Stirring the Lord’s Passions

“All those things which were pleasurable when she [Sita] was with Me now don’t appear pleasing because I am without her.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 1.70)

If one is really passionate about something, they will try to find ways to accurately convey the intensity of the emotion. Some people will curse, while others will make references to objects which are seen as the height of enjoyment and good feeling and then declare them to be paltry in comparison to the object of their affection. An even higher level of love is displayed by those who are unable to cope in the absence of their loveable object, their significant other who defines their life. The words, “I can’t live without you”, are uttered quite often, but how many people actually mean them? While there are those who can certainly remain in their bodies when separated from their object of pleasure, the quality of life can still be greatly hampered due to the separation. For the Supreme Lord, life without His pleasure potency is not very attractive, nor palatable. Since every individual entity is an expansion of this potency, everyone is meant to be in the Lord’s company and provide Him pleasure. Of all the pleasure-givers, only those purified souls, the exalted entities who have no other business than to please the Lord, succeed in stirring the transcendental passions of the Supreme Lord. One such divine lover is Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama.

“O Rama, You should know that just as fish cannot survive when taken out of water, neither Sita nor I can live without You for even a moment.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 53.31)

A fish cannot survive when taken out of water. Once it is removed from its natural habitat, a fish doesn’t feel sad, bored, or dejected. No, the fish will die within seconds of being removed from its natural home; such is the great attachment it feels towards its dwelling. In this way the fish can be thought of as the greatest lover of water. The fish exudes a love which is so strong that death is immediately caused upon separation from the loveable object. Thus it is not surprising to see divine lovers, those who give their hearts to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make references to fish when comparing their loving feelings towards God. Though we can’t accurately trace out the origin of the phrase, “like a fish out of water”, we know that it was in existence many thousands of years ago during the Treta Yuga. During this time the Supreme Absolute Truth, the original Godhead who is always full of form and bliss, kindly descended to earth in the guise of a handsome and pious prince named Rama. Not only did God come to earth in the form of an ordinary entity, but so did His closest associates from the spiritual world. Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana was an incarnation of the all-powerful Lord Baladeva, and Sita Devi was the avatara of Shri Lakshmi, the wife, for all intents and purposes, of God in the spiritual world.

Man tends to form attachments with those he finds to be similar in nature. This makes sense because if we were to hang around someone who had a completely different worldview than us, clashes and conflict would surely arise. Friendship is about sharing experiences, thoughts, concerns, and joys. If one is constantly arguing with another over the ultimate conclusions in life and the philosophies derived from them, there will be little time for enjoyment. Shri Rama, as a qualified incarnation of the Lord, possessed every noteworthy attribute imaginable, including chivalry, piety, and kindness. So, not surprisingly, others who took virtue and piety very seriously were attracted to Rama and thus befriended Him. Shri Lakshmana not only possessed great attributes, but He also happened to be Rama’s younger brother. Similarly, Sita Devi, who is ridiculously kind, generous, and respectful, was married to Lord Rama. God is never alone; His closest associates are always with Him. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. In Rama’s case, we can understand that He could be none other than the Supreme Lord simply based on the exalted nature of His closest associates.

As a pious prince, Rama had to undergo hardships which most of us wouldn’t want to endure. For example, the Lord had to roam the forests for fourteen years at the behest of His father, the King of Ayodhya. Rama never committed any sin, nor was He worthy of malevolence from anyone else. He easily could have invoked His good name and character to fend off the order of exile, but that was not in His nature. Since only He was ordered to leave the kingdom of Ayodhya, Rama was all set to go alone. Lakshmana and Sita, who could not live without Rama, insisted on accompanying Him. Lakshmana even invoked the analogy to fish, and said that he and Sita would not survive in Rama’s absence.

This behavior shown by Lakshmana and Sita is indicative of a high level of love and devotion. Refusing to separate is the best way to accurately convey loving sentiments towards another. Dying in the absence of someone else surely shows that the life breath is not important enough to remain inside the body once the vital force has been removed. Generally the vital force is taken as the soul or the heart, so when a person says they will die without another, it means that the object of affection has essentially taken over the role of the life force, or heart, of the person who is in love.

Yet there is another way to judge a person’s level of affection. Sometimes the life breath may not escape in the absence of the loveable object, but the level of affection felt still remains at its summit. In these instances, the stranded lover maintains a glimmer of hope, the faint expectation that their loveable object will return to them. This was the case with Rama, as His wife would be kidnapped right from under His nose one day while residing in the forest. It should be noted that Rama, as an incarnation of Godhead, is always beyond the effects of mundane lamentation, anger, and illusion. Yet to accurately play the part of a fallible living entity, the Lord engaged in lamentation and despair from time to time. The occasion of Sita’s kidnap brought about one of these displays.

Sita was taken to the island kingdom of Lanka by the demon Ravana. He wanted the beautiful lady for himself, and since he couldn’t defeat Rama in a fair one-on-one battle, Ravana had to resort to underhanded means to get what he wanted. Yet he would never succeed in his ultimate objective, as Sita is incapable of being with any other man except Rama. If Ravana had ever gotten close to her, Sita would have immediately quit her body, and Ravana’s head would have been smashed to pieces. The latter scenario would have taken place due to a curse previously imprecated on Ravana which stated that he would die immediately if he ever forced himself on another woman.

After Sita was taken away, Rama and Lakshmana began a frantic search for her whereabouts. Eventually they made their way to a majestic lake called Pampa. At the time, the spring season was setting in, so Rama decided to point out the beautiful scenery to Lakshmana. There was a purpose behind such words, as Lakshmana surely had seen the signs of spring before. Spring is the season of hope and opportunity, where the senses are stimulated by the fragrant aroma of flowers and the sweet humming of the insects. Rama remembered that Sita especially loved this season and that she would always point out various flowers to Him. From Rama’s descriptions, we can surmise that spring was the favorite season for the couple, as it served to enhance their loving exchanges.

Though Rama didn’t quit His body upon Sita’s abduction, He still revealed symptoms of deep love and affection for her. In the above referenced statement, we see that Rama is not deriving any pleasure from the signs of spring this time around. These objects were surely beautiful before, and they brought Him much pleasure. But this was due to the fact that Sita was previously with Him. Now, these same signs of spring, which had not changed in any respect, were not appealing to Rama at all. Rama’s sentiments are an indication of the highest attachment and affection. Shri Rama had remarked that bhavah, or loving attachment, was well situated in Sita, and that the same attachment to Sita was well situated in Him. Bhavah also means natural ecstasy, or an ingrained nature. So by invoking this term, Rama was relaying the truth that it is part of Sita’s makeup to be a lover of God and that this same makeup, directed towards the individual souls, exists in the Supreme Lord. God is everyone’s Lord after all, so it would make sense that He would be the strongest lover.

This incident with Rama also reveals the hidden secret to making one’s life successful. Objects of nature are what they are; their properties don’t change too drastically. In this example, the flowers of the forest were the same as they were the previous year. Yet this time around, the object of cohesion, the person that put all the pieces of the puzzle into place, wasn’t there. Hence the beautiful objects of spring lost their value. In the same way, this world is full of material objects, some of which seem pleasurable and others which don’t. The secret to success in life is to attach surrounding objects to service to Krishna. This practice is known as bhakti-yoga, and it is something we are all inclined to perform.

The individual soul is a part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, so there is an inherent quality and, more importantly, a relationship that can be derived from this disposition. This derived relationship is a loving one, wherein the individual remains in constant association with its superior. This connection is maintained through words, thoughts, and deeds. When the external objects of this world are used to maintain this link, when they are used to keep one’s mind focused on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they take on their true value. Otherwise, everything just remains dull and useless in the grand scheme of things.

One may argue that many people who are not God conscious derive great enjoyment from objects of matter. Though they are not worshiping the Supreme Lord, how can we say that these objects are of no value? The answer is that an object’s value is determined by a person’s ultimate conclusion in life, or their dharma. Dharma is an occupational duty, and since the highest occupation in life is usually associated with religion, dharma is generally taken to mean religiosity or piety. Dharma can be anything depending on the field of activity. For example, there is a dharma for building a house, winning a race, losing weight, and practicing medicine. In any field of activity, there will be a right way to do something, a set of guidelines and procedures aimed at achieving success in the venture. This “right way” is the dharma of that particular activity. Thus any external object that can help keep a person adherent to their particular dharma will be taken as palatable.

Though there are different dharmas, not all of them are the same; there is a priority system. One’s inherent dharma is their relationship to the Supreme Lord. It is the essential characteristic of the individual soul to be a lover of God. When other dharmas that keep one in ignorance of this characteristic are adopted, the objects associated with such occupational duties must be deemed lifeless and dull in the grand scheme of things. For example, wood and stone are needed to erect statues and buildings, but if these buildings are used simply for sense gratification, the wood and stone must be considered dull and lifeless in the larger picture.

On the other hand, if the same wood and stone are used to construct temples and deity representations of the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord, the objects assume their true value. The key to success in life is to attach everything to God’s service. Otherwise, every external object is simply a product of maya, or illusion. Shri Rama, not having Sita by His side, did not find enjoyment in even the most beautiful of surroundings. This proves just how much the Lord loves His exalted devotees; those who don’t derive any enjoyment out of life save for devotional service. For this reason Shri Rama is never worshiped alone; His closest associates, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman are always with Him. These divine figures not only give pleasure and protection to the devotees, but they also provide the greatest happiness to the Supreme Lord. The same fruits and flowers that don’t appeal to Rama in the absence of Sita can give the Lord tremendous pleasure when offered to Him with love and devotion in the presence of the mother of the universe, Shrimati Sita Devi.

Love Gets Me Every Time

“Not able to see Vaidehi, that lotus-eyed lady who was always fond of lotus flowers, life no longer attracts Me.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 1.67)

Those who are new to Vedic traditions and Vedic philosophy will notice that the term “maya” is invoked quite often. The word itself means “that which is not”, and it is tagged to the illusory energy which pervades this material world. What does an illusory energy entail? Everything in nature is directed by intelligence, a higher authority who is in charge of the extremely complicated workings of the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Nature encompasses the qualities, desires, and activities of billions and billions of living entities of all shapes and sizes. Who could ever control these events, and more importantly, who could ever predict how future events will play out? Since nature is so complicated, it is easy for us to become illusioned by the course of events, taking things to be what they are not, looking for happiness in areas which only cause misery. Self-realization is the pursuit which gets us past maya, allowing us to see things clearly and understand the purpose of everything and how it fits into the big picture.

What are the symptoms of a self-realized soul? How do they counteract the effects of maya? Since maya is “that which is not”, the opposite of maya is that which is, or more plainly, the Absolute Truth. This Truth has different names and forms depending on a person’s intelligence and angle of vision, but the Vedas tell us that the original form of the Absolute Truth is Lord Shri Krishna, who is also known as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a fancier way to describe God. Krishna is the Absolute Truth because He is beyond illusion, and anyone who connects with Him similarly transcends ignorance. Since Krishna is also known as maha-bhagam and Bhagavan, those who are connected with Him are known as bhagavatas. Bhagam means “fortunate” and maha means “great”, so Bhagavan means one who is the most fortunate. This should make sense because who can have more fortune than God? If Krishna is Bhagavan, surely His friends will be similarly fortunate.

As a byproduct of this fortune, devotees are able to transcend the effects of maya. This quality is acquired through constant contact with Truth, an Absolute one at that. If we know the Truth, we have no chance of being illusioned. This principle can be thought of in terms of darkness and light. Darkness is simply the absence of light. Once light appears, the darkness is immediately dispelled. In a similar manner, once a person understands Krishna, the darkness caused by maya is immediately removed.

How does transcending maya affect our behavior? Devotees connect with God through a series of activities which are collectively known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Devotional service can be thought of as any activity which provides transcendental pleasure; actions taken that allow a person to be connected with God. These activities can involve chanting, hearing, worshiping, or simply remembering. In this way we see how easy it is to remain connected with Truth. “Whenever you are in trouble, just simply remember Krishna. Focus your mind on Him, and you will be safe.”

A side effect of performing devotional service is that a person loses their taste for any activity which is divorced from service to Krishna. This means that anything we do that has no relation to the Supreme Lord will now be viewed as boring and dull. One example is drinking. Intoxication is taken to out of boredom more than anything else. Weddings are a popular drinking occasion because most of the guests don’t want to be there. A marriage is a special day for the bride, groom, and parents, but the guests don’t really enjoy getting dressed up and having to sit around for hours with hundreds of strangers. To get over the tension and boredom, guests often take advantage of the “open bar”; availing themselves of the free alcoholic drinks. This intoxication brings about short term relief, as it allows guests to temporarily escape from their precarious condition.

Devotees of Krishna, however, have no desire to drink. Why is this the case? The simplest reason is that devotees don’t put themselves into boring situations. As mentioned before, when a person is in trouble or in an uncomfortable situation, they can simply remember Krishna’s smiling face and be delivered from all pain. Since this remembering process can be practiced at any time and any place, devotees never have a need for intoxication. Therefore they have no desire to get drunk, even if drinking provided them temporary happiness in the past.

The inverse of the principle dealing with the sweetness of activities and their relation to Krishna holds true as well. Let’s take the example of a love song. When a person falls in love with a new significant other, they’ll often remark how the love songs they hear on the radio finally make sense to them. They may have heard these songs many times before, but the words never made sense to them; the emotions conveyed by the singer didn’t resonate in any way. But when a person falls in love, the love songs start to make sense because the person can identify with the singer and the message. Thus something which was previously unpalatable suddenly becomes palatable due to its relation to the person’s object of affection.

In a similar manner, devotees of Krishna take up new activities which they previously wouldn’t have found enjoyable. Chanting is the bedrock of devotional life. In this age especially, the most effective method of self-realization is the constant chanting of the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. When one is in a conditioned state and under the influence of maya, hearing this mantra may not result in any spiritual stimulation. But the same person, after having taken up devotional service with sincere faith, can hear this mantra again and again and feel tremendous spiritual satisfaction. When one is practicing devotional service, they are connected with the supreme object of pleasure: Krishna. Thus any activity that has a relation to Krishna automatically becomes pleasurable.

Just as devotees relish anything that is related to Krishna, Krishna takes joy from anything related to His devotees. A great example of this was seen with Lord Rama, an incarnation of Krishna who appeared on earth many thousands of years ago. Lord Krishna is the original form of Godhead, but His various incarnations and expansions are equally as potent. Lord Rama is one of Krishna’s most famous incarnations, and He is loved by so many around the world that He is often taken to be the original form of Godhead. This is all part of the Lord’s mercy. He understands that different people will be attracted to different features of Bhagavan, so He kindly takes to many forms, each of which is suited to a particular person’s method of worship. Whether someone takes Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, or Lord Vishnu as the original form of God, they are still worshiping the same Supreme Lord.

Lord Rama is especially attractive to devotees since He performed so many activities during His time on earth. Loving God is easy in concept, but in practice it’s a little more difficult. Therefore we need other items of attraction such as pastimes, quotations, and teachings that allow us to further develop an attachment to the Supreme Lord. God is the original tree, and His activities, forms, and names can be thought of as branches which expand from the giant tree. We simply need to grab on to any branch belonging to this tree in order to make our lives perfect.

Another reason Lord Rama is so endearing to the devotees is that His associates are so pure and kind. Lord Rama’s wife Sita Devi is especially noteworthy. Krishna is considered the energetic and His pleasure potency, Shrimati Radharani, is considered the energy. Sita is an incarnation of Radha, so she is also a manifestation of God’s pleasure potency. Since there is really no difference between God and His pleasure giving energy, Sita is just as worshipable as Rama. Sita’s most outstanding characteristic is her devotion to Rama. While on earth, she never thought of another man, nor did she derive pleasure from any activity which was performed in Rama’s absence. This is the highest standard of devotion reserved for only the greatest personalities. We certainly can’t imitate Sita’s wonderful activities, but we can follow her example.

We often hear about how we should be devoted to God and never think of anyone else. We also see the example set by divine figures such as Sita and know that we should learn from it, but what about the other side of the equation? How does Krishna feel towards His devotees? Does He acknowledge our service? Does He think of us? To answer these questions, we simply have to study one passage from the famous Ramayana, the original poem describing the life and pastimes of Lord Rama. The above referenced words from Lord Rama were uttered shortly after Sita had been kidnapped while residing in the forest of Dandaka. Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana were looking for Sita when they came upon a lake named Pampa. At the time the spring season was just setting in, so Lord Rama was pointing out the various flowers and trees to Lakshmana.

This may seem a little strange at first glance. Why is Rama explaining the symptoms of spring to Lakshmana? After all, both of them were grown men, so they obviously had full knowledge of what spring was. Rama wasn’t explaining spring in ordinary terms though. He looked at everything in terms of its relation to Sita. Rama explained to Lakshmana how both He and Sita had enjoyed the springtime in the past and that this year they couldn’t enjoy it because they weren’t together. Rama remarked how Sita would get excited at seeing certain flowers and how she would rush over and call Him to come see the wonderful signs of spring.

As beautiful as the spring season was, Rama wasn’t deriving any enjoyment from it this time around. As the Lord mentions in the quote above, He wasn’t happy at all because Sita wasn’t with Him. The beauty of the flowers paled in comparison to Sita’s beauty. Nature didn’t appeal to Him because Sita wasn’t there to enjoy the surroundings with Him. She had eyes like lotus petals and she was very fond of the lotuses in the forest, but seeing these beautiful surroundings without Sita didn’t bring any pleasure to Rama. So this one statement should remove all doubts as to whether or not the Lord thinks of His devotees. Shri Rama never forgets Sita for even a second.

Sita is the greatest of devotees, so it would make sense that Rama would be attached to her. But this same attachment also applies to any pure devotee. If we surrender ourselves to the Supreme Lord, He won’t leave us hanging. He won’t leave us lonely. We can be rest assured of this. Lord Rama would eventually find Sita and rescue her from the clutches of the demon Ravana. Even when they would be separated later on in life, the Lord always kept her in His mind. In the latter years of His time on earth, Rama would always keep a deity of Sita with Him while performing religious functions. Sita, to her credit, always kept her thoughts on Rama while raising their two sons, Lava and Kusha.

Taking to devotional service will purify our vision. Love will get us every time. Once Krishna enters our hearts, He will change our minds and cause us to enjoy any activity that is related to Him. As we progress in our service and our consciousness advances, we will start to see everything in terms of its relation to the Supreme and thus be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

The Ideal Relationship

“Loving attachment for Me is entirely absorbed in Vaidehi, and loving attachment for Sita is well absorbed in Me.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 1.52)

This one statement tells us all we need to know about God and the relationship He has with His devotees. Through this one undeniable truth given to us by Lord Rama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we get insight into the thought patterns of the Supreme Lord and also of those who depend upon Him for everything. Sita Devi, who is also known as Vaidehi, the princess of Videha, is the wife of Lord Rama and during her time on earth, she was faithfully engaged in the service of her husband. This devotion is known as anuvrata, and it showed that Sita was always thinking of Rama and dedicated to His welfare. From the Lord’s statement, we see that He was equally as devoted to her.

The concept of God conjures up different images in the minds of different people. Some take Him to be an old man, while others believe the Divine is a giant void, an all-powerful energy from whence this entire creation sprung. The Vedas, which emanate from India and are the oldest scriptures in existence, give us a different picture of the Supreme. As ananta-rupam, God can take to as many different forms as He chooses. This means that He can assume the guise of an old man, and also that of an impersonal energy. One of the ways to realize God is through understanding Brahman, the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the spiritual world. When we speak of effulgence, we refer to a light or sparkle, something similar to sunshine. While sunshine is certainly wonderful to behold, one cannot understand its nature without understanding its source: the sun. In a similar manner, one cannot understand Brahman without knowing where its properties descend from.

What does God look like? What are His features? Is He even a man? Vedic information states that of all the different expansions and forms, the original Godhead is Lord Krishna. His form is that of a young child, Shyamasundara. He has the complexion of a dark raincloud and is exquisitely beautiful. The word Krishna itself can mean blackish or all-attractive. The Lord is dark skinned, and His beauty attracts everyone. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As a result, objects of beauty such as jewelry and ornaments may only appeal to certain people. Since God is all-attractive, He is appealing to everyone. He even attracts the atheists, or the non-believers. Since Krishna can take so many different forms, He has an expansion that suits every person’s desires. The atheists are attracted by matter, which is nothing more than an expansion of Krishna’s external energy.

“The symbol of devotional service in the highest degree is Radharani. Krishna is called Madana-mohana, which means that He is so attractive that He can defeat the attraction of thousands of Cupids. But Radharani is still more attractive, for She can even attract Krishna. Therefore devotees call Her Madana-mohana-mohini-the attractor of the attractor of Cupid.” (Shrila Prabhupada, The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 1)

When we see pictures of Krishna in His original form, there is usually a woman by His side. This woman is Shrimati Radharani, and she is more than just Krishna’s wife or girlfriend. Lord Krishna attracts everyone, but Radharani is so great that she even attracts Krishna. How does she do this? Since Radharani is a pure manifestation of the Lord’s energy, her devotion to the Lord is what catches His eye. Her heart is pure and everything she does is aimed at giving satisfaction to Krishna. In this regard, she is worthy of respect and worship from those seeking Krishna’s association.

Radha and Krishna represent the meeting of the energy with the energetic. Krishna is the original, so He is the source of all energy. In order for there to be an energetic, there must be energy. Radha is that energy, which is technically known as hladini-shakti, or pleasure potency. These terms are important to know because they can relate to us. God is the only energetic, but there are unlimited energies. As energy expansions of the Lord, we too are meant to give Krishna satisfaction. Currently we are in a separated state, unaware of our true nature and purpose.

Though Krishna is the original form of Godhead, He is kind enough to expand into other forms to attract devotees. If Krishna is all-attractive, why would He need other forms to attract people? The reason is that each one of us has a tendency to worship the Supreme Lord in a different way. Some of us like to think of the Lord in terms of a law-giver, the epitome of piety and virtue. Others like to think of Krishna in terms of a lover, a supreme object of pleasure. There are yet others who want to offer their service to God through parental affection, taking care of the Lord and making sure He is given every comfort.

