1958 Back to Godhead vol 3 part 14 - Truth and Beauty
Annual Rs. 2.25. Price 10nP. a Copy.
DELHI Tuesday 20th November 1958
Fortnightly published.
1000 copies donated by
Shri Subodh Kumar Kapoor
of Ramlal Kapoor & Sons, Bombay-2
Printed and Published by the Editor
at Surendra Printers Ltd., Deputy Ganj, Delhi
and published by him from 'Back to Godhead' Office,
I. M. H. Press, Fountain, Delhi under declaration Dated 8-10-58.
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TRUTH AND BEAUTY
Under caption of LITERARY LAPSES in the editorial column of the Times of India, Bombay dated 12/10/58 it was argued whether truth and beauty are compatible terms with one another. The editorial said, while criticizing Professor Humayun Kabir's speeches in Calcutta on literary lapses, that one would agree willingly, if it came to that, to express the truth, but since truth is not always beautiful—indeed it is frequently rather startling and unpleasant—how is one to express truth and beauty at the same time?
In reply to this we may inform all concerned that Truth and Beauty are compatible terms. It is rather emphatically asserted that truth which is Absolute is always beautiful. The Truth is so beautiful that it attracts everyone including the Truth itself. Truth is so beautiful that many sages, saints and devotees have left everything for the sake of Truth. Mahatma Gandhi the idol of the modern world dedicated his life for experimenting with Truth and all his activities were targeted towards Truth only.
Why Mahatma Gandhi—every one of us is searching after an urge of truth only because it is not only beautiful but also all powerful, all resourceful, all famous, all renouncing and all knowledge.
Unfortunately people have no information of the actual Truth and 99.9 percent men in all ranks of life are following the footprints of Untruth only in the name of Truth and its searching after. We are actually attracted with the beauty of Truth but we are habituated to love untruth from time immemorial in the name of Truth. And therefore to the mundaner Truth and Beauty are incompatible terms. The mundane Truth and beauty is explained as follows:
A person fell in love with a beautiful girl(?). The man was very powerful and strongly built but his character was very doubtful. The girl was not only beautiful in appearance but also saintly in character. As such the beautiful girl did not like the proposal of the powerful man. The powerful man however insisted upon his lustful desires and the beautiful girl requested the man to wait for seven days only and after that she fixed up a time when the man could meet her.
The strongman agreed and with high expectations began to count and wait for the zero hour when he was fixed up to meet the girl.
The saintly girl however in order to manifest the real beauty of relative Truth adopted a means which is very instructive. She took up a very strong dose of purgative medicine and for seven days continually she passed only loose stool and also vomited all that she ate. And all the loose stool and the vomits were stored up in suitable reservoirs. As a result of this laxative medicine the so-called beautiful girl became lean, thin like a skeleton and turned blackish in complexion and the beautiful eye balls were pushed into the sockets of the skull. And at the appointed hour she was waiting anxiously to receive the man in love.
The man appeared on the scene well dressed and well behaved and asked the waiting girl, who was depressed in appearance, about the beautiful girl who called him there. The man could not recognize the waiting girl as the same beautiful girl whom he was asking for. The same girl however was in a pitiable condition and the foolish man in spite of repeated assertion could not recognize her. It was all due to the action of the medicine only.
At last the girl told the powerful man all the story of her beauty and told him that she had separated the ingredients of beauty and stored them up in the reservoirs. She also told him that he could enjoy the juices of beauty stored up in the reservoirs. The mundane poetic or the lunatic man agreed to see the juices of beauty and thus he was directed to the store of loose stool and liquid vomit which were emanating unbearable bad smell and thus the whole story of beauty liquid was disclosed to him. The characterless man by the grace of the saintly girl was able to distinguish between the shadow and the substance and thus he came to his senses.
That is the real position of every one of us who are attracted with the false material beauty. The girl as above mentioned developed a beautiful material body as she desired in her mind but in fact she was apart from such temporary material body and mind. She is in fact a spiritual spark and so also the man in love who was attracted by the false skin of the girl.
Both Professor Humayun Kabir and the editor of the Times of India are however deluded by the outward beauty and attraction of the relative truth and are unaware of the spiritual spark which is both Truth and Beauty at one and the same time. The spiritual spark is so beautiful that on its leaving the so-called beautiful body full of stools and vomit—nobody would like to touch it even though the same is decorated with costly costume.
And because we are all after a false relative truth therefore the same is incompatible with real beauty. The truth is so permanently beautiful that it maintains the same standard of beauty as it is for lacs and crores of years. Besides that such spiritual spark is indestructible. The beauty of the outer skin can be destroyed in a few hours time only by one dose of strong purgative pill but the beauty of Truth is always the same and indestructible as it is always. Unfortunately mundane editors and professors are ignorant of this beautiful sparks of spirit as well as the whole fiery resources of these spiritual sparks and their interrelations of transcendental pastimes. When the same is displayed here by the Grace of the Almighty the foolish persons who cannot see beyond the senses take that pastime of Truth and Beauty in the light of the above store of loose stools and liquid vomit and thus become despaired and declare how Truth and Beauty can be accommodated at one and the same time.
The mundaners do not know that the Whole spiritual Entity is the beautiful Person attracting everything as the Prime Substance and the Prime source and Fountain Head of everything that be. And the infinitesimal spiritual sparks as parts and parcels of the Whole spirit are qualitatively the same beautiful and eternal entities. The difference is that the Whole is eternally the Whole and the parts are eternally the parts. Both of them are the Ultimate Truth, ultimate beauty, ultimate knowledge, ultimate energy, ultimate renunciation and ultimate opulence.
So far literary lapses are concerned any literature which does not describe such Ultimate Truth and Beauty is a store of loose stools and liquid vomit of the relative truth may it be described by any mundane poet or thinker of any country. Real literature is that which describes about these ultimate Truth and beauty. Poet Kalidas is as much a mundane litterateur as Professor Humayun Kabir or the editor of the Times of India. Such a mundane litterateur like poet Kalidas went to see a learned queen of his time and sent his card. (To be Continued)
STANDARD MORALITY
Morality is the standard of activity by which the Supreme Authority is satisfied. So long we are concerned with the relative world, we must have to deal with relativities of actions and reactions accrued up by our routine work and to regulate such and such actions of daily affairs, we have to follow the standard codes so that our actions may be considered as moral.
Development of human consciousness by a gradual process to the highest codes of actions is another name of morality. In such developing stages of morality the principle of one man's food is another man's poison is also applicable because the moral codes of the lowest grade is different from the moral codes of the highest.
The moral codes of the marketplace is therefore different from the moral codes of a householder's life which is different from the moral codes of the politicians. The politicians may take up some actions which are against the principles of householders standard of morality and the standard of morality in the household affairs may be completely different from the moral codes of the marketplace. In that way we cannot find out the standard of moral codes unless and until we find out the standard of morality in all perfectness.
To take up a very common cause we may cite the following examples of morality. In the moral codes of the revealed scripture it is instructed that one should avoid the following immoral activities of life, if anyone wants at all to make any progress of life. Such prohibitory injunctions are as follows:
- (1) One should not make any unholy connection with woman.
- (2) One should not indulge in the matter of unnecessary animal slaughter.
- (3) One should not be addicted to the debased habit of intoxication.
- (4) One should not be addicted to the debased habit of gambling enterprise.
These moral principles are to be observed especially by the public leader, a learned Brahmin, a religionist and by the head of executive department of the state. Unless such persons are strictly moral by the above codes we cannot expect any citizen of the state to follow the moral principle. The public leader cannot be a successful leader if he is not serious about the above moral principles.
Mahatma Gandhi became a successful public leader because he observed the above moral principles in life. Although he was a married man during his leadership of the country he completely abstained himself from all sorts of bodily relation with his married wife even and what to speak of making unholy connection with other codes of life. The first principle is this that one should be completely aloof from all womanly connection save and except his own married wife. In that sense child marriage is most convenient form of morality and there are many examples in the noble life. Mahatma Gandhi was married at the age of sixteen or so and it is said that his wife was elder than him by one year. But see the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Apart from economic considerations, the system of child marriage prevents both the man and the woman falling into immoral connection with the opposite sex. Psychologically both a boy or a girl develops the sex-consciousness at the age of thirteen to eighteen years of age according to different climatic conditions. In such stage especially after the attainment of puberty a woman wants a male and if she is not married within that time and allowed to mix up with boys who have developed the sex consciousness, it is quite natural that there is every chance of fall down either by the boy or by the girl. With the change of social conditions, the standard of conjugal life is also changing but the code of avoiding unholy connection with woman is always there. You cannot indulge in unholy connection with the opposite sex because the social conditions have changed. Because unholy connection with woman is the beginning of all immorality. There are thousands and one examples in the history of mankind as to how a great man fell down simply by illegitimate connection with woman.
