Vaikuntha vs. Brahman-Realization

[Guest guest]

Is Brahman-Realization obtainable? Is it possible to reach the highest state of supra-cosmic conciousness, and experience your SELF (Atman) as Brahman, the One, without a second.

 

Some meditators say they have come close or had brief glimpses of this state of non-dual awareness in the highest states of Samadhi.

 

What do Gaudiyas think of these experiences/states? is it possible for people to reach this state of Nirvana? if Advaita is not true?

[Guest guest]

OM

The Supreme Combination of Letters

Emanating from the Flute of Sri Krsna

by

Swami B.G. Narasingha Maharaja

 

Om, the supreme combination of letters denotes the Supreme Entities Sri Radha Krishna and indicates the acme of spiritual tendency inherent in all jiva souls. Although, Om is known and recognized widely in most all spiritual cultures of Eastern philosophy from the Buddhists of Tibet, to the Vedantist of Banaras, to the Theosophists of Los Angles, at present only Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His sampradaya have actually understood the full transcendental meaning of Om given in the Veda, the Upanishads, the Vedanta and the Srimad Bhagavatam.

In the Rg-veda we find the following information;

om ity etad brahmano nedistam nama yasmad uccaryamana

eva samsara-bhayat tarayati tasmad-ucyate tara iti

om asya jananto nama cid-viviktan mahaste visno

sumatim bhajamahe om tat sat

tato 'bhut trird-omkaro yo 'vyakta prabhavah svarat

yat tal-lingam bhagavato brahmanah paramatmanah

"One who chants om, which is the closest form of Brahman, approaches Brahman. This liberates one from the fear of the material world, therefore it is known as tarak brahman.

"O Vishnu your self-manifest name, om, is the eternal form of cognizance. Even if my knowledge about the glories of reciting this name is incomplete, still, by the practice of reciting this name I will acheive that perfect knowledge.

"He who has unmanifested potencies and is fully independent, manifests the vibration omkara, which indicates Himself. Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are the three forms He manifests."

Om is described throughout the Vedic literature and by the acharyas, great spiritual masters, as the seed conception of theism. In the words of Srila Sridhar Maharaja, "Om means 'Yes'. Always, wherever we cast our glance to search, in one word the answer is 'yes'. Yes, what you are searching for, is. You are searching for happiness, pleasure, joy, fulfillment. You are in want, and in one word, 'yes', fulfillment is there. Om takes the form of Gayatri, then Veda and Vedanta-sutra; then it takes the shape of Srimad Bhagavatam and the lila, the divine pastimes, of the Lord."

As a tree or fruit bearing creeper begins with a seed so everything begins with Om; the gayatri mantra begins with Om, the Vedas begin with Om, the Upanishads begin with Om, the Vedanta begins with Om, and the Srimad Bhagavatam begins with Om. Therefore, it can safely be said that our search for Sri Krishna begins with Om.

Om is the seed of theism, nonetheless, there is a class of philosophers known as mayavadis who suggest that Om denotes Brahman or the impersonal aspect of the absolute truth. This, however, is not the conclusion of the Vedas or the statements of the Supreme Brahman Himself. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna Himself says, "vedyam pavitram omkara, I am the syllable Om." As such 'Om' is known as the maha-vakya [maha-mantra] in the Vedas.

Om clearly denotes Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Vedanta-sutra begins with Om yet the mayavada philosophers stress the mantra , tat tvam asi, I am that or I am God and they try to give less importance to Om.

Om should never be thought of as impersonal. That is perhaps the greatest misconception amongst many philosophers of transcendence since the time of Sankaracharya. The impersonal misconception of 'Om' has become so popular that even personalist philosophers at the stage of practice are sometimes found to have developed an aversion to 'Om' thinking it a means to impersonal realization.

