Суд над Бхагавад-гитой / Attempt to ban Bhagavad-gita

Distribute books. Distribute books. Distribute books. But who is reading the books? Read books. Read books. Read books – but not to be book-wormish. Book-worms go through page after page of a book (or perhaps many books), but to what avail? They superficially ingest mouthfuls only to witlessly defecate upon the very pages so ingested, remaining totally oblivious to the essential rasa-maya import of the sastras. Without practically implementing by sensibly dedicating a substantial portion of life’s time and energy to the direct performance of yuga-dharma hari-nama-sankirtana with a view to achieving the pinnacle of rupanuga-bhajana, what individual or group of individuals can claim to have rightly comprehended and applied the devotional science enunciated in the scriptures proliferated by the Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas through disciplic succession?
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Dear prabhus,

I seldom if ever feel compelled to enter into the arena of preaching politics, as I more often than not prefer to simply go on with my humble attempt to cry out the Holy Name with a deepening sense of the need for much self improvement, hoping against hope that someone up there will condescend to show unprecedented mercy upon my withering and feeble insignificance. One of our 24 hour kirtana party members, however, brought your worthy dialogue to my attention, which has somehow prompted me to offer my two cents worth into the discussion. I hope you don’t mind. Here, as a matter of food for thought, are a few excerpted lines from something I had previously written along with a few end-notes. As it exceeds the per post character limit, I am posting it as two consecutive posts. Much more could and perhaps should be said from different angles of vision, but I am a very slow writer and so would hence much prefer to discuss at length when you will next trouble yourselves to come to Sri Dhama Vrndavana and personally sit with me.

It is an incontestable matter of fact that the mass distribution of transcendental literatures unfolding the principles of bhagavata-dharma for the propagation of raga-bhakti throughout the world is the number one missionary “business” of the Krsna consciousness movement. Only a dull-headed ecclesial anthropoid would speciously conclude otherwise. Still, it should be borne in mind that there is really no mundane dichotomy between the essential message of the scriptures so proliferated and the application of the primary methodology promoted by the scriptures themselves, the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. In fact, the main function of any scripture propagated by the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya is to convincingly induce the fallen souls to take up the practice of the yuga-dharma, hari-nama-sankirtana, without doing which, one could hardly expect to make much tangible spiritual progress in this present age. We should always remember that Veda Vyasa compiled and wrote down the scriptures with a view to facilitate the less intelligent, fallen people of this Age of Kali, who have relatively short memories and therefore require books as reference material. In previous yugas, there was no pressing need for the written word. The sruti-dharas upon hearing only once could immediately memorize for life the knowledge disseminated through guru-parampara, which specifically emphasized the appropriate process of self-realization appurtenant to the respective yuga circumstantially in progress. Given that scriptural texts were presented specifically for this present Age of Kali, it would be ludicrous to surmise that Vyasadeva’s ultimate conclusion would be in any way divergent from the interest of the kali-yuga-avatara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in the matter of widespread propagation of the currently appropriate yuga-dharma, the congregational singing of the Holy Name. One who with great effort obsequiously goes out to bear the task of transcendental book distribution without recognizing this essential intention of the scriptures is like an ass that, lacking much good sense, simply carries the burden of heavy loads of paper and ink.

Distribute books. Distribute books. Distribute books. But who is reading the books? Read books. Read books. Read books – but not to be book-wormish. Book-worms go through page after page of a book (or perhaps many books), but to what avail? They superficially ingest mouthfuls only to witlessly defecate upon the very pages so ingested, remaining totally oblivious to the essential rasa-maya import of the sastras. Without practically implementing by sensibly dedicating a substantial portion of life’s time and energy to the direct performance of yuga-dharma hari-nama-sankirtana with a view to achieving the pinnacle of rupanuga-bhajana, what individual or group of individuals can claim to have rightly comprehended and applied the devotional science enunciated in the scriptures proliferated by the Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas through disciplic succession?