The highest principle of moral code begins therefore with the codes of avoiding illicit connection with woman.
In the moral codes of ordinary dealing the standard of judging a person about his becoming a learned man is defined like this.
The testing criterions are as follows:
- (1) That a learned man is he who is able to look upon all women, except his own married wife, as his mother—is certainly a passed moralist.
- (2) That a learned man is he who treats others' property as much untouchable as are the household refuse thrown away in the dust bin of the street.
- (3) That a learned man is he who behaves with all other living beings as he wants to be behaved by others.
Nobody wants to be killed by any other living being. As such we should not indulge in unnecessary killing of the animals to satisfy the taste of the tongue.
Therefore the next stage of morality begins with non-violence not in theory but in practice. You cannot look upon the poor animals as objects of killing by man and become moral at the same time. You cannot live at the expense of others and become moral at the same time. The whole world or the universe is conducted by a supernatural power of God. This external energy of the Supreme Lord is called by the name 'Avidaya Karmnsamga Shakti' or the material energy. Everyone has to work for his livelihood. The services are of different grades. The service of the learned scholar is superior than that of the expert statesman. The expert and sincere service of the statesman is superior than that of the industrialist and the businessman. And the service of the industrialist or businessman is better than the common and uncommon artisan or the expert and inexpert labourers. The labourer class of men can render service to the upper class men as above mentioned.
The affairs of the human society is being managed under the above arrangement and everywhere the division of the above four classes of men can be found under different names only. Such classification of men is made according to the standard of qualification and occupation and not by any birthright claim. The idea of the caste system is based on the above principle and it has nothing to do with any birthright claim. When such birthright claim is made the whole thing becomes vitiated and the order of the society becomes degraded for want of real moral strength.
The learned scholar who devotes himself to studies only must follow the previous learned Acharyas or men in authority and must not deviate from the standard of the great Acharyas. In the Bhagwat Geeta worship of the bona fide Acharyas is recommended for the learned persons who actually want to do something good to the society. Such learned scholars may undertake all kinds of research work to suit the current social and political circumstances and may make some external alteration in the procedure of the work but if they deviate from the ideals of the original authorities, they must be called immoral men. One should always follow the footprints of the standard Mahajan or the Acharyas recognized by all concerned. The research work taken up by such scholars must have an aim for the well-being of the society and not otherwise. Happiness for all the members of the society including the animal members is the ideal standard of morality.
Nationalism does not mean for the human being only but nationalism based on moral standard must include the animals and all other living beings in the state. The statesmen make laws specially for the protection of the minority but they have no law for the protection of the majority of living being other than the human being. The state protects human being by all means but they send the poor animals to the slaughter house. This is against the principle of morality.
In India there are certain terminologies in respect of the learned scholars, devotees of the Supreme Lord and the Lord also. The learned scholar is called the Brahmin, the pure devotee is called the Harijans and the Lord is called Narayana. Unfortunately a certain section of men claim to become a Brahmin simply by birthright without having the necessary qualification and the term Harijan which is specially meant for the pure devotees of the Lord is now applied to the lower class of men without any proper rectification. Any man even from the lowest status of society can become a Harijan or Brahmin and there is no restriction for them but such Harijan or Brahmin must possess the necessary qualification. That is the standard of morality. Immoral persons only claim something which they do not deserve. Immoral persons without being qualified want to capture power of the great man against the principle of standard morality. Similarly the Lord is brought to the standard of wretched men under the name of Daridra Narayana without knowing the real morality. The word Narayan is so exalted that it cannot be compared with the names of Brahma the creator of the universe or Shiva the annihilator of the universe. And if such Narayana is compared with the wretched persons it is an act of immorality as it is said in the standard scriptures. So far birthright is concerned even a man born by a great father cannot claim to be equal to his father without being duly qualified. The son of a big High Court Judge cannot claim to become the High Court Judge without the necessary qualifications.
