The Career and Teachings of the Supreme Lord Sree Krishna-Chaitanya
by Sri Narayan Das Bhakti
Sadhukar
CHAPTER XIX
THAKUR HARIDAS, BEFORE HIS MEETING WITH
SREE GAURSUNDAR
It will not be out of place
at this stage to introduce the great personality who is the practising teacher (Acharyya)
of the chanting of the Holy Name, the special Divine Dispensation for the Age
of discord (Kali Yuga), the establishment of which is one of the Purposes of
the Appearance of Sree Gaursundar in this world. Thakur Haridas is the eternal
associate of the Supreme Lord and appears in the Company of the Lord whenever
and wherever the Lord Himself chooses to make His Appearance. Thakur Haridas
plays a different role in the different Avataras of the Lord. In this Avatara
he is the Acharyya of the Holy Name.
The Holy Name is both the
Method and Object of worship of every pure soul. In the Kali Age nothing less
than the Name Himself can effect the deliverance of fettered souls. This
Teaching of Sree Gaursundar is exemplified by, the life of Thakur Haridas. In
order, therefore, to be able to understand the method and object of worship
that can alone be acceptable to a highly controversial Age like the present,
which is least disposed to take anything on trust, it will be necessary to
follow attentively the events of the life of the Acharyya
The fashionable theology at
Nabadwip, which was the cultural center of Bengal at the time of the Appearance
of the Lord, was frankly atheistical. The Philosophical School of the New Logic
(Naba Nyaya) may be described as the attempt of our empiric reason to deny the
necessity, as well as practicability of all worship. The jiva is himself discovered
to be both worshipper and worshipped. Worship itself is supposed to be but a
concoction of the jiva’s own erroneous
speculations. The position to which one of the most highly developed system of
the Philosophy of Logic led the people of Nabadwip, at the time of the
Appearance of the Lord, and through them was accepted by people all over the
country was exactly what w as specifically the worst fitted for understanding
the uncompromising pure form of worship which it was the Will of the Lord to
propagate by the life of Thakur Haridas. Whatever name might be borne by the
different system of speculative philosophy they are in common agreement as
regards the logical-necessity of atheism. Even the Gîta and the Bhagavatam were
taught at Nabadwip at this period as Scriptures of atheism. It gives us an idea
of the audacity and range of activity of the New School of Logic of Nabadwip
that it could devise interpretations even of the unambiguous texts of the Bhagavatam
itself in favour of their theory of rankest atheism. It is only to be expected
in these circumstances that the Scholarship and acumen of Bengal should be
generously recognized in all parts of the country and abroad and even by the
atheistical Vedantists of Benares,
who have always claimed for themselves the theological leadership of
philosophical atheism in India.
Thakur Haridas made his
appearance in the village of Budhan in the District of Jessore in East Bengal.
This has made that part of the country since then a center of the worship of
Godhead by means of the Kirtan. Thakur
Haridas was born in a Muhammedan family. He comes into the light of our
definite narrative under his changed name of Haridas, which means literally
‘the servant of Hari’; Hari being the Name of Godhead in the Scriptures. So
Haridas must have given up his family and society in some manner that is not
definitely known to us, had been the recipient of the mercy of a Vaishnava and
had already made extraordinary progress on the path of pure devotion, although
he was in the first flush of youth when he is found living as a recluse in the
forest of Benapole in his native District of Jessore. In the depth of the
forest he resided in a solitary hut, worshipped the holy Tulasi, chanted. daily
the Holy Name three lacs (3,00,000) of times night and day and ate food cooked
in the homes of Brahmanas, which he obtained by begging.
The Hindu Chief, who was in
charge of the Local Administration of that part of the country, bore the name
of Ramchandra Khan. He was one of the greatest of atheists and a hater of the
servants of Vishnu (lit. the One All-pervading Lord). Haridas was treated with
great reverence by the people. Ramchandra Khan found this intolerable. He could
not rest till he had actually devised a plan for effecting the humiliation of
Thakur Haridas. For this purpose he did not hesitate to stoop to be basest of
devices.
Ramchandra Khan, finding
that Haridas was reputed to be absolutely free from all vices, hit upon a plan
of creating in him the vice by exposing which he hoped to accomplish his ruin.
He summoned to his help the most famous harlots and told them to destroy the
chastity of Haridas who was under the vow of continence as an ascetic. One of
the harlots, who was young and possessed great beauty, undertook to effect his
ruin in course of three days. Ramchandra Khan pressed her to take an armed
footman (paik) who was to catch him
red-handed and bring both of them for punishment. But the harlot proposed that
she should at first go by herself and after being with Haridas once take the paik
to capture him on her second visit.
That harlot, having put on
her best attire, then presented herself at nightfall at the solitary cell of Thakur
Haridas. After making her obeisance to the Tulasi she went up to the entrance
of the cell and bowing to the Thakur remained there standing. She then sat down
at the door-step, exposing her body to the view of Haridas, and made confession
of her uncontrollable passion for him praying to be favoured by his intimate
society.
Thakur Haridas agreed to
fulfill her wish after he had finished chanting the due number of the Name,
bidding her in the meantime to wait and listen to the Sankirtana of the Name chanted by himself. The harlot on this
assurance remained seated there as Haridas went on with his loud chant of the
Holy Name til break of day. The harlot came away disappointed when it was
morning, and informed Ramchandra Khan that Haridas had promised to enjoy her
society and that the promise would be carried out when she met him next night.
As the harlot presented
herself before Thakur Haridas on the second evening he expressed his request
that as on the previous occasion he could not keep his promise to her for the
reason that he could not complete the chant of the due number of the Name, he
would certainly fulfill her desire after the chanting of the due number of the
Name had been completed, and he accordingly bade her wait there and listen to
the chanting of the Name. The harlot made obeisance to the Tulasi and the Thakur
and sat listening to the chanting of the Holy Name. But she naturally grew
restive as the night was drawing to a close. The Thakur, noticing her
impatience, told her that he had taken the vow of chanting a crore of the Name
in course of the month. He had expected to finish the full number that night
but could not do so although he had chanted ‘Him’ the whole night. The number
would be certainly completed by the next night and then the vow would be
fulfilled and he would be in the position to enjoy her company. The harlot
reported accordingly to Ramchandra Khan.
On the third evening the
harlot duly made her appearance and, after making obeisance to the Tulasi and
the Thakur, sat at the entrance of the cell listening to the chanting of the
Holy Name, chanting the Same herself, till the close of that night. The mind of
the harlot was changed by chanting the Holy Name all night in the company of Thakur
Haridas. She now fell prostrate at the Feet of Thakur Haridas and confessed to
him everything regarding the plot of Ramchandra Khan. She said she had
committed endless sin as she was a harlot by trade. She begged the Thakur to
save her, who was so vile, by his mercy.
