THIRTEEN APASAMPRADAYAS Part Two PRAKRTA-SAHAJIYA Cheap Pseudo-Devotees The word sahaja means "easy." A sahajiya is someone who does things the easy way. This has different connotations in Vaisnava literatures. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna uses the word sahaja (Chapter 18, verse 48) to indicate how liberation is easily attained when a person engages his or her own special aptitudes for work in the devotional service of the Lord. Another sense of the word sahaja is found in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 8.215. Here it refers to the ease with which intense attraction to Krsna overwhelms a liberated soul once he is established in rasa (his eternal relationship with the Lord). This attraction is called prema (pure love). Prema is not to be confused with the lusty attraction of a illusioned soul for the physical body. The contrast is made complete by the word prakrta ("material"), which is used to distinguish kama or lust from the spiritual love that pure devotees feel for Krsna. There is a type of self-proclaimed sahajiya who, though addicted to the low-class pleasures of illicit sex and intoxication, imitates the symptoms of prema. Such foolish pretenders are labelled prakrta-sahajiya by the Vaisnavas. Prakrta-sahajiyas imagine they can feel the divine emotions shared by Krsna and His dearest devotee, Srimati Radharani. In Her spiritual form as the most enchanting of all gopis (milkmaids) in the transcendental land of Vrndavana, Radharani loves Krsna in the conjugal mood. But before anyone can understand the pleasure shared between Radha and Krsna, he must first rid himself of lustful obsessions for physical sense gratification. The prakrta-sahajiyas mistake the material disease for the path of ease. They thus fail to take the cure known as sastra-vidhi (the direction of the scriptures). Bhagavad-gita 16.23-24 recommends we follow sastra-vidhi to purify ourselves of lust. Sastra-vidhi especially requires us to observe the restrictions against meat-eating, illicit sex, gambling and intoxication, and to regularly chant the Hare Krsna mahamantra. In this way one is gradually readied for raga-marga, the path of natural attraction to Krsna, which is reserved for highly advanced devotees. But as the old saying goes, "Fools rush in where angels dare to tread." Because he is blinded by uncontrolled senses, the prakrta-sahajiya's idea of Krsna, Krsna's devotees, Krsna's service and love of Krsna is but a faulty creation of his lower nature. According to Dr. S.B. Das Gupta, the history of the Bengali sahajiya movement can be traced back long before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance, to the reign of the Buddhist Pala royal dynasty (ca. 700-1100 A.D.), when a secret cult of the name Sahajayana arose within the Diamond Vehicle (Vajrayana) school of Buddhism. Sahajayana Buddhists abandoned ritualism and study of scriptures as useless. They practiced a "yoga of sex" in which they visualized consciousness as being composed of the unity of the male and female principles, sometimes called upaya and prajna or karuna and sunyata. The Sahajayana Buddhists wrote many songs known as the Caryapadas that express their philosophy in mysterious language. Later on under the Sena kings, Vaisnavism became ascendent in Bengal, royal patronage having been won for it by the great acarya Srila Jayadeva Gosvami. At this time the Buddhist sahajiyas absorbed and perverted aspects of Vaisnava philosophy. They renamed their upaya and prajna principles "Krsna" and "Radha", imagining Radha-Krsna to represent the highest state of bliss attained by men and women on the sahajiya path. After the Islamic occupation of northern India and Bengal, the sahajiyas were influenced by the practices and philosophy of the Sufis. The word Sufi comes from the Arabian word saf, meaning sacred, and it signifies a mystical Islamic order of mendicants. Their goal is a state of inspiration called fana, or oneness in love with Allah. Sufis seek to attain fana through song and dance. In the Middle Ages, they faced persecution as heretics in Arabic countries, especially because some Sufi preachers announced that they were themselves the very Allah worshiped by all Muslims. But in India the Sufis could flourish, not in the least because their ideas had much in common with Mayavadi philosophy. The sixteenth century saw the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His movement of sankirtana, congregational chanting of the holy names of God. The sahajiyas, celebrating their mundane sex-mysticism with song and dance, were nothing more than a perverted reflection of the sankirtan movement. They were not accepted as genuine Vaisnavas by Mahaprabhu and His followers, as is evident in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. For instance, in C.c. Antya 12.114, Lord Caitanya refuses a gift of scented oil, explaining that those who might smell it on His head would think Him a dari sannyasi, a tantric sannyasi who keeps women for sense gratification. In Antya 2.120, the Lord calls such men markata-vairagis ("monkey sannyasis"). And as Srila Prabhupada relates in his purport to Antya 2.143, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu banished Chota Haridasa for the slight mistake of begging rice from a woman "as an example to future sahajiyas who might adopt the dress of the renounced order to imitate Rupa Gosvami and other bona fide sannyasis but secretly have illicit connections with women." In the 1700's, the great movement begun by Lord Caitanya appeared to have become corrupted by the misguidance of the jata-gosani and the smartas. This presented an opportunity for the sahajiyas to expand their influence among the common people. Various prakrta-sahajiya sects (which will be examined later) became popular at this time. In the following century, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura took great pains to distinguish the pure teachings of Lord Caitanya from prakrta-sahajiya perversions; on is basis, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati strongly opposed all who deviated even an inch from the Caitanya-sampradaya. As Srila Prabhupada mentioned in a letter, sahajiyas take "spiritual advancement as something materially manifest." They intensify their mundane emotions until a maddened state of sentimental ecstasy is reached, and take this to be spiritual. But the first step of spiritual advancement is to clearly distinguish between spirit and matter; the sahajiyas only confuse spirit and matter. "The name of Krsna is all-powerful," so the sahajiyas say, "therefore the spiritual state of a guru and disciple at the time of initiation doesn't matter, because the holy name works by its own power. There is no need to instruct anyone to follow rules and regulations - let them chant Hare Krsna while smoking, drinking, gambling and having sex. The holy name will cleanse them of sinful reaction." Such notions are rejected by Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas as namaparadha, or offenses to the holy name of Krsna. The holy name of the Lord is certainly all-powerful, just as fire is powerful. Everyone is familiar with the ways the power of fire can be used in the home. It burns up garbage and provides nourishment in the form of cooked food. But if a foolish child plays with fire, that same power can destroy everything. Similarly, when properly chanted under the direction of a spiritual master, the holy name of Krsna burns up the devotee's lingering attachment to sense gratification and nourishes his spiritual life. But if the power of the holy name is misused by a fool who does not distinguish between spiritual life and sense gratification, the effect is ruinous. Another feature of the sahajiya attitude is its perverse "humility", which is really just enviousness. For example, sahajiyas think that a devotee who becomes recognized for his preaching accomplishments is fallen into the grip of name and fame. If a preacher refutes atheists and materialists, he is simply too proud. "Congregational singing of the Lord's holy names is too showy," sahajiyas say. "It's best to remember the Lord in the core of one's heart. Only caste brahmanas should worship saligram-sila. If others do it, they'll fall down by becoming too proud. Vaisnavas who are fussy about sadhana, who insist that illicit sex, smoking and other harmless enjoyments are to be given up, are actually attached to these pleasures themselves." In this connection, sahajiyas abhor preachers who accept disciples and train them in sastra-vidhi principles. They think that the sastra actually opposes true devotion. The sahajiyas either interpret the scriptures in their own way or write new scriptures to prove that indulgence in sex and intoxication promotes rather than obstructs spiritual awareness. In summary, a prakrta-sahajiya is simply a stubborn sense enjoyer. He may have talents for singing, dancing, acting, speaking, joking and seducing women, and he attempts to pass off these talents as spiritual accomplishments by dressing himself as a Vaisnava. But by so doing, he shows himself unable to distinguish between worldly fame and spiritual fame. He doesn't know what renunciation or pure devotion really are. He cannot see a difference between offensive chanting, unclear chanting and pure chanting of the holy name. He takes worldly service to be devotional service, lust to be love, and illusion (maya) to be spirituality (yoga-maya). He thinks that an ordinary conditioned soul can be God, and that a cheater can be a bona fide spiritual master. He doesn't see why a godasa (one controlled by his senses) can't be called a gosvami, why a neophyte devotee can't be called an advanced devotee, why something unauthorized can't be called authorized, or why a wrong conclusion can't be taken as the correct conclusion. A prakrta-sahajiya sees idol worship and Deity worship, and even devotees and demons, as all the same. GAURANGA-NAGARIS Rasabhasa Bhaktas The gauranga-nagaris are a type of sahajiya who mix moods of devotion (rasas) in an unpalatable way. This error is technically called rasabhasa. The gauranga-nagaris are quite prominent in Bengal and Bangladesh. Some of their customs seem praiseworthy: for example, like staunch Vaisnavas, they wear tilaka and neck beads, are good kirtana performers and strictly abstain from flesh and fish. But the gauranga-nagaris have no standing in the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya because of a subtle contamination their conception of Lord Caitanya. In the main, sahajiyas are concerned only with the pastimes of Krsna and the gopis. The activities of great devotees who preach Krsna consciousness to the fallen souls hold no interest for them. Thus they are never able to rightly grasp the person and activities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, about whom C.c. Adi 1.14 states: panca-tattva makam krsnam bhakta-rupa-svarupakam bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta-saktikam "I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna Caitanya, who is non-different from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee and devotional energy." Lord Caitanya's mood of devotion is personified in the Sri Panca-Tattva, the five-fold incarnation of Godhead that features Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Gosai, Gadadhara Pandita and Srivasa Thakura. But the gauranga-nagaris impose Krsna's role as the free enjoyer of the village damsels of Vrndavana upon Gauranga (another name of Sri Caitanya, meaning "then golden-limbed Lord.") They style Him as nagara (a lusty village youth), and themselves as nagari (village girls). In C.c. Adi 1.5, Lord Gauranga's golden complexion is said to be radha-bhava- dyuti-suvalita, "the adornment of the mood and luster of Srimati Radharani," Krsna's foremost maidservant in the spiritual world. Nowhere in any revealed scripture is He said to be krsna-bhava-dyuti-suvalita, "adorned with the mood and luster of Sri Krsna," which would support the gauranga-nagari conception. Spokesmen of this apasampradaya not only say that Lord Caitanya exhibited Krsna's enjoying mood, they claim further that Visnupriya-devi, the Lord's second wife, was Srimati Radharani, and that her close female friends were gopis. But as Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura makes clear in Sri Caitanya- bhagavata, Visnupriya-devi is actually Bhu-sakti, a form of the goddess of fortune, Laksmi. The wives, mothers and daughters of Lord Gauranga's associates in Nadia attended Visnupriya in her bathing and dressing exactly as the maidservants of Lakmiji serve Her in Vaikuntha. These services are rendered in the mood of awe and reverence. Sri Caitanya-bhagavata is also very clear about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's extreme gravity in His dealings with women - even with His own wives, what to speak of other women. He never so much as looked at the village girls of Nadia, let alone smile or talk to them. But the gauranga-nagaris have invented offensive myths about Lord Caitanya's supposed love affairs with a mistress named Kancana and other fictional consorts. These stories should never be heard. The so-called mood of devotion of the gauranga-nagaris is mere eroticism. Their conception of Lord Gauranga is creation of their impure minds, and as they meditate upon this wrong conception, they succumb to lust. But, following the sahajiya line, they take that lust to be spiritual ecstasy. SAKHI-BEKHI and CUDADHARI Rasalila Imitators Sakhi is a term for the confidential gopi girlfriends of Srimati Radharani. The word bekhi is a corruption of the Sanskrit word vesa, which means dress. A sakhi-bekhi is a person - often a male, but sometimes females take part - who dresses up like a gopi and imagines himself/herself as being enjoyed by Krsna. Sakhi-bekhis imitate rasa-lila, sometime by dancing with a person dressed like Krsna who wears a cuda, a crown of peacock feathers. This person is called cudadhari. The philosophy of these two types of sahajiya apasampradayas is the same; practically the only difference is that one group is dressed like gopis and other is dressed like Krsna. Lord Caitanya taught, ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya - "the only controller is Krsna, everyone else is His servant." (C.c. Adi 5.142) Each jiva or individual spirit soul is a tiny sample of para-prakrti, the Lord's subordinate or female spiritual energy. But this sense of our "being female" does not have anything to do with sexual gender. We have temporarily assumed a male or female body as a result of past karma; the material covering does not reflect the constitutional nature of the soul. From Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 4, chapter 28, we learn that souls now in masculine bodies received them as the karmic reaction for their lusty attachment to males developed during earlier lives as females. Those who now have female bodies were males who were too attached to females in their former lives. The soul as a spiritual spark caught in the cycle of birth and death is actually sexless. But according to the ecstacy of devotion most enjoyed by the soul in relation to Krsna, the devotee's transcendental gender is revealed, as seen in the spiritual bodies of Krsna's eternal associates. For instance, matr-vatsalya (parental affection in the motherly mood) is feminine, and pitr-vatsalya (parental affection in the fatherly mood) is masculine. Madhurya-rasa (conjugal love) is purely feminine. To be established in madhurya-rasa, one must develop the eleven sentiments of a gopi (name, form, age, dress, the mood of a kept maidservant, and so on) under the direction of an highly realized Vaisnava. Even if a soul transcends the gross bodily conception and tastes conjugal attraction, one cannot participate in the madhurya-rasa if just the slightest material attachment lingers on in the consciousness. The sakhi-bekhis and cudadharis display the grossest attachment to the body, so what is the question of their having any position in Krsna's lila? Sakhi-bekhis think that when they dress up their fleshy bodies in saries and decorate them with nose-rings and ornaments, grow their hair long and braided, paint their feet red, shave their faces twice daily, sing in high falsetto voices and gesture with women's mannerisms, they will please Krsna. Cudadharis similarly think that Srimati Radharani will become attracted to their rotting material bodies simply because they dress up like Krsna. In C.c. Madhya 22.156-158, Lord Caitanya gives clear instructions to Sanatana Gosvami about how the physical body of an advanced devotee is to be engaged in Krsna's service. There are two ways of bhakti-yoga - external and internal. An advanced devotee externally executes all the scriptural injuctions, especially by regularly hearing and chanting the holy name and strictly refraining from sinful life. Within his purified and self-realized consciousness, he always meditates upon his service to Krsna in Vrndavana in a particular rasa. But the sakhi-bekhis and cudadaris ignore these directions. Some of these sahajiyas argue that they are only following the example of Sri Gadadhara dasa Thakura (a different person from Gadadhara Pandita of the Sri Panca-Tattva), who once walked through town with a clay pot of Ganges water on his head, calling out that he had yoghurt for sale and laughing loudly. The imitators claim that they can visualize their internal spiritual form by such external play-acting. However, they overlook the fact that there is no instruction from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or any acarya in the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya that directs the conditioned souls to awaken their love for Krsna through speculative histrionics. As Srila Prabhupada said, "If you want to cook, then you have to cook according to the method. You may have a pot and you may have a flame, but if you don't cook according to the method, then you'll never get the food." He was referring to a story of a cook who placed the flame on the floor and hung the pot near the ceiling. "If you want the result, you have to follow the method" - bhakti-yoga as it is. The sakhi-bekhi and cudadhari take Krsna and the gopis very cheaply; this is due to the influence of impersonalism, by which they think they can become one with the Lord and the gopis though some imaginative meditation. But if Laksmiji, the goddess of fortune Herself, cannot enter into the rasa-lila in Her eternal spiritual form even after ages of austerity, how will it be done by a fool who merely dresses up his gross material body?