Krsna lila: The Highest Reality

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Krsna lila: The Highest Reality

 

Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

 

"Vaisnavas believe that every unit of consciousness has the potential

to enter into an eternal relationship with Krsna, whose affairs are

governed by his personal energy or nature (svarupa sakti)."

 

Q. The late Joseph Campbell was the first person I heard tell of Krsna,

but he taught that the images used in myths are metaphorical and should

not be taken literally. He used the word myth in referring to the

world's spiritual, religious, and scientific explanations of reality

and did not imply a negative connotation with the word. Rather he

emphasized the need to understand the essential truth within religious

myth, whether it was from Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, or other

traditions, and apply it in our heart. How does your understanding of

Krsna differ from his?

 

A. Joseph Cambell's perspective has helped many people bridge the gap

between Eastern and Western religion by encouraging them to appreciate

the universal truth found within all spiritual traditions. However, we

differ from Campbell in that we do not equate Krsna-lila with the myths

of other traditions. We do not think that Krsna-lila is simply a

metaphor from which to draw universal truth. Krsna-lila is full of

metaphorical truth, but this is not all that it consists of. The lilas

are an ontological reality, the highest reality. For that matter, I do

not think that other traditions think of their myths in the way we

think of Krsna-lila (with a view to live in them eternally), nor are

any other cultural or religious myths as charming, detailed, or

profound as Krsna-lila. Krsna-lila is in a class of its own, as it

should be. Campbell has not entirely missed this, for Indian mythology

was his personal favorite. However, he was not familiar with Vaisnava

theology and had a distinct leaning toward the so-called perennial

philosophy of Advaita Vedanta.

 

The idea that Krsna is God is considerably more well thought out than

what we find in Greek and other mythology. The theological and

philosophical underpinning of the lila is considerable to say the

least. I do not believe that there is any comparison that can be made

with other religious mythology. If one insists that an advaitic

approach to Krsna lila is more rational, this is a subject for a lively

debate that would no doubt embarrass most Advaitins and also shed light

on many of Advaita Vedanta's own logical inconsistencies.

 

Q. I am attracted to Vaisnavism but question the need to incorporate

into my life certain aspects of Hindu culture, as that culture has many

practices that don't seem quite right to me. How can I ascertain what

aspects of Hindu culture will be helpful to me spiritually?

 

A. As a general principle one should try to take the best from Eastern

and Western culture and apply it to one's life. It is natural that one

influenced by an Indian-based spiritual tradition will develop affinity

for certain aspects of Hindu socio-religious culture. However, not

every aspect of Hindu culture is spiritual. Many Hindu social customs

are simply ethnic traditions, some are the result of outside

influences, and some are even based on superstition. None of these have

much to do with essential spirituality. Therefore, if a particular

aspect of Indian culture makes you feel uncomfortable, then by all

means inquire from an advanced devotee as to whether it has any actual

bearing on Vaisnava spiritual practice.

 

Essential spiritual practices such as chanting Krsna nama are not based

on one becoming a member of any particular culture. In fact the culture

of Krsna bhakti (Krsnanusilanam), centered on the chanting of Krsna

nama, is a spiritual culture unto itself. Krsnanusilanam can be

incorporated into any ethnic culture or lifestyle.

 

Q. Do souls have any personal characteristics that can be realized by

practicing intellectual self-examination? A. By self-examination

alone one cannot realize one's full spiritual potential.

Self-examination is no doubt part of the culture of Krsna-bhakti, but

unto itself it cannot enable one to realize one's spiritual

personality. Through self-examination one can understand that the

mental sense of self, which is nothing more than a product of the

mind's reaction to sensual input, is not enduring and by that gain

negative impetus to pursue Krsna-bhakti. However, realizing one's

spiritual personality is only possible through grace, which in

Vaisnavism is derived from hearing, chanting, and remembering the

pastimes of Sri Krsna, under the guidance of an advanced devotee.

 

Q. What is the relationship between soul and the mind? A. The mind is

a manifestation of subtle matter and in this sense is different from

the brain. However, being matter it is also different from the soul.

The "soul" (a Christian term) is consciousness, as opposed to matter.

Consciousness is the experiencer and matter is that which is

experienced. In this context consciousness is not the mind's conscious

awareness, rather it is life, sometimes referred to as cit, or

knowledge, being a unit of will. Vaisnavas believe that every unit of

consciousness has the potential to enter into an eternal relationship

with Krsna, whose affairs (Krsna-lila) are governed by his personal

energy or nature (svarupa sakti). In the culture of Krsna-bhakti, the

individual soul gradually comes under the influence of this svarupa

sakti, and as it does the influence of Krsna's illusory energy (maya

sakti) is diminished proportionately. This takes some time, but when

one comes completely under the influence of Krsna's svarupa sakti,

one's spiritual personality is awakened and one enters the eternal lila

of Sri Krsna. Q. I heard that Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute

love of Krsna like that possessed by the handmaids of Radha (manjari

bhava). Do all Gaudiya Vaisnavas ultimately develop this type of love

for Krsna?

