Chapter 8: Let There Be Calamities



This material world is certified by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā as a dangerous place full of calamities. Less intelligent persons prepare plans to adjust to those calamities, without knowing that the nature of this place is to be full of calamities. They have no information of the abode of the Lord, which is full of bliss and without trace of calamity. The duty of the sane person, therefore, is to be undisturbed by worldly calamities, which are sure to happen in all circumstances. Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization, because that is the mission of human life. The spirit soul is transcendental to all material calamities; therefore, the so-called calamities are called false. A man may see a tiger swallowing him in a dream, and he may cry for this calamity. Actually there is no tiger and there is no suffering; it is simply a case of dreams. In the same way, all calamities of life are said to be dreams. If someone is lucky enough to get in contact with the Lord by devotional service, it is all gain. Contact with the Lord by any one of the nine devotional services is always a forward step on the path going back to Godhead.
In this very interesting verse, it is described that vipadaḥ — calamities or dangers — are very good if such dangers and calamities remind us of Kṛṣṇa.
tat te 'nukampāḿ susamīkṣamāṇo
(Bhāg. 10.14.8)
How does a devotee receive dangers? There must be dangers because this material world is full of dangers. But foolish people who do not know this try to avoid the dangers. Thus they struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is our material business. Everyone is trying for ātyantikaḿ sukham, ultimate happiness. A working man thinks, "Let me work very hard now and put money in the bank, so that when I get old I shall enjoy life without working." This is the inner intention of everyone. No one wants to work; as soon as one gets some money, he wants to retire from work and become happy. But that is not possible. One cannot become happy in that way.
Here Kuntīdevī speaks of apunar bhava-darśanam. The prefix a means "not," and punar bhava means "repetition of birth and death." The real danger is the repetition of birth and death. That must be stopped.
The material world is full of dangers (padaḿ padaḿ yad vipadām). For example, if one is on the ocean one may have a very strong ship, but that ship can never be safe; because one is at sea, at any time there may be dangers. The Titanic was safe, but on its first voyage it sank, and many important men lost their lives. So danger there must be, because we are in a dangerous position. This material world itself is dangerous. Therefore, our business now should be to cross over this sea of danger as soon as possible. As long as we are at sea, we are in a dangerous position, however strong our ship may be. That's a fact. But we should not be disturbed by the sea waves; instead, we should just try to cross over the sea and get to the other side. That should be our business.
As long as we are in this material world, there must be calamities because this is the place of calamity. But even with calamities our business should be to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so that after giving up this body we may go back home, back to Kṛṣṇa.
On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Arjuna said to Kṛṣṇa, "Whatever You are saying is all right. I am not this body. I am a soul, and this is also true of everyone else. So when the body is annihilated, the soul will continue to exist. But when I see that my son is dying or my grandfather is dying and that I am killing, how can I be solaced simply by knowing that they are not dying, but that only their bodies are changing? I am accustomed to thinking of them with affection in terms of the body, and so there must be grief and suffering."
Kṛṣṇa did not deny what Arjuna said. "Yes," He replied. "That's a fact. Because you are in the bodily concept of life, there must be suffering. So you must tolerate it, that's all. There is no other remedy." As mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), Lord Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna:
mātrā-sparśas tu kaunteya
"O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of heat and cold, happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."
In America it may sometimes be very chilly in the morning, and that may make taking one's morning bath a little difficult. But does that mean that those who are devotees will stop taking their prescribed morning bath? No. Even if it is chilly, they must take this regular bath. The duty must be done, even if there is a little suffering involved. That is called tapasya, or austerity. Tapasya means that we must proceed with our business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness despite all the dangers and calamities of this world. This is called tapasya, or voluntary acceptance of the difficulties of life.
Sometimes those who have undertaken strict vows of tapasya will ignite a ring of fire all around themselves, and in the scorching heat of the sun in the hot summer they will sit down in the midst of that fire and meditate. Similarly, in the chilly cold of winter they will immerse themselves in water up to the neck and meditate. Such vows are prescribed in strict systems of tapasya. But Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not give us such a prescription. Instead, He gives us a very nice program: chant, dance, and take prasāda, food offered first to Lord Kṛṣṇa. But still we are unwilling. We are so fallen that we cannot accept even this tapasya. Although this kind of tapasya is very easy to perform and very pleasant (su-sukhaḿ kartum avyayam), still we are not agreeable. We may even prefer to rot in the street. Some people prefer to drink and have sex and live in the street. So what can be done?
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving all facilities so that people may come here, chant, dance, live very peacefully, take kṛṣṇa-prasāda, and be happy, but people will not accept it. That is called misfortune. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, portraying the people of this age, therefore said, "I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa." Lord Caitanya prayed (Śikṣāṣṭaka 2):
nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental holy name of God, has all potencies, Lord Caitanya said. Kṛṣṇa has unlimited potencies, and similarly in the holy name of Kṛṣṇa there are unlimited potencies. Kṛṣṇa has thousands and thousands of names, of which the name Kṛṣṇa is the chief, and there are no hard and fast rules for chanting. It is not that one must chant at a certain time. No. At any time one may chant. Furthermore, Kṛṣṇa's name is identical with Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa.
We should not think that Kṛṣṇa is living in His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, and that His name is different from Him. In the material world, of course, in the material conception, a name is different from the fact it represents. But in the absolute world there are no such differences. The name is as potent as Kṛṣṇa is. We have a tongue, and if we use this tongue to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we shall immediately come directly in touch with Kṛṣṇa, because the name Kṛṣṇa and the person Kṛṣṇa are not different. We may think that Kṛṣṇa is far, far away, but in fact Kṛṣṇa is within us. He is far away, but at the same time He is the nearest. But even if we think that Kṛṣṇa is far, far away, His name is present. We can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa will immediately become available. Kṛṣṇa is available in this easy way, for which there are no hard and fast rules. We can chant at any time and immediately get Kṛṣṇa. Just see the mercy of Kṛṣṇa!
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ: "My dear Lord, You have given me such generous facilities by which to contact You, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attachment for these things. I have attachment for so many other things, but I have no attachment for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is my misfortune." Kṛṣṇa is so magnanimous that He is present before us by the transcendental vibration of His name, which has all the potencies of Kṛṣṇa Himself, and if we remain in contact with that name we shall get all the benefits of Kṛṣṇa's benedictions. But still we are not inclined to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This is our misfortune.
A devotee, however, is never disturbed by dangers, reverses, or calamities. Rather, he welcomes them. Because he is a surrendered soul, he knows that both dangers and festivals are but different demonstrations of Kṛṣṇa, who is absolute. In the śāstra, the Vedic literature, it is said that religion and irreligion, which are complete opposites, are merely the front portion and the back portion of God. But is there any difference between God's front and God's back? God is absolute, and therefore a devotee, either in opulence or in danger, is undisturbed, knowing that both of these are Kṛṣṇa.
When a devotee is in danger, he thinks, "Now Kṛṣṇa has appeared before me as danger." In His form of Nṛsiḿhadeva, the Lord was dangerous to the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, but the same Nṛsiḿhadeva was the supreme friend to the devoted Prahlāda Mahārāja. God is never dangerous to the devotee, and the devotee is never afraid of dangers, because he is confident that the danger is but another feature of God. "Why should I be afraid?" the devotee thinks. "I am surrendered to Him."
Therefore Kuntīdevī says, vipadaḥ santu: "Let there be calamities." Vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat: "Let all those calamities happen again and again." Because she knows how to remember Kṛṣṇa at times of danger, she is welcoming danger. "My dear Lord," she says, "I welcome dangers, because when dangers come I can remember You." When Prahlāda Mahārāja's father was putting him into dangerous predicaments, Prahlāda was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. So if we are put into a dangerous position and that danger gives us an impetus to remember Kṛṣṇa, that is welcome: "Oh, I am getting this opportunity to remember Kṛṣṇa." Why is this welcome? It is welcome because seeing Kṛṣṇa or remembering Kṛṣṇa means advancing in spiritual life so that we will not have to suffer any more of these dangers. Tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna (Bg. 4.9). If one becomes advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the result will be that after giving up the body (tyaktvā deham) one will not have to take birth again in this material world (punar janma naiti). This is to be desired.
Suppose I am very comfortable at the present moment. My body may be comfortable, but there will be death, and then another birth. After giving up my present body, if I get the body of a cat or a dog, what is the meaning of my comfortable position? Death is sure, and after death one must surely accept another body. We may not know what kind of body we shall get, but we can know from the śāstra, the Vedic literature. The śāstra says that according to our particular mentality, we will get a particular kind of body. Although I may be in a comfortable position, if I keep myself in the mentality of a dog, I shall get my next life as a dog. Therefore, what is the value of this comfortable position? I may be in a comfortable position for twenty years, thirty years, fifty years, or at the utmost one hundred years. Yet if, when I give up this body, my mentality causes me to become a cat, a dog, or a mouse, what is the benefit of this comfortable position? But people do not consider this. They think, especially in the present age, "I am now in a comfortable position. I have enough money and a good estate. I have ample comforts and enough food. When this body is finished, I am not going to take birth again, so as long as I am living, let me enjoy life." This is the modern philosophy of hedonism, but it does not correspond to the facts.
Kuntī, however, is aware of birth and death, and she is anxious not to repeat this process. This is indicated by the words apunar bhava-darśanam. If one always sees Kṛṣṇa, one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for Kṛṣṇa consciousness means always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. One's consciousness should be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa thought. Therefore the spiritual master gives different varieties of engagements to devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example, under the direction of the spiritual master the devotees may sell books in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But if the devotees think that the energy invested in selling books should be diverted into selling jewelry, that is not a very good idea. Then they would become nothing more than jewelers. We should be very much careful not to be diverted from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even if there is danger or suffering in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should tolerate it. We should even welcome such danger, and we should pray in appreciation to Kṛṣṇa.
How should we pray? Tat te 'nukampāḿ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ: "My dear Lord, it is Your great mercy that I have been put into this dangerous position." That is the viewpoint of a devotee. He doesn't regard danger as danger. Rather, he thinks, "It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy." What kind of mercy? Bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaḿ vipākam: "Because of my past activities, I was meant to suffer very much. But You are mitigating that suffering and giving me only a little." In other words, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa a devotee may receive only token punishment.
In court an important man is sometimes found to be a culprit, and the judge may be able to fine him a hundred thousand dollars and know that the man can pay it. But he may tell the man, "You just give one cent." That is also punishment, but it is greatly minimized. Similarly, we have to suffer for our past deeds. That is a fact, and we cannot avoid it. But karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Brahma-saḿhitā 5.54): the sufferings of those who engage in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are minimized. For example, one may have been destined to be killed, but instead of being killed with a knife, he may instead get some little cut on his finger. In this way, for those who engage in devotional service, the reactions of past activities are minimized. Lord Kṛṣṇa assures His devotees, ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: "I shall give you protection from the reactions of sinful life." So even if a devotee has a history of very grievous criminal activities behind him, instead of being killed he may only get a little cut on his finger. Why then should a devotee fear danger?
We should simply depend on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because if we live Kṛṣṇa consciously under all circumstances, we shall not return to this material world (apunar bhava-darśanam). If we repeatedly think of Kṛṣṇa, see Kṛṣṇa, read of Kṛṣṇa, work for Kṛṣṇa, and somehow or other remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we benefit in such a way that we shall be saved from taking birth again in the material world. That is true benefit. But if we become a little comfortable because of other, materialistic engagements and we forget Kṛṣṇa and have to take birth again, then what is our benefit? We should be very careful about this. We should act in such a way that our Kṛṣṇa consciousness can under no circumstances be disturbed, even if there is heavy suffering. That is the instruction of Kuntīdevī.
Before winning the Battle of Kurukṣetra, all the Pāṇḍavas were put into many dangers, as already described in the previous verses. They were given poison, they were put into a house of lac that was later set afire, and sometimes they were even confronted with great man-eating demons. They lost their kingdom, they lost their wife, they lost their prestige, and they were exiled to the forest. But throughout all those dangers, Kṛṣṇa was there. When the Kauravas were trying to strip Draupadī naked, Kṛṣṇa was there supplying cloth to protect her honor. Kṛṣṇa was always there.
Therefore, when the Pāṇḍavas went to see their grandfather, Bhīṣmadeva, on his deathbed, Bhīṣmadeva began to cry. "These boys, my grandsons, are all very pious," he said. "Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the oldest of the brothers, is the most pious person. He is even called Dharmarāja, the king of religion. Bhīma and Arjuna are both devotees, and they are such powerful heroes that they can kill thousands of men. Their wife, Draupadī, is directly the goddess of fortune, and it has been enjoined that wherever she is, there will be no scarcity of food. Thus they all form a wonderful combination, and moreover, Lord Kṛṣṇa is always with them. But still they are suffering." Thus he began to cry, saying, "I do not know what is Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, because such pious devotees are also suffering."
Therefore, we should not think, "Because I have become a devotee, there will be no danger or suffering." Prahlāda Mahārāja suffered greatly, and so did other devotees like the Pāṇḍavas and Haridāsa Ṭhākura. But we should not be disturbed by such sufferings. We must have firm faith, firm conviction, knowing, "Kṛṣṇa is present, and He will give me protection." Don't try to take the benefit of any shelter other than Kṛṣṇa. Always take to Kṛṣṇa.
In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: "My dear Arjuna, you may declare to the world that My devotee is never vanquished." Now, one may ask, why did Kṛṣṇa advise Arjuna to declare this? Why did He not declare it Himself? The answer is that if Kṛṣṇa Himself made this declaration, it might be suspect, because Kṛṣṇa sometimes violates His own promise. But the promise of a devotee will never be violated. This is Kṛṣṇa's concern. "Oh, My devotee has declared this. I must see that his word is kept." This is Kṛṣṇa's position because of His affection for His devotee. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa said, "You declare it. If I declare it, people may not believe it, but if you declare it they will believe you because you are a devotee." Even though Kṛṣṇa may break His own promise, He wants to see that the promises of His devotees are fulfilled.
Therefore, we must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and adhere to this consciousness under all circumstances, even in the most dangerous position. We must keep our faith in Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, and then there will be no danger.



Chapter 9: Decreasing the Fever of Illusion


Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education, and attractive personal beauty. All materialistic men are mad after possessing all these material opulences, and this is known as the advancement of material civilization. But the result is that by possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly, "O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa." It is said in the śāstras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord's holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality. Therefore, the four principles of material advancement, namely (1) high parentage, (2) good wealth, (3) high education, and (4) attractive beauty, are, so to speak, disqualifications for progress on the path of spiritual advancement. The material covering of the pure spirit soul is an external feature, as much as fever is an external feature of the unhealthy body. The general process is to decrease the degree of the fever and not to aggravate it by maltreatment. Sometimes it is seen that spiritually advanced persons become materially impoverished. This is no discouragement. On the other hand, such impoverishment is a good sign as much as the falling of temperature is a good sign. The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. Grossly illusioned persons are quite unfit for entrance into the kingdom of God.
In one sense, of course, material opulences are God's grace. To take birth in a very aristocratic family or nation like America, to be very rich, to be advanced in knowledge and education, and to be endowed with beauty are gifts of pious activities. A rich man attracts the attention of others, whereas a poor man does not. An educated man attracts attention, but a fool attracts no attention at all. Materially, therefore, such opulences are very beneficial. But when a person is materially opulent in this way, he becomes intoxicated: "Oh, I am a rich man. I am an educated man. I have money."
One who drinks wine will become intoxicated and may think that he is flying in the sky or that he has gone to heaven. These are effects of intoxication. But an intoxicated person does not know that all these dreams are within the limits of time and will therefore come to an end. Because he is unaware that these dreams will not continue, he is said to be in illusion. Similarly, one is intoxicated by thinking, "I am very rich, I am very educated and beautiful, and I have taken birth in an aristocratic family in a great nation." That's all right, but how long will these advantages exist? Suppose one is an American and is also rich, beautiful, and advanced in knowledge. One may be proud of all this, but how long will this intoxication exist? As soon as the body is finished, it will all be finished, just like the intoxicated dreams of a person who has been drinking.
These dreams are on the mental platform, the egoistic platform, and the bodily platform. But I am not the body. The gross body and subtle body are different from my actual self. The gross body is made of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, and the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence, and false ego. But the living being is transcendental to these eight elements, which are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as the inferior energy of God.
Even if one is mentally very advanced, he does not know that he is under the influence of the inferior energy, just as an intoxicated person does not know what condition he is in. Opulence, therefore, places one in a position of intoxication. We are already intoxicated, and modern civilization aims at increasing our intoxication. In truth we should become free from this intoxication, but modern civilization aims at increasing it so that we may become more and more intoxicated and go to hell.
Kuntīdevī says that those who are intoxicated in this way cannot feelingly address the Lord. They cannot feelingly say, jaya rādhā-mādhava: "All glories to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa!" They have lost their spiritual feeling. They cannot feelingly address the Lord, because they do not have knowledge. "Oh, God is for the poor man," they think. "The poor do not have sufficient food. Let them go to the church and pray, 'O God, give us our daily bread.' But I have enough bread. Why should I go to church?" This is their opinion.
Nowadays, therefore, because we are in a time of economic prosperity, no one is interested in going to the churches or temples. "What is this nonsense?" people think. "Why should I go to the church to ask for bread? We shall develop our economic condition, and then there will be a sufficient supply of bread." In Communist countries this mentality is especially prevalent. The Communists make propaganda in the villages by asking people to go to church and pray for bread. So the innocent people pray as usual, "O God, give us our daily bread." When the people come out of the church, the Communists ask, "Have you gotten bread?"
"No, sir," they reply.
"All right," the Communists say. "Ask us."
Then the people say, "O Communist friends, give us bread."
The Communist friends, of course, have brought a whole truckload of bread, and they say, "Take as much as you like. Now, who is better — the Communists or your God?"
Because the people are not very intelligent, they reply, "Oh, you are better." They don't have the intelligence to inquire, "You rascals, wherefrom have you brought this bread? Have you manufactured it in your factory? Can your factory manufacture grains?" Because they are śūdras (people who have very little intelligence), they don't ask these questions. A brāhmaṇa, however, one who is advanced in intelligence, will immediately inquire, "You rascals, wherefrom have you brought this bread? You cannot manufacture bread. You have simply taken the wheat given by God and transformed it, but this does not mean that it has become your property."
Simply transforming one thing into something else does not make the final product one's own property. For example, if I give a carpenter some wood, some tools, and a salary and he makes a very beautiful closet, to whom will the closet belong — to the carpenter or to me, the person who has supplied the ingredients? The carpenter cannot say, "Because I have transformed this wood into such a nice closet, it is mine." Similarly, we should say to atheistic men like the Communists, "Who is supplying the ingredients for your bread, you rascal? It is all coming from Kṛṣṇa. In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says, 'The elements of this material creation are all My property.' You have not created the sea, the land, the sky, the fire, or the air. These are not your creations. You may mix and transform these material things. You may take earth from the land and water from the sea, mix them and put them in a fire to make bricks, and then you may pile up all these bricks to make a skyscraper and claim that the skyscraper is yours. But where did you get the ingredients for the skyscraper, you rascal? You have stolen the property of God, and now you are claiming that it is your property. This is knowledge.
Unfortunately, those who are intoxicated cannot understand this. They think, "We have taken this land of America from the Red Indians, and now it is our property." They do not know that they are thieves. The Bhagavad-gītā clearly says that one who takes the property of God and claims it as his own is a thief (stena eva saḥ).
The devotees of Kṛṣṇa, therefore, have their own form of communism. According to Kṛṣṇa conscious communism, everything belongs to God. Just as the Russian and Chinese Communists think that everything belongs to the state, we think that everything belongs to God. This is merely an extension of the same philosophy, and to understand it one simply needs a little intelligence. Why should one think that his state belongs to only a small number of people? In fact this is all the property of God, and every living entity has a right to use this property because every living being is a child of God, who is the supreme father. In Bhagavad-gītā (14.4), Lord Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya... ahaḿ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: "I am the seed-giving father of all living entities. In whatever forms they may live, all living entities are My sons."
We living entities are all sons of God, but we have forgotten this, and therefore we are fighting. In a happy family, all the sons know, "Father is supplying food to us all. We are brothers, so why should we fight?" Similarly, if we become God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, the fighting in the world will come to an end. "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Russian," "I am Chinese" — all these nonsensical designations will be finished. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so purifying that as soon as people become Kṛṣṇa conscious their political and national fighting will immediately be over, because they will come to their real consciousness and understand that everything belongs to God. The children in a family all have the right to accept privileges from the father. Similarly, if everyone is part and parcel of God, if everyone is a child of God, then everyone has the right to use the property of the father. That right does not belong only to the human beings; rather, according to Bhagavad-gītā, that right belongs to all living entities, regardless of whether they are in the bodies of human beings, animals, trees, birds, beasts, insects, or whatever. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we do not think, "My brother is good, and I am good, but all others are bad." This is the kind of narrow, crippled consciousness we reject. Rather, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we look equally toward all living entities. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18):
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater [outcaste]."
One who is paṇḍita, one who is learned, sees all living entities to be on an equal level. Therefore, because a Vaiṣṇava, or devotee, is learned, he is compassionate (lokānāḿ hita-kāriṇau), and he can work in such a way as to actually benefit humanity. A Vaiṣṇava feels and actually sees that all living entities are part and parcel of God and that somehow or other they have fallen into contact with this material world and have assumed different types of bodies according to different karma.
Those who are learned (paṇḍitāḥ) do not discriminate. They do not say, "This is an animal, so it should be sent to the slaughterhouse so that a man may eat it." No. Why should the animals be slaughtered? A person who is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious is kind to everyone. Therefore one tenet of our philosophy is "No meat-eating." Of course, people may not accept this. They will say, "Oh, what is this nonsense? Meat is our food. Why should we not eat it?" Because they are intoxicated rascals (edhamāna-madaḥ), they will not hear the real facts. But just consider: if a poor man is lying helpless in the street, can I kill him? Will the state excuse me? I may say, "I have only killed a poor man. There was no need for him in society. Why should such a person live?" But will the state excuse me? Will the authorities say, "You have done very nice work"? No. The poor man is also a citizen of the state, and the state cannot allow him to be killed. Now, why not expand this philosophy? The trees, the birds, and the beasts are also sons of God. If one kills them, one is as guilty as one who kills a poor man on the street. In God's eyes, or even in the vision of a learned man, there is no discrimination between poor and rich, black and white. No. Every living entity is part and parcel of God. And because a Vaiṣṇava sees this, he is the only true benefactor of all living entities.
A Vaiṣṇava tries to elevate all living beings to a platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A Vaiṣṇava does not see, "Here is an Indian, and there is an American." Someone once asked me, "Why have you come to America?" But why should I not come? I am a servant of God, and this is the kingdom of God, so why should I not come? To hinder the movements of a devotee is artificial, and one who does so commits a sinful act. Just as a policeman may enter a house without trespassing, a servant has the right to go anywhere, because everything belongs to God. We have to see things in this way, as they are. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Now, Kuntīdevī says that those who are increasing their own intoxication cannot become Kṛṣṇa conscious. A fully intoxicated person may talk nonsense, and he may be told, "My dear brother, you are talking nonsense. Just see. Here is your father, and here is your mother." But because he is intoxicated, he will not understand, nor will he even care to understand. Similarly, if a devotee tries to show a materially intoxicated rascal, "Here is God," the rascal will not be able to understand it. Therefore Kuntīdevī says, tvām akiñcana-gocaram, indicating that to be free from the intoxication caused by high birth, opulence, education, and beauty is a good qualification.
