A serial presentation of thirty-six questions and answers on spiritual life, published in 'The Harmonist'.
1. Q. I
have come to you to enquire about the Truth. I do not know what is the
goal of my life or the means to my goal. I am not in a position to put
my questions in the proper form. Kindly tell me what you consider to be
necessary for me to know for this purpose. May I be permitted to ask any
questions that may also occur to me?
Ans.
Krishna is Merciful to you. The Truth is not unknown to you. It is the
nature of a pure soul who is willing to serve Godhead to ask these
questions for strengthening his faith. As you are willing to learn the
Truth for the purpose of serving Him in your life, Krishna will be
pleased if I try to serve you in this matter.
2. Q.
You have mercifully drawn me to your feet for my good. I, indeed,
possess a measure of such so-called wisdom that is necessary for living
among the people of this world. I hold such wisdom to be the Truth. I
now find that I have wasted my life in the pursuit of such evil objects.
I feel that I am wholly ignorant of my duty. I submit myself to your
feet and prey to be instructed about my real duty.
Ans. The Mercy of Krishna will suggest to you the proper line of enquiry and also the answers to your questions.
3. Q.
May I ask a few questions as I wish to receive their real answers from
you? Who am I? Why am I afflicted with the threefold misery from
accidents, from other sentient beings and from myself? In what way I can
be really benefited?
Ans. I shall try to answer your questions one by one. You are a soul (jiva).
4. Q. What is a soul?
Ans. You will be able to avoid misunderstanding if I tell you in the first place what the soul is not.
The soul is not this physical body which is constituted of insentient
matter. He is also not the subtle material body that you possess,
consisting of your mind, faculty of judgment (buddhi) and your present egoistic consciousness (ahamkara).
5. Q. Is my soul wholly unconnected with these two bodies?
Ans.
Your soul does not consist of your material bodies. They bind your soul
to this mortal existence. You are also not the Absolute, but a
subservient of the Absolute Person Krishna. Your present material bodies
prevent your soul from all access to the Presence of Krishna.
6. Q. Am I separate from Krishna?
Ans.
You are related to Krishna as a ray emanating from a portion of the sun
is related to the undivided entity of the sun. Or, you may be compared
to one of the infinity of sparks sent up by the countless tongues of a
blazing fire, while Krishna may be compared to the undivided substratum
of fire whose power is manifested in the form of the vast conflagration.
10. Q. Why am I afflicted with the three miseries?
Ans. The
jiva, due to his intermediate position, is liable to forget Krishna.
This happens when he turns his face towards the external power of
Krishna. The tendency of this aversion to or turning way from Krishna is
inherent in the jiva in his eternal position. When the jiva turns his
face towards the external power he finds himself in this mundane realm.
His miseries are due to his submission to the external power who makes
him totally forget his own nature and to entertain the delusion that he,
and not Krishna, is the master of the external power.
11. Q. Is fear of punishment helpful to the soul of the jiva?'
Ans. The
sense of fear comes upon the jiva only when he turns his face towards
the external power. It is due to the reversal of his relationship with
Krishna. It is this fear of punishment that finds its appropriate plane
in this worldly sojourn. The external power playing upon the fears and
hopes of the jiva sometimes elevates her victim to heaven and sometimes
hurls him headlong into the lowest abyss of hell.
The jiva is not allowed to
have a moment's safe and secure position. His condition has very aptly
been compared to that of criminals in ancient times who were punished by
being held forcibly under water and brought up to the surface for short
intervals to prevent death by suffocation. But the jiva does not
suspect that the external power is deluding him in this manner. On the
contrary, he trusts in her promises to give him domination over the
world.
12. Q. How can the jiva get rid of delusion?
Ans. The
jiva can be relieved of the miseries of his worldly sojourn only if his
mind is turned towards Krishna by the mercy of sadhus and the Shastras.
As soon as the jiva turns his face towards Krishna, the external power
ceases to have any control over him. So longs as the jiva agrees to be
deluded by the external power he remains without any recollection of
Krishna. Krishna out of His Mercy manifests Himself to jivas in His
three forms of (1) the Veda fully explained in the Srimad Bhagavata, (2)
the spiritual preceptor who is the best-beloved of His servitors, and
(3) as the Internal Divine Guide. The jiva is enabled with the help of
these Divine agencies to realise the fact that Krishna is his Lord and
Saviour.
