titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
(ŚB 3.25.21)
The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He cannot have any enemy; he is peaceful. All his perfect ācaraṇa and vāṇī become ornaments in sādhu samāj.
Lord Kapila told his mother, Devahūti—”Oh mother, if you want to meet with great destiny, if you want to meet with absolute maṅgala, then you always have to hear from the pure devotees.
satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati
(ŚB 3.25.25)
In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are very pleasing and satisfying to the ears and heart. By cultivating such knowledge, one gradually becomes advanced on the path of apavarga to achieve śraddhā, rati, and ultimately, bhakti.
Kapiladeva said—”You must always hear the pastimes of the Supreme Lord from the lotus mouth of a pure sādhu. Mother Devahūti then asked, “How will I be able to recognize who is a sādhu and who is not a sādhu?
We know that in reality, those who follow the path of karma are not sādhus, even if they are following vedic injunctions. Those who follow the path of jñāna or aṣṭāṅga yoga, etc., or even those who are busy with tapasyā and austerities, they are also not sādhus, because none of them are truly ready to satisfy the Supreme Lord from the heart—whereas the total effort of a sādhu is to seek the complete satisfaction of the Lord without any smell of self-interest. “Sādhu” means he who is following sat-dharma or sanātana-dharma or who is following Bhāgavata-dharma in the truest sense (nitya-dharma; vaiṣṇava-dharma); all others are fraudulent. Anything related to Viṣṇu-vaiṣṇava-tattva is eternal, whereas all else is māyā (unstable).
A sādhu is a soul completely dedicated to the Absolute Truth. Now, according to the first-mentioned śloka of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we can try to understand the meaning of each and every word, like “titikṣava”, “kāruṇikāḥ”, etc. According to the symptoms of a genuine sadhu, we can see that the first-mentioned word is “titikṣava”: A sādhu must be tolerant in any situation or circumstance, however critical—just like a tree gives us everything including its fruits, flowers, bark, leaves, or wood, while expecting nothing in return, not even water in the dry season.
The second symptom of a real sādhu is “kāruṇikāḥ”—the sādhu is a merciful incarnation of the Supreme Lord sent to deliver the fallen souls.
Then, a real sādhu is “suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām”—a sādhu is always friendly with all jīvās to support their absolute maṅgala without any smell of self-interest because they can see everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, Who is resting inside their heart.
The fourth symptom of a real sādhu is “ajāta-śatravaḥ”, which means that a sādhu never has any enemy because they are always established in advaya-jñāna-tattva; he can relate absolutely everything with Bhāgavata-sevā, directly or indirectly. Even in life-threatening scenarios they never place any blame, like Vidurajī Mahārāja, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, or Śrīla
Haridāsa Ṭhākura, etc. Unnecessarily, Śrīla Vidurajī Mahārāja was heavily abused by the wicked Duryodhana, but still he never displayed any adverse reaction. He understood everything to be an arrangement of the Lord, so whom to blame?
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the same siddhānta–vicāra is established as spoken by Pitamahā Brahmā:
tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
(ŚB 10.14.8)
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for Your causeless mercy while always patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds, and offers You respectful obeisances with his body, mind, and speech is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.
Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was heavily cheated and betrayed by the wicked Duryodhana, but still he never wanted to take any revenge against him because his darśana was Vaikuṇṭha-darśana. Also, Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten at twenty-two different marketplaces by the Muslim ruler who wanted to kill him simply because of his chanting harināma-mahā-mantra. Still, even at the last moment, he prayed unto the Lotus feet of the Supreme Lord for the absolute maṅgala of those who mercilessly abused him—such is the heart of a real sādhu.
Now the fifth symptom of a sādhu is ‘śāntāḥ’—there is no question of any restlessness inside the heart of a real sādhu because of his full stability in one-pointed devotion unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Restlessness comes from anyābhilāṣa. In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta we can see the following śloka:
kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’
(CC Madhya 19.149)
Because a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jñānīs desire liberation, and yogīs desire material opulence; therefore, they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful in any true sense.
