Abhyāsayoga

Praying for blessings of Śrī Guru-Gauranga and Śrī Rādhā-Krishna unto the sincere souls desirous of serving Śrī Krishna and His devotees.

Received your letter dated when I was at Śrī Māyāpur, Ishodyan during Śrī Navadwīp dhām parikrama. Also I received one affectionate letter from your mother in Bengali. I wrote in my letter to her briefly about all my circumstances including serious health condition in the month of August in the year 2006. By Śrī Krishna’s desire, I got back my life.

Birth, duration of life in this world, and death are controlled by the Supreme Lord. Submission to the will of the Lord is the only way of getting bliss. Conditioned souls have got numerous desires and when their desires are not fulfilled, they become unbalanced. By going through your letter, I was reminded of the pithy saying of our Most Revered Gurudev Nitya-līlā-pravishtha Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhav Goswāmī Mahārāj when I met Him in Calcutta, Hazra Road, Gauḍīya Maṭh. By the grace of the All-Merciful Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, I came in contact with the Grace-Incarnate Form of Krishna—Gurudev—at Goalpara, Assam at my birth-place. Here I do not want to go in detail about my questions and correspondence with Him. I decided to renounce household life and met Him in Hazra Road, Calcutta Maṭh.

I told Him I have become too much indifferent to worldly relations, which are so perishable. I openly expressed my heart to gurudev, saying that although I am indifferent to worldly relations, I also have the propensity of sense-enjoyment. I asked whether it was proper for me to renounce household life in this condition.

Gurudev, in reply to this question, said no conditioned souls of this world could definitely say that they are completely detached from worldly desires. They should sincerely submit to the Supreme Lord Śrī Krishna, Who can rescue them from the clutches of Māyā (the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord). Gurudev expressed His strong desire that I should renounce the house and join the institution. After that I decided to join the institution, without seeking permission of the family members.

I also heard gurudev speaking in regard to this from the Gītā: Arjuna asked Krishna, cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa – “My mind is too restless. It seems almost impossible for me, a conditioned soul, to control my restless mind as it is impossible to control the air- current.”

Śrī Krishna in reply said, “I admit that surely it is difficult to control the mind, but it is not impossible. You are very powerful. You can control the mind by abhyāsayoga (repeated practice) and vairāgya (detachment).”

There are two significant aspects of vairāgya—(1) practice of detachment to non-eternal things of this world and (2) attachment to the Supreme Lord Śrī Krishna. As much attachment we shall have for Krishna, so much actual detachment to non-eternal things we can get automatically.

No time factor in the spiritual sky. To understand the time factor, we are to very carefully note the instruction given about it in the authentic scriptures of India. There are two kinds of sky – material sky and transcendental sky. In the material sky there exist three states of time factor—past, present and future. But in the transcendental spiritual sky there exists no past or future, only present.

As long as we are in the grip of material egos, being enveloped by the illusory energy consisting of the three primal qualities, rajaḥ, sattva and tamaḥ, we are in the grip of material time – past, present and future (by rajaḥguṇa living beings are created, by sattva-guṇa they are sustained and by tama-guṇa they are destroyed).

Words uttered in the material sphere with material egos are material words which will give us contact with non-eternal things and relations causing bondage and the threefold sufferings – (1) physical and mental sufferings (2) sufferings caused by other living beings (nowadays horrifying sufferings are inflicted by the human beings themselves) and (3) natural calamities.

Transcendental realised souls can utter transcendental sound which will give us contact with the Eternal Blissful Entity, the Supreme Lord Śrī Krishna and His devotees. If we associate with worldly people we shall hear worldly words and our minds will be attached to non-eternal things of this world. Provided we associate with realised souls, we will be in contact with transcendental sounds with transcendental rhythm which can awaken the eternal real nature of the soul viz. eternal pure devotion to the Supreme Lord.

Sakarma phala bhuk pumān—Human beings will reap the fruits of their own actions. It is stated in the Gītā, ‘karmaṇy evādhikāras te, mā phaleṣu kadācana’—every conscious living being has got relative independence (thinking, feeling and willing). By the good or bad use of relative independence, they can do good or bad acts. Fruits of the actions are controlled by the Supreme Lord. We commit a Himalayan blunder when we blame others for our own sufferings.

Nāmakirtan is the best. It is written in the letter to your mother in Bengali that association of a bona fide śuddha bhakta,, pure devotee, is essential –

‘tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya satsu sajjeta buddhimān,
santa evāsya chindanti mano-vyāsaṅgam uktibhiḥ’,
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.26.26)

For getting actual fruit, you are to practice navada-bhakti as stated by Prahlād Mahārāj in the seventh canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, or the five forms of devotion as taught by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, namely sādhu sanga (association of bona fide sādhus), nāma-kīrtan (chanting of the Holy Name), bhāgavat śravan (hearing of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam), Mathura vās (residing in Mathura Dhām) and śraddhaya śrimūrti seva (worship of Deities with firm faith). Out of them nāmakīrtan is the best in Kaliyuga.

More when we meet. My love to you. May All-Merciful Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā- Krishna bless you.