Submitted by: Damagosha Dasa
Hare Krsna-just read the below is this morning’s class
Below is a nice explanation of the first order of business for devotees-to give up unwanted association. Both Krsna and Caitanya say the same thing only in opposite ways as pointed out below by Srila Prabhupada. In the NY temple back in 1971 it appears from this lecture there was one bogi yogi living therewith his girlfriend who presented himself as some sanskrit scholar and had fooled the local devotees into thinking this was true.
So conditions have not changed since then. We now have rascals or demons as Srila Prabhupada calls these so called sanskrit scholars, who change the sastra and words of the Acaryas,
who are not only living in Srila Prabhupadas temples but also changing his books !!! And worse still, being followed by practically the entire iskcon movement-except for those who can detect these demons. I think we all know who these people are that I am speaking of here.damaghosa das
July 28 1971 NY Initiation lecture
One fashionable speaker is teaching Bhagavad-gītā. Just like the other day a rascal came. He, he’s announcing that he’s the authority of Bhagavad-gītā. You know that rascal? Very well. Yes. He wanted to study from Sanskrit from the rascal. You could not understand that I see. So śāstra says, śravaṇaṁ na kartavyam. One should not hear from. Why? Kṛṣṇa kathā is nice. Why should not be heard from a person who is not a devotee, but he may be scholar? But Sanātana Goswami says, śravaṇaṁ na kartavyam. Never. So the reason the example here is given, sarpocchiṣṭaṁ payo yathā. Milk, everyone knows milk is very nourishing food, but as soon as it is touched by a serpent it is poison. You can say “Milk is very nice. What is the wrong if it is touched by the serpent?” But Sanātana Goswami warns that it is not to be touched, because it has become now poison. Instead of milk it has become poison. So you should be very careful not to discuss. It is meant for the kaniṣṭha adhikārī, those who are neophytes. They may be affected, but those who are strong enough, advanced, they are not affected. But that is different thing, generally.
So we should not discuss Kṛṣṇa kathā with a person who is a nondevotee. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has also said like that. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was enquired by one nice householder devotee, “What is the general behavior of a Vaiṣṇava?” He immediately answered, asat-saṅga-tyāgī vaiṣṇava-ācāra: “One has to give up the association of asat.” Sat, I have told you, sat means devotee, and asat means nondevotee. Asat-saṅga… Simply to give up the association of nondevotees. That is vaiṣṇava-ācāra. How a Vaiṣṇava should behave, how he should maintain his standard, Caitanya Mahāprabhu says in one word: asat-saṅga-tyāgī avaiṣṇava-ācāra. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, satāṁ prasaṅga mama vīrya-saṁvido. One can develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness in association with devotee. The same thing Caitanya Mahāprabhu said in a different way, asat-saṅga-tyāgī, not to associate with nondevotees. That is vaiṣṇava-ācāra. So in future we shall be very careful, all the devotees, not to talk with rascals, nondevotees. It will be impure, it will have poisonous effect, and that will kill Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I do not know how this man was allowed to stay here for so many months. Nobody could detect that here is a serpent?
So you should be very careful in future. That is very easy to understand, who is a serpent. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, because one may inquire, “Who is asat? How can I understand?” asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. Asat means who is attached to, very much attached to woman. You see that man, he was posing himself as yogi, and he is living with one woman. It was God’s grace that he came with that woman so that he disclosed himself. By Kṛṣṇa’s grace. Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. Strī-saṅgī. One should not be attached to any woman except his wife. Then he becomes asat. Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. So we should be very careful, asat, who is asat. It doesn’t matter if one is very highly educated; still he should not be associated. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has given instruction that vidhayalam krto ‘pi san (?) tyaja durjana-saṁsargam. Durjana-saṁsargam, association of rascals, nondevotees; tyaja, give up. “Oh, he is very learned scholar in Sanskrit, but vidhalayaṁ kṛto ‘pi san, in spite of his being very learned scholar, you should kick him out.” Vidhalayaṁ kṛto ‘pi san. How is that? Yes, he is giving example, maṇinā bhūṣitaḥ sarpaḥ kim asau na bhayaṅkaraḥ. A serpent, you know some serpent has got jewels on the head. Does it mean a serpent with jewel on hood is not ferocious because he has got jewel? He’s as ferocious as ordinary serpent. That these things we should know. So I do not know how this man was given shelter in our temple. Nobody could understand that “Here is a serpent,” and he was accepted as Sanskrit scholar. So you should be very much careful about this thing in future.
