Gita Study Mumbai 2012 09.10-9.15 The four kinds of causes and the three kinds of jnana-yajna

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Gaur Bhaktivinda Ki Jai, Gaur Premam, so we start with 9.10 today, This material nature, which is one of my energies, is working under my direction, first one of Shruti, producing all moving and non-moving beings, and there is through this manifestation, we have created again a dimension, so this course is like a summary of the section that we have been discussing, so you remember the sections of the 9th chapter, 1 to 3 was the glory of the Lord, that we described, 4 to 10 was the relationship of Krishna with the material world, and of course, the relationship with the material world also, and now 11th onwards, Krishna will talk about his relationship of how different people are attached to him, devotees, non-devotees, and those in between, so this is like a transitional verse to shift the topic from Krishna’s relationship with matter, to Krishna’s relationship with the living entities, of course, in Krishna’s relationship with the material world, we have also talked about his relationship to the living entities briefly, but not in detail, so now, Krishnacharyaji will have to interrogate the issue, that is it, now, Krishna has first said, he said in 9.5, see my yoga, aishwarya, aishwarya is opulence, so yoga, in this particular context, yoga aishwarya, here the yoga cannot mean connection, the opulence of connection, that is not what yoga, see yoga can also mean mystic power, so here I have left it to 9.5, let us explain why I am talking about that right now, in this verse, so normally, we say yoga means connection, see the opulence of my connection, so what would that mean, so here, Krishna is not talking so much about the connection between the soul and the living entity, he is talking about his mysterious connection with the world, so aishwarya, here is opulence, the opulence is not in terms of grandeur, but it is in terms of mysteriousness, so something is, he said, there is a book, it is rich with mystery, it is opulent with mystery, there is a lot of mysterious elements in it, how the deep stone, how the reflective forms, so yoga aishwarya, here refers to the opulence of mysteriousness, the mysteriousness of Krishna’s connection to the world, so what is the mysteriousness, actually, when we talk about God’s connection with the material world, now we cannot, we may simply say okay, Krishna is connected, not connected, but it is not so easy to figure it out, for example, sometimes people say that if there are earthquakes, now the earthquakes, the act of God, is God responsible for the earthquakes, or there are tsunamis, so are they called as acts of God, there is this movie, oh my God, in that they have depicted that earthquakes are the acts of God, so now what is the idea behind calling some particular earthquakes as acts of God, so actually speaking, the quaking of the earth is an act of God, even the not quaking of the earth is also an act of God, if you want to go to the absolute perspective, then everything that happens is an act of God, isn’t it, so if we are going to blame God, that okay, earthquake is caused by Him, then we have to thank God for all the times when earthquake doesn’t occur, why do we blame Him only when earthquake occurs, isn’t it, so from the absolute perspective, we can say Sarvakaaranaakaarani is the cause of all causes, but there are immediate causes that actually trigger the specific results, this will come later in the 9th chapter also, just as the rain is the cause of all kinds of vegetation, but the rain is not specifically responsible that the fruit trees grow or thorny trees grow, that depends on the intermediate causes, that are the seeds that are sown, so Krishna, sometimes we say that nothing happens without the will of God, so that is not a precise statement, actually nothing happens without a sanction of God, it is not that everything that happens is the will of God, and if a devotee falls away from Krishna, that is not the will of God, the devotee wants to fall away, so Krishna because that is what the devotee wants to do, Krishna sanctions that, so there is a difference between will and sanction, will means I want it, sanction means I allow it, so the precise is nothing happens without the sanction of God, so when we say Krishna is here saying this, so he says I am overseeing, overseeing is not the same as controlling, ultimately Krishna controls, but Krishna allows us freedom also, so this freedom how Krishna relates, he gives freedom and he does not give freedom, in the sense that he restricts and he allows, this is in particular that is mysterious, because he gives the example of the sky and the window, so he gives the example of that, that the sky restricts the area of movement but not the movement, but actually the sky and the air both are insensitive objects, there is no conscious relationship between them, whereas in between Krishna and I, there is a sanction, both are conscious, and Krishna allows us, and then for Krishna to give freedom, even when the soul wants to actually do something wrong, but he has an example to himself, how does Krishna allow that, because of the space of freedom, so the exact nature of the freedom is subtle, and that sense is mysterious, so we cannot simplistically blame Krishna for everything that materially goes wrong, materially we are responsible, we are moral natures and when we make choices, we get the result, so this was to say, maya adhyakshetra, that is, and maybe this Chakravarti path says that because both are conscious, so although the example is given, the 9.6, still the example is an anchor, because the example of insensitivity is, whereas Krishna is so much sensual, so Krishna uses the word hetu, the word hetu is used in different senses in the Bhagavad Gita, here it is used in the sense of cause, but elsewhere it may, it will discuss it, it will may discuss in a different sense also, so we will, you may have read a Krishna book, Krishna Prabhupada talks about the material cause and the efficient cause, so you know, you are the efficient cause of creation, and you are the material cause of creation, how many of you have read, do you remember reading about efficient cause anywhere, efficient cause, so I will explain, in philosophy there are, I will explain what is material cause and what is efficient cause, and then we will understand, what is Krishna’s relationship with this world, so this is the standard philosophical parlance, parlance in the 9.8, which is used by the Prabhupada, so basically causes in general can be of 4 types, material cause, formal cause, efficient cause and final cause, so in general we talk about 2 causes, material efficient and this is why the purpose of that, but first let us understand, material cause means, the material ingredients that lead to the formation of the ultimate result, so for example, if I want to make chapati, then the material cause of chapati is the flour, the wheat flour that is there, that is the material cause, so without the material ingredients, no ultimate result can come, so for example, if you have marble, then the marble is the material cause, so material cause is an important cause, but at the same time, because matter is not essential, matter is not having the capacity for changing itself, it is not alive, so it cannot itself result in something else, flour cannot change chapati by itself, but even the chapati maker, without the flour he cannot make chapati, so first is the material cause, and second is the formal cause, so these are technical and we do not emphasise them, but just to understand this, when I want to make a chapati, if I want to make a chapati, I will make it circular, but if I want to make a paratha, I will make it triangular, little bit, so now that means, when the end result comes, the person who is bringing about a result, he has a particular vision in him, and that vision is what results, so that vision in the mind of the person, so that is called the formal cause, so every object gets the ultimate result, so now the designer, the person who makes it is called the efficient cause, now efficient, we normally use the word efficient in terms of somebody who does things very well, but the word efficient actually comes from, the word in the Greek or Latin comes from the word, like friction, friction, movement, so like you have efficacy of a medicine, efficacy means the ability, the working capacity of the medicine, so efficient cause means that, for example, I have chapati, wheat flour and I get chapati, so there is a person who brings about that, so that person is the efficient cause, and then the last is the final cause, final cause we would call it as the purpose, so why does anybody go through all that trouble of taking the wheat flour and rolling it, cooking it and making chapati, the purpose is the same, so in a sense, we can say the final cause is actually a result, it is not a cause, but it is a cause in the sense that it is a purpose for which the whole thing was made, so are these four causes clear, material cause, formal cause, efficient cause and final cause, now good point, what is the difference between formal and efficient, see as I said we could have chapati flour and we could have a person who is a cook, now the same cook may one day produce a result that is circular in shape and another day may produce a result that is triangular in shape, so the same material causes there, the same efficient causes there, but still what is produced is different, one day it is a round chapati, another day it is a triangular paratha, why is there a difference, the same person is there, but his vision is different, because of the vision whatever he is making that is formal cause, he is a person you see, see every person has a particular vision, for example now we could say that Krishna has created all of us at one level, but at the same time your body is different from my body, at one level I can say it is because of my own karma, but still when the body is designed, the design has a particular vision, this should be like this, this should be like this, so why are there 8.4 million species and why there is not only one species, at the inclusion level we can say it is because of the karma of the 8.4 million species, that is fine, but then somebody has to arrange for those templates, so somebody has the vision for those 8.4 million species, so in the Bhagavatam, in the course of creation it is described that actually all these 8.4 million species they exist in vision, but they exist in templates and Brahmaji basically develops the templates, so now where does Brahmaji fit into this, that is what I am trying to understand. Okay, so Brahmaji is, so who is that vision for, you can say Krishna or Brahma, whatever, depending on primary creation, secondary creation, but the specific vision that is there, okay these people, there are souls who want to be Rakshasas, so give them this kind of body, there are souls who want to be Manavas, give them this kind of body, so then there are souls who are supposed to be monkeys, so give them that kind of body, so they are the same designer, see the design is the same and the material elements of the body are the same, Krishna, the body is a different, what is the cause of the difference, that is the formal cause, that means there is a different vision, is it clear, now, okay, so let us focus on, not clear what happened? So, the zoonotic focus on the material cause is the efficient cause, so in the Bhagavatam, 6.9.42, so Krishna as Abhavishesh is the final cause, Krishna as the limit, Vinita, Yama is the efficient cause, Krishna as the Swaroopena Pradhanurveda, is all material forms emanate from the eternal spiritual form, as the Upadantara is the giver of the ingredients of creation, so from the Bhagavatam, ultimately Krishna is the cause of all causes, there are these 4 causes, but Krishna is the cause of all causes, so as Upadana, so Upadana means ingredients, Upadantara itself, so he ultimately the material ingredients are his energy, so in that sense they emanate from him, so he is the Upadantara, the material cause and in the Bhagavatam, man has made the image of God, so actually Swaroopena Pradhanurveda, his form is the original form, all forms are ultimately manifested from his form, this is what we call the reflection of the spiritual form, so reflection is the original, which is reflected, so Krishna, so the form that we see in the material world are in the sense reflection, many of them are perverted reflections, distorted reflections, but ultimately they are reflections, so Krishna is the cause, which Krishna’s original form is reflected in the various forms that we see in this world, so in that sense he is the formal cause, so Swaroopan Maharaj talks about this in his book Substance and Shadow elaborately, so the efficient cause is the person who brings about the nimitta yamaan, nimitta yamaan is the person who is himself the initiator and who initiates other people, other agents like Brahman to do the creation, so he is the ultimate person who does, who initiates the creation and then Artha Vishwa Vishwa, for what purpose is the creation made? It is ultimately made to help the souls come back, so the whole purpose of the creation ultimately is Krishna, so in that sense, Krishna is the cause of all forms, sarva-karana-karana, so now in this verse what is Krishna telling? maya-adhyakshena-prakrti-sumyate sa-charachara-hetu-nanena-kaunteya jagad bhi parivartate, so look at these four propositions, so that means, jagad bhi parivartate, that is from the Hindi, the world is constantly changing, okay, it is changing at every level, we see that a place which was a forest land, suddenly there are big buildings over there, a place where there are big buildings, one earthquake and everything that disappears, so jagad bhi parivartate, so hetu-nanena-kaunteya, now what is the cause of this? Now we don’t see Krishna as the cause of all these things, what do we see? That is a mental process, okay, there is an earthquake that came, there are people who came and they decided they want to make a city over here, whatever, so that’s why I say all this is happening to prakrti, but when it happens to prakrti, maya-adhyakshena, I am the overseer and I am supervising, I am overseeing and under my vision, adhyaksha, it is adhi-aksha, adhi means above, watching from above, seeing below, aksha is eyes, so he sees from above what is happening in this creation, so that is how Krishna relates with this world, by overseeing and ultimately being the source of all the four causes, let’s move to the next person, now at this point Krishna has continued his discussion, actually Prabhupada uses this word very preferentially to reject atheistic theories, where it is, they claim that everything happens by chance, without creation, this is Prabhupada’s standard word which he uses for the design argument, so let’s keep going.
So they do not know my transcendent nature, now that is interesting, avajananti, so I think all of you know this, this is progression, jananti, ajananti and avajananti, so Shri Prabhupada explains number 4, that ignorance and misunderstanding, so knowledge of Krishna, this leads to liberation, but the remaining two, jananti leads to liberation, which is the word which says jananti leads to liberation, this is Prabhupada 4.9, so Krishna says basically by ignorance, what did he say in this verse, avajananti mam mooha manushyam tanu maashyam, sadambhava majananto muhu tanu neshwaram, so ignorance of Krishna will lead to continual material existence, but misunderstanding about Krishna will lead to increased knowledge, how, that will be talked about in 9.12, if you are ignorant about Krishna, that is bad, but if you misunderstand Krishna, then that can lead to greater suffering, so the example of this is Mayavadis, we will come to that later, so what is Krishna telling over here essentially, that they misunderstand, what did he say, manushyam tanu maashyam, parambhava majananto, they do not know my parambhava, so what is this parambhava, so Vishwachitra explains that the parambhava means, that my body and my asana are non-different, that is parambhava, parambhava majananto, one thing you need to understand is that, my body and my soul are non-different, I am one and same substance, now this phrase might seem to be confusing, manushyam tanu ashritam, so what does this mean, Krishna says that I take ashraya of a manushyam tanu, I take shelter of a human form, so what now, Krishna has a shelter of everything, so why would he have to take the shelter of a human form, so in general, then we actually have to look at words, we have to understand the broader context, so avajanati manushyam tanu, so how it is avajanati, then the murals understand, what manushyam tanu, when I come in a human form, but actually ashritam parambhavam, that the parambhava, the transcendental nature is sheltered in manushyam tanu, that actually this human like form that you see, the whole spiritual world is emanating from this, the whole spiritual world is sheltered in this, so this is very simple and technical, but it is an important point, because the Mayavadis entirely misinterpret these words, and they say that Krishna takes shelter of a human form, manushyam tanu ashritam, that is their interpretation, but if you look at the other sections of the Bhagavad Gita, we will find it, so how it works is, I will just write it down, manushyam tanu ashritam parambhavam avajanam, so actually how it is, this is parambhava is ashritam, in the manushyam, I will explain what this means, the parambhava is transcendental nature, that is entire spiritual existence, the whole spiritual world and everything that exists, including manushyam, is ashritam, sheltered in the human like form of Krishna, this one is actually demonstrating the glory of that transcendental form, so it is not that Krishna is saying that manushyam tanu ashritam, that I take shelter of the human like form, rather the parambhava, the transcendental nature is sheltered in my manushyam, so it sounds ecotechnical, don’t bother about it, this is a strong verse, so sometimes the Mayavadis try to twist out some meaning from it, that’s why we are discussing this. Now the next verse Krishna will describe, what is the result of this avajanam, so those who understand, what is the consequence of it, bhogah samogha karmano bhog jnana vicheta saha rakshasimha surim chaiva prapadya mohinushyata So now, Krishna will give a very interesting meaning for these verses, what he says is, he is referring to three kinds of those spiritual paths, bhogah, sham, he says, he says, a pair of devotees who desire liberation, who desire the spiritual meaning, so that means there are, so the example for this would be, who is the person in Chaitanya Nila, who was chanting Ram’s name and wanted to become Ram? Ram? Right. Ram Das is fast, he was there, Gopal, bhogah, so bhogah refers to, this is devotees, they think that we will get liberated, so they want to merge in Brahman, to desire the spiritual world, so they will not get Brahman, they will be frustrated, bhogah, sham, bhogah, sham, so this refers to karma kandis, who desire swarga, they will also not get it, if they offend Krishna, if they offend Krishna, they will also not get it, and then, bhogah jnana, bhogah jnana refers to, the jnanis, jnanis, jnanis who desire, moksha, they will also not get it, so bhogah, sham, bhogah, jnana, bhogah, jnana, why? All of them are bitchy, so that means, if there is a misunderstanding of Krishna’s form, neither the karma kandis, neither the jnanis, nor the apparent bhaktas, they will, attain their destination, attain their destination, so this verse, is actually talking about mayavadis, they specifically criticise Krishna’s form, we have discussed, the difference between mayavad and brahmavad, and the whole concept of mayavad, elaborating on Shri Krishna course, so we will not focus on that now, but in principle, this is a very strong verse, two verses, which strongly indicate that, misunderstandings of Krishna’s form, will lead to, will lead to frustration, so bhogah, what does it mean? Waste, waste, their desires will fail, their karma will fail, their jnana will fail, so this is one side of it, they will not attain success, but actually, not only, they will not attain success, but they will actually, because of this, misunderstanding, they will take shelter, of demoniac, misconceptions, that means, this mentality, this offensive mentality of Krishna, will make them demoniac, and rakshasa mahasana, so rakshasa mahasana is a strong word, so, is this point clear? Is this point clear to you? In this verse, A B, A B is the first two lines of the verse, they say that there is no positive result, and C B, talks about, a big negative result, there will not be a positive result of svarga, or moksha, or anything like that, but on the other hand, they will get the negative result of rakshasa mahasana, so this way, they will get bound to their existence, How do the Mayavadis respond to this verse? In general, the Mayavadis have, a few standard strategies, one standard strategy, which I mentioned is, this provides picture of the paramaarthik, remember I told you, that this is translated to, this is material, so anything that is not agreed with the philosophers, is divided into that, another strategy is that, sometimes they say that these verses are given to, empirical authors, empirical authors, and the third is, that they try to twist, the meaning of the previous verse, and then this verse, the subjects are differently, still the strongest, is the condemning of this verse, because certainly, you cannot arrive at a result, that if somebody thinks Krishna, the absolute person, that person will become a demon, there is no such condemning, there is no support anywhere else for this idea, if somebody thinks, all that you can say that, what the Mayavadis can say, at best or at worst, is that, if you think that God has a form, you cannot say that, you don’t understand that, there is a light beyond the form, they cannot say that just because, you are attracted to a form, you will have to become a demonic person, that’s why, they twist the previous verse, and then they say this was a general understanding, and if you don’t understand the philosophy properly, then you will not get the right destination, so they don’t go into the specifics, of this analysis so much, but broadly speaking, the Mayavadis are generally, quite selective, in which verses they take, for highlighting, they don’t necessarily analyse, all verses systematically, so now, after describing this, like in the second chapter, Krishna first, gave the two extremes, 7.14 he was telling, by surrendering, 7.15 was, those who don’t surrender, 7.16 was those who surrender, and then after that he will bring, we were talking about, the Brahmavadis, the same way, first level, Krishna talks about, those who misunderstand, like there was no Mahakrishna, and now, after that, in the next two verses, Krishna will talk about, those who surrender to him, those who become his devotees, so in this next verse, so, 9.13 and 9.14, is an interesting flow over here, to a large extent, 9.13, is giving, the internal characteristics, of a Mahatma, of a devotee, and 9.14 is giving, external characteristics, let’s recite these two verses, Mahatma is, Tumambartha, Tumambartha, Daivendra Divanshita, Daivendra Divanshita, Bhajan Ke Nandivansho, Bhajan Ke Nandivansho, O son of Bharata, Buddha, those who are not devotees, those great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature, they are firmly engaged to the dhruvstva sannyas, they know me as the supreme personality of Godhead, so he should not ask me anything of him.
So, here he is describing internal understanding, what is that understanding? Gyanatma, they know me as Bhutadiv Avdayam, that they are Bhutadi, the source of all existence, the source of all living beings, in perishable, this is how they understand me. So, when they understand me, what is the result? Result is this was very similar to 7.19 Vasudeva Sarvamiti Samatmasu Durlabha So, Gyanatma Bhutadiv Avdayam Vasudeva Sarvamiti Bhajan Ke Nandi Manaso, what was that? Madhuram Gyanwan Maam Prapadyam, so Anandi Manaso Maam Prapadyam, very similar verses, and then Krishna uses the word there also what was the word? Mahatma, Mahatmasu Durlabha here Mahatma is to Mahabharata, so very similar verses, they are Mahatmas and they take shelter of the Daivin Prakriti So, what is the Daivin Prakriti? That Daivin Prakriti is actually Radharani, the Bhaktivedanta Hindu describes Daivin Prakriti Daivin Prakriti, Divine Nature, so what is the Daivin Prakriti? Chaturthi Paath describes over here So, Bhakti So, Bhakti Now, generally speaking we think of Radharani as a person as Krishna’s consort, that is true, but Radharani is not just a person she is also Bhakti personified that means she is certainly a person but she is not just a person, actually she is the manifestation of Bhakti So, whatever Bhakti we have, it ultimately comes from us So, in Bhakti Samhita, this is 1.3.1, what is this verse saying? Shuddha Satpunchesha Atma, Preva Suryansha Samyapa So, Suryansha Samyapa So, what he says is, Rupa Goswami says that when this Divine Shakti, when Radharani actually as Bhakti enters into the heart of the human being that is when the soul becomes attracted to Krishna that is when the soul becomes attracted to Krishna So, Daivin Prakriti means, it is not just our chanting Hare Krishna Yes, we chant Hare Krishna, at that time Radharani becomes pleased with her and Radharani by her grace that means as the Bhakti Shakti, she enters into our heart and when she enters into our heart when we experience, somehow we experience some devotional emotions that’s why, Daivin Prakriti means we take shelter of the Divine energy, that means that actually Radharani accepts us in her shelter and she extends her grace, she sends her energy in our heart and when she sends her energy in our heart, then we start experiencing Divine emotions So, these are, these Mahatmas are those who have taken shelter of Radharani and then Srila Prabhupada explains how this word Mahatma is not to be outstander everybody cannot negate the Mahatma, but the important point is Bhagavad Gita uses the word Mahatma in a specific way, that is referring to those who have taken shelter of Krishna, sorry this is Mahatma So, now let’s recite the next verse So, this is describing the internal consciousness, their conception, their focus and their presence of Bhakti in their hearts Utti Yukta Upasate Utti Yukta Upasate So, Utti Yukta Upasate They are constantly engaged in Myself, so here Ajahn has described that the word Yukta comes twice, this is actually indicating that all the other hymns of Bhakti are also performed by them. So, here there is Kirtayanto then there is Upasate, then there is Namashanta So, Upasate is Archanam Namashanta is Vandanam, so Kirtanam is there, Vandanam is there Archanam is there, but Chyam means they do all the other forms of devotional service also.
So, now interesting word here is Dhuradhana Dhuradhana means with determination So, it is in general it is not easy for anybody to practise emotional service. Why? Because the person in the material world makes things difficult and when the person is back in the spiritual world and that time the nature of love is that one more should take up difficult things for Krishna. Radharani when she cooks for Krishna, she cooks simultaneously 100 stoves she is simultaneously cooking this item, this item, this item parallel she is cooking, she is so much in anxiety and every single item comes out excellent.
So, she is not bound over there, it is not that she wants to get purified but the nature of love is that one wants to do maximum for Krishna So, that’s why it is Dhuradhana which means the maximum that one can do. So, in the material world, Dhuradhana is required for Sadhakas and Siddhas So, how is that? Let’s explain this now. So, let’s see how this works at freedom.
In material world for Sadhakas and Siddhas and in spiritual world of course there are Siddhas also. So, for Sadhakas they need determination to overcome their conditions So, if you want to practise Bhakti, our conditions will trouble us and we have to overcome them, for that we need determination. The Siddhas need determination because they have overcome all the circumstances, all the situations.
Because even for the pure devotee, that doesn’t mean that preaching happened very easily for 40 years he had to study and Prabhupada was internally successful. Prabhupada had no conditions to overcome. Even if he had not gone to America to preach, he was always remembering Krishna and he was successful internally.
But to manifest Krishna’s vision Krishna’s mission in this world, to lead to his financial in this world one has to strive. And then in the spiritual world there are Siddhas, just out of love wanting to do maximum service for example like Radharani. So in a sense there is no escape from hard work in Bhakti.
But the truth is that the hard work when there is love, it is joyful. When there is love, it is all joyful. And there is no item that is also there.
How that is possible I can’t say. No item is repeated. Radharani had different flavours and things like that.
Also that marvelling with this person. Every time Radha and Krishna meet each other they feel as if they have never seen each other. It’s not that they don’t know each other.
They know each other. But it happens that they have never met each other. That the freshness of the meeting is always there.
It never becomes stale. That is speciality. So this is Vinahrakaha.
And now after that Prabhupada did a very practical activity in this performance about how a devotee is doing Krishna’s service. Now after describing this, this is a philosophical verse. And this was like 9.10 was a pivot for shifting the focus.
This was also a shift in the focus. Dhyana Yogena Chakranye Vyajanto Mam Upasate Ekatvena Tutatvena Pahula Vishwadhamukham Pahula Vishwadhamukham Mother, who engaged in sacrifice by cultivation of knowledge, worshipped the Supreme Lord as one without classification, as diverse in meaning and in the universal form. So maybe what you could do, when you are reading the verses, you could start from one sequence.
And then maybe, I think most of you sit in the same position also. So you could continue that in the next class also. So you don’t need to hurry.
So this Dhyana Yogena happens in three ways. I mentioned this in the overview. Vishwaroop Upasana Vishwaroop Upasana is not Vishwaroop, who is the brother of Vajpayee, is in the universal form.
Then there is Pratik Upasana. And then there is Ahanda Upasana. Pratik Upasana is Ek Tat Kriyena Pratik Upasana is Ek Tat Kriyena Vishwaroop Upasana is Vishwadhamukham So what I am writing in the packet is specific words from the verse.
So I will explain what this refers to. Vishwaroop Upasana is Vishwadhamukham Pratik Upasana is Pratik Tat Kriyena Ahanda Upasana is Ek Tat Kriyena So what is this? Shri Prabhupada talks about this in the Parpad and he says the Ahanda Upasakas are those who think that I am myself God. I am myself Brahman and therefore I am God.
But these are not exactly Mayavadis. Mayavadis are already condemned in the earlier verse. They are not Mayavadis because they don’t pray to Krishna’s form.
They are mostly self-focused. Okay. I am Brahman.
So let me worship myself. So the idea is to think that I will merge, the goal of life is to merge into a line. That is not a concept.
Even to think that, okay, I am Brahman, Aham Brahmasmi, there is a verse like that. So to think that, okay, I am Brahman, therefore I should respect myself, I should worship myself. That is offensive.
But that is also not as offensive as thinking that I am Krishna and Krishna’s form is material and actually I need to go beyond Krishna’s form. So here the Ahanda Upasakas they focus on within the body there is a soul. And that soul is Brahman.
So they focus on meditating on that. It’s their worship of the Nirmal Sadhu, the aarti of themselves. It’s more of a contemplation, meditation.
And that’s why all these three are called the part of Jnana. Now, what is the Spati Upasana? They worship democrats as partial representations of Brahman. So I’ll explain this.
I’ll explain the Spati Upasana. Let’s move on to Vishwa Upasana. Vishwa Upasana is the idea that you use the Vishwamit as a meditational tool to reach the absolute.
We have discussed about the universal form in the Aishwarya Krishna classes. Systematical how universal form is Prabhupada’s Kalpita. It is conceptualised, it is imagined.
There is not a real form like that. There is no particular Loka where there is a Vishwa Upaloka like that. So it’s a conceptual tool.
Now, let me explain. Now among these three there is a hierarchy. So Prabhupada explains that the Ahanda Upasakas are the lowest.
Because the idea that I am God is most antithetical to Bhakti. If I am God then how can I worship God? So in that sense they are the lowest. Pratik Upasana.
So what is the Pratik Upasana idea? Actually there is the Brahman which is formless and the demigods are Pratik. Pratik means what? Symbols. Symbols of that Brahman.
So I will worship this and perform with the demigods, using them as representations of Brahman. And then my goal is to enter into Brahman. So these people they are not demigod worshippers per se.
Otherwise Krishna would not have categorised them in Dhyana Yajna. The demigod worshippers don’t have so much Dhyana. And Krishna will talk about demigod worshippers later in the same chapter.
So they are interested in Brahman but they are thinking that I will take up all these demigods for manifestation of Brahman. So let me meditate on that. By then I will attain Brahman.
So they consider the demigods as the symbols of Brahman. Symbols of Brahman. Now beyond that, now Prabhupada explains this is better than Aham brahmasana because actually there is a conception of bhakti.
There is a conception, okay there is some being who I should worship. Although the idea is I have to worship Brahman, but still there is some being I need to worship. And in Prabhupada he explains Vishwaroop parasanna is better among all these three because that being is understood to be one.
So bhakti and its play when the emotion of devotion is distributed to many people then it cannot become focused. So in Vishwaroop parasanna one understands okay the demigods will be there, Surya will be there, Chandra will be there, Surya and Chandra will be there and Swartha will be somewhere in the chest or whatever. They understand that this Vishwaroop is one destination of the Absolute.
So one really understands the greatness of the Absolute more clearly through the Vishwaroop. And therefore you cannot have personal relationship with Vishwaroop. But at least bhakti has the feelings of intimacy and the feelings of reverence, awe.
So Vishwaroop just produces awe and that is also important for bhakti. So in that sense from the bhakti perspective Aham brahmasana are the lowest and the Vishwaroop parasanna are the highest. And this is the perspective that Sri Aurobindo has.
Interestingly to make complex things more complex I’ll explain that Vishwachitra produced the exact opposite perspective. And he says that the Aham brahmasana are the highest. So why is that? So it’s very important to understand this.
I will have to discuss this also but I will discuss this to bring up a deeper point of view. So see in the spiritual circles we can always have two perspectives. One is the philosophical perspective and the other is the devotional perspective.
And the two don’t always go equally. I discussed this earlier. So say I could use different words for this.
Philosophical perspective. Or you can say analytical. So now from the philosophical perspective I want to say, now say Mayavadis they are Sanyasis, they have renounced the world, they are learning scriptures, they are often very fiercely devoted to the cause of transcendence.
And from that perspective you say that they are much higher than the Karmis. The ordinary materialistic people who are just chasing after sex and money and worldly things. So if you look from that philosophical perspective, what we will see is the Mayavadis may seem higher than the Karmis.
But what will happen to the devotional perspective? The devotional perspective is determined by one’s attitude towards Krishna. So from the point of the attitude towards Krishna what happens is, the Mayavadis have an offensive attitude. And the Karmis, they just don’t care about Krishna.
They don’t have an offensive attitude. So from the devotional perspective, the Karmis are more in a sense receptive to Krishna consciousness. Receptive to devotional service.
Respectful of devotional service. Then the Mayavadis. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu they would just induce the masses to chant and they would accept chanting.
But when he had to go to Prakashan Sarovar to chant, he had to give a proclamation of the seventh day and then speak with him and then they would go. Their receptivity to devotional service was much lesser. So now, which of these perspectives is absolute? We could say devotional perspective is absolute.
Because Krishna is the highest level. But we cannot impose our perspective on others. See, in general, values have to come before value judgements.
Did I discuss this in the class earlier? No, no. See, what are the value judgements? Say for example, somebody says that Mayavadis are assets. So this is a value judgement.
Use words like fools, rascals, even less intelligent. These are value judgements. Now, the value judgements make it valid.
But if people don’t understand our values, on what basis are we making these judgments? They are so intolerant. They are also spiritualists. Just because they don’t agree with your philosophy doesn’t mean they are rascals.
So what happens is, if we give people value judgements before we share our values with them, then they start thinking of us differently. So, it is not that we compromise our value judgements. Krishna himself says Rakshasana is strong words.
But then, we have to explain before we judge. So if the values are not presented, and the value judgments are presented, then it can be completely misunderstood. That’s why in our culture, first, we have to help people understand that our values are largely the same.
People have to see that because they are also caring, responsible, intelligent human beings, they also value the things that we value. So when people see that our values are really important, then they say, okay, what do you want to see? Then they say, okay, you have some additional values also. And those additional values also make sense in their own way.
And then they understand that. Then when they understand the value, then they can accept it. Therefore, we make a great mistake sometimes when we give the value only before the values.
Then we alienate a lot. Unnecessarily. So now, in this case, let’s go back to the previous section.
Now, from the point of view of the level of Jnana. So, why Jnana? One tries to move from matter towards matter. So, in that sense, the Vishvara Upasakas are most material conscious.
Because they are focussing on a form that is material or that is manifested in matter. So in that sense, matter is temporal. The Absolute is non-material.
So, in that sense, their Jnana level is minimum. On the other hand, the Pratik Upasakas, those who are demigod worshippers, but not the ground level, they are a person that involves symbols of Brahman, at least they are aware that there is a spiritual reality. And that, I have to attain that spiritual reality.
And then, in the Aham Lopasakas, they have understood not only that there is spiritual reality, which is eternal, I myself am eternal. They have understood that. And in that sense, they have greater knowledge.
So, in the first case, somebody can do Vishvara Upasakas without understanding who I am. Pratik Upasakas, okay, there is a light, but who am I? I don’t know. When I understand that I am eternal, I am connected with that eternal spiritual reality.
I don’t know what is the connection. But at least my philosophical awareness is high. Jnana level is high.
Therefore, these two perspectives are different and both are valid. Both are used by Acharyas. So, that’s why this verse is a little complex, but the key thing is to understand that there are these multiple levels within the Jnana conception.
Is it clear now? … … Are there real life examples of Pratik Upasakas? … Are these people there in these categories today? See, we need to understand that actually people generally, especially in modern times, they develop their conceptions from multiple sources. So, most people’s conceptions are of each other. So, it’s not that there will be anyone who will be a Pratik Upasaka specifically.
To a rough extent, it’s not accurate, but in a rough, approximate sense, the idea of Ishtadev Yadidev, where you choose your form, Arale Dev, and worship that. So, that is to some extent like Pratik Upasaka. Because if they understand that, yes, I have to go towards Brahman, and these Devatas are the manifestations of them, the symbols of them.
… … … … So, in that sense, we do not find exact representation of these. But in a broad way, you see, there are conceptual categories, but real life doesn’t fit into conceptual categories. Real life, conceptual categories are meant to help us understand.
But ultimately, real life doesn’t fit into conceptual categories. So, it’s difficult for us to, we may say that okay, this particular organ is my organ. But, who knows, within that my organ, there may be many Purva Bhaktas.
So, somehow, we got in touch with that organ. That’s why they are there, and some of them are still practising Bhakti also. And who knows, some people may still have some Mayavadi notions from the past.
It’s very unlikely, because there’s so much hammering of Mayavada against Mayavada, but still, there might be some people. So, conceptual categories, other places, quite likely. So, the conceptual categories are for us to get clear understanding.
But conceptual categories never translate neatly into real life. They don’t translate neatly into real life. They are for our analysis.
Is it clear? So, my last question. The people who claim to be Avatar, are they Aham Brahmapasakas? No. Very important question.
Because Aham Brahmapasakas, they worship themselves as Brahman. They don’t encourage others to worship themselves. There’s a difference between the two.
I am Brahman, Aham Brahmasmi. That is a valid realisation. I am Brahman.
But that doesn’t mean you start worshipping me as Brahman. You realise that you are also part of Brahman. And then you realise your spirituality.
So, if my Aham Brahmapasaka is supposed to teach others, then you should teach the other person not to worship me, to worship himself. And that Aham Brahmapasaka is actually not Mayavada. I think the Padma Purana describes, when Prahlad was once thrown down from a mountain, at that time, you know, he he did this for Aham Brahmapasaka.
I am spiritual. Nothing will happen to me. I cannot be destroyed.
And that way, he felt himself protected. But then immediately he realised, I have something to do with Krishna. Krishna wasn’t protecting me, otherwise he would not do it.
But actually so, that contemplation of Prahlad that okay, I am Brahman, I am indestructible, that is given as an example of Aham Brahmapasaka. And it is said that Prahlad Maharaj felt that as a contamination. I should not have thought like this.
So, he never thought that okay, I am Krishna. But if the idea that I am indestructible, nothing will happen. That is at one level contemplation, that I am Brahman.
So, Aham Brahmapasaka certainly doesn’t mean to encourage others to worship a person as that is not, that is Maya. Thank you very much. So if people don’t stop the worship, you don’t stop the worship also.
You just continue to the point. Usually it is very challenging to work against insecurities. To have the worship that is meant for God to be directed on itself.
Normally a devotee won’t do that. So it’s not really devotional. When you call it your Mahabharata, what I feel… It’s certainly not Angulopasta.
Angulopasta means only I can terminate that I am God. So for you to practise Angulopasta, you cannot think that I am God. You have to think that you are God and you are God.
That’s because everyone is from my side. If another person thinks that you are God, he says you are God. And he says I am not.
We do not discriminate. No, but he is telling about Angulopasta. That becomes a form of Mahabharata.
Angulopasta means to worship oneself. Not worship somebody else. That is Angulopasta.
That is the essence of Angulopasta. Usually, if anything happens, it is certainly a… It is a strong Mahavadi contamination in Bhakti. The person is teaching Bhakti, but is not rejecting this sort of perceptions from his followers.
So there is a strong Mahavadi contamination. And if the overall teaching of the person is also Mahavadi, then that is Mahavadi. So we have to see basically what are the other teachings.
Normally, the Vaishnavas may accept some sort of connection with some Vedas in the beginning. Madhvacharya may accept that he is Valmiki. Ramacharya may accept that he is Lakshmi.
Rama, Vijaya. But beyond that, even Ramacharya, as far as we know, he never directed worship to anyone. That is very clear.
He directed worship to Lord Narayana. Madhvacharya was also very strong. So certainly he accepted respect.
But we do not see much of his doing like that. Directing worship for himself. So that is not a… But in Vedanta, the organisation is like this.
You are God, I am Mahavadi. No, no, that is Mahavadi. I am God, you are God.
There is a thing about Mahavadi gurus. Many gurus will come and tell you that they are God. I will come and tell you.
So that is pure Mahavadi. So they are pure Mahavadis. Mahavadis, when we say that, Panchopasana.
When they accept Panchopasana. But if somebody is saying I am God, then internally they would be coming up to this. That is what I understand Mahavadis.
Those who say that without philosophy, they are Panchopasana, takes the form of… We asked him about Panchopasana. Same thing you mentioned, Narayana Prajapayatsana, before coming to Narayana Prajapayatsana, he has also meditated to oneself, into oneself, who are all these things. But probably he did not know.
Yes, yes. But that is the idea. There are five names.
Swamadopasana, is not entirely antithetical to them. It is preliminary to them. Yes, yes.
Then they know. Then they know. But then they have the whole concept of…