The first annual
function at Çré Indraprañöha Gauòéya Maöha, Delhi, a branch of Çré Gauòéya
Saìgha founded by Çré Çrémad Bhakti-säraìga Gosvämé Mahäräja was held on
29th/30th January 1964, with great celebration. On this occasion, an assembly of
learned religious scholars gathered in the evening of the January 30th under
the presidency of the Chief Commissioner of
The first annual function of
Çré Indraprañöha Gauòéya Maöha
Tridaëòi
Svämé Çrémad Bhaktivedänta Näräyaëa Mahäräja (speaking), Tridaëòi Svämé Çrémad
Bhakti-saurabha Bhaktisära Mahäräja (seated on left side), Tridaëòi Svämé
Çrémad Bhaktivedänta Svämé Mahäräja (seated in the center), Tridaëòi Svämé
Çrémad Bhakti-säraìga Gosvämé Mahäräja (seated on right side).
[NOTE: This page uses Balarama font (available here)
for better transliteration of Sanskrit into English]
This
is the lecture given in that auspicious assembly
by Çré
Çrémad Bhaktivedänta Näräyaëa Gosvämé Mahäräja.
Nitya-dharma
by Çré Çréman Bhaktivedänta Näräyaëa Gosvämé
Mahäräja
The Story of Indra and Virocana
The words nitya-dharma
(eternal religion) automatically
presuppose the inherent and unavoidable
object of that nitya-dharma, he who
performs it. This is due to the inseparable connection between dharma and dharmé (the practitioner
of religion). The example is given of the inseparable relationship between water and liquidity or between fire and
warmth. Before considering the dharma of any entity, it is essential to first reflect on the tattva of
that entity. Thus, first we
consider what tattva “I” actually is. The Chändogya Upaniñad narrates the story of Indra and Virocana by which this tattva of the soul can easily be understood.
At the beginning of Satya-yuga, the entire universe was divided
into two camps, the demigods and the demons. The head of the demon party was King Virocana, and the leader of the demigods was Devaräja Indra. They rivaled for
the attainment of unparalleled happiness and enjoyment. Thus bearing envy and
spite towards each other, they approached Prajäpati Brahmä, the father of the
universe, and asked him how they could fulfill their desires.
Prajäpati Brahmä said: “One is able to easily attain all the
enjoyment available in all the worlds and to satisfy one’s every desire when
one knows the soul. That soul is free from sin, old age, death, lamentation,
hunger and desire, and he is satya-kama and satyasaìkalpa – that is,
his every endeavor and resolve is truthful and just.”
To realize the soul both Indra and Virocana resided with Brahmä
and practised celibacy for thirty two years. They then prayed to Prajäpati to
tell them about the soul. Prajäpati said, “That person (self) you are now
seeing with your eyes is the soul, and he is fearless and immortal.”
They enquired further, “Is the soul that person (self) seen in
water or in a mirror?”
Prajäpati told them to look into separate clay pots filled with
water. He asked them, “What do
you see?”
Upon seeing their reflections in the water they said, “O Lord,
we see the whole soul just as it is, from the hair on his head down to his
toenails.” Prajäpati then asked them to cut their nails and hair and decorate
themselves with ornaments. He again requested them to look into the clay pots.
“Now what do you see?”
“We see that the two persons in these reflections have also been
cleaned and decorated in very beautiful clothes and ornaments, just as we have;
and thus they resemble us perfectly.”
Prajäpati said, “This is the soul and he is fearless and
immortal.”
Hearing this Indra and Virocana departed with satisfied hearts.
Upon reaching the abode of the demons, Virocana, who now understood the body to
be the soul and the object of worship and
service, declared: “O demons,
he who worships his body as the soul attains this world as well as the upper planets. All his desires are fulfilled and he attains
full enjoyment.”
But Indra deliberated upon this on his journey home. “This body
takes birth, dies, undergoes transformations, is subject to disease and so
forth. How, then, can this be the immortal soul who is without birth, death,
distress and fear?”
Although halfway home, Indra now returned to Prajäpati and told
him about his doubt. Prajäpati made Indra live in celibacy for another
thirty-two years and then said to him, “That person who is understood to be “I”
within a dream is the soul, and he is fearless and immortal.”
