Krsna Das
13 January 2010, 04:16 AM
Hare Krsna ! Please accept my dandavat pranamas !
All glories to SriSri Radha-Krsna, our Guru-Varga and Vaisnavas !
FYI, the foundation on which our Sampradaya (also ISKCON) is based can be described in the following verse:
आराध्यो भगवान् ब्रजेश तनय: तद्धाम वृन्दावनं
रम्यकाचिद उपासना व्रज-वधु वर्गेण या कल्पिता
श्री मद भागवतम प्रमाणमलम प्रेम पुमर्थो महान
श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभोर मतम इदं तत्र आदरो न: पर:
ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeça tanayas taddhäma vrndävanam
ramyä käcid upäsanä vrajavadhü vargena yä kalpitä
çsé mad bhägavatam pramänam amalam prema pumärtho mahän
çré caitanya mahäprabhor matam idam taträdaro nah-parah
1. ärädhyo - The word itself means devotional service or Bhakti (Aradhana). Therefore, all other processes of attaining the Supreme Personality, like astanga-yoga, advaitism, niskama-karma, dhyan-yoga etc have been refuted. Aradhana/Bhakti only, not any other process.
2. bhagavän - Devotional service to whome? To Indra? Mangalmurti Sri Ganesh? to Devi Bhagwati? NOPE ! answer comes - "Bhagwan" - meaning devotion only to Supreme Personality of Godhead, not to any other devtas, gandharvas, yaksas etc.
3. vrajeça tanaya - But devotional service to which incarnation (swaroop) of Bhagwan? The four handed Lord Visnu? Lord Ram-candra? Lord Vamandeva? NO, they are not our upasya-tattva. Our upasya-tattva is the son of Nanda Maharaj only. (vrajeça tanaya).
4. taddhäma vrndävanam - Devotional service only to Sri Krsna, that's fine. But Krsna in which bhava? The one who is Dwarika-dhesa (King of dwarika) ? Mathuresa-Krsna (King of Mathura) ? Or Krsna in the mood of a rathi (charioteer) of Arjuna? - answer is NOPE, they are not our upasya-tattva. WHY? are they not Krsna? - Yes they are definately Krsna and we offer our unlimited dandavat pranamas to all these moods, but they are NOT our upasya-tattva. Our upasya-tattva is Krsna, but the one who in the mood of a cowherd boy (madhurya-bhava) in Sri Vrndavan Dham - he alone is our object of devotional service. [SAMBANDHA-TATTVA]
5. ramyä käcid upäsanä vrajavadhü vargena yä kalpitä - So Vrindavan-vihari-Krsna is our upasya-tattva, that's fine. But in which mood are WE? In the aisvarya-bhava like Prahlad Maharaj? In the servital mood like that of Sri Hanuman? In the mood of similar to that of Arjuna (Sakya-Bhava)? - NOPE, that is not our upasana-tattva. Our upasana-tattva is devotional service in the mood of gopis (vraja-vadhü) of Vrndavan - Only that mood, not others. [ABHIDEYA-TATTVA] supposed to worship him
6. çsé mad bhägavatam pramänam amalam - OK. ACCEPTED. But what is the pramana (proof) that the process mentioned above is sanctioned by the vedic literature? answer is - Pramana is Sri Mad Bhagwatam itself, the crest-jewel (mukut-mani) of vedic literature, which propounds the pure-unalloyed-bhakti only as the Supreme Process and rejects others processes which are counted as filth (mala) by the devotees (amalam). [AMNAYA-TATTVA]
7. prema pumärtho mahän -So what will the soul (Jiva) gain by such process? What is the goal of this process? - answer comes - PremaThat prema is our ONLY goal. [PRAYOJANA-TATTVA] (Unconditional-divine-love) which is capable of bounding Sri Bhagwan himself will be attained.
8. çré caitanya mahäprabhor matam idam - Fine. But who is the authority to propund this sidhhanta (mata) as the Supreme process in Bhagwatam itself? Answer - It is Krsna himself in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu -he alone has given this sidhhanta to us.
9. tatr-ädaro - Since this sidhhanta is given by Krsna himself, so we offer our utmost respects (adar) to this sidhanta and consider this sidhhanta alone, to be Supreme of all.
10. Nah-parah - But what about OTHER sidhhantas/darsan-sastra or philosophies (Advaitism/Panca-devopasana/Karma-Yoga/Astanga-Yoga)? Do we not acknowledge them also as the path to attain Godhead? answer is - Nah Parah - NOPE, any other philosophy which does not confirm to the one mentioned above, we DO NOT offer any respect to any such Sidhhanta.
=======================
I hope this thread will clarify our Sidhhanta in the minds of the readers and also answer that why sometimes gaudiya-vaisnavas or ISKCONIT'es behave in a peculiar way, when it comes to other sampradayas.
