Awakening of consciousness? Or an answer to the criticism? – Part 4

Awakening of consciousness? Or an answer to the criticism?

(Is Śrīla Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura a nitya-siddha bhāgavata pārṣada or a sādhana-siddha?) – Part 4

By sampradāya-saṁrakṣaka Śrī Śyām Dās Babajī Mahārāj

The following scriptural evidence can help correct many misconceptions lying with you all. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda’s vicāra is as follows—

dṛṣṭaiḥ svabhāvajanitaivapuṣaś ca doṣair

na prākṛtatvam iha bhakta-janasya paśyet |

gaṅgāmbhasāṁ na khalu budbuda-phena-paṅkair

brahma-dravatvam apagacchati nīradharmaiḥ ||

(Śrī Rūpopadeśāmṛta, Verse 6)

Translation: “The nature of a Vaiṣṇava is not to be judged through material vision. We generally try to understand a person through our external observation. However, a devotee’s bodily ugliness or attractiveness, good health or sickness, sweet speech or harshness, etc.— all these factors should not be the scale of judgement to judge a Vaiṣṇava to detect his Vaiṣṇava nature. Kṛṣṇa-niṣṭhā (or strong affinity unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa) is the most vital & pivoted quality of all other qualities . The external faults or virtues of a self-surrendered devotee unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa does not define his vaiṣṇavatā or non-vaiṣṇavatā. For example—those bubbles, foam, or mud visible in the Gaṅgā-water cannot minimize her ‘liquified brahma nature’ (brahma-drava-dharma) as the purifying factor of those fallen souls. However, this does not mean that one can get the free license to associate with those immoral persons or those persons who are the offenders unto the lotus feet of Harinama, Vaiṣṇavas, or those who are engaged in yoṣit-saṇga, or those who are under the harbour of all kinds of ugly & dishonest activities by accepting all of them as Vaiṣṇavas with sahajiyā-bhāva.”

Whom (Srila Saccidananda Bhakti Vinoda Thakura) Indra, the king of heaven, personally took to heaven to give a special judgment on some particular issue. Alas! how today, we have dared to judge him. After retiring from his duties, upon accepting bheka (paramahaṃsa-veśa) from Śrīla Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Ṭhākura used to remain absorbed in chanting Hari-nāma at Śrī Godrumadvīpa in Svānanda-Sukhada-Kuñja in his bhajana-kuṭīra before the deities of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara. Before that, his daily routine was to get returned from the office work and after taking some refreshment, he used to go to take rest from 9 PM to 11 PM, and then onward he used to spend the entire night in serving Śrī Harināma Prabhu. Once, after going into bhāva-samādhī for a long time, no symptom of life was visible in him. Then after being called repeatedly, he responded in an unusual way by saying that— “Why have you called me? I was engaged in a special discussion in the court of Indra, the king of heaven.”

Though in his external līlā he initially followed Śākta-mata due to family tradition, still as a nitya-siddha associate of Śrī Gaurāṅga, no fault could touch or pollute him at all. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can get this following vicara by Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī—

dharma-vyatikramo dṛṣṭa īśvarāṇāṁ ca sāhasam |

tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya vahneḥ sarva-bhujo yathā ||

(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.29)

Translation: “O King, just as fire, which consumes everything, remains uncontaminated, similarly those firelike super personalities— they can never be contaminated by apparently violating those general norms of dharma or anyhow.

To be continued…….