Haridas Thakur replied that
he knew everything about the Khan and would have left the place three days ago.
He had delayed his departure by three days on her account. The harlot then
prayed that he might mercifully instruct her as to how she was to get rid of
the miseries of the worldly life. Thakur Haridas then tendered her this advice.
‘Give away everything of your household to the Brahmanas. Come and stay here in
this cell. chant constantly the Holy Name. Worship the Tulasi. You will then
obtain the Feet of Krishna in no time’. After saying this and instructing her
in the Holy Name the Thakur rose up and left the place, chanting the Name of
Hari.
Then that harlot on
obtaining the command of the Guru gave away to the Brahmanas all the wealth
that she had. With shaven head and a single piece of cloth for wrapping her
body she lived in that cell and took the Holy Name three lakhs of times in
course of every night and day. She worshipped the Tulasi, ate uncooked food by
chewing, and often fasted. The senses were controlled and love of Godhead
manifested itself. She became a famous devotee and a great spiritual teacher;
and Vaishnavas of the highest order often came thither to have a sight of her.
The people were astonished by this wonderful behaviour of the quondam harlot
and bowed with reverence whenever they spoke of the greatness of Haridas.
As the above theme is the
subject of the highest importance to the present Age, I have tried to keep
scrupulously to the words of Sree Kaviraj Goswami in describing this famous
event of the life of Thakur Haridas. The chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna
imparted by a pure devotee rescued a youthful harlot who had tried to seduce
the saint at the instigation of a most profligate atheist. By this process the
harlot was not merely rescued from a life of shame but became a devotee of the
Lord fit to lift others to the plane of perfect purity. .
The chanting of the Holy Name
can, therefore, reclaim the worst of sinners. The Holy Name has to be heard
with reverence from the lips of a pure devotee. The Holy Name has to be
received as a Sacrament from a pure devotee by complete submission at his feet.
The Holy Name so received has to be constantly chanted by being free from all
offense. The Tulasi has to be worshipped. All earthly possessions and all
association with worldly people, especially in matters of food, clothing and
residence, must be disowned. By this method, in a short time, the highest
spiritual state is realizable. That state consists in serving exclusively the
Feet of Krishna. This is the special Divine Dispensation for this Age of
discord announced by the spiritual Scriptures and promulgated by the Supreme Lord,
Sree Krishna-Chaitanya, through His eternal servant, Thakur Haridas.
The obvious objection to
the above, that is likely to suggest itself to those who are too much addicted
to the concerns of this world, is that it does not sufficiently appeal to the rationalistic
imagination. The scheme seems to be dry and sterile. It also appears to be both
meaningless and impracticable. Every admittedly futile speculation, despite its
futility, seems to be more worthy of the serious consideration of the worldling
than any transcendental proposition. Appearances are decidedly against the
acceptance of the teaching of Thakur Haridas by the average merely intellectual
worldling.
In the first place Thakur
Haridas seems to ignore wholly the life that is ordinarily led by people all
over the world. The new life, that is proposed, has apparently no point of
contact with the life previously led by the disciple after election. This is
not likely to appeal to those to whom the theory of materialistic evolution has
become as it were the very breath of their nostrils. ‘Is a real gap or abrupt
revolution possible in the world of life?’ ‘Can there be any such thing as the
absence of proper purpose anywhere on the part of anybody in this fair world?’
Such and similar questions are bound to rush into the brain of all mental
speculationists the moment they are asked to take the Holy Name of Krishna to
the exclusion of every worldly function. The proposal seems to be so puerile
and so queer and so utterly destructive of all that is near and dear to the
heart of the average man!
It is for this reason that
the sadhus are on principle opposed
to discuss spiritual subjects with persons who do not really seek the Truth.
Those, who think that for them there is no driving necessity for such quest,
are not likely to follow seriously any elucidation of propositions that have
nothing to do with anything in which they feel really interested. The complete
denial of any place to empiric conclusions, in the life that is proposed for
the novice, is a staggering blow to most people who feel instinctively that
they should refuse to listen to what obviously amounts to nothing short of an
incitement to the commission of suicide.
The spiritual purpose
itself cannot, however, be explained away nor whittled down by means of clever
interpretations. The actual doings and saying of Thakur Haridas stand in the
way of those who try to do so. The Thakur literally acted as he taught. He
acted also in accordance with the plainest meaning of his words. So there can
be no ambiguity whatsoever.
The harlot’s condition was
not essentially different from that of any other worldling. The irrepressible
desire for complete renunciation of the world, is the natural and inevitable
result of the appearance of any real inclination for the spiritual life. The
awakened worldly mind understands the necessity of committing mundane suicide
in order to be reborn as the immaculate soul for the purpose of realizing the
life eternal. The material mind is not a figment of the empiric imagination. It
is a real envelope and has to be completely discarded. It will not do to
imagine this enveloping darkness as possessing anything in common with the
light. The material mind is like a sheet of impenetrable darkness that
completely shuts out the light of the soul. The soul is by his nature
self-refulgent and has nothing to do with the material mind which acts as a
screen to cut off the light of the soul from the view of the observer who uses
the mind for such purpose. This is fact and not a hypothesis like the so-called
‘truths’ and ‘facts’ conceived by the material mind in the vanity of its
ignorance. The spiritual realization of the categorical difference, and
relation of utter incompatibility between mind and soul is the first unique
experience on the threshold of the awakened spiritual life.
The harlot was not
‘converted’ by speculative arguments addressed to the mind but simply by
listening to the Name of Hari from the lips of Thakur Haridas and chanting the
Same herself in his company. She had apparently the advantage of possessing at
the very outset a natural regard for Thakur Haridas and for his advice and also
for the holy Tulasi. This was the only antecedent condition of her redemption.
Was it, therefore, blind and traditional faith that actually saved her in this
crisis?
The answer must be in the
negative. Those, who are most officiously given to the cult of blind faith, are not necessarily
attracted towards the actual devotee. The affinity for the true soul is itself
a spiritual, that is to say perfectly self-conscious, impulse. It must be most
carefully distinguished from the blind, material impulse which is so common and
which, as a matter of fact, is the worst form of obstacle in the way of the
realization of the spiritual life. The instinctive affinity of the harlot for
Haridas is an activity of the soul and as such is, therefore, perfectly moral,
perfectly self-cognizant and categorically different from sensuous
sentimentality that ordinarily passes in this world as blind, faith. Faith is the instinctive attitude of the soul towards
the Truth and can, therefore, never be blind. It is the blind who in their
blindness confound true faith with the counterfeit ware with which alone they
happen to be, unfortunately for themselves, only too familiar.
Real faith can alone lead
one to the presence of the pure soul. The material mind cannot reach the
proximity of a Sadhu. The harlot
possessed the spiritual faculty by which it was possible for her to really
approach Thakur Haridas. The Shastras say
that this true instinctive reverence for sadhus
is the result of previous unconscious association with the pure devotees of
the Lord.
For the proper unconscious
association with sadhu also sensuous
sentimentality is often the chief hindrance. The sensuous sentimentalist seeks
the gratification of his own senses. He, therefore, is least disposed to serve
the sadhu on the account of the
latter. It is going against his grain. The sadhus
accordingly keep away from philanthropists as these are not willing to learn to
get rid of their sentimentality. A pseudo-devotee, who parades his false
sentimentality, readily enough obtains the cheap reverence of all worldly
persons as his due, by misunderstanding of the purpose of the Scriptures. Such
a person is not likely to bow to the sadhu,
as he really wants to be served himself. Plain worldly people are likely to
be more easily benefited by the process of unconscious association with the sadhus. Those who bring with them any
previously formed notions regarding the nature of the sadhus, find it difficult to get rid of those false sentiments
which stand in the way of their associating on a proper footing with the real sadhus. The only natural way of
associating with the devotees of Godhead consists in doing whatever the sadhu wants one to do and in the way
that he advises, without expecting any desirable or undesirable result to
oneself therefrom. The harlot possessed something like this natural faith in sadhus by reason of her previous
unconscious association with the devotees of Godhead.
The immoral life, that was
being actually led by the harlot did not stand in the way of her redemption.
The point is made absolutely clear by the fact that she went to Thakur Haridas
for the purpose of seducing him. This shows also that her instinctive faith in sadhus was not colored by any
conventional moral sentiments. This was an advantage. Too rigid empiric
morality obstructs spiritual awakening more effectively than even confirmed
immorality. This is due to want of humility and spirit of submission to the sadhu that is sure to be engendered more
or less by the dogmatic professor of conventional morality. True morality is
never possible prior to spiritual awakening. That which passes as morality in
the society of worldlings, is only a hypocritical, and, therefore, more
dangerous form of immorality The moral instinct proper, which belongs to the
soul, must not be confounded with this hypocritical immorality and its
conventions. The harlot was not hampered by the conventions of a hypocritical
morality. She possessed an open mind with a natural liking for the society of
really pure souls, although she herself was actually leading a life that is
condemned by moralists. But as it is not possible for a person to be really and
fully moral before he realizes the nature of his true self, the case of the
harlot, instead of being worse, was in certain respects better than that of the
conventional moralist who is rigidly committed to the casuistical defence of
the unspiritual life that he actually leads.
It is not, of course,
intended to undervalue the principle of morality in anyway. That instinct, in
its pure form, as in the case of ever other instinct, belongs to the soul. The
form, in which it passes current in the world, is only the perverted reflection
of the real principle and is not conducive to spiritual life. Its apparent
advantages are strictly confined to this perverted existence. Whatever tends to
reconcile us to the worldly life. stands self condemned for that very reason.
Empiric morality is fully open to this charge of pandering, to the unspiritual
life. As a matter of fact neither conventional morality nor conventional
immorality are praised by the sadhus, as,
by themselves, they stand without any relation to the Truth. As soon as our
conduct gets related to the Truth it assumes its natural state which has
nothing
to do with either the
conventional moral or immoral principle of this world. To call the spiritual
conduct as merely moral in the ordinary conventional sense of the world, would,
therefore, be wholly misleading. The spiritual conduct is no doubt perfectly
wholesome, being free from all affinity with the unwholesome things of this
world. The so-called ‘moral’ conduct based on worldly experience owes all its value
to its worldly utility. This fact categorically differentiates spiritual
‘purity’ from worldly morality. There is, of course, no possibility of immoral
conduct on the spiritual plane. In the absence of all possibility of immorality
there is no scope for worldly morality in the realm of the Absolute. The
Kingdom of Godhead accommodates all varieties of conduct by endowing all of
them with perfect wholesomeness. Can such conduct be appropriately called
‘moral’ in the conventional sense of the term?
For instance the trade of
the harlot is in this world generally held to be utterly immoral. Is it
possible for the ‘ethical” mind to conceive of a state of existence that is
infinitely higher than any conceivable worldly moral excellence ?
Those fanatics who, grossly
misunderstanding the nature of the subject treated by the spiritual Scriptures,
set up as orthodox and uncompromising ‘believers’ in the ‘letter’ of the
Scriptural texts and try to ‘reform’ the ‘abuses’ of this world by immoral
regulations that are profanely attributed to Godhead Himself on the strength of
such silly and mischievous interpretation, deserve to be put into the pound in
the company of those ‘innocent’ creatures that are mercifully denied the
quality of voicing their ‘notions’ for harming everybody. There are
hypocritical pedants who, affect to hold up their nose at the very sound of the
name of a harlot and forthwith prescribe penitential punishment of the most
atrocious kind for reforming their morals in ‘obedience’ to the injunctions
of the Holy Scriptures. The Devil is also permitted to quote the Scriptures for
his purposes.
Fanatics and
hypocrites were in possession of the stage of the
tragic drama of worldly life at the time when Thakur Haridas emerged on
the bewildered vision of those pseudo-religionists and began to supply by his
actual conduct the real explanation of the only purpose of all the Scriptures,
by electing the harlot as the fittest and the very first object of the Divine
Grace. He was naturally opposed by the renegade Brahmana Ramchandra Khan who,
in order to exploit the letter of the Scriptures for the accomplishment of his
villainy, gave it out as his ‘duty’ to put down by all means a Muhammedan who
had the temerity to set up as the expounder of the Shastras of the Hindus!
This brings us to the
principle of hereditary caste. The teaching of the Shastras belongs
exclusively to the twice-born. The Shastras themselves lay down elaborate
rules by which to constitute the community of the Brahmanas who are to be the
only teachers of them. This last part of the system had been allowed to pass
out of the memory of the people, and, in its place, had been substituted by
gradual and insidious steps and by general connivance, the principle of
heredity. The hereditary Brahmanas by
the strict Shastric test are no Brahmanas
at all. Ramchandra Khan was the champion of this corrupt system, not for any
real regard born of sincere conviction for the merits of the system itself or
from any knowledge of the Shastras, but,
as it always happens in such cases, from malice and insolence.
If Haridas Thakur would
practice the function strictly reserved for hereditary Brahmanas then the whole
system of caste based upon the principle of heredity is challenged at its
source. If a Muhammedan can become a Brahmana, the present social system of the
Hindus, which is claimed to be part and parcel of the Religion, is utterly
demolished. This was bound to agitate profoundly all caste-Hindus.
Nor was this all. The
chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna was also practiced with a loud voice. This
was an entirely novel mode of worship to the Hindus of that time. The new
out-caste apostle of the eternal religion, in opposition to all current rituals
and forms of worship, was declaring to admiring Hindus an apparently new form
of worship as the one enjoined by the Shastras
Could all the
contemporaneous Hindus be so utterly mistaken that they required to be imparted
ab initio the knowledge of the
fundamentals of their own religion by a Muhammedan, against the teaching of all
the hereditary Brahmanas, the exclusive teachers of the same by the rules of
the Shastras themselves?
