Nishkami

By Krishna's Mercy

Posts from the month of October in 2012

 

"A living entity, by his constitutional position, cannot be void of all desires (the bhukti-kami, mukti-kami and siddhi-kami all desire something for personal satisfaction), but the nishkami devotees of the Lord desire everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. They are completely dependent on the orders of the Lord and are always ready to discharge their duty for the satisfaction of the Lord." (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.4.19 Purport)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Krishna's Mercy
• Release date: Dec 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223132790

Book preview

Krishna's Mercy

––––––––

Nishkami

Daily articles from October 2012

Copyright Krishna’s Mercy 2023

www.krishnasmercy.com

Contents

Teaching from Experience

Research Scholars

Looking In All The Wrong Places

Brought To You By

Divine Unity

Staying Afloat

A Science to Tweak

Nishkami

Living In Separation

The Highest Compliment

When To Approach God

Staying With Him

Tears of Kindness

Grown Men Can Cry

Insurmountable Destiny

Chain of Respectability

Destroyer of Family Traditions

Praised By Parrots

Colorfully Decorated

Something New

Always Something To Look At

The Greatest Gain

Dussehra 2012

When The Night Has Fallen

Shooting Daggers

Complementary Objects

A Good Deed

Sukriti

King’s Oath

Strange Are His Ways

I Will Write You a Song

Teaching from Experience

Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada, Lord Shiva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahuti], Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Shukadeva Gosvami and I myself know the real religious principle. (Yamaraja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 6.3.20)

Since we experience so many different things in our journey through life, from our thinking abilities we craft theories on how to succeed going forward. For unmarried men, the ideas relate to how to interact with women, i.e. potential girlfriends and wives. When to call them and when not to and when to be nice and when to be mean are some of the issues addressed. Single women trying to land the perfect guy play the same game. In business, the theories relate to succeeding in the goal of earning a profit. Those who consider themselves successful in these areas often write books about their experiences, wanting to share their wisdom with others. In the realm of spirituality, there are twelve figures deemed authorities in the practice of bhakti-yoga, or divine love. They have shared their experiences through written word and verbal instruction, and interestingly enough they did not start from nothing.

What do we mean by this? If you succeed in creating a profitable business, you likely didn’t know anything about the business world at the outset. You kind of had to learn the ropes on your own. If others did give you advice, it wasn’t entirely applicable. You had to take bits and pieces and then assemble the complete theory on your own. The same holds true in other ventures as well. If the successful were all-knowing from the beginning, they wouldn’t feel the need to share their thoughts later on in life. They want to share their wisdom because they think it will help others and that such information is not known to everyone.

With respect to spiritual life, the proper roadmap existed at the beginning of time. It doesn’t need to be created, as it comes from the chaitya-guru, the spiritual master in the heart. Within every living being there are two life forces. There is the individual soul and the Supersoul. The individual is the perceived enjoyer; he chooses in which direction to go. The Supersoul is like the driver, acting on the decisions made and then distributing the results fairly, but at the same time not taking sides. If the individual wants to place their hand into a fire, the Supersoul knows that it is a bad move, but He doesn’t interfere with the decision. The reaction of a burned hand is ultimately caused by the Supersoul, for He is the one who created the material elements and their properties.

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

The turn towards the proper path of spiritual life takes place when the individual listens to the Supersoul. Not surprisingly, the Supersoul is the person most of us refer to as God. He is not an old and angry man, and He isn’t looking to specifically punish anyone. If someone plays the game of American football and then gets seriously injured in a collision while playing, is it the fault of the game? Is the football to blame for the injury? The individual made the choice to play, and with that choice there was knowledge of every possible outcome going in.

In special circumstances, one can take instruction directly from the Supersoul within the heart. This occurred with Lord Brahma, who is the original creator. Every creature in this universe can trace their ancestry back to Brahma. He was put in charge of populating the creation. He didn’t know what to do at first, so he meditated upon the Supersoul within the heart and received the proper direction. He pleased the Supreme Lord Vishnu in this way. We thus know that Brahma didn’t chart out his own course, though at first there was no one else around to tell him otherwise. He followed the original spiritual instruction of devotion to God, and he found a favorable situation as a result. Afterwards, Brahma went through so many experiences and continues to do so right now, as his duration of life is inconceivably long. His experiences are noted down in the Vedic literatures, and any person can consult them and take away valuable lessons on life.

Narada Muni is another authority on bhakti-yoga. He is Brahma’s son, and he travels the different worlds chanting the glories of Narayana, which is another name for Vishnu. Again, Narada did not chart out his own course, but through executing bhakti-yoga, he gathered so many valuable experiences that are shared with others for their benefit. He is the spiritual master of some of the most notable saints in history, including Valmiki Muni and Vyasadeva.

Lord Shiva is the destroyer. He is the worshipable figure for those in ignorance, who don’t know the difference between matter and spirit and how the aim of life is to be God conscious at the time of death. Lord Shiva prefers to only meditate on the lotus feet of God, but he carries out his other duties at the behest of the Supreme Lord. Lord Shiva has had many experiences to share, including one incident with Narada Muni, where he warned the saint not to be too puffed up from his mastery over the senses. Narada didn’t listen to Shiva at the time, and as a result he had to face the heartbreak of losing the association of a woman he fancied. Lord Shiva does not chalk out his own path, but one can follow his example of dedication to chanting the holy names.

In a similar manner, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila, Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, King Janaka, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Shukadeva Gosvami and Yamaraja all followed devotional service, and in their unique circumstances they implemented them in specific ways. Rather than try to speculate as to the meaning of life or develop our own theories based on ignorance of the laws of the spiritual science, we can consult the life and teachings of these notable figures, who are saints in the true sense of the word.

In Closing:

If myself only of God I think,

Into ignorance’s pit I’ll sink.

The entire creation I can never know,

For time and space are infinite so.

Look at the notable figures of the past,

Took up devotion to God as primary task.

Of Supreme Lord’s glories was their talk,

But never their own path did they chalk.

Research Scholars

The research scholar finds out the cause and the effect of everything, but research scholars as great as Brahma, Shiva, Indra and many other demigods are sometimes bewildered by seeing the wonderful creative energy of the Lord, so what to speak of the tiny mundane scholars dealing in petty things. (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.4.6 Purport)

Proper research involves investigating the cause and effect of the issue at hand. For the journalist, the research relates to a specific news story. Whether it is a murder, accident, or issue of politics, the investigator takes the facts into account and then figures out what happened to cause the result. Research is especially prominent in science because so much is unknown. Through years and years of research, new facts are discovered which will hopefully lead to even newer discoveries in the future. Yet from the Vedas we learn that exalted personalities, whose abilities are beyond belief, are unable to fully understand the complexities of the universe; a fact which should automatically lead to a higher realization.

Who are the personalities we speak of? For the material creation, there are three presiding deities. There is the creator, the maintainer, and the destroyer. Brahma is the creator. Known as chatur-mukha because of his four heads, Lord Brahma takes birth from the stem growing from the lotus-like navel of Lord Vishnu, who is considered the original Supreme Lord. There are actually several different Vishnus descending from the Personality of Godhead, but for all intents and purposes Vishnu is equivalent with God.

Brahma then takes charge of populating the material creation, thus making him the Creator. His title is a little deceiving. Brahma is the father, but the actual source of identity within the created creatures cannot be traced to him. In addition, it is learned in the Bhagavad-gita that Krishna is the seed-giving father. He impregnates the material energy, the mahat-tattva, with jiva souls who are desirous of living in a temporary land. Brahma is a figure who appears to be doing the creating, but the energies and the process of growth already exist beforehand, operating under rules established by Krishna, who is the same original Vishnu.

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father. (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.4)

Lord Shiva appears from Lord Brahma’s forehead, but he is not a conditioned living entity. At the time of annihilation, Lord Shiva remains in his abode, as does Lord Vishnu. While the creation is manifest, Shiva’s role is to destroy when the time is right. So Vishnu takes the role of the maintainer, Brahma the creator, and Shiva the destroyer.

Brahma and Shiva are devotees of Vishnu. They have tremendous powers assigned to them as a result of their status. Brahma can live for thousands of years, and Lord Shiva can focus his mind on the lotus feet of Vishnu without cessation. Both personalities can grant material benedictions to those who please them, though they don’t require such benedictions for themselves. Both Brahma and Shiva are also authorities on bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Each has started a chain of disciplic succession, or parampara, which teaches bhakti-yoga to those who are willing to learn in the required attitude of humbleness.

The point of bringing up Brahma and Shiva is to show that no one can compare to them in stature and ability, especially not us mortal living beings. We assign fame based on greatness in a particular field. Someone who is great in terms of wealth is given more attention than someone who is poor. Someone who is famous for their beauty is remembered more than someone who is not so beautiful. Yet in terms of real greatness, no one can compare to Brahma, who lives for billions of years. And who can destroy on the level of Shiva, who is able to wipe out the entire creation?

These two figures conduct their own research, as they are autonomous living beings beaming with curiosity. "How