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In the final instalment of Srila Satsvarupa Goswami's
study of the spiritual needs and concerns of an ISKCON preacher,
he addresses the most fundamental aspect of every devotee's life-
sadhana.
I once asked Srila Prabhupada how a devotee could preach
the ideals of Krsna consciousness if he had not yet perfected himself.
'If someone asks me if he can go back to Godhead in one life, I
would say yes, but if he asked me if I were going back to Godhead
I don't know if I could definitely say yes.' Prahpuada replied.
'No, it is not a question of you go or I go, but if anyone takes
to Krsna consciousness, he will go back to Godhead. Krsna says.
Of course, if we are preaching it is not that we are exporting them
by consignment and we are not going,' He laughed. 'It is expected
that the preacher is going also. Just like with our books, our students
are very expert at selling them, but not at reading them. That is
not very good. They should read the books also.'
Our own imperfection is not the main topic in our preaching.
We preach on the basis of the scriptures and the previous acaryas.
We preach by describing the process of Krsna consciousness, even
if we ourselves are not at the highest standards. But Prabhupada
always emphasised that the preacher should practise what he preaches,
and Lord Caitanya himself said, 'Become perfect and then preach.'
The actual Sanskrit (apani acari bhakti karila pracara) is
translated in Adi-lila 4.41 as, 'One's behaviour must be
exactly in accord with one's preaching.' Lord Caitanya asked the
Sanodiya brahmana: 'Therefore, how do we become perfect
before we preach?'
We have to at least be strictly following the four basic
principles of Krsna consciousness - no illicit sex, no intoxication,
no meat-eating and no gambling. And we have to be chanting our minimum
quota of sixteen rounds of the maha mantra. If we are not
at that standard, it would be hypocritical for us to preach. Prabhupada
said, 'If you smoke cigarettes, you cannot tell others not to smoke.'
Following the basic vows of initiation can be considered a type
of Krsna conscious perfection. A preacher should also mention at
least once that he has not perfected that which he is speaking about.
This admission helps both the speaker and the listener to find a
common, honest ground.
Several years ago, Jayadvaita Swami gave a talk on how
to solve ISKCON's problems by applying the four 'Rs': recognition,
remorse, rectification and reunion. These steps can also be used
for improving individual sadhana.
First, one must recognise that his spiritual life needs
to improve. Devotees in ISKCON sometimes fall victim to a myth of
good japa. 'I chanted good japa today.' By that, they
mean that they did not fall asleep. If this is considered good japa,
then there are many more universes to go in hearing and chanting.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam says that after chanting Hare Krsna,
if tears don't come to the eyes, then the heart must be steel-framed.
It must be recognised then, that this condition is due to committing
offences in chanting.
Next, we must feel remorse. It is not possible to skip
over remorse to rectification. Wanting to improve sadhana is
more than just an external business. The genuine feeling of remorse
for the present condition must be there. Sometimes the mood of repentance
may seem to be a foreign, medieval Christian concept - guilt for
sins. We may think that guilt should be entirely removed. No-one
likes to feel guilty or remorseful about something in their lives.
But we shouldn't confuse the issue. There is such a thing as too
much guilt or excessive mortification, but the Vaisnava siddhanta
teaches deep remorse in the spiritual sense.
After Ajamila is saved at the time
of death by the Visnudutas, he felt deep regret for his sins. Prabhupada
comments in the purport: 'Not only should one give up his past habits,
but he must always regret his past sinful acts. This is the standard
of pure devotion.'
It is a fact that all the drugs and illicit sex we engaged
in still affect us in a subtle way. We should regret these past
actions but still feel confident that our karma has been removed.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.31.13 describes Krsna as unlimited and
as perceived by a repentant heart. In his purport, Prabhupada says:
'Krsna is in everyone's heart but he can be realised only by a soul
who is repentant.' The basis of repentance is that we have forgotten
our constitutional position and want to become one with the Supreme
Soul. When we realise our mistake and are able to trace it back
to our original mistake of coming to the material world, we begin
to feel remorse and we want to repent. Bhaktivinoda Thakura's purport
to the Siksastaka's second sloka recommends: 'If per
chance the devotee commits nama-aparadha then with an anguished
heart full of contribution, he should become eager to chant continuously,
for this alone will uproot his previous offences and also protect
him from committing further offences.' Bhaktivinolda Thakura also
discusses this matter in the essay Panca-samskara, commenting
that gurus in this age do not teach their disciples atonement, and
this is not good for the disciple. A disciple who does not understand
that he should atone for past sins will feel no remorse and will
not give up sinful life. As Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, 'These days,
no one thinks about this when accepting a spiritual teacher.'
