SARVA SRI BHAGAVTHAM, CHAITANYA PRABHU AND AUROBINDO INTEGRATED

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYAH-OM NAMO NARAYANA – HARE KRISHNA, HARE RAMA

Srimad Bhagavatham has existed from time immemorial and is the oldest of all ancient texts. Bhagvatham  is a contribution by the legendry Sri Vyasa who was a medium appointed  to spread HIS  teachings. Sri Chaitanya and Sri Aurobindo, in later years have contributed immensely to understanding the relationship between the individual soul and the Supersoul (GOD or Superconsciousness) as contained in the Bhagavatham. Incidentally both the latter two were born in Bengal. Sri  Chaitanya appeared on this earth about 500 years back and Sri Aurobindo appeared about 60 years back. Sri Chaitanya  was also called Sri Krishna Chaitanya by his followers as they  believed  that he was  Lord Krishna himself  who descended on the earth as foretold in the Bhagavatham. Both were well conversant with the contents of the Bhagavatham.

Sri Chaitanya wrote several poems and books in glory of  Lord (Sri Krishna) and helped in discovering  the lost secrets of the Vedas, namely Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga means  devotional service to the Lord and his devotees. It is a method of Lord worship. Bhakti Yoga flourished for some time after him, which  resulted in the establishment of a new order  or Sampradaya called the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. They believed in the Bhakti path propagated by Sri Chaitanya. They also  staunchly  believed in the Guru Shisya Parampara  for learning and spreading the teachings of the Gita and the Bhagavatham and passing the esoteric knowledge from the Guru to the Shisya.  Bhakti Yoga today is largely a marginalized method of worship. In particular Bhakti had ceased to be attractive after the advent of the Industrial Revolution.  Industrial Revolution slowly took  the people away from God to material living. Many succumbed to the attractions of the material aspects of life and took to demi-god worship to seek  short term  material favours.

Later In  about the A.D. 1910s to A.D.1950s, Sri Aurobindo came out with a series of  books explaining the essence of his Integral Yoga and how it will change humans to usher in super  consciousness among humans.  His books were however different and were mainly in the question and answer form. He narrated his actual  experiences during  and after meditation on a regular basis i.e when the soul meets the supersoul. This was done in his talks as well as his writings.  His writings were the result of intense meditation over  prolonged periods. He also laid  emphasis on the devotional aspect as is recommended in the Gita and the Bhagvatham.

Sri Chaitanya’s  and his successors’ writings describe the  intense joy that arose out of   bhakti, dos and donts, etc.  People around Sri Chaitanya  too went ecstatic  with joy when he was around. There was a liberal approach to his Bhakti  in the form of singing and dancing accompanied by the playing  of mridangams and other musical instruments. However there is not a single book of his time or thereafter from the Gaudiya Vaishnava Dhara which narrates  the physical feelings that Sri Chaitanya or his devotees or followers had  when the  soul met the supersoul.  This is despite the fact that he had a huge following and several books had  been written on several other matters. Or is it a case that the experiences have been stored in a secret vault and left hidden but unattended for all these years. If it is so, that  is indeed a very sad loss for posterity.

The saving grace is that  for the benefit of mankind,  materials written by Sri Aurobindo which makes up for the above loss. He  has  written volumes  on Integral Yoga. His Yoga had  more of a regimental approach. Silent meditation  which is in sharp contrast to the loud method of expression of devotion advocated by the Gaudiya Vaishnava Dhara.  Sri Aurobindo  made it a point to convey openly in his conversations with  the people the  physical feelings he had  when his soul met the supersoul. The distinguishing feature of his books are that there are several references to physical  feelings that he had when the Grace from above (Supersoul) descended and merged with his soul.

Sri Chaitanya’s technique of Bhakti was  unique because he experienced and spread amongst the  devotees joy that was literally of a very high voltage or intensity. But how this high voltage  joy impacted or felt on  the body is not known to the world at large and can only be felt if  we understand and practice  Bhakti Yoga or read and understand the Bhagavatham. The following are the basics to understand and to be remembered before reading it :

1.       I (i.e Lord Krishna)  is the only Purusha (man). All else in the Universe are females, individual souls included. Therefore by implication it means  that in the Bhagavatham, Radha or Radhe is a name given to the soul of an individual devotee who is an intense devotee of the Lord.  Gopi  is the name given to those souls (devotees of the Lord) and who are Radha’s friend and they  experience joy because of their association  with the Lord through Radhe. Therefore   Radha  Rani  or Radhe or Gopis are all  devotees. They  can   physically be a man or a woman as we understand  in common parlance.     

2.       We are not a body. We are a soul.

3.     I (Lord) ) created all of this  universe and the inhabitants. All individual souls are a part of ME (Lord) only. Individual souls  can connect to ME through intense Bhakti ( note :  soul and not the physical body is the medium to connect to the supersoul or Lord).

Any deviation  from the above three interpretations will only confuse a reader of the Bhagavatham. Many will also loose out on the spiritual journey if they go adventurous with any of  the interpretations.

When narrating  the Raas Leela, the Bhagavatham also describes the feelings  of a true devoted  soul named  Radha and the Gopis. Both Radha and the Gopis are  deliberately portrayed as females  ( please refer point no. 1 above). The feelings of Radha and Gopis are explicitly contained in the Bhagavatham  which only a devotee of the Lord  will be able to understand and appreciate. But  basics described in point no. 1 to 3 should always be borne in mind.  Further a person who does not know the meaning of  soul should not even attempt to read or hear the Raas Leela. Such a person will  misunderstand the  divine  soul – supersoul relationship.

Sri Chaitanya tried to understand his relationship with the Lord by stepping into  Radha’s place. An intensely devoted person, he found that only love of a very high intensity from Radha  can   attract  the Lord towards her and vice versa.  When Sri Chaitanya discovered the intense love relationship,  he spread it to people with and around him. Afterall an enlightened person is capable of attracting several people towards himself.  Those with and around him went crazy with joy. No wonder he had rediscovered the lost secrets  of the Vedas i.e Bhakti Yoga.

There were also the Alwars (who all wrote poems in the Nayaki or female bhavam)  and Andal,  all saints from South India who,  in intense Bhakti,  wrote poems in glory of Lord Krishna (Supersoul)  which resulted in the creation of the 4,000 Divine Strotras or Divya Prabandams. The Alwars and Andal appeared on earth between the 6 and 9^th century A.D. All of them were enlightened souls and  expressed their joy in a poetic  form. But none appears to have expressed the impact of   joy they felt  on their physical being. Was it again vaulted and forgotten?

After the Alwars, there was a long gap before Sri Chaitanya appeared and rediscovered Bhakti Yoga.  Bhakti movement suffered during the intervening period.

After the Bhagavatham, we therefore  have on record only Sri Aurobindo’s writings. He  wrote explicitly about his physical feelings when the soul connects to God (superior consciousness). This is indeed a divine contribution from this highly elevated soul. These revelations are made in several of his books, but in particular a book  authored by Satprem titled “ Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consiousness.” is worth any number of readings  to get the essence.

There are  works or slokas by others  which pointedly talks of a  superior  joy experienced by a soul when it connects to the supersoul . Notable is the work by  Jayadeva in the 12^th century A.D.  In one of the Sanskrit slokas composed by him, he reveals that he felt the Supersoul  moving on a private and sensitive part in his body. Noises are  made by some after  translating the Sanskrit sloka overlooking the hidden or esoteric meaning in the sloka. This is gross ignorance. All chakra points are high sensitive regions in our body. Our body has not got 6 chakras as made out by many. There are chakra points in every part of the body. The soul permeates every part of our being. Unfortunately people for and against  have drawn wrong meanings from the Sanskrit wordings.  The point to understand is how  the experience  impacts our physical body. There is no meditation, call it Pranayama or Kundalini or Chakra or Japa or Bhakti or by any other name  that does not impact  our mind, body and the soul. Impact varies from person to person depending on the devotion inputed by the person.

This  blog is primarily posted to enable  

1.       Clear the misunderstandings that  people have about Sri Radha Krishna relationship as contained in the Bhagavatham.

2.       People  know how Sri Chaitanya rediscovered  the lost secrets of the Vedas,

3.       People know what Sri Aurobindo  wrote about the after effects on the body when the soul meets the supersoul.  After the Bhagavatam, only Sri Aurobindo’s  recorded experiences are available to  posterity. And  

4.       People know that high voltage joy can be experienced through  high voltage bhakti. 

RADHA ASHTAMI CELEBRATION.

Hare Krishna

23^rd  of September, 2012 this year is celebrated all over the world by Lord Krishna devotees as Radhashtami.  The date need not be the same in future years. On Radhasthami  day devotees fast like they do on any Ekadashi in honour of Sri Radha or Radharani and visit Radha Krishna temples.

Radharani is always picturised with Lord Krishna as his extremely true and ardent lover. In other words,  without Lord Krishna, Radharani has no identity of her own. Her importance gains only because of her association with Lord Krishna.  Radharani is HIS eternal lover.

This relationship can be better explained by understanding Radha Rani as representative of an individual  soul that craves the re-association and continued association of the Super Soul  i.e Lord Krishna. No  physical  relationship in the material sense is intended here or elsewhere. We have to be clear that we are a soul and not a body. And therefore it is only a relationship between a minute  soul and an unimaginably  huge Super Soul.  Individual souls are represented by the female form of Radharani. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Soul and assumes  the  male form.

Lord  Krishna  says that we (our souls) are a minute  part of  him. Having been separated from HIM, our soul needs to connect with HIM as often and as continuously and intensely as it can. However what we see  in the  material world  is that  our soul gets  superceded and superimposed by our material body and senses. Our soul gets  overwhelmed  by the material desires and gradually we  forget the soul within which leads  to a   wider disconnect with God.

