Protecting the Creeper of Devotion from the

Mad Elephant Offense

A well known example among the devotees who actually believe in the tenets and teachings of the Krishna consciousness movement is the “creeper of devotion” or bhakti-lata. The impetus to serve the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna through the kindness and grace of the spiritual master grows slowly and delicately like a flowering creeper. The creeper needs a tree to wrap itself around, and that is the allegorical tree of Krishna, the shelter of all devotees Such creepers, the neophyte devotees should always associate with each other and associate with the spiritual master through reading his instructions daily. Then the creeper will grow through the water of devotion. But in order to protect the creeper from wild animals who might nibble it into oblivion in its early stages, a fence must be built around the garden.

Apart from the fence, the aspiring devotee must be like a gardener who is vigilant to pull out the weeds that will choke and suffocate the creeper. Now with the advent of The Journey Home, the surrealistic scenario is something like the entrusted gardeners, the GBC, have been sold a truck load of seeds of poisonous plants and weeds, and in the frenzy of Maya they are actively planting these weeds which can only guarantee the end of Krishna consciousness. The bogus yogis and criminal rapist Mayavadis glorified in The Journey Home are the wild animals like rabbits and rodents who have sneaked through a hole in the fence and are eating the creepers in the garden. The sum and substance of the entire scenario equals a “mad elephant offence.” Just as there is no stopping a mad elephant, it is sometimes seen that a devotee become infected with Maya and goes on a rampage which causes irreparable harm to his devotional aptitude and effectively puts an end to his life as a devotee.

His Divine Grace, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, writes in Shrimad-Bhagavatam 2.2.30: “When we speak of hearing and chanting, it means that not only should one chant and hear of the holy name of the Lord as Rāma, Krishna (or systematically the sixteen names Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare), but one should also read and hear the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the association of devotees. The primary practice of bhakti-yoga will cause the seed already sowed in heart to sprout, and by a regular watering process, as mentioned above, the bhakti-yoga creeper will begin to grow.

The creeper of devotion, the bhakti-lata, requires an able gardener who cultivates it with the water of devotion, and who makes sure that the fence is strong.

By systematic nurturing, the creeper will grow to such an extent that it will penetrate the coverings of the universe, as we have heard in the previous verses, reach the effulgent sky, the brahmajyoti, and go farther and farther and reach the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable spiritual planets called Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Above all of them is Krishnaloka, or Goloka Vṛndāvana, wherein the growing creeper enters and takes repose at the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Krishna, the original Personality of Godhead. When one reaches the lotus feet of Lord Krishna at Goloka Vṛndāvana, the watering process of hearing and reading, as also chanting of the holy name in the pure devotional stage, fructifies, and the fruits grown there in the form of love of God are tangibly tasted by the devotee, even though he is here in this material world. The ripe fruits of love of God are relished only by the devotees constantly engaged in the watering process as described above. But the working devotee must always be mindful so that the creeper which has so grown will not be cut off. Therefore he should be mindful of the following considerations: 

(1) Offense by one at the feet of a pure devotee may be likened to the mad elephant who devastates a very good garden if it enters. 

(2) One must be very careful to guard himself against such offenses at the feet of pure devotees, just as one protects a creeper by all-around fencing. 

(3) It so happens that by the watering process some weeds are also grown, and unless such weeds are uprooted, the nurturing of the main creeper, or the creeper of bhakti-yoga, may be hampered. 

(4) Actually these weeds are material enjoyment, merging of the self in the Absolute without separate individuality, and many other desires in the field of religion, economic development, sense enjoyment and emancipation. 

(5) There are many other weeds, like disobedience to the tenets of the revered scriptures, unnecessary engagements, killing animals, and hankering after material gain, prestige and adoration. 

(6) If sufficient care is not taken, then the watering process may only help to breed the weeds, stunting the healthy growth of the main creeper and resulting in no fructification of the ultimate requirement: love of God. 

(7) The devotee must therefore be very careful to uproot the different weeds in the very beginning. Only then will the healthy growth of the main creeper not be stunted. 

(8) And by so doing, the devotee is able to relish the fruit of love of God and thus live practically with Lord Krishna, even in this life, and be able to see the Lord in every step. 

The highest perfection of life is to enjoy life constantly in the association of the Lord, and one who can relish this does not aspire after any temporary enjoyment of the material world via other media.

The Journey Home glorifies Mayavadi rapists and demons, and keeps a picture of Lord Shri Krishna next to a pile of skulls. This is nothing less than a mad elephant offence. Is this what innocent and trusting devotees should expect from their GBC?

