Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.37
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Toronto · 2005
Chapters
Reading verse on qualities of devotees
Samadrishā Equipoised Suddha Cleansed Purified Sarva Sarva All All Buddha Living Entities Anuranjanaha Pleasing Yanti Go Anjasa Easily Achutta of the Lord Padam to the abode to the abode Achyuta Priya priya with devotees of the Lord.
Pandavaha Friends Translation Persons who are peaceful, equipoised, cleansed, and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all other living entities, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord.
They alone can very easily achieve the perfection of going back home, back to God. The description of this verse fully indicates that only devotees are eligible to enter into the kingdom of God.
The first point stated is that devotees are peaceful, for they have no demands for their personal sense gratification. They are simply dedicated to the service of the Lord.
Karmis cannot be peaceful because they have immense demands for sense gratification. As for gyanis, they cannot be peaceful because they are too busy trying to attain liberation or merge into the existence of the Supreme.
Similarly, yogis are also restless to get mystic power. But a devotee is peaceful because he is fully surrendered to the supreme personality of Godhead and thinks of himself as completely helpless.
Just as a child feels complete peace and depending on the parents, so a devotee is completely peaceful, for he depends on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Devotee is equipoised.
He sees everyone in the same transcendental platform. A devotee knows that although a conditioned soul has a particular type of body according to his past fruit of activities. Factually everyone is a part of Supreme Lord.
A devotee sees all living entities with spiritual vision and does not discriminate on the platform of the bodily concept of life. Such qualities developed only in the association of devotees.
Without the association of devotees one cannot advance in Krishna consciousness. Therefore, we have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Factually, however, in this society, factually,
whoever lives in this society automatically develops Krishna consciousness. Devotees are dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is only dear to devotees.
On this platform, only one can on this platform only one can make progress in Krishna consciousness.
Persons in Krishna consciousness or the voice of the Lord can please everyone, as is evident in Krishna consciousness movement, we invite everyone without discrimination,
we request everyone to sit down and chant the Hare Krishna mantra and take as much prasāda as we can supply. And thus everyone is pleased with us. This is the qualification. Sarva Buddha Anuranjanaha.
As for purification, no one can be more pure than devotees. Anyone who once utters the name of Vishnu, immediately becomes purified inside and outside. Yasmād Puṇḍarīkākṣam.
Since the devotee constantly chants the Hare Krishna mantra, no contamination of the material world can touch him. He is therefore actually purified. Śucir bhavati śucir bhavati yadi kṛṣṇa-bhakti-paraḥ.
It is said that even a cobbler or person born in a family of a cobbler can be elevated to the position of a brāhmaṇa śuci if he takes to Krishna consciousness. Any person who is purely Krishna conscious and who engages in chanting the
Hare Krishna mahā-mantra is the purest in the whole universe. Śila Prabhupāda ki, śāntaḥ samadṛśaḥ śuddhāḥ sarva-bhūtānurañjanāḥ yānti acyuta-padam.
who have peaceful equipoise cleansed and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all the living beings, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord, they alone can very easily achieve the perfection of going back home, back to God.
Namaḥ oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine namaste sarasvate deve śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare Hare.
Cultivating the Vaikuntha mood and qualities
So just, uh, look at this, please. Oh really? Yes. Okay.
So this is very appropriate that we are reading this verse which describes the qualities of devotees and Prabhupāda stresses in the purport, and in fact this is said here in this verse that only because of these qualities devotees are eligible to go back home back to God.
Sometimes we think that the process of going back home, back to Godhead, is an automatic process. That we don't have to do anything special.
But in fact, the lesson of this verse is that one has to have certain qualities because if one does not possess these particular qualities, there is no chance for him to go back home to Godhead.
And the process of devotional service is the process of developing these qualities. It's very logical because one has to possess a certain type of mood, a certain type of body, to be in a particular environment.
In Vaishnava Gaudiya Vaishnava literature it is very clearly explained that place means mood. Like for example, what is Vrindavan? Vṛndāvana means a certain mood.
It's not only a particular place, but the essence of the place is a mood. Like Prabhupada said that temples of the Lord are the embassy of the supreme abode of Vaikuṇṭha. Because there is a certain mood.
Each and every place is a place conducive to develop certain moods. Certain modes of material nature influence us.
And a place again means mood and unless we develop the mood which is uh conducive or which is appropriate to a certain place, we will not be able to go to this place. We can only go to Vaikuṇṭha if we have Vaikuṇṭha mood.
Vaikuṇṭha means no anxieties. Vaikuṇṭha means a place which is completely peaceful and free from all kinds of anxieties. Therefore this verse starts from this word, śānta, which means peaceful.
You can only go to Vaikuṇṭha if you are completely free from all the desires. If you are in anxiety, if your desires are tearing apart your heart, you will not be able to go to Vaikuṇṭha.
For that, there is an appropriate place, and this place is called material world. Here in this material world, you can be in anxiety as much as you like.
You can have all kinds of material desires and you can fulfill all your desires. But if you want to go to Vaikuṇṭha, you have to become peaceful even here.
Only when you develop this mood, which is totally completely Vaikuṇṭha mood, then you can reach Vaikuṇṭha. Then automatically you can reach Vaikuṇṭha. It is said here anjasa. Anjasa means very easily.
You can go to this place. If you're already in this atmosphere, if you have created this atmosphere within your heart. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī on Kurukṣetra when she is calling Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana.
She says, my mind is Vṛndāvana. She says, Kṛṣṇa, you love Vṛndāvana so much because Vṛndāvana is a certain peaceful place, it's a certain atmosphere of love.
And she says my mind is Vṛndāvana And my mind is no different than Vṛndāvana. And that's why she started pulling Kṛṣṇa, pulling Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana.
And Kṛṣṇa couldn't help but go back to Vṛndāvana because he was so attracted to this atmosphere of Vṛndāvana.
And in the same way, when our mind becomes peaceful, when our mind becomes this spiritual, spiritual world, the spiritual atmosphere descends within our mind. Only then Krishna can enter our mind.
We will not be able to remember about Krishna if our mind remains this dirty place which is very much appropriate to this material world. So, and this is one point of this verse, very essential, in that we have to develop certain qualities.
In the 10th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīdhara Svāmī, commenting on the verse, Tattenukampām-susamīkṣamāṇaṁ from the 14th chapter of the 10th Canto,
Prayers of Lord Brahmā, Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that one can only go to sun in one if one has fiery body.
You know, if you go to sun, if you want to go to the sun, you know, you make a very beautiful spaceship and you go to sun. This is expedition to sun. But how far you can go? You will be burned.
Because your body is not conducive to the atmosphere of the sun.
But you can go to the sun and enjoy sun only if you have sunny body, only if your body is fiery, uh, has the quality of fire, then you can go to the sun and enjoy the opulences of the sun.
So, in a similar way, if we go, if you want to go to Vaikuṇṭha and enjoy opulences of Vaikuṇṭha, which are plenty, the opulences of Vaikuṇṭha are so great that there is no words to describe the opulence of this place.
We have to create certain body within ourselves.
Influence of association on spiritual nature
And the practice of Krishna consciousness is the way to create this kind of atmosphere within our heart, within our mind, within our bodies.
And the life of Dhruva Mahārāja is a very good example of how it is being created. Because sometimes we uh like to repeat Prabhupada's words that everything comes automatically for a devotee. And that's a fact.
He even says this in this purport when he says that if one remains in the society of devotees, all these qualities more or less automatically will develop within himself.
Because again, the main point is that you can develop these qualities only when you see somebody who already has these qualities, only when you associate with somebody who already possesses these qualities.
You basically develop the nature of somebody whom you associate with. The nature is developed according to the association. It's a very strong statement of our philosophy.
It is said by Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā. In Bhagavad-gītā he answers the question of Arjuna. Arjuna asks him, what is adhyātma? In the 7th chapter, and the end of 7th chapter, Arjuna, no,
in the beginning of 8th chapter, Arjuna asks, what is adhyātma? What is this principle which governs the soul?
Ātmā means soul, and adhyātma means something which is higher than ātmā. What is this principle which the soul basically more or less follows. Who is governing the soul?
And Krishna answers, svabhāva. And svabhāva means nature. And meaning in this statement of Krishna is very deep.
That the soul, being very small, belonging to taṭasthā-śakti, to the marginal energy of the Lord, acquires the quality of the environment, the qualities of the nature which surrounds the soul.
