Eternal Form of the Supreme

Hare Krishna!

The Srimad Bhagavatam explains that the Supreme has three aspects – the impersonal Brahman, the all pervasive localized Paramatma, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Bhagavan, Krishna. The Bhagavan aspect is the most superior of the three because it’s the source of the other two.

Thus, impersonalism is not totally bogus. Just that its incomplete. Similarly, the realization of the Paramatma located within the heart of every living entity is also partial. But the realization of Krishna is the complete realization of God since by realizing Krishna the other two aspects are also realized. But by understanding the other two factors, Krishna is still not realized.

Now, coming to Mayavada. The problem with Mayavada is that it denies the Bhagavan aspect! It claims that the impersonal Brahman is the Supreme realization of the Absolute Truth. That sometimes the Supreme Brahman gets covered by ignorance and is then called as the Lord! And when the Brahman is covered by ignorance to a large degree, its called the jiva. I am not going into the exact specifics here, but the point I am making is that the Mayavadis say that there is no such thing as an eternal sat-chit-ananda form of the Supreme. Instead, they say, that “Lord” is the term that refers to the Supreme Brahman covered by ignorance. This “Lord”, they say, has a material body.

Vaishnavas do not deny the impersonal aspect of Krishna (Brahman is the bodily effulgence of Krishna) nor do they deny that there are similarities between the Lord and the jiva. They understand that there are a lot similarities but at the same time a lot of differences too. But the Mayavadis deny the sat-chit-ananda form of Krishna! This is the main flaw of the Mayavada philosophy. They are thus the greatest offenders unto the lotus feet of Krishna.

I want to emphasize that the main problem with Mayavada is the concept that the Supreme does not have a sat-chit-ananda form. The contention is not about what is the nature of the various forms of the Supreme. The contention is that the Supreme has an eternal sat-chit-ananda form. The Mayavadis deny it, but the Vaishnavas assert it. Vaishnavas understand that Krishna can take any form as he likes since He is the Supreme controller and all energies are His servants. Therefore, He might take on any form whether so-called material or spiritual, but in all circumstances He is the Supreme controller. He is not controlled. But the point is that the Supreme has an original sat-chit-ananda form (Mayavadis deny this). And Krishna is that Supreme. He may take any form He wishes, but His original form is the form of Krishna. And the form of Krishna is eternal.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Defending Deity Worship against Word-Jugglery

Understanding the greatness of God as a step towards understanding His personal form

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Resolving apparent contradictions and exposing the futility of word-jugglery

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Hare Krishna!

Last Saturday, on the Walking Plaza book stall, two young, nice, and learned Islamic gentlemen came and were curious about the Krishna Conscious philosophy. They were well-armed with their logic and arguments against the form of the Lord. They were trying to defend the Islamic position of “no idol worship”. They were very polite and it was a very gentlemanly discussion.

As is often the case, less informed people call us “Hindus”. On top of that, since the Vedic knowledge is so vast, there are innumerable different categories of Vedic followers. Therefore, no one really understands what they refer to as “Hindu”ism. However, one unfortunate by-product of the so-called “Hindu”ism is the atheistic philosophy of Mayavada, which says that the Supreme has no form and further that every living being is the same Supreme, without any difference at all. And this unfortunate by-product of so-called “Hindu”ism is quite popular amongst the unfortunate people of the Kali Yuga.

The Islam asserts that there is God and that not everyone is God. But they have difficulty in understanding the form of God. The Quran makes fleeting references to the form of God, but does not describe His form in any detail at all. On the contrary, the Quran says that the form of the Lord is not like this, not like that, not like this, not like that, and so on. This is not really any positive information about the form of the Lord. As a corollary, the Quran also strongly condemns worshipping material forms as God. And thus, the Islamic followers find it extremely difficult to accept deity worship, which is one of the most prominent features of the Vedic way of life. They cannot understand the difference between a deity and an idol. A deity is not a whimsical form of the Lord, but an authorized one. An idol, on the other hand, is a whimsical creation of sentimentalists, which is condemned even by knowledgeable deity worshippers.

