Between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis

Expressions researched:
"between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very serious and important. Here are the sign, how they love Kṛṣṇa. One side, they are..., they cannot check the tears coming out, "Kṛṣṇa is going away." Another side, "Oh, if I shed tears, then there may be inauspicity." How much perplexity, this two sides. Dilemma. Between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis. That is the position. The lover, intense love creates such situation.

Lecture on SB 1.10.14 -- Mayapura, June 27, 1973:

Ladies generally, they are very much apt to shed tears in ecstatic moment. So Kṛṣṇa was going from Hastināpura, and all of them, all the Pāṇḍavas, not only ladies, the men also, they were very, very much affected. We have already discussed in the previous verses. Especially the ladies, they could not check their tears forcibly coming out. But at the same time, they were thinking that "Kṛṣṇa is going. Everything must be auspicious. There may not be something inauspicious." So they were in a very perplexed position. Tears were coming by force, and they wanted to check it so that there may not be any inauspicity in the matter of Kṛṣṇa's departure. This is the picture.

So these are all symptoms of love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the highest perfection of life, to shed tears for Kṛṣṇa. Yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us this method of worship in separation, vipralambha-sevā. Not that "Oh, I have seen yesterday. Last night, I have seen Kṛṣṇa. He was snatching my cloth." These are sahajiyās. Actually, our worship should be in separation. The Gosvāmīs also taught us like that. He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ. They in the Vṛndāvana remained authorized persons. They were also searching after Kṛṣṇa. They never said that "We have got Kṛṣṇa," never said. He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ, ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau. Simply khedair mahā-vihvalau. They were lamenting in separation. Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.

So this is the process of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's worship. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was falling down on the water, "Oh, I could not see Kṛṣṇa." When He was gṛhastha, He was simply consulting with mother, "Mother, I could not realize Kṛṣṇa. What shall I do? Where shall I go?" Mother said, "My dear son, why You are impatient? Everything will be all right in due course." Caitanya Mahāprabhu was giving indication that "I must leave home." Mother was also understanding that "This boy wants to leave us." That was another perplexed position. So that is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching:

yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa

cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam

śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ

govinda-viraheṇa me

Govinda-viraheṇa: "In separation from Govinda I am thinking one moment as twelve years." Some of you or all of us have got this experience. If we want something very, very eagerly, then every moment becomes a long time. "Oh, it is not yet received. It is not yet received. It is not yet done." Yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa. Nimeṣa, a moment, a twinkling of an eye, that is called nimeṣa. That appears to be twelve years. The gopīs could not tolerate even twinkling of eyes. They were condemning the creator, "The creator does not know the art of creating. Why he has created this twinkling of eyes so that it is disturbing us from seeing Kṛṣṇa." Seeing Kṛṣṇa, and the twinkling of eyes, that is natural. So the gopīs did not like it, that "Why he has created this? He does not know the art of creation." This is love. Yugāyi... Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu tasted the gopīs' feelings. Śrī-caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktiḥ. Kṛṣṇa, when He wants to enjoy... He is the Absolute Supreme Person, spirit, Absolute, the Supreme Spirit. So for spiritual enjoyment in this material world great saintly persons, sages, they give up all material enjoyment just to taste what is spiritual enjoyment, spiritual life.

Brahmānubhūti. They give up everything. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa SB 6.1.13 . By austerity, brahmacarya, yamena, niyamena, tyāgena, satya-śaucābhyām— so many processes they adopt for tasting a little brahmānubhūti. Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena SB 6.1.13 . So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that "Here, the Kṛṣṇa, here is, playing with the cowherds boys. Who is He?" Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. "The great sages, saintly persons, who are trying to taste the spiritual realization, that is here. He is playing as cowherd boy." Dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena: "And those who are devotees, for them He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa: "And those who are māyāśrita, they are thinking, 'This Kṛṣṇa is ordinary human child.' " Sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ: SB 6.1.13 "So with this boy, transcendental Kṛṣṇa, cowherd boy, the other boys who are playing, they are not ordinary men." Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ. "They accumulated pious activities life after life for many, many thousands and millions of lives. Now they have got the opportunity to play with Kṛṣṇa."

