Cynics and Sentimentalists, and the Missing Link

Many people like to believe that all religious looking elements - individuals or organizations - cheat people; these are the cynics. And many people like to believe that all religious looking elements are worthy of deep respect; these are the sentimentalists. Both groups, as soon as they open their mouths to speak, reveal their lack of intellectual application to the subject matter.

A true spiritualist is one who studies authorized spiritual literature and practices authentic spiritual life under the guidance of an authorized spiritual master - Guru - who himself belongs to a chain of such authorized Gurus. Such a spiritualist, the true spiritualist, is dedicated to the quest of the Absolute Truth; all his actions and desires are aligned accordingly.

A Vaishnava devotee of the Lord, who has taken shelter of a pure devotee Guru, is a true spiritualist. Under the Guru's guidance, he studies the Absolute Truth - the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from the authorized Vedic literature. He also sincerely practices the process of dedicating ones life to the service of God. And he imbibes from his Guru deep compassion for all living beings.

Such a devotee voluntarily bears the responsibility of bringing both the cynics and sentimentalists to the path of true everlasting happiness - the path of selfless love of God. The cynic is typically self righteous and can come through as arrogant and presumptuous. By sound logic and persuasive presentation, the devotee can make the cynic take note of the spiritual perspective of reality. The sentimentalist is typically a credulous and impressionable simple hearted person looking for some solace who easily gets impressed and puts faith. By his kind gentle behavior and persuasive presentation, the devotee can make the sentimentalist discern true substance from the pseudo spiritual hotch-potch.

A cynic is completely unaware of the joys and depths of spiritual wisdom and the sentimentalist mistakes mundane emotions, love, and accomplishments to be spiritual. Both require affectionate guidance from a trusted well wisher. A devotee is always a gentleman and hence is liked by all. He is likable because he is non-envious and completely satisfied due to his connection with God. At the same time, due to his compassion, he wants to nudge both the cynics and sentimentalists towards the truly spiritual path of selfless love of God.

Thus, while cynics and sentimentalists seem to be at odds with each other, the devotee of the Lord is perfectly made for them both. He links them both to god and thus brings them closer to each other.

Truly, the missing link.

Begin Your Journey of Joy

As long as we think, even mildly, that material situations are important, we are in the trap of deadly illusion. This illusion causes us to mistake the unimportant as important, the inessential as essential, the temporary as permanent. It makes us despair in unfortunate times; it makes us fearful about losing the good ones. It makes us struggle to accumulate more and even to just maintain status quo.

Unfortunately the world situation today forces us to struggle even for basic necessities and securities even if we are unattached to material situations. Gone are the days where one could lead a peaceful spiritual life away from the rigmarole of the general life of the masses. Life has become a struggle for all.

Most seek respite in the shallow entertainment of this world which leads them into denser fogs of illusion. But the wise seek respite in focussing on the essential ingredients of happy living even while the world conspires to allure them away into the sinister fogs of illusion.

Focussing on unchanging universal wisdom principles leads to a peaceful and fulfilled heart. Break the shackles of materialistic life, stop being impressed by material accomplishments.

When the mundane stops interesting you, your journey of joy begins.

True Foundations

Certain truths take a long time for us to accept. It takes a humble heart and an unagitated mind to make these truths the foundations of our living.

Life and the Comfort Zone

Life begins at the end of the comfort zone.

Do You Really Care?

People are unhappy. Someone has lost their dear one, someone has not yet settled down in life. Someone still yearns for affection and appreciation, or that elusive recognition. Someone still looks back at what could have been and some heart burns at a lifetime of limited success. Someone has classmates more accomplished than them, someone has friends who pity them. Someone struggles for daily bread and someone dreams for a stable job. The list is unending. Eyes moisten if you care to look.

Most times we are too busy or unhappy to notice. Or the thoughts are replaced soon by something less disturbing to the mind. But great souls notice. It moves them to action. They wish to see everyone happy.

Great souls work tirelessly to mend, soothe, strengthen, and protect the heart. They spread the message and culture of true love, the only real need of the crying heart. A loved heart feels safe and satisfied; external circumstances affect it less. Deep selfless love is what the heart yearns for. Such love isn't to be found in temporary relationships with the imperfect people of this world.

