QA with Haldia Devotees 3

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. How was the world created? I mean, how did God come into existence and everything started? So, actually, God has a definition. The definition is Sarvakarana Karana, the cause of all causes.
Now, if a child reads a novel for the first time, and in the novel, there is a protagonist, the hero, the antagonist, and there are assistant characters. And then there is a storyline, there is a timeline. And this child is intrigued by the novel.
And after that, the child thinks, he comes to know that, oh, there is an author of the book. When he starts looking in the book, where is the author? Where is the author? He didn’t find the author there. The author has created the storyline, the timeline, the characters, but the author exists entirely outside that scale.
Isn’t it? Similarly, this world is created by God, the fabric of time and space, the fabric of the system of cause and effect, all this is created by God. But God himself exists outside this whole structure. That’s why the system of cause and effect, that means every effect has a cause, that doesn’t apply to God because he exists outside time and space.
Now, this is from the definition point of view, from the logical point of view. Now, we often think of God first as maybe some person that we have heard about or some image that we have seen. But before we think of God that way, we need to understand the definition of God.
As I said, the cause of all causes. Now, from purely the logical point of view, the cause of all causes cannot have a cause. Isn’t it? If the cause of all causes had a cause, then it would not be the cause of all causes.
That means, wherever this cause-effect chain stops, wherever this stops, that point is God. So, if we ask who is the cause of God, who created God, if God had a creator, the creator of God would actually be God. Now, the question would be that do we have to stop somewhere? Can this just go on infinite regress? Backward, backward, backward, backward? No, it cannot because even science has told us that this universe is not eternal.
It has a beginning. So, therefore, this backward causation stops at a particular point. That point where it stops is God.
So, God did not create anything. God was not created by anyone, but rather God is the starting point from where everything came. So, now some people may ask, okay, this starting point, why does that have to be the person? That can just be a lump of matter.
But then the problem, basically there are these two principles in existence. We see matter and consciousness. This table is matter.
All of us are conscious. So, now we see in this world there are two things, matter and consciousness. So, the starting point could either be matter or could be consciousness.
Now, if it were matter, matter is inert. It is inactive. It does not have any self-organising capacities.
If at this place, Mayapur, 50 years ago, Mayapur Chandra Dev Mandir, it was just a lump of concrete, would that have organised itself into the building that we see here? But if there were a person, that person could have desired and the person could have made the arrangements to build a building. So, from our observation also we see that actually matter does not organise things, consciousness organises. So, therefore, the point from where everything begins, that should have consciousness.
And that supreme conscious being is God. So, and how did everything start? Well, there is a whole process of creation. There are multiple creators.
So, God wishes, God desires and by his desire, by the glance. So, according to the Vedic understanding, matter is also eternal. Matter is not created at any particular time.
The material world is created. We have the law of conservation of energy that applies in the Vedic context. And so, So, in 2.27 in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes, all things are unmanifested in the building.
When they become manifest, then again become unmanifest. It is just like, there is a lump of concrete and cement and then from there a building manifests. The building may stay for 50 years, 100 years, 200 years, then it unmanifests.
So, like that, but the essential matter which made the building remains. So, matter is eternal also. But material forms are temporary.
And when we refer to matter, generally we almost always refer to material forms only. So, we are attracted to a person’s material body. We are attracted to a gulab jamun.
Now, gulab jamun, after a person has eternated, it has transformed into human excreta, it still remains, the substance. But we are not attracted to that at all. We are repelled by that.
So, in normal usage, we may use the term that matter is temporary. But actually, it is material forms that are temporary. Matter is eternal.
So, at the start of creation, God glances, sah asrut jita, that he glances and his glance injects the energy of time. And by the injection of the energy of time, creation begins. The universe has come out and the universe has expanded.
And that is how creation takes place. Is this clear? Injects time means, see time, we think, now actually speaking, if you go into science and philosophy, what is time is actually, philosophers have spent a lot of time not understanding it. So, what exactly is time? Now, Einstein had the idea of space time.
So, he said that just as we have length, height, width, so like that, one more dimension is time. But then the problem with this understanding is that in length, width, height, we can move in both directions. We can move up, we can move down, we can move ahead, we can move ahead back.
But in time, we cannot move back. Time only moves in one direction. So, time is not just like any other dimension.
Time is distinct. And the Bhagavad Gita explains, 11.32, in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that time I am. So, time is the energy of Krishna.
That means that just like I am speaking, so the sound that is coming out is my energy. So, time is the energy of Krishna. That means time moves by the will of God.
So, that means time will not move in the material world, things will stay in stasis if the Lord does not will. So, when the material existence is unmanifested, at that time, even time stops moving. And then when time is injected, what it means is that the energy of time is there, but the transformations are not happening.
When the energy of time is injected, then transformations start happening. In student life, how can we develop academic as well as spiritual knowledge best? By balance. So, generally, we need to have a proper time frame for everything.
So, we have a schedule probably in the voice. In the morning, we have morning programme and a short class. And then you can go, you have your college study.
Evening, most evenings you can study. Evenings, you may have some services or some programmes. And in general, we have to be time conscious.
Actually speaking, if you give adequate time for cultivating spiritual knowledge, through sadhana and study, you will find that your mind will be more peaceful. And your mind will be more focused. And you will be able to do your material studies also better.
But in general, we should not go into an overdose of everything. We should not study so much spirituality that our spiritual study becomes an excuse for not studying our material studies. We should not do that because both are important, both are our responsibilities.
Now, we are souls in material bodies. So, as souls, we have spiritual duty. We are in material bodies.
So, we have material duties, all of your students, all of your sons. So, you have duties to your family, you have duties to your students. So, we learn by taking guidance from our senior devotees, how do we balance.
So, one is like the spirituality circle, the other is the academic circle. So, we should live in the intersection of these two circles, not just studies. We just need to study.
And generally, what happens is we are not able to study too much. And then we get bored and then we get into time-wasting activities. And then just for the sake of break.
But if we can get spiritual breaks, they will not only rejuvenate us, but they will also eliminate us. We will become purified by them. So, all of us can by practise discover this intersection zone, intersection of the academics and spirituality.
So, if any of you have any questions on what I am telling, you can raise your hands and I will answer your questions also. So, okay. On 5th July, you told that Devi Puran should not be taken as standard as it is not actual Puran.
Is Chaitanya Chaitanya Tamala also such a sort of Puran as it is written very lately? If not, what is its authenticity? Chaitanya Chaitanya Tamala, nobody claims it to be a Puran. See, the word Puran is used for a particular category of books. So, there are 18 Puranas and there is no mention of Devi Bhagavad Gita.
So, the Devi can have her pastimes and those who want to hear those pastimes, they can hear those pastimes also. But it is not a Puran in the sense that it is not in the authentic category of 18 Puranas. Some of the pastimes in them are as long as they are in accordance more or less with the Vedic scriptures, they are fine.
But overall, it is not a Puranic book. Chaitanya Chaitanya Tamala, nobody claims that it is a Puranic book. It is a book which describes the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
See, when we turn on one switch, then once the switch turns on, then the light comes in the full room. So, the scriptures describe to us that there are many references, almost 24 scriptures have references that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. So, now whenever there is an incarnation and especially Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a Channa Avtaar.
Channa Avtaar means hidden incarnation. So, that is why there is not his past, his mention is there in the Vedic scriptures, but his elaborate activities are not described. So, then if the Lord is going to come, along with him his associates come.
And those associates depict the pastimes of the Lord. So, the Vedic scriptures describe the incarnation of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and then when he comes, his associates come. Those associates are also liberated souls.
And the books that they are write, they are also books which are written by liberated souls and that is why they are authentic. Now, actually speaking, we should not think of authentic as just one thing. There are levels of authenticity.
So, Chaitanya Charita Amrita, the essential points that are there, the pastimes of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are what happened over here. The philosophical points that are given over there, Chaitanya Charita Amrita also quotes Bhagwatam. Chaitanya Charita Amrita in fact quotes almost 63 different books.
It quotes the Bhagwatam, it quotes the Vedanta Sutra, it quotes the Upanishads, it quotes the Mahabharata. So, it is also giving further references from the scriptures. So, in a sense, it is building up on what is given in the scriptures and is giving things to us in an accessible way, centred on the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
So, it is not a Purana in the sense of it is one of the 18 Puranas, but when the incarnation of the Lord appears, his associates appear who describe the pastimes of the Lord. So, when the incarnation is authorised, when his authorised devotees describe the pastimes, then those books are also authorised. Is it clear? Yeah.
