Tasting the Sweetest Water

This material existence is a vast desert because the actual water we require, namely a loving relationship with the Supreme Person Who is the very source of our existence, is very difficult to find here. Instead of our clearly perceiving the desert-like nature of this abode we are bewildered by Mayadevi's incredibly sophisticated mirage which deludes us into thinking that this material existence is the all-in-all and can thus satisfy all of our desires. If we want the actual water, we must take care not to enticed by the mirage into running after a life of material sense gratification. We must take information from the acharyas, the great fully realized saintly teachers who give us precise instructions how to find the oasis in which we can unlimitedly taste the sweetest, purest water of love of Godhead and eternally relish an eternal existence, full of bliss and full of knowledge.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Formlessness...

It is generally believed that as one progresses (with continuous blessings and guidance of a bona fide guru) in the self realization path from the Deity form of worship, towards non-form worship (meditation) and ultimately to a state devoid of any sound and form that is a subconscious form of worship. What is your opinion on this school of thought?

Srimathy Surya Prabha Murthy
Tiruchy -14, Tamilnadu , India

Answer: Supreme Form Beyond Formlessness...

You described the school of thought known as Impersonalism in which one initially fixes the mind on the form of God as a temporary material crutch but then gradually gives up the idea of God with form and tries to merge into the formless Brahman. This system is based on the false premise that God has no form. Such a self-realization system may give one temporary relief from the suffering conditions of this material existence, but will ultimately fail to give the practitioner lasting relief because God ultimately has personality and form and so do we in our liberated condition.

We may try to deny form and personality for some time, but we will eventually find this position to be very dry and unsatisfying. The pain of failed relationships may drive us into solitude, but because the nature of a human being is to associate with others, we will eventually try again to build meaningful relationships with others. So instead of denying God's form and personality we should learn about Him from the spiritual master, from great saintly teachers, and from bona fide scriptures.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari