Lectures and Sermons of Shree Shree Bijoy Krishna Goswami (Gosaiji)



Sadguru Shree Shree Bijoy Krishna Goswami (Gosaiji)

Sl. No. 21 - Sermon - (What is Real Dharma and how can we achieve it?)

Dhaka - East Bengal Brahmomandir
Sunday, 14th Bhadra, 1293 Bengali Calender [1887 A.D.]

It is written in the scriptures of the muslims, that once Moses the prophet said to God, “Oh Lord, I find that your devotees alone are enjoying all your good things. Accept me as one of your devotees.” God said, “That I have given you the position of the prophet should itself be enough. I have given different tasks to different people in this world. It is enough if the tasks are accomplished. But it is difficult to be a devotee superior to this. If you want to see such a devotee then wait a little. Moses, I need a quarter of a seer of human flesh. Just declare in the world that the Supreme Lord wants a quarter of a seer of flesh. If there be any dear devotee of this Lord, then he may slice off a quarter of a seer of flesh from his thigh and donate it.”

Moses was first put to test by this. He himself could not meet God’s demand by offering his own flesh. As Moses went about declaring this, people thought that he had gone out of his mind. As Moses went about shouting in the name of God, soliciting flesh, an old man came out wrapped in his tattered blanket and roared loudly, “Who is the one that takes my Lord’s name? Who is carrying the message of my Lord? Who—Moses? You are blessed to take my Lord’s name. My dearest has asked for flesh? It is a matter of so much pleasure. Bring a knife quickly lest my mind changes.” Moses brought out the knife and that old man extended his thigh. Moses started slicing off his flesh. The flesh of his entire thigh could not measure up to a quarter seer. Then the old man gave his other organ, even that too was inadequate. Then the dear devotee of God said, “Moses, I am donating my entire body. Take all the flesh.”Just then God revealed Himself and told Moses, “Look Moses, having made your declaration all over the world you could not find a single person who could give his flesh for me. But this man has donated his entire body for me. Just tell me Moses, how can I repay the man who has given his body like this and donated everything he has to me? That is why I give myself to him.”

We worship and verbally we talk about loving Him, but it is not so in practice. The one developing love for the Supreme Lord, loses everything at the begining. Can my mind be bound by anything else when I consider Him to be my dearest? How can I claim to love Him when I am serving my inherent cardinal passions? If I am able to love Him, then I shall love everything that are dear to Him. Is it enough to just talk about devotion? Or should it be called devotion if I dance, cry and jump or remain engrossed in emotional expressions? What is devotion? Devotion is to love Him unflinchingly. It is done when the entire body and mind is dedicated to Him.

Roop Goswami has written, that when, even a little ‘bhav’ (feeling) germinates in the human mind, then following signs appear:

Kshantirabyarthakalatwam, biraktimanashunyata
Ashabaddha samutkantha naamagane sadaruchih,
Asaktistada gunakhyane preetistadbastisthale
Ityadayo nubhabahsyuh jata bhavankurejane.

Means : Even if the seeds of feelings such as forebearance, dispassion absence of conceit, hopeful longing, having a liking for singing the secret of His divine names, deep attachment for narrating His different qualities and such others have sprouted in a man, then these mental states can be visible in him.

First : He will forgive even if a seed of feeling germinates in us. If the true knowledge develops that He is my master and the entire universe, all these men and women belong to my dearest and if then someone torments, insults me, then I can say, do as you please. How can I tell you anything as you belong to my Master? Torment me, beat me to your heart’s content

Second : That person does not allow time to pass uselessly. He cannot do any such work or any service or worship to Him that does not contain the name of the Lord. He is always engaged in holy interaction, or reading holy books or in service to the Lord.

Third : His life becomes one of detachment. All the time he keeps thinking, “All other things are of no substance. My Lord alone is the real essence. I do not understand anything else but that. All objects are His creation.” Renunciation does not mean living in forest, wearing saffron clothes, covering one’s body with ashes or wearing loin cloth. The Goswamis (Vaishnava saints) have criticized these as monkey type detachment. What is true unattachment? It is total unattachment to things other than the Supreme Lord.

Fourth : That life reflects an indifference to honour. His sight is always focussed on the Endless. He considers himself smaller than a grain of dust. The one unlike this considers himself large. One who sees everything immersed in the Endless, sees everyone beautiful, treats everybody with respect. He does not worry about himself, takes care of all others. He sees all others. That is why ego cannot come near him.

Fifth : He maintains ashabaddha samutkantha in his mind. He is unworried as he says, “Here is my dearest, My Lord, I have nothing to fear about. “He does not pray for anything for himself to the Lord, like praying for food or clothing etc. He remains unmoved by sorrows or sufferings the way trees remain steady under the torture of storm, rain or sun. The saints too have said, Anandam Brahmanovidyan. While having limitless bliss he is always greedy for his Lord.

Sixth : He always relishes singing God’s name. He sings the song of God’s name not out of any compulsion, he does it out of liking. He is not very particular about the correctness of the tune or that of the accompanying music. His only aim is the name of his Lord. He is enchanted by listening to the songs of the name of his Lord sung by even porters on the road, and is overwhelmed and asks “Who is the one singing the name of my Lord?”

Seventh : He is always keen to speak about the goodness of the Lord. He finds that all those mountains and hills, trees and creepers, birds and beasts, moons and stars, the entire universe and so many yogis and ascetics of a higher order are worshipping Him all the time. The more he speaks about the attributes of his Lord, the more he wants to speak about it and thus his desire of doing this is never satisfied.