Yeah. So, it is only the books written by Vedavyasa we consider to be scriptures. See, scriptures are not a frozen body of knowledge.
There is Shruti and there is Smriti. Shruti are the Upanishads. In Shruti, the letters are very important, sounds are very important, the exact words are important and they are preserved down the ages.
In Shruti, the essential meaning is important and Shrutis are open-ended body of knowledge. That means that as long as the essential message remains the same, the message can be rephrased so that it becomes clear. So, how it works is, for different people, different Pramanas are used.
So, if for example, somebody is an atheist and doesn’t believe in the Vedic scriptures at all, then if we have to talk about the existence of God, then we won’t say that Bhagavad Gita says mayad dekshina prapadya, therefore God exists. That will not make any sense to me. Then for that person, we will use science.
We will talk about what a scientist believe in God, we will talk about the complexity of the design and then we will establish the existence of God. If somebody says that only the Shrutis are to be considered, only the Vedic scriptures are considered to be authentic, fine. The essential principles of Krishna consciousness can be established even based on the Vedic scriptures.
Now, Acharyas have done, Jiva Goswami has written a book called Bhagavatsandarbha, in which he extensively forced from the Vedic scriptures to establish the fundamental points of the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy. That means, we can discuss with people based on whatever Pramanas they accept. So, the Gaudiya, so the Chaitanya Chanatamrita is the Pramana that is giving us the highest knowledge in our tradition.
And we can show how this knowledge is based on what is normally, what is considered the Vedic tradition. Is it clear? Why should we follow Krishna consciousness in this age? Because the scriptures tell us so. The Bhagavatam says that whatever benefit was attained by other processes of Yoga in previous ages, that benefit can be attained in Kali Yuga by the chanting of the Holy Names.
That is why the process of Krishna consciousness is primarily centred on chanting of the Holy Names and that is why we practise it. So, it is the Yoga Dharma for this age. That is why we practise it.
For our livelihood, it is wrong to even selling and killing of animals, but is it right to kill soldiers during wars? See, the two situations are not similar. That selling and killing animals, it is not absolutely essential. There are alternatives, there are professions that people can take up.
There are devotees who are involved in poultry industry or animal husbandry industry. Once they learn the principle of Krishna consciousness, they actually understand how much violence is there and how much karma is there, they change their profession. So, meat-eating is not essential in human life and that is why this industry is not essential and we should avoid it.
But as far as self-defence and war for the sake of self-defence is concerned, that is the essential feature of human existence. So, no matter how ideal the people, even in Vedic times, there were kings and they had to have armies. So, fighting in wars is essential.
Having armies and having soldiers is essential and fighting in wars and even killing is essential. So, of course, in modern times, many wars are fought for unnecessary, frivolous, self-serving purposes. So, that is undesirable, a kind of warfare.
But in principle, the profession of military-hood is essential for self-defence in any country. That is why the person is fighting in the cause of dharma, then that kind of profession is not karmically culpable. Person will not suffer bad karma because of this.
But if one feels reluctant for doing such a thing, then one can avoid entering into such a profession and one can enter some other profession. But a military in and of itself is not sinful because that is the essential feature of human existence. Kurukshetra inhered on the will of Supreme Lord, but the war of nowadays is based on exploitation of resources of one country by the another.
Okay, Kurukshetra is based on the will of the Supreme Lord. Yes, that is true. So, what can we do? Actually, we live in a Kali Yuga, which is a contaminated society and everything is just based on selfish interests.
So, we have to make the best of a bad bargain. That is why, Kaler dosho nidhe raje, astiya eko mahan muna, silpanna devakrishnasti uttasanda parambraji. Kali Yuga is an ocean of falls.
The only good quality is that by glorifying Krishna, we can return back to Him. So, yes, most wars are fought on the basis of selfishness and if we feel uncomfortable involved in such warfare, then we can choose some other professions. No meat eating is one of the principles of Krishna consciousness.
People claim that if I take milk from a cow, that milk belongs to her kid. Are we not offending milk, the cow? Not necessarily. Normally, if the cow is taken care of properly, taken care of properly, cleans, not just given proper grass to eat and also offered love, then the cow gives much more milk than what is necessary and healthy for the calf.
The calf, if it drinks all the milk that the cow gives, the calf may often, it may get digestive problems. So, generally speaking, the calf is allowed to drink some portion of the milk and after that the remaining milk is taken for human consumption. And over a natural system of the calf and that, the calf starts eating grass and other things, just like in the human body, human infant also.
Of course, it eats mother’s milk and after that it eats other food. So, allowing the calf to drink all the milk of the mother or allowing the calf to drink the milk all the time, that is not healthy for the calf also. So, by the system of nature, it is arranged that cow gives more milk than what the calf needs and that extra milk humans should take.
So, now today, instead of taking care of cows, cow milking has become a very brutal business. That is unfortunate. But we shouldn’t think that that brutal business where the last drop of cow’s milk is extracted for the sake of money, that is not the basic standard.
But the natural system is, the cow gives more milk than what is necessary for the calf. That’s why it’s not often. We are just availing the arrangement that nature has made for us.
How strong can we be to relatives while introducing Krishna consciousness when we are in student life? We shouldn’t be aggressive. We can be gentle, polite. Generally, the best preaching to our relatives will be our own behaviour.
If we study nicely, our academics performance improves, if we are more helpful and courteous in our dealings with them, if they see that overall our character has improved, that will be the best preaching. And of course, if possible, we can introduce them to some other devotees. Our relatives, they have probably seen us as small children.
They see us largely from a different perspective. So, for them to see us as teachers doesn’t work so easily. It takes time for them.
So, if we introduce them to other devotees, maybe somebody of their age group, maybe other devotees whom they are likely to relate with and respect, then they can relate nicely with them. So, actually, even for me, my father, when I shared Krishna consciousness, he was not very interested. But when I introduced him to other devotees, he became very interested now.
I am from Nasik. So, every day he comes to Nasik temple. He dances, gives them, chants Hare Krishna, comes to my programmes and sponsors the programmes.
He is very happy. I did very little preaching to him. In fact, I have hardly ever spoken philosophically.
Other devotees did that. So, we should generally share with our relatives the culture in terms of our improved behaviour. And let other devotees preach to them.
If they are interested in asking questions about them, then we can answer those questions. Okay. So, if somebody takes milk, which is, say, produced through brutality to the cows, will the person get karma? In Hinduism, in Kali Yuga, whatever we do, we will get karma.
So, we cannot avoid karma. We offer the food to Krishna, we offer the milk to Krishna, that is good. But as far as possible, we should try to take the milk, which is come from natural means.
So, in the Naiskanth temples, and then associated with the temple, we have some farms. So, not only the temple devotees, but even the congregation, takes milk from these natural farmers. So, instead of taking the dairy milk, which often is so industrialised and commercialised, that the care for the cow is factored out of the whole thing.
So, taking that milk, you can take the milk, which is produced by natural milk producers. So, it is a little difficult. But once you get used to it, it is also a way to support the small scale industries.
And those dairy farmers who are working at this level, they also get support. So, it is preferable. As devotees, you know, we should not worry too, we should not be paranoid about karma in everything.
What we should be concerned of is, how can we best contribute? So, it is preferable always, if you can take natural food. So, that means, instead of taking it commercialised, take it from the natural dairy farmers. Is there possibility of going to spiritual world from this world only? What do you mean from this world itself? Where will we go out if we become purified and if we develop our love for Krishna? In the end of our life, we will go back to Krishna.
Generally, going back to Krishna means that we go to a place where Krishna is performing his pastimes and we associate with Krishna over there. We learn practise of bhakti over there from the other devotees, how to serve Krishna ultimately. And then we go back to the spiritual world.
But spiritual world is not just a place. Anywhere, Krishna himself has manifested. That is also the spiritual world.
So, therefore, when we go back to Krishna, and that means when we go back, even in the material world to a place where Krishna is performing his pastimes, we have actually returned back to the spiritual world. So, not just possibility, if we practise Krishna consciousness seriously, there is certainty that we will go back to the spiritual world. If someone starts bhakti in young age and then leaves it, is there any change of elevation? This is talked about in Bhagavad Gita from 6.37 to 6.45 where Arjuna asks Krishna, So, in 6.37 Arjuna asks the question and 6.40 to 6.45 also Krishna answers.
Basically, Krishna says that whatever bhakti we practise, that will never be lost. One who does good will never leave it. Arjuna says there will never be durgati for a person who practises spiritual life.
So, there are multiple possibilities, two main possibilities that if somebody practises bhakti, but is not able to complete it and queues it up, then generally people give up bhakti because they have a lot of material desires. If they have a lot of material desires, then Krishna will allow such a person to go to Swarga, heavens, where the person can fulfil the desires for material enjoyment. So, in 6.41 Krishna says that such a person will go to Swarga and for a long time that person will enjoy in Swarga, then the person will come back to the material, come to the earthly practise system and will be born in Kuchinaam Shrimatam Gehena, wealthy family or cultured family, Brahminical family, cultured family, where the person can continue spiritual life.
On the other hand, if a person is very spiritually advanced and only little bhakti is remaining, then the person will be born in a devotee’s family. In 42nd verse, Krishna says that the person will be born in Bheemataam, a family of wise people and right from the childhood itself, right from birth itself, the person’s body will be made of spiritual substance, in the sense that everything about his life will be spiritualised and then the person will take off from wherever he left and then the person will endeavour and eventually attain the ultimate destination. So, we never lose whatever we have acquired spiritual credits in our life.
They will always be there. But depending on how seriously we practise, we can go back in one lifetime itself or we can take two, three lifetimes or we can take many lifetimes. It depends on how seriously we practise spiritual life.
I am truly devoted to Krishna Consciousness and I am doing it devotionally. But when I come across my class fellows, they hamper me so that I get evaded from the path. What I am doing right now, so at that time, what should I do? In addition to this, they ask a lot of questions on that, why the Krishna Consciousness movement that you automatic, you are following, tell you to keep away yourself from material work, because if we keep ourselves away from material work, then we all are doing engineering just to go to temple and be a Baba and all that.
Okay, the first thing is, we are not sharing Krishna Consciousness to make anyone into Brahmacharis. That is not our goal. Our goal is to help all of you to connect with Krishna.
You are all the children of Krishna and you deserve to have the knowledge of your Supreme Lord. Krishna wants it, Krishna loves all of you and all that we are doing is sharing Krishna’s message with you. Now, how to practise bhakti is up to you.
Most devotees will practise bhakti as a grandson, they will get married and then they will have their family, they will have children and they will practise devotional life accordingly. And for those who want to do that, ISKCON is a huge movement. Now, if you see in my apartment, there are so many rehearsals.
So, actually ISKCON also has this marriage board. So, if you want, there are just as you boys are practising devotional life, there are girls also practising devotional service. So, they also want to have a devotee boy as a husband.
So, there is an ISKCON marriage board, there are marriage counsellors. If you want to get married, they will help you in getting married. And if you want to become a brahmachari, you will be facilitated in that.
So, the goal is that scriptures offer us two paths for practising devotional life, that is renounced order, householder order. And both are valid, both are valuable, both are potent methods of practising devotional service. So, what we offer you is the knowledge of how to practise devotional service and which ashram to practise it is largely up to you.
It depends on your individual inspiration. So, firstly, it is not that just because you become a devotee, you will become a brahmachari, that will not happen. You become a devotee, you will become a better human being, you will become a better student, you will get better control over your mind and senses.
Whatever you do, you will be able to contribute better in life. Now, whether you contribute as a brahmachari or as a grhastha, that is different, that is up to you. So, do not worry about that aspect of becoming a sannyasi or brahmachari.
Actually, nobody can force anyone to become a brahmachari sannyasi. It is a challenging call and only those who are individually inspired can continue. Otherwise, you will not be able to continue.
So, there is no question of forcing anyone. Now, what will happen is that as devotees, you may stay away from those activities that are time wasting, those activities that are sinful, those activities that are just involving gossiping, just surfing on nasty sites, chit-chatting on useless things. So, those things actually are time wasting and you will cut down on that.
By that, you will save time, you will not lose time and you will find that even within your college, you will get quality friends. See, you can have other devotees who are your friends and other students who are there in college for the primary purpose of studies. They are not interested in boozing.
There are boys and girls who are not interested in boozing and wasting their time and such things. So, then you can be, you have friends with them. See, all of us, it is our life and it is our choice.
So, if we let ourselves become pressurised by the world, what to speak of practising spiritual life, we will not be able to do anything. If tomorrow you decide you want to become an engineer or you want to go to America, so many others will be like, why don’t you do IAS? Why don’t you do MBA? Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do that? The world will always keep pressurising us. We should remember that in other’s plots, we are simply extras.
You know, everybody has their plot. Everybody has their storyline in which that person is the hero and everybody else is simply extra in that. You know what is extra, isn’t it? In a movie, some extra is there to play some passing role.
So, in their plots, we are simply extras. So, we shouldn’t worry too much about what other people think about us. We have to be honest with ourselves.
See, what is, what do I really want to do in my life? What are the values that I want to stand for? And take a stand for those values. We find that initially people will ridicule you, then they will neglect you. First day, you will be ridiculed.
Then, yeah, you may have to come safely. People will ridicule you. Afterward, they start neglecting.
They will first joke at us and they will neglect you. But after that, they will start respecting you. Day after day, week after week, month after month.
So, do you see? This is not just some fad of a person of principles. And over a period of time, they will start following you. So, it will happen gradually.
So, find a circle of friends who will support the life of principles that you are living. And by that, you can continue on. And find out the right kind of friends.
They don’t have to be all devotees. If they are devotees, wonderful. But they can be sattvakya, people who use immoral goodness, who also value some principles.
And with them, you can move forward in your academic life also. Lord has appointed some demigods to do various services. But on the other hand, they are also rebellious souls departed from the spiritual world.
How can you understand this? Actually speaking, they are not just rebellious souls. They were rebellious souls when they came to the spiritual world. But in this world, demigods do punya.
That means, souls like us, when they do lot of punya, then they become devas. So, those who do lot of punya with some bhakti, they will become the demigods. And they do have the desire to enjoy separate from Krishna to some extent.
But they don’t want to be pure devotees of Krishna. They want to enjoy material things, but within the jurisdiction of Krishna, within Krishna’s guidance. Vishnu, Bhaktasiddho, Devo, Asurasadviparyayo.
Demons, they want to defy Krishna. They don’t want to care for Krishna. So, that is demoniacs.
The demigods only want to enjoy. And the scriptures are not against enjoyment. They are against godless enjoyment.
They are against godless enjoyment. So, actually the demigods have punya. Demigods have the desire to be under the jurisdiction of the lord and work according to his plan.
But they don’t want to surrender completely to him and give up all material enjoyment. They want Krishna also and they want material enjoyment also. So, that’s how those who want both, then if they do punya, they will become demigods.
What is the position of Radharani among all the gopis? She is the female counterpart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Radha, Krishna, Eka Atma, Doi Deha Dhari, Anyon Nena Vilasa, Vitta Leela Kauri. Actually, Eka Atma, Krishna and Radharani are the same person.
They manifest in two forms for the sake of pastimes. So, Radharani, Krishna is god in male form. Radharani is god in the female form.
Both of them are the supreme lord and she is the chief among all the gopis. She is god manifesting as his topmost devotee in a female form. Is every individual soul’s rasa fixed in the spiritual world or is there shifting of rasa happens? Actually speaking, the soul’s rasa is fixed.
The soul is not fixed in that rasa. That means we have a particular rasa but we have left that and we are trying to enjoy different things in the material world. When we become purified, naturally we will be attracted to that particular kind of service and we will serve Krishna accordingly in the spiritual world.
If any individual soul has reached the spiritual world, can he ever come back ever in the spiritual world? I think it should be the material world. Generally, the soul doesn’t desire to come back to the material world because the soul remembers how much he has suffered in the material world. And that’s why the desire to enjoy separate from Krishna doesn’t come in the soul and that’s why the soul doesn’t come back to the material world of his own will.
But if the lord desires and I want to perform pastimes and for the sake of performing pastimes, I want you to assist me and to descend with me, then the soul may come to the material world with the particular incarnation of the lord. But generally, the soul doesn’t come by his own will because the soul has learned the lesson how dangerous and treacherous the material world is. If anybody does punya, then the person becomes an demigod.
If somebody becomes Ganesha, then what will happen to other souls who do punya? There are 33 crore demigods and there are so many force that are there among the demigods and actually for becoming a devata, one has to do a huge amount of punya. It is not ordinary. Just like we can say there are only limited number of cabinet ministers, there’s only one prime minister, the cabinet ministers if you see.
Now there are so many people who want to become the cabinet ministers, but people who actually become qualified in whatever way, become cabinet ministers are limited. So, one requires the qualification of punya and there’s a huge amount of punya that is required. So, many souls may desire, but only when they do adequate amount of punya, they will become.
And there is not only one universe, there are many universes. And it is not that generally the soul will desire, I want to become this particular thing. The soul just desires to do punya and wants opulence.
And material nature will arrange for the soul to get a particular body according to the punya that I have done. Krishna himself married to Rukmini, why do his hardcore devotees end up becoming brahmacharis? Good question. Because the devotees want to enjoy with Krishna, not like Krishna.
Devotees want to enjoy with Krishna, not like Krishna. Ravana wanted to enjoy like Ram. Hanuman wanted to enjoy with Ram.
So, Ravana wanted to take up Ram’s position and enjoy with Hanuman wanted to unite Sita with Ram. So, actually, see this is the positive axis, this is zero, this is negative axis. So, material world is like the negative axis.
Spiritual world is like the positive axis. The material world is the reflection, spiritual world is the reality. In 15.1 in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes, this material world is like an upside down banyan tree.
So, everything in this world is like a reflection. Where is the reality? The reality is in the spiritual world. So, actually speaking, the male-female relationship, male-female attraction exists in this world because there is male-female attraction purely in the spiritual world.
A pure attraction is between the Lord and His devotees. So, when we come to the material world, we want to imitate Krishna and that’s why we have our own male-female attraction. But all this is a part of the reflection.
So, the devotee instead of desiring to enjoy in the reflection, wants to go back to the reality. And to go back to the reality, one has to detach oneself from the reflection. That’s why the devotees don’t get entangled in worldly relationships because they understand these are the reflection of the reality.
So, rather than going to the reflection, the devotee goes towards the reality. So, we shouldn’t think that Krishna’s relationship with Rukmini is similar to a male-female relationship in the world. No, this is pure, transcendental spiritual.
So, that is where we originally belong. And that is where we long to go when we practise devotional service. And that’s why some devotees, they decide that we just don’t want to get entangled in this world.
They become brahmacharis. The idea is not that we have to enjoy like Krishna. We want to enjoy with Krishna.
And for that sake, we want to stop imitating Krishna. We know that Krishna’s love is true and pure. Then can we love somebody truly? Yes, certainly.
Why not? No, actually speaking, we surely love others truly. How is it possible? When we put Krishna in the centre. If we love somebody independent of Krishna, then what happens is our vision is largely material.
And then maybe on the basis of that person’s looks, that person’s wealth, that person’s external attributes, we become attracted to that person. And when those external attributes go away, then our love for that person also goes away. But when we put Krishna in the centre, then our vision becomes spiritual.
And when our vision becomes spiritual, by the purification that results, then we love others, not just because of what they presently are in the material level. We love them because they are dear to Krishna also. And they are dear to Krishna irrespective of how they look, how much they earn, what are their material qualities and material talents.
We love them for who they intrinsically are. So, you know, there are two kinds of relationships here. There are horizontal relationships with other people in the world and there are vertical relationships with Krishna.
So, our vertical relationship with Krishna strengthens our horizontal relationships. Because when we are strongly connected with Krishna, then we connect with others in such a way that they also become connected with Krishna. We help them develop their vertical relationship.
So, ideally it should be that. It is not that to love Krishna we have to give up other relationships. Rather, our vertical relationship strengthens our horizontal relationship.
Because we see others as spiritual beings. So, we love Krishna, we love them better also. And then our horizontal relationships also strengthen our vertical relationship.
You know, if we have friends, if we have relatives, if we have family members who are devotees, then sometimes we are depressed, sometimes we feel lonely, sometimes we feel discouraged. Then our family members will encourage us. Our friends and relatives will encourage us.
And our horizontal relationship can strengthen our vertical relationship. So, that is how we can integrate our worldly relationships and our devotional relationship with Krishna. To the extent our relationship with Krishna is true and pure, to that extent our other relationships can also become true and pure.
At what point of time souls are individually parted from Krishna as the spiritual world is not within the time domain. So, how can we understand it and make it understandable to others? The spiritual world is outside the time domain. It means that actually there is no destruction in the spiritual world.
Time here causes change. Time causes creation, mental means destruction. But in the spiritual world, there is a passage of time just for the sake of Leela.
That means there is morning when Krishna wakes up, Mother Vishwa wakes up, there is daytime when Krishna goes to the forest with his Gopal friends and they perform pastimes. There is evening when Krishna and Ayurveda Jyotish are united again. So, like this goes on.
But Krishna never grows older. Krishna’s age is something like 16 years, 6 months, 3 and a half days. And that’s what it says eternal.
So, that’s how it is eternally in the spiritual world. In that sense, there is no creation, mental means destruction. But there is change which enables the reciprocation of multiple relationships, multiple rasas.
Now, if you consider a pyramid, the pyramid at the top is very tiny and the same pyramid as it extends downward, it becomes broader and broader. So, similarly, the flow of time as we move upward, upward, upwards, it becomes slower. So, in the Brahma Vimohan Leela, when Brahmaji becomes bewildered, he just goes away for one moment and one full year is passed on the earth.
That means, one moment of Brahmaji is equal to one year of earthly time. So, now if you extend this further beyond Brahmaloka, beyond Brahma’s abode, the spiritual world, then just one fraction of a second in the spiritual world is equal to thousands of years in this world. So, that means, from the spiritual point of view, our departure from the spiritual world, from the spiritual world’s point of view, from the spiritual world’s point of view, in spiritual world’s time, our departure is only for a fraction of a moment and that time we may go through hundreds of lifetimes.
So, from the material point of view, there is a beginning, there is an end. But from the spiritual point of view, there is just a fraction of a moment in which all of it happens. So, it has just happened at a particular time and it ends at particular time.
But it is fractional from the point of view of the time in the spiritual world. Krishna has given us free will but not the right of sanctioning the will. Is it a justification? What do you mean that Krishna has not given us the right of sanctioning the will? What exactly do you mean by sanctioning? Okay.
So, he has given us the free will but he has not given us the power to act according to that free will. Actually speaking, all of us are finite. Krishna is infinite.
If basically you want to say that Krishna should give us the power to act on our free will, ourselves independently, then basically you are asking that Krishna should make us Krishna. Now, if Krishna makes us Krishna, then what happens is, by definition the supreme is one. There cannot be many supremes.
Supreme is one. So, now we become happiest when we love Krishna and we have already tasted the joy of loving Krishna and after having loved Krishna, we cannot be satisfied by loving anyone else. So, if we ourselves become an alternative Krishna, who are going to Krishna? If Krishna makes us also, then we will be loved.
We will never be satisfied by loving anyone other than Krishna. So, we are eternally finite. Krishna is eternally infinite.
But the wonderful thing is, the finite can experience infinite happiness by loving the infinite. In the infinite happiness, the infinite is experiencing. That we can also experience when we connect with the infinite.
So, there are certain things which are our constitution and those cannot be changed, not because Krishna can’t change them, but because changing them will frustrate our longing for love. We will never be happy because we cannot love anyone, we cannot be satisfied by loving anyone other than Krishna because nobody is as attractive as Krishna. So, having loved him, we can be happy only by loving ourselves.
So, what Krishna does is, he allows us to execute our free will partially, according to our desire and how we deserve. See, the whole idea of being God, of being supreme, is that it neglects the fact there are many living beings. If I want to be supreme, if you want to be supreme, you want to be supreme, if everybody wants to be supreme, then I will be supreme over whom? Supreme means, I have to be supreme over somebody else.
If everybody wants to be supreme, as Krishna sanctions everybody’s desire to be supreme, then there is no meaning left to supreme, isn’t it? See, if everybody in the class wants to be number one, and if everybody becomes number one, then there is no point to number one, because there is nobody else in the class. You just have your own class, you are the only student in the class and you are number one in the class. What is the point in that? So, logically also, you cannot have everyone as supreme.
So, that’s why it’s just not logically possible that everyone can be given the authority to fulfil all their desires. When Krishna creates the system of karma, there are desires, then we do activities according to good karma and then our desires get fulfilled. So, that is the system which Krishna has created by which we can fulfil our desires to some extent and learn the lesson also along with that, that only by loving Krishna, we can become truly happy.
