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GAUDIYA
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Vol. LIII JULY 2010 No. 11

MANGALÂCHARANAM

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O Lord! Though the universe is Your Abode, though Sri
Lakshmi is Your Consort, though Sri Brahma is Your son, so is
also Pradyumna (god of love), though the chiefs of the gods are
Your attendants, yet Your Character (in Vraja) is wonderful.

-Sri Leelãshuka Bilvamangala

JULY
˛ 2010 THE GAUDIYA 1
 Pithy Precepts of Srila Prabhupâd
Each theme of an
Adhikarana has been
fully dealt with by
Panchanga or five-
fold positions of the
logical system of meet
o p p o s i n g s
controversies. The
aphorisms have been
subjected to the
polemical views of
different philosophical systems which may
be proved to go against the truth of the
Shrutis; and again the aphorisms are
supported by the Upanishad-Mantras
followed by Smritis and reasons offered in
favour of the citatory passeges termed as
Bhashyas and their commentaries by
erudite savants.
The leaders of interpretations have
given us first hand information regarding the
classified subjects, Nyâyas or Adhikaranas
briefly treated in the Sutras. Among those
interpreters we find contending views and
explanations. Some of them differed from
others in grouping together the Mantras
under the same heading of a particular
subject, and sometimes their views were
found palpably varying with one another
due to designed observations. They are
all liable to contract the fourfold defects of
misconception, inebriation, organic
shortcomings and inclination for deception
which do not permit them to have correct
views.
Aim and Object:-- The aim of the
Vedanta Philosophy is transcendental
Love of the Absolute, though the
Absolute has not been fully explained
as ‘‘Akhilarasâmrita - Murti’’
(Evermanifested Emporium of
relational beatitudes); but the subject
treated in Vedanta will explain that
2
2 THE GAUDIYA
Vedanta aims at no other object than the
Personality of the Absolute-undeviated
and unvitiated knowledge. The object of
inculcating the unique philosophy of Vedanta
can be traced in the first two chapters of
‘Relativity’ and the third chapter of
Procedure to gain the only aim or goal. The
object can further be traced in reconciling
the apparently conflicting intellectual hymns
of the Upanishads, all of which tend to the
three-fold aspect of the unity viz., (1) the
relative positions of the Absolute, (2) the
procedure of uniting the two positions of
lover and the loved, apart from the temporal
vitiation, deformities of individuation,
interception of non-transparent stumbling
block and from opaque wrangling
intransigentism due to our poor incapable
senses, and (3) the incessant beatitude.
The restless nature of mental
speculation for variegated entities of this
temporal experience through the senses has
dissuaded us from having our final rest in
indistinctive and undifferentiated
manifestation. The erroneous idea of
cornering the Absolute in impersonalism in
order to avoid the miscomprehension of
plurality and temporal position of the object
in our view should not lead us to ‘a zero-
making policy’ to get rid of the numerals.
The very project of eliminating the concepts
of the Absolute, though apparently it leads
us to One, will not be satisfied till we banish
the idea Oneness having been troubled by
the numerical reference of dualism in our
establishment of unity. The impersonal
suggestion of dismissing the Knower would
end our exploit of discoursing about the
Absolute.
If we are satisfied with having gained
what we wanted, that is to float on the waters
of Knowledge, there will be no occasion for
opening the question again.
JULY 2010
 Thus Spake Srila Âchâryadeva
The Samadhi-
bhasha should not be
the basis of
philosophy. No
correct idea can be
formed regarding the
ultimate Reality and the
state of emanicipation
from experience
Pramana (authority) or
the testimony and experiences of seers and
saintly persons should form the basis of
spiritual knowledge. The Brahma Sutra
starts with the aphorism -- now, therefore,
the inquiry about Brahman right through
there has been an insistence on a rational
approach to the religious reality. The very
Second Sutra tells us that the Supreme
Brhaman is the Cosmic Ruler, the Creator,
the Sustainer and Destroyer of the Cosmos.
Srimad Bhagavatam, a commentary on
Brahma-Sutra written by Sri Vedavyasa
himself, brought into Indian Philosophy the
implications of a new concept of Dharma
which consists in the service of God, a
worship of god without any motive of
dharma, artha, kama or even moksha.
It declares that the Vedic sacrifices were
fail and unrelaible boats incapable of saving
men from evil. The fruits of dharma as
defined by the Vedic injunctions lead to
pleasure of the flesh and its transitory.
Dharma cannot be identified with mere gain
or fulfilment of desires. To see the Supreme
Spirit, as the only truth taught by the Vedas
as a whole is the result of a regular process
of thinking, involving in order, understanding
the texts (Sravana), reflection (Manana) and
assimilation (nidhidhyasana). Tattva-Jnana
or philosophical wisdom is not merely the
satisfaction of intellectual curiosity.
p
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
Frustration is written large on every
human attempt made today to solve the ever-
complicating problems of our life. Every
venture to bring abot harmony and peace in
any field ends in rupturous complexities of a
baffling nature. In politics, we are being
divided into innumerable quarrelling camps,
every one of which claims to possess the
panacea for all evils. The ship of society
everywhere has shunned its ancient
moorings, but it finds no heaven, where it
can rest peacefully and repair its leakage.
Daily widening gulfs divided the different
classes in it and each individual thinks of
nothing but self-aggrandisement and
considers his self as the centre of the
universe. The ancient and traditional frames
of the religion in which it once thrived so
well, have broken down everywhere.In
these days of decadence, when
perverseness is the hall-mark of
individualism, when man has lost all hope
of the future and is always eager to take the "
world as it is, scoffing at religion as visionary
and unrealistic, weaving dreamworlds for the m.
deluded, one naturally feels very shy to
speak of God, but He alone is the rock of
ages.
,b Now science, man’s main object of
glory and pride, today, is out of discover a
new religion for us which will free humanity
of all sectarian outlook and traditional
bounds, and will give us all a comprehensive
and rationalised view of life. Science has
taught us to lord it over nature, no doubt,
but it has made us depend too much on her
as well, who in turn takes her revenge and n
leaves life a wreck of it. Thus we lose
daily the inner strength of life, which draws T
its sap from a higher omniscient, eternal
source of existence so that all moral and
3
 spiritual value of life become ineffective and
futile. We must get the balance or the ruin
of the whole structure of modern
civilisation may be inevitable. Our
scriptures, our peculiar culture and religion
teach us not to depend too much on the.
external world but to run our mind inward
towards the rock of Truth Eternal. If
properly carried out, this will not deprive
us of the hold on the external world, as
some fear, but will rather strengthen it
because the same All-pervading Truth rules
everywhere. This subjective view of life is
the rock-basis of all the Indian Schools of
Thought. Our scriptuers divide it into three
stages:- Karma (action), Jnana
(knowledge) and Bhakti (devotion). In the
spiritual values of life, we find a perfect
balance as a whole. Every thing in the
world may dissolve but belief in God which
is the ultimate confession of all faiths of the
world remains.
Metaphysical speculation,
divorced from real spiritual vision, is
bound to lead to nowhere. But those who
hold the view that the investigations that
confines itself within the limits of sensuous
experience is self-sufficient, are not less
misguided than the metaphysicians who look
down upon the conclusions of the Natural
Scienes. The real blunder is committed if
we suppose that the metaphysician and the
scientist exhaust between them the method
of quest of the Truth, as the one method leads
to zero and the other to diverging pluralism.
civre Even the Natural Scientist cannot
hypothetically admit the unity of the goal. But
mere admission of unity is not of much value
in the face of the actual existence of an
increasing complexity of hopelessly divergent
conclusions of the different Sciences. The
life of man is fortunately a unity. He cannot
also place himself under the guidance of any
particular Science.

ALMANAC for the months of JULY & AUGUST 2010

17.07.2010 Sat Herâ Panchami, Sri Lakshmi Vijaya

21.07.2010 Wed The return Car-Festival of Lord Sri Jagannâtha. Appearance of Srila
Bhakti Kankana Tapasvi Maharâj 302.9
22.07.2010 Thu Pakshavardhini Mahâdwâdashi Fasting. Next day Pârana
between 5.05 and 9.30 a.m.
25.07.2010 Sun Beginning of Châturmâsya Vrata. Sri Guru Poornima.
Disappearance of Srila Sanâtana Goswâmi
27.07.2010 Tue Demise of Srimad Bhakti Vijnâna Ashrama Maharâj
28.07.2010 Wed Demise of Srimad Bhakti
e Hridaya Vana Deva Goswâmi Maharâj
31.07.2010 Sat Disappearance of Srila Gopâlabhatta Goswâmi
03.08.2010 Tue Disappearance of Srila Lokanâtha Goswâmi
06.08.2010 Fri Kâmikâ Ekâdashi Fasting. Next day Pârana between 5.12
and 9.32 a.m.
10.08.2010 Tue Demise of Srimad Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhar Maharâj
12.08.2010 Thu Demise of Srimad Bhakti Ketana Turyâshrami Maharâj
13.08.2010 Fri Disappearance of Srila Raghunandan Thâkur and Srila Vamsi Dâs
Bâbâji Maharâj 28.9

4 THE GAUDIYA JULY 2010

m
 SRI GURU PRESHTHA
THE BELOVED OF SRI GURU
Sripad B.S.Narayan Maharaj
FORE WORD BY TRANSLATOR :
(About the book, the author and
the subject matter)
Appearing in the holy land of Bengal,
Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
revealed to the world, the paramount
Divine science of Prema Bhakti, the
quintessence of Vedic Religion. He
flooded the whole country by the deluge
of Divine Love through Sri Krishna Nama
Samkirtana which was relished and
embraced by millions of fortunate citizens
of Bharata Varsha, irrespective of caste,
creed, colour, age, sex and region.
Innumerable devotees from all walks of life
joined Him and accepted His allegiance
from the regions of Goud Mandal (Bengal),
Vraja Mandal (Mathura-Vrindaban) and
Kshetra Mandal (Puri, Orissa). The six
Goswamis of Vrindaban, King
Prataparudra, Pandit Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya, Narottam Das Thakur,
Krishna Das Kaviraj, Vrindavandas
Thakur, Vishvanatha Chakravarti and
millions of others adopted this path of
Krishna Bhakti and spread the same for
the permanent well being of the humanity
by presenting thousands of monumental
volumes of their writings. However, during
the latter years, meritless people intruded
into this devotional system and through their
misguided thoughts and polluted dealings,
they presented an ugly picture in the name
of devotional religion. As a result of it, the
common people not only misunderstood
the true religion, but also they became
deprived from the pristine benefit of
devotional love. Those who mis-
represented the loving devoion of Lord Sri
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
Chaitanya are classified into thirteen groups
as follows, -- Aavul, baavul, Kartabhaja,
neda nedi,darvesh, sanyi, sahajiya,
sakhibheki, smarta, jaat gosain, atibadi,
chuda dhari and gauranga-nagari. During
thid period of crisis, the great reformer-
devotee, Thakur Srila Bhakti Vinode (1838-
1914) appeared in this world and revived
the pristine glory of Gaudiya Vaishnava
religion, for the benefit of the entire world.
He is compared to king Bhagiratha of yore,
who brought down river Ganga from heaven
to the earth.
Thakur Srila Bhakti Vinode revived the
Prema-Dharma of Lord Sri Chaitanya from
its degradation and upheld the same from
all angles of its prominence, and propagated
it among the general public. Apart from
writing monumental works on Sri
Chaitanya’s philosophy, theology, religion,
ethics, kirtans etc., through nearly a hundred
books, he also published monthly
magazines and periodicals in various
languages. He was a scholar in languages
like Bengali, Hindi, Oria, English, Sanskrit,
Parsi etc. Lord Sri Chaitanya’s actual
u birthplace had lost sight of the people due
to the frequent changes in the course of river
Ganga and its tributaries. Srila Bhakti
Vinode Thakur discovered the same and
presented to the devotional world, for which
the gentle people of the entire world are
indebted to him. For the purpose of
extensively propagating this religion of love,
he appointed Prabhupad Srila Bhakti
Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur as
his sole successor.
After finishing the academic studies,
Srila Saraswati Thakur (then known as
5
 Vimala Prasad) started his exclusive spiritual
endeavour at Sridham Mayapur from 1905
AD, after receiving spiritual initiation from
Srila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj
during the year 1900. By remaining in that
secluded place, he completed the chanting
of one billion divine Names before starting
his public mission. After a few years he gave
spiritual initiation to two young devotees
who constantly served Srila Prabhupad.
The first devotee was Sri Ashwini Haldar
of Ballal Dighi of Sri Mayapur, who was
named as Vaishnava Das. The second
devotee Sri Panchanan Samaddar of
Vinodenagar in Jessore district, who was
named as Paramananda Vidyaratna, who
is the author of this booklet. As he was
closely associated with Prabhupad Srila
Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, he was
well versed regarding the history of the entire
mission. Also he had the fortune of hearing
Harikatha from Srila Bhakti Vinode Thakur
and from Srila Gaur Kishore Das Babaji
Maharaj. When he was studying in the
primary school, he had the occasion of
learning from Sri Kunjabehari Vidyabhushan
Prabhu (then known as Umapati), who was
student of higher class in the same school.
Their boyhood friendship grew further in Sri
Mayapur under the discipleship of their
Spiritual Master. Sri Paramananda Prabhu
came to Srila Prabhupad at his tender age
of thirteen years and received initiation in
the year 1913. Kunjada Prabhu (later
known as Srimad Bhakti Vilas Tirtha
Goswami Maharaj) took initiation during the
year 1915.
Srila Prabhupad accepted Tridanda
Sanyas in the year 1918 and began the Deity
Service of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-
Gandharvika-Giridharijeu. During that time
t
Sri Kunjada was a house-holder and he
used to work in the general post office of
Calcutta. By hearing the soul-stirring
6 THE GAUDIYA
spiritual narrations from the holy mouth of
Srila Prabhupad, Sri Kunjada became
marvelled and dedicated himself fully in the
service of Sri Guruji. After a few years Sri
Kunjada humbly reuested Srila Prabhupad
to arrive to Calcutta to shower his grace
upon the large section of the society to make
their
P lives fruitful by showing them right
direction. Getting the approval of Srila
Prabhupad, Sri Kunjada took a building at
No.1, Ultadanga Junction Road of North
Calcutta for Rs.50/-monthly rent, in the year o
1918. Srila Prabupad established ‘Sri Bhakti
Vinode Asan’ in that building to begin the
preaching programme. Starting the
missionary activities necessitated huge
amount of funds. As there was no income to
the mission, Sri Kunjada had to incur
recurring debts to maintain the mission. This
entire affair became possible due to the
combination of the super-human personality
of Srila Prabhupad on the one hand,
alongwith Kunjada’s indomitable spirit and
the boundless desire for preaching Harikatha
too be the masses. Later on, when Srila
Prabhupad’s message started creating impact
upon the minds of the public, devotees in the
form of house-holders, Brahmacharis,
Sanyasis, members and admirers grew in
number. As Sri Kunjada was at the very
root of this Gaudiya Mission, nobody could
think of the mission independent of Sri
Kunjada. Hence anyone envious towards
Sri Kunjada was to be branded as quite
unfriendly towards Srila Prabhupad.
rof
The Bhakti Vinode Asan later became
known as Sri Gaudiya Math in the year 1920
and after ten years in 1930 it was shifted to
Bagh Bazar temple, which was donated by
Sri Jagabandhu Dutta Prabhu by the
prompting of Sri Kunjada. During the
beginning years of the mission, Sri Kunjada
used to manage all the expenses of the
mission by borrowing from his near and dear.
(to be contd..... )
JULY 2010
 MAHÂBHÂRATA
Sri M.C.Mahesh
(Contd. from June issue)
It was the fateful morning of the first
day’s battle and the two hosts were
assembled facing each other like the
gatherings of clouds during a thunderstorm.
It was an awesome ensemble bristling with
weapons and banners jutting out of the
serried ranks of war.
Seeing the larger and more well-
equipped army of his foes Yudhishthira grew
apprehensive and expressed his qualms to
Arjuna.
‘‘Our foes have eleven divisions as
against our seven cohorts. Can we ever
conquer the indomitable Bheeshma in
war?’’
‘‘King, Krishna Who has mastered
the five senses is on our side. Wherever
dharma is, there is found Krishna and
wherever Krishna is, there is found victory.’’
‘‘What phalanx would you
recommend to Dhrishtadyumna for placing
our hosts in battle order? Our dispositions
must be traced out on the basis of a definite
strategy, as a brute deployment of our
smaller army will only result in a ng
devastation.’’
‘‘I recommend the needle-formation
as an effective tool for combating our
numerically superior foes. Our fronts
should resemble projecting spikes with our
flanks forming the shafts. Our
reinforcements can be placed in the rear.’’
