O seekers, desiring to ardently meditate on the lotus feet of the darling of Braj! As is customary, let us chant the divine name for some time, after which the lecture will begin. Glory to the Divine Couple, Shri Radha Govinda! You all speak in such a soft voice. Speak up! All glories to Shri Radha Krishna!
So far I have explained to you that in this world there are two kinds of people: the shreyavadi (those of the higher path) and the preyavadi (those of the lower path). In simple terms, you can say one is wise and one is ignorant. One is sensible and one is foolish. The Vedas state: Scriptural Verse (Katha Upanishad 1.2.1) There have been two kinds of doctrines in the world since beginningless time. A third doctrine can never be created. Scriptural Verse Katha Upanishad 1.2.1 Meaning, since beginningless time, there have been two paths. One is called shreya; one is called preya. Shreya is the path of the wise, and preya is the path of the ignorant. There can only be two types of people: a person is either wise or foolish. That’s it!
Why? Because apart from this ‘I’, the soul, there are only two other entities: there is Brahm, meaning God, and there is maya. So, those who desire God are shreyavadi – wise, sensible. And those who desire the material world are preyavadi – ignorant, foolish. It is as simple as that. Understand this further in layman’s terms. We are two, aren’t we? One is ‘I’, which I have described in great detail as the individual soul, and one is this body, which belongs to the ‘I’. So, this ‘I’ belongs to Brahm, to God. And this body of mine belongs to maya. It is made of the five material elements. So, the one who follows the spiritual path becomes a gyani and attains bliss, which is his innate nature. And the one who follows the material path, a preyavadi, who seeks bodily pleasures and considers the body to be himself, is hīyate’rthādya: he does not attain his goal and is always unhappy.
How many kinds of suffering do we go through? There are three kinds of bodies. There is one body which everyone knows about: there is this tall, broad and strong body which is made of the five material elements. It is called the gross body. Aside from this, there is a subtle body comprising the five subtle senses, five organs of action and five vital airs – that’s fifteen; and one mind, one intellect and one ego – three more. In this way, the subtle body consists of eighteen elements. And there is also a causal body. It consists of the impressions of accumulated cravings, that is, worldly cravings in the mind. We are bound by these three bodies. Only after attaining freedom from these three bodies will we be liberated, which we refer to as moksh.
Then there are the five types of afflictions: avidya; asmita; raag; dvesh; abhinivesh. You already know what avidya means: ignorance. Asmita means ego. Raag means attachment with loving feelings, like the way we love our mother, father, son, wife and husband. dvesh means attachment with feelings of animosity. When you constantly think about your enemy, you keep him in your mind. Wherever you go, you think, “I must take revenge against him. That scoundrel! That …” You constantly think and reflect on him. And abhinivesh is the fifth one. This is the fear of death. Everyone is scared of dying. You have a fever of 105! Oh no! Constant fear! All the time. “Oh, I am the prime minister; I am protected by a thousand armed forces. I am not afraid.” In fact, one is even more fearful in this situation. “I’m scared that I will be shot by my own bodyguards.” One of India’s prime ministers was killed by her own bodyguards. So, we are always afraid.
And there are three types of sufferings: adhyatmik, adhibhautik and adhidaivik. Of these, adhyatmik suffering is the most distressing. What is that? One is the suffering from physical diseases. Everyone is afflicted! Everyone suffers from one ailment or another. If someone says, “No, I don’t”, then he may have one in the future or must have had in the past. In fact, it starts from the moment one is born. Today he is teething; now the child has dysentery. Today the child has caught a cold; now he has pneumonia. Even strong people suffer. And to suffer from disease in old age is only natural. Everybody goes through this. Most people become bedridden in their seventies and eighties. All the body parts give up. “We have stood by you for so long. Now please set us free.” – “No, I will not let you go. I love my body very much.” But now you have grown old and no one cares about you. There was a day when people longed to see this body. “She is Miss Universe! She is Miss this or that!” And now that she is old, “Hey, old woman! Where are you going?” – “Son, can you please help me carry my bag?” “Carry your bag! Get someone else to do it.” – “Hey! I am the same woman your father used to follow around just to get a glimpse of!” “Oh, those days are gone.” Here is a couplet. You will laugh when you hear it. Let me recite it anyway. Those days are gone … Those days are gone when your sweat was as fragrant as roses. Those days are gone when your sweat was as fragrant as roses! Now even your perfume does not give the fragrance of love! The body is the same. There is no difference in the body.