13. Q. In what way does the Veda enable us to recollect Krishna?
Ans. The
Veda tells us (1) about Krishna as the object of our relationships, (2)
about the natural function of our souls and (3) also about the final
desideratum. Krishna is the Object of all our relationships. Bhakti or
spiritual service of Krishna is the means of realising this eternal
relationship. Prema or love for Krishna is the desired object to be
gained by the realised service of Krishna. The treasure of love for
Krishna is the summum bonum. By tasting love for
Krishna we realise our highest bliss, and incidentally get rid of the
miseries of our worldly sojourn for good.
14. Q. Is Krishna apart and different from all other entities?
Ans. This phenomenal world as well as the transcendental world are the transformations of the Power of Krishna.
15. Q. What is Krishna Himself?
Ans.
Krishna is the Ultimate Reality. He is non-bifurcate Knowledge. He is
the Son of the Chief of the Realm of Braja, His Eternal Abode. He is the
beginning of all things, the Integer of Whom everything else is only a
fractional part, the Rarest of all rare jewels of a Budding Youth.
Krishna has a Body of pure consciousness and perfect bliss. He is the
Support of everything and the Lord of all entities. Krishna is Godhead
Himself. He is the same as Govinda Whose Eternal Realm of Goloka is full
of all Beauty.
16. Q. Why is Godhead not realised as Krishna by all seekers of the Absolute?
Ans.
There are three possible methods of approaching the Absolute viz. those
of undifferentiated knowledge, artificial concentration of consciousness
and unalloyed service. Godhead manifests Himself as Brahman,
Paramatman, and Bhagawan respectively to the followers of the above
methods of search.
17. Q. Are the three manifestations of the Divinity distinct from one another?
Ans. The
manifestation of Godhead as Brahman is non-designative. Brahman has no
distinctive features. Brahman is really the majestic Glow of the Body of
Godhead, even as the Sun appears to be a ball of light to the eye of
flesh. Those who seek for the Absolute Reality through knowledge devoid
of all distinctive realisation, target Him as Brahman devoid of all
distinctive features. While to those who seek for the Ultimate Principle
by the progress of astanga yoga (artificial
inhibition of activities) realise Him in their hearts as the Supreme
Soul indwelling in the souls of all entities of this world. Those who
seek Him by the method of unalloyed spiritual service realise Him as
Bhagawan i.e. the Divine Person in Whom the six Divine Prerogatives have
their perfect existence. Paramatman is only a Divine Portion of Krishna.
18. Q. What is the complete realisation of Bhagawan?
Ans. The
full realisation of Godhead is attained through spiritual service. His
Body is One. But there is an infinity of Divine Forms that are also His
Own Bodies. The Forms of Krishna are broadly divisible into three
categories viz., (1) Swayamrupa i.e. the Form that
is Himself, (2) those Forms that are different from the Form in
Himself, but are identical with Him in essence (tadek-atmarupa), and (3) those Forms that are permeated with Divine Power (avesharupa). The Form, Who is the expansion of the activity of Swayamrupa
is known as Sree Balarama. The same Balarama has his fourfold forms of
Majestic manifestation. These in their turn have also their respective
forms of expanded activity. There is a derivative series of the fourfold
covering forms for secondary Divine activity with their respective
forms for the expanded activities of each of them.
There are also other forms that are known as Swamsha or Portions of the Divinity's Own form. The Swamsha
Forms are again of two kinds viz. (1) transcendental Support and Ruler
of phenomenal Nature, and (2) various Descents (avataras) as Protectors
of the sadhus and Destroyers of the wicked. Among
the Avataras the foremost are the three Purusha Avataras.
Sankarshana-Balarama, the second Person of the fourfold primary
expansion, is the direct wielder of power for the creation of the
spiritual and mundane world. He makes manifest the spiritual realm,
which is uncreated and eternal, through the Spiritual Divine Power. He
creates the order of mundane worlds by the external power. Forms
permeated with Divine Power are again divisible into primary and
secondary forms. Such is the brief outline of the scriptural account of
Krishna as the Object of all relationship.
19. Q. Are there other worlds besides the world that we experience?
Ans.
