By Hansadutta das
Send
this story to a friend 
Printer
Friendly Page
Text 9
-
By associating with saintly
persons one becomes detached. By such detachment one achieves freedom
from illusion. The living entity, being freed from illusion, becomes
steady, or fixed,
and by such steadiness he then attains liberation.
The sum and substance of advancing in spiritual life
is association. When Lord Chaitanya was asked what was the most
important
factor in the advancement of Krishna consciousness, the ultimate
conclusion
was association with saintly persons. We become what we are by
association.
If we associate with thieves and rogues, we shall become thieves and
rogues. If we associate with drunkards, we shall become drunkards. If
we associate with scholars, we shall become scholarly. Similarly, if we
associate with sadhus (saintly people), we shall become
saintly.
Association is the most important factor for a person wishing to make
progress
on the path of spiritual life. The shastras also emphasize the
importance of saintly persons.
According to their karma, all living
entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are
being elevated to upper planetary systems and some of them are going
down
into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering
living
entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate
with
a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Krishna. By the mercy of
both
Krishna and guru such a person receives the seed
of the creeper of devotional service. (Chaitanya-charitamrita
Madhya-lila 19.151)
Every living entity has been wandering in this material
atmosphere since time immemorial. No one can remember when and how his
conditional life began, but that we are caught up in the cycle of birth
and death is an undeniable fact. Even if we do not accept the concept
of
repeated birth and death, we have to admit that we have suffered the
pangs of birth in this life, that we are becoming old and that with old
age, disease manifests itself in various ways. Disease is the
forewarning of death, and death is certain for everyone.
After wandering through the 8,400,000 species of life, a
living entity comes into the human form of life. The human form of life
gives us an opportunity to get free from material existence. That
freedom begins if by good fortune we come in touch with a bona fide
representative of Krishna. We cannot become free from material
existence simply by studying shastra, practicing penance,
austerity and renunciation. Real liberation is effected the moment we
come in touch with a pure devotee of Krishna, because he--and he
alone--has the power to appeal our case to the Supreme Lord. It is the
mercy of the spiritual master, the pure devotee representative of the
Lord, which opens up the door to liberation.
There are unlimited conditioned souls who are
bereft of Lord Krishna's service. Not knowing how to cross over the
ocean of nescience, they are scattered by the waves of time and tide.
However,
some are fortunate to contact devotees, and by this contact they are
delivered from the ocean of ignorance, just as a log floating down the
river accidentally washes up on the bank. (Chaitanya-charitamrita
Madhya-lila
22.43)
O my Lord, O infallible One, when a person wandering
throughout the universe becomes eligible for liberation from material
existence, he gets an opportunity to associate with devotees. When he
associates with devotees, his attraction for You is awakened. You are
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the highest goal of the supreme
devotees of the Lord of the
universe. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.51.53)
By association with a devotee, one awakens his faith
in devotional service. Because of devotional service, one's dormant
love of Krishna awakens, and thus one's material conditional existence
comes
to an end. (Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya-lila 22.49)
Unless one is favored by a pure devotee, he cannot
attain the platform of devotional service, to say nothing of krishna-bhakti.
One cannot even be relieved from the bondage of material existence. (
Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya-lila 22.51)
The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even
a moment's association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.
(Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya-lila 22.54)
The value of a moment's association with a devotee of
the Lord cannot be compared to the attainment of heavenly planets, or
liberation from material existence, what to speak of worldly
benedictions in the form of prosperity, wealth, and women, which is for
those who are meant for death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.18.13)
Now the next question may be asked: Who is a
devotee? How can I tell who is and who is not a devotee? Everyone
is claiming to be a devotee, to possess the truth and to be able to
deliver people from ignorance. In that connection, there are explicit
instructions in Srimad-Bhagavatam regarding who is the
devotee and who is not.
The symptoms of a sadhu, or a saintly
person, or a devotee, are that he is tolerant, merciful, friendly to
all
living entities, he has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the
scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. (
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.21)
Such a sadhu engages in staunch devotional service to the
Lord without any deviation. For the sake of the Lord he renounces all
other
connections, such as family relationships and friendly acquaintances in
the world. ( Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.22)
Generally, an advanced devotee becomes so absorbed in
devotional service to Krishna that he cannot bear to divert his
attention to anything else except the service of the Lord. For that
purpose he gives up his wife, children, friends, home, country and his
money. Indeed, he
sacrifices his entire existence just for the satisfaction of the Lord.