Any reader who does not get the importance of what “mad elephant offence” means, can go to Google Videos and enter “mad elephant India”. Or just click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F97RZ-IYWcU.  There are many such videos which might give some thoughtful persons an idea of what The Journey Home is bringing to ISKCON due to a idle GBC. Generally male elephants go mad when they are undergoing must, or seasonal sex desire. And it was sex desire—the need to be worshiped and glorified—that caused the rapist yogis and imitation gurus glorified in The Journey Home to pose as swamis for the sake of getting free sex from their obsequious students. Remember the pure devotee has transcended sex desire, and it is the duty of the GBC to point the society in that direction rather into the storm of violent passions.

Shrila Prabhupada writes in his translation of Shri Upadeshamrita (3), Shrila Rupa Goswami’s Nectar of Instruction: 

“There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles (such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam [SB 7.5.23]—hearing, chanting and remembering Krishna], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.”

Along these lines, the following instructive paragraphs are excerpted from His Divine Grace’s Bhaktivedanta Purport to that verse:

“Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity …

Bhakti is a sort of cultivation. As soon as we say “cultivation,” we must refer to activity. Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo-yogīs teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service, and for this reason it is sometimes recommended as a way to check distracting materialistic activities. Meditation means stopping all nonsensical activities, at least for the time being. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities. 

Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends (SB 7.5.23):

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
 arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

The nine processes of devotional service are as follows:

1. hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
 2. chanting His glories
 3. remembering the Lord
 4. serving the Lord’s feet
 5. worshiping the Deity
 6. offering obeisances unto the Lord
 7. acting as the Lord’s servant
 8. making friends with the Lord
 9. surrendering oneself fully to the Lord

Śravaṇam, or hearing, is the first step in acquiring transcendental knowledge. One should not give aural reception to unauthorized persons, but should approach the proper person, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34):

tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
 upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.”

It is further recommended in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) “To understand that transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master.” Thus this method of submissively receiving transcendental confidential knowledge is not merely based on mental speculation. 

In this regard, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Rūpa Gosvāmī:

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
 guru-Krishna-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

“In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahmā, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti-latā, the creeper of devotional service. This is all by the grace of guru and Krishna.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.151) The material world is a place of confinement for the living entities who are by nature ānandamaya, pleasure-seeking. They actually want to be free from the confinement of this world of conditional happiness, but not knowing the process of liberation, they are bound to transmigrate from one species of life to another and from one planet to another. In this way the living entities are wandering throughout the material universe. When by good fortune one comes in contact with a pure devotee and hears from him patiently, one begins to follow the path of devotional service. Such an opportunity is offered to a person who is sincere. 

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is giving such a chance to humanity at large. If by fortune one takes advantage of this opportunity to engage in devotional service, the path of liberation immediately opens …

One should accept this opportunity to return home, back to Godhead, very enthusiastically. Without enthusiasm, one cannot be successful. Even in the material world one has to be very enthusiastic in his particular field of activity in order to become successful. A student, businessman, artist or anyone else who wants success in his line must be enthusiastic. Similarly, one has to be very enthusiastic in devotional service. Enthusiasm means action, but action for whom? The answer is that one should always act for Krishna …

A devotee must be very enthusiastic about following these principles. If he becomes slack in following any of them, his progress will certainly be checked. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore recommends, tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt: “One must strictly follow the regulative principles of vaidhī bhakti.” In addition to these four prohibitions (yama), there are positive regulative principles (niyama), such as the daily chanting of sixteen rounds on japa-mālā beads. These regulative activities must be faithfully performed with enthusiasm. This is called tat-tat-karma-pravartana, or varied engagement in devotional service …

Furthermore, in order to be successful in devotional service one must give up the association of undesirable people. This includes karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and other nondevotees. Once Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asked by one of His householder devotees about the general principles of Vaiṣṇavism, as well as the general routine activities of the Vaiṣṇava, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately replied, asat-saṅga-tyāga,—ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra: “Characteristically, a Vaiṣṇava is one who gives up the association of worldly people, or nondevotees.”

Therefore a devotee should be confident about his engagement and should not be very interested in the activities of the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs.

There are certainly many good qualities among fruitive actors, philosophical speculators and mystic yogīs, but all good qualities automatically develop in the character of a devotee. No extraneous endeavor is needed….

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”…

However, one who engages in mundane activity—be he a so-called jñānī, yogī, karmī, philanthropist, nationalist, or whatever—cannot attain the higher stage of mahātmā. He remains a durātmā, or cripple-minded person. According to Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
 bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”…

Since all the devotees of the Lord are under the protection of His supreme potency, they should not deviate from the path of devotional service and take to the path of the karmī, jñānī or yogī. This is called utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt, enthusiastically executing the regulative activities of devotional service with patience and confidence. In this way one can advance in devotional service without hindrance.