It is quite easy to imagine
the intense consternation and hostility that were naturally aroused in an Age
of casuistical fanaticism by the preaching of the simple doctrines of the
Religion of the Truth. The chanting of the Holy Name of Godhead is the only
sacrament of the true religion prescribed for the present Age. This
simplification is in keeping with the spirit of all the other sacraments
authorized by the Shastras. The other
sacraments are not suitable for this Age which is too much addicted to
skeptical argumentation ad nauseam.
As soon as one realizes the true nature of the soul all his activities are
thence forward naturally and necessarily performed on the spiritual plane. The
narrow ceremonial view of the sacrament is due to the imperfect spiritual
vision of the observer. The sacrament may, therefore, differ in the different
Ages in its external appearance, which, is however, the only view that is open
to the notice for whose special benefit it is ordained.
The chanting of the Holy
Name is liable to the least objection even as sacrament, from a casuistical
Age. The Mercy of Godhead must be sought willingly, nay with the keenest
hankering that is born of positive liking, for obtaining real touch with him in
order to serve Him by means of the spiritual senses of the pure soul.
The sacrament implies a
real mutual personal relationship between the Lord and His servant. It is
definite, concrete and loving, but in the spiritual (not abstract, notional or
concocted i.e., purely mental) sense.
The personality, senses and functions of the soul are not comprehensible to,
nor admissible by the mind. The mental refusal to recognize the substantive
existence of the soul, is the greatest curse of this Age of dogmatic
empiricism. This piece of dogmatism must be got rid of.
The empiric reason is
confronted to a fight at its own weapons when it is summoned to admit the rationale of the worship of Godhead by
means of His Name only. The Name of Godhead must not also be supposed to
connote or denote anything of this world, in no shape, neither as precept nor
concept. This should, in all conscience, more than satisfy the passion for abstraction
of even the Moslem iconoclast.
The next point is that the
Name of Godhead must be admitted as true and not as a mere concoction of the
material mind. The Scriptural Name of Godhead is not a thing of this world. The
Scriptural Name is Himself Divine. The Scriptural Name requires to be served
with the tongue by an attitude of humble supplication for manifesting His
Divine Nature to the pure serving, essence of our soul. Even the most rabid
iconoclast need have no cause of complaint against such service. It is this
pure service that was practiced by Thakur Haridas, which, he maintained, was
the only sacrament enjoined by the Scriptures as suitable for this Age of
wrangling sophistry (Kali Yuga.) The
implications of this position will be more fully developed in course of this
Narrative at the proper stages.
As the service of Godhead
is the eternal function of the individual soul in the state of grace, it
transcends all mental and physical activities. The Shastras accordingly reserve the service of Godhead to those who
are twice-born. The terms Brahmana (one who has knowledge of Godhead as the
Great) and Dwija (twice-born) applied to persons who are eligible for the
service of Godhead, refer to the individual soul in the state of grace and not
to caste. If Thakur Haridas be regarded as a Moslem born, it is then the
physical body that is denoted by the Name Thakur Haridas. If Ramchandra Khan
claimed to be a Brahmana on the strength of his seminal birth in a Brahmana( ?)
family, he also supposed his physical body to be Brahmana. The objection of Ramchandra
Khan to Thakur Haridas, on the strength of such foolish interpretation of the
Shastras, was met by Thakur Haridas by pity and indifference. Ramchandra Khan
did not possess the good fortune of the harlot, whom he made the dupe of his
deviltries, to be enabled to listen to the Holy Name of Godhead from the lips
of Thakur Haridas. A Brahmana, who claims to be such by right of seminal birth,
is less fit for spiritual service than even an open minded harlot.
From Fulia Thakur Haridas
moved off to Chandpur. The village of Chandpur was situated in the present
District of Hughly in the neighbourhood of Tribeni (Saptagram-Tribeni). Balaram
and Jadunandan Acharyas, the purohits (family-priests)
of Hiranya and Gobardhan Mazumdars of Tribeni, had their residence in the
village of Chandpur which lay to the east of Tribeni. The word ‘Mazumdar’ is
the equivalent of ‘Majumadar,’ the title of an accountant of the royal revenues
under the Nawabs. Balaram Acharyya was the disciple of Thakur Haridas and
regarded himself as his servant. Haridas stayed with Balaram Acharyya in the
later’s house. Balaram Acharyya with great care made arrangements for the
residence of the Thakur in the village. Haridas lived there in a hut and
accepted the alms of food at the house of Balaram Acharyya. The boy Raghunath Das
son of Gobardhan, was at this time studying under Balaram Acharyya. Raghunath
used to go to Thakur Haridas for a sight of the saint. Haridas was merciful to
the boy. Thakur Haridas’s mercy was the cause of the subsequent attainment of
spiritual enlightenment by Raghunath Das. The following event occurred while Thakur
Haridas was staying at Chandpur.
One day Balaram Acharyya,
by his humble supplications, induced Thakur Haridas to repair to a gathering at
the house of the Mazumdars. The two brothers stood up on seeing the Thakur and,
falling at his feet, offered him a seat with great respect. There was present
in the assembly a very large number of Pandits, Brahmanas, and other worthy
people. The two brothers Hiranya and Gobardhana were also very learned persons.
All present spoke highly in praise of Thakur Haridas. This met with the hearty
approval of the brothers. It was known to all that the Thakur recited the Holy
Name three lakhs of times daily. The Pandits accordingly talked about the
greatness of the Name as Thakur Haridas assumed his seat in their midst.
Some of the Pandits said
that the cure of all sinfulness automatically results from uttering the Name of
Godhead. Others expressed the view that the individual soul (jiva) is freed from the miseries of this
life by uttering the Name. Haridas declared that those two were not proper
fruits of the chanting of the Name. Love to the Feet of Krishna is aroused by
taking of the Name. Haridas said that the condition of a person who realizes
such love is described in a ½loka of the Bhagavatam
(Bhagavatam 2-35). ‘A person, who is habituated to serve Krishna in the
ways enunciated above (viz., hearing,
chanting, etc., loses all control
over his mind and, by reason of realizing the quality of love by chanting the
Name of Krishna, experiences an anxious restlessness of the heart. He loses all
consideration for the opinion of the people and laughs, cries, shouts, sings
and dances at intervals. Salvation and destruction of sinfulness are only
attendant results— ‘Just as the rising of the Sun dispels all darkness, so also
no sooner does the Name of Hari manifests Himself than He forthwith destroys
all the sins of the person who utters His Name.’
