Hare Krsna,
At first, I was hesitant to write on this forum topic because of my ignorance of life in the spiritual world. It is impossible for a materially imprisoned person like me to say something about the spiritual world for the simple reason that I have never seen that transcendental abode of the Lord. I have no idea what that place looks like. But later I realized that we do not see transcendental things through our eyes – we see them through our ears by the process of hearing and reading from bonafide sources.
Srila Prabhupada also eluded to this fact. He writes, “Generally a human being has no idea of what the constitutional position is in the higher material planets, which are far better constituted in regard to all paraphernalia, yet the Vaikuṇṭha planet is so pleasing and so celestial that it is compared to the middle jewel or locket in a necklace of jewels.” (SB 3.15.39 P)
From the lesson, we could understand that the key difference between life in the material world vs, the spiritual world is that of harmony. In Vaikuntha, everything and everyone is in harmony with the Supreme Lord. On the contrary, everything is pretty much in disharmony. There is disharmony even within us. Our interests are in disharmony; our desires are in disharmony; our love for others is in disharmony; our goal of life is also conflicted. This disharmony within us extends to our family, to the realm of our friendship, to society, to our country, and eventually to the whole world. Because of so much disharmony, the world is in a mess today. The disharmony is related to the interests of the Supreme Lord. We do not act in accordance with the interests of Krsna. We fail to ask, “What will please Krsna the most?” We fail to ask, “How can I serve Krsna? How can I please Krsna?” Since we do not ask, we do not act on them either. Thus the result is that of disharmony.
But things are different in the spiritual world. Everything is done keeping Lord Krsna at the center. In the previous lesson, we studied that even though the women of Vaikunthas are as beautiful as Lakshmi, the men are not aroused because they are absorbed in Krsna consciousness. The couples in Vaikuntha fly in beautiful airplanes made of gold while constantly glorifying the faultless Lord. They even deride the fragrance of honey laden madhavi flowers as distraction. The birds in Vaikuntha temporarily stop their own singing to hear the humming sound of the king of bees that resemble hari-katha. Although transcendentally fragrant, the plants in Vaikuntha greatly respect Tulasi for her austerities that made her leaves attain a position in the Lord’s garland. The forest in Vaikuntha bear flowers and fruits of all seasons, because there everything is spiritual and personal. In the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no question of enmity between the Lord and the residents.
“The external energy of the Lord is called the material world, and the kingdom of the internal energy of the Lord is called Vaikuṇṭha, or the kingdom of God. In the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no disharmony between the Lord and the residents. Therefore God’s creation in the Vaikuṇṭha world is perfect. There is no cause of fear. The entire kingdom of God is such a completely harmonious unit that there is no possibility of enmity. Everything there is absolute. Just as there are many physiological constructions within the body yet they work in one order for the satisfaction of the stomach, and just as in a machine there are hundreds and thousands of parts yet they run in harmony to fulfill the function of the machine, in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the Lord is perfect, and the inhabitants also perfectly engage in the service of the Lord.” (SB 3.15. 33 P)
In Vaikuntha, real religion exists in the form of devotional service to the Lord or pure Krsna consciousness. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo (SB 1.2.6) In the spiritual world this religious principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is maintained in harmony, and therefore that world is called Vaikuṇṭha.
In the spiritual world, there is no question about the existence of lust, anger, and greed because of the absence of the three modes of material nature. It is stated that as long as a living entity is pure, he is in complete harmony with the desires of the Supreme Lord, but as soon as he becomes impure he is in disharmony with the desires of the Lord. By contamination he is forced to transfer to this material world, where the living entities have three enemies, namely desire, anger and lust. These three enemies force the living entities to continue material existence, and when one is free from them he is eligible to enter the kingdom of God. (SB 3.15.34 P)
Srila Prabhupada says that we can turn this material world into Vaikuntha. If the same principles of pure devotional service that exists in Vaikuntha can be adopted here, wholly or partially, then it is also Vaikuṇṭha. So it is with any society, such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: If the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, putting faith in Kṛṣṇa as the center, live in harmony according to the order and principles of Bhagavad-gītā, then they are living in Vaikuṇṭha, not in this material world. (SB 3.15.33 P)
Therefore, the key remedy is to take shelter of and chant the holy name of the Lord. Gradually we will become completely purified and attain pure harmony with the Supreme Lord. Our hearts will be purified and become an abode of the Lord. Wherever the Lord resides, that place is Vaikuntha. It was Sri Advaita who told Lord Caitanya, “Wherever You are, O Lord—there is Vrndavana.”
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 