Glorification of Hari, Guru, Vaiñëavas
on Vyäsa-püjä Day by
Déna-akiïcana
A presentation by
Çré Çrémad Bhaktivedänta
Vämana Gosvämé Mahäräja,
on his Vyäsa-püjä day 7th January 2002
at Çré Keçava Gosvämé Gauòéya Maöha, Siliguòi
Today is a special day. On the
ocassion of someone’s appearance day, an arrangement is made for the special
worship of Çré Guru, Vaiñëavas and Bhagavän. Turyäçramigaëa
(those in the sannyäsa order), coming in the line of Çré Vyäsa, perform the worship of
previous gurus on their respective appearance days. The invocation and
performance of Vyäsa-püjä on the guru’s appearance day, indeed, includes the worship of Bhagavän Çré
Vyäsadeva and that of the whole Vaiyäsaki-sampradäya (that sampradäya in which Çrémad-Bhägavatam is spoken by Çré
Çukadeva Gosvämé, the son of Vyäsadeva). Without following Vyäsa, there is no
real fruit of guru-püjä. As His prakäça-vigraha, Çré Vyäsadeva is non-different from Bhagavän Himself. In order
to reveal Himself, Bhagavän has manifested Himself in the form of
transcendental sound as Veda-çästra. Furthermore, since the Vedas are incomprehensible by ordinary intelligence, there was a need
to expand and explain them. Bhagavän Himself, as Vyäsa, performed the act of
expanding the Vedas. He Himself is tattva-vastu, the Absolute Reality, and unless He makes Himself known to
others, no one can know Him in truth.
Vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva
vedyo vedänta-kåd vedavid eva cäham. Çré Kåñëa has
said (BG 15.15): “I am indeed that ‘vastu’ (reality) that is established by the Vedas, I alone know the import of
the Vedas, and I alone have manifested Vedänta. Therefore, without the anugatya (guidance) of Vyäsa, there
is no other bona-fide or proper means to know Bhagavän.”
Çré Gurudeva, as the
representative of Çré Vyäsadeva, reveals bhagavat-tattva.
Through gurupüjä, Vyäsa-püjä is indeed accomplished, and this is the vaiñiñtya, (speciality) of the
Vyäsänuga-sampradäya. Çré guru-tattva and çré vyäsa-tattva are the same. For this reason, Çré Vyäsa-püjä means to offer pädya to the lotus feet of Çré Guru. The
disciple who knows the mano-’bhiñöaà of Çré Gurudeva, understands that the innermost desire of his guru is that he engages in perfect bhajana. That distinquished bhagavat-seva is not just an
external offering, but it is the offering of pädya
in a real way.
Çästras say:
tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum
eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà
brahma-niñöham
“To understand these things
properly, one must humbly
approach, with firewood in hand, a
spiritual master
who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the
Absolute Truth.” (Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12)
The word tad-vijïänärthaà does not only
mean tattva-jïäna, (knowledge
of the Absolute Truth) but rather tattva-jïäna
endowed with vijïäna, realization. In other words, one has to attain the tattvajïäna of prema-bhakti.
In many instances, the
understanding of tattvajïäna leads to the conception of impersonal brahma, by which a jéva cannot attain deliverance from the spell of avidya, ignorance. The Transcendental Entity who is actually referred to
by çästra by the word nirviçesa cannot be comprehended or
conceived by those endowed with mundane understanding. If brahma is devoid of variety, then
from where have all
the specialities and varieties of this world come? The impersonalists have imagined a conception about brahma, the Transcendental Reality, however, brahma is not such an imaginary
conception. Since in the very beginning of their tattva-jijïäsa, (inquiry about the Absolute), there is confusion in their attempt, therefore they can never attain
auspiciousness for the soul.
Çré Vyäsadeva has said in the very
beginning of his Vedänta-sütra: athäto brahma jijïäsa—“I do not know the identity of brahma
and I do not know what is my relationship with Him. I
want to know these truths. If this knowledge would have been within me, I would
not have made such inquiry. I therefore need a teacher who can bestow such
knowledge.” Therefore, the necessity of a genuine brahmajïa-guru is instructed within this sutra. Gurum eva abhigacchet. The words gurum eva declare that it is
imperative to approach a guru, and without guru there is no other source by which one can know that brahma vastu. Abhigacchet, therefore,
one has to do abhigamana to that guru. Abhigamana means approaching guru with service temperament and honest enquiry.
tad viddhi praëipätena
paripraçnena sevayä
upadekñyanti te jïänaà
jïäninas tattva-darçinaù
“Just try to learn the truth by
approaching a spiritual master.
from him submissively and render service unto
him. The self-realized souls can
impart knowledge unto you
because they have seen the truth.”
