the Absolute Infinity and
endeavours to reform and reclaim the
fallen souls from their age-long
ignorance, misfortune and
misguidance. (to be contd.)
OCTOBER 2009
 MAHÂBHÂRATA
Sri M.C.Mahesh
(Contd. from August issue)
Duryodhana sneeringly twitched
his face and left the chamber in a huff.
Calling his friends and dependants
he met them in conclave and expressed
his desire to perform the Râjasuya
sacrifice. On their advice Duryodhana
met his priests, who voiced their
disapproval "As long as Yudhishthira
is alive you cannot get coronated as
emperor, as the canons of the Râjasuya
prohibit the existence of rivals.
However, you can perform the exalted
Vaishnava sacrifice that fetches merit
equal to that obtained by executing the
Râjasuya. You must subjugate the
inimical kings first."
Karna set out on the task of
conquering all hostile princes and
nobles. What four of the Pândavas did
on the eve of the Râjasuya, Karna
accomplished single-handed. He
moved about like a raging fire all over
ancient India and suppressed many a
belligerent monarch and warrior. The
armour he wore saved him from death
in all battles, and he emerged
unparalleled and victorious.
Duryodhana began the
preparations for the commencement of
the Vaishnava Yajna. Goldsmiths
fashioned a golden plough in their
anvils and Duryodhana personally
ploughed the sacrificial land. Though
there was a spectacular display of
weath and though the hospitality was
lavish, people felt that the Râjasuya of
Yudhishthira had been far more
impressive.
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
Karna took an oath to kill Arjuna,
in the presence of Duryodhana and his
followers, after the sacrifice came to a
conclusion, "Till I meet Arjuna in battle
and send him to the god of death, I will
not allow my servitors to wash my feet.
I will not partake of wine or any
intoxicating viands. And if any
pbrâhmana
r asks me for a favour, I will
not refuse him anything."
The irascible ascetic Durvasa
came to Hasthinapura with ten
thousand of his disciples and students.
Fearing the deadly wrath of the sage
Duryodhana attended on them
punctiliously. Pleased with him, qu
Durvasa magnanimously offered a
boon. Taking the chance to harm the
Pândavas, Duryodhana pleaded with
Durvasa to meet them in their forest- le
abode and bless them. He knew that
the akshaya pâtra or inexhaustible
copper-vessel, bestowed by Surya,
would become empty after Draupadi
had partaken of her food for the day.
And so he requested Durvasa to go after
ng midday. Finding the Pândavas slack
in their hospitality and unable to
provide food and drink for his retinue,
Durvasa was sure to pronunce a curse
in a fit of temper.
Durvasa came to the cottage of the
Pândavas and Yudhishthira washed his
feet in the traditional manner. It was
evening, and Durvasa said that he
would come for food after bathing in a
nearby stream. Surrounded by ten
thousand of his disciples, Durvasa left. you
On witnessing the massive "
7
 "
congregation Draupadi was dismayed,
for the copper-vessel given by Surya
B was now empty. Krishna was her only
succour in distress and she frantically
appealed to him.
In the far away island of Dwaraka,
Krishna heard her fervent prayer. He
materialised before her by using His
transcorporeal powers.
With a tantalising look Krishna
teased her.
"Draupadi, I am famished and
weary after my arduous travel. Bring
Me food!"
"The copper-vessel given by Surya
is empty for the day. Durvasa has come
as our guest, and I have called You only
to feed him. You are mercilessly
compounding my problems."
"Can I have a look at the copper-
vessel? Many say that it is of burnished
metal and etheric to behold."
With an angry scowl on her sky-
blue face Draupadi fetched the vessel.
Krishna took out a grain of rice from
the vessel. He ate that grain that He
had gleaned from the akshaya pâtra
with a prayer: 'May the soul of the
cosmos be satiated with this offering.'
The Lord Who sleeps on the waters
of causation having Time for His bed
was appeased with a single grain of rice.
This transcendent Lord is immanent in
all of creation, and there was now no
creature in all the fourteen universes
which was hungry. Durvasa and his
disciples were mysteriously satiated
and thought that they could eat no more.
Fearing the wrath of their righteous host
whom they had offended, they slunk
away unceremoniously.
Krishna sent Sahadeva to call the
guests for food, and Sahadeva reported
8 THE GAUDIYA
.
that the mendicant and his followers
were not to be seen in the river. With an
enigmatic smile, Krishna turned to the
Pândavas, "They will never again return.
Draupadi called Me and I responded to
her loving supplications. She has fed
Me, though only symbolically, and now
there is no hunger in the cosmos."
Krishna left, and the Pândavas were
now overawed by their realisation of
Krishna's Divinity. The universe is only
rishna
a phantasmagoria of illusory
appearances superimposed upon reality,
and when Krishna is satisfied so are all
His innumerable creations.
"Y One day, Duryodhana's brother-in-
law and the king of Sindhu, Jayadratha,
was passing by the woods where the
Th
Pândavas stayed. He had married
Duhshala, the pretty daughter of
Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Many a
stalwart warrior accompanied
Jayadratha on his pleasure-trip. Some
rode on horseback, some went on foot
and there were others riding hardy
chariots. All were armed to the teeth. "
o
The Pândavas were away, and
Se
Draupadi was sitting on the porch of her
cottage, passing her fingers through her
raven coloured tresses that were now
unbraided. Dhaumya was nearby,
hewing wood for the sacrificial-fire.
Seeing Draupadi, Jayadratha was
smitten by the flower-arrow of Cupid.
These darts of Kâmadeva had beguiled
many a serious ascetic, and now
Jayadratha was overpowered by sin.
Meeting Draupadi, Jayadratha
spoke to her: "Why are you wasting your
youth that will pass away like a dream--
the Pândavas have only brought you
suffering. Will you become my
nt
OCTOBER 2009
 cherished queen and rule over my
fertile land?"
Setting down the wicker-basket of
forest-flowers that she was carrying, "
an annoyed Draupadi warned him.
"Duhshala is my sister-in-law,
and you are like a brother to me. Do
not tarnish this sacred relationship. A
coward that you are, you cannot face
my husbands in straight battle!"
A love-lorn Jayadratha was
incited into sin by his own innate
wickedness and he lifted Draupadi and
threw her into his chariot.
Dhaumya's remonstrances were in
vain and Jayadratha rode away with his
ill-gotten quarry.
The Pândavas returned not very
late, and learnt of Draupadi's abduction
from a sorrowing Dhaumya. Wearing
their armour and tying their weapons
to their breastplates, the five warriors
pursued the runaway king. Overtaking
the wicked captor, Arjuna and others
shot at his supporters. The soldiers of
Sindhu fell and rolled in the mud, and
were trampled by their own bolting
chargers. Getting panickly at the sight
of this devastation, Jayadratha freed
Draupadi and rode on in mortal fear. on
Bheema and Arjuna decided to
pursue the offender, but Yudhishthira
warned them gently "For Duhshala's
sake, spare the life of this wretch."
The others returned to their
dwelling with a trembling Draupadi.
Arjuna's arrows zipped past the
offender and pierced his coursers.
n
Jayadratha lept down and tried to flee
on foot to save his dear life. Bheema
overpowered him and pummelled him
with his fist. Arjuna pulled back an
uncontrollable Bheema, and repeated
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
Yudhishthira's advice.
Bheema spared Jayadratha's life,
but cut his hair grotesquely leaving
patches of irregular tufts. Binding
Jayadratha with cords of hemp, he said
"If you declare that you are a slave of
Yudhishthira and the sinless Draupadi
whom you have so shamefully
wronged, your life will be spared."
Bheema flung his captive at the
feet of his elder and Draupadi, back in
the hermitage. Yudhishthira spared his
life, and strangely enough the proud
and self-conscious Draupadi endorsed
the clemency. Yudhisthira freed
Jayadratha from slavery and undid the
cords of fibre that bound him.
Jayadratha was sore and sick
beyond
e endurance, and he did not
return immediately to his kingdom. On
the serene banks of the Ganga he
performed intense askesis to please y
Shiva. Shiva is bound by the call of any
devotee, saint and sinner alike, and is
the easiest of the gods to please.
Jayadratha looked up and saw the
master of ascetics. There was a fleecy
crescent-moon on his matted tresses.
The river Ganga on whose banks the
askesis was performed was seen
spouting forth from the Lord's head.
!
Shiva's azure face had three eyes, with
the eye of omniscience in the middle
."of his forehead. He wore rudrâksha
beads
W on his arms and chest, and had
smeared three lines of holy-ash on his
head. Poisonous serpents were
slithering down his neck and arms, and
the master of death was immune to their
venom. He held aloft a trident that had
a drum down beneath the three prongs.
oson uss
"Ask!" said Shiva "If it is within
my power, it will be given."
9
 Jayadratha promptly mumbled
"Then let me slay the Pândavas in
battle."
Shiva smiled pitifully and said
with a half suppressed sneer, "Even I
cannot outdo them in combat! Krishna
protects them, and Krishna is the soul
of the cosmos. Have you not heard that
Arjuna and Krishna are incarnations of
e the primordial god Nârâyana and the
archetypal human Nara? You cannot
face them in any battle. However, you
can check the advance of the other u
Pândavas once --- just once. It will
come to pass in a great war that is sure
to occur. And you can choose the time
of this partial victory by remembering
me."
Shiva disappeared, and in an
ambivalent frame of mind Jayadratha
went back to his kingdom.
The sage Mârkandeya came to
visit the Pândavas again, and the
illustrious seer narrated the tale of
Satyavan and Savitri. Every Hindu
knows this tale of the victory of a
chaste wife over fate and death, and
every succeeding age has preserved
this cherished tale as a motif of its
ethos. Mârkandeya left, and the
twelve-year exile almost came to an
end.
A pious mendicant lived near the
precincts of the cottage of the
Pândavas. He used to ritually kindle
fire everyday by rubbing two pieces of
wood. The fire would be preserved for
of the day in an utensil shaped like a
mortar. These kindling-sticks were dry
pieces of tinder, but were as effective
as flint for producing fire. (During
ancient days, brâhmanas used to
ritually kindle fire for their sacrifices-
10 THE GAUDIYA
everyday. Three fires were worshipped
by them everyday in their sacrifices--
the ahavaniya, gârhapatya and
dakshinagni. In the first of these three
fires libations were offered to the Vedic
demigods like Indra and Varuna. The
second fire was used to discharge the
obligatory rituals that formed a part of
their everyday routine. This fire was
carefully tended and never exinguished, !
and when the brâhmana died he was
cremated with the gârhapatya fire. In
the third fire oblations were offered to
the manes or the departed ancestors, to
quieten the cravings of their subtle-body
and grant them peace.) One day, a deer
was romping and frisking in the "
mendicant's cottage. The mortar and
tinder-sticks were hung from a tree, and
these got entangled in the horns of the
deer. The deer apparently got frightened
D
and ran away wildly, carrying the
kindling-sticks and mortar in its tangled
antlers. (to be continued)
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 DO GOOD TO OTHERS
Sri Nimananda Dasadhikary Sevatirtha
(Contd. from August issue)
At once all things, animate or
inanimate felt the desire and came out
for the construction. The sea, over
which the bridge was to be constructed,
remained still, the stone refused to sink,
the squirrel brought straws as building
materials. Thus in no time was the
bridge constructed.
These illustrations clearly
indicate that one Supreme Being
pervades through all, great or small,
animate or inanimate. In His
satisfaction lies the satisfaction of all.
If He is served all are served, and if He
desires their service, they all feel the
call.
Sriman Mahaprabhu teaches that
jiva is in reality the servant of Krishna.
The fundamental function of every
soul, whether in the garb of a man or
of a tree or of a stone, is to serve
Krishna, their Lord. In service of Him
only lies the salvation of the jiva. He
will have to regain through service the
plane of consciousness which he has
lost through his non-serving attitude.
Hence good done to the body is not the
highest good, neither is good done to
the mind so; good done to the soul is
what is the real good, the highest good.
It is the supreme duty of every one to
serve Him and help others to do the
same. There should be no flickering,
no wavering and no running away. If
we fail in it, we commit a double crime-
-- we commit suicide and, at the same
time, help others do the same directly
or indirectly. We commit a double
crime when we kill any life for our
food, we commit a double crime when
we cut trees for fuel to cook our food,
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
we commit a double crime when we
cut stones for the construction of our
house, we commit a double crime
when we draw water for our drink. In
every such action if it is not done as a
sacrifice unto Krishna and for His
satisfaction, we commit there two-fold
crimes. Let the cook prepare
vegetables for Him, the drawer draw
water for Him, the hewer fell trees for
Him, the mason make construction for
Him, the plough-man open his furrows
for Him, the scientist make inventions
for Him and so on. Let the whole
universe be one temple in which are
engaged His several servants in serving
. Him in their different capacities. The
nature of works make no difference in
the quality of devotion. All these are
services to Lord Kishna, and all doing
these for Him are His servants.
Remember Lord Krishna is the
Absolute Master of the whole universe:
He is the sole Lord of sacrifice; He
admits no partner in this business.
Whatever we think, whatever we do,
whatever we consume must be first
dedicated unto Him, lest we become
usurpers. In the matter of ascertaining
the nature of the offerings, that is, what
should be offered to Him and what not,
we shall have to refer to our scriptures.
We should not do anything, think
anything and consume anything if it is
in not warranted by the scriptures. The
scriptures embody the will of Krishna
and one, who transgresses the
scriptures, transgresses His will, and
consequently, his offerings will not be
acceptable to Him. A servant must
always do the will of his Lord or he is
not a servant.
11
(
 Let the patriot always remember
that the freedom for which he is fighting
at present is another bondage. The
world is a prison-house; and whatever
we do here for the re-adjustment of our
position as a mundane entity, we only
manage thereby to strengthen its walls
against us. So long as we are in this
prison-house, our talk of freedom with
reference to our existence here is
merely the talk of changing cells. The
things that we fight to possess, possess
us in turn. Our attempt to become their
lord leads us to become their servants.
Thus we run from one subjection to
another. This is a punishment, and
Krishna wills it. There will be no flying
away from this long chain of
subjections. Let us not then confine our
attention to such seeming gains which,
in reality, entail on us a heavy loss. Let
us rise above all fetich and superstition
and view things from quite a different
angle of vision, view them with spiritual
eyes, when they will appear in their true
perspective colours. Let us embrace the
whole world with a loving heart and
thereby prove ourselves worthy of the
descent from that All-loving Father on
high. Evil strengthens evil and hatred
strengthens hatred. If we desire to free
this world of its evils, then let us return
evil with good, hatred with love and
anger with smile. We should turn our
right cheek to them who smite us on
the left. Knowledge cannot be gained
by superstition and love not by hatred.
Gain love by loving and service by
serving. Approach all with a loving and
serving attitude, and we will find all
doing the same to us in return. So long
as we bare ill-will to the tiger, the latter
will have the same feeling towards us.
But as soon as we become God-loving,
the tiger will forget its ferocity and love
us. For did not the mad elephant, which
12 THE GAUDIYA
was intended to kill Prahlad, take him
on his back and dance in ecstacy? Did
not the venomous serpent intended to
bite him, wear a loving look and begin
r to play on his lap? None did him any
harm. Such is the influence one God-
loving exercises even on these wild
Pr mischievous animals whose nature it is
to do wrong. Let us then, even when
hurt by our enemies, say "O Lord!
forgive them, for they know not what
they are doing." Let us reciprocate their
ill-will with love for them.
Sriman Mahaprabhu came with this
message of love and invited all to preach
it in every part of the world. Against it
there can be no party. All are equally by
interested. Questions of caste, creed or
colour do not arise. Sriman Mahaprabhu
did not recognise superiority of any on
mere consideration of high birth, age,
rank, learning etc. According to Him
he who serves Krishna is the greatest of
all. He says:-- (to be contd..)
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OCTOBER 2009
 The Special Characteristics of the Acharya
Prof. Sri Nishi Kanta Sanyal
(Contd. from August issue)
Another special charcteristic that
we notice in this Acharya is that he is
ever successful in carrying out what he
once resolves to accomplish. For him
there is no such word as 'impossible',
and no one considers it worth his while
to confront him with the plea of
impossibility. He is sure to carry to its
conclusion whatever he undertakes
despite all difficulties, that seem to
ordinary people to be insuperable,
standing in the way of the progress of
his efforts, he is privileged to view as
inevitable what appears to those who
are ignorant of the real truth as wholly
impossible. In predicaments in which
we are reduced to despair and are
unnerved by apprehensions of utter
futility he piles up what appear to our
judgment further mountains of the
impossible in order to transform all that
formidable means of accumulated
impossibilities into the golden
mountain ranges of smiling
possibilities.
Not one of the resolves that he has
ever conceived has been found to have
remained unexecuted. In this respect
he is comparable to the fine head of a
titanic figure of embodied divine
service the fertile germinating soil of
a perennial succession of springing
shoots of a never ending chain of the
most perfect resolves of the service of
the Lord. Those who are unable to
carry to their fruition those
conceptions, or who happen to lag
behind, fail to preserve any further
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
connection with the wonderful caput.
Those limbs that prove unfit to serve
the head can never continue to share its
life. This remarkable fact is noticeable
in connection with every act of service
resolved upon with consummate skill
by this great Acharya. He never
believes that the worldly can serve the
transcendental, that utilitarian activities
are of any help in the service of God.
He never believes that the spiritual
religion can be promulgated by means
of money or by the heroes of worldly
achievements. He maintains that by the
spirit of serving the transcendental
alone all that is worth gaining is
realised. Where such spirit of service
is lacking the value of all the riches of
this world is less than a bad brass
farthing. If the zeal for serving the
transcendental be absent the hero of
action is as useless as a dead man. He
says that it is possible for one to
continue to be a preacher of the religion
just so long as his inclination for such
service remains in tact. In the absence
of the pure spirit of service the
magnificent edifices fail to retain their
character of temples of God and the
dwellings of His devotees and
inevitably degenerate into the brothels
of Ganja smoking rascals. He says that
the sacred monastery (Sri Math) is the
only place of pure Kirtan. The place
where the service of the Lord in shape
'.
of pure Kirtan that is free from all
mundane quality is wanting, will be
automatically transformed either into
the hermitage (âshrama) for the practice
13
 of austerities prompted by the desire of
self-seeking as opposed to service due
to the preponderance of the force of the
adulterated Sattva (rational) quality or
by the prevalence of the râjasik (active)
quality will degenarate into the
community of the village in other
words the sacrificial settlement for the
practice of the sexual function, or by
the predominance of the tâmasik
(ignorant) quality be converted into the
dens of gambling, ganja smoking and
other dissipations. It is for this reason
that he is not in favour of accumulation
of riches in any Math. He maintains
that if the accumulated wealth fall into
the hands of persons who are
disassociated from God such Maths are
sure to degenerate sooner or later into
places of this world which is the realm
of unspiritual activities instead of
retaining their character as places of
Kirtana that is free from all mundane
quality.
The special character of the
language of Sri Siddhanta Saraswati
Thakur constitutes one of the most
remarkable peculiarities of this great
Acharya. Language is fashioned by
thought. Language is the external
manifestation of the inner mental state.
The mind of this Acharya transcending
the tracks of all mundane thought is
perennial with the mood of spiritual
service radiant with the light of pure
cognition and the whole compass of his
thoughts wears the fresh charm of the
constant endeavour to minister to the
pleasure of the senses of Krishna. It is
to be expected that the language of such
a person should correspond to this
unique characteristic of his thought.
Everyone is in a position to realise
for himself the unbridgeable gap that
14 THE GAUDIYA
completely separates the language used
by this great Acharya from that which
prevails in the ordinary literature and
intercourse of the world. The direction
of thought and of ideal of the world of
today is towards selfish mundane
enjoyment. The nature of such
enjoyment is often liable to be
misunderstood for the reason that it
possesses a double aspect. There is the
attempt to enjoy positively or directly
uby means of the senses all the visible
rn
and conceivable objects of phenomenal
Nature. And secondly there also exists
the endeavour after indirect or negative
enjoyment of those very objects. And
both of these possess this respective
gross and subtle forms. This longing
for worldly enjoyment in its positive
and negative forms assumes a visible
shape in the literature of the Age.
If we care to analyse with even so
little attention the tendency of all current
linguistic efforts we should be able to
make the discovery that with the
instrumentality of speech the linguists
are madly riding in every direction on
the wild quest of enjoying Nature in
countless ways. The consuming fire of
lust whetted by the enjoyment of
woman who is after all only an
infinitesimal part of Nature in her
infinite vastness, directs its billion
flaming tongues on the Arch-
Enchantress herself for the gratification
of its unextinguishable thirst for selfish
enjoyment, in the shape of the vocal
efforts of the modern world. It is the
old performance of the builders of the
unfinished tower of Babel. (to be contd.)
The performance of the chant
of the Name of Sri Krishna with
loud voice, is alone the highest
form of doing good to others.
OCTOBER 2009 out
 THE FORTUNATE SOUL
Sri Bhakti Vidagdha Bhagavat Maharaj
(Contd. from August issue)
Just with that hope, Muchukunda
Maharaj was sleeping inside the cave
from Satya Yuga until the end of the
Dwapara. Lord Sri Kishna Himself
entered in the cave in guise of
destroying Kalayavana and blessing the
king Muchukunda with His Divine
Darshana. Therefore the potency of the
mercy of a great Vaishnava can never
decrease in the laps of time.
The great Vaishnava Acharya Srila
Viswanatha Chakravarti Thakur has
categorised fourteen different steps in
the process of self realisation. From the
very lowly conditioned state upto
realisation of Krishna-Mâdhurya a jiva
had to pass through all these fourteen
steps. At the very beginning Sâdhu
Kripa.
In some special instances where a
particular conditioned soul bismeared
himself with Vaishnava Aparâdha,
offences against devotees of the Lord.
Such a person disqualify himself to
receive Sadhu Kripa, even if the Sadhu
is willing to give his mercy. His
durdamaneeya Vaishnava Aparâdha
will not allow him to receive the
blessings. Such an incident has been
discribed with an episode of Daksha
Prajapati in Srimad Bhagavatam 4th
Canto and 6th Canto.
Sri Narada Muni advised Daksha's
sons to renounce all material
attachments and search for the ultimate Sri. head was slaughtered by Veerabhadra,
goal Vaikuntha. By his advice 11,000
sons of Daksha took renouce order of
life, in an early age. Devarshi Narada
now thought that "the dynasty of
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
Svayambhuva Manu are accepted by the
Supreme Lord through me. Such are
the cases of Priyavrata, Uttanapada,
Dhruva etc. Even king Pracheena Barhi,
who was very much attached to material
frutive activities was also delivered.
