Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
86.
Prayers by the Personified Vedas
The individual soul, beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the ant, exhibits his spiritual potency according to his present body. The demigods are in the same category with the individual souls in the bodies of the human beings or in the bodies of lower animals. Intelligent persons, therefore, do not worship different demigods, who are simply infinitesimal representatives of Kṛṣṇa manifesting in conditioned bodies. The individual soul can exhibit his power and potencies only in proportion to the shape and constitution of the body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, can exhibit His full potencies in any shape or form without any change. The Māyāvādī philosophers' thesis that God and the individual soul are one and the same cannot be accepted because the individual soul has to develop his power and potencies according to the development of different types of bodies. The individual soul in the body of a baby cannot show the full power and potency of a grown man, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, even when lying on the lap of His mother as a baby, could exhibit His full potency and power by killing Pūtanā and other demons who tried to attack Him. Therefore the spiritual potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is said to be eka-rasa, or without change. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only worshipable object, and this is perfectly known to persons who are uncontaminated by the force of material nature. In other words, only the liberated souls can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Less intelligent Māyāvādīs take to the worship of demigods, thinking that the demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are on the same level.
The personified Vedas continued to offer their obeisances. "Dear Lord," they prayed, "after many, many births, those who have actually become wise take to the worship of Your lotus feet in complete knowledge." This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, wherein the Lord says that after many, many births, a great soul or mahātmā surrenders unto the Lord, knowing well that Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all causes. The Vedas continued: "As has already been explained, since our mind, intelligence and senses have been given to us by God, when these instruments are actually purified there is no alternative but to engage them all in the devotional service of the Lord. A living entity's entrapment in different species of life is due to the misapplication of his mind, intelligence and senses in material activities. Various kinds of bodies are awarded as the result of a living entity's actions, and they are created by the material nature according to the living entity's desire. Because a living entity desires and deserves a particular kind of body, it is given to him by the material nature under the order of the Supreme Lord."
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Third Canto,
it is explained that under the control of superior authority a living entity is
put within the semina of a male and injected into the womb of a particular
female in order to develop a particular type of body. A living entity utilizes
his senses, intelligence, mind, etc., in a specific way of his own choosing and
thus develops a particular type of body within which he becomes encaged. In
this way the living entity becomes situated in different species of life,
either in a demigod, human or animal body, according to different situations and
circumstances.
It is explained in the Vedic
literatures that the living entities entrapped in different species of life are
part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The Māyāvādī philosophers mistake the
living entity for the Paramātmā, who is actually sitting with the living entity
as a friend. Because the Paramātmā, the localized aspect of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and the individual living entity are both within the
body, a misunderstanding sometimes takes place that there is no difference between
the two. But there is a definite difference between the individual soul and the
Supersoul, and it is explained in the Varāha Purāṇa
as follows. The Supreme Lord has two kinds of parts and parcels: the living
entity is called vibhinnāṁśa, and the Paramātmā or the plenary expansion of
the Supreme Lord is called svāṁśa. The svāṁśa plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality is
as powerful as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There is not even
the slightest difference between the potency of the Supreme Person and that of
His plenary expansion as Paramātmā, but the vibhinnāṁśa parts and parcels possess only a minute portion
of the potencies of the Lord. The Nārāyaṇa-Pañcarātra
states that the living entities who are the marginal potency of the Supreme
Lord are undoubtedly of the same quality of spiritual existence as the Lord
Himself, but they are prone to be tinged with the material qualities. Because
he is prone to be subjected to the influence of material qualities, the minute
living entity is called jīva. Sometimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
also known as Śiva, the all-auspicious. So the difference between Śiva and jīva
is that the all-auspicious Personality of Godhead is never affected by the
material qualities, whereas the minute portions of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead are prone to be affected by the qualities of material nature.
