Getting Away With It

“Just as a tree starts to blossom during the proper season, so the doer of sinful deeds inevitably reaps the horrible fruit of their actions at the appropriate time.” (Lord Rama speaking to Khara, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 29.8)

You arrive at the construction site in the morning, ready to continue working on the new building that has to go up. You have certain procedures that you’re supposed to follow, guidelines that must be adhered to in order to see a successful completion. This building is important, as it will house many people on each given day. Suppose, however, that on one aspect of the construction you are a little lackadaisical. You don’t give it your full attention, but you think that it doesn’t matter because the building is so complex that what harm is one incorrectly built section going to do? This same mentality is quite commonplace in other activities as well, and it is a contributing factor in the disbelief in God and a higher power.

What will the result be if the section of the building is not constructed properly? For starters, the proper construction guidelines are there for a reason. Someone did not come up with them on a whim so that they could personally serve as a dictatorial controlling figure who wants to be in charge of every aspect of the worker’s life. Rather, the instructions are there to bring about the stated objective, which in this case is a safe and sturdy building. Defiance of the guidelines due to laziness or poor judgment will obviously jeopardize the meeting of the end-goal.

Interestingly enough, the negative reaction to the spotty work may not be witnessed by the worker who perpetrated the deed. The incorrectly built section could cause a wall to collapse or a floor panel to be loose or, worse yet, the entire building to crumble. The worker may be long gone when the time arrives for this disastrous event; thereby making it difficult for them to realize the consequences to their actions. Nevertheless, in spite of how long it takes for the negative reaction to arrive and whether or not the worker himself is affected, the consequence to impious deeds comes all the same.

The Vedas, the original scriptural tradition of India, reveal that this system of cause-and-effect operates universally and at both the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Known to most as the system of karma, fruitive work undertaken has consequences, or phala. The fruits aren’t always sweet in taste, and they may not manifest immediately. With the case of the poor building procedure, the bitter fruit arrived much later on, and it affected others who weren’t involved in the initial transgression. But karma is so fair that the person who commits the horrible deed reaps their due reward at the proper time as well. Indeed, every negative reaction we encounter in life, even if it arrives seemingly due to the actions of others, is the result of past work, or karma.

In the famous Ramayana, a remark made by the lead character, the chivalrous and pious prince of Ayodhya, Lord Rama, reveals the same truth. During the time of the included events, the Treta Yuga, a band of night-rangers was terrorizing innocent sages residing in the forest of Dandaka. Imagine a priest being attacked, killed and then eaten up right as they were delivering a sermon. This is similar to what was going on, except the situation was even worse. The priests in this case, brahmanas, were alone and simply desirous of fostering God consciousness, which is the ultimate aim of life. The night-rangers had no just cause for attacking, other than their hatred for dharma, or religious principles.

The perpetrators were apparently getting away with it. They were successfully harassing the sages and eating their flesh after killing them. Then along came the prince of Ayodhya to give them their just rewards. In speaking to Khara, one of the lead night-rangers, prior to battle, Rama informed him that the sinner gets his fruit at the appropriate time, just as the trees blossom flowers during the proper season. In addition, the reward they get is as ghastly as their initial deed. Khara would get the reward due him, punishment by death, delivered personally by Rama, who was an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Karma is helpful to know about because it explains the many situations we encounter. Karma must span beyond the current lifetime because of the variety in circumstance in birth. We can talk all we want about the difference between matter and spirit and how the sober human being should be able to tolerate the ups and downs that material life brings, but if a person is constantly harassed by material nature, put into regular discomfort and fear over the future wellbeing of both themselves and their family members, how will they have the opportunity to sit down and peacefully contemplate the highest truths of spiritual life? How will they make the best use of their valuable human form of life, which carries the highest potential for the assimilation of wisdom that can provide the most beneficial end?

“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, Bhagavad-gita, 15.8)

The fact that one person is born into peaceful circumstances and another into turmoil is the result of past karma. As the soul is the essence of identity, the death of the living being is not the end of the road. Neither is death the ultimate punishment, for consciousness pervades into the next life, just as the air carries aromas. If a person thinks they can escape troubles through the end of life, the active propensity of the soul must continue on, which means there must be a future destination. Those born into rotten circumstances, where they face tremendous hardships at every corner, obviously had bad karma from the previous life. It is unkind to mention this, but no other explanation can be given for their condition.

Indeed, when karma is taken out of the mix, all the philosophies pertaining to spirituality and even atheism crumble. For instance, if there is no karma and God just wants us to acknowledge His existence during the “one” life we get to live, what about those people who never make it out of the womb? What about the children who never mature to the point that they can acknowledge God? Are they eternally damned to hell, or are they automatically sent to heaven? The punishment to hell seems rather harsh, considering the fact that children are innocent and need guidance. The automatic ticket to heaven also seems unfair, as it would make premature death a boon rather than a tragedy.

Under atheism, there is no concern given to cause and effect. The body, a collection of material elements, is taken to be the identifying aspect, though it constantly changes. In atheism there is no regard for piety and sin, with the thought being that consequences just come on their own. Under this model, birth in the animal kingdom would actually represent advancement, for the mental worries pertaining to earning a living and maintaining a family would be absent.

Even if one wants to deny the influence of karma as a fact of spiritual life, fruitive action still proves to be the determining factor to circumstances. The person born into a poor family may not have done anything wrong, but the poverty is there for a reason. The parents that were in troublesome situations arrived there through the result of their work and the work of others. Therefore action always has consequences, regardless of whether we see them or not. The Vedas just complete the picture by revealing that the reactions to work carry over into the next life.

The concept of a life is relative, as it is sort of like a chunk of a timeline cut off and used for analysis. We break down events based on days, weeks and years, but these are just relative measurements. The time continuum hasn’t stopped nor will it in the future. We refer to last year so we can better gauge the difference in circumstances between the present and the past, but there has been no shift in identity. In a similar manner, the spirit soul has a perpetual existence, with the different “lives” serving as markers for the various body types the soul assumes.

Knowing that the thief who regularly steals will eventually get robbed later on in life is comforting, but the human brain is meant to go beyond karma. Karma manages fairness in terms of fruitive activity, but there is one person who is above the influence of karma. Not surprisingly, that person is God, who is known by many names in the Vedic tradition. Some call Him Krishna, while others refer to Him as Rama or Vishnu. Some even worship Lord Shiva as the Supreme Person, though his position is actually somewhere in between Lord Vishnu and the living entities, who are tiny expansions from the original spiritual storehouse of energy.

Karma is instituted to manage the affairs of the spirit souls not desirous of personal association with God. Think of karma as the referees in a sporting event, except its judgment is not flawed. The offensive lineman may get away with a hold every now and then in American football, but in the grand scheme of life, the higher authorities note down every action and manage to deliver the appropriate reaction at just the right time through nature’s influence. As human beings are part of nature, they sometimes unknowingly deliver someone’s due rewards to them.

Karma stops for the Krishna conscious soul, who is always desirous of connecting with the Supreme Spirit. The beginning of Krishna consciousness is hearing about Krishna and becoming familiar with His transcendental features. As Bhagavan, Lord Krishna is the wisest, most famous, most renounced, strongest, most beautiful, and wealthiest. In the beginning one will have to accept these truths on faith, but through adhering to devotional principles, Krishna’s position is validated. The knowledge of karma comes from Krishna Himself in His discourse on Vedic philosophy known as the Bhagavad-gita. Rama’s statement to Khara is another example of Bhagavan’s supreme intelligence.

If, after hearing, the seed of the creeper of devotional service is sown and further desire to connect with Krishna springs forth, the next step is to chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. All the saintly figures of the Vedic tradition, the most famous acharyas teaching devotional service through their example, follow the chanting routine as their life and soul. Not all recite the same mantra, but the key ingredient in their chanting is the holy name. For example, Shri Hanuman, Rama’s most faithful servant, always chants Rama’s name. In pictures Hanuman is shown to be chanting the glories of Sita and Rama. Sita is Rama’s eternal consort, and the couple’s features are fully represented in their names. Just in Rama’s name alone are found the beneficial features belonging to both the Personality of Godhead and His closest associates.

As further taste is developed in chanting, increased dedication to the path of bhakti results. Activities in bhakti look awfully similar to acts of karma, but the difference is in the nature of the consequences. In karma, the resultant reward must bear fruit, and since the nature of the activity is sense driven, the reaction must apply to the body accepted by the living being. If one is extremely pious and follows religious rituals throughout their life, the reward they get is ascension to the material heavenly planets. Thus the rewards of karma are still there for the pious, and a commensurate body is required.

In pure bhakti, the only desire is to continue bhakti, to be able to worship Krishna, chant His names, hear about Him, and speak about His glories to others. Therefore the reactions to work don’t require a material body. The work in bhakti is free of karma, but it is not free of beneficial rewards. The bhakta is guaranteed to be put into conditions which are conducive to devotional service. Externally the conditions may not appear to be auspicious, but through remembrance of Krishna even the horrible conditions end up being supremely beneficial. It is guaranteed in the Bhagavad-gita that the departing soul who is Krishna conscious attains the Lord’s nature, which is blissful, knowledgeable and eternal. That combination exists in the spiritual world, where Krishna resides.

“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)

The interest in karma can lead to Krishna, so the negative reactions we witness in life can actually bring us to the right place. Therefore karma, material nature, ignorance, and other things apparently not related to Krishna aren’t universally harmful. Rather, anything that brings one closer to their constitutional position of servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be considered favorable. Though the thief thinks that since no one is looking he will get away with the crime, the system of karma will take care of him all the same. Taking the pure version of the same principle, even if we don’t think God is watching us while we chant, He hears our sincere recitations of the holy name and duly rewards us at the appropriate time.

In Closing:

Thinks with his crime away he is getting,

To avoid consequences world is letting.

Doesn’t know that from above being watched,

Higher authorities make sure he gets caught.

The resultant actions karma to deliver,

Severe too, can’t escape forever.

Know that karma has the final say,

From its influence can’t get away.

Know Krishna and His devotees are above reaction,

In bhakti taste sweet transcendental interaction.

Living Well

“Just as a tree starts to blossom during the proper season, so the doer of sinful deeds inevitably reaps the horrible fruit of their actions at the appropriate time.” (Lord Rama speaking to Khara, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 29.8)

“How can God exist if so many bad things happen to good people? The struggles from cancer are a glaring indication. The fact that the body could grow something that starts to attack you from the inside – spreading to the vital organs and sapping your energy until the life is extracted from you, forming a slow and painful death – how can any loving God allow that to happen? What about the people who don’t worship the Lord at all, who think they are the doers in action, responsible for every single result that manifests – how are they able to get everything handed to them in life if they don’t even acknowledge God’s existence? Doesn’t that represent a flaw in the theory of theology? Shouldn’t you have to worship God in order to succeed?”

These are certainly important issues that when left unaddressed can derail the progress of even the most sincere spiritualist. Fortunately, if the proper set of information is consulted, not only will the Supreme Lord’s position be properly known, but what was previously erroneously considered good fortune and favorability will be understood to be hellish life. When there is hellish life, there is no question of favoritism from any higher power. Since the Supreme Lord’s actual position is that of the reservoir of pleasure, the fountainhead of all beautiful forms, a vision that is so sweet that the living entity purified through proper exercise of penance, austerity and sacrifice can’t get enough of it, it is understood that any forgetfulness of this person automatically creates an unpleasant situation, regardless of what the external conditions may say.

Picture living in a palatial mansion. You worked hard to acquire enough money to live comfortably. You didn’t worship at all; you didn’t think of God except for the times when death affected a close friend or family member. Everything is there for you in this house: a spouse, children, appliances, a steady dose of food and entertainment. Now ask yourself this: are you happy? Is securing the amenities in life the ultimate goal? You may have been inclined to think so previously, but now that you have everything, you’re definitely left feeling a little empty. There has to be more.

Why is that? The animals, those without the intelligence to deny the existence of God, let alone conjure up His image, never have to work for anything and yet they get the same amenities. The bird is happy living in the nest on a branch, the pig in its slop, the tiger in the jungle, and so on. In fact, the basic conditions are present from the time of birth; they don’t have to be created through hard work.

The human being may not realize this, but they are meant to transcend the base instincts of the animal, for that is why intelligence exists. If this weren’t the case, then living like an animal would be the right way to go. Just eat, sleep, mate and defend to feel the pleasures of life. What need is there then for culture, education, philosophy, science and so many other things that stimulate the mind?

