Breaking the Barrier

“With a poor fund of knowledge, we cannot adjust to the idea of the personality of the Absolute Truth, and the personal activities of the Lord are deplored by the less intelligent impersonalists; but reasons and arguments together with the transcendental process of approaching the Absolute Truth help even the staunch impersonalist to become attracted by the personal activities of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.9 Purport)

It’s difficult to believe with certainty that there is a supreme personality who possesses distinguishable features when you’ve spent your entire life not contemplating such a person. During times of trouble, you may have called out to an abstract figure known as “God”, but never did you know the nature of His enchanting smile, the unique complexion of His body, the preciousness of His features, or the reasons for His advents. You may have tried to conjure up the cause for His personal intervention from time to time, but never were you actually certain. Therefore when hearing about this information from the confident Vaishnava preacher, there might be some apprehension. Nevertheless, in spite of all past prejudices and ignorance based on mentally created theories, when reason and argument are placed together in the proper context, that Supreme Lord’s vision can be taken full advantage of.

The opulences of Bhagavan are meant to be exploited for personal enjoyment. There is a difference with this practice, however. In the absence of divine association, the cherished desire is for personal enjoyment to the point that we have more than anyone else. More money, more clothes, more shoes, more time off, more ways to enjoy after hard work in different ventures. The desire for enjoyment comes from the fact that we are all purusha, or spirit. Dull matter is prakriti, which is the material nature. Purusha enjoys prakriti.

But there is a more powerful purusha, who controls even us. We are meant for His enjoyment, so to Him we are His prakriti. Yet when He enjoys it brings to us the highest pleasure as well, so the two parties become essentially one in the ideal relationship. This is witnessed in the dealings between Lord Krishna and Shrimati Radharani. Krishna is God and Radha His immediate pleasure potency expansion. They are considered one because when they are together, always immersed in wonderful, loving thoughts, there is no question of a difference. Each person plays an integral role in the resulting relationship.

When the expansions are broken in consciousness from the Supreme Lord, differences arise. The individual souls think they are alone, capable of enjoying independently, but with this flawed notion, they find only misery, in lifetime after lifetime. The localized prakriti changes for them through the influence of time, and at death a new set of elements to be enjoyed is provided for the next life.

Of course that enjoyment is only temporary, something like from a dream. It is sometimes also considered false, or illusory. Real enjoyment is with the Supreme Lord in a mood of affection. To become more convinced of the need for that enjoyment, Krishna distributes His gospel to worthy recipients, who then pass it on to humble and sincere students.

The crux of the instruction is to follow the path that keeps Krishna in one’s life. That path is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Of course to hear of surrender unto a divine personality resembles sectarianism or blind ideology, so there is perfect argument and reason to go along with the bhakti path to make it stand out. Ironically enough, the philosophical points are of secondary importance to the surrendered souls on the highest platform of worship. They love Krishna, and from that position they get the requisite knowledge to continue that love and teach others how to reach that same platform.

From the reason perspective, we know that in the present condition we are not happy. If we were content, we would have no reason to read books on how to fix things. The self-help books on the shelves of the bookstores would never sell a single copy. The diet and nutrition experts would never be heard, and there would be no such thing as counseling. The misery is concomitant with separation from the divine consciousness, so the benefit of approaching a bona fide spiritual master of the Vedic tradition shouldn’t be difficult to understand. He can be thought of as the best self-help instructor.

The pillars of bhakti practice are chanting and hearing, which are simultaneously taken care of through outward recitation of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. These names are non-different from the person they address. Thus saying Krishna is as good as being next to Him. Rama addresses His incarnations of Lord Rama or Lord Balarama respectively. Rama also speaks to God’s ability to give transcendental pleasure to others.

We already chant and hear so many different things, so the chanting and hearing aspects of bhakti-yoga sound pretty reasonable. The recommendation is to chant the above mentioned mantra for at least sixteen rounds a day on a japa mala, which is a rosary containing one hundred and eight beads, with the mantra chanted once per bead. It is a difficult routine to adopt and follow at the outset, but the transcendental nature of the process combined with some determination in the devotee makes the process more pleasurable with time. The seasoned devotee will not give up their chanting routine for anything, not even millions of dollars.

This brings us to the argument section. How can you argue against chanting and hearing? You know that material nature brings you temporary rewards already, so what are you really losing by hearing these transcendental sound vibrations authorized and made famous by Lord Chaitanya, the preacher incarnation of Krishna? Life is about finding pleasure, and following regulation is the pathway that leads to pleasure under all circumstances. You follow guiding principles already, so why should they be absent in the highest pursuit known to man?

The regulation aspect of bhakti is to avoid behavior that is most damaging to the consciousness, as the thought processes of the mind are what you are trying to change. Never mind if you are young or old, rich or poor, unwise or intelligent, your mind will constantly work. If it can be trained to swim in the ocean of transcendental nectar, what chance is there for the common pitfalls of life, such as depression, anger, rage, frustration, and jealousy? All such inauspicious conditions are due to a false identification with the body and a lack of awareness of the magnanimous nature of the Supreme Lord.

By avoiding intoxication, meat eating, gambling and illicit sex, the progress in the purification of consciousness accelerates to a rapid pace. At the same time, an eagerness to hear more about Krishna develops. Thankfully there is no shortage of available material in this area. Beginning with the Bhagavad-gita, continuing with the Shrimad Bhagavatam, and then culminating with the Chaitanya Charitamrita, there is so much transcendental work available for the eyes to feast on. Reading is as good as hearing because the words are nothing more than recorded sound vibrations of exalted personalities. Due to the mercy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the aforementioned books and many other works on bhakti-yoga are available for reference. The ancient truths of Vedanta are presented in a way that is understandable, and yet which constantly reveals new profundities, arguments that are accepted with more understanding with each subsequent reading.

The barrier to the spiritual world is purposefully thick, for why should Krishna grant entry to His kingdom to those who don’t want it? At best we can create auspicious conditions that make the awakening of the divine consciousness more likely to happen for others, but for love to manifest, there must be an interest in all the parties involved. The sacred sounds of the maha-mantra and the cogent and thought-provoking words of wisdom coming directly from Krishna help to break that barrier.

In Closing:

That Supreme Lord could have form and attributes hard to believe,

The senses trained to rely only on sight in this way deceive.

 

But know that there is a way to break through that barrier,

Consult recorded instructions of Krishna and His message’s carrier.

 

To find real pleasure in life your mind is set,

And from bhakti-yoga this you’ll certainly get.

 

In this endeavor some reason and logic apply,

To know that soul’s home is in spiritual sky.

 

To follow devotional principles in regulation a vow make,

From supreme wisdom of Vedas your ignorance to forsake.

Looking Out For You

“The Vedic literatures composed by the omniscient Mahamuni Vyasadeva are evidence of all spiritual existence. Only through these revealed scriptures can all conditioned souls attain knowledge.” (Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 20.353)

“Did I make the most out of my life? What did my actions really amount to in the end? What was the purpose to my living? Where will I go from here?” These are the most important questions in life which the fortunate person will one day look to answer. The true saints of the earth, who were brave enough to share their sentiments with others regardless of the reception they received, thankfully have addressed these issues for us. In this sense they have looked out for everyone, including yourself, even if they have not met you personally.

How can someone answer an intimate question relating to my life if I have never met them? Ah, there are patterns to the human life cycle. Every person goes through birth, old age, disease and death. The living person hearing these facts obviously has not undergone death yet, but this doesn’t mean that it won’t happen eventually for them. The force of all-devouring time, known as kala in Sanskrit, has yet to lose. When it arrives, nothing can be done to send it away. No amount of begging or pleading can extend the predestined lifespan for the individual.

Since every living entity must die, we know that all the people of the past suffered death. They also went through the full cycle of birth to death, wherein if they had the fortune of maturing into adulthood they likely reached a position where they eventually pondered over the meaning of life and why they were put on the earth. These are valuable pieces of information to know because if someone else has already studied an issue that perplexes us today, we can consult their findings to see if anything tangible can be made of them. We can perhaps get an answer before we run any tests ourselves.

But which people should we consult? There are the mental speculators who have devised the scheme to enjoy life as much as possible. If you are destined to die, why worry at all about sin and good behavior? If the pious person meets the same fate as the miscreant, why the attention to following law codes? Shouldn’t every person just be out for themselves? Compete for resources and may the strongest person survive, no?

The best combination is when you have an inquisitive person of a saintly character who meets the right set of information. That information must date back to the beginning of time and be presented through the mouth of a flawless person. The only being that cannot fall down is the Supreme Lord, who is thus known as Achyuta in the Vedic tradition. He has thousands of names which try to address His specific features, though there are too many glorious attributes to describe.

The Vedas are His talking points, His vital pieces of information passed on to the bewildered spirit souls unaware of their true position in the larger scheme. If you don’t know your defining position, which also represents your identity, how will you know how to act? A student acts by following the guidelines of the teacher, the worker the boss, and the citizen the government. In each case there is a specific identification leading the way.

But at the time of birth, these designations don’t exist; thus we know that they are temporary. They change throughout the course of one’s lifetime, and at death’s calling, the body itself is renounced. Therefore there must be more to life. There must be more to having an existence than struggling through temporary ups and downs that the animals experience as well.

The information originally passed on by God at the beginning of time has taken on a variety of forms with the passing of ages. In some forms brevity is the distinguishing factor, while in other forms there is more comprehensiveness attached. Thankfully for the world, the same speaker periodically comes to earth and repeats the information He originally presented at the beginning of time. Considering time and circumstance, He tailors His message accordingly.

“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.8)

Arjuna’s chariot lay stationary on the battlefield. The war was about to begin, but the leading fighter for the Pandava side was hesitant. If you’re not ready to go full speed ahead, you won’t stand a chance in a violent conflict. Desire is as contributing a factor to victory as ability in the game itself. Arjuna had the ability. He could shoot arrows with the best of them. His marksmanship was so perfect that he once pierced the eye of a fish just by seeing its reflection in water. That feat earned him the hand of the beautiful queen Draupadi, but now the stakes were a little higher. A fight to the death would determine the control over a kingdom, one which rightfully belonged to Arjuna and his brothers.

To settle the doubts in His cousin and dear friend, Krishna stepped in and offered some sound words of advice. Ironically enough, the same lessons were imparted at the beginning of the creation. Krishna Himself revealed this cogent fact during the talk with Arjuna. He previously spoke these words to the sun-god, Vivasvan, who in turn passed it on to his son Manu, who then gave it to his son Ikshvaku. The saintly kings thus held on to the tradition of the essence of Vedic wisdom, but since the chain of disciplic succession had broken, Krishna was there to reinstate the tradition, to pass it on to another saintly fighter.

But the fighters weren’t the only ones familiar with this information. In fact, it was the saintly class of renounced mendicants who best understood this information and remained firmly convinced of its validity. You see, through sitting in their hermitages and steering clear of material attachment, the saints of the past had plenty of time to contemplate on both the meaning of life and the essence of the Vedas. They did all the heavy lifting for us, and the conclusions they produced were flawless.

They didn’t keep these secrets to themselves, though they didn’t openly proclaim them to every single person either. If I have a specific piece of information relevant to the field of computer science, I’m not going to walk into a doctor’s office and start sharing that with the doctor. They may or may not be interested in hearing what I have to say, but the office is not the proper venue. The constitutional position of the doctor’s office or the hospital is to heal sick patients.

