Questions about Sannyasa

By Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

In this article, we pose certain commonly asked questions about sannyasa, with answers from the teachings of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja.

Do Gaudiya Vaishnavas worship Mahaprabhu as a sannyasi?

We worship Mahaprabhu after He came back from Gaya. When Mahaprabhu went to Gaya, He met His guru Iswara Puri, and became initiated. When He came back, He cried for Krishna and started His mission of sankirtana. We worship Mahaprabhu in that mood. Very soon after that, He took sannyasa and left His newly wedded wife, Vishnupriya, and His old mother, Sachi Devi. (Questions after a Bhagavatam lecture, Atlanta, Georgia, 19 June 1994.)

When Srila Prabhupada gave sannyasa to devotees, why didn’t He give them one of the 108 traditional sannyasa names?

In the Gaudiya Math you will find that there are 108 sannyasi names. But our names are not among them. Our names are brahmacari names. Some Gaudiya Math sannyasis criticize us: “Why didn’t your Guru Maharaja give you sannyasa names?” I give this answer: “Why didn’t Mahaprabhu accept a sannyasa name? Why did He keep His brahmacari name?” My Guru Maharaja did like that. (Darsana, Bhubaneswar, 17 December 1989.)

Why did Srila Prabhupada give sannyasa to persons who later fell down?

You should understand this thing. The society gives opportunity. If one has been given a position in the society and he is really intelligent, he will understand, “I don’t deserve it; I have no qualification. But still this opportunity has come to me. So I must make myself qualified. Then I can stay in the position. Otherwise I will lose it.”

For the sake of maintaining the institution, opportunity is given. Unity must be there. We should not allow it to be split up. This is an organizational matter. Why should a member feel discouraged that he cannot get an opportunity?

Srila Prabhupada did the same thing. Prabhupada knew these people were not qualified. But he gave them sannyasa. Prabhupada said, “Take this opportunity! Do it now!” Otherwise, how could he manage the society? He would give someone sannyasa, and then put that sannyasi in one area to manage. In this way, the brahmacaris and devotees will obey him, because he is a sannyasi.

Mahaprabhu took sannyasa for this same reason. He was Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because He was a grhastha, many were not accepting him and were criticizing. Mahaprabhu thought, “I have to take sannyasa, because a sannyasi has prestige.” The general people have the notion that a Mayavadi sannyasi is Narayan. Mahaprabhu thought, “I must take sannyasa, otherwise these people won’t listen to Me.” So He took up sannyasa from Keshava Bharati, who was a sannyasi in the Mayavadi sampradaya. However, Mahaprabhu preached vaisnava philosophy. That was His purpose.

Similarly, Srila Prabhupada gave sannyasa. Otherwise, how can you manage such a worldwide organization? All of the brahmacaris and devotees will accept if a sannyasi is the leader. They will offer him obeisances and accept what he says. But if he is a grhastha, if he is a brahmacari, nobody will accept.

Prabhupada gave an opportunity. If you are intelligent, you will understand this. You should think, “I don’t deserve it. I am not qualified. But he gave me an opportunity so I must make myself qualified and keep up the position.” But instead of being intelligent, you are a fool. You are thinking, “Now I am a sannyasi! Now I am great! Now I am guru, now I am acarya!” You have developed pride. You commit aparadha and fall down. This is the reason for these fall downs. So, when we think of organizational matters we should consider all of these things. Otherwise how we will maintain the worldwide organization? These two aspects are there, the spiritual aspect and the organizational aspect. This is the organizational aspect. (Evening darsana, Bhubaneswar, 31 March 1992.)

The Secret of Gaura's
Sannyasa Lila

In the introduction to his Sri Caitanya-mangala (1.1.113), Srila Lochan Das Thakur has written:

aneka rahasya katha kahiba tahate
vairagya adbhuta prabhura uthe yenamate

I will tell many secrets, such as the secrets of the Lord’s wonderful renunciation.

Mahaprabhu’s purpose in accepting sannyasa is a very deep and multifaceted topic. To understand the secrets of His sannyasa-lila, one has to first consider that for the Lord to take sannyasa He had to give up the association of Mother Sachi and all the loving devotees of Nabadwip. If one contemplates on this fact, several perplexing questions arise about Mahaprabhu’s relationships with His dear devotees.

Caitanya-Bhagavata (madhya 9.215) describes the influence of pure devotion upon the Lord:

yaha haite apanara parabhava haya
sei bada gopya, loke kahare na kaya

You are conquered by love. This is a great secret, a secret the people of this world do not understand.

This is an intrinsic characteristic of bhakti — it binds up the Lord. In his commentary on Vedanta-sutra (3.3.53), Srila Madhvacharya has written: bhaktivasah puruso bhaktir eva bhuyasi -— The Lord is controlled by bhakti. Bhakti is the best of all. Krishna Himself describes the same thing in Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (14.29):

sada mukto ‘pi baddho ‘smi bhaktena sneha rajjubhih
ajito ‘pi jito ‘ham tair avaso ‘pi vasi krtah

Though I am eternally free and independent, still I become bound up with the rope of love of My devotees.

