Does Krishna understand our feelings or does he also experience them?
Question. When Krishna is omniscient, does he know does he know our pains and sufferings the way a parent knows or does he experience the pain and suffering because he knows everything about us? And so then can he experience our pain and suffering but not love? Not our love because love is something which is to be voluntarily offered. Answer.
In the start of the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is said that the Anvayad Itarthas Charateshu Abhijnasvarat Anvayad Itarthas Charateshu means that Krishna knows directly and indirectly. There are different ways of understanding this. But though we should also say that naturally one knows.
So for example, if a mosquito is biting us, somebody may point out, oh there is a mosquito biting and we may come to know. Or just because the mosquito is on us, it's on a part of our body, we know directly also. Indirectly through others telling us, directly through our own experience, we know it.
Now our relationship with Krishna can be understood in the analytical as well as the synthetic, from analysis, through analysis and through synthesis. Through analysis, we understand that actually we are all, we are all parts of Krishna and we are individuals. So we have our distinct identity and at the same time we are also connected with Krishna being His energy.
We are parts and He is the whole. Now the part and whole, suppose a screw is a part of a machine. There is a mechanical connection between the screw and the machine.
But with respect to part and whole, the connection is not mechanical, with respect to us and Krishna, the connection is not mechanical, it is emotional. We are eternally dependent on Krishna for our existence and we are eternally meant to love Krishna and delight in the ecstasy. So how does Krishna's omniscience come into the picture with respect to our being distinct individuals? Now Krishna by His omnipotence is, He gives us free will.
So anvairitartas charate shiva Now Krishna, when we talk about His knowing us, knowing about us, He knows about us the way a parent knows about us. Tameva mata cha pita tameva The famous saying says that. Ultimately it concludes with Tameva sarvam mamadeva deva My dear Lord, You are everything.
So this means that actually Krishna is much more than an ordinary parent and Krishna as we have discussed is omniscient. But at the same time we also know that He has given us free will. So now Krishna definitely knows our thoughts.
In fact, sometimes it is said in the scriptures that actually Krishna knows our thoughts even before we know our thoughts. So in modern science there is an experiment which seems to say, which suggests it's a complex experiment and I'm not going to technicalities. But when say people are going to choose a particular alternative in a multiple choice exam and the appropriate signals are generated in their brain to select their alternative.
So what happens is that even before the person it seems that the the intention of the person to select the alternative and the and the activation of the appropriate brain areas which signify the selection of that alternative which will lead to the clicking, moving of the fingers and the clicking of a particular button. All this happens so fast. And what happens first, what happens later and how it happens is a lot of scientific and philosophical discussion and debate on this.
But the understanding from the Bhakti worldview perspective is that we as souls, we may intend to do certain things. But the soul and matter are two distinct things. And our consciousness is concurrently materialistic.
So the soul is completely different from the body. And the mediation between the soul and the body is done through the super soul. So in terms of etiology, etiology is the study of causation.
What causes what? There are three factors, there is Jeeva, Ishwara and Prakriti. So Jeeva desires, Ishwara sanctions and the Prakriti executes. This means that we as souls, when we desire to do a particular activity, say we are playing a video game and we decide that we should turn, driving a car, should the car go left or right? So we decide a particular thing.
So Jeeva desires. And then the soul itself has no control over the body. It is through the interface of the soul with the, it is the interface which is brought, mediated by the super soul that enables the soul, soul's desire or intention to be translated into bodily action.
So we desire the super soul sanctions. And in the super soul sanctions, after that the material nature starts executing. And a part of the execution is that the signal appears that the particular areas of the brain get activated and the particular fingers on the hand get activated in a particular way.
And then that particular option, say going right in a car race video game is clicked. So this way, actually the clicking of the option, the clicking of the appropriate option, we desire it, super soul sanctions it, then the brain and the body execute. And actually when it comes to the level of material conscious awareness, then we become aware.
Oh, this is what I desired. That means Krishna becomes aware of our thoughts even before we become aware of our thoughts. So that's how close Krishna is to us.
At the same time, because we as souls are desirers, but we also have to become aware of our desires. And when those desires become manifest at the material level of consciousness, that's when we become aware of them. Krishna knows our desires even before we come to know our desires.
And that's how close he is to us. Now, our love also it's offered by a free will. That's true.
So when we have love for Krishna and we don't have love for Krishna, Krishna knows that also. For example, if you're going in front of the deities and we are half-hearted in our devotion or we are wholehearted in our devotion, Krishna knows that. And sometimes we may feel nothing in our heart.
At the same time, we desire to feel something in our heart. I mean, we don't want to feel that apathy. We want to feel some emotion.
Krishna knows that also. Krishna knows that the feeling of apathy is there and the desire for intensity is there. And Krishna appreciates the desire for intensity even when the default feeling is the feeling of apathy.
So, Krishna knows our feelings very intimately. At the same time, because we and Krishna are distinct individuals, Krishna has given us free will. So, the first-person experience of our consciousness and the first-person choice of our actions, it is up to us.
So, our experience is our experience. As we choose, desire, act, Krishna knows that. But we could say because Krishna is so supremely empathic.
So, he can know us. It's like when two people love each other very much and something happens that hurts one of them. Then even the single word being spoken, the other person understands the pain that the first person is going through.
So, this is how empathy can lead to a similarity of experience, which is so much that whatever one person experiences, almost similarly the second person also experiences. That's how love brings about a harmony of the hearts. At the same time, the two persons are distinct.
Similarly, we and Krishna are distinct. So, Krishna experiences our emotions not in our first-person perspective because we and he are distinct persons. But at the same time, because he is the whole of whom we are parts, because he is so intimately connected with us, so his experience of our emotions, of our pains, our feelings, our joys, it is as good as a first-person experience.
Thank you.