Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Can a Sudra become a Brahmana? Definitely Yes.

Vedic literatures clearly say that our birth does not decide our caste or varna, but our activities decide it. A Sudra can become a Brahmana and a Brahmana can become a Shudra. But unfortunately, some people born in a Brahmin family did not have Brahminical qualities misinterpreted the sacred Vedas. They propagated that birth decides our varna or caste.

Many great spiritual leaders have argued that caste or varna by birth is against the spirit of the Vedas. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura one of the foremost scholars on Vedas and founder of Gaudiya Math strongly opposed this understanding.  And because of this he faced strong opposition from caste Brahmanas.  

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura faced opposition from caste Brahmanas

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his scores of disciples found the doors of seven main temples closed when they arrived in Vrindavan. Even the shopkeepers had closed their shops and some people threw stones at the parikrama party. The local pandits and the orthodox brahmana were upset because Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had awarded brahmana thread and even sannyas to many who were not just non brahmanas but also belonged to so called lower castes. 

When the local pandits had come to meet Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati for a discussion regarding this then he had strongly argued and defeated them by emphasizing that caste by birth is not Vedic injunctions, but it is its distortion. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura gave reference of various scriptures and proved that one should be considered a brahmana not by birth but by qualities. 

He quoted verses from Srimad Bhagavatam wherein sage Narada tells Yudhisthira that even if one is born in the family of a sudra but acts like a brahmana he should be accepted as a brahmana and if one is born in the family of a brahmana but acts like a sudra then he should be considered a sudra. 

“If one shows the symptoms of being a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, as described above, even if he has appeared in a different class, he should be accepted according to those symptoms of classification.” Srimad Bhagavatam 7.11.35.

Vedas say that anyone can become a Brahmana

In India it is very common to see that sometimes a person born in a brahmana family declare that they are the only ones who have complete understanding of the Vedic knowledge. They claim to have direct access to the mercy of the Supreme Lord possessing the ability to deliver the mankind.  Many a times the gullible masses without verifying the character and qualities of such people surrender their life unto them and ruin their spiritual life. 

The holy Vedas, the holy sages and Krishna in Gita never said that birth determines a person’s caste or varna. Krishna in Gita clearly state that the four divisions of human society have been created according to the three different modes acquired by the living entities and the type of work they perform. Bhagavad Gita 4.13. This division is scientific, logical and makes lots of sense if implemented in letter and spirit.

Just think, can anyone be a born as an engineer or a judge or a pilot or a musician or a painter? A kid may show some characteristics and symptoms which can give an idea of his future profession. Some may show taste for music, some may like art, some may enjoy dance, some may be found of books and some may have liking for money. But everyone has to be trained to become successful in their fields.

One does not become a doctor just by taking birth in the family where parents are doctors. To become a doctor one has to first get admitted to an authorized medical college, there he has to study under the guidance of learned medical scholars, clear various exams and then only he is awarded the degree of a doctor.

Who is a Brahmana according to Vedas?

Mahabharat, Vana – parva, Chapter 180 tells about the conversation which Maharaj Yudhisthira had with Nahusha, the serpent, in the forest.  

Nahusha inquired, “O King please tell me who is a brahmana?”

Maharaj Yudhisthira said, “A person who possesses truthfulness, charity, forgiveness, sobriety, gentleness, austerity, and lack of hatred is called a brahmana.”

The serpent again said, “Sudras also possess truthfulness, charity, freedom from anger, nonviolence, nonenviousness, and lack of hatred.”

Yudhisthira then replied, “If such symptoms are found in a sudra he should never be called a sudra, just as a brahmana is not a brahmana if he does not possess these qualities.”

Chandogya Upanisad tells the story of Satyakama Jabala

Chandogya Upanisad tells the story of Satyakama who was accepted as a brahmana not because of his birth but because of characteristics. Satyakama had a desire to live as a brahmachari, a celibate monk.

He expressed his feeling to his mother, Jabala, and asked, “My dear mother please tell me which dynasty I belong to.”

Jabala replied, “My dear son, it is difficult for me to say which dynasty you belong to because in my youth I worked as a maidservant at various places and had relationships with many men.” 

Satyakama Jabala approached Haridrumata Gautam’s hermitage and said, “I wish to live in your ashrama as a brahmachari.”

The sage inquired, “Dear son, please tell me which dynasty you belong to.”

Satyakama Jabala without losing his composure replied, “When I inquired from my mother about my lineage then she said during her youth she worked as a maidservant at many places and had multiple relationships. So, I cannot with certainty tell who my father is.” 

Gautam Rishi smiled and said, “It does not matter who your father is, but it is for sure that you are a brahamana because you do not shy away from speaking truth which is the foremost quality of a brahmana. So, I accept you.”

Vedic literature refutes caste by birth theory

There are many references in Vedas which goes on to establish that caste or varna of a person is determined only by one’s quality and not by birth.

• “There are no real differences among varnas. When brahma first created the universe, it was inhabited only by brahmanas. Later on, as a result of their activities , people attained the designation of different varnas.” Mahabharata (Santi – parva, Moksa – dharma, Chapter 188)

• “O brahmana, if a person is born in the family of a sudra and possesses good qualities, he becomes a vaisya or a kshatriya. And if he possesses the quality of simplicity, he is a brahmana.”  Mahabharat , Vana Parva, Chapter 211.

• Mahabharata (Anusasana – parva 163.5,8,26,46,48,51,59) describes the conversation which Lord Shiva had with Parvati. Parvati inquired from Shiva, “How can the three castes – kshatriya, vaisyas, sudra – will attain through their own nature the platform of brahmanas.”  Lord Shiva explained, “If kshatriyas or vaisyas become situated in the behavior of brahmanas and spend their life in the occupations of brahmanas, then such persons can attain the position of brahmanas…..by the same process a sudra can become a brahmana and a vaisya can become a kshatriya.”  

• Varaha purana goes a step further and says that taking advantage of Kaliyuga many demons take birth in the family of brahmana – Rakṣasaḥ kalim asritya jayante brahma-yoniṣu (Varaha Puraṇa).

Krishna sees our heart not our caste

Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and sudra are all material designations which we should transcend.  The ultimate purpose of human life is to cleanse our hearts of all material contaminations. Chanting the holy names of Krishna is the ambrosia for all material miseries. Lord Chaitanya, an incarnation of Lord Krishna, confirms this. He asked all to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

Subuddhi Raya was ostracized by orthodox Hindu community because a Muslim named Hussain Khan sprinkled water on him. The caste Brahmanas said, “You have lost your religion.” Subuddhi Raya was shattered.

He approached many brahmanas to know how he can again become a Hindu. One of the brahmanas suggested him to drink hot ghee. Although it will result in his death but according to the brahmana pure ghee will ensure him birth in a brahmana family in next life. But when Subuddhi Raya approached Lord Chaitanya then he gave him a simple process. “Take shelter of Krishna. Do not get misled by others. And do not worry about these superficial things.” The Lord just asked him to  chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra sincerely and serve the devotees selflessly in Vrindavan, this would give him the highest perfection.

