From "Krishna Consciousness the Topmost Yoga System"
Chapter Nine
The Real Peace Formula
by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad
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Every living entity is searching
after peace. That is the struggle for existence. Everyone, from the aquatics
to the highest form of human being—from the ant up to Brahmä, the
first creature of this universe—is searching for peace. That is the main
objective. Lord Caitanya said that a person who is in full Kåñëa
consciousness is the only peaceful man because he has no demands. That
is the special qualification of a person who is in Kåñëa
consciousness. He is akämaù. Akämaù refers to those
who have no desire, who are self-sufficient, who have nothing to ask and
who are fully peaceful. Who are they? They are the devotees who are situated
in Kåñëa consciousness.
All others fall into three classes.
One class is bhukti, those who are hankering after material happiness and
enjoyment. These people want to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. There are
different modes of enjoyment according to the body. People are searching
after sense enjoyment on this planet, on other planets, here, there and
everywhere. Their main object is to gratify the senses. That is called
bhukti. The next class is those people who are fatigued or frustrated in
sense gratification and therefore want liberation from this material entanglement.
And then there are those who, in search of knowledge, speculate about what
the Absolute Truth is. Thus there are some who want sense enjoyment, and
others, the salvationists, who are seeking liberation. The salvationists
also have some desire, the desire to be free from this material entanglement.
Then there are those who are yogés; they are searching after mystic
perfection. There are eight kinds of mystic perfection which grant the
ability to become the smallest, to become the heaviest, or to get whatever
one desires. Ordinary persons who are after sense gratification and those
who are salvationists or who are after mystic perfection all have some
demand. But what about the devotees? They have no demands. Because they
simply want to serve Kåñëa, they are waiting for the
order of Kåñëa, and that is their satisfaction. If Kåñëa
wants the devotees to go to hell, they are prepared to go to hell. And
if Kåñëa says, “You come to Me,” they are prepared to
go. They have no demands. This is the perfectional stage.
There is a very nice verse in
which a devotee prays: “I shall simply be conscious of You, my dear Lord,
Kåñëa conscious, free from all mental demands.” Actually,
because we are in material bondage, we have many demands. Some people want
sense gratification, those who are a little more elevated want mental satisfaction,
and those who are still more refined want to show some magic jugglery of
power in this world. They are all in material bondage in different capacities.
Therefore, a person who is Kåñëa conscious prays to the
Lord: “My dear Lord, when shall I be fully absorbed in Your thoughts or
Your service?” “Your thoughts” are not simply abstract, concocted speculation;
it is a practical mode of thought. “I shall become peaceful.” All mental
concoction—I want this, I want that—will be completely eradicated.
We are hovering over the mental
plane. We have given power of attorney to the mind, and the mind is driving
us—“Come here, go there.” One has to stop such nonsense. “I shall simply
be Your eternal servitor. And I shall be very cheerful, for I have my master.”
All others who are not in Kåñëa consciousness are guideless.
They are their own guides. The person who is Kåñëa conscious
has the supreme guide; therefore, he has no fear. For example, as long
as a child is under the care of his parents he has no fear. But as soon
as he becomes free, he finds many impediments. This is a crude example,
but similarly, when one becomes completely free from all mental concoction
and engages one hundred percent in Kåñëa consciousness
twenty-four hours a day, he will be peaceful at once. That is peace.
Therefore, Caitanya Mahäprabhu
says that those who are Kåñëa conscious, because they
have no demands, are actually peaceful. Those who are after sense enjoyment,
salvation and yogic mystic perfection are always full of anxiety. As long
as one is full of anxiety, one should know that he is still under the grip
of material nature. And as soon as one is free from all anxiety, one should
know that he is liberated. This fearful anxiety exists because we do not
know Kåñëa, the Supreme Lord, the supreme controller.
Instead, we have other conceptions, and therefore we are always anxious.
