If the soul is complete, why is purification needed?

Podcast

Transcription :

Transcriber: Sharan Shetty

Question: If the soul is complete, why is purification needed?

Answer: The soul is complete but there are different kinds of completeness. There is a difference between Krishna’s completeness and our completeness. Krishna is independently complete, but we are dependently complete. What is dependently complete? If we consider our hand as an example; our hand is perfectly equipped for functioning as a hand – for gripping, touching, writing etc. However, if it is cut off from the body then it cannot function. Why? Because the functionality and the utility of the hand is dependent on its connectedness with the body. Similarly, although we are complete, we are not independently complete. Our completeness is dependent completeness. Since we are dependent on Krishna to be complete, when we imagine that we can be complete with something else other than Krishna then such thought is an impurity.

The essence of impurity is – to think that there can be a substitute to Krishna, that we can find love, satisfaction or fulfilment through anything other than Krishna. Purification simply means that we redirect our love towards Krishna. When we redirect our love towards Krishna, we become connected with Krishna and thus in our dependence to him, we realise our completeness.

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