The assembled cohorts presented a
colourful pageant that is expressed vividly
by the poet. Leading the Kuru hosts was
Bheeshma, the pater-familias of the race.
He wore a silver headgear and white
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
armour, and to his silver chariot was yoked
horses as white as the moon. Atop his silver
parasol was a flag depicting the emblem of
a palm-tree surrounded by five stars. On
Drona’s canopy fluttered a pennant that
bore the traditional motifs of a priest and a
warrior---a water-jar on a deerskin and a
bow. The acharya was a dreadful
combination
rp of priestly intelligence and a
warrior’s might. Kripa’s standard bore the
insignia of a bull. Pink like a lotus in bloom,
Ashwatthama of ethereal splendour rode on
his chariot that had a banner depicting a loin’
tail. There were other characteristic
pennons and streamers but the emblem of
a rope tyng an elephant---the pennant of
Karna--was missing, as Karna had stayed
uq
away from battle. Duryodhana’s blue-silk
was covered by a hardy breastplate and his
flowing hair was bound by an imperial
coronet that was a wreath of gems. On his
embroidered flag was the motif of a cobra "
with outspread hood. The allies and vassals
of the Kurus had canopies and pennants as
spectacular as that of their master. Some
had embossed designs and some were
woven in golden and silver filigree. Shalya’s
flag had a pennant depicting a ploughshare
and on Jayadratha’s canopy the pennon of
a wild-boar fluttered in the morning wind.
Though smaller in size and range the
artial panoply of the Pandava hosts was no
less striking. The golden chariot embellished
with the finest of gemstones and yoked to
four moon-white horses was driven by
Krishna. Though he wore armour he caried
no weapons, and he held the reins in his
lotus-pink palms that juxtaposed uoy
aesthetically with his blue complexion. His "
7
 "
.
lips were ruddy and his mischievous eyes
were now contemplating on the end of an
B aeon. Similar to him in physique and
compledion but looking a little older was the
lithe archer Arjuna who could shoot with
either hand. Atop his canopy was the flag
with the ensign of an ape that the world well
knew. In a cloth of fabric woven into a fine
texture was the pennant of the royal
Yudhishthira depicting stars clustering
around the moon. There were two drums
that were hung from his flag-pole and they
used to reverberate with the sound of doom.
On Bheema’s flag was a fearful lion and on
the pennants of Nakula and Sahadeva could
be seen the ensigns of a deer and a swan.
Their sons had standards as impressive as
their sires. An elegant peacock flaunting its
multicoloured tail was woven on the flag of
the dauntless prince Abhimanyu.
Ghatotkacha’s chariot was more hardy and
sumptuous and was made of grey metal and
dry wood and pulled by swarthy horses.
Atop his flag was the emblem of a vulture
that contrasted sharply with the more
aesthetic design of Abhimanyu’s insignia.
The poet figuratively represents the refined
skill of Arjuna’s son and the brute might of
the demon by showing a marked distinction
in their emblems. The banners of Satyaki
and of Virata and his son Uttara all bore the
motif of a lion.
The tussle was about to begin and the
ancient Indian code had several covenants
that regulated the course of battle. These
unwritten nuances prevented a legitimate
battle from descending into a disorderly and
inhumane melee.
Dhrishtadyumna and Bheeshma, the
commanders of the contending armies, met
in the midst of the two forces and laid down
the laws that would govern the battle. A
chariot-warrior could engage himself only
8 THE GAUDIYA
with a chariot-warrior, and a soldier mounted
on an elephant could fight only another
soldier mounted on an elephant. Likewise,
combatants mounted on horses and
infantrymen could oppose only similarly
ordered ranks. Conch-blowers, drummers,
animals, mahouts and charioteers and other
non-combatant servitors could not be
harmed. These warriors were to be spared
their life--a soldier seeking mercy, a retreating
warrior, a warrior without an armour or
weapons and a soldier engaged with another
contender in battle. Divine weapons were
not to be used on the rank and file of the
army that were ignorant of their usage.
Everyday, the battle would cease with
nightfall
"Y and hostilities were to be renewed
at dawn. During the nght the contenders
could meet each other in amity in any of the
warring camps! Several warriors were not
allowed to hem in one contender and kill him.
Sanjaya continued to narrate the events
of the battle to Dhritarashtra. It is interesting
to note that Kurukshetra is also called as
Dharmakshetra or the field of religious
activities. Several sacrificies had been
o conducted during the days of yore on this "
battleground. eS
Bheeshma, the field-marshal of the
Kaurava army, blew on his conchshell and
announced the commencement of hostilities.
All the Kaurava soldiers responded, blowing
on their conchshells and beating on
kettledrums. The loud blare of trumpets was
also heard and the resulting boom and
confusion was a veritable cacophony. The
Pandavas now responded, and Krishna and
Arjuna blew on their shells---the
Panchajanya and the Devadatta--seated as
they were in their heavenly chariot pulled by
milk-white coursers.
Arjuna was seized by avague feeling of
uncertainty and he leaned forward and spoke tn
JULY 2010
 to Krishna ‘‘Drive my chariot to the midst
of this battleground. I wish to have a
panoramic view of all my contenders who
have gathered together to please the evil-"
minded son of Dhritarasthra.’’
Krishna cracked his whip and the
horses trotted lethargically to the midst of
the field.
Arjuna scanned with apprehension the
chieftains who led the legions of both armies.
To his sudden desperation he realised that
they were his nearest kinsmen, now
tempted by greed and folly to turn partisan
and take opposing sides.
He turned listless and limp with fear.
His bow slipped slithering down from his
nerveless hand. He was now perspiring
and the drops of sweat on his azure brow
seemed like a misty dew that had settled
on a blue-lily. His mind was whirling in
consternation and his limbs were now
trembling.
Having resolved in grief that he would
not fight he slumped down on the terrace
of his chariot.
Turning in his despondency to the all-
knowing Krishna he spoke out his gnawing
grief ‘‘Only sin will accrue to us if we slay
the evil-minded sons of Dhritarashtra. nIo
would rather yield to them unresisting and
be slain by them! They see no distress in
the destruction of a hoary race and its time-
honoured traditions. But we know better
and we must avert an internecine
catastrophe. Even if were to acquire the
lordship of all the three universes--gross,
n postulation of an immortal self to a system
subtle and causal--I would not slay my
kinsmen in battle. This earthly kingdom is
absolutely trifle and petty to worth a
cataclysm.....
I feel sick with reprehension and am
unable even to stand erect .....
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
Leading my foes are my spotlessly
pure grandsire Bheeshma, the pater-familias
of our race, and the doughty archer Drona
who taught me all I know of warfare. I can
never hurt them even in righteous battle!
Perhaps my understanding is clouded
and I do not see reason. People say that
You are a God, and perhaps they are right.
I surrender myself to Gou--guide me to
choose a proper course of action. All the
tenets of morality land the subtle naunces
of their intended spirit are known only to
You.’’
Krishna gives a reply in seventeen
consecutive discourses that constitute
hundreds of verses, and perhaps there are
interpolations in this text itself. The first
sermon is on the path of analytical wisdom.
Krishna
e differentiates between the self and
the body and postulates that the self survives
the death of the physical body. Just as a
man casts off worn-out garments and wears y
new apparels, the self casts off the slough
of a decrepit body and enters a new one.
The body is likened to a husk or an outer-
covering, and the self or the kernel is
imperishable. Therefore there was nothing
to grieve in the destruction of kinsmen, since
they are eternally alive as immortal souls.
While the metaphysiscs of the
!
argument is perfect and though the reasoning
proceeds with logical thoroughness, its
concretisation as an ethical system that
works
." on the empirical plane appears to
be an inference that lacks experiential
W
content. This same faulty extension of the
of ethics that condones violence at the
transactional level is an error pandemic to
all texts on advaita vedanta. The dualistic
schools of Indian philosophy have a better
system of empirical etchis, as their doctrines
are based upon the love the individual soul
9
 has for God. However, most of their
metaphysics is cumbersome and rather
faulty!
Perhaps a systematisation that
synthesises the philosophy of the Gita with
the aesthetics and ethics of the Bhagavata
Purana may offer a solution.
Krishna enumerates the characteristics
of a sthitaprajna. It is desire that erupts
e
first in the psyche of a person and it is this
desire that produces the secondary
manifestations of anger and loss of peace.u
The sthitaprajna is singularly free of this
taint of desire and is hence forever at peace.
