In2-MeC

Preshov, Slovakia
3 July 2004

A "catch-up" photo report . . .
 

Second initiation ceremony in Prague. The new dvijas are (left2right) Omkaranatha and Priyabhakta Prabhus and Mataji Rodasi dd.

Summer vacation traffic was so heavy on the motorway, we couldn't reach Preshov in one day. So we stayed overnight at a sankirtana flat in the town of Martin, Slovakia. Here I give morning Bhagavatam class. The next day (2 July) we reached the ISKCON farm outside of Preshov. Here Sri-Sri Panca-tattva and Sri Laddu Gopal preside.

Life beyond the modes

Prasadam, chanting the holy name and Deity worship nourish a purified state of being, termed vasudeva-sattva, that surpasses the material mode of goodness. Material goodness is uncertain. People equate goodness with morality, but as the modern moral philosopher Francis Scheffler noted, morality "is an aspect of human psychology and social relations, and not a system of propositions"--which just means that people in material consciousness cannot fix morality to a permanent standard. People define moral behavior according to their state of mind and the state of their society--and these states, of course, change with time. Beyond time-defined ethics is the eternal code of yajna or sacrifice, as found for example in the Chandogya Upanisad: puruso vava yajnah, "the entire life of a person is meant to be conducted as a sacrifice for the Supreme. " Lord Krsna warns those who do not follow the Vedic system of sacrifice that their human life is in vain. And those who do, achieve the supreme eternal atmosphere of pure goodness.

A soul situated in vasudeva-sattva is free of the disease of "I" and "mine. " Consequently he is not mystified by speculation about the macro-, meso- and microcosm. He knows all planets in the universe to be the property of Krsna. He knows that the sacrifices of human society are meant to be enjoyed by Krsna alone. He knows Krsna to be the indwelling friend within the heart of every individual. As Krsna confirms in Bhagavad-gita 5. 29, this knowledge delivers the soul from the threefold pangs of material life. As soon as he is freed from the pushings of the three modes, waves of transcendental attraction push the devoted soul towards Krsna.

Clearing consciousness of mental idolatry

Krsna consciousness is consciousness clear of the idolatry of the mind that has interrupted our individual connection to the Supreme Person. In clear consciousness, it is self-evident that the sound of the holy name, the sight of the Deity and the taste of His prasadam are in no way different from the pure spiritual form of God Himself. The proof is that these experiences initiate the flow of rasa within the heart. The ecstasy of rasa intensifies the soul's spiritual personhood, revealing the limitless depth of his intimate loving relationship with the Lord of his heart, Sri Krsna. This is why bhakti, personal devotional service to the Supreme Lord expressed as hearing and chanting His glories, serving His Deity form and accepting prasadam, is the most important item of transcendental knowledge.

But it must be admitted that a neophyte devotee lacks the spirit of selfless devotion seen in the mahatmas. He may operate less under bhakti and more under a mechanical sense of duty. He may serve God out of fear of death or disease. He may be trying to rectify his sins. He may be a victim of material loss or displacement, with no other place to go. He may be after recognition in the society of devotees. He may be arrogant. He may be seeking revenge against someone who offended him. He may be motivated by sexual frustration, antisocial rage or personal loathing. Or, as is often the case, he may find staying in a temple and doing a little service a very relaxed way to live.

A person with such motivations as these obviously has something else on his mind than simple Krsna consciousness: namely, mental idols installed on the altar of "I" and "mine"--the idolatry of material attachment. This checks a neophyte's progress, for as the Bhagavatam explains, one can chant the holy name with genuine feeling only when he is free of such attachment.

This is why the Lord recommends the nineteen other items of knowledge, so that a materially attached person can quickly overcome all difficulties on the path of pure devotion. The first of the nineteen is amanitvam or humility. This is not the false humility of the speculators. The goal of knowledge in the Bhagavad-gita is neither to "humbly" swallow up the material world nor to think myself one with everything. The goal is to become a pure devotee of Krsna. To achieve this, we must first acknowledge that we are His humble servants eternally.

That humility should be demonstrated practically. Thus another item of real knowledge is submission to a pure devotee spiritual master. The genuine spiritual master is no "agent of mystification. " He overturns our mental idols by teaching the items of genuine knowledge, among them nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; cleanliness; steadiness; self- control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth.

All the inconveniences we suffer in this world are due to choices we've made within the field of material activities. By his own example, the spiritual master ushers us into the field of spiritual activities, where we experience the liberation of consciousness from the deadening influence of matter. In the field of spiritual activities, "matter" is revealed to be spirit.

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