Bhagavad Gita - The Timeless Science

Lesson 1
Bhagavad Gita – The Timeless Science

1.1 Introduction
B hagavad Gita is the most quintessential literature among all Vedic compositions. This
composition as compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva has been endearing to all those who seek
Truth, who look for perfection, who are interested in a complete science of everything
irrespective of caste, creed, religion, and nationality. This holy book presents the science of life, as it is,
which was originally spoken to Arjuna by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the
battlefield of Mahabharata approximately 5000 years ago.
Through the ages, Srimad Bhagavad Gita has inspired and guided hosts of philosophers and scientists.
Its influence is not limited to India. There is not a single language in the world in which Bhagavad Gita
has not been translated. Just like the Quran and Bible are known all over the world, Bhagavad Gita is also
known and respected in the entire world.
Bhagavad Gita is not the science of a particular community - it is the universal science of the soul. It is a
science that compels us to embrace divinity and divine qualities. All other bodies of knowledge are
subject to change, but this body of knowledge contained in Bhagavad Gita is timeless - eternal.
If a big reservoir of water is within one's reach, why is there the need to go looking for a well to quench
thirst Bhagavad Gita is exactly like a big reservoir of water that explains the essence of all Vedic
literature and indeed there is no need to resort to any other literature to understand the science of self-
realization.
Figure 1.1: Bhagavad Gita is like a big water reservoir
1. Who is Bhagavad Gita endearing to?

2. In how many languages has Bhagavad Gita been translated?
3. Why is Bhagavad Gita timeless?
4. Give an analogy to compare Bhagavad Gita with other Vedic literature.
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BHAGAVAD GITA – THE TIMELESS SCIENCE
1.2 Bhagavad Gita - The Torchlight of Wisdom

Arjuna in the battlefield got confused about his duty. Like Arjuna, we are all confused about our duty.
This world is a battlefield. It requires great humility to ask perfect questions. Arjuna had that humility
and thus he surrendered to Lord Krishna - the Absolute Truth, to get his confusion removed. Similarly,
we should also surrender to Lord Krishna while seeking His guidance. Lord Krishna's instructions are
compiled in Bhagavad Gita to guide us through the ups and downs of life.
Bhagavad Gita is meant for those who wish to transcend all confusion. It seems that Krishna spoke to
Arjuna so it is meant only for him but that is not true. It is meant for everybody. When you are confused
in your search for truth, then the removal of that kind of confusion will bring enlightenment to one and
all.
1. What quality is needed to ask perfect questions?

2. How did Arjuna remove his confusion?
3. Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, why should I
read it?
1.3 Reverses of Life - How to handle them?

Just like Arjuna got confused in the battlefield, we also get overwhelmed by many situations. A
businessman makes a huge loss and then feels gutted. A young couple decides to get married to live their
dream life - alas it ends in bitter divorce just after a few years. A student works hard to qualify a
competitive examination, but the success eludes him. When one loses a near and dear one, it feels like
the earth has collapsed underneath one's feet. When there is no material motivation around, the
inspiration to struggle completely evaporates, disappointment stares and depression sinks in, one may
decide to end one's life. This list of reverses in life is endless and unless one prepares oneself in the
complete science of life as it is, such situations cannot be faced with courage and fortitude. It requires
embracing the divinity to face failures in life - no medicine in chemist shops can be of any help.
Searching for the Truth, facing failures, seeking answers to the origin of life and universe are some of the
aspects of the defining motivation to study Bhagavad Gita. Let's see what some of the great historical
personalities have said about Bhagavad Gita.
When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the

face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to
Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately
begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who
meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from
it every day.
--Mahatma Gandhi
Figure 1.2: Mahatma Gandhi
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When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this
universe everything else seems so superfluous.
-- Albert Einstein
Figure 1.3: Albert Einstein
Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of

endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and
comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence
its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.
–– Aldous Huxley
Figure 1.4: Aldous Huxley
The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's

wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.
-- Herman Hesse, the author of the book Siddhartha
Figure 1.5 : Herman Hesse
All lessons as presented in this book derive the spirit and substance
from the book Bhagavad Gita-As It Is written by His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada is also
the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna Movement. The
compilation of these lessons as contained in this book are inspired
and blessed by His Divine Grace. Here is the invocation of his divine
mercy:
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ Figure 1.6: His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which
were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
1.4 Scientific Search for Truth

The Solar system has been a great source of inspiration for early scientists in the modern context.
The astronomical data recorded by Tycho Brahe lead to the discovery of laws of planetary motion by
Johannes Kepler. Subsequently Newton's Universal law of gravitation captured the essence of it.
Newton's law has since been superseded by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
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The most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed
from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.
-- Sir Isaac Newton
These scientific laws may not make much sense to ordinary populace;
however, everybody can appreciate the fact that every object (planets) in
the solar system appears to be floating in space. For example, the planet
Earth is like a sphere, and it is spinning around her axis. If you think deeply,
you will realize that all of us are hanging - our heads being downward and
Figure 1.7:
legs upward. Everything is hanging under some force. Ocean water is Sir Isaac Newton
hanging but it is not spilling out. This observation led Newton to coin the
concept of the gravitational force by which the objects near the surface of the Earth are drawn towards
the Earth. Einstein's space time curvature has better explanative power in explaining planetary
arrangement in this solar system. Although these laws try to explain the arrangement of the planetary
system, this system is operating perfectly from the time of creation as per the laws of the creator – God.
In this sense, God's law of gravitation remains a mystery – no one can unpack the creative mind of God.
This section discusses how the solar system had put Newton to awe and made
him spontaneously appreciate God.
1. Could you tell other observations or creations which have made intelligent
humans awestruck? If possible, name the corresponding persons too.
2. Have you experienced getting amazed at different aspects of God's
creations? Did it inspire you to appreciate God?
1.4.1 Solar System and my Tiny Existence
The radius of the Earth itself is 6371 km. The distance

between Earth and Sun is approximately 150 million km. The
radius of the Sun is 695500 km. The city where you are sitting
is just a tiny part of this universe. In that tiny city, you live in a
very small house. Although you claim that you are the owner
of that house, the place is cohabited by numerous other living
entities mostly unnoticed by you. There are lizards,
mosquitoes and many other insects and microscopic germs
etc. which have forcefully occupied some of your space as Figure 1.8: Solar system
well. If you count them, they will surely exceed the number of residents in your town. They are also as
important as you think of yourself, from their perspectives.
Such introspection about your identity in this gigantic solar system will naturally make you humble. In
natural humility, one starts asking thought provoking questions. These questions may resemble some of
those stated below:
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· What is the purpose of this creation

· Why is the solar system organized the way it is
· Why are there so many varieties of life-forms
· What is the purpose of my own existence
· What is my identity
Numerous such questions may arise. When one starts contemplating, introspecting and questioning in
this way, the search for Truth begins.
Human life is very precious. In this life if we do not give importance to the nature of the Absolute Truth
then our existence would be no better than animals. Why things are the way they are, what substance we
are made up of, what will be our destination when we die - these are more important questions than the
kind of questions that we are being conditioned to ask. True humility awakens us and makes us bold to
ask pertinent questions.
1. What does the observation of floating planets have to do with our quest for
the Absolute Truth?
2. Could you give real life example(s) of someone feeling humble and asking
such questions on experiencing the vastness of creation?
i) Read from the 11th chapter of Bhagavad Gita - what makes Arjuna
awestruck and what questions does he ask?
1.5 Some fundamental aspects of life

Just like scientists, policy makers and statisticians are adept in collecting data concerning their field of
interests, seekers of Truth also abreast them with life data. Here are some of them that may interest you.
1.5.1 Everybody is a servant
A parent A farmer A political leader A teacher

Figure 1.9: Everybody is a servant
Parents serve their children. A leader serves his followers. A student serves his teacher, and a teacher
serves his students. Plants and animal kingdom serve human society and vice-versa. If you take care of
your garden you will get flowers and fruits. If you take care of your paddy crops you will get rice and
wheat. If you take care of water bodies then you will get fresh water. Nothing is free for us - we must serve
to survive.
Whoever is serving nicely they are very happy. If you observe your mother, she serves you and you can
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always see happiness on her face. As long as you are happy, she is also happy. There are thus two distinct
observations:
· We are all servants.

· Service must be selfless to become happy.
1. In what way does a blade of grass serve?

2. In what way does a house fly serve?
We will learn from Bhagavad Gita that we must selflessly serve with devotion to the Absolute Truth to
become happy.
1.5.2 We all seek relationships

As human beings, we are committed to various relations in this world. Parental relationships bind father
and mother to their kids. A servant is bound by a servitor relationship with his/her master.
Friendship is something that we crave for, while conjugal love adds another dimension to our human
bonding. There are some for whom we reserve our awe and reverence. These are basic relationships that
we see in this world. These relationships become sublime and pure when grounded in eternity and
selfless attitude.
In the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita, Srila Prabhupada talks about this. We all have a relationship with
the Absolute Truth. God is not something inanimate, God is a person. So, as a person we can approach
Him. The moment God is impersonal you can't approach Him. If you simply think that God is gigantic
and infinite, then how will you approach Him
Yashoda-as Mother Hanuman-as Servitor Sudama-as Friend

Figure 1.10: We all seek Relationships with the Lord
But anyone can understand scientifically that God is a person and you can approach Him as His father,
mother just like Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda Maiya approached Him. You can approach Him as a
servitor like Hanumanji, as a friend like Arjuna, Sudama, Uddhava, etc. The trees and cows in Vraj, all
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have affection for Krishna. Gopis approached Krishna as their lover. So, these are the aspects that are
also explained in Bhagavad Gita.
1. What are the prominent types of relationships with the Lord? Give examples
of a few devotees for each.
2. Give, from Ramayana, examples of devotees related to Lord Ram in different
types of relationships mentioned above.
1.5.3 We seek possession or proprietorship

Each one of us is very proud of our own body and would like to have this body for eternity. Do you
possess your body Now you are young, and you do not want to become old but is that possible Youth is
given to you, and it will also be snatched away from you. Time gives you everything and time takes away
everything as well. Time gives you family and time will snatch you away from the same family in the
form of death. Do you possess your car, your home, your intellect, your memory, your wealth, and your
followers Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister, was a very powerful woman. During her last
days she lost her memory, and she didn't even realize that her husband had already died.
Who can thus claim that he/she has proprietorship over his/her memory, and intellect Do we possess
our wealth You can see in this world that the people who were very rich finally had to part with it at the
time of death.
As one introspects this way, a seeker recognizes that no one is the proprietor of everything that exists
around. In that state, the seeker recognizes that He who is the real proprietor must be God. Thus, true
renunciation is to understand that everything belongs to God. The moment you recognize that you own
nothing in this world, you will be a wise person. The man who is attached to this world cannot be a
person with wisdom; he is simply an ignorant fool. Detachment is the sign of wisdom.
1. Give the moral of this section in one sentence.

2. This is an age of intellectual property rights in the form of patents, etc.,
and this section says I am not the proprietor of my intellect. Why?
3. I built my house with hard efforts and I do not allow anyone to live here
without my permission, still this section says I am not the owner of my
house. Why?
4. At best I am the care-taker of my house, so it should be used in _______
(whose) service.
1.5.4 Temporariness pervades this world

Everything in this world is temporary. The United Kingdom is smaller in size to Uttar Pradesh, one of
the provinces in India. Yet at one point of time, British ruled almost the entire world. That vast British
Empire is no more. The great USSR is no more. Many great civilizations have come and gone by the
influence of great time (kala).
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Neither happiness nor misery is permanent. Neither success nor failure is permanent. All of one's
achievements and accomplishments hardly make any sense at the end of his life. Even great leaders like
Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Indira Gandhi had to submit to this temporariness of this
world. We are mere mortals. As Indians, we know very well that inspite of all our so-called
achievements, at the end, this body will be taken on four bamboos to the cremation ground.
Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 8.15:
mām upetya punar janma

duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
saḿsiddhiḿ paramāḿ gatāḥ
Translation: After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this
temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection .
Bhagavad Gita is that timeless science which enlightens people of all ages in such deliberations. We are
always servants, we seek pure and eternal relationships, we owe no proprietorship in this world and our
so-called identities and existence are devoured by the temporariness of this world. Nobody can deny
these observations. Thus, Lord Krishna advises us through Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita 5.29:
bhoktāraḿ yajña-tapasāḿ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaḿ sarva-bhūtānāḿ
jñātvā māḿ śāntim ṛcchati
Translation: A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all
sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well
-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
1. The narrative on the temporariness of this world paints a very gloomy
picture of life. Where is the ray of hope?
2. What is the universal peace formula as given in BG 5.29?
1.6 Dull and Living Matter

We know that a table, a chair and a house are dull (inert) matter. However, we know for certain that our
bodies are not dull matter. They respond to different stimuli in a conscious manner. We will reflect upon
this living matter as we contrast with dull matter.
1.6.1 Our Living Body

There are 8.4 million different varieties of species in this world as explained in Padma Purana - one of
the Vedic literatures. Each bodily form evolves from a single cell. Let us look at the human body that
evolves from only one cell - a combination of half of the mother's cell and half of the father's cell at the
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time of conception. This original cell through repeated cell division

gives rise to your bones, nails, hair, different body organs, skin and
what not. Plants also grow like this. Every form of life whether
plants, aquatics, insects, birds, reptiles, animals and humans - all
follow the same process.
Have you ever pondered over these observations How is hair

growing on your body When you cut your hair, you do not feel
Figure 1.11: Our living body
pain but when you cut your skin, you feel the pain. Have you ever
thought about it In the same body, you can cut your hair, you can cut your nails, but you cannot cut your
hand.
The miracle is that even if we can observe this process of

development of a living body from a single cell, we cannot replicate
the process. Scientists can only play with what God has already
given. We can use genetic manipulation and produce more fruits
and vegetables. We can put more urea in the field (soil) and get
more yields. This kind of manipulation we can do but we cannot
self-replicate the process, the way nature self-replicates. Figure 1.12: Stages of human development
1. What is dull matter and what is living matter?

2. What is wondrous in the way a human cell multiplies?
3. What is a miracle in the process of natural self-replication?
1.6.2 A Self-replicating Machine
A self-replicating machine is a construct that is capable of autonomously manufacturing a copy of itself

using raw materials taken from its environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to
that found in nature.
A detailed conceptual proposal for a physical non-biological self-replicating system was first put
forward by mathematician John von Neumann in lectures delivered in 1948 and 1949, when he
proposed a kinematic self-reproducing automaton model as a thought experiment.
John von Neumann thus dreams that one day a single automaton - a computing machine with a single
memory - will grow in terms of hardware as well as software such that this machine will be a Noble prize
winner. This dream has its inspiration in the way the human body evolves as explained in this section.
The human body evolves from one cell both in terms of hardware and software, i.e. bodily growth and
mental and intellectual growth. So, can a single automaton grow both in terms of hardware and software
to become a full-fledged intelligent machine Simultaneously can it self-replicate as well, as the natural
organisms exhibit
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If we can do so, then one may claim that there is no need for God or that God is an irrelevant entity. Even
after more than seventy years of such a hypothesis, scientists have not been able to scratch the surface of
this problem. No laboratory in the world can even produce a biological grass. However, even if such a
machine is ever created, it cannot solve most of our problems especially those related to hunger and food
production. We know very well that mother cow eats grass and gives us milk – a wholesome nutritious
food. If we maintain cows in a healthy manner, food security will be guaranteed.
1. This section has two messages - one is the utility of studying the intriguing self-
replication process in the natural biological organisms and the other is our
futile attempt to develop an artificial self-replicating machine. Elaborate the
two in your own words.
1.6.3 Can I replicate the Miracle?

Although one can observe the process of self-replication in nature, one cannot replicate the process. The
reason has been explained in Srimad Bhagavatam as follows:
The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the
result of his work, the living entity - the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the
particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body. (SB 3.31.1)
Thus, when we cannot replicate even grass, what can we speak of any higher form of living entity
Machines do not produce food that will sustain the creation. Machines are there to enhance our comfort
level. You can use a machine like a tractor that will help you in cultivation. You can create a machine in
the form of a motor that will help you to bring water from deep in the ground, but you can't create a
machine that will create water. Water must be taken from nature. Air must be taken from nature.
If we maintain cows in a healthy manner, then food security will be guaranteed, but instead we are
worried about self-replicating machines. All these people who are thinking about self-replicating
machines, if they would have invested their energy in taking care of cows properly, innocent people
would not have been subject to purchasing synthetic milk and impure ghee in the market.
Thus, formation of a living body is a mystical coupling of the soul (anti-material) with the body
(material). This forms a substantial portion of the subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita.
1. Who has compiled the literature Bhagavad Gita?

2. Why is the message of Bhagavad Gita still relevant even after 5000
years when it was spoken by Lord Krishna?
3. What do you conclude after contemplating on the gigantic nature of
this universe?
4. When does the search for Truth begin in one's life?
5. What kind of questions within you can cripple you?
6. What kind of questions can rejuvenate you?
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7. Why does Bhagavad Gita attract you?

8. Enumerate a list of objects for which you are an absolute proprietor.
9. Everybody in this world is a servant. Justify your answer by relating the
different roles that you play in your life.
10. Self-replicating machines as dreamt by Von Neumann have not been
actualized by current researchers. Do you think that this is possible in
the future?
11. What is the miracle in nature as far as self-replication is concerned?
1.7 Spirit of the Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita is meant to awaken our divine nature in the human form of life. Temporariness pervades
our perception. However human perception can be sanctified to perceive that which is eternal, full of
knowledge and joy-sat-chit-ananda. This is what is called divine, beyond our mundane perception of
material space and time. As of now we are all soaked in our material experience whose basis is our
tendency to enjoy our senses. Obviously, concepts given in Bhagavad Gita would appear to be alien to
most of the newcomers. However one can start relishing the message of Bhagavad Gita with an open
mind. Let me tell you the Story of an Exploding Frog.
Once a baby frog jumped out of a

small well and went out to explore the
world outside. He was astounded by
seeing a big elephant. He informed
his mother about this big creature.
The mother frog was convinced that
there can not be another big one
other than her. The mother frog in its
attempt to fathom the size of this new
creature began bloating itself, asking
the baby frog if the creature was as big Figure 1.13: The exploding frog
as itself now. Each time the frog bloated itself more, the baby would say No. Bigger In this way the
mother frog gradually puffed up her body and when it went beyond limit, it exploded with a big bang.
Very often it is assumed that there is very little beyond what we have seen. Because of our limited
experience we tend to dismiss anything anti-material or anything beyond matter. Our situation is like
that of this mother frog whose baby one day claimed to have seen a very big creature. This instructive
story could well be our own when we get very puffed up with our own limited knowledge and assume
that there is nothing beyond matter. However, our narrow understanding could cripple us just like that
exploding frog.
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1.7.1 What we are?
We saw in the previous section that our body is a mystical coupling of the body that is material and the
soul that is anti-material. Thus Bhagavad Gita teaches us about objects consisting of two natures - spirit
and matter in the following manner:
· The world that we perceive is a place where unlimited jīvas (atomic souls) are encaged in 8.4
million different bodies.
· The world is there to help us rediscover our divinity by purifying our consciousness.
· All our endeavor must be to ascertain the Truth – not to get entangled in ignorance.
· Distinguishing spirit from matter is the first step in this process.
In the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita Srila Prabhupada says: That

destination is called the sanātana sky, the eternal, spiritual sky. In this
material world we find that everything is temporary. It comes into being,
stays for some time, produces some by-products, dwindles and then
vanishes. That is the law of the material world, whether we use as an
example this body, or a piece of fruit or anything. But beyond this temporary
world there is another world of which we have information. That world
consists of another nature, which is sanātana, eternal. Jīva is also described
as sanātana, eternal, and the Lord is also described as sanātana in the
Eleventh Chapter. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord and Figure 1.14: Spiritual sky
because we are all qualitatively one with the the sanātana Supreme Personality of Godhead — the whole
purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to revive our sanātana occupation, or sanātana dharma, which is the eternal
occupation of the living entity. We are temporarily engaged in different activities, but all of these activities
can be purified when we give up all these temporary activities and take up the activities which are
prescribed by the Supreme Lord and that is our pure life.
All our endeavors must be to search for the Absolute Truth, not to get entangled in ignorance.
Distinguishing spirit from matter is the first step in this process. So the aim of this course will be to
motivate you that there is something beyond matter, something spiritual, something eternal, and
something timeless, which we are made up of.
1. Give the moral of the story of an exploding frog?

