Interpretations of Bhagavad-gita (PART FOUR)

(Part Four of an essay by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Click here for PART ONE)

This param bhāvam or transcendental nature of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is unknowable to the unlucky four classes of men as aforesaid. Some of them who are influenced by asurabhāva or demoniac nature especially consider that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is no better than an ordinary man and the extraordinary qualities that He possessed can be acquired by any ordinary man, or in other words, any one and every one can become a Śrī Kṛṣṇa or more than Him. But the mahātmās who are graced by Śrī Kṛṣṇa know Him otherwise. Such mahātmās know Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality bhūtamaheśvaram, while the asuras or rakṣasas (like Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu) who defy Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Being above everthing and thereby are baffled in their speculative work, frustrated in their hopes, befooled in their search of knowledge thus remain entrapped by the illusory laws of material nature which they are unable to conquer by any amount of speculative method. [margin note: (Nobody is at or above: (aśrama urdhva))] These asuras and mahātmās are definitely distinguished in the Bhagavad-gītā in so many words, as in Chapter 9, Texts 12-14:

moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo
mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ
rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva
prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

"Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.

O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." [Bg. 9.12-14]

The whole purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to reveal Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Personality of Godhead as He is. The whole theme of Bhagavad-gītā is to preach the surrendering process of all living beings unto the Lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, because all living beings are His parts and parcels, and without this surrendering process, nobody can conquer the indefiable laws of Nature. Material existence of all living beings means a perpetual struggle struggle for existence and a continued fight with Prakriti without any success. [margin note (as done by induction)] Advancement of material science has undoubtedly discovered many weapons by the Asuras to fight with the laws of Nature, but without full surrender unto the Lord Kṛṣṇa, nobody can get relief from such perpetual struggle for existence. The fittest person who shall survive this struggle is one who has completely surrendered unto the Will of Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Personality of Godhead. This fact is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā in the following words:

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." [Bg. 7.14]

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo 'si me

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

"Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." [Bg. 18.65-66]

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ 
yena mām upayānti te

teṣām evānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ 
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho
jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance." [Bg. 10.8-11]

There are certain extraordinarily learned prospective mahātmās who try to understand Śrī Kṛṣṇa by the ascending process of acquiring knowledge, but such process is not only defective, but also troublesome. Such learned scholars attain the Lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa after many, many births and deaths. Such would-be mahātmās are stated in the Bhagavad-gītā as follows:

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." [Bg. 7.19]

avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ
manyante mām abuddhayaḥ
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mamāvyayam anuttamam

"Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme." [Bg. 7.24]

avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas
tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
yaṁ prāpya na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha
bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā
yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

"That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme abode.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him." [Bg. 8.21-22]

jñāna-yajñena cāpy anye
yajanto mām upāsate
ekatvena pṛthaktvena
bahudhā viśvato-mukham

"Others, who engage in sacrifice by the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, as diverse in many, and in the universal form." [Bg. 9.15]

kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate

teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām

"For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.

But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotinal service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Prtha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death." [Bg. 12.5-7]

Preaching of Bhagavad-gītā is not, therefore, a proposition of mental speculation and putting in different mental interpretations of speculative empiric philosphers. It is one without a second concrete fact for the amelioration of the sufferings of humanity especially and animality generally. It must be presented in the bona fide method of spreading the knowledge, strictly in the line of transcendental chain of disciplic succession. Oṁ Tat Sat.

CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE

Interpretations of Bhagavad-gita (PART TWO)

(Part Two of "Interpertations of Bhagavad-gita" by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, click here for part one, you may also click here for Part Three)

A transcendental source of knowledge which was coming down in a chain of disciplic succession for millions of years before the battle of Kurukṣetra must have been studied by various scholars of the period, but still, we don't find more than one edition or interpretation of the Bhagavad-gītā as represented by Śrī Arjuna; but during the last two hundred years, we have so many interpretations of Bhagavad-gītā by different speculators. This advancement of speculative activities by different mundaners without any reference to the chain of disciplic succession, are all mala fide interpretations, and spread of such mala fide knowledge on the so-called basis of the Great Book of Knowledge, will do more harm than good to the people.

We find also in the last chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, that the Personality of Godhead has persistently advised that the essence of Bhagavad-gītā must not be disclosed to a person at any time who has not undergone any disciplinary method of austerity and penances, who is not a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is unwilling to accept the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā and, lastly, one who actually envies Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. The śloka which instructs the above procedure runs as follows:

idaṁ te nātapaskāya
nābhaktāya kadācana
na cāśuśrūṣave vācyam
na ca māṁ yo 'bhyasūyati

"This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me." [Bg. 18.67]

So, according to Bhagavad-gītā, the following four classes of readers are incompetent to understand the principle of Bhagavad-gītā, and therefore they are not able to make any bona fide interpretations whatsoever. They are:

1. Ordinary men who have no training in austerity or penance.

2. Those who are not devotees of Godhead but are either mundane workers, mundane philosophers or mundane mystics.

3. Those who do not come in the line of disciplic succession like Vivasvān, Manu, Ikṣvāku, Arjuna, etc.

4. Those who disbelieve Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Absolute Personality of Godhead.

And, these unlucky four classes of men are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as (a) Narādhamāḥ the lowest class of men, (b) mūḍhāḥ non-intelligent men of society, (c) māyayāpahṛta-jñānā persons who have sufficient mundane education, but they are robbed of essential knowledge by the illusory energy or māyā, and (d) the asuras who disbelieve in the very existence of Godhead. The śloka which describes the above fact runs as follows:

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." [Bg. 7.15]

These four mala fide classes of men have done tremendous harm to the society by making mala fide interpretations of the Bhagavad-gītā according to their limited sensual perceptions, and the result is that the whole atmosphere has been surcharged with mala fide poisons, which are eating the vital necessities of life. We can very well imagine how this process can do harm if we compare it partially with adulterated foodstuff or adulterated medicines. Foodstuff and medicines are concerned with the material body only, but the knowledge which is administered in the Bhagavad-gītā is concerned with spirit soul. In the very beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, the identity of the material body and the spirit soul has been elaborately explained, and the specific instruction of Bhagavad-gītā has always been stressed for the benefit of the spirit soul. The subject matter of the material body and mind has not been neglected in Bhagavad-gītā, but on the contrary, it has been nicely coordinated with the necessities of the spirit soul; but more importance and attention has been drawn on the subject matter of the spirit soul. Therefore, if we protest so much against spread of adulterated foodstuff and medicines which are concerned with the temporary material body only, we have to protest more vigorously against the spread of adulterated interpretations of Bhagavad-gītā because that concerns to the eternal vital power of the spirit soul.

avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

"That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible." [Bg. 2.17]

For ordinary class of men, the Bhagavad-gītā has enjoined "śāstra-vidhi", i. e. such men have been advised to follow the instructions as have been enjoined in the authentic scriptures. Because the outlaws who are reluctant to follow the instructions of the scriptures cannot ever be successful in all their attempts, and as such they cannot have any peace and prosperity or be elevated to the spiritual or transcendental plane. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā as follows:

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
vartate kāma-kārataḥ
na sa siddhim avāpnoti
na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

"He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination." [Bg. 16.23]

Such ordinary men, when they manufacture spiritual procedure of austerity or penances for any such pseudo-spiritualistic method, do so according to the mundane quality they might have acquired in the course of their mundane activities. The mundane qualities being divided into three categories, such pseudo-spiritualistic methods are also divided into three categories, namely sattvic (mode of goodness), rajasic (mode of passion) and tamasic mode of ignorance). This is described as follows in the Bhagavad-gītā, namely, (Ch. 17.1-10):

arjuna uvāca
ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa
sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā
dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā
sāttvikī rājasī caiva
tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu

sattvānurūpā sarvasya
śraddhā bhavati bhārata
śraddhā-mayo 'yaṁ puruṣo
yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ

yajante sāttvikā devān
yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye
yajante tāmasā janāḥ

aśāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ
tapyante ye tapo janāḥ
dambhāhaṅkāra-saṁyuktāḥ
kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ

karṣayantaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ
bhūta-grāmam acetasaḥ
māṁ caivāntaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ
tān viddhy āsura-niścayān