To facilitate the desires of the devotees, God takes to different expansions. Many of these expansions make appearances in the material world. These forms are known as avataras, meaning those who descend from the spiritual world. The avatara has an eternally existing spiritual body which transcends material nature. One of Krishna’s most famous avataras is Lord Rama, the handsome and pious prince of Ayodhya. Lord Rama especially appeals to those who worship the Lord in the mood of chivalry and piety. Taking birth in the famous Ikshvaku dynasty, Rama gave special attention to dharma, or religiosity. He always wanted to set a good example for the citizens of Ayodhya, showing them how to abide by one’s prescribed duties in life.

While Krishna came to earth as Lord Rama, at the same time, Radha appeared as Sita Devi, the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. One of Krishna’s primary incarnations in the spiritual world is that of Lord Narayana, the four-handed form of God who resides on the Vaikuntha planets. Narayana is very opulently dressed and full of awe-inspiring splendor, so He attracts those who view God as being all-powerful. Narayana’s wife is Lakshmi Devi, an expansion of the perfected pleasure-giving potency. Technically, Sita and Rama were incarnations of Lakshmi and Narayana, but there is really no difference between the forms of the various personal expansions and pleasure potency expansions. Vaishnavas, or devotees of Vishnu, generally worship Lakshmi-Narayana, Sita-Rama, or Radha-Krishna.

Since Lord Rama was so pious, it made sense that His wife Sita would be the same way. If one were to carefully study Sita’s life’s activities, they would be astonished by her behavior. Her kindness, generosity, and dedication to her husband were unmatched, firmly establishing her as a person not of this material world. To this day, Sita is an authority on issues pertaining to women’s rights, the proper role of a man and woman in a marriage, serving the elderly, raising children, worshiping the saintly class, and devotional service to God. Sita was a surrendered soul who did everything for the pleasure of her husband. This devotion would be put to the test on many occasions, the most notable of which was when she was forced to live as a prisoner on the island of Lanka.

Lord Rama was so nice that He never wanted anyone to suffer on His account. The Lord’s father, Maharaja Dasharatha, had a lapse of judgment which led to Rama’s exile from the kingdom for fourteen years. The Lord took this unpleasant turn of events in stride, but Sita and His younger brother, Lakshmana, refused to live without Rama; thus they came along to the forest with Him. While in the forest of Dandaka, Sita would be kidnapped by Ravana, a powerful demon that was capable of assuming different guises at will. While Rama and Lakshmana were searching for Sita’s whereabouts, they were advised to visit a beautiful lake called Pampa. When they reached the lake, springtime was approaching, so Rama started pointing out the different signs of the season to Lakshmana.

While discussing the natural beauty of the surroundings of the Pampa Lake, Rama remarked how Sita especially loved the spring season and how it increased her devotion to the Lord. She would see nice flowers coming to bloom and point them out to her husband. From Rama’s above referenced statement, we see that not only did Sita always think about Him, but the Lord also always thought about her. The lessons we can take away from this one statement are too many to count, but there is one issue that really stands out. There are many varieties of religion and worship, and if we take to one of these methods, we may not be sure if the Lord is watching us. “Is my worship really successful? Can God hear me? Can God see me?” From Lord Rama’s statement, we can understand that He most certainly does see and hear His devotees.

“When one is firmly convinced that Vishnu is the only object of love and worship and that there is no one else-not even a demigod-worthy of receiving devotional service, one feels intimacy in his love relationship with God, and this is approved by such personalities as Bhishma, Prahlada, Uddhava and Narada.” (Narada-pancharatra)

The ingredient that gives devotional service its potency is love. If we are genuine in our loving feelings towards the Lord, He will most certainly reciprocate. He will never leave us hanging. He will never leave us lonely. Now that we understand this, what is stopping us? Let us all take up devotional service. Let us chant the holy names of the Lord, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, as often as possible. This transcendental sound vibration is so powerful that not only does Lord Rama hear it, but Sita does as well.

Eventually Sita and Rama would be reunited after a fierce battle which saw the defeat of Ravana and his band of Rakshasas. After spending thousands of years together, Sita would have to spend her remaining time on earth separated from Rama. Nevertheless, Sita and Rama are always worshiped together, because no matter where they are or what they are doing, they are always in each other’s thoughts. In this way, they have the most beautiful relationship. We too can have this same relationship with the Lord, but we shouldn’t focus our worship on Him alone. If we worship Sita and Rama together, we stay connected with the energetic and the energy. Just as God is an object of pleasure, so are His pleasure potency expansions. They give pleasure to the devotees through their activities and their kind service offered to the Lord

Success in spiritual life comes through controlling the mind. From the words of Shri Rama, we see that Sita was the perfect yogi in that her thoughts were always focused on Rama. One of Krishna’s names is Yogeshvara, which means the master of all mysticism. Yoga practice generally brings about many perfections, or siddhis. The greatest perfection, however, is to be able to always focus the mind on God. In this way, Sita was also a master of mysticism. Sita directed all her affection towards Rama, and Rama directed all His affection towards Sita. We should be equally as kind and direct all our affection towards both of them. They are the root of the giant tree known as the spiritual and material worlds. By giving them our love and devotion, all the leaves and branches represented by the innumerable universes also become benefitted, and thus we can all live happily ever after.