In Bhagavad-gita (9.14) it is further said:
satatam kirtayanto mam
yantas cha dridha-vratah
Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with
great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls
perpetually worship Me in devotion.
The devotee is not a self-made man, but he
is the property of Krishna. Whenever and wherever one meets a devotee,
the
devotee will always be absorbed in glorifying the Supreme Lord. That is
what distinguishes a devotee from a non-devotee. The non-devotees have
many
subject matters for hearing--politics, art, music, business,
economics--but a pure devotee of the Lord is not interested in any
worldly subject matter. If he speaks of anything worldly, it is only in
connection with Krishna;
otherwise he has no program for amassing wealth, becoming popular or
enjoying
material comforts.
Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing
about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sadhus do not
suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with
thoughts of My pastimes and activities. ( Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.25.23)
O mother, O virtuous lady, these are the qualities of great devotees
who are free from all attachments. You must seek attachment to such
holy men, for this counteracts the pernicious effects of material
attachment.
( Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.24)
In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and
activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and
satisfying to the ear and heart. By cultivating such knowledge one
gradually becomes detached and advanced on the path of liberation, and
thereafter he is freed and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real
devotional service begins. ( Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.25)
The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their
lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great bliss and
satisfaction enlightening one another and conversing about Me. (Bhagavad-gita
10.9)
Thus conscientiously engaged in devotional service in
the association of devotees, a person gains distaste for sense
gratification, both in this world and in the next, because of constant
thinking about the activities of the Lord. This process of Krishna
consciousness is the easiest process of mystic yoga and power.
When one is actually situated on the path of devotional service he is
able to control his mind. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.26)
The opposite effect, due to association with
non-devotees, is also described. Who is a non-devotee?
asat-sanga-tyaga, ei vaishnava-achara
stri-sangi-eka asadhu, 'krishnabhakta' ara(Chaitanya-charitamrita
Madhya-lila 22.87)
Here Lord Chaitanya has given this guideline for persons
who are serious about becoming Krishna conscious. He says,
"One should avoid persons who are asat (materialists)." There
are
two kinds of materialists: those who are attached to women and sense
gratification and others who are simply non-devotees. Kapiladeva, in
the Third Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, describes the
effects of associating with non-devotees:
By association with worldly people, one
becomes devoid of truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, spiritual
intelligence, shyness, austerity, fame, forgiveness, control of the
mind, control of the senses, fortune and all opportunities.
One should not at any time associate with a coarse fool who is bereft
of knowledge of self-realization and who is no more than a toy animal
in the hands of a woman. The illusion and bondage that accrue to a man
from attachment to any other object are not as complete and blinding as
that resulting from associating with women or with men too much
attached to women. ( Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.31.33-35)
These are the conclusions of Vedic literature. We should
not take it to be sectarian or dogmatic, but try to understand it as a
science, which we have to learn to appreciate by practicing the
process of devotional service. This movement is not against women or
anyone,
nor is this movement a passing fad for exhibiting a fashionable
behavior
such as the punk movement. It is a movement for enlightening us about
the
spiritual truths which underlie our very existence. It is not a
religion
in the sense of Christian, Mohammedan, Jewish or Hindu religions. It is
not
a faith or a belief. It is a science and culture. And every human
being's
business is to assimilate the science of the soul, the science of God,
to
understand the very purpose and essence of his existence. If we fail to
understand
our true nature and our purpose in life, then we shall have missed the
greatest opportunity--namely, to purify our existence and to go home,
back to Godhead and live an eternal life of knowledge and bliss.
Here are a number of additional quotations regarding the
importance of associating with saintly persons.
My dear King, if a sinful person engages in
the service of a bona fide devotee of the Lord and thus learns how to
dedicate his life unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he can be completely
purified. One cannot be purified merely by undergoing austerity,
penance, brahmacharya (celibacy) or other methods of atonement
which I have previously described. (Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.1.16)
Generally, when one commits a sin such as stealing,
lying or adultery, then he has to undergo some kind of atonement. For
example, in the Christian religion, one goes to a priest and confesses.
The priest then prescribes some atonement or penance to be performed to
counteract the sinful deed, just as when a criminal is apprehended and
brought
to trial he is given some punishment to counteract his criminal
activity.
But Shukadeva Goswami explains in Srimad-Bhagavatam that
this
is not really effective in giving us the ultimate cure to our sinful
deeds.
We see that even when a criminal is apprehended and punished, upon his
release,
he again commits a crime. In this way, he continues his miserable
existence.
In the same way, until a sinful person has the seed of
sinful activity rooted out, he will again and again become a victim of
sinful life. Rooting out the seed of sinful activity is accomplished
not simply by penance, austerity, celibacy, renunciation, or studying
the shastras. It is the association
of a pure devotee that can remove the seeds of sinful desire, and thus
one
can actually get relief from material miseries.
Here is a very important verse:
One can attain the path of liberation from
material bondage only by rendering service to the highly advanced
spiritual personalities. These personalities are impersonalists and
devotees. Whether one wants to merge into the Lord's existence or wants
to associate with the Personality of Godhead, one should render service
to the mahatmas, or sadhus. For those who are not
interested in such activities, who associate with people fond of women
and sex, the
path to hell is wide open. The mahatmas are equipoised. They do
not
see any difference between one living entity and another. They are
devoid
of anger, and they work for the benefit of everyone. They do not behave
in
any abominable way. Such people are known as mahatmas. (Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.5.2)
The mahatmas are further
described as follows:
Those who are not deluded--the great
souls--are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully
engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible. (
Bhagavad-gita 9.13)
My dear King Rahugana, unless one has the opportunity
to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus
feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One
cannot
realize the Absolute Truth by observing celibacy, strictly following
rules
and regulations of household life, leaving home as a vanaprastha
or accepting sannyasa, or undergoing severe penances in winter
by keeping oneself submerged in water, or by surrounding oneself in
summer
by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other
processes
to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only
revealed
to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee. (Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.12.12)
Therefore, we find throughout history that it is not a
particular doctrine, book or movement which has inspired the world to
upliftment and liberated men from material entanglement. It
has always been a person--and furthermore, a person who is thoroughly
purified and attached to the devotional service of the Lord. In the
Christian tradition we find great saintly persons like Lord Jesus
Christ or Saint Francis. Similarly, in Vedic culture there are many
great sadhus.
Krishna consciousness is not a
mechanical process where we join up, pay some dues, get a mantra
and are then instantly liberated. Of course, there must be some
organization for the association of like-minded men--that is necessary.
But simply living together, eating and sleeping and forming another
kind of love, friendship and society is not really the aim of Krishna
consciousness. The real purpose is to find a pure devotee and associate
with him. In this way, the very
root of all our material problems shall be removed, and the path to
self-realization will be simplified, just as reading, writing and
arithmetic are more easily mastered when children agree to submit to
the teacher.
The teacher comes down to show
the children how ABC has to be done. That is the nature of the devotee.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said: "The great souls do not
live
for their own satisfaction, but they live only for the welfare of
others."
In another place we find Lord Shiva saying to Parvati, "It is the
nature
of saintly persons to overlook that which is bad, and greatly magnify
that
which is good." So a sadhu is a person who has got only the
interest of the conditioned soul in his heart. In Bhagavad-gita
(6.32) Krishna says, "He is a real or true yogi who sees the
equality of all living beings, both in their happiness and distress, by
dint of his
own personal experience." A sadhu can see everyone's real
position,
because a sadhu has experienced
everything personally. He alone can show real compassion. He alone can
give
real relief and do welfare for all living beings, because a sadhu
is finished with material life. He no longer aspires to become popular.
He
has no concern about his personal comfort. He is completely free from
material
existence. He is not bound up. Therefore he can give us real fortune.
He
can give us real happiness, real knowledge and relief from our
suffering.
Everyone else--as long as he is not liberated, as long
as he is not pure--will try to take something from us; but a saintly
person is trying to give us something. Unfortunately, we are so
bewildered and puzzled due to our long-standing engagement in
material activities that we cannot recognize the sadhu's mercy,
and we sometimes mistake the saintly person to be a man of the world
who
is trying to exploit us. That is unfortunate. But if one is sincere and
actually wants to be liberated from the material existence, Krishna,
who
sits within the heart of everyone, will point out to us who is a
genuine
saintly person. That should be our only aspiration in life: finding a
genuine
saintly person, then approaching him and trying to satisfy him in all
respects.
In this way we can make our life perfect. Hare Krishna.
