Wedding

One big jamidara [zamindar], great landlord, very materially opulent person was there in Calcutta city. He had a son. He arranged the marriage of his son with a girl in Shantipur. The marriage negotiations were made. They were going to the bride's house. The bridegroom's party were walking, padayatris. They were taking the bridegroom to the bride's house. The marriage will take place there. This system is not there in your West. Is it there? No. This is Vedic system of marriage. 

The bridegroom’s party was proceeding. In the party was the bridegroom's father, uncle, aunt, grandfather, some friends and relatives. This was the party, several hundreds of people, yes. The bridegroom was decorated, nicely. They are going with the party in a big procession. So they have to follow the path that crosses the river to reach Shantipur. They went to the bank of the Ganges and called the boatman: “Boatman, bring boat. We have to go to Shantipur. We are going to give marriage to our boy. The whole party will go. Get a big boat so that some fifty persons can be accommodated or more than that, a nice boat, and then take us to Shantipur. 

We have to reach the brides marriagehouse by an auspicious time. The auspicious moment the marriage will take place is at 4.00 am. We have to reach there prior to that. At that auspicious moment there will be the tying of the hands of bride and bridegroom.” Previously tying of the hands was also there in marriage. Connection will be made, relationship will be established by the tying of the hands. “We have to reach there before that. Will you do it?” 

 “O yes, I can do it.”

 “So you should row the boat very quickly so in sufficient time we'll reach our destination, Shantipur.” 

That boatman said, “Yes, I can do it but I have to engage some more men. Some men will pull the rope, some men will row, then we'll do it.” 

 “Alright you engage them and I'll give you more money. Whatever your due I'll give some bhakshish, some reward to you, some hundred rupees more I’ll give you.” 

 “Alright.” He was very happy and engaged the men. So all men in the bridegroom's party they got into the boat by then it was night time, they were all sleepy. The boatman said, “You sleep and snore, don't worry. We'll take you there so you reach in the proper time.” 

So inside the boat they all lay down and slept. The whole night the boatman and his associates were rowing, rowing, rowing the boat. But when the day dawned and the sun was going to rise they saw, “Oh, the boat has not reached! Oh what has happened? The boat has not moved an inch! It's just here where we started.” So they were quarreling among themselves, “Hey! You have not done any work, you have cheated.“ The boatmen were quarrelling among themselves. 

 Hearing that quarreling, the members of the bridegroom party woke up, “Oh, what happened? Oh, the boat is just here! It has not moved one inch! What happened? Oh boatman! You told us to sleep, so we all slept. You said, you would be able to reach our destination at the proper time, yes, in sufficient time I'll take you to your destination, what happened? The boat has not moved an inch.” 

Boatman said, “We have not cheated. All night we were rowing and rowing. Look at our arms, all of us are aching, perspiration coming, we are not lazy fellows.” 

 “You may not be lazy fellows, you may not be sleeping, but what happened, the boat has not moved an inch!”

So one old man was there in the party, he said: “Hey maji! Oh boatman, have you lifted the anchor? See! See!”

 “Oh, the anchor has not been lifted... Oh.”

Then they saw the anchor had not been lifted. It was stuck in the mud, very heavy anchor. You were rowing all night, how will the boat move, baba? You are such a foolish boatman! You are a foolish boatman, you don't know how to row the boat and you don't know how to take it to the destination.” They scolded him. 

 He admitted his fault, “Yes, that fault I have committed.” Then they became very angry, everything is spoiled now, lakhs of rupees was wasted. No marriage will take place now. The moment is gone. What will the bride's parents and friends, relatives will be thinking? 

This is the teaching from this story. You may be doing sadhana and bhajana, but if you have developed a very strong attachment to this material world and material objects of enjoyment, you have not given them up, what will happen? Your relationship with the Lord cannot be established. You have a perfect, eternally perfect loving relationship with the Lord, but if you have not given up your strong attachment toward the material world, material objects of enjoyment, in spite of doing sadhana and bhajana, your relationship with the Lord cannot be established. This is the first teaching. 

Teaching number two. What is that strong anchor? This is allegorical story. This material attachment is the anchor. You have not lifted the anchor. Understand? Yes. You have not lifted the anchor and rowing the boat! How will the boat move, baba? Boat has to move across to the other shore, how to ferry across? How your boat will move across this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence, this great ocean, and go to the other side? The other river bank is the spiritual world. It is impossible! This material attachment is the anchor. You have not lifted it. And the maji, the boatman, who is the navigator in the boat is a foolish boatman, boka maji, he has not lifted the anchor and is rowing the boat. This foolish boatman, foolish navigator is the so-called 'guru.' He is not a real guru. Only by name he is guru, he has become 'guru'... put a stamp ‘guru.’ By name only guru and surrounded with so many anarthas, he is a conditioned soul. How can he ferry you across this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence? He has not lifted the anchor. This is second teaching. 

And the father of the bridegroom and members of the bridegroom's party, they are the so-called students or disciples of that foolish boatman who is a so-called guru, by name guru. They are the disciples. They have faith in that guru who is surrounded with so many anarthas, a conditioned soul that has become guru. That is next teaching.

 And the allegory behind the vivaha, the marriage is the relationship with the Lord that is to be established. That is the meaning of the vivaha, marriage. That is the allegory behind this story. The perfect eternal relationship you have with the Lord will be established, that is vivaha. At the subha-lagna, the auspicious moment, yes, astrological calculation in the calendar ascertains this moment is very auspicious, at this moment the bridegroom and bride's hands should be tied. What is that auspicious moment? What is the allegory behind it? That is this rarely achieved human birth, sudurlabha manava janma. Though this human form of life is temporary and is rarely achieved because in this birth you can develop complete Krishna consciousness, paramarthika labha. This is subha-lagna, the auspicious moment. Then rowing the boat and pulling the ropes, all of these things is compared to sadhana-bhajana. This is such an allegorical story. 

So the so-called guru is very much attached to this material world. So many anarthas he has. He has become guru and he has some sisyas, disciples, they are also like the guru. Like-guru, like-sisya. Like-guru, like-sisya. The sisyas all have strong attachment to this home and hearth and the material world. They have not given up such a strong attachment. They have so many material desires. Some also have desire for liberation. Still they are doing sadhana and bhajana. They are just posing, only posing. They are just like a theater party putting up drama in a theatre pandal, on a drama stage. Only hypocrisy is going on. If this will go on what will be the consequence baba? 

Can you reach Sri Krsnathe destination Shantipur? The destination is the lotus feet of Krishna. You cannot reach. You'll never reach. In other words, you cannot develop krsna-prema, you cannot render loving service unto the lotus feet of Krishna. This is only wastage of your rarely achieved human birth. The purpose, the goal is never achieved. As long as you have attachment to this body, home and hearth, strong material attachment, always hankering after your own bodily comfort, own sensual enjoyments, material enjoyment, all these hankerings, all these attachments, they will act as anchors stuck in very deep mud. If they are not lifted, how the boat will move? You have to lift this anchor, baba, understand? You have to lift this anchor. This human body is a boat.

nr-deham adyah sulabhah sudurlabhah

plavah sukalpah guru-karnadharam

Bhag. 11.20.17

This nr-deham, this human body, rarely achieved human body is a very nice boat to ferry across this dreadful materialistic existence. Nice boat has been given to you but you have to place an expert navigator or boatman, not a foolish one, as this foolish person cannot lift the anchor and then rowing the boat. You should be intelligent enough to find an expert navigator, understand? 

You have to lift that anchor. How will this anchor be lifted? It is very strong, very deeply fixed in the very deep, thick mud, how will it be lifted? How this anchor will be lifted? It will be lifted by the mercy of sadhu-guru-vaisnava. Unless you get the mercy of sadhu-guru-vaisnava this anchor cannot be lifted. You have to surrender. Go and approach such a sadhu-guru and surrender at his lotus feet. And you have to hear Bhagavata-katha, krsna-katha regularly, daily from him. Sravana and kirtana you have to do this under his guidance. This sadhana-bhajana you have to do under his expert guidance thereby rendering service, pleasing sadhu-guru-vaisnava. Getting his mercy is very powerful. Then this anchor will be lifted. Then very easily this boat will ferry you across this dreadful materialistic ocean and at last you'll reach Shantipura. The allegory of Shantipur is that it is a pura where only Krishna’s loving service is there, krsna-seva rajya, the kingdom of Krishna’s loving service. That is Shantipur. That is the destination. 

Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakura MaharajaBut you have not lifted the anchor. You are only aspiring, hankering after, desiring the comforts of your body, pleasure of your body, pleasure and happiness of your own senses, and doing sadhana-bhajana, your boat will never reach such destination Shantipura.