The Supreme Absolute

[Vigraha]

 

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The Supreme Absolute

 

 

"Even the greatest philosophical speculators cannot have access to the region of the Lord. It is said in the Upanisads that the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is beyond the range of the thinking power of the greatest philosopher. He is unknowable by great learning or by the greatest brain. He is knowable only by one who has His mercy. Others may go on thinking about Him for years together, yet He is unknowable."

 

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1:8:20 Purport

 

 

 

Understanding the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, may be approached in various ways. For example, Absolute Truth may be realized in three features known as para-tattva: impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma, and Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is impersonal, personal and localized. By His impersonal feature He is all-pervading Brahman, by His localized feature He is present in everyone's heart as the Supreme Soul (Paramatma), and by His ultimate personal feature (Krsna) He is the object of transcendental loving service by His fortunate associates, the pure devotees.

 

 

The Supreme Being's manifest form is explained in the Vedas as

sat

-

cit

-

ananda

vigraha

, "an embodiment (

vigraha

) of absolute eternity (

sat

), absolute cognizance (

cit

), and absolute bliss (

ananda

)." Impersonal Brahman realization is the realization of His

sat

(being) feature. Paramatma realization is the realization of

cit

(eternal knowledge). But realization of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is realization of all the transcendental features:

sat

,

cit

and

ananda

(being, knowledge, bliss) in complete

vigraha

(form).

 

 

The Absolute Personality may also be understood as the perfect person who has manifold energies, out of which the internal, external and marginal energies are primary. The spiritual world is the manifestation of the Lord's internal potency. By expanding his internal energies, He manifests as so many personalities, and exchanges or accepts transcendental loving service from them in the spiritual world. The material world is the manifestation of His external potency. The living entities are manifestations of His marginal potency, and by their own choice they can live in either the transcendental or material worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While these philosophical approaches to understanding the Absolute may be taken, the Absolute Personality is beyond the range of philosophical thinking, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam. He is knowable only by one who has His mercy. In other words, we must love the Lord before we can fully know him. This approach was examplified by the gopis of Vrindaban. Without understanding the philosophy of the Absolute, they simply loved Krsna without a motive for material or spiritual gain. That was all. They were not educated Vedantists, but they learned to love Krsna. That was their qualification. They did not know, or even care to know, whether or not Krsna is God. They simply loved Krsna without any identification, thereby enjoying the topmost level of approach to Absolute Truth. We, on the other hand, may be worshiping God because we are impressed that He is the Supreme Lord. While we may be a little inclined to serve God under this condition, the Gopis loved Krsna unconditionally. They came to know the Absolute simply by virtue of their love.

 

While we may try to understand that Krsna is the source of everything, knowing the Absolute Truth also requires us to understand how Krsna's manifested energies impact our daily, personal lives. The Lord, the living entities, the material nature, time and karma are all working together, and the relationship of these five basic truths is described in Bhagavad-gita. The individual living entities, by their free will and desire nature, suffer from material conditioning. When at last our conditioned desires are channeled towards love of God through devotional service, our understanding of the Absolute becomes pure and complete.

 

 

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Excerpted from text and purport of HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

 

THE MOUSE AND THE GITA

 

 

 

There is a story about a guru who had a brahmacari disciple. He ordered the brahmacari that he should perform Bhakti by reading Gita every day. So he sat in a cave, reading the Bhagavad-gita. But there was a small mouse who came to nibble at the Gita, when it was not being read. He became tired of scaring the mouse away, so he thought, "I need to get a cat to take care of the mouse." So he got a cat. The cat kept away the mouse, but it started making sounds because it was hungry. So he had to feed the cat. Then he thought, "I need a cow in order to feed the cat milk." He had to take care of the cow. Gradually he started giving less and less time for his Gita reading. Since he had to give the cow so much attention, he thought, "I need someone to take care of the cow," and he hired a man. The man took care of the cow, but he found that he had to have someone to watch the man, otherwise he was not doing his work properly. He thought, "This is becoming a little complicated. I have to get married, then the wife will watch over the man who is taking care of the cow, who is feeding the milk to the cat, to keep away the mouse." He got married, but his wife wanted certain things. So there were children, and he had to get some money. He started some business enterprise and brought some land. One day, the guru came back to see his disciple. He said, "What happened? I ordered you to read Gita, but I see you have got wife, children, family, business, workers and so many things. You have forgotten the Gita? Tell me what happened." He replied, "Gurudeva, I am simply doing all this in the service of the Gita. In order to read the Gita, I h ad to do all this. This is all Gita-samsara."

 

 

 

 

MORAL: We have to be careful not to perform bhakti for some other objective, that is not pure bhakti.