There are many examples, such
as Prahläda Mahäräja. He was only five years old, a pet
child, but because he was a devotee of the Lord, his father became his
enemy. This is the way of the world. As soon as one becomes a devotee of
the Lord he finds so many obstacles. But those obstacles will not hinder
one or be impediments on the path. We should always be personally prepared
to become Kåñëa conscious. Otherwise, there is only the
kingdom of mäyä, illusion. Mäyä will try to defeat
us as soon as she sees, “Oh, here is a living soul going out of my grip.”
As soon as one becomes Kåñëa conscious and fully surrenders
unto the Supreme Lord, he has nothing more to fear from this illusion.
The Kåñëa conscious person is the perfectly peaceful
person.
Everyone wants peace in the world.
The peace marchers do not know how to obtain peace, but they want peace.
I read a speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury in which he said, “You
want the kingdom of God without God.” This is our defect. If you want peace
at all, then accept that peace means to understand God. That is stated
in the Bhagavad-gétä. Unless you are in touch with the Supreme
Lord, Kåñëa, you cannot have peace. Therefore, we have
a different peace formula. The real peace formula is that one must know
that God is the proprietor of all this universe, including the United States
of America. He is the proprietor of Russia, He is the proprietor of China,
He is the proprietor of India, of everything. But because we claim that
we are the proprietors, there is fighting, there is discord, there is disagreement,
and how can there be peace?
First of all, one has to accept
that God is the proprietor of everything. We are simply guests for fifty
or a hundred years. We come and go, and while one is here, he is absorbed
in this thought: “This is my land. This is my family. This is my body.
This is my property.” And when there is an order from the Supreme for one
to leave his home, his property, his body, his family, his money and his
bank balance and it is all gone, one has to take another place. We are
under the grip of material nature, and she is offering different kinds
of bodies: “Now, my dear sir, you accept this body.” We accept an American
body, an Indian body, a Chinese body, a cat’s body or a dog’s body. I am
not the Proprietor even of this body, yet I say that I am this body. Actually,
this is ignorance. And how can one have peace? Peace can be had when one
understands that God is the proprietor of everything. One’s friends, one’s
mother, one’s mother’s father and the President are all guests of time.
When this knowledge is accepted, then there will be peace.
We are searching for a friend
to give us peace and tranquillity. That friend is Kåñëa,
God. Just make friendship with Him; you’ll find everyone to be your friend.
Because God is situated in everyone’s heart, if you make friendship with
God, He will dictate from within so that you will also be treated in a
friendly way. If you make friendship with the police commissioner, you
receive some advantage. H you make friendship with President Nixon, everyone
will be your friend because everyone is under the President. If you want
something from any officer, simply call President Nixon, and he will say,
“All right, look after this man.” Everything is taken care of. Just try
to have friendship with God, and everyone will be your friend. If all people
understand this very nice fact, that God is everyone’s friend and that
He is the supreme proprietor, they will become peaceful. That is explained
also by Lord Caitanya.
In Bhagavad-gétä,
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Caitanya-caritämåta, or
any Vedic literature or any other literature in any other religion, the
same fact is presented: God is the proprietor. God is the only friend.
If you understand this, then you’ll have peace. This is the peace formula.
As soon as you encroach on God’s Property, calling it your own, material
nature, the police action, will be there: “You are not the proprietor.”
You can simply have what is allotted to you by God.
Your business is to elevate yourself
to perfect Kåñëa consciousness and nothing more. If you
deviate from this law, if you don’t accept this principle, if you want
to enjoy more, then you have to suffer more. There is no question of forgetting.
Therefore, Lord Caitanya says, “One who is Kåñëa conscious
has no demands. Thus he is at peace.”
Those in Kåñëa
consciousness do not know anything more than Kåñëa. Actually
only those who are Kåñëa conscious are peaceful, unafraid
of anything. They are neither in heaven nor in hell nor anywhere but with
Kåñëa, so for them everything is Vaikuëöha,
without fear. Similarly, Lord Kåñëa as Paramätmä,
Supersoul, lives everywhere. He lives in the heart of a hog also. The hog
eats stool, but that does not mean that because the Supreme Lord is in
the heart of the hog, He is also subjected to such punishment. The Lord
and His devotees are always transcendental to the modes of material nature.