The person lacking the spiritual association lives miserably. They may have billions of dollars in the bank and no financial worries, but that supreme happiness eludes them. Moreover, they can lose everything in a second, including their own life. The spirit soul exists through the many shifts of the body, thus it is the essence of identity. At the time of death, the soul continues on, but the body just lies there. The soul continues to roam from body to body, while the inanimate material possessions can’t do anything on their own.

With a life focused only on material enjoyment the mind turns feverish. With each new object acquired comes a new attachment. It may be neat to fly in an airplane to visit exotic destinations, but what if you didn’t need that to be happy? If one person is satisfied with a little and another with a lot, the former is automatically superior. They live a more efficient lifestyle, as they require less to operate. With each new requirement comes the difficulty in acquiring and securing that object. For instance, if I can’t live without my cell phone, I need to make sure to work enough to pay the bill for it each month. I also must back up my contacts, email, music, books and videos. These tasks are made easier with the increased use of the cloud, but even that requires a connection to the internet, which must be paid for by someone.

Each attachment brings a new obligation, which gradually builds up to a hellish life. The vacation is preferred to time at work because of the lack of obligation. Reduced work equates to increased freedom, thereby giving the person with less attachments more freedom. In the Vedic tradition, the topmost spiritualist is the sannyasi, who is in the renounced order. More than just a way to stay free of attachments and the allures of sex life, sannyasa allows for freedom of motion, a limit on obligations to free up time for fulfilling life’s ultimate purpose.

And what purpose is that? It is to connect with God. For that to happen, He must be understood. To know Him properly, one must follow a bona fide path, one laid down by past spiritualists who attained the proper realization. We know that they were successful based on their experiences which are documented. Though we have trouble accepting information not experienced personally, through applying a little faith and exercising the principles espoused, the same experience of spiritual happiness can be had within this very lifetime.

There is still the issue of misery and pain, which makes it difficult to accept the fact that there is a God. How could God create cancer? How can God allow such horrible things like murder and rape to happen? These are the negative reactions that are obvious to notice, but the actions that led to them are overlooked. In karma, every reaction arrives at the proper time. The planting of a seed brings a flower sometimes many months later. If the impatient person were to chastise the plant for not producing the fruit right away, would their behavior be intelligent? Is it wise to yell at an unbaked pie before it goes into the oven?

The reactions to work come at the appropriate time, like the blossom of flowers on a tree. The nature of the reaction is commensurate with the intensity of the action. You can look at so many examples to see how this works. If you stay awake all night, you may think there are no repercussions, but when you have difficulty waking up the next morning, the negative reaction is coming your way. The more ghastly acts like murder, rape and so on bring the worst type of reactions, though again at the proper time.

As far as God sanctioning the negative reactions, if He were to eliminate the unfavorable consequences, then there would be no action. Moreover, sometimes what we think is unfavorable turns out to be favorable. If we miss an assignment in school or say something hurtful to someone else as a child, our superiors will scold us. Getting yelled at is never fun. At the time it is considered the most miserable experience. Should the child yell at God for allowing that admonishment to occur, would the behavior be wise? When the same person grows up and learns to avoid the behavior that caused the scolding, they will reach a more positive condition. Thus what was previously unfavorable turned out to be favorable. What you were cursing God about before, you now appreciate as a valuable life lesson.

Lost in the complexity of action is the reality that any outcome can occur. For instance, if I decided to play a video game for fun, there is every chance of me playing that game over and over again and never winning. After my repeated failures, is it wise to lament how miserable life is, how God never allows me to win? The decision to play the game was in my hands, and I knew going in that success wasn’t guaranteed, and yet somehow I am blaming God for my problems after the fact.

The entire material creation operates in a similar manner. The system of karma is the most fair, as it is meant to distribute the proper results at the appropriate time. The desire to exercise freedom in the absence of God’s association results in the creation of a playing field where there is every type of possible outcome. If not for the full range of possible outcomes, there could not be material activity. Everyone would just sit in silence, not doing anything the whole time.

The spirit soul is meant for activity, however. This property is built into its constitution. The soul’s dharma is to serve, and the more pure the beneficiary of that service, the higher the benefit to the worker. No one is more pure than God, whose original form is so sweet that it is addressed as Krishna, which means all-attractive. Stare at the beautiful youth, who holds a flute in His hands and wears an enchanting smile. Dedicate your life to remaining by His side. Chant His holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and fill your ears with transcendental nectar. Purify the tongue through transcendental recitation and get nourishment through Krishna prasadam, sanctified food first offered to the Lord.

In the many good and bad outcomes, if there is no Krishna consciousness, the situations are identical. Thus for someone who avoids bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, there is no chance of finding supreme auspiciousness. Rather, their illusion through attachment to material objects only further diminishes their opportunities for connecting with the reservoir of pleasure. The ghastly outcomes that affect the body so severely are also temporary, having no bearing on the spirit soul. In a world filled with illusion, there must be duality. For every healthy person there is a sick one as well. For every person of prominence there is another lacking notoriety. For every success story there is a person who has failed miserably.

In karma the extremes of life arise constantly, but in God consciousness the dualities are removed. Instead, every situation becomes favorable, even those previously thought to be horrendous. Knowledge of the time of quitting the body, whether voluntarily or through succumbing to the effects of disease, brings an increased eagerness to at least contemplate the position of God and whether or not He exists. Maharaja Parikshit, a famous historical ruler, was unfairly cursed to die within seven days by a brahmana. Rather than get angry at God for his ill fate, he used the opportunity to hear about the essence of spiritual life, devotional service to Krishna. Shukadeva Gosvami then spoke to the king the Shrimad Bhagavatam, the crown jewel of Vedic literature. The pious king heard and thought about Krishna while He was dying, which meant that His next destination would include Krishna’s constant association.

Anyone who has the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of life and why God would create this world is very fortunate. Through following a few simple instructions, like chanting the maha-mantra for sixteen rounds a day and avoiding the most sinful behaviors, the doubts that pervade the mind will soon dissipate. In an otherwise miserable world, the beacon of light is the holy name and the person it represents. One who always hears that name and understands the transcendental features of the entity it addresses will be living extremely well.

In Closing:

Why do the evil seem to get away?

No pain for the harmful things they say?

How can God create cancer, the worst disease?

Should not the suffering of His children He ease?

Incorrect is our assumption of living well,

Soul’s fortune is what counts, as the Vedas tell.

Every reaction comes at appropriate time,

Severity matches error’s nature in kind.

Beyond duality find condition,

Chant Krishna’s name, reach highest position.

The Trap of Deeds

“A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad actions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, O Arjuna, which is the art of all work.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.50)

One of the heavier truths of Vedic philosophy to digest is the fact that there is really no good or bad, for what is favorable to one person may not be to another. Even something favorable can later on turn out to be unfavorable for the very same person, with the shift sometimes occurring within seconds. Think of taking an evening stroll to relieve tension. Seems like a harmless enough act, something which doesn’t cause any harm. Feel the evening breeze on your face, look to the sky, keep your body in motion, fight off inertia, and clear your head. But while you’re looking for peace, the mosquitos can come out and start biting you. They play no favorites in this regard, and neither will they cease to attack once they have tasted your flesh. Thus the apparently favorable activity of taking an evening walk becomes unfavorable almost within seconds. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad-gita, tells His disciple Arjuna to follow real yoga, bhakti, in order to be rid of all good and bad work and their reactions. On the surface the instruction appears contradictory, for by persuading someone to follow yoga, you’re essentially telling them to take action. Since actions are known to produce favorable and unfavorable results, what is the difference between following yoga and following anything else?

The answer is that yoga is meant for the soul, which is beyond duality. Good work and bad work are considered harmful because they give man the impression that he is the creator of his fortunes. But isn’t he? If I eat a satisfying meal and my hunger goes away, should I not take credit for the result? If I commit a crime and get punished for it later on, is my perilous condition not my fault? Can I blame someone else for my punishment? The issue is a little tricky to understand, as good and bad reactions certainly do follow fruitive activity. The term “karma” originates with the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India. Karma essentially means work, but it has a specific connotation. The work must carry results, or fruits. The fruits can be bitter or sweet in taste, can manifest immediately or many years into the future, and can remain in existence for a long or short period of time. Regardless of the nature of the reaction, there is always an initial action which serves as the cause.

“Unseen and indefinite are the good and bad reactions of fruitive work. And without taking action, the desired fruits of such work cannot manifest.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.17)

Reactions to work arrive even without knowledge of karma, so fundamental is the system. Considering these facts why would anyone argue that good and bad are the same or that they need to be eschewed? Also, how can thinking that I am the shaper of my destiny be harmful? The material elements consist of earth, water, fire, air and ether, along with mind, intelligence and false ego. Though we are responsible for the actions we take, and ultimately for the good and bad karma that follow, the living entity is actually not the doer. He is situated on a machine which follows nature’s dictates.

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

This same fact is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita, which further adds to the work’s value. A book that can provide profound truths, which are presented in an easy to understand manner, which are not available in any other work, becomes the most valuable reference tool, containing knowledge most worth gathering. The spirit soul is transcendental to both the material and subtle elements. What are good and bad relate only to the body, which we don’t have much control over, even though we might think otherwise. By taking a specific action and receiving a certain fruit, we think that we are the cause. But who controls the beating of the heart? Who makes sure that we breathe in and out when we’re not paying attention? Who creates the material elements that produce the fruits that we need?

The simplest example that can be used to understand these higher concepts is the planting of a seed that eventually sprouts fruits. This is the perfect analogy because the results of karma are referred to as phala, or fruits, in Sanskrit. Let’s say you get a plot of land, plant a seed, water it regularly, and then wait for the plant to blossom. At the stage of maturation, you’ll get some nice fruits to eat. When the fruits finally arrive, who is ultimately responsible for the enjoyment, the favorable condition? Is it the person who poured the water down, planted the seed, and picked the fruit?

Though the living entity took the impetus for action, none of the results could have arrived without outside intervention. For starters, a severe rainfall could have flooded the entire area and made the land unsuitable for raising crops. On the flip side, a drought could have befallen the area, thus not allowing the plant to get the water it needed. Some misery could have stricken the person planting the seed, rendering them unable to tend to the plant and pick the fruit when it was necessary. Meanwhile, the sun is rising and setting at regular intervals. If the living entity is responsible for the outcomes to action, what did he do to create the sun?

The young child has no concept of money, earning a living, or responsibility. Whatever they have they take for granted, taking their possessions to be aspects of life that will always be there. The child thinks that “my room” is where “I do everything”. Never mind the fact that I did nothing to purchase this room, nor do I pay rent. The playroom is filled with toys given by my parents, so anything I create in there is actually not due to my efforts. Without the hard work of the superiors, no one would be able to do anything in the various rooms of the house.

The material creation, which is the largest room one can imagine, operates in a similar manner. The Supreme Lord, the original cause, created the material nature and put into place a system of management to distribute the necessary rewards to man. You’ll notice that the animal community does not have rules governing sin and piety, i.e. they have no good or bad work. Their necessities are provided by nature, which does not favor or disfavor anyone. Therefore if the animals have no concern for good and bad work, why do the human beings?

The human form of life is the opportunity for understanding God, which is aided through learning about the differences between matter and spirit and what the purpose to one’s existence is. Good and bad actions are presented to the neophyte lacking any knowledge of the true nature of spirit so that at least some acknowledgment of a higher power can exist. The more we understand that we are not the doer, that we have scant influence in this inconceivably large universe, the greater our chances will be for finding God, serving Him, and relishing the fruit of our existence.

If we keep life’s ultimate mission in mind, we see that good work and bad work divorced of their relationship to God are all the same. Whether a particular athlete is extremely successful or perpetually a loser really makes no difference in the end. Once their career is over, the past memories are forgotten very quickly, leaving the person in a neutral state. The same goes for those enjoying material amenities on a large scale. The person sleeping on a mattress set to its own firmness level and the person sleeping on the bare ground really aren’t in different situations. The urges of the senses will be present in both individuals, so there is no such thing as good or bad sleeping conditions.

By following bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, the reactions of good and bad go away. The reason for this is that karma has no place in yoga. For the yogi material nature essentially turns into a poisonous snake which has its teeth removed. The elements are still there but they no longer shape the fortunes of the soul. The controller of both matter and spirit, the fountainhead of all energies, takes the devoted soul under His wing and guides Him through different situations. What were previously considered good or bad all of sudden become universally auspicious.

