raja-vidya the king of knowledge-original 1973 book scan

8/13/2019 Raja-Vidya the King of Knowledge-Original 1973 Book SCAN

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R]A-VIDYTheK NG

OF

OWLE GE

His Divine GraceA. C Bhaktiveda t a Swami rabhup d


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A LL G L OR Y T O S R I G UR U A N D G A U R A G A

R]A-V DYTheKING

OF

OWLE EHis Divine Grace

A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhup daFounder-Acary

Intern tion l Society for Krishn Consciousness

THE BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST {B.B.T.)New York Los g s Lo do Bomb y


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Readers interested n the subject matterof this book are inv ted by

the Inter ational Society for Krishna Consciousnessto correspond w th i s Secretary.

Inte atio al Society for Krish a C sc us ess3959 La dma k Street

Culve ity, Califor ia 90230

1 73 by t e B a iveda ta Bo k Trust (B.B.T.)All r ghts reserved

F r Pr n n ,1973: 100,000ec nd Pr nt n 1973 60,000 cop es

L brary f ongress atal g ard Number: 72-848 5Internat onal Standard Book Numb r: 0 912776 0

Printed in t Uni d States o mer ca by Donnelley P inting o


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conte s

Raj -vidya: The King of Knowle ge.

Knowledge Beyon S s r . . . 15Know g f K 's En r es. 22

4 Knowledge by W of th M h tmas,Gr t S uls .................... 35

P r mp r : Knowl dge Through

Disc p icSucc ssion . .. . 6. Knowledge of K 's Appe r nces

nd Activities . . . . 07 Knowl dg s F ith in Guru nd

Surr nder t K .... .

8 Action in Know edg of K .. . 93


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Readers interested n the subject matterof this book are invited by

the Inter at onal Society for Krishna Consciousnessto correspond w th s Secretary.

Inter atio al Soc ety for Krish a C sc us ess3959 La dmark Street

Culver City, Cal for ia 90230

1 73 by t e B a tiveda ta Book Tr st (B.B.T . )All r ghts reserved

F t P t ,1973: 10 ,000 co eecond Pr nt ng, 1973 160 000 copies

L ary o ongress C talog a d N mber: 72-848 5Internat ona St ndard Book N mbe : 0 912776 0

Printed n t e Un ted State o Ame ica y Do ne ley inting o.


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1

Raj -V y :The King of Knowl dgsr" bhagav n u ca

idam tu te gu yata ampra ak y a as yave

j am vij a-sa itam yaj j tv okyase ' ub t

"The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, byou are never envious of Me,I shall impart to youthis most secret wisdom, knowing which you shreli ved of the mis ri s of material existence9.1)

The opening words of th Ninth ChaptB agavad t indicate that t Suprem Godheaspeaking Here r K Qa is referred to as

aga means op lences, andv means one whopo s ss s We ha e some conception of Go

e V dic i r re there are definite deand definitions of what is meant by God, a dis meant is described in one word-BhagaBhagav n possesses all opulences, th totalknowledge, wealth, pow r, beauty fame annunciation When we find someon who po

hese opulences in full, we ar to know ha

Go T re are many rich, wise, famo s, an ower ul m n, ut no one man can clposse s all of these op ences. Only K a poss ss them in totality.


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2 Rja-vdy : Te Kng of owl dge

bhoktar y jn -t p sas rv -lok -m h e v r msuh d s rv -b ta a jnatva m a tim cch ti

"The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purp se f

all sacrifices and a sterities, the Supreme Lord of alll nets and demigods and the benefactoran well-isher of ll living ntities, attain peace fr m theangs of material miseries. (Bg.5.29)Here K a roclaims that He is the enjoyer of

activities an the roprietor f all pl e s(s rvlok m he8v r m).An individ l may ossess a largeact of lan , and he may be roud of his o nership,b t K a claims to ossess all planetary systemsK a also cl ims to e the friend f ll living entit(suh d s rv bh ta mW en a person understands t at God s the ro r etor of ev ry hing

ien of ve yo a the enjoyer o all h bvery pe ceful his is the ct al eace for la one can ave peace as long as he thinks, "J m t e

o rietor ho is capa le of claiming ro rietosh ? Onl a ew h n ed years ago the red Indi

ere consi ered to be the ro rietors of AmericaToday e in our turn are c a ming th t propr et rshipb t n four hundred or a thousand years perha s

o eone else ill come t cl im the same. The lanis here a e come here an falsely claim ourselvto be ro rietors of it. This hilosophy of false pr -

rie orshi s not in l ne ith Ve ic injunct ons.SrTI op f dstates that everyth ng an mate or nani-te that is th the un verse s c ntr lle a

o ne the Lo avasy id s rv m "Th


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Rja-vdy : The ng of Knowledge 5

of one who is actua ly in knowledge is t at he surrendered unto K Qa. As long as we go on splating about God but do not surrender, it is understood that we have no attained the perfection oknowledge The perfection of knowledge is:

bah n janman m ante . j nav n m prapadyatesudeva sarvam isa mah t sudurlabha

"A ter many births nd dea hs, he who is actuain knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing e to bthe cause f a l causes a d all that is Such a gsoul s ery rare (Bg7.19)

As g as e do not surrender, we cann t u desta d G d Surre der to God may take many birthb t i e accep that God is great, i i p ssibs rre er unto Him immediately Bu genera ly is o our p siti n in the mate ia orld Wecharacteris ic lly en io s a d c sequent y thi

Oh, hy s ouldI surre der u G ?I am indee dent I s a l ork in epe de ly erefore

order to rect this misgi ng, e ha e

for m ny births I this re d, he n me o especially ignifi anKr me ns repetition orth a dna me s o e who checks ur

re etition o birth c be chec ed o y y Godne can che k his re e iti n f birth and death wit

ou the causeless mercy GodThe su j ct mat er f the inth Cha t r ija-

vid R jame ns i g, andvid ean ked e In ord ary li e we d o e per on k


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6 Rja-vdy : Te ng of Knowledge

one subject and another in another subject. This

knowledge, owever, is sovereign over all ot ers, andall ot er kno ledge is subject or relative to it T eword raj -guh y mindicates t at t is s verei n knowledge is very confiden ial, and t e w rd p vitrmeans t at it is very pure T is knowledge is alsou t m m; d eans "trans en a eans

darkness, and t at knowledge w ic surpasses t is world and t e knowledge of t is world is ca ledutt m m. t is the nowled e of lig t, and darkn ss

as been separated from it f one follows t is patof kno ledge, e w l personall understand how far

he has prog essed down the path of er ection(pr ty ka g m rmy m) Susukh k rt mindicates t at this knowledge is ver ha py and joy ul to exe ute Andvy y mindi ates that t isknowledge is er anent We a work in this

aterial wor d or education or riches, but thesethings are not y y m,for as soon as this bod isfinished, ever thing e se is also finished Wi deatour education, advanced degrees, bank bala ces,

a -everythi g-are all finis ed W atever we'redoing in this ateria world is not eternal However,t is know edge is ot like t at

ne bhikr m n o 'sti pr ty v yo n vidy te

sv lp m py sy dh rm sytr y te m h to bh y t

I this endeavor there is no oss or di inu ion, anda little advance ent on this path can rotect onefrom the most dangerous t pe of fear. (Bg. 2.40)


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Rja-vdy : The n g of Knowled g 7

Knowledge i Kr a co scious ess is so that i o e e fo ms wo k i K a co

d yet does o a tai e fectio , i his he takes u f om whe eve he eft off. Iwo ds, ac io s e fo med i Kr 1aco scious ess a edu able O the o he ha d, mate ial ac ie

ecause they e ta o the ody, a e aat death K owledge that e tai s to desigdoes ot e du e I am thi ki g that I am a mwo a , a Ame ica o I dia , a C istia these a e a l desig tio s e tai i g to tha d whe the body is fi ished; the will a fi ished We a e actual y s i it, a d the es i it l activities will go with us whe eve w

SriK a i dicates that this ki of k owal o ha ily e o med e ca easily see t

ie i K a co scious ess a e joyfu y dis c a ti g a d da ci g, eati gp sa d m(food thathas bee offe ed to Kr a) a d discussi gBh g vd

ta. These a e t e mai ocesses The e i e ules a d e latio s tha we h

o s aight fo so lo g o do so ma y co ol ou b eath No, h ocess is ve

ha ily do e Eve yo e wa ts to da ce, to eat a d to hea the t uth This ocess i-ve y ha y

I the ate ial o ld the e a e so ma y gof educatio Some eo le eve fi is gschool o highschool whe eas othe s go o aceive a u ve sity educatio , a B ,MA, P D, a dso o But what is thisaj -vd y ,the k of du atio , thesummum bonumof ow ed e? It is t


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8 R ja-vdy : The ngof Knwledge

Kr!a consciou ne . Real knowledge i i g "what I am. U le e co e to the pnde tanding what we e, we cannot attk owledge Whe San tana G v eft me t po t a d came to Caitanya Mah p abh

i t time; he a ked the Lo d, hat i edAlt ugh San tana Go v knew a beg age , including San k it, he ti l i qui

eal educa io "The ge e a populace highly educated, Sa tana Go v m told t

and I a uch a fool that I actually e ieveThe Lo d ep ied, hy houl yo no

you e well educate ? Y u e a g ea San k it and Pe ian"That ay be, Sa t na Go v m aid,

not know what I am He the went o tLo d: "I do not wi h to uffe , but the e mi e ie a e fo ced upon me I neithe kI ve come f om o w e e I going, but calli g me educated When t ey a m

chola , I a ati fied, but i t uth I am ufool that I know not what I San ta a Gwa actually peaki g fo all f u , fo t

p nt ituat on We ay be p d f ueduc t on, but if a k d what we a e, we at ay Eve yone i unde the onc ptiobody i the elf, but we lea f o V dic that th ot o O ly a te ea izinot the e bodie can we ente i to eal and unde ta d what e actually a Ththe beg n ing f k owledge

Raj -vidya may be u the de ined a oknowing hat o e i b t acti g acco in


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R ja-vidy : The King of Knowledge 9

do not know who we are, how can our activities bproper? f we a e mistaken ab ut our entity,

ll also be mistaken about our activities. Simplknow ng that we are not these materia bodies is s fficient; we must a t according to the con ictiothat ar spirit L Action bas d on this know

dge-s irit l c i i y is wor in K qa consness This ind of nowl dg may not se to eas ly attainabl , but i is mad very easy y

rcy of K qa an or Caitanya Mah rabh ade this nowledge sily a ailable through t

( proc ss of chanting H re K qa, Har K qa, K qa, Hare Hare/ Har R ma, Hare R a, RR a, Hare Har

Caitanya Mah prabhu divided the living entitiinto two major catego ies: those that are oving anthose that are not moving rees, grass, plants, st nes,

c, not ov beca s they do not have s fci n ly d lo d conscio sn ss Th ir consciois th r , b i co r f a li ing b ing d

n r t his o iti n, h is s oneli , ltdw lling in a h m nbody he living entities birds,r til , ni , Ins c s, h an b ings, d m

tc n b r o r8,000,000 sp cies, and o heseary s ll n b r are n b ings or Caiturth r oint o t th t o of400,000 s cies of

man b ings, so ar civiliz d; and o t o viliz d rsons, th r ar only a few whovot to th scrip urn the pres nt ay most p ople claim t be devo

to some elig on Chr stian, Hindu, Moslem, Buddetc b t in fact they o not really b ieve in scriptures hose wh do be ieve in th s riptur,


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10 R -v : T e g of K owle ge

by and large, attached to pious philanthrop c activities. They believe that religion meansyaj a (s crifice), d n char ty) ndt p s pe ance) One whoengages in a a ya ndertakes voluntaril very ri dreg ations, such asbr hmac r"students (celiba es)or s nny s s(renounced order undertake Charity

means volu tarily g ving away one's materia possessions In the present age the e is no sac i ce, butom histor cal literatu es like theM h bh r tawe

get information that ings performed sacrifices bydist ibuting r bies, gold nd si er.Yaj a was primarily o ings, and charit , on a much smal r

sca e, was mean for househo ders. Those whoa tu l believed n scri tu es usual y adopted omef e e i es B e e a his

sim y sa t hey be e al O f i of s h

a ve s e a ly e fo cha ty, sf e e e i n a Mah bhu f

n s out th t of i s wh e fo se i ous i es l ve the ve se,

a tai e fec w ed e u s d w e

ust knowing "I am not t is bo y but am spiritso l is not suf icient We h ve to escape this entanglement of material natu e This is c lledmukti,libe ation O t of ma y thousa ds o persons who

e in sel - nowledge as to what and who they are,on one or two may be act a ly liberated And out

of many thousands who are iberated, only one ortwo may unde sta d what and o K a is Sounderstan ing K a is not such an easy job Thus in


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R ja-vidy :The King of Knowledge ll

Lhisage of Kali, an age c aracter zed by ignorance ahaos l berat on is out of t e reac of practicallyveryone. One as to go t roug t e w ole or eal ofecom ng c il e t en rel gious an t en one o perfo m c arit es an sacrif ces an come to tlatform of knowle ge t en to the stage of libera-

on an final y after libe ation to t e untan ing of w at a is T is process s a

cate nBhagavad-glt :brahma bhuta prasann tm

na oca i na k kati

sama sarve b temad b akti Lab ate par m

"One who is t us ra scen ental y s tuate at o ceeali es t e Supreme Bra man He ne er laments or

: esires to a e anyt ng; e is equally ispose to

every l ing entity In t at state e attains pure e o-ona ser ice unto Me (Bg 18 54)T ese are t e signs o liberation T e rst sym tom

of one w o s i erate is t at e is ery a py It t possi le to in im morose Nor oes e ay anxiety He n er rets T is t ing I on't a

Oh I must secure t is t ing O t is bill I a e tay I a e to go ere t ere ne w o is iberatas no anxieties at al H may be t e poorest man in

t worl ut e neit er aments nor t inks t at eis or W y s oul e t in t at e is poor? Wwe hin t at we are t ese m te ia bo es an t awe a e possessions to go wit t em t en we t ink

t we are poor or ric but one w o is liberater t e materia conce tion of life as not in to


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12 R ja-vdy : The ng of Knowledge

do with possessions or lack of possessions. "I havenothing to lose and nothing to gain, he thinks. "Iam completely separate from all this. Nor does hesee anyone else as ich o poor educated o uneducated beauti ul or ugly etc. He does not see nymaterial dualities fo his vision is completely on

the spiritual plat orm and he sees that eve y livinge tit is part and parcel of K qa. T us seeing allentities i their t e identity he tries to take thembac to K qa consciousness His view oint is thate er one- hethe he be brahm wo sudr , blackor white Hindu Christian or whatever should cometo Qa consciousness When one is situated in thisway then:m d-b kti l bh te p r m- he be omeseli ble for becom ng a u e devotee o K qa's.

Practicall speaking this process is not ve y easyin this age of Kali. I Sr" d Bh g v t ma descript on is given of the people of this age. Their durationo life is sai to be e y sho t t ey tend to bephlegmatic and slow and to sleep a g eat deal andwhen they e no sleeping they e busy ea ningmoney At e most they only ave two hou aday for spi i ual activities so what is he o e Jo

spi itual understanding? It is also sta ed t t eveni one is anxious to ma e spi itual p og ess t e ea e many seu o spi itual s cieties e a v to him People a e lso characte ized in this ge being nfortunate They have a g eat deal o di iculty meeting the primary demands o li e e ting

defending mating and sleeping necessities whicre met even by the animals. Even i people e

meeting these necessities in th s age they a e always


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Rja-vdy : The ng n wledg e 13

anxious bout w r, e ther defe d g themselvggressors or v g to g to w r themselvt th s,t ere re lw st r g d sc om problems K l -yug Ther

Sri K q o s dered th t th s ge t for people to ome to the erfe t o l st

er t o by follow g the pres r bed l t sTh s out of H s useless mer y, SrK a me

as Lord C t y M h pr hu d d s re s to the h ghest perfe t o of l fe d

e s sy by he g of H re K q , re H re/ H re R m , m R m , H re H re Th s pro ess of

ost pr t l, t does o depe d e s l ber ted or ot, or whet er o e's o

o du ve to p r tu l l fe or ot whoeveh s pro ess be omes mmed tely pur f ed

s lledp vit m (pure) F rthermore, for o e wkes o th s K q s ous ess proof te t re t o s to h s s ful t o

ull f ed Just s f re tur s wh tever we o shes, h s pro ess tur s to shes ll

re t o s of our p st l vesWe must derst d th t our suffer g sur s ful t v ty, d s ful t v tyur or e s, or tr sgress o s, r

by tho e who do ot ow wh t s wh tA h d,for st e, w l ely put h s h

e use of or e He s thus bur ete y, for the f re s mp rt l d does y spe o s der t o for t e o


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14 Rja-vdy : The ng of Knowledge

It ll simply act as fire. Similarly, we do not knowhow this material o ld is func oning, who its con-troller is, nor ho it is controlled, and due o ourignorance we act in foolish ays, but nat re s sostringent tha she does not llow us to escape herea tions to our act s Whe her we co mi an actknow ngly or un no ingly, he reaction and con equent sufferings are there However, throug kno ledge we can understand wha the ac ual s tuation is

ho God is, and what our relationship with im isThis knowledge by hich e can gain rele se fr m

suffering is possible in the human form of life, not

in the animal for To give us knowledge, to give usproper direction, here are scriptures written in va ious lang ages in all parts of the world LordCaitanya Mah prabhu pointed out that people are forge ful from t me immemorial about their relationship with he upreme Lord; therefore K a hass t so many represe tatives to impart the scrip ureto man We should take advantage of hese especiallyof Bhagavad-g"ti, wh ch is the prime scripture or

e modern world


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2

K wl g Bey ond Sams r

a specifica y st tes that this ocess

KrQa consciousness ssu ukham, ve y pleasantand easy t p act ce. Indeed he devot nal p ve y pleasa t; we mel ously s ng w

u ents, and some ne w ll l sten and also ( ava a k'rtanam). Of cou se he us c shou d bin elat on w t the Sup e e Lo d in g o ifof Hi Hea ingBhagavad-g t is also pa t f devo

nal se vice and n add tion to hea ing ou d be eage o apply it in his life iousness s a sc ence and should not be acceindly The e a e n ne p ocesses f dev

vice eco en ed (hea g c anting e eg wo shiping p ay ng se ving engagvi o of the o d establ s ing f iendly h the Lo d offe ng eve yth ng t t e se a e all easy to p acti e and s ould be joyfo ed f cou se f one th nks thatBhagavad g't ande Ha e Qamantra a e pa t of t e Hindu syste

d doesn't wa t t accept hem because of th sean nonetheless attend the Ch ist an chu ch and s

e he e s o diffe ence etween th snd hat p ocess; the po nt s whatev p oce

ows he ust become God consc ous ei e Mosle no indu no Ch stian- e

No a e w to be c ns de ed nd osle o


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tian. These are bodily des gnat ons We are air t, rt nd parcel of the Supreme. God

pavitram, ure, and we are also ure Somehowot e, ho ever, we ve f llen into t s mateocean, and as the aves toss, we suffer Actuall whave noth ng to do th e tossing waves of mmiser es. We must simply ray, "K Ia, please c

e up. As soon as we forget K Ia, t e ocean ofillus on is t ere, and t t once ca tures uc nt ng of Hare K Q s most port nt ie c pe rom t is oce H re Q , HaK a K , H re re/ re R m , Ha

ma R ma, H re Hare is sound(sabd ) th t sno -dif erent rom K T e sound Kor g l Qa are t e s me en we cK d dance, s also danc ng wcourse we m y s , ell,I do not see H m, bw y do we put so much stress on see g? hear g? Seeing, t st n , s elli g, touchin

e r g re ll nstrume ts for exper ence edge. Why do we put suc exclus ve stress on A votee does ot wish to see K ; e sby simply earing of K Seeing m y ev

be t ere, but e r ng s ould ot be cons derless im ort nt T ere are t ings w ich we hedo not see t e wind may be wh stl ng pasears, a d e can he r it, but t ere s o ossof see g t e ce e ring s o lesstant xperience or v lid one t n see ng, e cK a and realize His resence t rou h s uQa imself sa s," not t ere n My a odor n the e rt o the med t tingyogz but where my


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K w eg e B S s r 17

pure d vote s a inging." W can feel the es ncof K a as w act ally make og ess

It is not that w sho ld sim ly tak things f oma and o Him nothing. Ev yon i aki

thing om God, so wh no give something? a taking f om a so m ch light, ai , foodt and so on Unl ss th s so c s a s

by a, no on can i Is it lov to sim y king and taking and taking i ho t o in

ything in t n? Lov m a s taking a gi ingso I w j st tak om som o and gi hthing in t n, t at is not ov -it is x o tation

s no that w sho d j st contin ati g w tho of e ng a ythin to a InBhag vad-gitQa says:

patra upam halam toya yo e bhakty r y cchat

ad aham b akty upa aasn an

ya kar y d a n yaj juh ad yat

ya a a ya ka nte aa ku u d arpa w

" on o s M with lov and d votion a a ,, t o at , I wil acc t it.0 on o nt ,

all at yo do, al that yo at, all that yo ond g a ay, a w ll as a a t iti that y

o m, sho ld b don as an o ing nto M

(Bg 9.26 27)In addition to giving and c ivi g, in th x c o d votional s vic on a to s mit


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K a w hatever distress or confidential p oblem he

has_ He should say, "K , I am suffering in thway. I have fallen i this tossing ocean of materiaillusion Kin ly pick e pI understand now thatI have no identificat on with this material worlda simply put here, as if thrown into the Atlant c

cean. I may not in an way identify with thAtlantic ocean, but I am subject to the tossing f theocean. Actuall I am a spiritual spark, a fragmentapart of You To our misfo tune, we try to identif

ith this ocean and stop its tossing. We must not trto stop the tossing. It is not possible. In any ase

the toss ng will go on, for that is the law of naturOnly the foolish tr to ad ust to this wor d; the reproblem is how to get out of it. Those who doattempt to adjust and who never turn to K a continually s b ect o transmigration in the o


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K ow B o S ms r 19

ga din devotional service are acting for K G , and since in this way the e is connectiod, K a consciousness is a reli on.

I s not possible to manufacture a religioAL religion must come from an authorized

d that source is either od or His representR igion has b en called the law of od I

sible for a person to manufact re a StatThe law is there, nd it is given by t e Statay c ate s y aws f r s w shese aws ust be sanctioned by the law

S ate. Si ilar y if we wish to ake so e pr

re igion it ust be sanctioned by the thorityBhagavad- t is also rel on reat authori

like m nuj c rya, Ma hv c rya Vi !usvCaitan a a kar ya and so any oth

ceptedBha avad t s the supre e prin ip e ligion and K a as the Supre e Personodhead here is no doubt ab tt. In the W stsoBha avad lt is accepted as a great o

osophy and many eat scholars and philin the est have read it an co ented u nDesp te acceptance b the scholars andc y ,there

e per ns who do not a ceptBha avad t andho have no faith hey do not accept it at

thority, fo they thin that it is some sentixa eration by a man k own as a h

ates in the above quoted verse that those

ectBha avad tas ut o ity cannot have annection ith Him and because they haa ion to Him the re ain in the cycle


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_


and death.Apr ya m niva tante tyu-sa sva tmani. Being subjected tosa s a, the cycle ofbirth and death, does not g a antee that one willnecessa ly get a simila f cility fo un e st ndBhagavad g't in the next life One y not n cessa ily be bo n again as a hu an being, o in A e ic-o i India, o even on this p anet The e isno ce ;

t inty it a depends on ou wo k On the pathbi th and death we take ou bi th, emain fo somti e, enjoy o su fe , then again giv up this bo

nd ente into the omb o a mothe , eithe humabeing o anima , then p epa e ot e body to o

"

out and begin ou o k aga This is cal edm tyusa a va tmaniIf one nts to avoid this path, hemust take to K 1qa conscious ess

W e Yu i$ i a M s sis the most wo e ul t i i t e wo ld?

e l , he ost wo e ul t is t d e e y o e t, eo le e dyin a o e t i s t t e t ill ot o e o Eve y mi ute eve y second we e pe ience thli i e tities e goin to the t mple of eath Minsects, a imals bi s ev o e is goi g This wt o is ll d t e l net oEve y y the e a e obitu ies, and i we bot e

o to t e cemete y o e to iu g ounds we v li ate t e Yet ev yo e is t i king, Somehoo ot e I'll li E e o e is subje t to t e l

eat y t o one t kes it se iously his is illusi

Thi ki g we will li e fo eve e o o doi g e e we like, eeling th t we ill neve be el essi his s ve y isky life it is t e


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Knowledge Byond Sa s ra 21

part of i lusion. We should become very serious nerst th t e th is w iting. We h ve he r the

x ression, " s sure s e th This me ns th t this world de th is the ost cert in hing; n ne

void it When de th comes, n lon er will ourffed-u hilos hy or dv nced degrees el us

A th t ime our stout nd str ng b dy nd urell gence wh ch d n' c re r ythin rquished t th t t me the r gment l ort n

(iv tm ) com s un er the i t tion of m teriture, ndp akrt (n ture) ives us the y e f b dy

or w c we e i . I we w nt t ke his r s

void K ; if we don't w nt t ke i , K ll c me t hel us.


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3

Kn wledg ofr$ a's E ies

It may be noted at this point that the NiChapter ofBhagavad-git is especially meant for thosw o ave alre dy accepted Sr K qa as the Personal ty o Godhead. In other words, it is for His de otees. If one does not accept r Kthe upreme this Ninth C apter will appear a

thing different from what it actually is As stathe beginning, the subject matter of the Ninth Cter is the most confidential material in the enBhagavad git If one doesn't accept K a as

upreme, he ll t ink t e ch pter to be a xaggeratio . This s especia ly the case werses dea ing w K a's re ations ic ea o .

may tatam da sarvaja ad avy kta-murt n

ma -s h n sarva-bhut n

na c ha te avasth ta"By Me in My u manifested form, this entirverse is pervaded. A l beings are in Me but

em. (B . 9.4)he o ld which w see is also K{ a 's en

m y . Here ma mea s "b e ' a f o e his work has been done by me his bdo s ot m n a H a o His wo

is d or ret re . IfI s rt a arg fac ory an I


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Knowledge of K Qa's Energies 23

"This factory was started b me, n no c se s ouldil e c ncl e t tI a lo or n any way notp sen . Alt oug a man fa t rer ma re er to p duc s a be ng man actured-b me, t oes not

an t at e er ona ly created or on tr t d ct, but tha the p oduct w as ro ced by his

(: . S m larly, K a ay , W a evein e world was crea ed y Me, we are not to

o e t at He s no onger ex t ng.It s not very d ff cul to ee God everyw ere

he creat on, for He s everyw ere re ent. Ju t ae Ford fa tory t e worker ee Mr. Ford n eve

ner, t o e w o are conver ant t t e enQa can e H m n ever atom o t e r a

E eryt ng s re t ng on K Qa(mat-sth ni sarvab ni), b t K Qa no t ere(na c ha tevvasth it a) . K Qa and Hi n g ar non-di f rent,

t the energ y is not K Qa. The sun and the sun-

ne are not d fferent, but t un ne notn. e un ne may come t roug our w nd enter our room, but t not to ay t at t

n our room. eVi!u P !a tate pa yb h ma!a " ak til : pa asya means s preme, r hma -

[ eans Absolute Truth , and s ak timeans energ y. T e energy of t e Su prem Absol e is v ryth ing ,

t in tha energy K Qa is no o be found.There are tw o kind of energ y- material and s pirial. J vas, or indiv idual oul , belong o the u perior erg y of K Qa, but because hey are rone to be

racted to th e material energy, they are called m rginal energy. Bu actua l there are only tw oer e . A lof the planetar systems and univ ersesresting on the energies of K Qa. Just as all the


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24 Rja-vdy : T e n g of Knowled g e

planets in the solar system are resting in the sunsh e,

verything within the creation is resting on K -shine. All of these otencies of the Lord gi p e s reto devotee, but one who is en ious f K rejectsthem. When one is a nonde otee, the st temen s fK a seem to be so much b ff, but when ne s de otee, h thinks, Oh, my Lord is so owerf ,"an he becomes f lled w th o e nd dor N

e otees think that because K a says, I God,"they an e eryone else can s y the same. B t if skedto show thei universa form, they cannot do t. Thatis the differen e between pseud g d nd the e

God. K a's pastimes c nnot be imit ted K married over 16,000 wi es and ke t them nicely in16,000 palaces, but n ordinar c nnot e enkeep ne wife nice y It is not that K a just s okso m ny wonderf things; He also acted wonderf yWe sh u d not believe ne thing that K a says ordoes and reject anoth r f be ief is there, t must beful be ief.

In th s regard, there s a story of N rad Muni, w owas once as ed by abrihma a: Oh, you are go ngto meet the L rd? i yo ease ask Him when Igoing to get my sa vat on?"

A right," N r d greed I sha sk Hi ."As N r d proceeded, he met a co b er wh w s

sit ing under a tr e end ng shoes, and the cobb ers mi r y sked N r d , h, yo re g ng to sGo Wi you p e se nquire of H m when s

vation wi l come?When N rada Mun went to theVaiku ha p anets,he fulf l ed t ei req est nd sked N r (God


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K wledge KrQa's Energ es 25

about he s lv i n f hebrahm nd he c le ,

N y eplied, Af e le ing h s dyle sh ll c me he e me."Wh hebrahm ? N d sked.He will h ve em in ere f n m e

hs.d n kn w when e s c ming."N d M ni w s s nis ed, nd he fin lly sc n' unde s nd he mys e y f is."

Th y will see," N y s id. When h wh m d ing in y de, ell hem h

I am h e d ng e e e needle wi n eleph nWhen N d e ned e h nd ppebrah [ , he brahm s id, Oh, y h vee he L d? Wh w s He d ing?"He w s h e ding n eleph n ugh he eye

a eedle," d nswe ed." d n' elieve such n nsense," hebrah

l ed. N d c ld mmed el nde s nd

e m n d n f i h nd he w s simpl eof ks.N d hen lef nd wen n he c le , w

ed him, h, h ve seen he L d? Tell me w s He d ing?"

He w s h e ding n eleph n h gh he e e eedle," N d eplied.The c le eg n weep, Oh, my L d is s

de f l, He c n d ny h ng."D y e lly el eve h he L d c n shph n h gh he h le f nee le? Ned.Why n ? he c le s d, Of c u seel eve

iL."


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.

26 R ja-vidy : The King of Knowledge

"How is that?

"You c n se that I am sitti g und r th s btr , th cobbl r answ r d, "and you can sso many fruits ar falling daily, and in achth r is a a ya tr lik this on . If, withismall s d th r can b a big tr lik thdifficult to acc pt t at th Lord is pushing anphant t rough t y of a n dl ?So t is is call d faith. It is ot a qu stion of bb li ng. T r is r ason b hind th b li f.can pu a larg tr within so many littl sso astounding t at H is k ping all th plasyst ms float ng in spac through His n rgy?

Alt oug sc ntists may think that th planb ing ld in spac simply by natur alon , natur th r is th Su r m ord. Natur isund r His guid nc . As r K a stat s:

may dhyakeTa prak_rti/s yate sa-car caram

hetun nena kaunteyajagad viparivartate

is mat rial natur is orking und r My dir0 son of Kunt , and is producing all movi g amo ing b ings. By its rul this manif station icr at d and annihilat d again and again. (Bg.9.10)

May dhyakela m ans "und r My sup r isioMat rial natur cannot act so wond rfully unlLord's hand is nd it. W cannot giv any

of mat rial t ings automatically working. Matin rt, and wit out h spiritual touc th r possibility of its acting. Matt r cannot act ind


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K wl d f ' E 27

den y or automatically. Machi s may b v r

w rfully co struct , but u l ss a ma touch s machi , it ca ot ork. A hat is that ma ? is a spiritual spark. Withou spiritual touch,hi g ca mov ; th r for v rythi g is r sti g o

qa's mp rso al rgy. K a's rgy is imso al, but H is a p rso . oft h ar of p rso sformi g o rful actio s, y t spit th ir

g tic accomplishm ts th y still r mai p rsof this s possibl for huma b i gs, hy is 't it

ssibl for th Supr m Lor ? ar all p rso s ar all p t upo K qa, h S pr

P so . hav oft s pictur s of Atlas a stout m

ri g a larg pla t o his shoul rs struggli gy ar o o t up. W ma thi k that b caus

< }a is mai tai i g th u iv rs H is strugn r its bur ik tlas. But this is ot th cas .

na ca mat-sth ni bhut nipa ya me ogam ai va am

bhuta bhrn a ca bhuta sthomam tm bhuta bh vana

" y t v rythi g tha is cr at o s ot r st iMe. B hol My mystic opul c . Although am th

tai r of all liv g titi s a althoughI amy h r , still My S lf is th v ry sourc of cr

l . (Bg. 9.5)though all b i gs i th u iv rs ar r sti g i

1a 's rgy, s ill th y ar ot i Him. K a itai i g al livi g tit s, a H s rgy is a i g, y H is ls h r . This is K q's i co -


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28 Rja-vidy : Te King of Knowledge

ceivable myst c power. He s everywhere, yet H

aloof from everyth ng. We can perce ve h s enbut we cannot see H m because He cannot be st material eyes. However, when we develop o

spiritual qualities, we sanct fy our senses so that ethin th s energy we can see Him. Electric ty,

instance, is everywhere, and an electrician is capaof ut lizing it. Sim larly, the energy of the SupreLord is everywhere, and when we be ome transcd ntally situated, we can see God eye to eye eve

here. That spir tual zation of the senses is possthrough devot onal ser ce and love of God. The is all-pervading all over the un verse andi ithin thesoul, the heart, water,air everywhere.lhus if wemake an image o God n anything clay, stowood or whatever t shoul not be cons dered just a doll. Tha also s God. If we have suffdevot on, the image will also speak to us. God s

everywhere impersonall (may ta tam ida s arvam), bu f we make H s rso form from an tif we create a mage of Go w h n oursel es,

prese personally forIn he lstras, there areight k ds of mages reco en ed, and any k n

image ca b worsh e be ause God s everywO e may pro es a ask, "Wh should God beshiped mages an no n s or g nal for ? he answer s ha we canno ee i med ately n H s s r t a for W th o reyes we can only see stone, ear h, woo so ethan ible. TJ erefore K a o es asarc -vig ha, a

form co venien y presen e h re e rd r for us to see . he r s s ha f


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K owledge of K Qa's Energies 29

c : tra e upon he im ge d m ke of e ings wi

l v nd de o ion, K 1 wi espo d h oughe.T e e e m ny ns es of his h ppeni g.

, he e s one emp e ed Sk i-Go (K en ed Gop ). he Gopurt o s ue

one ime o ed in emp e iV nd n .Onc wobr y so e o d d one y u g weI siV nd on pi g im ge. I w s o g

d n ose d ys he e we e no i w ys, so t:rs underwen m ny h dships. he o d m w s

h ob ed o he you h fo he p n him o

j rney, nd upon i ing nV d n , he s id ohim: "My de oy, you e ende ed me so mu h

e, nd I m m h ob i ed o you. I wou d v mu h e u n se i e d gi e you

a d." y de s , he you h s id, you e o d m

j s ike my f he . I is my du y o se e you. I donq e ny ew d.No, I'm ob iged o you, ndI mus ew d you,

lhe o d m n ins s ed. He hen p omised o gi e n m n his you g d ug e in m i ge;e o d m n w s e y i h m n nd he you

lt ough e nedbr [ w s e y poo . oing h s, he ou h s id, Do ' p omis

you f i y wi ne e g ee. I m su h an, nd you e is o i , so his m i ge

1 ol ke p e. Do ' p omise his w y befo e

y.T on e s ion w s king p e in he em he Dei y of Gop K , nd he yo


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man was anxious not to offend the Deity. Howeve

despite the youth's pleas, the old ma insisted on thmarriage. After stayi g in V nd vana for some tithey fi a l retu ed home, and the old man formed his e dest son t at his young sister was tomarried to the poorbrihma a you h. The eldest son

ecame very angry. "Oh, how have you selectethat auper as husband for my sister? This cannobe.

The old man s ife a so ame to him and sIf ou marry our daughter to that boy, I sha

commit suicide.

The old man was thus perplexed. After some timthe brihma a youth became ry anxious. "He aspromised to ma ry his daughter to me, and e ma

hat promise before the Deity Now he is not comto fulfill t. He en went to see the old manremind h m o his promise.

"You promised before Lord K1a the yo thsaid, "and you are not fulfilling that promise. Hos that?The old man as silent. He began pray ng 1a, for he as perplexed. He dn't ant to mar

his daughter to he youth and cause such g etrouble with n h s family In the meantime the elson came out and began to accuse thebrihma ayouth. ou have plundered my father n the plaof p lgrimage. ou gave him some intoxicant a

ook all his money, and now you are say ng that

has promised to offer you my youn est s ster. orascal!In this way there as much noise, and peopl

egan to gather. The youth could understand tha


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Knowledge of KpQa's Energies 31

the old man was s i l agreeable bu ha he family

w s making i difficul or him. People began oa her abou because of he noise which he elderon was raising, and hebrihmw;w you h began o

exclaim o hem ha he old man made his promisebefore he Dei ies bu ha he could no fulfill ibecause he family was objec ing. The eldes son,

ho was an a heis , suddenly in errup ed he you hand said, "You say ha he Lord was wi nessing.Well, if He comes and bears wi ness o his promiseof my fa her's, you an have my sis er in marriage.

The you h replied, " es, I shall ask K 1a o come

as a wi ness. He was confiden ha God wou dco e. An agreemen was hen made before everyo eha he girl would be given in marriage if K 1a

came from V nd vana as a wi ness o he old man'sprom se.

he br hma a you h re urned o V nd vana an

began o pr y o Gop la K qa. "Dear Lord, Yomus come w h me. He w s such a s aunch devo ee

ha he spoke o K 1a jus as one would spea ofriend. He was no hinking ha he Gop la was amere s a ue or image, bu he considered im o beGod Himself Suddenly he Dei y spoke o him:

"How do you hink ha I an go h you? I ama s a ue. I can' go anywhere.

"Well, if a s a ue can speak, he can also alk, heboy replied.

"All righ hen, he Dei y said fi ally. "I shall go

h you, bu on one condi ion. In no case shall youlook back o see Me. I will follow you, and you willknow ha I am following by he jingle of M legbangles.


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The youth ag eed, and in th s way the lef

Vr d vana to go to the othe town When h t ipwas n a ly ove , just as they we e about to ente h shome v llage, the youth could o longe hea the

ound of the bangles, a d he began to fea . "Oh,whe e is K qa? Unable to conta n h mself anylonge he looked bac He saw the statue stand ngst ll Because he looked back, t wo ld o o fu the .

e i mediately an to the town and told thepeople ome out and see K qa who had co e asa w tness Eve yone was astounded that such a la gestatue had come f om such a d stance, and they bu lt

a temple on the spot n hono f the Deit andtoday pe ple a e st ll wo ship ng S k -Gop la, heLo d as a tness.

We sho ld the efo e conclude that ecause God seve whe e, e is also n His statue, n the i age

ade of im If K a s eve ywhe e, as even the

i pe sonal sts adm t, then why sn't He n H s mage?Whethe an mage o statue speaks t us o not is dependent on the deg ee of ou devot on ut f wechoose to see the age me ely as a piece of wood ostone, K qa w ll always emain wood o stone fo us.K a s eve ywhe e, but as we advance in sp tuconsc ousness we can beg n to see H m as He s If wp t a lette nto a ma lbox, t w ll go to its dest nat onbecause the mailbox s autho zed S m la ly, f wwo ship an autho zed image of God, ou fa h w llhave some effect If we a e p epa ed to follow the

va ous ules and e lations that s to sa , if webecom alif ed t s p ss ble to see God anywhe eand eve ywhe e Whe a devotee s p esent, K a, by


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Knowledge of K Qa's Energies 33

His omnipresent energies, ill anifest i self any-

where and every here, but hen i devotee is notthere, e ill no do this. There are any instances this. Pah a M h r ja sa K qa in a pill

here are any o her exam les K qa is there; allthat is re uired is our ualification t see Him

K a Himself gives an example of His o nip esence in this a :

yath k sa- thito nityamvayu ar atra gom han

t tha arva! i bh tanim t sthan ty up adh ya

"As the m hty nd, lo in e ery here, al a srests in ethereal space, kn that in the same manner

ll bein s est in Me (B 9 6)Everyone n s th t the w nd bl ws ithin

sp ce, and on earth it is bl in e ery here here

s no place here there is no ai or ind. If e ish dri e t air, e h ve t cre e a a um arti icially by some achine ust as the air is blo ine e where in space, s e erythin is existin ithin

a. If this is the case, hen the ate creati ns diss l ed here d es it o?

s bh t ni k untey p krti y ti m mikam

k lp -k ye pun s t nik alp d au visrj my h m

"0 s n Ku t , at the end o the millen ium e e y

aterial an estati n nters int My nat re, and tthe be nnin an ther illenn um, by y p tenI a ain create (B 9.7)


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4

Knw dg by Wa f M m / Great Sou

The presence of !a in all aspects of the creations perceived by themah tm s, the great souls, who

are always engaged in the worship of a. As K Himself states, these great souls are conversant withthe confidential knowledge found in the NinthChapter of Bhagavad-glt ,and they know K a to

be the sour e of all things.mah t m nas tu m p rtha

daiv" prak tim rit /bhajanty ana ya ma aso

j t bh t dim avyayam

"0 son of P th o who are not deluded, tgreat souls, are under the protection of the divinena ure. They are fully engaged n devot onal servibecause they know Me as the Supreme ersonal tyof Godhead, original and inexhaustible." (Bg9.13)

T e great soul knows without a doubt that K Jis the Supreme ersonality of Godhead and that Heis he orig n o a e a ions eVed nta s tras a es,at to b a ma-jij s :Human life is meanfor inq iring abou Brahm n. A present we aral engaged in s ud ing empor ry, sma l thin

Brahman means the greatest, but instead of concern-ing ourselves w th the greatest, we have bec menmeshed in rying to solve the animal problems oeating, sleep ng, defending and mating. These s al


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problems are automatically solved. Even the a ima sare enjoying matin , sleeping, eating an efen ing.The arrangements a e al provi e . These em n s ofthe b y re not eall p b ems, b we h ve m e

m into problems T Ved nta-s tra enjoin usnot to oncern o se ves with these pro ems, fo

they e satisfie n ny fo m of ife. O p lemis to inq e o h so c of l h s mtions. The h man o m o life is me st ggling ha o so ve the mate i pro ems whiceven a hog, a s oo -e te , can solv . The o s csi ere to be w s m im s, e h

eating faci ity, mati g f c ity, sleeping facility, anfacilities for efense. Even f we o 't s rive fothese h ngs, e wi have them. M s me , t

fi o th s c m w ch h s are comi g TheVed nta s t astates that Brahmanis hat from which eve y hi is em (j m y

sya y ).Phi sop s, sc e is s, yogis, j zn t sc e t ists l y f oltim te s ce of everyth n . This so rce is ven

Brahma sa h t , a v k a k ra m:K a she cause of ca ses.

Un ers i g K be he primal so ce eve ything, how he e t so ls c ? K Himself ch racterizes hem this w y:

k y o m c lh v

m y c m b k yy yuk up


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Kowled g e by Way of the Mah tm s 3 7

"Always chanting My glories, endeavo ing ith greatdeterminat on, bowing down before Me, these greatsouls perpetually wors ip e wit devotion.(Bg. 9.14)

T at glorification is t s ro ess ofbhakti-yoga,t e chanting of Hare J a. e great souls, under

standing the nature of God, His descent and Hismission, lorify Him in so many ways, but there areothers w o o not accept Hi . K Qa a so mentionsth m in t Ninth Chapter:

avaj na t m r mlhm nu tanu s tam

pa a bh vam aj nantoama bh ta mahesva am

"Foo s derid Me whenI descen in the humanform. ey do not know My transcendental natureand my supreme dominion over all that be.( g. 9.11)

he m f a , or foolish men, who are lower t anthe animals, der de Him. Any person who doesn'tbelieve in God must either be a madman or foolnumber one. here is no reason not to believe in

God, and there is every reason to believe in H m.Man may say that he doesn't believe in God, butwho gives him the power to say his? When deathcomes, this speaking power ceases-so w o is giving

he p wer of speech? Has the speak n power comeautomatically from stone? As soon as the speakinpower is withdrawn by the Supreme Author t , thebody is no better than stone e very power o


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speech is proof that there is a Supreme Powe whois giving us everything_ A K )a conscious ersonknows that whatever he has is not under his contro

'l.

If we do n t believe in God, we m st believe insome power eyond us which is controlling us atevery step, call that power God o nature orwhate er. There is a contro ling power in theuniverse, and no sane man can deny it.

K a was present on this earth and appeare justlike a human being with supernatura power. At thattime, however, ninety-nine percent of the peoplecould no ecognize Him as od. They could not

recognize Him because they had no eyes to see(param bh va aj nanta).How is it ossible torecognize God? He ca be recog ized hro h su ernatural ower, by the ev dence of authorities, andby script ral evidence. As far as K a is concerned,eve y Vedic authority has accepted Him as God.When He was present on earth, His activities displayed were superhuman If one does not be evethis, it is to e concluded that he wi l not believewhateve evidence is g ven.

One m st also have the eyes to see God. Godcannot be seen by material senses, the efore the

hak i-yoga process is he proce s of purifying thesenses so that we i l be able to understand what andwho God is. We have power of seeing, hearing,to c ing, tasting and so on, ut if these senses areb unt, we cannot nd rstand God. The process

of a conscio sness is the process of trainingthese senses th ough regulated principles, s e ificallythro gh the chanting of Ha e K qa.


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Kowled g e by Way of the Mah tm s 39

Sri K Qa further character zes t em has:ogh mogha-karm omogha j n vicetasa

r kfUSlm surl caivaprak ti mohin" rit

"Those who are thus be ldered re trdemon c and the s c v ews. In h dd t on, the r hopes fo l ber t on, the

ct v t es, and the r culture of knowledgdefeated. (Bg. 9.12)

The wordmo h a nd c es th t the sp r

of the athe sts w ll be baffled. T ekarm s,or fru t veborers, are alw ys hop ng for someth nggrat fy the r senses. There s no l m t to ww ll stop. The are try ng to ncre se thb l nce nd re hop ng to be h ppy cebut th po nt never comes bec use they do nthe ult te po nt of sat t on. T ose wen mored by the ttr ct ons of llusory energunderstand the u t m te a m of fe. The womo hakar nd cates that they re l bor ng vebu ha n the end ey w ll only frustrat on. Unless we re est b shed n Ksc ousness, all of ur act v t es w l be bend.

Th s s not the verd ct of n ord nary mSr K H msel . f we re e ch ng

e shou d conduct research to f nd out w

Qa snot God. W thout any object ve, wh tpo nt of thousan s of years o specu tpreme Lord s so v st t t one c nn


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40 Raj -vdya: Te Kng of owledge

by mental specula ion. If we trave at the speed fmind and w nd for millions f years, it is n t p s iblet reach the Supreme by speculati n. There is n t

ne single instance in which ne has arrived at theSupreme Abs lute Tr th by means f his ownmental speculation. Theref re the word mogha jn l indicates that the process f mundanekn ledge is bewildering. Thr ugh ur wn endeav r

t is n t possible t see the sun after it has set Wehave to ait until the s n reveals itself in the m rninat sunrise. f it is n t p ssible with ur limitedsenses t perceive a materia thing like the sun h w

is it possible to perceive the nonmaterial? We cann tfind t r understand K 9 a b ur wn en eav rWe have t qualif urselves thr ugh K a c n-sci usness and wait f Him t e eal Himself

te satata-yukt

bhajat p ti- rvakamdad mi buddhi-yoga ta ye a m m upay ti te

"To th se wh are constantly dev ted and rshipMe ith l ve I give the understanding by which the

can c me t e. (B 10.10)K a is within but due to ur material c n itionin , we d n t realize it. h se wh are the nat re

iends and dem ns(r kaszm su )think thatt is material l e s all an t at t is the p rp se human li e t sq eeze t as m ch leasure r mmatter as ossible hey try squeezing but they arec nstantly ba ed Sq eezing material nat re is n tthe pr cess in ing ut ea pleas re I e a


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Kowled g e by Way of the Mah tm s 41

searching for real pleasure, we have to t k to K Qconsciousness. Al h ppiness in the material worldhas a beginning and an end, but happ ness in Qa

s unlimi ed, and here s no en . In order to gethis happiness we s mply have to sacrifice a little

me and chant Hare a. In former ages, theg eat sages and demigods used o sacr fice their wholel ves for real zing the Supreme, and still they wouldnot atta n success. F r this age Caitanya M h prabhuhas ven an easy process for God real zation.A

hat is necessary s careful listening. We have to lis enoBhagavad- t , and we have o chant the names of

: a and listen to them carefully. We shou d notbe puffed up, fa sely th nking that our owledges rea or that we re very learne . We nee only

become a li tle gen e an s ss ve o hear tmessages from K a.

