Hari-katha inspired by the Guru-varga.
We are in the holy abode of Sri Vrndavana-dhama by the causeless mercy of Sri Baladeva Prabhu as well as Guru and Vaisnavas. Mathura-mandala, or Vraja-mandala, is the appearance place of Vyasadeva. From here, Vyasadeva collected and distributed Vraja-rasa—not only for the living entities in the material universe, but also for the mukta-jivas in Vaikuntha-loka.
When Brahma created the material universes, he thought, “What literature will I teach to the jivas? What rules and regulations will they follow? I have been ordered to create, but what will I do afterwards?” Many Rsis appeared from Brahma’s mind when he thought about this. But they became embroiled in argument—tarko pratistha srutayo vibhinna nasa rsir matam abhinnam dharmasya tattvam guhayam mahajano gata sa pantha. Tarka—logic and argument. One rsi would propound his opinion of reality, dharma, and rules and regulations for people, and another rsi would counter those ideas and propound his own ideas. Many rsis and munis developed their own opinions.
Brahma thought, “What will I do now? Matam abhinnam—they have developed so many doctrines according to their understanding. So many groups and gotras have come about. Kosi, Bharadvaja, Sandilya, Agastya—there are so many groups now.” These groups would tell those of other groups that they were low-class because they did not follow their doctrine. And they divided people into different classifications, like Pulinda, Sabara, Gandharva, Kinnara, Bauddha, and so forth. “If you follow us, you are a brahmana. We are brahmanas.” They would speak thus. “If you don’t follow me you are a sudra.” They would ridicule or even curse others. This caused a big problem.
Before there was only one caste—hamsa, the swanlike people, and there was only one religion. But after this, people divided into many groups and they titled themselves according to their ideas and cultures. Brahma saw that there were now ksatriyas, sudras, vaisyas, brahmanas, sages, antyajas, mlecchas, and so many groups and subgroups. Brahma controlled the delicate situation throughout Satya-yuga, but in Treta-yuga, many groups and parties came about, but still Brahma managed things; however, when Dvapara-yuga arrived, he could no longer control the situation. Those who were elder and senior would try to force the juniors to follow them. In an asrama, when a new person joins, the temple president says, “Follow me. Offer pranama to me. Obey my orders. Then you can stay, otherwise not.”
In Dvapara-yuga, people tried to control each other like this and would show contempt towards those who would not follow them. Then all these different classes of people were created. Brahma thought what to do. He prayed to svarupa-sakti and She sent the saktyavesa-avatara, Vyasadeva, and arranged for him to appear on Earth, for the welfare of all living entities.
Parasara Rsi stayed on the east side of the Yamuna, on the other side of Mathura. Durvasa, Atri, Dattatreya—these rsis had asramas there in Mathura. Parasara Rsi would go on parikrama of Govardhana, Kamyavana, Varsana, Nandagoan, and all the holy places of Vraja-mandala. On Guru-purnima, Parasara Rsi was coming to Vrndavana to worship Gurudeva. Who is Gurudeva? Krsnam vande jagad gurum. Krsna is the guru of everyone. He is siksa-guru and caitya-guru, as Paramatma. He is the Absolute Truth and Almighty Lord.
isvara parama krsna saccid ananda vigraha
anadi adir govinda sarva karana karanam
Parasara Rsi performed tapa, japa, mantra, parikrama, and puja on this day of Guru-purnima, worshipping Krsna, and then in the evening he was coming back to Vrndavana. It was a full moon day, so he thought there would be no problem coming back at night to Vrndavana. However, it was windy and very dark, clouds covered the moon, and it was raining. Yamuna was flooding and flowing very swiftly. How could he cross? He saw the house of a boatman and went and requested the boatman to help him cross the Yamuna to his asrama.
“I am old and my eyes are poor. I cannot see clearly in this storm. What can I do? It will not be possible for me in this weather.”
He had a young daughter. She was very beautiful, but her body smelled like a fish. She came forward and said, “Dear father, I can take this rsi across the river and then return, if you so order.”
