Introduction
1: God and The Law of Karma
2: Bad Karma
3: The Peace Formula
by HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad.
Chapter 1
God and The Law of Karma
Among the vast ancient Sanskrit writings
known as the Vedas, the 108 Upaniñads contain the philosophical
essence. And among all the Upaniñads, the Éçopaniñad
is considered the foremost. In the following essay, based on talks Çréla
Prabhupäda gave on the Éçopaniñad in 1968, we
learn the truth about the Supreme Lord, the laws governing His material
and spiritual energies, and how to break free of the bondage of karma.
The Éçopaniñad
states that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is “perfect and complete.”
Part of the Lord’s complete arrangement for this material world is his
process of creation, maintenance, and destruction. Every living being in
this material world has a fixed schedule of six changes: birth, growth,
maintenance, the production of by-products, diminution, and destruction.
This is the law of material nature. A flower is born as a bud. It grows,
remains fresh for two or three days, produces a seed, gradually withers,
and then is finished. You cannot stop this by your so-called material science.
To try to do so is avidyä, ignorance.
Sometimes people foolishly think
that by scientific advancement man will become immortal. This is nonsense.
You cannot stop the material laws. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gétä
(7.14) Lord Kåñëa says that the material energy is duratyayä,
impossible to overcome by material means.
Material nature consists of three
modes, or guëas: sattva-guëa, rajo-guëa, and tamo-guëa,
or the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Another meaning of guëa
is “rope.” Rope is made by twisting fiber in a threefold process. First
the fiber is twisted in three small strands, then three of them are twisted
together, then again three of those are twisted together. In this way the
rope becomes very strong. Similarly, the three modes of nature—goodness,
passion, and ignorance—are mixed, after which they produce some by-product.
Then they are mixed again, and then again. Thus they are “twisted together”
innumerable times.
In this way the material energy
binds you more and more. By your own efforts you cannot get out of this
bondage, which is known as pavarga. Pa-varga is the fifth set of letters
in the Sanskrit Devanägaré alphabet. It contains the letters
pa, pha, ba, bha, and ma. Pa stands for pariçrama, “hard labor.”
Every living entity in this world is struggling very hard to maintain himself
and survive. This is called the hard struggle for existence. Pha stands
for phena, “foam.” When a horse works very hard, foam comes out of its
mouth. Similarly, when we are tired from working very hard, our tongue
may become dry and some foam forms in our mouth. Everyone is working very
hard for sense gratification—so much so that foam is coming from their
mouth. Ba represents bandha, “bondage.” In spite of all our efforts, we
remain bound up by the ropes of the material modes of nature. Bha stands
for bhaya, “fear.” In material life, one is always in a blazing fire of
fear, since no one knows what will happen next. And ma represents måtyu,
“death.” All our hopes and plans for happiness and security in this world
are ended by death.
So, Kåñëa consciousness
nullifies this pavarga process. In other words, by taking to Kåñëa
consciousness one attains apavarga, where there is no hard struggle for
existence and no material bondage, fear, or death. Pavarga symptomizes
this material world, but when you add the prefix “a” to pavarga, that means
it is nullified. Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is
the path of apavarga.
Unfortunately, people do not know
of these things, and therefore they are wasting their lives. This modern
civilization is a soul-killing civilization; people are killing themselves
because they do not know what real life is. They are simply living like
animals. The animal does not know what life is, so he simply works under
the laws of nature, undergoing gradual evolution. But when you get this
human form of life, you have a responsibility to live in a different way.
Here is a chance for you to become Kåñëa conscious and
solve all problems. But if you don’t—if you continue to act like animals—you
will again have to enter the cycle of birth and death and transmigrate
through 8,400,000 species of life. It will take many, many millions of
years to come back to the human form of life. For example, the sunshine
you are seeing now you will not see again until after twenty-four hours.
Everything in nature moves in a cycle. So if you lose this opportunity
of elevating yourself, then again you must enter the cycle of transmigration.
Nature’s law is very strong. Therefore we are opening so many centers so
that people may take advantage of this International Society for Krishna
Consciousness and elevate themselves.
It is important to take to Kåñëa
consciousness immediately, because we do not know how much time is left
before death. When your time in this body expires, no one can stop your
death. The arrangement of material nature is so strong. You cannot say,
“Let me remain.” Actually, people sometimes request like that. When I was
in Allahabad, an old friend who was very rich was dying. At that time he
begged the doctor, “Can’t you give me at least four more years to live?
I have some plans which I could not finish.” You see. This is foolishness.
Everyone thinks, “Oh, I have to do this. I have to do that.” No. Neither
the doctors nor the scientists can check death: “Oh, no, sir. Not four
years, not even four minutes. You have to go immediately.” This is the
law. So before that moment comes, one should be very careful to become
realized in Kåñëa consciousness. You should realize Kåñëa
consciousness very quickly. Before your next death comes, you must finish
your business. That is intelligence. Otherwise you will suffer defeat.
The Éçopaniñad
states that whatever emanates from the complete whole—the Supreme Lord—is
also complete in itself. Therefore if you want to take advantage of your
life and become Kåñëa conscious, there is complete facility.
But you have to come to the point of taking up the practice. Kåñëa
consciousness is not theoretical; it is practical. All experiments have
already been performed. So, as indicated in the Éçopaniñad,
there is a complete facility for the small complete units—ourselves—to
realize the supreme complete, Kåñëa. We are complete
units, but we are small. For example, in a big machine there is a small
screw, and the perfection of that small screw is to be fitted in its proper
place. Then it has value. But if it becomes unscrewed from the machine
and falls down on the floor, it has no value. Similarly, we are perfect
as long as we are attached to Kåñëa; otherwise we are
useless.
To realize the complete means to
realize what our relationship with the complete is. And all forms of incompleteness
are experienced only on account of incomplete knowledge of the complete.
We are thinking, “I am equal to God. I am God.” This is incomplete knowledge.
But if you know, “I am part and parcel of God, and therefore I am equal
to God in quality,” that is complete knowledge. The human form of life
is a chance to revive the complete manifestation of the consciousness of
the living being. You can revive this complete consciousness by the process
of Kåñëa consciousness. But if you don’t take advantage
of this complete facility, you are killing yourself, committing suicide.
As it is said in the Éçopaniñad, “The killer of the
soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds
of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance. ” So don’t be the killer
of your soul. Utilize the complete facility of your human life to become
Kåñëa conscious. That is your only business.
Breaking the Bonds of Karma
In conditioned life we are committing
sins at every step, even without knowing it. The reason we are sinning
unknowingly is that we have been in ignorance from our very birth. This
ignorance is prominent despite so many educational institutions. Why? Because
despite so many big, big universities, none of them is teaching ätma-tattva,
the science of the soul. Therefore people remain in ignorance, and they
continue to sin and suffer the reactions. That is stated in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(5.5.3): paräbhavas tävad abodha-jäto yävan na jijïäsata
ätma-tattvam. This foolishness will continue until one comes to the
platform of understanding self-realization. Otherwise, all these universities
and institutions for imparting knowledge are a continuation of that same
ignorance and foolishness. Unless one comes to the point of asking “What
am I? What is God? What is this world? What is my relationship with God
and this world?” and finds proper answers, one continues to be foolish
like an animal and is subjected to transmigration from one body to another
in different species of life. This is the result of ignorance.
So, the modern civilization is very
risky. One may feel comfortable as a successful businessman or politician,
or one may think oneself comfortable because of being born in a rich nation
like America, but these statuses of life are temporary. They will have
to change, and we do not know what kind of miseries we will have to suffer
in our next life because of our sinful activities. So if one does not begin
cultivating transcendental knowledge, then one’s life is very risky. Suppose
a healthy man is living in a contaminated place. Is his life not at risk?
He may become infected by disease at any moment. Therefore we should work
to dissipate our ignorance through cultivation of transcendental knowledge.
A good example of how we commit
sins unknowingly is cooking. In the Bhagavad-gétä (3.13) Kåñëa
says that His devotees are freed from sin because they eat only the remnants
of food that has been offered to Him. But, He says, those who cook for
themselves eat only sin. The difference between cooking here in this temple
and cooking in some ordinary house is that our cooking and eating are relieving
us from sin, while the cooking and eating of a nondevotee are simply entangling
him more and more in sin. The cooking appears to be the same, but this
cooking and that cooking are different. Here there is no sin because the
food is being cooked for Kåñëa.
Anything you do outside the field
of Kåñëa conscious activities entangles you in the modes
of nature. Generally, you are being implicated in sinful activities. Those
who are a little more cautious avoid sinful activities and perform pious
activities. But one who performs pious activities is also entangled. If
a man is pious, he may take birth in a family that is very rich or aristocratic,
or he may be very beautiful or get the opportunity to become very learned.
These are the results of pious activities. But whether you are pious or
impious, you have to enter into the womb of some mother. And that tribulation
is very severe. That we have forgotten. Whether you take birth in a very
rich and aristocratic family or from an animal womb, the pangs of birth,
old age, disease, and death continue.
The Kåñëa consciousness
movement is meant to give you an opportunity to solve these four problems—birth,
old age, disease, and death. But if you continue to act sinfully and eat
sinfully, then these miseries will continue. Otherwise, you can nullify
your sinful reactions by surrendering to Kåñëa, as He
states in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66): “Just give up all your
so-called religious practices and surrender unto Me. I shall protect you
from all your sinful reactions.” Part of surrendering to Kåñëa
is being careful not to eat anything that has not been offered to Him.
That should be our determination. Even if we have committed some sin, by
eating prasädam, food offered to Kåñëa, we will
counteract it. If we surrender to Kåñëa in this way,
He will protect us from sinful reactions. That is His promise.
And where does a surrendered devotee
go at the time of death? Is he finished, as the voidists say? No. Kåñëa
says, mäm eti: “He comes to Me.” And what is the benefit of going
there? Mäm upetya punar janma duùkhälayam açäçvatam
näpnuvanti: [Bg. 8.15] “One who comes back to Me does not have to
return to this miserable material world.” That is the highest perfection.
The Éçopaniñad
states, “The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the
planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.”
Kåñëa is a lion to the demons and a lamb to the devotees.
The atheists say, “We have not seen Kåñëa.” Yes, you
will see Kåñëa—you will see Him as the lion of death
when He ultimately comes to capture you: “Ow!” The atheist sees Kåñëa
as death. And the theist, or devotee, sees Kåñëa as his
lover, as gentle as a lamb.
Actually, everyone is engaged in
Kåñëa’s service, either out of love or by force. One
who is entangled in material life is engaged in Kåñëa’s
service because he is forced to serve Kåñëa’s external,
material energy. It is just like what we see with the citizens of the state:
whether one is a law-abiding citizen or a criminal, one is subservient
to the state. The criminal may say he doesn’t care for the state, but then
the police will force him to accept the authority of the state by putting
him in prison.
Therefore, whether one accepts or
rejects Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s philosophy that every living entity
is eternally the servant of Kåñëa, one remains His servant.
The only difference is that the atheist is being forced to accept Kåñëa
as his master, and the devotee is voluntarily offering Him service. This
Kåñëa consciousness movement is teaching people that
they are eternal servants of God and should voluntarily offer Him service:
“Don’t falsely claim that you are God. Oh, you don’t care for God? You
have to care.” The great demon Hiraëya-kaçipu also didn’t care
for God, and so God came and killed him. God is seen by the atheist as
death, but by the theist as a lover. That is the difference.
If you are a devotee and understand
this philosophy of spiritual life, you can live for a moment or you can
live for a hundred years—it doesn’t matter. Otherwise, what is the use
of living? Some trees live for five hundred or five thousand years, but
what is the use of such a life, devoid of higher consciousness?
If you know that you are Kåñëa’s
servant and that everything belongs to Kåñëa, you can
live for hundreds of years doing your duties and there will be no karmic
reaction. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (3.9): yajïärthät
karmaëo ’nyatra loko ’yaà karma-bandhanaù. “Except work
for Kåñëa, any work, whether good or bad, will bind you
to this material world.” If you do good work, you will have so-called enjoyment
in your next life—but you will still remain bound up in the cycle of birth
and death. And if you do bad work, then you will have to suffer the sinful
reactions and also remain bound up in birth and death. But if you work
for Kåñëa, there are no such reactions, good or bad,
and at the time of death you will return to Kåñëa. This
is the only way to break the bonds of karma.
