The Blue Jackel

The

Blue

Jackal

by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Questions and Answers with Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

The following article appeared in issue number 15 of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu, the free fortnightly email magazine from ISKCON Gopal Jiu Publications.

QUESTION: How can we have unalloyed devotion to our guru and also see the godbrother of our spiritual master as our spiritual master?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We will offer the same respect to him as we pay to our spiritual master. But as Hanuman says, Rama has occupied my heart:

sri-nathe janaki-nathe cabhedah paramatmanih
tathapi mama sarvasvam ramah kamala-locanah

There is no difference between Sri-nath (Vishnu, the Lord of the goddess of fortune) and Janaki-nath (Rama, the Lord of Sita), since They are both the Supersoul. Still, lotus-eyed Rama is everything to me.
(Prema-bhakti-candrika, text 29)

We should not deviate from our guru. That is unalloyedness. Don't be affected by any differences between our guru and his godbrother. We should overlook them. Still, our attitude should be, "I am following the instruction of my guru. I am not following the instruction of the godbrother of my guru."

QUESTION: What should we do when we see that some superior vaisnava needs correction?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Keshava Bharati was the godbrother of Iswara Puri, who was the guru of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu corrected Keshava Bharati. But we should not imitate Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and we are not. We should not try to correct anyone who is superior to us. We must act in such a way that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will give us the intelligence what to do:

tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. (Bg 10.10)

Krishna says, "I'll give you the intelligence." So, if you are a true follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He will give you intelligence. You will be able to act in such a way that the vaisnava becomes automatically corrected.

You won't need to correct him directly. You should not have this thought in your mind, "Let me correct him." No, no, no, no, no, no! We are not qualified to correct them. Our attitude should be, "trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna - I am the lowest of the low (Siksastaka 3).

QUESTION: How do you correct a godbrother?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: With a godbrother we have a friendly relationship. So we may talk to him in a friendly way. Sometimes we may even cut jokes with him.

To correct him we may say something at some opportune moment when we know it will not hurt him. An intelligent man will do like this. You must speak in such a way that it will not hurt his feelings. Mahaprabhu said:

prani-matre mano-vakye udvega na diba

Neither by mind nor words should a devotee cause anxiety to any living entity, regardless how insignificant they may be. - CC Madhya 22.120

Don't speak or act in such a way that will hurt their feelings. Don't agitate them. This is the devotee's behavior.

yasman nodvijate loko lokan nodvijate ca yah
harsamarsa-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah

He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. - BG 12.15

Krishna says, "He who is not agitated in any circumstances is very dear to Me. If someone tries to agitate him he never agitates back or disturbs anyone. He is equal in both harsa and amarsa, favorable and unfavorable conditions. In all conditions he is equal, sama. Bhayodvegair, he has no fear, no anxiety. He is very dear to Me."

As Mahaprabhu has instructed, one should speak very sweetly so the devotee may be corrected, but in such a way that they will not be disturbed. For one who is intelligent, who is a true devotee, Mahaprabhu will give them intelligence whereby you will know how to act and speak in such a way that you will not hurt the devotee and at the same time you will correct them.

And you should never have this thought in your mind that, "I'll correct him." You should think, "I am not a qualified person to correct him. I'm the lowest of the low. I am an ignorant fool, murkha. I have no qualification." You should not cherish the thought in your mind to correct them. This thought is very bad and offensive. This is a very, very subtle point. It is very difficult for ordinary people to understand. But those who are devotees, who have made some advancement in spirituality, they can understand this point.

QUESTION: We cannot approach Krishna without a spiritual master. What about approaching Chaitanya Maharabhu?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Unless you approach a spiritual master you cannot approach Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is Krishna. The spiritual master is the expansion of Nityananda Prabhu. You get the mercy of Nityananda through the spiritual master, not directly. Guru is rupanuga-dhara - a follower of the Goswamis in disciplic succession.

QUESTION: Who will decide who is a spiritual master?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Are baba! The decision comes from Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered:

yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa

"Whomever you meet, tell them about Krishna: 'O brother, Krishna has said this thing.' Don't concoct. Just present it as it is. I order you to become a spiritual master and deliver the world." If you just do this, if you just present things as they are, following the disciplic succession, you will become guru. Krishna will give you that position. Don't hanker after it.

Just do it. The decision comes from Krishna, from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

There is no question that someone will decide (laughs). Apratihata - it will automatically come. If Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants, if Krishna wants, no one can check it. You should have full faith and patience. Don't be pessimistic.

There is no question of pessimism. We should be full of optimism. We don't need to bother about these things. Those persons who are now blowing their own trumpet, beating their own drums, Krishna will finish them at any time.

Don't be disturbed. You should have patience and full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra. Because it is the material world some disturbances will come up. pade pade vipada - "At every step there is danger." And at the same time it is Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. This world is filled with hypocrites. So some hypocrites will come and say, "Oh, I am guru. I am sadhu. I am such a great man." He may come and beat his own drum, blow his own trumpet, and make some politics. It is quite natural. These things should not disturb you. Be dhira, don't be disturbed. Have full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra. Just do your duty as guru has instructed, as it is.

Present Krishna consciousness as it is. Time will change things in the long run. You need not be worried. Have patience. Quote sastra and the acaryas.

Our basis is guru-sadhu-sastra. I never say anything different. I always quote authority.

Although he was a householder, Srila Prabhupada got the full mercy of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He never spent any time in the matha, but he became acarya because he was very, very simple, not envious. You cannot put a stamp on someone, "You are acarya." Or else the day may come to prove that he's not an acarya.

I will tell you a nice story. Once a jackal fell into the blue dye-water of a washerman. The jackal became blue. Then he went to the forest and declared to everyone, "I am the king of the animals." All of the animals said, "Oh yes! He is strange looking. He might be king." Thus they made the jackal king and he sat on the throne. Then when evening came, all of the jackals began howling, "Youka hou! Youka hou!" So the jackal king also started howling, and then everyone saw, "Oh! He's a jackal! Beat him! He's not king!" In this way, he was revealed. We know these things, so why we should be disturbed? Don't be disturbed. The time will come. Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will reveal everything. Have patience.

QUESTION: We can see that envy may be very subtle. What is our hope?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We should have full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra and we must do our service. Some disturbance may come - and it will come. It is the nature of this material plane, and at the same time Kali-yuga is here. It is very, very horrible. But one should have firm determination and patience.

You should not deviate in any circumstance. Always pray to guru and Lord Chaitanya. They will help you. We are very weak, but caitya-guru is in our heart. He will give inspiration. For a sincere soul who is very eager to have this, Krishna makes arrangements. He knows, "This soul wants this thing." So He makes arrangements for it to happen. Is there anything impossible for Krishna? It is impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Our business is to always pray to Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Guru Maharaja, "Just help me!" You'll get help. Have full faith in this. Don't be desperate. We should be very eager to get this mercy and to have association of pure devotees who are more advanced than ourselves. Then you'll benefit. Sadhu-sanga means you will associate with a person who is more advanced than yourself. Then you will benefit. Otherwise, no benefit will come. It may seem impossible to get such association. Still, nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna will make arrangement. Vani, instructions, are there. When nothing is available we should associate with instructions and books, and with our sincere prayers we will reach Krishna.

The day will come when you will meet such a person. It's impossible for us, but it's not impossible for Krishna. But we should always be praying, "Krishna, please help me!" Chanting hare krsna means the soul is crying, hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare - "O Krishna's sakti Radharani! O Krishna! Please engage me in Your service. I am fallen."

