Advent of Krishna

The Advent of Krishna

continued...

[I'm a bit pressed for time, so here's Prabhupada's own version of the birth of Krishna...

excerpted from Krishna Book]

 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 

with thanks to BBT ISKCON

Kamsa began to think: "What is to be done with Devaki? Surely she has Visnu or Krsna within her womb, so it is certain that Krsna has come to execute the mission of the demigods. And even if I immediately kill Devaki, His mission cannot be frustrated."

Kamsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Visnu. Kamsa thought: "If I kill Devaki at the present moment, Visnu will enforce His supreme will. To kill Devaki just now would be a most abominable act.

No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devaki now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devaki is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately all my reputation, the result of pious activities and duration of life, will be finished." Kamsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devaki at that time. and finally decided not to kill Devaki right away but to wait and see.

But his mind became absorbed in animosity against the Personality of Godhead. He patiently waited for the deliverance of the child, expecting to kill Him, as he had done with the other babies of Devaki.

At this time Brahma and Siva, accompanied by sages like Narada and the demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Kamsa. They began to pray for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Devaki was very much afraid of her brother Kamsa because he had already killed so many of her children. She used to remain very anxious about Krsna. In the Visnu Purana it is stated that in order to pacify Devaki, all the demigods, along with their wives, used to always visit her to encourage her not to be afraid that her son would be killed by Kamsa. Krsna, who was within her womb, was to appear not only to diminish the burden of the world but specifically to protect the interest of the Yadu dynasty, and certainly to protect Devaki and Vasudeva.

At that time, in all directions, east, west, south, north, everywhere, there was an atmosphere of peace and prosperity. There were auspicious stars visible in the sky, and on the surface in all towns and villages or pasturing grounds and within the minds of everyone there were signs of good fortune. The rivers were flowing full of waters, and lakes were beautifully decorated with lotus flowers. The forests were full with beautiful birds and peacocks.

All the birds within the forests began to sing with sweet voices, and the peacocks began to dance along with their consorts. The wind blew very pleasantly, carrying the aroma of different flowers, and the sensation of bodily touch was very pleasing. At home, the brahmanas, who were accustomed to offer sacrifices in the fire, found their homes very pleasant for offerings.

Due to disturbances created by the demoniac kings, the sacrificial fire alter had been almost stopped in the houses of brahmanas, but now they could find the opportunity to start the fire peacefully. Being forbidden to offer sacrifices, the brahmanas were very distressed in mind, intelligence and activities, but just on the point of Krsna's appearance, automatically their minds became full of joy because they could hear loud vibrations in the sky of transcendental sounds proclaiming the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Gandharvasbegan to sing. In the heavenly planets, the angels sang and the Apsaras danced.

Gods and sages showered flowers from the sky. At the seashore, there was the sound of mild waves, and above the sea there were clouds in the sky which began to thunder very pleasingly.

And so it was that  Lord Visnu, who lives in the hearts of all living beings appeared in the darkness of night as the living God Himself before Devaki. His birth was like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon.

Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc, and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Srivatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone, dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidurya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body and an abundance of hair on His head.

Advent of Krishna

 Vasudeva was astonished. How could a newly born child be so decorated? He could therefore understand that Lord Krsna had now appeared, and he became overpowered by the occasion. Vasudeva very humbly wondered that although he was an ordinary living entity conditioned by material nature and was externally imprisoned by Kamsa, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, Visnu or Krsna, was appearing as a child in his home, exactly in His original position. No earthly child is born with four hands decorated with ornaments and nice clothing, fully equipped with all the signs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Over and over again, Vasudeva glanced at his child, and he considered how to celebrate this auspicious moment: "Generally, when a male child is born," he thought, "people observe the occasion with jubilant celebrations, and in my home, although I am imprisoned, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has taken birth. How many millions of millions of times should I be prepared to observe this auspicious ceremony!"

Advent of Krishna

When Vasudeva, who is also called Anakadundubhi, was looking at his newborn baby, he was so happy that he wanted to give many thousands of cows in charity to the brahmanas. According to the Vedic system, whenever there is an auspicious ceremony in the ksatriya king's palace, the king gives many things in charity. Cows decorated with golden ornaments are delivered to the brahmanas and sages. Vasudeva wanted to perform a charitable ceremony to celebrate Krsna's appearance, but because he was shackled within the walls of Kamsa's prison, this was not possible. Instead, within his mind he gave thousands of cows to the brahmanas.

Vasudeva offers prayers

When Vasudeva was convinced that the newborn child was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, he bowed down with folded hands and began to offer Him prayers. At that time Vasudeva was in the transcendental position, and he became completely free from all fear of Kamsa. The newborn baby was also flashing His effulgence within the room in which He appeared.

Vasudeva then began to offer his prayers. "My dear Lord, I can understand who You are. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities and the Absolute Truth. You have appeared in Your own eternal form which is directly perceived by us. I understand that because I am afraid of Kamsa, You have appeared just to deliver me from that fear. You do not belong to this material world; You are the same person who brings about the cosmic manifestation simply by glancing over material nature."

Mahavishnu

One may argue that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who creates the whole cosmic manifestation simply by His glance, cannot come within the womb of Devaki, the wife of Vasudeva. To eradicate this argument, Vasudeva said, "My dear Lord, it is not a very wonderful thing that You appear within the womb of Devaki because the creation was also made in that way. You were lying in the Causal Ocean as Maha-Visnu, and by Your breathing process, innumerable universes came into existence. Then You entered into each of the universes as Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Then again You expanded Yourself as Ksirodakasayi Visnu and entered into the hearts of all living entities and entered even within the atoms. Therefore Your entrance in the womb of Devaki is understandable in the same way. You appear to have entered, but You are simultaneously all-pervading. We can understand Your entrance and nonentrance from material examples. The total material energy remains intact even after being divided into sixteen elements. The material body is nothing but the combination of the five gross elements--namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. Whenever there is a material body, it appears that such elements are newly created, but actually the elements are always existing outside of the body. Similarly, although You appear as a child in the womb of Devaki, You are also existing outside. You are always in Your abode, but still You can simultaneously expand Yourself into millions of forms.

"One has to understand Your appearance with great intelligence because the material energy is also emanating from You. You are the original source of the material energy, just as the sun is the source of the sunshine. The sunshine cannot cover the sun globe, nor can the material energy--being an emanation from You--cover You. You appear to be in the three modes of material energy, but actually the three modes of material energy cannot cover You. This is understood by the highly intellectual philosophers. In other words, although You appear to be within the material energy, You are never covered by it."

We hear from the Vedic version that the Supreme Brahman exhibits His effulgence, and therefore everything becomes illuminated. We can understand from Brahma-samhita that the brahmajyoti, or the Brahman effulgence, emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. And from the Brahman effulgence, all creation takes place. It is further stated in the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord is also the support of the Brahman effulgence. Originally He is the root cause of everything. But persons who are less intelligent think that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes within this material world, He accepts the material qualities. Such conclusions are not very mature, but are made by the less intelligent.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is directly and indirectly existing everywhere; He is outside this material creation, and He is also within it. He is within this material creation not only as Garbhodakasayi Visnu; He is also within the atom. Existence is due to His presence. Nothing can be separated from His existence. In the Vedic injunction we find that the Supreme Soul or the root cause of everything has to be searched out because nothing exists independent of the Supreme Soul. Therefore the material manifestation is also a transformation of His potency. Both inert matter and the living force--soul--are emanations from Him. Only the foolish conclude that when the Supreme Lord appears He accepts the conditions of matter. Even if He appears to have accepted the material body, He is still not subjected to any material condition. Krsna has therefore appeared and defeated all imperfect conclusions about the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"My Lord, Your appearance, existence and disappearance are beyond the influence of the material qualities. Because Your Lordship is the controller of everything and the resting place of the Supreme Brahman, there is nothing inconceivable or contradictory in You. As You have said, material nature works under Your superintendence. It is just like government officers working under the orders of the chief executive. The influence of subordinate activities cannot affect You. The Supreme Brahman and all phenomena are existing within You, and all the activities of material nature are controlled by Your Lordship.

"You are called suklam. Suklam, or 'whiteness' is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahma is called rakta, or red, because Brahma represents the qualities of passion for creation. Darkness is entrusted to Lord Siva because he annihilates the cosmos. The creation, annihilation and maintenance of this cosmic manifestation is conducted by Your potencies, yet You are always unaffected by those qualities. As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirgunah saksat: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities. It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord.

"My Lord, You are the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead, the supreme great, maintaining the order of this cosmic manifestation. And in spite of Your being the supreme controller, You have so kindly appeared in my home. The purpose of Your appearance is to kill the followers of the demoniac rulers of the world who are in the dress of royal princes but are actually demons. I am sure that You will kill all of them and their followers and soldiers.

