The Loving Search for the Lost Servant by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja pt 1

[Tamohara dasa ADMIN.]

All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
The Loving Search for the Lost
Servant
by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja
Sri Krishna and Gopakumara
Preface

 

A Christian theologian predicted that Christianity is on the verge of a
Copernican revolution. Prior to Copernicus, it was believed that the
earth was at the center of the universe, and that the sun and other
planets orbited the earth. Until recently, in the Western world it has
been thought that Christianity was the central conception of divinity in
the theistic universe. But as Western man has begun to gaze Eastward,
he has discovered a plurality of theistic conceptions orbiting the
Supreme Truth.
Accepting that plurality, we must also accept the accompanying
gradations of theism, superior and inferior. As the planets are situated
according to their gravitational attraction for the sun, the varieties of
theistic conception are situated higher or lower according to their
attraction toward the Absolute Center. The Krsna conception of
divinity is one of being irresistibly drawn in attraction toward the
infinite center of all love, beauty, and harmony.
The infinite can make Himself known to the finite, and the divine
agent through whom this function manifests is Sri Guru or the divine
guide. His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva
Goswami is an agent of divinity and a messenger of that supreme
reality. He has reminded us that we are all "sons of nectar, " and that
we shall have to "die to live," "dive deep into reality," and enter the
"land of dedication." As much as we sacrifice ourselves in this plane,
we shall become released from its influence and be drawn through
dedication into the higher plane of reality where the divine pastimes
"move in a crooked way." And there we will find the "hidden treasure
of the Sweet Absolute" in the service of Srimati Radharani.
His Divine Grace has informed us that the heart's inner hankering for
ecstasy, charm, and sweetness, leads it in the search for Sri Krsna -
Reality the Beautiful. The Krsna conception of divinity is so
irresistible that even Krsna Himself becomes overwhelmed by His
own potency and is madly engaged in tasting His own sweetness,
ecstatically dancing, and thereby distributing that sweetness to others.
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami
describes that while dancing at the Ratha-yatra, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu would sometimes fall in an ecstatic swoon and appear
like ''a golden mountain rolling on the ground." Srila Sridhara
Maharaja describes that "In the agony of separation from Krsna,
ecstatic eruptions of ecstasy flowed like lava from the heart of the
Golden Volcano of Divine Love, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
And now in The Loving Search for the Lost Servant, we find that the
Lord's heart is such that He also feels the agony of separation from
His fallen devotees, and as they are engaged in searching for Him, He
is also engaged in a loving search for His lost servants.
Bhakti Sudhira Goswami
Invocation
amnayah praha tattvam harim iha
paramam sarva-saktim rasabdhim
tad bhinnamsams ca jivan prakrtikavalitan
tad vimuktams ca bhavat
bhedabheda-prakasam sakalam api
hareh sadhanam suddha-bhaktim
sadhyam tat pritim evety upadisati
harir-gauracandro bhaje tam
Here, in one verse, Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given the very gist of
Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. He says, "We are not interested in the
opinion of anyone ordinary: there is no value to any opinion other than
what is revealed truth (amnaya)." Amnaya means revealed truth or
scripture that is coming through a reliable source: the guru-parampara,
a genuine succession of gurus.
And what do they say? They enumerate these facts: Hari is all in all
(harim iha paramam). What is His nature? He is the master of all
potencies (sarva-saktim). And He Himself is the ocean of rasa, ecstasy
(rasabdhim).
And the jiva soul is not a direct part of Him, but a part of His potency
(tad bhinnamsams ca jivan). Not a plenary portion (svamsa), but a
partial portion (vibhinnamsa). Everything is a part of Hari, but svamsa
means an avatara and vibhinnamsa means a part of His potency,
tatastha-sakti. And by nature, some souls are engrossed in the external
potency, and we find some in the lap of the internal potency (prakrti
kavalitan tad vimuktams ca bhavat). By their very existence some
souls are within the svarupa-sakti and some are outside the svarupasakti.
Some souls are liberated and some are nonliberated (mukta and
amukta). Everything is a part of Hari and has something in common
with Him and something different (bhedabheda-prakasamsakalam api
hareh). And the only means to attain Him is pure devotion, exclusive
devotion (sadhanam suddha-bhaktim). Hari Himself, in the form of
Gauracandra, is giving us the understanding that divine love is the
highest goal of life (sadhyam yat pritim evaty upadisati harirgauracandro
bhaje tam).
Introduction
"Why did you stay away? Why have you been living away from home
for so long? How was it possible for you? How could you bear My
separation? You left Me, and you have been passing lives after lives
without Me? Still, I know what trouble you took to return to Me. You
searched for Me everywhere and went to beg from house to house,
and you were chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed
tears for Me. I know all these things. I was with you. And now, after
great trouble, you have again come back to Me."
The Lord's Loving Search for His Lost Servants: Great intensity is
expressed here in a simple way. It is a mad search - an urgent
campaign. With great earnestness Krsna comes to deliver His lost
servants. Krsna comes to take us home.
In Brhad-Bhagavatamrta, it is written that once, as Krsna and the cows
were returning from the Vrndavana forest at the end of the day, a boy
had just attained spiritual emancipation and entered Vrndavana as a
cowherd boy (sakhya rasa). Seeing His long lost servant, Krsna
embraced him and both of them fainted in ecstasy.
All of Krsna's other cowherd friends were astounded, thinking, "What
is this! Krsna has lost His senses by embracing this newcomer? How
is it possible!" Then, as all of the cowherd boys looked on astonished,
Balarama came to Krsna's relief and somehow managed to rouse Him.
Then Krsna addressed His friend with great affection: "Why did you
stay away? Why have you been living away from home for so long?
How was it possible for you? How could you bear My separation?
You left Me, and you have been passing lives after lives without Me?
Still, I know what trouble you took to return to Me. You searched for
Me everywhere, and went to beg from house to house, and you were
chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed tears for Me. I
know all these things. I was with you. And now, after great trouble,
you have again come back to Me." In this way, Krsna addressed His
long lost servant and welcomed him. And when Krsna returned home,
He took the newcomer by His side to take prasadam. In this way, a
new recruit is earnestly welcomed by Krsna Himself.
So the Lord's search for His lost servants is a loving search; it is not
ordinary, but from the heart. And the Lord's heart is not an ordinary
heart. Who can estimate what type of search He is engaged in?
Although He is full in all respects, still He feels pangs of separation
for every one of us, however small we may be. In spite of His supreme
position, He has room for us in a corner of His loving heart. This is
the nature of the infinite. Such an absolute autocrat, absolute good is
Krsna.
An autocrat is not under law. It is not that if Krsna gives Himself to
one, another will be lacking. The infinite is not like that; rather there is
an infinite supply at His command. So He is the emporium of rasa
(akhila-rasamrta-murtih). And He is searching for His lost servants,
to bring them home.
Otherwise we have no hope. Our solace, our consolation in life, is that
ultimately we are under the care of such a loving Lord. Krsna's friends
think, "What do we care for others? We have our Krsna, our friend. "
That sort of inner encouragement, that desperate encouragement,
comes from within. "Krsna is there, He is our friend. What do we care
about anything? We can take poison, we can jump on the head of that
big serpent Kaliya, we can do anything. With Krsna behind us, what
do we care? This sentiment is expressed by Bhaktivinoda Thakura in
his Saranagati.
raksa koribo tuhun niscaya jani
pana korobun hama yamuna pani
"Fearless and confident of Your protection, I shall drink the waters of
the Yamuna, whether they are poisoned or not.
"I am Your property. You must take care of me; You can't leave me."
kaliya-dokha korobi binasa
sodhobi nadi-jala badobi asa
bhakativinoda tuwa gokula-dhana
rakhobi kesava! korato jatana
"Although the Kaliya serpent's venom has poisoned the Yamuna's
waters, I know that poison will not act. Your presence will cleanse the
waters and so increase our confidence in Your protection.
Bhaktivinoda is now the property of Gokula, Your holy abode, O
Kesava. Kindly protect him with care."
How are we to enter into such a loving relationship with the Lord?
Through the grace of Sri Gauranga. One devotee has said, "If
Gauranga had not come, how could we live? And who would inform
us about our ultimate prospect in life?" We have such a great prospect.
And yet, without Gauranga, who would have come to inform us that
we have so much wealth within? And Sri Gauranga says, "You do not
know, but you have such a great magnitude of wealth." His coming to
inform us of our prospect is like the astrologerwho reads a poor man's
horoscope and tells him, "Why are you living a poor life? You have
immense wealth buried underground. Try to recover it. You are so
great and your guardian is so loving and so high, and yet you are
wandering like a poor fellow in the street? What is this! You are not
helpless; it is not that you have no guardian. You have only to
remember your merciful guardian."
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32), where the Kali-yuga avatara is
mentioned, we find evidence of the advent of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. There it is said:
1. krsna-varnam tvisa 'krsnam
2. sangopangastra-parsadam
3. yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
4. yajanti hi su-medhasah
"In the age of Kali, persons of great piety and intelligence will
worship the Lord as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He will appear in a
golden form chanting Krsna's name, accompanied by His associates
and entourage."
After that, there are two other verses about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
dhyeyam sada paribhava-ghnam abhista-doham
tirthaspadam siva-virinci-nutam saranyam
bhrtydrti-ham pranata-pala bhavabdhi-potam
vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam
Srimad Bhagavatam (11.5.33) explains here, "That same personality
who came as Ramacandra and Krsna has again appeared. He has come
to direct us to the real fulfillment of life. He is drawing the sweetest
nectar from above for the sake of everyone. Meditate only on Him and
all your troubles will be finished. He purifies all holy places of
pilgrimage and great saintly persons by His touch and by His
sankirtana. He draws the highest things down from the highest plane.
And even Brahma and Siva, puzzled by His noble gift, will begin to
praise Him. They will eagerly aspire to take shelter under His lotus
feet in surrender. The pains of all who come to serve Him will be
removed, and their inner necessities will be fulfilled. And He will take
care of those who take shelter of Him; they will be given protection as
well as everything they may need. In this world where mortality rules,
where we are continually experiencing the undesirable changes of
repeated birth and death, in this area where no one wants to live, a
great ship will come for us and take us within, and carry us away from
this unpleasant position. Let us fall at the feet of that great personality
who comes to give us the highest nectar."
tyaktva sudustyaja-surepsita-rajya-laksmim
dharmistha arya-vacasa yad agad aranyam
maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam anvadhavad
vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam
"O Supreme Lord, You gave up the goddess of fortune and her great
opulence, which is most difficult to abandon and is sought after even
by the gods. In order to perfectly establish the principles of religion,
You left for the forest to honor a brahmana's curse. To deliver the
sinful souls who chase illusory pleasures, You search after them and
award them Your devotional service. At the same time, You are
engaged in a search for Yourself, in a search for Sri Krsna, Reality the
Beautiful."
This verse generally applies to Lord Ramacandra, who left His
kingdom, and after going with Sitadevi to the forest to discharge the
duties designed by His father, chased after the maya-mrgam - the
golden deer. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, however, shows
how this verse also applies to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He says that
the word maya-mrgam means that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ran after
the souls that are enveloped by maya or misconception. The word
maya-mrgam, when applied to Ramacandra, means that He ran after
Marici, who had taken the form of a golden deer. When applied in the
case of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the words maya-mrgam anvadhavat
mean "He chased after those souls who are in illusion in order to
deliver them. He ran in pursuit of the fallen souls as a savior, to
deliver them from maya or illusion."
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has also given another interpretation:
he says that dayitaya ipsitam means "it is desired by the beloved," that
is, the search for Krsna. In this way, He identifies two qualities in the
Caitanya avatara: He relieves the fallen souls, and He searches out
Krsna in the mood of His beloved (dayitayepsitam anvadhavat).
Inspired by the mood of dayita, His beloved, Srimati Radharani, He
ran after the souls in bondage to deliver them. Here we find the
scriptural reference, the seed of this conception. He is in quest of the
lost souls, absorbed in a loving search for His lost servants.
And throughout the whole life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His
other self, Nityananda, it is very clear that They, being the Supreme
Entity Themselves, are hunting after the fallen souls to deliver them.
This will be the backbone of our conception of the Lord's loving
search for His lost servants.
And it is also said:
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyuthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamyaham
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
"Whenever and wherever religion declines and irreligion becomes
prevalent, I advent Myself. In order to protect the saintly and punish
the wicked, as well as to reestablish religious principles, I appear
millennium after millennium." Here, Krsna says, "I come here now
and then to help reestablish the scriptural injunctions, as well as to do
away with the demoniac." These are the references from the scriptures
describing how Krsna comes in search of His servants. By accepting
these statements as our starting point, we can see that He is always
coming to this world to help the fallen souls, His own servants.
What is the position of the fallen souls? In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta,
Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja records Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructing
Sanatana Goswami:
jivera 'svarupa' haya - krsnera 'nitya-dasa'
krsnera 'tatastha-sakti' bhedabheda-prakasa'
krsna bhuli sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara dukha
"The constitutional nature of the jiva soul is that of an eternal servant
of Krsna; the jiva soul is a manifestation of divinity which is one with
Krsna and different from Him. The jiva souls are the marginal potency
of the Lord. Though in reality they are servants of Krsna, from time
immemorial, they have been engaged in misconception, as exploiting
agents." In order to deliver His lost servants, the Lord comes now and
then to take them up to His own home.
In other religions we find many messiahs coming to help us to retrace
our path from worldly consciousness back to God consciousness. Yet
although we see this conception in other countries and other religious
traditions, in India it is found in a most profuse and systematic way.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.14.3) Krsna says:
kalena nasta pralaye
vaniyam veda-samjnita
mayadau brahmane prokta
dharmo yasyam mad-atmakah
"By the influence of time, the transcendental sound of Vedic
knowledge was lost at the time of annihilation. Again, at the time of
creation, I first inspired Brahma the creator from within his heart. And
then, through Brahma, so many disciples were enlightened. They in
turn enlightened their disciples. And in this way, the line of revealed
truth descends from Me." And in Bhagavad-gita Krsna says:
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakove 'bravit
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa
"First I instructed the sun-god Surya in this knowledge, and from
Surya it passed to Manu, and from Manu to Iksvaku; so from the
beginning of time, I am giving My tidings to others, transmitting the
truth that I am the goal through this system of disciplic succession,
generation after generation."
In this way, Krsna appears again and again to reclaim His long lost
servants. And, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna is also tasting His
own sweetness. When He wants to distribute it to the devotees, the
cause is His ecstatic potency (hladini-sakti). When Krsna combines
with His potency as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He becomes the
acarya. So Krsna says, acaryam mam vijaniyan: "Know that I am the
acarya." His acarya-lila is His self-distribution, and thereby He is
taking His lost servants home. His recruitment is to distribute
knowledge about Himself and devotion for Himself, and then to take
them home.
In Vrndavana, Krsna is tasting rasa within His own circle, and in
Navadvipa, as Sri Gauranga with His group, He is tasting Himself and
distributing that taste to others. His distribution and recruitment are
one and the same. By distributing Himself He is drawing our hearts to
Him, taking us home. The self-distribution of the Absolute is meant to
draw us back home, back to Godhead, and in this way, the Lord is
eternally engaged in His loving search for His lost servants.
First Chapter
Planets of Faith
The Gradation
"Just as in the tangible world there is the sun, the moon, and so many
other planets, in the world of faith there is a gradation of planetary
systems. We have to scrutinize the scriptures, take advantage of the
guidance given by saints, and understand how the progress of faith to
the highest plane is achieved by eliminating the lower planes."
Faith is the only means through which we can see, hear, or feel the
higher world; otherwise it is all meaningless to us. To understand that
plane, an inner awakenment is necessary. We can connect with the
upper world only through a higher source. Therefore divyam jnanam,
knowledge of the higher plane, is not ordinary knowledge; it is
transcendental, supramental feeling and sense.
But to realize this, surrender is compulsory. After that, we may go on
hearing and chanting, remembering and worshiping and praising the
Lord, or rendering so many other kinds of service, but the first thing -
the foundation of devotion - must be self-surrender. Otherwise nothing
will be effected; our show of devotion will all be imitation.
We must sincerely feel, "I shall be faithful in my service to the
Supreme Lord. I am meant for Him. I am ready to die to live. I want to
live for Him only and not for fulfilling any separate interest. I want
nothing less than the absolute. I want to be His completely." This sort
of intensity is an indispensable necessity for a devotee. A devotee has
to conceive, to feel, that he is meant for Krsna. He is not an
independent entity; He is dependent on Krsna - the highest absolute
center - and nothing else.
To identify with the interests of our family, society, or country is
extended selfishness, but all false identification must be eliminated.
We must be neither selfish nor entangled in extended selfishness.
Rather, all sorts of foreign contamination must be eliminated from our
conception of self. All outside demands must be canceled. Then we
shall feel in our innermost hearts that we are connected with the whole
of the infinite, the absolute.
And nothing external is required for our success. The only thing
required of us is that we dismantle the ego's cover. The ego is
collecting some foreign elements, but that foreign collection box must
be dissolved - finished - and then, in our innermost hearts' we shall
find our connection with the fundamental plane of loving service to
the organic whole.
Both enjoyment and renunciation are abnormal. They are two kinds of
demons: enjoyment or exploitation, and eternal rest or renunciation.
These two tendencies are our enemies. A higher, positive life is
possible only when we become fully independent of both exploitation
and renunciation.
Everything will help us if we can see it in connection with the center.
On the other hand, the kind of exclusive renunciation practiced by the
Sankarites and Buddhists is not recommended by our line. We are
concerned to harmonize things so that everything will remind us of
our duty towards the absolute, and encourage us to dedicate ourselves
to Him.
prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate
anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu)
To neglect the environment, thinking that it is filled with undesirable
material things, won't help us. That is not correct. Everything within
the environment should remind us of the absolute. In that spirit we
should move, thinking: "Accept me and connect me with the service
of our Lord." When the environment is seen with the correct vision,
everything will help encourage and excite us in our service to the
center. We are living in an organic whole, a system. And that system
is composed of the owner and the owned, the possessor of the potency
and the different types of potencies (sakti-saktiman).
Emporium of Rasa
The Lord's potency is dynamic, and that dynamicism is always
producing rasa or the flavor of ecstasy. The whole lila is producing
ecstasy (anandam, rasam). Krsna Himself is the emporium of rasa
(akhila rasamrta murtih...anandamaya vilasa). Dynamic movement is a
necessity in His lila; it cannot be eliminated. And that movement is
always producing a novel ecstasy which feeds every atom of the
spiritual world. In that transcendental abode, Krsna is the center who
attracts everything and enthuses rasa and anandam, ecstasy and joy
within everything. This is the nature of the movement of the absolute.
It is not static, but dynamic - filled with movement. And that
movement is prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam: at every point, every
step, it produces a new type of joy which is infinite. It is not the stale
and sterile joy we find here.
This is the proper conception of the absolute. The organic whole,
which is always working and moving, is full, and its fullness is evernew.
It is not standing or static. It moves in such a way that at every
second, every minute, it is always producing new, unknown, infinite
joy. And we can purchase that joy only by paying the highest price:
self-sacrifice. That ticket is very valuable which can give us admission
into the plane of automatic moving joy which is ever-new at every
second. And the ticket is wholesale self-sacrifice.
That sacrifice is joyful, and one may taste that wonderful joy even
here in this world, where at every moment everything is dying. It is
give and take. If we want to gain something noble, we must also give.
We must be generous in our dedication, and then we shall receive
amply from that side. Wholesale self-dedication is the price, and in
return, we shall be filled up with ecstasy: anandam budhi-vardhanam.
We shall feel that we are in the midst of an ocean of joy. At present,
we are searching after a joyous feeling - like one who searches for a
glass of water in the midst of the desert. But by dedication, we shall
find that we are in an ocean of joy whose soothing sweetness is
increasing at every moment.
The quality of joy has variety, and it comes to help us in our serving
attitude, so that at every moment we may feel new encouragement. So
we have to inquire from a proper agent, follow his advice, and try to
understand how to improve our condition. At the same time, we
should be conscious that the chance we have to render devotional
service is rarely found. It is not very cheap. Therefore, we must utilize
every minute, every second, every moment. We should be very much
alert that a moment not be lost, that our attempt to dedicate ourselves
may continue constantly without being interrupted. That stage of
dedication is called nistha, and when we attain that stage, our taste is
further improved and we will be more and more encouraged to go
forward and make progress towards ultimate fulfillment.
Seven days to live
Sukadeva Goswami told Pariksit Maharaja that seven days of
longevity is enough to achieve perfection. He said, "You have only
seven days left to live; do you think it is a short time? It is enough
time. What is all-important is the proper use of every second." What
time we have in our hands is uncertain, but we must try our best to
properly use every second. This must not be neglected. We should not
think, "The future is before me; any time I like, I can engage in the
profitable affair of spiritual life. "Not one second should be lost.
Longfellow wrote:
Trust no Future howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act, in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
The present is at our hand. We don't know about our future. We must
try to use the time at hand to its best advantage. And how will our
time be best used? In the association of saints and scriptures. Purity is
to be measured by the unit of sacrifice. And not sacrifice to any partial
interest, but sacrifice to the whole. The absolute whole has been
shown to us as the emporium of rasa (akhila rasamrta murtih) - the
absolute good, the autocrat, the designer and destiner of everything we
see. Our ideal of sacrifice should be so high that we can give up even
the corresponding results of sacrifice. Self-abnegation, or selfsurrender,
is generally known as atma-nivedanam. However,
atmaniksepa is a stronger word for surrender. It means "to throw
oneself desperately towards the infinite." One must be desperate in
self-sacrifice. In self-sacrifice we must be very careful not to aspire
for any greater or extended selfishness, but to surrender only to the
center. Sacrifice is meant for the center - Krsna - the all-attractor.
In realizing that position, we are concerned about two things -
transcendental knowledge (sambandha), and the means for reaching
the goal (abhidheya). If we realize these correctly, then the fulfillment
of the ultimate goal (prayojana) will come automatically. We shall be
very conscious about the center to whom we are dedicating
everything. The object of our fulfillment (sambandha), and our
dedication or purity of purpose (abhidheya) these two things are most
important. This can be understood from the scriptures and the saints.
And if we concern ourselves with the purest end and highest sacrifice,
the end will come of itself. We are not to bother for any remuneration.
We have only to do our duty and the remuneration will come. To
whom we will dedicate ourselves and what we shall receive - these
things should be discussed, thought out, meditated upon, and put into
practice. In this way, we must try to live in the infinite. We must
always stay engaged in the cultivation of infinite love and infinite
beauty as recommended by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Ocean of Faith
Although the object of our heart's faith is infinite, still, some
conceptions of Him have been given by the men of experience in the
ocean of faith. In the ocean of faith, many have had their special
experience, and that has been recorded in the scriptures. Through that
we can approach the saints who stand like lighthouses to help us cross
the ocean of nescience. But that must be bona fide and not merely a
concoction or an imitation. It may also be possible to imitate the real
thing by taking our mundane experience and thrusting it into the world
of faith. So we must approach that plane very carefully through the
line of reliable saints.
We must be careful to know the qualifications of a real saint. Their
symptoms are given in the scriptures. And who is a disciple and what
should be his attitude? All these things are given in the scriptures.
And faith is required in order to work in that substantial conscious
world which is subjective. This is the most important thing that we
have to remember: the infinite is subjective. It can guide us and be
affectionate to us. All these things are to be reckoned with. He can
guide us. The revealed truth stands on this foundation: We cannot
approach Krsna by the ascending method, but He can descend to our
level to make Himself known. We must understand this very
fundamental and substantial point: He can come to us, and only
through faith can we come to Him.
Sraddha - faith - is more important than calculative truth. The example
of great souls is more valuable to us than our human calculation. The
external, material, physical truth does not have much value. Rather, it
is a false attitude of mind which is very strong. That physical truth
should not be given greater respect than the intuitive practices of pure
devotees; rather, the intuition of a pure devotee should be given
preference to the calculations of truth made by ordinary men.
Faith has no connection with the so-called reality of this world. It is
completely independent. There is a world which is guided only by
faith (sraddha-mayam-lokan). Faith is everything there, and it is
infinite and all-accommodating. In the world of faith, everything may
be true by the sweet will of the Lord. And here, in the land of death,
calculation is inconclusive and destructive in its ultimate goal; it has
no ultimate value. It should be rejected. The knowledge that
materialists come under, the fallible calculation of exploiting souls,
has no value whatsoever. But in the world of the infinite, faith is the
only standard by which everything moves.
svayam samuttirya sudustaram dyuman
bhavarnavam bhimam adabhra-sauhrdah
bhavat padambhoruha-navam atra te
nidhaya yatah sad-anugraho bhavan
Srimad Bhagavatam (10.2.31)
Here, Srimad-Bhagavatam says that just as in the vast ocean, when
nothing else can be seen, the compass is the only guide, so in the
world of the infinite, our only guide is the footsteps of those great
souls who have traveled on the path of faith. The way has been
marked by the holy footsteps of those who have gone to the highest
quarter. That is our only hope. Yudhisthira Maharaja also says that the
real secret is concealed in the hearts of saints, as treasure is hidden in
a mysterious cave (dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam). The broad
line towards the truth is chalked out by those who are going to the
divine world. And that is our surest guide. All other methods of
guidance may be eliminated because calculation is fallible.
Guidance comes from the absolute infinite. And His guidance can
come in any form, anywhere, any time. With this broad view, we
should realize the meaning of Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha means "without
limitation. " It is as if we are in a boat floating on the infinite ocean.
Many things may come to help or hinder us. But only our optimistic
good faith may be our guide, our gurudeva. The guide is Sri Guru.
nr-deham adyam sulabham sudurlabham
plavam sukalpam guru-karnadharam
mayanukulena nabhasvateritam
puman bhavabdhim na taret sa atma ha
Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.20.17)
In the infinite ocean we have boarded our small boat, the human form
of life, and our destination is uncertain and inconceivable. But it is
conceivable to our gurudeva (guru karnadharam). Our guru is our
guide - the captain of the boat. And we must progress with sincere
faith. We are trying to cross a horrible ocean with huge waves and
dangerous sharks and whale-swallowing whales. It is full of danger.
The guidance of saints is our only hope. We must depend on them.
They stand like lighthouses in the infinite ocean to guide us to the land
of faith. Faith means "hope in the infinite." Vaikuntha means
"infinite." And sraddha means "good faith." Just as there is a place
called the Cape of Good Hope, sraddha means surcharged with good
hope in the infinite. Vaikuntha is infinite, and if we wish to draw the
attention of the infinite, the only way open to us is sraddha.