So, this is physical suffering, and mental suffering is countless times worse. We constantly create desires which, when fulfilled, lead to greed and when unfulfilled, lead to anger. Throughout the day we have desires from our mother, father, brother, wife, husband, son, daughter, grandchildren, everyone! And we become angry at whoever fails to meet our expectations. We scold, abuse and become violent. What doesn’t happen? All of you have this practical experience. There is always tension. Nowadays, there is so much tension that the psychiatrists say their clinics are always overcrowded. You ask anyone, “What’s the matter?” They say, “Depression”. What sort of disease is this? It is a disease of the mind. So, just ask the doctor who is prescribing the medicine for depression if he also has depression, because no patients have come today, and there is no income for the day. Tell me, who in this world is not suffering from depression? Even a billionaire is fighting court cases. He fights with his wife, his father, his son. This disease of the mind is very dreadful. Everyone is unhappy. And unhappiness is caused by others as well. The wicked unnecessarily harass good people. We also suffer from heat, cold, frost and so on. There are all kinds of suffering.
There are also the five sheaths. These must also be crossed; only then will we attain bliss. There is the annamaya kosh of the gross body. And there are three sheaths in the subtle body: the praanmaya kosh which has five vital airs and five organs of actions. These ten make up the praanmaya kosh, and the five subtle senses and the mind comprise the manomaya kosh. The five subtle senses and the intellect comprise the vigyanmaya kosh. And the causal body consisting of latent desires comprises the anandmaya kosh. This is a vast and elaborate subject. Just understand that all this suffering is borne by the preyavadi, the bhautikvadi, the shariratmavadi – the one who identifies himself with his body.
It can be said that millions of doctrines were, are and will always be prevalent. New ones will be created every day, but they all fall within these two. “Treasure House of Living Religions” is an expansive book by a renowned foreign philosopher. It was written by Hume. He has listed eleven religions. “The Bible of Bibles” by Frank L. Riley also mentions eleven religions. Eight of these exist here in India, and three are abroad. There is Taoism and Confucianism in China, there is Shintoism in Japan, and the remaining eight are found in India: Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and so on. Whether there are eleven religions or eleven million, they all fall within these two religions: the religion of the body and the religion of the soul. They are known as adhyatmavadi (spirituality) and bhautikvadi (materialism). All of you are familiar with materialism. In spirituality, the nature of the entity known as the ‘I’ has been explained to you through the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas. It is a power of God, a part of God. It has a relationship of difference and non-difference with God. It is a marginal power, and it is minute, not all-pervading.
Now, the next subject is a bit intellectual. Some among the non-dualists say, “Look, it is like this: the soul does not take birth, does it?” No, it does not. We also believe this. The Vedant (i.e. Brahma Sutra) also accepts this. Scriptural Verse Brahma Sutra 2.3.18 and Scriptural Verse Katha Upanishad 1.2.18 The Katha Upanishad also says this. The Gita says this too, and so does the Bhagavat. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 10.17.31) Scriptural Verse Bhagavad Gita 13.19 Scriptural Verse (Bhagavad Gita 15.16) Scriptural Verse (Bhagavad Gita 15.17) Scriptural Verse (Bhagavad Gita 15.18) etc … Bhagavad Gita 15.16, 15.17, 15.18, 15.19, 15.20 All these scriptures and Vedas say that the soul is eternal, unborn. Scriptural Verse (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.5) So? “So, that which is unborn cannot be infinitesimal. It is all-pervading.” Really? “That which is an eternal entity cannot be minute.” This is their argument. For instance, God is all-pervading. So, He is not infinitesimal. He is all-pervading. So, this means that anything which has a beginning is infinitesimal. Whatever is eternal is all-pervading? “Yes.” So, are you saying that this vast world is infinitesimal? It came into being one day, didn’t it? The world was manifested one day. The Vedas say this. The scriptures say this. “Yes.” But this world is so large. Oh, leave it! You are Brahm, aren’t you? “Yes.” This is your body, isn’t it? “Yes.” How is this infinitesimal? It is large, tall and broad. You are speaking nonsense. Alright. Look, it is like this. Brahm, who is all-pervading, enters into something and becomes identified with it. So, the soul also enters this body and then becomes identified with it. Scriptural Verse Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.8 Therefore, even this point of yours is wrong. The soul is infinitesimal. Even our experience tells us this.
Most importantly, do you sense a separate identity: ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘him’? “Yes.” Or do you feel that everything is ‘me’? “No, no. I don’t feel like that.” We experience everything as being separate from the ‘I’. Then how is it all-pervading? If this ‘I’, the soul, were all-pervading, then after death how would it depart, ascend and return again as the Vedas say? Scriptural Verse (Kaushitaki Upanishad 3.4) The Vedant also states: Scriptural Verse Brahma Sutra 1.3.43 So, the second point is that the soul is only infinitesimal, and it always remains so. Even after death, it never becomes all-pervading.
Shall I say more? The leader of the non-dualists, Jagadguru Shankaracharya, also accepted that the soul is not all-pervading. Why? Scriptural Verse (Shankar Bhashya) The liberated souls, meaning those who have become one with Brahm, take birth again and practise devotion to Shri Krishna. So tell me, if the soul is all-pervading then it would become Brahm after death, wouldn’t it? Yes. For example, take a pot. There is a space inside the pot; an empty space. So, you say that when the pot breaks, it becomes mahakash, meaning it merges into the surrounding space. It becomes one; it becomes the space. In the same way, upon attaining knowledge, the soul becomes Brahm. When it becomes Brahm, then … ihaiva samavaliyante … it merges right here. It doesn’t go anywhere because there was only one Brahm, so it becomes the same Brahm. Then how does the commentary of the Nrisinghatapini Upanishad say mukta api? The Vedas say it too: Scriptural Verse (Sauparna Shruti) Only a liberated soul can truly worship God. How can a bound soul worship Him? A bound soul has not yet gone to God. How would he perform bhajan? Bhajan means to serve. The Sanskrit root is bhaj sevayam. Scriptural Verse (Garud Purana) Veda Vyas says this. And Panini’s grammar also says the same thing: bhaj sevayam. So, we can serve only when we meet someone to serve. Only after God-realisation can a soul serve God in His abode, Golok. Prior to that, he may serve the stone in the temple. But where would he find God? It is only after practising devotion and attaining God that service begins.
So, the soul who attains God does not become all-pervading. Again and again, the Vedas say anandi bhavati. Scriptural Verse (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.7) The Katharudra Upanishad also says: Scriptural Verse (Katharudra Upanishad 27) The soul does not become Brahm. Scriptural Verse (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1) The Vedas say this. Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1 Together with Brahm … saha brahmanah … the soul experiences bliss in God’s abode, Golok. He does not become Brahm. And it was also mentioned: Scriptural Verse Brahma Sutra 4.4.17, 4.4.21 Through this sutra in the Vedant, Veda Vyas has clarified that God does not entrust the affairs of creation to any Saint. Yes, He does bestow His knowledge and His bliss, but He manages creation Himself. He Himself resides individually in the heart of every soul. He Himself keeps a record of their actions of infinite lives and dispenses the consequences, and He Himself records their current ongoing actions. He does not assign this to any Saint. There is also this difference. So, if the soul became Brahm, then all of this would come to an end. However, it is not like this.
And there are a good number of non-dualists who say, “Our Brahm has no powers or anything like that.” So many Vedic mantras indicate the attributes, the powers and the qualities of God. They agree that all these mantras are there, but the fact is that … Scriptural Verse … “the verses referring to the impersonal God without attributes were written after those of the personal God with attributes. Therefore, they carry more weight. The verses regarding the personal God are of no consequence. They were written without any reason.” The Vedas say: Scriptural Verse Katha Upanishad 1.2.15 Scriptural Verse (Karakacharya) Not even one syllable of the Vedas has been written in vain. Veda Vyas, the descension of God who divided the Vedas, says: Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 1.2.28) Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 1.2.29 “Only to take the souls to God!” All the Vedas, the Vedic mantras and other scriptures were created only to guide the souls towards God. Once you reach Him, they all return. Scriptural Verse They unite us with God, and then they return. From then on, their laws no longer apply to those souls. Scriptural Verse (Tulsidas) Now, as Saints, they are beyond the instructions of the Vedas. So be it.
So, the subject of the ‘I’ has been explained to you in great detail. The soul is a servant of God, a part of Brahm and a power of Brahm. And what is Brahm? This was also discussed in the previous lecture. Brahm is one without limits. He is unlimitedly great, and He also makes others great; the One who is bliss personified. The Vedant also says: Scriptural Verse Brahma Sutra 1.1.13 Scriptural Verse (Taittiriya Upanishad 3.6) I have quoted various Vedic mantras to point out that another name for God is bliss. We are part of Him. And I have explained the two forms and three forms of God. The two forms are primary: the formless attributeless Brahm, and the Brahm endowed with form and attributes. And please remember this too: Scriptural Verse (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.3) The base of the formless Brahm is Brahm with form, Shri Krishna. Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.3 Scriptural Verse Bhagavad Gita 14.27
And while He possesses infinite qualities, there is one which is the greatest. Listen to what that is. What is His greatest quality? He becomes the devotee of His devotees. Pay special attention to understanding this. It is said that He is the Lord, and all the souls are His servants. Scriptural Verse Padma Purana 227.38, 39 He alone is the Lord; all others are servants. Whether it is Brahma, Vishnu, Shankar, all His descensions or souls bound by maya; they are all His servants. Shri Krishna, the Lord, says: Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 11.14.16 “I walk behind My devotees.” To protect them? “No, no. I protect them seated within their heart.” Scriptural Verse (Bhagavad Gita 9.22) The God who is seated within takes full responsibility for the devotee. However, the God who walks behind His devotees follows them so that … Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.14.16) “Let Me be sanctified with the foot-dust of My devotees.” Such a servant is He: a servant of His own servant!
Everyone, please take note of one point! This is not like what you see in the movies: an affluent, well-to-do billionaire playing the role of a beggar. Because while he is playing the role of a beggar, he is still conscious that he is a billionaire. He does not internally feel that he is a beggar. How can he ever forget? After all, he is a multi-billionaire. However, God actually forgets that He is God. “I am his servant.” Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 11.14.15 “Even My own son, Brahma, is not that dear to Me. Even Shiva is not as dear to Me, nor my brother, Balram; nor is My consort, Lakshmi!” The dearest thing for everyone is their own soul. Everything else comes after that. “Even my own soul is not as dear to me as My devotee.”
When Durvasa insulted a devotee, Ambarish, and eventually cried for mercy and was forgiven, the Lord said to Durvasa, “Guru Ji, I accept that you are My Guru, but please just listen to this principle of Mine.” Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 9.4.63) “I am subservient to My devotee.” Subservient means to serve. hya svatantra The Vedas say, “Only God is independent in every way. Everyone else is dependent. They are all under Him.” God says, “The Vedas are speaking nonsense. I am subservient to My devotee.” 9.4.63 Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 9.4.64) “I do not expect anything even from Myself other than to serve My devotee.” 9.4.64 Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 9.4.65 Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 9.4.68 Seeing this quality of His gives us courage. “Yes, I too can attain my goal one day.”
God forgets who He is. Seeing an old woman with a little stick in her hand, He trembles with fear. Scriptural Verse (Bhavatam 1.8.31) For whom the Vedas exclaim: Scriptural Verse Katha Upanishad 2.3.3 Scriptural Verse Taittiriya Upanishad 2.8 Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 3.25.42 He is afraid of a little stick! Kunti says, “My intellect fails me.” God has one power which infatuates even Him. It makes Him forget His almightiness. And it is then that the bliss of braj ras (divine love) begins: when God forgets His almightiness and the devotee forgets his servitude. If almightiness were to appear even for a moment, then it would be like a fly falling into a delicious pudding. The bliss becomes insipid.
So extraordinary is the supreme nectar of God! Everyone becomes infatuated! Brahma, Vishnu, Shankar and even their divine consorts whose chastity surpasses all other women – Brahmani, Lakshmi and Parvati. They all said, “My husband is nothing compared to Him. He is my Beloved.” When Lakshmi came, she just looked at Him. All the other devotees left, but she kept looking. “Let me look at Him once more. Let me have another look at Him. Let me see Him just once more.” She just stayed there and would not leave Him. So, God gave her a place on His left side and asked her to stay there. She stayed there forever!
The same Shri Krishna gazes at His own beauty in great amazement, “Aha, I am so beautiful!” Scriptural Verse (Chaitanya Charitamrit) Seeing His own reflection, He longs to embrace Himself. Scriptural Verse (Lalit Madhav) Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 3.2.12 There are four qualities possessed only by Shri Krishna: not even by Brahma, Vishnu or Shankar. Scriptural Verse (Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu) One of them is roop madhuri (the sweetness of His form). Scriptural Verse (Ramayan) Vishnu and his consort Rama came to have His darshan, and on seeing His form, both became infatuated.
So, Shri Krishna is an ocean of infinite qualities, and He has various personal expansions. They also possess all of God’s qualities since they all are God, because they are His own expansions. Whether you drink a pot full of nectar or a glass of nectar, both contain the same qualities of nectar. All of His descensions … Scriptural Verse (Padma Purana) … manifest their powers as required. However, the one manifesting the powers is Shri Krishna Himself. There are no separate Gods.
There are some naive people who say, “This form of God is very easily pleased.” Easily pleased? Without practising devotion, no form is easily pleased. Do not be misguided that just offering bel leaves, filling water in a pot with a hole at the bottom, will result in God-realisation. Marching off to the four pilgrimage places, offering 56 delicacies; these dramas will not serve the purpose. There is only one God and there is only one law. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.14.21) Just one law! All these subjects will come later.
So, what is Brahm like? Attempting to explain this is madness. Even Brahm cannot describe what He is like. However, He is our origin. He is our everything. He is the ‘mine’ of this ‘I’. Maya is not the ‘mine’ of the ‘I’. Why? Firstly, because this is what the scriptures state. Secondly, we have experience of this world. Look, say there are two people, and we need to identify which one is Ramesh. And by looking at them, we are unable to recognise which of the two is Ramesh. We ask one, “What is your name?” “Dinesh.” Okay, so then the other must be Ramesh. There is no need to use your intellect because there is no third person.
We have not found happiness here, despite the passage of infinite lifetimes. And we are experiencing this even now. Every day! We have experienced so many pleasures ever since we were born, and how many times have we been deluded? “Yes, yes, yes! I found it! Oh, no, no, no! I didn’t. Oh! This time I’ve really found it!” We felt hungry and got food. We were thirsty and got water. My mother felt like loving me so she hugged me. Then it is over, then it reappears, then it disappears … What sort of disease is this? Yes, there is something wrong. This is not happiness. True happiness is infinite in nature and is everlasting. This is limited, and it is for a limited time. And then it ends!
So, we now have theoretical knowledge of the ‘I’ and ‘mine’. However, He who is mine, the embodiment of bliss, Brahm, Shri Krishna; how can we bridge the distance between us, which is caused by maya? How can the two of us meet? How can we meet our Lord? This one question, which is most important, still remains. We will resolve this later. All glories to Shri Radha Krishna!