"I understand that You have appeared to kill the uncivilized Kamsa and his followers. But knowing that You were to appear to kill him and his followers, he has already killed so many of Your predecessors, elder brothers. Now he is simply awaiting the news of Your birth. As soon as he hears about it, he will immediately appear with all kinds of weapons to kill You."

After this prayer of Vasudeva, Devaki, the mother of Krsna, offered her prayers. She was very frightened because of her brother's atrocities. Devaki said, "My dear Lord, Your eternal forms, like Narayana, Lord Rama, Sesa, Varaha, Nrsimha, Vamana, Baladeva, and millions of similar incarnations emanating from Visnu, are described in the Vedic literature as original. You are original because all Your forms as incarnations are outside of this material creation. Your form was existing before this cosmic manifestation was created. Your forms are eternal and all-pervading. They are self-effulgent, changeless and uncontaminated by the material qualities. Such eternal forms are ever-cognizant and full of bliss; they are situated in transcendental goodness and are always engaged in different pastimes. You are not limited to a particular form only; all such transcendental eternal forms are self-sufficient. I can understand that You are the Supreme Lord Visnu.

"After many millions of years, when Lord Brahma comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements--namely earth, water, fire, air and ether--enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva again enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy; the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhana, and the pradhana enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, quality and paraphernalia.

"My Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because You are the director of the unmanifested total energy, and the ultimate reservoir of the material nature. My Lord, the whole cosmic manifestation is under the influence of time, beginning from the moment up to the duration of the year. All act under Your direction. You are the original director of everything and the reservoir of all potent energies.

"Therefore my Lord, I request You to save me from the cruel hands of the son of Ugrasena, Kamsa. I am praying to Your Lordship to please rescue me from this fearful condition because You are always ready to give protection to Your servitors." The Lord has confirmed this statement in the Bhagavad-gita by assuring Arjuna, "You may declare to the world, My devotee shall never be vanquished."

While thus praying to the Lord for rescue, mother Devaki expressed her motherly affection: "I understand that this transcendental form is generally perceived in meditation by the great sages, but I am still afraid because as soon as Kamsa understands that You have appeared, he might harm You. So I request that for the time being You become invisible to our material eyes." In other words, she requested the Lord to assume the form of an ordinary child. "My only cause of fear from my brother Kamsa is due to Your appearance. My Lord Madhusudana, Kamsa may know that You are already born. Therefore I request You to conceal this four-armed form of Your Lordship which holds the four symbols of Visnu--namely the conchshell, the disc, the club and the lotus flower. My dear Lord, at the end of the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, You put the whole universe within Your abdomen; still by Your unalloyed mercy You have appeared in my womb. I am surprised that You imitate the activities of ordinary human beings just to please Your devotee."

On hearing the prayers of Devaki, the Lord replied, "My dear mother, in the millennium of Svayambhuva Manu, My father Vasudeva was living as one of the Prajapatis, and his name at that time was Sutapa, and you were his wife named Prsni. At that time, when Lord Brahma was desiring to increase the population, he requested you to generate offspring. You controlled your senses and performed severe austerities. By practicing the breathing exercise of the yoga system, both you and your husband could tolerate all the influences of the material laws: the rainy season, the onslaught of the wind, and the scorching heat of the sunshine. You also executed all religious principles. In this way you were able to cleanse your heart and control the influence of material law. In executing your austerity, you used to eat only the leaves of the trees which fell to the ground. Then with steady mind and controlled sex drive, you worshiped Me, desiring some wonderful benediction from Me. Both of you practiced severe austerities for twelve thousand years, by the calculation of the demigods. During that time, your mind was always absorbed in Me. When you were executing devotional service and always thinking of Me within your heart, I was very much pleased with you. O sinless mother, your heart is therefore always pure. At that time also I appeared before you in this form just to fulfill your desire, and I asked you to ask whatever you desired. At that time you wished to have Me born as your son. Although you saw Me personally, instead of asking for your complete liberation from the material bondage, under the influence of My energy, you asked Me to become your son."

In other words, the Lord selected His mother and father--namely Prsni and Sutapa--specifically to appear in the material world. Whenever the Lord comes as a human being, He must have someone as a mother and father, so He selected Prsni and Sutapa perpetually as His mother and father. And on account of this, both Prsni and Sutapa could not ask the Lord for liberation. Liberation is not so important as the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The Lord could have awarded Prsni and Sutapa immediate liberation, but He preferred to keep them within this material world for His different appearances, as will be explained in the following verses. On receiving the benediction from the Lord to become His father and mother, both Prsni and Sutapa returned from the activities of austerity and lived as husband and wife in order to beget a child who was the Supreme Lord Himself.