By sraddha alone, we can attract the infinite. And when sraddha
develops a definite form, after progressing through bhava, ecstatic
emotion, sraddha becomes prema - divine love. Columbus set sail, and
after a long voyage, finally arrived in America; he reached the land of
good hope. In the same way, with hope, sraddha, faith, we may, after
crossing Vaikuntha, arrive in the highest plane of the spiritual cosmos.
Sraddha is our light in the darkness.
Only sraddha can guide us when we are travelers in the infinite. "I
have heard that this is the way to that place" - that spirit will keep our
hearts enlivened. The definition of sraddha is given in the Caitanyacaritamrta:
"Faith is the firm conviction that by serving Krsna, all
other purposes are automatically served." No risk, no gain. Greatest
risk, greatest gain. Krsna reassures us, "I am everywhere - there is no
need to be afraid at all. Just realize that I am your friend. I am all in
all, and you are Mine. To believe this is your only fare for the journey
to the land of faith."
The Absolute Truth, the transcendental substance who is the object of
our inquiry through faith, is endowed with all power and all
consciousness. He is kind, benevolent, and sweet. His power is
infinitely higher than ours, and we are infinitely smaller than Him.
Our attitude should be that compared to Him, we are insignificant.
What, then, will be the real symptom of a disciple? Who is a real
seeker of truth? What is the qualification of one who is searching after
the truth - what is his attitude, his nature? And what will be the
symptom of the guru, the guide?
In Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna says:
tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
"One can learn the truth only by submissively approaching and
inquiring from those who have seen and experienced the truth. And by
rendering service to them, one becomes initiated into transcendental
knowledge."
What is required? Pranipat, submission, and seva, service. Then the
inquiry will be bona fide; otherwise it is a false transaction: it may
have no value. It may all be a waste of energy. Genuine faith does not
allow us to think ourselves at liberty to do anything and everything. If
it is a real transaction, there must be some guidance from above. So
sraddha, faith, is the most important thing for a devotee.
When one develops faith, he will do anything to approach the higher
subjective realm. One who has faith wants to connect with that higher
substance which is composed of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Faith
moves in consideration of existence, knowledge, and love. And when
these three main points are realized, our existence is fully satisfied.
Faith asks us to approach the higher world, not the lower. And to
think, "In every way Krsna is superior, He is our guardian and wellwisher,"
is the basis of faith.
The rationalists are always searching with their scientific brains for
different ways to utilize and command the things they have discovered
in their research. But faith is concerned with a substance far higher in
all respects than even the searcher himself. One who is an inquirer
about a higher substance must inquire with what is generally known as
faith.
Proper guidance in faith is also necessary, and that guidance is given
by the higher plane. That must be the attitude of our inquiry or search
if we are to be successful. So Bhagavad-gita advises: pranipat,
pariprasna, sevaya - "Surrender, inquire, and serve." In the Upanisads
it is said:
tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
"To understand the Absolute Truth, one must approach a guru who is
fixed in spiritual knowledge and well-versed in the scriptures. And he
must approach the guru being prepared for sacrifice." This is the
general instruction of the Upanisads.
Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.3.21) similarly advises:
tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreyah uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahmany upasamasrayam
"One seriously inquisitive to search for his highest prospect should
take complete shelter of a guru who has deep realizations of the
Supreme Lord and the inner meaning of the scriptures. Such spiritual
masters have left aside all relative considerations in favor of the
supreme absolute consideration."
We should be very attentive to these things. We should try to
understand through self-searching whether we are really approaching
divinity through faith. We must also see to it that our faith is real.
Proper faith and credulity are not the same. Whether one is a bona fide
searcher with real faith or one whose faith is adulterated must be
considered. And there are symptoms of real faith. We have to consult
higher authorities to guide us, because faith is a most important thing.
If we are searching for truth, we are dissatisfied with our present
acquisition. We are taking a risk to jump into a higher prospect. We
must therefore take guidance carefully. We must be attentive as far as
possible. We are told that our present reason is not sufficient to help
us; that more than reason, sraddha is needed, and sraddha also has its
symptoms. Still, as far as possible we shall apply our reason.
When I first came to the mission, I thought, "The transcendental truths
that I hear from these devotees do not come within the clutches of
worldly intelligence, but still, when I want to throw myself into that
association, I shall use my reason and intellect as far as possible,
understanding that I am going to jump into something which will be
beyond my control, beyond my calculation." So we must carefully
understand what sraddha is, with guidance from saints, scriptures, and
gurus.
Of course, even if we are going the right way, it is never certain that
the path will be free from obstacles. Even if we are making progress,
unexpected hindrances may trouble us and delay our advancement.
Though we see many around us falling or retreating, we must go
forward. We should have the conviction to think that although many
began with us on the path and are now going back, we shall have to go
on. We shall have to strengthen our energy and go forward alone if
necessary. Our faith should be so strong that we have the conviction to
go on alone if necessary and by the grace of our Lord cross whatever
difficulties we find on our way. In this way we must make ourselves
fit. We must develop exclusive devotion. Of course, we shall always
try to find good association. Yet sometimes it may seem that there is
no association, that we are alone. Still, we must go on and search out
the beacon light of the truth.
Progress means eliminating one thing and accepting another. Yet we
should be able to see that there are so many others who can help us in
our progress in the line of dedication; we must go forward with our
eyes open. And the scriptures describe many levels that we shall have
to cross beyond in our progress. By elimination, the path of progress is
shown from Brahma to Siva to Laksmi. At last Uddhava is shown to
be superior to all. But it is his opinion that the gopis are the highest
devotees. This is confirmed by Rupa Goswami:
karmibhyah parito hareh priyataya vyaktim yayur jnaninas
tebhyo jnana-vimukta-bhakti-paramah premaika-nisthas tatah
tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas tabhyo 'pi sa radhika
prestha tadvad iyam tadiya-sarasi tam nasrayet kah krti
Sri Upadesamrta (10)
"There are those in the world who regulate their tendency for
exploitation in accordance with the scriptural rules and thereby seek
gradual elevation to the spiritual domain. However, superior to them
are those wise men who, having given up the tendency to lord over
others, attempt to dive deep into the realm of consciousness. But far
superior to them are the pure devotees who are free from any mundane
ambitions and are liberated from knowledge, not by knowledge,
having achieved divine love. They have gained entrance into the land
of dedication and are engaged there spontaneously in the Lord's loving
service. Among all devotees, however, the gopis are the highest, for
they have forsaken everyone, including their families, and everything,
including the strictures of the Vedas, and have taken complete shelter
at the lotus feet of Krsna, accepting Him as their only protection. But
among all the gopis, Srimati Radharani reigns supreme. For Krsna left
the company of millions of gopis during the rasa dance to search for
Her alone. She is so dear to Sri Krsna that the pond in which She
bathes is His very favorite place. Who but a madman would not aspire
to render service, under the shelter of superior devotees, in that most
exalted of all holy places?"
Go Deeper, Go Higher
In His talks with Ramananda Raya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
repeatedly says, eho bahya, age kaha ara. Go further, go deeper, go
higher! There are so many who consider their position to be the
highest, who, achieving a particular stage, stop there. But we find in
Sanatana Goswami's Brhad-Bhagavatamrtam how Gopa-kumara,
beginning from the lowest stage of devotion, gradually makes
progress through different levels, and at last comes to the Krsna
conception in the mellow of friendship - sakhya rasa. There it is
described how he gradually eliminates one stage and makes further
progress to the highest stages of devotion.
As he progresses from one level to the next, everyone seems to be
very helpful to him, but gradually, their company seems to him to be
stale. At that time, a higher chance is given to him through an agent of
divinity, and, leaving that plane behind, he goes to a new and higher
plane. In this way, the progress of dedication is shown in Brhad-
Bhagavatamrtam.
Higher Light
Just as in the tangible world there is the sun, the moon, and so many
other planets, in the world of faith there is a gradation of planetary
systems. We have to scrutinize the scriptures, take advantage of the
guidance given by saints, and understand how the progress of faith to
the highest plane is achieved by eliminating the lower planes. And
whenever there is any doubt, we should consult with some higher
agent in order to make progress.
Spiritual reality is eternal existence, complete consciousness, and
ecstasy. Mere existence cannot fulfill us. Even our inner hankering
and feeling, consciousness, is not sufficient. We require rasa and
ananda, ecstasy, to give us fulfillment.
Spiritual realization is also of different types. We have to distinguish
between different spiritual conceptions, and our choices improve as
we dive deeper and deeper into reality. We must die to live. And the
consideration of death is also deep, deeper, and deepest. The gradation
of higher and lower is always there. If we are to progress, there must
be elimination and new acceptance. The duties that we find ourselves
in the midst of may be left for higher duties.
In this way we must progress, while always consulting the saints and
scriptures. They will guide us in the ocean of faith. Otherwise the
spiritual world is unknown and unknowable. The Absolute Truth is
known and knowable to a particular section, and they have given us
direction. If we take advantage of that, then by the guidance of saints
and scriptures we shall gradually eliminate our faults.
