All we need is love – sajati and snigdha association
“Maybe it is a symptom of my approaching old age, but I have lost nearly all my taste for debating siddhanta.
If anything, I am becoming more and more entrenched and conservative in my beliefs and indifferent to disagreements.
I am also becoming more and more indifferent to the world and its destiny, and even my own destiny. Chant the Holy Names.”
This wonderful quote from my friend Jagadananda das really sums up most of my feelings which I pondered upon during the last weeks…
I too am realizing more and more how uselessly I spent many an hour debating back and forth, discussing, fighting, defending, accusing…on the internet…
I also realized, when speaking with different devotees from different lineages, how astonishingly quick the subjects ventures into territories of “controversities”…
I decided that I will try to avoid such “discussions” at any cost. It ruins my/our bhakti.
In this world of quarrel and hypocrisy, very few people are interested in spiritual life.
From this very few, again very few are interested in devoting life to a peronal God.
From these, again very few are interested in BHAKTI.
From these, again very few are interested in Krishna.
From these, again very few are interested in the very special form of Krishna Who roams about in Sri Vrindavana and Who is called “Vraja-jana-ranjana”.
From these, again very few take shelter at the Lotus Feet of the One who bestowed a gift never given before – Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
And how much it pains my heart to see and realize HOW MUCH fighting, quarreling and debating between the family of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is going on…and which I was guilty of too.
So much wonderful mercy and love and we misuse our time (I did that A LOT) trying to be RIGHT, SUPERIOR, the CHOSEN ONES, the ONLY ONES, etc…
Yes, there may be different approaches between the different lineages coming from Sriman Mahaprabhu, but our goal is the same: PREMA.
How can we talk about the highest subjects like “manjari bhava” or “unnatojvalla rasa” if we are not able to love here in this world?
How can we seriously expect to enter the Highest Realm of love without being able to love, to show love, without being loving here in this world?
Whatever approach you decided to follow by surrendering to a Sri Gurudeva in a certain lineage – follow that approach.
If we are happy, confident and full of faith and love, there will be no need to show OUR SUPERIORITY to the ones we think are WRONG.
There are so many subject matters where opinions may differ…but why dwell constantly on these differences?
Is rasa inherent in the jiva?
Is manjari bhava a “bona fide” path?
Did we fall from the spiritual world?
Which rasa is higher?
Vaidhi-bhakti or raganuga bhakti and all the different approaches
Diksha parampara vs bhagavat parampara
Who is qualified for what?
What about the siddha deha and the concept of siddha pranali?
…
This list can go on unlimitedly…and believe me, I wasted precious time and energy to debate/discuss/fight about many of these topics only to realize that my bhajan breaks down.
I realized that if someone is fixed on the chosen path, with full faith and dedication, the need to discuss the numerous approaches to our siddhanta vanishes. But this NISTHA (firm faith) can´t occure by constantly swimming in our anarthas…
We all sit in the same boat. We are all trapped in this human body. This is an awesome chance. We should use our most precious time to realize our true self.
We all want to love and be loved. We Gaudiyas all want to take shelter of the Divine Couple. So each of us should be strict with oneself and see no faults in others who might be on a different path.
We should always see the “big picture”:
Everthing has a direct purpose in the Divine Realm. Everyone is entitled to play his or her “role” in the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.
Very actual and timely example:
Why would those who aspire for manjari bhava (madhurya rasa) fight with those who aspire to follow the priya narma sakhas (sakhya rasa)?
Why would one “rasa” fight the “other”?
Here in this example, CO-OPERATION is essential. The priya narma sakhas are totally aware of the most confidential pastimes of the Yugala Kishore. THEY KNOW. So actually, they are the allies of those who aspire for maidservanthood in the Divine Conspiracy where everything is secret.
But here in the world of sadhana-bhakti, we fight for “rasa-dominion”…
Each sadhaka at one point figures out which rasa he/she aspires for.
Each sadhaka then will take shelter of a Sri Gurudeva who teaches the sadhaka the chosen path.
Everything else is PERSONAL DETAIL.
