Wednesday 7 November 2012

Grihamedi vs Grihastha Mahatma

By: 
Dama Ghosha Dasa (Seattle, USA)
Below you will find some interesting points in this brief lecture about:
1) How to turn a kali yuga debauch into a mahatma
2) Human life should be for very easy living and not be for hard working
3) Symptoms of a mahatma
4) Prabhupada is creating ideal grihastha mahatmas
5) Difference between a grihamedi and grihastha and how to deal with grihamedis
6) Grihastha has one aim - how to develop love for God
 
Lectures, September 17, 1969, London       
 
They are simply engaged in sense gratification: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That's all. Their business finished. They do not know anything else. If I call some animals... Why people are not taking part in this Krishna consciousness? Because they are animals. They are appearing with four hands and legs, but they have been trained to become animals. So they cannot take. But we are trying to train them from animalism to humanism by associating with this Krishna consciousness movement. This Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's movement is to give chance to this animalistic civilization to associate with devotees and mahatmas so that they can also become devotee and mahatma. You associate with mahatma, you become mahatma. You associate with debauch, you become debauch. Practical. We have taken from the debauchery condition all our disciples. But they are now mahatmas. It is possible. By this Krishna consciousness movement we can turn debauch into mahatma. That is possible. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's movement is so nice.
 
Sat-sanga chadi' kainu asate vilas. If people give up the association of this Krishna consciousness society and they simply indulge in the sense gratificatory process, then more and more they'll be entangled. Sat-sanga chadi' kainu asate vilas, te-karane lagila ye karma-bandha-phans. People are now entangled in hard working. Actually, human life should be very easy, very easy. No hard work. Living very simple life and eating very healthy food, living in open space, no quarrel, no antagonism, everyone is happy, everyone is free. That is human civilization. Not to become entangled. But at the present moment we have become entangled. So Rishabhadeva says that mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh. If we actually want liberation from this entanglement, then we should associate with mahatmas, great souls. And who is a great soul? That is being described.
 
 
We have discussed some of the symptoms of great soul. The great soul is sama-citta, equal to everyone. Great soul is never angry; they are friend to everyone. And sadhava. Sadhava means sadacara, clean habits. A mahatma cannot be implicated with those four principles of sinful life. That is the first test. No illicit sex life, no gambling, no meat-eating, and no intoxication. This is called sadacara, clean habit. Anything beyond this: unclean habit. Here it is stated, sadhava. Sadhava means sadacara, clean habit. Then it is said, ye va mayise krta-sauhrdarthah. Now this mahatma is specifically indicated for a sannyasa, a perfect sannyasi, renounced order. Their characteristic is that. And another mahatma... Suppose one is in household life. Question may be whether a mahatma can be in the household life or not. That is being described: Yes. In household life also there can be mahatma. 
 
 
Just like Advaita Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu even, Nityananda Mahaprabhu. They were all householders. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He was a householder. He married twice. His first wife died - He married for the second time. Regular householder, although He left household life very early. He was only twenty-four years old; therefore He had no children. But Nityananda Prabhu had one child, Virabhadra, and Advaita Prabhu had two, three children, of which Buddhi was very highly elevated. Similarly, Srivasa Thakura, he had children. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does not say that one has to become in the renounced order or sannyasi, then he becomes a mahatma. No. We also do not propagate such idea. At least, I am not doing that. I am creating householder, ideal householder. And my ideas are being fruitful. Here in London I sent six householders, and they are doing nice, sincerely they are working. Therefore I am very much proud of them.
 
 
So here is also the statement that even... It's not required that sannyasi is only mahatma, but a grihastha can be, is also mahatma. So grihastha-mahatma, his symptoms are described: ye va mayise krta-sauhrdarthah. Their only business is to please Krishna. That is the first qualification. They have no other business. Ye va mayise krta-sauhrdarthah. Then how they deal with others? A grihastha has to live... A sannyasi may live alone in forest or in Himalaya or in a secluded place in Vrindavana or somewhere, but a grihastha, he has to deal with ordinary persons, so many others, businessmen or ordinary people. So that is stated here, that a grihastha-mahatma, his first symptom is that he has no other business than to please Krishna. That is his first business. And so far dealing with others, that is janesu dehambhara-vartikesu grhesu jayatmaja-ratimatsu na priti-yukta yavad-arthas ca loke. Very nice. What does he say? That people who are simply interested in maintaining this body and sense gratification, dehambhara-vartikesu. Deha means this body, and bhara means maintaining, and vartika means occupation.
 