His ten sons named as Prachetasas, and
their grandsons 10,000 Haryaswas and
m.
1000 Sabalaswas are also started
walking
2. towards the Supreme Lord
from the human life. Only in between life.
Daksha, the son of Prachetasa still
playing in the dark well of material
householder's life. So I will also deliver
him. Now he was very sad ater hearing
all this offsprings have accepted
renounce order of life. Now this is the
most suitable time to give Anugraha to
Daksha Prajapati. Although at the
present moment he is not searching for
me, I must go to his house, my self."
Now Narada Muni arrived at the
rope
house of Daksha Prajapati to shower his reason
blessings upon him. But Daksha had he
Vaishnava Aparadha from his previous bla
life, when he was the son of Brahma
and his daughter Sati was the wife of
Shiva. He cursed Lord Shiva should be
bereft of his Puja in any fire sacrifice.
In Srimad Bhagavatam 4th Canto that
famous episode has been described in
detail. Sati ended her life with Yogagni,
just to detach her relationship with an
offencive father. As a result of offending
the Lord Shiva, who is greatest
Vaishnava, Daksha suffered a lot and his
an associate of Shiva, the sacrificial
ground was destroyed by the enraged
associates of Lord Shiva.
(to be continued)
15
 Questions and Answers for a value based living
Sri Gopal Das
(Contd. from August issue)
Q: Why does the God of death
sentence everybody to death?
A: The God of death knows that
all the people will succumb to the
Lord's deluding potency Maya.
Q: What blunder have the people
committed?
A: God has provided intelligence
and power of discrimination for the
-h
human being so that the human being
will use them to evolve the soul and
come back to Him. Instead he uses
them in perverted ways and proves
himself unworthy of the human birth
bestowed to him. He stops the
evolutionary process that has been
going on for millions of births.
n Q: How foolish is the human
being?
A: Even though he is sentenced to
death, birth after birth, he does not
approach Lord Krishna with a mercy
plea to acquit him. If he surrenders to
Him completely He can release him,
from the cycle of birth and death and
he can also enjoy eternal happiness.
Q: What is Maya?
A: In brief Maya is a deluding or
potency of Lord Krishna which makes
you think, that which is real as un-real
and that which is unreal as real.
Q: When will one come to know
that all that is going on in the world is
only like a dream?
A: Only when one wakes up from
sleep, he comes to know, that all that
he had experienced during sleep was
only a dream. Similarly when you
contact and awaken the soul
16 THE GAUDIYA
consciousness in you, you will come to
know that, all that is going on in the
world is similar to a dream. The soul is
always awake.
Q: Who goes to the Moon?
A: Only the ignorant who do not
know their real identity go to the moon
far far away to get fleeting happiness.
Men of wisdom who identify
themselves with the soul, go to the
moon right inside you the soul, (Divine
light), to get eternal happiness and
enlightenment.
Q: What is the worldly person
living for?
A: The worldly person is living to
enjoy only the peal of the fruit (the
body).
Q: What is the spiritual person
living for?
A: The spiritual person is living to pr
enjoy the fruit itself (enlighten the soul).
Q: A worldly person is said to be a
ridiculous person. Why?
A: Is it not ridiculous of a prson,
to be concerned of things which does
not concern him, when he is thoroughly
ignorant of things concerning his own
self? Who he is? Where does he come
from? Where does he go from here?
What is the purpose of the human birth?
etc.
Q: Who is a human being who does
not cultivate human qualities? !
A: He is a creature in human form
or an animal in human form.
Q: What is the duty of a puppet?
A: To dance to the tune of the
master.
(to be continued)
OCTOBER 2009
 BALANCED ABNEGATION
JUDICIOUSNESS IN WORLDLY AFFAIRS
Sri B.S.Narayan Maharaj
(Contd. from August issue)
Worldly minded fallen souls being
corrupted by lust, anger, greed and
selfishness, they remain averse to the
devotional and spiritual activities. In
such a degraded condition, these
!
materialists fail to perform any kind of
spiritual virtue. This is the main reason
for the misfortune of the maximum
percentage of human beings dwelling
in this world. Those who associate with
holy souls since their young age never
become a victim to such unfortunate
trends. One should know that, non
devotional life of worldly attachment
is an ocean of evils and sufferings. All
our senses should remain engaged in
the devotional service of the Supreme
Lord, to achieve permanent wellbeing.
The material objects available in this
world are just meant for the fulfilment
of our needs. Undue meddling with the
material objects shall cause downfall.
It is in the same manner as a ship
remaining in an ocean should remain
always cautious about the water of the
ocean. If the water of the ocean is
inadvertantly allowed to enter the boat,
it shall get drowned and ruined. You
may remain in an ocean of materialism,
but never allow them to enter your
heart. One may remain in the world but
only Lord should be allowed to remain
in the heart. That is jagat (world)
outside and Jagannath (the Lord)
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
OR
inside for a successful life. In Gita also
Lord Krishna explains that the worldly
attachment of the living beings results
in their destruction by continuously
causing desire, anger, delusion, mental
derrangement, loss of intelligence and
doom.
32. AVOID PSEUDO ABNEGATION:
As we have learnt that, balanced
abnegation is very much conducive to
the universal wellbeing, we should
precisely understand about the proper
practice of this process. Sri Bhakti
Rasamrita Sindhu explains it as follows
(B.R.S.1.2.255,256): 'balanced
abnegation is that which a devotee with
a dispassionate attitude accepts only
such worldly matters which are
favourable for the devotional progress
by renouncing everything else.' Such
a matured devotee accepts whatever is
useful for the service of Lord Krishna,
by discarding all that is not favourable
for devotional service. There is one
kind of fake abnegation known as the
pseudo abnegation practised by non
devotional salvationists. Such people
f the abruptly discard all kinds of material
waer objects including those which are
favourable for divine service.
Rejecting the devotional objects is not
only foolishness, but also it is crime
and offence towards the Lord. This
pseudo abnegation is not useful for
devotion. Devotees should always
17
 je

practise balanced abnegation and can conclude about the worldly affairs
carefully avoid pseudo abnegation. as "all the constructions of this world
Bhakti is said to be the mother, whereas are just meant for destruction". An
knowledge and abnegation are her ordinary thinker may wonder as to the
children. When pure devotion is real purpose of the creator in adopting
generated by the help of holy such a universal law of colossul
association, the divine knowledge and destruction. While thinking from the
balanced abnegation follow this pure spiritual point of view only, one can get
devotion, without any kind of extra the answer for this enigma that, one has
effort. On the other hand, the to sacrifice all kinds of petty interests
materialistic knowledge and pseudo for securing a great treasure. Those who
abnegation that are found with the non always remain sticking to the petty
devotional and worldly minded people affairs can never achieve any kind of
tend to increase their worldly bondage. great success in this world. Undue
Non devotional knowledge and dry attachment to silly matters is quite
abnegation harden one's heart and root foolish, as it deprives one of worthy
out the tender sentiments of devotion. success in life. The one who spends a
We should always keep away from little and gains a huge wealth in
these negative factors. exchange is termed to be an intelligent
33. THE REAL INTELLIGENCE : person, whereas the one who spends a
Snakes generally prey upon frogs huge wealth and in turn gains some silly
and swallow them. These frogs are so coins is known as an idiot.
much greedy that, even when cought (to be contd.)
into the mouth of snakes, they greedily
stretch their tongues long enough to
catch some flying insects nearby.
Similarly, majority of the human beings
in this world remain constantly running
after various objects of sense pleasure,
even when the all-devouring time puts
an end to their worldly existence! They
make themselves so busy in vain
pursuits that, hardly they find any time
to think about the absolute reality or to
strive for their own permanent
wellbeing. Rarely a few among the
millions of worldly people may ponder
about the affairs happening in this world
and wonder as to the real meaning
underlying these events. Every created
entity and object just remains here for
only a short duration of time to meet
with inevitable destruction. Hence one

181 THE GAUDIYA OCTOBER 2009

 AESTHETIC CULTURE
Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
The proper cultivation of the
sense of beauty that is latent in the soul
is grossly neglected by the people of this
world pre-occupied with the never-
ceasing struggle for perpetuating their
ugly animal existence. In the
uncivilized state the simple needs of this
unaesthetic life are easily procured, and
man would seem to be in a better
position to attend to the dictates of his
suppressed aesthetic nature. But actual
experience has shown that this
hypothetical leisured savage is no more
attentive to the principles of true beauty
than toiling civilized humanity. That,
however, is not the reason why the
savage state appears to be loathsome to
civilized man. In proportion as man
becomes civilized, he affects to have
become aware of the grossly unaesthetic
character of man in the state of his
uncovered nature. Mundane
civilizations have taught man to hide
those admitted deformities of his nature
under the external thin coating of polish
supplied by the fine arts, etiquettes and
conventions of civilized society.
Civilized man is a more clever and
more constructive opponent of true
reformation. The fine arts derive their
inspiration as well as their material from
physical nature, the source of all
ugliness. In the words of Shakespeare
the only function of art is to hold up the
mirror to physical nature. The attempt
to exploit nature for one's gratification
is not the only mundane aesthetic
performance. The interest attaching to
the attempt to reproduce nature by
means of art is due to the fact that man
OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA
is kept in countenance by the
contrivance of the deluding potency
offering him the chance of such
fictitious performances for hiding his
and her ugliness. The improvement of
scientific knowledge becomes
necessary for this purpose.
The art of reproducing nature
possesses this fictitious aesthetic value
also only so long as it is a strictly
subordinate purpose. The sensuous
mind is pleased by the contemplation
of nature by the law of association, the
process being connected with our
bodily needs. The mind is thereby
enabled to project itself into the more
palpably ugly affairs of the body by
proxy. This is done in different ways.
In painting, the process takes the shape
of the skilful use of appropriate
shading, grouping, expression and
posture which impart to the pictorial
composition its value, by suggesting
further possibilities of sensuous
gratification.
All realistic representation has to
be enlivened by a subtle idealism
referring to the body. The function of
art has been supposed to co-exist in
giving a local habitation and a name
(referring to the connection of the idea
with the body) to airy nothings, the
possiblilty for such achievement being
supposed to be open only to the
'aesthetic' (or unaesthetic ?) faculty of
the 'designing' artist. This is 'the
consecration and the poet's dream'.
There are successful art critics who are
able to analyse a good song into its
gross motif and constituents. They are
19
y
r Y K * q w s v x ge
h a fgszxaAvfkc f a*.tewq
in the know. They can appreciate the
performances of the artist by reducing
them to the terms of the known
'commonplace' viz. the gross animal
needs of the body. The management
of the stage, for instance, becomes an
art in the hands of a person who knows
how pleasant illusions and surprises
can be produced by the manipulation
of ordinary and familiar reactions of
the light on the retina. The basis of art
is experience of the physical body and
capacity for acquiring such experience.
There are persons who are devoid of
the physical sense-apparatus for
appreciating music. No amount of
theoretical training can make up for the
absence of this 'natural' basis of artistic
temperament in their case.
The principle of the aesthetic
quality in art is traceable to the
possibility of providing indirect
gratification for the body and mind by
the resources of experience, by the
manipulation of material objects in
thier relation to the physical body. The
faculty that is able to discern what is
likely to be generally pleasing for this
purpose in a particular composition, is
the artistic faculty. The creative side
of this faculty, expresses itself in
different forms and in terms of different
materials. But art ultimately appeals
to the senses and to the mind which is
the king (as well as slave) over the
senses. If the object be to please the
eye, colour is used as the material, and
the resulting composition is variosly
designated as painting, decoration etc.