If you are in Canada, you acquire the qualities of a Canadian, there's a certain mood here, and you become a Canadian, you know. Even though you may be Russian by birth, but you come to Canada and sooner or later you become a Canadian.
And the principle here is that you acquire qualities of your association. If you associate with certain modes of material nature,
If you are constantly, consistently associated with the mode of goodness, you will become a good person. If you consistently associate with the mode of tamas, ignorance, you become very ignorant.
You know, it is also explained in the 11th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where uh Krishna explains that there are certain agents which influence our consciousness.
He says basically he lists 10 or 11 different agents which are the agents of different qualities. And he starts off saying: he says: the scriptures is one of the agents.
Water is another agent, time is another agent, place is another agent. He gives the list of certain powerful influences of forces which actually change our nature.
It is explained in the purport to this verse, for example, that there are scriptures in the mode of goodness, and there are scriptures in the mode of ignorance, and there are scriptures in the mode of rajas.
And you read particular scripture, you know if you read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it's pure goodness. Then you develop certain kind of mood gradually, gradually.
You know if every day you read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then it somehow rather sinks in, even though you resist it. Somehow or other this philosophy goes inside your heart.
But if you read some kind of rajasic literature, then this rajas will go inside your heart.
Or if you write or read tamasic literature or tamasic scripture like there are scriptures, uh, tantric scriptures which recommend uh intake of wine or taking meat or doing all kinds of tantric rituals, then you will develop this tamasic nature.
There is no doubt about it. And then it's also interesting because one of the most powerful influences which develop or which influences your nature is water. Because water means taste. And taste is a very powerful agent.
Whatever taste you intake, it will influence your heart. Like, for example, if you take whiskey or vodka or beer, it is a very powerful agent to influence your consciousness.
You take alcohol again and again and again and you become totally tamassic.
You become like alcohol, you know, you become alcoholic. You become inside alcoholic, outside alcoholic, your consciousness acquires certain qualities. And that's the point.
And therefore Prabhupada he makes this point very clearly. And therefore it is specifically said there, Achyuta Achutta Priya Bhandavaha. This verse starts with Santaha. Shantaha means peaceful.
Santaha means you have no desires. But how you can develop this quality of desirelessness in this material world where everyone desires so much.
You know, you go out on the street and you have the big billboard and the billboard says desire, desire, this is what you want. And you feel like, you know, yes, that's what I want, you know, this is what I want.
One guy is driving a big car, Mercedes car, and you think, yes, I want this and I want that and I want that. So many objects of desires are here in this world. And people are making plans.
You know, I want this and I want that, and I will execute this plan and that plan.
Therefore, it is specifically said that you can only achieve the state of complete peacefulness, which is a preliminary qualification, which is a necessary qualification to go to Vaikuṇṭha.
There is no chance for you to go to Vaikuṇṭha unless all your desires are already done. You are done with all your desires. If you have even small, tiny, little desire lingering within your heart.
Dying, you will remember about this desire. And because you will remember about desire, Krishna will remind you about this desire. You may even try to hide it away, even from yourself.
You may try to somehow or other be oblivious of this desire, but Krishna very kindly will remind you about this desire. And this desire will be executed in the next life.
You will take birth again, you know, to fulfill your crazy, stupid, ridiculous desire in this world. So therefore, the first preliminary qualification to go to Vaikuṇṭha you become Shanthaha.
But the condition to become Santaha means Achyuta Priya Bandavaha, you become a friend of devotees.
You have to become really close friend with the devotees, to associate with devotees very closely to acquire this quality of peacefulness. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way.
There is no chance uh to acquire all these qualities unless and until you associate with devotees.
Stages in the journey of Dhruva Maharaja
And again, of course, this is the story of uh Dhruva Mahārāja, and that's not only the story of Dhruva Mahārāja, that's the story of any one of us who is an aspiring devotee.
In the next verse or in one of the next verses when Nārada Muni will conclude this narration of Dhruva Mahārāj, he will say a very important point. He will say that this narration is very dear to the devotees.
Why this narration is so dear to the devotees? Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Gadādhara Paṇḍita would listen to this narration hundreds of times. Gadādhara Paṇḍita would read this story of Dhruva Mahārāja.
And when he would finish this story, Caitanya Mahāprabhu would say, read it again, read it again, read it again. Hundreds of times he would listen to this story of Dhruva Mahārāja. The question is why?
And it's indeed a very important question because you know,
one would assume that Caitanya Mahāprabhu would ask Gadādhara Paṇḍita, why don't you read Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about Kṛṣṇa? Why do you read all this, you know, Fourth Canto, Third Canto, and Second Canto and Seventh Canto.
But Caitanya Mahāprabhu would ask again and again. Please read to me the story of Dhruva. Please read to me the story of Prahlāda. And this is very important. And there are two reasons for this. At least two reasons.
Actually there are many more reasons for this. But one of the reasons which is uh relevant for us is that
because Dhruva Mahārāja was not a pure devotee in the beginning. Because Dhruva Mahārāja was a sādhaka. Of course, this is not the reason which is relevant for Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu is asking this to read this story because for him anyway I will tell about this a little later why this story is so dear for Caitanya. From this story we can learn how to become pure devotees.
Dhruva Mahārāja started off as somebody who had all material desires. He didn't start off as a pure devotee who was searching for God.
He started off as somebody who was offended, who was a materialist, and who wanted kingdom which is bigger than the kingdom of his father. He had all material desires. He had greed.
He has a very strong greed to acquire a lot of opulences, to acquire a lot of wealth, to acquire a lot of enjoyment in this world. So that was initial point, uh, of his devotional service.
And of course, uh, we know, uh, why the story of Dhruva Mahārāja is so important, because in the story of Dhruva Mahārāja we have all kinds of gurus who guide him in this path. The first guru is his mother.
His mother says, if you want to fulfill your desires, go to forest and pray to the Lord. This is the way to fulfill all your desires. I heard that the Lord is living somewhere there in the forest.
Therefore all the ṛṣis and munis they go to the forest because supposedly Nārāyaṇa is only dwelling there. He is not living in this big cities or whatever. You go to the forest.
She is Vartma Pradarsaka Guru. She's showing the way to Dhruva Maharaj and she's saying, My dear son if you want to fulfill your desire, go to the Lord. There is no other way to fulfill your desire. There is no other way to be fulfilled.
We are unfulfilled because we are so small. We are incomplete. And therefore we want we have to come to the Lord, we have to come closer to the Lord to feel the completeness of the Lord. Anyway, he goes to the forest.
And on the way to the forest he sees Narada Muni. And Narada Muni of course he's Diksha Guru. First you have Vartma Pradaksaka Guru who shows you the way.
But then you need to meet with a pure devotee who you who will give you Diksha. And Narada Muni tests him and he says, Why do you go to the forest? You know, go back.
You know, you're a small boy. Small boys don't live in the forest. There are so many animals there and you know anyway what do you want there in the forest?
You know, uh, first go, you know, you can only approach God if you're completely free from all your material desires, go first to the palace, fulfill your desires, then come back to the forest when you are old. And then do your practice.
And Dhruva Maharaj says, No, no, no, I want to go to the forest. Then Narada Muni says, Okay, if you really want it, here is the process. Take this mantra.
And he gives the mantra, Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. He gives the initiation into this mantra. And by practicing this Dhruva Maharaja achieves amazing success.
He practiced this with, you know, fierce determination, he chants this mantra, he stands on one leg, he performs all kinds of activities, so much so that the Lord is forced to come to fulfill the promise of his pure devotee, Narada Muni.
Not because of not so much because of Dhruva Maharaj's austerities, because you cannot really get the Lord by austerities. But to fulfil the promise of Narada Muni, the Lord Himself comes.
And that's basically the turning point in the career of Dhruva Maharaj because when the Lord comes and when the Lord asks Dhruva Maharaj, What do you want, my dear sir? You wanted me so badly, here I am.
And Dhruva Maharaj, he stands there dumb. He doesn't know what to say because he's so overwhelmed by the beauty of the Lord.
And he says, My Lord, I don't want anything. You are here, you are in front of me. My Lord, I only want you. And the Lord touches him with his conch shell. And Dhruva Maharaj starts praying to the Lord.
And this is the point where he becomes a pure devotee because all his desires vanish. But that's not enough.
Philosophical instruction and tests of purification
The most amazing point of this story about Dhruva Maharaj is that even though the Lord comes in front of him in person, that would be a happy end of anyone, uh of anyone's story. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not that simple.
