madhu pandit - krishna voice 2009 02(feb)

Feb 2009Vol 10, No. 2

Rs.15

Krishna Voice, Feb 2009 3

His Divine Grace A. C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada, founder- acharyaof the International Society forKrishna Consciousness, came toAmerica in 1965, at age 69, to fulfillhis spiritual master’s request that heteach the science of Krishnaconsciousness throughout the English-speaking world. In a dozen years hepublished some seventy volumes oftranslation and commentary on India’sVedic literature, and these are nowstandard in universities worldwide.Meanwhile, travelling almost nonstop,Srila Prabhupada moulded hisinternational society into a world wideconfederation of ashramas, schools,temples and farm communities. Hepassed away in 1977, in Vrindavana,the place most sacred to Lord Krishna.His disciples and followers are carryingforward the movement he started.

Published and owned by Sankirtana SevaTrust, editing by Chamari Devi Dasi. Layout,design and graphics by ISKCON Design Group,Bangalore. For all information contact:Editor, Krishna Voice, SST, Hare Krishna Hill,Chord Road, Bangalore - 560 010 INDIA,Phone: 91-80-2347 1956, 91-80-2357 8346,FAX: 91-80-2357 8625. © 2009 SankirtanaSeva Trust, Bangalore. All Krishna art andthe works of Srila Prabhupada are © BBTInternational. All rights reserved throughoutthe world. Reproduction in any manner isstrictly prohibited. Printed for ISKCON,Bangalore, at Manipal Printers (P) Ltd.,Manipal

Feb 2009Vol 10, No.2

CONTENTS

Qualified to See God 4

Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out 10

Evolution and the Human Mission 12

Hatha Yoga and the Bhagavad-gita 16

Cover pages-4 Text pages-20


Qualified To See GodWhen you love Him, you will see Him always.

A lecture given in Los Angeles, December 25, 1973By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

tad-dhyanodriktaya bhaktyavisuddha-dhisanah paretasmin narayana-padeekanta-matayo gatim

avapur duravapam teasadbhir visayatmabhih

vidhuta-kalmasa sthanamvirajenatmanaiva hi

"Thus by pure consciousness due to constant devotional remembrance, the Pandavas attained the spiritual sky,which is ruled by the Supreme Narayana, Lord Krishna. That is attained only by those who meditate upon the oneSupreme Lord without deviation. That abode of the Lord Sri Krishna, known as Goloka Vrindavana, cannot beattained by persons who are absorbed in the material conception of life. But the Pandavas, being completelywashed of al l material contamination, attained that abode in their very same bodies."

—Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.47-48

Dhyana means meditation. The Pandavas were always thinking of Krishna. While eating, sitting, sleeping, talking,fighting—Krishna. That is Krishna consciousness. When Arjuna fought, Krishna was there. When the Pandavasdealt in politics with Duryodhana, Krishna was there.

Krishna is Arjuna's friend. Krishna was always talking with him, staying with him, sleeping with him, eating withhim. Krishna consciousness is so nice that in our ordinary life we can deal with Krishna as Arjuna and the Pandavasdid. There is no difficulty in doing this. We simply we have to practice. That practice must be bhaktya, "with adevotional attitude." Dealing with Krishna as the Pandavas did is only possible through devotional service. Krishnawas so near to the Pandavas on account of their devotion.

The sage Narada, while speaking to Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, praised the Pandavas: "Even yogis andjnanis, speculative philosophers, cannot reach Krishna, but by your devotion Krishna is living with you as a friendand sometimes even as your order carrier."

During negotiations with Duryodhana, the Pandavas once asked Krishna, "Take this letter and deliver it toDuryodhana." And Krishna agreed—"Yes, I shall go." Krishna acted as an ordinary peon. He also acted as anordinary chariot driver—Partha-sarathi, the charioteer of Arjuna.

If you become a devotee of Krishna, then you can live with Krishna, even in this life. Krishna is omnipotent. If youare really a devotee of Krishna, He will talk with you, He will dance with you, He will eat with you—everything.Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva. By bhakti, prema—love—saintly persons, those who havedeveloped love of Krishna, can see Krishna at every moment. Sadaiva means "at every moment." Saintly personsdo not see anything except Krishna.

Rascals inquire, "Have you seen God?"

We may reply, "Not 'seen' God, sir. The saintly person is seeing God at every moment."

There is no question of seeing God only once. No. Sadaiva—at every moment.

Why can one see Krishna at every moment? Because Krishna is already there within us. Isvarah sarva-bhutanamhrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. Krishna's location is given in the Bhagavad-gita: He is within your heart. So to see Godyou don't have to go far away. Wherever you are you can see God.

Sarva-bhutanam means that God is not only within the human beings; He is also within the animals, the beasts,the trees, the plants, the aquatics, the insects. He is within everyone, from Brahma, the greatest creature, down

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to the ant.

God is everywhere. Andantara-stha paramanu-cayantara-stham. God is within the universe, within your heart,even within the atom. So what is the difficulty in seeing God? You simply have to make your eyes qualified to seeHim. That is the meaning of premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena. If you actually love somebody, you can seehim always. When you are in your office, you see him. When you are eating, you see him. If that is possiblematerially, how much more must it be possible spiritually.

Seeing God always is possible only by bhakti, as described in today's verse: bhaktya visuddha-dhisanah pare.Visuddha means "purified." Our consciousness is not purified at the present moment, but we can purify it by beingalways in touch with Krishna. And that touch is made possible very easily by hearing about Krishna. Those whocome here to our classes may not know anything about Krishna, but God has given them ears, so they can hearabout Krishna. We are therefore discussing so many points about Krishna, and we have written so many bookssimply about Krishna. People cannot imagine that sixty books can be written about God. There is no system ofreligion where you can find so much information about God.

We should turn our attention to Krishna consciousness. We can chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. We can read about Krishna our whole life, becausethe literature about Krishna is so vast. Even if you read twenty-four hours daily, you'll have to devote your wholelife to finish this literature.