=======================
Hare Krsna !
All glories to SriSri Radha-Krsna, our Guru-Varga and Vaisnavas !
FYI, the foundation on which our Sampradaya (also ISKCON) is based can be described in the following verse:
आराध्यो भगवान् ब्रजेश तनय: तद्धाम वृन्दावनं
रम्यकाचिद उपासना व्रज-वधु वर्गेण या कल्पिता
श्री मद भागवतम प्रमाणमलम प्रेम पुमर्थो महान
श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभोर मतम इदं तत्र आदरो न: पर:
ärädhyo bhagavän vrajeça tanayas taddhäma vrndävanam
ramyä käcid upäsanä vrajavadhü vargena yä kalpitä
çsé mad bhägavatam pramänam amalam prema pumärtho mahän
çré caitanya mahäprabhor matam idam taträdaro nah-parah
1. ärädhyo - The word itself means devotional service or Bhakti (Aradhana). Therefore, all other processes of attaining the Supreme Personality, like astanga-yoga, advaitism, niskama-karma, dhyan-yoga etc have been refuted. Aradhana/Bhakti only, not any other process.
2. bhagavän - Devotional service to whome? To Indra? Mangalmurti Sri Ganesh? to Devi Bhagwati? NOPE ! answer comes - "Bhagwan" - meaning devotion only to Supreme Personality of Godhead, not to any other devtas, gandharvas, yaksas etc.
3. vrajeça tanaya - But devotional service to which incarnation (swaroop) of Bhagwan? The four handed Lord Visnu? Lord Ram-candra? Lord Vamandeva? NO, they are not our upasya-tattva. Our upasya-tattva is the son of Nanda Maharaj only. (vrajeça tanaya).
4. taddhäma vrndävanam - Devotional service only to Sri Krsna, that's fine. But Krsna in which bhava? The one who is Dwarika-dhesa (King of dwarika) ? Mathuresa-Krsna (King of Mathura) ? Or Krsna in the mood of a rathi (charioteer) of Arjuna? - answer is NOPE, they are not our upasya-tattva. WHY? are they not Krsna? - Yes they are definately Krsna and we offer our unlimited dandavat pranamas to all these moods, but they are NOT our upasya-tattva. Our upasya-tattva is Krsna, but the one who in the mood of a cowherd boy (madhurya-bhava) in Sri Vrndavan Dham - he alone is our object of devotional service. [SAMBANDHA-TATTVA]
5. ramyä käcid upäsanä vrajavadhü vargena yä kalpitä - So Vrindavan-vihari-Krsna is our upasya-tattva, that's fine. But in which mood are WE? In the aisvarya-bhava like Prahlad Maharaj? In the servital mood like that of Sri Hanuman? In the mood of similar to that of Arjuna (Sakya-Bhava)? - NOPE, that is not our upasana-tattva. Our upasana-tattva is devotional service in the mood of gopis (vraja-vadhü) of Vrndavan - Only that mood, not others. [ABHIDEYA-TATTVA] supposed to worship him
6. çsé mad bhägavatam pramänam amalam - OK. ACCEPTED. But what is the pramana (proof) that the process mentioned above is sanctioned by the vedic literature? answer is - Pramana is Sri Mad Bhagwatam itself, the crest-jewel (mukut-mani) of vedic literature, which propounds the pure-unalloyed-bhakti only as the Supreme Process and rejects others processes which are counted as filth (mala) by the devotees (amalam). [AMNAYA-TATTVA]
7. prema pumärtho mahän -So what will the soul (Jiva) gain by such process? What is the goal of this process? - answer comes - PremaThat prema is our ONLY goal. [PRAYOJANA-TATTVA] (Unconditional-divine-love) which is capable of bounding Sri Bhagwan himself will be attained.
8. çré caitanya mahäprabhor matam idam - Fine. But who is the authority to propund this sidhhanta (mata) as the Supreme process in Bhagwatam itself? Answer - It is Krsna himself in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu -he alone has given this sidhhanta to us.
9. tatr-ädaro - Since this sidhhanta is given by Krsna himself, so we offer our utmost respects (adar) to this sidhanta and consider this sidhhanta alone, to be Supreme of all.
10. Nah-parah - But what about OTHER sidhhantas/darsan-sastra or philosophies (Advaitism/Panca-devopasana/Karma-Yoga/Astanga-Yoga)? Do we not acknowledge them also as the path to attain Godhead? answer is - Nah Parah - NOPE, any other philosophy which does not confirm to the one mentioned above, we DO NOT offer any respect to any such Sidhhanta.
=======================
I hope this thread will clarify our Sidhhanta in the minds of the readers and also answer that why sometimes gaudiya-vaisnavas or ISKCONIT'es behave in a peculiar way, when it comes to other sampradayas.
=======================
Hare Krsna !