Anarthas & Offences

These are the proceedings at the Muts in Orrissa. Licentiousness, inhospitality, and petty robbery are the daily vices that have crept into them. Instead of feeding the sick and the helpless, the myrmidons of these places are supporting myriads of big bellied creatures, whose profession is so graphically pictured in the pages of the Calcutta Review.

The preachers of Mahāprabhu laboured, bound by the cord of prema. They did not hope for any salary or reward. Without preachers of pure character, the propagation of pure dharma is not possible. It is for this very reason that in other religions today, persons who are paid wages carry on preaching, and yet sufficient results are not produced.

To feel the happiness from the poems or compositions of modern poets is like believing that one is tasting milk by drinking buttermilk, only because there is an absence of milk.

What are we proud of? We are repeatedly being trapped in great illusions. At every moment we are degrading; at every step there is a dreadful calamity. Still, we remain proud. That personality who came to this world to preach nāma, and who could not satisfy Himself even by chanting hari-nāma constantly, declared: “My misfortune is such that I do not have any attachment for nāma.” We, by contrast, think that simply by chanting one nāma once, we have developed extreme attachment for it. This is reason for great repentance, so why is it that we still maintain such evil-mindedness?

There are many people nowadays who have no fear of committing offences. Upon seeing a devotee, tears come to their eyes and their hairs stand on end, and while discussing ‘kathā’ (talks about the Lord), they suddenly go into a particular state of ecstasy. They may even agree to spiritual beliefs while attending spiritual meetings. However, once again, they become overwhelmed with mundane sense-objects and exhibit insane behaviour in trying to attain those things. O readers! What is the determination of all these types of people? Our opinion is this – simply for the sake of gaining some pratiṣṭhā (recognition and fame), they display symptoms of devotional bhāva in front of the devotees.

Those who have written about psychology and the intricacies of love without knowing love’s true nature have simply wasted their time, despite all their reasoning, as if mixing ghee into ashes. Out of pride, such persons have simply endeavoured for fame. Rather than benefit the world, they have brought it great misfortune. Brothers! Stop listening to those people’s grandiloquent talk and develop pure attachment for the soul, thus making your soul’s nature shine by experiencing that love which is free from designations.

Pratiṣṭhā means respect for oneself, and the desire for that is called ‘āśā.’ All other anarthas may be driven far away, but the desire for pratiṣṭhā does not go away so easily. All kinds of hypocrisy are born out of that desire. Although pratiṣṭhāśā is at the root of all anarthas, it refuses to admit its own fault, thus it is shameless. It is referred to as śvapaca-ramaṇī (an outcaste woman who eats dogs) because such a desire is like devouring the dog-flesh of prestige.

In connection with bhajana, useless rhetoric born from deceit and hypocrisy, fraudulent philosophical conclusions, and anarthas have all been compared to a donkey. Many bathe in the urine of this donkey believing it to be purifying. In reality however, it scorches the ātmā.

Whoever feels pleasure at the distress of others can never display mercy to the jīvas. The sweet mood of love for the Lord cannot arise within him. He has innate hatred or enmity towards the Vaiṣṇava. Only those who are without envy can fully accept the purport of the tṛṇād api verse.

In newspapers there is so much useless talk. For the practicing devotee to read newspapers is a great loss. But if there are topics about pure devotees described in the newspaper, then that can be read.

Speech in the form of blaspheming sādhus is the source of great inauspiciousness. If one wants to attain devotion to Lord Hari, then he should make a vow like this: “In this life I will never blaspheme sādhus.” Devotees are sādhus. By blaspheming them, all one’s virtues are destroyed. By blaspheming the supremely pure Lord Mahādeva, Prajāpati Dakṣa, the best of ascetics, met with severe inauspiciousness.

I no longer care about my wife, daughters, sons, mother and friends if they have no attachment to Hari, His devotees and the process of bhakti. It is indeed a great fault to accept food from non-devotees and materialists. How will I perfect my hari-bhajana by associating with such people?

Considering a charlatan to be a Vaiṣṇava is also inherently antagonistic. If someone is considered a Vaiṣṇava merely because they wear a tulasī-mālā and apply gopī-candana, then it is an insult to genuine Vaiṣṇavas. The unparalleled results of sādhu-saṅga will never be attained. Even if one is adorned with hundreds of tulasī-mālās and is marked with the Holy Name all over his body, if he is devoid of hari-bhakti, then he is not worthy of the title ‘Vaiṣṇava.’ Rather, the Vaiṣṇavas will cautiously remain aloof from such a person.

A display of bhakti in order to gain wealth, disciples etc, is the antithesis of pure bhakti and is far removed from it.

It is very unjust and opposed to bhakti to collect money by selling hari-nāma, considering it to be a livelihood. By doing this, both the giver of the Name and the listener will never have the possibility of obtaining the result of prema, and only pāpa will be accumulated. Hari-nāma cannot be bought with money, the only price is śraddhā. Thus, it is advised that everyone should hear and chant with śraddhā.

An artificial servant of Kṛṣna is situated far away from a pure Vaiṣṇava. Instead of the cultivation of prema-bhakti, he is merely extinguishing the temporary miseries arising from the cultivation of kāma (lust).

Even after accepting dīkṣā, many people who are materially attached to the physical body, maintain the mentality of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and fall from the path of bhakti. “I am a brāhmaṇa, I am a Vaiṣṇava, I am a king, this is my body, my house, my children, my grandchildren, my wealth, my followers” – such an arrogant, false conception does not lead to a desire to cultivate nāma-bhajana. This is a heinous offence. One who is surrendered to the Name will never commit such an offense.

Should we not perceive every day whether or not our detachment and knowledge of sambandha are increasing, to the extent that our bhakti through hearing, chanting etc. is also increasing? If not, then we should know that there is some deceit in our devotional endeavours. We must strive diligently to drive away such deceit. This is called the path of gradual advancement.

Without being able to discern the distinction between matter and spirit, those who engage in sādhana of śrī-kṛṣṇa-tattva, become debauched in character and attain a thoroughly abominable fate.

Human life is extremely short, thus it is not easy to give up all unnatural tendencies within one lifetime. Hence, it is the duty of the sādhaka who is practicing pratyāhāra (withdraw of the senses) to first examine and determine the wicked tendencies that are prominent within himself. Among those tendencies, if one carefully addresses the most dominant tendency, it can be subdued within two to three years. Once that tendency is dealt with, it is one’s duty to focus on another tendency.

It is advisable for everyone to keep a record of their pāpa (sins). Although many may not be subject to all kinds of wicked tendencies, keeping a detailed account of all of one’s pāpa is beneficial for the practice of detachment. Once a particular type of pāpa is subdued, it should be removed from the list, and efforts should be directed toward removing the remaining ones. It is definitely possible to subdue ten types of pāpa in one’s lifetime. This, too, can only be achieved with special endeavour – otherwise, there is no possibility of correction. Because they do not make a specific endeavour, many persons cannot give up pāpa even though they recognise it. But as one gradually gains control and subdues such inclinations, some practice of parānuśīlana (cultivation of devotion) is also required. Otherwise, it will become dry renunciation – can there be any doubt about this?”

Without bhāva, sādhanā is merely beast-like labour, because through that, cultivation of devotion does not occur.