By Gautam Saha
KRISHNA IS OUR OWN LOVING FATHER
Most of us go about life, immersed in our self or family related activities, keeping busy earning money, paying those bills, children’s education, buying possessions or the finer luxuries of life, taking care of our families or extended families, saving for the future, having hobbies, contributing some time or work for social or philanthropic activities, occasionally going for vacations, and so on and so forth. So far so good. But is this all ? Are we totally fulfilled by such activities ?
The Supreme Lord Krishna resides in His spiritual planet Vaikunthaloka, where He is eternally engaged in transcendental pastimes with His intimate associates and devotees. As stated in the the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (14.3-4), Krishna is the loving, well meaning father of all living beings, and is eternally existing. When we realize this and also that He is the Supreme Protector as well as the friend and well wisher of all souls (BG 5.29), we want to approach Him, and with this simple thought in mind, begin our journey of bhakti or devotional service based on love and submission to Him, by arcana worship of His photograph, painting, or deity form.
BRINGING KRISHNA INTO OUR LIVES
The process of bhakti can start in small and simple incremental steps of chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra, adorning and serving His deities, joining in sankirtan, visiting Him in temples, associating with His devotees, hearing about His most endearing pastimes on earth, honouring His prasadam, reading His sermon as Srimad Bhagavad Gita, continuing our study of His transcendental pastimes in the Srimad Bhagavatam, and also the literature written by the great acharyas, most notably by Srila Prabhupada.
The advantage of visiting Krishna temples is to see Him personally in His deity form and be enabled to remember Him everyday, recollect His glorious pastimes on earth, reflect on His teachings, remember His dealings with intimate associates in loving transcendental exchanges, and enjoy His most pleasing personal features, all of which draw our attention, attract our hearts and souls, and satisfy our senses like no other. By development of bhakti, these attractions become so strong that, in time, other desires attenuate and finally die off. What remains is just the devotee and the Lord, and nothing else matters. Krishna’s qualities, besides being fully transcendental, are so greatly pleasing that our senses, which hitherto delighted in mediocre worldly pleasures having limited time or depth potential, gradually develop great attachment to Him, and we begin to realize our true potential of a loving and lasting relationship with Krishna.
Another very great advantage of visiting temples is the opportunity to meet His devotees who are compassionate souls and are keen and eager to discuss Krishna and His transcendental pastimes with others, in the hope that they may also be attracted to Him. Thus, to receive the mercy of a devotee of Krishna is a very fortunate occurrence, and one must not deny oneself this priceless gift. The brothers Jagai and Madhai were delivered only due to the mercy of Nitayanand Prabhu, the intimate associate of Lord Krishna Caitanya. They were confirmed die hard sinners, but because they had received the mercy of a great devotee, they were instantaneously delivered.
Performing sankirtan in the association of devotees, is the most powerful medicine for liberation from the material condition in this age, as specifically instructed by Lord Krishna Caitanya.
MAKING KRISHNA THE CENTRE OF OUR LIVES
Krishna is present inside the body of every living entity as the paramatma, (BG 15.15). But most of us, contaminated by many previous lives of nescience, or ignorance, and the impious acts we commit knowingly or unknowingly, our consciousness being covered by various degrees of lust, (BG 3.37-40), cannot perceive His presence like the great devotees who saw Him at every moment, such as Prahalad, Mirabai or Sant Tukaram. Hence we need constant prods to help us remember Him so that we do not lose sight of Him, and fall again into the pool of nescience, and are again recaptivated by the attractive displays of material nature and its false attractions.
Because Krishna is so beautiful and loving, our reverence for Him gradually metamorphoses into various shades of love and loving reciprocation. As our devotional loving service to Krishna progresses, our soul, which had been starved of this deep and true love since time immemorial, due to undue preponderance of the materialistic consciousness of many previous lives, finds emotional satisfaction and fulfillment. As Krishna comes into our lives, he lights the lamp of knowledge within our hearts (BG 10.11), by which we can understand Him even better and with a broader perspective. Srila Prabhupada states (SB 1.2.21 purport ) “This enlightenment perfectly enables the devotee to distinguish spirit from matter, because the knot of spirit and matter is untied by the Lord. This knot is called ahankara, and it obliges a living being to falsely identify himself with matter. As soon as the knot is loosened, therefore, all the clouds of doubt are instantaneously cleared off. One sees his true master and fully engages himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, terminating fully the chain of fruitive action.”
CHANTING OF THE MAHAMANTRA
The acharyas have taught us the importance of chanting the holy names of the Lord, “hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare”, as also specifically instructed by Lord Krishna Caitanya Himself, when He appeared on this earth, about 600 years ago, to deliver the fallen souls of kaliyuga, enmeshed in various materialistic activities, far removed from any transcendental connection to the Lord. In the beginning, this process might appear troublesome, or seem superfluous to our gross materialistic minds, but as we progress determinedly in chanting, the transcendental sound vibrations of the holy names of the Lord begin to spiritualize and empower us, slowly removing from our consciousness the accumulated filth of base material thoughts, desires and proclivities.
In the chanting process, Krishna actually dances on our tongue just as He danced on the head of the serpent Kaliya during His pastimes on earth. As any engagement with Krishna is purifying, our tongue and its wicked tendencies are chastised and purified in the chanting process. In the beginning, the chanting might not be pure, and the mind may tend to wander. As our chanting proceeds day after day, and we become more conscious and determined to purify it, the chanting improves from the non offenseless into the offenseless stage, and the chanting process itself purifies us.