How does this work exactly? In karma, competition results in success or failure, with elation after victory and dejection after defeat. In bhakti, competition is spiritualized, so regardless of the outcome, the consciousness of the individual will remain pure. If I perform devotion better than someone else, I will feel good, but my desire will focus on continuing to love God even more. If I see someone else serving the Lord better than I am, I’ll take that as an impetus to step up my efforts.

In the bigger picture, there is no such thing as being better or worse at devotional efforts than someone else. There is no quantitative analysis with respect to the results of bhakti-yoga because each person is born with different inherent qualities. For instance, if one person is adept at cooking and another at writing, it doesn’t mean that the person writing books is a better devotee than the person cooking food in the home and offering it to a deity of the Lord. The offered food then turns into prasadam, which is spiritualized. Any person fortunate enough to eat the remnants of foodstuff offered to Shri Krishna – the same person worshiped around the world by the name of God – gets tremendous spiritual merits.

The book written by the devotee may affect a larger number of people than the prasadam cooked in the home, but the results are never within the hands of the doer. The living entity is a spirit soul at the core situated in a machine that is ever-changing. In bhakti, the results are controlled directly by the Lord. What the spirit soul does control, however, is the degree to which the potential for action is used. Therefore it is not the quantity of the engagement but the commitment to it that counts. If sincerity is there, if the person is trying their best, then there is no difference between the large and small outcomes in bhakti.

Under karma, good and bad create a false sense of proprietorship over outcomes. In the Bhagavad-gita, when Krishna tells Arjuna to follow yoga and thereby remove the reactions to good and bad action, it seems like He is advising Arjuna to take to a specific course, which would make Arjuna the cause of the resulting reaction of Krishna consciousness. If I tell you to follow a specific activity to reach a certain end, and you follow my advice, are you not the cause for the resultant reaction? If you think you are the cause, how is your behavior any different from that performed under karma? The difference is that bhakti-yoga is followed under the direction of the Supreme Lord, who broadcasts the science of self-realization through the mouthpiece of the spiritual master, the guru who assumes the difficult task of teaching the highest truths of life and presenting the Vedas to those sincerely interested in transcending karma.

The living entity is not the doer in either case, in karma or bhakti. The distinction results from the fact that the reactions in karma are never favorable, even if the actor thinks they are. Meanwhile, in bhakti, irrespective of the particular outcome, the conditions are always favorable. Even Arjuna’s lamentation on the battlefield of Kurukshetra was beneficial, for he was immersed in bhakti by being in Krishna’s company. Outwardly Arjuna appeared to be concerned over the welfare of the fighters of the opposing army prior to a war to end all wars, but he was actually just in Krishna’s company and instigating a transcendental talk that would liberate countless future generations. If under karma, Arjuna’s concern over good and bad action would have resulted in a neutral condition regardless. In bhakti, Arjuna’s concern created an opportunity for becoming even more immersed in bhakti, or divine love.

The actor following bhakti creates favorable circumstances through the divine will of the Lord, who controls the spiritual energy personally. The material energy also operates under His direction, but it lacks a personal oversight. This means that no one is really favored or disfavored by the material energy; the reactions that are due them arrive at just the right time. The follower of real yoga, however, remains firmly fixed in the devotional consciousness by regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Through chanting they slowly get pulled out of the trap of good and bad actions and realize that the only auspicious activity is found in bhakti, which provides endless opportunities for actions which maintain Krishna’s loving association.

In Closing:

Follow good and bad to get a reaction,

But either case brings same condition.

The body is only temporary after all,

Same is meteoric rise and catastrophic fall.

In bhakti results controlled by the Supreme,

Negative reactions of devotee does He clean.

Is not the cause of action in bhakti the same,

Auspiciousness the devoted worker’s gain?

Difference is that for bhakta Krishna controls the result,

Thus in behavior always guru’s teachings do you consult.

Negation Defined

“Naishkarma means not undertaking activities that will produce good or bad effects. Negation does not mean negation of the positive. Negation of the nonessentials does not mean negation of the essential. Similarly, detachment from material forms does not mean nullifying the positive form. The bhakti cult is meant for realization of the positive form.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.7 Purport)

An aspect of Vedic teachings unique to its discipline is the information presented about the soul, its position with respect to matter, and the need for avoiding harmful behavior, i.e. sin. The concept of sin surely isn’t exclusive to any single spiritual tradition, but the most complete explanation provided for its existence and the cause of its harmful effects is found only in the Vedic tradition, the oldest system of spirituality in the world. Despite the importance of sin the highest perfection of life does not come from only avoiding the bad. If it did, the roadmap in life would be pretty straightforward. Just steer clear of harmful influences and live happily. The key ingredient for spiritual merits, in finding bliss that transcends both good and bad, is to accept behavior that is all positive, having only a beneficial influence on the future. That acceptance comes through bhakti-yoga, or devotional service.

Are good and bad pretty much the same? This is the secret known to those who humbly submit before a spiritual master, a guru who follows the teachings of his own spiritual master to perfection. The bona fide guru belongs to a chain of succession that originates at the Supreme Person. How do we know that there is an original person? Is this the mythical character we refer to as God? If God is the origin, who created Him? Obviously the human mind is incapable of comprehending concepts beyond its thinking power. Moreover, the thinking power of the human brain, even one belonging to the most intelligent person, is limited. Just the fact that we can’t recall every single sense perception we have ever made indicates a flaw. A person may be able to do quantum physics, but if they can’t remember things like what they ate for breakfast exactly one year ago to the day, they don’t have perfect knowledge.

Bearing this in mind, the existence of an original person, He who passes down supreme wisdom aimed at furthering a better position, must be accepted on faith in the beginning. Lest we think this is a dangerous road to travel, the practice of extending faith is already widely prevalent in society. Every single person puts tremendous faith in others, even those who are known to be unworthy of it. The politician is the classic example. Although they promise this and that, the constituents inherently know that their political leaders lie to get ahead, that they follow whatever line of argument suits them for a particular day. This is why the popularly elected governments are filled with lawyers. A good lawyer can argue any position, using the written words of existing law codes to support their argument. In this sense when a politician who is a lawyer by trade is called out for their duplicity, for their hypocrisy in statements, they are essentially being complimented, for their ability to change positions with conviction shows that they are good at practicing law.

Faith is extended to others because of the results that come from believing in them. We trust that what our teachers are instructing is valid. We don’t know any better; otherwise we would have no reason to sit in the classroom. We accept the statements made by the television news anchors and we believe that the video footage they show is not fabricated. Following a similar tact, when faith is extended to the words of the spiritual master belonging to a line of instruction connected to the original person, there are inherent benefits that must come about. The arrival of these benefits validates the authenticity of both the instructor and his original teacher.

This is where some issues arise. If a spiritual leader tells us that we’re going to hell if we don’t openly declare allegiance to a particular personality, the validity of their statement will not be known until the afterlife. If the existence of the afterlife is already in question, why would the fear of punishment in it be taken seriously? Thus we see one of the major causes for the rampant lack of religiosity pervading the land today. “Follow me or you’re going to hell”, doesn’t work as a selling point because there is no tangible information provided about the person being surrendered to or what the hellish condition is. Moreover, why would punishment be coming to those who are kind, honest, decent and generally pious?

The Vedas, through their mouthpieces of the scriptures and the words of those who follow the lessons from the texts of these works, reveal a lot more information about heaven, hell, sin, piety, and the ultimate purpose in life. The first instruction taught to aspiring transcendentalists is aham brahmasmi, which means “I am Brahman.” Is Brahman a person? Is Brahman a thing, some type of exalted post? Brahman is spirit. Why is it important to know this? Knowing that I am Brahman means that I have properly identified myself. In any other identification, there is a flaw, or at least a limitation. If a limit is introduced, there will come a point when enjoyment is checked. When enjoyment is checked we get an unpalatable situation, which means that we encounter our own mini version of hell.

How does this work exactly? Let’s suppose that I identify myself as a human being instead of Brahman. This seems like a broad enough generalization, something which transcends the sectarian boundaries formed off of religious tradition, skin color, nationality, etc. Essentially all of the ills caused by factional strife are rooted in false identification. If I know that I am a human being, these issues will go away, at least for me. The problem is that if I only identify as a human being, I might have the tendency to disrespect other forms of life. I may not have a problem killing an innocent cow, a being who is kind enough to provide milk, which can then be used to create so many other products. The cow eats, sleeps, mates and defends. It has children that it cares for as well. What need would there be for me to unnecessarily kill it, especially when so much other food is available?

Thus far the flawed identification would result only in harm to other creatures, as needlessly killing a cow or other non-human life form seems like it wouldn’t carry any personal negative consequences. Man has dominion over the plants and lower animals. God made man superior for a reason, no? Karma becomes especially relevant in this area. Every action has a reaction, even if that reaction is not known. This fact is especially evident in the behavior of children. A young child has no idea that if they place their hand into a fire, they will get burned. Ignorance in this respect has no bearing on the consequence of the action. The fire will burn because that is what it is meant to do.

Similarly, just because the human being doesn’t know about karma doesn’t mean that they will be saved from the negative consequences to action. If we kill innocent creatures, we are bound to suffer the same fate in the future. This is only fair after all. There can be endless debates over what is fair and what is not, but in the end everything works out. Karma is the ultimate system of fairness. We just think that life is unfair because we don’t always see karma’s results or we forget about past transgressions. Sometimes the effects are short-lived and sometimes they manifest in the future, when the soul accepts another body.

“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste] .” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.18)

The soul can accept new bodies? Here we start to uncover the importance in identifying oneself as Brahman. A unique aspect of Vedic teachings is that information about Brahman is presented. Not only are all human beings equal constitutionally, so are all living entities. A learned sage sees no difference between a gentle brahmana [priest], a cow, a dog, and a dog eater. It seems a little strange when you first hear of this, but there can be no doubt as to its validity. After all, not all human beings are the same. Some are tall, while others are short. Some are intelligent, while others are lacking mental acuity. This doesn’t mean that there is any inherent difference, for we all start from the same point in infancy.

The lower species are spirit souls who possess bodies not conducive to the development of consciousness. Residence in these forms can be considered punishment for bad behavior, or it can be taken as a sign of spiritual evolution, the gradual upward progression towards a human birth. But there is another aspect to identifying with Brahman besides having respect for other creatures. For starters, if we know that we are spirit soul, we will be better able to learn about karma, material nature, the difference between body and spirit, and the equality of good and bad. These truths are very nicely presented in the Bhagavad-gita, the most concise and wonderful discourse on spirituality ever held on this earth.

Since we are Brahman and not our body, any temporary situation cannot be considered worthwhile or detrimental. What does this mean exactly? If I get time off from work should I not be happy? If I get stricken with a debilitating disease should I not be sad? Since spirit is transcendental to matter, none of these situations are permanent. Do we get sad at the onset of winter? Do we have tremendous elation when summer comes? The wise person knows that the seasons will come and go each year, so there is no reason for overexcitement or dejection. In either direction, the reaction is tempered because of the guaranteed delivery of the future outcomes.

In a similar manner, every condition, either heavenly or hellish, is temporary and the result of karma. Spirit, or Brahman, is above this, though when there is an improper identification, concepts such as good and bad are accepted. It is on this plane that most systems of spirituality hover. “Pray to the Lord, for He will grant your request. This day is going to be good; God will give you what you want. Pray to God and He will hear you and make your life successful.” Granted, these are wonderful practices, as the worshiping mind is dedicated to someone who is above Brahman. At the same time, what is it that we’re praying for? If it’s a temporary condition, we know that it has nothing to do with our identity. Both good and bad are the same for as long as the spirit soul identifies with the body.

It is where to go next that the spiritualists following Vedic traditions diverge in their opinions. If we’re Brahman, obviously we have no business with material nature. Hence to remain Brahman realized, the proper course of action is to negate. Renounce activities which are reserved for the bodily conditioned, those identifying with temporary forms. This means that one should give up intoxication, illicit sex, gambling and meat eating, for these carry negative consequences in karma and also harm the consciousness. If our mind is feverishly engaged in something that only brings flickering happiness, how will we stay Brahman realized?

