Worldly Activities and Renunciation (Pravṛtti o Nivṛtti)
Worldly Activities and Renunciation (Pravṛtti o Nivṛtti)
Overview
In this article, published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī (Vol.1) in 1881, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda gives an in-depth analysis of the paths of pravrtti (worldly activities) and nivṛtti (renunciation). He explains that while pravṛtti yields material pleasures, true, eternal happiness comes from transcending material nature through nivṛtti. He emphasises practicing compassionate bhakti, with faith and defines what real ‘saṅga’ means.
by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
(translated by Swami B.V. Giri)
Discussions in relation to pravṛtti (worldly actions and instincts) and nivṛtti (renunciation) have been present since the time when the human species was created. These two topics are discussed at all times and in all places. Many kinds of written scriptures, both at home and abroad, are full of assessments concerning pravṛtti and nivṛtti. The Vedic śastra of the Āryan race, the Qur’an of the Muslims, the Bible of the Christians, and the anti-Vedic explanations of the Buddhist community are all proof of this.
Topics concerning pravṛtti and nivṛtti are one of the main points of philosophy amongst the human race, and this is evident from the aforesaid extensive discussions. When a matter is discussed and deliberated upon at all times and in all parts of the world, can there be any doubt that this is true? Days after falling into the jaws of death, no person returns again**,** therefore what is the evidence of such faith that when a jīva gives up his body, he still exists? We would have to say that the universality of such faith is the only proof. There is no man from the north who quarrels with a man from the south on this matter; rather, the immortality of the ātmā is recognised everywhere and at all times. Although many unfortunate people willfully refrain from believing the immortality of the self-evident ātmā due to so-called logic and faulty criticism, their numbers are so small that they cannot disturb the common faith of the world. Many temporary atheistic philosophers such as Cārvāka etc. in the Āryan provinces, and in other countries, Sardanapalus etc. have sprung up, but the natural belief in the immortality of the ātmā has not been eradicated.
There is conviction in the existence of a Supreme Being, and certainly regarding the eternality of the jīva etc. Amongst all the general self-evident subjects, the philosophical topic of pravṛtti and nivṛtti has attained particular predominance. From long ago the consideration of this subject has been written down and has come to our hands through ancestral lineage. The entire Veda is divided into two sections which is revealed as jñāna-kāṇḍa and karma-kāṇḍa. All these issues will be discussed below. The reasons why this discussion has recently become especially necessary will be written about.
Not a thousand years have passed since the Muslim race invaded our Āryan lands. The language, temperament, character and religion of the Muslims is very much against this country and our respected forefathers were in great trouble. Due to the natural and religious harshness of the Muslims, all the important subject matters of this country began to disappear. In a country where the guru of poets Vālmiki, and the greatest jñānī, Veda-Vyāsa wrote in many kinds of metres in the sweetest Sanskrit language for the worldly and spiritual welfare of human beings, in a country where dharmika kings such as Hariścandra, Yudhiṣṭhira etc. willfully exhausted their own bodily and sensual strength, and embraced old age to increase the happiness of all the people, in a country where women like Sāvitrī, Arundhatī, Vṛndā etc. were adorned with pious embellishments and became as radiant stars of historical glory – we cannot express how much misery was inflicted on the world-conquering land of Bharata by the Muslims, holding swords and the Qur’an in their hands.
The Veda-śāstra disappeared, knowledge went into concealment, and Āryan consciousness became almost dormant, like a serpent in winter. The discussions of the brāhmaṇas withdrew into the interior of massive books and remained in a state of detachment. The pride and heroism of the kṣatriyas found only a faint expression within the bedchamber. The other castes, being unable to sustain themselves through reliance on their own dharma, began to the injunctions of the Veda. Although in times of such calamities, the path of nivṛtti-dharma becomes appropriate for many, nevertheless, due to the results of their past deeds, Āryan descendants, instead of adhering to Vedic dharma, transgressed it and fabricated many self-invented subsidiary religions and began to pass their lives accordingly.
Seeing the misery of His Āryan people, the Supreme Lord, who is the shelter of pure sattva-guṇa, became merciful. His plan was to invoke His Sudarśana Cakra, saying, “Cakra! Immediately go to the material world and deliver all my servants of the Āryan race from the hands of the Muslims.” Fully understanding the Lord’s intention, the Cakra gave the rights of India to the white men of England. Although the behaviour of the white men of England was contrary to everything, and opposed to the Vedas, their devotion to the Supreme and kindness to other human beings contained the sprout of nitya-dharma – thus they were honoured by Bhagavān’s Cakra. It has been more than a century since the English obtained dominion over our country.
We are very happy that the Englishmen came to our country. However, no situation is able to give unalloyed happiness. Just as we are happier because of the British rule over India, we are also unfortunate in some respects. The English have established themselves in this country by imparting many kinds of scientific instruction through their own language. Our young community has acquired knowledge of their language, and is exposed to their steam-engines and telegraphic communication, and upon seeing their wonderful machines, they have anointed them as their gurus. This is giving rise to many terrible faults. All the languages and the vast and pure knowledge and science of the Āryans are almost disappearing. There is proof that this could happen very soon. If any one of the highly learned English professors is asked about the subject of the most worshippable Śrī Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, which is the essence of the Vedas and a direct form of the Sāma Veda, he will laugh, call it an old book and advise you to store it away in a cupboard!
Not understanding the spiritual and supremely attractive transcendental narratives of the Śrī Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, which is the essence of all tattvas, frivolous sensualists consider it to be a useless book. Oh! How foolish! Now that those very children have grown up, they have established some lower kinds of dharma and many organizations that give them some power. Whatever the case, all the mundane sciences of the English instruct them that this alone is the true purpose of human life. Thus, all those immature and undeveloped persons assume that aprākṛta-tattva (transcendental principles) is nothing more than a dream-like illusion. What is the fault of the English?
The purpose of presenting all these historical concepts is that our readers may become informed about this subject, that by their connection with the English, the people of Āryan descent have come to disregard the principle of nivṛtti. They have concluded that among the two paths of pravṛtti and nivṛtti, pravṛtti alone is the essential path.” They have rejected the path of nivṛtti as a delusion of former times.
The judgment, decisions, and nature of a jīva are shaped by the kind of company he keeps. This is stated in many, many śāstras. The English, with their abundance of sensual and mental strength, have recently accepted the path of pravṛtti as the only way to the supreme abode. The significance of the word ‘recently’ is that their incarnation or religious guru, Christ, in his revealed religion, accepted both the path of pravṛtti and nivṛtti, and amongst them, established the superiority of nivṛtti.
One man asked Jesus, “Teacher! What must I do to attain eternal life? Jesus said, “If you have observed worldly duties and ask such a question, then listen! Sell what you have, give it to the poor, and follow me!” When the man could not succeed in following this advice, Jesus said to his disciples, “Look! For materially attached people, attaining Vaikuṇṭha is extremely difficult.” Then he said again, “Whoever has renounced home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, or children in order to follow me will gain more than these and attain eternal life.”
Jesus gave many such teachings. There can be no doubt that Jesus was a vairāgi (renunciant). What is taught as Christianity in recent times is not in harmony with the teachings of Christ, otherwise the Christian nations would not have accepted killing in order to acquire kingdoms and territories. War must be said to be an animal propensity; therefore, such a tendency is certainly opposed to the dharma of renunciation.
O respected devotees! Is not this teaching of Christ an acceptance of the superiority of the path of nivṛtti? Have the English gentlemen not separated themselves from Christ? It is true that not all Englishmen say that only the path of pravṛtti is supreme, but those who hate nivṛtti are the followers of a religious reformer named Luther. From the time of Luther onwards, the path of pravṛtti has been recognised as the only way of worship. Luther’s followers, the modern Protestants, consider renunicants to be deluded. But in the provinces of Russia, France, etc., where Luther is not particularly regarded, the clergy there, like our vairāgīs and mahants, sometimes abstain from connection with women and worship in seclusion. This view may be called Catholic, meaning, the authentic doctrine of Christ. Luther interpreted the words of Christ figuratively and derived independent meanings, thereby propagating a new doctrine. Just as in our country, the parvirājaka Śrī Śrī Śaṅkarācārya revealed the asat-śāstra (deceptive texts) of māyāvāda by giving many secondary meanings to the Vedānta-sūtra, Upaniṣads etc, so too in England, Luther has given secondary meanings to the text of the Bible declaring that the path of nivṛtti is erroneous, establishing the path of pravṛtti as superior. Our young students, educated in English, their hearts softened by the aforesaid English influence, consider the path of pravṛtti to be superior. They become despondent to see all the sannyāsīs and vairāgīs and exclaim, “Alas! Such powerful people have become incapable for the benefit of the world! If they were to marry and engage in activities such as cultivating land, then much of the suffering of Bhū-devī would be alleviated!”
We do not describe those who think in this way as fools. Rather, among them there are many learned men and great scientists. However, a human being possessed of flesh and blood cannot be free from error, therefore what doubt is there that they too will be in delusion?
In fact, many scholars are found who favour the path of pravṛtti, therefore, to examine this matter, it is necessary to take shelter of the four pramāṇas stated in Śrī Śrīmad Bhāgavata.
śrutiḥ pratyakṣam aitihyam anumānaṁ catuṣṭayam
The Vedas, direct perception, tradition and inference are the four types of evidence. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.19.17)
If one takes shelter of these four pramāṇas – the entire śāstra, direct perception, history, and logic – one’s discernment becomes pure. At the time of deliberation, we shall not be intimidated or misled by the scholarship of any human being. We will judge independently. The most worshippable Śrī Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has told us this:
svādhīnatā ratna haya īśvarera dāna**tāhārera tyajite kabhu nāre buddhimān
The jewel of independence is the gift of the Lord. Intelligent persons will never reject it. (Caitanya Gītā 1.44)
Whatever is established by pure reasoning, śāstra, tradition, and direct perception is utterly venerable to us. Although many learned persons such as Śaṅkarācārya may believe contrary to this conclusion, we shall not be disturbed thereby. It cannot be asserted that the path of pravṛtti is supreme merely because English scholars believe so, because the English are also human beings. That our young gentlemen, having come under the sway of attainable, but delusive goals, despise the path of nivṛtti revealed by the Āryans is one major delusion among their many delusions. Now let the fundamental issue be examined.
Abandoning the delusions of others and accepting his virtuous words, which are desirable and fit for practice is what is appropriate for us. Even if Śrī Śrī Śaṅkarācārya’s māyāvāda is not to be imitated, his following written statement is accepted. He has written at the beginning of his Śrī Śrī Gītā commentary, as follows:
dvividho hi vedokta dharmaḥ pravṛtti-lakṣaṇaḥ nivṛtti-lakṣaṇaś ca
Dharma, as described in the Vedas, is indeed of two kinds – characterised by pravṛtti and by nivṛtti.
“Dharma is actually of two types – pravṛtti and nivṛtti.” After discussing all the śāstra, it is clear that the result of pravṛtti-dharma is enjoyment (bhukti) and the result of nivṛtti-dharma is liberation (mukti). If pravṛtti-dharma is followed, worldly affairs improve. For example, if activities such as Durgotsava, Aśvamedha, Agnihotra, etc., are performed, one can attain establishment and become the recipient of many people’s grace. The world can improve substantially through the path of pravṛtti.
Scholars following the path of pravṛtti have composed many books, discovered scientific truths, and classified the elements into various categories. By researching all the qualities of liquids, they ascertained the results useful for humans. By discovering the principles of electricity, they established the foundations of telecommunication and other technical arts. Using knowledge of steam and other natural forces, they explored water transport, sky transport, and surface transport. Researching the properties of trees, they discovered remarkable medicinal properties. Much work has also been done in the realm of worldly affairs. They established laws governing social conduct, kings and their subjects, means of livelihood, rules for charity and debt, and regulations for the establishment of houses, villages, towns, and markets. Through saṁskāras such as marriage, progeny increases, and legitimate intercourse protects the body and strength. Artisans, following worldly inclinations, created ornaments, textiles, wooden furniture, lighting, ghāṭas, beds, and other goods to enhance the happiness of men engaged in pravṛtti. There is so much attachment to these objects, and especially to home, family, and fame, that pravṛtti-inclined men even engage in battles with others, shedding blood. All these forms of pravṛtti are legitimate, but there are also many irregular and excessive forms. Men governed by sensory desire indulge in women, drink, gluttony, and similar acts. Such men are not confined to the visible world alone; they also worship the Devas hoping to attain Indrapurī and other celestial realms. Performing yajñas such as the Aśvamedha, they seek to gratify the senses in Indrapurī with Apsarās. In truth, the desires of men dominated by pravṛtti are endless. They covet sovereignty of the earth, the kingdoms of Svarga, the post of Brahmā, the status of Śiva, and other exalted positions. Many examples of these desires exist in the śāstras and are observable in the material world. However, we will not enumerate them here, since we trust that the gentlemen are already fully aware of them.
Undoubtedly, the path of pravṛtti is perceptible to the senses, and all the results experienced by those men who follow it are beyond doubt. The human race is endowed with the power of discernment, therefore the result of the path of pravṛtti will be revealed to them, is there any question about this? Although the intellect of animals is limited, even they are aware of some results of pravṛtti. The animals known as beavers build houses and the babui bird makes a nest – this is merely the effect of pravṛtti.
Is there any doubt that there is plenty of happiness for the human race on the path of pravṛtti? Undoubtedly, kissing the lips of a beautiful doe-eyed girl, taking small boys and girls who speak half-sentences on your lap, relishing the taste of rice with ghee, walking around a place where women are dancing, sleeping on a bed which is as soft as milk foam, and touring far countries in steam-powered vehicles are all extremely pleasurable. It is certainly believable that the Supreme Being, out of compassion for jīvas, has adorned this world, which is like a ‘traveller’s inn,’, so beautifully. The tender connection between plant matter and the shape of the tongue, the harmony of musical notes with the ears, and the beauty of visual objects with the eye – all this is the result of the inconceivable potency (acintya-śakti) of the Supreme acting through His creative energy (kriyā-śakti). Can anyone deny this?
All kinds of happiness in the world are the happiness of pravṛtti. Those men who are influenced by the happiness of pravṛtti are always busily engaged in physical, mental and social improvement. If this happiness of pravṛtti did not exist, then many misfortunes would have befallen the worldly condition of man! Where would cities, railroads, boats, shops, temples etc. be seen? The human race would have perished, wandering like animals through forests. Would the beauty of the earth remain hidden within the earth itself?
Apart from the happiness of pravṛtti, there is another happiness for the jīvas. With serious consideration, one can understand that there is also the existence of happiness within nivṛtti. Does that which I refer to as the happiness of nivṛtti require an explanation? A jīva must first deliberate upon it. In this human body seven substances – skin, skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow, bones etc. – are visible. What are these in relation to the jīva? Substances such as skin, bones, etc. are physical, in other words, material elements. However, the jīva is more substantial, and there is abundant evidence for this. When the body dies, all those substances – skin, bone marrow etc. – remain with the body. However, it is important to consider why it feels that someone is absent and it feels void. The eyes become cold and fixed like that of a puppet; the hands and feet become stiff; close friends become sad and start to cry. However, the dead body does not answer anyone! Alas! How serious a matter this is! That body which was so nicely formed, which charmed the minds of so many beautiful women; those eyes that used to determine the distance between the Pole Star and Arundhati with a telescope, those ears which were fascinated listening to various sweet voices singing Nidhu Bābu’s songs;* those hands which only yesterday was defending the homeland and crushing the enemy with swords, leather guns etc;** those feet that went to Kāśī-kṣetra a few days ago – have now become the ingredients for a festival of dogs and jackals today. Considering all this, which mahājana is busy being concerned with the self? Atheists also utter words of renunciation for a short time, but they are soon forgotten, because their minds are so scattered.
*****Translator’s Note: Nidhu Bābu refers to Ramnidhi Gupta (1741–1839), a popular musician and singer in Bengal in the late 18th to early 19th century.
** Translator’s Note: This likely refers to primitive or local firearms made partially of leather (like a covering, strap, or reinforcement), common in rural or early-modern India.
