Reflecting on Unique Aspects of
Srila Prabhupada's Preaching and Teaching

Also, by his hari-katha, Srila Prabhupada mostly refuted impersonalism and sahajiyism, but this alone was not his real purpose. One who exclusively considers these external activities to be his real preaching is deceived. Srila Prabhupada himself said that he has not come to this world to cut the jungles of misconceptions, but he had to plough the land of the hearts of the people so that the seed of pure devotion could be planted and watered and thus grow there without hindrance.)

Among Srila Prabhupada’s instructions we find: “Our supreme engagement is to serve the Vrajavasis, who are distraught in separation from Krishna after He has gone to Mathura.” Sri Caitanya-caritamrita describes the mood manifested by Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who nourished vipralambha-rasa upon seeing Jagannatha. At that time He was absorbed in the bhava of Sri Radha in Her pastimes of transcendental madness born of separation from Krishna.

ye kale karena jagannatha darasana
mane bhavena, kurukshetre paiyachi milana

ratha-yatraya age jabe karena nartana
tanha ei pada matra karaye gayana

“sei ta’ parana-natha painu
jaha lagi madana-dahane jhuri’ genu”

ei dhuya gane nace dvitiya prahara
krishna laiya vraje jai – ei bhava antara

ei-bhave nritya-madhye pade eka sloka
sei slokera artha keho nahi bujhe loka
“yah kaumara-hara cetah samutkanthate”

When He danced before the chariot during Rathayatra,
He would simply sing this stanza:

“I have attained that very Lord of My life, for whom I was burning in the fire of Cupid.”

He would sing this song and dance during the second part of the day, imbued with the ecstatic mood: “I am taking Krishna back to Vraja.”

In this way, while dancing He would recite one verse, the meaning of which no one could understand:

“yah kaumara-hara … cetah samutkanthate.”
Sri Caitianya-caritamrita (Madhya-lila 1.53–56)

“In Kurukshetra, the gopis [by their very presence] removed Krishna’s opulence and made an effort to bring Him to Gokula so He could relish its sweetness. Similarly, Gaurahari took Krishna, in the form of Jagannatha-deva, from the Nilacala temple (which is likened to Kurukshetra) to Gundica (or Vrindavana, the place of His parakiyalilas). Sri Gaurasundara, in the mood of Srimati Varshabhanavi, sang the sentiments in Her heart in front of the chariot as it moved towards Vrindavana (the Gundica-mandira).”

Those who had the fortune to witness with their own eyes Sri Srila Prabhupada’s pastimes of feeling separation – while he was on the islands of Madhyadvipa and Godrumadvipa in Sri Radha’s forest (Navadvipa) having sphurti of the midday pastimes at Radha-kunda; as the Sun-temple at Konarka stimulated within him the mood of Surya-puja; and at Surya-kunda, when he would go there at midday and exemplify absorption in the eternally perfect moods of the midday pastimes – have been exceedingly blessed.

Srila Prabhupada, who is Sri Gaura’s personal associate, has informed us that superior to Vaikunthais Madhu-puri, that is, Sridhama Navadvipa-Mayapura. Higher than that is Srivasa-angana, the rasa-sthali of Gaura-lila. Superior to that is Sri Caitanya Matha, which represents Govardhana, and even greater than that is Sri Radha-kunda, or Vraja-pattana. (Vraja-pattana is located within Sri Caitanya Matha, where Sri Radha-kunda is situated.)

He has revealed to us that on the banks of Vrajapattana Sri Radha-kunda are the groves of Sri Radha’s priya-sakhis. Furthermore he has informed us of the speciality of the rupanuga conception concerning Sri Radha-Govinda’s midday pastimes. In regard to Vrajamandala and Vraja-pattana, by defining the word tadvana from the Talavakara Upanishad, Srila Prabhupada revealed that the twelve forests of Vraja-mandala represent the twelve rasas, and the nine forests [islands] of Navadvipa, pertain to the nine types of bhakti. And in explaining the mantra “tad-vanam-ity-upasitavyam” he has acquainted us with the worship of Kamadeva. His special position as the dear associate of Sri Gaura is thus illuminated.

For example: his name (sri nama) – Varshabhanavi-dayita dasa; his transcendental form (rupa), which fulfilled the innermost desire of Sri Rupa; his qualities (guna), which afford him the exclusive qualification of performing the highest service to Sri Guna-manjari (Srila Gaura-kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja); his speciality as an associate [of Sri Radha] in serving the grove of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s teachings; and, in his eternal service to Sri Kundesvari, his extremely magnanimous pastime of manifesting perpetual hari-kirtana at Svanandasukhada-kunja, which is situated in part of the kunda of Sri Lalita, the dear most friend of Sri Kundesvari.

Srila Prabhupada has explained to us that being in the group of Sri Radha, who is Krishna’s foremost servant, is unlimitedly greater than being in the party of Sri Krishna, or even being neutral. It is more favourable to the service of the master to be part of the servant’s group than it is to be part of the master’s group.