Now, to defend their principle of “no idol worship” (which they equate with “no deity worship” for lack of understanding about the difference between the two), the two gentlemen I met that day used the following arguments. Let us analyze them closely.

(1)

They quoted a verse from some Vedic literature that emphasizes the impersonal aspect of the Supreme. As is generally the case, they, or their guides, have resorted to taking only that part of the Vedic knowledge that matches their preset conclusion of “no idol worship”. But the Upanishads (very much part of the Vedas) point to the Puranas and the Itihasas (histories like the Mahabharata and Ramayana) as the fifth Veda and therefore assert their authority. And the Puranas and Itihasas are full of detailed descriptions of the form and pastimes of the Lord.

In short, taking shelter of the Vedas cannot prove that the Lord’s form is un-knowable. It is not revealed in the Quran, but it is very much revealed in the Vedic literature.

(2)

They also told me that they know some “Arya Samaj” followers who claim that the Lord does not have a form, and that the Arya Samaj followers are the only true followers of the Vedic path! Quite an audacious statement. Anyways, as we have already noted, there are a lot of groups who come under the Vedic umbrella and who follow the Vedas to different extents. No one can deny that there are strong Vedic followers who accept the personal aspect of the Lord as the Supreme realization. Then, who is right? The Vedic literature talks about both the impersonal as well as the personal aspects of the Supreme and also states that the personal aspect is the highest realization of the Supreme. We will not go into that discussion in this article. For details, one can refer Srila Prabhupada’s books.

(3)

When I had responses for first two arguments, they now started using logic. “If the Lord is supremely powerful, why does He have to descend to this world? Cant He delegate someone else to execute His will?” The undertone of the question was, I thought, that the Lord cannot descend in this world in a human-like form. By saying that He comes in a human-like form, are we not limiting Him? How can the unlimited have a limited form? Well, this is the classic question by those who do not understand the inconceivable potencies of the Lord.

The Lord descends to this world, not as if forced, but of His own sweet will. He comes for the pleasure of His devotees and also to annihilate the miscreants. Sometimes He sends His representatives, and some times He Himself comes.

How the unlimited Lord can have a “seemingly” limited form can be understood when we understand how the Lord is unlimited in the first place. Why not try to understand this first and then argue that He can not have a form, or that even if He has, He cannot come down in a human-like form? Srila Prabhupada emphasizes in a lot of places that most people know that “God is Great” but very few know “how great?”. In other places Srila Prabhupada says that it is important to have a very solid conception of God to be able to love Him and serve Him. For example, the conception of God as great, not like this, not like that, unlimited, all-merciful, etc. is not as solid as the conception of God having a beautiful all-spiritual form holding a flute, crowned by a peacock feather, amidst His devotees on the banks of the Yamuna. But even the conception of the unlimited-ness and all-pervasive-ness of the Lord needs to be more refined to really understand the personal form of the Lord.

(Krishna expanded Himself into hundreds of Vishnu Forms when Lord Brahma stole His cowherd friends)

Srila Prabhupada explains in so many places with the analogy of the Sun and the sunlight how the Lord can be in one place and can still have His influence all over. In “Teachings of Pralhad Maharaja”, Srila Prabhupada explains that the Lord is all-pervasive and all-knowing due to His expansions and consciousness. A plenary (full in all respects) expansion of the Lord is residing inside each and every atom of the material creation. If this is so, is it any surprise at all that the Lord is all-pervasive and all-knowing? And clearly, taking a form smaller than an atom is not impossible for the Lord. In fact, that is one of inconceivable potencies. Thus, the Lord can be simultaneously present everywhere. So, what’s the big deal if He comes to the earth for enjoying pastimes with His devotees? In the same book, Srila Prabhupada also explains that just like the consciousness of the soul is pervading the whole body, similarly the consciousness of God is pervading all that exists. So, we have the example of our own body to understand how a localized soul can be conscious of a wider field of activities. If it is possible for the minute soul, then why not for the Supersoul – God?