Krishna does not care about our externals – like our caste, whether we are Hindus or non-Hindus, Indians or non-Indians, males or females, sannyasis or grihastas. He just looks into our heart to see if it longs for Him or not. He only looks for our love and nothing else.  

References: Brahmana and Vaisnava by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta

Isopanisad & Brahma Samhita say God is personal

When I first read in Srila Prabhupada’s books that God is personal then I thought what is the need to mention it? Is it not obvious that God has a form? But slowly I came to know about certain school of thoughts which says that the Supreme Lord is impersonal i.e he does not have a form. And they strongly believe in it. According to them God is supreme so how can you confine him to a particular form. True, we cannot restrict God to a specif form, but still God has a form just like you and me have a form. We can also realize God as impersonal Brahman.

Vedic scriptures logically explain the dichotomy.

God is personal and has a form

The sacred texts of the holy Vedas say that God can take any form he likes. For example, he appears as Lord Narasimha – half man-half lion. He takes the form of a boar (Varaha incarnation) and also the form of a fish (Matsya incarnation). In Vaikuntha he has four handed form. As Krishna and as Lord Rama he is in his two-handed form. For different pastimes God has different forms. But the form which the devotees like the most is his two-handed form. When Krishna appeared in his four handed form to Devaki and Vasudeva in Mathura then they prayed to the Lord to appear in two handed form. When Krishna showed Arjuna his virat rupa (universal form) then Arjuna begged Krishna to come back to his two-handed form.

Look around yourself. Do you find any living being without a form?  You have a form. I have a form. Animals have form. Fish has a form. Trees have a form. Even a little insect has a form. So, how can the Supreme Lord who created us be formless.

God is personal, he has a form. And he like to have personal relationship with his devotees. If we fail to understand this, we won’t endeavour to develop relationship with him. How can we relate with someone who is formless or impersonal?

This is why Srila Prabhupada in his books and lectures have explained with scriptural references that God is personal. He emphasizes that the real purpose of human life is to re-establish relationship with God and return back to the spiritual world.

God can also be realized as impersonal Brahman

Vedic texts also say that God can be perceived as impersonal Brahman.  What is this impersonal Brahman? From the body of the Lord emanates transcendental rays which covers the spiritual world and is called brahma-jyotir.  This is the impersonal aspect of the Lord.

Many spiritual practitioners consider brahma – jyotir or God’s personal rays to be the ultimate reality. They are called as impersonalists. They desire to merge in these transcendental rays upon leaving the body. But these rays are coming from the Lord only. When these impersonalist gain more knowledge and get purified then they can penetrate the transcendental rays and enter into the spiritual planet where they are able to directly see and serve the Lord.

Realization of the Supreme Lord as impersonal Brahman is incomplete or partial realization of the Lord. But when we understand that God is personal and has a form then we can completely understand and realize him. Vedic texts give evidence to prove that God is personal. Let us go through those  references.   

5 evidence from Isopanisad and Brahma Samhita which proves God is personal

1. Brahma Samhita 5.1, explains that Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha.

Śrī brahma-saṁhitā 5.1

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

“Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.”

• We can realize the Supreme Lord Krishna in three features.
• Realization of the Supreme Lord as impersonal Brahman is his sat feature i.e. his aspect of eternity. Impersonal Brahman realization means realization of his bodily effulgence.
• Realization of the Lord as Supersoul or Paramātmā in everyone’s heart is realization of his sat(eternity) and cit(knowledge) aspect.
• Bhagavan realization is realization of his complete personality of sat, cit and ananda i.e. the aspect of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

Lord is referred as vigraha in Brahma Samhita. Vigraha means beautiful transcendental form.

2. Isopanisad Mantra 4 says “Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.”

Here it is said that the Lord is swifter than mind and overcomes all others running.  Anyone who runs has form. A formless person cannot run.  So, the Lord who is the fastest runner has to be a person. 

3. Brahma – Samhita (5.40) explains that the brahma – jyotir which the impersonalist claim to be the ultimate reality is the personal rays of the Supreme Lord.

Śrī brahma-saṁhitā 5.40

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose effulgence is the source of the non differentiated Brahman mentioned in the Upaniṣads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth.”

4. Isopanisad Mantra 15 says that devotees pray to Lord to remove the effulgent rays (hiraṇmaya-pātra, Isopanisad 15) so that they can see his beautiful face. You and I have face because we have forms. Similarly unless God is personal and have form how can he have a face? This verse establishes that Supreme Lord is personal.

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa
satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham
tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu
satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

“O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.”

5. Again in Isopanisad 16, prayer is offered to Lord to remove the transcendental rays (vyūha raśmīn samūha tejo), to see Lord’s most auspicious form full of bliss (yat te rūpaṁ kalyāṇa-tamaṁ tat te paśyāmi).

Īśopanisad 16

pūṣann ekarṣe yama sūrya prājāpatya
vyūha raśmīn samūha tejo
yat te rūpaṁ kalyāṇa-tamaṁ tat te paśyāmi
yo ’sāv asau puruṣaḥ so ’ham asmi

“O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.”

This verse explains that the form of the Lord is full of bliss. Devotees experience unlimited happiness when they see the beautiful form of the Lord. In Goloka Vrindavan, devotees are eager to always see the Lord. The gopis, the topmost devotee of the Lord, cursed the creator for creating eyelids because the eyelids would momentarily block the vision of Krishna.  Srimad Bhagavatam 10.82.39

God is personal so he enjoys many pastimes with devotees

Just like there is sun planet, the sun’s rays and the sun God. Similarly, there is spiritual planet, Goloka Vrindavan, brahma-jyotir, Lord’s effulgent rays, and Krishna, the Supreme Lord. If we have to see the sun God, we have to penetrate the rays of the sun and enter into the sun planet. Similarly, if we have to see the form of the Lord we have to penetrate brahma jyotir and enter into the spiritual planet.  

Krishna enjoys different pastimes with his devotees. He relishes different rasas (dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya and santa) in the spiritual world. He has his cowherd friends, parents, cows and above all gopis with whom he enjoys madhurya rasas. Unless the Lord has a form, he cannot enjoy these transcendental rasas.

Srila Prabhupada says that you and I can also participate in Lord’s pastimes. For that we have to purify ourselves by chanting the holy names of Lord and return back to the spiritual world. In the kingdom of God, we get a spiritual body and get an opportunity to associate with the Lord and his countless devotees. There everyone serves the Lord and enjoys with the Lord.

Such personal exchanges are possible only because God is personal, and he has a transcendental form full of bliss.

Who is most merciful – Lord Rama or Lord Krishna or Lord Chaitanya?

Who is the most merciful Lord – Lord Rama or Lord Krishna or Lord Chaitanya. Scriptures tell us that they are one and the same. They are the Supreme Lord. They appear in different ages (yuga) to enact different pastimes. But their mission is same – to destroy the demons and to deliver the saintly people.

This is confirmed in Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna.