 

 

 

THE THREE SAGES

 

 

 

Once there were three sages, and these sages were discussing what is the best age to be delivered from material existence. One said, "I propose that Satya-yuga is the best age, because it is the golden age, the age of enlightenment. Just by a few hundred thousand years of meditation one can go back to Vaikuntha. That is my proposition." The next sage said, "No, Treta-yuga is the age. We can do agnihotra, and just by offering grains and ghee into the fire, distributing gold to the brahmins, by this simple process we can get moksa and leave this world." The third sage said, "Excuse me, but Dvapara-yuga is without a doubt the best age, because Krsna Bhagavan Himself is coming. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata. He comes in His original form and those who take birth in that Yuga can get the opportunity of the Lord's personal association. So back and forth they were arguing, Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Satya, Treta, Dvapara. But there's four ages, Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga and Kali-yuga. However, these sages would not even say the name of Kali, because it's so inauspicious. What to speak of discussing it's ill effects, they wouldn't even mention the name. So after many years of discussion they came to no conclusion. So they said, "Well, let us go to Srila Vyasadeva, the greatest of all sages. He lives in the Himalayas, so lets go there and get his opinion." So they went to Badrikashrama, and when they arrived there Vyasadeva was taking bath in a tank. "O great sage," the rishis addressed him, "Of Satya, Treta and Dvapara, what is the best age for making spiritual advancement?" But he wouldn't come out of the water. They pleaded and pleaded, and then out he came and he spoke, "Satyam satyam param satyam, kaler dosa-nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan-guna \ kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet." And then splash, back under the water he went. The sages asked each other, "Did you hear that?No," one replied, "I blocked my ears as soon as I heard the name of Kali.Ask him again," the third one said. "O great Srila Vyasadeva, could you please repeat yourself?" So out he came again, "Satyam satyam param satyam, kaler dosa-nidhe rajann..." And then he explained the verse, "The highest truth, the truth of all truths, is that although this Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guruvani]

This is not a topic.

Somebody is here to give a lecture.

Bad habit.

In other words he thinks he is better than us and needs to lecture to us.

 

 

this is a discussion forum not the big cushion in ISKCON.

[CCC]

Nice post vigraha thanks

 

 

btw who are you?

[Vigraha]

 

 

Srila Prabhupada’s System for the Golden Age.

 

"If the conditioned soul becomes Krishna conscious by the mercy of saintly persons, who voluntarily preach scriptural injunctions and help him become Krishna conscious, he becomes liberated from the clutches of Maya, who voluntarily gives him up." (Cc. Madhya, 20-120).

 

"This is the test by which one can tell whether he is advancing in devotional service. One must be detached from material enjoyment. Such detachment means that Maya has actually given the conditioned soul liberation from illusory enjoyment." (SB 11.2.42 quoted in TLC).

 

We ordinarily understand ‘Maya’ as illusion, but the spiritual master reveals its more confidential meaning as also ‘mercy’. (SB 1.13.25).

 

Thus Srila Prabhupada gave shelter to those who joined by

establishing -

 

1) SAMBANDHA - their relationship as servants of Krishna;

 

 

2) ABIDHEYA - their materially conditioned senses engaged in pure devotional service;

 

3) PRAYOJANA - the resultant transformation of material

consciousness into Krishna consciousness, leading them back home back to Godhead.

 

The actual essence of all the esoteric knowledge of the vast body of Vedic literature has been rendered in a simple term by Srila Rupa Goswami as ‘yukta vairagya’. Srila Prabhupada’s system is strictly in that

line - "Utility is the Principle".

His books teach this as follows:

 

Bhagavad-gita As It Is - yukta vairagya in Upanisadic form.

 

Srimad Bhagavatam - yukta vairagya in Puranic and Vedantic form.

 

Nectar of Devotion - yukta vairagya in Pancaratric form (rules).

 

Caitanya Caritamrta - yukta vairagya in Final Perfection (prema).

 

 

Sri Caitanya gives paramount importance to five out of sixty-four principles of devotional service:

 

 

a) Associating with devotees - Sadhu sanga;

 

 

b) Chanting the Holy Names - Nama kirtana;

 

 

c) Hearing Srimad Bhagavatam - Bhagavad sravana;

 

d) Living in a Holy Place - Mathura vasa;

 

e) Worshiping the Deity - Sri murtira sraddhaya sevana.

 

Srila Prabhhupada designed his system for ISKCON based on these principles. In his seven purposes for ISKCON, the first two are Bhagavata sevana; the third is sadhu sanga; the fourth is Nama kirtana; the fifth is Sri murtira sevana; the sixth is Mathura vasa; and the seventh is to preach these five principles to others. In organising these principles,

according to the Nectar of Devotion,

Srila Prabhupada instituted the system of initiation in ISKCON. The acceptance of the Holy Name from the spiritual mast er is ‘Bhagavata vidhi’ initiation. The second initiation is both Vedic and Pancaratric initiation: (these mantras are namatmika mantras; the actual mantra is Hare Krishna).

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON is the embodiment of these five principles ‘in action’, given out of his causeless mercy.

 

 

So if one is surrendered to the Founder-Acarya, his instructions and ISKCON, he is primarily qualified to carry on the system of guru-disciple (Parampara), established by Srila Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the Golden Age -

ISKCON.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAI SRILA PRABHUPADA!

 

 

 

 

It is not the critic who counts;

nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

 

 

The credit belong to the man who is actually in the arena;

whose face is marred by dust, sweat, blood and tears;

who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again.

 

 

Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause.

 

 

Who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst,

if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

 

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat. This is the difference between those who have experienced the nectar of distributing Srila Prabhupada books and those who have never had the good fortune to disributed those blissful wonderful books”

 

[Beggar]

Sambandha, abhideya, prayojana.

 

 

Srila Govinda Maharaj: Who is Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's guru, who is it really?

 

 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: It is a complicated case. By the will of God it is transferred. When he was a married man himself, Raghunatha Das Goswami took diksa from Yadunandana Acharya, a grhasta (married man). Then he went to Mahaprabhu and Mahaprabhu handed him over to Swarup Damodar. We may take Yadunandana as an ordinary siksa guru, vartmapradarsaka guru. The beginner, the canvasser. Something like a ritvik representative. Not the guru proper. But a representative has come as Yadunandana and has helped Das Goswami in the right way. Otherwise Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami could not be attracted by the charming personality of Mahaprabhu.

 

 

Raghunatha Das Goswami approached Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu himself we may take as Radharani. He is Krishna in the garb of Radharani. Raghunatha Das Goswami came there to meet Mahaprabhu in Puri, and Radharani (Mahaprabhu) placed him under the charge of Swarup Damodar, Lalitadevi. He handed him over to Lalita devi.

 

 

But we trace that Das Goswami's tendency is always towards Mahaprabhu. Although Mahaprabhu deputed Swarup Damodar as his guru, again Das Goswami approached Mahaprabhu and told him "I can't understand why you have taken me, snatched me from my family. Give definite directions to me." Then Mahaprabhu told him something in a nutshell. "Do this, and don't do this." He told Das Goswami, "What I don't know, Swarup Damodar knows it for certain, elaborately. So, I have rightly deputed him to train you on my behalf." So again he put Das Goswami in the hands of Swarup Damodar. Then of course Das Goswami went on with his bhajana in a very stern manner.

 

 

After the disappearance of Mahaprabhu, Das Goswami left there, thinking, "I would like to have a view of Vrindavan and then I will try to finish my life. No more prospect is to be seen in my future life." But when he came to Vrindavan he found Mahaprabhu present there in Rupa and Sanatan. His plans disappeared. "Mahaprabhu is here!"

 

 

He was especially attracted to Rupa Goswami. His internal connection, his sympthetic chord, he found with Rupa. Thereby we are taught that, passing through so many ups and downs in the life of a sadhaka, he at last comes to Rupa and there he thinks that he has reached the desired station. Mahaprabhu named this the Rupanuga Sampradaya. What is this Rupanuga sampradaya? The first disciple of Mahaprabhu is Rupa Goswami - although Rupa Goswami took his formal initiation from Sanatan Goswami. But Mahaprabhu met Rupa first, and secondly he met Sanatan. So, Rupa-Sanatan, and not Sanatan-Rupa.

 

 

Sanatan is the elder. But we are saying "Rupa-Sanatan", because the first recognition by Mahaprabhu was of Rupa. Then Sanatan next. So, "Rupa-Sanatan".

 

 

Now, what is the real meaning of Rupa Sampradaya? You are to mark it very attentively. madhura rasa is the total rasa and the most intense of all rasas. It is all accommodating. Twenty four hours engagement of service with Krishna is only possible in madhura rasa. For there is a possibility of reaction, that tendency of seeking leisure, tiredness, in all other rasas, even vatsalya rasa. Sometimes the father or the mother may think, "I am too much tired, I shall do the arrangement of feeling a little after." But in madhura rasa there is no reaction.

 

 

The difference between Rupa Manjari and Lalita and the sakhis - these are of course things of the very higher order - we should not have the audacity to enter into these subtle points - still, when that question has come to me about Raghunatha Das, then by divine arrangement I am going to say that when Radha Govinda are alone in union, the sakhis of the higher order do not approach that place but the manjaris can go. The junior sevakas, they can go to perform any service necessary there, because due to their lesser age they are allowed. And the higher friends of Radharani keep at some respectable distance. So when Radha-Govinda are alone in union the highest quality of rasa is to be found in their lila and that is approachable for the juniors. That, is for the manjaris, not for the sakhis.

 

 

So the highest attainment is to be located in Rupa, the leader of that group. That junior group who has got the special advantage of the special service in that stage. So, Rupanuga Sampradaya.

 

 

Wherever we are we shall have to accept that that is the acme of our fulfillment. That point. And for Das Goswami there was already a formal guru. First we may be attracted by the highest peak of the Himalayas. Then when approaching, we see so many other beautiful peaks. So we are attracted by Krishna in general, then from Krishna, we come to a proper Vaishnava, a proper location according to the necessity of my innate nature. In this way, from Mahaprabhu to Swarup Damodar, and with permission of Lalita he comes to Rupa, and the point of Rupa, that is the place of our highest attainment. And that has been shown in the lila of Das Goswami Prabhu.

 

 

Das Goswami has been accepted as the Acharya of Prayojana tattva. What is our highest necessity, that is in his hand. Das Goswami is the proyojana acharya. But the whole thing must be approached with the mood of divinity. Where there is the plane of dedication and nothing of enjoyment, no spirit of pleasure seeking or enjoyment, when there is service to the divinity to the extreme, it reaches the zenith there with Sri Rupa Manjari ..

 

 

The Acharya of sambandha (knowledge of the divine relationship to Sri Krishna), we are told, is Sanatan Goswami. He has given us a graphic description of the environment of the spiritual world. "Who am I?" Sanatan Goswami put this question to Mahaprabhu and Mahaprabhu gradually gave the description of everything, in detail. "What is what? Who are you?" - jivera swarup hoi, krsnera nitya das. In a nutshell, in one word, you are the slave to Krishna.

 

 

It is not a very easy thing to get the service Krishna. So, "jivera swarup hoy". "Nitya das" means "born slave, born servant." That is slave. That was the clarion call in a high voice that was declared first, "jivera swarup hoy," with such great pride, magnanimous pride. Such a dignified position the jiva soul has got. But now in the garb of a master he is the slave of maya, of ajnana, of ignorance; but his real position, his innate position, is that Krishna has got his Autocratic power over the jiva soul. So fortunate they are. So very fortunate. Such a close connection with Krishna the jiva has got in an innate stage. "Jivera swarup hoi krsnera nitya das krsnera tatastha shakti, bheda bheda prakash". But at present it is not found in the soul. It is in his prospect that he is such, but in his present position the soul comes from the line of demarcation, the marginal potency, and so his entrance into maya has been possible. krsnera tatasta sakti bhedabeda prakash. Adaptability towards both sides is within the soul. tatastha sakti bheda bheda prakash, something common and something different. In this way, Mahaprabhu began teaching Sanatan Goswami. And Sanatan Goswami put question after question and he got Mahaprabhu's answers. Then he in turn gave out the conception about the environment and the position of the jiva soul and Bhagavan. He taught "Who is who". This is sambandha.

 

 

Rupa Goswami generally deals with abhidheya, the means to the end. How to attain our desired position? That is abhidheya. What comes naturally from the Veda, from the srauta (revealed scriptures), what flows naturally: "what do you want us to do, oh Lord?" That is abidheya. What is the natural implication of the sruti (message of the scriptures) that has been given to us by Krishna? That is abidheya. So Sri Rupa Goswami is the abidheya acharya, teaching the means to the end, sadhana. Rupa Goswami has elaborately given the way forward and described how to get there. A step by step process.

 

 

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango' tha bhajana-kriya

tato' nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah

athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati

sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

 

"In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and then attachment. This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually spiritual emotions manifest and intensify, then finally there is an awakening of divine love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead."

 

(B-r-s, 1.4.15-16)

 

 

The gradual process is to take us to enter into our home. Prema sneha mana pranaya raga anuraga bhava mahabhava. This has been graphically described by Rupa Goswami, in detail: "This is the way and in this plane do this, and then the next step is this, and then the next step is this, and in this way, you can come to the highest". That has been given by Rupa Goswami. The means to the end. How to come to the desired goal.

 

 

And prayojana-tattva has been given by Das Goswami because he has clearly and boldly asserted that our necessity is not so much with Krishna as with His highest servitor, Radharani. Because generally we come from tatasta sakti and we have got a limited prospect. And our limited prospect to its highest degree will take us to the highest servitor, the eternal servitor in madhura rasa, Srimate Radharani. Das Goswami declared boldly, "Krishna, I do not want you if I do not find Radharani there. I want rather to be in the service of Radharani".

 

 

The devotee is feeling, "Oh Krishna, I cannot really give you the supply of the highest type of service. So, what is the necessity of going in the front rank? I was wandering in the street just the other day, and I have got such audacity that I will come nearest to you, and venture to render service to You? No! There are permanent servitors there in your abode and how high they are! And what a high quality service they are rendering! I must admit that, if I am really liberated and really I am graced. I must understand my real position. I must not cross the original and higher servitors. That will be a fault in me and that will be suicidal. That will defeat its own object. So, my highest goal will be to help the real and eternal servitor who is taking that grave charge of serving you in a high way. That is the right thing for me. And also our necessity is that we are in the serving group. So the serving master is our group-leader. Naturally I must accomodate my aspirations with the serving leader. I am not hankering after Your direct service but the service of the leader servitor. I must try to earn the confidence of her or him who is the leader. Then if I do this I am seeking and searching for your proper service, Krishna. Otherwise, it would be self-seeking in some form or other (selfishness)."

 

 

So, Das Goswami boldly declared that Radha-dasyam is the highest end, highest attainment. That should be our highest end, the summum bonnum. Radhadasyam. In Krishna's abode there is Radha-dasyam, or Yashoda-dasyam in Vatsalya rasa, or Nanda-dasya. The leader of every camp, the highest leader, our real concern should be to be serving them. Our attention should be there. That is what Das Goswami told. And then gradually we come to Rupa, the leader of the juniors. This has been clearly explained in Das Goswami's sloka.

 

 

asa-bharair amrta-sindhu-mayaih kathancit

kalo mayati-gamitah kila sampratam hi

tvam cet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me

pranair vrajena ca varoru bakarinapi

 

For me somehow the present moment is flooded by a nectar ocean of many hopes. If You do not give Your mercy, then of what use to me are this life, the land of Vraja, and Sri Krishna, the enemy of Baka? (Sri Vilapa-kusumanjali, verse 102)

 

 

When Prabhupada (Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami) used to explain this stanza, this sloka, his figure was transformed into something like a phantom. "asa-bharair amrta-sindhu-mayaih kathancit, kalo mayati-gamitah kila sampratam hi, tvam cet krpam mayi vidhasyasi naiva kim me, pranair vrajena ca varoru bakarinapi."

 

 

In this stanza Das Goswami is appealing to Radharani, "For a long time I am cherishing the hope, this sweetest hope, amrta-sindhu-mayaih, from faraway I am fostering such a hope, that I shall come to serve you, Radharani. I am hoping I shall get the privilege of serving you. Anyhow, I am dragging myself forward with this infinite and sweetest hope, that I shall get the chance of serving you. That I shall get the service of your divine feet. But now, I think I have come to the last verge of my hope. No longer can I contain myself. No longer can I live. l cannot breathe any more. The last moment or last circumference of my hope, I have reached, my master. If you won't be satisfied with me and accept me then I can no longer stand or sustain my life. Anyhow, somehow, I have dragged myself to the last moment of my life. l have come to the final conclusion, that I feel this way: of what use is this Vraja, what is the use of my life, if I cannot reach this, my sweetest goal, my dream? What is the use of my life any further? Dragging, dragging, dragging on my life. What shall I do with this great Vraja dham of such a renowned acquaintance? Oh beautiful feet! Even what should I do with Krishna? I don't want them. The whole concentration of my bhajan is this. You, Oh Srimate Radharani, will serve Krishna. You have got that capacity, it is natural. And if I serve you, if I utilize myself to serve you so that by service through you the service may pass to Krishna, then that will be the highest attainment of my fortune." Das Goswami declared it. Das Goswami. And still even now, that is the highest point of our achievement for the whole Gaudiya Sampradaya. Das Goswami is the Proyojana Acharya.

[Beggar]

Srila Sridhar Maharaj,

 

...And prayojana-tattva has been given by Das Goswami because he has clearly and boldly asserted that our necessity is not so much with Krishna as with His highest servitor, Radharani. Because generally we come from tatasta sakti and we have got a limited prospect. And our limited prospect to its highest degree will take us to the highest servitor, the eternal servitor in madhura rasa, Srimate Radharani. Das Goswami declared boldly, "Krishna, I do not want you if I do not find Radharani there. I want rather to be in the service of Radharani".

The devotee is feeling, "Oh Krishna, I cannot really give you the supply of the highest type of service. So, what is the necessity of going in the front rank? I was wandering in the street just the other day, and I have got such audacity that I will come nearest to you, and venture to render service to You? No! There are permanent servitors there in your abode and how high they are! And what a high quality service they are rendering! I must admit that, if I am really liberated and really I am graced. I must understand my real position. I must not cross the original and higher servitors. That will be a fault in me and that will be suicidal. That will defeat its own object. So, my highest goal will be to help the real and eternal servitor who is taking that grave charge of serving you in a high way. That is the right thing for me. And also our necessity is that we are in the serving group. So the serving master is our group-leader. Naturally I must accomodate my aspirations with the serving leader. I am not hankering after Your direct service but the service of the leader servitor. I must try to earn the confidence of her or him who is the leader. Then if I do this I am seeking and searching for your proper service, Krishna. Otherwise, it would be self-seeking in some form or other (selfishness)."

[Murali_Mohan_das]

Srila Sridhar Maharaj:

 

It is in his prospect that he is such, but in his present position the soul comes from the line of demarcation, the marginal potency, and so his entrance into maya has been possible.

[Sarva gattah]

The scholar and the street sweeper

 

<!--the main section of the post goes here-->There is a pastime in the Vedas about a caste Vaisnava (devotee of Krishna) learned scholar (jnani) who new all the workings of the universe and all the verses of the Vedas, he was very proud of his knowledge and universal understandings. Out side his room was a simple minded street sweeper who new nothing of the workings of the universe however, was always thinking of Krishna, serving His devotees and chanting His holey name’s 24 hours a day.

The great sage Narada-Muni asked Krishna:

“Who would be liberated first, the knowledgeable proud jnani or the humble street sweeper’.

Krishna told Narada to go to them both and tell them:

“I am threading an Elephant through the eye of needle”

Narada first went to the jnani and during the course of the conversation, told him Krishna was in Goloka-Vrindavan threading an elephant through the eye of a needle.

The jnani laughed and chastised Narada for talking nonsense,

“That is impossible”

The jnani proclaimed and added,

“I’m no sentimentalist, how can you expect me to believe such nonsense”

Narada then went to see the street sweeper and also told him Krishna was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle. The street sweeper was ecstatic and proclaimed:

“Krishna is the Supreme Personality Of Godhead, the creator of the Universe, how wonderful it is He can do anything He chooses, all glories to Lord Krishna the source of all our abilities and talents”

Narada then returned to Goloka-Vrindavan and told Krishna what had happened and again asked who would return back to Goloka-Vrindavan first, the scholar or the street sweeper? Krishna answered:

“The jnani (scholar) would spend an unknown number of lives, maybe a thousand, or 100,000 life times in the temporary world due to his pride and attachment to the title of Gosvami and the accumulating of knowledge. On the other hand, the street sweeper would be liberated at the end of his present body, and return back to my Personal abode because of his unconditional attachment to Me”.

Krishna further explained the jnani was more attached to his accumulation of knowledge and rituals than simple service to Krishna, where as the street sweeper was totally attached to the Lords Lotus Feet and always at the feet of other devotees.

Lord Krishna further added:

“The only objective that is important is for one to get out of both the cycle of birth and death and the temporary universe by simply being attached to My pure devotees and publicly chanting My names for the benefit of others, who are also entangled in the material world. This can be achieved no matter what ones occupation is”.

 

Maya or the illusory energy and forgetfulness has an eternal time span to train up and condition the jiva to possess any temporary body manifested simultaneously by the Maya’s energy and jivas desire.

 

Unfortunately karma (what goes around comes around or action and reaction) entangles the embodied jiva’s to what appears to be an eternity, all what they had previously desired becomes forgotten, restricted and squashed by the constant backlog of karma visiting the embodied jiva. In this way the jiva’s loose their way and ultimately forget what they previously wanted in the first place after leaving the Personal Kingdom of God due to the long, long ago association with the impermanent energy and the massive accumulation of reactions to the actions they have performed in their travels through so many human bodily identities and forms.

The embodied jivas become so covered by their own forgetfulness, they no longer know what they want other than eating, sleeping, mating and defending, they are now basically pushed around in the material universe like waves push around a boat at sea without a ruder.

 

However, if the embodied jiva can make it to Krishna’s Kingdom by holding tightly onto the feet of a pure devotee, that seemingly feeling of eternity in the impermanent universal ocean will only appear like the blink of an eye!

[Sarva gattah]

How is it one can forget Goloka-Vrndavan?

 

<!--the main section of the post goes here-->The following is a pastime (Lila) of the great sage Narada-Muni that took place walking with Krishna outside the walls of Dwarka in Goloka-Vrindavan. Krishna was about to teach Narada a valuable lesson about the powerful effects of Maya (forgetfulness)

 

Narada Muni, a great Devotee of Lord Krishna, was once walking outside the perimeter of Dwarka (one of Krishna’s great Palaces) with the Lord. As they walked, Narada asked Krishna,

“How is it one can forget such a beautiful place as Goloka-Vrndavan? ‘How could a devotee forget Krishna and end up in the temporary material world in an ethereal (heavenly) or biological (earthly) body?”

 

Narada looked at Krishna in total ecstasy and bliss wondering how anyone could leave such beauty. He was confused, as he new the material universe was full of souls who all were previously with Krishna in their genuine eternal ‘svarupa’ form that is perpetually endowed with an imperishable identity, personality and individuality. Such souls had chosen to did exactly that, forgot Krishna and their own real identity, by turning their back on Him and manufacturing so many counterfeit identities, personalities and forms outside of Goloka-Vrindavan, within the temporary material universe, how could this happen?

As they walked through the forest, a young girl caught Narada’s attention; she was struggling to carry two buckets of water near a well. Out of pity, Narada went over and offered his helping hand to the struggling girl; she gladly accepted his offer, as she was exhausted. Gladly and compassionate Narada Muni carried the two buckets of water and proceeded to the girls’ destination at a nearby Village.

 

On the way there, the simplicity and innocents of this beautiful young girl was so sweet and captivating that Narada was speechless in her association. She broke the silence by explaining she was the daughter of the Village elder and her father was a great leader and devotee of Krishna. Narada, however was so captivated by the girl’s sweet voice, flowing long hair and colourful sari, he was not listening. He was totally dumbfounded in her presents.

 

When they arrived at the Village, the girl introduced her new friend to her father. He was very impressed by Narada’s qualities, and thought this man must be a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He immediately further thought ‘what a nice husband this young man would make for my daughter’ The Village elder felt obligated to reward Narada for his service.

 

All the Villagers gathered around thinking Narada must be a great Sage and suggested the best reward for him was the village elder’s daughter in marriage. Narada Muni was so attached and comfortable with the girl that he accepted the offering! The wedding day arrived and everyone in the surrounding area came. The Village Brahmin’s (priests) performed the fire yajna (purification ceremony) and many gifts were given. After the marriage Narada and his new wife settled in performing various duties.

 

Narada eventually became the Head Master of the Gurukula (school). In due course his wife fell pregnant with their first child. A boy was born and the Village was ecstatic, celebrating late into the night. As time went on, Narada’s happiness increased being with his family and living in the Village, he never had a worry in the world. Over the years he was bestowed another six children. He enjoyed watching them grow, becoming educated and playing sporting games with them. All his children were adorned with beautiful qualities.

 

Twenty years had passed, his father in-law, the Village elder, passed away suddenly due to illness; everyone was saddened and would only accept Narada as the new Village elder.

 

Many more years passed and he eventually gave permission to a young boy to marry his daughter. Everything was so perfect, so peaceful. Narada was totally satisfied with his wife, children, grandchildren and all the wonderful people in the Village.

 

Then one day an enormous storm came to the Village, pelting heavy rain with strong winds that destroyed houses. Narada decided he must immediately evacuate the Village, but it was too late, flooding had made it impossible to escape. The storm became more intense, the water level was rising fast and raging torrents destroyed everything in its path.

 

Narada frantically searched for his wife, children, grandchildren and friends, He found himself trapped on a plank of wood in the raging torrents looking everywhere through the hail, wind and ragging water for his wife, but new she must have been washed away by the flood. His son in law and daughter also found a plank of wood attempting to ride out the storm however, it only got worse and they eventually lost their footing and also perished. Then to Narada’s amazement he saw two of his young grand children high up in a tree holding on to dear life. Narada reached out to them screaming,

 

“Just hold on to me, give me your hand and I will save you!”

 

They reached out and at the same time a huge wave overpowered all of them, frantically Narada searched through the water screaming out for his grandchildren, but they also had perished. He continued calling out,

 

“Don’t leave me, just hold on somehow, don’t leave me!”

 

Then he also perished in the flood. At that exact moment, Narada felt a tap on the shoulder, he slowly opened his eyes still lamenting and wanting to be with his family. He found himself sitting against a well; again Narada yelled out in bewilderment,

 

“Where is my family?”

 

Then realized the tap on the shoulder was from Krishna standing next to him. Krishna laughed and said,

 

“You wanted to know how powerful Maya (forgetfulness) was, so I showed you. You have been sitting against that well for no more than a moment!”

 

Coming to his senses, Narada says to Krishna,

 

“You mean all that experience, my wife, my children, my friends, my wealth, my fame, my followers, the Village, was a dream?”

Krishna replies,

 

 

“No, it is all real but everything outside my Kingdom is impermanent. Your entire experience was a lesson to show you how easy it is for even a devotee in Goloka-Vrindavan, who is eternally liberated (nitya siddha), to imagine themselves to be eternally conditioned in the material creation (nitya-baddha). This happens by simply choosing to no longer serve Me, just as you have done by also allowing yourself to choose to l be captivated by Maya (forgetfulness and illusion) and ‘imagine’ your self fallen to a temporary bodily vessel of transitory nature that is subject to forgetfulness birth, disease, old age short memory and death. This condition is experienced in the impermanent creation that exists only within My material universe outside My Eternal abode of Goloka Vrindavan/Vaikuntha.

In My Spiritual Universe, there is no death and everything happens within the perpetual ‘present’, however as soon as you chose to forget Me and help the girl, you were immediately transferred to My material universe of past, present and future and experienced the fleeting forgetful nature of the transitory universe, including death by drowning.

 

This is because you were attached to something other than loving devotional service to Me; (Krishna or God) you chose to turn your back on me just for a moment to help the young girl and became captivated by your own selfless compassion to help her, so much so you forgot Me! That moment seemed like a lifetime.

Genuine selflessness is doing everything for My pleaser and you, along with others, simply become inattentive. Many of my devotees experience this illusion like you have so I can teach them a valuable lesson about the temporary universe of imagination. However, others who turn their back on me, by choosing to become attracted to their selfish desires, imaginings and thoughts of achieving independent grander, can remain in the material universe in forgetfulness for what seems to be an eternity.

 

They forget their true ‘svarupa’ form, identify, personality and individuality for nearly an eternity, transmigrating through many millions of counterfeit ethereal and biological bodies in their search for so called happiness.

 

In the material world, this is like chasing after a mirage in the desert that only appears real, but in reality is only an illusion. The impermanent universe is both real and an illusion because it is transitory. This is what temporary ethereal (heavenly or hellish) and biological (earthly) bodies in the material universe are like, they all end in disappointment because they fade away because everything one has accumulated and worked so hard to achieve is lost and ultimately forgotten – everything just fades in time.

 

Conditioned souls who are trapped in the material universe in the imaginary condition of nitya-baddha, experience that ‘moment’ of being away from my Kingdom as billions upon billions of life times in billions of different bodies. This experience seems like an eternity, so much so, many foolishly come to believe the Impersonal inactive effulgent Brahmajoyti, or bright light, which is the motionless effulgence of trillions of individual jivas surrounding My body, is the starting and ending point of their existence. All of them have forgotten their real form and relationship with Me in Goloka-Vrindavan

This is very difficult to understand without My favour because it is very complicated for you to comprehend the eternal stage on which all this illusion within the impermanent material universe is unfolding.

In actual fact, all of those jivas were once like you and had a personal intimate relationship with Me in Goloka-Vrindavan, they still do, but have temporally forgotten due to entering the creation of imagination through their thoughts, they are think they are fallen but just like you sitting against the well, have not gone anywhere. As in your case of sitting against the well and captivated by absent-mindedness just for a moment, the consciousness of those who choose to leave My Personal abode and their real nitya-siddha form, identity, personality and individually have also become forgetful, leaving behind their original form, just as you did Narada, in Goloka-Vrindavan. On leaving your true identity through your thoughts, you then fabricate numerus counterfeit forms, identities and personalities like one does in a dream at night.

Some in this way transfer their consciousness by the power of thought and imagination to the material universe, as your inattentive sub-conscious imagination had just experienced, turning their back on Me and pursue their own interests.

In actual fact there is no beginning or ending point of the jiva tatastha. This Impersonal conclusion by some lost souls, which includes many learned Vaisnavas and caste Goswami’s (My devotees), have miss understood that their eternal relationship with Me that is always there in Goloka-Vrindavan, even if they have forgotten because their existence in the material creation is only their imagination.

Their impersonal idea that souls originates from the Brahmajoyti from a plain sheet of consciousness, from whence new souls are continuously being generated, is due to the long association they have had within many fleeting bodies within the temporary universe. Being trapped in the imagination of their own minds, forgetting they have only ‘willed’ and ‘thought’ their present nitya baddha counterfeit ‘imaginary’ identities and association for so, so long, that they have forgotten completely their original ‘svarupa’ form, identity, personality individuality from whence all this material hallucination is projected from.

 

They have forgotten their selfless devotional love in their eternal relationship with Me, as you, Narada, have just done. Even a great devotee like you should never underestimate the power of My Maya (forgetfulness and illusion)”! And never forget that being marginal living entities there is always the free will to choose how to serve Me or forget Me all together by imagining yourself to no longer be with Me, forgetting your perpetual ‘svarupa’ body in the process.

 

What is Maya? Maya, forgetfulness, illusion, ‘that which is not’, a personality who controls the impermanent energy, i.e., the ethereal (heavenly and hellish) and biological (earthly) container the soul manifests, as well as the mental delusions suffered by the forgetful jiva after leaving the Kingdom of God. Maya’s duty is to make sure no one disturbs Krishna by offering the aspiring devotees wealth, riches, beauty (female or male), and knowledge of the celestial technological heavenly realms and technologically earthly realm as a test to see what one really wants.

 

Human civilizations throughout the centuries have repeatedly attempted to build a permanent existence as well as prepare their present bodies with wealth and belongings to take with them into a heavenly ‘after-life’ where they believe they will live forever, why this is not possible in this temporary world will be fully explained in this thesis.

 

From the beginning of time, so many cultures have tried to prepare, with their inherent instinctual belief in an after life, to enter a Perpetual Kingdom of God. They unfortunately mistakenly come to believe that this transitory universe, with its heavenly rewards, is their real home (Explained later when explaining the heavenly planets within the interim creation in higher levels of the material universe existing in a non-biological sub-space dimension).

 

All things must pass

 

The attempt to achieve happiness, love and sensual pleasures in an impermanent atmosphere will, in due course, frustrates an intelligent human being because; in the end, all they have worked so hard to build up over their lifetime is all taken away. Whatever material acquisitions built up over their lifetime eventually wears out and erodes away.

 

Ultimately they loose everything anyway as forgetfulness, disease, old age and death over comes them. The phenomenon of death, also known as ‘forgetfulness’, is an abnormal state the jiva or individual life force is overcome by while travelling in and identifying with the outward biological human bodily garment or vehicle while contained in the temporary universe.

The attempt to build a perpetual blissful home on earth in a biological body, or in heaven in a non-biological ethereal body is not possible because everything eventually breaks down and fades away in the impermanent material universe.

Even in the heavenly planets, that are rewards for Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews and most branches of Hinduism, due to their performance of penance and austerity, exists only a temporary celestial manifestation within the boundaries of the material universe where one can live for thousands of years but also must pass on.

Only jivas who fall from the Brahmajoyti, having first originally previously first fallen from Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavan long, long, long before they mistakenly accepted the Impersonal Brahmajoyti as their origins, have to start their active existence from the beginnings of biological life.

Only after billions of life times, do they unfortunately make their way to the Brahmajoyti. They do not know or remember how they were introduced or originally fell from Goloka-Vrindavan/Vaikuntha to the temporary universe in the first place and foolishly believe the Brahmajoyti is both the source of their existence and liberation.

Unfortunately the separation of the individual jiva from Krishna’s Personal abode has been so long periods of time they foolishly believe their origins are the Brahmajoyti. These jivas, who think they have originated from the Brahmajoyti, first manifest an ethereal body that stays with them for as long as they exist in the impermanent universe. From that ethereal body all other insubstantial and biological forms are projected.

Coming from the Brahmajoyti means these embodied jivas have to start their active existence from the most basic form of life first attained after leaving that effulgent light. From there the now embodied jiva has to go through the billions of biological bodily mapped out by evolution until the human body is again attained. It must be made clear this extremely lengthy process is only for the jivas who have previously merged there identity, individuality, personality and form into a minute spark of individual living light and therefore have entered or merged themselves (individual spark) into the brightness of the Impersonal Brahmajoyti.

Such souls have to start off at the very basis of biological life when they again re-emerge from their Impersonal slumber.

Impersonalism is a very dangerous philosophy to follow and is often referred to by devotees of Krishna as Spiritual suicide. The Impersonal effulgence or Brahman is where unlimited other ‘inactive jivas’ exist and vibrate their form impersonally as individual living sparks of light that collectively make up what is also known as the Impersonal Nirvana. All of them who enter the Brahmajoyti, except for some rare Impersonalist yogis, have to start at scratch (entering the body of a microbe) when they eventually desire activity and fall out of that Impersonal sense of oneness.

Followers of Lord Buddha and the Jains practice sever penance and austerities attempting to free themselves from karma. Their austerity however, has the side effect of accumulating pious karma that allows them entry into the heavenly planets. These higher dimensional supernatural worlds, known as the heavenly planets, exist in sub-space which are a insubstantial manifestation of the temporary material energy where the ethereal non-biological material body, that is temporary but not inert material lifeless energy, contains the eternal jiva or soul and resides separately encased in the ethereal living body.

 

The embodied jiva souls, even though contained in material bodily vessels equipped to be able to allow life to move freely as the mahat-tattva within the mahat-tattva. Such material vehicles have a structure to them and are apart from the lifeless inert sub-space-matter that the sub-space heavenly and hellish planets are made of.

In this thesis it should be made clear the words material and matter is lifeless substance or energy. In other words we do not live in an inert material body but rather we live in an ethereal material vessel suitable to maintain the presents of life that further creates a biological material covering.

There is a difference between inert matter and ethereal and biological matter however; both are part and parcel of the mahat-tattva material creation of Maha-Vishnu. Inert matter refers to the lifeless by-products left over by the embodied jivas once they vacate the biological body of 'charged matter due to the presents of life' moved by the embodied jiva. The inert matter is what makes up our mountains, planets, moon and stars because originally all inert matter s left over from the previous presents of life.

Both the jivas ethereal bodies or containments and the surrounding sub-space lifeless material energy are not generally perceived by the embodied ‘jivas projected biological containments’ that the ethereal body eventually manifests as a further extension of the ethereal body. The biological restraint or body covers the ethereal body and resides in a dimension like our earthly planet that is called secular space that is far more gross and solid than sub-space matter however, both realities are material where as the ethereal body and its extended biological body are not material.

The ethereal body in material sub-space is also called the supernatural-realm; where as the biological containment in secular-space is called the natural-realm. Both the natural and the supernatural are not spiritual; they are different dimensions within the material realm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAI SRILA PRABHUPADA!