Sambandha

Srila Prabhupada, the intimate associate of Sri Gaura, revealed the superiority and speciality of the aprakrita gift received in sri svaruparupanuga- bhaktivinoda’s line as compared with the adhokshaja gift of Sri Vishnu Svami and Sri Sridhara Svami (who is in Sri Vishnu-svami’s sampradaya); Sri Ramanuja; Sriman Madhvacarya (who is the guru of the tattvavadis); Sri Nimbarkacarya, and other previous acaryas. The gift bestowed by the previous acaryas pertains to the lower division of the spiritual sky. However, the gift of the higher part, the aprakrita (transcendental) realm, can be attained only by the exclusive mercy of Sri Rupa Gosvamipada and his intimate associates. Only Sri Rupa Gosvami bestows the nectar of the bhakti-rasa of Sri Gaurasundara, who accepted the mood of Srimati Radhika, the acarya of ujjvala-rasa. For this reason, our Sri Srila Prabhupada would always sing this prayer before us:

adadanas-trnam dantair-idam yace punah punah
srimad-rupa-padambhoja-dhulih syam janma-janmani

Clasping a straw between my teeth, I repeatedly beg to become the dust of the lotus feet of Srimad Rupa Gosvami birth after birth.

Abhidheya

The jiva must engage everything of this world exclusively in the service of Bhagavan. It is not within his right to enjoy or renounce; the sole enjoyer of the entire creation is Vrajendranandana. The jiva’s constitutional occupation is to place his very self in the guidance of the asraya-vigraha, and engage everything of this world in the service of the vishaya, supreme enjoyer. That supreme enjoyer is,in fact, thoroughly embraced by the asraya, or repository of love for Him. This eternal occupation of the jiva is abhidheya, or bhakti. It is of two types: vaidhi and raganuga. The performance of this abhidheya-bhakti is characterised by hearing, chanting and remembering nama, or the transcendental message.

In relation to vaidhi-bhakti, Srila Prabhupada always reminded us of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s instruction to take shelter of yukta-vairagya. And to indicate how we should practise raganuga-bhakti, he informed us of the words that emanated from the mouth of SrimanMahaprabhu: “para-vyasanini nari vyagrapi griha-karmasu – a woman attached to someone other than her husband performs her household duties more attentively.”

Sri Gaurasundara has apprised us about the paths of bhagavad-bhakti: pancaratra and bhagavata, in His instructions to Srila Rupa Gosvami. Srila Prabhupada has spiritually harmonised both of them in an unprecedented manner. To construct temples, worship sri-vigraha and enhance the grandeur of worship all belongs to the pancaratra patha. On this path there is always some impediment, and therefore ritualistic services cannot be performed incessantly.

In the bhagavata-patha, however, one can constantly hear, chant and remember Sri Hari’s names, form, qualities, associates, pastimes and so on in vipralambha-rasa. “Bahu-bhir militva yat kirtanam tadeva sankirtanam – kirtana that is performed when many people assemble together is called sankirtana”; and “param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam – may srikrishna-sankirtana be ever victorious”.

Srila Prabhupada taught that these statements of Sri Guru and Gauranga are the Sri Gaudiya Matha’s very object of worship. For the gradual auspiciousness of the jivas, he encouraged the pancaratrika process as an aid in the worship of the fire of sankirtanayajna.

This sankirtana-yajna has seven flames, such as ceto-darpana-marjana, which were ignited by Sri Gaurasundara, the very embodiment of Sri Krishna-sankirtana. By harmonising pancaratra and bhagavata paths in an unexcelled way, Srila Prabhupada demonstrated how to perform arcana in pursuance of kirtana. By this he also showed how one who is a follower of the pancaratrika path should always aim to aspire for the service and guidance of the asraya-vigraha (Sri Radha), the source of hladini, that is, kirtana.

Prayojana

Our Srila Prabhupada flew the victory flag of bhagavata-dharma, which is free from all deception, throughout every region in both eastern and western countries. He did so in a yuga when enjoyment is accepted as bhakti, gratifying the senses as prema, the insignificant jiva as Narayana, the body as the atma, the philosophy of considering and tending to the body as the self as service, duplicity (or cheating) as truth, selfishness as generosity and deception of the masses as the emblem of religion. Furthermore, he did so in an age when the deceptive philosophy that there are as many paths as there are opinions has gained international renown and made immense and extensive impact on the minds of men who are averse to devotion. Through both his conduct and precepts he has communicated that our sole object of worship is the happiness that is identical to the happiness of the asraya.(In this context asraya refers to that repository of love for Krishna whom we worship, that is, Sri Radha, and also Her dear most sakhis and manjaris under whose guidance we perform service to Him.) Experience of this happiness will vary according to the bhava of the asraya. When there is a stimulus between the asraya and vishaya, Their mutual desire to meet with each other appears. The happiness we aspire for comes from performing service in the guidance of the sakhis and manjaris, who are instrumental in bringing about Their meeting, thus causing rasa to arise in Them.

From the introduction to the Vedanta-sutra of Sri Srimad Bhakti Srirupa Siddhanti Goswami Maharaja
Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
Published in English for the first time in Rays of The Harmonist No. 16 Karttika 2006