Bhagavad Gita 4.8

परित्राणाय साधुनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थानार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ ८ ॥

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”

When we study their activities on our earthly planet, we find they exhibited great compassion towards all the living entities. In all the three incarnations they bestowed mercy upon all.

But are all the three equally merciful?  Or one of them is more merciful than other?  Difficult to answer.

Before you and I arrive at any conclusion let us reflect on the below conversations which the Lord had with Sita and Radharani.

Lord Rama’s promise to Sita

When Lord Rama was in the forest with mother Sita, he always carried bow and arrow. Using it he killed many demons. Animals and birds would run away in fear seeing bow and arrow. So, mother Sita was not happy.

Once she said, “Why do you carry your bow and arrow all the time? And why you have to kill the demons? Is there no other way to deliver them?”

Lord Rama said, “Well, in this pastime this is what I am supposed to do. I am a kshatriya and my dharma is to protect the innocents and kill the miscreants.”

Sita did not like the word “kill.” Rama understood her heart.

He said, “Ok. In my next incarnation as Lord Krishna in Vrindavan, I will not carry bow and arrow.”

Mother Sita looked at him with suspicious eyes. “If not bow and arrow then what will you carry.” 

Rama said, “Not just bow and arrow, I won’t carry any weapon.”

Sita was happy. Rama was relieved. Finally, he was able to please her.

Radharani says to Krishna, “You broke your promise”

When the Supreme Lord appeared as Lord Krishna then he killed the demoness Putana when he was only 7 days old. He was in his pram only. And one after the other he killed so many demons –  Trnavarta. Vatsasura, Bakasura, Aghasura and many more It is said that everyday kamsa would send a demon and Krishna would kill him/her.

Radharani was unhappy. Radharani and Sita are same. Radharani expands as Sita when Krishna expands as Rama.

Radha was upset. “You broke your promise, Krishna.”

“Which promise?” Krishna asked.

“As Rama you had said that you won’t kill demons.”

“Wait a minute. You had asked me to not carry bow and arrow. I had agreed. Later you said – no weapon. I agreed for that too. And as per my promise I am not carrying any weapon. Tell me with what weapon did I kill these miscreants. I killed Putana by drinking her poisonous milk. I killed all the demons with my hands and legs only. Since, I did not have any weapon, so I danced on the hoods of kaliya to remove all poison from his body. So much hard work I had to do because you took away all my weapons.“

Radha said, “When I said no weapons, it meant you won’t kill anyone. I never knew that you would use your hands and legs to kill them. It is word jugglery. I know these are extremely sinful beings but still I don’t like you killing them.”

“But you should have clarified with me then and there.”

Radharani understood no use in any further discussion.

Radharani – our eternal mother

Radharani is mother of all the living beings in the entire creation. She is Krishna’s eternal consort. A mother loves her child more than the father. She knew demons are so evil that they need to be punished but still she did not like them to be punished. She wanted Krishna to reform them without killing them. A mother’s heart cries when her child suffers. A child may be mischievous or a hardcore criminal, but a mother will bestow unconditional love upon him/her.  Radharani our eternal mother always wants good for us. Although our hearts are flooded with sinful desires and tendencies, but she still loves us.

Krishna says, “In Kaliyuga I will appear as Chaitanya.”

Now mother Radha wanted to know Krishna’s next move. With eyes full of compassion, she looked towards Krishna and asked, “So, what next. When are you going to appear again?”

“In Kaliyuga as Chaitanya”, Krishna said

Our eternal mother became very worried. “Kaliyuga means ocean of faults. A civilization based on quarrel and hypocrisy. Almost everyone commits sins and justifies it. What Krishna will do in Kaliyuga? Is he going to punish everyone? Let me ask his plan and make him promise that he won’t kill or punish anyone. He will forgive even the worst of the sinful person.”

But she was suspicious. Krishna will give his words. But again, he will find a loophole in the agreement and continue killing the miscreants. So, this time I will have to do something different. I will change his heart. For that I will enter his heart.

So, Radharani entered the heart of Lord Krishna. And that Krishna is called Lord Chaitanya.

The Supreme Lord with the heart of Srimati Radharani is Lord Chaitanya.

Lord Chaitanya kills the sin of the sinner with the holy names

As Lord Chaitanya he did not kill anyone.

As Rama and Krishna, the Supreme Lord established dharma by killing the miscreants. But as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the Supreme Lord established dharma by propagating the chanting of the holy names of Krishna – the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.  This is the most potent and lethal weapon. The holy name does not kill the people, but it completely burns the sin of the sinner. And the sinner gets totally purified. This pleases Lord Chaitanya the most. Radharani becomes ecstatic.

In this age of Kaliyuga, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has made it so easy to attain perfection.  You and I have to just chant the holy names. And for chanting no qualification is required. Anyone can chant – men, women, children, Hindus, non- Hindus, Indians, non-Indians.

Chanting not only benefits us, but it benefits even the non-human beings like plants, trees, animals, birds etc. These lower species have almost no chance of deliverance but if they somehow hear the holy names then they also get purified.

Lord Chaitanya did not use any weapon to kill anyone. Only once he took his Sudarshan chakra to kill Jagai and Madhai because these two brothers had attacked Nityananda Prabhu. But Nityananda Prabhu immediately reminded him that in this incarnation he is not supposed to use any weapon and kill anyone. The Supreme Lord remembered his words. He got pacified, forgave the two brothers, and transformed their hearts.

Lord Chaitanya – the most merciful Lord

When Lord Chaitanya was present on earth, people were so demoniac. Vedic culture was almost forgotten. Muslims were eating cow flesh. Brahmanas were misinterpreting the scriptures.  He was completely justified to punish them.

But the Supreme Lord having a heart of Radharani, decided to kill the demons of the heart and not the demons. Lord Rama or Lord Krishna would have punished us for our sins and bad habits. But Lord Chaitanya is so tolerant. He has given us the medicine of the holy names which will help us to burn our sins and evil proclivities which is the root cause of all sufferings and evil tendencies.

Once our heart is free of all vices, we develop godly qualities. We become qualified to become Lord’s eternal associate in the spiritual world. So much mercy Lord Chaitanya is bestowing upon you and me.  

He is the most merciful Lord among the three incarnations.

Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Madhya 19.53

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

Where does God live according to Vedic scriptures?

You live in your home. I live in my home. But where does God live? Does God have a personal home? If yes, then where?  This information is given in the Vedic scriptures.

God, Krishna, lives in Goloka Vrindavan

Brahma-Samhita 5.37 explains that God resides in his own transcendental abode called Goloka Vrindavan which is situated in the spiritual sky.

The Supreme Lord Krishna is the source of spiritual and material world. The material world where you and I currently reside is one – fourth of God’s entire creation. The spiritual world where Lord Krishna and his plenary expansions reside with the pure devotees is three-fourth of his entire creation.

Just like you and I feel comfortable at home, similarly the Supreme Lord feels comfortable at his home.  Just like we enjoy loving reciprocation with our family members, similarly God too wants loving reciprocation with his devotees.  God too has feelings and emotions, likes and dislikes like us.

In fact, the feelings and emotions which You and I experience comes from God only because we are his parts and parcels.  God always likes to be with his devotees. In Goloka Vrindavan, he enjoys living with his parents – Yashoda and Nanda Maharaj, with his eternal consort – Radha and he has many friends – gopis and gopas.  God enjoys many pleasurable pastimes in his transcendental abode.

In the spiritual sky there are unlimited spiritual planets. The topmost amongst all the spiritual planets is Goloka Vrindava – the abode of Lord Krishna. There is also Mayapur, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jagannath Puri and Vaikuntha planets.

Does God live only in the spiritual world?

Material world is away from the spiritual world, but it has been created by Lord Krishna only. This material world, which is temporary, has been created for those souls who decided to live away from Krishna. Although we decided to turn away from Krishna, but Krishna did not leave us.

To be with us, he expands himself and enter this material world. As Supersoul, Parmatama, he resides in your heart and in my heart as long as we are in this material world. As Supersoul he accompanies us even when we get any non-human body because of our karma.  Krishna as Parmatma is always there with us but because of our impure consciousness you and I are not able to see him in our hearts.

He is not just present within us, but he is present outside too. He is the source of all animate and inanimate objects of this world.  the Lord is present in every molecule and in every atom. Nothing in this world exist without him.

Srila Prabhupada explains. “In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35) it is said that Govinda, the primeval Lord, enters everything by His plenary portion. He enters the universe as well as all the atoms of the universe. He is outside in His virāṭ form, and He is within everything as antaryāmī.”

Isopanisad says God is far away and also very near

In Sri Isopanisad Mantra 5 it is mentioned: The Lord is far away (tad dure) i.e. he is present in the spiritual world which is very far away from this world. But he is also very near (tad v antike) because he is present in this ephemeral world too. He is within everything (tad antar asya sarvasya) i.e he is present in each and every living being (as Supersoul) and in each and every atoms and molecules. And since he is the source of everything, so he is outside of everything as well (tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ).

God is present everywhere, but we are not able to see him because of our impure consciousness. When his pure devotees call for him then he immediately appears.

• When Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada, “Is your Lord present in this concrete pillar?” Prahlada said yes. In rage, the demon tried to smash the pillar with his powerful club. From the Pillar appeared Lord Narasimhadev. The Lord appeared not at the call of Hiranyakasipu but at the request of Prahlada.

• When Draupadi was being disrobed by evil Dushasana, she helplessly called the name of Krishna. Krishna was not present in the assembly hall where she was being dishonored, but he heard her plea. He immediately supplied unlimited quantity of sari to protect Draupadi’s honour.

• Gajendra was being dragged by a crocodile into the water. He was helpless, in great pain and was on the verge of death. In utter desperation he pleaded the Lord to save him. The Lord who is swifter than the mind immediately came to rescue him.

God appears as deity

Since our eyes are impure, we cannot see him everywhere. So, God mercifully appears as archa – vigraha i.e. as deity. The deity of Krishna which we see in the temple is non-different from Krishna.

Material elements like wood, stone, marble etc. are used to make the deities. But it becomes spiritual when the Supreme Lord decides to appear in that form.

Vedic scriptures give detailed explanation to make Lord’s archa – vigraha. Once the form of the Lord is carved, devotees invite the Lord to reside in the archa – vigraha by chanting Vedic mantras. Lord who can expand into innumerable forms appears in the deity. This is called prana pratishtha ceremony.

The deity reciprocates with us as per our consciousness. When we serve the deity sincerely, our heart gets purified and we develop love for God.

Once Srila Prabhupada went to one of the Iskcon temples. He paid obeisances to the deities. He immediately said, “Deities look too weak. No one is offering proper bhoga (vegetarian food) to the Lord, it seems.” Later devotees found that because of mismanagement deities were not offered right quantity of food on time. The pure devotees see Krishna when they see his deity.

In fact, people like us, who are struggling to purify consciousness, too experience divinity when we go in front of the deity.  I remember whenever I go to Mayapur, I eagerly wait for the morning to see Sri Sri Radha Madhav with asta sakhis during Mangala Arati. The divine couple looks so beautiful. It’s so pleasing to the heart. I feel that time should stop there, and I continue seeing that beautiful form of the Lord forever. The experience cannot be captures in words.

Vedic scriptures say God lives everywhere.

So where does God live as per the Vedic scriptures? He lives everywhere. Nothing exists without him. Krishna says to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita 7.7,

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañ-jaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva

“O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.”

Krishna is in the spiritual world enjoying pastimes with his pure devotees and he is also present in this material world for you and me. Once we cleanse our hearts of the dust of lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion, false ego and develop love for him, we will be able to see him everywhere. This is what the revealed Vedic scriptures say.

Why to always pray to Lord Narasimhadeva for protection?

Lord Narasimhadeva protects all the devotees who takes his shelter. Other than Lord Narasimhadeva no one can give us complete protection in this world. So, we should always pray to Lord Narasimhadeva for protection. Lord Narasimhadeva is plenary expansion of Lord Krishna. To protect his dear devotee Prahlada, the Supreme Lord Krishna appeared as Lord Narasimhadeva. He had the form of half man, half lion.

His ferocious form was instilling fear in the hearts of all. Just like a father begins seething in anger seeing someone harming his child. Similarly, Lord Narasimhadeva was extremely angry because Hiranyakashipu had tried to destroy Prahlad. 

Lord Narasimhadeva appears to give joy to Prahlada

In few moments, he ripped apart the demon to pieces. He pulled out the intestine of the ruthless king and wore it as a garland. His hands, nails and mane were soaked in blood. With bloodthirsty eyes he looked around challenging anyone who had dared to inflict pain upon Prahlada.  The greatest of the personalities like Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and even his wife Goddess Lakshmi feared to go in front of him.

But he was giving pleasure (āhlāda) to Prahlada: prahlāda āhlāda-dāyine. As soon as Lord Narasimhadeva saw little innocent Prahlada he was pacified. When Prahlada started offering prayers, the Lord of the Universe became extremely pleased. He started showering unlimited blessings upon his dear devotee.

The Supreme Lord had appeared at the request of Prahlada and to show to people like us that he is always there for us. He gives complete protection to those who seeks his shelter. Even before he appeared from the pillar, he was protecting Prahlada from all the dangers. Prahlada was aware about Lord’s unconditional love towards all the living beings who are his own children.

Prahlada says – In any danger pray to Lord Narasimhadeva

The Supreme Lord creates the world, controls the world, maintains the world, and pervades the world. He is present everywhere. If we look for him within our heart, we will see him there too.

Prahlada saw him everywhere – within his heart and outside as well. So, he was free from all fear, free from all anxieties. He had complete faith that Lord Narasimhadeva will protect him because he had taken complete shelter of the Lord. To save himself from the wrath of his demoniac father he did not take shelter of anything material. Because all material solution simply aggravates the problem.

Prahlada explains it, “Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.17

Prahlada gives us a message too. If we are in any danger, we should immediately pray to Lord Narasimhadeva for protection.

Father prays to Lord Narasimhadeva to save his daughter

Sometimes when we read these pastimes of the Lord then it does not look relevant to us. We think that these pastimes happened thousands of years ago and in today’s time it is not applicable. We have doubt in our mind, “Will the lord appear similarly from pillar as he appeared to protect Prahlada.” But if we look around, we would find that there are many devotees who have experienced the mercy of the Lord.

One of the incidents which is widely discussed among the devotee community in ISKCON is of a little girl who was saved by Lord Narasimhadev. The girl was very small may be 2-3 years old. Once she went with her father to the fields. While her father had some work to do, the girl started playing nearby.

While playing she went on the road. When his father looked around, he did not find her. To his utter dismay, he saw his daughter almost on the middle of the road.  It was highway so heavy vehicles plied there.

He saw a big truck at a very high-speed coming towards the girl. He was quite far from her. The girl was too small to understand anything. Since the truck was speeding so for the driver to immediately apply the brakes would have been risky.

Father expected the worst. He folded his hands and started praying to Lord Narasimhadev to save his child. He closed his eyes because he did not want to see that gruesome moment. After few frightful moments he opened his eyes. His heart was pounding , eyes were filled with tears and his body was shivering. With great fear he looked towards the road.

Lord Narasimhadeva appears to protect the little girl from the jaws of death

And surprisingly he saw the little girl standing by the side of the road!

The way the truck was approaching towards the child, it would have crushed even a grown-up person. He ran towards her and picked her up in his harms, “Are you alright? How you came here? How did you save yourself from the speeding truck?”

The little girl said, “I am fine. As that big thing was coming towards me a man who had head of a lion came in front of me, picked me up and put me here.”

The man could not believe her words. She might have heard some story and that is what she is saying now. But he saw something unusual. On the girl’s shoulder there were some marks.  He was confused. He decided to take the girl to a doctor.

The doctor examined the girl and said that these marks are rather strange. These are not of any humans. But looks like that of a lion. Father did not say anything much. But within the core of his heart, he knew that it was Lord Narasimhadev who merciful appeared to save his little daughter. He thanked the Lord again and again.  

Always pray to Lord Narasimhadeva for complete protection

When devotees in Mayapur were attacked by miscreants then devotees asked Srila Prabhupada how they can protect themselves from these ruffians. Srila Prabhupada asked them to install the deity of Lord Narasimhadeva and worship him with love.  The devotees installed the beautiful deity of Lord Narasimhadeva in Iskcon Mayapur temple and began worshipping him.  And the Lord has been protecting the devotees in Mayapur from all difficult situations.

In all the Iskcon temples of the world, Narasima arati is daily sung in the morning and in the evening. Devotees also worship Lord Narasimhadev at home and daily sing Narasimha arati. This beautiful prayer has been written by Vyasdeva which glorifies the wonderful qualities of the Lord.

In this world there are miseries at every step – padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58). And if we want to save ourselves from all these sufferings then we should always remain under the shelter of Lord Nrsimhadeava. Let us bow down at his lotus feet again and again. We should offer him our heartful prayers. And let us bathe him with our tears of love. He is our only saviour. Other than him no one can protect us.

ugram viram maha-vishnum

jvalantam sarvato mukham

nrisimham bhishanam bhadram

mrityur mrityum namamy aham

Prayers to Lord Narasimhadeva

“I bow down to Lord Narasimha who is ferocious and heroic like Lord Vishnu. He is burning from every side. He is terrific, auspicious and the death of death personified.”

Seeking forgiveness from God for all the sins

You and I have committed so many sins in this life and in many previous lives. Because of those sins we suffer in this world. We may blame other people or situations or circumstances for our sufferings, but the Vedic scriptures tell that we suffer because of our own karma. What we did in the past is haunting us today.

When an executioner executes a prisoner then he is not committing the crime of killing. As a representative of the government, he is just following the order of the State. He is doing his duty. If he will refuse to do then someone else will do it.

We suffer for our own sins

Similarly, if some people are giving us pain today then that person is not the cause of our suffering. We were to be punished for the wrongs we did in the past. And today someone has been arranged to give us pain. If we try to run away from the person who is giving us sorrow, then somewhere else someone will be arranged to give us sorrow.

• We would have hurt someone’s feelings before so today someone is hurting our feelings.
• We would have cheated someone before, so we are getting cheated today.
• We would have been harsh or arrogant or insensitive with someone so the same we are experiencing today.
• We would have given pain to someone before, so others are giving pain to us today.
• We would have taken others for granted so others are taking us for granted today.
• We would have misused wealth before so today we are in poverty.

Unless and until our quota of suffering is exhausted, we will be subjected to miseries. So, let us stop blaming others for our misfortune. Let us also stop complaining God for our miseries. Instead, we should think how to free ourselves from past sins which is causing us so much trouble.

On our own we cannot free ourselves from the sins. A person convicted of death simply cannot run away from the prison. His only hope is to get mercy from the Supreme Court or from the Government. After being convicted of the crime by the highest court, the convict does not argue that he is innocent. He accepts his mistake and seeks mercy on humanitarian ground. His mercy plea may be accepted or rejected. But this is his only hope.

Seeking forgiveness from God

Similarly, we should write a mercy petition to the Supreme Lord. We should seek forgiveness from him for all the sins we have committed in all the lives. The President, the Prime Minister or the Judge of the highest court may accept or reject a plea. But the Lord of the Universe who is our Supreme Father will never reject us. If our prayers are sincere and we genuinely feel sorry for whatever mistakes we have done, then he forgives us. In fact, he forgets all our blunders and is ready to welcome us with open arms.

We should pray to the Lord, “O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there will be no hindrance to my progress.” Sri Isopanisad Mantra 18

So, when suffering comes to us then instead of blaming others, we should blame ourselves. We should humbly accept that we did something terrible and so we are in difficult situation now.

Many times, we commit sins because of ignorance. But that is not an excuse. The laws of nature are very cruel. Whether we do things knowingly or unknowingly we have to face the consequences. If a child puts his finger in the fire, then his finger will burn. The fire will not think that since he is a child let me not burn his finger.

Chanting the names of Krishna burns all sins

So, it is important that we should live as per the laws given to us by God. We should learn what is righteous behaviour and what is unrighteous behaviour. What is sin and what is not sin. All this information we can get from Vedic literatures. Srila Vyas Deva has written volumes of Vedic literatures to tell us how to lead a God centred happy life which will save us from so many sufferings. Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam are most important Vedic books which helps us to lead a sin free happy life.   

Srila Prabhupada has made things much easy for us. He says that we should just follow 4 regulative principles of no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication and no illicit sex. And we should also chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. If we do this then sins will not touch us. And what about the previous sins. Chanting the holy names of Krishna is so powerful that it burns all the past sins.

“As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, unfailingly burns to ashes all the reactions of one’s sinful activities. Awakening Love of God

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also says in his Sri Siksastakamprayers that chanting frees us from all the sins and extinguishes the fire of conditional life of repeated birth and death.

