Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
86.
Prayers by the Personified Vedas
King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī about
a very important topic in understanding transcendental subject matter. His
question was, "Since Vedic knowledge generally deals with the subject
matter of the three qualities of the material world, how then can it approach
the subject matter of transcendence, which is beyond the approach of the three
material modes? Since the mind is material and the vibration of words is a
material sound, how can the Vedic knowledge, expressing by material sound the
thoughts of the mind, approach transcendence? Description of a subject matter
necessitates describing its source of emanation, its qualities and its
activities. Such description can be possible only by thinking with the material
mind and by vibrating material words. Although Brahman, or the Absolute Truth,
has no material qualities, our power of speaking does not go beyond the
material qualities. How then can Brahman, the Absolute Truth, be described by
your words? I do not see how it is possible to understand transcendence from
such expressions of material sound .
The purpose of King Parīkṣit's inquiring
was to ascertain from Śukadeva Gosvāmī whether the Vedas ultimately describe
the Absolute Truth as impersonal or as personal. Understanding of the Absolute
Truth progresses in three features--impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā localized in
everyone's heart and, at last, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa.
The Vedas deal with three departments
of activities. One is called karma-kāṇḍa, or activities under Vedic injunction which
gradually purify one to understand his real position; the next is jñāna-kāṇḍa, the process
of understanding the Absolute Truth by speculative methods; and the third is
upāsanā-kāṇḍa,
or worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and sometimes of the demigods
also. The worship of the demigods recommended in the Vedas is ordered with the
understanding of the demigods' relationship to the Personality of Godhead. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead has many parts and parcels; some are called svāṁśas, or His
personal expansions, and some are called vibhinnāṁśas, the living entities. All such expansions, both
svāṁśas
and vibhinnāṁśas,
are emanations from the original Personality of Godhead. Svāṁśa expansions
are called Viṣṇu-tattva,
whereas the vibhinnāṁśa
expansions are called jīva-tattva. The different demigods are jīva-tattva. The
conditioned souls are generally put into the activities of the material world
for sense gratification; therefore, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, to regulate
those who are very much addicted to different kinds of sense gratification the
worship of demigods is sometimes recommended. For example, for persons who are
very much addicted to meat-eating, the Vedic injunction recommends that after
worshiping the form of the goddess Kālī and sacrificing a goat (not any other
animal) under karma-kāṇḍa
regulation, the worshipers may be allowed to eat meat. The idea is not to
encourage one to eat meat, but to allow one who is persistent to eat meat under
certain restricted conditions. Therefore, worship of the demigods is not
worship of the Absolute Truth, but by worshiping the demigods one gradually
comes to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead in an indirect way. This
indirect acceptance is described in the Bhagavad-gītā as avidhi. Avidhi means
not bona fide. Since demigod worship is not bona fide, the impersonalists stress
concentration on the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. King Parīkṣit's question
was, which is the ultimate target of Vedic knowledge--this concentration on the
impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth or concentration on the personal
feature? After all, both the impersonal and the personal features of the
Supreme Lord are beyond our material conception. The impersonal feature of the
Absolute, the Brahman effulgence, is but the rays of the personal body of Kṛṣṇa. These rays of
the personal body of Kṛṣṇa
are cast all over the creation of the Lord, and the portion of the effulgence
which is covered by the material cloud is called the created cosmos of the
three material qualities--sattva, rajas and tamas. How can persons who are
within this clouded portion called the material world conceive of the Absolute
Truth by the speculative method?
In answering King Parīkṣit's question,
Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has created
the mind, senses and living force for the purpose of sense gratification in
transmigration from one kind of body to another, as well as for the purpose of
allowing liberation from the material conditions. In other words, the senses,
mind and living force can be utilized for sense gratification and transmigration
from one body to another or for the matter of liberation. The Vedic injunctions
are there just to give the conditioned souls the chance for sense gratification
under regulative principles, and thereby also give them the chance for
promotion to the higher conditions of life; ultimately, if the consciousness is
purified, one comes to his original position and goes back home, back to
Godhead.
The living force is intelligent. One therefore has to utilize his
intelligence over the mind and the senses. When the mind and senses are
purified by the proper use of intelligence, then the conditioned soul is
liberated; otherwise, if the intelligence is not properly utilized in
controlling the senses and mind, the conditioned soul continues to transmigrate
from one kind of body to another simply for sense gratification. Another point
clearly stated in the answer of Śukadeva Gosvāmī is that the Lord created the
mind, senses and intelligence of the individual living force. It is not stated
that the living entities themselves were ever created. Just as the shining
particles of the sun's rays are always existing along with the sun, the living
entities exist eternally as parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. The conditioned souls, although eternally existing as part of the
Supreme Lord, are sometimes put within the cloud of the material concept of
life, in the darkness of ignorance. The whole Vedic process is to alleviate
that darkened condition. Ultimately, when the senses and mind of the conditioned
being become fully purified, he then comes to the original position, called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is
liberation.
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In the Vedānta-sūtra, the first
sūtra, or code, questions about the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma-jijñāsā:
What is the nature of the Absolute Truth? The next sūtra answers that the
nature of the Absolute Truth is that He is the origin of everything. Whatever
we experience, even in this material condition of life, is but an emanation
from Him. The Absolute Truth created the mind and senses and intelligence.
This means that the Absolute Truth is not without mind, intelligence and
senses. In other words, He is not impersonal. The very word
"created" means that He has transcendental intelligence. For
example, when a father begets a child, the child has senses because the
father also has senses. The child is born with hands and legs because the
father also has hands and legs. Sometimes it is said, therefore, that man is
made after the image of God. The Absolute Truth is therefore the Supreme Personality,
with transcendental mind, senses and intelligence. When one's mind,
intelligence and senses are purified of material contamination, one can
understand the original feature of the Absolute Truth as a person.
The Vedic process is to gradually promote
the conditioned soul gradually from the mode of ignorance to the mode of
passion and from the mode of passion to the mode of goodness. In the mode of
goodness there is sufficient light for understanding things as they are. For
example, from earth a tree grows, and from the wood of the tree, fire is
ignited. In that igniting process we first of all find the smoke, and the
next stage is heat, and then fire. When there is actually fire, we can
utilize it for various purposes; therefore, fire is the ultimate goal.
Similarly, in the gross material stage of life the quality of ignorance is
very much prominent. Dissipation of this ignorance takes place in the gradual
progress of civilization from the barbarian stage to civilized life, and when
one comes to the form of civilized life, he is said to be in the mode of
passion. In the barbarian stage, or in the mode of ignorance, the senses are
gratified in a very crude way, whereas in the mode of passion or in the
civilized stage of life, the senses are gratified in a polished manner. But
when one is promoted to the mode of goodness, one can understand that the
senses and the mind are only engaged in material activities due to being
covered by perverted consciousness. When this perverted consciousness is
gradually transformed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the path of liberation is
opened. So it is not that one is unable to approach the Absolute Truth by the
senses and the mind. The conclusion is, rather, that the senses, mind and
intelligence in the gross stage of contamination cannot appreciate the nature
of the Absolute Truth, but, when purified, the senses, mind and intelligence
can understand what the Absolute Truth is. This purifying process is called
devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly
stated that the purpose of Vedic knowledge is to understand Kṛṣṇa,
and Kṛṣṇa
is understood by devotional service, beginning with the process of surrender.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, one has to think of Kṛṣṇa
always. One has to render loving service to Kṛṣṇa always, and one has to always worship and bow
down before Kṛṣṇa.
By this process only can one enter into the kingdom of God without any doubt.
When one is enlightened in the mode
of goodness by the process of devotional service, he is freed from the modes
of ignorance and passion. The word ātmane indicates the stage of brahminical
qualification in which one is allowed to study the Vedic literatures known as
the Upaniṣads.
The Upaniṣads
describe in different ways the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord.
The Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, is called nirguṇa. That does
not mean that He has no qualities. It is only because He has qualities that
the conditioned living entities can have qualities. The purpose of studying
the Upaniṣads
is to understand the transcendental quality of the Absolute Truth, as opposed
to the material qualities of ignorance, passion and goodness. That is the way
of Vedic understanding. Great sages like the four Kumāras, headed by Sanaka,
followed these principles of Vedic knowledge and came gradually from
impersonal understanding to the platform of personal worship of the Supreme
Lord. It is therefore recommended that we must follow the great
personalities. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is also one of the great personalities, and
his answer to the inquiry of Mahārāja Parīkṣit is authorized. One who follows in the
footsteps of such great personalities surely walks very easily on the path of
liberation and ultimately goes back to home, back to Godhead. That is the way
of perfecting this human form of life.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to speak
to Parīkṣit Mahārāja. "My dear
King," he said, "I will narrate in this regard a nice story. This
story is important because it is in connection with Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This
narration is a conversation between Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and the great sage Nārada. Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi still resides in Badarikāśrama in the Himalayan
hills and is accepted as an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa. Once when Nārada, the great devotee and ascetic
amongst the demigods, was traveling in different planets, he desired to
personally meet the ascetic Nārāyaṇa in Badarīkāśrama and offer him his respects.
This great sage incarnation of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, has been undergoing great penances and austerities
from the very beginning of the creation in order to teach the inhabitants of
Bhāratavarṣa how to attain the highest
perfectional stage of going back to Godhead. His austerities and penances are
exemplary practices for the human being." |
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The great sage Nārāyaṇa began to
speak. "My dear Nārada," He said, "I will tell you a story
which took place long, long ago. There was a great meeting of the denizens of
the heavenly planets, and almost all of the important brahmacārīs, such as
the four Kumāras--Sanat, Sanandana, Sanaka and Sanātana Kumāra--attended.
Their discussion was on the subject matter of understanding the Absolute
Truth, Brahman. You were not present at that meeting because you went to see
My expansion Aniruddha, who lives on the island of Śvetadvīpa. In this
meeting, all the great sages and brahmacārīs very elaborately discussed the
point about which you have asked me, and it was very interesting. The
discussion was so delicate that even the Vedas were unable to answer the
intricate questions raised."
Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi told Nāradajī that the same question which
Nāradajī had raised had been discussed in that meeting in Janoloka. This is
the way of understanding through the paramparā, or disciplic succession.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit
was sent to Śukadeva Gosvāmī; Śukadeva Gosvāmī referred the matter to Nārada,
who had in the same way questioned Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, who had put the matter to still higher
authorities in the planet of Janoloka, where it was discussed among the great
Kumāras--Sanat, Sanātana, Sanaka Kumāra and Sanandana. These four brahmacārīs
are recognized scholars in the Vedas and śāstras. Their unlimited volumes of
knowledge, backed by austerities and penances, are exhibited by their
sublime, ideal character. They are very amiable and gentle in behavior, and
for them there is no distinction between friends, well-wishers and enemies.
Being transcendentally situated, such personalities as the Kumāras are above
all material considerations and are always neutral in respect to material
dualities. In the discussions held among the four brothers, one of them,
namely Sanandana, was selected to speak, and the other brothers became the
audience to hear him.
Sanandana said, "After the
dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation, the entire energy and the
whole creation in its nucleus form enters into the body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
The Lord at that time remains asleep for a long, long time, and where there
is again necessity of creation, the Vedas personified assemble around the
Lord and begin to glorify Him, describing His wonderful transcendental
pastimes. It is exactly like a king: when he is asleep in the morning, the
appointed reciters come around his bedroom and begin to sing of his
chivalrous activities, and while hearing of his glorious activities, the king
gradually awakens.
"The Vedic reciters or the
personified Vedas sing thus: 'O unconquerable Lord, You are the Supreme
Personality. No one is equal to You or greater than You. No one can be more
glorious in his activities. All glories unto You! All glories unto You! By
Your own transcendental nature You fully possess all six opulences. As such,
You are able to deliver all conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā. O
Lord, we fervently pray that You kindly do so. All the living entities, being
Your parts and parcels, are naturally joyful, eternal and full of knowledge,
but due to their own faults they try to imitate You by trying to become the
supreme enjoyer; thus they disobey Your supremacy and become offenders. And
because of their offenses, Your material energy has taken charge of them;
thus, their transcendental qualities of joyfulness, bliss and wisdom have
been covered by the clouds of the three material qualities. This cosmic
manifestation, made of the three material qualities, is just like a prison
house for the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are struggling very
hard to escape from the material bondage, and according to their different
conditions of life they have been given different types of engagement. But all
engagements are based on Your knowledge. Pious activities can be executed
only when inspired by Your mercy. Therefore, without taking shelter at Your
lotus feet one cannot surpass the influence of material energy. Actually, we,
as personified Vedic knowledge, are always engaged in Your service to help
the conditioned soul understand You.'"
This prayer of the Vedas personified
illustrates that the Vedas are meant for helping the conditioned souls to
understand Kṛṣṇa.
All the śrutis or personified Vedas offered glories to the Lord again and
again, singing, "Jaya! Jaya!" This indicates that the Lord is
praised for His glories. Of all His glories the most important is His
causeless mercy upon the conditioned souls in reclaiming them from the clutches
of māyā.
There are unlimited numbers of living
entities in different varieties of bodies, some moving and some standing in
one place, and the conditioned life of these living entities is due only to
their forgetfulness of their eternal relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. When the living entity wants to lord it over the
material energy by imitating the position of Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately captured by the material
energy and, according to his desire, is offered a variety of 8,400,000
different kinds of bodies. Although undergoing the threefold miseries of
material existence, the illusioned living entity falsely thinks himself the
master of all he surveys. Under the spell of the material energy, which
represents the threefold material qualities, the living entity is so
entangled that it is not at all possible for him to become free unless he is
graced by the Supreme Lord. The living entity cannot conquer the influence of
the material modes of nature by his own endeavor, but because material nature
is working under the control of the Supreme Lord, the Lord is beyond its
jurisdiction. Except for Him, all living entities, beginning from Brahmā down
to an ant, are conquered by the contact of material nature.
Because He possesses in full the six
opulences of wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, the
Lord alone is beyond the spell of material nature. Unless the living entity
is situated in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, he cannot approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet the
Lord, by His omnipotency, can dictate from within as the Supersoul. In the
Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord advises, "Whatever you do, do for Me; whatever
you eat, first of all offer to Me; whatever charity you want to give, first
give to Me; and whatever austerities and penances you want to perform,
perform for Me." In this way the karmīs are directed to gradually
develop Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa directs the philosophers to approach Him
gradually by discriminating between Brahman and māyā. At last when one is
mature in knowledge, he surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, "After many, many
births, the wise philosopher surrenders unto Me." The yogīs are also
directed to concentrate their meditation upon Kṛṣṇa within the heart, and by such continued process
of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness the yogi can become free from the clutches of material energy.
But, as is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, because the devotees are engaged in
devotional service with love and affection from the very beginning, the Lord
directs them so that they can approach Him without difficulty or deviation.
Only by the grace of the Lord can the living entity understand the exact
position of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
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Those who aspire for liberation from this material world must therefore worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate cause of all causes. He is just like the total mass of earth, from which varieties of earthly pots are manufactured: the pots are made of earthly clay, they rest on the earth, and after being destroyed, their elements ultimately merge back into earth. Although the Personality of Godhead is the original cause of all varieties of manifestation, the impersonalists especially stress the Vedic statement, sarvaṁ khalv idam brahma: "Everything is Brahman." The impersonalists do not take into account the varieties of manifestation emanating from the supreme cause of Brahman. They simply take into consideration that everything emanates from Brahman and after destruction merges into Brahman and that the intermediate stage of manifestation is also Brahman. Although the Māyāvādīs believe that prior to its manifestation the cosmos was in Brahman, after creation it remains in Brahman and after destruction it merges into Brahman, they do not know what Brahman is. This fact is clearly described in the Brahma-saṁhitā: The living entities, space, time, and the material elements like fire, earth, sky, water and mind, constitute the total cosmic manifestation, known as bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, which is manifested by Govinda. It flourishes on the strength of Govinda and after annihilation enters into and is conserved in Govinda. Lord Brahmā therefore says, "I worship Lord Govinda, the original personality, the cause of all causes."
The word Brahman indicates the greatest of all and the maintainer of everything. The impersonalists are attracted by the greatness of the sky, but because of their poor fund of knowledge they are not attracted by the greatness of Kṛṣṇa. In our practical life, however, we are attracted by the greatness of a person and not by the greatness of a big mountain. Actually the term Brahman can be applied to Kṛṣṇa only; therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna admitted that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Parambrahman, or the supreme rest of everything.
Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Brahman because of His unlimited knowledge, unlimited potencies, unlimited strength, unlimited influence, unlimited beauty and unlimited renunciation. Therefore, the word Brahman can be applied to Kṛṣṇa only. Arjuna affirms that because the impersonal Brahman is the effulgence emanating as rays of Kṛṣṇa's transcendental body, Kṛṣṇa is the Parambrahman. Everything is resting on Brahman, but Brahman itself is resting on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Brahman or Parambrahman. The material elements are accepted as inferior energies of Kṛṣṇa because by their interaction the cosmic manifestation takes place, rests on Kṛṣṇa, and after dissolution again enters into the body of Kṛṣṇa as His subtle energy. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the cause of both manifestation and dissolution.
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Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma means everything is Kṛṣṇa,
and that is the vision of the mahābhāgavatas. They see everything in relation
to Kṛṣṇa.
The impersonalists argue that Kṛṣṇa has transformed Himself into many and that
therefore everything is Kṛṣṇa and worship of everything is worship of Him.
This false argument is answered by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā: although everything is a
transformation of the energy of Kṛṣṇa, He is not present everywhere. He is
simultaneously present and not present. By His energy He is present
everywhere, but as the energetic He is not present everywhere. This
simultaneous presence and non-presence is inconceivable to our present
senses. But a clear explanation is given in the beginning of the Īśopaniṣad, in which
it is stated that the Supreme Lord is so complete that although unlimited
energies and their transformations are emanating from Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa's
personality is not in the least bit transformed. Therefore, since Kṛṣṇa
is the cause of all causes, intelligent persons should take shelter of His
lotus feet.
Kṛṣṇa advises everyone just to surrender unto Him
alone, and that is the way of Vedic instruction. Since Kṛṣṇa
is the cause of all causes, He is worshiped by all kinds of sages and saints
by observance of the regulative principles. When there is a necessity for
meditation, great personalities meditate on the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa
within the heart. In this way the minds of great personalities are always
engaged in Kṛṣṇa.
With minds engaged in Kṛṣṇa,
naturally the captivated devotees simply talk of Kṛṣṇa.
Talking of Kṛṣṇa
or singing of Kṛṣṇa
is called kīrtana. Lord Caitanya also recommends kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, which means
always thinking and talking of Kṛṣṇa and nothing else. That is called Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Kṛṣṇa
consciousness is so sublime that anyone who takes to this process is elevated
to the highest perfection of life--far, far beyond the concept of liberation.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises everyone always to think of Him, render
devotional service to Him, worship Him and offer obeisances to Him. In this
way a devotee becomes fully Kṛṣṇa-ized and, being always situated in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, ultimately goes back to Kṛṣṇa.
Although the Vedas have recommended
worship of different demigods as different parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa,
it is to be understood that such instructions are meant for the less
intelligent class of men, who are still attracted by material sense
enjoyment. But the person who actually wants perfect fulfillment of the
mission of human life should simply worship Lord Kṛṣṇa,
and that will simplify the matter and completely guarantee the success of his
human life. Although the sky, the water and the land are all part and parcel
of the material world, when one stands on the solid land his position is more
secure than when he stands in the sky or the water. An intelligent person,
therefore, does not stand under the protection of different demigods,
although they are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Rather, he stands on the solid ground of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. That makes his position sound and secure.
Impersonalists sometimes give the
example that if one stands on a stone or a piece of wood, one certainly
stands on the surface of the land, because the stone and wood are both
resting on the surface of the earth. But it may be replied that if one stands
directly on the surface of the earth, he is more secure than on the wood or
stone which are resting on the earth. In other words, taking shelter of
Paramātmā or taking shelter of impersonal Brahman is not as secure a course
as taking direct shelter of Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The position of the jñānīs and
yogīs is therefore not as secure as the position of the devotees of Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Kṛṣṇa
has therefore advised in the Bhagavad-gītā that only a person who has lost
his senses takes to the worship of demigods. And regarding persons who are
attached to the impersonal Brahman, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, "My dear
Lord, those who are thinking of themselves as liberated by mental speculation
are not yet purified of the contamination of material nature because of their
inability to find the shelter of Your lotus feet. Although they rise to the transcendental
situation of existence in impersonal Brahman, they certainly fall from that
exalted position because they have neglected to desire Your lotus feet."