Proportion, symmetry, due
assortment, etc., are not themselves
also imponderable and unanalysable
principles. They appear to be so only
at first sight and by a kind of illusion
20 THE GAUDIYA
due to defects of the senses. The eye,
ear and every sense-organ are capable
of being imparted a fair measure of this
improvised aesthetic capacity by careful
drilling. The highest artistic capacity is
supposed to be a gift of nature only by
deference to an agelong superstition.
But man hopes to be able to manufacture
all the geniuses of the bygone times with
the progress of scientific knowledge.
Little children are actually imparted the
outlook of all the great geniuses of the
olden days in the kindergarten classes
of modern infant schools.
The nation, which happens to
possess the best country, the best
libraries and laboratories, the best
trained scholars, statesmen, etc., quickly
outdistances the achieve-ments of every n
other nation in the different fields of
human endeavour, including the
aesthetic. Every nation is also anxious
not to be left behind in this race of
civilization. The theory of the survival
of the fittest in the struggle for existence
is by no means the fiction that some of
the pilanthropists still affect to think it
is.
The term 'commercialism' perhaps
best expresses the typical method of the
immediate modern Age. Everything is
being rapidly and visibly
commercialised. The nation, that
possesses the strongest commercial
organisations and capacity, is also the
most successful in the struggle for all-
round efficient international existence.
Nothing, however, is so easy now-a-
days as the manufacture of experts.And
civilization is being made in its turn by
the experts in the laboratories. Nothing
that will sell can be made except with
the help of the most up-to-date
workshop. (to be continued)
OCTOBER 2009
n
num
 »y »y TϪ TÁ{∫ÁWÁ{ \Æo:
SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA
»y™ÙTƒËyoÁ
u˚oyÆÁzDÜÆÁÆ: CHAPTER-II
ÃÁÊPÆÆÁzT: SÂMKHYA YOGA
(Contd. from August issue)
EƒÁXƃÁtÁÊ≈Y §“Óãƒut…Æuão oƒÁu“oÁ: @
uåãtãoÀoƒ ÃÁ™·Æ˙ ooÁz tÏ:Qo∫Ê åÏ uN˛™Ω@@
˛Avâchyavâdâmscha bahun-
vadishyanti tavâhitâh |
nindantastava sâmarthyam
tato duhkhataram nu kim || 36
oƒ = Your, Eu“oÁ: = enemies,
uåãtão:= condemning, oƒ= your, ÃÁ™·Æ˙
= skill for fighting, ƒut…Æuão = will also
speak, §“ÓåΩ = many, EƒÁXƃÁtÁÊ≈Y =
unspeakable mean words like
cowardice etc., uNÊ˛ åÏ = what else, tÏ:Qo∫Ê b
= will cause you more pain, oo: = than
this ?
Your enemies condemning your
' ˛
skill for fighting will also speak many
unspeakable mean words like cowrdice
etc. What else will cause you more pain by
than this ? 36 betr th
Lord says the reward of a righteous
war here or hereafter:
“oÁz ƒÁ ú¿ÁõÀÆuà ÀƒT˙ u\nƒÁ ƒÁ ßÁzflÆÃz ™“y™Ω@
oÀ™ÁtÏuno…e N˛Á{ãozÆ ÆÏÈÁÆ Nw˛ouå≈YÆ: @@ 37˛ un
Hato vâ prâpsyasi swargam
jitvâ vâ bhokshyase maheem|
tasmât uttishtha kaunteya
yuddhâya kritanischayah|| 37
N˛Á{ãozÆ = Arjuna (O son of Kunti)!,
“o: ƒÁ = if killed in war, ú¿ÁõÀÆuà = you
will attain, ÀƒT˙ = heaven, u\nƒÁ ƒÁ = if
you win the war, ßÁzflÆÃz = you will enjoy,
™“Î = this world, oÀ™ÁoΩ = therefore ,
nk
Nw˛ouå≈YÆ: = deciding (to fight), ÆÏtΩáÁÆ =
this war, Guno…e = arise.
O Arjuna! If you killed in war you f
will attain the heaven. If you win the
war you will enjoy this world. Therefore
.
deciding to fight this war, arise. 37
The Lord propounds the law of work
in the world, free from sin:
ÃÏQtÏ:Qz Ùz Nw˛nƒÁ ¬ÁßÁ¬ÁßÁ{ \ÆÁ\ÆÁ{ @
ooÁz ÆÏtáÁÆ ÆÏ[ÆÀƒ å{ƒÊ úÁú™ƒÁõÀÆuà @@ 38
Sukhaduhkhe same kritvâ
lâbhâlâbhau jayâjayau|
tato yuddhâya yujyaswa
naivam pâpamavâpsyasi || 38
oo: = Therefore, ÙzNw˛nƒÁ = treating
as equal, ÃÏQtÏ:Qz = pleasure and pain,
¬ÁßÁ¬ÁßÁ{= gain and loss, \ÆÁ\ÆÁ{ = victory

OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA 21

 and defeat, ÆÏ[ÆÀƒ = prepare, ÆÏtΩáÁÆ =
for the war, LƒÊ = thus, å EƒÁõÀÆuà =
you will not incur, úÁúÊ = sin.
