So Sad and So Glad

Traveling to Europe I am getting a good opportunity to witness first hand the mental state of the present day human population. It is indeed sad to see how deeply they are steeped in illusion. Their consciousness is absorbed in family affairs and in the current events of this material world. Even though every living being is the eternal servant of Krishna, they have become infected by the disease of forgetfulness and thus they misidentify themselves with their material bodies and take more interest in the materialistic way of life than in Krishna consciousness.

My spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, explains in this connection:

"This world of maya is called durāśraya, which means 'false or bad shelter.' One who puts his faith in durāśraya becomes a candidate for hoping against hope. In the material world everyone is trying to become happy, and although their material attempts are baffled in every way, due to their nescience they cannot understand their mistakes. People try to rectify one mistake by making another mistake. This is the way of the struggle for existence in the material world."

Although this makes me very sad, I am simultaneously most glad that, even though I am most undeserving, I have been blessed by my spiritual master with my own deliverance from this illusory consciousness and the means by which the entire world can be delivered. That means is the wide scale global propagation of Krishna consciousness. What could be a more exciting and fulfilling life than spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world?

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Is Everyone Cheated by Their Mind?

I have read your articles everyday for two months. I really admire what you do, for what you believe. I have to confess that I'm not good at English writing so you must forgive me if I can not express my opinion correctly.

Your thoughts very much inspired me, however when I try to do as you said to approach the Krishna consciousness I just see my own mind in an unspeakable clean empty.

I think that people with different religions can only find different shapes of God according to what he of she believes. And this is why the world needs many different religions. Because our pure or true mind (or soul) will automatically show the picture a person eager to see. I'm not disagreed with what you believed. I just wonder: Is everyone being cheated by one's own mind by what is seen is one's own mind shows to him or her?

Under this theory, there is only one truth which is our pure mind (sometimes called the Buddha nature).

With my best regards,
Yours sincerely,

David Yang

Answer: Perfection of the Pure Mind

I am very happy to hear from you of your admiration for my beliefs. But in this connection I humbly beg to point out to you that what I am writing is not my beliefs. What I am presenting is the timeless knowledge of existence, which has been carefully transmitted by great fully realized spiritual masters since time immemorial. Anyone who would like to become fully realized in this ultimate knowledge can do so simply by taking advantage of the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master.

As long as we take the Supreme according to our imagination or mental speculation we remain within the realm of impure mind. Therefore we should not allow ourselves to be cheated by the impure mind. We should instead take advantage of the mercy of the bona fide spiritual master who ushers us into the realm of pure mind, which is described in the following verse of the Bhagavad-gita:

"In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact."
---Bhagavad-gita 6:20-23

Regarding the state of pure mind/Buddha nature, please note that there are three stages:

1. Pure mind (Brahman realization)
2. Purer mind (Paramātmā realization)
3. Purest mind (Bhagavān realization)

These are described as follows in the Srimad Bhāgavatam:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate

"Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11

If one becomes Bhagavān realized, this is the highest, most complete realization of the Buddha nature. Such a most perfectly realized soul fully surrenders himself at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari