Svami Sadananda Dasa (Ernst Georg Schulze)

WAS SADANANDA INITIATED BY SVAMI BON MAHARAJA OR BY SHRILA BHAKTISIDDHANTA SARASVATI THAKUR PRABHUPADA?

A friend of mine drew my attention to a recurring question he is asked about Sadananda. Here is my answer, based on letters, diary entries and notebooks of Sadananda.

Q:
"Sadananda received diksa before going to India and meeting his guru. It is likely, therefore, that he was actually initiated by Vana Maharaja, Bhakti Saranga Maharaja, or BP Tirtha Maharaja. Some may say that the initiation was on Srila Sarasvati Thakura's behalf, and that may be so, or it may be a ritvik kind of thing."

A:
Sadananda received initiation from Bhaktisiddhanta via Bon and Tirtha Maharaja.

This is the documented process that Sadananda went through:

20.3.34 Instructions from Tirtha on Sambandha Jnana:
"(1) Real Nature of God; (2) Name is identical with God; (3) Mundane and Spiritual Sound; (4) The Medium: The Divine Master, his real nature and function; (5) The disciple, his real nature and function; (6) The illusory energy, nature, functions, incapability, stands before God; (7) The jiva-soul, bound and free; (8.) inability to liberate himself (9.); 3 things are essential: submission, earnest inquiry after truth, serving attitude; (10) Sound-name: to listen to it, 1st received from the Master, then to chant.“ (notebook of Sadananda)

31.3.34: Tirtha instructs him on the 9 nama-aparadhas. (Notebook)

13.4.34, Letter to Bhaktisiddhanta:
"Great sorrow filled my heart when I heard that His Divine Grace does not start for London in April. I should like nothing more than that the precious health of my Most Honourable Divine Master may soon be re-established and I be blessed by attaining the Lotus Feet of Sree Gurudeva."

In the same letter: "Blessed by Your Divine Grace I was initiated by Sree Swami Bon and received the holy Name from Sree Tirtha Maharaj. How shall I express the inclination of my heart to serve Your Divine Grace and His True Devotees.“

5.9.35
Arrival in India

2.7.36, Darjeeling (diary):
"After my talk: [Bhaktisiddhanta:] 'You have done great service to the mission & Krishna, will become great preacher of the Lord. Brahman(a) way of life, without alcohol, meat etc., having come from a rich country in poverty - always cheerful and happy - hence eternal name Sadananda; sada means nitya [i.e. always; ananda = joyful]. Later [in] life he will lead ascetic life and become Tridanda grahan karte [a Tridandi-Vaishnava sannyasi].'“ (into English by Katrin Stamm with annot. in square brackets)

-> Conclusion:

The 13th April 1934 was an auspicious day, the beginning of the Hindu solar year (Mesha Sakranti) and possibly the planned date of initiation.

Bhaktisiddhanta was supposed to come to London for Sadananda's initiation, but due to ill health he could not come. Instead, he instructed Tirtha and Bon to divide the responsibility for the initiation between them, which they would then give on behalf of their Gurudeva, Bhaktisiddhanta: Tirtha would give the necessary sambandha jnana and teach the 9 nama-aparadhas and then give Harinama. Bon Maharaja would give diksha.

Upon initiation, or after Sadananda had arrived in India, Bhaktisiddhanta gave him the name 'Sadananda'.

Bon and Tirtha never acted as Sadananda's gurus, nor did he regard them as such. Bhaktisiddhanta was and is Sadananda's guru.

(Katrin Stamm/Kalakanthidasi, Sadananda-Archive)

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In Bhakti Vikasa Svami's book "Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava" we find an interesting passage that provides an example how Harinama-initiation was given while Bon and Tirtha were touring Europe:

"Other Western Disciples:
On 1 October 1933, Mr. Arnold Corbluth, a student of London University, who for some time had been residing with and hearing Bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī from the Gauḍīya preachers in London, received harināma. Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had sent tulasī chanting beads and neckbeads, and the mahā-mantra written on paper. On behalf of Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, Śrīmad Tīrtha Mahārāja presented the chanting beads to Corbluth, tied the other beads round his neck, read aloud the mantra to him, and told him his new name, given by Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Kṛṣṇa dāsa."

The seemingly human lila of Bhagavan

"The Vaikuntha-Goloka-lila, with the lovely, tender and exuberant Krishna, Who asks His mother for permission to tend the cows etc., seems to be human, because the world of man is the perverted reflection (consisting of the three guna-s of maya) of this delightful Goloka-lila etc.

