Envisaging Our Spiritual Existence

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

During his recent visit to Abudhabi, our beloved Guru Maharaja was emphasizing the importance of the last 18 verses of the second chapter of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Maharaja was insisting that these verses should be recited before we go to bed in the night and again as soon as we get up, we should be reciting these verses. Srimad Bhagavad gita has emanated fro the transcendental throat of Krishna and so it should be placed in our throats. Maharaja said that we should try to put as many things as possible into practise. We should always keep the saffron colour in our heart. Krishna likes saffron colour. If we do not wear saffron before death, Krishna will wrap us in saffron colour. This happens because when the body is cremated the flames of the fire are saffron in colour and this way Krishna wraps us in saffron. Bhagavad gita gives us the right path which we should not miss and we should all become bookworms of Bhagavad gita.

Maharaja gave a very wonderful explanation of the verse Bhagavad gita 2.55, I shall try to post herewith a few of he points from his lecture.

sri-bhagavaan uvaaca
prajahaati yadaa kaamaan
sarvaan paartha mano-gataan
aatmany evaatmanaa tustah
sthita-prajnas tadocyate
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: "O Paartha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness."

In the above verse, the word 'mano-gataan' is very important. It means mentally concocted things. And Krishna says prajahaati - they must be avoided. It is an order from Krishna. Krishna never requests. It is His command and we have to do it. When we are very busy with so many activities, we say in Hindi 'mein kaam me hoom'. So we are unable to do any seva or devotional service. Seva is always without kaama. Really if we want to elevate ourselves, we have to become desire-less. We have to cultivate ourselves to become desire-less. That is the only one way to stop the incessant flow of desires. This can be achieved when we are completely satisfied with our material situations, whatever is granted by Krishna. You are now in middle age and soon you will end up with your waning years and dwindling will be there and then the final stroke is bound to come. This picture should always be before our eyes. Daily the time is working on everyone without exception. Everyone has a set time and within that time, we are allowed to do whatever we want to do. This freedom should be coupled with the instructions from Srimad Bhagavad gita. It is very easy to tell but very difficult to follow. That which is worth following is always difficult. The scratch is very easy to follow.

1. Desirelessness:
The first thing is that ‘kaamaan’ the desires must be completely under our control, if not completely vanquished. This is very specific with regard to mano-gataan or mentally concocted things. Our mind is very tricky. It will see so many suitable arrangements to achieve the concoctions. Mental conditions are rejected in the ordinary life also. ‘Mental’ means ‘rejection’. How much it is necessary for spiritual progress? Srila Prabhupada is very clear in the purport that desire cannot be stopped. It is the nature. It is bound to come. But the objective of the desire must be changed. To fulfil our material desires we are here and there is no need to hide the fact. After coming here we saw that with everything available, we have to depend upon a higher authority or Krishna to have the nice life. Mere hankering for the material pursuit will exhaust us. ‘Exhaust’ is a very nice word. Unless proper exhaustion is there, the car will not move. You have to exhaust. You have to get out of the unnecessary things or issues that entangle you in the material existence. That is needed. To get out of all this, one line is enough - prajahaati yadaa kaamaan sarvaan paartha manogataan. Desirelessness is also expressed as complete dependence on Krishna’s will. Whether we depend or not, we are dependent on Him. So better to voluntarily submit to Him. That is the way to be desire less. As it is, the flow of desires is there. But if you desire for Krishna that is auspicious desire.

2. Bhakti is never inactive:
Please carve in your mind that bhakti can never be inactive. We have taken bhakti as inaction. This is mistake. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad gita 4.18:

karmany akarma yah pasyed
akarmani ca karma yah
sa buddhimaan manusyesu
sa yuktah krtsna-karma-krt
"One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities."

This one verse puts us in the proper perspective. Again Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad gita 2.48:

yoga-sthah kuru karmaani
sangam tyaktvaa dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutvaa
samatvam yoga ucyate
"Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga."

Here yoga means bhakti yoga. Karma can never be stopped. The formula is ‘sangam tyaktvaa’ - leave the fruits. Anyway we have to leave the fruits. If you do that you are inactive. You are active but you are inactive. In karma you have to see akarma. Inaction has no place.

3. Leave the mental platform:
Arjuna was in the mental level. That is why he was worried about kinsmen, relative etc., He did not want to kill. That is why Krishna gives the instruction to Arjuna to give up the mental platform. To finish our material duties we may have to come to the mental platform. But we know that we are in the mental level. We are 'awake' meaning we are 'alert'. We know what we are doing. In the mental platform we are slaves of the mind. We do not want this slavish mentality.

We can see the example. I desire to have a sofa set. I have concocted that if I have a sofa set, I can sit, my wife can sit and my kids can sit and we can fight comfortably. The persons who see my sofa set, they think that I am sitting very comfortably and having a very nice time. They do not know the fight that is going on. This is mano gataan. Then loans are there; instalments are there. Come what may, do not borrow or lend. Don’t borrow at all. If you want to lend, give it away. Don’t ask them to pay back. These are very important things. Now how to get out of the manogataan of sofa set? As soon as I envisage my spiritual existence, sofa set becomes completely insignificant and negligible. Then the whole market of the sofa set becomes a dream for me.

Thus by satisfaction we should place ourselves in the pure existence of the soul with the purified mind and that is the way to leave the mental platform.

4. Be satisfied in your own spiritual existence:
The way to leave the mental platform is to be satisfied in your own spiritual existence with the help of the purified mind. Krishna says ‘aatmany eva aatmanaa tushtah’.’Tushtah’ is very important. You have to be satisfied. We are alive today means we have to thank Krishna. It is His mercy. He again and again gives us the days but it is all bound to end. Krishna uses the word ‘eva’ which means this satisfaction in our spiritual existence has to be certainly done. If we do this, then we have left manogataan – mental concoction and also kaamaan - sense gratification. And we come to the spiritual existence. Body is coming and going. Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad gita 2.13:

dehino 'smin yathaa dehe
kaumaaram yauvanam jaraa
tathaa dehaantara-praaptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change."

This is not just the exercise of the mind. It is a fact. There is an ocean of difference between mere exercise and fact. Facts never change whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not. If the facts do not change, then the instructions of Bhagavad Gita are a must. So how can we leave Bhagavad gita? Somehow or the other, the obnoxious mind must be forced to be attracted to the instructions of Bhagavad gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Manogataan (mental concoctions) always leads to hellish life. Money is never enough. We are never satisfied with the money we have got. We have to draw a line somewhere. Being satisfied with whatever we have is one of the important conditions to make Krishna happy.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.31.19:

dayayaa sarva-bhutesu
santustyaa yena kena vaa
sarvendriyopasaantyaa ca
tusyaty aasu janaardanah
"By showing mercy to all living entities, being satisfied somehow or other and controlling the senses from sense enjoyment, one can very quickly satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janaardana."

We are always running after the bodily needs and this is not our way. To the minimum extent we should be there. Our goal of existence is ‘aatmany eva aatmana tushtah’ Purified mind will definitely help us to go to the spiritual existence. ‘sa vai manah krishnapadaaravinda yoh’ As soon as Krishna is there, purification is there. We are all Krishna drunkards in the PUB (Prabhupada Unlimited Bhagavatam). As soon as Krishna, Srimad Bhagavatam and Srila Prabhupada’s name is there, there are no inebrities. No place is bad. Only our objectives are bad.

The pure state of the soul is described as 'sattvam vishuddham vasudeva-shabditam' - “When a man is situated in pure goodness, he worships Vaasudeva.” Krishna appears in the vishuddha sattva state. That is why He is called vaasudeva. This is extra purified auspiciousness (atimangala). It is this state which helps us to be at ease. 'At ease' means, everything goes on and we pay more attention to the pure existence of the soul. This process is not sectarian. It is eternal and applies to everyone. Just the four words ‘aatmany eva aatmanaa tushtah’ takes us out of the manogataan. If the soul is very pure, how much purer the Supersoul must be? Purified mind will never be satisfied unless you come to the extremely purified mind; Krishna. Eventually every verse draws us to the Supreme Absolute Truth - satyam param dhimahi. It is our experience that in the material world also, if a person is honest and true, we like him. Why is it that we like a man of good character? These things prove that Bhagavad gita is beyond any doubt and that is why it is supreme.

We all want to be situated in the pure state and for that how much our life must be pure? Leave all the scratch. Anything you do apart from this is hellish. The whole life program to take us to the spiritual existence is chalked out here and spiritual existence is our monopoly. We can never be material. Manogataan life is hellish. The hellish life is in front of us and there are different paths also. But everything falls short in front of bhakti. In bhakti only, there is experience of the pure existence of the soul. There is no ‘purified mind’ injection to achieve this. You have to try and experience yourself. Every soul has a pure existence. Every soul has a dirty mind. The mind has to be purified and the way of purification is the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructs this in Shiksaashtakam and see how it cooperates with the Bhagavad gita principle! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is non-different from Bhagavad gita principle. Those who stick to Bhagavad gita are like Krishna.

A grain of putting Bhagavad gita into practice is more important than tons of knowledge of Bhagavad gita. Be steady with the last 18 verses of the second chapter of Bhagavad gita.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.