Those who follow bhakti-yoga, however, know that negation is not the final destination. Brahman has spiritual tendencies, penchants for activity. Though we are all Brahman, it doesn’t mean that we lack individuality. That there can be spiritual variegatedness is known only to the bhaktas, or devotees. Who are they devoted to? While there is Brahman, there is also Parabrahman, or the Supreme Spirit. This is the person most of the world refers to as God. Since He is described as being above Brahman, already the Vedas provide more clarity about the Supreme Lord’s position. He is above Brahman, which means that He has more capabilities than the individual sparks of Brahman do.

What does this mean exactly? For starters, for Parabrahman there can never be a false identification. Everything is Him regardless, so how could He ever misidentify with something? But if everything is God, what need is there for worshiping? God has different energies, with even Brahman being one of them. The personal influence of the Supreme Person is only present in His internal energy. Material nature is an expansion that is made specifically for those sparks of Brahman desiring to be deluded into false identification and thus a false sense of enjoyment. Why would anyone want this? Just look around you. How many people worship God on a regular basis? How many people actually love Him? How many people balk at the mere mention of the word “religion” or “God”?

Hence the land we occupy is quite conducive to irreligiosity. If someone doesn’t want to worship God, why would the Lord keep them in His company against their will? In this way we see that karma continues for as long as a spirit soul desires it to. The temporary hellish and heavenly conditions repeat in a cycle, like a wheel that keeps spinning. Just from turning one’s back to God, the negative condition is automatically created. That we have to spin around this wheel of material existence is evidence enough of the hellish condition arising from forgetfulness of our constitutional position.

In addition to being above material nature, Brahman is naturally attracted to Parabrahman. This attraction results in service, as that is the ideal situation for both parties. One side is meant to be served and the other is meant to provide that service, voluntarily. If Brahman is not fully convinced of the need to serve Parabrahman, no bliss can result. In this respect we see that negation of harmful activities cannot possibly provide the final solution in life, for there will be no interaction with the Supreme Lord. The next step into bhakti must be made in order for spiritual life to fully mature.

What does bhakti involve? As Parabrahman is transcendentally situated above all of His component energies, He has His own features. He is blissful, knowledgeable and eternal. He has sportive tendencies which require spiritual forms. The sportive exploits need participants as well. Obviously the Lord will choose only the most exalted devotees with which to enjoy. Hence our ideal position becomes quite clear. Follow the path of devotion and become one of these associates. Always in the company of the Lord, one can bask in the transcendental sweetness that emanates from the Supreme Person.

The absolute nature of the Supreme Lord provides that wonderful gift of association even to those who lack God’s personal presence. In bhakti, just thinking of God – His sweet smiling face, the sounds of His flute, the beauty of His figure – is as good as being in front of Him. God plays a flute? In His original form the Lord is described as being all-attractive; hence He is addressed as Krishna. Not to be confused with a sectarian figure or local folk hero, Krishna is the same God that everyone either worships or forgets. It is not that there is one God for the Hindus and another God for another group. Not everyone may know what He looks like or that He is Parabrahman, but this doesn’t mean that there are multiple personalities.

Krishna is so kind that He even expands into many non-different forms, such as Lord Vishnu and His avataras. The personal expansions are equally as approachable as Krishna, but the prerequisite of adopting the bhakti mindset is still there. One has to know that negation is not enough, that positive action in bhakti is what should be accepted wholeheartedly. The best way to connect with Krishna is to regularly chant His names found in the sacred maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Lest we think this is some strange sequence of words aimed only at curbing negative influences, one who follows a chanting regimen coupled with abstention from sinful behavior gradually realizes Krishna’s presence in their life. This means that deliverance from hellish life is found within the current lifetime. Heavenly pleasure is also found, as nothing can be more pleasing than constant connection with God in yoga.

Shri Krishna is the positive form, for He has a transcendental body. He possesses mutually contradictory attributes, something unfathomable to the human mind. If these facts are accepted with a little faith in the beginning, they will be realized with full confidence eventually from within. The prescriptions provided by the Krishna devotee are validated by the resultant effects. Negation of bhakti activities is always harmful, as it leaves the Brahman realized soul stuck in a world of nothingness. Though such a world is free of misery, it is also free of bliss, which is what the soul craves. Accepting the positive form of Krishna’s beautiful face and the sounds of His names is so potent that it can automatically take care of the renunciation aspect. One who follows bhakti-yoga thinks of Krishna and His pleasure all the time. Thus what time is there left for indulgence in negative behavior, in forming material attachments? Through His association Krishna proves that He is above good and bad, that He can provide transcendental happiness that never has to vanish.

In Closing:

Who am I, what am I supposed to be?

With my eyes my temporary form all I can see.

Identify as human being, how is that bad?

From this no prejudice can be had.

Vedas say that Brahman realization is higher,

That spirit is same from species human to lower.

From Brahman we know that body we are not,

An existence beyond duality we have got.

To stay realized, material attachment we negate,

At the same time influence of senses we try to abate.

Yet beyond Brahman knowledge there is more,

Sublime bliss we have got existence for.

Reservoir of sweetness, Krishna is Brahman’s source,

Connect with Him to let real love show its course.

Only through bhakti realize the positive form,

The soul’s constitutional position it does inform.

Baffling Plans

“We are all trying to achieve peace and freedom from these miseries, at least unconsciously, and in the higher intellectual circles there are attempts to get rid of these miseries by ingenious plans and designs. But the power that baffles all the plans and designs of even the most intelligent person is the power of Maya devi, or the illusory energy. The law of karma, or the result of all actions and reactions in the material world, is controlled by this all-powerful illusory energy.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Elevation to Krishna Consciousness, Ch 2)

When the adult reaches a mature stage in life, when life’s necessities are accounted for and there is a seemingly secure existence, the point of focus often turns towards redressing social ills, the miseries and pains endured by others. Indeed, it is seen that during times of economic downturn polling firms who ask citizens what they think of the economy get answers like, “I’m doing fine, but I’m really worried about my neighbor. I’m managing okay, but I know there are so many people suffering out there.” The compassion resting within the heart can be so strong that groups and commissions are formed to try to solve problems causing distress in local society and around the world. Yet, since no planning commission takes into account the all-powerful energy governing this world, who behaves without bias and prejudice, every remedy put forth will fail. On the other hand, for one who directly approaches the controller of the all-pervasive energy, the one person to whom material and spiritual distinctions don’t exist, all of life’s remedies can be quickly found, dissolving every type of misfortune, personal struggle, and unwarranted pity.

“End poverty now; save the poor; help the downtrodden”. These are the rallying cries for the popular activist groups. These movements are rooted in genuine compassion and heartfelt emotions, but we know that good intentions are not enough to earn success. Young children hope for success and happy things to come in the future, but if not for the actions of grownups, nothing would ever manifest. In a similar manner, simply wishing that everyone lived happily and in a peaceful condition cannot make the utopian view a reality.

Let’s look at a simple example to see where the planning commissions go wrong. As poverty is the primary focus of attention in the largest number of activist groups, let’s review some of the more common solutions applied towards ending it. Poverty is defined as a condition where opulences are lacking. Either income is very low, or material possessions are in short supply. Since there is little to no money, the person in poverty lives in essential squalor, conditions that the person on the planning commission couldn’t ever imagine enduring. The poverty stricken man must eat meats of poor quality, shop in stores that the plan maker wouldn’t be caught dead in, and live in a house located in a poor neighborhood.

Since poverty is a condition where essential items are missing, the most obvious solution is to distribute money. Transfer wealth from those who have too much to those who don’t have any. Seems like a logical enough solution, no? There are some members of society flying around in corporate jets and sailing on their many yachts over the weekend. Surely if they just gave a little bit more of their money to the right people, the entire world could be fed and poverty could be eliminated for good.

Continuing with the example, let’s say that we have five millionaires step up to the plate. We’ll use small denominations of money just because they are easier to work with, but the principles will carry over even to the largest scale. Each of these millionaires has generously agreed to donate one million dollars to help a single person victimized by poverty. Thus we have five million dollars we are giving out to five different people. The expected result is that every one of the aided will have all of their problems solved. They will no longer be in poverty, and they will have no reason to feel bad about themselves. No more worrying over how to put food on the table and whether or not they will have a place to live.

The keen observer, however, will accurately predict that in the majority of circumstances the five million dollars will do absolutely nothing to solve any problem. Just because we give someone money doesn’t mean that they will know what to do with it. This is in fact a common issue encountered by lottery winners, who are so known for wasting away their money very quickly that think tanks like the Sudden Money Institute had to be created to help people cope with coming into large sums of money. Think of the irony in that. Coming into a large sum of money is supposed to be a boon, the receiving of grand opulence, but there is nevertheless a support group established to help such people. Just as there are groups to help drug addicts, habitual gamblers, and those with anger problems, there are organizations to help those who get too much money too fast.

Of the five newly crowned millionaires, one may blow all of their money on cars and houses, another may waste it away on drugs, another on gambling at the racetrack, and another on opening a business that eventually folds. Even if one person actually uses the money to ensure that they never have to work again, there is still the issue of activity. If we place someone into a room and tell them they have nothing to worry about all day, that their food and drink will be provided for them, would they be happy? Actually, this is how prisoners are treated, and we know that the prison house is meant to be a punishment, a sort of rehabilitation center. Similarly, just having enough food to eat and a roof over the head is not enough to provide any sort of lasting satisfaction. If it were, the people running the planning commissions and activist groups would have been satisfied with their own material success.

Those on a higher level of thinking understand that every one of us starts off with everything. As God is the creator of this land, He is the original proprietor. Just because someone finds a piece of land and plants their flag on it doesn’t mean that they own anything. This earth and its bountiful fruits belong to every single person to utilize in their progressive march towards a purified consciousness. The planning commissions and the bleeding hearts concerned over poverty and social ills fail to realize the influence of maya, which governs the laws of karma. With every action, there is a reaction. This is quite easy to understand. If there is drug dependence and alcoholism, there will be negative consequences. The homeless often suffer from these problems. Just imagine, someone can become so fallen that they live on the streets, even when there is a significant portion of the world willing to help them. This shows that there are other factors involved in poverty that go unnoticed.

Studies in America have shown that if one graduates high school, waits until they get married to have children, and at least tries to find a job, they will have virtually no chance of finding poverty. These conclusions are not presented from the moral perspective either; they are just common sense. If you have children out of wedlock, you have to spend your time supporting them. If you haven’t graduated high school, you shut yourself out from the majority of high paying jobs. Similarly, if you have children to take care of by yourself, there is no time to invest in advancing your career, such as through going to college or attending specialized training schools.

Simply giving money to someone will not solve their problems, as there is no control over what they do with the money. This concept also applies to peace, as just asking that war be stopped will not make it so. One side may agree to stop their violence for a while, but if their desires are not altered for the better, they will inevitably stir up hostilities again. These factors are lost on the planning commissions because there is no concern given to maya, who manages karma.

The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, contain complete information, all the knowledge one could ever need. Every condition, favorable and unfavorable, is due to karma, or past deeds. Deeds are driven by desire, so as long as desire is not pointed in the proper direction, the dualities of poverty and wealth, distress and happiness, and cold and heat will continue. What’s more is that no one person or collection of individuals can control how karma works. Parents have firsthand experience of this on a smaller scale. A parent may try their best to get their child to grow up to be successful in life, to be a good person who is inclined to follow a certain direction, but since the child has their own nature and desires, there is no control over the outcome. Sometimes the children just don’t end up growing up to be like what you wanted them to be.

How do the Vedas tackle the problem of poverty? How do the Vedas deal with war? If we know the nature of the playing field we are dealing with, it becomes much easier to find the answers to life’s common problems. As karma is driven by desire, once desire is shifted in the proper direction, the resultant actions become purified. With pure activity come pure results. Human life is meant for awakening God consciousness and nothing else. Poverty and wealth are two extremes that are actually not different in the grand scheme. One person may sleep on the bare ground while another has a plush mattress, but the activity of sleeping is the same. One person may go through life worrying about money while another has too much money to know what to do with, but inevitable death will arrive all the same.

The real problem facing the human being is figuring out how to stop birth, old age, disease and death. None of these events are welcome, but they take place regardless. Maya, the governing agent of the material world, works under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Maya manages karma, which ensures that results are distributed fairly and at just the appropriate times. As long as one operates under maya, they will be forced to live by karma’s rules. Shri Krishna, on the other hand, is above maya. One who takes directly to His service by regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, gradually purifies their behavior.