Om for that matter is non-different than the sound of Krishna's flute. Om is never impersonal at any time all that can be impersonal about Om is the misconception that one chooses to attach to it. The Gopal-tapani Upanishad discusses Om clearly establishing its non-difference from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. txt. 41&42:

chatuhshabdo bhavedeko hyomkarah samudahritah

tamaddevah paro rajaseti so-ahamityavad

haryatmanam gopala-ahamiti bhavayet

"The sound vibration Om denotes the chatur-vyuha-tattva of Sri Balaram, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Sri Krishna. As the 'Om' transcends the three qualities of material nature so also one should know oneself to be beyond the identification with the material body. I am the eternal servitor of Gopala (Sri Krishna the cowherd boy at Vrindavana) this consciousness must be maintained at all times. "

The Gopala-tapani Upanishad further enlightens us that from the devanagri script 'Om' we find the conjunct of four sounds to form one sound A U M; tx-55&56

rohinitanayo ramo akarakshara sambhavah

taijasatmakah pradyumna ukaraksharasambhavah

prajnatmako aniruddho vai makaraksharasambhavah ardha-

matratmakah krishno yasmin vishvam pratishthitam

"The letter 'A' denotes Balaram , the son of Rohini, who is the substratum of the entire universe. The letter 'U' denotes Pradyumna who is the super soul of the universe. The letter 'M' denotes Aniruddha, who is the super-soul of each individual being in the universe. And the 'dot' above the 'M' denotes Sri Krishna, the fountain head of all Vishnu incarnations."

Meditation on Om begins in this way and one who has got realized knowledge knows Om to be identical with Krishna, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah. Such a great soul is very rare and such a great soul can be understood to be the true knower of the Vedas.

Yet a further enlightened idea found in the Gopala-topani Upanishad establishes the conception of Om as connotative of the Supreme Entities Sri Radha-Krishna. tx 58

pranavatvena prakritim vadanti brahmavadinah tasmad

omkarasambhuto gopalo visvasambhuvah

"The wise and enlightened sages declare that the Swarupa-shakti of Bhagavan, Sri Radha, being the prime mula-prakriti is non-different from Om. Gopala, Sri Krishna who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer of the universe is also non-different from Om."

To emphasize that the seed of lila or eternal pastimes is inherent in the seed mantra 'Om' the next verse of Gopala-tapani (59) states that 'Om' and the kama-bija-mantra, 'Klim' are also non-different.

klim-aum-karasyaikyatvam pathyate brahmavadibhih

mathurayam visheshena mam dhyayan moksham ashnute

"The Brahmavadhis, men of transcendental wisdom, know it for certain that the kama-bija-mantra 'Klim' and the monosyllable 'Om' are one and the same. One who goes to Mathura Puri and meditates on Vraja Gopala, by uttering either 'Klim' or 'Om', attains the ultimate destination of the soul after giving up this present material body."

Since 'Om' and 'Klim' have been established by the Upanishads as non-different we can thus examine the nature of the 'Klim' mantra to better understand the conception the of rasa-tattva, divine mellows, in Om. Om is complete with rasa, mellows, but it is in a seed form. It is also a fact that mantras such as the Gopala-mantra and the Kama-gayatri-mantra, both of which begin with 'Klim', and are properly chanted by first uttering 'Om' in the beginning.

Srila Viswanatha Chakravathi Thakura, a most highly qualified realized devotee, has given a substantial illumination of the kama-bija-mantra, 'Klim', so let us try to understand 'Om' from that realized stand point.

Srila Viswanatha Cakravati Thakura explains the meaning of kama-bija thus; 'Klim' is the seed, kama-bija or the primary cause of all-love. Kama-bija is connotative of the entities Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, the Predominated and Predominating Moiety of the Absolute Truth, respectively. (Klim-- that which denotes a subject and gives its attributes by implication)

"K" is Krishna, the leading Hero, with his personal form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, ka-karah purusah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. "L" is celebrated as the blissful happiness of love, the beauty of the pleasure of the Divine Couple, "L" is also celebrated as Lalita, la-karo lalita para. "I" is Srimati Radharani, the leading Heroine, who is the eternal Queen of Vrndavana, i-karah prakrti radha. "M" is the sweetness of bliss occurring when the Divine Couple kiss. the bindu, dot, above the "M" is said to be Their kissing, the half moon shape of the devanagri nasal letter is Their embracing.

If on chants 'Om' remembering the words of Gopala-tapani Upanishad and the words Srila Viswanatha Chakravathi Thakura then one can attain all spiritual perfection. But if one insists on considering 'Om' as a manifestation of the impersonal Brahman then he certainly cheats himself of the chance of being re-instated as an eternal servant of Sri Radha Krishna. The impersonal conception as is preached by many of the so-called followers of Sankaracharya has simply caused a great confusion in the spiritual field and this way of thinking should be strictly avoided by all aspiring devotees. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has personally said, "Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarvanasa: any one who hears the impersonal commentary of the Mayavada school is completely doomed."

If one comes under the sway of the impersonal conception then he certainly becomes no better than an atheist. Where is the question of theism if one says that God has no form or that he is God? Theism means that there is God, His Pleasure Potency-Sri Radha, and Their eternal servants-the jiva souls.

Srila Prabhupada once said, "The sound of 'Om' in the beginning of every Vedic hymns addresses the Supreme Lord. Because the impersonalists are very much afraid of addressing the Supreme Lord Krishna by His innumerable names, they prefer to vibrate the transcendental sound omkara. But they do not realize that omkara is the sound representation of Krishna. The jurisdiction of Krishna consciousness extends everywhere and one who knows Krishna consciousness is blessed. Those who do not know Krishna are in illusion, and so knowledge of Krishna is liberation, and ignorance of Him is bondage."

The goal of meditation on 'Om' is never to give up one's individual identity and merge with the Supreme and that is inherent in the mantra as I have stated in my opening paragraph. The inherent identity of the jiva soul is included in the 'Om' mantra as the eternal servant of Sri Radha Krishna and this is given support by Srila Jiva Goswami in his description of the alphabetical constituents of the mantra as follows;

a-karenocyate krsnah sarva-lokaika-nayakah

u-karenocyate radha ma-karo jiva-vacakah

"Om is a combination of letters, A,U,M. The letter 'A' refers to Krishna. The Letter 'U' refers to Radha, and the letter 'M' refers to the jiva soul."

Thus, according to Jiva Goswami the inherent position of the jiva soul in the 'Om' mantra is that of a maid servant of Sri Radha Krishna. Now one may ask the question that if even the service of Sri Radha Krishna is inherent in 'Om' as in 'Klim' then what need is there to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra?

krsna-mantra haite habe samsara mocana

krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana

"The Krishna gayatri mantra (or Om) liberates one from repeated birth and death in this world; the holy name of Krishna gives one shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna."(Cc. Adi-lila 7.73)

pancama purusartha sei prema-mahadhana

krsnera madhurya-rasa karaya asvadana

"Love of Godhead is so exalted that it is considered to be the fifth goal of human life. By awakening one's love of Godhead, one can attain the platform of conjugal love, tasting it even during the present span of life." (Cc. Adi-lila 7/144)

The gayatri mantra or Om helps us up to the stage of liberation, and then the mantra retires. The holy name of Krishna however continues even after liberation. In fact it is the holy name of Krishna that enables us to develop spontaneous love of Krishna.

Om is considered the bija or seed whereas Krishna nama is considered the phalam or fruit. The fruit which is sweet and palatable to our taste has the seed within. Thus Om is considered to be present in Krishna nama. One can say that Krishna nama is also present in Om. That is true but one can not taste the sweetness of Krishna nama in Om. Chewing the seed is not comparable to chewing the fruits. The juice of the fruit of the holy name of Krishna is the sweet taste of pure love of Godhead.

Om emanates from the flute of Sri Krishna; it then manifest as gayatri, then as Veda, then as Vedanta, then as Srimad Bhagavatam, and the last verse of Srimad Bhagavatam recommends the chanting of the holy names.

nama-sankirtanam-yasya

sarva-papa-pranasanam

pranamo dukha-samanas

tam namami harim param

"Krishna's holy name can relieve us from all undesirable sinfulness, all filthy characteristics, and all miseries. Chant the name of Krishna! Do this; nothing else is necessary. Take this! Chant the holy name of Krishna and begin your real life in this dark age with the most broad and wide theistic conception. Let us all bow down to Him."

