(Continued)

The fully beautiful scenery after the rainy season was attractive to the eyes of everyone, including Sri Krsna, the cause of all causes.

We should always appreciate the creative energy of the Supreme Lord. Beautiful nature, even though material and therefore temporary, is always full of the glories of the creator. There is a class of philosophers who condemn the material creation as false. They say that Brahman is truth but the creation is false. This is not good. The temporary creation is also a relative truth. It is in fact the temporary picture of the eternal creation. The forgetful soul has no information of the spiritual creation, known as the sanatana-dhama, but the temporary creation gives an idea of this original creation. The devotees of the Lord, therefore, make the best use of the bad bargain by utilizing the temporary creation in the service of the Lord.

Everything emanates as different energies from the Lord, and thus everything should be engaged for His service only. As soon as even temporary things are engaged in His service, they take on permanent values. The process of such engagement in the service of the Lord is what the sages call cikitsitam, or "well treated." If we have some kind of trouble in the stomach from drinking milk, the physician prescribes the same milk in the form of yogurt, which is nothing but treated milk. Similarly, the temporary creation of the material world is undoubtedly full of miseries, but when accepted in terms of its relation with the Supreme Lord, the whole thing becomes as well treated as the yogurt. Everything accepted in full God consciousness has its spiritual value, and by the grace of the Almighty its material effects are diminished in terms of the increasing degree of spiritual consciousness. That is the process for cultivating the human spirit.

Thus the rainy season came to an end. The autumn began, and there were no more clouds in the sky. All the reservoirs of water became crystal clear, and the wind was no longer forceful. Lord Krsna, along with His elder brother, Lord Baladeva, lived at Vrndavana in this auspicious season.

When the sky is clear of all clouds there is no longer any distinction between the portion of the sky that was covered and that which was never covered. Similarly, when the living entity now covered by the modes of material nature is freed from ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, he becomes one with the Absolute Truth. Such oneness is called mukti, or freedom from the miseries of material life. There are five different kinds of mukti. Impersonalists prefer to merge into the existence of the Transcendence, but the personalists, or devotees, do not annihilate their individuality, and thus the devotees of the Lord individually enjoy spiritual variegatedness on the planets of the spiritual sky.

The material sky is also the spiritual sky, but it is covered by the modes of material nature. This material nature is also a temporary creation of the Lord, as the cloud is a creation of the sun. When the cloud of the material modes is cleared off, the material nature is said to have been annihilated.

There are two kinds of living entities, namely the conditioned and the pure. It is for the conditioned living entities that the material nature is created, and the conditioned souls are put into it to become pure, unconditioned souls. Those who become unconditioned by devotional service enter into the eternal kingdom of God, and those who lose the chance rot in dormant material conditions, sometimes manifested and sometimes unmanifested. Lord Sri Krsna descends to reclaim the conditioned souls.

In autumn all the reservoirs of water become enriched with growing lotuses. The muddy water again becomes normally clear and decorated, just as fallen, conditioned souls once more become spiritually enriched in devotional service.

We should not be disappointed in our muddy life of material existence, for as soon as we voluntarily take to the devotional service of the Lord our whole life becomes clear, like water in autumn. Devoid of our relationship with God our life is barren, but as soon as the muddy mind is cleared by spiritual association or cultivation of the human spirit the threefold miseries of material life are at once cleared off. Thus the lotus of knowledge gradually fructifies, and this gradual process of development ushers in transcendental bliss.

The whole spiritual process is technically called yoga, or linking with the Supreme. It is something like a long staircase, and the upward steps are variously designated as regulated work, transcendental knowledge, mystic powers, and ultimately bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Bhakti-yoga is pure and unalloyed, being entirely beyond all the preliminary steps. Such unalloyed devotional service in favor of the Supreme Lord was displayed at Vrndavana when the Lord descended there, and thus the yoga exhibited by the gopis of Vrndavana is the highest unalloyed love of Godhead, the perfection of bhakti-yoga. To rise to the stage of love shown by the gopis is very difficult, but this stage is attainable for serious conditioned souls.

Unfortunately, cheap neophytes make a show of the transcendental ecstasies of the gopis, bringing them onto the mundane plane for perverted manifestations and thus clearing the way to hell by such unwanted caricatures. Serious students of yoga, however, practice it seriously, and thus they attain the highest perfection in bhakti-yoga, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (6.47):

 

yoginam api sarvesam

mad-gatenantaratmana

sraddhavan bhajate yo mam

sa me yuktatamo matah

 

The four prominent features of autumn are that there is no water in the sky, the weeds that grew here and there in the rainy season all wither away, the muddy roads and fields dry up, and the ponds of water become crystal clear. These four features of the autumn atmosphere are compared to the four orders of life.

In the varnasrama system the student goes to the asrama of the master to take lessons from him and serve him, even as a menial servant. The troubles o the student are at once mitigated when he attains transcendental knowledge in terms of his relation with Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. As the white clouds no longer bear the burden of water in the autumn sky, the student finds that the troubles of drawing water for the master become a burdenless job if the student, by the grace of his master, attains to spiritual knowledge.

