All Glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga

Home Comfort

An Introduction to Inner Fulfilment
This booklet is compiled from informal discourses given by
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
The Founder-Acaryya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip, India
Transcribed by: Sripad B.S. Tridandi Maharaj and Sri Mahananda dasa Bhakti Ranjan

Part One

Please listen attentively to what I shall explain. In a scientific way I shall try to explain, the subject
to you, in general, independent of all religious conceptions.
First of all we are to understand that there are three planes of life: the plane of mundane enjoyment,
the plane of renunciation, and the plane of dedication. The plane of enjoyment is where we
are at presently, more or less. Mundane enjoyment means exploitation; and without exploitation,
none can exist in this plane:
ahastani sahastananam
apadani catuspadam
laghuni tatra mahatma
jivo jivasya jivanam
“Those that have hands live on those who have no hands. Four-footed animals live on grass,
creepers, etc. and the big live on the small.” Everything is full of life: creepers, grass, and trees
also live, but without exploitation none can maintain their body here.
This is the plane of exploitation, and, as Newton’s third law says, to every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. By exploitation one takes a loan, and to clear that loan he will have to
go down. In this way, there are so many jivas (souls) going up and down, up and down due to
action and reaction in the plane of exploitation. Society is trying to exploit. Society is trying
to exploit to the utmost; everywhere there is the attempt to live at the cost of others. Without it
life is impossible in this area because this is the plane of exploitation.
The Buddhists, the Jains, the followers of Sankara, and so many others are trying to get out of
this entanglement of exploitation and to find a life where there is no exploitation, no action and
reaction. To avoid action and reaction they try to find a position of renunciation, and they come
to a conception similar to dreamless sleep, that of Samadhi: to withdraw completely from the
objective world and to remain in the subjective plane. Without allowing their feelings to move
into the lower plane, they always keep a subjective position, and that is something like dreamless
sleep.
The Vaisnava section – those who serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead – are of the opinion
that there is another world, the world of dedication. That dedication is just the opposite of
exploitation. In the mundane plane every unit wants to exploit the environmet, but in the plane of
dedication, every unit wants to serve the environment; and not only the environment, but the real
key to the life of that plane is to serve the Centre. We are living in an organic whole, so every
point must be true to the organic Centre. The explanation is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam by the
analogy of service tothe root of a tree:

yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tatheiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

'As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.'
(Bhag: 4.31.14)
In the Vedic literature also, we find it said, “Try to find the one by knowing whom everything is
known:”
yasmina jnate sarvvamidam vijnatam bhavati
yasmina prapte sarvvamidam praptam bhavati
tad vijijnasasva tadeva brahma
There is a central point by knowing which, everything is known, by attaining which everything
is attained. The long and short of the entire Vedic advice is to try to find out that Centre. Therefore
try to find out that Centre. In the beginning some may think this to be a ludicrous claim: “By
knowing one, everything is know, by getting one, everything is got – what is this? Only a madman
can say such a thing!” So an analogy is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam: when you pour water
onto the root of a tree, the whole tree is fed, and if you put food into the stomach, the whole body
is fed, similarly, if you do service to the Centre, everything is served. It is possible and to do
that means to enter the plane of dedication. Avoiding the plane of exploitation, and also that of
renunciation, try to enter the plane of dedication. Your atma, your soul proper is a member of
that plane. That is the real world, whereas this is the perverted reflection.
The real world is where every unit is dedicating itself to the whole, represented by the Centre,
just as in a healthy body every atom will work for the welfare of the whole body. If an atom
works for itself, it exploits to the extreme, and such local works for local interest are clearly bad.
Every part of the body, and every atom, is to work for the welfare of the whole system. There is a
Centre, and by the guidance of that it will work.
What is the position of the Centre? It is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita,
sarvva-dharmman parityajya,
mam ekam saranam vraja
(B.Gita. 18.66)
Krsna explains His position: “Abandon all dharmmas (duties) and just surrender unto Me.”
Now I want to express this conception from another standpoint.
Hegel was a good German philosopher and his philosophy is known as perfectionism. He has
given an idea: the Absolute Truth, the Prime Cause of everything, must have two qualifications.
What are they? It must be by itself and for itself.
Please try to pay attention. By itself means that He is His own cause – nothing else created Him.
If anything else created Him, if anything has created Him, that creator will have the primary importance.
Therefore, to be the Absolute He must be anadi, eternally existing and not created by
anything. The Absolute must have this qualification.
The next qualification is that the absolute Truth is for itself. He exists for His own satisfaction,
not to satisfy any other. If His existence is to satisfy another entity, then he will be secondary,
and they for whose satisfaction He is living will have the prime position.
Therefore, the Absolute must have these two qualifications: He is His own cause, and He exists
only to satisfy Himself, to fulfil His own purpose. The Absolute is by itself and for itself. If any
straw moves, it moves to fulfil the purpose of the Absolute.
Everything – every incident, and whatever happens – must have to be for His satisfaction. So the
real current is His lila, His Pastimes, but ourselves we are guided by separate interest: family
interest or country interest or social interest or humanitarianism, etc. But in the infinite consideration
it is all only a tiny part, and we are all engaged in acting for such separate interest. There
is a clash between innumerable separate interests and so there is trouble. But we must leave all
our so-called special interests, come out from misunderstanding, and try to attain the function of
a unit active for the cause of the whole.
The conclusion of Bhagavad-gita given by Krsna is “Sarva dharman parityajya – Give up all
your duties which you think at present you have to discharge, and – mam ekam saranam vraja –
surrender to My feet.”
aham tvam sarvva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
„I shall release you from all the troubles of which you can ever conceive.“
In other words you are to remember to be faithful to the Centre. At present all your respective
duties are for local interest, but give up the local identification of your own interest and merge
totally in the interest of the organic whole.
We see that if a police officer takes even three rupees for his own purpose, he is punished, but if
he kills so many for the interest of the country, he is rewarded. Similarly, whatever is done for
the satisfaction of the whole is good, but if you do anything for yourself or any local friend, you
will have to be punished. In an industry, we have no right to take a bribe for our personal purpose,
at the same time we have no right to call a strike, to close down the labour force, for then the
industry will be destroyed.
Neither exploitation nor renunciation will do. Exploitation is clearly bad, and because we have
no right to go on strike, renunciation is also bad. In an organic whole the common interest is that
everyone must be dedicated to the Centre, and to the Centre means to the whole. When we put
food into the stomach, the stomach will distribute it properly to every corner according to its
necessity. That sort of life is Vaisnavism. There is an organic whole, and we are a part of that. We
have our special duties in connection with the whole, and that is proper dedication for the whole.
We are not to put food into the eye, or into the nose, or the ear, or anywhere except the stomach,
then only will it be distributed properly and the whole organism will be healthy. All of us are
parts of the whole universe, and our duty is to work for the whole, and that is devotion, dedication,
surrender. And how are we to know about that? We will receive help from the revealed Scriptures, and

from the many saints and agents who are also coming from that plane to bring us into harmony.
The religion of highest harmony has been given by Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev who explained
devotion on the basis of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the book which is understood to be the real conclusion
of all the revealed Scriptures. In this way He explained that energy or power is not the
highest thing, but knowledge is above it. Knowledge can control power and give a beneficial
result, but further, knowledge itself also holds a lower position: above it is love and affection,
and that is the highest. Neither knowledge nor power, but only affection can give us fulfilment of
life.
Mercy is higher than justice. Justice only exists where there is the necessity of laws, rules, etc.,
but in the realm of the Absolute Autocrat, who is the Absolute Good, there can be no question of
any apprehension about Him. He is Absolute Good, and Absolute Good is Absolute Love and
Affection, and that is home! Back to God, back to home. What is home? It is where we find that
we are in the midst of our well-wishers. If we do not care for our own benefit, then there are so
many who will take care of us – in fact the whole environment will take care of us – and that is
home. That is the domain of the Absolute, and we can enter into His service, the highest position,
and thereby see the affection, love, harmony, and beauty that exist there. All these qualities are
similar and they constitute the nature of the Prime Cause and Good, and we are to go there.
Misusing our free-will we have been somehow led astray but now we are being called, “Come
home, back to God and back to home, the highest position, the land of love.” This is, in general
and in short, the sum total which I have presented to you – this is Krsna conception in Bhagavad-
gita and in Srimad-Bhagabatam, and it is the conception that has been given by Sri Chaitanyadev.
This Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and the whole of the Gaudiya Mission is preaching
only for that. “Go to the Centre, use your life for total dedication to the Centre, and the Centre is
all above justice. It is all-merciful, affectionate, loving, and beautiful.”
This is the general background of Vaisnava religion, of Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam
and a brief history of all conceptions of religion – that is, exploitation, renunciation, and
dedication are the three planes of life, and the soul proper is a member of the land of dedication.
All are dedicating units but somehow, by misusing their partial free-will, they have entered into
the world of exploitation. Buddha, Jain, Parasanath and others have helped those who want to
withdraw from here, to get out of the entanglement of exploitation – of action and reaction – by
complete retirement. They have said that after retirement, the soul can live happily. Still, there
may be the possibility of again becoming entangled in this trap, but where the really free souls
live, all are dedicating units, and when we want to trace what is harmonising them and maintaining
them in that plane we shall see that all are working for the whole, and the whole is represented
by the one Absolute Good. We are to see all these things, and for this the human birth is
very valuable. In connection with the sadhus – the saints, the agent – we shall try our best to get
out of this entanglement and enter into the land of love, dedication, and affection.