The Lord Himself comes to Dhruva Maharaj, the Lord Himself touches him, hits him by the head and says, please, you know, come to your senses.
But then what happens with Dhruva Maharaj is that he goes back to his kingdom and he starts killing Yakṣas and you know gets very angry and again he seemingly, uh slips into some kind of material consciousness.
And therefore Svāyambhuva Manu comes in front of him as śikṣā-guru. It is again very important point here and a very relevant point for us because it's not enough just to get initiation and it's not enough even to perform austerities.
Because in Caitanya-caritāmṛta it's very clearly said that when you get initiation, you get the darshan of the Lord. Initiation means with the mantra, a pure devotee gives you the power to see the Lord.
But still, it's not enough. Even when you see the Lord, and even when you completely free yourself from all all other desires and you only have this one desire to get to the Lord, still you have to get to Him.
Dhruva Maharaj doesn't go back to Vaikuṇṭha immediately after meeting with the Lord. And the Lord Himself says, you have a long way to go. Here I am in front of you for a split moment of a short darshan.
But then after understanding that I am the real goal, that everything else is futile, everything else is ridiculous, everything else is not worth of trying or working for it, then you still have to overcome all these problems which are there within your heart. And we see that the Supreme Lord arranges this ridiculous
situation for Dhruva Maharaj.
Dhruva Maharaj goes to Yakṣas and Yakṣas are fighting with him, and he's fighting with them, and he's becoming so angry and he kills Yakṣas after Yakṣas, so many hundreds and millions of these Yakṣas.
And then Svāyambhuva Manu comes to him as śikṣā-guru.
And actually the real teaching in this life of Dhruva Maharaj is given by Svāyambhuva Manu. He gives him in this particular chapter of this story, he gives him some jñāna-jñāna. You know, the point here is that you cannot really develop all these qualities unless and until you really develop very, you know strong philosophical foundation for your life.
And then after that, after this story, when Svāyambhuva Manu comes to Dhruva Mahārāja and teaches him sambandha-jñāna, explains to him philosophy.
Because before that, Dhruva Mahārāja didn't know any philosophy, he was just performing austerities.
So again, here you need a Shiksha Guru who will teach you philosophy, who will tell you what to do, what not to do, how to behave, how to place yourself in this world.
Because still, despite of getting initiation, despite of chanting the mantra, despite of performing austerities, you still have to purify your heart. That's again one of the qualities which is uh mentioned here, Sudhaha.
Santaha, first you have to become peaceful, then you have to look equally on every living being. And then Sudaha, you have to become completely pure within your heart.
So and then after this story, after Svāyambhuva Manu gives him this teaching, there is again a very significant event in Dhruva Mahārāja's life when Kuvera comes to him. And I was thinking, why did Kuvera come to him?
It's Kuvera in person comes to him and Kuvera says, what do you want? And the answer is very simple. It's again a test. Because initially, what did Dhruva Mahārāja want? He wanted wealth.
And therefore Kuvera, the god of wealth, who has all the wealth of the demigods, comes to him and says, my dear son, what do you want? Please ask me, what do you want?
I can give you all the wealth. Sorry, I don't need it, I need bhakti. If Kubera would come to us, God save us, what would we ask of him? Of course we would ask money.
We would say, you know, you're God of wealth, you're demigod of wealth. Give me money, give me money. I want money. Dhruva Mahārāja.
Again, this is uh in one sense metaphorical description of the tests which devotees have to undergo. After practicing devotional service, after getting devotional service, you will be tempted or seduced.
Somebody will come to you and say, do you want money? And most of us will say, of course I do. What do you mean? Of course I do want money.
So Kuvera comes in front of Dhruva Mahārāja and Kuvera says, What do you want? And Dhruva Mahārāja says, I only want bhakti. Please give me pure divorce. Please give me the chance. Please give me that's his prayer.
Please give me the quality or give me the uh power to remember about the Lord all the time. I don't want anything else. I want to remember about him. So he passes this test. But still, this is not enough.
Even this is not enough, because the rest of the life of Dhruva Mahārāja is again described in this chapter, and it is said that after that, he was ruling the world, he was following regulative principles, he was performing his duties, and he was trying to get rid of the leftovers of his karma.