Thus, the Lord can have a form and at the same time be unlimited by His expansions and consciousness. His coming to His material creation in a human-like form (or in any other form) is not really so difficult to understand.

(4)

Now coming to the word-jugglery. This is a trick that Mayavadis use a lot. But word jugglery does not alter the truth. Those two gentlemen showed me a couple of their tricks last Saturday. I told them in the answer to how God can come in a human like form that God can do anything He likes. By saying that He cannot do something means we are limiting Him. In response, they asked, “Can God lie? Can God do injustice?”. And they were taken aback when I said “Yes, He can lie!” They were shocked. They have no such information! H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu jumped in the conversation and said “Yes, God can lie and still do justice!” All this was quite visibly beyond their realms of understanding. They would have never dreamt that someone may say that the Lord can lie. Well, we know that the Lord can not only lie, but He can steal, He can run away from a battlefield, and He can perform so many other transcendental activities. And yet, His activities are always perfect, though sometimes quite inconceivable.

When this piece of word-jugglery backfired on them, they went on to another one. What I gleaned out of these attempts was that they first wanted to establish that though the Lord can do anything, there are still some activities that He cannot. And once that is established, they would have come to the point that coming to the earth in a human-like form was also one such activity. For them, God lying is a contradiction, and similarly the unlimited Lord coming in a human-like form is also a contradiction. And contradictions don’t exist. In this way, I thought, they wanted to lead me to the conclusion of “no idol worship”, or that we cannot know the form of the Lord and therefore we must not worship a form as God. Anyway, that God can lie was certainly a big blow to their logic sequence. Agreed that contradictions don’t exist, but just because someone thinks something is a contradiction doesn’t necessarily mean that it is indeed a contradiction. It can also mean the lack of correct understanding. We have already described how the unlimited Lord coming in a human like form is not a contradiction.

Their next trick question was “Can God die?” And pat came the reply from me “Yes!” And then they were even more shocked. Ofcourse, I added “His birth and activities are all transcendental”. But they were still a bit bewildered. Actually there is no meaning to the question “Can God die?” One can’t really expect a simple answer to such a question. But Krishna inspired me from within to say “Even we cannot die, then where is the question of God dying!”.

On this answer, they were still a bit flummoxed. They then went on to the question “Do you believe in heaven and hell?” I said “Yes”. The discussion went on for some time and then they left. But I was left with a deep stream of thoughts after this discussion. So far I had had to contend with Mayavadis, but this time I was contending with the Islamic conception of God, which according to the Vedic wisdom is not quite complete.

A little bit more about trick questions. “Can God die?” Ofcourse He can’t. But is that a limitation of God? Ofcourse not! That is part of the definition of God. But since God cannot die, does it mean that He cannot descend into His creation? If yes, then that is surely a limitation of God. But the Lord does not have any limitations. Thus, the word jugglery might sometimes be very catchy, but its nothing more than what it is – word jugglery. Another trick question is “Can God create something that He cannot lift?” Well, again, since the Lord has created something, He is in total control of His creation in all respects at all times. How does His not being not-in-control of His creation be a sign of His limitation? That is, how is His Supreme control over His creation a sign of limitation? No person with a little common-sense will fall for these childish tricks.

Ofcourse, Prabhupada, the genius that he is, replies even to trick questions like “Can God create something that He cannot lift?” affirmatively. And then he explains how the Lord in His childhood pastimes struggles to life the footware of His father Nanda, but then effortlessly lifts the Govardhan! I guess that’s why I replied to both questions “Can God lie?” and “Can God die?” affirmatively, just like Srila Prabhupada. Because our understanding is that God can do anything. Period. Word jugglery does not take away anything from the unlimited and inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead – Krishna.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Inconceivable, but not Incoherent

The inadequacy of Mayavada
The completeness of Achintya-Bhed-Abheda

(Srila Prabhupada makes a point!)

Hare Krishna!

My analytical mind engages me in philosophical wrangling time and again. Unanswered, or unsatisfactorily answered, philosophical questions constantly nag me, and my mind becomes hyperactive in search of answers. As is quite unsurprising, I had the most difficult time with the questions regarding Mayavada – the last snare of Maya. Lord Chaitanya has warned us against listening to Mayavada philosophy. It is poison. It is spiritual suicide.

My difficulties were not that the Mayavada philosophy might be true, because it seems quite obvious to me that it is false. Saying that everyone or everything is God is another way of saying that there is no God. Further, clearly everything is not “One” since my thoughts and my neighbour’s thoughts are different. If both us were same, then everything about us would be the same, including thoughts, actions, likes, dislikes, and so on… Therefore, it was quite clear to me that a philosophy suggesting such a “One”ness is quite inadequate to explain things that happen all around me and no sane man will think twice about it.

But my difficulties arose when I found that somehow this seemingly inadequate philosophy is all over the place! It is almost ingrained in the society and in the scholarly and so-called spiritual literature. I was quite disturbed. How can such a philosophy gain acceptance? And if it has, what is the underlying philosophy? Is it a coherent philosophy? How does it explain everything using the clearly inadequate concept of the absolute undifferentiated un-variegated “One”ness?

Though the philosophical wrangling still goes on in my mind about Mayavada, the mental agitation has more or less vanished. That was because of the mercy of H. G. RadheShyam Prabhu (Temple President, ISKCON Pune). In a brief standing meeting he told me the reason for the mental agitation. “Because we are not immersed in Shaastra”, he told me. “Have you read all Srila Prabhupada Books with purports? Once you do that, all your questions will be answered.” From that day, I have never felt agitated because of philosophical doubts. H. G. RadheShyam Prabhu has filled me with the confidence that Srila Prabhupada’s books have the answers to all questions.

That taken care of, over a period of time I have understood that the Mayavada philosophy is indeed quite incoherent and full of internal inconsistencies. Its essential concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness is violated time and again as it tries to explain the obvious variety in the creation. Either the indivisibility is violated, or the complete purity and supremacy is violated. And when the philosophy is confronted with questions whose answers violate the essential concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness, it takes shelter of its classic “brahma satya, jagat mithya (only Brahman is Truth, this world is false) cover up. But how did the part of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme Brahman become covered up by ignorance? How can the indivisible be divided into parts? And how can the completely pure supreme become covered up by ignorance? The answer – “Oh.. brahma satya, jagat mithya… its false, don’t worry about it…” So, what is false? Either the concept of the absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One”ness is false, or the explanation that they give about “”part” of Brahman gets covered by “ignorance”” is false. This is a classic inconsistency in the Mayavada philosophy for which the only answer we can expect from it is “brahma satya, jagat mithya”. Sounds philosophical, but its not philosophy. Its word jugglery.

(Lord Chaitanya transforms the Mayavadis of Varanasi into Vaishnavas!)

