Verse: Srimad Bhagvatam 3.28.36
Transcription: Minaksi Radha dasi
Edited: Devaśrī Rādhikā Devī Dāsī
so ’py etayā caramayā manaso nivṛttyā
tasmin mahimny avasitaḥ sukha-duḥkha-bāhye
hetutvam apy asati kartari duḥkhayor yat
svātman vidhatta upalabdha-parātma-kāṣṭhaḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ — the yogī; api — moreover; etayā — by this; caramayā — ultimate; manasaḥ — of the mind; nivṛttyā — by cessation of material reaction; tasmin — in his; mahimni — ultimate glory; avasitaḥ — situated; sukha-duḥkha-bāhye — outside of happiness and distress; hetutvam — the cause; api — indeed; asati — a product of ignorance; kartari — in the false ego; duḥkhayoḥ — of pleasure and pain; yat — which; sva-ātman — to his own self; vidhatte — he attributes; upalabdha — realized; para-ātma — of the Personality of Godhead; kāṣṭhaḥ — the highest truth.
TRANSLATION
Thus situated in the highest transcendental stage, the mind ceases from all material reaction and becomes situated in its own glory, transcendental to all material conceptions of happiness and distress. At that time the yogī realizes the truth of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He discovers that pleasure and pain as well as their interactions, which he attributed to his own self, are actually due to the false ego, which is a product of ignorance.
PURPORT
Forgetfulness of one’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a product of ignorance. By yoga practice one can eradicate this ignorance of thinking oneself independent of the Supreme Lord. One’s actual relationship is eternally that of love. The living entity is meant to render transcendental loving service to the Lord. Forgetfulness of that sweet relationship is called ignorance, and in ignorance one is impelled by the three material modes of nature to think himself the enjoyer. When the devotee’s mind is purified and he understands that his mind has to be dovetailed with the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has attained the perfectional, transcendental stage, which is beyond the perception of material distress and happiness.
As long as one acts on his own account, he is subject to all the material perceptions of so-called happiness and distress. Actually, there is no happiness. Just as there is no happiness in any of the activities of a madman, so in material activities the mental concoctions of happiness and distress are false. Actually, everything is distress.
When the mind is dovetailed to act according to the desire of the Lord, one has attained the transcendental stage. The desire to lord it over material nature is the cause of ignorance, and when that desire is completely extinguished and the desires are dovetailed with those of the Supreme Lord, one has reached the perfectional stage. Upalabdha-parātma-kāṣṭhaḥ. Upalabdha means “realization.” Realization necessarily indicates individuality. In the perfectional, liberated stage, there is actual realization. Nivṛttyā means that the living entity keeps his individuality; oneness means that he realizes happiness in the happiness of the Supreme Lord. In the Supreme Lord there is nothing but happiness. Ānandamayo ’bhyāsāt: the Lord is by nature full of transcendental happiness. In the liberated stage, oneness with the Supreme Lord means that one has no realization other than happiness. But the individual still exists, otherwise this word upalabdha, indicating individual realization of transcendental happiness, would not have been used.
LECTURE
OUR INCONCEIVABLE GOOD FORTUNE CREATED BY SRILA PRABHUPADA
DEVELOPING THE HIGHER TASTE – ATTACHMENT TO KRISHNA
Lord Kapila gives explanations on different types of sankya philosophy. In fact, all transcendental processes for spiritual advancement ultimately lead to devotional service. There are many processes such as sankhya and yoga, and there is the karma kanda section for performing sacrifices. Although the processes are different, the ultimate goal is devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead or Vasudeva (vasudeve bhakti yoga proyajita). However, if any process does not lead to attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then such a process is useless. Here, we see the sankya process indicates the analytical process. The material nature is analyzed and thus, there is proper understanding of what is the material nature. Through this analysis, one comes to the platform of understanding the spiritual reality, wherein the spiritual activity is called devotional service. If one returns to the spiritual sky, then the activities, one will be engaging in, is called devotional service. Therefore, whoever is elevated to the spiritual platform must become engaged in devotional service. All paths, though apparently different, ultimately lead to one point - devotional service.
BHAKTI – THE ULTIMATE GOAL
Through the teachings of Lord Kapila, it is very clear how devotional service is the ultimate goal. The material nature is full of duality, but when the mind becomes free from such duality of pleasure and sorrow, good and bad, light and darkness; one becomes situated in the transcendental platform. In that platform, one becomes engaged in loving devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One very important consideration is that one needs a spiritual master, who is a devotee of Lord Krishna, to fully explain this science of Krishna-consciousness to a living entity. Therefore, it is mentioned in the scriptures that unless one is initiated by a bona-fide vaishnava devotee, his spiritual advancement is not triggered, he is not able to make complete spiritual advancement. There is a heavy statement in the scriptures that receiving the mantra from a non-devotee leads one to hell (niyayana). Hence, it is very important to have a vaishnava guru because unless the spiritual master is a devotee of Krishna, he cannot actually guide us to the ultimate point of devotional service. All vedic injunctions or practices lead to devotional service. How can one be lead to the point of devotional service, if the guru himself is not a devotee of Krishna? Therefore, the guru must be a devotee.
kibā vipra kibā nyāsī śūdra kene naya, yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei “guru” haya (CC Madhya 8.128)
A BONAFIDE SPIRITUAL MASTER – ONE WHO KNOWS KRISHNA
The guru must be a devotee and must know Krishna. He himself must be engaged in loving devotional service to the Lord. I am repeatedly making this point because generally when one reads the sankhya philosophy, he/she may end up with an impersonal understanding of the instructions or texts.
We see, the ultimate goal of sankhya or yoga is to recognize the Supersoul or Paramatma. Generally, some think that ultimate goal is Brahman realization and beyond this material nature and its duality, is absolute neutrality or a place where there is no variety, form, quality and activities. The ultimate is nothing and that is a misconception. The Brahman - effulgence accordingly, is nothing. They are mayavadis, who think in such a way. However, if there is no potency, activity, form or variety, that means what you are doing is also void. Like in a desert, there may be nothing, just sand; but still there is existence of heat and light.
Mayavadis believe that experiencing light (brahmajyoti) is the real joy. They can see light as the dazzling sunshine in the middle of dessert but is it any enjoyment being in middle of desert? According to their concept, Brahman realization lacks variety. In general, one can witness sunrise and sunset, but in brahmajyoti, even such variety does not exist. The variety of different tastes such as sweet, sour and bitter derived from food and the different types of emotions like laughter, anger and shivering are also sources of relish-able variety that do not exist in the brahmajyoti. Even if one is dedicated to Brahman realization, it is no big achievement. Imagine being in a state of nothingness, without variety – it could get very boring. Sometimes, being situated in brahmajyoti is worse than being situated in the material world. At least in the material platform, there is some sort of illusorily enjoyment, but in brahmajyoti, even that enjoyment is not there.
Therefore, for a devotee being situated in mere Brahman realization or kaivalya mukti and sahijya mukti are equivalent to being in hell. Devotees know that sahijya mukti is very sentimental towards spiritual progress and there is no achievement in that. Like here we can see this point: svātman vidhatta upalabdha-parātma-kāṣṭhaḥ svātman means to his own self, vidhatte means he attributes, upalabdha means realized; para-ātma means the Personality of Godhead. Actually, Srila Prabhupada had translated this word para-atma as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Para means transcendental or supreme and atma means self or soul - transcendental soul or supreme soul. Now this word can be translated by the impersonalists or non-devotees as super soul. If this one word is translated in a wrong way, the whole process will be different. Srila Prabhupada is saying, “At that time the yogi realizes the truth of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
But if the word para-atma is translated as Supersoul, then the understanding would be that the yogi becomes absorbed in the Supersoul. But there is a vast difference in being absorbed in the Supersoul and being engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
IN DEVOTIONAL SERVICE THE LORD RECIPROCATES
In devotional services, the activity is reciprocal - when one engages in devotional service, then he becomes actively involved in service of the Lord and the Supreme Personality of Godhead reciprocates. Also, like devotees may render service to the Lord, and He stands there watching His devotees render services. The Lord is compelled to reciprocate. Reciprocation means Krishna does all kind of things. He may even carry devotees on His shoulders. This is the difference between the worship-able and the active perception of the Supersoul. Not only Prabhupada’s purport but also the translation of Srimad Bhagavatam refers to the words - Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prabhupada actually does not translate texts into literal meaning, but his translation reflects the devotional perspective. Therefore, people will be surprised that Prabhupada translated the word Brahman as Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prabhupada thinks from a devotional perspective and in his understanding, Brahman is not impersonal, it means para-brahma -Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Here, we can see that everything is clear from the translation: “Thus situated in the highest transcendental stage, the mind ceases from all material reaction and becomes situated in its own glory.” That is the purifying stage, which is transcendental to the material concept of happiness and distress. At that stage, the mind is completely free from duality of material nature, of happiness and pain. “At that time the yogi” - this yogi is not an impersonalist, instead a devotee of the Lord. The yogi realizes the truth of the relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
There is yet another consideration - one may practice a process of yoga or astanga yoga or one may practice the process of sankhya or come to the platform of yoga. But when he attains the yogic perfection, then what happens to him? Let us consider that this yogi, sitting in a secluded place, atop the snow-covered Himalayas, performs severe austerity. He actually practices to withdraw from objects of the senses, which means he frees himself from the bondage of material nature. At that time, he completely withdraws himself from the objects of the senses and so his mind is not going anywhere anymore. His consciousness is not running externally. In our condition, our senses are always running outwards. But for a yogi who is practicing astanga yoga, he controls his mind as he controls his senses. His senses are completely withdrawn, so much so that he does not see anything although his eyes are open or he does not hear anything with his ears, he does not taste anything, he does not smell anything nor does he touch anything - all his senses are withdrawn.
We may theoretically understand that when one is under anesthesia, he does not register anything from outside. Anesthesia actually withdraws the senses within - the sense perception is withdrawn and that is done through some artificial agent called anesthesia. But a yogi, he does it by his own will. Like for example, when one is under anesthesia, if his leg is cut off, does not feel the immense pain. Has anyone had an operation? How do you feel when your body is cut open? Similarly, a yogi at a perfect stage withdraws his senses in order to project his senses inwards. Then what does he see at the depth of his heart? He sees the Supersoul, situated in the heart.
PERCEIVING THE SUPREME LORD IN THE HEART
There is another consideration - not every yogi, through the yoga practice achieves this. Regardless, of whether he knows how to withdraw his senses and may be aware of the perception of the Supersoul. The perception of the Supersoul is dependent on the mercy of the Lord. An example is that of Narad Muni, who saw the Lord in his heart and was so ecstatic that he wanted to see Him again and again, but he could not. Finally, the Lord instructed him that in this life, he would not see Him again. But in the next life, he will become His associate. Therefore, the perception of the Supersoul in the heart is actually dependent upon the mercy of the Lord. Hence, when one becomes situated in that realization and sees the super soul in the heart, at the perfect stage of yoga practice, then he also sees himself as a spirit soul. The spirit soul is minute or atomic and the Supersoul is absolute. When someone comes across somebody who is very great, then how does he automatically feel?
Yes, he feels humble because this is a natural tendency or feeling. And that leads towards surrendering himself unto the Lord. When the yogi perceives the Supersoul in the heart, then he automatically surrenders himself onto Him. The minute spirit soul spontaneously surrenders himself onto the Supreme Soul or Supreme Personality of Godhead. This surrender is the beginning and basis of devotional service. Can anyone be a devotee without surrender? If someone thinks he does not need to surrender, we immediately conclude that he is not a devotee. Soon after Prabhupada’s disappearance, there was a group of devotees who said they would not surrender to anyone but Srila Prabhupada. They pointed out that no one is actually great enough for them to surrender unto and we saw that with this attitude, they just drifted away. A person, who cannot surrender to the devotees of the Lord, cannot become situated on the plane of devotional service.
BY DEVOTIONAL SERVICE ONE ATTAINS THE HIGHEST PERFECTION
Surrender is a basic requirement for devotional service. Unless and until one becomes surrendered, one cannot remain in devotional service; what to speak of making advancement. On the other hand, when one surrenders, then for him spiritual advancement is assured. The more you surrender, the more you advance. Of course, that surrender should take place at the right path, to the right person. A devotee must surrender but that does not mean he will surrender to just anyone. He surrenders to Krishna and whoever represents Krishna, also meaning surrender to the devotees of Krishna. One who surrenders unto Krishna is a perfect yogi. After seeing the Supersoul, surrender unto Him spontaneously and be situated on the devotional service platform. That way, it is said that devotional service is the highest round of the spiritual practice. When one becomes situated in the devotional service, he has perfected all the sacrifices and austerities, even the astanga yoga. He is a perfect yogi. It is to be understood that such a devotee has already attained the yoga perfection.
Now one may say that he cannot see mystic powers in a devotee. The answer to that is, we become situated on devotional service, not by our own power but due to the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. We haven’t become devotees by gradual spiritual elevation which is the normal case. Normally, people have to gradually rise from the karma kanda section to the jnana kanda section. From jnana kanda, after attaining perfection in astanga yoga, one comes to the platform of devotional service. For such cases – yes, they were already perfected yogis, situated in devotional service. But we, actually being already situated on the platform of devotional service are simply recipients of the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We do not have any qualifications but Srila Prabhupada made us qualified. He just picks us up and places us on the highest spiritual platform, and being situated there, we are already superior to all those people. It may sound contentious.
We, merely by being situated on the platform of devotional service are already at a transcendental platform of yoga and other spiritual activities. Generally, in order to become a millionaire, one has to work very hard. However, if someone is born into a family of millionaires, he does not have to work for it. He eventually inherits it all. Similarly, devotee-kids because they are young, are situated on the platform of devotion and continuing their practice, they will someday become pure devotees. For a pure devotee, mystic powers or asta-siddhi serve as a menial servant. The eight types of siddhis of yogic perfection are liberation personified with folded hands - they request a devotee to please allow them to render some service to the devotee.
OUR GOOD FORTUNE CREATED ONLY BY THE MERCY OF SRILA PRABHUPADA
This is our inconceivable good fortune that because of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, we have come to the platform of Krishna-consciousness. Now, you must take full advantage of it. Sometimes, devotees go through different stages – especially, neophyte devotees go through different periods – “Let me do something else,” but one should not deviate from the platform of devotional service. Be fixed up by remaining in the association of devotees. Therefore, we should always remain in and practice Krishna-consciousness. We will naturally make spiritual advancement. Along with spiritual advancement, comes the necessary spiritual joy.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Question: What is the difference between a yogi who is meditating upon the Supersoul and a devotee, situated in santa rasa?
H.H. BCS: A devotee who is in santa rasa, actively involved in devotional service to the Lord, he is actually on a higher platform than a yogi, who is meditating. This is because a yogi sees the Lord as Supersoul. He is seeing Him as an inactive vigraha. But a devotee in santa rasa perceives the Lord as an active personality.