In the ninth canto of Bhagavatam (4.63), the Lord tells Durvasa Muni:

aham bhakta-paradhino hy asvatantra iva dvija
sadhubhir grasta-hrdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyah

I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotees are very dear to Me.

Because the lord was bound by the love of His pure devotees in Nabadwip, how was it possible for Him to renounce them? The Lord certainly knew that Mother Sachi could not live without seeing His lotus-like face. How then could He leave His loving mother, His wife Vishnupriya, and the others?

Yuga Dharma

One may say that the Lord left them and took sannyasa so that He could preach to the students and impersonalists, and thereby establish the religion of this age. However, Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes that establishing the yuga-dharma was an external, secondary desire of the Lord. What then was the internal, primary purpose of the Lord’s sannyasa-lila? Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes:

prema-rasa-niryasa karite asvadana
raga-marga bhakti loke karite pracarana

rasika-sekhara krsna parama-karuna
ei dui hetu haite icchara udgama

The Lord’s desire to appear was born from two reasons: the Lord wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction. Thus, He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all. (Cc. adi 4.15–16)

bhava-grahanera hetu kaila dharma-sthapana
tara mukhya hetu kahi, suna sarva-jana

To accept ecstatic love is the main reason He appeared and reestablished the religious system for this age. I shall now explain that reason. Everyone please listen. (Cc. adi 4.53)

ei vancha yaiche krsna-prakatya-karana
asura-samhara — anusanga prayojana

ei mata caitanya-krsna purna bhagavan
yuga-dharma-pravartana nahe tanra kama

Just as these desires are the fundamental reason for Krishna’s appearance whereas destroying the demons is only an incidental necessity, so for Sri Krishna Chaitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, promulgating the dharma of the age is incidental. (Cc. adi 4.36–37)

(This article is continued in the printed magazine.)

The Day Krishna Took Sannyasa

Although Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He relishes being subordinate to His devotees — especially Srimati Radharani, the topmost devotee. Sometimes in Her loving dealings with Krishna She manifests transcendental anger toward Krishna and refuses to see Him. Krishna relishes Radharani’s anger and becomes overwhelmed with ecstasy. Krishna has to devise some method to break Radharani’s loving sulkiness, and this pastime is known as mana-bhanjana-lila, the pastime of breaking Srimati Radharani’s anger.

Regarding such pastimes, Srila Prabhupada has described:

Krishna wants to be controlled by Yasodamayi. Krishna wants to be defeated by His friends. Krishna wants to be refused Radharani’s darsana. [When] Radharani is angry, She refuses [to allow Krishna to see Her]. She has ordered the sakhis, “Don’t allow Krishna to come here!” [Then] Krishna flatters [the sakhis], “Kindly let Me go.” “No sir, You cannot go.” This is Krishna. (Excerpt from a lecture on Nectar of Devotion, Bombay, 10 January 1973).

The following translation is adapted from a series of songs that have been passed down by the Giri family in Gadeigiri, Orissa for hundreds of years. Written principally by two medieval Gaudiya poets Sri Chandan and Jnana Das, the songs describe a wonderful way in which Krishna once broke Radharani’s angry mood. They are still sung on festive occasions to this day.

Krishna’s Offense

Not finding Krishna in the kunja where He was supposed to meet Her, Radharani inquired, “O My dear Lalita! Where is the friend of My heart? Please show Me His moonlike face!” With a trembling body, She continued, “O sakhi, where did Krishna go? I have decorated the kunja nicely for Him. I cannot walk even one step without Shyam, Krishna. In His absence, the bed has become poison. O My prana-sakhi, My life will go! Where has My beloved gone, leaving Me here? This disgrace is worse than death — Krishna gave up My beautiful bed.

He took Me to kunja-vana, the forest grove, and My caste and prestige are now gone. Because of Shyam, it is declared in all of the villages of Vraja that Radha is unchaste. Tolerating infamy and reproach for the sake of Shyam, My golden body is becoming crushed. Where is that holder of the flute? O sakhi, has He given you any message or signal?

“O My dear sakhi! Without Krishna, this flower-bed is useless. I decorated this bed with varieties of flowers and sprinkled camphor powder on it. I brought a jeweled camara here for His service. O sakhi! All merciful Shyam captivated My heart.

“For Him I became known as unchaste and carry a burden of disgrace. For Shyam I have tolerated so many reproaches in Vraja. Seeing His beautiful threefold bending form and His crooked glance, I forgot everything. I died, drowning in the ocean of beauty of that hero. I go to take bath in the Yamuna, fearing that Kanu, Krishna, will come and grab the end of My sari. What kind of flute does He have? It has stolen My mind. His melodious tunes charm a person and they become paralyzed.

