Associates Of Sri Caitanya
His Divine Grace Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada
Retyped from "Sri Krsna-kathamrta" by Puru
Das Adhikari
In this immortal work of spiritual genius,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura describes the method by
which the Lord descends to deliver the fallen souls. Although
composed in very high English, the sincere seeker will find this
short essay profound explanation as to the nature and function of
guru.
"Sri Caitanya is Sri Krsna Himself. The associates
of Sri Krsna Caitanya are constituents of Himself. It is our
object in this sort paper to study the implications of these
doctrines.
Sri Krsna's active existence involved the
undivided operation of the following six divine entities viz.,
gurus, devotees, avataras (divine descents), divine
manifestations, divine powers, and Godhead Himself. All these are
jointly and severally divine.
As Sri Krsna Caitanya is
identical with Sri Krsna the active existence of Sri Caitanya
also implies the cooperation of the above six divine
categories.
When Sri Krsna Caitanya was pleased to
manifest His appearance on this mundane plane all the six
constituents of Himself also necessarily made their appearance as
part and parcel of Himself. IN the marvelous work,
Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, we have the detailed identification of
the several characters who are divinely associated in the
performances of Sri Krsna Caitanya with the corresponding
characters in the Dvarpara lila of Sri Krsna. This correspondence
is an essential part of the religion of pure devotion propounded
by Sri Krsna Caitanya . In the opening verses of his great work
Sri Caitanya caritamrta, Sri Krsnadas Kaviraja Gosvami
accordingly makes his obeisances to Sri Krsna Caitanya in His
above six-fold form.
APPEARANCE OF THE DIVINE
The appearance of Godhead in this world implies the co-appearance
of all His Divine paraphernalia. Godhead must not be conceived as
in any way separable from His entourage. Godhead shorn of any of
His paraphernalia is a delusion. In the same way the appearance
of divine paraphernalia involves the appearance of the divinity.
The two are distinct yet inseparable forms of the one
Supreme.
Sri Caitanya is the Divine Personality
Himself. His associates share His divine nature. Sri Krsna
Caitanya is an extended subject. All the six divine forms have to
be worshipped if is the intention to worship Sri
Caitanya.
The guru is one of His constituents. It is
necessary to receive initiation from him. It is also necessary to
be instructed by Him. As teacher, the guru has two forms. He
guides from within. He also appears as a guide and instructor
existing outside his disciples. Initiation is received from one
person only. Instructions may be had form many gurus. Sri
Kaviraja Goswami himself was instructed by the famous six
Goswamins.
GUIDE TO THE ABSOLUTE
The Guru is
the embodiment of the manifestation of the divinity to the pure
receptive spiritual essence of the disciple. The guru is the real
and original recipient of the Truth. He communicates his
knowledge to the disciple. The disciple is too small a particle
to be able by himself to receive the whole truth. He is enabled
tot receive Him through the power of the guru. The guru as it
were, takes the disciple by the hand and guides his every step on
the plane of the Absolute. It is perpetual tutelage on the part
of the disciple. This fact may be expressed in another way. The
cognitive faculty of the individual soul can have no ground to
stand upon unless the Divinity Himself condescends to be the legs
as well as the ground on which he is to stand to function at all.
This function of the divinity is performed by the guru. As a
matter of fact the Divinity actually reveals Him only to Himself.
The individual soul is a separable constituent of the guru. It is
only when he happens to be associated by his own free choice with
the guru in a completely dependent manner that he can be on the
plane of the guru's service of the Divinity. He may or may not
choose to be associated. The guru may or may not chose to admit
him to his association. When there is active willing assent to
such association on the part of both then it is possible for the
individual souls to attain to the service of the Divinity in the
really conscious form.
ALONE FIT TO INSTRUCT
Every one who is cognizant of the true nature of Krsna is alone
fit to instruct another in the knowledge of Krsna The Divine
paraphernalia area the gurus of all individual souls. In this
sense all the six divine categories are identical with the guru.
It can be so by reason of the fact that on the plane of the
Absolute there is no separative difference. On that perfectly
wholesome plane there is distinction without difference. But
there is also the distinctive function of the guru which must be
considered as also simultaneously distinct from that of any of
the other categories. One who neglects to seek the special favor
of the guru and to enter into the relation of disciple ship with
the spiritual guide will miss entry to the spiritual plane.
Nityananda is the Primary Manifestive Constituent of the
Divinity. Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of
the guru. In Nityananda the function is embodied. Nityananda is
the servant-God. He serves Sri Gaurasundar by the distinctive
method of reverential servitude. He is identical with Sri
Balarama of krsna-lila. Sri Balarma is not the chum of Krsna, but
His respected elder brother. It is intimate relationship
characterized by becoming reserved on one side and of respectful
deference on the other. Individual souls are under the directions
of Nityananda. They receive their service of Sri Gaurasundara
i.e. of Krsna, at His hands. Nityananda is not a jiva. He is
Divinity. He is the ultimate source of the jiva. The jiva is a
potency of Nityananda. No jiva can be the medium of the service
of the Absolute to another jiva. The Absolute alone may
communicate. His service to the separable constituents of
Himself. This is the real nature of the function of the
guru.