The chapter concludes with a few
verses on disinterested action. A person is
advised not to hanker after the results of
one’s actions but to dedicate them to God
Himself. This is perhaps one of the novel
preachings of Krishna--the other discourses
follow the beaten-track of the Upanishads.
The gospel of disinterested action is
taken up for a critical analysis. The concept
of yajna that is described in the liturgical
portions of the Vedas is delineated. When
he created the empirical worlds. the four-
faced Brahma assigned various duties to
mankind and to the lesser gods. These
lesser gods were given control over the
forces of nature. When sacrifices were
performed to satiate their subtle bodies with
offerings and chants, they responded by
altering the laws that governed by the forces
of nature by making them more benign to
mankind. Thus cherishing each other,
humans and gods upheld the cosmic force
of righteousness that is picturised as a
wheel. It is quite interesting to note that
Gautama Buddha borrowed the symbolism
of the wheel, and it is still a popular motif in
Buddhism that captures its sublime ethos.
Krishna now made a startling
10 THE GAUDIYA
revelation to a bamboozled Arjuna ‘‘I
imparted this mystery to the sun-god who is
also known as Vivasvan during the beginning
of creation. Vivasvan taught this profound
wisdom to his son Manu, the archetypal
human who heralded the beginning of
civilisation in our hoary land. From Manu
this teaching passed on to his son Ikshvaku
who was the progenitor of the solar dynasty
of kings in our land. Due to the efflux of
time and the gradual eroding away of
righteousness on earth, this knowledge has
become obsolete and out of practice. I have
now revived this ancient tradition by
preaching to you its abstruse mysteries.’’
Arjuna looked up in bewilderment
"
‘‘You and I took birth on earth as
contemporaries. How then did you initiate
Vivasvan when the consmos was created?’’
D Krishna was not puzzled by Arjuna’s
ignorance. He knew that he was the
Supreme God Vishnu Himself Who had
taken
ov birth as sage Narayana on earth when
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 creation began. Nara had emerged from
His own being as His alter-ego, but Arjuna
had now forgotton that it was the spirit of
Nara that infused his self. These two sages
had meditated on the alpine peaks of the
Himalayas during the period when the Rig
Veda was composed. The Purusha Sukta
of the Rig Veda is a sacred hymn that is
dedicated to sage Narayana.
Krishna again smiled enigmatically
‘‘You are identifying yourself with your body
and your understanding is warped by the
mist of ignorance. I can anchor Myself to
a reality beyond the confines of this body
and can hence see beyond birth and death....
Have you never felt even a vague
sensation that the two of us have always
been together, meeting at birth and drifting
away at death--only to reunite again?’’
. human body, the sixth and seventh plexuses
The Lord added that He was born
aeon after aeon on earth whenever dharma
was in fear of decay--to protect the virtuous
and destroy the wicked.
Leaving Arjuna to reflect over the
mystery of metempsychosis, Krishna went
on with an account of the various sacrifices
tthat are dear to God. In the lowest rung of
the ladder are physical sacrifices. More
refined are the occult sacrifices practised
by the followers of the path of psychic-
control. They regulate the flow of the
incoming and outgoing breath and offer the
results of the same to God. Greater still is
the practise of silence: this silence is however
the stillness of the mind.
The ultimate sacrifice is the perception ni
of the one non-dual existence, and this is
the knowledge taught in the Upanishads. It
is in this stage that one cognises that the
oblations in a sacrifice are brahman and that
the sacrificial-fire is also brahman. The
worshipper is also brahman and the deity
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
invoked in the ritual is also brahman. This
cognisance is the pinnacle of spiritual
experience.
A practitioner of psychic-control sholud
sit in solitude on a seat made up of three
tiers: a mattress of kusha grass forms the
base and this is covered by deerskin. A cloth
is spread over the deerskin and the aspirant
meditates on this seat. Patanjali systematised
the teachings of this chapter centuries later
in his aphorisms. In this system of
philosophy, the aspirant meditates on seven
psychic centres or plexuses that are
picturised as lying in the various parts of the
human body. However, this symbology is
not to be taken too literally and is to be used
only as an aid to concentration: though the
first five plexuses pertain to the five gross
elements and may be said to reside in the
pertain to the subtle and transcendental
bodies and should not be confused with the
organs of the human body where they are
picturised as residing. Krishna says that one
human birth is inadequate to practise
psychic-control and attain to the Truth.
However, there is no loss in an attempt as
the progress made in one birth is carried on
to the next in the form of subtle imprints and
the seeker does not have to start afresh.
When a man thinks of Krishna at the
time of his death he is absorbed in God and
does not take any more births. Therefore,
an aspirant after liberation should constantly
think of the lotus-feet of the Lord. Even the
creator Brahma has a birth and death: he
lives on for a hundred celestial years. A
thosand aeons on earth is a day for Brahma
and another thousand aeons constitute his
night. When Brahma wakes up from his
cosmic slumber the galaxies appear and life-
forms are born. When the creator goes to
sleep the cosmos is withdrawn back into its
11
(
 undifferentiated state. However, this cosmic
play is within the ambit of space, time and
causation. The abode of Krishna is beyond
this jugglery, reaching which man is never
more born again in the whirling of the
phenomenal cosmos. There are two paths
by which a dying person travels to celestial
worlds --- archiradimarga or devayana
and dhumadimarga or pitriyana. The first
path is generally taken by those who die
during the bright-fortnights of uttarayana
which culminates in the summer solstice,
when the sun is overhead the tropic of
Cancer. The text also postulates that the
aspirant passes away in broad daylight. The
second path is generally taken by those
aspirants who pass away during the dark-
fortnights of dakshinayana which
culminates in the winter solstice, when the
sun is directly overhead the tropic of
Capricorn. If the soul passes away at night
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12 THE GAUDIYA
durng this period it travels by the second path.
The soul which departs by the first path
has its consciousness detach itself from the
perishable body in a rather smooth transition.
r There is a supernal light guiding this soul, and
several celestial messengers crowd around
it to escort it to higher worlds. From there
only progression occurs and the self passes
on to more fine and more invisible worlds till
it reaches the abode of Krishna. The self
that travels by the second path has its
sentience detach itself from the perishable
body in a rather jerky transition. A celestial
gloom envelops the soul and it wallows in
this darkness of ignorance for a while. It
acquires a new identity after passing through
phases of experiences in heaven and hell, and
is reborn again on earth. This transmigration
or metempsychosis ends only by the grace
of Krishna.
(to be continued)
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 Sridham Mayapur
The Holy Birth-Place of
The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Prof. Sri Nishi Kanta Sanyal
Sridham Mayapur, situated on the
central one of the nine islands constituting
holy Navadwip, contains the abode of Sri
Jagannath Misra, the House of God, in
which the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna
Chaitanya, was born 524 years ago, in the
year 1486 AD. The islands were formed
by the branching arms of the Bhagirathi. We
reserve for a subsequent section the
discussion regarding the identification of the
holy site of Nativity.
But before we proceed to do so we
desire to offer certain considerations which
will make it appear that the quest of the
holy site of Advent is part and parcel of the
eternal function of all pure souls. It is not
the purpose to prejudice the reader against,
or, in favour of, any local sect or narrow
creed. We assure the reader that we have
no ambition of leading a crusade against
rationalism (which by the way is allowed,
on grounds that will hardly bear scrutiny, to
be the chartered monopoly of the empiric
sciences) in the venerable, but withal much-
abused, name of dogmatic theology.
Neither do we bind ourselves down to
credal methods that are followed by non-
theological thinkers who engage in
investigations, no doubt very useful for
limited purposes, of water-tight
compartments of truth. We stand against
all unnecessary dogma whether scientific or
otherwise. We, therefore, in announcing
our purpose and method at the very outset'.
hereby crave the patience of the modern
reader for extending his and her
unprejudiced hearing to a free rational
discussion of a universal subject that vitally
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
concerns everybody. The real Truth has the
eternal quality of being one. So there need
be no sectarianism among those who are
not really resolved to avoid the Truth, when
It presents Itself, under the fatal lure of
prejudices and interests less than the
universal.
The objection that is naturally to be
expected on the very threshold of a
discussion on the holy Site of Nativity is that
an unimportant village belonging to a
particualr region of this mundane earth need
not be claimed to be identified in any special
sense with the activities of the Divinity. Such
a procedure it is apprehended would be a
contradiction in terms as it would localise
the universal and particularise the general.