Nonetheless, when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, these same material assets can be used for the service of Kṛṣṇa. For example, the Americans who have joined the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement were materially intoxicated before they became devotees, but now that their intoxication is over, their material assets have become spiritual assets that may be helpful in furthering the service of Kṛṣṇa. For example, when these American devotees go to India, the Indian people are surprised to see that Americans have become so mad after God. Many Indians strive to imitate the materialistic life of the West, but when they see Americans dancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then they realize that this is what is actually worthy of being followed.
Everything can be used in the service of Kṛṣṇa. If one remains intoxicated and does not use one's material assets for the service of Kṛṣṇa, they are not very valuable. But if one can use them for the service of Kṛṣṇa, they become extremely valuable. To give an example, zero has no value, but as soon as the digit one is placed before the zero, the zero immediately becomes ten. If there are two zeros, they become one hundred, and three zeros become one thousand. Similarly, we are intoxicated by material assets that are actually no better than zero, but as soon as we add Kṛṣṇa, these tens and hundreds and thousands and millions of zeros become extremely valuable.



Chapter 10: The Property of the Impoverished


A living being is finished as soon as there is nothing to possess. Therefore a living being cannot be, in the real sense of the term, a renouncer. A living being renounces something for gaining something more valuable. A student sacrifices his childish proclivities to gain better education. A servant gives up his job for a better job. Similarly, a devotee renounces the material world not for nothing but for something tangible in spiritual value. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and others gave up their worldly pomp and prosperity for the sake of the service of the Lord. They were big men in the worldly sense. The Gosvāmīs were ministers in the government service of Bengal, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was the son of a big Zamindar of his time. But they left everything to gain something superior to what they previously possessed. The devotees are generally without material prosperity, but they have a very secret treasure-house in the lotus feet of the Lord. There is a nice story about Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī. He had a touchstone with him, and this stone was left in a pile of refuse. A needy man took it, but later on wondered why the valuable stone was kept in such a neglected place. He therefore asked Sanātana Gosvāmī for the most valuable thing, and then he was given the holy name of the Lord. Akiñcana means "one who has nothing to give materially." A factual devotee, or mahātmā, does not give anything material to anyone, because he has already left all material assets. He can, however, deliver the supreme asset, namely the Personality of Godhead, because He is the only property of a factual devotee. The touchstone of Sanātana Gosvāmī, which was thrown in the rubbish, was not the property of the Gosvāmī, otherwise it would not have been kept in such a place. This specific example is given for the neophyte devotees just to convince them that material hankerings and spiritual advancement go ill together. Unless one is able to see everything as spiritual in relation with the Supreme Lord, one must always distinguish between spirit and matter. A spiritual master like Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, although personally able to see everything as spiritual, set this example for us only because we have no such spiritual vision.
Advancement of material vision or material civilization is a great stumbling block for spiritual advancement. Such material advancement entangles the living being in the bondage of a material body followed by all sorts of material miseries. Such material advancement is called anartha, or things not wanted. Actually this is so. In the present context of material advancement one uses lipstick at a cost of fifty cents, and there are so many unwanted things which are all products of the material conception of life. By diverting attention to so many unwanted things, human energy is spoiled without achievement of spiritual realization, the prime necessity of human life. The attempt to reach the moon is another example of spoiling energy because even if the moon is reached, the problems of life will not be solved. The devotees of the Lord are called akiñcanas because they have practically no material assets. Such material assets are all products of the three modes of material nature. They foil spiritual energy, and thus the less we possess such products of material nature, the more we have a good chance for spiritual progress.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no direct connection with material activities. All His acts and deeds, which are exhibited even in this material world, are spiritual and without affection for the modes of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that all His acts, even His appearance and disappearance in and out of the material world, are transcendental, and one who knows this perfectly shall not take his birth again in this material world, but will go back to Godhead.
The material disease is due to hankering after and lording it over material nature. This hankering is due to an interaction of the three modes of nature, and neither the Lord nor the devotees have attachment for such false enjoyment. Therefore, the Lord and the devotees are called nivṛtta-guṇa-vṛtti. The perfect nivṛtta-guṇa-vṛtti is the Supreme Lord because He never becomes attracted by the modes of material nature, whereas the living beings have such a tendency. Some of them are entrapped by the illusory attraction of material nature.
Because the Lord is the property of the devotees, and the devotees are the property of the Lord reciprocally, the devotees are certainly transcendental to the modes of material nature. That is a natural conclusion. Such unalloyed devotees are distinct from the mixed devotees who approach the Lord for mitigation of miseries and poverty or because of inquisitiveness and speculation. The unalloyed devotees and the Lord are transcendentally attached to one another. For others, the Lord has nothing to reciprocate, and therefore He is called ātmārāma, self-satisfied. Self-satisfied as He is, He is the master of all monists who seek to merge into the existence of the Lord. Such monists merge within the personal effulgence of the Lord called the brahmajyoti, but the devotees enter into the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, which are never to be misunderstood as material.
To be materially impoverished is the first qualification of a devotee. One who does not possess anything in this material world but simply possesses Kṛṣṇa is called akiñcana. The word akiñcana means "one who has lost all material possessions." As long as we have even the slightest tinge of an idea of becoming happy materially in some way or other, we shall have to accept a material body. Nature is so kind that according to the way we want to enjoy this material world, she will give us a suitable body, under the direction of the Lord. Because the Lord is situated in everyone's heart, He knows everything. Therefore, knowing that we still want something material, He will give us another material body: "Yes, take it." Kṛṣṇa wants us to have full experience through which to understand that by material gain we shall never be happy. This is Kṛṣṇa's desire.
Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, who has full freedom, we too have full freedom, although the quantity of that freedom is quite minute. Although the quantity of salt in a drop of seawater is not comparable to the quantity of salt in the ocean, the chemical composition of both the drop and the ocean is the same. Similarly, whatever we have in a minute quantity is present in its fullness in Kṛṣṇa (janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]). For example, we have a propensity to steal, to take things that belong to others. Why? Because Kṛṣṇa has the same propensity. Unless the propensity to steal is present in the Absolute Truth, how can it be present in us? Kṛṣṇa is known as "the butter thief." But Kṛṣṇa's stealing and our stealing are different. Because we are materially contaminated, our stealing is abominable, whereas on the spiritual, absolute platform the same stealing is so nice that it is enjoyable. Mother Yaśodā therefore enjoys Kṛṣṇa's activities of stealing. This is the difference between material and spiritual.
Any activities that are spiritual are all-good, and any activities that are material are all-bad. This is the difference between spiritual and material. The so-called morality and goodness of this material world is all bad, but in the spiritual world even so-called immorality is good. This we must understand. For example, to dance with the wives of others at the dead of night is immoral, at least according to the Vedic civilization. Even today in India, a young woman will never be allowed to go to a young man at the dead of night to dance with him. But we shall find in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that as soon as all the gopīs, the young cowherd girls of Vṛndāvana, heard Kṛṣṇa's flute, they immediately came to dance with Him. Now, according to material conceptions this is immoral, but from the spiritual point of view this is in accord with the greatest morality. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore said, ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā: "Oh, there is no better mode of worship than that which was conceived by the vraja-vadhūs, the damsels of Vṛndāvana." After Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the renounced order of life, He very strictly avoided association with women. Even in His family life, He never played any jokes with women. He was very humorous, but only with men, not with women. Once He spoke some joking words with His wife, Viṣṇupriyā. When Śacīmātā, Lord Caitanya's mother, was searching for something, He jokingly said, "Maybe your daughter-in-law has taken it." But in His whole life these are the only joking words we find in relation to women. He was very strict. After He accepted sannyāsa, the renounced order, no woman could even come near Him to offer obeisances; rather, they would offer obeisances from a distant place. Nonetheless, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā: "There is no conception of worship better than that which was conceived by the damsels of Vṛndāvana." What was their conception? They wanted to love Kṛṣṇa, at any risk. And this is never immoral.
That which is in relationship to Kṛṣṇa can never be immoral. To give another example, Lord Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Nṛsiḿhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the father of Prahlāda Mahārāja, while Prahlāda Mahārāja stood nearby without protesting. Now, is this moral? Who would like to see his own father being killed? Who would just stand there and not protest? No one would approve of such behavior and say that it is moral. Nonetheless, this actually happened. Not only that, but Prahlāda Mahārāja even made a garland to place upon the neck of the killer. "My dear Lord Killer," he said, "please take this garland. You have killed my father, and You are very good." This must be understood spiritually. If one's father is being attacked and one cannot protect him, one must protest and cry for help. But because Prahlāda Mahārāja's father was killed by Kṛṣṇa in the form of Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, Prahlāda Mahārāja prepared a garland for the killer. After his father was killed, Prahlāda said to Nṛsiḿhadeva, "My dear Lord, now that my father has been killed, everyone is happy. Now please withdraw Your angry mood."
A sādhu, a saintly person, never approves of killing, not even the killing of an animal, but Prahlāda Mahārāja said, modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā: "Even a saintly person is pleased when a scorpion or a snake is killed." A scorpion or a snake is also a living entity, and a sādhu is never satisfied when he sees another living entity killed, but Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "Even a sādhu is pleased when a snake or a scorpion is killed. My father was just like a snake or a scorpion, and therefore now that he has been killed, everyone is happy." Hiraṇyakaśipu was a very dangerous demon who gave trouble to devotees, and when such a demon is killed even saintly persons are satisfied, although ordinarily they never want anyone killed. Therefore, although it may appear that Lord Kṛṣṇa or Prahlāda Mahārāja acted immorally, in fact they acted in accord with the highest morality.
Kṛṣṇa is akiñcana-vitta, the only solace for one who has lost everything material. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "If someone wants Me but at the same time wants material prosperity, he is a fool." Kṛṣṇa is so kind that if one wants material prosperity but at the same time wants to become a devotee, Kṛṣṇa makes him a failure in material life. Therefore people are very much afraid of coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Oh," they think, "my material prosperity will be finished."
Generally, people go to a church or temple to pray to God for material prosperity: "O God, give us our daily bread." But although they are approaching God for material prosperity — "Give me this, give me that" — they are also considered pious because they approach God, unlike the atheists, who never approach Him. "Why shall I approach God?" the atheist says. "I shall create my own wealth, and by advancement of science I shall be happy." One who thinks "For my own prosperity I shall depend on my own strength and my own knowledge" is a duṣkṛtī, a most sinful person, but one who thinks "My prosperity depends on the mercy of God" is pious.
It is a fact that without the sanction of God, nothing can be achieved. Tāvat tanur idaḿ tanūpekṣitānām. We have discovered many methods by which to counteract distress, but when freedom from such distress is not sanctioned by God, these methods will fail. For example, a sick man may have very good medicine and a qualified physician, but if we ask the physician, "Can you guarantee the life of this patient?" the doctor will always say, "No, I cannot do so. I try my best. That's all." An intelligent doctor knows, "The ultimate sanction is in the hand of God. I am simply an instrument. If God does not want the patient to live, then all my medicines and all my scientific medical knowledge will fail."
The ultimate sanction, therefore, is Kṛṣṇa. Those who are foolish do not know this, and therefore they are called mūḍha, rascals. They do not know that although whatever they are doing may be very good, if it is not ultimately sanctioned by God, by Kṛṣṇa, it will all be a failure. On the other hand, a devotee knows, "With whatever intelligence I have I may try to become happy, but without Kṛṣṇa's sanction I shall never be happy." This is the distinction between a devotee and a nondevotee.