(BG 4.34)
The explanation of abhigamana is found in this verse from
Géta. Abhigamana means approaching guru with praëipata, paripraçna and sevä. Praëipata, self-surrender, is the
first requirement. The second requirement is paripraçnena, honest enquiry with sincerety devoid of a challenging mood in
order to know and understand the Truth. The third requirement is sevä, a serving temperament. If these
are not present, there will not be proper reciprocation with him.
dadäti
pratigåhëäti
guhyam äkhyäti påcchati
bhuìkte bhojayate caiva
ñaò-vidhaà préti-lakñaëam
“Offering pure devotees items in
accordance with their
requirements, accepting prasädi, the remnant items given
by pure devotees, revealing to
pure devotees one’s confidential
realizations concerning bhajana, inquiring from
them about their confidential
realizations, honoring the
prasäda remnants given by devotees with great love, and
lovingly feeding them prasäda—these are the six symptoms
of loving association with
devotees.”(Upadeçämåta verse 4)
Without complete préti, love for that guru, one will not be able to
understand the moods
of his heart. Thus, without abhigamana a person cannot obtain tattva-jïäna, and he will
only waste time. However, one must
consider the nature and speciality of the person he is
thinking to approach. Çästra says: çrottriyaà brahma-niñöham. The guru must be brahmaniñöha,
steadfast in the realization of Transcendental
Reality, and coming
down in çrauto-panthä, the
line of aural reception.
The nature of brahma, the Transcendental Reality
or Transcendental Entity, can only be known through çrauta-panthä, the line of
aural reception. That Absolute Truth is not the subject of any kind of mental
speculation, mundane argument or mundane logic. Acintyä khalu ye bhävä na taàç tarkeëa yo jayet, prakåtbhyaù param yaca tadacintasya lakñaëam. He is beyond prakåti, material nature, and He cannot be measured or grasped by
mundane reasonings. Such material endeavor does not give any evidence of good intelligence,
and therefore, besides çrauta-panthä, there is no other means
to know Him or understand Him.
What is the meaning of çrauta-panthä? It is not like
the paramparä of ignorant
people, where someone says anything and his statements are ‘repeated’ by one
person after another. In çrauta-panthä, the original speaker is Bhagavän Himself and the listener is one
of His own special devotees, the recipients of His mercy. As mentioned earlier,
unless brahma reveals
Himself, no one can know Him perfectly—and this is confirmed by the
great-grandfather Brahmä, the Creator of the universe:
athäpi te deva
padämbuja-dvaya-prasäda-leçänugåhéta eva hi
jänäti tattvaà
bhagavan-mahimno na cänya eko ’pi ciraà
vicinvan
“O Prabhu, O Bhagavän, without
receiving a particle of Your
mercy, no one can know You, even
if he searches You for an
unlimited period of time.” (SB
10.14.29)
éçvarera kåpä-leça haya ta’
yähäre
sei ta’ éçvara-tattva
jänibäre päre
“If one receives but a tiny bit of
the Lord’s favor by dint of
service, he can understand the nature of the
Personality of Godhead.” (CC Madhya
6.84)
Thus, only those who have received
a particle of the
mercy of içvara can know His tattva. It is said in the
Upaniñad:
näyam ätmä pravacanena
labhyo
na medhayä na bahudhä
çrutena
yam evaiña våëute tena
labhyas
tasyaiña ätmä vivåëute tanuà
sväm
“The Supreme Lord is not obtained
by expert explanations,
by vast intelligence, or even by
repeated hearing. He is
obtained only by one whom He
Himself chooses, and He
manifests His own form.” (Muëòaka
Upaniñad 3.2.3)
If a person thinks that by his
ample scholarship or sharp intelligence he can understand Bhagavän and imagine
Him according to his whims, he is mistaken. Tena
labhyaù—that
person only who is accepted by
Bhagavän can attain Him.