NEVER TOUCHED BY MAYA
But all jivas are
not liable to be eclipsed by the deluding potency. Those who are
so liable are again distinct from the eternally free jivas. The
eternally free jivas are inseparable associates of Nityananda.
They are integrated part and parcels of Himself. They never fall
into the clutches of maya. When Nityananda manifests His
appearance on the mundane plane His inseparable constituents also
appear in His company. They sometimes manifest their functions on
this lower place in a visible form on the errands of Nityananda.
They are Vaisnavas whose subordination to Nityananda is natural
and ingrained in their nature. It is not necessary for such souls
to undergo the process of enlightenment for being restored to the
spiritual plane. Unless this fact is born in the mind the
conditioned soul may be tempted to undervalue the constant
guidance of the guru on the hypocritical plea of following in the
footsteps of the eternally free pure devotees. Those, therefore,
who suppose that deliverance from the bondage of this world
should be practicable without the constant guidance of the
spiritual preceptor, confound the conditioned state with the
free.
The guidance of the guru is no curtailment of
one's spiritual freedom. Those who are eternally free also follow
his guidance by the spontaneous undeviating impulse of their
perfectly pure nature. Guidance of the guru is the only divine
guidance. Only atheists who are by their choice opposed to the
service of Godhead, can be consistent opponents of the obligation
to serve the guru in the same unconditional way as one should be
prepared to serve Godhead Himself. There is no difference between
the two functions. If the claim of the one is denied it
necessarily involves the denial of the claim of the other.
Nityananda and His companions form one of the five groups of the
associates of Sri Krsna Caitanya, whose distinctive function is
that of the guru.
SRIMATE RADHIKA
But
Nityananda does not directly instruct in the confidential service
of Krsna. Srimate Radhika is the guru of the inner circle of the
servants of Krsna. Srimati, however, accepts the offer of service
of only those souls who are specially favored by Nityananda and
are deemed by Him to be fit for Her service. There is, therefore
a most intimate relationship between the function of Nityananda
and that of Srimati which is at once supplementary and inclusive
of the former.
The guru admits to the service of Krsna.
The next divine category is the bhakta or devotee. In this case
also as in that of the guru, service of the divinity, which is
the distinctive function of the bhakta, is not confined to him
only. The servants have been divided into two classes viz., (1)
servants other than consorts and (2) consorts. The guru has
distinctive function as master. The servant has no distinctive
function as master. This distinguishes the guru from the bhakta.
The bhakta is also Godhead in the distinctive form of this
servant to whom the guru manifests the divinity. The mercy of the
bhakta enables the dissociable soul to receive the mercy of the
guru. The guru and the bhakta are the inseparable divine
counterparts of one another. The guru and the bhakta are thus
two distinct entities forming the five categories. The avataras
(descending divinities) are the third category. They have their
distinctive functions in the maintenance and deliverance of jivas
inclined to divine service. They have distinctive functions as
master. The difference between the avataras and the divinity as
master consists in this that the avataras are derivatives from
the divinity possessing the plenary divine nature. The relation
between the two is analogous to that between the original
self-existing source-light and other shining lamps that have been
lighted from the source. There is no substantive or magnitudinal
difference between the two. But there is distinctiveness in
function. The avataras have distinctive natures of their own. But
the divinity is their common source possessing all their
distinctive functions in a synthesis which distinguishes Him from
the avataras without suffering any diminution of His divinity by
the eternal parallel coexistence of the distinctive activities
and personalities of the avataras as divinities.
Another divine category is the group of the divine
manifestations. The manifestations are divine forms who are
either identical with that of the divinity or of a distinctive
nature. Krsna can appear simultaneously in the same form or in
different forms to different persons and also simultaneously
retain His own form. All these other forms are His own
manifestations.
The fifth divine category is divine
power. Divine power is the Predominated Moiety of the divinity
who is Predominating, Whole. Sri Radhika is the predominated
Counter-Whole of Sri Krsna. Sri Radhika has Her duplicates and
constituents who are also of the nature of plenary powers of the
divinity. She also directly serves Sri Krsna in an infinity of
ways in Her countless distinctive plenary and secondary
forms.
NECESSITY TO SERVE THROUGH AN ASSOCIATE OF
MAHAPRABHU
The associates of Sri Krsna Caitanya are
made up of the five divine categories. If any one of these
categories be left out the Truth who is indivisibly one, refuses
to present Himself to the arrogant aptitude of the pedant who
does not fully submit to be enlightened by grace regarding the
necessity of serving the divinity in and through the
distinctions.