Material space has its spiritual counterpart in the Realm of the
Absolute. That space is called Parabyoma. In the Parabyoma the innermost
sphere is Goloka-Vrindavana. Goloka-Vrindavana is the Eternal Abode of
Sree Krishna. Within Parabyoma, below the Realm of Krishna is the Realm
of Vishnu. In this lower sphere of Parabyoma there are an infinity of
Vaikunthas each of which is the realm of one of the infinity of Divine
Forms of Sree Narayana, the Lord of Parabyoma.
Outside Parabyoma is the realm
of Maya or this mundane world. The spiritual stream of the Biraja flows
between the Realm of the Absolute and this mundane world. The mundane
realm is also infinite and passes the conception of jiva. The Realm of
the Absolute is the manifestation of three quarters of the Glories of
Krishna and the infinitude of this phenomenal world displays only a
quarter of His Glories.
20. Q. How are we to practise our relationships with Krishna?
Ans.
Krishna is one without a second. He is non-bifurcate Knowledge. He is
served by His Power, although the two are also really one. For the
purpose of His Activities, in reciprocity with His Power, Krishna
expands Himself into His Own Plenary and His dissociated portions. His
Divine Portions have already been mentioned. They are distinct from the
jivas who are His dissociated portions. The Divine Portions are
Possessors of power. Jivas belong to the category of power. Jivas are
again divided into those that are eternally fettered. The eternally
fettered are afflicted with the triple misery on account of their
aversion to Krishna which is ingrained in their nature. These fettered
souls can be rescued from the grip of the deluding power by the mercy of
sadhus. By the influence of the instructions of the sadhus the fettered
souls may obtain inclination for the pure service of Krishna and is
thereby enabled to come to the presence of Krishna where the power of
delusion can never abide.
The practice of the willing
service of Krishna can alone enable us to realise our relationships with
Krishna. Good works, seeking communion by inhibition of activities,
cultivation of undifferentiated knowledge have their values as
auxiliaries of the willing service of Krishna. The efficacy of these
other methods in themselves is very slight. They cannot yield any real
benefit independently of the service of Krishna. It is never possible to
get rid of delusion except by the service of Krishna. One's judgment
cannot be really be pure unless it is purified by the relationship of
service with Krishna. Krishna is like the Sun. The deluding power is
like darkness. Wherever there is Krishna there is no jurisdiction of the
deluding power. If the fettered soul sincerely approaches Krishna, even
only once, with the prayer to be His, Krishna forthwith delivers him
from the bondage of the deluding power.
21. Q. Can also those, who serve Krishna for gaining some worldly object, be delivered from the bondage of Maya by such service?
Ans.
Krishna takes pity on those who serve Him for gaining any worldly
purpose. Krishna, by the power of His service, redeems such persons from
their addiction to worldliness and enables them to taste the superior
excellence of His service.
22. Q.
Why does not every person pray for the service of Krishna as it appears
to be so very easy to gain and so desirable in every way?
Ans. It
is very rarely, indeed, that a person is redeemed from the bondage of
the world. Such chance is like that of a log of wood, floating down a
mighty stream, being washed up on the dry bank. It is only when through
some rare good fortune one's addiction to worldliness is wearing off
that a person has a chance of being attracted towards Krishna by
association with His pure devotees. Association with sadhus thus offers
the only chance for the redemption of conditioned souls.
23. Q. Are there grades among the devotees of Krishna?
Ans. Any
person, in whom the settled conviction of the all-sufficiency of the
service of Krishna has been aroused, becomes thereby eligible for the
attainment of His service. The servants of Krishna are graded into the
best, the superior and the junior servitors in accordance with the
quality of one's faith. The best are those who possess firm faith and
are adepts in scriptural knowledge and argument. Such a person is the
saviour of conditioned souls. The superior grade of devotees are not
aware of scriptural arguments that are possessed of firmness of faith.
Such persons are most fortunate. In the junior grade of devotees faith
is still tender. But they also will gradually become the best.
24. Q. Are the devotees of Krishna virtuous?
Ans. All
the excellences of Krishna Himself are to be found in His devotees. The
quality representing the distinctive nature of the devotee is, of
course, his exclusive reliance upon Krishna. His other virtues are
external in comparison with it. The best of these are kindness, absence
of enmity, regard for the essence of truth, equal regard for everything,
absence of vice, magnanimity, gentleness, moral purity, freedom from
want, willingness to do good to all, possession of the peace of the
soul, exclusive reliance on Krishna, freedom from worldly activity,
steadiness, mastery over passions, temperance in diet, absence of
excitement, readiness to honour others, absence of any dersie [desire?]
for one's own honour, gravity, tenderness, friendliness, the possession
of poetic genius, skill, taciturnity.