As soon as one hears about the charming Goloka-lila, one rejects the world of the three guna-s quite spontaneously and effortlessly, just as one throws an inedible shadow picture of an apple to the ground as soon as one gets a taste of the delicious apple from the apple tree.

As soon as this Goloka-lila becomes visible on earth as Gokula-Vraja, it throws all human “values” so much into the background that everything that had a value is turned into a shadow. It is therefore characterized as “vidambanam”, i.e. it makes the world and all mundane values (as conjugal love, parental love, love between friends etc.) completely unappetizing, and compared with Goloka and its lila it makes them appear completely trivial, ridiculous.

The [unmanifest] Goloka-lila and the revealed [manifest] Vraja-lila make the mundane values (of the three guna-s) appear as a mere parody; they make the most noble, human values simply ridiculous.

The doctor, who just caught me sitting and writing again, instead of resting, asked me: 'Except for your (and thereby my) friends in the West, will people there not stone you when you describe the whole modern world with its glorious performances as ridiculous, and thereby everything they consider to be good and noble?' "

(Svami Sadananda Dasa, Letter to Walther Eidlitz (Vamandas), 27 October 1959)

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Original auf Deutsch:

"Die Vaikuntha-Goloka-Lila des liebreichen, zarten Krishna und Seiner Ausgelassenheit – die Mutter um Kühehüten-Erlaubnis bitten etc., sieht menschlich aus, weil die pervertierte gunahafte Reflexion dieser Goloka-Lieblichkeits-Lila etc. eben die Menschenwelt ist.

So wie man ein ungenießbares Schattenbild eines Apfels auf der Erde verwirft, sobald man den köstlichen Apfel am Baume erhält, so lehnt man die Guna-Welt ganz von selbst ohne Anstrengung ab, sobald man von der Goloka-Lieblichkeits-Lila hört;

sobald diese Goloka-Lila nun auf Erden als Gokula-Vraja sich offenbart, stellt sie sofort alle menschlichen „Werte“ so in den Hintergrund, was Wert war, wird Schatten, – dass sie als „vidambanam“ bezeichnet wird, d.h. sie vermacht, dass die Welt und irdische Werte (wie Gattenliebe, Elternliebe, Freundschaft etc.) ganz unappetitlich und mit der Goloka-Lila und Goloka verglichen, ganz lächerlich wirkt;

die Goloka-Lila und die geoffenbarte Vraja-Lila lassen weltliche 3-Guna-Werte als eine bloße Parodie erscheinen; sie macht das Edelste, Menschliche einfach lächerlich. (...)

'Von Ihren (und damit meinen) Freunden im Westen abgesehen, wird man Sie nicht steinigen, wenn Sie im Westen die ganze moderne Welt mit ihren stolzen Errungenschaften als eine Lächerlichkeit bezeichnen, und damit alles, was man für edel und gut hält?' – so fragte eben der Arzt, der mich eben ertappte, dass ich statt zu ruhen, wieder sitze und schreibe ..."

Brief von Svami Sadananda Dasa an Walther Eidlitz (Vamandas), 27.10.59)

The seemingly "human" form of the parishads

The atma who has forgotten God receives an emotional and mental/intellectual and physical covering, which are perishable, but real.

God’s eternal companions in Vraja do not have such coverings.

The atma who has turned away from God believes he is the coverings and the coverings believe they are the atma. Until the atma has discarded these coverings and received a body etc. consisting of cit-shakti, he cannot enter God’s realm.

God’s eternal companion in the eternal lila – when it takes place on earth – has an eternal body and mind that consist of God’s Own shakti, and consequently he can carry God in his arms, touch Him, embrace Him and breast-feed Him. (...)

God’s eternal companion believes he has a body of flesh and blood, and he believes so, because this belief is a form of service.

The atma in a human being, who is under the delusion of Maya, believes he is a human being of flesh and blood, and this belief is an expression of greatest aversion to God, a result of being averse to seva, not wanting to serve, but wanting to experience and enjoy."

(Svami Sadananda Dasa, Corrections)

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Original auf Deutsch:

Die scheinbar menschliche Gestalt der Parishads

"Der gottvergessende atma erhält eine seelische und geistige und fleischliche Hülle, die zwar vergänglich, aber real ist.

Die Mitspieler Vrajas haben keine solche Hülle.

