Hare Krsna,

Upon reflecting on this chapter deeply, I am quite alarmed at the way Lord Kapiladeva is unraveling the perils of unregulated family life. Typically, what we consider to be a safe comfort zone turns out to be a gateway to hell if handled carelessly.  Family household life is a source of great joy and happiness to millions across the world. But the same family life can lead us to hell if there is no Krsna consciousness or God consciousness in it. The sad part is that in the name of family, we have normalized abnormal practices. Just as Mother Chatamayi so graciously shared in her last post, drinking was normalized in her family. While growing up, my family normalized meat and fish eating. Millions in the USA normalize possession of guns and commit violence in the name of self-defense. Schools normalize free intermingling of opposite sex; the prom culture is nothing but subtle sexuality. Treating women as objects of enjoyment is normalized through advertisement and marketing. Unfortunately, millions do not realize how dangerous this situation is. When families, directly or indirectly, encourage sinful behavior, the end result will be nothing but descend to lower forms and planets. Even the popular culture of keeping pets is quite dangerous. Didn’t Bharata Maharaja, who was situated in the stage if bhava, fall down from human platform because he developed too much attachment for a fawn? Srimad Bhagavatam is filled with teachings on how to lead a sinless, pious, and regulated life. Unfortunately, the abnormalities have become so normal in today’s world that we dare not even speak about them. Try telling someone that keeping pets and developing too much attachment for them is dangerous for the progression of the soul? Try telling someone that maintaining slaughterhouses and possessing guns will always lead to negative consequences?

In this chapter, Lord Kapiladeva is gradually enlightening us how the path to hell is quite open if we are careless, even in household life. He explains the pains in youth, old age and death for person agitated by attachment to family and children. The root cause of bondage is sexual desire. Sex life is the cause of bondage of the conditioned soul to remain in the material world. From sexual desire, one gradually develops attachment to one’s partner, family, children, relatives, property, etc. When one develops sexual bondage, prakṣepātmikā and āvaraṇātmikā subtly takes over. Praksepatmika makes us forget our eternal relationship with the Lord and throws us into a household life.  Avaraṇātmikā keeps us in ignorance and gives us a false impression that a peaceful happy family life is ultimate happiness. Gradually this avaranatmika potency makes us commit all sorts of sinful actions. We end up working crazy long hours for our livelihood, we have mounting expenses, our health is compromised, we are stressed and always disturbed, we worry about our future, we worry about retirement, and so on. But still, we think we are happy. This is how avaranatmika works.

I want to share a strong purport by Srila Prabhupada from Second Canto. I happened to read it recently during SB study with another group. I think it is relevant to this forum topic.

SB 2.6.8 Purport: The genitals and the pleasure of begetting counteract the distresses of family encumbrances. One would cease to generate altogether if there were not, by the grace of the Lord, a coating, a pleasure-giving substance, on the surface of the generative organs. This substance gives a pleasure so intense that it counteracts fully the distress of family encumbrances. A person is so captivated by this pleasure-giving substance that he is not satisfied by begetting a single child, but increases the number of children, with great risk in regard to maintaining them, simply for this pleasure-giving substance. This pleasure-giving substance is not false, however, because it originates from the transcendental body of the Lord. In other words, the pleasure-giving substance is a reality, but it has taken on an aspect of pervertedness on account of material contamination. In the material world, sex life is the cause of many distresses on account of material contact. Therefore, the sex life in the material world should not be encouraged beyond the necessity. There is a necessity for generating progeny even in the material world, but such generation of children must be carried out with full responsibility for spiritual values. The spiritual values of life can be realized in the human form of material existence, and the human being must adopt family planning with reference to the context of spiritual values, and not otherwise. The degraded form of family restriction by use of contraceptives, etc., is the grossest type of material contamination. Materialists who use these devices want to fully utilize the pleasure potency of the coating on the genitals by artificial means, without knowing the spiritual importance. And without knowledge of spiritual values, the less intelligent man tries to utilize only the material sense pleasure of the genitals.

The theme of household life being a gateway to hell comes up repeatedly in Srimad Bhagavatam. Prahlada Maharaja says to his father, “O best of the asuras, King of the demons, as far as I have learned from my spiritual master, any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering. One should give up this position and go to the forest [vana]. More clearly, one should go to Vṛndāvana, where only Kṛṣṇa consciousness is prevalent, and should thus take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.“ (SB 7.5.5)

Similarly, Lord Kapiladeva says, “After leaving this body, the man who maintained himself and his family members by sinful activities suffers a hellish life, and his relatives suffer also. He goes alone to the darkest regions of hell after quitting the present body, and the money he acquired by envying other living entities is the passage money with which he leaves this world. Thus, by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the maintainer of kinsmen is put into a hellish condition to suffer for his sinful activities, like a man who has lost his wealth.” (SB 3.30-32)

It is therefore a time for re-awakening and realizing that we need to keep Krsna consciousness at the center of everything and stay away from sinful habits. It is time to revisit as a family what we are doing wrong and that needs correction. Otherwise, we run the risk of falling into hell.

However, there is always hope. The fact that we have a human body is a thing of rare privilege and should not be wasted. After going through all the miserable hellish conditions, and then many births in the lower forms, we became purified and reborn as human beings. It is, therefore, important that we practice bhakti intensely and try diligently to stay away from sinful actions.