What is the difference between activity in karma and activity in Krishna consciousness? On the surface they appear to be the same, but the initial desire is what is different. When given a million dollars, the person operating under karma will think about their own enjoyment or the pleasure of some other entity that is not God. The person operating under Krishna’s direction will use whatever fortune they acquire for the Lord’s satisfaction. Krishna is described as atmarama, which means “self-satisfied”. Therefore He doesn’t need money or donations from His countless expansions residing in the innumerable universes. Yet, since the constitutional position of the living entity is that of servant of God, the sacrifices made for Krishna’s satisfaction actually provide pleasure to the performer first. Even chanting is a sacrifice, as it takes time to sit down, concentrate on the Lord’s beautiful form, and recite His name repeatedly each day. But this investment is the most worthwhile, as it brings the greatest benefits. Investments in ending poverty, stopping war, curing diseases and the like don’t carry much of a return. Without God consciousness, the aided living entities will remain fully under the grip of maya, thereby never finding a permanent peaceful condition.

The little faith invested in bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, can ensure that the devoted person purifies their thoughts and activities. In addition, whoever they come into contact with and explain Krishna to will also be benefitted immensely. There is no shortage of wealth in this world, for the animals are supplied their necessities by nature, which also operates under maya. With the animals, however, there is no such thing as sin, as they do not know any better. The human beings have the added bonus of being able to make incredibly poor decisions and suffer the negative consequences for them. Therefore all of life’s ills that we see in front of us are attributed directly to negative karma.

As the only way to redress the karma issue is to bypass its leader maya, the only remedy worth adopting is Krishna consciousness, which can be fostered by any person at any stage of life. Maya baffles every single plan made by the material enjoyer, but Krishna Himself can directly command maya to do whatever He wants. For the sincere bhakta, He transforms the material energy from an illusory one into a purely spiritual force that blows a fierce wind that elevates the spiritually conscious person back to the eternal land after death. One who reaches that majestic realm inhabited by Krishna and His nitya-siddhas will never have to take birth again, thus ensuring that karma will no longer leave them bewildered.

Scarcity

“By proper utilization of thoughtfulness, one comes to the stage of thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one becomes free from the contamination of the faulty association of the material world, and thus one becomes peaceful. The world is in a disturbed condition because of a scarcity of such peaceful devotees in human society.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 34)

Aid to struggling African nations seems to always find itself among the top causes adopted by the well-wishers of humanity. The kind gestures offered to the down-trodden are certainly noble and worthwhile, as the inhabitants of poverty ridden areas lack basic necessities such as drinking water and shelter. While providing remedial measures to areas which have a scarcity of necessary resources is a worthwhile activity, a better solution would be to tackle the root of the problem. Why are these sections of society disadvantaged to begin with? The dedicated welfare worker may retort with, “Well, I’m not concerned with that. These people need help right now. Who cares how they got to where they are?” Actually, finding out the source of the problem is far more important than offering temporary solutions, especially when playing in the field of material activity, where bodies and situations constantly go through cycles of creation and destruction. Indeed, you can feed a man for a day by providing him a hot meal, but by giving him the necessary tools to provide for himself, he can have food for the rest of his life.

Some will say the root cause of scarcity is greed. “Too many have nots and too few haves. The greedy take to hoarding all the resources for themselves, thus limiting the potential for production by others.” While there is no doubt that greedy businessmen are interested in only one thing, profit, their behavior alone doesn’t explain rampant poverty. From studying the most successful businesses in the world, we see that the majority of them can source their wealth to support from the common man. For instance, computer and software companies get rich off of people buying their products and using them. Apple Computer makes millions of dollars selling music players, computers and portable entertainment devices that aren’t necessarily inexpensive. Their latest high tech product, the iPad, is overpriced in the estimation of many, yet the device still sells extremely well. The truth is that a key factor in making millions of dollars is finding a product that appeals to the common man, producing it at a low cost, and then selling it at a price that will garner a profit. So in this sense, the greedy businessman has nothing to gain by forcing his customers into poverty. He is not benefitted by mass starvation and famine.

The other credited source for poverty is tyranny. This idea certainly has more validity, but again, there is a root cause for the iron-fisted behavior of a ruling tyrant. In a system of totalitarianism, land and property are confiscated by a higher authority, one that assumes absolute power. The producers are punished for no other reason than their success. With an overarching government, the rulers view the wealthy citizens as their enemies, for they are providing for the common man better than the government ever could. As an example, giant superstore chains in America are often hated by government officials and their attached lobbying groups. The purported justifications for this hatred range from the companies not offering sufficient health benefits to the fact that the laborers at such stores are not unionized, but the real reason for the gripe is that the common man, the average citizen, is hugely benefitted from patronizing such institutions. For those who take government officials to be God, or the ultimate order supplier, other free individuals cannot exist who supply the majority of the needs to the ordinary man. Being soundly defeated by their competitors in the private sector, the government officials vying for supremacy are left with no other option but to confiscate property and land. They are able to get away with their unseemly behavior by invoking class envy. Indeed, this is the major cause of poverty in the suffering African nations, where private property rights are nonexistent due to government intervention.

Is the cure for scarcity the removal of tyrannical regimes? After all, an area where goods are freely produced and traded will surely see an economic boom. This was indeed the source of the first great harvest seen in the New World by the Pilgrims. After implementing a new competition driven economic system, the Pilgrims’ harvest was so bountiful that they decided to hold a grand feast and give thanks to God. This feast subsequently became the annual tradition known as Thanksgiving. Yet simply removing tyranny is not the answer, as even the unpleasant, oppressive behavior of powerful governing bodies has a root cause. Simply instituting a competitive system driven by private property rights will not do the trick, because there is every chance for greed and corruption leading to the increase in power of the almighty government in the future. Those who are successful in a free market system are often its greatest enemies. The successful capitalist will have no qualms about lobbying government to grant favors to their specific industry, thereby crumbling the very system that allowed for prosperity.

The solution to the scarcity issue can be found from studying the very nature of freedom. Throughout the course of history, there have always been struggles between liberty and tyranny. Who wouldn’t agree that being free is better than being oppressed? Yet the history of the world is that of oppression, showing that people have chosen to be put under the control of governments that weren’t concerned with their interests. The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, clue us in as to why such behavior takes place in spite of the natural preference of man for uninhibited movement. The spirit soul, the individual autonomous spark within each life form, is the basis of identity. Though the soul is imperceptible to the human eye, it can be recognized through outward symptoms, namely, the movements of the body. We know that a soul is inside of a particular form if the body is moving, breathing, or talking. When these functions cease, we know that the soul has left the body.

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

These perceptions indicate that the soul is very powerful, but where did it come from? Where does the spiritual spark go upon exiting the body? What are its properties? At the core, the soul has an affinity for God. Divine love is built into the spirit’s makeup; it is a property that cannot be removed. In fact, the desires to affectionately embrace the Supreme Soul and seek out its pleasure are the most dominant features of the individual soul, even trumping its properties of full knowledge and eternality. Just as fire is known by its heat and light properties, the soul is known by its pure loving propensity manifested through the service attitude. In order for there to be love, there has to be a beneficiary, an entity to whom affection can be directed. Since the soul is always in a state of existence, the ideal recipient of its service must bear the same property. Not surprisingly, that ultimate reservoir of pleasure is Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as the soul wants to act upon its transcendental affection at all times, its loveable object must be capable of accepting service and subsequently providing the greatest pleasure. It is in this area that Krishna stands out amongst all other benevolent masters and objects of interest. The name Krishna is Sanskrit for “all-attractive”, so it serves as a much better appellation for the original Divine Being than does the word “God.” Krishna is the original Godhead, the same person everyone in the world worships, despises, adores, or fails to acknowledge.

Though everyone, including the atheist, believes in God, they may not know who He is, what He looks like, or what their relationship to Him is. How can the atheists, who outwardly deny the existence of a Supreme Being, who despise every aspect of divine love and the worship of any entity aside from matter, be servants of the Supreme Lord? When the intrinsic loving property pushes activity towards Krishna, the soul remains in a purified state. Due to the resulting connection, which is known as yoga, all knowledge and proper behavioral characteristics are acquired. It is said that the soul is like a self-illuminating lamp of knowledge; therefore it never has to actually acquire any information. The education that individuals are subjected to in terms of schooling and instruction from higher authorities merely serves to remove the covering of nescience that envelops the spiritual fragment, which is resting comfortably within the heart.

Birth is a time of great importance because this is when the covering of ignorance surrounds the soul. When trying to see through the dense fog of illusion, not only is the eternal knowledge clouded, but the aim of activity goes off center as well, causing the natural loving propensity to miss its target. Not surprisingly, the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in existence, refer to the living entity faced with this predicament as conditioned. The conditioned living entity, a pure spirit soul residing in a temporary covering composed of material elements which are deemed inhibiting, redirects its loving propensity towards worldly objects and temporary relationships that fall short of providing happiness in every way. The atheist is simply a lover of God who has directed their natural affection towards objects of matter, including the senses. The fruitive worker, who is a bit more advanced than the staunch atheist, directs their service mentality towards acquiring and enjoying the fruits of their labor, such as the home, car, family, children, etc., through regulated activities based on some system of piety. One step above the fruitive worker is he who loves saintly people, the poor. and the exalted living entities in charge of the material creation. Such individuals attempt to help the disadvantaged and the victims of scarcity.

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.16)

Only when the burning desire to perform service is directed at the Supreme Object of Pleasure can the right system of knowledge be revealed. One may question that since everything is created by God, what is wrong with worshiping matter or other temporary objects. The answer is that the Lord’s influence is certainly seen in everything, but direct service, one that leads to perfect yoga, can only be offered to His personal self or one of His representatives. The feet, hands and legs are different parts of the human body, but if we want to feed ourselves, we have to go through the mouth and eventually reach the stomach. If we offer food to our foot, nothing will come of such service, regardless of how devoted we are. Indeed, such a method of worship is rooted completely in ignorance. In the same way, serving matter, which is Krishna’s external energy, does nothing to further our knowledge, enhance our bliss, or purify our behavior.

When the penchant for loving service misses its intended target, what results? Revisiting the issue of liberty, tyranny is nothing more than the misuse of freedom. You cannot have tyranny without liberty; therefore the primary objective is not to simply root out oppressive behavior, but rather, to find a proper use for liberty. If we have freedom and don’t know what to do with it, we will naturally offer our service to worldly objects, those things which are temporary and bear no direct relation to Supreme Spirit. The resulting service, since it is neither natural nor authorized, will eventually lead to tyranny, even if there was a peaceful condition to begin with. For example, the greed exhibited by politicians is simply an outgrowth of the staunch devotion to matter. A businessman has a strong affinity for money, so he’ll do whatever he can to acquire as much of it as possible. If he sees the opportunity for increased profits through partnership with government officials, he will most certainly take hold of the chance. The politician who is after fame and worship from the common man will then violate the laws of nature by confiscating the property of others.

This output of effort is actually a waste of time, as the Supreme Lord is capable of providing for simple acquisitions of matter and much more. History has shown Bhagavan to be the greatest benefactor, bestowing kingdoms upon the most downtrodden who had the good sense to chant His name regularly. Yet when one ignores Krishna’s helping hand and instead worships matter, they are essentially searching for tiny food grains within heaps of garbage. A grain is typically an abundant commodity, so it is not very valuable. Searching amidst rubbish for something as ordinary as a food grain isn’t a very wise use of time, but when deluded by ignorance, the conditioned entity takes the grain to be more valuable than the eternal kingdom capable of being bestowed by the ruler of all worlds material and spiritual.

When the service mentality is directed at Krishna, the opposite behavior is seen, i.e. instead of trying to hoard material resources, the predominant desire is to increase everyone else’s happiness. The pure lover of God is known as a bhakta, or devotee. Through engaging exclusively in acts of chanting, hearing, remembering, worshiping, offering prayers and the like, the devotee remains in constant contact with Krishna. Behavior following bhakti automatically solves the scarcity problem because it leads to the highest form of knowledge. Goswami Tulsidas, a celebrated Vaishnava and devotee of Lord Rama, remarks that evidence of God’s existence can be seen in the price of worldly objects. Those things which we actually need, like food grains and water, are readily available and inexpensive. Those things that we don’t need, such as valuable jewels, palatial mansions and fancy cars, are expensive. Understanding this dichotomy and the purpose behind it, the devotee automatically avoids the greedy mentality, voluntarily adopting a meager lifestyle and taking only what is required to continue their standard of devotional excellence. Only through a purified vision acquired through divine love can the uncontrolled competition that results in lying, cheating, stealing and lobbying the government for favors be eliminated.

