Immovable

“Some were excited, but the bow was immovable, like the word of a saint. Looking at the bow, their strength and intelligence were forcefully stolen, like with King Nahusha.” (Janaki Mangala, Chand 11.2)

eka karahiṃ dāpa na cāpa sajjana bacana jimi ṭāreṃ ṭarai |
nṛpa nahuṣa jyoṃ saba keṃ bilokata buddhi bala barabasa harai ||

Goswami Tulsidas here makes a few references to Vedic history to describe what happened to the rival princes as they tried to lift the famous bow of Lord Shiva. The setting was a kingdom hosting an event with thousands in attendance. The main attraction, the final act on the bill if you will, was the lifting of the bow. Whoever could do it first would win. The fight would be declared over as soon as that bow went in a prince’s hand and was raised to the sky. As destiny’s will is impossible to subvert, on this day only one person was set to win, someone who has never lost anything in His life.

Do we know of anyone who has never lost? Famous political figures may have won the big election when they were on the ballot, but they definitely lost something prior to that. No one goes completely undefeated. Death is the greatest champion in this regard, as it defeats every single person, regardless of the effort they make to send it back from where it came.

To say that God is undefeated seems a bit obvious. “Oh sure, go the God route. You can just say that about anything. ‘I will never win this. Only God could do this. It is hopeless for me. No one but God could succeed in these trying circumstances.’” The Vedas give more than just an abstract or utopian idea of God. There are concrete details provided which are easy to remember, provided that one wants to remember them.

And why wouldn’t we want to remember someone who is undefeated? To aid in the remembrance we get God’s name of Achyuta. Just saying the name “Achyuta” over and over again brings God to the mind, allowing us to remember that He is undefeated. If that remembrance isn’t giving enough pleasure, go back to an incident that proved that He is the strongest person in the world. For such an incident to take place, the undefeated figure known as God must have a form that is visible to the eyes.

There are debates among transcendentalists as to whether God is with form or without, whether He is a personality or just an energy. On a higher level, the arguments are a waste of time because we only think in terms of form and formlessness because of our limited abilities. On a cloudy day we say that the sun is not out, but the sun hasn’t gone anywhere. We say that a person is gone after they die, but their soul still exists. They are still alive, though we can’t see them.

To make an entity distinct, we refer to them as a person. A person possesses features but a person is also flawed. Therefore we think God can’t be a person because that would mean He’s flawed. He must also be without form because we can’t see Him. Both of these are indeed not the case; His personality and form are different than how we know personalities and forms. He is the Supreme Person, and His attributes are divine. He can lift an extremely heavy bow while in the visible manifestation of a young prince.

Before that victory took place, other princes tried their hand. King Janaka hosted this contest to find a groom for the bride, his daughter Sita Devi. What better way to find a good protector than to hold a contest relating to strength? But this bow was originally Shiva’s, and Sita is eternally Rama’s. Rama is the Supreme Lord in His incarnation as a warrior prince. Rama appears before the eyes, but He is not an ordinary person. He possesses the attributes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, wisdom and renunciation to the fullest degree and at the same time.

Shiva is a great devotee of Rama, and Sita, as Rama’s wife for life, can only be with Rama and no one else. Janaka is also a famous devotee today, so we see that based on the players alone, the result of the contest was set. Of course no one knew this outwardly, as this is the fun the Supreme Lord likes to have. If all knew what was going to happen, why show up? And if everyone knew beforehand, why would we want to hear details of the event today? Why celebrate Achyuta’s marvelous feat of lifting the bow if everyone there already understood what was going to happen?
In the above referenced verse from the Janaki Mangala, Goswami Tulsidas continues his description of the kings who tried to win the contest. Prior to this, some just stared at the bow and walked away, making an excuse. They were like monkeys looking at a coconut, not trying to open it because they were too afraid of the shame of losing. The kings mentioned above were so excited that they actually tried to lift the bow. But it is said that the bow was immovable, like the word of a saint.
A saint in the Vedic tradition is known as a brahmana, which can be likened to a priest. A brahmana lives by austerity and penance, and through their good deeds they acquire tremendous spiritual merits. As a result, when they say something, it must come to be. For instance, if they curse someone, the results of the curse must manifest. If they are supplicated after the fact, they can proclaim something else which will also come to be, but they will never take back their word of the original curse. This is a power granted to brahmanas by the Supreme Lord, who holds His devotees in very high esteem.
It is also said that by looking at the bow, the strength and intelligence of the kings were forcefully stolen, like with what happened to King Nahusha. Nahusha was a famous king during ancient times, and through his pious deeds he ascended to the heavenly realm. The three worlds are the earth, the heavenly planets, and the hellish planets. As they are all part of the material world, residence is not permanent for the wandering soul. You go to heaven if you are good in this life, but you don’t stay there forever. Similarly, being condemned to hell doesn’t mean that you are stuck there without any hope.

King Nahusha was in heaven, but while there he had lusty desires towards the wife of King Indra. Indra is the king of heaven and he cursed Nahusha to fall from heaven and be born as a snake for his impious thoughts. Material life is thus very tenuous; there is no certainty for anyone. These kings were previously considered to be very powerful and intelligent, but since this bow was destined to be lifted by Rama, they seemingly lost all their strength just by looking at it.

Fortunately, there is one discipline that is above the material nature, that brings permanent results in a permanent realm. Devotional service, also known as bhakti-yoga, is the soul’s eternal occupation, and one of its primary methods of implementation is hearing. Just hearing about Rama’s eventual victory in the contest, and how all the other kings were bested by the bow He was to lift, brings the consciousness closer to the transcendental realm. While the curse of a saint cannot be reversed and accumulated merits can vanish with a single transgression, know that through loving God spiritual strength increases in a manner that is irreversible. The undefeated Shri Rama makes sure of it.

In Closing:

Through piety Nahusha to heaven went,

With lusty desires back to earth sent.

Once a curse upon you a saint does make,

Can’t go back, their word never to break.

Comparisons the bow contest help to describe,

Excited kings failed though with effort they tried.

Strength with one look stolen, move the bow would not,

Rama destined to win, beautiful Sita as wife He got.

Fear of Failure

“Unable to get the desired result, some made an excuse and stayed where they were, while others went to see the bow. Like a monkey examining a coconut, they each sat back down with their heads hanging down.” (Janaki Mangala, Chand 11.1) nahiṃ saguna pāyau rahe misu kari eka dhanu dekhana gae | ṭakaṭori kapi jyoṃ nāriyalu sirū nāi saba baiṭhata bhae || This bow was so intimidating that some were afraid to even try to lift it. The bow was the reason they were there in the first place. The princes came to try to win the hand of the most beautiful princess in the world. And to do that required lifting a bow in front of so many other people. But some were intimidated by the bow to the point that they wouldn’t try to lift it. Their behavior set the table nicely for the ultimate triumph of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The famous fable relating to the fox and the grapes gave rise to the popular expression, “sour grapes.” The fox tries to reach for grapes that are up high on a vine. After a failed attempt, the fox changes his tune, saying that the grapes are probably sour anyway. The fox doesn’t know that for sure, but in order to massage its ego, to feel better about the failure, it dismisses the grapes as being poor in taste and thereby not worth attaining. Some of the princes assembled in Janakpur took a similar attitude, except they didn’t necessarily speak ill of the item in question. This bow originally belonged to Lord Shiva, a famous figure of the Vedic tradition. If the name Shiva is unknown to you, at least know that during this time period everyone knew who Shiva was. He was highly respected, even by those who didn’t worship him specifically. This bow originally came from him, and since it was the centerpiece of the event in Janakpur, people knew that it wasn’t ordinary. King Janaka didn’t call people to his kingdom to lift a grain of rice. Why would people even come for that? If they did, then they’d fight with each other to be the first in line. The lifting of the rice would be a given, as even an infant can pick up something as light as rice. This bow was not ordinary, and people knew that it wouldn’t be easy to lift. Many princes came to Janaka’s city because the winner would be a true gem, a tower of strength to be known throughout the world. Some were too afraid to try to lift the bow, though, knowing its strength and wanting to avoid public shame. If you fail on the grand stage, it is sometimes worse than not trying at all. If in sports you consistently lose in the final round of a big tournament, it’s worse than actually losing in the first round. No one remembers who played in the earlier rounds, but the finals are viewed by a larger audience. A perennial failure in the important moments then gets labeled a choker, which is worse than being known as incapable. “People will always speak of your infamy, and for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.34) In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that for a celebrated warrior, dishonor is worse than death. This is because they were previously honored. They were known for some reason or another. Through dishonor, they tarnish their reputation. The eager journalists pay close attention to scandal for this very reason. If they can take down a celebrated figure through reporting their flaws, their story will be very popular. The dishonor will draw much attention because it is focused on someone who was previously honored. Dishonor to someone who was never honored isn’t as important. From the above referenced verse from the Janaki Mangala, we see that some of the princes made an excuse and stayed where they were. Think of it like the football player refusing to go into the game by faking an injury. “Oh my knee hurts. I don’t think I can play, coach.” Others got up and examined the bow, but they sat back down with their heads hanging low. Their behavior is compared to monkeys looking at coconuts. The inside of the coconut is what matters. It takes some effort to open the coconut too; it’s not an easy business, even for human beings. Unless you make the effort, however, you will never taste the fruit that is inside, namely the water and the coconut meat. Comparing these princes to monkeys is humorous and also harsh in a sense, but it is done to paint the right picture. This event is talked about to this day because Shri Rama would eventually lift the bow. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in an apparently human form. He performs superhuman acts witnessed by the parrot-like saints, who then document what they see and repeat the information to others, passing on the descriptions of the pastimes to future generations. Whether they tried or not, these princes did not have the ability to lift the bow. The bow was like a coconut that no monkey could crack. It was destined to be lifted by Rama, who is Sita’s husband for life. Janaka’s daughter, the beloved Sita Devi, was fit for the most powerful prince in the world, and since no one is more powerful than God, only He is worthy of Sita. In Closing: At a coconut monkey has a look, By its presence alone confidence shook. To open it won’t even try, Sour grapes, tell itself a lie. Many princes also not wanting to attempt, Looking at bow, back to their seats they went. Bow only for Rama’s hand meant, Lifted it without any effort spent.