“Just as a prisoner, who has undergone troublesome prison life, is set free again, the person who has always engaged in impious and mischievous activities is put into hellish conditions, and when he has undergone different hellish lives, namely those of lower animals like cats, dogs and hogs, by the gradual process of evolution he again comes back as a human being… It can be concluded that if someone is not willing to enter into hellish life, as in Tāmisra or Andha-tāmisra, then he must take to the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is the first-class yoga system, because even if one is unable to attain complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, he is guaranteed at least to take his next birth in a human family. He cannot be sent into a hellish condition. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the purest life, and it protects all human beings from gliding down to hell to take birth in a family of dogs or hogs.” (SB 3.30.34 Purport)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

“Māyā has two phases of activities. One is called prakṣepātmikā, and the other is called āvaraṇātmikā. Āvaraṇātmikā means “covering,” and prakṣepātmikā means “pulling down.” In any condition of life, the materialistic person or animal will be satisfied because his knowledge is covered by the influence of māyā.” (SB 3.30.4 Purport)

We are witness to the subtle workings of prakṣepātmikā and āvaraṇātmikā in our everyday lives. One place where we see the application of them is with respect to the atheists. In BG 7.15, Lord Krsna declares that four kinds of people do not surrender unto Him.

“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.”

The atheistic class of people are called mayayapahrta-jnana, or those persons whose erudite knowledge has been nullified by the influence of illusory material energy. They are the impersonalists of Mayavadis who are very proud of exhibiting their Vedanta knowledge through grammatical jugglery. Therefore, they are bereft of real spiritual knowledge being covered by the avaranatmika potency of maya. These people deride the Personality of the Supreme Lord and consider Him merely another human being. They do not know that the blessed form of human life is designed after the eternal and transcendental feature of the Supreme Lord.

prakṣepātmikā and āvaraṇātmikā also applies to conditioned souls like me. Because of my desire to enjoy in this material world, praksepatmika threw me into this material world and avaranatmika keeps me covered by ignorance that I am enjoying here despite all the miseries I go through. This human body is a punishment if we do not practice bhakti. But we go on craving for sense gratification living in ignorance that this material body can give us unlimited material happiness. Srila Prabhupada gives us a beautiful example of Indra in SB 3.30.5. Due to avaranatmika potency, Indra, in the form of a hog, forgot everything of his royal position in the heavenly kingdom, and he refused to go back when invited by Lord Brahma. Similarly, we are also so attached to our bodily relationships that we do not want to give them up. Krsna declares in BG to surrender unto Him and abandon everything else. But still, we are so stubborn that we do not want to do so. This is how maya cruelly binds us in this material world through her two energies – prakṣepātmikā and āvaraṇātmikā.

We need to be careful of these two potencies of maya. Sometimes when performing bhakti and struggling to reach our spiritual goals, maya may dictate, “why are you trying so hard? You have been chanting the Holy Name for so many years but still you are struggling in this material world with the three-fold miseries. Give them up and go back to your early sense gratificatory life.” This is how maya may try to distract us from our true goals. This is called prakṣepātmikā. Maya is dragging and distracting us.

Therefore, we need to be extremely careful of maya and her tendency to distract us from bhakti and keep us entangled in ignorance. We must take shelter of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda who are just like the sun and moon who have arisen on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all. (CC Adi 1.2) This material world is a dark well of ignorance. The fallen soul in this dark well must take shelter of the lotus feet of Gaura-Nitāi, for thus he can easily emerge from material existence. Without Their strength, simply attempting to get out of the clutches of matter by speculative knowledge will be insufficient.

“Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu drive away the five kinds of ignorance of the conditioned souls. In the Mahābhārata, Udyoga-parva, Forty-third Chapter, these five kinds of ignorance are described. They are (1) accepting the body to be the self, (2) making material sense gratification one’s standard of enjoyment, (3) being anxious due to material identification, (4) lamenting and (5) thinking that there is anything beyond the Absolute Truth. The teachings of Lord Caitanya eradicate these five kinds of ignorance. Whatever one sees or otherwise experiences one should know to be simply an exhibition of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s energy. Everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa.” (CC Adi 1.102 Purport)

“Therefore, this knot is very difficult to cut, but here is suggested, “If you take this sword…” What is that sword? Yad anudhyāsinā. Always chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Take this sword. This sword is only remedy. Yad anudhyāsinā yuktāḥ. If you take this sword, then karma-granthi-nibandhanam, this hard knot of karma (can be cut).” (SP lecture on SB 1.2.15)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

SB 3.29.37-45

The time factor, who causes the transformation of the various material manifestations, is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anyone who does not know that time is the same Supreme Personality is afraid of the time factor.

Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the wind blows, out of fear of Him the sun shines, out of fear of Him the rain pours forth showers, and out of fear of Him the host of heavenly bodies shed their luster. Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the trees, creepers, herbs and seasonal plants and flowers blossom and fructify, each in its own season. Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the rivers flow, and the ocean never overflows. Out of fear of Him only does fire burn and does the earth, with its mountains, not sink in the water of the universe.

The eternal time factor has no beginning and no end. It is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the maker of the criminal world. It brings about the end of the phenomenal world, it carries on the work of creation by bringing one individual into existence from another, and likewise it dissolves the universe by destroying even the lord of death, Yamarāja.

I have been meditating on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna while chanting my japa. One of the symbols on Sri Krsna’s lotus feet is a disc. It is said that the disc on Krsna’s foot represents the time factor. One who always meditates on Krsna’s lotus feet will never be destroyed by time; he will live eternally in the blissful world of Vraja Gokula. (Radha-Govinda Meditation Techniques – Mahanidhi Swami)

Therefore, for a devotee who always meditates on Krsna’s name, form, qualities, pastimes, abode, paraphernalia, associates, etc., there is nothing to fear from the influence of time factor which is another representation or manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the material world. I am saying ‘in the material world’ because there is no time factor in the spiritual world. We do not realize how time devours us every moment. It is such an irony that popular culture is to celebrate one’s birthday. The bitter truth is that we are actually celebrating our state of being closer to death. I say, “I am 30 years old.” In essence, what I am saying is that 30 years of my present lifetime has died. But such is the inscrutable working of time that we do not realize its deathly influence upon us. The time factor is as illusory as maya. Therefore, it is important for us to take shelter of Krsna and be protected from the cruel time factor.

Another realization I had on the time factor is how each culture respects time. The modern Western civilization is generally considered to be lacking in God consciousness, whereas the Indian civilization is still predominantly God consciousness. If we treat time as a representative of the Supreme Lord, it means that we should respect time in the same manner as we treat the Lord. Ironically, Indians are considered to be less punctual whereas the Western culture is known for its punctuality. What a paradox and contradiction! I wonder whether the Western culture’s respect for time originated from the knowledge that time is a manifestation of the Lord.

As for me, I am very conscious of being respectful of other’s time. I am hardly ever late to appointments. Even at work, I do not schedule meetings for more than 30 minutes while the convention is to schedule 45-60 minutes meetings. My idea is that if we cannot communicate something within 30 minutes, it is less likely that we would be able to do so in an hour. A popular proverb says that ‘Brevity is a great charm of eloquence.’

The key takeaway for me from this lesson is these statements from Srila Prabhupada, “Therefore a devotee does not desire anything in this material world. A devotee desires only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This servitude exists eternally; the Lord exists eternally, His servitor exists eternally, and the service exists eternally.” (SB 3.29.45 Purport). How uplifting and hope-giving!!

The Supreme Lord is eternal. As spirit souls parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, we are eternal too. When both these eternal entities meet with love and devotion, the result is bound to be eternal. Two positives always make a positive. Therefore, bhakti is eternal. The servitude exists eternally; it is never vanquished by the time factor. Just as a typewriter will type whether it is used in the material or spiritual world, the servitude will continue to be transcendental whether the servitor and served are in the material or spiritual world. A pure devotee does not desire anything except to serve the Supreme Lord eternally. Eternity factor and influence of time factor cannot go together. The only way to overcome the fearful time factor is to always engage in devotional service to the Supreme Lord.

“It is therefore said, hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti: no one can be saved from the repetition of birth and death without the help of the Supreme Lord. It is therefore the duty of all living entities to take shelter of the lotus feet of Viṣṇu and thus save themselves from the cycle of birth and death.” (SB 3.29.39 Purport)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

This was a nice coincidence. As I was reading through the gradation of the living entities, I was thinking how Srila Prabhupada is beyond each of the stages. When the forum topic suggested that we meditate on the unique position of His Divine Grace, I couldn’t help smiling at this sweet coincidence.

As Mother Chatamayi mentioned, the last seven stages beyond varsnasrama are quite unique in themselves. Even though Brahmana stage is a desired platform, it is not the end of the story. Even study of the Vedas and knowing its purport is not enough. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya knew studied all the Vedas but still he didn’t know that by all the Vedas Lord Krsna is to be known – vedas sa sarvair aham eva vedya (BG 15.15). Higher than realizing the essence of the Vedas is to deliver the suffering living entities from nescience and situating them in the highest platform of pure devotional service.

I am reminded of a very nice conversation between Sanatana Goswami and Haridasa Thakura. Sanatana Goswami was praising Haridasa Thakura. He said, “O Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who is equal to you? You are one of the associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore you are the most fortunate. The mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for which He has descended as an incarnation, is to spread the importance of chanting the holy name of the Lord. Now instead of personally doing so, He is spreading it through you. My dear sir, you are chanting the holy name 300,000 times daily and informing everyone of the importance of such chanting. Some behave very well but do not preach the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas others preach but do not behave properly. You simultaneously perform both duties in relation to the holy name by your personal behavior and by your preaching. Therefore you are the spiritual master of the entire world, for you are the most advanced devotee in the world.” (CC Antya 4.99-103)

These statements perfectly applied to our Srila Prabhupada as well. There are many pure devotees in Sri Vrndavana dhama. They practice pure bhakti but do not preach; they do not step out of the dhama. But our Srila Prabhupada is so merciful and compassionate. He not only practiced pure devotional service but also preached the cult of Krsna consciousness all over the world. He gave us the highest ‘matchless gift’ of pure Krsna bhakti. He was not only satisfied by being a pure devotee himself but also desired that the whole world become pure devotees. Like Haridasa Thakura, he simultaneously performed his duties in relation to the holy name by his personal behavior and by his preaching. Therefore he is ‘jagad guru’ – the spiritual master of the entire world.

How fortunate are we to come under his loving shelter! How fortunate are we to study his books in each other’s association! How fortunate are we to be able to follow his instructions and footsteps. While meditating on Srila Prabhupada’s extreme compassion and mercy on all of us, I am filled with immense gratitude. I feel very disqualified to perform pure bhakti. But I have faith that if I sincerely and faithfully follow the process and instructions given by him, he will hold my hands and take us to our desired destination of attaining pure love and devotion for Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada has given us all the love of Krsna, a rare gift that cannot be obtained even by practicing austerities or offering sacrifices or following Vedic rituals or performing any other practices for millions and millions of years. But Srila Prabhupada has given us a few very simple practices that are so easy and practical to perform and the result of performing them is that anyone can get the love of God in just one lifetime.

Many years ago, I read a strong rebuttal by HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja to people who falsely claimed that Srila Prabhupada did not give us everything. Maharaja said that Srila Prabhupada gave everything. He not only gave us pure bhakti but also created the good fortune for the living entities for the age of Kali to have access or entrance to Våndavana. Srila Prabhupada gave the way Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged, the way Kåñëa arranged. This is the divine arrangement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and that is what Srila Prabhupada gave. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada’s presentation is perfect and complete.

“If anybody says that Prabhupada did not give everything I will very clearly say that he is in Maya and he is not following Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is hurting Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement.” (HH Bhakti Charu Swami – Class on CC Adi 3.5-6, Gitanagri, 2017)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

SB 3.29.21-24

In BG 5.29, Lord Krsna gave the world a famous ‘peace formula’.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.

In this lesson, Lord Kapiladeva gives us another extension of the same peace formula – if we see that the Supreme Lord, as Paramatma, is situated in every living entity’s heart and therefore treat the person with due respect and compassion, true peace can prevail on this planet. If we sincerely acknowledge that every person we meet has the same Supreme Lord in his/her heart, where is the scope for disrespect, envy, and ill-treatment? This is a matter of deep realization. We often treat the Deity form of the Lord and the devotees with deep respect and adoration. But when we meet regular people on the street, we try to avoid them thinking that we need not associate with them. Treating people with indifference may still be alright. But to harm the people, in whose heart the Supreme Lord resides, is a great sin. This is why every scripture of every faith teaches us to be kind to others.

The Holy Bible (Matthew 7:12) says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Confucius said, “What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others.” Epicurus said, “Neither to harm, nor be harmed.” All of these tenets are based on the premise that the Lord resides in everyone’s heart.

If we truly see the Lord within every living entity, there will be no unnecessary killing of animals for human consumption. There will be no slaughterhouses. There will be no distrust and ill-treatment of illegal immigrants and minorities. There will be no wars across the borders. There will be no immigration systems. There will be no inter-religious conflicts. There will be no ‘Black Lives Matter’ and white supremacy movement. We all are created equal because we all are equally parts and parcels of the same Supreme Lord. There is no cause for discrimination.

We devotees should also take these instructions very seriously. We tend to forget them when dealing with others. I want to share a personal observation in this regard. This is common observation that lots of guests visit our temples during regular days, Sunday Feast program or during major festivals such as Sri Krsna Janmashtami, Diwali, etc.) The prasadam in our temples are very popular. Guests and devotees queue up during prasadam distribution. Very regularly we see a few devotees jump the line for prasadam plates. Their regular excuse is they are busy and need to get back to their services; they cannot afford to stand in the long line. This transgression increases in proportion to the seniority (by age or experience). No one says anything to them. It’s mostly the junior devotees who serve prasadam; they prefer to stay silent and get on with their service. I have always wondered where does this attitude of disrespecting the guests and jumping the line come from? Don’t they remember that every guest visiting the temple is a guest of Sri Sri Radha Krsna? What if Srila Prabhupada or Lord Caitanya or Lord Krsna or Srimati Radharani visits the temples in the guise of guests? Would these people have the audacity to behave similarly? Would they say, ‘O Prabhupada! I have an important service to do. Do you mind if I get ahead of you in the line’?

This attitude stems from the simple fact that they do not see guests as manifestation of the same worshipable Supreme Lord.  They do not see that our dear Lord resides in every guest. If we can remember this simple fact, then we will never think of showing disrespect to anyone. The Supreme Lord is not pleased when we worship His Deities but do not show kindness to His children.

As devotees it is extremely important that we remember, realize, and practically apply these teachings of Lord Kapiladeva. We cannot become a pure devotee if we do not develop in us kindness, love, compassion, gratitude, and respect to every living entity. Pure devotional service means pleasing the Lord by all means. And this includes pleasing the Lord by pleasing His parts and parcels in whom the Lord resides.

SB 3.29.21-24: I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul. If someone neglects or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship of the Deity in the temple, that is simply imitation. One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramātmā, is situated in every living entity’s heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes. One who offers Me respect but is envious of the bodies of others and is therefore a separatist never attains peace of mind, because of his inimical behavior towards other living entities. My dear mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu (1.3.1), Srila Rupa Goswami gave nine symptoms of bhava bhakti or devotees who are situated in pure devotional service:

1. Perseverance: remaining tolerant and patient, even amid disturbance.
2. Utilization of time: Constant engagement in devotional service.
3. Detachment: Completely indifferent to the objects of sense gratification.
4. Absence of false prestige or pridelessness: To feel humble, free from the longing for being shown respect.
5. Hope: To be always certain that Krishna will bestow His mercy on oneself.
6. Intense Eagerness: An intense eagerness to achieve one’s desired supreme object.
7. Nama-gane sada ruci: Thirst arising out of affection for constantly chanting the Lord’s holy names.
8. Attachment to God’s qualities: A natural attachment to describe Lord’s qualities, pastimes and so on.
9. Desire to Live in Dhama: The desire to reside in the places of the Lord’s pastimes such as Vrndavana.

Srila Prabhupada has touched upon a few of these characteristics in his purports of the lesson. He writes that pure devotees are completely detached from any tinge of sense gratification that appears in the form of material or spiritual desires, or liberation in the form of salokya, sarsti, sarupya, samipya, or ekatva. “A pure devotee does not render loving service to the Personality of Godhead for any cause or for any benefit, material or spiritual. This is the first symptom of unalloyed devotion.” (SB 3.29.11-13 Purport)

He also writes that “A pure devotee must engage in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours a day, without cessation; his life is so molded that at every minute and every second he engages in some sort of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 3.29.11-13 Purport)

As far my situation is concerned, I do not even have the courage to think that I will ever reach the level of pure devotional service anytime soon. This is because the mountain of anartas (unwanted bad habits), conditioning from past and present lives, and lack of any good qualification is so high and insurmountable. Therefore the only hope is hope as Srila Rupa Goswami has mentioned above –  hope that Krsna will certainly bestow His mercy in me and on all of us.

However, I need to do my part. In meditating on areas that I need to improve upon to attain the stage of pure devotional service, a few stand out.

1. Controlling my mind: I need to absorb my mind more intensely in Krsna consciousness. Lord Kapila mentioned that one’s mind should be at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I have difficulty controlling my mind and dovetailing it to Krsna’s service always. My mind is all over the place; it is hard for me to focus on any one thing for a long time. Like a restless monkey, my mind constantly jumps from thoughts of bhakti, to work, to bodily maintenance, to recreation, and so on. Unless I train my mind to fully devote to Krsna consciousness, my spiritual progress will be slow.
2. Using my time always for Krsna: Unless I engage my time fully in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours a day, there is no possibility of attaining the stage of pure devotion. I have increased my chanting rounds and other sadhana practices. But I get tired after a while and resort to other non-devotional activities. Performing bhakti seriously is an extremely intense matter. My body, mind, and senses are not able to cope with that level of intensity yet. I cannot chant 24 hours a day. I cannot read or hear 24 hours a day. I cannot do menial services for a long time due to bodily limitation. I hope with gradually with sustained practice, I will be able to devote more time to Krsna.
3. Getting rid of unwanted bad habits: Some of my anarthas are so deep-rooted that they are hard to get rid of. I have realized that I cannot uproot them on my own endeavors. Only Krsna can uproot them just as He killed the demons who represented different anarthas. Therefore, I need to surrender to Krsna more.
4. Improving the quality of my chanting: Chanting is my only hope and something that we all have some control over. I need to improve my quality of chanting. As I mentioned in my previous forum post, I was not guided properly during my early days in ISKCON. There was too much push to increase the number of rounds rather than increase the quality of chanting. I still carry that baggage. As soon as I think of the desire to improve my quality of chanting, my mind tells me that it is going to take a long time to complete my 16 rounds. Then I fall back on speed to finish my rounds, and thus hamper the quality of chanting. Basically what I am doing is chanting in the mode of ignorance or passion. This is the result of bad association and bad guidance as mentioned above. Srila Prabhupada said in the previous lesson that we should not keep company with a Vaisnava who is in the mode of ignorance. I wish I had known this when I started in ISKCON. I wish I had the right knowledge to discriminate between the various types of Vaisnavas. On the positive side, it’s not too late to correct the wrongs and bad practices.

Thankfully, I do not have any desire for any of the five kinds of liberation. I honestly don’t know what they mean or what their experience is like. Thank God! I also do not have many material desires except the desire that somehow my material life is not too disturbed that it will hamper my bhakti.

As we discussed agreed in today’s Zoom session, let’s keep going on this journey. There is no cause for disappointment, hopelessness, or giving up. We may not have any qualification. Krsna and His pure devotees are our only hope, shelter, and lighthouse of bhakti. We are all in this together. Let us keep marching forward holding each other’s hands for support, encouragement, guidance, understanding, compassion, and love. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In my personal bhakti journey, I have gone through all the three categories of devotional service.

Phase 1: Devotional service in the mode of goodness

Before I came into the association of devotees in ISKCON, I had the good fortune of receiving Bhagavad Gita As It Is from a sankirtana devotee here in USA. Of course, I read many versions of Bhagavad Gita in India but none of them left a lasting impression. But Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is changed everything – not immediately but gradually over the course of many years. When I read BG As It Is for the first time, I did not understand everything. The only two things I took away from that book are – (a) Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, (b) I must serve Him. Since I had no proper guidance from anyone on how to serve Krsna, I used to offer everything to Krsna based on the instructions in BG 9.27:

O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.

I hadn’t started hearing and chanting yet. I guess I would call this the phase of devotional service in the mood of goodness. I didn’t know fully what I was doing but at least I was trying to please Krsna even though I had material desires then.

BG 3.29.10 Purport: But if this offering process is in the mode of goodness rather than in pure devotion, then the interest is different. The four āśramas and the four varṇas act for some benefit in accordance with their personal interests. Therefore such activities are in the mode of goodness; they cannot be counted in the category of pure devotion.

