The Frog In A Well

Scientists, for instance, may speculate about distant stars and planets, but they can never come to any conclusions without experience. One may go on speculating throughout his life and never reach any conclusions. It is especially useless to speculate about God. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam recommends that all sorts of speculation should be given up. It is recommended instead that one become submissive, realizing that not only is he an insignificant creature, but that this earth is only one small point in the great universe. New York City may seem very large, but when one realizes that the earth is such a small spot, and that on the earth the United States is just another small spot, and that in the United States New York City is but a small spot, and that in New York the individual is only one out of millions, then one can understand that he is not so very important after all. Realizing our insignificance in the face of the universe and God, we should not be artificially puffed-up but should be submissive. We should be very careful not to fall prey to the frog philosophy.

Once there was a frog in a well, and upon being informed of the existence of the Atlantic Ocean by a friend, he asked the friend, “Oh, what is this Atlantic Ocean?”
“It is a vast body of water,” his friend replied.
“How vast? Is it double the size of this well?”
“Oh no, much much larger,” his friend replied.
“How much larger? Ten times the size?” In this way the frog went on calculating. But what is the possibility of his ever understanding the depths and far reaches of the great ocean? Our faculties, experience, and powers of speculation are always limited. We can only give rise to such frog philosophy. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam recommends that we give up the method of speculation as a waste of time in trying to understand the Supreme.

After giving up speculation, what should we do? Bhagavatam recommends that we become submissive and hear the message of God submissively. This message may be found also in the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures, in the Bible or the Koran—in any bona fide scripture—or it may be heard from a realized soul. The main point is that one should not speculate but should simply hear about God. What will be the result of such hearing? Regardless of what one is—whether he be a poor or rich man, an American, European or Indian, a brahmana, sudra or whatever—if one but hears the transcendental word of God, the Lord, who can never be conquered by any power or force, will be conquered by love. Arjuna was a friend of Krsna’s, but Krsna, although the Supreme Godhead, became Arjuna’s chariot driver, a menial servant. Arjuna loved Krsna, and Krsna reciprocated his love in this way. Similarly, when Krsna was a child, He playfully took the shoes of His father, Nanda Maharaja, and put them on His head. People may try very hard to become one with God, but actually we can surpass that—we can become father of God. Of course God is the father of all creatures, and He has no father Himself, but He accepts His devotee, His lover, as a father. Krsna agrees to be conquered by His devotee out of love. All one has to do is hear the message of the Lord very carefully.
In the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna gives additional ways in which He can be perceived in every step of life:
punyo gandhah prthivyam ca
tejas casmi vibhavasau
jivanam sarva-bhutesu
tapas casmi tapasvisu

“I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.” (Bg. 7.9)

The words punyo gandhah refer to fragrances. Only Krsna can create flavors and fragrances. We may synthetically create some scents or fragrances, but these are not as good as the originals that occur in nature. When we smell a good natural fragrance, we can think, “Oh, here is God. Here is Krsna.” Or when we see some natural beauty, we can think, “Oh, here is Krsna.” Or when we see something uncommon, powerful or wonderful, we can think,“Here is Krsna.” Or when we see any form of life, whether it be in a tree, in a plant, or an animal or in a human being, we should understand that this life is part and parcel of Krsna, for as soon as the spiritual spark, which is part and parcel of Krsna, is taken away from the body, the body disintegrates.

bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham

“O son of Prtha, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.” (Bg. 7.10)

Here again it is explicitly stated that Krsna is the life of all that lives. Thus at every step we can see God. People may ask, “Can you show me God?” Yes, of course. God can be seen in so many ways. But if one closes his eyes and says, “I shall not see God,” then how can He be shown?
In the above verse the word bijam means seed, and that seed is proclaimed to be eternal (sanatanam).

One may see a huge tree, but what is the origin of this tree? It is the seed, and that seed is eternal. The seed of existence is within every living entity. The body itself may go through so many changes—it may develop within the mother’s womb, come out as a small baby and grow through childhood and adulthood—but the seed of that existence that is within is permanent. Therefore it is sanatanam. Imperceivably we are changing our bodies at every moment, at every second. But the bijam, the seed, the spiritual spark, does not change. Krsna proclaims Himself to be this eternal seed within all existences. He is also the intelligence of an intelligent person. Without being favored by Krsna, one cannot become extraordinarily intelligent.

Everyone is trying to be more intelligent than others, but without the favor of Krsna this is not possible. Therefore whenever we encounter someone with extraordinary intelligence we should think, “That intelligence is Krsna.” Similarly, the influence of one who is very influential is also Krsna.
balam balavatam caham
ka ma-raga-vivarjitam
dharmaviruddho bhutesu
kamo ’smi bharatarsabha

“I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O Lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna].” (Bg. 7.11)

The elephant and the gorilla are very strong animals, and we should understand that they get their strength fro m Krsna. The human being cannot acquire such strength by his own endeavor, but if Krsna so favors, a man can get strength to exceed the elephant thousands of times. The great warrior Bhima, who fought in the battle of Kuruksetra, was said to have strength ten thousand times that of an elephant. Similarly, desire or lust (kama) which is not against religious principles should also be seen as Krsna. What is this lust?

Lust generally means sex life, but here kama refers to sex life which is not against religious principles, that is to say, sex for the begetting of good children. If one can beget good Krsna conscious children, he can have sex thousands of times, but if he can only beget children who are raised in the consciousness of cats and dogs, his sex life is to be considered irreligious. In religious and civilized societies, marriage is intended as an indication that a couple is to engage in sex for begetting good children. Therefore married sex life is considered religious, and unmarried sex life is considered irreligious. Actually there is no difference between the sannyasi and the householder provided that the householder’s sexual activities are based on religious principles.
ye caiva sattvika bhava
rajasas tamasas ca ye
matta eveti tan viddhi
na tv aham tesu te mayi

“All states of being—be they of goodness, passion or ignorance—are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything—but I am independent. I am not under the modes of this material nature.” (Bg. 7.12)

One may question Krsna in this way: “You say You are sound, water, illumination, fragrance, the seed of all, strength, and kama, desire—does that mean that you exist simply in the mode of goodness?” In the material world there are the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Thus far, Krsna has described Himself as that which is good (for instance, sex in marriage according to religious principles). But what about the other modes? Does not Krsna exist in them? In answer, Krsna replies that whatever is seen in the material world is due to an interaction of three modes of material nature.

Whatever can be observed is a combination of goodness, passion or ignorance, and in all cases these three states are “produced by Me.” Because they are produced by Krsna, their position is in Him, but He is not in them, for Krsna Himself is transcendental to the three modes. Thus, in another sense, bad and evil things, which are produced out of ignorance, are also Krsna, when they are applied by Krsna. How is this? For example, an electrical engineer is producing electrical energy. In our homes we are experiencing this electrical energy as coldness in the refrigerator or heat in the electric stove, but at the power plant electrical energy is neither cold nor hot. The manifestations of this energy may be different for the living entities, but for Krsna they are not different. Therefore Krsna sometimes acts on what appears to be the principles of passion or ignorance, but for Krsna there is nothing but Krsna, just as for the electrical engineer electrical energy is simply electricity and nothing else. He makes no distinction that this is “cold electricity” or that is “hot electricity.”

Everything is being generated by Krsna. Indeed, the Vedanta-sutra confirms: athato brahma jijnasa janmady asya yatah: [Bhag. 1.1.1] everything is flowing from the
Supreme Absolute Truth. What the living entity is considering to be bad or good is only so for the living entity, for he is conditioned. But because Krsna is not conditioned, for Him there is no question of bad or good. Because we are conditioned, we are suffering from dualities, but for Him everything is perfect.

From On The Way To Krishna, Excerpt from Ch. 3 "Seeing Krsna Everywhere and Always"
By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya for ISKCON