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau krpaya tava pada-pankaja- sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

"O Krishna! I am Your kinkara, Your servant! But somehow I've fallen into the depths of this ocean of nescience. Please shower Your mercy on me and accept me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet."(Siksastaka 5) If the soul is crying and crying by uttering this hari-nama, "hare krsna hare krsna", if you chant in this way, then you'll get the necessary association miraculously and unexpectedly. It is impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna wants that thing. The only lacking is with us. Thank you very much.

- Paris 1987, at the home of Sripad Harivilas Prabhu

The First Angas of Bhakti - Guru-Tattva

By Bhaktivinoda Thakura

(from Jaiva-Dharma - Chapter 20
Prameya: Abhidheya – Vaidhi-Sadhana-Bhakti)

Vijaya: Prabhu, please give us some detailed instructions regarding sri-guru-padasraya. (#1)

Babaji: When the disciple has become qualified for undivided krsna-bhakti, he should take shelter at the feet of Sri Guru, and by coming close to the qualified guru, he will learn krsna-tattva. The jiva becomes qualified for krsna-bhakti only when he is faithful. By the influence of pious activities (sukriti) performed in previous births, he hears hari-kathä from the mouths of sädhus, and a strong faith in Krsna arises in him. This is called sraddhä. Together with sraddhä, the mood of taking shelter (saranagati) also appears to some extent. sraddhä and saranagati are almost the same tattva. The disciple is qualified for undivided (ananya) bhakti if he has developed the strong faith: “Krsna-bhakti is certainly the best and highest attainment in this world. Thus I will accept krsna-bhakti as my duty and to that end I will do whatever is favorable for it, and reject all activities that are unfavorable. Krsna is my sole protector, and I accept Him as my exclusive guardian. I am very poor, wretched and destitute, and my independent desire is not beneficial for me. Thus following Krsna’s desire exclusively is beneficial for me in all ways.” When the jiva attains that qualification, he becomes anxious to hear instructions on bhakti, and accepts shelter at the lotus feet of the sad-guru. That is to say, he becomes his disciple, and accepts instructions (siksä) on bhakti.

tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet

samit-päniù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

Mundaka Upanisad (1.2.12)

In order to obtain knowledge of that bhagavad-vastu (the absolute truth concerning Sri Bhagavän), one should approach sad-guru, carrying fire wood for sacrifice. The qualification of sad-guru is that he is well versed in the Vedas, absorbed in the Absolute Truth (brahma-jnana) and devoted to the service of Bhagavän.

äcäryavän puruño veda

Chändogya Upaniñad (6.14.2)

He who takes shelter of sad-guru comes to know that parabrahma.

The qualities of a sad-guru (bona fide guru) and the sat-sisya (bona fide disciple) are given in detail in the Sri Hari-bhakti-viläsa (1.23.64). The essence is that only a person with pure character and sraddhä is qualified to become a sisya and only that person who is endowed with suddha-bhakti, who knows bhakti-tattva, and is of spotless character, simple, without greed, free from Mäyäväda philosophy, and expert in all devotional activities is qualified as sad-guru. A brähmana adorned with these qualities, and who is honored by the whole society, can be guru of all the other varnas. If there is no brähmana, the disciple can accept a guru who is situated in a higher varna than himself. Apart from these considerations of varnäsrama, the principal consideration is that whoever knows krsna-tattva can be accepted as guru. If a person born in one of the higher varnas – brähmana, ksatriya and vaisya – finds the above mentioned qualities present in a person born of a brahmana family and accepts him as guru, then he can get some facilities and favors in a society that respects the higher varna. Factually, though, only a worthy bhakta can be guru. The rules for testing the guru and disciple, as well as the determination of time, are given in the sästras. The purport is that the guru will bestow his mercy upon the disciple when the guru perceives the disciple to be qualified, and when the disciple has faith in the guru, understanding him to be a suddha-bhakta. There are two kinds of guru: diksä-guru and siksä-guru. One has to accept diksä from the diksä-guru; at the same time, one also has to take siksä concerning arcana (Deity worship). There is one diksä-guru, but there can be several siksä-gurus. The diksä-guru is also competent to act as siksä-guru.

Vijaya: Since the diksä-guru is not to be given up, how will Gurudeva give siksä if he is not competent of giving sat-siksä?

Babaji: Before accepting a guru, one should examine him to see that he is expert in the tattva spoken in the Vedas and has realized para-tattva. If he is, then he will certainly be capable of giving all kinds of instructions about the Absolute Truth. Normally, there is no question of giving up the diksä-guru. There are two circumstances, however, in which he should be abandoned. First, if the disciple accepted the guru without examining the guru’s knowledge of the Absolute Truth, his Vaisnava qualities, and his other qualifications, and second, if after initiation, the guru does not perform any function, he should be given up. Many passages in sastras give evidence for this:

yo vyaktir nyäya-rahitam anyäyena çåëoti yaù

täv ubhau narakaà ghoraà vrajataù kälam akñayam

Hari-bhakti-viläsa (1.62)

He who poses as an äcärya, but gives false instructions that are opposed to the sattvata-sästras, will reside in a terrible hell for an unlimited period of time, and so will the misguided disciple who mistakenly listens to such a false guru.

guror apy avaliptasya käryäkäryam ajänataù

utpatha-pratipannasya parityägo vidhéyate

Mahäbhärata Udyoga-parva (179.25) and Närada-païcarätra (1.10.20)

It is one’s duty to give up a guru who cannot teach the disciple what he should do and what he should not do, and who takes the wrong path, either because of bad association or because he is opposed to Vaisnavas.

avaiñëavopadiñöena mantreëa nirayaà vrajet

punaç ca vidhinä samyag grähayed vaiñëaväd guroù

Hari-bhakti-viläsa (4.144)

One goes to hell if he accepts mantras from an avaisnava-guru, that is, one who is associating with women, and who is devoid of krsna-bhakti. Therefore, according to the rules of sästra, one should take mantras again from a Vaisnava guru.

The second circumstance in which one may reject the guru is if he was a Vaisnava who knew the spiritual truth and principles when the disciple accepted him, but who later became a Mäyävädi or an enemy of the Vaisnavas by the influence of asat-sanga. It is one’s duty to give up such a guru. However, it is not proper to give up a guru whose knowledge is meager, if he is not a Mäyävädi or an enemy of the Vaisnavas, and is not attached to sinful activity. In that case, one should still respect him as guru, and with his permission, one should go to another Vaisnava who is more knowledgeable, and serve that Vaisnava and take instructions from him.

Vijaya: Please tell us about krsna-diksä and siksä. (#2)

Babaji: One should accept siksä about the process of arcana (Deity worship) and pure devotional service from Sri Gurudeva, and one should then perform krsna-sevä and krsnaa-anusilanam with a simple mood. We will consider the angas of arcana in more detail later. It is essential to take siksa from Sri Gurudeva regarding sambandha-jnäna (one’s relationship with Krsna), abhidheya-jnäna (the process of devotional service), and prayojana-jnäna (the ultimate goal).

Vijaya: What does it mean to perform guru-sevä with faith? (#3)

Babaji: One should not consider Sri Gurudeva to be a mortal or an ordinary jiva. Rather, one should understand him to be the representative of all the devatäs (sarva-devamaya). One should never disobey him, and one should always know him to be vaikuntha-tattva.

Pure Devotion And The Competitive Spirit

Pure Devotion and the Competitive Spirit

Part One

by Srila Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Maharaja

If we study the example set by all our previous acharyas, we will find that competition is not a religious principle. Nowadays, however, we see that in the Vaishnava Sampradaya, especially the Sri Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Saraswata Sampradaya, almost all societies and acharyas are trying to show that they are better than the others. That is one reason explaining all those articles on the Internet that seem to have defeating others as their only purpose.