A present, h s world s being managed by ther kasas.The kasasare man-eaters ho eat t eirow sons for he sa sf io of he r senses. N

eat reg mes have been crea ed o smash so manypeople for the sa isf tion o her kasasse ses,but they do no realize ha he senses w ll nev

be sa isf ed n h s way No etheless, herikas sare prepared to s rif ce every hi g o sa sfy thewhimsic desires I is very ff cul for hem unders and the real si ua o because they areoverly enamored w h ma eria c vi za on. Who can un erstand? Those who are mah tm s whosehearts have become gn f e n ers and ha"every h g be o gs o o an I a so elong

o


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42 Raj -vdya: The n g of Knowledge

Such mah tm s are not under the control ofmaterial nat re (mah tm nas tu m p rtha daivp k tim rit M.God is great and themah tm 'sheart a so beco s reat by s rv ng t great.

ah tm is not a stamp for a political eader. Onecannot be stamped mah tm by votes. T e standardfor mah tm is g ven inBh avad-g t : the mah tmis he who has taken shelter of the sup rior ener y othe Lord. Of course all energies are His, and He doesnot make distinctions between spiritual energ andmaterial energ , but for t c nditioned sou who ssit ated marg nally between aterial ener a d

spiritual energ , there s a d stinction. Themah tm ssee this distinction nd so take shelter under thespiritual ener (daiv prak tim)

By serv ng t e great, themah tm s also becomgreat through dentif ing with the superior energ :(aha b ahm smi)"I am Brahman-sp rit. t s n tthat the become puffed up and thin that they areGod Rather, if one becomes Bra man, he ust showhis activities in Bra man. Spirit is active, and to become Brahman is not to become nact ve Brahman issp rit, and these materia bod es are active on y because Brahman is w t n t e . If we are act ve des ite our contact w th aterial nature, do we ceaseto be active when e pur f ourselves of t e materialcontam nation and esta lish ourselves in ou properident ty as pu e Bra a ? R al z " a Brahmanmeans engagement in spiritual activ t beca se we

are sp t, and our activ t s are exhib ted ev n thoughwe are contaminate b atter. To become Bra manoes ot mea to co o but to ta

s ves n the super or natur , c a


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44 Raj -vdya: The ng of Knowledge

In Bh avad-g" , for example, we see that Arju a{slistening to K >Ja on the battlefield. He is notengaged in the study of Ved nta philosophy. We canhear from the Supreme Authority in any place,even in the battlefield. The knowledge is rece ved,not ma ufactured. Some people think, "Why should

I listen to Him? I can think for myself. I can manu-facture something new. This is not the Vedicprocess of descending knowledge. By ascendingknowledge, o e tri s to elevate himself by his owneffort, but by descending knowledge one receivesthe knowledge from a superior source. In the Vedictradition, knowledge is imparted to the student fromthe spiritual master, as in Bh a ad gTt (eva pa mpar pr pt m ima r jarayo vidul). ubmis-sive heari g is so powerful that simply by hearingfro authoritative sources we can become completelyperfect. In beco ing submissive, we become awareof our ow imperfections. As long as we are conditioned, we are sub ect to four kinds of imperfections:we are sure to commit mistakes, to become illusionedto have imperfect senses and to cheat. Therefore ouattempt to understand the Absolute Truth by our

faulty senses and experience is tile We must hearfrom a representative of K Ja who is a devotee ofK Ja's. K made A una His represe tative e-cause A una was His devotee:bhakto 'si me sakhc ti (Bg. 4.3)

No one can become a representative of God with-out being a devotee of od s. One who thinks, "I amGod, cannot be a representative. Because we arepart and parcel of God, our qualities are the same as


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Knowledge by Way of the Mah m s 45

His, and therefore if we study these qualities inselves, we come to learn something of God. Thin t mean that we understand the quantit of GThis se f-realization process is one way of standing God, but in no case can we preach, "God We cannot c aim to be God thout be

to display the powers God As ar as K cerne , e proved that e was God b dis lamuc power an by e ealing i universa A a K a s owe t is a esome form in

isc rage people w o wou d claim to be Gs o no be foo ed by o e who claims t

o o i g in he footsteps of Arjuna, we ses to see t e universa form before acce tione a O fo l wou accept a otG

N be e d, a o ab i E e L Br m a Si aex t e i , e e i t t

i p c f obei ce In t a oc b e e i ati n p cwe a b tte ear ab t o ub i i e yt u r i u ati ip

r p e t i o th i ic i o t e i t i i

a i

i i i i iI , i i k B e v .kTr , e ri ti , e c bec


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" !

46 Ra -vidya: The King of Knowledg

from material conditioning and attain to the ki rg-dom of God. In this age it is impossible to practicesacrifice, speculation or yoga. There is no way opento us but the ay of hearing submissively fromautho itative sources. This is the way themah t sreceived the most c n idential knowledge. It is the

ay Arjuna received it from K ;Qa, and it s the waye must receive it f om t e disciplic succession

stemming from A juna.


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5

Pa am a a: KnowledgThroug Discipli SuccessrT bhagav n uv caim viva vate oga

proktav n aham avya_ amviva n man ve pr ha

man r ikv kave 'brav t

"Th Bl ssed Lord said: I instru t d is imp ri ab

s i nc of oga t th sun-god, V v v , i a n instru t d it to Manu, t f th r f kind, and Manu in turn in t u t it I v( g. 4.1)

Many ag s ag K a impart t ivi

dg ofBha avad- to V iva v n, t f sun. t t f ur n wl g , t su h t pla , nd n t i r it p f

iv r . I t v p b tth u v ry y t t . Hfr t V t r u u rt u p t ju t t n tt g t r mp f f r ._J th pr mi t y p f rt , r r

n ts w i r pr mi ly mp s fat r nd a r.

ivi g ntit s v r u p ns p f n or n

r mi t g m t t pl ; t rhos b ngs i n t sun av bo i w


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48 R j -vd : T e ng of Knowledge

e composed of fire. Of ll beings on hep incip l pe son li is god b he Viv svan He is known s he sun-god(sirya

y ). On ll pl ne s th e e pli ies jus s n he Uni ed S es h

is he P es den F om he his o Mah bh rata we unde s nd h fo e l on one ing on h s pl ne b he M h j Bh e u ed some5,000 s go

nd he e s ed f e him. She e h b come d ded n o so m

coun es In h he e u

mes m n c o o o u e

n m on o e go ge okarma-y ga g

K Bhagavad-gl A g

n g g e g o ' g o

of L R c T o

B aga a g"t

K J Bhaga ad git A L

e40 o e g


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Knowledge Throu h Dis ip ic Suc ession49

Mah bh ta we understan thatBhagavad-g t wasspoken to A una some5,000 years ago. Beforejuna, the teachings were handed own by dsuccession, but over sucha long p ri d of time tteachings became lost

eva pa mpar -pr ptam

ima r jarayo vidu[ sa k leneha.mahat yogo na(a pa ntapa

sa ev ya may te 'dya yoga[ prok taf pur tana[

bhakto 'si me sakh cetirahasya hy etad uttamam

"T is supreme science was th s receive ochain of disciplic succession, and the saintlyunderstood it in that way. But in course of tim

uccession was broken, and therefore the sciens appears to be lost. That very anc e t scienrelationship ith the Supreme is toda told byyou because ou are My devotee as well friend; therefore you can understand the tran

dental mystery of this science. (Bg. 4 2-3)In Bhagavad g t a number of yoga systems aredelineated - bhakti-yoga, karma-yoga, na-yoga,ha ha-yoga and therefore it is here called yoga Theword yoga means to link up, and the idea is t

yoga we link our consciousness to God It is a

for reun ting wit God or re estab is ng ouhip th Him In the course of time, this yoga iparted b r K qa was lost Why is this?


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Knowledge T rough Disciplic Succes ion 51

methods. H ust understand it as prescribed in

Bhagavad-g t its f, by understanding t as Arjunad rs ood i If we wish to und rstandhagavadt in a diff rent way, or give an ndividual inter-retat on, that ay b an exhibition of our scho ar

ip, but it s nothagavad git .By scho arship we ay be ab e to anufacture

so e theory of hagavad g t , jus as MahGandhi did when he interpre ed hagavad g t in aneffort to support his the ry of nonvio nce H w is it

oss ble to prove nonviolence fro h avad git ?The v ry the e of hagavad g t involv s Arjuna's

eluctance to fight and K Ja s inducing hi to kilis o ponents In fact, K }ate ls A una that theattl had already been decided by the Supr e, that

e p ople who were asse bled on the battlefi ldere predes ined never to return. It was K a'srogra that the warriors were all destined to die,nd K gave Arjuna the opportunity of aking

credi of conquering the I fighting is p oclai d a necessity in hagavad g ,how is it poss ble

o prove nonvio ence fro i ? Such interpretationsre atte pts o distort hagavad g t .As soon as the

G t s nterpret d according o the otive of an nvidual the purpose is os . It s s a e that we ca

ot attain the conclusion of the Vedic literature bhe forc of our own logic or argu ent here areany hings which do not co within th juris

dict on of our sens of logic As far as scriptures

re conc rned w find different scriptures describg th Absolute ruth in differe t ways If wealyze all of the there ll be bewilder ent


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52 Raj -vdya: The King of Knowledge