In due course of time Prsni became pregnant and gave birth to the child. The Lord spoke to Devaki and Vasudeva: "At that time My name was Prsnigarbha. In the next millennium also you took birth as Aditi and Kasyapa, and I became your child of the name Upendra. At that time My form was just like a dwarf, and for this reason I was known as Vamanadeva. I gave you the benediction that I would take birth as your son three times. The first time I was known as Prsnigarbha, born of Prsni and Sutapa, the next birth I was Upendra born of Aditi and Kasyapa, and now for the third time I am born as Krsna from you, Devaki and Vasudeva. I appeared in this Visnu form just to convince you that I am the same Supreme Personality of Godhead again taken birth. I could have appeared just like an ordinary child, but in that way you would not believe that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, have taken birth in your womb. My dear father and mother, you have therefore raised Me many times as your child, with great affection and love, and I am therefore very pleased and obliged to you. And I assure you that this time you shall go back to home, back to Godhead, on account of your perfection in your mission. I know you are very concerned about Me and afraid of Kamsa. Therefore I order you to take Me immediately to Gokula and replace Me with the daughter who has just been born to Yasoda."

Having spoken thus in the presence of His father and mother, the Lord turned Himself into an ordinary child and remained silent.

Being ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva attempted to take his son from the delivery room, and exactly at that time, a daughter was born of Nanda and Yasoda. She was Yogamaya, the internal potency of the Lord. 

"the doorkeepers were overwhelmed with sleep"

By the influence of this internal potency, Yogamaya, all the residents of Kamsa's palace, especially the doorkeepers, were overwhelmed with deep sleep, and all the palace doors opened, although they were barred and shackled with iron chains. The night was very dark, but as soon as Vasudeva took Krsna on his lap and went out, he could see everything just as in the sunlight.

In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that Krsna is just like sunlight, and wherever there is Krsna, the illusory energy, which is compared to darkness, cannot remain. 

"Godhead is light, nescience is darkness, where there is Godhead there is no nescience."

When Vasudeva was carrying Krsna, the darkness of the night disappeared. All the prison doors automatically opened. At the same time there was a thunder in the sky and severe rainfall. While Vasudeva was carrying his son Krsna in the falling rain, Lord Sesa in the shape of a serpent spread His hood over the head of Vasudeva so that he would not be hampered by the rainfall. Vasudeva came onto the bank of the Yamuna and saw that the water of the Yamuna was roaring with waves and that the whole span was full of foam. 

Vasudeva crosses the Yamuna

Still, in that furious feature, the river gave passage to Vasudeva to cross, just as the great Indian Ocean gave a path to Lord Rama when He was bridging over the gulf. In this way Vasudeva crossed the river Yamuna. On the other side, he went to the place of Nanda Maharaja situated in Gokula, where he saw that all the cowherd men were fast asleep. 

Nanda Maharaja

He took the opportunity of silently entering into the house of Yasoda, and without difficulty he replaced his son, taking away the baby girl newly born in the house of Yasoda. Then, after entering the house very silently and exchanging the boy with the girl, he again returned to the prison of Kamsa and silently put the girl on the lap of Devaki. He again clamped the shackles on himself so that Kamsa could not recognize that so many things had happened.

Mother Yashoda

Mother Yasoda understood that a child was born of her, but because she was very tired from the labor of childbirth, she was fast asleep. When she awoke, she could not remember whether she had given birth to a male or a female child.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Third Chapter of Krsna, "Birth of Lord Krsna."

Nam and Mantra Initiation

Here's another excerpt from the book

"Sri Guru and His Grace," 

by
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Shridhara deva 
Goswami Maharaja

 

 compiled, edited and published by 

His Holiness Bhakti Sudhir Goswami 

and B. V.  Mahayogi, Editor-in-Chief 

Nām-guru 

and Mantra-guru

Student: I have heard that one has an eternal connection with the Spiritual Master who first initiates one into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra (Hari-nām-guru). Does he have a similar connection with the Mantra-guru?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Yes. We may see it as similar, with a slight difference.

