Who Will Be Like Rūpa-Sanātana?
Who Will Be Like Rūpa-Sanātana?
There is a story of a Bābājī who was doing bhajana at the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa under the guidance of his guru. One day, he had a dream of Dvārakā Purī and decided to go there for a visit. There he took darśana of Rukmiṇī Dvārakādhīśa and accepted some of Their remnants. He returned to Rādhā-kuṇḍa and tried to continue with his bhajana but his mind was now restless. In addition, his Gurudeva and godbrothers now neglected him and did not talk to him, for he went to Dvārakā without asking for their permission. When he approached his Gurudeva, his Gurudeva chastised him, saying, “Oh, if you do not like Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, then why don’t you go to Dvārakā and stay there?”
Many times Śrīla Gurudeva told the story of a very famous Bābājī in Vṛndāvana who had a lot of disciples. Once, the Bābājī spoke of the glories of Govindadeva. As a result, one of his disciples asked him for permission to go to Jaipura. The guru said, “You should stay here in Vṛndāvana in the association of your godbrothers. Then Govindadeva will accept your service and give you His darśana.” But the disciple could not accept the advice of his Gurudeva and said, “No, Govinda is present in Jaipura, so I will go there.”
He covered the whole distance of 250 kilometers by foot, arriving in a few days late at night. All the temples were closed, but some pūjārī saw the Bābājī and said, “You must be very tired and hungry from walking such a long way. Come to my home, I will give you food and water and then you should take some rest there.” He accepted the invitation of the pūjārī. The next morning, he attended Govindadeva’s maṅgala-ārati. There he met many people who gave him cloth and food as donations. For some days he served at the temple by cleaning and sweeping the pathways.
After a few weeks, being pleased with his service, the priests said, “Oh, you came all the way from Vṛndāvana to serve Govindadeva. We will give you the position of a pūjārī.” The bābājī was very happy upon hearing this and enthusiastically started his service. But after some time, his attitude changed. He started to hide prasādam, flowers, tulasī, and candana to give to the visitors who came for darśana. But he himself ate more and more of these things and thus he became very fat and red. Gradually his desire for sense enjoyment increased, and simultaneously the desire to serve Govindadeva diminished.
After the bābā realized his unfortunate position, he remembered his Gurudeva and ran back to him. But his guru chastised him, saying, “I have no need of a sevāka like you. Go back to Govindadeva. This is better for you.”
The bābājī said, “No. Please forgive me and give me your shelter.”
“If you fast for seven days and nights,” the guru said, “then you can be purified of your lusty desires and again begin your bhajana.”
On the third day of the fast, the bābā looked as if he would give up his body at any moment, and at the request of his godbrothers, the guru allowed him to take some caraṇāmṛta. On the fourth day, they gave him one dry capatti soaked in water. After seven days, the guru asked his disciple, “How are you feeling now?”
“Now, by your mercy,” he said, “my sense desires have reduced and I am ready to began my sādhana.”
The guru then instructed him:
viṣayīra anna khāile malina haya māna
malina māna haile nahe kṛṣṇera smaraṇa
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 6.278
When one eats food offered by sensuous or worldly people, one’s mind becomes contaminated, and in that state one is unable to remember Kṛṣṇa.
When the bābā had started hiding and enjoying the prasāda of Govindadeva, giving special attention to certain guests, and especially, by receiving honor and respect from those coming for darśana, gradually his mind became contaminated by viśaya, desire for sense enjoyment. Therefore, we must be very careful at this stage of our devotion when it seems that our good fortune has arisen. This time is auspicious, but if we do not follow proper etiquette and sādhana then there is grave danger of falling from the path.
bālāgra śata bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 5.9
Though the jīva is situated in an inert material body, he is a subtle transcendental principle (tattva). If one divides the tip of a hair into one hundred parts and again divides one of those parts into one hundred parts, then however subtle one of those parts may be, the jīva is even more subtle than that. Although he is so subtle, the jīva is a spiritual substance (aprākṛta-vastu).
The position of the jīvas is very small. Thus they are very weak and full of misconceptions. They cannot realize the truth, for they are always engaged in drinking the nectar of māyā, which creates impressions that cover their consciousness layer after layer. How will the jīva be cleansed? Who will remove these layers of false impressions?
Māyā, bahiraṅgā-śakti, is very insignificant compared to svarūpa-śakti. When this svarūpa-śakti, Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, comes to help, darkness vanishes at once. It is like the time shortly before the sun rises. Although the sun is not visible yet, its rays enlighten the sky and force darkness to fade. In the same manner, bahiraṅgā-śakti quickly runs away when svarūpa-śakti comes to help the jīvas, thus removing the coverings of the soul. In this way, the jīvas undergo the process of ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. Other than svarūpa-śakti, nothing and no one else can purify the jīvas.
kṛṣṇa-sūrya-śama māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṇ kṛṣṇa tāhāṇ nāhi māyāra adhikāra
Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion, the influence of the external energy, will immediately vanish.
Kṛṣṇa is compared to the light. If you face this light, then your shadow will be behind you. And if you have your back towards Kṛṣṇa, then you face your shadow. How can we face Kṛṣṇa, and who will help us accomplish this? However, simply facing Kṛṣṇa, or the light, and turning away from darkness, or māyā, is not sufficient. Insects go towards the light of the lamp in an attempt to eat it, but get burned instead. The jīvas similarly run towards Viṣṇu, God, or Kṛṣṇa with a desire to enjoy Them, but they do not know the right way to approach Them. Without undergoing the process of ceto-darpana-mārjanam, the selfish, material nature that has covered the jīvas do not disappear. The jīvas do not learn how to please the Lord and be permanently in His presence. We see, billions of people worship Jesus, Allah, Buddha, and so forth, but mostly, everyone worships God in order to collect māyā. They ask for material possessions and comfort. Such people have no spiritual intelligence. Only svarūpa-śakti Śrīmatī Rādhikā has the power to give this intelligence to the jīvas.
People go to a mahā-bhāgavata, and instead of understanding the desire and the heart of the Guru-varga, they are only interested in their wealth, society, and temples. They appreciate being in the society only because everybody likes and respect them. As soon as they arrive they get offered a seat, food, water, and a nice room. If they get all these things, they tell Gurudeva, “O Gurujī, you are very kind to me. Your arrangements are very good and I like all your disciples.”
Who will be like Sanātana and Rūpa Gosvāmī? When Mahāprabhu sent them to Vraja-dhāma, did Mahāprabhu give them some coins or arrange a straw hut, bed, and food for them? Without these things, they were fixed in their service to Mahāprabhu. Many people come to Guru and Vaiṣṇavas for the fulfillment of their material desires, but the Guru-varga is concerned about cleansing the heart and extinguishing the blazing forest fire of material existence. The sādhaka should therefore strive to continuously serve the Guru-varga, without desiring material benefit in return.
By properly following and being under the guidance of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti Śrīmatī Rādhikā bestows pure knowledge and intelligence. By this, the jīvas can understand reality and the dharma of the soul. They will no longer be impatient or intolerant, and their minds will not be driven restless by the desire to enjoy the senses. They will be very strong, like the Gosvāmīs and Guru-varga.
When we are in the association of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, by Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s desire and arrangement, we then engage in kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. In what way does kṛṣṇa-kīrtana purify the jīvas? There are five principles: īśvara, jīva, prakṛtī, kāla, and karma. The first thing from which one is purified is the misconceptions of one’s relations to other jīvas. The sādhaka will become purified from liking others too much, desiring respect from others, and desiring others to be his followers and servants. The sādhaka learns that other jīvas are not his property meant for his enjoyment.
After this initial purification, the sādhaka realizes how he should relate with prakṛtī. Prakṛtī means Mother Nature—everything that is made from the five material elements. When the sādhaka realizes his position in relation to all these manifestations of prakṛtī, he stops trying to control and enjoy them. He does not ask them for help, either. He understands that if he would do so, attraction and affection for them would arise and he would adopt their mundane mood and nature.