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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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.

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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.

Intelligence is a personality trait

Intelligence is a personality trait.

There are two ways to look at things. One is to say that there are no signs of intelligence in what we see; any indication of intelligence, no matter how strong, is merely coincidental - by chance. Another way is to acknowledge that chance cannot explain the indications of intelligence we see.

Energy does not have intelligence; energy in itself cannot create sustained order in a system. Intelligence controls energy. Chance cannot create laws, only intelligence can. Chance cannot even break laws; then how can it be a force superior to the intelligence that can create laws?

Intelligence is a personality trait. A person has intelligence.

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Stone Alive

This article appeared in the January 2012 issue of Back To Godhead (India Edition)

Stone-Alive

Presence of joy is higher than absence of sorrow

By Abhijit Toley

I was zooming along a beautiful tree-lined highway when I slammed on the brakes. Screeeech! Thud! Generally, when you run over a squirrel scampering across the road just a little too late for you to stop, you get a sinking feeling. Unless you’re stone-hearted, the next few minutes are not joyful. The guilt of having taken a life lingers until it’s replaced by more important things. But this time I was not gripped by remorse; I had just run over not a squirrel but a rock. Stones are, by definition, already dead. Stone-dead.

Life of a Stone

Suppose for a moment this stone has life. It still has all the characteristics of a stone, but now it knows it exists. No matter how many trucks choose to run over it, it feels no pain. It is, after all, just a stone. And, just as befits a stone, it doesn’t feel joy when spring is right round the corner. Isn’t that a most coveted state of existence? Granted, there’s no exhilaration in life, but not a bad price to pay for escaping the agony of being crushed under the nonchalant tires of some nameless truck. Yes, the stone is happy to be alive!

Wait! This does not sound right. Are we saying a stone’s life is better than ours? Suppose you go and open your heart to someone: “I have a problem. Why am I suffering like this?” and that someone replies: “Because you’re not dead.” This is not an answer that will fill your heart with happiness. Neither will such a stone hearted reply help you. Yet, there are many philosophers who say this—perhaps not as bluntly, but it is pretty much the essence of their philosophies. You are suffering, yes. Suffering is because of your desires. Put an end to your desires; do not rejoice for anything, and do not lament for anything. And so on. What they are suggesting, really, is that you must eventually (not immediately) develop the qualities of a stone.

This philosophy is called impersonalism, and it has many flavors, all with a central theme: ultimately, the highest truth, the source of everything, is a unvariegated oneness. Therefore since the ultimate truth is quality-less oneness, attaining the ultimate truth lies in merging oneself into that oneness. Once merged, all dualities disappear, so there’s no happiness or sorrow, no pleasure or pain, no good, no bad—no feeling at all. Sounds a lot like our friend, Mr. Stone. And what’s more, in that merged state, all individuality is lost in the merger.

Why Impersonalism is so popular

Let’s think about this for a moment. Who will get really hooked on a philosophy whose end goal is negation of everything that characterizes life? The immediate answer that pops into my mind is those who are so totally frustrated with their lives that their lives have become unbearable. To them, the philosophical escape to a featureless oneness sounds like relief. They do not mind the concomitant relinquishing of their pleasure, either, since they don’t have much to rejoice about in their lives.

The other people who tend to relate to this philosophy are those who understand the miserable and temporary nature of this world. Since their understanding is based on a sound philosophical understanding of the temporality of all things in this world, they choose not to be a part of anything and to strive for desirelessness.

So yes, people do have valid reasons for accepting impersonalist philosophy. But if I were to write an essay on the happiest day of my life,” I doubt I will be able to glorify a day I spent doing nothing, thinking nothing, feeling nothing, and with no one around. Instead I imagine will glorifying a day I spent in nature or joking with friends. We seek the surge of joy.

Why then is the impersonal philosophy so prominent in the world? Because most people hardly ever get to live the “happiest day of their life.” And even if they do, their time of happiness is just too fleeting that it stands as insignificant when compared to the number of mediocre or pain-filled days in their lives. So to make all their days “happiest” they redefine happiness as oneness, even a sense of nothingness—and something they will achieve in the future. Happiness becomes the absence of sorrow, and since we can’t seem to have worldly happiness without its counterpart worldly unhappiness, they’re willing to relinquish what they would normally consider joy to avoid their suffering.

But what if we could live that “happiest day” forever? Would we still choose no-feeling? What if we lived in a place where every step was a dance and every word a song? A place where not only is there no sorrow but where happiness abounds? Who in their right minds would reject such a place and opt for a mindless existence devoid of anything at all?

Beyond Impersonalism

The make-or-break question is whether such a place of boundless happiness exists. It does. This place is called the spiritual world, the kingdom of God, a place full of life and joy, where all the inhabitants are ever engaged in the loving service of God and as a result are completely blissful. The essential difference between this world and the spiritual world is that everything in the spiritual world is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. We know from our experience in this world that it’s just the opposite: everything here is temporary, ignorant, and filled with sorrow at one point or another. Further, the oneness the impersonalists hope to achieve is simply the light of the spiritual sky rather than the spiritual world itself. Anyone convinced about the existence of the spiritual world will naturally choose to go there.

Those philosophers who choose the spiritual world are known as devotees of God. By serving God, even in this world, the devotees experience spiritual bliss. They do not have to try to become desireless because all their desires are centered on serving God, which brings them joy and no sorrow. Contrast this with the impersonalists’ understanding of desirelessness—no desires whatsoever. The impersonalists do not know that the spiritual kingdom of God exists beyond the oneness of the spiritual sky. Therefore they settle for the lower platform of happiness defined as “absence of sorrow.”

Our journey started with a dead stone. Then we wandered into nothingness with our imaginary Mr. Stone. Fortunately we crossed the featureless oneness and arrived at where we really wanted to be—the spiritual world. Since everything there is spiritual, even the stones are alive and full of eternality, knowledge, and bliss. Stone-alive!

Truth about the Absolute Truth

Today’s world is characterized by freedom of expression. Gradually all kind of censoring is going away, subtly at first, blatantly later. All notions of right and wrong are becoming personalized – What I like is good. Period. No other consideration. I don’t poke my nose in others’ life, so I expect that no one should poke theirs in mine. Such freedom of expression has also made its way into notions about spirituality. Spirituality is about the Absolute Truth, which does not depend on personal preferences. However, today, even spiritual conclusions have become a matter of choice, rather than a matter of fact.

In such a relativistic environment, when some spiritual organization asserts their path to be superior to that of others, it’s seen as a clear case of blatant fundamentalism. But, one would do well by taking a step back and evaluating a spiritual path on its profoundness rather than on how it fits into ones current lifestyle. Since spirituality talks about the unchanging Absolute Truth, it’s up to the human beings to align themselves to that unchangeable Absolute Truth, rather than making the foolish and imaginary attempt at changing the unchangeable.

The understanding that spirituality talks about an Absolute Truth which is independent of all personal preferences should make a sincere seeker seek out for that Truth, rather than trying to just reason about it. What’s the guarantee that whatever conclusion his reasoning takes him to is actually the Absolute Truth? Therefore, the scriptures tell about another procedure to approach the Absolute Truth. It does not preclude logic and reasoning, but gives it a particular direction. We will talk about that procedure a little later (look for *).

The scriptures of all wisdom-traditions point us to the Absolute Truth. Not all of them describe the Absolute Truth to the same degree. And sometimes, their conclusions seem to differ. The difference can be understood to be one of two types. Either one conclusion is higher than the lower, and therefore includes the lower one; or one conclusion is actually incompatible with other. Now, if we make a hierarchy of the various conclusions of the different spiritual paths, we must end up with one topmost path which includes the conclusions of all others in that hierarchy. The conclusion of this topmost path thus will most closely represent the Absolute Truth. However, it’s possible that there might still be some other paths whose conclusions are not compatible with the highest in the hierarchy we just described. This means that this left out path neither includes all the conclusions of the others, nor are all its conclusions included in any other.

Since the Absolute Truth must include all conclusions, if we have more than one conclusion claiming to be the Absolute Truth, then only one of them is actually the Absolute Truth, and all others are either bogus, or included in the actual Absolute Truth.

(*) The procedure talked about in the scriptures is one of sincerely following the instructions of the scriptures under the guidance of one who has realized their conclusions. Since the conclusions of any spiritual path are well-known before hand, a practitioner can clearly verify whether his practice is leading him to the same realizations as those claimed by the path.

Now, one may wonder, that by following any one of the scriptures, one can only reach up to the realizations mentioned by that particular scripture. What if there are even higher realizations than that offered by the particular path he is following? This natural question clearly supports the notion that there can be different scriptures which proffer different levels of spiritual realizations to the practitioner and that one path can definitely be higher than the other.

This discussion might prompt one to hastily declare that since there is a possibility of realizations higher than those offered by even the highest conclusions known yet, why not leave aside the scriptures and try one’s own way? This is certainly an intelligent enquiry, but one which is easily answered when one hears the nature of the Absolute Truth from highly elevated souls who have realized the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.

The Absolute Truth is defined as the source of everything, and of whom there is no source. The Absolute Truth is the supremely independent entity who does not depend on anything else for His existence; on the contrary, everything else depends on Him for its existence. The Absolute Truth is the fountainhead and the supreme controller of everything, including the power of reasoning. No other definition of the Absolute Truth can better this one, and hence, any path that leads one to the realization of such an Absolute Truth can be considered the highest of all.

The Vaishnavas realize this Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. The Vedic scriptures, especially the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, declare Sri Krishna as the Absolute Truth (param satya). No other scripture of the world describes the Absolute Truth in such detail and clarity as do the Vedic scriptures. At the same time, the theistic conclusions of all theistic wisdom-traditions are included in the spiritual path of the Vaishnavas, known as the Bhagavat Dharma.

Even the conclusions of the impersonalist spiritual paths (who claim the Absolute Truth to be an undifferentiated entity with no attributes) are included in the Vaishnava conclusion of the Supreme Person as the Absolute Truth. This is because the Vaishnavas don’t deny the impersonal undifferentiated entity which is the goal of the impersonalist, but on the contrary describe it as an emanation from the Supreme Person, just like sunrays are an emanation of the sun. The sun is clearly superior to the sunrays, being their source.

But what about the non-theistic conclusions of some of the popular wisdom-traditions like Buddhism? The Buddhist conclusion is that ultimately there is nothing. Since the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, and surely something exists (at least the power of reasoning that “nothing exists” exists), and that nothing can come out of “nothing”, the Absolute Truth must surely not be “nothing”. Moreover, the Vaishnavas have positively realized the Absolute Truth as Sri Krishna, and they don’t have to go into a long philosophical debate to convince themselves of that. A man who can see does not have to prove to himself that the sun exists, and the blind man with his own ability can only reach up to the conclusion that there is no such thing as light. On the other hand, how can one realize that actually there is “nothing”? Similarly, some others might claim that actually there is no God. But again, on what grounds can one insist that an entity does not exist when someone else has actually realized the existence of that entity?

By exercising ones mental muscles, one can only reach up to the understanding of impersonalism. This is because material mind and senses cannot conceive of a personality as Supremely powerful as Sri Krishna. Impersonalism essentially boils down to saying that ultimately everything just exists and there is no one supreme entity independent and superior to all other existence. In other words, all entities that exist must just be manifestations and parts of the sum total of everything that exists. And this sum total of everything that exists is the Absolute Truth. Even though voidism (e.g. Buddhism) sounds a bit different in its conclusion, as far as comparison with Vaishnavism goes, for all practical purposes, it’s the same as impersonalism. This is because it doesn’t allow for the existence of a Supreme entity who is the source of everything, and of whom there is no source. In fact, voidism doesn’t allow for the existence of anything! Thus, both impersonalism and voidism are a result of not being able to reach the conclusion of a Supreme Person being the Absolute Truth. Since its not possible to reach the Vaishnav conclusion by one’s own mental speculation, what possibility is there of reaching a higher conclusion than Vaishnavism just by the power of logic and reasoning?

The Vaishnavas have realized the Absolute Truth to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, and therefore, any other conclusion about the nature of the Absolute Truth must either include the Vaishnava conclusion, or be included by it. If not, we can safely reject it as bogus. One has no right (and means) to deny that the Vaishnavas have actually realized the Absolute Truth to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. One can only judge one’s own conclusion against the Vaishnav one. And better still, one can give up ones mental speculation and accept the lofty Vaishnav conclusion and earn a chance to someday come face to face with the Absolute Truth, who is not an unreciprocating impersonal entity, nor is who “nothing”, but who is the supremely beautiful and loving Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.

Stone-Alive

While I was zooming along on the beautiful tree-lined highway, suddenly I hit the brakes! Screeeech! Thud! Generally, when your car tire runs over a tiny little squirrel that chooses to scamper across the road just late enough so that you cant do much about what’s about to happen, you get that sinking feeling. And unless you are quite stone-hearted, the next few minutes are not so joyful. That guilty feeling lingers on for a while before it’s replaced by things more important than the life of an innocent squirrel that chose the wrong moment. But this time, I was not feeling any remorse. Because I had just overrun, not a tiny little squirrel, but a little boulder. It was just a stone, and by definition, it was already dead. Stone-dead.

Just suppose for a moment that this stone had life. It still has all the characteristics of a stone, but just that it knows that it exists. No matter how many trucks choose to trample it, since its after-all a stone, it does not feel any pain. And just as is fit for a stone, it cannot feel any joy when the spring is round the corner. Isn’t that the most coveted state of existence? Well, granted that there is no experience of the exhilaration before the promising spring, but then definitely that’s not a bad price to pay for escaping the agony of being crushed to pulp under the nonchalant tires of a nameless truck. Yes, the stone is so happy to be alive, as alive as a stone!

Wait a moment! This does not sound quite right. Are we saying that the life of a stone is better than our present lives? Suppose you go to someone and open up your heart to him: “I have such and such problem in life. What could be the reason? What is the remedy?”. And that person replies: “Because you are not yet dead, you are suffering.” Its not an answer that will fill you up with so much joy that your heart cant contain it. Such a stone-hearted reply will hardly help you. And yet, there are so many philosophers who will tell you just this. Not quite as bluntly, but that will pretty much be the essence of their philosophy. You are suffering, they will say. Suffering is because of your desires. Put an end to all your desires. Do not rejoice for anything, and do not lament for anything. And so on. That means one must eventually, not immediately, but eventually, try to become qualitatively just like a stone, or something equivalent that has the same qualities of lifelessness as does a stone!

The philosophy I am referring to is known as impersonalism. It has got many flavors, but all of them have one central theme. That ultimately, the highest truth, the source of everything, is an un-variegated oneness. And therefore, since the ultimate truth is that quality-less oneness, attaining the ultimate truth lies in merging oneself into that oneness. Once merged into that oneness, since its all oneness, there is no question of the dualities represented by happiness and sorrow, pain and pleasure, good and bad, and so on. Hmmm, sounds quite like our friend, Mr. Stone. And what’s more, in such a merged state, true to the definition of oneness, all individuality of the “merger” is lost.

Lets think for a moment or two about this. Who will get really hooked onto such a philosophy whose end goal is negation of all that characterizes life? The immediate response that pops up in our minds is: those who are so totally frustrated with their lives that life has become an unbearable burden for them. To them, the philosophical escape to featureless oneness gives relief from the pains of their routine lives. They do not mind the concomitant philosophical relinquishment of all pleasures either, since they don’t have much to rejoice in their lives anyway. The other category of people who would hook on to this philosophy is of those who have understood the miserable and temporary nature of this world. Since their understanding is based on sound philosophical understanding of the truth of the temporary nature of all things in this world, they choose to not be part of any of it. Due to this strong philosophical conviction, it is not so tough for them either to desire becoming desire-less.

So yes, people do have valid reasons for accepting the impersonalistic philosophy. But if I ask myself to write an essay on “The Happiest Day of My Life”, it will hardly glorify a day I spent in nothingness doing nothing thinking nothing feeling nothing with no one around. Instead it will perhaps glorify a day which I spent in a scenic natural place with a stream of crystal clear water flowing nearby, joking and playing around with my best friends, and feeling a strong current of joy surging through me. Someone else might have a different essay, but surely it will not describe a day full of nothings.

Why then is the impersonalistic philosophy so prominent? Because, most people of this world hardly ever actually live the “happiest day of their life” that they would describe in the essay. And even if they live some, the number is just too insignificant compared to the number of other days. In order to make all their days the “happiest days”, they redefine their happiness as oneness, or even nothingness. This way, their happiness means the absence of all sorrow. Since positive happiness of this world has the dual counterpart of unhappiness, to eradicate the unhappiness, they would go to the extent of eradicating the happiness too!

But what if one could live the happiest day of one’s life every day? For ever. Would you still like to take the other alternative of living days full of nothings? What if every day of your life is in a place where every step is a dance and every word is a song? A place where not only is there no sorrow, but where positive happiness abounds in boundless abundance? A place where happiness does not have the unhappy counterpart. Who in their right minds would reject such a destination and opt for a mindless existence devoid of anything at all!

The make-or-break question is whether such a place of boundless happiness really exists? The answer is that it does. This place is called the Spiritual World or the Kingdom of God. A place full of life and joy where all the inhabitants are always engaged in the loving service of God and as a result are completely blissful at all times. The essential difference between this world and that is that in the spiritual world every thing is spiritual, i.e. eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. As opposed to that, in this world everything is material, i.e. temporary, devoid of knowledge, and devoid of any bliss. Further, the oneness that the impersonalists desire to become desire-less in, is just the spiritual sky in which the spiritual Kingdom of God exists. Any person who is convinced about the existence of the spiritual world will quite naturally make this choice. Because this is the place which more than fits the place we described in our “The Happiest Day of My Life” essay. Those philosophers who make this choice are known as devotees of God. By serving God, even in this world, the devotees experience spiritual bliss. They do not have to attempt desirelessness, because all their desires are centered around serving God. Such desires are all spiritual, and the happiness derived from them does not have the unhappy counterpart. Contrast this with the impersonalists’ understanding of desirelessnesss where it means no desires whatsoever. The impersonalists do not know that the spiritual kingdom of God exists beyond the oneness of the spiritual sky. Therefore they settle for the lower platform of happiness defined as “absence of sorrow”.

Our journey started with a dead stone. Then we wandered around for a while in nothingness with our imaginary not-quite-alive Mr. Stone. Eventually we crossed over the featureless oneness (or nothingness), and fortunately reached where we really wanted to be! The spiritual world. Since everything there is spiritual, even the stones there are spiritual, i.e. they are eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss! Stones that are truly alive - Stone-Alive!

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.

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.