26 June 1997 France - Brhad-Bhagavatamrta - Pure Bhakti and Varnasrama-dharma as a Platform
We have heard from Srila Rupa Gosvami:
anyabilasita sunyam jnana karma anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama
This is uttama-bhakti. There must not be any impurity or mixture of bhakti. We should try to differentiate impure bhakti, amalgamated bhakti and pure bhakti, and we should try to take pure bhakti. Here from the beginning of Brhad-bhagvatamrta, there is bhakti with a mixture of karma, a mixture of jnana, and a mixture of yoga. After that is pure bhakti, then more pure bhakti, then most pure bhakti. Sanatana Gosvami explains all these things.
In the beginning he says, “Once upon a time,” but what he is saying is true fact—completely true. Once upon a time, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati are mixing together in Prayaga at sangamasthala—Rupa Gosvami had met there with Caitanya Mahaprabhu who inspired all kinds of things, even gopi-prema, inside his heart—many devotees, lakhs and lakhs, not less than one crore of devotees, were assembled there. Even today, there are not less than twenty or forty lakhs of people every year in the month of magha in the winter season, that assemble there to take bath and hear hari-katha. All were assembled there. Among all the devotees, Narada was also there, and all kinds of rsis, maharsis, and devotees were assembled. A discussion was going on there of who is the most dear devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna.
“We want to know. What kind of devotion do they have? What is the highest love and affection?” They were not deciding. At last, it was decided that Narada should tell them the answer. He should examine all kinds of bhaktas and then he should decide who is the supermost near and dear to Krsna. Narada was so happy. He took his vina and began searching for who was the best devotee in this world or anywhere.
In the meantime, he saw a very rich brahmana. Do you know brahmanas? In India, varnasrama dharma, he is the highest. The brahmana, having his salagrama deity, came to that tirtha and took bath in the sangamsthali and selected a place there. With cow dung he cleansed the area, and in a high place he kept his salagrama. He put some tent canopy there and the deity was so decorated. Because he was so rich, he brought so many servants and brahmanas. So many brahmanas were cooking very delicious prasadam. When he worshipped Salagrama, hundreds of devotees began to chant harinama, do kirtan and dance there. The Puranas were also being recited and hari-katha was also going on. When he finished the arati and worship of his deity, then so many kinds of delicious maha-prasada, naivedya was given to Thakuraji, to Salagrama. With arati and kirtan it was finished. After that, all the devotees who came to that place were brahmanas and devotees. They were seated in a separate place, and others, like ksatriyas and vaisyas, were separated, and also those who were sudras were separately seated. Maha-prasada was first given to the brahmanas and devotees, then to the ksatriysa, vaisyas, and all others. Even crows, ants, and all kinds of animals were distributed maha-prasada. Thousands and thousands of devotees and non-devotees, even animals and birds were distributed this maha-prasada. Now he was ready to go. He took his Thakurji in a box and kept Him around his neck. He was ready to go to his home.
Narada came at once and began to dance, “Your life is successful! Indeed, you are dhanya, blessed.” He was praising that brahmana, “Your life is successful because you have served Thakuraji. Who is this Thakuraji?”
“He is the God of Gods, He can create this world, He can support it and after He can take all the universe in Him.”
“Now I see that you are such a high-class devotee. You are dhanya. Your whole wealth is used in preparing prasadam and you are distributing maha-prasadam.” If maha-prasada is rotten, taken by any crows, pigs, and hogs, even we should take prasadam. If it has been brought by any place, or anyone has touched it like a sudra or a dog has taken something, it should be honored. As soon as you have it, you should take it. It is Himself Svayam Bhagavan. So, we should try to honor it.
Actually, Narada was saying, “You are doing kirtan, arcana, and distributing maha-prasadam. This is the speciality of varnasrama dharma.”
In India, brahmanas live with sadacara. They don’t smoke, take eggs, wine, onion, and all things. They only take pure things. Also, if they are married, they will never give up their high wives and the wives will never give up their husbands. They don’t know what is divorce, but here we can see that not only one, two or three times, but people divorce twenty times, and if he divorces twenty times, then the record is beat and it should be put in the Guiness Book of World Records. [audience laughs] But in India, this is now coming from foreign ways. They are importing all these things in India also. All brahmanas used to do worship of Krsna in the shape of Salagrama, but always with sadacara. We should be varnasrama acara. Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked from Raya Ramananda, “What is the sadhya and sadhana?” What did he say?
varṇāśramācāravatā
puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā
nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
Visnu-purana 3.8.9
[One can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by proper discharge of the principles of varṇa and āśrama. There is no alternative to pacifying the Lord by execution of the principles of the varṇāśrama system.]
