“O expert and thoughtful men, relish Shrimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Shri Shukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.3)

Download this episode (right click and save)

निगमकल्पतरोर्गलितं फलं
शुकमुखादमृतद्रवसंयुतम्
पिबत भागवतं रसमालयं
मुहुरहो रसिका भुवि भावुका:

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ

When hearing the Sanskrit word sadhu, the general connotation is a saintly person, dressed in corresponding attire identifying them as spiritually aligned in their occupation, travelling from place to place and offering wisdom to those willing to hear it. Since they follow this way of life, they likely lack those things which otherwise ground an adult. Wife. Children. Extended family. A job. A home. Possessions. Direct deposit into their bank account. A life insurance plan. Long-term investing strategy for the purposes of retirement.

The word sadhu can also mean “one who cuts.” They deliver the necessary information in a sharp manner, such that the ignorance can be removed swiftly. That ignorance has had an entangling effect, looping around to create something like a knot. The wisdom from the sadhu is like the knife to slash through that knot.

तस्मादज्ञानसम्भूतं हृत्स्थं ज्ञानासिनात्मन:
छित्त्वैनं संशयं योगमातिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ भारत

tasmād ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ
hṛt-sthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥ
chittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ yogam
ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata

“Therefore the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with yoga, O Bharata, stand and fight.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.42)

In this regard, there is also the potential to offend. Someone might object to the details of the message. They are not accustomed to being instructed so curtly. They raise the following concerns:

“I don’t know. The stuff the acharya says about women, the different races, and forced sexual relations is a little too much to take. It is going overboard, if you ask me, to say that the modern day leaders are all rascals who are looking to destroy. To say that we have a government full of shudras, of people who lament easily, is not going to be accepted. Why can’t we avoid the controversy and still present the science of self-realization? Focus only on the positive. That would be a better approach.”

We can study the current landscape by briefly removing the association with spiritual life. Suppose that it is any kind of teacher we are approaching. They have some information that we are interested to hear. We are eager to learn. We want to receive instruction. There is a higher platform to reach.

In this regard, there are two candidates to provide the information. The first candidate looks and fits the part. The advertisement from the followers, from the already established disciples, who show proper allegiance, is that this teacher is the one to hear from. We should not miss the opportunity to have their association.

After sitting and hearing out the presentation, attendees in casual conversation are heard whispering complaints in the following departments.

1. Pandering

“Bro, I don’t know. That guy was obviously trying to go for easy wins. He noticed the makeup of the audience and decided to tailor the message to that demographic. Just say stuff that he knew people would agree with. He was trying to appeal to whatever desires they already had. I was not comfortable with that.”

2. Posturing

“Bro, I don’t know. This guy is only looking for attention. No one really speaks that way. It was an act to distinguish himself from others. I mean, give him credit, for standing up there. You don’t see me taking the risks. I appreciate the sacrifice they make, but it was like this great act to try to pump themselves up, to make you think that they are better than everyone else.”

3. Pretending

“Bro, the guy is a total fake. I hate to break it to you. No one smiles that way for two hours. Life is about ups and downs. We laugh from time to time, but there are also serious issues to ponder. I would not be surprised if this guy is a snake in the background. He’s got the perfect words and the perfect outfit, but something is not right with him. I can just tell.”

बेष बिसद बोलनि मधुर मन कटु करम मलीन
तुलसी राम न पाइऐ भएँ बिषय जल मीन

beṣa bisada bolani madhura mana kaṭu karama malīna
tulasī rāma na pāiai bhae~ biṣaya jala mīna

“If a person has the dress of a sadhu and speaks sweet words but is bitter and unclean in their mind and deeds, then Tulsi says they have no prayer of attaining Shri Rama, as they are like the fish stuck in the dark ocean of material sense objects.” (Dohavali, 153)

4. Placating

“Bro, did you see the way they answered that one question? That person in the audience was obviously wrong, but he didn’t correct them. Rather, he gave some bogus answer just so that they would be satisfied. Appeasement is not the path towards knowledge. How will someone ever learn if no one teaches them right from wrong?”

5. Positioning

“Bro, I didn’t like how he kept putting down other people. It is like he is selling a product where he needs to address the other competitors in the market. I would rather your pitch stand on its own. If you have something valuable to give, you should not need to bring others into the mix, for the sake of comparison. At least that is my take.”

…

With the second candidate, there are no compromising forces. They live completely renounced. They spare no thoughts to personal reputation, name, fortune, advertisement, and the like. Rather, they share the knowledge only because they know it will benefit others. They give it to people straight because that is what they need.

This is the way of the genuine sadhu. We may not like what they have to say. From time to time, we may vehemently object to their methods, to the comparisons they use, to their manner of speech, but the sadhu has no worries about being cancelled. They have nothing to begin with. They long ago left the material world behind, in the visible sense.

The ideal example in this regard is Shukadeva Gosvami. He is born a liberated soul. He is like the parrot which has cut open the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge that is the Bhagavata Purana. His presentation of that timeless wisdom therefore carries a superior taste. Hearing from those who follow in his line allows for the transfer of truthful information, in a manner free of compromise, so as to bestow the greatest benefit upon the recipients.

In Closing:

Highest debt to owe,
From benefit to bestow.

Because giving to me straight,
Not with deliberation to wait.

That perhaps words to offend,
Or of reputation to defend.

Like Shuka liberated the entire time living,
Weapon of knowledge giving.

Categories: the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, life, poem, poems, poetry, religion