Student: Some devotees who took Hari-nām initiation from Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupād later took their gāyatrī mantra initiation from one of his disciples. Can you explain the distinction between the two initiations and how a disciple should view his relationship with two different Spiritual Masters?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: The first importance should be given to the Nām-guru, or the Guru who initiates one into the chanting of the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa, and second to the Guru who gives initiation into the gāyatrī mantra. The Dīkṣā-guru, initiating Spiritual Master, must be shown respect, and then all the other disciples of Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupād. First, honour must be shown to Prabhupād, who is the Nām-guru, the Guru of the Guru, the second honour will go to the Dīkṣā-guru, and then to the rest, accommodating all. They should all be recognised according to their status.

Mantra: circle within a circle

Jīva Goswāmī has written that the Name of Kṛṣṇa is the principal thing in the gāyatrī mantra. Within the mantra, there are also so many other words, but the Name is the most important. If the Name of Kṛṣṇa is taken away and replaced with some other name, the whole thing will be rotten. This is the decision of Jīva Goswāmī. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is all-in-all. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is there in the gāyatrī mantra, and so many other words are couched there. But if Kṛṣṇa’s Name is taken away and replaced with the name of Śiva, then the whole thing will go to Śiva. The Holy Name is the all-important factor.

The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is so important that even the gāyatrī mantra may not be necessary. It is said:

no dīkṣāṁ na cha sat-kriyāṁ na cha puraścharyāṁ manāg īkṣate
mantro ’yaṁ rasanā-spṛg eva phalati śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmātmakaḥ

(Padyāvalī: 29)

“One need not undergo all the purificatory processes, or follow the six ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas for pious life; one need not even take initiation into the gāyatrī mantra. If one simply chants the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa without offence, everything will be successful.” The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is the most important consideration. The gāyatrī mantra may not even be necessary.

We accept the mantra only to help the Nām-bhajan, the worship of the Holy Name. Otherwise, it may not be necessary at all. It has been judged in such a way. The Name alone can do everything for a person. It is full and complete. The mantra helps us to do away with the aparādhs, offences, and the ābhās, or hazy conceptions in our bhajan. The mantra comes to help us only so far.

An example is given of larger and smaller circles. The Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa is the larger circle. It extends from the highest to the lowest. The mantra circle is a smaller circle within the larger circle. The mantra cannot reach to the lowest point. The Holy Name can extend itself down to the lowest position. The mantra gives us entrance into liberation, and then the Name carries us further. This is the nature of our connection with the mantra and the Name.

The Name extends to the lowest position, to the chaṇḍālas and yavanas. Everyone can receive the Name. But everyone is not eligible for the gāyatrī mantra. Only after one has reached a developed stage can the mantra be conferred upon him. And the mantra’s jurisdiction will be finished when liberation is attained. In the Chaitanya-charitāmṛta (1.7.73):

kṛṣṇa-mantra haite habe saṁsāra mochana
kṛṣṇa-nāma haite pābe kṛṣṇera charaṇa

“The Kṛṣṇa gāyātri mantra liberates one from repeated birth and death in this world; the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa gives one shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.” The gāyatrī mantra helps us achieve liberation, and then the mantra retires. After giving us liberation, the mantra is finished. But the Name will continue all along, from the lowest to the highest. In chanting the Name, there is no mention of any petition—it is an address only. We should not chant with the mentality that, “I want this.” We must simply chant the Name spontaneously. That will encourage good will in us. So, because the function of the mantra is limited, but the Name is all-important, the Nām-guru will be honoured first, and next, the Mantra-guru, and then the other Vaiṣṇavas.

Godbrother Gurus

Student: How should a devotee who has taken second initiation from a godbrother regard his godbrother—as godbrother or Guru?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: It is inconceivably, simultaneously, one and different. Generally that godbrother will be seen as Guru, according to the disciple’s present stage, but if the disciple transcends and goes to his previous history, then he will see him more as a godbrother. But generally, in his present stage, he will see him as Guru, and in the background, godbrother.

Student: You said the Hari-nām continues after the liberated condition. So, does the Gāyatrī-mantra-guru continue any activity with the devotee beyond the point of liberation?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: When he returns to the spiritual world, even the chanting of the Holy Name will be in the background, and the function of performing other services will come in the foreground. When one enters the Lord’s domain, he will be given some function there in the service of Kṛṣṇa, and that will be very conspicuous and prominent. At that time, the Name will be in the background. When one goes to a particular group in a particular rasa, like sakhya-rasa, then he will be given a specific duty under a group leader like Subal, or Baladev. His service will have the first importance, and the Name will be in the background, helping, energising. And there all will be seen as Guru but still, there is a hierarchy. It is a family life. The Guru’s Guru is there, but the disciple will work under his own boss who has his boss. He will receive direction from his immediate superior. In this way the hierarchy is there, and the disciple will gradually be transformed by that sort of function. Everyone is under some servitor, and their immediate duty will be to attend that servitor and his orders.