Praise The Lord

“When the horse was dead, his mouth became loose and Krishna could extract His hand without difficulty. He did not feel any surprise that the Keshi demon was killed so easily, but the demigods were amazed, and out of their great appreciation they offered Krishna greetings by showering flowers.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 1, Ch 36)

This passage describes the conclusion of an incident where a demon had assumed the form of a horse and attacked Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The original Lord of mankind, the one and only God, descended to earth in His original, transcendental, and blissful body around five thousand years ago in Vrindavana. Especially during His childhood, this original form of Godhead, known by the name of Krishna, took to killing demons that attacked the innocent. A learned man may question the need for God to fight demons. After all, if He is the Supreme Lord, He is most certainly in charge of creating every circumstance and every favorable and unfavorable condition in the world. Therefore the initial attack of any demon must be caused by Krishna in the first place, so why would He want to create such a situation? Is He simply after praise from others? Normally, such a personality trait would be considered a defect, but with the Supreme Lord it isn’t. The praise offered to Krishna actually purifies those who offer it, rather than Krishna Himself. The Lord is the Supreme Pure, atmarama, so He is in need of nothing.

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.7)

The Bhagavad-gita, the most concise and complete exposition on the original theistic doctrine put in place for all of mankind, states that the Supreme Absolute Truth, the original Personality of Godhead possessing a full form, descends to earth whenever and wherever there is a steep decline in religious practice and the prominent rise of irreligion. Religion can be thought of as any set of guidelines and procedures which enable one to remain connected with God. Irreligion is thus anything which leads to the opposite condition. When there is a rise in irreligion, it means that the practice of activities which keep one separate from God rise to prominence. This situation certainly isn’t favorable for anyone, including those who espouse the belief in a formless God or the absence of an almighty creator. Regardless of the motivations behind irreligious activities, the actions themselves can never lead to any beneficial condition. Since religion is derived from the pure, transcendental, and blissful relationship that exists between the liberated living entities and their supreme object of pleasure, God, religious activities, when practiced properly, automatically keep one in a blissful state. Activities of irreligion, therefore, must inevitably lead to unhappiness since they ensure that the link to the transcendental realm remains broken.

If the irreligionists rise to any sort of prominence, naturally society’s chances for reconnecting with the Supreme Spirit will diminish. Therefore in extreme circumstances, the Supreme Lord personally descends to earth. He takes on the greatest enemies of the theists, thus giving protection to the devotees who aim to remain in God consciousness. One such descent of the Divine took place around five thousand years ago. Lord Krishna, who is God in His original form and possesses all attractiveness and beauty, appeared from the womb of Mother Devaki in Mathura, but was then subsequently transferred to the nearby town of Vrindavana. It was in Vrindavana that Krishna enacted the pastimes which devotees relish the most. The king of Mathura at the time, Kamsa, sent demon after demon to kill Krishna in Vrindavana. Since Krishna is God, these demons didn’t stand a chance when facing Him.

In the above referenced passage, Lord Krishna has just finished killing a demon named Keshi. This demon assumed the form of a horse, and at the behest of Kamsa, went to Vrindavana to attack Krishna and His cowherd friends. Vrindavana was a farm community, so Lord Krishna decided to fit into the society by playing the role of a cowherd boy. Since Krishna is so attractive, He was the center of attention in Vrindavana. The Lord had many friends who would go out to the pasturing grounds with Him on a regular basis. It was during these outings that the demons would usually choose to attack. Krishna appeared to be an ordinary child to the demons, so they didn’t think they would have any trouble taking on the Lord or any of His childhood friends. This Keshi demon charged at Krishna, but the Lord easily caught hold of him and threw him to the ground. Regaining his senses, the horse charged at Krishna again, but this time the Lord forced His hand into Keshi’s mouth. While in the horse’s mouth, Krishna’s hand began to gradually increase in size. The demon couldn’t take the pain and eventually died as a result.

Upon the death of the demon, the demigods in the sky showered flowers in praise of Krishna. Narada Muni, the great saint, was also on hand to offer kind prayers to Krishna, praising the Lord for His wonderful feats. These demons were very powerful, so it was quite astonishing to see someone in the form of a child killing them so easily. Demigods are known as celestials; they are elevated living entities who reside in the heavenly planets. Since they are devotees of Krishna, they are also known as suras. Since demons are enemies of Krishna and the demigods, they are known as asuras.

Krishna, as God, is deserving of praise and adoration at all times, regardless of the circumstance. Yet it is certainly interesting to see that during His childhood, the Lord would accept all of the praise that came to Him as a result of situations that He was technically responsible for creating. For instance, the demons that came to Vrindavana were only there to kill Krishna. They only came to kill Krishna because Kamsa had asked them to. Kamsa only wanted Krishna dead because a prophecy had stated that the king would die at the hands of Devaki’s eighth son. If Krishna had not appeared as Devaki’s child, Kamsa would have had no need to try to kill him. The inhabitants of Vrindavana would have been spared the attacks of the demons if Krishna had not been born.

So does this mean that Lord Krishna, God Himself, simply came to earth to receive praise? Is He so petty that He needs to be loved and adored by everyone in order to feel happy? To answer these questions, let’s first review how similar situations play out in ordinary dealings. Young children and spouses serve as good examples in this regard. A typical child will ask for toys, games, and money from time to time. A good parent will hold back in these situations, not wanting to spoil the child. If a child is given whatever they want, whenever they want, they won’t learn the value of money and hard work. When they grow older, they will start to expect others to meet their needs and thus have a difficult time in life.

But as we all know, sometimes parents just can’t help it. Their child will desperately want something, like a bike or a state of the art video game system, and the parent will budge and purchase the item, usually giving it as a gift for Christmas or a birthday. When the child receives the gift, the reaction will be quite predictable. “Oh Dad, I love you so much! I can’t believe you bought this for me. You’re the best dad in the whole world!” Naturally this will make the parent feel quite happy and satisfied. In these situations, the parents will hardly remember that the toy itself was the impetus for the love and affection shown to them. The child was made happy, and the parent was satisfied at the same time. The psychological reasons for such an exchange of emotion are not taken into account.

Husbands and wives have similar experiences. Valentine’s Day, the wedding anniversary, and the birthday are the three most important days of each year that the husband must make sure to not forget about. From the wife’s perspective, there is usually an expectation of receiving a gift on these special days. A good husband will not only remember these occasions, but he will go above and beyond the call of duty to try to meet or surpass the expectations of the wife. If he comes through with the perfect gift, the wife will surely be happy. “Oh honey, I love you so much. I can’t believe you put so much thought into my gift. I love it, and I love you.” The same cause-and-effect is seen when the wife buys a gift for the husband. If the wife purchases a new electronic device, tickets to a popular sporting event, or cooks an elaborate meal, surely the husband will be very pleased. He, in turn, will offer similar loving sentiments back to the wife as a way of thanking her.

In this paradigm, the loving sentiments directed at the spouse have a root cause, namely the elaborate, thoughtful, and well-timed gift. Ideally, the husband and wife should already love each other completely and without motive. The exchange of loving sentiments shouldn’t be dependent on the giving of gifts. But these situations are commonplace nonetheless. Just as with the giving of gifts to children, the root cause of the resulting happiness and love is ignored, for all the giver cares about is seeing their beloved happy.

This same principle can be applied to the devotees who offer praise to the Lord. Regardless of whether or not the Lord created the perilous situation for His own satisfaction, the wonderful activities He performed as a result are certainly worthy of praise. More importantly, the offering of praise from the devotee serves to purify their consciousness. It is this purified consciousness, when adopted and maintained permanently up until the time of death, that allows a conditioned soul to become liberated.

Liberation results in the end of the cycle of birth and death. The conditioned soul is meant to always reside with Krishna, but upon taking birth in the material world, it looks for association with anything except Krishna. Therefore, the real purpose behind Krishna’s appearances on earth is to allow the lost souls a chance to reconnect with Him. By witnessing the Lord’s wonderful activities and transcendental pastimes, the living entities become inspired to offer praise to their supreme object of pleasure. In this way we see that Lord Krishna performs a great service for all of humanity by creating situations where He can protect the innocent from the attacks of demons.

If the Lord didn’t create these situations, our praise would be misdirected towards ordinary human beings. These people may possess great attributes and personality traits, but worshiping them doesn’t really advance the plight of the soul. The only living entities actually deserving of praise are those who take to praising Krishna at all times. Therefore great devotees like Narada Muni and the demigods in heaven serve as objects of worship. They constantly praise Krishna for His exploits, thus setting a good example for the rest of society. Their association helps us in the long run.

We should take advantage of the accounts of Krishna’s activities found in Vedic texts such as the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Ramayana. The calamitous situations, and their subsequent resolutions brought about by Krishna’s transcendental activities, described within these books were created for our benefit. God is self-satisfied, so He is lacking nothing. Rather, it is the conditioned souls who are in need of something; an ultimate object of worship, a hero that will never let them down. That hero is Lord Krishna.

14th for Federer

Congratulations to Roger Federer for winning his fourteenth Grand Slam title and completing the career Grand Slam with his victory at the French Open over Sweden’s Robin Soderling. In professional tennis, there are tournaments held almost every week of the year, but four of them stand out as the most prestigious. Known as the Grand Slams, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open are held annually and known as the toughest tournaments to win due to their best of five set format. Federer, with fourteen Grand Slam titles under his belt, now shares the record with former player Pete Sampras.

The French Open title didn’t come easy for Roger. Since the beginning of the 2004 season, he has dominated professional tennis, setting unprecedented records of excellence. He won Wimbledon five years in a row, the U.S. Open five years in a row, and the Australian Open three times. He appeared in a record ten consecutive Grand Slam finals, and twenty consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, a streak which is still active. However, the one titled that eluded him was the French Open. The only Grand Slam played on a clay court, Federer had lost to Rafael Nadal the last four years at the French Open, the last three years in the finals. To make matters worse, Nadal ended Federer’s streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles last year in a thrilling final that many regard as the greatest match ever played. Nadal also took over the number one ranking which he still currently holds. At this year’s Australian Open in January, Nadal stopped Federer’s initial bid at fourteen Grand Slam titles by beating him in the final. Federer was so devastated that he was drawn to tears during the trophy presentation.

The future didn’t look good for Federer, whom many considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest player to ever play. Many were wondering if he’d ever win another Grand Slam title. During this year’s clay court season, which consists of a series of smaller tournaments leading up to the French Open, Nadal dominated throughout, winning three titles. However, in Madrid, the last tournament right before the French Open, Federer surprised everyone by beating Nadal in the final. That made this year’s French Open all the more intriguing. As with the other Grand Slam events, the French Open is a single elimination tournament where a player is required to win seven consecutive rounds or matches to claim the title. At this year’s tournament, Federer struggled to get through the early rounds, surviving tough matches against lower ranked players. However, good fortune seemed to find him when Nadal lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling. Nadal had won the previous four French Opens, so this opened the door for Federer to take the title. He would never get a better opportunity to win the one title that had eluded him. With a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders, Federer fought his way to the finals, digging himself out of two matches where it appeared he was headed for defeat.

For the final with Soderling, the crowd at Roland Garros Stadium, the main show court at the French Open, was completely behind Federer. They gave him a standing ovation when he walked on the court for the match. Generally tennis fans are very respectful to both players in a match, applauding good shots played by either player. This time however, they were solidly behind Federer. The most striking scene was when Roger served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. The crowd it seemed was pushing him across the finish line, cheering him on before every point. Such a sight is almost never seen in tennis. Towards the end of a one-sided match, tennis crowds almost always pull for the underdog, hoping that they will get to see more tennis. This was not the case on this occasion. After the match, the crowd erupted in a thunderous applause. They kept cheering for Federer, sharing their love for him.

This incident is reminiscent of the time when Lord Rama triumphantly returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared on earth in human form as Lord Rama many thousands of years ago. Born as the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya, Maharaja Dashratha, Rama was loved and adored by all. He was completely devoted to the rules of dharma, or religiosity, and to the welfare of His fellow citizens. When the Lord reached the appropriate age, the citizens were eagerly anticipating His coronation as the new king. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Rama was instead ordered by His father to leave the kingdom and spend fourteen years in the forest as an exile. His wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana would accompany Him, and they would meet hard times in the forest. Sita would be kidnapped by the evil Rakshasa demon Ravana. Having lost His wife and kingdom, the Lord had plenty of reason for despair, but He persevered and eventually rescued His wife and killed Ravana. Once the fourteen years had expired, the Lord triumphantly returned to Ayodhya, where He was greeted with great pomp and celebration. The citizens loved Rama very much and they had tied their fortunes to Him. Their happiness only came from seeing Rama happy. Just as with Federer at the French Open, the people of Ayodhya derived great pleasure and bliss from cheering on their man.

Deep down, everyone has a soft spot in their heart. This is due to the living entity’s eternal relationship with the Krishna, or God. The spirit soul is part and parcel of God, but coming under the influence of the three qualities of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance), its judgment has been clouded. Everything in this material world is a perverted reflection of things that exist in the spiritual world. The pleasure we derive from praising others stems from the same feelings that exist in the spiritual world. We are all more comfortable rooting for someone and cheering them on, than being against someone and wishing them bad fortune. If it feels so good to praise our favorite athletes, family and friends, just imagine how great it would feel to praise God. This is actually the aim of life, our reason for being on this earth. This human form of life is meant for God realization, to elevate our consciousness to where we become devotees of the Lord. The devotees’ minds are always with Krishna, and He in turn, is always thinking of them, as declared by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gita:

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Bg, 6.30)

“No one is envied by Me, neither am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all; yet whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me; and I am a Friend to him.” (Bg, 9.29)

Instead of spending all our time forgetting about God or thinking ourselves to be God, we simply need to show Him our love. This will give us true happiness.

Three Simple Words

  With Valentine’s Day recently passing, we are reminded of the modern day relationships between men and women and the issues that come with them. Unlike during Vedic times, in today’s society, men and women are free to mingle amongst each other and have independence in choosing their significant others.

When a new relationship starts, whether it be of the marriage or a boyfriend-girlfriend variety, we sometimes develop a strong attachment for our paramour. At this point, one of the major relationship issues arises…that of saying three magic words of “I Love you.” Our feelings are very strong and we desperately want to let the other person know how we feel. Yet we are hesitant to say it since we’re not sure if the other person feels the same way. Eventually we no longer can sit idly by, and we force ourselves to reveal our feelings.

Revealing our loving feelings to someone else naturally give us tremendous satisfaction and bliss. We want the other person to know how we feel. As soon as we say it once, and the other person reciprocates, we start saying “I love you” as much as we can. We can’t end a phone conversation without saying it. We can’t say goodbye without saying it. We say it through letters, gifts, and even before we go to sleep. In this way, we derive tremendous bliss from our feelings of love.

These loving feelings exist in all of us due to our original loving relationship with God. We are all part and parcels of God, but we have forgotten this relationship due to our contact with material nature. The illusory energy of material nature, called maya, has redirected the love that we have for God to other people, such as friends, family, and pets.

The easiest way of rekindling that relationship is to chant the holy name of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” “Krishna” and “Rama” are authorized names of God according to the Vedas, and “Hare” means the energy of God. When we are chanting “Hare Krishna”, we are paying obeisance to God and asking Him to let us love him. “Hare Krishna” is the best way to say “I love you.”

If we declare our love for God and sincerely mean it, then He will never abandon us. Krishna will love us ten times more than we love Him. Through experience, we have found that sometimes we can fall in and out love. We may love somebody for some time, but through disagreements or separation, that love dwindles. Eventually, the original “I love you”s end up being for naught.

Our love for God actually never dwindles. Once we decide to even serve Krishna a little bit, He makes sure to take care of us and love us no matter what may happen. Vedic literature is full of examples of great devotees who fell down from their exalted positions and took to sinful life, only to be saved afterwards. An example of this is Ajamila. Ajamila was a very pious man who ended up falling in loving with a prostitute. They had a son, and Ajamaila was still devoted enough to name his son Narayana, one of the names of Krishna. There is no difference between the Lord and His name.  At the time of his death, Ajamila called out for his son, and because he remembered the Lord’s name, he was saved from going to hell. Instead of hell, he was sent to Krishna’s spiritual kingdom. The Lord knew that Ajamila had previously been a devotee, so He made sure to protect him. We may think we have an idea of what kindness means, but Krishna is the embodiment of the word.

Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and center of the universe. If we love Him, then we will automatically love all His other sons and daughters even more. Loving Him is the best way to increase our love for our husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend. So please chant “Hare Krishna” as much as you can and tell God how much you love Him.

 

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