The Āmnāya Bhāgavata Paramparā

This lecture by Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja, delivered during Śrī Navadvīpa-maṇḍala Parikramā, was first published in Dainika Nādiya Prakāśa (Volume 12, Issues 15 & 20) on March 17 and 23, 1937. In it, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja explains that genuine bhakti arises only through hearing from a living, bona fide guru-paramparā, accompanied by freedom from envy, and he vividly elucidates the grave responsibility inherent in the position of the ācārya.

om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ

I offer obeisance unto Śrī Guru, who has opened my eyes with the wand smeared with the salve of knowledge, when they were blinded by the cataracts of ignorance.

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ

He has mercifully appeared in the Age of Kali to bestow that which was never offered before – the wealth of His own splendorous devotional conjugal rasa. May that Hari, the Son of Śacī, who is more beautiful and effulgent than masses of gold, be forever manifest within your heart. (*Vidagdha Mādhava *1.2)

Kind-hearted listeners and pilgrims – today is the second day of parikramā. Yesterday we circumambulated Antardvīpa Śrī Māyāpura, the place of ātma-nivedana (self-surrender). Today is the parikramā of Śrī Sīmāntadvīpa, known as the realm of śravaṇa (hearing).

The flow of conception concerning the devotional limb of śravaṇa, which is included in the nine forms of bhakti, is eternally present within the society of pure devotees. It is said that the goals (sādhya) and the means of attainment (sādhana) differ among the various sampradāyas. For the karmī, the path of karma is said to be broad and well-defined. The jñānīs regard jñāna-yoga as their path, and their attainment is an non-differentiated destination. The path of the yogīs consists of practices such as prāṇāyāma etc, and their attainment is oneness with the Paramātmā. However, within the sādhana or bhajana of the devotees, śravaṇa and kīrtana are foremost.

yadyapi anyā bhaktiḥ kalau kartavyā tadā kīrtanākhya bhakti saṁyogenaiva

Although other limbs of bhakti are also to be practiced in Kali-yuga, they are to be performed exclusively in conjunction with bhakti in the form of kīrtana (Bhakti Sandarbha 173)

Although the supreme excellence of kīrtana is declared, it can never be performed without śravaṇa. Kīrtana becomes possible only after śravaṇa. All those who have heard even a little about the Gauḍīya Maṭha know, to some extent, the greatness of śravaṇa. Without the association of devotees of Bhagavān, bhakti can never be attained. Śāstra states:

bhaktis tu bhagavad bhakta-saṅgena parijāyate sat-saṅgaḥ prāpyate puṁbhiḥ sukṛtaiḥ pūrvasañcitaiḥ* *

By association with a devotee one attains bhakti. By the accumulation of great sukṛti, one achieves sādhu–*saṅga. *(Bṛhad Nāradīya Purāṇa)

kṛṣṇa-bhakti janma mūla haya sādhu-saṅga

Sādhu-saṅga is the root-cause of kṛṣṇa-bhakti. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.83)

Śrīmad Bhāgavata is directly Kṛṣṇa Himself and an avatāra of Bhagavān – this is well known to all and accepted by everyone. Regarding the status of Śrīmad Bhāgavata as an avatāra of Bhagavān, it has been stated:

kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko ‘dhunoditaḥ

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa returned to His own abode, taking with Him dharma, knowledge, and the other accompanying principles, then for the people of the age of Kali whose vision has been lost, this Purāṇa arose like the sun. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.43)

It is said that when Kṛṣṇa disappeared, Śrīmad Bhāgavata descended as Kṛṣṇa Himself, in His direct form.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu, by presenting sixty-four different explanations of the śloka beginning with ātmārāmaś ca to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, demonstrated that the meanings of the ślokas of Śrīmad Bhāgavata are not limited within the confines of mundane scholarship. The meaning of the ślokas of the Bhāgavata is realised as divine revelation (sphūrti) only within a purified heart, as a result of its mercy. Therein, the characteristic of bhāgavata–dharma – the absence of its confinement within the limits of mundanity –  is proclaimed.  What śrī-bhāgavata-dharma truly is has been explained by Śrīmad Bhāgavata itself:

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ‘tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt

Completely rejecting false dharma, this book awards the highest truth. That Reality can be understood by those devotees who are without envy and, granting auspiciousness, it uproots the threefold miseries. What is the need of other works besides this Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, composed by the great sage Vyāsadeva? Desiring to hear it, pious persons can quickly capture the Lord within their hearts. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.2)

