19831030 || One Must Have a Spiritual Concept

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami, on October 30th, 1983, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The class begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 3rd Canto, Chapter 9, Verse 43. [Editors note: This should read “Verse 42.”]

aham ātmātmanāṁ dhātaḥ
preṣṭhaḥ san preyasām api
ato mayi ratiṁ kuryād
dehādir yat-kṛte priyaḥ

Translation: I am the Supersoul of every individual soul, the supreme director and the dearest of the dear. People are wrongly attached to the gross and subtle bodies, but they should be attached to Me only.

Purport: The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is the dearest of the dear for both the conditioned and the liberated souls. A person who does not know that the Lord is the dearmost object is in the conditioned state of life, and one who knows perfectly well that the Lord is the dearmost object is considered to be liberated. There are degrees of knowing one's relationship with the Lord, depending on the degree of realization as to why the Supreme Lord is the dearmost object of every living being. The real reason is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): māmaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. The living entities are eternally parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The living entity is called the ātmā, and the Lord is called the Paramātmā. The living entity is called Brahman, and the Lord is called the Para-brahman, or the Parameśvara. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). The conditioned souls, who do not have self-realization, accept the material body as the dearmost. The idea of the dearmost is then spread all over the body, both concentrated and extended. The attachment for one's own body and its extensions like children and relatives is actually developed on the basis of the real living entity. Even the body of the most dear son is no longer attractive as soon as the real living entity is out of the body. Therefore the living spark, or eternal part of the Supreme, is the real basis of affection, and not the body. Because the living entities are also parts of the whole living entity, that supreme living entity is the factual basis of affection for all. One who has forgotten the basic principle of his love for everything has only flickering love because he is in māyā. The more one is affected by the principle of māyā, the more he is detached from the basic principle of love. One cannot factually love anything unless he is fully developed in the loving service of the Lord.

In the present verse, stress is given to focusing love upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word kuryāt is significant here. This means "one must have it." This word is used just to stress that we must have more and more attachment to the principle of love for the Lord. The influence of māyā is experienced by the part and parcel spiritual entity, but it cannot influence the Supersoul, the Paramātmā. The Māyāvādī philosophers, accepting the influence of māyā on the living entity, want to become one with the Paramātmā. But because they have no actual love for the Paramātmā, they remain ever entrapped by the influence of māyā and are unable to approach the vicinity of the Paramātmā. This inability is due to their lack of affection for the Paramātmā. A rich miser does not know how to utilize his wealth, and therefore, in spite of his being very rich, his miserly behavior keeps him everlastingly a poor man. On the other hand, a person who knows how to utilize wealth can quickly become a rich man, even with a small credit balance.

The eyes and the sun are very intimately related because without sunlight the eyes are unable to see. But the other parts of the body, being attached to the sun as a source of warmth, take more advantage of the sun than do the eyes. Without possessing affection for the sun, the eyes cannot bear the rays of the sun; or, in other words, such eyes have no capacity to understand the utility of the sun's rays. Similarly, the empiric philosophers, despite their theoretical knowledge of Brahman, cannot utilize the mercy of the Supreme Brahman because they lack affection for Him. So many impersonal philosophers remain everlastingly under the influence of māyā because, although they indulge in theoretical knowledge of Brahman, they do not develop affection for Brahman. Nor do they have any scope for development of such affection because of their defective method. A devotee of the sun-god, even though devoid of eyesight, can see the sun-god as he is even from this planet, whereas one who is not a devotee of the sun cannot even bear the glaring sunlight. Similarly, by devotional service, even though one is not on the level of a jñānī, one can see the Personality of Godhead within oneself due to one's development of pure love. In all circumstances one should try to develop love of Godhead, and that will solve all contending problems.