He said, “It is being in varnasrama-dharma, following the rules and regulations.” What are the rules and regulations? Chaste wives and chaste husbands, and children will be alive. All should believe in Krsna, God, and they should believe in the Vedas, Upanisads, and in Srimad-Bhagavatam. To please Krsna, to please God—their main thing is that. They want to please by varnasrama-dharma.
First, Svamiji wanted to establish varnasrama-dharma in Western countries, so first you should try to adopt all these things. Ladies should not try to divorce. Husbands should not try to divorce. Without doing these things, how can they enter into bhakti? Oh, very hard. If divorcing two times, three times, ten times, twenty times or more than that, it means they are nothing. Only this kanti-mala, tilaka and outer shape will not save us. So then we can also divorce Krsna? And they are divorcing. We should follow varnasrama dharma. Brahmanas were following that, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, eho bahya age kaho ara. It is an external thing. Why? Because that brahmana was not a pure devotee. Sometimes he was like this, sometimes like that, sometimes nothing. He was not one-pointed and he had some worldly requirements for Krsna. “My family should be okay. I should be happy. Oh Krsna, give me bread and butter.” Like this. He has not left anyabilasita. He was not anyabilasita-sunya. So many requirements were there. Either he will want moksa (liberation), happiness in this world, or svarga (heaven). It is outwardly. This brahmana has no idea of krsna-tattva, bhakti-tattva, jiva-tattva, or anything. If you want to be a pure devotee, then you will have to cross this varnasrama-dharma.
Narada was praising that the brahmana was worshipping Salagrama and he was telling him that his whole wealth and everything was for God.
“But why?” The brahmana said, “Why are you praising me? I am not a devotee.”
“You have spent so much money here, giving prasadam to all, those who are devotees and non-devotees, even to animals, even to asses and dogs you have given. Even to ants you have divided the prasada. You are chanting Krsna’s names and dancing in front of the deities, so you are the best devotee.”
“Oh, don’t tell me like this. I am not a pure devotee. I am a very poor man. If you want to see a devotee, you can go to South India. There is a very big king there. Where? In Trivengam.” He was sadacari. What is Vaisnava sadacari?
asat-saṅga-tyāga,—ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra
’strī-saṅgī’—eka asādhu, ‘kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra
Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya, 22.87
[A Vaiṣṇava should always avoid the association of ordinary people. Common people are very much materially attached, especially to women. Vaiṣṇavas should also avoid the company of those who are not devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa.]
Those who are visayi. Visayi means they may worship Salagrama or Giriraja, or any deity like Radha-Krsna, Gaura-Nityananda, Jagannatha-Baladeva, but they are mixing with visayis. Try to associate with pure Vaisnavas. This is the essence of all Vaisnava sadacara. This brahmana has some sadacara but he is so much like this. He sees no difference between a pure Vaisnava, a Mayavadi, or visayi. If a tilaka is given on an ass, he will do pranama. Understand? He has no differentiation of pure bhakti and not pure bhakti. Only what he does is:
yat karosi yad asnasi
yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kurusva mad-arpanam
Bhagavad-gita 9.27
[O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.]
What he does, what he takes, what he eats, anything he cultivates, he offers to Krsna. “It is for You. Please take it.” He has not offered himself, his heart, solely to Krsna. Only some things—yat karosi, yad asnasi yaj juhosi. This brahmana was of that type. He was a karma-misra bhakta. Mixture was there. He was not a pure devotee, but it is also something. Krsna-seva-vasana was there. To serve Krsna, this tendency was in him. There is some laukik-sraddha also here. He will do pranama to all who are mayavadi, karmi-sannyasi, or anyone—to all. He will go to Sankara, he will go to all gods and goddesses, like Durga, Kali, Maha-kali, Bhadre, and also to Krsna and Ramacandra, and also, he will go Jagannatha Puri and to Badri-Narayana, but not the pure devotees. Something is there, but if it will be purified then this bhakti will be pure. That is why Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said “eho bahya…this is external.”
Narada was not satisfied. He saw that he has offered only maha-prasada, but he has not offered himself. There is no question of poor or rich persons in devotion. There are so many rich persons, but they are not so high. If anyone is poor—Like Vidura and Vidurani, or like the Pandavas in the forest who had nothing, they were penniless. Svami Maharaja was also penniless when he came here. So, it does not depend on riches. It depends on the heart. Bhakti should be pure. The brahmana has some bhakti but what bhakti? Bhakti-abhasa, not suddha-bhakti. We should not be satisfied by this. Anyone who is doing arcana and giving so much prasadam to all, giving kichari to all and he himself is taking delicious food—this is not pure devotion and bhakti. I know many devotees who are always eager to distribute kitchari maha-prasada here. [audience laughs] But they themselves will not take kitchari. They will take very delicious gajar halava with badam and kheer, and all these things as maha-prasada. After they will be fat, then after they will require something, and they will fall down. We should not do this. The brahmana was not a pure Vaisnava, but yet some bhakti was there. In the night people change their saffron cloth and do a drug business. Devotees should not do all these things. They should always be of good character and always they should act in sadacara.
With Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu there was a bona fide Vaisnava named chota Haridasa, small Haridasa. One day he brought some rice from an old lady for Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When the maha-prasada was cooked, Mahaprabhu came and saw the beautiful rice and He asked, “From where have you collected such good and sweet rice?”
“Chota Haridas has begged from an old lady of eighty-four years.”
Mahaprabhu knew there was something. He said, “From today he cannot come to me. I don’t want to see his face. He has become a devotee, like a brahmacari, and he wants to speak with ladies here and there, to laugh and make jokes with them? He should go there. I don’t want to see him.” He never accepted him after that. Even Nityananda Prabhu Himself, Svarupa Damodara, and Raya Ramananda requested Mahaprabhu, but Haridasa was never accepted. At last, Chota Haridasa went to Prayaga and left his body, jumping in the Yamuna and Ganges, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu never accepted him. You should always be reminded. If you have something in the heart and something different outside, Mahaprabhu knows everything; He is all knowing. Be very careful if you want krsna-prema, if you want the service of Krsna.
After that Narada went to South India and saw that a beautiful kingdom was there. When he entered the kingdom, he was far away from the town where the king and his deity was. He wondered, “How beautiful is this kingdom! Everyone here is happy and all are chanting, all have tilaka and kanti-mala and are chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Everyone was telling him, “Come on, come on! I will give you prasada. You should do prasada seva here.”
Gradually, he came closer to that town and he heard the sounds of ghanta, gongs, and kirtan dhvani, the sound of kirtan, with mrdangam and all other things. “Where is this going on?” Narada became so enthusiastic and he carefully took his vina and entered the temple and saw that thousands of devotees were there taking darsana of the deities and dancing and singing. He became so wonderful. “Who is that king who is the main servant of Krsna?” There Krsna was in the shape of Karanadaksayi-visnu, lying down and from three doors, devotees took darsana of the deity. From His navel, a padma, a lotus, is coming out and on that Brahma is there and he is creating the brahmanda and everything. The scenery there is that. So, he came to that king and began to tell him, “O king! O king! The servant of Krsna, Padmanabha. Your life is successful. I have never seen a devotee like you.” He began to praise so much. “From everywhere, I am seeing from all over the country, devotees are coming and without any cost they are all taking maha-prasada everywhere here.”
Chatra means a place where free of cost maha-prasada is distributed. You have no king like that and that is why you will have to pay something for maha-prasadam here, but if a king like that was here, then management would arrange that all have nothing to pay and the cost of the journey, maha-prasadam, lodging and hosting—everything would be free. That king was like that. Everyone had delicious maha-prasada, not only kichari. [audience laughs] What kind of prasadam? Laddu, puri, kachori, halava, mahan-bhoga, kichari, and all kinds of sweets like rabari and peda, freely distributed to all the devotees. All were so happy. Narada was praying, “You are most dear to Krsna. You are such a high-class devotee. I have never seen this in my life.” Actually, Narada has never seen like this? He is so tricky. He wants to discover the highest, nearest and dearest devotee of Krsna, so he is praising him. There is something to praise. Srila Rupa Gosvami has said:
krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti cet pranatibhis ca bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana-vijnam ananyam anya
nindadi-sunya-hrdam ipsita-sanga-labdhya
Upadesamrta 5
[One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Krsna, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation, diksa, and is engaged in worshiping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others.]
You should always try to honor all devotees who are chanting, who are worshipping, who are doing any kind of Krsna’s service, if a little bhakti is there, even abhasa is there, he is doing nama-abhasa even, then you should do pranama to him by mind. For those who are doing pure name, you should do pranamas and serve them and if a high-class devotee who does not criticize anyone and has no envy towards anyone, who is always absorbed in krsna-bhakti and in asta-kaliya-lila, always remembering the pastimes of Krsna, sweetly singing the names of Krsna and remains in Vrndavana or is by mind in Vrndavana and following very rasika Vaisnavas, then you should give up your whole thing to the lotus feet of that kind of Vaisnava. Then you are pure devotee. We should try to be like this, otherwise how can we be devotees? Try to take all this essence of bhakti. I will think that if even one person collects this, then I will think that my coming to the western countries is successful and that your life is also successful. Dhanya you are, dhanya you are.
[Srila Gurudeva leads the devotees in singing Sri Radha-krpa-kataksa-stava raja.]