Divine Master

As published in The Harmonist (Sree Sajjanatoshani)
Edited by Paramahamsa Paribrajakacharyya Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj

APRIL 14, 1935

Knowledge about anything cannot establish a sound footing in any man unless and until it is confirmed by a comparative study and reasoning of the knowledge of contradictory things. So it will not be out of place here to draw the line of demarcation between transcendence and immanence and mundane relativity. Empiricism ceases where spiritualism begins. Spiritualism intended is quite distinct from the poor idea maintained by the clairvoyants who are held in high esteem by the intellectualists. Transcendence without transgressing against Immanence is free from all mundane relativities. There is no room in spiritualism for the worldly dross, unwholesomeness and imperfection. Every entity of the transcendental domain in its true perspective exists for the Absolute Personality, moves in Him and has its being in Him. Whereas in the pervertedly reflected universe, self-aggrandisement has occupied the place of self-sacrifice. Everyone here is desirous of eloping with the autocracy of the Transcendental Despot and permanently settling his own instead. But alas! All our austere and gigantic efforts end in smoke. We at every step keenly feel the inadequacies and deformities of worldly objects. It will be a mockery of things to try to realise the transcendence so long one is confined within the mundane relativities. Transcendence and immanence encompass the mundane without being mixed up with it.

It is an obvious fact that to acquire knowledge in any branch of life we require the guidance of a man experienced in the line. So also it is universally acknowledged that a guide is urgently necessary in matters spiritual. As it is an admitted fact that when we feel the necessity of earning any worldly knowledge we shall have to seek the help of a man thoroughly conversant with it, likewise it is needless to say that we shall have to approach the Spiritual Guide for Absolute-realisation who condescends to come down to this world from the transcendental region. It is next to impossibility on the part of a conditioned soul to conceive of things of unlimited dimensions by dint of the knowledge of things of three dimensions. Souls, as they are the infinitesimal parts of the Over-soul and superior to Maya--the Deluding Potency--in their constituent elements, are liable to be subjugated by her. Being spirits the souls are possessed of limited independence and as such when they make misuse of it by preferring the course of enjoyment in lieu of the eternal service of the Spiritual Autocrat, oblivion overcomes them. Self-forgetful souls identify themselves with the gross and subtle outer coils of nature's product. Actuated by enjoying motives, souls, after they come under the influence of Maya, can never get rid of it by their own attempts, and are compelled to roam in the cycle of births and deaths until by coming in contact with an Absolute-realised soul they are redeemed from the labyrinth of fruitive deeds. Every unalloyed soul, is eternally related to Godhead with the tie of willing service. The Spiritual Guide--the eternal Counter-whole of the Supreme Lord--appears in this world to deliver all fettered souls from their bondage to Maya.

The Divine Master is none but the manifestive other self of Godhead with the distinction that the transcendental Despot is the sole and only enjoyer of all entities; whereas He appears in His Eternal Role of the Medium of His Self-revelation when plays the part of the Divine Master. It is like serving one's feet with one's own hand. He makes His propitious advent in this world to teach dislocated souls the real method of loving service towards the Absolute Personality. So an Acharya should be respected with no less amount of deference than is shown to Godhead.

One of the common errors which cent per cent people of this world are subject to is the misconception about the body of the Divine Master. Owing to our defective material organs it seems to be material. But as a matter of fact it is all spirit. As all things, irrespective of their distinctive colours, seems to be yellowish to the jaundiced eye, but the things themselves in fact are not such; so also the transcendental Form of Sree Guru seems to be material to the eclipsed eyes. When our sealed eyes are opened up by the spike of the collyrium of knowledge by the Spiritual Master then the true phase of the spiritual Form becomes visible to us. In like manner, it is also the case with His appearance and disappearance. The births and deaths of conditioned souls are awarded them as the fruits of their mundane activities of previous births, but the Divine Agent out of His infinite mercy descends to this world to reclaim the fallen souls. The appearance of both of them might bear a certain external resemblance to one another but they are diametrically opposite in essence.

If led away by the vanity of empiric knowledge, we make vain attempts to realise the transcendence, we will be mere butt of ridicule. Because, it is beyond the reach of our crippled senses to form any idea of the unlimited. Every conditioned soul is more or less subject to four kinds of defects--error, inadvertence, inadequacy of senses and deception. But the Divine Master is immune from all such defects. He is never subject to the laws of phenomenal Nature. Maya can never exercise her influence on Him. Though He seems to come down to this mundane plane yet He keeps His transcendental position intact and reserves the right of not being exposed to limited human knowledge. Anthropomorphism, psilanthrophism, pantheism, apotheosis and the like should be carefully shunned if we are really desirous of obtaining the sight of transcendence. If we be in any way under the sway of any of these 'isms' other than Absolutism we are sure to commit a great blunder in realising the Absolute Truth. To realise Him we unavoidably require the guidance of the preceptor in the true sense of the term. When we are puffed up with the pride of high lineage, worldly opulence, empiric learning and secular beauty the question as to what Godhead does never arise in our mind. Or sometimes blinded by the delusion of mundane knowledge we try to realise the Absolute Truth in inductive process, just like making fruitless efforts to observe the sun at midnight with the help of powerful artificial lights. Hence the idea of surrendering to the Lotus Feet of the Spiritual Guide never finds any room in our mind. No amount of material or intellectual knowledge is eligible for the realisation of Godhead. The method of ascension has totally been refuted by the revealed scriptures and it is reiterated therein that complete unconditional surrender at the Divine Lotus Feet of the Spiritual Master is absolutely necessary to attain to self-realisation. Because the transcendental words that come out of His lips are so forceful and so efficacious that when they enter into the unbiased heart of an honest and sincere enquirer through his listening ears they cut off all the knots of desire for worldly objects, destroy all previous accumulated prejudices and create there a kingdom of their own. Any man, be he the greatest intellectual giant or occupy the highest position in mundane point of view, can never be a guide in matters transcendental. Godhead can never be seen through the opaque preceptors who having worldly desires in them are engaged in the service of Maya instead of cent per cent engagement in the service of the Supreme Lord. Power is never transmitted through a non-conductor. But on the contrary, we can have the full vision of the Absolute Personality through the transparent Spiritual Guide who appears in this world for the uplift of fallen souls. His teachings are not the production of mental concoctions but based on the principles of the revealed scriptures which specify the Divine service of unalloyed souls as their only best interest and highest consummation. He never indulges in any sort of worldly affairs promotive of diffidence in and aversion to the service of the Supreme Lord. He is always engaged in spreading the true and complete spiritual significance of full fledged theism revealed by the Vedas and transmitted through the order of transcendental Acharyas. The Divine Master never corroborates the paths of enjoyment and pseudo-renunciation but approves of the appropriate usefulness of the things of this world which are helpful to the advancement of the path of transcendence. His all round activities refer only to the unalloyed service of the Divinity through which alone fallen souls might be reinstated in their natural position of unceasing spiritual service. His infinite mercy alone prompts Him to take up the most magnanimous role of reclaiming bound souls from the abject sway of Maya.

Tender qualities are also to be found in men of pious deeds who sacrifice their lives for the good of others. Their compassion for the temporary relief of suffering humanity is laudable no doubt from the worldly point of view. But if we go deeper into the matter and scrutinisingly deliberate on it we should observe that evils creep unconsciously into such seeming mercy shown to the ephemeral body and mind. It is but to help them indirectly to be more and more engrossed in materialism and to suffer from the resultant triple afflictions. Whereas the sincere seekers after the Absolute Truth attach no importance to it for its own sake, because they are never satisfied with anything less than the Integer. The Divine Master never deprives disqualified souls of their legitimate inheritance of the service of the Supreme Lord. His causeless grace ever promotes the manifestation of the dormant serving disposition and thereby brings about the eternal welfare of the unalloyed soul.