Think about it, it’s a deep question, good question. At what point of time we are parcelled to this material world first, that is, when is our first birth in the material world? It is an age, it’s just a long time ago that we don’t know about it. So, in general, when the soul desires to enjoy a separate from Krishna, then the soul comes to the material world.
Now, how long ago it was, we can’t know, because we don’t remember our past lives. But we can see from our own hearts that we have a lot of conditions. That means, that all these desires which are there, they are momentum, they are the continued momentum of the desires that we were cultivating in our previous lives.
So, from our heart condition, we can understand that we were here in the material world during this lifetime also. But we can go back to the spiritual world. So, rather than asking when we came back, the most important question is, when can we go back? The person is terribly sick.
Okay, if I can find out when I fell sick, that’s okay. But more important is, when will I get well? How will I get well? What can I do to get well? So, the sheer amount of knowledge in the material world itself is infinite. Now, if we just decide to remember, if we want to remember everything that we did just one week ago, we can’t remember it, so to speak, of so many lifetimes ago.
So, our knowledge is limited. So, it’s intelligent to focus our limited knowledge capacity on that which will give the maximum return for us. That will give us the, and that is on getting cured, getting purified, getting liberated.
Why are there so many living beings who are killed in natural disaster? Do all die due to karmic reactions? Yes, there is mass karma. Mass karma means that different people may have done different individual karmas, because of which, because of some total of their individual karma, they are supposed to die at a particular time. And by the arrangement of material nature, all of them are brought together at a particular place, meaning they are brought together as a plane, and the plane crashes.
So, it is a result of mass karma. So, material nature acts at multiple levels. Sometimes there is individual karma, so a person gets a heart attack and dies.
Sometimes there is mass karma, when the earth gets a heart attack, that means there is an earthquake in the earth, and then a lot of people die. So, material nature works at different levels. Why don’t we get the punishments in the same lifetime? Each karma is like a seed.
And in this world also, we see different seeds fructify after different time dimensions. If I sow grains, they will fructify after 2, 3, 8 months. If I sow a mango seed, it may take 10, 12 years.
Some trees like calyxes, they may fructify after 70, 80 years also. So, just as different seeds have fructified after different time durations, similarly, different actions fructify after different time durations. Why? Because different kind of karma requires for the reaction specific circumstances.
And those circumstances may not come in a particular lifetime. So, for example, in the Mahabharata, after the Mahabharata war, when Dhritarashtra realises that all his 100 sons have killed him, he is heartbroken and Krishna comes to console him. At that time, he asks Krishna, why is it that I had 100 sons and all of them died? So, then Krishna becomes grave and replies that 50 lifetimes ago, you were a hunter.
And when you went hunting, you wanted to kill the mother bird and the father bird, but they flew away. So, while they were in the air, in a fit of rage, you went into their nest and killed all their birdlings. So, there were 100 birdlets over there, baby birds, and you killed all of them and you caused the parents to be in agony watching the death of their children.
And because of that killing 100 children of the birds, you had to suffer the death of your 100 sons. So, Dhritarashtra thought for some time and he said, then why do I have to wait for 50 lifetimes for that karmic reaction to come? And Krishna replied, for you to have 100 sons in one lifetime, you had to do punya for 50 lifetimes. So, after doing punya for 50 lifetimes, you had enough punya by which you could get 100 sons in one lifetime.
And then that reaction came. So, in 4.17, Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, gahana karmano bhakti. The workings of karma are inscripted, they are very complex, but they are arranged perfectly by the will of the Lord, so that whatever quantum of suffering we have caused to others, that reaction comes to us.
No, if a sin, is it possible that if the sin is fructified, still we will not get the reaction at that time? No. Actually, then the sin is not yet fructified. Sin is in a pre-fructified stage.
So, there is aprarabdha phalam, bijam kutam phalam, aprarabdha phalam, bijam kutam phalam, onmukham kramenaiva praviyeta, vishnubhaktirata atmana. So, there is aprarabdha, which is not yet manifest. So, there is kuta, bija and phalonmukha.
There are various stages of the karmic stage. So, kuta is very, very small, bija is now become a seed. Then phalonmukha is that which is about to nearly fructify.
Aprarabdha means that it is reserved, it will fructify in the future. So, if it is about to fructify, then it will fructify. If it is going to take after a long time, then that means it is not yet come to the time of maturation.
What is the way to stop all karma? karmāni nirdahati kintucha bhakti bhajāmi lovenda nādi puruṣaṁ tamāṁ bhajāmi karmāni nirdahati, karma gets burnt by bhakti bhajāmi, just like when a seed is fried, the seed will not muctify. Similarly, if we perform bhakti, bhakti acts like a fire which burns up the seeds. So, bhakti works at four different levels.
First of all, bhakti uses the knowledge that there is bad karma, good karma, I should not do bad karma. That is how we do not do further bad karma. Bhakti also uses the higher taste by which we are no longer dragged to do bad karma.
So, there is higher knowledge, there is higher taste. Many times we have knowledge, this is wrong, but we cannot give it up. But bhakti gives us higher taste, a higher happiness by which we can give it up.
Higher taste, higher knowledge, this is how we do not do any further bad karma. But what about the karma that we have already done and the reactions are going to come? Two things, Krishna minimises those impure reactions when we surrender to him. Just as if there is a criminal who is punished for 20 years in imprisonment, the criminal behaves very well, then the government can reduce the sentence to 10 years, 5 years also.
So, like that Krishna reduces the karmic reaction. And the fourth is, whatever reaction comes, Krishna gives us the inner strength to face that reaction. Because generally speaking, whenever sufferings come, it depends on our attitude, how big the problem becomes or how small the problem becomes.
So, when we remember Krishna, we do not get so shaken by the problem, because Krishna lifts us up. It is said that, do not tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big God is.
Do not tell God how big your problem is. God, I am serving you, why do you send such a big problem in my life? Tell your problems how big God is. Problem is big, but Krishna is bigger.
And if we take shelter of Krishna, then we do not feel. Many times when a problem comes, we just become overwhelmed by the problem. When we understand Krishna is there, Krishna will take care of us, Krishna will guide us, that it is a calm state.
And by Krishna’s mercy, we are able to deal with the problem. So, through higher knowledge, through higher taste, through minimisation of karmic reactions by Krishna’s arrangement, and through the inner strength and wisdom to tolerate whatever sufferings inevitably come, the devotee eventually becomes disentangled in this whole cycle of karmic action-reaction, and then returns back to Krishna. So, what is the significance of various signs like moon, conch shell in the lotus feet of Krishna, Radharani and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, each of them has their significance.
In various places, they have different significance. Conch shell, the sound of the conch signifies auspiciousness, that is, it signifies the beginning of good things. So, the moon signifies purity, freshness, white signifies purity.
So, like that, so there is flag, flag signifies victory, the devotee who takes shelter of Krishna will ultimately attain victory. Thunderbolt can actually crush, it falls somewhere, it can crush that thing to powder. So, like that, when we take Krishna’s lotus feet on our head, in our heart, what it does it, it crushes like, it acts like a thunderbolt and it crushes all the anarthas, all the large tangles over there into powder.
So, when we take shelter of Krishna lotus feet, then that, that is, when conch is blown, auspiciousness begins. So, similarly, auspiciousness begins in our life when we take shelter of Krishna. So, that way, each of these have significance of their own.
Are all the shakti tattva like Durga directly related to Radharani? Yes, they are ultimately expansions of Radharani, but they are different degrees of expansions. So, they manifest some of the qualities of Radharani, not all. Why in ISKCON temple, Geetis are mostly of Krishna and Radharani, not Rukmini Devi, Satyabhama and all others with Krishna? That is because Krishna is, in Vrindavan, is God at home.
Krishna in Dwarka is God in office. Actually, if you read the devotional literatures in detail, all the queens of Dwarka, they are expansions of the gopis in Vrindavan, of Vrindavan. So, they are the same persons, but they are in different rooms.
So, we want to worship Krishna where He is just reigning in love. He is not exhibiting any manifestations of God. That is God in most intimate.
So, in Dwarka, He is Aishwarya Bhava. He is a king and He is worshipped as a king. There is the love and He is simply God at home.
He is relaxing and in love. So, that is the mood where God’s sweetness is manifested the most. And it is in that mood that we worship Krishna.
