This book Jaiva Dharma, is in Srila Prabhupada’s word “very important”. And after reading it now for the second and third time, I can see why he said this. Since I don’t have it on computer file I must hand type out every quote you will see here below. But it is so important I am willing to take the time and do this and share it with others who have a similar appreciation for Bhaktivinode Thakur’s works.
I hope those of you who take the time to read these statements, will get as much, if not more, out of it than did I.
Hare Krsna,
Damaghosa das
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Chapter 8, Jaiva Dharma-Nitya Dharma and Vaisnava Behavior-translated by Sarvabhavana das starting at pg. 110
He begins this chapter by quoting Manu samhita 6.92 with the 10 characteristics of religiosity. Contentment, forgiveness, not revenging a wrong, self control, remaining in control of the mind in spite of the presence of allurements, honesty, cleanliness, withdrawing the senses from sense objects, scriptural knowledge, education, knowledge of the soul, trutfulness, awareness of reality and freedom from anger, to be not angered when provoked.
Of these, 6 are characteristics directed to oneself and 4 are obligations to others. However the duty or worshipping the Supreme Lord Sri Hari is not clearly delineated in any of these 10 characteristics.
Then he quotes SB 2.3.19 which states that “men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krsna, the deliverer from evils.”
This is meant to distinguish ordinary moral persons, who are on the material level, from Vaisnavas who are not in the material world. A huge gulf of difference between the two.
Now he begins to make the distinctions between kanistha (3rd class), madhyama (2nd class) and Uttama (1st class) devotees.
SB 11.2.47—Arcayam eva haraye, pujam yah sraddhayehate, na tad bhaktesu canyesu, sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah.
A materialistic devotee does not purposefully study the sastra and try to understand the actual standard of pure devotional service. Consequently he does not show proper respect to advanced devotees. He may however follow the regulative principles he has learnt from his spiritual master or family tradition and worship the Deity in the temple. He is to be considered as being on the material platform although he is trying to advance in devotional service.
Such a person is bhakta praya or bhakta abhasa, a neophyte devotee for he is but a little enlightened about the Vaisnava philosophy. One who worships the Deity of the Lord with faith, but neither respects the created living creatures of the Lord nor worships and serves His devotees with devotion is a prakrta-bhakta…To worship the Deity of the Lord with sraddha is certainly bhakti, but without worshipping and serving the devotee of the Lord, one cannot execute suddha –bhakti. This position of serving the Lord but not His pure devotee can be described as being at best a step inside the portals of the realm of bhakti.
Now the Thakur quotes SB 10.84.13—“One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus bile and air who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image of the land of his birth are worshippable, or who see a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth-such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.”
The purport of these verses is that without worshipping the Deity of the Lord, ones bhakti cannot even begin . If one rejects the personal Deity form and enters into argumentitive debate in a futile attempt to attain spiritual knowledge, then the heart becomes dry and hardened and the true goal of bhakti is lost in bewilderment. However the worship of the Deity should be performed with ever increasing suddha cinmaya buddhi, transcendental consciousness….If Deity worship is conducted with sambandha-jnana, then the consequent transcendental understanding will naturally stimulate bhakta-seva, spiritual service to the Lords devotees, and the transcendental esoteric perception and service of the Deity.
When there is a perfect marriage of sraddha with transcendental understanding then this is called sastriya-sraddha, faith based on proper scriptural conclusions. ..One who has been initiated with the Visnu mantra in accordance with the regulations of scripture and is worshipping the Deity of Sri Visnu is considered a Vaisnava by the learned scholars. All others are non-Vaisnavas.
Kanistha Vaisnavas or prakrta bhaktas are those who have received initiation from hereditary kula gurus, family tradition or those who feel sentimentally inspired upon seeing others worshipping the Deity of Sri Visnu and so then worship the Deity in imitation, or those who have accepted initiation into Visnu mantra with laukika sraddha (immature faith). These unrefined devotees are on the level of chaya-bhakti-abhasa, a shadow like semblance of bhakti. However they are above those who take a reflective distorted semblance of bhakti which is offensive in nature and devoid of actual Vaisnavism.
A person elevated to chaya bhakti abhasa is immensely fortunate because from this
preliminary stage he may be eventually promoted to the madhyama Vaisnava and uttama Vaisnava platforms.