Therefore treating as equal,
pleasure and pain, gain and loss,
victory and defeat, prepare for the war,
thus you will not incur sin. 38
Nishkâma karma (Bhakti) leads to
liberation:
L Á ozDußu“oÁ ÃÁWΩPÆz §ÏuÈÆÁz|Tz unƒ™ÁÊ «ÁwmÏ @
§ÏÈ∞Á ÆÏMoÁz ÆÆÁ úÁs| N˛™|§ãáÊ ú¿“ÁÀÆuà @@ 39
˛ Eshâ teabhijitâ sâmkhye
buddhiryoge tvimâm shrinu |
budhyâ yukto yayâ pârtha
karmabandham prahâsyasi || 39 and nor sin is also seen (even if given up in
te
úÁs| = O Arjuna! L Á = this, §ÏutΩá:
= knowledge, ÃÁÊPÆz= about the truth i.e.,
matter and soul, Eußu“oÁ = has been
explained, oz = to you, «ÁwmÏ = listen,
F™ÁÊÆÁzTz oÏ = to this knowledge about
Bhakti Yoga i.e., loving service to the
Supreme Lord, ÆÏMo: = getting, ÆÆÁ §ÏtΩÜÆÁ
= the knowledge of which, ú¿“ÁÀÆuà =
you will completely give up, N˛™|§ãáÊ =
bondage of karma (action).
O Arjuna! This knowledge about
the truth i.e., matter and soul has been
explained to you. Now, listen to this
knowledge about Bhakti Yoga i.e.,
loving service to the Supreme Lord
getting the knowledge of which you o loving service i.e. Bhakti Yoga,
will completely give up the bondage
of karma. 39
The power of Bhakti Yoga:
åz“ÁußN¿˛™åÁ∆ÁzDuÀo ú¿nƃÁÆÁz å uƒtΩÆoz @
22 THE GAUDIYA
Àƒ¡ú™õÆÀÆ á™|ÀÆ fiÁÆoz ™“oÁz ßÆÁoΩ ˛@@ 40
Nehâbhikramanâshosti
pratyavâyo na vidyate|
svalpamapyasya dharmasya
trâyato mahato bhayât || 40
-
F“ = In this (Bhakti Yoga i.e.,
devotional service), å EuÀo åÁ∆: = there
is no loss of, EußN¿˛™ = initial effort, å
ú¿nƃÁÆ:˛ = nor sin, uƒtΩÆoz = is also seen
(even if given up in the middle), Àƒ¡úÊ
Euú = even a little, EÀÆ á™|ÀÆ = of this
dharma i.e., devotional service, fiÁÆoz =
delivers (the devotee), ™“o: ßÆÁoΩ =
from the terrible object of fear i.e.,
worldliness. 40
In this (Bhakti Yoga, i.e. devotional
service) there is no loss of initial effort
ahu
the middle). Even a little of this dharma
i.e. devotional service delivers (the
devotee) from the terrible object of fear
i.e. worldliness. 40
Devotional Service -- surest method
of deliverance:
√ƃÃÁÆÁun™N˛Á §ÏuÈ∫zNz˛“ NÏ˛ªåãtå @
§“Ï∆ÁQÁ —ÆåãoÁ≈Y §ÏuÈ™ÆÁzD√ƃÃÁuÆåÁ™Ω @@41
Vyavasâyâtmika buddhi
rekeha kurunandana |
bahushâkhâ hyanantâshcha
buddhiyo-vyavasâyinâm|| 41
NÏ˛ªåãtå= O descendent of Kuru --
Arjuna!, F“ = in the practice of this
√ƃÃÁÆÁun™N˛Á = one pointed or stead fast,
ƒÁ
§ÏutΩá: LN˛Á Lƒ = intelligence is exclusively ea
one -- viz. a genuine devotee thinks "my
(Cont. in page 24) ∫
OCTOBER 2009
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OCTOBER 2009 THE GAUDIYA 23

 (Cont. from page 22)
sadhana is to serve the Lotus Feet of the
Lord, to remember and glorify Him as
instructed by my Guru, that is only my
goal, that itself is the essence of my very
life; and it is impossible for me to give
up, this is only my desire; this is only my
duty and no other function than this; even
in dream I do not hanker after anything
else, by this I am happy or sorrowful or
my samsara is destroyed or not there is
no loss for me" -- such inflinching
devotion is possible only with sincere
devotees.) §Ï t Ω á Æ: = that knowledge,
E√ƃÃÁuÆåÁÊ = (other than in Bhakti Yoga,
the knowledge is not definite, that is why)
Bhakti Yoga, one-pointed or steadfast
intelligence is exclusively one (viz. a
genuine devotee thinks -- my sâdhana
is to serve the Lotus Feet of the Lord
, to remeber and glorify Him as
instructed by my Guru; that is only
my goal; that itself is the essence of
my very life, and it is impossible for
me to give up; this is only my desire;
this is only my duty and no other
function than this; even in dream I do
not hanker after anything else; by this
I am happy or sorrowful or my 5
samsara is destroyed or not there is
no loss for me -- such unflinching
devotion is possible only with sincere B

of those who are wanting in attachment
for Me i.e. desirous of ulterior objects,
§“Ï∆ÁQÁ: EåãoÁ: Y = (in karma yoga, as the
objects of hankering) are unlimited, and
the attention is diverted to multifarious
objects.
O descendent of Kuru, Arjuna! In
the practice of this loving service i.e.
B).
devotees). But knowledge (other than
in Bhakti Yoga, the knowledge is not
definite, that is why), of those who are
wanting in attachment for Me, i.e. ,
desirous of ulterior objects (in karma
yoga, the objects of hankering) are
unlimited and the attention is diverted
to multifarious objects. 41
(to be continued)

Sri Krishna Nama Samkirtana is the most potent,

important, and the highest means of attaining Krishna e
Prema like a Mantra, imbued with the power of attraction,
attracting its desired object, obtainable with great
difficulty, even from a great distance.

Hearing the auspicious Accounts and Deeds of Sri

Krishna and His Descents, an aspirant, unabashed, should
move about in this world, alone, singing His Songs, and
Names suggestive of His Pastimes. or

Brihat Bhagavatamritam

24 THE GAUDIYA OCTOBER

ar 2009