As such objection is likely to suggest itself
in a more or less conscious form to all
persons who are given to speculate on the
Absolute it is best to begin with an attempt
to offer a rational answer to the question.
The Absolute can be neither abstract
nor concrete in the sense in which we
ordinarily understand those two terms that
is to say by reference to the phenomena of
this world as objects of our sensuous
experience. The concrete and abstract, the
particular and general, are equally relative
notions. If the Absolute at all exists It must
be identical with none of those. So we need
not oppose those who say that the Absolute
is concrete, by the argument that It is
abstract. We should base our objection on
a more logical ground and say that the
Absolute cannot be identical with the
concrete of our experience and should
require the teacher of the Absoulte to explain
13
 what he means when he considers that the
Absolute is concrete.
No one, therefore, need object to
Sridham Mayapur being of the nature of
the Absolute on the ground that it is not an
abstraction but merely a concrete entity.
Everyone is fully justified in objecting to
accept as the Absolute Truth the village of
Mayapur of our experience. If Sridham
Mayapur be an absolute entity It cannot
be the familiar hamlet in Bengal bearing the
name of Mayapur. Therefore, those who
are anxious to find out the site of the old
village of Mayapur in the firm and honest
belief that it is identical with Sridham
Mayapur and advertise their supposed
discovery of the geographical site as that
of the Absolute, contradict themselves and
deserve no hearing from those who are at
all disposed to think clearly on the subject.
The search for Sridham Mayapur is a very
different affair from the search of the
archaeologists for the geographical site of
the old Bengal village. The latter need not
be advertised as a piece of news which it
is obligatory on all persons to know for the
purpose of knowing themselves. It is
necessary for every one of us to search out
Sridham Mayapur to be delivered from the
delusion of all limited location for good.
Our experience tells us that truth as
an abstraction of the concrete is not
substantially different from the concrete. If
we choose to hold the view that the
concrete is explained by the abstract we
only travel more in a vicious circle. Because
it may be affirmed with equal truth that the
abstract is explained by the concrete. So
our view amounts to no more than this that
our expericence of them explains the
concrete and the abstract. Our experience
is, therefore, the only test of truth. What
we experience we declare to be true. The
geographical village of Mayapur is true in
14 THE GAUDIYA
this sense. The Absolute has no existence
by this test.
But our experience can never be
identical with the object of such experience.
If we suppose a blind man to be capable of
seeing objects this experience cannot be held
to be correct as it is corrigible by more
careful observation. Therefore, all
experience is not true as it is capable of being
modified by further scrutiny of the object of
experience. Thus we make a distinction
between
nru subjective and objective truth.
What a thing is in itself we call its subjective
truth. What a thing appears to our
consciousness we call its objective truth. The
question we are discussing is really this. Is
subjective truth related in any way to the
objectvie truth? This relationship is the
subject of investigation of those who are
engaged on the quest of the Truth.
This at once gives rise to perplexing
issues. What is subject ? What is object?
What really is the nature of the relationship
that we actually experience as existing
between them?
It is the conclusion of those who believe
in Sridham Mayapur that our experience
cannot furnish any satisfactory answer to
these questions which are part and parcel
of our nature and which imperatively demand
a true solution if we are not prepared to move
aimlessly in a state of perpetual ignorance
of ourselves. The only way of getting rid of
this ignorance is by honestly engaging in the
quest of Sridham Mayapur, the eternal
dwelling place of the Divinity, Who is the
source of true enlightenment.
If the nature of the quest is admitted it
follows that hte method of such quest is also
bound to be different form archeological or
any other method with which we are familiar
and which for the reason share in the same
imperfection and unsuitability inherent in
ignorant activities which we call experience.
(to be contd....)
JULY 2010 tuo
 Teaching Method of Sri Chaitanya
Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
In order to be acquainted with
Chaitanya Deva’s method of teaching we
must have recourse to Sri Chaitanya
Charitamritam, as He has left no book of
His own composition indeed, nothing save
and except His Eight teachings
(Shikshashtakam). A few more shlokas are
found in the Padyavali, but they do not give
us any systematic idea of His teachings.
There are a few booklets which are said to
be the works of the Supreme Lord, but
they do not seem to be authentic. The
Goswamis have left us some works of their
own in which the teachings of Sri Chaitanya
© Deva are found in abundance but there is
nothing in them which is stated to be from
the pen of the Supreme Lord. Sri Chaitanya
Charitamritam is an authoritative work which
abounds with precepts which are His
according to the evidence of the Goswamis;
hence it is that this book carries respect–in
all quarters. The author composed it shortly
after Mahaprabhu’s time. Some of the
direct disciples of Mahaprabhu, such as Sri
Das Goswami and Rupa Goswami helped
the author in the enterprise. This work has
been enriched by materials gathered from
Sri Chaitanya Chandrodaya Nataka by Sri
Kavi Karnapura which appeared for the
Sanskrit knowing section and Sri Chaitanya
Bhagavata by Sri Brindavan Das Thakur
which went on to describe only the early
life of the Lord. We are led to follow Sri
Krishnadas when we weigh different
circumstances.
During the twenty four years of His
house-hold life He taught the glory of the Sri.
transcendental Name of Hari and the
imperative necessity of chanting, in the
compound of Srivasa’s house, on the bank
of the Ganges, in the Sanskrit schools, or
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
on the way and, after his renouncing the
world, in His instructions to Sarvabhauma
at Purushottama Kshetra, to Raya
Ramananada at Vidyanagar, Venkata Bhatta
at Srirangam, Vallabha Bhatta and Rupa
Goswami and, in the shape of hints to
Raghupati Upadhyaya at Prayaga, and m.
Sanatana and Prakashananda at Benaras.
We can safely pick out His teachings from
these
2. sources.
It was His infinite love for the people
of this world that prompted Mahaprabhu
to preach Vaishnavism or eternal function
of the soul to all throughtout India.
He went to some countries Himself
and preached there, while to others He sent
preachers endowing them with supernatural
powers and abilities. Theirs was love’s
labour. They got no reward or
remuneration for their services nor hoped
for any. No true religion can have a hold
on the people, if not preached by men
of sterling worth and character. Hence
it is that though mercenaries are engaged in
the preaching of certain doctrines now-a-
days, they can do very little of appreciable
value.
We find in the Eighth Chapter of the
First Part (Adilila) of Sri Chaitanya
Charitamrita that Sri Krishna Chaitanya in
His five-fold manifestation blessed the
world with the gift of the transcendental
Name and Love for Krishna. Rupa and
Sanatana were despatched to Mathura.
They were commissioned to propagate the
doctrine of Bhakti which is the only serving
function of the unalloyed soul fostered in
favour of Krishna without any ambition for
amelioration or salvation. Nityananda was
sent to Gauda which He overflowed with
Bhakti. He Himself went to the Deccan
15
 and travelled from village to vilage of which
the inhabitants were taught the system of
reciting the transcendental Name of Sri
Krishna, relieved them from the bondage
of worldly affinity.
The mainspring of the teachings of
Mahaprabhu is this that love for Krishna is
the eternal religion of Jiva or individual soul.
The soul cannot remain devoid of it for ever.
But he forgets Krishna and is dominated
by illusion (Maya) and, as a result, becomes
attracted towards other objects, hence this
Dharma wellnigh conceals itself in some
h
-
inner cell of the soul. It is for this that Jiva
suffers misery in this world. But if the Jiva
ever becomes lucky enough to recollect
that he is the eternal servant of God,
he reverts to his own eternal nature
which is his normal condition. Belief in
this truth is the root of all good.
Faith arises in two ways. Some men,
when their tenure of bondage nears the end,
n by virtue of their cumulated good fortune
of previous births, recoup their innate
aptitude to rely on Krishna. Chaitanya
Charitamrtia, Middle Part, Ch.23, says that
if by a stroke of fortune a Jiva happens to
embrace transcendental faith, he acquires
a love for the company of self-realised
souls, ‘Shraddha’ is the word used here. It
means faith. Chaitanya Charitamrita says
Shraddha means firm faith in this that if you
have devotion to Krishna, nothing remains ro
to be done. So we can fairly determine
that full reliance on Krishna satisfies all that
we covet for. When we are freed from
disturbance by a turn of good luck,
Shraddha which lies in a dormant state in
our eternal nature wakes up in our
devotional activities. Whenever a man is
found to have such determinate reliance on
the Absolute, his devotional temper
progresses gradually in the company of
experienced and worthy devotees and he
16 THE GAUDIYA
can then dispense with his unpromising habits
which prove to oppose his advancements.