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to pass His days and nights at Jagannatha Puri in the company of His intimate devotees tasting the unlimited mellow sweetness of love of Godhead by constantly chanting the holy names:

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has composed the Shikshastakam, eight essential verses, in which He describes the complete development of pure devotion from beginning to end. From these verses we can fully understand the necessity for chanting the maha-mantra. In the first verse of Shikshastakam the Lord says,

ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam

sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam

anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam puramrtasvadnam

sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam

"The holy name of Krishna cleanses the mirror of the heart and extinguishes the fire of misery in the forest of birth and death. As the evening lotus blooms in the moon's cooling rays, the heart begins to blossom in the nectar of the name. And at last the soul awakens to its real treasure a life of love with Krishna. Again and again tasting nectar, the soul dives and surfaces in the ever-increasing ocean of ecstatic joy. All phases of the self of which we may conceive are fully satisfied and purified, and at last conquered by the all-auspicious influence of the holy name of Krishna."

In The Golden Volcano of Divine Love Srila Sridhar Maharaja lists seven transcendental glories of chanting Krishna nama in this first verse of Shikshastaka. He lists them as follows; 1. Krishna nama cleanses the mirror of the heart. 2. Krishna nama extinguishes the fire of material existence. 3. Krishna nama bestows the supreme goal of life. 4.Krishna nama prepares us for wholesale surrender in madhurya-rasa. 5. Krishna nama gives us a taste of the infinite ocean of ecstasy. 6. Krishna nama fully satisfies and purifies all phases of the self. 7. Krishna nama is the essential ingredient in all devotional service.

In the subsequent verses of the Shikshastaka Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes the processes of devotional service namely; sadhu-sanga, bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivrtti, nistha, ruci, krsnasakti, bhava, vipralambha-prema, and prema-bhajana vipralambha-sambhoga. Those who have realized knowledge of the holy name of Krishna, by the grace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, know the Shikshsataka to be a discription of chanting the holy name.

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is actually madhurya-mantra. It is filled with the most inconceivable sweet nectar of the madhurya-rasa. The madhurya-rasa means the sweetest rasa in which all other rasas are accommodated. The madhurya-rasa is called the mukhya-rasa or the chief rasa. It is the sweetest and most accommodating rasa.

Srila Prabhupada often used to say that everything is there in the maha-mantra. Yes, that is a fact. Not only is "Om" present in the maha-mantra but the twenty four hour lila of Radha Krishna known as astakala-lila is also non-different from the maha-mantra. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura has explained astakala-lila in the maha-mantra in his Bhajan-rahasya with reference to the Shikshastaka prayers;

"In the sixteen word Hare Krishna mantra there are eight pairs of names. Corresponding to these eight pairs, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has recited the eight verses of Shikshastaka.

"The first pair of names Hare Krishna signifies the subduer of ignorance and the performance of nama-sankirtan with faith. The second pair Hare Krishna means Krishna's names are invested with all potencies. One should have attachment for bhajan by taking shelter of the holy names in the association of sadhus. Gradually by performing bhajana, anarthas (unwanted contamination) are destroyed. As anarthas are removed, nistha (firm faith) develops. The third pair Krishna Krishna indicates the company of pure devotees and becoming fixed in firm faith throughout the day and night. By the fourth pair Hare Hare unmotivated devotion is awakened along with a taste for nama-sankirtan.

"The fifth pair Hare Rama represents the taste for pure service along with remembrance of the holy names as prescribed in the Shikshastaka. In the sixth pair Hare Rama chanting in the beginning stage of transcendental emotion leads material detachment and complete attachment to Krishna. The seventh pair Rama Rama awakens attachment for the mellow of conjugal rasa, the shelter of Sri Radha's lotus feet, and feelings of separation. The eighth pair Hare Hare leads to attainment of the goal of life loving service to Radha Krishna following in the mood of the gopis of Vrindavana throughout the eight divisions of day and night pastimes, astaka-kala-lila."

The conclusion is that one who knows the meaning of Om is a real student of the Srimad Bhagavatam and one who knows the meaning of the Srimad Bhagavatam certainly chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra as directed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His Shikshastaka.

PARAM VIJAYATE SRI KRISHNA SANKIRTANAM

[theist]

Sure it's possible to sleep in the Brahman for awhile. But the vaisnavas ask us why we would want to stop so short of the highest goal which is pure love for Krsna?