The zigzag line of truth

(By Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Gosvami)

We have left all social concerns and so many other shackles. For what? For the Absolute Truth. And wherever I shall find that, I must bow down my head. And if a great soul shows us, “This is the path to where you will find your thirst quenched. The line is in this zigzag way”, we must accept that for our own interest. We are worshippers not of form, but of substance. If the current of spiritual substance comes another way, but I think that I must try to go this way to reach my goal, it is only jealousy, blind tenacity, to stick to the physical thing. We must free ourselves from this material contamination and try to understand the value of spiritual truth. We should always be prepared for that. We must follow what is necessary, for our own interest.

I am not a servant of A, B, C, or D. I am a servant of Mahāprabhu. I may have to turn this way or that way, or whatever way will be favourable to reach my Lord. Wherever I feel the presence of my Lord in an intense form, I must be attracted to that side. We are out for that thing, and not for any fashion or formality; that will hamper our cause.

Kṛṣṇa says, “Sarva-dharmān parityajya Mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.” Wherever we shall find Him, we must run in that direction. The direction may not be always straight, it may go in a zigzag way, but if Kṛṣṇa comes from that side, I must run there. Again if He appears on this side, I must run to this side. My interest is with Him. Not that we can challenge, “Why did Kṛṣṇa appear here, and why is He appearing there? That may be a doubtful thing, so I must stay on this side.” No. If I have genuine appreciation for the real thing, the proper thing, I must go to that side, the side of Kṛṣṇa.

If I am blind, that is another case. Then, I must have to suffer for my inability. But, if anyone has the ability to understand things properly, he will run wherever he finds help. If a man in a boat is passing through the current and finds himself in danger, then from whatever side help may come, he must turn to that side.

If we are worshippers of Śiva, when we understand the special superiority of Nārāyaṇ, should we stick to Śiva? And if we are worshippers of Nārāyaṇ and are shown the superiority of Kṛṣṇa, should we stick to our Nārāyaṇ worship? And then should we not try to go from Kṛṣṇa’s Bhagavad-gītā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam? One may think, “I have read the Bhagavad-gītā, I like the Kṛṣṇa who is the speaker of the Gītā.” Then when the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is given to us, should we stick to that Gītā Kṛṣṇa, or should we try to go to the Kṛṣṇa given in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam? If we have our interest in Kṛṣṇa, we must run to His side, wherever He appears.

In the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta the story is told of how Gopa Kumār, by chanting his Gopāl mantra, gradually leaves one stage and progresses to the next. There, the gradation of devotion is traced from the karma-kāṇḍa brāhmaṇ, to a devotee-king, then to Indra, then to Brahmā, then to Śiva, from him to Prahlād, then to Hanumān, then the Pāṇḍavas, then to the Yādavas, to Uddhava, and finally to the gopīs.

In this zigzag way he is passing. In the sincerity of his quest, his thirst is not being quenched. He is going from this side, to that side, and going up. So, all of them have their Guru-paramparā. There is Prahlād’s Guruparamparā, Hanumān’s Guru-paramparā, the Pāṇḍava’s Guru-paramparā, Mahādev’s Guru-paramparā. They have their own Guru-paramparā. Brahmā and Mahādev are Gurus themselves; they are the creators of their own lines of Guru-paramparā, but Gopa Kumār passes them also. Why? His thirst is not quenched until he goes to Vṛndāvan. So, the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta has shown us the line of Guru-paramparā, or the real line of our quest, of our search.

If we are sincerely searching after real truth, then wherever we go may be a contribution to our experience for further preaching in the future. If we go somewhere, hoping with all sincerity that our thirst may be quenched there, but find that it is not quenched, and feel some uneasiness, then, by the grace of the Lord, a connection with higher truth will come, and we will go somewhere else, thinking that there our thirst will be quenched. Gradually we will again find dissatisfaction, the need for something higher, and again we will progress further. In this way, we may cross many Guru-paramparās before ultimately attaining the Vraja-līlā of Kṛṣṇa, as given by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. We are not interested in fashion or form; if we want the real truth, then wherever it will be found, we must accept it. Mahāprabhu says:

kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya

(Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta: Madhya-līlā, 8.128)

“Anyone, regardless of caste or social position, may become Guru if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.”

Sometimes the father may not be our guardian. Our uncle may be our guide, and not the father. It is possible. The line of interest is to be considered the most important. So, our line is the Śikṣā-guru-paramparā.

I am thankful to those that are helping my spiritual understanding not only in a formal way, but in the real sense. Whoever is untying the knots of our entanglement in this material world, giving us light, and quenching our thirst for inner understanding and satisfaction is our Guru. In this way, we live on the contribution of all these Spiritual Masters. They are all our Śikṣā-gurus. All the Vaiṣṇavas are more or less our instructing Spiritual Masters. Our spiritual life may live on their contribution. But we do not accept the imitationists. They are our enemies, asat-saṅga, bad association. They will take us away from the real path of understanding and progress.

We must ask our sincere hearts, “From whom do I really get the benefit of spiritual life?” Our sincere consciousness will be the best judge, not form. If in an earthen pot there is Ganges water, and in a golden pot there is ordinary water, which should we select? In a case like that, brāhmaṇs, the intelligent class of men, take the holy Ganges water in the earthen pot. So, the substance contained, and not the container, should be given the real importance.

Gaura Hari Hari Bol