“One who is simple, straightforward, and pure in mind, words, and all their work, Tulsi says all that they do in their love for Shri Rama will be easily accomplished.” (Dohavali, 152)

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सूधे मन सूधे बचन सूधी सब करतूति।
तुलसी सूधी सकल बिधि रघुबर प्रेम प्रसूति ॥

sūdhe mana sūdhe bacana sūdhī saba karatūti।
tulasī sūdhī sakala bidhi raghubara prema prasūti ॥

1. My thoughts

“I despise that person so much. I wish for the worst things to happen to them. A painful, debilitating illness. Loss of a job. Something that will torture them for an extended period of time. I want them to suffer just as much as they made me miserable.

“I want the same for their children. I hope they never find happiness in life. That is suitable revenge. How someone could have treated me that way is beyond belief. They are the worst and I do not feel ashamed in having these thoughts.”

2. My words

“Wow, I am really proud of myself. I let them have it. I ripped into them. Every nasty thing I could think of, every point of sensitivity, every moment of embarrassment from their past – I brought it out into the open. They deserved every word. I feel so much better now.

“At the same time, I am kind of depressed. Now that I think about it, I don’t really feel any relief. What did that shouting do for me? I made them cry, but so what? Why did I have to go to the extreme? How did it help the situation?”

3. My actions

“Oh, I sabotaged them real good. In about a day or two they will come to know. They will be shocked. They have no idea that it is coming. They might not even realize that I am the root cause, that they are only getting what is due to them.

“But it doesn’t matter. Revenge is a dish best served cold. I thought about the proper way to return the favor. This has been a long time coming. Once I get over this issue, I can finally rest easy. I can move on to bigger and better things.”

…

Goswami Tulsidas recommends straightforwardness and purity in these areas. Thoughts, words, and deeds should be without duplicity, free of distraction, devoid of ill-intent. There is an attached purpose to the recommendation. It is not simply to behave well and properly, while others continue to take advantage.

If the thoughts, words, and deeds are pure, the means by which to attain love for the Supreme Lord will also be pure. That love will then flow naturally. It will be like expecting the current of the river, which cannot be stopped.

On the other side, if we are duplicitous in the ways we operate on a daily basis, how will our vidhis be conducted in the proper manner? If the purpose of my religious activity is to think clearly, to focus on transcendence, to have the mind attached to the ultimate objective, distractions are inauspicious.

That is to say, if I am crooked everywhere else, I will likely be crooked in following the regulative principles. The spiritual master gives those principles for the express purpose of ascending, of progressing towards something better.

“Devotional service must be without ulterior motives; then material conditions cannot check it. Gradually one can rise to the platform of spontaneous loving service. A child is sent to school by force to receive an education, but when he gets a little taste of education at an advanced age, he automatically participates and becomes a learned scholar. One cannot force a person to become a scholar, but sometimes force is used in the beginning.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 22.109 Purport)

Love for Shri Rama should be spontaneous. This is known as raganuga devotion, or devotion with attachment. Vidhi is for hopefully reaching that state of attachment. It is something like forcing the child to learn. They may not be enthusiastic about the proposal, but through a little immersion they might gain a taste for the discipline. Thereafter, they may study and thirst for knowledge on their own.

Vidhi in searching for love for Shri Rama is known as vaidhi-bhakti. It is following rules and regulations, and that dedication should be straightforward, simple, and pure. The more crookedness enters the picture, the more that anarthas take over, the more difficult the path to raganuga will be.

In Closing:

If always envious to feel,
And in crooked ways to deal.

How the platform to reach?
Of which acharyas teach.

That raganuga the highest of all,
When spontaneous the devotion to call.

Simple, pure and without deviation set,
Then blessings of Shri Rama to get.

Categories: dohavali 121-160, the three

Tags: bhakti, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion, tulsidas