By Michael Jones and Neville Clemens;
edited by David Bruce
Hughes (Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī)
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā As It Is is a really fantastic work. It is a timeless masterpiece, bursting at the seams with transcendental knowledge. There is nothing redundant; every word and sentence adds its own meaning, gives you something to contemplate and is there for a specific reason. As a result, it is best to read it slowly and try to digest only a little bit at a time.
Having gone through it again and again as a perfect example of transcendental writing, I have based much of my own spiritual writing style upon it. Outlining such an important piece and extracting the most important ideas is an excellent approach to its study.
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Gītā commentary is firmly based upon Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary on Vedānta-sūtra, the Govinda-bhāsya. Going through every word of Govinda-bhāsya in preparing my own edition of Vedānta-sūtra gave me a chance to see just how much the ontological structure of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Gītā commentary is influenced by it. For example, the following passage from Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s introduction to Govinda-bhāsya appears almost verbatim in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā:
The Vedānta-sūtra describes five tattvas [principal ontological categories of existence]: 1. īśvara [the Supreme Personality of Godhead]; 2. jīva [the individual living entity, or spirit soul]; 3. prakṛti [matter]; 4. kāla [time]; and 5. karma [action].
There are many more parallel passages, which I will leave you the pleasure of discovering as you go through them. Both Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Vedānta-sūtra/Govinda-bhāsya are big studies, but if you are serious about understanding Kṛṣṇa’s message and presenting it to an intelligent audience, they are indispensable because they present the complete ontological core of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching.
I remember this Introduction being what got me hook, line and sinker when I was first introduced to this Esoteric Teaching. When I read the description of the eternal sky and the five basic truths it blew my mind. It was like nothing I had encountered before, but at the same time I could see how it could be right. I look forward to reading it again and again.
I want to encourage everyone to take the time to study this introduction with great care. Even if you take the time to read just one paragraph scrutinizingly and then contemplate it for the rest of the day, that will be incredibly beneficial in making the whole science of the Esoteric Teaching very clear. This is no exaggeration. The best way to master this knowledge is to study the Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā scrutinizingly. By ‘scrutinizingly’ I mean use a good dictionary, such as the Oxford Collegiate Dictionary, to identify the exact meaning of every word. Seriously!
Let’s start with an outline of the framework of this essay, summarizing the principal topics of Bhagavad-gītā. Of course it doesn’t come close to capturing the richness of the original, but I hope we can encourage you to get into it, and experience its wealth of meaning for yourself.
1. Maṅgalācaraṇam: Auspicious prayers to the spiritual master, the Gosvāmīs, the Ācāryas, Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā and Pañca-tattva.
2. What it means to present the Bhagavad-gītā “as it is.”
3. The disciplic succession explained.
4. The nature of relationships that devotees have with the Lord.
5. The spirit in which the Bhagavad-gītā must be approached, in order to understand it and the qualifications of a sincere student of the Bhagavad-gītā.
6. Why Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā.
7. Outlining the five basic truths: “In the Bhagavad-gītā the subject matter deals with the īśvara, the supreme controller, and the jīvas, the controlled living entities. Prakṛti (material nature), kāla or time (the duration of existence of the whole universe or the manifestation of material nature) and karma (activity) are also discussed.”
8. The nature of material contamination of our consciousness when it comes into contact with matter.
9. What are consciousness, false ego and liberation?
10. The Supreme Absolute Truth is personal and the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to Him.
11. The infallibility of the Vedas and the superiority of deductive reasoning.
12. The difference between temporary matter and eternal spirit.
13. Sanātana-dharma, the eternal occupation of the living entities, is above all sectarianism because it is eternal and inherent. It is different from faith.
14. What is our eternal occupation? How does it manifest in material consciousness and how does it manifest in spiritual consciousness?
15. Description of the eternal (sanātana) sky.
16. How does one approach that abode of the Supreme Lord? The fundamental meaning of “Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”
17. The science of how the soul’s destination is determined, and how we can intelligently apply this knowledge.
18. “In conclusion, Bhagavad-gīta is a transcendental literature which one should read very carefully. It is capable of saving one from all fear.”
When I first started reading Bhagavad-gītā, to be honest I skimmed over these. They didn’t have any real meaning to me as I was just getting started and had no appreciation of Sanskrit. Since starting the trek down the path of enlightenment, I have come to realize how important these prayers are.
The Lord is the supreme, we are His eternal servants and He has provided us with the most precious gift: existence. Even though we have turned our backs on Him, He still allows us to continue to exist and gives us the chance to go back to our rightful position of serving Him. Rādhā is His eternal consort and satisfies the Lord more than anyone else. Due to Rādhā’s position with the Lord, She can give us access to the Lord as well.
I would like to expand on why we offer prayers to the Spiritual Master and all those who came before Him. If it weren’t for the Spiritual Master and those who came before, we would either not bother to develop a deep relationship with the Lord wholeheartedly, or we would not do so in the right way, maybe even trying to serve God in opposition to the way He actually wants to be served. We are thankful to them for showing us the way to gain true happiness and also feel deeply indebted.
I have also found this to be true in my own experience. Growing up, I would never have joined any kind of organized religion. I could see the phoniness, and I guess among my generation there is a sour feeling towards them. Even though I was dead-set against religion, I still had a deep belief in God and from time to time in my life had experiences of a personal relationship with Him. I never really thought it was possible to have much more than I had with God, and thought that I was meant to be on Earth just to do my best to make it a better place. I was naïve, as I never truly knew the best way to go about that, and felt the only guidance was from God within, not really taking into account our tendency to speculate on what is a message from God and what is not—something I have done many times.
In my arrogance I believed I could maintain a relationship with God through life just by praying here and there. When things got busy materially, I would neglect God and sometimes go weeks without praying until I felt inspired, or things were getting rough. “It’s alright,” I would think, “God will understand.” I never really considered God’s feelings in these matters as I considered that since He was God, He has everything already. I never really prayed for material things (other than safety I guess) and gave thanks a lot, but most of the time it was a selfish process of satisfying myself by getting my thoughts off my chest. I’d tell God my problems but would never really offer anything in return, or even make the attempt to get to know him, partly due to preconceptions of religion and partly due to laziness. Stupidly I’d think that there were more important things to do, like get ahead materially or have as much fun as possible. God could wait.
Being the eternal friend that He is, God never turned his back on me. I have used the word God up until now because that was who He was to me: God. I never really thought He’d have a name; He was just God. There came a point in my life where I wanted to get to know God more. I decided to start looking into various things, and not long after I was guided to this Esoteric Teaching. I listened to the podcasts and my eyes started opening. Even better, God became revealed to me as Kṛṣṇa, and I started speaking more intimately when I prayed. My spiritual practices increased rapidly, and I started to feel I was actually building a proper relationship with Kṛṣṇa, as opposed to just getting in touch to make myself feel better.
Without the information being passed down through the lineage, without Śrīla Prabhupāda coming to the west, and without the direction provided by Babaji on this website, I would have remained in a very distant relationship with God, not bothering to pursue a deep relationship due to being caught up in material life. For that I am eternally grateful, and I presume anyone in contact with a bona fide spiritual master also feels the same way. I am in the very very neophyte stages, but I am getting so much from the teachings that I can imagine those in the more advanced stages must be feeling this a million times more. If this is just the start, I don’t just want to know more; I HAVE to know more.
Therefore the prayers are given to those that came before us as a sign of gratitude and respect. It is not an easy process to try and control the senses, and it can be quite disheartening knowing that it may take many years (maybe even a lifetime) to achieve perfection. However, if the Spiritual Master hadn’t pursued the path and left a trail for us to follow, we would still be wandering, either with no idea that there is indeed a way to reach God, or being cheated by a phony method. For that I offer my humble obeisances:
“I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.”
Yes, in the beginning I sort of skipped over the prayers because I didn’t understand why they were there. Some of us (like me) begin with a strong mentality that we can do this on our own strength, that we can tackle all this knowledge and crunch it and become scholars, and in this way we think we can conquer Kṛṣṇa. Be grateful to the Teachers? Hah!
If there’s one thing we should understand, it’s our miniscule position and developing an attitude of gratitude towards all the exalted Vaisnavas who gave their lives to keeping this lineage alive. Without their mercy, we would be nowhere—just drifting about aimlessly in this ocean. Mercy, like water, flows from a higher position to a lower position. It’s up to us to choose what position we would like to take.
One of the foremost principles is being constantly aware that we are mere recipients of something deeply wonderful, due to the mercy that flows down from Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa through Their devotees. The prayers that we chant or sing in our lineage have special significance. They are not simply improvised, but have been composed by the perfectly self-realized ācāryas who established our lineage. Since they were composed by souls very dear to Kṛṣṇa, these very verses are also dear to Kṛṣṇa. This gives them tremendous potency, and invoking them unleashes that potency. Thus we take shelter of these specific prayers, learn them and offer them to our lineage. Gradually as we keep repeating them, if we take care to always pay attention then we grow closer and closer to them.
So yes, it’s very significant that Śrīla Prabhupāda begins his translation of the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by dedicating the first couple of pages to these prayers. Yes, it is mercy and we must be grateful, and express that gratitude with heartfelt prayers. Without the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas, we are lost. They made great sacrifices to bring this Esoteric Teaching, the science of Kṛṣṇa, to us. Śrīla Prabhupāda left his lifetime room at Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Rādhā-Dāmodara temple at an advanced age to come to the west and teach a raggedy bunch of New York hippies how to chant. He basically sacrificed his life for us by dedicating himself to preaching.
Considering the condition of the world, it would be a crime for any devotee who knows what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness not to preach. But to preach is very difficult, even dangerous; by preaching one is challenging the whole materialistic ontology. Huge wars have been fought over less. Do you think that preachers in the early days had it easier? No, everyone who presents this great science is tested, both by Kṛṣṇa and by māyā. Look what happened to Haridāsa Ṭhākur, for example, when he was beaten by the Muslim governor. Without the sacrifices of these great souls, we would still be wallowing in material sense enjoyment and suffering like animals, with no way out. So any devotee who is sane must be very grateful.
Actually the standard Vaiṣṇava prayers like guru-praṇatī and param-guru-praṇatī, om ajñāna-timirāndhasya, vande ‘haṁ, vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca etc. and our humble obeisances at the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas are just the price of admission to the Esoteric Teaching. Our expressions of gratitude to the great souls who have given their blood, sweat and tears (many tears) to bring us these exalted teachings are the gateway to the real understanding of the Esoteric Teaching.
We are making them bhāgyavān [fortunate]. We are giving them service, how to become bhāgyavān. We are spending our blood, gallons of blood, to make them bhāgyavān. This is the sacrifice of the devotees. Just like you are poor. Somebody, rich man, comes, “All right, take one million dollars from me.” You get immediately rich. So it is the devotees’ sacrifice that they’re becoming... Just like Vāsudeva Datta. He requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “My Lord, you have come. Take away all these people, unfortunate people, back to home, back to Godhead. If You think they are so inglorious, they cannot be taken, then give me all their sins to me. I shall suffer. You take them.” [for the full astonishing story, please see Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 10.41-42 and Madhya 15.159-180]
That is Vaiṣṇava. They are sacrificing everything for these unfortunate rascals. Therefore they are becoming very, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu [Bhagavad-gītā 18.69]. Those who are sacrificing everything for giving, making fortunate these rascals, they become immediately very, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Just like, if a rich man gives his money for public welfare, immediately he’s recognized by the government, “Yes.” He’s given some title. Why? Because he has given his possession for the benefit of the public. Similarly, the devotees, they are distributing their possessions to these unfortunate people. Therefore he’s immediately recognized. That is the process. But devotee does not want any recognition, but he knows that “My Lord wants this rascal to go back to home, back to Godhead. So let me try my best.” He knows the mind of the master; otherwise, why the master comes and canvasses, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bhagavad-gītā 18.66]? He has no business, but He wants that “These rascals are suffering in this material condition. They are My part and parcel, My sons. Let Me try.” And devotee understands that “My Lord wants it. So let me do it on His behalf.” Therefore devotee is so dear. [Morning Walk, 1/18/74, Hawaii]
There is a real and ever-present danger of taking the sacrifices of the devotees for granted, thinking that the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas is something ordinary or obtainable at any time. But no: the mercy and especially the association of a pure Vaiṣṇava are the rarest, most exquisite and most priceless things in the three worlds. One should be willing to give up all his material nonsense and do whatever is necessary just to get a little association with a real Vaiṣṇava. This association is the most valuable thing in existence, because it gives Kṛṣṇa. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings in his poem Prārthana:
O brother, please hear my words with rapt attention: The lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas are the most valuable treasure in the world. Those Vaiṣṇavas continually take shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa and worship Him. They never abandon their Lord, but they are liberated from the cycle of repeated birth and death. The water which has washed the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas bestows devotional service in pure love of Godhead. There is nothing as effective in attaining this divine love. I place the dust from the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas upon my head. I wear no other ornament. The purifying power of the waters of the various places of pilgrimage is described in the Purāṇas, although this is something of a deceptive trick. Actually, there is nothing which is as purifying as the water which has washed the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas. This water fulfills all desires. Moment after moment my mind finds constant pleasure in the association of the Vaiṣṇavas. I always seek out the company of those devotees who are devoted to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Poor-hearted Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura cries, “I cannot maintain my composure any longer. Why have I fallen into such a low condition of life that I cannot get the association of the Vaiṣṇavas?”
Although before studying the Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā, I vaguely understood how the disciplic succession worked, I never contemplated it, as I didn’t think it to be so important in the grand scheme of things. However, after thinking a little deeper, it has given me more faith in it (as I will expand on below). Every day I find I want to go further into the philosophy.
I started with the same strong mentality of “I can figure this out myself,” and found it held me back for so long. Kṛṣṇa would always show me why I was wrong to think that, showing me how hard it can be to do simple things like just get to more than 4 rounds a day consistently as well as other little lessons. When you find it tough at this stage it really humbles you and shows you how strong those who have kept the lineage alive must have been to get to the stage they did, going through decades of training. And when they got through all these troubles, they still decide to go through more trouble by teaching others who are “drifting about aimlessly in this ocean” who have no idea what they have gone through just to bring this information to them. I just hope I can one day repay them as much as I can by getting over my false ego to perform my duty.
Presenting Bhagavad-gītā “as it is” is very important, since it contains instructions intended to give a specific result. As in any scientific process, if we don’t follow the instructions exactly as they are, then we will not get the required result. Babaji has spoken on this many times, and Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of taking medicine. The only way any instruction can be authoritative is if it is presented in its original form. However, many editions of Bhagavad-gītā have changed the original meanings through speculative commentary, and this has resulted in the instructions not being given as originally intended.
This is a huge problem because these aren’t just anyone’s instructions; Bhagavad-gītā is God’s / the Supreme’s / Kṛṣṇa’s instructions. If we are going to follow God’s will, then we need to hear what He wants from God Himself. If we want to know about Kṛṣṇa then we have to hear what Kṛṣṇa say about Himself. Otherwise we are distorting the information. I couldn’t find the quote, but I have heard Śrīla Prabhupāda say it is arrogant to speculate on Kṛṣṇa rather than let Him tell us Himself. Hearing from Him directly and following His instructions as they are is the only way we will get to know Kṛṣṇa and to please Him. By presenting Bhagavad-gītā “as it is,” Śrīla Prabhupāda is giving us direct access to Kṛṣṇa’s words from Kṛṣṇa himself.
Now although many past ācāryas have confirmed Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme, as have the Vedas, it is hard for someone who is not familiar with the Vedas to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead at the beginning of their studies. It requires faith, but someone new to the Esoteric Teaching is unlikely to have this, at least not faith in God as Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda covers this in a later section though, by saying that one “should therefore at least theoretically accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with that submissive spirit we can understand the Bhagavad-gītā.”
This suggestion helped me a lot since although I believed in God, being conditioned in the western world made it hard to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When I read it, I read it as if the God I knew existed in my heart was the one who spoke the words (well He did, I just didn’t yet know the God in my heart was Kṛṣṇa). When read in that way, we can see that the philosophy and the teachings are very strong, and that experimentation is required. When we experiment (e.g. chanting, offering food, etc.) we find that our relationship with God does improve (at least in my case, though I am sure it is the same with anyone who has stuck with the teaching). So the scriptures are confirmed in the heart, and we become more confident that what has been passed down by succession is truth. Then as our studies increase and our doubts are removed one by one, we start to see that maybe these words are indeed from the Supreme, and also why any changes (i.e. not presenting Bhagavad-gītā “as it is”) will keep us from getting the desired result.
If we want to keep the instructions the same as they were spoken by Kṛṣṇa, then passing Kṛṣṇa’s words down by disciplic succession is important. If not, we allow all sorts of speculation to creep in and change the original meaning. It is inevitable that things will change, whether because of a misunderstanding or because of personal politically motivated reasons. Babaji gives a great explanation of how the disciplic succession works along with an example using the game of “telephone.”
Everyone has played “telephone,” and the funny part of this game is how even a simple message gets scrambled after being whispered a few times. But if we add a step to the game—each person who hears the message whispers it back to the previous person and confirms whether they understood it correctly—that one simple step makes it possible to pass on a message to many people without distortion. Confirming proper receipt of Kṛṣṇa’s message is the role of the guru in the disciplic succession.
Kṛṣṇa himself confirms that the Esoteric Teaching has always been passed on this way. After all, why would Kṛṣṇa want to keep coming back here to speak the Esoteric Teaching, when He can stay in the spiritual world and let His disciples transmit it? The chain was broken through time though, so Kṛṣṇa did come to restore it about 5,000 years ago. The truths contained in the Esoteric Teaching haven’t changed because Kṛṣṇa’s instructions are always the same (and they will be eternally). Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa came to speak the truths again, He was speaking them in the same way as they were before, and the duty of the disciplic succession is to keep them the same, for the reasons given above.
By looking at Jesus’ teachings, we can see that most of them are in line with what Kṛṣṇa was speaking. However, there are many denominations within the Church because, due to political meddling, no one knows what Jesus truly meant by some of His words. Not all the denominations of the Church can be right; so because Jesus’ teachings were not passed down unadulterated by a disciplic succession (the way they were intended to be) then we can’t follow them exactly as they were meant to be. The problem is that we just don’t know how they were meant to be understood and practiced, and there is no way to confirm our understanding (even without the extra confusion politics has given them). Therefore the principle of disciplic succession is very important so that we can confirm that the instructions are the original instructions and can follow the words “as they are.” Without it we would be lost.