No one can satisfy the heart except the one who created it. If you truly care, spread this message. Dispel the illusion that something else can make one happy.

Do you really care?

Happy Reading

Very few written words are worth reading. Read only that which simplifies your life and soothes your mind, or that which keeps or sharpens your focus on the cherished goal of your heart.

Why not reset our reading habits to better align with the calling of our heart? The heart longs for lasting joy; why read words that have no power to fulfill this longing?

Relook your reading menu. Fast from reading for a few days. Then carefully choose your diet. Focus on a critical few items. Give it time for your new reading pattern to become a habit.

Remember, what you read impacts the joy and satisfaction quotient of your life. Read wholesome, read healthy, read consciously. Happy reading!

Give Your Heart to Get True Joy

"Let's enjoy now, because we might not get another chance". This is a popular notion amongst those who identify themselves as fun lovers. Despite its peppy tone, this statement reveals the fun lovers' unfortunate dependence on fun. It evokes a picture of someone who gives one's heart to someone or something, knowing well that that someone or something will desert one's life anytime. It evokes pity.

One doesn't need to seek fun to have fun. Joy comes from within for one who has given one's heart to the eternal. This is so because each one of us is an eternal soul whose natural joy is in loving the supreme eternal - God.

Know who God is, know how beautiful and loving he is, know about his glories and qualities, know about his activities. And then, give your heart to God.

There is no other way to fun and happiness.

Bold and Beautiful, TOVP

Bold and Beautiful, TOVP
An emblem of Srila Prabhupada’s boldness.

Srila Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) when he was 70 years old and spread it throughout the world in the next 12 years. He obviously had numerous attractive qualities, both as a person and as a leader. One that continues to amaze, inspire, and guide his followers was his sensational boldness. Srila Prabhupada's boldness changed the course of world history.

When Prabhupada started his work in the USA in the 1960s, traditional religious institutions no longer held firm sway on the newer generations of the western world. Materialism and even outright hedonism was beginning to capture the hearts of the masses there.  The western world was fast moving towards a completely godless state of existence; the rest of the world would have followed suit shortly. Prabhupada reintroduced the western world to God - a stunningly beautiful blue teenage jolly cowherd boy who plays a flute and constantly engages in delightful pastimes of selfless love and affection with all the inhabitants, including birds and animals, of His simple rural village named Vrindavan. In an increasingly materialistic, self-centered, urbanized, and anti-god western society, this picture of God was a shocking revelation. But Prabhupada's bold conviction in his message made people start believing in it - to engage in pure devotional service to God, Krishna. 

The TOVP is an emblem of Srila Prahbupada’s boldness.

The Bold Lonely Struggle

One can trace back Prabhupada's boldness to his first meeting in 1922 with His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta startled the then 26 year old Gandhian Indian nationalist Abhay Charan De by his bold proclamation: temporary material situations like the British rule over India should not impede the preaching of Lord Chaitanya’s spiritual message; only this message can benefit the world and not any political situation. In an India engulfed by arousing nationalistic fervor, this was a stunning proposition; but Prabhupada was convinced.

Prabhupada later became an initiated disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and imbibed from him this trait of boldness. Prabhupada was bold in multiple ways - personally, as a visionary, and as a strategist. In the 1950s, he made the bold decision of leaving his family to dedicate himself fully to the order of his spiritual master – to preach Lord Chaitanya’s message in English all over the world. This period, the 1950s, was Prabhupada’s toughest in terms of food, clothing, and shelter. Brought up with utmost love and care by his parents and always treated affectionately by his spiritual master, now Prabhupada found that he was all alone. Yet he struggled on, shuttling between Vrindavan and Delhi, to raise funds for, write, and print his “Back To Godhead” fortnightly journal and his commentary on the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is impossible to fathom how this unknown aged man continued on without any fixed source of money, contacts, institutional backing, or certainty about the future. We can but bow our heads in the dust of his lotus feet and profusely thank him for his struggles for bringing us to the path of Krishna Consciousness.