In addition to its more widely used definition as 'voluntary
suffering or trouble in Krsna consciousness', tapasya may
also be defined as repentance, atonement and the permanent impression
of higher sentiment on the soul. Tapasya is not comfortable,
but without it the soul cannot live as a Vaisnava and the heart
will remain impure. The acaryas sometimes personally express
this in their own lives, especially Narottama dasa Thakura and Bhaktivinoda
Thakura. In Prarthana, Narottama sings of his remorse about
his lacking in sadhana: 'Although again and again I heard
the sruti and srmrti scriptures' declaration that
one should think of Lord Hari's lotus feet in order to become fearless,
I did not chant Lord Krsna's name, I did not meditate on His transcendental
lotus feet.' But with hope he concludes, 'I will now concentrate
my mind on the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna and all my
material desires will flee far away.'
This is a good example of how rectification follows
remorse. But if we don't feel the remorse deeply, it will be difficult
to change. In Bhaktivindoa Thakura's Saranagati, he paraphrases
the Siksastakam verse: 'Merciful Lord, how great is my misfortune
that I feel no appreciation for Your holy name. In such a lamentable
state, how will I be freed committing the ten offences to the holy
name.'
Becoming regretful is difficult; it cannot be imitated
and must come sincerely. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments
on a Siksatake verse ,'When will my eyes be decorated with tears
of love?' by saying, 'This sloka does not refer to those
who have naturally moist eyes or who suffer from affectations of
artificial ecstasy.' Being free of anarthas will evoke tears
of love. When shadow feelings are manifested, they must be honoured
too. When devotees wrote to Prabhupada that they would cry upon
seeing the Deities, he would encourage such symptoms - saying it
was a good thing - even though it was not necessarily a sign of
great advancement. Despite it being shadow bhava, Prabhupada
honoured it.
Here is a final statement about remorse in which Prabhupada encouraged
devotees to feel bad about not carrying out their service properly.
A devotee once said to him, 'I feel I'm not doing my service nicely.'
'This is humbleness,' Prabhupada replied, 'If you go on thinking,
"Oh, I did not perform this duty nicely, I should have done it this
way", then you will improve. Our love for Krsna keeps growing as
long as we think we are not doing the most for Krsna and we must
do more. If you think, "Oh, I did this so wonderfully, I am such
a nice, sincere devotee", then this is not good. It will be no improvement.'
Humility and tolerance can help bring
one to remorse and be useful in practising and improving sadhana.
Prabhupada mentions in a purport: 'A Vaisnava is always tolerant
and submissive like trees and grass. He tolerates insults offered
by others, for he is simply interested in chanting the holy name
of the Lord without being disturbed.'
We must not be disturbed by the conditions of this world, but simply
chant. We must learn to tolerate our own slow progress: if, after
many years, our mind still wanders every time we chant, we must
bring it back. It is also important to be humble. Prabhupada says,
'One cannot capture the blowing wind, and it is even more difficult
to capture the turbulent mind. The easiest way to control the mind
is by chanting Hare Krsna in all humility.'
We are often encouraged by the previous acaryas
to enter into the Siksastakam prayers because they are full
of humility in sadhana. One who can chant in a humble state
of mind can always chant Hare Krsna. Bhaktivinoda Thakura stated
that these eight slokas should be read, recited, and worshipped
by sincere, fortunate souls.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati commented that the sloka
'trnad api sunicena' was spoken to help avoid nama-aparadha
and namabhasa in chanting. Regarding humility he wrote: 'A
true saint never thinks himself to be a Vaisnava or claims to be
a guru. He regards himself as a disciple of the whole world.'
Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains how to understand Lord Caitanya's
statement of thinking ourselves lower than a blade of grass. The
ego of a blade of grass is proportionate to its bodily condition;
it is a very humble being that is always crushed. Not having much
intelligence, it possesses a consciousness close to its condition.
A human being who is also in a downtrodden, suffering condition,
has an ego blown way out of proportion; such is the disparity between
his self-image and his actual condition he thinks he is a wonderful
king. The grass thus teaches us humility and honest self-estimation.
Writing can also be used as a tool to improve sadhana.
