Who is a sadhu?

Question: We often hear that Guru, sastras and sandu, so, who is sadhu, how can we describe or explain this term? And also, very often I hear devotees in Russia they had like a (?), it’s maybe another separate question,  but often sometimes devotees, when somebody’s having problems with health or some suffering, devotees in Russia usually say, “Sadhu has to suffer.” Like all sadhus have to suffer, so is it true, or this is another question, that some sufferings are coming to force sadhu?

Well, when someone asked Srila Saraswati Thakur a similar question, and, he was very tired and exhausted at the time, cause as Srila Guru Maharaj has written in the Prabhupad-pranamami-sada-prabhupada-padam, song, krpaya hari kirttana murti dharam, dharani dhara haraka gaura janam, janakadhika vatsala snigda padam pranamami sada prabhupada padam, is the krpaya, is the hari kirttana murti, personification of Krsna-katha, speaking about Krsna, he was incessantly talking about Krsna. And always eager fro any opportunity to speak about Krsna, to glorify Krsna. And as we hear, that’s gopi-bhav, tava-kathamrta-tattva-jivanam, life giving kavibhir iditam kalmasaapakam, removing all suffering, sravanam mangalam, this sort of hearing is the beginning of all auspiciousness as an subhada, klesagni subhada moksa udgita krt sandrananda visesatma sri krsna karsinichasa, even Krsna finds it irresistible to hear these things. Srimad-atatam, gives so much wealth (?), real wealth, substantial wealth, and He’s beautifying, bhuvi grananti te bhuri dhajana, and those who are moving in this world, distributing this substance, they are really giving people something valuable. So, they are sadhus.

But on this particular occasion, Srila Saraswati Thakur was exhausted, so he asked Srila Guru Maharaj to speak. And Guru Maharaj he might of begun with the sadhava-hrdayam-madhyam slok, and he has a particular as usual has (?) them, he was laying the ground for the preceding in the particular direction. But Saraswati Thakur was not, he wasn’t feeling that that was the approach that should be taken at this time. So, he stopped Guru Maharaj and he started giving something. And Guru Maharaj said, “I just,” so many years later, he was also, “I just felt that I’ve been given the opportunity.” It’s just so sweet to hear Guru Maharaj saying this, and it tells us something very mystical. So, what I want to say is that there is ot only one way, that this question can be answered, that’s what I want to say. Because I’ve a full faith in Srila Guru Maharaj and the direction he was going, and of course Saraswati Thakur, he wanted to take it in another direction or achieve a particular point more rapidly, or whatevet it was, then unfortunately that particular tape, this one of the my lamentations in life, where sometimes a particular tape just stops. And we don’t have the rest of it. So if someone says, “Oh, what did Saraswati Thakur say?” I cannot say. But that’s okay also, because this is a living conversation, that is the part of the beauty, this is a living conversation, it’s not hat something was lost. These things are actually never really lost, they appear to be from like, yoganasta parantapa, that kind of thing, I mean that they go into a suppressed position. But the glorification of the Lord by His devotees, it’s forever, it’s eternal. And that flow, eternal flow, that current can be entered. So, we don’t have to lament, that, “Oh, it something was lost, because it’s only just not accessible momentarily.” And if there is some genuine necessity if the heart has a genuine necessity, Krsna will reciprocate the genuine necessity of the heart. We’re engaged in the cultivation of faith, and not faithless. We’re engaged in cultivation of faith. 

So, when Jayadev writing Gita-govinda, the inspiration comes, dehi padapalavam udharam, but he thinks in some quarrel of Radha and Krsna, when Krsna wants to appoligize and acknowledge some wrong on his part. The Absolute good can be wrong. That’s the beauty of Krsna Consciousness. The Supreme Absolute Truth can say, “Forgive me.” Everyone is asking God for forgiveness, that the religion most people know, “God, forgive me, I’ve done wrong.” But they haven’t heard of the religion where God gets down on his hands and knees to begs forgiveness from his greatest devotee. The sadhus are those who know about this. So, Jayadev Goswami, he’s thinking, this is too much. He wrote something and like, “No, I…” And that shows us also, he’s not thinking that anything and everthing that comes to him is divine, that it’s divine inspiration, “I am the great Jayadev, the great Kavi, poet Jaydev, what comes to me, that’s really.” That’s not how he’s thinking, that’s not how he achieved that position. Sometimes we say sadhu means cuts, chindanti, cuts, with the sharp, with words. But it’s not only towards others, they’ve applied been most critical of themselves. As Gurudev said, “My religion is finding faults with myself.” So, they don’t trust their own motives, anyabhilasita sunyam jnana karmadhya navrttam, no ulterior motive. So, they will think, “Maybe some ulterior motive while I’m expressing any particular thing.” Pratistha, self-establish. Is that really to establish the Lord, the glory of the Lord and his devotees? Or in the name of krsna katha, speaking of Krsna, Guru, seva, all these things, really it’s to establish myself and my own reputation. So, there the hallmark of the pure devotees is this type of healthy skepticism about themselves. They are not (?) into suspicions to others, but to themselves. 

So, even the great Jayadev is thinking, “This is too much to express, I need to walk away, just stop where I am, this is getting to heavy, just stop, go bathe, get a cool head, the head is getting hot, get a cool head, take prasadam, maybe a little rest, some prasadam, little rest, get up and pray.” So, but we know, madbhaktya pujya abhyakhika, Krsna tells Uddhava, the worship of my devotees takes precedence of the worship of Myself. Krsna as the devotees are eager to spread the glories of Krsna in the world, Krsna is more eager to spread the glories of His devotees in the world, and the glories of devotion. And the glories of the supreme devotee, kemoni dharitam dhe, radhara mahima prema rasasima jagata janake ke, so much so, the Guru-rupa of Hari, when Krsna becomes Guru, He comes to teach everyone, then Radharani is the Supreme. She is the Supreme devotee, by worshiping Her, serving Her, Radha-dasyam, then Krsna Consciousness will be meaningful. You’ll get Krsna in your pocket, in you hand. He comes, sva bhaktye vyasudham nija bhajanam mudra upadisham. So, he always wants to broadcast the glories of Srimati Radharani, an wants to reveal Her position to the world.

So, while Jayadev goes after bathe, Krsna assumes the from of Jayadev. And comes in and He writes in his own hand, dehi pada palavam uddharam, that Krsna comes and falls at the feet of Radharani to beg forgiveness. Then Jayadev’s wife seeing Krsna as Jayadev says, “Oh, Prabhu, your prasadam.” He comes and taked prasadam, that’s also th beauty of Krsna Consciousness. Krsna Himself is coming and taking and devotee is serving. Then he vanishes. Then the original Jayadev comes and sees his wife eating, and their custom is after the husband, when the wife will take something. So, he is thinking, as my Irish grandfather will say, “Woman!” He used to call my grandmother ‘woman.’ [laughs]. So, he’s asking, “What are you doing?” And she’s saying, “Prabhu,” and she is thinking, “Boy, my husband is acting so strange today.” “You’re taking prasadam before me, I don’t’ understand.” “No, remember, you’ve finished your writing and then you came and took prasadam.” He is thinking, “What finished writing, took prasadam.” And he goes and looks at the book and sees, the inspiration that came in his heart was written by Krsna personally, like, “I can understand your hesitation in contemplating those matters, yes, its very confidential and shocking, this type of candid revelation, but I want the world to know it in your song, this greatest song in one sense, the Gita-govinda, I want to be broadcasted there, this truth, that I fall at the feet of my beloved in supplication, I want that to be known.” 

And Kaviraj Goswami says in the Chaitanya-charitamrtam, where he says, remember he was in his nineties and legally blind, arthritic. He said, “I am astonished, how,” and he is writing the greatest literature to ever seen the light of day in all time, all space and all creations. Legally blind and arthritic and these beautiful, beautiful slokas are coming, is describing the highest thing ever. And he says, “But it’s not me, Madan-gopal, Madan-mohan, they’re moving my hand and making me write those things. I’m but their instrument.” Sancharja rama bhida bhakti meghe, Ramananda, the cloud, drawn from the ocean of Bhaktisiddhanta raining again. And (?) says, “I am like a musical instrument, you’re playing me.” Nimita matram bhava sabyasachcham. Then Jayadev can understand, that something miraculous is taking place in his home, and Krsna Himself has come, and now he is very eager to get some of that prasadam, what was his wife? Padmavati? Or Padma. “Give me that prasadam!” So, but there is a reason why I said that. Sadhu. Yes, but why, there was a connection. 

Devotee: You were telling that critical, they’re critical…
Goswami Maharaj: Oh, self-critical. That the kadi, cause sometimes, like Srila Prabhupad used to say, “Sadhu means one who cut sharply.” That’s also one meaning. But with what? Sometimes we’re told unpleasant language. Or an unpleasant truth, which seems to be a violation, satyam bruhyat sloka, where you know, always speak the truth, speak the truth in a pleasing way, don’t speak an unpleasing truth. But sometimes the sadhus do that. To strike lightning in the heart.  Like what is that thing to do, when someone’s heart is not working?
Devotee: Electroshock.
Goswami Maharaj: Yes, but it has a name, like CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, when they put these things and they go [imitates the sound of  electrical discharge]. So, when someone’s heart is practically dead, sometimes the sadhus do CPR, by saying something, that shocks and brings them back to life. And that’s mercy, foolish people, what are they gonna say? “Hey, leave that guy alone.” No, if you leave him alone, he’s gonna be dead. Not leave him alone. It looks like what they’re doing is something brutal. But it’s not, it’s mercy. It’s merciful. It’s sometimes little shock to the heart, to revive the proper consciousness and consideration.
Devotees: Maharaj, (?) defibrillator.
Goswami Maharaj: Defibrillator, that’s what it is, not CPR, defibrillator. The lesser skilled devotees do CPR. [laughs]. Looks like they are giving someone a good beating. The sadhus use defibrillation with.

And Gurudev what did he say? The sadhu came to his town, sent by Guru Maharaj, empowered by Guru Maharaj, in a line of Saraswati Thakur, vilasatu hrdi nityam bhaktisiddhanta vani, the sadhu came to his town and said, “You mother is nothing, your father is nothing,  this world is nothing, you’ll have to give it up.” And Gurudev, it struck his heart, like shock. And Guru Mahraj was a student in the collage, and in one morning, they were brushing their teeth, and one boy said, “That gentleman’s house I live in he would say…” and Guru Maharaj realized he was talking about his father. And Guru Maharaj said, “That was not a proper way to speak, referring you father. That gentleman’s house I live in. That’s not very proper or respectful.” And he said the boy, he was from Bangladesh, he said, “Yes, actually you’re right, but isn’t it true?” Brahmanda brahmite, I’ve wondered through the length and breath of this Universe, from one species to another from life to another, from one house to another, and now I’m in that gentleman’s house. And Guru Maharaj said, it struck his heart like a shock. The truth of what he was saying. And it wasn’t presented in the most pleasant way, but it shocked him into the proper consciousness. 

And Malini, Malta Malini, as Gurudev and we called her affectionally, she didn’t know the position of cat in India, and for all the lol-cats out there in the audience this evening, just courage, so she didn’t know that in India, cats are not used to be approached by people, like, “Here kitty,” they don’t do that. So, she approached this one cat and the cat was, they used to being shoot away if not more from human beings. So, the cat went into a defensive posture and she thought if I just hold the cat and the cat will understand I am affectionate, well-wishing friend. And then the cat bit her. Sunk its teeth into her forearm. And this is more or less like the day or two before she’s leaving India. And so she is sitting with the bandage around her (?) and getting her final instructions from Gurudev before leaving and he knows everything, and he tells her in his final words, “Don’t be too attached to anything in this world, including any person, place, thing, any animal,” and then he said, “Or any human being.” [laughs]. Suddenly human beings were like cats biting you.

Like this one man we used to in the Juhu-beach in Bombay, sometimes old old life-members would join the Temple, like in their expecting to leave the world or something. And so this elderly man was in the situation like that and he would sometimes share stories with us. I mean real stories like about his life. And sometimes some jokes too he told. But he is very serious taking Krsna-nam, following very seriously. One day he made some shared some observations about family life with us and he said, “My wife and family were like mosquitos biting me in the night.” [laughs]. And then another man, I’m at the Kolkata airport flying to Delhi, sitting next to me and the one-hour flight was delayed by twelve hours, showed up at seven o’clock in the morning, they said it will be taken off tonight at seven. And this man sitting next tot me and they see you’re dressed like this and want to share things. And he said to me, I (?) not just sitting there, I didn’t ask for this, that’s what I mean to say, I am just sitting there, and he said, “If I win the lottery I will give all the money to my wife,” and I thought, “How sweet is that.” He said, “And then say, ‘Please, release me.” [laughs]. Sweet (?) still. So, sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways. 

I’m just keeping with this theme that sometimes that sadhus use the language, that sloka is there, I believe that’s in the, I know it’s in the Bhagavatam, whether it’s eleventh canto or the first canto, I am not sure, but it has words chindanti and ukti-bhir, meaning this sometimes cutting language. But that’s not what Guru Maharaj chose to emphasize at that time. And certainly that’s not what Saraswati Thakur chose to emphasize, although he did once say, that, “If the sadhu flatters me he becomes my enemy.” Meaning it will be better, if he would correct me. If he is dealing with me too much in the pleasant, perfunctory way, I won’t be deriving the real benefit of the potential of this transaction. Like Vidhur to Drtarastra, I don’t want to keep giving endless negative examples, but sometimes someone has to come and say something to snap someone out of maya, as we’re used to say. But sadhavo hrdoyam madhyam. Krsna’s saying, “The sadhus whose who are in my heart.” Those who are in the heart of Krsna. Why? If you want to tie it to what I’ve just said, it’s because they’ve cut off all ties with everyone and everything, they have no one else, but Krsna and His devotees. 

And there is another place, perhaps in the ninth canto, Krsna is saying, “If someone is like that, they gave up everything for Me, their familied, their livelihood, their reputation, they gave up everything for Me, do you think I could ever give them up? Such a person, who’s given up everything for me? I could give them up? That’s impossible.” When Srivas Thakur’s son died during the a kirttan, and Mahaprabhu is in divine ecstasy, and all the women next room they are crying, and he’s like, “What happened?” “Your son died.” He said, “That may be, but Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Reality, the Original Personality of godhead in His most inconceivably charming ecstatic form is dancing in ecstasy in the next room and nothing will disturb Him.” And it goes on for hours. And later Mahaprabhu felt, “Something’s wrong?” Srivas Thakur is, “Nothing. Everything’s perfect by your grace.” But when Mahaprabhu comes to find out his son died during the kirttan, but Srivas Thakur didn’t want to destroy Mahaprabhu’s mood with the news, Mahaprabhu’s like, “How could I ever give up someone like that? Impossible.” And then Mahaprabhu went in and saw the boy. What was the boy’s name? Gopal? And he said, “Gopal, get up.” And Gopal, “Yes, my Lord.” He sat up and said, “Actually it is only by your grace that I had this opportunity to be before you, to take this life and get the association of you and your devotees.” And we find out later in the songs of Bhaktivinod Thakur he is an incarnation of the son of Chitraketu. So, he said, “By your divine will I go from life to life, I find myself in this situation, in that situation, so, I’ve come here for some time to be a child and get your association and your devotees.”

So, like in the Saraswati Thakur’s explanation of this sajjan toshani, which he later paraphrased and rendered in English as the “Harmonist.” Said, who are the sat? Satjan. That also means sadhu-jan. Means those who belong to Krsan, who are Krsna’s own. Not someone who has a particular level of spiritual realization, this kind of thing. Who are Krsna’s own, Krsna considers them His own. They’ve reached that level. In the general sense in Bengal, that’s another thing.  Remember when I was in Bengal in the first year, when something, observed something someone had done, “How can he do that?” And the answer, the Bengalis go like, “Because he’s sadhu.” Like the sadhu is just examed (?), if he’s the real thing, real deal sadhu can do anything, beyond question. Of course that forty years ago. 

So, the satjan, those who are Krsna’s own, sat, who are wholly giving the world, who was that? Krsna, who is Krsna? Radha and Krsna, Radha, Krshna, Lalita, Visakha, Rupa, Rati, Nanda, Yasoda, Sridham, Sudham, Subal, cows, Jamuna, Vrndavan. That is Krsna. The whole thing is Krsna. Who is wholly given over to that, to Him, and His own, those are the real sadhus, aham bhakta pradino hyasvatantra iva dvija sadhubir bhakta hrdayo bhakter bhakti jana priya, that’s what Krsna told Duravasa about Ambaris. Who, what is the real sadhu? Someone in whose presence Krsna looses His independence. How is that possible? Sri Krsna karsinichasa. That means there must be a natural flow of devotion in their heart. Not they are so detached from this and that. No, Krsna forgets Himself in their presence, loosed His independence in their presence. He’s a play thing in their hands. The Infinite come under the control of the finite. Those are the real sadhus. 

Devotee: Is there pervasion of the sadhus?
Goswami Maharaj: In Guru Maharaja’s words, there is a gradation in everything and everywhere, in everywhere and in everything.
Devotee: He was talking about the top-most sadhus.
Goswami Maharaj: Yes, we take it that by definition, we are speaking of substantial consideration if we say devotee, sadhu, Krsna-bhakta, etc. If we want to go into analysis, then we’ll, you know, Rupa Goswami and others, and Bhagavatam also, three types of devotees, etc. but really, bhava-bhakti is when Krsan’s attracted. Bhava-bhakti we’re told like, they have in this sense the devotion is a fragrance, an irresistible fragrance, an idientyfibly irresistible fragrance, that Krsna finds appealing, bhava-bhakti. What was that? Sraddha sadhu sanga bhajana kriya anartha-nivritti nista ruche bhav, the bhav-ankur, what was the bhakti-lata bij, a lata growing, now has a sprouts, a blossom, it’s flowering, hasn’t produce the fruit yet, but flowering.  I don’t know about mango trees here, but remember the ones in India they have the flowers first and then, is that here too? So, first is flower. And then, that’s an indication, when you see a flower, that means there will be a fruit. Where that flower was, it will drop away and then you’re saying, “Oh, is that the end?” No, then the fruit comes out. But the flower has the essence, the fragrance, and the essence in the fragrant form is there. So, Guru Maharaj  says in bhava-bhakti that the result Krsna is attracted.

That’s why, just as a side point, people look at the tree of the Vedas and not seeing the fruit, they don’t understand what they’re seeing or what it’s meant for. You can read so much and say, “I don’t find any Krsna here.” Yeah, you don’t find any fruit yet. But the tree of Veda, what does it do? Flower is Vedanta, the fruit, nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam sukha mukharam braja dhava smayatam…raskija bhuvi bhavuka (?), from the tree to the flower, to the fruit. The whole purpose of the tree is to produce the fruit. The whole purpose of the Vedas is to yield Krsna-prem. Vedaischasarvaiva ahan bheiva vijou (?). 

Devotee: So, the sadhu could be said to one, who can  appreciate and taste, extract that fruit from…
Goswami Maharaj: And distribute and thereby enhance of distribute. Like asvadhatam sevitam, Raghunath, they are tasting this substance and by their tasting it’s becoming enhanced, same thing is said of Sukadev. Sukhamukha…, he is relishing this, it’s becoming more relishable, thereby as he is distributing. So, we an add that as well. 

And with regard to illness, once when Srila Gurudev was the young devotee, riding on the train going in Kolkata for collection. Someone, again like man sitting next to me, someone says, “Oh, how can we see that the sadhus are getting ill? They should be free from all sickness.” Can understand why other people get sick, but why should they get sick? We can understand this man was from Bengal. [laughs]. So, Gurudev is also from Bengal. And he said, “No, they are escaping maya, the other should be given her (?) help, but those who are escaping maya, this is their last life, they are going to pathway, the passage way to Vaikuntha is open to them, they should be attacked.” So, it’s the sadhus who should be attacked with sickness, illness, etc. Because this is it for them, they are withdrawing from this plane and entering the dedicating world. Bamsidas Babaji Maharaj in his final days and so many illnesses coming to him. Guru Maharaj said, “All these people would come to have a glimpse of this raga-bhakta, maha-bhagavat, and he would say, ‘This is your vaisnav, look, this is your vaisnav.’” So, it’s sometimes, Srila Guru Maharaj would tell us, these things come as a to contrast what is spiritual substance. Tatenu pam kam susamiksa manu (?). So, the devotees will think. Prabhupad very often would say, when a devotee gets some illness or something happens, they think, “Oh, I’m getting a token punishment in terms of what I actually deserve from a karmic reactionary point of view.” Like what happen to your foot, Ananga? You have like a little bandage on your, see? Nothing. As Gurudev would say, “A smidgeon matter.”

So, the devotee will  think about something horrible should have happened because of my karma, “And Krsna gave a little…” That’s how they think. Like what in English they have a word ‘a love tap.’ Gentle, just a little something. In terms what I actually deserve, karmicly, it should be so much, but Krsna is very kind. A little something He gave. 

Everything in this world, what does it say? Eibhale mandae sambram, what’s the first line? Eitadveia badre sam manobhav sadbram, it’s all mistake, it’s a mistake to think, to get into what’s good and bad in this world. In fact, vitadaksam tataksa svatattra jagad garo  bhavato darshanam yatsyak apunar bhava sarshanam, Kunti says, “Adverse circumstances may propel one towards surrender in the lotus feet of Krsna.” Back to jiu-jitsu. So, what appears to be negative can be converted into a positive by the devotee.

But Krsna is saying, sadhavo hrdoya madyam, the sadhu, “I am always in their hearts, aham bhakti paradinam, I am always in the heart of my devotees.” Krsna reveals, “They are always in My heart.” Like the way they think about Me, that’s how I think about them. That is inconceivable. And again we’re talking about such substantial devotees. So, they way they are constantly absorbed in thinking of Krsna, and not just thinking, abstract thinking, but seva, Guru Maharaja’s dhi, dhimahi, buddhi, means seva. Using one’s intelligence to serve. And Krsna’s revealing, he says, “I think of them all the time too.” And I know this one (?), “If there are so many of us, and there is one Krsna, how can He think about everybody at the same time?” Then we’d be back to like Krsna-bhakti 101, achintya kalyana, give Krsna little credit, as He is Absolute, the Supreme Absolute, He has this kind of capacity. Like Guru Maharaj said once about going to Goloka Vrndavan, “How can it accommodate so many people?” He said, “It’s not like trying to immigrate to England.” “Well, we have a limited amount of space available, cause (?) Vrndavan is not as big as London. (?) cross and two square miles.” This type of, I was going to say thinking, but I’m not sure that it would qualify, will not be helpful. In rasa-lila, we’re told, each gopi, Krsna was with her and her alone. He has that capacity. Nananda chinmaya rasatpati bhavitabi statbhir eva nija rupa taya kalabi goloka eva nivrisad akhilatma bhutalo govindam adi purusam tamaham bhajami. Once Gurudev, chintamani prakatma sadma su kalpa vrksa vrsavrati surabhi vipayanam laksmi sahasrasatasam bramise vamanu, Gurudev said once simply, “In Vaikuntha one Laksmi for one Narayan, but what’s the difference? Goloka Krsna? Laksmi sahasrasratam, hundreds of thousands millions of trillions of Laksmis, Gopis for one Krsna.” And He has that reciprocating capacity, that everyone feel they’re having a totally unique experience. Should we expect anything less from the Supreme Absolute Truth personified? Akhila-rasamrta-murtih. Krsna. Hare Krsna.