Haridas requested the
Pandits present to explain the above ½loka. All the Pandits desired Thakur
Haridas to elucidate its meaning to them. Haridas who had recited the ßloka now
said that even before the Sun actually begins to appear darkness is dispelled
by his approaching light and the fear from thieves, ghosts and demons is also
destroyed; and, on his actual appearance, all useful activities begin to be
performed. In like manner sins and other evils are destroyed by the reflected
light of the approaching Sunrise of the full manifestation of the Name; while,
on the actual appearance of the Name, love to the Feet of Krishna is aroused.
Salvation is a trivial result which is effected by the dim reflection cast by
the Name as His Appearance draws nigh. The devotee does not wish to accept
salvation which is at first offered by Krishna. Haridas quoted the two
following ßlokas of the Bhagavatam in support of his contention (Bhagavatam 2-42; 5-19-12). ‘If the dying
Ajamil could attain to the realm of the Vaikuntha by calling upon Hari, which
happened to be the name of his son, who can estimate the effect if the Name is
chanted with faith?, ‘My own,’ says Krishna, ‘Never accept the different forms
of salvation, e.g., attainment of My realm, attainment of power and wealth and
fame similar to Mine, the privileges of dwelling near Me, even the favour of
becoming one with Myself; all of which privileges I offer them unreservedly.
They covet nothing except My service.’
Gopal Chakravarti was a Brahmana
who belonged to the household of the Mazumdars, being employed to carry letters
and money to the king. He had to go up to Gauda and appear before the Padishah
himself in connection with the discharge of his official duties. He used to
convey twelve lakhs of rupees annually to the king. He was, in his early youth,
very handsome and a very good scholar. Gopal lost his patience on hearing that
salvation can be obtained by the dim reflection of the Name. He then spoke in
great anger.
“Pandits who are in
assembly here,” said Gopal, “All of you have heard the conclusion announced by
one whose trade is to amuse people by dance and song. Emancipation, which is unattainable
by means of knowledge of the Brahman in crores of births, is held by him to
follow automatically the manifestation of the dimmest reflection of the Name.”
At this point Haridas
entreated Gopal not to entertain any doubt on the subject, as the Shastras themselves declare that
liberation from the bondage of the world results at once from the appearance of
the dim reflection of the Name. The bliss of liberation is utterly trivial in
comparison with the happiness of loving service. It is for this reason that the
devotees do not accept liberation The Thakur then quoted the ½loka of Hari
Bhaktisudhodaya (H. Bh. S. 14-31). ‘Teacher of the universe, to me, immersed in
the pure ocean of bliss by meeting Thee, the bliss of the attainment of the
knowledge of the Brahman (the Great Nourisher)
appears to be as contemptible as the tiny speck of water filling a whole in
the ground indented by the hoof of cattle.’
The Brahmana now became
furious. He shouted out that he would assuredly cut off his nose if liberation
does not result from the dim reflection of the Name. On hearing the blasphemy
the members of the assembly gave vent to their sorrow at the behaviour of Gopal.
Mazumdar reproved him severely. Balaram Acharyya expressed his indignation by
remarking that the offender was a fool fit only for hair-splitting sophistry
and was perfectly ignorant of the principle of devotion. How could he go the
length of insulting even Thakur Haridas! He was doomed to perdition beyond all
help.
Haridas rose to leave the
place as he heard the words of the Brahmana. Mazumdar forthwith severed all his
official connection with Gopal and with all the assembled persons fell
prostrate at the feet of Thakur Haridas. Haridas smiled and spoke sweet words.
He said, “ None of them had done anything offensive except that Brahmana The Brahmana
was also not to blame. His addiction to controversial discussion was the cause
of his strange behaviour. The greatness of the Name is not realizable by futile
discussion. How could he, therefore,
understand those principles?” He then bade them depart to their homes in peace,
expressing the wish that no one might come to grief by his connection with
himself.
Hiranya das came back to
his house after receiving this assurance of pardon and forbade Gopal to cross
his threshold. In course of three days the offending Brahmana was attacked with
virulent leprosy. His very prominent nose rapidly melted away. The fingers of
his hands and feet, rivaling the champaka buds in their delicacy, all shriveled
up and dissolved away by the corrosive force of the malady. On beholding this
all the people were filled with great wonder. They praised Haridas and made
obeisance to Him with reverence.
Sri Krishna Kaviraj Goswami
concludes the above account with the pregnant observation that although Haridas
did not feel offended by the conduct of the Brahmana yet did Godhead award the
offender the punishment due to his transgression. It is the nature of the
devotee of Godhead that he ever pardons the faults of the ignorant. It is
Krishna’s Nature that He cannot bear any calumniation of His devotees even
through ignorance.
Haridas was grieved at
heart on hearing of the misery of the Brahmana, He apprised Balaram Acharyya of
his intention to leave the place and proceed to Shantipur.
The account is prefaced by
Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami with the remark that the event narrated is most
wonderful for the reason that it contains the clear elucidation, from the lips
of the Acharyya himself, of the Divine Dispensation of the present Age. The
reader must not forget the point, which is the center of interest of the whole
narrative detailed in this work, viz.,
that Thakur Haridas is the Acharyya or the practicing teacher, authorized by
Godhead to promulgate the congregational chanting (Sankirtana) of the Holy Name, which is the mode of worship that
alone can demolish the worst form of atheism in the name of ‘free’
thinking that is unfortunately so prevalent now-a-days all over the world
and which is the terrible but inevitable natural consequence of the exclusive
worship of Mammon by all the resources of mind and body.
The world is gratuitously
assumed by a pseudo-rationalism to be the only reality and the attempt is,
therefore, made to ascertain the methods by following which we can attain the
gratification of the senses which function appears to be the relationship
naturally subsisting between ourselves (?) and the world. The senses are
assumed to be an integral and undetachable part of ourselves. The mind is identified
with the senses on the one hand and the soul on the other. The senses connect
the mind, or the soul, by this assumption, with the external world. The senses
are the eyes of the whole system. All pain and pleasure suffered by the mind
are due to the way in which the mind directs the senses in their-relations with
the world. The mind cannot apparently know by intuition, at any rate
ordinarily, all the consequences of any particular mode of employment of the
senses. The mind can, indeed, try to guess about them. But it can never be
quite sure about any occurrence till after actual experience. This uncertainty
is supposed to be reducible to certainty if it could be possible to know from
experience the uniform ‘laws’ that are assumed to govern all phenomenal
occurrences under all circumstances. This hypothesis of the uniform operation
of the ‘laws’ of Nature has been built up by the accumulated ‘experiences’ of
the race. But as the occurrences themselves present an infinity of
complications it has not been possible to attain to anything like certainty in
isolating the single threads of the web in order to be certain of our
hypothesis in every case by being enabled to reproduce an the occurrences of
nature in the Laboratory.
Assuming that the above
object of scientific endeavour will be realizable in practice in the long run,
its success should make it possible for us to prolong the possibility and
scope. of sensuous enjoyment ad
infinitum. If we fail to be perfectly ‘happy’ by the complete elimination
of ‘pain’ by the proper employment of the
‘forces’ of Nature in the
way that is calculated to produce such a result under the then known ‘laws of
Nature,’ our labours should still have really no abiding value for ourselves.
But has our ‘experience’ up to the present moment taken us an inch towards the
realization of unmixed or lasting pleasure? Is ‘pleasure’ really different from
'pain,? Or is it only different by circumstance? That which is food for the
goose is food for the gander, is not found to be more true than most
hypotheses. Variation, which is sought to be eliminated, is found on close
inspection and analysis to be the indispensable condition of the pleasures
itself. We are, therefore, left inevitably to the present condition of
necessary and complete ignorance in order to have any ‘pleasure’ at all by our
dealings with the world by means of our senses.
It is argued that pleasure
and pain might themselves be enriched, deepened and broadened by more
experience and that it is worth our while to help this process in a conscious
manner. To this the answer would be that the better and more detailed
realization of our utter ignorance, in the midst of the mockery of a
civilization that is claimed to be based upon knowledge, would be a self
contradiction that is not likely to appeal to the assorting instinct of our
rational nature and is calculated to make our condition no better than it is.
Civilized wickedness and filth are not preferable to any nuisance of the
uncivilized state. Satan, who may be allowed to possess the perfection of
worldly culture, is probably more miserable than the uncivilized Gond. It would
be difficult for the unbiased reason of man to choose between materialistic
savagery and materialistic civilization.
‘Ignorance is misery,’ says
one of the wisest of proverbs. Increase of ignorance is not any decrease of
misery. Ignorance is supposed to be the state of all empiric knowledge which is
improperly assumed to be alone available to man. Our very nature is sometimes
supposed to be incapable of real enlightenment. This axiom of pessimism is
exploited for advising man to turn a deaf ear to the Teacher of the Absolute.
It is even more disastrously utilized for condemning the devotees themselves.
It cannot be otherwise. The
soul is in this case identified with the mind-cum-body. Abandonment of the
mind, therefore, appears as equivalent to the abandonment of the soul, or to
self immolation. The mind seems to be our all. Groping in perpetual ignorance
appears as our inevitable function miscalled ‘Search for the Truth.’ Empiric
enthusiasts imaginatively describe this process as the ‘eternal quest’. These
metaphors and denunciations do not, however, help us in anyway; but, on the
contrary, they only tend to obstruct the process of the real quest.
Gopal Chakravarti is a
typical Brahmana of the pseudo Vedantic School of Sankara. He has no doubts
regarding the goal of the Vedanta. According to him the attainment of the
Knowledge ( ?) of the Brahman, Who possesses no distinctive function at all
that is capable of being defined, is the goal. By the attainment of the
knowledge of the real Nature of the Brahman, the individual soul is freed from
all the miseries of his apparent existence which only seems to be limited and
is, therefore, only supposed to be miserable. As there is only One Entity, viz., the Brahman, Who is ever ( ?) free
from all defects and all merits, the goal can be no other than complete
absorption ( ? ) into the One. On the attainment of this desirable goal there
is no difference between the devotee, devotion and the Object of devotion. The
service ( ?) of the Brahman is thus only a temporary means to a final end,
which means being different from the end and is, therefore, necessarily
terminable with the attainment of the goal. It is the highest form, of religion
to try to realize, by the appropriate methods, the knowledge of, and absorption
into, the undifferentiated Brahman. When the individual soul becomes one with
the Brahman the state of separate existence and necessity for any kind of distinguishable
function terminate together. According to Gopal Chakravarti and his associates
this knowledge of the Brahman is higher than service and the termination of
both ( ?) knowledge and service is the highest goal. Gopal is quite sure that
this is the only teaching of the Scriptures. It may be observed at this place
that Sankara does not discard the
principle of worship, but declares its tentative necessity which is terminable
on self-realization which, according to him, is identical with complete absorption
into the One.
Thakur Haridas
distinguishes between devotion, work and knowledge. The soul in the bound state
desires one of two alternative functions. If he is optimistic he wants greater
scope for enjoyment. If he happens to be pessimistic he hankers for
emancipation from the misery of mundane existence.
The latter, viz. , the pessimist, sometimes thinks
that real emancipation is impossible so long as the consciousness of one’s
being different or separate from the One, persists. It is to this extreme
school of atheistic Vedantists, advocating unification with the Brahman, that
Gopal Chakravarti, like most cultured people of his day as well as of this,
happened to belong by his empiric predisposition. According to this school
fruitive work leads to empiric knowledge and the latter to the third position
of inexpressible oneness with the Brahman. Devotion or service is classed under
fruitive work, which is assigned a lower position than empiric knowledge. The
process of advance to the goal of complete unification with the One, according
to this school, is devotion (blind faith
rendering possible utilitarian work of a low order) (Bhakti?) leading to work
of a higher order (Karma), which, in its turn, leads up to empiric knowledge of
the uselessness of all knowledge and all activity terminating in perfect
absorption into the one (Brahm-laya) .
Haridas is neither a
pessimist nor an optimist. He is an absolutist. He is convinced that the theory
of complete absorption into the One is logically unsound and opposed to the
real teaching of the Scriptures. The alternatives of enjoyment and abstention
from enjoyment exhaust indeed, the possibilities of function of the mind and
body; but they have no application to the soul which is located beyond the
reach of body and mind. The soul is substantially different from the mind and
body. The soul is the substantive reality while the mind is only his perverted
reflection in the mirror of limited existence. The mind is the material shadow
so to say of the soul who is the spiritual substance. The mind is a material
phenomenon galvanized into the appearance of self-consciousness by the impulse
communicated to it by the deluded
soul. Mind is the shadow of
the perverse soul mirrored in matter. This description is, and can be, but an
imperfect and misleading analogy of the relationship that actually subsists
between mind and soul. The shadow of the material substance is not
categorically different from the substance itself, both of them being material
phenomena. The shadow of the soul in this case is, however, categorically
different from the soul, being a material phenomenon pure and simple. The soul
in his spiritual or natural conditional is categorically different from
material phenomenon. The soul is self-consciousness itself. There can be no
such thing as ignorance in the soul. There can be no such thing as genuine
self-consciousness in the mind which is non-soul. The apparent
self-consciousness of the mind is really a state of complete ignorance which is
given its shape and colour by the qualities of matter, viz., grossness, limitation, perishability, changeableness, etc.