It cannot be said that the term ‘jīva’ refers to the body with seven coverings. The jīva itself is ātma-tattva (the principle of the self) and is known as ‘jīvātmā. The present relationship between the jīva and the material elements is never eternal. All the rasas that have been manifest in material elements are extremely minute and incomplete. Eternal bliss for the jīvas cannot be attained from material elements. Material elements themselves are inert and they produce the material body. However, the jīvātmā is categorically distinct from the body. By his very nature, the jivātmā always hankers after some indescribable, unceasing bliss. No semblance of that bliss can be obtained from the material elements. On the contrary, many kinds of misfortunes have befallen the jīva by being bound to a physical body. Subjugated by material nature, the jīva is incapable of experiencing his own independence and happiness. The six calamities of hunger, thirst, etc. are always tormenting the jīvas. The entrance of a jīva into the material elements is known as bondage (baddhatā). All persons belonging to Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas refer to the jīvas who have attained this type of condition as baddha-jīvas. As a result, they sometimes get a glimpse of mukta-jīvas.
When the jīva, being bound by material elements, seeks happiness, then the happiness of pravṛtti, which is essentially situated in the realm of māyā and material nature, welcomes him and keeps him enchanted. Persons situated in this condition perpetually suffer one misery after another, hoping for worldly pleasures, or aspire to attain the position of Indra, Brahmā, Śiva etc. The jīva thinks that the purpose of life is to create bigger and bigger buildings, have various material facilities, a beautiful wife, children, railways, orderly state governance, and discoveries in the field of science. Alas! What a profound delusion! If, by means of scientific inventions and the execution of all systems of governance, such a person did not have to abandon the body even for one hundred and fifty years, then his victory might indeed be acknowledged to some extent. Atheistic scientific scholars and logicians who are devoid of bhakti imagine that through the material advancement of this world the jīva’s lifespan will increase and that unlimited progress will be achieved. Alas! How exceedingly deep is their delusion.
From extremely ancient times, the various material sciences have been undergoing continual advancement. When, in Greece, a scholar named Thales propounded the doctrine that all substances originate from water, human society entertained many hopes from science. Yet many modern theorists – Bacon, Newton, Lamarck, Goethe, and others – though having revealed numerous ingenious ideas, have not been able to affect any true welfare of the jīva. Magnetic science, railroads, firearms, and so many other crafts have indeed been discovered. Yet what has increased the happiness of human race through this? The modern community will not be satisfied by such reasoning, because from childhood they have remained enslaved to prejudices in these matters. Due to recent changes in the country, they have grown up hearing repeatedly that railways, ships, and similar developments have greatly improved commerce and other worldly arrangements, and thus this belief has become firmly rooted in them. However, upon impartial judgment, while this has increased certain advantages, it has also given rise to much suffering.
The phrase *“*contentment with little” is no longer found in modern vocabulary; it survives only as a saying from ancient times. Who would deny that contentment has diminished? Contentment alone is the jīva’s priceless jewel. Desire has no limit. Even upon attaining Brahmaloka, desire is not extinguished – just as an intoxicated elephant, though tied, does not become calm even in Indraloka. Desire is the jīva’s principal enemy. The modern history of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the ancient legendary narratives of Duryodhana and Rāvaṇa, all illuminate this truth: even after attaining everything, desire does not cease. If one briefly examines how desire has increased due to the absence of contentment in recent times, it becomes evident that the so-called “progress” envisioned by followers of the path of pravṛtti is indeed inferior – there can be no doubt of this. That desire is destructive is proven in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:
āśā hi paramaṁ duḥkhaṁ nairāśyaḥ paramaṁ sukham**yathā sañchidya kāntāśāṁ sukhaṁ suṣvāpa piṅgalā
Mundane desires are certainly the cause of intense misery, and freedom from such desires is the cause of the supreme happiness. Thus, cutting off her desire to enjoy lovers completely, Piṅgalā happily went to sleep. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.8.44)
Although we do not assert that material science is useless, it still cannot be seen what direct gain the jīva has attained through its advancement. Serious thinkers have reflected deeply on this matter. There was a great man from Germany who explored many theories and wrote many principles. He sat in his library one evening and said, “Alas, I am famous for discovering new truths in all of physics, but what have I learned? Is there any difference between me and an ordinary fool?” Then after much thought he said, “I have developed immense knowledge, because today I came to know that I don’t know anything about the truth!”
This account is given in a remarkable book called Faust. A great man named Swedenborg also arrived at this type of conclusion. Since modern society places greater trust in foreign books and scholarship, I have therefore presented a foreign example here. In the śāstras of our own country there is an abundance of evidence on all these matters. Only a single piece of evidence is cited here. In the Second Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata, Śuka speaks as follows:
śābdasya hi brahmaṇa eṣa panthāyan nāmabhir dhyāyati dhīr apārthaiḥparibhramaṁs tatra na vindate ‘rthān**māyāmaye vāsanayā śayānaḥ
Indeed, this is the path of those Vedic statements by which one’s intelligence focuses upon various words which are useless. Just like a sleeping man who wants happiness, cannot enjoy sense-objects as he wanders around in a dream. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.2)
In his commentary, Śrīdhara Svāmī writes:
śābdaṁ śabda-mayaṁ brahma veda. tasya eṣa panthāḥ karma-phala-bodha-prakāraḥ. ko’sau? artha-śūnyair eva svargādi-nāmabhiḥ sādhakasya dhīr dhyāyati tat-tad-icchāṁ karotīti yat. apārthatvam evāha-tatra māyāmaye pathi sukham iti vāsanayā śayānaḥ svapnān paśyann iva paribhramann arthān na vindati. tat-tal-lokaṁ prāpto’pi niravadyaṁ sukhaṁ na labhata ity arthaḥ.
Śabda refers to the Vedas which are śabda-brahma. It is their path to teach what is the result of karma. Why is this? Although there is no use to such things, the mind of a sādhaka focuses on words such as svarga etc. and desires them. It is seen that he wanders on the path of māyā to attain such pleasure even while sleeping, due to mental impressions, even though these things have no real value. Even though he may attain those celestial worlds, he never attains pure bliss.
However, when one considers what constitutes the jīva’s eternal happiness, it becomes evident that freedom itself is the jīva’s eternal happiness. Subjugation to material nature gives rise to the jīva’s suffering. The attainment of the jīva’s own true nature by transcending this māyā-prakṛti is called mukti. This may be termed as the path of nivṛtti. The actions and results of those situated on the path of pravṛtti cannot be transgressed. Therefore, for a person devoted to pravṛtti, there is no possibility of liberation from māyā. Advancement within pravṛtti alone is what accrues to those who remain on that path. No action ever yields a contrary result – only results of the same nature arise. Therefore, pravṛtti can never give birth to nivṛtti. Yet, if by good fortune a person engaged in pravṛtti develops disinclination toward pravṛtti itself, then auspicious results are obtained. In this manner, many persons have become liberated from māyā.
Many modern and ancient rationalist thinkers object to this view. Their primary objection is this – since the universe is created by God, it is therefore meant for human enjoyment. Jagadīśvara has endowed human beings with the power of reason and placed them within this universe. By directing this rational faculty, human beings establish society and its various institutions and thus enjoy worldly happiness. Through numerous discoveries, they have expanded the means of happiness and material prosperity. Gradually, through such continuous progress, this universe will come to exist as a wonderful abode free from suffering. It is God’s intention, they say, that human beings will then effortlessly enjoy all forms of happiness.
Such a type of conclusion is contrary to faith and reason, because its opposite is seen to be self-evident. By nature, a transcendental hankering manifests within the ātmā. O readers! Setting aside identification with your gross body of bones and skin and your mind-made subtle body, enter the inner chamber of the self and directly perceive this truth, even once, in a state of samādhi. Then you will see that you are residing in this body with seven coverings like a traveller in an inn, and are possessed of a deep longing to depart for your own true abode. Just as travellers journeying toward Puruṣottama Dhāma stay the night in some house along the road and wait for the dawn, similarly, you remain in this material body, passing the night of ignorance, awaiting the sun-garlanded light of knowledge. Which fool, becoming attached to this temporary abode, strives for its improvement? Travellers never do so, but those whose purposes are served by that inn, and its owners, will engage in such work. The Personality who has created these ‘guesthouses’ made of the five gross elements is the one who maintains them. The bewildered travellers, becoming attached to this inn, contribute to its improvement, and The Lord also accomplishes His work through these individuals. This explains His infinite ingenuity. As punishment for the offence of attachment to the wayside inn, such travellers are forced into fruitless and exhausting labour. Apart from the result of the destruction of previous sins, nothing else is attained – rather, when their attachment becomes intense, by residing there they deprive themselves.
