Notice God

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.22)

There’s a restaurant that you frequent because of the combination of good food and low cost. Granted, you’re not enjoying a gourmet meal or anything, but for the price and the speed in which the food arrives, you’re getting a good deal, a bargain worth entertaining. There is a difference this time you patronize the place, however. The inside of the establishment has changed. The food items on the menu are identical, but the ambiance inside is ramped up to make the place look more stylish. This way a patron won’t think that they’re eating at a low-end establishment. In essence, by consuming the same food but in a better looking place, the hope is to appreciate the experience more, as ambiance is an important factor in getting repeat customers. Taking the same principle but to the largest scale, by sanctifying the areas around us, especially the place of worship, we can begin to better appreciate and notice the Supreme Lord, who is all-pervasive.

God is within every living being and every atom. There is not one inch of space where His presence is absent. Though personally He may not be inside of everything, His influence through His energies expands to every sphere. Indeed, just the ability to make that assertion represents God’s energy. To make an assertion, one must be able to think, and to think one requires a mind. The mind is then cased inside of a form composed of earth, water, fire, air and ether. The subtle element of the mind is coupled with intelligence and ego, and finer than those elements is the spirit soul. The original storehouse of spirit is the Supreme Spirit, who we know to be God.

As everything begins from the original spiritual energy, all manifestations, all beings, both moving and nonmoving, come from Him. The concept of an existence is an indication of His influence, so there is no denying the Supreme Lord’s existence and standing. But during the course of dealings with the material elements, and operating under the influence of a deluded ego, the human mind can erroneously believe that there is no God. The mistaken notion is that visual manifestations occur on their own, through either random collisions or the actions of autonomous beings endowed with free will. The concept of a “God” is something concocted by the mind to help cope with the inevitable and unexplainable death.

In this deluded mindset, temporary enjoyments are sought out through fruitive activity. The flaw with this pursuit is that the enjoyment will be short-lived and require much effort. To help fuel the illusion is the false ego’s best friend known as forgetfulness. Think of the cycle through fruitive activity, which is also known as karma, to be like the soap opera on television. At the end of every episode, there is a cliffhanger or some sort of unresolved issue. The issue is intriguing enough to make you want to watch the next episode, where it is promised that everything will be resolved.

There is illusion, of course, because once the issue is dealt with, a new one will come up. When the new episode ends, the previous issues are forgotten, as if they never happened. But at the same time, you, as the viewer, were previously quite interested in the outcome, in seeing how the affair would settle itself. Another way to think of it is to observe the pattern of behavior in watching sports or a reality television series that features a contest. You’ll notice that the reality shows based on contests typically don’t release DVD sets of their seasons. That is because once the season is over and a winner is announced, all concern for the episodes vanishes. Perhaps the old episodes are used for reference purposes in subsequent seasons, but there is no thrill derived from watching the episodes again because the interest was entirely rooted in the outcome, which was unknown at the time. Once that outcome occurred, it was soon forgotten and replaced with a new uncertain future outcome. The same principle applies to watching sports, as each new season erases the memory of the previous season.

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.6)

The concept of fruitive activity, or karma, represents the largest abstraction of the same pattern. Within the umbrella of karma, so many decisions are made and so many past issues are forgotten, repeatedly, in lifetime after lifetime. The aim of the human life is to use the advanced intelligence to notice God, as that cognizance brings an end to the cycle of birth and death. Remembering the Supreme Lord is the only issue worth resolving, as it strengthens one’s attachment to Him as time goes on. Instead of forgetting that connection, the devotee suddenly feels more invigorated to take part in divine life, to further purify their devotional consciousness.

Of course the primary issue is getting to that stage where God is noticed. If the mind is consumed with thoughts of pursuing temporary rewards through fruitive activity, the divine presence goes unnoticed. But just as we saw with the restaurant that changed its ambience, if we can purify our surroundings and associate with godly people and qualities, we will better appreciate the same experience through the environment composed of material nature.

The temple is the ideal example to show how the transformation can take place. The house of worship is no different from any other house. It has a worshipable statue made of wood, stone, or resin, but these elements can be found anywhere. The difference, of course, is in the environment, the purification of the scene. There are flowers around the deity, with food in the mode of goodness offered to hopefully become prasadam, or the Lord’s mercy. There is constant chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, accompanying the worship.

The best gift is the association of the saintly class, which spends so much time in the temple to both worship God and spread the science of self-realization to those who are sincerely interested in learning and practicing it. Just as we visit a local business society to connect with fellow businessmen of the community, to know about God, His transcendental features, the meaning to life, and why consciousness should be purified, the association of people already in the know and who already practice bona fide religious principles is extremely helpful.

The deity is the chief resident of the temple and is an authorized non-different representation of the Supreme Lord and His transcendental features. We don’t possess the eyes to properly see God, sort of like how we can’t make out an extremely large number without the help of commas. The entire material creation, with its inconceivable complexities, is but just one aspect of the Supreme Lord. We can’t even fathom the universal creation, so how can we see God? We have difficulty noticing that we are spirit and not matter, so how are we going to be able to see the Supreme Spirit through the giant collection of matter?

“[O mystic] First see your manifested self, then see your identity as Brahman, and then see the material nature standing in between. O wretch, without seeing these how can you understand what the unmanifested [invisible] feature of the Absolute Truth [alakh] actually is? Chant Shri Rama’s holy name instead, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 19)

We can take the difficult route of studying Vedanta or meditating in yoga to properly understand God, but the easier approach is to just chant the holy names. To chant, hear and dance in devotional ecstasy, the ambiance should be conducive to devotional life; hence the purpose of the temple. God resides everywhere, but by visiting a house of worship where the holy names are chanted, one can learn to better appreciate the nature around them, noticing the divine influence. The same aspects of the creation that were previously ignored or thought to operate on their own are noticed by the devotee to be benefits granted by God. The sun that may have been previously despised for its intense heat turns into an object of affection for supplying the limited human eyesight with the ability to see the deity and to draw pictures of the transcendental features of the Supreme Lord Krishna as they are described in sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Mahabharata. The inanimate matter that was previously the cause of bondage turns into a wonderful benediction that allows the human being to write books about Krishna, build houses of worship, and travel to holy places of pilgrimage.

In the restaurant with the improved ambiance, you get the same food, but you notice it more clearly. In the same way, through practicing the devotional principles in the association of devoted souls you notice God’s influence that already surrounded you before. Through enough observation and association, you will eventually love God’s influence and never want to leave it. As the Supreme Controller, Krishna ensures that the desired connection is then never broken.

In Closing:

God is all around you, don’t you see?

Without Him none of this could ever be.

 

But what with your limited powers do you know?

Only aim is for sense pleasure, bank balance to grow.

 

But think of how you like to eat food in a nice place,

The experience enhanced by ambience’s grace.

 

Temple valuable because within the deity resides,

Same matter but divine influence presides.

 

Chant holy names and temple atmosphere create,

Always think of God and fruitful your life make.

A Simple Plan

“Worshiping the Deity at home, serving the devotee, hearing the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, residing in a holy place and chanting the holy name of the Lord are all inexpensive items by which one can please the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.9.27 Purport)

You’ve decided to have an open mind about it. You will at least take some time to listen to what a preacher has to say. “What can it hurt?”, you think. What is the harm that can come from hearing from someone who thinks spirituality is so important that they will talk to strangers about it, sometimes for hours on end? The problem arises when there are multiple avenues, including different faiths that have their own worshipable figure. Almost like choosing which sports team to support in a big match, how do you decide which faith is for you? For the highest system of spirituality known as bhakti-yoga, there is no question of choosing sides or supporting a single team. The method of implementation is also very specific, leaving no room for misconstruing the purpose behind anything or abandoning the faith and giving the same attention elsewhere. The implementation follows very simple methods that, when enacted sincerely, pack a powerful punch.

“Isn’t bhakti-yoga about worshiping Krishna, the Hindu God? Doesn’t that make it on par with the systems that support Jesus, Allah, or some abstract concept of a supreme controller?” Bhakti is divine love, and its methods of practice are universally applicable. In addition, with that practice an awakening of the mind follows which allows the individual to view all forms of life equally. The particular form of address for the Supreme Person is not so important, as the acknowledgement of a higher power and acting off of that admittance are what really matter.

The living being is constantly tossed around by material nature, sort of like a washed piece of clothing spinning in a dryer. Because of his ability to think critically and the potential for shaping his immediate future, man tends to think that he is more powerful than he actually is. For instance, if I want to eat at a certain restaurant tonight, I can just get in my car and drive there. In this way afterwards I think that I shaped my future. I could have eaten somewhere else, but I decided at that particular time to go to this one place that I desired. I assumed going in that I would make it to the restaurant successfully, and I also took for granted that I could make it home afterwards. Take this same example and apply it to so many different aspects of life and you see how easy it is to forget the influence of the more powerful force.

How do we know that force exists? For starters, it is not guaranteed that we make it to the restaurant that night. There might be an issue with the car. Then the roads could be blocked up or some type of obstruction could get in our way. Maybe our friend wants us to deal with a life crisis or they want to meet at some other restaurant. Maybe the wife isn’t so keen on eating out that night and convinces us to instead stay home and eat. Then there is the issue of the restaurant itself. What if it is suddenly closed for the night or so booked that they can’t seat us for at least an hour?

There are so many external factors that must fall the right way in order for our desired outcomes to materialize. Because these external factors tend to operate in regularity, we take them for granted, almost as a given. The sun rises and sets at periodic intervals and the seasons come and go at just the right times. Nevertheless, we have no control over these larger forces of nature. Just because we know how to utilize them for our benefit doesn’t mean that we are responsible for their actions.

Time is nature’s strongest force, and it waits for no one. There is no way to stop the aging that occurs with time nor the impending death slated for every single living being. The wise, realizing this fact, make it their life’s mission to find out what they are doing in a material body to begin with. Why should they have to succumb to nature? If they have limited freedom in enjoyment, where should that freedom be directed? After all, crimes against humanity can only exist if there is freedom to start. Thus we know that liberty is not the most important factor; it’s what you do with it that counts.

In bhakti-yoga, the free will of the living entity is used towards finding the most lasting happiness. There is intelligence behind nature. Depending on the stage of spiritual intelligence reached, a person may only refer to that higher power as nature. Then if a little faith is adopted, nature turns into an enigmatic force referred to as God. Then there are the preachers who speak the message of God, about how man is supposed to love Him and avoid activity that makes Him angry. Then a faith develops off of that message. Slowly, little by little, more is revealed to the inquisitive soul sincerely interested in spirituality.

In bhakti-yoga, the origin of life and matter is defined as clearly as possible in the beginning. We qualify this statement because the human mind is incapable of fully understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mind cannot grasp the concept of sanatana, or that which has no beginning and no end. For God to be who He is, He must be sanatana. This entire material creation is but one of His forms. We are amazed looking into outer space or looking down on the land when the airplane we board first ascends to the sky, but this aspect represents only one of the Supreme Lord’s forms, and it is still so amazing that the mind cannot comprehend it.

The Vedas describe God’s original feature as Krishna, or all-attractive. His features are exquisite, delicate, and humbling. His beauty is such that it will capture your mind and at the same time make you so dedicated to keeping the smile on that Supreme Lord that you will never give up His service. In material affairs, the guiding force is mother nature, who is impartial in her dealings. The sunlight is available for everyone, but someone who utilizes that energy improperly can get hurt. The material nature as a whole operates on the same principle, with the various energies open to be used both properly and improperly.

The presiding deity in the religion of love is Krishna. Since He is the foremost controller, the results of action in bhakti are influenced by Him. Someone who sincerely follows the foremost religious path need not worry over success or failure. The implementation is the success, for throughout the process the worshiper remains tied in consciousness to God. This feature is not present in any other type of system of maintenance, be it fruitive activity, philosophical study, or mysticism. Blind allegiance coupled with fruitive activity also doesn’t do much, as consciousness in these stages is limited in its growth.

How can we back up the claims about bhakti? An easier way to understand philosophical concepts is to take real life examples. The understanding is made easier when those examples can be created at the local level. The formula for bhakti-yoga is actually quite easy to follow, thus allowing any person to see for themselves whether or not Krishna is God. One of the simplest methods is worshiping the deity at home. Krishna’s complete material nature is His virat-rupa, or universal form. We cannot worship this form because not everyone is eligible to see it. Think of looking at the world’s largest number without any commas inside of it. Obviously you will go crazy trying to figure out the value of that number, as nothing will aid you in your discernment. The universal form is a similarly complex manifestation which has only been seen a few times in history.

“Arjuna saw in that universal form unlimited mouths and unlimited eyes. It was all wondrous. The form was decorated with divine, dazzling ornaments and arrayed in many garbs. He was garlanded gloriously, and there were many scents smeared over His body. All was magnificent, all-expanding, unlimited. This was seen by Arjuna.”  (Bhagavad-gita, 11.10-11)

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra some five thousand years ago, Arjuna, a hesitant warrior preparing for a great battle, got to see that virat-rupa from Krishna Himself. This universal form was unique and had never been shown to anyone before. Previously, Krishna’s foster mother in Vrindavana, Yashoda, saw a version of the universal form when the Lord opened His mouth after having been accused of eating dirt. Prior to that a bird named Kakabhushundi saw the universal form when he was playfully swallowed by Krishna in His form of Lord Rama. Shri Ramachandra, the jewel of the Raghu dynasty, playing as a child in Ayodhya knew that the bird was a devotee, which made him eligible to see the universal form. At a time even prior to that, the venerable Markandeya Rishi saw the universal form in the stomach of Lord Narayana, after the end of a specific creation. Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead, but through His expansion of Lord Narayana, He exhales to generate the creation and then inhales to annihilate it. Markandeya was granted special favor on this occasion to remain alive during the dissolution, which enabled him to understand that Krishna was Narayana and that the Lord never takes birth or dies.

Seeing the universal form is a rarity, but this doesn’t mean that the average person is prohibited from seeing God or worshiping Him. Through the proxy of the deity, or archa-vigraha, any person can worship the Lord in their home. Krishna created matter after all, so if it is shaped properly and under authorized guidelines to display a replica of His spiritual attributes, the matter can become worshipable. An example often cited by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to explain this concept is the mailbox. If you have an important letter to send, you’ll drop it in a mailbox, which is specially marked. At its core, the mailbox is not different from any other box. It is composed of the same elements, but since it is authorized by the post office, you assume that your letter will be picked up and delivered to the proper destination.

The deity operates in a similar manner, as it is authorized to accept the obeisances of the sincere souls given to worshiping it. With the deity in the home, the devotee essentially invites God to live with them. The most honorable guest is then regularly worshiped with offerings of flowers, food, water, and incense. Just from a simple practice like this the consciousness of the worshiper can ascend to new heights previously considered unimaginable. If you think about it, the benefit of this method should be easy to understand. If going to church once a week is good for you, how can replicating that environment in the home be a bad thing? If worshiping God once a week is beneficial, imagine how many spiritual merits you can accumulate by worshiping Him every single day in your home.

Another inexpensive way to serve God is to serve His devotee. The servant takes the time to regularly worship the Lord and praise Him. Thus anyone who serves that servant is playing a role in a very important activity. It has been said many times in the past by the Lord Himself that He feels the greatest satisfaction when one of His servants is honored. This pleases Him more than receiving direct honor. This explains why worshipable figures like Shri Hanuman and Tulasi Devi are honored so regularly. They are God’s exalted servants, and anyone who serves them with a pure heart will receive their blessings in their march towards final emancipation.

Another option in bhakti-yoga is to reside in a sacred place. Based on surroundings you are almost forced to act a certain way. For instance, if you live in a place where there is no animal flesh available for purchase, the vegetarian diet is a must. If no alcohol is around, you will be compelled to give up drinking. These are just the rejections of the negative, but imagine if you lived somewhere that had regular worship of Krishna going on in both public houses and residential quarters. If you lived there, you couldn’t help but be infused by the spiritual culture. In this way just spending a little time residing in a holy land can grant so much spiritual progress, without any difficult effort expended. The association does the trick.

The least expensive method of all, the one that is available to the most number of people, is also the most effective. Chanting the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, is open to every single person, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or level of intelligence. It is not a sectarian practice, nor is it dependent on one’s acknowledgement of a higher power. Even if you are the biggest sinner, the person who hates religion the most, chanting the holy names can do wonders for you. The environments of the temple, the holy place of pilgrimage and the association of the devotee can be replicated in an instant with a pure utterance of the name of Krishna. As saying this once without tainted motivations is quite difficult, the devotees try to recite the holy name as often as possible. It becomes their most important activity, showing that bhakti-yoga changes the way people live their lives.

The specific methods of bhakti-yoga are easy to implement and the results come very quickly as well. At the same time, whatever one thinks they might be missing out on from the other methods of spiritual practice is available too. If you support one team in sports, you are automatically not supporting another. Since Krishna is the reservoir of pleasure, the fountainhead of all energies, supporting Him in earnest through dedicated practice means automatically paying homage to His component parts. The resulting intelligence will allow the sincere soul to learn the true purpose behind the many different systems of maintenance. It will also firmly convince them of the superiority of the religion of love, the only system worth accepting.

In Closing:

Implementing a few items that are simple,

Gives one spiritual merits that are ample.

 

Install deity in home in which you live,

Offerings to it daily do you give.

 

Spend time in company of Lord’s servant,

From them hear message of love so pleasant.

 

Take up residence in a famous holy place,

Witness devotion on each smiling face.

 

There is one method that is best of all,

Holy name of Krishna do regularly call.

Sakshi-gopala

“The Lord heard the story of Sakshi-gopala with great pleasure because He wanted to impress upon the atheists that the worshipable Deities in the temples approved by the great acharyas are not idols, as alleged by men with a poor fund of knowledge.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, Introduction)

Shri Krishna Chaitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself in the form of a preacher, a kind-hearted saint who did not discriminate when disseminating the universal peace formula that is bhakti-yoga, is extremely pleased to hear stories relating to Lord Krishna and interactions with His devotees. This is actually every person’s favored source of satisfaction, but without a sober mind, without the removal of distresses and distractions borne of material attachment, an imitation variety of that pleasure will be sought out through other avenues. The transcendental hearing process, however, is so strong that simply by giving it a little attention, applying some faith and dedication, the pure Krishna consciousness that belongs to the soul can be revealed. Of the many stories Lord Chaitanya liked to hear, the one involving Sakshi-Gopala, God as a witness in the form of a deity, was one of His favorites.

The accounts of historical incidents found in Vedic literature seem too good to be true, so there may be a tendency to think that the information was mentally concocted, stories that are meant to have a symbolic importance, provide moral lessons more than anything else. From Lord Chaitanya’s personal example, however, we learn that both the wonderful historical incidents documented in the Vedas and the divine nature of the deity representation of the Supreme Lord are real. Every person has their own interpretations and viewpoints based on their personal understanding, but this doesn’t mean that authority should never be accepted. If the skeptical attitude were applied universally, there would be no such thing as crime. The cells in the prison houses would have to be opened, for if every person were an authority figure, then even the thief could claim to be pious. “You say that I am a criminal, but that is your interpretation. My opinion is that I am innocent. I had a right to take another person’s property. Since we are both entitled to our opinions, how can any person say who is right and who is wrong?”

When the thief applies this logic, the practice is laughed at, made fun of, and not taken seriously in the least bit. Yet these same arguments are put forth about spirituality and Vedic concepts by those with a poor fund of knowledge, and somehow they are taken seriously. The truth is that even skepticism represents an assertion. In the skeptical attitude, the person putting forth their opinions wants others to accept them. Yet in order to accept something as factual, even an opinion like skepticism, there must be some authority established. Without authority, why would anyone believe anything that anyone else says?

The Vedas are the ancient scriptures of India, and one of their most concise works is the Bhagavad-gita, which was sung on the battlefield of Kurukshetra some five thousand years ago by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord, the fountainhead of Vedanta philosophy. Veda means “knowledge” and anta means “end”, so Vedanta represents the summit of knowledge, the last word on information that really matters. Though the Gita delves into a variety of topics, the final conclusion is that Krishna is God and that the soul’s occupational duty is to willingly surrender unto Him through a mood of pure love. With this devotion comes happiness for every party involved. Krishna is God, but this doesn’t mean that the Lord takes only one form. There are many non-different expansions of Krishna, allowing for people to worship the Supreme in their mood of choice.

Only the personal expansions of Krishna are equal to the original. The list of the notable personal expansions is given in the sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam. Therefore those who worship Vishnu, Rama, Narasimha or other vishnu-tattva forms are worshiping the same Krishna. There are other expansions, but they are not full representations of Krishna. Even we living entities emanate from the Lord, but we are separated expansions. We can understand the difference by looking at our own body. The hands and legs are part of our form, but they can only do certain things. We can’t put headphones around our legs and expect the sound vibrations to enter our mind. We can’t put food into the hands and expect the nutrients to reach the stomach. The various aspects of the body each have their respective functional duties.

In a similar manner, the part and parcel expansions of Godhead have roles to play, but they are not the same as God. The guru is considered the empowered incarnation delivering the message of Godhead. The guru is treated the same as God, but nowhere is it said that he is equal to Krishna. Nevertheless, many mental speculators have commented on the Bhagavad-gita by saying that in His conclusion Krishna doesn’t really mean that one should surrender unto Him. Rather, one has to surrender to the “Krishna” residing within them. Since the guru is self-realized, he is the same Krishna.

Obviously, such theories are completely bogus and not based on authority. Yet when these conclusions are challenged by those who actually follow the Vedic teachings espoused by Shri Krishna Himself, the pretenders can only counter with skepticism. “Well, that’s your interpretation. How can you say that I am wrong?” To settle any doubts, to expose the pretenders and cheaters for who they are, the Supreme Lord personally descends to earth from time to time. Lord Chaitanya’s advent marked one such occasion. As Krishna in the guise of a devotee, Lord Chaitanya never insisted that others worship Him. He was Krishna, as is revealed in the end of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, yet He never went around proclaiming to be God. Rather, He asked everyone to chant the holy names of the Lord found in the sacred maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. When others would say that He was God, Lord Chaitanya would cover His ears and protest. Just from this behavior we see how foolish and dangerous the cheater gurus who claim to be God and thus worthy of a position equal to Krishna are.

Have the pretender gods ever lifted a gigantic hill and held it up over their heads for seven consecutive days without a problem? Have they displayed the universal form which is so awe-inspiring that the eyes can’t even look at it for too long because of the fear it instills? Have they saved a child in the womb from the attack of a deadly atomic weapon? Have they created this and many other universes through a simple exhalation? Have they provided pleasure to millions of devotees by playing their flute?

Lord Krishna is the reservoir of pleasure, for God is eternally situated in bliss. Knowledge acquisition, exhibitions of yogic siddhis, and possession of material opulence are but partial representations of the Supreme Lord’s glories, almost insignificant abilities that can only attract the attention of those not yet given towards bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. To help us regain our constitutional position, the one practice that is most recommended is hearing, for the Vedas themselves were originally known as the shrutis, or “that which is heard”. Lord Chaitanya validated the superiority of hearing by regularly giving aural reception to wonderful accounts of Krishna’s pastimes and His interactions with His dearmost friends. The story of Sakshi-gopala was one of His favorite to hear.

A long time back two brahmanas, members of the priestly class, were travelling around India visiting pilgrimage sites. One brahmana was older and from a higher class while the other was younger and not very esteemed socially. The younger brahmana offered such nice service during this trip that the elder one became immensely pleased. He promised to give away his daughter’s hand in marriage to the younger brahmana. The younger brahmana was a little surprised, for he knew that the man’s family would not agree to the proposal. Therefore he made the elder man promise in front of the deity of Sakshi-gopala that was in the temple they were visiting. Swearing before a deity was a big deal. It was sort of like swearing to tell the truth before giving testimony in court, except that the oath was taken much more seriously.

When the elder brahmana returned home, he told his family what had happened. Not surprisingly, they objected to his idea. The brahmana knew that he had promised before the deity and that this would raise an issue. The man’s son suggested that his father simply say that he forgot what he said that day. This is the standard line used by lawyers and those trying to cheat. By saying you can’t remember, you technically aren’t lying, for you haven’t made an outright confirmation or denial.

When the younger brahmana visited his friend later on and asked what was going on with the marriage arrangements, he was surprised to learn that the deal was now off. Not only was he rejected, but the elder brahmana’s son started accusing him of poisoning his father and making him act in crazy ways. Reminding the older man of the promise he made in front of the deity, the younger brahmana hoped to save his friend from the sinful reaction of lying before Krishna. The elder brahmana said that if the same deity could be brought in their presence to testify to the oath, then he would give away his daughter. Obviously the thought was that the deity was simply stone and thus incapable of doing anything.

It’s interesting to note that for the elder brahmana the deity was important enough to make the oath in front of, but when it came time to back up his words, when things really mattered, the same deity was taken to be just material elements. Matter does not have Krishna’s personal presence, but when it is used in an authorized way to construct the worshipable figure, the archa-vigraha, it becomes spiritualized. How this is possible cannot be understood through mental exercise. The reality of the change must initially be accepted as fact based on the authority of the acharyas, those who lead by example.

The younger brahmana went back to the temple and asked the deity to help him out. Krishna always hears the pleas of His devotees, so He spoke to the brahmana through His deity form. He told the brahmana to proceed to his friend’s home, while He, as the deity, would follow from behind. The brahmana was not to look back to see if the deity was following. He was to know that Krishna was behind him by the sound of the Lord’s ankle bells. The brahmana would daily offer rice to the deity to keep the Lord satisfied.

Sure enough, the deity of Sakshi-gopala made the journey to the elder brahmana’s home. Astonished to see the witness standing before him, the elder brahmana was left with no choice but to agree to the original arrangement, which he had promised before the deity. Lord Chaitanya loved this story because it showed how the deity is not just a collection of material elements aimed at furthering realization of Brahman, or the impersonal light of Truth. Krishna’s deities are fully empowered because they are non-different from Him. They are worshipable, which means that they accept the obeisances made to them in full devotion and faith.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states that anyone who offers Him a leaf, flower, fruit, or some water with devotion will have their offering accepted and enjoyed by the Lord. Why would we want to offer anything to God? The question should really be why would we not? We offer so much to other people already, so why not take a little time to give attention to the source of every benediction in life? Even if we can’t sacrifice food or make an opulent offering to the deity, we can give some time to the hearing process.

Just sitting back and hearing about Krishna eventually reveals the knowledge necessary for enlightenment and gaining reinstatement into the eternal occupation that is devotional service. Just as Lord Chaitanya was delighted by hearing the story of Sakshi-gopala during His travels in India, we are warmed to the heart by hearing about Shri Gaurahari’s delight. He delivers the fallen souls of the Kali Yuga by distributing Krishna-prema freely, to anyone who wants it. In this marketplace, there is no scarcity, as the Supreme Lord has an endless supply of love to give to those who wish to cherish it and welcome it into their hearts. As Sakshi-gopala, Krishna vouched for the poor brahmana a long time ago, and as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He confirms the Lord’s promise in the Bhagavad-gita to deliver the surrendered souls.

In Closing:

Around India did Mahaprabhu travel,

At one story in particular did He marvel.

To the vow of the brahmana whose logic went amiss.

Did Sakshi-gopala testify, the deity as witness.

A long time ago, two brahmanas there were,

To a marriage arrangement did they both concur.

“To you my young friend will I give the hand of my daughter,

You have treated me well, as if I were your father.”

Since he was very poor, the younger was hesitant to accept,

“In stature you are superior to me, surely your family will object.”

The younger then made the elder swear before the deity,

Sakshi-gopala, Shri Krishna Himself, the reservoir of beauty.

But when he returned home, the elder’s family did not agree,

“What kind of deal have you made, this is crazy don’t you see?”

When the younger visited the elder to see if the marriage was set,

The elder replied, “There is no deal. What I said before I do forget.”

The younger then asked Sakshi-gopala for help, to the deity did he talk.

“I will testify to the truth. Do you go to his home, behind you I will walk.”

Thus on the road the young brahmana did Sakshi-gopala, the deity, follow,

After hearing the truth from Shri Krishna, his humble pie did the elder swallow.

By the mercy of the Lord did the elder finally give up his objection,

The deity is Shri Krishna Himself, so to the devoted it gives all protection.

In hearing this story did Shri Krishna Chaitanya always delight,

Reciting it now, we pray that He may shine His mercy upon us so bright.

A Killer Smile

“When a devotee with all his heart and soul serves Krishna, dresses Him in nice garments and gives Him a flower, Krishna smiles. If you can get Krishna to smile upon you just once, your life’s goal is fulfilled.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Kapila, Ch 7)

Shyamasundara, the original and ever existing form of the Personality of Godhead, has an inexhaustible reservoir of sweetness just ready to flow onto whoever is sincere enough to look at His wonderful face and body. The jivas, the conditioned living entities that are technically part of the marginal energy emanating from the Supreme Spirit, have exercised their freedom by turning their faces away from God. As nothing can be separated from the origin of everything, the material nature and all its miserable components are certainly non-different from the Supreme Lord, but since they are not part of His personal, internal energy, their association cannot bring anywhere near the level of satisfaction to the heart so desperately looking for eternal pleasure that one simple and sincere glance at the smiling face of the Personality of Godhead can. From the wonderful prescriptions provided by the sweetheart of a devotee and saint, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, we find an easy way to bring to our vision that enchanting smile, an image which subsequently paints a mental picture that won’t go away anytime soon. Indeed, Krishna’s smile is so beautiful that it will kill the pride of even the staunchest of atheists.

“Dear Krishna, You are the killer of all the fears of the inhabitants of Vrindavana. You are the supremely powerful hero, and we know that You can kill the unnecessary pride of Your devotee as well as the pride of women like us simply by Your beautiful smile.” (Songs of the gopis, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 31)

Does Krishna exist? Aren’t the stories found in sacred texts like the Ramayana and Shrimad Bhagavatam just mythological? After all, what rational human being would ever believe in flying monkeys, children lifting gigantic hills, or planets managed by people? Surely these were all concoctions borne of ignorance, the mental speculations of those who didn’t have the advanced knowledge of material science available today. But if such a conclusion were to be followed, then the entire breadth and scope of Vedic literature would have to be discounted. This includes the very existence of Krishna and all the references to geographical locations that are known to exist in real life. In addition, the very tangible information pertaining to medical science and the movements and distances of the different stars in the sky would also have to be ignored. The famous teachings of the Bhagavad-gita, where knowledge pertaining to material nature, the properties of spirit, the reason for the continuation of conditioned life, and the way to get out of the clutches of illusion are very concisely and fully presented, would also have to be discarded.

To cherry-pick certain statements and label them as valid while simultaneously ignoring others as being imaginary is not a very scientific way of accepting information. Using skepticism, any theory can be debunked and thus labeled as false. After all, anyone can say anything. Even newspaper stories, which are respected because of the stature of the originating establishment and the supposed editing and fact-checking that is done prior to a paper’s release, are known to be fabricated from time to time. In actuality, authority is most often determined by first testing the validity of the prescriptions provided and the information presented. For instance, we accept the information from our parents relating to the circumstances of our birth and who our siblings are. Based on the accuracy of that information, we can then tag our parents as authority figures. The same principle applies to virtually every type of information transfer. We know that past world leaders and historical personalities existed and performed activities because of the documented sense perceptions contained within books. Anyone could easily question the authenticity of these works and thereby delegitimize both the books and the existence of the people described within the pages.

The proof that the documented evidence relating to the Supreme Lord and His pastimes is true can be found in the results that come from following the prescriptions provided. A principle Vedic instruction, among many other important points of fact, is that mankind is part of the spiritual energy, one which exists eternally and originally without delusion in an imperishable land. As soon as one’s sincere desire is to return to the original realm, all miseries and pains vanish. Shifting desire in the right direction requires a change in consciousness, which serves as the primary indication of pleasure or pain. Regardless of the present circumstances or the level of material accumulation, the thoughts within the mind can put the individual into a pleasant or miserable condition. As consciousness is the key to finding eternal freedom, it must be focused on something tangible, something real.

The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, recommend that the mind be focused on the names, pastimes, qualities and forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose original form is described as being all-attractive; hence the name “Krishna”. While the different traditions emanating from the Vedas, which can be likened to branches growing from the root that is the source of all Vedic wisdom, may ascribe different names and forms for the original entity, there is still no doubt that God is a person and that His transcendental body is attractive. Some take Vishnu, or the four-handed form of the Absolute Truth, to be the original source, while others even accept Lord Rama, the warrior prince expansion of Bhagavan, to be the fountainhead of all incarnations. Regardless of the identification, the fact remains that the Absolute Truth is capable of providing supreme bliss. Even if Vishnu, Rama, or some other non-different form of Godhead is taken as the original, there is still no doubt about Krishna’s attractiveness. His smile is as sweet as they come, so anyone who is fortunate enough to worship Him on a regular basis will reap sublime benefits.

How can we worship Krishna if we don’t believe in His existence? Surely there will be skepticism in the beginning, as the accounts of the wonderful and amazing found within the Vedas make believing in the Supreme Spirit and His ability to hear our sincere prayers a little difficult. But anyone who is even fortunate enough to hear about Krishna from an authorized source, a person who has unflinching faith in the merciful and kind nature of Govinda, the pleasure-giver of the senses and the cows, will have their dormant Krishna consciousness aroused eventually. Even the atheists, the avowed haters of God, the disbelievers in religion, worship Krishna to some degree or another. The soul is filled with a blissful nature that never goes away. In the conditioned state, when there is separation from the personal aspect of the Supreme Spirit, the loving propensity gets misdirected towards worldly objects. Indeed, missing the proper target of service is the root cause of all pain and misery.

Love manifests in service. The attitude which seeks to put a smile on someone’s face steers activities. The hopeless romantic tries their best to bring happiness to their paramour. To this end, they will whisper sweet nothings in the ear, write love letters, compliment the appearance and attributes of their beloved, and take great measures just to maintain the pleasure of the object of their service. The pet-lover will go to great lengths to evoke just one affectionate embrace from their cat or dog. The dedicated servant of the nation will risk their lives to protect the innocent, and one simple “thank you” is enough to keep them enthusiastically committed to their service. Similarly, the politician receives satisfaction from seeing the smiling faces of their constituents after a victory in an election.

To have the vision of a smiling face, so many avenues for service are travelled down. Not surprisingly, the same process, but in a purified form, when directed at the proper recipient of love and affection, can bring about the best result. Just one smiling glance from the face of the Supreme Lord Krishna can cause a permanent shift in consciousness. As the transcendental smile is infectious, it can cure the conditioned soul of the material disease, whose acute onslaught has led to a gradual descension into hellish life signaled by a virtual absence of spiritual awareness. The effects of Kali Yuga, the age we currently live in, are such that adherence to dharma, or religious principles, is practically nonexistent. The concept of a regulative system and its necessity are still there, but since the ultimate objective is sense gratification, or enjoyment without Krishna, the principles instituted don’t work and lead to nothing more than a more opulent animal life. The differences between the human beings and animals are subtle and can be tied directly to intelligence. The human mind has a higher potential for the acquisition of knowledge, so unless that opportunity is fully availed of, the resultant lifestyle of eating, sleeping, mating and defending will be no different from a dog’s or hog’s.

Okay, so seeing Krishna smile should be one of the main goals in life, but how do we go about making this happen? Where does Krishna live? How can we see Him? As He is all pervading, Krishna is everywhere. The key is to properly train the eyes to be able to notice His presence. Just as the microscope is required to see atoms and elements that are impossible to be noticed by the naked eye, a special training is required to detect the presence of the only person whose beauty never diminishes, the Supreme Lord who has a blissful and eternal form.

In this regard Shrila Prabhupada has provided a nice roadmap, prescriptions aimed at receiving the darshana of the smiling face of the Lord. The first requirement is that there be a willingness to serve from the devotee, a mentality that is accepted with full heart and soul. The simplest and most effective method of transcendental service is the regular chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. This wonderful sound vibration serves as the perfect prayer, as it is devoid of any desire for sense gratification or alleviation of distress. Who among us hasn’t prayed to God for something? “Oh please Lord, just help me out this one time. I don’t ask You for much, so if You come through for me this one time, I will never bother You again.” Chanting the holy names is different from any other religious practice because it simply requests the presence of the Supreme Spirit within the consciousness of the otherwise forgetful individual. Indeed, the recitation of the name itself brings about the requested association, as the name is not different from the Supreme Personality it represents.

“Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Krishna, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Krishna expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.” (Lord Chaitanya, Shikshashtaka, 1)

When chanting is practiced regularly, the mirror of the heart is gradually cleansed, thus causing a purification of consciousness. The more one chants sincerely the more the heart and soul get attached to the sublime engagement of devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. Service to the Divine can involve hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping the deity, and many other processes. The deity is the wonderful benediction granted to the souls just dying to have more outlets for their service. By taking material elements such as wood, stone or marble and crafting a statue or picture representation based on the descriptions of Krishna’s form found within the sacred texts, the resulting object becomes non-different from Krishna and thus worshipable. It is an error to think that the spiritual land is without variegatedness or form. If our perishable land was the only place that contained prakriti, or matter, then the spiritual sky would immediately become an inferior place. Though both places have visible substances, the difference lies in the makeup of the matter and its effect on consciousness. The spiritual land is filled with daivi prakriti, or divine matter. As such, the residents of the Vaikuntha planets, the spiritual sky that is free of anxieties, don’t see any difference between matter and spirit. In the conditioned state, our bodies are ever changing, with the full forms being regularly discarded and accepted through the events of birth and death. But in the spiritual sky, where there is association with daivi prakriti, there is no difference between body and spirit.

When the deity is constructed by devotees following authorized instructions and recommendations, its comprising material elements become completely spiritual. The previously ordinary prakriti turns into daivi prakriti through its association with Krishna. When the deity gets installed and is served regularly, the devotees have a tangible object of worship, a way to see God all the time. Those who don’t believe in Krishna or who remain insistent on their dogmatic principles will be bereft of this divine association. They will take the deity to be a mere idol, some mentally concocted object of worship. In reality, a spiritual discipline which ignores the potency and validity of deity worship must and will always be second class. After all, regardless of the spiritual tradition, the need for the purification of consciousness cannot be argued against. Even in material endeavors such as performing well on a job or graduating from school require a purification of thoughts and a steady focus on the task at hand. In spiritual life, if the ability to worship a tangible object with body, mind and soul is denied, then the consciousness is left to focus on everything except the Supreme Lord. Thus the very restriction on outward worship, which is not based on any rational thought, becomes the strongest impediment towards the stated objective, that of attaining salvation.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

After the deity is erected and the devotee maintains their steady chanting routine, if they can offer some garments, food, or a flower with sincerity, there is every chance of getting Krishna to smile. The acute observer may interject at this point and say, “How can the appearance of the deity change? Once the face is carved out and a smile is put on Krishna’s face, how can that image ever be altered?” Once again, the issue boils down to the vision of the observer, and more importantly, its level of purity. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words; so anyone who looks at an image will have different thoughts and judgments. If we were to look at the same picture at different times of the day, we may perceive different aspects and notice certain features that were previously overlooked. Our level of consciousness thus determines the nature of our vision.

When there is full sincerity in the bhakti attitude, and when something nice is offered to the Supreme Lord with full faith, there is no doubt that the smile seen on the deity will increase in potency and beauty. Once this smile is seen, when the vision of the observer has been purified to the point that the transcendental smile emanating from the spiritual world is perceived just once, the goal of life is fulfilled. Does this mean that seeing Krishna’s smile gives us full license to take part in sinful activities afterwards? Since only the sincere devotee gains the vision necessary to accurately perceive of the killer smile coming off the deity, there is no chance for falling down from the elevated platform of divine consciousness once the grand vision is received. Krishna’s smile is so attractive that the onlooker will want a repeat of the same miraculous vision day after day. As such, the end-goal of a shift in consciousness is automatically achieved. May that wonderful smile of the kindest person known in all the worlds be forever ingrained in our mind’s eye, and may we never again make the grievous and foolhardy transgression of neglecting His service.

Zooming Out

“The Absolute Truth is the objective of devotional sacrifice, and it is indicated by the word sat. These works of sacrifice, of penance and of charity, true to the absolute nature, are performed to please the Supreme Person, O son of Pritha.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 17.26-27)

“Why are they bowing down in front of that statue? Why are their heads shaved, and why do they keep repeating the same chant?” Surely these questions will arise when observing the behavior of a worshiper belonging to the Vedic tradition, one following the ancient art of bhakti, or divine love. In any closed circle, unknown behavior and concepts will appear foreign, strange, or unusual. But as more information is gathered, the appreciation and understanding of different cultures and behavior increases. Indeed, after further background information is provided, the meaning behind the practices witnessed in the scene with the humble servant offering their obeisances in the temple can be understood and made use of.

Let’s cover a hypothetical situation to see how zooming out of a scene, stepping outside of a narrow vision, can help us gain a clearer picture. Let’s say that through whatever lens we are observing we can see a man sitting down. At first all we can see is his head and his body; thus we come to the conclusion that he is in a seated position. Every few moments, he seems to turn his head back and forth, sort of like a pendulum. Sometimes the head turn is followed by a sigh indicating despondency, and other times there is elation and joy, where he pumps his fists and jumps up because he is so happy. From this behavior we can deduce that maybe the man is watching something. Our assumptions notwithstanding, since we lack any further information of the scene, the behavior of the man still appears quite strange to us.

Now let’s zoom out a little bit. By expanding the scope of vision, we see that there are other people situated around this man, and they are behaving in a similar manner. They too seem to be turning their heads back and forth periodically, with their eyes attentively focused on a particular object of interest. When we zoom out even more, we are able to see many people seated in a network of seats, perfectly aligned rows, almost as if they are spectators at an event. With another expansion of the window of vision we see a young man who is not standing; his behavior is different from the spectators. Because of the viewpoint we currently have, all we can see is the back portion of this stranger’s body, which shows that he is wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. He periodically runs back and forth across a line, but sometimes he stops. It is now apparent that the spectators are there to watch this person do whatever he is doing.

If we pan the lens out a few more times, we’ll eventually see that the scene we have been observing the whole time is a stadium hosting a tennis match. The spectators are keeping their eyes on the tennis ball which travels from one side of the court to the other. The player is not simply running for the fun of it; he is chasing after a ball hit by the opposing player. The behavior of the spectators that was originally considered strange now makes sense, as the people seated are not just moving their heads randomly. If we were actually at the stadium, we would learn that the first man we were observing is the father of one of the players. Therefore he has an even greater interest in this match, as his son is trying to make it to the professional level, and he needs this victory to win a major championship in the junior division.

In the beginning, when we didn’t know all of this information , when our angle of vision was quite narrow, the validity of our viewpoint and the accuracy of our deductions suffered. We surely made judgments about the behavior witnessed, but our opinions were made without knowing all of the facts. Along similar lines, to enlighten the souls inquisitive about the nature around them, the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, kindly fill in the missing details of the meaning of life and the purpose to the existence of so many different species in the perceptible world. This information is required because at the time of birth, the infant is completely ignorant. Children are like a blank slate, and based on the activities they take up and the instruction they are provided they can pretty much turn into anything as adults.

To realize the true potential for knowledge, intelligence and activity that accompanies a human birth, one must understand the essence of the soul and its natural properties. Irrespective of the level of knowledge of spirituality present, in every single individual and every activity adopted there is service. In the beginning stages, the child takes to serving its own interests by playing and having fun all day. After some maturity is gained, service gets directed towards teachers in school and parents at home. Eventually, the mature adult takes to serving an employer, a spouse, and children. In the latter stages of life, the aged individual loses many of its abilities, so they take service from their children and caretakers.

Only service offered to God can transcend the effects of time and space. We know that the soul is eternal because life on earth existed before the time of our birth. We know from our own experiences that life continues to exist when someone dies. If there is always life around us, then surely there must always be a place for the soul to travel. As the most amazing natural acrobat, the soul travels through ethereal space from one body type to another, with the specific form of residence determined by previous work and the desires measured at the time of death.

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

When service is offered to the cause of all causes [sarva-karana-karanam], Lord Krishna, who is also described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul remains put in Krishna’s association, forming a bond that is steady, unbreakable and immune to the destructive forces of time. Nothing related to our present body can be considered permanent because time will eventually take everything away. But consciousness, as a byproduct of the spiritual essence, remains with the individual spiritual entity from life to life. When the consciousness is focused always on the transcendental form of the Personality of Godhead, His names and His wonderful qualities, the association of the Supreme Spirit is never lost. Consciousness is the very essence of existence, and its development and purification should be the main focus of interest for those dwelling in a human body.

To purify consciousness, a set of superior activities is required, engagements which will lead the mind to subsequently think of new and better ways to repeat the same actions. The discipline of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, deals directly with consciousness, focusing the mind on sat, or that which exists eternally. It appears that we have a problem, however, due to the fact that material nature is forever mutable and changing. Even our outward bodies, which are composed of material elements, get created at some point in time and then get destroyed later on. Therefore how can we find anything in our present surroundings that is considered sat?

The holy name, which is simply the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth, is always sat. Therefore anyone who regularly chants, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, can be directly in touch with eternal Truth. But the eyes need stimulation as well; therefore the deity representation is carved out and worshiped. Though consisting of material elements, the deity acts as a non-different expansion of the same person addressed through the chanting of the holy name, whose original forms are all spiritual. In reality, contact with matter is only detrimental to those who view it to be separated from the Supreme Lord. When an object is deemed to be divorced of any relationship to spirit, it gets utilized for the personal sense interests of the worker. Since the service mentality is the catalyst for all action, the only difference between material activities and spiritual ones is the beneficiary. When material elements are used for the benefit of asat, or the material senses of the individual, they are classified as illusory and the source of much distress. But when objects which are seemingly asat are used to please, worship and think of sat, they assume the divine qualities of the transcendental beneficiary.

The devotee bows down before the deity because the service mentality in its purest form involves loving God. As the Supreme Controller, original proprietor, greatest enjoyer and best friend of the living entities, the Lord is meant to always be respected and worshiped properly. While worshiping an idol is practically worthless, when the visible object of affection represents the spiritual form of the Absolute Truth, benefits are received by both the worshipers and the sincere onlookers. Saying that we need to worship and respect God is nice in theory, but independently conjuring up spiritual thoughts is very difficult, especially when our outward actions lead us to associate with asat. In this way the deity symbolizes the unmatched mercy of the Lord, who is kind enough to appear in a form that is visible to our materially conditioned eyes, whose vision remains narrow in the absence of purification acquired through surrender to the highest authority.

If one somehow thinks that God can’t take the form of a deity, their understanding is very limited. If the original Person creates matter, why can’t He appear in a form that accepts worship? If God is meant to be our best friend and the person given highest priority, how can bowing down before His deity manifestation be harmful? Indeed, if the altering of consciousness is the end game, which it most certainly should be, wouldn’t any activity that further solidifies our attachment to God be worthwhile?

In addition to worshiping the deity, the devotee chants the holy names of the Lord as often as possible, and preferably in the company of others who are of the sat quality. People who have similar interests in music join together to attend concerts and watch videos, so why shouldn’t devotees of Krishna congregate and chant and dance and sing? Since the names of God are also sat, the transcendental singers never tire of reciting the same poetic lines over and over again. To benefit future generations of man, the great Vaishnava saints, devotees of Krishna, have passed down the holy names of the Lord in various songs, mantras and hymns. Sound is the gateway to the soul, so one who keeps the sound vibration representation of Shri Krishna constantly playing in their mind will quickly have their consciousness purified.

The more we zoom out of the initial picture of the spiritual traditions of the Vedas painted with the conditioned eye, the more we can understand and appreciate the glory of bhakti-yoga and its beneficiary. Every recommended practice of a bona fide religion has an end-goal. The specific procedures may vary, but there is always an ultimate destination, a condition that is deemed favorable. The nice thing about bhakti-yoga is that it automatically incorporates every type of favorable condition. Financial well-being, good fortune in fruitive endeavors, the alleviation of distress, peace of mind and so many other benefits automatically come to those whose consciousness remains steadily fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Due to their limited vision, the ignorant may come forward with their dogmatic insistence and decry the practices of the followers of the ancient religion of love that is bhakti, but when the discipline is properly understood, the purpose behind all religious systems is quickly revealed. Simply by reading the Shrimad Bhagavatam, the crown jewel of Vedic literature, knowledge of every type of philosophy, religion and yoga that has ever existed, currently exists and will ever exist in the future will be acquired. The devotee’s behavior remains a mystery to those who don’t understand the purpose to dedication in transcendental love, but for one who knows the ultimate destination, the reason for wanting to go there, and the steps necessary to attain it, bhakti-yoga quickly becomes the most understandable, pleasurable and difficult to renounce way of life.

A Sight for Sore Eyes

“Whenever one develops faith in Me—in My form as the Deity or in other bona fide manifestations—one should worship Me in that form. I certainly exist both within all created beings and also separately in My original form, since I am the Supreme Soul of all.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.27.48)

Question: “Is worship of idols prohibited in the Vedas?”

Answer: The concept of worshiping a deity as a means of achieving salvation for the soul is certainly a unique and often misunderstood aspect of the most prominent spiritual tradition of India, the Vedas. As the ancient law codes provided by the Supreme Lord Himself, the Vedas provide many roadmaps towards ultimate success, with a commonality shared amongst all the different processes. Turning one’s back on material life to attain spiritual enlightenment and the sublime life that follows requires a shift in consciousness. The gross elements that surround a soul at any given time will ultimately be discarded, but consciousness carries from one body to another. One whose mind is completely fixed on the Personality of Godhead at the time of death will immediately go to the transcendental realm and never have to deal with material nature again. Indeed, whatever consciousness we have while quitting the body acts as the determinant of our future fortunes. As such, the process of deity worship, wherein a statue or picture representation of the Supreme Lord’s transcendental features is erected, observed, honored and adored, proves to be extremely beneficial. Dare we say that any spiritual tradition that lacks this potent weapon capable of attacking the negative influences of material nature will be substandard in its effectiveness? The deity is the visible manifestation of the Lord’s ever available benevolence and mercy. During His many visits to this world, the Lord Himself not only practiced deity worship, but He also recommended it to others. Anyone who says otherwise and tries to use the Vedas as the authority for their misinformed statements should be understood to be the greatest fool and cheater.

Let’s first review the logical basis for worshiping a deity. Indeed, it is the emphatic dogmatic insistence of many followers around the world that the outward offering of obeisances to anyone, including a statue representation of the Absolute Truth, should be avoided at all costs. But at the same time, the central component of any religious practice is worship. Who could argue this fact? Allegiance to political leaders, actors, actresses, sports figures, and even family members is held strong through keeping pictures and posters within the home. The wallpaper on the computer desktop provides an indication of who or what the owner of the device assigns top priority status to in their mind. Any dedicated attention given to another entity is a form of worship. The nexus of the different varieties of worship is consciousness, the thoughts of the mind. We can say that we worship a certain individual, but if we never think about them in any way, the professions are just empty words. For instance, if we say that we are a fan of a particular athlete, and we never watch them play or even follow their ups and downs, to what value is our allegiance? Support must involve some type of worship, which starts with contemplation.

At least according to those who are spiritually inclined, God is supposed to be that one person we should always think about no matter what. Visiting church once a week or praying a few times a day are certainly wonderful habits, but the point of emphasis is still on the altering of consciousness. To this end, how can the benefits of deity worship ever be denied? The Supreme Lord has a transcendental form; otherwise He would be inferior to the living entities occupying the phenomenal world. With that form comes a penchant for activity, a desire to perform pastimes. Denying the sportive tendencies of the Supreme Lord is another foolish tactic employed by those who have no understanding of the blissful aspect of Truth. Every living entity is seeking ananda, or bliss, and this desire is derived from the eternal bliss that is found in full in the Personality of Godhead, who, not surprisingly, is addressed as Krishna in His original form. Only God can be the most attractive person who is never disturbed under any circumstance.

Since there is no benefit to worshiping a mentally concocted form representing the Truth, we must hear of the Lord’s features from authority figures, those whose spiritual lineage descends from Krishna. Just as any accompanying branch or twig is ultimately connected to the original tree, the bona fide spiritual teachers have some sort of link to the Original Person. As such, they can present to us tangible information of what the Lord looks like, what behaviors He takes to, and what pleases Him. Indeed, from authorized teachings we also find out that Krishna is not God’s only form, as He kindly expands into multitudes of non-different personalities which are equally as worthy of worship and similarly appealing to those looking for a higher taste in their activities. When the deity representations are crafted off of authorized explanations, and if they match one of the non-different expansions of the Absolute Truth, then surely worship of them would be beneficial. Any other type of idolatry is equivalent to the worship of any ordinary figure, so such practices are not only unauthorized, but they also lead to inferior results.

“Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.20)

Since spirit is the opposite of matter, which is the temporary manifestation of a separated energy emerging from the original Energetic, worship of Supreme Spirit is completely different than any other display of reverence. When the desires of the individual are to feed the hungry senses, which are always starving for attention, the mind gets deluded into giving entities not on an equal footing with the Supreme Lord top priority. Attention is not only paid to ordinary human beings, but also to some elevated personalities, who are known as demigods. Deity representations of the divine heavenly figures can also be crafted, honored and worshiped, but the results only lead to a continuation of material life. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God spoken by Krishna Himself, that worshipers of the devas, or demigods, go to the planets of the devas, while devotees of Krishna go to the eternal land in the spiritual sky. Even the home of the demigods goes through cycles of creation and destruction, so nothing permanent is achieved by worshiping an inhabitant of the heavenly realm. Not all gods are the same, as no embodied being, one that is forced to accept a temporary material body, even one that remains in its form for millions of years, can be considered equal to the Supreme Personality.

As a medium of communication, words can transfer information and also bring great pleasure. When read on a page, words that describe some appealing subject matter bring joy and bliss to the reader. Sound vibrations have a similar stimulating effect, as a pleasant song can alter the mood within the mind and bring the attentive listener back to a previous time. Pictures also can evoke pleasurable feelings and allow for extended contemplation on a particular person or subject. If all such aspects of the material creation can have beneficial effects, how can we not derive tremendous transcendental satisfaction from worshiping a deity? Why would the Lord deny us that benefit, especially knowing that we are already prone to worshiping man and the demigods? The claims made against the validity of deity worship don’t pass the smell test in any way. Matter is considered maya, or that which is not personally God, only for as long as it is not used to purify consciousness. God is the creator of matter, so why should He prohibit us from utilizing material elements to gain an understanding of the pastimes that continue uninterrupted in the spiritual world?

It is one thing for the uninformed outsider to rail against the deity worship tradition of the Vedas, but it is even more appalling, and humorous at the same time, to see deity worship attacked by those who cite the Vedas as the authority for their skewed viewpoint. The Vedas are originally a collection of songs that praise the Absolute Truth. Any book or poem that reaches the same conclusion as the original Vedas – that of Krishna being the only object worthy of worship and undivided affection – is considered Vedic literature. The Vedas are non-different from Krishna since they sing His names and describe His glories. As such, whatever Vedic texts say and whatever Krishna speaks personally are completely in accord with each other. To say that the Vedas prohibit deity worship is to say that the original law codes for mankind deny the validity of worshiping Krishna; a claim which, by definition, is a contradiction. The Vedas are Krishna, so they can never speak anything against any practice which aims to further one’s Krishna consciousness.

The worst offenders are those who dare to claim that Krishna Himself prohibits deity worship through His teachings. This is an even more foolish viewpoint because it is well known that Shri Krishna appeared on earth during the Dvapara Yuga, a time period that saw a preponderance of temple worship. During that time there were many grand temples across the world which held regular worship of Lord Vishnu, who is Krishna’s four-handed expansion in charge of the majority of the aspects of creation. Krishna Himself worshiped deities, so what sane man will say that the Lord prohibits such behavior? These erroneous viewpoints come about through a narrow study of Vedic literature which focuses on versions of the Bhagavad-gita that are translated and commented on by someone who is not a devotee of the Lord. The Bhagavad-gita is one small chapter in an enormously large work known as the Mahabharata. Nevertheless, we can’t just pick up the Mahabharata and understand all the underlying purports and deep meanings behind the different accounts of historical incidents contained within. Such information has to be learned from someone who has dedicated their life to serving the Lord and understanding Him.

“The devotee should more fully establish My Deity by solidly constructing a temple, along with beautiful gardens. These gardens should be set aside to provide flowers for the regular daily worship, special Deity processions and holiday observances.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.27.50)

In addition to the instructions He provided on the battlefield of Kurukshetra to Arjuna, just prior to His return to the spiritual world Krishna imparted Vedic wisdom to His dear friend Uddhava. In this talk, which is found in the eleventh canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam and which is also known as the Uddhava-gita, an entire section is dedicated to deity worship and how it should be performed. One who only reads the Bhagavad-gita without following the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, an acharya belonging to an unbroken line of spiritual teachers descending from Krishna, will not understand the different verses properly, no matter how many times they are read. Indeed, even the information presented by Krishna in the Uddhava-gita about deity worship is very basic and only touches on the essentials. The practice of visiting temples and worshiping the deity was commonly known to all sincere followers of Vedic traditions in the Dvapara Yuga, so these concepts didn’t need to be expanded upon in great detail. In more recent times, the kind and merciful followers of Lord Chaitanya have very elaborately described what goes into deity worship and how to perform it properly. Shrila Sanatana Goswami especially took the time to explain these concepts by writing the handbook for devotional service known as the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, which includes countless references to Vedic scriptures to support the guidelines and recommendations for behavior contained within.

Deity worship has been around since the beginning of creation, even long before Krishna in His original form appeared on this earth. During the Treta Yuga when His incarnation of Lord Rama roamed the earth, there was a brahmana living in the kingdom of Ayodhya who had to see his beloved Rama every day before eating. A brahmana is a member of the priestly class, so he spends all his time involved in religious affairs. Since He was the king of Ayodhya, Rama especially took care of the brahmanas in the community. But since the Lord had administrative affairs to tend to, sometimes He had to go away on business, leaving the devoted brahmana bereft of the nectar of the Divine vision for certain extended periods of time. Rather than break his vow, the brahmana simply didn’t eat on days when he couldn’t see Rama. When the Lord later found out about this, He felt greatly distressed, as He was causing one of His devotees to suffer unnecessarily. Rama then told His younger brother Lakshmana to go to the brahmana’s home and install a set of Sita-Rama deities. Indeed, this set of deities had existed in the royal family, the Ikshvakus, since even before Rama’s appearance on earth. Thenceforth, the brahmana simply viewed that statue of his beloved Rama, which was paired with the Lord’s wife, Sita Devi, every day and took this vision to be as good as viewing the Lord personally.

This one incident illustrates the magic and potency of deity worship. The archa-vigraha, the worshipable representation of the Supreme Lord in the material world, is meant to evoke the spiritual consciousness within the mind, an arousal which then leads to a consciousness that can guide all activities properly. Therefore the worshipable form erected must be authorized and cannot be just any collection of wood and stone. The ordinary statue is an idol, but when the figure is authorized and fully empowered through its connection to the Supreme Lord, it turns into a deity.  The Supreme Lord is certainly everywhere, but understanding His personal presence is very difficult, especially for the material eyes that are prone to worshiping anything that is not Krishna. It also doesn’t help matters when bogus spiritual leaders try to use the Vedas as justification for their denial of devotional practices, which have deity worship as a cornerstone. Indeed, one must wonder what the motives are behind such a nefarious and dangerous viewpoint. Since deity worship is so effective and authorized, there can be no other reason for the willful neglect and erroneous teachings presented by the enemies of bhakti besides jealousy and hatred for the Supreme Lord.

A non-devotee who studies the Vedas will never capture a complete understanding, as the first condition prevents the second. By following an authorized acharya, one who understands the Bhagavad-gita and presents it as it is, there will be little chance of becoming a victim to the jealous practices of the miscreants. The deity is the sight for the vision that has become sore through many lifetimes on earth. Bringing spiritual life to the otherwise dull and mundane material existence, the deity can help transport us back to the spiritual land, where the personal presence of Supreme Spirit can be felt and enjoyed at every single moment.

Adhokshaja

“Being beyond the range of limited sense perception [adhokshaja], You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized.” (Queen Kunti speaking to Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.18.19)

A good actor is not recognized for who he is – an ordinary human being just like the rest of us. Rather, due to his extraordinary dramatic talents and the promotion of his different shows, films and plays, he is able to create a completely different persona, one that is respected, adored, and even sometimes worshiped by a large portion of the population. What’s interesting is that those who offer their obeisances in the form of ticket purchases, time spent following the day-to-day gossip and personal dealings, and general dedication of thoughts know full well that the target individual is simply playing a role, acting out their rehearsed lines. Yet the performance itself is so powerful that the audience willingly puts themselves under the spell of illusion, so as to enhance the enjoyment of the experience. In a similar manner, the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, during His various personal appearances on earth puts on the greatest of performances, one that not only enchants the pure-hearted, but also keeps the miscreants far, far away. Bhagavan, the original Divine Being, when playing the role of an ordinary living entity can only be recognized for who He is by the trained eye, a purified vision that is actually able to perceive the Supreme Spirit’s adhokshaja feature for what it is. Blunt instruments, hypotheses, scientific experiments and direct perception are not enough to recognize the transcendental actor known as Krishna. But hearing from authority sources such as Kunti Devi, the mother of the famous Pandava brothers, can provide perfect information that can subsequently be used to make a flawless identification.

The idolatry directed towards famous actors and actresses can only be rooted in a flawed identification. After all, just because an individual plays a doctor on television doesn’t mean that they know how to practice medicine in real life. Yet this precise illusion envelops even members of the highest levels of government and politics, which is often humorously referred to as “showbiz for the ugly”. There have been instances in the past where actors who played a prominent role championing some social cause in a film were then later called to testify before Congress to lend their “expertise” to the matter. It is undoubtedly true that the most popular actors are treated like royalty, for they are offered great respect and attention in a wide variety of public circles. In many cases the worshipers visibly exhibit their pure ignorance by offering obeisances in a manner similar to the way worship is performed in a traditional house of spirituality, or temple.

This strange behavior is certainly indicative of the tremendous acting abilities of the celebrities in question. After all, concomitant with a successful theatrical performance is the fooling of the audience. The better the actor can convince the audience that they are the character they are portraying on stage, the more their performance will be respected. The audience members know they are witnessing a scripted and rehearsed scene, but through their willful neglect, they allow themselves to be enchanted. The senses, which are a product of the material nature, are so strong that they typically lead to misery, as the seemingly innocent soul is dragged into activities that it would otherwise avoid. Only through service, kind love offered to others, can the negative influence of the senses be mitigated. Moreover, when purified through acts of transcendental love, the senses become the greatest source of pleasure.

When the individual offers their loving service to a non-worthy recipient, the cause of the behavior is considered to be illusion, or maya. This isn’t to say that actors, actresses, family and friends aren’t worthy of being loved and adored, but rather, the ultimate object of worship should always remain a singular entity, one who is constitutionally fit to accept uninterrupted obeisances from every individual the universe over. An actor may be hailed for his ability to play the role of a noble, heroic character, but in real life he is no different than any of the rest of us, for as the saying goes, “he puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else”. The Supreme Lord, who is the greatest actor, is described as the ultimate reservoir of pleasure in the Vedic tradition. Yet when cast under the spell of illusion, it’s difficult for the conditioned entity to understand this feature of the Divine. Moreover, if one’s mind can be willfully captured by actors playing on a stage, surely they will also be subject to the influences of the greatest dramatic performer, Shri Krishna.

Why would someone who is intended to be our ultimate object of worship take to acting? The cause relates directly to desire. Just as the audience member purposefully puts himself under illusion to enhance the enjoyment derived from watching their favorite actors, the conditioned entity purposefully forgets the sublime and powerful nature of the Supreme Lord to take to a lower class of enjoyment. Indeed, this really isn’t any enjoyment at all, just a perceived level of happiness brought on by forgetfulness of Supreme Spirit and association with an inferior energy. Since the entity lacking true God consciousness is fooled into thinking it will be happy in the absence of Krishna’s association, the resulting behavior is one based completely off illusion.

As the best friend of every living entity, the Supreme Spirit has no desire to forcibly break the illusion. Rather, He is responsible for creating it. If an audience member wants to be lured into worshiping an actor, the person playing on stage will not stop the performance and say, “Please stop paying attention. I’m just acting after all.” Instead, he will take the audience member’s eagerness as an added impetus for putting on a good show. In a similar manner, one who is eager to forget God is allowed to do so in the greatest possible way by becoming subject to the influences of maya, the illusory energy who is a direct servant of Shri Krishna.

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

There are two aspects to maya. The illusory force is justifiably viewed in a negative light by the elevated transcendentalists, but there is still some beauty in maya’s effects. She is so great that she can fool an individual into thinking that they are God. Taking oneself to be equal to Shri Krishna, who as the Supreme Person is known as Purushottama, represents the nadir of material existence, the lowest level the thought processes of the human being can descend to. Such an individual, being the greatest victim of illusion, works under the dictates of mahamaya. Krishna is so powerful that even His illusory forces are a sight to behold.

“Yogamaya is the internal potency of the Supreme Lord; she also works under the Lord’s direction, but she works in the spiritual world. When the living entity puts himself under the direction of yogamaya instead of mahamaya, he gradually becomes a devotee of Krishna.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Ch 30)

Then there is yogamaya, which works directly under the Lord’s supervision to cast a spell over those sincere souls who want to increase their love not for actors, family members, or politicians, but rather, for the Supreme Lord Himself. Indeed, yogamaya is the original maya energy, with mahamaya being her partial manifestation aimed at deluding the non-devotees. To show His mercy upon the sincere souls looking to purify their existence, Krishna descends to earth in various non-different guises – sometimes as a fish, sometimes as a boar, and sometimes as a human being. Around five thousand years ago, He appeared in His original form, that of a personality known by names such as Krishna, Vasudeva, Govinda, Damodara, Keshava and Achyuta.

Influenced by yogamaya, most devotees were not able to accurately perceive Krishna’s unique and unmatched transcendental position during His time on earth. But Kunti Devi, the mother of the five Pandava brothers, cousins and friends of Shri Krishna, was able to see the Lord for who He was. On one occasion she offered nice prayers to the Lord, wherein she declared that He is adhokshaja, or one who is not perceptible to the external senses. We can recognize that an actor is a human being by studying the workings of the film industry and watching interviews of the actor when he is outside of his particular role. But with the Supreme Lord, we can never understand His fixed position unless we hear from devotees like Kunti Devi. No amount of experimental knowledge, theoretical or practical, will lead the human brain to properly conclude that God exists and that His original form is the all-blissful Krishna. This evidence must initially be accepted on the faith of the words of authority figures, those who know Krishna and who kindly pass down information pertaining to the Lord’s transcendental features to their descendants.