Prabhupada always encouraged devotees to write: 'Realisation means
you should write, every one of you. What is your realisation? You
write your realisation, what you have realised about Krsna. That
is required. It is not passive, always you should be active. Whenever
you find time, write. Never mind two lines, four lines, but you
write your realisations, sravanam-kirtanam . Writing or offering
prayers, glories, this is one of the functions of a Vaisnava. You
are hearing, but you have to write also. Then writing becomes sravanam,
remembering what you have heard from your spiritual master.'
Prabhupada talks about writing to remember and worship Krsna. For
example, we can keep a diary, not for writing what we had for lunch
but for recording our Krsna conscious realisations. The value of
this exercise is illustrated by John Howard Griffin, a biographer
of Catholic monk, Thomas Merton, who says of Merton: 'His most vital
writing is private, what he did for himself, because he made constant
notes to help clarify things for himself. He thought and sought
to express experience on paper as a self-guide rather than to reveal
anything. He sought to get rid of the role, to flee the "role" of
the monk in order to become the monk. To be and not merely to appear
to be. These are great and profound differences which few perceive,
even in the religious life.'
Writing helps get beneath the exterior appearance; it helps us
to see ourselves honestly and pierce through deceptions so that
we can remain steady. We can also use it when we feel that there
is some yet unidentifiable problem in our spiritual lives. Unless
we start to write, we may never know what this problem is.
The essence of sadhana instrruction is given
by Srila Rupa Goswami in text eight of Nectar of Instruction
(upadesa-saram). In the previous verse, he compassionately
analyses the difficulty we experience when chanting Hare Krsna offensively
by comparing it to a man who has jaundice and cannot taste sweetness.
By taking the sweetest candy, his tongue eventually tastes this
sweetness. In the same way, the sweetness of the holy name is realised
if we regularly chant. 'It is wonderful that by simply chanting
the sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within the tongue
and the disease is gradually destroyed at the root.' This gives
us confidence to go on, even though there is imperfection. In his
purport to this verse, Prabhupada comments: 'The Krsna Consciousness
Movement is especially meant for creating an atmosphere in which
people can take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra.'
In verse eight, Srila Rupa Goswami continues: 'The essence of all
advice is that one should utilise one's full time, twenty-four hours
a day, in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord's divine name,
transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually
engaging one's tongue and mind. In this way, one should reside in
Vraja or Goloka Vrndavana-dhama and serve Krsna under the guidance
of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord's beloved
devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.'
Full-time bhajana is not possible for most of us because,
as Prabhupada remarked, 'You Westerners are too restless'. The early
hours of the morning is the best time for sadhana and bhajana
, but remedial work can also be done on sadhana at that time;
'remedial' means to correct a deficiency. Even if we have been devotees
for a long time or are in an advanced position in the institution,
we have to recognise that we all need remedial work. We have to
be our own teacher and take special, intensive care to improve.
How do we do this? Plan ahead and take time for a retreat,
even if it is in your attic. It should be a place where there are
no disturbances and where personal improvements can be made. Pilgrimage
to India can be done alone or with a few other devotees and will
bring wonderful results - bad habits will be recognised and remorse
felt. Sometimes devotees waste their time in India shopping and
gossiping, but we should use this time to do this remedial work
on our sadhana. Thinking ahead and even using writing can
make a pilgrimage spiritually fruitful. Visiting the dhama is also
a good time to chant more than sixteen rounds a day. The Padma
Purana mentions that the remedy for offensive chanting is to
chant constantly. This is not always possible, but during remedial
work we can increase our quotas.
The next point in Rupa Goswami's verse is that we should
chant with the tongue. Prabhupada often told us not to chant in
our minds but to vibrate the Hare Krsna mantra aloud. Sometimes
devotees asked Prabhupada for more instruction on how to control
the mind in chanting. He would never go into much detail but would
merely say, 'Hear. You should just hear.' The devotees would reply,
'But Prabhupada, how do we control the mind?' He would answer, 'Chanting
controls the mind. Just hear.' Although simple, this is a deep preliminary
instruction. If we just hear - meaning, we stop the mind's noise
and listen with the ears to the sounds being vibrated by the tongue
- the further stages will come. Conversely, if we don't hear we
will not be able to progress. Rupa Goswami tells us to chant with
the tongue and then we will remember with the mind. The tongue enables
us to go to the mental stage in chanting - thinking of Krsna's lila.