Persons who are completely Kåñëa conscious are very rare
and very peaceful. Out of millions and millions of people, it is very difficult
to find one who is actually Kåñëa conscious; this position
of Kåñëa consciousness is so rare. But Kåñëa
Himself, as Lord Caitanya, seeing the pitiable condition of the present
day, is directly giving free love of Godhead.
Yet because love of God is being
given freely and so easily, people do not care for it. My spiritual master
used to say that if you take a langera mango, which is a first-class, topmost
quality mango in India, very costly, very sweet and very tasteful, and
go from door to door and try to distribute it freely, people will doubt:
“Why has this man brought this langera mango? Why is he trying to distribute
it freely? There must be some motive behind it.” Similarly, Lord Caitanya
distributed this Kåñëa consciousness langera mango very
cheaply, but people are so foolish that they think, “Oh, they are simply
chanting Hare Kåñëa; what is there to it? This is meant
for the foolish, who cannot speculate and do not have any higher standard
of knowledge.” But that is not so. It is said: “Out of millions and millions
of people, only a few are interested in Kåñëa consciousness.”
Do not neglect this information; it is very rare, and if you practice Kåñëa
consciousness, your life will be successful. Your mission in human life
will be fulfilled. This seed of Kåñëa consciousness is
very rare and very valuable. Lord Caitanya said that innumerable living
entities are wandering and transmigrating in the 8,400,000 species of life,
one after another. Out of so many, one may come who is fortunate, who has
spiritual fortune.
Sometimes devotees of the Lord
go from door to door. Their policy is to go as beggars. So in India, beggars,
especially sannyäsés, are very much respected. If a sannyäsé
comes to a house to beg, he is very well received: “Swaméjé,
what can I do for you?” The devotee beggar won’t ask for anything, but
whatever one can give, even one capäté, makes one spiritually
rich. That man who offers a capäté to a pure devotee who comes
to his door is made spiritually rich. When one is advanced in spiritual
wealth, he offers a good reception to devotees as far as possible. According
to the Vedic system, even if your enemy comes to your house, you have to
receive him in such a way that you will forget that he is your enemy. That
is the general system for receiving a pure devotee who has sacrificed everything
for the Lord.
These are instructions for householders.
The householder should come out of his home during noontime and call out
for anyone who is hungry to please come and take the food. Only if no one
comes in answer to his call can the chief of the household take his meals.
There are so many rules and regulations just to train a man to become godly.
They are not superstitious or superfluous. The human being should be trained
to be godly. Because he is part and parcel of God, he is given the chance
to be trained. This training is given because some day or other the person
may be Kåñëa conscious.
If by chance during this training
he meets a teacher who is a saintly person and a pure devotee of the Lord,
then by such a contact he becomes pure. Therefore, Lord Caitanya said that
the fortunate person who has had some spiritual asset in his past dealings
will seek the association of a pure devotee. The seed of Kåñëa
consciousness is received by the mercy of guru, the spiritual master, and
by the mercy of Kåñëa. When the spiritual master and
Lord Kåñëa will that a person must have Kåñëa
consciousness, then the seed very nicely fructifies. That spiritual asset
makes one fortunate, and thus he becomes spiritually enlivened, and then
he meets a bona fide spiritual master, and, by the grace of the spiritual
master, he can receive the seed of Kåñëa consciousness.
That is his inner urge: “Where can I get this association? Where can I
get this awareness?”
This process is recommended;
it is the general process of spiritual advancement. Kåñëa
is within you, and as soon as Kåñëa sees that you are
very sincere, that you are seeking, He sends a bona fide spiritual master.
This combination of Kåñëa and the spiritual master is
the cause of one’s receiving the seed of Kåñëa consciousness.
The seed is there. If you have a very nice seed of a rose bush, what is
your duty? If you have a seed of any nice plant, it is your duty not to
lock it up in the safety vault of a bank. Your duty is to sow it in the
ground. Where should you sow that seed? If you have information of Kåñëa
consciousness, you just sow it in your heart. Not in this earth, but in
the earth within yourself. And after sowing a seed you have to pour a little
water on it, so that water is hearing and chanting. Once the seed is sown
in the heart, just pour on a little water, and it will grow.
This process should not be stopped
by the thought that because one is initiated there is no need of hearing
and chanting. It should go on continuously. If you stop pouring water on
a plant, it will dry up, it will not produce any fruit. Similarly, even
if you are highly elevated in Kåñëa consciousness, you
cannot stop this process of hearing and chanting because mäyä
is so strong, so powerful, that as soon as she sees, “Ah, here is an opportunity,”
at once you will dry up. By the process of pouring water, that plant of
Kåñëa consciousness grows. How does it grow? There is
a limit to every plant you see; it grows and grows and grows, but there
is a limit where it stops growing. But the plant of Kåñëa
consciousness grows in such a way that it does not rest in any part of
this material universe because a Kåñëa conscious person
is not satisfied with planetary facilities in any part of this material
universe. Even if you offer him Siddhaloka, where the inhabitants are so
powerful and elevated that they can fly in the sky without airplanes, he
will not be satisfied.
There is a planet, Siddhaloka,
according to Çrémad-Bhägavatam, where the inhabitants
do not need airplanes or spacecraft to fly from one planet to another.
Above Siddhaloka there are many other planets. I saw that the latest modern
opinion is that every star is a sun, and there are different planetary
systems, solar systems; but according to Vedic literature there are innumerable
universes which are separate identities. The limit of this universe is
the outermost sky. The modern scientist says that each and every star is
a sun. But Vedic literature does not say that. Vedic literature informs
us that there is only one sun in each universe, but there are innumerable
universes, and thus there are innumerable suns and moons. The highest planet
of this universe is called Brahmaloka. And Lord Kåñëa
says, “Even if you approach the highest planet, you have to come back again.”
Sputniks and astronauts are going very high, and here on earth people are
clapping; but after just a brief time they come down again. However one
may clap, he cannot do more than that. Similarly, those who are materialistic
can go high up to Brahmaloka where Brahmä is, but those who are Kåñëa
conscious will reject even that. They neglect even the impersonal brahmajyoti.
They don’t care for it.
The covering of this universe
is far, far greater than this space which we are now in. The outside of
the universe is ten times the space within, so one has to penetrate that
covering, and then reach Virajä, the Causal Ocean. The Buddhist philosophical
perfection is to reach that Virajä. When this material existence is
completely finished, it is called virajä, according to Vedic language.
But the Kåñëa conscious person not only penetrates the
covering of this universe, but after he reaches that Causal Ocean, which
is the neutral position, he continues. The plant grows so nicely from Brahmaloka
to Virajä to the spiritual sky, and even when that plant reaches the
spiritual sky, it is not satisfied with any Vaikuëöha planet.
The highest planet in the spiritual
sky is Kåñëaloka. It is just like a lotus flower, where
Kåñëa is standing. And there, when the plant finds Kåñëa’s
lotus feet, it rests. Just as a creeper grows and grows and grows and at
last attaches itself to something and then expands, when the devotional
plant gets to the lotus feet of Kåñëa, it expands. As
soon as this Kåñëa consciousness creeper captures Kåñëa’s
lotus feet, it takes shelter. “There. Now I have finished my journey. Let
me expand here.” To expand means to enjoy Kåñëa’s association.
There the devotees are satisfied.
That creeper has to go on, and
thus those who are already in Kåñëa consciousness, if
they have their natural growth, relish the fruit of that creeper even in
this life.
If you continue this chanting
and hearing process, you will grow and grow and actually reach Kåñëa’s
lotus feet and there relish His association.
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad. From "Krishna Consciousness
the Topmost Yoga System" - The Real Peace Formula - chapter Nine.
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