On the other hand, Lord Chaitanya's philosophy of “achintya bhed-abheda” suffers from no inconsistencies. The philosophy is that of “simultaneous, inconceivable oneness and difference” between the Lord and His energies. The absolute, indivisible, and completely pure supreme “One” is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Everything animate and inanimate emanates from Him and therefore it’s His energy. In this sense, everything is God. Everything is One. But, that’s not all. The energies of the Lord are simultaneously also ‘not the Lord’. This is not a contradiction. Srila Prabhupada gives so many analogies. The classic ones are a) that the sun and the sunlight are simultaneously one and different, and b) that the cow and her milk is simultaneously one and different. The cow’s milk is a separated energy of the cow. The simultaneous oneness and difference is even more evident when we consider that the qualities of the part-and-parcel living entities are same as that of the Lord. Those qualities are the sat-chit-anand qualities. And most strikingly, the living entities have their own minute free will as well! The Lord has supremely free will, and the living entities have minute free will. So this is sameness. But each living entity can use the free will freely independent of another living entity’s free will. This is a clear example of difference. Simultaneous sameness and difference. Not very difficult to understand actually, once Srila Prabhupada explains it in an easily understandable way. So, how did the “parts” of the Supreme Lord come about if He is indivisible? Well, they didn’t come about at a particular point in time. They were always separated energies of the Lord. Only that the nature of this energy is spiritual and not material as in the example of the cow’s milk. The Lord has two kinds of separated energies, spiritual and material. The living entities are part of His spiritual energies. Therefore, just like the Lord, being spiritual living entities, they are also indivisible! But the living entities are eternally separated energies, they did not break away from the Supreme Lord at some point in time. Similarly, the material energy is also His separated energy, eternally separated from Him, though He is the source of both the spiritual and the material energies. Lord Krishna clearly mentions this in the Bhagavad Gita that though He is the source of all that be, He is still aloof. The living entity, since it has its own minute free will, can choose to enjoy independently of Krishna, and therefore can come under the influence of illusion, thinking itself to be the master. However, the Lord Himself can never come under the influence of illusion since He is source and controller of the illusory energy as well. Thus, though the Lord and the living entities are same in so many ways (free will, indivisible, etc.), there is still so much difference (energetic vs. energy, controller vs. controlled, source vs. emanations from the source). Simultaneous inconceivable sameness and difference!

Phew! These are the inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Lord Krishna. But, note that the explanation is not incoherent. Thus, any philosopher can clearly see that the Mayavada philosophy is full of internal inconsistencies while the “achintya bhed-abheda” philosophy quite easily handles all possible questions about the soul, God, and the relationship between the two. It also easily explains the variety we see all around and it also appreciates the common underlying principle of all existence, Krishna – the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The “achintya bhed-abheda” can also easily reconcile apparently contradictory scriptural statements, some of which advocate “One”ness and some of which advocate “difference”.

Though initial faith is required for following any of the paths, which intelligent person will follow a philosophy which is obviously incoherent? Then why is Mayavada so popular? Srila Prabhupada explains that the main reason is envy for the Lord. That’s the main reason the living entity was covered by the illusion of thinking itself as the master, and since it wants to hold on to that conception, after all attempts of trying to lord over material nature fail, the living entity takes to this Mayavada philosophy which Srila Prabhupada calls the last snare of Maya.

As far as intelligent people are concerned, and especially devotees, one must develop the firm conviction that Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada are the only shelter. Its only because of their mercy that we could quite easily see through the façade of the Mayavada philosophy of blatant atheism. Without their mercy, there would have been no hope for us to stand against the so-called scholars who propagate atheism in the name of philosophy. Such miscreants have played a havoc in the society and Srila Prabhupada’s movement is the only shelter for the misguided souls of this age.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Look Who's Chanting!

(Book Distribution Nectar)

(Srila Prabhupada's with his books in the Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Temple, Chowpatty, Mumbai)

Hare Krishna!

By the mercy of H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu, I (along with a few other glorious devotees) have tasted the bliss of spreading the mercy of Lord Chaitanya in the form of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. Every Saturday and Sunday JaiNarsimha Prabhu sets up his book stall on the Walking Plaza. I (and a few other glorious devotees) try to go there to assist him.

Two recent developments have really inspired me a lot to seriously take up this service of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. One, my recent visit to the San Jose ISKCON Temple where the massive book distributor H. G. Vaisesika Prabhu is inspiring the youth of the Silicon Valley to regularly go out and distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. And two, H. G. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu! He is a disciple of H. H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami Maharaj and has recently joined our company. Book distribution is his life and soul! This is the way he wishes to please and serve his spiritual master. His intense desire for book distribution has rubbed on to me a little and I hope that in his association even I make this service my life and soul. These are ofcourse high sounding words from such a little mouth as mine, but then, what is impossible in the association of great Vaishnavas like H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu and H. G. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu who have so clearly made their own desires one with the desires of Srila Prabhupada and their respective spiritual masters?

This Saturday a couple of amazing things happened. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu urged me to write an article on it, and this is that article. We were standing near our stall and engrossed in book distribution. Not far away, amateur pop singers were performing their music show on the temporary wooden stage that is setup every weekend on Walking Plaza. Only by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada’s Transcendental Book Distribution were we quite unaffected by the going-ons of the Walking Plaza, which is pretty much the hub of mundane gross sense gratification in the city of Pune. The site of those glittering gems, Srila Prabhupada’s books, was the only solace to the eyes. The constant chanting of Hare Krishna was the only solace to the ears. The feel of the “Bhagavad Gita – As It Is” was like the warm embrace of the Lord. The glorification of Srila Prabhupada’s books was the only solace for the wandering mind. The techniques used to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books were the only solace for the intelligence. The pleas to the customers to take a Prabhupada book were just what the false ego needed. Thus, Srila Prabhupada’s books were gradually washing away all our anarthas (impurities) and establishing us in the state of Samadhi -- constant engagement in the service of the Lord!

Just then, I remember, I saw Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu telling someone “At least fifty. Five-Zero.” I didn’t understand what it was all about and so I again went back to raising my two hands, chanting Hare Krishna (loudly, but not as loud as the music), holding “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” in one hand and “Coming Back” in another and hoping that someone notices the stall and at least stops by. Sometimes it happens that no one comes for a long time. And then I start hoping desperately that I should atleast be able to distribute one book today. And then someone comes along and takes two Bhagavad Gitas! It happened this Sunday. And I cannot tell you how grateful I felt to those two young boys who took the Bhagavad Gitas. Anyways… coming back to “Five-Zero”. A few minutes later, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu told me that the person has ordered 50 Bhagavad Gitas!! I was stunned for a moment. And I was also very happy for Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu. I could imagine how happy he must be at that moment and how he must be restraining himself and not jumping and roaring around in joy! :-)

But this is not all! Its not even the main reason Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu urged me to write this article. The main reason is what follows. Suddenly, out of the blue, we heard the Hare Krishna Mahamantra! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare! Since I was myself chanting the mantra, it took me a while to realize what was happening. Then, to my astonishment, I realized that the Mahamantra was being chanted by someone on that wooden stage! “Look who’s chanting!!” In the mike! Audible to all! He chanted it a few times and also asked the crowd to repeat it behind him! And Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu did repeat it behind him. Louder than the mike! Louder than the hundreds of people gathered around. And Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu also roared “Once more! Once more!” It was an amazing experience!

(H. G. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu!)

Surely the person was inspired by the Paramatma within to chant the MahaMantra in the microphone. Surely he got lots and lots of “ajnata sukruti” because of it. Surely, the hundreds of people assembled there benefited from the transcendental sound vibration emanating from the lips of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu. And surely, the book distribution stall was the only reason all this happened! Time and again it is demonstrated by the Lord that book distribution is a completely transcendental and mystical activity and that its power is unfathomable. No wonder Srila Prabhupada loved it like nothing else.

These pastimes remind me of the pastimes of H. H. Indradyumna Swami Maharaj, whose “Diary of a Travelling Preacher” is filled with such inconceivable happenings. As I can now clearly see, there is no exaggeration in those pastimes. They are there for all to see. Lord Chaitanya is the most munificent Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore what is it that He cannot do? And yet, the nature of the Lord and His activities is such that each time the pastimes seem as if new and fresh! Each time it takes our breath away, and each time it takes us that little bit closer to Him.

Your servant,
Abhijit.