Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Nine
Purifying the Mind for Self-realization
TLK Vs 15
TEXT 15
cetah khalv asya bandhaya
muktaye catmano matam
gunesu saktam bandhaya
ratam va pumsi muktaye
TRANSLATION
The stage in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation.
PURPORT
There is a distinction here between Krsna consciousness and maya consciousness. Gunesu, or maya consciousness, involves attachment to the three material modes of nature, under which one works sometimes in goodness and knowledge, sometimes in passion and sometimes in ignorance. These different qualitative activities, with the central attachment for material enjoyment, are the cause of one’s conditional life. When the same cetah, or consciousness, is transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, or when one becomes Krsna conscious, he is on the path of liberation.
TLK Vs 16
TEXT 16
aham-mamabhimanotthaih
kama-lobhadibhir malaih
vitam yada manah suddham
aduhkham asukham samam
TRANSLATION
When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as “I” and bodily possessions as “mine,” one’s mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of material happiness and distress.
PURPORT
Kama and lobha are the symptoms of material existence. Everyone always desires to possess something. It is said here that desire and greed are the products of false identification of oneself with the body. When one becomes free from this contamination, his mind and consciousness also become freed and attain their original state. Mind, consciousness and the living entity exist. Whenever we speak of the living entity, this includes the mind and consciousness. The difference between conditional life and liberated life occurs when we purify the mind and the consciousness. When they are purified, one becomes transcendental to material happiness and distress.
In the beginning Lord Kapila has said that perfect yoga enables one to transcend the platform of material distress and happiness. How this can be done is explained here: one has to purify his mind and consciousness. This can be done by the bhakti-yoga system. As explained in the Narada-pancaratra, one’s mind and senses should be purified (tat-paratvena nirmalam). One’s senses must be engaged in devotional service of the Lord. That is the process. The mind must have some engagement. One cannot make the mind vacant. Of course there are some foolish attempts to try to make the mind vacant or void, but that is not possible. The only process that will purify the mind is to engage it in Krsna. The mind must be engaged. If we engage our mind in Krsna, naturally the consciousness becomes fully purified, and there is no chance that material desire and greed will enter.
Our mind is our friend, and our mind is our enemy. If it is cleansed, it is a friend, and if it is dirty, we contact material diseases. If we keep ourselves clean, pure, we will not be contaminated. According to Vedic civilization, one has to cleanse himself externally three times daily—once in the morning, again at noon, and again in the evening. Those who strictly follow the brahminical rules and regulations follow this process. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Conditional life means that the mind is covered with dirty things, and this is our disease. When we are in the lower modes of tamo-guna and rajo-guna, these dirty things are very prominent. One has to raise himself to the mode of sattva (goodness) by the process of sankirtana and sravana. One has to hear krsna-katha. Krsna is within everyone’s heart. The individual soul is part and parcel of Krsna, and Krsna wants the individual soul to turn to Him. Unfortunately the conditioned soul is attached to material enjoyment, and this is the cause of his bondage to birth, death, old age and disease. He is so foolish that he does not take into consideration that these miseries are repeated. He is like an ass that belongs to a washerman who loads him down with heavy clothes. For a few morsels of grass, the ass has to carry heavy loads all day, although not a single piece of clothing belongs to him. This is the way of the karmis. They may become big multimillionaires, but they are just like asses, working hard day and night. Regardless of how much money they may have, their stomachs can only hold so much. And they require only six feet of space to sleep. Nonetheless, these big karmis are thinking themselves very important. They think, “Without me, all the members of my nation will die. Let me work day and night to the point of death.” People are thinking, “I belong to this family, this nation, this community. I have this duty or that duty,” and so on. people do not know that these are all false designations.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore enjoins, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] our actual position is that of eternal servants of Krsna. We are mistakenly thinking that we are servants of a family or nation, but this is due to ignorance, tamo-guna. However, we can attain the platform of sattva-guna by following the instructions given in Bhagavad-gita. Hearing krsna-katha, topics about Krsna, clears all the dirty things from the mind. Also, if we chant and dance, these dirty things will be wiped away. The mind is the cause of bondage, and the mind is the cause of liberation. When it is dirty, it brings about bondage. In conditional life, we take birth, remain for some time, and enjoy or suffer. But really there is no question of enjoyment. There is only suffering. When we die, we have to give up the body and then take on another body. We immediately enter the womb of another mother, stay for nine months or so, and then come out. Then a new chapter of life begins. This is conditioned life, and it goes on again and again and again. ln this way we undergo the tribulations of birth, old age, disease and death. The dogs and cats cannot understand this process, but we can understand it in human life through the Vedic literatures. If we don’t take advantage of these literatures, all our education is for nothing.
People actually waste their time talking politics, sociology, anthropology, and so on. They read many literatures that do not glorify the Supreme Lord Hari, and thus they waste their time. This Krsna consciousness movement is giving everyone a chance to become pious. punya-sravana-kirtanah [Bhag. 1.2.17]. It is not necessary to give money or bathe in the Ganges. There are many pious activities and many processes recommended in the sastras for becoming pious. However, in Kali-yuga people have lost all their stamina. They are so sinful that there is no question of becoming pious through all these prescribed methods. The only means is hearing about Krsna and chanting His names. Krsna has given us ears to hear and a tongue to speak. We can hear from a realized soul and thus perfect our lives. In this way we are given a chance to purify ourselves. Unless we are purified, we cannot become devotees. Human life is meant for purification. Unfortunately in this age people are not interested in Krsna, and they suffer through material existence one life after another after another. In one life they may be very opulent. Then they don’t care about the next life. They think, “Let me eat, drink and be merry.” This is going on all over the world, but the sastras say that people are making mistakes in this way. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarmah (Bhag. 5.5.4): people have become mad with sense gratification, and therefore they engage in all sorts of forbidden things. Karma means regulated work, and vikarma means just the opposite—unlawful, forbidden activities. The word akarma means that one is not affected by the results of work. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (3.9):
yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra
loko ’yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samacara
“Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.”
When people are in the modes of passion and ignorance, they perform vikarma. They do not care for their future lives, and they are habituated to eating anything and everything, just like hogs. They do not care for the sastric injunctions, and they are totally irresponsible. They are just like street boys who have no education and do not care for anything. Such urchins do whatever they like, for their fathers and mothers do not care for them. Life in ignorance, tamo-guna, is such a careless life. People simply act unlawfully, not considering the results of their actions. They act for sense gratification, and actually they take pleasure in committing sins. In Calcutta I have seen people taking pleasure in cutting the throats of chickens and laughing when the chicken jumps and flaps about. Sometimes in Western countries students are taken to slaughterhouses just to see how the cows are butchered. In this age, people take pleasure in committing all kinds of sins. They have no brains to see that this body is temporary and full of suffering. They are completely in the mode of darkness, just like the animals they slaughter. There may be many animals in a pasture, and if one takes an animal aside and cuts its throat, the other animals will simply stand, look, and continue eating grass. They do not realize that the next time they may be slaughtered. The people in Kali-yuga are in the same situation, but the Krsna consciousness movement is trying to give these rascals a little sense. We are saying, “Don’t remain animals. Become human beings.” In the words of Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
krsna bhuli’ sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara-duhkha
“Forgetting Krsna, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy (maya) gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence. (Cc. Madhya 20.117) When one forgets his relationship with Krsna, he acts in a very foolish way, and maya gives him one misery after another. It is also stated:
maya-mugdha jivera nahi svatah krsna jnana
jivere krpaya kaila krsna veda-purana
“The conditioned soul cannot revive his Krsna consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Krsna compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Puranas.” (Cc. Madhya 20.122)
The Vedic literatures—the Vedanta, Upanisads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and many others—should be utilized if we wish to become free from the contamination of tamo-guna and rajo-guna. The whole world is revolving due to kama and lobha. Kama means “lusty desire,” and lobha means “greed.” people cannot have enough sex or money, and because of this, their hearts are filled with contaminations, which have to be cleansed by hearing, repeating and chanting. Human life is meant to get rid of anarthas, unwanted things, but where is the university or college where this science of purification is taught? The only institution is this Krsna consciousness society. Krsna is within the heart, and the contaminations are also there, but Krsna will help us cleanse them. Nasta-prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata-sevaya (Bhag. 1.2.18). We must regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and chant Hare Krsna; these are the two processes recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Haridasa Thakura was chanting three hundred thousand holy names a day, but we have fixed the number at sixteen rounds. Nonetheless, we are so unfortunate and fallen that we cannot even perform them. We should not waste our time reading and talking nonsense, but should engage in the study of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Our time is very valuable, and we should not waste it. Canakya Pandita has said: ayusah ksana eko ’pi na labhyah svarna-kotibhih. We may live for a hundred years, but not one moment of these hundred years can be returned, not even if we are prepared to pay millions of dollars. We cannot add a moment, nor can we get a moment back. If time is money, we should just consider how much money we have lost. However, time is even more precious because it cannot be regained. Therefore not a single moment should be lost. Human life should be utilized only for chanting and reading Vedic literatures. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is publishing many books so that people can utilize their time properly by reading them and make their lives successful. Not only should we read Srimad-Bhagavatam, but we should also serve the person bhagavata, one whose life is nothing but Srimad-Bhagavatam. Nityam bhagavata-sevaya [SB 1.2.18]. By this process we can attain the stage of bhagavad-bhakti, but first we must get rid of all these anarthas, unwanted things. Presently we are wasting our time thinking, “This is my country. This is my nation. This is my body and my family,” and so on. Nityam bhagavata-sevaya. We can vanquish all these false conceptions when we come to the platform of sattva-guna. Then we will not be disturbed by tamo-guna or rajo-guna, nor by kama or lobha (lust and greed). This is the vasudeva platform. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.
Lord Kapiladeva, in the next verse, points out the results that follow the successful completion of this purificatory process.
TLK Vs 17
TEXT 17
tada purusa atmanam
kevalam prakrteh param
nirantaram svayam-jyotir
animanam akhanditam
TRANSLATION
At that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to material existence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minute in size.
PURPORT
In the state of pure consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, one can see himself as a minute particle nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the jiva, or the individual soul, is eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Just as the sun’s rays are minute particles of the brilliant sun, so a living entity is a minute particle of the Supreme Spirit. The individual soul and the Supreme Lord are not separated as in material differentiation. The individual soul is a particle from the very beginning. One should not think that because the individual soul is a particle, it is fragmented from the whole spirit. Mayavada philosophy enunciates that the whole spirit exists, but a part of it, which is called the jiva, is entrapped by illusion. This philosophy, however, is unacceptable because spirit cannot be divided like a fragment of matter. That part, the jiva, is eternally a part. As long as the Supreme Spirit exists, His part and parcel also exists. As long as the sun exists, the molecules of the sun’s rays also exist.
The jiva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be one ten-thousandth the size of the upper portion of a hair. He is therefore infinitesimal. The Supreme Spirit is infinite, but the living entity, or individual soul, is infinitesimal, although he is not different in quality from the Supreme Spirit.
Two words in this verse are to be particularly noted. One is nirantaram, which means “nondifferent” or “of the same quality.” The individual soul is also expressed here as animanam. Animanam means “infinitesimal.” The Supreme Spirit is all-pervading, but the very small spirit is the individual soul. Akhanditam means not exactly “fragmented” but “constitutionally always infinitesimal.” No one can separate the molecular parts of the sunshine from the sun, but at the same time the molecular part of the sunshine is not as expansive as the sun itself. Similarly, the living entity, by his constitutional position, is qualitatively the same as the Supreme Spirit, but he is infinitesimal.
Self-realization means seeing one’s proper identity as the infinitesimal jiva. At the present moment, we are seeing the body, but this is not our proper identity. We have no vision of the real person occupying the body. The first lesson we receive from Bhagavad-gita (2.13) informs us that the body and the owner of the body are different. When we can understand that we are not the body, that is the beginning of self-realization, and that is called the brahma-bhuta stage. Aham brahmasmi. I am not this material body, but spirit soul. And what are the characteristics of the jiva, the soul? First of all, he is animanam, very minute, infinitesimal. We are also jyoti, effulgent, like God, but God is brahma-jyoti, all-pervading and infinite. According to the Mayavada theory, we are the same as that brahmajyoti. Mayavadis give the example of a pot and the sky. Outside the pot there is sky, and within the pot there is sky. The separation is only due to the wall of the pot. When the pot is broken, the inside and outside become one. However, this example does not properly apply to the soul, as it is described in Bhagavad-gita (2.24):
acchedyo ’yam adahyo ’yam
akledyo ’sosya eva ca
nityah sarva-gatah sthanur
acalo ’yam sanatanah
“This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.” The Soul cannot be cut in pieces or segmented. This means that the soul is eternally, perpetually minute. We are the eternal parts and parcels of Sri Krsna. As Sri Krsna Himself states in Bhagavad-gita (15.7):
mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
“The living entities in the conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts.” The word sanatana means “eternal,” and the word amsa means “particles.” God, Krsna, is very great. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him. It is said that God is great, but we do not actually realize how great God is. He is so great that millions of universes are emanating from the pores of His body.
yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
“The Brahmas and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of the Maha-Visnu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, for Maha-Visnu is a portion of His plenary portion.” (Brahma-samhita 5.48)
Millions of universes emanate from the breathing of the Maha-Visnu. In the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna gives Arjuna some indication of His infinite glory, and He concludes His descriptions with the following statement (Bg. 10.42):
athava bahunaitena
kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam
ekamsena sthito jagat
“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.”
This universe (jagat) is situated on the strength of one part of Krsna’s yogic powers. In this way we must understand the greatness of God and our own identity as minute particles. It is stated in the puranas that the individual soul is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair. If we could somehow divide the tip of a hair into ten thousand parts, we might begin to understand how the soul is invisible. Self-realization means knowing our identity as small particles. The small particle of spirit soul is within every one of us, but it is not possible to see with material eyes. There is no instrument existing in the material universe by which one can actually see the soul. Because of our inability to perceive the soul, we say it is nirakara, formless. We cannot even calculate its dimension (akara). Although we cannot calculate it, it is there nonetheless. The living entity has full form. There are small microbes and insects we can barely see, but they have an anatomy consisting of many working parts. Within a small insect there is also the spirit soul, and that spirit soul also exists within the elephant and other big animals.
When we actually realize our identity as Brahman, our life becomes successful. Presently we are identifying with the body, but as long as we do so, we are no better than cats and dogs, although we may have a considerable amount of scientific knowledge. Conditioned souls consider the body to be the self, and because of this the jivas identify themselves as American, Indian, brahmana, ksatriya, man, woman, elephant and so forth. Thinking in these bodily terms, people consider their wives and children to be theirs and the land of their birth to be worshipable. Thinking thus, people are willing to fight and die for their country. presently everyone is laboring under this delusion, but in order to understand our spiritual identity, we must find the proper guru.
Realizing our identity means realizing that we are Krsna’s eternal parts and parcels, that we are very minute, infinitesimal, and that we have a perpetual and eternal relationship with Krsna, just as a part has its relationship to the whole. At no time can we be as great as Krsna, although we are the same qualitatively. No one is equal to God, and no one is greater than Him. If someone claims to be God, he has to prove that no one is equal to him and that no one is greater. If he can do this, he is God. This is a very simple definition. Brahma-samhita (5.1) also verifies this statement: isvarah paramah krsnah [Bs. 5.1]. The word isvara means “controller,” and the word parama means “supreme.” We small living entities are controllers to a degree. We can control, at times, our family members, wives, children and so forth. Or we can control our office, factory, country or whatever. There are small controllers and larger controllers. If we go to Brahma, we see that he is controlling the entire universe, but he is not the supreme controller. It is stated in the sastras that Brahma, the greatest living being within this universe, is also meditating in order to learn how to control. Tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye (Bhag. 1.1.1).
First of all, Brahma learned to control the universe; then he became qualified as Brahma. Although he was born Brahma, he still had to be educated. If he was the first living being in the universe, who educated him? Krsna. Sri Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (10.2), aham adir hi devanam: “I am the source of the demigods.”
The original demigods are Brahma, Visnu and Siva. Lord Krsna is Visnu, but He is the instructor of Brahma and Siva. Therefore it is said that Lord Krsna is the source of all the demigods.