God protects surrendered souls from all the sins

So, the best way to live an auspicious life which is free from all sufferings is to take shelter of the Lord. We should again and again beg Lord to forgive us for all the sins which we have committed knowingly or unknowingly. And we should take a vow not to commit any more mistakes. Along with that we should pray to Lord sincerely to guide us on the righteous path so that we do not commit any sins in our life.  

Once we take shelter of the Lord he protects us from all the sufferings by freeing us from past sins and giving us intelligence and determination to not commit any more sins.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “To err is human. A conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes charge of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions,” Sri Isopanisad Mantra 18 purport

How Vedic wisdom helps to give up grudge easily?

Grudge is not easy to give up. But Vedic wisdom helps to give up grudge easily. Let us try to see how this is possible.  

What is grudge?

Dictionary defines grudge as “a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.” Most of the time grudge is towards those who were once close to us or are still around us. We might have been emotionally attached to them once, might have wanted good relationship with them, would have even tried our best to please them. But in spite of our good intentions, they would have willingly given pain to us.

They would have back stabbed us, would have spoken ill about us to others and would have tried their best to harm us. But all through the trauma we would have wanted their happiness. We might have even confronted them asking, “why are you doing this to me?” They would have smiled and said, “I have done nothing wrong. You are miserable because you deserve it.”

Our desire of preserving relationship with them would have crumbled into pieces. We might have cried in silence for days. Just like a tree loses all its leaves in fall, we would have lost all hope of happiness in our life.

“What good life has done to me. I wanted happiness for him (or her) but I got only pain.” This thought would have given us many sleepless nights.  

Grudge does not allow us to grow in life

After being taken for a ride and having suffered sufficiently one day we would have mustered courage and decided to march ahead in life.

But in spite of our courageous decision to start afresh, the past does not leave us.

The feelings of betrayal keep on haunting us. We might be totally justified in having grudge towards the wrongdoer. But the hate in our heart is causing us great harm. And interestingly, it hardly has any consequence on the life of the person who gave us pain.

Grudge is like slow poison

Like slow poison, grudge slowly destroys us from within. It does not allow us to forget past and move ahead in life. Since we are always overwhelmed with the thoughts of betrayal, we stop trusting people. We fear making new friends. Grudge eventually steals happiness from our life.

It is said, grudge is like constantly holding a burning charcoal in our hand with a desire to hit the person who gave us misery. We do not know when we will get a chance to throw the red-hot charcoal on the perpetrator. In fact, we are not sure of even getting a chance. But the charcoal always keeps on burning our hand.

Similarly, the feeling of hate in our heart constantly gives us pain. Someone might have wronged us once or twice or may be a dozen times, but we are punishing ourselves all the time.

So, for our own benefit we should give up grudge. If we seriously want to grow in our life, then we should shun the feeling of hate. If we want to experience joy in life, then we should forcibly free our hearts of all negativity. It is true that forgetting bad phase of life is not easy. But unless we let it go, we won’t be able to carve a better destiny for ourselves.  

If we study the life of great personalities, we find that they too had all valid reasons to let the feelings of hate reside in their hearts.  But they thought differently. They proactively took charge of their life and instead of fretting about the past they carved a better future for themselves.

How Vidura handled Duryodhana’s insult? 

In Mahabharata we see Vidura tried his best to serve Dhritarashtra throughout his life. But despite all his selfless service he was badly insulted by Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra’s son. And the blind king remained silent.  Vidura was heartbroken, he had tears in his eyes. He had no option but to leave the kingdom, leave his home.  Harsh words and insults had pierced his heart. But he did not allow the feelings of hate to take control of his life.

He did not spend a moment of his life in regretting and fretting about what had happened. He did not blame anyone for the insults. He did not ask God, “Why did you do this to me?”  Instead, he proactively took control of his life. He decided to visit sacred places and meet revered saintly personalities like Uddhava and sage Maitreyi. He went deep into his spiritual life and elevated his consciousness. Thus, he enjoyed unlimited transcendental bliss.

Meanwhile those who gave pain to him suffered badly. Bhima killed Duryodhana and Dhritarashtra was living at the mercy of the Pandavas whom he had tried his best to destroy.

See this world through the eyes of the scriptures

Vidura did not choose grudge but instead he made all the right choices in his life based on the teachings of the Vedic scriptures. So, he ultimately emerged victorious. Vedic wisdom helped Vidura to give up grudge easily.

Similarly, we should also not allow ourselves to be knocked down by the feelings of grudge. It is true that it is not possible to simply forget the ill treatment, harsh words and betrayal. If we try to stop from thinking about the wrongs done to us, then it may not work. It will be difficult to forgive someone who has hurt us. Because it has affected us emotionally. But if we start seeing the world through the eyes of the scriptures then this could be possible. Vidura followed this approach only.

We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking and understanding that created it according to Einstein. So, if we try to solve the problem created in this material world with material thinking then we may not find a perfect solution. But if we try to solve the problem of this world with spiritual thinking then we will get a better solution.

Vedic wisdom helps to give up grudge easily

Scriptures explain that all the people living in this world are rebellious souls including you and me. All the living entities living in this material world had once rebelled against God, Krishna, in the spiritual world. They did not want to cooperate with Krishna’s plan, but they had their own plan. All are here to fulfil their desires. And they want everyone else including Lord Krishna to assist them in enjoying their life. They want you and me to help them to fulfil their personal desires.

They are not here to fulfil our dreams; they are here to fulfil their dreams. They are not here to give us enjoyment, they are here to enjoy their own life. They are not here for our needs, wants and desires but they are here for their needs, wants and desires.

They do not like those people whom they feel are creating hurdle for them in realizing their personal desires. They feel offended. For their personal enjoyment they can even go against anyone. And we should not be surprised. If they did not hesitate in going against the desires of God, then why should we be surprised if they are going against us.

It will be correct to say that people in this world with material consciousness are spiritually sick. Their hearts are filled with different degrees of lust, anger and greed. And this is the reason they do not feel pain while inflicting pain upon others. In a hospital we cannot expect patients to behave in a healthy way similarly in this material world we should not expect spiritually sick people to have saintly behaviour.

And so, we should not have too much expectation from people in this world. We are expecting love and compassion from those people who are devoid of love and compassion.

Heal your heart by giving heart to Krishna

The sufferings which we undergo in this world is because of material consciousness. If we start seeing the person who gave us pain as a spirit soul who because of being away from Krishna is now afflicted with lust, anger and greed then instead of feeling offended by his/her behavior we will feel sorry for them.

In a hospital if a patient suffering from stomach infection starts vomiting then we do not become angry, but we pray for his recovery. Similarly, if spiritually unhealthy person is behaving in a lustful, angry or greedy way then we should not become agitated, but we should have compassion for them.

So, instead of having grudge against people who have wronged us, we should focus on the activities which are constructive, and which will ensure better future. Like Vidura we should not allow hate to take control of our life. But we should put in our best efforts to reconnect with Krishna and surround ourselves with those who are sincerely trying to develop strong relationship with Krishna.