“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 7.15)

Just as mahamaya’s powers of illusion are quite potent, Shri Krishna is similarly able to fool others into thinking that He is an ordinary human being. Not only was the behavior resulting from illusion exhibited by miscreant and devotee alike during the Lord’s time on earth, but it continues to this day. The devotees, working under yogamaya, understand that Krishna is God, but to enhance the enjoyment of associating with Him, they sometimes kindly take the Lord to be an ordinary figure. This doesn’t mean that they treat Krishna without respect or fail to offer love to Him. On the contrary, the intensity of the loving exchanges only increases in the service offered by bhaktas who are simply attracted to Krishna for His blissful features, not caring for His position as the Lord of the universe.

The miscreants, on the other hand, are under the influence of mahamaya, so their misidentification of Krishna is based solely on their desire to compete with God. Even with all the evidence provided by the authority figures and Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita, the non-devotee will not see the Lord for who He is. Indeed, if such an acknowledgment were present, it would be an open admission that a painful death was on the horizon, for the deviant soul’s heart remains always set on ascending to the top of the materialistic platform, something which has no relation to the personal aspect of the Lord. As the Supreme Person, God supplies orders and accepts worship from subordinates. The grossly foolish think that by acquiring enough material objects and amassing enough power, they can usurp this position, one that is never even up for grabs. In a democratic country, the head positions are always up for election, which means that any person can ascend to the top post of the government. As soon as an individual assumes the top post, they get treated completely differently. The President of the United States is just an ordinary man after all, for before being elected to office, he wasn’t treated all that well. Yet as soon as he gets sworn in, he travels on Air Force One and hears Hail to the Chief wherever he goes, and he gets wide respect from people around the world.

Bhagavan’s position bears no similarity to any role of importance in the mundane world. The post of God is not up for grabs, nor is it possible for anyone to properly imitate the behavior of the Supreme Person. Krishna is not only the greatest order supplier, but He is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure. As the best friend of the living entity, His pleasure has a direct effect on the happiness of others. Though he is adhokshaja, He can be personally approached by kind and humble service, including that offered to one of His representatives, the spiritual master. Kunti Devi recognized Krishna for who He was, yet she still appreciated His acting abilities. If we recognize the actor on stage for who he is, the enjoyment derived from the performance goes away. Yet for even the devotees who possess full knowledge of Krishna’s position, there is still great enjoyment derived from His childhood activities, those incidents that included naughty behavior and the killing of demons. In fact, hearing of any of Krishna’s activities, be they of the violent or peaceful variety, is enjoyable to those who understand His blissful nature.

“O son of Kunti [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 7.8)

The Lord is always present in this universe, even when His original form remains in the spiritual sky. As the greatest actor, Krishna conceals Himself through His energies. The sunshine, the wind, and nature are all Krishna. Even the taste of water is a manifestation of the Lord’s energy. Though there is only one energetic, the reservoir of all potency, there is still no difference between the energetic and the energy. Krishna’s energies are all around us. Even the most illusioned person, one who is addicted to intoxication, can slowly but surely perceive of Krishna’s presence, greatness and worthiness of worship by just understanding that the Lord is the taste of their intoxicant. If one is accustomed to drinking wine, if they simply remember Krishna as the taste of their beloved beverage, they can start to conceive of His supreme nature.

The Lord is certainly everywhere, including within the heart, but if one’s consciousness is not purified, they will not be able to understand Krishna’s position. One who tries to worship God without understanding who He is, in spite of the greatest outward acknowledgments and professions of faith, will be more prone to worshiping worldly objects, those things which do have a form perceptible to the blunt senses. Therefore, the key is to understand Krishna from the authorized words of the sacred texts like the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam, and by taking direct instruction from the Vaishnavas, the exalted devotees of the Lord. Worshipable figures like Kunti Devi, who know of Krishna’s acting talents, think of the Lord at all times. When He is not directly in their company, they remember and honor Him within the heart and mind. Knowing full well Krishna’s omnipresent nature, such individuals also worship the Lord’s external, manifested forms, such as the archa-vigraha and the numerous avataras like Lord Rama and Narasimhadeva.

One who tries to worship the Lord in His seemingly invisible form, alakshya, which is imperceptible to the blunt senses [adhokshaja], while willfully neglecting the worship of His outward forms, such as the deities, incarnations and original form in the spiritual land of Goloka Vrindavana, is certainly a great fool. Indeed, Krishna’s invisible aspect is actually the same as the visible for those on the highest platform of consciousness. The visible form is not illusion; it is the very essence of reality. Krishna’s form is completely transcendental and free from any of the debilitating effects of material nature. With the ordinary actor, there is a difference between the personality and the role, but in Krishna’s case, everything is the same. There is no difference between the Lord and His body, so anyone who associates with any direct feature belonging to the Personality of Godhead will surely be benefitted.

A Family Treasure

“You have advented Yourself to minimize the overburden of the world, and in order to fulfill this mission, You have glorified the dynasty of Yadu, appearing in the family as one of its members. My dear Lord, today my home has become purified by Your presence. I have become the most fortunate person in the world.” (Akrura speaking to Lord Krishna, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 47)

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, glorifies any family that He appears in and any home that He visits. Regardless of a person’s cast, color, creed, or family history, the Supreme Lord acts as the supreme purifier, the one person worth associating with. Prahlada Maharaja, though born in a family of demons, liberated generations of family members by remaining a staunch devotee. Prahlada’s reward for remaining on the virtuous path despite every obstacle thrown his way was an appearance by the Lord in His half man/half lion incarnation of Narasimhadeva. If we want to make our family proud, if we want our ancestors to reap the highest reward of piety, we simply have to become devoted to the Supreme Lord and ask Him to kindly appear in our home.

The above referenced quote is part of a series of prayers and kind words offered by Akrura, Lord Krishna’s uncle. Shri Krishna, as the original Personality of Godhead, obviously doesn’t have any blood relatives or parents, but when He advents on earth, He gives the appearance of accepting family members. This is done for several reasons. He wants to show others how to behave towards elders; people in positions of authority and those worthy of respect. In the Vedic tradition, the parents and the guru are to be viewed as a person’s initial objects of worship. The aim of human life is to achieve an unbreakable attachment to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Just as variety and sportive activity exists in the world that we live in, the same intricacies and nuances are seen in the spiritual world. If the material world were the only realm with variety, the spiritual world would become an inferior realm and thus one not worth entering. The variety and sportive inclinations of the Supreme Lord manifest through activities undertaken by His transcendental body. Devotees concentrate on the lotus feet of the Lord because feet act as the faithful servants of the body. By becoming a servant of the servant, the proper mindset of humility, kindness, and knowledge is adopted.

The original Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Absolute Truth who is eternally full of form, kindly appeared on earth around five thousand years ago in a prison cell in Mathura. This is certainly an odd setting for a Divine appearance, but then again, this entire world was created from one simple exhalation by Lord Vishnu. So in this sense, whenever and wherever the Lord appears, the time and circumstances automatically become favorable. Kindly accepting Devaki and Vasudeva as parents, Lord Krishna inherited the role of a kshatriya, or warrior prince. Since His family lineage traced back to King Yadu, the Lord was also known as Yadunandana.

Akrura, though Krishna’s uncle in terms of blood relation, was a pure devotee. He knew that Krishna was the original Personality of Godhead; thus he offered the Lord every respect imaginable. Krishna, however, did not like to break with standard etiquette, so He kindly played the role of a subordinate. Akrura’s predominant desire was to have Krishna visit his home. This desire shouldn’t surprise us. Who among us wouldn’t want the president of a country or any other famous figure to visit our home? The rich and famous have many tasks to perform and places to go. If they were to kindly take the time to visit our home, it would mean that they considered us important.

No one is more important than Lord Krishna, so when He visited Akrura’s home, there was great elation felt by both parties. Generally, the estimation of a family is determined by the acts performed by previous generations, or sometimes even just one figure. For example, any person who descends from one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America surely will consider themselves fortunate. Taking birth in such a family means one becomes a descendant of a person who fought for independence and played a vital role in forming a new nation. Similarly, members of royal dynasties are given much attention simply because of their family ties to ruling monarchs of the past.

When the Lord comes to earth in human form, He usually chooses a very exalted family to appear in. When Krishna advented as Lord Rama during the Treta Yuga, He appeared in the famous Ikshvaku dynasty. This dynasty descends from the sun-god, Surya, while the Yadu dynasty traces back to the moon-god, Soma. In India, it is not uncommon to see devotees of Lord Rama observe specific fasts during the waxing period of the moon, the time associated with the sun-god. Similarly, devotees of Krishna often observe only the fasting periods during the waning period of the moon, since it is associated with the moon-god. The waning period is actually known as the Krishna, or blackish, period.

Needless to say, both the Ikshvaku and Yadu dynasties were already quite famous and well-respected even before the Lord appeared in them. Yet from Akrura’s statement, we see that the Lord fully glorifies any family He appears in. This is the power of pure spirit. It is said that Krishna is so beautiful that He actually beautifies the ornaments He wears, instead of the other way around. The same can be said of His appearances in high-class families. The Ikshvaku dynasty actually worshiped Lord Rama and His wife Sita Devi for thousands of years before their advent. A set of Sita-Rama deities was worshiped and passed down from generation to generation. It is said that these deities are still in existence today in India and are worshiped on a daily basis.

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.29)

When Krishna appears in a family or visits someone’s home, the event can be thought of as the culmination of all pious acts. The Supreme Lord is everyone’s well-wishing friend, so in this regard He doesn’t have any favorites. Yet the devotees are so pious and pure at heart that they manage to break the Lord’s neutrality. For the devotees, the Lord is always willing to pay special attention and grant benedictions. Whether one belongs to a wealthy or famous family is not really important. Any person, regardless of their parentage, can bring glory to their family by having Krishna visit their home.

So how can we get Krishna to pay us a visit? The process is actually quite simple. We just have to have a fervent desire to bring about such a visit, an attachment to the Lord that is so strong that not having Him in our lives becomes the unacceptable condition. Adopting this mindset of a devotee doesn’t really involve any type of formal conversion either. We don’t necessarily have to renounce our current spiritual ties, familial relationships, or occupations. Rather, we are already devotees at the core. It is the constitutional makeup of the spirit soul to be a lover of God. The Supreme Lord can be thought of as a giant powerhouse of spiritual energy and the individual spirit souls as sparks emanating from that fire. The sparks are already intrinsically at one with the original fire. In fact, there really is never any separation. Even while falling to the material world, the individual spirit soul is accompanied by a direct expansion of the Supreme Spirit. This direct copy of the Lord is known as the Supersoul, and it resides within the heart, adjacent to the individual soul. If there is any parting of ways, it is in the area of consciousness. The only conversion required from the individual relates to the object of focus, the shifting of our consciousness from matter to spirit. The ultimate objects of worship need to be converted, or at least justified.

Many of us already claim to be religious. We belong to a specific sectarian group that we inherited at the time of birth. Yet in order to be religious, one must practice the principles of religion. The highest religious principle is to always be thinking of God in a loving way. The narrow-minded sentimentalists will point their finger at others and demand that they surrender to such and such spiritual personality. Yet what does this surrender involve? Can we simply go through the motions of spiritual life, pledge allegiance to a specific personality, and then be done with everything? Surely there must be more to surrender. After all, we see that wedding vows are made and then broken not soon after. A wedding vow is nothing more than a pledge of allegiance to the new spouse. Yet if the marriage can be dissolved through the divorce process or through infidelity, what was the meaning to the wedding vow? It essentially amounted to nothing.

By the same token, simply saying we are Christian, Hindu, Muslim, etc. doesn’t really mean anything unless our consciousness is changed. Surrender equates to giving up our will to fight. But what are we fighting against? The Vedas tell us that in order to remain in the material world, where one is constantly tossed around in the wheel of suffering that is reincarnation, one must have a desire to imitate, forget, or challenge God. Through surrendering unto the Supreme Spirit, these desires borne out of ignorance are relinquished. Becoming a devotee of Krishna involves real surrender, the earnest desire to associate with the Personality of Godhead in one of His non-different forms. Krishna is not the only form of God, though He is the most attractive. The Lord kindly takes to many expansions so as to appeal to each individual’s natural mood of service.

Any person, regardless of their religious affiliation, can become a bona fide devotee by taking the principles of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, to be their life and soul. Devotional service is known as yoga because it involves the purification of consciousness. Worshiping ourselves, our fellow man, or matter cannot be classified as yoga. For there to be yoga, there must be two distinct entities; two operands, if you will, that result in a sum. The two terms being added are the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. The resulting condition is that of pure bliss, where both parties are benefitted. This is precisely what occurred with Akrura. He became ever joyful through receiving Krishna at his home, and the Supreme Lord became pleased by seeing His nice devotee.

The unmatched benediction of the Lord’s association can be received by adhering to the regulated principles of freedom laid down by the great acharyas, those liberated souls who dedicated their lives to the service of the Supreme Spirit. The quintessential act of yoga, the easiest and most effective method for changing our consciousness, is the chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Though this mantra contains Sanskrit words, they are not sectarian by any means. Krishna and Rama are transcendental sound vibration representations of the Supreme Absolute Truth. These names simply speak to God’s all-attractive, pleasure-giving nature. When one grows accustomed to chanting this mantra with love and affection, they can take the next step of formally worshiping the Lord in their homes. This worship is facilitated through the archa-vigraha, the worshipable body representation of the Lord. Those who view the Supreme Absolute Truth as formless can never understand the process of deity worship. Since they can’t imagine God having a form, or they imagine their own form of the Truth, they can’t understand how one can take earthly elements such as wood and stone and engage in direct worship of the Lord.