First we must eliminate this mortal existence Then, we must satisfy
our reason, our consciousness. And finally, we must satisfy our heart.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that the heart is the most important
thing within us. We should follow the direction of the heart. The
highest fulfillment is fulfillment of the heart, not the fulfillment of
consciousness, or the attainment of eternal existence. Eternal existence
has no meaning if it is not conscious, and consciousness has no
meaning if it does not give any fulfillment. So sat, eternal existence,
cit, consciousness, and ananda fulfillment, ecstasy, are the three
principles of our ultimate destination. And considering these as our
goal, we shall progress further and further in our spiritual life.
In the Manu-samhita it is stated:
vidvadbhih sevitah sadbhir
nityam advesa-ragibhih
hrdayenabhyanujnato
yo dharmas tam nibhodhata
We can feel within our heart whether we are gainers or losers. That
tasting machine is within us. As we progress in Krsna consciousness,
our karma, our connection with this material world, will evaporate in
no time, and spacious knowledge will come to satisfy us. At that time,
we shall feel the object of our life everywhere (mayi drste
'khilatmani). When we can see that the fulfillment of life has
embraced us, we shall see that everythingwithin the environment is
helping us, everything is sympathetic to us from all sides. In that
spiritual domain, everyone shall take interest in loving us. We may be
careless about our own interest, but the environment there is more
favorable and affectionate to us than we can even estimate, just as a
child cannot estimate the extent of his mother's affection. In this way,
friends and home comforts will surround us, and with this realization
we shall go back to God, back to home.
Second Chapter
The Environment
"We must try to look deeper and then we will find our friend; if we are
liberal in our attitude towards the environment, we cannot but come in
connection with the plane which is really liberal. Prahlada saw that
Krsna is everywhere. And Krsna consciousness is commanding the
whole. So we must not allow ourselves to be discouraged under any
circumstances, however acute they may apparently seem to us. Krsna
is there. If only we can develop the right vision, the smiling face of the
Lord will appear from behind the screen. Krsna is beautiful, and He is
eagerly awaiting to accept our services."
Devotion to Krsna means sacrifice - "die to live." By devotion to
Krsna, our whole conception of mundane, self-centered, selfinterested
life will be finished totally.
sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa
sevanam bhaktir ucyate
Narada Pancaratra
"Pure devotion is service to the Supreme Lord which is free from all
relative conceptions of self-interest."
In his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami quotes this verse
from the ancient Puranas. Upadhi means "all relative conceptions of
self-interest." We must be totally free of all upadhis.
And Rupa Goswami also gives us a parallel verse describing bhakti:
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena-krsnanu
silanam bhaktir uttama
"Pure devotional service is the favorable cultivation of Krsna
consciousness free from all traces of ulterior motives, such as karma,
self-promoting activities, jnana, mental achievement, and so on."
Bhakti, devotion, must be free from any fleeting desires (anyabhilasa),
such as karma - the organized attempt for self-elevation - and jnana,
the attempt to depend on our own ability, knowledge, and
consciousness to reach the ultimate goal. To attempt to put one's own
self as the subject, to become the judge of one's own fate - that is
jnana. Here adi means yoga and other external things. These are all
overcoatings (avrtam). In the soul proper, however, these elements are
not found. The soul is an eternal slave of Krsna (krsna-nitya-dasa).
Mahaprabhu said: Jivera 'svarupa' haya - krsnera 'nitya-dasa': "Slavery
to Krsna is the innate nature of the jiva soul."
In order to realize the absolute, we must come to the standard of
slavery; it will take nothing less than that. We must submit ourselves
as slaves to the play of His sweet will.
Once, the British government had to entertain the Persian Shah, the
king of Persia. They invited him to England and tried to please him in
various ways to gain his sympathy so that he would not be converted
to the side of the Russian Czar. They showed him many things, and at
one point, he was taken to the place where men condemned to capital
punishment were beheaded. There the Shah was shown the place of
execution. They explained to him how that was the place where so
many great men, including even one king, Charles the First, had been
beheaded. When that place was shown to the King of Persia, he asked,
"Oh, bring someone there and behead him! Let me enjoy how it was
done."
They were astonished. "What is he saying! For his pleasure, we shall
have to murder a man? No," they said. "We cannot allow this; British
law cannot allow that a man can be beheaded like this." The Shah
said, "Oh, you do not understand the position of a king? I am a Persian
king, and for my satisfaction you cannot sacrifice a human life? This
is dishonor. Anyhow, if it is not possible for you, I will supply one of
my own men. Take one of my attendants and show me how you
execute people here in your country."
With humility, they submitted to him, "Your Highness, the law of our
country cannot allow this. You may do it in your own country, but
here, your men also cannot be murdered simply for the pleasure of a
man." The Shah replied, "Then you do not know what a king is!"
This is the meaning of slavery: A slave has no position; by the sweet
will of his master he may be sacrificed. Of course, in the lower
material plane such things may be quite abominable and unthinkable,
but we should understand that in the higher realm of divinity, in
principle, such a degree of sacrifice is shown by the servants of the
Lord. The depth of their love is such that they are prepared to sacrifice
themselves wholesale, to die to live, for Krsna's slightest satisfaction
or whim. But we should remember that whatever is His pleasure, He is
the absolute good. So by such sacrifice we do not actually die, but live
by gaining entrance into a higher plane of dedication.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23-24) it is written:
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau
bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
tan manye 'dhitam uttamam
"Hearing, speaking about, and remembering Krsna, serving His lotus
feet, worshiping His Deity form, praying, becoming His servant,
cultivating His friendship, and surrendering to Him utterly are the nine
processes of devotion. One who cultivates these nine processes of
devotion, offering himself completely to Krsna, can easily attain the
ultimate goal of life." What are the forms of sadhana? What are the
means to attain krsna-bhakti? How can we revive our innate love for
Krsna? We are told to hear about Him, to talk about Him, to meditate
upon Him, to praise Him, and so on. But in his commentary on this
verse, Sridhara Swami has explained that we should not anticipate
what benefit we shall derive from sravanam-kirtanam, hearing or
talking or thinking about Krsna. Rather we should pray, "May
whatever service I do go to my Lord. I am not the enjoying party - He
is the sole proprietor." All these functions (sravanam, kirtanam etc.)
will be considered devotion only if one condition is fulfilled;
otherwise they may be karma, jnana, yoga, or anything else. They may
even be vikarma, polluted misdeeds. One condition must be there to
insure that all these different forms of devotional activity are actually
bhakti: We are His property; we are not the owners of any wealth or
property. We must think, "My Lord is the possessor and I am in His
possession. Everything is His property."
Krsna says, aham hi sarva-yajnanam: "I am the only enjoyer of every
action. You must be fully conscious of this fact." The stern reality is
that devotion is not a cheap thing. Pure devotional service, suddhabhakti,
is above mukti, liberation. Above the negative plane of
liberation, in the positive side, He is the only master. He is the Lord of
everything.
He is the Lord of the land of dedication. We must try to obtain a visa
to enter there. There, His sweet will is the only law. It is very easy to
pronounce the word "absolute." But if we are to enter into the meaning
of the word, then it must be recognized that His sweet will is all in all.
To get a visa to the world of reality we must recognize this.
And this is especially true in Goloka, where complete surrender is
demanded. In Vaikuntha there is some consideration of justice; for
those who are entering there, some sort of lenience is given. But
Goloka is very tight. Complete surrender is demanded in that place.
Otherwise, the atmosphere there is very free. After one has been tested
and the superiors are satisfied that the souls who have come there are
wholly sacrificed, then we gain their confidence. And when it is seen
that one is fully surrendered, there is complete freedom; one may do
anything.
Whipping Krishna
And freedom there is so great that Krsna's mother Yasoda is whipping
Him! If we inquire deeply into where Yasoda is taking her stand, we
will come to the "die to live" plane. Yasoda can embrace death
millions of times to remove a bead of sweat from the brow of her son;
she has so much affection for Krsna that she is ready to die a million
times rather than find the sweat of labor on His forehead. And that
consciousness is in the background of everything she does. This is
why she is given so much independence as to be able to whip Him.
Such is the play of the absolute.
If we have an idea of the infinite broadness and depth of the absolute,
how can we value anything here? The Himalayas may be very big
according to our standard, but from the standard of the infinite, the
Himalayas are so small that they can't even be seen. This world is all
relative. We must not allow ourselves to be cowed down by any
events here. We must go forward in our march towards the truth. We
may fail anytime, anywhere; it does not matter. It may be our master's
will. Still, we have no other alternative than to try for His mercy, His
grace.
This is our natural position. Even constitutionally, there is no
possibility of living separately from Him. If, in ignorance, we
sometimes think that it is possible to live separately from Him, that is
only temporary insanity. To attempt to do so is only to create further
disturbance, to be covered with ignorance.
While ignorant, we may be concerned for many things that have no
value. But actually it is as in play: so many parties are playing - one
must win, another must be defeated - but we are told that we must
accept victory or defeat in the mood of a player. And everything is the
play of Krsna. He is playing His lila. When we think that something is
a great loss or gain, we are not seeing the lila of the Lord. Then we are
outside the divine flow, we are not in harmony with the flow of lila.
Then it appears that reality is not His lila, and we find some other
reason for being, see some other objects, conceive of relative interests,
and find loss and gain, victory and defeat, and so many other
misconceptions. But everything is His lila, and that is nirguna, without
fault. In that plane, everything is all right. Everything is perfect. Every
inch of movement there is fully perfect.
''I Shall Curse You!''
Once, after the Kuruksetra war, the brahmana Utanka came to Krsna
and said, "Krsna, I curse You!" Krsna said, "Why, My dear brahmana,
do you want to curse Me?" Utanka said, "Because You are the cause
of all the disasters of Kuruksetra. Because of You, so many widows
and orphans are crying in distress. The bounds of their sorrow knows
no end, and You are the cause."
Krsna answered, "You may have collected some power by your
penances in sattva-guna, but that will all be finished when you curse
Me. It won't produce any result in Me because I am situated in the
nirguna plane." This is the nature of the nirguna plane. It is ahaituky
apratihata: it is causeless and it cannot be checked - it is irresistible.
The wave of the most fundamental plane is bhakti, devotion, where
everything follows the sweet will of the center - nirguna. That divine
flow is causeless and can never be opposed. We should try to take our
stand in that plane. Bhakti is nirguna, beyond the influence of material
nature, and it is ahaituki, causeless - that divine flow is eternally going
on. And it is apratihata: bhakti can never be checked by anyone. It is
irresistible.
This is the nature of the flow of devotion. Anyone who takes their
stand in consonance, in harmony with that flow, will find the same
thing: it can never be checked or given any successful opposition. This
is the nature of bhakti according to Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.6):

 

con't below;
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
Bhakti is the highest function of the soul (paro dharmo). Our duty
here must have its origin in the plane of bhakti; we must be able to
read and catch and utilize that flow. We must dance in the waves of
that flow. Everyone's highest duty will be full submission to the
unseen, undetectable causal power, which has no cause, no rhyme, no
reason. It is automatic, eternal, and can never be opposed by any
forces here.
And then only will we find our soul's greatest satisfaction. We will
feel real satisfaction only when we come in touch with that most
fundamental harmonious wave. Then we can feel the highest ecstasy.
That is bhakti.
So in coming to such a great idea of life, whatever obstacles we must
cross are only small losses and gains, victories and defeats. We should
not allow them to disturb our march towards the truth.
Bhagavad Gita
Krsna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita (2.47):
karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango' stv akarmani
"Give your full concentration to discharging your duty and not to the
result of your work. The result is with Me; all responsibility is with
Me." Higher calculation is like that. The generals say, "March! Go
forward. Onward! You have to go. You are my soldiers; whatever I
shall ask, you must do. You may die and the victory may come
afterward; that is not your concern. You are soldiers; many of you
may be finished, but the country as a whole will gain." In this way, so
many important lives may be sacrificed.
And as soldiers, we have no right to calculate whether we shall gain or
lose in the long run. There are two things we must be very careful
about. We shouldn't think that if we can't enjoy the fruits of our labor,
then there is no reason to work. At the same time, we shouldn't think
that we must get some share of the fruits. Remembering this, we
should go on discharging our duty to Krsna. That is devotion, and that
is the meaning of Bhagavad-gita.
Bhagavad-gita says, "You can't change the environment. If you want
peace, you must regulate yourself according to the environment." The
whole gist of Bhagavad-gita's advice is found here: Try to adjust
yourself with the environment, because you are not the master of the
environment. All your energy should be devoted to regulating yourself
and not the outside world. This is the key to success in spiritual life.
Bhakti does not depend on the environment or on the dealings of
others. It is ahaituky apratihata. Nothing can obscure that flow except
our own ego. I am my own greatest enemy.
uddhared atmanatmanam
natmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah
"We can elevate ourselves or degrade ourselves. We are our own best
friend or worst enemy." No force outside can check us if we are
sincere. Of course for beginners there is some concern about a proper
environment for spiritual cultivation, but even that is also dependent
on the nature of their sincerity, or sukrti: na hi kalyana-krt kascid
durgatim tata gacchati. The assurance is given here by Krsna. He says,
"I'll be there to look after you in any unfavorable circumstance. I am
omniscient. And I am omnipotent also. So if anyone is directed
towards Me, I'll look after him." And it has also been seen in history,
in the cases of Dhruva, Prahlada, and so many others. Sincerity is
invincible. Even obstacles may improve our position if we can take
them in the right way. From a higher angle of vision it may be seen
that everything is coming to help us.
Srimad Bhagavatam
tat te 'nukampam susamiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidhadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya bhak
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) gives us a most hopeful suggestion for
all stages of life: blame yourself and no one else. Maintain your
appreciation for the Lord, seeing everything as His grace. At present
we think our circumstances undesirable because they do not suit our
present taste. But medicine may not always suit the taste of the
patient. Still it is conducive to health. This verse is the highest type of
regulation given by the sastra. If you can follow this law, then in no
time you will have a very good position. We must be careful not to
blame the circumstances, but to appreciate that Krsna is behind
everything. Krsna is my best friend; He is in the background of
everything. Everything is passing through His attentive eyes. So there
cannot be any defect there.
Even Srimati Radharani says, "He is not to blame. This long
separation from Krsna is only the outcome of My fate. He should not
blamed for this." Although outwardly it is admitted by all that He had
cruelly left the gopis, Radharani is not prepared to blame Krsna. "No
wrong can be found in Him," She thinks. "There must be something
wrong in Me which has brought about this unfortunate situation." The
competition between the groups of gopis in the service of Krsna is
also harmonized in this way by Radharani.
Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami has explained this most important point.
According to him, it is not that Radharani does not like any other party
to serve Krsna in competition with Her, but She feels that they cannot
satisfy Krsna as well as She can. And this should be noted very
carefully. She knows that they cannot give proper satisfaction to
Krsna, so She cannot appreciate their trying to take Her place. That is
Her contention. She thinks, "If they could serve Krsna well and fully
satisfy Him, I would have no complaint. But they can't. And still,
aggressively they come to serve? I can't tolerate this."
The Brahmin Leper
Kaviraja Goswami has cited as an example of this sort of devotion a
historical reference from the Puranas. There was once a chaste wife
whose brahmana husband was a leper. She always tried her best to
serve Him. One day, while she was bathing her husband at a holy
river, he became infatuated with the extraordinary beauty of a
prostitute by the name Laksahira. Her name indicated that she
possessed the luster and beauty of a hundred thousand diamonds. The
leper brahmana was irresistibly charmed by her.
Upon returning home, his chaste wife detected some dissatisfaction
within her husband, and inquired, "Why are you so unhappy?" Her
husband replied, "I felt some attraction for the beauty of that
prostitute. And I can't take my mind off her." "Oh. You want her?"
"Yes. I do." "Then I shall try to make the arrangement."
Then, because she was poor, the chaste lady, although a qualified
brahmana, began to go to the house of the prostitute every day and
work as a maidservant. Although she was aristocratic by birth, she
accepted the work of a maidservant without any remuneration. And
she did her duties so diligently that she attracted the attention of the
prostitute, the mistress of the house, who began to inquire. "Who
cleans everything so neatly and beautifully?" And she came to know
that a brahmana lady was coming every morning and performing
many menial tasks. The other attendants said, "We tried to stop her,
but she would not hear of it. She wants to meet you."
The mistress replied, "All right. Tomorrow, you may bring her to me."
Then, the next morning, when she was taken to the prostitute, the
brahmana lady expressed her inner motive. "My husband is so
attracted to you that it is my desire that you may satisfy him. It is my
concern as his devout wife that he be satisfied, and this is his
aspiration. So I want to see him happy." Then the prostitute
understood everything and said, "Yes. Bring him tomorrow. I invite
both of you to dine in my house."
This was intimated to the brahmana and the following day they came.
Many dishes were prepared fitting the occasion. Two entrees were
served. One was prasadam on a plantain leaf accompanied by Ganges
water in an earthen pot - all pure vegetarian food. Side by side with
that in gold and silver pots were so many meats and rich dishes. They
were served with a very nice table arrangement and sitting places. Of
the two kinds of foodstuffs, one was sattvik, pure, and the other was
rajasik, filled with passion. Then, with folded palms, the prostitute
invited the brahmana and his wife and indicated, "This is bhagavataprasadam,
and those are rich dishes prepared with meat. Whichever
you like you may take at your sweet will."
Immediately the leper brahmana chose the prasadam, and began to
take his meal. After he had finished taking prasadam, the prostitute
said, "Your wife is like this prasadam - sattvik - and all these rajasik
things - meat, rich dishes, gold, silver - this is like me. I am so low and
your wife is the purest of the pure. Your real taste is for this sattvik
prasadam. Externally, the meat is very gorgeous, but internally it is
very impure, filthy. And therefore you are repulsed by it. So why have
you come here to me?"
Then the brahmana came to his senses. "Yes, I am wrong. God has
sent a message to me through you. My fleeting desire has ended and
now I am satisfied. You are my guru!"
Kaviraja Goswami has quoted this in the Caitanya-caritamrta. The
chaste lady went to serve the prostitute. Why? For the satisfaction of
her husband. So Radharani says, "I am ready to serve those in the
opposition camp, if they can really satisfy My Lord. I am completely
ready to serve them if they can really satisfy Krsna. But they can't. Yet
still they have some demand. But I differ on that point. It is not that I
am concerned that My share is being lessened. That is not My attitude.
Whenever any unfavorable circumstances come, I think it is always
coming from within Me (durdaiva vilasa); I don't find anything
corrupt to be traced outside."
That should be the attitude of a true devotee of Krsna. With this
attitude, we shall be able to see within ourselves that everything is
ultimately part of the absolute good. Although it is not very easy, still,
our energy should be devoted only to collect good will from external
circumstances. In this way we should take care to see things in such a
way as to purify our own position.
Deep Vision Reality
And so, we are encouraged by Srimad-Bhagavatam to look deeper.
We must try to look deeper and then we will find our friend; if we are
liberal in our attitude towards the environment, we cannot but come in
connection with the plane which is really liberal. That is Krsna
consciousness in its ultimate reach. If we look deeply into reality with
this sort of vision, we will find our real home. Prahlada boldly met all
adverse circumstances and ultimately he was victorious. The
calculation of Prahlada's demonic father about the environment was
falsified, but Prahlada's deeper vision saw reality correctly.
He saw that Krsna is everywhere. And Krsna consciousness is
commanding the whole. So we must not allow ourselves to be
discouraged under any circumstances, however acute they may
apparently seem to us. Krsna is there. As much as the circumstances
appear to oppose us, it is really not so. If only we can develop the
right vision, the smiling face of the Lord will appear from behind the
screen. That is Krsna consciousness. Krsna is beautiful, and He is
eagerly awaiting to accept our services.
God And His Men
Our inner wealth can be discovered only by the help of sadhu, guru,
and scripture. Our vision should be that it is all nectar, but we have
drawn a screen between the nectar and ourselves and are tasting
poison, thinking that it is very useful. On the whole, we must think
that no blame is to be put on others, and it is actually the truth. We are
responsible for our disgrace, our fallen condition. And the path to selfimprovement
is also similar: we must learn to critique ourselves and
appreciate the environment. Our appreciation should especially be for
Krsna and His devotees, and then gradually everyone else. He has not
given anyone the authority to harm us. If it appears that way, it is only
superficial and misleading. That anyone can do harm to anyone else is
misleading. It is only true on the superficial plane. Of course, this does
not condone harming others or ignoring oppression, but from the
absolute standpoint there is no harm. When we reach the highest stage
of devotion, we shall see that everything is friendly and that our
apprehension was wrong. It was a misconception.
Misconception: maya means "what is not" (mriyate anaya). When
everything is measured from the standpoint of selfishness and not the
universal interest - that is the cause of all our troubles. We must
gradually realize, "My angle of vision was guided by selfish, not
absolute, consideration. So I am suffering. But now I have come to
understand that my interest is included in the absolute interest."
To parody an old saying, "A bad workman quarrels with his stools."
According to our karma we produce the environment. What I am
blaming was produced by my own karma. When I take food, stool
comes as a natural reaction. It would be foolish to blame the stool for
appearing. It is the effect of my having eaten. In the same way, I have
acted in different ways, and the karmic result is my present
environment. So to quarrel with the reaction to our own misdeeds is a
useless waste of energy.
The advice of Srimad-Bhagavatam should be our guiding principle
under all circumstances. Whatever is coming to us is under His
sanction, under His eye, so it cannot but be good. Everything is
perfect. The only imperfection is within us, and therefore we should
try with all our energy to do our duty. In no time, we shall find
ourselves released from all troubles. That is the key advice of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Our Guardian's Eye
The environment is not dead - an overseer is there. Just as the sun is
over our heads, every action is under our guardian's eye. This
comparison is given in the Rg Veda: Om tad visno paramam padam
sada pasyanti suraya diviva caksur atatam. We should approach any
duty thinking, "My guardian's eye is always vigilantly watching over
me, seeing everything I am doing, and whatever is happening to me. I
need not worry about this environment or circumstance."
So Bhagavatam says, "Don't worry about the environment. Do your
duty. Concentrate fully on what you are doing, and in no time, you'll
be relieved of the black box of the ego and will join in the universal
flow of dancing and chanting, singing and rejoicing. You will gain
entrance into the lila or pastimes of the Lord."
We are all suffering from separate interest, clash and reaction, good
and bad, pleasure and pain, happiness and distress, but there in the
spiritual domain, everything is conscious and filled with happiness. So
not only total self-forgetfulness is required, but the whole good will of
the Lord should be invited. We shall merge in the flow of the good
will of the Lord. That is Vrndavana.
Our guardians say: "Do this," and according to our capacity we shall
try to execute their order. And accepting that what they say is really
coming from Krsna, the more we are able to follow their instructions,
the more benefit we shall accrue. Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita,
the Vedas and Upanisads, and so many agents who represent divinity
are all helping us go back to our real home. At present we are living in
different stages of the consciousness of separate interest, but our
guardians are all trying to take us into that higher plane of dynamic
movement, lila, to enter into the pastimes of Krsna.
Enemy Ego / Real Ego
Here, everything is but a reflection of the perfect world. Originally
everything is there, including all types of service, but here we have
only a perverted reflection. Leaving this variegated world behind, we
should not attempt to merge into non-consciousness so that we won't
be able to feel any pleasure or pain. At present we are under the
influence of our enemy ego. Real ego exists in the spiritual world. All
experience is found there, but it is full of beauty and charm.
Krsna consciousness means full-fledged theism. This means that we
can have a relationship with the infinite up to consorthood. Everything
that we need to help us and lead us in the right direction is really to be
found in the spiritual world in its purest and most desirable position.
What we find here is only a shadow, a black imitation. But reality
means full-fledged theism - Krsna consciousness - where the infinite
embraces the whole finite. The infinite comes down to welcome, to
fully embrace the finite - that is Vrndavana. And this is full-fledged
theism: through Krsna consciousness, one negligent part of the finite
may experience the blissful embrace of the whole infinite. And in
Vrndavana, not a corner is left neglected. Every grain of sand, every
blade of grass, is well-represented there with personality. Here, what
to speak of a particle of sand, so many things are insignificant. But in
Vrndavana, everything is cared for. Nothing is ignored. That is fullfledged
theism. This is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.21.5):
varhapidam nata-bara-vapuh karnayoh karnikaram
bibrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantin ca malam
randhran venoradhara-sudhaya purayan gopavrndair
vrndaranyam sva-pada-ramanam pravisad gita-kirtih
Sukadeva Goswami reveals something astounding to Pariksit
Maharaja. When Krsna enters the forest of Vrndavana by the touch of
the soles of His lotus feet, the earth feels the pleasure of His embrace -
the personal embrace of the Sweet Absolute (vrndaranyam sva-padaramanam).
This is inconceivable! By the touch of the holy feet of
Krsna, the sand and the earth feel the pleasure of consorthood!
Glorified by His cowherd friends, He enters the forest of Vrndavana,
and the earth, the forest, and everything that comes in connection with
Him feels a higher, closer sense experience of pleasure to the happiest
degree.
Consorthood
In Vrndavana, the earth feels the mood of consorthood. So the
vrndavana-lila of Krsna is so wonderful that even Brahma, the creator
of the universe, said, "How can we understand You, my Lord? I know
something about my Lord Narayana, who is near to me. He and I have
some direct connection so that I may discharge my official duties. But
You have come within my circle and I can't understand You. What is
this?" He tried his best to test Krsna by kidnapping His cowherd
boyfriends and calves, but he was astounded to find that, "Although I
have removed them, everything is as it was before; Krsna is still
surrounded by His friends and their calves, engaged in their pleasure
pastimes. So He is infinite. Even as the lord of the universe, my
interference could not disrupt anything under His control. By His own
sweet will He conducts His play. I tried to test Him, but now I am
bewildered by His inconceivable potency. I could not understand that
although an apparently human cowherd boy, He is nonetheless the
suprememost, higher than even Lord Narayana. " He pleaded with
Krsna, "Now I have come to my senses; please forgive me, my Lord."
What use is a particle of our intelligence? How much can it measure
the infinite? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, "Don't try to apply your
brain to the infinite. The brain is not a unit for measurement in that
plane. Your intellect is canceled by the infinite. Try to measure it only
by feeling, by taste, by heart - the brain will be your enemy. It will
always deceive you in its measurement, and that will disturb you and
limit your progress."
Only faith can help us. Otherwise nothing can reach that plane. We
can reach the sun or moon only with the help of advanced technology.
We can't reach out and touch it with our hand or with a long stick. In
the same way, to connect with the highest reality, faith alone can help
one. Faith is the most spacious medium. But even that is very meager
in consideration of the high thing with which you would like to
connect, the supreme cause of all causes.
We are teeny souls. How much can we accommodate with our faith?
How wide and how broad is our faith? What can we catch within our
faith? What we are seeking is infinite, and we are very much afraid;
"Oh, if I rely on faith, something may go wrong. I may be deceived."
But within our teeny hearts, how much faith can we contain? Only by
analogy with the sky or the ocean may we understand anything about
the infinite, but what is that in comparison? Nothing.
And what is the infinite? That from which everything is coming, by
which everything is maintained, and into which everything is
ultimately entering; the all-comprehensive, all-permeating, allcontrolling,
all-attracting, all-feeling Absolute.
So everything is all right with the infinite and the environment. We
have only to correct ourselves, to adjust ourselves. This is the
conclusion - "Try to adjust yourself; everything is all right with the
environment. We must leave everything to the Supreme Lord and
conduct ourselves accordingly." That will bring us real peace and
progressive realization in spiritual life.
Third Chapter
Beneath the Loving Eye of God
"Neither existence nor consciousness are complete in themselves.
Consciousness alone hankers for ecstasy. And existence without
consciousness is to exist with no purpose. But when existence is
endowed with consciousness, it can search for its own good: ecstasy."
Vishnu Padam
"The divine feet of our holy Lord are like the vigilant eye of a grand
guardian hanging over our heads like the sun, and we are living
beneath the glance of that vigilant eye. We shall always try to live not
in the objective but in subjective relativity. We should think, Above
my consciousness is Superconsciousness; the vigilant guardian's eye is
always watching over me."
The Rg Veda mantra says: Om tad visno paramam padam sada
pasyanti suraya diviva caksur atatam: The divine feet of our holy Lord
are like the sun above our heads. His holy feet are like the vigilant eye
of a grand guardian hanging over our heads like the sun, and we are
living beneath the glance of that vigilant eye.
We are interested not in objective, but in subjective reality. We shall
always try to live not in objective but in subjective relativity. We
should never think, "Under my feet I have firm ground to stand on; I
am big. I shall stand erect." Rather we should think, "Above my
consciousness is superconsciousness; the vigilant guardian's eye is
always watching me. I am living under the glance of that eye." Our
support comes not from below, but from above. He is our shelter. We
are hanging from that substantial upper world wherein He resides; our
support is found there. We must always be conscious of that.
This is a principle mantra in the Rg Veda. Before anyone approaches a
new duty, he should think about his own position. We have been
instructed by this verse from the Vedas to think in this way: "You are
under the vigilant eye of your guardian, and that great eye is as living
as the sun; its glance is just like that of the sun which is over your
head. Like a light that can pierce through to see anything within you,
His piercing glance is upon you." With this understanding of identity
we should approach our duty. We are never encouraged to think that
we stand firmly here on solid earth, and that on the basis of a strong
position, independent of His grace we can carry out our dharma.
Actually, in our subjective relationship with divinity, we are just like
the rays of the sun. Where do the sun's rays stand? They stand on the
sun - that is their source. In the same way, we should think that our
stand is in the realm of divinity; we are so many particles of
consciousness, and our stand, our motherland, is that conscious area.
God consciousness means Krsna consciousness. We are consciousness
and we are meant for Krsna consciousness - that is our relationship.
We should always be conscious of this fact. We are connected with
Krsna consciousness. We are members of the Krsna conscious world.
And we have come to wander in the foreign land of material
consciousness, mayika misconception, thinking that we are units of
this material world, but it is not so.
We are units of the conscious world - the Krsna conscious world - and
somehow we have come within this material conception of existence,
the world of matter. Matter is what we can exploit, the objective side
of reality, and the subjective side is the element we should revere. Our
relationship with the subjective is that of reverence and devotion to
the higher entity, and not that of exploitation or enjoyment. Real
enjoyment, divine enjoyment, comes from service - not from
exploitation.
We must understand all these basic principles. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Maharaja once remarked to me that although the engineers in New
York have built so many skyscraper buildings that will stand for ages,
they were never mindful of how long their own bodies would last. The
buildings will stand for a long, long time. But those who will live in
those buildings have forgotten how long their bodies will stand. In this
way people are very busy on the objective side, but they are
neglecting the subjective values. Their concern is with objects and not
with who will use them. They think that no subjective cultivation is
necessary for the user of the objective world. In this way they give all
importance to the objective side, neglecting totally the subjective side.
Consciousness Rays
Our real position is like the rays of the sun. A sun ray touches the
earth. Where is its home? A sun ray comes to our plane and touches
the hills and the water, but what should be considered as its home?
Necessarily the sun, and not the earth it touches. Our position is
similar. As rays of consciousness, we pertain not to the material
world, but to the conscious world. Our home connection is there: in
the sun - the spiritual sun.
We are advised by the Vedas to consider: "Although you have been
cast in a hole of this earth, still your native soil is the conscious sun.
You emanate from there, you are sustained from there, and your
prospect is there. You have to conceive of reality in that way. Because
you are conscious, your home is the source of consciousness. Whether
you are bird or beast, whether you are in the mountains, earth, or
water - wherever you are, whatever position you hold, your source is
in consciousness, existence. Your source is in consciousness just as
the rays of light have their home in the sun."
The Vedas tell us: "You are not a child of this soil. You may be a
captive here, but this is not your home; this is a foreign land. All your
hopes and prospects can be supplied from that higher soil, because
your nature is of that order. Your food, your sustenance, your
everything should be made of that higher stuff. But what is found
within this material world is all poison to you."
Again, although what is pertaining to consciousness is the immediate,
nearest realization of our nature, if we are to go deeper into the
conscious world, we shall find something more substantial. If we cross
beyond the vision of light-consciousness, we shall find the real
necessity of our existence: happiness - ecstasy - and divine love. After
establishing ourselves in the realm of consciousness, we must
establish ourselves in the realm of divine love, ecstasy and beauty. We
must search for our fortune there, and never in this material world.
Ecstasy is above light; transcendental mellow is above consciousness.
Beauty and charm are above mere consciousness and understanding.
Feeling is not complete in itself. Feeling must be for something. So
the fullest conception of a perfect thing is something which is full in
beauty or ecstasy. Mere existence or consciousness alone cannot be
the highest perfection. Ecstasy is the most perfect thing. Ecstasy,
divine love, and beauty presuppose consciousness and existence.
Spiritual reality is composed of three substances: sat, existence, cit,
consciousness, and ananda, ecstasy. And of these three, ananda or
ecstasy is the final conception of spiritual substance. Ecstasy can exist
by itself. Neither existence nor consciousness are complete in
themselves. Consciousness alone hankers for ecstasy. And existence
without consciousness is to exist with no purpose. But when existence
is endowed with consciousness, it can search for its own good:
ecstasy. Ecstasy is an independent and concrete substance. Both
existence and consciousness are subservient to ecstasy.
And one who realizes the ecstasy of Krsna consciousness becomes
free from this mortal world. When one realizes that, he need not be
afraid of anything. He need have no apprehension from any fear that
can arise here in this material world where there is the constant threat
of nonexistence. Here in the material world we not only have no
fulfillment, but our very existence is also at stake. At any moment we
may be devoured by nonexistence.
Dive Deep Into Reality
But to come to the plane of ecstasy, we shall have to dive deep into
reality. We must not be satisfied with the formal, the superficial. If we
concentrate our attention on the outward form of a thing, neglecting its
inner substance, then we shall find that we are looking in the wrong
place. When Mahaprabhu would look at the Deity of Jagannathadeva,
apparently it seemed that His aim was fixed on the same thing we see
when we look at the Deity. To our vision, however, the Deity of
Jagannatha is only a doll made of wood. And yet when Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu would fix His eye there, He would shed tears of joy, and
His tears flowed in an incessant current. Where is His vision of reality
connected? What we see as a wooden doll, He sees in a completely
different way. And just by looking at that, an incessant current of tears
pours from His eyes. Where is His connection with reality located? He
is viewing things from the opposite side, from the subjective world.
So how should we approach the Deity? When we have a look at the
Deity, what should be our attitude? The Deity form of the Lord is not
a mundane thing, and so we should learn the proper way in which to
see the Deity. And more than this, we must try to look at this from the
other point of view. As we are trying to see the Deity, He sees us. He
has come down to help the fallen souls in this material world, and He
has come down in such a way as to take us up to His domain.
Ramanuja has classified the expression of the Supreme Entity in five
forms: para, vyuha, vaibhava, antaryami, and arcana. Para, the central
conception of the highest entity; vyuha, His extended self in different
functions, in different figures; vaibhava, His appearance in this
mundane plane as avataras like Matsya, Kurma, and Varaha;
antaryami, His presence in every heart and every soul, every
conscious unit; and arcana, His appearance in the plane of our
physical perception as the Deity. In His form as the Deity, I can touch
Him, I can see Him, and I can serve Him. In a concrete form He has
come to help our understanding.