āhāras tv api sarvasya
tri-vidho bhavati priyaḥ
yajñas tapas tathā dānaṁ
teṣāṁ bhedam imaṁ śṛṇu

āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-
sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā
āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ

kaṭv-amla-lavanāṭy-uṣṇa
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ

yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ
pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ
bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam

"Arjuna inquired: O Krsna, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: According to the modes of nature acquired by the embodied soul, one's faith can be of three kinds—in goodness, in passion or in ignorance. Now hear about this.

O son of Bhārata, according to one's existence under the various modes of nature, one evolves a particular kind of faith. The living being is said to be of a particular faith according to the modes he has acquired.

Men in the mode of goodness worship the demigods; those in the mode of passion worship the demons; and those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demons.

Even the food each person prefers is of three kinds, according to the three modes of material nature. The same is true of sacrifices, austerities and charity. Now hear of the distinctions between them.

Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one's existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.

Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.

Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness." [Bg. 17.1-10]
(TO BE CONTINUED . . .)
 click here for part one 
click here for part three

SPIRITUAL UNION

"Political fraternity is not enough. Political friendship to remain true and permanent must be forged into a profound spiritual union. India has a stupendous chance today of leading the world back from the barbarism of bankrupt Western civilization and of realizing the spiritual civilization offered by Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghosh, Rabindranath Tagore, and the entire luminous galaxy of India's spiritual giants.

We Indians, whether Jews, Christians, Moslems, Parsis, or Hindus, whether in India or in Israel, have upon our heads the crown of a supreme responsibility. We cannot betray our conscience. We cannot forget our duty to the world. For the sake of blood-stained and tear-filled Humanity, let us aspire to assume the position of Arjuna in the Gita who heard the mighty words from the divine lips of Shri Krishna: "I am the Lord seated in the hearts of all men ... Those who worship the devils go to the devils; those who worship the gods go to the gods; but those who worship Me come to Me. He who worships Me with all his heart, with fearlessness, sincerity, and loving devotion, I am responsible for his happiness. I am Truth, I am Wisdom, the source of Wisdom, and the end of Wisdom. 'India and Israel.' "

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī in the line of His predecessors exactly wanted that persons who are born in the sacred land of India may first of all know in perfection the entire luminous galaxy of spiritual giants and then preach the truth all over the world for their benefit. Mahatma Gandhi tried to touch the spiritual attainments of India for his political end. Rabindra Nath tried to enter into the spiritual Kingdom by mundane poetic sentimentalism and Arabindo Ghose tried to evolve the mystic powers within himself. As such all of them wanted to develop their respective angle of vision with different purposes. The purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is however one and Absolute, because the ultimate purpose of Bhagavad-gītā transcends the spheres of karma, jñāna, yoga and other purposes and coincide in one Absolute purpose, namely transcendental service of thc Personality of Godhead Śrī Krishna as is quoted by Mr. A.I. Macnull of Jerusalem in his article referred to above. The Bhagavad-gītā is in nutshell the summary of all descriptions of spiritual developments that India attained and it is the book which reveals the real picture of God as He is. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reveals the same purpose of Bhagavad-gītā by practical demonstration. What is theoretically revealed in the Bhagavad-gītā is practically demonstrated by the movement of Lord Caitanya Who is confirmed as Śrī Krsna Himself in the following śloka

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions." [S.B. 11.5.32]

Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī therefore invited all persons from every corner of the world to take up this cause of spiritual movement in a combined force and offer a challenge to the onward progressive march of the demoniac civilization eating the vital force of humanity.

SPIRITUAL UNION Indian Philosophy attracts Israel BY A.I. Macnull(6/8/1952) WITH COMMENTARY BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA

[Unknown date, Fragment of an Untitled Essay on His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Mahārāja by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakitvendata Swami Prabhupada]

India's Austerity Drive - "This is not actually tapasya"

India's Austerity Drive - "This is not actually tapasya"

Excerpt from the Srimad-Bhagavatam By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

"In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him. All fruitive activities are ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is supreme knowledge, and all severe austerities are performed to know Him. Religion [dharma] is rendering loving service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life."[Srimad-Bagavatam 1.2.28-29]

PURPORT

That Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, is the only object of worship is confirmed in these two slokas. In the Vedic literature there is the same objective: establishing one's relationship and ultimately reviving our lost loving service unto Him. That is the sum and substance of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gita the same theory is confirmed by the Lord in His own words: the ultimate purpose of the Vedas is to know Him only. All the revealed scriptures are prepared by the Lord through His incarnation in the body of Srila Vyasadeva just to remind the fallen souls, conditioned by material nature, of Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. No demigod can award freedom from material bondage. That is the verdict of all the Vedic literatures. Impersonalists who have no information of the Personality of Godhead minimize the omnipotency of the Supreme Lord and put Him on equal footing with all other living beings, and for this act such impersonalists get freedom from material bondage only with great difficulty. They can surrender unto Him only after many, many births in the culture of transcendental knowledge.

One may argue that the Vedic activities are based on sacrificial ceremonies. That is true. But all such sacrifices are also meant for realizing the truth about Vasudeva. Another name of Vasudeva is Yajna (sacrifice), and in the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated that all sacrifices and all activities are to be conducted for the satisfaction of Yajna, or Visnu, the Personality of Godhead. This is the case also with the yoga systems.

Yoga means to get into touch with the Supreme Lord. The process, however, includes several bodily features such as asana, dhyana, pranayama and meditation, and all of them are meant for concentrating upon the localized aspect of Vasudeva represented as Paramatma. Paramatma realization is but partial realization of Vasudeva, and if one is successful in that attempt, one realizes Vasudeva in full. But by ill luck most yogis are stranded by the powers of mysticism achieved through the bodily process. Ill-fated yogis are given a chance in the next birth by being placed in the families of good learned brahmanas or in the families of rich merchants in order to execute the unfinished task of Vasudeva realization. If such fortunate brahmanas and sons of rich men properly utilize the chance, they can easily realize Vasudeva by good association with saintly persons. Unfortunately, such preferred persons are captivated again by material wealth and honor, and thus they practically forget the aim of life.

This is also so for the culture of knowledge. According to Bhagavad-gita there are eighteen items in culturing knowledge. By such culture of knowledge one becomes gradually prideless, devoid of vanity, nonviolent, forbearing, simple, devoted to the great spiritual master, and self-controlled. By culture of knowledge one becomes unattached to hearth and home and becomes conscious of the miseries due to death, birth, old age and disease. And all culture of knowledge culminates in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva. Therefore, Vasudeva is the ultimate aim in culturing all different branches of knowledge. Culture of knowledge leading one to the transcendental plane of meeting Vasudeva is real knowledge. physical knowledge in its various branches is condemned in the Bhagavad-gita as ajnana, or the opposite of real knowledge. The ultimate aim of physical knowledge is to satisfy the senses, which means prolongation of the term of material existence and thereby continuance of the threefold miseries. So prolonging the miserable life of material existence is nescience. But the same physical knowledge leading to the way of spiritual understanding helps one to end the miserable life of physical existence and to begin the life of spiritual existence on the plane of Vasudeva.

The same applies to all kinds of austerities. Tapasya means voluntary acceptance of bodily pains to achieve some higher end of life. Ravana and Hiranyakasipu underwent a severe type of bodily torture to achieve the end of sense gratification. Sometimes modern politicians also undergo severe types of austerities to achieve some political end. This is not actually tapasya. One should accept voluntary bodily inconvenience for the sake of knowing Vasudeva because that is the way of real austerities. Otherwise all forms of austerities are classified as modes of passion and ignorance. passion and ignorance cannot end the miseries of life. Only the mode of goodness can mitigate the threefold miseries of life. Vasudeva and Devaki, the so-called father and mother of Lord Krsna, underwent penances to get Vasudeva as their son. Lord Sri Krsna is the father of all living beings (Bg. 14.4). Therefore He is the original living being of all other living beings. He is the original eternal enjoyer amongst all other enjoyers. Therefore no one can be His begetting father, as the ignorant may think. Lord Sri Krsna agreed to become the son of Vasudeva and Devaki upon being pleased with their severe austerities. Therefore if any austerities have to be done, they must be done to achieve the end of knowledge, Vasudeva.

Vasudeva is the original Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krsna. As explained before, the original Personality of Godhead expands Himself by innumerable forms. Such expansion of forms is made possible by His various energies. His energies are also multifarious, and His internal energies are superior and external energies inferior in quality. They are explained in the Bhagavad-gita (7.4-6) as the para and the apara prakrtis. So His expansions of various forms which take place via the internal energies are superior forms, whereas the expansions which take place via the external energies are inferior forms. The living entities are also His expansions. The living entities who are expanded by His internal potency are eternally liberated persons, whereas those who are expanded in terms of the material energies are eternally conditioned souls. Therefore, all culture of knowledge, austerities, sacrifice and activities should be aimed at changing the quality of the influence that is acting upon us. For the present, we are all being controlled by the external energy of the Lord, and just to change the quality of the influence, we must endeavor to cultivate spiritual energy.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that those who are mahatmas, or those whose minds have been so broadened as to be engaged in the service of Lord Krsna, are under the influence of the internal potency, and the effect is that such broadminded living beings are constantly engaged in the service of the Lord without deviation. That should be the aim of life. And that is the verdict of all the Vedic literatures. No one should bother himself with fruitive activities or dry speculation about transcendental knowledge. Everyone should at once engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Nor should one worship different demigods who work as different hands of the Lord for creation, maintenance or destruction of the material world.

There are innumerable powerful demigods who look over the external management of the material world. They are all different assisting hands of Lord Vasudeva. Even Lord Siva and Lord Brahma are included in the list of demigods, but Lord Visnu, or Vasudeva, is always transcendentally situated. Even though He accepts the quality of goodness of the material world, He is still transcendental to all the material modes. The following example will clear that matter more explicitly. In the prison house there are the prisoners and the managers of the prison house. Both the managers and the prisoners are bound by the laws of the king. But even though the king sometimes comes in the prison, he is not bound by the laws of the prison house. The king is therefore always transcendental to the laws of the prison house, as the Lord is always transcendental to the laws of the material world.
[Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.28-29 : PURPORT By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya for ISKCON]

Hindus and Muslims Living in Peace

"In India, even in the interior villages, all the Hindu and Muslim communities used to live very peacefully by establishing a relationship between them. The young men called the elderly members of the village by the name cācā or kākā, "uncle," and men of the same age called each other dādā, "brother." The relationship was very friendly. There were even invitations from Muslim houses to Hindu houses and from Hindu houses to Muslim houses. Both the Hindus and the Muslims accepted the invitations to go to one another's houses to attend ceremonial functions. Even until fifty or sixty years ago, the relationship between Hindus and Muslims was very friendly, and there were no disturbances. We do not find any Hindu-Muslim riots in the history of India, even during the days of the Muslims' rule over the country. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims was created by polluted politicians, especially foreign rulers, and thus the situation gradually became so degraded that India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan. Fortunately, the remedy to unite not only the Hindus and Muslims but all communities and all nations can still be implemented by the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement on the strong basic platform of love of Godhead."
[ Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 17]