18 " That entity which is factually the complete whole is known as the Supreme Absolute Being. Subordination, or service, to that Supreme Divinity Śrī Hari, is the only true independence – and it is a delightful independence. Apart from this, all pretentious claims to independence by those who have adopted the mood of being the doer or the masters of this world are the cause of extreme distress. Such false independence is nothing but subservience and slavery to māyā."


 Question 5: What is real independence?

Answer: Endeavouring to become the Lord of this world is abhakti – the antithesis of transcendental devotion. The desire to become the Lord or to become independent, by worldly calculations, is in reality the desire for servitude and dependence. Independence in this world is but a veiled form of subservience. However, desiring to become the loyal subject, or servant, of the Supreme Lord, He who is the embodiment of sat, cit and ānanda, is the factual cause of attaining the most complete independence. As long as the living being holds fast the rope of Bhagavān’s mercy, he should be known by the term sevaka (servant). The inhabitants of this material plane who fancy themselves as self-dependent, and who thus afford themselves a mood of indifference, are truly dependent on others. But those who are subservient to the Supreme Lord are genuinely independent.

When one achieves true independence, he is overwhelmed by the joyful realization, “I am eternally subservient to Śrī Hari!” That entity which is factually the complete whole is known as the Supreme Absolute Being. Subordination, or service, to that Supreme Divinity Śrī Hari, is the only true independence – and it is a delightful independence. Apart from this, all pretentious claims to independence by those who have adopted the mood of being the doer or the masters of this world are the cause of extreme distress. Such false independence is nothing but subservience and slavery to māyā.

- by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda


Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
from Śrīla Prabhupādera Upadeśāmṛta
Questions re-numbered for this on-line presentation


Rays of The Harmonist On-line, Year 3 & Year 16, Issue 1 “What is Real Independence?” by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda , is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License to ensure that it is always freely available. You may redistribute this article if you include this license and attribute it to Rays of The Harmonist. Please ask for permission before using the Rays of The Harmonist banner-logo.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How can an eternal entity possibly be created, manifested or produced?

Image
Vrajanātha: You said earlier that the spiritual (cit) world is eternal, and so is the jīva. If this is true, how can an eternal entity possibly be created, manifested or produced? If it is created at some point of time, it must have been non-existent before that, so how can we accept that it is eternal? Bābājī: The time and space that you experience in this material world are completely different from time and space in the spiritual world. Material time is divided into three aspects: past, present, and future. However, in the spiritual world there is only one undivided, eternally present time. Every event of the spiritual world is eternally present. Whatever we say or describe in the material world is under the jurisdiction of material time and space, so when we say, “The jīvas were created,” “The spiritual world was manifested,” or “There is no influence of māyā in creating the form of the jīvas,” material time is bound to influence our language and our statements. This is inevitabl...
Read more

3. "Śrī Gaurahari, as the indwelling Supersoul, mercifully reveals the eternal truth to the honest and sincere (niṣkapaṭa) person."

Image
  Question: Is everything the mercy of the Lord? Answer: All things are indeed the mercy of the supreme embodiment of mercy. Śrī Gaurasundara keeps us in different kinds of discomfort and among different people to test us in various ways. Success in all such tests depends on one’s fortune. Śrī Gaurahari, as the indwelling Supersoul, mercifully reveals the eternal truth to the honest and sincere (niṣkapaṭa) person. Faith in the illusory words of someone traversing the wrong path never arises in those who have sincerely and honestly taken shelter of the lotus feet of śrī guru and Śrī Hari. Only the unfortunate jīvas get bewildered by hearing deceitful words. The lotus feet of Śrīman Mahāprabhu are the only shelter. We should always read Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and listen to the commentary of a Vaiṣṇava who knows its true purports. We should constantly engage in chanting the holy names of the Lord without offence, and remain far away from the association of non-devotees. And we should...
Read more

5. "We also can see Bhagavan in our hearts."

Image
Question:  What kind of perspective should we accept to assure our auspiciousness? Answer: If we can see the whole universe as engaged in the service of Sri Bhagavan, then we will never experience any distress. We must hear katha about how to serve Bhagavan from one who can show us Bhagavan and who is engaged in service to Him twenty-four hours a day. This is the only way to attain our eternal, spiritual well-being. With their eyes of devotion, the sadhus who are bhaktas, or devotees of Bhagavan, always see Syamasundara Krsna within their hearts. Through the association and mercy of such sadhus, we also can see Bhagavan in our hearts. We will constantly busy ourselves in service to Bhagavan without wasting even a single moment. We have to serve, remaining exclusively in the association of sadhus. By constantly remaining in such sadhu-sanga, our aptitude for service will continuously be enhanced. Bhagavan fulfils every desire of His surrendered bhaktas without fail, and He never rej...
Read more