The Meaning of Vyäsa PüjäBy Bhakti Caru Swami MaharajPüjä means “worship,” and Vyäsa, or Çréla Vyäsadeva, is the compiler and supremeauthority on the Vedic literature. Vyäsa Püjä, literally meaning “the worship of Vyäsa,”refers to the worship of the genuine spiritual master, who is the ideal representative ofÇréla Vyäsadeva, on the occasion of his appearance day.The spiritual master is the representative if Çréla Vyäsadeva because he is distributingthe nectar that Çréla Vyäsadeva churned out of the ocean of the Vedas. Vedameans “knowledge,” the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. InBhagavad-gétä, Kåñëa says, vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: “By all the Vedas Iam to be known.” The ultimate objective of the Vedas is to reveal the identity of Kåñëa,the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And that Vedic revelation becomes manifest inthe heart of the conditioned soul by the mercy of the spiritual master because he hasbeen specially empowered by the Lord to bestow that mercy. That is why the spiritualmaster is the most worthy representative of Çréla Vyäsadeva, the original distributor ofthe Vedas.Oà ajïäna-timirändhasya: “We are born in the darkest ignorance. Although we hadeyes, we couldn’t see. Whatever we saw was nothing but a reflection of reality—eternal, spiritual reality—and we mistook that reflection to be real. We were livingin a world of dim reflections, and all our experiences were nothing but dreams. Ourspiritual master opened our eyes with the torch of knowledge, the knowledge aboutthe Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all causes and the source ofeverything. Tasmai Çré-gurave namah: “We offer our respectful obeisances to the lotusfeet of that spiritual master.” Our self-surrender unto him out of heartfelt gratitude is ourspontaneous worship of his lotus feet.The spiritual master reveals transcendental knowledge within our hearts. Kåñëa’sidentity is revealed. His transcendental pastimes are revealed, His eternal relationshipwith His associates is revealed, and we get a sublime taste of absolute knowledge andeternal bliss. He guides us to the spiritual sky and satisfies the deepest longings of thesoul. This causes our heart to melt in the fire of gratitude and compels us to surrendercompletely unto his lotus feet. This offering of the self in spontaneous dedication is thetrue worship of the spiritual master, the Vyäsä Püjä.The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, is sitting in everyone’s heart as theSupersoul, waiting for the living entity to turn toward Him and recognize Him as hisdearmost friend.Kona bhagye kona jévera çraddhä yadi haya: “Out of sheer good fortune, whensomeone turns his face toward Kåñëa and develops the faith that He is the SupremePersonality of Godhead…” Tabe sei jéva sädhusaìga je karaya: “… then Kåñëaarranges for Him to associate with the sädhus, the devotees.” Sädhu-saìga haite hayaçravaëa kértana: “In the association of devotees, he hears about Kåñëa and graduallystarts to comprehend His glories.” The association with the pure devotee enchantshim, and he feels very much drawn toward the bona fide spiritual master. He feels asif his guru has stolen his heart away. He can’t help but love him with all his heart andsoul, and in that love he offers himself as the sacrifice at his lotus feet. As the externalmanifestation of the Supersoul, the genuine spiritual master appears before us so thatwe can see him with our material sense; but his form is not material, his words are notmaterial, and he has nothing to do with the material nature. He appears here simply outof Kåñëa’s causeless mercy, the bona fide spiritual master becomes perceivable to ourmaterial senses, simply to spiritualize our hearts to become submerged in the ocean oftranscendental bliss. He tells us, “Do not hesitate to depend on Kåñëa. Just surrenderto Him and He’ll give you everything you need.”Trusting the spiritual master, we surrender more and more, and as our surrenderincreases, we are increasingly drawn toward him. We renounce our material identity,and in return we achieve the highest benedictions: the rejuvenation of our lostrelationship with the Supreme Self, ÇrÉ Kåñëa.The external manifestation of the Supersoul, the bona fide spiritual master, takes usby the hand and teaches us how to walk on the platform. Then, one day, just as heappeared to us out of Kåñëa’s mercy, he disappears from our limited vision out of thatsame causeless mercy. Though no longer physically present, he watches how much weare surrendering ourselves unto him. Silently, he says, “When I was with you, you usedto say so eloquently how much you love me. Now is the time for you to prove your lovefor me. Real love flourishes in the fire of separation. Now, prove that your surrenderto me was not impelled by material motives but inspired by love that fills the heart withresolute determination to follow my orders. Do not deceive yourself, thinking that I amgone. I instructed you not to trust your senses. So do not trust your senses, and thinkthat I am gone. If you love me, then find out where I am; and thus you will attain to thekingdom of Kåñëa, Goloka Våndävana.“Do not deviate from following my instructions as they are. Do not try to concoctsome meaning out of them simply to suit your need. Don’t make my instructions aconvenience for your sense gratification. Become free from the bondage of matter.Otherwise, how can you go back to Godhead? Unless you are totally surrendered,unconditionally, the gates to the spiritual sky will not be open for you. Kåñëa willjudge you according to your submission to me, because I am His representative. Yourscholarship or your expertise will not be of any use unless they are surrendered to Him,through me, with unalloyed devotion and intense dedication.“By Kåñëa’s arrangement, I appeared before you in my physical from and madeyour aware that my instructions are nondifferent form me. In my instructions, I amunchanging and eternal. That is where you will find me. If you love me, then comeassociate with my instructions, embrace them with all sincerity, and make them yourvery existence. If you want to worship me, then let this be the standard. I do not needthe flowers that are offered without love, nor the food that is prepared without devotion.I want your very self as an offering. And that is how you worship the representative ofÇréla Vyäsadeva. That is the meaning of Vyäsa Püjä.”Bhakti Cäru SwamiNote : You can watch seminar by Guru Maharaj at www.mayapur.tv on Krishna's vrindavan pastimes from 11 to 1 pm and 4 to 6 pm. also Vyas puja ceremony live on 17 th september 2011
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