If the patients aren’t willing to take the medicine, then no amount of treatment can save them. In a similar manner, if the hearts and minds of the listeners are not attuned to learning about the meaning of life and the way to properly act, no amount of instruction will do them good. Ah, though qualified recipients are rare to find, the saints couldn’t keep all of this information bottled up. They documented their sense perceptions, their mental conclusions based on the original fact of God and His divine presence, into written form to be passed on to future generations.

So what was the conclusion they reached? The same one that Arjuna did, of course. The hesitant warrior, through heeding Krishna’s advice, threw away his doubts and decided to fight ahead. He was no longer concerned with victory or defeat or whether the friends and family fighting for the opposing side would continue to live. He followed through because Krishna asked him to. The relational link to the Supreme Lord is what serves as our guiding force. Knowledge of the link is the first step, and following through on the steps necessary to revive that link represent the next leap forward.

“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.”  (Bg. 10.12-13)

A life lived in devotional service, or bhakti-yoga, dispels all doubts as to the reason for existence. There is no regret at the time of death if much time was spent chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, during one’s days on earth. The purpose to the existence is solved through devotional practices, as one tastes the sweet fruit of Krishna’s association. His name is as good as His personal self, and His activities are equally as representative of Him.

These names, forms, activities and attributes are passed on in the Vedic literature, and simply hearing about them from someone who follows the same mood of devotion as Arjuna can eliminate all doubts. The saints look out for us, often before we are even born. The spiritual masters of the Vaishnava tradition, who devote their thoughts, words and deeds to Vishnu, or Krishna, know what is best for every single person. They know the answers to problems before they are encountered, and because of this prescience their association is always the most wonderful boon in life.

In Closing:

At death’s call, your body about to quit,

Ponder your time on earth, was it worth it?

 

What did it all mean, what did I really do?

Life after death, is it real, can it be true?

 

Saints of the past on this did all the heavy lifting,

Their conclusions profound wisdom to mankind gifting.

 

Ultimate truth of devotion to Krishna they did reach,

How to find that same path to others they do teach.

 

Arjuna followed devotion and saints do the same,

Live a life devoted to God, chant always His name.

Heart and Soul

“Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.32)

Due to rapid advancements in technology, which include the internet and its accompanying popularity, the encyclopedia sets aren’t as widely used anymore. Though their sales aren’t what they used to be, what if you could sift through those many volumes and absorb every piece of information presented. You would become a human encyclopedia, able to quickly reference information on pretty much any topic. But according to those who are enlightened about the workings of the subtlest science, whose operation takes place in the background unseen to the naked eye, that knowledge wouldn’t be worth much. The spirit soul is the essence of identity, and without knowing both body and soul and their relationship to one another, how can the proper end be achieved?

“So people who read the encyclopedia inside and out are stupid? What about doctors who know about medicine? They save lives with their knowledge and skill. Lawyers help the innocent defend themselves from wrongful attack, and teachers instruct their students on the basic skills necessary for holding down a job later on in life.” The encyclopedia example is one, but what if we applied the same principle to something more modern like the internet news sites. What if every day you could have all the information ready to be published on internet and blog sites fed into your brain? Would you have perfect knowledge?

Of course the real issue is what to do with all that information. The occupational duties of the professional who is knowledgeable about their field is one way to make use of the information absorbed, but the limits of time and space are always there. The essence of identity is actually not limited by these factors. The spirit soul is transcendental to the changes of the body, which occur throughout life automatically. At the time of death, the subtle elements of mind, intelligence and false ego carry the soul to its next destination, sort of like the passing of a sweet aroma through the unlimited space.

“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)

This information and much more about the spiritual science is presented in the Bhagavad-gita, the most famous and profound scriptural work emanating from the area today known as India. Just as with the encyclopedia and news examples, we can ask the same question relating to what knowing about the soul and body can actually do for somebody. Whether I am knowledgeable about reincarnation or not will have no impact on its operation. Ah, but there is something we can do. From knowledge of the body and soul comes the ability to charter a course in life that reaches a destination where reincarnation is absent, where the soul is freed from a body that is bewildered into taking worthless information to be worthwhile.

The Vedas deal only with real knowledge because under ideal circumstances, no other type of education is necessary. For instance, if one has a plot of land, some cows and a humble dwelling to call home, what need is there for education? The offspring can pick up the tools of the trade just by watching the elders, and general morality and obligation can be learned the same way. Love and affection don’t have to be taught; so the future generations can live peacefully, have enough food, and not worry about taxing their brains.

Indeed, in the “advanced” modern age, slowly but surely that rural lifestyle was pushed aside in favor of a more “enlightened” approach, where new generations of family members would attend college for the first time and enter the workforce in the cities. With this model education became a necessity, a requirement for being able to earn a living, which would in turn put food on the table. The topics discussed in educational circles ideally allow students to develop a skill that will help them be valuable to a firm that sells a good or service for a profit. In some cases the enlightened student can start their own business if they so choose, operating on the principles instructed to them during the prior period of education.

In the Vedic scriptures you will not find information on how to get a job. The earth and its many seeds solve the food problem. Growing crops and harvesting them at the appropriate time isn’t too complicated, and surely it is not as important as the meaning of life, the reason for being placed on this earth. The concepts of fruitive activity, sense enjoyment and mental speculation are the abstracted versions of what we think to be variety in information. The news sites and encyclopedias deal only with information about these three topics, but the presence of the soul and what it needs for a better condition are not addressed.

In the beginning of the Gita we learn that the living entity is not the body. The body changes all the time, from boyhood to youth to old age. Just as a person gives up old garments in favor of new ones, at the time of death the departing spirit soul discards one body in favor of a new one to be given at the time of the next birth. The soul is the superior entity; it is the spark of life. We know that life is present when there is autonomous growth. In the degraded mindset where sex life is sought out without any concern for repercussions, the debate over whether a fetus is a life is introduced. This is a silly notion, for if the fetus weren’t a living being, there would be no need to abort it. In the same way, the trees and plants are living because we know that as soon as we cut them down, they start to decay, just as the human body does when the soul exits.

The soul thus proves to be the only ingredient necessary to have life. The material elements are an after thought, as some living beings are extremely tiny and others large. The soul’s position transcendental to the body is important to know because through the playing field that is material nature the proper destination can be reached. Think of it like having a car to take you places. The car does not represent your identity. You can sell it at any time in favor of a new one. You can even get rid of it and use other modes of transportation, such as walking.

Nevertheless, the car’s separate identity does not automatically make it useless. If you utilize the car to take you places that will benefit you, it is worth having. Similarly, the spirit soul’s temporary body serves as the vehicle for interaction with nature. Under the proper guidelines put forth by the Vedas and their sincere followers and teachers, the soul can direct the body towards those activities which are supremely beneficial for not only this life, but also the next.

The knowledge of the soul and body ideally steers the living being towards bhakti-yoga, the summit of activity. In yoga there is both the restriction of sense interaction and a meeting of two spiritual entities. The individual spirit resides within the body alongside the Supreme Spirit. The Supreme Spirit is not visible, so He is sometimes described as nirguna [without qualities]. To show what the Supreme Spirit really looks like and what He is capable of, the original feature of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead known as Bhagavan, appears in select places and gives His association.

Since Bhagavan is Absolute, His instruction is as good as His association. Especially when that instruction comes directly from Him and is remembered as such, as soon as the student sincerely hears that information they are automatically associating with Bhagavan. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Soul revealed Himself to a distressed warrior who had temporarily forgotten the distinction between matter and spirit. Arjuna, the leading warrior for the Pandavas, only forgot about the science of self-realization for a moment, but more unfortunate is the majority of the population of the Kali Yuga who has never heard this information.

The Bhagavad-gita is a collection of verses describing how Krishna reminded His dear friend Arjuna of the meaning of life, the difference between the two souls residing within the body, and how one can go about acting without being materially attached. The Gita, now available to the world through the efforts of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciples, provides Krishna’s association through His instruction. The pearls of wisdom coming from the Gita cannot be found anywhere else in the same format. In the past it took a lifetime of penance and austerity, detachment from material sense gratification and mental speculation, to reach the same point of enlightenment that Arjuna was able to find through Krishna’s direct instruction.

Now that same information is available to anyone who is sincerely interested in hearing about it. Without knowing that you are spirit and not matter how will you ever find the right path in life? If you don’t know that the spirit soul doesn’t have to suffer through reincarnation, how will you ever decide to follow the spiritual path in earnest? The quintessential act of bhakti is the chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The benefits of bhakti are not exclusive to those following Vedic traditions. Any name of God chanted with faith, love and determination will bring the enlightenment necessary to eschew the material path that is filled with so many sinful activities, like meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex.

But if one is unsure about which name to chant, why not take Krishna’s name? Why not give recitation of the maha-mantra a try and see if you are better off for it? For starters, just by chanting for a brief period of time the feverish material existence around you goes on pause. This means that there is immediately some peace of mind for as long as the chanting continues. The food problem, the economic problem, and the enjoyment problem don’t require high knowledge to be solved. In the past people lived just fine without rapid information transfer. They did okay without television and internet, for the human brain will always seek out a pleasurable condition. The real aim of life is to transcend the temporary and seek the permanent, that which is similar in quality to the soul, the essence of identity. Bhagavan Shri Krishna is intimately familiar with the soul’s properties, so He provides instructions aimed only at benefiting the individual in the long run. Absorbing Krishna’s words, holding on to them as the most valuable information, leads the soul within the heart towards transcendental ecstasy.

In Closing:

For enlightenment know both body and soul,

Otherwise your knowledge filled with holes.

 

The body is your vehicle with which to act,

Amazing abilities from it you can extract.

 

If coupled with this the soul you know,

Then can find proper direction in which to go.

 

Bhagavad-gita is for knowledge the primary source,

Learn pearls of wisdom from this sacred discourse.

 

Chant Krishna again and again, though any name is fine,

From Bhagavan’s association sweet happiness to find.

Self Realization

“To know one’s constitutional position means to know also the sublime position of the Lord. One who wrongly thinks that the living entity’s position and the Lord’s position are on the same level is to be understood to be in darkness and therefore unable to engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.51 Purport)

To fully understand a component object, one needs to know the purpose that it is meant to fulfill. If tied to a larger object, familiarity with that larger object is also required. In the absence of knowledge of the whole, the understanding of the component will be incomplete. For the infinitesimally small spiritual spark cased inside of a larger, yet ever-changing, material covering, to know oneself is the ultimate pursuit. Along the way, so many identifications are shed. To find the ultimate knowledge of the self, one must know to whom that self is intimately tied. Knowing the benefactor and its divine features is thus concomitant with self-realization.

What does this all mean really? Are there people who only understand the identity of the spirit soul and ignore the presence of the superior soul? How is that even possible? Actually, depending on the path of spiritual life you accept, you can perpetually remain in the dark about the presence of a superior form of spirit. For instance, there is the route of mental speculation. This is fraught with peril, as the human brain is limited in its thinking capacity. Moreover, perception is the fuel for mental effort, and this perception is limited. Even if we have x-ray vision and the most expensive microscope to use for our observation, the surrounding environment plays an enormous role in the information gathering. When the sun goes down at night and there is full darkness, it is much more difficult to see our surroundings.