2. What is divine? Why is the human form of life special?
3. All living beings are made of two nature. What are they?
4. How many varieties of living species are there?
5. How do we attain our divine nature?
6. Bhagavad Gita is there to awaken our ______ dharma.
7. What is the process of purification to attain our divine nature?
8. What is first step as we contemplate on the nature of Truth?
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1.7.2 Spirit I – Lord Krishna, the Absolute Truth

Sri Krishna is the Absolute Truth and He is the speaker of Bhagavad Gita. Thus the message of Bhagavad
Gita is Absolute - not subject to any interpretation. Vyasadeva is merely the compiler. You will see in
Bhagavad Gita whenever Krishna speaks, Vyasadeva didn't write Sri Krishna uvaca, rather he writes this
as Sri Bhagavān uvaca.
Everybody knows that Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita then why did he write Sri Bhagavān uvaca
Because he anticipated that a time would come in future when people will ascribe Lord Krishna as a
mere human being. Such understanding would minimize the Absolute position of Bhagavad Gita.
Therefore to prevent such abuse of this great literature, Srila Vyasadeva wisely preserves Lord Krishna's
supreme position. Krishna is God Himself. That's why Bhagavad Gita is very enduring. It is God's
instructions for humanity.
Srila Vyasadeva divided Veda into four divisions for people of the age of Kali. He also wrote Puranas,
Itihasas like Mahabharata, and finally he wrote Brahma sutra (or Vedanta sutra). Bhagavad Gita is a part
of the Mahabharata. Srila Vyasadeva is thus the greatest authority in the Vedic literature. He
unequivocally declares Lord Krishna as the Absolute Truth not only in Bhagavad Gita but all across the
vedic literature.
Not only the great Vyasadeva ascertains Lord Krishna to be the Absolute Truth, all great acharyas
(spiritual authorities) such as Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Nimbarka swami, Vishnu swami,
and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also confirm this truth. In all Vedic literatures, this truth that Lord
Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been established by great spiritual authorities like
Srila Narada, Bhishma deva, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Sage Kapila, Prahlada, Janaka, Sukadeva
Goswami, Manu, Four Kumaras, Bali Maharaja, and Yamaraja. They are famously known as 12
Mahajanas - greatest authority in the science of vedanta.
1. The speaker of Gita is not an ordinary teacher, but the Absolute Truth
Himself. How do we know that? Elucidate
2. Mention the name of acharyas who have ascertained Lord Krishna to be
the Supreme Absolute Truth?
3. Who is a Mahajana? Tell the names of 12 Mahajanas.
a 4. Why is Krishna addressed as Bhagavan in BG by Srila Vyasadeva?
1.7.3 Spirit II – Becoming a Right Thinker

A person who always acts from a neutral position is a right thinker. A right thinker can churn the nectar
from Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita makes a person think. Lord Krishna defines such a right thinker in
Bhagavad Gita 2.58 as:
yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ
kūrmo 'ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas
tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
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Translation: One who is able to withdraw his senses from the sense objects as the tortoise draws its
limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.
Lord Krishna further distinguishes right thinkers from those who are very ordinary in Bhagavad Gita
2.69 as:
yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ
tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni
sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
Translation: What is night for all beings is the time for awakening for the self-controlled, and the time
of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.
An introspective sage is the right thinker. He is always self-situated - situated in atman. He is not biased
by his bodily senses. Although Bhagavad Gita is literature for those who can think, anybody who starts
taking interest in Bhagavad Gita starts thinking. This is the underlying sublime principle by which
Bhagavad Gita works. Isn't it a wonderful thing That is the sublime aspect of Bhagavad Gita. Anybody
who will take shelter of Bhagavad Gita, he will become a right thinker. A person who always acts from a
neutral position is a right thinker. He is not biased by his selfish mentality, he is not biased by other's
selfish mentality, he is not biased by his own name and fame, and he is not biased by anything. The
moment you are biased, you cannot become a right thinker. That is why the yogis of India leave
everything - family, home and fame - and enter the caves of Himalayas or take shelter in holy places.
There they perform severe austerities and spiritual practices to gain neutrality. Neutral position means
neither one has any hatred nor one is partial to anyone. In this state, one sees everyone as God's dear
child.
One thinker is sufficient to guide 1000 people. Considering that the current population is at 7 billion, we
need 7 million people who are educated in Bhagavad Gita. These 7 million thinkers will be able to guide
the world of 7 billion in the path of self-enlightenment, prosperity, and peace. Then the world will
become Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
The real problem is that we do not have the right thinkers. Srila Prabhupada once said that every village
and city of India must be converted to Gita-nagari following in the footstep of Mahatma Gandhi. Thus,
we have endeavoured to run this Bhagavad Gita correspondence course to reach out to all those who
have no opportunity to be properly educated in the science of Bhagavad Gita.
1. Who is a right thinker? Quote the verse from BG with meaning?

2. What is the most essential quality of a right thinker?
3. How does one attain the state of neutrality?
4. What is the best way to become a right thinker?
5. The whole world needs the guidance of Bhagavad Gita. How many right
thinkers are necessary to make the whole world Gita Nagari?
14
1.7.4 Spirit III- Building a Relationship with the Lord

Besides being a right thinker, one must be a friend and devotee of Lord Krishna. He should have simple
faith in Lord Krishna's instructions. As Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 4.3:
sa evāyaḿ mayā te 'dya

yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ
bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti
rahasyaḿ hy etad uttamam
Translation: That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you
because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental
mystery of this science.
One must accept Bhagavad Gita As It Is as Lord Krishna spoke to Arjuna – no addition or no deletion to
His instructions. As Srila Prabhupada says in the Introduction:
"The spirit of Bhagavad-gītā is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā itself. It is just like this: If we want to take a
particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the label. We cannot take the medicine
according to our own whim or the direction of a friend. It must be taken according to the directions on the
label or the directions given by a physician. Similarly, Bhagavad-gītā should be taken or accepted as it is
directed by the speaker Himself.
Ultimately Lord Krishna will reveal this knowledge to us if we sincerely surrender unto Him. He is there
within our hearts and He will reveal this knowledge as we hear from the bonafide spiritual master. That
is why in this correspondence course we will follow Bhagavad Gita As It Is by HDG AC Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada as the textbook.
This Bhagavad Gita has revolutionized the hearts of millions across the globe. Srila Prabhupada is
against the idea of using selected verses from Bhagavad Gita to put forth one's misdirected ideas. There
are 700 verses in Bhagavad Gita and one must accept all the verses, just like as per your medical
prescription you have to accept all medicines - you cannot reject one and accept another.
1. Arjuna is the first student of this Bhagavad Gita. Why did Lord Krishna
select him to receive this eternal science of Bhagavad Gita?
2. What is the foremost qualification that would enable one to understand
the science of Bhagavad Gita?
3. What is the spirit of Bhagavad Gita as explained by Srila Prabhupada?
1.8 Subject Matter of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita deals with five subject matters which are as follows:
1. Isvara (God)
2. Jīva (living entity)
15
3. Kala (time)
4. Prakriti (nature)
5. Karma (action)
Among these five topics, Lord Krishna deals mostly with the fifth topic, i.e. karma. Karma means the
form of duty that liberates us from the influence of ignorance. Thus, Lord Krishna prescribes duties in
the form of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Dhyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. The yoga system that is spoken in
Bhagavad Gita is duty because anything that is duty must connect you to Lord Krishna. You are doing
something, but you are not getting connected to Lord Krishna that means you are wasting your human
life. So, this is the most talked about subject in Bhagavad Gita. We all must be situated in the yoga system
and according to Bhagavad Gita the highest form of yoga is Bhakti Yoga.
1.9 Definition of God

Parasara Muni, in Vishnu Puran, gave the definition of Bhagavān. He said that Bhagavān is that person
who possesses six opulences in full:
1. All beauty
2. All wealth
3. All power/strength
4. All knowledge
5. All fame
6. All renunciation
This is Bhagavān and the goal of Bhagavad Gita is to know Him and get connected to Him through a
prescribed yoga system - in particular Bhakti Yoga.
Figure 1.15: Bhagavān- The possessor of six opulences
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1.10 Conclusion
Bhagavad Gita (BG) is a complete science - science of both spirit and matter from a holistic perspective.
This book provides timeless science that is applicable to every human race in every corner of society.
Bhagavad Gita informs us that we are tiny divine particles having the same quality as that of the Absolute
divinity – Lord Krishna. Daily bathing in the message of Bhagavad Gita will help us to revive our divinity
– spiritual qualities.
There has been debate among intellectuals about the chemical origin of life or life eternal – Bhagavad
Gita speaks of the latter. Our empirical observations show that matter comes from life not vice versa.
We are servants, who is the master Bhagavad Gita answers this question very lucidly. Lord Krishna is
the ONLY master. He is also known by different traditions as Allah, Jehovah, God etc.
We crave relationships – but all of them are temporary – some of them are even a source of agony.
Bhagavad Gita answers the nature of this pure relationship and its shelter. When we connect ourselves in
the yoga-system with Lord Krishna, we establish our divine relationship with Him. This in turn makes
our filial or worldly relationships also divine. Everything here is temporary – what is permanent
Bhagavad Gita again provides a wonderful answer stating that the shelter of the Lord, His abode and His
devotional service are eternal.
We are here in this material world because we want to become God. Suppose you have created a robot.
And plan in such a way that this robot will follow you. Would you like a robot that will revolt against you
So that's the difference between you and God. God has created you but has given you freedom as well. It
is up to you to use your freedom, to use your free will to accept God or reject Him. He is your loving
father after all.
Thus Bhagavad Gita is that timeless science which has answers to all our thought provoking queries.
1. Choose the correct word from the parenthesis
· The world is here to help us rediscover our (humanity/divinity).
· In this material world we find that everything is
(eternal/temporary).
· The Lord is described as sanatana or eternal and the jiva is
described as (also eternal/ temporary).
· We are (qualitatively/quantitatively) one with the Lord.
· The whole purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is to revive our (eternal
occupation/ eternal ignorance)
2. We can understand Bhagavad Gita if we follow three spirits. Describe
these three spirits.
3. Enumerate five topics discussed in BG.
4. Which topic is most talked about in BG?
5. What is the definition of God?
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18
Lesson 2
The Krishna-Concept of Infinity
2.1 Introduction
O ne of the five topics discussed in Bhagavad Gita is God. This lesson is all about God – Does
God exist Those who do agree that He exists also say that God is great How great is He That
is something that very few people know. God is infinite Everybody knows. What is the
measure of this infiniteness Hardly one knows. In this lesson, we will provide some empirical evidence
to establish the existence of God. Then the authority of holy scriptures and holy seers will be invoked
further substantiating the existence of God. In the process of understanding the concept of infinity, we
will establish how the Krishna-concept of God (Infiniteness) is Absolute. These topics will be dealt with
in this lesson based on the teachings of Bhagavad Gita.
2.1.1 Does God exist?
Whether God exists or not is a fundamental question facing mankind today. What was accepted
commonly as a fact in bygone ages is now being increasingly questioned. In the following presentation
we will discuss some of the logical reasons proving the existence of God.
2.2 Empirical Evidence 1 – Perfect design

2.2.1 Story of Newton's Solar System Model:
A friend of Sir Isaac Newton came over for a dinner. His friend was an atheist while he was a monotheist
(raised a Christian but denounced the trinity as it opposed one god). They often got into debates. While
Newton was preparing the dinner, his friend
noticed an extraordinary model of the solar
system Isaac had in his library bookshelf. His
friend was amazed and asked him who made it
and where it came from. Sir Isaac Newton
responded coyly that nobody had made it and
that it just happened to appear. His friend,
confused and irritated, retorted, You must
think I am a fool Of course, somebody made it,
and he is a genius. Newton then spoke to his
friend in a polite yet firm way: This thing is but
Figure 2.1: Sir Issac Newton with his model
19
KRISHNA CONCEPT OF INFINITY
a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that
this mere toy is without a designer or maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which
the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker Now tell me by what sort of
reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion
2.2.2 The Precision of the Solar System
The solar system itself is a perfect example of amazing

order and design. The movement of planets around the
sun in their distinct orbits are so precise that we can even
set our watch against these movements. Earth is located at
a right distance from the sun as shown in the figure 2.2. If it
were to move a little closer, earthly life forms would go
extinct because of high temperature, and if the earth were
to go a little away from the sun, again these forms would Figure 2.2: Distance of Earth from Sun
not survive because of the freezing temperature. Given this

delicate yet persistent equilibrium, how can we deny the existence of a designer and assembler behind
the universe Everything in this universe is perfectly designed. Let us examine in this section some facts
around us that can help us keenly observe some distinct patterns.
2.2.3 The Complex Living Body
Every living body starts with a single cell. That single cell
multiplies and gives rise to gigantic bodies like elephants,
whales, and humans and even tiny insects and microbes.
Every organ of our body is very intricate and more complex
than a computer. If a computer cannot come about by some
random event (chance factor), how can a living body, which
is a perfect working assembly of complex organs, come by
chance
Similarly, the human brain processes information at a speed Figure 2.3: Human Brain
that cannot be simulated by the best of supercomputers. The
cognitive function of a human brain is far beyond the
abilities of present-day supercomputers. We do not have a machine that can properly understand
language. A small boy can learn to understand a few languages but no machine is capable of this.
Similarly, the eye has the ability to discriminate millions of colours. The combination of three primary
colours – Red, Green and Yellow – can provide millions of colour shades and the eyes have the power to
differentiate them. There must be a creator who has created all these wonderful things.
20
2.2.4 The E. coli bacterium: A Classic Case of Perfect Complex Design
E. coli is a common flagellate bacterium. Flagellum is a

thin filament that rotates and helps the bacteria in
moving. The scientists are astounded by the immense
complexity of this simple structure of a common
bacterium. Flagellum is driven by a reversible rotary
motor located at its base. It is powered by an ion flux.
The motor is about 45 nm in diameter and is assembled
from about 20 different kinds of parts. When the motor
at the base of flagella rotates at a very high speed, it
Figure 2.4: E. Coli Bacterial Flagella Rotary Motor
causes bacteria to swim in the water. Even a single
cellular organism is so complex in its design. If you look at the research community, there are thousands
of people doing PhDs to understand this nano-motor. So if E. coli bacteria motor is so complex, what to
speak of other living beings from reptiles to birds to animals to human beings.
2.2.5 The Self- Restrained Water Bodies
Water must continuously flow to remain unpolluted.

Good flow of water in rivers keeps it in pure condition.
Similarly, the vast body that supplies water is the ocean.
The moon is at perfect distance from the Earth and it
creates important ocean tides and movements so that
the ocean waters do not stagnate, and this water is always
in motion because of the moon's gravitational pull (fig
2.5). But the pull is only so much that there are tides in it,
had it been little more, it would have inundated the land.
Thus the massive oceans are restrained from spilling Figure 2.5: Moon’s graviational pull on water bodies
over across the continents. What a perfect design
2.2.6 Natural Symbiotic Living Order
When we observe in nature, we see that there is a harmonious symbiotic relationship between different
living entities. There are microbes in the soil that eat the soil and make it porous. If we provide for their
fast growth, then they help us to make the land light and fertile. The plants in turn grow better when the
soil becomes light and fertile naturally as they can now consume the elements of the soil better. Thus, we
see that there is everything in nature designed perfectly to co-exist. Also, cows eat grass and give us milk.
We drink milk and if we take care of cows a perfect symbiotic relationship is harnessed – A perfect
design Everything in nature inspires us because of the perfect design. When we observe the wonders of
creation around us closely, then there is hardly a chance to miss the beauty and aesthetics of perfect
design at all levels.
21
1. The Solar System is a perfect example of amazing _______________ and

______________.
2. Even the E coli bacterium has a ___________________ design.
3. Only because the moon is at a perfect distance from Earth, huge water
bodies are____________________.
4. Some examples of perfect design are given. Can you think of some more
examples that would support this empirical evidence?
2.3 Empirical Evidence 2–Perfect order

“I can do that better than the robot”
Once there was a young scientist who received a national award in robotic
science. The institute where he studied proudly announced a display of his
work. Many came to see the genius and his robots. One robot which
especially attracted everybody's attention was designed to walk and pick a
ball that was kept 6 feet away. Seeing this and seeing all the people who were
in awe, a little girl screamed But I can do this much faster and better than
the robot Perfect design in nature also implies a perfect order. And this in
turn also means a perfect controller who not only designs complex orders
but also controls them. We may design many complicated robots but God
has designed us and unlimited other creatures that are astounding in their Figure 2.6:
Robot picking a ball
complexity and functions.
Figure 2.6: Humanoid Robot
In this section we will discuss how there is perfect order maintained in nature through certain
unchangeable laws, physical and natural and thus conclude that the perfect order must be associated
with a perfect being - God.
2.3.1 Physical Laws
Law of Gravity: Most of the observable phenomena we see around us are governed by definite laws. For
2
example, the acceleration due to gravity, g has a definite value of 9.8 m/s . This acceleration due to
gravity does not change with time for a specific location.
Speed of Light: The speed of light does not change in a given

2202 yojanas in 1/2 nimesa
medium. In Rig Veda there is a mantra for Sun God and it
says, sun rays travel at the speed of 2202 yojanas in half a
nimisha. Yojana and nimisha are ancient units of length.
Calculations give the speed of light as 189547 miles per Travel Time : 8 Min
second. This is given in Rig Veda which is thousands of

Figure 2.7: Vedic calculation of speed of light
22
years of old literature. The modern estimate of the speed of light is 186281 miles per second. Earth spins
in 24 hours causing day and night. It perfectly follows the order of rotation and revolution. Even a slight
change in this order will create catastrophe in the climatic condition. Such a perfect order we have in
nature.
1. Enumerate some more examples that would support the idea that there is
perfect order within this universe.
2.4 Empirical Evidence 3 – Maintainer

In nature everything is provided to us. Water to drink, air to breathe, food to eat and everything that is
needed for survival is fulfilled by nature. The sunlight and moonlight that are so essential for our
maintenance and sustenance are also given to us by Mother Nature.
Most importantly, every living entity, from insects to humans, is given parents, who have an instinct to
go at lengths caring for their offspring. These instinct and other sorts of intelligence are also given to us.
How far can one go to protect one's offspring Can we starve ourselves to death to protect our babies
The Giant Pacific female octopus does just that. She lays her eggs in thousands and divides them into
different groups based on size, shape, and likeliness of survival. She then dedicates the next two months
of her life in protecting them from predators and ensuring they get enough oxygen supply by constantly
pushing water current towards them. She is so busy keeping them alive that she does not have time to
feed herself. Once the eggs hatch, the Pacific female octopus is totally exhausted and in a matter of
minutes, dies.
It is evident that an invisible hand always guides us, particularly in difficult times. All arrangements have
been made for our survival here. It is not that we were thrown into some kind of isolated place and that
we have to start everything from scratch. This again signifies towards an intelligent universal
maintainer.
1. Although you are brought up by the special care of your parents and
other near and dear ones, can you contemplate on some of your personal
examples that makes you believe that your parents are just instruments
of the real maintainer - God (Lord Krishna)?
2. This world appears to be self-sustained. Is there a need to invoke God as
the ultimate maintainer?
3. We have been provided with everything in nature and that includes a set
of parents who care for us. Hardly we are grateful to the Lord for such a
wonderful arrangement. Comment.
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2.5 Empirical Evidence 4 - The Law of Karma

One might surely question after reading the above section that though much of what we need is
provided by nature itself, why is the world full of disparities Some are rich, some are poor. Some are
born healthy; some drag with sickness. Bad people seem to flourish. Good people seem to suffer.
Without committing any apparent mistake, I seem to be suffering.
Why is it so This brings us to the law of karma that is summed up in the adage - As you sow, so shall you
reap . Not just in terms of reactions, but we also see the law of karma at work in terms of inspiration that
comes from within. You will see that all our scientific discoveries, and artistic discoveries happen
because of sudden inspiration. If that inspiration is not there, you will not be functional. Some
inspiration must come from within.
And sometimes this inspiration is so profound that it impacts generations. It impacts the nation; it
impacts the world. And whatever may happen, finally you can see that always virtue wins, and evil is
defeated in the long run. For example, it appeared like Hitler had been conquering the world but
ultimately, he was vanquished. There is the law of karma and the law of nature. Many times, we can
experience these laws. But sometimes we are cognizant and reflect on them.
1. Seeing the perfect design and perfect order in nature, we can conclude
that there must be a perfect designer and that must be ___________.
2. Can the so-called evolution or other modern scientific paradigm explain
the phenomena that someone is born poor while another is born rich?
Hint: A nobel laureate does not produce an offspring that also becomes
another nobel laureate.
3. People often complain that bad things often happen to good people. Can
you refute this allegation through the paradigm of law of karma?
4. Environmental pollution is a result of going against the laws of nature.
Comment.
2.6 God Does Exist: What Next?

In the previous section we have provided many empirical evidences that help us understand that there
must be God. However, accepting the existence of God alone does not help us understand the details
about God. Where is He What does He do What is the purpose of the universe These questions
cannot be answered through empirical evidence. What is then the method to know God Divine
revelation is the ONLY way. Srila Prabhupada gives a very apt analogy in this regard. How does one
know about his father The ONLY authority is one's mother. Just as a mother alone can reveal the
identity of the father, the process of divine revelation alone can help us understand or know God as He is.
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2.7 Divine Revelation

Divine revelation is the process by which things become self evident.This may occur in four different
ways:
2.7.1 The Holy Books
God is revealed through Holy books. Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, Bible,

Koran, Srimad Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Guru Grantha Sahib and
other bonafide holy books are there to let us know God. These holy
books are NOT man-made. These books descend to this world
through divine revelations. Thus, God reveals Himself through
scriptures. Figure 2.8: Holy books
2.7.2 Seers of Truth
The sages who have seen the Truth reveal the same Truth unto the other
seekers who are sincere and faithful. Adi Sankaracharya, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, Prophet Mohammad, Jesus, Arjuna, Bhisma Deva,
Vyasadeva and Srila Narada are some of the seers who have guided Jesus
Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Adi Sankaracharya
humanity towards God Consciousness. These seers of Truth left behind Figure 2.9: Seers of truth
many literatures such as Vedas, Mahabharata, Puranas, and Narada
Bhakti Sutra for our benefit.
2.7.3 Incarnations of God
Supreme Lord Krishna appears time and again in this world in His many
beautiful incarnations as Lord Rama, Lord Nrsimha, Lord Varaha,
Parasurama, and Lord Buddha to endear humanity towards Him. His places of
appearance such as Vrindavana, Ayodhya, Jagannatha Puri, Kurma Kshetra,
Varaha Kshetra, and Tirumala etc. remind us about His divine activities and
pastimes. These places are like transcendental touchstones that impregnate the
hearts of devotees with devotion for the Lord.
Figure 2.10: Ten
incarnations of Lord
2.7.4 Self-Realization – Ultimate Divine Revelation
We may have all the empirical evidence and the various sources of divine revelation may also facilitate.
Yet is it possible to see God face to face This enquiry leads us to the ultimate realization. You need a
special eye. You need special qualifications. You should be able to see God using your transcendental
senses – not by physical senses. Using your divine eye, using your divine ears, using your divine touch
you should be able to experience God. You should be able to see Him directly. But how is it possible
25
We need to acquire this qualification and that is explained clearly in

Chapter 12 of Bhagavad Gita. Chapter 12 enumerates spiritual qualities
of those who seek Krishna. A seeker of Truth, when engages himself in
the loving devotional service of the Lord, becomes blessed. Ultimately, it
is the divine grace of Sri Guru and Krishna that enables a seeker with
qualification to see Krishna face to face - as a direct perception.
How a five-year-old boy, Prahlad, could feel and see God face to face:
Prahlad was a five year old little boy who was born in the family of
demons. His father was an atheistic king with extraordinary powers. In
the Srimad Bhagavatam, Prahlad s qualities are described as follows:
Figure 2.11: Prahlad sees Lord directly
He was completely cultured as a qualified brāhmaṇa, having very good character, and being
determined to understand the Absolute Truth. He had full control of his senses and mind. Like the
Supersoul, he was kind to every living entity and was the best friend of everyone. To respectable persons
he acted exactly like a menial servant, to the poor he was like a father, to his equals he was attached like a
sympathetic brother, and he considered his teachers, spiritual masters and older Godbrothers to be as
good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was completely free from unnatural pride that might
have arisen from his good education, riches, beauty, aristocracy and so on. He was not agitated when put
into danger, and was neither directly nor indirectly interested in the fruitive activities described in the
Vedas. Indeed, he considered everything material to be useless, and therefore he was completely devoid
of material desires. He always controlled his senses and life air, and being of steady intelligence and
determination, he subdued all lusty desires.
Because of being fully absorbed in the thoughts of Lord Krishna, Prahlad felt oneness with the Lord. In
this way he could sometimes feel the touch of the Lord's lotus hands. It is described that because of his
highly advanced consciousness, Prahlad could see the Lord and cry out, sing, and dance in ecstasy.
1. Knowledge of God is factually obtained through _________________(sense
perception/divine revelation).
2. Holy books like the Bhagavad-Gita are written by ____________(intelligent
men/Lord Himself).
3. By empirical observations, we can understand that God does exist. What
are the right sources from where we can know God as He is?
4. What is divine revelation?
5. Name some of the seers of truth.
6. Enumerate some of the incarnations of God. How many incarnations does
God have?
7. God is divine and beyond purview of space and time. How can one cultivate
such subject matter?
8. By seeking the truth, we are blessed to transcend the material space and
time. How does this mechanism work?
9. What is self-realization? Why is this called the ultimate divine revelation?
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2.8 Krishna Concept of God

In the previous sections, we saw how God indeed exists and how His greatness is confirmed through
divine scriptures, divine seers, His incarnations or Avatars and also through direct perception. In this
section we will focus on the Krishna concept of God. There are various concepts of the Absolute Truth -
but Krishna concept is the supreme.
We will attempt at understanding how Krishna is truly infinite and the original infinity, from where
other ideas of infinity emerge.
2.8.1 On Infinity
There are varieties of concepts of infinity. For example, if you go and walk along the bank of the ocean
and when you see the sand particles, they appear to be infinite. Then you feel the vastness of the ocean -
you have another experience of the infinity. You ponder over the limitless sky - then you have another
idea of that infinity. Someone, (say a physicist) who has dedicated his whole life to contemplating on the
gigantic nature of this universe, will have another
understanding of this infinity. A mathematician will
encounter this concept of infinity from another angle.
99999
What is an Infinity 10 and 99999 are very big natural
numbers, but not infinity. Sometimes one may assume
that the number of sand particles in the entire earth planet
may tend to be infinite, but a scientist very well knows that
the total number of sand particles is a finite quantity just
Figure 2.12: Vastness of ocean looks like
as the number of molecules that this earth consists of. infinity but is not an infinity
Let us ask this question: is the number of photons emitted by all luminaries within this universe infinite
Then one would wonder if this universe has a closed boundary or open boundary. Thus the answer will
remain different for different persons as per their view of this universe.
Scientists, in general, are interested in mathematical or physical concepts that can be realized in the real
world using the laws of finites. Since infinity as an entity is not accessible in their domain, the subject has
hardly any relevance to them. It is important to point out some of the popular misuses of this term in
scientific literature. For example, many would consider the following mathematical entities to be
correct:
1 1
∞
=0 (1) ; lim x = ∞ (2)
x→0
In equation (1), ∞ is not a natural number. By definition, if n is a natural number, then n+1 is also a
natural number which is not true at the infinity. Hence the division operation as given in (1) is not
mathematically valid unless one assumes that the infinity is a very large natural number.
27
Equation (2) is often used in mathematics as well as in other scientific disciplines and is accepted as a
valid operation. However, a careful examination of this operation will lead us to understand that the
right-hand side is simply a very large natural number, but not the actual infinity. Here, our argument is
that operations involving infinity are not amenable to current mathematical operations. In other words,
mathematical operations within a finite domain cannot generate infinity.
CANTOR'S PERSPECTIVE ON INFINITE
In the pre-Cantor era (prior to 1850 AD), mathematicians looked at infinity as potential but not actual. It
was accepted that infinity is simply a very big, large number [Gauss 1831]. Interestingly, Georg Cantor
figured out infinity as an actual mathematical object, and not just a very large number.
Consider a set of natural numbers {N = 1, 2, 3, 4, ….}. This sequence is potentially infinite as every
natural number has a successor even after many enumerations as the process of enumeration can only
remain finite. Consider a set of integers as I = {…. , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ….}. This set can also be
written as I = {0, 1, −1, 2, −2, 3, −3, ….}. Once one looks at the set as a whole, then the set becomes actual
infinity. Cantor thus argued that there exists a full-fledged mathematical object that is infinity using set
theoretic approach and demonstrated that this object does not follow the mathematical laws observable
at the finite scales. His argument for the existence of such an object was supported by the well proven
existence of irrational numbers like √2̄ and π .If one does not accept the existence of infinity as a real
mathematical object, then these irrational numbers will cease to exist.
Consider a set of natural numbers as shown in Figure 2.13. If one takes out the 123456.....∞
set of even natural numbers, what remains is the set of odd natural numbers. (-) 1 3 5 . . . . . . . ∞
One can notice that that which is subtracted, that which is the net result as 2 4 6..... ∞
well as the original set are all infinite. Figure 2.13
Given one set of natural numbers, one comes across three different infinite sets as shown in the Figure
2.13. Interestingly, Cantor found a method to compare these sets using the principle of one-to-one
correspondence. For example, the sets {A, B, C} and {1, 2, 3} have the same size because we can form a
one-to-one pairing as {A,1}, {B,2} and {C,3}.
Using the above argument one can establish one to one correspondence between Set A Set B
the set of natural numbers and the set of even numbers as shown in Figure 2.14.
1 2
Using these principles, readers will be able to see that at the level of infinity, the 2
3
4
6
super set (set of natural numbers) and subsets such as the sets of odd numbers, 4
5
8
10
perfect squares, primes and so on are all of same size. 6
7
12
14
8 16
9 18
Let us consider the set of rationals, which is far dense, compared to the natural ... ...
numbers. It is known that between any two rationals, however close they may be, Figure 2.14
28
we can find another rational number. Still, Cantor showed that the set rationals is of the same size as that
of the set of natural numbers and is countably infinite. The set of rational numbers is shown in the Figure
2.15.
Readers can see that every sequence both in rows and columns is an
infinite set. However, by indexing the rationals along the arrows as shown
in this Figure (first horizontal movement, then diagonal movement
downward, then vertical downward movement, then horizontal
movement and then diagonal upward movement and repeat), starting
from the origin, and skipping the repeated entries, one will be able to
generate the sequence of natural numbers N= {1, 2, 3, 4, ….}. This implies
that even a set of rational numbers is also countably infinite as that of the
Figure 2.15: Counting of
set of natural numbers. This discovery made Cantor to say: rational numbers
I see it but I can't believe it.
Cantor made many other discoveries regarding infinity, but the interesting feature of his discovery is
that at infinity, laws of finites are not applicable. The laws at the level of infinity will always remain
inconceivable.
1. Are sand particles that exist on the surface of earth finite or infinite?
2. What is the contribution of George Cantor to the understanding of infinity?
3. What do you mean by the law of finites?
4. How is the law of infinite different from the law of finites?
5. What is the most significant attribute of the infinity that even a layman can
understand?
2.8.2 Infinity in Vedanta
Vedanta talks about infinity - the Absolute Infinity - in many ways. For example, the nature of the
infinity is spoken in one of the Upanisads known as Sri Isopanisad as an invocation mantra:
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
Translation: The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect,
all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes.
Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete
Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.
29
This explanation is quite remarkable as we can observe that infinity is hidden even within His creation
that makes this world to be self-organized. Simultaneously, the infinite remains the same even after
infinite emanations come out of Him. Consider the example of the original cell that comes into being by
the combination of half the mother cell and half the father cell. This cell has all information hidden
within it that makes it grow through the process of cell division to become a very complex biological
body consisting of hair, nails, skin, nerve cells and so forth. Even after years of research and endeavours,
life-science researchers are unable to comprehend a single cell. Rather, the mystery of a cell remains as
complex as the gigantic cosmos. Thus, it is imperative that the process of understanding the natural
phenomenon is not to control it but to be aware of the infinite beauty of the infinity through His
creations.
1. What is the concept of transcendental infinity as given in the invocation
of Isopanisad?
2. A cell looks like a gigantic cosmos as we use more powerful microscopes
to study it. Why is our understanding of the cell will always remain
incomplete?
3. What is the purpose of understanding each natural process or unit?
2.8.3 Krishna - The Original Infinity

Every sense of our infinity concept is just a reflection of the original Infinity - Lord Krishna. He says so in
Bhagavad Gita 7.7:
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat
kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaḿ protaṁ
sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
Translation: O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as
pearls are strung on a thread.
Any faithful person who approaches Bhagavad Gita accepts Lord Krishna as the Absolute Truth. He is
the greatest. How great is Lord Krishna
In Bhagavad Gita 10.2 Krishna Himself says:

na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ
prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ
aham ādir hi devānāṁ
maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ
Translation: Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in
every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages.
Thus, Krishna is saying that nobody can understand Him. Because if you can understand God, it implies
that you become superior to God, by simple logic. That is why He (Lord Krishna) is saying that neither
30
the hosts of demigods, nor the great sages (rishis) know Krishna's origin or Krishna's opulence, for in
every respect, Krishna is the source of all of them (both demigods and sages).
So Krishna concept of infinity is the ultimate concept of infinity. There is no bigger concept than that. He
is the Absolute Truth. He further confirms this in Bhagavad Gita 10.8:
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
Translation: 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.
This is the definition of infinity. Here, Krishna says - aham

sarvasya prabhavo - He is the ultimate source of everything
that exists. You can see in Figure 2.16, Krishna as Mahavishnu
lying in the Karanodaka Ocean and from every pore of His
body comes out one seed of the universe and it grows to
become gigantic in size. Krishna says that He is the source of
all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from
Him. Lord Krishna not only conceptualizes each of these
universes, but also, He alone supplies all ingredients
(upādāna) to give shape and structure to these universes. He
is simultaneously the efficient cause in terms of conceptual
Figure 2.16: Mahavishnu lying
construct and purpose of this universe and causal principle of in the Karanodaka ocean
universal ingredients that make up this universe. That means
Krishna is wholly and solely the source of everything that exists. After hearing Lord Krishna, Arjuna
made a pertinent statement regarding the Absolute position of Lord Krishna as the ultimate form of
Infinity - the Absolute Truth in Bhagavad Gita 10.12-13
arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma
pavitraṁ paramaḿ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam
ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve
devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ
svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me
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Translation: Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest,
the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn and the greatest. All
the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa confirm this truth about You, and now You
Yourself are declaring it to me.
Upon being requested by Arjuna, Lord Krishna further elaborates His multifarious energy by which He
pervades His entire creation. This knowledge would help us to always remember Krishna: Krishna says
in the 10th chapter, I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the
beginning, the middle and the end of all beings. He further says, Among the Ādityas, He is Viṣṇu;
among the luminaries, He is the radiant Sun; among the stars, He is moon; among the Vedas, He is Sama
Veda; among the demigods, He is Indra; among the Rudras, He is Lord Shiva; among the priests, He is
Brihaspati; and among the mountains, He is Meru. He is the Supersoul situated in every spiritual and
material atom. He is the ability of men. After such narrations, He unequivocally declares in Bhagavad
Gita 10.42:
athavā bahunaitena
kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam
ekāḿśena sthito jagat
Translation: But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge With a single fragment of
Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.
By His mere will, Lord Krishna manifests millions of universes effortlessly. This is His Absolute Infinite
nature where any so-called wondrous activity is just like raising eyebrows. Krishna effortlessly creates,
sustains, and maintains every aspect of all universes. It is not that He has to work very hard to do this.
God does not have to take any stress for maintaining and sustaining His creation. That is why Lord
Krishna is advising Arjuna that this detailed knowledge of Him in terms of His opulence will not help
anyone to comprehend Krishna - The Infinity. Upon request by Arjuna, Lord Krishna showed His
Universal form - the way He pervades this entire creation. We will just
cite two verses that are sufficient to recognize the inconceivable nature
of Lord Krishna: Bhagavad Gita 11.12, 11.16.
divi sūrya-sahasrasya
bhaved yugapad utthitā
yadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syād
bhāsas tasya mahātmanaḥ
Translation: If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into

the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme
Person in that universal form. Figure 2.17: Universal form of
Krishna
32
aneka-bāhūdara-vaktra-netraṁ
paśyāmi tvāṁ sarvato 'nanta-rūpam
nāntaṁ na madhyaṁ na punas tavādiṁ
paśyāmi viśveśvara viśva-rūpa
Translation: O Lord of the universe, O universal form, I see in Your body many, many arms, bellies,
mouths and eyes, expanded everywhere, without limit. I see in You no end, no middle and no
beginning.
It is very clear that Infinity has no end and no

beginning. Infinity must be beyond mathematical
constructs like openness or closed, bounded or
unbounded. For example, a house is a finite
object, hence we can define the inside and outside
of the house. But for infinite, there cannot be any
inside or outside, as we can see in the following
incident described in Srimad Bhagavatam.
Once, mother Yashoda looks into the mouth of

Krishna (the Absolute Infinite) as she wants to
verify if Lord Krishna has eaten mud. At this time,
He is less than 3 years old.
When Kṛṣṇa opened His mouth wide by the

order of mother Yaśodā, she saw within His
mouth all moving and nonmoving entities, outer
space, and all directions, along with mountains,
islands, oceans, the surface of the earth, the
blowing wind, fire, the moon and the stars. She
saw the planetary systems, water, light, air, sky, Figure 2.18: Mother Yashoda looks into the
and creation by transformation of ahaṅkāra. She mouth of Krishna
also saw the senses, the mind, sense perception,

and the three qualities, goodness, passion, and ignorance. She saw the time allotted for the living
entities, she saw instinct and the reactions of karma, and she saw desires and different varieties of bodies,
moving and nonmoving. Seeing all these aspects of the cosmic manifestation, along with herself and
Vṛndāvana-dhāma, she became doubtful and fearful of her son's nature. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.37-
39)
Is it not inconceivable to see that Mother Yashoda sees herself within the mouth of her son She is
simultaneously inside and outside of Krishna.
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After Lord Krishna married the 16108 princesses in Dwaraka, the sage Narada visited Dwaraka. He
could see that Lord Krishna is simultaneously present in all 16108 palaces as well as other places such as
Svadharma assembly hall. Lord Krishna is found to perform different activities in different palaces at the
same time. This is the inconceivable potency of the Lord, that He demonstrates as His sweet pastimes.
As such, the same Lord Krishna performs His variegated pastimes in millions of spiritual and material
universes at the same time while pervading each and every atom as the supersoul. Anyone who observes
Lord Krishna's activities and qualities with an open mind will be able to ascertain that He is the ultimate
superset of all possible infinities.
1. Krishna is the source of everything ______(material/ spiritual/material and

spiritual).
2. The Universal form of Krishna is infinite because ______(it has no end/it has
no beginning, middle or end).
3. Absolute Truth can be understood through ______(finite logic/ surrendering to
the Lord).
4. Lord Krishna declares Himself as the Absolute Truth. Quote these verses as
given in this section.
5. Only _____ can perfectly and completely describe the Absolute Truth?
6. By definition nobody can know God completely. Quote the verse where Lord
Krishna says nobody knows Him.
7. How does Arjuna describe Lord Krishna?
8. How is Lord Krishna ascertained as the ultimate superset of all infinities?
9. What is the meaning that every unit emanating from Lord Krishna is complete?
10.Lord Krishna is infinite yet He is the son of mother Yashoda. Explain through
the pastimes of mother Yashoda looking into the mouth of Krishna.
2.9 Story of the Brahmin and the Cobbler:

There is an instructive story wherein the transcendental space sage Narada was going to Vaikuntha, and
on the way a very learned scholar met him and enquired from him where he was going. When Narada
replied that he was going to Vaikuntha to see Lord Narayana, the brahmin requested him to ask Lord
Narayana when he would be liberated. Sage Narada agreed and proceeded on his way when he met a
cobbler who also presented the same request to him. As promised, Narada inquired from the Lord about
both the brahmin and the cobbler to which Lord Narayana said, The cobbler will be liberated in this
life, and that brahmin will take many births . Sage Narada was astonished and asked the lord why and
how a brahmin who was regularly chanting prayers and performing rituals would take many births to be
liberated while a simple cobbler would be liberated after the same birth.
Lord Narayana then gave him one needle and said to the puzzled sage, When they enquire what
Narayana was doing, tell them that Narayana was pulling an elephant through the eye of this needle .
34
Thus, when sage Narada returned, the brahmin offered his

obeisances to the sage and Lord Narayana and enquired from
him about what the Lord was doing when Narada met Him.
When he heard the sage's reply, the brahmin scoffed and
refused to believe what Narada said, accusing him of not ever
having met the Lord at all. When it was the cobbler's turn to
meet the great sage and hear his reply, the cobbler began
weeping in great admiration for the Lord.
Narada was amazed at his conviction and enquired the basis of
his faith. The cobbler said, Oh, my Narayana is so powerful
that He can do everything. This banyan tree under which I am
sitting bears many small figs, which in turn have many tiny
seeds. In each of these tiny seeds there is a huge banyan tree and Figure 2.19: Cobbler and Narada
if Lord Narayana can keep hundreds of banyan trees within each
fig fruit, why is it surprising that He can pull an elephant
through the eye of a needle
Thus, the faith of the cobbler was not blind but he presented proof of the inconceivable potency of the
Lord. And it is this faith in Vedic knowledge that will help one transcend unto the spiritual plane from
the material plane.
Although the Lord is infinite, the experience of His grace and His magnanimity makes a sincere soul
attain true humility. Thus, he surrenders to Lord Krishna and acts as His instrument voluntarily. When a
seeker transcends to the conscious plane, he sees his Master - Lord Krishna - as his best friend. The
beauty of the truth overwhelms his scientific knowledge of the infinite where he feels no fear from the
infinity. Although one lives in this world, no event in this world, including death, can create fear within
him as he has already taken shelter of the lotus feet of his Master in love. The mundane logic does not
disturb him as he knows that the Lord Infinite is beyond such mundane logic that follows the laws at the
finite level.
Although infinite always will remain inconceivable for the jīva, his consciousness becomes pure as he
contemplates on this all pure Infinity. He thus sees Him everywhere and thus lives a life of fearlessness
while dwelling in Truth.
1. Why is cobbler more qualified to understand and appreciate Lord Narayana

than the so-called brahmana?
2. What is the symbolism behind the statement - “passing an elephant through
the eye of a needle”? How did cobbler answer such a statement?
3. Did the cobbler blindly believe in the Krishna-concept of infinity?
4. Infinite is always ______ to a jiva, but his consciousness becomes _____ and
_____ by the proper contemplation on the Infinite.
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2.10 The Bhaktivedanta Purport to BG 10.8

A learned scholar who has studied the Vedas perfectly and has information from authorities like Lord
Caitanya and who knows how to apply these teachings can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of
everything in both the material and spiritual worlds, and because he knows this perfectly, he becomes
firmly fixed in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. He can never be deviated by any number of
nonsensical commentaries or by fools. All Vedic literature agrees that Kṛṣṇa is the source of Brahmā,
Śiva and all other demigods. In the Atharva Veda (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.24) it is said, yo
brahmāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁ yo vai vedāṁś ca gāpayati sma kṛṣṇaḥ: It was Kṛṣṇa who in the
beginning instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past.
Then again, the Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (1) says, atha puruṣo ha vai nārāyaṇo 'kāmayata prajāḥ sṛjeyeti:
Then the Supreme Personality Nārāyaṇa desired to create living entities. The Upaniṣad continues,
nārāyaṇād brahmā jāyate, nārāyaṇād prajāpatiḥ prajāyate, nārāyaṇād indro jāyate, nārāyaṇād aṣṭau
vasavo jāyante, nārāyaṇād ekādaśa rudrā jāyante, nārāyaṇād dvādaśādityāḥ: From Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā
is born, and from Nārāyaṇa, the patriarchs are also born. From Nārāyaṇa, Indra is born, from Nārāyaṇa
the eight Vasus are born, from Nārāyaṇa the eleven Rudras are born, from Nārāyaṇa the twelve Ādityas
are born. This Nārāyaṇa is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa.
It is said in the same Vedas, brahmaṇyo devakī-putraḥ: The son of Devakī, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme
Personality. (Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 4) Then it is said, eko vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā neśāno nāpo
nāgni-somau neme dyāv-āpṛthivī na nakṣatrāṇi na sūryaḥ: In the beginning of the creation there was
only the Supreme Personality Nārāyaṇa. There was no Brahmā, no Śiva, no water, no fire, no moon, no
heaven and earth, no stars in the sky, no sun. (Mahā Upaniṣad 1.2) In the Mahā Upaniṣad it is also said
that Lord Śiva was born from the forehead of the Supreme Lord. Thus, the Vedas say that it is the
Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahmā and Śiva, who is to be worshiped.
In the Mokṣa-dharma section of the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa also says,
prajāpatiṁ ca rudraṁ cāpy

aham eva sṛjāmi vai
tau hi māṁ na vijānīto
mama māyā-vimohitau
The patriarchs, Śiva and others are created by Me, though they do not know that they are created by Me
because they are deluded by My illusory energy. In the Varāha Purāṇa it is also said,
nārāyaṇaḥ paro devas

tasmāj jātaś caturmukhaḥ
tasmād rudro 'bhavad devaḥ
sa ca sarva-jñatāṁ gataḥ
Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him Brahmā was born, from whom Śiva
was born.
36
Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of all generations, and He is called the most efficient cause of everything. He
says, Because everything is born of Me, I am the original source of all. Everything is under Me; no one is
above Me. There is no supreme controller other than Kṛṣṇa. One who understands Kṛṣṇa in such a way
from a bonafide spiritual master, with references from Vedic literature, engages all his energy in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness and becomes a truly learned man. In comparison to him, all others, who do not know
Kṛṣṇa properly, are but fools. Only a fool would consider Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary man. A Kṛṣṇa
conscious person should not be bewildered by fools; he should avoid all unauthorized commentaries
and interpretations on Bhagavad-gītā and proceed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness with determination and
firmness.
1. Enumerate all scriptural references besides Bhagavad Gita that Lord
Krishna is indeed the Absolute Truth.
2. How can you learn about Lord Krishna scientifically?
3. Who is a fool?
4. Indians do not differentiate among different demigods (devatas). They also
club Lord Krishna in that category. Is this understanding correct? How do
you explain to such people that Lord Krishna indeed is the Absolute Truth.
2.11 Conclusion
This human life is very precious. The beauty of this human life is that ONLY in the body of a human we
can understand God. Animals do not discuss the subject matter of God. Lord Krishna is that Absolute
Truth which includes every possible concept of God. Let's use this human life to understand this
Krishna concept of infinity. Seers have described Him in thousands of ways as if having thousands of
mouths. It requires the grace of Krishna to appreciate Him and in the process, our consciousness
transcends from imperfection to perfection. In that
transcendental consciousness, that infinity (Krishna)
reveals Himself with all His grandeur as well as compassion.
Such revelations have been made by various saints from
various traditions like Suradas, Meera, Purandar, Tygaraj,
Rāmanujācharya, Madhvācharya, Chaitanya Dev and many
others. These descriptions are like sand particles in the
sandbank along the sea-beach kept for the benefit of all jīvas
(mortals) who inhabit this world.
As Lord Brahma prays in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.7:
In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to

count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or
perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the
Figure 2.20: Lord Brahma prays
stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who to Lord Krishna
37
could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by You, Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Person, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities Lord Brahma
is a great authority, and he is accepting the Krishna concept of Infinity as the Absolute Truth. Such truth
cannot be ascertained by using finite logic. In this lesson, we learned the ineffectiveness of arithmetic
laws on the infinite as against on the finite domain, illustrated by the great mathematician, Cantor. As in
the words of Lord Brahma, the Krishna-concept of Infinity overwhelms a person who is a seeker of
Truth. Not only, Lord Krishna as infinity is inconceivable as observed by Lord Brahma and Arjuna, but
His creation also manifests this inconceivability and indescribability.
We describe the world because the world is indescribable. That is why poets, scientists, and
philosophers from the time of yore have been trying to describe various aspects of this world. Despite all
these efforts, we can observe the following:
· An atom has not yet been properly described.

· A biological cell has also not been properly described.
· So also, the cosmos as it is remains elusive.
· So also, the consciousness is a BIG riddle.
· The more one tries to understand any such subjects, the more it becomes elusive.
God - Lord Krishna - pervades through His creation, thus every aspect of creation will remain elusive
despite our best efforts. His footprints (infiniteness - inconceivability - indescribability) are imprinted
in every aspect of His creation. Only those who are freed from the curtain of His illusory energy can
perceive that Lord Krishna is indeed the ultimate form of Infinity.
1. Knowledge of God is factually obtained through divine revelation.

Why? What are the sources of these revelations?
2. What analogy does Srila Prabhupada give while advocating that the
subject matter related to God can be ascertained through divine
revelations?
3. The world remains elusive no matter how hard we may try to
describe it. Explain.
4. God effortlessly sustains and maintains all of creation. Quote the
verse of the Bhagavad Gita where Lord confirms the above
statement.
5. How does Bhagavad Gita inform us about the Krishna-concept of
infinity?
6. Explain the Krishna-concept of infinity through the event of mother
Yashoda looking into Krishna's mouth.
7. Absolute Truth is never exhaustible. Explain?
8. Why is there scarcity in this world even if Krishna is infinite?
9. How does Lord Brahma explain the Krishna-concept of infinity?
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Lesson 3
Krishna as He is
3.1 Introduction
W e have learnt in the last lesson that God is infinite. At the level of infinity, laws of finites do
not apply. Even if infinite units – each of infinite size – are taken away from this infinity,
the same infinity remains as the original infinity. So, God as infinity is always
inconceivable. In this lesson, we will describe how this inconceivable infinity is also the transcendental
person in His original state.
3.1.1 Is God Some Supernatural force or Power?
God is Supreme power' – all those who believe in God often proclaim so. This very idea is not accepted
in Bhagavad Gita. As a concept, 'power' (shakti) is always dependent and possessed. By definition, God
must be independent. Hence, He is infinitely powerful. We request our readers to abandon this concept
of God as Supreme power. As a common sense, you can delineate power from powerful as it is the
powerful who controls the power and not vice-versa.
God is not power, rather He is most powerful or the source of all power. Power is just one of His
opulence. Power is always controlled by somebody. For instance, electric power is controlled by an
engineer. The person who controls power is more powerful than the power itself. One must understand
that God is not power, but God is powerful and rather much more.
3.1.2 Is Nature God?
Some people say that nature is God but that is also not true. According to
Bhagavad Gita, nature is Krishna's energy and works under His
dominion. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 9.10:
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate Figure 3.1: Material Nature works
under Lord Krishna's direction
Translation: This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction
(mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ), O son of Kunti, producing all moving (cara) and nonmoving beings (acara).
Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
So, by accepting the authority of Bhagavad Gita, the argument that 'Nature is God' must be abandoned.
3.1.3 Is God impersonal Brahman?

Many who believe in Vedic culture argue that God is formless - a divine light, i.e., impersonal Brahman.
However, this is just a partial description of God. As the sage Suta Goswami says in Srimad Bhagavatam,
vadanti tat tattva-vidas

tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
Translation: Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance
Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. (SB 1.2.11)
Here it is very clear that Absolute Truth is simultaneously realized as Brahman, Paramātmā and
Bhagavān. So, God is the personal Brahman - not impersonal Brahma jyoti. Rather Brahma jyoti is Lord
Krishna's bodily effulgence.
In Bhagavad Gita 14.27, it is clearly stated that Lord Krishna is the resting place for Brahman:
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham
amṛtasyāvyayasya ca
śāśvatasya ca dharm asya
sukhasyaikāntikasya ca
Translation: And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and
eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.
Brahman is the glaring light or the rays that are coming from Krishna. The rays are His impersonal
feature, but He is always a person. However, unlike us, He is a transcendental person whose body is not
subject to birth, death, old age, and disease. We are inside the domain of the universe where the time
factor is present, and hence, changes in our body are inevitable. God exists beyond material space and
time. He has been existing eternally and His body remains pure and spiritual, not subject to change.
The greatest authority Lord Brahma further states in his treatise Brahma Samhita that Lord Krishna is
the Absolute Truth in Bhagavān feature. In addition, he states that Lord Krishna has a transcendental
form.
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
[Brahma Samhita verse-1]
Translation: Krishna who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful
spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.”
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
3.1.4 Is Krishna one of the many Hindu Gods?
In Vedic literature, there exist two different concepts: God (Bhagavān) and demigod (Devata). Lord
Krishna is the source of all demigods, who assist Him in various worldly affairs. There are 33 crores of
demigods – each one of them works under Lord Krishna's direction. Thus our readers must abandon the
idea that Lord Krishna is also one of the many demigods. Intuitively one can say that the Absolute Truth
is one. Who among the many Hindu gods can conform to this idea of Absolute Truth Readers, if they
use their common sense, can find this out easily.
Once a young German man started on a world tour to find out who God
is. He argued that God must be there in some culture in a proper
description as implied in the notion of the Absolute Truth. He just had to
find out. When he was told that Atlas is God, he was not convinced. He
thought how is it that God must put so much effort just to lift the earth
planet. To him, Atlas as a bearded old man, does not look like the right
Figure 3.2: Lord Krishna, in
candidate to be God. After searching west, he headed for India. When Vrindavana, is a perfect enjoyer
Lord Shiva was presented as God to him, he was again not convinced. His
argument was that how can God be in a meditation posture always. God must be He who is the object of
meditation for Lord Shiva. Finally, he arrived in Vrindavana. Here he saw Lord Krishna is always in
different enjoying spirits. Somewhere He is dancing with the damsels of Vrindavan, in another place He
is playing with His cowherd friends while grazing the cows. When Lord Krishna was presented as God,
he finally got convinced. Seeing Krishna always playing on His flute, the young German man thought,
Krishna is surely the Supreme Lord since He is smiling and enjoying . After all, God must be sustaining
everything effortlessly while He Himself must be in the most jovial mood among His associates. That is
Lord Krishna. If a German can understand this so easily, our readers should be able to appreciate it better
as we present Krishna as He is.
One of the meanings of Krishna is all attractive. The word 'Krish' is a dhātu (root) sabda and the meaning
is 'to attract'. Krishna means He who attracts everybody, sarvākarṣaka- all attractive. So Krishna is not
something sectarian. Krishna refers to God. God's original name is Krishna. He has unlimited names.
Rāma, Allah, Jehovah, Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, Padmanābha, Ananta, Keśava, and Mukunda are some of His
other names. As such He has unlimited names. This implies that Krishna is neither another demigod
nor is He the God of a particular class of people. This can be further understood by the following simple
humorous story.
Sun: Indian or American
Once there were two drunkards who were fighting amongst themselves. One of the drunkards who
loved everything American, was arguing that the Sun was originally from America. The other insisted
vociferously that the Sun was always an Indian and will continue to do so. When their argument got
41
KRISHNA AS HE IS
highly animated, they decided to ask the opinion of a passerby who happened to be a foolish simpleton.
When posed with the question whether the sun was Indian or American, the foolish person replied I
happen to be new in this part of the country. So, I am not sure if your Sun belongs to India or America
Similarly, labeling Krishna as Hindu or Indian reflects very narrow thinking and is a baseless idea.
1. God is the supreme _____ (power/powerful).

2. Often people describe God as supreme power. What is the fallacy in such a
description?
3. Give two examples of how power is always under the control of a powerful
person.
4. Is nature God?
5. Is God impersonal Brahman?
6. How is Bhagavan realization the ultimate one in regard to the Absolute
Truth? Quote authorities as well.
7. What made the German lad understand that Krishna is God?
8. Explain why "Krishna" is not a sectarian name or concept.
9. Write the moral of the story "Sun: Indian or American" in your own words.
10. By looking at age-old cultural systems, one can figure out who is God - the way
the German seeker could figure out. Is there any short-cut to this conundrum?
3.2 Divinity of Krishna

In 4th chapter of Bhagavad Gita Krishna says:
janma karma ca me divyam

evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
Translation: One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon
leaving the body, take his birth again in this material
world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
Krishna - the Absolute Truth - by definition, is unborn. Yet

He takes birth as the son of Devaki, as the son of Yashoda,
as the son of Aditi or as the son of Kausalya. But this does
not mean that He is like one of us. He selects His own
mother and father. His activities are all pleasing. For
example, Krishna stole butter from the houses of the Gopis
or the milkmaids of Gokul and He became the celebrated Figure 3.3: Krishna showed His four handed
butter thief Krishna's activities are not happening in the Narayana form to Vasudev and Devaki
42
KRISHNA AS HE IS
material realm but in the spiritual realm and thus they are divine. His activities are always auspicious and
are meant to give transcendental pleasure to His devotees.
Lord Krishna's appearance is unimaginably wonderful and divine. His father Vasudeva conceived Lord
Krishna in his pure consciousness through divine austerities and devotion. As a chaste wife, Devaki was
privileged to attain pure consciousness by her transcendental association with her husband. Lord
Krishna thus agreed to remain in the womb of His mother. At the right time, Krishna appeared in front
of Mother Devaki in four handed Narayana form with shankha (conch-shell), chakra (disk), gada (club)
and padma (lotus). He looked exquisitely beautiful being adorned with a beautiful garland of forest
flowers, ever fresh vaijayantimala, dazzling helmet and properly dressed in yellow garment. Upon
Devaki's prayer, Lord Krishna by His sweet will became a small baby. This is how Krishna appears.
But that baby orders Vasudeva to take Him to Gokul. Although Vasudeva
was in the prison and all the doors of the prison were locked, as Vasudeva
headed towards carrying out the orders of Krishna, the doors mysteriously
unlocked themselves and all the guards of the prison fell fast asleep. Then
Vasudeva had to cross the river Yamuna which was over-flooding due to
torrential rain. Ananta Shesha became the umbrella for the Lord and
Yamuna got bifurcated making way for Vasudeva. These sweet pastimes of
Krishna are just inconceivable and are being enacted in the divine plane.
Figure 3.4: Vasudev

carries Krishna
1. List the prominent differences between the birth of Krishna and our birth.
2. How did Devaki conceive Lord Krishna?
3. Why do people praise and worship when Krishna steals?
4. According to Bhagavad Gita, how is one benefitted if one understands the
transcendental nature of Krishna's birth and activities?
5. What are the four things Lord Narayana carries in His four hands?
6. Krishna's pastimes do not take place in a mundane but in a divine plane.
Explain.
3.2.1 Lord Krishna pervades the existence as a person
Who is a person The meaning of a person is he who has a form, who enjoys with other persons in many
relationships such as friend, lover, and son, who can think and who has the ability to express and fulfil
his desires. He has his likes and dislikes. These and many other personal traits define a person. Lord
Krishna is a person, but His personality is inconceivable. Although He appears as the son of mother
Yashoda, He also pervades the entirety of creation as a person. He can appear simultaneously in
unlimited places - an aspect of His inconceivable personality. That is why in Bhagavad Gita 13.14
Krishna says:
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat

sarvato 'kṣi-śiro-mukham
sarvataḥ śrutimal loke
sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati
Translation: Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere.
In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.
Krishna is referred as nirākāra or formless because He

does not have a material form. He is referred as nirguna
because He does not have material qualities. But He has
spiritual form, and He possesses spiritual qualities. BG
13.14 proves that as Krishna pervades the creation in
His Paramātmā feature, He does so as a person. This
means that within my heart He hears me, He can feel my
innermost desire, and He can reciprocate with my
feelings. Krishna says, Everywhere are My hands, My
legs, My ears, My eyes, My heads. This is inconceivable. Figure 3.5: Lord Krishna is an inconceivable person
And one who understands that Krishna's appearance and Krishna's activities are divine (divyam), does
not come back to this material world (punar janma naiti) once he quits his mortal body (tyaktva
deham), rather he attains Krishna, he goes back to the spiritual world (punar janma naiti ). Each one of
us has a wonderful home in the spiritual abode. This is mentioned not only in Bhagavad Gita but even
the Bible tells us in many places that our home is in God's kingdom, and we are lost here.
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat ' or 'What shall we drink ' or 'What shall we wear ' For the
pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Bible: 6.31-33)
So the Absolute Truth is a person. That is demonstrated when He descended in His original form as
Krishna. Impersonal means where there is no activity. But Krishna is full of rasa - mellows which He
relishes with His infinite devotees eternally.
1. What is the meaning of 'person'? What is impersonal?

2. Some people think, "a person's form is limited by space and time, then how
can God have a personal form?" Give the correct understanding of this as per
Bhagavad Gita.
3. Quote the verse that states that Lord Krishna pervades the creation as a
person.
4. How do Nirakara and Nirguna refer to Lord Krishna?
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
3.2.2 Krishna, His devotees, and eternal relationships
The set of four verses of Bhagavad Gita 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11, which is known as chatuh-shloki, is
very important in this context. These four verses together state the nature of the Absolute Truth and the
process of attaining the Absolute Truth. Lord Krishna defines Absolute Truth in BG 10.8, and devotional
service in BG 10.9. He speaks as a person and assures the individuality of His devotees. As a person, He
reciprocates with those who want to get liberated.
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
[BG 10.8]
Translation: 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.
This verse makes it clear that the existence of God

is independent of multitudes of universes
including their inhabitants. Our existence is
completely dependent on His grace. Krishna
emphatically declares that He is that God. So, a
wise person worships Him with devotion and
gratitude. Such wise persons perform devotional
service as defined in the next verse:
mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
Figure 3.6: Devotees discuss Krishna katha together
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca
[BG 10.9]
Translation: 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.
Verse 10.9 states that Lord Krishna is the Absolute Truth, and a devotee performs devotional service to
please Him. It explains the process of devotional service. And the process is to live a Krishna conscious
life where devotees are happy simply by conversing about Krishna and explaining about Krishna - the
Absolute Truth.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
[BG 10.10]
Translation: To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by
which they can come to Me.
We are covered by layers of ignorance which

prohibit us from penetrating the divine sphere
of Krishna consciousness. For attaining
liberation from conditioned life, seekers of
Truth give up the comforts of family, friends and
society and seek the shelter of holy dham or the
caves of Himalayan mountains. Still the access
to the divine realm in which Krishna operates is
very difficult for such seekers. If such seekers
take to devotional service as defined in verse
10.9, Krishna provides intelligence by which Figure 3.7: Lord Krishna dwells as Supersoul
they can come to Him. This verse thus says that in the heart and guides His devotees
Krishna reciprocates as a person (guide) with all

those devotees who are engaged in Krishna-
Katha, i.e., topics related to Krishna.
teṣām evānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho
jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
[BG 10.11]
To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the
darkness born of ignorance.
Verse 10.11 tells how Krishna provides intelligence to genuine seekers of truth. As Krishna resides
within every one's heart as the Supersoul, He personally guides each of His devotees with the torch light
of knowledge while vanquishing their ignorance. Krishna is a person so also we are. But His personality
is inconceivable as He can simultaneously reciprocate with devotees who are infinite in number. In a
perfected state, these relationships between Krishna and His devotees are firmly established. This topic
will be further elaborated in the next section.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
1. What is implied by the first verse of Chaturshloki BG 10.8?

2. How do most intelligent people behave after understanding that Lord Krishna
is the original form of the Absolute Truth?
3. How should one worship Krishna as explained in BG 10.9?
4. We are all drowning in the ocean of ignorance and miseries even after
performing devotional service 24 hours a day. Who would guide us in such
turmoil situations? Refer Bg 10.10.
5. What is the main obstacle in our path to reach Krishna? How does Krishna
help us to overcome that obstacle? Refer 10.11.
6. What is the main import from the Chaturshloki BG 10.8-11? How does
Krishna's personality dazzle through these four verses?
3.2.3 The Sweet Relationship

Although the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita given by the Absolute Truth Lord Krishna is acknowledged
everywhere, it is the personality of this Absolute Truth that makes Him look most attractive and
beautiful. Lord Krishna as a friend or lover is much more attractive than He as the Supreme controller or
the Supreme knowledge. Following narration will entail that Krishna and His devotees are eternally
bound by an eternal loving relationship where the boundary between master and servant vanishes.
South Indian Brahmana

In the holy place of Sri Ranga-Kshetra (in Tamil Nadu), a Vaishnava brahmana would daily visit the
temple of Lord Ranganath and recite the entire text of Bhagavad-Gita. However, he was not able to
pronounce the Sanskrit words correctly. So, the Sanskrit scholars around the temple used to make fun of
him. But, just by reading the Bhagavad Gita, he was overflowing with great spiritual ecstasy, and so he
did not bother at all about what people were talking about him.
When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, during His pilgrimage, visited Sri Ranga-Kshetra and saw the
brahmana shedding tears of love, He asked the brahmana, "My dear sir, why are you in such ecstatic
love Which portion of Bhagavad Gita gives you such transcendental pleasure " The brahmana replied,
"My Lord, I am illiterate and therefore do not know the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read
Bhagavad-gita correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case, I continue with my reading because
it is the order of my spiritual master."
The brahmana continued, "Actually whenever I open the Bhagavad Gita, I only see a picture of Lord
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sitting as a charioteer on the magnificent chariot of
Arjuna. With the reins in His hands, Lord Krishna appears very beautiful. When I see this picture of
Lord Krishna driving the chariot of Arjuna, His beloved devotee, I am filled with ecstatic happiness."
Lord Chaitanya thus embraced this brāhmana and stated that he had actually realized the essence of
Bhagavad Gita.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
What is the essence of Bhagavad Gita We have already discussed that Lord Krishna as infinite is
inconceivable. So what is that which makes a seeker of Truth to dedicate oneself life after life It is one's
relationship with the Supreme.
Though Lord Krishna is Lakshmipati (husband of the goddess of fortune), He readily took the humble
position of a chauffeur - chariot driver. For this extraordinary pastime of His, He is glorified even today
as Pārtha-Sarathi (the charioteer of Pārtha or Arjuna). And the Brāhmana of Sri Ranga Kshetra is able to
perfect his life by simple mediation on this sweet relationship - the relationship between Krishna and
His devotees. Let us pray for our own divine relationship with Krishna which is our eternal right.
1. The _________ of Absolute Truth is more attractive than the knowledge of

Absolute Truth.
2. Why was the brahmana of Sri Rangam not perturbed by the humiliation he
was subjected to?
3. What made Lord Chaitanya get attracted to the brahmana?
4. What in Bhagavad Gita kept the brahmana always blissful?
5. One can not fully understand Lord Krishna, yet a devotee is ready to sacrifice
his life for the satisfaction of Krishna. Why?
6. What is more attractive - Krishna as the supreme controller or Krishna as the
best friend?
7. God exists beyond material ____________ and _____________.
8. Nature itself is not Krishna, it is Krishna's ____________.
9. Impersonal Brahman is the glaring light of the rays that are coming from
___________.
10. Among the many opulences that Krishna possesses, He also possesses the
supreme opulence of _____________.
11. One who understands the transcendental nature of Krishna's birth and
activities does not take birth in this _____________ world but attains His
eternal abode.
12. Krishna can appear simultaneously in _____________ number of places.
13. Because we are encaged in many layers of _____________, it is very difficult
to see Krishna.
14. The _________ of Absolute Truth is more attractive than the knowledge of
Absolute Truth.
15. Krishna means He who attracts (all Hindus/ everybody).
16. God means (some unknown power/He Who is the source of all power).
17. Detachment can be acquired by (renouncing all our work/ connecting all our
work to the supremely detached Lord Krishna).
18. There are many verses in the Bhagavad Gita that reveal (Krishna as the
supreme divine personality/ Krishna as a formless light).
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
3.3 Krishna - The Supreme Person

We have been discussing how Krishna is the original transcendental person. Among various traits that
define the idea of personhood, what is the most important trait Relationships are the most defining
aspect of personhood. Krishna is that transcendental person who possesses unlimited relationships. If
you observe in this world, you can at best make few relationships with a lot of endeavors, and they are not
even permanent. The relationships that you make in this world are temporary because your personality
is not spiritual, it is mostly material. When you become a spiritual being, i.e., you discover yourself as a
divine being, then you see that you have a relationship with Krishna. Krishna is our father, Krishna is our
mother, Krishna is our teacher, Krishna is our all in all and these relationships are permanent or eternal.
You can establish a relationship only with Krishna but He can establish a relationship with everyone.
This is the difference between our tiny potency and Krishna's infinite potency. One of the defining
opulences of Krishna is His relationship. Krishna as Absolute Truth is ONE, but He becomes many to
celebrate His opulence. His friendly spirit makes Him manifest unlimited friends as cowherds in
Vrindavana. His mood of a lover makes Him manifest unlimited girlfriends such as damsels of Vraja.
These relationships are so sweet that the greatest of yogis contemplate on these relationships with care
and attention. A few examples of such relationships are given below to realize this statement.
3.3.1 Krishna Responds to Draupadi's Call
When Draupadi was being disrobed by Dushasana in the assembly of

Hastinapur, she called out 'Govinda , and Krishna ' and Krishna personally
became infinite saree to give her protection. It did not take Him any time to
do this, in spite of the fact that when Draupadi was being disrobed, Krishna
was in Dwaraka while she was in Hastinapur. For Him, there is no distance
because He is everywhere. Figure 3.8: Krishna
responds to Draupadi's call
3.3.2 Krishna protects Draupadi from the Wrath of Sage Durvasa
Another instance of how Krishna protected Draupadi and the Pandavas is as follows. While the
Pandavas and Draupadi were in exile after they lost everything in gambling, sage Durvasa along with his
sixty thousand followers came to see them. This actually was the wicked plan of Duryodhana, who knew
well that being in the forest, Yudhishtira would not be able to provide any hospitality to the sage, who
was known for his short temper.
It was a tradition in Vedic times that when a rishi comes to a Kshatriya, the latter should offer him nice
food. So Durvasa asked Yudhishthira to make arrangements for their food while he and his disciples
went for bathing in the nearby river. It so happened that Draupadi had a magical pot called the
Akshayapatra in which she could cook and feed an unlimited number of people. However, she would not
49
KRISHNA AS HE IS
be able to serve, once she had taken her food. The day sage Durvasa had come, Draupadi and her
husbands had already taken their food. The Pandavas were in a crisis situation since Durvasa's wrath
could turn them all into ashes. At that moment Draupadi just remembered Krishna and He appeared
without any time lag because if you build a relationship with Krishna, He reciprocates spontaneously.
Krishna used to address Draupadi as sakhi because she was friend of Krishna.
He said, What happened sakhi Why did you remember Me
Draupadi said, You already know everything, there is nothing hidden from you. Please solve my problem .
Krishna said, You give me something to eat. If I am satisfied, these sixty thousand men will also be
satisfied.
In utter despair, Draupadi exclaimed that there was nothing

in the pot. Still Lord Krishna asked Draupadi to show the pot -
Akshaypatra. There He saw that one tiny particle of rice was
sticking to the bottom of the pot. As soon as Lord Krishna
accepted that particle of rice, Durvasa and his sixty thousand
followers immediately felt the satisfaction of having eaten a
huge feast. They were in no position to eat another meal that
they thought Yudhishtira would have nicely arranged. So
Durvasa and his followers hurriedly left from the river itself
without returning to the Pandavas cottage.
From this sweet pastime, we can see that Krishna easily

reciprocates with His devotees even in dire situations. He has
all renunciation, power, fame, riches, knowledge, and beauty.
But the most important among all such opulences is His
relationship with His devotees, and time and again He reveals Figure 3.9: Krishna eats from the
akshaya patra of Draupadi
how He cares for them. These two examples should inspire us
to build our individual relationship with Krishna. After all He
is the Supreme Transcendental person.
1. The most important defining principle of personhood is ________.