Student: Many devotees cannot understand how it is that someone can have two Gurus.

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: That is because they are situated in a formal position, but when they enter into the substantial spiritual realisation, they will not have such a grievance because they will see what is Guru. Guru means one who has come to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The formal difference will be reduced when one can catch the very substance of the teachings for which the Guru is respected. When one is intimately connected with the thread of divine love which the Guru comes to impart to us, he will accept it, wherever it comes from. He will see it as a friendly relation, not antagonistic, but cooperative.

Although separate in figure, at heart both of the Gurus are the same because they have a common cause. They have not come to fight with one another; they have come to fight only with the agents of Satan. If we can recognise the real thing for which we are approaching the Guru, then we will understand how to make the adjustment in our relationship with the Śikṣā-guru, Dīkṣā-guru, and Vartma-pradarśak-guru.

We are infinitely indebted to all our Gurus. We are helpless. What can we do? They are benevolent, they are infinitely gracious, they are my guardians. I may have many guardians; they are to look after my welfare, they have not come to destroy me.

Student: Kṛṣṇa descends with His associates, friends, and paraphernalia. Is this true of the Guru also?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Yes, but his associates were mostly recruited; very few may be his eternal company.

Self-effulgent and self-evident

Student: How will we recognise the Guru if he appears before us in another form or in a different body?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya argued that Śrī Chaitanyadev could not have been an incarnation. Gopīnāth Āchārya told him, “You do not know the śāstra.”

“No, no”, Sārvabhauma said. “In the scriptures it is mentioned that the Lord does not appear in Kali-yuga, but only in three ages and is therefore known as Tri-yuga.”

Gopīnāth Āchārya replied, “You think that you know so much about śāstra, but in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and Mahābhārata, there is direct mention of the Avatār of Kali-yuga. Have you no knowledge, no recognition of that?”

Sārvabhauma, apparently defeated, said, “You go and take prasādam, and afterwards come and teach me.”

Then Gopīnāth said, “Not by the dint of one’s study or intelligence can one understand God, but only through His grace.”

athāpi te deva padāmbhuja-dvaya
prasāda leśānugṛhīta eva hi

(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.29)

Then Sārvabhauma said, “You say that you have that grace, and I do not? What is your reasoning behind this? You say that you have the grace of the Lord, because you say that He is an incarnation. And because I can’t give recognition to that, I have no grace? What is the proof of this?”

Gopīnāth Āchārya replied:

āchārya kahe,—“vastu-viṣaye haya vastu-jñāna
vastu-tattva-jñāna haya kṛpāte pramāṇa”

(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 6.89)

“It is evident that I have the grace of the Lord, because I know Him, and that you have not, because you deny Him.”

The answer to your question is given here. Our own inner experience, our internal satisfaction, our connection or acquaintance with reality is the real evidence; nothing external can give any real proof.

Our Guru Mahārāj gave the example that if one is born in the darkness of a dungeon, and someone proposes, “Let us go to see the sun”, then the prisoner will carry a lantern in his hand saying, “Oh, you will show me the sun?”

“Yes. Come with me. Leave your lantern behind. No light is necessary to see the sun.”

“Are you trying to fool me? Nothing can be seen without the help of a light.”

His friend will catch him and forcibly take the prisoner into the sunlight. “Do you see the sun?” And the prisoner will say, “Oh, this is the sun! By sunlight alone we can see the sun.” One will have that sort of experience when he comes in connection with the truth. Neither calculation, nor evidence, nor witness, but only direct experience is proof that Kṛṣṇa is there, like the sun.

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam it is said, ātmāparijñāna-mayo: what to speak of Kṛṣṇa, even the conscious unit is self-effulgent. A certain section says, “There is God. Surely He exists.” Others say, “No, there is no God. He never existed.” This quarrel is useless; still it will continue. In a particular section this argument will have no end. Those who have no eyes will be unable to see the sun. They will say there is no sun.