In the Bhagwat Geeta the Personality of Godhead claims all sorts of living entities as His own sons. As such all living entities including the hogs and dogs naturally become His sons but as they have degraded themselves in the species of lower animals by the result of their own activities, they are never equal to the qualifications of the associates of God. Although a dog is also a son of God, he is a dog at the same time. It is the qualification only therefore that counts in all spheres of life and not simply by claiming the sons of the Supreme Lord. The moral codes of such qualifications are mentioned in the revealed scripture and morality means to qualify oneself to the satisfaction of the Supreme authority.
The Supreme authority is Vishnu or the Lord who is above all other living beings. In the Vedas, Vasudeva or Vishnu is described to be the original Person. He is above all. Nobody is equal to Him or greater than Him. He is therefore the Lord of everyone big and small. It is said that the Surayas or the Aryas do always look upon the Supreme Lord Vishnu whereas others who do not do so or one who has no respect for the Supreme Lord call Him by any name, must be an immoral man and therefore such person is counted amongst Asuryas or the demons. The moral codes of the Asuryas are different from that of the Surayas. The moral codes of the Surayas is to satisfy the wishes of the Supreme Lord whereas the moral codes of the Asurayas are to satisfy their own senses. The senses of the Asurayas being impure in the matter of sense satisfaction, their moral codes cannot be accepted as standard and we see therefore clashes amongst the asurayas in the name of moral standard. Sense gratification cannot be taken as moral at any stage. In any home, society or state nobody can be a moral man who satisfies his own senses without satisfying the higher authorities. Nobody can be happy therefore in any status of the society or state if he is unable to abide by the moral codes of that particular institution in which he is attached.
An Englishman or an American or a German or an Indian or anyone else are all free members of a free state respectively. But that freedom is not absolute. Every individual member of the state must abide by the laws of the state otherwise such law breakers shall be subjected to the police action of the state. This idea of the small state and that of the individual person can equally be applied to the larger state of Vishnu or the Supreme Lord of the universal state.
The conception of the caste system is made by the order of the Lord and the Vishnupuranam verifies the order in the following words.
- Varnashramacharavata
- Purushena Para Puman
- Vishnuraradhyte Pumsam
- Nanyattattosha Karanam.
Any person who abides by the principle of four division of the social order as well as one who is able to follow the four stages of spiritual realisation can only satisfy the Supreme Lord and there is no other alternative to satisfy Him. And that is the beginning of Morality.
And what is this Varnashram system? The four varnas are respectively the intelligent class of men, the statesmen, the commercial community and the labourer class known as the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Sudras technically. And what are the Ashramas? They are different stages of development.
The whole system is schemed for fulfilling the mission of human life by suitable division of departmental activities. The aim is one namely to satisfy the Supreme Lord. And as the Lord and the living entities are both living forces, the spiritual enjoyment between them by reciprocal exchange of dealings are not without variegatedness. The Lord is the chief amongst all kinds of living beings. Both the Lord and the living beings are one in quality and therefore both of them want enjoyment by reciprocal give and take policy and the Lord being the chief personality all activities of the living entities can be moral only when they fulfill the standard of satisfying the Lord. It is a scheme of cooperation for everyone's benefit. The intelligent class of men or the Brahmins are said to be the head of the whole body, the statesmen or the Kshatriyas are the arms, the commercial community or the Vaishyas are the thighs and the labourer class of men are the legs of the whole body. So neither the head nor the legs are less important for the service of the body which compared with the all pervading Personality of Godhead. But without any service for the satisfaction of the Lord the scheme is a show only as much as the blind eye or false eye is only a show to cheat innocent public without any value of the eye. There is no quarrel between the capitalist and labourer or the industrialists and the labourers in healthy or moral condition of the society as there is no quarrel between any different parts of the body in healthy condition. Combined activities for the one supreme goal of life i.e. satisfaction of the ultimate person is the sum and substance of moral standard.
Anything which is not aimed at the above mentioned goal of life is called atheism or non-moral standard of life. Spiritual realisation and moral life are both identical things. Spiritual life without morality has no meaning and in the same way morality without the knowledge of the Supreme Authority is only a show. Any person who is engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord in terms of the above scheme must have all the moral qualities which are visible in the character of the gods whereas person who has no relation with the personality of the Lord evidently cannot have any moral quality and that is the verdict of the history of human society. Therefore moral life is not a life of sense gratification but it is a life for the satisfaction of the higher authority.
The animal life is conducted only for sense gratification. An animal is pardoned for its entering a householder's premises and eating up all the foodstuff stocked there, but if a man does so he is put into criminal trespass and so many other charges. The difference is that the animal does not know anything but sense gratification whereas the man is understood to have the sense of morality by obeying the laws of the state or society and therefore a man's action of trespassing a householder's premises is taken more seriously than that of the animal. That is the difference of a man and the animal. The human life is a benediction to understand this moral codes of the Lord and if he behaves like the animal life even in the human form, certainly he is again sent back to animal species of life for leading a life of the 'Naradhama.' Nara means a man and adhama means the most degraded. So naradhama means that a man who does not develop the moral standard of life is again degraded into the animal kingdom with full facility for sense enjoyment like the dogs and hogs without any sense of morality.
As we have already stated that moral quality has no value if it is devoid of the relation of the Lord. A dog is sometimes called moral animal because it is very faithful to its master. But that sort of faithfulness has no moral standard because it has forgotten its relation with God. The dog may be very faithful to its master but it is not faithful to other dogs who are more akin to its features. A dog at once begins howling as soon as it sees another dog in the precincts of its jurisdiction and similarly we can see that a man is very good man in relation to his own atmosphere but when the question of self interest, community interest, society interest or national interest is there he becomes the most ferocious man exactly like the dog. These things happen only when there is not spiritual realisation of the human being and they think only in terms of self interest, community interest, social interest or national interest without any interest for the Lord. Real morality is there when everything is acted in the interest of the Lord which includes all other minor interest.
Without such spiritual realisation in view no amount of one-sided doggish service of faithfulness will bring in any moral standard of life. If it was possible at all then all the leaders of different nations would not have quarreled between themselves for some temporary things which they have wrongly accepted as permanent. For want of real moral life there is continuous rupture of national interest and all schemes of peace and harmony being continuously frustrated without any solution. The dogs cannot make any solution of continuous quarrel because they are unable to revive their consciousness of relation with God. But the man if he likes he can do so easily because he has the capacity of discharging this important duty.
The standard of civilization on the basis of unlimited sense satisfaction has to be changed into regulated life for spiritual realisation and that will lead to the actual moral standard of life. In the diseased condition of life nobody can be happy increasing the standard of sense gratification. If he wants to get rid of the diseased condition he has to consult the experienced physician for guidance of diet and medicine. And to relieve the diseased condition of the present set up of Godless civilization the leaders have to consult the liberated physicians who have already prescribed the right medicine and right diet. The right medicine is very simple. They must attend to hear the transcendental messages from the Lord and the diet is prescribed in the matter of partaking the remnant foodstuff or Prasadam or the foodstuff which is first offered to the Lord. There is no fear of the foodstuff being taken up by the Lord if it is offered to Him but by doing so the foodstuff is purified by spiritual process which helps the eater in reviving his consciousness of relation with God. When one revives his Godly consciousness by hearing in submissiveness the message of the Lord and make practice for eating the Prasadam under prescribed rules, he is sure to revive his lost consciousness and thus make progress in becoming a moral man proportionately with the revival of God consciousness. Every disease takes some time for its being completely cured but the treatment must begin without delay. We shall request all leaders of the society in all countries to accept this process of treatment which is neither expensive nor difficult. The whole thing is possible to be adjusted in terms of the special circumstances and we shall advise everyone to adopt this method for a general relief in the epidemic of moral degradation.
Advancement of modern education has no value because it is devoid of moral standard. Advanced students in the university of modern education have to be guarded by regular Police force for the matter of observing the moral codes of the university. And the highest officer in the state service has to be brought into justice by the supreme court of law for his conduct of misappropriation of public money. Such is the condition of moral life at present.