These unwholesome traits are non-existent and impossible in the soul. The soul
is capable of forgetting his real nature mistaking himself to be a material
entity. The soul is not above one possible weakness, viz., willful rebellion against the Truth. It is a real blunder on
the part of the soul to choose to be a rebel. But the soul is perfectly free to
refuse to serve the Truth, i.e.,
Godhead. He thereby proves deliberately false to his own substantive nature,
because it is the constituent function of the soul, in his natural state of
perfect spiritual existence, to be the exclusive servant of the Truth. The soul
who rebels against Godhead is punished by his exile to the phenomenal world and
by incarceration in the double material case of mind and body. The point will
be further elucidated later.
Fruitive work and empiric
knowledge are functions of the mind and, therefore, purely material phenomena.
By means of such work and knowledge the deluded soul cannot realize his natural
function for the plain reason that they are not his proper function at all. By
means of work and knowledge the Soul only moves in a vicious circle of material
existence which is seemingly conscious but really one of absolute ignorance.
This is the explanation why by means of the undifferentiated knowledge of the
Brahman freedom from the fetters of work and knowledge of this anomalous
existence can be attained by crores of years of endeavour. This is what Gopal
says. The delay is, however, not due to the complexity of the process, as he
supposes it to be. So long as a person continues to suppose that an impersonal
all-pervasive Entity is the goal of knowledge one is not yet freed from the
real ignorance of his spiritual function. This must be so because Truth is not
impersonal.
Neither is Truth a person
in the sense in which the mentalists, including Sankara, apparently want us to
understand the term. Spiritual personality is categorically different from the
distorted empiric notion of the same. Until the nature of the personality of
the Truth is properly grasped one continues in the deluded state which is also
the state of limitation (bondage). Therefore Gopal Chakravarti is right, although
he is unaware of it, in holding that the chance of emancipation of a person who
has attained to the notion of Godhead as an impersonal and inactive, although
all pervasive and transcendental, Entity, is very slight. Gopal does not
understand that his ideal person is also necessarily no less deluded than
himself if he supposes his condition to be the goal.
The interpretation of the
text relied upon by Gopal Chakravarti, said Thakur Haridas, is that of a person
who does not understand the Nature of the Name by reason of his having no
access to Him. The deluded person is no longer consciously contradicting
himself and is not, therefore, insincere in the sense of being double tongued.
He is certainly to be pitied. Neither can his conduct be regarded as sincere
inasmuch as it is opposed to his real nature of which he only happens to be
ignorant by his own conscious perversity. The empiric casuist who affects to
believe in the impersonal nature of the Truth is only pushing his conscious
perversity of the choice of untruth to its logical conclusion. If the
deliberate error is not ignored his conduct cannot be regarded as consistent
being altogether untrue.
Gopal Chakravarti’s source
of error lay deeper than the plane on which he stood and was, therefore, naturally
incomprehensible to him in his condition of cultured perversity. The
Vaishnavas, who alone understand the real cause of the worldly ailment, alone
possess the true spirit of toleration. Thakur Haridas showed his toleration of
the rank atheism of deluded Gopal Chakravarti by abstaining from disturbing him
further. This toleration really means the withdrawal of his causeless
apparently aggressive mercy from a deluded soul whose opposition to Godhead is
likely to be increased by the process. It is the greatest possible misfortune
that can befall a conditioned soul to miss the special mercy of the Vaishnava
by his successful opposition to the Truth. The apparent intolerance of a
Vaishnava is as helpful to a person as his tolerance of evil. The Vaishnava
never co-operates with the offending soul in his sinful activities. He does not
agree to be false to himself and his eternal Master to please the confirmed
apostate. Such sympathetic toleration of evil is a grave offense against the
Truth notwithstanding the significant fact that it alone is relished by the
pantheistic school of the pseudo-Vedantists.
The point reached marks
almost the limit of rational discussion towards the spiritual issue, that is
open to the empiricist. He cannot proceed further without discarding the method
of empiricism by giving up completely the process of his unaided effort. It was
not possible for Gopal Chakravarti to retrace his steps by any other. method.
That he was not at all prepared for this is proved by his offensive conduct
towards Thakur Haridas who had, therefore, no other alternative but to leave
him to the mercies of Maya. But the actual goodwill of Haridas towards the
offender bore its fruit in the swift punishment, that could be intelligible to
the sufferer himself, that smote him in the form of leprosy. Gopal was,
thereby, afforded an excellent opportunity of revising his impersonal doctrine.
But he was of course free to avail of it or not.
The Godless attitude is an
attitude of absolute confidence in one’s own judgment and power. The atheist is
not at all disposed to submit to another in any circumstances. He has to be
compelled to submit to non-God because he can consistently submit only to
compelling force. Such submission alone is appreciated in the state of sin and
ignorance which is a radically false position and necessarily entails constant
irrational conduct on a really rational being unnaturally disposed to accept
the same through the no less unnatural fear of punishment. The Holy Name of
Godhead is not a thing of this world. The Name of Godhead is identical with
Godhead Himself. The Godhead appears in this world in the Form of the Name on
the lips of His pure devotees. He appears as the transcendental Sound on the
spiritual lips of the soul in the state of grace.
The Name of Godhead
appearing on the lips of a pure devotee as the Transcendental Sound, is
perceptible as such only to the spiritual ear. These statements are likely to
appear absurd and puerile to the dogmatic impersonalist. Can the soul, he will persist to ask, have lips and ears ?
Can the soul have senses ? But can the empiricist know, even if he has?
The transcendentalists
maintain that the soul has an infinity of senses of which the physical senses,
are a perverted reflection. There
cannot even be the shadow of existence of the physical senses if there were no
substantive spiritual senses. But there are also the spiritual senses
themselves as distinct from but not unrelated to their corresponding shadowy
reflections in this phenomenal world. This is involved in the very definition
of the Absolute. The spiritual sense is categorically different from the
physical sense. The spiritual senses are perfect and self-conscious, there
being no interva1 or barrier of time or space between the sense and its
possessor. The spiritual body is indivisible and perfectly self-conscious in
every part and is identical with the owner of the body. All this is
incomprehensible to us although it is perfectly consistency with the
fundamental principles of indivisible substantive existence, that are also
acceptable to the empiricist. The empiricist, although he may sometimes under
pressure of his own logic, seem to agree with the conclusions of
transcendentalism, finds it impossible to adopt them in practice. The absolute
conduct is not possible on the mundane plane to which he finds himself strictly
confined by his own postulates backed by the real Deluding Potency.
If one is merely disposed
to regard any sound as transcendental, such wish alone will not make the sound
of his choice to become really transcendental. Similarly if a person is
disposed to regard a transcendental Sound as an occurrence of the mundane
atmosphere such attitude will not also affect the subjective nature of the
transcendental Sound. There is real difference between the transcendental Sound
and mundane sound. The transcendental Sound is identical with the object
denoted by the sound. The mundane sound is separated from the object denoted by
it by the intervals of time and space. To hear the mundane sound of the name of
a Lion is not the same thing as to see the
beast. On the spiritual plane the very word ‘Lion’ is identical with the
animal. The animal is fully realizable by and in the hearing of his name.