Each sadhaka then practices the chosen and taught sadhana, starting the journey through the stages of bhakti.
The earlier we realize how extremely harmful it is to use our mind to focus on “the others”, on the “different approaches” or on the certainly existing “controversities”, the better the chances are to advance in our bhajan.
The more we focus on “what the others DO/SAY/THINK/PRACTICE”, the more we ruin our own bhakti.
Therefore the scriptures tell us to VERY CAREFULLY examine the path we decide to follow. It should be decided in full faith and with a fixed goal in mind.
If we find that maybe it is not the right path or if we feel insecure, we should always turn to Sri Gurudeva or to an advanced senior devotee and beg for guidance.
If we are insecure and not fully convinced, we tend to find faults in others who are secure AND convinced.
When the sadhaka is happily practicing the chosen path, may it be vaidhi or raganuga bhakti for example, he/she will not find the tendency to find faults, to establish his/her own truth or to prove superiority.
Srila Rupa Goswami, like always, offers a fascinating and very wonderful advice:
BRS 1.2.91 – sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅgaḥ svato vare
“Always associate with LIKE-MINDED, AFFECTIONATE and ADVANCED devotees.”
The words sajati and snigha are very important here: LIKE-MINDED and AFFECTIONATE.
Of course we should ALWAYS associate with the devotees of Krishna, but there are different “kinds” of association.
We should always be friendly and respectful to all devotees, even if they are not LIKE-MINDED.
We should always be in the mood of “trinad-api-sunicena…”
Meaning: When we meet devotees of Krishna who want to reach VAIKUNTHA-LOKA, we should always be friendly and respectful and for sure we will find “common grounds”. What is the use to intimately discuss siddhanta with someone who follows a completely different path?
Siddhanta and intimate feelings should only be shared with LIKE-MINDED and AFFECTIONATE devotees who are on the SAME PATH. Then there will be no chance of “superiority”, “wrong/right”…
And especially debating and discussing intimate topics on wide open platforms available on the internet makes no sense at all if we take this advice from Srila Rupa Goswami in our heart. This I learnt the hard way many times…
Each path is different. Each rasa is different. Each jiva has different aspirations.
But for those who declare themselves followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu the goal is the same:
BRS 1.2.295
|| 1.2.295 ||
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi |
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā vraja-lokānusārataḥ ||295||
Following after the inhabitants of Vraja, one should perform service in one’s physical body and in one’s siddha deha, with a desire for a particular bhāva.
So each sadhaka will perform this kind of Vraja-bhakti according to his inner desire for a particular bhava under the tutelage and shelter of a Sri Gurudeva who practices the same bhakti-path.
Everything else is PERSONAL.
bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej
janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ
sat-saṅgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau
parāvareśe tvayi jāyate matiḥ
(SB 10.51.53)
“When the material life of a wandering soul has ceased, O Acyuta, he may attain the association of Your devotees.And when he associates with them, then devotion unto You will start, You Who are the goal of the devotees and the Lord of all causes and their effects”.
Srila Jiva Goswami comments on this verse cited in the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, that devotee-association acts as the seed of rati. Through association with various types of devotees, various types of sadhana which are like watering the seed will be performed.
So, according to our association, our inner desire (rati) is formed and we begin to start on our journey through BHAKTI.
We try to figure out which kind of love for the Divine Couple we want to imbibe and which form of pure love we finally want to BE.
“Various types of sadhana will be performed.”
Who are we to judge all these various types, always using our chosen path as THE ONE AND ONLY?
At the end, everything in our life of BHAKTI depends on mercy alone.
All we need is love. We need TO LOVE and we need to BE LOVED.
All of us will find those sajati- and snigdha devotees if our inner desire is authentic and sincere.
We should never try to prove that our OWN CHOSEN PATH is the best.
It is the best one FOR US to follow…but maybe not for someone else who follows one of the other “various types of sadhanas”…
Therefore we need to associate with those who are LIKE-MINDED and we need to become free from a kind of “superiority-complex” (preaching to my mind here mostly)…
Jay Sri Radhe.
