Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Every one of us wants to be happy. In fact every moment we strive hard to achieve happiness but most often we find that in spite of achieving all what we had desired to achieve we still remain unhappy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha i.e. eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. We being parts and parcel of the Lord we also have desire for eternity, bliss and knowledge. Every jiva be it in Svargloka, brahmaloka, bhuvarloka etc. wants to be happy. The level of happiness which one enjoys in the heavenly planets is far greater than what we enjoy on earth. On earth also there is difference in the level of enjoyment which one may experience in a western country than in India.

A survey conducted by Sunday Times of India (March 6, 2011) threw up a surprise. Contrary to the perception that young people in India are becoming disinclined towards spirituality the survey shows that younger people are more & more becoming interested in spirituality.

A person may own a palatial bungalow, may own a fleet of cars, may possess all the latest technological masterpieces, is a renowned scholar and his coffers are brimming with the gold, silver and liquid cash but still the person may feel hollow from within.

Suppose that we take a fish out of the water & put it in an aquarium made of gold but no water in it. Will the fish be satisfied & happy just being in gold plated aquarium? The answer is ‘NO’. A fish can be happy only in water.

Similarly no matter how much comfort we provide to our body unless & until we nourish our real self we will not get the satisfaction. We need to understand that we are not this body but we are souls presently in a human body. As a soul we are sac-cid-ananda i.e. eternal, blissful & full of knowledge. The nature of the soul is to be in constant association of the Lord. So, when we endeavor to connect to the Lord we feel a sense of inner satisfaction & bliss from within. In an article published in the Reader’s Digest (‘Searching for the Divine’, Jan 2002) Prof Andrew a neurologist explains that at peak moments of prayer & meditation a person goes to a state of complete relaxation and deep satisfaction and experiences a higher reality.

The following story of a Polish girl illustrates how spirituality can help a person to tolerate a great pain.

The girl was 16 when she discovered that she has cancer & the cancer had already spread all over her body. The girl was undergoing through tremendous physical pain but fortunately she had discovered a medicine which would help her to bear the unbearable pain. She would find solace & comfort in singing the Hare Krishna kirtan (song). Slowly her condition deteriorated further & it became impossible for her to even speak. Then she requested her brother to sing the kirtan for her. Her brother who was studying in a college used to phone her and sing the kirtan for her everyday from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. It continued for 2 months. And one fateful night the girl left this world while her brother was singing the kirtan for her. Her brother was not aware of this fact. He came to know about her sister’s death only when his mother picked up the phone and informed him that his sister is no more. Her death was peaceful. (Reference: travelingmonk.com, I-never-Cry, Volume 11, Chapter 10, Oct 11, 2010).

The girl was able to withstand the tremendous physical pain because she was able to connect herself with the Supreme Lord which enabled her to experience a higher taste and a higher level of satisfaction which was beyond the body, mind & senses

Spirituality not only purifies our consciousness but also helps us to understand our real self. So, we should re-spiritualize our lives & develop a harmonious relationship with the Lord. Just like Arjuna we too should take the shelter of the Lord & perform our prescribed duties in a righteous manner.

Yes on 30th March 2011, when the much hyped cricket match will be played then it would make either millions or billions of people brokenhearted.

We love to claim that we are a cricket crazy nation and very shamelessly chant ‘Cricket is our Religion’. Millions of Indians have very submissively surrendered themselves to the 11 mortal cricket players & their happiness or sorrow is totally dependent on them.

Why we fail to understand that cricket is a mere sport and it should be watched in a sporting spirit. If 2 teams are playing then one will win & the other will lose and also victory or defeat is not just dependent on the skills & expertise of the players but it is dependent on many external factors like weather conditions, light condition, amount of moisture in the pitch, psychological condition of the players etc. Even though the players will try their best but still they cannot guarantee that they will definitely win for the nation and we cannot blame them.

What if India loses & what if India wins. If India wins then what difference is it going to make to our lives? Around 2 lakhs farmers in our country have been forced to commit suicide in the last 13 years, what difference the win is going to bring to the lives of the bereaved farmers’ family.

There are instances where people even get heart attacks or even commit suicide upon knowing the outcome of the match. This is nothing but a sheer madness. It is really surprising that we are ready to waste this valuable human life for such a flimsy thing. Sastras explains that this human form of life which we have got is very precious and we should utilize it to revive our love for Lord Krishna.

Human body is just like a boat using which we can cross this material ocean. Out of the 8.4 million species this is the most opportune moment for us to revive our love for God. If we waste this opportunity then we might again have to wait for millions of years to again get this human body. We should realize the importance of this human life and make an endeavor to get rid of this vicious cycle of birth and death and go home Back to Godhead.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad – Gita:

So, if we remember Krishna always then we will go back to his abode from where we will never have to come back to this material world.

Krishna asks us to remember him always & we are foolishly remembering cricket. We can remember Krishna always if we regularly chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra :

So, instead of surrendering to these 11 cricket players we should surrender to Krishna, instead of remembering them we should always remember Krishna and instead of chanting cricket we should chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. By doing this our life will be successful.

• Lord Krishna has a transcendental form.
• When he descends in this material world he does not accept a material body.
• Krishna’s mind, body & soul are one and the same.
• In Sri Isopanisad Krishna is described by the word akayam meaning unembodied i.e. Krishna does not have to accept a material body as a living entity.
• A living entity has to accept a material body in this material world.
• A living entity has to accept a body as per the laws of nature.
• In Brahma – samhita Lord is described as sac-cid-ananda – vigraha i.e. he is eternal, blissful & full of knowledge.
• Krishna is not bound by the laws of the material world because he is the architect of these laws.
• Srila Prabhupada in his commentary explains that Krishna is also described as formless.
• Srila Prabhupada further explains that this does not mean that he does not have a form but it implies that he has a form which we cannot conceive with our material senses.
• Lord Krishna can perform any activity with any parts of his body i.e. he can eat with his eyes, see with his hands etc.