Radhashtami 2018

“To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Radharani, and devotees in Vrindavana put themselves under the care of Radharani in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Radharani. In Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that the mahatmas, or great souls, are under the protection of daivi prakriti, the internal energy - Radharani. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Krishna, devotional service attracts even Krishna Himself.” (The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 1)

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Friend1: I’ve noticed that a lot of people in the Vedic tradition don’t observe the occasion of Radhashtami.

Friend2: Give a brief overview of what that is.

Friend1: Take it from the name. The ashtami, or eighth day of the moon cycle, in relation to Radha, who is Shrimati Radharani.

Friend2: And why is a particular day in the annual calendar associated with her? What is the significance?

Friend1: The eternal consort of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The internal energy. The pleasure potency. Essentially the female side of the Divine.

Friend2: Who is the male?

Friend1: Shri Krishna. The all-attractive one. Also known as Vishnu and His other avataras like Rama, Narasimha and Matsya.

Friend2: What is the purpose of Radhashtami?

Friend1: I don’t know about a purpose, exactly, but it is a birthday. It marks the appearance of Radharani in this world. She is the queen of Gokula, appearing as the daughter of Vrishabhanu.

Friend2: What were the circumstances of her birth?

Friend1: I think it was similar to how King Janaka found Sita Devi. Radharani came to the family in an unusual way, with the father finding her. It wasn’t your typical cycle involving a pregnancy.

Friend2: Why is the occasion celebrated?

Friend1: Because she is the topmost devotee of the Supreme Lord.

Friend2: Can there be different grades? I thought God would have to love everyone equally.

Friend1: He does. Proof is there in the presence of the Supersoul. This is the expansion of the Divine, considered unseen or unmanifest, residing within the heart next to the individual soul, jivatma.

Friend2: How can you say someone is the topmost devotee, then?

Friend1: God loves everyone equally, but the reciprocation is not the same. In the material world there is forgetfulness caused by maya, which is the illusory energy sent from the Divine.

Friend2: Is devotion to God different?

Friend1: Yes, because it is above maya. It is connecting directly with Krishna, bypassing the material elements altogether. Radharani is the topmost devotee because of the way she lives. Her consciousness is always pure. She is always thinking of the Supreme Lord and how to please Him.

Friend2: What would be a lower-grade devotee?

Friend1: Someone whose desires are mixed. They understand the need to serve, to escape maya, but they fall down every now and then. They may want material prosperity or the elimination of distresses. They may be connected in yoga for a period of time and then accidentally break away.

Friend2: And this never happens with Radharani?

Friend1: Not possible. She is the eternal consort for a reason. Radha-Krishna, two becoming one, or two as one. That is why they are worshiped together.

Friend2: Okay.

Friend1: Back to my original point, why is the celebration not more widespread?

Friend2: In comparison to?

Friend1: Janmashtami. Diwali. Holi. These are celebrated by practically everyone whose spiritual tradition is linked to the Vedas, the ancient scriptural tradition of India.

Friend2: I mean the answer is obvious. With Radharani you only worship for one thing: continued devotion. Her recommendation to Krishna is enough to guarantee success.

Friend1: Okay, but Janmashtami is celebrating Krishna directly.

Friend2: Yes, but people are known to approach God with certain desires. Their motivations may not be pure in the beginning. They know He has the capacity to fulfill the most difficult orders.

“O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.16)

Friend1: Radharani is different?

Friend2: As Lakshmi Devi people approach her for material rewards, but in the original form she is known only for devotion. Not everyone desires that at present, though it is what will benefit them the most. That is why purification, samskaras, training under a spiritual guide, following rules and regulations and the like are necessary.

Friend1: Is there any harm in worshiping her if you still have material desires?

Friend2: The approach is always purifying. She is the internal energy, which the great souls, mahatmas, come under. They receive her shelter and thus get protection from falling back down into the ocean of birth and death. Without her favor success is not possible.

“O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.13)

Friend1: Whereas the default condition is to be under the control of the non-divine prakriti.