Persons who are self-surrendered and truly desire to hear can immediately hold Bhagavān within their hearts. Bhāgavata-dharma, free from all envy (nir-matsara), is the nature of the supremely non-envious sādhus. Without becoming free from envy, bhāgavata-dharma can never be understood. Why does the Bhāgavata condemn envy so strongly? No – all other faults take refuge in envy. There is no fault like envy. Having turned away from the service of Hari due to envy, we have fallen into this world becoming averse to the service of Bhagavān. Everyone is envious! Śrīla Ṭhākura Narottama has spoken of engaging the enemies in the service of Bhagavān:

kāma kṛṣṇa karmārpane, krodha bhakta-dveṣī-jane lobha sādhu-saṅge hari-kathā moha iṣṭa-lābha-vine, mada kṛṣṇa-guṇa-gāne niyūkta kariba yathā tathā

I shall engage lust in working for Kṛṣṇa; anger toward those who are envious of the devotees; greed in the association of sādhus and in hari-kathā; delusion when I do not attain my cherished Lord; pride in glorifying Kṛṣṇa’s qualities. I shall engage them in this way. (Prema-bhakti-candrikā 2.10)

He spoke of engaging all the tendencies in Kṛṣṇa’s service, but he did not say that envy should be engaged in* hari-bhakti* anywhere. In the topic of hari-bhakti, there is no place where envy can be employed. An envious person is of a demonic temperament. It exists for the purpose of opposing Kṛṣṇa and declares, “I alone am the viṣaya-vigraha (the object of enjoyment). Kṛṣṇa is the āśraya-vigraha (the subject to be enjoyed).”

Neglecting the pre-eminence of śravaṇa and kīrtana as the basis of bhakti, whatever other activities are performed merely become karma-kāṇḍa.

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ’dhītam uttamam

Hearing, chanting, remembering Viṣṇu, serving His feet, worshipping the Deity, offering prayers, servitude to Him, friendship with Him and surrendering one’s very self to Him – if any person engages in these nine activities with bhakti for Bhagavān, if they offer this directly to Viṣṇu, I consider them to be of superior intelligence. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.5.23-24)

Only by first surrendering oneself to Śrī Guru and Kṛṣṇa, and then engaging in hearing, chanting, and other practices, will those practices be properly and successfully performed – otherwise not.

First, there is self-surrender in Antardvīpa; thereafter, śravaṇa and kīrtana. Otherwise, according to the statement of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

bahu janma kare yadi śravaṇa kīrtana tabu ta’ nā pāya kṛṣṇa-pade prema-dhana

Even if one engages in śravaṇa and kīrtana for many births, one may not achieve the treasure of love for Kṛṣṇa’s feet. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 8.16)

hena kṛṣṇa-nāma yadi laya bahu-bāra tabu yadi prema nahe nahe aśrudhāra tabe jāni aparādha tāhāte pracura kṛṣṇa-nāma-bīja tāhe nā kare aṅkura

Even if one repeatedly takes kṛṣṇa-nāma, if prema does not arise and tears do not flow, then know for certain that offences are abundant there; therefore the seed of kṛṣṇa-nāma does not sprout. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 8.29-30)

Hari-bhakti does not arise merely by the exercise of śravaṇa and kīrtana. One does not become a student simply by going through the motions of school admission. One must study under a teacher and listen from him.  First of all, one must hear.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu has also given the foremost place to hearing the* Bhāgavata* among the five most important limbs of sādhana. But where should one hear the Bhāgavata? In this regard, it has been said:

yāha bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne ekānta āśraya kara caitanya-caraṇe caitanyera bhakta-gaṇera nitya kara saṅga tabeta jānibā siddhānta-samudra-taraṅga

Go and study the Bhāgavata from a Vaiṣṇava. Exclsuively surrender at the feet of a Śrī Caitanya. Always associate with the devotees of Śrī Caitanya. Only then will you understand the waves of the ocean of devotional conclusions. (*Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā *5.131-132)

One must hear the words of the book Bhāgavata from the devotee-bhāgavata. One must study with him. Those who do not accept a genuine sampradāya and the āmnāya (Vedic revelation through the paramparā) are like the Buddhists or māyāvādīs without a sampradāya. They have no sādhana or bhajana. All their efforts will be in vain.

I heard that when the construction of a Viṣṇu temple in London and the installation of a Deity of Śrī Viṣṇu there were being discussed, Sir___ and Sir ___ told Dr. Sambidānanda Dāsa and Vana Maharāja, “Instead of installing a Deity of Viṣṇu, place the text of the Bhāgavata here. What necessity is there for a Deity?” All such considerations are impersonal. *“*We accept Bhagavān (?), we accept His instructions (?), but we do not accept the Deity! We will not accept He who is non-different from His own instructions!!” I have also heard Śrī Śrīla Prabhupāda say that we are not like the Sikhs who only worship the Granth Sahib. A living source is essential for hearing the instructions. To read the *Bhāgavata *by oneself and interpret its meaning according to one’s own desire is not the proper study of the Bhāgavata.