We have already published several books, and there are many old scriptures which also help us understand
properly and in a more detailed way about all ontological aspects of religion.

Part Two

Our home is full of freedom, more comfort – everything. It is a place where there is a natural
transactions of faith, love, affection, etc. It is inconceivable. The Upanisads say, “Don’t venture
to test the unthinkable plane with your reasoning. That plane really is beyond the capacity of
your thought. It is under a different set of laws. Your mathematical calculations and conclusions
in this world are acquainted with points, planes, and solids. At present you are a man in the
world of solids, and you have some limited association with planes and points in a somewhat
abstract way, therefore how can you calculate about higher things of which you have no knowledge?
The ways of living and the laws of that country are all unknown to you, so you cannot try
to debate about that. That plane is of quite a different nature.”
If your understanding is limited to the laws of water, then how can you calculate about air? Similarly
if you are familiar only with the laws of air, how can you make any calculation within
the sphere of ether? Therefore, don’t rush to bring within your experimental laboratory those
items which are beyond the capacity of your thinking, for that will be foolishness.
Higher things do exist, but the general man in this world has no knowledge about them. We are
indeed experiencers and have some knowledge, but only to a particular degree and standard. We
cannot venture to calculate what is beyond our reach. But if those who actually have experience
of that plane will come to us and give us some information, then we can make some comparison:
“This gentleman of a particular experience of ether has written in this way, another gentleman
who has experience and has also experimented about ether has written in another particular
manner.” In this way we can gain some understanding from their investigation and their real
connection with the subject matter.
In the section of those investigating about telescopes, we can make a comparison of their findings.
The experience of one researcher with his telescope is of a certain type and we can also
learn about the experience of others with their particular telescopes. With the information available
to us from their actual connection with the telescopes and their experiments, we may be
able to conclude that perhaps a certain telescope was more powerful, another more powerful in a
particular field, etc. So, we have some limited capacity to compare what has been discovered
beyond our senses by means of the telescope, even though we ourselves may not have a telescope.
The subject of the higher things discovered by the mental “telescope,” or soul’s “telescope,” has
been dealt with in the Scriptures. Such subject matter is known by the saints, and we are to take
their help in order to have entrance within that land. We are not at present in a position to have
experience of the higher plane, but later, by the help of the saints and Scriptures, when we shall
ourselves have that type of telescope, we will be able to have such higher experience.
sve svehadhikare ya nistha
sagunah parikirttitah
“To pay attention to your own plane is admirable.”
acintyah khalu ye bhava
nastam tarkena yojayet
Don’t let the argumentative spirit overshadow everything. Argument is not all in all: It is not that
it must be the resort of every belief. The spiritual realm is acintya, inconceivable, but still we are
to try to understand things according to our capacity, faith, and realisation. Above all, we have to
accommodate within our mind that sweetness is sweet, and truth is truth, however strong it may
be, but we should not take any standard from here and apply it to that higher realm.
If one has no eyes but another can see, the blind man will naturally seek help from the one who
has vision. We are also blind to what is within ourselves otherwise what is the necessity of consulting
a doctor? The doctor can see what we cannot: he will diagnose and then we will undergo
treatment. Naturally we will have respect and will give him something for his assistance – it is
not unreasonable.
The Guru is the specialist doctor, and we will understand his qualification when we come to see
that what he says is real and not imaginary. Such vision will depend upon the degree of awakenment
of the eye. If one who is blind is treated by a capable doctor he will gradually directly perceive,
„Yes, I begin to see something. I now have some eye experience.“ From that time on he
won’t care for the speculative opinions of the other blind people, but he will have his direct capacity
to see. With the coming of sight he can understand that the application of the medicine has
some real effect.
Scientific understanding is also similar. In earlier days when Faraday discovered electricity,
many people laughed, „What is this? It is mere curiosity. What utility can we have from this electricity?“
I once read an account of Faraday demonstrating an experiment to show the effect of his discovery.
He generated electricity with a machine and then he showed small pieces of paper being
moved by that electric current. Many were satisfied to see his new discovery, but then a lady remarked,
„But after all this, Mr. Faraday, what practical benefit shall we derive from this luxury
play of yours.“
Faraday replied, „Madam, please can you tell me what is the utility of a newborn babe?“ His
point was that when a baby is born we are to take care of him, then, when grown, his energy will
be put to work usefully. Similarly, some consider that God consciousness is only a luxury, a fashion,
or like playing – that it has no practical application or direct utility.