This period of struggle ended in an unprecedented event in world history – a voyage that could eventually become as famous as Columbus’s voyage that led to the discovery of the New World. Columbus brought the western world into light; Prabhupada’s voyage brought spiritual light to the western world. Prabhupada’s voyage to USA on the cargo ship Jaladuta and his subsequent success are unparalleled in the history of Vaishnavism. The voyage was a bold move on multiple counts. One, traditional Vedic wisdom prohibits one to leave the shores of the holy land of India. And two, Prabhupada was 69 years old then, with no financial or social support whatsoever.

Taking on the World

Prabhupada’s conviction in his mission gradually earned him his first few followers in the USA. He finally had hands to execute his mission. When all he had was a single storefront, he painted the vision of an international society. He called it a society for Krishna Consciousness when no one in the west knew that Krishna is God. He startled the western world by Hari Nama Sankirtans - street processions having devotees chanting and dancing to the beats of hand cymbals and drums with banners of the Holy Name in hand. The biggest and most eye catching street processions were of course the Lord Jagannath Ratha Yatras which he conducted in major cities of the world. Perhaps his boldest and most socially noticeable move was to have devotees publicly and visibly distribute his books in major public places like airports. His vision was clear – to wake up the people of the world to Krishna by aggressive propaganda via books and sankirtan.

In his books he presented Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead along with his Holy Name, form, qualities, and pastimes. But in many of his conversations with eminent philosophers and scientists he used a distinct strategy - he challenged them. Quoting from authoritative Vedic scriptures and applying simple logic, he questioned and reprimanded those who proclaimed God to be impersonal and denied His eternal form and abode. He gave the Vedic perspective on the various western philosophies he came across. And most notably, he exposed the illogicality and futility of the mechanistic explanation of the cosmos and all that’s in it. This was a direct challenge to the growing atheistic scientific worldview. Despite not having a scientific academic background, he boldly ridiculed atheistic reductionist science based on his simple and firm faith in the word of scripture. To ensure that this challenge didn’t fizzle away, he started the Bhaktivedanta Institute as the scientific wing of ISKCON. While the whole world was glorifying the dazzling advancements in the scientific world, Prabhupada belittled them as being incapable of solving the real problems of life – birth, old age, disease, and death.

Prabhupada's expert application of the principle of yukta vairagya was instrumental in his spectacular success.  Because Srila Prabhupada was a pure devotee, Krishna was the most tangible reality for him; in fact he was in full realization of the fact that Krishna is the only independent reality and that all else depends on Him. Consequently he had the flair of engaging everything in Krishna’s service. He was the quintessential yukta vairagi. Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé characterizes Kåñëa consciousness in this way:

anäsaktasya viñayän
yathärham upayuïjataù
nirbandhaù kåñëa-sambandhe
yuktaà vairägyam ucyate

"When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Kåñëa, one is rightly situated above possessiveness. [This is the principle of yukta vairagya]" (Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.2.255)

Money, technology, world travel, mass media, public programs - he used them all with assured confidence. What’s more, he engaged the most unkempt drug addicts on one hand and attracted sophisticated scientists and professors on the other. It takes extraordinary ability to engage the most spiritually unqualified and ignorant in the Lord’s service. And it takes courage. The result was a Hare Krishna explosion. Hare Krishna became household names, hundreds of youth became his followers, millions of spiritual books were sold, and a hundred temples were built.  Lord Chaitanya’s movement left the shores of India; Prabhupada fulfilled the order of his spiritual master.

Succession of Boldness

Srila Prabhupada expected his followers to have faith in the Holy Name and continue preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya boldly. Being bold is hard; it takes courage to take significant and potentially life threatening risks. However, the tales of Srila Prabhupada’s personal struggles, his life threatening voyage to the west, and untiring hard work despite advanced old age serve as continuous inspiration for his sincere followers. Riding on this inspiration, his followers continue to operate even in remote corners of the globe, in hostile countries like the Islamic and communist nations, in the hearts of modern cities, and in many other parts of the world. Many of his disciples and grand-disciples lead a hectic life full of inconveniences to carry forward his legacy. This succession of boldness and dedication is one of Srila Prabhupada’s hallmarks of success; a true leader is one who creates more leaders.