On this  day  prayers  are held across temples to fulfill the desire of the soul (Sri Radharani) to connect to its long lost owner and lover Lord   Krishna. People sing bhajans in glory of Lord Krishna and dance to the beating of cymbals and mridangam. A joyous atmosphere prevails. If and when an individual soul connects to God there is infinite joy and ecstacy. The ecstacy grips   every one in the congregation and these are electrifying moments. Once this desire of connecting to God gets fulfilled, there is a craving for the  joy and connection to continue till eternity.  Therefore this day is observed to signify the hidden Radharani in all of us. Our  soul has no relevance in the absence of its  connection to the Supreme Soul.

The festival underlines the statement that humans alone have the sense and ability to connect  their soul to the Supreme Soul. This is the effect of only Bhakti or intense passion inherent in all of us and waiting to reveal itself. So says the Holy scriptures.

From this day onwards, reading of the Holy Srimad Bhagavatham by all devotees commences to be completed within seven days. People who have the Holy book, which is Lord Krishna himself, make it a point to complete reading and understanding it within seven days. Their prayer is to enable them to connect to  Lord Krishna.

Wishing readers a happy Radhashtami and Happy Bhagavat Sapthah. And happy connection with the Lord.

Hare Krishna

TERRORISM AND RELIGION

On the one side people are losing belief in religion and on the other side religious fanatism is gaining ground. Both of them are extreme behaviors.  The poor and the illiterate have always looked upon religion and places of worship to cry their hearts out. This helps them  take a softer view of their  problems. The illliterates  constitute a majority of those who regularly visit places of worship and listen to preachings regularly.  

Some of the poor  turn  fanatics after they are brainwashed into taking weapons or resorting to subversive ways. The quality of such a crowd is more of brawn and less of brain.

It is generally seen that with increasing literacy, people acquire purchasing power and in the process many have become atheists. They condemn all religious practices or take a liberal view of all religions. They claim to be secular.

However there are  some  literate people who  have shown a liking to religion.  The religious propagandists or fanatics   wait  to grab them. These literate people are show cased by the religious fanatics  to attract huge crowds to their congregation. It becomes easier to communicate,  preach and convince if you have in your pack a speaker who is  a scientist or a  doctor, or an engineer or a Management graduate.  If these people are brainwashed to resort to violent means , violence  acquires a new meaning . Many computer wizards, doctors, engineers, etc.,  have fallen into the hands of the terrorists after being brainwashed.  Terrorism and fanaticism takes a new meaning as these literates help  by providing  sophisticated and devastating techniques  to attain goals.

The emerging scenario of educated people resorting to violent methods in the name of religion is acquiring new proportions  and  educated people should take care to ensure that their moderate views are not polluted by  extreme views.

While parents have a duty to educate their children to lead  a successful life, they also owe a duty by tracking their  children’s movements and  ensure  their children  are exposed to  moderate and tolerant views on religion. These days many parents are  weeping in disbelief after finding that their hard earned or borrowed money has  gone down the drain. It hurts  a parent  to see their  child getting educated and falling into  the lap of a  fanatic or a terrorist.   “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”.  

HINDU GOD IS UNBELIEVABLE – SAY YOUNGSTERS

The statement that Hindu God  is unbelievable was and is made by many people, particularly youngsters. I also said the same once upon a time, until years of pondering made me realize otherwise. I often asked :

What made foreigners from all over the world  come to India and  seek spiritual knowledge? Whereas many Indians were slowly losing belief in God.   

What made people like Swami Prabhupada  attract so many foreigners (in the 1960s and  1970s) into the movement called the Krishna Consciousness movement (ISKCON)?  And he could construct 108 temples all over the world in a little less than ten years. All for the global population interested in spirituality. And even today the movement continues unabated without a pause.  

I  chanced  to meet a very learned person associated with ISKCON who said that in the West, unlike in India, people then and now do not know what it means to know GOD and connect to him. They are totally in the dark about religion and understood spirituality as something associated with the mind. When their eyes were opened, and convinced, they readily followed Krishna Conscious movement and the teachings with all good and serious intentions. It was easy for them as the foreigners  were not obsessed with their religion in particular.  

Then why are young   Indians  turning away from their  beliefs and God when Indian knowledge is so well absorbed by the people from abroad.

India is  the land of spirituality, which was and is looked at with awe by the people and visitors from abroad. They are amazed with so many paths to reach God. So many Yogas. So many practices – like Mantras, Tantras , Yantras, etc. So many Gods to worship. However this plentiful is largely misunderstood by its own people.

As a child, when I went out with my friends, I found all following their own path and as a community of students we all felt confused. Elders and teachers found it difficult to explain why this diversity existed  when there is only ONE  GOD. It was confusion confounded. Too many paths, with too many explanations would confuse the most intelligent. This plentiful of everything relating to knowledge about GOD has led to many Gurus also preaching their philosophy by running  down and insulting other philosophies and groups. Everyone of them said and say  that their teachings and path to  God is the truth and all others are bogus. Too many philosophies , Gurus, etc has led to a confused  younger generation  to the point of their losing faith and belief in GOD. They therefore feel that Hindu God is unbelievable.

We say that Charity begins at home. Is it not the responsibility of parents and teachers to educate children about the reality. The religious teachers should be more tolerant and stop critisising other practices and paths. If this  negative teaching is not substituted by positive teaching, the same religious teachers would be abandoned  without students and followers in the near future.