Those material languages cannot help us to reach Vaikuntha-jagad, but when svarup shakti of Bhagavan can enter into someone then any language can work like magic, or even without any language – Part 4

All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru-Gauranga

Those material languages cannot help us to reach Vaikuṇṭha-jagad, but when svarūpa śakti of Bhagavān can enter into someone then any language can work like magic, or even without any language – Part 4

By Śrīla Śyāma Dāsa Bābā

Date: 07.06.2025

(continuation of the third part)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpad putting the most vital question in his Sandarbas about – How and where to get absolute knowledge?

His answer is that there are three different ways through which we can receive knowledge—

1. pratyakṣa (perceiving through material senses and material mind)

2. anumāna (assumption or inference)

3. śabda (by hearing)

And after that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī continues by saying that śabda is the best. But there are two kinds of śabda—

1. puruṣeya (sound which is coming from mortal man)

2. apuruṣaya (sound which is coming from the transcendental world)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī advising us that we should only listen from apuruṣaya (from those who are free from all four material defects). Very often Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say that— “Logical interpretation cannot stand in the way of that Absolute Truth. If I seek the path leading towards the ultimate good, then I must ignore the countless voices of popular wisdom, and listen only to that of the realized soul.”

All those Vedas are to be taken into the category of apuruṣaya. But regarding śabda brahma we can find endless ocean. “Ananta param kila śabda śāstra”. Those Vedic literatures like Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārat, Itihāsa, śruti, smṛti, Purāṇas etc., are there and also everything we can find only in Sanskrit language, which is impossible for ordinary men to understand. Those who are very very intelligent and erudite scholars, only they can somehow try to get the general meaning of the literature. Because without the absolute kṛpa of those pure guru-Vaiṣṇavas – those who are absolutely established – nobody can never realize the inner meaning of śabda śāstra.

That’s why Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī finally said that—out of 18 Purāṇas, there are six sattvic Purāṇas, and out of those six the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the best. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the essence of all śāstras like Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣad etc.

sarva-vedānta-sāraḿ hi

śrī-bhāgavatam iṣyate

tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya

nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit                            (12.13.15)

Śrīmad-Bhagavatam is declared to be the essence of all Vedānta philosophy. One who has felt satisfaction from its nectarean mellow will never be attracted to any other literature.

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpad by now we can realize that where to get actual knowledge. But even if we are getting opportunity to go through Śrīmad-Bhagavatam  (which is non-different from the Lord Himself), but still, we cannot get entry into the theme of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is only when we receive the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam through the original channel of ‘āmnāya praha' (through śrauta-panthā), the Guru-parampara, then that kind of hearing (from right source) of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can give result. Because transcendental sound only can appear through the proper medium of a person whose life is completely dedicated to the service of God – I mean who himself is a mahā-bhagavat. On the other hand service of God cannot also be practiced by those who have no access to the plane of transcendence available only through the proper kind of hearing of transcendental sound. The transcendental sound itself is the visible audible body of that transcendental world.

Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda said that—“When the oldest expressions are lost, then the Purāṇas are compiled in modem language, making them suitable for the present age. Language is just a dress; the purport or intention of the text is the body. Even when the language was updated, the body was not changed. If someone describes the Supreme Lord by wearing the language-dress of twentieth century civilization, or if Vedic mantras are written with the paper, pen, and ink of the twentieth century, would we say that they cannot be called Vedic mantras? This type of orthodoxy is born of extremely abominable ignorance. One cannot ascertain whether the body is modem or ancient by looking at the age of the dress. The original story of the Ṛg mantra tredha nidadhe padam [“I placed three steps”] is present in the oldest recorded Purāṇas of the Eocene [prehistoric] epoch. But when previous texts become archaic and gradually lost, they were written in a modem comprehensible language.

To think that the sun we see this morning is not the same sun my grandfather saw but is a fresh new sun that has only taken birth today is simply childish. The Purāṇas are the oldest texts, and they appear and disappear. Those who consider “appearance” birth, and therefore think that the scriptures are modern texts, have been deceived.

For example, there is a racetrack on the land below your home. You can see through the small window in your house a jockey and horse suddenly running before your eyes and then disappearing. Would you think that the moment you saw the jockey and horse was the moment that they were being born, and the moment they disappeared from your sight was the moment of their death? No intelligent persons would think that. They would know that the horse and jockey were running before they came into and view and continued to run once they are out of sight, but that it is not possible to see the whole race from a small window. Similarly, if human beings with imperfect senses try to judge the appearance of the transcendental, sunlike Purāṇas with their mundane senses and insignificant intelligence, they will surely be misguided. They are deceived if they think what is “ancient” is actually “new” or “modern.” (Śrī Sarasvatī Saṅlāpa, Uncommon Dialogues – 1st Edition, May 2016)

Śrīla Prabhupāda also said that— “It is precisely to rebuke such profound foolishness of humankind that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, encapsulating the essence (parivṛṁhita) of the vedārtha (meaning of the Veda), repeatedly invokes the term adhokṣaja in its exposition. The essence of the subject is entirely neglected; instead, superficial inquiries dominate like: “Did the Bhāgavatam arise before the Vedas or after? If after, can it still be authoritative?” Such sterile deliberations are the preoccupation only of those who have long been, and shall ever remain, bereft of the kṛpā of  Bhagavān. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not a creation of human intellect. It exists eternally—like a thunderbolt of nectar—striking down as punishment upon the misdirected intellect (durmedhā) of fallen humanity. Its manifest and unmanifest līlās are but varied unfoldment’s of its eternal nature. Just as Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva emerged from within a pillar, yet the pillar itself is not to be considered His origin, so too, though the Bhāgavatam may have externally appeared in a linguistic style traceable to the post-Vedic epoch (prāg-vaidika-yuga), it is utterly absurd—and indeed, an act of envious malice—to label it "modern" and thereby “unauthoritative.” Only the nirmatsara sādhus—the saints devoid of envy—can receive the revelation of the projjhita-kaitavaḥ paramadharma (the supreme religion, purged of all cheating processes) that shines forth from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their hearts.” (Translated from Weekly Gauḍīya Patrikā, Volume 15, Issue 10 Year 1935)

Śrīla Bhakti Hridoya Bon Gosvāmī Mahārāj also said that— “Even the Sanskrit language is a product of the deluding potency of God in the same way as any other language of the world. The Word is not any language of this world. In this sense the Samskritists are not in a better position than those who are entirely ignorant of that language, for understanding the subject-matter of the scriptures of India. The misinformed Samskritist is in a worse position in this respect than the others, because he may be more disposed to rely on the resources of mundane scholarship for arriving at the Truth."

He further said that— “The soul awakens when she gives up her enjoying and renouncing temperament and hears with submission the Divine Word, identical with God. Transcendental Words, entering the ears, regulate her dominant mind and other physical senses and remove the obstacles and impediments that stand in the way of her awakening.”

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can find the following śloka—

śabda-brahma su-durbodhaṁ

prāṇendriya-mano-mayam

ananta-pāraṁ gambhīraṁ

durvigāhyaṁ samudra-vat                                     (ŚB 11.21.36)

The transcendental sound of the Vedas is very difficult to comprehend and manifests on different levels within the prāṇa, senses and mind. This Vedic sound is unlimited, very deep and unfathomable, just like the ocean.

Śrīla Sadananda Svami the most intimate disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhakti Siddhānta said that— “A bhakta's life and activity in the world wholly takes place in the fulfilment of his nature to serve Kṛṣṇa, and is not intended to delight or offend, to enlighten or mislead people regulated by law. The life of the bhakta has its centre in Kṛṣṇa, and the fact that, here and there, there may be a person who by His grace becomes free from himself, is only a side effect. The bhakta may extol Bhagavān and make His līlā known so that it seems that he was endeavouring for the sake of humanity. How little this is the case follows from the fact that the realized bhakta may extol and make Bhagavān and His līlā known even where there is not one single person ready to receive it, because the only meaningful use of his faculty of language is to speak of Kṛṣṇa and sing His Name.”

So, the inner meaning of the statement quoted by Śrīla Prabhupāda in the beginning of the third article is that material people use each and every word to convey a meaning based on ignorance which only servers their selfishness and material ego. But in the hand of a pure Vaiṣṇava each and every word (irrespective of which language this word appears) in this world will be used in the service of the Lord to indicate something about that aprākṛta world, which is the right application based on pure knowledge according to Śrīla Prabhupāda and all śāstras.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu never wanted to limit His message to any narrow sect. On the contrary, His message is for the whole living world including the world of animals and plants. For the purpose of spreading His message of Divine Love He employs an infinite army of followers.

In the Caitanya-bhāgavata  by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura we can find the following words spoken by the Lord—Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Himself—

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.” (Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya 4.126)

Śrīla Bhakti Daitya Madhava Gosvāmī Mahārāj also said that—

Śrī Caitanyadeva is extremely benevolent. This divine caitanya-vāṇī has manifested in each and every home of the residents of this world in various different languages and in a form easily comprehensible by one and all, thus resulting in the incomparable advent of the spiritual welfare of the entire world.

Material lust invokes anger, violence and animosity, both individually as well as collectively. This lust is nothing but an attempt by each and every individual of this world, despite caste or creed, to gratify their material senses. Therefore, lust is a cause for igniting anger, violence and other objectionable attributes among individuals, castes and all common persons of this world. Śrī caitnaya-vāṇī, on the other hand, being the most benevolent incarnation of Bhagavān, who is the embodiment of pure transcendental love, thoroughly spreads true auspiciousness among all living entities of the world, irrespective of caste or community.

As śrī caitanya-vāṇī enters my ears, it cleanses my heart, where it then seats itself. By completely dispelling all the accumulated filth in my heart, it has provided me with the opportunity to escape the blazing forest fire of material existence.

Śrī caitanya-vāṇī is sva-svarūpa-udbobhinī—it awakens one’s true constitutional position; śrī kṛṣṇa-prabhodinī—it manifests the transcendental form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in one’s heart; śrī kṛṣṇa-premamayī—it is fully saturated with transcendental love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa; śrī kṛṣṇa-viraha-unmādanā-pradāyinī—it leads one to the stage of madness in separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa; and, simultaneously, viṣaya-tṛṣṇānāśinī—it eliminates the desires for sense gratification from one’s heart.

Śrī caitanya-vāṇī is śrī kṛṣṇa-prema-svarūpinī, the original form of śrī kṛṣṇa-prema. Unrestricted contact with it will demolish the illusory net woven by the three modes of material nature and elevate the conditioned soul to the platform of Vaikuṇṭha. Currently, political policies, social policies, economic policies and even religious policies have become contaminated with immorality by the influence of Kali-yuga. Because of an abundance of the mode of ignorance, human character is being blemished, either openly or secretly, by many events, such as the unrelenting endeavour of untruth to remain dominant and be perceived as the truth; conspiring to fulfil one’s self-interests in the name of patriotism; the propagation of disgraceful and narrow mentalities disguised in the garb of demonstrations of social liberal policy; utter deceitfulness in the name of economic policies, so much so that even food and medicines are adulterated; and the existence of falsehood, treachery and immorality, even in the field of religious policies. At such an ill-fated moment, I very earnestly pray for the unlimited expansion of śrī caitanya-vāṇī, the messenger (vārttā-vāhikā) of the purest devotion to both Śrī Kṛṣṇa—the topmost truth and embodiment of all the worlds mellows—and Śrī Caitanyadeva—the embodiment of the highest limit of kṛṣṇa-prema.

Śrī caitanya-vāṇī is the word of love. Only love can establish true happiness and unity between individuals and between communities. I can say with the utmost confidence that besides love, there exists no worldly policy—whether economic, societal, national or religious—that can succeed in establishing peace among the members of a particular family, community or country, what to speak of the whole world. Therefore, on this very auspicious day, I earnestly pray unto the lotus feet of śrī caitanya-vāṇī, so that it may sprinkle its mercy throughout the whole world: “O śrī caitanya-vāṇī! Mercifully engage me and all the people of this world in Your service and thereby reveal Your unparalleled mercy for everyone.”

All glories to śrī caitanya-vāṇī! All glories to its servitors and all gentlemen respectful of its existence! May all the people of this world engage in hearing and speaking śrī caitanya-vāṇī, and thereby march forward on the path of true auspiciousness.

(Taken from Caitanya Vani VOL1 by Śrīla Bhakti Vijnana Bharati Gosvāmī Mahārāj)

Also, we can find in the introduction to the monthly magazine “Śrī Sajjan Toshani or The Harmonist” the following words written by Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhakti Siddhānta  Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura—

“The 'Harmonist' seeks to carry out this desire of the Lord. For the present she is appearing in English, Sanskrit and Hindi. But she does not by any means desire to confine herself to these languages only. The Lord desires His Word to be preached to all living beings. The 'Harmonist' stands for this desire. She cherishes the faith that a day will come when His Word will be preached everywhere all over the world through the medium of all the languages including the language of animals and plants when this will be practicable. She believes that Gaurasundar will in the fullness of time raise up fit preachers in every part of the world and in numbers amply sufficient for His Purpose. This is the message of the 'Harmonist'. In conclusion it may be pointed out that association (saṅga) with 'śuddha bhaktas' is absolutely necessary to enter into the spirit of Mahāprabhu's teachings. The 'Harmonist' will serve to bring about the association of the public with the 'śuddha bhaktas.' The 'śuddha bhaktas' expect that they can count upon a patient hearing from 'Sajjanas'. Such association will be for mutual benefit. It is necessary at the outset to caution the reader against the theory of 'Vox populi vox Dei'. The 'Harmonist' has nothing to do with 'vox populi'. Her only concern is with 'vox Dei'. It is the voice of God alone that will find utterance in these pages. The kind indulgence of the reader is solicited to overlook shortcomings in expression inseparable from the employment of a foreign language and consider only the spirit irrespective of the defective garb in which she might be clothed.”

……………….to be continued

Gaura Hari Hari Bol