Getting the Real Taste

Sometimes we hear that a person begins Krishna consciousness with great enthusiasm and enlivenment and then gradually it becomes dry and tasteless for him. What this means is that the person was never properly connected with the process. Because real Krishna conscious is ever-increasingly nectarean anyone who is properly practicing it will never lose their taste. If someone loses their taste it means that he was only tasting a shadow of Krishna consciousness mistaking it for being the real thing. The way to avoid this pitfall is to place ourselves under the guidance of someone who is factually experiencing Krishna consciousness, who can teach us how to factually experience it also. This person is described in the revealed scriptures as being the bona fide spiritual master. Srila Rupa Goswami, the great authority of the bhakti science, states the first step on the pathway of Krishna is to take shelter of the bona fide spiritual master.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

The Prabhupada House, Melbourne

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Is There Really Unlimited Bliss in Krishna Consciousness?

In your daily "Thought for the Day" you often speak about "unlimited nectar of Krishna consciousness and the reservoir of unlimited happiness". While I certainly have experienced to a certain extent the kind of happiness and bliss when one performs activities of devotional service, I am moved to ask how can you experience unlimited nectar or delve into the reservoir of unlimited happiness. Do you really feel SO MUCH of happiness all the time (unlimited reservoir) that at times it becomes difficult to contain it? I know that for one who remains 24 hours a day engaged in Bhakti, it is always blissful but to go to such lengths as employing terms such as "unlimited" & "reservoir", is it not hyperbolic?

Another query that cropped up in my mind is the following. You mention in a "Thought for the Day": "If they want to restore balance to the earth's atmosphere, the first thing they must do is close the slaughterhouses and the abortion clinics. And then by the wide scale introduction of nama-sankirtan, congregational chanting of the holy names of God, the fire of lust and greed burning in the hearts of the human society with become gradually cooled down and the entire planet will gradually be transformed into a paradise. At that time a new sustainable economic system based on the cow, the bull, and family farms will naturally emerge."

Do you mean to say that if everyone starts chanting the holy names of God, the economic system will revert to the cow, bull and family farms leaving aside the tractor, the automobile and all the sophisticated technological advancements of our time? I think this is pretty unrealistic as there are other non-regressive solutions to the Global Warming problem as I have pointed out earlier.

Your humble student,
Nitin

Answer: "Unlimited Bliss" is an Understatement

We should not consider the glories of Krishna consciousness to be a hyperbole, an extravagant exaggeration. The amazing descriptions of Krishna consciousness given in the revealed scriptures are not imaginary, nor are they exaggerated. The scriptural descriptions regarding the unlimited bliss of Krishna consciousness are perfect and complete. If a devotee is not experiencing Krishna consciousness in this way, it simply means that he is not very advanced in Krishna consciousness. He is only a beginner.

Even though the amazing descriptions of Krishna consciousness seem unbelievable to one who is in conditioned consciousness, the fact is that even the most amazing descriptions are grossly understating the factual inconceivable glories of Krishna consciousness.

One who is licking the outside of a jar of honey may doubt the the amazing descriptions he hears from others regarding the sweetness of the honey. But if he were to open the honey jar and put his tongue into the jar, he would gain factual confirmation of the truthfulness of all the amazing descriptions of the honey's sweetness.

Whatever percentage of bliss I am experiencing has nothing to do with how much bliss is there waiting to be experienced by us in the unlimited ocean of bhakti. As far as I am concerned I am only tasting a few miniscule drops of that inconceivably and unlimitedly sweet ocean. But even a few drops of that ocean of bhakti is enough to bring peace and happiness to the entire world. Therefore even though I consider myself to be completely unfit and unqualified, I have fully dedicated my life for trying to bring about the complete respiritualization of the human society by sharing whatever little bit I have realized about Krishna consciousness with everyone.

If everyone becomes Krishna conscious, we will see a natural gravitation towards a more sustainable economic system based on living in harmony with the earth instead of exploiting and raping the earth. This is not to say that we will throw away our technological advancement. What it means is that we will instead utilize our technological advancement for creating a socio-economic system which is in perfect harmony with the laws of God and nature instead of so grossly opposed to these laws as is the case with our present socio-economic system, which is creating a hell on earth.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari