Home Comfort

An Introduction to Inner Fulfilment

By Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

© 1992 Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math
All rights reserved by the Successor President-Acharya

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip, West Bengal, India

First Printing 8 February 1992

Second Printing (Expanded) 1994

Sixth Printing 1998

Eighth Printing 2012

Compiled by Sripad B.S. Tridandi Maharaj and Sri Mahananda Das Bhakti Ranjan.

This electronic version is prepared in 2023 as part of service to His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj.

Web address: www.scsmathinternational.com

Email: info@scsmathinternational.com

CONTENTS

Foreword to the First Edition

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

PART FIVE Sri Guru and His Grace

About the Author

The Logo of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s Mission

Headquarters of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Books and Publications of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Foreword to the First Edition

I am feeling very fortunate to have come within the personal association of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, our Srila Guru Maharaj, and now to have this chance to present this introductory booklet. Throughout his whole life, Srila Guru Maharaj practised what he preached. Sincere practitioners are themselves an introduction to the subject of genuine, joyful, spiritual life, but they are not able to visit everyone personally. Therefore, we are taking the opportunity afforded by the modern scientific age to print books to broadcast such wisdom widely. The vibration emanating from a printing press in this way can not only beneficially influence this mundane world but can also even conquer the souls already established in the spiritual plane. It is, therefore, very joyful and satisfying to see the manifestation of this publication, Home Comfort (An Introduction to Inner Fulfilment). It is a selection from our Divine Master’s lectures introducing the subject of theistic spiritual life—for the service of his Divine Mission, it has been reproduced in a printed form by the sincere efforts of the student practitioners here.

Up until his last days in this mundane plane, Srila Guru Maharaj would bestow his mercy upon conditioned souls in the form of lectures, which he would sometimes deliver continuously hour after hour. From his example, we can understand the injunction of the scriptures that until our last breath we must try to practise service to the transcendental service world and give that same opportunity to others.

If anyone carefully reads this booklet with sincerity, they must be benefitted and receive inspiration, as well as an opportunity, to reach that life of true inner fulfilment.

Humbly,

Swami B.S. Govinda

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

8 February 1992

PART ONE

Please listen attentively to what I shall explain. I shall try to explain the subject to you in a scientific way, in general, independent of any religious conceptions.

First of all, we are to understand that there are three planes of life: the plane of mundane enjoyment, the plane of renunciation, and the plane of dedication. The plane of enjoyment is where we are at present, more or less. Mundane enjoyment means exploitation. None can exist in this plane without exploitation:

ahastani sahastanam apadani chatuspadam

laghuni tatra mahatam jivo jivasya jivanam

“Those that have hands live on those who have no hands. Four-footed animals live on grass, creepers, etc., and the big live on the small.” Everything is full of life—creepers, grass, and trees also have life—but without exploitation none can maintain their body here.

This is the plane of exploitation, and, as Newton’s third law says, to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. By exploitation one takes a loan, and to clear that loan he will have to go down. In this way, there are so many jivas (souls) going up and down, up and down due to action and reaction in the plane of exploitation. Society is trying to exploit to the utmost. Everywhere there is an attempt to live at the cost of others. Without it life is impossible in this area because this is the plane of exploitation.

The Buddhists, the Jains, the followers of Sankara, and so many others are trying to get out of this entanglement of exploitation and find a life where there is no exploitation, no action and reaction. To avoid action and reaction, they try to find a position of renunciation, and they come to a conception similar to dreamless sleep, that of samadhi: to withdraw completely from the objective world and to remain in the subjective plane. Without allowing their feelings to move into the lower plane, they always keep a subjective position; that is something like dreamless sleep.

The Vaishnava section—those who serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead—are of the opinion that there is another world, a world of dedication. That dedication is just the opposite of exploitation. In the mundane plane, every unit wants to exploit the environment, but in the plane of dedication, every unit wants to serve the environment; and not only serve the environment, but the real key to the life of that plane is to serve the Centre. We are living in an organic whole, so every point must be true to the organic Centre. The explanation is given in Srimad Bhagavatam by the analogy of serving the root of a tree:

yatha taror mula-nisechanena

trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah

pranopaharach cha yathendriyanam

tathaiva sarvarhanam achyutejya

We also find it said in the Vedic literature, “Try to find the one by knowing whom everything is known.”

yasmin jnate sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati

yasmin prapte sarvamidam praptam bhavati

tad vijijnasasva tadeva brahma

There is a central point by knowing which everything is known, by attaining which everything is attained. The long and short of the entire Vedic advice is to try to find out that Centre. Therefore, try to find out that Centre. In the beginning, some may think this to be a ludicrous claim, “By knowing one, everything is known; by getting one, everything is got—what is this? Only a madman can say such a thing!” So, an analogy is given in Srimad Bhagavatam: when you pour water onto the root of a tree, the whole tree is fed, and if you put food into the stomach, the whole body is fed; similarly, if you do service to the Centre, everything is served. It is possible, and to do that means to enter the plane of dedication. Avoiding the plane of exploitation and that of renunciation, try to enter the plane of dedication. Your atma, your soul proper, is a member of that plane. That is the real world, whereas this here is a perverted reflection.

The real world is where every unit is dedicating itself to the whole, represented by the Centre, just as in a healthy body every atom will work for the welfare of the whole body. If an atom works for itself, it exploits to the extreme, and such local works for local interest are clearly bad. Every part of the body, every atom is to work for the welfare of the whole system. There is a Centre, so everything should work under its guidance.

What is the position of the Centre? It is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita,

sarva-dharman parityajya,

mam ekam saranam vraja

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

Krishna explains His position, “Abandon all dharmas (duties) and just surrender unto Me.”

Now I want to represent this conception from another standpoint.

The philosophy of Hegel, a good German philosopher, is known as perfectionism. He gave the idea that the Absolute Truth, the Prime Cause of everything, must have two qualifications. What are they? It must be by itself and for itself. Please try to pay attention. “By itself” means that He is His own cause—nothing else has created Him. If anything created Him, that creator would have the primary importance. Therefore, to be the Absolute He must be anadi, eternally existing and not created by anything. Another qualification is that the Absolute Truth is “for itself”—He exists for His own satisfaction, not to satisfy anybody else. If His existence was to satisfy another entity, then He would be secondary and that entity for whose satisfaction He would be living would have the prime position.

Therefore, the Absolute must have these two qualifications: He is His own cause, and He exists only to satisfy Himself, to fulfil His own purpose. The Absolute is by itself and for itself. If any straw moves, it moves to fulfil the purpose of the Absolute. Everything—every incident, whatever happens—has to be for His satisfaction. So, although the real current is His lila (pastimes), we are guided by separate interests—family interest, country interest, social interest, humanitarianism, etc. In the infinite consideration it is all only a tiny part, but we are all engaged in acting for such separate interests, and because there is a clash between innumerable separate interests, it causes trouble. We must leave all our so-called special interests, come out from misunderstanding, and try to attain the function of a unit active for the cause of the whole.

The conclusion given by Krishna in Bhagavad-gita is “Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. Give up all your duties which you think at present you have to discharge and surrender to My feet. Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma suchah. I shall release you from any trouble you can ever conceive of.” In other words, we are to remember to be faithful to the Centre. At present all our duties are for local interest, but we should give up this local identification of our interests and merge totally with the interest of the organic whole.

We see that if a police officer takes even three rupees for his own purpose, he is punished, but if he kills so many for the interest of the country, he is rewarded. Similarly, whatever is done for the satisfaction of the whole is good, but if you do anything for yourself or any local friend, you will have to be punished. In an industry, we have no right to take a bribe for our personal purpose; at the same time, we have no right to call a strike and close down the labour force because then the industry will be destroyed. Neither exploitation nor renunciation will do. Exploitation is clearly bad, and because we have no right to go on strike, renunciation is also bad. In an organic whole, the common interest is that everyone must be dedicated to the Centre, which means to the whole. When we put food into the stomach, the stomach will distribute it properly to every corner according to its necessity. That sort of life is Vaishnavism. There is an organic whole, and we are a part of that. We have our special duties in connection with the whole, and that is proper dedication for the whole. We are not to put food into the eye, nose, ear or anywhere else except the stomach, then only will it be distributed properly and the whole organism will be healthy. All of us are parts of the whole universe, and our duty is to work for the whole—that is devotion, dedication, surrender. And how are we to know about that? We will receive help from the revealed scriptures and from the many saints and agents who come from that plane to bring us into harmony.

The religion of the highest harmony has been given by Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev, who explained devotion on the basis of Srimad Bhagavatam, the book which is understood to be the real conclusion of all revealed scriptures. He explained that energy, or power, is not the highest thing, but knowledge is above it. Knowledge can control power and give a beneficial result, but further, knowledge itself also holds a lower position: above it is love and affection, and that is the highest. Neither knowledge nor power but only affection can give us fulfilment of life.

Mercy is higher than justice. Justice only exists where there is the necessity of laws, rules, etc., but in the realm of the Absolute Autocrat, who is the Absolute Good, there can be no question of any apprehension about Him. He is Absolute Good, and Absolute Good is Absolute Love and Affection—that is home! Back to God, back to home. What is home? It is where we find that we are in the midst of our well-wishers. If we do not care for our own benefit, there are so many others who will take care of us—in fact, the whole environment will take care of us. That is home. That is the domain of the Absolute, and we can enter His service, the highest position, and thereby see the affection, love, harmony, and beauty that exist there. All these qualities are similar, they constitute the nature of the Prime Cause and Good. We are to go there.

Misusing our free-will, we have been somehow led astray, but now we are being called, “Come home, back to God and back to home, the highest position, the land of love.” This is, in general and in short, the sum total of what I have presented to you—this is the Krishna conception in Bhagavad-gita and in Srimad Bhagavatam, and it is the conception that has been given by Sri Chaitanyadev. This Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and the whole of the Gaudiya Mission is preaching only that. “Go to the Centre. Use your life for total dedication to the Centre, and the Centre is all above justice—it is all-merciful, affectionate, loving, and beautiful.”

This is the general background of the Vaishnava religion, of Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam and a brief history of all conceptions of religion: exploitation, renunciation, and dedication are the three planes of life, and the soul proper is a member of the land of dedication. All souls are dedicating units, but somehow, by misusing their partial freewill, they have entered the world of exploitation. Buddha, Jain, Pareshnath and others helped those who want to withdraw from here to get out of the entanglement of exploitation—of action and reaction—by complete retirement. Although they said that after retirement, the soul can live happily, there may still be a possibility of again becoming entangled in this trap. But where the really free souls live, all are dedicating units, and if we trace what is harmonising them and maintaining them in that plane, we shall see that they are all working for the whole, which is represented by the one Absolute Good.

We are to see all these things. That is why this human birth is very valuable. In connection with sadhus—saints, or agents—we shall try our best to get out of this entanglement and enter the land of love, dedication, and affection. We have already published several books, and there are many old scriptures which also help us understand properly and in a more detailed way all ontological aspects of religion.

PART TWO

Our home is full of freedom, comfort—everything. It is a place where there is a natural transaction of faith, love, affection, etc. It is inconceivable. The Upanisads say, “Don’t venture to test the unthinkable plane with your reasoning.” That plane really is beyond the capacity of your thought. It is under a different set of laws. Your mathematical calculations and conclusions in this world are acquainted with points, planes, and solids—at present you are a man in the world of solids, and you have some limited association with planes and points in a somewhat abstract way—then how can you calculate and judge about higher things of which you have no knowledge? The ways of living and the laws of that country are all unknown to you, so you cannot try to debate about that. That plane is of quite a different nature. If your understanding is limited to the laws of water, how can you judge about air? Similarly, if you are familiar only with the laws of air, how can you make any calculation within the sphere of ether? Therefore, don’t rush to bring within your experimental laboratory the items which are beyond the capacity of your thinking, for that will be foolish.

Higher things do exist, but the general man in this world has no knowledge about them. We are indeed experiencers and have some knowledge but only to a particular degree and standard. We cannot venture to calculate what is beyond our reach. But if those who actually have experience of that plane come to us and give us some information, then we can make some comparison, “This gentleman of a particular experience of ether has written in this way, another gentleman who has experience and has also experimented about ether has written in another particular manner.” In this way we can gain some understanding from their investigation and their real connection with the subject matter.

In the section of those investigating about telescopes, we can make a comparison of their findings. The experience of one researcher with his telescope is of a certain type and we can also learn about the experience of others with their particular telescopes. With the information available to us from their actual connection with the telescopes and their experiments, we may be able to conclude that, perhaps, a certain telescope was more powerful, another more powerful in a particular field, etc. So, we have some limited capacity to compare what has been discovered beyond our senses by means of the telescope, even though we ourselves may not have a telescope.

The subject of the higher things discovered by the mental “telescope,” or the soul’s “telescope,” has been dealt with in the scriptures. This subject matter is known to saints, and we are to take their help in order to have entrance within that land. We are not at present in the position to have experience of the higher plane, but later, by the help of saints and scriptures, when we ourselves have that type of telescope, we will be able to have such higher experience.

sve svehadhikare ya nistha sagunah parikirttitah

“To pay attention to your own plane is admirable.”

achintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet

“Don’t let the argumentative spirit overshadow everything.” Argument is not all in all: it is not that it must be the resort of every belief. The spiritual realm is achintya, inconceivable, but still we are to try to understand things according to our capacity, faith, and realisation. Above all, we have to accommodate within our mind that sweetness is sweet and truth is truth—however strong it may be, we should not take any standard from here and apply it to that higher realm.

If one has no eyes but another one can see, the blind man will naturally seek help from the one who has vision. We are also blind to what is within ourselves, otherwise what is the necessity of consulting a doctor? The doctor can see what we cannot: he will diagnose and then we will undergo treatment. Naturally, we will feel respect and give him something for his assistance—it is not unreasonable.

The guru is the specialist doctor. We will understand his qualification when we come to see that what he says is real and not imaginary. Such vision will depend upon the degree of awakenment of the eye. If one who is blind is treated by a capable doctor, he will gradually perceive directly, “Yes, I am beginning to see something. I now have some eye experience.” From that time on, he won’t care for the speculative opinions of other blind people, but he will have his direct capacity to see. With the coming of sight he can understand that the application of the medicine has some real effect.

Scientific understanding is also similar. In earlier days when Faraday discovered electricity, many people laughed, “What is this? It is mere curiosity. What utility can we have from this electricity?” I once read an account of Faraday demonstrating an experiment to show the effect of his discovery. He generated electricity with a machine and then showed small pieces of paper being moved by that electric current. Many were satisfied to see his new discovery, but then a lady remarked, “But after all this, Mr. Faraday, what practical benefit shall we derive from this luxury play of yours?” Faraday replied, “Madam, please can you tell me what is the utility of a newborn baby?” His point was that when a baby is born we are to take care of him, then, when grown up, his energy will be put to useful work.

Similarly, some consider that God consciousness is only a luxury, a fashion, or like playing, that it has no practical application or direct utility. But when God consciousness becomes intense, those who experience it will see all other activities, however apparently important, to have no value. Why? Because ultimately we want to live; we don’t want to die. To live is the main necessity and the general necessity of all of us. No one can deny that they want to live, and not only live but live happily, properly, and consciously. Furthermore, we want to avoid all affliction, misery, etc.

When God consciousness arises within someone, he can see clearly, “Why is everyone engaged in a wild goose chase in this material world? Everyone wants happiness, but everyone is running after an imaginary phantasmagoria.” Happiness can never be with mortal things. We are making a transaction with the mortal world, but that cannot bring satisfaction, it can only be a loss of our energy. What we collect on one side disappears on another side. A wise man should neither accept nor tolerate this sort of waste of energy as the principle of life. Such a wise person can see another plane of life. He can see that he is not a party to this mortal world which is like a playground. He will feel, “I am immortal. I am a member of the eternal world, but I have somehow become entangled in this mortal aspect of existence. So, as soon as I can shake off this connection, I shall stand in my normal position.” He will find that he himself—the soul, the feeler, the conceiver—is a member of another soil, but he has become entangled within this mortal pain-producing world. This is a miserable world. With the strength of his realisation, he can make improvement in his progress to the immortal plane.

As proof positive comes before us, we shall be sure, “Now I see these things and hear these things, and this experience is all more real than the world about me. The world is vague, but what I now see and hear is more real than that.” A direct transaction is possible with the soul, with God, and with God’s land. Where we are presently living is the plane of indirect transactions: first the eye, ear, etc. collect experience, then it goes to the mind before we can have experience of this world. But in the case of the soul, we can feel everything directly ourselves without the help of any instrument. Through a microscope we see one thing, and through the naked eye we see something else. There is a difference. Through the eye, ear, etc. we have some experience of this world, but concerning the soul, if we can withdraw from the “progress” in the negative side, we shall be able to feel, “Oh! This is the nature of the soul.” We shall directly feel who we are without the help of any instrument.

The soul can see itself, it can focus upon itself, and through introspection he will realise his very nature. Through the process of introspection, the soul will directly, without the help of any other instrument, perceive all possible conceptions of himself. He will then understand his own soil: he will gain the conception of a higher type of soil. On that positive side he will discover: “I do not die.” The material plane is a plane of misrepresentation and misunderstanding, but in the higher plane there is no misunderstanding. Once admitted there, our conception, though it may be partial, will be clear and true. Anyone having that experience will be convinced and determined to go forwards. Socrates could feel that the soul was immortal. He was so intense with his feeling that he did not give any value to his own life in this mundane world. He neglectfully disconnected himself from this world because with great conviction he knew the soul to be immortal. Christ also was so much convinced of his Lord that he did not give any care for the happiness and pleasures of this world: he neglectfully rejected it all.

There are many things invisible to this fleshy eye that are visible with the eye of knowledge. We can concede that the eye of knowledge can see many things which the fleshy eye cannot. Similarly, a deep vision exists by which we can see things in a different, more hopeful way: “Come and see!” An eye cannot see when it is covered by a cataract, but when the cataract is removed, the eye can see. Ignorance is like a cataract in our eyes that causes our blindness. Our vision is only superficial, but deeper vision can see many things. This eye backed by the eye of knowledge can see many things, deeper and deeper. Our apparent sight has no value. Real value is present in the seer who can see with deeper vision. And all are not equal: there is the wise, the wiser, the even wiser… There is a gradation, so the seer will see according to his capacity.

It is easy to see that at present we are members of this mortal world, but by what are we connected? It is our body that is the member. If we can go above the body, we can go to the mind, then on to the intelligence, then to the soul. We will find that the plane where the souls live is eternal and the soul itself is also eternal. From there we can go on to search after the Supersoul, the origin of all our thoughts. The Supersoul is likened to the sun, the origin of all rays of light. Once we find a ray of light, we can approach the sun, from which all rays emanate. Similarly, from the conception of our own selves—knowing ourselves to be particles of consciousness—we can search out the plane of super-consciousness, super-knowledge, and super-existence. In this way we can progress to the ultimate cause, the source of all. But we cannot do that just according to our own whim and freedom: some sort of help from that plane is indispensable. Such help comes in the form of the guru, Vaishnavs, and other agents of that land. With their help we can make honest progress towards the goal.

At present we are as if monarchs of all we survey, but what we survey is all transient, mortal, and reactionary. If we look scrutinisingly, we will see that it is all reactionary—what is pleasing today will later on turn into pain. Therefore, we must seek a good position somewhere else, a good place to build our home elsewhere. In the course of that search, we will find that we do have our own home, and it is all-perfect. Home. “Back to God, back to home. Sweet, sweet, home.” We shall find this sort of feeling within ourselves if we are fortunate to be allowed a little participation by the grace of the canvassers of that land: the agents of the Lord. We shall be taken to that proper soil and gain some solid familiar type of conception of what our real home is like. In this way we shall progress to that side.

In the beginning we may think that we shall be going to some unknown quarter, “Innumerable living entities are here around me in my present world, but where I am now trying to go, that is uncertain. It seems imaginary and abstract.” However, when we begin our journey, we will gradually find that almost all existence is in that side, the side where all are truthful. We shall find that this material side is very meagre and limited, and there is only a tiny representation of the truth here.

From here we may think that most of the existence is here and only very few special souls, such as Socrates, Muhammad, and Buddha, go from here to the immortal world. But gradually we will come to understand that the higher world is infinitely greater than the mundane portion we see here. We will gradually come to understand that as in a country a few people are confined in a hospital or a prison and are suffering, similarly a few persons are here in this mundane plane as punishment. As this becomes clearer to us, we shall feel more courage to proceed and will run towards our home with a greater speed. Let us go home, and the nearer we are to home, the more and more our speed will increase: “Oh! This is my homeland!”

At present we are outside and our minds are also focused outside; we are moving helplessly. Our only hope lies in the grace of divine agents, who come to pick us up and warn us, “What are you doing? Don’t go on that side. It is the land of danger, the land of death. Come along with me. I shall take you to the land of eternal nectar.” Those agents come to arouse us from our slumber, from our ignorant madness. They are Vaishnavs, and they have also given scriptures which give some history of the land outside and of the saints who have gone there. Our faith will gradually develop through these scriptures, and we will increasingly keep the association of sadhus. In so doing we shall make ever quicker progress.

Your own feeling is the guarantee as to whether you are making real progress or not. Hrdayenabhyanujnato. You will receive approval from your own heart that you are making real progress. Otherwise, you may be coaxingly taken in a particular direction only to feel frustration after some time, but such transaction is not genuine—it is false, a hoax. In the name of religion, so many such things go on like a trade, but that does not mean that real realisation and real emancipation do not exist. Hrdayenabhyanujnato—the ultimate guarantee is the approval of your own heart, “Yes, really, this is what I want. From the innermost core of my heart, I feel like dancing to find that such progress is possible.”

PART THREE

Normally, in this world we are men of action, men who exploit the environment and nature in order to gather energy. There is always an attempt to collect more and more energy to use at our command and to save something so it may be utilised in the time of necessity. In general, that is the very nature of those who live here. And if any hindrance comes in that attempt, it is considered that those circumstances are very bad because they oppose the object of life here, which is to collect more energy. However, to remind us about the importance of the inner wealth, we are advised that the outer nature cannot do as much harm to us as our internal nature can do in its apathy to collect more wealth for the inner existence, the man within. We are to be mindful of this point: what comes from outside is not so important, it all comes and goes. Even the body, which is at present the centre of our thoughts, will vanish; therefore, what is the necessity of collecting so much energy in connection with this body? Awaken from within your soul the proper man within you. Try to find him, and try to collect help for him. This campaign is possible only with the connection of the sadhu, the saint.

We shall be losers on any day when we do not meet with a saint and do not hear any discussion about the inner meaning and substance of life. Be conscious of this. In all respects, anyhow, be mindful of your own person. Look after your own interest by finding your own self. Be unmindful towards the external world and circumstances and dive deep into the reality, your inner wealth. Find your inner self and the inner world within where your inner self lives. Try to find that home. Back to God, back to home. Utilise your energy only for going home, and not for wandering in the land of others, the land of death. Try to avoid the land of death at any cost, and always try to find out the eternal soil. You are to find out that you are a member of that soil. Try to understand what is your home, and why that is your home. What does home comfort mean? It means it is the natural place which is our birthright. We have to face the fact that we are not at home. But if there is some hankering within us to search for home, then we are fortunate.

