Showing posts with label Supersoul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supersoul. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
59: Very Far, Very Close
CHAPTER 13, TEXT 14: Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.
When I finish cooking a dish, I scoop a portion onto a plate, place it in front of tiny carved effigies of Radha and Krishna in my kitchen, ring a bell, and murmur some prayers. I ask the Lord to please partake in what I have made.
After a few minutes I transfer that food back into the pot or onto another plate. Maybe a take a sip/bite to check for salt or flavor to make adjustments. The understanding is that God just ate, and now I may eat.
How is that?
How can the Supreme Creator and God of Gods and the Supersoul who Pervades Everything eat a little plate of pasta from little ol' Bhakti lata's kitchen in the backwoods of Florida?
This verse states clearly that God has hands, legs, eyes, heads, faces, and ear everywhere. The Supersoul pervades everything with senses that transcend our restricted notions. God is Supersoul within my heart, so of course he knows when I'm cooking and when I turn to Him to offer Him a little food.
So "Although [God is] far, far away, He is also near to all" (13.16). God is simultaneously very far away - the Supreme Creator, the God of Gods who lives in the spiritual world far away from this earthly planet, He is also very near.
He is within our own hearts.
He can accept whatever little offering we make, even if it's some little plate of pasta we cooked up in a rush. Prabhupad writes that "In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that if anyone offers Him a flower, or a fruit, or a little water, He accepts it. If the Lord is a far distance away, how can He accept things? This is the omnipotence of the Lord: even though He is situated in His own abode, far, far away from earth, He can extend His hand to accept what anyone offers." In this verse of the Gita, Krishna is trying to paint a picture of that omnipotence, explaining that if one offers God a flower, He can still take it with His hand for they are everywhere. If one offers God a prayer, God can still hear it with His ears for they are everywhere.
So yes, although Krishna is so far away in his own home, He is also right here with us, ready to receive and give love.
Even if it's just a plate of pasta, made in haste.
Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/13/16/
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
45: The Darkness of IGNORE-ance, The Light of Service
CHAPTER 10, TEXT 11: To show [the devotees] special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.
People on the path of bhakti yoga focus on cultivating love and devotion, but this focus on love can sometimes be seen as a weakness.
What about logic?
What about philosophy?
What about truth in all of its clear and grounded glory?
Huh?
Prabhupad writes that sometimes "philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists." I can almost hear the philosophers scoff at bhakti yogis: Your focus on "love" makes you naive and weak with sentimentality, you fools!
Prabhupad refutes this idea by mentioning that there are many Vaishnava scholars of bhakti who illuminate the scripture with deep clarity and logic as well as devotion.
That said, still, devotion is not a matter of philosophy or logic. Love knows no bounds. The source of all knowledge is God, and ultimately, God is dwelling in our hearts. So Prabhupad writes, "[E]ven if a devotee does not take advantage of [Vaishnava scholar] literatures or of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Kṛṣṇa Himself within his heart." God is the source of all knowledge, all philosophy, all logic, all truth, and lucky us - he dwells right within our own hearts as Paramatma. If the Lord so desires, he can turn on the lamp of truth and illuminate our hearts, which are so shrouded with ignorance.
But what does it take for Paramatma to turn on that lamp?
Prabhupad writes that "The only qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Loving service to Krishna is what illuminates the heart. No amount of studying can flood our hearts with the light of understanding, only loving service. In fact, "it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Truth." I love how Prabhupad emphasizes that man could speculate for millions of years and never know God. After all, the lamp of knowledge destroys ignorance, and what is ignorance?
I once heard ignorance defined as IGNORE-ance. To what degree am I ignoring the truth, ignoring God? The truth and God is right there. Nevertheless, for so many reasons I ignore Him, and this creates so much darkness in my own heart and in the world. The philosopher who is speculating about God for millennia could actually be coldly ignoring God.
If I would just stop ignoring God and turn to Him within my own heart and offer my love and attention, then the light of truth and knowledge can come flooding back. No speculation for millions of years required.
"The pure devotee always has Kṛṣṇa within his heart; and with the presence of Kṛṣṇa, who is just like the sun, the darkness of ignorance is at once dissipated."
Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/10/11/
Saturday, March 28, 2020
25: Window to the Soul
CHAPTER 5, TEXT 18: The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Then with our eyes and with our own soul, let's look into the eyes of those beings who Krishna mentions in this verse (for a dog-eater I put a picture of a criminal, which is a modern equivalent of an outcaste).
Regardless of body, the soul shines forth. Go ahead, look again at the criminal, look past the tattoos and into his eyes - you can see, the soul is there.
To acknowledge the spirit soul that resides within all beings - not only human beings - is the foundation of any true knowledge.
America's founding credo is: "All men are created equal." Krishna is emphasizing, though, that that equality is based upon the equality of the soul, not the body.
So this would include that all men and women are created equal.
All races are created equal.
The eyes.
The eyes have it.
But other living beings also have eyes. Prabhupad writes: "A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes [social standing]." So if we do not make a distinction between species, how about dogs? Dogs are mentioned in this verse as having a soul. Dogs are capable of love and affection, and any dog lover would agree most emphatically with Krishna that yes, dogs have souls.
So any cat lover (my sister included) would make the same proclamation: cats have souls.
So then what about OTHER animals??
To acknowledge the soul within all living beings is revolutionary consciousness.
Prabhupad writes: "The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist." Of course there are material differences between all of the pictured living beings in this post - these pictures offer barely give a glimpse into the diversity of bodies of living beings on this planet. But if we scroll through and really take time to look into their eyes, we can feel something tingle in our mind and our soul, a sense of recognition: a soul is here.
Even in a fish.
On the deepest level, those differences of body become truly become meaningless.
In fact, "The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality." At the core, we are all eternal spirit souls who have a relationship with God and each other. In this sense, our equality "is due to [our] relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart." This means that within the heart of each and every living being - from the President of the United States to the goldfish - God is there, witnessing every action and accompanying us at every moment.
If we can imbibe this "true knowledge" and disregard the social differences and the differences of species, how should we behave towards other living beings?
The first word that comes to me is respect.
For differences of species, maybe I do not give dogs and turtles the right to vote, or make a spider my companion, but if God is within every living being, surely I can offer respect. I can respect the gift of life within every living being and not take it away for my pleasure or convenience. That's a start.
For living beings with social differences, such as human beings, sometimes this is the hardest. I get caught up in the differences - the eye color, the hair color, the face shape, the body shape, the culture, the language, the dress, etc. Compared to how I may sympathize with and respect a sweet dog, it may be almost easier to categorize a human of a different race and culture as "other" and thus "bad" or "inferior" and refuse to offer my respect. So on the basis of recognizing and respecting another's soul and not just their body is the way that a learned transcendentalist behaves.
Ultimately, "the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities." At the core, the Lord is a friend to all. He treats everyone equally, regardless of social standing or species. We are all spirit souls.
True knowledge means to see with this equal vision. I've touched on living beings with eyes in this blog post, but there are billions of living beings that do not have discernible or sympathetic eyes, such as sea sponges and trees. But let's start with eyes. Let's look into the window of another being's soul, let's look into their eyes, and acknowledge that the soul is there, God is there.
True wisdom begins there.
Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 18 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/18/
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Then with our eyes and with our own soul, let's look into the eyes of those beings who Krishna mentions in this verse (for a dog-eater I put a picture of a criminal, which is a modern equivalent of an outcaste).
gentle brahmana
cow
dog
elephant
outcaste
Regardless of body, the soul shines forth. Go ahead, look again at the criminal, look past the tattoos and into his eyes - you can see, the soul is there.
To acknowledge the spirit soul that resides within all beings - not only human beings - is the foundation of any true knowledge.
America's founding credo is: "All men are created equal." Krishna is emphasizing, though, that that equality is based upon the equality of the soul, not the body.
So this would include that all men and women are created equal.
The eyes have it.
But other living beings also have eyes. Prabhupad writes: "A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes [social standing]." So if we do not make a distinction between species, how about dogs? Dogs are mentioned in this verse as having a soul. Dogs are capable of love and affection, and any dog lover would agree most emphatically with Krishna that yes, dogs have souls.
So any cat lover (my sister included) would make the same proclamation: cats have souls.
So then what about OTHER animals??
Prabhupad writes: "The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist." Of course there are material differences between all of the pictured living beings in this post - these pictures offer barely give a glimpse into the diversity of bodies of living beings on this planet. But if we scroll through and really take time to look into their eyes, we can feel something tingle in our mind and our soul, a sense of recognition: a soul is here.
Even in a fish.
On the deepest level, those differences of body become truly become meaningless.
In fact, "The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality." At the core, we are all eternal spirit souls who have a relationship with God and each other. In this sense, our equality "is due to [our] relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart." This means that within the heart of each and every living being - from the President of the United States to the goldfish - God is there, witnessing every action and accompanying us at every moment.
If we can imbibe this "true knowledge" and disregard the social differences and the differences of species, how should we behave towards other living beings?
The first word that comes to me is respect.
For differences of species, maybe I do not give dogs and turtles the right to vote, or make a spider my companion, but if God is within every living being, surely I can offer respect. I can respect the gift of life within every living being and not take it away for my pleasure or convenience. That's a start.
For living beings with social differences, such as human beings, sometimes this is the hardest. I get caught up in the differences - the eye color, the hair color, the face shape, the body shape, the culture, the language, the dress, etc. Compared to how I may sympathize with and respect a sweet dog, it may be almost easier to categorize a human of a different race and culture as "other" and thus "bad" or "inferior" and refuse to offer my respect. So on the basis of recognizing and respecting another's soul and not just their body is the way that a learned transcendentalist behaves.
Ultimately, "the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities." At the core, the Lord is a friend to all. He treats everyone equally, regardless of social standing or species. We are all spirit souls.
True knowledge means to see with this equal vision. I've touched on living beings with eyes in this blog post, but there are billions of living beings that do not have discernible or sympathetic eyes, such as sea sponges and trees. But let's start with eyes. Let's look into the window of another being's soul, let's look into their eyes, and acknowledge that the soul is there, God is there.
True wisdom begins there.
Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 18 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/18/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)