There are also many p ilosop e s w t different

op n on , and t ey're alwa s contradicting nan t r f t e trut cannot be understood by read-i g var ous s p ures, y logica a g en o osophic l eories, t en ow can it be attaine ? e

a s at t e wisdom o e Abso ute t is n d ntia , bu i e ollow t e aut o ties, it c

b und rstoo .I Ind a, t are d sci l success ons cog from R nu c a, Mad a, Ni

ViQus m and ot er great sages. T e Vedic literat re ar understood t roug t e superior spiritual

asters. Arjuna underst odBha

g avad-

g it

fromK qa, and if we wis t understand it, we ave tound rs and i from Arj na, no ro any ot er

r If w ave any kno ledge Bha g avad- g it , a e t see it tal i s it t derstanding Arj na I e und r tandB a g avad g t in t e

sa ay t a Arjuna did, e s ould kno a un ers anding is correc . T is s ould be t e criteriafor our studying B a g avad g t . If e actualwant o receive benefit fr mBha g avad- g w aveto follow t is principle Bha g avad- g it is not anordinary bo k of kn wledge w ic e can purc asefrom t e market plac , read and merel cons t adictionary t understand. T is is not possib e. f iwer , K qa ould never ave told Arjuna t at t escienc as lost

It is not difficult to understan t e necessity of

going t roug t e d scipli su c ssion to understanBha avad g il I we is to b a la y r, an eng eror doctor, ave to recei e knowledge f t e


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Knowle e T rou D sc pl c Success on53

aut orit tive l wyers, engineers nd doctors. A ew

w er s to become n pprentice of n ex eriencedw er, or yo g m st dying to be doct r so become n i tern nd work wi t ose w relre dy licensed pr ctitio ers. O r kn wledge of

bjec c nnot be perfection lized nle s we receivet t ro g t orit tive so rces.T ere re tw processes for tt ini g knowledge-

ne is ind ctive nd t e ot er is ded ctive. T e ded cti e met od is considered be more perfec . We

y t ke premise s c s, "All men re mort l,n one need disc ss w m n is or . I

gener lly ccep ed t t i is e c se. T e ded co cl i n s: Mr. o ns n ; eref re Mr.Jo o is r l. B e re se

me e m rt l rr ved ? F er f e d ce d w s rri e t re se r

exper ent nd bser We y s s

t s n d ed d d ed, e c. d seei g s m y e e d ed e y c clor e er ze e re r b em jo efect n th s induct ve ethod, a that thatour xperie ce s im te . We may ever ave ee a

an h is n t m rtal b t e are ju g g th our er a ex er e ce h ch f ite. O e ehave l i e p we ,a t ere are ma y e fect

r c t al tate. T e nd ctive pr ce c e-quentl y s t a a y perfect, whe ea the ded ct ve

r c fr m a s rce fper fect k w e g e pe ect.

T e Ve c roce uch a proce . e r c e ere y ge Bhagavad-git h h e to


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54 Raj -vdya: Te ng of Knowledge

be dogmatic. For instance, i the Seventh Cha

r K says:matta parata n nyat

ki cid asti dhana jayamayi sarvam ida prota

s tre ma i-ga iva"0 co queror of wealth (A una), there is no Trsuperior to Me Everything rests upon Me, as are strung on a t read " (Bg7.7)

r K is saying that there s no agreater t an Him, an t is appears to be very dog

matic If I say, er is no one gr ater t an,

people woul t i k, O , Sv m j is very pra man who is co dit oned by so many imperfesays that he is t e greatest of all, he blasp emeK a can say this, for we can nderstand frohistories t at even while e was on th s earthwas cons dered the greatest personality of sI deed, e was the greatest in all f elds of activ

According to the Ved c system, knowledge ws ach ved from t e greatest authority is to b

sidere perfect According to theVedas,t ere arethree kinds of proof:pratyaka, anum nand abda.One is by direct visual perception If a person i g in front of me I can see him sitting thermy know e ge o his sit in there is received my eyes e second methoda um na:is auricular:we may h ar children ayin o tside, and by h

we ca conjecture that they ar there An themet od s the method of taking truths fro a hiauthor t Suc a saying as Man is mortal i


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56 Raj -vdya: The ng of Knowledge

m y ki ci s i y ).Not on y

does KrQa p oclaim Himse f t be the autho ity, but th s is also accepted by eatand scho a s of .If we do not acceptKr a as autho ity and take His wo ds as twe cannot de ive any benefit f om .Itis not do matic; it is a fact If we study sc utinwhat KrQa s ys, we wi find that it is sch s ike Sa ka ya, who have difions f om the Pe sona ty of Go head, adm

ais y m Kr a s the up eLo d

Vedic k ow ed e is ot a ece t d sc ve yall

old revealed knowledge KrQaref e s t as purtanal, which mean an i nt.K wa says that millionsof years before He pok th s yo to the un od,and we do ot know how m ny millions of ears before that He spoke it to s meone else. T is k owled e

is always bein repeated, just as summ r, autumn,nter a d sprin are repeated every year. Our fu d

of k owled e is very poor; we do not ev n o t eis ory of this plane more than 000 years back,

but t e Vedic li ratures giv us histo ies ex e dimillion of year a o Jus ecausewe ave o k o l-

dge of t appe d3 000 y ars ag o thi plt, ca o co cl d ha t re w i o

t . Of co rse o e ca discl i t e is oricalvalidit of K !Qa O e ma a t K a, accordi

oMah bh a,li ed 5,000 e rs g , a i bei g

e case, ere is o po sibili y of i ving spokeBhagavad-g' o e s od so m millio s ofyears before. If I aid at I ave a speec on the sun


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Kowledge Through Disciplic Succession 57

some millions of years a o to the sun od, p

would say, "Sv j is speakin some nonsenhis is not the case with K a, or He is the Personality of Godhead Wheth r we b lievK{ a spokeBhagavad-g"t to the sun od or not,this fact is bein accepted by A a Arjuna acK{ a as the Supreme Lord, and therefore hethat it wa quite possible or K{ a to have ssomeone millions of years be o Althou hpersonally accepts the statements o r Korder to clarify the s tuation or eople who com after him, he asks:

aparam bhavato jan a para jan a vivasvata}katha etad vi n"y

tva dau proktav n iti

"The sun- od Vivasv n is senior y birth to Yo

am I to understand that in the e innin Youstructed this sci nce to him? (B . 4.4)Actually this s a very intell ent quest

K{ a answers it n this way:bah ni e vya "t ni

jan ni tava c junany aha veda sarv ina tva vettha parantapa

"Many, many births oth you nh v assedIcan remember all o hem t you a not0 subdueo the nemy! (Bg. 4.5)

Althou h K a is God, He ncarnates mant s Arjuna, b in a l vin n ity, also tak


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58 Raj -vdy : The ng of K owledge

many, ma y times. The d fference between the Su-

preme Personality of Godhead and a living entity is,t ny aha veda sarv li: K a remembers the eventsf His past inca nations, whereas the l ving entity ca

n e e be a s ne he ffe encween G an an G s e e nal an we a

e e nal bu he d fference is at we are alwhang ng ur b d es A dea h e fo get he ef ur lifeti e; death means f getfulness tha ' a

A n ht when we g o sleep, we forget ha whe husband f such and such a wife an e fa h

of su h and such ch l ren We forget u selvessleep bu when e wake up, we e embe "Oham s an s , an I us o such an such I fa ha n u p e us lives we ha he

he f m l es, fa he s, m he s an the n es bu e ha e f go en all

We g ha e been gs r ca s e r go

w a ve e re e have n f rg enDes e all these changes as l v ng ent es, n l Jus as n p ev ous li es e ave

s o n h s l fe me e are prea h We ge u b es a c nka ma, a v es h se h a e n he mg ness a e e ghe plane s in as us f l fe (B 14 14) se h e

f assion e a n n ea t an h se w o e m e f ign an e ay all in he an al spe

f l fe ay e sfe e t a lowe plane14 15) h s s e cess ha has een g

u e ge it


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K o l g T oug D c l c ucc59

At one time, Indra, the king of e ven, committed

n offense t the feet of his spiritu l m ster, ndis spiritu l m ster cursed im to t e the birth o og. Thus the throne of the he venly kingdom e

c me empty s Indr wen to e rth to become og. Seeing the situ ti n, Br hm c me to e rth ndddressed he hog: "My de r sir, you h ve become hog on this pl net e th. I h ve come to deliv rou. Come with me t once. But th hog replied:Oh I c nnot go with you. I h ve so m ny responsiilities-my ch ldren, wife nd this nice hog society.

Even though Br hm promised to t ke him ck toe ven, Indr , in the form o hog, refused. This is

c lled forgetfu ness. Simil ly, Lord comes s ys to us, "Wh t re you oing n this m t ri l

world? Sarva-dharm n parityajya m m eka saraa a.Come to e, d I'll give you ll protection.

But we say, "I don' t believe You Sir. I have more

mport ant business here ." This is the position of the co dition ed soul-fo rg etfu lness. This forgetf lness isquickly dissipated by follow ng i the path of disciplic

uccess n.