Eighth : He loves the residence of God—the universe, like his own life. I have seen with my own eyes that on seeing the branch of a tree being broken by a man, a devotee cried out “uh, oh”, just the sound that would have emerged had his own limbs been broken.

Can sin stay any longer when a man reaches such a state? The saints have said,

Nabirato dushcharitannashanto nasamahitah
Nashanto manasobapi prajnanenainamapnuat.

Means : One who has not abstained from evil action, one who is not calm, one who has not attained an equilibrium of mind, whose mind is not pacified, cannot obtain the highest Self by his intellect only.

The heart will automatically calmdown when true love is generated. If I repeat the name of the Supreme Lord, rock and dance, but cast an evil eye on other’s wife, tell lies, run about with selfish interest, then I am yet to recognize Him, my love is only for sin! Can sin stay in the presence of even a little love? Sanatan Goswami has written that sin can no longer exist in the presence of true love.

When Mahaprabhu gave ‘naam’ to Jagai and Madhai then itself they realised the presence and effect of sin —felt a terrible burning sensation of pain inside. They then told Mahaprabhu, “Oh Lord, this burning sensation of sin is not going”. Mahaprabhu then asked them to go to the ferry ghat and take the dust from the feet of all the people who cross the river. This would remove their burning sensation. As long as we do not feel this burning sensation as the consequence of sin, we keep worshipping our basic cardinal passions. This is not the worship of our Lord. Real dharma is not achieved as long as we do not recognize Him as living, direct awakened God. Dharma is not achieved by hearing talks about it. Until we feel the existence of the Supreme Lord the way we feel water and fire by the touch of our hand, love is not generated. Can we have the vision at the very begining? No, that does not happen. This cannot happen until the soul becomes pure. But then, just as while approaching the Himalayas we feel the coolness even without seeing it or even without seeing the sun we can feel the sunrays when they touch us, in the same way we get similar sense perceptions in the initial stages.

Arguments and counter arguments are going on as to whether God has form or is formless. He is formless, as He is not like His creations. Again He is with form, as He does exist and is not a void. It is true that He can be seen, touched, heard, smelt, tasted. Service can be rendered to Him. It is no allegory or imagination. It cannot be explained by talking. It is like the dream of the mute. The Lord does have a form—it means He is not the created objects, but He does exist and is not a void. The devotees call Him “Idol of existence, knowledge, bliss”. The Existence, Knowledge and Bliss is something that is beyond description. Bilwamangal was a great poet. He used to write elaborate descriptions of the Lord till such time as he had not had His vision. When the Lord appeared before him and said, “Bilwamangal, describe me now.” Bilwamangal then said, “Oh master I have no more capacity to describe you now.” As long as I am yet to see my Supreme Lord, I use my poetic faculty to describe Him in so many ways, I talk so much. But the moment I see Him, I cease to speak. I get too scared, that I may not even speak correctly. He is beyond any language, any comparison.

The tree germinates from the seed. The entire tree is contained in the seed. I have heard of the development of an instrument by which the entire tree can be seen inside the seed. Similarly the entire tree of dharma is contained in the soul seed. What does not exist cannot grow. Only things that exist in the soul grow. Knowledge and devotion do exist and so they grow. They become enemies when they develop in a perverted manner. When I commit wrong actions by hands and eyes, then they are enemies and while performing good deeds those very ones are friends. Self pleasure is lust and when I serve the Lord, it is then called love. With the emergence of devotion it is realised that this lust is no more an enemy, it is a true friend.

When anger is used in the form of spiritedness, it becomes a helpful friend. When someone’s wrong action is not prevented by it, then humanity itself ceases to exist. Greed for the Lord alone acts as a true friend, for others it acts as an enemy. Infatuation for God is very beneficial—when turned to other things, it is ruinous. Envy : I shall not be jealous of the well being of others, but shall try to be like that. This is the good use of envy. God has given me all that is needed. Take for instance, affection for one’s son, this does not come unless I have a son. That I love my nephew is not the affection for a son. It is just affection. A partcular faculty cannot grow in the absence of the related object. The object of the faculty of devotion is the Supreme Lord. I cannot develop devotion until I am able to see Him. You may wear saffron clothes, cover yourself with ash, or dance as you like, nothing will help. I may do anything, cry and lament, but sins will not go unless I have devotion.

A tree which is alive, changes and grows daily. Similarly with real dharma-mindedness I can no more be what I was yesterday. Sin can no longer exist. It is written in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavat, that all other specified methods of penance is like a bath of the elephant—meaning the sins reappear soon after the penance. Devotion is like dewdrops after sunrise. This means that similar to disappearance of dewdrops after sunrise sins can no longer stay in the heart once devotion dawns. With the rise of true devotion, the qualities of cessation of sins etc. are bound to come. Roop Goswami and others have written this, not as guess work, but after due testing. I may have love for others as long as I am yet to see Him, but this does not remain so, after I have seen Him. But then since everything belongs to Him, love is meant for all objects.

I want just this, ever since my childhood. I want the large one, not half a sweet meat. I want only Him in the beautiful flower, the beautiful moon. Because He alone is large, the most beautiful. If I could get Him even once—He, whom I had wanted right from the time I was in my mother’s lap—could I then but help loving Him? When shall I have such a day? I still have selfishness in me. I still become happy by praise and frustrated by criticism. You all give me the dust of your feet, destroy my selfishness.