Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ode to Sri Sri Babathakur


by Sri Dipak Patranabis






You showed us the path we should tread
As a Preacher par excellence saying what to shed
Ego is primary, in line are intellect and mind
We should move forward keeping all these behind.
You told us to adopt, adjust, absorb, accommodate
Love and endear all, have devotion and never hate
Even whom we consider enemy, for there is none
We should attain the state of the sky and of the sun
'Man' is naturally immortal, we have to bring that out
There are norms for that which we follow by being devout
To 'All Divine For All Time' You added 'As It Is'
We must identify ourselves with Truth, Consciousness and Bliss


In His Own Words: A Conversation With Eager Followers



The following conversation was recorded in English and appears as it was in the original:

[In early 1968 Sri Sri Babathakur moved into the residence late N. C. Chakraborty (Senior Advocate, Calcutta High Court) and his wife, late Srimati Bani Chakraborty and lived there until 1996. Srimati Bani Chakraborty, with the active support and encouragement of her husband, dedicated her life at the service of Sri Sri Babathakur. As a fiercely protective mother she took care of Him, as Iswar Atma Brahma Guru, with utmost love, affection, care and dedication. Srimati Chakraborty, however, was already spiritually initiated by Srimad Hansha Baba Abhadut when she met Sri Sri BabaThakur. Single-handedly fulfilling the responsibility of His bodily care, Srimati Chakraborty meticulously recorded the sayings, lectures, revealed songs (bhajans), the Divine ecstasies, and the numerous spiritual experiences of Sri Sri Babathakur for almost three decades. Her memoirs capturing her experiences with Sri Sri Babathakur first came out as a series in the spiritual quarterly, Sri Sanai, from 1982 onwards and were subsequently published in two volumes, SmritiGantha Volumes I (2003) and II (2009)].

13th January, 1974, Sunday: Many people come to see Sri Sri Babathakur in the weekends. Today the visitors are Suhrid Dasgupta, Saroj Kar, Uma Raychaudhuri (the writer's cousin), Mr. Menon, and Mr. Khandelwal. Sri Sri Babathakur engaged in a spiritual conversation with them and answered their questions. In course of the dialogue, Babathakur responded to a question posed by Mr. Menon as follows:

‘Though all individuals are potentially divine, yet they are not all conscious and aware of their true divine nature, owing to the fault of their own intellect. Intellect is inner nature which gets qualified by triple gunas, namely tamas, rajas, and sattva. Like gunas like samskaras. Of the three gunas the predominant one characterizes the samskaras. Innate nature of life is called swabhaba which is constituted by the guna which is predominating. That is why every individual differs from others and the cause of difference is the characteristic of predominating guna or quality. Other gunas remain subservient. Characteristic of guna is to dominate others. There is a triangular fight among them in order to get preponderant. According to the nature of guna, samskar of life takes shape and thereby individual behaves.

‘Men of tamasic nature characterize tamasic qualities mainly, those of rajasic nature characterize rajasic qualities mainly and men of sattvic qualities qualify sattvic qualities mainly. Human society consists of innumerable individuals of varying qualities according to their constitutional nature. Each individual strives to attain higher and better qualities. For that he/she has to struggle hard against so many contradictions, oppositions and demerits, which are verily the products of triple gunas. Of the triple gunas, rajasic and tamasic ones constitute the outer and lower nature called prakriti of life, while the sattvic one constitutes the inner nature called swabhava of life. Outer nature/prakriti constitutes the physical body and senses of life together with diversities of innumerable names and forms, which are the objects of enjoyment as well as the field of actions of the individuals. Hence, swabhava dwells on and rules over the lower nature/prakriti. Swabhava has got double functions, one with the lower nature called prakriti and the other with the upper nature, which is called swabodha, the inmost Self of life individual. In ordinary life swabhava is predominant. Among them some individuals, though small in number, tend to serve the upper nature swabodha in stead of lower one, prakriti. They characterize mainly trait of sattvic qualities. They possess superior qualities, divine qualities and act and behave with the help of such qualities. Seekers of truth, perfection and realization of life develop from men of all such sattvic divine qualities.

‘Besides the men of above mentioned nature, the rest or other men of the society, prompted by their inner-desire nature, follow the doctrine of action according to the integral need of their inner nature. They are mostly struggling agents meaning struggling for survival. Out of them, by natural course, men of refined qualities develop and they follow the super human and divine nature in and through the culture of darshan, vijnan, and dharma, the three in one and one in three, called the ultimate reality. By such culture they are capable enough to attain integral truth, perfection and realization. Realization means supreme Self identity and oneness with the Absolute.

‘Human nature, conditioned by triple gunas, gets refined very slowly in and through normal evolutionary process of both outer and inner nature. Evolutionary development of the physical nature follows that with the inner spiritual nature. Spiritual nature, being subtler than the outer physical nature, gets refined and purified rapidly in and through the cultivation of spiritual discipline under the guidance of a perfect Realizer (Sadguru). Those who are prompted by inner spiritual nature, seek perfection, realization and absolute freedom from the relative process of life. Individual life follows the relative process of life till the development of perfect dispassion, detachment and intensified urge for the perfection and realization of its infinite eternal immortal true divine nature, which is real identity with the Absolute Reaity ‘at-one-ment’. ‘

Menon — It is very difficult to attain such realization and perfection in the worldly life.

Babathakur — Yes, perfection and realization is always for the seekers of the best qualified nature and order no doubt, yet the supreme divine grace can make that difficult task easily accessible in and through regular attending real satsanga and most honestly and sincerely following the instructions and guidance of a perfect Master, who unfolds the supreme science of Divine Oneness in his own unique process in such a methodical and scientific way that the perfect and real seeker, only through listening to the words of the Master, immediately can grasp the implied meaning of the same and gets fully enlightened. Very rare is such a Master and such a seeker no doubt, the supreme realization and identity dawns on the heart of the seeker without any difficulty and rigorous sadhana. In fact, realization by no means is the result of sadhana but is already with each individual life as their true nature — ‘Self identity is I-Reality’ which is ever perfect, ever realized. But the individual has forgotten that owing to the fault of his own intellect. Only a perfect Master unfolds such Reality and makes the true seekers realize That instantaneously. Blessed is such a great soul who realizes His/Her real self-divine nature only through Guru’s grace. Real Guru alone is supreme Divine Self — verily Absolute I. Thus Self-I begets Self-I. This is the supreme glory of the Absolute Self-Guru, the eternal I-Reality.

At noon Babathkur took his leave and the rest left one by one after partaking of prasadam.

The passages above are excerpts from Smritigantha Vol. II (Garland of Memories), memoirs of Late Srimati Bani Chakraborty (Calcutta: Saccidananda Society, Manashi Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-81-86571-30-9; pp. 204-206)



The Concept of Bhakti in Hinduism


by Sri Ajit Halder

In Hinduism, Bhakti is an expression of love and adoration centered upon one’s personal God, Ishtadevata. Bhakti signifies the path preferred by a devotee as his/her religious act of worshipping the chosen God. Stated simply, Bhakti is the active involvement of a devotee in the worship of the divine. Two important ’Bhakti Texts’ may be cited to focus our attention on the true connotation of bhakti: sage Narada in his text ‘Narada Bhakti Sutra’ defines ‘bhakti’ as “intense love” for God and sage Shandilya in his ‘Bhakti Sutra’ defines ‘bhakti’ as intense “attraction” for God.

Bhakti emphasizes religious devotion and sentiment above ritual. As a devotional practice, it offers the convenience of gaining spiritual experience anywhere, at any time, by anyone who feels confident to receive the blessing of God. The ease with which God may be worshipped and reached following the path of bhakti may so influence the devotee to be wholly absorbed in adoring the deity, that he/she may miss out on other aspects of Bhakti. So the author attempts in this article to point out features of the Bhakti cult that makes the religious experience more rewarding.

It may be mentioned that the Bhakti movement developed in South India among the Vaishnava Alvars (3rd to 9th Century) and later on in Bengal (intensified by Sri Chaitanya in the 16th century) emphasizes the emotional attachment and love of a devotee toward his/her beloved deity. And it does not merely entail the act of worship performed by the devotee fervently wishing to receive the blessing of God (which is assured).

The Sanskrit word Bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, meaning "to worship". ‘Devotion’ is often used as an approximate English translation for Bhakti. However to gain a proper sense of Bhakti, the understanding of the English word Devotion should be expanded to include an important aspect of bhakti—the involvement of both the worshipper and the object of adoration, i.e. God. This sense of participation of the human and the divine is central to the relationship between the devotee and God. It stresses the direct personal experience of God to be gained by a devotee, and is typically associated with the word "love". Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same verb root bhaj.


Bhakti as a fond expression is sometimes used in the broader sense of reverence toward a spiritual teacher (Guru Bhakti) as it also appears in the compound word ‘Bhakti Marga’ used to describe a way for bhaktas (devotees) to reach the deity through prayer, singing of Bhajans or Nama Kirtan (devotional chanting of the holy name of the Lord). Thus the interpretation of bhakti goes beyond the act of "devotion", as Bhakti leads to the spiritual union with one’s chosen deity. In the following paragraphs the concept of Bhakti will be elaborated with reference to the Gita, the Bhagavat Purana, and the spiritual renaissance in Bengal initiated by Sri Chaitanya.

Bhakti in the Gita:

The Bhagavad Gita is the first expression of bhakti, with its concentration on the adoration of Vishnu (who appears in the work in the person of Sri Krishna). Bhakti as designating a religious path is the central concept in the Bhagavad Gita for union with God through Devotion. The Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with karma yoga and gnana yoga. The Gita asserts that bhakti towards Sri Krishna is the path to reach the highest goal of life, which is to be released from the rounds of ‘rebirth’ and gain union with God.