Whereas the real nature of the mundane animal, denoted by the mundane sound,
ever remains a thing unknown.
The Name of Krishna is
identical with Godhead. But the Name of Krishna does not manifest Himself on
mundane lips nor to the mundane ear. The Name Krishna appears in His Form of
the Transcendental Sound on the spiritual lips of His devotees and is heard by
the spiritual ear of the submissive soul by the Grace of Krishna. The Name
Krishna is identical with the Possessor of the Name. The Name Krishna appears
to the listening ear, as He is, only by degrees. As soon as the dormant soul
catches the first faint reflection of His Light he is at once completely free
from the bondage of ignorance and sin. It is the Name Who comes of His Own
accord to our fettered soul. The bound jiva.
has no access to the Presence of Krishna on his own initiative. Krishna’s
Approach is heralded by the harbinger of Light whose first glimmerings on their
appearance put an end to all misconception regarding the categorical difference
between light and darkness.
Unless and until the soul
becomes aware of the true nature of spiritual existence by being so enlightened
by the Source of all consciousness, he is sure to mistake the mind for his real
self and the mental function as the only knowledge. If at this stage he does
not willfully shut his eyes but keeps them turned towards the growing Light he
gradually and in due course obtains the sight of the concrete Source of all
light. This is the mode of Appearance of the Holy Name. The sight of Krishna is
alone capable of inspiring love for Krishna. This is the position of Thakur
Haridas as explained by himself to the Pandits who were in assembly at the
house of the Mazumdars.
Thakur Haridas mercifully
explains that the different concrete forms of the so-called ‘liberation’ concocted
by the mentalists as their unknowable summum-bonum
are the outcome of the desire for sensuous gratification. If one could live
in the happy realms of Krishna described in the Scriptures, the empiricist
supposes that such a person should be enabled to enjoy more good things than
are available on the Earth if his condition is really worth having. The same
desire for extended opportunities of sensuous enjoyment happens also to be the
real motive behind the formulation of the other ‘forms’ of the empiricist’s
‘saved’ existence. The grossness of the ideal of liberation is fully unmasked
when one is told that the salvationist’s ‘final’ form is to become the equal of Godhead by merging with the
Object of his worship?
It is to this unnatural and
profane position that the unchecked speculations of the mentalists are
logically bound to lead in the long run. Thakur Haridas ascribes the grossness
of the ideal to the attitude of the empiric thinker, viz. the insatiable desire for sensuous pleasure.
The desire to enjoy is
categorically different from, and wholly incompatible with, the desire to
serve, to love. If one feels a real desire to serve Krishna he would lose all
taste for his own enjoyment. All impurity, unwholesomeness and misery are
fortunately and mercifully ordained by the Lord as the inevitable consequence
of the insatiable desire for selfish enjoyment. But the soul who turns away
from immediate enjoyment by considerations of greater prospective enjoyment in
the sequel, cannot also for that very reason realize the condition of loving
devotion to the Feet of the Lord, however strongly impressed he may profess to
be of the desirability of such a state. He is, no doubt, free to think that he
really desires it; but at the same time he is wholly incapable of ever
attaining to it by such desire. But, says Thakur Haridas, he may nevertheless
attain to love for Krishna by the Chanting of the Holy Name, by the Grace of
the Holy Name Himself. This is the special Dispensation for the Age which is so
irremediably speculative; and there is no other way open to the Age of
attaining to the loving service of Krishna.
Haridas refers to the texts
of the Scriptures to prove the truth of his statements. This is the only proper
use of the Shastras. The Shastras bear witness to the Truth of
the realizations of all really pure souls.
There is one other fact
which is worthy of our notice. The Pandits of the learned assembly, headed by
Hiranya Mazumdar the master of the house, took the side of Thakur Haridas. They
not only strongly censured the conduct of Gopal Chakravarti in the open
assembly but Hiranya Mazumdar thought it his duty to renounce all further
connection with a Brahmana who could be guilty of an act of discourtesy to the
devotee of Godhead. Nevertheless the Pandits and Mazumdar himself felt
themselves involved in the sin of Gopal Chakravarti by the unhappy circumstance
of their having had to hear most reluctantly the blasphemous words uttered by
Gopal in their presence. For this sin the only expiation, prescribed by the Shastras, was to seek in all humility
the pardon of Thakur Haridas, not for the
offender but for themselves. This
is not mere courtesy but an unavoidable necessity if one really wants to serve
the Truth. Any association, deliberate or accidental, with untruth tends to
obscure our vision of the Truth, Who is, indeed, a very Jealous Master. Those
who are disposed to serve the Truth with causeless, loving devotion, throw to the
winds all considerations of ignorant propriety or ignorant justice and are
never satisfied by serving the Truth by all their senses at all time and in all
circumstances. By the grace of Thakur Haridas this instinct of loving devotion
actually manifested itself in the conduct of those who had listened with faith
to the Absolute Truth from his pure lips.
Sree Raghunath das Goswami
was a child at this time. He used to visit the Thakur in his hut during his
stay at Chandpur. The boy was the fortunate recipient of the mercy of Thakur
Haridas. This is considered by Shree Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami as the real
cause of Raghunath Das’s subsequent unique devotion to the Feet of Sree
Chaitanya. The mercy of a sadhu acts
equally on all persons, irrespective of age, sex or condition, all of whom have
an equal chance of being benefited by associating with a real sadhu. The interests of the soul are not
capable of being adversely affected by any worldly conditions. The boy’s soul
has no defect of immaturity any more than that of an old man the advantage of
maturity. Such maturity or immaturity has no relevancy in one’s associating
with a sadhu. The boy’s soul,
eventually with the Soul of the old man, may or may not be disposed to listen
to the words of a Sadhu for the
genuine purpose of acting up to the same. It is as necessary for a child to
associate with a sadhu acts for an adult; but in neither case one
can be sure of obtaining the mercy of the sadhu.
with whom he may choose-to associate. The sadhu
is kind to one who is really inclined to serve Godhead. It is the function
of a sadhu to foster one’s
inclination for the service of the Lord by means of his conduct and words. The
articulated sound is, however, the sadhu’s unambiguous weapon to fight all ungodliness.
It should puzzle the muddled brain of the whole race of self-conceited
empiricists to understand why and how the sadhu
need have no other work except talking about almost anything to whom he likes.
Any person, who is spoken to by a sadhu
even for the tiny space of a second, has every chance of attaining the real
object of life which is unattainable by infinite endeavour by any other method.
Nay, it is our duty to listen to a real sadhu,
if we are fortunate enough to meet him, in preference to all other duties
which are not only of secondary importance but a positive obstruction on the
path of the highest and only good.
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