The mystery behind deity worship is the purification of material elements. Matter is viewed in a negative light for as long as it is used to further the consciousness of “I am God” or “I am greater than God”. When the same material elements are used to purify one’s consciousness, they become spiritualized. This shouldn’t be very difficult to understand. If we were to receive a new laptop computer as a gift, we wouldn’t be pleased unless we knew how to use it. To a person who is unfamiliar with computers, the laptop is merely a heavy hunk of metal that takes up space and energy. For the person in the know, however, the laptop serves as a great vehicle for productivity, something which saves time and energy. Just because we don’t know how to use something doesn’t mean that it’s worthless.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Prahlada, O most pure, O great saintly person, your father has been purified, along with twenty-one forefathers in your family. Because you were born in this family, the entire dynasty has been purified.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.10.18)

In a similar manner, the earthly elements are useless when they are tied to sense gratification. When the same combinations of matter are used for service to God, they take on their true value. The deity becomes the most valuable possession to the sincere devotee, the one thing they can’t live without. Morning and evening, the humble sage, the aspiring transcendentalist, and the divine lover of God will offer prayers and food to this deity, taking the remnants of the offered items as prasadam. In this way, as the eyes of the sincere devotee become spiritualized, the Supreme Lord reveals Himself. As the Lord manifests in the home, the entire family becomes purified, as do generations of ancestors. The most fortunate family is the one that has a pure devotee take birth in it. With the devotee comes Krishna, and with Krishna come all fortune, opulence, and glory.

Hero Worship

“My dear friends, not only living animals, but even inanimate objects like the rivers and lakes of Vrindavana also become stunned when Krishna passes with peacock feathers on His head and His body smeared with the minerals of Vrindavana. With leaves and flowers decorating His body, He looks like some hero.” (A gopi speaking about Krishna, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 34)

Man, regardless of his age or stage in life, will search for heroes, objects of affection and worship. Usually this search results in the adoration of family members, friends, or notable public figures. But one issue causes this entire system to fall apart:  fallibility. Man is destined to fail, for every human being must suffer through death at some point. Moreover, this fallibility often manifests prior to the end of life, thus dashing the hopes for perfection invested by those offering the worship. One personality, however, has always been infallible and will continue to be so in the future. This person, the most supreme and sublime of individuals, thus becomes the only candidate worthy of our idolatry and our hero worship. The world needs this hero today more than ever.

Does everyone take to some type of hero worship? They most certainly do, even if the worship is of the self. The Vedas, the oldest scriptures in existence, which emanate out of India, describe the nature of the soul in great detail. The soul is taken to be an autonomous entity which is so small that its measurement is akin to the size of a tiny fragment of the tip of the average human hair. Yet this tiny entity is so powerful that it serves as the fuel for the engine of activities in all forms of life. As soon as the soul is present, a body takes on a life and can thus perform activities. Once the same soul exits said body, the entity is deemed lifeless, with the body decaying soon afterwards. Aside from the soul being extremely powerful, it has natural qualities and tendencies. Since this soul originally comes from a more powerful soul, it is not meant to reside alone. Rather, its natural disposition is towards associating with other souls. The nature of this association is meant to be pure and providing of transcendental bliss. Though the soul is geared towards associating with other souls, there is still a leader, or Supreme Soul, to which all subordinate souls direct their affection and activities. This association – the minute souls living in perfect harmony with other similar souls, all the while dovetailing their transcendental activities for the satisfaction of the Supreme Soul – can only take place in a purified environment, the likes of which cannot be found in the individual conditioned soul’s current home.

The place we currently reside, a realm known as the material world in Vedic parlance, is a separate domain from the purified environment where souls are meant to interact. In the material realm, the souls assume various guises known as material bodies. Instead of working in harmony towards pleasing the Supreme Soul, the individuals actually take to competing with one another. In this temporary and miserable world, every living entity is seeking to be the leader, the supreme object of affection and the ultimate enjoyer. Since this pursuit is a flawed one, the end-result is always misery and disappointment.

The original constitutional position of the soul always remains the same, regardless of the soul’s current environment and activities. Therefore, even in the material world, the individual spiritual sparks maintain their penchant for association and the offering of love and adoration. The individuals run into problems, however, in that their affection gets diverted towards other individual spirit souls, who regardless of their makeup and demeanor, can never compare in potency and quality to the Supreme Soul. In more simple terms, we living entities take to worshiping fallible human beings instead of the Supreme Infallible Entity residing in the purified environment of the spiritual sky.

The soul desires association and the exchange of love. Every individual has a desire to love someone or something. One person loves their wife, another their husband, and some even their cats and dogs. Pet owners can develop great attachments to their animals, not worrying at all about having to take their dogs out for walks and cleaning up the bodily fluids that they leave behind. While the most common exchange of love involves direct worship of other living entities, there is also the penchant for hero worship. Taking an ordinary human being who possesses some extraordinary ability, the individual living entities elevate these personalities to hero status. In order for someone to be deemed a hero, they must be the recipient of love, adoration, and fame. The nature of this adoration may vary, with some taking to praising the hero’s efforts in writing and others willfully parting with their hard earned money to purchase whatever the hero is selling. Nevertheless, the hero is praised for their efforts, and they are essentially deemed as infallible. Everyone is looking for this hero, the embodiment of perfection. Everyone wants to worship someone who is a cool customer, someone who never wilts under pressure, someone who has all the answers.

Issues arise, however, when the hero falls down. To ere is human, so naturally whoever we make out to be a hero will eventually fall from grace. After all, even the most exalted figures still put their pants on one leg at a time. The falling down of a hero can be quite disheartening though. The same press that fawned over a particular personality suddenly shifts their emotions to hatred and disgust. We could list specific examples of ordinary human beings who were elevated to hero status only to have their stature torn down later on, but there are too many to choose from. A politician gets praised for their ability to garner votes and pass meaningful policy changes. Yet if the same politician loses an election or goes on to support a failed piece of legislation, they get labeled a bum. A particular star athlete may be very successful in a sport for an extended period, but eventually time catches up with them. The same athlete who once dominated their sport soon has trouble keeping up with the newcomers. Many celebrity figures fall down in their personal lives. They may get caught driving drunk, abusing a spouse or a love one, or even making racial epithets. Suddenly, the bloom comes off the rose, and the person who was once viewed as saintly now doesn’t get the time of day from the average citizen.

So what can be done? Should we stop loving? Should we suppress our natural disposition towards praising and elevating those that we love and adore? Religion exists specifically to address this issue. While religion is generally associated with a type of faith, the nature of the soul and its relationship with the Supreme Soul has nothing to do with sentiment, geographic location, or blindly following a particular spiritual leader. Rather, it is a matter of science that the soul is meant to worship and adore the Almighty God. In the Vedic tradition, the entity we know as “God” is described in more meaningful terms such as Achyuta and Krishna. Achyuta means one who never falls down. Right away this reveals God’s nature as the ultimate hero, the only candidate worthy of our eternal love and adoration. The name Krishna speaks to God’s all-attractive nature. Not only is the Lord the greatest hero, but He also provides the topmost happiness to those who associate with Him. It should make sense to us that the most attractive person would also supply the greatest transcendental bliss to those who are drawn in by His attraction.

So God as Krishna is the most attractive and the supreme object of pleasure, but how does this help us? Obviously Krishna resides in the spiritual world and currently we don’t, so what can we do? How do we associate with the hero that the world so desperately needs? Luckily for us, Krishna, as the only infallible entity in the world, is also the most compassionate. While the wayward spirit souls chose to appear in the material world, wherein their desire to become God could be acted upon, the Lord still put into place a system whereby they could return to the transcendental realm, the land reserved for the purified souls. This system is known as dharma, which can be taken as religiosity, occupational duty, or simple piety. Dharma can be thought of as the ultimate system of right and wrong, the supreme set of guidelines aimed at keeping the individual soul in constant contact with the Supreme Soul. While the individual soul, or jivatma, is so powerful that it can drive the activities of a lifeless body, there is another soul residing side by side within the heart. This soul, known as the Paramatma, belongs to God. As the localized aspect of the Supreme Lord, the Paramatma is actually responsible for the results of all activities. This should make sense as the individual spirit souls are actually quite powerless. They may have a minute amount of independence in how they choose to interact with material nature, but the reactions to such actions cannot manifest without the intervention of divine forces.

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

Since the Supersoul resides with the individual soul, there is actually never any separation. This means that God is always with us. The issue at hand, however, relates to consciousness. Upon descending to the material world, the individual consciousness, the supreme thought process of any form of life, shifts from serving and worshiping God towards worshiping the individual along with other manmade heroes. Thinking in terms of “I” and “Mine”, the individual becomes forgetful of the presence of the Supersoul which lives inside its own body. This flawed mindset, which is akin to viewing the self as God, is the root cause behind the existence of the material world. If every living entity shed this mindset, there would be no life on earth, and thus no earth. Every soul would be residing in the spiritual world alongside Krishna.

Dharma was put in place to allow the living entities to purify their consciousness by changing the mindset from “I am God” to “God is me”. Since Krishna is the origin of all matter and spirit, we can all be considered part of Him. Since God is part of us, we are meant to constantly associate with Him in the most intimate way. This level of intimacy is far greater than anything we can experience in our interactions with our fellow man. Even conjugal love, the most potent form of emotional exchange, has no equivalent in the spiritual world, for no material emotion can compare in purity and potency to the pure transcendental love that is exchanged between the liberated spirit souls and the Supreme Soul.

Dharma is aimed not only at elevating one to the platform of Krishna consciousness, but also at keeping one at this heightened level of awareness. Shedding the “I am God” mindset is not easy, for even ordinary hero worship is based off this flawed mentality. Thinking of another fallible living entity as God is the same as thinking of ourselves as God. This is because there is no difference in quality between one individual soul and another. To purify our consciousness, we need to take to activities that keep us connected with Bhagavan, which is a name that describes God’s ultimate feature as the Supreme Entity who possesses every opulence imaginable. Since dharma can vary based on a person’s primary objective, there can be competing definitions of right and wrong, piety and sin. Therefore, the Vedas give us a more specific term to describe that discipline which aims to keep one connected with Bhagavan. This term is bhagavata-dharma, which can be translated as devotional service.

Devotional service is the religion of love, the most purified spiritual discipline. It can consist of nine different processes, with one of them being worship. Instead of worshiping fallible living entities, the discipline of devotional service advises us to adore the Infallible. In order for this worship to take place, there must be a worshipable object, an entity or figure to which we can offer our prayers and obeisances. To facilitate this practice, the Lord incarnates in the form of the deity. Deity worship is apparently forbidden in many of the prominent spiritual disciplines around the world, but there is no valid justification for this. Since worship of God is the quintessential religious activity, it stands to reason that the Lord would have a transcendental form. Worship of God would then surely involve mentally offering obeisances to this transcendental form. If it is beneficial to worship God in our minds, what is the harm in worshiping a carved statue or picture representation of the same transcendental form?

Not only is such worship not harmful, but it is indeed most beneficial. The key to success in spiritual life is to change one’s consciousness. Shedding the “I am God” mentality requires dedication to transcendental activities. Deity worship affords us this opportunity, a way to constantly tend to and worship the Supreme Lord in a body which is fit for the offering of love. God created matter after all, so taking His material elements and crafting a statue representation of His transcendental form is certainly in line with religious practice. In fact, this is a labor of love, an act of pure devotion the likes of which can’t be matched. Not only is the deity beneficial to those who offer their love and worship directly to it, but it also helps others ascend to the platform of Krishna consciousness. Simply professing a religious faith is not enough. One has to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. Deity worship gives credence to our pledge of allegiance to the Supreme Lord, proving to others that the panacea of blissful spiritual life is a reality and not a Utopian myth.

The deity, being a visual representation of Krishna or one of His non-different vishnu-tattva forms, is wholly worthy of our worship. Some may protest that adherents to bhagavata-dharma are simply concocting an infallible hero that doesn’t exist. “They were burned by their own heroes in real life, so they took to worshiping a mythological character, someone whose exploits were simply conjured up by various poets of the past.” Even if one were lured in by this fallacious line of thinking, there is still no harm in worshiping Krishna or His deity. As mentioned before, the individual spirit soul has a penchant for hero worship. Lacking God consciousness, the conditioned soul will take to worshiping itself or some other fallible entity. By definition, this mode of hero worship is destined to secure anguish and heartache. Worship of Krishna, however, will never meet this end. Devotees would rather take their chances with Krishna, who is all-blissful and the giver of the transcendental knowledge found in the Puranas, Ramayana, and Bhagavad-gita, than fall prey to worshiping fallible living entities who are merely assigned hero status by other conditioned souls. As they say, “The proof is in the pudding”, Krishna’s hero status is validated by the visible results seen by those who sincerely take to devotional service.

The lesson here is that if we are going to invest our hopes in anyone, why not Krishna? His deity is so beautiful and flawless that our eyes can never get enough of looking at Him. If we don’t have the benefit of seeing the deity every day, we can still associate with Krishna through the transcendental sound vibration of His holy name. This non-different form of the Lord can be produced by every single person through simply chanting the most sacred of formulas: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Now more than ever, the world needs Krishna.

Bow Down

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.14)

Though the ancient scriptures of India, the Vedas, are quite complex as far as teachings go, there is one truth that stands above all others. This truth is known as the ultimate conclusion, the definitive explanation of the relationship between the individual and the higher reality, the divine person in the spiritual sky. This ultimate conclusion is known as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which stipulates that the living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. They are simultaneously one with and different from the Absolute Truth. More important than this conclusion is the relationship derived from it. As part and parcel of the Supreme Energetic, the original Absolute Truth, God who has an ever-blissful form, the fragmental sparks are meant to be constantly in association with their superior “twin”. This connection is achieved through worship of the divine in His original form as the Personality of Godhead, who is addressed as Krishna.

This ultimate relationship derived from the highest truth seems simple enough to understand. It sounds like a fancy way of saying that we should love God with all our hearts and that we should always be in His association. Instead of dedicating our lives to mundane sense gratification, wherein we compete with our fellow man for resources, pleasure, and the enjoyment of members of the opposite sex, the real business in life is to take to worship of God. Who could argue with this mindset? The sectarians and the sentimentalists, however, have their own sets of scriptures. Vedic wisdom, the crown jewel of which is found in the hallowed pages of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, is very comprehensive and thus covers all aspects of material and spiritual life. Since the Vedas are so detailed, they even account for the existence of rivaling and varying religious systems. Vedic wisdom is complete, or purna, but there are other systems of spirituality, some of which are even rooted in the Vedas, that crop up based on time and circumstance. This isn’t to say that other systems are not legitimate, but rather they aren’t as complete in their philosophy and instruction as the highest truths of the Vedas are.

“…Due to the great variety of desires and natures among human beings, there are many different theistic philosophies of life, which are handed down through tradition, custom and disciplic succession. There are other teachers who directly support atheistic viewpoints.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.14.8)

Since the sentimentalists and sectarians hold steadfast to their one or two scriptures, the intelligence they acquire from studying such philosophical doctrines often peaks at a level below the summit. As a result, instead of merely focusing on their own business and the recommendations given to them, they take to criticizing others, especially the followers of the Vedic tradition. One of the more commonly lodged complaints about devotees of Krishna is that they spend their time worshiping a personal form of God. Moreover, they carve out images, turn them into deities, and then worship by prostrating before them and chanting various hymns. The narrow-minded sectarians cannot fathom ever taking up such activity, for they claim that their scriptures strictly prohibit such practices.

To justify their position, the sentimentalists will quote from their own scriptures, invoking statements which can be summarized in the following way: “One is meant to worship such and such God and no one else. Carving out images of such a God or any other heavenly figure is strictly prohibited. Moreover, no one should prostrate before such a carved out image, nor should they offer it any prayers. God is an angry and jealous man who severely punishes those who violate His orders. One should surrender to such and such personality since they are the only ones who can lead us to God. Such surrender, which is acknowledged through a formal acceptance process or ritual, enables a person to become free from all sinful reactions.”

This is certainly a lot to digest. If we cover the basic components, however, we’ll see that the restrictions imposed actually prevent one from achieving the desired aim, i.e. that of worshiping God. As a result, the restrictions and the ultimate conclusion end up contradicting one another. Since the aforementioned viewpoints are held by the sentimentalists and the sectarians, not much thought is given to the statements contained within. Rather, everything is accepted blindly, without much attention given to the justification and effectiveness, or lack thereof, to such procedures. A quick analysis of each one of the above mentioned stipulations can help clarify the similarities and differences that exist between the sentimentalists and the purified devotees of a personal God.

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

The first injunction is that one mustn’t worship any other God except the specific personality in question. Actually this injunction exists in all major religions. In the Vedic tradition, this same point is raised in the famous Bhagavad-gita, the discourse on philosophy, life, and the soul given by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Though the Gita delves into several topics of interest, the ultimate conclusion, the final instruction, is that one should simply surrender to Krishna, giving up all other religious systems, or dharmas, and be ultimately freed from all sinful reactions. This is most certainly true, for only God can permanently remove all sinful reactions. Direct worship of the Supreme Person indeed represents the highest form of religion.

Are followers of the Vedic tradition violating this principle of surrender by worshiping Krishna instead of other notable personalities? Are the followers of other faiths guilty of the same crime through their own religious practices? In order to understand what it means to not worship any other God, the term “God” itself needs to be defined. Every person in this world is religious. This is because every person, whether they believe in God or not, has an ultimate object of worship. They may not be able to identify this object with ontological certitude, but they most certainly act in a reverential attitude towards it. This speaks to the fact that the acknowledgment of something as the ultimate object of worship occurs through acts of devotion, not merely statements of allegiance or professions of faith.

To understand this point more clearly, let’s take the example of the romantic dealings between men and women. In today’s world, men and women are free to intermingle; therefore anyone can have sexual relations with anyone else. It is the natural tendency of the man to want to have sex with as many women as possible, while the woman is generally more interested in establishing a safe and secure relationship. In order to meet his objective, the man will often lie and misrepresent his true identity in the beginning stages of the relationship. The thought process is pretty simple. “I want sex, so I will do whatever is required to get it. Afterwards, I can act naturally, or I can just move on to another woman.” The three famous words, “I love you”, give testimony to the great lengths that some men will go to to get sex. If the woman is unwilling to have sex with a man unless and until love is established, the man will have no problem saying “I love you” to get what he wants. In the end, these three words merely become a profession of faith, a hollow statement. There is an ulterior motive, thus making the words meaningless. If a man professes to love the woman, but then casts her aside at some point in the future, the article of faith was simply a hoax, a way to cheat the object of affection.

In the realm of spirituality, simply professing a faith is not enough. In order to accept someone or something as God, we have to make them our ultimate object of worship. Therefore if one simply pledges allegiance to a specific notable divine personality, but then still treats other people and entities as their ultimate objects of worship, their worship of God becomes meaningless. This is actually the case with many so-called religious followers around the world. During the weekdays, they engage in meat eating – which is facilitated through the killing of innocent animals – illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling, and then on Sundays they will attend some religious function and feel as if everything is alright. It must be said that every living entity has freedom in how they choose to act. If someone chooses to eat meat, devote time and money towards leisure activities, or profess their love to their significant others, they have every right as free people to do so. At the same time, such activity certainly violates the tenet of not worshiping any other God. Worship is facilitated through activity and, more importantly, consciousness. If a person’s consciousness is focused on material life, it must be said that their main object of worship, their “God”, is matter. In this way, they are violating the primary rule of the doctrine they are so fond of quoting.

The sentimentalist’s next stipulation is that one should not carve out any images of God or any other heavenly figure. One especially shouldn’t bow down to such a carved image or offer any worship. This activity is deemed as idol worship and is strictly prohibited by most faiths. This stipulation is probably the most contradictory of all the rules and regulations of the non-Vedic faiths. The contradiction again lies with the issue of worship. In order to worship God, a Supreme Person, the greatest divine figure, one must remember. Remembering, which is known as smaranam in Sanskrit, is the quintessential devotional act. Wherever we are, wherever we go, we simply have to remember God in order to be worshiping Him. Even if we are sitting in church or going through some other religious function, the remembering process is still at the forefront.

So how does remembering contradict the restriction on deity worship? In order to remember, we have to have something to focus the mind on. This object of focus cannot be nothing. If something is void or formless, by definition, it cannot be remembered. In this paradigm, the concept of worship immediately becomes null and void. The sentimentalists will counter with the argument that the mind should focus on the specific divine personality that one goes to for salvation. Yet this argument actually further enhances the contradiction. If we are to worship God through remembering a divine personality, a great prophet of the past, are we not fixing our minds on a specific form? Did these prophets not have a physical form when they roamed the earth?

Obviously these divine figures were real and full of form. Therefore remembering their form is certainly an authorized method of worship. If remembering such figures in our minds is an accepted method of worship, how can carving an image of them be prohibited? Is not the carved image simply a replica of the image that is in our minds during times of worship? Moreover, isn’t the worship of the carved replica image a higher religious practice than simply remembering them in the mind? After all, if we worship a deity, we get to act out our devotion. Without such a practice, our level of devotion remains in a theoretical state. “Oh I love God; I accept such and such as the savior.” These sentiments are meaningless unless acted upon. If a carved image is created, worshiped, and prostrated before, then not only is the worshiper benefitted, but so is anyone else who witnesses such a display of devotion.

This brings us to the next restriction: prostration. Not only are the sentimentalists against carving out worshipable forms of their divine figures, but they are against offering prayers to such images. The prostration before the deities of Krishna, Vishnu, and the spiritual masters are seen as great sins by outsiders and neophytes. Ironically enough, people are already offering their obeisances to other “Gods”, prostrating themselves in different ways. Prostration simply means acknowledging the supremacy of the object of worship. This is already occurring in the areas of sports, politics, and entertainment. Though the prostrations can take on different forms, the end-result is the same. In the world of sports, the bowing down occurs through the buying of tickets to events, the screaming in jubilation, the purchasing of memorabilia and apparel, and the overall love and adoration directed at the sports figures. In entertainment, a similar style of worship is seen through the attendance of movies and the following of the day-to-day happenings of favorite actors and actresses. Politics sees the greatest form of worship, with the prostration occurring through attendance at campaign rallies, political donations, and the dedication to showing up to vote for particular candidates. In the realm of romantic love, men even kneel before their significant others when making marriage proposals. Pet owners regularly bow down to pick up the waste that their pets leave on the ground. There is even a popular saying, “Dogs have owners and cats have servants.” So if we are already bowing down to other gods, other people that we have turned into our ultimate objects of worship, what is the harm in prostrating before the real God?

The next point raised by the sentimentalists is that God is angry and jealous, and that He punishes those who forget Him. Vedic information actually debunks these opinions quite systematically. First off, everyone is already punished through taking birth in the material world. Our current residence is governed by an energy known as maya, which means “that which is not”. Maya is “not God”, therefore this place is one where every living entity is competing to become God. The Supreme Lord has no interest in this competition, therefore He remains neutral. At the same time, He kindly seeks our prayers so that we can be benefitted, not Him. The Supreme Lord is described in terms of thousands of names in the Vedic tradition, each of which speaks to His transcendental qualities. One of God’s names is Achyuta, which means one who never falls down. He is also described as atmarama, meaning one who is self-satisfied.

“While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 2.62)

In order for God to be angry, He must be fallible. Anger is a result of frustration, the inability to satisfy one’s lusty desires borne out of attachment to material objects. By definition, this emotion can never apply to God because there is nothing that He is incapable of doing. The Supreme Lord can never be frustrated in any effort or endeavor. He especially has no reason to be angry with the living entities, for their powers are insignificant and puny when compared to the great energy of the energetic Supreme Lord. Jealousy is an emotion that results from insecurity, the worry that someone else will surpass us in beauty, wealth, strength, fame, renunciation, or wisdom. Since God is known as Bhagavan, He already possesses all of these opulences simultaneously and to the fullest extent. Therefore He has no reason to be jealous of anyone.

The sentimentalists’ last point of surrendering unto a specific personality is probably the most important one to properly understand, for without legitimate surrender no one can make advancement in spiritual life. Surrender means losing one’s will to fight. It involves putting someone else in charge of everything and having complete faith in their abilities. Surrender is not accomplished simply by waiving a white flag, signing a document, or professing an allegiance to a specific figure. Surrender in the realm of spirituality comes from giving up the fight to be God, relinquishing the idea that one can enjoy more than the Supreme Enjoyer.

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 12.5)

For surrender to truly occur, one must worship God in His original, personal form. This is because surrender, salvation, and the elimination of sinful reactions can only occur through a change in consciousness. Worship starts and ends with the mind. The mind is always working, so whatever it chooses to spend the most time thinking about is what constitutes the ultimate object of worship. Moreover, the mind can only contemplate on things that it has experienced or seen. If a person spends all their time in material pursuits – not giving credence to the subtle laws of nature, the plight of their fellow man, and ignoring the equality of all forms of life – the mind will focus on maya, or not God. Therefore such a person can never truly surrender to the Supreme Lord. In order for one’s consciousness to be changed, the nature of their activities must also be altered.

This is where bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, comes into play. Devotees in the Vedic tradition take to directly worshiping Krishna, the primeval Lord, the oldest and kindest personality in all the universes. Krishna was there at the beginning of creation. At that time He expanded Himself into His four-armed form of Lord Vishnu and then imparted Vedic wisdom to the first created living entity, Lord Brahma. It is the duty of every person to follow the example of their original father. Lord Brahma, the progenitor of man, took to devotional service immediately, spending all his time thinking about Vishnu. Since that time, Lord Vishnu has been kind enough to make several appearances on earth. In these instances, Vishnu appeared in a transcendental and spiritual body, though it appeared as though He was an ordinary living entity. The conditioned souls can practice bhakti-yoga by regularly remembering Krishna, Vishnu, or one of the non-different expansions which appear on earth.

The deity plays a central role in this worship, for it allows a devotee to back up their claims of religiousness. By carving out a deity based on the specifications provided in the authorized scriptures, a devotee can worship a non-different form of the Lord. This form is completely transcendental and vital towards achieving advancement in spiritual life. A devotee can offer prayers, dress the deity, and prepare nice food preparations to be given in sacrifice. More than anything else, the devotee should regularly chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, in front of this worshipable form. If God wants us to think of Him, why not use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that such remembrance continues uninterrupted?

A sin is an activity which results in a temporary unfavorable condition. Separation from God must be considered the most unfavorable of conditions. Since we all find ourselves in this situation today, we must all be considered sinful. The only way to remove the reactions to our sins, the unfavorable conditions, is to reconnect with God. The Lord is already residing inside of our hearts as the Supersoul, but we are currently unaware of His presence. Through the changing of consciousness, this connection with God can be reestablished. By worshiping the deity, bowing down before the Lord and the spiritual master, and regularly chanting the holy names of the Lord, we can achieve the ultimate objective in life, that of returning back to God’s spiritual kingdom.