Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the original cause of all causes. All observed causes and effects originate in His will. We are tiny parts of Krishna and we are meant to know Him and his energies, but with a view to serving Him and regaining our original spiritual nature. In our original, natural state of being, we serve the Lord eternally with great satisfaction and bliss, just as the hand serves the body with no conception of a separate identity. Maya–His energy of illusion–has the power to completely cover the knowledge of tiny parts who aspire to imitate the whole, an impossible feat that can only be “achieved” by pretending to be the Lord under the intoxicating influence of powerful Maya.
As conditioned souls we are covered by the four defects which hinder our ability to obtain perfect knowledge by our own sensual, mental and intellectual power.
Only the Vedas give perfect knowledge which is descended from the Supreme All-Knowing Lord.
That tiny segment of the Lord’s reality that we are able to understand comes from submission to Vedic authority, accepting the descending process as the only methodology for attainment of truth.
Experimental knowledge that confirms Vedic authority can be accepted as helpful, but experimental knowledge that diverges from the Vedic version must be rejected as imperfect.
Even given the above perfect method of receiving knowledge, we are incapable of fully understanding the universe–completely–as does the Supreme All-Knowing Lord (see endnote 1).
To gain perfect knowledge requires one to be situated in the mode of goodness as well as accept a perfect teacher in the disciplic line.
Correct bodily activities are not just a moral issue, but also the gateway to transcendental knowledge.
By acting submissively under the direction of the bona-fide guru one can attain this topmost knowledge which is represented in the distilled essence of all Vedic transmissions: Srimad Bhagavatam.
The corollary is that by rejecting the Vedas, the guru and proper behavior, one cannot gain transcendental knowledge; In this case, one’s apparent verbose and systematic ‘knowledge’ is really another version of illusion, Maya.
This universe was created by the Lord with a purpose. That purpose has been outlined above: To return to our original nature as his loving servants and consequently to become completely free from the influence of Maya.
Srimad Bhagavatam is a specific avatar of Krishna which directly serves this purpose without any fault or discrepancy.
The offense-less chanting of the Lord’s Holy Name–which is recommended throughout Srimad Bhagavatam is the prime method for our deliverance from Maya’s control.
In order for our chanting to be effective, we must have complete, 100% faith in the statements of Srimad Bhagavatam that extoll the glories of the Lords Holy Name, Form, Qualities and Pastimes.
If 100% faith in the Srimad Bhagvatam is blocked, that obstacle must be removed, not out of pride, but motivated by service and out of compassion for all living entities.
This is why true spiritual teachers are often accused of being too negative, “cutting” or preaching with an “axe”.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanda Sarasvati encouraged this method of teaching as being important (see endnote 2).
Sadaputa Prabhu, whom I had the opportunity to serve, took this idea very seriously. He told me: If we don’t defeat Darwin, what is the use of distributing Krishna book? People will assume that Krishna’s pastimes are false stories, fairy tales for children.
Thus both out of compassion for the devotees and the not-yet-devotees we should destroy false theories that block full, 100% faith in Srimad Bhagavatam.
Dismantling and dethroning popular ideas like the Big Bang, Darwinism and Moon landings may not seem relevant to those who are practicing the yoga of love for Krishna. It may see irrelevant to sadhana bhakti. The purpose of this short piece is to establish the fundamental importance of discarding beliefs that alienate us from our divine origin and nature, both within and without.
This work is not speculative knowledge (jnana), this is devotional service at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada–who brought the fight directly to the so-called scientists of the West to prove that the Absolute Truth is neither impersonal nor void, and that He is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By dismantling and dispensing with the bogus theories and outright lies and cheating of modern day “space programs”, for example, we are engaged in clearing the field so that the seed of bhakti can actually grow to its full potential. The full potential of Krishna Prema is only realized by increasing levels of devotion which develop in eight stages beginning with the foundation of faith (shraddha). Faith is weak in the beginning but as one progresses through the eight stages, faith becomes uwavering, immovable and absolute. It is this type of faith which leads to the goal of human life, pure love of Godhead, Krishna prema.
Endnotes:
- “The great ṛṣi Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, there is no limit to the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s material energy. This material world is a transformation of the material qualities [sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa], yet no one could possibly explain it perfectly, even in a lifetime as long as that of Brahmā No one in the material world is perfect, and an imperfect person could not describe this material universe accurately, even after continued speculation. O King, I shall nevertheless try to explain to you the principal regions, such as Bhū-goloka [Bhūloka], with their names, forms, measurements and various symptoms.” (SB 5.16.4)
- “The positive method by itself is not the most effective method of propaganda in a controversial age like the present. The negative method which seeks to differentiate the truth from non-truth in all its forms, is even better calculated to convey the directly inconceivable significance of the absolute. It is a necessity which cannot be conscientiously avoided by the dedicated preacher of the truth if he wants to be a loyal servant of Godhead. The method is sure to create an atmosphere of controversy in which it is quite easy to lose one’s balance of judgment But the ways of the deluding energy are so intricate that unless their mischievous nature is fully exposed, it is not possible for the soul in the conditioned state to avoid the snares spread by the enchantress for encompassing the ruin of her only too willing victims. It is a duty which shall be sacred to all who have been enabled to attain even a distant glimpse of the Absolute.” (The Harmonist 29.72-73 ,September 1931)
VEDASONIC 