As mentioned before, Kṛṣṇa says, "One who tries to approach Me to become Kṛṣṇa conscious but at the same time wants to become materially happy is not very intelligent. He is wasting his time." Our main business is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the main business of human life. If we waste our time striving for material improvement and forget to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, that will be a great loss. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, āmi — vijña, ei mūrkhe 'viṣaya' kena diba (Cc. Madhya 22.39): "A rascal may ask some material prosperity from Me in exchange for discharging devotional service. But why shall I give him material prosperity? Rather, whatever he has I shall take away."
When our material assets are taken away, we become very morose. But that is the test. That was stated by Kṛṣṇa Himself to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "We are completely dependent on You, but still we are suffering materially so much. Our kingdom has been taken away, our wife has been insulted, and our enemies attempted to burn us in our house. How can this be so?" Kṛṣṇa replied, yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaḿ śanaiḥ: "Yes, that is My first business. If I especially favor someone, then I take away all his sources of income and place him into great difficulty." In this way, Kṛṣṇa is very dangerous.
I have actual experience in this connection. I do not wish to narrate this whole story, but it is a fact that I received Kṛṣṇa's special favor in this way. When I was twenty-five years old, my Guru Mahārāja, my spiritual master, ordered me to go preach. But I thought, "First of all I shall become a rich man, and then I shall use my money to finance the preaching work." I had good opportunities to become a very rich businessman. An astrologer even told me that I should have become as rich as the wealthiest man in India. There were very good chances. I was the manager of a big chemical factory. I started my own factory, and the business was very successful. But eventually everything collapsed, and in this way I was forced into the position of carrying out the orders of my Guru Mahārāja. When all my material assets were taken away, then I approached Kṛṣṇa, saying, "You are the only shelter." Therefore Kṛṣṇa is akiñcana-vitta, the property of the materially impoverished. When one is bereft of all material opulences, then one turns to Kṛṣṇa. And now I am realizing that I have not lost but gained.
So to lose material opulences for Kṛṣṇa's sake is not a loss. Rather, it is the greatest gain. When one becomes akiñcana, having nothing to possess, Kṛṣṇa becomes one's only riches. Expressing this understanding, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says:
hā hā prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta
"Kṛṣṇa, but for You I have nothing to claim. I have no possessions. You are my only possession, so please don't neglect me."
This position is very nice. When one does not depend on anything material but simply depends on Kṛṣṇa, one has attained the first-class position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is addressed as akiñcana-vitta. "When one becomes materially impoverished, You are the only wealth." Namo 'kiñcana-vittāya nivṛtta-guṇa-vṛttaye. "When one takes You as one's only possession, one immediately becomes free from the activities of the material nature." In other words, by accepting Kṛṣṇa in this way, one attains the transcendental position of the Absolute. Ātmārāmāya: "At that time, one becomes happy with You. Kṛṣṇa, You are happy with Yourself, and one who surrenders to You becomes happy, as You are." There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa's body and Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is entirely self, entirely spirit. We, on the other hand, have a body that is different from ourselves. I am self, but I possess a material body. But when we actually become dependent on Kṛṣṇa, who is completely self-satisfied, we can also be self-satisfied with Kṛṣṇa.
Kaivalya-pataye namaḥ. The Māyāvādī philosophers, the monists, want to become one with the Supreme. The Supreme is self-satisfied, and they also want to be self-satisfied by becoming one with the Supreme. Our philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the same, but instead of becoming one with Kṛṣṇa, we depend on Kṛṣṇa. That is actual oneness. If we simply agree to abide by the orders of Kṛṣṇa and have no disagreement with Him, we are situated in actual oneness.
The Māyāvādī philosophers think, "Why shall I keep my individual, separate existence? I shall merge into the Supreme." But that is not possible. From the very beginning, we are separated parts of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā, "My dear Arjuna, you should know that you, I, and all the persons assembled on this battlefield were individuals in the past, we are individuals at present, and in the future we shall continue to remain individuals."
Nityo nityānāḿ cetanaś cetanānām. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme nitya, the supreme living force, among the innumerable living forces. We living entities (jīva) are innumerable (ananta); there is no counting how many we are. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is also a living entity, but He is the chief, the supreme living entity. That is the difference. One leader may have many followers. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, the supreme living entity, is the supreme leader, and we are subordinate, dependent living entities.
That we are dependent is not very difficult to understand. If Kṛṣṇa does not supply us food, we shall starve, because independently we cannot produce anything. Eko bahūnāḿ yo vidadhāti kāmān: Kṛṣṇa is maintaining everything, and we are being maintained. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the real predominator, and we should be willing to be predominated. That is our natural constitutional position. If we falsely want to become predominators in this material world, we are in illusion. We must give up this illusion and always try to be predominated by Kṛṣṇa. Then our life will be successful.


Chapter 11: The Touch of Superior Energy


Kuntīdevī knew that Kṛṣṇa was neither her nephew nor an ordinary family member of her paternal house. She knew perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa is the primeval Lord who lives in everyone's heart as the Supersoul, Paramātmā. Another name of the Paramātmā feature of the Lord is kāla, or eternal time. Eternal time is the witness of all our actions, good and bad, and thus resultant reactions are destined by Him. It is no use saying that we do not know why we are suffering. We may forget the misdeed for which we may suffer at this present moment, but we must remember that Paramātmā is our constant companion and therefore He knows everything — past, present, and future. And because the Paramātmā feature of Lord Kṛṣṇa destines all actions and reactions, He is the supreme controller also. Without His sanction not a blade of grass can move. The living beings are given as much freedom as they deserve, and misuse of that freedom is the cause of suffering. The devotees of the Lord do not misuse their freedom, and therefore they are the good sons of the Lord. Others, who misuse freedom, are put into miseries destined by the eternal kāla. The kāla offers the conditioned souls both happiness and miseries. It is all predestined by eternal time. As we have miseries uncalled for, so we may have happiness also without being asked, for they are all predestined by kāla. No one is therefore either an enemy or friend of the Lord. Everyone is suffering and enjoying the result of his own destiny. This destiny is made by the living beings in course of social intercourse. Everyone here wants to lord it over the material nature, and thus everyone creates his own destiny under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. He is all-pervading and therefore He can see everyone's activities. And because the Lord has no beginning or end, He is known also as the eternal time, kāla.
What is explained herein by the devoted Kuntī is exactly confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29). There the Lord says:
samo 'haḿ sarva-bhūteṣu
"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But one who renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him." God cannot be partial. Everyone is God's son, so how can God favor one son above another? That is not possible. But human beings discriminate. We write, "In God we trust," but one who trusts in God must be equally kind and merciful toward all living entities. That is God consciousness.
Kṛṣṇa says, "I have no enemies, nor have I friends." Na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ. The word dveṣya means "enemy." We are envious of our enemies and friendly toward our friends, but because Kṛṣṇa is absolute, even when He appears to be inimical toward some demon He is actually a friend. When Kṛṣṇa kills a demon, the demon's demoniac activities are killed, and he immediately becomes a saint and merges into the supreme impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti.
The brahmajyoti is one of three features of the Absolute Truth.
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
(Bhāg. 1.2.11)
The Absolute Truth is one, but is perceived in three features, known as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. The original, complete feature of the Absolute Truth is Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His plenary representation is Paramātmā, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is situated in everyone's heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ hṛd deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]). The third feature of the Absolute Truth is Brahman, the all-pervading impersonal effulgence of the Absolute.
The Absolute Truth is equal to everyone, but one will realize the Absolute according to the way one approaches Him (ye yathā māḿ prapadyante). According to one's capacity for understanding, the Absolute Truth is revealed either as the impersonal Brahman, as the localized Paramātmā, or ultimately as Bhagavān.
To explain this by an example, we may sometimes see hills from our room, although we may not see them distinctly. In Los Angeles there are many hills, but when we see the hills from a distant place they look like something cloudy. However, if we go further toward a hill, we shall find that there is something distinct — a hill. And if we go all the way to the hill itself, we shall find many people working there, many houses, streets, cars, and so many varied things. Similarly, when one wants to know the Absolute Truth by one's tiny brain and thinks, "I shall conduct research to find the Absolute Truth," one will have a vague, impersonal idea. Then if one goes further and becomes a meditator, one will find that God is situated within one's heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaḿ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]. Yogīs — real yogīs — see the form of Viṣṇu within the heart by meditation. The devotees, however, meet the Supreme Person face to face, just as we meet face to face and speak face to face. The Supreme Personality of Godhead orders, "Supply Me this," and the devotee directly serves the Lord by supplying what He wants. Thus there are different realizations of the Absolute Truth, and although He is equal to everyone it is up to us to understand Him according to our advancement. Therefore Kuntī says, samaḿ carantaḿ sarvatra: "In distributing Your mercy, You are equal to everyone."
The word carantam means "moving." The Lord moves everywhere — within and without — and we simply have to make our vision clear so that we may see Him. By devotional service, we can purify our senses so that we may perceive the presence of God. Those who are less intelligent simply try to find God within, but those who are advanced in intelligence can see the Lord both within and without.
The yogic system of meditation is actually meant for those who are less intelligent. One who practices meditation in yoga must control the senses (yoga indriya-saḿyamaḥ). Our senses are very restless, and by practicing the different āsanas, or sitting postures, one must control the mind and senses so that one can concentrate upon the form of Viṣṇu within the heart. This is the yoga system recommended for those who are too much absorbed in the bodily concept of life. However, because bhaktas, devotees, are more advanced, they do not need to undergo a separate process to control their senses; rather, by engaging in devotional service they are already controlling their senses.
For example, if one is engaged in worshiping the Deity, cleansing the temple, decorating the Deity, cooking for the Deity, and so on, one's senses are already engaged in the service of the Absolute Truth, so where is the chance of their being diverted? Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaḿ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti, devotional service, simply means engaging our senses (hṛṣīka) in the service of the master of the senses (hṛṣīkeśa). Now our senses are engaged in sense gratification. I am thinking that because I am this body, I must satisfy my senses. In fact, however, this is a contaminated stage of life. When one comes to the understanding that he is not this body but a spiritual soul, part and parcel of God, he knows that his spiritual senses should be engaged in the service of the supreme spiritual being. Thus one attains liberation (mukti).
One attains liberation when one gives up the false idea that the body is the self and when one resumes his actual position of service to the Lord (muktir hitvānyathā rūpaḿ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, Bhāg. 2.10.6). When we are conditioned, we give up our original constitutional position, which is described by Caitanya Mahāprabhu as being that of eternal service to Kṛṣṇa (jīvera svarūpa haya — kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa' [Cc. Madhya 20.108]). But as soon as we employ ourselves in the service of the Lord, we are liberated immediately. There is no need to pass through some preliminary process. This very act of engaging one's senses in the service of the Lord is evidence that one is liberated.
This liberation is open for everyone (samaḿ carantam). In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa does not say to Arjuna, "Only you may come to Me and become liberated." No, the Lord is available for everyone. When He says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66] — "Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me" — He is speaking not only to Arjuna but to everyone. Arjuna was the original target, but in fact Bhagavad-gītā was spoken for everyone, for all human beings, and therefore one must take advantage of it.
Kṛṣṇa's impartiality is compared to that of the sun. The sun does not consider, "Here is a poor man, here is a low-class man, and here is a hog. I shall not distribute my sunshine to them." No, the sun is equal toward all, and one simply has to take advantage of it. The sunshine is available, but if we close our doors and want to keep ourselves in darkness, that is our decision. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, and Kṛṣṇa is ready to accept us as soon as we surrender. Samaḿ carantam. There is no restriction. People may make a distinction between lower class and higher class, but Kṛṣṇa says, māḿ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (Bg. 9.32): "Even though one may supposedly be of a lower class, that doesn't matter. If he surrenders to Me he is also eligible to come back home, back to Godhead."