And that is why we worship Him with Radharani. But Radharani and other gopis are actually non-different from the queens of Dwarka. That is why in some temples, for example, Los Angeles temple in America, there is a profile established between Dwarka and Rishu.
So, we understand that they are the same person, different mood, that is all. As we know, souls have very less dimension. But what is the form of the soul in the spiritual world? That will depend on the Swarupa.
The soul is a gopa, then it will have a male form. This gopi will have a female form. The soul is a cow, it will have a cow form.
That depends on the particular Swarupa. So, right now the soul is in a biju rupa, a very small seed form. But if the soul becomes liberated, then the original Swarupa will manifest from there.
Can we say Radharani has female form manifesting in Krishna himself? Yes, essentially yes. It is God with female form. So, the Vedic culture is inclusivistic.
Now, I write articles in this time period, we are speaking to each other. So, once I wrote an article about is God male or female? So, actually God is both and we are neither. We are neither male or female.
We are actually souls. So, we are not male or female in a general sense because we are not our bodies. God manifests in both forms.
So, we have Lakshmi, Narayana, Sita, Ram, like that we have Radha, Krishna. They are both God in male and female forms. Why are there only eight Sakhis and not more depicted? These Ashta Sakhis are primary Sakhis.
Krishna has unlimited Sakhis actually. Radharani has unlimited associates, but all of them cannot be depicted on the auditor. So, the Ashta Sakhis are primary associates, that is why they are depicted.
Please explain the various forms of Krishna like Radha, Govinda, Radha, Madhava. See, Krishna has various moods and according to the moods, he has or moods or relationships, he has distinct ways. So, the different forms of the Lord are according to that particular mood or relationship.
So, we have Radha, Madhava over here. We have Radha, Govinda in Tirupati. Radha, Poonji, Bihari, Radha, Vrindavan, Chandra in Pune, Radha, Gopinath in Mumbai.
So, all these are names of Krishna in specific relationship with his devotees. And all these are various ways in which we can see how Krishna is a Rasaraj. He enjoys various rasas.
Okay, in every mode Radharani is only one. See, there are thousand names of Radharani also, there are Radhasahasana names also there. But the focus is that Radharani is also serving Krishna.
So, Radharani name comes first because we serve Krishna through Radharani. But Rasaraj is Krishna. So, it is Krishna who has relationship with Radharani, it is Krishna who has relationship with Deshodamayi, Krishna who has relationship with Arjuna, Krishna who has relationship with Sridhama, Sudhamayi, Sakhalas.
So, Krishna is Rasaraj, inventor of Rasaraj. And the various Rasas that Krishna has, they are demonstrated, they are indicated through various names. But the entry to all these wonderful relationships of Krishna is through Radharani, who is the manifestation of Bhakti, who is the manifestation of Bhakti Devi.
So, that’s why Radharani name is common because she is the entrance way. It is by the mercy of Radharani that we attain Krishna. And Krishna has multiple relationships.
According to his relationship, he is Rasaraj. So, he has various names. Is it clear? Is Shiva’s body eternal? Lord Shiva exists at multiple levels.
So, there is Lord Shiva who is, this is the material world, this is spiritual world. At the junction of the material world and spiritual world, three-fourths in the material world, one-fourth in the spiritual world. This is the abode of Lord Shiva, which is the abode of Sadashiva.
So, that Lord Shiva is eternal. Apart from that, Lord Shiva manifests in the material world also. So, when Brahmaji is born and Brahmaji starts creating from his forehead, Lord Shiva is born.
So, that Lord Shiva who is born in the material world is no return. There are 11 Dhrutras. So, they exist as long as the world is there.
And after that, then according to the time scale of the universe, they become unmanifest. But Sadashiva is eternal. Garghodaksha Vishnu’s body is eternal or material? Well, it is not that two have to be contradictory.
Garghodaksha Vishnu’s body is a Purusha avatar. So, this is from him the material world manifests. But his body is not material.
His body is spiritual. It is also eternal, but it is not eternally manifested. It is whenever there is material creation, at that time the body is manifested, at that time the body becomes unmanifest.
Eternal bliss knowledge is body, how can we understand it? We begin by understanding that we can’t understand it. So, first point is that the spiritual realm is achi nitya. Now, it doesn’t mean that we can’t understand anything about it.
The point is, in the spiritual world also there is earth, water, fire, air, ether. Now, people eat food. What is the food world made up of? If there is something salt, if there is gulab jamun, if there is gula, they are going to make up some solid, some liquid.
But all that earth, water, fire, air, ether is also Satchitanand. Everything in the spiritual world is Satchitanand. So, how this is? This is something which our limited brains cannot understand in this particular.
So, just as a dog cannot understand the equations of quantum physics. It is just beyond the scope of the brain. But we cannot understand right now.
However, as we become purified, our spiritual vision will awaken. And at that time, we will start understanding what it actually means to have a body or to have things made up of Satchitanand. Does old age disease also happen in higher and lower planets? Not in the higher planets.
There the devatas are born and then they grow. They stay youthful. And when their time span gets over, then they are sent out of the heavenly planets and then they die.
So, there is no old age and disease in the heavenly planets. In the lower planets, it can be there. It depends on the specific karma of the people.
But these are factors of material existence. So, they are there elsewhere. In the heavenly planets, because they are places of greater enjoyment, so old age and disease are not there.
In some of the lower planets, they are also like heavenly planets. So, there old age and disease may not be there. But generally, except for the places which are meant especially for enjoyment, like the heavenly planets, old age and disease are there everywhere.
How do they experience suffering? The suffering in the heavenly planets is lesser. But there is another kind of suffering that is the suffering of hankering and lamentation. Now, Indra has Sachi, Indra has his Apsaras, but still he is not satisfied.
You know, he wants more and more and more. The nature of material desires is they are never satisfied. So, the suffering is definitely less.
And in fact, that is one of the problems in heavenly planets. Because the suffering is less and comfort is so much, you do not feel the impetus for practising spirituality. So, imagine that in the morning, you are supposed to do japa.
And there is a full plate of feast, puris, pakoda, pulava, sweet rice right in front of you. And you are told you have to look at it, but not eat it. Chant Hare Krishna and chant attentively.
How is it possible? Very difficult, is not it? So, like that, when the enjoyment is so easily and readily available, to realise that I need to practise something in sadhana to go higher, the spiritual world is difficult. That is why the earthly planetary system, as far as spiritual sadhana is concerned, is the best in the universe. Because here there is suffering which keeps reminding us that this world is a place of suffering.
And at the same time, there is a little happiness, not too much happiness, not too much happiness. There is balance in this world. Heavenly planets, that is why it is difficult to practise spiritual life seriously over there.
The gods are known as Amar, how do they die? There are four categories of being. There is Martya, there is Amara, there is Chiranjeevi and there is Nithya. Only Nithya are eternal.
All the other three are temporary, but their lifespans are of various categories. Martya is from the earthly planetary system. Amara is those who generally live for the lifetime for one manvantara.
You know there are 14 Manus and they have a lifespan called manvantara. So, those who live for manvantara is called as Amara. Those who live for one lifetime of Brahma are those who live for much much longer time, depending on Brahma’s timescale.
They are called as Chiranjeevi, but they are not eternal. They live according to Brahma’s timescale. Only the Nithya are eternal.
So, the Amara, that is why the Upanishads say that the Amara is a deception. So, what it says is, there is no death in the heavenly planets. What does it mean? That when the souls are supposed to die, they are taken out of the heavenly planet.
So, nobody dies in the heavenly planet. But when a person’s time span is over, they are taken out of the heavenly planet and then they die. So, in that sense, there is death for people who live in heaven, but there is no death in the heavens.
Clear? So, it is a deception in the sense that it is a false promise. As compared to earth, lifespan is so long that it appears to be Amara. But from the point of view of eternity, it is not Amara.
It is temporary. We have to suffer in hell and also in next life due to karmic reactions of this one life. If you already suffered in hell, then why do we have to suffer in next life? Actually, our sufferings come in three instalments, in three broad categories of instalment rather.
Whatever bad karma we do, some of it we may get in hell, some of it we may get in lower species and some of it we get in the human species. Why is it different? Because for each kind of suffering, certain circumstances are required. So, if I have caused emotional torture to someone, then some other human being, then I have to get a human body and then I have to experience some similar emotional torture.
