Chapter 2: The Lord is Not Impersonal
The Lord has form, and His form is very beautiful
Everywhere in the scriptures it says the Lord has form. He is neither nirākār nor nirviśeṣ, without form or qualities. He has form and qualities, saviśeṣ, whether we can see it or not. If He didn’t have form, the creation of this material world wouldn’t be possible.
This is easy to understand. As a human being I have a brain, and thus I have the ability to think, feel, and will; so it is not possible the Lord, my creator, does not have these qualities. The whole universe was created by a conscious power, and that power is a guardian power. It is a fully conscious power whether we can see it or not.
The Upaniṣads say:
apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā
paśyaty achakṣuḥ sa śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ
The Lord is present everywhere. He is in the smallest atom — aṇor aṇīyān — and He is in the biggest universe — mahato mahīyān. He can see and hear everything perfectly.
The Lord has an identity and an external form, and that form is like the glow of a fire or the sunshine which emanates from the sun.
The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) also says:
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
The external form of the original person, Govinda, is called Brahma, or the Brahma-jyoti, and Brahma is like the glow of a fire or the sunshine which emanates from the sun. Brahma is not the Lord’s complete form. When you see the light of Brahma, or glow, from a distance, it appears to be His complete form, but if you enter into that glow, what will you see? You will see jyotir abhyantare rūpam atulaṁ Śyāmasundaram: you will see the eternal form of the Lord, Śyāmasundar, who is very beautiful and who has a blackish complexion just like a rain cloud.
The nyāya (logic) scriptures give an example of this. When we see a forest from a distance, we may see a bird enter it. From a distance it appears the bird disappears or merges into the forest. We cannot see anything inside the forest, but if we can enter the forest, we will see the bird has a nest, a husband, and babies, and she is playing with her babies. From inside the forest we see many things, but from a distance we only see the outline of the forest.
The effulgence of the abode of Kṛṣṇaloka is similar. It is called Paravyoma. From a distance, Paravyoma appears as Brahma, but as it is said in the above śloka, tad Brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ: inside that glow Govinda is living, and He is playing with His family and associates just like an ordinary human being.
Natural tendency — real religion
Once, a devotee of Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu named Sanātan Goswāmī asked Him, “Who am I, why do we go to different species of life after we leave this body, and why do we suffer so much in this material world?”
‘ke āmi’, ‘kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya’
ihā nāhi jāni — ‘kemane hita haya’
Mahāprabhu replied that all the scriptures say the jīva-souls have an eternal spiritual body. Through their own activities (karma) they are getting the results of those activities, and those results take them to different bodies such as a human body, an animal body, or a plant body. We are now aware of this because science has proved that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, the question is, how can we get relief and liberation from the illusory environment and how can we find our own joyful happy life where there is no sorrow or unhappiness?
Mahāprabhu said real religion (dharma) means everyone and everything has some natural tendency, and it is necessary to discover what that natural tendency is. For example, water is liquid. Wherever it is, it will flow downwards. That is its natural tendency. Fire is hot and it will burn. If it gets cool or goes out, that is not its natural position. The sky also has its natural tendency or religion. It tries to observe everything in the universe. The planets have their own religion. They are always moving in a natural synchronised way.
Mahāprabhu said the natural tendency of everyone and everything is their real religion. All jīva-souls have their own religion (jaiva-dharma), and the one thing everyone has in common is they are all able to think, feel, and will; plus they all have their own spiritual bodies. And, since the jīva-souls are small, they will naturally be attracted by a greater power.
Magnetic attraction
In the Ṛg-veda, which contains seventy-five percent of the wealth of the Vedas, there is this famous mantra (1.22.20, 21):
oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā
paśyanti sūrayaḥ divīva chakṣur-ātatam
tad viprāso vipanyavo jāgṛvāṁsaḥ
samindhate viṣṇor yat paramaṁ padam
The primary meaning is that in our search for spiritual life and God, it is not necessary to immediately mention the Name of Kṛṣṇa. In this world and in the spiritual world, there is a powerful glow which is like the glow of the sun which is called the Brahma-jyoti. We, the jīva-souls, are like tiny rays of that glow, and we exist in that glow. That glow has a powerful magnetic effect, and everything that exists in this mundane world exists in that glow, and the qualities that exist in the spiritual world are much greater than the qualities found here.
Since that glow has a strong magnetic power, everything is attracted by it. How are they attracted? By its beauty, its charm, its love, its affection, and its harmonious dealings. Whatever we want exists in that large glow and is attracting us.
We have all come from that glow, and we are small particles of that glow. We are like sun-rays in the sunshine, or waves in the ocean. We are all very small, like atoms. All our power — our thinking, feeling, and willing — comes from that powerful glow, and that powerful glow is attracting the smaller particles of power, the jīva-souls, like a magnet attracts iron particles. Unfortunately, the iron has become rusty, and the jīva-souls are not attracted; that magnetic power cannot attract them, so they are going to the mundane environment.
Clean your mirror
Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said it is natural that the jīva-souls want to go to their own abode because that abode is transcendental, and the jīva-souls are also transcendental.
When a particular sādhu came from India to the West some years ago, he was honoured as a representative of Indian religion, although he wasn’t actually a representative of the religion of the Vedas. When he gave a lecture at the University of Chicago, all religious leaders of the world were present. He began his lecture with these words, “My brothers and sisters in America!” Everyone was charmed when they heard this. Everyone was thinking, “We are brothers and sisters of this Indian sādhu.” By his humble and inviting mood, he showed the real mood of the Vedic religion. We are all brothers and sisters because we have all come from that same big glow, and we all have the same qualities in our heart.
Naturally, all the jīva-souls want to go to their own abode, but because they are covered by the illusory environment, they cannot see that glow, and because of their small ability to be attracted, that glow cannot attract them.
Mahāprabhu gave the example of a mirror. He said cheto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. When a mirror is covered by dust, we cannot see ourselves. If we clean the dust, we can see ourselves. He said it is necessary to clean the dust from the jīva-soul’s own form; then all the jīva-souls will get their own natural religion back. They will be attracted, naturally, by their own abode.
I am describing this glow, this effulgence of the Lord’s abode, as a transcendental glow, but actually it has an infinite form.
The Taittirīya-upaniṣad (3.1) says:
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena
jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṁviśanti
tad brahma tad vijijñāsasva
“All the jīva-souls and all the universes have come from that abode. That glow is maintaining all the jīva-souls as well as all of the universes, and it is the place where they will go at the end of creation. It exists as part of the complete spiritual body of the Lord.”
It is said in our scriptures, the Vedas, “Śṛṇvantu viśve amṛtasya putrā: O sons of nectar, sons of the nectarean ocean-sea, you are born of nectar, and you are born to taste nectar. Why are you suffering with birth and death and many other unwanted things? You have your own abode. Please come back to that abode.”
asato mā sad gamaya
tāmaso mā jyotir gamaya
mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya
“From the mortal, go to the eternal. From ignorance, from darkness, go to knowledge. Go to light. From unhappiness, go to happiness.” All scriptures give us this advice: “Don’t go to the illusory environment. Go to reality.”
Soul’s choice
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Goswāmī said:
kṛṣṇera yateka khelā sarvottama nara-līlā
nara-vapu tāhāra svarūpa
gopa-veśa, veṇu-kara, nava-kiśora, naṭa-vara
nara-līlāra haya anurūpa
Sometimes we see ourselves in a very fallen position, something like that of a beast, which is to say our feelings may come in that way if we can understand how great the difference between our material and spiritual form is. In the spiritual world there is form, and in the material world there is form, but the difference between the two is very great.
