This is transcendental sound vibration. It will help us to cleanse the dust from the mirror of the mind. At the present moment we have accumulated so much material dust on the mirror of the mind, just as on Second Avenue (New York City) there is dust and soot over everything due to the heavy traffic….
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
This is transcendental sound vibration. It will help us to cleanse the
dust from the mirror of the mind. At the present moment we have
accumulated so much material dust on the mirror of the mind, just as on
Second Avenue (New York City) there is dust and soot over everything due
to the heavy traffic.
Due to our manipulation of material activities, a great deal
of dust has collected over our mind’s clear mirror, and as a
consequence we are unable to see things in perspective. This vibration
of transcendental sound (the Hare Krsna mantra)
will cleanse away this dust and enable us to see clearly our real
constitutional position. As soon as we come to understand “I am not this
body; I am spirit soul, and my symptom is consciousness,” we will be
able to establish ourselves in real happiness. As our consciousness is
purified by this process of chanting Hare Krsna, all our material miseries will disappear.
There
is a fire that is always blazing over this material world, and everyone
is trying to extinguish it, but there is no possibility of
extinguishing this fire of the miseries of material nature unless we are
situated in our pure consciousness, in our spiritual life.
One of the purposes for Lord Krsna’s
descent or appearance in this material world is to extinguish the fire
of material existence for all living entities by setting forth the
dharma.
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well
as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg. 4.7–8)
In
this verse the word dharma is used. This word has been translated into
English in various ways. Sometimes it is translated as “faith,” but
according to Vedic literature, dharma is not a kind of faith. Faith may
change, but dharma cannot be changed. The liquidity of water cannot be
changed. If it is changed—if, for instance, water becomes solid—it is
actually no longer in its constitutional position. It is existing
under a certain qualifying condition. Our dharma or constitutional
position is that we are part and parcel of the Supreme, and this being
the case, we have to dovetail or subjugate our consciousness to the Supreme.
This
position of transcendental service to the Supreme Whole is being
misused due to material contact. Service is implicit in our
constitutional position. Everyone is a servant, and no one is a master.
Everyone is serving someone or other. Although the president may be the
chief executive of the state, still he is serving the state, and when
his services are no longer required, the state disposes of him. To think
to oneself,“I am the master of all I survey,” is called maya, illusion. Thus in material consciousness our service is being misused under various designations. When we can become free from these designations, that is
to say when the dust has been cleared from the mirror of the mind, we
will be able to see ourselves in our actual position as eternal servants
of Krsna.
One
should not think that his service in the material world and his service
in the spiritual atmosphere are the same. We may shudder to think, “Oh,
after liberation will I still be a servant?” This is because we have
experience that being a servant in the material world is not very
enjoyable, but transcendental service is not like this. In the spiritual
world there is no difference between the servant and the master. Here,
of course, there is distinction, but in the absolute world everything is
one. For instance, in Bhagavad-gita we can see that Krsna has taken the position of servant as the chariot driver of Arjuna. In his constitutional position, Arjuna is the servant of Krsna,
but in behavior we can see that sometimes the Lord becomes the servant
of the servant. So we should be careful not to carry materialistic ideas
into the spiritual realm. Whatever we have materially experienced is
but a perverted reflection of things in spiritual life.
When
our constitutional position or dharma is deteriorated due to the
contaminations of matter, the Lord Himself comes as an incarnation or
sends some of His confidential servitors. Lord Jesus Christ called
himself the “son of God,” and so is a representative of the Supreme.
Similarly, Mohammed identified himself as a servant of the Supreme Lord.
Thus whenever there is a discrepancy in our constitutional position,
the Supreme Lord either comes Himself or sends His representative to
inform us of the real position of the living entity.
Therefore,
one should not make the mistake of thinking that dharma is a created
faith. In its proper sense, dharma cannot be divorced from the living
entity at all. It is to the living entity what sweetness is to sugar, or
saltiness is to salt, or solidity is to stone. In no case can it be cut
off. The dharma of the living entity is to serve, and we can easily see
that every living entity has the tendency to serve himself or others. How to serve Krsna, how to disentangle ourselves from materialistic service, how to attain Krsna consciousness and become free from material designations is all taught as a science by Sri Krsna in Bhagavad-gita.
The word sadhu in the verse quoted above, beginning paritranaya sadhunam
refers to a holy man or a saintly person. A saintly person is tolerant,
very kind to everyone, is a friend to all living entities, is no one’s
enemy and is always peaceful. There are twenty-six basic qualifications
for a holy man, and in the Bhagavad-gita we find that Sri Krsna Himself gives the following verdict:
api cet su-duracaro
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah
“Even
if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in
devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is
properly situated.” (Bg. 9.30)
On
the mundane platform, what is morality for one person is immorality for
another, and what is immorality for one person is morality for another.
According to the Hindu conception, the drinking of wine is immoral,
whereas in the Western world, wine drinking is not considered immoral
but is a common thing. So morality is dependent on time, place, circumstance, social position, etc. There is, however, a sense of morality and immorality in all societies. In this verse Krsna points out that even if one is engaged in immoral acts but at the same time is fully in Krsna consciousness, he is to be considered a sadhu or a saint. In other words. although a person may have some immoral habits due to his past association, if he is engaged fully in Krsna consciousness, these habits are not to be considered important. Whatever the case, if one becomes Krsna conscious, he will gradually be purified and will become a sadhu. As one progresses in executing Krsna consciousness, his bad habits diminish, and he attains to saintly perfection.
In
this regard there is the story of a thief who went on a pilgrimage to a
holy town, and on route he and the other pilgrims stopped to rest
overnight at an inn. Being addicted to stealing, the thief began making
plans to steal the other pilgrims’ baggage, but he thought, “I’m going
on a pilgrimage, so it doesn’t seem appropriate that I should steal this
baggage. No, I shall not do it.” Nonetheless, due to his habit, he
could not keep his hands off the baggage. So he picked up one person’s
bag and placed it in another place, and then another person’s bag and
placed it elsewhere. He spent all night placing different bags in
different places, but his conscience bothered him so that he could not
take anything from them. In the morning, when the other pilgrims awoke,
they looked around for their bags and couldn’t find them. There was a
great row, and eventually, one by one, they began to find the bags in
various places. After they were all found, the thief explained:
“Gentlemen, I am a thief by occupation. Being that I am habituated to
stealing at night, I wanted to steal something from your bags, but I
thought that since I am going to this holy place, it is not possible to
steal. So I may have rearranged the baggage, but please excuse me.” This
is the characteristic of a bad habit. He does not want to commit theft
anymore, but because he is habituated, sometimes he does. Thus Krsna says that one who has decided to refrain from his immoral habits and make progress in Krsna consciousness is to be considered a sadhu, even if out of past habit or by chance he yields to his fault. In the next verse we find that Sri Krsna says:
ksipram bhavati dharmatma
sasvac-chantim nigacchati
kaunteya pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranasyati
sasvac-chantim nigacchati
kaunteya pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranasyati
“He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” (Bg. 9.31)
Because one has committed himself to Krsna consciousness, it is proclaimed here by Sri Krsna
that within a very short time he will become saintly. One may pull the
plug out of an electric fan, and the fan may still go on even though the
juice has been disconnected, but it is understood that the fan will
soon come to a stop. Once we take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna,
we turn the switch off for our karmic activities, and although these
activities may still revolve, it is to be understood that they will
quickly diminish. It is a fact that whoever takes to Krsna
consciousness does not have to endeavor independently to become a good
man. All the good qualifications will automatically come. It is stated
in Srimad-Bhagavatam that one who has attained Krsna
consciousness has simultaneously attained all good qualities. On the
other hand, if a person is devoid of God consciousness and yet has many
good qualities, his good qualities are to be considered useless, for he
will not in any way be prohibited from doing that which is undesirable.
If one is devoid of Krsna consciousness, he is sure to commit mischief in this material world.
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My
appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his
birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Bg. 4.9)
The mission for which Krsna
appears is here further explained. When He comes with some mission,
there are some activities. Of course there are some philosophers who do
not believe that God comes as an incarnation. They say, “Why should God
come to this rotten world?” But from Bhagavad-gita we understand otherwise. We should always remember that we read Bhagavad-gita as scripture, and whatever is spoken in Bhagavad-gita must be accepted, otherwise there is no reason in reading it. In Gita Krsna
says that He has come as an incarnation with a mission, and along with
His mission there are some activities. We can see, for example, that Krsna is active as chariot-driver for Arjuna and engages in so many activities on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. just as when there is war one person or nation may side with another person or nation and show partiality, Lord Krsna on the battlefield shows some partiality and sides with Arjuna. Actually Krsna
is not partial to anyone, but externally it appears that He is partial.
This partiality, however, should not be accepted in the ordinary sense.
In this verse Krsna also points out that His descent into the material world is transcendental. The word divyam
means transcendental. His activities are not in any way ordinary. Even
today, in India, at the end of August the people are accustomed to
celebrating Krsna’s birthday, regardless of sect, just as in the Western world Jesus Christ’s birthday is celebrated at Christmas. Krsna’s birthday is called Janmastami, and in this verse Krsna uses the word janma in referring to “My birth.” Because there is birth, there are some activities.
Krsna’s
birth and activities are transcendental, which means they are not like
ordinary births and activities. One may ask how it is that His
activities are transcendental. He is born, He takes part in a battle
with Arjuna, he has a father by the name of Vasudeva and a mother Devaki and a family—what can be considered transcendental? Krsna says, evam yo vetti tattvatah—we must know of His birth and activities in truth. When one knows of Krsna’s birth and activities in truth, the result is: tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so ’rjuna [Bg. 4.9]—when he leaves this material body, he is not born again but goes directly to Krsna.
This means that he becomes a liberated soul. He goes to the eternal
spiritual world and attains his constitutional position full of bliss,
knowledge and eternality. All this can be obtained simply by knowing in
truth the transcendental nature of Krsna’s birth and activities.
Ordinarily
when one quits the body he has to take up another body. The lives of
the living entities are going on simply due to the living entities’
changing dress from one body to another—transmigration of the
soul—according to the work of the living entities. At the present moment
we may think that this material body is our actual body, but it is like
a dress. In reality we do have an actual body, a spiritual body. This
material body is superficial compared to the real spiritual body of the
living entity. When this material body becomes old and worn out, or when
it is rendered useless by some accident, we put it aside as we might
put aside a soiled or ruined suit and take up another material body.
vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi
“As
a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul
accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Bg. 2.22)
In
the beginning the body is the size of a pea. Then it grows to become a
baby, then a child, a young boy, a youth, a grown man and an old man,
and finally, when it becomes useless, the living entity changes into
another body. The body is therefore always changing, and death is simply
the ultimate change of the present body.
dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
“As
the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to
youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death.
The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bg. 2.13)
Although
the body is changing, the dweller within the body remains the same.
Although the boy grows into manhood, the living entity within the body
is not changed. It is not that the self who was there as a boy has gone
away. Medical science agrees that at every moment the material body is
changing. just as living entities are not
bewildered by this, an enlightened man is not bewildered when the body
undergoes its ultimate change at death. But a person who does not
understand things as they are laments. In the material condition we are
simply changing bodies all the time; that is our disease. It is not that
we always change to a human body. We may change to an animal body or a
demigod body depending on our activities. According to the Padma Purana there are at death. But Krsna promises that one who knows His birth and activities in truth is freed from this cycle of transmigration.
How does one understand Krsna’s birth and activities in truth? This is explained in the Eighteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita:
bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
“One
can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional
service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by
such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg. 18.55)
Here again the word tattvatah, “in truth,” is used. One can understand the science of Krsna in truth by becoming a devotee. He who is not a devotee, who does not strive for Krsna consciousness, cannot understand. At the beginning of the Fourth Chapter also Krsna tells Arjuna (Bg. 4.3) that He is explaining this ancient science of yoga to him because Arjuna is “My devotee and My friend.” For one who simply makes an academic study of Bhagavad-gita, the science of Krsna remains a mystery. Bhagavad-gita is not a book that one can just purchase from the bookstore and understand by scholarship alone. Arjuna was not a great scholar, nor a Vedantist, nor a philosopher nor a brahmana, nor a renunciate; he was a family and military man. But still Krsna selected him to be the recipient of Bhagavad-gita and the first authority in the disciplic succession. Why? “Because you are My devotee.” That is the qualification to understand Bhagavad-gita as it is and Krsna as He is—one must become Krsna conscious.
And what is this Krsna consciousness? That is the process of cleansing the dust from the mirror of the mind through the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By chanting this mantra and by hearing Bhagavad-gita, we can gradually attain to Krsna consciousness. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 18.61]—Krsna is always present within our heart. The individual soul and the Supersoul are both sitting in the tree of the body. The individual soul (jiva) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the Supersoul (Paramatma) is witnessing. As the individual soul begins the process of devotional service and gradually begins to develop his Krsna consciousness, the Supersoul who is seated within begins to help him dust all the impurities from the mirror of the mind. Krsna is a friend to all saintly persons, and the attempt to become Krsna conscious is a saintly endeavor. Sravanam. kirtanam—by chanting and hearing one can come to understand the science of Krsna and thereby come to understand Krsna. And upon understanding Krsna, one can, at the moment of death, go immediately to His abode in the spiritual world. This spiritual world. is described thus in Bhagavad-gita:
na tad bhasayate suryo
na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama
na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama
“That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)
This
material world is always dark; therefore we require the sun, moon and
electricity. The Vedas enjoin us not to remain in this darkness but to
transfer ourselves to the world of illumination, the spiritual world.
The word darkness has a twofold meaning; it not only means without
light, but it means ignorance.
The Supreme Lord
has manifold energies. It is not that he comes to this material world to
perform activities. It is stated in the Vedas that the Supreme Lord has
nothing to do. In Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna also says:
na me parthasti kartavyam
trisu lokesu kincana
nanavaptam avaptavyam
varta eva ca karmani
trisu lokesu kincana
nanavaptam avaptavyam
varta eva ca karmani
“O son of Prtha, there is no work prescribed for Me
within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything,
nor have I need to obtain anything—and yet I am engaged in work.” (Bg. 3.22)
We should therefore not think that Krsna is required to descend upon this material world and engage in so many activities. No one is equal to or greater than Krsna,
and He has all knowledge naturally. It is not that He has to undergo
penances to acquire knowledge or that He at any time has to receive
knowledge or attain knowledge. At all times and in all conditions He is
full of knowledge. He may be speaking Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, but at no time was He ever taught Bhagavad-gita. One who can understand that this is Krsna’s
position does not have to return to the cycle of birth and death in
this material world. Being under the influence of illusion, we spend our
lifetimes trying to make adjustments to this material atmosphere, but
this is not the purpose of human life. Human life is meant for
understanding the science of Krsna.
Our
material needs are these: the problem of eating, of mating, of
sleeping, of defending ourselves and of acquiring sense gratification.
These are common both to human beings and to animals. The animals are
busily engaged trying to solve these problems, and if we are also only
engaged in solving them how are we any different from the animals? The
human being, however, has a special qualification whereby he can develop
transcendental Krsna consciousness, but if
he does not avail himself of this, he is in the animal category. The
defect of modern civilization is that it puts too much stress on solving
these survival problems. As spiritual living beings it is incumbent
upon us to extricate ourselves from this entanglement of birth and
Death. We should therefore be careful not to miss the special
opportunity of human life. Sri Krsna Himself comes to deliver Bhagavad-gita
and to help us to become God conscious. Indeed, this very material
creation is given to us to utilize for this cultivation. But if after
receiving this chance and this gift of human life we do not utilize them
to develop Krsna consciousness, we shall be missing this rare opportunity.
The process for cultivation is very simple: sravanam kirtanam—hearing and chanting. We have nothing to do other than listen, and by listening carefully, enlightenment is sure to come. Krsna
will surely help, for He is seated within. We only have to make the
effort and spare a little time. We will not need anyone to ask us
whether we are making progress. We will know it automatically, just as a
hungry man knows that he has been satisfied by a full meal.
Actually this process of Krsna consciousness or self-realization is not very difficult. Krsna taught it to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita, and if we understand Bhagavad-gita just as Arjuna did, we will have no problem in coming to the perfectional state. But if we try to interpret Bhagavad-gita according to our own mundane academic mentality, we spoil it all.
As stated before, this chanting of Hare Krsna
is a process by which all contaminations due to material association
are removed from the mirror of the mind. There is no need for external
help in reviving our Krsna consciousness, for Krsna
consciousness is dormant within the self. In fact, it is the very
quality of the self. We have only to invoke it by this process. Krsna
consciousness is an eternal fact. It is not a doctrine or set of
beliefs imposed by some organization. It is within all living entities,
whether they be human being or animal. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was passing through the jungles of South India some five hundred years ago, He chanted Hare Krsna,
and all the animals—the tigers, elephants and deer—joined Him in
dancing to the holy names. Of course this depends on the purity of the
chanting. As we progress in chanting, purification is sure to come.
From: On The Way To KRSNA Ch 2. “The Way of Chanting and Knowing Krsna”
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