All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga
(By the causeless mercy of Guru Gaudiya)
(Edited by Shri Shyam Das Baba)
Almost in all śāstras such judgment of sat and asat can be found. Not only those Vaiṣṇavas or paramartik group, but also any religious sampradāya, they all thinking about the judgment of sat and asat, even those general ethical sampradāyas—they also thinking about the judgment of sat and asat. But there is a havoc difference of view which can be found on this topic of sat and asat among them. Why? That is the vital question. What is sat? What is asat? Sat means ever existing object and asat means which is not ever existing object (temporary) or not at all existing, that means sat is eternal and asat is non eternal. As per ethical judgment, those who are not drinking wine or not taking opium or ganja or who is not stealing or not cheating or not going to take the association of wife of others or not speaking lie or maybe going to give donation to others or going to find some solution for those who are in trouble, usually they are treated as sat, but as per the fine judgment of paramartik group (or Vaiṣṇavas) maybe that man can be proved to be topmost asat personality. Such a very big (famous) personality who is from that ethical sampradāya group like Socrates—who is a very good ancient philosopher told that— “There cannot be any standard judgment on the topic– sat and asat, because both the words–sat und asat are relative terms, I mean relative terminology. As per his comment, any particular object cannot be sat forever (for eternal period), again any particular object cannot be asat forever, I mean it cannot be so– that any particular object is only good and another particular object is only bad. An object can be detected as good or bad or I mean sat or asat based on any reference object or situation. “
But the judgment of those paramartik group (or Vaiṣṇavas) is totally different. Those paramartik groups (or Vaiṣṇavas) speaking that sat is eternally sat and only sat can be found inside sat, nothing else, I mean according to their judgment sat is eternally present and is itself complete (purna). The existence of asat can be found only in the background of maya, I mean just for the time being the existence of any asat vastu can be felt but surely unstable by nature or sometime even the existence cannot be found except the concept. Who is at present standing on the platform of asat, when he can feel inspiration by watching the idealism of sat to get established in the absolute vichar of sat, then he can also leave the present unstable existence to become sat.
We can get the advice of avoiding asat saṅga in Śrīmad Bhagavatam and in other sastras and also in the speech of Śrīman Mahaprabhu. Now before avoiding asat-saṅga, first question can come about who is asat or what is asat? As per Śrīman Mahaprabhu –
asat-saṅga-tyāga, — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra
‘strī-saṅgī’ — eka asādhu, ‘kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra (Cc Madhya 22.87)
“A Vaiṣṇava should always avoid bad association (asatsanga). Common people are very much materially attached, especially to women, they are asat. And also Vaiṣṇavas should avoid the company of those who are non-devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, because they are also asat.
To avoid asat-saṅga is the most vital Vaiṣṇava acchar or etiquette. As per Śrīman Mahaprabhu asat can be divided into two parts—
1., strī-saṅgī — eka asādhu
2., kṛṣṇābhakta’ āra
I mean those who are busy with woman association– they are asādhu or asat and those non- devotees of Kṛṣṇa they are also asat.
Now we have a clear definition of what is called asat. On hearing the advice of sat saṅga and the advice to avoid asat saṅga from śāstra, the kind of apparent judgment we are going to accept about sat and asat which is almost an abstract or nirvishes-bhava, Śrīman Mahaprabhu by eliminating that bhava has given a concrete or personified definition of asat. Śrīman Mahaprabhu says—strī –saṅgi is asat, now who is strī –saṅgi that is the main question. As per encyclopedia the other meaning of strī is yosa (an object of material enjoyment). This yosa can come in our life in the form of labha-puja-pratiṣṭhā-etc. or in the form of a woman body. I mean yosid saṅga can come in our life as kamini yoshid, kanchan yoshid or pratiṣṭhā yoshid etc.
Also another part of asat is kṛṣṇa-abhakta. Kṛṣṇa-abhakta means an indication of those impersonalists. Who they are? Those who never confess the eternal existence of the Absolute personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His eternal līlā vilas etc. As per Śrīman Mahaprabhu, they are number one asat. As per ethical judgment– maybe they are going to prove themselves as topmost sat. But as per Śrīman Mahaprabhu they are topmost asat (those māyāvadi sampradāya of Kasi Vārāṇasī). As per external judgment their idealism of avoiding strī-saṅga (woman association) is not a matter of comparison or I mean incomparable with anybody or any group, maybe they can be given the topmost position in this respect. As per kaupīna panchak stottra by Shankar Acharya they always recite the following verse—
vedāntavākyeṣu sadā ramanto
bhikṣānnamātreṇa ca tuṣṭimantaḥ .
viśokamantaḥkaraṇe carantaḥ
kaupīnavantaḥ khalu bhāgyavantaḥ (Kaupīna Panchakam – Verse 1)
Roaming ever in the insights of Vedanta, ever pleased with his beggar’s morsel, wandering onward, his heart become free from sorrow, blest indeed is the wearer of the loincloth.
But anyway, they are the topmost yoshit sangi. But they cannot realize this point because they like to take away (snatch) the post of Brahma. “Aham brahmasmi”— “I am Brahma” — this is their only slogan. Comparatively Jagāi and Mādhāi– they are far better than them, though they are found always busy with all different kinds of sinful activities, but still at least they are not kapat, they never like to snatch the post of Brahma. Those māyāvadis are number one kapat. Śrīla Kṛṣṇa das Gosvāmī has written—
ajñāna-tamera nāma kahiye ‘kaitava’
dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa-vāñchā ādi saba (Cc Ādi 1.90)
The darkness of ignorance is called kaitava, the way of cheating, which begins with religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation.
tāra madhye mokṣa-vāñchā kaitava-pradhāna
yāhā haite kṛṣṇa-bhakti haya antardhāna (Cc Ādi 1.92)
The foremost process of cheating is to desire to achieve liberation by merging into the Supreme, for this causes the permanent disappearance of loving service to Kṛṣṇa.
Sādhu-saṅga is the most powerful means to attain the supreme goal bhagavad-bhakti (amṛta). Śrīla Jiva Gosvāmīpad has written in Bhakti Sandarbha that— “byasanardanativra roti rasa” bhava can be attended unto the Lotus Feet of Hari-Guru-Vaiṣṇava. A pure sādhu never like to increase money power or never like to increase manpower, I mean never like to increase the number of people in his group, he always waiting and watching how exclusively a jiva-attma going to improve his consciousness, so that he can offer that jiva-attma unto the Lotus Feet of Kṛṣṇa as puṣpāñjali.
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Jagad Guru told that—“If the whole world going to leave me, even those who have played a drama to reach me, if they all one by one going to leave me, still I will not feel nervous to sing the glories of that absolute truth fearlessly by standing under the umbrella like shelter of Śrī Gurūpadapadma up to the last moment of my life”.
Gaura Hari Hari Bol