These immature practitioners of chaya bhakti abhasa however are certainly not pure devotees. They worship the Deity with sentimental faith and their behavior in society is inspired by the 10 religious characteristics mentioned earlier. The scriptural injunctions that direct the conduct of an actual devotee are not meant for these kanisthas, for they cannot even discriminate between a devotee and a non devotee.
SB 11.2.46-Madhyamas—“isvare tad-adhinesu, balisesu dvbisatsu ca, prema maître krpopeksa, yah karoti sa madhyamah”
An intermediate or second class devotee called a madhyama offers his love to the Lord, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to the ignorant people who are innocent, and disregards those who are envious of the Lord and His devotees.
Naimittika-dharma (materialistic dharma) is not addressed in this verse. The standards of devotional behavior in this verse are part of nitya dharma.(eternal religion) In the life of a madhyama these 4 practices are the ideal and essential conduct, and other etiquettes that are not contrary to the above 4 practices may be adopted where necessary. The conduct of the madhyama vaisnava is differently directed towards the 4 categories of persons-the Lord, his devotees, the ignorant and persons inimical to the Lord and His devotees. The Mahyama directs his prema –love, towards the Lord, his maître, friendship to the devotees, his krpa, compassion to the ignorant and upeksa is indifferent towards the envious.
As described in the verse, the first characteristic of the madhyama is his prema for Isvara. Prema also implies suddha bhakti to Sri Krsna.
“Anyabhilasita sunyam, jnana-karmady anavrtam, anukulyena krsnanu silanam bhaktir uttama. “
One should render transcendenental loving service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. This is pure bhakti.
These symptoms of bhakti just described are first seen in the sadhana practices of the madhyama adhikari vaisnava and extend up to the level of bhava and finally into the blossoming of prema. Worship of the Deity form of the Lord with immature sraddha is the only characteristic of the kanistha practitioner. Such a person does not display the symptoms of suddha bhakti which are anyabhilasita sunyam, freedom from material aspiration, jnana karmady anavrtam, freedom the inebriations of impersonalism and fruitive desire, and anuykulyena krsnanu silanam absorption in the desire to serve Krsna favorable with transcendental love. As soon as the kanistha progresses to manifest these symptoms in his heart, then he is considered to have become a madhyama vasinava and thus a genuine vasinava. Prior to this he is a prakrta bhakta.
The word krsnanu silanam refers to krsna prema and is qualified by the word anukulyena, favorably. Thus this combination refers to practices that are conducive to the growth of Krsna prema. These are, as we have said, maître, friendship with ones fellow devotees, krpa, mercy to the ignorant and upeksa indifference to the inimical, which are also the hallmarks of a madhyama adhikari Vaisnava.
Now to the topic of the second characteristic-friendly attitude towards his fellow surrendered devotees of the Lord.-those who are blessed by suddha bhakti. The kanistha is not on the platform of suddha bhakti-that is to say he does not serve and satisfy the pure devotees. Therefore maîtri can only be properly extend by the madhyama to his fellow madhyama vaisnvavas and the higher level Uttama Vaisnavas.
In the Caitanya Caritamrta Sri Caitanya is asked by a devotee from Kuliya grama-tell us who is actually a Vaisnava and what are his symptoms? In response Sri Caitanya describes the characteristics of various levels of Vaisnavas. As we have explained, the true practice of suddha bhakti is absent in the kanistha vaisnava who is solely engaged in Deity worship with immature sraddha devoid of sambandha jnana. The three types of Vaisnavas worthy of service as desribed by Sri Caitanya are within the pure realms of madhyama and uttama Vaisnavas. Pure Hari nama does not manifest on the tongue of the kanistha vaisnava because his chanting is on the level of chaya namabhasa, the shadow form of Harinama and therefore the kanistha vaisnava does not warrant service.
Sri Caitanya instructed the madhyama vaisnava grhastha to serve these three types of pure Vaisnavas-Vaisnava-one who has chanted harinama purely once: Vaisnava-tara-one who constantly chants harinama, and: Vaisnava tama– one whose presence spontaneously inspired others to chant hari nama. These three grades of Vaisnava alone are worthy of his worship. The madhyama is instructed to serve only these three, who chant pure harinama, not the kanistha vaisnava who chants only the shadow form of harinama and is therefore not a suitable object of service. Only the madhyma and uttama
Vaisnavas who utter suddha nama are fit to be served.