Prabhupada has also given a life of dignity and confidence to all his followers. Without a thriving and united community of devotees, it would have been difficult for devotees to practice devotional life in today’s increasingly godless modern world. But thanks to ISKCON, devotees in devotional attire are now an increasingly common site in various parts of the world. This is also due to the strong scriptural and logical foundation that Prabhupada has provided for all aspects of a devotee’s life. Now a devotee does not need to be apologetic about his devotional practices. In fact many times a devotee’s acquaintances look up to him or her for guidance regarding various aspects of their life.

As a token of gratitude, to fulfil one of his ardent desires, and as a stunningly courageous undertaking, Srila Prabhupada’s followers are constructing the magnificent TOVP.

Bold and Beautiful

The three giant domes of the TOVP will be structurally complete by the end of 2015. This will include the concreting layer on top of the steel superstructure of the domes. By then, the entire superstructure of the temple building including the external brickwork will also be done. The domes will be layered with vitrified tiles of a unique shade of blue. Tiles of this color are available nowhere in the world. The NITCO company will specially manufacture these tiles for the TOVP. These tiles will start arriving at the site shortly. The MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) work for both infrastructure and interior needs will start in 2015. For example, lightening arresters (devices used to protect against the damage caused by lightening) have arrived on the site. There will be one special lightening arrester on each of the three domes and 40 others at various places on the site. The waterproofing is complete. Work on other services like fire-fighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning will also start now. The ground floor of the building is now leveled; in one way this milestone signifies that the super structure is now more or less done. On the aesthetic side, the sandstone carving work will now start.

While Prabhupada’s personal boldness is seen in his followers, his visionary and strategic boldness is evident in the TOVP. One of Prabhupada’s preaching strategies was to just encourage people to come to Mayapur so that their spiritual life will start. Additionally, one of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s prominent visions was to see people from different parts of the world throng to Mayapur and participate in the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. There are multiple bold elements in the construction of the TOVP which are meant to attract the people of the world to Mayapur.

The most obvious is its scale. The huge central dome will be the biggest dome in the world in terms of diameter and only second in terms of height after the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Building it was an architectural challenge which the team of architects has now addressed satisfactorily.  While there are other huge temple complexes in the world like the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, India (180,000 sq. mt.) and the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, no other temple boasts as large a temple hall as the TOVP. Under the shelter of the structurally sound central dome, the TOVP temple hall will be 45000 sq. ft. in area and will hold 10000 pilgrims. Extending Srila Prabhupada’s application of the yukta viaragya principle, a lot of modern technology will be employed in this project. For example, the central dome will be acoustically designed for facilitating discourses within it for the 10000 pilgrims inside it. The decorative coffered ceiling of the central dome is also another major execution challenge that the team is currently working on. On top of the central dome, even above the kalash, will be housed a beautiful Sudarshan Chakra whose diameter will be 4m. A gong will be installed inside the temple that will be heard as far as the town of Krishnanagar, a straight line distance of 12km from Mayapur.

Impersonalism and atheistic science are two streams of thought that Prabhupada repeatedly attacked in his books and conversations. The TOVP continues that trend. Building of a grand temple of Lord Krishna focused on elaborate deity worship and devotional lifestyle directly challenges the impersonal conceptions of the Absolute Truth; it establishes the Absolute Truth as Sri Krishna – the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of everything. Consequently, the TOVP also rejects the mechanistic atheistic explanations of the cosmos and all that’s in it. What’s more, it also presents the Vedic view of the structure of the universe, most notably in the form of the ambitious chandelier that will hang down from the central dome. This chandelier will be a moving model of the Vedic explanation of the structure of the universe. To amalgamate the function of a chandelier (a decorative device of lighting) with the function of a scientific model of the universe (to explain its different aspects) into one single electro-mechanical structure is quite a design challenge.

Being aware of the large amount of money required for building something so grand, just to attempt it is a statement of utmost faith in Srila Prabhupada’s vision. Centuries ago wealthy kings used to fund the construction of large temples, but not today. Today funds are raised by requesting for them from potential donors. It’s a joint effort by the well-wishers of the project. Even when he did not have the required funds, Prabhupada had promised Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari of the Juhu (Bombay) ISKCON Temple that he would build a palace for them; he did. Similarly, the followers of Srila Prabhupada have promised him the building of the TOVP; with the cooperation of his worldwide followers, this promise will soon become a reality.