Kṛṣṇa has given everyone freedom. He says in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā (9.25):
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
“If you want to go to heaven, you can worship the devas, the demigods. If you want to go to where your forefathers are, you can worship the planet where they have gone, Pitṛloka.” But finally Kṛṣṇa gives His advice: “Those who worship Me will come to My abode.”
When I first joined Śrīla Guru Mahārāj’s Mission, I would sometimes stay with Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupād in Kolkata as the Kolkata branch of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh was in his house. Every day, I went for collection and preaching, and many people would ask me why they should worship Kṛṣṇa instead of Mother Kālī. I didn’t know what to tell them so I asked Prabhupād, and he said jokingly to tell them: “What will you get by worshipping Mother Kālī? What will be your food, and who will be your associates?”
Then, he would say to tell them, “Mother Kālī lives in the cremation fields where there are many ghosts and other undesirable things. Her food is the blood of her sons, the asuras, after she kills them, and her garland is made of their skulls. This is Mother Kālī’s style. If you want to be her associate, we don’t object, but our Kṛṣṇa lives in Vṛndāvan Dhām where He has many girlfriends, lots of cheese, milk, sandeś, butter, fruits, sweets, and many other wonderful things. There we shall eat and play with the cows and cowherd boys in the fresh waters of the Yamunā. We shall play in the nice gardens and beautiful forests nestled around Govardhan Hill. There are many wonderful things described in Vṛndāvan, and we will become associates of Kṛṣṇa there. We want that life! So, you can do what you like.” Śrīla Prabhupād always gave me good advice and nourishment like this.
Sometimes Prabhupād would take me to preaching programmes. He was firmly situated in the Bengali chemical industry and had a lot of higher class friends. They would invite us to their homes for preaching programmes, and since I was wearing saffron, Śrīla Prabhupād would have me sit on the vyāsāsan. In India, saffron is given more respect than white cloth. Also, I was a good singer, I could play the mṛdaṅga, and I could read Sanskrit. So, after the kīrtans, Śrīla Prabhupād, who was sitting a little lower, would have me read the Sanskrit ślokas, and then he would explain everything. He was very enthusiastic to preach, and we went to many programmes at the houses of important and prominent gentlemen in Kolkata. Sometimes when he had a very big programme, he would take Guru Mahārāj, and the three of us would go. This was our preaching style. Śrīla Prabhupād was always giving me encouragement and nourishment in the preaching field.
The Lord’s promise
The Lord promises in the Bhagavad-gītā, “Whoever worships Me will come to My abode and will not come back to this world.”
What is the abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa?
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
“The sun and the moon cannot give light in My abode; it has its own light. Everything is new there.” If you go to Kṛṣṇa’s abode, complete transcendental feelings and realisation will appear in your heart, and you will never come back to this mortal world.
Indra’s awakening
There is nothing undesirable or unwholesome in the transcendental world. The saints and the scriptures are showing us the way to the spiritual world, but unfortunately we are not always so receptive to that.
One time, Indra, the king of Heaven, was cursed by a ṛṣi to become a pig. When the curse was finished, Brahmā, the creator, came to take Indra from his pig’s body.
Brahmā said to Indra, “The time of your curse is finished. Come and take charge of the heavens. If you jump in the lake, you will change your body from a pig’s body to your heavenly body.”
Indra was identifying himself with a pig’s body. He was thinking his wife and children belonged to him. When he saw Brahmā, he thought, “Who are you? You have four heads and a long beard. Why should I hear from you?”
Brahmā could understand that Indra was very involved with his family life, especially his children, so he took all of Indra’s children and threw them in the lake. Indra became very upset. When all his children were dead, he tried to catch Brahmā and kill him. He thought, “This four-headed man with a long beard has killed my children, and now he is trying to kill my wife!”