It is specifically said that there he was burning his karma, his good karma by enjoying and his bad karma by performing austerities and and he was performing so many sacrifices for 36,000 years.
And even this was not enough. And after that, to burn away the last traces of bad habits, of bad karma, of everything else, he would go to the forest.
And in the forest he would perform austerities, he would again remember his beginning of his devotional career, again to be completely purified, to go to Vaikuṇṭha. And only after that he goes to Vaikuṇṭha, not before.
Reflecting on the passing of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja
Only after undergoing all these problems in the forest, you know, and completely purifying himself, he meets with all this with the Vishnu Dutas who come to take him to Vaikunha planet.
And you know today Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja passed away and I was recently there in Gitanagari. I was fortunate enough to have his darshan just a couple of weeks ago when he already stopped meeting with the devotees.
And before that I was speaking with Radhanat Maharaj, His Holiness Radhanat Maharaj, who was his caretaker, who was near him. And we naturally spoke about Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja and about the experiences he goes through.
And I know there are so many devotees in the movement who asked why. Why did Krishna arrange it for him like this? Why did he have to undergo so much sufferings and so much problems and so much
you know kind of things and of course whatever Krishna does, especially when it refers to a pure devotee, he has many, many purposes to be fulfilled. And one obvious answer is that it's a lesson for every one of us.
Prabhupada, when he was dying, and it was also not an easy death. Prabhupada, for months and months and months he was suffering very severely. And by the way, he was teaching all of his young disciples of how to die.
You know, he was lying on the bed, on the deathbed in Vrindavan, and all these young disciples, full of vigor and energy, surrounded him.
And once he would say to him, to them, you know, don't think it will not happen with you. Because when you're full of energy, when you're young, you think, yeah, yeah, yeah, I will not die.
Oh, I will die, but it will be loved quickly. No, no. It's not an easy process. It's difficult. You will have to undergo agony and pain and suffering.
And there is a lot of chances that you will forget about the Supreme Lord in this. So in the similar way, when Bhakti Tirda Maharaj was undergoing all these problems and difficulties, this is a lesson for every one of us.
This is what is ahead of all of us. No matter who we are, and if we are not serious about devotional service, and sometimes we tend to be a little negligent or little complacent, you know.
I have it all, you know, it's yes, I am chanting Hare Krishna mantra. But no. You know you are chanting Hare Krishna mantra, but still your heart have to be completely pure.
But then another lesson, and that's what His Holiness Radhanat Maharaj told me, when I asked him this question, why? Why does it happen? Does it have to happen like this.
Why Maharaj has to undergo so much suffering before he goes back to Krishna? And actually when I met with him he was crying and I was crying when we met each other and he said, I don't know where I'm going.
But if I go to Ikunha, I will prepare a nice place for every one of you. And I said Maharaj, you know, you for sure you're going to work on it, don't worry about this.
But I asked Radhan and Maharaj, why does it happen like this? Maharaj said, you know, see devotional service is a scientific process and specifically uh it is a lesson of every verse in Shiman Bhagavatam.
And this particular verse is again, a reminder for us that this is not just kind of cheap religion. You know, sometimes people they think that religion is just to create some miracle. Or just kind of cheap, you know.
So many religions they just give you cheap promises. You just become the member of our sect, you pay some little money to us, and you will go back to Godhead, no problem. You know, no, this is not this is not true.
You know, even though Prabhupada says here that you have to remain in a society of devotees to go back to Godhead, but this is just a preliminary demand or preliminary
requirement because you may uh remain in the society of devotees, but if you don't purify your heart you will not go to back to God.
You just remain here, so many things remain here, so many cockroaches remain in this temple or whatever, you know, so many little living entities are also here in this temple.
Does it mean that they will go back to Godhead? Not necessarily. Because you have to uh mm develop a very strong desire for this, you have to develop very pure heart for this.
And when I asked this question of Radhanat Maharaj, why does it happen with Maharaj, he he gave a very amazing answer, the answer which actually struck me. Because he said that uh when we are in association with devotees,
it's dangerous in one sense too. We may create so many offenses. It is specifically said there here that he became a chuta pre Bandhavaha. Santaha is the first quality.
Samadrisa he is equipped, he has equal vision, Sudhaha, he has very pure heart, Sarvabhutta, Anurajanaha, he is pleasing to everyone. But then again, Achutta Priya Bandhavaha is the most important quality because you cannot
go back to Godhead if you are uh unless you are a very good friend with all the devotees because there in the Vaikuṇṭha there's only devotees and if you cannot stand devotees, if you don't like devotees.
You cannot get there, you cannot go there, you have no place there. So and Maraj said that those people and we can see those disciples of Srila Prabhupada who were somewhat complacent or negligent or
who didn't understand this very important point that you have to become a servant of devotees, you have to become a friend of devotees, who offended devotees. Krishna teaches them in a very severe way.
When you offend devotees, you lose any little traces of bhakti which may be still there in your heart. You may perform so many other things, you may chant mantras, you may, you know, do so many other things.
If you offend devotees, you will lose bhakti. And that's a very severe lesson. I've seen it how it happens, you know. Somebody may be very brilliant, may perform so much service to the Supreme Lord,
if he offends devotees, sooner or later he loses his bhakti. And it may come again if he really comes to his senses, if he really understands what he has lost.
But at least temporarily, this is a very severe lesson which Krishna gives. Krishna says, you know, if you offend my devotees there is no chance for you to keep
bhakti towards me and that's one thing but then Maharaj said but even if you are if you are not offending devotees still, in this society, it's very dangerous to be here in this society.
You may not be offending devotees, but uh or you may not be doing it in a gross way, still you're doing some little offenses here and there. Still in the mind you think you're higher than other devotees.
Still in your mind you think I'm better than other devotees. This is also offense. Because there are grades and shades and different gradations of offense.
In Skanda Purana it is said if you don't smile when you see a devotee, you're offending him. Because you have to be happy within your heart. If you see a devotee, you have to really smile, you know.
And sometimes we don't smile when we see devotees. Oftentimes we don't smile with him. Here he is, here he comes. What is he doing here? Oh this guy, yeah, I know this guy. This is again this is little offenses.
And and besides that, uh, you know it's a dangerous society because in this society you can get also honor, you can get respect and you can be affected by all these things as
as much as Dhruva Maharaja Dhruva Maharaja he very consciously he tries to purify his heart from the last traces of his material attachments. It is specifically said there that he is enjoying the opulences of kingly life.
Why is he enjoying? Not for the sake of enjoyment, but for the sake of burning away the bad the good karma which he has. That's his purpose.
Yes, he takes the enjoyment and he's very happy about taking enjoyment, not for the enjoyment's sake, but saying, you know, now I'm free from this chunk of karma, you know. But we may be affected by all this good karma.
On the way of doing devotional service, we acquire some good karma, and some good karma comes in a in a way of praise or in a way of honor and a way of respect in a way of this and that or in a way of some money, you know.
And we can be affected by this, subtly or grossly. So because of these subtle things, this is uh
and uh Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains this in uh Mādhurya-kādambinī where he explains the stages of devotional service, of the development of devotional service.
And he says there that there are some anarthas which are created by our performance of devotional service.
Not only anarthas which are created by our past sinful activities, not only anarthas which are created by our past uh pious activities, but anarthas which are specifically created by our performance of devotional service.
And your heart has to be completely free from all these anarthas before you go back home, back to Godhead. And that's basically the lesson of this story.
And Radhanath Maharaja told me that, you know this is this last uh days of Bhakti Tirta Maharaj's life is the lesson for all of us that we may have to go through all this sufferings and all these problems again to become completely free from all these traces of material attachments which we may acquire on the way of performing devotional service.
That's the point. If we are not really conscious about this, here Dhruva Maharaj is very conscious about this, he's extremely conscious about this.
He lives his life, he performs his duties, he is perfect in all respects, he is applying the teaching of his guru Narada Muni and Swambu Manu perfectly in his life, but still he's very consciously trying to remove all the traces of past attachments.
If we are not consciously doing this, Krishna will arrange the situation for us in which all these attachments will be burned. And it may be painful.
Because either you perform austerities voluntarily, and that's pain, but it's you know your self-inflicted pain. You're doing it yourself.
But if you don't do yourself and still you're a devotee of the Lord, you're not offending other devotees, you still really want to go to Krishna, you still want this desire and you're focused on this, then Krishna will be very merciful to you.
That's actually the manifestation of the supreme mercy of the Lord.
He will arrange this kind of process and the end of your life. And through this process and the end of your life the last traces of material attachments and material problems will be burnt away.
So that's uh that's reality. That's science. If you really have this desire to go back home back to God, you have to develop these qualities.
And if you don't develop these qualities consciously, then Krishna will help you to develop these qualities. But it may be very painful.
So it is much better to try to develop these qualities or at least to be very conscious while we are practicing Krishna consciousness because Krishna consciousness means consciousness.
Sometimes we think that Krishna consciousness means to be totally unconscious about everything and to do everything automatically, you know. Automatically chant, automatically go to the deities, automatically perform our duties. But this is Krishna consciousness.
It means you have to be conscious.
And consciousness means again to understand the science, to understand the sambandha jnana, the science of devotional service, which is necessary uh for you to really analyze your heart, what is going on within your heart.
And then applying this science within your life, which is necessary to purify the heart of all the last traces of material attachments.
And then ultimately, uh you know in the last you know few days of your life you may be able to completely purify yourself and chant the holy name and the end of your life and in this way passing this last test or last examination which is still ahead of all of us.
But if we don't do this, well, if we're still dear to the devotees of the Lord and if devotees of the Lord pray for us, then Krishna will still be merciful to us and He will help us. He will help to purify our heart completely.
And when I saw Bhakti Tirta Maharaj, that was a very strong impression which I had. Actually, Radhana Maharaj told me about Samba, son of Hayagriva and he said that Samba
son of Hayagriva visited Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj in one of his last days and he went out crying and he said there is no one I have not seen anyone who is as close to God as this man.
And that's exactly the impression which which was there, you know, this the whole atmosphere around Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj was so so charged with this amazing
qualities, amazing purity that, uh, you know, you, it, it's just it it was not this world. It was not of this world. It was, you know, it was Vaikuṇṭha, really.
That was a very good lesson for all of us that ultimately this hundred percent purity is the price which we have to pay to go back home, back to Godhead. Hundred percent, not 99.9. Not even ninety-nine point ninety-nine.
It has to be hundred percent, one hundred percent pure. Then only we can go back home, back to Godhead. And uh uh uh when I was leaving
this place Gitanagari, Raghunatha dasa Goswami told me that this is actually the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. When we can see about all the sufferings and at the same time when we
how many devotees they paid their homage to Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj, how many devotees prayed for him, how many devotees acquired love and uh how much love Bhakti Tirta Maharaj had for all the devotees.
It was actually even painful to see how much genuine love he had. He only, you know, the impression which which you got being near him is that he is made of this love. Love for the devotees.
There's nothing else within his heart. He only wants to love devotees, he only wants to give to the devotees.
In the very last moments of his life, and Raghunatha dasa Goswami said that this is, this is manifestation of the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is pleased with you.
And her mercy manifests in this most amazing way is that within your heart there is only love for others. There is nothing else. Nothing else remains there.
And if this condition of your heart is created by your sadhana, by your service to the devotees, by your service to your guru, by your chanting, then only you can be sure that you go back home back to Vaikuṇṭha. If you only acquire the mercy of all the devotees of the Lord, which will ultimately
manifest in the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the foremost devotee of the Lord, then your heart will become totally pure, and then for sure you will go back home back to Godhead. There is no doubt about it.
There is no trace of a doubt about it. So today is a very auspicious day, because today we're all witnesses of this amazing event, passing away of Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja. It is amazing, it's dramatic.
And you know, this is again this is the point of this story, very important point of this story, is that devotional service, even though it is said specifically here, Yadn Anjasatriya Padam,
very easily he went to Vaikuntha. But this last passage to Vaikuntha is easy. But to reach to this point, to get to this point, it's not easy.
You have to undergo so many tests and obstacles, and you have to be really determined to pass all these tests and obstacles to reach to this final abode.
And only when you reach this abode, and therefore this story is so dear to the devotees because it teaches us how to uh face all these difficulties and how to un undergo all these tests and how ultimately go back home back to Godhead.
So thank you very much. I didn't know that Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja passed away, but this is very appropriate according to this verse. Yeah, this is verse of the point. That's very up to the point. Okay, thank you.
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! His Holiness Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja.