Quotes – Dhāma-tattva

There are some devotees who write big, big books about the dhāma – about Vṛndāvana, Purī, Māyāpura – but they’re actually offenders to the higher Vaiṣṇavas. They may know some pastimes, they may know about some special places that nobody else has heard about before – but to be honest, I would rather go with whatever little I have heard about the dhāma from Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja than read anything written by an aparādhī.

I wouldn’t take directions from such people to find a bathroom. what to say of the dhāma?

Who can match Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s sentiments about Vṛndāvana? Who can match his attachment to the holy dhāma? He even threatens to kill someone if they try to take him out of Vṛndāvana! But we’re always looking for a train ticket out of here! After a few months we want to go somewhere else…

Vṛndāvana is a place where your devotional service is magnified a thousand times. Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say like that. It means that if you do one āratika in Vṛndāvana, that is like doing a thousand āratikas in Eugene, New York, London or Rome. If you cook one offering here, you can get the benefit of cooking a thousand offerings somewhere else.
Similarly, if you do nonsense here, you’ll get the reaction a thousand times more. If you break the principles in a foreign country, then that will make some disturbance for you, but you can recover. You do some nonsense in Vṛndāvana, you will become a hog in your next life. That is severe!
Therefore, we do not recommend Vṛndāvana as a place to live – it is a place to serve! So you may come to live here, but in which way will you live here? Full service attitude is necessary. Full service attitude!

Recently, I heard ____ say, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana!” His excuse was that it’s too noisy, too dirty, too many people, all these things. Yeah, those things drive me crazy as well, and you’ve heard me complain over the years a ton of times about how things have deteriorated in Vṛndāvana. I spent many years living in the Vraja and yes, it has changed and not for the better. But Vṛndāvana is Vṛndāvana and we are all connected to Vṛndāvana. We have a heart-connection to Vṛndāvana, which is why it pains us to see so many crazy things going on there. But did you ever hear me say, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana”? Sure, you’ve heard me say, “I don’t like what’s going on in Vṛndāvana” Anyone with half a brain or a heart will say the same thing. But, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana??” That’s like a devotee saying, “I don’t like Kṛṣṇa!”

So when I hear a devotee say that, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana” or they avoid coming to Vṛndāvana because of this or that…that’s not a healthy sign. That means they don’t really understand the holy dhāma and they see it as just a mundane place in North India! It’s true that Vṛndāvana is a state of mind and wherever we are, we can make our home or temple into Vṛndāvana – but that’s no excuse to avoid coming to the dhāma.

All these big mahānts in Vṛndāvana are talking rāsa-līlā, rāsa-līlā, rāsa-līlā, and meanwhile there are signs for abortion clinics popping up at the Vṛndāvana bus stand, a Macdonalds on the Mathurā highway and liquor shops in the dhāma. What the hell is that? All the mahānts are talking līlā, līlā, līlā, and all the people are going to hell! They’re all so proud about who has seen Kṛṣṇa and who is talking about the highest topic, but they cannot even save the people they are talking to from the basic sufferings of this material world. They’re too busy trying to pose as some super-enlightened beings who have transcended this world, and this is a heavy contributor to the external problems that we see in Vṛndāvana today.

Some people hear this, shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh anyhow, Kṛṣṇa is there!” Okay, so then when you drive, why do you wear a seat belt? Why put your hand on the steering wheel? Why not just sit in the car and push on the gas? It’s ok – Kṛṣṇa is there, right? Yes! Kṛṣṇa is there to watch you run straight into a truck and die! Kṛṣṇa gave you a brain. Use it! He gave you ears – pay attention! It’s not written anywhere that in order for Kṛṣṇa to be here, Vṛndāvana MUST be run down and the kuṇḍas MUST be full of algae. Devotees should do dhāma-sevā, maintain things nicely and keep the kuṇḍas clean. But because of ignorance and not knowing what to do in the environment, the people here have been doing the wrong things for the last one-hundred years. What I am saying about the environment, every sādhu should also be telling as part of their hari-kathā, but they’re not. They’re just singing, “Kṛṣṇa jinkā nām hai” or “Rādhe! Rādhe!” and all this stuff, and meanwhile māyā is coming into Vraja in every possible way. Nobody wants to say it, but there’s a huge amount of ignorance here.

Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us a warning. He said “Kṛṣṇa is not in Loi Bazaar” But if you look on a map, you will see that Loi Bazaar is almost in the centre of Vṛndāvana in an area called the rāsa-sthalī, where Kṛṣṇa performed many of His love pastimes with the gopīs. So actually, Loi Bazaar is situated in a very secret area. But what we see is all prauḍha-māyā – a covering. It’s only floating on the top. Vṛndāvana can be a scary place with mad street dogs, lot’s of pigs, cows on the streets and shops to buy sarees, dhotis, and japa bags.

But we must try to give some attention as to what is actually Vṛndāvana, What is the nature of this place? What should be the feeling in Vṛndāvana? How should we try to live in Vṛndāvana? What is vṛndāvana-bhajana? How should we do vṛndāvana-bhajana? Who are the residents of Vṛndāvana? What are these things from a substantial point of view? You have to jump off and swim deeper if you actually want to understand what is Vṛndāvana. If we give too much attention to the rickshaw-wallahs, the pigs in the street, the monkeys and all these things, we will not actually be able to understand what is Vṛndāvana. We will be distracted by māyā.

It doesn’t matter who is here in Vṛndāvana, it’s still Vṛndāvana. In our āśrama in South India, if we packed everything up. took the Deities and moved out, it would just become rice fields again. But you can’t change Vṛndāvana and make it not Vṛndāvana. You can make a mess of it, but underneath it’s still Vṛndāvana.

Now that the economy is on the rise in India, we see a lot of people with money pouring into Vṛndāvana. When there’s a lot of money, people want to enjoy it.

Some places even offer Jacuzzi, tennis courts and swimming pools in Vṛndāvana. Then, it’s better you go to Goa! If you want swimming pools, Jacuzzis and tennis courts, why bother coming here? Go to Goa, go to Kerala, go to Monte Carlo, go to the Andamans, go to the Maldives. Don’t come to Vṛndāvana to enjoy!

Nowadays the fashion is to buy land in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. One devotee bought land in Rādhā-kuṇḍa thirty years ago and had the keys to a small hut there. Prabhupāda heard about that and was absolutely furious and that devotee never returned to that property for the rest of his life. Many years later, he tried to give the land to Govinda Mahārāja, but Govinda Mahārāja told him, “No, no – we cannot live at Rādhā-kuṇḍa. We can live at Govardhana.” Now we hear of so many people that are buying land and living at Rādhā-kuṇḍa…

The actual mood of Vṛndāvana is vipralambha, separation, not union. I personally heard once, with my little insignificant ears, Śrīla Prabhupāda say that, “When the exalted devotees come to Śrī Vṛndāvana, they feel great separation.” But when the neophyte goes, he is very happy and he is taking more lassi, eating more rasagulas, purchasing cake, talking with so many people – but actually, this is not the mood of Vṛndāvana.

Vṛndāvana is not a place to show off material opulence by fancy dress or ornaments. It is not a place to engage in gossip or to engage is eating lavish things. Study of śāstra, chanting the Holy Name, doing devotional service and associating with senior Vaiṣṇavas are the only recommended activities for a devotee when visiting the holy dhāma. These things should be taken seriously otherwise it is not possible to please our previous ācāryas.

If we think that Vṛndāvana is “just another place in North India” or we simply go there to eat nice sweets and fill our bellies, or if we just go there to buy saris and dhotis, or we go there to make money and do business – this is all dhāma-aparādha. We cannot make any tangible advancement when we see Vṛndāvana-dhāma in such mundane terms.

Prabhupāda writes that when the liberated souls come to Vṛndāvana they do not feel enthused. They feel separation from the Lord. But we come here from the west and we feel enthused. Prabhupāda says that there is contamination out there, even while preaching. When we come to Vṛndāvana we want to be part of the big kīrtanas, take lots of prasadām, meet our old friends etc. but this is all very secondary in regards to why we are here and what is to be gained here. What is to be gained here is coming from a much deeper platform, and although we cannot see it, that is what is nurturing our soul. It is on the substratum.