We should not foolishly claim that we are as great as the Supreme God. We should understand that we are like sparks of the original fire. The spark is also fire, but if it falls from the original flame, it will go out. One should not think that because he is qualitatively one with God, he is God. the supreme controller. It is very fashionable nowadays to claim to have become Narayana, God. The Mayavadis address one another as Narayana, and thus everyone supposedly becomes Narayana. In this way we are overcrowded with Narayanas here and there. But how can everyone become Narayana? Narayana is one, and the sastras warn:
yas tu narayanam devam
brahma-rudradi-daivataih
samatvenaiva vikseta
sa pasandi bhaved dhruvam
“Whoever thinks Lord Visnu and the demigods are on the same level is to be immediately considered a rogue as far as spiritual understanding is concerned.” If one compares Narayana to the demigods, he simply reveals his lack of intelligence. It is also fashionable to speak of daridra-narayana, poor Narayana, claiming that the poor man in the street is Narayana. But what is this nonsense? Narayana is the exalted Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even Sankaracarya says: narayanah paro ’vyaktat. Narayana is beyond this universe. Avyaktad anda-sambhavah: the entire universe is a product of this avyakta. We should not compare Narayana to anyone, what to speak of the poor man in the street (daridra). This is all foolishness. Narayana is Laksmipati, the husband and controller of the goddess of fortune. How, then, can He be daridra? This is all due to misunderstanding. Therefore the sastras warn that if one thinks that the demigods are equal to Narayana, one is a pasandi, an atheist. We should not think that because we have become liberated, we have attained the position of Narayana. By severe austerity and penance one may elevate himself to the position of Brahman, but this is not the position of Parabrahman. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah (Bhag. 10.2.32). Although one rises to the platform of Brahman, one again falls down to the material position if he neglects to worship the lotus feet of Krsna. One may rise to the Brahma effulgence, but because there is no shelter there one will return to the material atmosphere. One may go to Brahmaloka, the highest planet in the material sky, but one’s position there is temporary. However, in the paravyoma, the spiritual sky, there are many spiritual planets, called Vaikunthalokas. There are millions of these gigantic planets, and unless we take shelter of one of them, we will fall down again into the material atmosphere.
It is not sufficient to rise to the platform of Brahman. Brahman is sat (being), and a partial realization of the Absolute Truth. We are actually after ananda. Sac-cid-ananda: cit means “knowledge,” and that is also partial. We must add ananda (bliss) in order to have complete realization. If we simply fly in the sky, we can’t have ananda. We have to descend to an airport at some time or another. If we simply rise to the Brahman effulgence, we do not experience ananda. Ananda is experienced when we enter the spiritual planets, where Narayana, Krsna, is present. paras tasmat tu bhavo ’nyo ’vyakto ’vyaktat sanatanah (Bg. 8.20). We have to enter the eternal planets and associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to be happy. If we do not attain this position, we will return to the material world. And how can this position be attained? We simply have to try to understand Krsna. Why does He come? What is His business? What is His form?
The purpose of this Krsna consciousness movement is to teach people how to understand Krsna. If one is fortunate in understanding Him, one’s life is successful. As long as we have lusty desires and greed, we cannot come to this understanding. The bhakti-yoga process is the process of purification whereby we can become free from kama and lobha, lust and greed, and the influence of the lower gunas, tamo-guna and rajo-guna, ignorance and passion. As soon as we engage in devotional service, we immediately become freed from the influence of the gunas. Because we are not expert in approaching the Supreme Lord, we have to follow the principles of bhakti-yoga enunciated by the acaryas. When a boy goes to school, he has to follow the rules and regulations, but after a while he becomes accustomed to them and does not have to be taught. In other words, he learns automatically to come to school at a certain time, take his seat and study nicely. Similarly, in this Krsna consciousness movement, we have certain rules and regulations. We must rise early in the morning for mangala-arati, chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krsna daily, and execute all the functions of bhakti-yoga. In this way, we become attached to rendering service to Krsna, and we become practiced in this science. When we attain this stage, we immediately become self-realized.