Philosophical Articles

Although spiritual and conscious by nature, the jiva lives on the border between the spiritual and material worlds

It should be understood that the jiva soul is neither produced of this material world, nor created in the transcendental world.

Before acquiring material designations, the living entity is supremely pure. Even though he is not engaged in serving the Supreme Lord...

In India, there is a general notion that even though one may perform sinful actions knowingly or unknowingly during youth, one can attain liberation or Moksha later by dedicating oneself to works of charity, altruism, philanthropy and other such acts of mundane piety.

Although people always think that such activities are religious, in reality those constitute a refined approach to what is known as x84subtle body sense gratification‟. These services are offered by many rich men just to gain popularity, reputation, honour and enhance the prestige of one‟s own family or community in the society. From the spiritual perspective, this situation is identified as the unbridled mind acting in various dangerous ways to keep it entangled in the mundane world of dualities. This is because any action executed in the bodily conception of life cannot be selfless, as such actions are performed due to ignorance. The desire to enjoy the world is so strong that the mind wanders un-controllably and as the hankering increases everyday, a living being becomes more and more involved in the confusing network of unlimited material activities. Just like a caterpillar gets entangled in its self-woven cocoon, a man becomes shackled by his self-made karma.

Sometimes, when a close relative or friend dies, many people are certainly able to perceive the futility of material efforts, realizing the transitory nature of the results obtained. But such sporadic sense of detachment does not last long which is aptly known as x84smashana vairagya‟. Without coming to the point of Krishna consciousness, one‟s renunciation cannot be perfect. Dry abnegation does not help because although outwardly one may renounce, the propensity to enjoy the five senses still remains. What is important is internal cleansing, not external rejection. Hence, unless one develops an aptitude to render loving service to God Vasudeva, x84pritir na yavad mayi Vasudeve‟ he cannot be said to be truly liberated x84na muchyate dehayogena tavad‟.

Owing to abominable addiction to grafication of physical senses since innumerable lifetimes in the past, the living entity, when it receives a human form, by nature, becomes irresistibly attracted to worldly objects and life. Thus, sense-satisfaction becomes its main business. Propelled by lusty desires, it is compelled to strive very hard throughout life to ensure continuous arrangement of luxurious sense objects to enable it to whet its appetite. In this process, it suffers from various miseries. Lord Rishabhhadeva calls it as x84pramattah‟ x96 mad. Why? Because it does not know its real x84svartha‟ or self-interest is to try for liberation. On account of its intelligence being obscured x84gata smritih‟, it is not able to understand that efforts to gratify the senses are useless x84ayatha guneham‟.

Right from the time of the creation of this universe, the attraction between a man and a woman has persisted. According to the Vedic culture, this connection becomes regularized through sanction of marriage. This union is called x84hridaya granthix92, an imaginary knot in the heart. This male-female relationship is the basis of conditioning that deludes the living beings and gives rise to the illusory identities of x84I‟ and x84My‟.

Thus a householder becomes attached to his wife, children, property, and wealth. He does not realize that material life means walking from one catastrophe to another calamity till the end of his life x96 interspersed with a few meaningless so-called pleasures that occasionally satisfy his lusty bodily senses. Being unaware of the transient nature of his material possessions and physical relationships, the householder starts working very hard despite suffering from various disturbances and inconveniences. Thus a fruitive worker or x84karmi‟ is simply wasting his time to improve his standard of material life. This is just like the stupidity of one who has been awarded life imprisonment and starts petitioning the jail authorities to provide amenities like an air-conditioner, a computer and a television. People who are addicted to fleeting and momentary material pleasures certainly lose the power to understand their higher spiritual existence. They are blind, just like Dhristarastra of the Mahabharat. Dhristarastra was not only externally blind but he had also lost his internal vision despite a saintly person, Vidura‟s periodic admonitions and intermittent advice.

Attaining the so-called x84status‟ in the material world like a director of a corporation, the chairman of a sports club, a Mayor or a Member of Parliament or an acclaimed social welfare like President of a Lion‟s club, are pursuits by foolish individuals who imagine themselves to be very important or indispensable. They become increasingly engulfed in mundane activities. They are thus entangled just like a honeybee tragically trapped due to overstay in a lotus flower at sunset.

Forgetting their permanent identity, these ignorant people foolishly become active for impermanent occupations. They do not know that to disengage completely from material dealings is the ultimate goal of human life. These people are further misguided by a class of two-faced men who misunderstand the transcendental purpose of the Vedas and erroneously claim that material fruitive results are the ultimate goals of the Vedas.

Just like innocent children clamoring for repeated rides on a giant wheel in an amusement park, a person is seated on a mechanical wheel of Maya or illusion. After rotating in innumerable lifetimes and sitting on a mechanical wheel of Maya, he experiences imaginary physical enjoyments through various material entrapments. One gains sanity only when he/she sincerely endeavors to dismount from the mechanical wheel of Maya. When the intelligence of living beings becomes perverted, they become active in sense enjoyment and when purified, they become attracted to God.

Lord Rishabhadeva says that when the mind and the imaginary knot in the heart is slackened, one becomes liberated, freeing oneself from the original cause. In other words, the mid is the culprit. Mind is the Maya.

Human life is a combination of matter and spirit, a physical body and a soul. The whole direction of Vedic knowledge is aimed at the liberation of the spirit soul, atma, from the material contamination of Maya. As one takes full shelter in God Krishnax92s lotus feet, one becomes gradually enlightened with regard to onex92s true identity as a spirit soul. One becomes a servant of God when temptations for material enjoyment fail to influence him anymore. Thus the surrendered soul gains consummate transcendental knowledge and is able to perform spontaneous, loving devotional service to Lord Krishna.

Loitering in the corridors of Maya should be completely given up to enter Vaikuntha, the gorgeous palatial spiritual mansion of Sriman Narayana or the sublime transcendental realm Goloka Vrindavana of Sri Govinda.

In this world, everyone wants to be free. No one likes to be controlled. Whether an individual, a community, a race or a nation, there is always a hankering for freedom. Even a small child never likes to be controlled. The moment we try to control a child, he or she will rebel. Factory workers revolt when the management tries to control them by imposing restrictions. A student adversely reacts, sometimes even violently, when a teacher attempts to discipline him. Thus, there is an innate tendency in all living beings, including animals and birds, to be free. That is why when a rat is released from a rat trap, it simply flees and when a bird is let out of a cage, it flies out with lightning speed.

Why is everyone anxious to be free? It is because freedom brings happiness. In fact, complete happiness is actually possible only in a state of full freedom. Conditioning brings unhappiness. This is because the person controlled has to carry out the instructions of a controller compulsorily against his willingness. There is a constant psychological stress and a physiological strain in the absence of full freedom.

History teaches us that many have sacrificed their lives to achieve freedom for their nation. The world has been periodically witnessing mass revolutions in many countries and civilizations whenever people were deprived of their freedom. There is only suffocation in slavery, whereas freedom brings infinite joy.

However, what we do not understand is that freedom obtained in this world is not real freedom. Therefore, there is no lasting happiness. People of a free nation continue to suffer although they might have become free from the clutches of a tyrannical President or a dictator. Similarly, a bird may enjoy temporary freedom only to be again caught by a hunter. A rat freed from a trap has all the possibility of getting trapped again. In other words, the struggle for achieving freedom in this material world is an exercise in futility because such freedom cannot bring actual joy or bliss that a living being has been hankering after, life after life.

Aiming at and working for social, political, economic and such other freedoms is just like a prisoner asking for a laptop computer, television and air conditioning comforts inside the prison. This fool does not understand that such comforts cannot mitigate the miseries of prison life. An intelligent prisoner should try to present his case to higher courts by engaging an intelligent lawyer to attain freedom from prison rather than appealing for various comforts in the prison.

A living being in this world is basically a spirit soul. The physical body with limbs like hands and legs is only a covering. The nature of the spirit soul is complete freedom and unlimited happiness. In the material atmosphere, it has somehow become trapped and has acquired a material body. Embodiment means conditioning, just like a rat caught in a trap. Loss of freedom has resulted in unhappiness perpetually felt by all living beings, life after life. Thus, the living entity, because of its conditioned existence, is forced to act according to the dictates of the material energy of God as explained in the Bhagavad Gita x96 Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani savashah x96 Ignorant people try very hard for material pleasures.

According to the Vedas, innumerable heavenly planets cater to different muli-coloured pleasures for the people. Right from the creation of this universe, people have been greedy to attain the heavens for higher levels of enjoyment. For achieving these, the general masses as well as learned Vedic scholars endured great penances, performed fire sacrifices, conducted rituals and donated to charities. There is no actual pleasure in enjoying a sumptuous meal if one is running a high fever. The so-called pleasures of the earth or the heavens are only imaginary.

As long as one is forced to grow old, suffer diseases and ultimately die, where is the scope for real enjoyment? Hence, the Supreme Lord Krishna says, x93Dukhalayam ashashvatam,x94 x96 This ephemeral world is a place of distress.x94 Therefore, to get freedom from perpetual inhabitation in the material world and to be promoted to the spiritual abode is the only mission of human life.

Fearsome demons like Ravana and Hiranyakashipu tried to attain immortality to enjoy unlimited sensuous objects. Ravana tried to build a staircase to the heavens, whereas, saintly people of high vedic learning strictly and meticulously followed the directions to attain celestial pleasures. Therefore, the Supreme Lord Krishna vehemently denounced this approach emphatically by instructing Arjuna, x93Traigunya Vishaya Veda nistraigunyo bhava Arjuna.x94 The Vedas merely deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature, O Arjuna! Rise above these modes!x94 Rising above the three modes means understanding onex92s actual identity of spiritual existence, to stop identifying oneself with the material body and recognizing onex92s actual identity as a spirit soul. This is self realization. But again, by this realization, one has to learn to disentangle oneself from the illusory network of material activities. In the absence of complete freedom, despite this spiritual knowledge, one may fall down, i.e. patanti adha from the exalted spiritual position into the trap of illusion. So, what is the way out? The Supreme Lord Krishna says, x93Mameva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te,x94 i.e. x93only those who surrender unto Me can cross beyond Maya.x94

How to surrender? Again, Lord Krishna suggests in the Gita that one should first surrender and take shelter with a pure devotee of the Lord, who only can properly teach and guide an aspirant as to how to how to surrender to Krishna. Krishna further says not merely to surrender to a Jnani Guru but emphasizes that one surrenders to a tattva darshi Guru who has actually seen the Supreme Truth, Krishna himself. A pure devotee constantly sees Krishna everywhere and sees everything in Krishna. This position is called sama darshanam. At that point, the living being realizes that he is the eternal servant of Lord Krishna, being His fragramental position, as He Himself explains in the Gita - Mamaivamsho jiva loke jiva bhoota sanatanah." When such a relationship becomes established between the Jivatma or Jiva and the Parmatma, the Jiva becomes fully free and starts tasting intense ectasy through devotional service. This is the highest perfection of spiritual knowledge. When we surrender ourselves to our parents, wives, children, brothers, or sisters, we continue to remain conditioned and controlled with lack of freedom and happiness. When we surrender to Lord Krishna, we become fully free and happy. The problem with us is that we don't want to surrender. What obstructs our surrender is the love of physical pleasures that comes from our past lives. In fact, this intense desire to enjoy perpetuates our continued existence in this mundane realm.

To ensure unimpeded gratification of our senses, we have been making great efforts, generation after generation, to control the very material nature. All the scientific and technological inventions and innovations are aimed to achieve this. This is ridiculous because nature works under the direction of Lord Krishna, as the Lord said to Arjuna, "Maya adbyakshena". Therefore, the unbending laws of nature cannot be changed or manipulated to our advantage, as the modern scientists seem to think. By simply obeying the orders of Lord Krishna, and by His grace, we can quickly become liberated from the clutches of material illusion. This is real freedom or Mukti. Giving up the material conception of life and becoming reinstated in one's original spiritual status, as a servent of Lord Krishna, is known as Mukti or Moksha. If we want to achieve full freedom, we should give up this "Boss" mentally and cultivate "das" (servant) attitude. This can be cultivated by taking up devotional service under the guidance of a spiritual teacher who is a mature devotee of Lord Krishna, himself situated in pure devotional service. With our present polluted senses and contaminated consciousness, it will be easy for us to serve Lord Krishna by serving His servant rather than serve the Supreme Lord directly. In this way, we can get rid of our dominating attitude. No one has achieved liberation or full freedom in this world without rendering sincere service to a very pure devotee of the Supreme Lord of gods - Krishna. Devotional service begins with the tongue, i.e. jihva adau by accepting Krishna Prasadam and chanting the Holy Names of the Supreme Lord such as Govinda, Krishna, Rama, Narayana, and so on. No other effective means of deliverance exists in Kali Yuga, the age of dissension and dispute. To purify our currently polluted consciousness and assure ourselves total freedom, the most effective method suggested for Kali Yuga is to start chanting the Hare krishna Maha-Mantra:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Once upon a time, Bhumi, the predominating deity of the earth, felt overburdened by different demons posing as members of the royal order.

Duryodhana said: O master, you know everything. Please kindly repeat to me what Garga Muni spoke to the gopis to tell them of the five-part worship of Lord Balarama.

If you have been attending extensive hari-katha in recent years then you may have heard or read the story of Radha’s parrot generally known as Sriya Suka. The story is paraphrased as follows...

The main flora and fauna of the Vedic texts, back to the Rig Veda, is that of India. The flora in the Rig Veda includes such typical Indian species as lotuses (pushkar, padma), bamboo (vaamsha)...

Varnasrama deals with ethics and morality, which do not constitute spiritual life proper. Thus engaging in varnasrama is not the goal of life. When we are concerned with ascertaining the ultimate goal...