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very serious and important. Here are the sign, how they love Kṛṣṇa. One side, they are..., they cannot check the tears coming out, "Kṛṣṇa is going away." Another side, "Oh, if I shed tears, then there may be inauspicity." How much perplexity, this two sides. Dilemma. Between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis. That is the position. The lover, intense love creates such situation, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited.

yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa

cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam

śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ

govinda-viraheṇa me

"Without seeing Govinda, the whole world is vacant." This is love. "Let me try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. If it is done, all right. If it is not done, I shall remain in my position. What is the loss?" Not like that. One must be so eager that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should become mad. One should become mad. That is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching, separation, not direct contact.

Direct contact is not possible. Neither that is the way of worshiping by the method of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That is sahajiyā-vāda. "I am talking with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is snatching my cloth." There is a book, one lady has written, his (her) experience, that Kṛṣṇa comes, He talks with her and snatches her cloth. She has written openly. But this is not Caitanya Mahāprabhu's way. There is one gentleman, Mr. Raya, in Poona, and he has got also woman. Everyone must have a woman, parakīyā. This is sahajiyā-vāda. This is sahajiyā-vāda. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never said, "This is the parakīyā-rasa: one should have one woman." No. He observed complete sannyāsa life. Rather there was very, very severe, rigid restriction about women. But now, these sahajiyās, they are going on in the name of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: āula, bāula, karttā-bhajā, neḍā, daraveśa, sāṅi sahajiyā, sakhībhekī, like that, so many. They are apa-sampradāya. Real Caitanya Mahāprabhu sampradāya is that he should be feeling like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, separation.

Not sambhoga. Vipralambha. Vipralambha-sevā: "Oh, I am so wretched, I could not serve Kṛṣṇa. How I can see Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible." In this way. That is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. "But even though I do not see Him, neither it is possible for me to see Him..." Means: "What I am? I am insignificant person. Why Kṛṣṇa come and see me?" This is right. "Why shall I aspire after seeing Kṛṣṇa? What qualification I have got?" This is bhajana. This is bhajana. Why should I be proud that "Now I shall see Kṛṣṇa"? What I am? That is the teaching of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu māṁ marma-hatāṁ karotu vā adarśanāt CC Antya 20.47 . Adarśana. "Without giving me audience, You kill me, You break my heart; still, You are my Lord, You are my worshipable Lord, nobody else." This is love. This is love. (Bengali:) Asan kṛṣṇa galai diba naiva beja tata(?). Not like that. "Kṛṣṇa may not come. I may not see Kṛṣṇa for thousands and thousands of lives. I may rot in the hellish condition of life for many, many births. That doesn't matter. Still, I cannot give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is required. I may be sent to hell, heaven; it doesn't matter. What qualification I have got that I want to see back to home, back to Godhead? It is not so easy thing. So why should I be sorry for that? I should be happy even in the hell simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted. That is wanted. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So here is the example. Tears by force are coming out: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is going away." At the same time, they want to check: "There may not be any inauspicity for Kṛṣṇa." They're thinking Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa, not for personal self. "Oh, I am now crying. I have become very much fortunate. I am crying for Kṛṣṇa." No. "My crying will create inauspicity for Kṛṣṇa, I must check it." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Initiation Lectures

Anyway, India's position is very precarious, because they have left their own culture and they're trying to imitate the Western culture, which they cannot due to so many circumstances, and therefore they're put into, between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis. You see.

Lecture & Initiation -- Seattle, October 20, 1968:

(sings) Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. (audience responds) So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to approach the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Directly. This is a special gift of Lord Caitanya that... In this age there are so many anomalies, defects in the life of human being that gradually they are giving up the idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness. Not only gradually they are giving up, they have already given up. So Vedānta-sūtra therefore says, athāto brahma jijñāsā. It is not that a different type of religious system we have introduced. It is a great necessity of the present day. Because we say that either you follow scripture, Bible, or you follow Koran or you follow Vedas, the aim is God. But at the present moment, due to the influence of this Kali-yuga... Kali-yuga means the age of quarrel and disagreement. So in this age people are embarrassed in so many ways. First disqualification is that they do not live for long time. The average duration of life in India is thirty-five years, and I do not know exactly what is the average age here, but in India the people are overcrowded. They have no such intelligence, or they did not care to go outside India, colonize. Everyone went there to exploit, but they never thought of exploiting other places. That is their cultural... They do not try to encroach upon others' property. Anyway, India's position is very precarious, because they have left their own culture and they're trying to imitate the Western culture, which they cannot due to so many circumstances, and therefore they're put into, between the horns of Scylla and Charybdis. You see.

