Let us consider the causes and effects throughout history. In all of history there have been rivalries between leaders and movements, supported by the backing of the followers of the oppositional leaders or the adherents of the contending religious or ‘political’ movements. As the pendulum swings and one belligerent faction becomes dominant over the other, oppression increases and popular reactionary movements develop and the next cycle of open hostilities begins to escalate.
Eventually, the youth, being sick of dying in the old men’s wars, rebel. The mothers, being sick of sending their young off to die in these same wars, rebel. The young girls, losing their lovers in these wars, rebel. They all resist the constant state of war and the ‘saber-rattling’ threat of war that keeps them impoverished and oppressed from generation to generation. Thus as this pattern of oppression and violence is perceived, a generational effect may come into its own, and a powerfully idealistic youth and women’s resistance movement may rise-up to challenge the corruption and failures of the previously dominant (and oppressive) leader(s), and their oppressive systems of sectarian war-mongering religious rule and military-dominated government.
Such popular ‘Peace and Freedom’ movements throughout history have shared common features. One model of such a ‘Peace and Freedom’ movement is that of the ‘First Bengali Renaissance’ that was inspired and led by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda-Balarama 500+ years ago in the Gaudiya region of Bengal. At that time the Vaishnavas, Buddhists, Shaivites, Shaktas and other religious peoples of the area were being severely abused under a rigidly oppressive system of Muslim rule, supported by an iconoclastic ‘Mayavadi’ dominated profoundly racist and sexist birth-based hierarchical caste system.
When they invaded greater India, the iconoclastic Muslims allied-with the equally iconoclastic (atheistic) ‘Hindu’ Mayavadis to rule greater India. Without this alliance, despite their brutality, it would have been impossible for the smaller number of the invading Muslim forces to conquer and rule the vast territory and population of greater India. Consequently the Muslim conquerors identified the class of Mayavadi (iconoclastic) Hindu Brahmins that they could patronized as their favored subjects to establish their ruling-class control over the native ‘Hindu’ population. This left the theistic devotees of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi / Shakti, and the other ‘idolatrous Hindus’ severely oppressed and persecuted by the Muslim conquerors and their iconoclastic ‘Mayavadi Hindu’ ruling class ‘caste Brahmins’.
In Bengal, against this oppressive alliance of the iconoclastic Muslims and the iconoclastic (atheistic Mayavadi) caste brahmin ‘Hindus’, the ‘divinely inspired’ charismatic non-sectarian bhakti yoga preacher, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and his chief disciple Sri Nityananda-Balarama, led a peaceful interfaith (inter-bhakti yoga) ‘Sankirtan’ resistance movement against both the religious oppression and persecution of the Muslim ruler, the Chand Kazi, and against the atheistic iconoclasm, the racism, sexism and birth-caste social evils of the Mayavadi Brahmins!
The profound effect of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai’s (Chaitanya’s and Nityananda’s) ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’ Holy Spirit / Param-Atma inspired popular non-violent ‘Sankirtan’ movement, directly resulted in the personal Sufi-Muslim ‘interfaith’ conversion of the previously oppressive Muslim ruler, the Chand Kazi, and in the subsequent ‘First Bengali Renaissance’, which was credited with reducing racism, sexism, birth-castism, and inspiring literacy and the arts and sciences, inspiring ‘Sankirtan’ / communal prayer and ‘concert’ singing, with good relations between the various religious Bhakti Yoga communities, including the Vaishnavas, Shaivites, Devi-worshipers, Pure Land (Bhakti) Buddhists, other theistic ‘Hindus’ and even the Sufi Muslims.
Syncretic ‘Hindu’-Muslim faith communities like the Sikhs and Pranami Vaishnavas (of Mahatma Gandhi’s mother’s faith) also grew out of this non-sectarian Bhakti Yoga Unity Movement. Mahatma Gandhi modeled his non-violent ‘Ramadhun’ Hare Krishna Hare Rama Sankirtan Movement on that of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda-Balarama.
In our time Gandhi’s success in unifying millions of devotees of all kinds in the non-violent Ramadhun Sankirtan Movement in India, provided the inspiration for non-violent unity, peace and freedom movements all over the world! Thus the Sankirtan Movement that once changed Bengal, through the peaceful unity and freedom Ramadhun Movement in India, inspired the Civil Rights Movement in America and movements against racist, sexist, sectarian religious and totalitarian oppression of all kinds, world wide. Historically there is a direct line from the original Bengali non-sectarian (inter-Bhakti / interfaith) Hari Nama / Holy Name Sankirtan Movement of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, to and through Gandhi and the American Civil Rights Movement, to all of the other Holy Spirit / Paramatma inspired religious unity, peace and non-violence, universal human rights and social justice movements of today.
The direct followers of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai should be at the global forefront of this world-changing Holy Spirit inspired movement! This was always Srila Prabhupada’s vision and desire! I was directly told by Dr. Acharya Prabhakar Mishra, Srila Prabhupada’s co-founder of the League of Devotees (in Jhansi), and by Dr. Rup Lal Batra, who was once Gandhi’s personal secretary and assistant, that in founding the League of Devotees, Srila Prabhupada intended to merge his Gaudiya Tradition Sankirtan Movement with that of Gandhi’s Gaudiya related Hari Nama Movement, and to thus preach this unifying Sankirtan movement all over the world!
Why hasn’t this happened? Why are we not seeing the direct disciples of Srila Prabhupada leading these inspired Holy-Spirit-filled Peace-and-Freedom Unity Sankirtan Devotees all over the world? The Holy Spirit / Paramatma is inspiring and mobilizing the peace-loving youth, women, LGBTI people, artists, musicians, poets, and all kinds of other people desiring the common-good of peace and freedom, for all, everywhere.
Right now there are Anti-War Peace Movements for religious and racial unity, women’s and LGBTI human rights and universal common-good governance all over the world! People want religious and artistic expression freedom in China and Taiwan, Hungary, Russia, Brazil, Georgia, Belarus, and everywhere else. The right to peaceful assembly, to oppose and resist racist, sexist and sectarian religious oppression is a fundamental human right. This may be expressed as Holy Spirit / Param-Atma inspired non-violent ‘civil disobedience’. This is how a popular up-rising can be identified as Holy Spirit inspired or not. Individuals and groups inspired and led by the Holy Spirit (Paramatma) of the One True God are being inspired to action in the ‘Mode of Goodness’ for the welfare of all, their action cannot be contrary to the common-good that is desired by God-Who-Is-Love, Lord Hari, the indwelling ‘good conscience’ of the Heart / Hrid / Hari-daya of all humanity. The Holy Spirit is the good conscience of all humanity, who will never sanction behaviors in the Rajarshic and Tamasic ‘modes’ of violent passion and Asuric / Demonic ignorance.
This is why it is said that Vishnu is only and always properly worshiped by acts in the benevolent ‘Mode of Goodness’. Vishnu is not pleased by worship in the modes of passion and ignorance, thus the Dharma of Vaishnavism is Sattva Dharma. The strategy of the spiritual warfare of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai’s non-violent Sankirtan movement was to always progress under the unstoppable banner and anthem of the ‘Other Power’ of the Holy Name! In this, all of the other great Bhakti Yoga traditions of humanity could agree! What humanity is unable to achieve without Godhead, the All-Loving Lord, can easily accomplish if humanity will sincerely invoke Him and allow Him to intercede!
‘Let go and let God!’ God alone, the All-Loving Lord of all Hearts, has the only solution to the persistent problem of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’. The Holy Spirit does not inspire people to acts of neglect, abuse, cruelty, violence and destructive mayhem, or to fostering racism, sexism and hateful religious sectarianism. The Holy Spirit of the One True God inspires individuals and peoples to “Love One Another”! “Perfect Love casts out fear.” Love is welcoming, forgiving and unifying. It is life-giving, life-preserving and life-perfecting! Love empowers all that is good and mutually kind and beneficial. Love nourishes all that empowers the common good.
Devotees of the Lord should be the courageous Sankirtan leaders of every faith tradition that are inspiring and going-before the massive unified ‘Sankirtan Parties’ that should be filling the sin-weary oppressed world with the joyful, hope-filled singing of the Holy Names! History has proven that such ‘calling on the Lord’ can liberate masses from otherwise humanly impossible-to-defeat tyrannies.
At this time our entire Mother Earth is under threat! Humanity must unite to save her! Only a global ‘interfaith’ (nonsectarian Bhakti Yoga) Sankirtan unity movement can save her.
This means that the separate sectarian Vaishnava lineages must now join together to carry-on the non-sectarian Hari Nama Sankirtan mission of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. Without such Unity-in-Diversity, and rising-up to the Sattvic benevolent and peaceful ‘Mode of Goodness’, there is no hope for the sustainable future of humanity.
THE HOLY NAME HAS LED HUMANITY’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY THROUGHOUT TIME. NOW THIS BELARUSIAN INVOCATION OF MAHA BHAGAVAN “MAGUTNY BOZHA” HAS BECOME SUCH A THREAT TO THE TYRANNICAL RIGHT-WING PUTIN-BACKING LEADERSHIP OF BELARUSIA, THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO BAN ITS SINGING!
Belarusian president warns against singing of decades-old hymn
- Jonathan Luxmoore Jul 11, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE “On July 3, President Alexander Lukashenko had warned Catholics against singing a hymn, “Magutny Bozha” (“Almighty God”), which has been a symbol for anti-regime protests.” “MAGUTNY BOZHA” (“Almighty God”) is MAHA BHAGAVAN, BOG/Z is Slavic ‘BHAG’.
LISTEN, WATCH, READ THE WORDS OF THIS ANTHEM OF THE ANTI-COMMUNIST YOUTH FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN CUBA! CUBAN ANTI-COMMUNIST YOUTH FREEDOM MOVEMENT ANTHEM ‘PATRISM & LIFE!’
Mother Earth is Bhu (Bhumi) and Hari, God, is Bhu-pati and Praja-pati, the seed-giving husband of Prakriti ‘nature’ and the Father of the Universe and all beings. Thus the PT / PTR / ‘Father’ name of God as Purusha (Egyptian Per-Ausu, Biblical era Greek Polieus) as both husband and father is a very important one.
A patriot loves their ‘Fatherland’. The sacred soil of one’s birth has nourished one’s remote ancestors and proximate mother and father. One’s very body is composed of the soil that has nourished it. Thus one can never repay their debt of the sacrifices of the countless beings that have contributed to their present human embodiment of life on earth. Filial piety is very important in most of humanity’s ancient faiths. Such devotion to one’s parents and ancestors and the veneration of exemplars and saints is a persistent feature of any advanced culture. This devotion preserves and perpetuates the memory, learning and progress of a civilization from one generation to the next.
Every generation begins anew, and in-turn must potty-train and civilize the next. Learning to be ‘patriotic’ should be part of learning to appreciate one’s parents, one’s venerable ancestors, and ultimately the Persons of the Godhead, Themselves!
Being patriotic also means venerating all of our mothers, human and other, right up-to and including Mother Earth and Mary-Mariam / Nari-Narayani as the Theo-tokos ‘Mother of God’. Spiritually and materially there can be no ‘father’ without a ‘mother’. So there is no such thing as a ‘father land’ without the ‘land’, which is herself, the beloved of her husband ‘Pati’ and the Pitr ‘Father’ God of all embodied beings.
Those who are spiritually ‘realized’ understand that ultimately we embodied beings are all ‘children’ of the same ‘Mother Earth’ (or Mother Nature) and ‘Father God’. Our bodies are made of her soil, air and water. The light of Father-God as Shambhu and Surya Narayana, ultimately ‘begets’ and sustains all life-forms in any solar system or ‘material’ universe.
Re-connected to the worship Our Original Mother and One True Father God, patriotism is a natural and good thing. If we are monotheists recognizing that ultimately we all have the same Supreme Father, our patriotism cannot devolve into the belligerent devotion to a multitude of ethnically self-important, mundane and always-competitive false ‘gods’.
So let us help each other to ‘realize’ when our historical ‘Patron Deities’ are simply and profoundly the familial face of the One True Father God of All!
Such spiritually ‘realized’ patriotism will then be the cause of human unity, instead of an impetus driving ethnic / nationalistic conflict.
Vishnu Venkateswara has two ‘consorts’, Bhu (Mother Bhumi, Earth) and Heavenly Sri (Lakshmi, Narayani). Mother Bhu Devi’s breasts are uncovered, because she is always available to feed all of her children. Lord Venkateswara is called Bhu-pati. When we think of patriotic expressions and movements of faithfulness to our ‘Fatherland’, we should meditate on Our Heavenly Father’s love of Our Mother Earth! The father is pleased when his beloved spouse and the mother of his children is treated with the love and care that she deserves.
How can God, Our One True Father, be pleased with us, if we are abusing Our Mother and cruelly ‘othering’ and oppressing each other? God loves all of his children the same! So let us restore our originally unified sense of ‘Patriotism’ , so that we can help to heal humanity and the Earth, instead of tearing them apart!
When we shout the anthem ‘Patriotism and Life!’ / ‘Patria y Vida’ Let us think of our One True Father God, who is Bhu-pati, the Creator, Lord and Lover of our All-Nourishing Mother Earth, and Praja-pati Purusha, the Universal seed-giving Father of All Beings!
Patria y Vida!
Collected Works Archive of Bhakti Ananda Goswami 