O MY FRIENDS, SONS OF ASURAS, THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD IN HIS SUPERSOUL FEATURE ALWAYS EXISTS WITHIN THE CORE OF THE HEART OF ALL LIVING ENTITIES. INDEED, HE IS THE WELL-WISHER AND FRIEND OF ALL LIVING ENTITIES AND THERE IS NO DIFFICULTY IN WORSHIPING THE LORD. WHY, THEN, PEOPLE DO NOT NOT ENGAGE IN HIS DEVOTIONAL SERVICE? WHY ARE THEY SO ADDICTED TO UNNECESSARILY PRODUCING ARTIFICIAL PARAPHERNALIA FOR SENSE GRATIFICATION? (SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM 7.7.38).
In Bhagvad-gita, 13.16, Krishna says, "The Supreme Truth exists outside and inside of all living entities, the moving and the nonmoving. Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know. Although far, far away, He is also near to all."
Srila Prabhupada teaches that vedic literature states that Narayana, the Supreme Person, is residing both outside and inside of every living entity. He is present in both the spiritual and material worlds. Although He is far, far away, still He is near to us. Because He is always engaged in transcendental bliss, we cannot understand with our material senses how He is enjoying His full opulence. One who has purified his mind and senses by practicing Krishna consciousness in devotional service can see Him constantly. Brahma samhita confirms that the devotee who has developed love for the Supreme Lord can see Him always, without cessation.
Srila Prabhupada explains, because the Personality of Godhead is Supreme, no one is equal to Him and no one is greater than Him nonetheless if one is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord is easily obtainable. The Lord is compared to the sky because the sky is vast yet within the reach of all, not only of human beings but even of the animals. In His Parmatama feature, the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists as the best well-wisher and friend. Vedas confirm, sayujan sakhyam, the Lord in His Supersoul feature, always stays in the heart along with the living entity. He is the Master of both pradhana, the subtle matter and purusa, the spiritual spark living entities who are entangled in that subtle material existence. Vedic hymns also describe the Supreme Brahman is antah pravistah sasta which indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is controlling everything and entering into everything. Brahma Samhita 5.35 confirms, andantara stha paramanu cayantara stham, He has entered not only the universe but even the atoms.
One who associates constantly with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one's heart becomes naturally equal to the greatest Brahman which can be done simply by devotional service (sravanam kirtanam vishnoh smaranam pada sevanam). As soon as one hears of the Supreme Personality of (Krishna kirtana), one immediately comes in touch with the Lord which is the perfection of yoga performance as confirmed in Bhagvad-gita 6.47, yoginam api sarvesam, of all the yogis,the bhakti-yogi, who thinks of Krishna always within his heart and engages in His loving transcendental service, is the topmost. Lord asserts in Bhagvad-gita 14.4, "It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature and I am the seed-giving father." Prahlada Maharaja says that there is no difficulty in worshiping the Lord as there is no difficulty in establishing the intimate relationship between a father and son, there is no difficulty in reestablishing the natural, intimate relationship between Narayana and the living entities. Svalpam apy asya dharmasys trayate mahato bhayat, if one performs even a slight devotional service, Narayana is always ready to save one from the greatest danger. Pleasing Narayana does not require as much endeavor as pleasing one's family, community and nation.Prahlada Maharaja says, why people do not engage in His service and are addicted to unnecessarily producing artificial paraphernalia for sense gratification.
For satisfying one's senses, one wants so many things, for illicit sex, he must arrange for money for brothels, for meat eating he must arrange for casinos and hotels and for intoxication he must open many breweries. Clearly, therefore, if one wants to go to hell, he must endeavor very much but if he wants to return home, back to Godhead, there is no difficult endeavor. Because of inability to control the senses, one must go through great endeavor or to go to hell but if one is sensible, he can very easily obtain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is always with him. For the whole duration of our life we see different forms in the material world but none of them is just apt to satisfy the mind nor can any of these vanish all perturbance of the mind but one who has once seen the transcendental form of the Lord is not satisfied with anything else, no form in the material world can any longer satisfy the seer because as spiritual beings, having eternal relation with that transcendental form of the Lord, we are not satisfied by any other form of material appease. When Narada, by the grace of pure devotees whom he served along with his mother during the four months of rainy season, got a taste of Godhead by hearing and chanting, as soon as his taste developed, he realized that it was only in his ignorance he had accepted both gross and subtle coverings, for both he and the Lord are transcendental. As a breeze carrying a pleasant fragrance from a garden of flowers at once captures the organ of smell, so one's consciousness, saturated with devotion can at once capture the transcendental existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who, in His Parmatama feature is present everywhere, even in the heart of every living entity. Bhagvad-gita states that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Ksetra-jna, present within this body but He is also simultaneously present in every other body. Since the individual soul is present only in a particular body, he is altered when another individual soul does not cooperate with him. The Supersoul, however, is equally present everywhere.individual souls do not agree but the Supersoul, being equally present in every body, is called unchanging or avikari.
The individual soul when fully saturated with Krishna consciousness can understand the presence of the Supersoul as confirmed in Bhagvad-gita, bhaktya mam abhijanati. In contaminated consciousness, one sees everything for his own enjoyment but in pure consciousness or Krishna consciousness, he sees that everything exists for the enjoyment of the Supreme enjoyer. This state of contaminated consciousness is compared to the dream consciousness and Krishna consciousness is compared to the awakened stage of life.
According to Bhagvad-gita, the only absolute enjoyer is Krishna. One who can understand that Krishna is the proprietor of all the three worlds and that He is the friend of everyone is peaceful and independent. As long as a conditioned soul does not have this knowledge, he wants to be the enjoyer of everything. This is illusion. When the individual soul, the living entity and the Supreme soul, the Personality of Godhead, engage in reciprocation of service and benediction, the living entity is said to be in atmarama position which means one who enjoys in the spiritual atmosphere. Then one escapes all material reactions and the influence of the modes of material nature as stated by Prahlada Maharaja. Devotees are eternally fixed in the Vaikuntha atmosphere, in pure goodness, undisturbed by the modes of passion and ignorance. One who is fixed in the devotional service of the Lord, his position of transcendental service cannot be destroyed and the pleasure and service simply increase unlimitedly.
Devotional service is so great that when it is offered even by those born in low families, the Lord accepts it as being more valuable than the service offered by the goddess of fortune. As a person feels his hunger satisfied after eating each morsel of foodstuff, his desire for sense enjoyment along with its various forms is diminished by the process of bhakti-yoga even if the devotee is not materially very well educated. The person who has acquired knowledge leaves aside all unwanted things linked to material necessities. The Supreme Lord's magnanimous pastimes and the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedictions. The functions of the mind are thinking, feeling and willing. Mind has to be manipulated by good and unalloyed intelligence. Perfect intelligence is to render service unto the Lord. One should be intelligent enough to understand that the living entity, in all circumstances, is a servant of the circumstances. Every living entity is serving the dictations of desire, anger, lust, illusion, insanity and enviousness--all materially affected. But even while executing such dictations of different temperaments, he is perpetually unhappy.
When one actually feels this and turns his intelligence to inquire about it from the right source, he gets information of the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Instead of serving materially, the living entity's intelligence then becomes free from the unhappy illusion of materialistic temperament and by the unalloyed intelligence, the mind is brought into the service of the Lord. The Lord and His service are identical being on the absolute plane. Therefore the unalloyed intelligence and the mind are merged into the Lord and thus the living entity does not remain a seer himself but becomes seen by the Lord transcendentally. When the living entity is directly seen by the Lord, the Lord dictates to him to act according to His desire and when the living entity follows Him perfectly, he ceases to discharge any other duty for his illusory satisfaction. In his pure unalloyed state, the living being attains the stage of bliss, labdhopasanti and ceases all material hankerings as experienced and stated by Prahlada Maharaja.
Srila Prabhupada further explains that when Ajamila, who was a brahmana, a devotee of the Lord, due to bad association was affected and lost all the good sense and engaged in all sorts of abominable activities. He had ten sons and youngest son was very dear to him whom he named Narayana. Although he used to call his son and not to the Lord but the name of Narayana is so powerful that even by chanting his son's name, Ajamila was becoming purified. At the time of death, when Yamadutas came to snatch the soul of Ajamila from the core of his heart, Ajamila began to call loudly his son by his name. Because Ajamila was a devotee although he had fallen from his position, but Supreme Lord never forgets His devotee and He inspired Ajamila to name his son Narayana and when Yamadutas arrived at the time of death, Ajamila called his son Narayana, immediately Visnudutas arrived to save Ajamila from the hands of Yamadutas. Although Ajamila engaged in sinful activities, he never chanted the holy name of Narayana to counteract his sins but he chanted simply to call his son therefore his chanting was effective.
So even a little devotional service done by a devotee saves him from the greatest danger spreading all bliss and fearlessness so Prahlada Maharaja says when the Supreme Lord who is our constant companion in our heart and our best friend and the well-wisher, then why do people do not engage in His devotional service and become attracted to artificial paraphernalia for sense gratification?
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