His confidence turns to Nishtha (undeviating
continuity), Ruchi (taste), Asakti
(attachment to the transcendental reality), and
Bhava (a combination of feelings indicative
of love, ecstatic and assiduous devotion).
Spontaneous Shraddha, if it springs
vigorously, voluntarily flows through the
channel of Raga, and, without caring for the
mandatory injunctions of the Shastras
successfully follows its own career through
the region of Bhava, or, in other words, Rati
for Krishna, to consummation. But the
asirant’s mild conviction is ameliorated by
the sound arguments of a good preceptor.
To follow the injunction of a preceptor as
well as to study the Shastras is found to be
the basis of one’s conviction; and the
guidance of the Shastras is essentially
necessary as a rule. In Adileela, Ch-7, we
have, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said –
‘‘My lord, listen to the cause of it. My
preceptor found that I was a fool and said,
‘You
y
have not the capacity for mastering the rp
abstrue Vedanta. Recite the Name of
Krishna incessantly. This is the best of
mantras. The mantra of Krishna will relieve
you from the bondage of worldly affinity. The
Name of Krishna will take you to the Feet
of Krishna. In this Iron Age there is no other
religion than the Name. The Name is the
essence of all mantras – this is the purport
of the Scriptures’. Having said this he taught
me a Shloka to recite and ponder. The
Shloka runs thus:–
‘“∫zåÁ|™“∫zåÁ|™ “∫zåÁ|™{ƒ Nz˛ƒ¬™Ω @
N˛¬Á{ åÁÀnÆzƒ åÁÀnÆzƒ åÁÀnÆzƒ Tuo∫ãÆsÁ @@˛
!
to ol Hari’s Name, Hari’s Name It is the
Name of Hari alone: In this Iron Age, there
is no other way at all, none at all, none at
all.’
(to be continued)
JULY 2010
 OUR LORD SRI KRISHNA
THE MASTER POET AND MASTER ARTIST
Sri Visweswar Dasadhikari
The Almighty Lord of the univrse
Whom we call Sri Krishna is indeed
possessed of endless attributes. But it is
said that sixty-four prominent attributes of
the Supreme Lord are especially visible to
the devotee’s eyes. The names and
descriptions of these attributes are!
elaborately detailed in the Bhakti-shastras
or the cults or scriptures of love. The
reader is to refer to the Bhakti-rasamrita
Sindhu by Rupa Goswami as the
authoritative workd on the subject. In the
present article we shall attempt to notice
two salient qualities of our beloved Lord –
His poetry and His Art. The poetic skill of
Sri Krishna is only shadowed forth in all
the different spheres of the phenomenal
universe and substantial in the
supersensuous and transcendental world.
The transcendental world is a grand
volume of poetry. It is composed by the
skilful hand of the Divine poet and abounds
in lines of the most exquisite beauty and
harmonious melody. It is a storehouse of
the noblest and sublimest sentiments and
does often suggest ‘‘thoughts whose very
sweetness yieldeth proof, that they are born
for immortality.’’ age cannot wither it nor
enjoyment stale its infinite variety. It is
‘‘musical as is Apollo’s lute and a perpetual
feast of nectared sweets where no crude
surfeit reigns’’. It furnishes lessons of the
highest truth and wisdom and lifts its
readers above the low-thoughted care of
a frail and feverish being into ‘regions mild’
where ‘beyond these voices there is
peace’. The life of the human soul forms a
most interesting chapter of this beautiful
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
Book of poetry. The souls that inhabit the
lower order of beings and in fact all living
organisms, nay, the dead matter itself, form
its pictorial pages.
But the hardest of all tasks under the
sun we all know is to read properly and
correctly a volume of poetry. Never is a
poet so much grieved at heart as by one
who fails to read his works aright. The
offended heart of the poet bleeding, as it
were, from the reader’s roads, seems to
cry out in bitterness -- I pray you mar no
more of my verses by reading them ill-
favouredly. But such are the mercy and
tolerance of the All-merciful Sri Krishna the
great author of the Divine volume of poesy
that when instead of reading His glorious
works aright we trample upon them in sheer
folly and pride and wilfully shut our eyes to
the lessons furnished by them, nay, damn
the very name of Him Who made them all,
the All-wise Supreme Lord does not with-
hold from us His saving mercy, but
unceasingly loves us with the over-flowing
love and watches us with the same paternal
care, for ‘‘He knoweth our frame, He
remembereth that we are dust’’. It,
however, falls to the lot of very few
individuals, and they are certainly blessed,
to study at all the works of Sri Krishna.
Most of us have not the eyes to see and
ears to hear and consequently we fly from
Sri Krishna’s works, perfect and infallible c
as they are, to revel in the productions of
maya which at best contain only half-truths
and which only serve to make our
‘‘confusion worse confounded.’’ But Sri
Krishna is always Sri Krishna whether we
17
 ej
see Him or not and His world is a volume
of poetry whether we read it or not. In His
world the earth and the sky are all filled
with poetry. Fire, air, ether and water are
all redolent of poetry. There is poetry in
the sun and the moon, in the stars and
planets, lakes and rivers, springs and
cataracts, hills and valleys, seas and
mountains, the lilies of the field, the warblers
of the forest, the children of the nursery,
the beauties of the harem, in fact, all creation
which is there animate breathe true poetry
and sing the praise and glory of Sri Krishna
Who turns all darkness into light. The
poetry in the infant’s smile, the mother’s
care, the sister’s affection, the wife’s love,
the friend’s sympathy, the patron’s kindness
of this world are but pale distorted
unwholesome reflections of the poetry of
Vaikuntha. The poetry in the dawn of
infancy, in the bloom of youth, the glory of
manhood, the sun-set of life is realised only
in the sphere of the spirit. What devout
man can uplift his eyes to the floor of
heaven, inlaid with patience of bright gold
and not exclaim like the Psalmist lost in awe
and wonder by reminiscence of the unseen,
‘‘When I consider the heavens, the work
of Thy fingers the moon and the stars which
Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou
art mindful of Him?’’ Blessed is he who
lives to see Sri Krishna’s works even in
the delusive world of matter and mind.
Blessed is he who contemplates Sri
Krishna’s works and smiling says, ‘‘My
Lord made them all!’’ Blessed is he who
is enraptured with the real poetry of the
world of spirit.
But how shall we realise the beauty
of Sri Krishna’s Divine poetry? ‘‘The
world is too much with us’’ and we are
immersed in a round of bestial and sensual
pleasures. The fine eye and ear which
enable us to appreciate this supersensuous
18 THE GAUDIYA
beauty have not yet been developed in us.
To be able to feel this poetry and to be en
rapport with Sri Krishna Who is nature’s
God, require the most sincere and life-long
practice justly called Sadhana without which
‘‘men are but gilded loam or painted clay’’.
We must entirely kill the beast in us and fully
evolve our divinity to be able to form any
the least conception of the divine nature and
scope of Sri Krishna’s poetry. This poetry
is not the ‘‘baseless fabric of a dream’’ or
‘‘a thing of beauty’’ founded on ‘airy
nothing’. It is more real and substantial than
anything our eyes can see and our senses
can perceive. The worldly wise cannot value
this poetry, the cool, calculating callous man
cannot appreciate its beauty. In the world
of poetry the child is truly the father of the
man, the softer sex is assuredly the stronger,
the heart imparts lessons to the head.
Without this poetry life loses all its charm
and the world with all its pomp and vanities
seems to be ‘‘weary, stale, flat and
unprofitable’’. The absence of this poetry
makes a man sick of life and disposes him
to fly willingly unto the jaws of death. The
absence of this poetry gives rise to rapine,
plunder, ‘‘man’s inhumanity to man’’ and, in
short, all the ills that flesh is heir to. The
most unhappy of mortals is he who has no
poetry in himself. To be deprived or devoid
of this poetry is to be deprived or devoid of
every form of bliss. A man without this
poetry is not a man in the true sense of the
term. Well may we say with the ‘‘Sweet
swan of Avon’’, immortal Shakespeare,
(taking the word music in a more
comprehensive sense)--
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils,
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted.’’
Y
JULY 2010
 THE WORLD PEACE
Sri Nimananda Sevatirtha
Attempts are made from time to time
to make the Kingdom of Heaven descend
on earth. They are of different characters.
One set of such attempts is being constantly
directed to effect the world-peace.