My Guru Maharaja published a daily newspaper in Mayapur called Nadiya Prakasha. A big politician once askedhim, "You are publishing a daily paper about God consciousness?"

"Yes."

"What are you writing about?" The politician was surprised. Politicians think that newspapers can be filled withrubbish political news only. They cannot think that a newspaper can be filled by news from the spiritual world. Theyhave no idea of this. They have no idea even that there is a spiritual world.

My Guru Maharaja explained: "Why are you thinking of only one small newspaper? You do not know the spiritualworld. The material world is one fourth of the whole creation of the Lord. And the three-fourths portion is the spiritualworld. In this one-fourth portion there are innumerable universes. This is one of the universes. In each universethere are millions of planets. And this planet is only a small planet in one universe. And on this earth planet thereare so many cities. And in each city there are so many newspapers. And each newspaper has so many editions.This is the position of the material world.

"Now, consider the spiritual world. It is three times bigger than the material world. And there are so many spiritualplanets and so many universes and so many activities. So we can produce not just one newspaper about Goddaily, but a newspaper every minute. Unfortunately, there are no customers. That is the difficulty. For material newsthere are so many customers, but for spiritual news, no customers. You are thinking of one newspaper daily. Wecould issue a newspaper of spiritual news every second."

We must be interested in the news of the spiritual world. Krishna consciousness can be achieved by ekanta-matayo gatim—a person who has decided, "Now, in this life, I must go back home, back to Godhead." Thatdetermination is described in the Bhagavad-gita:

vyavasayatmika-buddhir ekeha kuru-nandanabahu-sakha hy anantas ca buddhayo 'vyavasayinam

"Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus [Arjuna],the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."

One must decide, "This life is not an ordinary life like that of the cats and dogs. It is human life. I have advancedintelligence, and it is possible in this life to go back home, back to Godhead, simply by cultivating spiritual knowledge.So why shall I waste my time like cats and dogs?" That determination is required. "The cats and dogs are busyin eating, sleeping, and sex life—and one day they die. So why shall I waste my time in that way? I have goodintelligence. Krishna has provided me a better standard of life. I can lie in a nice room, not like the cats and dogson the street."

And Krishna has provided such nice foodstuff—fruits, grains, milk—which we can offer Him. Krishna has givendifferent food for different animals and human beings. Krishna has given stool for the pigs and such nice foodstuff—fruits and grains and milk—for the human being. It is not that every food is for everyone. No. "One man's food isanother man's poison." Stool is also a kind of food. Everything is a kind of food. Even the stone is food. Pigeons


eat stones. They can digest them. The gorillas in the African jungles eat fruits harder than iron bullets. If youhammer on a bullet, it may bend. But that fruit will not bend. And the gorillas chew them just as you chew peanuts.[Laughter.]

Human beings determined to go back home, back to Godhead, have their food. For them, no meat-eating. Forthem, fine kachauri, rasagulla, puri. "You are what you eat." If you eat stool, then you are stool. After all, this bodywill be stool. After death, the body becomes stool or ashes or earth. If the body is buried, in due course it will turninto earth. If it is burned, as done by the Hindus, it will turn into ashes. And if the body is simply thrown away atdeath, as done by the Parsees, it will be eaten by animals and birds, like vultures. So the body will become thestool of a vulture. That's all.

Our beautiful body will become one of three things: stool, earth, or ashes. And we are taking so much care—forstool, earth, and ashes. And the occupier of the body? Forgotten. That is the position of modern society with itsso-called advanced scientists.

Those who think "I am this body" are third-class rascals. The present world is simply full of third-class rascalsbecause everyone is thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am white," "I am black," "I am Hindu," "I amMuslim," "I am Christian." Such thinking is simply "I am this body." That's all.

One must become completely cleansed of this misconception. Virajena atmanaiva. Virajena means to becomecompletely washed, cleansed. Raja means "the material world," and vi means vigata, "without." It is very difficultto come to the position of complete purification. Therefore it is said here, avapur duravapam: It is very difficult tocome to this stage of life, but the Pandavas did it. For whom is it very difficult? Asadbhih, for those attached totemporary things.

Asat means "temporary." There are two kinds of things: those that will exist permanently and those that will notexist. Temporary things may exist for a few minutes, a few hours, or a few years. The material world is asat,because it will not exist. The material body will also not exist. Everyone knows that. Everyone knows that the bodyis born at a certain date, will continue for a certain number of years, will produce some by-products, will changeinto different forms, will become old, will dwindle, and one day will be finished.

These are called sad-vikara, "six changes." This is not progress. If one is progressing in age, that is not progress;that means he is going to death. I am seventy-eight years old. So I have already died seventy-eight years. I haveonly, say, two to five years left. People say "advanced age." No. Advanced in death, not advanced in age.

So that is the meaning of asat: The body will not stay. It has begun to die from the very moment of birth. If youask a mother how old her child is and she says "One month," that means the child has already died one month.And he has a certain balance of months and years before he dies. He is simple waiting for death.

Our duration of life is called asat. And material existence is also asat. Narottama Dasa Thakura therefore sings,sat-sanga chadi kainu asate vilasa/ te karane lagila ye karma-bandha-phansa: "I gave up sat-sanga, the spiritualsociety, and I associated with the material society. Therefore I am now entangled by karma, one reaction afteranother."

Spiritual realization is difficult for persons attached to temporary things. Why? Visayatmabhih: Because they aresimply attracted by the four principles of material life—eating, sleeping, sex life, and, one day, death. One mustbe above these interests. One must be sane. One must think, "These interests are there in the animals. So if Iam also interested in only these things, what is the difference between the dog and me?"

There must be something more. That information is given in the Bhagavad-gita: avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvamidam tatam. The body is perishable, asat, but there is another thing, which is sat, permanent. What is that? It isthat which spreads all over the body. If you pinch your body you feel pain. Why? Because there is consciousness.Consciousness is permanent. And as soon as the consciousness is gone from someone's body, you can chop offthe hand and there will be no response.