Thus end Bhaktivedanta Purport and Translation of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Text 43, Chapter 9, Canto 3, in the matter of Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Before the creation of the universe, or before the creation of all the bodies in the universe. Brahmā, was meditating on the Supersoul but could not find the origin of the Supersoul. Natural that someone wants to know, “Who am I?” more children ask their parents who am I. They know that (inaudible) it’s the identity crisis that is being suffered is nothing new. When Brahmā, was born he was suffering identity crisis. There he was sitting on top of the lotus. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He didn’t know where he came from and there was nobody else in sight. He had an identity crisis. So what? But he was better than other… than other hypocritical people, who kind of just follow on with the rat race, and don’t bother to find who they are. He thought that the first priority was to find his origin, so he tried to seek out his origin, but he was born directly by the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. So therefore, one can’t find out Viṣṇu by one’s own searching. God is beyond the… personality of Godhead is beyond the range of our own discovering techniques; however, He can reveal Himself. After trying to searching through the normal, empirical methods, Brahmā failed, but then he was thinking what should he do.

At that time there were two syallables that came through the ether, they were ta, pa. Tapa means do penances, do austerities, so he started to do penances, meditating, and performing certain austerities, and this way he was able to get the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and so the Supersoul has now appeared before him as … or was it Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu? In a personal form. Quite smaller form, visible form, normal size. So, now He is explaining that, “I am the Supersoul of every individual, as the supreme director, and the dearest, people are attached to the gross and subtle body, but they should be attached to Me only.” Of course, then He tells Brahmā to do the creation, but here it’s in a nutshell. People should be attached to their self, and to the Supersoul, not attached to the body. Just like a person tries to get from one place to another, (inaudible) a car, if the car breaks down then you have to go for another car. In a similar way, we are in these bodies; they’re like rented cars. After one breaks down, when it’s no longer usable, what you do is you get another one.

Normally the animal species, they don’t have any decision to make about where they are going. Their destination is already chalked out, but the human being has got a greater intelligence, so that the human being can decide in which direction he wants to go. So there are so many different directions which the great sages have categorized into basically three: bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī, sakali ‘aśānta’ (Cc. Madhya 19.149) They say bhukti, desire for material enjoyment, mukti, the desire for liberation and siddhi-kāmī, desire for mystic powers, either material enjoyment, salvation or mystic powers, this is the basic three directions one can go.

Beyond that there is devotional service, or developing love for God. So it describes sudurlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. That realizing Kṛṣṇa is sudurlabham. That means it is inconceivably difficult. But then he says adurlabham, ātma bhaktau. But for my own devotee, it’s not difficult at all. It’s easy. So if a person becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, it’s very easy to realize Kṛṣṇa, but if a person is not a devotee, not so easy. It’s actually difficult.

So Kṛṣṇa here is (inaudible) that people are attached. That, “I have rati.” Rati means attachment or love or… very intimate, well attachment. What they are attached to? ato mayi ratiṁ kuryād. Dehādi. Deha means the body, and ādi means “And so on”. So the body, the mind and all those things connected with the body and mind. From our body comes children, from the body connection they are relative. Our parents, their brothers, so on and so forth. So, dehādi.

So we have the attachment for one’s own body, and extensions like children and relatives, but if you go further… these attachment is not unnatural. This attachment when it is actually on the basis of the real living entity. When the real living entity leaves the body, then the body is no more attractive, it’s no longer dear. Of course, there are… like in India, favorite cow and the calf dies prematurely. So then… The cow would start giving milk, it has… the cow loves its calf, licks the calf, it’s very affectionate, give it some milk. Then suddenly the calf dies. Then the Indians cows… they bred it out of the American breeds you know, once… they immediately separated at birth, they don’t allow this type of natural things you have with the Indian cows. This is one of the defects of the modern dairy industry, is they have this attachment for their offspring. If the offspring dies, then they stop giving milk. So, what the farmers do sometimes, is they take the calf and they dry the thing. What you call it?

I don’t know, its like taxidermy. They make a… they hang it up by the mother and the mother, knows that it’s the same, because it’s a cow, it’s not too smart, so then it pacifies and keeps giving the milk, but that’s alright if you are cow. But if you are human being, when the soul leaves the body, nobody is very attached to the body, can’t keep it. It’s not the same. Anyone can see that it’s not the same. So the actual basis of the attachment, a human being can understand, it’s basically the presence of the soul, that means that we are actually attached to the soul, to that particular soul within the body. So that attachment we take it, “Okay that soul is part of the Supreme Soul, so that means that actually all of the attachment, and attraction and love that we may experience, is actually indirectly, on the basis of our, love and affection for the Supreme Lord, the Supreme personality of Godhead.”

But because of being in māyā, being in the material world, we’re seeing everything through the superficial material energy. So when someone actually directly develops real affection and attachment, real affection towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then that person becomes qualified to realize, the completeness about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because that love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is something which is constant, something which doesn’t go away. It’s permanent, but the indirect manifestations of that original affection which are being give to family, friends and so on, that is very flickering because of the imperfection of the various individuals and the person himself, the dealing, being put in material rulership, there are so many obstacles which come in the way of those affections, and as a result the person doesn’t maintain that affection in one way. It’s all splayed. So the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is actually, a meditation on focusing our affection, concentrating on affection to Kṛṣṇa, because He’s original basis of all affection and love.

There are some people, they focus looking at a candle, some people they do various type of medi… focusing on the tip of their nose. There is others who focus on the Vedānta and mental speculation, focused on the speculating on so many philosophical points, but the bhakti-yogīs they are focusing their affection on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is… made the… this process can be effectively performed by women, by children, by… also by men: Anyone. Philosophical speculation may not be… may be more the domain of men in general although there are exceptions. There have been great mystic yoginīs no doubt, but, in the field of bhakti-yoga there are a great… of course, number both men and women realized souls who have achieved perfection by practicing bhakti-yoga.

Bhakti means its affection. That affection is translated into practical work, not something zero or just sentiment, but there some real knowledge behind it. That’s why Prabhupāda’s name is Bhaktivedanta: Devotion, or affection with transcendental knowledge. So these two are combined, and one true knowledge is able to distinguish what is māyā. What is actually giving my affection to the wrong thing, to something which is indirectly connected to Kṛṣṇa, and what is directly connected with Kṛṣṇa? So if we have direct connection, concentrating, giving our affection to Kṛṣṇa, His pure devotees, His loved ones. If you want to love Kṛṣṇa, love those whom Kṛṣṇa loves.

Sometimes you see these Māyāvādīs they say that they are devotees of Kṛṣṇa. They have pictures of Kṛṣṇa alone. Prabhupāda never wanted to have a picture of Kṛṣṇa alone. Any picture, if you see, Kṛṣṇa is never alone, at least in a Hare Kṛṣṇa temple, because that’s the actual way it is. He is never alone, just like you are never going to expect to see the President or the King… He’s never alone. He has his aides-de-camp. He’s got a secretary, press agent, whatever… Prime Minister, not alone. Kṛṣṇa is never alone. He always have some devotee with him, either it’s a cow or a peacock, or Balarāma or the gopīs or the cowherd boys or Rādhārāṇī or someone, but He is never alone. Always someone is with Him. But if you love or give your affection to those whom Kṛṣṇa loves, then naturally you become very dear to Kṛṣṇa. That is sevā. I like Kṛṣṇa, but I don’t like all those people He hangs around with, especially those cows, I want Kṛṣṇa without the cows. Just like… there’s not any shortcut. In fact you will probably be disqualified, because you will never find Kṛṣṇa in any other circumstance. If you want to love Kṛṣṇa, give your affection to Kṛṣṇa. In fact it’s easier to give the affection to the loved ones of Kṛṣṇa. So you cannot make Kṛṣṇa conform to your limited idea, that won’t work. Actually we have to rather direct our affection to conform with the way Kṛṣṇa is. He is constant, He is absolute factor, it’s the way absolute truth is. Doesn’t change. Material world changes, our affection can change in different directions, but He is not going to change. So if we naturally hear about Him, follow the various processes of bhakti-yoga, then what happens is that we are focusing our attention on Kṛṣṇa as He is. He is surrounded with devotees, and if you study those devotees’ qualities and characteristics, you will find that they are perfect reflections of Kṛṣṇa’s original, His own qualities.