A sādhu will never lose his patience in any critical situation. Those are the taṭastha-lakṣaṇa (secondary symptoms), but the most vital primary symptom or svarūpa-lakṣaṇa should be discussed.
Taṭasthā-lakṣaṇa is the external symptom by which we can understand something, and svarūpa-lakṣaṇa is the inner symptom found with the person or object. For example, external expressions like tilaka, mālā, and daṇḍa can convey that someone is a sannyāsi, but his dedication and Śaraṇāgati (kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa) can only be known by his activities. One who is lacking in perfect Śaraṇāgati cannot even prove that he is a devotee (Vaiṣṇava), what to speak about qualification for sannyāsa or ācāryaship!
There is no topic about bhajana which is so secret that a Sad Guru cannot reveal in front of a truly genuine disciple (snigdha śiṣya). By the causeless mercy of Sad Guru, a genuine guru-dāsa (sevāka) is so powerful that no power in the world can defeat him. Foolish people cannot realize that only a genuine guru-sevāka can become an effective ācārya. An ācārya can never be appointed by selection or election because an ācārya is a self-manifesting figure. By the mercy of Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda we can know this perfect siddhānta- vicāra. Distracted by external opulences and popularity, the whole world can run after a cheater preacher misconstrued to be a sad-guru-sevāka or Sad Guru—this is the arrangement of Māyā Devi, but the Absolute object is a hidden treasure which can never be exposed in front of foolish people. Supporing this siddhānta-vicāra we can find the following ślokas from Upaniṣads:
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23)
The Supreme Lord can never be obtained by an expert speaker, refined intelligence, or even by so much hearing; He is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person, He manifests His own form.
śravaṇāyāpi bahubhiryo na labhyaḥ
śṛṇvanto’pi bahavo yaṃ na vidyuḥ
āścaryo vaktā kuśalo’sya labdhā
āścaryo jñātā kuśalānuśiṣṭaḥ
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.7)
There are many who have not even heard of the ātma, and of those who hear about ātma, many cannot comprehend. Most rare is such a wonderful, realized soul who can speak of ātma, but still more rare are suitable candidates who can hear about ātma-tattva and ultimately realize this from the heart.
The ever-fresh example of the complete dedication of Śrī Kureśa unto the Lotus feet of the great guru Śrī Rāmānujācārya should be discussed for our absolute benefit. He risked his life to go in front of the notorious demon king of Madhuri, Vidwad Jan Kolahal, in the guise of Śrī Rāmānujācārya to save Gurudeva from danger because he was always ready to sacrifice his own life for Gurudeva. That kind of Idealism is really very very rare. The stolen Bodhāyana-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra was kept secretly at Sarada Maṭha in the Himālayan hills (on the way to Bhadrinath) by those Śaṅkara-māyāvādis. Ultimately, it was rescued from that āśrama by Śrī Rāmānujācārya and Kureśa by the mercy of Śrī Nṛsiṁhadeva, but regretfully, that bhāṣya was again taken away forcefully by some hooligans employed by those Māyāvādis from Sarada Maṭha. Śrī Rāmānujācārya was feeling disappointed, but Kureśa, the great guru-sevāka, was successful to memorize the whole Bodhāyana-bhāṣya within that time. He aspired to rewrite the whole book as it is from memory for guru-sevā, based on the desire of Śrī Rāmānujācārya to write a corresponding bhāṣya on Vedānta sutra.
The ideal guru-sevā of Kureśa is a rare example for us all. We are always in confusion to detect a genuine guru-sevāka or sādhu. Logical interpretation cannot stand in the way of the Absolute Truth, but we always forget this vital point. As per external calculations we cannot perceive that Śrīla Prabhupāda was busy to serve his Gurudeva (Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja), though his Gurudeva was highly satisfied with his guru-gaura-vani-sevā. However, any external exhibition of guru-sevā by somebody to gather lābha-pūjā-pratiṣṭhā can come to a harsh ending, though such a personality may enjoy material popularity all over the world.
Gaura Hari Hari Bol