Der gottabgewandte atma meint er sei die Hülle und die Hülle meint, sie sei der atma. Diese Hülle muss der atma ablegen und einen aus Cit-Shakti bestehenden Leib erhalten, ehe er in das Reich Gottes kann.

Der Mitspieler der ewigen Lila, wenn sie auf Erden spielt, hat keine solchen Hüllen, er hat einen ewigen aus Sein bestehenden Leib und Geist. Deswegen kann er Gott auf seinen Armen tragen, Ihn berühren, umarmen, an seiner Brust stillen. (...)

Der ewige Mitspieler meint, er habe einen Leib aus Fleisch und Blut und er meint so, weil das so Meinen eine Form des Dienens ist.

Der atma im Maya-Menschen meint, er sei der Mensch von Fleisch und Blut – und dieses Meinen ist eine Form größter Gottabgewandheit, Folge des nicht Dienens, nicht Dienen-Wollens, sondern Erleben- und Geniessen-Wollens."
(Svami Sadananda Dasa, Korrekturen, S. 200-201)

Praise of Shrivasa

Caitanya-Candrodaya-Natakam

(into German by Svami Sadananda Dasa, manuscript pp. 25-27; into English by Katrin Stamm;):

Kali gives a list of the parshada-s who appeared before Krishna Caitanya: Advaita (Shambu), Avadhuta-Nityananda (Sankarshana), Shrivas (the teja [radiance/power] of Narada) and his 3 brothers Shrikantha, Shripati and Shrirama. [...]

Bhagavan:
It was I who gave you the dream in your sleep at night.
And it was I who gave you life in the hour of death.
(All in vismaya [in awe])
As iron becomes gold through contact with the sparsha-mani [touchstone], so your body has become different through the pravesha [permeation] of Narada-shakti.

Advaita:
It is true. How else would it be possible for a dead person to come to life! But Bhagavan, in reality all these bhakta-s accompanying you are sahaja-svabhava by nature (they are nitya in form and essence). You have shown this aishvarya in the case of Shrivasa to teach that by “bhajan to Me (Krishna) (mad-bhajanam)” a person gets a different body. In reality, your bhakta Shrivasa is “Bhakti-Shri-Vasa” (abode of Shri-Bhakti). What you have said is actually a praise of the greatness of Shrivasa.

Bhagavan:
Advaita, you have spoken truthfully.

_____________________

Original auf Deutsch:

Preis des Shrivasa

Caitanya-Candrodaya-Natakam
(ins Deutsche übersetzt von Svami Sadananda dasa, Manuskript S. 25-27):

Kali gibt eine Aufzählung der Parshada-s, die vor Krishna Caitanya aufgetreten sind: Advaita (Shambu), Avadhuta-Nityananda (Sankarshana), Shrivas (der Teja [Lichtglanz/Kraft] Narada’s) und seine 3 Brüder Shrikantha, Shripati und Shrirama. […]

Bhagavan:
Ich war es, der in dem Schlaf der Nacht dir den Traum gab. Und Ich war es, der in der Todesstunde dir das Leben wiedergab. (Alle in vismaya [Erstaunen]) Wie Eisen durch Berührung mit dem Sparsha-Mani [Stein des Weisen] zu Gold wird, so ist dein Körper anders geworden durch den pravesha [Durchdringung] der Narada-shakti.

Advaita:
Es ist richtig. Wie wäre es sonst möglich, dass ein Toter lebendig wird! Aber Bhagavan, in Wirklichkeit sind alle diese Bhakta-s, die Dich begleiten, sahaja-svabhava von Natur (sie sind nitya von Gestalt und von Wesen). Du hast diese Aishvarya in Shrivasa’s Fall gezeigt, um zu lehren, dass durch „Bhajan zu Mir (Krishna)“ (mad-bhajanam) der Mensch einen anderen Leib bekommt. In Wirklichkeit ist Dein Bhakta Shrivasa „Bhakti-Shri-Vasa“ (Wohnort der Shri-Bhakti). Was Du gesagt hast, ist in Wirklichkeit ein Preis der Größe Shrivasa’s.

Bhagavan:
Advaita, du hast wahr gesprochen.

NO TIME

(Notes on a lecture by Bhaktisiddhanta which Sadananda took in Darjeeling July 36)

“I cannot engage myself,
give my time to these ephemeral things;
will it lead me to serve the Absolute?
If not, I will not give my hand.

