A Family Affair

“The tongue and its taste are the husband and wife, the teeth are the relatives, and the mouth is the beautiful home. Lord Shiva’s cherished syllables [Ra + ma] are the children, and natural love for them is the wealth, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 24)

daṃpati rasa rasana parijana badana sugeha |
tulasī hara hita barana sisu saṃpati sahaja saneha ||

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Families can drive us crazy, no? Since they know us so well, they don’t keep too much respect for us. While to the outside world we may be considered good, well-behaved, quiet and reliable, to our family we are never good enough. “Why didn’t you do this for me? Why did you forget that? Why are you spending so much time there?” Yet the support of the family is like no other, and so the comfort we feel in their company cannot be matched. Though it may seem otherwise at the outset, in spiritual life you have the support of family as well. You’re never forced to go it alone, for even if the whole world turns against you at least you have the holy name to hold on to for support.

The love of a close family member doesn’t have to be questioned. Even if you don’t speak to such a person every single day, even if they don’t know everything about what’s going on in your life, they are there for the important moments. If you are in trouble, they will arrive on the scene quickly. You don’t have to wonder what they are thinking. You know that they love you and that you love them. In this way the relationship is unique; no other can compare.

One of the best homes for the spiritually conscious mind is the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit text that is mistaken for an epic story by the less intelligent. To be conscious of spiritual life means to take an interest in the beyond, what comes after the present life. Spirit transcends everything that we see right now. Prior to our birth life existed on earth. We know this because we see people being born all the time. We know that things happened before they emerged from the womb. And the funeral experience tells us that life continues after someone dies. Everyone moves on, including the individual who has departed.

Where they go, why the leave, and the circumstances of their next life form the subject matter of spirituality. A more scientific term to describe this study is “self-realization.” Who am I? Why am I here? Why am I suffering all the time? Why am I so afraid of death? Why do I have to die? What am I supposed to do with my life? More than just a blind faith reserved for those who don’t know any better, spiritual life is meant to lead to a firm realization, something that you believe in as much as the law of gravity.

There are different ways to get this realization. You can study the difference between matter and spirit, prakriti and purusha. You can look for Brahman, the unqualified spirit that is distinct from the changing material energy. You can read books on Vedanta and try to remain consciously aware of the distinction. Another way to get this realization is to meditate. Find an isolated area, sit in a specific posture, breathe in a certain way, and simply block out the effects of the senses. Another way is to work with detachment. Do your work as you normally would, but sacrifice the results of that work. Instead of buying the latest Mercedes-Benz model, donate your hard-earned money towards a society that promulgates self-realization to those who are interested.

The simplest method for self-realization is hearing. Sacrifice time for hearing about the difference between matter and spirit. As that isn’t so interesting a topic, lend your ears to narration of the glories and activities of the Supreme Lord, the qualified spiritual energy. He is the source of the unqualified, and to Him there are no distinctions. He appears in a visible form from time to time and the wise poets record His activities in a way that so many others may benefit.

The Ramayana is one such work of documentation. Composed by the poet Valmiki, it tells of the life of Shri Ramachandra, the Supreme Lord in a special incarnation form. Just from hearing the Ramayana in the right mood, you become aware of your spiritual nature, your true identity. In the Ramayana you find tremendous family support. Sure, there is infighting as well. Momentarily falling prey to jealousy, a wife bans her husband’s favorite son from the kingdom for fourteen years. Rama doesn’t deserve this, but He accepts the punishment regardless.

Rama’s wife Sita refuses to allow Him to leave and wander alone. The same goes for Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana. Thus we see that God is always supported. There is the goddess of fortune and the servitor-god, who is the first expansion from the original Supreme Lord. Then Rama gets so much support while living in the wilderness. The sages happily accept His visits to their homes. Their life of asceticism bears fruit when they get the blessing of Rama’s association. Thus even though they lived alone, they never were. They always had God with them, who then manifest before them in one of His most beautiful forms.

When Rama needs help later on, He gets it from forest-dwelling monkeys. There are thousands of them, and they are led by the king Sugriva. Sugriva’s chief minister is Hanuman, who is today famous for his devotion. Hanuman is part of Rama’s family, even though appearing in a different race of creatures. There is infighting in the kingdom of Lanka, where the younger brother Vibhishana disagrees with the sinful ways of his elder brother Ravana. Sugriva has a mortal feud with his brother Vali. Both Sugriva and Vibhishana take Rama to be their primary family member, and so they are never alone despite being ostracized from their respective communities.

And so one who adopts spiritual life in earnest is never alone. They have Rama for support, along with His large family. The entire family of the seeker of self-realization can accept the same shelter. The same support that existed previously can be used for helping the seeker advance in consciousness. The family can help to maintain the devotional culture, whose backbone is the chanting of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In the case that the family is not supportive, know that Rama’s name alone suffices for support. As Goswami Tulsidas so nicely states in his Dohavali, the mouth can be considered the home, the tongue and the taste the parents, and the two syllables in Rama’s name the children. This lovely home is protected for lifetime after lifetime by a very large extended family, with Sita and Rama at the head.

In Closing:

If by devotional path inspired,

To go it alone not required.

 

To seeker same family can support,

Helping in transcendental home transport.

 

Even without outside help any,

Know that spiritual family members many.

 

The mouth make your cherished home,

And Rama’s name like children your own.

My Big Payday

“Chanting Shri Rama’s holy name with love, faith and according to regulative principles will be beneficial for you from beginning to end, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 23)

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There are two sides to the religiosity fence. On one side you have those who think the whole concept of a God and a religion necessary for worshiping Him is bogus.

“You’re just playing ‘make believe.’ I gave that up when I was in elementary school. I’m into reality. I’m into believing in things which can be proven empirically, i.e. those things which I can see. Sure, I can’t see the fragrance of a flower or the taste of my favorite pizza pie, but with God I insist on seeing, nothing else. As I know there is no God, I’m going to enjoy right now. Why deprive myself? I don’t think that suffering is virtuous. I think it’s stupid to go through life that way.”

Then on the other side you get the strict observers of religious principles. They think only of the afterlife. Never mind how things are going right now; they’ve heard that life in heaven is longer. That longer life is more important to worry over.

“I want to go to heaven. Why would I want to be condemned to hell after this life is over? Therefore I don’t mind following austerities. I don’t mind suffering a little bit right now. The payoff is worth the effort. I’m not going to go against God’s will. I’m not going to be a flagrant sinner.”

The two apparently contradictory goals go by the names svartha and paramartha in Sanskrit. In Hindi, Goswami Tulsidas refers to them as svaratha and paramaratha. One is self-interest, or the interests that pertain to the presently manifest world. The world in this regard doesn’t have to refer to the globe as a whole. If I live in a prison cell, that tiny space is my world. If I am a world traveler, then the airplane, the taxi, and the hotel are my world. Svartha is meeting satisfaction while one is still in their present world.

Paramartha is the interest served at the next destination. And there will be one, for sure. The soul is eternal. It actually travels to different places right now. We can think of our childhood as our past life. We can think of old age as our future. Paramartha is the interest for the next body, when this covering is renounced entirely.

Though the parties don’t know it, the interest is actually identical on both sides of the fence. Both are seeking enjoyment in a temporary place; just one wants it now and another later. The soul is not satisfied in either case. There is the hope for the larger fortune, one that is seldom to arrive. The person after worldly interest hopes for the big payday through playing the lottery, investing in stocks, or running a business. Drowning in material life, no amount of money is satisfactory. The person seeking interests in the afterlife never finds any happiness presently. They are always suffering, as they hold on to the hope of the big payday of reaching heaven.

“Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune, that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Benjamin Franklin, a famous American philosopher and inventor from the colonial period, was known for making little improvements that would provide some conveniences to every day life. This actually falls into the category of svartha, but the philosophy behind it speaks to the glories of bhakti-yoga. The philosophy is that happiness comes from little advantages rather than the hope for a big fortune, which seldom arrives. In bhakti-yoga, devotional service, the happiness is there from beginning to end.

This is true only of bhakti because no other discipline seeks to find happiness for the soul. At its core the soul is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. It would make sense, then, that the blissful potency would match well with something that is eternal and full of knowledge. Worldly pleasures are not eternal and neither are those in the afterlife. From the Bhagavad-gita we understand that life in heaven is not permanent; one has the chance of falling back down.

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

The soul is happiest when it is serving. This property is the soul’s dharma, or defining characteristic. Service to anyone except God is temporary. More specifically, service to anyone except the Supreme Personality of Godhead is limiting. God can be known in three different ways. One is through the impersonal energy called Brahman. The vague idea of a supreme controller basically speaks to Brahman, though the worshiper may not know the exact definition of Brahman. Then there is Paramatma, which resides within the heart. This is a more personal version of God, who is specific to each individual. Then there is Bhagavan, which is God the person in full. Bhakti-yoga is for connecting with Bhagavan.

And that connection means finding advantages every single day. It means being happy in the morning by rising to chant the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. It means being happy in the afternoon through eating food that is prepared and offered to the deity of Krishna, which is the best name for Bhagavan. It means being satisfied in the nighttime through hearing about Krishna and discussing topics relating to Him with others. It means kicking back and relaxing on the weekend through the continuation of service, which may include travel to places of importance to Krishna. Thus the present life is spent happily and in the next life the same devotion continues, making every moment a huge payoff to work.

In Closing:

One for later another for now,

But happiness throughout how?

 

Felicity from advantages smaller,

Better than waiting for payoff taller.

 

In bhakti to God your devotion send,

Reap rewards from beginning to end.

 

Future bright, happily this life spent,

To wonder then how quickly the time went.

From Snake to Swan

“The tongue is like a snake and the mouth like a snake hole for the person who does not chant the holy names of the Lord. Those who have no love for Shri Rama are understood to be bereft of the creator’s favor, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 40)

rasanā sam̐āpini badana bila je na japahiṃ harināma |
tulasī prema na rāma soṃ tāhi bidhātā bāma ||

A sincere lover will always think of new ways to properly describe their intense and pure emotions to others. It’s not easy to put what you feel into words, especially if you are presenting your thoughts through poems that can also be sung. Because of the constraints accompanying poetry, the writer must use brevity, which Shakespeare referred to as the soul of wit. In this nice verse from the Dohavali, the poet Tulsidas very succinctly and emphatically declares his love for Shri Rama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and at the same time provides valuable insight into the purpose of human life. Our bodies were crafted through nature’s influence, which works under the direction of the creator. Just as a machine is the result of fine craftsmanship on the part of one or more intelligent human beings, the form adopted by the spirit soul is due solely to the work of a higher power, the creator who is in charge of distributing the results of karma, or fruitive work. When a particular individual has no love for the Supreme Lord, who is a loving God through and through, then the creator obviously has not been favorable to them.

In the verse above, Tulsidas first says that anyone who doesn’t chant the names of Hari essentially has a tongue which is like a serpent and a mouth which is like a serpent hole. The comparison is so extreme that it is even a bit humorous, as it conveys the deep love and affection held by the poet not only for the person addressed in harinama-japa, or the silent chanting of a devotional mantra, but also the recitation process itself. The tongue reveals the thoughts of the mind; through our speech our ideas and feelings are communicated to others. When time is spent chanting the Lord’s holy names, such as those found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, the tongue is put to good use.

Hari is another word for God that means “one who removes distresses”. The Supreme Lord’s position is not to facilitate desires for personal sense gratification or advancement in some material endeavor. These aspects of life essentially take care of themselves through the workings of nature, which are managed by elevated living entities that are godly but not equal to the Supreme Lord. The distresses that Hari removes relate to devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. In the absence of God consciousness, the living entity, in any form he accepts, takes part in activities driven only by animal instincts. Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, have sexual relations when you are stimulated, and defend your property from foreign attack. But consciousness is the real gift given to the soul, which is the essence of life. Therefore the true aim in any form of body is to develop this consciousness fully and purify it by connecting it with God.

Yoga is meant only for this purpose. The root meaning of yoga is “plus”, or “addition”. The two operands in the equation are the individual spiritual entity and the fountainhead of all things matter and spirit, God. Since the Supreme Lord is superior, if He sees someone steadily determined in yoga, trying very hard to connect with Him, He removes their fears. In this sense the tongue is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon the living entity. Through the medium of the tongue, one can regularly chant the names of Hari, or harinama, of which there are too many to count. Rama is the favorite name for Tulsidas, as it represents the Supreme Lord’s divine incarnation of Shri Ramachandra who appeared on earth in the guise of a warrior prince many thousands of years ago. Tulsidas dedicated his whole life to chanting the glories of Rama and persuading others to take to pure bhakti, wherein one’s life and soul would be surrendered to the interests of Hari.

Aside from its ability to purify, chanting the names of Hari is a very pleasurable experience, especially for one who is able to steadily develop their God consciousness. In every other endeavor the instigating factor is the desire for happiness or enjoyment. When engagement or dedication in an activity ceases, it is to be understood that the enjoyment has withered away. If we suck the juice out of sugarcane, we really have no use for the plant anymore. Therefore once one activity gets boring, we will jump to another and try to squeeze the sweetness out of it. With bhakti, however, it is seen that the dedication to chanting and devotional service in general only increases with further practice. This property of spiritual science can never be understood by blunt measurements or deductive reasoning. In the spiritual land, one minus one can equal one, as the Supreme Lord is not limited by any rules of a temporary land governed by matter.

Just as Hari knows no exhaustion, defeat, fear or loss, the devotees who regularly chant His names grow increasingly attached to bhakti-yoga and the happiness it brings. One who develops a taste for harinama will naturally compare their new situation to the way they felt before. Since everyone starts off at the same position, as unintelligent human beings needing guidance, even the advanced yogi can remember a time when he wasn’t wholly dedicated to connecting with the divine consciousness. Looking back on his previous life he will think of how uneventful and painful it was. He now loves chanting the names of the Lord so much that he will wonder how any person gifted with a tongue could ever refrain from such an activity.

The tongue is a very powerful instrument, as it can not only bring about a purification in consciousness, it can also lead the conditioned soul astray. When the tongue is used to chant the names of Hari and eat the remnants of foodstuff offered to Him [prasadam], the true benefit of the wonderful tongue included with the human body is realized. In the absence of God consciousness, the tongue talks about all sorts of nonsense, curses others, can’t be controlled in speech, and takes to eating varieties of impure foods. As the aim of human life is to realize God through yoga, any engagement which prohibits this connection can be considered impure and a waste of time. Since eating is a necessity for any life form, it cannot be neglected by the aspiring transcendentalist. Fortunately, every angle is covered by bhakti. For eating, the devotee is advised to eat the remnants of sacrifice, or yajna-shishta. A sacrifice is typically a formal ritual aimed at pleasing the enjoyer of all sacrifice, Yajneshvara, which is another name for Hari.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

In the Bhagavad-gita, the same Hari, in His original form of Lord Krishna, states that if someone offers Him a flower, a fruit, a leaf or some water with love and devotion, He gladly accepts it. This doesn’t apply just to Krishna the original person, but to His deity representation as well. God is Absolute, so the sound vibration of His name and the picture depicting His transcendental features are non-different from Him. When food items are sacrificed in this way, Hari accepts them and then returns the remnants to the person doing the offering. By eating prasadam the tongue gets purified and remains immune to the effects of the material world, which act at every moment to attack the vulnerable senses.

Impure actions by the tongue indicate that the material forces have a strong influence on the individual. When the tongue eats animal flesh, especially that of a cow mercilessly killed in a slaughterhouse, the individual’s lack of God consciousness is revealed. All forms of life are Brahman, or pure spirit. Therefore even the animals are in the same boat as the human beings. They may not have the potential for high intelligence and the ability to fully develop consciousness, but this doesn’t mean that we should unnaturally stop their progression through the various forms of body. A small infant is very unintelligent, as are many innocent human beings, but this doesn’t give us license to kill them. When the tongue engages in unauthorized meat eating, the love for the Supreme Lord that naturally exists within the heart is understood to still be in a dormant state.

When the tongue talks about Hari, His forms, names and activities, the true benefit of speech is achieved. Accompanying japa is kirtana, which means “to glorify”. Kirtana usually takes the form of songs sung that describe the glories of the Supreme Lord. Japa is usually performed quietly and alone, while kirtana typically involves groups of people. The tongue that regularly takes part in these two activities obviously lives in the mouth of a wise person. Such a tongue belongs to the body of an individual who is very fortunate; to whom the creator was favorable.

The opinion that those who don’t chant the names of Hari have tongues like snakes and mouths like serpent holes seems a bit harsh. After all, we may know many people who are kind, pious, sweet and caring but don’t take part in bhakti. Should we consider their tongues to be like snakes? Let’s think of it this way. If we see a student in a classroom who is nice and polite but does not do any of their homework nor pass their exams, will we say that they are a good student? If we work with someone at the office who never tells a lie and never says a mean word but at the same time fails to complete the tasks assigned to them, would we say that they are a valuable asset to the company?

As the aim of human life is to become God conscious, for as long as that mission is not furthered, the body parts granted by the creator are not taken full advantage of. When the tongue doesn’t chant the names of Hari and glorify Him through speech and song, it must glorify and praise other living entities and things. Since these objects are not God, the tongue cannot be said to be properly utilized. A snake is a cold-blooded reptile, and a snake hole is not something we prefer to see, as it probably scares us more than anything. If someone speaks regularly about the glories of material life, which is fueled by illicit sex and unhealthy desires, their influence must be considered poisonous, as it will do nothing to further awareness of life’s real mission. The news media serves as the most notable culprit in this regard. Every day they have another new lead story, which either blasts a person they don’t like or praises someone they view as worthy of adulation and fame at the time. Obviously the attention paid does nothing tangible for anyone, as news from a few days ago is rarely revisited. If you give someone a newspaper that is more than a day old, they will not have any desire to read it. As a newspaper’s worthiness comes from its content, it is to be understood that the stories themselves become worthless after a few days.

While it may be harsh to say that the tongue of the materially conscious individual is like a snake, it should be remembered that the snake in this instance can be turned into a swan very quickly. Those who have made the best use of their tongues through chanting the names of Hari can distribute the nectar of the holy names to others, inducing them to take up their constitutional engagement. The soul is meant to serve in a loving mood, so when there is no information about Hari available, the individual will take to serving its own interests or the desires of other materially conscious individuals. Through distribution of the names of God, which is the primary aim of the bona fide spiritual preachers and the Vaishnava poets, thousands of snakelike entities can turn into wonderful swans that always remain amidst the lotus flowers represented by the sweet, transcendental vibrations that glorify the Supreme Lord.

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.16)

Tulsidas states that the creator has been unfavorable to those who don’t have love for Lord Rama. In the absence of bhakti, how can any situation gained in any form of body be considered favorable? As death takes away all accumulated gains, nothing remains for the conditioned soul at the time of quitting their body other than a return ticket to the same cycle of acceptance and rejection, which repeats perpetually until consciousness is purified. Bhakti’s benefits, on the other hand, are always increasing, as is evidenced by the increase in fervor and attachment that results from continuous practice in devotional efforts. The materially conscious individual was not shown favor by the creator, but the spiritually attached liberated soul has the full blessings of the Supreme Lord, who is the creator of even the creator. These benedictions can be received at any time, even if the creator was not originally favorable to us. God’s mercy is open to everyone, just as the sun’s rays hit every corner of the earth. One who knows how to take advantage of the divine mercy will make the most of their human form of life. Even if the creator grants us birth in an aristocratic family, a home full of spiritually conscious individuals, or the most pleasant circumstances, unless and until we tap into the divine consciousness, we cannot validly claim to have been favored by him. But when pure love for Shri Rama, the same God that everyone naturally believes in, is established, every body part and every condition of life becomes favorable, as they only further increase one’s God consciousness.

In Closing:

Those who attention to chanting Hari’s names do not give,

Their tongue like a snake in its hole of the mouth does live.

Seems like a harsh comparison for poet to make,

But from it great lesson we can take.

Tongue indicates what the mind is thinking of,

Whether it wants material enjoyment or divine love.

Purify eating by using tongue for prasadam tasting,

No more on unclean foods senses indulging.

Purify speech by talking of God, whose glories are broad,

No more wasting time on entities who are flawed.

Those without love for Rama by creator are not favored,

With the pains of material life are they beleaguered.

But within a second the snake can turn into a swan,

By on holy names and form of Rama concentrating on.

This Life and the Next

“Tulsidas says that those who love Shri Rama’s holy name, view Rama as their only abode, and have full trust in Rama’s name find auspiciousness, well-being and fortunes in both this world and the next simply by remembering that name.” (Dohavali, 39)

rāma nāma rati rāma gati rāma nāma bisvāsa |
sumirata subha mangala kusala duhum̐ disi tulasīdāsa ||

This is a simplified, yet perfect presentation of the process for attaining well-being in both this life and the next. The soul does not cease to be at any point in time. Even when the body is slain, the soul remains alive; a fact we are so nicely reminded of by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God delivered on the battlefield of Kurukshetra some five thousand years ago. Here a celebrated poet named Tulsidas is glorifying the holy name of Rama, which represents the same Krishna and is a non-different form of Godhead which is equally as worshipable as the original. The formula given applies specifically to chanting the holy name and the benefits that come from remembrance of that name. As the soul has two destinations that can be chosen, one present and one future, so the benefits derived from bhakti, or devotional service, apply to every circumstance the individual may find.

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

The gist of the recommendation provided here is that one should invest love and faith in the name of Rama, which is the address for the Personality of Godhead that references His incarnation as Lord Ramachandra, the jewel of the Raghu dynasty, a warrior prince who rid the world of one of the most powerful evil forces ever seen. Just as in modern times there are certain men who are the most wanted and whose capture or death brings elation and a sense of comfort to the innocent, during the Treta Yuga there was one particular person who was terrorizing the innocent and simultaneously amassing an awe-inspiring level of power. To do away with this fiend, the Supreme Person Himself, after being petitioned by the saintly class in the heavenly planets, descended to earth in what appeared to be the form of an ordinary human being.

From the behavior of His associates, we can understand that Rama was actually not an ordinary man. One person especially, His wife Sita Devi, exhibited all the qualities of a devotee, or one who follows the prescriptions provided above by Tulsidas. What to speak of following any system, exalted figures like Sita Devi, who is eternally the goddess of fortune and the mother of the creation, set the standard for devotional life, showing others how to remain always in a blissful state of mind through adhering to religious principles. During one moment in Sita’s life, where it appeared that she might be separated from her beloved husband, she gave us a hint into Rama’s nature and the benefits of worshiping Him.

To set the wheels in motion for the demise of Ravana, the world’s most wanted man, Rama needed an excuse to leave His kingdom of Ayodhya and entrap the demon in a situation that would call for his slaying. First, there was Rama’s exile from His kingdom of Ayodhya. Maharaja Dasharatha, the city’s king and Rama’s father, told Rama that He was not going to be the next king as planned and ordered his beloved son to leave the kingdom and not return for fourteen years. These painful requests actually came from the king’s youngest wife, Kaikeyi, who was jealous that her son Bharata was being passed over for the throne. To ensure that there would not be any interference in her son’s newly ordered coronation, Kaikeyi insisted that Rama leave the kingdom and renounce all ties to the royal army for the next fourteen years.

Rama, wanting to protect Sita from the dangers of the forest, insisted that she remain in the kingdom and wait for Him to return. But Sita did not know any other behavior except devotion to her husband. She had pure and ecstatic love, or rati, for Rama. She took complete shelter in Him and His name. She also had full faith in His ability to protect her. She could have kept these three feelings hidden from her husband and the rest of the world as well, but faced with an emergency, she was left with no choice but to fight for her beloved’s association. In her pleas, she revealed just how strong her love for Rama was.

To support her opinion that Rama should take her with Him to the forest, Sita referenced the many rules governing the behavior of wives given in the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India. In short, the Vedic version is that the human form of body is the most auspicious because it provides the best opportunity for becoming purely God conscious by the time death arrives. At the time of death, the state of being of the living entity is measured, and depending on the nature of the consciousness a specific new body type is created. If one thinks of God at the time of death, which is most likely to happen when in a human form, reincarnation ceases and the supreme destination of the spiritual sky is attained.

The wife can play a pivotal role in ensuring that this consciousness is established. Sex life or any strong urge brought on by the senses cannot be regulated in other forms of body. The animal has no idea why it should restrict its sense urges, therefore it does whatever it wants to. The human being has a more developed consciousness, so it can understand that satisfying the senses means taking shelter of material forces. What the mind takes shelter of is what consciousness will revolve around, thereby leading to the next destination. As sex life is so difficult to control, the marriage institution allows for a regulated version of it, with the wife serving as a support system to enable further progress on the march towards spiritual freedom for the husband.

In addition to mentioning the duties of a wife, in her speech Sita referenced the opinions of brahmanas, or priests, about her marriage to Rama. Sita told Rama that His company would be auspicious for her even in the afterlife, for the brahmanas had previously said that the wife religiously wedded to the husband shares in his fate in the afterlife. For this reason she wanted Rama to take her, as He was the only source of her happiness. Remaining in a kingdom without her beloved, her shelter, the person she had full faith in, was akin to becoming poverty stricken. In the end, Rama would be left with no choice but to take her.

Rama’s outward excuse for going after Ravana would come when the demon king would forcibly take Sita back to his island kingdom of Lanka and try to win her over. The opulence of the royal kingdom of Ayodhya couldn’t entice Sita to give up the cherished shelter that is Rama’s company, so obviously Ravana couldn’t either. Though she was in a troublesome situation, Sita continued to meditate on her husband by regularly chanting His name. Despite not having personal contact with her beloved, Sita maintained a steady link in consciousness, thereby practicing perfect yoga. Eventually she would be rescued and reunited with Rama, and the two are forever in each other’s company in the spiritual sky.

If we have deep love and attachment to something worldly, the benefits derived will not continue into the afterlife. If we love our car, dog, senses, or so many other things that are not God, there is no chance of that dedication benefitting us after the body is destroyed. Whatever we take full shelter of and put our faith into will determine what we think about the most. Therefore taking shelter in worldly objects will alter the consciousness to the point that the thoughts will remain on material association at the time of death. The type of body received is commensurate with the consciousness while quitting the body, and since there is variety in thought, so many different body types and natures can be granted to the spirit soul. Though in one sense there is variety in the body types awarded, there really is just a “yes” or “no” choice, an up or down vote. Do we want to go up to the spiritual sky or remain down in the material planets?

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.16)

An intermediary option is to take to dry renunciation, giving up attachment to everything. Starve the senses of satisfaction and abide strictly by the restrictions imposed by spiritual life. Avoid having any “fun” and remain focused on the duties given to you. Wait for happiness to come after death, through either promotion to a heavenly material realm or merging into a spiritual light devoid of material contamination. Such practices will certainly benefit us in the afterlife, as the promises of the Vedas are not hollow, but this model is very difficult to follow because the mind craves satisfaction. Lord Krishna is always in ananda, and since we are part and parcel of Him, our inclination is towards bliss as well. Therefore if there is no satisfaction in the current land, it will be difficult to adopt a process that promises to provide satisfaction later on, after death.

As we saw with Sita Devi, however, surrender unto Rama and His name is beneficial in both directions. Lovingly chanting the names of the Lord, as they are found in sacred formulas like the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, is an indication of a strong desire to be with the person being addressed. The name of Rama recited constantly in a mood of love says that we love the Lord like no other and that we take His happiness to be our only desire in life.

Lord Rama must also be the only abode. The place we call home is our safest place; it’s where we are most comfortable. We relax at home and enjoy the association of our friends and family. If the mind makes its most peaceful home at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, which are always acting for the Lord’s pleasure and taking part in His innumerable pastimes, the consciousness will always remain in a safe asylum. We can never recapture the feelings we had while growing up in our childhood home, but we can experience something even better by resting the mind comfortably in Rama.

To adopt any process in earnest, there must be faith. If we don’t believe in a particular task, if we don’t think that it will come out successful, the level of enthusiasm during the execution of the task will be unsteady. Therefore the lack of faith itself will be the cause of failure, the nonattainment of the stated objective. Having faith that regularly chanting the Lord’s name will give us the association of the only person we need to be with will be enough to secure success.

Tulsidas’ simple formula brings auspiciousness, well-being and good fortunes in both the current life and the next. If the mind constantly resides in the eternal city, the place where Shri Rama and His beloved associates enact their wonderful pastimes, how can there ever be inauspiciousness? How can there be a lasting distressful condition for one who has faith in the power of Rama to deliver them? How can there not be well-being for one who has love for the Supreme Lord?

Just as consciousness is the key in shaping our future destination, it is the determining factor of our current state of being as well. This fact is lost on those who lack God consciousness. The Darwinists have their theory of the survival of the fittest, but without understanding consciousness, fitness can never be properly measured. Ravana thought he was the fittest because of his massive kingdom and immense opulence. Since he lacked love for Shri Rama and His holy name, however, he would lose everything. Even his life on earth was hellish, as he was constantly worried about others attacking him and taking away his ill-gotten fortunes.

On the other hand, Sita Devi, whose consciousness was always tied to her husband Rama, was the fittest living entity roaming the world. Even when faced with circumstances that most of us would consider horrible, she remained in a pleasurable internal state by remembering her Lord. Thus remembering the name of Rama brought auspiciousness, good fortunes and well-being to her. The promises made by Tulsidas are not exaggerated, for countless devotees have proven that the name of the Lord is non-different from Him. If we want well-being in both directions, in the present life and the next, the holy name is our only safe shelter.

In Closing:

At time of death quitting soul decision does make,

To remain in material world or God’s company to take.

Consciousness does behavior in one’s life affect,

Which then chooses what type of shelter to erect.

Our safest place is in our cherished home,

With friends and family we don’t feel alone.

Bhaktas do regularly chant Shri Rama’s holy name,

Brings memories of His numerous acts and unending fame.

One option is to enjoy sensual pursuits right now,

Pay the price later on and to maya again bow.

Another is to take pain in life and then wait,

For the afterlife, reach the promised heaven’s gate.

In dry renunciation there is no pleasure,

But devotion to Rama proves to be endless treasure.

This fact was known to Sita Devi, Rama’s wife,

Who made devotion to her husband her life.

Found auspiciousness through both peril and delight,

Through her devotion was Ravana unable to strike.

Follow Tulsidas and in Rama have love and faith,

For bliss today and tomorrow no longer we’ll wait.

My Only Wish

“Tulsidas humbly asks to have trust in Rama, to take strength in Rama, and to have complete faith in Rama’s holy name, the remembrance of which brings auspiciousness, well-being and fortunes.” (Dohavali, 38)

rāma bharoso rāma bala rāma nāma bisvāsa |
sumirata subha mangala kusala māngata tulasīdāsa ||

Goswami Tulsidas is such a famous poet, his works are so widely sung, honored, read and studied, that his works pique the interests of the full spectrum of philosophers, scholars and religionists. Some have their own ultimate conclusions about spirituality - their primary guiding force in life, that one wish which when fulfilled will ideally bring them peace of mind and tranquility - so they try to attach themselves to the famous Vaishnava poet, who is best known for his devotion to Rama. Others will try to cut him down, as he is the “top dog” when it comes to popularity and influence in bhakti literature. If his works can be discredited, or his doctrine shown to be invalid, then hopefully others will stop reading his books and singing his songs. But despite the external viewpoints, Tulsidas’ doctrine, his foremost desire, or underlying philosophy, remains quite simple and straightforward. In this very nice verse from his Dohavali, the poet makes his cherished wish perfectly clear, leaving no room for doubt as to his intentions or the primary influence to his devotional efforts.

How can the poet’s teachings be interpreted otherwise? The Vedas, which are the original spiritual tradition of India dating back since time immemorial, provide different roadmaps towards ultimate salvation, the emancipation of the soul. Though religions today are often associated with dogmas, sectarian principles and sentimentalist traditions, the process of genuine self-realization can be described in scientific terms. Therefore the original Vedas never touch on different factions, for the concept of “religion” is not even mentioned. At the heart of self-realization is dharma, or an occupational duty. Since this duty never changes, it is known as sanatana, which means “that which has no beginning and no end”. At its root, dharma is an essential characteristic, so it can apply to different areas of endeavor. For instance, a doctor’s dharma is his ability to heal the sick. Therefore, whatever steps he needs to take to ensure that he can maintain this characteristic also becomes his dharma. This is how the term “dharma” can also be used to describe occupational duties, which can then be codified into law codes, regulations or recommended rituals.

Though there are different characteristics depending on specific desire, time and circumstance, there is one trait that trumps all others. At the heart of individuality is the spirit soul, the atma. Irrespective of body type, if life is present, there must be spirit. If there is an instance of life, there must be a soul residing within the living body form. Depending on the type of encasing assumed, different external characteristics result. For instance, tigers are prone towards eating other animals, while cows can survive on just eating grass. These features are specific to the outer covering and not related to the soul in any way.

Irrespective of the form assumed, the soul’s primary characteristic remains that of a lover of God. This is a law of spiritual science that transcends religious systems and dogmatic traditions. Just as the laws of gravity operate equally on all objects, even if people don’t believe in them, the properties of the soul remain intact even if not a single person is cognizant of them. The system of religion, or regulative practice, that recharges the soul’s most dominant characteristic, that makes the spiritual loving propensity take over the particular life form, thus becomes the highest dharma, or that occupational duty which cannot ever change in effectiveness.

For the human being to reach the point of reawakening their essential characteristic, some effort and conviction are required. At the time of birth identification is taken solely from the particular body accepted and the relationship it has to parents, friends and relatives. Just as it takes education to be able to read, write, and do arithmetic, it takes training under a bona fide spiritual guide to become familiar with the laws of spiritual science and then put them to good use.

“The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.12)

Though the specific practices implemented from a spiritual education can be many, the Vedas place them into three primary groups. One method is to follow fruitive activity and sacrifice the results to the object of worship, the Supreme Lord. The individual soul’s ultimate characteristic is to be a lover of God, and God’s position is to be loved. He too is spirit, but the quantitative presence of His features is much larger. He is the big soul, or Supersoul, while we are individual souls. In karma-yoga, the results of actions that normally benefit the body of the individual soul are sacrificed for the benefit of the Supreme Lord. Detachment steadily increases and the worker ideally realizes that their business is to serve God and no one else.

Another pathway towards attaining one’s dharma is jnana-yoga, wherein the individual learns about the different manifestations of matter and the properties of spirit. This discipline basically abstracts every type of activity. For instance, if we see one person playing baseball and another person playing soccer, we can abstract their activities into one category: playing sports. If we were to remove the nuance from every activity of the conditioned entities, we would learn that all material behavior is driven by an illusory energy known as maya. Maya is the agent that envelops the soul in delusion, keeping the foremost characteristic of the soul in a dormant state. The aim of jnana-yoga is to break through the illusion by understanding what is matter and what is spirit. As a result, the position of the Supreme Lord can be better understood.

Though there is another category of activity generally thrown into the mix, it is actually a combination of karma-yoga and jnana-yoga. Mystic meditation involves austerity and also concentration on the Absolute Truth. By remaining in particular sitting postures for long hours at a time and blocking out the influence of the senses, the soul coupled with the body can do many wonderful things. The ideal aim is still to break free of the conditioned mindset adopted at the time of birth.

The third pathway is actually the culmination of every other system of maintenance. Bhakti-yoga is all-inclusive, as yoga is meant to result in pure love for God. For those who are already on the platform of pure love for Godhead, there is no need to explicitly practice any other type of yoga. Goswami Tulsidas was a proponent of bhakti-yoga, as he was practicing it all the time. What’s so wonderful about loving God is that when you act out your love, you don’t even consider that you are doing yoga. Since it is the dharma of the soul to be a lover of God, when activities are driven by this characteristic, there is no consideration given to the type of engagement adopted or the meaning behind it. In the spiritual world, where the influence of maya is absent, there is no such thing as bhakti, karma, or jnana. Everyone loves God, so there is no divergent behavior that can introduce distinctions. Darkness is there when light is absent, but if we had constant full illumination, we could never properly understand darkness. Similarly, when there is only love for God, there is no consideration given to self-realization, matter, or spirit.

One of the favorite activities of the bhaktas, or devotees, is kirtana, which means “to glorify”. Kirtana can be performed by singing and chanting and also by writing. Tulsidas especially loved to write poems and songs about his beloved Lord Rama. The Vedas reveal that the Supreme Absolute Truth, the person most of us refer to as God, is a divine entity with spiritual forms, including an original one. Depending on the exact Vaishnava tradition followed, the original form of Godhead is taken to be Vishnu, Krishna, or Rama. Despite which one is taken as original, Lord Rama is a celebrated form of Godhead, who is loved and adored by millions. Since the incarnation, or personal expansion, is non-different from the person it expanded from, it can be worshiped just the same. Tulsidas doesn’t look at anyone as God except Shri Rama, as that is the example set by Hanuman, one of Rama’s dearest friends who had the wonderful opportunity to take up service to the Lord directly in His company many thousands of years ago.

In his glorification, Tulsidas touches on many subjects, as one of the byproducts of practicing bhakti properly is that you gain full knowledge of other systems of religion. Any occupational duty that is not rooted in love for God will be based on a personal desire of the practicing individual. Yet even the conditioned souls, those who are not aware of their true dharma, have their wishes granted by the forces of nature, which are instituted by the Supreme Lord. This means that our current body was shaped based on the reactions of our past work, which was driven by our desires.

Tulsidas knows that the Lord grants the wishes of those who have no desire to serve Him. If even the people driven by desires in karma, or fruitive activity, get the benefits or punishments that are due them, we can just imagine how much more seriously the desires of the devotees are taken. Tulsidas was very famous during his time, as his Ramacharitamanasa poem was regularly recited throughout India. The original accounts of Lord Rama’s life and pastimes are found in the Ramayana, which was written by Maharishi Valmiki during the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation. As we now live in the Kali Yuga, the fourth and final age, much time has passed since the original Sanskrit poem of Valmiki was crafted. Tulsidas therefore decided that to benefit both himself and the society around him, he would sing the glories of Shri Rama in a language that was easier to understand, one especially applying to those who didn’t know Sanskrit. The purpose of kirtana is to glorify, and the result is that more people learn about God and devotion to Him.

Just based off the time and effort he expended in writing and spreading the glories of Rama, Tulsidas was deserving of whatever he wanted. The poet was well aware of this, as every species gets the type of body that is commensurate with their actions. In the above referenced verse from the Dohavali, Tulsidas makes his desires well known, leaving no room for interpretation or misunderstanding. Those claiming that the poet was an impersonalist focused on studying Brahman are discredited by this verse, as are those who try to portray Tulsidas as anything but a pure lover of God. Through these three requests, the poet not only reveals his most confidential desires, but he also shows us the power of the holy name and the person it addresses.

Tulsidas asks not for eternal fame, wealth, a permanent home in the spiritual sky, freedom from the pangs of material existence, or even supreme knowledge. He asks to have reliance on the Lord. Depending on the dharma adopted, different people or objects will be relied upon. For instance, the athlete relies on the food he eats, the exercise machines he uses to train, and the person training him. The politician relies most on the votes of the public, for without popular support he cannot maintain his identity as a sitting political officeholder. The wife relies on the husband, the husband on the employer, the employer on the consumer, the consumer on the government, and so on. Everyone is relying on someone, as service is the spark of every activity. In spite of this reliance accepted in so many different ventures, Tulsidas asks to only hold on to Shri Rama as his giver of life.

The poet also asks that Shri Rama be his strength. Again, depending on the body type, different objects serve as fuel. The strength for the tiger is the animal flesh that it eats. For the teacher, his strength is the knowledge he acquires, for without it he couldn’t teach others. The source of strength is what sustains us, so by asking that Rama, through His name, be his only strength, Tulsidas doesn’t want to ever consider anything else as being the source of his existence, his reason for living. He wants that if he has to live, the source of his life breath, what gets him out of bed every morning, should be Rama and His name.

“But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 4.40)

The poet also asks to have full faith in the name of Rama. Having faith in someone means that you trust them to deliver what they promise. Since Rama will be his reliance and his strength, Tulsidas wants that he have firm faith in his surrendering to God. Full surrender actually cannot happen without faith, for if we have doubts, the level of satisfaction received and the benedictions provided by the bhakti process will be checked. Indeed, the level of the resulting satisfaction is linearly related to the degree of surrender accepted by the devotee. Having faith in Rama’s name is also a very nice gesture on the worshiper’s part, as it shows that the promises made by the Lord and the prescriptions presented by both Him and His followers are accepted without reservation.

Though he didn’t need to add this part, Tulsidas mentions just why anyone would want the three things he has asked for. Remembering the name of Rama brings all auspiciousness, well-being and fortunes. Those who regularly recite the holy names of the Lord, such as those found in the sacred maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, are never losers. How can someone who is in contact with the Supreme Soul, the person to whom the individual soul is naturally attached, ever be bereft of anything? The poor man is he who has no knowledge of the holy name and the benefits it brings to those who recite it.

The holy name of Rama transcends the boundaries of thought and endeavor because it is a direct representation of the Supreme Lord. We may chant the name of our beloved or the name of a particular object, but doing so will not bring us their association. But since God is absolute, His name is as powerful as His personal presence. This secret was well known to Tulsidas, and since he was deserving of so much, he made sure to ask his beloved Rama for the only worthwhile benediction. Just as the poet’s wish was to only have reliance on the holy name, our wish is to only have faith, reliance and strength in the poet’s wonderful works, for through them the power of bhakti and the benevolence of its beneficiary are revealed.

In Closing:

For three simple things are all he is asking,

Tulsidas the poet, Rama he is beseeching,

To have faith in the Lord’s holy name and in Rama trust,

Have strength in Rama, who makes even the weak robust.

Poet so popular that his influence so strong,

That others present theories of him that are wrong.

His real take on life is given for all to see,

Divine love is real business, of bhakti he is trustee.

Paths towards salvation Vedas do give many,

But bhakti is complete, equal it does not have any.

Follow full faith in Rama’s name, in it have no doubt,

From reciting it, Rama’s qualities in mind do sprout.

The holy name brings fortune and auspiciousness,

Well-being too, relief from constant sadness.

To bhakti principles give full compliance,

And in Rama’s holy name have full reliance.

A Suitable Habitat

“There are an infinite number of living beings, both moving and nonmoving, who have many different abodes, with some residing in the earth, some in the sky, and some in the water. But O helpless Tulsi, for you Shri Rama’s holy name is your only home.” (Dohavali, 37)

jala thala nabha gati amita ati aga jaga jīva aneka |
tulasī to se dīna kaham̐ rāma nāma gati eka ||

“What do you want my son? Ask for anything and I will give it to you?” Imagine being graced with such a benediction. If we met God, the Supreme Person, that individual whom we know is capable of delivering anything and protecting us from the worst fears and most distressing situations, face to face, what would we say to Him? What if somehow or other we managed to please Him through an act of charity, penance or sacrifice? What if He came and asked us to reveal to Him what we really wanted? What would our answer be? From the study of the nature around us, we have visual evidence that the answers are not always the same. Rather, they are just the opposite of uniform. There are millions of different answers, which result in placement in millions of different places. One poet in particular, however, knows that if we recite a sacred sound vibration over and over again, the result will be residence in a singular destination. Indeed, through this most comfortable of abodes, which safely houses a purified consciousness, the individual can then live in any situation and still feel like they are in their most precious home.

How do we know that different answers are given to God’s question? How do we even know that choices are made? From the ancient scriptures of India, the original authorized texts known as the Vedas and any literature which expounds upon their teachings, we learn that karma, or fruitive work and its results, manages the cause-and-effect chain with respect to action. This isn’t very difficult to understand, as we don’t even need to read books or hear from spiritual leaders to know that every action we perform has a reaction. Say, for instance, we place our hand into a fire. The resulting pain will be so sharp that the hand will involuntarily draw back. This result is guaranteed every single time that we place the hand into the fire. If we drop an object out of a window, it will immediately fall to the ground. Based on the influence of wind resistance on the object, the rate of descent may not be uniform, but the forces of gravity will operate nonetheless.

“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)

Karma is just the more complete definition of the cause-and-effect system that we can visually perceive. What we can’t see with our blunt senses is covered by the authorized statements of the Vedas, who get their notable distinction from having been instituted by the Supreme Person, the original Personality of Godhead. Just as the outward actions perceived by the mature human being have both immediate and long-term consequences, the sum total of every act, both large and small, committed by every single life form, intelligent and ignorant, has results that bear fruit not only in the current life, but in future ones as well. In this way we see that the circumstances of our present birth were determined by the results of actions previously performed. The system of cause-and-effect continues perpetually, as the soul itself does not decay. Though the body may perish at the time of death, the soul continues its travels through ethereal space. Just where it ends up is determined by karma, which is unbiased and guaranteed to deliver on time.

When apprised of this information, the sober individual will ponder the question, “If karma determined how I got to where I am now, what determined my previous circumstances? What was the origin of karma?” This issue is a little difficult to get a handle on for the human being, because as conditioned souls we cannot think beyond the bounds of time and space. In fact, if we were to sit down and seriously ponder these two wonders, we would be left even more puzzled than we were at the outset. Complete knowledge is available only to the Supreme Person, who is not limited by time or space. To give us some understanding of our original position, He institutes religious systems which detail the properties of our identifiable aspect, the soul. It is said that the soul, or atma, is the same in quality as the Supreme Lord, but vastly inferior in the quantitative estimation. This means that the soul is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, but since it is not God, it can choose an inferior realm as a home. Because there is a choice in the matter, the individual souls, the jivas, are considered to be in a marginal position, for they can take shelter under either matter or spirit.

The differences between these two fortresses can be better understood by further study of the scriptures, but as a crude example we can liken the differences to what results from worshiping an inanimate object like a car instead of a person like a mother or father. The car does not have an independently functioning brain. Even if there is a computer inside that tells it what to do, it had to be programmed by another person. Since the car is just composed of material elements, offering any obeisances to it, honoring it, telling it that we love it, or basing our identity off of it doesn’t bring anything tangible to the worshiper. On the other hand, respecting and honoring our parents, who are autonomous living entities at the core, keeps us under the protection of higher authority figures, those who can teach us about the difficulties in life and how to make the most use of our time. Our parents already protected us during our infant years, so honoring them instead of inanimate objects is always a wise choice.

Taking the same example and expanding it out fully, when divorced of their relationship to the Supreme Lord all of the elements of the visible world are akin to the automobile that is worshiped. Therefore matter is considered an inferior energy, one not directly related to God. Though He can never be separated from His energies, when the living entities view something as not related to the original person, the results of their actions are not beneficial in the long run. Contact with pure spirit, on the other hand, only brings benefits.

When the marginal position is exercised in favor of association with matter, the living entities are allowed to enter the material realm in a body suitable for performing the activities they specifically desire. This is where the scenario about being asked by God what you want applies. The same question is also asked in a non-explicit way at the time of death. In each material body, which is a sort of spacesuit required for residence in a specific area, there must come a time when the life ends, when the form assumed is no longer useful. When it comes time to quit the body, the desires of the soul are again measured. Desires are indicated by the previous work performed, which was driven by previous desires.

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 13.22)

There are so many varieties of species in the universe because desires are never the same. One soul wants to be wealthy and powerful, so it takes birth in a family that allows for that to happen. Another person wants to fly high in the sky and have a body composed mostly of the material element of air. Therefore they are given the body of a bird, which lacks intelligence but has the facility to meet the desire of the jiva who chose against God’s association. Then there are those who desire unending sex life and intoxication. They are rewarded with the body of a dog or a monkey. In this way we see that not only are different bodies crafted according to the various desires for material association, but so are suitable homes given to each form.

This wonder of nature is not lost on Goswami Tulsidas, a wonderful writer, person, devotee, lover of God and so many other things. In the above quoted verse from his Dohavali, Tulsidas mentions that there are countless living entities, both moving and nonmoving, that have their homes on earth, in the sky and in water. Indeed, the number of living entities and corresponding homes is aneka, or not one. The Supreme Lord is considered eka, or a singular entity, but His expansions, which include the jivas, are plural. Despite the number of expansions, God still remains complete and whole; such is the wonder of the spiritual nature.

The number of creatures residing in the different realms of the material world is too many to count, but Tulsidas says that for him he only wants one home. This abode is created through the regular chanting of the holy name of Rama, which means “one who gives transcendental pleasure”. The Supreme Lord is given thousands of names in the Vedic tradition, as each one references a different feature. The same original Person also descends to earth from time to time for various purposes. In His incarnation as Lord Rama, God appeared on earth to annihilate the miscreants headed by Ravana, give protection to the residents of Ayodhya and the sages being harassed in the forests, and give pleasure to countless purified individuals, both human and animal alike.

Though Rama appeared on earth many thousands of years ago, He still remains complete. He is the person from whom the many living entities have come, and He remains forever situated in the spiritual sky. In His Vishnu forms, Rama lives in the Vaikuntha planets, and in His original form as Krishna He remains in Goloka Vrindavana, which is considered the highest of the spiritual planets. Nevertheless, just because Rama lives in the spiritual world doesn’t mean that one can’t take shelter of Him. Tulsidas and his attitude are living proof of this. Through this wonderful verse the poet wholly appreciates God’s ability to grant the jivas whatever they want, and he also makes no judgment on their desires. Whether spirit souls want to live on the earth or in the water is of no concern, for the consciousness is what really matters. By regularly reciting the holy names of the Lord, especially those found in the sacred maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, one can live anywhere and remain satisfied.

If one person lives on the land and another in the sky, are not their abodes different? If the jiva identifies with the body and their surroundings, then surely their homes have different qualities. But for someone who regularly chants the name of Rama, which directly addresses the Supreme Person and thus brings His association immediately, they can live anywhere and remain unaffected by their surroundings. If we go back to the original scenario of God approaching a person and asking them what they want, the devotee only requests that they be able to remember their beloved Lord, who is full of transcendental form and bliss. To facilitate this desire, they request that they be able to recite and glorify the holy name wherever they go. The Supreme Lord therefore agrees to their request by placing them in different circumstances favorable for the performance of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service.

Those making the holy name of the Lord their home can live anywhere. While the jiva choosing in favor of matter must be granted a specific body type and a corresponding home in an area of a particular quality, the bhakta, or lover of God, is placed wherever he can benefit others by his example. Fortunately for us, Tulsidas was placed into just the right time and circumstance that allowed for a maximum benefit to not only the human population inhabiting the earth during his time but also to countless future generations. Since he took shelter of the holy name, he was able to thrive in his surroundings in medieval India, composing poetry praising Lord Rama that was so brilliant and wonderful that no literary work previous to that or since can ever even come close to it.

The Vedas, which sing the glories of Shri Rama and His dear devotees, are humbled by the wonderful works created by Tulsidas, who never had any desire to criticize others or defeat them in the arena of bhakti. He kept his home always with Shri Rama’s name, and the Lord in turn ensured that the poet’s fame and glory would continue forever and ever. Thus we see that the only suitable habitat for the jiva is the company of Shri Rama, who can be reached by regularly chanting His name. By reminding ourselves to chant on a daily basis, we too will get only one home, a shelter that will never crack even under the heaviest pressure.

In Closing:

For Tulsidas there is only one home,

Removed from this place he will always feel alone.

The shelter of Shri Rama and His holy name,

Brings one the highest happiness, the only worthy gain.

The jiva can live on earth, in the sky or in the water,

But by having Rama’s name, with matter why bother.

The jiva has a choice in his association,

Live with matter or take God’s protection.

The choice with matter leads to homes that are many,

In different body types and surroundings, joy there is not any.

But by following the formula of divine devotion,

Happiness found anywhere, regardless of commotion.

Rama places devotees into just the right place,

World honored by their work and their grace.

Immerse yourself in bhakti and live in happiness,

Erect shelter of Rama’s name, abode of goodness.

My Home

“There are an infinite number of living beings, both moving and nonmoving, who have many different abodes, with some residing on the earth, some in the sky, and some in the water. But O helpless Tulsi, for you Shri Rama’s holy name is your only home.” (Dohavali, 37)

jala thala nabha gati amita ati aga jaga jīva aneka |
tulasī to se dīna kaham̐ rāma nāma gati eka ||

Due to the false ego’s influence, the inclination is to think that life revolves around the individual, a tendency which makes it more difficult to understand the full breadth and scope of the universe. But the sober person, one who sees with a proper vision acquired through training and discipline, understands that there are countless living entities populating the earth. Even in the strangest of places, where no human being would ever dare think of calling home, can be found millions of creatures, who are so comfortable in their environment that they couldn’t survive anywhere else. The many dwellings are due to karma, the results of fruitive activity. “You get what you give”, as they say, so whatever action, time and effort are put in, the results manifest in the body type assumed and the living arrangements provided by nature. For the purest of the pure, however, regardless of their body type and the work they perform, there still only remains one home. Whether in the sky, water or earth, this home remains forever the shelter of the surrendered souls. Thus it serves as the greatest source of comfort and solace.

Why are there so many different homes? Why can’t everyone just live in one place with the same body type? What is the need for variety? The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, provide as much details as can be possibly consumed by the human brain on this subject. We say there is a limitation because fallibility accompanies the living entity, a pure spirit soul separated from the graces of the transcendental realm. There is always a singular superior entity. Most of the time He is referred to as God, but the Vedas provide thousands of names for Him to allow for pleasure to be aroused within the worshiper. We can refer to the Supreme Person as God, but this doesn’t necessarily speak to any of His attributes or features. If even a material realm can have variety, how can it be absent in the person who created it?

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.10)

God is full of spiritual form and attributes whose magnitude can never be properly measured. From one came many, so from the original person come countless tiny fragments, spiritual sparks that are autonomous in their desires and exercise of freedom. The results of their actions cannot be controlled fully as it can with God, but there is nevertheless full independence in consciousness. The sparks cannot be forced to remain associated with the source of energy, the original spiritual fire. And unlike an ordinary fire, which loses intensity when too many of its sparks fly away, the Supreme Source of Energy retains His vibrancy and potency even when countless sparks release from Him.

The perishable land - the place where worship of God is instituted as a higher discipline, a way out of a painful existence - comes into being when the tiny sparks decide to separate from their original life partner, the ultimate reservoir of pleasure. In the Vedas, the original person is called Krishna, which means all-attractive. Since He is not lacking anything in terms of features, He is naturally suited to serve as the pleasure-giver to anyone seeking it. Since He is also described as Rama, His capability of providing transcendental happiness to those who connect with Him is unmatched.

For free will to be valid, for the granted independence to mean something, there must be an exercise of every choice. If every spark were to always choose to be in God’s company, freedom as it is defined would lose its strength. Therefore there must be some souls who choose in favor of life away from Krishna. To facilitate their desire, a temporary playing field is created, a land where Rama’s personal presence is not active. Nothing can occur without God’s intervention, but in the temporary land the direct supervision and personal oversight from the Lord are absent. If everyone wants to spend their time forgetting God, there is no inhibiting action taken by the person who was forgotten, nor does He benefit by personal intervention or cajoled worship.

To enhance the experience of forgetting Krishna, activities and engagements must be created. Since every soul is unique in their constitution, not all the desires will be the same. Therefore different bodies, or uniforms, need to be crafted along with corresponding playing fields. If one wants to play ice hockey, they need a frozen rink on which to skate. A baseball player requires a field shaped like a diamond, and a tennis player needs a court made up of cement, grass or clay. On the largest scale of abstraction, the countless body types awarded to the souls separating from Krishna have their own suitable habitations, or homes.

The Vedas top the list of different body types off at 8,400,000. This high number is the result of the varying combinations of the three modes of material nature [goodness, passion and ignorance] that can go into each body type. Some forms have the mode of goodness in higher proportions, while others have more ignorance. Since the combinations are seemingly infinite, there are so many species that result. Though there is such a wide variety in body types, the homes are not so varied. Generally, there are three kinds of destinations for a resident of the material world: earth, water and sky. The birds and insects fly through the air, while the human beings and animals remain on land. The water is reserved for the aquatics. In each area, there are countless species, so many that scientists keep discovering new ones. It is not that the species evolve or that new ones come into being. Rather, the individual soul can transmigrate through different body types based on the laws of karma. There is evolution with respect to the body type assumed by the soul, but the bodies themselves do not undergo any constitutional shifts.

Spiritual evolution through karma can flow in different directions. First, there is the ascendency from the lower species to the higher ones. One can start off as the vilest of creatures, such as a snake or worm that makes its abode in the dirt and low ground. Even when a body is laid to rest in the earth, there are so many creatures that reside around it. Though the cemetery is the last place the human being wants to go, for certain species it is their most comfortable abode. The lowest creatures are those who reside in such areas. Through evolution, higher species are attained, such as fish and mammals. Even plants and trees are living entities. Therefore there can be both moving as well as nonmoving living entities. This is all due to desire and karma.

While there is evolution through the upward chain, there can also be demotion to a lower species. The human being is considered the most beneficial body type because only the human can take the steps necessary to transcend karma. Separation from Krishna does not have to continue perpetually. As soon as there is a sincere desire to return to the good graces of the spiritual land, a place where karma does not exist, release from the cycle of birth and death is granted. Needless to say, harboring this desire in earnest is very difficult to do. It can take many lifetimes in a human body just to realize the need for spiritual awakening. Then actually believing in what is passed down through the Vedas and following through on the prescriptions is another story.

“Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 14.18)

If in the human form of body the rules and regulations leading to spiritual advancement are not adhered to, punishment in a future life can occur through demotion to a lower species. A tree can stand naked for thousands of years. Thus one who follows a similar behavior during their human life can very likely become a tree in the next birth. Karma is driven by desire, so whatever the soul wants, it gets. The consciousness of the individual at the time of death determines their future body type. These facts of spiritual science are very nicely covered in the Bhagavad-gita, which is the Song of God sung by Krishna Himself.

To add further complexity to the equation, life doesn’t exist just on the earth. Rather, through the workings of karma, one can take birth in a heavenly planet or even a hellish one. The heavenly realm is attained through strict adherence to piety and virtue that is devoid of love and affection for God. If we follow all the rules of spiritual life, but still fail to harbor the desire to return to Krishna’s land, ascension to a heavenly realm, a place where material enjoyments are enhanced, is granted. Residence on these planets is not fixed, and when the merits from our good deeds expire, we return to earth. Those who live in the mode of goodness ascend to the higher planets, those in the mode of passion remain on earth, and those in the mode of ignorance get demoted to lower species and lower planets.

Goswami Tulsidas, a devotee of Lord Rama, touches on these issues in the above quoted verse. He accurately notes that there are countless living entities who call so many different places home. These destinations are the result of karma, or past fruitive activity driven by material desire. But for Tulsidas, who considers himself very poverty stricken, there is only one home: the name of Shri Rama. This wonderful verse nicely reveals Tulsidas’ devotion to Rama and his fervent desire to always remain in the Lord’s company, if not personally then at least in consciousness.

The different homes are the result of different work. In the human society, we see that some people live in palaces and mansions, while others can barely keep a roof over their head. The discrepancies relate to incomes, which are secured through work performed. Based on the results of action, a different abode is found, but the commonality in all the different homes is that the occupants nevertheless take rest. One person may sleep on a comfortable mattress that has different firmness levels that can be set electronically, while another person makes the bare ground their bed, but the activity of sleeping is still the same.

For Tulsidas, there is no concern paid to a higher or lower abode, to a better or worse resting cushion. His only desire is to be with Rama, who, as the Supreme Lord, is the best friend of every living entity. Whether he ascends to the heavenly realm or takes birth in the hellish region is of no concern to Tulsidas. Rather, if he is able to regularly chant the holy names of the Lord, such as those found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, he will call any place home.

This is not just blind sentiment or an over-exaggeration of affectionate feelings on the part of the poet. This verse reveals a technique that can be utilized by any person. The name of the Lord fully represents His forms, pastimes and qualities. By regularly reciting the name of Rama, we get consciousness of God’s divine activities performed on this earth many thousands of years ago. Sita Devi, Rama’s wife, immediately comes to mind, and her level of devotion and dedication to Rama are simultaneously appreciated. With Rama’s name comes Lakshmana, the faithful younger brother of the Lord who is always burning with a desire to protect his brother and see to His happiness. With Rama’s name comes Shri Hanuman, the powerful Vanara warrior whose only business in life is to think about the Lord and please Him with acts of devotion.

To make the holy name of Rama your only home is therefore a very good practice. Unlike the earth, sky, water and the different planets, the holy name does not ever go away. Nothing can dissolve the sound vibration representation of the Supreme Lord, especially when it plays constantly within the mind of the devotee. Bhakti-yoga, which is the ultimate system of spirituality, immediately burns up the results of karma, thus paving the way back to the spiritual land for the devotee. Just as Rama’s name is the abode for the wonderful Tulsidas, the poet’s beautiful writings and unmatched level of devotion and dedication to praising Rama forever remains our safe home, a place where the mind can always rest comfortably and enjoy the security that is devotion to God.

In Closing:

Living creatures in this world many there are,

Homes in earth, water and sky, in places near and far.

The abodes are results of past work performed,

From modes of nature are the body types formed.

Soul can travel from species low to high,

Can even descend from the heavenly sky.

From following karma there are many a destination,

Only one home for those choosing path of devotion.

With Shri Rama’s holy name does Tulsidas want to reside,

Is poor in life, but all is well with Rama by his side,

With Rama’s name comes Sita Devi His wife,

And Lakshmana, who makes protecting Rama his life.

Vanara hero also accompanies the holy name,

Shri Hanuman, devotion to Rama source of his fame.

Just as Rama’s name insulates one from grief,

Find shelter in Vaishnava’s words, from pains get relief.