What about the food problem? How does worshiping God remove the fears pertaining to putting food on the table? In the conditioned state, man lives to eat, sleep, drink and be merry. On the other hand, the purified devotee lives only to perform bhakti. Hence they automatically acquire the knowledge necessary to provide for their sustenance. Whatever food is procured in the home is prepared and offered to Krishna first, with the results turning into prasadam, or the Lord’s mercy. Lord Chaitanya, the greatest preacher and most merciful saint the world has ever seen, kindly informed one of His disciples one time that the devotee’s body belongs to God. Therefore the bhakta takes special care to maintain the body for Krishna’s service. Where there is worship of the Supreme Lord in pure goodness, without any impure motives, there is always an abundance of life’s necessities. Water, food grains, milk and other bare essentials are always available.

The devotees can solve their food problems, but how does that help others who are suffering right now? Not only do the bhaktas reveal the potential for happiness brought on by utilizing the loving propensity properly, but they are also kind enough to teach others how to evoke their natural love for Supreme Spirit. In addition to showing love to everyone equally, a saint is someone who is able to evoke the highest loving sentiments in any type of person, irrespective of their religious affiliation or standing in society. By helping others arouse their natural love for God, all the problems in the world get solved. Good behavior, the proper use of liberty and the reduction in conflict are all measly, insignificant byproducts of bhakti-yoga. Rewards pertaining to comfortable outward conditions are considered paltry in comparison to the loving emotions exchanged between the individual and the Lord of their life, Shri Krishna. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say that the only scarcity in this world is that of Krishna consciousness. The more bhaktas there are in the world distributing the mercy of the Lord, the less problems there will be.

What is the quintessential act of bhakti? What is the one activity we can take up that will aim our natural loving propensity at the right target? Which engagement will help us make the best use of our God-given freedom? Shri Gaurahari, Lord Chaitanya, inaugurated the sankirtana movement, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, to save the fallen conditioned souls of this age. God is the same for everyone, but explicitly reciting His names found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, proves most effective at evoking transcendental, loving sentiments both in the chanter and in the hearts of those who are within audible range of the transcendental sound vibrations emitted. The sound of Krishna’s name is so powerful that it immediately creates the greatest motivation to maintain life. When there is motivation, a fire in the belly, there is no scarcity in production. The most abundantly produced products are the ones that sell very well, so when introduced into the marketplace of ideas and philosophies, the ancient art of bhakti immediately becomes the most demanded commodity. The more people that chant the Lord’s names, the more devotees there will be. The more bhaktas there are, the greater the influence of bhakti in the arenas of philosophy and metaphysics will be. When the natural loving sentiment towards God takes hold of society at large, the only remaining scarcity will be ignorance, a shortage we can all live with.

Class Envy

"Whom are you lamenting for when you yourself are pitiable? Why do you pity the poor when you yourself have now been made poor? While in this body that is like a bubble, how can anyone look at anyone else as being worthy of lamentation?" (Hanuman speaking to Tara, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 21.3)

Class envy forms the basis of much discord and discontent around the world. This has been true since the beginning of time, and upon closer examination, it is revealed that this conflict is unnecessary. No embodied being can be considered poor or rich in the larger scheme of things, so there is no justification for envy or pity based simply off one’s financial disposition. To help us understand this point more clearly, we can look to the wonderful teachings of Shri Hanuman.

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

What causes class envy? First, we must acknowledge that life on earth is miserable. This doesn’t mean that every single person is full of misery, but rather, the end of everything, the ultimate conclusion or result of all activity, is misery. Man’s mortality is proof enough of this point. Those who are not spiritually inclined or those who are unaware of the ultimate objective in life take to fruitive activity as their main business. This engagement is referred to as karma in Sanskrit, and there is a reason that the word translates to “fruitive activity” in English. Karma is work performed that has desired and undesired consequences. The results of this work are referred to as phalam, or fruits; hence the term fruitive activity. Regardless of a person’s religious affiliation, age, or place of birth, there is the penchant for performing fruitive activity.

So is karma bad? Depending on the angle of vision, karma can lead to positive or negative results. Material life is considered miserable because no result from karma can be positive enough to compare to the ultimate reward of salvation. In Sanskrit, salvation is referred to as apavarga, which is the elimination of fear, exhaustion, death, defeat, and bondage. Only Lord Krishna, or God, can deliver a person from these calamities. Apavarga not only removes the negative aspects of life on earth, but it also brings about the soul’s return to the spiritual world. The miseries of pavarga are only seen in the material world, a place where the soul interacts with matter. A life devoted exclusively to interaction with matter is considered miserable because no amount of adjustment, shaping, or accumulation of matter can lead to a positive result in the grand scheme of things. The issues of poverty and wealth serve as great examples in this regard.

The wealthy are deemed to be living the high life. “They have all the money in the world. What need do they have to worry about anything? They drive fancy cars, live in gigantic houses, and have beautiful members of the opposite sex flocking around them.” This viewpoint leads to envy, which then leads to a loss of rationality. Class warfare starts when the non-wealthy seek to punish the wealthy simply because of their financial disposition. “Oh they can afford to pay more. If I had that much money, I surely wouldn’t have a problem spreading the wealth around.” The opposing viewpoint is pity, a mindset adopted by the wealthy. The “poor” are deemed to be suffering; they are viewed as living the low life. “I can’t imagine not having a car and having to worry about how I’m going to eat every night. I feel so bad for them. No one should have to live like that, especially in today’s world where everyone else is so wealthy.”

When these forces combine, you get conflict. The wealthy clash with the non-wealthy; the wealthy fight with the wealthy; and the non-wealthy even argue with the non-wealthy. Every person has their own idea of who is poor and who is rich, and based on these judgments, policies are made. Political campaigns run on the issues of class envy annually. This has been the practice in every country ever since there were elections. “Elect me and I’ll end poverty. I’ll bring back jobs. I’ll make the rich pay their fair share.”

“The Blessed Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.” (Bg. 2.11)

So what’s wrong with the mindsets of envy and pity? Aren’t the rich well-off? Shouldn’t the poor be pitied? According to high authority figures who follow the Vedic traditions, there is no reason to lament or envy anyone’s situation. The soul is eternal and unbreakable, while the body is taken to be a shell, a dwelling compared to a bubble, something which can burst at any moment. It doesn’t take much to break a bubble that forms on the water, and in a similar manner, the material body constantly goes through deterioration. As soon as a person is born, the dying process begins. Since everyone lives in one of these shells, how can any person be deemed better off than anyone else? One person may have great wealth, but once their bubble bursts, that wealth remains in the material world, where it gets disbursed and transformed into other objects of matter. A person may be very poor, but again, this is just a temporary condition. In fact, in the Vedic tradition, the highest class of men, the brahmanas, voluntarily accept an austere lifestyle. Fewer possessions and controlled eating allow the mind to better focus on areas of spirituality.

The other issue to consider is the law of karma. Not only are there consequences to our actions, but these reactions are distributed in the fairest possible way. Politicians will promise to take a fair share in taxes and then distribute the money to those in need, but this system is anything but fair. A politician is after votes, so their distribution of tax dollars is strategically targeted to garner the most votes in the next election. The system of karma doesn’t work this way. All the reactions that a person receives are completely fair. Once work is performed, the pending reactions are guaranteed to arrive, irrespective of the person’s character, parentage, bank balance, or physical makeup. In this way, we see that the wealthy and the poor are simply reaping the rewards and punishments of their past actions. If their dispositions are determined by karma, what need is there for pity or envy?

The time when it is most difficult to avoid pity is right after a love one has died, as was seen with Tara, the wife of the powerful monkey fighter Vali. During the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation, Shri Rama, a non-different expansion of the Supreme Lord, appeared on earth and played the role of a pious kshatriya prince. Searching for His kidnapped wife, Sita Devi, Rama forged an alliance with a monkey-king named Sugriva. Vali was Sugriva’s brother, but the two had hostilities dating back to a previous incident where Vali thought Sugriva had tried to nefariously usurp the kingdom from him. Because of this conflict, Sugriva was living in fear of Vali. After joining forces with Rama, Sugriva asked the Lord to help him regain his kingdom. Rama obliged and killed Vali while the monkey was engaged in a fight with Sugriva.

Seeing her husband lying dead on the ground, Tara gave way to excessive lamentation and grief. To help calm her down and alleviate her suffering, Shri Hanuman, Sugriva’s faithful emissary and legendary servant of Rama, stepped in and offered some sound words of advice. In the above referenced quote, we see that Hanuman is asking Tara why she is feeling pity for someone else when she herself is worthy of pity. Tara was viewing Vali as being poor since he was dead, but meanwhile, she had become poor by losing her husband. Though we are ourselves worthy of pity and lamentation due to our being trapped in a bubble-like body, there is still the propensity to lament the position of others. Here Tara was feeling sorry for her dead husband, but she understandably could be pitied by others for her disposition. This sheds light on a natural tendency of man. During times of economic trouble, polling agencies will often go out and ask the public what they feel about the economy. An answer commonly given is, “Oh I’m alright, but I’m really worried about my neighbor. I’m worried how they’ll survive in these tough economic conditions.” But if we think about it, if we don’t have too much difficulty getting by in tough situations, then surely other people must be the same way. This logical mindset goes against the natural urge to pity others, but it is based on intelligence.

Shri Hanuman’s statement makes perfect sense, but actually applying the principles in real life is a different story. The end of Hanuman’s statement reveals the root cause of our problems: the bubble-like body. Everyone who resides in a body which is like a bubble is deemed to be equally worthy of lamentation. The real pitiable condition is the repeated cycle of birth and death. The supreme spiritual science of the Vedas confirms that the soul transmigrates from one body to another through the process of reincarnation. This system is driven by karma, which is driven by activity with the desire for fruits. If we want to pity anything, we should pity this condition.

“I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.” (Kunti Devi speaking to Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.25)

Fortunately, there is a way out of this cycle. Those who think of God at the time of death are guaranteed to get moksha, or the release from the wheel of material existence [samsara]. The way to guarantee remembering God at the time of death is to start thinking about Him now. There’s no time like the present, so we should all remember the Lord by regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Anyone who regularly chants this mantra and takes up the sublime engagement of devotional service will never have to worry about the influences of the bubble-like body again. By first elevating ourselves to a non-pitiable condition, we can then start to help our fellow man. Everyone is in need of this salvation, regardless of how much money they have in their bank account. God is the deliverer of the poor living entities who mistakenly take matter to be their best friend. Rama’s best friend is Hanuman, so by associating with him we can find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the supreme spiritual sky.

Consequence Machine

“Driven by a virtuous or evil purpose, each living entity performs some work, which has consequences associated with it. After death, the same person steadily reaps all those auspicious and inauspicious results.” (Hanuman speaking to Tara, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 21.2)

Negative and unintended side effects form one of the subtleties of spiritual life. Religion typically carries the promise of removing all troubles through a connection formed with the Supreme Lord. This link, known as yoga, is deemed the most powerful relationship, something which leads to the forgetfulness of all troubles and brings immunity from all other ailments. Indeed, it is the absence of this connection that forms the root cause of all problems in life. Spiritual life, the most pure form of which is known as bhakti-yoga, is aimed at purifying the individual from the effects of all activity, both good and bad. What’s interesting to note, however, is that there are still unintended consequences that result from executing bhakti-yoga, but as we’ll see, these consequences turn out to be blessings in disguise.

In the above referenced statement, Shri Hanuman is explaining how living entities take to certain activities with a purpose. The activities adopted may be pious or sinful depending on the angle of vision, but some intention is there nevertheless. Moreover, this activity automatically brings with it various fruits, either palatable, unpalatable, or both. The resultant auspicious and inauspicious results even carry over into the afterlife, as fruitive activity is known as karma, which means any action that leads to the further development of the body, which is a type of consequence machine for the soul. The soul continues to exist in the afterlife, so the fruits of action are related to the future body that is acquired. The results of action also play a role in determining the type of body, the circumstances of birth, and the inherent qualities assumed.