Thank you. (break—followed by lecture excerpt)
Below we have two nice examples of Karma–what we had, and what we can get again if we leave devotional service
1)Letter to: Nityananda — Delhi 12 November, 1971 : 71-11-12 :
An example of summary punishment is this: If you are sentenced to be hanged but instead you are given a simple pinprick, that is very nice. Krishna minimizes the devotee’s suffering to the lowest. So long as one is engaged in devotional service, he is immune to the reactions of his past sinful activities, but if he chooses to give up this devotional service, then he has to undergo all these reactions.
2) Philosophy discussions with Hayagrive Plotinus —Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. Anyone who takes it seriously, he becomes immediately liberated, because liberation means to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. This is liberation. We are engaged in māyā’s service. That is our bondage. But service we have to render. We are servant—either māyā’s servant or Kṛṣṇa’s servant. Servant is our constitutional position. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109],
Caitanya Mahāprabhu says. Our real identity is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. So even if he is…, are in this material body, if you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service, that is liberation. Hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. When we give up our otherwise life… “Otherwise life” means to be engaged in māyā’s service—as the head of the family, head of the community, head or member of this and… We have designated in so many ways. So that is our conditional life. And the same service, when we render to Kṛṣṇa cent percent, we are liberated. Sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. That is mukti. When his senses are completely engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa-Hṛṣīkeśa is another name of Kṛṣṇa—that is called bhakti. Bhakti means the activities of liberated life. One may understand or not understand; if he is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service, under the direction of spiritual master, he is liberated.
But if he voluntarily accepts again māyā’s service, then he is become conditioned. This is the secret
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Some conclusions-So these last two items of being karma free- go along with the first point of asat sanga. If we don’t give up unwanted association, then we are disobeying the spiritual master. That means our karma or punishment (at least some of it) for past sins once again returns to us. The next point for one to understand is-then what is unwanted association? That is a long topic which we have covered numerous times previously. Basically, it is this-we are disciples of Srila Prabhupada and followers of the Brahma Madhva GaudiyaSampradaya which means anybody who doesn’t belong to a bona fide sampradaya is asat sanga, and even within the 4 sampradayas there are numerous distinctions to be made of who is good and who is not so good for us to associate with. It was just this same point that got Nitai das kicked out of iskcon by Srila Prabhupada himself. He thought some other “association” was better than what he was finding with Srila Prabhupada and his bona fide disciples.
Some conclusions-So these last two items of being karma free- go along with the first point of asat sanga. If we don’t give up unwanted association, then we are disobeying the spiritual master. That means our karma or punishment (at least some of it) for past sins once again returns to us. The next point for one to understand is-then what is unwanted association? That is a long topic which we have covered numerous times previously. Basically, it is this-we are disciples of Srila Prabhupada and followers of the Brahma Madhva GaudiyaSampradaya which means anybody who doesn’t belong to a bona fide sampradaya is asat sanga, and even within the 4 sampradayas there are numerous distinctions to be made of who is good and who is not so good for us to associate with. It was just this same point that got Nitai das kicked out of iskcon by Srila Prabhupada himself. He thought some other “association” was better than what he was finding with Srila Prabhupada and his bona fide disciples.
Or, to make the entire matter even more simple-we only want two favors- the favor of Guru and the favor of God…bas… as anything else, is going to drag us back here again and again.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das