Kåñëa, the Controller and Owner of All
In the Éçopaniñad,
the word éça is used to describe the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Éça means “controller.” Do you think you are
controlled or not? Is there any person anywhere within this universe who
is not controlled? Can anyone say, “I am not controlled”? Nobody can say
that. So if you are controlled, then why do you declare, “I am not controlled,
I am independent, I am God”? Why this nonsense? Mäyävädé
impersonalists claim, “I am God, you are God, everyone is God.” But if
they are controlled, how can they be God? Does this make any sense? God
is never controlled; He is the supreme controller. So if somebody is controlled,
immediately we should know that he is not God.
Of course, some rascals claim that
they are not controlled. I know one such rascal who has a society and is
preaching, “I am God.” But one day I saw him with a toothache; he was moaning,
“Ohhh!” So I asked him, “You claim that you are God, the supreme controller,
but now you are under the control of a toothache. What kind of God are
you?” So if you see someone who claims that he is God or that everyone
is God, you should immediately know such a person is a number-one rascal.
Now, this is not to say that the
living entities are not controllers to some extent. In the Bhagavad-gétä
Lord Kåñëa says that the living entities are His superior
energy. Why are the living entities superior energy? Because they are conscious,
whereas the material energy is not. Therefore the living entities can control
the material energy to some extent. For example, all the paraphernalia
in this temple has been made from matter: earth, water, fire, and air.
But it was a living entity who molded the material energy into this paraphernalia
for the purpose of worshiping Kåñëa. Another example:
before people came from Europe, this land of America was mostly vacant.
The people who lived here before that did not fully exploit it. But the
Europeans came and developed it into a country with great industries and
roads.
So the superior energy, the living
entities, can have some control over the material energy. That Kåñëa
explains in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.5): yayedaà dhäryate
jagat. The importance of this material world is due to the living entities.
A big city like Los Angeles, New York, or London is valuable as long as
the living entities are there. Similarly, the body is valuable as long
as the living entity—the soul—is there. Therefore the soul is superior
to matter. But that superiority is being misused to exploit matter for
sense gratification. That is conditioned life. We have forgotten that,
although we are superior to matter, we are still subordinate to God.
The people of the modern civilization
do not care for God because they are intoxicated with their superiority
over matter. They are simply trying to exploit matter in different ways.
But they are forgetting that all people—American, Russian, Chinese, Indian—are
subordinate to God. They have forgotten Kåñëa and want
to enjoy this material world. That is their disease.
So, the duty of the devotee of the
Lord is to invoke the people’s Kåñëa consciousness. The
devotee explains to them: “You are superior to matter, but you are subordinate
to Kåñëa. Therefore you should not try to enjoy matter
but rather use it for His enjoyment.” For example, we have decorated this
temple not for our sense gratification but for Kåñëa’s
pleasure. What is the difference between us and ordinary people? They are
decorating their apartment very nicely, and we are decorating our place
very nicely—but the purpose is different. We are doing it for Kåñëa,
and they are doing it for themselves. Whether you decorate your personal
apartment or Kåñëa’s temple, your superiority over matter
remains, since you are utilizing matter for your purposes. But when you
apply your intelligence toward utilizing matter for Kåñëa’s
pleasure, your life is successful, whereas when you apply the same intelligence
for your sense gratification, you become entangled in material nature and
feel anxiety. Then you have to change bodies, one after another.
Kåñëa is the supreme
controller of both the inferior energy, matter, and the superior energy,
the jévätmä—ourselves. We are Kåñëa’s
superior energy because we can control the material world, but that control
is also conditional. We have only limited control over this material world.
But Kåñëa has control over us; therefore, whatever control
we have, He has sanctioned. For example, a human being has manufactured
this nice microphone using his intelligence. That means he has been able
to control matter to a certain degree to fulfill his desires. But where
has his intelligence come from? Kåñëa has given man his
superior intelligence. In the Bhagavad-gétä (15.15) Kåñëa
says, sarvasya cähaà hådi sanniviñöo mattaù
småtir jïänam apohanaà ca: “I am seated in everyone’s
heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge, and forgetfulness.” Therefore
the supreme controller is giving intelligence to the superior energy in
the human form of body: “Do this. Now do that...” This direction is not
whimsical. The person wanted to do something in his past life, but in his
present life he forgets, and so Kåñëa reminds him: “You
wanted to do this. Here is an opportunity.” So although you have superior
intelligence, that is also controlled by Kåñëa. If Kåñëa
gives you the intelligence, you can manufacture this nice microphone. Otherwise,
you cannot. Therefore in every sphere of life we are controlled by Kåñëa.
We can also see Kåñëa’s
control on the universal level. For example, there are so many huge planets;
this earth planet is only a small one. Still, on this planet there are
big oceans like the Atlantic and Pacific, as well as big mountains and
skyscraper buildings. Yet despite all this load, the earth is floating
in the air just like a swab of cotton. Who is floating it? Can you float
even a grain of sand in the air? You may talk about the law of gravity
and so many other things, but you cannot control it. Your airplane is flying
in the air, but as soon as the petrol is finished, it will immediately
fall. So if it takes so many scientists to build an airplane that can float
only temporarily in the air, is it possible that this huge earth is floating
of its own accord? No. Lord Kåñëa declares in the Bhagavad-gétä
(15.13), “I enter into the material planets and keep them aloft.” Just
as to keep an airplane aloft a pilot has to enter it, so to keep this earth
aloft Kåñëa has entered it. This is the simple truth.
We have to take knowledge from Kåñëa.
We shouldn’t accept any process of gaining knowledge except hearing from
Kåñëa or His representative. Then we will have first-class
knowledge. If you find an authority who is representing Kåñëa
and who can speak on the subject matter, and if you accept the knowledge
he gives, then your knowledge is perfect. Of all the processes for receiving
knowledge, the least reliable is direct sense perception. Suppose someone
asks, “Can you show me God?” That means he wants to experience everything
directly. But this is a second-class process for gaining knowledge, because
our senses are imperfect and we are prone to make mistakes. Suppose you
need some gold but you don’t know where to purchase it. So you go to a
proprietor of a hardware store and ask, “Do you have any gold in stock?”
He will immediately understand that you are a first-class fool because
you have come to purchase gold in a hardware store. Therefore he will try
to cheat you. He will give you a piece of iron and say, “Here is gold.”
Then what will you say? Will you accept that iron as gold? Because you
do not know what gold is and have gone to a hardware store to purchase
it, you will get a piece of iron and be cheated. Similarly, rascals who
demand that they be shown God do not know what God is, and therefore they
are being cheated by so many bogus spiritual leaders who claim that they
are God. That is happening.
If you want to purchase gold, you
must have at least some preliminary knowledge of what gold is. Similarly,
if you want to see God, the first requirement is that you must know some
of the basic characteristics of God. Otherwise, if you go to some rascal
and he claims to be God and you accept him as God, you will be cheated.
Another question we should ask when
someone says “I want to see God” is, “What qualification do you have to
see God?” God is not so cheap that He can be seen by anybody and everybody.
No, the Kåñëa consciousness movement does not present
any nonsense or cheap thing. If you want to see God face to face, then
you must follow the rules and regulations. You must chant Hare Kåñëa
and purify yourself. Then gradually the time will come when you are purified
and you will see God.
Still, even though in your present
contaminated condition you are not qualified to see God, He is so kind
that He allows you to see Him in His Deity form in the temple. In that
form He agrees to be seen by everyone, whether or not one knows He is God.
The Deity is not an idol; it is not imagination. The knowledge of how to
construct the Deity and install Him on the altar is received from the scripture
and the superior äcäryas, or spiritual masters. Therefore the
authorized Deity in the temple is Kåñëa Himself and can
fully reciprocate your love and service.
With your present blunt material
senses, however, you cannot immediately perceive God’s spiritual form,
name, qualities, pastimes, and paraphernalia. And because people in the
present civilization have no power to understand God, nor are they guided
by some person who can help them understand God, they have become godless.
But if you read Vedic scriptures like the Éçopaniñad
and Bhagavad-gétä under superior guidance and follow the rules
and regulations, eventually God will be revealed to you. You cannot see
God or understand God by your own endeavor. You have to surrender to the
process by which God can be known. Then He will reveal Himself. He is the
supreme controller; you are being controlled. So how can you control God?
“O God, come here. I want to see You.” God is not so cheap that by your
order He will come and be seen by you. No, that is not possible. You must
always remember, “God is the supreme controller and I am controlled. So
if I can please God by my service, then He will reveal Himself to me.”
That is the process of knowing God.
Ultimately, this process leads to
love of God. That is real religion. It doesn’t matter whether you follow
the Hindu, Muslim, or Christian religion: if you are developing love of
God, then you are perfect in your religion. And what kind of love should
we develop for God? It must be without any selfish motivation—“O Lord,
I love you because You supply me so many nice things. You are my order
supplier.” No, we should not have this sort of love for God. It should
not depend on any exchange.
Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu taught,
“O Lord! Whether You trample me under Your feet or embrace me or leave
me brokenhearted by not being present before me, that does not matter.
You are completely free to do anything, for You are my worshipable Lord
unconditionally.” That is love. We should think, “God may do whatever He
likes, yet I will still love Him. I don’t want anything in exchange.” That
is the sort of love Kåñëa wants. That is why He is so
fond of the gopés. In the gopés’ love there is no question
of business ex-changes—“Give me this, then I will love You.” Their love
was pure, unalloyed, without any impediment. If you try to love God in
this way, nothing in the whole world can check you. You only have to develop
your eagerness—“Kåñëa! I want You.” That’s all. Then
there is no question of being stopped. In any condition your love will
increase. If you attain that state, you will feel fully satisfied. It is
not that God wants you to love Him for His benefit. It is for your benefit.
If you do otherwise, you will never be happy.
God and His energies
The Éçopaniñad
explains that whatever we see, whether animate or inanimate, is controlled
by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kåñëa says the same thing in
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.10)—that His energies are managing everything.
And the Viñëu Puräëa confirms, eka-deça-sthitasyägner
jyotsnä vistäriné yathä: “As heat and light are distributed
all around by a fire situated in one place, so the whole creation is a
manifestation of energies expanded from the Supreme Lord.” For example,
the sun is in one place, but it is distributing its heat and light all
over the universe. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is distributing His material
and spiritual energies all over the creation.
The spiritual energy is present
in this temporary material world, but it is covered by the material energy.
For example, the sun is always shining in the sky—no one can stop the sun
from shining—but it is sometimes covered by a cloud. When this happens,
the sunshine on the ground is dim. The more the sun is covered, the dimmer
the sunlight. But this covering of the sun is partial. All the sunshine
cannot be covered; that is not possible. An insignificant portion of the
sunshine may be covered by a cloud. Similarly, this material world is an
insignificant portion of the spiritual world that is covered by the material
energy.
And what is the material energy?
The material energy is just another form of the spiritual energy. It manifests
when there is an absence of spiritual activity. Again the analogy of the
sun and the cloud: What is a cloud? It is an effect of the sunshine. The
sunshine evaporates water from the sea, and a cloud is formed. So the sun
is the cause of the cloud. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the cause of
this material energy, which covers our vision of Him.
In this way, two energies are working
in this material world: the spiritual energy and the material energy. The
material energy consists of eight material elements: earth, water, fire,
air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego. These are arranged from
the grosser to the finer. Water is finer than earth, fire is finer than
water, etc.
So, the finer the element, the more
powerful it is. For example, at the speed of the mind you can go many thousands
of miles within a second. But even more powerful than the mind is the intelligence,
and even more powerful than the intelligence is spiritual energy. What
is spiritual energy? That is stated by Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-gétä
(7.5): apareyam itas tv anyäà prakåtià viddhi
me paräm jéva-bhütäm. “Beyond My inferior, material
energy is another energy, which is spiritual. It comprises the living entities.”
We living entities are also energy,
but superior energy. How are we superior? Because we can control the inferior
energy, matter. Matter has no power to act on its own. The big airplane
can fly so nicely in the sky, but unless the spiritual energy—the pilot—is
there, it is useless. The jet plane will sit in the airport for thousands
of years; it will not fly unless the small particle of spiritual energy,
the pilot, comes and touches it. So what is the difficulty in understanding
God? If there are so many huge machines that cannot move without the touch
of the spiritual energy, a living being, then how can you argue that this
whole material energy works automatically, without any control? Who would
put forward such a foolish argument? Therefore, those who cannot understand
how this material energy is being controlled by the Supreme Lord are less
intelligent. The godless men who believe that this material energy is working
automatically are fools.
The statement of the Éçopaniñad
is that “Everything animate or inanimate is controlled and owned by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Because He is the supreme controller,
He is also the supreme proprietor. In our practical experience we see that
the man who controls a business establishment is the proprietor. Similarly,
since God is the controller of this material world, He is also its proprietor.
This means that as far as possible we should engage everything in the Lord’s
service.
Then what about our own needs? That
is explained in the Éçopaniñad: “One should accept
only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota,
and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.”
Kåñëa consciousness means to understand things as they
are. So if we simply understand these principles, we will be well situated
in Kåñëa consciousness.
The Position of Kåñëa
The Éçopaniñad
states, “Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter
than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods
cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply
the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.” The Brahma-saàhitä
says something similar: goloka eva nivasaty akhilätma-bhütaù
[Bs. 5.37]. Although Kåñëa is always in Goloka Våndävana,
He is simultaneously in the hearts of all living beings.
Kåñëa has no duties
to perform in Goloka. He is simply enjoying in the company of His associates—the
gopés, the cowherd boys, His mother and father, His cows and calves,
etc. He is completely free. And His associates are even freer than He is,
because when they seem to be in danger, Kåñëa feels some
anxiety about how to save them. But His associates feel no anxiety. They
simply think, “Oh, Kåñëa is here. He will protect us.”
When Kåñëa enacted His pastimes five thousand years ago
in Våndävana, India, He would go every day with His cowherd
boyfriends and their calves and cows to play in the forest on the bank
of the Yamunä River. And often Kaàsa would send some demon
to try to kill Kåñëa and His friends. Yet the cowherd
boys would continue enjoying their pastimes without anxiety because they
were so confident of Kåñëa’s protection. That is spiritual
life, which begins with surrendering to Kåñëa.
Surrendering to Kåñëa
means having the strong faith that Kåñëa will save us
in any dangerous condition. The first step in surrendering is that we should
accept whatever is favorable for devotional service. Then we should reject
anything that is unfavorable for devotional service. The next stage is
the confidence that in any situation Kåñëa will protect
us and maintain us. Actually, He is already giving protection and maintenance
to everyone. That is a fact. But in mäyä (illusion) we think
that we are protecting ourselves, or that we are feeding ourselves.
For the devotees, Kåñëa
personally takes charge of their protection and maintenance. And for the
ordinary living entities, Mäyä-devé—Kåñëa’s
external energy—takes charge. Mäyä-devé is Kåñëa’s
agent for punishing the conditioned souls. The situation is like what we
see in the state: good citizens are taken care of by the government directly,
while criminals are taken care of by the government through the prison
department. In the prison house the government takes care that the prisoners
get sufficient food, and that they get hospital treatment if they become
diseased. The government cares for them—but under punishment.
Similarly, in this material world
Kåñëa has certainly arranged for our care, but also for
our punishment. If you commit this sin, then slap. If you commit that sin,
then kick. This is going on under the heading of the threefold miseries—those
caused by our own body and mind, those caused by other living entities,
and those caused by natural calamities under the supervision of the demigods.
Unfortunately, instead of understanding that we are being punished for
sinful activities, under the spell of mäyä we are thinking that
this kicking, slapping, and thrashing are accidental. This is illusion.
As soon as you take up Kåñëa
consciousness, Kåñëa begins personally taking care of
you. As He promises in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66), “I will take
care of you. I will save you from all sinful reactions. Do not worry.”
Because we have had so many lives in this material world, we are suffering
under heaps of sinful reactions. But as soon as you surrender to Kåñëa,
He immediately takes care of you and nullifies all your sinful reactions.
Kåñëa says, “Don’t hesitate.” Don’t think, “Oh, I have
committed so many sins. How can Kåñëa save me?” No. Kåñëa
is all-powerful. He can save you. Your duty is to surrender to Him and
without any reservation dedicate your life to His service. Then Kåñëa
will save you without a doubt.
Kåñëa: A Seeming
Paradox
The Éçopaniñad
states, “The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but
He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside
of everything.” How can Kåñëa walk and also not walk?
As a crude example, consider how the sun at noontime shines on your head.
Now, if you begin walking, you will see that the sun is accompanying you.
About forty years ago, when I was a householder, I was once walking with
my second son in the evening. He was four years old. All of a sudden he
said, “O father, why is the moon following us?” You see? The moon and the
sun are fixed in the sky, yet they seem to be moving with us. Similarly,
if you are going on an airplane or a train, you will see that the moon
or the sun is going with you. So if this is possible for the sun and the
moon, why can’t Kåñëa also walk with you? “Although He
is situated far away, He is very near as well.” In other words, although
Kåñëa is in Goloka Våndävana enjoying pastimes
with His associates, He is simultaneously everywhere in this material world.
In this way the Supreme Lord “walks and does not walk.”
If Kåñëa were
not present here as well as in Goloka, how could He accept the food the
devotees offer Him? Don’t think that Kåñëa does not accept
the devotees’ offerings. He can stretch His hand immediately if one offers
Him something with devotion. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.26) Kåñëa
says, tad ahaà bhakty-upahåtam açnämi: “Whenever
someone offers Me something with faith and love, I accept it.” People may
ask, “Oh, Kåñëa is far away in Goloka Våndävana.
How can He eat your offering?” Yes, He accepts it. Yes, He eats it—provided
it is offered with love.
So, Kåñëa is present
everywhere, and He can manifest Himself anywhere immediately, but you must
have the qualification to call Him. If you are actually a devotee, Kåñëa
will immediately come to protect you. The demon Hiraëyakaçipu
challenged his son, the devotee Prahläda: “Where is your God? You
say He is everywhere. Then is He in this column of my palace? You think
your God is there? All right. Then I will kill Him.” Hiraëyakaçipu
immediately broke the column. Then Kåñëa came out of
the column in His form as Nåsiàhadeva—half man and half lion—and
killed the demon. That is Kåñëa.
So Kåñëa can manifest
Himself anywhere because He is present everywhere. That is explained in
the Éçopaniñad: tad antarasya sarvasya tad u sarvasyäsya
bähyataù. “The Supreme Lord is within everything, and yet He
is outside of everything as well.” This Vedic mantra is proof that the
Lord is everywhere. Whatever is said in the Vedas is a fact. Unless you
accept the Vedas as axiomatic truth, you cannot make progress in Kåñëa
consciousness. In mathematics there are also many axiomatic truths—a point
has no length or breadth, things equal to the same thing are equal to one
another, etc. These are axiomatic truths, and we have to accept them if
we want to learn mathematics. Similarly, the Vedas contain axiomatic truths,
and we have to accept the Vedas as axiomatic if we want to make spiritual
progress.
Sometimes the Vedas seem to contradict
themselves, but still we have to accept all the Vedic injunctions. For
example, according to Vedic injunction, if you touch the bone of an animal
you immediately become impure and must take a bath. Now, a conchshell is
the bone of an animal, but the conchshell is used in the Deity room, where
everything must be spotlessly pure. You cannot argue, “Oh, you said that
a bone is impure, and that as soon as you touch it you become impure. Still
you are putting a conchshell in the Deity room?” No. There is no room for
such an argument. You have to accept that while bones are impure, the conchshell
is so pure that it can be used in the Deity room.
Similarly, you have to accept the
spiritual master’s order as axiomatic. There can be no argument. In this
way you can make progress. You cannot argue about things that are inconceivable
to you. You will only fail. You have to accept the Vedic injunctions and
the orders of the spiritual master as axiomatic truth. This is not dogmatic,
because our predecessor spiritual masters accepted this principle. If you
argue with your spiritual master, you will never reach a conclusion. The
argument will go on perpetually: you put some argument, I put some argument...
That is not the process.
As the Mahäbhärata says,
tarko ’pratiñöhaù çrutayo vibhinnä: Mere
logic and argument can never come to a firm conclusion, and due to different
countries and different circumstances, one scripture is different from
another. Then näsäv åñir yasya mataà na bhinnam:
As far as philosophical speculation is concerned, one philosopher puts
forward some theory, then another philosopher puts forward another theory,
and the theories always contradict each other. Unless you defeat another
philosopher, you cannot be a famous philosopher. That is the way of philosophy.
Then how can one learn the conclusive philosophical truth? That is stated:
dharmasya tattvaà nihitaà guhäyäm. The secret of
the religious process is lying within the hearts of the self-realized souls.
Then how do you realize it? Mahäjano yena gataù sa panthäù:
[Cc. Madhya 17.186] You have to follow in the footsteps of great spiritual
personalities. Therefore we are trying to follow Lord Kåñëa
and Lord Caitanya. That is perfection. You have to accept the injunctions
of the Vedas, and you have to follow the instructions of the bona fide
spiritual master. Then success is sure.
The Lord and His Energy—One and
Different
The Éçopaniñad
states, “One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in
quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then,
can cause him illusion or anxiety?” This realization is Kåñëa
consciousness. There are different kinds of realization, but the devotee
of Kåñëa realizes the truth—that we are qualitatively
one with the Lord but quantitatively different from Him. The impersonalists
think that we are a hundred percent one with the Lord, or the Supreme Absolute
Truth. But that is not a fact. If we were a hundred percent one with the
Supreme Lord, then how have we come under the control of mäyä
(illusion)? The impersonalists cannot answer this question.
The real nature of our identity
with the Supreme is described in the Vedic literature with the analogy
of the sparks and the fire. The sparks of a fire have the same quality
as the fire, yet they are different in quantity. But when the small spark
leaves the fire and falls down in water, its fiery quality is lost. Similarly,
when the infinitesimal soul leaves the association of the Lord and contacts
the mode of ignorance, his spiritual quality becomes almost extinct. When
a spark falls on the land instead of in the water, then the spark retains
some heat. Similarly, when the living entity is in the quality of passion,
there is some hope that he can revive his Kåñëa consciousness.
And if the spark drops onto dry grass, it can ignite another fire and regain
all its fiery qualities. Similarly, a person who is in the mode of goodness
can take full advantage of spiritual association and easily revive his
Kåñëa consciousness. Therefore one has to come to the
platform of goodness in this material world.
Again, the analogy of the fire can
help us understand the simultaneous oneness and difference of the Lord
and His diverse energies. Fire has two main energies, heat and light. Wherever
there is fire, there is heat and light. Now, the heat is not different
from the fire, nor is the light—but still, heat and light are not fire.
Similarly, the whole universe can be understood in this way. The universe
is simply made up of Kåñëa’s energies, and therefore
nothing is different from Kåñëa. But still, Kåñëa
is separate from everything in the material universe.
So, whatever we see within the material
or spiritual worlds is but an expansion of Kåñëa’s multifarious
energies. This material world is an expansion of Kåñëa’s
external energy (bahiraìgä çakti), the spiritual world
is an expansion of His internal energy (antaraìgä çakti),
and we living entities are an expansion of His marginal energy (taöasthä
çakti). We are çakti, energy. We are not the energetic.
The Mäyävädé
philosophers say that because the energies are not outside of Brahman,
the energetic, they are all identical with Brahman. This is monism. Our
Vaiñëava philosophy is that the energy is simultaneously one
with and different from the energetic. Again the analogy of the heat and
fire: When you perceive heat, you understand that there is fire nearby.
But this does not mean that because you feel some heat, you are in the
fire. So the heat and the fire, the energy and the energetic, are one yet
different.
So the Mäyäväda philosophy
of oneness and our Vaiñëava philosophy of oneness are different.
The Mäyä-vädés say Brahman is real but that the energy
emanating from Brahman is false. We say that because Brahman is real, His
energy must also be real. That is the difference between Mäyäväda
philosophy and Vaiñëava philosophy. One cannot claim that this
material energy is false, although it is certainly temporary. Suppose we
have some trouble. There are so many kinds of trouble pertaining to the
body and mind and external affairs. That trouble comes and goes, but when
we are undergoing it, it is certainly real. We feel the consequence. We
cannot say it is false. The Mäyävädé philosophers
say that it is false. But then why do they become so disturbed when they
have some trouble? No, none of Kåñëa’s energies is false.
The Éçopaniñad
uses the word vijänataù—“one who knows”—to describe a person
who understands the oneness and difference of the Lord and His energies.
If one is not vijänataù, one will remain in illusion and suffer.
But for one who knows, there is no illusion, no lamentation. When you are
perfectly convinced that there is nothing except Kåñëa
and Kåñëa’s energies, then there is no illusion or lamentation
for you. This is known as the brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20] stage, as
explained in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.54): brahma-bhütaù
prasannätmä na çocati na käìkñati.
“One who is transcendentally situated in Brahman realization becomes fully
joyful, and he never laments or desires to have anything.”
For our sense gratification we are
very eager to get things we do not have. That is hankering. And when we
lose something, we lament. But if we know that Kåñëa
is the source and proprietor of the entire material energy, we understand
that everything belongs to Him and that anything gained is given by Him
for His service. Thus we do not hanker for the things of this world. Furthermore,
if something is taken away by Kåñëa, then what is the
need for lamentation? We should think, “Kåñëa wanted
to take it away from me. Therefore, why should I lament? The Supreme Lord
is the cause of all causes. He takes away, He also gives.” When one is
thus in full knowledge, there is no more lamentation and no more hankering.
That is the spiritual platform. Then you can see everyone as a spiritual
spark, as part and parcel of Kåñëa, and as His eternal
servant.
Kåñëa, the Supreme
Pure
The Éçopaniñad
states that the Lord is “the greatest of all, unembodied, omniscient, beyond
reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated.” No sin can pollute Kåñëa.
Sometimes less intelligent persons criticize Kåñëa: “Why
did Kåñëa engage in the räsa dance, enjoying with
other men’s wives in the middle of the night?” Kåñëa
is God. He can do whatever He likes. Your laws cannot restrict Kåñëa.
For you there are so many restrictive laws, but for Kåñëa
there is no restrictive law. He can surpass all regulations.
Parékñit Mahäräja
asked this same question of Çukadeva Gosvämé: “Kåñëa
came to establish the principles of morality and religion. Then why did
He enjoy the company of so many young girls who were the wives of others?
This seems to be very sinful.” Çukadeva Gosvämé answered
that Kåñëa cannot be contaminated by sin; rather, whoever
comes in contact with Kåñëa, even with a contaminated
mind, becomes purified. The sun is a good analogy: the sun cannot be contaminated;
rather, if something contaminated is placed in the sunshine, it becomes
purified. Similarly, you may approach Kåñëa with any
material desire and you will become purified. Of course, the gopés’
feelings toward Kåñëa are not at all material. Still,
as young girls they were captivated by His beauty. They approached Kåñëa
with the desire to have Him as their paramour. But actually, they became
purified. Even demons can become purified by coming in contact with Kåñëa.
The demon Kaàsa, for example, thought of Kåñëa
as his enemy. But he was also Kåñëa conscious, always
thinking, “Oh, how will I find Kåñëa? I will kill Him.”
That was his demoniac mentality. But he also became purified. He got salvation.
The conclusion is that if we can
somehow or other develop our Kåñëa consciousness, we
will immediately become purified of all sinful desires. Kåñëa
gives this chance to everyone.
Beyond the Limits of the Body
When the Éçopaniñad
describes the Supreme Lord as “He who is the greatest of all, who is unembodied
and omniscient,” this shows the distinction between God and ourselves.
We are embodied. Therefore my body is different from me. When I leave this
body, it becomes dust. As the Bible says, “Dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return.” But I am not dust; I am a spirit soul. Therefore thou
means “the body.”
Kåñëa, however,
is not embodied. This means there is no difference between His body and
His soul. In other words, His body is pure spirit. Therefore He does not
change His body. And because He does not change His body, He is omniscient—He
remembers everything. Because we do change our material bodies, however,
we forget what happened in our last birth. We have forgotten who we were,
just as when we sleep we forget our body and our surroundings. The body
becomes tired and rests; it becomes inactive. In contrast, in a dreamland
I work, I go somewhere, I fly, I create another body, another environment.
This we experience every night. It is not difficult to understand.
Similarly, in every life we create
a different environment. In this life I may think I am an Indian. In my
next life, however, I may not be an Indian—I may be an American. But even
if I become an American, I may not be a man. I may be a cow or a bull.
Then I would be sent to the slaughterhouse. Do you see the difficulty?
The problem is that we are always
changing bodies, life after life. It is a serious problem. We have no fixed
position; we do not know where we will be placed within the 8,400,000 species
of life. But there is a solution: If somehow or other a person develops
pure Kåñëa consciousness, he will go to Kåñëa
at the time of death, and then he does not have to accept a material body
again. He gets a spiritual body similar to Kåñëa’s, full
of eternity, knowledge, and bliss.
Therefore we should take up the
practice of Kåñëa consciousness and execute it very seriously,
without any deviation. We should not think that Kåñëa
consciousness is some kind of fashion. No, it is the most important function
of every human being. Human life is simply meant for developing Kåñëa
consciousness. One has no other business.
Unfortunately, the people of the
modern civilization have created so many other engagements that they are
forgetting Kåñëa consciousness. This is called mäyä,
or illusion. They are forgetting their real business. And the rascal, blind
leaders are leading everyone to hell. They are simply misleaders. People
do not like to accept any authority. Still, they have accepted these rascals
as leaders and are being misled. In this way both the rascal leaders and
their unfortunate followers remain bound up by the stringent laws of material
nature.
So, if somehow or other one comes
in contact with Kåñëa, one should seriously take up the
process of Kåñëa consciousness and catch hold of His
lotus feet very tightly. If you hold on to Kåñëa’s lotus
feet very tightly, mäyä will not be able to harm you.
Spiritual and Material Education
The Éçopaniñad
states, “Those who are engaged in the culture of nescience shall enter
into the darkest region of ignorance. ” There are two kinds of education,
material and spiritual. Material education is called jaòa-vidyä.
Jaòa means “that which cannot move,” or matter. Spirit can move.
Our body is a combination of spirit and matter. As long as the spirit is
there, the body is moving. For example, a man’s coat and pants move as
long as the man wears them. It appears that the coat and pants are moving
on their own, but actually it is the body that is moving them. Similarly,
this body is moving because the spirit soul is moving it. Another example
is the motorcar. The motorcar is moving because the driver is moving it.
Only a fool thinks the motorcar is moving on its own. In spite of a wonderful
mechanical arrangement, the motorcar cannot move on its own.
Since they are given only jaòa-vidyä,
a materialistic education, people think that this material nature is working,
moving, and manifesting so many wonderful things automatically. When we
are at the seaside, we see the waves moving. But the waves are not moving
automatically. The air is moving them. And something else is moving the
air. In this way, if you go all the way back to the ultimate cause, you
will find Kåñëa, the cause of all causes. That is real
education, to search out the ultimate cause.
So the Éçopaniñad
says that those who are captivated by the external movements of the material
energy are worshiping nescience. In the modern civilization there are big,
big institutions for understanding technology, how a motorcar or an airplane
moves. They are studying how to manufacture so much machinery. But there
is no educational institution for investigating how the spirit soul is
moving. The actual mover is not being studied. Instead they are studying
the external movements of matter.
When I lectured at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, I asked the students, “Where is the technology
to study the soul, the mover of the body?” They had no such technology.
They could not answer satisfactorily because their education was simply
jaòa-vidyä. The Éçopaniñad says that those
who engage in the advancement of such materialistic education will go to
the darkest region of existence. Therefore the present civilization is
in a very dangerous position because there is no arrangement anywhere in
the world for genuine spiritual education. In this way human society is
being pushed to the darkest region of existence.
In a song, Çréla Bhaktivinoda
Öhäkura has declared that materialistic education is simply an
expansion of mäyä. The more we advance in this materialistic
education, the more our ability to understand God will be hampered. And
at last we will declare, “God is dead.” This is all ignorance and darkness.
So, the materialists are certainly
being pushed into darkness. But there is another class—the so-called philosophers,
mental speculators, religionists, and yogés—who are going into still
greater darkness because they are defying Kåñëa. They
are pretending to cultivate spiritual knowledge, but because they have
no information of Kåñëa, or God, their teachings are
even more dangerous than those of the outright materialists. Why? Because
they are misleading people into thinking they are giving real spiritual
knowledge. The so-called yoga system they are teaching is misleading people:
“Simply meditate, and you will understand that you are God.” Kåñëa
never meditated to become God. He was God from His very birth. When He
was a three-month-old baby, the Pütanä demon attacked Him—and
Kåñëa sucked out her life air along with her breast milk.
So Kåñëa was God from the very beginning. That is God.
The nonsense so-called yogés
teach, “You become still and silent, and you will become God.” How can
I become silent? Is there any possibility of becoming silent? No, there
is no such possibility. “Become desireless and you will become God.” How
can I become desireless? These are all bluffs. We cannot be desireless.
We cannot be silent. But our desires and our activities can be purified.
That is real knowledge. We should desire only to serve Kåñëa.
That is purification of desire. Instead of trying to be still and silent,
we should dovetail our activities in Kåñëa’s service.
As living entities, we have activities, desires, and a loving propensity,
but they are being misdirected. If we direct them into Kåñëa’s
service, that is the perfection of education.
We don’t say that you should not
become advanced in material education. You may, but at the same time you
should become Kåñëa conscious. That is our message. We
don’t say that you shouldn’t manufacture motorcars. No. We say, “All right,
you have manufactured these motorcars. Now employ them in Kåñëa’s
service.” That is our proposal.
So education is required, but if
it is simply materialistic—if it is devoid of Kåñëa consciousness—it
is very, very dangerous. That is the teaching of the Éçopaniñad.
Knowledge vs. Nescience
The Éçopaniñad
says, “The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture
of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of
nescience.” As explained above, the real culture of knowledge is the advancement
of spiritual knowledge. And advancement of knowledge in the matter of bodily
comforts or to protect the body is the culture of nescience, because however
you may try to protect this body, it will follow its natural course. What
is that? Repeated birth and death, and while the body is manifested, disease
and old age. People are very busy cultivating knowledge of this body, although
they see that at every moment the body is decaying. The death of the body
was fixed when it was born. That is a fact. So you cannot stop the natural
course of this body—namely birth, old age, disease, and death.
The Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(10.84.13) says that this body is nothing but a bag containing three primary
elements—mucus, bile, and air—and that one who accepts this combination
of mucus, bile, and air as himself is an ass. Even great philosophers and
scientists take themselves to be this combination of mucus, bile, and air.
This is their mistake. Actually, the philosophers and scientists are spirit
souls, and according to their karma they are exhibiting their talent. They
do not understand the law of karma.
Why do we find so many different
personalities? If human beings are nothing but combinations of mucus, bile,
and air, why are they not identical? One man is born a millionaire; another
is unable to have two full meals a day, despite struggling very hard. Why
this difference? Because of the law of karma, action and reaction. One
who understands this mystery is in knowledge.
Human life is meant for understanding
the mystery of life. And one who fails to utilize this human form for this
purpose is a kåpaëa, a miser. This is stated in the Garga Upaniñad.
If you get one million dollars and do not use it, thinking, “Oh, I will
simply keep this bank balance of one million dollars,” you are a kåpaëa.
You do not know how to use your money. On the other hand, one who uses
his million dollars to make another million dollars is intelligent. Similarly,
this human body is invaluable. One who uses it for cultivating spiritual
knowledge is a brähmaëa, a wise man, and one who cultivates materialistic
knowledge is a kåpaëa, a miser. That is the difference between
brähmaëa and kåpaëa.
One who uses this body the way cats
and dogs do—for sense gratification—is a miser. He does not know how to
use his “million dollars.” Therefore it is the duty of the father, the
mother, the state, and the teachers to provide spiritual education for
their dependents from the very beginning of their lives. Indeed, the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
says that one should not become a father, a mother, a teacher, or a governmental
head unless one is able to elevate one’s dependents to the platform of
spiritual knowledge, which can save them from repeated birth and death.
The Way of Knowing God
In the Vedic disciplic succession,
the spiritual masters always base their statements on what they have heard
from authoritative sources, never on personal experience. Trying to understand
things by one’s own direct experience is the material process of gaining
knowledge, technically called pratyakña. The Vedic method is different.
It is called çruti, which means “to hear from authoritative sources.”
That is the secret of Vedic understanding.
With your imperfect senses you should
not try to understand things that are beyond your experimental powers.
That is not possible. Suppose you want to know who your father is. Can
you find out by experimenting? Is it possible? No. Then how can you know
who your father is? By hearing from the proper authority, your mother.
This is common sense. And if you cannot know your material father by the
experimental process, how can you know the Supreme Father by the experimental
process? Kåñëa is the original father. He is the father
of the father of the father, all the way down to you. So if you cannot
understand your immediate father, the previous generation, by the experimental
process, how can you know God, or Kåñëa, in this way?
People search for God by the experimental
process, but after much searching they fail. Then they say, “Oh, there
is no God. I am God.” But the Éçopaniñad says that
one should try to learn about God not by the experimental process but by
hearing. From whom should one hear? From a shopkeeper? From fanatics? No.
One should hear from those who are dhéra. Dhéra means “one
whose senses are not agitated by material influence.”
There are different kinds of agitation—agitations
of the mind, the power of speech, and anger, and agitations of the tongue,
belly, and genitals. When we become angry, we forget everything and can
do any nonsense and speak so much nonsense. For the agitation of the tongue
there are so many advertisements: “Here is liquor, here is chicken, here
is beef.” Will we die without liquor, chicken, or beef? No. For the human
beings Kåñëa has given so many nice things to eat—grains,
fruits, milk, and so on.
The cow produces milk abundantly,
not for herself but for human beings. That is proper human food. God says,
“Mrs. Cow, although you are producing milk, you cannot drink it. It is
for the human beings, who are more advanced than animals.” Of course, in
the infant stage animals live off their mother’s milk, so the calves drink
some of the cow’s milk. But the cow gives excess milk, and that excess
is specifically meant for us.
We should accept whatever God has
ordained as our proper food. But no, because of the agitation of the tongue,
we think, “Why should I be satisfied eating grains, milk products, vegetables,
and fruits? Let me maintain a slaughterhouse and kill these cows. After
drinking their milk, just as I drank my mother’s milk, let me kill them
to satisfy my tongue.” You shouldn’t think such nonsense but should hear
from the dhéras, or svämés, who have controlled their
senses. A svämé, or gosvämé, is one who has control
over the six agitations: the speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly,
and the genitals.
There is a nice poem by Kälidäsa
called Kumära-sambhava describing how Lord Çiva is dhéra.
When Lord Çiva’s wife, Saté, heard Çiva being blasphemed
at a sacrifice performed by her father, she committed suicide. Upon hearing
about his wife’s suicide, Lord Çiva became very angry and left this
planet to meditate elsewhere. During that time there was a war between
the demons and the demigods. The demigods needed a good general. They concluded
that if Lord Çiva were to beget a son, the son would be able to
lead them in the fight against the demons. Lord Çiva was completely
naked while meditating. So Pärvaté, the reincarnation of Saté,
was sent to agitate his genitals for sex. But he was not agitated. He remained
silent. At this point Kälidäsa remarks, “Here is a dhéra.
He is naked, and a young girl is touching his genitals, but still he is
not agitated.”
Dhéra means that even if
there is some cause for agitation, one will not be agitated. If there is
some very nice food, my tongue should not be agitated to taste it. If there
is a very nice girl or boy, still I should not be agitated sexually. In
this way one who is dhéra is able to control the six agitating forces
mentioned above. It is not that Lord Çiva was impotent: he was dhéra.
Similarly, Kåñëa danced with so many girls, but there
was no sex appetite.
So, you have to hear from a person
who is dhéra. If you hear from the adhéra, from those who
are not self-controlled, then whatever knowledge you learn will be useless.
In the Éçopaniñad, a student has approached his spiritual
master to inquire from him, and the spiritual master is saying, “This is
what I have heard from authoritative sources.” The spiritual master is
not inventing something from his own experience. He is presenting exactly
what he has heard.
So we have nothing to research.
Everything is there. We simply have to hear from a person who is dhéra,
who is not agitated by the six urges. That is the Vedic process of gaining
knowledge. And if we try to use some other process, we will remain covered
by nescience.
The Éçopaniñad
states, “Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental
knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and
death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.” People do not understand
what immortality is. They think it is a mythological idea. They are proud
of their advancement of knowledge, but there are many things they do not
know, nor can they ever know them by their modern system of experimentation.
So if you want real knowledge, you
should take knowledge from the literature known as the Vedas. (The word
veda means “knowledge.”) Part of the Vedas are the 108 Upaniñads,
out of which eleven are very important. Of those eleven, the Éçopaniñad
stands first. In the word upaniñad, upa means “near.” So the knowledge
in the Éçopaniñad will take you nearer to Kåñëa.
In learned society the Vedas are
accepted as çruti, or primary evidence. The Vedas are not knowledge
established by the research work of contaminated, conditioned souls. Such
people have imperfect senses, and so they cannot see things as they are.
They simply theorize, “It may be like this. It may be like that.” That
is not knowledge. Knowledge is definite, without any doubt or mistake.
Conditioned souls commit mistakes, become illusioned, and cheat. How do
they cheat? When one who does not understand the Bhagavad-gétä
writes a commentary on it, he is cheating the innocent public. Someone
has a title as a scholar, so he takes advantage of the popularity of the
Bhagavad-gétä and writes a commentary. Such so-called scholars
claim that anyone can give his own opinion. But in the Bhagavad-gétä
Kåñëa says that only His devotee can understand the Gétä.
So these so-called scholars are cheating.
The conclusion is that if you want
genuine spiritual knowledge you have to approach a bona fide spiritual
master who has realized the Absolute Truth. Otherwise you will remain in
darkness. You cannot think, “Oh, I may or may not accept a spiritual master.
In any case, there are books that I can learn from.” No, the Vedic injunction
is tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet [MU
1.2.12]. The word gacchet means “one must go,” not that one may or may
not go. To understand transcendental knowledge, one must go to a spiritual
master. That is the Vedic injunction.
You must know two things: what is
mäyä (illusion) and what is Kåñëa. Then your
knowledge is perfect. Of course, Kåñëa is so nice that
if you somehow or other fully surrender to Him, all your searching for
knowledge will be finished: not only will you know what Kåñëa
is, but you will automatically learn what mäyä is. Kåñëa
will give you intelligence from within.
So, by the mercy of both the spiritual
master and Kåñëa, one takes up devotional service. How
is that? Their mercy runs on parallel lines. If you have not yet found
a spiritual master but are sincere, Kåñëa will direct
you to a bona fide spiritual master. And if you get a bona fide spiritual
master, he will take you to Kåñëa. Kåñëa
is always sitting in your heart as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master
within. It is that caitya-guru who manifests Himself externally as the
spiritual master. Therefore the spiritual master is the direct representative
of Kåñëa.
The Éçopaniñad
says we should learn what vidyä and avidyä are. Avidyä is
ignorance under the guise of materialistic knowledge. Çréla
Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura writes in one of his songs that “advancement
of material knowledge is simply the advancement of mäyä’s jurisdiction.”
The more you become implicated in material knowledge, the less you can
understand Kåñëa consciousness. Those who are advanced
in material knowledge think, “What use is this Kåñëa
consciousness movement?” They have no attraction for spiritual knowledge;
they are too absorbed in avidyä.
Some Indian boys reject the
spiritual culture of India and come to the West to learn technology. When
they see that I have introduced in the West the things they rejected in
India, they are surprised. One reason I came to the West is that modern
India has rejected spiritual knowledge. Today Indians think that if they
can imitate Western technology, they will be happy. This is mäyä.
They do not see that those who are three hundred times more technologically
advanced than the Indians are not happy. India will not be able to equal
American or European technology for at least three hundred years because
the Western countries have been developing technology for a very long time.
But since the time of creation Indian culture has been a spiritual culture.
Vidyä, or genuine spiritual
knowledge, does not depend on technology. Çréla Vyäsadeva
is the original guru of Vedic knowledge. How was he living? In a cottage
in Baòarikäçrama. But just see his knowledge! He wrote
so many Puräëas, including the Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
He also wrote the Vedänta-sütra and the Mahäbhärata.
If you studied every single verse written by Vyäsadeva, it would take
your whole life. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam alone has no
less than eighteen thousand verses. And each verse is so full of meaning
that it would take a whole lifetime to fully understand it. This is Vedic
culture.
There is no knowledge comparable
to that contained in the Vedic literature—not only spiritual knowledge,
but material knowledge also. The Vedas discuss astronomy, mathematics,
and many other subjects. It is not that in ancient times there were no
airplanes. They are mentioned in the Puräëas. These airplanes
were so strong and swift that they could easily reach other planets. It
is not that there was no advancement of material knowledge in the Vedic
age. It was there. But the people then did not consider it so important.
They were interested in spiritual knowledge.
So, one should know what knowledge
is, and what nescience is. If we advance in nescience, or material knowledge,
we will have to undergo repeated birth and death. Moreover, there is no
guarantee what your next birth will be. That is not in your hands. Now
you are happy being an American, but after quitting this body you cannot
dictate, “Please give me an American body again.” Yes, you may get an American
body, but it may be an American cow’s body. Then you are destined for the
slaughterhouse.
So, cultivating material knowledge—nationalism,
socialism, this “ism,” that “ism”—is simply a dangerous waste of time.
Better to cultivate real knowledge, Vedic knowledge, which leads one to
surrender to Kåñëa. As Kåñëa says in
the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19), bahünäà janmanäm
ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate. After many, many
births, one who is in genuine knowledge comes to Kåñëa
and surrenders to Him, realizing, “O Kåñëa, You are everything.”
This is the culmination of all cultivation of knowledge.
Beyond the White Light of Brahman
The Éçopaniñad
states, “One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead and His transcendental
name, as well as the temporary material creation with its temporary demigods,
men, and animals. When one knows these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral
cosmic manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys
his eternal life of bliss and knowledge. O my Lord, sustainer of all that
lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove
that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.”
Here the Éçopaniñad
mentions the kingdom of God. Every planet, both spiritual and material,
has a predominating deity. In the sun, for example, the predominating deity
is Vivasvän. We get this information from the Bhagavad-gétä.
So, there are millions and trillions of universes within the material sky,
and within each universe are millions and trillions of planets, and in
every planet there is a predominating deity.
Beyond the material sky is the brahmajyoti,
or spiritual sky, where there are innumerable Vaikuëöha planets.
Each Vaikuëöha planet is predominated by the Supreme Lord in
His Näräyaëa form, and each Näräyaëa has
a different name—Pradyumna, Ani-ruddha, Saìkarñaëa,
etc. One cannot see these planets because they are covered by the spiritual
brahmajyoti effulgence, just as one cannot see the sun globe on account
of the dazzling sunshine. The effulgence in the spiritual sky is coming
out of Kåñëa’s planet, Goloka Våndävana, which
is above even Vaikuëöha and where Kåñëa alone
is the predominator.
The planet of the Absolute Truth,
Kåñëa, is covered by the Brahman effulgence. One has
to penetrate that effulgence in order to see the Lord. Therefore in the
Éçopaniñad the devotee prays, “Kindly remove Your
effulgence so I can see You.” The Mäyävädé philosophers
do not know that there is something beyond the brahmajyoti. But here in
the Éçopaniñad is the Vedic evidence that the brahmajyoti
is simply a golden effulgence covering the real face of the Supreme Lord.
The idea is that Kåñëa’s
planet and the Vaikuëöha planets are beyond the Brahman effulgence
and that only devotees can enter those spiritual planets. The jïänés,
the mental speculators, practice severe austerities to enter the Brahman
effulgence. But the demons who are killed by Kåñëa are
immediately transferred to that Brahman effulgence. So just consider: Is
the place that is given to the enemies of Kåñëa very
covetable? If my enemy comes to my house, I may give him some place to
stay, but if my intimate friend comes, I give him a much nicer place to
stay. So this Brahman effulgence is not at all covetable.
Çréla Prabodhänanda
Sarasvaté has composed a nice verse in which he says that for the
devotee, for one who has attained the mercy of the Lord, the Brahman effulgence
is just like hell. Then what about heaven? The karmés, or fruitive
workers, are very eager to go to the heavenly planets, where the demigods
reside. But for the devotees heaven is just a will-o’-the-wisp. They are
not at all attracted to go there. And then there are the mystic yogés,
who try very strenuously to control the senses in order to attain special
powers. The senses are like venomous serpents because as soon as you indulge
in sense gratification—as soon as the senses “bite” you—you become degraded.
But the devotee says, “I do not fear the poisonous serpents of the senses.”
Why? “Because I have extracted their fangs.” In other words, by engaging
his senses in Kåñëa’s service, the devotee is no longer
tempted to indulge in sense gratification, and thus his senses cannot drag
him down to a hellish condition of life.
In this way, the devotees are above
the karmés, jïänés, and yogés. The devotees’
place is the highest because only by devotion can one understand God. Kåñëa
does not say you can understand Him by fruitive work. He does not say you
can understand Him by speculation. He does not say you can understand Him
by mystic yoga. He clearly says (Bg. 18.55), bhaktyä mäm abhi-jänäti
yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù: “Only by devotional
service can one truly understand Me as I am.”
Except for devotional service, there
is no possibility of understanding the Absolute Truth. Any other process
is imperfect because it is based on speculation. For example, the scientists
may speculate on what the sun planet is, but because they have no access
there, they cannot actually know what the sun planet is. They can only
speculate. That’s all. Once three blind men came upon an elephant. They
began feeling the elephant and speculating on what it was. One felt its
big legs and concluded, “Oh, the elephant is just like a pillar.” The second
man felt the trunk and concluded, “Oh, this elephant is just like a snake.”
And the third man felt the belly of the elephant and concluded, “This elephant
is like a big boat.” But actually, the blind men did not know what the
elephant really was.
If you have no ability to see something,
you can only speculate about it. Therefore the Éçopaniñad
says, “Please remove this brilliant effulgence covering Your face so I
can see You.” That seeing power is bestowed upon the devotee by Kåñëa
when He sees the devotee’s love for Him. As the Brahma-saàhitä
says, premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena: [Bs. 5.38] The devotees
anoint their eyes with the salve of love of God, and therefore they can
see the Lord’s beautiful form within their hearts. In India there is a
special eye ointment. If you apply it you can immediately see clearly.
Similarly, if you smear your eyes with the ointment of love of Godhead,
you will see God always. This is the way of understanding God—by service
and by enhancing your love for Him. This love can be developed only by
devotional service; otherwise there is no possibility of achieving it.
So the more you increase your spirit of service to God, the more you increase
your dormant love for God. And as soon as you are in the perfectional stage
of love of God, you will see God always, at every moment.
Chapter 2
Bad Karma
The Çrémad-Bhägavatam
is an ancient Sanskrit scripture that contains the essence of all Vedic
wisdom, recording the teachings of the Lord’s devotees, as well as those
of the Lord in many of His incarnations. In this Thirtieth Chapter of the
Third Canto, an incarnation of Kåñëa’s named Kapiladeva
graphically describes the results of sin. Çréla Prabhupäda
explains the texts in his purports.
TEXT 1: The Personality of Godhead
said, “As a mass of clouds does not know the powerful influence of the
wind, a person engaged in material consciousness does not know the powerful
strength of the time factor, by which he is being carried.”
PURPORT: The great politician-paëòita
named Cäëakya said that even one moment of time cannot be returned,
even if one is prepared to pay millions of dollars. One cannot calculate
the amount of loss there is in wasting valuable time. Whether materially
or spiritually, one should be very alert in utilizing the time which he
has at his disposal. A conditioned soul lives in a particular body for
a fixed measurement of time, and it is recommended in the scriptures that
within that small measurement of time one has to finish Kåñëa
consciousness and thus gain release from the influence of the time factor.
But, unfortunately, those who are not in Kåñëa consciousness
are carried away by the strong power of time without their knowledge, as
clouds are carried by the wind.
TEXT 2: “Whatever is produced by
the materialist with great pain and labor for so-called happiness, the
Supreme Personality, as the time factor, destroys, and for this reason
the conditioned soul laments.”
PURPORT: The main function of the
time factor, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
is to destroy everything. The materialists, in material consciousness,
are engaged in producing so many things in the name of economic development.
They think that by advancing in satisfying the material needs of man they
will be happy, but they forget that everything they have produced will
be destroyed in due course of time. From history we can see that there
were many powerful empires on the surface of the globe that were constructed
with great pain and great perseverance, but in due course of time they
have all been destroyed. Still the foolish materialists cannot understand
that they are simply wasting time in producing so-called material necessities,
which are destined to be vanquished in due course of time. This waste of
energy is due to the ignorance of the mass of people, who do not know that
they are eternal and that they have an eternal engagement also. They do
not know that this span of life in a particular type of body is but a flash
in the eternal journey. Not knowing this fact, they take the small flash
of their present life to be everything, and they waste time in improving
economic conditions.
TEXT 3: “The misguided materialist
does not know that his very body is impermanent and that the attractions
of home, land, and wealth, which are in relationship to that body, are
also temporary. Out of ignorance only, he thinks that everything is permanent.”
PURPORT: The materialist thinks
that persons engaged in Kåñëa consciousness are crazy
fellows wasting time by chanting Hare Kåñëa, but actually
he does not know that he himself is in the darkest region of craziness
because of accepting his body as permanent. And in relation to his body
he accepts his home, his country, his society, and all other paraphernalia
as permanent. This materialistic acceptance of the permanence of home,
land, etc. is called the illusion of mäyä. This is clearly mentioned
here. Mohäd gåha-kñetra-vasüni: out of illusion
only does the materialist accept his home, his land, and his money as permanent.
Out of this illusion have grown family life, national life, and economic
development, which are very important factors in modern civilization. A
Kåñëa conscious person knows that this economic development
of human society is but temporary illusion.
In another part of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
the acceptance of the body as oneself, the acceptance of others as kinsmen
in relationship to one’s body, and the acceptance of the land of one’s
birth as worshipable are declared to be the products of an animal civilization.
When, however, one is enlightened in Kåñëa consciousness,
one can use these for the service of the Lord. That is a very suitable
proposition. Everything has a relationship with Kåñëa.
When all economic development and material advancement are utilized to
advance the cause of Kåñëa consciousness, a new phase
of progressive life arises.
TEXT 4: “In whatever species of
life the living entity appears, he finds a particular type of satisfaction
in that species, and he is never averse to being situated in such a condition.”
PURPORT: The satisfaction of the
living entity in a particular type of body, even if it is most abominable,
is called illusion. A man in a higher position may feel dissatisfaction
with the standard of life of a lower-grade man, but the lower-grade man
is satisfied in that position because of the spell of mäyä, the
external energy. Mäyä has two phases of activity. One is called
prakñepätmikä, and the other is called ävaraëätmikä.
Ävaraëätmikä means “covering,” and prakñepätmikä
means “pulling down.” In any condition of life, the materialistic person
or animal will be satisfied because his knowledge is covered by the influence
of mäyä. In the lower grade or lower species of life, the development
of consciousness is so poor that one cannot understand whether one is happy
or distressed. This is called ävaraëätmikä. Even a
hog, who lives by eating stool, thinks himself happy, although a person
in a higher mode of life sees how abominable that life is.
TEXT 5: “While deluded by the covering
influence of the illusory energy, the living entity feels little inclined
to cast off his body, even when in hell, for he takes delight in hellish
enjoyment.”
PURPORT: It is said that once Indra,
the king of heaven, was cursed by his spiritual master, Båhaspati,
on account of his misbehavior, and he became a hog on this planet. After
many days, when Brahmä wanted to recall him to his heavenly kingdom,
Indra, in the form of a hog, forgot everything of his royal position in
the heavenly kingdom, and he refused to go back. This is the spell of mäyä.
Even Indra forgets his heavenly standard of life and is satisfied with
the standard of a hog’s life.
By the influence of mäyä
the conditioned soul becomes so affectionate toward his particular type
of body that even if someone says to him, “Give up this body, and immediately
you will have a king’s body,” he will not agree. This attachment strongly
affects all conditioned living entities. Lord Kåñëa personally
canvasses, “Give up everything in
this material world. Come to Me, and I shall give you all protection,”
but we are not agreeable. We think, “We are quite all right. Why should
we surrender unto Kåñëa and go back to His kingdom?”
This is called illusion, or mäyä. Everyone is satisfied with
his standard of living, however abominable it may be.
TEXT 6: “Such satisfaction with
one’s standard of living is due to deep-rooted attraction for body, wife,
home, children, animals, wealth, and friends. In such association, the
conditioned soul thinks himself quite perfect.”
PURPORT: This so-called perfection
of human life is a concoction. Therefore it is said that however materially
qualified a person may be, if he is not a devotee of the Lord he has no
good qualities because he is hovering on the mental plane, which will drag
him again to the material existence of temporary life. One who acts on
the mental plane cannot get promotion to the spiritual plane. Such a person
is always sure to glide down again to material life. Still, in the association
of so-called society, friendship, and love, the conditioned soul feels
completely satisfied.
TEXT 7: “Although he is always burning
with anxiety, such a fool always performs all kinds of mischievous activities
with the unfulfillable hope of maintaining his so-called family and society.”
PURPORT: It is said that it is easier
to maintain a great empire than a small family, especially in these days,
when the influence of Kali-yuga is so strong that everyone is harassed
and full of anxieties because of accepting the false presentation of mäyä’s
family. The family we maintain is created by mäyä; it is the
perverted reflection of the family in Kåñëaloka. In Kåñëaloka
there are also family, friends, society, father, and mother; everything
is there, but they are eternal. Here, as we change bodies our family relationships
also change. Sometimes we are in a family of human beings, sometimes in
a family of demigods, sometimes a family of cats or dogs.
Family, society, and friendship
are flickering, and so they are called asat. It is said that as long as
we are attached to this asat—this temporary, nonexistent society and family—we
are always full of anxieties. The materialists do not know that the family,
society, and friendship here in this material world are only shadows, and
thus they become attached. Naturally their hearts are always burning, but
in spite of all inconvenience, they still work to maintain such false families
because they have no information of the real family association with Kåñëa.
TEXT 8: “He gives heart and senses
to a woman, who falsely charms him with mäyä. He enjoys solitary
embraces and talking with her, and he is enchanted by the sweet words of
the small children.”
PURPORT: Family life within the
kingdom of the illusory energy, mäyä, is just like a prison for
the eternal living entity. In prison a prisoner is shackled by iron chains
and iron bars. Similarly, a conditioned soul is shackled by the charming
beauty of a woman, by her solitary embraces and talks of so-called love,
and by the sweet words of his small children. Thus he forgets his real
identity.
