Smarana and Purity of Heart - Discussion with Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaja

Babaji Maharaja: What?

Madhava: About meditation on our svarupa, and lila-smarana. The question is that, not my question but some devotees are asking, that it is quite hard to see yourself in your own svarupa. So perhaps what the acharyas have told, like the methods of meditation, are not sufficient for Western devotees, because Western devotee and Bengali devotee, Indian devotee, their minds are different. So whether...

Babaji Maharaja: Different mind are not a consideration. Bhakti is for all the world. Not Bengali, not Orissan, not U.P. person, there is no any such question. Bhakti is for all the universe. Therefore, Bengali or Western does no matter. Jiva Goswamipada has written that zuddhAntaH-karaNaz cet kIrtanAparityAgena smaraNaM kuryAt. If your heart is clean, then you do this smarananga-bhajana, remembering. And with remembering, you are of course chanting name, mala. zuddhantaH karanaz cet. Cet means if. If your heart is clean, then you – without avoiding the chanting of harinama – do smarana. Astakaliya-lila-memory. It is Goswamipada’s advice. There is no difference between a Bengali-man or a Western man. [laughs]

Madhava: For everyone.

Babaji Maharaja: By bhajan his heart becomes clean, my heart becomes clean, How do I understand that? You understand when your mind wants that astakaliya-lila. It is very nice, of course I will remember it.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: Up to now, your mind has great difficulty. It will not come that easily. And there is no such taste. Up to now, you bring your sravana-kirtana by force for bhajana. Then, when that taste will come, and your mind also enter into the pleasure and happiness of lila-smarana, that time you’ll do lila-smarana, no problem.

Madhava: Their question is that sometimes, for example...

Babaji Maharaja: Western, and here Indian, does not matter...

Madhava: Right. For example, someone may say that chanting one lakha of harinama is very troublesome, so maybe, because one time you told that if...

Babaji Maharaja: One time, you may take one lakha of harinama, or half lakha, or three lakhas, yet lila-smarana is another thing. Name chanting, when your heart is not clean, that time also you can chant three lakhas of harinama, no problem. But when it is a question of memory of lila, smarana, for that some purification of heart is necessary.

Madhava: Right. Right.

Babaji Maharaja: So at first become purified. You chant name, do puja, have sat-sanga and read your books, sravanam kirtanam, all these paths of bhajana-bhakti, and when your mind experiences pleasure, happiness and taste comes...

Madhava: Then svarupa comes.

Babaji Maharaja: Before that, you can practice a little bit, how your mind gradually enters that lila.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: But by force, thinking that sixty-four hours I will do this bhajana, that won’t...

Madhava: Will not work.

Babaji Maharaja: By ones own power it is not possible, that will come automatically.

Madhava: Right. So there is no short-cut. Some are thinking that because this bhajana-process is somewhat slowly going, dhire dhire, but we want to go very fast, that therefore we should find something different that will...

Babaji Maharaja: That is fast, but not your... like that, you cannot go fast. You try first, the sadhaka, but if the heart is not clean, then you cannot go fast, it is not possible. And if it is going fast, twenty-four hours taking harinama, and that with lila-smarana, then also that will be vidhi-bhakti, not raga-bhakti. Raga-bhakti, Jiva Goswamipada has written, raga-bhakti is with ruci. Ruci will come. You have no hunger, no appetite, and many kinds of all good food are there, but no hunger...

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: And when hunger is there, then comes ruci. When you see that food, then there is greed and ruci. When you like the taste of that lila-smarana, then ruci will come.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: Need, then there is a great need. Jiva Goswamipada has written that raga-bhajana is ruci.

Madhava: So the method, the bhajana-marga and the methods that acharyas have given, they are already the fastest method.

Babaji Maharaja: Yes.

Madhava: The best method.

Babaji Maharaja: Gradually, dhire dhire dhire.