Our necessity is to find how that inner thirst can be quenched. Our feeling should be, “The world is here and I am here, but I am unsatisfied. How can my inner self be satisfied?” We are in want, so by what process can this want be removed? At present we have this fleshy body, but to know anything and everything about the body—about the bones, nervous system, blood, etc.—is all unnecessary. To know about the composition of the blood, etc. is just unnecessary detail. Our enquiry should be regulated in this way, “Who am I, and why am I troubled? I do not know how to rid myself of these problems.” This is the general question we are to be concerned with. “Athato brahma-jijnasa. From where have I come? How am I living, and what is my future?” These are the main questions that should concern us, and we must concentrate the whole of our energy to find the solution. This does not only apply to just one person—myself—but this is the concern of all creation.

To seek the source of everything is the nature of proper enquiry, but to enquire after this and that and so many hundreds of things is simply a waste of energy. The sastric (scriptural) enquiry has been couched in such a way, “From where have I come? What sustains me? What is my future? Why am I uneasy, and how can I acquire my inner fulfilment?” All enquiry should follow this standard way, otherwise there is some disease of enquiry—it won’t be proper enquiry because more and more curiosity may arise without end. We must learn how to question, how to enquire, and in that way our energy will have some value without being wasted.

Enquiry is bona fide when it is directed towards how to fulfil the real goal. So, we are to save our energy and direct it in the proper channel. This is Kali-yuga—the age of quarrel—and our real and only helpful necessity in life is the company of the established saints and the Holy Name of Krishna (sadhu-sange krsna-nama). Otherwise, deviating from that, we may be misguided at any and every step.

sadhu-sange krsna-nama ei matra chai

samsara jinite ara kona vastu nai

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave this as the substance of all advice. There is nothing more useful than this to help us get out of undesirability. He says that to chant Krsna-nama without the association of sadhus means that it will be very difficult for us to proceed. Therefore, in one word, the solution is in sadhu-sanga. We are to secure the company of a standard realised soul, then everything will fall into place, and the king of sadhus is the guru. Gurudev is the king of good men who can give guidance. For one to be a guru, one must be able to guide others satisfactorily, otherwise whom can we believe and trust to our utmost understanding, and to whom can we fully submit and surrender? The guru is where our enquiry will be fulfilled to its utmost necessity. From him higher direction will come from above, from a more and more elevated spheres of love. We are to connect with that high and subtlemost wave, then we will be more benefitted. This is the general idea.

On the whole, we are to try to always remain at the disposal of the higher agency, at the disposal of the higher thinkers of higher provinces. In that way we shall come in connection with higher and most subtle layers of life. There are different waves of different types and interests, of different loss and gain, but our aim should be to connect with the highest.

We are to see that the charm of this life is finished. We have already had good experience that this is all stale. After all, wherever there are the four enemies janma, mrtyu, jara, vyadhi—birth, death, old age, and disease—there cannot be any real happiness. Wherever there is death, there cannot be any happiness. In such a plane we are always under the threat of death, so there is no charm. All charm is completely finished. Therefore, we must enquire with eagerness as to where we shall be able to live. We must select a higher plane where we can really live.

yad gatva na nivartante,

tad dhama paramam mama

(Bhagavad-gita, 15.6)

Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad-gita, “The place from which there is no returning to this deathly plane is My supreme abode.”

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah,

punar avartino ’rjjuna

mam upetya tu kaunteya,

punar janma na vidyate

(Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

He instructs Arjuna, “A permanent position is only possible in My plane.” All occupations in this plane, even that of a king, are all just as in a dream. So, if you want to get out of this dreaming life and enter into reality, then raise yourself to the standard of finding the plane of reality, however subtle it may be, for that cannot be devoured by death. Collect your energy to build up something permanent. At present you are investing your energy in something that is going to be demolished at the next moment—this is a foolish attempt.

uddhared atmanatmanam,

natmanam avasadayet

atmaiva hy atmano bandhur,

atmaiva ripur atmanah

(Bhagavad-gita, 6.5)

“Note that you are your own friend, and you are your own enemy also. You are your own enemy if you don’t take good care of your own development for your real progress, but you can also be your own friend—none can give you as much help as you, yourself, can do.”

bandhur atmatmanas tasya,

yenaivatmatmana jitah

(Bhagavad-gita, 6.6)

“If at all you can have any self-control, then collect your energy from going astray and direct it to the proper channel where you can really thrive—then you will be your real friend. However, if you allow yourself to be led by various senses of lower nature, which are always trying to move in the land of exploitation, reaction, and suffering, then you are your own enemy. Consider all these things.”

vimrsyaitad asesena,

yathechchhasi tatha kuru

(Bhagavad-gita, 18.63)

“Consider and consider deeply, then take the right step as to what to do.” The human life is very valuable. You have the power of discrimination, but you will be denied of it if, compelled by the reactionary wave, you have to go into the body of a tree, a beast, or wherever. Can you say for certain that in your next life you will not be degraded into an animal body? What guarantee is there that you won’t be?

It is not that all actions and all progress takes place only in the realm of death—progress is not limited to darkness and ignorance. But if you really participate in positive progress, you will be able to feel what real progress is. Hrdayenabhyanujnato—you will feel and conceive the progress with your inner approval, your heart’s approval. It is not that some bogus hope has been given and you will be taken into a foreign land to be murdered, tortured, mistreated, etc. There is no question of that.

bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir

anyatra chaisa trika eka-kalah

prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus

tustih pustih ksud-apayo ’nu-ghasam

(Bhagavatam, 11.2.42)

This famous sloka of Srimad Bhagavatam explains that when you eat something, your belly will give witness. It will say, “Yes I am eating.” Hunger will be satisfied, the body will be nourished, and there will be fulfilment of having been fed. The body will be nourished and gain strength, and, along with all this, there will be your own inner approval of having eaten. Furthermore, there will be no longer any feeling of necessity to eat more and more. Similarly, in spiritual life, so many symptoms will come to give proof of your progress.

We have a human body now, and this is the most valuable time for us, but it is being lost due to its misapplication. Our most valuable energy is being lost through misappropriation. Uttisthatah jagratah prapyo varan nibodhatah. So, awake, arise, and engage yourself—do it not only for yourself but also approach others to engage in this campaign, and that, in turn, will give you further help in a particular way. The main thing is that under the guidance of a higher agent we should engage ourselves in devotional activities and have a busy programme so there may not be any spare time to go on with any trifling mundane matters. Such a busy programme in the association of devotees will be very helpful for us.

PART FOUR

Internal self-satisfaction—disregard for the present environment of the troublesome world—is a valuable asset. It is nearing the soul area. Real bhakti (devotion) is ahaituki (causeless), it is its own cause. It is causeless, and it is by itself. As Hegel said, reality is by itself. Reality is not an abstract thing but a system that exists by itself. It is anadi and ahaituki: it is eternal, nothing can produce it. Bhakti is its own cause. These are the definitions that have been given to help us understand what bhakti is. It is not created by any other thing, it is there eternally—it is only covered and should be uncovered, or discovered. It is there in a potential form. By outside help it will gradually and progressively come out: it is as if sleeping, and it is necessary to rouse it. Anyabhilasa, karma, jnana—fleeting desires, organised attempts for exploitation and retirement, or indifference, are covers. We must remove these covers, and then bhakti will emerge in all its pristine glory.

Affinity and attraction towards the higher truth is very rarely found, especially in this modern age where all thoughts are directed towards exploitation or knowledge. Knowledge, being actually subservient to exploitation, creates havoc. Atomic energy and so many other kinds of scientific research are the cause of great apprehension: the world is threatened with destruction at any moment. This scientific knowledge has brought us to such a position that at any moment the whole thing may be finished! Such knowledge is suicidal. The increase of such knowledge in this world means the result is that we are going to commit suicide. Exploitation means reaction. So, if we are to accept general, wholesale exploitation, the result will be pralaya (destruction) and maha-pralaya (wholesale destruction). In any way, whether by an atom bomb or any other natural disaster, pralaya will come, and after that, there will be creation again: birth and death, birth and death… Each individual will be born and will die again. The whole solar system will also be born and will die again and again, without end.

If we are to get out of this entanglement, we must leave this atmosphere experienced by our senses. It is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gita and the Upanisads, “Indriyani parany ahur. Our senses hold the principle position.” If the eye, ear, nose, touch, etc. are gone, the whole world is gone from us. Because we have senses, we have our world. So, in the world of experience, our senses are all-important. Then, “Indriyebhyah param manah. The mind is superior to the senses.” What is the mind? It is the faculty within us which selects, “I want this, I don’t want that.” We have a liking for something and a disregard for something else; this is the principle of the mind within us. It is more important than the senses because if I am unmindful, a person may walk in front of me, but it is possible that I will say, “Oh, I did not notice him. I did not see him, I could not hear him. I was unmindful.” So, mind is in the centre, and it is more important than our senses. The senses are more important than the external world, and the mind is more important than the senses because if the mind does not receive the signal, then the senses, like many doors, are useless. Then, “Manasas tu para buddhir. Intelligence is superior to the mind.” There is another principle to be traced within us, a fine thing called reason, buddhi. What is its characteristic? The mind will say, “Oh, I shall take that,” but buddhi says, “Oh no, no, don’t take that, it will cause damage. You’d rather take this, it will give you benefit.” That faculty of selection, that reason, is a higher principle in us. Then, “Buddher yah paratas tu sah. The soul is superior to the intelligence.” That which is superior even to the intelligence is the soul.

In this way we are to trace out the elements. More important than the external world are our senses; more important than our senses is our mind; above the mind is our reason, which is even more important as it is finer and more reliable; and above our reason, there is another thing, our soul.

What is the nature, or characteristic, of the soul? It is like light. An example is given in the scriptures that on a moonlit night there may be a cloud in the sky which has covered the moon, but that cloud is seen by the light of the moon. The compiler of the Vedas, Vyasadev, says that the atma (soul) is like that illuminating moon or like the sun: a cloud has covered the sun, but the cloud is seen by the light of the sun. Similarly, the atma is a point of light within us, and because it is there in the background, we can feel our mental system. If the light is withdrawn, everything becomes dead. The mental system, the intelligence, the faculty of choice and so many channels through which we gain knowledge from outside, will have no value if that light is withdrawn. That light is the atma, a point of a ray of light, and it is quite categorically different from all other things here. The soul is a particle of light, and there is a land of light made of souls. In this way there is another development: from the subjective to the supersubjective, from the soul (atma) to the Supersoul (Paramatma). Just as in this world we find development in material existence (first is ether, air, heat, water, then earth, then stone, and so on), similarly, in the finer world there is also development (from the intelligence to the soul, then to the Supersoul and the Super-supersoul). In this way, the subjective side goes towards the infinite. It is supersubjective.

Darwin says in his theory of evolution that everything comes from matter. He says that even within the womb, first something material grows and then knowledge evolves from that growth of matter. In general terms, he thinks that consciousness comes out of matter. But the followers of the revealed truth do not believe in that. They say that consciousness is all in all: everything floats in the ocean of consciousness. That is subjective evolution. Darwin talks of objective evolution, but the Vedic scriptures say that everything comes under the category of subjective evolution. As the European philosopher Bishop Berkeley said, “It is not that the mind is in the world, but the world is in the mind.” Everything is floating in the plane of consciousness. Consciousness presupposes everything.

Darwin’s section say that in the beginning there was a fossil. But what is a fossil? A fossil means a particular conception, which is part of consciousness. Therefore, we contend that consciousness is the most original subject. Whatever you may say to be the beginning, consciousness existed before that; otherwise, you cannot give any statement about anything. So, the Vedic truth states that Brahman—the all-pervading impersonal aspect of the Absolute—is the source of souls, and above the soul (atma) is the Supersoul (Paramatma). In the mundane worlds, all development is in the black side, but there is also a bright side: the eternal world that exists with so many joyful activities, with so many waves in an ocean of blissfulness and joy.

We are to understand what should be our duty in this life, what is the special importance of the human life, and how to utilise that. There are many religious opinions, but we, seekers of the truth, shall find a harmonising solution amongst them, and to do that, we are to enter into some comparative study.