I have every hope He will be pleased to see me.
I do everything He likes according to His whims.
I must submit to Him.

But I am ever ready to serve Him;
I am ever ready to do anything for Him.
When He wants me to submit to such and such things,
what unpleasant situations I may be put in,
I know – if I submit, it will accrue to His pleasure.

Eulogies should be my way of advertising Him.
I will ever remain under His shelter;
don’t show any wrong desire after independence.
Don’t meddle with any worldly affairs.

I am then attracted and brought to His presence.
All my activities should tend to Him.
I am always in close touch with Him;
I don’t want to be separated.
Not a single minute,
but I should serve Him 24 hours.
Day and night
I should have no other inclination and occupation
but to serve Him.

We should not think
that we need not be vitally interested in Visnu.
The whole atmosphere is to be surcharged with devotion.”

(Quote: Prabhupad, 8.VII.36, Darjeeling)

GURU-PADASHRAYA

"I wish in these few lines to express my most humble greetings to the Lotus Feet of Your Divine Grace and my sincere prayer to bless His unworthy servant with His Unlimited Grace, to count me among the dust under His Blissful Feet.
At the same time I lie down my humble life unconditionally at His Lotus Feet and pray to accept it as the only offering I am able to give."

(letter by Sadananda to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, April 1934)

"Your name and your form (rupa) –
both are eternal gestalt. (murti) –
You, Nityananda, you are the realm of the Vaishnavas.
You are Ishvara, Ananta!

All the ornaments on your body –
they are avatara of bhaktiyoga.
Gold, silver, diamond, etc. etc.,
they are the 9-fold bhakti,
that you manifest in sukha of yourself.
You are the one
who makes the low-born free, the fallen, the meek.

That bhakti which you have given to the goldsmiths,
the Devas, Siddhas Munis, Yogeshvaras desire.
The Vedas call Krishna
the completely independent one (sva-tantra)
but you are able to sell Krishna.
Who can comprehend you?

Who is the avatara of Krishna-Rasa manifest.
In kirtana-sukha you are unaware of the outside world,
Krishna's name and gunas
are continuously on your lips.
Krishna is always on your tongue,
and your body is Krishna's playground.

And therefore,
whoever has priti for you,
Krishna will never, never leave him.

(Caitanya Bhagavatam, Antya 7, 48; into German by Svami Sadananda Dasa; into English by Kalakanthidasi)

German:

„Dein Name und deine Gestalt (rupa) –
beide sind ewige Gestalt. (murti) –
Du, der Nityananda, du bist das Reich der Vaishnavas.
Du bist Ishvara, Ananta!
Alle die Schmuckstücke an deinem Leibe –
sie sind Avatara des Bhaktiyoga.
Gold, Silber, Diamant, etc. etc.,
sie sind die 9-fache Bhakti,
die du in Sukha deiner selbst offenbarst.

Du bist der, der die niedrig Geborenen frei macht,
die Gefallenen, Niedrigen.
Die Bhakti, die du den Goldschmieden gegeben hast,
die begehren die Devas, Siddhas Munis, Yogeshvaras.

Die Veden nennen Krishna den ganz Unabhängigen (sva-tantra)
doch du vermagst den Krishna zu verkaufen.
Wer kann dich verstehen,
der der Avatara des Krishna-Rasa in Gestaltform ist.

Im Kirtana-Sukha weißt du nichts von Außenwelt,
ununterbrochen sind Krishna’s Name und Guna-s
auf deinen Lippen.
Krishna ist immer auf deiner Zunge,
und dein Leib ist der Spielplatz Krishna‘s.

Und deswegen,
wer Priti zu dir hat,
den wird Krishna nie, nie verlassen."

(Caitanya Bhagavatam, Antya 7, 48; ins Deutsche übersetzt von Svami Sadananda Dasa (Ernst Georg Schulze))

"Nityananda in this avatara is a deeply hidden one. –
If Caitanya Himself shows him,
then he can be recognised!
And if one does not understand Nityananda
and his profound life,
one may have Vishnubhakti,
but one will not reach the goal.

And they see Nityananda,
seated, the noblest of the great,
shining like a thousand suns –
and yet he could not be recognised by external signs.
His heart was absorbed in jnana-sukha,
smiling with goodwill."

