“By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.18)

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नष्टप्रायेष्वभद्रेषु नित्यं भागवतसेवया
भगवत्युत्तमश्लोके भक्तिर्भवति नैष्ठिकी

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

On the occasion of Vyasa Puja, which celebrates the appearance of the representative of the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord known as Vyasadeva, we marvel at the foresight of the guru in overcoming the inauspicious conditions that cover the age of Kali like a tarp. The guru is able to succeed in distributing the message of Divine love, to rescue the souls fallen into an abyss of illusion, with the hole going deeper and deeper with repeated birth and death.

To illustrate the obstacles which must be overcome, we review a hypothetical situation involving a visit to an otherwise sacred place. Through good fortune we have come to hear a tale from several centuries back. It involves a deity giving witness to the word of a holy man. Others regularly visited this deity for formal worship, to make offerings, and the like.

Except not everyone believed. It is easy to simply go along with the crowd. Show reverence as a matter of formality. Sort of like walking through a museum exhibit, the visitors might not necessarily buy into the concept of the archa-vigraha. They cannot understand how God could be represented in a statue or painting. How could that serve as a conduit for delivering prayers and requests to a higher realm? How could God ever be depicted by the limited human mind?

One of the worshipers considered the deity to be as such, but in an amazing show of solidarity the deity actually moved. It walked alongside the brahmana who was being accused of falsehood. The deity vouched for the word of the holy man, as a promise had been made with full faith and understanding.

साक्षि-गोपालेर कथा शुनि, लोक-मुखे
सेइ कथा कहेन, प्रभु शुने महा-सुखे

sākṣi-gopālera kathā śuni, loka-mukhe
sei kathā kahena, prabhu śune mahā-sukhe

“At that time, Nityananda Prabhu had heard the story of Sakshi-gopala from the townspeople. He now recited this again, and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard the narration with great pleasure.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 5.9)

Today, we wish to see that same deity. We wish to have a viewing, to make a kind offering. We anticipate that this will be a purifying event. Our spirits will be uplifted. Our faith should only increase. We will remember Gopala as the witness.

The issues begin right from our arrival. Like rabid dogs surrounding a piece of meat, the guardians of this particular temple proceed without embarrassment or shame. They want us to purchase this item or that. They repeatedly request donations. Before we have even moved an inch, it feels as if we have been taken for a ride. Not even the sleaziest car salesman back home is so brazen in their attempt to conduct a business transaction.

The experience leaves such a bitter taste that we practically swear off visiting such places in the future. We try our best to maintain the fond memory of the story of Gopala as the witness, but it is difficult to not retain the negative association. What has this world come to? How can there be hope for mankind when the guardians of sacred places are so degraded?

It is within these conditions that the genuine guru operates. They live up to the true definition of a sadhu. They cut through the noise, the obstacles, the obstructions, and the cheating. They know that there is one way to reach people without fail. Sound. Preserve sacred sound in a manner that others can access it.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada emphasizes the publication of literature and its subsequent distribution. Those who were previously held back by the language barrier of Sanskrit can now both hear and begin to understand the teachings from Shri Krishna to the disciple named Arjuna.

They can repeatedly revisit the teachings. If they belong to a lower caste or a gender that is not typically invited to discourses about Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they can always access the books. They can take a seat next to a saintly person, hear from them, and have their consciousness transformed for the better.

In my corner of the world, everyone is sad. It is like a living embodiment of what Goswami Tulsidas refers to as shokadhama. There is despair over loss. During the good times, there is apprehension over the potential to lose everything. Within such turmoil, how can anyone find auspiciousness?

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

The guru finds a way to rescue others. They are an ocean of mercy. They bring the truth to even those who are unaware of their ignorance. How can such kindness ever be repaid?

In Closing:

Cheating everywhere to see,
Frauds even temple guardians to be.

Such that religion bitter taste leaving,
How then in deity believing?

The sadhu still cutting through,
Delivering timeless message to.

Me, you, and everyone to gain,
Guru’s sound to rescue us came.

Categories: holiday, vyasa puja

Tags: dailyprompt, poem, poems, poetry, prabhupada, vyasa puja