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EDITORIAL  Sree Krishna Chaitanya SUBMITTED BY PREMAVATAR DAS  EDITORIAL, Dec 12 (VNN) — An Essay by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati ThakurThis year Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's disappearance day is commemorated on December 13th. In honour of 'The Lion Guru' we have just added a selection of portraits of His Divine Grace at the newly opened photo library at www.vaisnava.com, as well as an audio recording in mp3 format of Sri Prabhupada-padma Stavakah', the famous hymn written in praise of Srila Saraswati Thakur by his disciple Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaj. Below is the first part of a rare essay written by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati in 1932. The whole text (and several others written by the Vaisnava Acharyas) is available at www.vaisnava.com. FOREWORD TO SREE KRISHNA CHAITANYA' (A book written by Nisikanta Sanyal, published by the Gaudiya Math in 1933) MEN of culture are often found to devote themselves in acquiring knowledge of various subjects which could prove effiœcacious to them in their needs; so we may not confuse to accept all readers in the same line of thought. The best scrutinisers of knowledge in their cultural extension should possess all skill and dexterity to get their most covetable end having had a care for Eternity and uninterrupted Blissful unalloyed Knowledge. This incarnate of the acme of knowledge-seekers will be the best reader of this book when they can have the privilege of comparing the merits of different views of pure theists. Mental speculationists have diverse objects of investigation and their diversity of seeking Knowledge would simply disturb the peaceful mentality having been tempted by the duping features of external manifestations, quite suitable and dove-tailing the present purposes of enjoyment by their imperfect senses. The writer has got the prime object of furnishing a comparaœtive study in which the position of a reader has the highest place. This is his only ambition, of healing the depraved mentality of the so-called culturists of True Knowledge. But the readers have different motives of utilising the product of their enterprise of perusing the book. One class of readers are found to criticise the merits and demerits of the writer in order to establish their superiority, with a view to puff up their vanity. Another class is observed to muse over the subject by spending their time for the gratification of their senses. The third section of readers mean to profit by reading the book in order to regulate their Fife for a better purpose. The under-estimation of a desirable element for some utilisation through temporal gratification of senses, would not equipoise the third position of the reader who will surely mark the distinctive situation by comparing other things and agree with the author in spending his valuable time for true amelioration. The body of the book will appear before readers as a historiœcal account of the Journey of life of a Hero. But the Hero is not an ordinary mundane hero for a hallucinative ambition with a spiritual tinge. The account will no doubt show that the targeted Object of the manifestive spiritual world is Eternal and identical with the Hero of the speaker. Hasty conclusions will be pouring forth to oppose this by welcoming anthropomorphic and apotheotic thoughts. The delineations will prove that the Object pointed to is beyond the comprehension of crippled senses. And the Absolute Eternity made up of Pure Knowledge and Incessant bliss is never to be had within the compass of our senses. All objects of the phenomena which are comprehended by senses have temporal situation and deformed entity void of different 'qualities' that are always submissive to senses. Sree Krishna-Chaitanya's inculcations of the Personality of Godhead cannot be restricted to or accused as Idolatry. Idols are constructed of mundane materials and are subject to the inspection of senses. The Eternal Absolute does not exactly submit to these senses, as He does not put Himself as a shareholder of phenomenal things. Whichever comes under senses has equal value with one of Nature's products and forms to be a subject of the jurisdiction of senses. The Eternal Absolute is inconceivable by limited senses. The partially eclipsed views of the Absolute are shaky, non-absolute, liable to transformation and under the clutch of the span of Time. The physical limitations are all accommodated in Space, Time and particular entities. The naming of the Transcendental Absolute through the lips of a mundane agent will surely seek after a size, a colour, etc., and must undergo the ocular examination. The Transcendental Absolute should in no case submit to our dermal perceptions, neither to our nasal or lingual activities as well. The Transcendental Sound has got a distinctive denomination from mundane sounds which often tend to submit to the test of other senses. As the Transcendental Sound has not been originated in mundane phenomena, He will not be diffident in showing His true phase whose manifestive realisations are identical with the Name Himself. In that case the essence of such Sound would not permit the different entities of the same Object; as we find in phenomenal objects tracings of numerical base instead of the inteœgral unit. The differential values are integrated in the Transcenœdence. So there is indication of One Object by the dinning of the etherial vibrations in different positions. These sounds converge in One Point Who is known as the Absolute. This Absolute is on the Eternal plane of All-Knowledge and Incessant Bliss and can have manifestive Absolute phases with Him. If the various sounds are put into this chaotic plane, there is no reconciliation of a synthetic method. This unharmonising tendency will surely bring a contendœing and unpleasant atmosphere which we experience everyday. The uneclipsed phase of the Integral Sound will not in any case bring rupture, but harmonise the contending phase due to the interœvention of foreign intrusion. The demarcating lines of comprehendœing the same thing through the chambers of senses would lead to mundane enjoyment; whereas the ignorance of enjoying things through limited scope would put the enjoyer within the barriers. When the Observer is One, He sees everything and exercises all His Senses for His Own gratification. But the servitors who are fractional entities cannot have any harmonious situation unless all of them have got one aim of being predominated over by the Absolute. The question of relativity does not become a barrier, as we notice such deformities in these phenomena which are subject to Individuality, Space and Time. This situation, solving the difficulties of mundane relativity and Absolute, has been finally settled by the Transcendental unspotted manifestive phase, instead of wrongly Inculcating a hallucinative theory of Absolute by negativing the conception of diversities. The numerical situations of the different entities here have got a relative representation which is certainly condemnable for its undesirability. The glaring desirable features of relativity as deliœneated in the Transcendence should not be anthropomorphised by our poverty-stricken knowledge and narrow views of phenomenal disorders. In the Absolute Region we find descriptions of mutual Manifestive phases, the Master there being One with millions of servitors of four different classes. We further notice the Absolute as the Eternally Blissful Son of the Entity of Unalloyed Knowœledge. The Absolute Friend is the Cynosure of all friendly eyes, as the Single Object of friendship. He is the Consort of dependœing consorts and is the Predominating Singular Object of unalloyed love of predominated objects. Whereas, in the munœdane plane we find many predominating agents together with predominated sentients. People need not puzzle themselves with the ascription of a motherly idea in the Supreme Absolute, as the seeming features of parents here have got a dignified position which is nothing but a perverted conception of the Real manifestive Absolute. Moreover we find that the parents get the opportunity of serving their only coveted child from His very Birth in different capacities. So the Eternal position of the Master is retained intact from the very Advent of the Child. If we are to accept services from the Lord, Whom we have to render our service, we are simply misled. The Divine Absolute should not be classed as our servitor, as our eternal position, is to render our all-time and whole-hearted services to Him alone. A deviation from this will be tampering the very principle of transcendental devotion. The author has wisely delineated these crucial points in the Instructive Life of the Supreme Lord. (The complete text is available at www.vaisnava.com) Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
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