But when God consciousness becomes intense, those who experience it will see all other activities,
however apparently important, to have no value. Why? Because ultimately we want to live.
We don’t want to die.
To live is the main necessity and the general necessity of all of us. No one can deny that they
want to live, and not only live, but live happily, properly, and consciously. Furthermore, we want
to avoid all affliction, misery, etc.
When God consciousness arises within someone, he can see clearly, „Why is everyone engaged
in a wild goose chase in this material world? Everyone wants happiness, but all are running after
an imaginary phantasmagoria.“
Happiness can never be with mortal things. WE are making a transaction with the mortal world,
but that cannot bring satisfaction; it can only lose our energy. What we collect on one side, disappears
on another. A wise man should neither accept nor tolerate this sort of waste of energy as
the principle of life.
Such a wise person can see another plane of life. He can see that he is not a party to this mortal
world which is like a place of playing. He will feel, „I am immortal. I am a member of the eternal
world but I have somehow become entangled in this mortal aspect of existence. So, as soon
as I can shake off this connection I shall then stand in a normal position.“ He will find that he
himself – the soul, the feeler, the conceiver – is a member of another soil but he has become
entangled within this mortal pain-producing world. This is a miserable world. With the strength
of his realisation he can make improvement in his progress to the immortal plane.
As proof positive comes before us we shall feel sure, „Now I see these things and hear these
things, and this experience is all more real than the world about me. The world is vague, but
what I now see and hear is more real than that.“
A direct transaction is possible with the soul, with God, and with God’s land. Where we are presently
living is the plane of indirect transactions: first the eye, ear, etc. collect experience, then it
goes to the mind before we can have experience of this world. But in the case of the soul, we can
feel everything directly ourselves without the help of any instrument.
Through a microscope we see one thing, and through the naked eye we see something else. There
is a difference. Through the eye, ear, etc. we have some experience of this world, but concerning
the soul, if we can withdraw from the “progress” in the negative side, we shall be able to
feel, “Oh! This is the nature of the soul.” We shall directly feel who we are without the help of
any instrument.
The soul can see itself, it can focus upon itself and through introspection he will realise his very
nature. Through the process of introspection the soul, without the help of any other instrument,
will perceive all possible conceptions of himself directly. He will then understand his own soil:
he will gain the conception of a higher type of soil. On that positive side he will discover: “I do
not die.”
The material plane is the plane of misrepresentation and misunderstanding, but in the higher
plane there is no misunderstanding. Once admitted there, our conception, though it may be partial,
will be clear and true. Anyone having that experience will be convinced and he will be determined
to go forwards.
Socrates could feel that the soul was immortal. He was so intense with his feeling that he did not
give any value to his own life in this mundane world. He neglectfully disconnected himself from
this world because with great conviction he knew the soul to be immortal. Christ also was so
much convinced of his Lord that he did not give any care for the happiness and pleasures of this
world: he neglectfully rejected it all.
There are many things invisible to this fleshy eye that are visible with the eye of knowledge. We
can concede that the eye of knowledge can see many things which the fleshy eye cannot. Similarly
a deep vision exists by which we can see things in a different, more hopeful way: “Come
and see!” An eye cannot see when it is covered by a cataract, but when the cataract is removed
the eye can see. Ignorance is like a cataract in our eye that causes us blindness. Our vision is
only superficial, but deeper vision can see many things. This eye backed by the eye of knowledge
can see many things – deeper and deeper.
Our apparent sight has no value. Real value is present in the seer who can see with deeper vision.
And all are not equal: there are the wise, the wiser, the eve wiser … There is gradation, and
according to his capacity the seer will see.
It is easy to see that at present we are members of this mortal world, but by what are we connected?
It is our body that is the member. If we can go above the body we can go to the mind,
then on to the intelligence, then to the soul. We will find that the plane where the souls live is
eternal, and the soul itself is also eternal. From there we can go on to search after the Supersoul,
the origin of all our thoughts.
The Supersoul is likened to the sun which is the origin of all rays of light. Once we find a ray of
light we can approach the sun from which all rays emanate. Similarly, from the conception of our
own selves, knowing ourselves to be particles of consciousness, we can search out a plane of
super-consciousness, super-knowledge, and super-existence. In this way we can progress to the
ultimate cause, the source of all. But we cannot go just according to our own whim and freedom,
some sort of help from that plane is indispensably necessary. Such help comes in the form of Guru,
the Vaisnavas, and other agents of that land. With their help we can make honest progress towards
the goal.
