On 23 December 1960, paramaradhya Srila Gurudeva arrived with his associates at Howrah Baharampura city in the district of Mursidabada, having received a special invitation from the distinguished residents of that city. Srila Gurudeva’s childhood friend Sri Krsnadeva Mukhopadhyaya and many local people were anxiously waiting to welcome him at the Baharampura Court Station. When he arrived they enthusiastically greeted him with garlands, sandalwood and other paraphernalia, and then brought him and his party by car to Sri Haripada Saha’s temple in the city of Howrah, where he was to stay.
The next evening, Srila Acaryadeva gave a powerful lecture on the duty of human life to a huge congregation in the large courtyard of the temple. On the third day, 25 December, Srila Acaryadeva delivered another profound lecture at the same place. The subject was ‘The original nature of vaisnava-dharma’. Lawyers, teachers and other educated people of the city were fascinated by his lecture, which was replete with the truths of Vedanta. On the special request of these people, Srila Acaryadeva extended his stay for three days and spoke on mukti-tattva and acintya-bhedabheda, analyzing very deep philosophical principles. The general public became enchanted when they heard his powerful discourses. At the end of the program, Srimad Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama Maharaja gave a lecture cum slide show on sri gaura-krsna-lila.
After preaching suddha-bhakti for five days in Howrah Baharampura, Srila Acaryadeva accepted the special invitation of the respected Raya Bahadura Surendra Narayana Singh, a very religious and learned person, and went to Jiyaganja with his preaching party. On the first day, Raya Bahadura organized a large religious assembly in the extensive courtyard of the local Candi-mandapa. At his special request Srila Acaryadeva gave a lecture full of deep truths regarding the philosophy of acintya-bhedabheda.
He said, “Para-brahma Sri Krsna, the Lord of all lords, who creates all the material universes, is advaya-jnana para-tattva, the non-dual Supreme Absolute Truth. He is the unparalleled Truth. He is not formless (nirakara), without power (nihsaktik) and without attributes (nirvisesa); rather, He is the inconceivable possessor of all energies (sarva-saktiman). Actually, the Supreme Absolute Truth, Sri Bhagavan, has one sakti, which is called para-sakti or antaranga-sakti. However, this para-sakti is known by different names because it performs many kinds of functions. Amongst these names, three are principal, namely cit-sakti, jiva-sakti and maya-sakti. The spiritual world manifests from cit-sakti, innumerable living entities from jiva-sakti (also called tatastha-sakti ), and innumerable material worlds from maya-sakti (also called bahiranga-sakti ). When we say ‘manifest’ it is to be understood to mean the transformation of the different saktis, or energies, of the Lord.
“The saktis of para-tattva (the Absolute Truth) are simultaneously one with and different from the transformations of those same saktis, but this oneness and difference is beyond the petty reasoning, logic and comprehension of the jivas. In this sense, it is inconceivable. At the same time, it is conceivable or accessible through the medium of transcendental sound. Therefore, this oneness (bheda) and difference (abheda) is called acintya-bhedabheda.
“Now, what do we mean when we say that it is accessible through the medium of transcendental sound? This should be understood very carefully. When we say ‘transcendental sound’, we mean the words of the scriptures such as the Vedas, the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra, the Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Srimad-Bhagavatam, which are accepted by the genuine guru-parampara. This specific relationship of simultaneous oneness and difference (bheda and abheda) can be understood only by the authority of this transcendental sound; otherwise it remains inconceivable. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught this acintya-bhedabheda-tattva to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, and it has been very thoroughly discussed by Srila Jiva Gosvami in the Sat-sandharbhas and by gaudiya vedantacarya Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his Govinda-bhasya.”
This lecture was so full of very deep philosophical thoughts that even learned and educated people – what to speak of the general audience – could not understand it easily. They all told Sri Acarya Kesari that, since the lecture had been so difficult to understand, they wanted to hear a simple and easy talk about the duty of human life. Srila Gurudeva therefore spoke the following day on ‘Dharma and the duties of human life’. He refuted the views of the modern apasampradayas and upasampradayas and extensively discussed pure sanatana-dharma, bhagavad-bhakti. Every day after Srila Gurudeva’s lectures, tridandi-svami Bhaktivedanta Trivikrama Maharaja gave a lecture, with the help of slides, on Sriman Mahaprabhu’s teachings. Prayers were also offered to Sri Hari, Guru and Vaisnavas at the beginning and end of the lecture every day, and the songs of the mahajanas (spiritual authorities) and the harinama maha-mantra were sung.
Preaching of suddha-bhakti in Sundaravana (Bengal)
On 24 January 1961, on the special invitation of the Dharma Sammelana, Sri Acaryadeva arrived at Rajanagara near Kakadvipa, along with his associates. Among them was tridandi-svami Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja [the author], the editor of the Hindi Sri Bhagavat-patrika, published in Sri Dhama Mathura.
For the evening, a very large religious conference was organized in the extensive courtyard of Rajanagara High School, and Srila Acaryadeva was unanimously selected as chairman. Speakers from other sampradayas gave lectures, after which Srila Acaryadeva called upon tridandipada Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja and Sri Cidghanananda Brahmacari, who were the chief guests of the assembly and in favour of vaisnava-dharma, to speak. Finally, Srila Acaryadeva gave a very interesting lecture on the difference between Bhagavan Kapila and the sankhya philosopher Kapila, who appeared later. He asserted that Hindus are the only followers of sakara-vada (the principle substantiating Bhagavan’s form), whereas all non-Hindus are impersonalists (nirakara-vadis).
Srila Acaryadeva explained that Kapiladeva Rsi is the original founder of sankhya philosophy. There are two Kapilas. The first Kapila appeared in Satya-yuga as the son of Maharsi Kardama and Manu’s daughter Devahuti. He is an incarnation of Bhagavan and is famous for being the founder of sankhya philosophy. Although he did not compose the book named Sankhya-darsana, the doctrine of sankhya that he established is very clearly found in Srimad-Bhagavatam and other scriptures. It was the second Kapila Muni (who destroyed the dynasty of Sagara) and who appeared in Treta-yuga who composed the book Sankhya-darsana. Even though this Sankhya-darsana is a compilation of the essence of the original Kapiladeva’s philosophy of sankhya and contains excellent explanations of atma-tattva, the reality of the soul, it contains some specific features that are completely against the conclusion of the Srutis. (For instance, Kapila Muni says that Isvara is incomplete, and that the non-sentient material nature, prakrti, is the original creator of the material world.) According to vedanta-sastra this is against the opinions of Srutis, and therefore, the society of sadhus have no respect for the modern Sankhya-darsana.
There is no mention of the word ‘Hindu’ in the ancient scriptures, yet all the followers of sanatana-dharma are to be understood as Hindus. All Hindus accept that Bhagavan has a form (sakara-vada), and they worship the transcendental deity of the Lord. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains and followers of religions other than Hinduism all believe in a formless Absolute (nirakara-vada). The followers of sanatana-dharma are followers of eternal dharma. All religions other than this sanatana-dharma have a beginning and an end. Even though their followers do formally believe that God has no form, they are forced to accept a form or shape in one aspect or another. Their scriptures also contain descriptions of God, such as the shape and form of Khuda. In the Buddhist and Jain temples huge deities are worshipped. If Isvara has no form, then what is the need of temples, mosques, churches and Buddhist stupas? For whom are they required? If there is no form and nobody actually exists, then for whom are the temples and mosques intended?
Acaryadeva was also elected chairman on the second day of the religious conference. After members of other sampradayas had spoken, Srila Acaryadeva instructed me [the author] to lecture on the Absolute Truth (para-tattva), the identity of the worshipful object (upasya-vastu) and worship of Him. I established that Vrajendra-nandana Sri Krsna is solely advaya-jnana para-tattva, the Supreme Absolute Truth who is beyond all dualities. In support of this, I presented scriptural evidence such as ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28), isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah / anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam (Brahma-samhita 5.1), and aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas-tad-dhama vrndavana ... nah parah. I also strongly emphasized Sriman Mahaprabhu’s opinion that the topmost aim for the living beings is to attain sri krsna-prema and that the highest worship of Sri Krsna is that of the vraja-ramanis.
After that, Sri Visvanatha Raya, Sri Sudarsana Brahmacari and Sri Cidghanananda Brahmacari spoke about vaisnava-dharma. At the end, Srila Acaryadeva nicely explained to the whole audience that the vaisnava-dharma established by Caitanya Mahaprabhu is actually sanatana-dharma.
The organizers of the conference, especially the teacher Surendranatha Bhattacarya (MA triple) and Sri Dvijendranatha Patra Mahodaya, highly praised Sri Acaryadeva’s style of lecturing, his mood and his thought. At the end of the conference they discussed dharma with Srila Guru Maharaja.
[CC-by-ND GVP]