Service to the Vaisnavas should be in accordance with their respective levels of advancement. The word mairti encompasses association, discussion and services. When one sees a suddha bhakta one must greet him and offer respects immediately, give full hospitality affectionately, discuss Krsna conscious topics with him and care for all his needs. One should serve him properly in all these ways. One must be extremely cautious not to envy a suddha bhakta. He should not be shown irreverence or criticized even inadvertently and must not be disregarded because of some physical deformity or ailment.
The third practice of the madhyama is the bestowal of krpa upon the ignorant. The word balisa implies an ignorant person without spiritual knowledge or an idiot, fool, etc. Gross uneducated materialists whose false ego and strong material attachements do not allow them to cultivate sraddha to the Lord are balisa. The balis are without correct spiritual guidance yet fortunately they are uncontaminated by false philosophies such as impersonal mayavada. Thus their saving grace is that they have no antipathy towards bhakti or bhaktas. Even a so called highly learned scholar who has of yet failed to achieve sraddha in the Lord, may be accurately characterized as a balisa, an ignoramus.
In addition there is the kanistha adhikari. Though he is at the doorstep of bhakti, he lacks the proper grasp of sambandha jnana-thus he is deprived of suddha bhakti. As long as this condition persists, he is also known as a balisa. When he faithfully acquires sambandha tattva, and begins to chant pure harinama in the association of pure devotees, his balisatva, ignorance is dissipated and he is elevated to the level of madhyama. These are some of the different kinds of balisa and it is very essential for the madhyama vaisnava to show mercy to them. The madhyama vaisnava must deal graciously with the balis, he must ensure that the balisa develops sraddha in pure bhakti and a taste for chanting harinama.
The unknowing balisas are uneducated in the teachings of the scriptures and so are susceptible to falling prey to the lures of bad company. The madhyama offers his association to instruct them. An ailing person cannot treat himself, he needs a doctor. Just as the angry and frustrated outbursts of a sick patient are excusable, the misdemeanors of the balisa are also to be forgiven. That is indeed an act of mercy.
The balisa may be easily diverted from bhakti at any time, his consciousness being clouded with misconceptions such as believing in karma kanda, being somewhat drawn to speculative knowledge, worshipping the Deity with ulterior motives, having faith in the yoga process, being indifferent to association with pure Vaisnavas-something which would actually be beneficial for him, being attached to the rules and regulations of varnashram and so on. By administering his association, compassion and spiritual instructions, the madhyama vaisnava can correct the wrong views of the kanistha vaisnava and promote him to the level of madhyama adhikari Vaisnava.
Once a person begins to worship the Deity of the Lord with a trace of bhakti it is to be understood that he has sown the seed of his own food fortune and that he is free from corrupt ideologies.
If for no other Vaisnava characteristic then it is for being free from the abomination of the mayavada doctrine that the kanistha adhikari has been awarded the status of prakrta-Vaisnava, a neopohyte materialistic Vaisnava. On the strength of his minuscule Vaisnava quality and through the mercy of a pure devotee he is eligible to rise to the perfectional stage of bhakti. However the genuine mercy of the madhyama adhikari pure devotee is indispensable for the further progress of the kanistha vasinava and by such mercy his Deity worship and chanting can quickly become purified of their tainted shadowy nature and acquire the true transcendental character.
Now we come to the fourth quality, upeksa, indifference neglect and avoidance of those who are envious. Firstly an envious person has to be defined and the different types of envious persons have to be delineated. Dvesa, enmity is an unfortunate human trait also know as matsarata, envy and hate. This heinous propensity is the exact opposite of prema(love for Krsna).
Antipathy against the Lord is known as dvesa of which there are 5 kinds. 1.skepticism, not having faith in God. 2. the belief that the Lord is nothing more than a natural potency of the creation which automatically brings about results of ones karma. 3. Not believing in the transcendental form of the Lord. 4. not accepting the position of the jiva as eternal servant of the Lord and 5. absence of mercy.
How should devotees deals with such persons? It is recommended one should avoid their company. Upeksa means neither that one should put a stop to all the usual human exchanges nor that one should refuse help to such bewildered persons. On the contrary if an envious person is in danger or in distress, everything should be done to ameliorate his agony.