25. Q. What is the first step in the attainment of a life of spiritual service?
Ans. As
soon as a person surrenders himself to Krishna with perfect reliance,
Krishna makes him at once similar to Himself. This is spiritual
proselytisation.
26. Q. How should a person himself after proselytisation, for perfecting his devotion?
Ans. The
object of practising the service of Krishna as means to the end is the
attainment of love for Krishna. During the period of novitiate the
process which appears as means is the end in the stage of realisation.
During the period of endeavour such prescribed activity as listening,
chanting, recollection, etc., of Krishna are the proper forms of the
process. In respect of means love for Krishna is an accompanying
manifestation.
27. Q. Is the process of service the means by which love for Krishna is realised?
Ans.
Love for Krishna cannot be realised by any other means than itself. It
is eternally self-realised. The means in this case, such as the acts of
listening, etc., are also eternally self-realised processes that appear
in the pure spiritual essence of the soul in the form of means to the
end.
28. Q. Are there varieties of the practice of Bhakti as means?
Ans. The
practice of Bhakti as means is of two kinds viz. (1) practice of
service by the method of obedience to the injunctions of the Shastras
and (2) practice of Bhakti in pursuance of spontaneous liking.
29. Q. What is the nature of the practice of Bhakti in obedience to the rules of the Shastras?
Ans.
This course is followed by persons who have no spontaneous liking for
the service of Krishna. They do so through their sense of duty. The
forms of such regulated service of Krishna are numerous. I shall briefly
indicate them. Taking refuge at the feet of the Guru, initiation,
service of Guru, learning from him about the real function of the soul
and practising loyal enquiry about the same, to follow the path of the
sadhus, to give up one's own enjoyments for pleasing Krishna, to reside
in a place sanctified by its association with Krishna, to accept the
minimum that is necessary for maintenance of life, to observe the fast
on the eleventh day of the lunar month which is the Lord's day, to
reverence holy trees e.g., emblic myrobalan the cow, the Brahmanas and
the Vaishnavas. These ten constitute the first steps on the path of the
practice of Bhakti as means.
In addition to these the
following are negative helps. To avoid offences in regard to service and
also those regarding the Name, to avoid spiritual communion with those
who are opposed to the service of the Absolute, not to entertain
numerous disciples, to avoid partial study and exposition of many books,
not to be elated or depressed by profit or gain, not to be subject to
grief, etc., not to condemn other gods or Shastras, not to listen to
calumnies against Vishnu and Vaishnavas, not to listen to talks bearing
on domestic life for the gratification of the sexual appetites of man
and woman, not to cause any anxiety to any living thing.
To the above twenty are to be
added forty-four more varieties of service which are as follows.
Listening, chanting, recollecting, worshipping, praising, obeying,
serving, practising, friendship, surrendering oneself, dancing before
the Sree Vigraha, singing, confessing, prostrating oneself, standing up
to meet Godhead and His devotees when they are found coming towards
oneself, to follow Godhead and His devotees when they move away from
oneself, to frequent holy places and temples of Godhead, to perform
circumambulation, to recite hymns of praise, to practise mental recital,
to perform the congregation chant, to accept the odour of incense and
garlands offered to Godhead, to honour the great favour
in the form of the remains of the Lord's food, to witness the
light-waving service, to view the Sree Murti, to offer objects loved by
oneself to Godhead, to meditate, to serve His Own (which includes
serving the tulasi etc., serving the Vaishnavas, residing at Mathura and
tasting the sweetness of the narrative of the Bhagavata), to exert
oneself without stint for the sake of Krishna, to expect His Mercy, to
perform the festivities of His Nativity, etc., in the company of the
devotees, to practise submission in every way, to observe the prescribed
vows in regard to the month of Kartika and on other similar occasions,
to wear the symbols of a Vaishnava, to wear the Letters of the Name of
Hari, to wear the remains of the Lord's offerings, to drink the nectar
touched by the Lord's Feet.
The greatest emphasis is laid
upon the following five practices which are repeated for this purpose,
viz. association with sadhus, chanting of the name, listening to the
Bhagavata, residing at Mathura and worshipping Sree Murti with faith.