Those not interested in understanding consciousness and the origin of consciousness are asat. They cannotunderstand spiritual life. Therefore the beginning of spiritual life is to understand consciousness. The Bhagavad-gita says, dehino 'smin yatha dehe: In the temporary body is the proprietor of the body. That point is to beunderstood. Who can understand? Vidhuta-kalmasa, "those who are washed of all sinful acts." Therefore weprescribe, "Don't associate with sinful activities." What are the sinful activities? Meat-eating, intoxication, gambling,and illicit sex. One must be washed of these to understand spiritual life. If you think, "I will do whatever I want,"then you will remain in the material world life after life. That is the point.

Thank you very much.

SRILA PRABHUPADA SPEAKS OUT

Guest (1): We believe in an incorporeal God.

Srila Prabhupada: Who says, "incorporeal"?Who says?

Guest (1): It is scripture—jyotir linga,"incorporeal."

Srila Prabhupada: You are bringing insomething else besides Bhagavad-gita. Youshould know that we are preachingBhagavad-gita. So this jyotir linga—all these

theories—they are not in Bhagavad-gita.They may be in other literature, but we areparticularly interested in preaching

Bhagavad-gita. Because Bhagavad-gitahas been wrongly preached all over

the world by nonsensecommentary, we want to

r e c t i f y t h a t .

Nonsense Commentary On Bhagavad-GitaThis conversation took place in Allahabad, India, on January 18, 1971.


Feb 21 EkadashiFeb 22 break fast

Mar 7 EkadashiMar 8 break fast

Fasting FestivalsFeb 14 Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Thakura — AppearanceFasting till noonRatha Yatra in Hubli

Feb 21 Ratha Yatra in DharwadMar 11 Sri Gaura Purnima — Appearance of

Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuFasting till moonrise

Therefore our society is specifically named "Krishnaconscious."

Guest (1): What is wrongly preached about the Gita?

Srila Prabhupada: Yesterday, for instance, I went tothat Gita Samiti [Gita Society]. There is a lamp [ondisplay]. Why is there a lamp instead of Krishna?

Guest (1): I don't know.

Srila Prabhupada: You do not know. Therefore I saythere is wrong preaching. Why is there a lamp in placeof Krishna? Does Krishna say this?

Guest (1): The Gita Samiti people must evolve with thisidea because ...

Srila Prabhupada: No, no. The Gita is spoken byKrishna. So why is there no picture of Krishna?

Guest (1): They didn't put the picture.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. That means they have notunderstood Krishna. Therefore, this so-called GitaSociety is not bona fide. Suppose there is a politicalmeeting. You keep Gandhi's photo or Jawaharlal Nehru'sphoto, because they are political leaders. Yet in thisGita Samiti they are preaching Bhagavad-gita, and thereis not a single picture of Krishna. This is misguided.They are wrongly representing Bhagavad-gita. So ourposition is to rectify that wrong propaganda aboutBhagavad-gita.

Guest (2): What is that wrong propaganda?

Srila Prabhupada: That is one instance. And there aremany other instances. In the Ninth Chapter there is theverse man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mamnamaskuru. [Krishna says to Arjuna: "Engage your mindalways in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offerobeisances to Me, and worship Me."] One respectedscholar says, "It is not to the person Krishna [but to theunborn within Krishna that one must surrender]." Wheredoes the scholar get this nonsense idea?

Guest (1): V—has also said that ...

Srila Prabhupada: They are all nonsense. Anyone who

deviates from the original text of the Gita is nonsense.

Guest (2): Swamiji, by declaring other interpretationsnonsense ...

Srila Prabhupada: You cannot interpret! First of all, myproposal is that you cannot interpret.

Guest (2): We'll come to that. But if I say that you arenot interpreting correctly, that does not make me correct.I must be correct also.

Srila Prabhupada: I am correct as long as I presentthe correct thing. If I present Krishna as He is, then Iam correct.

Guest (2): Swamiji, most respectfully, how do you judgethat "I am correct"?

Srila Prabhupada: Because I am presenting whatKrishna says. First of all, you answer this: What is thestandard of correctness? You cannot create correctness.When Krishna says man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah—"Just surrender unto Me, become My bhakta [devotee]—how can you say, "It is not to Krishna [one mustsurrender]?" Is this not nonsense? If I say, "Give me aglass of water" and you say, "It is not to Swamiji [thatthe glass of water should be given]," isn't that aninterpretation?

Guest (1): But surrender is what Jesus Christ says,Mohammed says, everyone says.

Srila Prabhupada: Let others surrender to Christ. Butwhy don't you surrender to Krishna?

Guest (1): That is true, but ...

Srila Prabhupada: That is true, but you do not knowhow.

Guest (1): Your way of thinking and your purpose isthat Lord Krishna should be the Lord of the wholeuniverse, so ...

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, Lord Krishna is the Lord of theuniverse.

Guest (1): So that is what you want to say to me?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