Hearing this, Indra left with a peaceful heart; but upon his
journey home he again began to reflect. He thought: “When someone is awake his
body may be blind, yet in a dream his body will not be blind. Someone’s body
may be diseased, yet in a dream that person may remain free from disease. But
suppose that within a dream the person identified with as the self is beaten or
killed. He still fears and cries, and upon awakening that ‘self’ ceases to
exist. Thus, the form seen in a dream cannot in fact be the soul.”
Thinking like this Indra returned to Prajäpati. After practising
celibacy for another thirty-two years, Prajäpati instructed him as follows:
“The soul lies in that state of deep sleep where there is no vision or even the
experience of dreaming.”
But as before, Indra began to contemplate Prajäpati’s words on
his way home. “In the condition of deep sleep,” he thought, “there is no
understanding of who one is, nor is anyone else being perceived. This condition
is therefore a type of destruction.”
Thinking like this, Indra returned to Prajäpati once again. This
time, after five years of celibacy, Prajäpati instructed him anew. “Indra, the
physical body, which is naturally subject to death, is only the abode of the
soul. The ätmä is attached to the body,
just as a horse or bull remains harnessed to a cart. In reality it is the
person who has desires – such as “I shall look” – who is the soul. For this
task there are senses, like the eyes. He who desires “I shall speak” is the
soul, and for the act of speaking there is the tongue. He who wills “I shall
hear” is the soul, and for the act of hearing there are ears. He who desires to
think is the soul, and the mind carries out that thinking for him.
From this tale it is clear that the soul has three abodes, just
as a peanut has three elements (the shell, the skin and the nut itself). The
soul’s abodes are (1) the gross body consisting of five mundane elements; (2)
the subtle body which possesses a semblance of consciousness;
and beyond these, (3) the pure body of the soul. Each of these
bodies has its own separate dharma. The gross and subtle bodies
are both impermanent. Thus their respective dharmas are also temporary. The soul, however, is eternal and
everlasting. This is the established doctrine of Veda, Vedänta, the Upaniñads
and the Puräëas. Therefore the dharma of this soul is indeed nitya-dharma or sanätana dharma (eternal
function). It is also called Vedic dharma or bhagavat-dharma.
The Soul’s True and Acquired
Natures
That which is called dharma should be understood. The word dharma
is formed from the root syllable dhå, which means dhäraëa, “to retain”.
Therefore, dharma means “that which is retained”. The permanent nature or quality
that is retained by a being is that being’s
nitya-dharma. When, by the desire of the Lord, any being is created, that
being’s eternal nature (svabhäva) also becomes evident
simultaneously. This nature or quality is that being's nitya-dharma. If a transformation
later takes place within that entity, incidentally or because of any connection with another object, then that entity’s eternally present
nature becomes transformed or distorted. Gradually the distorted nature becomes steady and it appears to
be eternal and pure like
his previous nature. Yet this transformed nature is not his actual nature. This
nature is called nisarga (“acquired nature”), and it is temporary.
This acquired nature takes prominence over a person’s true
nature, and begins to assert its own identity as the ‘real’ nature. Water is a
substance whose dharma is fluidity; but when water solidifies into ice its dharma, or nature (i.e. fluidity), also transforms and
becomes hardness. This quality of hardness has become the nisarga, distorted nature, of the water and it now acts in place of the
water’s true nature of fluidity. Nisarga, however, is not
permanent; it is temporary. Because it has come about by some cause or force,
when this force is removed the nisarga itself is removed and the true nature manifests once more, just
as ice again becomes liquid when placed near heat.
The Nature of the Infinitesimal
Jéva
To understand this subject of the soul properly it is essential
to understand the tattva and eternal nature of the jéva. By this
knowledge one can very easily understand nitya-dharma (the living entities’ eternal function) and naimittika-dharma (the living entities’ temporary
function).
Bhagavän Çré Kåñëa – the creator, maintainer and annihilator of
the universe, the origin of all and the cause of all causes – is the
undifferentiated Absolute Truth. He is not formless (niräkära) or devoid of features (nirviçeña); these are
only his partial manifestations (äàçika-bhäva). In reality He
possesses a transcendental form. He is the inconceivable possessor of all power
and He is endowed with six opulences. By the influence of His inconceivable aghaöana-ghaöanaçakti, the potency that makes the impossible possible, the supreme tattva, Çré Kåñëa, manifests in four aspects as svarüpa, tad-rüpa-vaibhava, the jéva and pradhäna.