2. List key differences between the nature of relationships we have and that of
the relationships Krishna has.
3. When Draupadi cried out, Krishna could appear in Hastinapura, which is a
thousand mile from Dwarka, in no time because ____________________.
4. Why did the sage Durvasa visit Pandavas in the forest? How are Pandavas
saved from this calamity?
5. "In extreme situations, even when our best of material means fail, Krishna
protects us easily". Elaborate with examples.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
3.4 Transcendental Traits of Krishna's Personality

Any person is referred to by his name, form, address, activities, and qualities. Krishna, being the
Absolute Person, also has infinite names, infinite forms, and infinite qualities. He performs sweet
pastimes with His devotees, and He has a definite address. But all these traits of Krishna are divine.
3.4.1 Holy Name (Naama)
In this mundane world we may have several nicknames besides our official name. While we have names,
these names are different from our persona. For example, a person may be named as Daya
(compassion), but he may be cruel by action. The Absolute Truth has unlimited names, and his original
name is Krishna. His name is divine as His name and He, the person, are non-different. Just like
Draupadi called out for Krishna in the Kuru assembly, Krishna was there in person to help her out. In
fact, Krishna has invested His full potency in His holy name. Thus, in this age of quarrel, it is the holy
name alone that can liberate anyone:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
3.4.2 Divine Form (Rupa)
In India, anyone can recognize a picture of Krishna.

Krishna always holds a flute, His hair is bedecked
with a peacock feather, He wears Gunja Mala as well
as Vaijayantimala, glittering yellow garments dazzle
upon Him, and His everfresh charming smile
removes all distress of everyone. This form of
Krishna is divine - that of eternal existence,
knowledge, and bliss. Sat-Chit-Ananda Vigraha is
attributed to Krishna. Being Sat or eternal, Krishna
never crosses the youthful age of 16. He is always
nava-yauvana - ever youthful. His body never
changes but emits newer and newer transcendental
beauty always.
Being Chit, He is always Full of Knowledge. Krishna

knows the past, present and future in totality. In
Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna was confused when He heard
that Krishna has already spoken this divine science
Figure 3.10: Lord Krishna is ever youthful
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
to Sun God some 120 million years ago although He is his contemporary only. In reply, Krishna said:
Many many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O Arjuna
Krishna has perfect memory and knows everything. That is why He is God.
Ananda or full of joy - Krishna is never affected by distress. What to speak of the Lord, His Devotees are
also never distressed. All of us definitely go through much turmoil in life. However, once we turn to
Krishna the smile on our face will return since Krishna is the source of all happiness. In essence,
Krishna's form is divine, and that form is immeasurable. Like Mother Yashoda could not bind little
Krishna despite her attempts to join many ropes together until He allowed her to bind Him in pure love.
3.4.3 Divine qualities (Guna)

Krishna has unlimited divine qualities. All of His qualities are very attractive. Devotees are attracted to
Him for His qualities. Krishna as protector of Draupadi, as chariot driver of Arjuna, as messenger of
Pandavas and as butter thief resides in our heart more than He as the Supreme controller. Our acharyas
say that Krishna has 64 prominent qualities in infinite quantities. In particular, His rupa mādhuri, venu
mādhuri, lila mādhuri and bhakta mādhuri are most talked about.
Lila-mādhuri—He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood

pastimes).
Bhakta-mādhuri—He is surrounded by devotees endowed with the wonderful love of Godhead.
Venu-mādhuri—He can attract all living entities in all the universes by playing on His flute.
Rupa-mādhuri—He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the
creation.
3.4.4 Pastimes (Leela)

When we perform activities, those very activities bind us to the cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease.
But Krishna's activities are all auspicious and divinely natural. His stealing of butter, His killing of
demons or His protection of devotees are all of Absolute nature, i.e., there is no anomaly.
3.4.5 Divine Abode (Dhāma)

Krishna speaks of His abode in the 15 th chapter of the Bhagavad gita as follows (15.6):
That Supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or the moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those
who reach it never return to this material world. .............................................................................................
Just like there are innumerable universes in the material space, there are unlimited spiritual universes in
the conscious space, known as Vaikuntha planets. That is why Vrindavana, Ayodhya, Jagannatha Puri
and Mayapur are much revered by the seekers of Truth. Goloka Vrindavana is the topmost Vaikuntha
planet. So, Krishna has a definite address.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
1. In how many ways a person is known to others?

2. How is Krishna's name different from our name?
3. What are four special divine qualities that Lord Krishna has but His other
Vishnu expansions do not have?
4. There is no difference between Krishna's killing and His protection. Why?
3.5 Who cannot understand Krishna as He is?

In verse 7.25 of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that not everybody can understand Him.
nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya

yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho 'yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam
Translation: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal
potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.
So, to the foolish and unintelligent, Krishna will never manifest. Even when Krishna was present in this
world 5000 years ago Duryodhana could not recognize Him. The following story will elaborate this
further.
3.5.1 Krishna is Bhāvagrāhi (Krishna Accepts Our Emotions)
Once Duryodhana to show off his opulence,

employed many expert chefs in preparing
thousands of food items for Krishna. He
arrogantly thought that Krishna was a cowherd
boy, and He would at best know how to eat butter.
He decided to show Krishna how many varieties of
foodstuffs one can enjoy. But when Krishna
arrived, He did not even look at those
preparations. He went to the house of Vidura, who
was a dear devotee of the Lord. Vidura was not
Figure 3.11: Vidur's wife feeds banana peels
there but Vidura's wife, also a dear devotee of the to Krishna
Lord, was present. Seeing the Lord at home, she
became overjoyed and anxious to serve Him. In
her excitement and anxiety, she began serving the Lord with some bananas that were lying in her
kitchen. However, she was so excited that as she was peeling off the bananas, she kept throwing off the
bananas and feeding the peels to Krishna. And Krishna was actually eating those banana peels
53
KRISHNA AS HE IS
From this story we can see how Krishna accepts our emotions or bhāva. He relishes our feelings for Him.
Vidura's wife was in ecstasy because she could not believe that Krishna had come to her small cottage.
Though she could not serve the Lord properly in her ecstasy and served Him banana peels, she was
overwhelmed with emotions of pure love for the Lord and that pure feeling attracted the Lord. He is not
attracted by all the opulence one may possess because ultimately all that opulence belongs to Krishna.
3.5.2 Wisdom through Renunciation

It is interesting to know how and why we are attached to everything we possess - even to the most
insignificant things, like our clothes or our coffee mug On introspection, one wonders why one is
attached to the things one possesses. A feeling of attachment comes from the fear of losing. If we know
that our possessions are going to be taken away from us, then it implies that they do not belong to us
anyway. We literally possess nothing and that is why we have the fear of losing. God, however, is not
attached to anything since He truly possesses everything, and nobody can take away anything from
Him.
STORY: Sleeping on the Bare Ground When the Bed is Broken

A man received a bed as dowry from his father-in-law. But he was not much respected by his in-laws, so
he was given a very cheap bed. Very soon the bed was broken and the man, just to save his face, started
speaking like a renunciate in respect of his material loss. He decided to sleep on the bare ground
thereafter. He also started preaching to everyone that every object of pleasure and comfort is temporary,
and we should renounce everything without a false sense of attachment.
Purport of the Story by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura :

True renunciation is not that one sleeps on the bare ground when the bed is broken. In fact, this reflects
nothing but a motive for earning fame and appreciation for one's unusual activities. When an
impersonalist or illusionist shows off his renunciation in this material world, he simply exposes himself
to be in anger or deep attachment with those objects of apparent renunciation. He would have continued
to enjoy those objects if they were of no trouble to him before. Pure devotees will never expose their
spirit of renunciation in such a manner. They renounce everything for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. They know very well that the Lord is the Supreme enjoyer,
and that no living entity should have any desire for enjoyment for his own sake. A pure devotee is ever
satisfied with the remnants obtained from the Lord as His causeless mercy, and he is never unhappy or
attached with any such object.
1. Krishna can reciprocate with unlimited jivas or souls simultaneously because

He is ____________.
2. Krishna and Krishna's names are ________________.
3. In the ___________________ world, no one hankers for anything since there
are unlimited resources available for everyone unlimitedly.
4. The relationship that each one of us has in this material world is __________
(permanent/temporary).
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
5. Krishna's body ___(is afflicted by distress just as ours/ is always blissful).

6. Just as pearls of a necklace are strung on a thread, everything rests upon
____(the living entity/ Lord Krishna).
7. Krishna will never manifest Himself to the __(foolish and unintelligent/simple
and intelligent).
8. One should be __(highly educated/ humble) to be able to understand Krishna.
9. Krishna is attracted to our __(opulence/ emotions of pure love).
3.6 Purport (BG 10.12-13)

In these two verses the Supreme Lord gives a chance to the Māyāvādī philosopher, for here it is clear that the
Supreme is different from the individual soul. Arjuna, after hearing the essential four verses of Bhagavad-
gītā in this chapter, became completely free from all doubts and accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. He at once boldly declares, You are paraṁ brahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
And previously Kṛṣṇa stated that He is the originator of everything and everyone. Every demigod and every
human being is dependent on Him. Men and demigods, out of ignorance, think that they are absolute and
independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That ignorance is removed perfectly by the discharge
of devotional service. This has already been explained in the previous verse by the Lord. Now, by His grace,
Arjuna is accepting Him as the Supreme Truth, in concordance with the Vedic injunction. It is not that
because Kṛṣṇa is Arjuna's intimate friend Arjuna is flattering Him by calling Him the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Whatever Arjuna says in these two verses is confirmed by Vedic truth.
Vedic injunctions affirm that only one who takes to devotional service to the Supreme Lord can understand
Him, whereas others cannot. Each and every word of this verse spoken by Arjuna is confirmed by Vedic
injunction.
In the Kena Upaniṣad it is stated that the Supreme Brahman is the rest for everything, and Kṛṣṇa has
already explained that everything is resting on Him. The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad confirms that the Supreme
Lord, in whom everything is resting, can be realized only by those who engage constantly in thinking of
Him. This constant thinking of Kṛṣṇa is smaraṇam, one of the methods of devotional service. It is only by
devotional service to Kṛṣṇa that one can understand his position and get rid of this material body.
In the Vedas, the Supreme Lord is accepted as the purest of the pure. One who understands that Kṛṣṇa is the
purest of the pure can become purified from all sinful activities. One cannot be disinfected from sinful
activities unless he surrenders unto the Supreme Lord. Arjuna's acceptance of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme pure
complies with the injunctions of Vedic literature. This is also confirmed by great personalities, of whom
Nārada is the chief.
Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one's
transcendental relationship with Him. He is the supreme existence. He is free from bodily needs, birth and
death. Not only does Arjuna confirm this, but all the Vedic literatures, the Purāṇas and histories. In all
55
KRISHNA AS HE IS
Vedic literatures Kṛṣṇa is thus described, and the Supreme Lord Himself also says in the Fourth Chapter,
Although I am unborn, I appear on this earth to establish religious principles. He is the supreme origin;
He has no cause, for He is the cause of all causes, and everything is emanating from Him. This perfect
knowledge can be had by the grace of the Supreme Lord.
Here Arjuna expresses himself through the grace of Kṛṣṇa. If we want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, we
should accept the statements in these two verses. This is called the paramparā system, acceptance of the
disciplic succession. Unless one is in the disciplic succession, he cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. It is not
possible by so-called academic education. Unfortunately those proud of their academic education, despite
so much evidence in Vedic literatures, stick to their obstinate conviction that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary person.
1. Out of ignorance what do men and demigods think? How can this ignorance
be removed?
2. How can we understand that Arjuna is not flattering Krishna since Krishna is
Arjuna's intimate friend?
3. How can one become free from all sinful activities?
4. It is not possible to understand the Bhagavad-Gita by so-called academic
education'. Elaborate.
5. List at least three doubts that you or someone you know may have regarding
the Absolute Truth. What steps can you take to clear these doubts?
3.7 The Conscious World

There is a normal perception that God, who is the greatest, is all pervading but does not have His own
address. This is NOT correct. Lord Krishna has His own address. He permanently stays in the capital
divine city - Goloka Vrindavana, the top-most planet in the spiritual sky.
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis
tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
[Brahma Samhita 5.37]
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the

one who enlivens the senses of everyone by His
personal bodily rays, resides in His transcendental
abode, called Goloka. Yet He is present in every nook
and corner of His creation by expansion of happy
spiritual rays, equal in power to His personal potency of
bliss."
Figure 3.12: Lord Krishna's abode
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
But this abode of Lord Krishna is transcendental as described in Bhagavad Gita:

na tad bhāsayate sūryo
na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yadgatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
[BG 15.6]
Translation: That supreme abode of mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One
who reaches it never returns to this material world.
The spiritual world is made up of conscious space while this physical world is made up of material space.
The trait of conscious space is that it is all illuminating, full of knowledge and self-effulgent. In contrast,
the material space is full of darkness and ignorance. The conscious space is eternal and is pervaded by
the divine grace of the Lord all around. This space is reverberated with divine joy. In contrast,
temporariness pervades the material space, and it is full of misery.
Indeed, everything in the spiritual world is conscious - trees, breeze, the flute, the garland, sand, sky -
everything is surcharged with transcendental emotions for Krishna. The ultimate perfection is to
become a devotee of Krishna. When you become a devotee of Krishna, you become free from material
conditioning. All your ignorance will be vanquished.
3.7.1 Material Space

Space may be defined as that which gives a unique identity to any object. We are able to distinguish
distinct objects owing to the existence of space. The moment you withdraw space, there is nothing
tangible or physical. When space is actually withdrawn, it sets in the process of devastation. Actually,
this space is a manifestation of Krishna's illusory energy. Some of the traits of this space are as follows:
· Material space has no connection with the spirit soul. However, it is within Krishna.This is
...................possible through Krishna's illusory energy or māyā shakti. ·
...........· ...Activities in the material space create more distance between Jīva and Krishna.
.............· ...Two individuals may have much physical proximity in the material space. However,
...................they may be far apart in terms of their mental consciousness. This implies there exists
...................a hierarchy in material space, i.e. two objects can be in proximity in terms of locational
...................semantics while the same two objects can be far apart from each other in terms of emotional
...................semantics. ..................
.............·....Unfortunately, we do not have a semantic understanding of the material space as of now
...................within current science. But Bhagavad Gita states that this space consists of temporary
...................existence, ignorance, and misery. We need to contemplate this space.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
3.7.2 Conscious Space
The material space is just the reflection of the conscious space. The conscious space is made up of eternal
existence, knowledge, and spiritual joy. Some of the traits of this space are:
· In this space, every object is conscious,

...................effulgent and self-revealing.
· In the conscious space, we have a
............. ...distinct identity based on our relation-
...................ship with Krishna.
· Each conscious being is defined by a
...................relationship with the Absolute Being,
...................Krishna.
· The distinctions among entities in the
...................spiritual space are not based on spatial
...................distance but on their nature of Divine
Figure 3.13: Krishna lifts Govardhan hill
...................Bhava or loving emotions for Krishna.
· There is an immediate feeling of intimacy or closeness between the entities in the spiritual
...................space. There is no physical or spatial distance here.
· Conscious space can expand. This can be explained through the instance when Krishna
...................lifted Govardhana hill. There were an uncountable number of men, women, and animals
...................under the hill, which is not really possible in the material world. This happened because
...................space expanded to fulfil Krishna's desire.
1. What is the address of Lord Krishna?

2. Lord Krishna's abode is made of ______.
3. What is the nature of Krishna's abode as given in BG 15.6?
4. What is material space?
5. How is conscious space different from material space?
6. Lord Krishna performs His pastimes within the conscious space.
How does this idea change our world-view?
3.8 Krishna and the Living Entity (Jīva):

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita:
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
[BG 15.7]
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
Translation: The living entities in this conditioned world are my eternal, fragmental parts. Due to
conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
Thus, we as living entities are parts and parcels of Krishna but there are many differences between the
two and they are listed below:
Differences between Krishna and Jīva
· Krishna is the supreme conscious being while jīva is a tiny conscious being. ·
.............·....Krishna's free-will is unlimited and His desires always get fulfilled while jīva's free will is
...................very limited and his desires hardly get fulfilled. ·
.............·....Krishna feels everyone's desires and satisfies them accordingly while jīva hardly feels beyond
...................his/her own selfish desires. ·
.............·....Krishna thinks for everyone while jīva hardly thinks for others.
So, Krishna is the only Purusha.
Katha Upanishad 2.2.13 says that:

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān
Translation: He is the prime eternal among all eternals. He is the supreme living entity of all living
entities, and He alone is maintaining all life.
3.8.1 Krishna's Energy

As we discussed before, Krishna is the source of all opulence, power or energy. His energies are mainly
classified into two: spiritual and material. While both are derived from Krishna, one is considered to be
superior, the spiritual and the other inferior, the material energy. We, as jīvas or individual living entities
belong to the superior or spiritual category but are covered by the inferior or material energy. In
Bhagavad Gita seventh chapter, Krishna Himself says the following about His energy:
.............·.... Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego - all together these eight
...................constitute My separated material energies. (BG 7.4) ·
.............·.... Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which
...................comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior
...................nature. (BG 7.5) ......
.............·.... All created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is
...................spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution.
...................(BG 7.6)
We will discuss more on these energies and the manner in which the superior energy is covered by
inferior energy in later chapters to come
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
1. Describe the relation between Krishna and Jiva and their individual traits.
2. How many categories of energies Lord Krishna has? In which category we, the
jivas belong to?
3. Some say that there is no distinction between Lord Krishna and the jiva. How
would you refute such a claim?
4. Name five material elements.
5. Krishna is the only Purusha in all of existence. Comment
3.9 A passage from the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita As It is

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He is relating this supreme secret to him because Arjuna is His devotee
and His friend. The purport of this is that Bhagavad-gītā is a treatise which is especially meant for the
devotee of the Lord. There are three classes of transcendentalists, namely the jñānī, the yogī and the
bhakta, or the impersonalist, the meditator and the devotee. Here the Lord clearly tells Arjuna that He is
making him the first receiver of a new paramparā (disciplic succession) because the old succession was
broken. It was the Lord's wish, therefore, to establish another paramparā in the same line of thought that
was coming down from the Sun-God to others, and it was His wish that His teaching be distributed anew
by Arjuna. He wanted Arjuna to become the authority in understanding the Bhagavad-gītā. So, we see
that Bhagavad-gītā is instructed to Arjuna especially because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord, a direct
student of Kṛṣṇa, and His intimate friend. Therefore, Bhagavad-gītā is best understood by a person who
has qualities similar to that of Arjuna. That is to say he must be a devotee in a direct relationship with the
Lord. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord, he also has a direct relationship with the Lord. That
is a very elaborate subject matter, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in a relationship with the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five different ways:
1. One may be a devotee in a passive state;

2. One may be a devotee in an active state;
3. One may be a devotee as a friend;
4. One may be a devotee as a parent;
5. One may be a devotee as a conjugal lover.
Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as a friend. Of course, there is a gulf of difference between this
friendship and the friendship found in the material world. This is transcendental friendship, which
everyone cannot have. Of course, everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and that
relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the present status of our life, not
only have we forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord.
Every living being, out of the many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular
relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarūpa. By the process of devotional service, one can
revive that svarūpa, and that stage is called svarūpa-siddhi – perfection of one's constitutional position.
So Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.
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KRISHNA AS HE IS
1. Why is the Supreme Lord Krishna revealing the supreme secret of the
Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna?
2. Name the three classes of transcendentalists. For whom is the Bhagavad Gita
especially meant?
3. Who can best understand the Bhagavad Gita?
4. What are the five ways in which a devotee can be in a relationship with the
Personality of Godhead?
5. Explain what you have understood by svarupa-siddhi and share some
practical ways that you can implement in your life in order to establish your
relationship with the Supreme Lord.
3.10 Conclusion
Krishna is the Supreme Divine person. All of us can establish a transcendentally sweet personal
relationship with Him as a servant, friend, parent, and lover. As infinity, He is inconceivable yet, He can
reciprocate with each one of us, just the way He acted as the chariot driver of Arjuna, messenger for
Pandavas and friend of Sudama Brahmin. Everything rests within Krishna, yet He is performing sweet
pastimes among His dear devotees. This is again inconceivable.
All kinds of inauspicious activities within this world are merely manifestations of our own dirty, petty,
and selfish desires. Krishna is a mere witness but not at all responsible. These desires which we have
been contemplating within ourselves for a long time get translated into our actions. As a result of these
actions, we are transferred to this material world which is like the prison house of Krishna. Here again
we have a choice regarding our actions which will further decide our stay in this prison house.
Krishna as the Supreme transcendental person is very endearing to all seekers of Truth as this is the only
way we can attain completeness. Personal philosophy is the ultimate form of Truth. The realization of
Truth although categorized as Brahman svarūpa, Paramātmā svarūpa and Bhagavān svarūpa, all forms
of realizations are actually personal. Only some with poor funds of knowledge declare that the Absolute
Truth is impersonal. Let's be clear that Lord Krishna is that Supreme Absolute Truth as all seers of Truth
have accepted.
State whether the following statements are true or false and rewrite the correct
statements.
1. Lord Krishna repeatedly reminds us that this material world is perfect.
2. Activities in the spiritual space create more distance between jiva and
Krishna.
3. In the conscious space our identity is merged with that of Krishna.
4. Material space can expand or contract depending on an individual's desire.
5. Living entities are parts and parcels of Krishna. Thus they are the same as
Krishna.
61
62
Lesson 4
Description of Atomic Soul
4.1 Introduction
I n the previous chapter, we studied in detail how Lord Krishna is the Supreme person. His
personality transcends our experience of space and time. His divine personality is technically
called saccidānanda (sat-chit-ananda). Being non-dual, His name, form, quality, abode and
pastimes are all Absolute and hence transcendental (divine). We discussed in brief the nature of the
conscious space and the material space as well as how both spaces have their origin in Krishna. In this
chapter, we will discuss in detail the qualities of the individual spirit soul, or the jīva, and how it can
transcend from the material space into the conscious space.
Once on a sea beach, a person named Gopal got swayed into the sea and was drowning. When he asked
for help, the nearby fisherman dived in to search for him. Instead of saving the drowning person Gopal,
he brought out the shirt of Gopal. All of us will certainly agree that the effort of the fisherman was in vain.
This simple allegory is there to illustrate that mere saving of the body will NOT save the soul. In the
present-day world, all are concerned about the body, which is like the shirt for the soul, while they have
no concern about the soul at all. We all know that there is a difference between the living body and the
dead body. A body is living because consciousness pervades the entire body. Lord Krishna teaches us
that the soul, a very tiny fragmental portion of Him, is the basis of this consciousness. A learned person
must learn how to ascertain the difference between a dead body and a living body. Technically,
knowledge starts when one introspects the difference between the spirit (soul) and the matter. As Lord
Krishna affirms in BG 2.17 that it is the consciousness that pervades the whole body and is the basic
principle by which a living body differs from the dead body.
avināśi tu tad viddhi

yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati
Translation: That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able
to destroy that imperishable soul.
We will learn about the spirit soul as Lord Krishna has taught in the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita.
1. What pervades the entire body? What does it signify?

