In2-MeC

IBSA (ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Sadhana Asrama), Govardhana, India
6 February 2004

The Gift of Haritaki and Cardamon

There is a story that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to tell. It is about a disciple who made a gift of haritaki to his guru. Haritaki is a fruit that is often employed in ayurvedic medicine. It is a blood purifier and helps digestion. So this disciple had invited his spiritual master to his house and had offered him prasada. After the guru had finished his meal, the disciple offered haritaki to ease digestion. But he offered it in a whole, unpeeled condition. The spiritual master said, "Please prepare it properly. I can't accept it like this. " So the disciple took the fruit back to the kitchen.

Now, this disciple had two disqualifications. One was that he was not well-informed about the niceties of offering digestives after meals. He had heard that it is first-class to present haritaki to a guest after lunch, but he didn't know exactly how to prepare the fruit. His second disqualification was a propensity to speculate.

He thought, "This is a fruit. Like so many other fruits, it has an outer skin and an inner part. Now, with every other fruit, I know that you prepare it by removing the skin and serving the inside. So I'll prepare this haritaki the same way. "

Unfortunately, with haritaki it is the skin that is the desirable item. The inner portion is as hard as the shell of a nut. So when the disciple returned with the inner part of the haritaki on the plate, his spiritual master was naturally dissatisfied. "I'm sorry, I can't accept haritaki like this. Don't you know that you should give the skin? This hard inner part is useless. "

Feeling bad, the disciple brought the fruit back into the kitchen. "I've spoiled the offering of a digestive to my guru. What to do?"

Then he remembered that a cardomon pod is also a nice thing to give a guest after feeding him. Thinking about how it should be prepared, he said to himself, "Guru Maharaja has taught me to serve the outer skin and reject the inner part. So I'll follow his instruction nicely this time. " But preparing cardomon is opposite to that of haritaki. It is the seed that is wanted, not the husk. In this way, that disciple made a total fool of himself before his guru.

This story is about missing the sara, the essence. See how Srila Prabhupada explained sara in a song by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura:

Gauranga dyuti pada, yara dhana sampada, sei jane bhakati rasa sara. This is another song composed by Narottama das Thakura, and he says that "One who has accepted the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, in other words, one who has the only asset of possession, the two feet of Lord Caitanya, such person is supposed to know what is the essence of devotional service. " Sei jane bhakati rasa sara. What is the purport of devotional service, or what is the humor of devotional service, can be understood by a person who has accepted Lord Caitanya's lotus feet as everything. The idea is that actually Lord Caitanya, He is Krsna Himself, and He is teaching devotional service to the living entities personally. Directly. Therefore the modes of devotional service, as taught by Lord Caitanya, is the most perfect. There cannot be any doubt. The expert, or the master, is teaching the servant how to work. If a. . If somebody is master of some engineering work and he is personally teaching some assistant, that teaching, instruction, is most perfect.

Bhakati rasa sara, the essence of devotional service, is compared to the skin of the haritaki fruit or the seed of a cardomon. One must learn from Guru-Gouranga what that essence is, and not attempt to obtain it under the influence of mental speculation. The speculative tendency is a crooked tendency. Now, who is cheated by such a crooked tendency? Not Krsna, obviously. One only cheats oneself. Cheating oneself means that one ends up accepting the unnecessary aspect, and missing the necessary essence.

Political and doctrinal controversy are examples of the unnecessary aspect of the bhakti process. It's unfortunate, but these things are seen among devotees. Politics: one section of the devotee community becomes dissatisfied with another section. Thinking back over all the years I was in ISKCON, I can cite a good number of examples. At one time, the sannyasis were expressing great dissatisfaction with the grhasta community. "They are lazy and too attached to their lives at home. Such men should not hold official posts in ISKCON. It harms the mission. Everything should be done by sannyasis and brahmacaris. " Then the grhastas turned around and expressed dissatisfaction with the sannyasis. "Why do they want all the power in their hands? A sannyasi should be humble and detached. He should depend upon Krsna. These men want name, fame, position and followers. "

Doctrinal controversy: "The jiva was originally with Krsna in a personal relationship. " "No, never. The jiva has no original position with Krsna. The starting point is impersonal Brahman. " "You're wrong. Srila Prabhupada said in a letter that impersonal Brahman is already the fallen state of the jiva. " "But in his Isopanisad purport, Srila Prabhupada writes the living entities are manifested from the marginal potency. "

The problem is not so much these "problems. " What I mean is, it is practically inevitable that in any society, even a spiritual one, and especially in Kali-yuga, tension will be felt between different sections. It is practically inevitable that there will be different opinions about the meaning of seemingly contradictory scriptural statements. But the real problem is seen when we start taking these conflicting situations as the essence. "I can't serve Krsna in the association of these people!" "I cannot tolerate this point of view that is opposite to my understanding!"

Spiritual life is a razor's edge. Thus it is also not correct to conclude, "Whatever other devotees do and say is perfectly okay, because they are devotees. I should simply tolerate everything. " That is not the essence either. The essence is to be learned from Sri-Sri Guru and Gouranga. For example, Sri-Sri Guru-Gouranga teach, "Chant Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. " Now, suppose a person wearing tilaka and neckbeads argues, "But chanting that way leaves out Lord Shiva's name. Sastra says that if Lord Shiva is neglected by one who worships Visnu, it's a great offense. We should chant Hare Krsna Siva Hare Krsna Siva Krsna Krsna Siva Hare Hare/Hare Rama Siva Hare Rama Siva Rama Rama Siva Hare Hare. " (Don't laugh--I have actually heard a sankirtana party dressed in kurta-dhoti-tulasi beads and wearing Vaisnava tilaka on their foreheads chant this!) To take the names of demigods as being on the same level as the holy name of Lord Krsna is one of the ten offenses to the holy name. It is not that the essence of bhakti is to join in such an offensive kirtana just so as to circumvent a disagreement. That is another way of mistaking social and doctrinal differences to be the essence--by giving in to a wrong view simply to keep peace in the community.

So if the essence are the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga, how do we gain that essence exactly?

From the same explanation of the song Gauranga dyuti pada, Srila Prabhupada explains:

As in the Bhagavad-gita it is said that anyone who can simply understand the transcendental appearance, disappearance, activities, work of Krsna, he immediately becomes eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. Simply by understanding the pastimes and the work, transcendental activities of Krsna. Similarly, one who enters into the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, he immediately becomes freed from all contamination of the heart. Gaurangera madhuri lila, yara karne pravesila. Karne pravesila means simply one has to receive the message of Lord Caitanya. Karne means in the ear. To give the message a submissive aural reception. Then immediately one's heart becomes freed from all material contamination.

Thus, by hearing about Krsna and in this way purifying the heart of contamination, and so in turn gaining realization of the Lord's divine appearance and activities, one becomes eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. This is the essence. This is indeed why Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended into this world. Where the higher taste is cultivated, there and there only can political and doctrinal divisions be resolved--in transcendence, by the mercy of Krsna and by the good qualities of Vaisnava sanga. Nothing can ever be permanently resolved on the material platform of sectarean division and/or diplomatic compromise.

This is why titiksatva, tolerance, and amanitva, humility, are such important qualities. Again, not that one is to tolerate offenses in devotional service, not that one is to be humble simply for the sake of maintaining so-called social harmony. That is pretense. Tolerance and humility are to be unpretentious, genuine character traits geared for the essential purpose of cultivating the taste of transcendence. The combination of pure, refined character and high spiritual taste is culture--Vaisnava culture. It is this culture alone that solves all human problems, for to be only "human" is to be still under the modes of material nature. To be a Vaisnava is to be transcendental.

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