Spiritual Television

“The Absolute Personality of Godhead is not different from His transcendental name, form, pastimes and the sound vibrations thereof. As soon as a pure devotee engages himself in the pure devotional service of hearing, chanting and remembering the name, fame and activities of the Lord, at once He becomes visible to the transcendental eyes of the pure devotee by reflecting Himself on the mirror of the heart by spiritual television.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.6.33 Purport)

As Goswami Tulsidas so nicely notes in the opening verses of his beautiful work titled the Ramacharitamanasa, it is less common for a person to appreciate words composed by someone else than it is for someone to love what they have written themselves. The psychology of this fact should make sense, as the analysis applied to the written word is different in the two perspectives. On the one side you are critically assessing the composition that someone else has written, deciding whether or not the premises and conclusions are valid and whether you are uplifted in some way through the association. In the case of your own work, skewering your vision is the amazement arising from the fact that you were even able to craft anything at all. “I can’t believe I wrote this. Look at how I cleverly placed that truth into there and how I brought everything together in the end. Wow, nice job.” Though in most cases this natural inclination may give the writer a false sense of prestige and an inflated ego, if the subject matter is sublime, then even the unwarranted attachment to one’s own work can be used for bringing the highest good.

“You are born alone and you die alone”, is the common refrain of the person suffering through a rough patch in their relations with other human beings. If you are scorned from a relationship that was built on a strong attachment, concerns over the future will surely come up. “Will I ever find someone to make me happy? How will I live out the rest of my days if I don’t have anyone by my side?” The cure for loneliness appears to be simple enough: seek out companionship somewhere else. The wise seer, however, knows that life within a specific form is temporary, for that is the nature of both the large and small playing fields.

What is the large playing field? Think of the entire world and its collection of matter. Everything we can see is composed of combinations of earth, water, fire, air and ether. Depending on the desires of the inhabiting individuals, these material elements are used for different purposes. The sandbox and playrooms of young children are there to occupy their time, but when the same children mature the activity doesn’t change all that much. The playroom may get larger and the games played may involve stocks, card tables, and large arenas, but the manipulation of matter is still present and it remains the perceived vibrant way to occupy time.

The smaller playing field is the body itself. The form of the living being changes at every second, for otherwise how could hair and nails grow? We know that when we get a haircut, however, our identity does not change in the least. The subtle change may affect how others look at us and how we feel about ourselves, but our identity is not altered. The identity remains intact from the time of birth all the way up until the time of death. In this way the body is a sort of playing field, with the living being residing within considered the knower, the person in charge.

“Arjuna said: O my dear Krishna, I wish to know about prakriti [nature], Purusha [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the end of knowledge. The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.” (Bhagavad-gita, 13.1-2)

As the knower inside the body is eternally situated, at least from our perspective of observation, there is an ideal companion who bears the same property. At this point, can’t we say that the relationships we form with others are also connections between two knowers? After all, other people are knowers, with their bodies changing but their identities remaining the same. But if the relationship is held together by attachment to the playing field, there is no real connection with the knower. For instance, if I am attracted to someone based on their fame, we know that the fame is attached to their localized playing field, which will either diminish in stature as time passes or be completely renounced at the time of death. This means that the relationship is limited and that there is no attachment to the knower.

There is one Supreme Knower who is so amazing that there is no difference between His field of play and His identity. Indeed, He is owner of both the large and small playing fields. He resides within every single one of us and yet is untainted by the actions taken. His form never changes, though He has a body that is gigantic. He also has a body that is small, as He can take many forms if He so chooses.

Connecting with Him is the ultimate cure for loneliness because His company never has to be renounced. Around the world He is spoken of through His different features and energies. Those completely attached to the temporary playing field refer to Him as nature, the almighty force for change. Those with a little inclination towards spirituality refer to Him as God, and those who are slightly more advanced call Him Brahman.

Only those who truly know Him refer to Him as Bhagavan and try to connect with Him through His many spiritual manifestations, including His original form of Krishna. Lord Krishna, the all-attractive Bhagavan, possesses the attributes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge and renunciation simultaneously and to the fullest degree. Since He owns the playing field, these attributes never leave Him. Despite the passage of time and the travels through boundless space, Shri Krishna retains His position as Bhagavan.

Since He is the most attractive, who wouldn’t want to connect with Him? Since He lives eternally in His spiritual body that is full of bliss and knowledge, why wouldn’t we want to maintain an attachment to Him? Thus we see the real purpose behind the ancient system of yoga. At its root yoga means a connection, an addition of two operands. The two entities are the living entity, who is the knower of the individual playing field, and the Supreme Lord, who is the entity to be known, He whose spirit and body are not different.

How do we connect with Krishna? Is there a place we can go to find Him? If we have to travel, doesn’t that require using our playing field that is the body? Is not that body then subject to destruction? So how can we make sure that we find Krishna before we leave our body? Also, what will happen once the playing field dissipates? Will Krishna stay with us? Thankfully Shri Krishna has addressed these issues in the famous work called the Bhagavad-gita, where the science of self-realization is explained succinctly and thoroughly at the same time. Paradoxical combinations are no match for Shri Krishna, who is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest.

The best way to connect with Krishna is to hear about Him. We can only harbor an attachment for another living entity if we have somehow come in contact with them. When people read the news and hear that a famous celebrity has died, their sadness is the result of an attachment formed through prior hearing and seeing. The majority of the readers of the news have never met the celebrity in question, but they feel sad at their passing because they had a connection with them in some way. That connection was so strong that it caused pains of separation to return when it was learned that the person in question would no longer provide new outlets for connection.

You can hear about Krishna by reading works like the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam. You can also listen to those who have spent their whole lives hearing about Krishna. The latter option is considered superior because then at least the proper mood to apply in hearing about Krishna is created. No one can fully understand God, but the more that is learned about Him, the greater the chances are for harboring an attachment to Him.

The playing field that is the body is temporary. Because the human form is the most advanced temporary form, the keepers of the faith, who glorify Krishna constantly, consider the human form to be the most auspicious. Despite whatever playing field we enter, the material elements will have to be renounced at some point. The lower animals also get playing fields, and the life forces within them are also the knowers. There is no potential for knowledge acquisition in the lower species though. That benefit is reserved for the human being, who thus has an obligation to make the best use of that opportunity.

To find Krishna before we leave our body we have to locate a person who is speaking about Krishna in the proper way. Association with their words is the most important, for physical association can dissipate within a second. If I can speak about Krishna in a room there is a benefit for the people in the immediate vicinity. If I can speak about Krishna through published words that can travel all across the world, obviously the benefit will be larger. In the advanced technological age, there is every chance to find the association of someone who has connected with Krishna. They may not even still be on this earth, but their preaching continues through their recorded words.

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 15.8)

Though the playing field is renounced at the end of life, consciousness stays with the individual. It carries from one life to the next, so if there is an attachment in consciousness to Krishna, that association will not dissipate with the exit from the body. If our cure for loneliness is to always think about Krishna now and stay attached to Him, He’ll stay with us in this life and the next.

How can we stay attached to Krishna when we have so much work to do, so many obligations to fulfill? We can hear about the Lord for a few hours a day maybe, but what do we do with the rest of our time? Thankfully the holy name is just as good as Krishna; it carries all of His glorious features. In any time period, in any situation, one can simply chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and be in the Lord’s company. Regularly reciting this mantra is so powerful that it will start to automatically play within the mind even during times where other work is being performed.

The devotional writer finds yet another way to keep Krishna by their side. As the tendency is for the individual to prefer their own writing to the words of others, if one can write about Krishna regularly, remembering His pastimes and describing His sweet form, the attachment to the resulting work will allow for Krishna’s association to continue. Krishna will remain with the writer during the time of composition and also during the time of reading. If the author is very proud of their work and likes to read it over and over again, they get to see Krishna every time through the descriptions found in the pages.

Hearing, chanting, remembering, talking, travelling to places important to Krishna; there are so many avenues available to cure the most acute loneliness. Every other attachment formed in life is an attempt to alleviate the pain of separation we feel from the dearly beloved Lord, the most attractive entity who also holds the most amount of love for us. Through the many processes of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, Krishna can be seen within the heart, a place wherefrom He never leaves.

In Closing:

Interest from writing of others sight,

But still your own work more do you like.

Use that penchant for your highest benefit,

Immerse in thoughts of God before body you quit.

Know that Shri Krishna is the reservoir of pleasure,

That His vision within the mind is greatest treasure.

Let not a moment pass by with this opportunity,

From cycle of birth and death gain immunity.

From those who know Krishna knowledge take,

Then write yourself, a cure for loneliness make.

See No Knowledge

“Experience is gathered by hearing and seeing. One who is less intelligent gathers experience by seeing, and one who is more intelligent gathers experience by hearing.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Nectar of Instruction, 1 Purport)

“Should I take information from authority, accepting it to be true without testing the theories myself, or should I insist on visual evidence for all the postulates and foremost truths of life?” This is the question facing those curious about the origin of life and what to make of their time spent within a particular form of body. The option where all truths must be experienced and seen firsthand seems like a safer bet, as there is less vulnerability for being cheated. In reality, however, seeing is very limited, and even under this method much information has to be accepted that isn’t seen. Everyone must be taught something and extend faith in the instruction presented to them at some point. Therefore if we’re already trusting someone, we might as well approach the right source of information to ascertain the proper path of action.

Seeing involves knowledge gathered from experience and tests for validity. For instance, with respect to the origin of life, the people who believe in the theory of evolution follow what they see, namely the evidence of fossils of creatures who inhabited the earth a long time ago. The monkeys have similar fossil structures to human beings, so perhaps the human eventually evolved from the monkey. The conclusion is based simply on theory and some visual evidence. The same visual evidence leads to the theory that all creatures evolved from one another, with the fittest sections within each group mating to form a gradually more dominant species.

So this seems plausible, no? But has anyone actually seen two monkeys produce a human being? Have we ever, in any scenario, seen a bunch of chemicals collide to produce life? Moreover, how does the evidence gathered from basic perception explain the phenomenon that is the sun? The sun has been burning since the beginning of time and it shows no signs of letting up. There aren’t fuel tankers driving to the sun nor is it even possible for human beings to come close to approaching the giant solar body, so intense is its heat. Rather than give the monkey the credit for creating the human being, why not worship the sun, who provides the light to maintain life on earth?

We see that the greatest limiting factor in acquiring evidence from visual perception is the short amount of time spent on earth by the living entity. In the human species, which is considered the most advanced and which is purportedly evolved from inferior life forms, there is still the knowledge gathering process. Even a superior species like the human being is born ignorant and no more intelligent than many animals. Only through protection from caretakers can we remain alive and eventually receive an education. When initially accepting instruction from teachers and parents, there are no tests made for validity. For instance, we know of the date we were born based on the information provided by our parents. There is no way for us to go back in time and witness the event for ourselves. On a larger scale of information transfer, the history of the earth as a whole is accepted through hearing rather than seeing.

The human being, in the absence of a spiritual awareness, takes sense gratification – meeting the demands of the tongue, genitals, stomach, eyes and ears – as the most important pursuit in life. Therefore through visual evidence, studying fossils and coming up with a test for fitness, there is the deduction that the human life is the most superior and that it descended from nature, with there being no such thing as a God or almighty creator. But if we apply a little intelligence using knowledge acquired through the hearing process, we’ll see that all of these theories can be debunked fairly quickly, including the superiority of the method used to acquire the information that led to the invalid conclusions.

The Vedas, the oldest scriptural tradition in the world, are passed down solely through a chain of disciplic succession. One person, a spiritual master, or guru, teaches their disciples about the meaning of life, the differences between spirit and matter, and the properties of the original person. The disciple then passes on the same information to others. The origin of the chain is, not surprisingly, God, who is known by thousands of names in the Vedic tradition. He is described as Krishna in His original feature because He is all-attractive. Wearing a peacock feather in His hair, holding a flute in His hands, garlanded with a string of beautiful flowers on His neck, and wearing the finest jewelry, Krishna’s image is the most beautiful. The Supreme Person is also known as Rama for His ability to give transcendental pleasure to others. Transcendental refers to those things that transcend the temporary nature of the world, including the various bodies that are assumed.

From the instruction passed on by the spiritual masters, we understand that the creator, who is the original person, is responsible for generating this and many other universes. The residents here did not evolve from other species; they instead physically descended from a more pure land. The material realm is a shadow copy, a generated version of an original home that is pure and eternal. The differences in species are even accounted for in the information presented through the hearing process. The spirit soul is the essence of life, but depending on its desires it can assume different dresses. The number of different forms is capped at 8,400,000, with each species having unique features. The bodies themselves don’t evolve, as they are nothing but combinations of material elements. For instance, the body of a bird has a high concentration of the material element of air, while the human being has a higher concentration of fire. This explains why the body temperature of a living human being is steady at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The body of a lizard is lacking fire; hence it is cold-blooded.

The material elements always exist, for they come from the origin of matter and spirit, Shri Krishna. Just as we can create different compounds in a laboratory using varying combinations of elements, the material bodies can be crafted and shaped based on different combinations of material elements. Just because we see a strange or new body type doesn’t mean that the elements themselves didn’t exist before. The bodies don’t evolve, but the type of dwelling the soul occupies can. At the beginning of its descent from the spiritual land, the individual soul can take the form of a fish and then gradually work its way through the different species, eventually reaching the human form. This transmigration is known as reincarnation, and it operates under scientific rules. The Hindus didn’t create reincarnation; it is a subtle aspect of science that continually operates irrespective of the individual’s belief in it.

All of this information is gathered through the hearing process. No visual tests are required, as the information can be accepted and then acted upon. The latter is the more important, for information is useless unless one can gain a better situation as a result of knowing it. Because of the failure to achieve a better position, the theories crafted by the evolutionists and those who don’t believe in God can be cast aside without hesitation. Starting with the issue of fitness, we see that in the absence of God consciousness the human being, considered the most advanced species, is actually inferior to the animals and lower species. How do we know this? At its core, animal life consists of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. A dog wants to eat something to satisfy its hunger, sleep when it is tired, have sex when it so desires, and defend its life and territory. Since the dog is not very capable or intelligent, the nature of these activities is considered substandard or inferior from the angle of vision of the human being.

But when the human takes to the same activities as its primary mission in life, they actually become inferior to the dog. The dog can eat pretty much anything thrown its way and sleep on the bare ground if required. The human being, on the other hand, must eat nice food and find a comfortable mattress to sleep on. Therefore much mental effort is spent finding just the right place to eat and the most comfortable and affordable bed. The same dichotomies exist in sex life. The dog has no trouble finding sexual partners, while the human being is so troubled by sex life that if a person is single into their thirties, there is cause for concern. “What if I never find the right person? What if I die alone?” Meanwhile, the person who is married is so frustrated by having to deal with their spouse all the time that they envy the position of the single person. “Boy, life was so great before I got married; I had so much freedom.”

According to the evolution theory, the human species is the product of the fittest members of previous species mating. When operating under the mindset of following base instincts, however, where God consciousness is absent, the lower animals are actually superior. Say, for example, we have two laptop computers. Both machines have the exact same configuration, all the way down to the processors used and the operating system being run. The only difference is in the batteries. One machine has a battery life of five hours, while another machine’s has a life of one hour. The machine with the longer battery life is more efficient and thus superior. It can perform all of the same operations and do it without requiring a recharge of the battery every hour.

In a similar manner, the animal species, when following the life of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, is far more efficient than the spiritually unconscious human being. The dog doesn’t have to worry about a mortgage payment, contraceptives, the next election, unemployment, health insurance, having the in-laws over for Thanksgiving, or any other regularly occurring problem. The dog is not the only species that lives efficiently in this way. The tiger, which lives off of eating other animals, also doesn’t have to worry. It won’t even eat fruit or vegetables; it takes only the flesh of animals that it kills. But nature works in such a benevolent way that even the tiger’s needs are taken care of without a problem.

The Vedic seers, those following authorized information acquired through hearing, do concur that the human species is superior, but only when the full potential for intelligence is reached. Scientific research in how to travel to other realms outside of earth doesn’t represent enhanced intelligence. Using the same definition for efficiency, if we have one human being who is fully satisfied remaining at home and following activity that is in line with his original disposition, we’d have to say that they are more efficient than the person who requires constant travel and new engagements. From this we see that the true benefit of the human life is consciousness and the ability to purify it. Real fitness comes when there is no more hankering and lamenting and when the consciousness is fixed on the service of that one person who keeps the mind and soul actively engaged and fully satisfied.

Not surprisingly, that person is Krishna, or God. The human being has the chance to understand God and the need for serving Him. The best way to connect with the Lord is to chant the holy names found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. A sequence of sound vibrations that transcends all sectarian boundaries, this mantra is the key that unlocks the door to spiritual freedom. The effects of connecting with God cannot be personally validated through logical proofs or visual evidence. The hearing process is superior in gathering the highest knowledge, the system of information passed down since the beginning of time. With any hypothesis, the proof is in the pudding; the validity of the prescriptions is found through the results. We know that the theory of evolution keeps man in the dark about its true nature, and it actually leads him to follow a life inferior to that of an animal. On the other hand, by adopting the ancient art of bhakti, the religion of love, man makes the most use of his unique opportunity, one gained through much time and effort spent  in so many other species of life.

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

Why not give chanting a try and assess whether or not reciting and hearing God’s names make a significant difference? If we follow the simple formula of chanting the maha-mantra for sixteen rounds a day on a set of japa beads, all the while refraining from sinful activities like meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex, we’ll see that the consciousness will slowly but surely be energized and surcharged with feelings of transcendental affection. When we hear God, we will be able to see everything more clearly and realize that our mission in life is to always remember Him; an ability which will bring us back to the spiritual land after our life is over.

In Closing:

In order for claim to believe,

Evidence with eyes we must see.

Hearing leaves us open to cheating,

For disastrous future condition meeting.

But wrong theories come from only sight,

Like evolution, chemicals source of life?

Hearing from Vedas only way to understand,

That knowing God our purpose in this land.

Follow chanting and for yourself know,

If from loving Krishna happiness will grow.

Shravanam Kirtanam

“Kirtanam actually means "describing." We can describe with music, words, pictures, etc. Shravanam goes hand in hand with kirtanam, for unless we hear, we cannot describe. We don’t need any material qualifications in order to attain the Supreme. All we have to do is hear from authoritative sources and repeat accurately what we hear.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Raja-vidya, Ch 4)

Kirtana is an age old method of worship made very popular through the Vedic tradition. The Shrimad Bhagavatam, the crown jewel of Vedic literature which expounds on the set of law codes and instructions passed down since the beginning of time from the Supreme Person Himself, has a section where bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is described succinctly by one Prahlada Maharaja, who was a great king in his own right. At the time Prahlada was only five years of age, and when asked by his father what the most important thing he learned in school was, Prahlada responded by listing the nine principle processes of devotional service, of which shravanam and kirtanam were the first two. Though kirtana is commonly associated with chanting and singing about God, at its root the word means “describing”. Not surprisingly we see that the singing that goes on in kirtana parties is all about describing the glories of the Supreme Lord. Thankfully for the devotee and the listeners of the melodious singing, the glories of the person being described are endless. Therefore kirtana in bhakti automatically becomes an eternal occupation, one that can never fully attain its stated goal.

Isn’t this a bad thing? If our objective is to describe a particular entity and we know from the outset that we will never fully succeed in our venture, isn’t frustration thereby guaranteed? “If I’m trying to describe this person and I know I can’t do it properly, what is the point to even trying?” Unlike with any other attempt at glorification, kirtana in bhakti is beneficial at every step. The justification for taking the plunge into attempting to glorify the Supreme Person – who is described as neti neti in the Vedic literature, which means “not this, not that” – is that the process corresponds directly with the inherent properties of the soul, which is the source of identity within all individuals, including those not part of the human species.

Glorification of worldly figures, friends and family already takes place on a daily basis. It is the natural yearning of the human spirit to be free and to use that freedom to serve. To this end praising is a great way to serve the object of interest. Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us that in spiritual pursuits this serving through glorification would play an integral role. Just having respect for the Supreme Being represents one level of ascendency from the undeveloped consciousness present at the time of birth, but dedication to glorification extracts the full potential for the outpouring of loving emotion found within the worshiper. As an example of the influence the different levels of consciousness have on behavior, when we visit a temple and don’t necessarily know who or what we are looking at, our inhibitions in offering service may not be removed. We may be seeing others worshiping, kneeling down and singing, but we have no idea why any of this is going on. “Who is this person that everyone is so happily engaged in discussing about?”

Therefore uninhibited kirtanam must have a source, an initial spark and fuel to subsequently feed its continuation. This is where shravanam, or hearing comes into play. We know that the Supreme Person being glorified can be addressed as Krishna because the Vedas say so and also because of His all-attractiveness. He is described as Bhagavan because He is the most fortunate. He possesses the fortunes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, renunciation and wisdom to the fullest degree. Besides these distinguishable qualities, He is always adorned by His closest associates, those who never leave Him in terms of consciousness. Narada Muni, Kapila Deva, Yamaraja, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Janaka Maharaja, Vyasadeva, Prahlada, Bhishma, Manu, and so many other exalted figures worship the Supreme Lord at all times. Since they are all mahajanas, or authorities on spirituality, their level of dedication only further solidifies Krishna’s status as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bhagavan is considered the most fortunate because of the attributes He regularly exhibits and His reputation established by the words of great devotees. Yet His stature is further enhanced by the divine qualities of His dearmost friends. Shrimati Radharani is the emblem of chastity and virtue, as are the other gopis of Vrindavana. The six Gosvamis of Vrindavana and their followers represent the most intelligent collection of transcendentalists known the world over, and they all worship Krishna with their life and soul. In this way we can go on and on praising Shri Krishna, as the glories of His spiritual descendants know no end.

But where did we get all of this information from? How do we know so much about Krishna and the people who love Him? The hearing process, the fuel for the continuous drumbeat of hari-kirtana, provides a steady supply of information to the individual looking to rekindle their constitutional engagement of loving service. Irrespective of the body type, the natural penchant of the living being is to serve. When proper information is supplied through the hearing process, the glorification and service can be aimed in the proper direction, with the engine of kirtana revved up to full speed as a result.

Where do we go to hear information about Krishna? The Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and any literature that follows the same conclusion as the original Vedas are all considered Vedic literature. The tie that binds all of these wonderful works together is the subject matter of the information they present. In one sense, Vedic literature is itself kirtana, as it passes on detailed information about that person who is otherwise only known in the abstract: God. The commonality in all religions is the desire to serve the Supreme Person, but only in the Vedic tradition is detailed information provided about the glorious nature of God and why He is ever worthy of our time, effort and love. The Vedas don’t have just one Bible or Koran, but rather hundreds of works which are each complete in their own right.

The neti neti statements describing the Absolute Truth can be taken in a negative light by those who don’t understand its purpose. But to the devotees, neti neti is accepted as the most wonderful gift. Knowing that Krishna’s glories can never fully be enumerated, those anxious to serve God realize that they can spend the rest of their lifetime engaged in kirtana and never reach an end, never exhausting in effort or enthusiasm. What continually fuels their fire is hearing from the sacred texts, especially the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, which safely house descriptions of God’s pastimes and His direct instructions.

“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)

Krishna Himself states in the Bhagavad-gita that the devotees, the great souls who fall under the protection of the divine energy through their devotion, always chant His glories and thus become dear to Him. Therefore we know from the person it addresses that kirtana is a wonderful process that should be engaged in by everyone. But what if we haven’t read Vedic literature? What if we don’t know the different songs and what they mean? Kirtana, aside from being open to practice in any age, is also universally accessible, especially thanks to the efforts of one saint, who was, not surprisingly, a direct manifestation of the same Shri Krishna. Lord Chaitanya, the preacher incarnation of Godhead appearing on earth some five hundred years ago, authorized one specific sequence of words to serve as the life of any kirtana party, irrespective of the group’s religious affiliation, level of familiarity with Vedic tenets, age or geographic location. The maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, can be chanted over and over again and provide perfection in results in every respect. Kirtana need not require any other mantra or sound vibration, for “Hare Krishna” can be chanted in any melody or rhythm. Indeed, the most benevolent saints are those who write songs glorifying Krishna and His different incarnations by putting words into a simple format that can be understood by the most number of people.

The original Vedas and the classic Vedic texts are composed in the Sanskrit language, which is known as the language of the gods. Needless to say, Sanskrit is one of the most difficult language to understand, for the words are very complex, with terms crunched together to ensure that the most information can be packed into each verse. In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, where there isn’t the time available for fully understanding Sanskrit, kirtana is there to provide the same benefit, to act as a sturdy boat that can carry an unlimited number of passengers across the ocean of nescience. The songs composed by the saints of the bhakti school are aimed at making the names of Krishna accessible to everyone. Ironically enough, there is no degradation of the knowledgebase, as these songs are complete in the information they present. Goswami Tulsidas, who was especially devoted to Krishna’s form of Lord Rama, wrote a lengthy poem called the Ramacharitamanasa, which describes Rama’s activities and pastimes very wonderfully. Despite the poem’s length, it can still be sung and understood by a wide audience.

Similarly, the Bhagavad-gita, though in Sanskrit, can also be sung; thus allowing the hearing process to take over and provide further motivation to perform kirtana. In this way we see that Prahlada Maharaja did not just list the different processes of devotional service in any order or without thinking. Though surrendering unto God and worshiping Him at all times can provide the same benefits as any other processes of bhakti, hearing and chanting serve as the cornerstones because of their unique effectiveness. Just hearing about Prahlada’s pastimes and level of dedication to Vishnu, which is another name for Krishna, further endears the listener to the Supreme Person. Hearing about God and His devotees keeps the fire of devotion well lit within the belly, allowing kirtana to continue on and on with full vim and vigor.

“Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vishnu [shravanam kirtanam], remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.23)

If we visit a Vaishnava temple and see that the person standing on the altar is holding a flute in His hands and has a smile on His face, we may be interested to know more about Him and why everyone is so given to glorifying Him. But when we hear that this person is known as Krishna because of His all-attractiveness, we become further interested in chanting. When we hear that Krishna, as a young child living in Vrindavana, would playfully go to the neighbors’ homes and steal from their stocks of butter, our interest further increases. When we next find out that the cowherd women who would complain to Mother Yashoda, Krishna’s foster mother, about the Lord’s stealing would then beg her not to punish Him, for even Krishna’s taking of their property was bringing them supreme joy, our attachment to performing kirtana further increases.

When we hear that Krishna, as a young child, lifted up a gigantic hill over His head to provide protection to the residents of Vrindavana from the torrential downpour vengefully instigated by Lord Indra, the king of heaven, the sweetness of our chanting “Hare Krishna” only increases. When we hear from the Bhagavad-gita that Krishna guarantees immunity from all sinful reaction for anyone who surrenders unto Him and abandons all other forms of dharma, or religiosity, our allegiance and firm faith in kirtana increase. When we learn that the same person standing on the altar holding the flute can accept a simple flower, fruit or some water as a gift, we will make sure that we offer Him something prepared with love and devotion every single day, with each offering accompanied by more and more glorification.

In this way we see that the more we hear about Krishna, the more attached we become to His lotus feet, which are the shelter for the saints and those who have abandoned the search for happiness in a material world full of dualities. Kirtana in bhakti knows no end, as the devotees who love Krishna never run out of affectionate feelings for Him. The most valuable boon offered by the most fortunate entity the world has ever known is the ability to continue kirtana. No other entity grants us the benediction of allowing our service to continue uninterrupted and without motivation. Only in bhakti-yoga, the ancient art of divine love, can the full potential for the outpouring of service found within the heart be met. Only with glorification of Krishna nourished by constant hearing does the human being make full advancement in consciousness, embarking on a progressive march which carries the soul towards the spiritual sky, the realm where the air is permeated with the sounds of Krishna’s flute and songs glorifying Him.

Hearing is Believing

“The sound Krishna and the original Krishna are the same. When we chant Hare Krishna and dance, Krishna is also dancing with us. Of course we may say, ‘Well, I do not see Him,’ but why do we put so much stress on seeing? Why not hearing? Seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, and hearing are all instruments for experience and knowledge. Why do we put such exclusive stress on seeing?” (Shrila Prabhupada, Raja-vidya, Ch 2)

If someone were to present us a fresh pizza pie, which happened to be our favorite food, we would no doubt be excited. “I can’t wait to eat this. This pizza looks delicious. I am going to savor every bite and truly enjoy the experience.” But then we bite into a slice from the pie, chew for a little bit, let our taste buds do the work, only to realize that what we are eating is not pizza. Calling it pizza would actually be a crime, as it tastes nothing like our favorite food. What was presented to us is indeed food and may look like pizza on the outside, but through our sense of taste we can properly identify the item to be something completely different. Through this simple example we see that depending on the scope of activity the sense of sight is not always the most trusted source of authority. This especially holds true in the arena of spirituality, where the desire to see God remains strong amongst those searching for a bona fide religion, one that meets all of their objectives, removes their doubts, takes away pains and fears, and gives salvation at the end of life. If a legitimate system of spirituality were to be found, then life could continue without hesitation and worry. Once doubt and self-pity are removed, the mind can be at peace, which is at the cornerstone of any favorable condition. When understanding God, seeing is not always the best option, but hearing about Him, and especially associating with the audio version of the Absolute Truth, can bring about the quickest and most effective relief.

The example with the pizza pie can be applied to other areas of life as well. Let’s say that one of our friends hands us a compact disc whose label reads that it is produced by our favorite recording artist. We will eagerly put the CD into the stereo in our home or car and await the pleasant sound vibrations. But when we play the CD we hear music from a completely different artist. Once again the sense of sight did not prove to be flawless, as our hearing abilities detected that what was presented to us wasn’t genuine. The same principle applies to clothes, as we may purchase a shirt that looks nice and is labeled to be made of cotton, but once we put it on, our skin detects that the shirt is indeed made of a different fabric, one that may or may not be compatible with our desires.

The emphasis placed on seeing the Absolute Truth, or God, is understandable, as visual perception is how we identify important personalities. We see the President or Prime Minister on television, we watch our favorite actors and actresses on the big screen work their magic, and we watch the live action of sporting events to feel exhilaration and thrill. Why should it be any different when we seek out that one person who is meant to be our life’s companion, our partner for all of eternity?

As is quite obvious, sight is not the only sense. Should a person lose their vision, does it mean that their identity gets lost? Do blind people not exist? Are they incapable of feeling thrill and properly identifying others? The answers to these questions are an emphatic “No”, for the other senses take over and are used for identification purposes. Similarly, when understanding God, seeing is not always the best option. From the Vedic scriptures, the ancient books describing the spiritual traditions emanating from India, we understand that many past personalities got to directly witness the pastimes of the original Personality of Godhead and also gaze at His adorable form, only to remain in the dark about His true nature.

How is this possible? Can someone look at God and not recognize Him for who He is? Looks can be deceiving, and based on the consciousness of the observer, the vision will be tinted a certain color. The end-goal in mind, the driving force to a certain set of activities, can cloud judgment and even vision. As an example, the thief who is ready to perpetrate a grand heist will see everyone around him as a potential spy, someone who will likely turn them in or get in the way of their criminal act. Similarly, the criminal who has already perpetrated an iniquitous deed will always be on the lookout for authority figures, afraid of getting caught, remaining suspicious of everyone else. But based on our own experiences, we know that the way others view us has no bearing on our personal makeup or even our mindset.

We may be born into a certain race or tradition of spirituality, but our identity comes from our character and our makeup. If someone else should view us as simply belonging to a particular race and thereby defective, the conclusions derived from their viewpoint would be totally invalid. If another person were to view us as being saintly and superior because of our skin color, the opinions formed would be equally as flawed. Regardless of the external vision and the spotlight that shines on a person, their internal qualities do not change.

The same holds true with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone is searching after Him, though only the truly wise know how to properly identify Him and what that identification brings. On the lowest rung of consciousness, the atheistic person, he who is totally unaware of the presence of God and the need for connecting with Him, searches for the Lord in His external energy of material nature. This is how the animals behave, for they are only concerned with eating, sleeping, mating and defending. In the absence of God consciousness, the human being remains on the level of the animals, seeking out the same enjoyments but through different avenues. Though a human being may sleep on a comfortable mattress and eat expensive steak, the tastes that result are really no different from the sleeping and eating of the animals.

On a slightly higher level, there are those who acknowledge God’s presence, but still take sense gratification to be the ultimate aim. Thus they view the Supreme Controller as a sort of order supplier, a person who needs to be pleased in order to have a happy and peaceful lifestyle revolved around meeting the base animal demands. Just as tribute is paid to other order suppliers in the form of payments of goods received, the Supreme Lord is honored in the specific house of worship at periodic intervals to ensure that He doesn’t get angry with His children who neglect His worship. Once said tribute is offered, the hope is that material life can continue without nuisance.

A step above this level of thought views God as being all-pervasive and beyond the dualities of material existence. By dualities we mean those experiences and emotions of life that are not uniform in their effects. For instance, if a certain team were to win a big game, they would feel elation, while the losing team would feel dejection. Thus there is a duality created, as through a simple outcome of a game, one side feels pain and the other side joy. On another day, after a different outcome, the roles may reverse, thus proving that the conditions of happiness and distress are relative and not indicative of the Absolute Truth. For there to be a God, He must be beyond these temporary conditions and above all the dualities of material nature. When one is aware of the need to transcend dualities, the aim of life becomes to free oneself from all material conditions and gradually merge into nothingness, which is actually a blissful light of energy known as Brahman.

On a higher plane of consciousness, God is viewed as being both all-pervading and localized within the body of each individual. If God resides with us personally, we can take the necessary steps to connect with Him. Yet the senses are always there to lure us into other engagements, bringing us association with maya, or that which is not Brahman. Therefore through meditational yoga, which can involve austerity and dedication to practice of difficult breathing exercises and gymnastics postures, we can connect with the localized aspect of the Truth residing within us, Paramatma, and thus feel tremendous bliss and satisfaction.

Yet on the highest level of thought, where there is the purest vision acquired through steady practice of regulative principles under a bona fide guide, the Supreme Lord is understood to be all things material and spiritual, but His original form is taken to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, an entity who is replete with the six opulences of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, renunciation and wisdom. Bhagavan can only be realized on the highest plane of consciousness because identifying the aforementioned opulences in a person and knowing that they exist simultaneously and to the fullest degree is very difficult. The lower grades of spiritual understanding also get in the way of making the proper identification, especially if the assessment is made through visual media. One person may show us who they believe to be God, but due to our challenging attitude and past experiences, the immediate reaction will be skepticism. “How do you know that this person is God? Some other person is showing me their own God, so who should I believe?”

The sense of sight is so powerful that if a person can show a few magic tricks acquired through yoga practice, they can get a great number of people to believe that they are God. Meditational yoga practiced properly results in siddhis, or perfections. Though the abilities to become really small, really large, and travel outside of the body seem imaginary or fake to us, they aren’t that difficult to understand if we keep in mind the wonderful workings of nature that seemingly take place automatically. The sun burns perpetually without any external source of energy, and the earth continues its rotations and revolutions on the exact same schedule day after day, year after year. Therefore a yogi who can show some magic doesn’t really prove that they are God, though they can fool many people into thinking that they are.

The Vedas also reference many incidents where miscreants and fools saw the Supreme Lord in His blissful form and still didn’t recognize Him for who He was. The Brahman mentality sees all perceptions of the senses as being false, or illusory. Thus if the Supreme Lord does descend to earth, He is seen as a product of maya, a temporary manifestation of the all-pervading Truth. If God takes a material form when appearing on earth, and the living entities also follow suit, then where is the difference between human beings and God? Therefore the realization of Brahman sees all living entities as being God to some extent, except the inferior beings just haven’t realized their true divinity yet. Obviously this raises a contradiction, for if we are God, how can we be deficient in any way? How did we let ourselves become deluded into taking birth as mortal human beings?

“Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.24)

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the very Bhagavan that everyone worships in some way or another, reveals in the Bhagavad-gita that the miscreants and fools think that He assumes the form that He does. Bhagavan is always spiritual in every way, and His energies work at His beck and call. Matter is only false, or illusory, when it is not used to further God consciousness. For the Supreme Lord, there is never a need for self-realization, so the matter that He associates with during His time on earth is not maya. The elements surrounding Krishna are completely spiritual, as the distinctions between material and spiritual life are only there for the benefit of the conditioned souls seeking a higher taste coming from a higher association.

So how do we know that Krishna is God? We can look at a picture of Him, but doesn’t that fall into the category of sight perceptions, which have already proven to be flawed? Ah, but the Vedas account for this. In the Vedic tradition stress is never placed on seeing God, but rather on hearing Him. The hearing process is the most effective as far as information transfer, for the popularity of talk radio directly attests to this. Polling agencies have learned through their surveys that regular listeners of talk radio shows have a much higher level of academic intelligence and familiarity with current events than do the average television news viewers. This makes sense after all, as television news is aimed at appealing to emotion, while discussion through hearing is meant to appeal to intellect. When we hear, we have to pay attention, and when the sound vibrations enter our ears, the mind immediately starts working, processing the information and deciding whether or not the opinions and facts presented will be accepted. A counter response is then generated, one that either affirms or denies the information presented. Many times the mind will work so quickly that a response is elicited that even better describes the same information that was just heard.

So how do we hear God? The best way to hear the Absolute Truth is to listen to His names, for the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth directly carries His other names, pastimes and qualities. The same can’t be said of any other feature of Bhagavan. For instance, we may see the beautiful and delightful form of Shri Krishna and feel tremendous bliss, but remembrance of His pastimes, qualities and other names isn’t necessarily invoked. Through hearing, however, the holy name directly attacks our surrounding wall of nescience gradually developed over the many lifetimes spent on earth through the process of reincarnation. Just hearing the name brings direct audience with Bhagavan, for it is non-different from Him.

“Well, that’s just what you say. You say that the name is the same as God, but why should I believe that? And which name should I hear? I’ve seen that in the Hindu tradition there are so many gods and even the purported leader, Lord Vishnu, has over a thousand names.” There are indeed many worshipable figures in the Vedic tradition, but this shouldn’t skewer the viewpoint or the understanding of the existence of a Supreme Controller. In any land there are many important personalities who are paid tribute and honored, but this doesn’t take away the authority of the head of the government. Similarly, the many demigods who are regularly honored and respected are smaller portions, or expansions, of the Supreme Lord’s energy, but there is still only one God, and His mercy applies to every single person, regardless of how one addresses Him.

The names of Krishna and Rama are considered the most sacred and powerful because they best describe the nature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore the most effective way of realizing God is through regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Should we meditate on these names? Should we chant them out loud or just to ourselves? The key is to hear these names; therefore chanting out loud is the best. The more we chant the more we hear, and the more we hear the more we perceive the Supreme Lord.

Bhagavan is so magnanimous that He can be realized and understood through so many different outlets. Seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling are all ways to connect with Bhagavan, and each of these methods can provide transcendental satisfaction and a permanent shift in consciousness, one which leads to the spiritual realm after the current life is over. But hearing is considered the most effective because it brings the quickest shift in consciousness. Though the promises relating to the future results of hearing the name of Krishna are difficult to accept from the logical point of view, through steady practice and a small leap of faith, the truth of the power of the holy name can be realized. As the perfect prayer, the maha-mantra represents the singular religious practice aimed at bringing all the results of every other spiritual engagement known the world over. Moreover, hearing the name through chanting it regularly can also be accomplished at any time of the day, during any time of the year. Any time is auspicious for having Bhagavan’s association, so if we take shelter of the hearing process, and regularly listen to the Lord’s names and descriptions of His transcendental activities, we will be able to see that the name and the Supreme Person it addresses are one and the same.

Krishna’s Song

“For any person who is chanting the holy name either softly or loudly, the paths to liberation and even heavenly happiness are at once open.” (Padma Purana)

The Vedas and their followers claim that the world we currently occupy is a sort of shadow-copy of a more purified realm. The exact terminology used is “perverted reflection” or “inverted reflection.” The image in a mirror can come pretty close to matching the actual appearance of the object in question, but there is still a flaw in the orientation of the picture. For instance, if our hair is parted in a certain direction, when we look at ourselves in a mirror, we will never get the same image that is presented to others. If we were to collectively gather every single activity, enjoyment and engagement and compare them to their clones in the spiritual world, we’d find that not only are the behaviors in our present realm reflected in an inverse direction, but so are the results. What appears to be beneficial in the short term actually ends up harming us greatly in the end, whereas that which is very distasteful and seemingly a waste of time in the beginning can turn out to be the most worthwhile. In Sanskrit the ultimate objective is known as shreyas and short-term satisfaction as preyas. Only in the human form of life can the two be distinguished, thus allowing for the ultimate goal to be identified and sought after in earnest.

“That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.37)

The way the inverted reflection works is best seen in the pursuits to please the most powerful sense organs. While the satisfaction of the genitals is seen as the most potent form of sense gratification, there are many harmful side effects to having a consciousness driven by uncontrolled desires for sex life. For starters, much effort has to be undertaken to find a satisfactory level of enjoyment. Even if there is a steady partner available for relations, the satisfaction and stimulation can die down very quickly; hence the preponderance of infidelity and divorce. Uncontrolled eating is also another instance of short term benefits coupling with long term detriments. When the taste buds take over the good intellect belonging to the mind, the resultant desires are to eat meat and drink alcohol. The allure of intoxication is that it will somehow bring alleviation from ordinary distresses. There is the short term stimulation in the form of being drunk or high, but immediately following that is a painful fall. The experience is similar to that of being thrust high into the sky. If we are bounding above the waters and the massive land around us, there will surely be a feeling of exhilaration. There is a reason for the saying, “I feel like I’m on top of the world.” Nevertheless, the thrill of reaching such heights is short-lived, as the laws of gravity always ultimately prevail. And since we are so high in the air, the impact of our fall will be even greater than if we had remained steady on the ground the whole time.

“The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this one is bound to material fruitive activities.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 14.7)

The mode of passion in the material world drives a person to activities that are of no benefit to them in the long run. Eating meat is considered sinful because there must be a complementary reaction to the act of unnecessarily killing an innocent life form. This shouldn’t be very difficult to understand. In any civilized society there are certain animals which are considered protected. This identification goes above and beyond the implied protection offered to human beings. There was a famous American football player who in recent years was found to be organizing fights between dogs, with the losing dogs being killed afterwards. He was subsequently sent to jail and vilified by the public for his inhumane behavior. So if killing a dog is worthy of severe punishment and ridicule, why should taking the life of an innocent cow, who is the mother to her children and the world for that matter, be not equally as harmful to one’s karma?

The arguments used to counter this sound logical reasoning are all rather empty. One viewpoint says that the cow’s flesh gets eaten while the dog’s does not. So does this mean that as long as we eat what we kill, the original act of taking another life is not sinful? If fighters eat their opponents after killing them, then there is no harm? Another argument made is that the dog is much more intelligent than the cow, as pets can form friendships with their owners. But in the infant stage, the human being is actually less intelligent than many animals. Does this mean that all infants should be killed? What about those human beings who, for some reason or another, fail to develop their intelligence during the course of their lifetime? Should they be sent to slaughterhouses?

The effects of the senses are so strong that they cause a tunnel-vision-like drive towards immediate satisfaction. In the process, logic, reason and basic standards of decency are thrown to the wayside. Not only is there much resulting pain and misery delivered through the laws of nature, which must provide commensurate reactions to any work performed, but the opportunity for understanding the point of human life is missed. The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, don’t present the differences between the material and spiritual worlds without a purpose. The purified realm, the original image from which our current land is reflected, has every amenity and enjoyment available without any hint of sin or negative consequence to action. The proprietor of this land ensures the sanctity of the activities undertaken by the inhabitants, who are always blissful. Not surprisingly, the Supreme Lord, God Himself, is the controller we speak of, and the land in which He resides forever in a personal way is known as Vaikuntha, or that realm free of anxieties, and the highest planet in Vaikuntha is Goloka Vrindavana.

With material activities, there is a price to pay for misdeeds and also for actions neglected. If we wholeheartedly take up a certain engagement, we are naturally going to ignore another. Therefore there is every chance of meeting future distress with any activity that is not tied to the Supreme Lord’s interests. One who takes to pleasing Krishna, who is the original and most attractive form of Godhead, engages in the real business of the soul. Just as the material world is an inverted reflection of the spiritual land, all the activities adopted off of that skewered vision are inverted in their effectiveness. With transcendental activities, just the opposite is true. When bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is made the primary occupation in life, any resultant engagement, even those activities which don’t necessarily seem to be proper or performed in the correct order, can lead to worthy results.

The inner workings of songwriting give a nice illustration of how the dichotomy between the realms manifests. Popular songs are those that are catchy, have lots of hooks, and exhibit talent in terms of singing and playing of instruments. In rock music especially, the songs focus on the guitar playing abilities of the musicians and the uniqueness of the singer’s voice. What’s interesting to note, however, is that many rock songs see the lyrics written at the end of the composition process. For famous bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and a host of others, the basic process for writing a song starts off with the riff tape. One of the guitarists or vocalists in the band plays on their instrument for fun during their leisure time. If they come up with a riff or a guitar part they like, they record it onto a tape. When it comes time to write material for an album or a single song, the appointed members of the band sift through all the tapes and decide which parts are good enough to serve as foundations for songs.

At the beginning stages of the composition, there is obviously only instrumental music. Vocal melodies are added on top of the guitar parts. Even if the vocal melody is the genesis for the song, the end result of the first stage of the process is still the same: a song without any words. If we listen to demo versions of some very popular rock songs, we’ll hear the vocalist humming along with strange noises and words as the song plays. This is because the words for the song had yet to be written in the process. Among members of the famous heavy metal band Iron Maiden, there is even a minor squabble over this very issue. The band’s bassist and de facto leader, Steve Harris, believes that the actual lyrics of songs are not that important. If the melodies are written first, it doesn’t really matter what kinds of words are inserted later on. His reasoning follows that most listeners remember the melodies and the arrangements of the songs and not necessarily the lyrics. The lead singer of the band, however, would rather see the focus put on the lyrics first, as the words give meaning to the song.

But if we study the behavior of the average listener and the components of what makes a popular rock song, we’ll see that Harris is indeed correct. How many of us have heard our favorite song over and over again and not even memorized all of the words? Indeed, many times there are lyric lines that we can’t even understand, so we’ll just make up our own words to sing along to. As rock music is a product of the material world, the actual items of importance, the meaning of the song and the message the singer is trying to convey, are given lower priority in favor of the sound vibrations of the instruments and vocal melodies.

However, in spiritual life – the original image from which our current life is reflected – just the opposite is true. You can take the sacred formula, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and put it to pretty much any melody and get a wonderful song. This has proven successful in practice, as the maha-mantra, the most effective means of salvation for the people of the current age of Kali, has been recorded in countless rhythms ever since it was made popular the world over by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his followers and their admirers. Not only is the maha-mantra regularly sung today, but so are other famous bhajans, or devotional songs. As these musical compositions contain the holy name of the Lord and are presented in a mood of love and devotion, the sound vibrations that are produced are completely spiritual. Through connection with God, the inverted reflection turns into the real thing, a tangible representation of the Supreme Lord within the material world.

All the famous texts of the Vedas, including the Mahabharata, Shrimad Bhagavatam and Ramayana, can be sung congregationally or put into musical compositions. Maharishi Valmiki, the poet who composed the Ramayana [which describes the glorious activities of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Godhead], actually taught Rama’s two sons, Lava and Kusha, how to properly sing the entire poem in a public setting accompanied by music. With spiritual songs, the words are given priority over the melody; therefore there is tremendous benefit received by both the performer and the audience. Even if just the melody of a particular spiritual composition is remembered, a benefit is still there, as the sounds of pure spirit continue to play within the mind.

The aim of human life is to attain yoga, or complete connection with the Divine consciousness. As songs have the ability to be easily retained within one’s mind, there is no better way to remain in yoga than to regularly hear bhajans and glorification of the Supreme Lord, that one entity who many governments around the world claim to trust. If we trust in God, we might as well think about Him. If we are to think about Him, we might as well understand what He looks like, what His attributes are, what pastimes He engages in, and most importantly, how to address Him. God is too generic a term to bring any bliss to the distant observer trapped in a perverted reflection of a land.

As Lord Krishna, God is always full of bliss, or ananda, so that same pure feeling of happiness can be instilled in the devotees when they invoke wonderful names such as Rama, Govinda, Shyamasundara, Keshava, and of course, Krishna to address their supreme object of worship. Through the wonders of music containing the beautiful words describing Krishna, His names and His activities, the mind can be transported directly to the spiritual land, a place where what you see is what you get. God is the Supreme Absolute Truth, so anyone who sees Him regularly will never be a victim to a deceiving image. As the holy name is the link to the spiritual world, the more we can remember it, honor it, and produce it within our minds, the more opportunities we will get to see the Truth. The lyrics of any song containing Krishna’s names presented in a devotional attitude will sweep us back to the spiritual sky, a place wherefrom we never have to return.

Staring at the Sun

“By chanting and hearing of Krishna we can actually associate with Him, for He is absolute and nondifferent from His names, qualities, forms and pastimes. As we associate with Krishna, He helps us to understand Him and dispels the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Raja-vidya, Ch 7)

“Can you show me God? Have you seen Him?” These are certainly legitimate questions to pose to transcendentalists and others who claim to be somewhat advanced in knowledge. But at the same time, the questions are somewhat incomplete, as the highest spiritual practice is not to simply rest the eyes on the beautiful form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The true magnificence, grandeur, beauty and awe-inspiring nature of such a form can never be truly understood by anyone, let alone the Lord Himself, as He even once descended to earth in the form of a preacher named Krishna Chaitanya to test His hand at devotional service and see what all the fuss was about. Despite man’s limited ability in understanding the Supreme Lord, all hope is not lost, as the greatest transcendental taste is provided from hearing descriptions of God, His names, pastimes and attributes. For those on the topmost platform of transcendental consciousness, this hearing is just as good as seeing, as under the pure mindset thoughts never deviate from that one entity who is capable of providing more pleasure than anyone else.

Why is there even a need to see God? Obviously, the things we are currently accustomed to observing must not be cutting it. If we see God, then maybe we can truly believe in His existence. If we see the Lord, we can ask Him why He hides Himself from everyone and why we are forced to suffer so much. But seeing alone doesn’t always bring about the best understanding. We can take the sun as an example to see why this is the case. The brilliant disc in the sky provides heat and light constantly to innumerable living entities spread across thousands of miles. Now just imagine if we undertook the nearly impossible task of trying to understand the sun by simply looking at it. For starters, depending on the time we decided to make our observations, the sun would strike back with its glaring effulgence, a splendor so powerful that it would bring pain and discomfort to the eyes. Indeed, staring at the sun for too long can hamper vision for the rest of the day, as the glow from the light leaves an extended imprint on the eyes.

Even if we looked at the sun at a time when it was less intense in its contact on the specific portion of the earth that we were standing on, such as during sunrise and sunset, the actual amazing nature and characteristics of the sustainer of life in the sky could never be understood. From a distance one man may speculate as to what the sun is like, while another will posit his own theory. In this respect, seeing is not believing in the true potency and benevolent nature of the sun. Yet if we took a different approach, where we observed the world around us, we could gain a more thorough understanding. For instance, we know that when the sun rises in the morning, the result is that there is light all around us. Conversely, when the sun sets at night, everything turns pitch black. The artificial light that man has created is fully humbled by the abundance of natural light provided by the sun. Therefore we can conclude that one of the properties of the sun is that it has tremendous light.

From our observations, we also deduce that when the sun is seen in the sky, the temperature outside gets a little warmer. When there is no sunlight, there is also a better chance of it raining, with clouds filling up the sky. From the presence of clouds we can reach another astute conclusion: the sun actually never disappears; it only gets covered up by other elements. Advancing further, we can understand that the sun actually doesn’t rise or set; the earth just rotates out of its direct view. Through these other symptoms, which have no relation to staring directly at the sun, we can understand so many things about the sun’s properties.

In our endeavor to fully understand the Supreme Lord, we can similarly apply tests of the functions of nature around us and gather information about the differences between spirit and matter and the workings of life. The functions of the sun represent only one tiny portion of the scheduled tasks and random movements of Mother Nature and the innumerable living entities that populate her land. Even if we somehow or other gained an understanding of the outer workings of nature, there are still the mysterious functions performed within each body type. The heart of the human being continues to beat throughout the day, even while we are sleeping. Breathing also takes place involuntarily. Miraculously, through eating food and drinking water we are able to stay alive.

All of these perceptible functions actually give us an understanding about God, for we see that nothing in this world can exist without a creating source. Since even the human being comes from a previous fusion of life forms, the mother and father, there must be an original creator. From accumulating so many conclusions, we gain some understanding of the properties of spirit and the nature of Supreme Spirit. Thus far we have not directly looked at God or seen Him, but our knowledge and appreciation of His potencies have increased.

The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, reveal that the hidden truths of life were originally imparted to the first created living entity, who subsequently passed down the same information to his worthy descendants and disciples. As such, even the first created living entity had a father, who is the person we all know as God. Interestingly enough, Lord Brahma, who took birth from the stem emanating from the lotus-like navel of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord, didn’t take in Vedic wisdom by staring at Vishnu’s glorious and opulently adorned body. Instead, all the knowledge Brahma acquired came from within the heart, where the transcendental wisdom was kindly placed by Vishnu. Therefore, since the beginning of time, the secret to gaining knowledge of the Absolute has been the hearing process, understanding information from external sources through hearing and then resting that knowledge comfortably within the heart, where the essence of life, the spirit soul, is located.

Though we may be tempted to think that the Vedic version of creation is simply a fairy tale crafted as part of a mythological tradition, we can understand the importance of the hearing process from other areas of life as well. Say that we have a picture of one of our elderly relatives, like a great-grandfather, lying around the house. We can maybe venture a few guesses as to his demeanor by studying the photograph, but to gain a true understanding of his life and precepts, we have to ask relatives, people who either knew him personally or heard information about him from others. In the same way, to understand God properly, simply observing a few pictures and scouring nature for the Absolute Truth will not do. The descending process of information transfer starting from Vishnu Himself must be tapped into. Luckily for us, the Vedic seers are more than happy to share their supreme information with us, provided we are eager to listen and not tainted by motives of competition and jealousy.

“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.1)

Could anyone be jealous of God? Surely they can, as this envy is precisely the cause of the existence of the phenomenal world. When first hearing such a statement, we’ll want to challenge it or take it to be some sort of dogmatic insistence aimed at converting others to follow the Vedic tradition. But from observation of outward symptoms this claim is completely validated. How much time is spent glorifying God on a regular basis? How much time is dedicated to describing His activities, forms, names and pastimes? Indeed, there is great attention given to names and activities, but of ordinary human beings. There is much worship and adulation, but of celebrities, rock stars, movie stars and famous athletes. The penchant for service naturally exists in every single individual. Even the lonely man who has no wife or children will purchase a cat or a dog to have an outlet for their love.

When there is all of this affection being regularly distributed, why the lack of attention shown to God? Since He is the creator, it is naturally understood that the Supreme Lord is the wisest, most renounced, most famous, most beautiful, most wealthy and the strongest. Since He possesses these attributes simultaneously and to the fullest extent, He is known as Bhagavan. Who wouldn’t be jealous of Bhagavan? After all, He enjoys more than anyone else and He is never put into any trouble. Only when the attitude to challenge Bhagavan ceases can any real progress in consciousness be made. The human being has already shown the desire to love, so when the beneficiary of such effort is pure and above all darkness, not only is the intended object of worship pleased, but so is the person offering the service.

The phenomenal world continues to exist for as long as the aversion to divine love, which is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, continues. As long as nature around us is only studied for the purposes of increasing mundane knowledge or enhancing sense gratification, there will be no end in sight to the miseries brought on by material contact. Even death is not the end, as in the next life the soul is simply placed into a new body whose type is commensurate with the desires and work performed in the just completed life. Lest we think reincarnation is a dogmatic belief of those descending from the Indian subcontinent, we can understand the eternality of spirit by simply observing the way life continues to exist before and after the appearances of various living entities. Based on the knowledge given to us by our parents and the recorded history of the world, we know that life on earth functioned just fine before we were born. We also know that life will continue after our passing because others around us have passed away and our lives didn’t end. Therefore the eternal nature of spirit is confirmed by basic outward perception. Just as life as a whole continues before and after death for other entities, it will continue perpetually for us as well.

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.5)

In the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord, in His original form of Shri Krishna, kindly explains the truths of life, the eternal nature of the soul, and what it takes to see and understand Him. The simplest formula for achieving liberation from ignorance and misery is provided: think of the Lord at the time of death. If we want to be Krishna conscious by the time we quit our body, shouldn’t we know what the Lord looks like? Also, if it has already been established that simply seeing God isn’t that big a deal, how will our consciousness ever be altered? This is where the hearing process comes to the rescue once again. Just as hearing a pleasurable song can immediately transport us back in time to when we first heard and enjoyed that song, hearing discourses about Krishna, or Krishna-katha, can immediately transfer us back to the spiritual world. The worshiped deity representations and pictures of the Lord are crafted off of specific information contained within sacred texts like the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Shrimad Bhagavatam describing the transcendental features belonging to the forms of the Supreme Lord’s ever existing original body and those of His numerous incarnations.

Seeing the deity form in the temple is seeing God. In the ignorant state, we have no idea how this bucking of the laws of nature through spiritual infusion can occur, but a trained eye can see the influence of Krishna not only in the deity but in every aspect of the creation as well. Staring at the sun puts a powerful glare in our eyes, but through this process we at least know that the sun is there. But a young child doesn’t even know what the sun is until they are told about it. Similarly, the deity looks just like a stone or wood statute to those who aren’t familiar with the Vedic traditions and the importance of altering consciousness. Indeed, if words can bring joy to the mind and songs pleasure to the ears, why can’t the divine vision of the deity bring a permanent shift to a transcendental consciousness, one which is always thinking about God in a loving way?

Superior to trying to understand God by observing the workings of the multitudes of spiritual entities, who are technically known as Brahman, and better than simply staring at the deity is hearing about the Lord and His pastimes. And while the descriptions of the forms, pastimes and attributes can certainly bring about a clearer picture of the Lord within the mind, more potent than any other aspect of the Supreme Spirit is His name. Therefore the foremost recommendation for aspiring transcendentalists of this age is to simply chant the holy names of Bhagavan, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The glories of the holy name know no bounds, as these sound vibrations are non-different representations of the person they address. Krishna is God’s name that describes His all-attractive nature. Rama refers to His ability to infuse transcendental pleasure into anyone who is willing to accept it. Hare refers to His perfected energy manifestation, that beautiful entity who always engages in Krishna consciousness without any deviation.

Calling out the names of God is the most wonderful activity because it serves as an alert, a signal to the higher authorities that someone is interested in learning more about Krishna. Pretty soon thereafter, information about Krishna’s beautiful childhood form that roamed the earth five thousand years ago in Vrindavana is understood. Though the sun beams a tremendous effulgence, there is still a physical object behind all the glare. In a similar manner, the splendor of the universe is simply the effulgence beaming off of the original transcendental body of the Supreme Lord. Only by penetrating this covering can a glimpse of true spiritual understanding be attained. The most purified souls, however, are so kind and sweet that Krishna goes out of His way to provide them the topmost transcendental pleasure. Therefore He sometimes makes a divine appearance on earth in forms that look awfully similar to ordinary human beings. Due to the tremendous capabilities and beauty of these forms, the wise are able to decipher the actor from the role.

Though devotees have their specific favorite forms and incarnations, it’s hard to argue against exclusively worshiping the sweet and beautiful childhood form of Krishna that enchanted all the residents of Vrindavana. He wore a peacock feather in His hair, the Kaustubha gem around His chest, and held a lotus flower in one hand and His wonderful flute in the other. All the while Krishna kept smiling, defeating the pride of many thousands of cupids. Devotees never got tired of seeing this wonderful form, and even when Krishna would go out to play during the day, they would maintain the mental image of His face by singing His glories and describing His playful sports such as stealing butter from the neighbors, playing with the cows, and mesmerizing the residents with His flute playing. Indeed, never has this world or any other realm heard a sound as sweet as the audible nectar produced by the flute of Muralidhara, Lord Krishna.

“While churning, she [Mother Yashoda] remembered the childish activities of Krishna, and in her own way she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.9.2)

The descriptions of Krishna’s pastimes and attributes discussed by sages, put into poetry form and sung by devotees like Mother Yashoda in Vrindavana, and documented in the Shrimad Bhagavatam represent only a small glimpse of the endless rays of spiritual sunshine available to those who humbly and kindly approach one who follows the Vedic tradition of bhakti. Hearing about Krishna is always superior to any other activity, as through understanding His transcendental nature, the divine vision remains forever lit within the mind. Through this method we can see God at all times of the day, whether we are in trouble or in the happiest of moods. Staring at the sun for too long will hurt our eyes, but hearing about Krishna will only bring us pleasure, as the mind’s eye can forever remain locked in on the transcendental form of Shyamasundara, the beautiful darling of Vrindavana who has the hue of a dark blue raincloud.

Markup Language

“Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also confirmed that in this age of Kali, Krishna has descended in the form of sound vibration. Sound is one of the forms which the Lord takes. Therefore it is stated that there is no difference between Krishna and His name.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Elevation to Krishna Consciousness, Ch 6)

The tradition of the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, reveals that sound is the key to attaining freedom, the gateway to eternal life, wherein the soul perpetually retains a special body type that is immune to loss, heartache, pain, misery and an ultimate dissolution. The individual spiritual spark, the essence of life, is eternal, but its present form of body is not; such is the nature of matter. The separated energy of the Supreme Absolute Truth, material nature, which also goes by the name of maya, or that which is not Brahman or pure spirit, brings about illusion, attachment and wanderings in search of an Absolute Truth, an entity of bliss and happiness that does not have any defects. Irrespective of any accompanying processes adopted, hearing the sound of the Absolute Truth, in any form, whether outwardly through a song or inwardly within the mind, serves as the most potent method of self-realization.

Even in areas not seemingly related to spiritual life and religion, the production of sound remains the superior method of information transfer. A great example is seen with the markup language used to render a web page. With the advent of the internet, information can now be passed to millions of people spread across thousands of miles within an instant. Though the underlying technology has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception, at the core of any web page is still the HTML code, or hypertext markup language. In normal circumstances, if you have messages or ideas that you want to communicate to many people where speaking is not an option, you put the words of your message down on paper or you have them typed or printed. With the internet, the same information can still be typed out, but the presentation can be enhanced through formatting using HTML code.

HTML is probably the simplest of all the programming languages to learn, as it is not tied down to specific rules. For programs written in other languages, if errors are made or if certain rules are violated, the program execution will halt; thus requiring a fix by the programmer. HTML is more liberal in this sense, as errors in coding can still result in some type of output displayed to the page viewer. At the same time, an error becomes more difficult to diagnose, as the presentation can vary drastically if the rules of the language are violated. The central programming unit of HTML is the tag. Tags are considered markup language because they don’t appear in the visual output. Say for example that we want to insert a paragraph into our output page. Normally we would just type the words that we would need and save them in a file. But internet browsers must know to treat this paragraph differently than other text, i.e. they must separate the text and indent it properly. By enclosing the relevant text within paragraph tags, “<p>…</p>”, the rendering agent can properly identify the input and thus know how to format the output. The actual text of the tags doesn’t appear in the final display to the end-user.

Similarly, if we want a specific word to have a different color or appearance, the font tag can be used, “<font></font>.” Again, since the tag is markup language, its text will not appear in the output. The markup is simply a signal to the program to render text in a specific way. This simple, yet powerful tool of programming actually provides insight into how words themselves operate. The written word is no different than the spoken word, as the key aspect of the communication remains the sound vibration. When we hear information from others, the specific sounds represent people, places, emotions, things and actions. The written word is just the visual representation of the same sound vibrations. Therefore we can think of alphabet characters as their own form of markup language, as their visual representations have no bearing on the information that is presented. When we see a specific word typed out or written, the brain performs processing similar to that of a web browser. The written word is a markup signaling what type of sound vibration should be produced within the mind. In this way we see that sound vibrations remain at the forefront of all communication transfer.

Not surprisingly, this key component of information exchange is well accounted for in the Vedas. In fact, all important Vedic information is passed down through sound vibrations, which make up various hymns, poems and songs. Even the most celebrated and widely read Vedic texts, such as the Bhagavad-gita, Ramayana and Upanishads, are all written in poetry style format, allowing them to be sung out loud. Since sound forms the functional unit of information transfer, it represents our ticket to real freedom. The name of the Supreme Absolute Truth, which is nothing more than the sound vibration representation of God, immediately evokes memories of His forms, attributes and pastimes. The name even awakens consciousness of the Lord’s other names; thereby creating a recursive element to transcendental sound. When one’s consciousness is always fixed on these four aspects of the Divine, who as an eternal object is always worthy of worship, association with maya, or that which is not personally God, ceases. When the pure consciousness remains active up until the time of death, liberation from the cycle of birth and death is achieved.

“Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

In addition to the debates relating to whose religion is legitimate and whose isn’t, there is always competition amongst advocates of the different processes for salvation. One person says it is best to simply sit quietly all day and avoid the damaging attachments that come from worldly life. Another person says that performing mystic yoga, wherein the effects of the senses are mitigated through gymnastics postures and breathing exercises, is the way to go. And still another group is wholly dedicated to the ritualistic sacrifice, wherein worshipers attend massive gatherings on a periodic basis, either weekly or daily, and perform their worship in the company of friends and family.

Yet just as the sound vibration produced from markup language is the key component of information transfer, it also serves as the most powerful, fastest and stable link to the spiritual world. Consciousness is driven by the mind, which is capable of thinking at speeds faster than anything seen in the outer world. With the speed of the mind, one can travel thousands of miles in distance and hundreds of years into the past. In a similar manner, when the mind produces the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth, it can travel immediately to the spiritual world, the land where time and space have no influence. As is so nicely pointed out by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the Bhagavad-gita, the spiritual sky is forever illuminated and doesn’t require any outside source of energy.

“That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 15.6)

Due to the superior nature of the eternal realm, whoever can go there, either in mind or in body, will be forever benefitted. Gymnastics, meditation, breathing exercises and ritualistic worship can certainly help one break free of their bad habits developed over the course of many lifetimes in the temporary realm, but only through the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth can the mind permanently remain connected to the supreme object of pleasure who, as the all-pervading witness, resides not only within the spiritual world, but inside the hearts of every living entity as well.

So which sound vibration should we produce? Does God have a name? How could He be limited in that way? The Vedas describe the Supreme Absolute Truth as having limitless attributes and features. He has no hands, legs, or arms, but He can run faster than anyone else and He can eat anything that is offered to Him. He has no eyes, but He can see all that is going on. His spiritual body parts are indescribable, and it is impossible for one to even begin to understand what Absolute power and strength are like. As such, the Vedas often describe the Absolute Truth as neti neti, “not this, not that.”

Faced with the neti neti problem, do the great Vedic seers, the saints who have understood the Truth by having an always active connection to the eternal realm, throw up their hands and spend their time doing nothing? Actually, the neti neti issue brings even greater impetus for serving. Though the Supreme Absolute Truth is considered indescribable, the Vedas and their followers try their best to identify some of His key attributes, features that, when understood, or at least acknowledged, can bring great pleasure to the wayward souls deluded by the pursuit of material perfection. Names like Rama, Narasimha, Achyuta, Keshava and Govinda accurately describe God’s different forms and features. Yet of all the names, Krishna is considered superior because it speaks to God’s all-attractive nature in His original form. Every person in this world is seeking some sort of pleasure. Wouldn’t it make sense then that the most powerful and original entity would be capable of attracting everyone? Indeed, even Krishna’s impersonal features, such as the brilliant light of Brahman and His separated energy of maya, are attractive to the individual sparks that emanate from Him. Thus it totally makes sense that Krishna’s personal feature would be all the more attractive.

The markup language of, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, produces the most potent, sublime and enduring sound within the mind. Simply reading this sequence of words, which is known as the maha-mantra, can bring tremendous spiritual merits, or sukriti. The benefits are further enhanced upon constant and repetitious production of this most wonderful sound. When the tongue takes charge of producing the names of Krishna and Rama, the glories are spread to all those within audible range. The sound vibrations produced within the mind through reading the output of HTML can increase our knowledgebase of current events, politics, science and so many other things. But only the sound vibration of the Absolute Truth can put us in touch with our spiritual counterpart, that one entity who is wholly capable of accepting the service we are itching to provide. In any other area of endeavor, both the ability to provide service and the happiness that results are limited by time and the defects found in the performer and the beneficiary. Romantic love seems like it will last forever, but arguments often ensue even after years of being together. Service to our children eventually stops when the kids turn into adults. Service to our senses turns out to be the least rewarding, as eventually objects of enjoyment cease to bring pleasure.

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

Krishna is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure and our original object of worship, but since He is God, He is considered above the need for adoration and fame. How do we worship someone who is considered atmarama, or self-satisfied? Again, we can look to the Bhagavad-gita for the answer. Shri Krishna says that if anyone offers Him a leaf, flower, fruit or water with love and devotion, He gladly accepts it. Though He is in need of nothing, the Lord kindly accepts whatever we want to give Him. Even if we are not capable of offering Him anything tangible, simply reciting His name in a loving way is enough to catch His attention. The sound vibration of Hare Krishna ignites a shift in consciousness, leading to a mindset where all thoughts remain focused on pleasing Krishna and swimming in the ocean of nectar consisting of His transcendental forms and pastimes.

Since sound vibration is at the heart of information transfer, finding the superior sound to produce will naturally lead to the best result. Nothing can bring greater pleasure to the ears than the sounds representing Absolute Truth, bliss, knowledge, eternality and divine love. The teachings and methods prescribed by the Vedas, which are also known as the shrutis, or “that which is heard”, never become outdated. The supremacy of the hearing process stands the test of time. Irrespective of technological advancements, sound remains the key ingredient in knowledge acquisition. Just as markup language can be used to properly transfer important information to large masses of people from all walks of life, the written words of Vedic instruction and mantras aimed at glorifying and pleasing the Supreme Lord can help spread the message of eternal peace, love and devotion to everyone.

Get Up

“As expressed in a song by Thakura Bhaktivinoda, Lord Chaitanya says, jiva jaga, jiva jaga. The Lord asks every sleeping living entity to get up and engage in devotional service so that his mission in this human form of life may be fulfilled. This awakening voice comes through the mouth of a pure devotee.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.20.25 Purport)

If the recipient of knowledge is actively engaged throughout the learning process, the teaching techniques will be all the more effective and the information being transmitted will be assimilated much more quickly. For the disengaged student, a steady inflow of instruction will lose its power to effect change after a short period of time, as a wall will be erected around the mind that causes new information to simply bounce off without being absorbed. An effective teacher is one who can elicit responses from their students throughout the teaching process, thus allowing the student to feel that they are alive and making real progress. Not only does knowledge best transmit through these techniques, but so do natural emotions of love and attachment. Simply sitting idly by and observing can certainly evoke the natural loving spirit, but the emotion is enhanced further by an active engagement, where explicit tasks are performed for the pleasure of the loveable object. Such intricacies were not lost to one of the greatest spiritual preachers this world has ever seen. Knowing full well the human psyche and the tendencies of loving emotions, His method of teaching the highest truths of the Vedas, whose most potent message says that Divine Love is the superior engagement for all forms of life, was tailored to appeal to every single person, across every single land.

As is quite obvious to the sober individual, people are born with specific characteristics, tendencies and appearances which aren’t uniform from person to person. Since every person is born with different natures, they will take to learning in different ways. Therefore students in a classroom will behave according to their nature, with some being eager to learn and some not paying any attention at all. This latter group is noteworthy, because even though a student is sitting in a classroom and taking instruction from a bona fide teacher, if their heart and mind aren’t into the subject matter, they won’t learn anything. The ants and the flies are also in the classroom, but since they lack the potential for intelligence and the sense awareness to pay attention to what is being spoken, they do not benefit in any way from the kind instructions of the teacher. When the human being, through distractions of the mind or through simple apathy, ignores what they are hearing in a classroom dedicated to teaching an important subject, there is no benefit received.

The good teachers are fully aware of these tendencies, so they will try their best to keep their students awake, giving them opportunities to participate and show what they have learned. The unruly students, those who are comfortable in their inactive position, may not take too well to this teaching method, but despite their grumblings, they end up better off for having participated. The hearing process is supremely effective in knowledge transmittal because it elicits argument and analysis of philosophy within the mind of the recipient. A challenge to the thought processes of the brain immediately will trigger counterarguments and deep thought, causing the listener to think wisely before retorting. The more one argues in this way, the more sound their base of reasoning becomes, and thus the higher their level of intelligence reaches.

The benefits of active participation are not limited to the arena of instruction. Having a steady stream of purposeful activity also helps to keep an emotional attachment to one’s loveable object. For instance, parents love their children, but if the kids weren’t in need of help, the strength of that love would be diminished. The natural loving spirit is there, but if not acted upon, other forces, which are brought on by the demands of the senses, can take precedence. Therefore it is seen that infancy is the time in the child’s life where it receives the most love from others. Parents huddle around the child, make funny faces at it, speak in broken words, and always love to pick up the child and carry it around. Even changing dirty diapers isn’t frowned upon because it brings another opportunity for the natural loving spirit to be shown. When the child grows up, the loving propensity in the caretakers is still there, but it is not allowed to be acted upon in the same way. The point of becoming an adult is to mature into a self-sufficient individual capable of taking care of one’s needs. Therefore, by definition, when the child gets older the opportunities for service diminish for the parents and elderly relatives. When the opportunities for service are there, the potential of the loving emotion is fully realized.

Not only is the hearing process effective when instruction is passed on in a classroom or through a lecture, but it also proves a formidable force when the same information is presented through a song. Hence some of the most popular celebrities are song writers, singers and rock bands. If we simply hear a song on the radio, it can remain stuck in our heads for the next few days, with the words constantly repeating. Instead of waiting to turn on the radio to hear the station playing your song, you can just have it playing within your mind all the time. The catchy song, one full of hooks and other techniques aimed at grabbing the attention of the listener, creates a strong bond between the fan of the music and the artist who composed and performed it.

The loving experience between the fan and the artist is enhanced during the rock concert or live performance. There is really no reason to attend a live concert other than to increase the enjoyment felt from association with the music. After all, the band will be playing the same songs that are recorded on their albums. Indeed, the album versions of the songs are arguably the best sounding ones, as great care was taken to ensure the accuracy of the performance and the acoustics of the various instruments. The studio engineer can also perform many tricks, such as multi-tracking and fading, that can’t be duplicated during a live performance.

Fans will flock to see their favorite bands play around the world because the live experience brings an exchange of emotion, one party offering their love and another party accepting it. Simply by stepping out on stage and playing the songs from their albums, the rock band can enjoy tremendous adulation and favor from the members of the audience. The crowd members paid a good deal of money to sit in the seats and listen to the band play after all, so the band really isn’t obligated to do much beyond just playing the songs correctly. The fans already like the songs, so what need is there to expend any extra effort?

Yet the intelligent artists, those who are keenly aware of what it takes to keep the flame of love alive within the body, will carefully craft their show to include sections of crowd participation, wherein a oneness is created between the band members and the audience. The singular powerful entity is created from the relationship that results, not from an equality in abilities or actions. The band will always be the band, so they will not allow crowd members to all of a sudden take to playing all the songs. Rather, there is an intimate bond shared when the fans are allowed to feel like they are part of the show and contributing to the uniqueness of the atmosphere.

To the band member on stage, nothing causes more exhilaration and thrill than to see the audience members singing along to the songs. As such, the wise performing artists will purposefully create breaks in songs, allowing the crowd to further act upon their singing desires. For instance, the famous rock band Def Leppard during the early 1980s would create a long break in their songs Another Hit and Run and Rock of Ages, wherein the tempo would be slowed down and the sound of the guitars subdued. The whole point was to have the singer talk to the crowd and get them to scream as loud as they could at various intervals. The singer would lead the charge and the audience members would respond. After a few minutes of this call-and-response exchange, the rest of the song would continue. Indeed, many other rock bands employ similar techniques to allow the crowd to sing along and feel part of the show. The songs that are most conducive to this type of interaction are staples in the live performances, as Metallica’s famous anthem Seek and Destroy now concludes every show, for the crowd participation is at its peak during this song.

“Intelligent persons factually take a dip in the ocean of Your nectarean activities and very patiently hear of them. Thus they immediately become freed from the contamination of the material qualities; they do not have to undergo severe penances and austerities for advancement of spiritual life.” (Prayers of the personified Vedas, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 32)

The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, very accurately note that the most effective way to take in information is through hearing. As such, the Vedic scriptures, works which contain the highest truths, are presented in poetry form. The fact that the Vedas can be sung makes them all the more astounding considering the deep import and knowledge that is contained within. The Bhagavad-gita, which is arguably the most famous religious work in the world, is known as the “Song of God”, as it was sung on the battlefield of Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to His dear cousin and disciple Arjuna.

Simply singing the Vedas is enough to make a dent with the listening public, those who may or may not realize that their highest dharma, or occupational duty, is to take to devotional service to God, wherein the natural loving spirit meets the one object capable of accepting and reciprocating an endless amount of affection. Only in the divine engagement of bhakti-yoga can each day bring new and fresh opportunities for service that keep the fire of devotion ever lit within the devoted individual. But there is a difficulty in understanding the Vedas for the people of this age because of the issue of language. What to speak of for ordinary men, the Vedic hymns and writings, which are composed mostly in the Sanskrit language, are difficult to comprehend for even those familiar with the languages used, as Sanskrit is known as the language of the gods, meaning it is meant for the highest class of individuals.

Not to worry, though, as the Vaishnava saints appearing in the Kali Yuga come to rescue the fallen conditioned souls at all costs, without worrying about the limits imposed by language, time or circumstance. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the greatest exponent of bhakti, put forth a flawless technique aimed at teaching the masses about love of the Supreme Godhead. It should be noted that knowledge, eternality and bliss reside permanently within the soul; these qualities don’t need to be taught, imbibed or forced. In the conditioned state, the internal torchlight of knowledge gets covered up by the nescience of the material world. By taking to activities which are seemingly knowledge-acquiring, one’s supreme intelligence is allowed to come free. Hence taking instruction from teachers is really more about reawakening knowledge than it is about learning new concepts.

Just as knowledge perpetually exists with the soul, so does love for God. The key to eliciting loving responses from the general public is to find a way to arouse the natural endearment that is harbored for the Supreme Spirit, who is addressed by different names in different times but still remains a singular entity. In the Vedic tradition, the Supreme Lord is known as Krishna, a word which speaks to God’s all-attractive nature. Since every soul is a lover of God, it would make sense to describe the Lord as being supremely attractive. Not only is Krishna beautiful, but so are the words that describe Him and the songs that detail His exploits and His wonderful characteristics.

Lord Chaitanya, Krishna Himself appearing on earth in the guise of a brahmana around five hundred years ago, introduced the sankirtana-yajna, or the sacrifice of chanting the holy names of God in a congregational manner, as the most potent and universal method of self-realization for the people of the Kali Yuga, the age we currently live in. Simply singing the verses of the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic texts is certainly enough to deliver the mind to some extent, as the powerful sound vibrations heard from pure devotees enter the ear and immediately start to attack the wall of nescience brought on by material contact. But from the example of the student in the classroom, we saw that if information stops making sense and that if there is no active response from the mind, no amount of hearing will make any dent with the listener. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, always concerned about the well-being of His students, which consist of every man, woman and child past, present and future, introduced a process which keeps the audience member, the potential student and future lover of Krishna, always actively engaged, feeling alive throughout the process.

The bhajan, or devotional song, is the next step up from the direct singing of the Vedas. The bhajan is often composed in a dialect native to the people of a particular area, thus allowing the truths of the Vedas to be presented in a more appealing form, one that is easily understandable. Since the bhajan is nicely sung, it exudes the symptoms of pure love found in the singer and the author of the songs. Though the bhajan is a step up from simple hearing of truths and lectures expounding on the greatness of Krishna, sankirtana, the method enthusiastically recommended by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is even more effective.

Just as the rock band creates breaks in their live performance to allow for audience participation, the leader of the sankirtana party sings songs in such a way that the listeners are not only allowed to sing along, but they are wholly encouraged to participate as much as possible. To increase the effectiveness of sankirtana, the leader needs a song, or a tag line, that can be easily understood by the listener which, at the same time, accurately conveys the qualities of the Lord and the benefits of devotional service to Him. There is no more superior aspect to Krishna than His names. The name automatically evokes thoughts and memories of His pastimes, qualities and attributes. All other direct aspects of God are surely spiritual, but they do not carry the same potency as the name. The song sung by the sankirtana party leader must include these names in order to effectively evoke Krishna consciousness, or remembrance of God, within the listener.

As instituted by Lord Chaitanya, the most potent tag line, the most powerful and effective song for any sankirtana leader, is the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. By singing this song out loud in a call-and-response format, the audience members are allowed to sing along as loudly as they can. Moreover, there is no explicit break to the singing, as the song doesn’t include any other tag line, beginning, end, bridge, guitar solo, etc. Though one would think such a style of music would become monotonous, the sankirtana party leaders and their audience members that dance and sing in ecstasy remain in a high fever of transcendental love for a very long time. No other exchange of song or music style bears such properties. Lord Chaitanya, as the inaugurator of the sankirtana movement, kindly beseeches everyone to get up, leave their seats and move their feet at the sound of the message of transcendental love, universal brotherhood and full dedication to God espoused in the short, simple, but supremely effective phrase of the maha-mantra. Joining Lord Chaitanya in this never-ending song, our hearts and minds can merge into the ocean of transcendental bliss, where there is never any disconnect from the Supreme Lover, Shri Krishna.

The Best Around

“When the gopis saw little Krishna fearlessly playing on Putana’s lap, they very quickly came and picked Him up. Mother Yashoda, Rohini, and other elderly gopis immediately performed the auspicious rituals by taking the tail of a cow and circumambulating His body.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 6)

An interesting behavior characteristic of the most exalted associates of the Supreme Being, the true saints of the world, is that they don’t seek any honor for themselves. Rather, they take the greatest pleasure in seeing and hearing about the triumphs and victories of their loveable objects, be it fellow devotees or the Supreme Source of Pleasure in the spiritual sky, Shri Krishna. The undying divine lovers never try to usurp the position of the superior entity; instead they derive the greatest pleasure simply by knowing that He is great. If they make any effort at all towards the attainment of a specific goal, it is to further increase the glory of the One who has already achieved every success, won every battle, and owned everything that can be acquired. From the sterling behavior of the saintly class, the secret to achieving a peaceful and blissful state of mind is revealed.

Upon assuming a dress composed of the various elements of nature, the resulting living being, known as a jiva in Sanskrit, takes to activities which have commensurate positive and negative results. Activities falling under this scope are known as karma, and usually just the possible favorable outcomes are pondered over. Surely there are negative side effects, or pollution, to any fruitive activity, but the unpalatable conditions are discarded or at least minimized in the hopes of achieving that wished-for end. For example, driving an automobile involves a desired goal, that of reaching the intended destination. At the same time, there are negative aspects to operating a motor vehicle, such as air pollution, having to purchase gasoline, owning automobile insurance, and having to maintain the car so that it functions properly. To the objective observer, the negative aspects may even outweigh the positives, but to the pleasure-seeker, the unfavorable elements of driving are discarded, or at least not considered. The desired aim is deemed favorable enough to tolerate whatever unfavorable aspects come along.

Driving is just one small example, but depending on the individual and what stage of life they are in, the goals and objectives can be much larger. For instance, a startup business owner is looking to make it by expanding their production capabilities and hopefully attracting investors who will pour money into the operation. The goal is to one day have a company that produces profits at such a high rate that working is no longer required. Let’s say that such an ambitious individual succeeds in their venture. After years and years of hard work, the company expands to the point that the owner can retire and live happily at home. Now let’s say we have another person who didn’t start their own business, but worked at a simple job for just as long a period of time. Towards the end of the road, the retirement years, the quality of life for the common laborer may not be all that different. The retired successful business owner may reside in a palatial mansion, while the ordinary worker remains in a small apartment, but the absence of the requirement to work is present in both situations.

One can argue that the biggest difference would be in terms of the satisfaction of the mind. The successful business owner can look back on his working years fondly and take great pleasure in his triumphs. He started out with a dream, and through hard work, he achieved everything he wanted. The ordinary worker may not have had such obstacles to overcome, or even goals to shoot for, so he will have less triumphs to ponder over in the latter stages of life. Based on this comparison, we see that the only difference between the two retired workers is consciousness, the thought processes of the mind. As human beings inhabiting a vast land mass known as the earth, there is ample supply of food, clothing and shelter available. One certainly doesn’t need to successfully start and run a large business in order to meet the demands of the body. After all, even the animal species have all of their needs provided by nature. The tiger doesn’t even eat every day, yet it still gets enough food in the form of other animals periodically.

So the real effects of fruitive activity are seen in the formation of one’s thought processes. Yet even with a one hundred percent success rate in karmic engagements, we know that no one can be the most successful or the richest person in any venture. For example, one basketball star may hold many all-time records, but there will surely be other players who surpass them in specific categories of achievement. One man may have billions of dollars in the bank, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other wealthy men in the world. Fruitive activity, even when executed to completion of the desired goal, doesn’t necessarily do anything for one’s stature. Based on the impossibility of achieving pure supremacy in any meaningful venture, the bliss that is derived from personal accomplishments can be considered limited.

The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, accurately assert that there exists one entity who is the richest, most knowledgeable, strongest, most renounced, most beautiful and most famous. Not surprisingly, that person is God, whose original form is that of Lord Krishna. Though Krishna is generally associated with Hindus, He is God for everyone. One who is fortunate enough to realize that Krishna is indeed their God will slowly but surely reach a level of mental satisfaction far greater than that of any karmi, or one who takes to fruitive activity.

The key to ascending to the highest state of mental felicity is realizing and believing in the supremacy of God, something which is easier said than done. Cynicism towards the importance of statements describing the Supreme Lord’s superlative attributes is only natural. “Of course God is the greatest. That doesn’t surprise me. But how does that information help me? How does it improve my current circumstance?” As mentioned before, the most tangible effect of success in fruitive activity is a change in consciousness. Though so many polluting elements must be encountered during one’s rise to the top, the bounty received seems to make it all worth it. But what if we just pretended that we were successful without ever having taken any effort? After all, we see that the most important effect of success is the changing of one’s mindset, so why can’t we just pretend in our minds that we succeeded in whatever fruitive activity interests us?

Living vicariously through someone else involves fixing one’s thoughts and desires on another person’s struggles and plight through specific activities in life. Usually those who live vicariously attach themselves to someone who is pursuing grand success, an individual who has a chance at achieving big things. Sports fanaticism is built around this practice. When a particular sports figure or team wins the championship, fans rejoice, even though they don’t know the players personally. Yet through a link in consciousness, by focusing the mind on the plight of the players involved, the fans feel as if they are going through the trials and tribulations themselves. Thus when there is success for the players, the fans feel that they have succeeded as well.

It’s interesting to see that the bliss felt by the fans after a team’s victory often far exceeds the elation felt by the players themselves. This certainly makes sense, as our parents derive greater joy from our successes than we do. If we graduate high school or college, we may not think of it as a big deal, but our parents surely will. The commencement ceremonies are really for the benefit of the parents more than anyone else. Through the bond of love, which is tightly held by a link in consciousness, the loving party, the one that provides support to the worker in their task, feels tremendous satisfaction and bliss upon seeing the success of their loved one.

A similar practice is followed by devotees, those who have turned over their consciousness to the Supreme Lord and His exploits. Though God resides in the spiritual sky, He never remains alone. Indeed, He is a person, full of form and figure, but one who is far superior to anyone else. Since He is the owner of everything, all perceptible successes can be attributed to Him. Moreover, due to His causeless mercy, He kindly appears on this earth from time to time in various forms to enact pastimes. The names and features of these forms are described in sacred texts like the Ramayana and Shrimad Bhagavatam.

When the Lord takes part in pastimes, His most trusted aides, those devotees who consider God to be their closest family member, lend a helping hand. Yet these sublime servants never try to surpass the master. They derive the greatest pleasure from seeing God emerge victorious in whatever battle He is taking part in; hence there is no desire to imitate the Supreme Lord. Due to their dedicated service, the servants actually surpass the master in stature, as was the case with Shri Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Krishna who appeared on this earth many thousands of years ago. Rama was a famous bow warrior, and His greatest battle took place on the island of Lanka against a demon named Ravana. Rama, in the form of a human being, walked across a bridge made of stones to Lanka, while Hanuman had previously leapt his way across the same giant ocean. Goswami Tulsidas, a celebrated Vaishnava poet, accurately notes that Hanuman was given this perk because he served Rama so perfectly.

Hanuman, however, never derived pleasure from his own triumphs; his only business was to serve Rama. Indeed, after Rama successfully defeated Ravana and rescued His kidnapped wife, Sita Devi, Hanuman was granted the boon of remaining on the earth for as long as Rama’s story continued to be told and celebrated. Hanuman is much more powerful than any ordinary entity. Though assuming the form of a Vanara, or human-like monkey, he possesses every yogic siddhi, or mystic perfection. He can do whatever he pleases, be it defeat an enemy in battle or perform some heroic feat of strength. Yet his greatest pleasure comes from hearing about God’s glories found in the Ramayana. Hanuman essentially takes Rama’s triumphs to be his own. He views Rama as his God.

