What danger there is? There is Krishna.
Prabhupada gave his final class here in Vrindavana. After lecturing for five weeks on the teachings of Lord Rishabhadeva, it seemed appropriate it was about the Lord's disappearance from the planet: "While He was wandering about, a wild forest fire began. This fire was caused by the friction of bamboos, which were being blown by the wind. In that fire, the entire forest near Kutakacala and the body of Lord Rishabhadeva were burned to ashes [SB. 5.6.8]."
It was an exceptionally good talk. Comparing the destructive fire to our precarious position in the material world, Prabhupada gave his whole attention to the role of "Krishna's favorite person" in saving us from it. "So davanala. We have got some description of davanala in our daily prayer, samsara davanala lidha loka [Sri Sri Gurv ashtaka 1]. The davanala is explained here. Nobody goes to set anala, fire, in the forest. I saw davanala first in my experience at Nainital Station. Very high hill, and there was blazing fire upon the hill. Nobody went there to set fire, but there was fire. So how that fire takes place, that is explained here: samira vega vidhuta venu vikarshanam. In the big jungles there are bamboo trees, and they are very densely situated. When there is wind, very forceful, the friction causes fire. So similarly, this material world is compared with this davanala. Samsara davanala lidha loka." He gave an amusing comparison to the forest fire. "In your country there is another kind of fire that is not davanala. In the city there is electric-anala." As everyone laughed Prabhupada chuckled and, giving me a glance, recalled his visits to the modern jungle. "And especially in New York, you know, twenty four hours the fire brigade is working, 'dung dung dung dung dung dung dung.' Nobody wanted, but there is fire, just to prove that you people, you have avoided jungle life but you cannot avoid davanala. This is the proof. You can make very large arrangement for living comfortably, but you cannot escape davanala. That is not possible.
"Just like in the forest, you cannot send your fire brigade. That is not possible. Neither you can go there to help the animals for extinguishing the fire by bucketful of waters. That is also not possible. Helpless.
Similarly, this samsara davanala, you cannot extinguish it. So how it will be extinguished? Samsara davanala lidha loka tranaya karunya ghanaghanatvam. You have to beg for the mercy of Krishna; then this blazing fire can be extinguished. Not by your arrangement. Tranaya karunya ghanaghanatvam. That cloud is mercy cloud, not this ordinary cloud. Because davanala, the example, personal experience that on the hill of Nainital, some thousand feet high, how this fire will be extinguished . . . ? When there is cloud on the sky and there is rainfall. Otherwise it is not possible. So just like ordinary cloud is made possible by evaporating water from the sea, similarly, Krishna has the sea of mercy, karunayamaya, karuna sagara. Krishna's other name is Karuna sagara. So as the air evaporates or the heat evaporates from the sea, and the cloud is formed in the sky, similarly, one who has connection or the power to evaporate the mercy sea of Krishna, he can extinguish the samsara davanala. And that is guru. Guru is the cloud, or he is the agent of drying water from the ocean of mercy of Krishna and turns it into a mercy cloud and pours water on the samsara davanala, and then it is extinguished.
"Therefore guru must be authorized person. You cannot become guru unless you are agent to draw out the mercy water from the ocean of mercy of Krishna. That is guru. And therefore a guru is not an ordinary person. He is the bona fide representative of Krishna. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung, krishna se tomara, krishna dite para [Saranagati]: 'Vaishnava Thakura, Krishna is your property. If you like, you can give.' Vedeshu durlabham adurlabhamatma bhaktau [Bs. 5.33]. You cannot get Krishna by studying Vedas. That is not possible. There is Krishna in the Vedas, but you cannot pick up. It is not possible. But if you go to the Krishna's favorite person . . . Kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya. Krishna's very dear servant, confidential servant, is guru. Nobody can become guru unless he is in confidence of Krishna. Na ca tasman manushyeshu kascin me priya krittamah [Bg. 18.69]. These things are there. Not that by magic one can become guru. No. Everything is there in the sastra. We have to see whether a person is actually a bona fide agent of Krishna. Then we accept him as guru. Otherwise, useless waste of time."
