By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

We offer obeisances to Krishna with awe and veneration, but no one comes to Krishna with a rope: "Krishna, You are an offender. I shall bind You." That is the prerogative of the most perfect devotee. Krishna wants that because He is full of opulence. Krishna is anor aniyan mahato mahiyan—greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest.(1)  That is opulence.

Kuntidevi is thinking of Krishna’s opulence, but she did not dare to take the part of Yasoda. That is not possible. Kuntidevi was Krishna’s aunt, but she did not have such privilege as Yasodamayi. Because Yasoda is such an advanced devotee she has the right to chastise the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Kuntidevi was simply thinking of the privilege of Yasodamayi, how fortunate and privileged she was that she could threaten the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is feared even by fear personified. Bhir api yad bibheti. Who is not afraid of Krishna? But Krishna is afraid of Yasodamayi. This is the superexcellence of Krishna.

Another name for Krishna is Madana-mohana. Madana means Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, and Krishna enchants Cupid. Therefore His name is Madana-mohana. He’s so beautiful that even Cupid is enchanted by Him. But on the other side, Krishna, although He’s so beautiful that He enchants Cupid, still He is enchanted by Srimati Radharani. Therefore Srimati Radharani’s name is Madana-mohana-mohini. Krishna is the enchanter of Cupid and Radharani is the enchanter of that enchanter. So these are very high-grade spiritual understandings in Krishna consciousness. It is not fiction, imagination or concoction. They are facts. And every devotee can have such privileges if he is actually advanced.

If you love Krishna as your child then you will have such a privilege. In this material world there is no comparison to a mother’s love. It is without any exchange. Even in this material world the mother loves the child without any expectation of return. However, this material world is so polluted that sometimes the mother thinks, "When my child grows up he will a be big man. He will earn money, and I shall get it." There are still some feelings of exchange. But while loving Krishna, if there is no such feeling of exchange that is called unalloyed love — anyabhilasita-sunyam — free from all material gain. We should not love Krishna for some material gain. It is not that, "Krishna! Give us our daily bread! Then I will love You!" There should not be such a mercantile exchange. Krishna wants our pure love.

When Krishna saw mother Yasoda coming with a rope to bind Him, He immediately became very much afraid and began crying, "Oh, mother is going to bind Me!" At that time, ya te dasasru-kalilanjana — the ointment on His eyes became washed off by His tears. With great respect, Krishna appealed to His mother with feeling, "Yes, mother, I have offended you. Kindly excuse Me." And immediately His head went downward.

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita He says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya — My dear Arjuna, there is no superior being above Me. I am the supermost."2  That same Supreme Personality of Godhead is now bowing down before mother Yasoda. Niniya vaktram bhaya-bhavanaya — with a feeling of fearfulness He is accepting, "My dear mother, yes, I am an offender." Sometimes if Yasoda-mata saw that her child has become too much afraid she would also become disturbed. Mother Yasoda did not want that Krishna would suffer by her punishment. That was not her purpose. This system is still very common in India. When the child is disturbing too much he is bound up in one place. Pure devotees appreciate this scene, how much greatness is there in the Supreme Person that He is playing just like a perfect child. When He is playing like a child He plays perfectly. When He plays the part of a husband with 16,000 wives He plays the perfect husband. When He plays as the lover of the gopis He plays perfectly. And as a friend of the cowherd boys He also plays perfectly.

(Article is concluded in magazine)

Notes
 1 Katha Upanisad 1.2.20
 2 Bg. 7.7

East Meets West
A Conversation Between
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur  
and Ohio State University's
Professor Albert E. Suthers

Professor Suthers was in Bombay doing research for his course in comparative religions at Ohio State University. In January of 1929 he went to Calcutta to meet Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who was at that time in Krishnanagar. The professor heard from him for three consecutive days.

Prof. Suthers: Your Holiness seems to have taken a biased view in saying that the good moral precepts of Christ come nowhere near “the morality of amorous love of the devotees of Krishna”.

Beyond Secular Morality

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta: Certainly not. We claim to be greater and better Christians than Westerners. Our judgement is not restricted only to secular morality. The morality of the object of spiritual love surpasses secular morality. If Christian morality is perfected thereby, then it may be said to receive proper nourishment. To a pure soul that remains situated on that transcendentally moral plane of love, the secular moralities appear reduced to the smallness of pygmies. But there is not found any feeling of apathy, nor attachment towards these secular moralities. On the other hand, all moralities wait like maids behind the spiritual moralities to become glorified, being permitted to serve the Lord of transcendental love. The character of a culturist of spiritual love is never devoid of morality. One hostile to morality or fallen from it can never be a spiritual man. In the blaze of the teaching of Sri Chaitanya Deva’s ideal, it has been propagated that dissoluteness [licentiousness] is not devotion. Its palpable evidence is found when we reflect on the character of Sri Chaitanya Deva or the followers at His heel. The people of the realm of the secular morality concerned with the worldly enjoyments and their renunciation will not be able to grasp in their tiniest brains how the amorous sports of Krishna are fostered by the climax of morality and adored in the highest degree by all the morality of the universe. They are so much glorified by the noble clan of such high personages of strictly continent character as the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Deva like Sri Rupa, Sri Sanatana, Sri Raghunatha Dasa, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta, Sri Gopala Bhatta, etc.

Prof. Suthers: How can your Holiness’s statements be reconciled with the descriptions that are found about Krishna’s amorous sports?