It is self-evident that the jīva is not a permanent inhabitant of this māyika universe, therefore, referring to him as a subject of the universe becomes a statement that contradicts belief. No matter how much this physical universe may be improved, it will never become faultless. Pure, uncontaminated happiness can never be obtained in it. This too is a self-evident truth. The five elements are born of māyā; therefore, they are characterised by deficiency. Deficiency itself is its inherent nature, therefore, the material universe will never, at any time, be free from deficiency, and even if it is not complete, it is never such that pure happiness can be hoped for. No matter how much this māyika universe may improve, where will delimiting qualities such as space, time etc. go? Many scholars of transcendence residing in the countries of Europe and America have also expressed many misconceptions regarding this. Some people believe that these elements will attain a transcendental status through gradual evolution. Alas! While engaging in reasoning, they do not contemplate the inconceivable potency (acintya-śakti) of the Supreme Lord. If, even once, the Supreme Person, Bhagavān, grants a place to the concept of sat-cit-ānanda within the cavern of the heart, then such narrow and uncultured reasoning no longer arises. Since the Supreme Lord is endowed with all powers, there can exist creations of infinite varieties belonging to Him. What is the need for this material world to become gradually spiritual? Can He not have another spiritual world? Those who regard Prākṛti (material nature) as the origin of the entire universe and are unable to recognise a supreme consciousness, yet explain the conscious Supreme Person as a product of nature – only they can imagine the manifestation of a spiritual world from the material world. When persons who are seśvaravādīs (those who accept a Supreme) speak in this way, one must be astonished. It can never be accepted that the material world will at any time take on a transcendental nature.
Observe also that such objections are contrary to reason. All the Vedas explain how the Supreme is satya-saṅkalpa (whose resolve is fulfilled) and sarva-śaktimān (omnipotent). It cannot be that Jagadīśvara established this world immediately after creation with the hope of improving human beings. He is all-auspicious – therefore, it is not His nature to place us in a miserable land and entangle us in danger for no reason. If this universe were our eternal dwelling or meant solely for enjoyment, then He certainly would have created it in a completely perfect way. He is omnipotent; therefore, it is not possible for Him to be dependent on any particular outcome in this universe.
It is well known that the artisans cannot construct anything except wood and clay; the blacksmiths cannot do anything without iron, hammer, and fire; and the potters cannot shape anything except with the materials like the potter’s wheel and clay. But is our Supreme Lord such an incapable person? Could He not improve this world without human intellect and craftsmanship? Alas! Does that great Personality, who by His mere will has brought this existent and non-existent world into being, require any material or instrument if He desires to act? The resolve of He who is the controller of all consciousness, matter, and instruments can never be secondary or dependent for its fulfilment.
It is His will that this universe shall eternally remain imperfect and full of deficiency – otherwise its condition would not be like this. No pure conclusion can be reached without acknowledging another abode that is attainable by the jīva. This is established by śāstra-yukti (reasoning based on śāstra) and by the direct perception of the ātmā. The jīva remains in hope of that wonderful transcendental abode, as stated in the Vāmana Purāṇa:
śrutvaitad darśayāmāsa sva-lokaṁ prakṛteḥ param kevalābhavānanda-mātram akṣayaṁ mantra-gam**śrutī ca evaṁ: brahma-lokaḥ, eṣa ātma-loka iti
Having heard this, he showed His own world, which is beyond material nature consisting solely of existence, consciousness, and bliss, imperishable and beyond the modes of nature. The śruti also says thus: ‘This is Brahmaloka; this is Ātmaloka.’
This acceptance of both the material and transcendental worlds must be considered eternally established.
Now the opposition may raise yet another fallacious argument. They will ask why the Supreme Lord, instead of keeping the jīvas in that wonderful abode, has placed them in this incomplete universe. If the jīvas have been created as fit for that abode, then for what reason did they not remain there? Faith and reason will also provide an answer to this matter. O revered bhāgavatas! Once again, sitting with steady minds in the innermost, concealed region of your ātmā, examine this principle through the practice of samādhi-yoga. Without samādhi, no conception of transcendental truth is realised. For those men who do not deliberate upon the function of samādhi, self-realisation is exceedingly difficult. By means of samādhi, the jīva, closing all external doors, moves within through inner vision in the transcendental realm and directly beholds transcendental truth. When, by the yoga of samādhi, we draw near to that Supreme Person, sac-cid-ānanda Kṛṣṇa, and attain direct realisation of Him, then our inner faculty becomes exhilarated with supreme prema. However, remorse arises, born of some offence previously committed by us. At that time, the improper act of accepting māyā through the desire for enjoyment, comes upon the path of remembrance and makes us ashamed and remorseful. At that time we reflect, “Alas, why did we abandon such extraordinary, complete bliss and enter into the petty happiness of māyā? Thus, abandoning such a merciful Supreme Lord, we desired insignificant material happiness. But is the Supreme Lord not merciful? Without abandoning me, He remains present near me along with His own abode. No matter into what condition I may fall, He follows behind me, accompanying me in His own intrinsic form. I only need to cast my glance” Such thoughts constantly arise in our minds during samādhi. What is the reason for this? It is directly perceived that, at some time or other, we have committed an offence against the Supreme. From self-evident inner realisation of the self, only the mere seed of the details is obtained; the details themselves cannot be known. From that seed, by means of reasoning and by analysis of the śāstra, the entire account is gathered. Mahāprabhu told Sanātana:
kṛṣṇa-nitya-dāsa jīva tāha bhuli gela
tāi māyā piśācī tāra galāya baṅdhila
The jīva, the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, forgot that fact. Therefore, the witch Māyā fastened a noose around his neck. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.24)
What can be gathered so far from the Upaniṣadic teachings of the Lord? It appears that the jīva, at some time, transgressing his own natural disposition of kṛṣṇa-bhakti, and being driven by the desire for enjoyment, fell into the hands of māyā and now abides in this universe in a condition almost like imprisonment. In the incomplete, māyika universe, the jīva passes time by enjoying a small amount of sense pleasure. The duration of a jīva’s existence in this universe should be considered a period of punishment. The jīva, as the result of his own actions, is experiencing various kinds of suffering in this place. In this universe, the more material progress we achieve, the more we must acknowledge the strengthening of our bondage. There is nothing in the progress of this universe that can be a source of happiness for us. That this fallen state of the jīvas is indeed true has been acknowledged by scholars of scriptures in all countries. You are aware of how Adam’s fall occurred in Christianity. Eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge was the cause of his downfall. Where is the well-being for one who, abandoning subservience to Kṛṣṇa, becomes independent through his own knowledge and rejects the bliss of bhakti? The jīva, abandoning servitude to Kṛṣṇa, falls into the hands of Satan, in other words, māyā, and suffers in this universe – this is also accepted in the Qur’an. The very foundation of the inherent existence of the jīva is evident in all these descriptions. If, by accepting self-evident principles, we cannot discover any particular truth from them, then what is the use of our reasoning ability? In what respect are we better than animals?
Now the opposition will ask for what reason the jīva forgot the servitude of the Supreme, and for what reason the Supreme Lord granted him the capacity to fall into such forgetfulness. To begin an analysis of this subject, it is first necessary to know that self-evident self-awareness (svataḥ-siddha ātma-pratya), which is the source of all knowledge, can never be understood without samādhi. Therefore, O bhāgavatas, enter once again into the inner sanctuary of the ātmā through the practice of samādhi-yoga. There, the transcendental truth, the light of Bhagavān, is constantly heard from the mouth of Saṅkarṣana. Just as ṛṣis like Sanaka etc. heard the Bhāgavatam, the great śruti, directly from Bhagavān Saṅkarṣana, in the same way you will also hear it. The pure transcendental Ātma, the unlimited Saṅkarṣana said, “Listen! The Supreme Lord, the embodiment of all-auspiciousness, envisioned the eternal progress of the jīvas and transformed their nature into His own servitude.” The Supreme Lord who is all-auspicious, while envisioning the jīva’s eternal perfection, made the jīva’s nature submissive to His own servitude. Servitude to Kṛṣṇa is the natural constitution of the jīva. In the happiness of servitude, the jīva began to spend time in supreme bliss. However, since the jīva’s servitude is unavoidable, it does not give him any special prestige, and it cannot make him qualified for a higher progress. The supremely compassionate Jagadīśvara granted the jīva a wonderful jewel called freedom. By properly utilising that freedom, those jīvas who engaged more in the service of the Lord became entitled to elevated positions. But those who misused that freedom – seeking enjoyment and abandoning servitude – were attracted by māyā, the possessor of the modes of nature, and, being engaged in the inferior service of māyā, entered a material body in the mundane world to sometimes experience misery and sometimes happiness. This information can be found in the narration of Purañjana. All those men who believe in the Lord, but do not engage in deliberation on this matter, rest in this kind of conclusion. By the infinite mercy of the Supreme Lord, simply by having faith, those who spend their time in the bliss of bhajana are happy even while being ignorant; and those who analyse this philosophy carefully and arrive at such a conclusion, their misery is also removed. However, those persons who are in between these two suffer greatly. As stated by Vidura in the Third Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:
yaś ca mūḍhatamo loke yaś ca buddheḥ paraṁ gataḥ**tāv ubhau sukham edhete kliśyaty antarito janaḥ
One who is the most foolish in the world, and one who has attained supreme intelligence – both of them experience happiness, while a person in between suffers. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.7.17)
O respected bhāgavatas! Carefully consider and see – apart from the jīva himself, who is the cause of the jīva’s misery? The Supreme Lord, manifesting infinite compassion toward us, appeared even in the material world to deliver us and revealed the pastimes of Vraja. Indeed! There is no limit to His mercy.