The range element of a machine to help us in perception is a limit with respect to space, and there is also the more powerful limiting force known as time. Because of time’s influence, we have no way to perceive something as important as our emergence from the womb. The whole of human history must be accepted on authorized information presented by others, including their written-down sense perceptions. To add further complexity to the mix, the brain must be able to retain all the visuals it consumes and then know how to process them. As we have difficulty remembering what we ate for breakfast a few days ago, the sole reliance on sense perception is flawed from the very beginning.

In the Vedic tradition, those interested in self-realization are taught the first instruction of aham brahmasmi, which means “I am Brahman.” Right away the Vedas slap the silly mental speculator upside the head by saying: “Abandon this pursuit of high knowledge on your own. Don’t even try to speculate. You are pure spirit, Brahman. Brahman is the truth. It is above the dualities of heat and cold, happiness and sadness, up and down, and birth and death. Brahman is your real identity. Follow authorized methods of instruction and practice to understand your position as Brahman.”

With the self’s position identified in the beginning, the proper target is also set. Without a proper target, going through life is like running around as a chicken with its head cut off. A gun must be pointed at a proper target in order for its bullets to have the desired effect. The automobile must be given a destination for its ability to mean something. The student must know which assignments to complete and which tests to study for in order to reach the end of successful completion of the course.

With the individual’s position as pure spirit identified, the authorized Vedic instruction applies rules and regulations aimed at allowing for that position to be realized. Someone may stand up in front of the classroom and teach me about the concepts of mathematics, but unless I can apply those principles myself, my knowledge of that information will be incomplete. Someone can tell me that two plus two equals four, but if the situation arises where I need to use that equation myself, I need to know the truth behind it.

The practical application of Vedic principles comes through sacrifice, penance, austerity, and study of the Vedas, which delve into the difference between matter and spirit, the genesis of creation, and the constitutional position of the living entity. The material body is not the source of identity. This fact needs constant reiteration because in the absence of Vedic instruction, the living being automatically succumbs to the debilitating effect on consciousness brought on by material nature, which brings illusion at every second. I know that my ancestors have died, yet somehow I don’t think that the same fate awaits me. Even if I do acknowledge it, I try to forget about it, as why would I want to make myself depressed?

“One should perform sacrifice, penance and charity with the word tat. The purpose of such transcendental activities is to get free from the material entanglement.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 17.25)

The Vedas are the true light of knowledge, so remaining in constant contact with them through the information presented by its most highly qualified teachers keeps the proper identity of the self intact. By following Vedic guidelines for abstention from material association, detachment from the constant ups and downs of life, and recitation of the sacred syllable om, which represents the Absolute Truth, one can become Brahman realized, or brahma-bhutah.

Yet the living being’s identification with Brahman is only one part of the puzzle. The realization is not complete unless one learns where Brahman fits into the larger picture. As an example to see the distinction, let’s say that we’re studying an automobile. Through mental effort, we learn the ins and outs of the steering wheel. It is made of a certain compound, operates through the effort of the driver, and requires a certain type of fluid in order to rotate smoothly.

But what if all we knew was the steering wheel? What if we ignored its position relative to the automobile? Obviously the steering wheel on its own isn’t of much value. It’s a circular object that may look nice and do neat stuff.  But only when placed inside of a functioning vehicle is the steering wheel really useful. So in this sense knowing about the car and its value is equally as important as knowing about a component piece.

The individual sparks of Brahman are by nature blissful, eternal and knowledgeable. These features are inherited from Parabrahman, which can be considered the Supreme Self. On a tree we may have many small bananas and one very large one, but there isn’t an inherent relationship between the larger object and the smaller pieces. Different degrees of size and stature are there in virtually every field, but with Brahman and Parabrahman there is an ideal relationship. Brahman emanates from Parabrahman, and that link can never be broken; only forgotten.

Parabrahman’s features are revealed to the spiritualist who follows the topmost Vedic discipline of bhagavata-dharma, which is also known as bhakti-yoga. Though Parabrahman is a separate entity, it resides within the individual body alongside the individual soul. Its presence is felt through following the instructions of the acharyas familiar with bhagavata-dharma. To be a qualified teacher in this discipline, one has to be practicing its principles. The primary activity of bhakti is the chanting of the holy names: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

If we’re trying to learn about the features belonging to a superior collection of spirit, what is chanting a mantra over and over again going to do for us? Connection with Parabrahman doesn’t necessarily require sight perception. That may help, as seeing makes a believer out of a staunch doubter, but if that vision goes away the ability to connect does not. This reveals Parabrahman’s absolute position. Chanting the names of the Personality who Parabrahman represents is as good as seeing Him, because the name carries with it Parabrahman’s qualities, pastimes and forms.

“My dear Krishna, O infallible and most beautiful one, any human being who happens to hear about Your transcendental form and pastimes immediately absorbs through his ears Your name, fame and qualities; thus all his material pangs subside, and he fixes Your form in his heart. Through such transcendental love for You, he sees You always within himself; and by this process all his desires become fulfilled. Similarly, I have heard of Your transcendental qualities. I may be shameless in expressing myself so directly, but You have captivated me and taken my heart.”  (Letter from Rukmini Devi to Lord Krishna, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 51)

One famous divine figure during her time on earth had never met Parabrahman in His original position as Shri Krishna, but since she had heard about Him, she knew that He was the only person she wanted to marry. The sound vibrations she took in describing Krishna’s features painted the mental picture within her mind, which allowed this most beautiful princess, Rukmini Devi, to fully surrender herself to Him. Though she wasn’t a transcendentalist consciously looking to understand the self, simply by harboring attraction for Krishna, from hearing about His features, she was intimately familiar with her own constitutional position.

Krishna’s position is sublime. His name, which is assigned to Him by those who love Him, indicates that He is all-attractive. Brahman’s tremendous potency is meant for serving Parabrahman. That is the real purpose to self-realization. If I understand my constitutional position as pure spirit and know where I fit into the larger picture, I can follow activities that will bring the ultimate benefit. Therefore self-realization is meant to culminate in service to Krishna, which operates without motivation and without interruption when the sublime vision of the Lord is kept within the mind. Seeing Him for a second can bring bliss to the eyes, but once that vision dissipates, the eyes are left to look upon other things. In this way Krishna’s name is actually superior to Him, because it can be repeated over and over again, creating that same sublime vision within the mind at any time.

“But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, fixed, and immovable—the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth-by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.”  (Lord Krishna, Bg. 12.3-4)

What about those who never learn about Krishna but reach the state of brahma-bhutah? Shri Krishna addresses this issue in the Bhagavad-gita, His discourse on spirituality which has the essence of the Vedas in a format presentable to even those not fully immersed in self-realization. Understanding only the self while ignoring Parabrahman is akin to understanding the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord. Through the impersonal understanding man can shun material nature and thus avoid the harmful attachments that develop over the course of a lifetime. This path is quite difficult to begin with, as without the bliss of Krishna’s association, adherence to dharma will be severely tested.

Nevertheless, if the motivation is genuine, if the desire for self-realization is true, eventually the impersonalist will find Krishna. The bhagavata-dharma route is direct, as it identifies the living entity’s position as Brahman and servant of God simultaneously. With bhakti, Krishna can stay within the mind, bringing the sweetness of association. Brahma-bhutah relies on knowledge and renunciation, but even the most unintelligent person can bask in Krishna’s association if they are sincere in purpose. Hence they can find their constitutional position without knowing Brahman first. The bhakti route is easier to implement but much more difficult to accept, as the spirit soul has grown averse to divine love through its travels through many species in the wheel of the samsara-chakra, the cycle of birth and death. Nevertheless, those who are fortunate enough to understand Krishna’s position will never have to take birth again, reaching His transcendental abode at the end of life, gaining the opportunity to live in their original home.

In Closing:

Self-realization, pursuit of identity to know,

But to higher being our existence we owe.

To know self one must know Him as well,

His beautiful form ignorance dispels.

From bhakti know God without Him in front of you,

Let mind worship image of sweet form of bluish hue.

Rukmini loved Krishna though Him never having seen,

Asked Him to rescue her, arrive at marriage scene.

In bhakti for progress won’t have to wait,

Through Lord’s help at end reach highest state.

Erstwhile Transgressions

“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.28)

Who is God? Is He just an abstract concept conceived in the bewildered mind looking for some real meaning to life? Fruitive activity seems to be the obvious solution to redress mental ailments. “Just go wherever the sense impulses take you and you will be alright. If you feel like eating something now, go for it. Want to indulge in intoxication, why not give it a try?” When the pattern of repeated acceptance and rejection, happiness and dissatisfaction, is recognized, the search continues for a higher truth. Perhaps there is something beyond this temporary realm. Maybe there is a supreme controller who is not bewildered by duality, and perhaps there is a purpose to our existence that can be revealed from connecting with that person.

Along with providing answers to the many questions we’ve asked throughout our lifetime, this pursuit for higher knowledge also has the potential to purify so many past mistakes. How does this work exactly? According to the Vedas, the scriptural tradition of India brought forth at the beginning of time, long before any person could imagine, man is born with three defects. He has the propensity to commit mistakes and cheat, and he has imperfect senses. The mistakes are easy to see. Anything where we did something the wrong way, something we later on acknowledge as a bad decision, gets identified as a mistake. We know that man commits mistakes because otherwise there would be no purpose to guardianship, education, or the study of history.

Man also has a tendency to cheat. Rules and regulations are imposed to address this tendency. If man didn’t have a propensity to take what didn’t belong to him, to use unlawful advantages, there would be no reason for governing bodies to exist. Government’s primary function is to protect innocent life and property. The protection is of primary concern, and if it is absent nothing the government does can satisfy the general public, the people being governed.

Man also has imperfect senses. This may not be immediately obvious, but if we take something as simple as the need for light, the many limitations of the human being can be easily noticed. The only difference between a dark room and a lit one is the presence of light. Through illumination we can decipher the objects within the room and describe them to others. Yet once the light disappears, do the objects suddenly vanish? From the observer’s perspective those objects are no longer present, but the intelligent person knows that the external viewpoint has no bearing on the viewed object. Since we require light to see things, our senses are not perfect. Moreover, even with bright lighting, we sometimes misidentify things, such as considering a rope to be a snake and vice versa.

Because of the three defects, man makes so many incorrect decisions and goes down so many erroneous paths in life. The incorrect decisions are the root cause for the present condition, the circumstances of the most recent birth. The soul is eternal, but the dwellings it occupies are not. We may purchase a home and live in it for upwards of fifty years, but we know that eventually we will have to move out of the house. Either we will find another dwelling to reside in or we will die and exit the entire world. The body of the living being is likened to a dwelling because the soul inside it is the occupant. The soul retains the properties of eternality, bliss and knowledge always, but just as the shade can cover up the effusive lamp’s splendor, the body types assumed can mask the brilliant properties of the soul to varying degrees.

Birth indicates that the previous life was a failure in terms of the ultimate mission. The living being, though a pure spirit soul, can reside either in God’s company or away from Him. The separated land is known as the material world and the specific residence in it is determined by desires from the past. If at the time of quitting our previous body we desired some type of material attachment, we received birth in the temporary realm governed by duality as our handsome reward. Not only does the human being face this predicament, but so does every other type of living entity. The countless living creatures residing in the earth, sky and water represent spirit souls who chose in favor of material association in the past.