(Caitanya-Bhagavatam, Madhya 3, 169–178; into German by Svami Sadananda Dasa; into English by Kalakanthidasi)

GERMAN:

"Nityananda in diesem Avatara ist ein tief Verborgener. –
Wenn Caitanya selbst ihn zeigt,
dann kann man ihn erkennen!
Und wenn einer den Nityananda nicht versteht
und dessen abgrundtiefes Leben,
der mag Vishnubhakti haben,
doch wird er nicht ans Ziel kommen.

Und sie sehen Nityananda, sitzend,
der edelste der ganz Großen,
leuchtend wie tausende von Sonnen –
und doch an äußeren Zeichen konnte man ihn nicht erkennen. Sein Herz war in Jnana-Sukha versunken,
voller Gutwillen lächelnd."

(Caitanya-Bhagavatam, Madhya 3, 169–178; ins Deutsche übersetzt von Svami Sadananda Dasa (Ernst Georg Schulze))

"A gigantic figure,
very solemn and grave, unfathomable,
day and night the Krishna-Nama on his lips,
thus different from the sannyasins of the jnana path.
He is Chaitanya's light in the three worlds,
and none is equal to Nityananda.

Nityananda is incomparable (a-dvitiya) in this respect.
From time to time he roars like a drunkard,
like an avatara of Balaram.

His face is lovelier than a thousand moons,
a smile on his lips - the life of the worlds!
His teeth are more beautiful than pearls,
his eyes are wide and bright with reddish corners,
and his arms reach down to his knees.

Mighty chest, strong feet, yet gentle in his stride,
pouring grace with his words.

Whoever heard them was freed from all bo***ge.
This is how he looked when he came to Navadvipa."

(Caitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya 3, 163 –167; into German by Svami Sadananda Dasa; into English by Kalakanthidasi)

GERMAN:

"Eine riesige Gestalt, sehr ernst und tief, unergründlich,
Tag und Nacht den Krishna-Nama auf seinen Lippen,
also verschieden von den Sannyasi-s des Jnana-Pfades.

Er ist in den drei Welten Chaitanya‘s Licht
und keiner ist so wie Nityananda.
Nityananda ist unvergleichlich (a-dvitiya) in dieser Hinsicht.

Von Zeit zu Zeit brüllt er auf wie trunken,
so wie eben ein Avatara Balaram‘s.
Gesicht liebreicher als tausende von Monden,
Lächeln auf den Lippen - das Leben der Welten!

Seine Zähne herrlicher als Perlen,
weite leuchtende Augen mit rötlichen Winkeln,
Arme bis zu den Knien reichend.

Brust mächtig, starke Füße, doch zart im Hinschreiten,
Gnade ausströmend mit seinen Worten.
Wer sie hörte, wurde frei von allen Banden.
So sah er aus, als er nach Navadvipa kam."

(Caitanya-Bhagavata, Madhya 3, 163 –167; übersetzt ins Deutsche von Svami Sadananda Dasa (Ernst Georg Schulze))

Shrila Prabhupada's Vani

Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada’s final instructions, given on the 23rd of December 1936, nine days before his tirobhava, on the 1st of January 1937 at 5:30 a.m. when he entered Shri Shri Radha-Govinda’s nishanta-lila, the pastimes ending the night.

English prose rendering by Kalakanthidasi of the original German word by word translation by Sadananda, including some comments, of the original Bengali text. The English direct translation of the German translation can be found here:https://sadananda.com/txt/en/text_downloads/en/spv-en.pdf
The German original here:https://sadananda.com/txt/de/text_downloads/de/spv-de.pdf

"I have agitated and offended many people because I was obliged to make truthful statements about the Reality, which excluded any selfish motives, including the desire for moksha. Many people have taken me for their enemy for the reason that I told them to do Hari's bhajanam without any hypocrisy (i.e. without speculation on or interest in the result of their own dharma). I have caused, in many respects, inner turmoil in many people so that they may become free from any selfish interest in the result of their own actions and become turned towards Krishna-seva, without striving through the seva of Krishna for anything else but this seva. Those who were offended by being told to do seva of Krishna, under exclusion of any desire for something other than this seva, will some day perhaps be able to comprehend what I have said.

You shall all proclaim Rupa and Raghunatha’s statements and accounts of the Reality everywhere with the greatest sacrifice and devotion. The highest goal we strive for is to become pollen of, i.e. to adhere tenaciously to, the cit-lotus-flowers of the feet of those who follow the ideal that Shri Rupa expresses as the ideal of seva in his own seva, i.e. who serve in subordination to Shri Rupa, and the coolness of which soothes and appeases the heat of the agony of the separation of Krishna, His seva and the seva of the parishada-s.

