Undisturbed by the Material Condition

By editor - 27.12 2024

Srila Prabhupada explains why, to progress in our practice of Krishna consciousness, we must learn tolerance.
Lecture given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Bombay on January 12, 1975
Advancing in Krishna consciousness requires tolerance of the body’s inevitable discomforts.

nabhasah shabda-tanmatrat
kala-gatya vikurvatah
sparsho ’bhavat tato vayus
tvak sparshasya cha sangrahah

“From ethereal existence, which evolves from sound, the next transformation takes place under the impulse of time, and thus the subtle element touch and thence the air and sense of touch become prominent.” – Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.35

Everything is being explained here by Lord Kapiladeva. Sound is produced on account of ether. And when sound is further developed, it creates the sense perception of touch, then form, taste, and smell. These will be explained one after another.

[Aside:] You can read the purport also.

[Nitai Dasa reads]: “In the course of time, when the subtle forms are transformed into gross forms, they become the objects of touch. The objects of touch and the tactile sense also develop after this evolution in time. Sound is the first sense object to exhibit material existence, and from the perception of sound, touch perception evolves, and from touch perception the perception of sight. That is the way of the gradual evolution of our perceptive objects.”

Prabhupada: You can read the next purport.

Nitai Dasa: [He first leads the chanting of the verse.]

mridutvam kathinatvam cha
shaityam ushnatvam eva cha
etat sparshasya sparshatvam
tan-matratvam nabhasvatah

“Softness and hardness and cold and heat are the distinguishing attributes of touch, which is characterized as the subtle form of air.” (3.26.36)

Prabhupada: These are all different transformations of the ethereal existence. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.14) it is said, matra-sparshas tu kaunteya shitoshna-sukha-duhkha-dah. Our material pains and pleasures are felt on account of this sparsha, or sense of touch. It is an arrangement of the ether, or a transformation of ethereal activities.

Actually, this has nothing to do with the spirit soul. The spirit soul is untouched by all these things. To understand this requires realization. Because great devotees like Bharata Maharaja, Prahlada Maharaja, and Haridasa Thakura were very, very much advanced in spiritual consciousness, these ethereal activities on the external body did not touch them. Even in our Western world, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, but it did not touch him.

This is to be practiced, that in our regular activities in devotional service we should not be disturbed by the ethereal transformation in touch with the skin. That is called sthita-prajna. The word is used in the Bhagavad-gita. A devotee is sthita-prajna. He should not be disturbed by this material condition or the change of ethereal activities. We should be fixed up, atma-stha. And then our progress in spiritual life will be unhampered.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.6) states:

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokshaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.” When we are firmly fixed up in devotional service, that is the highest transcendental form of religion. There are so many religious systems – Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion – but they are all material conceptions of religion. “Material conception” means that we are in this material world, and through a process or system we are trying to understand what God is. That is called religion. The attempt to understand God and His laws is religion. It doesn’t matter whether it is executed through a system called Hindu religion or a system called Muslim religion or a system called Christian religion. If the objective is the same – Adhokshaja, “the transcendent Lord” – then that process is first-class religion. If we simply stick to a system without making any progress towards the goal of understanding Adhokshaja, then it is shrama eva hi kevalam, simply useless labor:

dharmah svanushthitah pumsam
vishvaksena-kathasu yah
notpadayed yadi ratim
shrama eva hi kevalam

“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.” (Bhagavatam 1.2.8) Don’t be stuck up in a system. The system is required provided you make progress towards realization of the Supreme. But if you simply follow a system but do not advance in the matter of realizing the Supreme, then, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam or according to the Vedic version, it is simply a labor of love. It has no value. Therefore the Bhagavatam says what is the first-class religious system. It doesn’t matter if you call it Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Buddhist. “That is first-class religion which helps you progress in realization of Adhokshaja.” Adhokshaja, a name of Krishna, means the subject matter which you cannot understand simply by mental speculation or by exercising empiric knowledge.