“There are an infinite number of living beings, both moving and nonmoving, who have many different abodes, with some residing in the earth, some in the sky, and some in the water. But O helpless Tulsi, for you Shri Rama’s holy name is your only home.” (Dohavali, 37)

The devotee, the person who knows God and His spiritual attributes, feels regret over having squandered so many past lives. A life is just a measurement of time relating to the duration of existence of a particular living form. We mark the days on the calendar and the hours within the day for reference purposes, but nothing changes about our identity with the passing of time. Whether we choose to analyze changes over a day, week, or month, we as individual beings don’t change. The same unchanging property remains perpetually, from life to life, or from body type to body type.

The fact that we took birth from our mother’s womb indicates that at least the most recent life didn’t reach full maturity in terms of God consciousness. One who thinks of the Supreme Lord and His all-attractiveness at the time of death never has to return to the ocean of material existence, which is filled with defects borne of duality, relative good and bad determined by the temporary circumstance of the time. Ignited by the failure to become fully God conscious during the previous life, within each birth there is a cycle of mistake after mistake, which can be identified through the ascendency in knowledge. As children, we may not have known better, but when we get older and mature, we realize that the past errors made were due to immaturity, lack of knowledge of many important aspects of life.

What’s so nice about turning to God and taking up His service through the discipline of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is that even the past mistakes turn out to be blessings. If we did something really horrible a long time ago, something we wish we could take back, pondering over that incident will not really do us any good. We know we screwed up, so what is the use in belaboring the point? Better to just forget about the incident entirely, no?

Normally moving on is the right option, but when one tries to learn about the Supreme Absolute Truth through following the authorized teachings of the Vedas, the past mistakes turn into valuable field research, experiences which can help to strengthen one’s devotion, convincing them even more of the supremacy of God and devotion to Him. How does this work exactly? You could take any example of material activity to learn that it didn’t deliver on its intended target, but something as obvious as intoxication can suffice. Perhaps in the past you spent significant time getting drunk with friends and family to have a good time. You didn’t know any better, so you had a few drinks here and there and enjoyed the temporary escape from the senses that intoxication provided.

But there are many negative consequences to intoxication. For starters, one loses their inhibitions, which include restraints to force compliance with standards of decency in behavior. The drunken escapades are full of acts that shouldn’t be repeated, things one did that they’d just as soon forget. The stupid behavior was caused by the lack of internal cleanliness, not having respect for the standard rules of conduct because of the temporary loss of sobriety.

Typically, the drunken binges should just be forgotten, for what can be taken away from studying such trivial incidents from the past? But if we’re learning about the science of self-realization and how the soul is the essence of identity, we can revisit those past mistakes related to drinking and realize that the initial desire for intoxication was rooted in a distaste for material life. If everything around us is going so well, what need do we have for escapes, temporary or otherwise? If we have friends and family with us, why bother with drinking? Obviously something must be missing in life, a void that has to be filled, for someone to seek intoxication.

The errant behavior caused by a lack of sobriety also helps us to understand just how important it is to stay sober. With sobriety comes an increased chance of realizing the differences between matter and spirit, of seeing the Supreme Lord’s presence wherever we turn. In the Bhagavad-gita, the most glorious of spiritual treatises, Lord Krishna opens by declaring that the soul is the essence of identity and that bodies constantly change, from boyhood to youth and from youth to old age. Krishna says that the sober person, he who is dhira, can understand these facts.

“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)

Though the past intoxication should normally be forgotten, for the spiritualist, the past incidents provide further evidence for the need to remain sober and give a reminder on how beneficial that sobriety is. If we just tell someone don’t do this or don’t do that and fail to provide a tangible reason, what effect will that instruction have? Unless there is a positive activity as a replacement, an end-goal to achieve, basic restraint will be difficult to follow. The spiritualist not only goes back on past mistakes and learns from them, but they use those experiences to become more dedicated to the sublime path that is devotional service.

And how do we know that devotional service is the correct path? The cornerstone practice of bhakti-yoga is the chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Think of Krishna, say His name, always remember Him, and do everything for Him. Following this guiding principle you will gradually come to Krishna. This is the Lord’s promise made directly by Him in the Bhagavad-gita. Lest we think Krishna is not worthy of our service, He is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure. The devotee steadily practicing devotion through chanting and hearing finds happiness in all corners of life. The worst incidents from the past are looked back upon fondly. “Ah, I’m glad I made those mistakes now, for at least I learned what is maya, or not God. Krishna is certainly everything, but His personal presence is absent from material nature. Enjoyment through maya means turning one’s back on God. As soon as that error is made, negative consequences are sure to follow. Though I made so many mistakes in the past, today those events are all blessed, for they remind me of just how amazing Krishna’s energy of maya is, and how its illusory powers are beyond comprehension.”

Krishna orders maya to fulfill the desires of the jivas, or living beings. His illusory potency is so powerful that it can fool even someone who is married to an exalted figure like Lord Shiva. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Lord Shiva is His greatest devotee, a heavenly figure who delights in hearing about the Supreme Lord, especially in His form of Lord Rama. One time Lord Shiva’s wife Sati saw him ecstatic after watching the pastimes of the Supreme Lord Rama. Sati was a little perplexed as to why her husband was worshiping someone who looked like an ordinary man. Lord Shiva told her that Rama was indeed God and that He was playing the role of a human being for the delight of others. Yet Mahadeva knew that she wasn’t fully convinced by his words, so he told her to visit Rama in the forest and devise a test by which she could find out if He was God or not.

Sati decided to appear in front of Rama in the guise of Sita Devi, Rama’s wife who had just gone missing from the forest. Expecting Rama to become ecstatic upon seeing His wife, Sati was surprised when Rama instead asked her about the whereabouts of Lord Shiva and why she was separated from him. Sati then decided to walk away and return to her husband. But as she was walking, she saw Sita, Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana in front of her. When she turned around, she saw the same trio behind her. In this way, Rama proved to be the master of illusion, capable of creating any vision at any time and place.

The devotee who takes to directly understanding Krishna can appreciate maya and her influence. The past allegiance to the illusory energy was regrettable, but at the same time it provided so many invaluable lessons, gems which were discovered only after having connected with God. As if we needed any further convincing, from the purification of past mistakes, the redress of erstwhile transgressions, Krishna’s position as the Supreme Lord and reservoir of pleasure is further substantiated.

In Closing:

In the past had many needless transgressions,

Brought negative effects, repeated depression.

Best course of action is to just move ahead,

Forget about past, concern for future instead.

From devotional service high knowledge earn,

The past mistakes become sources for lessons to learn.

At the end of life consciousness reveals our choice,

To live with God or go to material land opinion voice.

From present birth we know that in last life we did fail,

But with devotion to Krishna in end we will prevail.

Tell Me What To Do

“Knowledge, jnana, means understanding our relationship with Krishna. A wise man asks, ‘What is my duty to Krishna?’ Once we understand our relationship with Krishna and our duty to Him, we naturally become reluctant to engage in material activities. This is called vairagya, detachment from material activities. Jnana and vairagya can be awakened by bhakti-yoga.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Kapila, Ch 18)

When first presented with spiritual teachings, the attentive listener, the person on the receiving end of the valiant preaching efforts of the ebullient and sometimes boorish devotee of a worshipable personality, can have one of two reactions. Especially when information is presented by followers of the Vedas, the ancient system of spirituality passed down since time immemorial through a tradition of hearing wisdom and subsequently acting upon it, the choice of action is a pass/fail one; black or white, fight or flight, yes or no, etc. Those who are emphatically opposed to the teachings calling for complete and total surrender unto a supreme personality presented before them might have the reaction of, “No way, Jose! Not me. This stuff might be important to you, but I can’t believe what you’re saying. I already have my God and I’m fine with Him.” But then there is the inquisitive soul, he who has some interest in hearing more about this Supreme Person whose name is Krishna and who always carries a flute and wears a peacock feather in His hair. Just hearing descriptions of His glorious nature is enough to reel in the sincere soul who is looking for a bona fide spiritual path to follow, one that becomes a way of life and thus provides the topmost transcendental bliss. In these cases, the initial reaction of the recipients will invariably be, “Okay, I’m ready to surrender to Krishna, but now what? What do I do? What is my responsibility to Him?”

By delving further into the matter, we can see that responsibilities of any kind share a common trait. In the realm of spirituality, this trait’s importance becomes more pronounced. From studying example after example of different activities, a pattern starts to emerge. We see that duty is accepted to maintain a predominant characteristic, be it a personal quality, situation, or relationship. For instance, the husband has the duty of protecting the wife and taking care of the family interests. The inherent quality of a marriage is that husband and wife are together in each other’s company. Therefore the natural obligation handed to both parties is that they do whatever is necessary to maintain the defining characteristic of the relationship. Any new responsibilities that emerge will be derived from the ideal condition. The husband must earn a living to support the family; the wife must take care of the children; the husband must ensure that his wife is well taken care of in health; the wife must ensure that the family life is peaceful, stable and welcoming to outside guests, etc. Thus we see that so many duties and responsibilities come about on their own simply through understanding the nature of the relationship, the ideal condition.

Along the same lines, the individual living being gets their predominant characteristic from their relationship to the Supreme Lord. This should make sense after all, as God is the original creator, the source from which everything spiritual and material emanates. The Bhagavad-gita, the concise treatise on spirituality espoused by Krishna Himself and which follows the Vedic system, says that the spirit soul, the individual autonomous unit of energy within any form of gross matter that is deemed living, never takes birth and never dies. The spirit souls are sanatana, or eternal, just like the person to whom they are intimately related. It appears that we have a contradiction here, as by saying that the spiritual energy comes from some place, it implies that spirit souls have a beginning, and thus the stipulation of no birth loses its meaning. The actual situation can be thought of in this way: The spirit souls come from God, and since the Lord has no birth or death, the souls can also be considered eternal. These sparks forever exist, so their individuality is always there, even when it lies in a dormant state, such as during the time it may spend in the light of Brahman, the brahmajyoti.

Vedic teachings are precisely geared towards enlightening the wayward souls on their proper identity. In the absence of this sound instruction, identification will be taken from outer features; hence the existence of practices like racism, nationalism, sectarianism, ethnocentrism, and so many other “isms”. All of the equality movements that have sprung up over the course of human history are aimed at eliminating some level of false identification, but unless and until the relationship with the Supreme Lord is defined, which obviously can’t happen until the Supreme Person Himself is properly understood and identified, no mentality can be considered all-inclusive.

The flaws in the mindsets that are supposedly based on spirituality are revealed when inhumane practices like animal slaughter and terrorism follow. Those eating the meat of slain cows and even those running the slaughterhouses may be avowed followers of a particular faith, people who openly claim to believe in God, but since they engage in sinful activity by killing innocent members of the Lord’s creation, it can be understood that they have not been made aware of the properties of individual spirit and the soul’s ability to reside in up to 8,400,000 different life forms, including those belonging to the animal kingdom.

Similarly, the religious zealots engaged in blowing up buildings, setting off bombs in crowded places, and holding innocent women and children hostage to further a political purpose actually have zero understanding of spirituality. Based on their concocted theories and their own prejudices, they use religion as an excuse to further their personal interests which are driven solely off the animalistic mindset.