Some devotees say that we are not supposed to think of Krsna's
pastimes when we chant, but that is not what Prabhupada said: 'I
think you should know that it is not offensive (to think of Krsna's
pastimes while chanting) but rather, it is required. One must try
for the point where he simply hears Krsna, and immediately all of
Krsna, His pastimes, His form, His quality, are in his thoughts
of Krsna. One who cannot always think of Krsna, let him hear always
"Hare Krsna", and when he has perfected this art, then always he
will remember Krsna, His activities, His qualities, etc.'
Bhaktivinode Thakura says in Harinama-cintamani:
'From the holy name, gradually the Lord's form, qualities and pastimes
blossom. The entire panorama of Lord Krsna's pastimes is present
in the holy name. This is an advanced stage in chanting.' He further
explains: 'The introspective devotee must at first discard the ten
offences and simply meditate on the holy name, trying to chant constantly.
He should distinctly pronounce the holy name and meditate upon the
transcendental sound vibration. When his chanting is steady, clear
and blissful, he should try to meditate on the Syamasundara form
of the Lord. With chanting beads in hand, his chanting and meditation
should seek out the form of the holy name. He will indeed see with
spiritual vision what the real meaning represents ..' He even recommends
sitting in front of the Deity to see the form while chanting.
The verse also recommends residing in
Vraja. If we cannot go there we should learn to think of Vrndavana
by reading books and meditating on the impressions we gathered when
we went there, remembering the parikama sights and sounds
and praying to the devotees of Vrndavana. This is a stage that we
eventually have to practise if we want to go to Goloka-Vrndavana.
This should be done under the guidance of an expert Vaisnava, and
eventually we should follow a particular devotee in Krsna- lila,
such as Mother Yasoda, a cowherd boy, a particular gopi or a manjari.
Chanting, pronouncing, hearing in the mind and thinking of the form
and pastimes of Krsna, leads to the ideal bhajana by which
one can go back to Godhead.
Reading is as important as chanting. Rupa Goswami says that we
should think about Krsna's pastimes, but how can we think about
them unless we regularly hear them? Prabhupada stated, 'Whenever
you get time, you should read my books.' There is no limit to how
much we should read if we can use that in Krsna's service.
One way to read is to study, of which there are many
different paths. One is to give lectures: if we are fortunate enough
to give lectures in the temple, then we have to prepare by reading
Prabhupada's books. Writing - especially essays, for Back to
Godhead and other Krsna conscious newsletters - requires that
we read and prepare our topic. Taking VIHE courses also forces us
to study. Aside from studying, reading, can, of course, be something
that is simply done for enjoyment; sadhu-sanga, reading with
others, can be a pleasant social act or an exchange of love. Reading
every day with one or two friends or between husband and wife, is
necessary on many levels. It is a nectarean activity which draws
us away from pressing matters into transcendence; it strengthens
relationships among devotees. We can also practise prayerful reading,
praying and meditating on a small amount of material; thinking about
how Krsna is speaking directly to us and praying that He will please
reveal the meaning of the passage. Prabhupada encouraged variety;
if reading is tedious, other methods should be tried to spark interest
-anything that results in rapt attention is considered good.
Sadhana can be defined in a wider sense: spiritual
advancement doesn't only mean more chanting and reading, and less
of other types of service. This may not be the right way for some
devotees. We should think of the ideal state we want to achieve
and how we will reach it. We can look forward to the time when we
will not be so passionate and be able to read and chant more - but
we shouldn't wait too long. Prabhupada held morning and evening
classes, but during the day he wanted his devotees to be active
preachers.
The more we work at sadhana and improve our service
attitude, the greater the reward. However, sadhana also requires
austerity; Prabhupada made the point that the chanting of the
maha-mantra must be accompanied by strict following of the four
regulative principles. In this way, chanting would be effective
immediately.
Remorse leads to rectification and by working at this
- through sadhana and rendering service to the guru and ISKCON
- we may receive Krsna's mercy. This stage is known as vaidhi-bhakti,
the clearing of anarthas from the heart. Rectification leads
to reunion, the spontaneous stage which relishes Krsna's service
through His qualities, pastimes, form and name on the liberated
platform. Reunion can mean a return to our original relationship
with Krsna as His eternal servant.
This article is based on a lecture given at the Third European
Communications Seminar in Radhadesh, Belgium, in July 1992.
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