Bhakti Caru Svami, SB 1.2.20

[jagatpurush]

"Thus established in the mode of unalloyed goodness, the man whose mind has been enlivened by contact with devotional service to the Lord gains positive scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead in the stage of liberation from all material association."

 

The mind becomes satisfied when it is freed from material attachments.Krishna explains in Bhagavad Gita that through material desire, lust arises. When that lust is not satisfied, then it gives rise to anger. As a result, intelligence is destroyed. Attachment to this material world causes such suffering. Therefore, the mind becomes perplexed by so many problems.

 

The verse before explained that this is all due to the modes of passion And ignorance. Tada rajas tamo bhava kama lobhadayas ca ye. These six enemies, do you remember them? Yes, lust, anger, greed, envy, pride and illusion. These six enemies are attacking our hearts because we are in the modes of passion and ignorance. However, when we are freed from those modes and elevate ourselves to the mode of goodness, there only can we begin on the path of bhakti. It is not possible in the lower modes. Only in the mode of goodness can we surrender ourselves at the lotus feet of the Lord, and until we surrender, we cannot begin on the path of devotion.

 

Bhakti starts from surrender. Until we offer ourselves to the Lord, Bhakti is not possible. This surrender is called saranagati. Sri krsna Caitanya prabhu jive doya kori swa prasäda swiya dhäma saha avatari atyanta durlabha prema koribare dana sikhaye saranagati bhakatera prana. To give this very valuable Krishna prema, Krishna bhakti, to instruct us about surrender, Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu has descended. When is surrender possible? It is only possible when we enter the mode of goodness. In this mode of goodness,devotional service begins.

 

When we become absorbed in devotional service, then we surpass the mode Of goodness and become situated in the mode of transcendental, pure goodness. In this material world, there are three modes: ignorance, passion and goodness. Actually, the goodness of the material world is not pure goodness. It is mixed with passion and ignorance. However, beyond this material nature, there is pure goodness. In this transcendental goodness, whatever we do is only for the pleasure of the Lord. Therefore, it is pure.

In the spiritual world, everything is done for the pleasure of the Lord. We are seeing that Arjuna is fighting in the battle field of Kuruksetra, but why is he fighting? He is fighting for Krishna. The same is for everything in the spiritual world. All the activities, although they may appear to be in the lower modes, they are all in transcendental goodness. Arjuna is obviously not fighting in the mode of goodness, battle is in the mode of passion, but because it is for Krishna's pleasure, it is in the mode of transcendental goodness. Crying is in the mode of ignorance, but who are the gopis crying for? They are crying for Krishna, so it is pure.

 

In this way, when we do everything for Krishna, our heart becomes Completely satisfied. This is being explained here. Evam means, in this way. In this way means that to surpass the modes of passion and ignorance, when we becomes engaged in devotional service, at that moment, we become qualified to begin on the path of devotional service.

 

When we enter the mode of goodness, our heart, our desires are satisfied by becoming absorbed in love of God. The heart of the living entity becomes satisfied by loving Krishna. Why? By become dependent on the Lord, one no longer has any anxieties. What is our situation here? For every need, we must worry. We must think of how we will fulfill it. Where will I get food? Where will I get rent for my house? Where will I get tuition for my son and daughter's education? How will I marry my daughter? If one does not have money, it is very difficult. Isn't this the situation in the material world? At every step, there is so much entanglement, so much worry. How will I attain this? So many worries.

 

However, we must realize that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists And He is providing everything. Whatever we desire, we need, we are getting. We are getting food. Just think, how old are you? Whether you are five or fifty, did you get food everyday? Otherwise, you would have died. You are alive, so you must have gotten. Where did it come from, all this food that you have eaten? Did it come from the market, from your house? No, it came from the Earth. How did it appear there? A little seed was planted, and from a little seed, a big tree came about. From the tree, fruits and vegetables sprouted. We are eating those fruits, vegetables. How have the grains come about? They were planted, it rained and there was sunshine, as a result of the two, the seed grew. We cannot produce a seed in a factory. Who has created it? The Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

Can I supply rain, water? No, see in what a beautiful way Krishna has arranged for rain. There is water in the ocean, so much, but that water is not only very far, but it is salty. It will ruin the crops. That ocean water is evaporated by the sunshine and taken to the clouds. That clouds travels from the ocean to the land. There, through condensation, the cloud pours down rain. In this way, water is supplied everywhere. By the water's absorption in the soil, the tree is getting its nourishment. The water is not enough. Krishna has also arranged for sunshine. Through this arrangement, we are getting food. So who has arranged? Have I arranged? Or you? Or the government? In this way, we can see that whatever we require, we are getting by the divine arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.So is Krishna looking after us? If Krishna is looking after us, then can we depend upon Him? If we depend upon Him, will we have any anxieties?

 

Consider, a three-four year old child is alone. He will be in so much difficulty. Where will he get food? He will be in so much anxiety. But when he holds onto his father's hand and remains with him, will he have to worry? We are all children, whether five year old children or fifty year old children or seventy five year old children, we are children because we are not capable of doing anything. But who is our father? We are alone, so we think that we are without any support or shelter. Therefore, we are in so much anxiety. But do we have a father, a supreme father? Whether we are five or one hundred and fifty, we the supreme father who is arranging to supply for all our needs. That father is Krishna.

 

When we take shelter of Krishna, all our anxieties disappear. There are No problems left on our path. So when all our problems and difficulties Run away, what will be the condition of our heart? It will be peaceful and satisfied. In this way, when the mind is satisfied by worshipping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then we can attain transcendental knowledge. How is it attained? It is revealed within the heart. The knowledge of who God is will be revealed in the heart.

 

When we are in the dark, the sun's rays are unknown to us. If a blind Man has never seen light or a flame or a ray of sunlight, someone may tell him that the sun is like this, things are like this, he can consider that the sun must be like this, but he cannot actually understand. He has no conception of it. Then a doctor comes, operates, and gives him eyesight. Then he can see the sun with his own eyes. So what he was speculating cannot compare to actually seeing the sun. In order to see the sun, he will not need to read or study, he will see it with his own eyes. Similarly, when bhakti rises within the heart, then by the Lord's mercy we will have his darshan. Then is there any need to understand anything else? All understanding will be revealed. That is why it is written bhagavat-tattva-vijnanam: understanding as it is. Just as we can learn about the sun, but when we see the sun, there it is different from learning from a book. One is called jnana and the other is called vijnana.

 

Just as before I heard and read so much about Ujjain. I read that it is A very special place. Not only in history, but even in our Bengali Writing such as that of Rabindranath Tagore, Ujjain is mentioned. [Reciting Tagore's poetry about Ujjain.] I had thought a lot about Ujjian, but now that I am in Ujjain, I can see what it actually is. There was a tremendous difference between what I speculated and actually seeing. My knowledge of Ujjain in the past and actually seeing it myself, there is a vast difference. Therefore it is said, bhagavat-tattva-vijnanam.