Sri Krishna utters in Chapter 9, verse 31 of the Gita - ‘Na me bhakta pranashyati’– he who adores me, i.e. Krishna, with bhakti will never perish. This profound yet simple formula (as words of promise received direct from the Lord) thereby assures the attainment of Moksha (salvation) by following the path of bhakti. Chapter 12 of the Gita provides a discussion on the practice of Bhakti Yoga as a religious act for worshiping God. In verses 6 and 7, Chapter 12 of the Gita, Lord Krishna offers clear guidance to Arjuna (and through him, the entire humankind) on how to attain Salvation: ‘Those who, lay all their actions on Me, intent on Me, meditate on Me, worship Me with unswerving devotion and those whose thoughts are set on Me, I straightway lead them to the attainment of union with the Absolute’. This is a convincing assurance from Lord Krishna that in Bhakti lies true Mukti, i.e. Release or Salvation from the misery of re-births into this world.

The Bhagavat Purana:

Aside from Bhagavad Gita, the other equally important text presenting bhakti beliefs is the Bhagavat Purana. This text expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities of a bhakti yogi.

These are: (1) shravana (‘listening’ to the scriptural stories of Krishna and his associates, (2) kirtana (chanting songs in praise of the Lord), (3) smarana (remembering or fixing the mind on Vishnu), (4) pada-sevana (rendering caring service), (5) archana (worshipping an image); (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) daasya (servitude), (8) saakhya (friendship) and (9) atma-nivedana (self-surrender). These nine facets of bhakti describe the path of systematized devotion to attain the highest spiritual goal, i.e. union with God. More on this will be found in the following discussion on Sri Chaitanya’s contributions to promote the cult of bhakti in Bengal

Sri Chaitanya – Chetana, Consciousness of Bengal:

Sri Chaitanya’s religion, bhakti and sweetness are relished as rasamrita, i.e. holy nectar. Our joy of tasting that nectar however will only be complete upon gaining an appreciation and understanding of Sri Chaitanya’s contributions to the rise of Vaishnavism in Bengal.

Sri Chaitanya was born as Bishambhar, the son of Jagannath Mishra and Sachi Devi of Navadvip, Bengal. Bishambhar grew up to be a great scholar of Nyaya Shastra, becoming known as Nemai Pandit and opening his own Tol (i.e. a school to learn the Shastras). Nemai’s fame as a learned man spread beyond the boundaries of Navadvip and attracted many students to his Tol. But a great change came to Nemai’s life during a trip he made to Gaya at the age of twenty-two. He went there to perform the ceremonial offering to the spirit of his departed father at Lord Vishnu’s temple, There he met Iswar Puri, accepted him as his Guru and became a Vaishnava – a man devoted in heart and life to the service of Krishna. At the place of Lord Vishnu in Gaya, there arose a great Vaishnava through a transformed Nemai.

Following his return to Navadvip, Nemai became the central figure of the local Vaishnava group and devoted himself wholeheartedly to chorus singing in praise of Krishna with the accompaniment of Khol (a type of percussion instrument) and Kartal (an instrument similar to a cymbal). Notice that the words Krishna, Kirtan, Khol and Kartal, all four ingredients of nama-kirtan, begin with the first two consonant sounds Ka and Kha of the Bengali alphabets. Does not this imply that nama-kirtan should be our first and foremost religious offering when worshipping Krishna with bhakti?

Through the introduction of nagar-sankirtan, Nemai created a new religious wave that swayed and almost submerged Shantipur, while the whole of Nadia was completely swept over by this religious current – ‘Shantipur Dubu Dubu Nadey Bhese Jaai’.

When Nemai was twenty-four years of age, he was initiated into sanyas by Madhava Puri in Katwa and assigned the new name of Krishna Chaitanya. – one who is full of Krishna consciousness. The Vaishnava community of Navadvip overwhelmed by Chaitanya’s bhakti and love for Krishna accepted him as their Mahaaprabhu - the great religious master. Chaitanya’s personality, his burning devotion to Krishna added much vitality to the bhakti cult and to Vaishnavism in Bengal and made it into a living movement which is still felt in the eastern part of India.

Sri Chaitanya restored religious, spiritual and social consciousness during the 15-16th century, a period of great religious decline in Bengal. By virtue of his personality and character, he revived the bhakti movement and introduced Harinam-samkirtan as a devotional act. Harinama-kirtan soothes the heart and purifies the soul, and the constant chanting of the Lord’s name creates a divine bond between the devotee (bhakta) and Lord Krishna. Singing Harinam with devotion enables the Bhakta to perceive Lord Krishna before him/her.

It is sincerely hoped that this article will inspire devotees to worship deities with bhakti, receive the bliss of God and feel spiritually uplifted.