You all should serve Shri Radha together, according to Shri Rupa's instruction; Shri Radha, who is the loving subject and abode of prema. Serve Her with the sole aim of satisfying the cit-senses (including the inner sense) of Krishna, Who is the undivided subject of cognition and whose existence does not depend on anything else but Himself.

May you all somehow do what is absolutely necessary for the preservation of life in this non-permanent, directly experienced mundane reality – which anyway lasts only one or two days – only for the sake of the bhajanam or service of Hari, because the preservation and continuation of individual existence as a human being can only be meaningful if serving Hari is the sole motive.

Do not give up your Hari-bhajanam – not even in the face of hundreds of obstacles, hundreds of contemptuous remarks and hundreds of abuses. Do not become discouraged when you see that the vast majority of people in the world are not willing to listen to the accounts of serving Krishna for the sake of service. Do not give up your own individual method of seva, your own one and all, your shravanam and kirtanam of the accounts and descriptions of Krishna. Do Hari-kirtanam unceasingly, while knowing yourself to be lower than a blade of grass and enduring everything like a tree. We nurture the great hope that we will be able to burn this body, similar to a packhorse, as an oblation in the fire sacrifice of Shri Krishna Caitanya's samkirtanam and His parishat-s. We do not desire any kind of heroic sacrifice in the fulfillment of our own karma or the heroic fulfillment of our own dharma, even sacrificing our own life, but our true, innermost intention, our one and all is this: to be a particle of dust at the lotuses of the feet of Shri Rupa Prabhu from birth to birth.

You should keep the vow of proclaiming what Thakura Bhakti-Vinoda desires most in his heart with even greater enthusiasm, so that the flow of the joy-giving bhakti and of Bhaktivinoda Thakura is never blocked. There are many worthy and capable ones among you.

We know of no other desire – the only thing we say again and again (in Samskritam) is: 'Taking a straw between my teeth, I beg again and again: May I be a pollen at the lotus feet of Shrimat-Rupa from birth to birth.' As long as we are in samsara, there are many kinds of difficulties, but it is not our intention to let these difficulties distract us from our goal and overwhelm us, nor to make any special efforts to remedy these difficulties.

What needs to be done is this: We have to realize now, under the given circumstances, what kind of accomplishment we want to achieve when all these difficulties have been overcome eventually, how and to what purpose we want to live, i.e., what our eternal meaning of life or dharma actually is, whether shrouded in a Maya covering or not. Above all, we need to come to a clear double decision: What among the different kinds of things that attract and repel us we actually desire and reject.

To the extent that we move even the slightest bit away from the lotusfeet of Krishna, the attraction and repulsion here will affect us. The accounts of the rasa of the seva of Krishna can only be understood when one has completely gone beyond the attraction and repulsion of this world and is strongly and powerfully attracted to the Bhagavan’s name, that is identical with Bhagavan Himself.

The statements about Krishna are startling and perplexing at first. Everything that bears the name of man fights, consciously or unconsciously, more or less, to eliminate everything that opposes the experience of our eternal goal, i.e. ananda.

[If the atma, turned away from God, does not want Bhagavan's seva, but bhoga or enjoyment of the Maya world and then receives coverings consisting of the guna-s of the Maya, with which he identifies himself, then his striving for ananda continues, but he seeks this ananda, where it can never be found at all. He tries in vain to achieve happiness in the world by eliminating the difficulties that stand in the way of his bhoga and does not know that he is basically striving for the happiness of seva. The atma, averted from God, in all his efforts to secure his existence and happiness in this life and in his enormous efforts to overcome all difficulties, basically strives for the ananda of the seva of Bhagavan. But only when through sanga, i.e. very close inner connection with the Bhakta-s, vasana-s to seva are planted, and then the natural tendency of the atma to serve Bhagavan begins to sprout, and then he no longer strives for the elimination of difficulties that stand in the way of his bhoga, but only for the best possible elimination of obstacles that stand in the way of his seva.]

Our sole goal is that after we have gone beyond the pair of opposites, attraction and repulsion, we come to the realm where this eternal goal, the seva connection with Bhagavan, is realized. We have no affection or dislike for anyone in this world. All things and relationships of this world are only temporary. For everyone the inevitable necessity exists to realize this seva connection with Bhagavan. All of you should acquire the inner qualification and entitlement to the seva of the origin of prema, of Shri Radha, by having this one and only motive: obtaining the highest goal, prema, and pulling together on the same rope!

