by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
We
can have no better instruction from elsewhere that can give a more
dependable and complete idea of the real goal. The whole thing, the
exact entity, could not be realized if we took a course different from
what Śrī Kṛṣṇa has dictated. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all
energies. All sorts of energies – even all those energies that are
opposite and conflicting – are stored in Him. He is akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti.
We have heard His song, “ye yathā māṁ prapadyante” [C.f. Bhāgavad-gītā 4.11]. We are actuated by the influence of rasa;
we require pleasant sensation. But we should see that our particular
predilection is directed to a definite purpose. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the
emporium of everything. In the Gītā we are given a clearly marked and exact situation of the human soul and its relation to the phenomenal existence of His prakṛti (nature, or energy).
We have seen that there are two prakṛtis: parā and aparā. The jīvas (minute living entities) are known as parā prakṛti. But jīvas, being infinitesimally small, can be seized by aparā prakṛti – they can be overpowered by the deluding potency. Jīvas can
also dissociate themselves from this undesirable situation. How? We
find the solution as to how to get rid of this shackle in the śloka beginning “mām eva ye prapadyante” [C.f. Bhāgavad-gītā 7.14].
By the use of the word mām we
see that the object is singular; the personality is fixed. The Lord
sings, “I can set you free from the clutches of your present activity of
measuring everything using your senses. I can show Myself to you fully
when you no longer have any necessity of exercising your senses. I have
set the engine of the three guṇas (qualities of material nature)
in motion for the purpose of entrapping those who are less intelligent.
But when they listen to My dictation, they realize that they can easily
manage to get rid of these troublesome modes by submitting to Me, and Me
alone.”
There
is no other alternative for getting rid of our measuring temperament.
We are now equipped with senses that are incapable of leading us to the
Truth. We are liable to be deluded by the influence of māyā, and māyā is but a trap. If we want to avoid that trap, we are to submit to Him unconditionally. So prapatti, which means full submission, is the essential thing.
* * *
We
can exercise our senses, but such exploits will not do any good to us
in the long run unless we submit to Him, leaving aside whatever we have
acquired up to this time. We are simply to surrender to Him. When we
simply depend on Him, He will give us such facilities as will enable us
to make quick progress. We are assured that we need not take the
empirical course through our senses. Though we have the inclination to
acquire knowledge through our senses, our attempts are often frustrated.
Our empirical activities often fail to make much progress, for we see
that whatever we have acquired by our empiricism calls for more and more
additions or subtractions as we pass along the rolling tide of time.
We
think we have acquired a good deal of knowledge in our thirtieth year,
but soon, when we reach our fortieth year, we find that knowledge to be
inadequate. If we live for ten years more, we will have to revise our
knowledge again. In this way, living for any number of years will not
serve our purpose; it will not make us wise. We come to the inevitable
conclusion that all sorts of empirical knowledge are quite useless for
the purpose of gaining the whole truth.
We should, therefore, be prapanna (fully
submissive). We should simply submit, and that submission should be
attended with everything we have acquired. Whatever we have acquired
must be given up, considering that we will be helped by Him. But if we
have no such confidence in Him, we cannot part with our acquired things.
We will be making a sad mistake if we conjecture that the Lord, in the
long run, may have nothing to confer on us, and that by giving up what
we have acquired we will get into trouble. We forget that He is the
Absolute. He is the emporium of everything. We need not be doubtful of
His assurance that He will never fail us.
We
have free will, which we can exercise. But we are not expected to
imagine that we are independent. We are bound to accept that we are
dependents. Even if we make a careful enquiry into the nature of
phenomenal objects and sift through them, we will fail to get anything
which can give us that sort of satisfaction, relief and poise that the
Fountain-head of all things can give us. So the Gītā tells us
that submission to the Supreme Authority, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the only thing
wanted; and by such submission our desired ends will be fully and duly
fulfilled. The question is how – in spite of our measuring temperament,
which stands against our purpose – such submission is to be achieved.
After sambandha (relationship) comes abhidheya (the
process), which signifies how to reach our coveted place, or what
course one should adopt for the purpose of achieving our objectives.
That is the meaning of abhidheya, and there are many abhidheyas.
They are classified by some authorities into sixty-four categories; by
some, into nine categories; and by others, five. Though there are a
multitude of courses that we may adopt by means of which we can love the
All-love, the Absolute, these methods are classified into sixty-four,
nine or five categories. Of the sixty-four categories, five are
principal and it is with those five categories that we are to deal.
These are:
(1) bhāgavata śravaṇa, kīrtana, and smaraṇa (hearing, chanting and remembering the topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam)
(2) aṅghri-sevanam (serving the lotus feet) of Śrī Hari
(3) mathurā-vāsa (residence in Śrī Mathurā-dhāma)
(4) sat-saṅga (association with saints)
(5) śrī harināma saṅkīrtana (congregational chanting of the holy names)
(2) aṅghri-sevanam (serving the lotus feet) of Śrī Hari
(3) mathurā-vāsa (residence in Śrī Mathurā-dhāma)
(4) sat-saṅga (association with saints)
(5) śrī harināma saṅkīrtana (congregational chanting of the holy names)
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