Relationship free from contamination of lust, anger and greed can be possible only with Krishna and with those who are pure devotees of Krishna.  

And for those who have hurt us, we should pray for them for their speedy recover from material disease.

Heart hurts when someone hurts us. But if we give our heart to Krishna then we will never feel hurt because our heart will always enjoy the joy of being with Krishna.

Does God forgive us for all our mistakes?

Will God forgive You and me for all our mistakes? Knowingly and unknowingly, we commit so many sins. So, we are always fearful of the consequences. But if we study the holy books, we find that God is so merciful that he forgives the sinners for all the mistakes. In Ramayana we find that although Kaikeyi committed an unpardonable mistake but still Lord Rama forgave her.

Lord Rama could have hated Kaikeyi, his stepmother, forever. And no one would have blamed him. She had brought great calamity in his life and in the lives of everyone who were close to him. The entire city of Ayodhya had immersed into celebration when they had heard that their beloved Rama is going to be crowned as the emperor of Ayodhya.

But Kaikeyi whom Rama loved like her own mother was seething in anger. Manthara, her personal and trusted maidservant, had convinced her mistress that if Rama becomes the king, she will be forced to live like a maidservant of Kaushalya, Rama’s mother.  

Kaikeyi desperately wants her son, Bharath, to be the king

Kaikeyi felt deeply hurt. She became petrified. Just like a wounded serpent starts spitting poison everywhere, Kaikeyi whose heart had been poisoned by Manthara started spitting words laced with hate, envy and arrogance.  “I want Bharath, my son, to be the king and Rama to be banished to forest for 14 years.”  Dasarath, Rama’s father, was flabbergasted. With tears in his eyes, he begged his wife to not to be so cruel. 

But she was so callous that the tears of her husband did not melt her heart. She saw him dying but she did not care. She thought “If my son is the king, I will be rajmata (king’s mother) and will enjoy all royal privileges.” She was obstinate. Her feelings, her emotions, her desires, her satisfaction was more important to her than anything else in the world. Lord Rama, mother Sita and Lakshman had to leave their own home.  Dasrath ultimately died in separation of Lord Rama. She was the only cause of all the sufferings in Ayodhya. 

Furious Bharath blames Kaikeyi for all the sufferings in Ayodhya

Bharath was outraged when he came to know her mother’s cruel deeds. In utter disgust he said, “You brought great misfortune upon Ayodhya. You killed my father. You gave so much pain to Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. I am so ashamed that you are my own mother.”

Bharath went to forest to beseech Lord Rama to return back to Ayodhya and become the king. He begged forgiveness for everything. But Rama refused, “I have given my words to our departed father to be in the forest. I cannot break the vow.” Bharath was in tears. “My mother is the cause of this great misfortunate,” noble Bharath lamented. But Rama disagreed. 

Kaikeyi felt ashamed for her behaviour but Rama embraced her

Despite her wicked behavior, Lord Rama had no bad feelings for Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi who had acted insanely was in tears. She felt ashamed of herself. She had realized her grave mistake. She felt at the feet of Rama, but Rama immediately picked her up and embraced her and said, “O Gentle Lady, you are not to be blamed. I am not at all angry with you.”

After a long time, she had heard such sweet words. Everyone hated her for what she did. No one respected her anymore. 

She had once thought that Rama will take away all happiness from her life if he becomes the king. She had thought him to be her enemy. But today she realized that Rama is her best well-wisher. After being rejected and shamed by all including her own son, she got shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Rama.

Crying pitifully, she said, “No one in the three worlds would have forgiven me for my cruel behaviour. You are not an ordinary person. Now I understand that you are the Supreme Lord. And so, you are so merciful, so generous and so forgiving. Please guide me to the path of righteousness.”  Lord Rama smiled and said, “Meditate upon me and you will be freed from all the attachments of this ephemeral world. You will live peacefully, and you will attain me.” Kaikeyi felt relived. She was now happy. She understood the goal and purpose of her life. She paid her obeisances to the Lord of the universe and circumambulated him.

God never leaves us, he always resides in our heart as Parmatma(Superosul)

The Supreme Lord, our eternal father, is magnanimous. He does not hate anyone. He loves all. We the living entities may dislike him, disobey him, and may even despise him. But still, he never leaves us. We commit so many abominable activities but still he does not abandon us. Scriptures tell that the Supreme Lord as Parmatma(Superosul) accompanies us in any species of life we get. If because of our sinful activities, we get the body of a dog or a hog or we become an insect in the stool still he is present there with us. Wherever we are, he is with us. As Supersoul he always resides in our heart.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad explain that the living entities (soul) and the Parmatma (Supersoul) are like two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One bird is the soul and the other Supersoul. The soul wants to enjoy independently from the Supersoul. The Supreme Lord (Supersoul) who is the creator of the soul allows the soul to enjoy the material world.  The soul turns away from the Lord and suffer immensely while trying to enjoy the material world. In spite of being neglected, the Supreme Lord never leaves the living entities (soul).  The Lord desperately wants us to return back to him. He anxiously waits for the moment when we will turn towards him and express our feelings of love to him.  

God forgets and forgives us for all our sins and mistakes

As soon as we consciously take a decision to bring the Supreme Lord in our life, he forgets all our misdeeds. He forgives us for all our mistakes. Not just that, he burns all our sins so that we get freedom from all physical and mental sufferings. Our life becomes an ocean of bliss.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “A conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls.”, Sri Isopanisad Mantra 18 purport.

स्वपादमूलं भजत: प्रियस्य
त्यक्तान्यभावस्य हरि: परेश: ।
विकर्म यच्चोत्पतितं कथञ्चिद्
धुनोति सर्वं हृदि सन्निविष्ट: ॥ ४२ ॥

sva-pāda-mūlam bhajataḥ priyasya
tyaktānya-bhāvasya hariḥ pareśaḥ
vikarma yac cotpatitaṁ kathañcid
dhunoti sarvaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ

“One who has thus given up all other engagements and has taken full shelter at the lotus feet of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is very dear to the Lord. Indeed, if such a surrendered soul accidentally commits some sinful activity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is seated within everyone’s heart, immediately takes away the reaction to such sin.” Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.42

When we turn turn towards God, we attain Supreme Joy & Complete Satisfaction

Kaikeyi suffered because she exiled Lord Rama from her life. She desired to enjoy the kingdom of God without God.

You and I are also trying our best to enjoy in this world. But in spite of our best efforts, we fail to find joy in our life. Sufferings accompany us like a shadow. Most of the time we live in fear and anxiety. We always remain dissatisfied.

So, let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves, “Why are we not getting the happiness which we are looking for? Why we feel incomplete. Why we suffer again and again?”

Kaikeyi understood her folly. She welcomed Lord Rama back in her life for her own benefit and felt blissful and complete.

You and I have also exiled the Supreme Lord from our life. This is our biggest mistake. And this is why we always suffer.  Let us turn towards the Lord and invite him to reside in our hearts. The Supreme father will accept us. He is our best friend and best well-wisher (suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, Bhagavad Gita 5.29). No matter how abominable our sins may be, he will forgive us and purify us.  We will then experience the joy and satisfaction we are looking for!

Why do Krishna devotees suffer? A devotee’s complain.

When I am suffering, I always ask myself again and again, why is Krishna not helping me?  Why do Krishna devotees suffer?

“I have been trying to chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra and am trying to dovetail all my activities in Krishna’s service but why suffering comes to me.”

Why is Krishna not protecting his devotees? Why Krishna is allowing his devotees to suffer?

It is easy to say to others to take shelter of Krishna when in misery but when misery befalls upon us, we question, why me Krishna? It is easy to preach but difficult to practice.

And many times, we fail to find anything wrong we did. We wanted happiness but what comes is suffering. We wanted peace but what comes is mental agony. We wanted good relationship but what comes is terrible reciprocation. We want good for others, but the other person wants bad for us.

So, we ask again and again, why its happening to me?

The answer given is, “You are suffering because of your karma.”

But I do not recollect doing anything terrible this life.

“Then you must have done something bad in your previous lives.”

But I do not remember my earlier lives.

“So what? This is how karma works.”

But what about me at least trying to practice devotion to Krishna.

“It means Krishna has reduced your karma else you would have suffered even more.” 

Most of the devotees who have basic understanding of Krishna Conscious philosophy knows this answer. In fact, when any other person will approach us with their set of problems you and I will give the same answer.

But when similar situation arises in our life we are terribly shaken.

How should a devotee of Krishna handle suffering?

So, what is the solution? How should a devotee of Krishna handle suffering? And in suffering how to practice devotional life? 

We get so overwhelmed with suffering that while chanting instead of focusing on Krishna’s holy names our mind forces us to think only about the pain. Deity worship becomes a ritual because our mind is filled with agony. Future looks bleak. We are told to have faith in Krishna. But we develop faith that Krishna will not resolve our problem. It is not that Krishna cannot resolve our problem. But we think we are too insignificant for Krishna and so Krishna does not care for us and so he does not free us from our sufferings. 

Krishna frees us from all sufferings when we take his shelter

But scriptures say something else. Anyone who takes shelter of Krishna gets freedom from all the miseries. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna himself says, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66

So why our suffering is not taken care. Is it because Krishna has some different plan? Is it because through our suffering Krishna wants to teach us an important lesson? Or is it that Krishna wants to make it clear to us that no matter how hard we try we cannot become happy in this world.

No matter how hard a prisoner tries he cannot remain peaceful and happy in the prison cell. He may do all the things right. But his other inmates will be ruffians and hardcore criminals who will make his life hell. Similarly, in this material world which is compared to a prison house we are surrounded with people who are filled with envy, arrogance, pride, greed, lust, anger and tons of false ego. And these people are never going to allow us to live in peace and allow us to be happy. So, Krishna devotees suffer as long he is attached to the people of this material world who have material consciousness and have desire to enjoy this world.

Return back to kingdom of Krishna

People living in this world are rebellious souls. You and I are also rebellious souls. But at least because of the mercy of Srila Prabhupada we now understand that we have to give up our envy towards Krishna and we should try our best to reunite with Krishna.  We are at least trying.

But there are people who do not even think so. They think they are too great. These people can be hardcore materialists or can be even donning a devotee dress.  So, such people will continue creating trouble for us.

So, what is the solution? If a prisoner wants to save himself from the wrath of the fellow prisoners, then what is the best solution? To come out of the jail.

Similarly, if we want to save ourselves from terrible people of this world then we should get out from the material prison house. Just like a prisoner cannot run away from the prison cell.  Similarly, we cannot simply run away from this world.

A prisoner instead of making plans to improve his life in prison should focus on how to get out of the prison. By good conduct and behavior, he can please the jail authorities and can get his jail term reduced.

Similarly, instead of focusing on how to become happy in this world, we should focus on how to run away from this material world. No matter how hard we try this world will continue to give us suffering, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, Bhagavad Gita 8.15. Either we will suffer physically or emotionally. This is why Srila Prabhupada focused too much on returning back to godhead. This is the only solution to get freedom from all the sufferings.  So, we should put in our best efforts to return back to the kingdom of Krishna.

Read: Brihad-bhagavatamrita tells the journey of Gopa Kumara to Goloka Vrindavan

Always take shelter of Krishna in suffering, he is the only hope

We may be suffering because of our past karma or this life’s karma or it could be Krishna’s plan, we may never come to know.  So why Krishna is not freeing you and me from suffering? Why Krishna devotees suffer? Because Krishna wants to show us that this world is filled with suffering. So we should make plans to get out of it.

But no matter whatever may be the reason for our suffering and whatever may be the intensity of our suffering we always have an opportunity to be Krishna Conscious. In fact, suffering helps us to go deeper in our life and reflect upon the blunder we committed in our life.  Some of the blunder may be too severe and too late to rectify. But it teaches us an incredible lesson.  But in such a situation too we should take shelter of Krishna.

Devotees suffering ends once they attain Krishna

Because Krishna is our only hope. He is our only saviour. We should never leave him.

ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

“I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.” Siksastakam, Text 8

So, in spite of all our sufferings, we should always try our best to take shelter of Krishna. A doctor knows what is best for the patient. The medicine he gives may be bitter, but it will cure the suffering.

Similarly, Krishna knows what is best for us. The suffering(medicine) which we are getting may be too bitter for us. But it will ultimately cure us from all the material diseases and will help us to attain Krishna.  

Once devotees of Krishna attain Krishna all the sufferings end. There will only be happiness which you and I are always looking for.

Bhagavad Gita Quiz

If you want to know how much you know about Bhagavad Gita, then attempt this quiz. The Bhagavad Gita Quiz will assess your knowledge and understanding about this sacred literature. Bhagavad Gita is an important Vedic literature.  

In Gītā-māhātmya 7, it is mentioned that let there be only one scripture for the whole world, Bhagavad Gita which was spoken by Sri Krishna – ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam. Let there be only one God, Lord Krishna – eko devo devakī-putra eva. One mantra which can deliver the whole world – eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni. Mantra for this age is the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.  And everyone should be engaged in only one activity i.e. the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna – Karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā.

If we know Bhagavad Gita, we will know how to live happily in this world. This holy book teaches us who we are, what is the purpose of our life, who is God, what is our relationship with God and how we can develop permanent relationship with God. Bhagavad Gita since time immemorial has been guiding the entire humanity.

Arjuna the greatest warrior of his time was completely bewildered at the start of the Mahabharata war. He was overwhelmed with emotions and was thinking of running away from the battlefield. Krishna at that time spoke to him and removed all his ignorance. After hearing Krishna, Arjuna got motivated to fight the war with enthusiasm and grit. Under his guidance, he won the most important war of his life. He is considered as the hero of the epic war.

In our life too if we follow the teachings of Bhagavad Gita, we will get knowledge and intelligence to deal with various challenges of our life. And if we act according to its teachings, we will become victorious in our life.

So do read Bhagavad Gita and test your knowledge by giving this Bhagavad Gita Quiz. All the best!