The conception of the  ____ Samaj is*, *“Do we really require a guru? We will study the Vedas. The Vedas themselves are Bhagavān. If I go to a guru to understand their meaning, he will deceive me.” We know that the words of the śruti must be heard from the mouth of a guru. The Vedas must be received from Gurudeva. Without āmnāya, the secrets of the Vedas cannot be obtained anywhere. Let us not be judged like the ___ Samaj, that like fools, go to a banyan tree and request a compositor for the Vedas. * If we trust all those fools, what guarantee is there that they will not deceive us by giving us bananas instead of the Vedas?

*******Translator’s Note: It is highly likely that, in this section, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja is referring to the Arya Samaj who only accept the four Vedas, and do not accept a living guru. **The tone of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja’s example here is one of sarcasm. The word ‘compositor’ means a type-setter at a printing press. In other words, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja is referring to people involved in the physical production of Vedic texts who have no understanding of the books they print. He mentions ‘banyan tree’ because this was a traditional place of learning, where students would gather to receive Vedic instruction from a teacher.

āmnāyaḥ prāha tattvaṁ harim iha paramaṁ sarva-śaktiṁ rasābḍhim

The Vedas speak ontological truth. Hari alone is supreme. He possesses all potencies. (Daśa-mūla Nīryāsa)

All this is the analysis of Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. The analysis of the māyāvādi is that there is no āmnāya*. *Dr. S.K. Dey’s conclusion is that there is a gap in the āmnāya (succession) of the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas – so how, then, has it been preserved? A few years ago, Pratīpa ____Nandī and his follower, ____Nāth Basu said, “If Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura erased the late Vīpina-vihārī Gosvāmī, then where did the Ṭhākura’s guru go? After Śrīla Ṭhākura Narottama, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has been written about in the *āmnāya-paramparā *– thus, it is not historically accurate, etc.” *****At the root of their statements is their ignorance of the knowledge of the mysteries of the bhāgavata-guru-paramparā. They have not been able to understand it. The ācāryas accept a guru because āmnāya is necessary. Mahāprabhu accepted a guru precisely to uphold that concept.

**** ***Translator’s Note: Here, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja is referring to Pratīpa Priyanātha Nandī, and his follower Surendranātha Basu – followers of the caste-gosvāmīs who were virulent opponents of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha.

Some are viviktānandīs (those who engage in solitary bhajana), and some are goṣṭhānandīs (propagators of spiritual knowledge). The current of the śruti (Vedas) will remain ever intact and continuously flowing. It is not to be destroyed – this is the message of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

saṁpradāya vihīnā ye mantrāste niṣphalā matāḥ

That mantra which does not come down through a sampradāya is useless. (Padma Purāṇa)

The āmnāya, or guru-paramparā, is the sole possession of the sātvata-sampradāya (genuine disciplic succession). There is no separation between Gurudeva and the guru-paramparā. There is no difference or divergence of opinion between Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s inseparable form Svarūpa Damodara and Śrī Jagannātha, Bhaktivinoda, Gaura Kiśora, and Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhu. All are strung on a single thread.

If I perceive the ācārya or guru with the aid of the lens of my sensory knowledge, I will make a mistake. However, Śrī Gurudeva, by granting the eye of divine knowledge, purifies my weaknesses and reveals Bhagavān to me. Pure devotees never desire to become the direct servitors of Kṛṣṇa, the original āśraya-vigraha. The concept of the Vaiṣṇavas is:

tvad-bhṛtya-bhṛtya-paricāraka-bhṛtya-bhṛtya bhṛtyasya bhṛtya iti māṁ smara loka-nātha

Kindly remember Me as the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, O Lord of the worlds! (Mukunda-mālā Stotram 25)

The conception of the Vaiṣṇavas is this – “May I have many masters through the lineage of the servants of the guru. Let them engage in serving Kṛṣṇa and serving the guru – I will remain as the servant of their servant eternally.”

Simply by becoming an ācārya, one does not directly become Bhagavān. Śrī Gurudeva is the āśraya-vigraha (the personified shelter), mukunda-preṣṭha (Mukunda’s dearmost ), śakti-tattva (the potency principle),* and the organiser of the pleasure of serving Kṛṣṇa.