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta: Krishna’s amorous sports are not temporal like the lustful sports of dramatic heroes and heroines like Romeo and Juliet, or even ideal spouses. Lust as prevalent in this world is only a mental passion, but the lust of the transcendental region has its own form. Here lust is always goaded by the enemy passion, whereas in the transcendental region of Krishna, the loveliness of the spiritual body of Krishna ever drives the lust for Krishna, which takes form as sublimated love or the desire to gratify the immaculate senses of Krishna. The conductor of the worldly lust is the enemy (passion), and the conductor of love is Krishna. It is the amorous sports of Krishna that have appropriateness; but there is no such consistency in the lust born of the body and mind of the jiva (living entity). Krishna’s amorous sports are not to be called indecent, because it is Krishna who is the only one unrivalled enjoyer, embodiment of the real truth, and the spiritual despot.

Prof. Suthers: I have been truly astonished to hear from your Holiness these mysteries of the vaisnava philosophy and their scientific analysis with the most reasonable arguments. I could not even imagine before that in the vaisnava philosophy there are such excellent solutions, corroboration and elucidation of the problems of Indian philosophy.

(This article is concluded in the magazine)

Stages and Varieties of Faith

by Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode

People in various countries on various continents have a wide variety of natures. Although their principal nature is only one, their secondary characteristics are many—you will not find any two people in the world who have identical secondary qualities. Since even twins born of the same womb have some difference in form and quality, can one expect that people born in different countries can ever have exactly the same qualities? Different countries have different water, air, mountains, forests, and different eatables and clothing. Because of this, the people of these places have naturally developed different physiques, complexions, customs, clothing and food. Similarly, people’s mentalities differ. Thus various people’s ideas of God, though being basically similar, will differ in secondary details. When men in different places surpass the uncivilized stage, they then step by step come to the civilized stage, then the inquisitive stage, the moral stage and finally the devotional stage. In the civilized stage differences will arise in language, in the inquisitive stage differences in dress, in the moral stage differences in food, and in the devotional stage differences in mentality. This gives rise to differences in the mode of worship of God. Considered objectively, there is no harm in secondary differences. If there is agreement concerning the essential nature of God and his worship, there should be no obstacle in attaining the same result. Thus Mahaprabhu has taught that we should instruct everyone to worship the pure form of the Lord, but at the same time we should not criticize others’ modes of worship.5 

Vibhinna-dharmera
Pancavidha-bheda
Five Types of Differences Between Religions

Because of the above reasons, we see the following differences amongst the religions of different countries:

1) Difference in teachers — acaryabheda

2) Difference in the worshiper’s mentality and consequent expression of reverence — upasakera manovrtti o bhajana-anubhava-bheda.

3) Difference in the method of worship — upasanar pranalibheda

4) Difference in the conceptions and conventional actions concerning the object of worship — upasya-tattvera sambandhe bhava o kriyabheda

5) Differences in God’s names and teachings due to linguistic differences — bhasa-bhedanusare nama o vakyadi-bheda.

1) Acarya-bheda
Differences in Spiritual Teachers

Thus people in some places give respect to the rsis, in other places they respect preachers like Muhammad, etc. In other countries they respect Jesus and other religious souls, and in many other places of the world people give respect to other various wise men. It is imperative that the people of each country give proper respect to their native saints. Although one may believe that the teachings given by a saintly person of one’s own country are superior to the teachings of the saints of all other countries, still one should not try to establish and preach such controversy in other countries. No good will come to the world from such preaching.

(This article is concluded in the magazine)

The Esoteric Significance of the Deity of Alarnath-dev

In the Sri Caitanya-candrodaya natakam (1) written by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's eternal associate Srila Kavi-karnapura, we find the following conversation between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita Acarya:

Advaita asked Mahaprabhu, “What is Mukunda's offense?”

Mahaprabhu replied, “As he himself admits, he is attracted to the Lord's four-armed form.  That is his object of worship.”

“Is that wrong? What is your opinion about this?”

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “If the Supreme Lord likes, He can assume a four-armed form. But His original form has two arms. The scriptures say, narakrti param brahma—the original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like that of a human being. (2) The scriptures also say, gudham param brahma manusya-lingam — the confidential, original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like the form of a human being, (3) and, paramatma narakrtih — the Supreme Lord's original form is humanlike. (4) 

“Therefore the original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has two arms, like the form of a human being.”

Advaita said, “You are kind to Me, O Lord, so please be kind to him.  A terrible offense stole his intelligence. Please place on his head Your two parasol-feet, which create a pleasant cool shade, mock the lotus, remove the poison of material desires, and shower the nectar of great mercy." (5)

Mahaprabhu then put His lotus feet on Mukunda's head and said in a gentle voice, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the son of mother Yasoda, is accessible to devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service. But He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self. (6) From now on, do not be a servant of these heresies.”

A Question

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in the mood of Srimati Radharani. He only wants to see Krishna in His two-handed form in Vrndavana. He is not attracted to any other form of the Lord and He even chastised His dear devotee Mukunda for being attached to the four-armed feature. If this is so, then we may ask, “If Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not interested in the Lord’s four-armed form, then why did He go every year to Brahmagiri to have darsan of the four-armed deity of Visnu there known as Alarnath?" 

Notes  

1) Sri Caitanya-candrodaya natakam 1.141-146.
2) Gopal-tapani Upanisad.
3) Bhag. 7.15.75.
4) Bhag. 9.23.20.
5) This verse is quoted from Bhag. 6.11.24.1
6) This verse is quoted from Bhag. 10.9.22.

(This article is concluded in the magazine where it answers the above questions.)