Her name was Satyavati—this name means one who is truthful and honest. But she was also known as Matsyagandha—one who smells like a fish. She was born from inside a fish; the fish was her mother, and a demigod her father. She was raised by the boatman who found her. She was born in the Yamuna. Men were attracted by her beauty, for she was of divine origin, but because of her fish smell, they would be repulsed when coming nearby her.
Parasara Rsi sat in the boat and she began to ply it across the river. The current of the Yamuna was very powerful and along with the wind, the boat was difficult to steer. Also, the Rsi was skinny. A heavy person would have made the boat steadier, but because Parasara Rsi was very light, compounded with the bad weather, Satyavati could not control the boat and it drifted towards an island in the midst of the Yamuna. The night was dark and stormy. Lightning flashed intermittently and then Parasara Rsi could see the girl struggling and sweating as she tried her best to direct the boat across. The boat washed up on the shore of the island. Parasara Rsi disembarked. He looked at Satyavati as she struggled and wiped the sweat from her brow. As he glanced at her, his vision was so powerful, that she immediately became pregnant. The whole day Parasara Rsi had been praying to Krsna for sakti to help the errant jivas. Krsna and Svarupa-sakti empowered him with sakti and this transferred to Satyavati. At once, the saktyavesa-avatara, Sri Vyasadeva, appeared from the womb of Satyavati, already at the age of 16. She felt shy and looked down. “I am a kumari,” she said to Parasara. “Now what will I say to my father? What will everyone think about my character?”
Vyasadeva then offered pranama to his mother and father and asked Parasara Rsi, “What is my duty?”
“Go nearby Adi-Badri and perform austerities there,” Parasara Rsi said. “You will realize the Absolute Truth and then you must manifest the Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas, Itihasas, and knowledge of bhakti, jnana, karma, artha, moksa, and so forth. Write, explain, and teach this all. You will have four primary disciples: Paila, Samanta, Jaimini, and Vaisampayana. And later, you will be blessed with a very special son, who will distribute the nectar of pure love.”
Vyasadeva turned to Satyavati and said, “Mother, I will always be at your beck and call. If you ever need me, just think of me and call me, and I will come and be at your service. Please bless me.” Vyasadeva received the blessings of Parasara and Satyavati and then departed.
Satyavati was still shy. Parasara gave her the boon that her fish smell would vanish and the king of the world would marry her. He also gave her the boon that she would remain youthful as long as she lived. Women lose their youth after their first childbirth. But Parasara blessed her to always remain beautiful and in the prime of youth.
Vyasadeva performed austerities and meditation in the Himalayas and then began writing sastra. His four prominent disciples came and surrendered to him. He taught them the Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas, and the other branches of knowledge that he had composed. He wrote the 18 Puranas, the many Upanisads, like Atreya, Chandogya, Aranyaka, and so forth, and he wrote the Mahabharata and finally, the Srimad Bhagavatam, the ripe fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge.
Vyasadeva offered all of this knowledge as a gift for the jivas. One who collects and balances this in his heart becomes connected to Bhagavan’s sakti. One who memorizes even one verse of the Bhagavad-gita becomes nearby Svarupa-sakti, the powerhouse of God. One who memorizes the entire Gita, the 750 verses, which Krsna spoke to Arjuna in two hours, becomes fully connected to Krsna. There are so many sastras and they are all beneficial. The essence of all the sastra compiled by Vyasadeva is the Vedanta-sutra, also known as the Brahma-sutra. The Brahma-sutra is composed of 550 aphorisms—one who memorizes and meditates on these becomes joined or bound to Parabrahma. Sutra means a thread, so this Brahma-sutra is the means to tie oneself to Parabrahma. Athato-brahma-jijnasa, Janmadhyasya-yatah, Sastra-yonitvat, Tat tu samanvayat, Anandamayo-abhyasat, Anavrtti-sabdat anavrtti-sabdat. These are some of the important verses of the Vedanta-sutra.
Vyasadeva also arranged the process of Guru giving the brahminical thread, or brahma-sutra, to his disciples, after giving them the brahma-gayatri-mantra. This is a further means of becoming bound to God. By surrendering and accepting discipleship from a bona fide Guru, one becomes a brahmana and his intelligence is purified and becomes sharp and he is then able to understand the spiritual truths present in sastra.
artho-yam brahma-sutranam bharatartha vinirnayam
gayatri bhasya candodhya vedarta paribrmhita
The Srimad-Bhagavatam is a glorification of the bhaktas and Bhagavan. There are two kinds of bhagavata: bhakta-bhagavat and grantha-bhagavat. When you approach the bhaktas and take shelter of them then through them you can understand the granthas. Unless you surrender to the bhaktas you will remain attached to your material family and worldly life. If you properly chant the gayatri-mantras then you become related to the bhaktas. The bhaktas then give bhakti. Bhakti is in the hearts of the bhaktas. And when you receive bhakti, along with bhakti comes sakti. You become then related to God. This is an easy process.
Vyasadeva kindly gave sastra for the living entities. Within sastra, he gave many stories, which are easy to remember and are full of spiritual and ethical instructions.
Brahma said to Vyasadeva, “Prabhu, now make a parampara.”
“The mahajanas will be in the parampara,” Vyasadeva said.
Who are the mahajanas? The Bhagavatam describes twelve mahajanas.
brahma narada sambhu kumara kapila manu
prahlada janaka bhismair balir vaiyasaki vayam
When one follows the mahajanas, he will stop arguing and debating. The followers of the mahajanas are in the sat-vaisnava-sampradayas. The teachings of the mahajanas is amnaya-vani.
amnayah praha tattvam harim iha paramam sarva-saktim rasabdhim
Who is a mahajana or pure guru? How can one understand who a pure guru is? A chaste wife is related only to her husband; not to any other man. Such a chaste woman is very powerful and is fearless. Similarly, if anyone is related to Krsna in madhu-rasa, then Harih hi paramam sarva-saktim. Hari is the Almighty Lord and the Beloved of all souls. One who has a sweet relation with Krsna in madhu-rasa is the highest guru. Such a guru is completely ananya, one-pointed in his worship of Krsna. One who merely offers many things externally to Krsna but has love and a relation with someone other than Krsna is not a guru. Those who are attached to blood relatives are not pure gurus. They are attached wherever their blood drops; not to Krsna. They have no relation with God. Their worship is not puja.
Harim iha paramam sarva-saktim. We must offer all our sakti, all our energy, 24 hours a day, for God. Such a person who does this naturally, out of unalloyed love, is guru. Those who offer a percentage of their love and energy to God can only be gurus to a certain percent—they are actually gorus, like cows, not spiritual masters.
The Vraja-devis constantly serve Krsna with pure love. The followers of their footsteps are mahajanas and gurus. They follow Rasabdhim, rasa-svarupa, Raso-vai-sah Krsna. They perform rasa-upasana. Without rasa, all puja or worship offered is dry. God does not accept that. God accepts love and affection. That is rasa. When we offer our love and affection for God, God is pleased. But if we give everything else to God, except our love, even if we are renounced babajis, vairagis, akincana-niskincana, still God is not pleased. Krsna has no shortage of anything. He does not wait for us to renounce our material garbage and offer it to Him. He is not eager for us to give Him large buildings and gardens and cars and lovers and others—exclusive of our love. If we have no desire to offer loving service to God then all our pretense of bhajana and bhakti is in vain. We are then not in this parampara. Hari is the rasa-samudra, the ocean of love. He is greedy for loving service and reciprocates and serves His devotees with love.
All jivas are not the same. Some are liberated souls and some are in bondage. Conditioned souls have many conditions. By hook or crook they selfishly try to acquire everything for their enjoyment. They are independent doers and want others to worship, follow, and serve them. Liberated souls are servants of God. They understand that God is Almighty and that they are only insignificant servants.
Mukta-jivas serve Bhagavan at all times. Even if there are so many problems creating obstacles in their service, they will have no problem and will continue to serve. And if they are surrounded by disturbances, they will not be disturbed. They are always pleased and happy in their service.
Sadhanam-suddha-bhaktim. The mukta-jivas are always engaged in the practice of pure devotional service. Sravanam-kirtanam-visnu-smaranam-pada-sevanam-arcanam-vandanam-dasyam-sakhyam-atma-nivedanam. They always follow navadha-bhakti.
Sri Gauracandra gave these teachings.