The pedant is disposed to be skeptical
by reason of a lurking belief that it is the look-out of the
divinity to make Himself known to Him. But the jiva is a
dissociable particle of the divine essence with the onus of
choosing for himself from among the alternatives of a serving, a
neutral and disobedient career, his own relationship to the
divinity. He cannot escape the privilege of exercising his
responsibility except by conscious self-deception or by
hypocrisy.
MARGINAL POTENCY
The dissociable
individual soul is distinct from the divine categories. He is a
particle of the marginal potency of the divinity. Sri Nityananda
who is identical with Balarama is the ultimate source of the
jiva. The conditioned souls is a particle of the marginal
potency, who has been sent into this world by the wil of the
Purusa, viz., Visnu reposing in the Causal Ocean, who is a
plenary part of Nityananda exercising the divine function of
crrator of all mundane existence including the conditioned state
without Himself belonging to the mundane plane." (end of article)
"I don't read the book. I read the author. I first
see the author to see if he is authentic or not. I am a proof
reader. I always see what is right and what is wrong. My father
trained me in proof reading, but I an not only a proof reader of
the press. I am a proof reader of the world. I proof read men; I
see their faults and try to correct them. I am a proof reader of
religion also. I have appeared in the karkata lagna
(astrologically). So whenever I see anything undevotional I will
act like a karkata (a crab). If I see any so called devotion
which is not actually in the true unalloyed spirit, I shall
pierce it.!" --Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur.
"I have most probably given many people troubles in the mind.
Some of them might have thought about me that I am their enemy
because I was obliged to speak the plain truth for service and
devotion towards the Absolute Godhead. I have given theml all
those troubles only for the reason that they may turn their face
towards the Personality of Godhead without any desire for gain
and with unalloyed devotion. I hope some day or other they may
understand me rightly." -Excerpt from the last lecture of
Srila Sarasvati Thakur. Translated from the Bengali and printed
in the first edition of Back to Godhead by His Divine Grace.
A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Om tat
Sat.
All glories to our spiritual grandfather, the
divine spiritual master of so many pure devotees of the Lord and
the founder-acarya of the Gaudiya Matha. His Divine Grace Srila
Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj has written of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura in his newly published book " Essence of Pure
Devotion" :
"The most worshippable Sri Srila Prabhupada
is the dynamic manifest form of the merciful potency of Lord
Gauranga Deva. I have heard that in his childhood he used to be
referred by his Spiritual Preceptors-who were self realized
souls-by the name Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. Later in the
year l918, when he entered into the renounced order of life, he
used to be called Tridandi Swami Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati. Hereafter, in different Holy pilgrimage places he used
to identify himself as Sri-Varsabhanavi Dayita Das. He is the non
different expansion of Srimati Radharani Herself, always joyfully
exhibiting the nature pleasing to Srimati Radhika which in the
mood of service to Lord Krsna. The verses of the devotional song,
"Vilapkusumanjali", expressing lamentation in separation to
Srimati Radharani, was known by him by rote. In the description
of the glories of Srimati Radhika, or sometimes at the very
mention of her name, he would be overcome by emotion and tears
would stream profusely from his eyes. He would become transfixed
in overwhelming emotion on hearing certain popular verses of the
song "Vilapksumanjali", like vairagya-yuga bhakti-rasam, asa
bharair-amrtasindhumayuaih' or the verse yasyah kadapi
vasunancha lakhelanotha' from Sri Radharasa Sudhaniddhi'. He
frequently used to sing the lyrics of the song below.
radha dasye rahi cahda bhoga ahi
pratistasa nahe
kirtanagorava
radha ityajan taha chadi mana
kena va
nirjana-bhajana-kaitava
Meaning: One should remain the
servant of Srimati Radharani, giving up all sense of material
enjoyment and try to humbly preach the glories of the Name. The
pure devotees do not merely practice solitary bhajan, which is a
form of cheating.
His last words at the time of passing
away in his eternal pastimes were: "All of you, with the
objective of satisfying the transcendental senses of the Supreme
Absolute Truth, should cooperate with one another in obedience to
the most surrendered counter-part of the Supreme Lord. That most
surrendered soul to the Supreme Lord (asraya vigraha) is Srimate
Radharani" and Her most beloved associate which is the spiritual
master." ( pages 1-2 "Essence of Devotion")
Our own
Srila Prabhupada, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada called his beloved gurudeva " A Vaikntha Man," "One of
Lord Caitanya's Private Stock." We can live the rest of our lives
in trying to emulate Their mood of devotion and dedication to
distribute the mercy of the Divinity, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.
Param viajayate sri krsna
sankirtanam.
Your servant,
Puru Das Adhikari
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