Bygone Times

November 04, 2007.

It is Sunday evening in the middle of the Diwali Vacation. I have just returned from a nearby Botanical Garden, a typical family park where Sunday evenings are full of small children just freely enjoying themselves on the various play toys while the elders just sit around and relax. Some children were sliding down slides, some were swinging on swings, and some were just running around behind each other. The air was full of shouts and screams punctuating the general background of the loud murmuring sound made up of the various voices. The dust raised by all the playing kids permeated the air all around along with its typical fragrance.

The whole scene took me back to my childhood days which I have spent just like a lot of other children born in middle class families in India. I have grown up playing a lot of cricket and a lot of other sports. And typically, in school days, evening time is the play time! Lot of evenings I have spent playing my heart out and then later sitting around with buddies chatting away long into the night. It was one of our favorite pastimes. And therefore, the dusty fragrance of the evening and its feel are very much synonymous to those childhood memories of mine. In the garden today those memories were evoked just a little bit. But what really struck me was the unbridled fun the small kids were having.

Alas! Time waits for no one and its only a matter of time that these days whiz past us. Suddenly, one day some sights and sounds and smells evoke the memories of those bygone days and we start wishing that we were little kids again. Why? We long to experience once again that stress free life in which we are not entangled in the mesh of responsibilities that is so typical of adult life. When we are kids, we go to the park and just play to our heart’s content because we are not anxious about anything. We are totally dependent on our parents for everything, with full innocent faith that they will provide whatever is required for our well being. But as soon as we grow up we are expected to “stand on our own feet”. Now, we are expected to not be dependent on others, but others depend on us in one way or the other. That’s one way of saying that we are put into some kind of responsible position in which we are accountable to someone or the other for whatever we do. We are no longer free to do whatever we want and leave the rest to our parents. Our freedom is lost! So we yearn once again to become a kid who is fully dependent on the mercy of his parents and who has full innocent faith in their benevolence.

Well, what all I have written above is not really something new. One will find such a stream of thoughts in a lot of mundane literature which does talk a lot of times in a very nostalgic way about the passing away of good times. I have read a lot, and “bygone times” is quite a recurring theme in most popular literature. And in most of them one thing is common in one form or another – sorrow that that which was once, now is no more. While reading a lot, I observed that most of the very successful popular literature, prose or poetry, is based on some past or present sorrow. I reasoned that this was because sorrow is the strongest emotion felt by human beings, more acute that any kind of joy could evoke. This reasoning though sounded correct, was also a bit depressing. To figure out that the sorrows of life are more of a reality than the joys is not a pleasant discovery. But it must be true, otherwise why has the world not produced at least one compelling literature that is all about ever expanding joy? I know of great tragedies (in literature) but I don’t know of any great good fortune stories. I was really curious to find at least one literature that is based not on sorrow but on joy.

Lord Krishna has stamped this material world in the Bhagavad Gita as a temporary place full of misery. Indeed, one of the reasons of the misery in this material is its temporary nature. That which is dear to us will inevitably be separated from us sooner or later. Everyone is either lamenting for what he has lost or is fearful of losing what he currently possesses. The knowledge of the temporal nature of everything material in itself is not sufficient to give anyone happiness though. This knowledge alone can only depress one further and produce a negative outlook towards life in the knower. It is indeed better sometimes to have no knowledge instead of partial. Since most people only know this partial truth and do not know the solution to this problem, they tend to totally ignore the problem and try to cover it up by a lot of temporary pleasures pretending to be happy. Or they make mental adjustments and try to become indifferent to this partial truth which they consider as the ultimate. All this generally leads to the hedonistic self-destructive tendencies that are quite common in the modern man. This then is the plight of those bereft of the knowledge of the Supreme Absolute Truth – the eternal, all knowing, ever blissful Personality of Godhead - Lord Sri Krishna!

The other part of the knowledge that this material world is a place of a temporal nature is that there exists a place which is eternal and where the effect of time is conspicuous only by its absence. There the little baby Krishna never grows old and always immerses His mother Yashoda in an ocean of transcendental ecstatic maternal love. There the cowherd boy friends of Krishna never stop playing with Krishna in the forests and plains of Vrindavan. There everything is ever fresh and new. There is no question of becoming nostalgic about bygone good times because there time never goes by! Not only that, there everyone is a soul surrendered unto Krishna and is totally dependent on the mercy of Krishna without any pretensions about ones own position as the dependent. This then is similar to a small child’s total dependence on the benevolence of his parents and thus all the souls in the spiritual world experience unlimited freedom as explained earlier in this article. Of course, in the higher mellows of devotional service, this dependence on Krishna is covered up by Krishna’s mystical YogaMaya potency so that Krishna can enjoy beautiful intimate relationships with His surrendered devotees thus giving them and Himself immense joy. But this forgetfulness of dependence on Krishna is different from the forgetfulness of the pretentious souls of the material world. Having this complete knowledge does not depress one in this material world but inspires one to transcend the limitations of material existence and attain the spiritual world.

My curiosity about a literature based on ever increasing joy found its fruition when I came across the Srimad Bhagavatam. This is one great literature which speaks about the glorious qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His unalloyed devotees. This literature was compiled on the basis of complete knowledge and quite fittingly is thus full of ever increasing transcendental joy. Thus, ignorance is only temporary bliss, partial knowledge is quite dangerous, and complete knowledge is complete eternal bliss.

Thus, this glorious movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada is providing me all that I always sought. My quest for the sublime has ended in my most fortunate discovery of His Divine Grace. Well, the quest might have ended but the journey has just begun. I have to go a long long way yet to attain the ultimate goal of life – Love of God, Krishna Prem!

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Perception Depends On Consciousness

Hare Krishna!

