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Highest religious person

Expressions researched:
"highest religious person"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

If your heart is always crying for God, that is perfect religion. That is perfect religion. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvam: "Oh, without Kṛṣṇa, I am feeling the whole world is vacant." Vacant, yes. So we have to come to that stage. Of course, it is not possible for all of us, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed us how to become highest religious person. That is to feel always, "Oh, without Kṛṣṇa, everything is vacant."
Lecture on SB 6.1.39 -- Los Angeles, June 5, 1976:

One has to approach a person who has seen God. Tattva-darśinaḥ. How God can be seen? Tattva-darśinaḥ. Tattva-darśinaḥ means one who knows the truth. Truth means how to see. Paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣa: by the eyes of knowledge. Paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣa. Śāstra-cakṣuṣāt. Not that if somebody challenges that "Have you seen God?" "Yes, I have seen." "How?" "Through śāstra, through śāstra." God reveals. You cannot see, even God comes before you... Just like Kṛṣṇa was present... Here is God before you. But you cannot understand. Unless we are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we'll think, "What is this, a statue of stone? He is God?" Yes, He is God. Otherwise, why we are spending so much money, wasting time? No, here is God. But how you can see God? Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena (Bs. 5.38). You have to make the eyes to see God. Otherwise, God is everywhere. So they may ask that "If God is everywhere, why you are worshiping an idol?" He's not idol, He is God, but he is seeing idol. Unless he has developed love for God, he cannot see. But it is, God is there. But because our eyes cannot see the spirit, at the present moment, our dull material eyes... Just like you are spirit soul, I am spirit soul, your father is spirit soul, your mother is spirit soul—but are you seeing the spirit soul? When the spirit soul goes away, you're crying, "My father is gone, my father is gone." Why father is gone? He's lying on the bed. You have seen the coat, pants, hands, legs, that is there. Why you say gone? "No, he's gone." So we cannot see the spirit soul even of our father and mother; how can you see God, the Supreme Spirit? Therefore God comes before you just like stone, which you can see. It is to favor you. God is everything. So, in this way, we have to understand God, Kṛṣṇa. And if anyone understands, then he becomes immediately fit for going back to home, back to Godhead. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo tattvataḥ (BG 4.9).

So therefore we require good association. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis tato bhāvas sadhakānām ayaṁ premnaḥ prādurbhāve... (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). You cannot develop love of Godhead in one second. You can, provided you are so sincere and God is very much pleased upon you. He can give you. He can give you immediately. That is possible. But that may be some rare cases. Ordinarily, this is the process. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo. Just like we have come here in this temple. You have got some faith, all of us. That is called śraddhā, ādau śraddhā. There are many hundred thousand in this quarter. Why they are not coming? This is the beginning. You have got some faith, śraddhā. You have come. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo. And if you continue... What we are doing? We are making the association to take lessons from these Vedic literatures. This is called sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83). In the drinking shop we make one kind of association, in the restaurant we make one association, in the club we make some association, different places. So here is a place, here is also association. It is called sādhu-saṅga, association with devotees. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). And if one is mature, then he wants to execute devotional service, bhajana-kriyā. And as soon as there is bhajana-kriyā, the unnecessary nonsense things will disappear. No more illicit sex, no more intoxication, no more drinking, no more gambling. Finished. When anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt, all these rascal habits are gone, then niṣṭhā, then firm faith, not to be agitated. Tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis. Then taste. You cannot live outside this camp. Taste has changed. Tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis, tathāśaktis, then attraction. Then bhāva. Bhāva means ecstasy: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa." Then there is love. There are different stage.

So this... Real religion is love, how to love God. That is real religion Dharma, what is that? Yato bhaktir... Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo (SB 1.2.6). There are different kinds of dharma, or religious system. But real religious system means how we have learned to love God. That's all. Nothing more. No ritualistic ceremony, no formula, nothing. If your heart is always crying for God, that is perfect religion. That is perfect religion. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvam: "Oh, without Kṛṣṇa, I am feeling the whole world is vacant." Vacant, yes. So we have to come to that stage. Of course, it is not possible for all of us, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed us how to become highest religious person. That is to feel always, "Oh, without Kṛṣṇa, everything is vacant." Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda viraheṇa me. That is dharma, that is dharma. So the Viṣṇudūta is testing these Yamadūtas, whether he understands what is the meaning of dharma. Dharma, we cannot create. Dharma is neither Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma, this dharma, that dharma. They may be some sectarian understanding, but real dharma means how we have learned to love God.

Page Title:Highest religious person
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:02 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1