Magician on Stage

In order to help us understand Srila Gurudeva’s present divine pastime, our Parama-gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja is waiting to give us his mercy. In this excerpt of his article called “Remembering Srila Prabhupada,” taken from Rays of The Harmonist (No. 16 Karttika 2006), he takes the position of a conditioned soul, and in this way he teaches us how to see and how not to see, how to think and how not to think.

We want freedom from the danger of seeing Srila Gurudeva as a mortal being, and we want to become one with his heart and his mission. We are fortunate to have the following words of our merciful Parama-gurudeva to guide us:

"The eternal form of the acarya deva is composed of knowledge and bliss, and remains constitutionally unchangeable – just like a dramatic performer [who appears to go through various transformations during his performance, but remains the same unaltered person].

"On the stage of this world, the acaryadeva merely acts out birth, death and so forth, all of which we can perceive using our knowledge-acquiring senses. The birth and death of an ordinary living entity is filled with pain and suffering, but the appearance and disappearance of the spiritual conscious form of the atimartya acarya, who is beyond the control of the material nature, is full of joy.

"To astonish his audience, a magician may use a weapon to execute a pesrson standing before him. An ignorant child cries upon seeing this, but those who know better understand that the killing is merely an illusion and do not lament for the person 'slain'.

"While the unbearable disappearance pastime of the acarya is like a stage act, an ignorant person like me who does not comprehend this cannot be consoled. Thus, I perceive his disappearance pastime, which is full of joy, to be extremely painful and heart-rending. Thus, while the servants of Sri Guru are feeling true separation, I am lamenting like a sudra.

"I have heard from you all that viraha, separation, enchances the elegance of service; and when anything that stimulates remembrance of one's object of worship appears on the path of one's vision, it progressively makes one's attachment for that object unflinching.

"Separation looks to enhance the highest pleasure of one's worshipable object. In the state of lamentation, however, the bound jiva becomes bewildered, and thus inactive: his energy and capacity disappear and he becomes afflicted by grief. Due to the absence of service, one cannot see in him any transformation akin to an enhancement of joy. Thus, I – like an ignorant fool, a sudra – have become overwhelmed by lamentation. I am unable to discover any enthusiasm within. 'Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanami' ('to serve the master of the senses with my senses') has become a formidable task for me."

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