I cause physical pain to someone, then I may experience the physical pain in hell. So, our karmic reactions come in these three different ways. So, it is like if I have done 100 unit karma, maybe 35 comes here, 40 comes there, and then 25 comes in the next human body.
35 in hell, 40 in lower species, 25 in earth. It is just a rough percentage, but it indicates how these reactions may come. What do we mean by the word impersonalist? It means those who consider that the absolute truth is impersonal, that the absolute truth is not a person, but it is just all-pervading impersonal light.
So, these are called as impersonalists. Can we reach to Krishna by Jnana Yoga? By Jnana Yoga mixed with Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga alone can help us to get Jnana, but it does not give Mukti. So, when the Jnana Yogi becomes Jnana, he becomes filled with knowledge, then he surrenders to Krishna, and then he attains liberation.
So, Jnana Yoga, by its culmination, its climax, will bring us to Bhakti, and then we will attain Krishna. Can we reach to Krishna by Jnana Yoga? Yes. By Jnana Yoga, we meditate on the Supersoul, then gradually we realise that the Supersoul is Krishna.
And then, so in 6.31, Krishna says that when we understand that that Supersoul and Krishna are non-different, then we will attain Krishna. Can we practise Dhyana Yoga and Kali Yoga? Yes, we can practise, but it is extremely difficult. And the level of concentration, the level of determination, austerity that is required, it is almost impractical for most people.
So, today there is a lot, Yoga is a fashion, but that is, most Yoga that is practised today is practised for health. It is not practised as spiritual practise. So, it can give health benefits.
And somebody wants to practise it for health benefit, that’s fine. But one should not mistake and think that one is going to get spiritual benefits when one is only getting health benefits. So, to get spiritual benefits from Yoga is very difficult in this age.
So, the sadhana is very demanding. That’s why the scriptures recommend that we practise Bhakti Yoga in this age. I have heard that in the Vedas, the speed of light is exactly mentioned as the actual one calculated by scientists, but it is in terms of Vedic units, yojan, etc.
So, can Vedas be used to extract all material science as well as spiritual knowledge? See, much of the Vedic scriptures were lost over the centuries when India was under a foreign rule. So, because of that, much of the material knowledge is not available. However, still, Vedic mathematics is now becoming increasingly popular.
Vastu is there, Ayurveda is there. So, if intelligent people, instead of just becoming infatuated by the external forms of knowledge, if they learn the Vedic forms of knowledge and they study them deeply, do the research, then many of these bodies of knowledge can be recovered. So, can we find out everything that is in the form of modern science? We can’t say whether we can find out everything.
There is so much knowledge that is there in the Vedas and not all of it is available to us. But surely, there are many insights we can get, which can help us complement modern science. So, modern science tells us certain things and further understandings we can get through Vedic science.
So, there are devotee scientists who rework in this research, especially integrating the concept of consciousness with the concepts of quantum physics. And it is a fascinating field. Can some part of the Veda get corrupted? Yes, definitely the possibility is there.
And that’s why, although the Vedic knowledge is perfect, the transmission over centuries may not be perfect. That’s why even the Vedic knowledge has to be studied in parampara. In parampara, in the tradition, not only are the texts preserved carefully, but also the meaning of the texts is preserved not just in the heads of the people, but in the hearts of the people.
So, the parampara is not just an official chain of succession. It is a link of hearts. And the spiritual master lives a life of pure devotion.
The disciple is inspired by that example and the disciple internalises the principles of pure devotion and then starts living a similar life. And like that he is passed on. So, those books that are preserved in the parampara by the Acharyas, those books have been as they say.
So, the Bhagavad Gita if we see, even Shankaracharya commented in 6th, 7th century and we have the Bhagavad Gita today, even 300 years later, it is the same. Siddhartha Swami commented on the Bhagavatam about more than 1000 years ago, maybe 1000 years ago. His Bhagavatam and the Bhagavatam of Sundara, they are the same.
So, the books that are there in parampara, they have been preserved definitely. But it’s definitely possible that other books can become correct. So, that’s why we shouldn’t just pick up any book and study any book.
We have to best to study the books in parampara. Keeping ourselves away from material world is good from technological point of view. That is according to Krishna Consciousness, we should keep ourselves away from material world as much as possible.
By doing this, how can we take part actively in the advancement of technology? Please sort out this confrontation between Krishna Consciousness and advancement in technology. It depends on what our field is. If you are going to study technology and if you want to become a technological researcher, then that becomes your occupational duty.
Then you can pursue it. When we say stay away from the material world, that doesn’t mean stay away from the occupational duties. Whatever are the occupational duty, that we should do responsibly, that we should do diligently.
But staying away from the material world means there are so many allurements. Now some new gadget has come up, some new car has come up, some new this has come up. That way the maya in the material world is endless.
So, it doesn’t mean that we should stay away from everything material. Whatever is not essential for our material maintenance or for our spiritual advancement, we don’t get entangled in that. Because otherwise the allurements in the material world are endless.
So, for example, I know devotee who just chose a new cell phone and he spent 6 months deciding which scheme to take. Because there are so many schemes and one can just get caught in that. So, stay away from the material world means don’t get unnecessarily entangled in the material world.
But while a separated part of a lizard has consciousness, how can we explain it spiritually? Actually, the soul doesn’t come only by one way into the body. Souls are there at various places in the universe and they are looking for suitable biological mediums where they can become embodied. So, now when a part of a lizard gets caught in that particular time, another soul enters into the body.
See, if the soul is not there, consciousness will not be there. Because neither experiment nor theory can explain how matter can produce something that experiences matter. How matter can produce something that experiences matter.
How the gulab jamun is made of matter, the tongue is made of matter. How does the gulab jamun understand that it’s delicious? It doesn’t. But we who are conscious understand that it’s delicious.
So, matter can never experience matter. So, wherever there is consciousness, that indicates there is a presence of the soul. How the soul came into that particular material embodiment, that will vary according to time.
You should understand that souls have sarvagataha. Sarvagataha means that they can be present everywhere. And from wherever they are, they can manifest in a particular place.
How can all the false things like lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion come up as soon as we are in the material world? Although with Krishna, yet envy crops up for him, what’s the guarantee this envy will not come back if we return back to the spiritual world? When we go back to the spiritual world, Krishna guides us so that if at all another desire to enjoy separate from Krishna will come, then we will remember. We will have the experience of both. The misery of living in separation from Krishna and the ecstasy of living in relationship with Krishna.
And when we see both, then we will naturally choose the right choice. So, it is not that the thought cannot come up, but we will get the intelligence based on our experience and based on Krishna’s guidance to not make the wrong choice. Krishna will never take away our freedom.
But Krishna will guide us so that we won’t misuse the freedom. Earlier we misused the freedom because we did not have the experience. But when we have the experience, then as we say, doodh ka jala, chhaaj bhi phook ke pita hai.
So, like that, once we have learned, we will not suffer again. Now, masturbation is good or bad? If it is bad, then why doctors used to recommend it? See, the body has limited resources. And there are, whenever semen is formed, actually speaking from the chemical point of view, semen contains a lot of concentrated essence of the body.
Now, today’s doctors say that semen is just like urine. Just as you pass out urine, semen is also when you pass out. Why? This is a terrible disanalogy.
Disanalogy means false comparison. Why? Because the semen, when it unites with the male, with the female egg, it can, it contains nutrients enough to be the seed for a full human being like you and me. Can urine do anything like that? It has to do.
So, semen actually producing also requires a lot of nutrition. So, according to Ayurveda, it is the last, you know, blood, by head blood, marrow and all those fat, like that the last element that is produced by the body is semen. So, from the allopathic point of view, there are various chemicals in the body, like leucocene is there, various chemicals, which are produced by the body in limited quantity.
And those same chemicals are also the basis of the brain substance. So, therefore, if we base those chemicals through seminal discharge unnecessarily, then the recipe that is available for the brain becomes less. And then that creates an imbalance in the development of the brain.
So, that is why the scriptures tell us that, that is why actually masturbation, what is the surgical point of view, even though the biological point of view is not desired. However, most doctors today have sold out to the popular media. If you look at the medical history, 70 to 80, about 100 years ago, almost every month, they said that wasting the seed of the human being is extremely detrimental for the health.
But Sigmund Freud was a very influential psychoanalyst, but he had his own peculiar ideas. When he was a small child, he had sexual attraction for his mother. And he grew up, and he is a brilliant scientist, brilliant brain in his own way.
So, he extrapolated from his experience and he said, all children, all boys have sexual attraction towards their mothers. And all girls have sexual attraction towards their fathers. But social taboos do not allow us to act on those attractions.
And that is why there is so much when our libido, our desire is suppressed, that creates problems. So, his idea was, let everyone freely enjoy whatever they want. And actually, in subsequent researches, I found that his research, his ideas are very scant scientific basis for the idea of sexuality.
But his research opened the door to disaster. Once unregulated enjoyment seemed to get scientific sanction, then there was no stopping it. And those doctors who would oppose, who would recommend continence, continence means controlling one’s sexuality, they just got sidelined.
If one doctor is telling you have to, do not, do not waste your time. Another doctor says, consider this. Who will people go to? People will go to whoever allows them to enjoy.
Both seem to be doctors. They will actually go there. That is how the media, that is how things became sidelined.
So, you know, sometimes we have to understand that the scientific, Albert Einstein said science is a great thing as long as you do not have to earn a living with it. So, when people have to earn a living, then quite often the truth gets sacrificed at the altar of experience, at the altar of money. That is what has happened.
That is why, so ideally speaking, even scientists should tell us that masturbation is bad, but unfortunately they do not tell us. If Krishna knows our future, that this particular act will harm him in the future, then why Krishna is used to sanction our female? Because that is the way we will learn. Krishna gives us viveka buddhi, the voice of conscience from within.
He tells us, we do not do this. You know, all of us will experience it. If we, first time we do something bad, you know, say a boy has never drunk, first time he does this.
Should I do this? Then you should do this. There is a voice which says, do not do it. But when we neglect that voice, then next time, and we keep neglecting that voice, then eventually that voice becomes silent.
Why? Because we are showing Krishna that I do not want to do this, that I do not want to hear you. So, Krishna says, if this is what you want to do, I will allow you to do this. So, Krishna reciprocates with our desires.
Krishna gives us the voice of conscience. If we listen to it, then Krishna will not, Krishna will give us more guidance. But if we neglect it, then we will get, we will no longer get that guidance.
So, because we have neglected that voice, so then now we are not getting guidance. When a bachelor’s son first time kills an animal, his hand trembles. Second time, it trembles again.
Tenth time, you know, you are chatting with others, completely intransitive to the pain that is causing others. So, we are running out of time. I will just take two, three, four questions and then stop.
So, we are changing body time to time as our self-rebirth takes place. So, why do not we have memories of our past life? See, there is continuous reincarnation and there is discontinuous reincarnation. Continuous reincarnation means overall the body remains the same and the body starts to keep changing.
Whereas, discontinuous reincarnation means that the body changes suddenly at one particular moment abruptly. So, old, so death and birth are traumatic events and that trauma causes memory loss. And in general, a new birth is an opportunity for us to start, make a fresh start in life.
So, if we had a hangover of all our past memories, then we would not be able to move forward in our life. That is why Krishna does not give us that hangover. Krishna allows us to start off with fresh memories.
It is our tendency to forget anyway. As I said, that one week before what we did, at this particular time, at 63, we were not able to remember. So, it is our tendency to forget and especially when there is trauma, we forget further.
And because Krishna wants to give us a fresh start, so that also contributes to the reason why we do not remember. Biologically, there is a chemical called oxytocin which is secreted during pregnancy and that oxytocin is also associated with memory loss. So, that could also be a factor which contributes to the memory loss from one life to another, the biological one.
So, why does God erase it when we can learn a lot from it? Actually, we should not think that we can learn from past lives. We can learn even from previous lives. And the primary principle of purpose of reincarnation is to give us a opportunity to move forward.
There are people who remember their past lives, but still what do they want to do? Maybe somebody killed them in their past life. They remember that and they want to go and kill that person. What has happened is just the memory of the past life does not change the quality of our lives.
A person does not think that, oh, I was that person, I am this person. That means I am not my body. That thought does not come in the mind.
That person thinks, that person killed me, I want to go and take revenge. So, just the memory of a past life will not change the quality of our lives. It is spiritual knowledge and spiritual purification that will change the quality of our lives.
And that we can have whether we remember our past lives or not. The all conclusion is only bhakti can take us back to Godhead. The question is, how do we get taste in bhakti? By practise.
So, when a person is jaundiced, at that time, the person does not get taste in sugarcane juice. And the person keeps taking sugarcane juice, but if it gets cured, the person starts getting the taste. So, right now, we should practise bhakti at the level of intelligence, understanding that it is a medicine.
Whether I have taste or not, I take it as a medicine. As I keep taking it as medicine, I get cured, then the natural attraction of the soul for Krishna, the innate taste for bhakti that is there in the soul, that will get awakened. So, we need to practise at our stage with intelligence and patience.
What is the difference between Goloka Vrindavan, Vaikuntha, Kailash, all this universe and where these are all situated? So, this particular universe is like a 14-story building. So, in this, one of the upper lokas is the Loka of Kailash. This is the Kailash of the Shiva, who is in the material world.
He is not eternal, that is Rudra. And like that, there are many universes. The totality of all these universes is the material world.
Beyond that is the abode of Shiva. And further beyond that is the spiritual world, where there are multiple planets. There are Vaikuntha is there.
Many, many Vaikuntha planets are there. And the topmost among the Vaikuntha planets is Krishna Loka. In Krishna Loka, there is Dwaraka and there is Goloka Vrindavan.
So, Goloka Vrindavan is the highest manifestation because there Krishna manifests in his greatest, in his most intimate form. If a person does anything wrong, then he gets an animal body and suffers. But in an animal body, how can he know why he is suffering? See, we do not have to know why we are suffering to exhaust the karmic reactions.
The karmic reactions act at a subconscious level also. Just like, now when I am speaking, do I need to remember when I learn to speak to be able to speak? I do not. When we are learning, there is much learning that happens at a subconscious level also.
So, like that, when the suffering comes, there is learning that happens at the subconscious level also. The system of nature that actions lead to reactions. How the reactions lead to learning, that will vary according to time and place circumstances.
What do we mean by Brahma Jyoti? Just like Surya Jyoti is there, the effulgence that comes from the sun. Like that Brahma Jyoti is the Jyoti that comes from the Parabrahma, from the Supreme Lord, Bhagwan. So, this is the Prabha Jyoti that comes from him.
If we do anything wrong, then our family also suffers. Is this because any karmic reaction or spontaneous? It is complex. See, anybody who suffers in any way, that suffering is because of that person’s own bad karma.
So, if say A kills B, B’s dying is because of B, B has himself done some bad karma because of which B dies. But A is responsible for having done the bad karma, because A had no intention to be an instrument of the agent of justice, instrument of justice. B did some bad karma, I want to do the reaction.
A simply had his own anger, his own selfishness and that is why he did that. So, now if our family members suffer, is that suffering is a part of their own karmic reactions. But what we should think is that I want to do good, I don’t want to cause them something, therefore let me not do any bad.
So, in general, the whole theory of principle of karma is duty-centred, not destiny-centred. That means we should not think what is whose destiny or we should think of is what is whose duty. Like I wrote an article about the horrific gang rape that had happened.
So, after that someone asked me the question, what was the karma of that woman who got raped? So, I said that is not the question you should ask. Whatever happens to a person that is because of the karma, let’s say when Draupadi was dishonoured, when Sita was abducted, we don’t see anybody asking what was your karma because of which this happened. See, the principle of karma should never be the reason for people to get arrested.
When something has, something wrong has happened to somebody, we should not think what is their destiny because of which that happened. We should think what is my duty, what can I do to help. So, there is a lapse in the police protection, there is the aggravation of the sexual stimulation society that is causing the problem.
So, Durjana, when he tried to dishonour Draupadi, he was punished. It was not Draupadi’s karma that is focused on, it is not Draupadi’s destiny that is focused on, it is Durjana’s misdeed that is focused on. So, in our life, we should not judge people based on their past bad.
If something bad happens to them, we should say what is my duty, how can I help? Otherwise, we will have no human relationship left only. You know, small baby is crying, the mother will think it is his karma that he is crying. Where will love be left? Isn’t it? So, we should, when others are having problems, we should not think that it is their karma only.
We should think what is my duty and based on that, thank you very much for your very intelligent questions. If you have any further questions, I answer questions on my website regularly. Website is www.durspiritualscientist.com. In fact, most of these questions I have already answered on the website.
So, you are welcome to ask questions on the website, I will answer you there also. Thank you very much.