One can rise up to the Brahman effulgence, but if there is no shelter . . . just like these people are going, but they don't get any shelter. But they come down again. Similarly, one, by severe austerities and penances, may go up to the Brahmaloka, but he has no position. He has no position. Because in the Brahmaloka or Vaikuṇṭhaloka, in the Paravyoma, the spiritual sky, there are spiritual planets. They are called Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Hundreds and millions there are. Very, very big, big planets than these material planets. So unless you get a shelter in one of the planets, then you again fall down.
So that is . . . because we are after ānanda, sac-cid-ānanda. Simply to rise to the platform of Brahman, that is sat, partial realization of the Absolute Truth. Sat. Then cit. Cit means knowledge. That is also partial. Ānanda. Sac-cid-ānanda. When there . . . ānanda you cannot get. Just like if you, simply in the sky you fly, you don't get ānanda. Therefore you have come to down, come down again to the airplane, airport. Without that, there is no ānanda. Similarly, simply rising up to the Brahman effulgence, there is no ānanda. Ānanda means you have to enter into the spiritual planet, where Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, is there. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). You have entered to that eternal planet. You must get some residence. The impersonalist, they do not get that. They remain . . . just like you remain in the sky. You cannot be happy. You want some planet. But if you cannot get planet, then again you come back in this planet. So āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Again in this material world.
Therefore we have to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is real self-realization. And what is that? Very simple thing. Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. If you simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa, why does He come, what is His business, what is His form . . .
- janma karma me divyaṁ
- yo jānāti tattvataḥ
- tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
- naiti mām eti . . .
- (BG 4.9)
Simple process. You try to understand Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are simply teaching how to understand Kṛṣṇa. And if anyone is fortunate to understand, then his life is successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānā . . .
So tadā puruṣa ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param. Prakṛteḥ param. Now we are thinking, "I am the product of this material world. I am Indian." What I am Indian? Huh? Because my body is Indian, I am Indian? No. I am the spirit soul, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is self-realization. The whole world is fighting: "I am Indian," "American," "I am Pakistani," "I am Hindustani," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṇa." Dehātma-buddhiḥ. So one has to realize that "I am not this body." Kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param. "I am beyond this body, far, transcendental to this material world." How it is possible? Tadā kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye. We have discussed this verse yesterday. Ahaṁ mamābhimāna utthaiḥ kāma-lobhādi, kāma-lobhādi malaiḥ. So long we have got the desire, lusty desire and greediness, for enjoying this material world, then it is not possible. We have to free, we have to become free from these lusty desires.
So this is bhakti-yoga process. Bhakti-yoga . . . if we adopt the bhakti-yoga process, then you become free from the kāma-lobha. Kāma-lobha means the influence of tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa. So as soon as we become free from . . . we have to become free from all the guṇas. Because ceto guṇaiḥ, cetaḥ khalv asya bandhāya (SB 3.25.15). So to become free from the guṇas, that is simply explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. You engage yourself in devotional service, you become immediately free from the influence of the guṇas. Māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate (BG 14.26). Anyone who is engaged in rendering service to the Lord, bhakti-yoga . . . bhakti-yoga, according to the . . . because we are not expert in approaching the Supreme Lord, therefore we have to follow the principles of bhakti-yoga as enunciated by the ācāryas. Just like when a boy goes to the school, he has to follow the rules and regulation, but after some time, when he becomes accustomed, then he hasn't got to be taught. He learns automatically. He comes exactly in time to the school, he takes his seat, he studies nicely.
Therefore abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā (BG 8.8). We have to practice abhyāsa-yoga. You must chant sixteen rounds. That must be done. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma . . . you must rise early in the morning, perform maṅgala-ārātrika. Sādhu-śāstra. By the order of spiritual master, by the order of the śāstras you have to execute this function of bhakti-yoga, and as soon as you become attached to it, you become practiced to it, immediately you become self-realized.