No One is Inferior

Date: 2012-08-16 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

Our beloved Gurudev HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj says while talking about humility, "We have to be humble. That should be our nature. You do not have to open your mouth and tell that you are humble. It becomes showy humility. Behave humbly. That is our position. Suppose somebody gives credit to us for our service to the Lord, we should consider that it is on account of the Lord's mercy that He has allowed us to be engaged in His service and we are able to render the service nicely. We should not hear our own glories and it should not go through the ears at all and you don't get stuck with it."

When I read this, I understood my position that I have not even understood the meaning of being humble, while all the time offering so called humble obeisances to everyone and proclaiming myself as a humble servant. In one of the Srimad Bhagavatam discussions here, we came across the following wonderful verse spoken by Srila muni. SB 7.1.27,

yathā vairānubandhena martyas tan-mayatām iyāt na tathā -yogena iti me niścitā matiḥ

Narada Muni continued: By devotional service one cannot achieve such intense absorption in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one can through enmity toward Him. That is my opinion.

In the Rajasuya yajna performed by king Yudhishtira, he saw that when Sishupala was killed by Krishna, he merged into the body of the Supreme Personality Of Godhead, even though he was extremely envious of Krishna. This mysterious mercy of the Lord was a matter of great surprise and King Yudhishtira wanted to know the cause for this. In reply to this, Srila Narada muni explained in detail how the Lord is affected neither by prayers nor by blasphemy and how the conditioned soul, if he somehow or the other concentrates his mind upon the Lord, it is for his benefit. Then he speaks the above verse SB 7.1.27, in great humility. We can never understand the real purport or intent of the verse, unless we read the exalted purport by Srila Prabhupada. Without the purport, it is assured that we can only have a completely wrong understanding of the verse by our mental concoction (sva kapola kalpitam). Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport, "Sriman Narada Muni, the topmost pure devotee, praises Krishna's enemies like Sishupala because their minds are always completely absorbed in Krishna. Indeed, he thinks himself deficient in the inspiration of being feelingly absorbed in Krishna consciousness. This does not mean, however, that the enemies of Krishna are more elevated than Krishna's pure devotees. In the Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 5.205, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami also thinks of himself in such a humble way,

jagāi mādhāi haite muñi se pāpiṣṭha purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha

I am a worse sinner than Jagaai and Maadhaai and am even lower than the worms in the stool.

A pure devotee always thinks himself more deficient than everyone else. If a devotee approaches Srimati Radharani to offer some service to Krishna, even Srimati Radharani thinks that the devotee is greater than She. Thus Narada Muni says that according to his opinion the enemies of Krishna are better situated because they are fully absorbed in thoughts of Krishna in terms of killing Him, just as a very lusty man always thinks of women and their association."

What a standard of humility by the exalted sage who thinks himself more deficient than everyone else. Here is another wonderful incident in the life of Sri Ramanujacharya. Once when the great 11th century teacher and philosopher, Sri Ramanujacharya, went to the holy Tirumala hill (Tirupathi), the abode of Lord Venkateshwara, the 's aged uncle, and also his spiritual master, Sri Periya Tirumala Nambi, came all the way down the hill to invite and receive him. Sri Ramanujacharya was moved and told him that he could have sent some little boy to invite him instead of undertaking the difficult trip himself. But the aged saint said, "I looked around but couldn't find anyone as little as me. So I had to come myself."

We are very much reminded of our beloved and most merciful Gurudev who in his advanced age came many times to the airport or railway station personally to receive his disciples. In Srimad , Sundara kanda, Mata asks Hanumanji, who is prepared to depart, to convey her enquiries about the welfare of , Lakshmana and Sugreeva. She further requests Hanumanji to urge them to rescue her. Then, Sita mata expresses her doubt about the capacity of the troops of monkeys and bears to cross the ocean. At that time the great Hanumanji in extreme humility speaks the following wonderful verses 5-39-38 and 39,

mat viśiṣṭāḥ ca tulyāḥ ca santi tatra vana okasaḥ mattaḥ pratyavaraḥ kaścin na asti sugrīva sannidhau aham tāvat iha prāptaḥ kim punaḥ te mahābalāḥ na hi prakṛṣṭāḥ preṣyante preṣyante hi itare janāḥ

In Sugreeva's army, some of the monkeys are superior to me and some are even equal to me. No one in the vicinity of Sugreeva is inferior to me. When I have arrived here, why to talk about the mighty ones? Generally, superior ones are not sent for errands. Only others are indeed sent.

Hanumanji says that superior ones are not sent as messengers and hence he is the most inferior monkey. Thus he assures Sita Mata that those monkeys will reach Lanka by one single leap.

Let me contemplate and put into practice the real meaning of humility by again and again remembering these exalted personalities and their humble dealings.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi Abu Dhabi.