 
Now you analyze everyone in this world. What is their business? Their business is how to maintain this body. That's all. If you ask somebody, "My dear sir, what you are doing?" "Oh, I am doing this business." "Why you are doing this business?" "Oh, I must get money. Otherwise how can I maintain myself?" This is called dehambhara-vartikesu. Their only engagement is how to maintain this body. This is their business. So janesu dehambhara-vartikesu. And grhesu, a householder has got home. And jaya, jaya means wife. Atmaja, atmaja means children. Rati, some money, bank balance or some wealth, rati. Or persons who are engaged simply for the business of maintaining this body, their only business is how to maintain a home, how to maintain a wife, how to maintain children, how to have good bank balance. In this way their life is like that. But a householder who is mahatma, whose only business is to satisfy Krishna, for him, these things are not priti-yuktah, not very pleasing. Not very pleasing. Na priti-yuktah.
 
Then what is their dealing? Yavad-arthas ca loke. They deal as much as required only. That's all. I have to deal with some gentleman who is completely out of our, this Krishna consciousness movement, but I have to deal with him. Then how I have to deal? As much as possible to avoid him, but so far the business is concerned, all right. This is all. Just like a businessman talks with another businessman so far profit is concerned. That's all. No more talk. A businessman, a lawyer, talks with his client so much... Especially in America, they cannot waste their time. Any businessman will not waste their time. They will talk. Similarly, a householder devotee whose only business is to satisfy Krishna, they will deal with other persons... Other person means those who are simply interested for maintaining this body, wife, children, in this way. They have no other ideas. We should not have any very intimate relationship, but we shall have to deal with them only as far necessary. No more. That's all. We shall try to avoid them as far as possible. But because we are living with the human society we have to deal with such persons. So our dealings should be so far as required. Not more than that. Then, if one lives a householder life in this way, keeping his viewpoint only in Krishna, in the lotus feet of Krishna, and other dealings superfluous, he is also mahatma. He's also mahatma. Na priti-yukta yavad-arthas ca loke. Mayi ise krta-sauhrdarthah purusartha yesam.
 
 
A householder mahatma has only one aim: how to attain the perfectional stage of love of God. That is the aim. Generally, a householder in the modern civilization, they are simply trying to accumulate money, increase the bank balance and make the society, friendship and love as the aim and object of life, and they have no other business. But a person who is mahatma, his aim is different. His aim is "How to make my life perfect in Krishna consciousness. How to please Krishna, how to make friendship with Krishna." Everyone is seeking some friend. That is a fact. The businessmen or lawyers or politicians, everyone is seeking some friend. Without friend... Society, friendship and love, these things are required. But a mahatma householder, he is seeking actual friendship with Krishna. Ise sauhrdarthah. Because he knows, "If Krishna is my friend..." Just like Arjuna sought friendship with Krishna; Duryodhana sought friendship with Krishna's power. Krishna divided Himself. Because it was a family warfare between two cousin brothers, and Krishna was also related with both of them by family relationship, so He said, "How can I take part with one and not with the other? Then that will be partiality. So anyway, I divide Myself into two. I am alone, one side, and in which side I shall go, I shall not fight. I shall not touch even a weapon. And the other side, all My soldiers." Krishna had many soldiers. So Duryodhana thought that "I shall take Krishna's soldiers," and Arjuna thought, "I shall take Krishna only, even He does not fight."
 
So this is the determination of mahatmas, that they want simply Krishna's friendship. Mayi sauhrdarthah.
 
 
 
ye va mayise krta-sauhrdartha
janesu dehambhara-vartikesu
grhesu jayatmaja-ratimatsu
na priti-yukta yavad-arthas ca loke
 
Yavad-arthas ca loke, just to deal with other persons as much as necessary, not more than that. But to keep friendship with devotees, that is necessary. Not that I shall not intimately mix, intermingle with the devotees. That is required. A devotee has got four business: isvare priti, love for God, Krishna; friendship with devotees; and kindness to the neophyte; and rejection to the nondevotees. These four principles. A devotee's only lovable object is Krishna. His only friend is devotee, another devotee.
 
isvare tad-adhinesu
balisesu dvisatsu ca
prema-maitri-krpopeksa
yah karoti sa madhyamah
 
Isvare means Krishna-prema, love, to love Krishna. Maitri means friendship. Maitri with whom? Tad-adhinesu, those who are under the control of Krishna. Everyone is under the control of Krishna by this way or that way, but those who are given to Krishna voluntarily, surrendered souls, I am speaking of them. Tad-adhinesu. 
 
 

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