How do we understand our love for our relatives from the soul point of view?
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Hare Krishna. Question from Keshav Prabhu. What is the relationship between two souls mutually from the point of view of the soul? We feel strong emotions for our relatives when we meet them after a long time.
We hug them. The Bhagavad Gita talks about the relationship between the soul and Krishna, but it doesn't talk about the relationship among souls themselves. So, how do we understand these emotions that we feel for each other from the soul perspective? Answer, we all belong to one family.
The Bhagavad Gita does talk about the relationship of one soul with another in terms of how we should see each other. So, first time Krishna refers to this in 4.35. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that by this one gets the knowledge the spiritual master is giving, which is mentioned in 4.34. Then after that what happens is, one starts seeing all living beings as Atmani, as situated in me, as mine. And because Krishna, we are all related with Krishna, so we become related with them also.
So now, the Bhagavad Gita does not entirely deny or denigrate our material relationships. That's why so many times Krishna uses the word Kaunteya, Partha, Bharata, Shabha. And what are these references to, if not to material relationships? So, Krishna is acknowledging those material relationships, that he is a descendant of a particular dynasty, he is the son of a particular mother.
He is acknowledging those relationships, but he is telling that don't assume that your existence is limited to these relationships alone. So, that means the Bhagavad Gita acknowledges our material relationships. At the same time, it also acknowledges that we have spiritual relationship through Krishna.
So now, what are the emotions that we feel from the soul point of view? We understand that if a person is completely unconnected with Krishna, then those emotions are the products of Maya. So, we have a body misidentification and based on that body misidentification, we experience various emotions. So, just as we experience emotions connected with the sense objects, similarly, we experience emotions connected with, say, our family members.
So, if we were in a hog's body, we will not feel attracted to halwa, but we will feel attracted to something else. I mean, human body, we are not attracted to a dog's food, hog's food, but we are attracted to halwa. So, now we can say that whatever emotions that we feel, attractions, they are products of the body.
But this doesn't mean that they are entirely to be rejected as false. Even if something is a product of the body, product of body misidentification, that can be anukul or pratikul to dharma. So, if that is, say, attraction to the opposite sex, which is outside the sacred bounds of marriage, then that is pratikul to dharma and that has to be given up.
But if it is attraction, if it is emotion or affection, which is anukul to dharma, say, if one is attracted, one feels affectionate towards one's parents, now taking care of one's parents is also an important duty. You know, there is aparadharma and there is paradharma. So, paradharma is higher, paradharma is transcendental based on our relationship with Krishna.
But aparadharma is not entirely unimportant. It is also very important. So, taking care of one's parents is definitely noble.
It is largely in goodness. And it is definitely better than, say, engaging in, say, what Ajamil did when he was infatuated by the prostitute. He abandoned his parents and became intoxicated, inebriated by lust.
So, that is rajasic and tamasic. So, even within material, the sattvic is generally more anukul to dharma and that should be accepted. So, only when on the special occasions, rare occasions, when the paradharma and the aparadharma contradict with each other, at that time, we may have to choose.
But other times, we have to recognize the sanctity of aparadharma also and act accordingly. But don't get caught up thinking aparadharma itself to be the highest dharma. So, the aparadharma and the emotions that we feel in our material relationships can be used to attract people to Krishna also.
Dhruva Maharaj's mother, Sunithi, tells him that the affection that you are getting from me, Lord Vishnu, will give you millions of times more affection than what mothers like me can give you. Or Vishnu can give you more affection than millions of mothers like me. Now, that means, Lord Vishnu's affection is very very large, but that is what millions of times of affection that mother is giving.
That means, now the mother's affection is not considered zero. If it is zero, millions of times of zero will still be zero. So, her affection is like a drop.
Vishnu's affection is like an ocean. But the drop is also significant and what we should do is, the drop should be used to move towards the ocean, to attract people towards the ocean. So, as devotees, we shouldn't reject all our material relationships as just mundane, but rather we should focus on spiritualizing them as much as possible, recognizing that the love that is offered through them is a drop of the love that is coming through Krishna, that we can get through Krishna, and it is in fact Krishna's love coming in a drop way through them.
We focus on the ocean, but we are grateful for that drop also, and for a person who has nothing, even the drop is immense. And when we feel strong emotions with our family members, what we should think of is, you know, if a drop of love, drop of Krishna's love has manifested to his family members, can be so fulfilling, can evoke such strong emotions, then how much more will the ocean evoke, and actually it can make us feel more attracted to experience Krishna's love, and as much as possible, we harmonize our aparadharma, we harmonize our emotions and our relationship with our relatives, with our paradharma, that is our emotions and our relationship with Krishna. Thank you.