The most worshipful ācārya kesarī Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja conducted a storm-like preaching tour in many villages in Medinīpura district, West Bengal, in 1950. In thirty days he preached extensively in about forty different religious assemblies about śrī sanātana-dharma, the dharma of pure bhakti, as practised and expounded by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There was one large village of Medinīpura called Gehūṅkhalī, where a vast religious assembly was held. Śrī Śrīla Gurupāda-padma had come there on the request of his godbrother param-pūjyapāda nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Bhūdeva Śrauti Mahārāja. The huge assembly had been arranged in the courtyard of a high school managed by the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission, and the headmaster of the school, other teachers and other learned and distinguished personalities from the neighbourhood were present.
In very poetic language, Śrīla Gurupāda-padma established the siddhānta of śuddha-bhakti as practised and expounded by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, before an audience of about twenty-five thousand people. He explained that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the last limit of the Supreme Truth and the ultimate worshipful Truth for all living entities, who are His separated parts (vibhinnāṁśa-tattva). By constitution the living entities are the servants of Bhagavān. The jīva’s wretched condition is due to forgetfulness of his service attitude towards the Supreme Lord.
Śrīla Gurudeva was establishing these conclusions by scriptural evidence and unquestionable reasoning, when right in the middle of the lecture, some people asked, “We have read and heard that the living entity is Śiva. Śiva, Durgā, Kālī, Gaṇeśa – these are all different names and forms of the one Bhagavān. Bhagavān is attained regardless of which viewpoint you take (yata mata tata patha), and regardless of which god you worship. When one goes up into the sky, all things are seen equally. Letters are posted from different post offices all arrive in the same place. One can reach Delhi on foot, by car, by train or by any other conveyance. Similarly, when the sādhaka is situated in an elevated position of spirituality, he sees all as one and the same. The one Bhagavān is attained by worshipping anyone, yet you accept that Kṛṣṇa alone is the exclusive object of worship and that bhakti to Him is the best of all means of spiritual attainment.”
The entire audience was fascinated by Śrīla Gurudeva’s brilliant reply to this question. Those who had posed the question were completely unable to respond. Following are some parts of the speech that Śrīla Gurupāda-padma delivered in that assembly.
With profound gravity, Śrīla Ācārya Kesarī said that the viewpoint put forward by the opposing party was the remnant of Christian doctrine; it is non-Vedic and it is against the verdict of śāstra.
He said that the slogan yata mata tata patha means that all philosophical systems are different paths to attain the same Bhagavān. First of all, let us deliberate upon this. This opinion is misleading and against scripture in all respects. If we accept it, then we will have to regard everyone’s conceptions to be equal, whether they are thieves, plunderers, prostitutes, saints or materialists. No thoughtful person can accept that those who take shelter of practices in the mood of goodness, passion and ignorance (sāttvika, rājasika and tāmasika practices) will all attain the same result. The destination of violent people who eat meat, fish and eggs is not the same as that of righteous people who harbour a pure sāttvika conception and are devoted to sāttvika and transcendental (nirguṇa) matters. No intelligent person can accept such a view.
Revealed scriptures such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Gītā have not described all religions or paths to be equal. On the contrary, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that the only supreme dharma for all living entities is bhakti to Adhokṣaja Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which should be unmotivated and uninterrupted like a stream of oil:
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6)
dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ sataṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2)
The meaning here is that apart from devotion to the Supreme Lord, all other opinions that go by the name dharma are useless and hypocritical. Paths other than pure bhakti cannot enable one to meet with Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān can be pleased only by the devotion described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
The Gītā also states that those who worship the demigods attain the planets of the demigods, those who worship the forefathers go to the planets of the forefathers (Pitṛloka), and those who worship the spirits attain the planets of the spirits. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not attained by these mundane worldly methods of worship. Service to Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa-loka can be attained only by pure devotion (śuddha-bhakti ). If all methods of worship were the same, then Kṛṣṇa would not have said in the Gītā (9.25, 7.20, 7.23):
yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
yānti mad-yājino ’pi māmThose who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, those who worship the forefathers go to the planets of the forefathers, those who worship the spirits go to the planets of the spirits, and those who worship Me will surely come to Me.
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ
prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ
taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya
prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayāThose whose knowledge has been stolen by desires to drive away distress and so on take shelter of appropriate regulations and worship the demigods, being impelled by their own natures.
antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ
tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām
devān deva-yajo yānti
mad-bhaktā yānti mām apiThe result of the worship performed by those people of meagre intelligence, however, is perishable. The worshipers of the demigods attain the demigods and My devotees come to Me.
Giving up Kṛṣṇa to worship various demigods has been called unlawful.
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
Bhagavad-gītā (9.23)O son of Kuntī, those who worship demigods with faith actually worship Me alone, but in a way that is unauthorized.
Some people state that Viṣṇu, Gaṇeśa, Durgā, Kālī and Śiva are all one and the same. There is no fundamental, or intrinsic, difference between them; they are different in name only, and the result of worshipping all of them is the same. However this concept is not in agreement with śāstra.
tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ
sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ
divīva cakṣurātatam
tad viprāso vipanyavo
jāgṛvāṁsaḥ samindhate
viṣṇor yat paramaṁ padam
Ṛg Veda (1.5.22.20–21)As eyes are capable of seeing the sun in the sky without impediment, similarly liberated mahāpuruṣas always see the supreme abode of Parameśvara Viṣṇu. The sādhus, who are devoted to Bhagavān, and who are free from defects such as the tendency to be mistaken or deluded, preach everywhere about Viṣṇu’s supreme abode.
na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca
Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad (6.8)The activities of that para-brahma Paramātmā are not material because His senses, such as His hands and feet, are not material. He is splendidly present in all places at the same time in His spiritual body. Therefore, what to speak of being greater than Him, no one is even equal to Him. It is heard that Parameśvara has various types of divine potencies, among which His jñāna-śakti (knowledge potency), bala-śakti (strength potency) and kriyā-śakti (action potency) are prominent. These three potencies are called cit-śakti (saṁvit), sat-śakti (sandhinī) and ānanda-śakti (hlādinī ) respectively.
In Gītā 7.7 Kṛṣṇa declares: “mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya – O conqueror of riches, Dhanañjaya, there is nothing superior to Me.” And in 15.15, “vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham – by all the Vedas I alone am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas.”
It is established by all this authentic evidence that viṣṇu-tattva is the Supreme Truth. It has not been stated anywhere in the śāstra that demigods such as Gaṇeśa, Kālī, Durgā and Sūrya are equal to Viṣṇu. On the contrary, it is said that those who consider them equal to Nārāyaṇa are offenders.
yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ
brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam
Vaiṣṇava-tantraOne who considers Śrī Nārāyaṇa to be in the same category as demigods, such as Brahmā and Rudra, is a pāṣaṇḍī, an offensive non-believer.
Moreover, in Gītā (6.46–47) it has been said:
tapasvibhyo ’dhiko yogi
jñānibhyo ’pi mato ’dhikaḥ
karmibhyaś cādhiko yogi
tasmād yogī bhavārjuna
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntarātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yuktatamo mataḥThe yogī is superior to fruitive workers who have material desires, tapasvīs (those engaged in the performance of austerities) and jñānīs (those engaged in the cultivation of knowledge). Therefore, O Arjuna, be a yogī. However, even among these yogīs, those who do bhajana of Me, Vāsudeva, being devoted to Me with complete faith, are the best of all; this is My opinion. Therefore, become a yogī like this.
Bhagavān cannot be easily attained by any means other than bhakti. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has personally said:
na sādhyati māṁ yogo
na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo
yathā bhaktir mamorjitā
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.20)Yoga-sādhana, jñāna-vijñāna, religious ceremonies, chanting mantras, austerities, studying the Vedas and renunciation are not sufficient to attain Me. I can only be attained by devotional service saturated with unalloyed prema.
This same conclusion has also been expressed in Śruti: “bhaktir evainaṁ nayati bhaktir evainaṁ darśayati / bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī – it is only unalloyed bhagavad-bhakti that carries the jīvas to Bhagavān and brings about their audience with Him and eternal engagement in service to Him. Bhagavān is only controlled by bhakti” (Māṭhara-śruti quoted in Madhvācārya’s commentary on Vedānta-sūtra 3.3.53).
For this reason, the instruction has been given in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) to give up all temporary dharmas related to the body and mind and surrender to Bhagavān, “sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.” Nowhere in the authentic śāstras has it been stated that all opinions, paths or worldly dharmas are the same. People who preach this misleading philosophy that all paths lead to the same goal (yata mata tata patha) are ignorant of tattva.
When one goes up a great height in an airplane, the trees and the plants, the high places and the low all appear to be the same, but this simply indicates the observer’s lack of seeing power. His eyes cannot properly see remote objects. Similarly, because of a lack of tattva-jñāna, ignorant people, who see everything from their own limited material viewpoint, consider all opinions – good and bad – to be equal. This simply reveals their lack of knowledge. It is not that everyone is one, nor does everyone become one if someone whose vision is coloured by nescience sees them as so. Those who perform forbidden activities are not the same as those who engage in pious activities, those who perform prescribed duties without attachment, jñāna-yogīs or bhakti-yogīs. Their activities are different, the results of their activities are different, and their destinations are different. If it were not so, this opinion would not have been refuted in the Gītā and elsewhere.
Only ignorant, foolish people say that a bullock cart, a horse-drawn carriage, a train or a car can take you to the same destination, and that all roads lead to the same destination. Countries and islands such as England, Australia or Hawaii are situated in the middle of the ocean; they cannot be reached by bullock cart, horse-drawn carriage or car. Everyone acknowledges this fact. Even passengers on the same train cannot arrive at the same destination if they have tickets for different places. Similarly, those who adopt various methods of attainment to realize various goals, such as material sense gratification, liberation, or love of God, cannot all attain the same result of loving service to Bhagavān. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has explained this nicely in Bhagavad-gītā 4.11, “ye yathā māṁ prapadyante – however one renders service to Me I reciprocate with him accordingly.”
Some people also say, “All letters reach the same destination even if you post them from different post offices. Similarly, all worshipers attain the same Supreme Lord, no matter what demigod they worship.” But this argument is also utterly imaginary; it is born of ignorance. If the address written on different letters is the same, then they will all arrive at the same place, regardless of where they were posted. This is correct. But if letters have different addresses written on them, then they will reach different destinations. Similarly, if all worshipers perform the same exclusive worship of Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, which culminates in bhakti, then they become purified and will attain Bhagavān. This sequence is shown in a beautiful way in Bhagavad-gītā.
Nowadays we see many slogans which are opposed to the conclusions of scripture. The authentic scriptures do not at all support ideas such as ‘service to daridra-nārāyaṇa’ (God in the form of the poverty-stricken), janatā-janārdana (the common people are God) and jīva hi śiva (the living entity is Śiva). If poverty-stricken people are Nārāyaṇa, then what about wealthy and respectable people who have performed pious activities in their previous births? What about righteous, learned and honourable people? Why is it that they cannot be Nārāyaṇa? Those who accept the notion of daridra-nārāyaṇa are all atheists impelled by base saṁskāras, or impressions from previous births. They have no relation whatsoever with pure ātmā-dharma.
To this day no jīva has ever succeeded in becoming Bhagavān. The ātmā, the individual soul, and Paramātmā, the Supreme Soul, have separate individual natures by their very constitution. The jīvātmā is minute, subject to the control of māyā and helpless in regard to tasting the results of his activities. In contrast, Paramātmā is the creator, master and maintainer of the entire universe and He is the Lord of māyā. How can these two be called one? Those who maintain such a conception propound a vicious brand of folly. They are mistaken in all respects.
Those who say that the jīva becomes Śiva after attaining jñāna and becoming liberated are atheists. At this stage, they call Mahādeva Śaṅkara (Śiva) ‘Father’ and they address Bhavānī as ‘Mother’, but when they are liberated and they have become Śiva, they will see Bhavānī as their wife. Therefore Bhavānī in the form of Durgā cuts the throats of such miscreants and wears a garland of their skulls. Evidence of this can be found in many places in śāstra.
After hearing Śrīla Ācārya Kesarī’s brilliant speech, some of the teachers who were present placed a proposal before Śrī Gurudeva. They offered to bring the main svāmījī of the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission Maṭha located in Velūra and investigate this subject by means of a scriptural debate in a special assembly. “We will call him tomorrow,” they said. Ācārya Kesarī replied, “Once he hears my name he will never come.” Śrīla Gurudeva waited for three or four days for the sannyāsīs of the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission, but it became obvious that they were not prepared for a scriptural debate at any cost.
[CC-by-ND GVP]