Paper by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakura
by Sridam Sakha das
Shortly after the physical disappearance of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, some of his disciples were of the opinion that they could continue to make spiritual advancement by reference to his teachings alone. However, this is against siddhanta, and therefore Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati wrote the following paper to draw attention to their deviation. I think that its correlation with the current world vaisnava situation is obvious enough to forgo any need of pointing it out. I am posting it at the same time as my paper "Personality Cultism Is Anti-Vaisnava", because I have used some material from it:
Thakur Bhaktivinode
We avail of the opportunity offered by the Anniversary
Celebrations of the advent of Thakur Bhaktivinode to reflect on
the right method of obtaining those benefits that have been made
accessible to humanity by the grace of this great devotee of
Krishna. Thakur Bhaktivinode has been specifically kind to those
unfortunate persons who are engrossed in mental speculation of
all kinds. This is the prevalent malady of the present Age. The
other Acaryas who appeared before Thakur Bhaktivinode did not
address their discourses so directly to the empiric thinkers.
They had been more merciful to those who are naturally disposed
to listen to discourses on the Absolute without being dissuaded
by the specious arguments of avowed opponents of Godhead.
Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode has taken the trouble of meeting the
perverse arguments of mental speculationists by the superior
transcendental logic of the Absolute Truth. It is thus possible
for the average modern readers to profit by the perusal of his
writings. That day is not far distant when the priceless volumes
penned by Thakur Bhaktivinode will be reverently translated, by
the recipients of his grace, into all the languages of the
world.
The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode provide the golden bridge by
which the mental speculationist can safely cross the raging
waters of fruitless empiric controversies that trouble the peace
of those who choose to trust in their guidance for finding the
Truth. As soon as the sympathetic reader is in a position to
appreciate the sterling quality of Thakur Bhaktivinode's
philosophy the entire vista of the revealed literatures of the
world will automatically open out to his reclaimed
vision.
There have, however, already arisen serious misunderstandings
regarding the proper interpretation of the life and teachings of
Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode. Those who suppose they understand the
meaning of his message without securing the guiding grace of the
Acarya are disposed to unduly favour the methods of empiric study
of his writings. There are persons who have got by heart almost
everything that he wrote without being able to catch the least
particle of his meaning. Such study cannot benefit those who are
not prepared to act up to the instructions lucidly conveyed by
his words. There is no honest chance of missing the warnings of
Thakur Bhaktivinode. Those, therefore, who are misled by the
perusal of his writings are led astray by their own obstinate
perversity in sticking to the empiric course which they prefer to
cherish against his explicit warnings. Let these unfortunate
persons look more carefully into their own hearts for the cause
of their misfortunes.
The personal service of the pure devotee is essential for
understanding the spiritual meaning of the words of Thakur
Bhaktivinode. The Editor of this Journal, originally started by
Thakur Bhaktivinode, has been trying to draw the attention of all
followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode to this all-important point of
his teachings. It is not necessary to try to place ourselves on a
footing of equality with Thakur Bhaktivinode. We are not likely
to benefit by any mechanical imitation of any practices of Thakur
Bhaktivinode on the opportunist principle that they may be
convenient for us to adopt. The Guru is not an erring mortal
whose activities can be understood by the fallible reason of
unreclaimed humanity. There is an eternally impassable line of
demarcation between the Saviour and the saved. Those who are
really saved can alone know this.Thakur Bhaktivinode belongs to
the category of the spiritual world-teachers who eternally occupy
the superior position.
The present Editor has all along felt it his paramount duty to
try to clear up the meaning of the life and teachings of Thakur
Bhaktivinode by the method of submissive listening to the
Transcendental Sound from the lips of the pure devotee. The Guru
who realises the transcendental meaning of all sounds, is in a
position to serve the Absolute by the direction of the Absolute
conveyed through every sound. The Transcendental Sound is
Godhead, the mundane sound is non-Godhead. All sound has got
these opposite aptitudes. All sound reveals its Divine face to
the devotee and only presents its deluding aspect to the empiric
pedant. The devotee talks apparently the same language as the
deluded empiric pedant who had got by heart the vocabulary of the
Scriptures. But notwithstanding apparent identity of performance,
the one has no access to the reality while the other is
absolutely free from all delusion.
Those who repeat the teachings of Thakur Bhaktivinode from memory
do not necessarily understand the meaning of the words they
mechanically repeat. Those who can pass an empiric examination
regarding the contents of his writings are not necessarily also
self-realised souls. They may not at all know the real meaning of
the words they have learnt by the method of empiric study.Take
for example the Name "Krishna". Every reader of Thakur
Bhaktivinode's works must be aware that the Name manifests
Himself on the lips of His serving devotees although He is
inaccessible to our mundane senses. It is one thing to pass the
examination by reproducing this true conclusion from the writings
of Thakur Bhaktivinode and quite another matter to realise the
Nature of the Holy Name of Krishna by the process conveyed by the
words.
Thakur Bhaktivinode did not want us to go to the clever
mechanical reciter of the mundane sound for obtaining access to
the Transcendental Name of Krishna. Such a person may be fully
equipped with all the written arguments in explanation of the
nature of the Divine Name. But if we listen to all these
arguments from the dead source the words will only increase our
delusion. The very same words coming from the lips of the devotee
will have the diametrically opposite effect. Our empiric judgment
can never grasp the difference between the two performances.
The devotee is always right. The non-devotee in the shape of the
empiric pedant is always and necessarily wrong. In the one case
there is always present the Substantive Truth and nothing but the
Substantive Truth. In the other case there is present the
apparent or misleading hypothesis and nothing but un-truth. The
wording may have the same external appearance in both cases. The
identical verses of the Scriptures may be recited by the devotee
and the non-devotee, may be apparently misquoted by the
non-devotee but the corresponding values of the two processes
remain always categorically different. The devotee is right even
when he apparently misquotes, the non-devotee is wrong even when
he quotes correctly the very words, chapter and verse of the
Scriptures.
It is not empiric wisdom that is the object of quest of the
devotee. Those who read the scriptures for gathering empiric
wisdom will be pursuing the wild goose chase. There are not a few
dupes of their empiric Scriptural erudition. These dupes have
their admiring under-dupes. But the mutual admiration society of
dupes does not escape, by the mere weight of their number, the
misfortunes due to the deliberate pursuit of the wrong course inaccordance with the suggestions of our lower selves.
What are the Scriptures? They are nothing but the record by the
pure devotees of the Divine Message appearing on the lips of the
pure devotees. The Message conveyed by the devotees is the same
in all ages. The words of the devotees are ever identical with
the Scriptures. Any meaning of the Scriptures that belittles the
function of the devotee who is the original communicant of the
Divine Message contradicts its own claim to be heard. Those who
think that the Sanskrit language in its lexicographical sense is
the language of the Divinity are as deluded as those who hold
that the Divine Message is communicable through any other spoken
dialects. All languages simultaneously express and hide the
Absolute. The mundane face of all languages hides the Truth. The
Transcendental face of all sound expresses nothing but the
Absolute. The pure devotee is the speaker of the Transcendental
language. The Transcendental Sound makes His appearance on the
lips of His pure devotee. This is the direct, unambiguous
appearance of Divinity. On the lips of non-devotees the Absolute
always appears in His deluding aspect. To the pure devotee the
Absolute reveals Himself under all circumstances. To the
conditioned soul, if he is disposed to listen in a truly
submissive spirit, the language of the pure devotee can alone
impart the knowledge of the Absolute. The conditioned soul
mistakes the deluding for the real aspect when he chooses to lend
his ear to the non-devotee. This is the reason why the
conditioned soul is warned to avoid all association with
non-devotees.
Thakur Bhaktivinode is acknowledged by all his sincere followers
as possessing the above powers of the pure devotee of Godhead.
His words have to be received from the lips of a pure devotee. If
his words are listened from the lips of a non-devotee they will
certainly deceive. If his works are studied in the light of one's
own worldly experience their meaning will refuse to disclose
itself to such readers. His works belong to the class of the
eternal revealed literature of the world and must be approached
for their right understanding through their exposition by the
pure devotee. If no help from the pure devotee is sought the
works of Thakur Bhaktivinode will be grossly misunderstood by
their readers. The attentive reader of those works will find that
he is always directed to throw himself upon the mercy of the pure
devotee if he is not to remain unwarrantably self-satisfied by
the deluding results of his wrong method of study.
The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode are valuable because they
demolish all empiric objections against accepting the only method
of approaching the Absolute in the right way. They cannot and
were never intended to give access to the Absolute without help
from the pure devotee of Krishna. They direct the sincere
enquirer of the Truth, as all the revealed scriptures do, to the
pure devotee of Krishna to learn about Him by submitting to
listen with an open mind to the Transcendental Sound appearing on
His lips. Before we open any of the books penned by Thakur
Bhaktivinode we should do well to reflect a little on the
attitude, with which as the indispensable pre-requisite, to
approach its study. It is by neglecting to remember this
fundamental principle that the empiric pedants find themselves so
hopelessly puzzled in their vain endeavour to reconcile the
statements of the different texts of the Scriptures. The same
difficulty is already in process of overtaking many of the
so-called followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode and for the same
reason.
The person to whom the Acarya is pleased to transmit his power is
alone in a position to convey the Divine Message. This
constitutes the underlying principle of the line of succession of
the spiritual teachers. The Acarya thus authorised has no other
duty than that of delivering intact the message received from all
his predecessors. There is no difference between the
pronouncements of one Acarya and another. All of them are perfect
mediums for the appearance of the Divinity in the Form of the
Transcendental Name Who is identical with His Form, Quality,
Activity and Paraphernalia.
The Divinity is Absolute Knowledge. Absolute Knowledge has the
character of indivisible Unity. One particle of the Absolute
Knowledge is capable of revealing all the potency of the
Divinity. Those who want to understand the contents of the
volumes penned by the piece-meal acquisitive method applicable to
deluding knowledge available to the mind on the mundane plane,
are bound to be self-deceived. Those who are sincere seekers of
the Truth are alone eligible to find Him, in and through the
proper method of His quest.
In order to be put on the track of the Absolute, listening to the
words of the pure devotee is absolutely necessary. The spoken
word of the Absolute is the Absolute. It is only the Absolute Who
can give Himself away to the constituents of His power. The
Absolute appears to the listening ear of the conditioned soul in
the form of the Name on the lips of the sadhu. This is the key to
the whole position. The words of Thakur Bhaktivinode direct the
empiric pedant to discard his wrong method and inclination on the
threshold of the real quest of the Absolute. If the pedant still
chooses to carry his errors into the Realm of the Absolute Truth
he only marches by a deceptive bye-path into the regions of
darker ignorance by his arrogant study of the scriptures. The
method offered by Thakur Bhaktivinode is identical with the
object of the quest. The method is not really grasped except by
the grace of the pure devotee. The arguments, indeed, are these.
But they can only corroborate, but can never be a substitute for,
the word from the living source of the Truth who is no other than
the pure devotee of Krishna, the concrete Personal
Absolute.
Thakur Bhaktivinode's greatest gift to the world consists in
this; that he has brought about the appearance of those pure
devotees who are, at present, carrying on the movement of
unalloyed devotion to the Feet of Shree Krishna by their own
wholetime spiritual service of the Divinity. The purity of the
soul is only analogously describable by the resources of the
mundane language. The highest ideal of empiric morality is no
better than the grossest wickedness to the Transcendental perfect
purity of the bonafide devotee of the Absolute. The word
'morality' itself is a mischievous misnomer when it is applied to
any quality of the conditioned soul. The hypocritical contentment
with a negative attitude is part and parcel of the principle of
undiluted immorality.
Those who pretend to recognise the Divine Mission of Thakur
Bhaktivinode without aspiring to the unconditional service of
those pure souls who really follow the teachings of the Thakur by
the method enjoined by the scriptures and explained by Thakur
Bhaktivinode in a way that is so eminently suited to the
requirements of the sophisticated mentality of the present Age,
only deceive themselves and their willing victims by their
hypocritical professions and performances. These persons must
not be confounded with the bonafide members of the flock.
Thakur Bhaktivinode has predicted the consummation of religious
unity of the world by the appearance of the only universal church
which bears the eternal designation of the Brahma Sampradaya. He
has given mankind the blessed assurance that all Theistic
churches will shortly merge in the one eternal spiritual
community by the grace of the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna
Chaitanya. The spiritual community is not circumscribed by the
conditions of time and space, race and nationality. Mankind had
been looking forward to this far-off Divine Event through the
Long Ages. Thakur Bhaktivinode has made the conception available
in its practicable spiritual form to the open minded empiricist
who is prepared to undergo the process of enlightenment. The key
stone of the Arch has been laid which will afford the needed
shelter to all awakened animation under its ample encircling
arms. Those who would thoughtlessly allow their hollow pride of
race, pseudo-knowledge or pseudo-virtue to stand in the way of
this long hoped for consummation, would have to thank only
themselves for not being incorporated in the spiritual society of
all pure souls.
These plain words need not be misrepresented, by arrogant persons
who are full of the vanity of empiric ignorance, as the
pronouncements of aggressive sectarianism. The aggressive
pronouncement of the concrete Truth is the crying necessity of
the moment for silencing the aggressive propaganda of specific
untruths that is being carried on all over the world by the
preachers of empiric contrivances for the amelioration of the
hard lot of conditioned souls. The empiric propaganda clothes
itself in the language of negative abstraction for deluding those
who are engrossed in the selfish pursuit of worldly enjoyment.
But there is a positive and concrete function of the pure soul
which should not be perversely confounded with any utilitarian
form of worldly activity. Mankind stands in need of that positive
spiritual function of which the hypocritical impersonalists are
in absolute ignorance. The positive function of the soul
harmonises the claims of extreme selfishness with those of
extreme self-abnegation in the society of pure souls even in this
mundane world. In its concrete realisable form the function is
perfectly inaccessible to the empiric understanding. Its
imperfect and misleading conception alone is available by the
study of the Scriptures to the conditioned soul that is not
helped by the causeless grace of the pure devotees of
Godhead.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6
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