Who are you?

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Who are you?

 

By Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

 

No One Is Happy

 

Our ancient Indian scriptures tell us that no one in this

world wants suffering. Everyone wants complete happiness,

and everyone is involved in endeavoring day and night for

this. We see, however, that although the world's leaders

have been discovering so many ways to be happy since

ancient times, they have not been successful. They

especially think that wealth can buy us happiness, but

until now no one has become truly happy by that wealth.

They discovered trains, then airplanes, and then so many

medicines, and nowadays they have created computers and

other new inventions. Nowadays doctors can transplant

hearts, taking the heart of any animal and placing it in

the body of a human being. After a person dies, the doctors

can take his eyes and give them to another person. From the

kitchen to the battlefield, there is advanced medical

science, transportation, and communication; but still no

one is happy. In fact, those who are most advanced in

technology and science found that the buildings symbolic of

their highest wealth and national defense were recently

bombed and destroyed - and they fear still more to come. So

no one is truly happy, and no one can stop death.

 

Although we are suffering, we think that we are doing well.

We are like a person who has drunk great quantities of

alcohol and has fallen in a drain that is full of stool and

urine. At the same time that person thinks, " I am monarch

of all. " His face is being 'washed' by the 'hot water'

coming from the urine of dogs, and yet he thinks, " I am

happy. " He is like a madman, and in a sense we are also

like this.

 

No one in this world will ever be truly happy, and no one

will ever be able to stop death. However, there is a

transcendental science by understanding which there will be

no birth and no death, and there will always be happiness.

That science is known as bhakti, pure devotion to the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. In bhakti, without money

and without expending very much energy, everlasting

happiness will easily come. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the

Supreme Lord descended in this world as His own devotee,*

discovered a process, and that process is called love and

affection for all living beings.

 

But in this world, it is absurd to think one can love all

living beings. If you try to love a ferocious tiger, for

example, he will attack you. A poisonous snake may attack

and bite you if you try to show it love. However, if you

can love the Supreme Lord, that love will be distributed to

all beings, and all can be happy. This is the true " love

and affection theory. " In that realm of love, if you have

some love for tigers and bears, they will become calm and

quiet. Our Rsis, great sages of the past, used to go to

very dense forests and live there, and they were never

attacked by tigers or other wild beasts. We have heard from

our scriptures about examples of this, such as Agasta Rsi,

Narada Rsi, Dhruva Maharaja, Prahlada Maharaja, and many

others.

 

How will we get that love and affection for the Supreme

Lord by which we can love all others? In Kali-yuga, the age

of quarrel, the only process is to chant the holy name of

the Lord and this can be done very easily. It may be

chanted by anyone of any language; it can be chanted by

those who speak English, Malaysian, Hindi, Sanskrit,

Spanish, Chinese, and so on. Don't think that there are

many gods or that God is divided into many fractions. There

is one God. The Chinese may call out to that same Supreme

Lord, the Christians may also, the Hindus also, and the

Vaisnavas also. He is very beautiful, charming, powerful,

and merciful, and He can come and play with you in any

relationship. He is not formless, or without a shape. This

idea is wrong.

 

There are three letters in the word God. G stands for

Generator, O for Operator, and D for Destroyer. One who can

create entire universes cannot be formless or without

attributes. He must have all kinds of power and opulence.

All the forms of this world have come from Him, and

therefore He Himself cannot be formless. It has been

written in the Bible: " God created man in His own image, "

and this is also confirmed in our theistic devotion of the

ancient Vedas: " What He was before He is now, and He will

be the same in the future. He is ever-existing and in the

ancient Sanskrit language He is called Brahma, Paramatma,

and Bhagavan. Actually, Brahma (the impersonal effulgence

of His body) and Paramatma (His manifestation as Supersoul

in the heart of all beings are His partial expansions, but

the word Bhagavan (the Supreme Lord containing all opulence

and powers) is complete. Everything is present in Him. He

is so large that complete universes are contained within

Him, and at the same time He is so minute that He resides

in each atom. He is present in every atom of air, in every

atom of fire, and in every atom of water. He is everywhere

and He can hear everything; so we should try to please Him.

 

An Ocean Of Love And Affection

 

We should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is

one without a second. He is the same God for the

Christians, for the Muslims, for the Hindus, and for all

others. There are not different Gods. He is the same God,

the same Hoda, the same Christ. Just as there is one sun

and one moon for the whole world, similarly, there are not

different Gods for different people. How can God be

divided? There should not be more than one God, otherwise

all the gods will quarrel over territory and position.

There is only one God, but He appears according to the

vision of the devotee.

 

It appears that there are fifteen different moons. For

fifteen days the moon gradually increases in size,

eventually becoming a full moon, and after that it

decreases in size again, becoming a new moon on the last

day of the month. The " moons " are not different; it is the

names of the moon that are different: full moon, new moon,

quarter moon, and so on. Similarly, there is only one God,

but He appears to be many because the ignorant devotees

seem to have divided Him up by their different languages.

 

Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has many

manifestations such as Rama, Narasimha, Jagannatha,

Baladeva, and Narayana, and they are all the same. Even the

person you call 'God' is also the same, for He is also one

of the manifestations of Krsna (the original name of God in

the ancient Vedic scriptures), and so are Allah and

Jehovah. These are all names of God's manifestations. Some

of these manifestations are more complete and have more

power, and some have less power. The full moon, the new

moon, and the stages in between all belong to the same

moon, but we see differences according to our angle of

vision. Actually, the moon is always full, but we consider

that it is waxing or waning when it is covered in varying

degrees.

 

In the same way, Krsna is one without a second. He has

innumerable manifestations, but they are all Krsna. We are

also parts and parcels of Krsna. We are not Krsna, but at

the same time we are not different from Him. Both

principles are there: difference and non-difference. We can

use the analogies of the sun and its rays, and the fire and

its heat; they are also different and not different. This

truth about the Supreme is astonishing, and Caitanya

Mahaprabhu has explained it thoroughly.

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without a second.

Sometimes He manifests in this world personally, and

sometimes He sends His associates to give pure knowledge.

All the souls here in this world are His eternal servants.

This is the true conception, whether we accept it or not.

We have forgotten Him from the beginning of the creation of

this world, so He sometimes descends and performs very

sweet and powerful pastimes so that all conditioned souls

will be attracted to Him and engage in His service.

 

No one has any confusion or doubt about whether the sun

exists, so why should there be any doubt about the

existence of the creator of hundreds of thousands of suns?

He can create millions and millions of worlds in a moment,

and He can also destroy them. Sometimes He comes here, only

to save us and to engage us all in His service. Other than

serving Him, there is no way to be happy in this world or

in any other world. There is only one God, and ignorance of

our relationship with Him is the cause of our unhappiness.

 

We can be happy if we are engaged in Krsna's service. Don't

be afraid that serving Him will be like serving someone in

this world. There is so much happiness in serving Him, more

than in serving your wife, husband, children, father, and

so on. There is very, very relishable love and affection in

His service. There is so much love and affection in God's

abode, Krsna's transcendental abode - oceans of love and

affection. Here the master gains and the servant has to

lose something, but it is not like that there.

 

First we should know that we are Krsna's eternal servants,

but we have forgotten Him, and that is the cause of all our

suffering and sorrow, birth and death. We should have very

firm faith in this. Don't have any doubt that we are spirit

souls, parts and parcels of Godhead, that we are His

eternal servants, and that it is due to forgetting Him that

we are suffering now.

 

We can realize His mercy if we chant His name, and He can

be seen by us. In the ancient days of Satya-yuga (the age

of goodness, a time when mankind lived pious, peaceful, and

pure lives of thousands of years), great sages used to see

Him by meditation. In this present age, however, meditation

on such a deep level cannot be accomplished, because our

minds are always fickle. There is one process by which we

can meditate upon Him, and that process is the chanting of

His holy names: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare

Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Hare Hare.

 

At the same time, chanting alone will not suffice. That

chanting must be done in an authentic process, which must

be given by the Supreme Lord Himself. Those who have heard

from that Supreme Lord are coming through the guru-

parampara, the disciplic line of succession of pure

spiritual masters. Brahma, the first created being of this

universe, heard from God Himself, Krsna, or His expansion

Narayana. Brahma then told the great sage Narada, and

Narada told Vyasa, the literary incarnation of the Lord.

Thus, in this way, the transcendental knowledge of the

process and its goal is descending. A Guru, spiritual

master, should be authentic, self-realized, and coming in

this line of succession, and then a disciple can chant

successfully.

 

Give Only Your Ears

 

The bona fide Guru tells us, " Give me your ears. I don't

want all of your senses; I only want one of them. " All the

senses have a special function, but only the ears can hear

sound vibration and transcendental words. Because of this

specialty of the ear, the Guru coming in disciplic

succession helps us to surrender to Krsna through that ear.

It is through this vibration of sound that the Guru may

give Krsna, God Himself, who is hidden in everyone's heart.

He can easily give this through the ear, and not by any

other sense.

 

You should know that there are two kinds of words, and they

are called in the Sanskrit language, " sabda-brahma " and

" sabda-samanya. " Sabda-brahma means transcendental sound,

that sound which is beyond this material world, and

sabda-samanya means ordinary, mundane sound. Material sound

comes from the vibration of the material tongue, but

sabda-brahma comes from the Lord Himself. The great sage

Narada Muni gave that transcendental sound to his disciples

Valmiki and others, and they gave it to their disciples.

 

One who has not extensively practiced devotion and is not

perfect may give Krsna's holy name, brahma-gayatri, and

other transcendental mantras to others, but the sound

vibrations given by him will not have any effect. Although

they are by nature powerful and transcendental, they will

not have an effect. In that instance, the words of the

mantras and Krsna's holy names will manifest only as

worldly, mundane words. If a Guru has not sufficiently

practiced or realized that transcendental sound, it will

not give any fruit in the heart of the person to whom he

gives it.

 

On the other hand, great transcendentalists and

self-realized souls of the past, like Sri Svarupa Damodara,

Sri Raya Ramananda, Srila Haridas Thakura , and Sri Rupa

Gosvami the other Gosvamis, were perfect in the utterance

of that sound. We should accept sabda-brahma from those of

their caliber.

 

Who Can Give Pure Love And Devotion?

 

There is a verse in our Vedic scriptures that explains the

quality of a person who can actually help you:

 

anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanu-silanam bhaktir uttama

 

" Pure devotional service is the cultivation of activities

which are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Krsna, or

in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Krsna,

performed through all endeavors of the body, mind, and

speech, and through the expression of various spiritual

sentiments (bhavas). It is not covered by jnana (knowledge

aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward-seeking

activity), and it is devoid of all desires other than the

aspiration to bring happiness to Krsna. "

(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11)

 

You can understand the meaning of this verse by the

following example. There was a great devotee of Lord Rama,

who is one of Lord Krsna's powerful incarnations. That

devotee was named Valmiki, and he became perfect after a

very long time. Although he was originally a brahmana, a

member of the priestly caste, he had previously become a

very ferocious dacoit due to bad association, and he thus

murdered many sages and saintly kings. Valmiki also wanted

to kill the sage Narada Muni, but as he approached him to

do so, Narada held up his hand and said, " Stop. " Valmiki

was surprised that just by Narada's saying, " Stop, " he was

forced to stop against his will. Valmiki thus became

submissive, and Narada was able to explain to him about the

bad reactions that would come to him as a result of his

heinous sins. He revealed those reactions to Valmiki, who

then took shelter of him and inquired how to become free.

Narada told him, " You should sit down here and chant 'Rama

Rama Rama Rama Rama.' Do only this. " Valmiki was trying to

obey, but due to his past sinful reactions he could not

chant that divine name. Narada then told him, " If you

cannot chant Rama, then you should chant, ' mara.' " Mara

and Rama are both Sanskrit words, and mara has the same

syllables as Rama, said backwards. Rama means God and mara

means death, and therefore " Mara mara " could easily be

chanted by Valmiki. Narada thus told him, " You should chant

'Mara', " and Valmiki began to chant, " Mara mara. " Then,

automatically, " mara mara " chanted repeatedly became " Rama

Rama. "

 

Valmiki continued chanting as he sat waiting for his Guru's

return. He continued to sit for thousands of years, and

during that time he did not eat, nor did he even pass stool

or urine. His austerity was superior to that of Dhruva

Maharaja, another saint of ancient times, and he became as

good as Sri Vyasadeva, the compiler of the Vedic

scriptures. As the thousands of years passed, Valmiki's

body became like earth, in the sense that so many insects

ate his flesh and blood and other bodily substances, and

they made an ant-hill around him. The original Guru,

Brahma, came after some time and sprinkled water from his

sacred water pot while uttering mantras, and Valmiki's body

became like that of a beautiful young person. Brahma then

told Valmiki, " Now you are perfect. "

 

In this world, we cannot follow such austerity. It is hard

to sit for even two hours to chant, nor can one easily fast

from eating, drinking, or sleeping, for even one day; nor

can one be fully absorbed in meditation for 12 hours, 6

hours, or even 1 hour. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu has told us,

" Don't be hopeless. Somehow chant and go to Gurudeva to

take initiation. Take the seed of the perfect

transcendental name of Krsna. Chant, and you will very

easily become happy. This process is the essence of all

scriptures. "

 

Always remain in the association of pure devotees of Krsna,

the reservoir of truth and pleasure. If you remain alone,

you will become weak, and illusion will swallow you. Even

if your Gurudeva is far away, in India or here and there,

don't think that he is not in your heart. Like Krsna, he

may be present anywhere, and you can call him. With this

firm belief, you should chant in the correct and bona fide

process, and very soon you will realize true happiness.

Chant, " Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare

Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, " and always think, " My

beloved Krsna is everywhere. " If you engage in this process

you can be happy, and without this you will never be so.

Our Rsis have discovered this method:

 

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

 

" In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of

deliverance is the chanting of the powerful holy names of

the Lord. There is no other way; there is no other way;

there is no other way. " (Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 17.21)

 

[in the modern age, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu preached

love of God by practical demonstration. He is the great

apostle of love of God and the father of the congregational

chanting of the holy name of the Lord. He advented Himself

at Sridhama Mayapura, a quarter in the city of Navadvipa in

Bengal, in February 1486. Thousands of years prior to His

appearance, many ancient Vedic scriptures foretold His

coming.]

 

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