Tag Archives: Bhagavadgita

What is Mind?

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Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata,...

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Infinite Universal Consciousness is also called “Brahmn“. In this Infinite Universal Consciousness this entire universe is pervaded. When a Spark of this Universal Consciousness is conditioned by and undergoes modification by mixing with Nature Elements or with the external body, then this conditioned Consciousness is called MIND. In such a situation Consciousness forgets it’s true nature that it’s a part of & of the nature of that Infinite Universal Consciousness. Such a conditioned consciousness is also called Jiva.

This Jiva / Mind after forgetting it’s true nature (being part of & of the nature of that Infinite Universal Consciousness), inherits a body & makes appearance in this world. Such a conditioned soul / Jiva takes birth in different bodies & moves from one body to other body after death. Such a journey of soul / Jiva goes forever until it sees the truth again.

But Infinite Universal Consciousness, called “Brahmn“ is independent of all these & pervades this whole universe, beyond this Jiva & beyond this body.

It is due to our Ignorance only (after forgetting the Infinite Universal Consciousness called “Brahmn”) that this universe exists. Once we know ourselves to be a part & parcel of that Infinite Universal Consciousness, then this illusion of universe disappears & you become one with the “Brahmn“.

Below are some verses from Bhagwat Gita which illustrates the same:

“mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah-sasthanindriyani
prakriti-sthani karshati” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 7)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, 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.”

“sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another.”

“srotram chaksuh sparshanam cha
rasanam ghranam eva cha
adhisthaya manas chayam
visayan upasevate” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 9)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.”

“utkramantam sthitam vapi
bhunjanam va gunanvitam
vimudha nanupasyanti
pasyanti jnana-chaksusah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 10)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this.”

“yatanto yoginas chainam
pasyanty atmany avasthitam
yatanto ’py akritatmano
nainam pasyanty acetasah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 11)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The endeavoring transcendentalists, who are situated in self-realization, can see all this clearly. But those whose minds are not developed and who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to.”

“sarvasya chaham hridi sannivisto
mattah smritir jnanam apohanam cha
vedais cha sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva chaham” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 15)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”

“dvav imau purushau loke
ksharas chakshara eva cha
ksharah sarvani bhutani
kuta-stho ’kshara uchyate” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 16)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every living entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every living entity is called infallible.”

“uttamah purushas tv anyah
paramatmety udahrtah
yo loka-trayam avisya
bibharty avyaya ishvarah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 17)

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the God Soul, the imperishable Lord Himself, who has entered the three worlds and is maintaining them.”

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Oh! Krishna! Why did You steal butter?

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The little blue boy Krishna has been a heartthrob of millions, since ages, mesmerizing them with His mischievous and prankish pastimes. Of all pranks, what has won Him the greatest fame is, the adventure of stealing butter. For which His devotees very fondly call Him ‘butter thief’ or ‘maakhan chor’, and even mollycoddle Him for this mischief. Yet there is another horde of His well wishers who are not much amused with this adventure. For their own obvious reasons they maintain that Krishna shouldn’t have done so…whatever was the matter.

Some supporters of Mother Yashoda sympathize with her, “She fed her special cows with flavorful grasses so that their milk was delicious. She personally collected the milk, made it into yoghurt and then churned it into butter with great attention. Mother Yashoda thought that her child didn’t like milk and yoghurt ordinarily prepared so, she personally involved into all these activities hoping that He won’t go to the neighborhood houses to steal butter. Despite all such wonderful arrangements by His affectionate mother, why did Krishna steal butter?”

Some logicians argue, “Krishna is the Supreme Lord and the source of all the spiritual and material worlds. He creates millions of universes, maintains them and annihilates them by His mere desire. He is the bestower of all magnificent benedictions. Then, just by His wish alone couldn’t He have created mountains and mountains of butter for Himself, and then eaten and distributed as much He liked? Then what occurred to Krishna that He had to take the pain of stealing butter?”

The experts counter this argument with a still better one, “Because Krishna was playing the part of an ordinary human child.” But then they get trapped in another loop, “Even if Krishna was playing the role of a human child, He was born as son of Vasudeva, a mighty Kshatriya ruler, and brought up by Nanda Maharaja, the lord of millions of cows. Either by His birth or by His upbringing He was always opulent… fabulously opulent. Then why did Krishna steal butter?”

Many worldly-wise, question, “Of all the available things around, couldn’t Krishna find something better to steal? Leaving aside gold and diamonds, He took the risk of stealing for paltry butter? What was the dearth of milk and butter in His land? It was so abundantly available that the residents of Vraja played with it during festivals. They threw it at one another in a sportive mood and smeared on other’s faces, without restriction. Then where was the need for Him to steal it at all?”

Yet there are the moralists who question, “Krishna claims that He appears in this world to re-establish the religion. Being a protector of religion is this what He is expected to do? Where have all the religious principles and morality gone? Whatever actions great men perform, common men follow. What kind of example is He setting for others to follow? Being a leader of the entire world, why did He steal butter?

Unable to find the real answer to this transcendental mystery some give up in frustration, while others speculate the answer based on their limited mundane knowledge believing it to be true. But in fact they remain millions of miles away from the truth, which is a prerogative reserved by Krishna for His pure devotees.

Srila Prabhupada explains:

‘In His village of Vrindavana He enjoyed Himself with His mother, brother and friends, and when He played the role of a naughty butter thief, all His associates enjoyed celestial bliss by His stealing. The Lord’s fame as a butter thief is not reproachable, for by stealing butter the Lord gave pleasure to His pure devotees. Everything the Lord did in Vrindavana was for the pleasure of His associates there. The Lord created these pastimes to attract the dry speculators and the acrobats of the so-called hatha-yoga system who wish to find the Absolute Truth.’ The pastimes performed by Lord Krishna in the material world are prototypes of His activities in the spiritual world which are simply full of never-ending spiritual bliss. These are meant to attract the conditioned living entities to the spiritual world where they can also get a chance to associate with Krishna and eternally enjoy with Him.

Stealing in this material world is abominable. But in the spiritual world, that stealing by Krishna is worshippable. The name, fame, pastimes, entourage, paraphernalia, etc., of Krishna is non-different from Him. Just as Lord Krishna is worshipable, in the same way His activities are also worshippable. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says, “janma karma ca me divyam.” The activities of the Lord are not mundane but are purely transcendental in nature, performed by the Lord for His and His devotees’ pleasure. When devotees hear about and glorify these divine pastimes they become purified and their love for Krishna intensifies. Devotees’ mind constantly dwell on these nectarean pastimes and this very meditation is the perfectional stage of Yoga. Lord Krishna mercifully enacts such relishable pastimes so that His devotees can merrily and lovingly meditate upon those and come back to Him very soon.

Krishna being the Supreme Lord is supremely independent. He is beyond all rules and regulations. There are no laws binding Him. That is why He is the Supreme Lord. He is free to do whatever He likes. His actions are beyond judgment and justification. Those envious of the Supreme Lord Krishna can never understand the mysticism behind His transcendental activities. This truth can be understood only by those upon whom He bestows His mercy.  And thus will ever remain mystified as to “Why did Krishna steal butter?”

- Courtesy  ISKCON