It has been explained so far that Shyamsundar is the Soul of every soul and that the individual souls constitute the body of Shyamsundar. Just as our material body constantly serves the soul by trying to give it happiness through every thought and action, similarly the individual soul is an eternal servant of God. But since time immemorial, we have accepted the body to be the self, and therefore have been constantly trying to gratify the senses with material objects. However, if we realize our true nature as eternal servants of Shree Krishna, there will be neither a delay in attaining Him, nor a need to practice further spiritual discipline.
Next, you were told about who it is that has to accept Shyamsunder as his own, love Him and surrender to Him. The soul does not perform actions and the actions of the sense organs are not accepted as actions even in the material world, what to speak then of the spiritual realm! Even in the material world a person is not punished if it is proven that he did not intentionally commit a crime. Let us say you are driving. You are on the correct side of the road, you are within the speed limit, and the brakes in your car are in perfect condition. Suddenly someone comes from the wrong side, crosses the road and gets hit by your car. You will not be held responsible although the accident may have resulted in death. Why? Because you did not kill anyone intentionally. Someone lunges at you with a knife and you punch him in self-defence, and that blow results in his death. Again, you are not held responsible, since it was not your intent to kill him. You merely attacked him in self-defence, and he died. Even worldly courts judge a crime by motive. In the same way, the spiritual government too is solely concerned with the motive behind our actions. Actions performed by the sense organs are not taken into consideration. Had they been taken into account, we would have realized God not just once but innumerable times by now. In infinite lifetimes, we have chanted the names of God countless times; we have touched the feet of innumerable Saints; we have seen innumerable descensions of God. With all this, we should have realized God not once, but countless times. But all this was just a physical drill, an external show. We chanted the names of God with our tongue, bowed our head before Him and the Saints, yet remained attached to the world from within. There is something within that has to surrender. It is the inner mechanism – the mind - that has to realize that ‘I am a servant of Shree Krishna.’ It is not the soul that has to surrender, because the soul is not the performer of actions. If the soul were the doer then we would not have been in the bad shape we are in today. The soul merely passes judgement on everything grasped by the senses. Our eyes see something and report it to the mind. The mind likes what the eyes have seen, and passes the information on to the intellect. The intellect is unable to make a decision, so the soul gives the judgement. “No, this is not what I want.” Again, the senses go to work to present something else to the soul for approval. In this way, we have spent countless lifetimes in infinite universes, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling the world, and each time the soul has decided, “This is not mine.” “Then what is yours; what is it that you want?” “I do not know, but when I get it, I will immediately tell you, ‘Stop! Stop! Now all you servants can go and rest.’” But until the soul attains what it is looking for – God – none of its servants can rest even for a moment.
न हि कश्चित् क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्य कर्मकृत्
The senses, mind and intellect will have to serve the soul each and every moment. They cannot resign or revolt. The performer of every action is the antahkaran, the internal machinery, which I have defined in detail as the mind, intellect, and ego collectively. It is sometimes defined as the mind plus intellect, and sometimes as just the mind. Everything depends upon this machinery. Bondage and liberation; pleasure and pain; the goals we set for ourselves, and the process to attain them, all depend upon the mind. This mind is very intriguing. It will not leave you until you cross the bondage of the three types of bodies. These three types of bodies are: sthool shareer, the gross physical body, sookshma shareer, the subtle body, and kaaran shareer, the causal body. When the soul attains liberation from the bondage of these three bodies, it becomes eternally blissful. Let us briefly understand these three bodies.
The gross body is made of the five material elements. This is the body we see; the body made of flesh and blood, comprised of hands, feet, nose, eyes, ears etc.
Next is the subtle body. This body, comprised of eighteen elements, is the most powerful of all. Isn’t it extraordinary that the subtle body has eighteen elements, while the gross body has only five! The five elements of the gross body are: ether, air, fire, water and earth. And the eighteen elements of the subtle body are: the five vital breaths (praan, apaan, udaan, samaan, vyaan), the five senses of perception (eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue), and the five senses of action (hands, feet, larynx, reproductive organs and organs of excretion). Then there are the mind, intellect, and ego. Thus, the subtle body is composed of these eighteen elements. This subtle body accompanies us after death. Regardless of whether you are born as a cat, dog, or heavenly god, and regardless of where you go after death, the subtle body consisting of eighteen elements accompanies you. It will remain with you until you transcend it. Gyanis, the impersonalists, attempt to destroy the subtle body, and on the path of bhakti, this subtle body becomes divine. However, this subtle body does not leave the materially-bound soul even after death. Sometimes, when you are in great distress, you think, “If I die, I will be free of all this.” But you are mistaken, for even then you will not be free. The cause of your problem is the subtle body and that will accompany you even after death. Then how can death release you from your miseries? The gross body is not the culprit. Worry, happiness and distress are experienced from within, by the mind. So what difference will it make if we leave this body? We will still have the same mind, the same senses, and the same intellect. All these are components of the subtle body, which accompanies us after death.
There is a third body referred to as kaaran shareer, or causal body, which is extremely difficult to understand. Broadly, it can be described as the body that is the seat of all our passions and desires. Take the example of a seed. The seed contains within it potential branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. This is not apparent when you see the tiny seed. But when you plant it within the earth, the seed eventually becomes a huge tree. Thus, the tree was inherent within the seed and it came out when the seed was planted. This is not the work of the earth. The earth is just a helper. The main thing is the seed. So, this causal body is like the seed, and is the root of all our desires, caused by impressions of countless past lives. One who goes beyond the three bodies attains freedom from all types of bondage and becomes blissful.
It is worth mentioning here that there is one kind of bliss, or anand that you will come across in the future which is dangerous, that of the anandmaya kosh, the Sheath of Bliss. You have not yet attained that bliss. But when you do, you will have to be very cautious, or you will stop right there, thinking it to be the highest state. In all, there are five sheaths covering the soul. The first is the annamaya kosh, the Food Sheath. Beyond that is the pranamaya kosh, the Vital Air Sheath. The third is the manomaya kosh, Mental Sheath. The fourth is the vigyanamaya kosh, Intellectual Sheath. And finally, there is the anandmaya kosh, Blissful Sheath. It is only after transcending all five that you attain the ultimate Bliss. At present we are still confined to the annamaya kosh. We are at the lowest level. Let me briefly explain these five sheaths. I have already told you about three kinds of bodies. The gross body comprises the first sheath, the annamaya kosh. You eat food, and this sheath is sustained by the food you eat. If you stop eating, the body’s work will come to a halt. This body is such that it works only when it receives the necessary vitamins, proteins and nutrients. If you do not give it the required balanced diet, it will protest. In what way? You will become ill and you may even die. This is the reason why I specifically mentioned to you yesterday that food has an effect on the mind. Until you cross the level of the food sheath, your diet should be a well-regulated one. You should avoid tamasic and rajasic foods. Meat and wine are classified as tamasic foods. Hot, spicy and fried foods are classified as rajasic foods. These foods affect the mind, causing an impediment in the path of devotion.
Let us speak of the next sheath, pranamaya kosh. The pranamaya kosh consists of the five pranas, or vital airs in the body, and the five karm indriyas, or senses of action. The next sheath is the manomaya kosh, which consists of the mana, or mind, and the five gyan indriyas, or the senses of perception. Next, is the vigyanamaya kosh, which consists of the five senses of perception and the intellect. The last sheath is the anandamaya kosh, which consists of the causal body. This is the most subtle of all. You can get a little idea of the anandamaya kosh when you are in deep sleep, a state in which the sense organs, the mind, and the intellect do not perform actions. Such a state can be understood as the state of the causal body. You can get a glimpse of this bliss in your daily life. It is experienced not in deep sleep, but when you are just entering the state of deep sleep from the waking state. Everyone has their own style of sleeping, but when you put your head on the pillow and position your arms and legs naturally, the final moment before you cross over into sleep, is a glimpse of what the scriptures describe as the turiya stage. You experience the greatest joy possible in the material realm at the precise moment of entering deep sleep. This is the greatest joy. The second greatest joy is the state of deep sleep when you do not dream. And in the third category falls all the happiness you experience from worldly relationships and objects – from husband, wife, rasgulla and wealth. Therefore, the greatest pleasure comes free, and those who are poor enjoy more of it than others. They work all day and enjoy sound sleep at night, without any dreams to disturb them. When wealthy people try to sleep, they are able to do so with great difficulty. They toss and turn in bed for hours. And even when they sleep, their troubles pursue them in their dreams. They do not enjoy freedom from their sorrows until they wake up. And when they do, the unpleasant memories of their dreams still plague them. These unfortunate people cannot even enjoy the pleasure of sleep. What happiness will they get in the waking state! Everyone has dreams, but the working class people get more deep sleep. They do not have so many dreams. Those of you who work hard, sleep soundly at night, whereas those of you who do little work, dream all night long.
