Go straight there, don't break your journey anywhere (Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

Excerpt from Inner fulfilment 

(From the preface, by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj)

The need for every one of us in this world is to solve the real problem of suffering caused by our existence in this mortal world. The solution is well-known to those special souls who are truly acquainted with the eternal spiritual realm, and they are able to impart that to others. It is the introduction to these secrets which is being expressed in the booklet Inner Fulfilment – a compilation of excerpts from the books of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, with the addition of transcribed selections from his taped discources.

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Part Four 

The Happiest Form of Life 

4:1

Absolute love and charm is all-accommodating. None can deny it. None can say, “I don’t want love.” It is so universal. One may say, “I do not want any grandeur, any power,” but, “I do not want love” – never. Sometimes one may even go as far as to say, “I don’t want justice.” That may be possible. Of course, generally it may be the exception, but still it may be said, “I don’t want justice. By justice that man will suffer. Rather, I shall suffer, and that man be saved.” Just as Jesus Christ told, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” By that prayer, Lord Christ set justice aside: “No, justice may go on this side, and let me be the sufferer.” We can take the risk of dismissing justice, but we can’t avoid love. We can give up everything but that love for love. If we have the eye to see, then we shall see that only to get love, prema, we can give up everything in the world. So how valuable is that thing? And Mahaprabhu [Sri Krishna Chaitanya / Lord Nimai] and Srimad Bhagavatam came with that.

4:2

God takes the form of Krsna in the plane of love and that is the most fundamental and the most subtle plane behind all this variegated creating. So come to that plane, try to penetrate into that plane where God is Krsna, and where the paraphernalia is Vrindavan. Anyhow try to have admission in that plane and you will find there the happiest form of life.

Mercy is more beautiful than justice. We cannot think of blaming the spirit of justice, but at the same time we cannot deny that there is mercy over justice. But one who can extend mercy over justice must have such power that he is able to give due compensation. The Lord has such power of compensation. Krsna is such an aspect of the Lord. He can give mercy through love and affection, and by any means we want to live in that environment. Mahaprabhu came to show that to be the plane for which we should strive. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur said, “In no time the intelligentsia of the world will come to understand that this is the highest conception of attainment of all humans as well as of everything else in the whole creation. The intelligentsia cannot be misguided for long by so many other proposals of the highest attainment which are only giving partial achievement. Many things are going on in religion in the name of the highest solution of our life, but what Mahaprabhu has given very soon will be detected by the intelligentsia of the world, and all will flock to the banner of Sri Chaitanyadev and will sing the glory of Mahaprabhu and Krsna.”

4:3

The fulfilment of our heart’s satisfaction is in the Krsna conception of the Absolute. He is the Lord of love, beauty, ecstasy and happiness. That is the innermost necessity of us all. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Go straight to Vrndavan by this special train. Don’t try to break your journey anywhere, for that will only be a loss of time and energy.” In addition He said, “Whoever you find, give them Krsna consciousness. It is just as in a famine-stricken country, whoever you will find you will give some food to save him, but this is a hundred times more urgent – so you are to inject Krsna consciousness. Tell them, ‘A loving Lord is above your head seeing everything – you only have to connect with Him and His servants. His servants are very, very kind and magnanimous. Somehow get some connection with them, and try to go to your home. Here, nowhere is home. Your home is only there.”

For example, a madman may be wandering here and there, but if he is cured of his madness, he will go straight from the street to his home. He won’t continue to wander in the street to his home. He won’t continue to wander in the street endlessly like a vagabond but he will go straight home to both satisfy himself and also to satisfy his near and dear ones, his guardians.

4:4

kim pramattasya bahubhir, paroksair hayanair iha

varam muhurttam viditam ghatate sreyase yatah

(Srimad Bhagavatam 2.1.12)

“Imperceptibly, many, many years pass uselessly in the life of a person intoxicated by mundane pleasures. Better if only for a moment he realises that he is losing valuable time, for he may thus become serious to attain his eternal benefit.”

Here, Sukadev Goswami says that one moment is sufficient to solve the whole problem of life, if it is properly utilised in sadhu-sanga. At all costs, try to utilise the opportunity of sadhu-sanga, the association of the agent of Krsna. What is the necessity of living for ages and ages if we are unconscious of our own interest? One moment properly utilised is sufficient to solve the whole problem of our life, for which we are eternally wandering about this plane. We must be wakeful to our personal interest, not negligent. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to direct us to our real interest within: “You do not know your own heart. You are a foreigner to your own heart and its demand. There is a wealth within your heart – try to find it: eliminate the foreign things and you will find your heart to be a Temple of Krsna. With the help of a proper guide, search your own heart and you will find Krsna there. This is not a foreign thing to you. Every heart is a temple of the Lord. It is your property, it is your home. Back to God, back to home.”

Part Five

A Labour of Love 

5:1

The idea that I shall have to labour to live is very dishonourable. I have to live, I must labour; that is very dishonourable. So the ancient scholars searched for a position where we can live without labour, where without pain we can live easily. They started a campaign to discover or invent such a position. Sometimes naiskarmma (a life without karma) received much appreciation within the society. They want to be without labour troubles. In this way the capitalists use computers and so many machines in place of so much man-labour. The man-labour has been so impertinent that the capitalists want to eliminate it.

The ancient scholars were sometimes very busy to discover a social position for all souls whereby they can live without labour, without karma: naiskarmma. They came to consider that self-satisfaction, atmaramata, could be achieved by complete withdrawal. To back up this conception they considered that Buddha and Sankara came to give relief by pointing out that there is a stage of Samadhi such as we feel in sound sleep. They described that if we can reach that plane of no labour we will still be able to live happily and we will find no trouble there. Sukadev Goswami agreed, “Yes, naiskarmma is also found here.” But in Srimad Bhagavatm he gave a new form of naiskarmma:

“You say that work is painful, work is dissipating. You say that labour is wasting energy. But now I am going to give you an ideal of life where there is no dissipation. You will labour, but without dissipation of energy.”

5:2

Service to the Lord is not labour. It is a giver, a sustainer. It does not deplete vitality, but it sustains more and more. It is life-giving. Pure service is life-giving, not life-taking; not vitality-killing, but vitalitysupplying. It is opposite in the eternal plane, especially in the Goloka area where everything is a labour for love.

Without labour the residents of Goloka will think themselves to be fasting, and when engaged in labour they will think themselves to be well fed. Service is nourishing. Service is not depleting; it is not killing. Therefore our attempt should not be so much for knowledge, for trying to know everything, but it should be directed towards how we can utilise ourselves in the highest function: service.

5:3

Service, service, service. Don’t be afraid that service is depleting energy. Service is life-giving. It is feeding you properly. Service!

5:4

We are to understand that slavery to Krsna is a most dignified position. And everything against that ideal is meanness. The only standard of life for a gentleman is to understand and accept the position of subordination to the Absolute Truth. To admit what is proper and real, and on that basis make one’s life advanced, is not meanness. To understand one’s proper position and to understand one’s proper duty and discharge it – that is a gentleman’s life; to accept what is truth. What is considered to be meanness will be removed very soon. And what is really for our welfare and beneficial to us, that will increase.

You are at present in an adulterated conception of your own life. The mind, intelligence and exploiting energies of different kinds are all adulteration. So from your existence will be eliminated all kinds of adulteration. It will be purified and your real self within will come out in its pristine glory, and you will find you have a happy devotional connection with the Supersoul, the Superknowledge. You will come across knowledge proper – a clear, personal type of knowledge – with its paraphernalia and systematic existence.

Whatever you are attracted to at present in this mundane plane will be transferred. Affection proper will be discovered. At present your affection, attraction, and love are misdirected, but they will find their proper place and position. The special characteristic is that you will have a real place and position where these faculties of affection and attraction will find a special support, a proper place to which they will be directed. This is devotion.

Part Six

Homeward Bound

6:1

Devotion is above all. Saranagati, surrender, is the highest property of everyone. Surrender to Him, and He may graciously make His name known to us, and we will be able to know Him.

