If you would like to attain spiritual perfection, you need to start off by learning how to hear transcendental knowledge submissively. In other words if you don't understand the Vedic wisdom, do not assume that it is wrong. Understand that your understanding is imperfect and incomplete and that you need to be enlightened by one who is already enlightened.

From whom are we to hear? We must hear from the bona fide spiritual master. Others are not qualified to properly present the Vedic wisdom. Just because someone is a famous sannyasi or guru does not necessarily mean that he is a bona fide spiritual authority. In fact, most of the famous big name gurus nowadays are not actually bona fide. Before submitting ourselves for training we must see if the spiritual master is presenting the authorized message, which has been carefully handed down from the great mahajanas, the authorities of Vedic wisdom.

For example, recently a well-known sannyasi-guru who has written what he calls "The Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism" was found guilty of 20 counts of indecency with a child. After being sentenced to 14 years in prison, instead of proclaiming his innocence and appealing the verdict, he went into hiding to avoid serving his sentence. It is not surprising that he has failed to get a higher taste from the process of bhakti, of which he professes to be an authority. A cursory examination of his writing reveals that he is presenting so many points which are not in accord with the Vedic conclusion. Even the very name of his encyclopedia reveals its inauthenticity. The term "Hindu" was coined by the Muslims. It does not exist anywhere in the Vedas. Therefore "Hinduism" is not an authentic term for describing the teachings of the Vedic scriptures.

So we have to be very careful to hear from someone who is following and presenting the Vedic conclusion exactly as the great Vedic authorities have done.  Then by such hearing we will become spiritually enlightened and attain the supreme perfection of pure Krishna bhakti.


Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Vishnupriya Mataji Tells
How Syamakunda Appeared

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Hearing the Glories of Syamakunda

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Syamakunda, Krishna's Personal Bathing Ghat

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Question: All You Need is Love

Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I have heard this advice that instead of loving another person on earth, like husband, mother, friend, etc, we should address our loving feelings to Krishna. But how? How to love someone, that we cannot see? And why should the love we feel towards other person be taken as a false feeling?

Why, if we all are spirit souls, and can love each others' spiritual forms, why gay-love is so forbidden in most of the religions? Maybe the same souls were a married couple in previous life. I ask this question, because someone might ask it from me.

Most of the people are not that spiritual, that they could just love God, and never miss being close to another person. I understand, dear and most respected Gurudeva, that you particularly are on a high level of spirituality, but I think that most of the people cannot be fully satisfied from the love of God. Please clarify my understanding.

Your eternal servant,

S.S.
 

Answer: The Perfection of Love

Even in this world someone may love someone they don't see. For example, a young girl may fall in love with a movie star that she has never physically seen. She has only seen him in movies. She may collect pictures of him to adorn her room, read articles about him in movie star magazines, and write him love letters as fan mail. Even though she has never actually seen him, she is madly in love with him. So if such a thing is possible in material life, how much more possible it is in spiritual life? Rukmini devi, the first wife of Krishna had never seen Krishna. But just by hearing about Him she fell madly in love with Him and sent a Him letter offering herself as His bride. Krishna reciprocated with her love and rescued her from being married to the rascal Sisupala.

So one can hear about Krishna, see pictures of Krishna, take the prasadam of Krishna, meet the devotees of Krishna, hear the kirtan offered to Krishna, visit the places of Krishna's pastimes--and in this way become completely in love with Krishna 24 hours daily. This is called Krishna consciousness.

The love in this material world is real. But because it is covered love, sometimes we say that it is false. It is covered because instead of loving the eternal spiritual being who resides within the body, we become attracted to the external covering. It is something like loving someone for the clothes they wear instead of for the person that they are. If a boy is simply attracted to a girl's body, he will utilize her for his personal sense gratification. But if he is instead attracted to her spiritual identity, he will serve her by helping her to awaken her dormant Krishna consciousness. This principle is the basis of Krishna conscious married life.

We devotees are certainly meant to have loving feelings for each other. This is why Srila Rupa Goswami has described the six types of love exchanged between devotees in his classic text, the Nectar of Instruction. For example, the spiritual master loves his disciples just like a father loves his sons and daughters. And the disciples love their spiritual master as their spiritual father. Similarly, between fellow devotees also, godbrothers and godsisters, there are the six types of loving exchanges.

Since the human life is meant for achieving spiritual emancipation, we are meant to transcend carnal attraction (lust) and come the platform of pure spiritual love. This is why we have prohibitions against illicit heterosex, homosex, and monosex (masturbation). In other words, because these three types of sex bring us off the spiritual platform down to the bodily plane, they are meant to be avoided. We instead encourage everyone to dive deeply into the sweet nectarean ocean of loving relationships with devotees because this will bring us quickly to the platform of transcendental happiness. Krishna confirms the importance of this in the Adi Purana wherein he states that unless we love His devotees we don't really love Him.

Because in the beginning it is difficult for us to love a God whom we cannot yet see, the Lord kindly manifests Himself in the form of the spiritual master and the devotees so we can learn how to love Him through loving the spiritual master and the devotees.  He is also present for us visibly in the form the deity and audibly in the form of the kirtan so we feel our connection with Him immediately.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari
 

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