Thus, the highest state of happiness in the material world is the state of deep sleep. Whatever happiness you get from the luxuries and pleasures of this world is surpassed by the pleasure of deep sleep, or sushupti. Higher than this pleasure is the joy experienced when entering the state of deep sleep from the waking state. But all these are included within the anandamaya kosh. It is only when you cross this sheath that you attain Divine Bliss. This sheath is destroyed only when we realize God, and receive His Grace. It cannot be destroyed by any independent sadhana. On the path of gyan, many elaborate techniques have been recommended to destroy these sheaths. But on the path of bhakti, the aspiring devotee does not need to endeavor separately for this.
अनिमित्ता भागवती भक्तिः सिद्धेर्गरीयसी ।
जरयत्याशु या कोशं निगीर्णकनलो यथा ॥
Suppose someone is eating, and you ask him, “Why are you eating?” “I am hungry. Why else would I be eating?”. “Do you understand how the food gets digested?” “No, I do not. All I know is that I feel hungry, and so I eat.” “Do you know what happens to the food after you eat it?” “Why should I bother about that? Whatever happens, happens.” Without your thinking about it, this food changes into liquid, then blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen. All these are produced without any conscious effort on our part. We do not have time to reflect on all of this, but it happens anyway. The body grows taller with the elongation of bones, and flesh gets added to it. In the same way, the five sheaths are automatically destroyed in the fire of separation from Shree Krishna. A devotee does not have to think, “I love Shree Krishna, but what do I do about these enemies, the five sheaths?” The fire of separation, which arises due to devotion, burns these sheaths, and the devotee does not need to make a separate attempt to destroy them.
What I am pointing out is that the ultimate Bliss you are seeking is beyond the anandmaya kosh. When you cross the vigyanamaya kosh and reach the anandamaya kosh you will experience great happiness. This is the greatest danger. If your guru has not attained perfection, then you will stop here, thinking, “What greater pleasure than this could there possibly be?” If a little child is offered to choose between pearls and chocolate, he will naturally choose chocolate. He does not know anything beyond that. Likewise, the soul who is hungry for unlimited bliss since beginningless time, finds the bliss he experiences in anandamaya kosh to be unique and falls into the danger of remaining in this stage unless he has a Guru who can alert him to this final point of danger. In the absence of a Guru, the aspirant can go astray.
Suppose someone is eating, and you ask him, “Why are you eating?” “I am hungry. Why else would I be eating?”. “Do you understand how the food gets digested?” “No, I do not. All I know is that I feel hungry, and so I eat.” “Do you know what happens to the food after you eat it?” “Why should I bother about that? Whatever happens, happens.” Without your thinking about it, this food changes into liquid, then blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen. All these are produced without any conscious effort on our part. We do not have time to reflect on all of this, but it happens anyway. The body grows taller with the elongation of bones, and flesh gets added to it. In the same way, the five sheaths are automatically destroyed in the fire of separation from Shree Krishna. A devotee does not have to think, “I love Shree Krishna, but what do I do about these enemies, the five sheaths?” The fire of separation, which arises due to devotion, burns these sheaths, and the devotee does not need to make a separate attempt to destroy them.
What I am pointing out is that the ultimate Bliss you are seeking is beyond the anandmaya kosh. When you cross the vigyanamaya kosh and reach the anandamaya kosh you will experience great happiness. This is the greatest danger. If your guru has not attained perfection, then you will stop here, thinking, “What greater pleasure than this could there possibly be?” If a little child is offered to choose between pearls and chocolate, he will naturally choose chocolate. He does not know anything beyond that. Likewise, the soul who is hungry for unlimited bliss since beginningless time, finds the bliss he experiences in anandamaya kosh to be unique and falls into the danger of remaining in this stage unless he has a Guru who can alert him to this final point of danger. In the absence of a Guru, the aspirant can go astray.