Peace is a most blessed thing. There
are none who do not desire it and yet there
are few who get it. Peace-makers have
been hailed at different times. The political
history of the world has seen many such.
They come at an opportune moment. Their
extraordinary qualities of head and heart at
once call them to a power where in the
circle of the great they are still more
heightened by the frequent clash of forces.
This enables them to hold sway over the
minds of millions who, in their extreme
eagerness to have peace, come clustering
round them ready to work under their
dictation. Very soon these redoubtable
personalities succeed in inaugurating an era
of a world-peace.
But ere long the people have settled
in their conviction they find that they are
deceived. The peace which they have got
is but the seed of another unrest of still
greater intensity, ready to germinate at any
moment. The halo of the great names of
these peace-makers soon becomes
tarnished and obscure. They are compelled
to abdicate their unique position. Some-
body else is then pushed up to their position
only to share their lot.
Such is the fate of every human
conception of peace. It promises much but
gives little. Peace enforced by arms is as
futile as that enforced by law. Social and
moral conventions too count for very little.
In every such case a party’s interest has
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
been safeguarded. Laws, arms,
conventions can hardly be trusted as
corrective. They can keep the sword in the
scabbard and hide the intention in the heart,
but cannot affect the motive that calls for
their action. Temporal suspension of
hostilities should not beguile us as peace.
The holding back of an evil design should
not pass as love.
Again, the arms strengthen the hands
of a protector as the laws strengthen those
of the ruler. But what is there to prevent
their abuse? Do we not very often hear of
the lawless law and the oppression by arms?
What conventions are there that will promise
protection from a miscreant ready to violate
them?
Hence we talk of peace but we do not
get it. We find it neither in the political life
nor in the social. It is a commodity hardly
to be found in this world of ours. But is it
really so? Is it not in the lot a human being
to enjoy it? Can we not make the Kingdom
of Heaven descend on earth?
We can enjoy peace. Hitherto we
have failed to get it simply because of the
fact that we employed wrong methods to
obtain it. It is a heavenly thing and it must
be secured by a heavenly method. Our
body and mind are not heavenly and hence
the peace dictated by the body as well as
that dictated by the mind is not peace. We
must hear the dictation of the soul in this
matter. Soul is all love, and hence peace
inaugurated on the principles of soul is what
is real peace. The soul loving God loves
all. It is all-accommodating.
Teachers of this Love Divine are
generally misunderstood; people
19
y
r Y K * q w s v x ge
h a fgszxaAvfkc f a*.tewq
unaccustomed to study things without their
reference to flesh and blood, trace
disturbance of all social and moral
conventions in their teachings. Addressing
such an assembly Christ said, ‘‘Think not
that I am come to send peace on earth. I
am come to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law’’ . He meant to say thereby
that love contracted on the strength of
blood-relationship is no love. A God-loving
son is sure to go against his father who does
not love God. In such a going away from
one’s father there is peace. There is piece
in the rebellion against all the social and
moral conventions, if that is prompted by
Divine Love. There is peace when Prahlad
disobeyed his father Hiranyakashipu who
entreated him not to worship Lord Krishna.
There is piece when Arjuna commanded
by Lord Krishna, killed in the battle of
Kurukshetra his relatives including
Bhishma, his own grand-father’s step-
brother. There is peace when Christ
crucified alive prayed to God saying,
‘‘Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they are doing.’’ There is peace when
you turn your right cheek to him who smites
you on the left, he being your brother.
There is peace in peace as well as in its
disturbance. God know how to maintain
peace and His ways, although contradictory
and apparently detrimental to its cause,
conduce to it.
In Srimad Bhagavat a beautiful
passage occurs equally denouncing all ties
of love and friendship made on the strength
of flesh and blood. It is as follows:--
Y
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||
20 THE GAUDIYA
Guide is not he nor he the relative,
Father is not be nor he the mother,
God is not he nor he the husband,
If they not save from the death impending.
Those who do not know God, cannot
claim our friendship. Our attachment to
them in reference to our mundane relation is
but transitory and most uncertain. Then who
is my father, who is my mother and who are
my relatives whom I can trust for eternal and
unbreakable love? In the language of the
Bible we say, ‘‘Behold my mother and my
brethern! For whosoever shall do the will
of my Father which is in heaven, the same
is my brother, sister, and mother.’’
Hence the divine love must be looked
upon as the only cementing material capable
of keeping us togehter. The differences that
exist between one nation and another will n
automatically get adjusted if reference is
made to it. The world-peace is possible only
when we cease to become of the world,
when the good of the world ceases to
become our good. The local interests that
drive us asunder and always bring us in
colision with others, cannot hold their own,
when the divine love as the interst of interests
becomes the object of our pursuit.
The soul--not the body and mind---
perceives everything in relation to God. It
is only by submitting to the dictates of the
soul that we can aspire to attain the world-
peace. The world-peace has not hithrto
been possible only because the politicians
have not either cared for, or only shown lip-
deep loyalty to the dictates of the soul that
remain recorded in our scriptures. A
politician must be God-loving first.
God-less politics is sure to sow seeds
of unrest everywhere.
JULY 2010
n
mun
 »y »y TϪ TÁ{∫ÁWÁ{ \Æo:
SRIMAD BHAGAVADGITA
»y™ÙTƒËyoÁ
ufioyÆÁzDÜÆÁÆ: CHAPTER-III
N˛™|ÆÁzT: KARMA YOGA
(Contd. from June issue)
Pancha Maha Yajnas --
EÜÆÁúåÊ §¿—™Ær: uúowÆrÀoÏ oú|m™Ω @
“Áz™Áz t{ƒÁz §u¬ßÁ{o| åwÆrÁzDuousúÓ\å™Ω @@ TªgúÏ∫Ám˛
à ÀozåÁz tgΩm™“|uo @ (»y™tΩßÁTƒo™Ω 7.14.8)
The Yajnas are sacrificial rites to the
gods are five fold, viz.
1. Brahma Yajna - which is performed by
the study of the Vedas;
2. Pitri Yajna - offering oblations to the
manes or the souls of deceased ancestors;
3. Deva Yajna - offering clarified butter to
the gods by burning it in the holy fire;
4. Bhuta Yajna - offering food to other
beings;
5. Manushya Yajna - (and) offering
hospitality to guests. 12b
Relief from five-fold sins ' 1. Kandani i.e. killing of animals in
Æru∆…bÁu∆å: ÃãoÁz ™ÏXÆãoz Ã|uN˛u¡§ {: @
ßÏ`\oz oz nƒVÊ úÁúÁ Æz úYãnÆÁn™N˛Á∫mÁoΩ @@23@@
Yajnashishtâshinah santo
muchyante sarvakilbishaih |
bhujnate te tvagham pâpâ
ye pachantyâtmakâranât || 13
̋o: = Devotees; Euƌ: = eating;
Æru∆…b = the remnants of Yajna, Lord
Krishna, Whose limbs are the devas, i.e.,
after worshipping the Supreme Lord;
™ÏXÆãoz = are released from; Ã|uN˛u¡§ {:
= all sins accumulated since beginningless
JULY 2010 THE GAUDIYA
time, viz. panchasuna etc.; oz = Those;
úÁúÁ: = sinners i.e. non-devoted; Æz úYuão
= who cook food (which is meant for the
Lord of Sacrifice with His limbs devas) ;
EÁn™N˛Á∫mÁoΩ = for their own nourishment;
ßÏ`\oz = eat; EVÊ oÏ = sin only.
Devotees eating the remnants of Yajna,
Lord Krishna,Whose limbs are the devas,
i.e. after worshipping the Supreme Lord,
are released from all sins accumulated since
beginningless
nk time, viz. Panchasuna etc.
Those sinners i.e. non-devoted, who cook
food(which is meant for the Lord of Sacri-
fice with His limbs devas) for their own f
nourishment, eat sin only.
.
Panchasuna: Fivefold sins
Kandani peshani chulli
udakumbhi cha marjani |
Panchasuna grihasthasya
tabhih svargam na vindati |
Vishnu Smriti 59.19.20
˛
the pestle and mortar; 2.Peshani i.e. kill-
ing in the grinding stone ; 3. Chulli i.e.
killing in the furnace or hearth; 4.
yb Udakumbhi i.e. killing under the waterpot
betr thand 5. Marjani i.e. killing with broomstick.
13
Yajna by which men obtained food
is the purest ritual and Supreme Being
is established in it
EãåÁÙƒuão ßÓoÁuå ú\|ãÆÁtãåé߃: @
nu ÆrÁÙƒuo ú\|ãÆÁz Ær: N˛™|ÙÏÙƒ: @@14@@
21
 established i.e. is attained viz. one will get
N˛™| §¿—™ÁzÙƒÊ uƒuÈ §¿—™Áq∫ÙÏÙƒ™Ω @ the Loving Devotion at the Lotus Feet of All-
oÀ™ÁnÃ|ToÊ §¿—™ uånÆÊ Ærz ú¿uou…eo™Ω @@15@@˛ Beautiful Sri Krishna,eternally, in yajna.14,15
Annâdbhavanti bhootâni
parjanyâdannasambhavah | LƒÊ ú¿ƒuo|oÊ YN¿˛Ê åÁåσo|Æoy“ Æ: @
yajnâdbhavati parjanyo EVÁÆÏu∫uãt¿ÆÁ∫Á™Áz ™ÁzVÊ úÁs| à \yƒuo @@16@@˛˛
yajnah karmasamudhbavah || 14
Evam pravartitam chakram
Karma brahmodbhavam viddhi -
nânuvartayateeha yah |
brahmâksharasamudbhavam | aghâyurindriyârâmo
tasmâtsarvagatam brahma
nityam yajne pratishthitam || 15 mogham pârtha sa jeevati || 16
ßÓoÁuå =Animated beings; ߃uão = úÁs| = O Arjuna; Ã: = he; Æ: = å
arise; EãåÁoΩ = from food, for the food Eåσo|Æuo does not follow; F“ = here; YN¿˛Ê
transfroms into semen and blood which = this cycle (above said); LƒÊ = thus; ú¿ƒuo|o˛Ê
nourishes the body.; é߃: = The arising = established; EVÁÆÏ: = lives a sinful life;
Eãå = of food; ú\|ãÆÁoΩ = is from the rain; Fuãt¿ÆÁ∫Á™:˛= addicted to sensual pleasures;
ú\|ãÆ: = The rain ; ߃uo = arises; ÆrÁoΩ \yƒuo = (he) lives; ™ÁzVÊ = in vain.
= from the yajna; Ær = and the yajna; O Arjuna, he who does not follow here
ÙÏtßΩ ƒ: = arises ; N˛™| = from action; uƒutΩá this cycle (abovesaid) thus established lives
a sinful life addicted to sensual pleasures (and
= know that; N˛™| = prescribed action; and te
he) lives in vain. 16
GtΩßƒÊ = arises ; §¿˛—™ = from Brahman or
Vedas; §¿—™˛ = Vedas are Brahman ; Self-contended person is free from
ÙÏtßΩ ƒÊ = arises(originate); mundane attachment
Eq∫ = in the transcendental Word
‘Om’, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, the ÆÀnƒÁn™∫uo∫zƒ ÀÆÁtÁn™owõo≈Y ™Áåƒ: @
Absolute; oÀ™ÁoΩ = Therefore; Ã|ToÊ EÁn™ãÆzƒ Y ÃãoÏ…bÀoÀÆ N˛ÁÆ˙ å uƒtΩÆoz @@17@@˛˛
§¿—™˛ = the All-pervading Supreme Lord Yastvâtmaratireva syâd-
Sri Krishna; ú¿uou…boÊ˛= is established âtmatriptashcha mânavah |
i.e. is attained viz. one will get the loving âtmanyeva cha santushta-
devotion at the Lotus Feet of All-Beaufiful stasya kâryam na vidyate || 17
Sri Krishna; uånÆÊ = eternally; Ærz = in
Yajna. Æ:oÏ =That; ™Áåƒ = person; ÀÆÁoΩ
Animated beings arise from food, = who is; EÁn™∫uo Lƒ = a lover of his true
for the food transforms into semen and self (knowing his eternal relationship as ser-
blood which nourishes the body; The aris- vitor of the Supreme Lord); EÁn™owõo Y = is
ing of food is from the rain. The rain arises satisfied with the soul (i.e. being engaged in
from the yajna; and the yajna arises from his eternal and natural Transcendental loving
action. Know that prescribed action arises o service ); ÃÊo…Ï b: = is contended (enjoys the
from Brahman or Vedas; Vedas or Brah- Divine Bliss which is the real “END” of this
man arises (originate) in the Transcendental humanƒÁ birth); EÁn™uå Lƒ = only with the a
e
Word ‘OM’, the Supreme Lord Sri soul (i.e. he will not have any attachment
Krishna, The Absolute. Therefore, the All- other than the Divine Lotus Feet of All-Bliss-
pervading Supreme Lord Sri Krishna is (Cont. in page 24) ∫

22 THE GAUDIYA JULY 2010

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 (Cont. from page 22)
ful Lord Sri Krishna); å uƒtΩÆoz = he has
no; N˛ÁÆ˙ = action to perform; oÀÆ = by
him.
( Fettered with the ‘wheel of action’,
the jivas perform their duties for duty’s
sake.) That person who is a lover of his
true self (knowing his eternal relationship
as servitor of the Supreme Lord) is satis-
fied with the soul (i.e. being engaged in his
eternal and natural Transcendental loving
Service ) is contended (enjoys the Divine
Bliss which is the real “END” of this hu-
man birth) only with the soul (i.e. he will
not have any attachment other than the
Divine Lotus Feet of All-Blissful Lor d Sri
Krishna), he has no action to perform by
him. 17
å{ƒ oÀÆ Nw˛ozåÁsÁz| åÁNw˛ozåz“ N˛≈Yå @
å YÁÀÆ Ãƒ|ßoÓ  z Ï N˛u≈Yts|√ÆúÁ»Æ: @@18@@˛˛
Naiva tasya kritenartho
nâkriteneha kashchana |
na châsya sarvabhuteshu
kashchidarthavyapâshrayah || 18
oÀÆ = For him (abovesaid person who
engages in his eternal transcendental Loving
Service), å{ƒ Es|: = there is no gain or
virtue, Nw˛ozå = by what is done, å N˛≈Yå =
and nor has he any loss or vice, ENw˛ozå =
by what is not done, F“ = in this world,
EÀÆ Y = to him, å N˛u≈YoΩ = there is nothing,
Es|√ÆúÁ»Æ: = to be gained as an object (as
one who delights in the eternal Loving
Service of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna,
the only Object of worship will not have
any objective of this world. So whatever
he does or does not do, all tend to universal
good), Ã|ßoÓ  z Ï = in all this world.
For him (abovesaid person who
engages in his eternal Transcendental
Loving Service), there is no gain or virtue
24 THE GAUDIYA
by what is done and nor has he any loss or
vice by what is not done in this world. To
him, there is nothing to be gained as an object
(as one who delights in the eternal Loving
Service of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna,
the only Object of worship, will not have
any objective of this world. So, whatever
he does or does not do , all tend to universal
good) in all this world.
Refer Srimad Bhagavatam VI.17.31;
II.4.18; XII.7.9; XI.2.42; and Brihad
Aranyaka Upanishad I.4.10. 18
What a striver should do in order to 5
attain the state of God-realised soul
oÀ™ÁtÃMo: ÃooÊ N˛ÁÆ˙ N˛™| ÙÁY∫ @ B
EÃMoÁz —ÆÁY∫ãN˛™| ú∫™ÁõåÁzuo úÓª  @@19@@˛˛
Tasmâdasaktah satatam
kâryam karma samâchara |
asakto hyâcharankarma
paramâpnoti poorushah || 19
oÀ™ÁoΩ = Therefore, ÃooÊ = always,
ÙÁY∫ = perform, N˛™| = obligatory prescribed
actions, N˛ÁÆ˙ = that is to be done, EÃMo: =
without any atachment for their fruits, úϪ :
B).
= man, EÁõåÁzuo = attains, ú∫Ê = the realisation
of the soul’s eternal function of unalloyed
service to the Absolute Person, which is the
climax of all duties enjoined by the scriptures, e
EÁY∫åΩ u“ = only by doing, N˛™| = his obligatory
prescribed duties, EÃMo: = without any
attachment.
Therefore, always perform obligatorty
prescribed actions. That is to be done
without any attachment for their fruits. Man
attains the realistion of the soul’s eternal
function of unalloyed service to the Absolute
Person, which is the climax of all duties ro
enjoined by the Scriptures, only by doing
his obligatory prescribed duties without any
attachment. 19
(to be continued)
JULY
ar 2010