Hate Me Now

“The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.25.21)

“Dad, I hate you. I can’t believe you are making me do this. Mom, you’re the worst. You’re always nagging me and telling me to do this and do that. Why can’t you guys just leave me alone?” Every good parent has provoked these thoughts in their child at some point or another. How can one be considered a guardian if there is not some discipline involved? If the child knows how to behave all the time and what to do and what not to do, what need is there to even have a parent around? A guardian guards, irrespective of what the dependent thinks of that guardianship. Since accepting the responsibility of someone else’s welfare is very difficult to do, the behavior is considered a sacrifice, a sort of short-term absorption of punishment for the purpose of furthering a long-term goal. Because they accept a thankless task, the glories of a good parent are many.

Why does the child harbor the above mentioned sentiments? It is the intrinsic nature of the spirit soul, the essence of identity, to crave freedom, to exercise its property of free will. The child has the least inhibitions because they just don’t know any better. Immaturity means not knowing about imminent death, the social etiquette pertinent to time and circumstance, or the fact that you’re not supposed to do certain things. Instead of following regulation, the penchant for the free exercise of activity takes over in full force, with the child automatically diving into any venture that piques its curiosity.

Obviously, following this mindset isn’t always the best choice. What if there is a fire around? Should the child look at the bright light and feel the inviting heat and decide to place its hand into the fire, they will get burned. Depending on the intensity of the fire, contact with it can be extremely detrimental. The same principle applies for poisonous substances found underneath the sink and electronic sockets located around the house. If you live in a multi-story dwelling, you’ll also want to keep the young children away from stairs, as they may not know how to ascend or descend them. The human body is not made to react well to a tumble down the stairs.

Overseeing the behavior of the children are the good parents, who are mature, so they know the do’s and don’ts, what the child can do and what they shouldn’t be involved in. A good parent will not worry about whether or not their dependent likes them during the period of this supervision. The only reason this needs mentioning is that not caring what others think about us is very difficult, especially when the person in question is a loved one. Who actually enjoys being hated, mocked, made fun of, or vilified? Unless you are playing the heel character in professional wrestling, jeers and curses thrown your way don’t put a smile on your face.

But the good parent makes the sacrifice. At some point in time, the child is going to hate them. This is a sign that discipline is being instilled, that boundaries are being set. One may argue, “Why punish children in this way? Shouldn’t their childhood be happy?” As in adulthood there is full freedom in the choice of endeavor, it is best to instill discipline when there is the chance. There is also a logical basis behind this. If a child is spoiled, they will have a difficult time coping with adult life. Chronic dependence on government and constant hatred and envy of the wealthy and those successful in life can only manifest through ignorance, not being taught the value of money, discipline, hard work and perseverance during youth. If your parents give you whatever you want growing up, how are you going to react when the people you meet in the real world don’t behave the same way? How are you going to react when you have to live without very much, when you have to implement some austerity measures?

The most important disciplinary system imposed upon the growing child is education. In America every child is compelled to attend school; such is the importance stressed on education. This is a disciplinary measure because the natural penchant for the child is to play all day, to sit in front of the television or go out and play games with their friends. Education is generally not accepted with open arms. “Why do I have to learn this? When am I going to need this in my life?”

But what does the child know? If they harbor hatred for authority figures simply because of the discipline they instill, is their anger well founded? If someone is angry at us because they are uninformed, and they won’t become fully informed until later on in life, should their anger be taken seriously? A good parent knows that later on in life their child will thank them for having been raised properly, for being shown the right path.

In the bigger picture, the entire purpose of human life can be fulfilled if there is proper discipline instilled and followed for all activities, not just those accepted during youth. In this respect, what is required is a spiritual teacher, who is known as the guru in the Vedic tradition. The Vedas are the ancient scriptures of India, but they should not be considered sectarian or even sentimentalist. There is devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, expressed, but this is done to show everyone that the person they are meant to worship is full of form and all-attractive. Not that Krishna is the only form of Godhead or the insisted upon object of worship for the entire world, but He is the fully featured Supreme Person. The Vedas simply fill in the details omitted in other spiritual traditions about who is being worshiped.

Moreover, the Vedas provide intricate detail on how life should be managed, what the point to having an existence is, and how the nature around us can be utilized towards furthering the proper end. In a specific playing field, if the component objects are used properly, the objectives of the player can be furthered. For instance, in tennis the objects of the playing field are the racket, the tennis balls and the court. If these things are used properly, following the rules of the game, the player can increase their chances of victory. Similarly, in an office environment, the tools can be things like the computer, phone and coworkers. Proper interaction with these elements can help further the goal of increasing profit for the firm selling their particular good or service.

The Vedas are the only scriptural writings that account for the entire playing field, which consists of nothing more than many manifestations of matter. There is a difference between spiritual substance and material substance. Spirit is always superior to matter. Spirit is immutable, unchanging, undying and primeval. The spirit soul is the essence of identity, and it is not slain when the body is slain. These are the basic tenets provided nicely in the short, compact, and brilliant verses of the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God sung by Krishna Himself on a battlefield of all places some five thousand years ago.

Understanding the differences between spirit and matter is very important. We can realize its importance by noting just how rare it is for this information to be taught to anyone. Something as basic as, “I am not my body; I am a spirit soul”, is unknown to most adult human beings, who are considered the most advanced species. That’s right, you live for decades in a world where you gather intelligence on everything from the stock market to quantum physics, yet you’re not informed about something as basic as the changing body. The dwelling you occupy changed completely since the time you emerged from the womb, yet somehow these changes don’t tickle the curiosity of the occupant. Instead, the interaction with matter and how to exploit it for sense interests are given precedent in thought.

That the properties of spirit are not well known shouldn’t surprise us. The Vedas even account for this deficiency in society. For many lifetimes the spirit soul has wandered through various body types. There are up to 8,400,000 different combinations of matter that the spirit soul can occupy. The human species is considered the most advanced because only the human being can take the necessary steps to understand spiritual science and use that king of all education to further the highest goal, to find the most potent form of happiness.

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

How can this happen exactly? Just as the good parent makes the sacrifice of instilling discipline in their child at the cost of being hated every now and then, the spiritual master, or guru, instructs their humble disciples in the matter of spiritual science, not caring what ill will is harbored by others, including their students. The parents make the sacrifice so that their children can grow up to be self-sufficient adults capable of handling the rigors of the real world. The guru similarly devotes their time so that their students will achieve full enlightenment by the time of death, and thus return to the imperishable land, where even the material substance is spiritual.

In the present world there is a difference between body and spirit. The body is constantly changing and it has nothing to do with our identity. If we get our hair cut, nothing has changed about us except our appearance. We can even lose all of our hair and nothing will be different about us, except for what others see when they look at us. You can actually take the same concept and apply it to every aspect of the body, including the entire collection of material elements. In this sense death is just the relinquishing of the body that has grown old, a form that has ceased being useful. In the case of premature death, it is understood that the laws of karma, which govern action and reaction, have determined that the particular body was no longer fit to be used.

Not to worry, though, as a future body is granted immediately. This occurs even within the same lifetime. We take specific actions which have consequences, either favorable or unfavorable. Weight loss is meant to shrink the body, while overeating expands it. Thus there is always a change going on. That the changes would stop at the time of death is a sentiment harbored only by those ignorant of the laws of spiritual science, which are so nicely presented in the Vedas. The bona fide spiritual master has studied Vedic science by following his own guru. The chain of gurus begins with Krishna, who first imparted sublime wisdom to the creator, Lord Brahma.

Even if one is unwilling to accept these pieces of information found in the Vedas, if they can somehow follow the prescriptions of the Vaishnava spiritual masters, they will find full auspiciousness. For the people of this age, who are short-lived and always distracted due to the lack of spiritual education, following all the rules and regulations of spiritual life is very difficult. Even accepting a spiritual master during youth almost never occurs. But the Vaishnavas, the devotees of Vishnu, the personal forms of the Lord, advise that we simply chant the holy names of the Lord as often as possible, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Accompanying this recommendation is the restriction on meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex.

The chanting routine is more important, and its benefits shouldn’t be difficult to comprehend. We sing songs to feel pleasure and we dance when we are uninhibited in our feelings of elation. If the pleasure can be directed towards the Supreme Lord, who is everyone’s best friend, the true potential for bliss found within the soul can be untapped. The accompanying restrictions are there to increase sobriety and thus enhance the devotional experience. Chanting is not the only assertive action but it is the most potent and easiest to instantiate. The most number of people can become liberated simply by hearing the transcendental sound vibrations that represent the Absolute Truth, He who is beyond the dualities of matter and spirit, love and hate, heat and cold, and happiness and sadness. Indeed, the spirit souls, who are part and parcel of God, are also the same as God constitutionally, but they can choose in favor of residence in a land ruled by ignorance.

The enlightened soul no longer has to live in a place where there is a difference between body and soul. The spiritual land is full of bliss because everyone there is fully God conscious, looking to meet the desires and wishes of the Supreme Lord. Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, a discipline which includes chanting and regulation in terms of avoidance of sinful behavior, can create heaven on earth when implemented properly. The guru makes the sacrifice by teaching their student how to do this. Obviously, the guru’s words will not be taken with a pleasant attitude all the time. If we need instruction, it means that we are ignorant. If we need discipline, it means that we are currently doing something wrong. If someone harshly criticizes us for our errant behavior, how will we not feel offended?

But the guru doesn’t care who he offends, because he speaks the truth. Because of this kind sacrifice his glories can never be fully appreciated. Behind every successful spiritualist is a guru who made the sacrifice to spread the glories of the Supreme Lord and bhakti-yoga. Behind every successful Vaishnava poet, lecturer, preacher, or teacher is a guru who followed their own guru’s teachings, taking the words instructed to them to heart. The heart is where the plenary expansion of Shri Krishna resides, so when the heart is purified, the chaitya-guru, the Lord from within, directs us along the proper path. He is always there to love us, but without following proper guidance we’ll continue to ignore His presence. The guru thinks, “Hate me or love me, but by following my prescriptions you will find the true happiness that only comes with Krishna’s association.” In this way the spiritual master is forever worthy of our honor and respect.

In Closing:

“Mom and dad, why are you making me do this?

Can’t I go play outside and that way find bliss?

You make me do this and that, and I hate it,

When giving these impositions will you quit?”

For reputation a good parent will not care,

Harsh words from dependents them do not scare.

In a similar manner guru the truth does he speak,

Knowledge of Krishna and spirituality does he teach.

Discipline required in one who does not have any,

Teacher must point out the defects which are many.

Love him or hate him, one thing guru knows,

That only from Krishna happiness grows.

World benefitted from the sacrifice he makes,

From guru’s teachings, supreme wisdom disciple takes.

Franchising

“Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Krishna. By distributing the holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts of the most fallen people; therefore he extinguishes the blazing fire of the material world. Not only that, he broadcasts the shining brightness of Krishna’s effulgence throughout the world.” (Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura)

An entrepreneur takes their idea for a business and makes it a reality through risk, innovation, hard work and sacrifice. As most startup businesses don’t succeed, those that do tend to stand out. Just getting a local shop up and running and having it turn a regular profit is itself a grand achievement. But if the owner of the store, the person in whom the seed of desire sprouted into the full blown tree of a business, wants to increase their profits even more, or if they simply want their product or service to touch more people than just those in the local community, they will figure out a way to franchise their operation. With others around the country and world following the same business plan and selling the same product, the reach and scope of the business can attain new heights. Ironically enough, this very process explains the success of the celebrated acharyas, the spiritual masters of the Vedic tradition. Through their kind preaching efforts they have enabled a system of glorification of the holy name and the divine personality it addresses to continue on since the beginning of time. Because of this, their positive impact on society and the greatness of their stature can never be properly measured.

Franchising is easier said than done. The first issue is how to repeat the same roadmap for success followed during the initial startup. To run the business the same way, to have the same profit levels, those who operate the franchises must be able to understand the product, how to produce it, and what its value is to the customers. This requires training and good guidance from the original owner. In one sense, there shouldn’t be a need to franchise. The owner has what they want: a successful business. They already know how to operate it successfully, so why the need for expansion?

In the business community, the benefits of expanding obviously relate to increased profits. The original owner can charge franchise fees and thus make money with minimal effort. Teach others how to run the business and watch the profits come in every month. Yet, on an even higher level, if the product or service offered is beneficial to society, expanding helps out so many more people. It is one thing to use your keen knowledge to gain a profit for yourself, but increasing the scope of the operation keeps so many other people employed and ensures that others will have a place to go to get your product, wherever they may live. It is for these reasons that chain restaurants end up doing so well through expansion. If a person is travelling through a foreign city and not sure of where to go to eat, they know that the chain locations will have food and service they are accustomed to. They know what they are going to get. If the original owner had decided to keep the operation localized, the benefits would have remained isolated to a specific area.

In the Vedic tradition, the oldest of all the systems of spirituality in existence, the importance of the spiritual master is constantly emphasized. Just understanding the need for inquiring about God and the reason for the human being’s existence is difficult enough. The human mind is limited in its thinking abilities, as what may be contemplated on at this very second could be forgotten in the next minute. If we can’t even remember what we ate for breakfast yesterday, how are we going to come to the conclusion of who God is and what He looks like? Moreover, how are we going to deduce the purpose to our existence and what should guide our activities?

