Today, we are present in Śrī Ṛtudvīpa, in the courtyard of Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara Temple (established by Śrī Dvija Vāṇīnātha Prabhu, associate of Śrī Gaurāṅga). A few years ago, on this very day, we were also present at this place. However, at that time, we found the doors of this temple locked. The service at this ancient site has been mentioned in the sacred text Śrī Bhakti Ratnākara. When we arrived, we saw that the Bhagavān's Deity, which resided here from ancient times, was inaccessible for darśana due to the locked doors. We came to know that the caretaker of the service would visit once every four days with some puffed rice for offering, and on some days, he would not bring anything at all. The villagers opened the temple doors for us. When we entered, we saw the dilapidated condition of the temple and the utter disregard shown towards the worship of the Śrī-Vigraha. Witnessing this neglect and irreverence, our hearts were deeply distressed. After spending some time there, we left the place. Later that year, we sent a few individuals to investigate the situation. In the following year, the individuals we had sent returned to us with the report that in a house adjacent to the temple, impure activities, including the consumption of fish and other inedible substances, were being carried out. Such disregard for the ancient service at this site and the lack of spiritual inclination among the villagers had led to the spiritual decline and deplorable condition of the village.
The very village where Dvija Vāṇīnātha Prabhu once graced with his divine presence, has today fallen into such a miserable condition! Just as indifference towards Dharma has led to spiritual degradation in various places across Bhāratavarṣa, a similar state of decline has also occurred in this village. It is heard that even descendants of Brāhmaṇas, who are devoid of devotion to Viṣṇu, reside in this village. Many of them indulge in the consumption of fish and meat! Furthermore, it has been discovered that they engage in various other professions — activities that are opposed to Viṣṇu-bhakti and inconsistent with the principles of Brāhmaṇa-dharma. These individuals freely partake in such occupations without any hesitation — some engage in trade, some pursue M.A. and B.A. degrees to secure salaried jobs, and thus sustain themselves through employment. But not only this — they remain completely indifferent even after hearing the teachings of the śāstra. They are completely engrossed in worldly activities, materialistic pursuits, and the enjoyment of sensory pleasures. Being educated through the English language in an educational system devoid of devotion to Hari, they regard enmity toward Vaiṣṇavas as “Brāhmaṇatva” (the status of being a Brāhmaṇa). Is this the brāhmaṇatva, kṣatriyatva, vaiśyatva, or śūdratva described in the scriptures? Is this the brahmacarya (celibate student life), gārhasthya (householder life), vānaprastha (retired life), or bhikṣuka-āśrama (life of renunciation) described in the scriptures? Despite being utterly disqualified, they call themselves as Santāna (i.e. Ācārya-santāna; refer article on this topic) and there is no false-doctrine which they would not nurture or there is no ritual they’d not perform in order to fill their bellies which are always burning with the fire of enjoyment. Even though they call themselves as “human beings,” they lack true humanity. Even when they attempt to declare themselves “Hindu,” their activities are seen to be engaged in affairs contrary to Hindu-dharma. They show enthusiasm only for irreligious acts, yet they feel discomfort merely upon hearing themselves labeled as “adhārmika” (irreligious).
Just like in other places, the leading figures of this village too are completely indifferent toward the Supreme Goal (paramārtha). Before attaining qualification for the Supreme Goal, they equate their present state of disqualification with the qualification of a future time, and thus they cultivate enmity toward matters of paramārtha. Although outwardly introducing themselves as adherents of Sanātana-dharma (the eternal religion), they are in reality opposed to Sanātana-dharma. We are not speaking only about this small village; everywhere the situation is the same due to a lack of concern for paramārtha. From Kumārika (Cape Comorin) to the Himalayas, I have presented this Vedic truth before all persons. Still, even now, we are unable to find opportunity and space everywhere to speak about the Vedic Sanātana-dharma. How pitiful it is that the doors of the temple of Śrī Viṣṇu remain closed, the service of the Lord is obstructed and the villagers remain entirely indifferent, intoxicated by their attachment to material enjoyment. By adopting the unrighteous conduct of the demons (asura-nīti), they call themselves “socially respectable,” but in truth, they are simply busy exhibiting their own pride through the propagation of unrighteousness devoid of any service to Viṣṇu.
You may continue to discuss the historical accounts from the Purāṇas and other scriptures concerning the Satya, Tretā, and Dvāpara yugas. However in reality, we want to remain in the same darkness in which we are already situated.