“O Lakshmana, do you rule this earth with Me. You are like My second self, so this glorious opportunity has been presented to you as well. O Saumitra, do you enjoy all the pleasures you desire and the fruits of the regal life. My life and this kingdom I covet for your sake alone.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kanda, 4.43-44)

Sita and Lakshmana, Rama’s younger brother, also take great pleasure in Rama’s victories. Rama on several occasions mentioned that all His activities were dedicated to Lakshmana, yet Lakshmana never tried to usurp Rama’s power or take away from any of His victories. Lakshmana had no need to strive for personal benefit or fame because his brother was already the most famous person in the world. If God is the most successful person, what need is there for us to tirelessly seek fame? By attaching ourselves to His lotus feet through a tight bond of love, we can bask in all His glory and fame. Since every living entity is His child, we can all look to the Lord as our God.

Sita Devi, as the devoted wife of Rama, shares in all His pious credits. For the Supreme Lord, there is no such thing as piety or sin, for He is the object of all religious practice. But in the material sense, a religiously wedded wife, one following dharma, is allowed to share in her husband’s spiritual merits. Transcending the influences of the visible world, Sita is always with Rama, for even in the spiritual sky the two are always together as Lakshmi-Narayana and Radha-Krishna. Sita can also be considered Rama’s finance manager, the person in charge of keeping stock of the Lord’s limitless wealth and fortunes. In her role as the goddess of fortune, Sita provides benedictions to those sincere souls who aim to please God. In fact, Hanuman’s needs on earth are taken care of directly by Sita. As such, Hanuman has no need to endeavor for material acquisitions, as he is given all he needs to perform his regular devotional duties, activities which include reading from the Ramayana and singing the most beautiful devotional songs in praise of Sita, Rama and Lakshmana.

Not only is Lord Rama ever triumphant, but so are all the other expansions of Godhead, including the original form of Krishna. If we are ever feeling down in the dumps or saddened over personal failures, we can always remember the victorious efforts of Krishna, such as the time He sucked the life out of the female demon Putana who had hopelessly come to kill the infant Krishna living in the peaceful and beautiful land of Vrindavana. Krishna’s victories are our triumphs after all, for the Lord resides within each of us as the Paramatma, the Supersoul. Unlike with ordinary individuals who can have their behavior altered for the worse by too much success, Krishna knows exactly how to handle His supreme stature. He is more than capable of dealing with the millions of adoring eyes and ears that remain focused on Him. Success in life can be found very quickly by always remaining with God in the same way that Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman do. They never try to surpass Rama in anything, but rather they take His successes and glories to be their greatest source of pleasure. Assuming a fixed position at the Lord’s side, we too can always bask in the glory of victory, the transcendental pleasure of knowing that the most sublime, kind, sweet and compassionate person in all the universes serves as its creator, maintainer, destroyer and pleasure-giver. Thankfully that person is Shri Krishna, and His love is available for everyone to keep and hold on to as their most valued possession.

Gateway to Freedom

“At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna, and the process of devotional service teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krsna, the Reservoir of Pleasure)

To be successfully convinced of a new way of thinking, a new philosophy on life, one’s current philosophy needs to be challenged. A successful challenge is mounted when the information presented sinks in with the target audience. Of all the methods of information transport, none is more potent and better at delivering results than hearing. More powerful than seeing or witnessing in person, hearing, when tied to the proper source and subject matter, directly attacks the thought processes of the listener. Through active listening, thought and argument are immediately provoked, forcing the recipient to take stock of their current worldview and philosophy on life. Once argument is provoked, the challenger either mounts a response or shows an eagerness to hear more of the counterargument. When faced with the most difficult task in life, that of finding our way out of the endless cycle of birth and death brought on by material contact, the solution is to take to the hearing process, lending our ears and thoughts to topics relating to that one person who can give us the pleasure we are so desperately looking for: Lord Krishna.

Freedom is described as a natural yearning, but why do we need it? Are we not already free in the world that we currently live in? In the arenas of politics and human affairs, the restrictions imposed on movement and choice are always at issue. By applying a little intelligence, one can realize that initially all forms of life were free. Even the animals were allowed to roam freely on the earth, choosing what to eat, where to live, and how to enjoy. If the animals are afforded this uninhibited motion, then surely the human beings must as well. The difference between a human being and an animal is that a person has a much larger capacity for intelligence. Potential is meaningless unless tapped into, so if the human being doesn’t make the most of their advanced form of body, they remain at the same level as the animal. The infant human being is actually less intelligent than many adult animal species, yet due to its potential for acquiring knowledge, the human can eventually take to activities guided by the highest knowledge.

Ironically, though the human being has the highest potential for intelligence, it has the most problems. The dog or cat never has to worry about the mortgage payment, in-laws, family squabbles, job security, or an overarching government. Rather, your average animal simply takes to eating, sleeping, mating and defending without any worries. An animal isn’t even wise enough to know that it will eventually die. The human being, though armed with this knowledge, misuses their freedom by taking exclusively to sense gratification, a propensity which mimics the animal species. Though we all start off with independence and total freedom, it is the free exercise of our power that eventually results in tyranny and discomfort.

True freedom is a state of mind, not an exercise of outward features. The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, accurately point out that the identity of the individual, regardless of its particular body type, comes from the spirit soul residing within. Even the animals are identified with their soul and not their outer dress. The purpose of the creation is to allow for the wayward souls, autonomous spiritual entities with limited powers, to imitate the workings and functions of the Supreme Object of Pleasure. God is not a manmade concoction, nor is He an order-supplier working at the will of His children. He is much more than any fictional character or gift-giver; He is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure. Though God is the original enjoyer of everything, He doesn’t exercise this ability alone. Instead, He joyously engages in sportive activities with those who choose to associate with Him. When the desire for the Divine’s association dwindles, the living entities are allowed to pretend to play God on a temporary playing field. Not surprisingly, the result of the game driven by ignorance will always be pain and suffering, due simply to the fact that the greatest enjoyer, and thus the greatest source of pleasure, has nothing to do with the playing field.

From the unhappiness that results from the misuse of free will, we see that there can never be true freedom when God is absent from the thought processes of the living entity. No amount of adjustments or exercises of freedom can bring about a permanent favorable condition in a world devoid of Supreme Spirit. Even in family life, which is seen as the ultimate goal for those who are looking for worldly enjoyments, there is great struggle and pain. Though we may see a nice family that appears to be happy, there is much conflict that is masked. The husband-wife dynamic is a very difficult one to get control over, with each party having their own interests. Just as a football team cannot succeed with two quarterbacks, and an army with more than one head leader, a marriage cannot succeed when both parties take the helm. One person must agree to lead and the other must abide by the instructions of that leader.

Even when the marriage is following these standards, there are other issues to contend with, such as in-laws and children. With divergent viewpoints, there will always be struggle. And based on the fact that every individual in this world has a desire for freedom and the exercise of that free-will there will certainly be clashes. Not everyone will want to exercise their freedom in the same way. Some will want to adhere to the standards of civilized life enjoined by the shastras, or scriptures. Others will want to enjoy all the time, seeking preyas, or short-term gain, and not caring for societal dictates and mores. Therefore it is not surprising to see husbands beating wives, wives cursing out the parents of their husbands, children being mistreated, and divorce. Such issues are the result of desires for freedom meeting at a head and colliding. When two automobiles travelling at high speeds collide, surely the result will be chaos. When the desires associated with independence devoid of God’s association collide with one another, the results are similarly not pretty.

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34)

Though Krishna allowed the wayward souls to descend to the temporary playing field, He is not so unkind as to leave them there permanently unattended. Rather, the doors to the imperishable heavenly realm are always open, provided that one wants to return. In this way, real freedom can be found in a second. The process to secure liberation involves surrender, which results from the purification of desire. For a conditioned soul who has developed an aversion to divine love over many lifetimes to turn around and surrender unto Krishna, they have to be convinced of the validity of the process and the rewards it will provide. To be firmly convinced of an opposing viewpoint, one’s current thought processes have to be challenged. The conditioned mind must be instigated into seriously taking stock of the causes and effects that are visible in the present life and how such a cycle will forever repeat in the absence of spiritual purification.

Approaching someone and pointing out the flaws in their way of life and thought processes is a simple way of stimulating argument and discussion. Personal contact is how most arguments are battled currently, so this practice isn’t necessarily anything new. The effectiveness of such an approach can be debated, but we know for certain that there are some cons to this form of information transfer. For starters, the person being instructed will likely feel threatened in a way and thus immediately be put on guard. As soon as someone else starts telling us that we’re doing something wrong, the initial reaction is, “Who does this person think they are? As if they are so perfect; I’ve seen this person’s flaws, so who are they to talk to me? What do they know anyway?”

The emotional counter-challenge presented really has no relation to the statements previously provided by the challenger. Rather, the defense is one based on instinct, a viewpoint that immediately looks for flaws in the other person’s character and presentation. This isn’t to say that all personal contact follows this line, but certainly there is a great possibility of it. The Vedas, the scriptures passed down from Krishna at the beginning of creation, inform us that there is a superior method of information transfer, one that is most effective at tackling the conditioned entity’s flawed thought processes. This method is the hearing process, and its effectiveness is evidenced by the fact that the Vedas themselves were first passed down through an aural tradition. For many thousands of years, there was no written word or televised addresses given by great leaders. Rather, all important information, that pertaining to the thoughts, words and deeds of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was passed down through the hearing process, with one instructor kindly discoursing on topics relating to Krishna in the company of others. Though there was some personal contact involved, the hearing process was at the forefront, as the audience took in the words, processed them, and passed them on to their dependents.

Though the Vedas and their followers are great advocates of the hearing process, evidence of the effectiveness of acquiring knowledge through hearing can be seen in discussions pertaining to worldly matters as well. For example, say that we presented a political speech to two different people. One person saw the speech given on television by the politician, while the other listened to a radio broadcast of it. The person who heard the speech would likely have much more to say about it later on. In the hearing process, there are no distractions pertaining to visuals. There is no attention paid to the speaker’s appearance and his body signals. In the audible medium, the content speaks for itself, and since the information is directly taken in by the ear, the mind immediately begins to process what it learns. Surely the more controversial elements will not be accepted blindly, but that is a good thing. The listener will have to process the information, decide whether or not they agree with it, and then produce a response.

When the hearing practice is applied to spiritual discourses, the results are outstanding. If we hear lectures about the Bhagavad-gita, Shrimad Bhagavatam, or Ramayana delivered by lovers of God, the information is directly imparted into our mind. As soon as something unfamiliar is encountered, the brain starts to work. Since the conditioned entity has grown accustomed to separation from Krishna over many births, the natural instinct is to challenge the deliverer of the divine message. The challenging spirit may appear to be detrimental, but it is actually beneficial. When spiritual information is presented by an authority figure, one who is completely surrendered unto Krishna, it is flawless. When the recipient challenges such information, they will have to come up with an argument that is somewhat presentable. When said argument gets subsequently defeated by the speaker, as it surely will, the recipient will have to either regroup or reassess their original thought process. The more times the challenging conditioned entity is defeated in their arguments, the more likely they are to ultimately surrender unto the speaker, who will in turn teach them how to go back home, back to Godhead.

Thus we see that hearing about Krishna represents the gateway to real freedom, a permanent return to the spiritual sky, where every day brings loving association with the only person truly capable of providing happiness. When freedom is misused, the results are troublesome, but when free will is directed at the person who has granted us that independence, the results are unmatched in their brilliance. Understanding how to properly use our freedom is very difficult, so commitment to the hearing process is required. Only through challenging our current thought processes can we be convinced of the supremacy of the sublime engagement known as devotional service. Only when the conditioned entity has firmly established the transcendental practice of chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, in their daily lives can the doors to the heavenly kingdom be opened for them.

With the visual transfer of information, such as video and televised programs, the challenge to the thought processes aren’t there. Visual media are intended to appeal to emotion rather than intellect. Emotions are based solely off the attachments to various objects of the senses. The senses themselves are temporary, so simple emotional stimulation is not very conducive to the acquisition of knowledge. If anything, it diverts the attention of the conscientious individual away from the real mission of life, that of returning to the spiritual sky. Hearing, being free of these defects, forces the listener to apply intelligence and reason. It is for this reason that even emotional appeals pertaining to material affairs have a very slim chance of succeeding in mediums such as talk radio. An audience member can find lack of substance anywhere, for ignorance is simply the absence of intelligence. When unintelligence is presented regularly in an audible form, the listener will quickly be able to identify it for what it is: useless information. Ignorance is best transported through visual media; hence the popularity of the debauchery so commonly portrayed in television, news and film.

Fortunately for us, the exalted Vaishnava saints of the past have documented much of their verbal instruction. Krishna’s liberated associates have no need to perform any activity in this world, but due to their causeless mercy on the fallen souls, the Vaishnavas take to kindly instructing others. By consulting their written instructions found in books like the Bhagavad-gita, Shrimad Bhagavatam and commentaries on the same, we can have our thoughts stimulated into natural emotions of pure love for God, or bhava. Reading is another type of hearing, for it is an isolated form of aural reception wherein the inner voice serves as the via-medium for the information transfer. Hearing through reading is greatly effective, as even the outside distractions of the world are removed, allowing the reader to focus specifically on the teachings presented. When the instruction comes from the proper source, i.e. a lover of Krishna, the results will always be favorable.