A fundamental tenet of Krishna conscious philosophy is recognising who is in control. Not just in theory, but at every moment. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna repeatedly declares himself to be the supreme controller (e.g. 5.29, 9.12, 18.61) and consequently tells us to “never consider ourselves the cause of the results” of our work (2.47). This is self-evident. Despite our best endeavours, we may never achieve that vast fortune we hoped for, or amass those ten million followers on social media. We may instead find ourselves in all sorts of painful situations, wondering what went wrong. As the old saying goes, man proposes, God disposes.
Knowing this, a Krishna conscious person strives only to please the Lord, leaving the results in his hands. However, in pursuing this noble ideal, we encounter certain problems. The first is forgetfulness. How often do we forget Krishna’s supreme control, losing ourselves in vain struggles to achieve an unattainable goal, such as the above? Or fall into the trap of thinking that if we could get others to change their ways, our happiness would be secured? Surely a futile endeavour.
Yet, if Krishna, the all-pervading Supersoul, wishes, our desired outcomes could be accomplished immediately. But no matter how hard we try, we will be thwarted without his sanction. This brings us to the second problem we face in our efforts to please him: what does he want? How can we know the Lord’s mind? Perhaps we could solve this problem by asking our guru, Krishna’s via media. But what if we don’t have such a person available? Could we go directly to Krishna, as we see from the example of the Devas, the universal administrators?
In Srimad Bhagavatam, the Devas provide illuminating lessons in recognising our dependence on Krishna. In their perennial struggles with the demonic Asuras, they are sometimes overcome and even repelled from the heavens. They inevitably approach Lord Vishnu for protection, and he reciprocates with their prayerful appeals to restore them to their positions. On the other hand, the demons have no faith in Krishna and never seek his shelter. Hence, they are baffled in their endeavours. In one famous episode found in Canto Eight of the Bhagavatam, the churning of the milk ocean, Shukadeva Goswami said: “The place, the time, the cause, the purpose, the activity and the ambition were all the same for both the demigods and the demons, but the demigods achieved one result and the demons another. Because the demigods are always under the shelter of the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet, they could very easily drink the nectar and get its result. The demons, however, not having sought shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord, were unable to achieve the result they desired.” (SB 8.9.28)
Commenting on the above, Srila Prabhupada writes: “The demons or atheists have faith in their own endeavours, but although they work very hard day and night, they cannot get any more than their destiny. The devotees, however, can surpass the reactions of karma and achieve wonderful results, even without effort.”
If we fail to take shelter of Krishna, we are striving vainly against our karma and merely creating more. The Devas know this very well and therefore always turn to the Lord. Even from the beginning of the creation, when the elemental gods found themselves unable towork combinedly to create the universe, they prayed to Lord Vishnu, concluding their prayers with:“Kindly award us your perfect knowledge and potency so that we can render you service in the different departments of subsequent creation.” (SB 3.5.51)
As they show, knowledge and power come from Krishna. Especially the knowledge of precisely what the Lord wants us to do. In a discussion with Lord Chaitanya, Haridas Thakur said, “We are falsely proud of our capabilities. Actually, we cannot understand your deep intentions. Unless you inform us, we cannot understand what your purpose is or what you want to do through whom.” (CC Antya Lila 4.89-90)
So, how exactly do we know what Krishna wants? How does he inform us? Unlike the Devas, who can directly approach the Lord, as could the exalted Haridas, we must find some other means. Thankfully, Krishna has provided that through his instructions, such as the Gita. But then we face a third problem: how do we correctly understand Krishna’s directions and their specific application in our lives?
Here, it gets a little tricky. We learn from Lord Kapila in Srimad Bhagavatam (3.29.8-10) that bhakti, which includes hearing, can be done in any of the three modes of nature. Srila Prabhupada writes (3.29.10 purp.): “There is hearing in the mode of passion, in the mode of ignorance and in the mode of goodness.” If we are still influenced by passion and ignorance—lust, envy, pride, etc.—we will likely get the wrong understanding and pursue the wrong goals, conducted only by our destiny.
The Gita provides the answer to this conundrum in its seed verses. In 10.9, Krishna describes the activities of pure devotees. They are always absorbed in thinking of him and “derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about me.” The Lord goes on to say that to such souls, he “gives the understanding by which they can come to me.” (10.10) In the purport to this last verse, Srila Prabhupada writes: “A person may have a bona fide spiritual master and may be attached to a spiritual organisation, but if he is still not intelligent enough to make progress, then Kṛṣṇa from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to him without difficulty.”
So, can we do any service and get this intelligence? Certainly. Srila Prabhupada says that in the above purport, but we must first solve the problem of knowing exactly what our service is. For me, the key to this lies in the direction to “enlighten one another” through discussions about Krishna. Indeed, hearing about the Lord is critical to the success of any service. Srila Prabhupada writes: “…out of all the nine different methods, the first one, namely hearing, is the most important function in the process of bhakti-yoga. Without hearing sufficiently and properly, no one can make any progress by any of the methods of practice.” (SB 2.2.36 purp.)
I understand, therefore, that to receive the intelligence required to serve Krishna, we must discuss Srila Prabhupada’s books, “sufficiently and properly”. Reading them alone presents the danger that we may interpret them through the lens of whatever modes we are under. Crucially, in the first purport of the Gita, Srila Prabhupada tells us how to understand it properly. He says that “one should read Bhagavad-gītā very scrutinisingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations.” (Bg 1.1 purp). The help of a devotee doubtlessly means Srila Prabhupada himself. Still, we also need other devotees to help, other ‘lenses’ through which to see the sastra so those insidious personal motives won’t influence our understanding.
Discussions can also be problematic. They can quickly descend into debates, with the opposing parties vigorously defending their particular interpretations of sastra. This can become quite combative, against the principle of sastra discussion, which should be enjoyable. SB 3.25.25 says, “In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart.”
How can we avoid this danger and discuss sastra to enlighten and enliven one another, thereby receiving the intelligence we need to know what Krishna wants? This is called vada discussions, which aim to understand what is right, not who is right. The secret lies in our attitude, firstly of wanting to know the truth and thus being prepared to let go of mistaken beliefs we may hold. Srila Prabhupada would sometimes refer to this as being like a “blank slate”. He said, “So here also, the Lord says that tad viddhi: “If you want to understand that transcendental subject matter, then you must approach a person, a bona fide spiritual master.” And the process is praṇipāta, praṇipātena. Praṇipāta means full surrender. Pra means prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa, fully, and nipāta means completely becoming a blank slate.” (Lecture on the Gita 4.24-34, New York August 10, 1966)
We must approach Srila Prabhupada through his books with “full surrender”, which means we are ready for him to change our minds. This is achieved in vada discussions, which unlock the transformative power of Prabhupada’s words. “The messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are full of potencies, and these potencies can be realized if topics regarding the Supreme Godhead are discussed amongst devotees.” (Gita 9.1. purp.)
We should also have an attitude of service, of assisting other devotees in their understanding rather than imposing our views on them. In this respect, there are many instructions from Srila Prabhupada, explaining how to effectively discuss his books together, bringing out their deeper meaning and application in our lives. These can be found here: https://improvingsanga.com/principles/
Essentially, we should discuss with humility, gratitude, mutual appreciation and respect. Accept that everyone has something to offer, that Krishna is in every heart and can speak through any of us. Srila Prabhupada said: “Without being gentle, humble, how one can be a man of knowledge? ………..Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane. One has to become brahmana. Brahmana means vidya-vinaya-sampanna. He must be learned and humble. ……. Vidya means he must be very gentle, namra. That is vidya. Education does not mean unnecessarily to become proud. …… So Krishna says that in the process of acquiring knowledge, one must be very humble and meek. This is the first qualification.” Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 13.8-12 — Bombay, October 3, 1973
The effects are wondrous. Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavatam: “One should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord. This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are able to give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering.” (SB 11.3.30)
Returning then to my initial point, to avoid the demonic tendency to think ourselves as independent actors, forgetting Krishna, falsely proud of our capabilities and striving vainly to achieve the wrong goals (or perhaps the right goals in the wrong way), we should learn the art of coming together to discuss Prabhupada’s books and get our guidance from him, which means from Krishna. The more we do this, the more we will receive the required intelligence or buddhi.
Now that we face many critical and divisive issues, surely this is the best way forward. Martin Luther King famously said that when he faced a particularly difficult day, he would spend an extra hour “on his knees”, seeking the Lord’s guidance. I have often seen how the thorniest of problems can be resolved in the light of sastra when we discuss together in the right mood. It must sure beats tedious management meetings. Indeed, it is the real meaning of istagosthi, which have come to be seen as managerial discussions. “For a devotee, there is no point in making friendships with ordinary persons; he should make friendship with other devotees so that by discussing among themselves, they may elevate one another on the path of spiritual understanding. This is called ista-gosthi.” (SB 3.29.17)
I will end with one last quote from Srila Prabhupada, describing the wonderful result of such sankirtana: “This process of hearing about and glorifying the Lord is applicable for everyone, whoever he may be, and it will lead one to the ultimate success in everything in which one may be engaged by providence.” (SB 2.1.5)
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112078
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