To come back to the point being discussed, it is this extraordinary mind that has to be surrendered to God. It is the mind that has to think, “Shyamsundar is mine.” It is the mind that has to practice devotion. Everything depends upon the mind. I have pointed out to you repeatedly that the barrier that prevents us from accepting Shree Krishna as ours is pride. The more pride a person has, the greater the trouble he is in. Here you are singing nectarean devotional songs, the depth of which you will only be able to appreciate after realizing God. Some of you do try to penetrate into the depth of emotions contained within these songs, but others merely mouth the words. हमारो पि्रयतम नन्दकिशोर ...They sing as though they are being forced to take some bitter medicine. We have to make an effort to feel the loving emotions expressed in the songs. What prevents us from making an effort is the ego. God has only one enemy and that is pride. Shree Krishna says in the Geeta:
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेष्ा न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न पि्रयः ॥
“I have neither friend nor enemy.” This was said only to fool others. He does in fact have an enemy, and it is pride. He has a friend too, and that is humility, the opposite of pride. You can enslave God with humility. And even if he has come into your heart, he will run away if there is pride. Pride is God’s worst enemy. Just as light and darkness are opposites of one another and cannot reside together in one place, likewise, pride and God cannot dwell in the same heart together. Narad Ji states:
ईश्वरस्याप्यभिमानद्वेषित्वात् दैन्यपि्रयत्वाच्च ।
“God has
an aversion to pride,” and दैन्यपि्रयत्वाच्च
Shree Krishna
thought, “I have to rectify these three.
But they are not going to listen to any lecture of mine. I have to think of something else.” So He summoned Garud and said, “I want you to
fetch me a flower from the pond of Kuber.
I have heard that flowers there have an exquisite fragrance.” Garud replied, “Lord, I will bring the
flowers immediately.” This was not a
difficult task for Garud who has access to the three worlds and can reach
anywhere in the universe without making an effort. So he immediately flew and reached Kuber’s
lake in heaven. There, he saw a
beautiful lotus in bloom. He was about
to pluck it when a voice stopped him. It
was Hanuman, the great devotee of Shree Ram.
Hanuman asked Garud, “Who are you, and why are you plucking that
flower?” “I am Garud, and I am taking
the flower for Shree Krishna.” “How dare
you pluck this flower without permission?”
“Whose permission do I need?”
Hearing this, Hanuman took two steps forward, grabbed Garud, and held
him under his armpit. Garud tried
frantically to free himself from Hanuman’s hold but he could not move at
all. Hanuman then flew towards Dvarika
with the lotus in his hand, in the hope of seeing his Lord. When he came close to Dvarika, Sudarshan
Chakra stopped him, because it was his job to protect the kingdom against intruders.
Sudarshan Chakra would circle Dvarika,
guarding it at all times. The Chakra saw
a majestic and fearsome form traveling at great speed towards Dvarika, and
confronted it. But Hanuman caught him
promptly, and put him under the other armpit.
Then he walked grandly into Shree Krishna’s palace without bothering to
ask for permission anywhere. Which gatekeeper
could possibly stand up to someone who is capable of holding Garud and the
Chakra under his armpits?
Shree Krishna,
expecting Hanuman’s arrival, said to Rukmini, “Hanuman will soon be here and he
is very angry.” Why? “Don’t ask why right now, we have to hurry.” “What do we have to do?” “I will become Ram and you become Sita, or
else he will devastate the entire Dvarika in a second. He singlehandedly burnt Ravan’s Lanka;
nothing is impossible for him.” Saying
this, Shree Krishna became Ram instantly. But who could become Sita? Rukmini was not capable of it. So Shree Krishna advised His queens, “Pray to
Radha. She will come immediately and become Sita. Otherwise, Dvarika is lost. No one will survive.” So Rukmini meditated on Radha, “O Queen of
Vrindaban! Have mercy on us. We are all in great danger.” Radha Rani arrived immediately, assuming the
form of Sita. In this way, Rukmini was
displaced from her place on the throne. Hanuman
reached there in an angry mood but when he saw Shree Ram and Sita he was
pacified. Shree Krishna questioned him,
“What do you have under both armpits?”
Hanuman said, “I was in the garden
of Kuber
Once Arjun
became proud that he was someone special. He started thinking, “Shree Krishna cleans and
washes my horses and tends to them after the battle, while I take rest. He drives my chariot, and respects me so
much. He has even given me His sister in
marriage, making me His brother-in-law.”
Arjun had a great reputation as being the wielder of the famous Gandeev
bow, and in addition he received so much affection and respect from Shree Krishna
that he became proud. So Shree Krishna
thought, “This is an unnecessary disease that he has developed. It requires surgery. If not directly, the surgery has to be
performed in a roundabout way.” One day,
Shree Krishna and Arjun happened to be passing through a forest. There they chanced upon a man holding a sword
in one hand and eating dry leaves with the other. Arjun said to Shree Krishna, “Look at this
crazy man. He is eating dry
leaves.” Shree Krishna said, “He must be
a drunkard.” Arjun was curious, so he
went and asked the man the reason for his strange behavior, “Why are you eating
these dry leaves?” “What I eat does not
concern you. Why are you disturbing
me? Leave me alone.” Arjun said, “I mean well. There are so many green leaves on this tree. Why are you eating only the dry ones?” The man said, “Don’t prattle unnecessarily. Why should I pick leaves from a living tree
just to fill my petty stomach? How would
you feel if someone pulled hair from your head and ate it?” Arjun thought to himself, “These are not the
words of a drunkard. However, even a
crackpot can sometimes speak words of wisdom.”
So he asked, “Why are you carrying a sword in your left hand?” The old man said, “Don’t waste my time. I am busy with my work. Don’t disturb me.” But Arjun persisted, “No Maharaj! You will have to tell me. The sword in your left hand is unusual for a
recluse. I cannot understand the mystery
behind your actions - eating dry leaves with one hand and holding a sword in
the other. Please explain.” The hermit said, “Who are you?” “I am a very capable archer. I am very brave and strong.” “All right, then do me a favor. I want to kill three people.” Arjun said, “I can kill millions in a
second. But tell me who these three
people are.” “One is Bhrigu. The Sage Bhrigu.” When Arjun heard this name, he was
startled. This man wants to kill Bhrigu,
a great Sage and a brahmin!
“Maharaj! Tell me why you wish to
kill such a great Sage as Bhrigu?” “My
Shyamsundar was lying down, and without any reason, this Bhrigu came and kicked
Him in the chest.” Arjun said, “I will
not be able to do this favor for you. I
am a kshatriya, and Sage Bhrigu is a brahmin. How can I kill a brahmin?” “Well if you cannot, then why did you boast
of your valor, claiming that you can do anything? Anyhow, the second person I want to kill is a
woman named Draupadi. She fed the
remnants of her food and that of her husbands to my Beloved.” Arjun could not possibly reveal that Draupadi
was his wife, so he stammered an excuse.
“Killing a woman is not appropriate for a valiant warrior; I will be
defamed in history. People will say, ‘Look
at the famous wielder of the Gandeev bow.
He could not find anyone other than a woman to kill.’ I am sorry.
I cannot use my arrow on a woman.”
“In that case, can you kill my third enemy?” “Is the enemy a brahmin or a
woman?” “Neither.” “Well
then, who is it?” “My third enemy is
Arjun.” Arjun was shocked. His own life was in danger now. He thought, “He wants to use me to kill
myself. If I tell him I am Arjun, he
might finish me off. Who knows what
powers he has? He seems to be an extraordinary
personality. And nothing is impossible
for ascetics and Sages.” Arjun gained
courage and asked the Sage, “What has Arjun done to displease you?” “He makes my beloved Shree Krishna drive his
chariot, and gets various menial tasks done by Him. I am extremely angry with him.” Hearing this, Arjun decided that it was unsafe
for him to stay any longer. If the man
asked any more questions he would surely be caught and he would be the first
one to be killed because Draupadi and Sage Bhrigu were not around. Besides, Shyamsundar, who was sitting at a
distance, could reveal his identity to the old man with just a gesture. Arjun knew from experience that Shyamsundar
was unpredictably playful. Perhaps this
was one of His games. So Arjun ran back to
Shree Krishna and said to Him, “We ought to leave immediately. I think we have traveled a little too
far.” Shree Krishna asked, “What
happened?” “I’ll tell you later. First, let’s get out of here.”
So, God does not tolerate pride in anyone. He spares no one, not even His loved
ones. When a woman’s only son has an abscess
she pays the doctor to operate on it.
But if the neighbor’s son has one, she is not concerned in the least. She may advise her neighbor to consult the
doctor to prevent further damage. But if
the neighbor does not pay heed, she does not care. Similarly, Shree Krishna is particularly
concerned for His devotees. He cares for
those who are already surrendered or are in the process of surrendering
themselves. योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् He removes the
deficiencies of surrendered souls.
So,
the quality dearest to God is humility, and the quality most abhorred by Him is
pride. Pride is extremely dangerous for
us. We should be constantly aware of
this. We must protect ourselves from
pride, and increase our humility. But,
this in itself is not enough. There is a
lot more to be understood, which will be revealed tomorrow.
बोलिए वृन्दावन बिहारी लाल की जय
All glories to the Lord of
Vrindavan
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