That same Kṛṣṇa is described by Kuntīdevī as eternal time. Everything takes place within time, but our time calculations of past, present, and future are relative. A small insect's measurement of past, present, and future is different from our past, present, and future, and similarly the past, present, and future of Brahmā, the chief creative living being within this universe, are different from ours. But Kṛṣṇa has no past, present, or future. Therefore He is eternal. We have a past, present, and future because we change from one body to another. The body we have now is dated. At a certain date I was born of my father and mother, and now this body will stay for some time. It will grow, it will produce some byproducts, then it will become old and dwindle and then vanish, and then I shall have to accept another body. When the past, present, and future of my present body are finished, I shall accept another body, and again my past, present, and future will begin. But Kṛṣṇa has no past, present, or future, because He does not change His body. That is the difference between ourselves and Kṛṣṇa.
The eternal position of Kṛṣṇa is revealed in Bhagavad-gītā. There Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, "In the past, millions of years ago, I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god." Arjuna appeared not to believe this. Of course, Arjuna knew everything, but for our education he said to Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporaries, and since we were born at practically the same time, how can I believe that You spoke this philosophy so long ago to the sun-god?" Then Kṛṣṇa replied, "My dear Arjuna, you were also present then, but you have forgotten, whereas I have not. That is the difference." Past, present, and future pertain to persons who forget, but for one who does not forget, who lives eternally, there is no past, present, or future.
Kuntī therefore addresses Kṛṣṇa as eternal (manye tvāḿ kālam). And because He is eternal, He is the full controller (īśānam). By Kṛṣṇa's extraordinary behavior, Kuntī could understand that Kṛṣṇa is eternal and that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller. He has no beginning and no end (anādi-nidhanam), and therefore He is vibhu, the Supreme, the greatest.
We are aṇu, the smallest, and Kṛṣṇa is vibhu, the greatest. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore Kṛṣṇa is both the smallest and the greatest, whereas we are only the smallest. Vibhu, the greatest, must be all-inclusive. If one has a large bag one can hold many things, whereas in a small bag one cannot. Because Kṛṣṇa is vibhu, the greatest, He includes everything, even past, present, and future time, and He is all-pervading, present everywhere.
Without Kṛṣṇa, matter cannot develop. Atheistic scientists say that life comes from matter, but that is nonsense. Matter is one energy of Kṛṣṇa, and spirit is another. The spirit is superior energy, and matter is inferior energy. The matter develops when the superior energy is present. For example, two or three hundred years ago the land of America was not developed, but because some superior living entities from Europe came here, America is now very much developed. Therefore the cause of development is the superior energy. In Africa, Australia, and many other places there is still vacant land that is undeveloped. Why is it undeveloped? Because the superior energy of advanced living entities has not touched it. As soon as the superior energy touches it, the same land will develop so many factories, houses, cities, roads, cars, and so on.
The point of this example is that matter cannot develop by itself. That is not possible. Superior energy must touch it, and then it will be active. To give another example, a machine is matter — it is inferior energy — and therefore unless an operator comes to touch the machine, it will not act. One may have a very costly car, but unless a driver comes, in millions of years it will never go anywhere.
Thus it is common sense to understand that matter cannot work independently; it cannot work unless the superior energy, the living entity, touches it. So how can we conclude that life develops from matter? Rascal scientists may say this, but they do not have sufficient knowledge.
All the universes have developed because of Kṛṣṇa's presence, as mentioned in the Brahma-saḿhitā (aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham). The scientists are now studying atoms, and they are finding that electrons, protons, and other particles act in so many ways. Why are these particles active? Because Kṛṣṇa is present there. This is real scientific understanding.
One should scientifically understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has no past, present, and future. He is eternal time, with no beginning and no end, and He is equal to everyone. We simply have to prepare ourselves to see Kṛṣṇa and understand Kṛṣṇa.



Chapter 12: Bewildering Pastimes


The Lord's mercy upon the fallen souls is equally distributed. He has no one as the specific object of hostility. The very conception of the Personality of Godhead as a human being is misleading. His pastimes appear to be exactly like a human being's, but actually they are transcendental and without any tinge of material contamination. He is undoubtedly known as partial to His pure devotees, but in fact He is never partial, as much as the sun is never partial to anyone. By utilizing the sunrays, sometimes even the stones become valuable, whereas a blind man cannot see the sun, although there are enough sunrays before him. Darkness and light are two opposite conceptions, but this does not mean that the sun is partial in distributing its rays. The sunrays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ. Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in exchange for values. The pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him. Suffering and needy men, inquisitive persons, or philosophers make temporary connections with the Lord to serve a particular purpose. When the purpose is served, there is no more relation with the Lord. A suffering man, if he is pious at all, prays to the Lord for his recovery. But as soon as the recovery is over, in most cases the suffering man no longer cares to keep any connection with the Lord. The mercy of the Lord is open for him, but he is reluctant to receive it. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a mixed devotee. Those who are completely against the service of the Lord are considered to be in abject darkness, those who ask for the Lord's favor only at the time of necessity are partial recipients of the mercy of the Lord, and those who are cent-percent engaged in the service of the Lord are full recipients of the mercy of the Lord. Such partiality in receiving the Lord's mercy is relative to the recipient, and it is not due to the partiality of the all-merciful Lord.
When the Lord descends on this material world by His all-merciful energy, He plays like a human being, and therefore it appears that the Lord is partial to His devotees only, but that is not a fact. Despite such an apparent manifestation of partiality, His mercy is equally distributed. In the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra all persons who died in the fight before the presence of the Lord got salvation without the necessary qualifications, because death before the presence of the Lord purifies the passing soul from the effects of all sins, and therefore the dying man gets a place somewhere in the transcendental abode. Somehow or other if someone puts himself open in the sun rays, he is sure to get the requisite benefit both by heat and by ultraviolet rays. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Lord is never partial. It is wrong for the people in general to think of Him as partial.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8):
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāḿ
"In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium."
When God incarnates, He has two missions — to vanquish the demons and deliver the sādhus, the faithful devotees. The word sādhūnām, which means "saintly persons," refers to devotees. It has nothing to do with worldly honesty or dishonesty, morality or immorality; it has nothing to do with material activities. Sometimes we may think that the word sādhu refers to a person who is materially good or moral, but actually the word sādhu refers to one who is on the transcendental platform. A sādhu, therefore, is a devotee, because one who engages in devotional service is transcendental to material qualities (sa guṇān samatītyaitān [Bg. 14.26]).
Now, the Lord comes to deliver the devotees (paritrāṇāya sādhūnām), but it is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) that a devotee transcends the material qualities (sa guṇān samatītyaitān). A devotee is in a transcendental position because he is no longer under the control of the three material modes of nature — goodness, passion, and ignorance. But if a sādhu is already delivered, being on the transcendental platform, then where is the necessity of delivering him? This question may arise. The Lord comes to deliver the devotee, but the devotee is already delivered. Therefore the word viḍambanam, meaning "bewildering," is used in this verse because this appears contradictory.
The answer to this contradiction is that a sādhu, a devotee, does not require deliverance, but because he is very much anxious to see the Supreme Lord face to face, Kṛṣṇa comes not to deliver him from the clutches of matter, from which he has already been delivered, but to satisfy his inner desire. Just as a devotee wants to satisfy the Lord in all respects, the Lord even more wants to satisfy the devotee. Such are the exchanges of loving affairs. Even in our ordinary dealings, if we love someone we want to satisfy him or her, and he or she also wants to reciprocate. So if the reciprocation of loving affairs exists in this material world, in what an elevated way must it exist in the spiritual world. There is a verse in which the Lord says, "The sādhu is My heart, and I am also the sādhu's heart." The sādhu is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is always thinking of the sādhu, His devotee.
The appearance and disappearance of the Lord within this material world are called cikīrṣitam, pastimes. It is Kṛṣṇa's pastime that He comes. Of course, when the Lord comes He has some work to perform — to protect the sādhu and kill those who are against the sādhu — but both of these activities are His pastimes.
The Lord is not envious. The killing of the demons is also a display of His affection. Sometimes we may punish our children by giving them a very strong slap because of love. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa kills a demon this killing is not on the platform of material jealousy or envy, but on the platform of affection. Therefore it is mentioned in the śāstras, the Vedic literatures, that even the demons killed by the Lord attain immediate salvation. Pūtanā, for example, was a demoniac witch who wanted to kill Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was performing pastimes as a small child, she coated the nipple of her breast with poison and approached Kṛṣṇa's home to offer the milk of her breast. "When Kṛṣṇa sucks my nipple," she thought, "the child will immediately die." But that was not possible. Who can kill Kṛṣṇa? Instead she herself was killed, for Kṛṣṇa sucked the nipple and also sucked out her life altogether. But what was the result? Kṛṣṇa took the bright side. "This demoniac woman came to kill Me," He thought, "but somehow or other I have sucked her breast milk, so she is My mother." Thus Pūtanā attained the position of Kṛṣṇa's mother in the spiritual world. This is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Uddhava says to Vidura that Kṛṣṇa is so kind, God is so kind, that even the witch who wanted to kill Him with poison was accepted as His mother. "Since Kṛṣṇa is such a kind God," he said, "whom else shall I worship but Kṛṣṇa?"
Kuntīdevī says, na yasya kaścid dayitaḥ. The word dayita means "favor." Kṛṣṇa favors no one. Dveṣyaś ca: and no one is His enemy. We expect some benediction or profit from a friend and harmful activities from an enemy, but Kṛṣṇa is so perfect that no one can harm Him nor can anyone give Him anything. So who can be His friend or enemy? Na yasya kaścid dayito 'sti: He doesn't need anyone's favor. He is complete. I may be a very poor man, and therefore I may expect some favor from a friend, but that is because I am imperfect. Because I am not full, because I am deficient in so many ways, I am always needy, and therefore I want to create some friend, and similarly I hate an enemy. But since Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, no one can harm Kṛṣṇa, nor can anyone give Kṛṣṇa anything.
Why then are we worshiping Kṛṣṇa in the temple by offering Kṛṣṇa so many comforts, dressing Him, decorating Him, and giving Him nice food? We should try to understand that Kṛṣṇa does not need our offerings of nice garments, flowers, or food, but if we give such offerings to Kṛṣṇa, we shall benefit. Thus it is Kṛṣṇa's favor that He accepts such offerings. If one decorates oneself, one's reflection in a mirror will also appear decorated. Similarly, since we are reflections of Kṛṣṇa, if we decorate Kṛṣṇa we also shall be decorated. In the Bible it is said that man was made in the image of God, and this means that we are reflections of God's image. It is not that we invent or imagine some form of God according to our own form. Those who adhere to the Māyāvāda philosophy of anthropomorphism say, "The Absolute Truth is impersonal, but because we are persons we imagine that the Absolute Truth is also a person." This is a mistake, and in fact just the opposite is true. We have two hands, two legs, and a head because God Himself has these same features. We have personal forms because we are reflections of God. Furthermore, we should philosophically understand that if the original person benefits, the reflection also benefits. So if we decorate Kṛṣṇa, we also shall be decorated. If we satisfy Kṛṣṇa, we shall become satisfied. If we offer nice food to Kṛṣṇa, we shall also eat the same food. Those who live outside the temples of Kṛṣṇa consciousness may never have imagined such palatable food as the food we are offering to Kṛṣṇa, but because it is being offered to Kṛṣṇa, we also have the opportunity to eat it. So we should try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa in all respects, and then we shall be satisfied in all respects.
