“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.6)

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एतावान् साङ्ख्य-योगाभ्यां
स्व-धर्म-परिनिष्ठया
जन्म-लाभः परः पुंसाम्
अन्ते नारायण-स्मृतिः

etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ
sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām
ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ

“Why does someone like His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada place so much emphasis on the distribution of books? Mind you, for the most part, the books are translations and commentaries of sacred texts. In other words, already published works. For instance, Shrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) of sage Vyasa. Bhagavad-gita, or the Song of God, which itself is within the larger collection known as Mahabharata. This is also by Vyasa. The Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, which is a Bengali work of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami.

“I understand that the aim is to propagate the message of bhakti-yoga, which is devotional service. Our life is meant for such service. Every life, in fact, but only in this precious human birth do we have the opportunity to contemplate, to deliberate, and to take bold and assertive measures for reclaiming that service. Since it was always ours for the taking, the end result can be described as going ‘back to Godhead.’

“Okay, but bhakti-yoga is not limited to reading books. If someone should happen to take an interest in Krishna consciousness, what is the obvious next step? Well, they would likely want to visit some place. A home base of operations. A central command, where other people are practicing. A place that facilitates elevation, sort of like the fitness center or the playing field for a sport.

“Why not place as much emphasis on joining the institution? Becoming an official member. Taking initiation from a recognized spiritual guide. Supporting that institution. Remaining loyal to it. Never stepping foot outside of it, no matter the chicanery, the corruption, or the deviations from the founder’s guidelines.

“Do you see what I am saying? Why is there this lopsided priority on books? Just what is so special about that process?”

The spiritual master is not in it for himself. Whether you thank him or not. Whether you respond in kind with donations or simply take and take. Whether you feel eternally indebted for lifting you out of darkness and despair or you are the greatest miser who has no appreciation for what you have been offered. The guru wants only that you rise out of the illusion of maya and fulfill the destiny of the human birth.

To that end, the saintly person thinks of ways to accomplish that goal. They contemplate on how others will be helped. They think of how others can be saved, not only for this life but also the immediate future. How can they finally realize that the many past births can be rectified, even though they are considered spoiled at the moment?

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

We should consider that if the emphasis is on joining an institution, there is always the vulnerability to deterioration. Corruption can take over. The institution might only be supporting bhakti-yoga as a sort of false front. All the leaders really care about is their power. As long as they can control the members, everything is alright; the operation runs smoothly. Anything goes. This is because as soon as someone decides to blow the whistle on criminal behavior, that person will be removed from the institution. They might even lose their life, if the information they plan to reveal is dangerous enough.

In this sense, the institution is like a gatekeeper. They decide who gets access to the leaders. They control the flow of supporters and admirers. Important people garner so much attention that some kind of check is indeed necessary, but the spiritual guide, in keeping with the spirit of universal benevolence, still thinks of ways to get around the limitations.

If a server has too much stress, the IT infrastructure team might add additional servers. They will place a load balancer on top, to properly direct incoming traffic. If a business becomes too popular, they will consider scaling up. Rather than have all the patrons visit a central location, franchises can open up across different regions of a country. The endeavor might even become international, to accommodate a global reach.

The books of the acharya are the way to bypass the gatekeepers. Whether I have access to a building or not, I can connect directly with the author through their words. The same principle applies to the original works themselves. Someone like Sanjaya feels a thrill at every moment when recalling the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna that took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Sanjaya is not approaching Krishna directly. He is only privy to the events due to the compassion of Vyasadeva.

राजन् संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य
संवादम् इमम् अद्भुतम्
केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं
हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः

rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
saṁvādam imam adbhutam
keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ
hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ

“O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.” (Sanjaya, Bhagavad-gita, 18.76)

Through the books of the spiritual master, a person can similarly feel a thrill in a steady flow, like in seeing the sun rise in the morning. Others may falsely claim to have exclusive access, saying that success in bhakti-yoga is only through them, but the books are always there for the interested to open. Indeed, the easiest way to identify the cheaters is to see who is eager for changing those very books, for limiting that direct access, which was so emphatically promoted by the author himself.

In Closing:

My thoughts on paper to write,
Clear of interference to fight.

Published for others to read,
Directly to sound to proceed.

Even if in future erecting a gate,
With restriction in entry to state.

The books still available to all,
Students around the world to call.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, poem, poems, poetry, reading, religion, writing