The Essence of our Existence
The essence of our existence is to be absorbed in loving service to Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Any attempt to find meaning and purpose in any other way is simply a mental concoction and will never satisfy us. Therefore we must learn from the bona fide spiritual master how to get back to full absorption in our original state of Krishna consciousness.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories unto your divine grace.
I am asking these questions to make sure that I have the right understanding.
This is a passage from The Science Of Self Realization, Chapter 8 "Attaining Perfection":
"In unalloyed love of Godhead we have to engage our senses—sarvendriya, all the senses. This means that sex is also to be engaged in Krishna consciousness. The conception of God as a father or mother does not allow the engagement of one's sex in the service of the Lord because there is no sexual relationship with the father and mother. But in the conception of God as a lover, there is sexual engagement also. Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave the most perfect information of our engagement with the Supreme Lord. In other religious conceptions of life, God is at the utmost taken as the father or mother. Many worshipers in India take goddess Kali to be the representation of God. Of course, that is not sanctioned, but the belief is there, and also in the Christian religion the conception of God is as a father. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu informs us that one can even have sexual engagement with the Lord. This information is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's unique contribution. In this material world, sexual engagement is considered to be the highest engagement, the greatest pleasure, although it exists only in a perverted form. No one, however, has conceived that there can be sexual engagement in the spiritual world. There is not a single instance of such theology anywhere in the entire world. This information is given for the first time by Caitanya Mahaprabhu: one can have the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one's husband, as one's lover. This is possible in the worship of Radha and Krishna, but no one, especially the impersonalists, can understand Radha-Krishna. The impersonalists have no idea; they cannot even conceive that God has form. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that not only does God have form, but He has sex life also. This is the highest contribution of Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
Does this mean that when attracted by mundane sex desire, I can aspire to have Krishna as my husband, my lover? Especially in my present material consciousness as a man, "predominator", I can instead pray to be fully predominated by Krishna?
Your servant,
M. Das
The answer is, "No." In our present stage we should not hanker after a particular rasa. In this regard Srila Prabhupada writes in the Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 40:
"When one is mature in devotional service and is a realized soul, he can know his own eternal relationship with Krishna. One should not artificially try to establish some relationship. In the premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with Krishna in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prakrta-sahajiya, or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Krishna in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable.”
This awakening of a desire for a particular rasa only comes on the platform of pure devotional service, which begins at the stage known as asakti. This is described by Srila Prabhupada as follows in his Narada Bhakti Sutra purport to verse 2:
"If a person is fortunate enough to vanquish all misgivings caused by material existence and rise up to the stage of nistha, he can then rise to the stages of ruci (taste) and asakti (attachment for the Lord). Asakti is the beginning of love of Godhead. By progressing, one then advances to the stage of relishing a reciprocal exchange with the Lord in ecstasy (bhava). Every living entity is eternally related to the Supreme Lord, and this relationship may be in any one of many transcendental humors. At the stage called asakti, attachment, a person can understand his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When he understands his position, he begins reciprocating with the Lord. By constant reciprocation with the Lord, the devotee is elevated to the highest stage of love of Godhead, prema.”
Any hankering for a particular relationship with the Lord before the asakti stage is imaginary, will block one’s progress on the path of spiritual awakening, and should thus be avoided.
You have also asked, "Especially in my present material consciousness as a man, 'predominator,' can I instead pray to be fully predominated by Krishna?"
The answer is, "Absolutely yes!" Srila Prabhupada has taught us how to pray this way in his arrival prayer to Lord Krishna when he arrived in the USA in 1965:
"O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance. O Lord, make me dance as You like."
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Radha Vrindavan Chandra--ISKCON, Pune
Video For the Day: Develop the Service Mood
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version
Question: Can I Aspire to Have Krishna as My Lover?
Dear Srila Gurudeva,Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories unto your divine grace.
I am asking these questions to make sure that I have the right understanding.
This is a passage from The Science Of Self Realization, Chapter 8 "Attaining Perfection":
"In unalloyed love of Godhead we have to engage our senses—sarvendriya, all the senses. This means that sex is also to be engaged in Krishna consciousness. The conception of God as a father or mother does not allow the engagement of one's sex in the service of the Lord because there is no sexual relationship with the father and mother. But in the conception of God as a lover, there is sexual engagement also. Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave the most perfect information of our engagement with the Supreme Lord. In other religious conceptions of life, God is at the utmost taken as the father or mother. Many worshipers in India take goddess Kali to be the representation of God. Of course, that is not sanctioned, but the belief is there, and also in the Christian religion the conception of God is as a father. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu informs us that one can even have sexual engagement with the Lord. This information is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's unique contribution. In this material world, sexual engagement is considered to be the highest engagement, the greatest pleasure, although it exists only in a perverted form. No one, however, has conceived that there can be sexual engagement in the spiritual world. There is not a single instance of such theology anywhere in the entire world. This information is given for the first time by Caitanya Mahaprabhu: one can have the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one's husband, as one's lover. This is possible in the worship of Radha and Krishna, but no one, especially the impersonalists, can understand Radha-Krishna. The impersonalists have no idea; they cannot even conceive that God has form. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that not only does God have form, but He has sex life also. This is the highest contribution of Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
Does this mean that when attracted by mundane sex desire, I can aspire to have Krishna as my husband, my lover? Especially in my present material consciousness as a man, "predominator", I can instead pray to be fully predominated by Krishna?
Your servant,
M. Das
Answer: Only on the Liberated Platform
You have asked, "Does this mean that when attracted by mundane sex desire, I can aspire to have Krishna as my husband, my lover?"The answer is, "No." In our present stage we should not hanker after a particular rasa. In this regard Srila Prabhupada writes in the Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 40:
"When one is mature in devotional service and is a realized soul, he can know his own eternal relationship with Krishna. One should not artificially try to establish some relationship. In the premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with Krishna in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prakrta-sahajiya, or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Krishna in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable.”
This awakening of a desire for a particular rasa only comes on the platform of pure devotional service, which begins at the stage known as asakti. This is described by Srila Prabhupada as follows in his Narada Bhakti Sutra purport to verse 2:
"If a person is fortunate enough to vanquish all misgivings caused by material existence and rise up to the stage of nistha, he can then rise to the stages of ruci (taste) and asakti (attachment for the Lord). Asakti is the beginning of love of Godhead. By progressing, one then advances to the stage of relishing a reciprocal exchange with the Lord in ecstasy (bhava). Every living entity is eternally related to the Supreme Lord, and this relationship may be in any one of many transcendental humors. At the stage called asakti, attachment, a person can understand his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When he understands his position, he begins reciprocating with the Lord. By constant reciprocation with the Lord, the devotee is elevated to the highest stage of love of Godhead, prema.”
Any hankering for a particular relationship with the Lord before the asakti stage is imaginary, will block one’s progress on the path of spiritual awakening, and should thus be avoided.
You have also asked, "Especially in my present material consciousness as a man, 'predominator,' can I instead pray to be fully predominated by Krishna?"
The answer is, "Absolutely yes!" Srila Prabhupada has taught us how to pray this way in his arrival prayer to Lord Krishna when he arrived in the USA in 1965:
"O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance. O Lord, make me dance as You like."
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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