Householders who beget children without restriction, like weeds in the rainy season, become solitary as soon as they attain to the stage of devotional service. The family planning of a godless civilization cannot check weedlike unwanted population. People should learn to check sex life by voluntary restraint. This voluntary restraint is possible when one is dovetailed with the service of the Lord. This is confirmed in

<footnote>visaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva nivartate)Bhagavad-gita. Well-situated devotees of the Lord refrain from materialistic sense enjoyment, for they are attracted by the beauty of the Transcendence. Forcible restraint by regulative family planning or similar artificial means cannot work very long; one must be attracted by the Transcendence. Once can give up the inferior quality of enjoyment as soon as one receives the superior quality of spiritual enjoyment. So family planning is successful when one is engaged in the culture of the human spirit.

The vanaprasthas, who voluntarily avoid cleaning themselves and who allow their beards and nails to grow, no longer feel the discomforts of these burdens when they engage in the service of the Lord. And above all, the mendicants who take a vow to refrain from sex life no longer feel sexual urges when fixed in the transcendental service of the Lord.

Therefore, in all four spiritual orders and four grades of social life, devotional service to the Lord is essential. Without this relationship, all the regulative principles of varna and asrama become burdensome duties, as they have in the age of Kali. When the regulative principles have no aim, the varnas become a caste system and the asramas become the business of various shopkeepers. All these anomalies of the present social system can be reformed only by cultivation of the human spirit in the devotional service of the Lord.

The beautiful white clouds, freed from all burdens of water distribution, float in midair, like mendicants freed from all family responsibilities.

As long as one is attached to the so-called responsibilities of family burdens, he is always full of cares and anxieties about meeting his family expenses. The four orders of social life, as designed in the varnasrama system, are very scientific and cooperative. In student life one is taught the primary principles of the human form of life. One who enters the householder's life can execute the duties of a family man because he has already been trained for this job in the brahmacarya-asrama. And after fifty years of age the householder retires from family life and prepares for the life of sannyasa.

The householder is duty-bound to maintain the members of all three of the other asramas, namely the brahmacaris, the vanaprasthas, and sannyasis. In this way, every member of society was given a chance to retire for a higher order of spiritual culture, and the householders neglected no one. The brahmacaris, vanaprasthas, and sannyasis all curtailed their necessities to the minimum, and therefore no one would begrudge maintaining them in the bare necessities of life.

In Kali-yuga, however, the entire system has gone topsy-turvy. The student lives in luxury at the expense of the father or the father-in-law. When the educated, indulgent student becomes a householder by the strength of university degrees, he requires money by all means for all kinds of bodily comfort, and therefore he cannot spare even a penny for the so-called vanaprasthas and sannyasis. The vanaprasthas and sannyasis nowadays are those who were unsuccessful in family life. Thus the so-called sannyasis try to construct another home in the name of the sannyasa-asrama and glide down into all sorts of luxury at the expense of others. So all these varnas and asramas have now become so many transcendental frauds.

But that does not mean that there is no reality in them. One should not conclude that there is no good money simply because one has met with counterfeit coins. The sannyasa-asrama is meant for complete freedom from all anxieties, and it is meant for uplifting the fallen souls, who are merged in materialism. But unless the sannyasi is freed from all cares and anxieties, like a white cloud, it is difficult for him to do anything good for society.

There are waterfalls flowing from the hills of the forest, but sometimes water does not flow from them. So the waterfalls are not like ordinary rainfall. They are compared to great reformers, who speak or do not speak, as the time requires.

There are two different kinds of religious preachers. One of them is called the professional preacher, and the other is called the acarya. The professional preachers are like the rainfall from the sky, but the acaryas are like waterfalls. The professional traders in Bhagavatam and Ramayana will speak from the portion of the scripture that will appeal to the mundane senses of the audience. For example, the professional Bhagavatam reciter will generally speak on the subject of rasa-lila, which appears to the layman to be something like the dealings of ordinary men and women. Thus the professional reciters earn money from their so-called admirers. But an acarya will never speak on rasa-lila to the general mass of people. The rasa-lila chapters of the Bhagavatam are the most confidential part of the scripture, and they are meant for advanced students of spiritual realization. In the Bhagavatam there are twelve cantos, and the rasa-lila is in the tenth. So before one comes to the Tenth Canto, the Bhagavatam tries to convince him of the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth. Unless one has grasped the spiritual status of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is sure to accept Him as an ordinary man and thereby commit offenses at His lotus feet by so many unwanted activities.

The acarya is he who knows the scriptures well and teaches his disciples in terms of the disciple's capacity to understand and advance in spiritual realization. Therefore he sometimes speaks and sometimes does not speak. The holy messages of Godhead have to be received from the realized soul, and not from the professional man. Although rainwater and the waterfalls are the same, the water from the waterfalls has a different effect than ordinary rainwater. One should not accept messages from the professional men, as one should not accept milk touched by the tongue of a serpent. Milk is good, but as soon as it is touched by the snake it becomes poisonous. The acarya, therefore, is not a mercenary order-supplier like the professional reciter of scriptures.

Small pools of water accumulate during the rainy season, and in the autumn they gradually dry up. The little creatures playing in those small pools do not understand that their days are now numbered and will end very soon. Thus they are like foolish men who, not caring for the nearing day of their death, become absorbed in the so-called enjoyment of family life.

Foolish politicians are too attached to family life. A big politician means a big family man. An ordinary family man is attached to his limited family of wife and children, but big politicians extend the same family feeling to a wider circle and thus become encumbered by false prestige, honor, and self-interest. The politician never retires from politics, even if he has enjoyed many covetable posts, like those of minister or president. The older he is, the more he is attached to his false prestige. Even at the fag end of his life he thinks that everything will be spoiled without him. He is so foolish that he does not see that many other politicians who thought like him have come and gone, with no gain or loss for want of them. These family men, big and small, are like the small fish in the pools of water that gradually dry up in the autumn. They are foolish because they think that their attachment to their family, even at the end of their lives, will be able to protect them from the cruel hands of death.

As already mentioned, the human life must be divided into four component parts: the student life, the householder life, the preparative life, and the life of dedication to the service of the Lord. One must retire from all sorts of family life, big or small, at the age of fifty, and thus prepare for the next life. That is the process of human culture. The householders are allowed a pension from service so that they can live for a higher cultural life. But foolish men, reluctant even to accept this pension, want to artificially increase the duration of their life. Such foolish men should take lessons from the drying pools of water and should know, in their own interests, that life is eternal, continuing even after death. Only the body changes, whether spiritually or materially. An intelligent man should be careful to know what sort of body is going to be awarded him, and thus he must prepare for a better life in other planets, even if he is reluctant to go back to Godhead.

When the small pools of water become too hot because of the scorching heat of the autumn sun, the poor, small creatures, with their many family members, suffer terribly, as poor householders with too many family members suffer economic strains and yet go on begetting children because of uncontrolled senses.

Human life is meant for controlling the senses, for uncontrolled senses are the cause of material bondage. But for fools sense enjoyment is the pivot of life's activities. All men undergo hard, laborious duties all day and night and in all seasons of the year, only for the sake of sense pleasure with their mates. These foolish creatures have no information of other enjoyment. In a godless civilization especially, sense pleasure, accepted in the name of culture and philosophy, is all in all. Men who are addicted to this pleasure are called krpanas.

When the krpanas have too many children, they suffer the scorching heat of family life, and then similar leaders advise them to undertake family planning. The idea of this family planning is that sense pleasure should not be curtailed, but birth control should be accomplished by artificial measures. Such methods of birth control are called bhruna-hatya, or killing the child in embryo. Such killing is a sinful act, and in the revealed scriptures a specific hell is designated for those who commit such sins.

Spiritual culture means pursuing a better engagement in life. When a man engages in such cultural life, the desire for mating automatically abates, and the sufferings of uncontrolled family life are mitigated without artificial means.

The attention of a human being, therefore, should be drawn to the cultivation of the human spirit, for this will gradually protect him from all sorts of discomfiture and elevate him to a higher status of life for real and eternal enjoyment in personal contact with the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.

With the progress of the autumn season the moist earth and muddy places begin to dry up, and the green vegetation begins to fade. This drying up and fading resembles the gradual disappearance of the false sense of affinity and ego.

Progress in cultivating the human spirit entails the gradual disappearance of the materialistic ego. Covered by ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, the spirit soul thinks himself all in all and is covered by a false sense of ego. Thus he falsely identifies the soul with the body, and his bodily relations with material things become the objects of his attraction. This false identification and attraction for matter gradually dry up and fade away by success in the cultivation of the human spirit. That is the effect of such higher cultivation. Progress in spiritual culture brings about the disintegration of false ego and material attraction.

The ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit is God realization and surrender unto God with a full sense of His all-pervasive nature. When a liberated soul thus surrenders unto the lotus feet of the all-pervading Godhead, the ocean of nescience becomes as insignificant to him as the water in the small hoofprint of a calf. He at once becomes eligible to be promoted to the spiritual kingdom, and he has nothing to do with the miserable land of the material world.

Cultivation of the human spirit is not, therefore, mere adjustment of materialistic anomalies. It is the process for preparing oneself to be promoted to the spiritual kingdom. No one can adjust the sufferings of material existence, but by spiritual culture one can elevate himself from the effects of such miserable life. As an example one may cite the condition of a dry coconut. The dry coconut pulp automatically becomes separated from its outer skin. Similarly, the outer skin, or the gross and subtle material coverings of the soul, automatically separates from the spirit soul, and the spirit soul can then exist in spiritual existence, even though apparently within the dry skin. This freedom from the false sense of ego is called the liberation of the soul.

With the inauguration of the autumn season the rough sea becomes calm and quiet, just like a philosopher after self-realization, who is no longer troubled by the modes of nature.

The result of self-realization is cessation of the storms of desire and lust, which are products of the modes of ignorance and passion. This cessation of the storm does not mean that the sea becomes inactive. When the storm subsides, the work of navigation can take place smoothly. According to the Indian system of navigation, there is a ceremony on the seashore known as the coconut day. On the coconut day the sea is offered a coconut because she has become peaceful, and from that day on the seagoing vessels sail to foreign countries.

