The philosophers and the logicians have tried to understand the intrinsic relationship of living entities with God by various conceptions and methods, on the strength of their mundane education and scholastic research. But the Absolute Truth remains above the philosophers and their acquired knowledge. The conception of the Absolute is never perfectly attained by such an ascending process, because of its being born of imperfect, material senses. These empiric philosophers and logicians cannot realize their imperfection by the vanity of material knowledge, and the ultimate conclusion of such materialistic philosophers is atheism. They deny the existence of God, who is the Supreme Person, different from all other persons. Under such a vague assumption, we remain in the same darkness as before. We are content with a conception of Godhead according to our own individual idea, without knowing the real relationship of Godhead and ourselves.
Real relationship
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
In the condition of dreaming, when one's consciousness is almost covered, one may see many unfavorable things which cause disturbance or anxiety, but upon awakening, although he remembers what happened in the dream, he is not disturbed. Similarly the position of self-realization, or understanding of one's real relationship with the Supreme Lord, makes one completely satisfied, and the three modes of material nature, which are the cause of all disturbances, cannot affect him. In contaminated consciousness one sees everything to be for his own enjoyment, but in pure consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he sees that everything exists for the enjoyment of the supreme enjoyer. That is the difference between the dream state and wakefulness. The state of contaminated consciousness is compared to dream consciousness, and Kṛṣṇa consciousness is compared to the awakened stage of life. Actually, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the only absolute enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa. One who can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all the three worlds and that He is the friend of everyone is peaceful and independent. As long as a conditioned soul does not have this knowledge, he wants to be the enjoyer of everything; he wants to become a humanitarian or philanthropist and open hospitals and schools for his fellow human beings. This is all illusion, for one cannot benefit anyone by such material activities. If one wishes to benefit his fellow brother, he must awaken his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Kṛṣṇa conscious position is that of pratibuddha, which means "pure consciousness."
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Therefore, one need not undergo severe penances for many thousands of years; one need only learn how to love Kṛṣṇa and be always engaged in His service (sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234)). Then one can very easily go back home, back to Godhead. Instead of bringing the Lord here for some material purpose, to have a son or whatever else, if we go back home, back to Godhead, our real relationship with the Lord is revealed, and we eternally engage in our eternal relationship. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, we gradually develop our eternal relationship with the Supreme Person and thus attain the perfection called svarūpa-siddhi. We should take advantage of this benediction and go back home, back to Godhead. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has therefore sung, patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra: Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared as an incarnation to deliver all fallen souls like us and directly bestow upon us love of Godhead. We must take advantage of this great benediction of the great Personality of Godhead.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
A conditioned soul is bewildered by the Lord's illusory energy (māyā). Māyā’s business is to keep the conditioned soul forgetful of his real relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Thus the living entity forgets his real identity as spirit soul, Brahman, and instead of realizing his factual position thinks himself the product of the material energy. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.5):
- yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam
- paro ’pi manute ’narthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate
"Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries."
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Message of Godhead
At the same time, it is pleasing to see that the veteran leader Mahatma Gandhi is trying his best to invent a method for bringing in a godly atmosphere all over the world. He is preaching restraint, toleration, moral principles, and so on. But it is not possible to reach the unlimited by any novel, invented method, which is always limited. The Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has therefore said in the Bhagavad-gītā that after many births, learned sages eventually surrender unto Him, and that such a mahātmā who is able to connect everything that be to Vāsudeva (the plenary manifestation of Viṣṇu) is rarely to be seen. The purport is that mahātmās are everywhere, but the mahātmā who knows the real relationship between Godhead and the manifested world is very rare.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So the problem was that Arjuna was not willing to fight, considering his family members as not to be killed. Nobody, of course, should like to kill his family members, so that was natural. But this family relationship or national relationship, community relationship, this is due to this body. I accept somebody as my brother because he has got the body from the same father from whom I have got this body. But the body is by-product of the father's body. So this bodily relationship is material. Material means outward, external. It is not real relationship. The father is a soul, I am soul, my brother is a soul, so we are related on the spiritual platform in relationship with God because soul is not matter. Our material father is... Material father means we see the material body. We do not see the soul of the father, neither the father sees the soul of the son. Everyone under illusion we are simply seeing the body and accepting as kinsman. So this illusion was to be removed by Kṛṣṇa, and therefore He said, aśocyān anvaśocas tvam (BG 2.11). "You are lamenting over the body. Oh, it is very regrettable. You are lamenting." Aśocyān anvaśocaḥ. What is this body? It is simply lump of matter. As soon as the soul is out of this body, what is the value of this lump of matter? It will be thrown in the street, and somebody will kick on the face. Nobody will care. Nobody will care. But so long the soul is there, if you touch the hair even—"Why you are touching my hair?" But when the soul is not there, on the same face, if somebody kicks, nobody will care. This is the position of the body.
Bhakta means... Who is bhakta? Bhakta means one who has revived his eternal relationship with God. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Now in this body I am thinking, "I am American." How long I am American? I am American so long this body is there. That's all. I am thinking, "I am Indian." I am thinking, "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am this or that." Whatever I may think. How long? So long this body is there. And the next life? If you get a dog's body, then you'll think, "I am dog." If you get a cat's body, then you'll think "I am cat." So bhakta means not that superficial relationship. My relationship with the society, family, country, or humanity, they're all superficial because my body is superficial. The real relationship is with Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). "All these living entities are My part and parcels," Kṛṣṇa claims. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yāḥ (BG 14.4). "In each and every species of life, as many forms as there are, they're all My parts and parcels." Kṛṣṇa (is) explaining like that.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
We have forgotten our real relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and we are trying to be happy by material adjustment. This is modern civilization. One is thinking, "If I get such nice house, nice motorcar, nice business, nice bank balance, nice wife, nice children..." This is material civilization. But they do not know. Despite all these nice things, he will never be happy. Now you Europeans and Americans, you have got a good qualification. I described many times that you are no more very much interested with all these "nice" things, so-called nice things. Real nice thing is spiritual understanding. That nice thing begins: ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this body." That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa is instructing Arjuna that "You are not this body. You are spirit soul. Try to understand."
General Lectures
Anyone can become related with Kṛṣṇa. We have got our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa because we are all parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa. Just like the father and the son is eternally related. A son may become rebellion to the father, but the relationship of father and son cannot be broken. Similarly, we are also related with Kṛṣṇa. Somehow or other, that we have forgotten. That is our present position. That is called māyā. Māyā means when we forget our relationship with Kṛṣṇa and we establish so many false relationships. Now at the present moment, I am thinking "I am Indian," somebody is thinking "I am American," somebody is thinking "I am Hindu," somebody is thinking "I am Muslim." These relationships are all false, māyā. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa says at the end, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is real relationship. That is our real position. That is real mukti. And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is stated—mukti is defined—what is that? Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpena vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Mukti means give up your false designation. That is mukti. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from this mukta stage. Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa gave us information what is mukti. Mukti is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam, that is mukti. And Lord Caitanya, when he was instructing Sanatāna Gosvāmī, he began from this point: what is that real constitutional position of the living entity. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was asked by his disciple Sanatāna Gosvāmī that actually what I am? The exact Bengali verse, he says that grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Because we are under the laws of nature...
Prabhupāda: Yes. But why...? I am against laws of nature. That is my question. Do you... If I am also nature's product, then why against laws of nature? Why?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: By forgetting my real relationship, I tend to rule over the laws of material nature.
Prabhupāda: That I am struggling. That is my business here. I am simply struggling. Laws of nature is obstructing my process of enjoyment, and I want to enjoy. Why this position? We inquire these intelligent questions. What they are inquiring? They do not know what to inquire.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The worship of Viṣṇu is the supreme worship. So actually everyone should be worshiper of Viṣṇu. And that is Vaiṣṇavism. So Vaiṣṇavism means for everyone or sanātana dharma. That I have already explained. The human.... The living entity is sanātana. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātana (BG 15.7). He is sanātana. God is sanātana. The exchange between God and the living entity is called sanātana-dharma or Vaiṣṇavism. So we are teaching that. We are not teaching Hinduism, Muslimism, Christianism. We are teaching how to love God. That's all. There is no question of proselytization. It is the natural. We are, by nature we are lover of God. Just like father and son. The love is already there. It cannot be extinguished. The father and son may be separated for many, many years, but when they come together the affection immediately revives. So we are teaching that, that we have got eternal relationship with God and revive it. We are embarassed by establishing artificial relationship with my family, country, and society, and so-called religions. These are all artificial. Real relationship, that "God is great and I am His servant," that is real religion. So we are teaching that thing.
Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
Actually, nothing in Krishna consciousness is an accident, but sometimes Krishna will put us into a seemingly unfavorable situation just to help us realize that he is the Controller. In the material world, all these situations are meant for tribulation, but in Krishna consciousness, they are meant for advancement. Kunti Devi is always praying "Let the trouble come again and again, so that I may have the opportunity to surrender to You." So to accept any situation as Krishna's mercy is to advance in spiritual life. You just try your best to serve Lord Krishna, and if any perplexing circumstances arise, just pray to Krishna to give you strength. These bodily relationships are only temporary. Our real relationship is with Krishna. Try to cultivate that.
1973 Correspondence
Then as you mentioned the problems of clashes between racial and national interests which often lead to war. This problem is also due to lack of God Consciousness because God consciousness means to understand that we are all sons of the same family. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that the supreme lord must be the supreme father. I have got my father, he has got his fat father and he has got his father on and on he has got his father, in this way there must be one ultimate father, nobody can deny it. So that ultimate father he is God. Therefore in every scripture the supreme powerful is addressed as father, and in the Bhagavad-gita also the supreme powerful is mentioned as the suprem seed Giving father. Because we are forgetting the father, because we are forgetting that we are all the servants of one supreme father we are missing our real relationship between one living entity and another. If we actually understand that we are born of the same father and everything that is there on the surface of the globe, in the sky in the water everything is the property of the supreme Father, then we must understand that everyone has got the right to use the property of the supreme father. Just like in a big family the faTHER IS THERe, the mother is there and the sons are there. The father gives food to the sons as much as they require. One son may be a very voracious eater so he may eat more than the other son, but the father supplies him, he does not stop him, the father is competent to supply all the sons as much as they require. But if one son is hoarding food stuffs, that is sinful. You cannot take more than what you need.
| Page Title: | Real relationship |
| Compiler: | Rati, Alakananda |
| Created: | 25 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=2, CC=1, OB=2, Lec=4, Con=2, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 13 |