By Kesava Krsna Dasa
Do any of us suffer from A.D.D, [attention deficit disorder]; I’m sorry, I meant A.G.D, – [attention grabbing disorder]? Would any of us like others to think that we know a thing or two? You know, as perhaps a slightly advanced wise devotee with a hint of learning; a feel good reminder that our unstated, unscripted ambitions are on track. It’s all very discreet of course, quite harmless; or is it?
Do we see all the obeisances and reverences accorded to the renounced order and secretly think “That position really has some power! Advanced supremacy! Without so much as lifting a finger, devotees fall like adoring uprooted trees without a storm in their presence. It is tempting to say, I wouldn’t mind having a danda.”
As they say in show business – “There’s no business like show business” – so the starry eyed quest to become a devotee star who trail blazes across the firmament of others’ estimations, and seeks to ever so nicely boss around those around him, with gentle learned patronage is on a violent interaction spree. Violent!
Srila Prabhupada writes: “Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is not the body, but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to discriminate between the soul and Supersoul.” – BG 5.16 purport. Which means his application of knowledge is influenced by the lower modes. His dealings with other devotees will be passionate or worst, and the exhibiting of envy, resentment, patronizing superiority, ridiculing, fault finding and more, are all various types of violent conduct likely to cause distress.
Just as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us the – trnad api sunicena…, – verse, where humility is the prerequisite for constantly chanting Hare Krsna, we also find in the Bhagavad Gita the same necessity outlined in BG. 13.8-12. The first obligation of the twenty practical items of knowledge is humility. If one is truly knowledgeable he will, like the proverbial tree heavily laden with fruits, and whose branches bow down to the ground, be as humble to one and all – vidya dadati vinayam – education is meant to make a person gentle and humble – Hitopadesa.
With humility in place, one will naturally be prideless and nonviolent – the third item. In the purport to these verses it is stated; “Nonviolence is generally taken to mean not killing or destroying the body, but actually nonviolence means not to put others into distress.” So any harboring of ambition and pursuing devotional activities with stardom in mind is going to be fraught with distress to others and ones self.
But somehow a certain type of pleasure is earned when quantifiable performances please the devotees, though his qualitative miserable standard is as brittle as the core of the shooting star fizzling out in the atmosphere as it hurtles towards earth. In the same purport Srila Prabhupada writes: “If anyone wants to compete with God and at the same time make advancement in spiritual knowledge, he will be frustrated.”
Nonetheless, devotees are sometimes mesmerized by the ‘advanced’ quantitative side and use it as testimonial for leadership positions. But gung-ho rollicking enthusiasm has little substance if the qualitative eagerness for sravanam kirtanam is not equally strong. Based on quantity, one may be attracted to show-worthiness, whereas the ‘boring’ but much more qualified devotee may seem more a liability in the attraction stakes.
Having assumed an authoritative situation one is going to accept or delegate others in service. If humility is absent, thinking oneself worthy of his position, in spite of whatever assured, confident and seemingly advanced frontage he displays to doting admirers, his taste for hearing will abate. S.B. 1.2.16 – O twice born sages, by serving those devotees who are completely freed from all vice, great service is done. By such service, one gains affinity for hearing the messages of Vasudeva.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta gave a story called ‘All glories to balam rice and cow ghee!’ to illustrate how being in a leading ‘advanced’ position may be the only way to stay in Krsna consciousness; strange but true. Here it is;
There was once a landlord in whose house no servant could ever continue to work for long. The landlord used to appoint new servants frequently and they would leave the job only after a few days. The landlord was much perturbed at this. It was almost impossible for him to maintain the household work without any servants.
One day he was lamenting to one of his friends, ‘How unfortunate I am! Not even a single servant could stay! What’s the solution?”
Then the friend advised the landlord, “If you follow my advice, then your servant won’t leave you even if you want to get rid of him. You recruit any servant and feed him with a fine variety of balam rice with cow ghee twice a day. After maintaining him in this manner for six months, then you can give him any kind of job you desire.”
The landlord did as his friend advised. After relishing balam rice with ghee for six months, no other variety of rice was palatable to his servant. Then the landlord, after the lapse of six long months, started pressuring the servant with all sorts of rigorous jobs. The servant thereafter started making complaints to the assistants of the landlord, ‘I’m going elsewhere if so much pressure is continued to be put on me.’ In this way whenever there was a little more work to do, the servant used to say, “I won’t stay here any longer.”
One day the landlord told him, “Go wherever you want!” The servant looked for some alternative job elsewhere, but he could not have the satisfaction of fine variety balam rice and cow ghee.
At last he came back helplessly to the house of the landlord and continued to stay for a long time. But whenever there was some additional workload, he used to go elsewhere for relief, but as soon as he remembered the satisfaction of balam rice with cow ghee, he would immediately return to the landlord’s house and used to say that he had developed a sentiment for the landlord and that’s why he was unable to stay anywhere else in peace.
After a few years, when the land lord happened to meet his friend, he shouted out in great joy, ‘All glories to balam rice and ghee!”
Here is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s purport: This anecdote gives us a moral about the influence of women, money and reputation, for which all people are desirous. It is very difficult to find a person willing to offer causeless devotional services to Lord Sri Hari in this world. Not a single person wants to stay steadfastly in the devotional institution of Lord Sri Krishna’s family environment. Only motivated with material sense gratification and mundane desires for a few days, some would like to pretend to offer services to Lord Sri Krishna’s family and then would again revert to different aspects of material gain, position and reputation, religion, wealth, fruitive work or liberation to satisfy their thirst for sense gratification.
With a view to attracting such persons by all means, and to enlighten them of their latent potential, all benevolent spiritual masters arrange for balam rice and ghee to feed them. In other words, spiritual masters make every attempt to retain those truant persons within the family environment of Lord Sri Krishna by way of providing various sorts of position and reputation for them. In the beginning such persons may often play truancy by going away from Lord Sri Krishna’s family, but when they continue to receive some award, prestige, position, honor etc. in the form of balam rice and ghee or the like, then some of them pretend to show up some sort of soft sentiment towards the landlord or the spiritual master. Thereafter such persons are not likely to go away even if they are asked to. Therefore, all glories to balam rice and ghee! – Upakhyane Upadesa.
Of course, this story was given in the Indian context. Perhaps a modern day sequel could be given; how about – Veggie-cheese burger and chips and sleep! Or for the health conscious – Lettuce and olive oil! Or for the analytically minded – Intellectually stimulating almond broth fortified with a bouquet of metabolizing fibrous carrot sticks!
What is the test of real advancement? Again in the same purport by Srila Prabhupada, he advises: “For actual advancement in spiritual science, one should have a test to see how far he is progressing. He can judge by these items.” These twenty practical items are the aggregate of knowledge outside of which is ignorance.
However strong our controlling tendencies are, perhaps we should take note of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s use of the word – causelessly. Although we cannot apply logic to Krsna or His domain, it would follow however, that if we pray for the privilege of performing causeless unmotivated devotional service, it just may induce Krsna to give us causeless mercy in return. Who but Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can articulate this so nicely: O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.” – Sri Sri Sisksastaka – 4.
If by some great fortune we feel inclined to causelessly serve, then our AGD – [attention grabbing disorder] will transform into a non-violent RCM – [received causeless mercy]!
Ys, Kesava Krsna dasa – GRS.
very nice. its refreshing to hear that there are some devotees who are battling this anartha. please bless me to have a similar sincerity.