Being disconnected from the mundane world

"Therefore, sometimes we find a student is doing everything nice, goodness, but he is attacked by passion and ignorance, and he becomes entangled." S.P.

Sitting for prasadam next to a disciple of Prabhupada, Aristanasana das, whom I had not seen for 30 years at least, I asked him how he was. "Everything is fine, I'm happy", he replied. 

Jokingly, I said: "Karma is not affecting you anymore?"

"No at all, I am abandoned at the lotus feet of my spiritual master."

Aristanasana Prabhu is a serious devotee, from what I knew of him. We were doing sankirtana together. I would have liked to ask him whose spiritual master he is referring to, since in France, during my long absence, he was one of the leaders and a fervent follower of Narayana Maharaj. I did not. After all, one may well have two spiritual masters whom one considers to be Maha Bhagavat, as is his case. So it's understandable and logical that he doesn't feel karma as much as if he had only one pure devotee as a guru. Because despite that the guru takes on the karma of his disciple, some of it is still acting upon him. See how many children have been abused and are suffering the consequences many years after? Narayana Maharaj told them, it was their karma. 

Generally, the followers of Narayana Maharaj don't bother with varnashrama philosophy, they are concerned mainly with the higher rasa of devotional service. Therein lies the whole school of thought that comes to us from Bhaktissidanta Maharaj. Varnasrama-dharma is not essential and devotees do not fall under the laws of karma. I know, it is contradictory reasoning…

Aristanasana lives in New Mayapur where he owns a house, in the heart of the property. It is quite extraordinary, knowing all the difficulties Narayana Maharaj's followers had with ISKCON. I was there two years ago, for two weeks. It was the first time in 30 years. (Devotees make me feel as if I was a stranger, to say the least, I may say in parentheses.) We took prasadam together once, but we didn't discuss much. Aristanasana doesn't talk easily. He seems shy, in any case reserved, but he can express himself profusely when he wishes, especially when he preaches. 

At present, a few months after this first meeting, I saw him again in a Gaudiya Math center, in France. So I took the opportunity to make him talk and find out how a former "companion de route" had evolved spiritually, Krishna Consciousness being a unique experience.

"But the gunas, they are not likely to disappear completely", I say.

"I am beyond them, by the grace of guru", he answered. I was not sure of his posture, but it was the philosophy told by Srila Prabhupada regarding advanced devotees. Gurus or his serious disciples enter into this category, theoretically. They are not concerned by the material modes. When one has faith in the words of the spiritual master and in the Bhagavatam, he assimilates this understanding that he is not his body and is beyond the gunas. It is a realization, a mixed up: faith, understanding and realization become one. 

I just wrote on Facebook this quote from Prabhupada's morning lecture: "Here in the material world the goodness is, of course, taken as the highest quality, but such goodness is liable to be infected by the other two qualities, passion and ignorance. Goodness is also the cause of bondage in this material world. As passion is cause of bondage, ignorance is also cause of bondage, similarly, the material goodness is also cause of bondage."

And I added this comment: "We can understand why Prabhupada wanted to implement varnashrama-dharma. First, he tried the transcendental way, but after a while he realized that it was not possible, devotees were not capable to get and stay on the platform of pure goodness. Purification did not work the way he hoped."

Aristanasana belongs to the old school; he is a conservative and is disconnected from the mundane world. His answer confirms his idealism and seriousness.

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To listen to Srila Prabhupada's lecture