06.30: Reality is more fascinating than what we have been allowed to believe

The Bhagavad-gita (6.30) states how an advanced spiritualist sees Krishna everywhere and in everything. Such a vision is neither a fanciful imagination, nor an intellectual conception, but a spiritual perception of the real nature of the cosmos immanent with Krishna. This perception is not sensory, but supra-sensory: the immanence of Krishna in the things and beings of this world is perceived not through one’s material senses, but through one’s spiritual senses. Where the material senses see only the purposeless motions of matter according to impersonal laws and mechanical forces, there the spiritual senses see the purposeful actions of a benevolent God and his competent agents. For most of us, our spiritual senses are presently dormant, but we can awaken them by the process of devotional service centered on mantra meditation. The divine sound of mantras aligns our intuitive understanding with the enlightened perception of the spiritually awakened. This alignment enables us to discover that reality is much more fascinating than what our past material perceptions allowed us to believe. Where our material senses saw worldly happenings only as favorable or unfavorable or immaterial for our self-centered enjoyment, we now see worldly happenings as other-worldly teachings, as Krishna’s timely demonstrations of the Gita’s timeless truths. When we recognize reality as a living school with a loving mentor, life becomes changed forever.

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Hare Krishna. Reality is more fascinating than what we have been allowed to believe. Today's mainstream ideology is materialism.

The idea that matter is the primary reality or even matter is the only reality. And this materialistic dogma does not allow people to believe in non-material or spiritual truths. So, such truths are dubbed as non-scientific, irrational, superstitious, primitive, anti-Diluvian.

And in this way, they are rejected. So, people are not allowed to believe in these truths. But what happens when materialism becomes the predominant way of thinking? How does it affect our perception of reality? In materialism, the only form of enjoyment that is possible is material enjoyment.

Now, all material enjoyment is inescapably temporary. Because the objects that provide the enjoyment are limited. The capacity of those objects to provide enjoyment is limited.

And even our capacity to enjoy those objects is also limited. So, because material enjoyment is limited and soon gets exhausted, therefore, when we look at reality, reality is interesting only to the extent it promises material enjoyment. And when there is no material enjoyment possible, then reality becomes boring.

So, that's why boredom is such a common phenomena in today's world. Because people's consciousness is stuck at the material level. And the material level, when no enjoyment is available, then soon there is boredom.

So, actually, reality is not boring and life is not meant to be boring. The reality is rich and life is meant to be exciting, fulfilling. So, the Bhagavad Gita talks about yoga as the path to spirituality.

And it describes in 9.30, the topmost yogi. And described in 9.30 that yo mam pashyati sarvatra sarvam cha mayi pashyati tasya ham na pranasyami sacchamena pranasyati yo mam pashyati sarvatra One who sees me everywhere and sees everything in me. sarvam cha mayi pashyati tasya ham na pranasyami Such a person, I am never lost to such a person.

person and that person is never lost to me. So Krishna is telling that the connection between me and such a person always remains and Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure. So when we connect with Krishna at that time we experience great spiritual fulfillment, great joy and when the advanced spiritualists connect with Krishna constantly, when they see Krishna constantly everywhere, then they experience this joy constantly.

So for them spirituality, for them reality is rich, being permeated with the presence of Krishna everywhere and because Krishna is all attractive and Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure, so reality becomes fascinating. And now this perception, Yoma, Aum, Pakshiti, Sarvatra, seeing Krishna everywhere, how does it happen? Is it that we just imagine Krishna is there everywhere? No, Krishna is there everywhere because he is God and he is omnipresent. But presently we are not able to see him because our vision, because we are at the material level of consciousness.

So we have currently material senses through which we are seeing, hearing, talking. Beyond our body there is the soul and the soul has spiritual senses. Those spiritual senses are dormant right now and it is with the spiritual senses that we are able to see Krishna everywhere.

So how are these spiritual senses to be activated? It is through the process of Bhakti Yoga, especially which I am centered on mantra meditation. The sound, divine sound of mantras awakens us just as a sleeping person can be awakened by sound. Similarly our dormant spiritual senses are awakened by the sound of the mantras and this aligns.

Once our spiritual senses are awakened then we become aligned with reality and we can see the same way as the advanced spiritualists are seeing. We can start seeing Krishna everywhere. And as we progress toward that realization, this realization may seem very lofty and distant, but as we progress toward that realization we start seeing deeper truths progressively.

So where the material senses see simply the actions of matter moving according to impersonal laws and mechanical forces, that is the view of modern science of nature and of everything within it, that it is all moving by mechanical forces and impersonal laws. As a critic of the materialistic world you said that now we are all nothing but little particles of matter moving aimlessly and endlessly. This is a very very impoverishing view of life and in such an impoverishing view of life, it's no wonder that people feel bored.

So instead of seeing things this way where actually the material senses see only matter and its movements, the spiritual senses see the benevolent actions of Krishna acting through his agents. So the devatas are controlling the various forces and they are competent agents of the benevolent Lord. And in this way we are able to see higher spiritual reality.

And when we see Krishna's hand in events, then because we are seeing Krishna, we find it relishable. And this is not just an abstract vision, but it is also a more specific vision. Even not just with respect to the movement of force, material things, but even the events that happen in our life, we don't just see, material senses see them just as random events that are happening by chance, but we see them as potential forums for learning and growth.

How? Whatever things happen in our life, they are not happening by chance. As Krishna said in 13.22, he is the overseer and permeter. He lets whatever is happening, happen.

And actually arranges things for the seeker in such a way that the seeker grows spiritually. So if we see the things of this world, the events of life as potential forums for learning and growth, then we will be able to see that Krishna uses these events, orchestrates these events in such a way that through the events that happen in our life, the timeless truths of the Gita become demonstrated. Especially the most important timeless truth, that is the truth of Krishna's unfailing love for us.

So at the material level, we will find that things will go wrong, things will go right. But beyond that, if we try to practice devotional service, then we will see that Krishna is always right there with us through the thick and the thin. And in this way, when we start realizing that reality is actually an arena for Krishna's love to manifest, then reality is revealed to be far more fascinating, far more enriching, far more fulfilling than what materialism had previously allowed us to believe.

Thank you. Hare Krishna.