Krsna Consciousness – the Matchless Gift

An excerpt from Section 1 – Spiritual Knowledge Through Krsna

The aim of the Krsna Consciousness movement is to bring all living entities back to their original consciousness. All living entities within the material world are, to varying degrees, afflicted with a type of madness. This Krsna Consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease and reestablishing his original consciousness. In a Bengali poem a great Vaisnava poet has written “When a man is haunted by ghosts, he can only speak nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted, and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense.’ One may be considered a great philosopher or great scientist, but if he is haunted by the ghost of maya, illusion, whatever he theorises and whatever he speaks is more or less nonsensical. Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who, when requested to examine a murderer, proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come in contact were more or less crazy, the court could excuse the murderer on those grounds if it so desired. The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity. The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the infection of material consciousness.

The purpose of this Hare Krsna movement is to bring man back to his original consciousness, which is Krsna Consciousness, clear consciousness. When, moving (such as trees and mountains), Krsna says that material nature, which controls both kinds of entities, is acting under His direction. Thus behind everything there is a supreme controller. Modern civilization does not understand this due to lack of knowledge; it is the purpose of this Society for Krsna Consciousness, therefore, to enlighten all people who have been maddened by the influence of the three modes of material nature. In other words, our aim is to awaken mankind to its normal condition.

There are many universities, especially in the United states, and many departments of knowledge, but they are not discussing these points. Where is the department for this knowledge that we find given by Sri Krsna in Bhagavad-gita? When I spoke before students and some faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first question raised was : “Where is the technological department which is investigating the difference between a dead man and a living man?” When a man dies, something is lost. Where is the technology to replace it? Why don’t scientists try to solve this problem? Because this is a very difficult subject matter, they set it aside and busily engage in the technology of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. However, Vedic literatures inform us hat this is animal technology. Animals are also trying their best to eat well, to have an enjoyable sex life, to sleep peacefully and to defend themselves. What then is the difference between man’s knowledge and animals’ knowledge? The fact is that animals’ knowledge should be developed to explore that difference between a living man and a dead man, a living body and a dead body. That spiritual knowledge was imparted by Krsna to Arjuna in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Being a friend of Krsna’s, Arjuna was a very intelligent man, but his knowledge, as all mens’, was limited. Krsna spoke, however, of subject matters which were beyond Arjuna’s finite knowledge. These subjects are called adhoksaja, because our direct perception by which we acquire material knowledge fails to approach them. For example, we have many powerful microscopes to see what we cannot see with our limited vision, but there is no microscope that can show us the soul within the body. Nevertheless, the soul is there.

Bhagavad-gita informs us that in this body there is a proprietor. I am the proprietor, and others are the proprietors of their bodies. I say, ‘my hand’, bu no ‘I hand’. Since it is my hand, I am different from the hand, being its owner. Similarly, we speak of ‘my eye’, ‘my leg’, my this my that. In the midst of all of these objects which belong to me, where am I? the search for the answer to this question is the process of meditation. In real meditation, we ask “Where am I? What am I?” We cannot find the answers to these questions by any material effort, and because of this all the universities are setting a subject. Or they brush it aside : ‘It is irrelevant’. Thus engineers direct their attention to crating and attempting to perfect the horseless carriage and wingless bird. Formerly, horses were drawing carriages and there was no air pollution, but now there are cars and rockets and he scientists are very proud. ‘We have invented horseless carriages and wingless birds’, they boast. Although they invent imitation wings for the airplane or rocket, they cannot invent a soulless body. When they are able to actually do this, they will deserve credit. But such an attempt would necessarily be frustrated, for we know that there is no machine that can work without a spirit soul behind it. Even the most complicated computers need trained men to handle them. Similarly, we should know that this great machine, which is known as the cosmic manifestation, is manipulated by a supreme spirit. That is Krsna. Scientists are searching for the ultimate cause or the ultimate controller of this material universe and are postulating different theories and proposals, but the real means for knowledge is very easy and perfect : we need only hear from the perfect person, Krsna. By accepting the knowledge imparted in Bhagavad-gita, anyone can immediately know that this great cosmic machine of which the earth is part, is working so wonderfully because there is a driver behind it – Krsna.

Our process of knowledge is very easy. Krsna’s instruction, Bhagavad-gita, is the principal book of knowledge given by the adi-pursua Himself, the Supreme Primeval Person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is indeed the perfect person. It may be argued that although we have accepted Him as a perfect person, there are many others who do not. But one should not think that this acceptance is whimsical : He is accepted as the Perfect Person on the evidence of many authorities. We no not accept Krsna as perfect simply on the basis of our whims or sentiments. No – Krsna is accepted as God by many Vedic authorities like Vyasadeva, he author of all Vedic literatures. The treasurehouse of knowledge is contained in the Vedas, and their author, Vyasadeva, accepts Krsna as the Supreme Personality of God-head, and Vyasadeva’s spiritual master, Narada, also accepts Krsna as such. Narada’s spiritual master, Brahma, accepts Krsna not only as the Supreme Person but the supreme controller as well – isvarah paramah krsnah : “The supreme controller is Krsna.’

There is no one in the creation who can claim that he is not controlled. Everyone, regardless of how important or powerful, has a controller over his head. Krsna, however, has no controller; therefore He is God. He is the controller of everyone, but there is no one superior to Him,no one to control Him; nor is there anyone equal to Him, no one to share His platform of absolute control. This may sound very srange, for there are many so-called gods nowadays. Indeed, gods have become very cheap, being especially imported from India. People in other countries are fortunate that gods are not manufactured there, but in India gods are manufactured practically every day. We often hear that God is coming to Los Angeles or New York and that people are gathering to receive Him etc. But Krsna is not the type of God manufactured in a mystic factory. No. He was not made God, but He is God.