2. Soul is divine. What does it mean?
3. What is the lesson from the drowning man story?
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DESCRIPTION OF ATOMIC SOUL
4.2 The Spirit Soul

The mother of all questions is who I am In vedic tradition everybody used to refer to oneself as ātma.
Atma can refer to body, mind and soul as per the usage. The mystery is that even if the soul is pure and
eternal as a unity of consciousness, it is hidden by the curtain of subtle body and gross body. Unless we
approach a right authority, who is knowledgeable in the science of soul, we can never properly address
the nature of soul. How can I get back to my original nature How would I know that I am situated in my
original nature
4.2.1 Krishna and Soul are Co-Eternal:

In the battlefield of Mahabharata, Arjuna became crestfallen after realising that he must fight against
Bhishma, Drona and likes who are dearer to him more than his own life. He could not decide whether he
should fight or not. As he surrendered to Krishna seeking His instructions, the Lord said (BG 2.12):
na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ

na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ
sarve vayam ataḥ param
Translation: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future
shall any of us cease to be.
By this particular instruction, Krishna is clearly saying that all of us are eternal, have always existed and
will always continue to exist. Though we die at some point of time, it is our body which perishes, not the
soul. In fact, both birth and death are only an illusion as they pertain to different material bodies. There
are 8.4 million material bodies in which a soul is forced to dwell based on his past karma. We should thus
recognise that we have already taken birth among plants, aquatics, insects, reptiles, birds, animals, and
human beings many times.
4.2.2 Soul is Part and Parcel of Krishna

Lord Krishna emphatically tells that, as spirit souls, we are part and parcel of Him (BG 15.7):
Translation: The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to
64
Figure 4.1: Being forgetful of Krishna, the embodied soul tries to lord over the material nature
The soul (jīva) and Krishna are coeternal because jīva is part and parcel of Krishna. Krishna is the father
of each and every living being from a tiny insect to a large elephant. He alone is maintaining each and
every living being. Krishna's form is sat-chit-ananda so also is jīva's form. But while Krishna's form is
infinite and inconceivable, jīva's form is minuscule. As jīva is part and parcel of Krishna, many divine
qualities of Krishna are there in jīva, but in a minute quantity. Therefore, Krishna is the master and we
are all His servants.
I am the soul, not the body. I am divine, not ephemeral. This important knowledge is not being taught
in present day education systems. Hence, our way of life has become antithesis to our actual nature so
much so that people are made to behave like robots. This has serious ramifications in our ecology as
well. Lesser mortals such as plants, aquatics, hills, and rivers are being destroyed.
In Vedic culture, all 8.4 million species – from plants and aquatics to human beings – are called 'prajā'.
Since everybody is a soul, a part of Krishna, there is no difference between plants, aquatics, birds, and
human beings. All living forms are interconnected. Unless we understand this, we cannot make our
world peaceful.
1. Quote the BG verse that affirms eternal individuality of all jivas and Lord
Krishna.
2. All jivas are part and parcel of Krishna. Quote the verse.
3. There is a distinction between Lord Krishna and the jiva (atomic soul). What
is that distinction?
4. What is meaning of the sanskrit word 'praja'?.
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4.2.3 Transmigration of the Soul
In Veda, the soul is referred to as jīva or ātman. But in the impure state, the jīva is encaged in a physical
body. This embodied soul is continuously migrating from one body to another including the present
body. As Lord Krishna aptly states in Bhagavad Gita 2.13
dehino 'smin yathā dehe

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
Translation: As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age,
the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
The soul is continuously transmigrating in this very body from

boyhood to youth to old age (refer Figure 4.2). Learned men who
understand the nature of the soul do not bereave as they see death
as a process in which the soul has transmigrated to a completely
new body. So, death is the biggest illusion for those who are
ignorant. Krishna is telling this in the beginning of Bhagavad Gita
because Arjun was lamenting that he has to kill his teacher and his
grandfather whom he loved so much. Krishna is assuring Arjuna:
My dear friend there is nothing called death, it's simply an
illusion.
Figure 4.2 depicts the transmigration of the soul from one body to
another. Even from a human body one may transmigrate to a
lower form of body such as plant, insect, or animal. Now, what
decides our next body We are actually forced to take up another Figure 4.2: Transmigration of the
body according to our consciousness at the time of death. soul within the body
In this context Srila Prabhupada gives this interesting example. In a prison house, prisoners are forced to
wear a certain type of dress while their regular household dress and other belongings are taken away.
Similarly in this material world, we are forced to take different bodies/different dresses (8.4 million
dresses) according to our consciousness. There is a conscious evolution in ascending order from plants
onwards until human form of life. Unless human life is used for perfection, the karmic cycle will put us
again in the cycle of 8.4 million species.
So when the body perishes, it doesn't mean that the person is gone. The person still exists. The
embodied soul cannot see this, and thus, laments. A learned person sees this, and hence, does not
lament.
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1. Which is true?
a. Transmigration of the soul from one body to another takes place at the
time of death.
b. Transmigration of the soul takes place in this very body continuously.
c. Soul is ever existing and its dress is subject to continuous change.
d. All of the above.
2. Death is an illusion, so also birth. Explain.
3. The soul takes on a dress from 8.4 million species as per karmic cycle or as
per conscious evolution. How does this affect your lifestyle and goal of life?
4.2.4 Further Description of the Soul

Jiva being part and parcel of Krishna is divine. Hence its qualities are inconceivable in terms of our
mundane experiences. Here are some of these properties:
Bhagavad Gita 2.18

antavanta ime dehā
nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
anāśino 'prameyasya
tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
Translation: The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to
come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
Even a super microscope better than an atomic force microscope cannot measure the size of the soul.
The soul has a spiritual dimension and is thus immeasurable using any material instrument.
Bhagavad-Gita 2.19:
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ
yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto
nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate
Translation: Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in
knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.
Bhagavad-Gita 2.20:
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
Translation: For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does
not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He
is not slain when the body is slain.
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The chemical origin of life has been refuted in this statement of Lord Krishna. Life is never created, it is
eternal. We were always existing trillion and trillions of years back, and we will continue to exist trillion
and trillions of years in the future as well. Only our garments (bodies) are changing.
Bhagavad Gita 2.23:
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Translation: The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by
water, nor withered by the wind.
Bhagavad Gita 2.24:
acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam
akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur
acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ
Translation: This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried.
He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
Bhagavad Gita 2.25:

avyakto 'yam acintyo 'yam
avikāryo 'yam ucyate
tasmād evaṁ viditvainaṁ
nānuśocitum arhasi
Translation: It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not
grieve for the body.
Lord Krishna gives us information that seems to be inconceivable. Each one of us is a soul - a unit of
consciousness. However, this very tiny unit of consciousness is indestructible, insoluble, unburnt, uncut,
immovable, immeasurable and immutable. None of our physical experience allude to any such property.
Since Lord Krishna gives us this information, hence it must be true. The soul must be anti-material or
divine. Usually this is referred to as sat-chit-ananda - that which is eternally existing, full of knowledge
and joy. This implies that in this human body we have the ability to sense ourselves as the soul divine
provided, we follow the spiritual path laid down by Lord Krishna Himself. This is the main take-away that
we must seek out what we are.
1. Enumerate properties of the soul.Do you have the experience of any of
these properties? How does this experience make a difference to your life
in general?
2. Why is the soul immeasurable?
3. Lord Krishna explains that the soul is the basis of all life forms which
refutes the chemical origin of life. Write an essay on this topic.
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4.3 Soul has the Form, not the Matter:

Every living being has a form. Does the soul have form This is also answered in Bhagavad Gita 2.22:
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya

navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny
anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
Translation: As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new
material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
Trousers that we wear have two legs and the T-shirt that we wear has two hands because of the fact that
our body has two hands and two legs. Similarly, every living being has legs, hands, nose, eyes, ears
because the soul has these attributes. That is why Lord Krishna is saying that the body is the dress of the
soul. So, the soul has an original spiritual form and assumes different garments based on his polluted
consciousness. In our conditioned state, this concept of soul is an abstraction, but as we act on the
platform of the soul, this abstraction becomes a self-evident reality.
We believe in the gross forms as they can be sensed by our

sensory perception. But the origin of such gross forms lies
in their subtle forms in the first place. A photograph of the
original Benz patent motor wagon is shown in Figure 4.3.
It was first built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the
concept. The concept has the form, and hence, the gross
form of that concept in the form of a car also has a form.
Not only is the car, any gross object from a house to a robot
is conceptualised first in the intellect and mind. Its form is
given there. Any activity, be it technical research or Figure 4.3: The first version of original Benz car
cooking in the kitchen, we can experience that the ideas
come first and these ideas must have some form. If the ideas do not have any form, its product will not
have any form. In the same way, we can conclude that the soul has the form and hence the dress it puts on
also has the form. So the popular notion that the body has a form but not the soul is grossly incorrect.
1. Many spiritualists argue that the soul is formless. Using BG teachings,

refute this argument and establish that the soul has a divine form.
2. Ideas first manifest in subtle form before these percolate to gross forms.
Explain this through the example of Benz patent.
3. The soul does not have material form but it has spiritual form. Establish this
fact through logical arguments.
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4.4 The Living Body

The Vedic literature provides a very illustrative idea of a living body while
comparing it to a chariot as shown in Figure 4.4. We see in the picture a
chariot drawn by five horses, a chariot driver and a passenger. The chariot
itself depicts our body. The five horses of the chariot are the five senses of
the body i.e., visual sense, auditory sense, touch, smell and taste. The
ropes/reins represent our mind. The chariot driver is intelligence. The
senses are to be controlled by the mind through intelligence. When a
chariot is driven by uncontrolled horses, the passenger can only wait for
his imminent death. That is how disastrous our situation is when we allow
our senses to go uncontrolled. Those who are sincere in realising that we
are souls, must control their senses. When senses are controlled, the mind Figure 4.4 Living body
as a chariot
is controlled. The mind can be controlled by spiritual intelligence which is
contained in the wonderful verses of Bhagavad Gita.
4.4.1 The Subtle body carries the soul from one body to another
The body in which the soul resides may be divided into two
categories: one is the gross body (consisting of earth, water, fire, air,
ether) and another is the subtle body (consisting of mind,
intelligence and false ego). As we transmigrate from one body to
another body, only the gross body perishes. The subtle body carries
us from one body to another. We do not change our mind, our
intellect and our false ego. These three things we always carry. You
must have seen that when a child grows, he manifests certain
Figure 4.5: Jiva encaged in different
behaviour. We see some children are very peaceful, yet others are layers of matter
very naughty. It is not that somebody has taught them how to
become naughty. As the body grows, many traits that manifest in the gross body are derived from the
subtle body.
Gopal and Ram are twins. They study together and are brought up in a similar manner. Yet, later Gopal
goes on to become a professor in a reputed university while Ram excels in fine arts.
You will find such examples aplenty. Such examples are well understood when both subtle and gross
bodies are taken together. Besides the environment, the gross body is influenced by the subtle body. So,
the mind, intellect and false ego are always with the soul. Once the soul becomes detached from mind,
intellect and false ego, then it is liberated. In that state, one can see Krishna directly. The process of
liberation is to become dissociated from both gross and subtle bodies while getting fully attached to
Lord Krishna. This is the basic instruction in Bhagavad Gita.
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When death comes, all our subtle desires dissolve in our mind, and that mind carries us to a new body.
Just like the air carries the aroma of a flower from one place to the other, the subtle body carries the soul
from one body to the other. This is the reason why different people have different desires. Even if two
brothers are born in the same family, they will develop different tastes because they are carrying their
own karma/ own impressions with them. This mind is different from the mind of the soul. So, the
physical mind and the mind of the soul are different. Soul has its own spiritual body comprising mind,
ears, eyes, heart, and other organs. The material mind, intellect and false ego are the part of the subtle
body while earth, water, fire, air, and ether constitute the gross body. We need to transcend our
experiences beyond these gross and subtle bodies to be able to experience our-selves (the soul). That is
why Lord Krishna concludes the description of the soul as (BG 2.29):
āścarya-vat paśyati kaścid enam

āścarya-vad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ
āścarya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti
śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit
Translation: Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him
as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.
1. Explain the analogy given here to understand the structure of the living
being.
2. What carries the soul from one gross body to another?
3. Why is the soul so amazing and inconceivable?
4. Both subtle and gross bodies are physical. Still modern science has not
understood the subtle body. Why?
5. What are constituents of the gross body?
6. What are constituents of the subtle body?
7. Can we kill someone giving the argument that ‘You are not this body but
soul’? Justify your answer.
8. Animal slaughter is prohibited as per the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. Why?
9. Soul has the form NOT the matter. Explain.
4.5 Learning from History

King Chitraketu's life story is very illustrative to learn about the soul and its transmigration.
King Chitraketu's Lamentation

Once the world was ruled by a powerful king named Chitraketu. King Chitraketu had many beautiful
wives, but he did not receive a child from any of them, as they were all barren. Upon the advice of Angira
muni, King Chitraketu arranged for a special sacrifice to the demigods and then offered the remnants of
the sacrificial food to one of his queens named Krtadyuti. At the end of the sacrifice, Angira muni told
him, O great king, you will now have a son who will be the cause of both jubilation and lamentation.
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Chitraketu was overjoyed to know that he would finally get a son, but he wondered about the sage's last
words. He thought, Angira must have meant that I will be greatly happy when my son is born. But what
did he mean by the child being the cause of lamentation Of course, being my only son, he will
automatically become the heir to my throne. Therefore, he might become proud and disobedient. That
might be a cause for lamentation. But a disobedient son is better than no son at all.
In due course of time, Krtadyuti begot a son. King Chitraketu could not contain his joy. He raised his
infant son carefully and his affection for queen Krtadyuti increased daily. The other wives, who felt
neglected, burned with anger and envy. As their envy increased, they lost their intelligence, and their
hearts became hard like stone. They met secretly and decided that the only way to regain the love of their
husband was to poison the child.
Death of the Prince

One afternoon, as queen Krtadyuti walked in the courtyard of the palace, she thought of her son sleeping
peacefully in his room. Because she loved the child dearly and could hardly bear to be without him for a
moment, she ordered the nurse to awaken him from his nap and bring him to the garden. But when the
maidservant approached the child, she saw that his eyes were turned upwards, and there were no signs of
life. Horrified, she held a swab of cotton beneath the boy's nostrils, but the cotton did not move. In great
agitation, she struck her breast with both hands and wept loudly.
Some time passed, and the anxious queen approached the child's bedroom. Hearing the nurse's wailing,
she entered the room and saw that her son had passed away from this world. In great lamentation, with
her hair and dress in disarray, the queen fell to the ground unconscious. When the King heard of his
son's death, he became nearly blind with grief. His lamentation grew like a conflagration, and as he ran
to see the dead child, he repeatedly stumbled and fell.
Surrounded by his ministers and court officers, the king entered the boy's room and collapsed
unconscious at the child's feet, his hair and dress scattered. When he regained consciousness, he was
breathing heavily, his eyes were filled with tears, and he was unable to speak.
When the queen saw her husband's suffering and again viewed the dead child, her grief increased all the
more. This increased the pain in the hearts of all the residents of the palace. The queen's flower garlands
slipped from her body, and her smooth jet-black hair became tangled. Falling tears smeared the
cosmetics beneath her eyes. She began to curse the Supreme Lord, O Providence During the lifetime of
the father, you have caused the death of his son. You are certainly the enemy of the living beings and are
not at all merciful. Turning to her beloved child, she said, My dear son, I am helpless and aggrieved.
You should not give up my company. How can you leave me Just look at your lamenting father You have
slept for a long time. Now please get up. Your playmates are calling you to play. You must be very hungry,
so please get up immediately and take your lunch. My dear son, I am most unfortunate, for I can no
longer see your sweet smile. You have closed your eyes forever. You have been taken from this planet to
another place, from which you will not return. My dear son, unable to hear your pleasing voice, I can no
longer maintain my life.
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The king began crying loudly. As the mother and father lamented, all their followers joined them,
bemoaning the untimely death of the child. Because of the sudden demise of the prince, all the citizens of
the kingdom were also grief-stricken.
Arrival of Angira Muni and Narada Muni

When the great sage Angira understood that the king was almost dead-person immersed in an ocean of
sorrow, he went there with his friend, the saint Narada. The two sages found the king, overwhelmed by
lamentation, lying like a dead body beside the dead body of his son. Angira addressed the king sharply,
Wake up from the darkness of ignorance, O king What relationship do you have with this child You
may say that you are now related as father and son, but do you think that this relationship existed before
his birth Does it truly exist now Will it continue now that he is dead O King, as small particles of sand
sometimes come together and are sometimes separated due to the force of the ocean's waves, living
entities who have accepted material bodies sometimes come together and are sometimes separated by
the force of time. Angira wanted the king to understand that all bodily relationships are temporary.
Narada Muni Invites the soul back into the Body of the Prince
Then, Narada Muni, by his mystic power, brought the soul of the
prince back into the dead body. Narada said, O living entity, all
good fortune unto you. Just see your father and mother. All your
friends and relatives are overwhelmed with grief because of your
death. Because you died untimely, the balance of your life still
remains. Therefore, you may enjoy the remainder of the years
allotted to you in this body with your friends and relatives, and
later you may accept the royal throne and all the opulences given
by your father.
Figure 4.6: Chitraketu's son is brought
back to life by Srila Narada
The Child gives a Transcendental Message
The child who had been dead sat up and began to speak, not with the childishness of a young boy, but
with the full knowledge of a liberated soul, According to the results of my material activities, I, the living
being, transmigrate from one body to another, sometimes going to the species of the demigods,
sometimes to the species of lower animals, sometimes incarnating among the vegetables, and appearing
sometimes in the human species. In which birth were these two people my father and mother No one is
actually my father and mother. I have had millions of so-called parents. How can I accept these two
people as my father and mother
The Vedas teach that the eternal living being enters a body made of material elements. Here we find that
such a living being entered a body produced by King Chitraketu and his wife. Actually, however, he was
not their son. The living entity is the eternal son of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because he
wants to enjoy this material world, God gives him a chance to enter various bodies. Yet the pure living
being has no true relationship with the material body he gets from his father and mother. Therefore, the
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soul who had taken the body of Chitraketu's son flatly denied that the king and queen were his parents.
In the material world, we come together as a family, stay together temporarily, and get separated, never
to meet again.
The soul continued, In this material world, which is like a swiftly flowing river, all people become
friends, relatives and enemies in due course of time. They also act neutrally and in many other
relationships. But despite these various transactions, no one is permanently related.
Millions of living entities come to this world, and all of them are given a certain type of body. A few living
entities, say five or six, are put in a group called a family and they stay together for a period of time. They
are then separated by death, never to meet again. It is like meeting somebody on a train journey from one
place to another. During the journey, one makes friends with others, but once the destination comes,
one goes one's way and others go their way. This is the case with families also. But once a living entity is
put in a particular family he becomes attached to others as father, mother, brothers, sisters, etc., because
of falsely identifying himself with the body. This attachment makes the living entity undergo the cycle of
repeated birth and death.
Krishna Is the Real Father