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

The comparison to the animal species is appropriate because only in the human form of body can the soul develop a consciousness that is wise enough to even ponder the question of identity. Indeed, anyone who asks the question of “Who am I?” is considered very wise according to the Vedic estimation. Out of the few who will ask this question, an even smaller percentage will take the necessary steps to understand their true position and what that means. Again, out of the small amount of the inquisitive population that will take the necessary steps to try to understand the Supreme Spirit, an even smaller number will actually understand that God is the most attractive person possessing the attributes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, renunciation and wisdom to the fullest degree and simultaneously, thereby making Him ever worthy of the name of “Krishna”.

Let’s say that a soul has been fortunate enough to cut through all the noise and see through the pretenders espousing versions of spirituality that fail to be all-inclusive in their practices and ideology. Let’s say that a person even accepts Krishna, or some other non-different expansion of the same personality, as God. Then what? What are they to do? After identifying who Krishna is, what steps need to be taken? The relationship between individual spirit and Supreme Spirit is nicely summarized in the philosophy of Lord Chaitanya known as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva. We label this philosophy as belonging to Shri Gaurahari, the preacher incarnation of Godhead, only because He was the first one to openly identify it and preach exclusively off of it. Indeed, since God and His infinitesimal sparks are sanatana, the relationship between them cannot be explained in a philosophy or truth which is conjured up within the mind. Rather, Lord Chaitanya was just kind enough to reveal the ultimate truth to everyone and then show us how to act off of it.

His philosophy states that the individual souls are simultaneously one with and different from the Supreme Lord. And lest we rack our brains for the rest of our lives trying to understand how this is possible, Lord Chaitanya says that this simultaneous oneness and difference is inconceivable to the mind, or achintya. The proper course of action is to act off of this disposition rather than take to understanding the specific truths and laws of nature that go into its construction. Generally, on the lower stages of spiritual understanding, when the sincere soul is not yet ready to fully surrender their thoughts, words and deeds to Krishna, individual components like jnana and vairagya are required to help further increase devotion. Jnana is knowledge, such as understanding the differences between matter and spirit, the workings of the universe, and the eternality of individual spirit. Vairagya is renunciation, giving up those engagements which further solidify the animal tendencies inherited at the time of birth. These two components are very helpful in making progress in spiritual understanding.

When one takes directly to serving Krishna and agrees to abide by their duty to Him, both jnana and vairagya come automatically. Since there is a simultaneous difference and oneness in makeup between us and Krishna, there is a natural relationship that results. Krishna is superior and we are inferior, so it would stand to reason that we would act as His servants and He would accept our kind efforts. As the reservoir of pleasure, Krishna, or God, is meant to always be pleased, for His happiness is shared with His devotees. Though the relationship with God never changes, when the bond is not identified, the actions undertaken by the individual soul don’t lead to Krishna’s direct pleasure. Therefore the inherent duty of every spirit soul roaming this and every other universe is to maintain the link in consciousness with the Supreme Spirit through expressive acts of love and devotion.

Lest we think we are being forced into worship and being made subjects of an all-powerful ruler, the service mentality is already present within everyone. Irrespective of the engagement and the identified beneficial condition, there is always service required to maintain the utmost characteristic. The example of the marriage was mentioned previously, but we can also use any relationship to see that the pattern followed is the same. In the office environment, the subjects, i.e. the workers, are employed to maintain the profitability of the company. From this simple relationship come many new responsibilities, smaller tasks and obligations that must be met. The CEO works to accept the service from the workers and also to maintain the good standing of the company. The politician acts in the interest of the constituents, the students for the pleasure of the teacher, the police officer to protect the distressed citizen attacked by rogues and thieves, the disciple to glorify and please his spiritual master, etc.

If service is present in every field of endeavor not related to spirituality, why should it be absent in maintaining the link to the one person who is superior to everyone else? My duty to Krishna is to maintain the link to Him in consciousness through acts of devotion that are collectively known as the discipline of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service.  Bhakti-yoga’s quintessential activity, the one behavior that best solidifies the understanding of the individual and their unbreakable friendship to the Supreme Person, and also the one practice wholly recommended by Shri Krishna Chaitanya, is the chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. This mantra is directly tied to Lord Chaitanya, as He was kind enough to remove the cloak of secrecy previously tied to it and reveal it to the rest of the world. Many mantras of the Vedic tradition are rightly reserved for specific students and rituals that are difficult to complete. But the maha-mantra addresses the Lord in a mood of love and devotion, and most importantly, it contains His two most potent names, Krishna and Rama. These sound vibrations describe God’s features as the all-attractive personality and the entity who provides transcendental pleasure to His devotees. These names also reference two forms of Godhead that are non-different from one another.

“The living entity is an eternal servant of Krishna, the Supreme God.” (Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 20.108)

Based on the example set by Lord Chaitanya, we see that everyone’s duty is to regularly chant the maha-mantra, at least sixteen rounds a day on a set of japa beads if possible. In the Vedic system, when the guru initiates a disciple he chants a specific mantra on a set of beads and then hands those beads over to the disciple to use in their spiritual practice. The idea is that the beads become empowered by the representative of the Lord, a spiritual master who appears in a chain of disciplic succession which has as its source Shri Krishna. With the recommendation of chanting Hare Krishna sixteen rounds daily, there is tremendous potency already built in. We can think of the sixteen rounds recommendation as having been personally empowered by Lord Chaitanya Himself, for He knew that future generations would have a difficult time answering the question of, ”What is my duty to Krishna?” This chanting regulation is sufficient in taking up a significant portion of each day, thereby allowing the sincere soul to gain both knowledge and renunciation through the simplest and most effective of practices.

Once the bhakti mindset, that of pure love and devotion for Krishna, envelops the sincere soul, the subsequent occupational duties seemingly emerge on their own. The humble devotee takes whatever steps are necessary to maintain the fidelity of their relationship to Krishna. This means that whatever is favorable towards the furthering of Krishna consciousness is accepted, and whatever leads to a return to the conditioned life that proved miserable for so many lifetimes is rejected. Refraining from the sinful engagements of meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex, the steady devotee’s mind becomes free to always think of Krishna and relish His pastimes that continue to occur throughout the innumerable universes in existence. Right now, somewhere in space, Krishna is appearing from the womb of Mother Devaki and asking Vasudeva to transfer Him to Vrindavana. Somewhere Krishna is lifting the mighty Govardhana Hill and protecting the residents of Vrindavana from the torrential downpour instigated by Indra. Somewhere Krishna is speaking the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, and somewhere the Lord is enjoying pastimes with the gopis and their leader, Shrimati Radharani. If we make chanting Krishna’s names our main occupation, we can be assured that wherever we go and whatever we do, the sound vibrations emanating from the spiritual sky can be heard, even in a land seemingly divorced of its relationship to God. Hearing God is as good as seeing Him, so following bhakti principles will allow any space to be turned into a spiritual land very quickly.

Mental Speculation

“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Shri Krishna through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” (Padma Purana)

For those surrendered souls fortunate enough to have the association of a bona fide spiritual master and the good sense to take instruction from him, one of the restrictions imposed in the beginning stages – the point in time where the new student takes to studying the differences between spirit and matter and regularly practicing the devotional principles instilled – relates to mental speculation. The Vedas identify the four most sinful activities, the places where the dark age of Kali can safely reside, to be meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling, as these behaviors bring about the sharpest divergence in consciousness, and subsequently the strongest deviation of the service mentality, to those souls wandering aimlessly in search of a proper object of worship, one who accepts the entreaties, pleas and services of the loving entity without any reservation, one who is incapable of feeling smothered by too much affection. Mental speculation is mentioned by the guru in the list of activities to avoid, as it is usually coupled with gambling. At first glance, this seems like a strange restriction because how can one stop the speculating tendencies of the mind without turning into a robot? But in reality, mental speculation is a very simple concept to understand, and its harmful effects are quite evident to those who know the ultimate conclusion in life.

Can there be a final conclusion, one that trumps all others? This is actually the determining factor in assessing whether a particular spiritual tradition following the original Vedas is bona fide or not. All the celebrated acharyas, the teachers of Vedic wisdom in ages past and present, subscribe to an ultimate conclusion, one that describes the relationship between individual spirit and Supreme Spirit. Religion can involve blind sentiment towards a particular object of worship, but when the mood of service is authorized and practiced properly, there is an inherent relationship that can be concretely defined which drives all activity. When this link is identified properly, the behavioral practices of the individual can then continue in full confidence, without any trepidation over wasted effort or fruitlessness of action.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the divine preacher and most notable incarnation of Godhead to appear in recent times, very nicely preached the ultimate conclusion, the highest truth in life, through the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. More than just a mantra for the Hindus, this kindest of prayers, the only callout to God that is devoid of any personal motive and any desire for temporary results, is open to everyone to chant, as Krishna and Rama are names that describe the attributes of all-attractiveness and ability to provide transcendental pleasure found exclusively within the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If the existence of God is to be accepted, then the eternality, blissfulness and full knowledge of His form must also be acknowledged. Without form, pastimes, qualities and names, a worshipable entity cannot be considered an object. Indeed, anything that lacks any or all of these features and subsequently turns into an object of worship will fail to provide a worthwhile benefit to the worshiper, sincere or otherwise.

Lord Chaitanya’s ultimate conclusion, which has always existed but not always been widely understood, is known as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which means “simultaneously and inconceivably one with and different”. The individual souls, the spiritual sparks assuming temporary bodies in the phenomenal world and eternal spiritual bodies in the imperishable sky, are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, who is full of form. At the same time, there is a difference in quantitative powers, as the infinitesimally small sparks can never match the Supreme Lord’s abilities and attributes in the areas of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge and renunciation. Indeed, only Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is fully conscious of every event occurring past, present and future of every living entity. We may be conscious of our current life’s affairs, but the memories are erased at the time of death. For God, there are never any limitations; hence He always remains Supreme.

“The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.5)

From knowledge of the ultimate conclusion comes an ideal relationship, one which establishes the inferior entities in their constitutional position. Since we are the same as God in quality, we are meant to always be linked with Him. At the same time, since we are subordinate, we are also meant to be the pleasing entity, the one that offers service. This mood of service is best practiced when it is not cajoled, forced or instigated out of fear. Just as the mother offers her child pure love without any external motive, the individual souls are naturally inclined towards loving their Supreme Lord, who always remains with them even if the individual loses its purified consciousness and its corresponding storehouse of knowledge.

In the conditioned state, where knowledge of the ultimate conclusion remains far, far away, the individual needs a set of regulative activities, engagements which will help reestablish the broken link with the Supreme Spirit. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s method of chanting Hare Krishna not only serves as the best way to teach the achintya-bhedabheda-tattva conclusion, but it is also the quintessential activity of the discipline that keeps one in perfect yoga with God. Yoga, which is the addition of two entities in consciousness, can be practiced in different ways, such as through the acquisition of knowledge, fruitive activity with detachment, and deep meditation and gymnastics exercises. But all of these forms of yoga are meant to culminate in bhakti, or pure love. Hence the discipline of bhakti-yoga remains the foremost occupation for man, the activity that keeps the relationship derived from the ultimate conclusion always in an active state.

Any other conclusion reached and any other behavior adopted can be deemed invalid, subordinate, and one based off mental speculation. It is for this reason that the guru, or spiritual master, who is a Vaishnava at heart, sternly warns his disciple of the dangers of mental speculation. If one is not in knowledge of their inherent link to the Supreme Spirit, they will take to worshiping other entities and objects, including their own senses. To justify their unauthorized behavior, they will then concoct their own theories and ideas as to what the ultimate conclusion is. Indeed, in the absence of spirituality, there is not even the acknowledgement of a more powerful entity and the need to form a relationship with Him. While in many spiritual disciplines the acknowledgement of a superior spiritual entity is present, the identification of an eternal relationship, one that properly describes the eternal nature of the soul and its position of being transcendental to temporary material dresses and material nature itself, remains absent. Hence the activities adopted and results that follow are often no different from what is seen with those who are wholly attached to the interests of the temporary body in full defiance and ignorance of the natural laws of spiritual science as so kindly passed down by the Vedas.

One way to understand the dangers of mental speculation is to picture a dark room full of observers. For some reason or another, there is no light in this room, so everyone must fend for themselves and slowly and carefully make their way around and try to figure out what to do. One individual may put his hand on a particular object and guess as to what it is. “Oh, this must be a lamp. It has a slim neck and a large oval at the top, so it is probably of the halogen variety. I bet you this is one of those black lamps that effuses tremendous light.” Another person may come up to the same object and guess that it is a standing electric fan. “You can feel that the neck isn’t even that long and that the top cylinder has quite a large radius. This must be one of those standing fans that oscillates.” Both individuals posit their opinions, and due to the lack of light, there is no concrete evidence to base the assertions on, nor can a final conclusion be reached.

Another analogy which accurately conveys the paltriness of the knowledge acquired through simple sense perception comes to us courtesy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Let’s say we have a frog stuck in a well being visited by another frog. If the visitor frog were to approach the frog living in the well his whole life, he would have a very difficult time accurately describing the size of the Pacific Ocean, a massive body of water that he has personally seen. The frog in the well would ask, “Is the ocean two times the size of this well? Twenty times the size? How big is it compared to this well?” Obviously the frog in the well has a very limited scope of vision, as he can only understand concepts by comparing them to things he has seen. The human being in infancy goes through a discovery process that ideally continues all the way up until death. Yet we know that the earth is massive in size and that human beings have inhabited the land for millions of years. As such, it is impossible for anyone to personally observe all there is to see in just one lifetime.

Through mental speculation devoid of authorized information, conclusions are reached which have no basis in proper knowledge. The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, describe events that are seemingly of the paranormal, with young children lifting up gigantic hills, flying monkeys battling demons that can take on different shapes at will, and seemingly ordinary individuals killing off thousands of soldiers with just one bow-and-arrow set. To those who only take shelter of their perceived observations gathered in the current life, there is no way to properly understand the statements of the Vedas pertaining to the activities of Lord Krishna, His incarnations and His devotees. Indeed, the mental speculators will posit theories that Krishna is simply a mythological character and that His instructions represent symbolism more than anything else. “There was never really a battlefield of Kurukshetra. The field described in the Bhagavad-gita represents one aspect, Krishna another, and Arjuna yet another symbolic representation.” They will say that the roaming through the forests by Lord Rama, a celebrated warrior prince incarnation of Krishna, His wife Sita Devi and younger brother Lakshmana was also symbolic, a representation of the three energies associated with the Absolute Truth. The speculators would rather come up with convoluted theories than actually accept the authority of the sages who took so much time compiling these wonderful works.

There is certainly symbolism to be found in the sportive exploits of the original Divine Being, but this doesn’t invalidate the authenticity of the actions. Life always imitates art, so it is not surprising that Krishna would exhibit behaviors that seemingly fall into patterns and can thus provide endless lessons. As the creator of everything in this world, including art, psychology and the like, Krishna is keenly aware of the importance of His activities and how the descriptions of His amazing exhibitions of strength and knowledge can be applied to effect positive change in all different facets of life. Nevertheless, the celebrated and highly exalted Vedic authors, like Maharishi Valmiki and Vyasadeva, had no time to waste on conjuring up images and concocting mythology. The bona fides of these sages were proved through their behavior and their impeccable and unmatched ability to describe the teachings and pastimes of the Lord in the most beautiful poetry form written in the most complex of languages, Sanskrit.

So how do we avoid mental speculation? Do we have to turn into robots who never think for themselves? Revisiting the dark room example, we can think of bhakti-yoga as being the process that allows an individual to have an ever-burning torchlight of knowledge, one that shines light on every aspect of the visible world. Only the sincere devotee can shed light on everything within one room and every sphere of material space. Instead of turning into robots who cease to think critically, the devotee is able to make full use of the massive potential for cognitive thought found within the brain. Evidence of this high scholarship and supreme ability to describe is found in the collected works and documented activities of the greatest Vaishnavas, those who follow in the line of the gopis of Vrindavana, the dear lovers of Shri Krishna.

The gopis, though ordinary cowherd women who were seemingly uneducated, always thought about Krishna during their time on earth, irrespective of where He was and what He was doing. As such, they understood full well the properties of the sun, clouds, grass, trees, cows, milk, food, etc. Every aspect of life was seen through the magnifying glass of pure bhakti. The gopis thus had a perfect understanding of every aspect of creation.

Lord Chaitanya, being a combined incarnation of Lord Krishna and Shrimati Radharani, the best of the gopis, similarly could explain everything in terms of Krishna. As the most learned scholar of His time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could present a perfect argument in favor of one position and then in the next minute provide a counterargument that completely debunked the previous viewpoint. Indeed, He could provide limitless arguments relating to the same subject matter because He knew that everything emanated from Krishna. Knowing the proper conclusion, His primary business in life was to explain everything in terms of its relationship to God. Therefore His explanations, teachings and recommended practices were always perfect in every way. Rather than guessing at what a certain aspect of life represented, Lord Chaitanya could go on and on explaining its beautiful nature and true utility in terms of its relationship to bhakti.

Lord Chaitanya’s followers took the bhakti-yoga ball and ran with it. The volumes of literature produced by the bhaktas, or devotees of God, is unmatched in their brilliance, cogency and timelessness. The nightly newscasts can be forgotten the subsequent day, as the information presented loses its relevance rather quickly. While newspapers turn into birdcage liner a few days after they are printed, the works of Vaishnavas like Shrila Rupa Goswami, Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Shrila Prabhupada never lose their relevancy. Could we ever imagine writing a book or poem that is studied, worshiped and honored on a regular basis by people living several hundred years into the future? Yet the devotees beaming with the torchlight of transcendental knowledge do precisely that, as they don’t waste any time putting forth temporary, mundane and unauthorized speculations pertaining to the world and the nature of spirit. They have no reason to indulge in mental speculation because they have full faith and confidence in the transcendental words emanating from the lotus mouth of Lord Krishna.

When the proper conclusion is understood and truly realized, the resulting behavior can never deviate from the flawless conclusion that is sharanagati, or ultimate surrender unto God in devotion. Just as the working aspects of life become purified through the proper identification of the only beneficiary who is universally a candidate for love and respect, the thoughts of the pure devotee also attain a state beyond delusion, thus leaving the door open for endless explanation and expounding on the Absolute Truth and His limitless scope. Lord Chaitanya blazed the trail to be followed by those interested in realizing the full potential of the brainpower kindly offered us by Krishna. By honoring that path and its creator, the mind can always be fully engrossed in the sublime pleasure that is Krishna consciousness.

Pandita

“You know that living entities are always coming and going, and thus their lives are temporary. Therefore, the learned people of this world take to performing prescribed worldly duties which yield auspicious results.” (Hanuman speaking to Tara, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 21.5)

A pandita is a learned person, a wise man. The word is now part of the English vocabulary in the form of “pundit”. Though the spelling is a little different, the meaning of the word is pretty much the same. While there are pundits for just about every area of interest, such as sports, politics, and financials, the original Sanskrit word refers to one who knows the highest truth. A learned man understands the meaning of life and how to achieve it. A pandita is considered wise not only because of his empirical knowledge, but also because of how he chooses to act based on that knowledge. Following the behavior of a true pandita, we can decipher the proper path to take.

Wisdom usually comes from experience. There are two ways of acquiring knowledge: the ascending process and the descending process. Through the ascending process, small hypotheses are formed and then tested. As more and more information is gathered from the test results, the scope of the experiments starts to expand, eventually leading to a more detailed, all-encompassing conclusion. The descending process is easier because the same truths which were discovered by careful past observers can be passed down to future generations.

Learning of the heat properties of fire can illustrate the difference between the two processes quite clearly. A young child can discover that fire is hot by touching it. Certainly this will cause a little pain, but that comes with the territory when acquiring knowledge. Yet just because a single instance of fire is hot, it doesn’t mean that all fire is hot. Therefore the same child can go on repeating the same tests over and over again, continually burning themselves, until they realize that all fire is hot. This is knowledge acquired through the ascending process. The descending process would have provided the same information to the child without any of the painful burns. A wise person could tell a young child that fire is hot and to avoid touching it. Simply accepting this wisdom, the child can gain a perfect understanding of the properties of fire without much endeavor.

While the descending process is superior, individuals still prefer to learn things on their own. Therefore, much knowledge is acquired through the ascending process. For those who adopt this method, one fact slowly learned as time goes by is that the life of the living entity is temporary in nature. Birth and death are always part of the consciousness. Friends, family members, and countrymen die all the time, while mothers give birth to new children every day. Eventually, through enough experience and vision, a wise person realizes that they too will die some day. Not only will they die, but the date of this death is unknown to them.

In the Vedic tradition, the wise person is known as a pandita because they not only understand this truth about life and death, but they take the necessary steps to improve their condition. What does this mean exactly? The body is indeed temporary, as birth and death simply represent the changing of bodies. The central object of interest, therefore, is the future fortune of the soul. The soul is the life force, the essence of individuality. Where the soul ends up is what really matters. The wise person realizes that it is important to pay attention to the plight of the soul immediately, for there is no knowing when death will come.

So what does the pandita do? What activities does he take to? How are these activities any different from the ones performed by those who aren’t panditas? For the answer, we can tap into the storehouse of information provided by the great spiritual leaders of the past. Using the descending process to our advantage, we can find out how to achieve perfection in life simply by following the authorized instructions provided by acharyas, or those who lead by example. One such wise person is Shri Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Rama.

The Vedas, the scriptures emanating from India, are not unique in their belief of God. Many spiritual traditions around the world believe in an all-powerful entity, for that is the essence of religion. The Vedas stand out in that they tell us that this Absolute Truth has an eternal form which acts as a vehicle for loving exchanges with the individual souls of the world. The original spiritual form full of bliss and knowledge is that of Shri Krishna, who is also known as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet God’s sweetness isn’t limited to His original form of Krishna. Rather, due to His kind mercy, He appears on earth in the guises of various personal expansions. These incarnations perform wonderful activities for the protection of the pious, all the while giving pleasure to the surrendered soul. One such incarnation is Lord Rama, the chivalrous prince of Ayodhya who roamed this earth many thousands of years ago.

While Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure and sweetness and other aspects of the Divine are typically viewed in a reverential mood, Lord Rama is somewhere in between. He certainly can be revered for His great power and dedication to piety, but at the same time, He can exchange heartfelt affection with the purified souls, the great devotees. Arguably Rama’s greatest devotee is Lord Hanuman, a liberated soul who takes the form of an enchanting monkey. During Rama’s time on earth, Hanuman got to personally offer his service to Rama, exchanging love in the moods of friendship and servitude.

On one occasion, Rama was asked to kill the monkey-king Vali, who was Sugriva’s brother who had driven Sugriva out of his kingdom. Lord Rama came through for his friend Sugriva by shooting Vali in the back and killing him. Vali’s wife, Tara, didn’t handle this tragic event very well, as would be expected for a woman had just become a widow. Seeing her dead husband lying on the ground, she gave way to grief and lamentation, and she bemoaned her situation and also that of her husband’s. Seeing her pitiable condition, Hanuman stepped in to offer some sound words of advice. In the above referenced statement, Hanuman reminds Tara of the temporary nature of the living entities and how they are always coming and going. He also tells her that the wise, the panditas, use their knowledge of the temporary nature of life to take to prescribed activities of this world which lead to auspicious results.

This point is quite interesting. Normally, when faced with the idea of certain death, the tendency is to take to the opposite of prescribed duties. The saying, “You only live once”, is often invoked by those who take to a carefree lifestyle, not worrying about their death that may come at any minute. The logic behind such behavior is that if death is going to come, why not enjoy as much as possible before then? From Hanuman’s statement, we see that the wise take the exact opposite approach. Since human beings are always coming and going, it must mean that death is not the end for them. After all, where do these new births come from? These souls must have been alive before to have taken birth again. This may seem like a dogmatic belief of reincarnation subscribed to by the Hindus, but it is not so. The soul certainly remains intact throughout the changes of the current body, so why wouldn’t it remain unchanged after it leaves the body at the time of death?

“Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.32)

From Shri Hanuman’s statement, we see that if the time of death is uncertain, one should immediately take the necessary steps to better their future condition. This is how most of us act already, except with a different goal in mind. Plans pertaining to future fortunes are always made, be they in relation to going to school or working hard at the office. The idea behind these plans is to have some enjoyment in the future. If these activities aren’t adopted, the enjoyable condition will never be met. By the same token, prescribed duties, those passed down from the great saints of the past, are meant to provide a future enjoyable condition for the soul. If these activities aren’t taken up, the pleasant spiritual condition can never be met. Moreover, if death should come, the chance for performing these activities is lost. The soul then has to wait until the next birth to again take up these activities. Where and when this birth will take place are unknown, hence the added emphasis on the here and now.

Okay, so we have to take to prescribed duties, but what does that mean? What are some of these duties? In the case of Tara, the prescribed duties involved performing the funeral rites for the husband. These rites help the future plight of the departed soul, and also help the performer to understand the meaning of life and the importance of focusing the mind on spirituality. While the funeral rites are one small aspect of prescribed duties, there is a bigger picture, an ultimate goal which is to be attained. All prescribed rules and regulations are aimed at realizing this goal.

For the people living in this age, the Kali Yuga, adherence to all the rules and regulations is not possible. Life is very hectic, with so many things begging for our attention and taking up our time. Therefore, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Pure, has recommended that the topmost prescribed duty for the people of this age 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”. The name of God is the key; it alone can deliver a person. This name is the mother, the father, the guru, the support system, the savior. This name is non-different from the Lord, so those who hang on to this name as their life and soul will certainly be performing the highest duty.

If this highest occupation, the chanting of God’s names, is taken up, then naturally the performer will be rewarded with the greatest benediction. And what exactly is that reward? The individual soul transmigrates through different bodies based on the activities it performs in each lifetime. While this process is continuous, it doesn’t have to be. The God conscious soul, he who keeps his mind fixed on any direct aspect of the transcendent Lord at the time of death, never has to suffer through birth and death. The comings and goings stop, thus the root cause of the temporary nature of life is eliminated. If the soul isn’t thrown around in the clothes dryer known as the material world, where does it go? There is a spiritual sky where the original Personality of Godhead and His non-different expansions reside. It is in this spiritual realm that the devoted soul enjoys the sweetness of association with the Supreme Lord in His original transcendental form.

A person may be considered wise based on their mastery of a particular field. Great souls like Hanuman, however, are true panditas, the most learned among us, due to their transcendental knowledge and the activities taken up as a result of possessing that information. The panditas have laid the groundwork for us, so we simply have to accept the knowledge descending from their lotus mouths and act accordingly. The highest prescribed duty for the people of any age is to engage in bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to God. Through the chanting process, any person can become a perfect yogi, one who reaps the highest benefit in the afterlife.

Changeless

“Krishna does not change His constitutional position, not even when He appears in this material world. Ordinary living entities have their constitutional spiritual positions covered. They appear in different bodies, and under the different bodily concepts of life they act. But Krishna does not change His body.” (The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 51)

For the conditioned soul, the divine incarnation is very difficult to understand, especially when juxtaposed with nature, matter, and spirit. Though many religious traditions focus exclusively on worship of an exalted personality or divine figure, the Vedas go one step further by carefully analyzing the nature around us and the meaning behind its workings. At the heart of the issue is the difference between matter and spirit, prakriti and purusha. The enjoyer is the spirit and the enjoyed is the matter that the spirit associates with. The most exalted divine figure, the one person who never subjects Himself to the influences of matter, thus becomes the supreme object of worship, the singular entity that the individual souls are meant to be in constant association with. Since the Supreme Entity is the ultimate enjoyer, His pleasure comes from interactions with His subordinate subjects, the individual souls of the material and spiritual worlds. Therefore the aim for any individual unaware of these facts is to shift their mindset from that of enjoyers to that of enjoyed. For this transition to take place, one must have a firm understanding of the differences between matter and spirit and what the living entity’s place in this world is. To help the conditioned soul illusioned by the forces of nature make light of the giant mess which is the material world, the Supreme Entity, the person we all know as God, kindly descends to earth from time to time.

“How can God take birth?” This is an appropriate question put forth by both friend and foe alike, the inquisitive and the challengers of the authenticity and validity of the truths espoused by the Vedas. The birth and death of the individual is not difficult to comprehend. There is a spirit soul that gets placed inside of a very tiny body, which then grows while in the womb of a mother. After exiting the womb, this new body then gradually develops, exists for some time, leaves some byproducts, and then ultimately gets destroyed. Throughout these events, the identity of the individual doesn’t change. Rather, only the outer covering of the soul shifts. At the time of death, the same individual is placed inside of a new body, where they subsequently go through the same cycle of life all over again. If, however, the individual’s consciousness is purified at the time of death, they get to return to the spiritual realm, a land where birth and death do not take place.

“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)

Birth and death only take place on the material planets because of the individual’s desire to associate with matter. We can think of matter as being dull elements; things which have no life of their own. Spirit is the driving force behind all action, including the development, maintenance, and destruction of matter. This interaction with gross elements takes place due to the individual soul’s misuse of independence. As an autonomous spiritual entity, an individual soul has a choice in its association. When one’s desires are pure, the natural association is with God and His other liberated soul mates. When desire becomes contaminated, a fall down to the material world follows.

The nature of the material realm is very difficult to understand. Therefore the human body is considered the most beneficial due to the heightened potential for intelligence. Only in the human form of life can a spirit soul even understand the nature of matter and the inevitability of death. Simply knowing these facts is difficult enough, for sobriety is required to perceive the subtle changes to the body that occur at every second. Yet actually knowing what to do with this information is even more of a daunting task. Therefore, the Supreme Lord, out of His causeless mercy, instituted the system of dharma, or occupational duty, and passed it down through the great Vedic texts. Yet even understanding these literary works is quite difficult, so the Lord kindly sends exalted personalities known as gurus, or spiritual masters, to teach society at large. Yet sometimes circumstances in society get so out of hand that the direct intervention of the Lord is required. In these instances, the Supreme Lord directly expands Himself into a spiritual body and makes an appearance on earth.

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

Even to the individual who has a basic understanding of the laws of karma and the differences between matter and spirit, it would appear that the incarnation of God would have to assume a material body, one similar to those possessed by the living entities. After all, the laws of nature are absolute, so how could God find a way to bypass them? To understand how the Lord remains completely spiritual, a quick review of the issue of readability can prove helpful. Nowhere is readability more required than in mathematics and computer science. The comma, a grammatical character used to indicate a short pause in a sentence, plays a key role in understanding mathematics. If there is a very large number, say something in the tens of millions, it is very difficult to read, or translate in the mind, when displayed simply as digits. It takes a trained eye to be able to correctly identify a number that large. Therefore commas are used as a way to enhance readability. The comma is inserted inside of the number at intervals of three digits, so as to give the human eye an easier way to correctly identify the number.

Though the comma is inserted into the visual form of the number, it has nothing to do with the digits or the value. The comma is a completely independent entity that retains its meaning at all times, regardless of where it is placed. The relationship between the Supreme Lord and the material world can be thought of in the same light. The entire creation, which includes everything matter and spirit, is part of God. The living entity, riddled by the possessive mindsets of “I” and “Mine”, is accustomed to viewing everything from a personal perspective. A wiser person will be able to view groups of individuals at a whole, while an even more intelligent person can see patterns over a large cross-section of groups. The paramahamsa, the spiritualist on the highest level of understanding, sees everything and every person as being equal, or part of God. If their abilities were to be explained in mathematical terms, we’d say that the paramahamsas can correctly identify any number without requiring commas or other tools that enhance readability. This is quite difficult to do, for the gross senses have a debilitating effect on one’s consciousness and mindset. A person who is truly liberated, one who is devoted to God and understanding His true nature, will be able to see everything, including large groups of living entities, in the proper context.

The paramahamsas are a rarity in this world. Therefore the Lord, through His incarnation, descends to earth and acts as a placeholder, a comma if you will. He performs activities, instructs fellow members of society, and displays great feats of strength to show everyone just what God looks like, what His nature is, and where the highest pleasure in life can be found. Though the number of incarnations is too great to count, the Shrimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic texts give us a list of the primary ones. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is considered the fountainhead of all incarnations, but this doesn’t mean that worship of God is performed exclusively through worship of Krishna. Rather, one can worship Lord Rama, Narasimhadeva, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Balarama, Vishnu, or any other non-different form of the Lord and be equally benefitted.

Though the Lord comes to this earth to give the conditioned souls a clearer understanding of the nature around them, He is not contaminated by matter in any way. He acts just like a comma inside of the digits representing a number, allowing others to correctly identify the different aspects of the world around them. Whether the comma is there or not has no bearing on the comma or the number. In the same way, Krishna’s creation remains the same whether He is personally present or not. After all, God is everything, so His presence is felt inside of every single atom. The incarnation is the more visible form, a way to unmistakably decipher who is God and who isn’t. The material world is full of puffed up living entities who claim to be God, who is the ultimate enjoyer and the greatest order supplier. Through the activities of the incarnations, one can understand that such individuals are simply cheaters who are destined to repeat the cycle of birth and death for many, many lifetimes.