The three modes of nature divide human activities into two different spheres, one external and the other introspective. As long as a man is dominated by the modes of ignorance and passion, he is active externally in desire and lust. Men absorbed in desire and lust are called asuras, and they are always chasing after women and money. For the sake of women and money the asuras exploit every source of economic development. As a result of this asuric civilization, the entire human society becomes like a stormy sea, with no trace of peace and prosperity.

Too much of an external view of the world gives rise to an overly large-scale and difficult type of industry and trade, known as ugra-karma. The word ugra means "hard" or "difficult," and karma means "task." The development of hard and difficult industrial undertakings always hinders the progressive cultivation of the human spirit. Asuric leaders of society never retire from such lustful undertakings unless killed by the laws of nature. For them there is no question of retirement or of cultivating the human spirit. But men in the mode of goodness have an introspective mind, and after a regulative struggle for existence they retire at a ripe old age and engage their time in cultivating the human spirit.

According to the varnasrama principle, it is compulsory that one retire after the age of fifty, without considering other circumstances. Business offices close at a fixed hour no matter what balance of work remains. Similarly, after the age of fifty one must retire from the active, external life and devote oneself to the introspective cultivation of the human spirit. This retirement must be compulsory, so that foolish old men will no longer disturb the peaceful progress of spiritual culture. In the modern democratic government, no one should be elected after the age of fifty. Otherwise the storm of the ocean of nescience cannot be stopped to allow the ships and boats to sail back to Godhead. The greatest enemies of progressive spiritual culture in human society are the old fossils of political parties who are blind themselves and who try to lead other blind men. They bring about disaster in a peaceful human society. The members of the younger generation are not as stupid as the old politicians, and therefore by state law the foolish old politicians must retire from active life at the age of fifty.

After the rainy season, the farmers begin to rebuild the partitioning walls of the paddy fields so that the water will be conserved, just as yogis try to use their conserved energy for self-realization.

The living being is the marginal energy of the Absolute Personality of Godhead, and he can spend his conserved energy either externally or internally. When spent internally, the energy is identified with the internal energy of the Personality of Godhead, but the same conserved energy, when spent for His external energy, is identified with that external energy. All energies--internal, external, and marginal--are emanations from Him, the Supreme, and they act differently to prove diversity in unity. The unity is the Lord, and the energies represent diversity. The Lord is so powerful that He can do anything and everything merely by His sweet will alone. As mentioned above, everything is done by His energies in a natural way, with full knowledge and complete perfection. That is the information we have from the Vedic literatures.

The internal energy and the marginal energy are of the same superior quality, but the external energy is inferior in quality. That is the information we have from Bhagavad-gita. Because the living entity is classified as marginal energy and is of the same quality as the internal energy, it is quite natural for him to cooperate with the internal energy. But when the living entity prefers to cooperate with the external energy, he is put into difficulty. By the process called pratyahara (diversion), yoga diverts our energies from the external to the internal.

The energy of our senses is meant to be diverted, not stopped. The senses are to be purified, so that they serve the Lord instead of disturbing His settled harmony. The entire cosmic harmony is a settled fact by the will of the Supreme. So we must find the supreme will in every action of the cosmic situation. That is the instruction of Isopanisad. The human life is an opportunity to understand this cosmic harmony, and therefore our conserved energy, which is likened to the conserved water in the paddy field, must be used for this purpose only.

As there is no chance of rain from the sky in autumn, we shall not immediately have a chance to get a human body again if we spend our conserved energy for sense enjoyment. The senses have their utility for the service of the Lord, and if properly engaged they can reach the highest perfection by being directly engaged in the service of the Lord in His personal presence. When the living entity thus goes back home, back to Godhead, and engages in the personal service of the Lord, he is said to have attained samsiddhi parama, the highest perfection. This is confirmed in

<footnote>mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah)Bhagavad-gita.

In the autumn there is a gulf of difference between the day and the night. During the day the extreme heat of the sun is unbearable, but at night the moonlight is extremely soothing and refreshing. Similarly, Lord Sri Krsna is soothing for both the gopis and the mundane man in illusion, who accepts the body as the soul.

As long as the living being, under illusion, accepts the body or the mind as the soul, he will always be unhappy, like a man in the burning heat of autumn. But when the same living being becomes a devotee of Lord Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, he at once lives a soothing life, as if under the cooling rays of the moon in autumn. Lord Sri Krsna is so merciful that He descends to reclaim suffering humanity and preaches Bhagavad-gita with the intense desire that all living beings give up all of their engagements and take shelter of His lotus feet. This is the most confidential part of all revealed scripture.

The example of the damsels of Vrajabhumi Vrndavana (the gopis) is given here because these eternal consorts of the Lord terribly suffered the separation of Lord Krsna when the Lord was absent from their presence for His engagement in tending the cows in the forest. During the absence of Krsna, the entire day would appear to the gopis to be as unbearable as a hot day in autumn. The Lord so much appreciated this natural feeling of the gopis that He declared His inability to repay their intense love. Lord Caitanya recommended the feeling of the gopis as the highest mode of worship that can be rendered to the Lord. The conclusion is that the regular practice of bhakti-yoga will lead the devotee to the plane of intense love for the Lord, and that is the single qualification by which the conditioned soul is allowed to reenter the eternal life of bliss in the kingdom of God. The threefold miseries of material existence are at once nullified by intense love of God, which is the ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit.