How then is it possible for a grhastha vaisnava with one final stroke to curtail all simple day to day interactions with this envious lot? This is not the meaning of upeksa. Upeksa is to terminate all spiritual exchanges with them, not social exchanges.
As a result of ones karma the resultant material reactions from previous lives even some of ones own family members may be dvesis, envious persons. Should they be excluded? No- that is not the solution.
Social exchanges are part of human behavior so the envious persons should be dealt with but without getting into deep involvement or emotional relationships with them. In contrast for spiritual practice serious commitment is mandatory and spiritual association with ones fellow devotees means to interact upon the spiritual platform by discussing transcendental topics thereby serving and assisting one another in progress.
An envious person is generally very self opinionated-hence if he hears praises or explanations about the science of pure bhakti he will immediately start an unnecessary argument, which will be of use to neither you nor to him. Instead of such barren debates, one should simple restrain ones dealings to a social level with such persons. If someone
whimsically proposes to include the envious persons into the ranks of the balisa, so that compassionate association may be practiced upon them, then such a person should first understand that this course of action would be very detrimental to his own spiritual progress. It is essential for the madhyama to act according to these 4 guidelines as any slackness in this regard will culminate in malpractice, increased lethargy and apathy towards executing spiritual discipline. In the end the deviation will become too overwhelming.
Thus in accordance with scriptural injunctions the prime duties of a madhyama vaisnava are to cultivate love for the Lord, friendship with pure devotees, compassion for the innocent and aloofness from the envious.
Do you notice something unique? The neophyte kanistha is generally not enthusiastic about serving Vaisnavas and the topmost uttama makes no discrimination between Vaisnava and non Vaisnava because he sees all jivas established as servants of Krsna. Consequently we see that only the intermediate madhyama vaisnava consciously practices respect and service to the Vaisnavas in a deliberate sense. Thus the intermediate madhyama vaisnava will serve all three categories of Vaisnava: Vaisnava, Vaisnava- tara, and Vaisnava-tama. The madhyama vaisnava must serve each Vaisnava in accordance with his status. Only the uttama vaisnava does not consider or analyse whether a Vaisnava is kanistha , madhyama or uttama before he interacts with him. If a madhyama vaisnava artificially adopts this mentality, he becomes an aparadhi, offender.
Question–The mukhya (or direct) symptoms of a kanistha vaisnava is faith in the eternal form of Bhagavan, which results in Deity worship. The gauna (indirect) symptoms of a kanistha vaisnava are the devotional activities he performs such as hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.
One cannot become a Vaisnava unless and until one develops implicit faith in the eternal form of Lord, nor can one become a Vaisnava without worshipping the Deity through the sastric regulations. That these two symptoms are mukhya (direct) is easily comprehensible, however I find it difficult to grasp why hearing and chanting etc are considered the gauna (indirect) symptoms, Why are these deemed subordinate?
Answer- The kanistha vaisnava cannot properly perceive the science of suddha bhakti. Certainly hearing and chanting etc are the limbs of suddha bhakti, however such devotional activities like hearing and chanting do not take the mukhya(direct or most prominent) position in his spiritual practice. Therefore for the kanistha these activities are designated as being at the gauna(indirect) level. Another reason why they are gauna is that the kanistha vaisnava performs these activities under the influence of the three gunas, sattva rajas and tamas. Only when hearing and chanting, remembering etc are executed on the nirguna platform(no modes) which by definition is beyond the influence of the three gunas, can they be designated as limbs of suddha bhakti. As soon as these activities rise above the three gunas, the level of madhyama vaaisnav is attained.
Question-The word sraddha included visvasa, firm belief. Since the kanistha has visvasa in the eternal form of the Deity he is indeed a proper candidate for bhakti. At which stage will the neophyte actually attain bhakti?
Answer- the kanistha bhakta becomes elevated to madhyama vaisnava when his desire for karma and jnana etc begins to wane-when concomitanly he aspired only for ananya bhakti, unalloyed devotional service and when instead of enthusiastically extending hospitality to all guests, he realizes that particular spiritual benefit of serving the Vaisnavas devotees. At this time the kanistha bhakta becomes a suddha bhakta of the madhyama vaisnava status.
Question-If the kanistha devotee develops sraddha(faith) and an inclination for arcana (deity worship) as a result of his association with sadhus, then why do we say that he does not serve the vaisnavas?