Every disciple naturally follows his or her spiritual master's mood and so preaches in the same competitive spirit. If a follower asks his master, Can I achieve my spiritual goal through chanting the Holy Name and propagating my society and acharya's glories as much as possible?, the acharya replies with silence as a sign of his tacit approval: maunam sammati-laksanam. As a result, the Madhva Gaudiya Saraswata world as a whole sometimes looks like a battlefield.

We seem to think that our acharya or society's qualifications are proved by the number of supporters, devotees, or centers they possess, or how much wealth and mundane opulence they have accumulated. As a result, so many devotees in our sampradaya seem to be running after religion, wealth, sense pleasure and liberation in Mahaprabhu's name, instead of seeking Divine Love, the fifth goal of life or Panchama Purushartha that He really came to give.

Mahaprabhu said prithivite ache jata nagaradi gram / sarbatra prachar hoibe mor nam. My name will be spread in every town and village, everywhere in the world. This prediction has for all intents and purposes come true and His name has indeed spread to almost every corner of the globe, leaving hardly any place untouched. Even so, most senior devotees in the sampradaya are feeling frustration at the way the present Vaishnava organizations and their acharyas are behaving. They feel that instead of spreading Mahaprabhu's message, the followers of these groups are engaged in subtle politics against other devotees -- pure or impure -- in order to promote their own society and acharya.

When devotees begin to lose their taste for chanting the Holy-Name after long practice, they naturally want to know why. We have heard from our acharyas that when this happens, it is because from the starting point of our bhajan life, knowingly or unknowingly, we have been committing offences. When this happens, some of us remain active in our society and follow its acharya without any real hope or enthusiastic mood. Others leave their society with a negative attitude to Vaishnavas in general. Such former devotees are now engaged in some business or work in mundane places to make their livelihood. This is a synopsis of the current situation in the Vaishnava world.

Prabhupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur once said that we have not come into the association of Vaishnavas in order to become construction workers in brick, wood, and stone. If it is necessary to sell the bricks and other wealth in order to spread Mahaprabhu's message of Divine Love, we should do that. We should try to cultivate this attitude in the service of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupada, Prabhupadas Rupa, Sanatana and Sri Jiva Goswami, and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu!

Are we preaching just to increase the mundane wealth of our particular society? If so, what do we achieve? Are we really following the path of the previous spiritual masters? Or are we simply using their name and words to further our own ends of increasing mundane wealth? Is this why Prabhupadas Rupa, Sanatana, and Sri Jiva Goswami set the example of building glorious temples for their Deities, while they themselves spent the rest of their lives under trees, writing books?

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has sung in one of his kirtans (Kalyana-kalpa-taru) as follows:

mukhe bolo prem prem bastuta tyajiya hem
shunya granthi anchale bandhan

We are repeatedly speaking and preaching about Divine Love to others, but actually we are far from it. We have lost this diamond by our present activity. Now we have nothing, an absolutely empty pot in the name of full divine pot.

At another place in same kirtan, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote as follows:

akaitaba krishna prem jena suvimala hem
ei phal nriloke durlabh
kaitabe vanchana matra hou age jogya patra
tabe prem haibe sulabh

Divine Love is like a rare piece of bright gold or diamond. When we are absolutely free from hypocritical activities and surrender absolutely to His service, then we will be qualified to get this Divine Love. Actually the diamond of Krishna Prema is very rare on this planet. Rather than taking shelter of hypocrisy to deceive others, we should try to become worthy to receive Divine Love, for though Prema is very rare, it comes very easily to those who have attained eligibility by ridding their hearts of hypocrisy and the desire to deceive others.

If we examine the essence of the above quote, we see that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur is explaining that what we are nowadays calling Prema (Divine Love) is actually fakery or deceit. My beloved Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaj, explained in one of his discourses that the first symptom of feeling separation is tears at the time of chanting the Holy Name. He himself would ask, Where are my tears? Tears don't come easily to me, even if I put hot peppers in my eyes!