The Supersoul within the body of a
particular living entity, although a plenary portion of the Lord, is
worshipable by the individual living entity. Great sages have therefore
concluded that the process of meditation is designed so that the individual
living entity may concentrate his attention on the lotus feet of the Supersoul
form (Viṣṇu). That is the real form of samādhi. The living
entity cannot become liberated from material entanglement by his own effort. He
must therefore take to the devotional service of the lotus feet of the Supreme
Lord, or the Supersoul within himself. Śrīdhara Svāmī, the great commentator on
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has composed a nice verse in this regard, the purport of
which is as follows: "My dear Lord, I am eternally your part and parcel,
but I have been entrapped by the material potencies, which are also an
emanation from You. As the cause of all causes, You have entered my body as the
Supersoul, and I have the prerogative to enjoy the supreme blissful life of
knowledge along with You. Therefore, my dear Lord, please order me to render
You loving service so that I can again be brought to my original position of
transcendental bliss."
Great personalities understand that a
living entity entangled in this material world cannot become freed by his own
efforts. With firm faith and devotion, such great personalities engage
themselves in rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord. That is the
verdict of the personified Vedas.
The personified Vedas continued:
"Dear Lord, it is very difficult to achieve perfect knowledge of the
Absolute Truth. Your Lordship is so kind to the fallen souls that You appear in
different incarnations and execute different activities. You appear even as a
historical personality of this material world, and Your pastimes are very
nicely described in the Vedic literatures. Such pastimes are as attractive as
the ocean of transcendental bliss. People in general have a natural inclination
to read narrations in which ordinary jīvas are glorified, but when they become
attracted by the Vedic literatures which delineate Your eternal pastimes, they
actually dip into the ocean of transcendental bliss. As a fatigued man feels
refreshed by dipping into a reservoir of water, so the conditioned soul who is
very much disgusted with material activities becomes refreshed and forgets all
the fatigue of material activities simply by dipping into the transcendental ocean
of Your pastimes. And eventually he merges in the ocean of transcendental
bliss. The most intelligent devotees, therefore, do not take to any means of
self-realization except devotional service and constant engagement in the nine
different processes of devotional life, especially hearing and chanting. When
hearing and chanting about Your transcendental pastimes, Your devotees do not
care even for the transcendental bliss derived from liberation or from merging
into the existence of the Supreme. Such devotees are not interested even in
so-called liberation, and certainly they have no interest in material
activities for elevation to the heavenly planets for sense gratification. Pure
devotees seek only the association of paramahaṁsas,
or great liberated devotees, so that they can continually hear and chant about
Your glories. For this purpose the pure devotees are prepared to sacrifice all
comforts of life, even giving up the material comforts of family life and
so-called society, friendship and love. Those who have tasted the nectar of
devotion by relishing the transcendental vibration of chanting Your glories,
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare
Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, do not care for any other spiritual
bliss or for material comforts, which appear to the pure devotee to be less
important than the straw in the street."
The personified Vedas continued:
"Dear Lord, when a person is able to purify his mind, senses and
intelligence by engaging himself in devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his mind becomes his friend.
Otherwise, his mind is always his enemy. When the mind is engaged in devotional
service of the Lord, it becomes the intimate friend of the living entity
because the mind can then think of the Supreme Lord always. Your Lordship is
eternally dear to the living entity, so when the mind is engaged in thought of
You, one immediately feels the great satisfaction for which he has been
hankering life after life. When one's mind is thus fixed on the lotus feet of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, one does not take to any kind of inferior
worship or inferior process of self-realization. By attempting to worship a
demigod or by taking to any other process of self-realization, the living
entity becomes a victim of the cycle of birth and death, and no one can
estimate how much the living entity becomes degraded by entering the abominable
species of life such as the cats and dogs."
Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākur has sung that persons who do not take to the
devotional service of the Lord but are attracted to the process of
philosophical speculation and fruitive activities drink the poisonous results
of such actions. Such persons are forced to take birth in different species of
life and are forced to adopt obnoxious practices like meat-eating and
intoxication. Materialistic persons generally worship the transient material
body and forget the welfare of the spirit soul within the body. Some take
shelter of materialistic science to improve bodily comforts, and some take to
the worship of demigods in order to be promoted to the heavenly planets. Their
goal in life is to make the material body comfortable while forgetting the
interest of the spirit soul. Such persons are described in the Vedic literature
as suicidal because attachment for the material body and its comforts forces
the living entity to wander through the process of birth and death perpetually
and suffer the material pangs as a matter of course. The human form of life is
a chance for one to understand his position, and the most intelligent person
takes to devotional service just to engage his mind, senses and body in the
service of the Lord without deviation.
The personified Vedas continued:
"Dear Lord, there are many mystic yogīs who are very learned and
deliberate in achieving the highest perfection of life. They engage themselves
in the yogic process of controlling the life-air within the body. Concentrating
the mind upon the form of Viṣṇu and controlling the
senses very rigidly, they practice the yoga system, but even after much
laborious austerity, penance, and regulation, they achieve the same destination
as persons who are inimical toward You. In other words, both the yogīs and
great, wise philosophical speculators ultimately attain the impersonal Brahman
effulgence, which is also automatically attained by the demons who are regular
enemies of the Lord. Demons like Kaṁsa,
Śiśupāla and Dantavakra also attain the Brahman effulgence because they
constantly meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Women such as the
gopīs were attached to Kṛṣṇa and captivated by His beauty, and their mental
concentration on Kṛṣṇa was provoked by lust. They wanted to be embraced
by the arms of Kṛṣṇa, which resemble the beautiful round shape of a
snake. Similarly, there are the Vedic hymns, and we also simply concentrate our
minds on the lotus feet of Your Lordship. Women like the gopīs concentrate upon
You dictated by lust, and we concentrate upon Your lotus feet to go back home,
back to Godhead. Your enemies also concentrate upon You, thinking always how to
kill You, and the yogīs undertake great penances and austerities just to attain
Your impersonal effulgence. All these different persons, although concentrating
their minds in different ways, achieve spiritual perfection according to their
different perspectives because You are equal to all Your devotees."
Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a nice
verse in this regard: "My dear Lord, to be engaged always in thinking of
Your lotus feet is very difficult. It is possible by great devotees who have
already achieved love for You and are engaged in transcendental loving service.
My dear Lord, I wish that my mind also may be engaged somehow or other on Your
lotus feet, at least for some time."
The attainment of spiritual perfection
by different spiritualists is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, wherein the Lord
says that He grants the perfection the devotee desires in proportion to the
devotee's surrender unto Him. The impersonalists, yogīs and the enemies of the
Lord enter into the Lord's transcendental effulgence, but the personalists who
are following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana or strictly following the path of
devotional service are elevated to the personal abode of Kṛṣṇa, Goloka Vṛndāvana,
or to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Both the impersonalists and the
personalists enter into the spiritual realm or the spiritual sky, but the
impersonalists are given their place in the impersonal Brahman effulgence,
whereas the personalists are given a position in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or in the Vṛndāvana planet, according to their desire to serve
the Lord in different mellows.
The personified Vedas stated that
persons who are born after the creation of this material world cannot
understand the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by manipulating
their material knowledge. Just as a person born in a particular family cannot
understand the position of his great-grandfather who lived before the birth of
the recent generation, we are unable to understand the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Nārāyaṇa or Kṛṣṇa,
who exists eternally in the spiritual world. In the Eighth Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly said that the Supreme Person, who lives eternally
in the spiritual kingdom of God (sanātana-dhāma), can be approached only by
devotional service.
As for the material creation, Brahmā is
the first created person. Before Brahmā there was no living creature within
this material world; it was void and dark until Brahmā was born on the lotus
flower sprouted from the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu
is an expansion of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu,
Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu
is an expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of
Balarāma. Balarāma is an immediate expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa. After the creation of Brahmā, the two kinds of
demigods were born: demigods like the four brothers Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana
and Sanat-kumāra, who are representatives of renunciation of the world, and
demigods like Marīci and their descendants who are meant to enjoy this material
world. From these two kinds of demigods were gradually manifested all other
living entities, including the human beings. Thus any living creature within
this material world, including Brahmā, all the demigods and all the rākṣasas, are to be considered modern. This means that
they were all recently born. Therefore, just as a person recently born in a
family cannot understand the situation of his distant forefather, so anyone
within this material world cannot understand the position of the Supreme Lord
in the spiritual world because the material world has only recently been
created. Although they have a long duration of existence, all the
manifestations of the material world, namely, the time elements, the living
entities, the Vedas, and the gross and subtle elements, are all created at some
point. Anything manufactured within this created situation or accepted as a
means to understanding the original source of creation is to be considered
modern.