It is mentioned in the scriptures that we should not change our position very easily. For example, a commander will say to his army, “Don’t change your position. Rather die keeping it.” But when a chance comes, he will say, “Go forward.” Similarly, the scriptures have said, “Wherever you are born according to your previous karma, wherever you have taken your stand, do no try to leave it; otherwise, there is a possibility that you will go down.” At the same time, when a proper chance comes, they say, “March on towards the Absolute! Make further progress.” So, it is said in Bhagavad-gita, “Don’t easily lose your present position acquired by your previous action—rather die there,” but then, again, Krishna comes to say, “Sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja. When you get a chance to march towards the Centre, you must do it at all costs.” This is the revolutionary method. There is a constitutional method and a revolutionary method. The revolutionary method is to risk anything and everything and march forward, towards the central truth, and because this human life gives the best opportunity to do so, we shall do whatever is necessary for that.

It is only in the human life that you can make practical use of your discrimination and decision. If you lose this position and go to an animal or vegetable life, no one knows when you will again come back to be able to take an independent and voluntary decision. Therefore, this human life is most important. You should not misuse it by spending it only on the practices of animal life (ahara, nidra, bhaya, maithuna—to eat, to sleep, to be under apprehension at every minute, and to have sense pleasure) because you will get this everywhere. If you become an animal or go anywhere else (to become a bird, a worm, an insect, etc.), you will get all these enjoyments, but you will not get a chance to culture your soul, religion, and your proper function anywhere else other than in the human form of life. You can discuss the entire position in the company of saints and, in this way, make progress in your life and save yourself. But if, having received a human birth, you lose this chance (you do not try to help yourself properly, do not try to attain a wholesale relief), then you are committing suicide, or even worse than that.

PART FIVE
Sri Guru and His Grace

The following essay by Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was originally published in 1934 in The Harmonist.

To err is human. To err is inevitable for all, being not perfect. Still, no one wants to remain imperfect. There is an element within all that is animate that tends towards perfection. If it were not so, we would feel no want at all. Our tendency towards perfection is certainly very weak and limited; otherwise we could attain the goal at once. Our limited capacity and tendency for perfection makes room for the guide, or guru.

The imperfect is not so if it is not in need of help, and that also from beyond itself. The perfect is not perfect if He cannot assert Himself or help others, and that too, of His own accord. So, the guidance to perfection, or Absolute Truth, is necessarily a function of the Absolute Himself, and the divine agent through whom this function manifests is Sri Guru, or the divine guide.

For a seeker of the Absolute Truth, submission to the guru is unavoidable. A class of thinkers believes, however, that when scientific research is possible, why cannot higher spiritual knowledge also be evolved from within? Such people are ignorant of the most essential nature of absolute knowledge that He alone is the Absolute Subject and all else, including ourselves, constitutionally stand only as an object to His omniscient vision. It is impossible for the eye to see the mind; it can have some connection with the mind only when the latter cares to mind it. In a similar way, our connection with absolute knowledge depends mainly on His sweet will. We must solely depend on His agent, or the spiritual master, through whom He likes to distribute Himself.

Our human society with its finest culture forms but an infinitesimal part of the dynamic Absolute. How, except by the direct and positive method of revelation, dare we hope to comprehend or evolve any conception of the supernatural knowledge of the unconditioned infinite? All intellectual giants prove themselves but pygmies before the absolute omniscient omnipotence who reserves the right to give Himself away through His own agents alone.

To our best knowledge and sincerity, however, we should see not to submit to a false agent. Here, of course, we can’t help ourselves very much because in our present state we are mainly guided by our previous samskara, or acquired nature. “Birds of the same feather flock together.” Yet, although we are generally overpowered by habit, there is still a possibility of free choice to a certain extent, especially in the human species; otherwise correction becomes impossible, and punishment, mere vengeance. Reality can assert itself. Light does not require darkness for its positive proof. The sun by itself can establish its supremacy over all other lights. Before an open and unbiased eye, the sad-guru (real guide) shines above all professors of phenomenon.

Sri Guru manifests himself mainly in a twofold way—as the director from within and the preceptor from without. Both functions of the Absolute help an individual soul—a disciple—to reach the absolute goal. In our fallen state we cannot catch the proper direction of the inner guide, so the merciful manifestation of the preceptor without is our sole help and hope. At the same time, it is only by the grace of the guru within that we can recognize the real preceptor without and submit to his holy feet.

A bona fide disciple must always remain fully awake to the fact that his highest spiritual fortune is but a gracious grant from the Absolute Lord, and not a matter of right to be demanded or fought out. Constitutionally, we are equipped only to be proper recipients of God’s favour. In this connection, it should be clearly understood that an individual soul can never be substantially the same as the Absolute Person. Not even in his liberated or fully realized condition can an individual soul be one with Godhead. The misconception of oneness has been introduced from the slothful non-discrimination of the Absolute Personality from the luminous orb around His eternal, spiritual, and blissful home. In fact, an individual soul constitutes only a part of a particular power of intermediate value of the Supreme Lord, and as such he is capable of being converted from both sides. He differs from the Absolute Entity both in quantity and quality, and is merely a dependent entity on the Absolute. In other words, the Absolute Lord Krishna is the master, and an individual jiva soul is His constitutional subordinate, or servant.

Such a relationship is constant and really wholesome for the jiva. The apprehension of slavery does not arise because of his free choice and immense positive gain. The freedom and individuality of the jiva are not only unharmed by surrender to the Absolute Good, but they really thrive in Him alone. Individual freedom and interest are part and parcel of those who are of the Absolute, so they are quite at home there, as a fish is at home in water, or an animal, in a healthy atmosphere. But the freedom, as well as all other qualities of the Supreme Personality, are unlimited and transcendental, so only by their partial functions they harmonize all relative entities.

Sri Guru is not exclusively the same as the Supreme Lord Himself, but he fully represents the essence of the whole normal potency and embodies the most comprehensive and excellent service and favour of the Lord. As he is the fittest servitor of the Lord, he is empowered by the Lord to reinstate all misguided souls to their best interest. So, the guru is a divine messenger of immortal hope and joy in this mortal and miserable world. His advent is the most auspicious and happy event to the suffering animation and can be compared to the rising of the morning star that can guide the traveller lost in the desert. A gentle touch of Sri Guru’s merciful hand can wipe off incessant tears from all weeping eyes. A patriot or a philanthropist makes the problem only worse in his frantic and futile attempt to alleviate the deep-rooted pain of a suffering soul, as an ignorant doctor does in eagerly handling an unfortunate patient. O the day when this poor soul realizes the causeless grace of Sri Gurudev!￼

About the Author

Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj is a veteran ascetic preceptor of the original traditional saintly succession ordained by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he is the founder Acharya of the holy temple of pure devotion in Nabadwip, West Bengal, India, known as the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. Established by Srila Sridhar Maharaj in 1941, this sacred place of worship has become a gem of pilgrimage for devotees the world over who are true aspirants for gaining entry into the divine land of surrender unto the Absolute Good. His spiritual representation is hailed throughout the annals of spiritual India, not only for his encyclopaedic command of the revealed Scriptures but also for his undisputed acumen as a bona fide commentator of the archives of the scriptural treasures revealed by the venerable saintly preceptors of the East. He is an unprecedented oracle who draws out the inner meaning and substance of the scriptures in an ever-progressive, expanding, dynamic, and living conception.

In 1985, three years prior to his departure from this mortal world, Srila Sridhar Maharaj fulfilled his heart’s desire that he had cherished for over forty years: he conferred the holy order of sannyas upon his most beloved, confidential, and most senior associate-servitor, Srimad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Srila Sridhar Maharaj, renowned for his keen intellect and spiritual foresight, could envisage the grave necessities of his mission in the future. He, therefore, named Srimad B.S. Govinda Maharaj as his successor Acharya-President for his own Math, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and its affiliated branches.

* * *

“Our real home is full of freedom and comfort. It is a place where there are natural transactions of faith, love, and affection. Misusing our free will, we have somehow gone astray. But now we are being called, ‘Come home, back to God and back to home, the highest position, the land of love.’”

The Logo of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

By His Divine Grace
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj￼

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, where sankirtan is always going on, is inside Krishna’s flute, and the sound om, which is the very gist meaning of gayatri, comes from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, radiating merciful rays. Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj explains that everything is found within om—coming from Krishna’s flute, its meaning is “Gayatri muralista-kirtana-dhanam Radha-padam dhimahi. Krishna’s flute does not make any other sound except for the glorification of Srimati Radharani.” That is the real meaning and gist of the gayatri mantram.

The position of the guru is like water; the servitors of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math are like lotuses; and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, worshipped in His divine form of Radha-Krishna (om), is the sun. The sun’s merciful rays nourish the lotus, but if there is no water—if one cannot take shelter of Sri Guru and His grace—then the lotus becomes burnt by the rays of the sun.

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s Mission

srimach-chaitanya-sarasvata-mathavara-udgita-kirtir jaya-srim

bibhrat sambhati ganga-tata-nikata-nabadwipa-koladri-raje

yatra sri-gaura-sarasvata-mata-nirata-gaura-gatha grnanti

nityam rupanuga sri-krtamati-guru-gauranga-radha-jitasa

‘At this supremely enchanting divine ashram, destitute and spiritually loving devotees of Sri Gaura-Saraswati, who are expert at favourable practices of Krishna consciousness, constantly chant within their hopeful hearts the glories of Lord Sri Sri Gaurasundar, the greatly magnanimous source of all incarnations of the Lord, following in strict adherence the line of Sri Sri Rupa-Raghunath, the inexhaustible storehouse of the wealth of divine ecstatic consorthood love, and being eternally eager to engage in the loving service of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Gandharva Govindasundar and Their associates. This effulgent and supremely worshippable King among all temples, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, is situated within Koladwip, which is non-different from Sri Govardhan, the King of Mountains, on the enchanting bank of the revered Bhagirathi River, who rescues all fallen souls, in Sri Nabadwip Dham, a holy abode of touchstones, non-different from Sri Vrindavan. Capturing Jayasri (the Goddess of Victory – Srimati Radharani), it exists eternally, leaving the entire creation of moving and non-moving entities astonished in the extremely cooling and loving shade of the soaring victory flag of its ever-increasing celebrated renown.’

(The translation of the verse is rendered from the original Bengali translation written by Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.)

Headquarters
of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Road,

Kolerganj, W.Bengal, 741302

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

Bhanjipur, Tarakeshwar,

Hooghly, West Bengal, 712410

Phone: +91 96093 02310

Please see scsmathinternational.com for other addresses in India and worldwide.

Books and Publications of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math

(English language)

(Available at scsmathinternational.com)

By Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Search for Sri Krishna Reality the Beautiful

Sri Guru and His Grace

The Golden Volcano of Divine Love

Subjective Evolution of Consciousness

Loving Search for the Lost Servant

Centenary Anthology

Divine Aspiration

Exclusive Guardianship

Golden Staircase

Heart and Halo

Holy Engagement

Home Comfort

Inner Fulfillment

Ocean of Nectar

Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamaritam

Sri Sri Prema-dhama-devam Stotram

Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion – Volumes I, II, III, IV

By Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:

Divine Servitor

Dignity of the Divine Servitor

Divine Guidance

Golden Reflections

The Benedictine Tree of Divine Aspiration

Affectionate Guidance

Life’s Destination

In Search of the Original Source

Nectarean Glories of Sri Nityananda Prabhu

Religion of the Heart

Revealed Truth

By Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj:

Guidance – Volumes I, II, III, IV

Guidance (Issues 1–30): collections of lectures (electronic)

Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala

By Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur:

Saranagati

Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya

Dasa-mula Tattva

The Bhagavata

Other scriptures:

Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali (Kirtan Guide)

Holy Name and Offences to Be Avoided

Service Life

Srimad Bhagavad-gita

Sri Sri Prema-vivarta

Sri Brahma-samhita

(Many more publications in various languages are available at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in India and abroad. Please contact any of the Mission’s temples for further information.)