Kṛṣṇa does not need our service, but He kindly accepts it. When Kṛṣṇa asks us to surrender unto Him (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66]), this does not mean that Kṛṣṇa is lacking servants and that if we surrender He will profit. Kṛṣṇa can create millions of servants by His mere desire. So that is not the point. But if we surrender to Kṛṣṇa, we shall be saved, for Kṛṣṇa says, ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: "I shall free you from all sinful reactions." We are suffering here in this material world without any shelter. We even see many people loitering in the street, with no aim in life. When we go walking by the beach in the early morning, we see many young people sleeping or loitering there, aimless, confused, and not knowing what to do. But if we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then we shall know, "Oh, now I have found shelter." Then there will be no more confusion, no more hopelessness. I receive so many letters daily from people expressing how they have found hope in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, it is not a fact that Kṛṣṇa descended here merely to collect some servants. Rather, He descended for our benefit.
Unfortunately, however, instead of becoming Kṛṣṇa's servants, we are becoming servants of so many other things. We are servants of our senses and the sensual activities of lust, anger, greed, and illusion. Actually the whole world is serving in this way. But if we engage our senses in the service of Kṛṣṇa, we shall no longer be servants of the senses, but masters of the senses. When we have the strength to refuse to allow our senses to be engaged other than in the service of Kṛṣṇa, then we shall be saved.
Here Kuntīdevī says, "Your appearance in this material world is misleading, bewildering." We think, "Kṛṣṇa has some mission, some purpose, and therefore He has appeared." No, it is for His pastimes that He appears. For example, sometimes a governor goes to inspect a prison. He gets reports from the prison superintendent, so he has no business going there, but still he sometimes goes, thinking, "Let me see how they are doing." This may be called a pastime because he is going by his free will. It is not that he has become subject to the laws of the prison. But still a foolish prisoner may think, "Oh, here the governor is also in prison. So we are equal. I am also governor." Rascals think like that. "Because Kṛṣṇa has descended as an avatāra," they say, "I am also an avatāra." So here it is said, na veda kaścid bhagavaḿś cikīrṣitam: "No one knows the purpose of Your appearance and disappearance." Tavehamānasya nṛṇāḿ viḍambanam: the Lord's pastimes are bewildering. No one can understand their real purpose.
The real purpose of the Lord's pastimes is His free will. He thinks, "Let Me go and see." He doesn't need to come to kill the demons. He has so many agents in the material nature that can kill them. For example, in a moment He can kill thousands of demons merely by a strong wind. Nor does He need to come to give protection to the devotees, for He can do everything simply by His will. But He descends to enjoy pleasure pastimes. "Let Me go and see."
Sometimes Kṛṣṇa even wants to enjoy the pleasure pastimes of fighting. The fighting spirit is also in Kṛṣṇa, otherwise wherefrom have we gotten it? Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, all the qualities of Kṛṣṇa are present in minute quantity within us. We are samples of Kṛṣṇa. Wherefrom do we get the fighting spirit? It is present in Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, just as a king sometimes engages a wrestler to fight with him, Kṛṣṇa also engages living entities to engage in fighting. The wrestler is paid to fight with the king. He is not the king's enemy; rather, he gives pleasure to the king by mock fighting. But when Kṛṣṇa wants to fight, who will fight with Him? Not anyone ordinary. If a king wants to practice mock fighting, he will engage some very qualified wrestler. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa does not fight with anyone ordinary, but rather with some of His great devotees. Because Kṛṣṇa wants to fight, some of His devotees come down to this material world to become His enemies and fight with Him. For example, the Lord descended to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa. Should we think that these were ordinary living entities? No, they were the great devotees Jaya and Vijaya, who came to this world because Kṛṣṇa wanted to fight. In the Vaikuṇṭha world, the spiritual world, there is no possibility of fighting, because everyone there engages in Kṛṣṇa's service. With whom will He fight? Therefore He sends some devotee in the garb of an enemy and comes here to this material world to fight with him. At the same time, the Lord teaches us that becoming His enemy is not very profitable and that it is better to become His friend. Kuntīdevī therefore says, na veda kaścid bhagavaḿś cikīrṣitam: "No one knows the purpose of Your appearance and disappearance." Tavehamānasya nṛṇāḿ viḍambanam: "You are in this world just like an ordinary human being, and this is bewildering."
Because Kṛṣṇa sometimes appears like an ordinary man, people sometimes cannot believe or understand His activities. They wonder, "How can God become an ordinary person like us?" But although Kṛṣṇa sometimes plays like an ordinary person, in fact He is not ordinary, and whenever necessary He displays the powers of God. When sixteen thousand girls were kidnapped by the demon Bhaumāsura, they prayed to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore Kṛṣṇa went to the demon's palace, killed the demon, and delivered all the girls. But according to the strict Vedic system, if an unmarried girl leaves her home even for one night, no one will marry her. Therefore when Kṛṣṇa told the girls, "Now you can safely return to your fathers' homes," they replied, "Sir, if we return to the homes of our fathers, what will be our fate? No one will marry us, because this man kidnapped us."
"Then what do you want?" Kṛṣṇa asked. The girls replied, "We want You to become our husband." And Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He immediately said yes and accepted them.
Now, when Kṛṣṇa brought the girls back home to His capital city, it is not that each of the sixteen thousand wives had to wait sixteen thousand nights to meet Kṛṣṇa. Rather, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, constructed sixteen thousand palaces, and lived in each palace with each wife.
Although this is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, rascals cannot understand this. Instead they criticize Kṛṣṇa. "He was very lusty," they say. "He married sixteen thousand wives." But even if He is lusty, He is unlimitedly lusty. God is unlimited. Why sixteen thousand? He could marry sixteen million and still not reach the limits of His perfection. That is Kṛṣṇa. We cannot accuse Kṛṣṇa of being lusty or sensuous. No. There are so many devotees of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa shows favor to all of them. Some ask Kṛṣṇa to become their husband, some ask Kṛṣṇa to become their friend, some ask Kṛṣṇa to become their son, and some ask Kṛṣṇa to become their playmate. In this way, there are millions and trillions of devotees all over the universe, and Kṛṣṇa has to satisfy them all. He does not need any help from these devotees, but because they want to serve Him in a particular way, the Lord reciprocates. These sixteen thousand devotees wanted Kṛṣṇa as their husband, and therefore Kṛṣṇa agreed.
Thus Kṛṣṇa may sometimes act like a common man, but as God He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms. Once the great sage Nārada went to visit Kṛṣṇa and His wives. "Kṛṣṇa has married sixteen thousand wives," he thought. "Let me see how He is dealing with them." Then he found Kṛṣṇa living differently in each of the sixteen thousand palaces. In one palace He was talking with His wife, in another He was playing with His children, in another He was arranging for the marriage of His sons and daughters, and in this way He was engaged in varied pastimes in all of the sixteen thousand palaces. Similarly, in His childhood Kṛṣṇa played just like an ordinary child, but when His mother, Yaśodā, wanted Him to open His mouth so that she could see whether He had eaten dirt, within His mouth He showed her all the universes. This is Kṛṣṇa. Although He plays just like an ordinary human being, when there is need He shows His nature as God. To give another example, Kṛṣṇa acted as the chariot driver of Arjuna, but when Arjuna wanted to see Kṛṣṇa's universal form, Kṛṣṇa immediately showed him a cosmic form with thousands and millions of heads, legs, arms, and weapons. This is Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa is completely independent, and He has no friends or enemies, but He plays for the benefit of both His friends and enemies, and when He acts for the benefit of either, the result is the same.



Chapter 13: The Vital Force of the Universe

The transcendental pastimes of the Lord are not only bewildering but also apparently contradictory. In other words, they are all inconceivable to the limited thinking power of the human being. The Lord is the all-prevailing Supersoul of all existence, and yet He appears in the form of a boar among the animals, in the form of a human being as Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, etc., in the form of a ṛṣi like Nārāyaṇa, and in the form of an aquatic like a fish. Yet it is said that He is unborn, and He has nothing to do. In the śruti-mantra it is said that the Supreme Brahman has nothing to do. No one is equal to or greater than Him. He has manifold energies, and everything is performed by Him perfectly by automatic knowledge, strength, and activity. All these statements prove without any question that the Lord's activities, forms, and deeds are all inconceivable to our limited thinking power, and because He is inconceivably powerful, everything is possible in Him. Therefore no one can calculate Him exactly; every action of the Lord is bewildering to the common man. He cannot be understood by the Vedic knowledge, but He can be easily understood by the pure devotees because they are intimately related with Him. The devotees therefore know that although He appears among the animals, He is not an animal or a man or a ṛṣi or a fish. He is eternally the Supreme Lord, in all circumstances.
Kuntī addresses Kṛṣṇa as viśvātman, the vital force of the universe. In everyone's body there is a vital force. That vital force is the ātmā — the living being, the living entity, the soul. It is because of the presence of that vital force, the soul, that the whole body works. Similarly, there is a supreme vital force. That supreme vital force is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, where is the question of His taking birth? In Bhagavad-gītā (4.9) the Lord says:
janma karma ca me divyam
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
In this verse the word divyam especially indicates that the Lord's appearance and activities are spiritual. And elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā. The word aja means "unborn," and avyayātmā means "not subject to destruction." This is the nature of Kṛṣṇa, whose transcendental nature is further described by Kuntīdevī in her prayers to the Lord.
In the beginning of her prayers, Kuntīdevī said to the Lord, "You are within, and You are without, but still You are invisible." Kṛṣṇa is within everyone's heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati, sarvasya cāhaḿ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ [Bg. 18.61]). Indeed, He is within everything, even within the atom (aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham). Kṛṣṇa is within and He is also without. Thus Kṛṣṇa showed Arjuna His external feature as the viśva-rūpa, the gigantic cosmic manifestation.
This external body of Kṛṣṇa is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There the hills and mountains are described as the bones of the Lord. Similarly, the great oceans have been described as different holes in the Lord's universal body, and the planet known as Brahmaloka has been described as the upper portion of His skull. Those who cannot see God have thus been advised to see Him in many ways in terms of the material cosmic manifestation, according to the instructions given in the Vedic literature.
There are those who can simply think of God as being great but do not know how great He is. When they think of greatness, they think of very high mountains, the sky, and other planets. Therefore the Lord has been described in terms of such material manifestations so that while thinking of these different manifestations one can think of the Lord. That is also Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one thinks, "This mountain is the bone of Kṛṣṇa," or if one thinks of the vast Pacific Ocean as Kṛṣṇa's navel, one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Similarly, one may think of the trees and plants as the hairs on Kṛṣṇa's body, one may think of Brahmaloka as the top of Kṛṣṇa's skull, and one may think of the Pātālaloka planetary system as the soles of Kṛṣṇa's feet. Thus one may think of Kṛṣṇa as greater than the greatest (mahato mahīyān).
Similarly, one may think of Kṛṣṇa as smaller than the smallest. That is also a kind of greatness. Kṛṣṇa can manufacture this gigantic cosmic manifestation, and He can also manufacture a small insect. In a book one may sometimes find a small running insect smaller than a period. This is Kṛṣṇa's craftsmanship. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20): He can create something greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest. Now human beings have manufactured the 747 airplane, which according to their conception is very big. But can they produce an airplane as small as a flying insect? That is not possible. Actual greatness, however, is not one-sided. One who is actually great can become greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest.