In this world, there are two kinds of creation, and according to the difference in creation, there are two kinds of dispositions. Śrī Gītā (16.6) says —
dvau bhūtasargau loke'smin daiva āsura eva ca.
("In this world, there are two types of created beings — daiva or divine and āsura or demoniac.")
Śrī Vyāsa also states in the Padma Purāṇa —
dvau bhūtasargau loke'smin daiva āsura eva ca,
viṣṇubhakto bhaved daiva āsurastad-viparyayaḥ.
("In this world, there are two types of created beings — daiva and āsura; one who is a devotee of Viṣṇu is daiva, and the opposite is āsura.")
One type of creation is related to the gods (cosmic controllers), and the other type is opposed to the gods. In the creation related to the gods, the Varṇāśrama-dharma is maintained. From the very beginning of Satya-yuga, these two types of creations have been simultaneously continuing. Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, being antagonistic to Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, are recognized as asuras (demons); they are the sons of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi. Kaśyapa Ṛṣi was a Brāhmaṇa. Although Hiraṇyakaśipu was born in a Brāhmaṇa family, due to his opposition to Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, he became known as an asura. Thus, even in Brāhmaṇa families, asuras can take birth. Conversely, in families of asuras, devotees of Viṣṇu or Vaiṣṇavas also take birth. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s son was Prahlāda. In Tretā-yuga, Viśrava was a Brāhmaṇa. However, his son Rāvaṇa, due to his enmity toward Rāmacandra, became known as an asura.
The system of determining daiva-varṇāśrama (the divine social order) is as follows —
yasya yal-lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ puṁso varṇābhivyañjakam,
yad anyatrāpi dṛśyate tat tenaiva vinirdiśet.
“The characteristics that have been prescribed for a person to reveal his Varṇa (social order), if they are observed in another person (of a different birth), then he should be designated according to those very characteristics, and not simply by birth. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.11.35)”
Śrīdhara Svāmī, in his commentary, explains — “śamādibhireva brāhmaṇādi vyavahāro mukhyaḥ na jātimātrādityāha yasyeti; yadyadi anyatra varṇāntare'pi dṛśyate tadvarṇāntaraṁ tenaiva lakṣaṇa nimittenaiva vargena vinirdeśet natu jāti-nimittenetyarthaḥ.” i.e. the behavior as a Brāhmaṇa and so forth is primarily determined by qualities such as śama (control of mind) and not merely by birth. This is stated with the word ‘yasya’. If the characteristic symptoms are observed in someone belonging to another varṇa, then he should be designated according to that class based on those symptoms, and not merely by birth.
In other words, Varṇa should be determined by symptoms or conduct (lakṣaṇa or vṛtti), and this is the primary Vedic method of establishing Varṇa within the daiva-varṇāśrama system. Determining Brāhmaṇahood solely by lineage is a secondary (gauṇa) principle. Determining Brāhmaṇa and other Varṇas by conduct or qualities is the primary (mukhya) Vedic injunction. If a person born in another Varṇa exhibits the qualities characteristic of a Brāhmaṇa or other Varṇa, then he must necessarily be designated in that Varṇa according to the qualities manifested; otherwise, it would result in transgression. However, due to the terrible distortion of time, the daiva-varṇāśrama system has collapsed, and an āsurika (demoniac) varṇāśrama has become prevalent. Scriptural reasoning and self-analysis have become weakened, while physical considerations based on birth from bodily semen and blood, and judgments based on gross bodily affiliation through association with women, have gained dominance. By way of example, it can be said that when a boy named Haridāsa was still an infant in his mother’s lap, he was naturally unclothed, and at that time the people of the neighborhood used to call him “naked boy”. Some years later, when he passed a law examination and became an advocate, the same neighborhood people mockingly called him “naked boy advocate”. Yet, this ridicule did not obstruct Haridāsa’s qualification as an advocate.
Among the Vedic scriptures, the Ṛgveda is the most ancient of all. One who opposes the Vedas is described as an asura. In the Ṛgveda, there are references to the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, Agni, and other deities. One principal mantra of the Ṛgveda, which is the ācamanīya (purificatory) mantra specifically for Brāhmaṇas — the mantra that every Brāhmaṇa must recite daily, and which is to be chanted first among all Vedic recitations — is:
"oṁ tat viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā
paśyanti sūrayaḥ divīva cakṣur-ātatam
oṁ tat viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ."
That Viṣṇu-tattva alone is the absolute truth, the everlasting reality. The sūrayaḥ (sages) perpetually behold that supreme and highest abode of the eternal substance, just as one perceives the sun shining clearly in the sky. Thus, they constantly engage in the worship of that supreme, transcendental position.
You may have encountered the names of many deities in the Ṛgveda, but it is the pada (abode/position) of Viṣṇu alone that is declared to be the parama-pada (supreme abode or supreme position) and the nitya-pada (eternal abode or eternal position) — the abode eternally worshipable and visible to the sūrigaṇa (sages). All the remaining positions and designations are indeed Vaiṣṇava posts or functions of the sūris (sages). The thirty-three crore deities are all members of Viṣṇu’s servant community. Among all the deities, the supreme deity is Bhagavān Viṣṇu. Those who see or know Bhagavān Viṣṇu — they alone are the true devatās (deities). Only when one becomes a devatā or a Vaiṣṇava can one properly understand that whose worship is the eternal duty of all living beings, whose pada is the supreme one, and whose parama-pada is ever worthy of vision and worship. Those people who viewed Viṣṇu as being on equal footing with other deities were called avaiṣṇavas (non-Vaiṣṇavas).
To claim the title of Brāhmaṇa while harboring hatred for Vaiṣṇavas, hatred for Viṣṇu, considering Viṣṇu with material intelligence (prākṛta-buddhi), viewing Nārāyaṇa as an ordinary stone, thinking of pādodaka (water that has washed His feet) as mere water, perceiving mahāprasāda as ordinary leftover rice and dhal, and holding caste-based judgments toward Vaiṣṇavas — all of these are acts equivalent to calling the advocate Haridāsa a “naked boy,” and serve only as signs of ignorance or atheism. The current Sahajiyā Gauḍīya society and especially the non-Vaiṣṇava, non-Vedic smārta-centric community’s ignorant hostility toward Vaiṣṇavas — driven by such misjudgment and influenced by the pañcopāsaka (those who worship five deities) — is utterly despicable. As already stated earlier, from the beginning of Satya-yuga, such enmity toward Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas has been observed. Hiraṇyākṣa — The word "hiraṇya" means gold, and "akṣa" means senses. Money, money — one's eyes are fixed upon money, always considering wealth to be the ultimate object of worship. To indulge in the gratification of one’s belly and genitals, money is required. Thus, even by selling the paramārtha, one remains eager to accumulate wealth.
When Śrī Caitanyadeva manifested Himself at a place which is not very far from the place where we have assembled today, then even at that time, atheism was immensely prevalent. Not long after that, a great deluge arose in Gauḍīya society. Yadunandana Bhaṭṭācārya, the departed son of the venerable Harihara Bhaṭṭācārya of Vandyaghaṭa, compiled a smṛti-text antagonistic to Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, and by doing so, he once again brought the flood of mundane ritualistic atheism into society. Ordinary people do not know what true scriptural instruction is, what the actual eternal truth is, or what the real subject of eternal religion (nitya-dharma) or the religion of the self (ātma-dharma) is. Therefore, they remain preoccupied with referring to all such enjoyment-based philosophies or impermanent, deceitful religious doctrines as "Vedic." It is these unauthentic, un-scriptural doctrines that have captured their affection and interest.
Becoming absorbed in the narratives of impermanent religion (anitya-dharma) and enchanted by discussions of dharma, artha, and kāma; or posing as renouncers of the fruits of action with a desire for liberation, people have abandoned the discourse on the eternal religion of service (nitya-sevā-dharma). We have been coming to this place consecutively for the past three years. Among us, several individuals have stepped forward to speak the truth, even after giving up all that they possessed. Yet the people remain in the same darkness in which they were before. We are completely indifferent to our own genuine upliftment. We have time for all kinds of worldly activities, we have interest in all sorts of subjects, but we have no time to hear the truth — because in that truth, there is no talk of gratifying our own senses. There is no discussion of enjoyment or liberation — only the desire for the happiness of someone else, the wish for someone else’s well being, and the longing to satisfy Kṛṣṇa’s senses.
[Harikathā by Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura; inthe courtyard of Śrī Gaura-Gadādhara Temple, established by Śrī Gaurapārṣada Dvijavāṇīnātha, in Campahaṭṭa Nagara, Ṛtudvīpa; on 5th of Caitra, Tuesday, Gaura-Dvādaśī, 1330 corresponding to 18th March 1924, English calendar.]