The proliferation of transcendental literature is certainly the best advertising front of the Krsna consciousness movement. The idea is to canvass in such a way as to persuade human society’s literate intelligentsia to join the fold of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement on the basis of convincingly sound reason and philosophy. If there is an Absolute Truth and that Absolute Truth is an eternal, all-sentient, all-blissful, all-attractive Person possessed of infinite transcendental forms, qualities, and pastimes exhibiting His unlimited beauty, knowledge, wealth, power, fame, and supreme independence, as can be glimpsed through the scriptures – then certainly His absolute, self-same Holy Names should be deemed most sublime, venerable, and worthy of our individual and congregational total deference and loving surrender. Transcendental book distribution can be compared to a sakhi’s campaign to enlist new girls to become dedicated followers of Maha-bhava-svarupini, Sri Radhika. Certainly, no book distributor in the line of Rupa Gosvami would be caught dead canvassing on behalf of Candravali! Raga Manjari is perhaps the Lord’s best and most reliable messenger, having opted to become His vamsi flute. Knowing the purposes of her svamini’s inner heart, Raga Manjari serves, in the form of the flute, to mercifully break the resolve of Radha’s mana, or jealous pouting, forcefully facilitating the fruition of her mistress’s deepest desires to intimately satisfy Her beloved Syama. She similarly serves to satisfy Radha’s cupidity for expanding the sweet empire of Syama’s amorous diversions, by artfully calling all the new sadhana-siddha-gopis for maha-rasa at Vamsivata, near the Yamuna’s shore. The sadhana-siddha-gopis, possessed of their fully actuated sac-cid-ananda-siddha-deha and the adhikara for directly participating in Radha-Krsna’s prakata-lilas, having risen from the status of ordinary human beings, for the first time enter the sacrificial arena of confidential love dalliances with their beloved Lord through the Vamsivata “gateway” at the time of maha-rasa. It is said that Krsna’s flute, feeling acute pangs of separation from the Lord, manifested in Kali-yuga as Sri Mrdanga to participate in the Lord’s audarya-lilas. The mrdanga principle has expanded its influence by way of appearing as the brhat-mrdanga printing press, which facilitates mass production and proliferation of Vaisnava scriptures. Broadcasted bhagavata-katha by means of transcendental book distribution could, therefore, be suitably likened to the call of Krsna’s flute, which purposely serves to arouse intensified purva-raga, or preliminary attraction in the hearts of the damsels of Vraja. The mercifully extended flute-call (book distribution) magnetically allures the vraja-sundaris (fortunate souls) away from their so-called husbands (all superficially binding mundane considerations) to excitedly dash off to join the rasa dance festivities (hari-nama-sankirtana). Hence, they become progressively more and more qualified and inspired to enter deeply into the intimate nikunja-sevas of the Divine Couple (nama-japa). Again and again they anxiously hearken to the overtures of the flute (bhagavata-kathamrta) and become ever-more-irresistibly enchanted. Again and again they skillfully shake the shackles of household encumbrances to exuberantly sing and dance in rasa-lila delight (hari-nama-sankirtana) in order to transcendentally enrapture the Lord of all supra-mundane conjugal beatitude. Again and again they blissfully receive and personally serve the Divine Couple at their private pleasure groves within the all-enchanting forest of Vraja (hari-nama-japa).

What a disappointment! What a let-down! What a treachery! What a sham! If after so much canvassing, if after answering to so much flute-calling (transcendental book distribution), the excited vraja-sundaris (bhakta-gana) find, to their disillusionment, upon arriving at the rasa-mandala (the Hare Krsna movement), no rasa-lila festival (invigorating, publicly demonstrated hari-nama-sankirtana)! If, upon reading the advertisements (Vaisnava sastras) and expectantly joining Lord Caitanya’s hari-nama-sankirtana movement, having been philosophically persuaded [by reading the books] to faithfully surrender to the idea of prosecuting the yuga-dharma, hari-nama-sankirtana, one chances to notice a pitiful dearth of hari-nama-sankirtana painfully persisting among the vast majority of the movement’s members in most corners of the world, would one not wonder as to whether one had in fact actually found Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement of the Holy Name? Was it false advertising, or what? The vraja-gopis were not satiated by rasa dancing for the duration of an entire night of Brahma. Similarly, anyone who has gained a grain of regard for kali-yuga-dharma hari-nama-sankirtana would not very much appreciate the extent to which hari-nama-sankirtana has been side-lined and so irresponsibly de-emphasized over the years in Lord Caitanya’s hari-nama-sankirtana movement. Advertising and advertising . . . but what in the name of God are we advertising? Do we have any idea? Have we actually understood? Chanting, dancing, feasting, and philosophy. The philosophy in the books is basically to convince us to chant and dance. Feasting is to energize our chanting and dancing. Chanting and dancing is required for getting a taste for chanting and dancing. Chanting and dancing with a taste for chanting and dancing is actually required to progress to the position of ecstatically chanting and dancing on the stage of preliminary love of Godhead, bhava-siddhi. And chanting and dancing in spontaneous devotional ecstasy on the stage of bhava-siddhi is an absolute prerequisite for chanting and dancing in Lord Caitanya’s eternal prema-sankirtana-lilas in the spiritual sky.

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