But even the great things men can manufacture in the modern age are still not the greatest things man has created. We have information from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kardama Muni, the father of the great sage Kapiladeva, manufactured a huge plane that resembled a great city. It included lakes, gardens, streets, and houses, and the whole city was able to fly all over the universe. In that plane, Kardama Muni traveled with his wife and showed her all the planets. He was a great yogī, and his wife, Devahūti, was the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu, a great king. Kardama Muni had desired to marry, and Devahūti told her father, "My dear father, I want to marry that sage." Thus Svāyambhuva Manu brought his daughter to Kardama Muni and said, "Sir, here is my daughter. Please accept her as your wife." She was a king's daughter and was very opulent, but when she joined her austere husband, she had to serve so much that she became lean and thin. In fact, even with insufficient food she was working day and night. Thus Kardama Muni became compassionate. "This woman who has come to me is a king's daughter," he thought, "but under my protection she is not receiving any comfort. So I shall give her some comfort." Thus he asked his wife, "What will make you comfortable?" A woman's nature, of course, is that she wants a good house, good food, fine garments, good children, and a good husband. These are a woman's ambitions. Thus Kardama Muni proved to her that she had received the best husband. By yogic powers he created for her this great airplane and gave her a big house with maidservants and all opulences. Kardama Muni was merely a human being, but he could perform such wonderful things by yogic powers.
Kṛṣṇa, however, is Yogeśvara, the master of all yogic powers. If we get a little mystic power we become important, but Kṛṣṇa is the master of all mystic powers. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that wherever there is Yogeśvara, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all mystic powers, and wherever there is Arjuna, who is also known as Pārtha or Dhanur-dhara, everything is present.
We should always remember that if we can keep ourselves always in company with Kṛṣṇa, we shall attain all perfection. And especially in this age, Kṛṣṇa has incarnated as the holy name (kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra, Cc. Ādi 17.22). Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:
nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
"My dear Lord, You are so kind that You are giving me Your association in the form of Your holy name, and this holy name can be chanted in any situation." There are no hard and fast rules for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. One can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa anywhere. Children, for example, also chant and dance. It is not at all difficult. While walking, our students take their beads with them and chant. Where is the loss? But the gain is very great, for by chanting we associate with Kṛṣṇa personally. Suppose we were to associate personally with the President. How proud we would feel. "Oh, I am with the President." So should we not feel very much proud if we were to associate with the supreme president, who is able to create many millions of presidents like those of this world? This chanting is our opportunity to do so. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi: "My dear Lord, You are so kind to me that You are always prepared to give me Your association." Durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ: "But I am so unfortunate that I do not take advantage of this opportunity."
Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is simply requesting people, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." There was a cartoon in some newspaper that depicted an old lady and her husband sitting face to face. The lady is requesting her husband, "Chant, chant, chant." And the husband is answering, "Can't, can't, can't." So in this same way, we are requesting everyone, "Please chant, chant, chant." But they are replying, "Can't, can't, can't." This is their misfortune.
Still, it is our duty to make all such unfortunate creatures fortunate. That is our mission. Therefore we go into the street and chant. Although they say "Can't," we go on chanting. That is our duty. And if somehow or other we place some literature in someone's hand, he becomes fortunate. He would have squandered his hard-earned money in so many nasty, sinful ways, but if he purchases even one book, regardless of the price, his money is properly utilized. This is the beginning of his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because he gives some of his hard-earned money for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, he gets some spiritual profit. He is not losing; rather, he is gaining some spiritual profit. Therefore our business is somehow or other to bring everyone to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement so that everyone may spiritually profit.
When Kṛṣṇa appeared on earth, not everyone knew that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although when there was need He proved Himself the Supreme Godhead, He generally appeared to be just like an ordinary human being. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, while describing how Kṛṣṇa played as one of the cowherd boys, points out Kṛṣṇa's identity. Who is this cowherd boy? Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, itthaḿ satāḿ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. The impersonalists meditate upon the impersonal Brahman and thus feel some transcendental bliss, but Śukadeva Gosvāmī points out that the source of that transcendental bliss is here — Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything (ahaḿ sarvasya prabhavaḥ), and therefore the transcendental bliss that the impersonalists try to experience by meditating on the impersonal Brahman in fact comes from Kṛṣṇa. Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "Here is the person who is the source of brahma-sukha, the transcendental bliss that comes from realization of Brahman."
A devotee is always prepared to render service to the Lord (dāsyaḿ gatānāḿ para-daivatena), but for those who are under the spell of illusory energy, He is an ordinary boy (māyāśritānāḿ nara-dārakeṇa). Ye yathā māḿ prapadyante tāḿs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: [Bg. 4.11] Kṛṣṇa deals with different living entities according to their conceptions. For those who regard Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary human being, Kṛṣṇa will deal like an ordinary human being, whereas devotees who accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead will enjoy the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, the object of the impersonalist is the brahmajyoti, the impersonal effulgence of the Supreme, but Kṛṣṇa is the source of that effulgence. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is everything (brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate).
Yet the cowherd boys are able to play with that same Kṛṣṇa, the exalted Personality of Godhead. How have they become so fortunate that they are able to play with Him?
itthaḿ satāḿ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā
(Bhāg. 10.12.11)
The cowherd boys playing with Kṛṣṇa are also not ordinary, for they have attained the highest perfection of being able to play with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How did they achieve this position? Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ: by many, many lives of pious activities. For many, many lives these boys underwent austerities and penances to achieve the highest perfection of life, and now they have the opportunity to play with Kṛṣṇa personally on an equal level. They do not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for that is the nature of vṛndāvana-līlā, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in the village of Vṛndāvana.
Not knowing Kṛṣṇa's identity, the cowherd boys simply love Kṛṣṇa, and their love is unending. This is true of everyone in Vṛndāvana. For example, Yaśodāmātā and Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa's mother and father, love Kṛṣṇa with parental affection. Similarly Kṛṣṇa's friends love Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's girl friends love Kṛṣṇa, the trees love Kṛṣṇa, the water loves Kṛṣṇa, the flowers, the cows, the calves — everyone loves Kṛṣṇa. That is the nature of Vṛndāvana. So if we simply learn how to love Kṛṣṇa, we can immediately transform this world into Vṛndāvana.
This is the only central point — how to love Kṛṣṇa (premā pum-artho mahān). People are generally pursuing dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa — religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu disregarded these four things. "These are not what is to be achieved in life," He said. The real goal of life is love of Kṛṣṇa.
Of course, human life does not actually begin until there is some conception of religion (dharma). But in the present age, Kali-yuga, dharma is practically nil — there is no religion or morality, and there are no pious activities — and therefore according to Vedic calculations the present human civilization does not even consist of human beings. Formerly people would care about morality and immorality, religion and irreligion, but with the progress of Kali-yuga this is all being vanquished, and people can do anything, without caring what it is. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, and we can actually see, that in Kali-yuga about eighty percent of the people are sinful. Illicit sex life, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling are the four pillars of sinful life, and therefore we request that one first break these four pillars, so that the roof of sinful life will collapse. Then by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one can remain established in a transcendental position. It is a very simple method. One cannot realize God if one's life is sinful. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:
yeṣāḿ tv anta-gataḿ pāpaḿ
"Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated, and who are freed from the duality of delusion engage themselves in My service with determination." (Bg. 7.28)
The word anta-gatam means "finished." One can engage in devotional service if one has finished with his sinful life. Who can finish with sinful life? Those who engage in pious activities. One must have activities, and if one engages in pious activities one's sinful activities will naturally vanish. On one side, one should voluntarily try to break the pillars of sinful life, and on another side one must engage himself in pious life.
If one has no pious engagement, it is not that one can become free from sinful activities simply by theoretical understanding. For example, the American government is spending millions of dollars to stop the use of LSD and other such intoxicants, but the government has failed. How is it that simply by passing laws or giving lectures one can make people give up these things? It is not possible. One must give people good engagements, and then they will automatically give up the bad ones. For example, we instruct our students, "No intoxication," and they immediately give it up, even though the government has failed to stop them. This is practical.
Paraḿ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. If someone isn't given good engagement, his bad engagements cannot be stopped. That is not possible. Therefore we have two sides — prohibition of sinful activities, and engagement in good activities. We don't simply say, "No illicit sex," "No intoxication," and so on. Mere negativity has no meaning; there must be something positive, because everyone wants engagement. That is because we are living entities, not dead stones. By meditation the impersonalist philosophers try to become dead stones: "Let me think of something void or impersonal." But how can one artificially make oneself void? The heart and mind are full of activities, so these artificial methods will not help human society.
Methods of so-called yoga and meditation are all rascaldom because they provide one no engagement. But in Kṛṣṇa consciousness there is adequate engagement for everyone. Everyone rises early in the morning to offer worship to the Deities. The devotees prepare nice food for Kṛṣṇa, they decorate the temple, make garlands, go out chanting, and sell books. They are fully engaged twenty-four hours a day, and therefore they are able to give up sinful life. If a child has in his hands something that he is eating but we give him something better, he will throw away the inferior thing and take the better thing. So in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we offer better engagement, better life, better philosophy, better consciousness — everything better. Therefore those who engage in devotional service can give up sinful activities and promote themselves to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Activities intended to promote all living entities to Kṛṣṇa consciousness are going on not only in human society but even in animal society also. Because all living entities here are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa but are rotting in this material world, Kṛṣṇa has a plan, a big plan to deliver them. Sometimes He comes to this world personally, and sometimes He sends His very confidential devotees. Sometimes He leaves instructions like those of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa's incarnation appears everywhere, and He appears among animals, men, sages, and even aquatics (tiryań-narādiṣu yādaḥsu). For example, Kṛṣṇa even appeared as a fish incarnation.
Thus Kṛṣṇa's birth, appearance, and disappearance are all bewildering (tad atyanta-viḍambanam). We conditioned living entities transmigrate from one body to another because we are forced to do so by the laws of nature, but Kṛṣṇa does not appear because He is forced. That is the difference. Those who are foolish rascals think, "I have taken my birth in this world, and Kṛṣṇa has taken birth here also. Therefore I am also God." They do not know that they will have to take birth again by the force of the laws of nature.
One may have been given the chance to have a very beautiful body in a country where one can live in opulence and receive a good education. But if one misuses all this, one will get another body according to one's mentality. For example, at the present moment, despite so many arrangements by the government for good schools and universities, the civilized countries of the world are producing hippies, young people who are so frustrated that they even worship hogs. But if one associates with the qualities of the hogs, one will actually become a hog in one's next birth. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ [Bg. 3.27]. Nature will give one a full opportunity: "All right, sir, become a hog." Such are nature's arrangements. Prakṛti, nature, has three modes, and if one associates with one type of mode, one will receive his next body accordingly.
Kṛṣṇa's appearance and disappearance are meant to put an end to the living entities' transmigration from one body to another, and therefore one should understand the greatness of the plan behind Kṛṣṇa's appearance and disappearance. It is not that Kṛṣṇa comes whimsically. He has a great plan, otherwise why should He come here? He is very much eager to take us back home, back to Godhead. That is Kṛṣṇa's business. Therefore He says:
sarva-dharmān parityajya
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66) All of us are children of Kṛṣṇa, God, and since we are unhappy because of taking material bodies for repeated birth, death, old age, and disease, He is more unhappy than we are. Our situation in the material body is not at all comfortable, but we are such foolish rascals that we do not care to do anything about this. We are busy trying to arrange for temporary comforts in this life, but we are neglecting the real discomforts of birth, death, old age, and disease. This is our ignorance and our foolishness, and therefore Kṛṣṇa comes to wake us up from this ignorance and take us back home, back to Godhead.