KRISHNA BHAKTI IS SIMPLE YET SIMPLY POWERFUL
Once we place Krishna lovingly in the altar of our hearts, His very presence will remove all traces of impurity from within us. We can have a small and simple place at home where the Lord in His deity or picture form is invited to sit and preside. We can serve Him in our own simple way, the service being saturated with love. Krishna does not demand very tasty foods or expensive gifts. “If one offers Me with love and devotion, a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (BG 9.26). A person need not be materially rich in order to serve Krishna. We can offer Him whatever we desire. But when we pamper ourselves with tasty delicacies, while simultaneously neglecting Krishna, we are not showing love or affection for Him. Whatever we eat, we can first offer to Krishna, since not only is He the honored guest in our home, but also incidentally, happens to be the Supreme Lord, Master and Proprietor of the entire creation.
By this simple devotion, we can see Him every day, engage with Him in loving transcendental service, talk to Him and make Him the centre of our lives. Such service does not require deep and profound scriptural knowledge or knowledge of chanting difficult Vedic mantras. In this way, one’s home transforms into a temple of Lord Krishna. Even the most ignorant or uncultured person can take to this simple and very effective devotional process. Krishna is not partial or biased towards anyone on the basis of belongings, past background, bank balance, accumulated sins from previous lives or in this life, or social standing. On the contrary, the most pitiable, deprived or disadvantaged person can rise to the level of exalted devotee, just by sincere devotional service.
If we are unable to attain perfection in this life due to shortcomings in bhakti, whatever brownie points we may have earned does not go waste, but is credited into our karmic balance in our next life (BG 6.41-43).
BAD HABITS DEPART AUTOMATICALLY
As our devotion develops and flourishes, we begin to relish the nectar of our pure relationship with Krishna. We discover that what appeared to give us pleasure previously such as smoking, drinking, meat eating, gambling, or frivolous socializing activities, were but false shelters of our senses, in our vain hope that we would gain happiness from such indulgences or habits. Our old habits turn tasteless and insipid. One by one, they leave us on their own accord. All negative thoughts, habits, attitudes and propensities depart automatically, without any separate attempt on our part to terminate them.
Srila Prabhupada states (SB 2.6.41 purport) “The individual atma becomes polluted by sin, but the Lord is never contaminated by sins. The Lord is compared to the powerful sun. The sun is never contaminated by anything infectious, because it is so powerful. On the contrary, infected things are sterilized by the rays of the sun. Similarly, the Lord is never polluted by sins; on the contrary, the sinful living entities become sterilized by contact with the Lord.”
Once freed from negative habits, we find more time and energy for creative activities in devotional service, which cumulatively propel us rapidly towards Krishna.
THE PERFECTION OF LIFE
The perfection of life is to attain Krishna’s eternal devotional service. Our sustained relationship with Him is the only method of deliverance from our material encaged condition. Whatever activities we perform whilst keeping Krishna as the focus and purpose of this life, even though they might appear simple or not very outstanding, they become spiritually laden due to intimate contact with Krishna, and we can begin to perceive Krishna with more and more clarity and understanding. Besides, the process of bhakti itself is most pleasing to the performer, and he begins to experience deeper satisfaction in life, and an insatiable relish in the transcendental relationship.
“The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge in the Lord, and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing the fruits of action in the material world. In this way they can attain that state beyond all miseries.” (BG 2.51)
All relationships in this life, our parents, siblings, spouses, children, members of our extended families, our friends, contemporaries, associates, workmates, etc; are temporary or transitory. Each soul has traversed a long journey till now, and will move on into other forms of life after death, till eternity. Only our relationship with the Lord is eternal and permanent (BG 4.5).
Krishna not only takes care of His devotees, He also takes care of the devotee’s family members to make the task of devotional service much easier. If at all a devotee is beset by temporary material problems, this is due to Krishna’s mercy. Krishna is anxious for the welfare of His immature devotee, and sometimes removes impediments from the aspirant’s devotional path by subtle manipulation of the material circumstances surrounding His devotee. Krishna acts, by His own desire, and from His own causeless mercy, and through the agency of His wonderful energies, in myriad ways, which are not always understandable to our limited intelligence and imperfect senses.
Krishna respects our independence or individuality, and hence, if we do not desire to have any relationship or connection with Him, for reasons of ignorance, stubbornness, whatever, Krishna will just abandon us, and we shall come under the influence of maya, His external energy. Our own inclinations or desires will shape and select our material bodies in future lives, and we shall continue to be straws floating on the vast material ocean, and shall wander into lower and lower forms of life (BG 16.19-20).
Hence one need not fear or hesitate in becoming a devotee of Lord Krishna and taking up His service without further loss of time. This human form of life is very precious and is the ideal opportunity and the ideal platform to regain Krishna’s association and mercy by our own choice, and to regain our original spiritual nature of an eternal loving relationship with Him. Having done so, we can become eternally free from fear, anxiety and the frailties of the material body, and can establish ourselves as eternal associates of the Lord in His devotional service.
“Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend” (BG 18.65). The supreme Lord Krishna, when satisfied with the sincerity of our bhakti, promises to deliver us from the tiresome journey of countless material lives in various species, and every living being, if it so desires, can attain Him as personally promised by Him.
Gautam Saha