One of the interesting aspects to this definition of karma is the notion of good and bad fruits, or phala. Regardless of our intentions, all work performed under the jurisdiction of karma has reactions associated with it. There are innumerable examples to illustrate this point, but we will highlight a few. Since we live in a technologically advanced age, food production is at its peak. Never was there a time in recent memory where as much food was produced by so little human labor as is done today. As a result, people living in industrialized nations have a bevy of options when it comes to eating. Since food is so readily available, problems of obesity and other health related issues have increased. One of the more common problems is diabetes, a disease which forces a person to limit their sugar intake. Products with high sugar content are certainly quite tasty, so diabetics are left with a dilemma: do they eat sugar-rich foods and take the health risks, or do they avoid such foods and miss out on the enjoyment?

Since even food production is a business, entrepreneurs have found a way to tap into the market of sugar-intake-conscious eaters by introducing artificial sweeteners. These food additives produce a similar taste to normal sugar, except they have minimal effect on insulin levels. Therefore, diabetics and others harmed by higher sugar intake can partake of these foods without having to worry about jeopardizing their health. While there have been several controversial studies linking these sweeteners with various diseases, since there is no direct perceived health damage associated with these additives, they remain a popular alternative with those seeking substitutes for sugar.

On the surface it seems that someone who takes to eating foods that contain these sweeteners will only reap positive consequences. After all, the intention, which is based on the desire to avoid damage to one’s health, is noble enough. But karma is not so kind; every action performed has positive and negative consequences, with the exact classification being subject to the angle of vision of the performer. With the artificial sweetener example, one of the unintended negative consequences has been the increase in soda pop consumption. If a person were to drink soda enriched with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, they would likely limit their consumption for fear of increasing their sugar levels and also their weight. Artificially sweetened soft drinks are labeled as “diet soda” because they don’t have any calories and thus don’t have an effect on weight.

If we can drink calorie-free soda, we will surely drink as much of it as we can. But when our soda consumption increases, there are other issues to contend with. Most of the popular sodas are colored with caramel; hence an increase in consumption leads to a yellowing of the teeth. Avid soda drinkers will have to either walk around with discolored teeth or invest in teeth-whitening treatment. Another issue is that most sodas have caffeine in them, so an increase in consumption leads to a bodily addiction to this drug. While low doses of caffeine certainly aren’t as dangerous a form of intoxication as is alcohol, the body still does form an addiction to it. If one accustomed to drinking diet soda on a regular basis tries to go without caffeine, they can become lethargic and suffer from headaches.

This same cause-and-effect sequence can be extrapolated to all areas of life. Karma is such a complicated system that no one can accurately take stock of all the effects of action. Fruits continue to manifest even in the afterlife. Advanced transcendentalists gather all of this information and use it to their benefit. Though lamentation isn’t an enjoyable activity, it is certainly very common among conditioned individuals. Shri Hanuman’s statement quoted above was made to alleviate a grieving widow’s pain caused by excessive lamentation. The monkey-king Vali had just been shot and killed by an arrow shot by Lord Rama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Tara, Vali’s wife, upon seeing his dead body, began to wail and moan and question why such a tragedy had befallen her.

In response, Hanuman informed her of how karma works and how one shouldn’t lament over the changes to the body. These changes occur due to the results of previous work performed, both good and bad. Working off of this knowledge, the self-realized souls understand that since karma is so complicated and intricate, it is better to take to an engagement which transcends it. That activity is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Bhakti is technically the purified version of karma. Karma equates to work, and bhakti is the same work performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord rather than the body.

“When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.20)

Does this purified work result in only favorable consequences? Eventually it does, but on the surface the same system of positive and negative consequences is seen. Taking the example of an aspiring transcendentalist, let’s say that such a person decides to sincerely take up bhakti-yoga by regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and reading books like the Ramayana and Bhagavad-gita. The positive effects of this work are that the individual becomes closer to God and slowly but surely develops their loving attachment to Him. The negative effects relate to time and bodily relationships. If a person spends all their time chanting Hare Krishna and reading about God, naturally they won’t have as much time for other things, such as talking to their friends and spending time with their family. Moreover, the enjoyment derived from these lower priority activities will also start to diminish as a result of the higher taste of bhakti-yoga. The friendships formed outside the realm of spiritual life will suffer, as will the familial relationships. This is true of dedication to any endeavor. One of the reasons movie stars have such a difficult time remaining married is that both parties end up spending so much time shooting movies. The life of a movie star surely seems glamorous, but behind the scenes there are hours and hours spent on set doing take after take. A movie can take almost a year to complete, and all this time away from home can do great damage to the relationship with the spouse.

“Being completely freed from the attraction of material attachment, one gives up the attachment for this material world, family, home, wife, children and everything which is materially dear to every person. Being dispossessed of all material acquisition, one makes his relatives and himself unhappy. Then he wanders in search of Krishna, either as a human being or in other species of life, even as a bird. It is very difficult to actually understand Krishna, His name, His quality, His form, His pastimes, His paraphernalia and His entourage.” (Shrimati Radharani speaking about what results from hearing about Krishna, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 46)

So if bhakti-yoga also brings unintended negative consequences, how is it different from regular activities in karma? The difference between karma and bhakti is that the negative effects of bhakti are cancelled out by the Supreme Lord Himself. Since bhakti leads to the soul’s elevation to a higher realm, all the negative consequences relating to the body become nullified. Of what use are familial relationships to those souls ascending to the spiritual planet of Krishnaloka – the realm where Lord Krishna, the original form of Godhead, resides – after death? This transcendental realm is reserved for the purified souls, those who performed bhakti-yoga without ulterior motives during their lifetime. The aim of bhakti is to shift one’s desires from the material world to the spiritual world. So in this regard, there are really no tangible side effects to performing bhakti-yoga; the consequence machine eventually stops working. The Supreme Lord takes care of the surrendered soul, so there is no reason to not take to His service and transcend the effects of karma.

Karma

“Driven by a virtuous or evil purpose, each living entity performs some work, which has consequences associated with it. After death, the same person steadily reaps all those auspicious and inauspicious results.” (Hanuman speaking to Tara, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 21.2)

Karma is one of the well-known terms of Vedic philosophy, for it even plays a prominent role in Buddhism. The term is generally associated with good and bad results coming about from past deeds. If something bad happens to someone unexpectedly, it is common to see others point to karma as the cause. “That person had it coming. They acted nefariously for so long that karma finally caught up to them.” Sometimes we’ll encounter someone who is an expert cheater or someone who is very rude towards others. Subsequently, one day they get hit with some bad luck or misfortune, which will immediately remind others of karma. While positive and negative reactions are certainly a part of karma, the complete definition of the term involves work, the body, and the soul. To learn more about karma, we can reference the teachings of one of the greatest devotees in history, Shri Hanuman.

Lord Hanuman is probably the most famous and well-respected religious figure to come out of India. He is not the original form of Godhead or even a presiding deity of any aspect of creation. Rather, he is a humble, kind, sweet, courageous, and powerful individual, someone who dedicates all his activities towards pleasing the Supreme Lord. Due to this feature, Hanuman is an ideal object of worship, for he grants his devotees all good qualities, culminating with devotion to God, which is the ultimate objective in life. More than just a worshiped divine figure, Hanuman actually enacted many wonderful pastimes directly in the presence of God many thousands of years ago. Hanuman’s object of worship is Lord Rama, an avatara of Lord Vishnu. Hinduism brings with it the three presiding deities of Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. Of the three, Vishnu is considered superior because He is a plenary expansion of Lord Krishna, or Vasudeva, the original personality of Godhead. Vishnu has four hands and Krishna has two, but they are the same original God. When Vishnu appears on earth for whatever reason, His expansions are known as avataras.

As Lord Rama, Vishnu came to earth in the guise of a human being, a pious and handsome warrior prince. One of the primary purposes of Vishnu’s descent was to defeat a powerful demon named Ravana. In order to take on Ravana in battle, Rama needed an excuse, something which would eventually come when Ravana would kidnap Rama’s beloved wife, Sita Devi. In the search for Sita, Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana came upon the forest of Kishkindha, which was inhabited by a race of monkeys headed by their king Sugriva. Sugriva had been driven out of his own kingdom by his brother Vali, so he was living in fear of him, “sleeping with one eye open” if you will. Sugriva’s chief minister, Hanuman, orchestrated a meeting between Rama and Sugriva, as the monkeys in Kishkindha could help Rama find Sita’s whereabouts and in return, Rama could help Sugriva defeat Vali and gain his kingdom back.

This is precisely what occurred, as Rama shot Vali in the back while the monkey was engaged in a struggle against Sugriva. After his death, Vali’s wife Tara took the events quite hard. She began wailing and grieving and wondering why such a terrible calamity had befallen her husband. In the above referenced statement, Hanuman is consoling her with kind words of wisdom. While these words were offered to a grieving widow, they also serve as a great description for how karma works and how the results are distributed to the fruitive worker even in the afterlife.

“The Supreme Lord said, The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called the self. Action pertaining to the development of these material bodies is called karma, or fruitive activities.” (Bhagavad-gita, 8.3)

In the simplest definition, karma equates to the development of the body. The workings of the body surely seem involuntary, for none of us flick a switch and decide to grow or age. These things happen on their own, with the aid of time. But in reality, the development of the body is due to previous work performed, or karma. A distinction should be made between the body and the soul. Though we may be unaware of it, the soul does not grow or age; it is eternal, something which is immutable and unchanging. The entity we currently take our identity from, the body, is merely a temporary covering of the soul. The soul accepts a body and continues to reside in one for as long as karma is performed. This means that any activity that keeps the soul bound up in a covering composed of material elements can be considered karma.

To gain a better understanding of these concepts, let’s break down the different sections of Hanuman’s statement. Shri Hanuman states that the first aspect to karma is the desire to perform work. A person has a desire to do something, a hankering which can be good or bad. This is pretty easy to understand. We’re looking for some result, so we take to a particular action to achieve that result. In this scope, the activity can be deemed pious. Not all intentions are the same, for some people want to perform activities in the mode of goodness, such as giving charity to worthy recipients, teaching selflessly, and studying scripture, while others want to perform activities in the mode of ignorance, such as taking to violence, intoxication, and excessive sleep. The reason Hanuman mentions both good and bad work, pious and impious, is that the actual motive of the work doesn’t matter. Every action performed under the rubric of karma has an intention attached to it, so the actual nature of the intention is not that important in the grand scheme of things.

The second aspect to karma deals with results. The catalyst for action is intent, or a desire for a favorable future condition, but for the work to be meaningful there must be results. In Sanskrit, these results are referred to as phala, or fruits. It is for this reason that the common English translation for karma is “fruitive activity”. Every act of karma, regardless of the intention, has an associated reaction. In fact, there can be mixed reactions: both good and bad, some good and some bad, all good or all bad, etc. Remembering the simplest definition of karma, any activity that is done for the development of the body must have consequences, for that is how the body will develop. This development doesn’t have to be positive, for a body can deteriorate as well.

The concluding part of Hanuman’s statement says that the reactions of karma steadily come to the person after death. Again, this speaks to the eternal nature of the soul. Death is not the end, for only the current body finishes at the end of life. When we say that karma refers to the development of the body, future bodies are part of the scope as well. This is how the phenomenon of reincarnation works. Reincarnation is very easy to understand; it is simply the further changing of bodies by the soul. Reincarnation even occurs within one’s lifetime, as the body of a child is completely different from the body of an adult. Throughout this changing of bodies, the soul remains the same, so the only difference is the development, or growth, of the outward covering of the soul. The reactions to fruitive activity continue to bear fruit in the afterlife. These fruits, or phala, determine the type of container the soul is placed into in the next life. The fruits come to the living entity in the afterlife regardless of whether they want them or not. That is the nature of karma; it plays no favorites, nor does it make exceptions for anyone under its jurisdiction. If an activity is performed under the umbrella of karma, regardless of the motive of the performer and regardless of the nature of the results, the fruits to such action will surely come.

“O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.32)

Hanuman brought up these salient points to alleviate Tara’s suffering. Vali had committed many acts of karma previously, so it was due to those activities that he had to die in the way that he did. Moreover, the fruits of his work would continue to come to him in the afterlife. He had died on the battlefield while engaged in a noble fight, so according to Vedic tenets and the authorized statements of Lord Krishna found in the Bhagavad-gita, Vali had very good karma coming his way. Even though he fought with Sugriva through ill-conceived motives, the simple act of taking up arms and fighting with an enemy had inherent positive results built in. Warriors who die on the battlefield while fighting honorably are immediately sent to heaven in the afterlife, where they enjoy material opulence for many years. Vali was guaranteed of receiving these fruits, so Tara had no reason to lament.

The ultimate lesson here is that the body is not worth grieving over. Every experience in life, from the good times to the bad, is due to karma. Every person gets what they deserve in the end, so there is no need to pay too much attention to fairness. On an interesting side note, since Vali was killed directly by the Supreme Lord, he was guaranteed of achieving liberation from the cycle of birth and death. While karma leads to the future development of the body, associating with God enables one to transcend karma. This was the example set by Hanuman, who dedicated all his activities towards pleasing the Supreme Lord. He easily can get liberation whenever he wants, but he chooses to remain on this earth for as long as Lord Rama’s story continues to be told. In this way, Hanuman is already liberated without even having to quit his body.

“The activities or desires that relatively help a soul attain his constitutional position are called piety. The opposite are called sin. Since devotional service to Krishna is one’s constitutional position, when one cultivates this service, then nescience, which is the root cause of relative situations in the form of sin and piety, is gradually fried and abolished.” (Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Shri Krishna Samhita, 10.2 Purport)

If we follow Hanumanji’s example and take up devotional service, we also can transcend the effects of karma. While acts of karma bring good and bad material results in the future, acts of bhakti, or devotion, slowly burn off all the results of karma. Bhakti, when attached to the service of the Lord, is essentially the purified form of karma; hence it is known as bhakti-yoga. The quintessential activity for the bhakti-yogi is the chanting of the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. By regularly chanting this mantra with love and devotion, we can slowly burn off our karma and be able to focus our mind always on the Supreme Lord and His exalted devotees like Shri Hanuman.

What Might Have Been

“Krishna had actually entered the cave to deliver King Muchukunda from his austerity, but He did not first appear before him. He arranged that first Kalayavana should come before him. That is the way of the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; He does one thing in such a way that many other purposes are served. He wanted to deliver King Muchukunda, who was sleeping in the cave, and at the same time He wanted to kill Kalayavana, who had attacked Mathura City. By this action He served all purposes.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 50)

When things don’t go our way or if something important to us seems to have slipped away, it’s natural to ponder what might have been. “If only I had acted sooner, maybe the tragedy could have been avoided…If only I had played the game a different way, maybe I would have won.” This second-guessing especially comes to bear after separation from a loved one. Romantic relationships tend to be quite volatile, with the line between love and hate being razor thin. One small misstep and your beloved can go from adoring you to despising you. In these instances, it is natural to question what could have been done to avoid the unpleasant situation. Yet all the second-guessing in the world can never help to bring back time. Moreover, there is no way to accurately predict and understand the millions of cause and effect actions that take place every second. The supreme will of the Divine is responsible for every event that comes to bear. Knowing every person’s motives and desires before they are even acted upon, the Supreme Lord takes the necessary steps to put people into just the right positions so that events can play out exactly how they are supposed to.

How are events supposed to play out? Doesn’t everything occur as a result of random collision and chance? The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, are unique not only because they provide in-depth detail about the Supreme Lord, whose original form and name is Krishna, but also because they focus on areas of the soul, its relationship to the Supreme, enjoyment, hatred, and the nature of activities. Life in the world we live in is governed by the laws of nature, which are managed through a system known as karma. At its foundation, karma is any activity which leads to the future development of the material body. The soul is all-knowing in its localized area; it can be thought of as a self-illuminating source of light. If we have a flashlight that never runs out of battery power, it can provide light wherever it shines at any time. In a similar manner, the soul residing deep within the depths of the body of the living entity is always full of knowledge. When the influence of the soul is not covered up, the spiritual spark shines the light of knowledge not only to the individual, but to any area of life the soul comes into contact with. This means that the soul is already in the know about different aspects of the material creation, along with the spirit’s constitutional position as eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord.

If the soul is all-knowing, why is there ignorance? This is where the influence of the material body comes into play. While the soul is self-illuminating in the areas of knowledge, enjoyment, and bliss, its powers are still limited when compared to those possessed by the Supreme Spirit, Purushottama, Lord Krishna. The relationship between the living entities and God is that of simultaneous oneness and difference. The oneness lies in the qualitative aspect of the soul. Krishna is all-knowing and all-powerful, and since the souls are fragmental sparks emanating from Krishna, they inherit these same qualities. At the same time, Krishna is the Supreme Purusha, or person/enjoyer, so in order for this definition to be valid, His transcendental qualities must exist at a larger scale than those of the living entities. Not only is this dichotomy exhibited through Krishna’s supremacy over all that be, but also through the individual spirit soul’s propensity to become illusioned by Krishna’s inferior energy, material nature.

When the soul separates itself from the ultimate enjoyer, Krishna, it must assume a temporary body composed of various elements of nature. These elements are known as gunas, which can be translated to mean ropes. Gunas are binding in that they cloud the self-illuminating knowledge of the pure soul. When the soul is encaged in a body composed of gunas, the resulting life form is known as a living entity, or jiva. The jiva is technically considered part of Krishna’s marginal energy because the jiva has a choice as to the nature of activity it chooses to engage in. One path leads to the shedding of the knowledge-blocking gunas, while another leads to the further development of the material body, and thus the continued encagement of the purified soul.

The latter path is known as karma. Most of us take to this path by default. Therefore the material world is considered an ocean of nescience, a place where ignorance reigns supreme. This should make sense because only a person in ignorance would take to activities that lead to further bondage and a shielding of their true identity. Karma is an intricate system of cause-and-effect. Thus when translated into English, karma is known as fruitive activity. In Sanskrit, the results of karma are referred to as phalam, which means fruits. Fruits come about through the sowing of seeds, so all our worldly activities can be compared to the planting of seeds. With karma, the fruits that result from this planting aren’t always palatable. Karma results in both favorable and unfavorable results. On the highest level of thinking, all results of karma are considered unfavorable since they lead to the future development of the material body.

“Just as a tree starts to blossom during the proper season, so the doer of sinful deeds inevitably reaps the horrible fruit of their actions at the appropriate time.” (Lord Rama speaking to Khara, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 29.8)

There is a tendency to personalize the issue of cause and effect. Even if we turn to the Supreme Divine Entity to deliver our cherished fruits, there is still the idea of an isolated relationship. We’re essentially only focusing on our own fruitive work, or causes and effects. The material world is considered a place of misery because each individual is taking part in their own activities. There are bound to be collisions not only in desires, but also in the results of work. Moreover, the laws of nature are very fair and strict. If we take to an activity that is considered sinful, the negative reaction must come to bear. Lord Rama, one of Krishna’s most important incarnations to have appeared on earth, describes the nature of sinful reactions very nicely. He says that just as the flowers blossom on the trees during the proper season, the fruits of sinful activities come to the performer at the right time. To match the nature of the original sinful act, the fruits that result are ghastly.

From Lord Rama’s teachings, we see that not all reactions to activities come to bear right away; hence the analogy to fruits when discussing karma. We may plant a seed on any given day, but the resulting flower or fruit doesn’t come about until much later on. Depending on the specific seed, the resulting fruit may take weeks, months, or even years to manifest. In the same manner, each living entity is performing so many activities each and every day which have reactions that must come to bear at some point in the future. Since every effect has an initial cause, the aggregate total of causes and effects for the billions of living entities in existence is too much for even the most powerful computer to handle. In this regard, excessive lamentation over loss is unnecessary because there is no way for any ordinary entity to accurately decipher or predict the nature of fruitive activity. “Everything happens for a reason”, as the saying goes, and only one person understands all the happenings and all the reasons. That person is Krishna.

An example always helps to understand these concepts more clearly. Who better to look to than Krishna Himself? The Lord was kind enough to make a personal appearance on this earth some five thousand years ago. Having spent over one hundred years on the planet, the Lord took part in so many activities that devotees still talk about them to this day, deriving great pleasure from hearing anything related to Krishna. After growing up in the farm community of Vrindavana, Krishna went to Mathura to live as a king, as was His prescribed duty. For the Supreme Energetic, Krishna, there are never any required activities, but in order to set a good example for future generations, the Lord kindly adhered to the occupational duties of His specific varna, or societal division. Krishna appeared as the son of Vasudeva, who was a kshatriya, or military leader. Therefore Krishna was groomed to follow in His father’s footsteps. Vasudeva was part of the Yadu dynasty, so there was an added emphasis towards upholding the family heritage of dedication to chivalry and the protection of the innocent.

Lord Krishna took over control of the town of Mathura by killing its evil king, Kamsa, who also happened to be Krishna’s uncle. Kamsa’s father, Ugrasena, was the titular head of the kingdom after his son’s death, but for all intents and purposes, Krishna was the acting leader, the person providing protection from attack. Shortly after Kamsa’s death, one of his dear friends, a king named Jarasandha, came to attack Mathura. He was quite angry at Krishna and His elder brother Balarama for having killed Kamsa, so he brought with him his entire army of countless soldiers. Krishna and Balarama, being the Supreme Divine Entities Vishnu and Ananta Shesha Naga of the spiritual realm, easily defeated Jarasandha and his army. The Lord didn’t kill Jarasandha, however, as it was his destiny to die at a later time at the hands of a different fighter.

Jarasandha, though embarrassed at his defeat at the hands of Krishna and Balarama, was resilient. He kept on attacking Mathura, and time after time he would be defeated. One time, he decided to attack Mathura from one side, while another king named Kalayavana simultaneously attacked from the other. Krishna, not wanting to put the inhabitants of His kingdom into any difficulty, had a city built in the sea. Since this city was guarded by gates all around, it became known as Dvaraka. After transferring all the inhabitants of Mathura to the new city in the sea, Krishna came out to challenge Kalayavana. Though Kalayavana was immediately enamored by Krishna, seeing His Vishnu-form, he still nevertheless was ready to attack Him. Krishna then kindly walked away, appearing to flee the scene. Kalayavana raced after Him, but no matter how fast he ran, he was unable to catch Krishna. The Supreme Lord can never be captured in thought, word, or deed by any person who is not a devotee. The Lord finally entered a cave, with Kalayavana following soon after.

Thinking that Krishna was hiding from him, Kalayavana was ready to mount an attack inside the cave. But as mentioned before, there is a reason behind every effect. Lord Krishna is the cause of all causes, sarva karana karanam, so He knew exactly what He was doing. At the time, a great king was lying asleep on the floor inside the cave. King Muchukunda had many years prior helped the demigods in their battles against the demons. The demigods, or devas, are celestial beings residing in the heavenly planets. They are god-like, but not on a level equal to the original form of Godhead, Krishna or Vishnu. They are able to offer any material benediction up to the point of liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Liberation, or the end to the future development of the material body, can only be achieved when the individual soul’s original constitutional position is realized. This means that only when the lamp of transcendental knowledge burns throughout the body, when the all-knowing soul takes complete control of the senses, can the individual residing within the body be guaranteed of never having to suffer through birth and death again. This purified condition can only be achieved by one whose consciousness is always fixed at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.

Since they were pleased with his service, the demigods asked King Muchukunda to take a boon. The king was fatigued from all the fighting, so he asked to be allowed to take rest for a very long time. Additionally, he asked that if anyone should wake him up prematurely, such a person would be burned to death simply by the king’s glance. After the demigods agreed to his requests, the king took rest in a cave. This was the very same cave that Krishna entered into, luring Kalayavana in with Him. When Kalayavana entered the cave, he saw a man sleeping on the floor, and thinking it was Krishna, he kicked him. Having awoken prematurely, King Muchukunda gave Kalayavana a fiery glance which burned him to ashes immediately. After Kalayavana’s death, Krishna appeared in front of King Muchukunda in His Vishnu form. After offering kind prayers to Krishna, the king asked to be able to always be engaged in the Lord’s service. Krishna, well pleased with the kind words of praise, granted the king’s request and assured him that he would always be able to think of the Lord regardless of the situation. In this way, the king was granted liberation through kind association with God at the same time that Kalayavana was killed.

Only Krishna knows how the intricate system of cause and effect works. It is better for us to stick to our occupational duties and leave the details to the Lord to sort out. The highest occupational duty is the rekindling of one’s dormant Krishna consciousness. This is the only way to achieve true liberation, an end to the doubt, second-guessing, and suffering caused by the results of karmic activity. The path to a purified consciousness can be found through the persistent chanting of “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.