Shikshashtakam 1 – Understanding the mind’s mirror, the forest fire and the white lotus

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Did you see Prabhupada? Did you see Vantra Shivad Bhagavatam? Then a commentary on that is called a bhajji.
A commentary on a commentary is usually called a tika. Sometimes the words are used interchangeably. The vibhruti is the text.
In Rupa Goswami’s works, his padyavali. But it does not come as one composite work. The padyavali written by Shiva is a compilation of great devotional verses coming from different sources.
Technically this is called an anthology. Anthology means a collection of things on different topics. And sometimes he cites the names, who has said this verse, who has composed it.
And sometimes he says it’s anonymous. Now, Srila Krishna Kaviraj Goswami was a Vaishnava who integrated Vrindavan, Vraja Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnavism. And he was born and brought up in Bengal.
We know that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had some of his followers whom he sent to Vrindavan. And they were mostly scholarly community largely. And they wrote books which they wrote in primarily Sanskrit.
So the Goswamis wrote in Sanskrit and they wrote primarily about Krishna. The Bengali Vaishnavas wrote primarily in Bengali and they wrote about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Not philosophical or theological.
So, these two strands of Gaudiya Vaishnavism were there. One was theological and in the scholarly language, Sanskrit. The other was, these two strands of Gaudiya Vaishnavism were brought together by Srila Krishna Kaviraj Goswami.
So he was from Bengal, he was instructed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to go to Vrindavan. And there he studied under the Vraja Vaishnavas. We normally hear that he heard from Ramana.
He was trained by the Goswamis, especially by Sri Krishna Kaviraj Goswami. He wrote more than 35 different books. Not just the Bhagavatam, but books of Nyaya, books of Mahamsa.
It’s a profound scholarly work. And often Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita is thought of as a biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But it is actually more a work of theology in the format of a biography.
The most important parts of Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita are philosophical discussions. And Prabhupada presented them to us as he took the most important conversations from there and put them together. Now the theological nature of Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita as contrasted from the biographical nature is seen in its climaxes.
The Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita has 17 chapters in its Adilila, 25 in its Madilila and 20 in its Antilila. And the last chapter is not an account of the disappearance of Lord Chaitanya. It is a Shikshashtakam text.
The 20th chapter of the Antilila. So Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita concludes with the Antilila. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu may depart from the mortal realm.
But through which are immortal. So Chaitanya Shikshashtakam what we call in Chaitanya Chaitanya Samhita. But in the written format it comes before that in Padyavati.
So it was Krishnadevaraya Raja Goswami. So now there is a brief explanation of maybe each verse. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in ecstasy in Gambhira which is the place where he was residing in Puri.
And there he composes the verse. And Krishnadevaraya Raja Goswami explains or he has Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explain some of the verses briefly. But there is not much explanation.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s primary intellectual legacy to us. What he gave us in terms of philosophy is the Shikshashtakam. Indirectly he has given all of Gaudiya Vishwanathan.
But that has been put into written form. Ashtakam is 8 verses. Now there is a whole tradition of composing Stavya, Stuti Kavya.
Stuti Kavya is praise poetry which is called often in short as Stavya. So that sort of poetry is often composed in metrical units. So if it is made then you have a Shatanam or a Sahasranam.
And when it is in the form of a shortened unit of thought and normally it is an Ashtakam. So Shikshashtakam. So now this is, normally the Ashtakam title is prefaced by the subject.
So often if it is about Satgoswami Ashtakam that describes that this is going to glorify Satgoswami. Or Yamuna Ashtakam, this is going to glorify Yamuna Devi. So the object of this Ashtakam is Shiksha, it is giving a Shiksha.
At one level all Ashtakas give a Shiksha. We can learn, we can educate ourselves. Telling this about the lives of the Goswamis.
But it is indirect, inferential sort of education. This is what we have been doing and how can I apply that in my life. But Shikshashtakam is direct instruction.
Now there is a lot of technical analysis also. Bhaktivinoda Thakur correlates the 8 verses of Shikshashtakam with the stages of Sambandhavidaya Prayojan. And also with the immediate stages of Bhakti.
We have seen some Adhokshabdhas, Adhokshangam. So we will go into that technical in the next class. This background is enough technical analysis for one class.
Let’s start with the verses now. So I will take one verse and then I will explain and then we will move forward. So this invocation or a hope or a blessing.
So it can either be a hope or it can be a blessing. Let it happen or it happens. Or it can be Shri Krishna Sankirtan is supremely victorious.
So in a philosophical sense Shri Krishna Sankirtan is supremely victorious. But whether it will be victorious in our offer our consciousness to that. So now, Cheto Darpana Marjanam.
Marjanam is to clean. Now Cheta, Chetana it refers to consciousness. Darpana is a mirror.
This is a very interesting metaphor. And we need a little bit philosophical background. Darpana is a mirror.
Now simply speaking at a simple level we explain that the mirror of our mind is unclear. And that’s why we see things distorted. But so what the holy name does is it cleanses the mirror of the mind.
And then you can see clearly. So this is a one level understanding. But then it raises a question.
Is the mind like a mirror in which we reflect and see ourselves? Or is the mind more like a window through which we see other things? Because normally now I am looking at you, you are looking at me. So we are looking through the mind. So normally we don’t think of the mind so much as a mirror.
We think of it as something that transcends. Like a spectacle. If a spectacle started acting as a mirror then I wouldn’t be able to see you.
I would only see my eyes. So what exactly does the word darpana mean over here? Now the chitta is an intricate philosophical concept. To understand this we can envision, suppose we are watching a movie in a theatre.
Theatre means everything is dark. And at that time the person is absorbed in watching the movie. Now there are two energies of Krishna.
There is the avaranatmika shakti and there is the prakshepadmika shakti. So avaranatmika is that which covers. And prakshepadmika is that which pushes.
So for example now we are walking along the street and we enter a movie theatre. Now at that time we can see many things around us. But when we enter the movie theatre two things happen.
One set of lights go off. Another set of lights go on. One set of lights that goes off is all the lights around us.
So that covers, that puts everything around us in darkness. And because of which we can’t see things around us. So that is the avaranatmika shakti.
Avaranatmika shakti, it covers our capacity for spiritual perception. And then this prakshepadmika shakti is like the light of the projector turning on and the movie starting on the screen. Now what happens? Because everything around us is dark, we can’t see.
And here there is brightly attractive and moving colour picture. Then immediately our consciousness gets attracted to that. So that throwing is done by prakshepadmika shakti.
So avaranatmika shakti covers, blinds us to spiritual reality. Prakshepadmika shakti pushes us towards material reality. And in this way the soul becomes bound.
That whatever happens in material nature, that is done, the cause and effect sequence is set up by material nature. There is action, there is karya. Karana is the instrument.
The means by which the action is done. The overall cause, the substratum, the foundation where all this happens is material nature. What that means is, say on the movie screen, a hero and a villain are fighting.
So now the hero throws a punch. And there is a cracking sound as the jaw of the villain cracks and he falls back. So now all that is happening over there is within the movie.
There is a projection. So the sound of the fish hitting against the jaw, the effect of falling, all this is within the technology which is created for projecting the movie. So like that material nature is like that high technology.
All that is happening over here. Now, purusha is used not in a gender specific sense, but in a gender neutral sense. All living beings come to the material world.
Purusha sukha dukkhana. That happiness and distress in the soul experiences. Bhoktrutve he duruchate.
That is because of the desire to enjoy. So for example, in the movie theatre somebody has gone to sleep. There is no desire to watch the movie.
Then whatever happens in the movie theatre, no effect will be there. The person may, the hero may beat the villain. Other people, some people who are cheering the hero, and some other people when the villain starts beating the hero, they may become fearful.
So this sukha dukkha is happening because bhoktrutve he duruchate. There is a desire to enjoy. There is a desire to enjoy watching the movie.
That’s why although the person has the capacity to perceive the world around, the person’s consciousness gets focused entirely on just watching the movie. And the person’s consciousness practically gets locked into the movie. So now, at such a time, the movie basically becomes, the movie screen becomes a channel by which the consciousness goes somewhere else.
Goes to the storyline of the movie. To the way it is depicted. And the person loses all self-awareness.
Who I am, where I am, depending on how much is the absorption in the movie. So similarly, the soul is spiritual. But the soul, because of the desire to enjoy in this world, and the soul has come into this world, the soul’s consciousness gets projected into the subtle world.
So the movie screen is like the mind. And just as the movie screen brings in, integrates and depicts whatever has been shot elsewhere in the movie, like that, the mind integrates the sensory inputs and presents it to the soul. So what happens? Now, there are two different concepts over here.
This is a little technical, but this will help us understand what this Shastra is going to study. There are two terms. There is Chit and there is Chitta.
Chit is the original consciousness of the soul. That is part of Sat, Chit, Ananda. Chit is the original faculty of the soul to be conscious.
Chitta, on the other hand, is the consciousness of the soul projected into the material realm. That means, with respect to the movie example, the person has the capacity to see and respond to things all over in the movie theatre and in the larger world. But when the person gets locked into watching the movie, then the person doesn’t perceive anything else, just perceives whatever is there in the movie theatre.
So the capacity of the person to observe the reality beyond the movie, that is Chit, and the consciousness that is locked into the movie, that is Chitta. So now, at our level, Chit, the original consciousness of the soul, is inaccessible. That’s why the Paramatma is sitting next to us.
But because our consciousness is locked in matter, we can’t perceive the Paramatma. So right now, what we have access to is only the Chitta. We don’t have access to the Chitta.
The whole purpose of Yoga is to separate, to gain access back to Chitta. And this difference between Chitta and Chitta is seen in the Bhagavad Gita also. At one level, the Bhagavad Gita says that consciousness comes from the soul.
अविनाशित तर्वित्वि येन सर्मविदं तता 2.17, the Gita says that that which pervades the whole body, that comes from the soul. That’s consciousness. But the same Gita, later, in 13.7, states that consciousness is a transformation of material nature.
It says that, first in 13.6, it describes the material elements. महाभूतान्याहंकारो उद्धिनाव्यत्तनेवच इंद्रियान्धशेकम्च पंचचेंद्रियगो उच्छरहा So it describes the 24 elements that make up material nature. And then afterwards it says, इच्छाद्वेश सुखम् दुख्षम् संघातस्चेतनादृति एतचेत्रंसमासेन सविकारमुदहरतम् So, सविकार is transformation.
So, इच्छा, इच्छाद्वेश, सुखम् दुख्षम् So, इच्छा, the desire to enjoy the movie. If something nice happens, if the hero starts winning, then that इच्छा will produce सुखम्. There is द्वेश, one doesn’t like the other.
If the villain starts winning, then that produces दुख्षम्. Now, इच्छा, द्वेश, सुखम्, दुख्षम् All these are produced in this context because of whatever is happening in the movie. And चेतना, yes.
So, Krishna says even चेतना is what? सविकारमुदहरतम् Consciousness is a transformation of maternal nature, Krishna is saying. Now, we know consciousness comes from the soul. So, why is Krishna saying that consciousness is a transformation of maternal nature? Because this consciousness refers to consciousness that is caught in matter.
चितत So now, all this seems too technical. The simple point right now is that self-realisation means we need to transform the mind’s role from a window to a mirror. That means I am watching a movie.
Now, what is the movie screen showing me? The movie screen is actually taking me to some other reality. Somewhere else entirely. But I want to become self-aware.
So, now to make this even more graphic, the difference between चित and चितत. Suppose, there is some sort of a pipe, that closed pipe that is tied from the face of the person to the movie screen. So that the person cannot turn the head.
All that the person can see is the movie screen and nothing else. So that, now, that pipe-like structure which ties the consciousness to the mind. That is the policy code.
So, all that I am speaking is largely based on an analysis of the पुरंजन पाक्यान in the fourth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There, the analysis between the analysis of the interaction of the soul and the body is given there graphically. So, now, visualise the situation.
Say, I have started from watching a movie. But there is a pipe-like structure stuck to my face by which I can’t see anything except the movie screen. Now, in such a situation, how will I able to see myself? Because I can see only the movie screen.
So, that will happen when the movie screen starts acting like a mirror. If, instead of acting as a screen which takes me somewhere else, if it acts like a mirror, then it will show me myself. It will show me, not the things around us It will show me myself.
So, yoga means that in this world, our consciousness takes us outwards to things of this world. But yoga means we try to bring our consciousness back to ourselves. So, what the dust on the mind does is, when the mind is dusty, then, instead of acting as a mirror, it not only distorts our self-conception, it makes us think that I am someone who I am not.
Instead of understanding that I am a soul, I think I am a body. That way it distorts our perception. Along with that, it also distorts the perception of the world around us.
So, what he is telling over there, is that, Marginal means cleansing. So, when we chant the holy names, what exactly are we doing? There is a whole branch of spirituality called as sonic spirituality. Sonic means connected with sound.
We have ultrasonic and sonography and things like that. So, all over the world, in traditions, there are spiritual seekers who recognise the power of sound in awakening higher levels of consciousness. And that’s why, whether it is in the western tradition or whatever traditions, they have the concept of chanting sacred sounds.
But, it is being developed into systematic philosophy and a practical science in the Vedic tradition. Not just the Vedic tradition, in the mediaeval times, there was a whole bhakti renaissance in India. And there were many saints who appeared in different parts of the world.
And they projected the karmakand ritualism that had predominated in India. And they established Maharashtra, Sukara Maharaj. He also had to struggle against the Brahmanical orthodoxy of his times.
But, all of these saints, they glorified direct devotion to the lord, especially to chanting of his holy names. But, Shri Jaitanya Mahaprabhu did two things. He widely propagated, not just the chanting, dancing, singing together.
And more importantly, other saints talked about chanting the holy names and they quoted some verses. But, Shri Jaitanya Mahaprabhu, through his followers, actually connected the Nama with Yoga Sutra by Patanjali. It is a very seminal, important book for the yogis, for the yoga practitioners.
And, Vyasadeva, among his many works, has also written a commentary on the Yoga Sutra. Yoga Sutra is actually a very small book. And that has been commented on by various people.
So, Vyasadeva himself commented on it. And he explained how the Yoga Sutra is actually a devotional book. Now, there is a good amount of research to indicate that Patanjali is actually Vaishnava.
But, in the Yoga Sutra itself, Patanjali does not describe anything specifically about who the Lord is. There is a verse, once you surrender to Ishwara. But, who that Ishwara is, Patanjali does not tell that.
He assumes that his readers know it already from other sources. So, it is more of a yoga manual. So, Vyasadeva in his commentary elaborates So, now, in his Yoga Sutra commentary, Vyasadeva talked about But, it is Shri Shakti What is the purpose of yoga? Now, people think that chanting gives me ecstasy.
I dance and sing. Then, what yoga does? So, what the yogis try to do? What they try to do is, there is a movie screen and a person is caught up in the movie screen. So, the perfection of yoga as given in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is Chitta Kunti Nirodha Chitta is projected into matter.
So, stop that. What that means is basically, switch off the movie. Close the movie.
If you want to become liberated, you cannot keep watching the movie. You will not realise what is around you. So, the whole process of yoga All of that is meant for what? But, Shakti says that don’t just switch off the movie.
Use the same movie screen to depict reality. That means, the movie is normally showing us illusion but chant the holy names which connect with the supreme reality Krishna. Then, we will behold the form of the deity.
So, the same movie screen which was earlier causing bondage, now… So, it says that Kulashikar Maharaj is praying to the town that chant these holy names. This is why the supreme truth you will connect with that through chanting. So, Parant Tattva is normally according to the impersonates Brahman.
But, it means saying over here that actually there is something beyond Brahman that is Bhagwan. So, what the chanting does is that how does it cleanse the marrow of the mind? Actually, the whole purpose of yoga is quite laborious. First, switch off the movie and then try to slowly start perceiving what is the reality.
But, what the holy name does is that it cleanses the marrow of the mind. That means, the mind which is projecting the movie which is illusory and binding. It changes the projection on it and starts depicting reality.
So, that’s how we become cleansed. So, we don’t have to withdraw from the world. When it withdraws what is being depicted on the, we will see that when we start chanting Hare Krishna.
Now, what happens when this starts happening when there is cleansing of the marrow of the mind? The second consequence of that is Bhava Maha Dava Agni. So, here Agni is fire. Dava Agni is a forest fire.
Maha Dava Agni is a fire. And what is this? Bhava. Bhava is material existence.
So, now the Vedic texts were written in a time when nature was the immediate reality for people. Because people lived close to nature. That’s why metaphors for nature are very frequently used.
So, we may have not experienced forest fire. What we read about in the news is also some house fire. Some LPG cylinder runs up and a fire comes up.
These are very small, small fires. Or we may have industrial fires. Chernobyl disaster was there.
There were various disasters like that. But a forest fire can be very devastating. So, what is this? Bhava, material existence is compared to a forest fire.
Now, there are several reasons for this comparison. One is that the forest fire often is so big that no human beings can cover it. In Australia or other places, when a forest fire breaks out, no, they can’t extinguish the fire.
Sometimes the fire goes on for weeks. Sometimes. So, it’s so difficult to extinguish the fire that often what the firefighters have to do is, they just, sometimes if the fire is in this area, they cannot extinguish the fire.
So, what they do is they actually break down using their denuder, tree cutter. They just break down trees around the forest fire so that they cannot extinguish the fire. But they were extremely difficult in fact.
So, like that. Now, how exactly does, I have a job boss who troubles me so much. I have worry about how I’m going to earn my living.
How is Chaitanya going to remove all that? See, that bhava maha dava nirvava to extinguish this forest fire. The events, pleasure or pain, largely depending on the meaning that we assign to them. There are events that happen and those events whether they cause pleasure or pain to us, that depends on what is the meaning we assign to those events.
Let me explain this. Suppose, a person just goes to a shop and suddenly finds a thief over there and he shoots. Now, the person says, those thieves have stolen my money and they have wounded me also.
The event of being shot, that causes distress. But, suppose there is a soldier on the war field and the soldier is fighting and the soldier shoots several many soldiers and there are such heroism that at that time he is going to win an award and then he gets wounded. At that time, the soldier knows that actually I’m going to go back, I’m going to be discharged from the army till I’m wounded and I’m going to get a bravery award.
So, actually that same wound becomes a sort of trophy for the soldier. Why? Because it’s a testament to the heroism of the soldier. So, a simple point to illustrate that, let’s take a demographic example.
The same, say there is now the World Cup is coming up next year. Say, there is India-Pakistan final. Now, the event is the same.
Say, India wins the match. Now, when India wins the match, what happens? Indians become jubilant and Pakistan has become devastated. If Pakistan wins, what happens? The event is the same.
Event is the same thing. The match result went in a particular way. But then, the meaning from the same event different meanings can be assigned and so, that this world is a place of enjoyment and anything goes wrong in this world, then that.
But if I understand that this world is a place of… Then, even if things go wrong in this world, then I can always find some other way of serving Krishna. And we see this re-assignment of meaning, re-interpretation of events. That is actually how a devotee feels like.
You have two examples. One is Prabhupada quoted a famous verse, यस्याद्मनुग्रणाति वरिष्येत दिनंजने तो धन्प जत्यस्य सजान लुखतु किता So, that when a devotee loses everything, what does a devotee see it? A devotee has lost everything and it is a devastating thing for an ordinary person. What a devotee sees is Krishna’s special mercy on him.
Now, I have nowhere to turn except to Krishna. So, what is this verse essentially doing? There is a re-interpretation of reality in a way different from the normal expression. And that is how, actually, a person becomes, largely the misery becomes minimised.
Of course, that is only one level. It is also caused by attachment itself. Now, if somebody is not interested in the movie at all, then somebody else is very interested in the person watching the movie.
And the person is going through agony because the hero is getting beaten up. And the other person is just watching this person. Why are you getting so worked up? Nothing is happening to you.
So, to the extent one has a desire to enjoy, to the extent one gets affected by whatever is happening in the movie. So, what the holy name does is, and when our distorted desires get purified, that in and of itself At one level, bhakti gives a different meaning for what happens. At another level, bhakti reduces our attachment.
At another level, now, say, in the summers, in general, Bombay is very hot. And when we come from a heated room to an air-conditioned room, what happens? So, when our consciousness is in material existence, at that time, it causes so much agitation, so much anxiety. But when we bring our consciousness to Krishna, when he is talking here about Krishna, it is like bringing our consciousness to a Krishna-conditioned room.
So, it is a major experience for us. And we will see this, that whatever anxieties we may have, we can somehow connect with Krishna. The problems may be there.
Actually, life determines our problems. We determine their size. Life determines our problems, but we determine their size.
The more we think about the problem, the bigger and bigger it becomes. But when we switch our thoughts to Krishna, the problems are there, but we understand Krishna is much bigger than the problem. That gives us strength.
And then we can deal with the problem. So, in this way, at multiple levels, even we, as sadhakas, can experience At a philosophical level, what this means is, when we become purified, then eventually, we will become liberated. There are two kinds of liberation.
There is Mukti and there is Videha Mukti. Videha Mukti means when the soul leaves the material body and the soul who is pure goes back to Krishna. Videha.
Soul has left the body. Jivan Mukti is when the soul is still in this world, but the soul is no longer attached to enjoying things of this world. At that time, the soul will not suffer the way the Holy Name also offers to us.
So, actually, the whole of material existence… Practically, the material existence ends. But the end of material existence is not the end of the spiritual quest. The end of the material existence actually is the beginning of the spiritual quest proper.
So, we see this in Bhagavad Gita 18.54 for the impersonalist attaining the Brahman level is the end of the spiritual quest. But what does Krishna say? Brahma-mukta-prasannatma na shochati na kankshati samah sarveshu bhuteshu mad-bhaktin labhate param When they attain Brahman, like Bhagavan Krishna describes the Brahman characteristics also that equal towards all living beings and equal towards all events, then what happens at that time? Mad-bhaktin labhate param One attains my pure devotion. So, what did he say is that Brahman realisation is not the end of the spiritual quest.
It is the beginning of the spiritual quest, actually, of the devotional quest. At that time, pure devotion begins. So, what the holy names benefits to, in the first two benefits itself, the material existence is ending.
But then afterwards, the spiritual quest proper is beginning. And that is described in the next part. Shreya Kairava Chandrika So, now Now, it is a very special kind of lotus flower.
Most lotuses, they blossom in the daytime. That’s why one of the name of the lotus is Pankaja. No, it is a Padmabandhu.
One of the name of the sun is Padmabandhu. Radharani is called Radhika as Padmabandhu Radhika. And she worships the sun god, who is the friend of the lotus.
So, that means, when the sun rises, the lotus blossoms. But Kairava is a different kind of lotus, which blossoms in the moonlight, not the sunlight. So, when it blossoms in the moonlight, not the sunlight, what happens by that? What is this lotus referring to actually? Shreya.
Shreya means long-term auspiciousness. Prayer is short-term good. So, for example, a child, maybe he gets some 100 rupees, wants to eat chocolates.
That is prayer, short-term. A wise person, look, I have 100 rupees, maybe I can invest it, and I can get more afterwards. So, about this human body, when we use it for prayer, that means, what do we do? We use it for immediate pleasure.
Eating, sleeping, mating, defending. That is immediate pleasure. Yes, we can get that also.
But the human body can give us much more. That is Shreya. Another example to understand Shreya and prayer differences.
Say, now, IITs are the best colleges in India. Widely considered to be the best. So, now, the student goes to IIT.
And then, in the IIT, the food in the mess is so good. I could eat good food. And searching all over in the IIT campus and nearby, where can I get food? Now, actually, if the student just wanted food, he could have gone anywhere else.
And when he’s come to IIT, IIT can offer something much better. IIT can offer the best education in the world. And after that, there can be a much brighter career.
So, it’s not that when a student is in IIT, the student has to starve. You can get good food. And among whatever options that are available, student can even opt for the best food.
But the purpose of IIT is not to get the best food. The purpose of IIT is to get higher education. Similarly, in the human form, when the soul comes, then eating, sleeping, mating, defending is available everywhere in all the species also.
So, a soul who searches only for the best eating, sleeping, mating, defending in the human body is like an IIT student searching only for good food at IIT. It’s not that eating, sleeping, mating, defending are denied. So, we get whatever good arrangements are possible for that.
But the real special thing that is offered in the human body is spiritual education. A revolution of our consciousness to spiritual level where we can experience eternal happiness. So, that is Shreya.
Now, at a theoretical level, it is easy to understand that okay, I should not pursue prayer. I should pursue Shreya. But how does that actually happen? How do our desires change like that? So, that Shreya, that long-term benefit is represented here through the metaphor of a lotus.
So, just as a lotus, in the bud form, it is very small. But when it blossoms, then it becomes big. When it becomes big, at that time, it actually also shares its beauty, its fragrance, its blessings with others.
So here, the lotus is used as a metaphor to refer to our consciousness. And, how does a lotus blossom? Say, in the normal lotuses, with sunlight. This Kairava lotus, with the moonlight.
So, our consciousness, it blossoms. How does it blossom? By the presence of Krishna. So, Krishna and his holy name is like the Chandrika.
It’s like the moon. Specifically, Chandra is the moon. Chandra is masculine.
Chandrika is feminine. So, moon is Chandra. Moonlight, it is the energy of the sun which spreads over.
So generally, the energetic is considered male. The energy is considered female. So here, the word is Chandrika.
So, the idea is that Krishna is present in the spiritual world. It’s like the moon is far away. But what comes to us is the moonlight.
Similarly, Krishna is not very easily accessible to us. But Krishna’s presence, just as the moon becomes accessible to us through the moonlight, similarly, Krishna becomes accessible to us through his holy name. And when our consciousness gets exposed to the holy name, at that time, the lotus of our consciousness expands.
So, this is a technical subject. Basically, our consciousness has five stages. There is Sampujit Chetana.
There is Mukulit Chetana. There is Aavrutam. Aavrutam is completely covered.
The soul is not able to perceive anything except matter. Then there is Sankuchit. There is constricted consciousness.
It’s still very less. It’s like the lotus has just started blossoming. Then there is Mukulit.
It’s budding. Then there is Viksit. And there is Purna Viksit.
So, I will not go into that whole subject right now. Just quickly. So, in the very lower stages, like the plants, the Chetanites are completely Sankuchit.
It’s Aavrutam. It’s completely covered. Then from the Aavrutam, it is Sankuchit.
In the animal species, they have some more consciousness. They can experience emotions in much more tangible ways than plants. And after that, when we come to the human form, at that time, it is just budding.
So, that means, we have the capacity to perceive spiritual reality. But, depending on how we develop, how we purify ourselves, what will happen is, our consciousness will move from Mukulit towards Viksit. Mukulit means budding.
Viksit means developed. Purna Viksit comes to be easily developed. So, initially, it is just the capacity to understand, yes, there may be something beyond this world.
So, I have to understand that there is something more to life beyond time than right now. So, from the Mukulit, whether we develop onwards towards Viksit and Purna Viksit, that depends on whether we expose ourselves to spiritual reality or not. If we don’t expose ourselves, then we can stay over there.
Madhye Krishnanti Raj is one. Krishna says in 14.18. Or Adho Krishnanti Tamsa. Our consciousness can again shrink and go down to the Sankuchit or the Aavrata level.
We can go back to the lower species also. So, now, what Bhakti does is, it expands our consciousness. Now, how the Bhakti expands our consciousness, that is an elaborate subject.
We will discuss that in our next session. I will summarise what we discussed today. We started by discussing about the background of the Shiksha Ashtakams.
It occurs for the separate worlds in Padhyavati. It occurs first time in the integrated form in Krishna Das Prakash Goswami Chaitanya Chara Samrat. And there is a more than partial and there is the Vritti Bhatika by Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Goswami Thakur, from which I will be speaking in these sessions.
And then we discussed about what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us, not just the holy name, but the theology of the holy name and how the holy name connects with the process of yoga and the purification it brings. So, I discussed elaborately about Cheto Darpana Marjanam, how the mind, which is currently becoming like a room for illusion, like the movie theatre screen, that Bhakti re-invents by changing the picture that has been left. How chanting of the holy name, it changes how we perceive reality.
It changes our desires, decreasing our attachments. It gives us and then we discussed about how our spiritual existence is also nourished by Bhakti, by the holy name. This is something which yoga cannot do.
Yoga just gives us to the Brahman level and leave us at that. But, what Bhakti does is, it causes the blossoming of our relationship with Krishna, from the stage at which we are in the nirvana form, to the vipassit and the purva vipassit stage. Thank you very much.
Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki Jai.