Long before the advent of Linnaeus, the existing speciesof life had been analyzed and categorized in the uniquelyscientific scriptural literature of India. And, at about thesame distance in time from Darwin, a presentation of theevolutionary process was made. In both instances, theearlier work was by far the more exhaustive, although itwas done in mind of spiritual values, and with scant heedto the speculative studies of the material world which areso much a part of the scientific tradition to which Linnaeusand Darwin belonged. Indeed, the Vedic analyses arecosmic in scope, depending as they do upon therevelations of seers whose minds were attuned to theabsolute knowledge possessed by God. Their theses arecomplete, and are meant to point out and define thespecific place of human life in the universal order, as wellas to indicate the role for which the human being isintended.To begin with, the living entities are divided into eightmillion, four hundred thousand species. Although not allof these species exist on any one planet, they are to befound within this universe as a whole. What's more, nospecies may ever be said to be extinct—not even thoseseemingly progressive developments like eohippus whichhave so enchanted Charles Darwin's successors.Occasionally, a breed of beings will disappear from oneplanet, or appear on another where it was not beforeknown to exist—but the Vedic literature rules out theconcept of extinction.(At this point, we may clearly see that the man who isdependent upon and faithful to the limited scope of visionof empirical science may not in good humor proceed withus. We shall later take up the particular limitations of theindividual living entity, and explain why he therefore oughtnot to rely upon the knowledge acquired by his sensesand their mechanical extensions such as the telescope,spectroscope, and radio wave transmitters. But for themoment, we must simply say that Vedic knowledge wasdelivered by entities far more developed than any earthlydoctorate can attest to, and leave skepticism unappeased.)The Padma Purana classifies the species of life thus:9,000,000 aquatic; 2,000,000 vegetable; 1,000,000crawlers (such as worms and reptiles); 1,000,000 birds;3,000,000 four-legged beasts; and 400,000 humans.These divisions are not made in the same spirit as arethose of modern science, needless to say. For example,gorillas and monkeys are considered human, as are thedemi-gods of the heavenly planets. And just as we areadvanced above the apes, so are the demi-gods advancedover us—and often the gap is greater. Furthermore, thosehumans whom we see before us on this planet are dividedinto various more-or-less fixed gradations of primitive andcivilized. For, so far as the Vedic seers are concerned,the civilized life of Earth is the penultimate in theevolutionary process.How so, when the demi-gods are admitted to be moredeveloped than we?

The answer to this question is also the answer to anotherquestion: What is meant by advancement? The biologists,anthropologists and ecologists of today's repute do notrecognize the concept of advance and recession, at leastnot officially—for they say that it is anthropomorphic,unpragmatic, impractical. Within their range of vision thisis certainly so. Without some spiritual understanding, noconclusion or goal can ever be perceived in anything, tobe sure. But to the man who has some spiritualunderstanding a sure and unshakable goal is ever beforehim, its banners hailing his attention at every turn. Thisgoal is spiritual perfection, self-realization as it is mostoften termed.How is self realized? How is self obscured? The key wordhere is consciousness. That the dog has a soul may bea fact, but the dog has no consciousness of this, andtherefore he suffers. So it is with all living beings. Spiritsoul being the true and constitutional position of thecreature, its realization in the form of direct experiencemeans the attainment of Truth, of Reality, and, therefore,one's life can only actually begin at this point. To onewithout spiritual enlightenment, Truth is an elusivephantom, and so is happiness. Consciousness of Truth,of one's real identity, then, is the goal of life, for all beingsseek immortality, knowledge and bliss, whatever theirstation.The very wealthy, even on this Earth, do not generallyturn to spiritual life, because they are engrossed in materialenjoyment. They consider the spir i tual ist ortranscendentalist to be the crier of sour grapes, as thoughthey with their riches can avoid the death which he whomthey have derided has transcended. As Lord Jesus Christsaid, a camel may pass through the eye of a needle withgreater ease than may a rich man go to God. Yet theopulences of this planet are mere baubles as comparedto the abundance to be found on the heavenly planets,where dwell the demi-gods. And, therefore, they for alltheir highly developed bodies and minds, are not sofortunate as we—for we have the more inclusive visionof life and death, which is inevitable for them as much asfor us. And, with our vision, is increased the opportunityto transcend the mortal state.The development of spiritual consciousness is possibleonly to the human species—and especially so for thecivilized humans. This advanced, comprehensiveconsciousness is, in fact, the only quality which actuallydistinguishes man from the other creatures. For the pigand the horse and the ant all have sex life, all eat foodswhich please them, all sleep and all have weapons. Andthey have their politics, as well. We cannot conclude that

human life is merely the manner of living of a sophisticatedswine. No, for Man has the ability to wonder—and theability to find out, too. Therefore, in the Vedas it is saidthat, when a man first questions, "What am I? How amI here?"—then his human life begins.This human status is attained after millions upon millionsof births. To be sure, the living spirit soul must progressthrough the bodies of each and every one of those eightmillion four hundred thousand species, before he canachieve civilized existence. This is a long, excruciatingtransmigration through a universe of never-endingfrustration, pain and defeat. For the living entity cannotknow eternal life, knowledge, or bliss complete as longas he identifies himself with matter; and no understandingof one's true identity is possible at any stage below thehuman. Thus, all life in this material world meansvanquishment.Now, before continuing with the subject of evolution andthe meaning of that study in terms of human purpose,we must wonder, after all: How did it begin? How am Ihere? In the Bhagavad-Gita, the Lord explains,All beings are born to delusion O Bharata,Overcome by the dualitiesWhich arise from wish and hate,O Conqueror of the foe. (VII, 27)The living entity wishes to become the Lord, the ruler andmaster—and so he is given a domain in which he mayfulfill his longings:In ancient days the Lord of creaturesCreated men along with sacrifice and said,By this shall ye bring forth, and this shall be unto youThat which will yield the milk of your desires. (B.G. III,10)So Krishna, the God Who loves all beings, has given uswhat we craved, and by sacrifice we had the means tobe eternally joyful even here, without His direct association.But the living entity cannot be what he is not—he cannotbe God. Whereas the Lord is in all ways perfect, Hisfragmental portions suffer from certain constitutionalimperfections, which are chiefly classed as four: the livingentity is certain to make mistakes, he is envious, he issubject to illusion, and his senses are imperfect. Withthese unfortunate shortcomings, having gone so far tosunder the loving relationship with God, it is easy to seehow the state of paradise, known both to Judaic andVedic scriptural history, was lost.It is the eternal religion of all beings to serve. By eternalreligion it is meant that this is something which cannotbe taken from the entity—something which he manifests

at all times. Bugs and behemoths, trees and tigers—allcreatures are engaged in service. Indeed, the Lord Himself,the Prime and Primal Being, is also the Prime and PrimalServant, giving to all creatures their sustenance in everyway both direct and indirect. Because of our naturalposition of servitude, turning from the service of the Lordmeans that we must turn to some other service. This isthe service of Maya, Illusion, for only God's service istrue.Thus we can see that, willfully, we have made our ownbeds in this world of defeat.Until the spirit soul enters upon the human platform, heremains blind and innocent of sin. He simply goes onfrom birth to birth, species to species, until he has risento the level where his body permits the flowering of long-dulled and suppressed consciousness. At this point,intractable evolution ceases, for the greater consciousnessleaves the entity literally master of his own fate. He maychoose to end the material entanglement in which he hasso long been caught, he may choose to continue humanexistence, or he may hurl himself back into the sea ofraging mortality from which he has barely just emerged.Brief though it be, this human life is supremely important.The process by which the human makes his choice andby which that choice is fulfilled is called karma. Karmameans an action and its attendant reaction. I chop atree... it falls. That is karma. In a similar sense, the mannerin which I lead this human life creates a certain effectwhich is manifested in my next birth. The culmination ofone's life is its final moment:Thinking of whatever stateHe at the end gives up his body,To that being does he attain, O Son of Kunti,Being ever absorbed in the thought thereof. (B.G. VIII,6)This is the vital, crucial decision, but one may not makeit at that last instance. Indeed, the mind will cling to itsways—and so reflect the life it has known. And in thislies the tragedy or triumph of Man. If he has lived as agoat, then he will get the body best suited to his wishes.And, has he lived as a friend to the eternal God, then hewill have birth in that eternal association, and end rebirthaltogether.This is the crux of all Vedic philosophy: one can end theround of birth and death. It can be done. One must simplysever his ties to material existence in the proper manner.Here is the formula:Save work done as and for sacrificeThis world is in bondage to work.Therefore, O Son of Kunti, do thy work as a sacrifice,Becoming free from all attachment. (B.G. III, 9)Yes, the Bhagavad-Gita says that the only means ofliberation from the forest of action-reaction is to act withoutregard for the fruits of work. In other words, to work forGod. Give Him your money, give Him your intelligence,

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Evolution and the Human Missionby Rayarama das Brahmachary


give Him your energy. Again, Sri Krishna says,Those who, laying all their actions on Me,Intent on MeWorship, meditating on Me,With unswerving devotion;These whose thoughtsAre set on Me,I straightway deliverFrom the ocean of death-bound existence,O Partha. (B.G. XII, 6 & 7)This is the way. Those not willing to follow it cannothope to gain God's association. That a strong attachmentto money, sex-life or fame exists is understood. But thatattachment must be transferred to God. If it is not, thenthe individual's consciousness can never be fixed uponHim. For those who, like Nietzsche, want to go on inthe sea, the Lord has no anger. But He has pity, and soHe explains our plight to us for our own consideration:At the coming of day, all manifested thingsCome forth from the unmanifestedAnd at the coming of night they mergeIn that same, called the unmanifested.This very same multitude of existencesArising again and againMerges helplessly at the coming of night, O Partha,And streams forth at the coming of day.But, beyond this unmanifested,There is yet another,Unmanifested eternal being,Who does not perish.This Unmanifested is called the Imperishable.Him they speak of as the Supreme Status.Those who attain to Him return not.That is My supreme abode.This is the Supreme Person, O Partha,In Whom all existences abideAnd by Whom all this is pervaded;Who can, however, be gained by unswerving devotion.

(B.G. VIII, 18-22)And so we can see that the perfection of human life,indeed the goal of goals in all this universe, is to transcendthe material engagement and to enter into the eternalAbode of Krishna—through devotional service. This isthe purpose to which a man ought wisely to dedicatehis life. Otherwise, that life is necessarily dedicated todeath, for only by God's grace can we cross the chasmof doom inherent in the flesh. Once spiritual life begins,once the transcendental consciousness is awakened,death has been conquered and life fulfilled beyond thesweetest of dreams.These concepts are not new ones, nor are they Indian,nor even Vedic. They are found in the Bible and theKoran as well as in other great scriptural literature. Thescientist may only examine the phenomenon of mortality,but he may never fully comprehend, much less overcome

it. This is the domain of the spiritualist. How then hasit come about that our world has turned from God? Whyare people by the millions accepting post-dated checksfrom the men of science, whose finest pragmaticaccomplishments are to move some tons of dead earthfrom one spot to another at great speed?When we speak of the common good among men, thefirst and most general thought to arise is that of politics.After all, isn't every politician from the President to thetown dogcatcher promising Utopia in exchange for yourvote? Those who are genuinely moved to aid theirsuffering fellow men are, of course, as rare as rubiesin the Arctic—yet even the few who have such sentimentssimply serve as agents of Illusion if they have no spiritualunderstanding. And at their heels follow their people,sheep to the block. If Mankind's mortal sufferings areto be relieved, we must have leaders of a higher caliber,men of intelligence, who can see what the mission andpurpose of human life actually are. Without such vision,no one can help his fellow man or himself.Ideal leadership is outlined in the Bhagavad-gita, byLord Krishna. There He says:As the unlearned act from attachment to their workSo should the learned also work, O Bharata,But without any attachment,With the desire to maintain the world order.Let him not unsettle the mindsOf the ignorant who are attached to action.The enlightened man doing all works in a spirit of yoga,Should set others to act as well. (B.G. III, 25 & 26)This is good leadership. Those who are themselvesmad for riches and fame cannot be expected to servethe people wisely. Those who are limited by the bodilyconcept of life are blind men, and those who imaginethemselves outside God's shelter are worse:The evil-doers who are foolish, lowest of the humans,Whose minds are carried away by illusionAnd who partake of the nature of demons,Do not seek refuge in Me. (B.G. VII, 15)It is a current fashion to exercise any limitless numberof theories as to why the United States is declining sonoticeably in moral vigor. The answer stares the historianin the face from the page of every letter and documentwritten by the Founding Fathers: they believed in God—most of them actually and ardently. This is what Americalacks today, and nothing more, twist though you mayfor a different explanation.One who has the true welfare of his fellow man in mindought to make all strenuous efforts to lead them to thegateway of God's Kingdom. Here, in devotional service,lies the end to suffering; lies peace, plenty and lifeeternal. What more can one hope to offer? This isrelease from the age-long cycle of birth and death, andthis is what all beings crave despite their delusions.At the end of many lives


The man of wisdom resorts to Me,Knowing that Vasudeva (Krishna) is all that is.Such a great soul is rarely to be found. (B.G. 19)Offer the fruit of wisdom, ripened for millenia, to yourfellows. This is the real act of love, this is the true publicservice. And, in the process, you will yourself be freed:Having come to MeThese great souls do not return to rebirth,The place of sorrow, impermanent,For they have reached the highest perfection.(B.G. VIII, 15)The Great-souled, the Mahatma, is a perfected being,a human who has gone all the way to the goal, havingturned to the Lord. He is the final, finished product ofevolution, and he has transcended that process bywhich he has risen—by dint of his own willingness tolove, and with the grace of Krishna.

Becoming a great soul, though the breed is a rare one,is not difficult. One simply chooses to dissociate frommaterial activities and to take up the spiritual line. KrishnaHimself will guide you from there.Abandoning all duties,Come to Me alone for shelter.Be not grieved,For I shall release thee from all evils.(B.G. XVIII, 66)This is the way to perfection. And, unless he takes thisproffered gift, a man's living is vain and wasted anddedicated to death. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, itis couched in these rather straightforward words:"There are 8,400,000 species of life among living entities.If one living being, having passed through this long cycleof births, comes to the human standard, and thenfoolishly misuses it, he has simply spoiled everything."

Hatha Yoga and the Bhagavad-gitaBy Satyaraja Dasa

How the Gita teaches the eight steps of hatha yoga, the topic of Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras.


According to a 2003 survey by the Sporting GoodsManufacturers Association, an estimated 13.4 millionAmericans practice yoga, and many more experimentwith it every year. Yoga is everywhere—from Mumbaito Moscow to Monte Carlo. But while yoga is meant tobring one closer to God, many of today’s yogis have adifferent agenda, the most common being to keep theirbodies in shape.

“They’re not necessarily deeply spiritual, but lookingmore to do yoga as another form of exercise,” saysJennifer McKinley, co-founder and general manager ofPlank, a Charlestown, Massachusetts, maker of chic,high-end yoga mats, totes, and other accessories.Launched in 2005, the company projects sales in theupcoming year that will rival that of Western exerciseequipment.

In an increasingly secular world, we naturally want toadapt valuable ancient techniques for contemporarypurposes, but yoga is losing its essence in the process.

Yoga is a science left to us by the sages of India. Theword yoga literally means “to link up,” and its implication,originally, was similar to the Latin root of the wordreligion, which means “to bind back.” Thus, yoga andreligion are both meant to bring us to the same end:linking up and binding with God.

The Inner Message of the Yoga-sutras

Today’s yogis might find it interesting that traditionallythe preeminent text on yoga is Bhagavad-gita—notPatanjali’s famous Yoga-sutras. But the Gita is not yourusual yoga text, full of difficult bodily poses and strenuousmeditation techniques. Rather, it offers a practical outlinefor achieving the goal of yoga—linking with God—byencouraging the chanting of Krishna’s names, byteaching how to act under Krishna’s order, and byexplaining the importance of doing one’s duty in spiritualconsciousness. These activities, properly performedunder the guidance of an adept, allow one to bypassmuch of what is considered essential in conventionalyoga.

And yet there is harmony between the Gita and theYoga-sutras. For example, both Lord Krishna andPatanjali indicate that we must transcend all falseconceptions of “I” and develop love for God, whichPatanjali calls ishvara-pranidhana (“dedication to God”).

Patanjali wrote in the third century CE, but little is knownabout his life. His only surviving text, the Yoga-sutra,would indicate that toned physical and mental tabernaclesare helpful in the pursuit of spiritual truth. In fact, his

major accomplishment is that he took age-old practicesmeant for improving the body and the mind and codifiedthem for the benefit of spiritual practitioners.

But Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras merely hint at the truthsilluminated in the Bhagavad-gita, which might beconsidered the post-graduate study of Patanjali’s work.Even so, Patanjali intended his method to be used forultimate spiritual benefit, as some of his verses, especiallylater ones, clarify. Still, many yoga practitioners todayuse his method solely for physical and mental healthbecause in the beginning of his work Patanjali mainlyfocuses on basic methods related to the body and themind, wi thout much spir i tual commentary.

In sutra 3.2, for example, we learn that dhyana, ormeditation, is the one-pointed continuous movement ofthe mind toward a single object. But Patanjali’s techniquecan be used for concentration on any object, not juston God. And even though he tells his readers the pointof his sutras—to get closer to God—one may be temptedto use his methods for selfish ends, as he says later inthe text. Ultimately, one-pointed concentration is forfocusing on God, though it’s not until one graduates tothe Bhagavad-gita that one clearly learns how to dothis.

As Professor Edwin Bryant points out in his excellentarticle Patanjali’s Theistic Preference, Or, Was theAuthor of the Yoga-sutras a Vaishnava?1 Patanjali wastrying to gear his diverse audience toward the worshipof the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even if he wasdoing so in a roundabout way. Much like today, manyforms of religion beleaguered the India of his time;practitioners worshiped numerous aspects of theSupreme. Consequently, he opted for a stepwiseapproach in his Yoga-sutras that he believed wouldaccommodate his varied audience.

Still, he asserts that the ultimate object of meditation isIshvara, which means “controller” and generally refersto God. Although there are many controllers and manyforms of the Godhead, Bhagavad-gita (18.61) says thatthe ultimate ishvara is Krishna. Other texts tell us thisas well. Consider the ancient Brahma-samhita (5.1):

ishvarah-paramah krishnahsac-cid-ananda vigrahah

anadir adir govindahsarva-karana-karanam

“Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the SupremeGodhead [ishvarah-paramah]. He has an eternal blissfulspiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no otherorigin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.”


Patanjali advises his audience to choose an ishta-devata, a deity of their choice. His reasoning istransparent: He is trying to teach a method of meditation,and learning this method is easiest if one practices ona subject close to one’s heart.

Did Patanjali have Krishna in mind when he outlinedthe yoga process and its goal of love of God? For onelearned in the Vedic literature, it is obvious that theanswer is yes. In the words of Edwin Bryant:

Krishna is … promoted by the Gita as possessing allthe … qualities listed by Patanjali as pertaining to ishvara,namely, being transcendental to karma, of unsurpassedomniscience, teacher of the ancients, untouched byTime, represented by om, and awarding enlightenment.Krishna is not touched or bound by karma (Gita, IV.14,IX.9), and, in terms of omniscience, He is the beginning,middle and end of all (X.20 & 32), who pervades theentire universe with but a single fragment of Himself(X.42). Krishna taught the ancients (here specified asVivashvan, the sun god, who in turn imparted knowledgeto Manu, the progenitor of mankind [IV.1]) and is HimselfTime (X.30 & 33; XI.32). He is also the syllable om(IX.17). And, of course, Krishna assures His devoteesthat He will free them from the snares of this world suchthat they attain the supreme goal (IX.30-32; X.X; VIII.58). There is thus perfect compatibility betweenPatanjali’s unnamed ishvara and Krishna as depictedin the Gita.2

The commentarial tradition of the Yoga-sutras bearsthis out. Patanjali’s major commentators were Vyasa(fifth century CE, not to be confused with the compilerof the Vedic literature), Vachaspati Mishra (ninth centuryCE), Bhoja Raja (eleventh century CE), andVijnanabhikshu (sixteenth century CE). All identify theishvara of the Yoga-sutras with Vishnu or Krishna andshow how the Bhagavad-gita expresses the culminationof all Vedic wisdom relating to yoga.

The Gita’s Eight Limbs

The Bhagavad-gita addresses all eight limbs of raja-yoga, the form of yoga popular today as ashtanga yogaor hatha yoga.3 For example, yama, the first limb,consists of five ethical principles: truthfulness, continence,nonviolence, noncovetousness, and abstention fromstealing. These fundamental disciplines of yoga arementioned in the Gita, as is niyama, the second limb,which consists of things like worship, cleanliness,contentment, auster i ty, and sel f -ref lect ion.

Now, the third limb of Patanjali’s method, asana, is lessobvious in the Gita. The term asana appears infrequentlyon Lord Krishna’s lips. But when it does, it refers to “theplace where one sits for spiritual practice.” The Gitadoes not give tips on sitting postures. Its Sixth Chapter,though, comes close. Verses 11 and 12 state: “Topractice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and

should lay kusha grass on the ground and then coverit with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat [asana]should be neither too high nor too low and should besituated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit onit very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart bycontrolling his mind, senses, and activities and fixingthe mind on one point.”

Here Krishna uses the word asana in a general ratherthan technical sense. He is talking about sitting to focusthe mind.

It’s easy to lose focus, and that’s basically Arjuna’sargument against hatha yoga. In fact, Patanjali himselfidentifies nine obstacles on the path: doubt, disease,lethargy, mental laziness, false perception, lack ofenthusiasm, clinging to sense enjoyment, lack ofconcentration, and losing concentration. Hiscommentators list several others as well, includinginordinate attraction to yogic powers, a misconceivedview of meditation, oversimplification of yoga’s eightlimbs, and irregularity of practice. All of these problemsare traceable to the difficult nature of Patanjali’s methodand are why Arjuna views hatha yoga as virtuallyimpossible. By the end of the Sixth Chapter hedenounces it as too difficult. Krishna agrees, tellingArjuna that the ultimate yogi always thinks of God. Hefurther tells him that such meditation is real yoga, implyingthat using one’s body and mind in Krishna’s service isthe perfect asana.

The Gita also discusses pranayama, or breath control,the fourth limb. Krishna says that yogis can use theincoming and outgoing breath as offerings to Him. Hespeaks about dedicating one’s life breath to God. Hetells Arjuna that His devotees’ prana, or air of life, ismeant for God and that Arjuna should use it “to cometo Me.” In fact, if one follows Arjuna’s example and offersevery breath to Krishna—by speaking about Him,chanting His glories, and living for Him—there is littleneed for breath control as delineated in Patanjali’ssutras. Breathing for God is the essence of pranayama.Srila Prabhupada writes, “Chanting of the holy name ofthe Lord and dancing in ecstasy are also consideredpranayama.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.23.8, Purport)

The fifth limb of yoga, pratyahara, deals with thewithdrawal of the senses, a major subject in theBhagavad-gita. In the Second Chapter Krishna tellsArjuna that the yogi withdraws his senses from senseobjects, “as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell.”Taken superficially, this might seem to suggest fullrenunciation of the world. But that’s not what Krishnais getting at. Rather, as other verses make clear, He’steaching how to renounce the fruits of work, not workitself, and how to be in the world but not of it. In otherwords, His teaching centers on how to withdraw one’sattachment to sense objects for personal enjoyment.He instructs us to use these same objects in the service


of God. That is true pratyahara.

The Upper Limbs

And then we have the culmination of yoga practice—the last three limbs of raja-yoga: dharana, dhyana, andsamadhi, or concentration, meditation, and completeabsorption.

While yama and niyama are preliminary steps, thesethree are called samyama, “the perfect discipline” or“perfect practice.” Bhagavad-gita speaks extensively ofthese upper limbs. For example, Lord Krishna states,“Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me.Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt. Mydear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix yourmind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulativeprinciples of bhakti-yoga [abhyasa-yogena]. In this waydevelop a desire to attain Me.” (Bg. 12.8–9)

The process of Krishna consciousness is practicaldharana, or spiritual concentration. By seeing paintingsof Krishna, we use our sense of sight for God; bychanting and hearing we engage the tongue and theear; by offering incense to Krishna we engage our senseof smell. All the senses can help us engage in dharana,leading to advanced states of meditation and absorption.

The holy name is particularly effective in this regard.That’s why Krishna says that of austerities He is theausterity of japa, private chanting, especially whilecounting on beads. Chanting is the king of austeritiesbecause by chanting we can easily reach the goal ofyoga. It all comes together in the practice of japa becauseby chanting God’s names we focus on Him with ourvoice, ears, and sense of touch. And kirtana,congregational chanting, not only takes us to deep levels

of absorption but engages the senses of onlookers aswell. In sutra 1.28, Patanjali, too, promotes “constantchanting.”

Overall, Patanjali’s ambivalence might appear confusing.When he first mentions ishvara-pranidhana, dedicationto God, he presents it as optional, while later he givesit far more attention, with six verses elaborating on thenature of ishvara. In the beginning he seems to allowvariance in the object of meditation (1.34-38), butultimately he advises the yogi to focus on ishvara, whoin Patanjali’s words is the “special supreme soul” whoalone can bestow samadhi, yogic perfection.

Patanjali says in sutra 3.3 that samadhi occurs whenthe object of your meditation appears in your heart ofhearts without any competitors or distractions. You haveno other interest, as if your intrinsic nature loses meaning.

The Bhagavad-gita makes it clearer. In samadhi yourintrinsic nature doesn’t lose meaning. Rather, it takeson new meaning: You see yourself in relation to Krishna.You are now His devotee; He’s the focus of your life.That state of perfect and total absorption is called Krishnaconsciousness.

Footnotes: 1. Edwin F. Bryant, “Patanjali’s TheisticPreference, Or, Was the Author of the Yoga-sutras aVaishnava,” in The Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Volume14, Number 1 (Fall 2005).

2. Ibid.

3. This has been pointed out by my friend GrahamSchweig, professor of religion at Christopher NewportUniversity, Virginia. Much of the material in this articleon the eight limbs of yoga comes from his interviewsand lectures.

Under the Vidya Dana Scheme,Akshaya note books weredistributed at the GovernmentCompos i te H igh Schoo l ,Hegganahalli, Bangalore NorthTaluk.

The note books were distributedby the donor and area MLA(Darasahal l i Const i tuency)Sri Muniraju S, on January 10,2009.

Vidya Dana


Sri Sadananda Maiyya, Managing Director, MTRFoods, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, President ISKCONBangalore and cine actor Sri Ganesh inauguratethe annual food festival, Tastes of India, at theOpen Air Theatre in the ISKCON temple premisesat Rajaji Nagar (above-right).Sri Ganesh shares sweets with school childrenwho are Akshaya Patra beneficiaries, at theinauguration (right).Bangaloreans relish the variety of delectablevegetarian sattvic fare at the food festival (below).


Ratha Yatra 2009

The CNBC India Business LeaderAwards were conferred in Mumbaion January 22nd, 2009 andAkshaya Patra received the awardunder the Social Enterprise of theyear category. (right) The AkshayaPatra Foundation Chairman, SriMadhu Pandit Dasa receives theaward from Cine Actor, Sri AamirKhan.

(below) Chief Guest, Sri Sri Sri Adichunchungiri BalagangadharanathaSwami, with Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, President ISKCON Bangalore,Sri Narendra Babu, MLA Mahalaxmipuram and Dr. Ashwathnarayan,MLA Malleshwaram, at the inauguration of the annual Sri Sri KrishnaBalarama Ratha Yatra in Bangalore, January 2009.

One more award for Akshaya Patra


News from HubliVAIKUNTHA EKADASHI CELEBRATIONS

Around 15,000 people thronged the ISKCONTemple at Rayapur to enter the Vaikuntha Dwaraon Vaikunta Ekadashi, where the beautifulDiorama Deities of Sri Lakshmi Narayanaaccompanied by the devatas like Brahma,

Narada, Garuda gave audience to the devotees.The Vaikuntha Dwara was inaugurated by SriPradyumna Acharya, a renowned Madhvascholar. Thousands of people participated in theLaksharchana seva and Venkateshwara homa.Sri Jagadish Shettar had darshana of TheirLordships and participated in various sevas.

Imagine an event that has cows walking the ramp! ISKCON Bangalore partneredwith Radio Mirchi for this unique Shankranthi event called Kombu Mela to promotethe cause of cattle protection, held on Shankrathi evening at the ISKCON OpenAir Theatre. This Love Your Cow festival had youth grouped in teams of three each,dressing up the cows in various decorations consisting of cloth, beads and otherornamentation and then accompanying them to walk the ramp in a fun filledcompetition. Three of the best decorated cows won the Punyakoti (1st) prize, theNandini (2nd) prize and the Surabhi (3rd) prize. The cows were given brightlycoloured badges announcing their prizes and were also crowned with flower garlandsand honoured with fruit and vegetable garlands, which they later shared with theother competitors.

(left & right) Competitors at theKombu Mela and (below) theprize winning cows with their

teams.


Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Smt. MariaTeresa Fernandez de la Vega, during her visitto the ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna temple.

Distinguished Visitors

Dr. Veerendra Hegde of SDM Society visitedthe Akshaya Patra kitchen in Hubli

Gokaldas Exports Ltd. contributed Rs. 1 croreto the Akshaya Patra program. Seen here are(left to right) Smt. Dayawanthi Hinduja,Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, TAPF,Sri Rajendra Hinduja, Sri. Madanlal Hindujaand Sri Dinesh Hinduja.

Sri V. V. R. Sastry, Chairmanand Managing Director, BharatElectronics, is seen here,flagging off the bus that wasdonated by the company to theAkshaya Patra mid day mealprogram.

Bharat Electronics donates bus to Akshaya Patra

Krishna Voice Monthly Magazine, February 2009 Vol10, No.1 Price Rs 15/-Posted on 5th or 10th of the Month at MBC, Manipal, License to post without prepayment No. WPP(CO-8), Reg No. KA/BGGPO2521/ 2009-11, Registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India under No. RNI 71022/99, Posted at MBC, Manipal, 576104.

Laksharchana Seva before the Vaikuntha Dwara at ISKCON Bangalore’s Vaikuntha Hill, Kanakapura Road, Bangalore.

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madhu pandit - krishna voice 2009 02(feb)

Education