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6

Knowledge of r?Qa'sAppe ces nd ctiviti s

There are two f rces o nature w rking us. By

one we decide that n this l f me e w ll maksp ritual a vancement, bu at t next mom nt theot er force, maya, or illu ory e erg , sa s, "What isall th s trou le that you're going to? Just enjoy this

ife and be eas w th yourself. T is endenc to fallnto forgetfulness s the difference between God andan. A una is a co panion and associate of K a s,

and whenever a appe rs n an planet, rjunalso t kes birth and appears it Him. When K a

spoke Bh g v d- t to t e sun god, rjuna as lsopresent with Him. But, being a finite i ing entity,

una ou d not remem er. Forget lness s thenature of the ving entity. We cannot e en rememberwhat e ere oing at this exact time yesterday or aweek ago. If e c nnot remember th s, how is itposs ble to remember hat appened in our prev ous lives? t th s point e ma ask o it is that K a

can re e ber and e can ot, an t e ans er s thata does not change H s body.jo 'pi s nn vy y tmbhut n m " v ro pi s n

pr k ti sv m dhi h y

s mbh v my tm m y y"Athough I a nborn and My transcendental body

ete orates an a t ough I am t e Lord of


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K a's Appearances and Activities 61

sentient being , I till appear in every millenniuMy original tran cendental form." (Bg.4.6)Th word i tm a-mi ya yi m ea ns that K >Qa descen dsas He is. He does n t chang e His bod y, but we, as

onPitioned souls, change ours, and because of this e forg et . K Qa knows not only the past, presentnd future of His ac iv ities, but the past, present and tu re of everyone's activities.

ved ha samat"t nivartam n ni c rjuna

bhaviy i ca bh t nim tu veda na ka cana

"0 Arjuna, a the Supreme Per onality of Godhenow everything that ha happened in the pa

at happening n the pre ent, and all thinare et to come. I al o know all living e titie

e no one know . (Bg.7.26)In S mad-Bh gavatamwe al o find that theSupreme Lo d i define a one who know

thing. Thi i not the ca e ith even the elevated living entitie , ch a Brahm andOnly Vi U or K Qa know everything.

l o a k that if the Lord doe not chan eody, why doe He come a an incarnathere i much differen e among philo ophererning thi que tion Some ay that K Qa aterial body when e come , but thi i nota e. If He a umed a material bod like ou

ould not remember, for forgetfulne i due taterial bod . he actual conclu io i thatoe n't change Hi body God i called all- o


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62 Raj -vdy : The ng of Knowledge

and in the verse quoted above, His omn potence isexplained. K a has no birth, and He is eternal.Similarly, the living entity as no birth, and he is alsoe ernal. It is only the body with hich the livinentity identifies that takes birth.

In the very beginning of Bhagavad-gzt , in tSecond Chapter, K a explains that what we accepas irth and death is due to the body, a d as soon aswe regain our spiritual b dy and ge out of the contamination of irth an death, we sh uld be qua i atively as good as K a. That s the whole ocess of

a conscio sness-th revival of o r or inalsac

cid nandaspiritual body. hat body is e erna (sat)f ll of kno ledge (cit) and blissf ( nanda). hismaterial body is neither s t cit nor anda. t isperishable, whereas the person who is occupyin thebody is imperishable. It is also fu of ignor nce, andbecause it is ignorant and tem orary it is ful ofmisery. We feel severe hot or s vere cold due to thematerial bo y, but as soon as we revive our spiritualbody, we become unaffected by duali ies. Even while

hin the material bodies here areyog s who areimpervious to duali ies such as heat and old. As webegin to make spiritual ad nc ment whi e in hematerial body, we begin to ta e on the qual ties f aspirit body. If we put iron into a fire, i be omeshot, and then it becomes red hot, and finally it is nolonger iron, b t fire-wh tever i touches bursts into

ames. As we become advanced in K a conscious

ness our material bod ll become spirit alizedand wi l no longer be affect d y m erial contamination.


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KQa's Appear nc s and Activiti s 63

KrQa's bi th, His appea ance and di ppea anceare

likened unto the appea ance and disappea anceof the su . In the mo ning it appea s as if the sun is f o the easte n ho izon, but actually it is not.

T e sun is neithe i ing o e ting; it is as i is s osition. All isings and settings a e due to hetation of the ea t . Simila l in Vedic lite atu es

L e e a e p esc ibed scedules fo the appea anced disappea ance o S rQa. r Qa s isinj st like the s n. he sun's ising and setting a e

o ng on at ev moment; somewhe e in the o ldeople a e witnessin sun ise and sunset. It is not

at at one point rQa is bo n and at anot eoint He is gone. He is alwa s the e s mewhe e, b te appea s to come and go. r Qa appea s and

sappea s in man u ive ses. We onl have expe ice of this o unive se bu f om Vedic lite atu e

e can unde s and t at his uni e se is but a pa t

f he infini e manifestatio s of he Sup eme o d.lthough r a is the Sup eme o d and is un-o n and unchangeable He appea s in His iginal

anscendental atu e. he w k means" a e. In he Seve th Chapte ofBh g -gz ,

is stated that he e a e man inds of natu e.hese have been cat go ized into th ee basict pes.

e e is ext nal natu e, inte nal natu e a d ma ginalt e. he exte al natu e is the manifestation ofis mate ial wo ld, and in the Seve h Chap e o

-gzthis i desc ibed as o mate ialu e. When r Qa appea s, He accepts the higheu e( k m),not the infe io mate ialu e. Sometimes he head of a sta e ma go to th


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64 Raj -vdya: Te King of nowl e

prison house in order to inspect the prison and seethe inmates there, but the prisoners are in rror ifthey think "The head of the state has come toprison, so he is a prisoner just like s. As poi tedout before, S K Qa states that fools deride Himwhen He descends in human form (Bg. 9.11)

K Qa, as the Supreme Lord, can come here atany time nd e cannot object and say tha Hecannot come. He is fully independent and Hecan come and di a pear as He likes. If the head of astate goes o visi a prison we are not to assume thathe is forced to do so K a comes th a pur ose,

and that is to reclaim fa len conditioned soul . Wedo not lov K Qa, but K a loves us. e claimeveryone as His son.

sarv -yoniu k unteyam rtaya sambhava ti y

t s brah a mahad yoniraha b ja p da pit

"It should be understood that all pecies of life 0son of Kunt , re mad possible by birth in th is material nature, and th at I am t e seed-g iv n Father (Bg. 14. )

The father is always affectionate to the son. Theson may forget the father but the father can neve

orget the son. K Qa comes to the material universeout of His love for us to deliver us from the miseriesof birth and death. He sa s M dear sons why

are you rotti g in this miserable world? Come oM and I'll give you all protection. We are sons ofthe Supreme, and we can en oy life very supremely


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K Ja's Appea ances and Act v t es65

withou any m sery and ou any doub . There

f e e shoul no h nk ha K a comes here as e do, be ng obl ged b he la s o na ure. TheS skr ord avat a l erally means " e ho

scends. One ho descen s rom he sp r uaverse n o he ma er un verse hrou

n ll s called an ava ra. ome mesSri K as en s H msel , and some mes He sends Hpresen a ve. The major rel g ons o he orld

Chr s an, H ndu, Budd s and Moslem-bel eve : e supreme au hor y or personal y com n dof om he k n om o God. In he hr s an rel g

Jesus hr s cla med o be e son o God and be com ng rom he k ngdom o God o re la m cooned sou s. As ollo ers oBhagavad-git , e

m h s cla m o be rue. o bas ally ere erence o op n on. In de a ls ere may

erences due o d erences n cul re, cl ad people, bu he bas c pr nc ple rema ns

am - ha s, Go or H s represe a ves come ecla m ond oned souls.

y ad h dharmas a gl n r bh at bh r ta

abh utth na astad t a j h

Whenever a d herever ere s a dec ne go s ac ce,0 descendan o B ara a, a d a

e o an r se o rrel g o - ha I de

sel . (Bg 4.7)God s ery ompass ona . e shes o see ouser es e se, bu e are ry ng o adjus o


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66 Raj -vidy : The King of Knowledge

miseri s. B cause we are pa t and parcel of theSuprem Lord, e are ot meant for ese miseries,but som o or o er e ave voluntarily acceptedt em. T re are miseries arising from e bo y andmind, rom o er li ng ntities and from aturalcatastr p es. W a e eit er suffe ing f om all t reeof t ese mise ies o at least from on . e are

ays trying to make a solut on to t ese miseries,and this attempt const tutes ou struggle for existence. T at solution cannot be ma e by o r tinybrain. It can be ma e only en e take to t es elte of the upre e o d.

e can become appy en e re reinstatin our constitutional position, and Bhagavad-gzt ismeant to reinstate us in t at position. God and Hisrepresentative lso com to elp. As stated p eviously, t ey escend upon t e material orl from tsupe io nature and are not subject to t e la ofb t , ol age, isease and deat . K a gives Ar ut e follo ing reasons for His descent upon t e worl :

paritr T ya dhun mvin s yaca d k

dhar a- am h pan rth ya

a bhav i y ge y ge" n o er to eliver t e pious an to anni ilate t emisc ants, as ell as to re-establis t e principlesof elig on, advent Myself millennium after mi lennium. (Bg. 4.8)

Here K a says t at He com s en t ere is ecline in dhar a. T e anskrit ord dha a asbeen translate into Englis as fait , ut fai as


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Kta's Appearances and Ac v es 67

come to mean a religious system that goes under theame of C ristian M sle , H ndu Buddh st ut t e worddharma oes not have t e same mean-

g as faith. T e faith of n ndi idual ay harom Hindu to Buddh st to Christ an to Moslem

et . People have the ab l ty to a ept one fa th areje t another butdharma annot be ang d. It s

e nature of every nd idua t render sereither to imsel his fam ly, h s om un ty naor to humanity at arge. T s render ng o serv

annot i any way be d vor ed rom th livntity, and t s th s hat onst tutes thdharma of

every li ing be ng. Wit out render ng servi e annot exist T e world goes on be ause we are en ering and ex anging servi e. We must forg

whet er we are Chr s ian Mosl or H du anm st understand that e are l ving ent ties whos

onstitutional posit o s to render serv e to thsu reme living e t ty. When we rea that stage

nder tand ng we re l ber ted.Liberat on s freedom rom t orar d s g at

wh h we have a qu red r sso t o aterial nature. L berat on s noth g or tha

s. e ause w h e t r b d s tany designat ons; thus e a l ours l s a anarent, a Amer an a Chr st an H d et

designations should be abando ed at all wao be o ree. U d r o r sta s areaster. We are at th r se t s rv ng but e

er ng it des g at o s. W 'r t ser a t f of a a l o a job r s sesdre and r


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68 R ja-vdy : Te ng of Knowledg

servants of our cats or dogs. I a y case wehave someo e, somethi g to serve. If we havfe or chil , we have to catch some og o olower a ima i o er o se ve it. That is ourWe are compelle to o it Whe we at last b ree from these desig atio s a begi to rtra sce e tal lovi g service to the Lor , we our per ectio al state. We the become establi our truedharma

Thus Sr K a says th t H

raja-vidya the king of knowledge-original 1973 book scan

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