Dear All,

Perception depends on consciousness. More elaborately, how much subtlety one perceives depends on how elevated that person’s consciousness is. Or, what one perceives and what not depends on the nature of the consciousness of that person. This is one of the many principles a practicing devotee knows subconsciously. However, what is required is to bring these principles more to the forefront by contemplating on them rather than just let them float somewhere in vast ocean of the subconscious. In this article, I will give form to my own contemplation on this principle and try to present how it promises to help me a lot both as a practicing devotee and as a preacher.

I read this principle recently in a diary of a devotee which he had written while in Vrindavan. He wrote something to the effect that he could perceive the sublimity of Sri Sri Radha Kunda better after he had chanted a few rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra because the chanting had raised his consciousness to a higher level. He remarked, “Perception depends on consciousness”.

However, one more event happened that led me into a contemplative mood and thus eventually led to this article. I was preaching to a person and he was very agitated about the cleanliness rule that one should take a bath after clearing the bowels. For devotees its quite a common sense practice. But that person was contending why the emphasis on a bath when any decently hygienic person would anyway wash his hands and legs after the activity. Why the insistence on the bath? This is quite illogical, unscientific, and bordering on fanaticism. That’s what he thought.

As a lover of philosophy and as a seeker of the Absolute Truth, I rarely think too much about the day-to-day practices we are instructed to practice as part of our devotional life. I am generally more prepared to answer deeper philosophical questions than the question “Why should I take a bath after evacuating? Isn’t washing hands and legs with soap enough?” However, I have subsequently realized that this is also a philosophical question, if not a very deep one!

Taking a bath, especially with cold water, cleanses the mind to a large extent. That’s why it is recommended that after any activity that pollutes the mind, one must take a bath. This obviously does not obviate taking a bath after physically sullying activities. After a nap, the mind is full of dreamy thoughts. Similarly, after evacuating, the mind and senses are prone to be polluted by unwelcome sights and sounds and smells. Those impressions won’t go away by washing the hands and legs by soap. But they will definitely go away after a cold water bath. This then answers that person’s question.

This thought process and the earlier thoughts about perception and consciousness combined together and gave me food for thought and contemplation that eventually led to some nice realizations. This also illustrates one very important aspect of our devotional life. That both things are equally important if one wants to realize the truths of the scriptures. One, read scriptures a lot. Two, preach by telling others what you read. The dynamics that ensue will definitely lead the contemplative to realizations.

So, how does perception depend on consciousness? Some examples will easily illustrate this point. Consider a person who is sleeping soundly at 2 am in the night. Will he perceive too many things happening around him? No, because his consciousness at that point is very much covered by the influence of the mode of ignorance, or in simpler words, by sleep. But when that person awakes, he will definitely perceive more things. This clearly illustrates how a covered consciousness allows only a very little perception. This is quite a gross, although appropriate, example but it sets the scene for the examples to come.

Not only is there difference in the consciousness of a sleeping person and that of a person who is awake, but also in the consciousness of two persons who are both awake. Suppose a family is going from one place to another in a car. The driver will definitely be more aware of what is happening on the road in front of him than the others. The driver will perceive more minute changes in the motion of the vehicles around him than will the others. Thus, in this sense, the driver is more conscious than the others. The others’ consciousness is covered by the sense of security that the driver will take care of the driving and that they need not worry about it.

Here is another example from day-to-day life. I was on the terrace of my office enjoying the beautiful Indian winter whether when I saw a person smoking. How will he perceive the crisp freshness of the air? He is surrounded by the smoke emanating from his own mouth! Even his senses are covered.

Similarly, consider that you are going to write an exam and in your hurry you trip over and fall. It hurts. But you don’t have any time to worry about it right now. You go in the exam hall, write the exam, and come out after 3 hours. And then it really starts to hurt! Why? Because now your mind is no longer engrossed in the exam. It has just realized that you are hurt and only then does it really start hurting. Quite a practical example of how perception (of the pain in this case) depends on consciousness (which was immersed in the exam in this example).

So, we have now established that our senses and consciousness can be covered by different gross or subtle coverings which determine the degree of our perceptiveness in various circumstances. We can also understand that not only can the consciousness be of different degrees (like sleeping versus waking), it can also be of aspects of reality (pain versus exam). As devotees, our choices are quite clear. We have to become more and more conscious of the Absolute Reality Krishna. This will automatically adjust all other combinations to their optimal levels.

Thus, as practicing devotees, we need to constantly endeavor to develop our consciousness in such a way that we ultimately perceive Krishna everywhere. That will definitely be the stage of total perfection, total Krishna Consciousness. The Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna is also known as Adhokshaja – one who is beyond sense perception! Therefore, it is clear that we need to raise our consciousness beyond the mundane sphere into the transcendental. This requires constant endeavor on our part and ultimately the mercy of Krishna that comes through His pure devotees.

As a preacher too it is important to remember this principle of perception and consciousness. One has to preach according to the level of consciousness of the audience. How bathing clears the mind off dreamy or unwelcome impressions cannot be perceived by a person who is totally on the gross bodily platform and who isn’t even aware of his own mind. First, we should try to raise the consciousness of the audience and then on that raised platform give the appropriate instructions. In fact, giving a higher instruction to a person of lower consciousness can quite often be counter productive. The listener might start considering the preacher as illogical, unscientific, and fanatic.

Apart from what all I have written above about perception and consciousness, I have also realized quite a few general principles from this recent contemplation of mine. Here is a brief summary. Read scripture and preach it. This will generate a lot of food for thought. Contemplate on it. This will lead to a lot of realizations. And most importantly, don’t forget to discuss the realizations with senior devotees. For those who rejoice in the knowledge of the Absolute Truth, this is the magic formula for success!

Hare Krishna!

Your in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.