Indra couldn’t catch Brahmā, so Brahmā suddenly grabbed Indra’s wife and threw her in the lake. Indra was lamenting because his whole family was dead. Again Brahmā said to him, “Please, jump in the lake and you will get a beautiful heavenly body. Your wife and children have already got their heavenly bodies back although you can’t see them. If you jump in the lake, you will get yours.”
Finally, Indra was thinking, “What value does this hog’s body have? I am alone. I have nothing.” He jumped in the lake, left his body, and got back his beautiful form as the king of Heaven.
Then, Brahmā stood and said, “Do you want to go back to that hog’s body? If you do, I can arrange it. You were fighting with me. Now do you understand what your form is?”
Indra shyly said, “I do not want to see that body again.”
This is also our position. We are thinking if we leave our body and family, it will be bad for us, but our spiritual, conscious body — svarūp-siddhi — is very beautiful, and the abode of the Lord is also very beautiful. We have a relationship with the Lord, His abode, and His paraphernalia, and that relationship is always attracting us.
Five kinds of relationships
In Kṛṣṇa’s abode, all residents have one of five types of relationships with Him: śānta-, dāsya-, sakhya-, vātsalya-, and madhura-rasa.
Śānta-rasa means peacefulness. It is the primary relationship, and its main characteristic is firmness or steadiness in the service of Kṛṣṇa.
Dāsya-rasa means we will develop a loving serving mood towards Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. We will begin to hanker for service to Kṛṣṇa.
As we advance further, we will develop a friendship with Kṛṣṇa, sakhya, and when we advance even further, more intimacy develops, and that relationship becomes parenthood or vātsalya-rasa.
Paramour: love’s highest spiritual manifestation
Consorthood with Kṛṣṇa is called madhura-rasa, or a conjugal relationship. It is the highest. It has two parts: one pertains to marriage and the other to paramour love. In Vṛndāvan, paramour love is the highest; it is the mother of all rasas.
In the mundane world, we consider paramour love to be very bad. But if we understand for whom paramour love is really meant, all such bad feelings will go. “Who is my master? Who is the heart of my heart? Who is the wealth of my life and soul, my all-in-all?” If we really know this, all bad feelings will vanish.
In this material world, we have seen how paramour love is manifested, but we must also see how that love shows itself through many different transcendental manifestations. There are many varieties of tastes within paramour love, and each one displays progressively more and more ecstatic manifestations.
During Mahāprabhu’s first meeting with Śrīla Rūpa and Śrīla Sanātan Goswāmīs in Rāmakeli on His way to Vṛndāvan, He advised them on how to harmonise their external positions as important government officials with their internal desire to render exclusive service the Lord.
He advised them:
para-vyasaninī nārī vyagrāpi gṛha-karmasu
tad evāsvādayaty antar nava-saṅga-rasāyanam
“Continue your external life but keep your paramour relationship with Kṛṣṇa inside your heart. It is not important whether others see it or not. Keep it in your heart in a hidden way. Just as a married girl always thinks of her paramour lover when she is busily engaged in her household affairs, you also think of Kṛṣṇa while you do your external work.”
We have made many rules and regulations to live in this mundane world. We have divided one part of the land for ourselves and another part for others. We have said, “This food is for the cows, and this is for me.” We have made many adjustments in this material world so bad reactions will not come to society. Whoever ignores these rules will be punished.
But when the mood of paramour love is firmly followed in the spiritual world, there is nothing bad. There is nothing bad in the spiritual world. Everything is good there. That is why it is said in the scriptures, “Here is water and there is nectar”, or, “That abode has its own light and is always effulgent. It never burns and is always pleasant.”
This is Mahāprabhu’s supreme conception, and this is our goal of life.
ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam
ramyā kāchid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇā va kalpitā
śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalaṁ premā pumartho mahān
śrī-chaitanya-mahāprabhor matam idaṁ tatrādaraḥ naḥ paraḥ
“Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We have five special types of relationships with Him. The highest is that of the Vraja-gopīs, composed of conjugal relationship, which in its highest manifestation is paramour love.”