Therefore an educated man does not necessarily mean a man of morality while an illiterate man with full consciousness of the Lord's presence everywhere makes him the most moral and faithful man in the world. Therefore it is not the so-called education but it is God consciousness of the man that will bring in the required moral standard. Godless civilization full with vulgar literatures of sex indulgence or instruction by advanced science in the matter of sense gratification of the uncontrolled senses makes the whole scientific brain immorally compact. Invention of the atomic bomb is the result of the highest grade of scientific brain. But the whole world is disturbed now for its fear may be real or unreal and it is the sign of pure sense gratification under the influence of power intoxication. (To be Continued)
SCHOLARS DELUDED
(A critical review of Dr. Radhakrishnan's edition of the Bhagwat Gita)
(Cont'd. from previous issue)
We had no intention to enter into arguments with Dr. Radhakrishnan but the Brahmachary repeatedly requested to review the Bhagwat Gita of Dr. Radhakrishnan as there are so many self contradictory statements committed by the great scholar. We have all respects for Dr. Radhakrishnan because he is not only the second citizen of India, the great world renowned philosopher and a scholar in the Hindu philosophy but also he is truthful Brahmin with considerable knowledge in the Impersonal Brahman. There is a popular saying that there is no harm in creating some antagonism with a great scholar but there is harm even by creating a friendly relation with a fool. An antagonistic scholar will never deal in revenge but an ignorant fool may commit many blunders even in the friendly dealings. So we are not afraid of Dr. Radhakrishnan when we put forward the critical review of his great scholarly exposition of the Bhagwat Gita.
There is a popular story in Bengal that a man who was a great scholar in the Ramayana of seven cantos asked somebody as to whose father was Sita (?). In the above explanation of Dr. Radhakrishnan as quoted above that it is not the personal Krishna to whom we have to give ourselves up but to the unborn etc. Dr. Radhakrishnan means that Krishna is born, has beginning and is transient (?).
In such misunderstanding about Krishna by Dr. Radhakrishnan, we find a similarity between him and the Ramayana scholar who enquired about the fatherhood of Sita (?). The whole theme of the Bhagwat Geeta is culminated in the following words which Shri Krishna said to Arjuna (B. G. Ch. XVIII)
- Sarban Dharman Paritajya
- Mamekam Saranam Braja
- Aham Tva Sarva Papebhya
- Mokshyishyami Ma Shucha
The Personality of Godhead said to Arjuna that he should give up all desires and take His saranam or take shelter unto Him. He was assured not to become hesitating in doing so, because in that way he would be saved from all the reactions of sins.
His saranam means Saranagati and Dr. Radhakrishnan has explained this Sadabidha Saranagati as follows in his essays page 62.
"Prapatti has the following accessories (i) goodwill to all (anukulyasya Samkalpa) (II) absence of ill will (pratikulyasya vivarjanam) (iii) faith that the Lord will protect (rakshisyatiti visvasapalanam) (iv) resort to him as savior (goptritve varanam tatha) (v) sense of utter helplessness (Karpanyam) and complete surrender (atma nikshepa)."
All these six different items are meant in relation with the Personality of Godhead. Goodwill to all is a byproduct of a devotee but it is not possible for a devotee or any person to surrender to everyone and all. Therefore the word 'anukulyasya samkalpa' means directly that one should accept Sri Krishna without fail as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not in the manner suggested by Dr. Radhakrishnan. When he says the Lord he must mean the Personality of Godhead and not His impersonal feature Brahman. Resort to Him in an utter sense of helplessness was actually done by Arjuna to the personality of Sri Krishna even in the beginning of the Bhagwat Geeta as he (Arjuna) know it perfectly well that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Absolute Lord with Whom there is no difference of the impersonal Brahman. There is no difference in the Person and imperson of the Supreme Brahman. But Dr. Radhakrishnan has made a difference in Krishna which is a dormant sign of ill will to the Personality of Godhead, although he admits that the Bhagwat Gita is meant for describing the Personality of Godhead. This process of 'pratikul' behaviour is certainly not 'anukulyasya samkalpam.' It is something like goodwill to all except Shri Krishna (?).
The "Bhagwat" affirms that by the grace of the illusory energy, the great scholars can sometime cover the meaning of a word or can coin something else and we think Dr. Radhakrishnan's meaning of the word Anukulyasya Samkalpa is something like covering its real import.
Prapatti means the first principles of Bhakti. Prapatti means to agree to serve. For the Jnanis or the empiric philosophers it takes however many births to attain to the stage for Prapatti. The description of Saranagati as quoted by Dr. Radhakrishnan is a statement of the Vaishnava Tantra and the whole process is meant for Vishnu Upasana (worship). Those who are worshippers of the Lord (Vishnu) are known as Vaishnavas. Anukulyasya samkalpa means that one should render services to Krishna favourably.