Chapter 14: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Wonderful Activities


Here is another explanation of the bewilderment created by the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the Supreme in all circumstances, as already explained. Here is a specific example of the Lord's being the Supreme and at the same time a plaything in the presence of His pure devotee. The Lord's pure devotee renders service unto the Lord out of unalloyed love only, and while discharging such devotional service the pure devotee forgets the position of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord also accepts the loving service of His devotees more relishably when the service is rendered spontaneously out of pure affection, without anything of reverential admiration. Generally the Lord is worshiped by the devotees in a reverential attitude, but the Lord is meticulously pleased when the devotee, out of pure affection and love, considers the Lord to be less important than himself. The Lord's pastimes in the original abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, are exchanged in that spirit. The friends of Kṛṣṇa consider Him one of them. They do not consider Him to be of reverential importance. The parents of the Lord (who are all pure devotees) consider Him a child only. The Lord accepts the chastisements of the parents more cheerfully than the prayers of the Vedic hymns. Similarly, He accepts the reproaches of His fiancees more palatably than the Vedic hymns. When Lord Kṛṣṇa was present in this material world to manifest His eternal pastimes of the transcendental realm Goloka Vṛndāvana as an attraction for the people in general, He displayed a unique picture of subordination before His foster mother, Yaśodā. The Lord, in His naturally childish playful activities, used to spoil the stocked butter of mother Yaśodā by breaking the pots and distributing the contents to His friends and playmates, including the celebrated monkeys of Vṛndāvana, who took advantage of the Lord's munificence. Mother Yaśodā saw this, and out of her pure love she wanted to make a show of punishment for her transcendental child. She took a rope and threatened the Lord that she would tie Him up, as is generally done in the ordinary household. Seeing the rope in the hands of mother Yaśodā, the Lord bowed down His head and began to weep just like a child, and tears rolled down His cheeks, washing off the black ointment smeared about His beautiful eyes. This picture of the Lord is adored by Kuntīdevī because she is conscious of the Lord's supreme position. He is feared often by fear personified, yet He is afraid of His mother, who wanted to punish Him just in an ordinary manner. Kuntī was conscious of the exalted position of Kṛṣṇa, whereas Yaśodā was not. Therefore Yaśodā's position was more exalted than Kuntī's. Mother Yaśodā got the Lord as her child, and the Lord made her forget altogether that her child was the Lord Himself. If mother Yaśodā had been conscious of the exalted position of the Lord, she would certainly have hesitated to punish the Lord. But she was made to forget this situation because the Lord wanted to make a complete gesture of childishness before the affectionate Yaśodā. This exchange of love between the mother and the son was performed in a natural way, and Kuntī, remembering the scene, was bewildered, and she could do nothing but praise the transcendental filial love. Indirectly mother Yaśodā is praised for her unique position of love, for she could control even the all-powerful Lord as her beloved child.
This pastime presents another opulence of Kṛṣṇa — His opulence of beauty. Kṛṣṇa has six opulences: all wealth, all strength, all influence, all knowledge, all renunciation, and all beauty. The nature of Kṛṣṇa is that He is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest (aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān). We offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa with awe and veneration, but no one comes to Kṛṣṇa with a rope, saying, "Kṛṣṇa, You have committed an offense, and now I shall bind You." Yet that is the prerogative of the most perfect devotee, and Kṛṣṇa wants to be approached in that way.
Thinking of Kṛṣṇa's opulence, Kuntīdevī did not dare take the part of Yaśodā, for although Kuntīdevī was Kṛṣṇa's aunt, she did not have the privilege to approach Kṛṣṇa the way He was approached by Yaśodāmayī, who was such an advanced devotee that she had the right to chastise the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That was Yaśodāmayī's special prerogative. Kuntīdevī was simply thinking of how fortunate was Yaśodāmayī that she could threaten the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is feared even by fear personified (bhīr api yad bibheti). Who is not afraid of Kṛṣṇa? No one. But Kṛṣṇa is afraid of Yaśodāmayī. This is the superexcellence of Kṛṣṇa.
To give another example of such opulence, Kṛṣṇa is known as Madana-mohana. Madana means Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, but Kṛṣṇa is known as Madana-mohana because He is so beautiful that He enchants even Cupid. Nonetheless, Kṛṣṇa Himself is enchanted by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and therefore Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is known as Madana-mohana-mohinī, "the enchanter of the enchanter of Cupid." Kṛṣṇa is the enchanter of Cupid, and Rādhārāṇī is the enchanter of that enchanter.
These are very exalted spiritual understandings in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are not fictional, imaginary, or concocted. They are facts, and every devotee can have the privilege to understand and indeed take part in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes if he is actually advanced. We should not think that the privilege given to mother Yaśodā is not available to us. Everyone can have a similar privilege. If one loves Kṛṣṇa as one's child, then one will have such a privilege, because the mother has the most love for the child. Even in this material world, there is no comparison to a mother's love, for a mother loves her child without any expectation of return. Of course, although that is generally true, this material world is so polluted that a mother sometimes thinks, "My child will grow up and become a man, and when he earns money, I shall get it." Thus there is still some desire to get something in exchange. But while loving Kṛṣṇa there are no selfish feelings, for that love is unalloyed, free from all material gain (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]).
We should not love Kṛṣṇa for some material gain. It is not that we should say, "Kṛṣṇa, give us our daily bread, and then I shall love You. Kṛṣṇa, give me this or that, and then I shall love You." There should be no such mercantile exchanges, for Kṛṣṇa wants unalloyed love.
When Kṛṣṇa saw mother Yaśodā coming with a rope to bind Him, He immediately became very much afraid, thinking, "Oh, Mother is going to bind Me." He began to cry, and the tears washed the mascara from His eyes. Looking at His mother with great respect, He appealed to her with feeling, "Yes, Mother, I have offended you. Kindly excuse Me." Then He immediately bowed His head. Kuntīdevī appreciated this scene, for this was another of Kṛṣṇa's perfections. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He puts Himself under the control of mother Yaśodā. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.7) the Lord says, mattaḥ parataraḿ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: "My dear Arjuna, there is no one superior to Me." Yet that Supreme Personality of Godhead, to whom no one is superior, bows down to mother Yaśodā, accepting, "My dear Mother, yes, I am an offender."
When mother Yaśodā saw that Kṛṣṇa had become too much afraid of her, she also became disturbed. She did not actually want Kṛṣṇa to suffer by her punishment. That was not her purpose. But it is a system, still current in India, that when a child creates too much of a disturbance, his mother may bind him up in one place. That is a very common system, so mother Yaśodā adopted it.
This scene is very much appreciated by pure devotees, for it shows how much greatness there is in the Supreme Person, who plays exactly like a perfect child. When Kṛṣṇa plays like a child, He plays perfectly, when He plays as the husband of sixteen thousand wives He plays perfectly, when He plays as the lover of the gopīs He plays perfectly, and as the friend of the cowherd boys He also plays perfectly.
The cowherd boys all depend on Kṛṣṇa. Once they wanted to take fruit from a forest of palm trees, but there was a demon named Gardabhāsura who would not allow anyone to enter that forest. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's cowherd boyfriends said to Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, we want to taste that fruit, if You can arrange for it." Kṛṣṇa immediately said yes, and He and Balarāma went to the forest where that demon was living with other demons, who had all taken the shape of asses. When the ass demons came to kick Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma with their hind legs, Balarāma caught one of them and threw him into the top of a tree, and the demon died. Then Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma killed the other demons the same way. Thus Their cowherd friends were very much obliged to Them.
On another occasion, the cowherd boys were surrounded by fire. Not knowing anyone else but Kṛṣṇa, they immediately called for Him, and Kṛṣṇa was ready: "Yes." Thus Kṛṣṇa immediately swallowed the whole fire. There were many demons that attacked the boys, and every day the boys would return to their mothers and say, "Mother, Kṛṣṇa is so wonderful," and they would explain what had happened that day. And the mothers would say, "Yes, our Kṛṣṇa is wonderful." They did not know that Kṛṣṇa is God, the Supreme Person. They only knew that Kṛṣṇa is wonderful, that's all. And the more they perceived Kṛṣṇa's wonderful activities, the more their love increased. "Perhaps He may be a demigod," they thought. When Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa's father, talked among his friends, the friends would talk about Kṛṣṇa and say, "Oh, Nanda Mahārāja, your child Kṛṣṇa is wonderful." And Nanda Mahārāja would respond, "Yes, I see that. Maybe He is some demigod." And even that was not certain — "maybe."
Thus the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana do not care who is God and who is not. They love Kṛṣṇa, that's all. Those who think of first analyzing Kṛṣṇa to determine whether He is God are not first-class devotees. The first-class devotees are those who have spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa. How can we analyze Kṛṣṇa? He is unlimited, and therefore it is impossible. We have limited perception, and our senses have limited potency, so how can we study Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible at all. Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself to a certain extent, and that much is sufficient.
We should not be like the Māyāvādī philosophers, who try to find God by speculative deduction. "Neti neti," they say. "God is not this, and God is not that." But what God is they do not know. Materialistic scientists also try to find the ultimate cause, but their process is the same: "Not this, not that." As much as they advance, they will always find "Not this, not that." But what the ultimate cause is, they will never find. That is not possible.
What to speak of finding Kṛṣṇa, materialistic scientists cannot properly understand even material objects. They are trying to go to the moon, but actually they do not know what it is. If they understand what the moon is, why do they come back here? If they knew perfectly what the moon is, they would have resided there by now. They have been trying for the last twenty years to go there and stay, but they are simply seeing, "Not this, not that. There are no living entities, and there is no possibility of our living here." Thus they can report on what is not on the moon, but do they know what is there? No, they do not know. And this is only one planet or one star.
According to the Vedic literature, the moon is regarded as a star. The scientists say that the stars are all suns, but according to Bhagavad-gītā the stars are of the same nature as the moon. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.21) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, nakṣatrāṇām ahaḿ śaśī: "Of stars I am the moon." Thus the moon is just like the many stars. What is the nature of the moon? It is bright because it reflects light from the sun. Therefore although the scientists say that the stars are many suns, we do not agree. According to the Vedic calculation, there are innumerable suns, but in every universe there is only one.
What we see in this universe we are seeing imperfectly, and our knowledge is not perfect. We cannot count how many stars or planets there are. We cannot fully understand the material things existing all around us, and therefore how can we understand the Supreme Lord who created this universe? That is not possible. Therefore in the Brahma-saḿhitā (5.34) it is said:
panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo
Space is unlimited, and the Brahma-saḿhitā suggests: Suppose one travels by spacecraft for millions of years at the velocity of the wind or even the speed of mind. Everyone knows that the mind is so swift that in even one ten-thousandth of a second it can take us millions of miles. If we have seen something millions of miles away, the mind can go there immediately. But even if we can travel at that speed on a spacecraft manufactured by muni-puńgavānām, the greatest scientists and most thoughtful men, will that be perfection? No. The Brahma-saḿhitā says, so 'py asti yat-prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve: still this creation will remain inconceivable to our understanding. And Kṛṣṇa has created all these things, so how can we study Kṛṣṇa? If we cannot understand the things Kṛṣṇa has created, how can we understand Kṛṣṇa? It is not possible at all.
Therefore the mentality of Vṛndāvana is the perfect status of mind for devotees. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana have no concern with understanding Kṛṣṇa. Rather, they want to love Kṛṣṇa unconditionally. It is not that they think, "Kṛṣṇa is God, and therefore I love Him." In Vṛndāvana Kṛṣṇa does not play as God; He plays there as an ordinary cowherd boy, and although at times He proves that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees there do not care to know it.
Kuntīdevī, however, was not an inhabitant of Vṛndāvana. She was an inhabitant of Hastināpura, which is outside Vṛndāvana. The devotees outside Vṛndāvana study how great the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana are, but the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana don't care to know how great Kṛṣṇa is. That is the difference between them. So our concern should be simply to love Kṛṣṇa. The more we love Kṛṣṇa, the more we shall become perfect. It is not necessary to understand Kṛṣṇa and how He creates. Kṛṣṇa explains Himself in Bhagavad-gītā, and we should not try to understand much more. We should not bother very much to know Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. We should simply increase our unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the perfection of life.


(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars for the collection)