If you’re coming to Vṛndāvana, come to do service! Dhāma-sevā…don’t come with an attitude to ‘enjoy’ the dhāma – just being a rubbernecker and coming for darśana, or stuffing your face with prasādam. If you’re coming with that sort of mentality you will be nowhere and you will make offences. All you will do is simply contribute to the sewage system there!

When Sarasvatī Ṭhākura went to Vṛndāvana, he came back and said, I could not find a Vaiṣṇava. He didn’t come back and say, Oh, the vraja-bhāva!! And that was 90 years ago, and it was in a much finer form – especially compared to now!
Vraja-bhāva does not show itself. Have you ever tried to open a coconut with your bare hands? You cannot do it! You cannot get through the husk. Then after the husk, there is a shell which is as hard as granite – it’s about a quarter-inch thick. So vraja-bhāva is like that – inside it is very sweet and very tender…we cannot imagine how sweet and tender it is. But those who have it put a granite layer around that, and another thick, thick husk. There is a qualification required for vraja-bhāva, and it begins with a life of sacrifice—giving up all selfishness.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s advice was that someone should come to Vṛndāvana in the mood of the Six Gosvāmīs. So one should study the literature and so forth…the mood of the Six Gosvāmīs. First we see that they are coming in a service mood, service attitude. And then, as we advance, we see that they are in a particular mood of service. Following the Six Gosvāmīs – we’re Rūpānugas, meaning followers of Rūpa Gosvāmī.

The residents of Vraja offer food to Kṛṣṇa, not because they know its sinful NOT to offer food to Him and eat bhoga – they offer food to Kṛṣṇa because they want to please Him. They are in such a plane of life and have so much love for Kṛṣṇa, that unless Kṛṣṇa has eaten and is fully satisfied, they cannot eat – they cannot even swallow! It is like when a loved one dies, it is very difficult to eat. Even when a great Vaiṣṇava leaves the world and we are to honour him and take prasādam, if we know that person closely, it is hard to swallow. So that is the mood of the residents of Vraja – jñāna-śunya-bhakti. They are free from any impetus created by knowledge.

Where is Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa Himself says He is in the hearts of His devotees.

Once, someone asked Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, “Where is Vṛndāvana? It is said that Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana – where is Vṛndāvana?”

Then Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja said, “Where is Vṛndāvana? Vṛndāvana is that place where we find the footprints of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.”

In other words, the Supreme Entity of Vṛndāvana is Vṛndāvaneśvarī, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana because Rādhārāṇī is always in Vṛndāvana. So he said, “Vṛndāvana is where we find the footprints of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.” Then he said, “I’ll give you one more hint…the Vaiṣṇavas carry the footprints of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī on their heads.”

So in this way, the devotees are given such importance…association with the devotees. By association with the prema-bhaktas, the Lord’s eternal servants, then we come in touch with that divine nectar of prema.

W

hen you go to Vṛndāvana, everyone shouts, Rādhe! Rādhe! and they are painting Rādhe! Rādhe! on signboards, telephone poles, walls – everything you can imagine! But Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja said, Dayāla Nitāi! Dayāla Nitāi! (Oh merciful Lord Nityānanda!). Actually you won’t find any of the superior devotees that we know of ever shouting out the name of Rādhārāṇī. Some people are surprised that Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja did not retire taking the name of Rādhārāṇī. He pointed out many advanced, subtle and beautiful points in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, but he did not withdraw from this world chanting, Rādhe! Rādhe!

We have heard that sometimes, if Sarasvatī Ṭhākura took the name of Rādhārāṇī, he would faint. Śukadeva Gosvāmī doesn’t even mention Rādhārāṇī directly, because if he did he would faint and wouldn’t wake up for six months – but other fools are riding up and down on rickshaws in Loi Bazaar shouting, Rādhe! Rādhe! – this is all a show! The higher things are not kept on the street!