The soul continued to speak, Just as gold and other commodities are continually transferred from one
place to another through buying and selling, so the living entity, as a result of his karma, wanders
throughout the universe, being injected into various bodies in different species of life through the semen
of one father after another.
The Bhagavad-gita explains that it is not by any father or mother that the living entity is given birth. The
living entity's true identity is completely separate from the so-called father and mother. By the laws of
nature, the soul is forced to enter the semen of a father and is injected into the womb of a mother. She
cannot directly control the kind of father she will get; this is automatically determined by her activities in
previous lives. The laws of karma force her to go to different fathers and mothers, just like a commodity
that is bought and sold.
The living entity sometimes takes shelter of an animal father and mother, and sometimes a human
father and mother. Sometimes she accepts a father and mother among the birds, and sometimes she
accepts a demigod father and mother in the heavenly planets. As the soul transmigrates through
different bodies, in every form of life – be it human, animal, tree, or demigod – she gets a father and
mother. This is not very difficult. The real difficulty is to obtain a spiritual father – a bonafide spiritual
master. Therefore, the duty of a human being is to search out such a spiritual master, for under his
guidance one can become free from the cycle of reincarnation, return to his original home, and attain
the original father, Shri Krishna, in the spiritual world.
The living being is eternal , the pure soul continued, and has no relation with so-called fathers and
mothers. He falsely accepts himself as their son and acts affectionately. After he dies, however, the
relationship is finished. Under these circumstances, one should not be falsely involved with jubilation
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and lamentation. The living entity is eternal and imperishable; he has no beginning and no end, nor
does he take birth or die. The living being is equal in quality to the Supreme Lord. Both are spiritual
personalities. But because the living entity is so small, he is prone to be illusioned by the material energy,
and thus he creates bodies for himself according to his different desires and activities.
The Vedas tell us that the soul is responsible for her life in the material world, where she is trapped in the
cycle of reincarnation, getting one material body after another. If she likes, she can remain suffering in
the prison house of material existence, or she can return to her original home in the spiritual world.
Although God arranges, through the material energy, to give the living beings the bodies they desire, the
Lord's true desire is that the conditioned souls get off the miserable Ferris wheel of material life and
return home, back to Godhead.
Suddenly the boy became silent, as the pure soul left the body of the child, and the body fell lifeless to the
floor. Chitraketu and the other relatives were astonished. They cut the shackles of their false
attachments and gave up their lamentation. Then they performed the funeral ceremony, cremating the
body. Because King Chitraketu and his queen had become fully cognizant of spiritual knowledge,
including the science of reincarnation, they easily gave up the material attachment that leads to pain,
fear, grief, and illusion.
1. It is the special affection of King Chitraketu for Kritadyuti that resulted

in the death of his son. What do you learn from this incident for your own
life?
2. Narrate your own experience of losing one of your near and dear ones.
How did you handle that experience then? How will you handle that
experience now?
3. Based on teachings from this story, prepare a brief that you will read out
when you are asked to speak at a condolence meeting held for an
important person in your community.
4. We are related to one another as mother, father, son, daughter, husband,
wife, friend and so forth. What did you learn about the nature of these
relations based on this story?
5. What do you learn about the nature of attachment from this story? How
does attachment start, what does it bring with it and how does it end?
6. What is the importance of sadhu sanga like that of Sri Angira and Sri
Narada?
7. Why did the son (Harshashoka) refuse to acknowledge King Chitraketu as
his father?
8. Explain how one's life is like a journey among 8.4 million species. How
can you break this cycle? What is the ultimate journey?
9. What factors decide what next body you would get? What kind of body would
you prefer to have in your next life and why?
10. Who is responsible for the pleasures and distresses in our lives? Who is
responsible for the different bodies we have to wander through?
11. Lord Krishna is our real father. How can we establish this eternal relation?
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4.6 Conclusion
Arjuna surrendered to Lord Krishna when he was confused in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Lord
Krishna explained to Arjuna the science of the soul - ātma-jñāna. 'Who am I ' is always more than a
multi-billion-dollar question. Unless I know my original nature, whatever I do has no value. Human life
is meant to factually experience that I am the soul, eternal part and parcel of Krishna. While Lord
Krishna is infinite, the jīva is infinitesimal. The soul is a very tiny spiritual spark but animates all living
organisms that include plants, aquatics, reptiles, birds, animals and humans. The soul is perceived by the
divine consciousness it manifests both in subtle and gross body. Lord Krishna explains in the Chapter 2
of Bhagavad Gita that this unit of consciousness is indestructible, unburnt, immutable and immovable.
This divine nature can be experienced by sanctifying bodily actions which is popularly known as the
yoga system. This will be dealt in Chapter 6. But the very idea that we are immortal but are
transmigrating from one body to another should open our eyes to another kind of lifestyle which must
be eternal and full of bliss. The information that the soul has a spiritual form and can attain an eternal
blissful life in Lord Krishna's divine abode is a revolutionary idea that can catapult human endeavour in
another dimension free from material vices such as lust, greed, anger, pride, arrogance and illusion. We
will deal with this aspect in the next chapter.
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Lesson 5
Description of the Soul – Part II – Matter and
Consciousness
5.1 Introduction
I n the previous lesson - Chapter 4, we learnt how we, the atomic souls, are parts and parcels of
Supreme Lord Krishna. We learnt that the presence of soul is the difference between a living entity
and dead matter. Lord Krishna taught Arjuna that the soul is eternal, and it transmigrates from one
body to another. The Lord also described the eternal qualities of the Atomic Soul. In this lesson, the
distinction between matter and consciousness as taught by Lord Krishna will be further deliberated
upon.
5.2 Who am I?
In this world, we are all inquisitive about the ontology of
everything. What is everything made up of Within
science, we believe that an object consists of atoms and
molecules. The structure of the object depends on the
type of molecular bonding which results in structures
such as solids, liquids, and gases. Can we extend such
ideas while contemplating our own self
Figure 5.1: Are we just a bag of chemicals?
On a lighter note, if we contemplate that way, it may turn out that we are just a bag of chemicals, just
worth a few hundred rupees. Certainly, this is not what you are.
So, who are we We are certainly not our eyes, ears and tongue.
We can exist being blind, deaf or dumb. We cannot claim that
we are our thoughts, intellect and feelings. These are just our
attributes, and they continuously change. Chemical origin of
life as proposed by modern scientists is an unsolved problem,
a mere theory with many deficiencies. That is because, even a
blade of grass cannot be manufactured in any scientific Figure 5.2: Cow eats dry grass and gives you
laboratory. Nor any laboratory can transform dry grass to milk milk full of vitamins
as the mother cow so expertly does.
Here is an interesting quote of Srila Prabhupada: (From Bg 3.13-16, May 23, 1966, New York)
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DESCRIPTION OF ATOMIC SOUL - PART II
Now, there are so many scientists. They are discovering vitamin value from foodstuff. Now, what is the
vitamin value in the dry grass Can any scientist say that this is the vitamin value in dry grass If there is
no vitamin value in dry grass, how the cow is producing so much milk, which is full of vitamins A and D
How, from dry grass, are vitamins coming out Nowadays a physician prescribes some artificial
vitamins for maintaining your body. Now, what is the vitamin there in the dry grass so that the cow is
eating dry grass and giving you nice milk full of vitamins A and D, essential for your life So, these are
all wrong theories, that This contains this vitamin. This contains this. Let them go on. But natural
foodstuff which is meant for human being, they are full of vitamins already by nature's law, by God's
wish. So annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14].
In essence, we need to first understand the distinction between living matter and dead matter before we
can ascertain what we are.
5.2.1 Living Body and Dead Matter

Let us first try to understand the distinction between living and dead matter. At the first level, we can see
a difference between us and the dead-matter. We have the ability to feel, desire, love and think. A dead-
matter cannot do so. As soon as we are pinched, we feel the pain. Yet we are not that pain. So even the
living body is not part of the soul. There are thus two distinct experiences - one pertaining to inert
matter and the other concerning the living matter. Please look at Table 5.1. Here we can note that no
machine in this world is capable of experiencing hunger, fear, sleep and sexual desires. In addition, living
organisms are capable of self-replication and can exhibit creative potency. So, there is a stark difference
between inert matter and living matter yet both are matter only.
Table 5.1: Differences between Living organism and machine
Yet there is a third experience - the divine experience which transcends the above two experiences
completely. And very few of us are blessed to have such an experience although all of us in the human
body are capable of having this third experience - that of pure conscious experience.
Bg 13.6-7 The five great elements — false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses and the
mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms, and
convictions – all these are considered, in summary, to be the field of activities and its interactions.
This verse from Bhagavad Gita tells us that all that we experience and can experience are part of matter -
which I am not. I am not my desire; I am not my living symptoms, nor I am my own convictions. So,
what am I Thus, the search for pure consciousness begins.
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1. Are you just a bag of chemicals?

2. If a cow is a bag of chemicals, how does she provide us milk - the wholesome
food - by just eating dry grass? Why are we not producing food using AI
machines?
3. How is the inert matter different from living matter? Explain using the
difference between a most advanced AI machine and a living organism.
4. The living symptoms and convictions are not the part of the soul but that of
living matter. Is this a shocking revelation for you? Comment.
5. How do you distinguish between a living and a dead body?
6. How can you perceive the existence of the soul?
5.2.2 Consciousness - What is it?

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 2.17:
avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati
Translation: That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able
to destroy that imperishable soul.
Here, Lord Krishna asserts that the presence of the soul in the body is known by the spread of the
consciousness throughout it. As a person, I am conscious of my own body. This consciousness tells me
to search for the source — that is the soul — me. We immediately recognise any external threat or
aggression on any part of our body. For example, even if a tiny thorn pricks our little toe, it hurts. This is
because consciousness as a unitary whole pervades the entire body. Thus, I experience the unity of
perception about the phenomenal world around me. Lord Krishna says that the source of this
consciousness is imperishable. You cannot destroy it. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.
So, if you meditate more on yourself, you can always feel that you are a conscious being.
You are conscious of so many things around you. You are conscious of your bank balance, your
relationship with near and dear ones, your life and death situations, your ambitions and so forth. But you
are not conscious of your conscious-self. Why Lord Krishna answers:
[Bg 15.7]
Translation: The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to
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From time immemorial, our way of life is soaked in deep ignorance - association with matter. We have
considered our body and bodily extensions to be real. Thus, we have been subjected to pain and pleasure
as well as birth and death. This is the ultimate problem of life, which will be solved if we start meditating
on our natural self that is divine; that divine self is a part and parcel of Lord Krishna and is a mere
instrument of Lord Krishna.
1. When I see you in person, I have a unitary perception about your size, shape
and demeanor. I do not experience your shape in a specific part of the brain
while your color in another part. Explain this through the idea of
consciousness given in BG 2.17.
2. Why do I not experience the "self" - the soul proper?
3. What are three different grades of experiences that a human is capable of?
4. Are we a bag of chemicals as science would make us believe?
5.2.3 Analogy between the Car and the Body

The atomic soul is the driving force in the body. It is the presence of the soul which animates the body.
Just as a car cannot move without the driver, similarly a body cannot function without its driver, the soul.
The moment the soul leaves the body, this same body has no value. One may not be able to directly see
the soul or find where the soul is situated but one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by
the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we may not be able to see the sun due to the cloudy sky, but
the sun is always there. The sunshine spreads everywhere. Similarly, we can understand the presence of
the soul by the all-pervading consciousness in the body.
Srila Prabhupada gives an example in this context: A small drop of Cyanide (poison), when it touches
the tongue of a person, spreads throughout the body. Similarly, the soul, though present near the heart
region, manifests its presence through consciousness which is spread all over the body. Just like the sun,
though present at one place spreads out sunshine everywhere, the soul, though present at one point,
spreads consciousness all over the body.
Another example of fire and heat can explain this consciousness. If there is fire at one place, it is known
by its heat and light that the fire radiates around that place. Similarly, the spirit soul present in your body
spreads consciousness all over it.
Lord Krishna says in BG 15.7 that all forms of living beings are part and parcel of Lord Krishna, and
hence, are divine. I am divine but I cannot experience that divinity by mundane material senses. Since
time immemorial, I have been materially conditioned, and hence, I have lost touch with my divinity.
Instead, I experience the material consciousness that is a perverted reflection of the original
consciousness. That which is divine cannot be experienced by any material endeavour. The first step is
to adopt the principle of Krishna consciousness as given in BG which will enable us to enter into the
mode of goodness. Then the grace of Guru and Krishna will help us to start experiencing our divine
nature.
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1. Complete the analogies

· sun : sunshine :: soul : _________
· consciousness : soul :: _________ : fire
2. If I am divine, why do I not experience my divinity?
3. The consciousness I experience now (in a conditioned state) is a _________ of
original consciousness.
4. What is the process by which one can experience the consciousness-proper?
5.2.4 Reflected consciousness

Experience is the basis for acceptance of any verifiable truth. An atom needs to be experienced, so also
the cells of the body. Our experience has two realms: one is external and the other internal. We
experience in our consciousness that which is temporary and that which is eternal. When we experience
that which is temporary, the state of our consciousness is imperfect. When we experience that which is
eternal, the state of our consciousness is perfect.
Thus, the process of self-realisation is a journey starting from imperfection and culminating in
perfection. As we endeavour to perfect ourselves, our experience of the eternal makes us steadfast to
remain on the path of self-realization. Although, soul is originally pure, its consciousness gets reflected
through matter. Thus, our experience is mostly that of false consciousness which we may also call as
reflected consciousness. If we experience in our false consciousness, we will experience the traits of lust,
anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy.
There are different material situations that trigger different emotions within us. Each emotion is a
specific trait of our own consciousness. The presence of opposite sex or the possibility of acquiring a lot
of wealth may arise lust in us. The failure to satisfy our desires may lead to anger. Demonstration of envy
to our rivals and the pride that hides in us in terms of our high birth, bodily beauty, erudite education, or
wealthy background are different states of our own consciousness.
As long as I experience these traits in my consciousness, that is not me. This is my false consciousness.
The original attribute of the pure consciousness is beautifully described by the Lord as follows:
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
[Bg 18.54 ]
Translation: One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and
becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every
living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.
In this verse, Lord Krishna says that in pure consciousness, one is devoid of any trace of six traits of false
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consciousness - lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion and envy. Such a person does not lament for the past
nor hankers something for the future. He sees in every living organism the unity of consciousness and
the presence of the supersoul in each of them. Such a self-situated person is eligible for the divine grace
of Lord Krishna to perform devotional service. But the attainment of such a state is not so easy. It is
because of the covering of false consciousness, that even great yogis and mystics fall from grace.
However, even if some mystics may conquer sex desire, which is the root of material existence, they fail
to distinguish between the ultimate form of false consciousness and the pure consciousness, as both
appear to be almost similar at the level of mode of goodness. So foolishly they declare themselves as God.
1. What is false consciousness and what are its traits?

2. Which verse of BG describes the original attribute of pure consciousness?
3. Why do some yogis declare themselves to be God?.
5.2.5 Experience of the reflected consciousness
A flower represents one of the natural aesthetics. As one moves

around a beautiful garden, full of fragrant and colourful flowers, one
may get intoxicated. Still, you will find individuals who may ignore
such beauty as their passions lie somewhere else - perhaps in a beer
bar. Let's dwell on this topic a little more. There are many people in
this world for whom such beautiful flowers fail to make any
impression on their consciousness. A botanist may become
inquisitive about scientific reasoning of the emergence of such
beautiful patterns that makes these flowers so endearing to people.
Still, one may think that it is a good idea to start a business around
flower and flower extracts. Another person may appreciate nature
for blessing us with such wonderful manifestations. Yet a very rare
soul will start glorifying the Lord from whom everything comes. He Figure 5.3: For a seeker, a flower
would remind himself that all beauty resides in Lord Krishna. represents the smile of Krishna
These deliberations will help us understand that no two persons have the same perception about the
flower. This is also true for any other event in this world. This is because each individual is associated
with a different level of false consciousness. This false consciousness is a mixture of three modes of
material nature - modes of goodness, passion and ignorance - in different proportions. Thus, one sees
things through a colored glass that is representative of one's false consciousness. Just like if you wear
green coloured glasses, you see the whole world greenish and if you wear yellow-coloured glasses, the
whole world appears yellowish. Similarly, because of our karma/previous activities and association, we
have developed different consciousness (like different coloured glasses) and that's why different persons
perceive the same object differently.
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It is our false consciousness that determines our next body. Lord Krishna confirms this in the Bhagavad
Gita 8.6:
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ

tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
Translation: Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state
he will attain without fail.
If one dies in a state of wild consciousness, one may find himself taking birth
among wild animals. If one dies in the consciousness of fruitive actions, he
may take birth as a fruitive worker. If one remembers Lord Krishna at the time
of death, he is blessed to attain the spiritual abode of the Lord.
What one remembers at the time of death is dependent on the way of life that
he selects in the human birth. Animals are normally not endowed with the
ability to pursue the process of self-realization. In human birth, it is our
responsibility to know what is divine and reflected consciousness, so that we Figure 5.4: One gets a body
can adopt a way of life that is congenial for self-realization. Thus, is it not as per the consciousness at
the time of death
important for us to understand what is divine consciousness and what is
reflected consciousness
1. In what different ways can different people look at a rose? Why is there such a
difference in their perception?
2. What decides what one remembers at the time of death?
5.3 Individual Consciousness & Absolute Consciousness:

Individual consciousness means that one is conscious of his own body, he is conscious of this
phenomenal or material world through his own senses and he is only conscious of his own state. We are
all individually conscious. Everybody has their own world view or their own conscious world, but
nobody is aware of other's conscious world. This is called individual consciousness. Whereas Krishna is
conscious of everything and everybody, and His consciousness is known as Absolute consciousness. A
jīva can never attain Absolute consciousness. To explain this, let us take an example. Suppose you were
with many other people and suddenly you were bitten by an insect, only you can feel the pain and others
can't feel your pain even though they are in your proximity. Similarly, you can't feel others' pain or can't
know what is happening to them. This is because you are conscious of only your body and not others. On
the other hand, Lord Krishna is conscious of everything. This is the difference between individual
consciousness and Absolute consciousness.
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Think of a situation when you were traveling in a train and befriending a stranger. In a short time, you
realize that you have been robbed by your so-called adorable new friend. That is because you failed to see
his consciousness. You were only conscious of your body but not his — so you got cheated. There is
another example that may make this point very clear. It often happens that a young boy and a young girl
get attracted to each other just on the basis of lust. After some time, they both decide to get married.
After marriage, both of them realize that they are poles apart in their consciousness in terms of
likes/dislikes, priorities of life and so forth. Thus in a few months, their marriage ends up in a divorce.
That is because none of them is blessed to see through the other's consciousness.
Even a liberated soul is only conscious of his own body and not of others. However, we notice many
charlatans in this world who declare themselves God and cheat innocent people. That is why it is
important that we learn Bhagavad Gita as Lord Krishna has taught to Arjuna and not allow ourselves to
be victims of such charlatans.
1. What is the difference between individual consciousness and Absolute

consciousness? Explain with examples.
2. "After liberation one becomes God" - defy this idea using the concept of
individual and Absolute consciousness.
5.4 External and Internal Consciousness

We become aware of this phenomenal world through sensory perceptions, i.e., when senses including
mind come in contact with objects of senses. The phenomenal world is the world of experience. There
are five forms of object of senses: sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The way we react to such sensory
perceptions reflects our consciousness.
When a lusty action of my friend arises lust in me, it is

to be understood that my consciousness had lust. If
some behaviour of my friend makes me angry, it
implies anger was already there in my consciousness.
When I see fault in others, it entails envy and pride
sitting in my consciousness. However, if one remains
undisturbed even in the presence of actions connected
to lust, greed, envy and pride, then it is to be
understood that such a person is internally (self) Figure 5.5: A honeybee like saintly person sees
situated. only others' good qualities.
Please ask this question to yourself: What is my consciousness At present, the consciousness of each
and every one of us is filled with vices such as envy, lust, greed, anger and ignorance. In another sense,
the structure of my consciousness is very ghastly - like a venomous snake, full of envy to others or a
worm inside the stool in absolute ignorance. Unfortunately, we all have similar states, but the irony is
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that we always find fault in others. This fault finding is compared to the mentality of a fly in our śāstra. A
fly always sits on dirt, similarly we always find faults in others instead of looking into our own faults. On
the other hand, is a honeybee, which always sits on flowers; likewise an internally situated person sees
others' good qualities. This is why one needs a realized soul, the spiritual master, to guide us in spiritual
life. As the external manifestation of the Super soul, the spiritual master is empowered to see through the
consciousness of a conditioned soul so as to guide him effectively in steady spiritual progress.
To summarize, a jīva can be externally conscious or internally conscious. When one is externally
conscious, which every jīva is in the present situation, the consciousness is reflected through the illusory
energy of Krishna. Whatever we perceive in our present situation, is through our gross senses (eyes, ears,
nose, skin and tongue) and subtle-body (mind, intelligence and false-ego), and all of them together give
us an impression of our self that is entirely different from us (spirit souls). Through such a process, we
get a notion of false consciousness only, not the real one. We thus start searching for a chemical origin of
life, assuming that everything is just matter. If one's lifestyle is such that he always resides in the
conditioned state, i.e. a lifestyle that makes him externally conscious of the phenomenal world, the
resulting consciousness is asat, achit and nirananda. His conscious experience is temporary - that of
ignorance - and is in a state of substantial suffering. Thus, the soul in the impure state is predominantly
unhappy and manifests the qualities of lust, anger, greed, pride, illusion and envy. That is why it is called
external consciousness. This state is external to the soul.
1. How can I tell the state of my consciousness by looking at my sensory

experiences? Explain with examples.
2. Explain the difference between internally and externally situated
consciousness with the analogy of a honey bee and a fly.
3. "The spiritual master can tell us about our consciousness better than us."
Explain.
4. How does an externally conscious person come to a conclusion that life comes
from just chemicals?
The jīva (soul) can become internally conscious by purifying his consciousness. In this state of internal
consciousness, the jīva concomitantly becomes conscious of Lord Krishna and of his own self. This is
called self-realization. When you become internally conscious, you see things using the spiritual mind
and spiritual senses. In this state, we have access to the conscious space. We see Krishna and we see
ourselves as His servants - His part and parcel. In this state, the jīva is no longer under illusion. As stated
in Caitanya Caritamrita:
Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama; maya haya andhakāra
jaha kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra
[Chaitanya Charitamrita-Madhya Lila – 22.31]
Lord Caitanya states that Lord Krishna is like Sun and maya is like darkness. Wherever there is light,
there can be no darkness. Similarly, when one is blessed with the mercy of spiritual master and Lord
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Krishna, Lord Krishna reveals Himself within the heart of such a fortunate soul. As this fortunate soul
sees Krishna, he also sees himself as well as other unlimited liberated souls who are constantly rendering
devotional service to the Lord. This is called internal consciousness. In this stage, his divine senses and
his mind, heart and body are all non-dual. As Lord Chaitanya says:
jivera svarupa haya krishnera nitya das
In my liberated state, I am an eternal servant of Lord Krishna. I am situated in conscious space, and I am
non-different from my bodily parts (spiritual body). In this state I am naturally Krishna conscious. I am
naturally attracted to Lord's qualities, abode, name and His unlimited activities in the form of His
unlimited pastimes. That is the state of Krishna consciousness in which I would dwell when liberated.
1. How can we become internally conscious?