In the clear autumn sky the twinkling stars appear brighter and brighter, just like a transcendentalist clear vision of the purpose of the Vedas.

It is said that the import of the Vedas becomes clear to one who is not only a sincere devotee of the Lord but also a sincere servitor of the spiritual master. The spiritual master knows the purpose of the Vedas, practices it personally, and teaches the disciple of the true light of the Vedas. The supreme spiritual master, Lord Sri Krsna, teaches us the import of the Vedas in the following verse of Bhagavad-gita (15.16):

 

dvav imau purusau loke

ksaras caksara eva ca

ksarah sarvani bhutani

kuta-stho 'ksara ucyate

 

The Lord says that in the Vedas it is mentioned that there are two kinds of living beings, called the fallible and the infallible. Those living beings who are materially encaged are all fallible, whereas those who are not conditioned and who are eternally situated in the spiritual realm are called aksara, or infallible. The Lord then says,

 

uttamah purusas tv anyah

paramatmety udahrtah

yo loka-trayam avisya

bibharty avyaya isvarah

 

yasmat ksaram atito 'ham

aksarad api cottamah

ato 'smi loke vede ca

prathitah purusottamah

 

"Besides these innumerable fallible and infallible living beings there is another, superior personality, known as the Paramatma. He pervades all the three worlds and exists as the supreme controller.

"And because I [Lord Sri Krsna] am transcendental to all of them, even those who are infallible, I am known in all the Vedas and histories [the Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc.] as the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Bg. 15.17-18)

The import of the Vedas is still more explicitly explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The conclusion of the Vedic literatures is that Lord Sri Krsna is the primeval Lord and the cause of all causes. He has His eternal two-armed form as Syamasundara, with features exactly like those of a most beautiful young man, and that is the sum and substance of the Vedas concerning God. God is one, but the living entities, including both the liberated and the conditioned, are many and have many different grades of positions. The living entities are never equal to God, but as parts and parcels of the Lord they are eternally His servitors. As long as the living entities are situated normally as His servitors they are happy; otherwise they are always unhappy. That is the Vedic conclusion.

In the clear sky of autumn, the beautiful moon among the beautiful stars becomes the cynosure of all eyes, just as Lord Sri Krsna is the central attraction in the Vrsni dynasty or in the family of Yadu.

The Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, appeared in the family of Yadu, and since then the Yadu dynasty has been luminous like the moon in autumn. The appearance and disappearance of the Lord are similar to the appearance and disappearance of the sun. The sun is first seen on the eastern horizon, but that does not mean that the sun is the son of that side. The sun is fixed in its own orbit, and it neither rises nor sets. But because we first see it on the eastern horizon we may say that the sun rises on that side. Similarly, the appearance of Godhead in some particular family does not mean that He is limited by obligations to that family. He is fully independent and may appear and disappear. anywhere and everywhere, because He is all-pervading.

Less intelligent persons cannot accommodate the appearance and disappearance of the Lord as an incarnation, but there is no sound reasoning to support such unbelievers. If God is all-pervading, like the power of electricity, He can manifest Himself at any place within His creation. When He is within we cannot see Him, but when He is without He is seen by everyone, although very few know Him as He is. Everyone sees the sun every day, but that does not mean that everyone knows what the sun actually is. Similarly, when Lord Sri Krsna was present five thousand years ago, very few could know what He was.

Anyone who comes to know Him as He is becomes liberated at once, and while leaving this present body such a knower goes back to Godhead, never to return to this universe of manifold miseries. In Bhagavad-gita (4.9) the Lord confirms this as follows:

 

janma karma ca me divyam

evam yo vetti tattvatah

tyaktva deham punar janma

naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

 

"My birth and activities are all transcendental. One who knows them in reality will not be conditioned by another material body, but will come back to My abode, where there is no birth and death."

But there are foolish persons who take Him to be an ordinary man, not knowing the essence of His transcendental features. In Bhagavad-gita (9.11) the Lord affirms this:

 

avajananti mam mudha

manusim tanum asritam

param bhavam ajananto

mama bhuta-mahesvaram

 

"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be."

At night in autumn the atmosphere is pleasant because it is neither very hot nor very cold. The mild wind blowing through the gardens of fruits and flowers in Vrndavana appeared very much pleasing to all--all but the gopis, who were always overtaken by heartfelt sorrow in the absence of Krsna.

There are two kinds of transcendental feelings for those engaged in the worship of the Lord. One is called sambhoga, and the other is called viraha. According to authorities in the disciplic line, viraha worship is more palatable than sambhoga worship. Sambhoga takes place in direct touch, whereas viraha takes place without such direct contact. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us to accept viraha worship. In the present state of affairs we cannot make any direct touch with the Personality of Godhead. But if we practice the viraha mode of worship we can transcendentally realize the presence of the Lord more lovingly than in His presence.

Without love of Godhead there is no meaning even to direct contact. During the presence of the Lord there were thousands and thousands of men, but because they were not in love of Godhead they could hardly realize the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Therefore we must first activate our dormant love of Godhead by following the prescribed rules and by following in the footsteps of the authorities who are actually fixed in love of Godhead. The gopis provide the highest example of such unalloyed love of Godhead, and Lord Caitanya at the ultimate stage of realization displayed the viraha worship in the mood of the gopis.

In the mundane world there is also some shadow of such viraha. A loving wife, husband, or friend may for some time be maddened by the absence of the beloved. Such a state of mind, however, is not permanent. The loving husband or wife takes to another and forgets everything of the past. This is so because there is no reality to such relationships in the material world.

The spiritual situation, however, is completely different. A bona fide lover of God could never forget Him, even in exchange for everything else. The devotee of the Lord cannot be happy in any circumstance without the Lord. In the absence of the Lord the devotee associates with Him by remembering His separation, and because the Lord is absolute, the devotee's feeling of separation is transcendentally more relishable than direct contact. This is possible only when we develop genuine love for Him. In that state the devotee is always with the Lord by feelings of separation, which become more acute and intolerable in suitable circumstances. The mild wind reminded the gopis of the association of the Lord, and they felt separation from Him acutely.

In the autumn season all the birds, beasts, and men become sexually disposed, and the bull, the stag, the male bird, the man, and other male creatures forcibly impregnate the fair sex. A similar impregnation takes place as a result of devotional service to the Lord.

Devotional service to the Lord never goes in vain. Just at the right moment, the result of one's particular devotional service will come, even if one has no desire for it. The pure devotees do not wish any return from the Lord in exchange for their service; they do not make business exchanges with the Lord. But the Lord, out of His own accord, fulfills all the desires of the devotees.

It may appear that a devotee of the Lord is becoming poorer and poorer in terms of material prosperity, but factually he is not. The typical example is the Pandavas. The five brothers, headed by King Yudhisthira, underwent all sorts of difficulties because of the conspiracy of their cousins, headed by Duryodhana. But in the long run King Yudhisthira was enthroned by Lord Sri Krsna, and his enemies were vanquished. King Yudhisthira was never disturbed by all the calamities that overcame them even though Lord Krsna was ever their companion. The Pandavas never prayed to the Lord for anything but His devotional service, and in due time everything came out in favor of the devotees.

A devotee, therefore, should execute his devotional services with full energy, endurance, and confidence. He should perform his scheduled duties, he should be pure in heart, and he should serve in association with devotees. All six of these items will lead the devotee to the path of success. One should not be discouraged in the discharge of devotional service. Failures may not be detrimental; they may be the pillars of success. One must have good faith in the regulative principles followed by the self-realized souls, and one should not be doubtful about the ultimate result of such devotional service. Rather, one must go on executing his prescribed duties without hesitation, and one should never be influenced by unwanted association.

We should not consider going back to Godhead a plaything. We must take it seriously, as enjoined in the scriptures. For a strict follower, the result is sure and certain, and when the time is right the result will come of its own force. Dhruva Maharaja went to worship God to gain something, but when he actually came in contact with God he did not want anything from the Lord. The Lord, however, awarded Dhruva Maharaja both benefits--that is, the Lord fulfilled his desires and also gave him eternal salvation. Such are the lessons we learn from all the revealed scriptures. The almighty God awards the results we desire, and therefore we should desire that which is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. In devotional service we should not endeavor for that which is temporary and useless.

In the autumn season all the reservoirs of water are full of lotus flowers. There are also flowers that resemble the lotus but are of a different class. Among them is a flower called kumuda. When the sun rises, all the flowers but the kumuda blossom beautifully. Similarly, lotuslike men take pleasure in the advent of a responsible king, but men who are like the kumuda do not like the existence of a king.

In this age of Kali the people want their own government, because the kings have become corrupt. Formerly it was not like that. The sons of kings were trained under the guidance of a good brahmana-acarya just as the Pandavas and the Kauravas were put under the instruction of the qualified brahmana professor Sri Dronacarya. Princes were rigidly trained in politics, economics, the military arts, ethics and morality, the sciences, and, above all, devotional service to the Lord. Only after such good training were the princes allowed to be enthroned. When such a prince became king, then too he was guided by the advice of good brahmanas. Even in the Middle Ages, Maharaja Candragupta was guided by the learned brahmana Canakya Pandita.

In a monarchy, one man sufficiently trained was competent enough to conduct alone the business of the state. But in a democracy no one is trained like a prince; instead, politicians are voted to responsible posts of administration by diplomatic arrangements. In place of one king or supreme executive officer, in a democracy there are so many quasi-kings: the president, the ministers, the deputy ministers, the secretaries, the assistant secretaries, the private secretaries, and the undersecretaries. There are a number of parties--political, social, and communal--and there are party whips, party whims, and so on. But no one is well enough trained to look after the factual interests of the governed. In a so-called democratic government, corruption is even more rampant than in an autocracy or monarchy.

Men who want to flourish in the guise of servants of the people do not want a good king at the head of the state. They are like the kumuda flowers, which do not take pleasure in the sunrise. The word ku means "bad," and mud means "pleasure." Persons who want to exploit the administrative power for their own self-interest do not like the presence of a good king. Although professing democracy, they want to be kings themselves. Thus they compete for votes by bad propaganda and take pleasure in having politics but no king. Thieves and dacoits also take no pleasure in the presence of a good king, but it is in the interest of the people to have a well-trained king as the head of the state.

After the new grains were cut and brought home from the paddy fields, the people began to observe the navanna ceremony everywhere, in the presence of the Lord as Sri Krsna and Baladeva.

According to Vedic culture, learned men consider all natural products, such as food grains, fruits, flowers, and milk, to be God-sent. No one can manufacture these things in man-made factories, however scientifically advanced people may be. People can make preparations of such God-sent foodstuffs, but they cannot manufacture the natural ingredients. Spiritually cultured men, therefore, feel obliged to the Lord when they get sufficient natural foodstuffs by the grace of the Lord.

The navanna-prasana ceremony is observed as a way of acknowledging the gifts of God. Newly collected grains would first be offered to the Lord by the villagers, either individually or collectively, and in either case all the members of the village would partake of the prasadam thus offered to the Lord. Such ceremonies make the people happy and prosperous.

We should always acknowledge the mercy of God. We should not think that we can produce ample food grains merely with the help of tractors and fertilizers. These can help us only as instruments for such production; without the sanction of the Lord there is no possibility of having grains, even if there are trucks and fertilizers.

When Lord Krsna and Baladeva were present, the good men of Vrndavana realized that it was due to the presence of the Lord that their supply of food grains was sufficient. Some of the people of Vrndavana, including Lord Krsna's father, Nanda Maharaja, used to perform sacrifices to propitiate King Indra, the king of heaven, because he is the controller of rains. Without good rains, grains cannot be produced, and therefore the people would offer sacrifices to Indra. Lord Sri Krsna, however, stopped this age-old ceremony and advised His father to offer the same sacrifice to the Supreme Lord. His purpose was to teach that we need not satisfy the various demigods in charge of the various departments of cosmic affairs; instead we must offer sacrifices to the Supreme Lord, for the Lord is the master and all others are His servants. The famous anna-kuta ceremony, performed in Vrndavana especially and also in all other parts of India, was thus introduced by the Lord, and people still follow this path by worshiping Govardhana Hill, where the Lord used to take pleasure in tending cows. People also worship Giri Govardhana as identical with the Lord, because there is no difference between God and His paraphernalia and pastimes.

The merchants, preachers, kings, and students who were confined to home during the four months June, July, August, and September began to flow out and attain success in life, just as perfected souls attain the required body as soon as they leave the present one.

The people in general--especially the merchants, preachers, kings, and students--are advised not to leave home during the four months of the rainy season. These four months are known as Caturmasya, and for everyone there are specific rules for observing this period, partly for the sake of health and partly for spiritual realization. During this period the merchants cannot do free business, dedicated souls like sannyasis cannot freely preach the doctrines of the Vedas, kings cannot go out to tour their states, and students cannot go to their schools, which are closed. But after the Caturmasya period they all get the freedom to go out and perform their respective duties, and by doing so they can achieve the results they desire.

In the same way, one cannot achieve the desired results of one's penances until one attains freedom from the present body. There are various ways to practice the various kinds of yoga to attain various results in various spheres of life. It is not that everything is the same. There are varieties of life, varieties of planets, and varieties of success in spiritual realization. And all these can be achieved only when we have finished the Caturmasya-like period of life. It is a foolish imagination, therefore, that we can go to other planets in the present body. If we want to go to Devaloka, the planets of the demigods, we must achieve the required qualifications, and the same is true if we want to go back to the kingdom of God. If we want to remain on this planet in some better condition of life, that also will depend on the required achievements. In any case, those achievements can be fulfilled just after one leaves the body.

The merchants, preachers, kings, and students form the four important sections of human society. The merchants should see that everyone gets his proper share of the food given as a gift by God. The sannyasi preachers should go from door to door to preach the sense of God consciousness, not to build mathas and temples but to enlighten the people. The king should go out from his home to see with his own eyes how things are going on. (Maharaja Pariksit, while on tour, saw a man, Kali, attempting to kill a cow, so the king at once punished him.) And students should gather knowledge wherever it is available. The combined work of these four sections is meant for the general welfare of society.

From the Transcendence, which is called Krsnaloka, there emanates a glowing effulgence that resembles the tail of a comet. This glowing effulgence is unlimited, immeasurable, and unfathomable. Within this effulgence there are innumerable glowing planets, each of them self-luminous. Somewhere, a limited part of that glowing effulgence is covered by material energy, just as a part of the sky is covered by a cloud. Within this material energy there are innumerable universes, in every universe there are innumerable material planets, and the earth is one of these planets. Thus we can understand what an insignificant part of the entire cosmos is this globe on which we live.