In the Upanisads (Katha Upanisad 1.2.23), it is said, yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyah: whoever He chooses to make Himself known to, can know Him. Otherwise, no one can know Him against His will. He has reserved all the right of not being exposed to the senses of anyone and everyone. He is so high, He can do that. If He does not wish to make Himself known, no one can know Him – whenever He wishes to make Himself known to someone, they can know Him. This is His position.

On the order of his Gurudeva Devarsi Narada, the scripture Srimad Bhagavatam was given by Vedavyasa as the conclusion of his teachings. After giving the Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-gita, etc., the last gift of Vedavyasa in the world of scriptures was Srimad Bhagavatam. And the message of the Bhagavatam is that beauty is above all – not knowledge or justice. Mercy is above justice. Affection, love, beauty, charm, harmony – these are above all, and this absolute conception of the ultimate reality is in the Krsna conception.

Beauty is above knowledge and power. Knowledge is above power, and above knowledge is beauty, charm, love. That is the supreme. Srimad Bhagavatam has declared, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam; the Krsna conception of Godhead is the most original conception of the Absolute. This is the prime declaration of the Bhagavatam; the Lord, as Beauty, is above all. And below Him is awe, reverence, power, etc. And Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev pointed out, “Go to the beautiful – Reality the Beautiful – He is your highest attainment. Hanker neither for power nor knowledge, but hanker for service of the Beautiful, and thereby, you will be taken in and given entrance into the land of the Beautiful.” This is the highest realisation. Don’t waste your energy by engaging yourself in any other pursuits, but go straight – jnana-sunyabhakti. By the help of sadhu-sanga, take the name of the Lord and try to march straight onwards to the Krsna conception of Godhead. Krsna consciousness is our highest achievement, and this is given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended, “Don’t waste your energy for anything else. Utilise your energy for the Krsna conception of Godhead.”

So we try to make our progress in this line, and at the same time we also ask our friends to try to embrace this life. The fulfilment of life for every particle of existence of this world can be found here.

March towards universal good. Wherever and whoever you are, it does not matter. Take your course towards Krsna consciousness. This is the highest fulfilment of the life for everyone. You are only to turn your face towards Him and march, and the Sweet Absolute, Sri Krsna, will welcome you. This is the campaign of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas.

Srila Rupa Goswami described Krsna in a scientific way: akhilarasamrta-murttih. Our hearts are hankering for satisfaction and happiness of different types, but He is the emporium of all such rasas, flavours of ecstasy. All types of rasas are in Krsna and He is the personification of them all, so everyone can find his corresponding place in Him alone, and nowhere else. He is Krsna – akhila-rasamrtamurtthi. All our necessary satisfaction is personified in Him. So only He can say, “Give up everything and come to Me, and you won’t have to repent. You will find your highest satisfaction.” No one else has ever said such a thing in any place. Only Krsna has said this and Mahaprabhu pointed it out. “Go directly that side and don’t go any other way, but march straight for the Krsna conception – that is your home.”

6:2

It is easy – it is difficult. Easy, because it is our inborn tendency. It is home. But now, we are far from home. It is home, my own, so there is hope that I may reach there one day, It is my home and I won’t find satisfaction anywhere else, so I must go there, but I am far away from that home comfort. There is the difficulty – I have lost that land.

6:3

Simplicity is the first qualification. If you are really simple, or sincere, then automatically you cannot but come under the divine feet of Mahaprabhu, Sri Chaitanyadev. It is so plain and so un-artificial. Love is a plain truth that should attract everyone. Even more than general love, Divine Love will attract all normal persons, it cannot but be. It is only necessary to be simple and unprejudiced. The antithesis is the only thing drawn us back from God, otherwise it will be found to be the plane of universal love. And ‘universe’ does not mean to a particular part of the universe, but the whole. Love is coming from the Absolute.

“Is there such a fool in the midst of mortality in this world who will not worship He who even the immortal worship? It is a great wonder that there can be such a person who will avoid such worship just to undergo the mortal sufferings.”

6:4

Acintya-bhedabheda. Everything is His will, and it is the greatest adventure to search for Krsna, to search for the root of the whole infinite. It needs sufficient courage and preparedness to face the risk.

To go to discover the North Pole or the highest peak of the Himalayas needs so much courage and involves risk, then what to speak of the courage necessary to find out the Absolute Cause of the Whole. Internal courage – spiritual courage – is necessary. We are to have soul’s courage and have the confidence of deep faith. We are to understand the noble character of the faith within us. Without electricity we cannot have connection with the moon and other planets. Our hands and eyes cannot contact there. Faith can connect us with the farthest things. All other methods fail. Faith is substantial, it is not part of an illusion of the mind. The whole mind is a concocted thing: it is a source of forgery. Faith is not to be found there. Faith is a function of the soul.

We cannot even see what is within our own body without the help of some apparatus. Through faith, sraddha, the soul can approach and see the higher world.

By faith we can approach the highest, noblest thing, not by our hand or by the help of any mundane elements.

Part Seven

The Land of Beauty

7:1

“Where every word is a song, every step is a dance, and the flute is the dearmost companion…” (Sri Sri Brahma samhita)

Every word is a song… but this is not a sound of this plane. This is from some other world, some other world that is so soft, so sweet, so heart-capturing. It is a world where correct behaviour occurs most sweetly and harmoniously. Every word is like a song (katha ganam). Every movement is sweet, like dancing (natyam gamanam api). It has been described in this way. Everything is replete with the highest degree of beauty. This is the land of beauty – there everything is beautiful. Everything has the touch of beauty divine. The prime cause is charming, attracting, and arresting heart and soul, “Stop!”

There is a land of such existence. Our aspiration is for such a life (radhika-madhavasam). We can sincerely foster the idea to feel attraction to a life of such a plane where everything is of a musical character.

7:2

This is Vrndavan. Vrndavan is so friendly, so sweet, so near to us, and such a wellwisher of ours. We are quite at home there – sweet, sweet home. Svarupe sabara haya, golokete sthiti: in our innate and innermost existence, we are members of that plane. Now we have come out, and we have scattered our consciousness all over the surface. Cover, cover, cover – there are so many layers and they are all dry things. And the substance, the spirit, is within. Eliminating this body cover, the mental cover, the liberation cover, the Vaikuntha cover – then I may enter into the land of Vraja. Vrndavan resides within me, if I can find my friends everywhere. They are my friends and relatives, and they will give me all-pleasing experience, ecstasy.

Mahaprabhu came with this news for us. “Oh, you are a child of that soil; why do you suffer here, my children, my boys? Why do you suffer? Amrtasya-putrah: you are a child of that soil, and you are suffering so much, coming in the desert? You home is so resourceful, so sweet, and you are running in the desert? What is this? Come!

Leave this poisonous charm, this suicidal charm. This charm, maya – charm, misunderstanding charm – this is suicidal. Leave this apparent charm! This is poisonous, like a witch. The witch has charmed you here and made you spellbound. Come along with Me! I shall take you to your home which is so very sweet!”

In general, this is the call of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

7:3

This should be the course of our life, our cherished goal. Srimad Bhagavatam tells us this. Home, sweet, sweet home. You are a child of that soil. In one word, that is the goal.

Why is that the highest goal? Because that is your home. Svarupe sabara haya, golokete sthiti. This one word ’home’ is sufficient to attract you. You are wandering in a foreign land, but here is your home. You’ll get home comfort here, and you won’t be able to deny that. So, back to God, back to home, back to Godhead.

7:4

A man should be judged by his ideal. The greatness of the ideal he is trying to realise is to be marked. The man of the future, the man of tomorrow, should be judged by his ideal. If his ideal is great, he is great, because if he is sincere, tomorrow or very soon he will reach it. So our ideal is the all-important factor. We may not attain our high ideal very easily. It is not inferior ‘merchandise’ to be disposed of cheaply in the market; it is most valuable. But whatever the cost, no matter.

We should feel within, “I want no less than that highest thing, that Advaya-jnana, that Autocrat. That Goodness Autocrat, the Supermost Commander of everything. I want Him, and nothing less, and I should live and move, and feel in myself that whatever I shall do, at every second, I am meant for that. I am meant for my ideal. I have no time to waste or to hesitate for anything.