Srila Gurudeva expressed himself in this humble manner just to teach us a lesson, for I often saw him in the middle of the night, secretly crying and lamenting to someone out of separation from Krishna's service. What is the present condition of our hearts regarding the feeling of separation for Krishna? How can we pretend to have Divine Love (Prem) as long as we maintain selfish goals and are more and more dedicated to achieving them?

According to Srila Narottam Das Thakur, apana bhajana katha na kahiya jatha tatha, which means we should not show or discuss our feelings of separation to anyone and everyone. We should keep them secret so that they can grow and develop. Nowadays, we are showing off, broadcasting our so-called mood of separation and our secret relation with Krishna to neophyte people in order to attract them to our camp. Furthermore, we are discussing very intimate topics of Radha-Krishna's conjugal pastimes to those neophyte devotees, just to show off that we have full knowledge of Vaishnava siddhanta. But look at Mahaprabhu's example: He discussed such matters in a very intimate place, the Gambhira in Jagannath Puri, where He lived for eighteen years along with Swarupa Damodar Prabhu and Ray Ramananda Prabhu, His most intimate associates. Are we really following the above instructions of Narottam Das Thakur and the example given by Mahaprabhu?

Nowadays, though we belong to the same sampradaya, we criticize each other in order to steal devotees from other camps to make our own bigger, so we can show off our power. And we do it all in the name of preaching abroad! Is this the type of preaching Mahaprabhu showed? We all know what His standards of behavior were. When He converted Prakashananda Saraswati, the leader of the impersonalist camp, He did not do so in a challenging mood or in order to prove Himself on the field of competition. Though Prakashananda was an impersonalist, Mahaprabhu still displayed the Vaishnava qualities of humility and politeness to him.

Once upon a time, when Mahaprabhu was visiting Kashi, Sripad Tapan Mishra and Chandrashekhar Acharya requested Him with great feeling to establish pure devotion in their town, because as devotees they were tired of constantly being insulted by the impersonalists. At that time, Mahaprabhu was invited to a Brahmin's house where the impersonalists congregrated. The leader of the Mayavadis, Prakashananda Saraswati, asked Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu why He did not associate with them. Mahaprabhu replied with humility, The instruction of my spiritual master is that foolish persons should only chant the Holy Name, instead of reading Vedanta, the essence of all scripture. I am fool number one according to my spiritual master's judgment, so how can I associate with all of you who are giving such learned discourses from the scripture? harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam / kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatir anyatha

In this way Mahaprabhu tried to say that the essence of Veda and all Scriptures is Sri Holy Name. Then Mahaprabhu went on to make the following statement about Krishna Prema, quoted in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita:

krishna vishayak prema-- parama purushartha
jar age trina tulya chari purushartha
panchama purushartha premanandamrita sindhu
brahmadi-ananda jar nahe ek bindu

Among the five purushartha, Prema is the best, better than other four purusharthas: religion, wealth, sense pleasures and liberation. Next to the fifth purushartha, these four goals of life are valueless, like a piece of grass. The fifth purushartha, Krishna Prema, is like an ocean of blissful nectarean love. Even Lord Brahma, the son of God and creator of the universe, has not tasted a drop of it.

Then, with proper Vaishnava etiquette, Mahaprabhu defeated Shankararachaya's commentary and established His own siddhanta: God is opulence, full-bliss, eternity, and consciousness. After that, Prakashananda, the Mayavadi sannyasi, and his group of followers surrendered to Mahaprabhu's lotus feet. The point is that Mahaprabhu did not display a competitive or aggressive challenging mood, even to these opponents. Contrast this with our attitude nowadays, when we behave in this manner even with those who are in our own same sampradaya, what to speak of the Mayavadis.

Again, in Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna shows us that the challenging and competitive spirit are not included in devotion through the story of Arjuna, Ugrasena Maharaj and a pious Brahmin whose children had died as soon as they took birth.