One of my struggles is humbling myself, and it is a sad state that although I know that those in the succession have gone through so much, I do take the teachings for granted much of the time. I think the mindset that we are entitled to certain things has been developed greatly in the West, and so when something as high as this comes along, unfortunately we just see it as another entitlement. With Kṛṣṇa’s grace I have been developing a lot more humility though, and especially in the last few weeks I have begun to appreciate those who have brought the teaching to us a lot more.
I guess the thought of the struggles others have gone through also has the advantage that when the time comes for us to be tested in a major way, we are confident that with strong faith in Kṛṣṇa we also can endure it and do our duty. I pray that when my time comes to be tested, these are not merely words and I can actually put them into action. Until that time though, I humbly take shelter in Babaji’s and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s association, in faith and hope that the strength and knowledge will rub off on me like the Vaiṣṇava foot dust upon Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura’s head.
Respecting the paramparā (disciplic lineage) is everything. It took me a while to figure this out. From my chanting experiences over the past year, I have found that chanting is almost worthless without saying the guru-praṇām mantra first. This is the most important thing. Saying this first evokes the merciful energy we need the most. We should say this multiple times every day, then Kṛṣṇa-prema (love of Godhead) is guaranteed.
It has also taken me a while to figure out the importance of the paramparā. I guess because of the western background, we stay at the duplication stage for quite a while. We can speak of the theory behind it, but we don’t truly understand or contemplate on what the theory truly means. I figured “OK, I have the info, I can do this myself.” The ego gets puffed up and I forget about the people who have brought the information to me. But we forget that the reason we are here in this material world in the first place is because we did not show proper appreciation to Kṛṣṇa, the person who has given us everything.
Therefore, unless there is a real tangible change of heart, then the rest of the information is useless. I am from Wales, in the UK. Here, it is not so much we mock everything, it is more a lack of appreciation and a sense of entitlement. As Babaji says, “Without the mercy of the paramparā, we would all undoubtably receive a hellish state of existence in our next life.” Yet most people here would not appreciate the value of the knowledge to look further into it and those who do have the feeling that we are entitled to this knowledge, we deserve it. I am guilty of this myself. Growing up with the Internet, where all the mundane material knowledge you could get your hands on is available, we don’t really think about how hard it was to get this knowledge to a stage where it is freely available globally in the first place. I have only really started that lesson over the last month or so. Since I have contemplated these things though my chanting has increased in both quality and quantity. There is still a long long long way to go but as Babaji says, if we remember the mercy we have been given by both Kṛṣṇa and his agents then we can realize Kṛṣṇa’s love.
There has existed and still exists in the West a tremendous establishment devoted to suppressing the Vedic knowledge. Any attempt to present Vedic wisdom as a serious field of study will meet with deep skepticism, incredulity and prejudice. This attitude goes back to the foundation of the Catholic Church, where Emperor Constantine decided to suppress all knowledge of Jesus’ visit to India and basically ban Vedic knowledge from the West. It is no coincidence that shortly thereafter, Constantine’s army invaded Egypt and burned the Library of Alexandria, where the ancient records of many cultures were kept. Two millennia of spiritual ignorance ensued.
As a consequence, Western civilization has no accurate knowledge of the soul, God and their relationship, other than the tiny hints that Constantine allowed to remain in the Bible. The complete Vedic knowledge has existed in India all this time, but the whole world has been trained to think that is simply primitive superstition.
The desire of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to spread the Vedic Esoteric Teaching in the West lay dormant for a long time. It was not until Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur that the plan to infiltrate Western society got any real momentum. Bhaktivinod was the first realized Vaiṣṇava who was also educated in Western university and had reached a very high position in the British Raj occupation government of India. He understood clearly the corporate groupthink system of Western society, and was the first to apply Western corporate principles to organizing a Vedic saṅga, the Nāma Hatta.
Bhaktivinod’s son Bhaktisiddhānta was inspired with the pioneering work of his father and vowed to send his disciples to the West to preach. He did send a couple of sannyāsīs before Śrīla Prabhupāda, but they were unable to accomplish anything. Finally Śrīla Prabhupāda made his tremendous sacrifice and satisfied the desire of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere. This would not have been possible without creating a Western-style religious organization, ISKCON, and the pioneering efforts of Bhaktivinod’s Nāma Hatta and Bhaktisiddhānta’s Gaudiya Math were certainly valuable steps in that direction.
But religious organizations suffer from certain flaws, and we can see almost the exact same problems in both Gaudiya Math and ISKCON. This is not because of some deficiency in the Esoteric Teaching, but is inherent in the structure of the organizations. Whenever you have a layer of administration between the guru and his disciples, there will always be politics leading to unwanted internal problems.
The paramparā system is the only way that the integrity of the Esoteric Teaching can be maintained over time, even a relatively short amount of time. Without the paramparā, this or any teaching would rapidly degrade. The disciplic lineage is there even in mundane religions, even in science and other disciplines. Any living teaching has to be passed down from teacher to disciple, from realized person to unrealized person, and then the practice shown by daily example. Actually this is Kṛṣṇa’s system:
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ
rājarṣayo viduḥ
“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.2]
That is why we go to so much trouble to maintain a saṅga (association of devotees), so that this most valuable Esoteric Teaching can remain viable even in such a hostile environment. Otherwise it would quickly become altered beyond recognition and become completely ineffective. So please understand the value, importance and necessity of the paramparā, and how each of the ācāryas in our line was sent by Kṛṣṇa Himself for our benefit. Each one made a valuable contribution, without which we would not benefit today from this profound Esoteric Teaching.
We all have an eternal relationship with the Lord in one of five different moods. This relationship is eternal, therefore it doesn’t change. We don’t choose “I want to serve Kṛṣṇa as a friend,” or “I want to serve Kṛṣṇa as a lover.” We already have our eternal relationship with the Lord; we just have to uncover it. Because it is eternal, we will naturally be inclined to serve Kṛṣṇa in that way as we become more realized. In fact we will want nothing more than to serve Kṛṣṇa in that way.
We have forgotten that relationship with the Lord though, and the only way to revive it is through devotional service. It is kind of like earning back our relationship, since we turned our backs on Kṛṣṇa in the first place. Devotional service can also be thought of as reconditioning ourselves. We have been so conditioned to serving ourselves for such a long time that we need to recondition ourselves to serve Kṛṣṇa. As we develop the service attitude, we start to realize it is in our best interest to do so anyway and get pleasure by doing so.
These relationships are very different to the relationships in the material world, and the main reason for them is to increase enjoyment for Kṛṣṇa, whether through serving Him, playing as a friend, or being involved as a parent, conjugal lover, or in some other personal relationship with the Lord. By doing so we naturally feel bliss ourselves as we are actually part and parcel of the Lord. Watering the root of the tree is a great example, for by watering the root we automatically send water to all the leaves and branches. Similarly, by satisfying Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we do the best service for everyone.
Relationships in the material world are more like a business exchange: “You gratify my senses, and I’ll gratify yours.” A servant here gets paid to serve, they don’t usually do it out of love. Friendships can serve to promote false ego: “I’m so popular; just see, I have so many friends.” Material relationships, though they may sometimes seem like love, are just perverted reflections of real love. Relationships with the Lord are based on real eternal love. We serve Kṛṣṇa because we want to serve Kṛṣṇa, and our desire is to make him enjoy more and more.
Even if we see someone every day as a friend or a lover, there are still points where we are alone. Even if physically together, we are each trapped in our bodies, and no one truly knows us inside out. Kṛṣṇa is always there, and knows our heart, soul, desires, etc. perfectly. In the spiritual world or self-realization we are not trapped in material bodies; we have an eternal a relationship with Kṛṣṇa in our spiritual forms. We are part of Kṛṣṇa and get to know Him very intimately as He knows us (though we will never fully know Kṛṣṇa due to His greatness) and serve Him with all of our energy.
Babaji explains this subject a lot more, and it is a lot more advanced than where I currently am in my spiritual life so I don’t want to speculate. This subject goes a lot lot deeper than I have come to realize in my studies though. I’d love to hear more advanced devotees’ thoughts on this subject.
We must approach the Bhagavad-gītā in a submissive spirit, or we will speculate and just put ourselves into more confusion than we already are. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so we should take His instructions as final and be devoted to Him to truly understand the Bhagavad-gītā. His instructions in Bhagavad-gītā are for devotees, and so if you are not a devotee they will be difficult to understand. Just like if you are given information in French but don’t speak French you won’t understand, even if you know a few words here and there. Kṛṣṇa’s instructions are in the language of Love, from the Supreme to His devotees to free them from the material conception of life.
Arjuna submits to Kṛṣṇa “O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me,” and we must do the same. If we only accept some of what Kṛṣṇa says, then we are not truly submitting to the Lord. We are picking and choosing what we like. All the great Vedic authorities were great devotees of Kṛṣṇa, and followed and passed along the same knowledge, and so to understand Kṛṣṇa we must do the same.
If we don’t surrender and accept what the Lord says as perfect, then we are being offensive. We have tiny minds compared to the Lord, and so we cannot understand the Lord just by wanting to; we must follow His instructions, then we can understand. After all, He knows better than we do. He is difficult to understand, and we can only understand Him because He lets us understand Him. We do this by being devoted to Him and devoted to trying to understanding Him. Just like when getting to know people in the material world, we must give them our attention and try to get to know them by their words, we must do the same with Kṛṣṇa. Actually even more so because He is the Supreme. We must be submissive toward Kṛṣṇa because we are not equal to Him, and so must remember his superiority just as Arjuna does.
Arjuna said: “You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal Divine Person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages like Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me. O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality.” (Bhagavad-gītā 10.12–14).
Because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa knows what is best for us, and so we must accept everything He says. We may not understand at first why all of His instructions are the way they are, but must trust they are there for a reason. If we remain devoted and keep listening, all will be revealed as we practice His Esoteric Teaching.
Please excuse the crude example: When we read a mystery novel, (presuming the author is a good one) we get lots of clues that sometimes don’t make sense and we get bewildered reading, unsure of who committed the crime. We keep reading and then at the end when we find out who did it, we realize how and why all the clues actually made sense.
“No illicit sex” is usually an instruction that most people are horrified at. But the pleasure we receive after being devoted to Kṛṣṇa’s instructions throughout our life will be a million trillion gazzillion times greater than the short burst of pleasure we get from sex (actually the pleasure will be infinitely more, as the bliss from serving Kṛṣṇa continually increases). Sex will keep us on the bodily platform, the very reason we suffer in the first place. If we decide to skip this one rule then we will not get the full result we are seeking; so we must follow all of Kṛṣṇa’s rules submissively if we want the result. Further, not following the rules leads to trouble, for example, in this example we can get STDs, unwanted pregnancies, etc.
A sincere student is inquisitive into our origins, and wants to know how to stop suffering. Anyone who doesn’t admit to suffering in this material world is either in heavy illusion or more likely bluffing, because even those with so-called perfect lives will have to give them up one day. We all have anxieties, big and small, from day to day. We shouldn’t just accept material suffering as a way of life, and should inquire into the reason for this.
It is not enough to just be inquisitive though. We need to have firm respect for the Supreme Lord, who has kindly given us a solution in the Bhagavad-gītā. Materialistic science is inquisitive but it has no respect for the Supreme. Unsurprisingly, science not only hasn’t solved the problem of material suffering; arguably it has made it worse. If we are to understand the Absolute it must be from the Absolute, not our tiny brains. Those who understand these points are the best students for the Bhagavad-gītā. If you aren’t inquisitive into suffering or you do not have respect for the Supreme then you are either atheistic, you don’t accept Kṛṣṇa as all-knowing, or you don’t believe He is all-loving; you would mistake Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary person, someone unprepared to give us the solution to our suffering. Respect simply means recognizing His all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing attributes (and many more) and hearing about them submissively from Him, just as Arjuna does.
The Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by the Lord’s out of His causeless mercy, to help us awaken to our true nature. Ignorance of our true nature is the cause of our anxieties; because of our ignorance we do not see that we truly are eternal. Even if one is comfortable in most aspects of life, at the very least, they do not know what will happen after death, and so are anxious about that. We are eternal beings, and because we are forced to be in these temporary material bodies, we are uncomfortable, at least when we believe the body to be ourselves.
Apologies for the cliché but we are like fish out of water. Our minds flap about with anxiety due to relating to the material nature, never able to find peace. This causes us unrest, and the only way to get released from these anxieties is to get back into the water (spiritual consciousness) by using the mind to focus on Kṛṣṇa. This is why Kṛṣṇa speaks Bhagavad-gītā: to help us recover our true position and eliminate our anxieties. We must surrender to the Lord, like Arjuna did, to understand the Bhagavad-gītā because our natural position is subordinate to the Lord.
The human race forgets its purpose so many times due to the strength of material nature and our unwillingness to surrender. However, due to Kṛṣṇa’s love and mercy, He descends to help reawaken our purpose and take away our anxieties. Even so, due to our unwillingness to fully and try and understand this position through devotion, many people know their position theoretically, but very few actually understand or realize their position fully and act on it. Understanding requires full surrender. It is for those who are willing to surrender that Bhagavad-gītā is spoken.
Bhagavad-gītā is spoken for our benefit and it is up to us if we are willing to accept this mercy or not. If we do then we perfect the mission of human life. Life in the material world is like a model plane with thousands of pieces that we must put together. We can keep trying to put together the plane ourselves, make many mistakes, get stressed because we are not putting it together right, glue pieces on wrong and so have to buy a new one to try again, and continue in this way hoping that somehow we get it right. Or we can follow the instructions given by the manufacturer, and with a bit of work we can do it relatively easily and without anxiety. The choice is ours. Kṛṣṇa has provided the instructions through Bhagavad-gītā; we just have to accept them.
This section of the introduction contains a phrase that really stands out for me: “Actually we are all followed by the tiger of nescience...” The Tiger of Nescience. I sometimes imagine Śrīla Prabhupāda pausing at his desk, thinking about the perfect phrase there and then settling upon this: the Tiger of Nescience. It really brings an image to my mind, where we’re being pursued by this crazy wild beast and we’re fleeing on the back of the Holy Name looking for shelter. The Tiger of Nescience—I’ll never forget that. It’s an awesome phrase. It would be great to see some artwork of that image if it doesn’t already exist. Śrīla Prabhupāda is a master of picking fantastic phrases that capture a world of meaning, like “the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
One of my faults that I noticed lately was that sometimes I fall into the trap of being intoxicated by words themselves so much so that I don’t deeply contemplate their deeper meaning and—more importantly—all the practical ramifications of those words in terms of character change and keeping it real. That cost me dearly, and I’m having to make up for it now and weed things out. I’m stating this so that you can also benefit from my mistakes as you start off on this journey and avoid those potholes.
Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s language is noble and great to read. But sometimes it’s a little different from contemporary colloquial English. That’s why it is important to read his material several times, and even look up words in the dictionary. Once for aesthetic value, and then a few more times to really understand what he means. I fall into the same trap but have been trying to rectify that recently. Character change is always the hardest part. I have found praying to Kṛṣṇa helps a lot when there is something specific needed to work on.
These five basic truths are the fundamental truths of the world and so all things we know of (as well as those we don’t) fit into these five categories.
1) Īśvara
Īśvara means the controller or the Supreme Personality of Godhead: Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is described here as the supreme controller. Everything that exists is under the control of Kṛṣṇa, either directly or indirectly. We should serve the supreme controller as not only is it our duty to do so, but it is in our best interest to do so. We may think we are independent of the control of Kṛṣṇa, but this is an illusion. Material nature is under the control of Kṛṣṇa, and we are under the control of material nature (e.g. gravity). A prisoner may be walking around the prison yard but that does not make him free, for he is still bound by the walls of the prison. Even though the individual jīva soul thinks he is acting freely, Kṛṣṇa actually gives the directions for the jīva to act as he desires.
Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of an automobile being controlled by an driver and why it is childish not to consider the controller. There is no randomness in cosmic nature, everything is the way it is because it is controlled by Kṛṣṇa. Nothing would work (including us) without the controller. Take away the brain and the body cannot function. Take away Kṛṣṇa and the universe couldn’t function (never mind the fact that there would be no universe if that happened). There is nothing above Kṛṣṇa, nothing and no one controlling Him, and so He is the supreme controller. Unlike the driver in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s example, Kṛṣṇa is fully conscious of what He controls (everything), including the psychic movements of the jīva. Kṛṣṇa is eternal; without beginning or end.
2) Jīvas
These are the controlled living entities. From bacteria to plants, animals, humans, and even demigods; basically anything with life. All the designations (e.g. plant, animal,etc) are externally material bodies, but the living entities within are all the same. The only difference is the degree of consciousness.
The jīvas are part and parcel of the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example that a particle of gold is also gold. We have the same qualities as the Lord, just like a particle of gold has the same qualities as a bar of gold (actually the Lord also has qualities that the jīva does not, but that is for another discussion). The difference is quantity; the jīva has a minute quantity of these qualities, but Kṛṣṇa has them in unlimited measure. Excuse the poor example (nothing beats Śrīla Prabhupāda’s gold example in my opinion): If existence was a 100-Gigabyte computer, we would be a byte while Kṛṣṇa would be the full 100 Gigabytes. They all store a unit of data, but the full 100 GB stores all of the units of data. (Of course in this example Kṛṣṇa would also be the motherboard, the processor, etc. but I digress).
Because we (the jīvas) have the same qualities as Kṛṣṇa, we also have a tendency to control. But we are not the supreme controller and so we are in illusion when we think that we are really controlling things.
“Constitutionally, prakṛti means the things which are enjoyed. That is called prakṛti.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.2 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. Hyderabad, April 13, 1975)
Prakṛti is discussed more in relation to material nature but we are also prakṛti. We are described as superior prakṛti and material nature is inferior prakṛti. Even so, whether superior or inferior prakṛti is still subordinate to the Lord. We are meant to be enjoyed by the Lord. This doesn’t mean we will not also get enjoyment, but we should not enjoy independently of the Lord. The jīva is eternal and is eternally related to the Lord. It is the energy of the Lord meant to be used for enjoyment by the Lord. Material energy is also energy of the Lord but is separated from the Lord, not eternally related as I will discuss later. The jīva is always in contact with the Lord, even if he is not aware of it.
Unlike material energy, the jīva is conscious, but he is not supremely conscious, and can never be. Only the Lord can be supremely conscious. The jīva can be conscious of his material body or spiritual body (and that which interacts with it), but the Lord is conscious of everything that exists.
3) Prakṛti (material nature)
The material energy is is the inferior prakṛti and we are the superior prakṛti, but we are both controlled by the Lord. Material nature is not at all independent from the Lord. Material nature is always working under Kṛṣṇa’s direction. Although the jīva is not independent from the control of Kṛṣṇa either, we still have a degree of independence in that we can choose to serve Kṛṣṇa or choose to serve the illusion (Māyā).
The material nature has three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion, and the mode of ignorance. Everything in the material energy falls within one of these modes. The jīva himself is transcendental to these modes because he is not part of the material nature. However, when the jīva relates to the material energy (e.g. thinking that “I am this body”) then his consciousness is affected by these modes. For example, if we eat meat, which is in the mode of ignorance, then our intelligence will be affected, which will affect other aspects of our lives. We will likely perform more actions in the mode of ignorance and our consciousness will be degraded. In our next life we will have a body that only allows consciousness in the mode of ignorance such as an animal, a plant, or maybe worse. This will stop us realizing our true nature for a very long time, and so we will continue to suffer until we can get situated into the mode of goodness and deserve a human life (which may take thousands of lifetimes). We need to transcend these modes if we no longer want to be controlled by material nature.
Material nature is also eternal, although the manifestation of it is temporary. We have all heard of the circle of life; for example, a seed may grow into a tree using different parts of material nature such as water and solar energy. The tree will produce fruits that may fall off and, as the fruits deteriorate, they get absorbed into the soil giving it nutrients. This soil helps feed another seed which grows into a tree and so on. Ignoring the fact that the life energy of the jīva is also involved in the tree-growing process, all aspects of the material part of this process continue to exist in this cycle; they are just transformed in various ways and the tree is a temporary manifestation of the material energy used. The elements used are real parts of the material nature (they are not false in the way Buddhist thought supposes). They do exist. On a grander scale, even when the manifestation of the entire universe is over, the core material energy that manifests in various ways will continue to exist (it is absorbed into the Lord) and then the cycle will start again at some point. The material energy is “recycled,” but its manifestation in various ways happens eternally. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of a cloud which moves across the sky. The material manifestation comes and goes in the spiritual sky, but it does so eternally.
Prakṛti (material nature) is the separated energy of the Lord, whereas the jīva is eternally related. An example of the separation of material nature from Kṛṣṇa is our creative energy which results in a piece of work. When we paint, write, compose, etc, the energy comes from us but we are separated from the final piece of work. When one has children, the child shares the DNA of the parent and in most cases has a relationship with the parent. They are related in an intimate way even though they are individuals. The final painting is not related to a person in the same way though and is separated from them.
4) Time (the duration of existence of the whole universe or the manifestation of material nature):
Time is another energy of the Lord and is also eternal. It is above the modes of nature. In the material world time has a past, present and future. Time is what forces the jīva into activity in the material world, and it cannot be stopped; it is continually moving. We can change our future though through the actions (karma) we perform in the present. I won’t go further into time, as on the surface it is best thought of as past, present, and future. In the spiritual world it is always the present due to eternality. There is a deeper subject here but I am still getting to grips with the concept and it is a little advanced for me at the moment. I would love to read more from an advanced student with a deeper understanding though as it is a fascinating subject.
5) Karma (activity):
The actions the jīva performs in the material world are called karma; basically it is anything we do. Every action has a reaction, whether positive or negative. These actions are performed in time, and what we did in the past is what creates the present we are currently experiencing. Similarly, what we do in the present will affect our future.
This has happened since “time immemorial” and we suffer or enjoy the fruits of our activities. For example, if we perform actions in the mode of ignorance or passion then we will suffer in the future. If we perform actions in the mode of goodness then we will enjoy in the future. Everything we do has an effect on the future, and every action (except transcendental activities) is performed in the three modes of material nature.
Karma is the only basic truth that is not eternal. By the power of our knowledge of our true nature as eternal servants of the Lord, we can change our karma or even break the cycle of action and reaction. This requires following the Lord’s instructions given in Bhagavad-gītā. The goal is not to perform good actions for future enjoyment but rather to perform good actions for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure. These actions will be transcendental and so we will not create karma by performing them. It is through transcendental actions that we get out of, or transcend, the material world and serve God in the spiritual world. If we do not then we will be continually trapped by our karma until we wake up, decide that we have had enough of suffering, and realize what we should do to stop it.
In the beginning stages we are unable to always perform transcendental actions, so we need to at least perform actions in the mode of goodness as our consciousness will also be in goodness, able to see the importance of breaking free from the cycle. Śrīla Prabhupāda calls living in the mode of goodness “sanity.” Then we will be able to adopt the right activities, change our karma, and, if we persist, no longer accept a material body but rather be given a spiritual one by Kṛṣṇa.
Our consciousness is transcendental by its very nature. However, when we come into contact with material nature it becomes “pervertedly reflected.” It is still the same transcendental consciousness but it is not reflecting its true nature. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of light being reflected through colored glass. The light from the original source is the pure consciousness. When it is reflected through color glass, the light appears to be the color of the glass. However, the light itself is unchanged and if we take away the colored glass then we see the original nature of the light. Similarly, if we take away the material contamination then we will be able to see our original, pure, transcendental consciousness.
“As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, similarly, the living entity is covered by different degrees of this lust.” [Bhagavad-gītā 3.38]
Because we associate with the material nature, we are conditioned to see it as the real world. Some people even believe that all they are is a combination of the material elements and that what we see is all we can ever see. But we are actually transcendental beings and when we cleanse our mirror we can see the world for what it actually is: the energy of Kṛṣṇa.
When someone is intoxicated from alcohol they see the world differently than a person intoxicated from marijuana, and a sober man sees the world differently than both. A sober person may see solid unmoving walls and floors but a person on LSD may see the walls merging into the floor.
Even if two people are sober, there may be a difference in consciousness. A person suffering from depression may see every obstacle as a setback in their life, and that life is not worth living because of these setbacks. A confident person may see the same obstacles as a challenge to be overcome. This is the same world but seen through a different set of eyes.
When we are in material nature, we see the world, including ourselves, as being material. When we sober up by purifying ourselves we see the world as it truly is: based on consciousness. When we do this, we will automatically act according to our true nature, serving God, and this will make us happy
We purify ourselves through practicing the techniques of bhakti-yoga, which externally may seem like any other material activity but internally it is very different, it is transcendental. The intoxicated person is externally seeing a solid wall from the point of view of the sober person. But internally the drunk is seeing a blurry wall, the LSD tripper is seeing a fluid merging wall, and the marijuana user is thinking about food.
The devotee doing bhakti-yoga is serving the Lord through all his actions; so even a seemingly ordinary meal is actually spiritually purifying for them (due to being offered to the Lord first), and this is experienced in the devotee’s change of consciousness. The devotees are getting closer to their original uncontaminated nature, where they can see the world as it truly is.
It is no use to speculate on this fact though. It is not a case of theoretically knowing, but actually purifying ourselves so that we can experience this with our own consciousness. We do this by following the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa is never materially affected and therefore is able to speak on transcendental matters, He knows how things actually are; after all, He made them. Similarly, the Guru has followed Kṛṣṇa’s instructions, and can also see things the way they truly are. Therefore the Guru also is able to speak on transcendental matters due to having experienced them without being materially contaminated. His mirror is clean.
Consciousness is fundamental to our sense of existence: “I am.” It is who we are, and when it is pure it sees that “I am part and parcel of the Lord.” When it is contaminated it sees that “I am this body.”
In the material world, if someone suffers from a mental disorder they might identify themselves as Elvis. They might dress as Elvis, dance like Elvis and start living their lives as if they were Elvis. A sane person would know that actually the Elvis wannabe is in illusion, but the Elvis wannabe in contaminated consciousness may truly believe that he is Elvis. Of course, this does not mean that he is Elvis.
From the Absolute platform we all are in illusion, as we identify as these bodies and believe our identity in this life is who we are. We believe “I am the lord of all I survey. I am the enjoyer.” We think that we have created these cities, technology, etc, but we forget that we didn’t create the raw materials, nor did we create the natural laws that allow these things to work in the first place. We also believe we are enjoyers: “I will enjoy this beer,” “I will enjoy this TV show,” etc. But actually we suffer because of that mindset, because we do not experience true happiness: eternal happiness.
We only believe we are the creators and the enjoyers because we relate to the material nature and material body, forgetting our true nature and our true identity. We were created to be enjoyed by the Lord. The Lord is the actual enjoyer and creator. We have the tendency to try to control and enjoy because we are minute sparks of the Lord. As explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda, a gold particle is still gold, so we have these tendencies because the Lord also has them.
When we do not see our true position and instead relate to material nature then we are actually in false ego. False ego is “I am this body, these are MY friends, that is MY car.” In truth, these are all the Lord’s things and should be used for His enjoyment. When we think like this, we are liberated. Liberation means to be free from the bodily conception of life. When we give up the body in liberated consciousness, we will receive a spiritual body due to our pure consciousness; but even within the material body, one can be liberated by knowing their true nature, that “I am a servant of the Lord.” When we are conscious of this we become free from illusion, free from contaminated consciousness, and cooperate with the Lord.
Bhagavad-gītā instructs us how to do this. When we cooperate with the Lord we still enjoy but we enjoy because we are serving the true enjoyer and we enjoy eternally and increasingly as a result of this. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example that a hand is not satisfied if it doesn’t feed the stomach. When we don’t feed the stomach (the Lord) the body (us) is not satisfied. When we serve Him, the nourishment or enjoyment is spread to other parts of the body.
The false ego is the reason for all suffering and when we all serve the Lord then there will be no suffering at all because the stomach is fed; the root is watered. We should satisfy the Lord by devotional service, and realizing this is liberation.
Many schools of thought see Brahman, the impersonal feature of God, as the Absolute Truth. Actually Brahman is subordinate to the Complete Whole, Kṛṣṇa, who is a person. In Vedānta-sūtra, Brahman is described as being like “the rays of sunshine from the sun.” Brahman comes from the source, but it is not the source.
Most people would agree that a person is superior to an impersonal object. We might be able to build complex robots that do most of the functions humans do, but the robot is still created by a person. Are we really to believe that humans are an example of the highest that consciousness can possibly become, when we didn’t even create the materials that allow us to make the robots in the first place? It is naïve to think that there aren’t persons with higher intelligence than us, and also that all we are is impersonal material elements.
The impersonal aspect of the universe must come from a person. Just because Kṛṣṇa has such immense potencies that He can emit impersonal features such as Brahman, does not mean that He is impersonal. We create impersonal things such as corporations, buildings, material items, etc, but still we are the source of all these things. The source of the impersonal things in society is persons. Similarly Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything, including impersonal things.
If Brahman, being impersonal, does not have personality then it cannot be the complete whole. If Kṛṣṇa has both personal and impersonal aspects, then surely Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole. In fact Brahma is only one feature of Kṛṣṇa: His sat (being) feature. But:
“Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes. He is the primal cause, and He is the very form of eternal being, knowledge and bliss.” [Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1]
He also has cit (eternal knowledge) and ānanda (eternal bliss). To realize the full absolute truth we must realize all three of these features, not just sat (eternal being).
The material world is also complete because it comes from Kṛṣṇa. It contains all the resources needed for the “maintenance and subsistence” of the universe. Someone may argue that the world is not complete, otherwise there would be enough food for everyone. However, there is enough food; we just fail to share it in the proper fair way we are meant to, and so people suffer. For example, by eating meat we use the grain that could be used to feed several families to fatten up the an animal that feeds one person (what to speak of the karmic consequences). If we listened to the principles Kṛṣṇa gave us, then we would be able to feed the world quite easily.
Another argument may be that if the world were complete, then we would all be happy and everything would be perfect. But the world is in fact perfect for the purpose for which it was created:
“All sorts of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the complete.” [Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Invocation Purport]
The world was created to show us that we can’t be happy without Kṛṣṇa. It is a kind of correctional facility. The further we go away from God, the worse the world gets, as can be seen in the world today. When we realize that we don’t belong here anyway and search for Kṛṣṇa, then we become happy and the universe’s purpose is fulfilled. The universe contains all that we need to realize the true nature of reality through Vedic wisdom. It is only when we do not know the reason that we are here that we see the universe as incomplete. When we realize the complete whole, we are eternally happy. This means realizing Kṛṣṇa—not just in his impersonal Brahman feature, but His complete transcendental features:
“sat, cit and ānanda (being, knowledge, bliss) in complete vigraha (form).” [Bhagavad-gītā, Introduction]
And isn’t interaction with a real person far more satisfying than interaction with something impersonal like a machine?
The Vedas are infallible because they come from the Supreme Lord. Even where there are apparent contradictions, due to the Lord being the original author, we should trust that these apparent contradictions are due only to our own lack of knowledge. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of cow dung being purifying according to the Vedas, but elsewhere in the Vedas it says that touching animal stool is impure. However we now know that cow stool has antiseptic properties, and so there is no contradiction. This is the way the Lord made the universe, therefore “Vedic knowledge is complete because it is above all doubts and mistakes.”
What makes the Vedic knowledge perfect is that it comes from the Lord. It does not come from years of research and observations. When we research to gain knowledge we make mistakes, because we have limited intelligence. Actually we have four defects:
1) We have imperfect senses.
2) We are invariably illusioned.
3) We have the tendency to cheat others.
4) We make mistakes.
Regarding point 1) Scientists think that we will eventually know everything through expensive research. However, scientists also suffer from these four defects, so they cannot give perfect knowledge. They have imperfect senses that can observe only from the human point of view. When we look at a tree that is far away it looks small, but up close it looks very large. So is the tree small or large? We are only able to see things from our own point of view, which is imperfect due to limited senses. We can only research within certain limits. We know dogs hear higher frequencies of sound than humans do. Before we knew that there were higher frequencies outside our hearing range, we would assume that we can hear any sound produced. This leads to the question: How much phenomena is outside the limit of our senses?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes. They are thinking foremost of their own selves. They are thinking limitedly, in terms of their own circumstances. This is what we call “Dr. Frog’s philosophy.” [Laughter.]
Once there was a frog in a well, and when a friend informed him of the existence of the Atlantic Ocean, he asked the friend, “Oh, what is this Atlantic Ocean?”
“It is a vast body of water,” his friend replied.
“How vast? Is it twice the size of this well?”
“Oh, no—much, much larger,” his friend replied.
“How much larger? Ten times the size?” In this way, the frog went on calculating. But what is the possibility or ever understanding the vastness of the great ocean in this way? Our faculties, our experience, and our powers of speculation are always limited. The speculations of the scientists only give rise to such frog philosophy. [Life Comes From Life: The First Morning Walk]
2) Scientists are also illusioned. For a start they believe that they are this body yet cannot explain the difference between a dead tree and a living tree.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: [points at a dead tree with his cane] Formerly leaves and twigs were growing from this tree. Now they are not. How would the scientists explain this?
Karandhara: They would say the tree’s chemical composition has changed.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: To prove that theory, they must be able to inject the proper chemicals to make branches and leaves grow again. The scientific method includes observation, hypothesis and then demonstration. Then it is perfect. But the scientists cannot actually demonstrate in their laboratories that life comes from matter. They simply observe and then speak nonsense. They are like children. In our childhood, we observed a gramophone box and thought that within the box was a man singing, an electric man. We thought there must have been an electric man or some kind of ghost in it. [Laughter.] [Life Comes From Life: The Second Morning Walk]
Yet the scientists continue to try and prove life comes from matter. Unless they can get over this illusion, their knowledge and research will be imperfect. Incidentally they will also be out of jobs.
3) Because the scientists want to keep their jobs and prestige, they cheat others. We all have a tendency to cheat, to impress people and look better than we are. Scientists have done this on a very large scale though. All scientific research costs money, yet this research has made our lives more difficult and unstable than before. We have some extra comforts such as faster transport, but these things have come with large costs such as pollution.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: And what is the cost of the research? It is a scientific method for drawing money from others, that’s all. In other words, it is cheating. Scientists juggle words like plutonium, photons, hydrogen and oxygen, but what good will people get from this? When people hear this jugglery of words, what can they say? One scientist explains something to some extent, and then another rascal comes along and explains it again, but differently, with different words. And all the time the phenomenon has remained the same. What advancement has been made? They have simply produced volumes of books. Now there is a petrol problem. Scientists have created it. If the petrol supply dwindles away, what will these rascal scientists do? They are powerless to do anything about it. [Life Comes From Life: The Fourth Morning Walk]
4) Scientists are also sure to commit mistakes; after all they are human as well. Any person in the material world who says that he doesn’t make mistakes is a liar. In science the results from many experiments have later been found to have been inaccurate due to confounding variables, and so the knowledge is imperfect. These results are still presented as fact to the public through the media though.
Scientific research is fallible because it is based on inductive reasoning. Scientists observe things and make generalizations based on those observations. They might look drop a pen and assume all things fall down when dropped. This may seem credible because we observe things falling when dropped daily. But this does not mean all things dropped fall down. If we go to a place with no gravity then we will find that not all things fall when dropped. The only way we can be sure of anything through induction is by observing every single thing that happens ever, and of course this is impossible for humans.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: The essential fault of the so-called scientists is that they have adopted the inductive process to arrive at their conclusions. For example, if a scientist wants to determine by the inductive process whether or not man is mortal, he must study every man to try to discover if some or one of them may be immortal. The scientist says, “I cannot accept the proposition that all men are mortal. There may be some men who are immortal. I have not yet seen every man. Therefore how can I accept that man is mortal?” This is called the inductive process. And the deductive process means that your father, your teacher or your guru says that man is mortal, and you accept it. [Life Comes From Life: The Seventh Morning Walk]
What we need to be sure of something is deductive reasoning, which is superior to inductive reasoning. This is a form of reasoning where a conclusion must be true if the premises are true. For example:
All men are mortal
I am a man
I must be mortal
When we do this we do not have to observe every man. If we accept the facts that all men are mortal and that I am a man, then we can be certain that I am mortal. I don’t even need to try jumping off a building to make sure. We use this everyday.
The Scientist says I should exercise more often to live longer
The Scientist is always right
Therefore I should exercise more often if I want to live longer
The problem here is that even though we have used deductive knowledge, we are using false premises, and so even though the scientist may be right sometimes, he is not always right. As mentioned, they use inductive knowledge to come to their conclusions, and so if we accept them all the time then we will be led wrong.
Therefore, if we want infallible knowledge we must receive it from an infallible source: a source from which we can deduce something is correct if the source says it is correct. A perfect source who is always right. This infallible source is Kṛṣṇa, who gives us Vedic wisdom. After all, Kṛṣṇa made the universe in the first place. The Lord gave Vedic knowledge to Brahmā, the first created being, and it has been handed down unchanged in disciplic succession since then.
When we buy a new computer we are provided with an instruction manual by the manufacturer. If we have never done something on the computer, such as install new hardware, we should consult the manual. If we try to install the hardware without consulting the manual, then we risk breaking the computer and we won’t get our money back.
When the Lord creates the universe, He gives us a manual in the form of the Vedas. We should follow the instructions to realize who we are and what we should do with our lives. If we decide to ignore the infallible instructions that Kṛṣṇa kindly gives us and follow our own fallible “knowledge,” then we have no one to blame for our suffering but ourselves.
Regarding inductive versus deductive and the four faults of human nature, a few days ago Babaji was explaining to me that our own minds and intelligence can reflect wrongly, but the Vedas will always reflect perfectly. So if we have a problem and are trying to analyze it perfectly, all we have to do is hold it up in the light of the Vedas and it is perfectly illuminated. The Vedas are Absolute Truth and so have no bias or faults, and we can be sure that they give us the real picture. On the other hand, if we try and illuminate it with our own conditioned intelligence then it appears distorted and we mistake it for something else.
I have recently been seeing how my mind and intelligence can reflect wrongly. The mind loves to give a false sense of comfort after you have thought something through, but unless it is in accordance with the Vedas it usually turns out to be just that: false. It is tough to give in to that fact though, because we are so used to relying on the mind and intelligence. I am slowly starting to realize this and this exercise has helped a lot.
Matter is temporary, and so all the objects and actions related to matter are temporary. Nothing lasts forever in the material world. We may work hard to support a family, but eventually the members of that family will grow old and die. We may save lots of money, but it either gets spent or we have to give it up at the time of death. We may be part of a government and create a law that lasts a very long time, yet when a new government takes over the law could be changed. Even if it lasts until the end of human civilization, according to science one day the sun will no longer produce energy and we will die out. Even if this is not true, one day the material manifestation will be destroyed by Śiva. Everything is temporary here.
Spirit is sanātana or eternal; spirit never changes and lasts forever. We jīvas are spirit, so even when the body and all actions related to the body disappear, we will continue to exist. Similarly, the Lord is sanātana, so He exists forever and never changes.
The jīva has an eternal relationship with the Lord. In material life, if one lover moves away from another, there is a strain on the relationship and it will likely end. Even if they stay together and it lasts a lifetime, one of the lovers will die and that relationship will end. Even though we chose to be away from the Lord, the relationship between the jīva and the Lord never ends, no matter how bad we have been. It is not that we have to create a new relationship with the Lord, but we must revive our existing eternal relationship.
If it is an eternal loving relationship, one may ask: “Why are we put into illusion so that we forget the relationship?” Well, we chose to be away from the Lord, to enjoy separately from Him. He continues to love us though, and does not end the relationship. Instead the Vedas teach that we can’t be happy away from Him.
A loving father forces his son to do his homework because he loves him. He doesn’t do it to punish him and take away the son’s fun. He does it because he believes it will benefit the son in the future and reduce his suffering. When we learn our lesson, get tired of suffering and take up spiritual activities, we revive our true relationship with the Lord, which is actually better for us than temporary material relationships. The Lord provides the process for us to do this in Bhagavad-gītā.
Any spiritual activities we do are also eternal. So even if we leave this body before we fully realize our eternal relationship with the Lord, we continue in the next life where we left off in this one. We don’t lose what we have gained spiritually. In material life we have to start all over again to obtain material items, build relationships, etc. So the fundamental difference between anything material and anything spiritual is that material things are temporary while spiritual things are sanātana, eternal.
Sanātana-dharma is the eternal occupation of the living entity. Remember, eternal means it never changes. In the material world we have many different occupations. One person may be a paperboy in his teen years, then become a waiter, then a student, then a doctor. He may become tired of the long hours and open a small shop before retiring. Throughout this person’s life his occupation is changing.
Even within the period that he is a doctor, the occupation may change from a doctor during the day, to a husband or father at night depending on what the situation presents. The sanātana-dharma never changes though, even if we aren’t aware of it. We aren’t aware of many things such as how the universe works or how we digest things, but these things continue nonetheless.
An outsider may see a devotee chanting, offering food, etc, and say, “Oh, this is a religion.” But religion is not eternal; it has a beginning and an end. The only reason religions continue to exist is that somebody has faith in them. But we know from experience that people can change their faith, and many people do. Therefore faith is not eternal, as faith can change. We may even have faith in a job or a government, but new events such as redundancy or tyranny can change our faith.
Sanātana-dharma cannot be changed, and so is not a faith. It is true that we require faith in the early stages of realizing one’s eternal occupation. As one becomes more advanced in the practices, that faith turns into knowledge because we experience the realization of our eternal occupation for ourselves. We do not need faith for the whole of our lives, and hope that when we die we have put our faith in the right place. We see from experience, and this occupation will never change as it is an important part of who we are.
Prabhupāda gives the example:
“liquidity cannot be taken from water, nor can heat be taken from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be taken from the living entity.” [Bhagavad-gītā Introduction]
Therefore it cannot be sectarian. According to www.dictionary.com, sectarian means: “narrowly confined or devoted to a particular sect.” But the sanātana-dharma is the business of all living entities so it is not narrowly confined. We do not do it for a few hours in either the material or spiritual world and then call it a day. This is who we are and so it will never stop.
Our sanātana-dharma, or eternal occupation, is rendering service. We are always serving, whether willingly or reluctantly. We serve friends, family, even ourselves. A mother may serve her baby son by feeding him, or a friend may serve a friend by providing companionship, for example. We may serve reluctantly, such as serving our country by paying taxes. We also serve ourselves by performing activities that bring us sense gratification. At the very least, we serve our bodies to keep them going.
Everyone serves, and so this is the eternal religion or occupation of a person. It never changes. When a person changes their material religion, they only change the organization and set of beliefs that they render service to. They have not changed the eternal activity of rendering service.
Although rendering service is our sanātana-dharma, the examples given here are only the manifestation of the sanātana-dharma in material consciousness. Our svarūpa, or constitutional position, is serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is who we are supposed to be serving. We do so indirectly when we serve material things, but this creates karma for ourselves. When we serve the Supreme Personality directly, then we are performing our sanātana-dharma in spiritual consciousness—our true consciousness.
We were created to serve the Lord—created for his enjoyment. When we do this we automatically become happy, just like a fish is happy when put back into water. When we serve someone or something that is not in relation to the Supreme, then we just cause suffering for ourselves because we are not serving the way we are supposed to.
We should not serve demigods, atheistic governments, or even ourselves. Sectarian things such as material religion will not bring us pleasure if we serve them. We will become stressed and exhausted by trying to serve material things. We should serve the highest pleasure, Kṛṣṇa. By doing so we will be happy and feel pleasure ourselves. Kṛṣṇa is the highest, most supreme person. Therefore we must serve Kṛṣṇa.
The eternal sky, or spiritual world, is the place where the Lord Himself resides and where He enjoys His eternal relationships and pastimes. In this spiritual sky is a supreme planet where the original personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa resides, just like the King or Queen of a country resides in a palace in the material world. This supreme planet is called Goloka Vṛndāvana.
We don’t need to speculate as to what this spiritual world is like. Not only is it described in the Vedas, but the Lord also comes to the material world Himself to exhibit His activities, giving us a taste of the pastimes. Some of these activities can be read about in Kṛṣṇa Book.
These pastimes are full of happiness such as His activities with His cowherd boy friends. Both Kṛṣṇa and the cowherd boys were enjoying the pastimes, playing together, eating together, etc. Some people may wonder, “Why would God do normal human activities?” These people are unintelligent, as these are not ordinary activities. We shouldn’t feel that the Lord is like us when we perform these kinds of activities in the mundane material world. The happiness shared between the Lod and His eternal associates is on a much higher level; it is transcendental to material happiness, and it is also eternal.
We have to remember that we are fragments of Kṛṣṇa. He does not come here to act like humans, because He is not like us. Rather, we are like Him only on a much smaller scale, and so anything we do here is just trying to emulate Kṛṣṇa’s activities on a mundane platform.
Imagine you had the power to create whatever you like. Wouldn’t you create others like yourself to enjoy with? We all seek relationships with others; even as a baby we have a relationship with our mother. With the power to create anything, we would not create robots because we wouldn’t get the same enjoyment—it wouldn’t be a real relationship. Kṛṣṇa creates us with independence and the same qualities as He has, so that we can have a real relationship with Him. These relationships are taking place in the eternal sky.
There is no need for the sun, moon, fire, etc. in the eternal sky, because Kṛṣṇa’s potency is such that just by His presence He can illuminate the eternal sky and all the spiritual planets there. This illumination is called the brahmajyoti. The spiritual planets float in the effulgent rays coming from the Lord, and the jīvas inhabit the spiritual planets. We try to understand material planets by speculation, but the spiritual planets are described in the Vedas.
We don’t need spaceships or any mechanical object to reach the spiritual planets, or even to travel between them. All we need is a spiritual process. This process is given in the Bhagavad-gītā. When we follow the instructions, we become pure enough to approach the spiritual planets. We never need to come back to the material sky. One major difference between the two skies is that in the spiritual planets, there is no suffering whatsoever: no death, birth, disease or old age. It is in our best interest to reach those planets where all that happens is eternal enjoyment.
The material world is described as a banyan tree whose roots are upwards and branches are down. It is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. We can understand that there are relationships in the spiritual world as there are relationships in the material world. Here they are temporary, bring both pain and enjoyment, and require a power struggle between the two parties. In the spiritual world they are eternal, full of bliss and there is no need for power struggle: Kṛṣṇa is eternally supreme. Light is here from the sun, moon, etc. but light is there from the Lord.
Here in this material world there is no reality or substantiality. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of the material world being like a mirage. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can seek to get out of it and become happy eternally in reality; the spiritual world.
If we want to approach the abode of the supreme Lord, first we must get rid of all the material designations and attachments we hold. These are not who we really are, and so as long as we have them we will continue to be attached to the body and living in illusion.
Someone may want to become a famous football player, and they become attached to training every day, analyzing games, etc. But even if they are able to attain the designation of football player, eventually they will have to retire and no longer have that designation.
Similarly, while we are attached to bodily attachments such as family, we are still identifying as the body because we only have this current family while we are in this body. They will leave as soon as we die. If we want to approach the Lord, we must realize fully: “I am not this body.” Until we realize this, we will continue to be affected by the material modes and remain attached to various bodily conceptions of life.
We need to attach ourselves to something else though, because attachment is a normal thing. When a person is addicted to heroin they my be given methadone to stop the heroin use. Then they will be given less potent drugs, continually changing the attachment until they are able to become attached to sober life again. They realize how much healthier they feel, and how much clearer they can think. They never want to go back to heroin again, although it takes a lot of work in different stages to get to that point.
We are addicted to lording it over material nature; we have lust and desire, and we need to give up these false material enjoyments to go back to the eternal kingdom. We are not meant to lord over material things because none of this is our property, it is the Supreme Lord’s. To get over our addiction we must become attached to devotional service to the Lord.
At first, due to the strength of our addiction, we won’t be able to give up all our material designations and offer service. We do a little at a time just like the heroin addict comes off the drug in stages. As we increase our devotional service, our attachment to it increases and we become more detached from material designations. This is the way we approach the supreme abode.
We learn about the spiritual kingdom through the Vedic literatures, and the more we learn about it, the more we will desire to go there. It is unmanifest to our senses at the moment, but as Śrīla Prabhupāda points out, most of the material world is also unmanifest to us. Even on Earth we have not explored much of the ocean’s depths, so we do not know what we will find there. We can read in travel guides about countries that others have been to, and we may desire to go there. Similarly, we read about the spiritual planets from the person that made them, and if we are wise we will desire to go there.
Through becoming attached to the Supreme Kingdom and devotional service, we will be thinking of Kṛṣṇa. He says in the Bhagavad-gītā that this is the way we attain Him and His abode. When we die, or leave this body, if we think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead then we will be able to approach the spiritual kingdom. The only way we can be sure that we will be able to do this at death is through devotional service. When we die our life flashes before our eyes (ask anyone with a near-death experience). If we were thinking of Kṛṣṇa throughout life, then we will surely be thinking of Him when we die. This way we can attain an eternal body full of knowledge and bliss in the spiritual world, enjoying our natural position of serving Kṛṣṇa.
The soul’s destination is determined by the actions we take in this life. We have no decision in the final matter of where we go after death. We must accept our destination according to higher authorities, and these authorities make their decision based on how we have lived our lives. We can prepare to go to the spiritual world by living our lives according to the Lord’s instructions.
The Lord insists that we arrange our activities so that we are always thinking of Him in His personal form. Those who decide to concentrate on His impersonal aspect will merge with the brahmajyoti, the Lord’s brilliant effulgence in the spiritual sky. It is easy to fall down from the brahmajyoti, but if one attains the spiritual planets of the Lord then he will never fall down.
“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” [Bhagavad-gītā 8.15 ]
This requires thinking of the Lord’s personal form always, but this takes a firm faith to do. We develop this faith through performing devotional service. Arjuna accepts everything the Lord says, because he is a great devotee of the Lord. We need to cultivate our faith to achieve this same surety that Arjuna possesses. We shouldn’t just disbelieve the Lord’s instructions due to a lack of firm faith, but should instead experiment with the Lord’s instructions ourselves. Even if you disbelieve that you will fall when jumping out of a building, you will still fall if you try it.
We must dovetail our activities to aid our thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Instead of material literature such as novels, we should read the Vedic texts which were spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself. This will create many spiritual impressions in our minds, which we will remember at the time of death. This will also strengthen our faith so that we can be as certain of the Lord’s words as Arjuna was.
Most of us can’t just sit and read the Vedic literature all day. We all have to work to maintain our bodies. Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “The Lord never suggests anything impractical.” Therefore we should work while remembering Kṛṣṇa. For example, we can play spiritual music in the background while we work. Even if this is not possible, we can work for Kṛṣṇa. Whether you are cleaning dishes, typing letters or operating on patients, you can clean, type, or operate with the consciousness that you are doing it for Kṛṣṇa. Also, the surplus money earned after you have maintained yourself can be used either in purchasing Vedic books for others, supporting those who are preaching spiritual principles, or even starting one’s own preaching mission.
Lord Caitanya also advises chanting the Holy Name of Lord. The Holy Name is nondifferent from the Lord. There is no difference between the reference and referent in the Absolute. Whereas the round object we call an apple is different from the word ‘apple,’ the Holy Name of the Lord is the same as the Lord. By chanting these names we are automatically thinking of the Lord, creating more spiritual impressions in our minds, as well as cleansing the old material impressions we have previously created in our minds.
As we partake in these various spiritual activities, our love for the Lord develops, or rather becomes uncovered. Eventually our love becomes so strong that we will automatically be doing everything for the Lord. The Lord will always be in our minds and there will be no effort needed on our part to try and think of Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda gives the example of a person who is always thinking of their lover while doing chores. There is no need for deep meditation or severe austerities to reach the Lord, only to revive our love for Him.
If we are able to think of Kṛṣṇa constantly during our daily activities, then we are guaranteed to be able to at the time of death. This is the perfection of life. By always being conscious of Kṛṣṇa, our senses and body are automatically engaged in His service, even though to others it seems we are just partaking in the same activities that we always have. Devotional service is a process of changing our consciousness from material to spiritual. This process starts with hearing about the Lord, for by hearing about Him we will automatically think about and remember Him. Eventually we will always remember Him, and we can’t help but engage in His service, guaranteeing our entrance into the spiritual kingdom.
This constant thinking of Kṛṣṇa won’t come overnight; it requires constant practice. Our minds are restless due to the material energy, and easily get distracted. Through hearing the spiritual sound vibrations and practicing the presence of the Lord, we can achieve the goal. Learning any new skill can be difficult at first, but with plenty of practice one can do things effortlessly. A new piano player may struggle playing chords at first, but eventually after practicing for a while they can play a full piece of music with very little effort. It just requires dedication. If one is sincere, no matter who they are, they can attain the ultimate goal of life: the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
If we read Bhagavad-gītā carefully and follow Kṛṣṇa’s instructions faithfully, then we will achieve the ultimate goal of life without any doubt. We will have nothing to fear, nothing to lament and nothing further to know. We will have all the instructions required to live a perfect life.
We shouldn't read this literature casually like a novel, or a textbook that we skim through just to get enough information to pass the test. We should read it very carefully, contemplating the information held within, and meditating on why the instructions are perfect. We should seek a deep understanding of the text.
We have achieved a great feat even if we only fully understand one śloka of Bhagavad-gītā. We won't lose any advancement we make on this path, even at death. Whereas we have to start at the beginning of material knowledge each time we are born, we start right where we left off when we traverse the path of spiritual knowledge.
By understanding and following the instructions in Bhagavad-gītā we realize that we have nothing to fear. We know that we are eternal, so death only affects the body and we shouldn't fear death. Further, we don't have to worry about our past karma. If we sincerely surrender to Kṛṣṇa by following these instructions then we will not be affected by our previous karma and also won't create any new karma for ourselves.
“Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me; and in return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Therefore, you have nothing to fear.” [Bhagavad-gītā 18.66].
Although other Vedic texts contain a wealth of knowledge and inspiration concerning the spiritual path, even if one regularly studies only Bhagavad-gītā then they can achieve the perfection of life. They will be liberated to the spiritual world. Bhagavad-gītā is very potent due to being spoken directly by Kṛṣṇa for the purpose of helping all people, no matter of their intellectual capacity or status in the world.
The Bhagavad-gītā also contains the solution to achieving the world peace that we all desire. In social psychology studies, it has been shown that when a common goal is given to very different, conflicting groups of people, they work hard together to achieve this superordinate goal. We have much conflict in the world today, as people are fighting for their own countries, their own religions and their own material gains. If we all listen to the Supreme Lord, follow His instructions, and work for the liberation of everyone then there would be no more conflict. We would automatically be engaged in the service of the Lord and so there would be nothing to fear, nor would there be ambiguities as to what the right thing to do with our life should be.
“In this present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripture for the whole world—Bhagavad-gītā. And let there be one God only for the whole world—Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And one mantra only—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare | Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. And let there be one work only—the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” [Bhagavad-gītā, Introduction].
Let's all work together in accordance with the Supreme Lord's instructions. Hare Kṛṣṇa!