Lord Kṛṣṇa
therefore advises that the worshipers of the demigods are not very
intelligent persons because they derive only temporary, exhaustible results.
Their endeavors are those of less intelligent men. But the Lord assures that
His devotee has no fear of falling.
The personified Vedas continued to
pray: "Dear Lord, considering all points of view, if one has to worship
someone superior to him, then just out of good behavior one should stick to
the worship of Your lotus feet because You are the ultimate controller of
creation, maintenance and dissolution. You are the controller of the three
worlds, Bhūr, Bhuvar and Svar, You are the controller of the fourteen upper
and lower worlds, and You are the controller of the three material qualities.
Demigods and persons advanced in spiritual knowledge are always engaged in
hearing and chanting about Your transcendental pastimes because this has the
specific potency of nullifying the accumulated results of sinful life.
Intelligent persons factually take a dip in the ocean of Your nectarean
activities and very patiently hear of them. Thus they immediately become freed
from the contamination of the material qualities; they do not have to undergo
severe penances and austerities for advancement of spiritual life. This
chanting and hearing of Your transcendental pastimes is the easiest process
for self-realization. Simply by submissive aural reception of the
transcendental message, one's heart becomes cleansed of all dirty things.
Thus Kṛṣṇa
consciousness becomes fixed in the heart of a devotee.
"The great authority Bhīṣmadeva has also given the opinion that this process
of chanting and hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
essence of all Vedic ritualistic performances. Dear Lord, the devotee who
wants to elevate himself simply by this process of devotional activities,
especially by hearing and chanting, very soon comes out of the clutches of
the dualities of material existence. By this simple process of penance and
austerity the Supersoul within the devotee's heart becomes very pleased and
gives the devotee directions so that he may go back to home, back to Godhead.
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that one who engages all his activities and
senses in the devotional service of the Lord becomes completely pacified
because the Supersoul is satisfied with him; thus the devotee becomes
transcendental to all kinds of dualities, such as heat and cold, honor and
dishonor. Being freed from all dualities, he feels transcendental bliss, and
he no longer suffers cares and anxieties due to material existence.
Bhagavad-gītā confirms that the devotee who is always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has no anxieties for his
maintenance or protection. Being constantly absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he ultimately achieves the
highest perfection. While in the material existence, he lives very peacefully
and blissfully without any cares and anxieties, and after quitting this body
he goes back to home, back to Godhead. The Lord confirms in the
Bhagavad-gītā, 'My supreme abode is a transcendental place where going no one
returns to this material world. Anyone who attains the supreme perfection,
being engaged in My personal devotional service in the eternal abode, reaches
the highest perfection of human life and doesn't have to come back again to
the miserable material world.' |
"The cosmic manifestation has been possible because of the entrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Mahā-Viṣṇu within this material world. The total material energy becomes agitated by the glance of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and only then does the interaction of the three material qualities begin. Therefore it should be concluded that whatever material facilities we are trying to enjoy are available only due to the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"Within the body there are five different departments of existence, known as annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, vijñānamaya and, at last, ānandamaya. In the beginning of life, every living entity is food conscious. A child or an animal is satisfied only by getting nice food. This stage of consciousness, in which the goal is to eat sumptuously, is called annamaya. Anna means food. After this one lives in the consciousness of being alive. If one can continue his life without being attacked or destroyed, one thinks himself happy. This stage is called prāṇamaya, or consciousness of one's existence. After this stage, when one is situated on the mental platform, that consciousness is called manomaya. The material civilization is primarily situated in these three stages, annamaya, prāṇamaya and manomaya. The first concern of civilized persons is economic development, the next concern is defense against being annihilated, and the next consciousness is mental speculation, the philosophical approach to the values of life.
"If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach to the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body, but is a spirit soul, then by evolution of spiritual life he comes to the understanding of the Supreme Lord or the Supreme Soul. When one develops his relationship with Him and executes devotional service, that stage of life is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the ānandamaya stage. Ānandamaya is the blissful life of knowledge and eternity. As it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt. The Supreme Brahman and the subordinate Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, are both joyful by nature. As long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life, annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya and vijñānamaya, they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of ānandamaya he becomes a liberated soul. This ānandamaya stage is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the brahma-bhūtā stage. There it is said that in the brahma-bhūtā stage of life there is no anxiety and no hankering. This stage begins when one becomes equally disposed toward all living entities, and it then expands to the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in which one always hankers to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This hankering for advancement in devotional service is not the same as hankering for sense gratification in material existence. In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. When our senses are purified, they become freed from all material stages, namely annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya and vijñānamaya, and they become situated in the highest stage--ānandamaya, or blissful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider ānandamaya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, ānandamaya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one's own individual existence. Merging in the spiritual existence is the living entity's realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His eternity and knowledge aspects. But the actual ānandamaya (blissful) stage is obtained when one is engaged in devotional service. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām: the brahma-bhūtā ānandamaya stage is complete only when there is the exchange of love between the Supreme and the subordinate living entities. Unless one comes to this ānandamaya stage of life, his breathing is like the breathing of a bellows in a blacksmith's shop, his duration of life is like that of a tree, and he is no better than the lower animals like the camels, hogs and dogs.
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Undoubtedly the eternal living entity
cannot be annihilated at any point. But the lower species of life exist in a
miserable condition, whereas one who is engaged in devotional service of the
Supreme Lord is situated in the pleasurable or ānandamaya status of life. The
different stages described above are all in relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Although in all circumstances there exist both the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, the difference is
that the Supreme Personality of Godhead always exists in the ānandamaya
stage, whereas the subordinate living entities, because of their minute
position as fragmental portions of the Supreme Lord, are prone to fall to the
other stages of life. Although in all the stages both the Supreme Lord and
the living entities exist, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always
transcendental to our concept of life, whether we are in bondage or in
liberation. The whole cosmic manifestation becomes possible by the grace of
the Supreme Lord, it exists by the grace of the Supreme Lord, and when it is
annihilated, it merges into the existence of the Supreme Lord. As such, the
Supreme Lord is the supreme existence, the cause of all causes. Therefore the
conclusion is that without development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one's life is simply a waste of
time.
Those who are very materialistic and
cannot understand the situation of the spiritual world cannot understand the
abode of Kṛṣṇa.
For such persons, great sages have recommended the yogic process whereby one
gradually rises from meditation on the abdomen, which is called mūlādhāra or
maṇipūraka
meditation. Mūlādhāra and maṇipūraka are technical terms which refer to the
intestines within the abdomen. Grossly materialistic persons think that
economic development is of foremost importance because they are under the
impression that a living entity exists only by eating. Such grossly
materialistic persons forget that although we may eat as much as we like, if
the food is not digested it produces the troubles of indigestion and acidity.
Therefore, in itself, eating is not the cause of the vital energy of life.
For digestion of eatables we have to take shelter of another, superior energy,
which is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as vaiśvānara. Lord Kṛṣṇa
says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He helps the digestion in the form of
vaiśvānara. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervasive; therefore,
His presence as vaiśvānara is not extraordinary.
Kṛṣṇa is actually present everywhere. The Vaiṣṇava,
therefore, marks his body with temples of Viṣṇu: he first marks a tilaka temple on the abdomen,
then on the chest, then between the collarbones, then on the forehead, and
gradually he marks the top of the head, the brahma-randhra. The thirteen
temples of tilaka marked on the body of a Vaiṣṇava are known as follows: On the forehead is the
temple of Lord Keśava, on the belly is the temple of Lord Nārāyaṇa, on the
chest is the temple of Lord Mādhava, and on the throat, between the two
collarbones, is the temple of Lord Govinda. On the right side of the waist is
the temple of Lord Viṣṇu,
on the right arm is the temple of Lord Madhusūdana, and on the right side of
the collarbone the temple of Lord Trivikrama. Similarly, on the left side of
the waist is the temple of Lord Vāmanadeva, on the left arm is the temple of
Śrīdhara, on the left side of the collarbone is the temple of Hṛṣīkeśa,
on the upper back the temple is called Padmanābha, and on the lower back the
temple is called Dāmodara. On the top of the head the temple is called
Vāsudeva. This is the process of meditation on the Lord's situation in
different parts of the body, but for those who are not Vaiṣṇavas,
great sages recommend meditation on the bodily concept of life--meditation on
the intestines, on the heart, on the throat, on the eyebrows, on the forehead
and then on the top of the head. Some of the sages in the disciplic
succession from the great saint Aruṇa meditate on the heart because the Supersoul is
also staying within the heart along with the living entity. This is confirmed
in Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter, wherein the Lord states, "I am
situated in everyone's heart."
For the Vaiṣṇava,
the protection of the body for the service of the Lord is a part of
devotional service, but those who are gross materialists accept the body as
the self. They worship the body by the yogic process of meditation on the
different bodily parts, such as maṇipūraka, dahara and hṛdaya,
gradually rising to the brahma-randhra on the top of the head. The
first-class yogi who has attained perfection in the practice of the yoga
system ultimately passes through the brahma-randhra to any one of the planets
in either the material or spiritual worlds. How a yogi can transfer himself
to another planet is very vividly described in the Second Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
In this regard, Śukadeva Gosvāmī has
recommended that the beginners worship the virāṭa puruṣa, the gigantic universal form of the Lord. One
who cannot believe that the Lord can be worshiped with equal success in the
Deity or arcā form, or who cannot concentrate on this form, is advised to
worship the universal form of the Lord. The lower part of the universe is
considered the feet and legs of the Lord's universal form, the middle part of
the universe is considered the navel or abdomen of the Lord, the upper
planetary systems such as Janoloka and Maharloka are the heart of the Lord,
and the topmost planetary system, Brahmaloka, is considered the top of the Lord's
head. There are different processes recommended by great sages, according to
the position of the worshiper, but the ultimate aim of all meditational and
yogic processes is to go back home, back to Godhead. As stated in
Bhagavad-gītā, anyone who reaches the highest planet, the abode of Kṛṣṇa,
or even the Vaikuṇṭha
planets, never has to come down again to this miserable material condition of
life.
The Vedic recommendation, therefore,
is that one make the lotus feet of Viṣṇu the target of all one's efforts. Tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ, Viṣṇuloka
or the Viṣṇu
planets, are situated above all the material planets. These Vaikuṇṭha
planets are known as sanātana-dhāma, and they are eternal. They are never
annihilated, not even by the annihilation of this material world. The
conclusion is that if a human being does not fulfill the mission of his life
by worshiping the Supreme Lord and does not go back to Godhead, then it is to
be understood that he has been frustrated in fulfilling the main purpose of
human life.
The next prayer of the personified
Vedas to the Lord concerns His entering into different species of life. It is
stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Fourteenth Chapter, that in every species and form
of life the spiritual part and parcel of the Supreme Lord is present. The
Lord Himself claims in the Gītā that He is the seed-giving father of all
forms and species, and therefore they must all be considered sons of the
Lord. The entrance of the Supreme Lord into everyone's heart as Paramātmā
sometimes bewilders the impersonalists, who think in terms of the equality of
the living entities with the Supreme Lord. They think that because the
Supreme Lord enters into different bodies along with the individual soul,
there is no distinction between the Lord and the individual entities. Their
challenge is, "Why should individual souls worship the Paramātmā or
Supersoul?" According to them, both the Supersoul and the individual
soul are on the same level; they are one, without any difference between
them. There is a difference, however, between the Supersoul and the
individual soul, and this is explained in Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter,
wherein the Lord says that although He is situated with the living entity in
the same body, He is superior. He is dictating to or giving intelligence to
the individual soul from within. It is clearly stated in the Gītā that the
Lord gives intelligence to the individual soul and that both memory and
forgetfulness are due to the influence of the Supersoul. No one can act
independently of the sanction of the Supersoul. Therefore, the individual
soul acts according to his past karma, reminded by the Lord. The nature of
the individual soul is forgetfulness, but the presence of the Lord within the
heart reminds him of what he wanted to do in his past life. The intelligence
of the individual soul is exhibited like fire in wood. Although fire is
always fire, it is exhibited in a size proportionate to the size of the wood.
Similarly, although the individual soul is qualitatively one with the Supreme
Lord, he exhibits himself according to the limitations of his present body.
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Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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