At present we are as if monarchs of all we survey, but what we survey is all transient, mortal,
and reactionary. If we look scrutinisingly we will see it is all reactionary. What is pleasing today,
will later on turn into pain, therefore we must seek a good position somewhere else, a good place to
build our home elsewhere. In the course of that search we will find that we do have our own home,
and it is all-perfect.
“Home. Back to God, back to home – sweet, sweet. Home.” This sort of feeling we shall find
within us if we are fortunate to be allowed a little participation by the grace of the canvassers of
that land: the agents of the Lord. We shall be taken to that proper soil and we shall gain some
solid familiar type of conception of what our real home is like. In this way we shall progress to
that side.
In the beginning we may think that we shall be going to some unknown quarter: “Innumerable
living entities are here around me in my present world, but where I am now trying to go, that is
uncertain. It seems imaginary and abstract.” However when we begin our journey we will gradually
find that almost all existence is in that side, the side where all are truthful. We shall find that
this material side is very meagre and limited, and here there is only a tiny representation of the
truth.
From here we may think that most of the existence is here and only a very few special souls go
from here to the immortal world such as Socrates, Muhammad, Buddha, etc. But gradually we
will come to understand that the higher world is infinitely greater than the mundane portion we
see here. We will gradually come to understand that as in a country a few people are confined in
a hospital or a prison and are suffering, similarly a few persons are here in this mundane plane as
punishment. As this becomes clearer to us we shall feel more courage to proceed, and with greater
speed we shall run towards our home. Let us go home, and the nearer we are to home, our
speed will increase more and more, “Oh. This is my homeland!”
At present we are outside and our mind is also focused outside. We are helplessly moving. Our
hope lies only in the grace of the divine agents. They come to pick us up and warn us, “What are
you doing? Don’t go on that side. It is the land of danger, the land of death. Come along with
me. I shall take you to the land of eternal nectar.” Those agents come to arouse us from our
slumber, our ignorant madness. They are the Vaisnavas, and they have also given the Scriptures
which give some history of the land outside and of the saints who have gone there. Through the
Scriptures our faith will gradually develop and we will increasingly keep association with the
sadhus. In so doing we shall make even quicker progress.
One’s own feeling is the guarantee as to whether he is making real progress or not. Hrdaye
nabhya nujnato. He will receive approval from his own heart that he is making real progress. Otherwise,
a man may be coaxingly taken in a particular direction only to feel frustration after some
time, but such a transaction is not genuine – it is false, a hoax. In the name of religion so
many such things do go on, like a trade, but that does not mean that real realisation and real emancipation
do not exist. Hrdaye nabhya nujnato – the ultimate guarantee is the approval of
your own heart, “Yes. Really this is what I want. From the innermost core of my heart I feel the
desire to dance to find that such progress is possible.”

Part Three

Normally in this world we are men of action, men who exploit the environment and nature in
order to gather energy. Always there is the attempt to collect more and more energy to use at our
command, and to save something so it may be utilised in the time of necessity. In general, that is
the very nature of those who live here. And if any hindrance will come in that attempt then it is
considered that those circumstances are very bad because they oppose the object of life here,
which is to collect more energy. However, to remind us about the importance of the inner wealth
we are advised that the outer nature cannot do as much harm to us as our internal nature can do
in its apathy to collect more wealth for the inner existence: the man within. We are to be mindful
of this point: what comes from outside is not so important – it all comes and goes. Even the body
which is at present the centre of our thoughts will vanish, therefore what is the necessity of collecting
so much energy in connection with this body? Awaken from within your soul the proper
man within you. Try to find him and try to collect help for him. This campaign is possible only
with the connection of the sadhu, the saint.
We shall be the loser on any day in which we do not meet with a saint, and hear any discussion
about the inner meaning and substance of life. Be conscious of this. In all respects and anyhow,
be mindful of your own person. Look after your own interest by finding your own self. Be unmindful
towards the external world and circumstances and dive deep into the reality, your inner
wealth. Find your inner self and the inner world within where your inner self is living. Try to
find that home. Back to God, back to home. Utilise your energy only for going home, and not for
wandering into the land of others: the land of death. Try to avoid the land of death at any cost,
and always try to find out the eternal soil. You are to find out that you are a member of that soil.
Try to understand what is your home, and why that is your home. What does home comfort mean?
It means it is the natural place which is our birth-right. We have to face the fact that we are
not at home. But if there is some hankering within us to search for that, we are fortunate.
Our necessity is to find how that inner thirst can be quenched. Our feeling should be: “The
world is here and I am here, but I am unsatisfied. How can my inner self be satisfied.” We are in
want, therefore by what process can this want be removed? For the present we have this fleshy body,
but to know anything and everything about the body – about the bones, nervous system, blood,
etc. – is all unnecessary. To know about the composition of the blood, etc. is just unnecessary detail.
Our enquiry should be regulated in this way: “Who am I, and why am I troubled? I do not know
how to rid myself of these problems.” This is the general question and we are to be concerned with
that.
“Athato brahma-jijnasa – from where have I come? How am I living, and what is my future?”
These are the main questions that should concern us, and we must concentrate the whole of our
energy to find the solution. This does not only apply to just one person – myself – but this is the
concern of all creation.
To seek the source of everything is the nature of proper enquiry, but to enquire after this and that
and so many hundreds of things is simply a waste of energy. The sastric (Scriptural) enquiry has
been couched in such a way: “From where have I come? What sustains me? What is my future?
Why am I uneasy, and how can I acquire my inner fulfilment?” All enquiry should follow this
standard way, otherwise there is some disease of enquiry: it won’t be proper enquiry. More and
more curiosity may arise without end, therefore we must learn how to question, how to enquire,
and in that way our energy will have some value and won’t be wasted.
Enquiry is bona fide when it is directed towards how to fulfil the real goal, therefore we are to
save our energy and regulate it in the proper channel. This is Kali-yuga – the age of quarrel – and
our real and only helpful necessity in life is the company of the established saints and the Holy
Name of Krsna – sadhu-sange krsna-nama. Otherwise, deviating from that, we may be misguided
at any and every step.
sadhu-sange krsna-nama ei matra cai
samsara jinite ara kona vasttu nai
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave this as the substance of all advice, and there is nothing more
useful than this to help us get out of undesirability.
He says that to chant Krsna-nama but without the association of the sadhus also means that it
will be very difficult for us to proceed. Therefore in one word the solution is in sadhu-sanga. We
are to secure the company of a standard realised soul, then everything will fall into place, and the
king of the sadhus is the Guru. Gurudeva is the king of the good-men who can give guidance.
For one to be Guru it means that he can guide us satisfactorily, otherwise whom can we believe
and trust to our can we believe and trust to our utmost understanding, and to whom can we fully
submit and surrender? The Guru is where our enquiry will be fulfilled to its utmost necessity.
From him higher direction will come from above, from a more and more elevated sphere of love.
We are to connect with that high and subtlemost wave and we will be more benefited. This is the
general idea.
On the whole, we are to try to always be at the disposal of the higher agency, at the disposal of
the higher thinkers of the higher provinces. In that way we shall come in connection with the
higher and most subtle layer of life. There are different waves of different types and interests,
and of different loss and gain, but to connect with the highest should be our aim.
We are to see that the charm of this life is finished. Already we have had good experience that
this is all stale. After all, wherever there are the four enemies, janma, mrtyu, jara, vyadhi – birth,
death, old age, and disease, there cannot be any real happiness. Wherever there is death there
cannot be any happiness. In such a plane we are always under the threat of death, so there is no
charm: all charm is completely finished. Therefore, with eagerness we must make enquiry as to
where we shall be able to live. We must select a higher plane where we can really live.
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama
(Bg. 15.6)
In Srimad Bhagavad-gita Krsna says, “The place from which there is no returning to this deathly
plane is My supreme abode.”
abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino ‘rjjuna
mam upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
(Bg. 8.16.)
He instructs Arjjuna, “A permanent position is only possible in My plane. All occupations in this
plane, even that of a king, are all just as in a dream. So if you want to get our of this dreaming
life and enter into reality then raise yourself to the standard of finding the plane of reality, however
subtle it may be, for that cannot be devoured by death. Collect your energy to build up something
permanent. At present you are investing your energy in something that is going to be
demolished at the next moment – a foolish attempt.”
uddhared atmanatmanam
natmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah
(Bg. 6.5)
“Note that you are your own friend. But you are your own enemy also. You are your own enemy
if you don’t take good care of your own development for your real progress. But you can be your
own friend, and non can give as much help to you as you, yourself, can do.”
bandhur atmatmanas tasya,
yenaivatmatmana jitah
(Bg. 6.6)
“If at all you can have any self-control then collect your energy from going astray and direct it
to the proper channel where you can really thrive, and then you will be your real friend. However,
if you allow yourself to be led by the various senses of lower nature which are always trying
to move in the land of exploitation, reaction, and suffering then you are your own enemy. Consider
all these things.”
vimrsyaitad asesena,
yathecchasi tatha kuru
(Bg. 18.63)
“Consider and consider deeply, then take the right step as to what to do.” The human life is very
valuable. You have the power of discrimination, but that will be denied you if, compelled by the
reactionary wave, you have to go into the body of a tree, a beast, or wherever. Can you say for
certain that in your next life you will not be degraded into an animal body? What guarantee is
there that you won’t be ?
It is not that all action and all progress takes place only in the realm of death. Progress is not
limited just to darkness and ignorance, but if you really participate in positive progress you will
be able to feel what real progress is. Hrdaye nabhya nujnato – you will feel and conceive the
progress with your inner approval, your heart’s approval. It is not that some bogus hope has
been given and you will be taken into a foreign land to be murdered, tortured, mistreated, etc.
There is no question of that.
bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir
anyatra caisa trika eka-kalah
prapadyamanasya yathasnatah syus
tustih pustih ksud-apayo ‘nu-ghasam
(Bhav:11.2.42)
This famous sloka of Srimad-Bhagavatam explains that when you eat something, your belly will
give witness. It will say, “Yes, I am eating.” Hunger will be satisfied, the body nourished, and
there will be the fulfilment of having been fed. The body will be nourished, and will gain
strength, and, along with all this, will be your own inner approval of having eaten. Furthermore
there will be no longer any feeling of necessity to eat more and more. Similarly in spiritual life
so many symptoms will come to give proof of your progress.
We now have a human body and this is the most valuable time for us, but it is being lost due to
misapplication. Our most valuable energy is being lost through misappropriation. Uttisthatah
jagratah prapyovaran nivodhatah – so, awake, arise, and engage yourself not only for you, but
address others also to engage in this campaign, and that in turn will give you further help in a
particular way.
The main thing is that under the guidance of a higher agent we should engage ourselves in devotional
activities and have a busy programme so there may not be any spare time to go on with
any trifling mundane matters. Such a busy programme in the association of the devotees will be
very helpful for us.

Part Four

Internal self-satisfaction, to disregard the present environment of the troublesome world, is a
valuable asset. It is nearing the soul area. Real bhakti, devotion, is ahaituki, causeless; it is its
own cause. It is causeless and it is by itself. As Hegel said, reality is by itself. Reality is not an
abstract thing, but reality means a system, a system that exists by itself. It is anadi and ahaituki,
it is eternal, and nothing can produce it. Bhakti is its own cause. These are the definitions that
have been given to help us to understand what is bhakti. It is not created by some other thing, it
is there eternally, but it is only covered and should be uncovered, discovered. It is there in a potential
form. By outside help it will gradually and progressively come out: it is as if sleeping – it
is necessary to rouse it. Anyabhilasa, karma, jnana – fleeting desires, and the organised attempts
for both exploitation and retirement or indifference, are covers. We have to remove these covers
and then bhakti will emerge in all its pristine glory.
To have affinity and attraction towards the higher truth is very rarely found, especially in this
modern age where the direction of thought is all towards exploitation, even of knowledge.
Knowledge being also subservient to exploitation is creating havoc. Atomic energy and so many
other kinds of scientific research are the cause of great apprehension: the world is threatened
with destruction at any moment. This scientific knowledge has brought us to such a position that
at any moment the whole thing may be finished! This knowledge is suicidal. The increase of
such knowledge in this world means the result is that we are going to commit suicide. Exploitation
means reaction. So, if we are to accept general, wholesale, exploitation then the result will
be pralaya, maha-pralaya, destruction – wholesale. In any way, whether by the atomic bomb or
by any other natural incident, the pralaya will come, and after that, again creation: birth and death,
birth and death … Each individual will be born and die again, and the whole solar system
will also be born and will die again and again without end.
If we are to get out of this entanglement, we must leave this atmosphere experienced by our senses.
In Bhagavad-gita and in the Upanisads also it is mentioned, indriyani parany ahur. Our senses
hold the principle position, because if the eye, ear, nose, touch, etc. are gone, then the whole
world is gone from us. Because we have senses we have our world. In the world of experience,
our senses are all-important. Then – indriyebhyah param manah – the mind is within. And what
is the mind? It is the faculty within us which selects, “I want this, I don’t want that.” We have a
liking for something, and a disregard for something else, and this is the principle of the mind
within us. It is more important that the senses because if I am unmindful, a person may walk in
front of me but it is possible that I will say, “Oh, I did not notice him. I did not see him and I
could not hear him. I was unmindful.” So, mind is in the centre, and that is more important than
our senses.
The senses are more important than the external world, and the mind is more important because
if the mind does not receive, then the senses, which are like so many doors, are useless. Then –
manasas tu para buddhir – there is another principle to be traced within us, a fine thing called
reason, buddhi, and what is its characteristic? The mind will say, “Oh, I shall take that,” but buddhi
says, “Oh no. No, don’t take that, it will cause some damage. You rather take this, it will give
you benefit.” That faculty of selection, that reason, is a higher principle in us.
Then – buddher yah paratas tu sah – that which is superior even to the intelligence is the soul
himself.
In this way we are to trace out the elements. More important than the external world are our senses;
more important than our senses is our mind; and above the mind is reason which is even more
important, more fine and more reliable; and – buddher yah paratas tu sah – there is another
thing above the buddhi, and that is our soul. And what is its nature, its characteristic? It is like
light.
In the Scriptures an example has been given that on a moonlit night there may be a cloud in the
sky which has covered the moon – but the cloud is seen by the light of the moon. The compiler
of the Vedas, Vyasadeva, says the atma is like that illuminating moon. Or, like the sun: a cloud
has covered the sun, but the cloud is seen by the light of the sun. Similarly, the atma is a point of
light within us, and because it is in the background we can feel our mental system. If the light is
withdrawn, then everything is dead.
The mental system, the intelligence, the faculty of choice, and so many channels through which
we gain knowledge from outside, will have no value if that light is withdrawn. That light is the
atma, a point of a ray of light, and it is quite categorically different from all other things here.
The soul is a particle of light and there is a land of light made of souls, and in this way there is
development again: from the subjective to super-subjective, from soul to Supersoul, atma to Paramatma.
Just as in this world we find ether, air, heat, water, then earth, then stone, and in this
way there is development in material existence, similarly in the finer world there is also development:
from the intelligence to the soul, then to the Supersoul, to the Super-supersoul …. In
this way the subjective side goes towards the infinite. It is super-subjective.
Darwin in his theory of evolution says that everything comes from matter. He says that even
within the womb, first there is something material which grows, and from that growth of matter,
knowledge also gradually grows. In general terms he thinks that consciousness comes out of
matter. But the followers of the revealed truth do not believe in that. They say that consciousness
is all in all, and everything is floating on the ocean of consciousness. That is subjective evolution.
Darwin talks of objective evolution, but the Vedic Scriptures say that everything comes under
the category of subjective evolution. As Bishop Berkeley, one European philosopher said, “It is
not that the mind is in the world, but the world is in the mind.” Everything is floating in the plane
of consciousness. Consciousness presupposes everything.
Darwin’s section say that in the beginning was the fossil. But what is a fossil? A fossil means a
particular conception, and that is a part of consciousness. Therefore, we contend that consciousness
is the most original subject. Whatever you may say to be the beginning, before that, consciousness
existed, otherwise you cannot give any statement about anything. So, the Vedic truth
states that Brahman – the all-pervading impersonal aspect of the Absolute – is the source of the
souls, and above the soul, atma, is the Supersoul, Paramatma. In the mundane worlds all development
is in the black side, but there is also a bright side: the eternal world, which exists with so
many joyful activities – so many waves in the ocean of blissfulness and joy.
In this way we are to understand what should be our duty in this life, what is the special importance
of the human life, and how to utilise that. There are so many religious opinions, but we
seekers after truth shall have to find a harmonising solution amongst them, and for that we are to
enter into some comparative study.
It is mentioned in the Scriptures that we should not change our position very easily. For example
a commander will say to his army, “Don’t change your position. Rather, die to keep it.” But
when the chance will come, he will say, “Go forward.” Similarly, the sastra, the Scriptures, have
told, “Wherever you are born according to your previous karma, wherever you have taken your
stand, don’t try to leave there otherwise there is the possibility you will go down.” But at the same
time, when a proper chance comes, they say, “March on towards the Absolute! Make further
progress.” So, in Bhagavad-gita it is given, “Don’t easily lose your present position acquired by
your previous action – rather, die there!” But then again, Krsna comes to say:
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
When you get the chance of marching towards the Centre, you must do it at all cost.” This is the
revolutionary method. There is the constitutional method and the revolutionary method. The revolutionary
method is to take the risk of anything and everything and march on, march forward
towards the central truth, and, because this human life gives the best opportunity, we shall do
whatever is necessary for that.
Only in the human life do you practically have the use of your discrimination and decision. If
you lose this position and go to animal life or vegetable life, no one knows when you will again
come back to be able to take independent and voluntary decision. Therefore this human life is
most important and you should not misuse it only in the practices of animal life: ahara, nidra,
bhaya, maithuna – to eat, to sleep, to be under apprehension at every minute, and to have sense
pleasure, because this you will get everywhere.
If you will become an animal or go anywhere else – to become a bird, a worm, an insect, etc. –
you will get all these enjoyments, but to culture about your soul, about religion, about your proper
function, that chance you will not get anywhere else other than in the human form of life. In
the company of the saints the entire position may be discussed, in this way you can make progress
in your life and save yourself. But if having received a human birth, you lose this chance,
you are committing suicide, or even more than that! One commits suicide who having received
the chance of a human birth does not try to help himself properly, to try for his wholesale relief.