Again quoting from the Gurv ashtaka, Prabhupada stressed that the guru is sakshad hari, not different from the Lord. In the time of the British Raja, he said, the viceroy was treated as if he were the king."Although he was a servant, but still, the honor was given to him just like the king. His dress was like king. He was given honor like king. Wherever he would go, he was received like the king. But he is not king. He does not say that 'I am king,' but his honor is like the king."
As he referenced the Sri Sri Gurv ashtaka prayers which we sing every morning for mangala arati Srila Prabhupada also reinforced the point by drawing upon the Sri Guru vandana, which we sing every morning for guru-puja. "You read this verse daily, vede gaya jahara carito. This is strictly according to the version of the Vedas . . . Narottama dasa Thakura is singing, vede gaya yahara carita, and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, he is also singing, sakshad dharitvena samasta sastraih. So there is no difference."
Stressing the consistency of the message through the line of gurus, Prabhupada cited a letter he received recently from a man claiming to have had some revelations. "Not that one acarya will say, 'I have seen'?so called acarya, not real acarya?'I have seen in dream.' The other day the letter came? He has seen, realized in dream, nitai gaura radhe syama. This is not the process. Process is the sastra, authority. Not that jugglery: 'I have seen in dream. I have to become guru.' No. Whether you are actually in terms of the sastra? Whether actually you are dear to Krishna, you are most confidential servant? That we have to test.
"And what is the confidential servant of Krishna? Everything is explained. Krishna says, ya imam paramam guhyam mad bhakteshv abhidhasyati [Bg. 18.68]. What is that paramam guhyam? Krishna said that 'You are My very dear friend. Therefore I am talking to you the most confidential part of knowledge.' Is it not? What is that confidential part? Sarva dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]: 'Give up everything. Simply surrender unto Me.' This is confidential knowledge. Jnana, karma, yoga, this will not help. It will take some time. You can waste your time in that way?you are at liberty?but real dharma is that 'You fully surrender unto Me. Don't talk nonsense.' Arjuna was talking so many nonsense things. So Krishna ultimately said, 'My dear Arjuna, you are My confidential friend. Therefore I am asking you. You do this. Don't waste your time. It will not help.' "
Prabhupada put great stress on the credentials of a genuine preacher of Krishna consciousness, credentials he himself possesses to the highest degree.
"So this confidential knowledge, one who preaches without any compromise, he is the confidential servant of Krishna. There is no compromise. This is real religion. Krishna says, na ca tasman manushyeshu kascin me priya krittamah [There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear?Bg. 18.69]. So this is the person who has received the authority to draw mercy water from the ocean of mercy of Krishna. Sakshad dharitvena samasta sastraih. And what Krishna said five thousand years ago, the same thing Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, same thing. There was no change, as there was no change between the statement of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Narottama dasa Thakura. Sadhu sastra. As sastra, there is no change. Not that 'Modernize. The sastra should be changed.' No. That is nonsense. That is not sastra. Sastra cannot be changed. 'Circumstantially, it will be changed, seasonal changes.' No. That is not sastra. Sastra means it is perpetual. What Krishna said five thousand years ago or Krishna said some forty millions of years ago to the sun god . . . Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. He says, 'I am talking to you that puratanam yogam.' Not that 'Because it has passed millions of years and now it is a different time, so I will have to change.' No. He said, 'I am talking to you that very old system.' Is it not? Just see. The sastra cannot be changed. God's word cannot be changed. Then what will be the difference between God and ourself? He is always perfect. He is always perfect. What He said forty millions of years ago, what He said five thousand years ago, that is also correct up to date. That is sastra. Not that 'so many years have passed and it has become old. Now let us reform it and put it into new way.' No. You can put the same thing in a new way, but you cannot change the principle. Sadhu sastra guru vakya, tinete kariya aikya. Sastra is never changed. And the sadhu means who follows the sastras. He is sadhu. He also does not change. Sadhu, sastra. And guru? Guru means who follows the sastra and sadhu. So there are three, the same. A guru will not change, that 'It was spoken five thousand years ago. That is not applicable now. Now I am giving you something new, jugglery.' He is useless. Sadhu sastra guru vakya tinete kariya aikya. Yahsastra vidhim utsrijya vartate kama karatah, na siddhim avapnoti [He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination][Bg. 16.23]. These things are there. So the samsara davanala lidha loka, these eight stanzas of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura are very important. We sing daily. That's very good."
Prabhupada developed the analogy of the fire even further. In a blazing fire, many creatures are destroyed, but the snakes especially suffer because they live on the ground and have no legs or wings with which to Flee. "Other animals, they can . . . Nobody can escape, but they can try because they can go fast. But the snake . . .
Similarly, when there is catastrophe in the world, the persons like snakes, cruel, envious, they suffer first, like a snake."
And just as snakes themselves suffer, Prabhupada told us, they also like to cause suffering for others. "Canakya Pandita has said, sarpah krurah khalah krurah. There are two envious living entities, very dangerous. What are they? One is snake. And another? The man whose habit is like snake. Without any fault he will bite. Without any fault. So just like we are preaching Krishna consciousness. So what is our fault? That we are trying to make men-no illicit sex, no gambling, no meat eating, no intoxication, and they take it otherwise. They take, 'It is very dangerous.' Without any fault they are finding fault. This is snake. Sarpah krurah khalah krurah. No fault, but still fault finding and giving us trouble. Canakya Pandita said, 'This man snake is more dangerous than the animal snake.'Why? Now, mantrausadhi vashah sarpah khalah kena nivaryate: 'You can subdue the snake by chanting a snake mantra or some drug, but this man snake cannot be subdued.' It is very, very dangerous."
It is due to these snake-like persons in the world that the work of the devotee is so hazardous, but in meeting that hazard, therein lies the glory. "So this is our position, and therefore a preacher devotee is so favorite to Krishna. They have to meet actually dangerous persons, krurah persons. Just see?Jesus Christ, what fault he had? He was preaching about God, and he was crucified. That is in your country, a very good example. Simply his fault was he was talking of God, that's all, and he was crucified. So we have to meet. Our Nityananda Prabhu, He also met that Jagai Madhai. Of course, He delivered them. Nityananda Prabhu is so kind that in spite of being stroken and blood came out from His head, still, He continued to say, 'My dear friends, never mind you have injured Me. You chant Hare Krishna.' So the preaching is so difficult thing. Therefore Krishna said, na ca tasman manushyeshu kascin me priya krittamah. It is not sitting idly, comfortably, and discussing Vedanta. No. It is not like that. Preaching practically. Practically meeting dangerous position because sympathetic?samsara davanala, the whole world is in blazing fire. Para duhkha duhkhi. Vaishnava is para duhkha duhkhi [distressed to see others in a distressed condition]. And that is his qualification. For him there is no difficulty. He's quite all right. He's under the protection of Krishna. Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati [Bg. 9.31]. So he has no danger personally. What danger there is? There is Krishna. He is confident, and Krishna protects him in all danger. But he is unhappy. He meets Jagai Madhai class and faces all kinds of danger. Therefore he is the powerful, authorized agent of Krishna. Thank you very much."
On that soul-stirring note, Srila Prabhupada brought to an end his lecture series here in Vrindavana. He is indeed the modern day, powerful, authorized agent of Krishna, who never compromises His message even in the midst of the upheavals of our technologically based civilization. The spiritual wisdom he delivers is the same no matter what the current cultural and social trends may be, and he is totally, transcendentally fixed on the absolute. As professor Kenny so nicely stated in his paper in describing Prabhupada as the transparent via media, "Krishna lives through him. Hence, for the ISKCON devotee, to see Swami Bhaktivedanta is to see Krishna; to hear Swami Bhaktivedanta is to hear Krishna; to please Swami Bhaktivedanta is to please Krishna and to worship Swami Bhaktivedanta is to worship God. In short 'the disciple should accept the spiritual master as God because he is the external manifestation of Krishna.' " We are incalculably fortunate to have met him and accepted him as our guru and guide out of this all-consuming blaze of material life.
The boys all lined up in front of Prabhupada's vyasasana for the last time, eager to glorify him by their chanting. As they loudly recited the prayers, Prabhupada rewarded their enthusiasm with broad smiles and appreciation, throwing Flowers over their heads and showering their hearts with Divine Grace.
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 5 by Hari Sauri Dasa
Recently Added
Trending Today