The Heart of A Vaisnava
The Heart of A Vaisnava
The Heart of A Vaisnava
of a
Vaisnava
r rmad
The heart
of a
Vaisnava
The heart
of a
Vaisnava
r rmad
TAT T VA V I C A R A P U B L I C AT I O N S
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Table of Contents
Glorification of the rmad-Bhgavatam
Only Non-Envious Devotees Can Understand Dharma-Tattva
Hear rmad-Bhgavatam from the Right Source
The Essence of All Vedic Literature
Ka Appears in Four Forms
No Scripture Is As Good As rmad-Bhgavatam
The rmad-Bhgavatam Is Filled with Ecstatic Love
Grantha-Bhgavata & Bhakta-Bhgavata
Nitya Bhgavata-Sevay
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Glorification
of the
rmad-Bhgavatam
'ka-bhakti-rasa-svarpa r-bhgavata
tte veda-stra haite parama mahattva
(r Caitanya-caritmta, Madhya-ll 25.150)
The rmad-Bhgavatam is ka-bhakti-rasa, the mellow of
ka-bhakti, the essence of all Vedas, Upaniadas. It is the natural
commentary on Brahm-stra, Vednta-stra. The Vednta-stra
is compiled by rla Vysadeva and Vysadeva Himself gave the
commentary.
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Nitya Bhgavata-Sevay
bhgavata ye n mne, seyavana-sama
tra st che janme-janme prabhu yama
One who does not accept rmad-Bhgavatam is no better than
a mleccha or yavana, and he will be punished by Yamarja life after
life. (Caitanya-bhgavata, di-khaa 1.39)
The heart
of a
Vaisnava
pryea deva munaya sva-vimukti-km
mauna caranti vijane na parrtha-nih
naitn vihya kpan vimumuka eko
nnya tvad asya araa bhramato nupaye
My dear Lord Nsiha-deva, I see that there are many
saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their
own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns,
they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with
vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in
delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to
be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and
rascals. I know that without Ka consciousness, without
taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy.
Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet. (rmad-Bhgavatam 7.9.44)
entities, and nme ruci to develop taste for chanting the holy
name of Ka. This is vaiava cr. Jve doy is most important.
It has a very, very deep purport in it. What is that purport?
We find that many, many people are interested in it. They say,
Yes we are interested in showing mercy to others, to all living
entities. But they are killing innocent animals and eating their
flesh. Some say, like the Christians, that Jesus said, Thou shalt
not kill, but they say that there is no soul in all living entities,
only in the human beings. We will not kill human beings. Some
say mnava-sev is mdhava-sev, service to human beings is service to God. So is service to all the other living entities not service to the Lord? There are many misunderstandings. They cannot understand this tattva.
Three Types of Mercy
What is that doy, jve doy? It has a very deep purport. We find
that there are three types of doy, sarva-bhte doy. Sarva-bhte
means to show mercy to all living entities. What are those three
types?
There are some people and some organisations who feed the
poor and hungry people. Wherever there is scarcity of food they
supply food and feed the people. They do that welfare activity.
They also say that they show mercy, and it is one type of showing
mercy, but what kind of mercy is it? By feeding the hungry people
they are showing mercy to the body. That type of mercy is related
to the body. As long as the body is there you may feed him, but
when the body is finished he may not get the body of a human, he
may get a body of a cat or dog. Then he suffers again, as hunger
will still be there. The hunger is not satisfied. It is not gone. So
feeding the hungry is one type of welfare activity, but it is related
to the body.
Others are giving medicine to diseased people. They are opening charitable hospitals and give treatment free of cost to the patients, like Mother Teresa. She put bandages on the limbs affected with leprosy. She received a Nobel prize for peace. She did
such great benevolent activities. That is also one type of showing
mercy, but what kind of mercy is it? That mercy is only related to
the body, nothing else. Giving some cold drink to someone who
is thirsty is one type of mercy. Giving money or some blankets to
a poor man who is suffering from cold during wintertime is also
mercy. But what type of mercy is it? It is mercy related to the body.
Welfare Related to the Mind
The second type of mercy is giving education; opening schools,
colleges, and educational institutions and allowing the poor people to study there, free of charge. This is another type of welfare
activity. What kind of mercy is this? It is welfare related to the
mind. The previous types of mercy are related to the body, and
this one is related to the mind. The mercy a Vaiava shows is
related to the soul. Welfare related to the soul is the most important, tm sambandhi doy. The soul is suffering out of ignorance. Life after life he has been suffering. So when the Vaiava
comes and imparts tattva-jna, that is the highest type of mercy.
Thereby the conditioned soul can understand who he is, what his
real identity is. A sdhu or Vaiava does that. He imparts tattvajna, thereby one understands, I am ka-dsa. I am a servant of
Ka. That is my real identity.
Real Mercy Is Related to the Soul
nija-tattva jni ra sasra na cya
kena v bhajinu my kare hya hya
(r Prema-vivarta 6.8)
Vaiava. That is a Vaiavas heart. A Vaiavas heart really bleeds upon seeing the suffering souls. He is a real Vaiava,
vaiava para-dukha-dukh. He becomes so much aggrieved and
so much distressed upon seeing the suffering of all living entities
here.
What Kind of Alms Are They Begging for?
mahad-vicalana n
ghi dna-cetasm
nireyasya bhagavan
kalpate nnyath kvacit
O my lord, O great devotee, persons like you move from
one place to another not for their own interests but for the
sake of poor-hearted ghasthas [householders]. Otherwise they
have no interest in going from one place to another.
