Subjecting the Empowered Acharya to the Tenets of The Sastras

The following is an article written by His Grace Purujit Prabhu for the 12th edition of the Matchless Gift magazine.

There was once a demon of the name Vrikasura, the son of Shakuni. Vrikasura went to  Kedarnatha, a place of pilgrimage in Kashmir, in order to ignite a sacrificial fire to please Lord Shiva. He had heard from Narada Muni that from the three deities Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, it was Siva who could fulfill the benediction of his devotee the fastest. After igniting the fire, Vrikasura began to offer his own flesh into the fire. This is the example of worship in the mode of ignorance as stated in the Bhagavad-gita:

"Penance performed out of foolishness, with  self-torture, or to destroy or injure others, is said to be in the mode of ignorance."

(Bg 17.19)

Persons who perform such so-called sacrifice are declared by Krishna to be demons. He says:

"Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demons."

(Bg 17.5-6)

So it is very clear from the shastric point of view that this Vrikasura was a first class demon. The worship of Lord Vishnu or Krishna is very simple, and it can be executed by anyone in this world since a devotee can please the Lord very easily by offering a simple fruit, leaf, water, or flower. But worship in the mode of ignorance, as exhibited by Vrikasura, is not only very difficult and painful but also a useless waste of time, because the results derived thereof are only temporary

and cannot satisfy the eternal spirit soul. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita says that the worshipers of the demigods are bereft of intelligence. Vrikasura continued such horrible sacrifices for 6 days, but he was unable to physically meet Lord Shiva to get the benediction. This is the difference between a devotee and a demon. Shrila Prabhupada comments in this connection:

"A devotee is confident that whatever he offers to the Deity in full devotional service is accepted by the Lord, but a demon wants to see his worshipable deity face to face so that he can directly take the benediction. A devotee does not worship Vishnu or Lord Krishna for any benediction. Therefore a devotee is called akama, free of desire, and a nondevotee is

called sarva-kama, or desirous of everything.”

(KB 88: The Deliverance of Lord Siva)

Taken from Matchless Gift 12

A devotee is satisfied with the vibrational presence of his worshipful Deity, just as he is while chanting the holy name of the Lord, which is non-different from the Lord. The devotee's sole objective is to serve the Lord, but those who are full of material desires want to physically see the Lord in order to engage the Lord in their whimsical service. The very insistence for the Lord to be present is a sign of trying to command the Lord instead of serving Him. The Lord, however, is not obliged to fulfill the whimsical request of a conditioned soul. For this reason, such less intelligent worshippers rarely approach Lord Vishnu or his bona fide representative for spiritual guidance. Instead they take shelter of demigods or physically present pseudo Gods who are always ready to serve their foolish followers with temporary and useless boons from the realm of sensuality. Vrikasura, being unable to physically associate with Lord Shiva then started contemplating cutting off his own head and offering it to the sacrificial fire. He was so lusty to satisfy his material desires. At this point, Lord Shiva, the epitome of compassion, came to save the demon. The demon then asked a benediction from Lord Shiva that was most dangerous and foolish. Vrikasura asked Lord Shiva for the special ability to crack anyone’s head upon touching it. Lord Shiva very unwillingly gave this benediction, but instead of being grateful to his benefactor, the foolish demon started chasing Lord Shiva in order to test the benediction on Lord Shiva first.

These are the dealings of demons. There is a class of offensive persons who similarly attempt to subject the acharya to the rulings of the shastra after superficially learning the shastra from him. Their undertaking is non-different from the offensive mentality of Vrikasura in connection with Lord Shiva. Instead of being eternally indebted to the acharya for teaching them the shastra, as soon as they learn a little, they want to attack the acharya and take his place. No genuine Vaishnava can be fooled by the pretentious display of devotion performed by such over-intelligent persons. A sincere devotee never takes part in their so-called worship of the acharya and avoids them like a plague since he is fully aware of the effects of bad association. He takes shelter of the statements of the Chaitanya-charitamrta, which clearly declare:

dharma-sthapana-hetu sadhura vyavahara

"A devotee's behavior establishes the true purpose of religious principles.”

(Madhya 17.185)

tarko ‘pratisthah srutayo vibhinna

nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam

dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam

mahajano yena gatah sa panthah

"Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are

understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the shastras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahajanas advocate.'"

(Madhya 17.186)

Shrila Prabhupada confirms that acharya's vibrational presence is non-different from the shastra through various examples:

"The statements of Thakura Bhaktivinode are as good as the

scriptures because he is liberated person."

(Letter to: Janardana -- New York 26 April, 1968)

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