Bhagavän personally communicated
with Brahmä. Why? Brahmä engaged in intense efforts to know Bhagavän, but when
he gave up the ascending path and surrendered, then Bhagavän revealed the Vedas to him:
kälena
nañöä pralaye / väëéyaà veda-saàjïitä
mayädau brahmaëe proktä /
dharmo yasyäà mad-ätmakaù
“The Supreme Personality of
Godhead said: “By the influence
of time, the transcendental sound
of Vedic knowledge
was lost at the time of
annihilation. I Myself am the religious
principles enunciated in the Vedas. Therefore, when the subsequent
creation took place, I spoke the
Vedic knowledge to
Brahmä.” (SB 11.14.3)
Krsna is saying: “In the beginning
of the creation I revealed Veda, çabda-brahma, unto the surrendered Brahmä.” What is there in the Vedas? Dharmo yasyäà mad-ätmakaù: The Vedas contain the message and process of
bhagavat-dharma, by which one can attain prema-bhakti
unto Me:
yävän
ahaà yathä-bhävo
yad-rüpa-guëa-karmakaù
tathaiva
tattva-vijïänam
astu te
mad-anugrahät
“By My causeless mercy, let
everything about Me, namely My
actual eternal form and My
transcendental existence, color,
qualities and activities, be
awakened within you by factual
realization.” (SB 2.9.32)
“O Brahmä! I bless you with tattva-vijïäna (realization) of
My tattva (the
established truths of Bhagavän) regarding Myself, My bhäva (nature), form, qualities and
activities. Thus, çrauta-panthä has started from that tattva-vastu (Absolute Reality) Himself and the four Vaiñëava sampradäyas have manifested from Him
alone.
sampradäya-vihénä
ye manträs te niñphalä matäù
çré-brahmä-rudra-sankä
vaiñëavaù kñitipävanäù
The four Vaiñëava sampradäyas, Çré-sampradäya, Brahmä-sampradäya,
Rudra-sampradäya and Kumärasampradäya—these are four çrauta-panthäs, and everything
else is açrauta-vicära. Everything that is not heard in the line of aural reception is
self-imagination. Those who only accept one aspect of brahma—the nirviçeña (varietyless and impersonal)
aspect—are followers of açrauta-panthä. In the srutis where the impersonal aspect of Bhagavän is mentioned, however,
in the very same çrutis, the truth of His personal aspect is also explained:
yä yä çrutir jalpati nirviçeñaà
sä säbhidhatte sa-viçeñam eva
vicära-yoge sati hanta täsäà
präyo baléyaù sa-viçeñam eva
“Whatever Vedic mantras describe the Absolute
Truth impersonally only prove in the end that the Absolute Truth is a person.
The Supreme Lord is understood in two features—impersonal and personal. If one
considers the Supreme Personality of Godhead in both features, he can
actually understand the Absolute
Truth. He knows that the personal understanding is stronger, because we see
that everything is full of variety. No one can see anything that is
not full of variety.” (CC Madhya. 6.142)
Thus, although there are two
simultaneous considerations, the personal aspect is indeed more important. The personal
aspect is the svarüpa-lakñana, intrinsic characteristic of brahma,
and the impersonal aspect is just a tatastavicära, extrinsic
characeristic. The impersonal aspect is
vyatirek-vicära, the indirect (negative) aspect. Nirviçeña means devoid of mundane or
material characteristics, and çaviçeña
means endowed with apräkåta-viçeñatä
(transcendental
characteristics), apräkåta-rüpa (transcendental
form), guëa (qualities), and apräkåta-viläsa (transcendental
pastimes). Indeed, both considerations have the same meaning. Where is any
disagreement or contradiction between the two thoughts?
Those who see a contradiction in
these two considerations, accepting the impersonal aspect alone to be paramärthika (spiritual),
and thinking the personal aspect as false or temporary, imposes whimisical
meanings to the statements of the Vedas. They are not brahma-niñöham,
steadfast in the nature of brahma. They are offenders. By accepting
one aspect of brahma and rejecting the other, considering it as unfavorable, does not
prove someone’s brahmaniñöhä.
However, Çré Gurudeva is brahma-niñöham; he can reconcile
both considerations in an excellent manner.
tasmäd
guruà prapadyeta
jijïäsuù
çreya uttamam
çäbde
pare ca niñëätaà
brahmaëy
upaçamäçrayam
“Any person who is seriously
desirous to achieve real happiness
must seek out a bona fide
spiritual master and take shelter of
him by initiation. The
qualification of a spiritual master is that
he must have realized the
conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation
and arguments, and thus he must be
able to convince
others of these conclusions. Such
great personalities, who have
taken complete shelter of the
Supreme Godhead, leaving aside
all material considerations, are
to be understood as bona fide
spiritual masters.” (SB 11.3.21)
Those who want to know and
understand the topmost, complete and eternal auspiciousness, and how to attain
it, should surrender to a guru who is expert in the realization of çabda-brahma (the Vedas) and para-brahma (Bhagavän). Çabda-brahma means näma-brahma—väcaka- brahma, the transcendental sound
vibrations of the names, etc., of Bhagavän, and para-brahma means nämibrahma—väcya-brahma, Bhagavän
Himself. Çabda-brahma paraà brahma mamobhe çäçvaté
tanü, väcyam väcakamity
udeti bhavato näma! svarupa-svayaà, the bona fide guru is a realized soul. He is
well-versed, in both of these svarüpas
of Bhagavän. He is not a professional priest nor is he
a platform speaker. He is tattva-darçi—he sees tattva-vastu and realizes it. Tattva-vastu
means Bhagavän and His näma, rüpa, guëa, parikara, lélä and dhäma. Tattva-vastu includes all of these, and Çré Gurudeva is a tattva-darçé.
Sré Kåñëa has described that only that gurudeva who is realised in the Absolute
Truth, is in fact His own svarüpa:
äcäryaà mäà vijäniyän
nävamanyeta karhicit
äcäryaà mäà vijäniyän
nävamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyäsüyeta
sarva-deva-mayo guruù
One should know the äcärya as Myself and never disrespect
him in any way. One should not
envy him,
thinking him an ordinary man, for
he is the representative
(sum total) of all the devas. (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.17.27)
Here, one should not consider that çré gurudeva is directly Kåñëa Himself. Those who interpret in this way have
been condemned by çästra as
wicked and possessed of a hellish mentality. Although Bhagavän and His
associates are in truth non-different, it does not mean they are
the same entity. Bhagavän’s
eternal associates (nityaparikars) render service to Him, and gurudeva is he who manifests
such service to Bhagavän (bhägavata-seväprakäçaka). Therefore gurutva, the quality of being guru, is
fundamental in an eternal associate.
yadyapi ämära guru—caitanyera däsa
tathäpi jäniye ämi täìhära prakäça
Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Çré
Caitanya, I know Him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord. (Caitanya-caritämåta, Adi 1.45) Just as sunlight cannot be separated from the sun and is
therefore non-different from the sun, similarly gurudeva
cannot be separated from Bhagavän. Furthermore, just as sunlight
is subordinate to the sun, gurudeva as guru-tattva is subordinate to Bhagavän; he is Bhagavän’s sevaka-tattva. For this reason, çästra describes gurudeva as non-different from Kåñëa.
çuddha-bhaktäù çré guroù çré çivasya ca bhägavatäsaha
abhedadåñöià tatpriyatamatvenaiva manyante
One should consider the pure devotee, çré gurudeva and Lord Çiva as non-different
from Bhagavän, due to their being His priyatama, dearest
beloved. (çruti)
säkñäd-dharitvena samasta-çästrair
uktas tathä bhävyata eva sadbhiù
kintu prabhor yaù priya eva tasya
vande guroù çré caraëäravindam
All the scriptures proclaim çré gurudeva as säkñät hari, the direct potency of
Çré Hari. He is thus considered by saintly authorities to be His non-different
representative. Because çré gurudeva is so dear to the Lord, being His confidential servitor (acintya-bhedäbheda prakäça vigraha, the inconceivable, different
and nondifferent worshipful
manifestation of the Lord), I offer prayers unto his lotus feet. (Çré Gurväñöakam 7)
Thus, it has been described everywhere that gurudeva is most dear to Bhagavän. It is for this reason that he is
nondifferent from Bhagavän. Çréla Sarasvaté Prabhupäda has therefore said that one aspect of
Kåñëa is viñaya-jätéya (the object of love) and the other aspect is äçraya-jätéya (the abode of love). In these two wonderful aspects of revelry,
variegatedness finds its completeness.
Çré Kåñëa is viñaya-jätéya in full and çré gurupäda-padma is äçraya-jätéya in full. Therefore, gurudeva has been described as kåñëa-svarüpa. He has not been
described as Kåñëa Himself. Why is this?
kåñëa bhakte kåñëera guëa sakali saëcäre
All the transcendental qualities
of Kåñëa gradually develop in Kåñëa’s devotee. (Caitanya-caritämåta,Madhya 22.75)