If the profound truth of this transcendental vraja-līlā is clearly understood in the heart, where then can there be any suffering for the jīva? Can there be any true welfare for the jīva in all the activities in the material world that the Vedas explain as proper according to Ārya dharma? As stated in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, Chapter Five:
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti lokona taiḥ sukhaṁ vānyad-upāramaṁ vāvindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṁ**yad atra yuktaṁ bhagavān vaden naḥ
People perform actions for happiness, but by them, neither happiness nor supreme enjoyment is obtained. Rather, only misery arises. O great one, kindly explain this to us. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.5.2)
The eighteenth mantra of the Kaṭhopaniṣad says:
ajīryatām amṛtānām upetyajīryan martyaḥ kvadhaḥ-sthaḥ prajānanabhidhyāyan varṇa-rati-pramodān**atidīrghe jīvite ko rameta
According to Śaṅkarācārya, the meaning is as follows – the Devatās are free from old age and death; knowing that such excellent boons can be obtained from them, why would a mortal being, subject to old age and death, residing on this earth, pray for inferior boons? And knowing the Apsaras, who exist for the sake of song, pleasure, and merriment, to be extremely fickle, which discerning person would become attached to a long life?
Considering all these points, what discerning person would not develop a lack of faith in the path of pravṛtti? Who does not consider this world a prison? By chewing on the dry bones of mercantile activity, can the jīva’s thirst for pleasure ever be truly satiated? Which person seated on a throne, after abandoning his royal crown, will not enter a dense forest and engage in penance to satisfy Hari? Which armed man, before laying down his weapons, will not take up a mālā to chant hari-nāma? Indeed! What a marvellous result arises from detachment!
Can magnificent palaces, priceless jewels, the captivating side-long glances of exceptionally beautiful young women, vast treasuries overflowing with wealth, and domestic animals like cows and buffaloes ever sway discerning men such as Gosvāmī Raghunātha Dāsa? Can all the ministerial positions of Bengal, statuses and honours conferred by many people, and even the abundant affection of kings truly bind an exalted personality like Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī to this worldly life? O, what a marvellous sweetness lies in transcendental truth! What remains in the insignificant material world for a person whose divine vision is able to perceive that supremely enchanting land where the infinite pastimes of Vraja occur? Thus, in the rasa-pañcādhyāya of the Tenth Canto, it is said:
kā stry aṅga te kala-padāyata-veṇu-gīta-
sammohitārya-caritān na calet tri-lokyām
trailokya-saubhagam idaṁ ca nirīkṣya rūpaṁ
yad go-dvija-druma-mṛgāḥ pulakāny abibhran
O Dearest, which woman within the three worlds would not reject proper conduct upon becoming completely enchanted by the sweet notes of Your flute song? Even the cows, birds, trees, and deer horripilate upon seeing Your form, which is the good fortune of the three worlds. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.29.40)
By such analysis, the supremacy of the principle of vairāgya (renunciation) is established. However, what vairāgya actually is must now be determined. Where there is jñāna, there is vairāgya. What is meant by jñāna? That knowledge by which the distinction between transcendental and material principles are established is called jñāna. Although the scholars of Advaita Vedānta have deliberated much on this matter, they still suffer from the affliction of a flawed understanding. They establish that matter, in other words, physical elements entities are temporary, yet regarding the jīvātma, they develop such profound illusion that they can see no place for the soul’s dissolution other than Brahman. According to their understanding, the unity of the jīva with Brahman is called jñāna. However, sādhus call this ati-jñāna (over-intelligence). There is a significant difference between jñāna and excessive ati–jñāna. The principle of matter is determined by jñāna, but through ati–jñāna, true knowledge is obscured, giving rise to fallacious arguments. Diseases are cured by medicine, but it is well-known that by poisonous medicine, another kind of disease may arise. Although revered scholars of Advaita Vedānta have been able to bring peace to the worldly disease called saṁsāra, Advaita itself, like an even more severe disease, attacks the jīva, obstructing the path of peace. We have deliberated with many learned Advaitins, but their conclusions seem entirely unfounded. Firstly, they argue fallaciously that when the jīva becomes free from material illusion, there is no longer any veil between him and Brahman, and therefore the jīva’s oneness with Brahman is inevitably established. Indeed, after so much deliberation, the advaitavādī has erred regarding this fundamental point. Even after distinguishing between aprākṛta and prākṛta-tattva (transcendental and material principles), he remains afflicted. This is an extremely sad thing. What is meant by aprakṛta-tattva? That substance which is beyond matter is aprākṛta. The qualities that exist within material nature are not possible in transcendental substances. Transcendental substances are characterised by knowledge and bliss. Material qualities such as shape, extension, location, stability, etc. cannot exist within it. Place and time cannot exercise dominion there. As stated in the Bhāgavata, Second Canto, Ninth Chapter:
pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoḥ
sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ
na yatra māyā kim utāpare harer
anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ
There, where the modes of passion and ignorance do not operate, and even goodness is not mixed with them; where the power of time has no influence – what to speak, then, of māyā? That is the realm of Hari, which is worshipped by both the Devas and the Asuras. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.9.10)
In a substance that is beyond the limitations of space and time, the concepts of covering, etc., are impossible, because the concepts of covering and oneness are derived from space.*
*Translator’s Note: In other words, if Brahman truly transcends space and time, then theories of ignorance as a ‘covering’ and liberation as ‘becoming one’ are logically impossible – because those ideas themselves depend on spatial thinking.
All rivers, upon entering the ocean, abandon their state of being rivers and attain the state of being the ocean – with such an example, the advaitavādīs, establish that the jīva ultimately becomes Brahman. Alas! Is this example not material? Then where is the advaitavādī’s knowledge of the aprākṛta principle? In reality, because the advaitavādīs are unable to properly comprehend the aprākṛta principle, they apply expressions such as ‘oneness,’ ‘covering,’ and ‘non-difference’ upon the transcendental jīva and Brahman, and thus keep themselves deprived of the truth. Consequently, their knowledge is impure, and due to this, truth does not manifest. In the aprākṛta realm, examples drawn from material objects are not possible; therefore, with regard to that subject, there is no knowledge other than self-evident inner realisation. When we realise that this aprākṛta principle is not constituted of the five gross elements, then, piercing through the universe by the yoga of samādhi, the inherent blissful nature of bhakti-yoga arises in our mind. That bhakti-yoga alone is our eternal nature; its deep intensity is our infinite attainment; and servitude to Bhagavān is our transcendental characteristic. By our distorted intellect, transcendental truth will never be clearly perceived, because through material association, our intellect has become entirely material in nature – therefore, it is futile for us to argue about transcendental truth in this bound state. As stated in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu:
acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet
prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṁ yac ca tad acintyasya lakṣaṇam
Those realities which are indeed acintya (inconceivable) should never be subjected to mundane logic. That which lies beyond material nature is the defining characteristic of acintya. *(*Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma-parva 5.22, quoted in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.5.95)
By applying logical reasoning to matters that are inconceivable, the advaitavādīs have been rebuked by Brahmā in this manner in the Tenth Canto:
śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibhokliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhayeteṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate**nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām
O Infinite One, those who abandon the beneficial path of bhakti and instead struggle merely to achieve dry knowledge, gain nothing but suffering, like those who beat empty rice husks. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.14.4)
In this matter, self-evident faith alone is the root of our welfare, as stated in the Caritāmṛta:
viśvāse pāibe tarke haya bahu-dūra
By faith, one attains Kṛṣṇa. By argument, one remains far away. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.309)
If we attempt to establish or analyse transcendental truth by means of logical argument, we will end up becoming either atheists or advaitavādīs. Therefore, O community of devotees, do not engage in arguing about transcendental truth. Taking sole shelter in pure, self-manifest faith, become absorbed in śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. Only that self-evident faith which is seen in regard to transcendental truth may be called śuddha-jñāna (pure knowledge). That the jīva is transcendental, the transcendental Supreme Lord alone is the jīva’s object of worship, and the transcendental abode alone is the jīva’s true home – such a conclusion may be called knowledge. Consequently, detachment from this half-baked, illusory universe is absolutely necessary for the jīva. It is necessary to consider how such detachment is achieved.
Foolish people, by misusing this kind of conclusion, become disgusted with life itself and end up committing suicide. The result is this – just as one who tries to escape this prison-house prematurely and unjustly is caught again and confined even more severely, so too those jīvas who commit suicide become bound all the more firmly, along with undergoing various kinds of suffering. There is a proper and lawful method for deliverance – without taking shelter of that method, how can deliverance be possible? Adopting renunciation is the proper method – of this there is no doubt. Weak persons who fall into aversion towards worldly life believe that by rejecting human society and going to the forest, they are practicing renunciation. This also cannot be called true renunciation. Indeed, this is also stated in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, Fifth Chapter, in the words of Vidura:
janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād
adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya
anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ
bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya
Indeed, in order to show compassion, the gracious agents of Janārdana wander in this world among those who have turned away from Kṛṣṇa, impelled by fate, inclined toward adharma, and deeply afflicted by suffering. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.5.3)
And as stated in the Third Canto, seventh chapter:
sarve vedāś ca yajñāś ca tapo dānādi cānagha
jīvābhaya-pradānasya na kurvīran kalām api
O sinless one, all the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities, charity etc. cannot compare to even a fraction of the act of granting fearlessness to the jīvas against material nature. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.7.41)
Similarly, in the fourth chapter of the First Canto:
śivāya lokasya bhavāya bhūtaye
ya uttama-śloka-parāyaṇā janāḥ
jīvanti nātmārtham asau parāśrayaṁ
mumoca nirvidya kutaḥ kalevaram
Those persons who are devoted to Uttama-śloka (He who is praised with choice verses) do not live for themselves, but for the auspiciousness and prosperity of the world. Becoming renounced, why did Parīkṣit give up his body, which was meant as a shelter for others? (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.4.12)
Those people who abandon the primary duty of benefiting all the jīvas and go to the forest to perform solitary austerities are selfish. Therefore, they cannot be designated by the title ‘Vaiṣṇava.’ Such a statement has been given in prayers to Him. It is said in the Bhāgavatam:
prāyeṇa deva munayaḥ sva-vimukti-kāmā
maunaṁ caranti vijane na parārtha-niṣṭhāḥ
For the most part, O Lord, sages who desire their own liberation practice silence and dwell in solitude; they are not dedicated to the welfare of others. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.44)
A man who, having fallen into the waves of this worldly existence, endures its currents without hesitation, shows compassion to all jīvas, and constantly petitions Bhagavān for the removal of the spiritual suffering of every soul – such a great personality alone is worthy of the appellation ‘Vaiṣṇava.’
Indeed, when one reflects upon the exemplary character of the pure Hari Dāsa, is there any unfortunate person in whom bhagavad-bhakti does not arise? When, at one time, his own co-religionist fanatics were tormenting him in the city of Delhi, beholding their spiritual plight, he prayed to Bhagavān with tear-filled eyes in this manner – “O Jagadīśvara! O Gopī-jana-vallabha! Those persons who oppress Your servant do so out of ignorance of Your profound divine pastimes. By Your boundless mercy, please forgive their cruelty and awaken bhakti-rasa in their hearts – because when that arises, no jīva harms another.”
Indeed, this is the true act of renunciation.
The most worshipable Mahāprabhu spoke to Rāmānanda in this manner regarding renunciation:
yathārtha vairāgya loke bujhite nā pāre
daṇḍa kamaṇḍalu dhari vairāgya ācāre
keha vā saṁsāra tyaji vairāgī balāya
keha bāghāmvara pari daṇḍāśrame yāya
People in general cannot grasp the true nature of renunciation; they think that practicing renunciation means merely carrying a daṇḍa and a water pot. Some abandon worldly life and call themselves renunciants, while others don tiger-skins and formally enter the daṇḍa-āśrama.” (Caitanya Gītā 3.8)
yathārtha vairāgya haya viṣaye virāga
ātmāra utkarṣa āra jñāne anurāga
īśvarete ātmā-dāna kartavya sādhana
niṣkāma haiyā kārya kara sampādana
True renunciation consists in detachment from sense-objects, in the elevation of the self, and in loving attachment to knowledge. Offering oneself unto the Lord is the essential discipline to be performed. Become desireless, carry out your duties, and bring them to proper completion (Caitanya Gītā 3.10)
tyāga śabde vairāgyera marma bujhā yāya
kintu tyāga śabda-artha bujhā baḍa dāya
ei vākya śreṣṭha gaṇi kata mahāśaya
saṁsāra tyajiyā ghora kānanete raya
Through the word tyāga, the inner essence of renunciation can be understood. Yet to properly grasp the meaning of tyāga is a grave challenge indeed. O mahāśaya, many esteemed persons take this statement to be supreme, and, abandoning worldly life, remain dwelling in deep forests. (Caitanya Gītā 3.12)
tyāga śabde dui artha kare budha-gaṇa
lipsāra abhāva āra saṁsāra varjjana
lipsā-hīna hauyā jāna haya śreṣṭhatara
adhika śaktira kārya jāna bhakta-vara
The learned understand the word tyāga to have two meanings – freedom from selfish desire, and renunciation of worldly life. Know this, O best of devotees: becoming free from desire is superior; the rejection of the world is secondary, for the former is the work of a higher divine potency. (Caitanya Gītā 3.14)
It is true that when aversion to worldly life arises, that is called vairāgya – yet mere aversion alone is known as śuṣka–vairāgya (dry renunciation). If, from aversion to worldly life, a man does not develop compassion for all jīvas and pure prema-bhakti to Kṛṣṇa, then there is absolutely no substance in such vairāgya. Many are confused about this topic. Some, being proficient in sādhana, lack compassion for other living beings – they do not consider what would be beneficial for them in any way. It must be accepted that their Vaiṣṇavism is significantly harmed by this. As stated in the prayers of Brahmā in the Third Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:
nātiprasīdati tathopacitopacārair
ārādhitaḥ sura-gaṇair hṛdi baddha-kāmaiḥ
yat sarva-bhūta-dayayāsad-alabhyayaiko
nānā-janeṣv avahitaḥ suhṛd antarātmā
You are not so satisfied with the gorgeous worship of the Demigods, whose hearts are bound by mundane desires. You show mercy to all beings, but you are not attainable by the impious. However, you are perceived as the dearest friend with as the Paramātmā residing within. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.12)
This statement of Brahmā is extremely profound. The entirety of Vaiṣṇava principles are discussed in this. If a proper explanation of this verse is given, our present day requirements will be successfully fulfilled. Therefore, gentlemen, listen attentively and consider the matter!
The meaning of this śloka is as follows – When Bhagavān is worshiped through compassion toward all beings who cannot speak or act for themselves, He is pleased to the fullest extent. By contrast, He is not pleased to the same degree even when the gods worship Him through with abundant ingredients, driven by self-interest. This is because Bhagavān secretly resides as the well-wisher and inner Self of all.
The desire for the attainment of the four goals – dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa – is expressed in this śloka by the term kāma (desire). He whose heart is bound by worldly desires, even if he be one of the Devatās like Brahmā, cannot please Bhagavān to the same extent with proper rituals and ingredients. Even if proper rituals and offerings are presented in a hypocritical manner, there is certainly no possibility of any benefit from them, for Bhagavān is the Antaryāmī (Inner Controller), thus, He does not judge by external appearances – rather, He observes the heart of the sādhaka. Yet even if, abandoning that hypocrisy and adopting sincerity, any of the aforementioned men worships Bhagavān with elaborate offerings, He is still not pleased to the same extent. The word ārādhanā (worship) indicates the innermost intention and prohibits external hypocrisy – therefore, by the use of the word ārādhanā, hypocrisy is negated. “He does not become exceedingly pleased” – the implication of the word usage is that even if one worships with selfish desires, Bhagavān becomes pleased. In other words, He grants only the results of desire and, on occasion, brings about the rise of true vairāgya. Therefore:
akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhiḥ tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param
A person who has no desires, who has all desires, or who desires liberation, if he possesses broad intelligence, should intensely worship the Supreme Person through bhakti-yoga. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.10)
However, the worship of Bhagavān which is performed through compassion toward all living beings pleases Him to a degree that worship motivated by desire can never attain. Those persons who worship Bhagavān while being desireless (akāma), desirous of all (sarva-kāma), or desirous of liberation (mokṣa-kāma), their worship awaits completion – in other words, it remains in expectation of fulfilment. This means its repetition is required. This is to be understood. Like karma-yoga and jñāna–yoga, bhakti-yoga is never in vain; therefore, selfless compassion for all beings arises as a result of bhakti-yoga motivated by self-interest. Self-interested bhakti is the inherent seed of the tree of bhakti; therefore, in due course of time, that pure seed sprouts, matures into a tree, and produces the fruit of supreme prema. Self-interested bhakti is narrow; therefore, when its scope expands, bhakti in the form of compassion toward all beings arises. When the devotee harbours desires, the Supreme Lord, considering him ignorant, dispels that selfishness by bestowing shelter at His feet. Kṛṣṇa-bhakti in the form of compassion toward all beings is the inherent nature of the jīva – therefore, that alone is what renounced persons are meant to attain. To the extent that firm bhakti to the Supreme Lord arises, to that extent fulfilment in the jīva takes place. Compassion toward all living beings is the defining characteristic of such bhakti. When one investigates the profound reason why a jīva shows compassion towards another jīva, it seems that kṛṣṇa-bhakti is the underlying cause. The Supreme Lord is perceived as the well-wisher and inner Self of all jīvas – therefore, we have an eternal relationship with all jīvas who are dear to Him. Just as kṛṣṇa-prema is the inherent nature of the jīva, similarly, Kṛṣṇa’s love for the jīvas and a brotherly friendship toward them are our natural modes of conduct. Hence, the worship of Bhagavān that we perform without thinking and striving for the welfare of all other jīvas is incomplete.
Let us now consider how vairāgya-dharma harmonises with this conclusion. O society of sādhus! Consider carefully that it is our absolute duty to constantly think of the eternal welfare of all jīvas in this world and to make special effort toward that end. If promoting the welfare of the jīvas is our duty, then how can we remain distant from worldly life? The jīvas who are afflicted by the three kinds of suffering do not go to the sages in search of a remedy, because they do not believe that they are diseased. They believe their inner consciousness to be healthy, and thus spend their time engaged in the ritual activities of a gṛhamedha (an attached householder). They think that all those persons who practice renunciation appear to be miserable and are afflicted by some particular illness. In their consideration, renunciation itself is a specific kind of disease. In their view, vairāgya itself is heresy, and only sensual pleasure is one’s duty. Just as a person with fever values cold water and only aggravates his illness, similarly worldly people, by indulging in sensual pleasures through their senses, increase the disease of desire. Just as madmen feel agitated upon seeing people of sound mind, so also worldly men feel distressed when they see renunciants. Just as those who become intoxicated by drinking alcohol consider sober men to be unfortunate, similarly, men deluded by the intoxication of worldly life, being devoid of wisdom, consider the detachment of wise men to be a source of suffering and become troubled. Alas! What remedy is there for all these foolish people? When they cannot recognise their own disease, how will they ever attain peace? Oh, what compassionate and discerning person would not fall into an ocean of sorrow upon contemplating their condition? If the great-souled devotees of Bhagavān do not show mercy to all such people, then they have no hope left. What alternative is there but for others to endure hardship and administer a remedy to the insane? Although the deranged may act hostilely towards their benefactors, Hari Dāsa never ceased to offer the nectar of hari-nāma to Jagāi and Mādhāi. O Vaiṣṇavas! Although foolish people hurl harsh words at you, and at times, are even ready to beat you, will you not remain steadfast in your duty? If a child develops a wound in some limb and amputation of that limb is deemed reasonable, then even if the child becomes extremely agitated and abuses his father with harsh words, the compassionate father will never turn away from accomplishing what is truly beneficial for him. Similarly, servants of Kṛṣṇa will never desist, in any circumstance, from acting for the welfare of persons who are enslaved by the senses. Those men who feel pleasure in watching women dance, who imagine enjoyment of the senses through intoxication, who experience satisfaction of the tongue by eating the flesh of jīvas, and who feel happiness through the practice of hatred and violence – such persons alone are suitable receptacles worthy of pity. O dear bhāgavata friends! You are their fathers, brothers, and companions! If, out of fear of reproach, you abandon them at your own volition, then who will deliver them? They are intoxicated and are wallowing in the mire of sense objects – kindly grant them fearlessness. This is because:
sarve vedāś ca yajñāś ca tapo dānāni cānagha**jīvābhaya-pradānasya na kurvīran kalām api
O sinless one, all the Vedas, all sacrifices, austerities, and acts of charity cannot equal even a fraction of granting fearlessness to the jīvas. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.7.41)
For the sake of accomplishing the welfare of unfortunate people, sādhus accept the duties of worldly life. Hence, even the sādhus have many devoted jīvas such as wives, sons, and daughters. The true significance of a sādhus’ worldly life lies in the constant pursuit of the welfare of others and sustenance. Sense-gratification, sexual enjoyment, or the pursuance of dharma – none of these can be the purpose of a Vaiṣṇava’s life. As it is stated in the First Canto:
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣak sena kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayet ṣaḍiratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalaṁ
Dharma, executed by men, regardless of occupation, is only so much useless labour if it does not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord. (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 1.2.8)
dharmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho’rthāyopakalpate nārthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ
kāmasya nendriya-prītir lābho jīveta yāvatā
jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ
Dharma is ultimately meant for liberation and not for material gain. Wealth should never be used to achieve sense-enjoyment by those who are engaged in dharma. During life, one’s goal should never be the desire for sense-gratification. Life’s objective is to inquire into the Supreme Truth and not what is accomplished through the performance of mundane activities. (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 1.2.10-11)
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
The seers that know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 1.2.11)
tac chraddadhānā munayo jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā**paśyanty ātmani cātmānaṁ bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā
Those sages, firmly endowed with faith and equipped with knowledge and renunciation, perceive the Self within the self through bhakti, as they have received through hearing. (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 1.2.12)
The purpose of a jīva’s life, while situated in the material world, is to conquer greed and satisfy Hari, through a vow of service to others. If it is said that by engagement in such activities, gradually one becomes entangled in the web of māyā, then please listen. The Bhāgavata says in the Third Canto:
śārīrā mānasa divyā vaiyāse ye ca mānuṣaḥ bhautikāś ca kathaṁ kleśā bādhereṇa hari-saṁśrayaṁ
O Vidura, how can miseries stemming from the body, mind, the Devas, other humans, or natural conditions bind a person who has taken refuge in Hari? (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 3.22.37)
Persons who engage in mundane work, mundane knowledge and mundane arguments can cause many conflicts here in this world. They can say, “What is the difference between the worldly life accepted by those who follow the path of pravṛtti and the worldly life of the Vaiṣṇavas?” On other words, when in both households, duties, knowledge, and other activities are diligently performed in all respects, then why are those on the path of pravṛtti to be condemned? Intelligent people can understand the meaning of this doubt without difficulty. The households of those on the path of pravṛtti are motivated by their own happiness – therefore, what can the result be for them except subjugation? However, the household of the sādhus is managed for cultivating love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and thus there is no possibility of subjugation resulting from it. As stated in the Third Canto:
saṅgo yaḥ saṁsṛter hetur asatsu vihito’dhiyā**sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto niḥsaṅgatvāya kalpate
Attachment which is the cause of worldly entanglement when directed towards materialists, becomes freedom from attachment when directed toward the sādhus. (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 3.23.55)
The meaning is that all those persons who spend their time in the company of materialists repeatedly remain bound to the cycle of worldly existence. Those who reside in the company of sādhus attain freedom. Here also, there is a possibility of many objections. Then is it forbidden to go near a materialistic person and to have any kind of interaction with him at all? If that were so, then how would there be any possibility of the deliverance of materialistic people? The conclusion here is that, just as a physician, while treating a man afflicted with cholera, approaches the patient and serves him after taking camphor and other fragrant substances in order to neutralise the danger of infection, similarly sādhu-physicians carefully remove the misfortune of wicked people by means of the great medicine in the form of hari-nāma. In this context, once the true meaning of the word saṅga (association) is properly determined, all doubts are resolved.