The need for teachers is not very difficult to understand, but for some reason when the same requirement is presented for understanding the highest truths of life, there is skepticism and trepidation. To practice medicine or law, to operate heavy machinery, or to do pretty much anything unknown to us, there must be training. Young children are sent to school to learn from adults who are wiser than they are. Without the teacher-student paradigm, no information would ever transfer properly. In general conversation, where two friends are talking about the topics of the day, typically there is not a definitive conclusion reached. We are friends with someone for a reason; we consider them our equal. If we didn’t, we couldn’t enjoy their association and feel free to act as we wish. The downside to this, of course, is that when our friends try to teach us anything, the natural response is to counter their arguments and make sure that we never fully accept what they tell us.

With teachers, the ground rules are established from the very beginning that they will instruct and that we will listen. Therefore when Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, recommends in the Bhagavad-gita that Arjuna, His cousin and dear friend, approach one who has seen the Truth to understand the higher concepts in life, the stipulation should not be very difficult to accept. Where did the guru learn their information? Obviously they got it from their own guru; otherwise the information they present is not authorized. Without proper authority, conclusions will be flawed, as the human mind cannot think beyond the bounds of time and space.

Under mental speculation or intense study of logic and reason, the highest conclusion that the mind can reach is that God is formless or without attributes. The Vedas reveal that the essence of identity is the spiritual spark residing within a particular life form. As this entity does not ever change in qualitative makeup, it is understood that all things we see are nothing but temporary manifestations of an inferior energy. The living spark is the superior entity; therefore it is beyond the dualities of the existence we witness with our senses.

Since the identity of the living entity transcends the variety witnessed in the present life, it is assumed that the higher spiritual entity, the being from whom everything emanates, must also be the same in quality. “The Absolute Truth must be without attributes, because as soon as a feature is defined, a limitation is introduced. If God has green eyes, He must be defective because He can’t then have blue eyes. If He is bluish in complexion, then He can’t have any other skin color; hence He becomes inferior.” Because of these apparent contradictions, the mind will be tempted to think that no entity can possess mutually contradictory attributes. Therefore the highest realization the mind can reach through pure study is that of Brahman, or the impersonal energy constituting all things spirit. Even gross matter is related to Brahman, but it is considered a subordinate energy.

Only through the authorized words coming from the guru can we learn that the Supreme Lord is actually full of form. Though He has no hands or legs, God can run faster than the wind and accept every offering made to Him with love and devotion. The idea of a spiritual attribute, one which is not limited in the same way that a material one is, cannot be understood mentally; it must be accepted as fact. The acceptance in this regard is meant for a purpose, for not arguing against the truth of the Supreme Lord’s form enables one to achieve the highest end, that of pure God consciousness, by the time the present life completes. The properly situated mindset leads the spiritual spark back to a land where full variegatedness is witnessed in a spiritual manifestation, where the Supreme Lord and His eternal well-wishers enjoy each other’s company endlessly, with time and space having no influence.

The spiritual master learned the highest truths of life from his own guru, who in turn learned it from their teacher, and so on. When this chain has the Supreme Lord as its founder, whose original form is that of Shyamasundara, the beautiful Shri Krishna, the teachings presented are bona fide and can be accepted without question. With the teachings come recommendations. The instructed student is advised to give up sinful activities which will be detrimental towards their development of consciousness. Meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex form the bedrock of sinful life, so if they are cut off at the nose, before they can do any further damage, the student has a much better chance of succeeding.

More important than the restrictions are the recommended assertive actions, positive behavior that keeps the active potency within the heart fully engaged. Nothing is worse for a person’s psyche than constant lethargy, laziness, and nothing to do. The dream for the fruitive worker is to one day retire and not have the pressures of daily life, but it is seen that the retired worker often has too much time on their hands, and nothing to do except sit around the house and watch television. The spiritual masters, by matching the active propensity to serve found within the heart with a corresponding beneficiary, keep the fire of devotion and action constantly lit within their disciples. Thus there is always something to do for the enthusiastic student.

What activity could there be that we can perform without stop? Chanting the holy names found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, can continue on and on, without interruption and without motivation. The holy name of the Lord is non-different from Him, a fact that can only be realized by steady practice of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. There are various disciplines of spirituality, with each one leading the student to a specific objective. As nothing can be better than attaining a pure love for God that never dies out and never fades away, the discipline of bhakti reigns supreme over all others. Indeed, every method of spiritual life is meant to eventually culminate in bhakti.

The guru is one who himself follows the prescriptions for action handed to him. He spends his time chanting and thinking about Krishna, or God. He reads the scriptures not necessarily for advancement in knowledge, but to remain connected to the spiritual world. We read autobiographies of famous people to get a further glimpse into their life and to better understand their nature. At the heart of this enjoyment is association, the ability to establish a personal relationship with the author. Similarly, by reading about Krishna from famous texts like the Ramayana, Shrimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, Mahabharata and so many other works, the lonely living entity gets to be in God’s company. The words found in these works, and also in the wonderful poems authored by famous saints, can be meditated upon for days on end; thereby allowing anyone to be with God for extended periods of time.

The guru, being in the Lord’s company through utilizing the many outlets for devotion, will always be happy. And why shouldn’t he be? If you’re reading about Krishna and basking in His transcendental sweetness all the time, wouldn’t you be constantly thrilled? Yet the guru goes beyond just keeping the happiness to himself. The acharyas, those who are capable of instructing others and withstanding the public scrutiny that comes with active preaching, kindly take to passing on Vedic wisdom to others. In this respect they can accumulate many disciples and become famous themselves, but when their true purpose for teaching is understood, their glories are enhanced even further.

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

Just as the ultimate benefit to franchising a store is that the product or service in question gets distributed to many more people, the ultimate aim of the teaching spiritual master is to ensure that Krishna and His names get glorified in as many places as possible, by as many sincere souls as possible. In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says that the devotees are always chanting His glories, and this is especially true of the guru. The spiritual master thinks, “My Lord is so wonderful. I will never tire of glorifying Him and appreciating His kind mercy, which is available for everyone to take advantage of. Now, let me think of ways to increase this glorification, to amplify its effect.”

One way to beat the drum of devotion even louder is to hold a concert or live showing, where the holy name can be chanted through electronic equipment. This will ensure that many more people get to hear the sweet melodies of the maha-mantra. Yet, as we see with franchising, the better way to expand your operation is to have others take up the cause. With many people following the same formula, the product in question can go “viral” very quickly. In a similar manner, if the guru can teach others about God and devotion to Him, the mrdanga glorifying Shri Krishna gets even more powerful.

Looking at some of the greatest reformers in history, we see that they followed this very formula. Narada Muni, a world traveller and staunch devotee of God, has taught so many people how to practice bhakti. By reforming a dacoit into a devotee of Lord Rama, Narada gave the world Maharishi Valmiki, who used his enlightenment to author the Ramayana, a poem which is still celebrated to this day because of its content. The poem glorifies the life and pastimes of Lord Rama, an incarnation of God. Therefore, through Narada’s kind efforts, a tradition of glorification was established. Valmiki himself taught two students, Lava and Kusha, Rama’s sons, how to sing the poem in public accompanied by music. Thus the tradition was passed on.

In more recent times, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada set up a worldwide institution to ensure that Krishna’s name would be glorified in every town and every village. A truly humble man himself, Shrila Prabhupada did not need any disciples or anyone to worship him daily for being such a wonderful spiritual master. Nevertheless, he accepted disciples, because he could teach them how to expand the wonderful sounds glorifying Krishna that emanate from the spiritual world. Because of this sacrifice, millions of people have benefitted. When his students subsequently help others to find their way in bhakti, Prabhupada’s glories and the stature of his teacher, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, are further increased.

With this franchising system, so many people become liberated and find true happiness in life. By watering the root, connecting with the fountainhead of all things matter and spirit in a loving mood, every disturbance and source of distress is automatically removed. Though the spiritual masters are celebrated as great welfare workers, the predominant desire that guides their activities does not change. They simply want Krishna to be glorified by as many people as possible, as often as possible. Since they are wonderful devotees, the Lord ensures that their desires are satisfied. Thanks to their benevolence, the world becomes supremely benefitted.

Betting On The Cure

“Those who are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.3)

Allergy season getting you down? The pollen, the trees, the freshly cut grass just lying everywhere can become unbearable after a while. First the eyes well up with tears, and this is followed by constant sneezing. It gets even worse when coughing starts, as that is usually reserved for when we have a cold or some more severe disease during the winter months. To alleviate the sufferings from seasonal allergies, we head to the drug store and find the strongest medication there is. Many of these drugs are now available over the counter, but there are still some controls in place, as in America one must show their driver’s license at the time of purchase. Then there are still the prescription drugs, those medicines requiring the consent of a physician and which need to be carefully formulated in the store by the pharmacist on hand. These drugs of course have unpleasant side effects, but the nuisances are tolerated because of the overall benefit.

Just from the behavior exhibited by sufferers of allergy season, we see that there is so much trust and faith put into the drug manufacturer and the pharmacist at the store. When the drug works properly, when it has been composed according to standards, some side effects, such as drowsiness, dryness of the mouth, and an overall strange feeling in the mind, will surely come. Now just imagine if some person along the chain of action should make a mistake. To ere is human after all, so the chances of committing an error are always there, especially in a field as sensitive as pharmacy. If the drug is composed incorrectly, the side effects can be greatly intensified, thus causing major problems. Yet we put our trust and faith in the pharmacist anyway, as their many years of schooling serve as proof of capability. In the grand scheme of things, we put so much faith in our fellow man for everything, from trivial items to important matters of life and death.

If this trust is already present, why not apply it to spiritual life as well? The prescriptions of the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in existence, are not meant to be dogmatic principles applicable to only a select few. Spirituality is a science, a discipline that can be understood through establishing select principles, layering them on top of one another, and then applying them to our daily lives. The via-medium for the information transfer is the spiritual master, or guru. He is the true representative of God, and by extending our faithful attitude to his words and instructions, we can be cured of the wickedest disease: affinity for material existence.

We are diseased already? We know from past experience that life is not permanent. The soul, the living force responsible for instigating action, the entity which takes the responsibility for making choices, does live forever, but when it appears in a particular life form, that manifestation is not permanent. This is not that difficult to understand, as even the specific form generally accepted as a life goes through constant changes with the passing of time. If matter were permanent, or if the dwelling encasing the soul never changed, all of us would remain infants forever. But we know that as soon as we take birth from the womb of our mother, growth inevitably starts. Indeed, the aim of the parents is to ensure that their child grows up to be a fully capable, healthy, sturdy, independent, and logically thinking adult. The difference between an adult and a child is mostly evidenced in the difference in thought processes, or consciousness. Yet with that maturation comes a brand new body, one that is vastly different from the tiny form that survived for nine months within the womb.

Eventually, after enough time passes and the adult body ceases to be useful, the entire dwelling is discarded. This shedding is the event most of us know as death; something which is rarely welcome. After all, after death is the great unknown, something no one seems to be sure about. “What happens after I die? Will I live again? Will I see my friends and family again? Where will I go?” Since these questions inevitably arise, as death is guaranteed for whoever takes birth, we can understand that every single living entity is diseased. A disease is something which causes discomfort, pain, and, in the worst cases, death. Since the end of life is already guaranteed, we can understand that concomitant with birth is a deadly disease, which comes to bear through the forces of time.

With ordinary diseases, we seek treatment and cures, so why should this pursuit be absent with the illness that is accepted at the time of birth? This is the true purpose for spirituality; to stop death. From the Vedas, we understand that the soul lives forever, but it gets different bodies based on the individual’s desires and work. Just as if we drop an object out of our hand it will fall to the ground, every action we take accumulated over the course of our days in a particular form has an effect that must come to bear in the future. Either these results are witnessed in the present lifetime, or they are seen in the next form of body accepted by the soul. This explains why people are born into different circumstances. Some people are born into abusive families, homes where the father beats the mother, or where there is constant angst and pressure put on the young children. Others are born into the arms of loving parents who are wholly dedicated to each other and their children. These circumstances are determined by one’s karma, which is the system managing fruitive activity.

Through following proper prescriptions, we can actually break free of the undesired cycle, which is known as samsara-chakra, or the wheel of material existence. The wheel continues to roll, with the living entity caught underneath, as the revolutions repeat. When in between the wheel and the ground, the pressure causes great pain and distress, and when the same part of the wheel rolls back above ground, there is a temporary period of happiness and relief. Nevertheless, the spinning continues, so the wise try their best to completely escape from the suffering condition and find permanent and everlasting peace. As the soul is eternal and blissful, its constitutional position also has the same properties. This is where God’s presence is really required. He is described as having a transcendental body that is fully blissful, eternal and knowledgeable, sach-chid-ananda vigraha. Through connecting with Him on a regular basis, we can get the cure to the most acute disease known to every living entity.

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

Getting the cure is not that difficult. Simply surrender unto a spiritual master, one who has seen the light, and follow his instructions. How hard can this be? We put so much trust and faith in others every day, so why the difficulty in understanding the Supreme Truth? The largest stumbling block is the mind, which has rightfully grown skeptical of religion and its champions. As desire forms the bedrock of fruitive activity, so the tainted wishes of the conditioned living entities have degraded religion to the point that God is seen as an order supplier. “Pray for what you want, and keep on praying no matter what.” In this respect, there appears to be a contradiction raised. If one person prays for something, and another person prays for the exact opposite reward, how will the Supreme Lord reconcile the two requests? How can God ever take sides? Aren’t we all His children?

Because of these contradictions and the fact that everyone seems to be painting God in their own way, there is a general distaste for religion, as nothing tangible seems to come from its practice. If one person prays all the time and gets what they want some of the time, and another person is equally as fortunate without praying, what need is there for religion? This skepticism is healthy, as it shows a level of sophistication and intelligence found only in the human species.

With the Vedic seers, however, the prescriptions aren’t so narrow in purpose. The sum and substance of Vedic philosophy can be found in the Bhagavad-gita, which is a collection of verses sung on a battlefield around five thousand years ago. The teacher in this case, Lord Krishna, is considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of knowledge. He is indeed the object of all religious sacrifice, as pleasing Him brings more pleasure to the worshiper than any other activity. But Krishna’s worthiness of worship is not a sectarian principle, one just followed by those growing up in India. Rather, the themes and concepts revealed in the Bhagavad-gita are universally applicable. Karma, renunciation, material nature, disease, death, old age, reincarnation, and, most important of all, the constitutional position of the living entity, are discussed with full clarity, but also succinctly.

At one point in the Gita, Krishna advises His dear friend and cousin Arjuna to approach a spiritual master and learn the truth from him. This is ironic because the Gita itself represents a talk between a guru and his student. Krishna is the teacher in this case and Arjuna, a warrior feeling hesitant prior to the commencement of a grand war, the student. A bona fide spiritual master is one who follows the teachings presented by Krishna in the Gita, which don’t contradict any other religion’s central teachings. Based on time and circumstance, the exact implementation of the principles may vary, but the ultimate conclusion, the final destination, can never be altered. The living entities are part and parcel of God, and due to this relationship they are best fit for serving the Supreme Lord as their primary object of importance. From this focus every beneficial attribute and condition is met. When there is pure God consciousness, the soul is no longer subject to the spinning wheel of material existence. Just as there is eternality and full bliss in God, so there is never a chance for fall down for one who is fully Krishna conscious.

Every prescription offered, every ritual and function of spiritual life that is bona fide, is meant to further this God consciousness. Even the prayer requests and the seeking of material rewards represent a sort of advancement, as the animals don’t have the ability to pray to God. The material body is temporary, so any reward sought out for its comfort misses the target that is pure God consciousness. Nevertheless, just approaching the Supreme Lord one time in a sincere mood helps further the thought processes of the mind, keeping it aligned with the proper path in life.

The Vedic seers, those who carry the torchlight of knowledge kindly revealed by Krishna Himself on many occasions in the past, advise everyone in this age to simply chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. This specific sequence of words is known as the maha-mantra, and it is a sacred formula that can be repeated in a variety of ways. It is best to chant this mantra out loud, congregationally with other devotees of God. Through this method spiritual knowledge can be passed on to others without them even knowing it. It is seen that when devotees join together in what is known as a sankirtana party and take to the streets chanting this mantra, many people come out and enjoy the sounds. They may not even have ever heard of Krishna or the Vedas, but simply from hearing the holy names enthusiastically belted out by the chanters, they feel satisfaction and happiness.

These properties stand in stark contrast to what is seen with the dry worship of an abstract vision of God and the allegiance and support shown to worldly entities, those who are not God. Therefore just from the immediate effects we can understand that there is something special in the chanting prescription, that sankirtana and its foundational mantra have some real efficacy. Along with the chanting recommendation, the spiritual masters advise that we refrain from the four pillars of sinful life: meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. In many spiritual traditions there are recommendations for various animal sacrifices. There are also found restrictions on eating certain kinds of food and prohibitions on consuming specific beverages. Avoiding the four pillars of sinful life doesn’t clash with any spiritual tradition. One faith may have recommendations for animal sacrifice, but some logic should be applied to understand the reasoning behind the recommendation. The animal community often kills and eats other animals, and even the human being has the wherewithal to go hunting and open slaughterhouses. If knowledge of how to slay animals is there already, what would the purpose be for recommending animal sacrifice in scripture?

The rational person will understand that animal sacrifice is meant to serve as a way of curbing the sinful practice of unnecessary violence. If the ultimate purpose is to reach a state of pure God consciousness, where the sweet, smiling face of the Supreme Lord is etched into the mind, every recommendation offered should be juxtaposed with this final destination, the end position. In this way we see that whatever targeted recommendations for action exist are there simply to further a higher purpose. Since there is less time and opportunity for full adherence to every ritual from the time of birth for the average human being today, the spiritual master of the Vedic tradition has streamlined the recommendations, allowing for universal principles to be adopted. Not eating meat, never gambling, avoiding illicit sex, and never becoming intoxicated do not violate any religious principle in any way. Rather, by following these restrictions one becomes the most superior and respected member of society.

Krishna is our best friend. This is His most important role, as He can fulfill anyone’s request for opulence or the alleviation of distress, but these gifts don’t eliminate the root of our problems: separation from God. As Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, He resides within everyone’s heart. Once our consciousness becomes purified, we can realize this fact and relish the opportunity for divine service so kindly afforded to the human being. We already put so much faith in our fellow man to heal us and ensure our safety, so adding the spiritual master to that list of people is not really much of a gamble. Surrendering to Krishna and those who are forever devoted to Him is the only wager that wins every time. The reward awaiting the person wise enough to put faith in the proper channels is the reunion with their best friend, whose company cures all ailments and brings all pleasures.

Service and Compassion

“Pure devotees, out of compassion for the fallen souls, are kripalu, very kind to people in general; they distribute this Bhagavata knowledge all over the world.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.12.51 Purport)

Two Sanskrit terms, seva and daya, very nicely complete the picture of behavior for human beings to follow. Seva means “service” and daya means “compassion” or “kindness”. But more important than knowing what the terms mean is understanding the position of the target beneficiaries. Service is meant to be offered to a superior entity, one who can show us the way and reveal the Truth in a manner that we can understand. Daya is applied to those who are suffering, the downtrodden that are in need of help. Thus compassion and kindness apply especially to inferior entities. But when seva is absent, or when the superior entity is not properly identified, the purity of daya suffers. On the other hand, when seva is directed towards the right person, that one entity who is always superior and forever worthy and capable of accepting service, the effectiveness of the compassion and kindness offered to the suffering only increases.

What are some examples of daya? The need for compassion and kindness towards the downtrodden is always discussed in society, especially in political circles. If ever a politician were to propose spending cuts to balance the budget or reduce inequities in the distribution of tax dollars, the opposition force’s best reply is to claim that the proposed move lacks compassion. “Without such and such money allocated to a particular project, people will be left destitute and without any source of food, clothing and shelter.” This line of argument works very well, because who would be against helping people that are in need? The average citizen has compassion for the poor and those who are in distressful situations, so anytime daya is attempted by a person of prominence, the action is well supported.

While daya is witnessed frequently, seva is not. Ironically enough, the penchant for service is built into the properties of the soul. The outer covering that we wear, which has accompanying characteristics, is not the basis for identity. We may take birth in a certain land and be labeled a certain type of citizen, but these circumstances could very easily have been altered. Higher forces, superior figures that we are dependent on, determined where we took birth and what type of parents we received. But we existed prior to birth, though in a different dwelling, or home. Just because the homes shift doesn’t mean that our identities get altered.

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.12)

If I am not my body than who am I? The spirit soul, a tiny spark of energy that is so small that no blunt instrument can measure its size, residing within the heart of the living being represents their true self. If we can’t perceive the soul through microscopes and regular vision, how do we know it exists? Just as we see the invisible material element of the wind through its effect on visible objects, we can perceive of the soul’s presence by the autonomous functions of the living entity. The difference between a dull lump of matter and a living force is the presence of the spiritual spark within. When we see a seed turn into a giant plant or a tiny infant become a full grown adult, we can understand that the spiritual spark was responsible for the development. When a soul is inside of a particular body, we declare the being to be alive. Once the soul exits, once the autonomous functions and growth cycles cease, we deem the living being deceased.

To get more detailed knowledge about the properties of the soul and where it comes from, we must accept information from authority. This shouldn’t be that difficult to do, as we put faith and trust into the words of others all the time. The nightly newscasts describe events happening around the world, but these stories easily could be fabricated. We go on the authority of the anchorperson that the events they are describing are indeed occurring. In a similar manner, we can accept information about the soul given to us by higher authority figures as valid. More important than just accepting the information is acting on it. When knowledge of the soul is put to good use, to attain a tangible benefit, the authenticity and glory of the authority source is validated.

There is no higher authority source than the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India. Meant to be understood by sincere beings of every persuasion, irrespective of their particular form of body, Vedic wisdom provides insight into the properties of the soul and how it is meant to behave. After all, when the soul is within a form, it takes to certain actions that are in line with the properties of the dwelling it occupies. When in an animal’s body the penchant is for eating, sleeping, mating and defending only. In the human life, however, not only can the presence of the soul be understood, but so can the glory and worthiness of service of its source. Not surprisingly, the Supreme Lord, or God, is the fountainhead of all energies, both material and spiritual. As we all come from God, we have a natural attachment to Him. When we are placed in a temporary dwelling, that love remains in a hidden state until extracted through knowledge and steady practice of religious principles.

Though we may be forgetful of our love for God, the service propensity remains there just the same. If we are given a brand new laptop computer but don’t know how to type or how to even open it, we will obviously not put the device to good use. If we are given a brand new car to drive but don’t have a license or know of any places to go, we might use the vehicle for storage, a place to put our extra stuff. When we are in ignorance we cannot properly utilize the objects that we have. Similarly, when we remain in the dark about our relationship to God, we misuse the service ability by giving worldly objects highest priority. Instead of serving God, we surrender to cats, dogs, spouses, life partners, employers, friends, citizens, etc. Man will basically offer its love to anything and anyone except God.

Is there a detriment to this aside from the failure to properly make use of the fully potent force of spiritual love found within the soul? There are actually many detriments to the misdirection of service. For starters, the soul continues to remain far away from its constitutional position. If there is no consciousness of the Supreme Lord and His blissful nature, another temporary dwelling will be granted the soul upon exit from its current body. This process is more commonly known as reincarnation, or the transmigration of the soul.

“The living being is eternal by nature, but due to his bondage in material existence he has to change his body over and over. This process is called the transmigration of the soul, and this transmigration is due to karma-bandhana, or bondage by one’s work.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shri Ishopanishad, 2 Purport)

The other detriment is that the service itself becomes inferior. From the definition given of seva, we see that the service must be offered to a superior entity. But since every living being is equally a part and parcel of God, service to other people in the absence of God consciousness cannot constitute real seva. The living beings are Brahman, while God is Parabrahman. Moreover, when we adopt the service attitude based only on consciousness of the body, what we are actually serving is maya, or the illusory energy that governs the material world. Maya is that which is not personally God; hence the term applies to dull matter that is not used to further the purpose of becoming wholly God conscious. Without any knowledge of the soul and its relation to a higher power, seva equates to empty service.

Another side effect is that the daya, or compassion, offered also becomes second class. Let’s say that we see someone who is downtrodden and in need of help. If we give them a few dollars to buy clothes and food, we have temporarily alleviated their distressful condition. A compassionate person always feels bad for those who are suffering. But once the temporary pains of hunger have subsided, has the aided person’s consciousness advanced?

To use another example, we have compassion on our children for sure, as they are helpless and in need of constant guidance and attention. But if under the daya mentality tied to matter we provided everything for our children without giving them a proper education, have we really done anything worthwhile for them? The aim is to teach the children the proper knowledge that will allow them to grow up to be self-sufficient adults with a good moral standing. Hence the compassion we offer to the children, who are identified as inferior in stature, is meant to further a purpose, to reach an ultimate goal. All daya should follow this model; but unless there is real seva, the true benefits of compassion will never be seen.

So how do we offer true seva? How do we love God if we don’t even know what He looks like or where He lives? This brings us back to the issue of authority and trust. Just as we put faith in our teachers to provide instruction in mathematics and science, if we kindly submit to a spiritual master, a guru who understands the truths of life as espoused by the Vedas and their celebrated texts like the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam, our doubts and concerns can be removed. On the surface the spiritual master seems to be an ordinary living entity just like the rest of us; hence the seva offered to him is really just service to maya, no?

Since the spiritual master carries the message coming from the spiritual world, he is considered to be empowered, a figure who is to be treated as good as God. The bona fide spiritual master will never claim to be God. If he does, he lacks complete knowledge of the gradations of spirit. The spiritual master is Brahman realized, but that doesn’t mean that he has become Parabrahman. Rather, the guru is the greatest servitor of the Supreme Lord; his dedication to real seva is unmatched. Because of his benevolence, He instructs his disciples and others who kindly approach him how to perform the same service.

The spiritual masters of the Vedic tradition recommend that we today 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 to become spiritually enlightened. The misgivings we may have about God’s forms, pastimes, shapes, sizes, nature, kindness, anger, sectarian designations, etc. will be removed the more steadily we chant this sacred formula. The Vaishnava, or devotee of Vishnu [God], didn’t just come up with this chanting recommendation on a whim. Rather, it is authorized by the Supreme Lord Himself through the instructions He has provided to countless individuals throughout the course of history.

Chanting is the cornerstone of the discipline known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. This regulative system is only categorized as a form of yoga because it stands out from other engagements. In the constitutional position, the soul is fully immersed in bhakti, so it actually only has one engagement it is inclined to take up. When awareness of the soul’s direct link to God is forgotten, other systems of maintenance, or dharma, come into play. Below these systems are those concocted by man through his mental speculation. Since these “religious” practices are not authorized nor have they passed all the quality control tests already run by the exalted spiritual masters, they fail to deliver on their promises.

Through seva to the guru and other worshipable personalities like parents and elders, the human being gradually understands and realizes his constitutional position. When bhakti-yoga becomes a way of life, every second of the day is spent engaged in the service of the Lord. Sometimes the devotee is chanting the glories of Krishna, while at other times he is worshiping the deity manifestation, which is an empowered, carved statue or picture that accepts the kind obeisances of the humble soul. To offer service to someone personally, we have to interact with them, but since God is Absolute, He can hear our prayers and witness our prostrations before Him through the deity.

When there is real seva, daya automatically becomes fully potent. In fact, the instruction offered by the spiritual master is the most beneficial form of daya. The guru knows God and how to serve Him; he is self-realized. Armed with such powerful information, he could just sit idly by and not let anyone else in on the fun. But due to his compassion on the fallen souls, he kindly teaches others the same information he learned from his guru. Distributing transcendental knowledge on how to serve God represents true compassion, the offering of gifts to others that will really benefit them. When there is seva to Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is fully featured with the opulences of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, renunciation and wisdom, the compassion and kindness we offer our fellow man will be spiritually infused and thus lead them to the ultimate destination, that transcendental realm that is the natural home for the spirit soul. When in the Lord’s company, the distresses of the mundane world fly away.

Following Your Nature

"If you do not act according to My direction and do not fight, then you will be falsely directed. By your nature, you will have to be engaged in warfare." (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18. 59)

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is not only the Supreme Lord for the entire earth’s population, including even the animal kingdom, but He can quickly and capably assume any and all important roles. Even when unexpectedly thrust into the role of spiritual master, or guru, He is more than up for the challenge. On one particular occasion, His disciple was perplexed in thought, unable to decide on the proper course of action. Technically, the student had made up his mind to follow a certain path, but since this decision was based on his own nature, a mindset temporarily sidetracked from the divine consciousness, he wasn’t sure of himself. To find the answer, he turned to his dear friend, his charioteer for an upcoming battle. Yet this was no ordinary servant; it was Krishna Himself kindly taking a subordinate role to help out His cousin, the glorious warrior known the world over for his fighting ability. When presenting His subsequent talk, which would later become famous as the Bhagavad-gita, or the Song of God, Shri Krishna not only pointed to the authoritative statements of the Vedas, a scriptural tradition which He personally instituted at the beginning of creation, but He also used cutting logic to get His points across.

The checkmate scenario presented to Arjuna, the doubtful warrior, made the proper course of action to take obvious beyond a doubt. The scene for the talk was a battlefield which saw millions of soldiers huddled together to start the greatest war the world had ever seen. Arjuna was fighting for the Pandavas, the side deemed the “good guys”. They had the rightful claim to the throne of the city of Hastinapura, but due to the backhanded methods employed by the competing Kurus headed by Duryodhana, the Pandavas were put into all sorts of difficulty and denied their chance to rule. After all diplomatic efforts were exhausted, the battle to end all battles was ready to commence. There was one slight problem, though. Arjuna became faint of heart, not wanting to kill his family members and spiritual guides fighting for the opposing army. He was all set to drop his weapons and retire to the woods. Indeed, he had convinced himself of the validity of this plan of action based on his own logic and understanding. His nature was that of a chivalrous fighter, but Arjuna temporarily lost sight of the proper goal in life and the duties assigned to him.

“Sanjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.” (Bg. 1.46)

Lord Krishna kindly stepped in after being sought out for advice from Arjuna. Though the noble soldier was ready to quit, he still could be convinced otherwise with persuasive words coming from a proper authority figure. Therefore Arjuna accepted Krishna as his spiritual master, the guru to guide him down the right path, one that would eliminate the mental distresses he was feeling and keep him committed to dharma, or religiosity. Krishna started by presenting the basic truths of spiritual life: that the living entity is not the body, and that the spirit soul goes through the cycle of reincarnation perpetually until pure God consciousness is achieved. The desires on the mind at the time of death indicate what type of body will be assumed in the future. One who takes on the spiritual consciousness, wherein all thoughts are directed at the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will naturally think of God at the time of death. Therefore they will receive a spiritual form in the next life.

The difference between a spiritual body and a material one can best be understood by studying the natures of the two realms. Though we see much variety around us in terms of manifestations, there are really only two places to reside, one spiritual and one material. The material world is populated with individual spirit souls, who are by constitution meant to reside in the imperishable land, and gross matter, which is inanimate and incapable of any force or motion without instigation from spirit. Since the manifestations of matter can come in varying mixtures of the three modes of nature: goodness, passion and ignorance, there is immense variety in the phenomenal world. The variations are so great than the human brain, which is the most advanced in terms of its potential for acquiring intelligence, has not even the slightest idea of the full breadth and scope of the material creation. There are too many planets to count, with each one inhabited by different life forms. Just as the human being is not the only species on earth, the other planets in the countless universes have living entities which have different bodily makeups. Some jivas, or living entities, have bodies composed almost completely of fire, while others even have forms made mostly of air.

“Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. They take birth on the planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 9.20)

The Christian tradition has saints and angels, who are both deemed heavenly and majestic figures. According to Vedic information, such life forms are not at all difficult to comprehend. After all, with a slight adjustment in material makeup, you can have one body that is extremely powerful and another that is totally weak. If an individual is pious during one lifetime, they get promotion to a higher planetary system in the next. Since the heavenly realm allows for increased sense gratification, a body commensurate with the properties of the land is required. Therefore there can be so many heavenly species, each with their own unique brand of abilities. The Vedas cap the list of total species at 8,400,000.

There is a dividing line, however, between the material and spiritual worlds. On the surface, the spiritual sky isn’t all that different from the phenomenal world. Matter is also found there, but it is of a different quality. Gross matter in the mundane world is known as prakriti, and in the spiritual world it is known as daivi prakriti. Ordinary matter is dull and lifeless, and thus considered separate from the individual occupying and associating with it. But in the spiritual land, there is no difference between the bodily forms and their owners. Daivi prakriti is eternal, so the living entities who are encased in such matter remain tied to their bodies without the need for exiting. What leads to the different natures of matter in the two realms is the desire of the living entities. The jivas in the spiritual sky all want to serve Krishna or one of His personal Vishnu forms. In the material land, they all want to serve their own senses. Indeed, as soon as the desire is shifted in earnest towards pleasing Krishna, elevation to the spiritual sky is guaranteed.

Lord Krishna very nicely explained these high concepts to Arjuna to enlighten him. Spiritual teachers can give instructions and just tell their disciples what to do and what to avoid, but it is much more beneficial to the student if straight information can be imparted first. If the disciple then comes to the proper conclusion on their own, after having been given all the facts, their dedication to the resolved upon path will be a lot stronger. It’s similar to how when arguing with people it is better to ask them roundabout questions, getting them to agree with certain points in the beginning to lead them to the ultimate conclusion, rather than getting into their face and telling them that they’re stupid or wrong.

As the final instruction, the checkmate position that would remove all doubt from Arjuna’s mind, Krishna told his dear friend that if he didn’t fight because of the faulty concoctions of dharma he had made, he would be following his own nature anyway. Krishna essentially presented Arjuna with the choice that all jivas residing in the material world have. We can either follow Krishna’s instructions and carry out our prescribed duties, or we can follow our own nature. Arjuna’s bodily makeup was that of a fighter, a member of the warrior caste. Even if he didn’t listen to Krishna, he was not suited for any other business except fighting. On the other hand, if he followed Krishna’s advice, he could use his natural tendencies for the right purpose.

Krishna’s instruction provides the basic formula for achieving success in the precious human form of life. In the absence of Krishna consciousness, the mind will wander and come up with conclusions that it is not wholly convinced of. The nature belonging to a particular form of body develops from the beginning of life. It is seen that famous athletes were inclined towards their particular sport at the youngest possible age. This means that their body types were conducive to performing a particular activity. Lord Krishna says that the natures of human beings fall into one of four general categories, or varnas. There is the class of intelligent men, or brahmanas, the administrators and warriors, or kshatriyas, the merchants and businessmen, or vaishyas, and the laborers, or shudras. One should follow his nature and not try to forcefully take to the life of another class. The corresponding varna can be determined by a spiritual master during the person’s youth, thereby allowing for proper training to be received.

By giving up, Arjuna wanted to take to the life of a brahmana, who is peaceful and nonviolent. But Arjuna was not suited for this lifestyle. Society needs brave people to protect the innocent. We can praise equality movements all we want, but at the end of the day, we see caste divisions in virtually every sphere. Even when walking into a supermarket there are class distinctions. There is the customer and the cashier. Both parties are not equal in their positions nor in their work. Without proper authorization or training, the customer is not allowed to become a cashier. For starters, they wouldn’t know how to operate the registers, and secondly their inclination would be to not pay any money for the goods being purchased. The cashier has the opposite interest; their goal is to collect money for the owner of the establishment. Therefore the class distinctions in this one particular scenario must be adhered to; otherwise there will be disharmony.

By default, the jiva will follow the nature belonging to the particular body it has assumed. But from Arjuna’s example, we see that if one’s nature isn’t coupled to the Supreme Consciousness, intelligence can get easily clouded and lead the person astray. Even if he didn’t listen to Krishna, Arjuna would eventually have to fight. He wasn’t cut out for becoming a mendicant and begging for a living. He was born to fight against those deserving punishment. If he gave up prior to the war he had every right to fight in, he would have to suffer greatly later on. Similarly, the jiva who simply follows his nature guided by the material elements assumed at the time of birth will have to suffer periodically.

When direction is taken from Krishna, the same nature becomes purified because it can be used towards furthering the ultimate goal of attaining Krishna consciousness. Arjuna would go on to heed Krishna’s advice and fight valiantly, without any attachment to the result. He used his inherent qualities for the right purpose, and subsequently his thoughts never deviated from the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, who is so attractive that He captivates the hearts and minds of people from all spheres of society, including those following spiritual traditions besides the Vedas. Indeed, all forms of religion are meant to bring about a deep and unbreakable bond of affection towards the Supreme Spirit. Who better to bring about that attachment than the all-attractive Krishna, the most wonderful and beautiful form of Godhead to behold?

The question may be raised as to how to determine the proper course of action for ourselves. Who will guide us when we don’t know what to do? What if we can’t find a spiritual master to approach? This certainly does present a problem, as our natures can’t be guided in the proper direction without some sort of input from a higher authority. Yet there is one quality that we all share, that of a deep, loving attachment for the Supreme Lord found within the heart. The Supersoul, or Paramatma, is God’s expansion residing within the hearts of every living entity. Therefore knowledge can also be acquired from within. The act of chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, is universally appealing, as it is in line with everyone’s inherent qualities. Chanting this sacred formula forms the bedrock of the discipline known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Even in the absence of a personally present spiritual guide, simply chanting this mantra day in and day out can bring about a spiritual awakening, a connection with the divine consciousness in the form of the Supersoul within the heart.

Without adherence to bhakti, we will be forced to follow our own material nature, which has proven to be faulty so many times. If it weren’t, we would never be in any doubt. We would never hesitate or make mistakes. The choice is ours: we can follow the path that’s already led to so much heartache, grief and doubt, or we can simply surrender unto Krishna and be guided on the proper path. Either way, we’ll have to follow some nature, so we might as well side with the one connected to Krishna. Arjuna did, and he was eternally benefitted for it.

Staying With Those Who Need Him

“The Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come down.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 33)

Though It’s sometimes difficult to understand at the time of initial impact, distress can prove to be very beneficial. Depending on the nature of the activity, defeat and frustration can lead to a progressive march towards knowledge, a further development of intelligence. Working off intelligence guided by experience allows the otherwise hesitant worker to know what to do in any and all situations. Moreover, they will recognize which activities to avoid and which ones to take part in wholeheartedly. Especially in the arena of spiritual life, distresses become the most sublime gifts, the greatest benedictions one could ever receive. If any event, positive or negative, can bring about the personal association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His outward form which is eternal and full of bliss, it should be considered the greatest fortune, the most favorable turn in circumstances.