Krsnaloka, as above mentioned, is the residence of the Personality of Godhead, the original Transcendence. The glowing effulgence emanating from Krsnaloka is the personal glow of the Lord. The almighty Lord, being full of inconceivable energies, expands Himself in various forms and energies. There are forms from His energy as well as forms from His person. He has innumerable energies, and therefore He can do anything and everything as He desires, and these things take place immediately, with all perfection. His energies are like the heat and light that expand from a fire. The entire cosmic manifestation is nothing but an expansion of His energies; the energies are emanations from Him, and therefore the emanations are simultaneously one with and different from Him.

The Transcendence is compared to milk, and the emanations are compared to yogurt. Yogurt is nothing but milk, but at the same time it is different from milk. Yogurt is a milk preparation, but it cannot be used in place of milk. The Lord is also sometimes compared to a tree. The root of the tree is the cause of the trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, and fruits, yet the trunk is not the fruit, the fruit is not the leaf, nor is the leaf the root. When water is needed it has to be poured on the root, not on the leaves. Pouring water on the leaves serves no purpose, but pouring water on the root serves all purposes. This is the essence of the philosophy of spiritual culture.

Krsnaloka is also called Goloka Vrndavana. Beneath this Goloka are Hari-dhama, Mahesa-dhama, and Devi-dhama. Hari (Visnu, Narayana) is the formal expansion of the Lord, Mahesa (Siva) is the formal energetic expansion of the Lord, and Devi is the Lord's energetic expansion. The living entities are also energetic expansions of the Lord. There are two different kinds of living entities, called the liberated souls and the conditioned souls.

The planets within the glowing effulgence are called Hari-dhama. On these planets the predominating Deity is Hari, and the predominated deities are the liberated souls. The features of the liberated souls and those of Hari are almost the same, yet Hari is predominator and the liberated souls are predominated. The innumerable planets in Hari-dhama are predominated by different formal expansions of the Lord, and all of them have different names.

The universes within the material energy are called Devi-dhama, and within Devi-dhama the predominating Deity is Visnu, who is assisted by Brahma and Siva. Devi-dhama is controlled by three modes, namely goodness, passion, and ignorance. Visnu is the incarnation of goodness, Brahma of passion, and Siva of ignorance. Brahma creates, Visnu maintains, and Siva destroys the material creation. The material creation comes into being by the will of the Lord, and it is again annihilated by His will. But although the universes of the material energy are thus created and annihilated, the planets in Hari-dhama are ever existent.

The conditioned living entities who wish to enjoy and not serve are given a chance within Devi-dhama to seek liberation. Some of them enter Hari-dhama, some of them enter Mahesa-dhama, and some of them remain within Devi-dhama. Mahesa-dhama is the marginal place between Hari-dhama and Devi-dhama. The impersonalists who want to merge into the existence of the Transcendence are placed within Mahesa-dhama. Those who want to remain within the planetary systems of the material universes do so on various planets. But those who want to go outside the material energy can enter Hari-dhama and go either to the various planets there or directly to Krsnaloka.

The system of bhakti-yoga makes one eligible to enter Hari-dhama, the system of jnana-yoga makes one eligible to enter Mahesa-dhama, and the system of karma-yoga obliges one to remain in Devi-dhama and repeatedly be born and die, changing his material covering according to the standard of karma he performs.

The moon, or Candraloka, is one of the four important places of residence for the demigods. Beyond Manasa Lake is Sumeru Mountain. On the eastern side of this mountain is the planet Devadhani, where Indra resides. On the southern side is the planet known as Samyamani, where Yamaraja resides. On the western side is the planet known as Nimlocani, the residence of Vayu, the demigod who controls the wind. And on the northern side of the mountain is the moon, which is also known as Vibhavari.

All these various planets are within the universe in which our planet is situated. Persons who are too materialistic always engage in sense enjoyment. Such persons worship the material demigods and goddesses to fulfill their material desires. They are fond of performing many yajnas to propitiate the various demigods and the forefathers in heaven. Such persons are automatically promoted to the moon, where they enjoy soma, a celestial beverage.

The moon is too cold for the inhabitants of this earth, and therefore ordinary persons who want to go there with earthly bodies are attempting to do so in vain. Merely seeing the moon from a distance cannot enable one to understand the real situation of the moon. One has to cross Manasa Lake and then Sumeru Mountain, and only then can one trace out the orbit of the moon. Besides that, no ordinary man is allowed to enter that planet. Even those admitted there after death must have performed the prescribed duties to satisfy the pitas and devas. Yet even they are sent back to earth after a fixed duration of life-on the moon.

Men with developed consciousness, therefore, do not waste time making excursions, real or imaginary, to the moon. Such intelligent persons do not endeavor to achieve temporary sense enjoyment. Rather, they apply their conserved energy for the sake of spiritual cultivation. They discharge religious duties for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, and not for personal sense enjoyment. The signs of such exceptional devotees of the Lord are that they are unattached to material enjoyment, contented, pure in heart, attached to devotional service, free from affection for temporary things, and devoid of false ego. According to Vedic injunctions, such great personalities ultimately attain the place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead predominates and where there is no death, no birth, no old age, and no disease. On the way to these spiritual planets, such personalities pass through the sun line called arcir-marga. And on the way they can see all the planets between here and the spiritual world.