(rmad-Bhgavatam 10.8.4)
One who has obtained this rarely achieved human birth and
is not doing ka-bhajan is a distressed person, but he is thinking,
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Then you will cry and dash your head, O Ka! I am Your
servant, but I am completely doomed because I did not take
shelter at Your lotus feet and serve them. You will cry and
lament in this way. That is the result of association with a
1. Bhagavad-gt 2.7
2. Bhagavad-gt 18.66
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(rmad-Bhgavatam 3.7.41)
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world they become selfish and go to the Himalayan mountainous caves or a solitary place in the forest to do severe sdhana,
austerities for their own deliverance. They never think of others.
Whereas my Guru Mahrja states here, A Vaiava like Prahlda Mahrja is not interested in such a bluff of spiritual advancement. Rather, he is interested in enlightening people in Ka
consciousness because that is the only way for them to become
happy. Prahlda Mahrja says clearly, nnya tvad asya araa
bhramato nupaye: I know that without Ka consciousness,
without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy.
One wanders within the universe, life after life, but by the grace
of a devotee, a servant of r Caitanya Mahprabhu, one can get
the clue to Ka consciousness and then not only become happy
in this world but also return home, back to Godhead.
Furthermore, he says that, We do not teach one to meditate in a secluded place just so that one may show that he has
become very much advanced and may be proud of his so-called
transcendental meditation, although he engages in all sorts of
foolish materialistic activity. A Vaiava like Prahlda Mahrja
is not interested in such a bluff... He comes to the busiest part
of the world, like the Western world, where people are so engrossed in materialistic activities and sense enjoyment. He goes
to the gross materialists. He takes such trouble. He tolerates all
this. He comes here to inculcate Ka consciousness unto them.
His heart bleeds. He does not say, This is my, this is my, and
this my; neti, neti, neti, neti1 not this, not this, not this. It is
like removing the skin of an onion; one after another, removing,
removing, removing. If you do that then what will be left? Nothing! Neti, neti, this is my, this is my, this is my, and this is
my. Yes, this material world is an illusory world; everything is
illusory, everything is my here, but when you have become dis1. neti neti, the process by which one analyses existence to search out the Absolute
Truth.
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cause then they will be happy and their suffering will be done
away with forever. They are my brothers. As I am soul, they are
souls. He is related to Ka and He loves them. It is a question
of love. Unless you develop ka-prema, you cannot love anyone.
Without Jve Doy Your Bhagavat-Upsan Is Incomplete
A Vaiava is not selfish. He is always thinking of the welfare
of all the living entities. Without this your so-called bhagavat-upsan is incomplete. You may be worshipping the Deities, you
may be worshipping the Lord, but if you are not thinking of the
welfare of all living entities then your so-called worship, bhagavatupsan is incomplete. Is it complete if you cannot see the Lord in
all living entities? Sa bhakta prkta smta, one who is a neophyte
sees God in the Deity and nowhere else. So his bhagavat-upsan
is incomplete. It is not complete. But a sdhu comes here and
teaches.
Who Else Will Shower Mercy Upon Them?
Bhaktivinoda hkura has said, O Vaiavas! O sdhus!
Please think about this matter very deeply and seriously. Because
if you dont think of the welfare of all these living entities who
have been suffering here for lakhs and lakhs of lives and if you
dont shower mercy on them, how can they be delivered? How
can they be relieved of their sufferings?
What kind of vairgya have you developed if you are not thinking of the welfare of the suffering living entities but are saying
that you are a great renunciate? What kind of renunciation is it?
Bhaktisiddhnta hkura has said that a pgal, mad man, thinks
that those who are not mad, those who are in real consciousness,
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are mad. Materialistic people are crazy but they think that the
people who have given up everything, and are chanting Hare
Ka and dancing, are crazy. One who is addicted to drinking
liquor may think himself to be Indra. He thinks that others who
are not drinking are foolish people because they are not drinking
and becoming Indra. He says that they are unfortunate persons,
because they are not drinking liquor.
Similarly, the materialistic people think that the Vaiava
sdhus who have given up their material attachments, who have
developed only attachment to the lotus feet of Ka, who are engaged in His loving service under the guidance of a bona fide guru,
who are wandering throughout the world to teach the science of
Ka consciousness, and who are imparting this tattva-jna
that they are pgal, crazy people.
I have given the examples of Haridsa hkura and of how
Jagi and Mdhi threw the broken pieces of their liquor pot
at Nitynanda Prabhu, which hurt His head and made it bleed
profusely. Still, Nitynanda Prabhu was so compassionate that
He embraced them and showered mercy upon them. Haridsa hkura was also like that. They tolerated everything. They
showered their mercy on such rascals and fools. They inculcated
Ka consciousness unto them. This is a Vaiava.
Therefore Bhaktivinoda hkura has said, O sdhus! Oh
Vaiavas! Unless you shower your mercy on these rascals and
fools whose consciousness is so low that it is like the consciousness of an animal who will shower mercy unto them? How will
Ka consciousness be inculcated unto them? How will they be
delivered? How will their distress be gone forever? How will they
become happy? How will their suffering end? How will they be
relieved from their suffering unless you shower mercy upon them?
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The heart
of a
Vaisnava
TAT T VA V I C A R A P U B L I C AT I O N S
www.tvpbooks.com
www.gourgovindaswami.com