2. Shall we still have senses in the liberated state, i.e., when we are internally
conscious? What shall we experience then?
3. Why is it wrong when a liberated soul claims that he is god?
4. What is the svarupa of the soul?
5. What is the nature of the soul in a pure state?
6. What are the characteristics of the soul in an impure state?
7. What is a phenomenal world?
5.4.1 Crossing this Ocean of Ignorance

When one is able to recognise that one's consciousness is ghastly and desires to purify oneself, Lord
Krishna directs that sincere soul to the spiritual master who helps her kill her inner enemy and purify
her polluted consciousness. But instead, if we continue to live without recognising (which we are doing
at present) how ghastly our consciousness is, we have to suffer perpetually. In this context, there is a
famous verse by Adi Shankaracharya depicting our helpless situation and how we should take shelter of
Lord Krishna.
punarapi jananaṁ punarapi maraṇaṁ

punarapi jananī jaṭhare śayanaṁ
iha saḿsāre bahudustāre
kṛpayā'pāre pāhi murāre
[Bhaja Govindam Stotram Verse-21]
Translation: Again and again one is born, and again and again one dies, and again and again one sleeps
in the mother's womb. Help me to cross this limitless ocean of life, which is uncrossable, my Lord
Murari.
In our present state of polluted consciousness, we (conditioned souls) are subjected to dualities of the
world and suffer due to repeated birth, old age, disease and death. The conditioned soul is subjected to
tri-vidha klesha or three-fold miseries, as explained here:
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Ÿ 1. Adhyatmika Klesha: This is the suffering caused by one's

.............own mind and body. Diseases, depression, stress, and
.............anxiety are manifestations of these sufferings. As long as one
.............has a body in this material world, he or she must suffer in this
.............way. We have practical experience that there is no one in this
.............world who has never suffered from some disease, small or Figure 5.6 : An example of
Adhyatmika Klesha
.............big. Mental diseases or psychological problems are the most
.............common issues faced by the present society. Even great
.............personalities like Ronald Reagan suffered from Alzheimer's
.............disease and Margaret Thatcher from dementia.
2. Adhibhautika Klesha: This suffering is caused by other

.............living entities. Mosquitoes cause malaria. My peers may act
.............envious that might make me lose my job. War between
.............countries, mass killing of Jews in the concentration camps
.............and black plague that devoured Europe are some of the Figure 5.7 : An example
of Adhibhautika Klesha
.............examples of this kind of suffering.
3. Adhidaivika Klesha: This kind of suffering is caused by

.............demigods when humans in this earthly planet do not follow
.............the path of dharma—righteousness. Excessive heat/cold,
.............floods, earth-quakes, famines are some examples of this
.............kind of suffering. We have no control over these kinds of
.............miseries. These are forced upon us by superior living
.............entities, i.e. the demigods. Figure 5.8: An example of
Adhidaivika Klesha
Everybody in this world must suffer from these three kinds of kleshas (sufferings). Nobody is free from
them because we are in the conditioned state of false identification. But if you are pure then you are not
affected by these sufferings as you have transcended this physical plane and are situated in the pure
conscious space. The suffering is for those who are attached to this phenomenal world. But those who
have dissociated themselves with this phenomenal world do not suffer from these threefold miseries.
Every conditioned soul must go through these threefold miseries whereas, soul, in its pure state is sac-
cid-ānanda, where he is always happy, full of knowledge and eternal. One can retain their original state
by cleansing their consciousness through the process of Bhakti. In this age of Kali Yuga, by the process of
chanting the holy names of Krishna, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare
Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare , one can purify his/her impure consciousness and regain the
original one. This is stated in Brhan-Naradiya Puraṇa [38.126] as:
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harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
Translation: In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the
holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.
In this verse, three times repetition signifies the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra as the
definitive and the only way to attain pure consciousness and this has also been taught by Lord
Chaitanya.
1. What is the real problem of human life?

2. This world is constantly fraught with three-fold miseries - tri-vidha klesha.
What are these miseries? Have you gone through any one of them?
3. What is the process by which one can remain in Krishna consciousness even
while dealing with three fold miseries?
4. What are the four unavoidable problems a conditioned soul has to go through?
5. What are the different kinds of sufferings a conditioned soul is subjected to?
5.5 The Story of the King Bharata

Bharat Maharaj is the legendary king after whom this land is
known as Bhārata Varsha. Being ordered by his father, Lord
Ṛṣabhadeva, Bharata Mahārāja married Pañcajanī, the daughter
of Viśvarūpa. After this, he ruled the whole world peacefully.
Formerly this planet was known as Ajanābha, and after the reign
of Bharata Mahārāja it became known as Bhārata-varṣa. Bharata
Mahārāja was very rigid in executing religious principles and
following in the footsteps of his father. He therefore ruled the
citizens very successfully. Because he performed various yajñas to
satisfy the Supreme Lord, he was personally very satisfied. Being
of undisturbed mind, he increased his devotional activities unto
Lord Vāsudeva. Bharata Mahārāja was competent in
understanding the principles of saintly persons like Nārada, and
he followed in the footsteps of the sages. He also kept Lord
Figure 5.9: Bharata Maharaj remembers
Vāsudeva constantly within his heart. After finishing his kingly the baby deer at the time of death
duties, he divided his kingdom among his five sons. He then left
home and went to the place of Pulaha Ṛṣi known as Pulahāśrama. There he ate forest vegetables and
fruits, and worshiped Lord Vāsudeva with everything available. Thus, he increased his devotion toward
Vāsudeva, and he automatically began to further realize his transcendental, blissful life. Due to his
highly advanced spiritual position, aṣṭa-sāttvika transformations, such as ecstatic crying and bodily
trembling, which are symptoms of the love of Godhead, were sometimes visible in his body.
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Although Bharata Mahārāja was very elevated, he fell down due to his attachment to a young deer. One
day after Bharata Mahārāja had taken his bath as usual in the river Gaṇḍakī and was chanting his
mantra, he saw a pregnant she-deer who came to the river to drink water. Suddenly there was a
thundering roar of a lion, and the deer was so frightened that it immediately gave birth to its fawn. It then
crossed the river but died immediately thereafter. Mahārāja Bharata took compassion upon the
motherless fawn, rescued it from the water, took it to his āśrama and cared for it affectionately. He
gradually became attached to this young deer and always thought of it affectionately. As it grew up, it
became Mahārāja Bharata's constant companion, and he always took care of it. Gradually he became so
absorbed in thinking of this deer that his mind became agitated. As he became more attached to the deer,
his devotional service slackened. Although he was able to give up his opulent kingdom, he became
attached to the deer. Thus, he fell down from his mystic yoga practice. Once when the deer was absent,
Mahārāja Bharata was so disturbed that he began to search for it. While searching and lamenting the
deer's absence, Mahārāja Bharata fell down and died. Because his mind was fully absorbed thinking of
the deer, he naturally took his next birth from the womb of a deer.
As Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 8.6:
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ

tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
Translation: Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state
he will attain without fail.
However, because he was considerably spiritually advanced, he did not forget his past activities, even
though he was in the body of a deer. He could understand how he had fallen down from his exalted
position, and remembering this, he left his mother deer and again went to Pulaha-āśrama.
He finally ended his fruitive activities in the form of a deer, and when he died, he was released from the
deer's body. Then he took birth as Jada Bharata in the family of a Brahmin. In this body, he remained like
one dull, deaf and dumb, so much so that when he was brought before the goddess Kālī to be killed as a
sacrifice, he didn't protest but remained silent. In this life he could also remember the activities of his
past life, and in order to avoid the influence of society, he remained like a deaf and dumb person. He was
very careful not to fall down again. He did not mix with anyone who was not a devotee.
This process should be adopted by every devotee. As advised by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: asat-saṅga-
tyāga — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra. One should strictly avoid the company of non-devotees, even though they
may be family members. When Bharata Mahārāja was in the body of a brāhmaṇa, the people in the
neighbourhood thought of him as a crazy, dull fellow, but within, he was always chanting and
remembering Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although his father wanted to give him
an education and purify him as a brāhmaṇa by offering him the sacred thread, he remained in such a way
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that his father and mother considered him as crazy and not interested in the reformatory methods.
Nonetheless, he remained fully Krishna conscious, even without undergoing such official ceremonies.
Due to his silence, some people who were no better than animals began to tease him in many ways, but
he tolerated this. After the death of his father and mother, his stepmother and stepbrothers began to treat
him very poorly. They would give him the most condemned food, but still he did not mind; he remained
completely absorbed in Krishna consciousness. One night, he was ordered by his stepbrothers and
mother to guard a paddy field, and at that time the leader of a dacoit party took him away and tried to kill
him by offering him as a sacrifice before Bhadra Kālī. When the dacoits brought Bharata Mahārāja
before the goddess Kālī and raised a chopper to kill him, the goddess Kālī became immediately alarmed
due to the mistreatment of a devotee. She came out of the deity and, taking the chopper in her own
hands, killed all the dacoits there. Thus, a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can
remain silent despite the mistreatment of non-devotees and will never fear for anything. Rogues and
dacoits who misbehave toward a devotee are punished at last by the arrangement of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
1. After whom, the Indian subcontinent is known as Bharata Varsha?

2. Who is Rishabh Deva?
3. How did King Bharata rule the whole world?
4. Why did he leave his kingdom?
5. How did he get attached to a deer?
6. After leaving his body, King Bharata attained the body of the deer. Why?
7. Describe his spiritual status in the body of a deer. What did you learn from
this incident?
8. In the body of Jada Bharata, how did he act?
9. How did Jada Bharata react to the dacoits' attempt of sacrificing him in front
of Goddess Kali?
10. Jada Bharata remembered his past lives. What will happen to you if you are
given memories of your past lives?
11. What is the moral of this story?
12. Lord Krishna promises that His devotees will never perish. Explain this using
the story of King Bharata.
5.6 Conditioning of Jīva - False consciousness

In Bhagavad Gita 7.5, Lord Krishna says:
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ

prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
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Translation: Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which
comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.
There are two energies of Lord Krishna in this entire cosmic manifestation. The inferior and superior
energies. The living entities (jīvas) belong to the superior energy and the matter (material nature)
th
belongs to the inferior energy. In the 13 chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna elaborately explains about
matter and jīva. Let us revisit some of these verses:
BG 13.20: Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their
transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature.
Here, Lord Krishna is saying that both the material nature and the living entities are eternal, i.e., always
existing. In the beginning, the material energy is unmanifested. Maha Vishnu, the plenary portion of
Krishna, glances over the material nature, and through His glance, unlimited jīvas enter into the womb
of the material nature. Thus, jīvas attain different bodies as per their consciousness.
BG 13.21: Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the
cause of various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.
Material nature provides the living entity with different kinds of bodies in 8.4 million species according
to his desires. When the living entity is put in a body, he enjoys and suffers in that body according to his
past desire and activity/karma. Thus, he becomes responsible for his sufferings and enjoyments.
BG 13.22: The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of
nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among
various species.
From time immemorial, the living entity keeps on taking different kinds of bodies because of his
association with material nature, so that he can fulfil his unlimited material desires of sense
gratification.
BG 13.23: Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental

enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the
overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.
Lord Krishna as Paramātma always resides with the soul, whether

the soul dwells in the body of a human, dog, or even a worm. In this
way, He knows all our past, present and future. In Mundaka and
Svetasvatara Upanishads, this material body, soul (ātma) and
Supersoul (Parmātma) are compared, respectively, with a tree and Figure 5.10: Soul and Supersoul are
compared to two birds on the same tree
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two birds sitting on it. One bird (soul) is enjoying the fruits of the tree while the other one (Supersoul) is
the witness.
Let us revisit the verse from chapter 4 of Svetasvatara Upanisad:
samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno

'nīśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ
juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyaty anyam īśam
asya mahimānam iti vīta-śokaḥ
Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and
moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his
friend the Lord and knows His glories – at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties. Both
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.2), Svetasvatara Upaniṣad (4.7))
This verse makes it clear that the supersoul is eternally accompanying the jīva and is waiting for that
fortunate moment when the jīva will look for His association.
BG 13.24: One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living entity and the
interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation. He will not take birth here again, regardless
of his present position.
Krishna is saying that those who understand this science of atomic soul, supersoul and material nature
will transcend the material space completely. All the manifestations in this world are caused in the
material nature under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. Although nature activates all the actions but
is not the cause of misery and happiness of a jīva. The jīva remains responsible for his perpetual
continuance in the world as he has forsaken his duty to surrender to the will of the Supreme Lord
Krishna.
1. Why does a conditioned soul identify itself with material nature?

2. Although material nature enacts, the soul remains responsible for various
sufferings and enjoyments that result from such actions. Why?
3. What is the significance of 'two birds sitting on the same tree'?
4. Each dress - the body of a living entity - represents the false consciousness of
the soul. Explain.
5. The proper knowledge of soul, supersoul and prakriti can liberate one. Why?
5.7 Evolution of Consciousness

It is important that we understand the process of evolution of consciousness. There are 8.4 million
species and a jīva takes birth in these species as his consciousness gets evolved. However, in the human
form of life, one must exclusively devote to the perfection of life. Let us enumerate these stages of
consciousness:
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1. Anna maya: First stage is the anna maya state where a conditioned jīva is conscious only
.............about food. Every object is seen in terms of food or no food. For example, birds wake up early in
.............the morning and search for food until evening. In the human body, if our endeavour too is solely
.............for bread and butter, we are also in the Anna maya state.
2. Prāna maya: In this state, we are aware of our existence, so also of others. We start learning to
.............respect every living being. Wild-life, environmental protection groups and many others are
.............manifestations of such consciousness. However, a devotee sees all living entities as parts and
.............parcels of Krishna and tries to engage them in His service.
3. Jñāna-maya: In this state, we start understanding what is divine and what is matter - the
.............difference between spirit and matter. The jīva in pure consciousness is sat-chit-ananda
.............(sachidananda) eternally full of bliss and knowledge. The jīva in impure consciousness is asat-
.............achit-nirananda, has a temporary existence, full of ignorance and suffering. So, by understanding
.............Bhagavad Gita, one can directly come to jñāna maya state. In this state, one recognizes Lord
.............Krishna as the Absolute Truth and others as His servants. One is capable of making distinctions
.............between matter and spirit.
4. Vijñāna maya: In this state, one becomes realized in the science of Krishna
.............consciousness and his attraction for Krishna becomes spontaneous. He walks the talks i.e., he
.............practices what he preaches. He is the embodiment of grace of Guru and Krishna. He is internally
.............situated - brahma bhuta prasannātma. He is equally disposed to all living beings. He sees no one
.............as his enemy and sees Lord Krishna within every living being.
5. Ananda maya: In this state one relishes his eternal relationship with Lord
.............Krishna. This is the state from which one never falls down. Such a fortunate soul always
.............renders devotional service to Lord Krishna as an assistant of His most confidential servitors.
As a spirit soul, we have always existed. All of us have already received unlimited bodies as per our
desires and we have gathered all kinds of experiences. Sometime as a scientist, as a king, sweeper,
animal, plant, and even as a reptile. But still, unfortunately we are not getting awakened towards our
original consciousness. The original consciousness is that we are eternally servants of Lord Krishna. To
awaken this consciousness, we should regularly chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra,
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
This mantra is a transcendental sound vibration and helps us to purify our consciousness. To take an
example, when a mirror is covered with dust, one will not be able to see himself in the mirror. Once the
dusty mirror is cleansed, we will be able to see our real self. Similarly, in the present situation our
consciousness is materially contaminated, and this transcendental sound vibration of Hare Krishna
Mahamantra cleanses the dust accumulated from millions of births in our consciousness and helps us to
93
achieve our actual state of eternal bliss and knowledge. This mantra is a simple prayer to Krishna. If we
are simply chanting this prayer all the time, Krishna will personally guide us. Lord Krishna as the
supersoul would guide each one of us to approach a bonafide spiritual master.
teṣām evānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho
jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
BG 10.11: To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of
knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.
Let's be assured of Krishna's mercy in our endeavour to perfect our life.
1. What are the five states of consciousness? Which one is topmost and is
desirable in the human form of life?
2. How can we attain the state of vijnanamaya and anandamay states?
3. Who helps us to attain the ultimate state of consciousness?
5.8 Revisit of an Event

There is an event mentioned in the 10th Canto of
Srimad Bhagavatam. Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva
were great devotees of Lord Śiva, but because of
material opulence they became so extravagant and
senseless that one day they were enjoying with naked
girls in a lake and shamelessly walking here and
there. Suddenly Nārada Muni passed by, but they
were so maddened by their wealth and false prestige
that even though they saw Nārada Muni present,
they remained naked and were not even ashamed. In
other words, because of opulence and false prestige,
they lost their sense of common decency. Of course,
it is the nature of the material qualities that when one Figure 5.11: Narada Muni cursed
Nalakuvera and Manigriva
becomes very much opulent in terms of wealth and a
prestigious position, one loses one's sense of
etiquette and does not care about anyone, even a sage like Nārada Muni. Srila Narada became annoyed
by their behaviour and cursed them to become trees. But since they were cursed by a devotee, they
became trees in the courtyard of Nanda Maharaj in Gokul and got liberated by Lord Krishna. Before
cursing, Narada chastised them by saying the following words:
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While alive, does this body belong to its employer, to the self, to the father, the mother, or the
mother's father Does it belong to the person who takes it away by force, to the slave master who
purchases it, or to the sons who burn it in the fire Or, if the body is not burned, does it belong to the
dogs that eat it Among the many possible claimants, who is the rightful claimant Not to ascertain
this but instead to maintain the body by sinful activities is not good.
[Srimad Bhagavatam 10.10.11]
Manigriva and Nalakuvera are twin sons of the celebrated demigod, Kuvera. Instead of asking pertinent
questions in relation to spirit and matter, these two brothers were engaged in gross sense-gratification.
Through this action, Srila Narada is teaching us that this human form of life is meant for inquiring about
Absolute Truth. Unless we come to this point of Athāto Brahma Jijnāsa , we are no better than animals.
Lord Krishna has explained in great detail in Bhagavad Gita that we are not the physical body (gross
body), nor are we the subtle body consisting of mind, intellect and false ego but each one of us is an
eternal conscious being (sac-cid-ānanda) the part and parcel of Lord Krishna. This information should
hunt us to strive hard until we get back our original svarupa as Lord Krishna's eternal servant.
1. Why did Narada curse Manigriva and Nalakuvara?

2. How did Narada analyze the constitutional position of a living entity?
3. How should a human life be used?
5.9 Famous Personalities on Reincarnation

Lord Krishna instructed Arjuna with the following definition of re-incarnation:
BG 2.13 : As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the
soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
We are continuously transmigrating from one physical body to another. Here are remarks by some
famous personalities on this idea of reincarnation from different traditions and cultures.
Finding myself to exist in the world, I believe I shall in some shape or other always exist. ........................
-Benjamin Franklin
Those souls who revolted against God were placed here to transmigrate through various species of
animals, birds, reptiles, etc. -John Adams
Song Of Myself - I know I am deathless…We have thus far exhausted trillions of winters and
summers, there are trillions ahead, and trillions ahead of them. - Walt Whitman
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again and the living spring from the dead. ..........
-Socrates
First, the fallen souls take birth in human forms, the highest of which is that of the philosopher, who
strives for higher knowledge. If his knowledge becomes perfect, the philosopher can return to an eternal
95
existence. But if he becomes hopelessly entangled in material desires, he descends into the animal
species of life. After some time, the soul again attains the human form and another chance to achieve
liberation. –Plato
1. What is reincarnation?
2. What do personalities such as Plato and Socrates say about reincarnation?
3. Only vedic literature talks about reincarnation. How is it then that people from
other cultures believe in reincarnation?
5.10 Conclusion
Experience is the basis for acceptance of any verifiable truth. Atoms need to be experienced, so also the
cells of the body. Our experience has two realms: one is external, through the use of mundane senses and
the other internal, through the use of divine process. Although the soul is originally pure, its
consciousness gets reflected through matter. Thus, our experience is mostly that of false consciousness
which we may also call as reflected consciousness. If we reflect upon our consciousness (false), we will
experience the following traits: Lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy. Let us adopt a way of life
where we can continuously reflect upon our divine nature as eternal servants of Lord Krishna.
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa
through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by
transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord
revealed to him. (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234)
Krishna realization and self-realization both are the same concepts. Without realizing Krishna, one
cannot realize the self and vice versa. This beautiful science as ordained in the Bhagavad Gita is the
essence of all Vedic literature. Let us dive in the ocean of this nectar, day and night.
1. Bhagavad Gita teaches one to be a Krishna loving person – not a God-fearing

person – Explain.
2. We are eternal servants of Lord Krishna. How can we have this divine
experience?
3. Krishna realization and self-realization is one and the same. Explain.
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Bhagavad Gita - The Timeless Science

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Lesson 1

Bhagavad Gita – The Timeless Science

Figure 1.1: Bhagavad Gita is like a big water reservoir

1. Who is Bhagavad Gita endearing to?

1.2 Bhagavad Gita - The Torchlight of Wisdom

1. What quality is needed to ask perfect questions?

1.3 Reverses of Life - How to handle them?

When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the

Figure 1.3: Albert Einstein

Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of

Figure 1.4: Aldous Huxley

The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's

1.4 Scientific Search for Truth

1.4.1 Solar System and my Tiny Existence

The radius of the Earth itself is 6371 km. The distance

· What is the purpose of this creation

1.5 Some fundamental aspects of life

1.5.1 Everybody is a servant

A parent A farmer A political leader A teacher

· We are all servants.

1. In what way does a blade of grass serve?

1.5.2 We all seek relationships

Yashoda-as Mother Hanuman-as Servitor Sudama-as Friend

1.5.3 We seek possession or proprietorship

1. Give the moral of this section in one sentence.

1.5.4 Temporariness pervades this world

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 8.15:

mām upetya punar janma

1.6 Dull and Living Matter

1.6.1 Our Living Body

time of conception. This original cell through repeated cell division

Have you ever pondered over these observations How is hair

The miracle is that even if we can observe this process of

1. What is dull matter and what is living matter?

1.6.2 A Self-replicating Machine

A self-replicating machine is a construct that is capable of autonomously manufacturing a copy of itself

1.6.3 Can I replicate the Miracle?

1. Who has compiled the literature Bhagavad Gita?

7. Why does Bhagavad Gita attract you?

1.7 Spirit of the Bhagavad Gita

Once a baby frog jumped out of a

1.7.1 What we are?

In the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita Srila Prabhupada says: That

1. Give the moral of the story of an exploding frog?

1.7.2 Spirit I – Lord Krishna, the Absolute Truth

1.7.3 Spirit II – Becoming a Right Thinker

1. Who is a right thinker? Quote the verse from BG with meaning?

1.7.4 Spirit III- Building a Relationship with the Lord

sa evāyaḿ mayā te 'dya

1.8 Subject Matter of the Bhagavad Gita

1.9 Definition of God

Figure 1.15: Bhagavān- The possessor of six opulences

2.1.1 Does God exist?

2.2 Empirical Evidence 1 – Perfect design

2.2.2 The Precision of the Solar System

The solar system itself is a perfect example of amazing

not survive because of the freezing temperature. Given this

2.2.3 The Complex Living Body

2.2.4 The E. coli bacterium: A Classic Case of Perfect Complex Design