Therefore by the process of
self-realization or God realization through fruitive activities, philosophical
speculation or mystic yoga, one cannot actually approach the supreme source of
everything. When the creation is completely terminated, when there is no
existence of the Vedas, no existence of material time, no existence of the
gross and subtle material elements, and when all the living entities are in the
nonmanifested stage resting within Nārāyaṇa,
then all these manufactured processes become null and void and cannot act.
Devotional service, however, is eternally going on in the eternal spiritual
world. Therefore the only factual process of self-realization or God
realization is devotional service, and if one takes to this process he takes to
the real process of God realization. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has therefore
composed a verse in this regard which conveys the idea that the supreme source
of everything, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is so great and unlimited
that it is not possible for the living entity to understand Him by any material
acquisition. Everyone should therefore pray to the Lord to be engaged in His
devotional service eternally, so that by the grace of the Lord one can
understand the supreme source of creation. The supreme source of creation, the
Supreme Lord, reveals Himself only to the devotees. In the Fourth Chapter of
Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, because you are My
devotee and because you are My intimate friend I shall therefore reveal to you
the process of understanding Me." In other words, the supreme source of
creation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be understood by our own
endeavor. We have to please Him with devotional service, and then He will
reveal Himself to us. Then we can understand Him to some extent.
There are different kinds of
philosophers who have tried to understand the supreme source by their mental
speculation. There are generally six kinds of mental speculators, and they are
called ṣaḍ-darśana. All these
philosophers are impersonalists and are known as Māyāvādīs. Every one of them
has tried to establish his own opinion, although they all have later
compromised and stated that all opinions lead to the same goal and that every
opinion is therefore valid. According to the prayers of the personified Vedas,
however, none of them are valid because their process of knowledge is created
within the temporary material world. They have all missed the real point: the
Supreme Personality of Godhead or the Absolute Truth can be understood only by
devotional service.
One class of philosophers, known as
Mīmāṁsakas, represented by sages such as Jaimini, have
concluded that everyone should be engaged in pious activities or prescribed
duties and that such activities will lead one to the highest perfection. But
this is contradicted in the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, where Lord Kṛṣṇa says that by pious activities one may be elevated
to the heavenly planets, but as soon as one's accumulation of pious activities
is used up, one has to leave the enjoyment of a higher standard of material
prosperity in the heavenly planets and immediately come down again to these
lower planets, where the duration of life is very short and where the standard
of material happiness is of a lower grade. The exact words used in the Gītā are
kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ
viśanti. Therefore the conclusion of the Mīmāṁsaka
philosophers, that pious activities will lead one to the Absolute Truth, is not
valid. Although a pure devotee is by nature inclined to pious activities, no
one can attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by pious
activities alone. Pious activities may purify one of the contamination caused
by ignorance and passion, but this is automatically attained by a devotee who
is constantly engaged in hearing the transcendental message of Godhead in the
form of the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or similar scriptures. From the
Bhagavad-gītā we understand that even a person who is not up to the standard of
pious activities but who is absolutely engaged in devotional service is to be
considered well situated on the path of spiritual perfection. It is also said
in the Bhagavad-gītā that a person who is engaged in devotional service with
love and faith is guided from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Lord Himself as Paramātmā, or the spiritual master sitting within one's heart,
gives the devotee exact directions by which he can gradually go back to
Godhead. The conclusion of the Mīmāṁsaka
philosophers is not actually the truth which can lead one to real
understanding.
Similarly, there are Sāṅkhya philosophers, metaphysicians or material
scientists who study this cosmic manifestation by their invented scientific
method and who do not recognize the supreme authority of God as the creator of
the cosmic manifestation. Rather, they wrongly conclude that the reaction of
material elements is the original cause of creation. The Bhagavad-gītā,
however, does not accept this theory. It is clearly said therein that behind
the cosmic activities is the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This fact is corroborated by the Vedic injunction asad vā idam agra āsīt, which
means that the origin of the creation existed before the cosmic manifestation.
Therefore, the material elements cannot be the cause of material creation.
Although the material elements are accepted as material causes, the ultimate
cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. The Bhagavad-gītā says,
therefore, that material nature works under the direction of Kṛṣṇa.
The conclusion of the atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophy is that because the effects of the
material worlds are temporary or illusory, the cause is therefore also
illusory. The Sāṅkhya philosophers are in favor of voidism, but the
actual fact is that the original cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and this cosmic manifestation is the temporary manifestation of His material
energy. When this temporary manifestation is annihilated, its cause, the
eternal existence of the spiritual world, continues as it is, and therefore the
spiritual world is called sanātana-dhāma, the eternal abode. The conclusion of
the Sāṅkhya philosopher is therefore not valid.
Then there are the philosophers headed
by Gautama and Kaṇāda. They have very minutely studied the cause and
effect of the material elements and have ultimately come to the conclusion that
atomic combination is the original cause of creation. Present material
scientists also follow in the footsteps of Gautama and Kaṇāda, who propounded this theory of paramānuvāda.
This theory, however, cannot be supported because the original cause of
everything is not inert atoms. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā and
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as well as in the Vedas, wherein it is stated eko nārāyaṇa āsīt, Only Nārāyaṇa
existed before the creation. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vedānta-sūtra also say
that the original cause is sentient and both indirectly and directly cognizant
of everything within this creation. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ
sarvasya prabhavaḥ: "I am the original cause of
everything," and mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: "From Me everything comes into
existence." Therefore, atoms may form the basic combinations of material
existence, but these atoms are generated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus the philosophy of Gautama and Kaṇāda
cannot be supported.
Similarly, impersonalists headed by Aṣṭāvakra and later on by Śaṅkarācārya accept the impersonal Brahman effulgence
as the cause of everything. According to their theory, the material manifestation
is temporary and unreal, whereas the impersonal Brahman effulgence is reality.
But this theory cannot be supported either, because the Lord Himself says in
the Bhagavad-gītā that this Brahman effulgence is resting on His personality.
It is also confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā
that the Brahman effulgence is the personal bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa. As such, impersonal Brahman cannot be the
original cause of the cosmic manifestation. The original cause is the
all-perfect sentient Personality of Godhead, Govinda.
The most dangerous theory of the
impersonalists is that when God comes as an incarnation He accepts a material
body created by the three modes of material nature. This Māyāvādī theory has
been condemned by Lord Caitanya as most offensive. He has said that anyone who
accepts the transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead to be made of
this material nature commits the greatest offense at the lotus feet of Viṣṇu. Similarly, the Bhagavad-gītā also states that
only the fools and rascals deride the Personality of Godhead when He descends
in a human form. Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāma and Lord Caitanya actually moved
within human society as human beings.
The personified Vedas condemn the
impersonal conception as a gross misrepresentation. In the Brahma-saṁhitā, the body of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is described as ānanda-cin-maya-rasa. The Supreme Personality of
Godhead possesses a spiritual body, not a material body. He can enjoy anything
through any part of His body, and therefore He is omnipotent. The limbs of a
material body can perform only a particular function, just as hands can hold
but they cannot see or hear. Because the body of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is made of ānanda-cin-maya-rasa or sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, He can enjoy
anything and do everything with any of His limbs. Acceptance of the spiritual
body of the Lord as material is dictated by the tendency to make the Supreme
Personality of Godhead equal to the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul has
a material body. Therefore, if God also has a material body, then the
impersonalistic theory that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living
entities are one and the same can be very easily propagandized.
Factually, when the Supreme Personality
of Godhead comes He exhibits different pastimes, and yet there is no difference
between His childish body when He is lying on the lap of His mother Yaśodā and
His so-called grown up body fighting with the demons. In His childhood body
also, He fought with demons such as Pūtanā, Tṛṇāvarta,
Aghāsura, etc., with strength equal to that with which He fought in His youth
against demons like Dantavakra, Śiśupāla and others. In material life, as soon
as a conditioned soul changes his body, he forgets everything of his past body,
but from the Bhagavad-gītā we understand that Kṛṣṇa,
because He has a sac-cid-ānanda body, did not forget instructing the sun-god
about Bhagavad-gītā millions of years ago. The Lord is therefore known as Puruṣottama because He is transcendental to both
material and spiritual existence. That He is the cause of all causes means that
He is the cause of the spiritual world and of the material world as well. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is omnipotent and omniscient. Therefore, because
a material body can be neither omnipotent nor omniscient, the Lord's body
surely is not material. The Māyāvādī theory that the Personality of Godhead
comes within this material world with a material body cannot be supported by
any means.
It can be concluded that all the
theories of the material philosophers are generated from the temporary illusory
existence, like the conclusions in a dream. Such conclusions certainly cannot
lead us to the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth can only be realized through
devotional service. As the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhaktyā mām
abhijānāti, "Only by devotional service can one understand Me." Śrīla
Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a nice verse in this regard, which states: "My
dear Lord, let others be engaged in false argument and dry speculation, theorizing
upon their great philosophical theses. Let them loiter in the darkness of
ignorance and illusion, falsely enjoying as if very learned scholars, although
they are without knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As far as I
am concerned, I wish to be liberated simply by chanting the holy names of the
all-beautiful Supreme Personality of Godhead--Mādhava, Vāmana, Trinayana, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Śrīpati and Govinda. Simply by chanting His
transcendental names, let me become free from the contamination of this
material existence."
In this way the personified Vedas said,
"My dear Lord, when a living entity, by Your grace only, comes to the
right conclusion about Your exalted transcendental position, at that time he no
longer bothers with the different theories manufactured by the mental
speculators or so-called philosophers." This is a reference to the
speculative theories of Gautama, Kaṇāda,
Patañjali and Kapila (Nirīśvara). There are actually two Kapilas: one Kapila,
the son of Kardama Muni, is an incarnation of God, and the other is an atheist
of the modern age. The atheistic Kapila is often misrepresented to be the
Supreme Personality of Godhead who appeared as the son of Kardama Muni during
the time of Svāyambhuva Manu. Lord Kapila, the incarnation of Godhead, appeared
long long ago; the modern age is the age of Vaivasvata Manu, whereas He
appeared during the time of Svāyambhuva Manu.
According to Māyāvādī philosophy, this
manifested world or the material world is mithyā or māyā, false. Their
preaching principle is brahma-satya jagat-mithyā. According to them, only the
Brahman effulgence is true, and the cosmic manifestation is illusory or false.
But according to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, this cosmic manifestation is caused
by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that
He enters within this material world by one of His plenary portions, and thus
the creation takes place. From the Vedas also, we can understand that this asat
or temporary cosmic manifestation is also an emanation from the supreme sat or
fact. From the Vedānta-sūtra also it is understood that everything has emanated
from the Supreme Brahman. As such the Vaiṣṇavas
do not take this cosmic manifestation to be false. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher sees everything in this material
world in relationship with the Supreme Lord.
This conception of the material world
is very nicely explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who said that renunciation of
this material world as illusory or false without knowledge that the material
world is also the manifestation of the Supreme Lord is of no practical value.
The Vaiṣṇavas, however, are free of attachment to this world
because generally the material world is accepted as an object of sense
gratification. The Vaiṣṇavas are not in favor of sense gratification;
therefore, they are not attached to material activities. The Vaiṣṇava accepts this material world according to the
regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions. Since the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is the original cause of everything, the Vaiṣṇava sees everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa, even in this material world. By such advanced
knowledge, everything becomes spiritualized. In other words, everything in the
material world is already spiritual, but due to our lack of knowledge we see
things as material.
