Posted on: 23 Nov 2022
1. What is the meaning of the verse "bhrutyasya bhrutya parichaaraka bhrutya bhrutya"?
[Shri Hrushikesh asked: Dear Swami, I request you to kindly answer the questions below asked by my friend Ram. What is the meaning of the verse "bhrutyasya bhrutya parichaaraka bhrutya bhrutya"? Does this sentence mean "I am the servant of the servant of the Lord's servant. If my understanding about the above verse is correct, then isn't it contradicting the point of single pointed devotion to God, that "one should only desire to become the servant (Eka bhakthir...) and no other? Kindly clarify.]
Swami replied:- You are becoming the servant of the servant of the servant of God because they are servants of God. By such action, you are expressing your devotion to God only. It is excess of devotion. The devotion must be not only single point devotion, but also must be in excess. These two angles do not contradict each other, but, complement each other.
2. Shouldn't the present way of naming a child change to the Gaudiya way of adding daasa or daasi?
[Every new born child is named after God. Like for example my name is Ram. But when I am not having any qualities of Ram, How can they call me Ram, because Lord Rama is Lord Datta only as He is God in Human form, whereas I am an ordinary human being, technically majority of humans are not Human incarnations, So ideally isn't it unfair to call a person with the name of God as it increases the ego in the person as they might start feeling that they are God already, another example: an ordinary person is called" Swami" which means owner? How can an ordinary human be called owner of this world. Like in the Gaudiya Vyshnava tradition, every child has the name of God followed by daasa which means slave. Shouldn't the present way of naming a child change and switch to Gaudiya way of adding daasa or daasi? Please comment. At Your feet, Hrushikesh]
Swami replied:- By putting the name of God as the name of human being, his idea is that the human being tries to evolve in reaching the qualities of the name of God, which is a very essential step in Pravrutti or worldly life. Moreover, the name of God reminds about God often, which may lead to devotion. When a person called Ram tells a lie, people will say “Your name is Ram and still you are telling lies!” This will prick the soul of Ram and bring reformation in him at least about one good quality. I don’t find much difference between Ram and Ramdas since in both cases, God Rama only is reminded. Both the ways are one and the same in essence.