Understanding that distresses are sometimes good for us shouldn’t be very difficult. A few simple examples illustrate the pleasure that can result from pain and disappointment very clearly. As most of us eventually realize, putting our hand in fire will cause pain. Actually, the hand touching an open flame will cause a severe negative reaction, one which is very uncomfortable. The pain is just the first indication of the tremendous damage that is ready to ensue. The more intense detriment received from associating skin with fire is the future inability to use the hand. The example of the fire burning the hand can also be used to describe the different knowledge acquiring processes. In our youth, our parents likely told us to avoid certain activities, such as drinking from chemical bottles, putting our fingers in electrical sockets, and of course, playing with fire. Just hearing this advice and accepting it wholeheartedly would be enough to arm us with perfect knowledge pertaining to the activities that should be avoided. In fact, the entire purpose to knowledge is to alter behavior. Simply learning a few facts doesn’t really do anything for us if we can’t use that information to our benefit. Attaining a future favorable condition is actually more important than the knowledge acquired. If a young child knows not to touch fire, what does it matter if they know why?

On the other hand, there are those who rely primarily on observation and experiment to acquire and validate knowledge. Using scientific methods, they may eventually reach the same conclusion as the person who accepted knowledge from authority, but there will be many pains and unpleasant consequences encountered along the way. Taking the same example of the young child, if they were to reject the sound advice of their parents and touch the fire anyway, they would surely get burned. The child may then think, “Ok, my parents got lucky on that one. Maybe if I touch the fire again, it won’t burn.” Nope, that definitely won’t work. Notating these observations in their mental list of experiment results, the child may then try to touch another instance of fire, one of a different size and shape. “Maybe this fire won’t burn me.” Wrong again. In this way, a child can go about testing their hypotheses over and over again until they hopefully reach the conclusion that fire will always burn them. If they had just taken the advice of the parents, who are authority figures, much time, effort and pain would have been avoided.

Yet even the pain felt by those taking shelter of ascending knowledge, wherein experiments are conducted that gradually lead to a final conclusion, can be beneficial. When the child who rebuked their parents’ helpful words ultimately reaches the proper conclusion through much discomfort, they may also realize that their parents are correct about a lot of other things. In the future, the child may not be so averse to heeding the good advice of the mother and father. Stern defeat due to bucking authority is actually beneficial in many other paradigms of knowledge acquisition, including the interactions between a disciple and their guru. In the Vedic tradition, the ancient spiritual discipline instituted at the beginning of time by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, much stress is applied towards the need to accept a bona fide spiritual master, or guru. The idea is that the guru has seen the light through humble service to their own guru. Climbing up the chain of disciplic succession eventually brings you to Krishna; thus the knowledge being passed down is considered perfect and universally applicable. Simply accepting the words of the spiritual master and acting on them is enough to ascend to the perfected stage of existence, where every thought and desire is focused on the Supreme Lord and His pleasure.

But when a disciple is a little doubtful of the words of the guru, they may be tempted to take to the ascending process of knowledge acquisition in lieu of the descending process, wherein all words of the guru are accepted without challenge. If the guru is bona fide, their words will never be incorrect or against the injunctions passed down by Krishna Himself. Depending on time and circumstance the exact nature of the prescribed rules and regulations may vary, but the end-goal is always the same. The spiritual master’s duty is to liberate their dependent from the cycle of birth and death, elevating them to a heightened state of consciousness where the effects of material nature are completely mitigated. Maya is known as “that which is not”, or “that which is not Brahman, or God”. Certainly the Supreme Lord is everything, but His separated energy does not bring the benefits that personal association does. Therefore maya is deemed illusory, or separate from God, to one who has no desire to enjoy the benefits that come with divine love. In the conditioned state, the living entity falsely identifies with their body and thus takes sense gratification to be the topmost priority. When each new day begins, plans are made in relation to meeting the demands of the body. Death, which is just lurking around the corner, is completely ignored, as any thought given to such a grim event would only impede the march towards higher and more potent forms of sense gratification, all of which must be squeezed in before God in the form of all-devouring time comes to take everything away.

The guru’s business is to educate the disciple on the eternal nature of the individual soul, the spiritual spark within the body. If not for the presence of the soul, the senses would not exist. Without senses, the body would not develop; hence there would be no actions taken. In this way the soul’s needs and future fortunes should take precedent over all other concerns. When actions are performed solely for the interests of the spiritual spark within the body, then the senses, which previously were the driving force to action, take direction from the steady mind of the sincere devotee. When this purified state is reached, liberation, or freedom from the harmful effects of material nature, is already achieved.

But since the living entity adopts the ignorant mindset at the time of birth, shifting from sense consciousness to God consciousness becomes very difficult. The spiritual master’s main prescription is that the disciple chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, as often as possible and refrain from the most harmful of activities: meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. The challenging disciple may think, “Hmm, this chanting seems alright, but why do I have to do it every day and for so long? I think I can just chant one round on my beads every day while meditating thoroughly and everything will be alright.” The regulation passed down by the Vaishnava acharyas is that the Hare Krishna mantra be chanted for a set number each day on a string of japa beads. The key is to always maintain or increase the number of rounds chanted and never decrease. For the sincere students of the modern age, the prescribed minimum daily chanting regulation calls for sixteen rounds. More than any other effect, this regulation, which represents the lower limit of spiritual practice, occupies a good chunk of an aspiring transcendentalist’s time each day. Even if concentration is lax during the chanting period, there is automatic retraction built into the process. If one is chanting the sweet names of the Lord for one or two hours every day, they are automatically avoiding sinful activities, which are engagements which further develop and solidify the sense consciousness, giving fuel to the fire of material existence. Therefore the regulation of chanting sixteen rounds has tremendous potency and intelligence built into it. All the tendencies of the conditioned entity have been factored into the prescriptions provided by the guru following in a chain of disciplic succession descending from Krishna.

So, let’s say the disciple only chants one or two rounds every day and maybe takes to getting drunk a few nights a week. Only slightly bucking authority, the challenging spiritualist thinks that they will still be able to make great progress while remaining attached to various sinful activities. They would rather learn spiritual information through experiences in the ascending process, where various experiments are made, the results noted and future behavior altered based on the findings. But since the disciple isn’t accepting all of the recommendations of the guru, there will surely be pain to endure. Just as the child will get burned by repeatedly touching fire, the aspiring transcendentalist will get burned by material nature and the senses over and over again until they learn their lesson. When there is great distress, as there will inevitably be, the disciple will hopefully realize, “Oh wow, my guru was right. He told me what to do, and I didn’t listen. Maybe from now on I will just accept whatever he tells me with a humble and submissive mood.” With such an attitude, spiritual advancement comes very quickly, provided the guru is himself adhering to all the regulations he institutes.

In the case of the defeated challenging disciple, failure actually brought about an increased appreciation for the spiritual master, the via-medium to the spiritual world. In a similar manner, the pain resulting from the hand’s contact with fire is extremely beneficial. Let’s pretend that the pain wasn’t there. This is actually possible if the hand has somehow gone numb through uneven applied pressure or through an injection of a pain killer. If there is no feeling in our hand and we were to put it into fire, obviously there wouldn’t be any pain resulting. But is the absence of pain a good thing in this case? Obviously it isn’t because our hand would start to burn and we wouldn’t even know it. Eventually the numbness would wear off and we’d be left with a severely damaged hand. The nerves in the hand essentially act as our protectors, our friendly guides. The pain from the hand is a signal that the activity causing the discomfort should be given up.

“The Lord creates this material world by His external energy, but this external energy is in one sense not different from Him. Yet at the same time the Lord is not directly manifest in the external energy but is always situated in the spiritual energy.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.17.29 Purport)

Since the spirit soul is not meant to be a slave to the senses, the discomfort it feels while in a material dress is actually very beneficial. Spirit is an ever-existing entity, a representation of the Lord’s internal energy. Shri Krishna, the original form of Godhead, the singular entity that most of us refer to as God and look to in times of trouble, has three distinct energies. The internal energy is spiritual; it is similar in quality to Krishna. Spirit is pure, eternal, blissful and knowledgeable. It cannot be created, altered, or destroyed. Krishna’s external energy, material nature, is also eternal, but it is considered separated. Matter, or prakriti, is God’s external energy, and since it is dull and lifeless in the absence of spiritual injection, it is considered inferior to the internal energy. We living entities are originally part of the internal energy, but since we have a tendency to associate with prakriti, we are actually part of Krishna’s marginal energy. The jivas, the living entities, are on the fringe; they can choose to either take shelter of the internal energy represented by Krishna and His personal expansions, or remain forever ignorant through servitude to the material energy.

When the spirit souls, fragmental energy sparks emanating from the original source of power, Shri Krishna, want to associate with the external energy, they are provided bodies composed of varying material elements and given a home in a perishable and miserable world. The pain felt through chaos, tumult, despair, anger, murkiness, etc. are all beneficial in the grand scheme. If association with the external energy wasn’t discomforting, the spirit soul would gladly remain a servant of maya, or that which is not pure spirit, in perpetuity. It is for this reason that activities in the mode of ignorance, such as intoxication, should be avoided at all costs. Such actions only serve to further cloud the natural intelligence of the pure spirit soul. Similar to numbing the hand before placing it into a fire, intoxication simply dulls the pain of material existence temporarily. Regardless of the amount of time spent shielded from the miseries brought on by contact with maya, the numbing effects will eventually wear off, leaving the individual in a worse-off position from where they started, as precious time that could have been used to further purify consciousness has gone to waste.

“O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.16)

Experiences in material life should be painful, and one who is wise enough to understand the cause of this pain can take the necessary steps to permanently remove it. In the famous Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God spoken by Lord Krishna on this earth many thousands of years ago, it is described that those who initially approach the Lord to offer service generally have one of four motives, or impetuses for taking to spiritual life. One of the motivations is the alleviation of distress. As such, it can be understood that pain in the material world has the potential for bringing about the highest benefit, as it can lead to seeking the shelter of the Supreme Divine Entity, the only person fully capable of eliminating the harmful effects of material nature, an energy that works at His command.

For the sincerest devotees, the pure souls who want nothing else but Krishna’s association, the Supreme Lord personally appears and stays with them forever. Usually the appearance is in the form of the holy name or the deity representation. Blessed with divine association, it is not uncommon for kind-hearted devotees to ask the Lord, “Why me? Why, out of all the people in the world, do You choose to stay with me always? How come I get the benediction of chanting Your name every day and seeing Your beautiful form everywhere I turn, but others do not? I am not deserving of this in the least bit, so Your blessings upon me are certainly a black mark on Your character, as You have chosen to associate with such a wretch as myself.” Shrila Sanatana Gosvami, a giant of the Vaishnava literary world, was extremely humble and kind in his dealings with Lord Chaitanya, Krishna’s preacher incarnation who appeared in India some five hundred years ago. At one time in his life, Sanatana Gosvami was suffering from a bout of eczema, so he had many sores all over his body. Lord Chaitanya would always hug Sanatana Gosvami when they met, so during Sanatana’s illness period the Lord would get different impure fluids on His body through this contact. Thinking that he was offending Shri Gaurahari because of the contact of his infected body, Sanatana decided to commit suicide. Lord Chaitanya, as the all-knowing Personality of Godhead, stopped Sanatana Gosvami from doing this, saying that his body now belonged to God and, as such, he had no claim of ownership on it.

The pure devotees have no other sustenance than the chanting of the Lord’s names and thoughts of His beautiful form. The Supreme Lord, knowing that such individuals have nothing else in their life, always remains in their company. For the most exalted of individuals, those wanting to enjoy with God through various transcendental mellows and who have not a tinge of desire for material enjoyment, the Lord grants His personal association. This was the case five thousand years ago when Lord Krishna, in His original form, descended to earth and spent time with purified souls in various parts of the world, including Vrindavana and Dvaraka.

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

If the devotees weren’t distressed, or if they derived great pleasure from material association, what need would there be for Krishna to descend to earth? The famous prayer of Kunti Devi, Krishna’s maternal aunt during His time on earth, proves to be very accurate in this regard. She prayed that all calamities in life would repeatedly occur for her because that would bring Krishna’s association and protection. Through this kind prayer, she revealed the secret to achieving Krishna’s mercy. If we make the chanting of the holy names of the Lord our life and soul and the future well-being of our fellow devotees as the most important task in life, any distresses encountered in our affairs will only turn out to be blessings. As should be vividly apparent, logical and obvious to us, Krishna only stays with those who want Him. By regularly calling out to Him, we can let our desires be known.

The Best Advice

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.10)

Regardless of the particular sect, denomination, or region, the basic principles of religion are pretty much the same: devote yourselves to God, don’t be selfish, and be kind to your fellow man. In the Vedic tradition, especially amongst the followers of Lord Vishnu, the ultimate objective of spiritual life is the changing of consciousness. Since the conditioned soul is mired in a consciousness which focuses on temporary and transient objects, the purified consciousness is one where the reverse situation is true. The goal of human life is to always be thinking about God and to be conducting one’s actions based off this mindset. To this end, bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is the recommended spiritual discipline, the only engagement worth taking up. While this linking of the individual consciousness with the Supreme can have one or many components, the quintessential act of devotion 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”.

To learn more about the science of bhakti-yoga, one is advised to approach a bona fide spiritual master, a person who has given up the pursuit of perfection in material life and instead shifted their consciousness to the Divine. Those who fit this description are hard to find, therefore it is advised that one at least consult such an exalted figure’s writings. More than any other spiritual tradition, the Vedas have the most comprehensive set of scriptures, poems, and commentaries that exist in the world. There are the primary texts such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas, along with countless commentaries and summary studies provided by the great saints of the past. Though the depth and scope of Vedic literature is quite vast, the ultimate conclusion across these works remains the same: God is the Supreme, and as fragmental sparks from the Supreme, it is the duty of the individual to be fully engaged in His service.

For the people of the current age, the Vedic seers, the Vaishnava saints, recommend not only the chanting of the holy names of God, but also the abstention from sinful life, the most harmful activities of which fall into four categories: meat eating, gambling, illicit sex, and intoxication. Chanting is the assertive activity, an act of work and devotion, and the restrictions on sinful life are the passive activities. These restrictions are known as the four regulative principles, and simply by adhering to such standards, one can make tremendous progress in spiritual life. As Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, states in the Bhagavad-gita that all purposes of Vedic rituals are served by one who knows the purpose behind them, one who knows the reasoning behind the chanting and four regulative principle recommendations certainly has achieved the highest level of understanding.

So what is the purpose behind such recommendations? Why are there do’s and don’ts in spiritual life? As mentioned before, the ultimate objective is to change one’s consciousness. Currently our consciousness is focused on things of the immediate future, such as where to eat, sleep, mate, have a good time, etc. Our consciousness also sometimes delves into incidents of the immediate past, most notably those events which didn’t go our way. “I can’t believe such and such said that to me; I can’t stand them; I can’t believe I had to wait so long at the airport; I’m never flying with that airline again.” So many thoughts go through our head throughout the course of the day, and all of these ponderings and lamentations make up our consciousness.

The aim of spiritual life is to change our way of thinking. The ultimate enjoyment in life comes through love. Through spending time with our friends, family, or paramours, we exchange love and thus feel a great sense of pleasure. By the same token, the most intense emotion in all of life, both material and spiritual, can be felt when this love is exchanged with the ultimate reservoir of pleasure, Lord Krishna. Though man takes in so much information throughout the course of one lifetime, there are really only three things worth realizing: God is the original proprietor of everything, He is our friend, and He is the ultimate enjoyer. In order for the Lord to enjoy, there must be an enjoyed. This is where the individual souls come into play. As subordinate fragmental sparks from the original fire, we are meant to be enjoyed by God. Since we have a minute amount of independence, we have a tendency to forget this fact and think of ourselves as the enjoyers. When our mindset changes from enjoyers to the enjoyed, we have achieved perfection in life.

So we have the prescriptions given to us by the great saints. While chanting God’s name is seen as the most effective religious activity for the people of this age, not everyone will take to it. Even if we do adopt a chanting regimen, how much time should we devote to it? After all, we have other responsibilities to meet during the course of the day. If we don’t work, we won’t have any money to take care of our home, friends, and family. If we don’t clean the house, everything will get dirty and start to look unpleasant. If we don’t eat on time, we will get hungry and tired. These obligations surely must be met, but the chanting routine mustn’t be neglected. Therefore Vaishnava saints have prescribed a minimum number of chanting rounds to be performed. While God’s name is powerful enough to provide liberation, chanting is usually performed in a semi-formal setting. One first takes a japa mala, a kind of rosary set which consists of 108 beads held together on a string. The mala is held in the right hand, with the fingers focusing on one bead at a time. On each bead, the selected mantra is chanted, and then one moves on to the next bead. After one has chanted on each of the 108 beads, one round of japa is complete. The minimum number of rounds recommended for each day is sixteen.

For those who are familiar with Sanskrit, or a language derived from it, chanting the sacred maha-mantra is not that difficult. The tongue is already accustomed to saying “Krishna”, “Rama”, and “Hare”, so after some familiarity with the mantra is acquired, this chanting process doesn’t take that long. During formal Vedic functions, one will notice that the brahmanas [priests] performing the rituals recite the relevant mantras very quickly. They whip through the most complex of Sanskrit words without a problem, pronouncing all the words perfectly at the same time. In the 1980s, there was a notable personality on television who was known for his fast-talking abilities. John Moschitta, Jr. appeared in commercials for toys like Micro Machines by speaking very quickly and cramming as much relevant information into the allotted time as possible. The yajnic brahmanas sound very similar with respect to the speed in which they recite mantras.

For those who are unfamiliar with speaking a Sanskrit-based language, chanting the maha-mantra can be quite difficult. As an added wrinkle, one is advised to avoid various offenses while chanting, one of which is inattentiveness. All of these issues combine to make chanting sixteen rounds quite difficult, especially in the beginning stages. Though the routine is difficult, we should remember the purpose behind such a recommendation. The ultimate aim is to change one’s consciousness, and this can only occur through activity. We can’t just decide to change our way of thinking overnight, especially if we are engaged in activities that relate to the things that we are trying to forget. It’s like saying that we never want to think about food again, while at the same time spending the entire day at a buffet restaurant.

So let’s say that we adhere to the chanting routine of sixteen rounds daily, along with refraining from the four pillars of sinful life. Does this mean that our problems are over? Obviously it doesn’t, for material life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows. During the low times, where do we go for guidance? What if there are no spiritual masters around to help us? How do we solve our problems if we are already engaged in devotional service?

To find the solution, let’s analyze the two most common problems that come up in our day-to-day affairs. The first negative condition is disappointment. They say that all the thoughts of the human brain can be grouped into one of two categories: hankering or lamenting. One minute we are hankering after something; either the association of a person or the acquisition of an object. The next minute we are lamenting the fact that we don’t have said object or that we have lost something valuable to us. Disappointment arises from the failure to achieve a positive condition, especially if the condition was expected to be met. For example, say that we’re driving to work one day and all of a sudden there’s a huge traffic jam. Some accident has occurred many miles ahead, and now traffic is backed up to a standstill. Naturally there will be disappointment because we had the expectation of getting to work on time. Arrival at work was the positive condition that we were expecting, and now suddenly it gets taken away.

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

The other commonly encountered negative condition actually results from disappointment. This condition is known as anger. We become so disappointed from failing to achieve our desire that we become angry. Anger is worse than disappointment because anger can lead to bewilderment, which can lead to loss of judgment. By losing our judgment, we can act irrationally. Irrational actions lead to a much worse negative condition than what we started with; hence it is not known as activity which is not based on any rational thought. The famous saying, “Cut your nose to spite your face”, illustrates the cause and effect of irrationality. If one is angry at their face for the appearance it presents, cutting off the nose doesn’t make any sense. It is an irrational act because cutting the nose off actually makes one look even more unattractive, while at the same time doing nothing to quell one’s anger.

So where does bhakti-yoga fit into all of this? How do we solve our problems of disappointment and anger without the physical presence of a spiritual leader to help us? The above mentioned examples only scratch the surface of disappointment and anger, for the magnitudes of both negative situations can be greatly increased through tragic events such as death, loss of wealth, and divorce. How can Krishna help us deal with these situations? Moreover, how can we decipher the proper course of action in situations where we are not confident in ourselves?

The solution to these problems can be found in bhakti-yoga itself. Disappointment in relation to maya, or things which aren’t Krishna, can never be eradicated. The secret to success is to mitigate the effects of disappointment. This can only happen when our main business is bhakti-yoga. The more we take to devotional activities, the more the influence of outside desires and the potential for disappointment get reduced. Our main business every day is to perform as much devotional service as possible. This service includes chanting, hearing, remembering, worshiping, and surrendering everything unto God. If we are chanting sixteen rounds and still feeling anger and sadness, we should either take to chanting more rounds or find additional activities of devotional service. Part of the day can be spent reading Vedic texts, watching classic movies, listening to kirtanas, travelling to temples, looking at pictures, offering prayers in front of the deity, cooking nice food preparations to be offered to the Lord, etc. The options are endless.

As mentioned before, Krishna is the enjoyer, so He is the real beneficiary of devotional service. When we are faced with a quandary, a situation where we’re unsure of what to do, the way to decipher the proper course of action is to figure out what will make Krishna happy. Lord Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Rama, once faced a difficult situation where he was unsure of what to do. Hanuman was sent by Rama, an incarnation of Krishna, to find the whereabouts of Sita, the Lord’s wife. Upon reaching the island kingdom of Lanka where Sita was, Hanuman saw the great strength and opulence of the King of Lanka, Ravana, and became distraught. Thinking that there was no way to find Sita and successfully return to Rama, Hanuman contemplated suicide. Not knowing what to do, he ultimately decided to carry on with his mission because only by staying alive could he have the opportunity to serve Rama. Not performing devotional service would not have done anyone any good. He chose the path of action in devotion because even if he failed, at least he made an attempt to satisfy Rama.

Of course things would work out in the end, for no one is stronger than Hanuman. We can apply the same lesson to our situations. We certainly will have to deal with unexpected predicaments even after we sincerely take to devotional service, but our aim should be to please Krishna, the ultimate enjoyer. Keeping this goal in mind, both the spiritual master, in the form of his instructions, and the Supersoul residing within our heart will surely guide us on the right path.

Self-Respect

“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.3)

Question: “Those who really love God, they should not be egoists since their whole personality is enveloped by the Lord’s as they surrender to the Lord. Could you please tell me the difference between ego and self-respect?”

Answer: According to Vedic information, the difference between the spiritual world and the material world is that the spiritual world is free of gunas. Gunas are material qualities, also known as modes. These gunas take shape through the gross material elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, along with the three subtle elements of mind, intelligence, and false ego. We see here that the term “ego” has a prefix: false. When one reassumes their original spiritual position, the influence of their material qualities [gunas] is removed. While this mitigation occurs upon returning to the spiritual world, one can also become free of the effects of material nature while remaining in their present body. This state of bliss is achieved when one develops full Krishna consciousness, a state of mind where all thoughts are directed at God. When one achieves this consciousness, the “false” part of the ego is removed and true self-respect is acquired.

Why does the living entity assume a false ego? Our constitutional position is that of a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Lord Krishna is the same God that everyone worships, irrespective of faith or lack thereof. Even if one doesn’t believe in God, it doesn’t mean that the Lord doesn’t exist. While learned scholars, transcendentalists, philosophers, and mathematicians can ponder the various truths of life, there is one truth that is superior to all others. Since this truth explains every other truth, it is referred to as Absolute. The Vedas, the oldest scriptures in existence, tell us that the Supreme Absolute Truth is God, and that He has an ever-blissful form, full of sweetness. This original form of God has a name: Krishna. The living entities, the individual spirit souls, are part of Krishna, so they are the same in quality as God. Yet at the same time, their quantitative powers are far inferior; hence they have no business pretending to act like God.

The highest truth of all, the ultimate conclusion, is that the spirit soul is inconceivably and simultaneously one with and different from God. This conclusion is known as achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, and it was introduced to society by Lord Chaitanya, a preacher incarnation of God who appeared on earth around five hundred years ago. Based on this definition, we see that the living entities are just like God, but that they are still different from Him. With this ultimate conclusion comes an ultimate relationship. That relationship is a loving one where the living entities are in Krishna’s company at all times. This association takes place in the spiritual world, where Krishna and His various non-different expansions reside. Not everyone worships God in the same way, so there are different moods of loving exchanges between the liberated souls and the Supreme Lord.

So where does the material world fit into all of this? Why are we living apart from Krishna right now? The living entities, at some point in time unknown to them, decided to separate from God. This reemphasizes the inconceivable aspect of the ultimate conclusion. Why would the living entities want to separate from the Lord? To imitate Him of course. That imitation is a sort of affront to the Lord’s authority, a challenge. Since God is always God, no one can imitate Him in the spiritual world. In order for there to be competing “gods”, a world separate from the Supreme Lord is required. Ironically enough, Krishna is so kind that He Himself created a flawed replica of the spiritual world to serve this veyr purpose. This place, known as the material world, is where we currently reside. Here we are forced to go through the cycle of birth and death, reincarnation, for as long as our desire to imitate God continues.

Upon reaching the material world, aside from assuming a body composed of material elements, the soul assumes a subtle body composed of mind, intelligence, and false ego. At this point, the false ego should be quite easy to understand. This ego is deemed false because it is not real; there is no justification for it. Ego refers to supremacy, pride, or the notion of “I am God.” At the time of birth the mind is not consciously aware of this desire to be the God of mankind, but little by little we work our way towards that end. For example, the living entity is the master of the body, or at least we think. Since we decide when to wake up, sleep, eat, talk, move around, etc., we feel like we have control over our body and all its parts. In this respect, we can be deemed as the supreme controllers of the body, ishvara.

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

False ego begins to develop from this mindset, for according to Vedic information we are actually not even masters of our own bodies. Krishna, through His expansion as the Supersoul, resides side-by-side with the individual soul in the heart. The individual soul makes the decisions as far as interactions with nature go, but it is the Supersoul who is responsible for the results of action. There are countless ways to illustrate this, but the simplest example comes from life and death. Many of us bemoan the fact that life isn’t fair. Some people don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs their whole life, and yet they meet an untimely death. Others take to dangerous activity, are overtly sinful, and yet live a very long life. Some people are born into wealth, while others struggle in poverty throughout their life. Some people get very good grades in school and then make little money as adults. Others goof off throughout their schooling years and yet end up being the CEOs of the wealthiest companies in the world.

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 3.27)

Why do these differences exist? As great and powerful as we may take ourselves to be, we are not responsible for the results of our actions. The results are doled out by the Supersoul, who is the master of the administrators of the material world, the demigods. Karma, or fruitive activity, is completely fair. We may take a certain action and hope for a desired result, but others also take to fruitive activity. Once all these actions and reactions collide, the results vary. Karma is completely fair, so whatever results we have coming to us eventually will be realized. They may not come to us in this lifetime, but they certainly will manifest in a future one.

These facts alone are enough to shed us of the false ego. We may be the controller of our own body, but the Supersoul resides inside of everyone. In this way, God is much more powerful than we are. The point of human life is to recognize God’s supremacy and think of Him at all times. Those who think of Him all the way up until the time of death get to return to the spiritual world, never having to assume a material body again. The false ego gets removed, and the real ego takes over.

What is the real ego? The ideal relationship resulting from the achintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy is that of servant and master, friend and best friend, or lover and beloved. The two parties involved in this relationship are the living entity and Krishna. When a person realizes that Krishna is their best friend, the ultimate reservoir of pleasure, and the original proprietor of everything, then they have shed their false ego and assumed their real ego. This false ego is pretty easy to pick apart since every living entity is equal. What need is there to feel superior to anyone else if every person is meant to be God’s devotee? In this way, we see that the pure devotees of Krishna possess humility and kindness. They never take themselves to be greater than anyone else.

So what role does self-respect play in all of this? If we become humble devotees, does that mean we just sit around and avoid criticizing others, taking ourselves to be lesser individuals? The key component of self-respect is the “self”. When enveloped by the false ego, this “self” is taken to be the individual soul. But based on the philosophy of Lord Chaitanya, this self has a source, a supreme master. Lord Krishna, or God, is really the Superself, the basis of our identity. If we base our self-respect off of Krishna, then there is no reason to avoid self-confidence. Devotees of Krishna are extremely confident in the instructions of the Lord and His bona fide representative, the spiritual master. While the goal of human life is to achieve Krishna consciousness at the time of death, this mindset cannot be adopted without the help of a spiritual master.

A spiritual master, or guru, is essentially a teacher, one who instructs the puffed up living entities on issues relating to the soul and the source of the real ego. Since the spiritual master must deal with conditioned living entities who possess false egos, they can’t mince their words. Their teachings are bound to ruffle some feathers, i.e. offend some people. This is actually a good thing because if the conditioned living entities, those who want to imitate God’s power of creating, maintaining, and destroying, are flattered and told that their way of life is the right one, how will they make any progress in spiritual life? The spiritual master tells all living entities to give up their attachment to matter, their flawed desire to imitate God, and to take to devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. The ideal relationship is that of intimate association with the Lord, and this association can actually take place while one is in their present body.

Since God is non-different from the living entities, He is able to expand Himself into other forms which are similar in quality to His original form. Lord Krishna’s names are also expansions of the Lord, except that they are equally as powerful as the Lord Himself. Therefore the Vaishnava gurus advise everyone to chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, as often as possible. For those who are serious about making progress in spiritual life, it is advised that they perform at least sixteen rounds of chanting this mantra daily on a set of japa beads, along with abstaining from meat eating, gambling, illicit sex, and intoxication.

It should be fairly obvious to anyone that these recommendations are bound to be met with opposition. “Why do I have to chant so much? Why do I have to give up eating meat? Didn’t God give man dominion over the animals?” When confronted with this opposition, the Vaishnava spiritual masters confidently assert the supremacy of bhakti-yoga and the teachings of Krishna found in the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam. This attitude shouldn’t be mistaken to be egoistic or cocky. These great acharyas like Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had no desire to offend anyone, nor did they think themselves superior to anyone else. Their teachings are considered flawless because they were originally handed down by people who followed Krishna’s instructions. Only Krishna is flawless; hence one of His names is Achyuta, meaning one who never falls down.

The Vaishnava saints are actually the most humble individuals. When they take others to task for their way of life, there is an underlying purpose. The guru’s mindset is essentially this: “Oh such and such person: you are very intelligent in material subjects. You are so dedicated to maya, the illusory energy of Krishna which has fooled you into adopting a false ego. If you simply shifted your efforts towards Krishna’s service, you would be much happier. Not only would you be happier, but you could end up being a much greater devotee than me. I am a humble person simply doing my small part by trying to faithfully follow the teachings of my guru. If you were to follow these same teachings, you could become a much better devotee and thereby make Krishna very happy.”

The Vaishnava saints have a very kind attitude, even if it manifests through words that may offend others from time to time. Their intention is certainly not to anger others. Anyone who has studied the great Vedic texts like the Ramayana and Shrimad Bhagavatam knows that Vedic philosophy, because it emanates from Krishna, is the sum and substance of all philosophy. It is such a comprehensive spiritual discipline that one who understands it properly will actually understand every other philosophy that has ever existed, currently exists, or will ever exist in the future.

Yet even armed with this knowledge, the Vaishnava saints don’t look down at anyone. They know that every person is a devotee at heart; someone who simply needs to be cleansed of their contamination accumulated through association with matter. Goswami Tulsidas, the great poet and devotee of Lord Rama [an incarnation of Krishna], often addressed people of other faiths in his writings. Tulsidas’ main prescription, as was Lord Chaitanya’s, was the chanting of God’s names. Through chanting this name, anyone could get whatever they wanted. Since God is everything, if we associate with Him, the reward we get is far greater than anything else that we could want. Tulsidas advised those who wished for earthly riches, those wanting to merge into the impersonal effulgence known as Brahman, those worshiping an all-pervading great one [God] who is considered invisible, and even those wanting to negate all activity, to simply chant Rama’s name. Since chanting brings a person the direct association of the personal Supreme Lord, it clears all inferior desires, bringing the living entity the happiness it so desperately wants.

A Vaishnava possesses a high level of intelligence as it relates to spiritual life, but this doesn’t mean that there is any air of superiority or arrogance. One should certainly be humble, but this humility shouldn’t stop a person from kindly telling others about Krishna. If we simply sit back and watch others continue to live in misery for fear of offending them, is that a good thing? If Krishna is perfect, then His teachings must also be. If His teachings are perfect, why shouldn’t we kindly pass them on to others? The easiest way to transmit information about Krishna is through the chanting process. By regularly chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, others can begin to connect with God and slowly but surely shed their false ego. True self-respect comes from knowing that Krishna is our friend and ever well-wisher.

He Who Hesitates Is Lost

“Arjuna was perplexed. He could not understand whether he should fight or not. Similarly, everyone in the material world is perplexed. So we require guidance from Krishna or his bona fide representative. Then we can become enlightened.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Journey of Self-Discovery, Ch 6.1)

“He who hesitates is lost” is a proverb that describes what happens to someone who is unsure about what to do in a particular situation. Hesitation involves not knowing the proper course of action. In many cases, we have a yes/no response to questions; fight or flight, go or no go, etc. We can either choose to do something or choose not to do something. These predicaments are tough enough, but then there are also conundrums. A conundrum is a situation where there is more than one course of action available. When faced with a conundrum, it is quite natural for a person to hesitate, but if they do, there could be dire consequences. What if they make the wrong move? The other negative aspect to hesitation is that it can take away valuable time. Our choices become that much more difficult when faced with time constraints. Therefore hesitation is not something we want to encounter, but how do we avoid it? The best way is to be armed with knowledge, information which comes from authority. One who is knowledgeable will be confident enough to make the right decisions without hesitating. This knowledge takes on an even greater importance in spiritual life.

To help us better understand the concept of hesitation and its negative consequences, let’s look at some real life examples of people who hesitated under pressure. The world of professional sports is always packed with pressure. In the pros, the players are paid the big bucks so that they can bring home the championship for their home cities. In the four major American team sports [basketball, football, baseball, hockey], each team plays for a home city. Sometimes the team will be affiliated with a state or region, but they still play all their home games in a venue of a particular city. These sports all have a regular season, where teams play a series of games to determine their standings. Based on the win-loss records of the teams at the end of the season, there is a playoff round, a sort of tournament, to determine the champion of the season. It is during this tournament that the pressure really gets applied. A team is playing for all the marbles, the big prize of the season, so every move counts and every mistake is amplified.

Each sport has its particular pressures, especially as it relates to time. In the sport of basketball, the pressure really heightens towards the end of the game. Basketball is a timed sport, so whichever team has the most points at the end of regulation time wins the game. Therefore the last few minutes of a game are usually pretty hectic, with frequent timeouts called by the coaches to go over specific plays. Fans often joke that the last two minutes of a basketball game can take longer than the rest of the game due to all the timeouts. Each team gets a specific number of timeouts they can call in a given game. These timeouts are essentially breaks which allow the coaches to huddle their players together and go over strategy and the future course of action. Since timeouts are so important, coaches like to save them until the end of the game. In some professional leagues, the coaches can call a timeout from the sideline, but usually it is a player on the court who asks the referee for a timeout. But what happens if the team doesn’t have any timeouts left? One famous incident tells us all we need to know about the importance of knowing how many timeouts remain.

In college basketball, the champion each year is determined by a single-elimination tournament consisting of sixty-four schools from around the country. This tournament is often referred to as March Madness, and it is widely followed by fans around the country, due especially to its being conducive to gambling. Before the tournament, fans fill out brackets, where they try to guess which teams will advance in each round, all the way up until the finals. These brackets are then grouped together into pools, with winners determined by the number of successful outcomes accurately predicted. For the players participating in the tournament, the pressures are especially heightened. College players are looking to make it to the professional ranks, the NBA, so the tournament is their time to shine. Since there is a high turnover of players each year, the teams that make it to the final rounds also vary from year to year. If a team makes it to the final game of the championship round, it is certainly a unique opportunity; something which doesn’t come along every day.

During the early 1990s, the University of Michigan had an especially strong basketball team. Their five starting players were known as the Fab 5 since they were all highly skilled and destined for the NBA. In 1993, they made it to the championship game of the NCAA tournament and faced the University of North Carolina. With North Carolina leading by two points late in the game, Michigan’s Chris Webber brought the ball forward for his team. This was a huge moment in the game; Michigan could tie it with a basket. Usually with so little time left in the game, players immediately call timeout once they get the ball back on offense. Webber wasn’t sure what to do. He dribbled the ball forward a little bit, stopped, hesitated, and then decided to call timeout. There was only one problem though: the team had no timeouts left. Webber was called for a technical foul, giving North Carolina free throws that allowed them to clinch the game. In this most critical of moments, on national television, one of Michigan’s star players hesitated and essentially cost his team a chance at winning the biggest game of the season.

This sort of thing happens all the time in sports, so it was unfortunate that it happened to this specific player in such a meaningful game. A player is certainly culpable for such a blunder, but one must examine the root cause of the hesitation. As mentioned before, knowledge proves to be the most effective at disarming hesitation. If one is armed with knowledge, they will know what to do in the proper situation, when the chips are down and time is short. In basketball and other sports, it is the coach who is responsible for imparting this knowledge to their players. Before crucial plays, a coach takes the responsibility of letting his players know what the situation is in the game and what to do when such and such event happens. In sports, it is often seen that a good coach can make the difference between winning and losing. If players are prepared, they will play without hesitation and thus increase their chances of victory.

This same concept holds true in spiritual life. We are all born into ignorance. As infants, we don’t know how to read, write, walk, or talk. We need others to help us along in this process. While most of us eventually learn how to do these things, spiritual life is a different issue. Where do we go to learn about God and our purpose in life? Many of us achieve all of our material hopes and aspirations and still feel empty afterwards. If life is not all about landing a good job and having a secure lifestyle, then what is it about? If we are faced with a life or death situation, how will we know what to do when we don’t even know what our purpose in life is? Luckily for us, one great historical personality was faced with these very troubling questions and had the good fortune of going to the right person for the answers.

Around five thousand years ago, there was a great world war, far greater than anything seen in recent times. This war involved millions of soldiers taking up arms for one cause: the right to rule over a kingdom. According to the rules of propriety as enjoined by the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, the Pandava family was entitled to rule over this particular kingdom. Their father, King Pandu, was the ruler of the kingdom. Pandu had five sons to whom he could pass the throne down to. At the time of his death, the sons of Pandu, the Pandavas, were quite young, so Pandu’s brother Dhritarashtra decided to take the reins of the kingdom. Dhritarashtra was blind, so he wasn’t fit to be a king. He had one hundred sons of his own, so through backhanded means, he allowed his children to take over the government, while shunning the Pandavas at the same time. When all the children grew up, the Pandavas wanted their kingdom back. This eventually led to a great war which was set to take place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Arjuna, one of Pandu’s sons and lead warrior for his side, was all set to begin fighting. At the time, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, had advented on earth to enact wonderful pastimes and annihilate the miscreant forces. In fact, this great war was the Lord’s way of ridding the earth of sinful elements. Since Krishna was Arjuna’s cousin and dear friend, He decided to act as Arjuna’s charioteer during the war. This way, Krishna remained neutral yet partial to Arjuna at the same time. Right before the war was set to begin, Arjuna asked Krishna to take the chariot to the middle of the field so that Arjuna could survey the situation. Arjuna was feeling weak-hearted. The opposing side, the Kauravas, consisted of many respectable personalities, including Arjuna’s spiritual master and grand-father. Arjuna, being a devotee at heart, didn’t want to kill his kinsmen just to gain a kingdom. He was ready to drop his weapons and surrender, all out of soft-heartedness. But before surrendering, Arjuna decided to put the matter to Krishna. Arjuna was hesitant, and not knowing what to do, he kindly approached his coach, his mentor.

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Arjuna speaking to Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.7)

Luckily for Arjuna, his coach also happened to be God. The Lord kindly pointed Arjuna in the right direction, giving him a lecture on the meaning of life and the constitutional position of the soul at the same time. This wonderful discourse was chronicled in a very small chapter of the epic Mahabharata, compiled by Vyasadeva. Later on, this small chapter turned into its own book known as the Bhagavad-gita, or the Song of God. This book is famous throughout the world, having been studied by great scholars, theologians, philosophers, and religionists for the past five thousand years.

While Krishna is specifically addressing Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, the intended audience is all of mankind. Everyone has a relationship with Krishna, or God, and the point to our existence is to rekindle that relationship. We can go about doing precisely that by following the principles found in the Lord’s teachings. The ultimate conclusion of the Gita is that we should abandon all varieties of religion and simply surrender unto Krishna. Put the burden on Him and let Him take care of all the details. Just simply act according to His directions and you’ll never have to worry about hesitation again.

But what if we can’t understand the Bhagavad-gita? After all, the song itself is composed in Sanskrit, an ancient language which is very difficult to understand. How can we know the true import of the verses? The key is to learn the Bhagavad-gita, and Vedic wisdom in general, from a person who knows Krishna. The person in the know is the devotee of Krishna, or the spiritual master. Deciphering whether a person is a bona fide spiritual master is actually quite easy. We simply have to ask ourselves if they view Krishna the same way that Arjuna did. Eventually Arjuna surrendered everything unto the Lord, offering Him kind praises in the process. Since they were friends beforehand, Arjuna often addressed the Lord in casual terms, joking with Him, and treating Him like an equal. After all, that’s how we act with our friends; we make fun of them, call them names, and take them to be on the same level as ourselves. Yet after hearing Krishna’s instructions, Arjuna repented for his previous behavior. He was sorry that he hadn’t shown Krishna the respect that He deserved. In reality, Krishna was not offended by Arjuna’s past behavior at all. The Lord prefers to be worshiped in a loving attitude verses a reverential one.

The way to tell if a spiritual teacher is bona fide or not is to see if they are acting in Krishna’s interests. The Bhagavad-gita is so rich with knowledge that many people often use it to advance their own mentally concocted theories. They study the Gita, but try to take Krishna out of as many verses as possible. The devotee, however, understands that Krishna can never be separated from His words or teachings. If any discussions and topics in the Gita seem abstract, they appear so on purpose, serving as a way to lure in those who have a hard time conceiving of Krishna as God. Nevertheless, the ultimate conclusion of the Gita never changes: become a devotee and act according to Krishna’s directions. This is a simple enough formula that we can all abide by.

What if we can’t find a bona fide spiritual master? What if everyone we meet has their own personal agenda? Luckily for us, one of the greatest devotees of Krishna wrote his own translation and commentary of the Bhagavad-gita. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the author of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the most authorized translation and commentary of this famous work. He also wrote countless other books which expound on the same teachings of the Gita. Therefore anyone can consult these books or the swami’s recorded lectures and be eternally benefitted.

Coming from a line of great spiritual masters started by Lord Chaitanya, who was an incarnation of Krishna, Shrila Prabhupada’s foremost recommendation was that we all chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, as often as possible, while abstaining from illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling. These two recommendations form the bedrock of the discipline known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Those who follow this highest form of yoga quickly acquire all the knowledge required to act with confidence even under the most stressful of situations.

Listen To Your Heart

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

Question: “I understand that the brahmanas are the brains of society and thus it is important to listen to the brain, but what role does the heart play? Isn’t it equally as important? Should we listen to the heart or to the brain?”

Answer: The famous caste system of India is technically known as varnashrama-dharma. The term “caste” and the stigma attached to it are the result of a limited understanding of the purified system originally implemented by God. In the famous Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, states that He instituted the four varnas and four ashramas as a way for society to be divided up, with each person’s corresponding category of varna and ashrama determined by their inherent qualities and the work they perform. Since varnashrama-dharma is not such an easy concept to grasp for the layperson, analogies are used, with the most common one being to the body of a human being.

The highest varna, or division, in this system is the brahmana. A brahmana is a priest, a man of the cloth if you will. The word “brahmana” means one who knows Brahman, or the impersonal aspect of creation. Sometimes spiritual leaders will say that we are all God or that God is part of us. These statements refer to the nature of Brahman, an impersonal aspect that pervades all of creation. We are all God in the sense that we are tiny sparks that emanate from the original spiritual fire, God. Since there is no difference between the spark and the original fire, the spirit souls can be considered to be the same as God. At the same time, there is still the original fire which exists separately and autonomously from the sparks. In this respect, God is always superior to and different from the jiva souls.

A person who knows Brahman understands the nature of the sparks emanating from the fire and how they are all equal in constitution. This is certainly a high level of understanding that is not acquired so easily. To learn discrete math we have to go through years and years of training, studying for exams and solving complex equations. By the same token, understanding that all aspects of the creation, including matter and spirit, are part of one giant energy known as Brahman requires rigorous training of the body and mind. Through penance, austerity, and the study of scripture, a person can elevate themselves to the status of a brahmana.

Since the brahmanas are so intelligent, they are well-suited to act as society’s teachers. While there are teachers for just about every subject and discipline, there needs to be a set of instructors for society as a whole, who can guide the activities of everyone for the betterment of every individual. The brahmanas are the only people suited for this role since they are the only ones who understand the constitutional position of all forms of life. The other three varnas of the varnashrama-dharma system are the kshatriya [warrior/administrator], vaishya [merchant/businessman], and shudra [laborer]. While members of each of these divisions certainly do have positive characteristics, their knowledge is still considered inferior to that possessed by the brahmanas.

In order to help us better understand the system of varnas, the Vedas often use the analogy of the body, with the brahmanas taken as the brain. The brain can be considered the most important part of the body, for it directly guides the activities of the other parts. The arms, stomach, and legs are certainly important, but these body parts need to know how to act. For example, the arms can involve the body in unnecessary fighting or in eating too much unhealthy food. The stomach can also fail to divert its nutrients to the proper parts of the body. The legs can carry the body to dangerous places, putting one’s life in danger. In this regard, the brain is considered the most important because it is the decision maker. The brahmanas are considered the brains of society because they are to guide the activities of everyone else. When this brain is absent, there is no chance of peace and prosperity. To finish the analogy, the kshatriyas are the arms, the vaishyas the stomach, and the shudras the legs.

The keen observer will notice that the heart is missing from this analogy. Is this an oversight on the part of the Vedas? After all, isn’t the heart the most important aspect of the body? A person can be considered brain dead but still alive if the heart is beating. So who is the heart of society, and who should we listen to, the heart or the brain? One thing we should remember is that varnashrama-dharma is the system of maintenance for society; it is not the ultimate perfection of civilization or even of human life. Lord Chaitanya, Krishna’s famous incarnation as a preacher, once posed questions relating to these issues to Ramananda Raya. The Lord asked him what he thought was the highest perfection of spiritual practice, and Ramananda Raya gave various replies, with Lord Chaitanya kindly rejecting each and every one as not being the most important aspect of spiritual life. Varnashrama-dharma was one of the replies that Ramananda Raya gave, but this was rejected by Lord Chaitanya as being subordinate to acquiring pure love for God.

“The Lord replied, ‘This is external. You had better tell Me of some other means.’ Ramananda replied, ‘To offer the results of one’s activities to Krishna is the essence of all perfection.’” (Lord Chaitanya responding to Ramananda Raya’s claim that varnashrama-dharma was the ultimate goal of life, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 8.59)

This conversation resulted in the conclusion that the ultimate objective in life is to go beyond rules and regulations by developing a pure love for God, similar to the way the gopis of Vrindavana used to love Krishna when He was on this earth some five thousand years ago. Varnashrama-dharma and all the other rules and regulations of spiritual life are aimed at elevating one to this perfect consciousness, Krishna consciousness. Varnashrama-dharma doesn’t specifically address the issue of the heart of society because the entire system is aimed at connecting with the heart. The heart of society, and the universe for that matter, is Krishna. He is the center of everything, the original fire, the spiritual sun if you will. Listening to the heart is the goal of human life, so obviously this heart is more important than the brain.

Not only is Krishna the heart of society, but He is the heart in our body as well. Vedic information tells us that our identity comes from the individual soul residing within the heart. This soul, or atma, remains unchanged even after death. This soul jumps from one body to another through the process of reincarnation, but it always remains the source of our identity. Yet this doesn’t tell the whole story. In the hearts of every living entity, there is another soul, known as the Paramatma, which resides side-by-side with the atma. This soul is super or “param”, and it belongs to God. In order to take direction from the heart, to achieve pure Krishna consciousness, one must learn how to connect the individual soul with the Supersoul.

We see that taking direction from the heart is more important than following the dictates of the brain. This is something many of us understand already, for people commonly invoke the phrase, “I followed my heart instead of my brain”, or something to this effect. The important point is that one must first know how to take direction from the heart. Since Krishna is the heart of the universe and the heart of our bodies, He is the one who should be guiding our activities. Yet we can’t take direction from Him unless and until we reach into our hearts and connect our soul with His. In order to achieve this union, we need the help of our trusted old friend, the brain.

To illustrate this point, we need only look to one of the most famous religious books in the world, the Bhagavad-gita. Known as the Song of God, the Gita chronicles a discussion between a student and his teacher that took place on the eve of a great war. The student, the expert warrior Arjuna, was hesitant to fight against the opposing army. Not necessarily a conscientious objector, Arjuna was more distraught over having to fight against members of his own family who were fighting for the other side. Though the victor would earn the right to rule over a kingdom, Arjuna thought that such a reward wasn’t worth the price that would have to be paid. Thinking that he was following his heart instead of his brain, Arjuna decided that he wouldn’t fight and that he would lay down his weapons and let the other side win.

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

This is where Lord Krishna, Arjuna’s cousin, charioteer, and dear friend, stepped in. Krishna also happens to be God, so that is why the discussion that followed became as famous as it did. Krishna informed Arjuna that he was grieving over the body, something which is not worth worrying about. Birth and death come on their own, but the spirit soul residing within doesn’t change. The soul is never killed. Lord Krishna then provided a series of instructions and teachings, concluding with the most important instruction: “Just do everything for Me.” This is the ultimate objective for every person in life: to act in Krishna consciousness. At the end of their discussion, Arjuna decided to fight on, but to also remain detached from the outcome. He was fighting to carry out his prescribed duties as a kshatriya and also to carry out Krishna’s orders.

In the beginning of the Gita, Arjuna was listening to his emotions, generated from a heart which was temporarily disconnected from the ruler of the heart, the Supersoul, and emotionally attached to worldly objects. These emotions are part of the material body, a body which eventually gets discarded. These emotions are so strong that they can cause someone to think that they are following the dictates of the purified heart. When something is really heartfelt or coming out of the heart, it can only refer to things relating to spiritual life, for Krishna is the chief resident of the heart. How did Arjuna finally learn to take direction from a purified heart? He had a teacher, someone who acted as the brain from without.

“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 13.23)

Arjuna was lucky enough to have God Himself appear as the external teacher, but what about for the rest of us? Who can teach us how to take direction from the purified heart, the Supersoul connected with our soul? This is where the brahmanas come in, more specifically the spiritual master, or guru. The spiritual master is the big brain, someone who can help us detach our material emotions and get us attached to our spiritual inclinations towards serving the Supreme. In this age of Kali, bona fide brahmanas are hard to find, so the instructions of all the great spiritual masters of the past have been synthesized into one short phrase, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

Chanting this one mantra is both a means and an end. In the beginning stages, it helps the individual draw the senses towards spiritual life, and in the mature stage it allows one to be totally in yoga, completely connected with the Supersoul residing within the heart. To help us in our yoga practice, the “big brains”, the acharyas, also advise that we refrain from the activities of meat eating, gambling, illicit sex, and intoxication. Along with bringing obvious negative side effects, these activities also cause a person to be more vulnerable to the effects of material emotions.

Krishna’s presence is so strong that He acts both as the heart and the brain of society. He is the core of all life, material and spiritual, and through His bona fide representatives, the spiritual masters, He is the greatest advisor and well-wisher to the conditioned souls. If we follow the instructions of the great Vaishnavas, devotees of Vishnu who automatically achieve brahminical status, we can surely listen to our purified heart the same way that Arjuna did. This will benefit us both in this life and the next.