ātmāparijñāna-mayo vivādo
hy astīti nāstīti bhidārtha-niṣṭhaḥ
vyartho ’pi naivoparameta puṁsāṁ
mattaḥ parāvṛtta-dhiyāṁ sva-lokāt

(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.22.34)

[“Persons without knowledge of the Supreme will argue whether this world is real or not. Their focus is always aimed at trying to understand the dualities of this material nature. Although such discussions are meaningless, for those who have turned away from Me, these arguments will never end.”]

This misconception will continue for those who deny the existence of both the soul and the Supreme Soul. For those who have direct experience, however, there is no question: it exists! But for the owl section who cannot admit the existence of the sun, the sun does not exist. It is something like that. Our own realisation of a thing will be the greatest proof of its existence: vastu-tattva-jñāna haya kṛpāte pramāṇa.

One may be born blind, but if somehow or other his eyes are opened, he will be astonished to see the particular aspects of the environment. But if one has no vision, he can see no colour or figure. Those who have vision will feel, “How can I deny the fact? I have seen it. I am feeling it, it is so magnanimous, so great, and so benevolent; I can’t deny all these things. You are unfortunate; you cannot see.” Some see, some cannot see. In the same place, one can see, another cannot. Those to whom Kṛṣṇa wishes to reveal Himself can see Him; others cannot.

The universal form

In the assembly of the Kurus, when Kṛṣṇa went to Duryodhan’s party with a proposal for peace between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas, Duryodhan thought, “Now we have our golden chance. If I can put Kṛṣṇa in the prison house now, then the Pāṇḍavas will die brokenhearted, and there will be no question of fighting with them.” The Kauravas also joined in the scheme, and they told Duḥśāsan, “Go and bind Kṛṣṇa with this rope.” Duḥśāsan came with the rope in his hand and tried to bind Kṛṣṇa. Sātyaki, Kṛṣṇa’s attendant, was there, and he furiously came at Duḥśāsan with a sword. Kṛṣṇa peacefully caught hold of his hand, and began to manifest Himself in such a way that it perplexed Duḥśāsan.

When Duḥśāsan saw the universal form displayed by Kṛṣṇa, he thought, “So many figures appear before me. On whom shall I put the rope? Who shall I bind down?” So many figures were displayed by Kṛṣṇa in His universal form. On one side there was Baladev, and on another side stood Arjuna and so many revered ṛṣis, chanting Kṛṣṇa’s Name. Duḥśāsan was perplexed. And Bhīṣma and Droṇa began to sing in praise of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone thought, “What is this? This is a magnificent vision, with so many faces!” The whole atmosphere was filled with the divine spirit. Then, Devarṣi Nārad and so many ṛṣis began to chant in praise of Kṛṣṇa. And in this way Kṛṣṇa manifested His universal form before the assembly.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, but he could hear them all praising Kṛṣṇa and thought to himself, “Some sort of wonderful thing is happening around me, but I can’t see.” And so, he prayed to Kṛṣṇa. “O Lord, for the moment please remove my blindness. I would like to see Your great manifestation. Afterwards, You can make me blind again, but at least for the time being, remove my blindness.” Kṛṣṇa told him, “There is no necessity of removing your blindness. I say that you can see, and you can see.” By the Lord’s will alone, even physical blindness was no bar to seeing that great manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. So, the physical eye can’t see God; only the divine eye can see Him. And by the will of Kṛṣṇa, the divine eye was temporarily given to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. His blindness did not stand in the way of his vision, and he could see Kṛṣṇa.

Ultrasonic sound

The ability to recognise divinity descends from above. We cannot see God with our mundane senses. What to speak of being able to see the infinite, our senses are so limited that our ears can only hear sound of a particular wavelength. We are told that the sun, the moon, and all the stars and planets are all revolving and creating a huge sound, but our ears cannot hear that high degree of ultrasonic sound. Nor can we hear subsonic sound with our ears. Our eyes are designed to catch only a particular wavelength of light. We cannot see either ultraviolet or infrared light. Our material senses are limited to a particular plane of perception.

Student: The Guru accepts the responsibility to take his disciples back to Godhead. So, when the Guru departs, how does the disciple maintain contact with the Guru?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: You see, it comes to the same point. Who is Guru? And why is he Guru? Guru, śāstra, and sādhu are one and the same thing, and we have to appreciate that. Otherwise, should we think that our onward march will be guaranteed only by the vision of our eyes? The photo of our Spiritual Master is not our Guru, although the photo has some connection with the real Guru. The eye experience and the ear experience of a person is not the whole experience. The real experience is through the words, the idea that the Guru has given. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

If I have a real interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I have to adjust all other things accordingly. Otherwise, if I miss the real thing that the Guru came to give me, everything will be dull idol worship. To follow the form alone will be idolatry. There are so many human figures; why is he Guru? Because he is a mediator, a medium of divine knowledge. That is the criterion to be tested everywhere. Put this test anywhere and everywhere. What is the interest for which we came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? And what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? There is your Guru. He is Guru only because he is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and there are different degrees of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, we must not make much about the form.