May the stream of thoughts of those who follow the idea that Shri Rupa expresses as the ideal of seva in its own seva, i.e. who serve in submission to Shri Rupa, flow mightily in the world! Oh, that at no time and under no circumstances we show any aversion or lack of interest to the seven-tongued Shri Krishna-samkirtana-yajña. If we have a one-pointed, ever-increasing ever fresh attraction to this sacrifice, we will be granted the attainment of all that we strive for. Proclaim with great enthusiasm and fearless throat the statements of Shri Rupa-Raghunatha about the true Reality in one-pointed submission to those who serve Shri Rupa!"

"Only those who have understood,
that the world of Māyā is
viparīta-pratibimba
(an inverted counter-image)
of Reality,
can have an approximate idea
of what Kṛṣṇa is."

(Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda; quoted by Svāmī Sadānanda Dāsa)

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Original auf Deutsch:

"Nur, wer verstanden hat,
dass die Māyāwelt
viparīta-pratibimba
(umgekehrtes Gegenbild)
der Wirklichkeit ist,
kann sich eine annähernde Vorstellung
von dem machen,
was Kṛṣṇa ist."

(Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda; zitiert von Svāmī Sadānanda Dāsa)

The "human" form of God:

(Svāmī Sadānanda Dāsa's commentary on Bṛhadbhagavatāmṛta II.2.178)

"Nara-ākṛti literally means human structure or form.
This expression, however, does not mean the human form, but a cit-form, whose distorted image or viparīta pratibimba, is the form of man consisting of the material of the guṇa-s."

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Original auf Deutsch:

Die „menschliche“ Gestalt Gottes:

(Svāmī Sadānanda Dāsa‘s Kommentar zu Bṛhadbhagavatāmṛta II.2.178)

"Nara-Ākṛti heißt wörtlich: Mensch-Struktur oder Gestalt.
Mit diesem Ausdruck ist aber nicht etwa die menschliche Form gemeint, sondern eine Cit-Gestalt, deren Zerrbild oder viparīta Pratibimba, die aus dem Material der Guṇa-s bestehende Form des Menschen ist."

Śrī Rādhā's tilaka (forehead sign): Smarayantra
(Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhāvanāmṛtam, chap. 4)

"A magical drawing
that brings Smara or the "God of Love"
under control.

Śyāma (the circle, the "God of Love")
has defeated Mahādeva (the Aguru field),
has stolen the moon off him
and brought it to the centre;
and the 5th rasa (kastūrī-bindu),
who pervades everything,
has taken his seat in the middle of the moon.

On the golden forehead
are small leaves and tendrils
forming a diagram, as of syllables or letters,
so that the whole looks like a yantra,
a helper of mantra,
the power of which brings Kṛṣṇa
entirely under its sway.

In both cases, instead of the moon,
there may be a recumbent crescent moon.
Viśākhā paints the tilaka."

Translation of the descriptions in the drawing:

dots of saffron (sindura)
circle of golden sandal paste
moon with a dot (bindu) of black musk (kastūrī)
leafy tendrils

black circle of kastūrī
red lotus
aguru (aloe) field
moon
kastūrī-bindu

(Drawing and translation by Svāmī Sadānanda Dāsa)
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Original auf Deutsch:

Śrī Rādhā’s Tilaka (Stirnzeichen): Smarayantra

Eine magische Zeichnung, die Smara oder den „Gott der Liebe“ unter Kontrolle bringt.

Śyāma (der Kreis, der „Gott der Liebe“) hat den Mahādeva (das Aguru-Feld) besiegt, hat ihm den Mond gestohlen und ihn in die Mitte gebracht; und der 5. Rasa (kastūrī-bindu), der alles durchdringt, hat mitten im Mond Platz genommen.

Auf der goldenen Stirn sind kleine Blätter und Ranken, die ein Diagramm bilden, wie von Silben oder Buchstaben, so dass das Ganze wie ein Yantra aussieht, ein Mantra-Hilfsmittel, dessen Kraft Kṛṣṇa ganz unter seine Gewalt bringt.

In beiden Fällen kann statt des Mondes eine liegende Mondsichel sein. Viśākhā malt den Tilaka.

(Svami Sadananda Dasa, Zeichnung und Übersetzung)