Friend2: That is maya. There is no protection; everything can be lost within a second. Maya is the catalyst for change, for maintaining a fearful condition. Bhakti is fearlessness, knowing that Krishna will protect. He does so through the favor of His beloved Radharani, who should be remembered every single day, including on the auspicious occasion of her appearance day.

In Closing:

Her devotion to Lord most endearing,

Path to success for devotees clearing.

Radha like to others not the same,

Not for wisdom or wealth to attain.

For love of Shri Krishna known,

In Vraja pastimes shown.

Same spirit to others can give,

So that in eternal ananda to live.

Five Ideas Where Speculation Is Resolved Through An Authority Figure

“Vishnu impregnated Maya or material nature simply by glancing at her. This is the spiritual method. Materially we are limited to impregnate by only one particular part of our body, but the Supreme Lord, Krishna or Maha-Vishnu, can impregnate any part by any part. Simply by glancing the Lord can conceive countless living entities in the womb of material nature.” (Teachings Of Lord Chaitanya, Introduction)

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One definition for the Absolute Truth is “that which is beyond the understanding of the human being.” It must be acknowledged that understanding is limited, for the very senses are not infinitely capable. I can only see what is in front of me. I can’t hear a sound produced thousands of miles away. I can smell what is in the vicinity, and that’s it.

Surely technology has helped to artificially expand the reach, but still there are limitations. Moreover, the perception is not exact. That is to say what I see on television must be accepted with a certain amount of faith. The senses can also fool me. I walk into a room where the television is on. Two well-known tennis players are on a famous court, battling it out. I wonder whether the annual tournament has begun and that these two players are already in a match.

The truth is the match is from seven years prior. The players don’t look all that different from today. The visuals could easily pass for something from the present time period. In this regard the senses are not perfect. There must be an authority figure present to explain the circumstances. Even then there is some trust extended.

The same applies for understanding the Absolute Truth. To use the brain in this area is good, as the human being has enhanced intelligence for a reason. It is not to simply enjoy the senses more, as there is plenty available in other species, without as much effort. Speculation in particular areas is good for pondering, but the issues remain unresolved until an authority figure is consulted.

1. What existed in the beginning

Was it a big chunk? Were there the primitive-type men depicted in museum exhibits? Was there nothing at all, like an empty space?

Authority figures say it was a single person. Everything we know to exist, i.e. what constitutes the manifest world, was in an unmanifest state, known as pradhana in Sanskrit. This original person simply glanced over the matter and that led to the cycle of creation, maintenance and destruction.

2. The infinite nature of time, in both directions

I ask what was there at the beginning, but how do we pinpoint the exact place in time? Meaning, how do we know that something didn’t exist before the beginning? The same applies for the end.

Authority figures reveal that time is infinite in both directions. They acknowledge a beginning for our understanding, related to this specific cycle of creation. Since time does not stop going either in reverse or forward, there was something before the beginning. There will be something after the end.

3. The essence of identity

The original person was there before anything or anyone else was visible, but prior to that there was a different creation. The infinite nature of time also applies to my existence. I will be somewhere in the future. Death is not the end, as it is merely a demarcation of time. The essence of identity is the spirit soul, who is travelling through various bodies in this lifetime and beyond.

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

4. The purpose of the body provided by nature

Nature provides those changing bodies. Five material and three subtle elements constitute those various forms, known as species. There must be a purpose to it all. Why the constant change? Why the association in the first place? Why do I have hands and legs? What is the best use of the brain?

Authority figures reveal that the human birth is auspicious because progress can be made in this area. The animals cannot question the meaning of life. They don’t know about their own species, let alone the spirit soul inside.

The purpose is to escape the cycle of birth and death permanently. Never associate with matter again. Gain release through purification of the consciousness, which carries from one life to another, like the air with aromas.

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.8)

5. What kind of work matches the identity’s qualities

Spirit is the true identity, and so how should spirit behave? What is spiritual life, as opposed to material life?

Authority says that there is a corresponding engagement, which is as permanent as the spirit soul itself. This is described through the term sanatana-dharma, which at the root level means the eternal way of living matching the defining characteristic of the individual.

Dharma for the soul is service, and sanatana-dharma is service to the origin. That origin is a person just like the many souls in material bodies, except He is superior. Service to Him is the constitutional engagement in any stage of life, in any point in the infinite timeline, in any stage of development of the material world. The present is most auspicious because of the brainpower in the individual, who has the ability to reason, to think for themselves, to bring doubts to the table, and to receive valuable instruction from the legitimate representative of the original person.

In Closing:

Human with enhanced brain blessed,

So now higher concepts to address.

But with speculation to stall,

Until proper authority to call.

Like Vishnu over pradhana to glance,

And after death a renewed chance.

Spirit soul true identity of mine,

In bhakti proper engagement to find.

Saving Your Work

“The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.41)

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It’s your first day at the new job, one that took a while to land. In truth, it was through someone you knew. Graduating college isn’t a guarantee for employment. It was a struggle to find something, but the wait was worth it. It looks like you will enjoy working here.

They give you something complex to work on. No problem. The day should be occupied in a meaningful way. Challenge the brain. Exercise the muscle that wasn’t utilized much in the past year. Video games and television show marathons don’t really count. This is the time to show your stuff, to prove that the company didn’t make a mistake in hiring you.

The task is complex, but you are making progress. Little by little you are getting closer to a solution. Then tragedy strikes. A few minutes before the day is over, after everyone else has left, your computer suddenly crashes. Nothing you could do; a total freeze. Perhaps since you’re the new guy they gave you a hand-me-down, a machine that was on its last legs.

The issue here is that you didn’t save your work. Everything was done in a specific window of a program. Since the whole computer had to be rebooted, you lost everything. There was no auto-save feature. What are you going to tell the bosses the next day? This is something like the “Dog ate my homework” excuse used by students in school. Lack of diligence is unacceptable in the real world.

There may be the fear of something similar occurring in spiritual life. As the origin of all religions and traditions, the Vedas reveal the most about the individual, who is spirit soul, separate and apart from the body, which is temporary. Matter is not attached to us, though we think otherwise. We can survive in a different body type. Proof is in the fact that the body is constantly changing. We are no longer living in the mother’s womb. We are no longer small enough to require a special seat placed in the car.

An adult today, our identity has not changed. We are the same spirit soul, but living in a different kind of body. This principle is not difficult to understand. Now extend the same idea to death. The soul moves on to another body. A person who is dhira, self-realized or sober, is not bewildered upon learning this.

The Bhagavad-gita summarizes Vedic philosophy, and a key teaching comes across with respect to reincarnation. Specifically, there is a way to stop it. The basis is consciousness. Be conscious of a specific person, not just a concept, and the travel after quitting the body will be to a place where birth and death do not take place.

This achievement goes by different names. Moksha. Mukti. Some call it nirvana, but it’s not really the end. Rather, liberated life begins. This exit from the cycle of birth and death can be translated as liberation or the liberated state. There is union of two souls, the individual and the Supreme. It is a connection, known as yoga.

Yoga can take place prior to death, but then it can break again. That is to say a person can be connected in consciousness to the Almighty but then fall back into illusion, also known as maya. The worry is that I will practice spiritual life to the point of detaching from the body, liberated while living in it, but then revert back to the ways of ignorance so that the pure consciousness is not there while quitting the body.

What happens, then? Is it like the office example where all of my work is lost, for good? Will I have to start over from the beginning? The same risks. The same struggle. The same attention to rules and regulations, to reach a destination that I might not be strong enough to maintain. Perhaps this path of yoga is not worth it.

Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, addresses the concerns. He says that there is no loss in the effort of real yoga. Whatever progress is made gets maintained. If the consciousness is not made pure in one lifetime, in the subsequent birth the circumstances are favorable for continuing. A household blessed by Shri, the goddess of fortune, helps. Or perhaps you learn about yoga right from the beginning, appearing in a family of clean and pure people, shuchi.

The idea is that only in bhakti-yoga, devotional service, is there insurance from total loss. No other paths offer this guarantee, since everything promised is materially tainted in some way. As connection with God is the original and constitutional position, any effort made towards returning to it is backed and supported by the unflinching arm of the Supreme Lord, who once held the massive Govardhana Hill for seven straight days on the pinky finger on His left hand, while in the visual manifestation of a boy.

In Closing:

After opportunities few,

At job now starting new.

At seat with computer aligned,

To work on tasks assigned.

Failure at crashing machine when,

Not saved so progress lost then.

That possible in spiritual life the fear,

But maintained progress, at same spot to appear.

Three Kinds Of Payback Ravana Received From Hanuman

“My dear lady, on the journey leaving from this place, none of the residents from Lanka have the power to be able to follow me.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 37.26)

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As Shri Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita, there are some people who think that this world came together randomly. Not much intelligence behind the amazing nature, with intrinsic properties so exact that they can be studied and relied upon. Rather, the mental speculation is that sex desire, kama, was the lone cause.

“They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and that there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire, and has no cause other than lust.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 16.8)

The body is a bag of chemicals; there is no difference between a living one and a dead one, except in the area of ability. Since the belief is that no one was guiding the creation, then certainly no one is watching what goes on subsequent to that time period.

A person who subscribed to this philosophy found out that reactions to actions surely do arrive. Someone is taking note of the sinful deeds of man, and the higher the severity of the violation, the more unwelcome the consequences in the aftermath. Ravana, the king of Lanka, had the good fortune of seeing some of this payback firsthand in the form of a Divinely inspired and empowered monkey named Hanuman.

1. A flight over an ocean

Take an inanimate object like a knife. No judgment on it initially. There is a wide range of usage. If the knife is utilized for cutting vegetables to be cooked in a soup to be fed to the hungry, then it has tremendous value. In smaller portions the vegetables are easier to consume and subsequently digest than if they were offered in the whole form.

The same knife can be used to attack an innocent person. It turns into a lethal weapon. The sinful are aided in their ways by the object, which is not to blame in the crime.

Ravana’s flight over the ocean to reach the forest of Lanka was not sinful by itself. A person is allowed to travel. That is how to go from one destination to another. The papa here was in the intent. The flight was to steal another man’s wife. The plan ended up working.

Hanuman returned the favor by crossing the ocean himself. He was on a mission to find the missing wife. She was named Sita and her husband was Rama, the prince of Ayodhya. The notable difference here was that Hanuman didn’t require the Pushpaka that Ravana used. There was no aerial car to help. A leap off a mountaintop sufficed.

2. A clandestine mission

After arriving in Dandaka, Ravana masked his shape. His true rupa was a Rakshasa. This is like a man-eating ogre, generally drawn to sinful behavior. Ravana was special in that he had ten heads and twenty arms. A long story, but know that such things are certainly possible, as the body is simply a combination of material elements, which can be combined in different proportions.

The payback for Ravana was a secret mission from Hanuman. The devoted servant of Rama successfully crossed the ocean and reached Lanka. He had to then make sure no one detected him. He shrunk his size to that of a cat. Ravana had changed his shape to look like an innocent saintly man, parivrajaka. This way he wouldn’t be immediately threatening to Sita Devi when visiting her hermitage. Hanuman similarly was not discovered by anyone while searching through Lanka and its many palaces.

3. An attack on his home

Ravana’s plan was to attack. He used violence to drag the princess of Videha away. He was too afraid to encounter Rama one-on-one, as a chivalrous ruler should. Ravana had his advisor Maricha create a diversion, thereby leaving Sita by herself. This was an attack on Rama’s home.

The Supreme Lord’s servant returned the favor by attacking Lanka. This was indirectly caused by Ravana, in more ways than one. The initial spark was the sinful deed itself and the secondary cause the setting of Hanuman’s tail on fire. The son of the wind quickly escaped from the ropes around him and instead of putting out the fire on his tail, he used the situation to his advantage. He went around Lanka and set fire to this place and that. This was the ominous sign that Ravana was too blinded by lust to detect. Full destruction was on the horizon, soon to arrive from the arrows of Rama.

Karma is real. Action and reaction, applying to the future development of the body. There is always a future since that is the nature of time. Change is the constant for the material, and lack of change for the spiritual. The spirit soul is unaffected by the travels through different bodies, marked by various stages of life and also repeat birth and death. Those who are devoted to Rama in the manner of Hanuman escape that cycle. Karma no longer applies to them, as God gives His personal protection.

In Closing:

Karma something real,

Which king of Lanka to feel.

Just as sinful deeds done,

Similar payback to come.

Like Hanuman crossing ocean over,

And in Lanka a clandestine rover.

As Ravana on Rama’s home had attacked,

Vanara now with fiery tail backed.

Brushing Off Insults

“Hearing those wonderful words from the best of monkeys, Maithili’s every limb was thrilled with joy. She then spoke to Hanuman as follows: O Hanuman, how can you desire to carry me such a great distance? Verily I think this is due to your apishness, O chief of the monkeys.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 37.28-29)

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maithilī tu hari śreṣṭhāt śrutvā vacanam adbhutam |
harṣa vismita sarva angī hanūmantam atha abravīt ||

hanūman dūram adhvanam katham mām voḍhum icchasi |
tat eva khalu te manye kapitvam hari yūthapa ||

Risk your life. Take a dangerous journey. There is no precedent. There is no guidebook to consult. The library didn’t have, “How To Jump Across Oceans For Dummies,” in stock. Indeed, no one else in a group full of capable and brave soldiers as part of a Vanara army could even give the idea a thought.

Hanuman wasn’t ready to, either. He was just as upset as the rest of them, who had travelled so far in search of Shri Rama’s missing wife, Sita Devi, only to meet the obstacle of the material element of water, in abundance. They didn’t have a boat, and neither did they want to wait so long to travel by such means.

After being reminded by Jambavan of the amazing powers gifted from childhood, Hanuman expanded his form and jumped from a mountaintop. Like a yogi temporarily liberated from their material body, the devoted servant of the Supreme Lord took the aerial route. This was not to show off. This was not to chase after an out of body experience. Indeed, devotees of the Lord would rather spend time with Him than enjoy any of the perfections arriving from mysticism.

“Whether it be residence on top of a palace, traveling on airplanes, or flying through the sky (via yogic powers), in all circumstances the shade of the husband’s feet is by far superior.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 27.9)

Hanuman was devoted to Rama. A devotion spontaneous and without cause. That is to say there was nothing in it for the chief minister to the monkey-king Sugriva. Hanuman had pure devotion. It would stand to reason that after meeting God you would want to stay with Him. Better to bask in His aura, to be guaranteed of His protection from close by, than to travel to foreign territories where people would kill you if they recognized you.

Hanuman is such a selfless person that he does whatever is asked of him. He did not stay in one place and meditate on the lotus feet of the prince of Ayodhya. He did not sit in a secluded area and chant the holy names. There would be time for that later. The moment called for action, namely proceeding in a dangerous mission.

Hanuman succeeded. There was difficulty, for sure. There were moments of self-doubt. There was a brief contemplation on the option of ending life, rather than returning a disappointment. He persevered and the reward was meeting Rama’s wife, who was in great distress.

Hanuman felt so much pain seeing her condition that he proposed taking her back with him. This was an on-the-spot decision, not carefully thought out. Nevertheless, the sentiment was well-placed. It is something like a parent seeing the suffering of their child and taking any and all risks, even at great financial loss, to reduce that pain even a slight amount.

From the above referenced verses from the Ramayana, we see Sita’s initial reaction. She was thrilled in every limb. There was harsha, or great happiness. Hanuman’s words did not offend her, and yet her reply was offensive to him. She essentially said that his idea was not very intelligent. It must have been because he was a monkey that he could even consider it.

This was the thanks Hanuman received? No appreciation? No praise for doing things no human being could do, let alone a monkey? Hanuman did not take offense. The wife of Rama still addressed Hanuman as the chief of monkeys. This means that she knew he was something extraordinary.

Reciprocation might not always be immediate in bhakti-yoga. Pure devotion sometimes requires withstanding obstacles, impediments, barriers, and even personal insults. As events would unfold, the world would witness the great love and appreciation that both Sita and Rama feel towards Hanuman, who is the eternal guardian of their kingdom, ready to offer his recommendation for any person willing to serve in the same spirit.

In Closing:

Dangerous ocean elements braving,

All for wife of Shri Rama saving.

Then foreign city of Lanka through,

Small form after previously grew.

Now from her suffering to see,

Rescue now, “Return with me.”

Personal insult immediate thanks getting,

Table only for appreciation setting.

Isn’t It Cultish to Eat Only Krishna Prasadam

“The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.13)

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Friend1: Okay, I don’t want to argue vegetarianism necessarily.

Friend2: What does that mean? You’ve decided to try eating meat?

Friend1: No, but I understand that bhakti-yoga has much more to it. People who are devotees of Krishna would never claim that they are part of this “ism” or that.

Friend2: You mean that they are more than vegetarians?

Friend1: Yes, not to mention the inherent bias found in that term.

Friend2: Vegetarian?

Friend1: Yeah. Think about it. If you live in a place where people protect cows and don’t kill animals, eating only grains, fruit and milk, how is that weird? In that area someone who does kill innocent animals for food would be considered the oddball. They would be assigned some term to identify how they are different.

Friend2: Right. Carnivore or meat-eater. Something like that.

Friend1: I don’t accept the premise to begin with, that someone has to defend their choice to practice general nonviolence.

Friend2: One counterargument they throw at you is that vegetables have life too. Think of how many vegetables are killed to satisfy the vegetarians.

Friend1: That is a good one. For starters, it shows some intelligence, as the person notices the presence of life outside of the human and animals species. Secondly, if killing a vegetable were the same as killing a cow or a dog, then why not kill your children? Eat them for food. It’s all the same, right?

Friend2: There is no refutation. One that I like to use is the idea of showing children a video of where their food comes from. On one side you have images of a farm and maybe machinery to gather the harvest. On the other…well, you can’t really show that to children.

Friend1: Nope. Not unless you want to scar them. Piggybacking off your idea, tell people to try living next to where their food comes from. Live adjacent to a farm for one week, next to a slaughterhouse for another. Then tell me that they are both the same.

Friend2: I like that. So many diseases around the slaughterhouse, but not so much the farm.

Friend1: I know that Krishna devotees say that they are vegetarian because Krishna is. That is to say they only eat what Krishna will accept, and in the Bhagavad-gita the list is rather clear.

Friend2: Yes. The idea is that you eat karma-free. Offer first to Him and then take the remnants, known as prasadam. Not too different from saying grace before a meal, but the food choice is selective instead of indiscriminate.

Friend1: Here’s the thing. Can’t someone argue that you are following in faith, that you are practicing as a cult?

Friend2: What do you mean?

Friend1: There is no science to it. It is a restrictive diet based on faith alone. No rhyme or reason.

Friend2: Well, do you think that other diets are not based on faith? Who is to say that you are supposed to eat cow flesh? They can do all the studies they want, but it just takes one person to invalidate the findings. You meet people who have smoked cigarettes their entire life and are perfectly healthy. You have people who eat carrots every day and still get diseases. This means that there is blind faith in following any diet.

Friend1: Well, what about the person who doesn’t restrict at all?

Friend2: That is faith in the senses. Do whatever the tongue and the stomach want. By the way, that is a recipe for disaster. The human life is especially meant for tapasya. This is austerity and penance, voluntarily imposed. There is some pain in the beginning to achieve a higher reward later on. Eating without discrimination is for the animal species. Human life is for a higher taste.

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

Bhakti-yoga, surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, brings that taste, both literally and figuratively.

In Closing:

Prasadam practice of bhakti one,

Vegetarian, but regulations some.

Following blindly in faith confided,

Since no other reason provided?

Faith in other paths already found,

Though claimed in scientific ground.

Krishna’s ways for finding taste higher,

Bliss of devotion not experienced prior.

Four Things Krishna Knows About Those Opposed To Him

“They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and that there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire, and has no cause other than lust.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 16.8)

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You join your friend for a meal. It is a pleasant day outside, so you decide to do al fresco. Sit outside. Enjoy the weather. Take shade from an umbrella and leisurely go about consuming your meal, drinks and all.

To enhance the mood, you decide to engage in conversation. Present a particular point of view or philosophy and see what your friend has to say. Today doesn’t go so well, however. The friend is not interested in hearing your viewpoints. In fact, they have no idea what you think. They have formed their own beliefs. Their mind is made up. Nothing can change the fact.

You are a little perplexed. At least in a formal debate both sides get to state their opinion. Everything is laid on the table. The participants report and the audience decides. How is a person going to acquire real intelligence if they refuse to listen to opposing view points?

In the Bhagavad-gita we see that the speaker amazingly knows the mentality of the opponents very well. That is to say He knows the arguments against religion, spiritual life, God-worship, or whatever the preferred term. Interestingly, the opposition knows little to nothing about Him. They say that Krishna is a myth, an imaginary friend that science and technology have long since proven to be false.

1. They think that the world is unreal

Not in truth. Like a dream. Sometimes people dressed in spiritual attire push forward this opinion, also. Everything is maya, which is illusion. Just like we wouldn’t be excited from winning a million dollars in a dream, no need to get too up or down about events in this lifetime. As everything will be finished eventually, what reality is there?

2. They think there is no foundation

This refers to the origin. The spiritually aware person understands that there is a beginning to everything. The smartphone didn’t come about on its own. Intelligent designers conceived the idea and then engineers went to work. Even after that there were constant revisions, fixing errors and making improvements.

How, then, could this amazing nature we see around us come about from randomness? Yet this is the mentality of the staunch atheist. In truth, they are paying homage to nature, which they consider to be impersonal. The opinion is that the origin of everything is matter, and since matter is dull and lifeless, i.e. lacking intelligence, there is essentially no foundation.

3. They think there is no God in control

The Sanskrit word is Ishvara. As there is no foundation, or origin, afterwards there is no controlling authority. Never mind that everyone succumbs to death eventually, which sadly is the only face of the Divine the atheists notice, for which they are impelled to view. Never mind that the same actions don’t produce the same results in every single person. Never mind that not everyone looks exactly the same, despite the same union of a man and woman causing the birth in the first place.

The speculation is that there is no one controlling. This leaves the post of Ishvara vacant. Up for grabs, anyone can chase after it. Enough money, power, and fame and the world will be under your control. This was the mentality of both Hiranyakashipu and Ravana, two infamous atheists described in Vedic literature.

4. This world is produced of sex desire only

Lust is the cause. Nothing else. Sex is everything. The body is a bag of chemicals. There is no soul. Nothing really matters. Do whatever you want, since everyone is going to die eventually.

This is a philosophy, based on various sentiments. Atheism can be presented in the arena of ideas, to be judged by others. But see how Krishna knows all sides so well. His philosophy is not based on sentiment. It is not based on mental speculation. He is the original guru, and so His word is the ultimate authority. He could simply say that He is Supreme and be done with it. No need to explain further.

Knowing the enhanced intelligence of the human being, and the curiosity to understand the complex world in which they live, the Supreme Personality of Godhead presents the highest philosophy. He explains the origin of the universe, the position of the individual living entity, the controlling force known as karma, the different kinds of material elements [subtle and gross], and the meaning of life.

Let everyone know every supporting and opposing viewpoint. Then allow a sober decision to be made, considering the facts. This was the manner in which the Bhagavad-gita was presented to the disciple Arjuna, and his subsequent choice to follow Krishna was a wise and logically sound one.

In Closing:

This world of controller bereft,

Changing nature to attest.

Atheists this and that to believe,

But never opposing side to receive.

Whereas Krishna knowing already,

Both pious and in sinful ways steady.

From choice with intelligence more,

In bhakti confident and sure.