 

A. Sriman Mahaprabhu said:

 

dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, srngara-cari rasa cari bhavera bhakta yata

krsna tara vasa

 

"Servitude, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal love are the

four transcendental mellows. By the devotees who cherish these four

mellows, Lord Krsna is subdued."

 

yuga-dharma pravartaimu nama-sankirtana cari bhava-bhakti diya nacamu

bhuvana

 

"I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the

age--nama-sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name. I

shall make the world dance in ecstasy, realizing the four mellows of

loving devotional service."

 

Mahaprabhu opened the doors to Vrndavana, which is all about the

sentiments by which Krsna is conquered. The chief of these sentiments

is Radha's love for Krsna, which is what Vrndavana is all about. Still,

the Vrndavana lila requires the other three sentiments (servitude,

friendship, and parental affection) in order for it to take place. So

all four are important and one may be spiritually attracted to any of

them. At the same time, Radha's love for Krsna is the most

transcendentally comprehensive, meaning that it pleases Krsna the most

and thus affords her the extraordinary experience of madana mahabhava,

the highest ecstasy of spiritual love. It is this bhava that Krsna

appearing as Sri Caitanya wants to taste.

 

Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is our ideal, it is natural that most

devotees will desire to taste the particular sentiment of love that he

experienced. However, this is not always the case, and as I mentioned,

the other three bhavas of Vraja are also important supports for this

mahabhava. So while most Gaudiya acaryas relish Radha's love in the

culture of manjari-bhava as handmaids of Radha, there are some

exceptions.

 

Q. What is dharma in the context of Gaudiya Vaisnavism?

 

A. In general dharma refers to living a live of virtue above all else.

All human activities are rooted in desire, which basically is the

attempt to attain pleasure and to avoid pain. The scripture divides

human desire into three categories: first, the desire for sense

pleasure (kama), which while never fully satisfying nonetheless drives

one to pursue the same sensual experience again and again. Second, the

desire for material acquisition, wealth, honor, power, security, and so

on (artha), which is progressive in that it does not mandate

meaningless repetition, but rather the drive to realize consistently

greater goals that afford one some sense of accomplishment. Third, the

desire for virtue, good character, righteousness, and so on (dharma),

which is more progressive still and brings a sense of contentment and

clear insight as to the nature of the world. According to

Bhagavad-gita, these three kinds of desires are products of the

influence of the three gunas, or modes of material nature, manifesting

in the human psyche. These modes, known as tamas (ignorance), rajas

(passion), and sattva (goodness), correspond respectively to kama

(pleasure), artha (power), and dharma (virtue). All three involve the

perceived necessity to become something: to be gratified, to be

powerful, or to be virtuous.

 

Bhagavad-gita says that being virtuous is higher than the other goals

because it allows one to glimpse the fact that a life based on the

perceived need to become something obscures that which we already are.

This aspect of a virtuous life alone makes it valuable and superior to

aspirations for pleasure and power, which under the influence of virtue

are seen to have limited value. Thus the truly virtuous, dharmic ego is

the potential bridge to transcendence of the material false ego, which

is based on the perceived need to be something. Crossing that bridge

with the energy of spiritual practice leads to moksa

(liberation)--freedom from necessity. Arriving here we have no need to

become something because we realize that we already are something far

greater than anything the limited human experience can afford. From the

realm of the experienced (matter), we enter the realm of the

experiencer (consciousness) and there find our true self.

 

However, in the view of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, dharma also appears

within transcendence. He calls this prema-dharma, or the fifth goal of

life, and says that this goal is beyond dharma, artha, kama, and moksa.

Prema means love. Sri Caitanya advocated the transcendental virtue of

love of Krsna. In prema-dharma the pleasure sought through sense

enjoyment (kama), the pursuit of security and power that was previously

sought through material gain (artha), and the knowledge derived from a

life of virtue (dharma), are overwhelmed by the realization of eternal

existence in Krsna-lila (sandhini), transcendental knowledge of one's

relationship with him (samvit), and the bliss of that relationship

(hladhini), the byproduct of which is moksa. While moksa contains

eternal life (sat), transcendental knowledge (cit), and bliss (ananda),

Caitanya Mahaprabhu's conception of sandhini, samvit, and hladhini in

prema-dharma contain these and much more. Prema-dharma overpowers the

Absolute, the giver of moksa, who by the force of the devotees' prema,

appears to the devotees as their friend or lover--Madana Gopala Krsna.

 

 

 

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum

http://www.swami.org/sanga/ or email sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org.

 

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