To help us understand this, these four can be compared to the
sun, the surface of the sun globe, the atomic particles within the sun’s rays,
and a reflection of the sun, respectively. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé states:
ekam eva parama-tattvaà sväbhavävikäcintya-çaktyä
sarvadaiva svarüpa-tad-rüpa-vaibhava-jéva-pradhäna-rüpeëa
caturdhävatiñöhate süryäntar-maëòala-stha-teja iva
maëòala tad-bahirgata-tad-raçmi-tat-praticchavi-rüpeëa
The Absolute Truth is one. His
unique characteristic is
that He is endowed with
inconceivable potency,
through which He always
manifests in four ways: (1)
svarüpa (as His original form), (2) tad-rüpa-vaibhava
(as His personal splendor,
including His abode and
His eternal associates,
expansions and avatäras), (3)
the jévas (as individual spirit souls), and (4) pradhäna
(as the material energy). These
four features are
likened to the interior of the
sun planet, the surface of
the sun, the sunrays emanating
from this surface, and
a remotely situated reflection,
respectively.
Çréla Jéva Gosvämé further states that if we liken Kåñëa, the
complete conscious entity (purna-cit-tattva), to the
sun, the jévas may be compared to the localized
particles of the sun's rays. The description of the jéva’s svarüpa is found in Bhagavad-gétä (15.7): “mamaiväàço jéva-loke
jéva bhütaù sanätanaù – the eternal jévas in
this material world are certainly My separated parts and parcels.” It is found
in the Båhadäraëyaka Upaniñad (2.1.20): “yathägneù kñudrä visphuliìgä vyuccarnti – innumerable jévas emanate
from para-brahma just as tiny sparks emanate from
a fire.” It is found in the Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad (5.9):
“bälägraçata- bhägasya çatadhä
kalpitasya ca, bhägo jévaù sa vijïeyaù sa cänantyäya
kalpate – one should know that the jéva is the size of one
ten-thousandth of the tip of a hair.” It is also found in Çré Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya 20.109): “süryäàça-kiraëa, yena
agni-jväläcaya – like a molecular particle of
sunshine or fire.”
These quotes confirm that the jéva is the separated part of the transformation of sarva-saktimän Çré Kåñëa’s marginal potency.
The Çvetäçvatara
Upaniñad (6.8) states: “paräsya çaktir
vividhaiva çrüyate – a
single supreme potency of Çré Kåñëa manifests as numerous powers (çaktis), of which
three are prominent – namely, cit, jéva and mäyä.” By the
Lord’s desire, the
jéva-çakti, being situated between the cit- and mäyäçaktis, manifests innumerable
insignificant, atomically conscious jévas. These jévas are
spiritual entities (cidvastu) by nature and are capable of wandering throughout the spiritual or the material worlds. For this or marginal
potency, and the jévas themselves
are called tatañöhä-dharmé-jévas, “jévas who are neutral by nature”.
The Relationship Between Kåñëa
and the Jéva
Çakti-çaktimat or abhedaù. According to this aphorism from Vedänta-sütra, Kåñëa and
Kåñëa's çakti are non-different from each
other. Therefore Kåñëa and the transformation of His çakti, the jévas, are also non-different. But this oneness is only from the
perspective of their being equal as spiritually conscious beings (cidvastu). Kåñëa, however, is the complete conscious being and the
master of mäyä, while the jévas are atomically conscious.
Because of their marginal nature, the jévas are capable of becoming subject to mäyä even in their pure state. Kåñëa is the possessor of all power
and the jévas are devoid of power. Thus there
is an eternal difference between Kåñëa and the jévas.
From the philosophical perspective this difference and
non-difference is beyond human intelligence, and is therefore called the
doctrine of acintya-bhedäbhedatattva, the science of
inconceivable difference and nondifference. Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu, who
is Svayam Bhagavän, completely harmonised the contextual doctrines of the Vedas
with those of the previous Vaiñëava äcäryas. He took Çré Rämänuja Äcärya’s viçiñöädvaita doctrine, Çré Madhväcärya’s çuddha-dvaita doctrine, Çré Viñëusvämé’s çuddhädvaita doctrine and Çré
Nimbäditya Äcärya’s bhedäbheda doctrine and revealed
their synthesis – the acintya-bhedäbheda doctrine,
which is the universal, absolute understanding of the Vedas.
Thus, Kåñëa is aàçi, the source of all expansions,
and the jévas are His vibhinnäàça-tattva, or separated parts and parcels. Kåñëa is the attractor and the
jévas are the attracted. Kåñëa is the
object of service and the jévas are the performers of service.