“O sakhi! Who has kept the friend of My heart, Krishna, tonight? I am distressed and unfortunate, for Krishna has not arrived. Thinking of Him, this night will not end. I made and carefully folded a new outfit for Krishna out of unfading cloth. I strung together garlands of campaka and nagesvara flowers for Him. All of these things have become useless and withered, for Lord Hari never came. I prepared betel nuts with cardamom, and also mixed scented oil, sandalwood paste and camphor to smear on Shyam’s body. O My dear friend, what has the holder of the flute done to Me? There is no certainty that I will survive. I am surrounded by enemies. Struck by the five arrows of cupid, the five airs of My life are going to leave. O My dear friend! What has that bhavagrahi Krishna, who knows My innermost desire, not done to Me? Who is that cruel lady in Vraja who is hiding that holder of the flute?

The poet Sri Chandan says, “Now Kishori, beautiful young Radha, has sulkiness, mana.”

Debauchee Womanizer

Seeing the situation, the beautiful Lalita consoled Vinodini Radha, and went out to search for Madhava. She looked for Vanamali Krishna in every gopi’s kunja. At last, she came to Chandravali’s kunja. There she found Banamali, maddened after the love of Chandravali. Seeing Him there, Lalita became very surprised. She took a ketaki flower leaf from the decoration on her hair, wrote a letter on that leaf and threw it on the road in the place where Shyam would depart from the kunja. With much anger, Lalita sakhi then came to Radhika and said, “O my dear friend! What shall I tell You? Chandravali has bound up Muralidhara, that lampata nagara, debauchee womanizer.

The poet Sri Chandan says, “Oh Kishori, Lord Hari has rejected You.”

Restless Krishna

At dawn, Shyam woke up and found the ketaki leaf letter. He picked it up and immediately knew that it was Lalita’s handwriting. His chest trembled. He thought, “Giving up the love of Kamalini, lotus-like Radha, I am here with Chandravali.” Breathing heavily, His mind disturbed, Krishna thought, “How did They know I was here? Oh what I will do now?”

The poet Sri Chandan says, “Kanu, Krishna, became restless and apprehensive.”

Radhika’s Anger

Like a thief, Shyam then went to meet Kishori. With folded hands, a cloth around His neck, and straw in His teeth, He came before Kishori and began to plead, “O merciful Radhe! Please forgive Me for My offenses.” Humbly offering His obeisances again and again to Her, Shyam said, “O life of My heart, please show Me Your moon-like face. I am dina-jana, a fallen person, but You are dina-bandhu, the friend of the fallen. Please be merciful to Me. O karuna-sindhu, ocean of mercy. Please excuse this offender.” Hearing Shyam’s humble prayer, Kishori became even angrier. Radharani was keeping Her back to Shyam, Her moonlike face looking down at the ground. She began drawing lines on the earth with Her fingernail. At that time, Lalita held a mirror in front of Radhika’s face. Seeing Shyam’s reflection, Radha became even angrier and began to chastise Lalita.

But lotus-like Radha noticed that Krishna was wearing a piece of Chandravali’s cloth. She said, “What kind of cloth are you wearing? There is kajjala and vermilion on Your lips. Go back to Your dearmost Chandravali and try to console her.” Seeing bite marks on Krishna’s cheek, and seeing that His peacock feather was bent and the hair on His head completely disheveled, Radhika said, “Go present Yourself to Chandravali! You have no shame! Even though the Yamuna River is nearby, You have not washed Your face. O Braja-bandhu, Krishna, friend of the Vrajabasis, now Your name ‘Radha-bandhu’ no longer applies. Before You were mugdha-natha, lord of bewildered persons. Now You have become Chandravali-nath, the Lord of Chandravali.”

Krishna said, “O affectionate Radha! You are most forgiving! Please forgive Me. O foremost of young girls, I became bewildered and mistakenly touched a lily, thinking that it was a lotus.

“O ksama-nidhi, ocean of forgiveness, Sri Kishori! Please excuse Me for all of My offenses. Unable to bear Your harsh insulting words, I must jump into the Yamuna river and end My life. I am like the body and You are the life. Without You, everything is empty.

Radhika angrily responded, “Don’t touch me. Get out of here! I don’t want to see You. I don’t even want to see Your shadow. O shameless one, go! Take bath in the Yamuna, feed the brahmanas, and became free from sin.”

All of the sakhis then spoke to Radhika on behalf of Krishna. They said, “O crest jewel of young women! Why are You so angry with Giridhari? Not getting a taste of nectar, You are throwing it away. This will only bring You lamentation. You know how He danced on the heads of Kaliya and how He lifted Govardhan Hill. What kind of love do You have? Sukadeva Goswami, Sanaka Kumar, Janaka Maharaja — all of the sages and all of the three worlds are meditating on His name. That same Krishna is now standing before You with folded hands. Please don’t make Him more miserable and depressed. Show Him Your face and relieve Shyam of His sorrow.

(This article is continued in the printed magazine.)