The superstructure of the TOVP already looks beautiful from Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s house across the Ganga. The striking blue color of its domes is an aesthetically bold choice too. The interior and exterior beauty of the TOVP will capture the hearts of its visitors. But the real beauty of the TOVP lies in its special place in the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; it will make Gaudiya Vaishnavism prominent on the world’s spiritual map.

An Emblem of Boldness

Srila Prabhupada was the perfect sadhu.

titikñavaù käruëikäù
suhådaù sarva-dehinäm
ajäta-çatravaù çäntäù
sädhavaù sädhu-bhüñaëäù

The symptoms of a sädhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.

—Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.25.21

All ornaments of a sadhu decorated Srila Prabhupada. He left Vrindavan to give Krishna to the world because he was not satisfied with just his own liberation – that was his compassion. He faced so many impediments and so much opposition along the way but he tolerated it all for the sake of Lord Chaitanya’s mission. This combination of intense compassion and utmost tolerance was the recipe of his stunning boldness.

The TOVP will serve as an emblem of Srila Prabhupada’s boldness for generations to come.

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The Wealth of Virtues

Everyone knows that a lot of wealth is not required to be happy, nor does it guarantee happiness. Everyone also knows that fortune plays a major role in gaining and losing wealth. And yet, not having a lot of wealth bothers most people. Because it's not about wealth, it's about envy.

If we keep associating with wealth conscious people who keep talking about money and expensive ways of spending it, we will soon catch the disease of obsessive money consciousness; we will lose our peaceful happiness due to envious wealth comparisons with others. We will start judging ourselves and others in terms of wealth and not in terms of virtues.

Virtues or the lack of virtues makes one rich or poor. Fortunate are those who are happy having realized this essential truth.

Yes, You Are Special!

This article appeared in the May/June 2015 issue of the international BTG magazine.

Every conditioned soul wants to be special. Most souls in this world realize sooner or later that they are just one amongst millions and with no special attributes. They want to be heroes but are in fact quite ordinary. They rejoice in others’ heroic deeds secretly hoping to be in the heroes’ shoes someday. If the hero happens to be an acquaintance, their mind squirms in unexpressed envy. Even if a soul is relatively well-placed materially, he is painfully aware of others who are better placed. And those few who are indeed specially placed are acutely aware that their glory will be short lived. Craving for specialty is the cause of suffering.

The conditioned soul’s desire to be special and envy for those who are special is explained by Krishna (BG 7.27) thus:

icchä-dveña-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhärata

sarva-bhütäni sammohaà sarge yänti parantapa

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.

The soul’s home is the spiritual world where he blissfully serves Lord Krishna. But when the soul chooses to experience an independent existence, Krishna places him in the material world. This choice comprises the soul’s misuse of his Krishna-given minute free will. In such an independent existence the soul forgets his constitutional position of being a loving servant of Krishna. Furthermore, in the material world, the illusory energy of the Lord, Maya, rules. Maya causes the soul to experience the duality of desire and envy.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: “The real constitutional position of the living entity is that of subordination to the Supreme Lord, who is pure knowledge. When one is deluded into separation from this pure knowledge, he becomes controlled by the illusory energy and cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The illusory energy is manifested in the duality of desire and hate. Due to desire and hate, the ignorant person wants to become one with the Supreme Lord and envies Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

The soul’s only fountainhead of happiness and satisfaction is service to Krishna. In the material world Krishna is lost to him and so the soul turns his attention toward himself. Earlier he was immersed in the ecstasy of loving Krishna, oblivious of himself; now, instead of Krishna, he himself becomes the center of his existence. Being special becomes his source of happiness and satisfaction. He desires to be special and envies those who are. This desire and envy culminate in the soul’s desire to become one with Lord and in envy for Him.

From Special to Sensual

A conditioned soul is sad when he thinks he is not special enough in terms of material distinction or influence. And when he starts thinking he is special due to his position in society, he soon realizes that many others are better placed. A thoughtful man realizes that to live a life of such perennial dissatisfaction is foolish. He seeks a way out in sense gratification. If I cannot have the egotistic satisfaction of being able to control people and things (siddhi), let me have the sensual satisfaction of enjoying life to the full (bhukti). He works hard, piously or otherwise, to earn means of sense gratification. Such fruitive work awards him only free passes to roam all over the universe. He keeps wandering all over the universe, sometimes in higher forms of life sometimes in lower, enjoying and suffering different grades of sense gratification and material tribulations based on the law of karma. A life of indulgence does not quench the wandering soul’s thirst for eternal happiness and satisfaction. Bhagavad Gita 13.22 says:

puruñaù prakåti-stho hi bhuìkte prakåti-jän guëän

käraëaà guëa-saìgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: “… Due to his [the conditioned soul’s] desire to lord it over material nature [i.e. seek sense gratification], he is put into such undesirable circumstances. Under the influence of material desire, the entity is born sometimes as a demigod, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a beast, as a bird, as a worm, as an aquatic, as a saintly man, as a bug. This is going on. And in all cases the living entity thinks himself to be the master of his circumstances, yet he is under the influence of material nature.”

From Sensual to Non-Dual

The frustration arising from not being able to find satisfaction in the pursuit of material distinction and sense gratification makes the inquisitive soul look for spiritual alternatives. Krishna has designed the material world with exactly this outcome in mind. The material world is a playground for souls to enjoy the fulfilment of their material desires. At the same time, it presents enough tribulations for them to desire a way out (mukti). The frustrated soul reads that he is indeed an eternal spiritual soul and not the temporary material body he presently occupies. He reads that since matter and soul are mutually incompatible, seeking happiness in material sense enjoyment is the very source of his misery. Bhagavad Gita 5.22:

ye hi saàsparça-jä bhogä duùkha-yonaya eva te

ädy-antavantaù kaunteya na teñu ramate budhaù

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunté, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.

Starting with this spiritual fundamental, the soul then starts training his mind in the doctrine of equanimity. He gives up all desire for sense gratification and tries to find satisfaction in the self alone (BG 2.55). In order to realize the soul, he trains himself to be equally disposed to all material varieties and dualities (BG 2.56). He acts with his senses only as much as needed to execute his obligatory duties, and not for sense gratification (BG 2.58). He sees all matter with an equal vision, and then sees all other souls with an equal vision too. (BG 14.24-25).

Such equanimity is the result of transcending the duality of material existence by realizing one’s identity as a spiritual spark having nothing to do with matter. An equipoised soul carries out his material duties without worrying about the results of his activities. He understands that his high and low position in the material world is merely a result of his past karma and that as such he is not the true cause of his high or low material position. His desire to be materially special disappears; he finds peace. Bhagavad Gita 2.71:

vihäya kämän yaù sarvän pumäàç carati niùspåhaù

nirmamo nirahaìkäraù sa çäntim adhigacchati

A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace.

From Non-Dual to Special

The cessation of material desires in the state of equanimity is not end of the spiritual journey; in fact it’s the beginning. Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of the above Bhagavad Gita verse: “To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification. In other words, desire for becoming Kåñëa conscious is actually desirelessness. To understand one's actual position as the eternal servitor of Kåñëa, without falsely claiming this material body to be oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over anything in the world, is the perfect stage of Kåñëa consciousness. One who is situated in this perfect stage knows that because Kåñëa is the proprietor of everything, everything must be used for the satisfaction of Kåñëa.”

While equanimity solves the problem of material duality, it might not solve the problem of false ego. The equipoised soul doesn’t care for material distinction. But if he’s not yet purified of the desire to be independent of Krishna, such a soul seeks to become one with Him. Thus he continues to envy the Lord by adamantly refusing to serve Him as a subordinate servant. He continues to want to be spiritually special and thinks he is already perfect. Not having taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, he continues his wanderings in the material world. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.32:

ye 'nye 'ravindäkña vimukta-mäninas

tvayy asta-bhäväd aviçuddha-buddhayaù

äruhya kåcchreëa paraà padaà tataù

patanty adho 'nädåta-yuñmad-aìghrayaù

[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmä and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.

The soul wants to be special because that is his natural state. Every soul has a unique, and thus special, relationship with the Supreme Lord. In the spiritual world he serves the Lord in his own unique way, like no one else does, and feels ecstatically special all the while. Even in the conditioned state, every soul’s disposition to serve is unique, and thus special.

Even if one is not extraordinary, loving friends and relatives make one feel special. What then to speak of a soul knotted with the Lord in an eternal bond of ever increasing love? To reciprocate with a devotee’s love, Krishna makes that devotee feel most special. For example, when Krsna has food in the midst of his cowherd friends who sit all around him in circles, every cowherd boy thinks Krishna is looking only at him. Although each soul is constitutionally exactly same (a part and parcel of Krishna), and in that sense not unique or extraordinary, his existence is super-excellently special when united with the Lord.

The Bhagavad Gita takes the soul from equanimity to ecstasy in verse 18.54:

brahma-bhütaù prasannätmä na çocati na käìkñati

samaù sarveñu bhüteñu mad-bhaktià labhate paräm

One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.

When one is situated in material equanimity, it’s time to start rendering pure devotional service to Krishna understanding that the soul is fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore eternally a servant.

The stage of equanimity (brahma bhuta) takes one beyond material duality but only the path of pure devotional service cures the notion of the false ego that one can become as good as the Lord by becoming one with Him. Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: “To the impersonalist, achieving the brahma-bhüta stage, becoming one with the Absolute, is the last word. But for the personalist, or pure devotee, one has to go still further, to become engaged in pure devotional service. This means that one who is engaged in pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord is already in a state of liberation, called brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20], oneness with the Absolute. Without being one with the Supreme, the Absolute, one cannot render service unto Him. In the absolute conception, there is no difference between the served and the servitor; yet the distinction is there, in a higher spiritual sense. … In that stage of existence [pure devotional service], the idea of becoming one with the Supreme Brahman and annihilating one's individuality becomes hellish, the idea of attaining the heavenly kingdom becomes phantasmagoria, and the senses are like serpents' teeth that are broken.”

The false ego is the rope which binds the conditioned soul to the material world. It makes the soul think himself as the center of his existence. Pure devotional service eradicates the false ego and thus truly stops the soul’s material existence. A pure devotee saturated with love for Krishna is so focused on service to Krishna that he becomes oblivious of himself; in other words, his false ego truly disappears. For him the problems arising from trying to be special, either materially or spiritually, don’t exist because he doesn’t want to be special; he is already brimming with spiritual joy. What’s more, he everlastingly experiences the most special existence of unadulterated love for Krishna - Krishna prem.

Yes, You are Special!

The conditioned soul’s quest for being special is a result of his original super-special position in the spiritual word. In the material world he seeks to be special at the egoistic level by trying to be materially distinct and influential - siddhi. Siddhi is difficult to obtain and so he immerses himself in sensual indulgence instead - bhukti. When even bhukti eludes him, he seems spiritual salvation – mukti. Mukti does not necessarily rectify the egoistic misconception of thinking oneself as being as good as the Lord. Thus he still continues his material wanderings.

Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructs Srila Rupa Goswami thus (CC Madhya 19.149):

kåñëa-bhakta—niñkäma, ataeva ‘çänta’

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kämé—sakali ‘açänta’

“Because a devotee of Lord Kåñëa is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jïänés desire liberation, and yogés desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful.

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: “The devotee of Lord Kåñëa has no desire other than serving Kåñëa. Even so-called liberated people are full of desires. Fruitive actors desire better living accommodations, and jïänés want to be one with the Supreme. Yogés desire material opulence, yogic perfections and magic. All of these nondevotees are lusty (kämé). Because they desire something, they cannot have peace.”

Pure devotional alone reestablishes the soul in his true identity of being an eternal intensely loving servant of Krishna. That special existence is beyond words to describe; suffice it to say that the Supreme Lord personally goes out of His way to make the soul feel special – every moment. Need we say more?

Yes, you are special.

***

Let Faith Blossom

Faith in eternal spiritual truths gets a chance to blossom only when one questions one's piteous reliance on and strangling attachment to the mundane.

Beware of the Religious Godless

There are many who openly state that they don't believe in God and don't follow any religious principles or practices. These people are harmless for those who have decided to explore god-centered spiritual alternatives in life. 

There are many others who accept, follow, and even propagate various degrees of religiosity while still denying the eternal existence of the supreme person, God, as the Absolute Truth. They talk about the all pervading impersonal energy, or the ultimate oneness of everything, or void, or the unending cycle of birth and death as the ultimate reality or absolute truth. They say God is merely a concept and that there is no spiritual world where he exists eternally with his innumerable loving associates. Such people are dangerous for the spiritual enquirers. If one forms emotional bonds with such atheists, it's difficult to come out of their influence and take to the path of pure love for God.

Beware of the religious atheists.

Spiritual Fundamentals

Spiritual Knowledge has to be obtained from a bonafide spiritual master or Guru. A bonafide Guru is one who has his own Guru, and so on. The original Guru is God who is perfect in all respects.

The Bhagavad Gita is a standard text for spiritual knowledge and we must be careful not to bypass it's essential message when talking about spirituality. Bhagavad Gita's essential message is to become a pure devotee of Krishna and get out of the cycle of birth and death that characterizes the material world.

To equate the individual soul with God is a mistake most atheistic spiritualists make. This is an obvious mistake, but due to the power of illusion, the deluded soul is convinced that he can become the supreme or that his powers are unlimited, independent. To take shelter of pure devotees of God is the only way to get out of this dangerous illusion.

Is My Success Mine?

One of my favorite Bhagavad Gita verses:

http://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/3/27

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

. . . The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. . . .

This verse keeps me from getting proud about my achievements, keeps me from getting depressed about my failures, keeps me from getting disturbed by others' success, and keeps me focused on my path spiritual goals.

When I come across those who just keep talking about themselves, especially about the good that they are doing, my mind immediately takes shelter of this verse. No doubt these people are doing many good things, but they forget that it's their nature that is driving them to do what they are doing. It's not them.

The fundamental spiritual truth is that we are spiritual souls who currently occupy a material body. This material body, along with its nature, is awarded to the soul based on its desires and past activities. But, as this verse states, the materially engrossed soul thinks that he is independently working even though he is always under the control of the nature he has been awarded by forces beyond him.

This illusion is perpetuated by others similarly illusioned who praise the successes of these illusioned souls. Real success is to get out of the control of material nature and reestablish oneself in one's constitutional position of being a selfless loving servant of God. When this happens, our original nature drives us to continuously serve the Lord with great joy.

The path to perfection is to just use one's current material nature in the service of God. Gradually the material covering will get eroded and one will get established in ones original nature that is selfless, loving, and God centered.

It's Now Time to Enquire

Atheists write volumes of books explaining how or why God does not exist. But they cannot even explain why or how things that they believe exist exist; unless of course you consider chance as a logical, reasonable, and convincing explanation.

Due to some reason the atheists have got estranged from God. So much so that they are willing to be dogmatic about their chance explanation rather than allowing even a possibility of God.

Science was initially hailed as the search for truth but now it has become more of a rigid institution that is stifling free enquiry into the nature of truth. If trying to prove that there is nothing beyond matter is encouraged, then trying to prove otherwise should be equally encouraged.

What is the goal of humanity? To spread happiness and joy by harmonizing with the truth or to stop further fundamental enquiries about truth and try to be happy in potential ignorance?

The whole world is more or less is ignorant of the spiritual dimension of life. More research into matter is not bringing any fundamentally new knowledge to mankind.

It is now time to enquire into the spiritual dimension of life, individually and collectively. 

My View of the World

My view of Religion changed,

When I came across the thought,

That it is all about Love,

And merely Rituals it is not.

My view of Rituals changed,

When someone made a comment,

They enhance expression of Love,

And are themselves not the end.

My view of Love changed,

When I read this principle deep,

Love for God embraces all,

Without which it is incomplete.

My view of God changed,

When I introspected a lot,

The object of highest Love,

Cannot be impersonal at all.

My view of Myself changed,

When it finally did register,

I cannot think, love, or Live,

If all I am is matter.

My view of Life changed,

When I accepted I am a soul,

Found a new way of life,

With Spirituality as its goal.

My view of Spirituality changed,

When my Spiritual Master taught,

It's not passive negation,

But dynamic Love for God.

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