6 Anarthas

[Zareen Zapata]

SrilaVisvanath Cakravarti Thakura explains that there are four types of anarthas, recognized according to their origins:

1. Anarthas arising from previous sin

2. Anarthas arising from previous pious activities

3. Anarthas arising from imperfectly performed bhakti

4. Anarthas arising from offenses in devotional service

Anarthas Arising From The Improper Performance Of Bhakti:

Anarthas arising from improper performance of devotional service are a little more subtle Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakura says that, just as, along with the main plant, many weeds grow, similarly, by the cultivation of bhakti there appears acquisition of material wealth and other facilities, worship and respect by others, a comfortable position, fame etc. By their very nature, they have the power to influence the heart of the devotee, grow in size,and cover up the main plant intended for cultivation, bhakti.

Note: One should note carefully that these do not include seva aparadhas.

A person who commits nama aparadha loses the mercy of the Lord in the form of His name, and therefore suffers in many ways, but if such a person humbly takes the appropriate remedial methods for his offenses (there are recommended remedies for each of the ten types) then he is able to gradually get the mercy of the name again, and his diseased condition is relieved.

If anarthas are not removed, then the Holy Name will never produce knowledge of the divine qualities of Krsna. If anarthas are not destroyed by the chanting of the Holy Name, one can never engage in service to Krsna.

The whirlwind demon represents pride in being learned, and the consequent use of faulty arguments and dry logic, the quest for liberation, and association with such people. This includes all types atheists believing in material causality. Being merciful on seeing the affection for the devotee to Him baby Krsna kills that whirlwind and removes the obstacles to worship.

Pride stemming from intoxication with wealth, which breeds violence, illicit sex and addiction to wine, and finally loose speaking and shameless brutality to other living beings, is represented by the Yamala Arjuna trees. Krsna, being merciful, removes this sin in breaking the Yamala Arjuna trees.

In the Eighth Chapter of Sri Krsna Samhita from the thirteenth verse to the end of the chapter, the eighteen anarthas which are obstacles to Vraja bhajana have been mentioned. Adding to this the pride of wealth represented by the Yamala arjuna trees and the pride of performance of karma represented by the brahmanas, it becomes twenty obstacles. These twenty are unfavorable for Vraja bhajana. The serious chanter should first address the Lord and pray to him for the power to give up these unfavorable items. By doing this the heart becomes purified. If the devotee prays humbly to Krsna to remove all the obstacles in the heart which are represented by the demons He killed, He will certainly do so. All the obstacles represented by the demons whom Balarama killed can be removed by the efforts of the devotee himself

Answer: Anartha literally means those things which are unnecessary. In this case it refers to things that are unnecessary in our devotional development. Anarthas are sometimes also referred to as having separate interest from Kṛṣṇa. They generally come in the form of lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion and envy.

In order to eliminate anarthas we must first control the mind so that the desires of the mind can be purified. If we are able to control the mind, then we will be able to introspect and better understand what lies within the heart. The mind itself can be our greatest strength or greatest weakness.

For example, engaging in Deity worship while allowing the mind to meditate on mundane topics is the result of an uncontrolled mind. We can observe that our consciousness may not be very elevated, but by absorbing the mind in serving the Deity it can slowly become purified.

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to give us the holy name, the yuga-dharma, the golden gift. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-Mantra and performing devotional service we can effectively purify the mind. This is the recommended process. We must also accept a bona-fide guru in a disciplic succession. When the guru is pleased then we can know that Kṛṣṇa is pleased. This guru-disciple relationship must be genuine for it to be effective.

As long as we try to serve this material body we cannot have real freedom. Real freedom means to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Being bound by the chains of karma our nature is to act and react. This is a very limited experience. In the same purport Śrīla Prabhupāda continues:

Materialistic education increases the bodily concept of life, thus Śrīla Prabhupāda recommended education for children with Kṛṣṇa at the centre. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted serious practitioners who understand the value of this process.

In order to attain spontaneous attraction to Kṛṣṇa, we must take shelter of the Lord and fully depend upon Him. Queen Kuntī prayed to Dvārakādīśa Kṛṣṇa to let there be calamities in order that that she could constantly remember Him.

Our ācāryas have stated with certainty that such anarthas cannot survive in a Kṛṣṇa conscious environment. At present, we have accumulated so much karma, so many bad habits, and so many sinful activities. We cannot ascertain how we have come to this world and this position that we are presently in, but we can understand where we are at by looking at ourselves and understanding our limitations. We should not be afraid to introspect at any moment and be very honest about our own position. Our own plight will help us to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Without the help of Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, the yugāvatāra, we do not stand a chance.

The will of Kṛṣṇa is paramount. There is no question of attaining prema before all anarthas are completely eradicated. Those who fool themselves into believing they have love of God without becoming free from anarthas, are like those who dream that they are awake, even though they are still soundly sleeping in bed.

Should one constantly chant or just do service? This eternal question on the lips of every sādhaka is answered by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda in this instructive pastime concerning some errant disciples of Jagannātha Dāsa Bābāji and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. This article is extracted from the hari-kathā of Sarasvatī Ṭhākura originally spoken at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha on the evening of December 21st, 1927.

By reading the namittika (occasional) lilas of killing the twenty demons mentioned in the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the sadhaka purifies his heart of all the impediments, obstacles, anarthas and aparadhas. Then one becomes eligible to read, reflect upon and taste the asta-kaliya lilas of Radha Krsna.

A soul who does not perform Haribhajan, sincere devotional service towards Lord Sri Hari, becomes a jnani, mental speculator, a karmi, materialistic person, or anyabhilasi, one who has worldly desires. Hence, please always pray to Sri Bhagavan by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. By loudly chanting a fixed number of Krishna Nama with great attachment, one can get rid of anarthas, unfavorable and unwanted habits. In this way, the materialistic thoughts and similar foolishness will run away and mundane people who are averse to Lord Sri Hari cannot then mock or ridicule them. Getting association of the shastra, revealed scriptures, is very auspicious. Later, to understand more about bhajan, one can associate with sadhus, saintly persons, individually. One adhering to the chanting of Harinama without aparadhas, offenses, will surely attain all siddhis, spiritual perfection, very easily. Materialistic persons cannot do harm to anyone then.

In the last issue we talked about how change is your choice; it is within your power to change. In this issue we discuss how associating pain to your obstacles to bhakti (anarthas) makes it easier and more natural to overcome them.

Srila Prabhupada often describes the foolish materialist saying they would die without meat eating, gambling, illicit sex and intoxication. Maybe you also think you cannot live without holding onto some of your anarthas. But our real life in bhakti begins when these anarthas are removed, anatha nivrtti syat. At this stage real taste and attraction for bhakti develop (ruci and asakti).

If it helps you, use analogies. You can compare obstacles to painful diseases, vicious animals eating your bhakti creeper, poison destroying your heart, etc. You want to come to the point where these anarthas disgust you. Then when they surface you will have attached so much pain to them that you naturally turn away from them.

In Madhurya-kadambini, Third Shower, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti first talks about the four different types of anarthas, and then he details the gradual process of nullification through the final stages of sadhana-bhakti. Here are the relevant excerpts. (refer to the diagram at the end of blog)

Anarthas arising from previous sinful activities fall in the category of the five types of klesha previously mentioned: ignorance, false ego, attachment, hatred, and fear of death.

Anarthas arising from pious activities are the addictions to the enjoyments which arise from pious action. Some sages include the anarthas arising from pious activities under the categories of the klesas mentioned above.

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