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Watch the Video - Original transcript: [attachmentid=1739]

Babaji Maharaja: What?

Madhava: About meditation on our svarupa, and lila-smarana. The question is that, not my question but some devotees are asking, that it is quite hard to see yourself in your own svarupa. So perhaps what the acharyas have told, like the methods of meditation, are not sufficient for Western devotees, because Western devotee and Bengali devotee, Indian devotee, their minds are different. So whether...

Babaji Maharaja: Different mind are not a consideration. Bhakti is for all the world. Not Bengali, not Orissan, not U.P. person, there is no any such question. Bhakti is for all the universe. Therefore, Bengali or Western does no matter. Jiva Goswamipada has written that zuddhAntaH-karaNaz cet kIrtanAparityAgena smaraNaM kuryAt. If your heart is clean, then you do this smarananga-bhajana, remembering. And with remembering, you are of course chanting name, mala. zuddhantaH karanaz cet. Cet means if. If your heart is clean, then you – without avoiding the chanting of harinama – do smarana. Astakaliya-lila-memory. It is Goswamipada’s advice. There is no difference between a Bengali-man or a Western man. [laughs]

Madhava: For everyone.

Babaji Maharaja: By bhajan his heart becomes clean, my heart becomes clean, How do I understand that? You understand when your mind wants that astakaliya-lila. It is very nice, of course I will remember it.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: Up to now, your mind has great difficulty. It will not come that easily. And there is no such taste. Up to now, you bring your sravana-kirtana by force for bhajana. Then, when that taste will come, and your mind also enter into the pleasure and happiness of lila-smarana, that time you’ll do lila-smarana, no problem.

Madhava: Their question is that sometimes, for example...

Babaji Maharaja: Western, and here Indian, does not matter...

Madhava: Right. For example, someone may say that chanting one lakha of harinama is very troublesome, so maybe, because one time you told that if...

Babaji Maharaja: One time, you may take one lakha of harinama, or half lakha, or three lakhas, yet lila-smarana is another thing. Name chanting, when your heart is not clean, that time also you can chant three lakhas of harinama, no problem. But when it is a question of memory of lila, smarana, for that some purification of heart is necessary.

Madhava: Right. Right.

Babaji Maharaja: So at first become purified. You chant name, do puja, have sat-sanga and read your books, sravanam kirtanam, all these paths of bhajana-bhakti, and when your mind experiences pleasure, happiness and taste comes...

Madhava: Then svarupa comes.

Babaji Maharaja: Before that, you can practice a little bit, how your mind gradually enters that lila.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: But by force, thinking that sixty-four hours I will do this bhajana, that won’t...

Madhava: Will not work.

Babaji Maharaja: By ones own power it is not possible, that will come automatically.

Madhava: Right. So there is no short-cut. Some are thinking that because this bhajana-process is somewhat slowly going, dhire dhire, but we want to go very fast, that therefore we should find something different that will...

Babaji Maharaja: That is fast, but not your... like that, you cannot go fast. You try first, the sadhaka, but if the heart is not clean, then you cannot go fast, it is not possible. And if it is going fast, twenty-four hours taking harinama, and that with lila-smarana, then also that will be vidhi-bhakti, not raga-bhakti. Raga-bhakti, Jiva Goswamipada has written, raga-bhakti is with ruci. Ruci will come. You have no hunger, no appetite, and many kinds of all good food are there, but no hunger...

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: And when hunger is there, then comes ruci. When you see that food, then there is greed and ruci. When you like the taste of that lila-smarana, then ruci will come.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: Need, then there is a great need. Jiva Goswamipada has written that raga-bhajana is ruci.

Madhava: So the method, the bhajana-marga and the methods that acharyas have given, they are already the fastest method.

Babaji Maharaja: Yes.

Madhava: The best method.

Babaji Maharaja: Gradually, dhire dhire dhire.

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Watch the Video - Original transcript: [attachmentid=1739]