In this verse the words stréëäm
asaténäm indicate that womanly love exists just to agitate
the mind of man. Actually, in the material world there is no love. Both
the woman and the man are interested in their sense gratification. For
sense gratification a woman creates an illusory love, and the man becomes
enchanted by such false love and forgets his real duty. When there are
children as the result of such a combination, the next attraction is to
the sweet words of the children. The love of the woman at home and the
talk of the children make one a secure prisoner, and thus he cannot leave
his home. Such a person is termed, in Vedic language, a gåhamedhé,
which means “one whose center of attraction is home.” The word gåhastha
refers to one who lives with family, wife, and children but whose real
purpose of living is to develop Kåñëa consciousness.
One is therefore advised to become a gåhastha, not a gåhamedhé.
The gåhastha’s concern is to get out of the family life created by
illusion and enter into real family life with Kåñëa,
whereas the gåhamedhé’s business is to repeatedly chain himself
to so-called family life, in one life after another, and perpetually remain
in the darkness of mäyä.
TEXT 9: “The attached householder
remains in his family life, which is full of diplomacy and politics. Always
spreading miseries and controlled by acts of sense gratification, he acts
just to counteract the reactions of all his miseries, and if he can successfully
counteract such miseries, he thinks he is happy.”
PURPORT: In the Bhagavad-gétä
the Personality of Godhead Himself certifies the material world as an impermanent
place that is full of miseries. There is no question of happiness in this
material world, either individually or in terms of family, society, or
country. If something is going on in the name of happiness, that is illusion.
Here in this material world, happiness means successful counteraction of
distress. The material world is so made that unless one becomes a clever
diplomat, his life will be a failure. What to speak of human society, even
in the society of lower animals, the birds and beasts cleverly manage their
bodily demands of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Human society
competes nationally or individually, and in the attempt to be successful
the entire human society becomes full of diplomacy. We should always remember
that in spite of all diplomacy and all intelligence in the struggle for
existence, everything will end in a second by the supreme will. Therefore,
all our attempts to become happy in this material world are simply a delusion
offered by mäyä.
TEXT 10: “He secures money by committing
violence here and there, and although he employs it in the service of his
family, he himself eats only a little portion of the food thus purchased,
and he goes to hell for those for whom he earned the money in such an irregular
way.”
PURPORT: There is a Bengali proverb:
“The person for whom I have stolen accuses me of being a thief.” The family
members for whom an attached person acts in so many criminal ways are never
satisfied. In illusion an attached person serves such family members, and
by serving them he is destined to enter into a hellish condition of life.
For example, a thief steals something to maintain his family, and he is
caught and imprisoned. This is the sum and substance of material existence
and attachment to material society, friendship, and love. Although an attached
family man is always engaged in getting money by hook or by crook for the
maintenance of his family, he cannot enjoy more than what he could consume
even without such criminal activities. A man who eats eight ounces of food
may have to maintain a big family and earn money by any means to support
that family, but he himself is not offered more than what he can eat, and
sometimes he eats the remnants that are left after his family members are
fed. Even by earning money by unfair means, he cannot enjoy life for himself.
That is called the covering illusion of mäyä.
The process of illusory service
to society, country, and community is exactly the same everywhere; the
same principle is applicable even to big national leaders. A national leader
who is very great in serving his country is sometimes killed by his countrymen
because of irregular service. In other words, one cannot satisfy his dependents
by this illusory service, although one cannot get out of the service because
being a servant is his constitutional position.
A living entity is constitutionally
part and parcel of the Supreme Being, but he forgets that he has to render
service to the Supreme Being and diverts his attention to serving others;
this is called mäyä. By serving others he falsely thinks that
he is master. The head of a family thinks of himself as the master of the
family, or the leader of a nation thinks of himself as the master of the
nation, whereas actually he is serving, and by serving mäyä he
is gradually going to hell. Therefore a sane man should come to the point
of Kåñëa consciousness and engage in the service of the
Supreme Lord, applying his whole life, all of his wealth, his entire intelligence,
and his full power of speaking.
TEXTS 11–13: “When he suffers reverses
in his occupation, he tries again and again to improve himself, but when
he is baffled in all attempts and is ruined, he accepts money from others
because of excessive greed. Thus the unfortunate man, unsuccessful in maintaining
his family members, is bereft of all beauty. He always thinks of his failure,
grieving very deeply. Seeing him unable to support them, his wife and others
do not treat him with the same respect as before, even as miserly farmers
do not accord the same treatment to their old and worn-out oxen.”
PURPORT: Not only in the present
age but from time immemorial no one has liked an old man who is unable
to earn in the family. Even in the modern age, in some communities or states,
the old men are given poison so that they will die as soon as possible.
In some cannibalistic communities, the old grandfather is sportingly killed,
and a feast is held in which his body is eaten. Here the example is given
that a farmer does not like an old ox who has ceased to work. Similarly,
when an attached person in family life becomes old and is unable to earn,
he is no longer liked by his wife, sons, daughters, and other kinsmen,
and he is consequently neglected, what to speak of not being given respect.
It is judicious, therefore, to give up family attachment before one attains
old age and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A person
should employ himself in the Lord’s service so that the Supreme Lord can
take charge of him and he will not be neglected by his so-called kinsmen.
TEXT 14: “The foolish family man
does not become averse to family life although he is maintained by those
whom he once maintained. Deformed by the influence of old age, he prepares
himself to meet ultimate death.”
PURPORT: Family attraction is so
strong that even if a person is neglected by family members in his old
age, he cannot give up family affection, and he remains at home just like
a dog. In the Vedic way of life, it is advised that before getting too
weak and being baffled in material activities, and before becoming diseased,
one should give up family life and engage oneself completely in the service
of the Lord for the remaining days of his life.
Therefore the Vedic scriptures enjoin
that as soon as one passes fifty years of age, he must give up family life
and live alone in the forest. After preparing himself fully, he should
become a sannyäsé, travel widely, and distribute the knowledge
of spiritual life to each and every home.
TEXT 15: “Thus he remains at home
just like a pet dog and eats whatever is so negligently given to him. Afflicted
with many illnesses, such as dyspepsia and loss of appetite, he eats only
very small morsels of food, and he becomes an invalid, who cannot work
any more.”
PURPORT: Before meeting death a
man is sure to become a diseased invalid, and when he is neglected by his
family members, his life becomes less than a dog’s because he is put into
so many miserable conditions. Vedic literatures enjoin, therefore, that
before the arrival of such miserable conditions, a man should leave home
and die without the knowledge of his family members. If a man leaves home
and dies without his family’s knowing, that is considered a glorious death.
But an attached family man wants his family members to carry him in a great
procession even after his death, and although he will not be able to see
how the procession goes, he still desires that his body be taken gorgeously
in procession. Thus he is happy without even knowing where he has to go
when he leaves his body for the next life.
TEXTS 16–17: “In that diseased condition,
a man’s eyes bulge due to the pressure of air from within, and his glands
become congested with mucus. He has difficulty breathing, and upon exhaling
and inhaling he produces a sound like ghura-ghura, a rattling within the
throat. In this way he comes under the clutches of death and lies down,
surrounded by lamenting friends and relatives, and although he wants to
speak with them, he no longer can because he is under the control of time.”
PURPORT: For formality’s sake, when
a man is lying on his deathbed, his relatives come to him, and sometimes
they cry very loudly, addressing the dying man: “O my father!” “O my friend!”
or “O my husband!” In that pitiable condition the dying man wants to speak
with them and instruct them of his desires, but because he is fully under
the control of the time factor, death, he cannot express himself, and that
causes him in-conceivable pain. He is already in a painful condition because
of disease, and his glands and throat are choked up with mucus. He is already
in a very difficult position, and when he is addressed by his relatives
in that way, his grief increases.
TEXT 18: “Thus the man who engaged
with uncontrolled senses in maintaining his family dies in great grief,
seeing his relatives crying. He dies most pathetically, in great pain and
without consciousness.”
PURPORT: In the Bhagavad-gétä
it is said that at the time of death one will be absorbed in the thoughts
he cultivated during his lifetime. A person who had no idea other than
to properly maintain his family members must have family affairs in his
last thoughts. That is the natural sequence for a common man. The common
man does not know the destiny of his life; he is simply busy in this present
flash of life, maintaining his family. At the last stage, no one is satisfied
with how he has improved the family economic condition; everyone thinks
that he could not provide sufficiently. Because of his deep family affection,
he forgets his main duty of controlling his senses and improving his spiritual
consciousness. Sometimes a dying man entrusts the family affairs to either
his son or some relative, saying, “I am going. Please look after the family.”
He does not know where he is going, but even at the time of death he is
anxious about how his family will be maintained. Sometimes it is seen that
a dying man requests the physician to increase his life at least for a
few years so that the family maintenance plan which he has begun can be
completed. These are the material diseases of the conditioned soul. He
completely forgets his real engagement—to become Kåñëa
conscious—and is always serious about planning to maintain his family,
although he changes families one after another.
TEXT 19: “At death, he sees the
messengers of the lord of death come before him, their eyes full of wrath,
and in great fear he passes stool and urine.”
PURPORT: There are two kinds of
transmigration of a living entity after passing away from the present body.
One kind of transmigration is to go to the controller of sinful activities,
who is known as Yamaräja, and the other is to go to the higher planets,
up to Vaikuëöha. Here Lord Kapila describes how persons engaged
in activities of sense gratification to maintain a family are treated by
the messengers of Yamaräja, called Yamadütas. At the time of
death the Yamadütas become the custodians of those persons who have
strongly gratified their senses. They take charge of the dying man and
take him to the planet where Yamaräja resides. The conditions there
are described in the following verses.
TEXT 20: “As a criminal is arrested
for punishment by the constables of the state, a person engaged in criminal
sense gratification is similarly arrested by the Yamadütas, who bind
him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle body so that he may
undergo severe punishment.”
PURPORT: Every living entity is
covered by a subtle body and a gross body. The subtle body is the covering
of mind, ego, intelligence, and consciousness. It is said in the scriptures
that the constables of Yamaräja cover the subtle body of the culprit
and take him to the abode of Yamaräja to be punished in a way that
he is able to tolerate. He does not die from this punishment because if
he died, then who would suffer the punishment? It is not the business of
the constables of Yamaräja to put one to death. In fact, it is not
possible to kill a living entity because factually he is eternal; he simply
has to suffer the consequences of his activities of sense gratification.
The process of punishment is explained
in the Caitanya-caritämåta. Formerly the king’s men would take
a criminal in a boat in the middle of the river. They would dunk him by
grasping a bunch of his hair and thrusting him completely under water,
and when he was almost suffocated, the king’s constables would take him
out of the water and allow him to breathe for some time, and then they
would again dunk him in the water to suffocate. This sort of punishment
is inflicted upon the forgotten soul by Yamaräja, as will be described
in the following verses.
TEXT 21: “While carried by the constables
of Yamaräja, he is overwhelmed and trembles in their hands. While
passing on the road he is bitten by dogs, and he can remember the sinful
activities of his life. He is thus terribly distressed.”
PURPORT: It appears from this verse
that while passing from this planet to the planet of Yamaräja, the
culprit arrested by Yamaräja’s constables meets many dogs, which bark
and bite just to remind him of his criminal activities of sense gratification.
It is said in the Bhagavad-gétä that one becomes almost blind
and is bereft of all sense when he is infuriated by the desire for sense
gratification. He forgets everything. A man is bereft of all intelligence
when he is too attracted by sense gratification, and he forgets that he
has to suffer the consequences also. Here the chance for recounting his
activities of sense gratification is given by the dogs engaged by Yamaräja.
While we live in the gross body, such activities of sense gratification
are encouraged, even by modern governments. In many states all over the
world, the government encourages such activities by pushing birth control.
Women are supplied pills, and they are allowed to go to a clinical laboratory
to get assistance for abortions. This is going on as a result of sense
gratification. Actually sex is meant for begetting a good child, but because
people have no control over the senses and there is no institution to train
them to control the senses, the poor people fall victim to the criminal
offenses of sense gratification, and they are punished after death as described
in these passages of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
TEXTS 22–24: “Under the scorching
sun, the criminal has to pass through roads of hot sand with forest fires
on both sides. He is whipped on the back by the constables because of his
inability to walk, and he is afflicted by hunger and thirst. But unfortunately
there is no drinking water, no shelter, and no place for rest on the road.
While passing on that road to the abode of Yamaräja, he falls down
in fatigue, and sometimes he becomes unconscious, but he is forced to rise
again.
“In this way he is very quickly
brought to the presence of Yamaräja. Thus he has to pass ninety-nine
thousand yojanas within two or three moments, and then he is at once engaged
in the torturous punishment he is destined to suffer.”
PURPORT: One yojana is eight miles,
and thus he has to pass along a road that is as much as 792,000 miles long.
Such a long distance is passed over within a few moments only. The subtle
body is covered by the constables so that the living entity can travel
such a long distance quickly and at the same time tolerate the suffering.
This covering, although material, is of such fine elements that material
scientists cannot discover what the coverings are made of. To pass 792,000
miles within a few moments seems wonderful to the modern space travelers.
They have so far traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour, but here
we see that a criminal passes 792,000 miles within a few seconds only,
although the process is not spiritual but material.
TEXT 25: “He is placed in the midst
of burning pieces of wood, and his limbs are set on fire. In some cases
he is made to eat his own flesh or have it eaten by others.”
PURPORT: This verse and the next
three verses describe the sinful living entity’s punishment. The first
description is that the criminal has to eat his own flesh, burning with
fire, or allow others like himself who are present there to eat it. In
the last great war, people in concentration camps sometimes ate their own
stool, so there is no wonder that in Yamasädana, the abode of Yamaräja,
a meat-eater who had a very enjoyable life eating others’ flesh has to
eat his own flesh.
TEXTS 26–28: “His entrails are pulled
out by the hounds and vultures of hell, even though he is still alive to
see it, and he is subjected to torment by serpents, scorpions, gnats, and
other creatures that bite him. Next his limbs are lopped off and torn asunder
by elephants. He is hurled down from hilltops, and he is also held captive
either in water or in a cave.
“Men and women whose lives were
built upon indulgence in illicit sex are put into many kinds of miserable
conditions in the hells known as Tämisra, Andha-tämisra, and
Raurava.”
PURPORT: The lives of all materialistic
people, who are undergoing severe tribulation in the struggle for existence,
are based on sex. Therefore, in the Vedic civilization sex is allowed only
in a restricted way; it is for the married couple, and only for begetting
children. But when sex is indulged in for sense gratification illegally
and illicitly, both the man and the woman await severe punishment in this
world or after death. In this world they are punished by virulent diseases
like syphilis and gonorrhea, and in the next life, as we see in this passage
of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, they are put into various
kinds of hellish conditions to suffer.
In the Bhagavad-gétä,
First Chapter, illicit sex is also very much condemned, and it is said
that one who produces children by illicit sex is sent to hell. It is confirmed
here in the Bhägavatam that such offenders are put into hellish conditions
of life in Tämisra, Andha-tämisra, and Raurava.
TEXT 29: Lord Kapila continued,
“My dear mother, it is sometimes said that we experience hell or heaven
on this planet, for hellish punishments are sometimes visible on this planet
also.”
PURPORT: Sometimes unbelievers do
not accept these statements of scripture regarding hell. Lord Kapila therefore
confirms them by saying that these hellish conditions are also visible
on this planet. It is not that they are only on the planet where Yamaräja
lives. On the planet of Yamaräja, the sinful man is given the chance
to practice living in the hellish conditions that he will have to endure
in the next life, and then he is given a chance to take birth on another
planet to continue his hellish life.
For example, if a man is to be punished
to remain in hell and eat stool and urine, then first of all he practices
such habits on the planet of Yamaräja, and then he is given a particular
type of body, that of a hog, so that he can eat stool and think he is enjoying
life. It is stated previously that in any hellish condition, the conditioned
soul thinks he is happy. Otherwise, it would not be possible for him to
suffer hellish life.
TEXT 30: “After leaving this body,
the man who maintained himself and his family members by sinful activities
suffers a hellish life, and his relatives suffer also.”
PURPORT: The mistake of modern civilization
is that man does not believe in the next life. But whether he believes
or not, the next life is there, and one has to suffer if one does not lead
a responsible life in terms of the injunctions of authoritative scriptures
like the Vedas and Puräëas. Species lower than human beings are
not responsible for their actions because they are made to act in a certain
way, but in the developed life of human consciousness, one who does not
act responsibly is sure to get a hellish life, as described herein.
TEXT 31: “He goes alone to the darkest
regions of hell after quitting the present body, and the money he acquired
by envying other living entities is the passage money with which he leaves
this world.”
PURPORT: When a man earns money
by unfair means and maintains his family and himself with that money, the
money is enjoyed by many members of the family, but he alone goes to hell
and suffers the resultant sinful reactions accrued from such a violent
and illicit life. For example, if a man secures some money by killing someone
and with that money maintains his family, those who enjoy the black money
earned by him are also partially responsible and are also sent to hell,
but he who is the leader is especially punished. The money he earned is
left in this world, and he takes only the sinful reaction.
In this world also, if a person
acquires some money by murdering someone, the family is not hanged, although
its members are sinfully contaminated. But the man who commits the murder
and maintains his family is himself hanged as a murderer. The direct offender
is more responsible for sinful activities than the indirect enjoyer. The
great learned scholar Cäëakya Paëòita says, therefore,
that whatever one has in his possession had better be spent for the cause
of sat, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because one cannot take
his possessions with him. They remain here, and they will be lost. Either
we leave the money or the money leaves us, but we will be separated. The
best use of money as long as it is within our possession is to spend it
to acquire and propagate Kåñëa consciousness.
TEXT 32: “Thus, by the arrangement
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the maintainer of kinsmen is put
into a hellish condition to suffer for his sinful activities, like a man
who has lost his wealth.”
PURPORT: The example set herein
is that the sinful person suffers just like a man who has lost his wealth.
The human form of body is achieved by the conditioned soul after many,
many births and is a very valuable asset. Instead of utilizing this life
to get liberation, if one uses it simply for the purpose of maintaining
his so-called family and therefore performs foolish and unauthorized action,
he is compared to a man who has lost his wealth and who, upon losing it,
laments. When wealth is lost, there is no use lamenting, but as long as
there is wealth, one has to utilize it properly and thereby gain eternal
profit. It may be argued that when a man leaves his money earned by sinful
activities, he also leaves his sinful activities here with his money. But
it is especially mentioned herein that by superior arrangement, although
the man leaves behind his sinfully earned money, he carries the effect
of it.
When a man steals some money, if
he is caught and agrees to return it, he is not freed from the criminal
punishment. By the law of the state, even though he returns the money,
he has to undergo the punishment. Similarly, the money earned by a criminal
process may be left by the man when dying, but by superior arrangement
he carries with him the effect, and therefore he has to suffer hellish
life.
TEXT 33: “Therefore a person who
is very eager to maintain his family and kinsmen simply by black methods
certainly goes to the darkest region of hell, which is known as Andha-tämisra.”
PURPORT: Three words in this verse
are very significant. Kevalena means “only by black methods,” adharmeëa
means “unrighteous” or “irreligious,” and kuöumba-bharaëa means
“family maintenance.” Maintaining one’s family is certainly the duty of
a householder, but one should be eager to earn his livelihood by the prescribed
method, as stated in the scriptures. In the Bhagavad-gétä it
is described that the Lord has divided the social system into four classifications
of castes, or varëas, according to quality and work. Apart from the
Bhagavad-gétä, in every society a man is known according to
his quality and work. For example, when a man earns his livelihood constructing
wooden furniture, he is called a carpenter, and a man who works with an
anvil and iron is called a blacksmith. Similarly, a man who is engaged
in the medical or engineering fields has a particular duty and designation.
All these human activities have been divided by the Supreme Lord into four
varëas, namely the brähmaëas (intellectuals and priests),
the kñatriyas (warriors and administrators), the vaiçyas
(merchants and farmers), and çüdras (manual laborers). In the
Bhagavad-gétä and other Vedic scriptures, the specific duties
of the brähmaëas, kñatriyas, vaiçyas, and çüdras
are mentioned.
One should work honestly according
to his qualification. He should not earn his livelihood unfairly or in
a way for which he is not qualified. If someone claims to be a brähmaëa
and works as a priest, attracting people who expect to be enlightened about
the spiritual way of life, but he is not qualified as a priest, then he
is cheating the public. One should not earn one’s livelihood by such unfair
means. The same is applicable to a kñatriya and a vaiçya.
It is especially mentioned that the means of livelihood of those who are
trying to advance in Kåñëa consciousness must be very
fair and uncomplicated. Here it is mentioned that he who earns his livelihood
by unfair means (kevalena) is sent to the darkest hellish region. Otherwise,
if one maintains his family by prescribed methods and honest means, there
is no objection to one’s being a family man.
TEXT 34: “Having gone through all
the miserable, hellish conditions and having passed in a regular order
through the lowest forms of animal life prior to human birth, and having
thus been purged of one’s sins, one is reborn again as a human being on
this earth.”
PURPORT: Just as a prisoner who
has undergone troublesome prison life is set free again, the person who
has always engaged in impious and mischievous activities is put into hellish
conditions, and when he has undergone different hellish lives, namely those
of lower animals like cats, dogs, and hogs, by the gradual process of evolution
he again comes back as a human being. In the Bhagavad-gétä
it is stated that even though a person engaged in the practice of the yoga
system may not finish perfectly and may fall down for some reason or other,
his next life as a human being is guaranteed. It is stated that such a
person, who has fallen from the path of yoga practice, is given a chance
in his next life to take birth in a very rich family or in a very pious
family. It is interpreted that “rich family” refers to a big mercantile
family because generally people who engage in business are very rich. One
who engaged in the process of self-realization, or connecting with the
Supreme Absolute Truth, but fell short is allowed to take birth in such
a rich family, or he is allowed to take birth in the family of pious brähmaëas;
either way, he is guaranteed to appear in human society in his next life.
It can be concluded that if someone
is not willing to enter into hellish life, as in Tämisra or Andha-tämisra,
then he must take to the process of Kåñëa consciousness,
which is the first-class yoga system, because even if one is unable to
attain complete Kåñëa consciousness in this life, he
is guaranteed at least to take his next birth in a human family. He cannot
be sent into a hellish condition. Kåñëa consciousness
is the purest life, and it protects all human beings from gliding down
to hell to take birth in a family of dogs or hogs.
Chapter 3
The Peace Formula
The laws of nature work collectively,
as well as individually. In the following brief but cogent statement, Çréla
Prabhupäda explains that if we want to break out of the tangled web
of collective karma that is wreaking havoc in present-day society—if we
want peace both collectively and individually—we need to take to Kåñëa
consciousness seriously.
The great mistake of modern civilization
is to encroach upon others’ property as though it were one’s own and thereby
create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are
very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is Kåñëa
conscious can easily overcome the stringent laws of nature and thus become
happy and peaceful in the world.
As a state is protected by the department
of law and order, so the state of the universe, of which this earth is
only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature. This
material nature is one of the different potencies of God, who is the ultimate
proprietor of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property
of God, but we, the living entities, especially the so-called civilized
human beings, are claiming God’s property as our own under both an individual
and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove
this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim
of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause
of all disturbances of peace on earth.
Foolish so-called civilized men
are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have
now become godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a godless society.
In the Bhagavad-gétä Lord Kåñëa says that
He is the factual enjoyer of all activities of the living entities, that
He is the Supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing
friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula
for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail.
Therefore, if you want peace at
all, you will have to change your consciousness into Kåñëa
consciousness, both individually and collectively, by the simple process
of chanting the holy name of God. This is the standard and recognized process
for achieving peace in the world. We therefore recommend that everyone
become Kåñëa conscious by chanting Hare Kåñëa,
Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa,
Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
This is practical, simple, and sublime.
Five hundred years ago this formula was introduced in India by Lord Çré
Caitanya, and now it is available throughout the world. Take to this simple
process of chanting as above mentioned, realize your factual position by
reading the Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, and reestablish your lost
relationship with Kåñëa, God. Peace and prosperity will
be the immediate worldwide result.