Not only does the Supreme Lord’s presence enhance the readability of the nature of this world, but so does the influence of His exalted devotees. These entities are essentially exceptions to the laws of nature and the rules pertaining to matter and spirit. Hence there is a difference between those who are devoted to God and those who are simply searching after the annihilation of misery. Matter is only detrimental when it is used for the wrong purposes. Again, this points to the misidentification that occurs at the time of birth. When matter is properly identified for what it is, an individual can know how to utilize it for their spiritual benefit. When matter is used for personal sense gratification, it is certainly very dangerous and detrimental to one’s spiritual progress. When it is used properly, it can become the source of liberation, a way to enlighten the conditioned soul.

An example often invoked by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada pertaining to this issue can help us better understand it. Say that someone is walking through a shopping mall and happens to drop some money or other possession of value on the floor. A gross materialist will walk past the money and pick it up. They are looking to enjoy matter, so they look at the money as a potential source of enjoyment, even though they know that the money doesn’t belong to them. The dry renunciate, one who has a loathing for matter, will look at the money as a great cause of pain. They see so much potential discomfort and heartache from picking up the money. In addition, their karma, the future reactions to their work, will be hurt by taking someone else’s property.

Only the devotee, the adherent to the true tenets of the Vedas, will view the money properly. A lover of Krishna will pick up the money and look for the rightful owner. The money is not good or bad, but rather a possession that is not being utilized properly. In a similar manner, the nature around us is simply there for us to use for God’s pleasure. It is all His property to begin with, so we have no rightful claim over it. If we are unable to utilize matter properly, then surely renunciation is a good idea, but renunciation by itself will not bring us the transcendental pleasure that we are looking for. Simple abstention from activity is not a source of happiness; otherwise every one of us would choose to remain in a permanent medically-induced coma. The nature of the spirit soul is to enjoy through activity.

The purification of activity comes through acts of devotion. This discipline is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, and it is the form of religion preached by the incarnations of Godhead and the exalted spiritual masters. The easiest way to practice this yoga today is to regularly chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Though these are sound vibrations heard by the material senses, they come directly from the spiritual world. The sound of this sacred mantra, being non-different from the Person it addresses, acts just like the comma in helping us understand our position as eternal servants of the Supreme Lord. This sound will not only increase our level of intelligence, but it will also transport us back to the spiritual world, a place wherefrom we never have to return.

Torchlight of Knowledge

“He [King Muchukunda] could see also that the dense darkness within the mountain cave had already been dissipated due to the Lord’s presence; therefore He could not be other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knew very well that wherever the Lord is personally present by His transcendental name, quality, form, etc., there cannot be any darkness of ignorance. He is like a lamp placed in the darkness; He immediately illuminates a dark place.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 50)

In the Vedic tradition, the first instruction given to aspiring transcendentalists is aham brahmasmi, which means “I am Brahman”. This conception is absent from those spiritual traditions where the primary focus of attention is on the dedication towards and worship of a particular divine figure. While the sentimentalist mentality can certainly be a bona fide method of spiritual awakening, the knowledge base associated with such a practice is limited. Under the sentimentalist and sectarian models, there is nothing taught about the difference between matter and spirit, the origin of both, and the constitutional position of ordinary spirit in relation to Supreme Spirit. The Vedas are considered the complete, or purna, spiritual discipline since they contain information suited for every type of person, at every level of understanding.

Brahman is usually equated with sublime spirit; that energy which is full of knowledge and bliss. Vedic information states that the living entities are Brahman at the core, but due to their association with matter, they are currently in a conditioned state. The concept of a soul is not exclusive to the Vedic discipline, but the information presented in relation to the difference between body and spirit and the reason for the assumption of a material body certainly is. Spirit is known as purusha, which means male or the enjoyer. Matter is known as prakriti, which is female or the enjoyed. When combined, purusha is superior since it is the driving force behind the actions of prakriti. The interaction between enjoyer and enjoyed is seen in isolated situations at different magnitudes. For example, the human body, or the body of any life form for that matter, displays this interaction. Spirit resides within a dress composed of material elements, thus resulting in the interaction between purusha and prakriti.

The interaction between purusha and prakriti, when studied on the largest scale, provides insight into the nature of the Supreme Divine Entity. Just as the individual spirit soul is the driver of the car known as the body, the Supreme Soul is the instigator of the activities of nature, in this universe and in millions of other ones as well. Brahman can be thought of as the sum and substance of all spirit. If we added up all the souls that exist in this world, we would get Brahman. In this way, we see that every form of life is equal at the constitutional level. The outer coverings of the souls may vary, but the positions of the individual souls do not. It is important for students to know that they are Brahman so they can tailor their activities towards the highest self-interest. In the conditioned state, the living entity falsely identifies with the gross elements of their body, a form which is constantly going through changes. Deluded by false identification, the living entity falls prey to a vicious and never-ending cycle of hankering and lamenting. Each day that we wake up can be considered an instantiation of this repetition on a small scale. The body is changing at every second, so each new day can be thought of as a new birth, with the previous day’s body having changed overnight. When the entire dress is removed and replaced, the events are known as birth and death.

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

For the soul, there is never any change. Our soul was the same in quality yesterday as it is today, and it will continue to remain so for eternity. Since the body constantly changes but the soul does not, the aspiring transcendentalist, the wise man, gives priority to the future plight of the soul in lieu of the body. This is where things get a little tricky. If the soul doesn’t change in quality, why should we worry about its plight?

The Supreme Soul belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedas provide thousands of names for this Entity, but the original name is Krishna, one who is all-attractive. No one is better able to capture the hearts and minds of the individual souls than Krishna. He brings so much pleasure that even those who are considered above desire, the meditational yogis, become attracted upon having His darshana. For the Supreme Soul, there are no defects, no unwanted causes and effects. Since the individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, it inherits the same qualitative features. Therefore every distinct spark of Brahman is knowledgeable, blissful, and eternal. Yet there is still a difference between a spark of Brahman and the originator of Brahman, Krishna. The individual sparks are always subordinate in quantitative strength to the Supreme Soul, who is also known as Parabrahman. Therefore the individuals have a tendency to fall down into the material world, where their knowledge and bliss get covered up by prakriti. For Parabrahman, such a situation can never occur.

The gross material elements consist of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. And there are also the subtle elements of mind, intelligence, and false ego. Students of sanatana-dharma, or the eternal occupation of man as stipulated by the Vedas, are taught to give attention to the purusha inside the body and to worry about returning this entity to the spiritual world, where repeated births and deaths don’t take place. There is no such thing as maya, or the illusory energy of nature, in the spiritual world. For Krishna and His eternally liberated associates, there is no difference between matter and spirit. Not surprisingly, everything in the spiritual world, including each body part of the transcendentally situated individual souls, is spiritual. Based on this information, the aim of life can be logically deduced, that of reassuming an eternal spiritual body by negating the influence of prakriti.

While the easiest and most effective way to reach this goal is to take to the system of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, not every student is inclined to take up this discipline in the beginning stages. Moreover, even those who take to bhakti may not be able to practice it properly until they receive further training. Therefore students are advised to take shelter of two important tools of the trade: jnana and vairagya. Renunciation from sense pleasure is what constitutes vairagya. Adherence to austerity, which includes fasting, abstention from prohibited foods, and celibacy, makes up the core of renunciation. This austerity, also known as tapasya, is done for the benefit of the soul, to help it achieve union with the Supreme Soul. When the effects of the senses aren’t mitigated, the ultimate objective is gradually forgotten and the false identification of body consciousness resumes.

Jnana involves the acquisition of knowledge. Now we’ve reached a point where there appears to be a contradiction. The Vedas tell us that the soul is already knowledgeable and that the mind is considered a subtle material element. So why would we want to use the mind to acquire knowledge when the soul is already knowledgeable? To resolve the issue, we have to keep in mind that the aim of spiritual life is not necessarily to acquire knowledge. Transcendental knowledge already exists inside of the soul; it is characteristic of the individual living entity. Yet upon assuming a gross material body, this knowledge gets covered up. We can think of it in terms of a self-illuminating lamp. Normally a lamp or a flashlight requires some sort of energy source. The soul can be thought of as a torch that doesn’t need any power; it is always beaming the light of knowledge. The material elements, or prakriti, cover up this light. It is akin to the putting of a dark cloth over the flashlight. The weapons of jnana and vairagya, knowledge and renunciation, help the individual remove this covering, thus allowing the natural light to come to the forefront.

Activities in material nature are grouped into three modes: goodness, passion, and ignorance. The mode of ignorance, or tamo-guna, is also known as the mode of darkness. When one takes to activities of this mode, the covering of the self-illuminating lamp known as the soul becomes thicker and thicker. The mode of passion leads to a neutral position, while the mode of goodness leads to the gradual removal of the covering. Therefore, we are advised to take to activities in goodness, which include jnana and vairagya, in accordance with the revealed scriptures.

Though activities in the mode of goodness help us to release the natural light of knowledge inside of us, the only way to permanently return to a position where knowledge reigns supreme is through devotional service. This discipline, also known as the religion of love, is superior to any activity of the material world since it aims to link the soul with its counterpart, its life-partner if you will. As previously mentioned, the soul is similar in quality to the Supreme Soul, which means that Shri Krishna is also a torchlight of knowledge. Not only does Krishna’s lamp never burn out, but it never gets covered up either. Regardless of the consciousness of the individual soul – be it purified or contaminated – the light emanating from the Supreme Lord is always shining. King Muchukunda can personally attest to this truth.

Around five thousand years ago, the Supreme Lord personally descended to earth in His Krishna form. On one particular occasion, He was engaged in a battle with a king named Kalayavana. This king had attacked the city of Mathura, which was protected by Krishna at the time. Instead of engaging in battle directly with the king, Krishna led him into a cave. Kalayavana thought that Krishna had run away from him, but the Lord had other plans. In that particular cave, King Muchukunda had been lying asleep for many many years. He was granted a boon by the demigods that if anyone should wake him up prematurely, they would be burned to ashes upon one glance by the king. Sure enough, Kalayavana, thinking that the sleeping man in the cave was Krishna, approached the king and kicked him. King Muchukunda awoke, looked at Kalayavana, and immediately burned him to ashes.

After this, the king looked around and noticed a great light in the cave. This light was beaming off the body of a beautiful figure who had assumed the form of Lord Narayana, God’s four-handed form residing in the spiritual world. King Muchukunda realized that no person, save the Supreme Lord Himself, could light the cave in this way. King Muchukunda’s firsthand observations, which are carefully noted in the crown jewel of Vedic literature, the Shrimad Bhagavatam, prove that Krishna is the greatest source of light. We can just imagine how much power and energy are required to provide steady light in a dark cave. Yet Lord Krishna was able to dissipate the dense darkness simply by His presence.

Bhakti-yoga is considered to be in the mode of shudda-sattva, or pure goodness. Only through acts of devotion, where one’s consciousness is always fixed on Krishna, can a person directly come in contact with the original torchlight of knowledge. When the Supreme Energetic is matched with the energy, the resulting reaction is one of tremendous potency. The individual spirit souls are the energy, and in their purified state, they are always in Krishna consciousness. In such a condition, the individuals always remain in full knowledge. This light of information subsequently goes everywhere, allowing the purified soul to decipher right and wrong, good and bad, in any and all situations. By regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and reading books like the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam, we can gradually let our internal light shine through and give hope to the world enveloped by darkness.