Faith Is Our Real Wealth

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Why does our consciousness come down to this plane? Why doesn't it have a higher conception of higher spiritual existence. Instead our attention is drawn to some material thing on the mundane plane. We think that some medicine, or some intoxication can help us. When we cannot raise my consciousness to the finer and higher conscious substance, then we come to seek help in the material world. "These substances will help me." It is suicidal.

We cannot manage to have a connection directly with the higher conscious substance, then we come to seek some means in the lower. "With the help of that I will make advancement toward the finer consciousness. The matter will help me to understand, to acquire consciousness." We are thus without faith in the agents of that Absolute Truth, the Vaisnavas. It is due to vaisnava aparadha, losing faith in the conscious agents of the Supreme, that we go to the material substance, "Help me!" I lose faith in the spiritual agency and the long and the short is this - we seek shelter in a material thing and we lose our faith in the higher agency. We can’t see their Grace. So, that is the underlying position of an intoxication monger. No faith in the higher agent, that which is spiritual which is soul-like in character, but more aspiration to get help from the lower substance.

The scientific conception is also like that, degrading. Degrading, losing faith in the spiritual efficacy, their grace or their position, we come below standard. No faith. We cannot put faith in the devotee, the scripture, or the acarya. Disappointed we go to seek help from some atom of matter, "That will give me everything."

abhyarthitas tada tasmai sthanani kalaye dadau
dyutam panam striyah suna yatradharmas catur vidhah
punas ca yacamanaya jata-rupam adat prabhuh
tato ‘nrtam madam kamam rajo vairam ca pancamam

Charm for the material world, dhyutam, to get money very cheaply, not in the ordinary constitutional way, but by cheating process, this is dhyutam. Panam is also like that, intoxication. That is earned by black marketing, panam. The energy I can collect in an ordinary sense, I am not satisfied with that but in some black way I want to amass some energy by panam. This is the meaning of panam. I want to give energy by unfair means. Striyah, that is raso vai sah. He is the center of all ecstacy, but we go to collect that experience of ecstacy in a very cheap way from material things. Suna is also a cheap way to develop the body. The flesh, mamsa, can be more easily utilized for the flesh in me than other vegetables. So it is all very easy, not in a regular and proper way to preserve oneself, but in a cheap way, by cheating, we want to agrandize ourselves.

Gold is such a substance that if one can get control over gold, he can have control over all material prosperity, the dollar, the pound, the rupee, rice, everything. If I can possess gold I can easily get everything. This is cheating. With a small thing like gold, jata-rupam I can control the entire food chain. I can control all the necessities of human beings. Cheap marketing, not a regular life, but in a cheating process. By these five cheating process we can become great, so they must be given up. We must be plain, simple and truthful and live here as a bonafide and sincere member, where we are. You are put in the jail don’t try any other black things to help yourself, but sincerely give your labor as it is ruled and you will be free very soon.

When you are a criminal be a good criminal then you will be able to acquire freedom. Already you are a criminal and in the prison you are cheating others. So, lead a simple life. Do not incur any further debt, but try to pay the debt you have already incured. With this process you will be free very soon. Not by any artificial process, but if you adopt a sincere and simple process–not by diplomacy or any other thing. Simply, "I am the greatest criminal. Oh my Lord, please forgive me. Take me out. Please be gracious over me." This is the way to adopt, not by any artificial means. It is only our love for artificial things that has brought us here. In the highest ideal there is no place for diplomacy, cheating or any of these things. This is the fashion of this mayic world of misconception. To acquire anything too easily means to deceive others, but you can’t deceive God. Simply go to Him and pray that, "I am a culprit. I am so and so. Forgive me and accept me." This is a plain, simple way. Your knowledge also cannot help you, it is jnana-sunya-bhakti, pure surrender, wholesale surrender. Don’t use any reason there. Don’t go to plead for your own cause. Complete surrender. Don’t plead in favor of yourself, rather if you have to plead, plead to the Lord that you are the most heinious. That will be more effective. This is the way.

Love Divine. It is against the conception of the ontology of love that a particular material atom may give love, prema, heart’s feelings. The heart can be purchased by a chemical–by using medicine I can get God? "Use this medicine and God will come to please and serve you. I am super-super God and I am giving this medicine." Never! The simple way is ‘love for love’. Give yourself and you will get Him. It is simple and pure. Surrender to the High and the High will come down to welcome you.

sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokmayimyami ma sucah

How comprehensive, reasonable and natural this is. "Give up everything, all engagements, and come to Me freely. I am ready to accept you anytime, at any moment. Accept that all obligation to any other thing is stopped and come to Me. I shall welcome and embrace you. All obligations are stopped. Whatsoever obligation you incur or think to possess in this world are discontinued. Only My obligation remains. Your obligation to me is absolute and these others are all relative and temporary. They are artificial and concocted. Your obligation to Me is wholesale, pure and clear. Try to realize that."

tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te

To those devotees who are constantly dedicated to Me, and who engage in My service out of their love form Me, I bestow the divine inspiration by which they can approach Me and render intimate service unto Me.

In this verse the Lord says, "The highest group of My servitors (whose sentiment was described in the previous verse by the word ramanti) are those who are constantly engaged (satata-yukta) in My service in consorthood (madhurya-rasa) with heartfelt love (bhajatam priti purvakam)." ThenHe says that He will give them further inspiration or inner instruction "by which they can come to Him" (yena mam upayanti te). When already in this and the previous verse the devotee’s service to the Lord has been described as eternal (by the words nityam and satata-yukta), Lord Krsna’s statement that He will give them further inspiration by which they can come to Him appears to be redundant. Therefore, in the expression mam upayanti te ("They will come to Me"), the word upayanti must be defined as parakiya-bhavena-upapati. Pati means husband, and upapati means paramour:

"For those who have already come into divine relationship with Me as My wife (ramanti), I give them them the special inspiration to come to Me as a paramour (upapati)." In Vrndavana, Lord Krsna is not considered a lawful husband, but He is the Lord of the heart, transcendetal to even the husbant (parakiya-rasa). Deceiving their husbands, the Gopis of Vrndavana unite with Krsna. They do not allow a second party to come between them. They cannot allow the interception of even scriptural regulation and social law, because Krsna’s position is absolute, and such a relationship is more relishable to Him. This is Vrndavan-bhajana, and this is the meaning of upapati.

"My relationship with them is independent of everything conceivable. It crosses law, society, scripture–everything. It is most innate and natural, and it does not require any social or scriptural sanction. I say to them, ‘You may show formal respect to all these restrictions and live in the society. But from your heart of hearts you are Mine.’ This is the special inspiration and insight I give to those devotees (yena mam upayanti te)."

"Externally there are social and scriptural demands, but My position is over and above them. Veda is My instruction for the benefit of the masses, who have deviated from Me. And the society is also under the jurisdiction of those general instructions given to the public by Me. But My divine relationship with everything is intrinsic and independent. It does not require recognition from anyone. Such a relationship is the highest. It is constant. It supersedes all law and society which are guided by the Vedas; rather, all the Vedas are searching for such a thing."

Srutibhir-vimrgyam-Vimama-mrgya–the Vedas are searching after this ideal, divine position. In the section of the Srimad Bhagavatam which deals with Rasa-lila, the Vedas are begging forgiveness:

"We are generally supposed to give tidings of You, but we could not describe You as we now experience You here. Now we understand that we have committed an offense, because we could not distribute this Rasa-lila, this Vraja-lila, to the people."

vikriditam vraja-vadhubhir idam ca visnoh
sraddhanvito ‘nusrnuyad atha varnayed yah
bhaktim param bhagavati pratilabhya kamam
hrd-rogam asv-apahinoty acirena dhirah

"A self-controlled, sense controlled person who, having become endowed with sublime faith in the divine pastimes transcendentally enjoyed by Lord Krsna with the Gopis (Rasa-lila), and who having heard those divine pastimes from the lotus mouth of the bona fide guru, continuously sings or narrates their glories - such a person swiftly achieves the most elevated form of pure devotion for the Lord, and is promptly able to ward off the heart disease of lust." (Bhag. 10. 33. 39)

In his writings, Srila Jiva Goswami has laid stress on the word dhira, meaning "self-controlled." To hear these elavated subjects, one must enter into the culture of sense-control, otherwise he will be destroyed.

naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah
vinasyaty acaran maudhyad yatharudro ‘bdhi-jam vimam

"No one should ever think of imitating this behavior of the Supreme Lord and the Gopis. If out of gross foolishness anyone tries to imitate the pastimes of the Lord, he will be utterly destroyed, just as if he tried to imitate Lord Siva by drinking the poison which arose from the ocean." (Bhag. 10. 33. 30)

Like sign-posts, all the revealed scriptures are only showing the direction; but where, how? "We do not know." Only, "In this direction He may be available."

Anywhere and everywhere, everything belongs to Him. For one who knows this, all possibilities of sensual pleasure and exploitation are uprooted. For example, an unmarried woman may have the possibility of being approached by many, but there is less possibility for those who are married, because they are possessed by someone. Similarly, when we are able to know that everything is only for the satisfaction of Krsna, then we shall realize that all our exploiting tendencies have vanished forever. Nothing will remain to be utilized for the pleasure of our sensual experience. It will be very deeply felt in our hearts that everything has its existence only for His satisfaction, and there is no room for any other exploitation.

And we are also included there - our existence is also only for His satisfaction. Everything is meant for His divine pastimes (lila), and there is no possibility for any others pastimes. All are included in that one lila. Encroachment will disappear when we learn the proper utility of everything. He is the owner, and His ownership is absolute. The scriptures, society, and law designate, "This is yours, that is another’s, or that belongs to a third party." This is something like a temporary lease, but the permanent ownership is in all respects with Him. "All others - possessor and property, master and servant - are all relative, and only sanctioned by Him for the time being. The Absolute Owner, Possessor, and Enjoyer is He alone.

When we arrive at such a conclusion, only then is complete purification of our hearts possible. Everyone is thinking of themselves as many masters of many things, but this is all heart disease (hrid-rogam). This is all conceived in a diseased state of consciousness. In a healthy state, when the heart is quite wholesome, we can see the Supreme whole, and we can see that everything is meant only for His satisfaction.

Topic: Siddhanta