Service to the completely conscious being, Çré Kåñëa, is the real nature (svabhäva) of the atomically conscious jévas. This
service is indeed called aprakåta prema-dharma, the
transcendental religion of unalloyed love for Çré Kåñëa. Thus, this service to
Kåñëa, this kåñëa-prema, is the constitutional
nature (nitya-dharma) of the jéva. “Jévera svarüpa haya kåñëera nitya däsa – the constitutional nature of the
jéva is to be an eternal servant of Çré Kåñëa (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya
20.108).”
But if that jéva, whose nature is marginal, and
who is atomically conscious, becomes adverse to the service of Kåñëa, then
Kåñëa’s mäyä-çakti covers that pure jéva’s atomic, conscious nature with the subtle and gross material
bodies. Mäyä thus causes these jévas to
habitually
wander throughout the 8,400,000 species of life.
When the jévas are
reinstated in their service to Kåñëa, they are released from their bodies
imposed by mäyä. As long as the jéva fails
in his inclination to serve Kåñëa he will continue to be scorched by the
threefold miseries. At this time the jéva’s pure svarüpa is covered by the curtains of mäyä, and his nitya-dharma, eternal nature, is also covered or perverted.
This perverted nature
is the jéva’s
occasional function (naimittikadharma), just as water becomes solid when
transformed into ice. This temporary
dharma is of many types according to the time,
place and recipient.
Divisions of Dharma
All the varieties of dharma in this world can be divided into three general categories: nitya-dharma, naimittika-dharma and anitya-dharma. Anityadharma is that dharma which
does not accept the existence of the Lord and the eternality of the soul. Naimittika-dharma is that dharma which accepts the eternality of
the Lord and the jévas, but only prescribes temporary
means to attain the Lord’s mercy. And nityadharma is that dharma which endeavors by the
means of pure love to obtain the servitorship of Kåñëa. This nitya-dharma is one, although different
countries, castes and languages identify it by various names. This is the
supreme occupation of all jévas.
In
ähära-nidrä-bhaya-maithunaà ca
sämänyam etat paçubhir naräëäm
dharmo hi teñäm adhiko viçeño
dharmeëa hénäù paçubhiù samäna
Hitopadeça (25)
Human beings are equal to
animals in the matter of
eating, sleeping, fearing and
mating. Yet the quality of
religion is unique to human
beings. Without religion,
they are no better than animals.
That dharma in
which the nature of the self (the soul) is not cultivated; in which endeavors
are made to increase eating, sleeping, mating and defending; and in which
enjoyment of the temporary sense objects is supported as the ultimate objective
of human life, is the dharma of
animals. In this so-called dharma, it is in fact completely
impossible to escape all sorrow and
attain pure happiness, which is the goal of human life.
Therefore, it has been stated in the Çrémad- Bhägavatam (11.3.18):
karmäëy ärabhamäëänäà
duùkha-hatyai sukhäya ca
paçyet päka-viparyäsaà
mithuné-cäriëäà nåëäm
All men in this world are
inclined to perform karma
for the purpose of becoming
liberated from sorrow
and attaining happiness. But the
opposite results are
seen. In other words, sorrow is
not dispelled and happiness
is not attained.
For this reason Çrémad-Bhägavatam gives the
highest instruction for all people of the world:
labdhvä
su-durlabham idaà bahu-sambhavänte
mänuñyam
artha-dam anityam apéha dhéraù
türëaà
yateta na pated anu-måtyu yävan
niùçreyasäya
viñayaù khalu sarvataù syät
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.9.29)
After wandering throughout 8,400 000 species of
life
one achieves the rare human form of life, which,
although temporary, affords one the opportunity
to
attain the highest perfection. Thus, a sober human
being, without wasting even a moment, should
endeavor for the ultimate welfare of life as
long as
his body, which is always subject to death, has
not
fallen down and died.
Some
persons accept karma,
while others accept jïäna or yoga to be the means to attain ultimate prosperity.
But this is refuted in Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(1.5.12):
naiñkarmyam
apy acyuta-bhäva-varjitaà
na
çobhate jïänam alaà niraïjanam
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.5.12)
Knowledge of self-realization, even though free
from
all material affinity, does not look well if
devoid of a
conception of the Supreme Lord.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.14.20)
further states:
na
sädhayati mäà yogo
na
säìkhyaà dharma uddhava
na
svädhyäyas tapas tyägo
yathä
bhaktir mamorjitä
O Uddhava, yoga, säìkhya, study of