The personified Vedas presented the
example that those who are seeking after gold do not reject gold earrings, gold
bangles or anything else made of gold simply because they are shaped
differently from the original gold. All living entities are part and parcel of
the Supreme Lord and are qualitatively one, but they are now differently shaped
in 8,400,000 species of life, just like many different ornaments which have
been manufactured from the same source of gold. As one who is interested in
gold accepts all the differently shaped gold ornaments, so a Vaiṣṇava, knowing well that all living entities are of
the same quality as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, accepts all living
entities as eternal servants of God. As a Vaiṣṇava,
then, one has ample opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead
simply by reclaiming these conditioned, misled living entities, training them
in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and leading them back to home, back
to Godhead. The fact is that the minds of the living entities are now agitated
by the three material qualities, and the living entities are therefore
transmigrating, as if in dreams, from one body to another. When their
consciousness is changed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
however, they immediately fix Kṛṣṇa within their
hearts, and thus their path for liberation becomes clear.
In all the Vedas the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and the living entities are stated to be of the same
quality--caitanya, or spiritual. This is also confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa, wherein it is said that there are two kinds of
spiritual entities; one is called the jīva, and the other is called the Supreme
Lord. Beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the ant, all living entities are
jīvas, whereas the Lord is the Supreme four-handed Viṣṇu or Janārdana. The word ātmā can be applied only
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because the living entities are His
parts and parcels, sometimes the word ātmā is applied to them also. The living
entities are therefore called jivātmā, and the Supreme Lord is called
Paramātmā. Both the Paramātmā and jivātmā are within this material world, and
therefore this material world has a purpose other than sense gratification. The
conception of a life of sense gratification is illusion but the conception of
service by the jivātmā to the Paramātmā, even in this material world, is not at
all illusory. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is fully aware of this fact, and
thus he does not take this material world to be false, but acts in the reality
of transcendental service. The devotee therefore sees everything in this
material world as an opportunity to serve the Lord. He does not reject anything
as material, but dovetails everything in the service of the Lord. Thus a
devotee is always in the transcendental position, and everything that he uses
becomes spiritually purified by being used in the service of the Lord.
Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a nice
verse in this regard: "I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is
always manifested as reality even within this material world, which is
considered by some to be false." The conception of the falsity of this
material world is due to lack of knowledge, but a person advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness sees the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in everything. This is actually realization of the Vedic aphorism,
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ
brahma: "Everything is Brahman."
The personified Vedas continued:
"Dear Lord, less intelligent men take to other ways of self-realization,
but actually there is no chance to become purified from material contamination
or to stop the repeated cycle of birth and death unless one is a thoroughly
pure devotee. Our dear Lord, everything is resting on Your different potencies;
and everyone is supported by You, as is stated in the Vedas (eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān). Therefore Your Lordship is
the supporter and maintainer of all living entities--demigods, human beings and
animals. Everyone is supported by You, and You are also situated in everyone's
heart. In other words, You are the root of the whole creation. Therefore those
who are engaged in Your devotional service without deviation always worship
You. Such devotees actually pour water on the root of the universal tree. By
devotional service, therefore, one satisfies not only the Personality of
Godhead but also all others, because everyone is maintained and supported by
Him. Because he understands the all-pervasive feature of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, a devotee is the most practical philanthropist and
altruist. Such pure devotees, thoroughly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, very easily overcome the cycle of
birth and death, and they as much as jump over the head of death."
A devotee is never afraid of death or
of changing his body; his consciousness is transformed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and even if he does not go back to
Godhead, even if he transmigrates to another material body, he has nothing to
fear. A vivid example is Bharata Mahārāja. Although in his next life he became
a deer, in the life after that he became completely free from all material contamination
and was elevated to the kingdom of God. The Bhagavad-gītā affirms, therefore,
that a devotee is never vanquished. A devotee's path to the spiritual kingdom,
back home, back to Godhead, is guaranteed. Even though a devotee slips in one
birth, the continuation of his Kṛṣṇa
consciousness elevates him further and further until he goes back to Godhead.
Not only does a pure devotee purify his own personal existence, but whoever
becomes his disciple also ultimately becomes purified and able to enter the
kingdom of God without difficulty. Not only can a pure devotee easily surpass
death, but by his grace his followers also can do so without difficulty. The
power of devotional service is so great that a pure devotee can electrify
another person by his transcendental instruction on crossing over the ocean of
nescience.
The instructions of a pure devotee to
his disciple are also very simple. No one feels any difficulty in following in
the footsteps of a pure devotee. Anyone who follows in disciplic succession
from recognized devotees of the Lord, such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the
Kumāras, Manu, Kapila, King Prahlāda, King Janaka, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Yamarāja,
etc., very easily finds the door of liberation open. On the other hand, those
who are not devotees but are engaged in uncertain processes of
self-realization, such as jñāna, yoga and karma, are understood to be still
contaminated. Such contaminated persons, although apparently advanced in
self-realization, cannot even liberate themselves, not to speak of others who
follow them. Such nondevotees are compared to chained animals, for they are not
able to go beyond the jurisdiction of the formalities of a certain type of
faith. In the Bhagavad-gītā they are condemned as veda-vādaḥ. They cannot understand that the Vedas deal with
activities of the material modes of nature--goodness, passion and ignorance.
Lord Kṛṣṇa
advised Arjuna that one has to go beyond the jurisdiction of the duties
prescribed in the Vedas and take to Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, devotional service. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna, “My dear Arjuna, just try to become
transcendental to the Vedic rituals.” The transcendental position beyond the
Vedic ritualistic performances is devotional service. In the Bhagavad-gītā the
Lord clearly says that persons who are engaged in His devotional service
without adulteration are situated in Brahman. Actual Brahman realization means
Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engagement in devotional
service. The devotees are therefore real brahmacārīs because their activities
are always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service.
The Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement is therefore a supreme call to all kinds of religionists
asking them with great authority to join this movement by which one can learn
how to love God and thus surpass all formulas and formalities of scriptural
injunction. A person who cannot overcome the jurisdiction of stereotyped
religious principles is compared to an animal chained up by his master. The
purpose of all religion is to understand God and develop one's dormant love of
Godhead. If one simply sticks to the religious formulas and formalities and
does not become elevated to the position of love of God, he is considered to be
a chained animal. In other words, if one is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is not eligible for liberation
from the contamination of material existence.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed a
nice verse which says, "Let others engage in severe austerities, let
others fall to the land from the tops of hills and give up their lives, let
others travel to many holy places of pilgrimage for salvation, or let them be
engaged in deep study of philosophy and Vedic literatures; let the mystic yogīs
engage in their meditational service, and let the different sects engage in
unnecessary arguing as to which is the best. But it is a fact that unless one
is Kṛṣṇa conscious, unless one is engaged in devotional
service, and unless one has the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he
cannot cross over this material ocean." An intelligent person, therefore,
gives up all stereotyped ideas and joins the Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement for factual liberation.
The personified Vedas continued their
prayers. "Our dear Lord, Your impersonal feature is explained in the
Vedas: You have no hands, but You can accept all sacrifices which are offered
to You; You have no legs, but You can walk more swiftly than anyone. Although
You have no eyes, You can see whatever happens in the past, present and future.
Although You have no ears, You can hear everything that is said. Although You
have no mind, You know everyone and everyone's activities, past, present and
future, and yet no one knows who You are. You know everyone, but no one knows
You; therefore, You are the oldest and supreme personality."
Similarly, in another part of the Vedas
it is said, "You have nothing to do. You are so perfect in Your knowledge
and potency that everything becomes manifest simply by Your will. There is no
one equal to or greater than You, and everyone is acting as Your eternal servant."
Thus the Vedic statements describe that the Absolute has no legs, no hands, no
eyes, no ears and no mind, and yet He can act through His potencies and fulfill
the needs of all living entities. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, His hands and
legs are everywhere; He is all-pervasive. The hands, legs, ears and eyes of all
living entities are acting and moving by the direction of the Supersoul sitting
within the living entity's heart. Unless the Supersoul is present, it is not
possible for the hands and legs to be active. The Supreme Personality of
Godhead is so great, independent and perfect, however, that even without having
any eyes, legs and ears, He is not dependent on others for His activities. On
the contrary, others are dependent on Him for the activities of their different
sense organs. Unless the living entity is inspired and directed by the
Supersoul, he cannot act.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
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