Main Kaun Mera Kaun – Lecture – 18

O lovers of the lotus feet of Shri Krishna, the son of Nand, the absolute essence of existence, knowledge and bliss! As is customary, let us begin by chanting the Lord’s name for a while, after which the discourse shall begin.

All glories to Shri Radha Krishna!

Now, all of you please pay attention. Who am I? Who is Mine? These two questions have to be solved. Countless lives have passed, because we are beginningless. And we cannot remain inactive even for a moment; so we have spent every moment solving these two questions. However, up until now, we have not solved these two questions. God Himself has come innumerable times. We have met Saints innumerable times. All of them guided us, and we nodded our heads, “Yes, I understand!” However, we did not understand.

Who am I? To answer this question, we need to take the support of the Vedas and the scriptures. We also did this. The scriptures stated that you are one entity and there are two others. One is Brahm and the other is maya. You are a power of Brahm. Brahm has three powers: one is para shakti; one is jiva shakti; one is maya shakti. Since we are a power of God, we are referred to as a part of Him. What kind of part are we? Marginal. Because … we are not part of Shri Krishna’s para shakti, and we are also not part of Shri Krishna’s maya shakti. However, we are conscious, just as Shri Krishna is, while maya is insentient. Thus, our position is in between God and maya. That is why we are called marginal. The evidence that we are a part of God is, of course, in the Vedas and scriptures; but there is also perceptual evidence. What is that? We desire only God. We consider only God to be ours.

Then what is the conflict? The conflict is that we are not part of the para shakti of Lord Krishna. We are part of Shri Krishna’s specific power known as jiva shakti, and we are under the control of maya. This is why, although we desire God, we strive for the opposite. Listen carefully! Our efforts are in the opposite direction. We say that we have to go west, but we go towards the east due to ignorance. We have knowledge, but we perform actions of ignorance. How very surprising this is! We have knowledge. What knowledge do we have? We desire happiness. Only happiness! Happiness at every moment. Not only humans, all beings who are under the control of maya desire only happiness and make constant efforts for that purpose. Why? Because God and bliss are both one and the same. People only say there is happiness in God just for the sake of explaining it. The Vedas say, “It is not like that.” anando brahmeti Bliss alone is Brahm, God. Raso vai saha He is bliss. The Vedas are not saying raso vai tasmin. It is not that bliss is in Him. He is bliss.

The Vedas say this. anandam brahmano vidvaan The Brahma Upanishad also says anandam brahmano vidvaan. This is also stated in the Shandilya Upanishad at 2.1: anandam brahmano vidvaan All these Vedic mantras state that He is bliss. And the Bhagavat also says this. He is bliss. He is divine nectar. He is happiness. He is nectar. He is happiness. He is bliss. If we accept that bliss is in Him, it implies that God is one entity and bliss is something separate. For instance, we are sitting in this house. This means that we are separate and the house is separate. Look, a rasgulla (an Indian sweet) has two ingredients, doesn’t it? One is the syrup and the other is the cottage cheese. A ball of cottage cheese (gulla) is immersed in sugar syrup (ras), and it becomes a rasgulla. God is not like this. God Himself is bliss. Call Him bliss or call Him God. We are a part of Him. This is why we desire only happiness. We will have to. And as we cannot remain inactive even for a second … we have to strive every moment to attain that bliss. We are compelled to. And we have done so. However, as I have explained over and over again, our efforts were made in the opposite direction. Our effort was wrong.

So, then we took the support of the Vedas and the scriptures. That Brahm, that God, of whom we are a part – what is He like? We need to know Him. Only after knowing and attaining Him will we become the ocean of bliss. Meaning, we will attain bliss. Becoming the ocean of bliss does not mean that we will become God. That is, we will attain bliss.

There are numerous definitions of God. Infinite. Now, I have already explained one: He is bliss. There is another very important definition that you should remember. The one by whom the world is created, the one by whom the world is protected, and the one in whom the world merges is known as Brahm, Bhagavan, Paramatma, Anand.

God desired. Please note this! God desires. Those who say that Brahm, meaning God, does nothing, tell them that this is a Vedic mantra. Taittiriya Upanishad And this mantra is also in the Narayanottara Upanishad. This means that this entire world is manifested from God; it is born from Him. He from whom the world originates, that is Brahm. It is clear! This Vedic mantra is saying that the world originated from bliss. All these Vedic mantras say this. In the Vedant (i.e. Brahma Sutra), a question was posed in the first brahmasutra: athato brahma jigyasa (Brahma Sutra 1.1.1) What is this Brahm? What is God? Who is called God? So, a second sutra was made: janma dyasya yataha (Brahma Sutra 1.1.2) The One from whom the world originates; the One who protects the world; the One in whom the world merges; He is known as Brahm. 1.1.2 And in the Bhagavat too: Right at the very beginning.

So, He is the creator of the world. He is the one who manifests it. And I have repeatedly told you – do not forget – that God did not create anything new. He manifested it. God manifested the world just as it was before. He manifested it exactly as it was before. And what was it like before? It was according to the karmas of each individual soul. And karm is beginningless; birth is also beginningless. This has been described in detail in the Vedant, in sutras 2.1.34 and 2.1.35.

So, there are infinite definitions of God. The main one is that He is bliss and He performs the work of creation and so on. No Saint performs the work of creation. Apart from these, He has infinite qualities and infinite powers, all of which are eternal. However, out of the two forms of God, in one form, that is Brahm, not all of His powers are manifested. He is known as Avyaktashaktik Brahm. In the personal form of God, Shri Krishna, all the powers are manifested. This is the difference. Brahm is also endowed with all the powers. I have repeatedly explained this to you, with examples. The powers are not manifested, just like seeds of wheat stored in a sack. The branches, leaves and fruit are all there, but they are not manifested. It is in Shri Krishna’s form that they are manifested.

This is why we say that we are a part of Shri Krishna. Therefore, we desire only Shri Krishna. In other words, we desire only bliss. That is why Sage Valmiki issued a challenge. Such a great challenge! “In this world, there isn’t a single being who is not a devotee of my Lord Ram, because everyone is a devotee of bliss.” And bliss is Shri Ram, Shri Krishna alone. So, everyone is a devotee of Ram and Krishna.

Now, although we may not have been able to attain Him for whatever reason, we desire only Him, and we constantly strive only to attain Him. Whatever means we have for attaining Him are all material. Therefore, the Vedas said, “You have to do something.” Then His grace will be bestowed. Then He will give His power to our senses, mind and intellect. Then you will be able to attain Him with those senses, mind and intellect. Then you will be liberated from maya and attain bliss forever.

So, we contemplated upon what needs to be done, and there are only three things that can be done as we are part of sat, chit and anand – karm, gyan, and prem. So, we reflected upon karm, and learned through the Vedas and Shastras that if karm is duly performed as prescribed – pay attention to each and every word – as prescribed! If there is a mistake in one accent of one letter of one word of one mantra, then the person performing the ritual will be ruined. The rules are so strict. The celestial gods are just like worldly people. They are our brothers. For example, a servant serves tea and meals to his employer. Now, if he adds salt to the food instead of sugar, or while offering tea, he spills a little on his employer’s hand, what would the employer say? “Get out!” – “Sir, I have been serving you for 20 years. Did I deliberately spill the tea on you?” “How dare you argue!” No one forgives in the world. The celestial gods are the same. They have their own rules and regulations: what each celestial god should wear or eat. Everything is different for each one. One has to act accordingly. A slight mistake will result in punishment.

And if someone does perform karm as prescribed, then he will attain the celestial realm. Maya, ignorance and unhappiness also prevail there. There is desire, anger, greed and infatuation there too, and the happiness there is limited. There is limited happiness for a limited period only.

Then tell me, why has varnashram dharm been highly praised by God? And He has said: “If anyone neglects varnashram dharm, then he is My enemy. I will punish him. It was I who established varnashram dharm.” “Arjun! The four divisions in society were established by Me. These should not be violated. And even those who practise devotion to Me will be punished if they violate these rules.”

So tell me, if we practise devotion to You, You have specified one condition. What? Only! “The mind should be attached only to Me.” So if we attach our mind to the celestial gods, we will not be exclusive.

So, God replied, “Yes, what you are saying is correct.” Look, it is like this. “My law is that if a person renounces varnashram dharm and surrenders to Me alone, I will be very pleased. I will not punish him. But if he renounces varnashram dharm and becomes whimsical and unrestrained, I will punish him.”

Alright. Narad Ji says, “If someone renounces ritualistic duties and surrenders to God, and, by chance, has a downfall midway, then God supports him.” Therefore, do not be afraid. When a child first learns to walk, he falls down again and again. No one starts running immediately. First he will start crawling on his knees. Then gradually he learns to stand. Then he walks unsteadily. After that, he starts to run. So, in the same way, even if you fall, you should not be disturbed. 1.5.17

This varnashram dharm has been described in extensive detail in the Vedas, the Smritis and the Mahabharat. Those who follow varnashram dharm are the greatest fools. Why? What does one gain from it? Fame. You will gain respect. Honour. You will get worldly things in abundance. You will have opulence and wealth in your next birth.

Is it all for this? If you get the material world, that is even more harmful. God says “I take away the worldly possessions of those on whom I bestow grace.” I take away the worldly possessions of the one on whom I bestow grace. When I bestow grace on someone, I take away his opulences. This is why Kunti asked for a boon: Bhagavatam 1.8.25 1.8.26 “O Lord!” She was standing in front of Shri Krishna and asking for a boon. “Take away whatever worldly possessions I have.” Why? If a person possesses even a single material thing in abundance like just beauty, or only wealth, or any one skill like the ability to sing well: if he has even one quality in abundance, people will surround him. “Oh! That singer has come! Oh, he’s here! Let’s go and see him.” Oh, what will you see? He has the same eyes, ears and nose as you have. “But what a great singer he is!” Alright, he may be a singer. Thousands of people go. And when the singer sees the crowd, he thinks, “Yes, I am someone special! My position comes just after God.”

Everyone experiences such feelings. When one is young, even if he or she does not have wealth or any qualities, and is illiterate, still that boy or that girl walks with arrogance.

A scholar wrote: Verse At the age of sixteen, even a donkey thinks she is a celestial damsel. A washerman’s donkey!