Stages of Knowledge

That is called adhokshaja. We have to approach that adhokshaja. There are different stages of knowledge: pratyaksha, paroksha, aparoksha, adhokshaja, and aprakrita. We have to approach the aprakrita – the transcendental, above the material nature. Adhokshaja is nearer to the lower grades of knowledge: pratyaksha, paroksha, and aparoksha. They are in the stage of kanishtha-adhikara, the beginning stage of bhakti, which is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.47):

archayam eva haraye
pujam yah shraddhayehate
na tad-bhakteshu chanyeshu
sa bhaktah prakritah smritah

“A devotee who faithfully engages in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not behave properly toward other devotees or people in general is called a prakrita-bhakta, a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position.” The prakrita stage is pratyaksha knowledge, or direct perception and knowledge received from the parampara, the authorized guru-disciple line. Pratyaksha, paroksha, then aparoksha, or self-realization, then adhokshaja, then aprakrita. Krishna consciousness is aprakrita knowledge. It is the topmost platform of knowing Krishna. Up to the stage of adhokshaja knowledge, we have to follow the regulative principles strictly. Aprakrita knowledge is for the paramahamsa, the topmost devotee, who is called a raga-bhakta, a pure devotee with complete attachment to Krishna.

The stages of pratyaksha, paroksha, and aparoksha are called vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service under strict rules and regulations. Without vidhi-bhakti you cannot reach the platform of raga-bhakti, which is our aim. Raganuga-bhakti, or raga-bhakti, is executed following the footprints of the devotees in Vrindavana, Krishna’s personal associates. Not by immediately becoming directly Krishna’s personal associate, but by following the footprints of Krishna’s eternal associates can we come to the stage of raga-bhakti. That is called para-bhakti, transcendental bhakti.

That para-bhakti is required. This Krishna consciousness movement is for gradually developing ourselves up to the stage of raga-bhakti, or para-bhakti. Then life is successful.

Practice Without Being Disturbed

In that way we should not be disturbed by these ethereal interactions. As it is stated here, mridutvam kathinatvam cha shaityam ushnatvam eva cha. Softness, hardness, cold, heat – we are disturbed by these things. Suppose you are lying on the floor. It is kathinatvam: it is very hard. But if you are given a cushion or a nice mattress, that is mridutvam, soft. Similarly, shitoshna, heat and cold. Sometimes water is felt very cold, and sometimes it is very hot. The water is the same, but according to the change of the ethereal arrangement, it is coming in different conditions. And it is the source of pains and pleasures on account of the sense of touch, which is associated with the skin.

To understand fully that “I am not this body” requires realization, atmanubhuti. The more we become advanced in spiritual consciousness, the more we become situated in atma-stha. That is called sthita-prajna. Then we shall not be disturbed. We should practice not to be disturbed by these conditional or ethereal transformations because we do not belong to this material arrangement. As spirit soul – aham brahmasmi, “I am spirit” – I do not belong to this material arrangement, but I have been accustomed to this.

By practice we have to come to the spiritual status. And during practice we require tolerance. Practice is called bhajana or sadhana, and austerity, penance, and tolerance are tapasya. We have identified with material things which we are not, and to practice to come to the spiritual platform – that tolerance is called tapasya. This is the meaning of tapasya. Tapah means pain, to voluntarily accept some pain.

Tapasya is especially practiced in the sannyasa stage, the renounced order of life. In our current age it is very difficult, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us the example. For sleeping He was lying on the floor. His devotee wanted to give Him a quilt or soft bedding, but He refused. He did not take it. He is teaching us. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the teacher. It is very difficult to strictly follow His example, but we must try to follow as far as possible.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore taught us, taror api sahishnuna (?Shikshashtaka 3). We must be tolerant like the tree, or more than the tree. The trees are standing in the open air, and there are so many disturbances – storms, scorching heat, and somebody is taking a leaf, somebody is cutting. It doesn’t protest. Tolerance. This is a very good example of tolerance.

In order to execute our spiritual consciousness, or Krishna consciousness, we shall learn tolerance. Tolerance is advised in the Bhagavad-gita (2.14), tams titikshasva bharata: “Don’t be disturbed.” A brahmana or sannyasi has to take a bath three times a day. And if it is very chilly cold, it does not mean that he will give up taking a bath three times. Early in the morning he must take a bath. That is one example of tolerance. There is severe cold, chilly cold, but my duty is to take a bath in the morning, so I must tolerate. I must tolerate that chilly cold and still take my bath. This is called tapasya. Not that “It is very chilly cold. I will not take my bath.” No, that is not allowed. Then you are lagging behind. You must take your bath. Of course, if somebody is seriously ill, that is a different thing.

Generally Krishna advises tolerance. He says agamapayino ’nityah. There are seasonal changes; they will come and they will go. They are an ethereal arrangement only, an external arrangement. They are, rather, an illusion. An external arrangement means an illusion. We have nothing to do with it. But due to this Kali-yuga, the present age, especially, we are very much affected by these external disturbances. And those disturbances sometimes force us to forget our relationship with the Supreme. That is called illusion; that is called maya.

One Good Quality in This Age

So we must become very strictly adherent to Krishna consciousness. That is very easily done in Kali-yuga.

kaler dosha-nidhe rajann
asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krishnasya
mukta-sangah param vrajet

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Bhagavatam

12.3.51) This Hare Krishna mantra – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare – is especially prescribed for this age. If we strictly chant this mantra, then we become mukta-sanga. Mukta-sanga means that although we are in this material world, we are not in touch with it. We remain untouched by the material contamination and gradually become perfect. Then we can be transferred to the spiritual world.

Our Hare Krishna movement is following the footsteps of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who quoted from the Brihan-naradiya Purana (3.8.126):

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

“In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.” This is a Vedic injunction. This Hare Krishna movement is not a manufactured way. It is following the Vedic principles. Agni Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma-vaivarta Purana, Kali-santarana Upanishad – many Vedic literatures recommend Hare Krishna chanting. Sometimes in these literatures it begins Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; sometimes it begins Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So people become puzzled about which one should be first vibrated. But whether you chant Hare Krishna or Hare Rama in the beginning, it doesn’t matter. There is no difference between the holy names of Krishna and Rama. But still there is some distinction. In the shastras, or scriptures, it is said that if you chant Lord Vishnu’s name one thousand times, that is equal to chanting one name of Lord Rama, and if you chant Lord Rama’s name three times, that is equal to chanting Krishna’s name one time. This is the shastric injunction.

Whether you chant Lord Vishnu’s name or Lord Rama’s name or Lord Krishna’s name, there is no difference. Different people become devoted to different forms. Sometimes they are a devotee of Lord Ramachandra; they want to worship Sita-Rama. That is good. Sometimes they want to worship Lakshmi-Narayana. That is also good. And sometimes they want to worship Radha-Krishna. That is also the same. There is no difference.

There are many manifestations of Vishnu, but the original manifestation, or the origin of all of them, is Krishna, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28), “Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead.”

Really, when we speak of Bhagavan, that is Krishna. But Krishna’s expansions are also Bhagavan. And those who are very, very powerful – like Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Narada, and many other devotees and sages – are also sometimes addressed as Bhagavan in the shastra. But not ordinary men. Ordinary men cannot become Bhagavan. That is not possible. But everyone can become an exalted devotee. Narada Muni, in his previous birth, was a maidservant’s son, not born in a brahmana family. But by the good association of devotees, in his next birth he became Narada Muni, the spiritual master of so many exalted devotees. We hear Narada Muni’s name in connection with Prahlada Maharaja, Dhruva Maharaja, and many other devotees. And so everyone has the potential to become just like Narada Muni. It doesn’t matter where you were born. Narada Muni was born as a maidservant’s son, but by good association, in his next life he became Narada.

Sat-sanga, association with devotees, is very important. Therefore we have named this society “the Krishna conscious society.” Anyone can join it. It doesn’t matter what he is. Practically we are collecting, recruiting members from all parts of the world without any distinction. Distinction is there on the material platform. On the spiritual platform there is no such distinction.

The devotees’ vision is to see only the spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna. The devotees are not concerned with distinctions based on the body. Their sympathy is for the spirit soul. “Here is a spirit soul, and he is part and parcel of Krishna. He is now bound up by this material bondage. Let me try to rescue him.” People have become foolish. They are thinking that in material bondage they will be happy. That is not possible. Therefore Vaishnavas like Prahlada Maharaja and his followers very seriously think of the fallen conditioned souls and try to rescue them. And in this Kali-yuga it is very easy. As I have already explained, kaler dosha-nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan gunah. This Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults. So many faults are there, one after another, one after another. But there is one benefit, one very great quality. What is that? If someone simply chants the Hare Krishna mantra, then he becomes free from this material bondage and goes back home, back to Godhead. So our only request to everyone present here is to chant this maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Thank you very much.