Phase 2: Devotional service in the mode of ignorance

This would come as a shocker to many. As soon as I came into close association of devotees in one of the temples in USA, I had to undergo tremendous pressures. They would try to make me a pure devotee in one day. I was forced to buy lots of books (even though I neither had time nor proper philosophical grounding to understand these books). I was forced to start chanting as many rounds as possible immediately. If I started with one round, I was asked to jump to 4 rounds, then 8 rounds, and so on. As a show of their accomplishment, they would issue me a certificate that certifies that I am chanting number of fixed rounds every day. The devotee who encouraged (aka pressurized me) to chant would get the credits from his superiors. Of course, there was also pressure to donate monthly to the temple. All these happened within first couple of months of joining ISKCON. I was also cheated of my money by a particular devotee. On top of this, my family was not supportive of me joining ISKCON because they heard stories of bad experiences from other people. I was very angry and vengeful. I would call this devotional service in the mode of ignorance. It is unbelievable that I fell from devotional service from the mode of goodness (pre-ISKCON days) to devotional service in the mode of ignorance (ISKCON days). I do not appreciate nor understand these kinds of preaching strategies. Therefore, whenever new devotees come in my association, I never pressurize them to do anything. They are like flower buds. We need to give them time and space to bloom fully. Let them do whatever they like to do for Krsna joyfully.

SB 3.29.8 Purport: One who approaches the Supreme Lord to render devotional service but who is proud of his personality, envious of others or vengeful is in the mode of anger. He thinks that he is the best devotee. Devotional service executed in this way is not pure; it is mixed and is of the lowest grade, tāmasaḥ.

Phase 3: Devotional service on the mode of passion

I would say I fall into this category from time to time. I do not have any desire for material enjoyment, fame and opulence. But I do execute devotional service to Krsna from time to time to get relief from immediate material distress -such as sickness in the family, financial/job crisis, etc. I am not sure whether praying to Krsna for such relief can be considered pure devotional service because there is an element of self-interest in my service. I am basically treating the kind Lord as my order supplier. There is an element of separatist mentality.

SB 3.29.9 Purport: Mixed devotees, or devotees in the modes of passion and ignorance, think that the interest of the Supreme Lord is supplying the orders of the devotee; the interest of such devotees is to draw from the Lord as much as possible for their sense gratification. This is the separatist mentality. Actually, pure devotion is explained in the previous chapter: the mind of the Supreme Lord and the mind of the devotee should be dovetailed. A devotee should not wish anything but to execute the desire of the Supreme. However I do not have the Mayavadi mentality where I think myself one with the Supreme Lord. I am an eternal servant of Krsna, and I must serve Him favorably always.

Phase 4: Pure Devotional Service

My desire and ultimate goal are to reach the stage of pure devotional service. I want to serve Krsna without any material desire, fruitive goals, and mental speculation. I want to please Krsna without any tinge of selfishness and sense-gratification, and under the guidance of my spiritual master and the scriptures.

BRS 1.1.11: ‘When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṇa favorably, as Kṛṣṇa desires.’

SB 3.29.10 Purport: Pure devotional service as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī is free from all material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā–śūnyam. There can be no excuse for personal or material interest. Devotional activities should be transcendental to fruitive activities and empiric philosophical speculation. Pure devotional service is transcendental to all material qualities.

SB 3.29.8 Purport: In pure devotional service, the only motive should be to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is not actually a motive; that is the pure condition of the living entity. In the conditioned stage, when one engages in devotional service he should follow the instruction of the bona fide spiritual master in full surrender. The spiritual master is the manifested representation of the Supreme Lord because he receives and presents the instructions of the Lord, as they are, by disciplic succession…To act under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master with a motive to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pure devotional service.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Having gone through a few chapters of Lord Kapiladeva’s teachings to His mother Devahuti, I could see a pattern in His instructions on detachment and devotional service to the Supreme Lord. He arrives at the path of liberation from material bondage and bhakti through different angles.

In chapter 25 (The Glories of Devotional Service), Lord Kapiladeva recommends that bhakti performed without material desires consisting  of (i) senses that serve the Supreme Lord as confirmed by the scriptures and guru and (ii) mind that is exclusively dedicated to the Lord on a spontaneous level (bhava) is superior to liberation. Such bhakti quickly destroys the subtle body as the digestive fire consumes food. He concludes by saying that the greatest benefit can be achieved only by offering one’s mind in intense bhakti to the Lord. (SB 3.25.32, 33, 44)

In chapter 26 (Fundamental Principles of Material Nature), Lord Kapiladeva explains the different features of material elements, knowing which one (i) is freed from influence of material modes, (ii) attains perfection of self-realization, and (iii) cuts the knot of attachment to material world. (SB 3.26.1-2). He concludes by saying that the goal of understanding the material elements is to contemplate the Supersoul through devotion, detachment and spiritual knowledge. (SB 3.26.72)

In chapter 27 (Understanding Material Nature), Lord Kapiladeva explains that one can get liberation by intense practice of devotional service. By such serious practice, the influence of prakrti over jiva can be removed, just as wooden sticks that cause a fire are themselves consumed by it. Prakrti cannot harm one who knows the absolute truth or the elements, has fixed his mind on the Supreme Lord, and rejoices in the self. When his heart is no longer attracted to the by-products of yoga, he can attain liberation, where death cannot overcome him. (SB 3.26.21-22, 26, 30)

Now in chapter 28, Lord Kapiladeva talks about different limbs of astanga-yoga but stresses on dhyana/meditation on the individual limbs of the Lord as perfect way to attain liberation. By such meditation, one gradually develops love for the Lord, exhibiting symptoms like the hairs standing and tears rolling. Gradually, one withdraws his hook-like mind from all material activity. Once the mind is fully detached from material contamination, the body of such a liberated yogi is taken charge of by the Lord. Such liberated yogi sees the presence of the Supersoul in all beings and all beings in the Supersoul. The yogi knows the oneness and difference between the Supreme Lord and the tiny living entities (acintya-bheda-abhedha tattva). Lord Kapiladeva wants us to fully understand the distinction between the body and the spirit. Our children, wealth, etc. are not really ours; they are related to the body. As long as the body exists, such false relationships also exist. There is a difference between the body and the soul just as there is a difference between blazing firewood, sparks, the flame and smoke from the fire. Similarly, the Supersoul is different from the individual soul, who is combined with the senses, the five elements and consciousness. That Supersoul quantitatively different from the small individual soul.

One who understands the distinction between the Supersoul and the individual soul is above lamentation and is in a peaceful position. The living entity knows that he can never become quantitatively as big as the Supersoul; he will always be subservient to the Supersoul. The small living entities are eternally part and parcel, and therefore it is not possible for them to be quantitatively as great as the Supersoul. The small living entity is eternally a servant of the Supreme Lord. Once when is firmly fixed in this understanding and therefore surrenders to the Supreme Soul, he can become free from the spell of maya. Krsna, being the Lord of the illusory energy, can order the insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity, who is originally a beloved son of the lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature.

However things do not end with surrender. The real activity – pure devotional service – begins from the point of complete surrender to the Lord. Before full surrender and release from maya, one engages in activities based on false identification with the body. When one is situated in his real self, then the activities of Brahman realization begin. Activity never stops. It just gets purer and more blissful with the level of surrender.

BG 18.54: One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.

Perfect devotional service means completely free from the spell of maya, and this stage is attainable only at the stage of brahman.

How fortunate are we to be able to engage in devotional service to the Lord beginning with hearing and chanting. Our devotional service may not be pure and perfect yet; but we are on the path of attaining complete liberation from the spell of maya on our way to achieving self-realization and pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord. The journey is long, and the destination seems very far away. But we are getting closer to Krsna’s lotus feet each day by practicing bhakti sincerely. Lord Kapiladeva gives us the assurance that

“For those who engage in devotional service there is no spell of māyā, and their situation is all-perfect. The duty of the living entity, as a part and parcel of the whole, is to render devotional service to the whole. That is the ultimate perfection of life.” (SB 3.28. 44 Purport)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

One of the beautiful things of studying Srimad Bhagavatam regularly and scrutinizingly, especially in the association of like-minded devotees and under the guidance of our experienced teachers, is that it inspires me to revisit some of the fundamental concepts of Krsna consciousness philosophy from time to time. This lesson provided one such instance where I had to question my understanding about the nature of gross and subtle bodies. We have been studying this topic throughout Lord Kapiladeva’s teachings to Mother Devahuti and surprisingly the doubt did not arise in my mind until now.

This lesson has been an eye-opener especially when I got to the section where it is mentioned that we do not need to engage the mind artificially after a certain point. Secondly, when it is mentioned that samadhi is the highest stage of meditation, it is a shocker to hear Srila Prabhupada’s statement that “meditation, which is an action of the mind, is not the perfect stage of samādhi, or absorption.” He also says that “In the beginning the mind is employed in attracting the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in the higher stages there is no question of using the mind.” (SB 3.28.34 Purport)

This naturally begged the question: if we have no use of the mind in the higher stages, how do devotees in the spiritual world (such as the gopis) always remain absorbed in remembering Krsna? Isn’t this not a function of the mind? Then I remembered something. The mind is part of the subtle body; we have both gross and subtle body. Once we become liberated and give up our material body to attain our eternal spiritual form, we relinquish both our gross and subtle bodies. This means we also give up the mind, intelligence, and false ego. If we do not have the mind in the spiritual form, how do we constantly think about Krsna and have our desires? This really left me bewildered. Eventually I had to place my doubt to our dear teacher – HG Dhruva Maharaja prabhu. He responded immediately and put all the doubts to rest.

In essence, Dhruva prabhu’s response is that we also have our senses, mind, intelligence, ego, feelings, and desires in our spiritual form. Just like the senses we have in our material bodies; we have the same senses in our spiritual body. The only difference is that the soul’s senses, intelligence, mind, ego, feelings, and desires are pure and transcendental and fully awakened in relation to Krsna. Spiritual bodies are eternal and full of knowledge and complete happiness. Free of the limitations of matter, simply by their will they can achieve, acquire, or do almost anything. He said that our material body is only a covering on our spiritual body. The natural spiritual impulses are filtered through contaminated consciousness, false ego, intelligence, and mind……then manifest as if generated from the material subtle material elements. The spiritual impulses flow through subtle material energy and only appear as if generated from one’s mind and intelligence.

He also gave the example of Krsna having His own senses, desires, and thoughts. This led me to another chain of dangerous thought. If my earlier misconception of jivas having no sense in the spiritual world is true, then this principle should also apply to Krsna. After all, jivas are qualitatively same as Krsna but quantitatively different. Then I realized that depriving Krsna of any sense would have been a major Mayavada fallacy. Mayavadis attribute Krsna having no senses; they think He is Nirguna. Suddenly the inner Paramatma made me remember a famous beautiful verse of Sri Brahma Samhita 5.32 which stopped by erroneous thought from going further:

aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.”

The essence of this verse is that Krsna also has senses like us, but His senses are completely spiritual. He performs all varieties of divine spiritual functions with every one of His limbs.

Therefore, the takeaway for me from this great topic is that we have to purify our material senses to revive the covered spiritual senses. And for this we need to engage the mind constantly in the process.

“The mind is used to purify the senses, but when the senses are purified by meditation, there is no need to sit in a particular place and try to meditate upon the form of the Lord. One becomes so habituated that he automatically engages in the personal service of the Lord.” (SB 3.28.34 Purport)

When the mind is thus completely freed from all material contamination and detached from material objectives, it is just like the flame of a lamp. At that time the mind is actually dovetailed with that of the Supreme Lord and is experienced as one with Him because it is freed from the interactive flow of the material qualities. (SB 3.28.35)

Thus situated in the highest transcendental stage, the mind ceases from all material reaction and becomes situated in its own glory, transcendental to all material conceptions of happiness and distress. At that time the yogī realizes the truth of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He discovers that pleasure and pain as well as their interactions, which he attributed to his own self, are actually due to the false ego, which is a product of ignorance. (SB 3.28.36)

“When the devotee’s mind is purified and he understands that his mind has to be dovetailed with the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has attained the perfectional, transcendental stage, which is beyond the perception of material distress and happiness…When the mind is dovetailed to act according to the desire of the Lord, one has attained the transcendental stage.” (SB 3.28.36 Purport)

Therefore, we have to engage in chanting the holy name of the Lord using our mind and tongue. Ceto-darpana-marjanam. By chanting the holy name, we will be able to purify our gross and subtle senses and become fully free from contaminated consciousness.

Thank you, Dhruva Maharaja prabhu, for your help in enhancing my understanding.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Since it is strongly recommended that our meditation should start with the lotus feet of the Lord, I would like to stick to the lotus feet for my forum meditation (considering my neophyte status).

CC Madhya 8.252:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “What should all living entities constantly remember?”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “The chief objects of remembrance are always the Lord’s holy name, qualities and pastimes.”

There are many forms of meditation and meditation techniques. But in the conversation above, Sri Ramananda Raya indicates that the chief meditation is to fix one’s mind on the beautiful lotus feet of the Lord. It is said that Krsna’s lotus feet are the perfect object of meditation because they remove all fear, remove ignorance, sever attachment to material life, gives liberation, and fulfills the desires of the devotees.

SB 3.28.21 Purport: If a yogī looks upon the marks of the Lord’s sole and on the blazing brilliance of His nails, then he can be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence. This liberation is not achieved by mental speculation, but by seeing the light emanating from the lustrous toenails of the Lord. In other words, one has to fix his mind first on the lotus feet of the Lord if he wants to be freed from the darkness of ignorance in material existence.

In all scriptures we find that meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord is the only way for purification from all material contamination and attain pure devotional service. We find immense glorification of the Lord’s lotus feet in all the scriptures. And when the scriptures and acharyas tell us to surrender to God, we are asked to surrender at the Lord’s lotus feet because the Lord protects and blesses everyone by His lotus feet. That’s why scriptures/acharyas generally do not instruct us to take shelter at His hand or face. In the case of humans, people in general use their feet to kick or stamp others, whereas the Lord’s lotus feet are glorified as the only place to go for shelter from all troubles in this world. What to speak of ordinary living entities, even Lord Siva became more auspicious and important by accepting the Ganges water on his head. (Radha-Govinda Meditation Techniques)

SB 3.28.22: The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.

One thing that I find really perplexing is that one will not be able to fix his mind on the Lord’s lotus feet if one does not have a pure heart and a peaceful mind. On the contrary, it is said the purity of heart and mind is not without meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord. So it is a paradox. It is kind of a chicken and egg story; what came first? When our mind is filled with material desires, lust, anger and greed on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, it is just impossible to fix the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. However, that purity of heart and a peaceful mind is attained only by meditating on His lotus feet.

SB 3.28.22 Purport: The mind of the conditioned soul, on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, contains heaps of dirt in the form of desires to lord it over material nature. This dirt is like a mountain, but a mountain can be shattered when hit by a thunderbolt. Meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord acts like a thunderbolt on the mountain of dirt in the mind of the yogī. If a yogī wants to shatter the mountain of dirt in his mind, he should concentrate on the lotus feet of the Lord and not imagine something void or impersonal. Because the dirt has accumulated like a solid mountain, one must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for quite a long time.

The true mission in life is to cross the ocean of nescience, of repeated birth and death. SB 10.2.30 says, “O lotus-eyed Lord, by concentrating one’s meditation on Your lotus feet, which are the reservoir of all existence, and by accepting those lotus feet as the boat by which to cross the ocean of nescience, one follows in the footsteps of mahājanas [great saints, sages and devotees]. By this simple process, one can cross the ocean of nescience as easily as one steps over the hoofprint of a calf.”

“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the demon Mura, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoofprint. His goal is paraṁ padam, or Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.” (Bhāg. 10.14.58)

Therefore, it is important that chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord must go in conjunction with the meditation on the Lord’s lotus feet. By chanting Krsna’s holy names, one attains both peace and purity. We can take shelter of His lotus feet by chanting His holy names. It takes humility and surrender to do so. The Lord’s lotus feet are the perfect shelter because they protect the devotees from the dangers of material life. When Akrura was going to Vraja and saw the lotus footprints of the Lord, he got down from his chariot and began to roll in the dust and pray to these footprints. Similarly, if we take shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet and meditate on Them, then naturally we will attain Krsna’s shelter.

After studying this lesson, it is my personal sankalpa to practice meditation on Krsna’s beautiful lotus feet, especially while chanting the holy name. I keep the picture of the sole of Krsna’s lotus feet with its various symbols in front of me during my japa. I thank our teachers for sharing the picture in the lesson post. I especially suffer from immense fear about everything. That fear can be mitigated only by fixing my mind and taking shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!