Answer-Gradually on account of sadhu sanga one develops sraddha in the eternal form of the Supreme Lords Deity. However, what is imperative is that Deity worship and service to devotees are performed simultaneously. Until sraddha has developed to this level is is too weak to give one the eligibility to execute ananya suddha bhakti.
Question-What are the gradual steps that elevate a kanistha bhakta?
Answer-The kanistha devotee has developed sraddha in the eternal form of the Lord and the divinity of His Deity form, but he is not purified from mundane desire for karma, jnana, name and fame, etc. However he performs daily Deity worship and as a matter of coincidence he meets sadhus at his place of worship who are greeted with the hospitality naturally accorded to any respected guest. The kanistha keenly observes the activities and behavior of these sadhus. He absorbs the spiritual discussions of the devotees on the different devotional texts. By such constant observation and hearing, he develops attraction and affection for the ways and words of these devotees. He then begins to rectify his own faults and weaknesses of character. Gradually the mundane desires for karma and jnana begin to reduce to the extent that his heart and consciousness are cleansed and he becomes unburdened of anyabhilasita, material handering. Listening to Krsna conscious topics and the transcendental philosophy expounded by the sadhus, his knowledge and realization of the scriptures increases. In the process of analyzing the transcendental truths about the Supreme Lord Sri Hari, harinama and the devotional processes of hearing, chanting etc his realization of sambhandha jnana and his own innate spiritual identity expand. When this initial process of development matures, he gains the adhikara to enter the madhyma adhikari level. Only then does he associate with devotees and serve the devotees in the true sense. At this stage he no longer perceives the sadhus as ordinary guests but serves them reverentially as gurus.
Question-Many kanistha bhaktas do not progress, what is the reason for this?
Answer– If the kanistha bhakts dvesi sanga-association with the inimical agnostics, atheist and impersonalists, etc is frequent, very soon he loses the kanistha status and becomes entangled in the pursuit of karm and jnana, etc. In some cases the kanistha neither progresses nor regresses, just remaining at the kanistha level.
In cases where both sadhu sanga and dvesi sanga exercise equal influence upon the kanistha, his bhakti maintains the status quo.
Question-What ensures steady progress?
Answer– When devotee association is frequent and powerful and non devotee association is minimal, the kanistha progresses swiftly.
Now for the mukhya (direct) symptoms of the madhyama devotee.
Firstly he posseses ananya bhakti to Krsna. Secondly four qualities are found in his dealing with his fellow devotees, They are atma buddhi, he considers the devotees more dear than his own self: mamata buddhi, intimate affection for the devotees: ijya buddhi, he considers the devotees worshipable “ and tirtha buddhi, he considers them places of pilgrimage.
Thirdly, being naturally compassionate the madhyama bhakta is mercifully disposed towards those who are ignorant about the Absolute Truth. Fourthly and finally , he strictly avoids the company of those inimical to Bhagavan.
The principal activity of the madhyama bhakta is to execute bhakti sadhana. This consists of abhideya within the sphere of fully realized sambandha jnana, to attain the prayojana, Krsna prema. Essentially this means that when the madhyama adhikari bhakta performs hearing and chanting, etc in the association of sadhus, he does so offenselessly.
Question-What are the gauna (indirect) symptoms of the madhyama bhakta?
Answer– The gauna symptoms are seen in the way the madhyama bhakta lives his life. The madhyama bhakta lives fully surrendered to the desire of Krsna and his life is so arranged as to execute bhakti favorably.
Question-Does he still commit papa and aparadha?
Answer-In the earlier stages the tendencies to commit papa and aparadha may be slightly present, but gradually they will dissipate. These residual tendencies are just like chickpeas being quickly ground away into powder. Whatever papa and aparadha that sometimes shows in the beginning stages of madhyama are minute residues, but soon they will disappear completely. Thus the life of a madhyama bhakta is characterized by suddha bhakti with the practice of yukta vairagya, appropriate renunciation.
Question-Do they hope for along life?
Answer-They desire only to mature and intensify their bhajana. They aspire neither for a long life nor even for mukti.
Question-How does one give up the aspiration for respect?
Answer– One must relinguish false pride and not proudly thing “I am a brahmana, I am accomplished, I am well versed in the sastras, I am a Vaisnava I am a renounced person, etc. One must never even dream of receiving any respect because of such qualities….
Without dainya, humility, and daya, compassion one cannot be a Vaisnava.