A religious jungle

Student: Why are there so many different religions in the world?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Uddhava posed this same question, “Why in the name of religion are there so many ‘isms’ in the world. Will every ‘ism’ that is found here independently take me to the goal? Or is there any gradation?” Kṛṣṇa told him, “When the creation began, I transmitted the truths of religion into the heart of Brahmā, the creator, and from Brahmā, that came to his disciples. But according to the different capacity of those disciples, what they received was a little changed when they delivered it to others. When I gave it to Brahmā, that knowledge was one. Brahmā told his disciples, and when they received it in the soil of their heart, it entered, but with some modification. Again, when they gave delivery to their disciples there was more modification.” It became lost due to the vitiating nature of the mundane plane. One point is the difference in the receiver and another, in the succession.

So, gradually the truth was modified, and now we see that the religious world is a jungle. Some give stress on penance, some on charity, some this, some that. So many branches of religion have sprung up. And antagonistic, ascending opinions like atheism have also grown from the human mind to oppose those modified descending opinions. So, now we find there is a jungle.

Kṛṣṇa appears now and then to reestablish the principles of religion: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati. When religion becomes extremely degraded, Kṛṣṇa comes again, or sends His representative, telling him, “Go and set it right.”

There must be religious differences, but one who can catch the real internal meaning of the truth will be saved. Others will be misguided, and it will be a long time before they are delivered. Once having a real connection with a bona fide Guru, he won’t be lost. In this way Kṛṣṇa answered Uddhava’s question in the eleventh canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and it is quite intelligible. It is neither unreasonable nor dogmatic. If we are sincere, we won’t be lost.

The lady and the mullah

Every disciple cannot catch the real spirit of the advice of the Guru. There is a story. A Muslim mullah used to explain the Koran regularly. In his audience one old lady used to take her seat in the corner, and as long as the mullah read the Koran, the lady would weep. Tears would run down her cheeks profusely, so much so that one day the mullah met that lady and asked her, “What do you find in my lectures that you are so much impressed with? Whenever I cast my glance at you, I find your eyes are shedding tears profusely. What do you find in my lectures that moves you so?”

To this, the old lady answered, “I had one she-goat, and her beard was just like yours. When she took her food, she would move her head on the grass just as you move your head. You remind me of my dear she-goat. She was very affectionate to me. I can’t stand to think of her without shedding tears, and for that purpose, I come to see your lecture.”

Kṛṣṇa Himself came and went unrecognised by many. In the case of Jesus also, we find that Judas, one of His twelve disciples, was a traitor. Jesus said, disappointed, “The one who will betray me is amongst the twelve of you.” So, should we think that because we have come to a great man, now we have attained everything, devoured everything? It is not such an easy thing. We have only a slight connection with the infinite, and we have to progress with that capital. To think that we have attained everything is rather the opposite feeling. One who is approaching towards the infinite will see, more and more, that he is nowhere. The symptoms will be the opposite. Still, of course, sometimes it is necessary to assert ourselves with courage, on the strength of our faith: “What I say is true.”

Newton was told by his contemporaries, “You have reached the highest zenith of knowledge.” He made such a marvellous discovery that the people in his time thought that he was sarvajña, a knower of everything. They thought that he had finished the whole world of knowledge. But Newton said, “I know better than you because I conceive that I am just collecting pebbles at the shore of the ocean of knowledge. I see that I am more learned than all of you because you say that I have finished all knowledge, but I know that the vast ocean of knowledge cannot be finished. I have only touched its shore. This much I know. So, that is also an assertion, that I know more than you, because I know that knowledge cannot be finished, and you say that knowledge is finished.”

This is the nature of the infinite. One who is going to deal with the infinite must always be conscious of his weakness. Then only will he be able to draw light from the infinite. To understand the words of Gurudev is not very easy. Gurudev is infinite. In his words, he also deals with the infinite. We can’t put it under limitation, thinking that we have finished what he wanted to give us. We are students, and we shall remain students forever.