Once, there was a Brahmin in Maharaj Ugrasena's kingdom, whose wife had given birth to nine baby sons. Unfortunately, every time she gave birth, her children would die for no apparent reason. The father of these babies widely accused the king, Maharaj Ugrasena, of responsibility for their death. Each year, the Brahmin would come to the King's palace, carrying his dead child, and shout curses at Maharaj Ugrasena, blaming him for the death of his child. The king himself remained silent, showing tolerance as an acharya.

After the ninth such death, Arjuna, the third Pandava happened to be present and heard the Brahmin hurling invective at the king. He asked him what was his complaint. The Brahmin blamed the death of all his children on the sinful activities of the king. Arjuna was astonished to hear the Brahmin's accusation, but was convinced that what he said was true. Arjuna was filled with false pride and the desire to defeat Maharaj Ugrasena and so told the Brahmin that the next time his wife was ready to give birth, he should call him. He would go and protect the child from the forces of death.

The pious Brahmin felt it was strange that Arjuna was claiming he could succeed where Vasudeva, Sankarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha had all failed. How can you save my children? he asked. Arjuna immediately replied, I am Arjuna and I carry the Gandiva bow. I don't care for all these others. I will show you my power when your wife gives birth.

The Brahmin still had doubts, but Arjuna very proudly gave his promise that if he was not able to save the Brahmin's next child, he would enter the fire and destroy his body.

When the time came, the Brahmin remembered Arjuna's promise and sent for him. Arjuna went to his house equipped with his bow and other weapons. On arriving, he chanted a few mantras to protect the area and sat down in front of the Brahmin's wife to watch over her.

Unfortunately, Krishna's beloved friend Arjuna forgot Krishna out of pride on that day. When he chanted the mantra for protection, he did achaman for purification of his body and mind using the mantra namah Shivaya instead of the Krishna Mantra. Arjuna sat in front of Brahmin's wife with his fighting-bow, awaiting the messenger of death, but as soon as she gave birth, her child died, as had happened every time previously. Arjuna was astonished to see the child die right in front of him.

He set off to find out where the child had gone after death. He searched in so many places without finding the child. Finally, he had to admit his failure and arranged to keep his promise by entering a fire to end his life. Lord Krishna immediately appeared and spoke to Arjuna, Please come with me and I will show you where that Brahmin's children have gone. Then both went to Mahakalpur and Krishna ordered Karanodashayi Vishnu to give back the Brahmin his ten children.

The teaching to be taken from the above story in the Srimad Bhagavatam is that when we commit offences to the acharya, Vaishnavas and God, our whole devotional practice is nipped in the bud. Favoring the words of the Brahmin, Arjuna, committed offence to Maharaj Ugrasena, who was an acharya. Due to that offence, he forgot Vasudeva, Sankarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, i.e., his relation with God. Thus when the Brahmin told Arjuna that Vasudeva, Sankarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha had failed to save his children, Arjuna pretended to be more powerful than them. With his proud answer to the Brahmin, Arjuna committed an offence to the lotus feet of the Chaturvyuha (God). Therefore at the time of achaman, he uttered namah Shivaya instead of a Krishna mantra. In this way, there are so many examples in the scriptures showing that competitiveness and the challenging mood destroy pure devotion.

From the above facts, it is shown that when we commit offences towards the acharyas and Vaishnavas, we are pulled away from the lotus feet of God. Though Arjuna was Krishna's dearest devotee, his offence caused him to take on a competing mood and to challenge Maharaj Ugrasena and Vasudeva, Sankarshan, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

Please, readers, do not take any offence from me, I am simply expressing my heartfelt worries. Kindly bless me that I may follow the proper devotional path. I wish to continue writing more on this topic, giving more evidence from other scriptures.

Your humble servant,
B.B.Bodhayan
President of Sri Gopinath Gaudiya Math