*****Translator’s Note: Śrī Guru is considered to śakti-tattva since he is the representation of the svarūpa-śakti.

If the bhāgavata-paramparā ceases to exist, the original source of hearing from a bona fide sampradāya will be closed – only the words of the ācārya and the Bhāgavatam scripture will remain. “The highest act of mercy of the ācārya is the deliverance of the jīva and imparting the Holy Name to him. Let all other things cease. There is no need for dīkṣā or śikṣā” – if that is so, then what would remain? Thus, such a conclusion is completely opposed to śāstra*. *Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke thus in regards to considering the ācārya and the Vaiṣṇava.

āmi ta’ vaiṣṇava e buddhi haile amānī nā haba āmi pratiṣṭhāśā āsi hṛdaya duṣibe haiba nirayagāmī

By thinking, “I am a Vaiṣṇava” I will not be without pride. The desire for fame will pollute my heart and I will go to hell. (Kalyāṇa Kalpataru 3.2.8.2 )

nije śreṣṭha jāni, ucchiṣṭādi dāne ha’be abhimāna bhāra tāi śiṣya tava thākiyā sarvadā nā laiba pūjā kāra

Considering oneself as superior and distributing one’s remnants, one’s pride will become heavy. Hence, I will remain your disciple and will not accept worship from anyone. (Kalyāṇa Kalpataru 3.2.8.4)

amānī mānada, haile kīrtane adhikāra dibe tumi tomāra caraṇe, niṣkapaṭe sadā kāndiyā luṭiba bhūmi

When I become free from the desire for respect and show respect to others, you will grant me the eligibility for kīrtana. Rolling on the ground, I will constantly weep at Your feet without pretence. (Kalyāṇa Kalpataru 3.2.8.5)

Unless one becomes free from the desire for prestige and honours others (amānī–mānada), one is not qualified to be an ācārya. One who can give the ingredients of my service to Kṛṣṇa unto Kṛṣṇa Himself – he alone is an ācārya. He who will neither appropriate for himself the offering I have entrusted, nor steal it while it is on the way – he alone is the ācārya. He who delivers all means of guru-sevā* t*hat I offer, in its entirety, to the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva – he alone is the ācārya.

The Western scholar Newton once said to people of comparatively lesser intelligence than himself, “I am  merely collecting pebbles on the shore of the ocean of knowledge.” By this, humility on his own part has been revealed. By that, he did not become in any way inferior to people who were lesser than him.

For the service of the Lord, one must accept the seat of the ācārya. If I truly, truly wish to go to Kṛṣṇa and offer my service to Him, then to whom shall I give that service? Who will properly understand the true purpose of my service to  Kṛṣṇa? One who extracts Kṛṣṇa’s true interest from me – he is Guru-pāda-padma. And one who understands and extracts Śrī Gurudeva’s interest from us – that person, who is guru-preṣṭha (dearmost to Śrī Guru), is our ācārya.

Foolish people think, “Being a king is very enjoyable!” Yet one who is a king is constantly restless, thinking about his subjects – sleep never reaches his eyes. The task of an ācārya is no trivial matter. Within the work of an ācārya there lies the most weighty responsibility. Not everyone is able to perform the task of delivering the jīva to Kṛṣṇa. Here, there is no question of sharing interests, nor of a clash between one person’s material interest and another’s – no quarrel, no ‘challenge’ – as if things cannot continue unless someone secures a fat share of enjoyment.

When we forget Śrīla Prabhupāda’s kṛpā-śakti (merciful potency) and think, ‘ham khodā’ (‘we are God’) or the doer, then so much confusion and differences of opinion immediately arise.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

All activities are performed by the modes of nature. But those who are deluded by the false identification of the body think, “I am the doer.” *(*Bhagavad-gītā 3.27)

While Śrīla Prabhupāda was present, many proposed forming a Governing Body, but he never approved this – not for a single day, not even for a moment! Many of us personally heard this and know it to be true. If we become governors (rulers), we can never become Vaiṣṇavas. Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say, “Be governed yourself – become a disciple. Do not become a ruler – do not aspire to become a guru! Twice a day – indeed, at all times – strike your own heretical mind five hundred times with a shoe! Do not allow the wicked mind to be dominated by māyā.”

Five or six years ago, at the Vyāsa-pūjā in Cuttack, while delivering his address, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Am I such a fool that I would sit and listen to so much praise of myself offered by those who consider themselves as my disciples?—that I would personally appropriate so much congratulation and honour? I accept all this honour only for the service of Gurudeva.”

I humbly request and appeal to everyone to understand these matters properly, without any envy.

vañchā-kalpatarubhyas ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