So this age is like that. Not only in India, in other countries the difficulties are in a different way. The problems are different. But there are problems, either in India or in America or in China. Everywhere, they are trying to make so many schemes for world peace. In your country also, in America even, there is no safety of life for big men like Kennedys, you see. Anyone can be killed at any moment, and there is no action. So there is another problem. In Communist country they are, by force, they're ruling on the citizens. So many Russians, so many Chinese, they are going away out of their country. They do not like this Communist idea. So problems are there due to this age. Due to this age of Kali, the problems are there. And what are the problems? The problems are that in this age people are very short-lived, their duration of life. We do not know when we shall die. At any moment. It is said that during Lord Rāmacandra's rule, a brāhmaṇa... (aside:) It's not working? ...he came to the king, "My dear king, my son has died. So please explain why, in the presence of father, a son shall die." Just see how much the king was responsible. An old father came to complain to the king, "What is the reason that in the presence of the father, a son dies? Please explain." So just see how much responsible government was there. The government is responsible if the son dies before the father. Naturally, the father is older than the son, so he must die first. So such responsible government was there. Now in the civilized world anyone can be killed by anyone, but nobody cares for it.

So duration of life is very uncertain in this age. At any moment we can die. But this life, this human form of life, is meant for a sublime gain. What is that? To make a permanent solution of the miserable condition of our life. In this... So long we are in this material form, this body, we have to change from one body to another, one body to another. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). Repeated birth, repeated death. Soul is immortal, eternal, but changing, just like you are changing the dress. So this problem they do not take into account, but this is a problem. The human life is meant for making a solution of this problem, but neither they have any knowledge, nor they are very much serious about solving these problems. So duration, if you get a long duration of life, then there is chance you may meet somebody, you may meet some good association that you can make the solution of your life. But that is also impossible now because our duration of life is very short. Prāyeṇa alpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ mandāḥ. And even whatever duration of life we have got, we are not properly utilizing. We are utilizing this life just like animal, simply eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all. In this age, if anyone can eat sumptuously, he thinks, "Oh, my day's duty is finished." If anyone can provide a wife and two or three children, he is to be considered as a very big man. You see. He is providing a family. Because mostly they are without family, without any responsibility. This is the symptoms of this age.

So even if we have got short life, we are not very serious. Mandāḥ, very slow. Just like here, we are preaching this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Nobody is serious about to learn or to understand what is this movement. And if somebody is interested, they want to be cheated. They want something cheap or cheap something for self-realization. They have got money, they want to pay somebody some fees, and if he says that "I'll give you some mantra and you will, fifteen minutes meditation, within six months you'll become God," these things they want. Mandāḥ manda-matayo. Manda-matayo means very foolish conclusion. They do not think that "Solution of the problems of life can be purchased only by paying thirty-five dollars?" They have become so foolish. Because if we say that to make a solution of your problems of life you have to follow these principles, "Oh, this is very difficult. Let me pay thirty-five dollars and solve it, make a solution." You see? So they want to be cheated. They are called manda-matayo. And cheaters come and cheat them. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā (SB 1.1.10). Manda-bhāgyā means they are unfortunate also. Even God comes and canvasses Himself, "Please come to Me," oh, they don't care for it. You see? Therefore unfortunate. If somebody comes and offers you one million dollars, if you say, "I don't like it," then are you not unfortunate? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

(CC Adi 17.21)

"For self-realization simply you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and see the result." No. They'll not accept. Therefore unfortunate. If you are canvassing the best thing, the easiest process, but they'll not accept, they want to be cheated... You see? Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). And harassed by so many things—this Draft Board, this board, that board, this, that, so many things. This is their position. Short life, very slow, no understanding, and if they want to understand, they want to be cheated, they are unfortunate, and disturbed. This is the position of the present days. It doesn't matter whether you are born in America or in India, this is the whole position.