Saṅga means embracing the inner disposition of the person one associates with. For example, when a person harbours lust in his heart and goes to associate with a lusty person, that lust leads to saṅga-doṣa – the defect of association. However, when a person, being convinced of the harmful nature of licentiousness, approaches a lusty man for the purpose of delivering him from that condition, this cannot be called lustful association. On the contrary, it becomes a type of sādhu-saṅga for a debauched person. Therefore, mere physical proximity cannot be called saṅga. By accepting the word saṅga in this sense, sādhus are able to travel everywhere, and yet they do not suffer the effects of saṅga-doṣa. The household life of sādhus is association of that type – therefore, what result can it have other than detachment? The household life of non-sādhus is utterly contemptible, and their life and death are the same. As it is stated in the Bhāgavata:
neha yat karma dharmāya na virāgāya kalpate
na tīrtha-pada-sevāyai jīvann api mṛto hi saḥ
Any activity performed in this world by a man which does not lead to dharma, does not lead to detachment, and does not lead to the service of the Lord’s feet – such a person, even while living, is indeed dead, (Śrīmad Bhāg**avatam 3.23.56)
This means that those whose actions are not directed toward dharma, whose dharma is not performed for the sake of detachment, and whose detachment is not accompanied by service to Kṛṣṇa – such persons, though living, are as good as dead. Thus, the household life of sādhus is itself service to Kṛṣṇa. There is a great difference between a sādhu’s household and an atheistic household. Just as there is a difference between the supremely great and the supremely infinitesimal, just as there is a distinction between dharma and adharma, and just as there is an opposition between darkness and light – know that there is a similar contrast between a atheistic household and a Vaiṣṇava household. Many hypocritical people enter this sacred Vaiṣṇava community, yet that does not mean that the Vaiṣṇava community can be defamed. To denigrate ghee because many artificial substances are sold under the name of ghee, is itself a sign of a diseased inner consciousness. A person who is himself a sādhu, without placing trust in pretenders, will render proper honour befitting a genuine sādhu. Just because many hypocrites roam about assuming the dress of sādhus, true sādhus themselves cannot be criticised. The fact that wicked people like Kālanemī etc. have adopted the guise of Vaiṣṇavas to accomplish many evil deeds does not mean that the Vaiṣṇavas themselves are at fault. However, the sad thing is that in this uncivilised age, many people criticize sādhus, calling them hypocrites.
The brāhmaṇa scholars of the Mithilā province remain perpetually tainted by this fault. On one occasion, a certain advaitavādī scholar from Mithilā was seated with us. At that time, a gentle, well-composed Vaiṣṇava, adorned with tilaka and a mālā, arrived there. The moment he saw that Vaiṣṇava, our Ojhā Paṇḍita Mahāśaya* became furious like a sacrificial fire and said, “Ham jāntā hai – yetanā rāma kaṭākā o balada dāgāne oyālā hai, o saba nehāta bhaṇḍa hai!” (‘We know – these people who wear the signs of Rāma like branded bulls are nothing but total hypocrites!’).
Seeing such rude conduct, I humbly said to the Ojhā Paṇḍita Mahāśaya:
‘O Paṇḍita Mahāśaya, why did you become angry the moment you saw a Vaiṣṇava? Do you even know the person who has just arrived?”
Paṇḍita Mahāśaya replied that he had never seen him before. O respectable gentlemen! Now please judge whether there was any error in the judgment of the Ojhā Paṇḍita Mahāśaya or not. After I later came into close association with that person, I came to know that he was an exalted Vaiṣṇava. However, because of Ojhā Paṇḍita Mahāśaya’s unjust conduct, he felt great compassion for him. As you all know, such an extreme course of development is a truly frightening thing. It is extremely unfortunate to immediately regard someone as a hypocrite merely upon seeing the external marks of a Vaiṣṇava, because people like Ojhā Mahāśaya have no real hope of attaining the association of sādhus, therefore, they are especially worthy recipients of your compassion. Out of suspicion of hypocrisy, we should never condemn a stranger. It is not the case that everyone who adopts the attire of a Vaiṣṇava is a hypocrite. Among those who wear the dress of a sādhu, there are many great, advanced personalities – therefore, until a person is truly known to be a hypocrite, one should not show disrespect towards him. When a person is ascertained to be a hypocrite, then, out of compassion, an endeavour should be made to reform him. In what way can anger or hatred be overcome? Loving all jīvas is our eternal duty, since every jīva has a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That love for the jīvas is manifest in two ways – one should have brotherly affection toward sādhus, and one should feel compassion towards those who are not sādhus. Hence, may hatred and hostility be eradicated from our unparalleled Vaiṣṇava family. Let love be the inspiration behind all our actions! May selfishness be entirely eradicated! May the jīva’s intrinsic form, which is pure consciousness and bliss, be revealed! Let our life in this world be rooted in the jīva’s natural state of detachment from matter! May the jīva’s inherent nature, kṛṣṇa-bhakti, be our one and only activity. O sādhus! Listen to the instructions of the Supreme Lord. In regards to Kardama, it is said in the Third Canto:
kṛtvā dayāṁ ca jīveṣu dattvā cābhayam ātmavān**mayy ātmānaṁ saha jagad drakṣyasy ātmani cāpi mām(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.21.31)
“Perform your eternal duty, be compassionate to all jīvas, grant them fearlessness, and constantly perceive Me in them and the world, and also perceive them in Me.” Through this unparalleled instruction, Bhagavān has given us the eternal teachings of Vaiṣṇava dharma.
Mahāprabhu Caitanyadeva has said:
āro svalpe bali tabe vairāgya-lakṣaṇa
manoyogī haye rāya karaha śravaṇa
sakarma premera saha sraṣṭāra sādhana
svārtha-hīna bhrātṛ-bhāva jagate sthāpana
I will speak a little more about the characteristics of renunciation. O Rāya, listen attentively with full concentration. Perform all actions with love, making the Lord the aim of your practice, and establish selfless brotherly affection throughout the world. (Caitanya Gītā 3.11)
yukti-siddha viśvāsa se amūlya ratana
yatna kari dhare hṛde bhakta mahājana
sei ta viśvāsa sadā āmāre śikhāya
āmi īśvarete āra īśvara āmāya
Faith perfected by reason is a priceless jewel, which noble devotees carefully keep in their hearts. Such faith constantly instructs Me that, “I am in the Supreme, and the Supreme is in Me.” (Caitanya Gītā 2.15)
We observe the eternal duty of extending brotherly affection to all jīvas and offering ourselves completely to the Supreme Lord. Can anything be more exalted than this? Jagadguru Śrī Caitanyadeva has instructed us through His own conduct. He is always present with us, giving us courage, and saying, “O humanity, fear not! Continue performing your respective duties. I am constantly accompanying you and strengthening you. I have placed in your hands the mace to dispel illusion in the form of hari-nāma to subdue the sinful Kali-yuga. Show compassion to the weak, the fallen, and all jīvas, and hasten from place to place, for their welfare. Do not neglect them in any way. Just as I delivered Jagāi and Mādhāi despite being attacked, you too should endure the harsh words and ill-treatment of the atheists and continue to work for their welfare. Do not fear, thinking yourselves weak, for you have taken shelter of Me and have obtained the great weapon of hari-nāma.”
kiṁ durāpādanaṁ teṣāṁ puṁsām ūddāma cetasāṁ**yair āśritas tīrtha-padaś caraṇo vyasanātyayaḥ
What is difficult to attain for those persons with fuly absorbed minds, who have taken refuge at the feet of the Supreme, which destroy all misery? (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.23.42)
“You make the effort, and I will fully help you.”