Selection From The Harmonist

Selected articles from the magazine
SREE SAJJANA-TOSHANI or THE HARMONIST
Edited by Paramahamsa Paribrajakacharyya
Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj
Published between 1927 - 1936

"I offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Madhvamuni, who is also known as Ananda Tirtha. All glories to him. The learned persons glorify him as the boat for crossing the ocean of material existence. That king of all sannyasis is the abode of happiness. Today is his ap-pearance day."

The history of preaching by the Gaudiya disciplic succession and the acaryas:

In Bengal, everyone from the Gaudiya sampradaya who is serv¬ing Sriman Mahaprabhu is a follower of that senior Vaisnavacarya. His other name is Sri Madhvamuni. This matha has been named after him. Sri Krishna Caitanyadeva is the eighteenth descendant from Sripada Ananda Tirtha, or Purna Prajna. The seventeenth descendants are Sri Advaita Prabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. These three prabhus accepted Sri Madhvamuni into their disciplic succession.

Most people like to talk. Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental rights in all civilised countries. The modern newspaper panders to the craving for talk. But platform speeches and private discourses are also the order of the day. Of all the religions, Christianity possesses at the present day the most highly organised arrangement for systematic talking on the subject of religion.

All talk is not useful, and there may be some talk that is positively harmful. In some countries they are feeling the necessity of excluding harmful and reactionary talk. Newspapers are now owned by parties for serving definite interests. They are by no means free to talk as they like or even to talk as they think proper. Such indirect control of the freedom of speech is not due to any under-valuation of the utility of good and useful talking.

WE find the following in the Bhagavatam. "While proceeding to the arena of the Bow-sacrifice, to which They had been invited by King Kamsa, Rama and Krishna chanced to come across the washerman of King Kamsa, who was carrying the excellent washed robes of the King to the Palace. The Two Brothers accosted the washerman on the road and demanded the clothing for their Own use, saying that They were the proper Objects to whom those rich clothing were fit to be given for no consideration in return. They also assured the washerman that the highest good would result to himself for making a free gift of all those clothing to Themselves. The servant of King Kamsa proved to be as ill-advised as his master. Although he was prayed to by the All-Comprehending Divinity Himself, the washerman was filled with great anger and began to use abusive language against the Lord. He said that they were most unmannerly being born and bred in the hills and forests and their impudence was the outcome of Their utter barbarism. Were they ever accustomed to wear such apparel as those which They wanted to have for Their use? Why were they so ambitious to have those excellent clothes that were only fit to be worn by Kings? The washerman warned Them to desist from such strange behaviour and to flee from the spot and never again to be guilty of such conduct if They has any care for Their lives, because the royal officers always punish all arrogant persons guilty of such unlawful conduct with bondage, death and confiscation of all their properties...

The next dated book of Kavikarnapura is the famous Caitanya Candrodaya Nataka, a biographical drama dealing in great details with the life and philosophy of our Lord Sri Caitanya. It is a vivid description particularly written for consoling the aggrieved followers and also for popularising the life and teaching of our Lord through dramatic representation. It is of Supreme historical importance in tracing the development and success of the movement of our Lord. It also represents the religious condition of the then Indian which was in striking contrast with the religious fervour and purity of character of our Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas. This book is very well knit and full of interest, obvious truth and readable qualities. This historical drama, by the excellence of the writing and the judiciousness of the selections of deeds, is the true representation of the celestial character of our Lord and does not fail to convey to the lay reader the greatness and spiritual import of its Hero. Its ornate language does not seem to hide its simplicity or tire the reader...

It will be enough to say here that Rasa, which Kavikarnapura has meant and introduced into the definition of Kavya, is spiritual in character and unlike that of all other writers on poetics. This Rasa is best understood as Sringara which, in its different aspects, is the under-current of Gaudiya Vaishnava kavya and drama literature. Rudra Bhatta’s Sringara Tilaka and Bhojadeva's Sringara Prakasha are no doubt the earlier important works on Sringara. But Kavikarnapura vitally differs from them in the conception of the said Rasa. He divides it into three divisions each of which is essentially different from the others. For our present purpose we may take up its two main divisions Prakrita and Aprakrita Sringara in following lines,

Paramananda Kavikarnapura is one of the best of the voluminous writers of Gaudiya vaishnava literature. Dr. D.C. Sen has assigned his birth to 1528. A.C. (Chaitanya and his companion. P.117). But when he was only seven years of age he came with his father Sivananda Sena to Puri and met our Lord Sri Chaitanya. From the Chaitanya Charitamrita text by Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja (Anta, XVI. 75.) it seems that his meeting with Lord Sri Chaitanya took place in the year of the Latter's disappearance from the world which took place in 1534 A.C. So he must have been born at least in 1526 A.C. if not earlier; and consequently Dr. Sen's date seems wrong. When the boy was still in his mother's womb Sivananda Sena came to Puri during the Car festival which takes place in the rainy season...

The Scriptures speak of the Archavatara. The Archa is of eight kinds. The Archa appears in this world in order to make available to us, who are most unfortunate and possessed of the densest of judgement, the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord. Krishna appeared in this world in the remote Age of Dwapara. We are so unfortunate that we have been born after such a long period from that time. This would have made it impossible for us to have a sight of Krishna if His Holy Form as Archa had not condescended to bless our sight by His appearance in this world at all times. Those who do not accept the testimony of the Scriptures on this point are most unfortunate, indeed. Neither are they any more fortunate who persist in regarding the Archa as merely mundane symbol of the Divinity which can be set up mechanically by any ordinary workman in the same way as he makes dolls for children.

This limited, changeable, phenomenal world is the perverted reflection of the absolute, perfect and eternal region which is the abode of God. The evidence of the scriptures clearly declares the above to be the nature of the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds. In as much as this material world is the reflected image of the absolute Reality it mimics, in a most perverted manner, the beauty of the original. Its beauty, however, is more false and useless even than that of the mirage and is no less fatal to the unwary who put their trust in it. The reality of the reflected image, as reflected image, need not be denied. But at the same time it is necessary not to overlook the fact that the reflected image is only the shadow of the real substance and may be called unreal in comparison with the latter ; especially as the shadow has no independent existence of its own. In fact the shadow has neither the permanence nor the reality of the original. By no amount of sophistry the image can be considered to be identical with the object itself and be made to serve the purpose of the latter. The image of an automobile cannot be used as a conveyance. Children, indeed, are liable to be deluded by the image of a horse into believing it to be the real horse, but their effort to ride the image are nonetheless doomed to failure. Exactly similar is our attempt to enjoy the treasures of this world. We are perpetually deluded by the mirage but refuse to be convinced of its unreality...