"Anukulyena Krishnanushilanam bhaktiruchyate.' Bhakti means to serve the Lord favourably. After all everyone is bound to serve the Supreme Lord either directly or indirectly and such service is rendered sometimes unfavourable. Those who are serving unfavourably are nondevotees like Kansa and Jarasandha. They also thought of Krishna constantly (which is called Smaranam) but because such smaranam was made unfavourably such persons were not counted amongst the devotees. To remember the Lord favourably is therefore called anukulyasya samkalpam. We think that is the real meaning of the word and not as it is explained by Dr. Radhakrishnan.
In the Bhagwat Geeta the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna says surrender unto Me only. But Dr. Radhakrishnan says surrender not to the person Krishna. Is it not the opposite view to suit the particular type of philosophy followed by Dr. Radhakrishnan? This indirect interpretations of the Mayavadi school for all kinds of revealed scriptures are acts of pratikul samkalpa and this pratikul samkalpa of the Mayavadins is properly condemned in the Bhagwat Geeta as follows:-
- Na Mam Duskritina Mudha
- Prapadyante Naradhama
- Mayaya Pahrita Jnana
- Ashuri Bhavamashrita.
Kansa, Jarasandha and persons who followed them were designated as Ashuras because they did not treat Krishna very favourably. Such Ashuras are made to forget their real knowledge by the influence of material energy. Kansa or Jarasandha both of them were highly enlightened so far as material knowledge is concerned, but because they disobeyed or despised Sri Krishna they were called Ashuras.
Reading the Bhagwat Geeta by the process of anukulyasya samkalpa was approved by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the following narration.
When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the great Apostle of preaching transcendental love of Godhead, was touring in South India, He met one simple Brahmin at the temple of Sri Ranganath. This Brahmin was reciting Bhagwat Geeta in his devotional way. The pure Brahmin was reading the Bhagwat Geeta in the ecstatic style with tears in his eyes but other fellows who knew him well were laughing and joking at him. His neighbours knew it that the Brahmin was illiterate and therefore it was not possible for him to read out the text of the scripture which is written in Sanskrit. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu observed the incidence and he went forward to the Brahmin scholar and asked him very politely what he was reading and why he was crying by reading the book. The Brahmin promptly replied that although he was making a show of reading the Bhagwat Geeta, in fact he could not read even an alphabet of it. The Lord then asked him why he was reading it? The Brahmin replied that his spiritual master had asked him to read daily the 18 chapters of the Bhagwat Geeta although his spiritual master knew it well that he was not conversant with the language or even the alphabet of it. The Lord then asked him what was the matter that caused him weeping while going through the book? The Brahmin replied that although he was unable to see even a word of the Bhagwat Geeta yet he was feeling the presence of Sri Krishna as Parth Sarathi sitting on the chariot of Arjuna. This presence of Sri Krishna as the chariot driver of Arjuna made him constantly weeping. He felt it in ecstasy as to how much kindly was Sri Krishna so that He has had accepted a sort of menial service of His devotee. The Mayavadi impersonalist cannot think of the Absolute's becoming a menial servant of His devotee but actually there is stage in the transcendental plane like that which is inconceivable by the Mayavadi philosophers or which can never be imagined by any mundane wrangler who is always busy to exploit the service of a mundane servant in mammon's relation. And those who know it they say that let people worship all kinds of Vedic literatures for culturing knowledge or out of fear of the mundane bondage, but they are concerned with King Nanda in whose courtyard the Supreme Lord was made to play just like a crawling child. As such this transcendental relation of the Brahmin reading Bhagwat Geeta in the Temple of Sri Ranganathji as it was seen by Lord Chaitanya Himself gave verbatim evidence of the Sruti Mantras which runs as follows:
- Yasya Deve Para Bhakti
- Yatha Deve Tatha Gurou
- Tasyaite Kathitha Hyartha
- Prakashyante Mahatmana.
The Mahatmas, who have pure transcendental faith in the Supreme Lord and the same amount of faith in the self realised spiritual master, to them only the words of the transcendental sound reveals by the self illuminated spiritual power.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced the illiterate reader of the Bhagwat Geeta and certified fully that he was actually reading the book. It does not matter that the Brahmin was illiterate to the bottom but literary scholarship or empiric knowledge has nothing to do with the transcendental sound which can be heard by the suitable ear which is made submissive prepared by the transcendental loving service of Godhead and not by mundane scholarship. It is said in the Padma Puranam as follows.
(To be Continued)