Without Faith One Cannot Have Darsha by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada
“I see the statue.” — This kind of thinking is in the spirit of enjoyment, whereas “The deity sees me, my uncovered pure self,” is deity darśana. If in the same way that I see a movie, drama, or gymnastic display or hear a song, I think “I can see the deity with my eyes and fathom him by my intelligence,” such an attempt will be on the material platform. One will derive no benefit from such inclinations not meant for satisfying the Lord’s senses. Faith in the Lord entails not having faith in mundane enjoyment or renunciation. If one has faith in this world then that is bhoga, enjoyment: “The objects of the world are for my enjoyment.” Such a mentality is due to not having initiation and spiritual knowledge. Worldly people are completely different from devotees. Difficulties occur when one thinks that he who is to be served should serve oneself: “O Lord, take notice of me. I am coming to collect dues from you in the form of dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa for sense gratification.” Hiding this inner intention, a person says, jagannātha svāmī nayana-pathagāmī bhavatu me — “O Lord of the universe, be visible to me”, and other such delirious karma-kāṇḍīya words. This is not bhakti. “I went and saw the holy place. I went and saw the tree. I went and saw Jagannath. I went and saw the sādhu.” All of this is a matter of enjoyment and cannot at all be called service. If the consideration of “Who am I?” has not entered the heart, and if sambandhajñāna concerning my eternal object of worship never arises, then how will śraddhā and śaraṇāgati develop?
Without faith one cannot have darśana of the Lord or his devotee. Instead, malice and envy will appear. Why envy? One will become envious when another person rises higher than himself. In the opening of Bhāgavatam, bhāgavata-dharma is called the dharma of those sādhus who are without envy. All humanity is careening around only with the concept of dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa. But the means for attaining such goals are given in the Bhāgavatam. Therein one finds only discussion of devotion to the Lord, meant for His dedicated devotees. If I become slack in this understanding I will waste my time in material knowledge derived from the senses. If the consciousness of serving wakens, rather than considering oneself the object of service one can slash all the wickedness imbibed from father, mother, and mundane relatives.
Forgetting that the Lord is the enjoyer, one enters saṁsāra. She is called Durga Devi who, as the shadow energy of the Lord, disturbs us, makes us fools, and entrances us with dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa. By the Lord’s will she thus dazes us. By accepting the shelter of this shadow energy, there can be no good fortune. One must take shelter of the possessor of that energy: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te This divine energy of mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto me can easily cross beyond it. (Bg. 7.14) sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. (Bg. 18.66) Persons absorbed in service to the Lord destroy their saṁsāra, whereas those disinclined to serve the Lord increase their saṁsāra. Those who drift in this world have no time for hearing about service to the Lord. Even if they make a pretense of hearing, they do so according to their own viewpoint. If they do not like what they hear, they reject it outright. They do not give priority to the topic of the Lord’s service. They think that their present day needs are more pressing. They consider it better for an intelligent person to spend his time hearing mundane poetry. What right do we have to accept service from others? But in spite of that, we think, “Let the whole universe serve me,” and “I use the river water and fruit from the tree but have no connection with the Lord.” If one wants to know about the Lord he must approach a devotee of the Lord. One cannot bypass the proper channel. Ordinary persons and kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs cannot comprehend who is serving the Lord and who is not. Rather, they have the inclination to oppose those who serve the Lord because the service attitude and behavior of a devotee does not mix well with worldly so-called moral or immoral conduct. Materialists disparage devotees of the Lord, understanding that they are not instruments for the materialists’ satisfaction and pleasure. —
From a lecture on 10 November 1936 in Jagannath Puri, quoted in Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava. Volume 1, by Bhakti Vikasa Swami. Bhakti Vikas Trust. Surat, India. 2009. Pages 178-180.
Some Conclusions-Normally I don't quote any person from the present day iskcon organization, but in this case the swami has made his attempt to translate what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja (an actual bona fide spiritual master) states on the principles of non envious Dharma. When we become free from the spirit of material enjoyment both on the gross and subtle planes, then Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja says we will have Deity Darshan and actually see Krsna.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das