Sarasvati Gaudiya Writings

In Sri Gaudiya Matha, the brahmacaris, sannyasis etc. are all bhiksus. I ask them to go out and beg. I alone have accepted the responsibility for this activity and in this work I will not bypass any house. Therefore I constantly send our men from door to door everywhere for bhiksa. For our preaching of the Holy Name of Krsna, for the sake of benefiting this world, we will approach everyone and accept something from them to use in Krsna’s service. Simply to collect money and convert it into stool and urine is the occupation of monkeys, not of the Gaudiya Matha. It is necessary to engage billions of Vaisnavas — such a service is assigned to me.

Sri Caitanyadeva gave the order to people throughout India, “Advise everyone, whomever you encounter: worship Krsna!” Thus He told them to make endeavours for God from whatever position they occupied, no matter where or when they lived or who they were.

Now, to carry out His commandment, there is no other course than to cultivate what we have learned at the lotus feet of our Sri Gurudeva. The only work for a worshipper of God is to see that His worship increases more and more. Our prayer should ever be that our attachment to Krsna may increase more and more. We do not want power and pelf. Nay, we do not even want cessation of further births.

Anyone who out of deceitful purpose professes adherence to the Gauḍīya Maṭha, harbouring an intention to misuse the divine, transcendental knowledge of initiation, cannot possibly have any relation to the Gauḍīya Maṭha, and indeed he has none. The relation of these people to the reality of the Gauḍīya Maṭha is the same as that of a group of actors to the reality they are representing in a play. Gilt cannot replace gold, nor can the pretence of devotion shown by these deceivers ever be seen on the same level as true, pure devotion.

Many people think that the path of bhakti is covered with a soft bed of flowers. Blind faith, indiscipline, whimsical behavior, indiscrimination, sentimentalism, and emotional outbursts are all counted by them as being means of performing bhakti. But from śāstra and from the words of the ācāryas it is understood that, although the authorized path of bhakti is the only means of attaining the ultimate goal of life, it is full of thorns. Especially in this Age of Kali, the age of argumentation and quarrel, it is covered with millions of thorns.

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐚-𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢t 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐁𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐮l𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐚-𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞, 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢 are 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝.

It is necessary to have such an exemplary neighbor­hood so that women can read scrip­tures every day, discuss devotional topics with each other, and have ishta-gosthi about devotional topics, so they can give up all luxury and live an exem­plary, saintly life and always chant the holy name and take care of the ingredients of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s service and serve Him in every way.

We are presenting herein excerpts from a series of articles by jagad-guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada that were published under the title “Amara Prabhura Katha – My Master And His Teachings”. They first appeared in the magazine Sri Sajjana-tosani, Year 19, Issues 5–6. We are also presenting excerpts from whatever Srila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada spoke regarding the supra-mundane and transcendental life and teachings of Srila Gaura-kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja on the occasion of his tirobhava-tithi, the day of his sacred disappearance from this world.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya told us that we should first acquire self-determination, without which we will mistake the mind for the soul. Mind is quite different from soul. The mind conducts all the activities of the physical plane. It receives impressions from Nature through the medium of the senses and through the functions of our body, that is, through the mind’s interfacing with external objects, which are made of matter.