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The other day we spoke about the three levels or phases of realization in the Esoteric Teaching: Bhagavan, or the impersonal effulgence of God; Paramatma, or the indwelling Supersoul, Witness and Friend in the heart; and Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11]

All three levels of realization are simply different views of the same non-dual transcendental object, namely the Supreme Personality of Godhead; but only the Bhagavan-realized devotees see Him as He is. Others have only partial realization depending on their consciousness.

Remember from our discussion of ontology that the quality of our ontology determines our consciousness. An ontology, in this sense, is a large collection of stories, facts and observations about how the world works. Everyone has an ontology, but our ontology can be of greater or lesser quality, depending on the sources of information we use to compile our stories about the world.

So now we can understand that the quality of our ontology determines how we experience God. A person with a materialistic ontology sees God as death; or at best, as a supplier of material benefits. This is zero-dimensional view of God, and we can compare it to a point. A person with Brahman realization sees God as the all-pervading impersonal spiritual effulgence. We can compare Brahman realization with a line, an object of one dimension.

A person with Paramatma realization sees God as the Supersoul dwelling within his heart. This level of realization can be compared with a plane, or two dimensions. And a person with Bhagavan realization sees God as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is three-dimensional or complete realization of God.

Now what is the advantage to having a three-dimensional spiritual ontology, as compared to a one- or two-dimensional spiritual ontology or a zero-dimensional material ontology? There must be some benefit, or the Esoteric Teaching would not recommend so highly that we should strive for such a high degree of realization.

sruti-vipratipanna te
yada sthasyati niscala
samadhav acala buddhis
tada yogam avapsyasi

“When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas, and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then you will have attained the divine consciousness.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.53]

The trance of self-realization means samadhi. Samadhi means that one has fully realized Bhagavan or Kṛṣṇa consciousness; that is, one in full samadhi has realized Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. The highest perfection of self-realization is to understand that “I am eternally the servitor of Kṛṣṇa, and my only business is to perform spiritual service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

This state of consciousness called samadhi is the complete cessation of all material suffering:

“The stage of perfection is called trance, or samadhi. In that blissful state, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.” [Bhagavad-gita 6.20-23]

From ordinary material consciousness to the perfection of Kṛṣṇa conscious samadhi is a long road indeed. When a person enters into the study of the Esoteric Teaching to obtain vidya, spiritual knowledge, he begins to follow the moral strictures of human civilization. Then becoming purified to some degree, he advances further to study the Upanisads and gain brahma-jnana, impersonal realization of the Absolute Truth, or Brahman realization. Then he advances still further, to sankhya-yoga, to understand the supreme controller, who is indicated in Bhagavad-gita:

arjuna uvaca
param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi-devam ajam vibhum

Arjuna said: “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest.” [Bhagavad-gita 10.12]

When one understands the purusa, the original person and supreme controller, to be Paramatma, the Supersoul, one is engaged in the real Vedic method of yoga:

dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yogino
yasyantam na viduh surasura-gana devaya tasmai namah

“I offer my humble obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead whom the perfected yogis see within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and absorbing themselves within Him, and whose limit can never be found by any demigod or demon.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1]

The Absolute Truth is realized in three features: brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11]. Each level of realization reveals an additional ontological dimension to the consciousness of the devotee, until one is able to see the original Supreme Personality of Godhead face-to-face. This is the perfection of self-realization, and the beginning of the trance of samadhi, which annihilates all material miseries.

This is the real aim of this Esoteric Teaching. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana instructed Brahma, the first created being in the material universe, in this Esoteric Teaching, whose narrations produce detachment from material consciousness, and which contains the essence of all Vedanta philosophy. Among all the Vedic scriptures and all the religious philosophies of the world, the Esoteric Teaching of Srimad-Bhagavatam is the best and most complete. It is the dearmost possession of the Vaiṣṇavas: those who worship, serve and adore the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Esoteric Teaching reveals that spotless, supreme knowledge accessible only to the paramahamsas, and it also reveals the confidential yogic process by which one can become free from all the karmic reactions of material work—a process enriched with knowledge, renunciation and devotion. This Esoteric Teaching reveals the original Absolute Truth as Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa, who is perfectly pure, free from all contamination, devoid of sorrow and immortal. Finally, it gives true devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Hari, who takes away all misery.

Next: Take off Your Blinders