“If every moment I move in every way with the ideal in my heart, I shall always make some progress towards it. If I can just stay in touch with my ideal, that will guide and inspire me. In any and every action, whatever I shall do or undo, eat, rest, etc., my ideal will be overhead. And that will gradually take me out of all these entanglements and enticements, and one day or other I shall be able to reach it.”

7:5

Back to Godhead – there is home. Unsettled, we are running hither and thither with no principle of life, so our position is very sad. But this is a troublesome life. To think, ‘I can’t put my faith anywhere,’ means that I can’t find a friend anywhere. I am friendless, moving amongst foreigners or maybe enemies. But I must have a friend or some friendly atmosphere. I must come into such company in which I can put full faith, in which I can believe and trust, otherwise my life will be miserable. If wherever I cast my glance I think, “I can’t trust, I can’t trust, all are enemies” – to live in such an atmosphere is to in a particular prison-house; all uncertainty, all untrustworthiness; that is very deplorable position. So, by God’s grace sraddha should come to us: “I can not only trust and believe, but I cannot but show my regard to a personality of the higher position.” Gurum eva bhigacchet.

7:6

The destination has been settled, but how shall I reach it? When shall reach it? Those who come to my aid to take me there – they are my master, my Gurus: Siksa-guru and Diksa-guru. Whoever helps me to go there is my Guru. He is my guide who will help me to reach my located destination, the station of my innermost hankering (radhaikamadhavasam prapto yasya prathitah krpaya sri-gurum tam nato’smi). He has helped me to locate my destination; he has educated me how and what to aspire after, and how to reach that highest aspired shelter. I have attained all these things through him. He is my all-in-all in life, the master of my life. There is a boat, and he is the helmsman (gurukarnad-haram). I have surrendered unto him, I have accepted him. I have boarded his boat and he is taking me towards the goal of my life.

Epilogue

The Key to it All

This Nabadwip Dham, on the banks of the Ganges, ah such great value, especially for the realisation of our highest self, as recommended by Sriman Mahaprabhu. It is the land of love, sweetness, charm and beauty – all are synonymous. It is heart–capturing. Our real existence is neither in our knowledge nor our power, but in our heart. Really, our proper identification is with our heart. So, in which direction our heart is moving, that is the allimportant factor in our life. It is a heart-transaction.

Mahaprabhu recommended: “Don’t rely on your knowledge, reasoning capacity, or power, but the heart-transaction is all-important in you. The inner factor of your existence is in your heart. So try to guide your heart towards sweetness – towards home. And your real home is not here where we are wandering around with no certainty throughout eight million four hundred thousand species according to our karmma. But only in the human birth, with the help of the Divine Agent, can we go back to our home: to home and affection.”Home is there, where the environment will take care of us, our fortune, and our comfort, independent of our consideration. The affectionate paraphernalia there will help us very affectionately and lovingly. So we should make good use of this opportunity to go back to God, back to home, our sweet, sweet home.

Mahaprabhu recommended the path: “With the help of the Divine Agent and the revealed Scriptures, try to go there yourself. Your present position is uncertain. After death it is not fixed where you will be carried by the current of your previous karmma, therefore try to utilise for the best whatever time is available before your death. You have free-will, therefore those days before your death are to some degree in your hand to use, so that time you must utilise with the utmost care for God-realisation.” There is nothing so important as this for all of us.

The advice in common for us all is: “Give up all your duties and jump into the one duty, to go back home. There everything is full and complete, and everyone will look after your real interest. So you must go there: back to God, back to home.”

The Maha-Mantra and its glories

The Supreme Mantra of the Holy Name of the Supreme Lord –

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The Glories of the Holy Name –

Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam

Kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

The Holy Name, the Holy Name, the Holy Name alone –

in this age of Kali there is no other shelter, no other shelter, no other shelter.

(Brhan Naradiya Purana)

kaler dosa-nidhe rajannasti hy eko mahan gunah

kirttanad evy krsnasya mukta-bandhah param vrajet

O King, this age of Kali is a reservoir of wrong, yet it has but one glorious quality; in this age, simply by chanting the Glories of Sri Krsna, the soul is freed from the bondage of Maya and attains the shelter of the Lord Himself.

(Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51)