City of Love

“You can see the love they have for each other, which they try to keep secret. Knowingly they erect a collection of stable pillars made of goodness within their hearts.” (Janaki Mangala, 85)

prema pramoda paraspara pragaṭata gopahiṃ |
janu hiradaya guna grāma thūni thira ropahiṃ ||

In an area that is more or less undeveloped, when you see a series of pillars placed in the ground, indicating that construction is going on, you know that some type of building is going up. The pillar goes with the foundation, and in order for it to serve its purpose it must be stable and remain in good standing [no pun intended] for quite some time. The pillars are not something to be knocked down right away. Ideally, they should last a very long time, providing stability to the building’s occupants. Such stable pillars were erected within the hearts of two lovely souls ready to embark on a lifetime’s journey together. The construction was seen not through yellow tape or hard hats, but through the looks they gave each other.

The pillars were made of goodness, or guna, which can also mean virtue. The more goodness you have inside of you the better. You hear the expression, “that person is just a good soul,” which means that “good” has a higher presence within their body than “bad.” It is very easy for the bad side to dominate. You just have to look at someone else to give rise to bad feelings. “Oh look at them. They think they are so great. They’re really not. My stuff is better. Plus, even if they have more stuff, they are just wasting their money. I’m more intelligent with my expenditures. I don’t need all that stuff to be happy. I’m not so materialistic.”

It’s harder to see the good in everything around us, especially in other people. It is for this reason that the highest transcendentalist in the Vedic tradition is known as a paramahamsa. The most elevated religionist if you will, the person who practices spirituality as it is meant to be practiced, does not suddenly find more and more people to tag as sinners. They do not find more and more people to criticize and make feel bad. Rather, the perfect transcendentalist is compared to a supreme swan. The swan is unique in its ability to separate milk from a mixture of milk and water. Basically, it grabs the essential item, the nectar if you will, out of something that isn’t pure.

“If we give a swan milk mixed with water, the swan will take the milk and leave aside the water. Similarly, this material world is made of two natures - the inferior nature and the superior nature. The superior nature means spiritual life, and the inferior nature is material life. Thus a person who gives up the material part of this world and takes only the spiritual part is called paramahamsa.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Teachings of Queen Kunti, Ch 3)

The supreme swan of a transcendentalist sees the good in everything. They know that God’s energy is everywhere, and that not even a blade of grass can move without His sanction. They are not Pollyannaish or unreasonably happy. They know that karma works on everything, and so there isn’t a pressing need to look at everything negatively. After all, every individual is a spirit soul, part and parcel of God. Eventually they will make their way towards enlightenment, even if it takes them many lifetimes. To preach to others, to give them instruction on how to remove all bad from within and acquire all goodness, the paramahamsa temporarily steps down from their lofty position to make distinctions, but all the while they maintain their pure goodness on the inside.

One way to foster that goodness on the inside, to erect pillars of good qualities within the heart, so much so that it looks like you have a neighborhood full of sturdy buildings made of goodness, is to hear about God and His pastimes. One of His most famous pastimes is His lifting of the illustrious bow belonging to Lord Shiva. This occurred in the kingdom of Janakpur, where a contest was taking place. At the time the Supreme Lord was there in His incarnation of Shri Ramachandra, the eldest son of King Dasharatha. Lord Rama is God based on His qualities, which are described in the Vedic texts. He is not a pseudo-incarnation created on a whim after the fact. His appearance and activities were described before they took place by Maharishi Valmiki, a self-realized soul, a paramahamsa in his own right.

The purpose of the contest was to find a husband for King Janaka’s daughter Sita. The problem was that none of the kings could even move the bow. Rama was there as a guest with His younger brother Lakshmana and the sage Vishvamitra. Though a guest, He was eligible to participate in the contest, and when Sita and Rama saw each other, sparks started to fly internally. Just from looking at one another, pure love began to grow. They tried to keep this a secret, however, but others could tell what was going on. There was no hiding it, though neither party made any outward gesture.
The love was growing within their hearts. Goswami Tulsidas compares it to erecting a network of pillars made of virtue or goodness. This love was there to stay; it wasn’t going anywhere. The only people leaving dejected on this day were the rival princes who had come to try to win Sita. Rama would lift the bow with ease and complete the construction of the buildings of goodness through wedding Sita in a grand ceremony.

How can hearing about this incident fill our hearts with goodness? Envy, especially of God, is the root cause of our residence in the material world. The envy we feel towards others indicates a lack of spiritual awareness. Think about it for a second. If someone else has more money than you, why should you feel threatened? They still have to eat. They still feel the sting of defeat. They still hanker for things. They also have to die. If you can eat just fine, why does it matter if someone else is better off financially? Since you know how difficult life in the material world is, shouldn’t you be happy that someone else might be able to find some relief from the daily pressures?

Only through knowing the self, which is completely spiritual, can you get rid of envy, lust, greed, anger and all other negative emotions. To know God is to know the self, for He is the Supreme Soul, or the Superself. He is the origin of both matter and spirit, and so if you learn about Him as best you can, you will know yourself too. And when you know yourself, you will know others, and pretty soon you will see that we are all in the same boat, trying to find our way to eternal happiness.

Simply from hearing the Janaki Mangala, we can know God so well. He is very strong, pious, and kind. He also loves Sita, His eternal pleasure potency, very much. She loves Him without deviation, and He loves her back. Know that He always loves us too, and His mercy is already available to us in so many ways. Through regularly chanting the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,” we can start to take advantage of that mercy.

In Closing:

When looks at each other start,

Pillars erected in the heart.

Of goodness they are made,

Of strength never to fade.

Shiva’s bow in His hand to take,

Sita His beloved wife to make.

From this God’s nature revealed to you,

Gives insight into nature of yourself too.

Sacred Earth

“She arose from the surface of the earth when it was pierced by a ploughshare. She was covered with auspicious dust from the field that resembled the pollen from a lotus.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 16.16)

utthitā medinīm bhittvā kṣetre hala mukha kṣate |
padma reṇu nibhaiḥ kīrṇā śubhaiḥ kedāra pāṃsubhiḥ ||

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has declared that just as Krishna is worshipable, so is His land. Therefore places like Vrindavana, Mathura and Dvaraka are popular pilgrimage destinations. The earth of these areas is considered sacred because Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, placed His feet on it. In the same way, the land of Tirahuta is also sacred, for the Supreme Lord’s eternal consort, Lakshmi Devi, arose from underneath its ground one time when a famous king was ploughing the field for a sacrifice. That earth was auspicious before Janaka’s daughter arose, and afterwards it became even more important.

The idea that certain sections of land would be more important than others should make sense if we think about it. In the United States, there are tourist areas relating to the Founding Fathers, the group of men who founded the country. These landmarks include the family estates of the famous men, along with other areas of interest. There is also the famous Graceland, which relates to the rock n roll singer Elvis Presley. These areas sport ordinary homes built on ordinary dirt, but since they relate to famous personalities, they take on an added significance.

In one sense, this whole world can be thought of as sacred, since it emanated from the Supreme Lord. There is an original creator, though we can’t get our minds around the concept of eternal time. Keep going back in time as far as you can and you still won’t reach the beginning. Travel into the future as far as you can think of and you still won’t reach the end of time. Yet from our own experiences we know that the things we see had to be created at some point. They don’t just appear from nowhere. We can speculate that the unknown source is a collection of chemicals, an impersonal force, or a personality that is a supreme being.

The wise know it to be a supreme being because only through life can we get life. Chemicals don’t combine together to create life; it is just not possible. Through logical deduction alone, we can assume that a person was responsible for this vast cosmos. In the Vedas, more information is given about that person. It is said that He is all-attractive. He is also all-pervading. Hence two ways to address Him are Krishna and Vishnu. He is the origin of matter and spirit, and while the material creation is a representation of His external potency, sometimes He personally arrives to walk upon that which He created. Those visits are documented in the sacred texts like the Ramayana and Shrimad Bhagavatam.

It is said in the Vedas that Krishna is the original form of Godhead and that He appears in Mathura during the Dvapara Yuga, or the third time period of the creation. He then spends His childhood years in the neighboring town of Vrindavana. These areas still exist today, so one can walk on the same land that Krishna walked on. Krishna’s body is non-different from Him. His body does not undergo change like ours do. His body is transcendental, immune to the effects of karma.

“Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.24)

Krishna’s name is also non-different from Him. Therefore the easiest and most effective way to stay in God’s company is to always chant His names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” Food that has been offered to the Lord is also non-different from Him. Therefore devotees regularly prepare items in the mode of goodness for offering and then eat the remnants known as prasadam, or the Lord’s mercy. The devotee who always thinks of and glorifies Krishna is also non-different from the Lord. Therefore the wise souls always crave the association of devotees, as this is like being in God’s company.
A long time back, in the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation, a famous king named Janaka ruled over the sacred land of Tirahuta. In his Janaki Mangala, Goswami Tulsidas refers to this area as the tilaka of the earth, or its sacred mark. The tilaka on the forehead represents Lord Vishnu, who is the same Krishna. Tirahuta thus also represents Vishnu with its earth. Its leader back then also represented Vishnu, as he was a devotee.

“That country is looking so beautiful, and the Vedas have described its purity. Known in the three worlds, Tirahuta [Janakpur] is the tilaka of the earth.” (Janaki Mangala, 4)

Not surprisingly, that devotee welcomed Vishnu’s wife, Lakshmi Devi, into his family when she appeared on earth to accompany her husband, who appeared as Lord Rama from the Raghu dynasty. In the above referenced verse from the Ramayana, Shri Hanuman mentions the unique circumstances of Sita’s appearance. She arose from the earth as it was being pierced by a ploughshare. As a pious king, Janaka was preparing for a sacrifice, and wouldn’t you know it, the fruit of that religious act arrived before the ceremony officially began. A beautiful baby was found in the ground, and Janaka named her Sita because of where she came from. The dust covering baby Sita resembled the pollen from a lotus flower. Originally, Sita is Lakshmi, who is very fond of lotuses. Therefore it wasn’t surprising that she would be covered by this kind of dirt when she appeared in Tirahuta.

Hanuman remembered this event as part of an identification process. He finally found Sita after an extensive search. Her husband Rama started looking for her after she went missing from the Dandaka forest. Hanuman had to find her based only on descriptions of her given by others. In this Ashoka grove inside of the kingdom of Lanka, Hanuman saw Rama’s wife, and to glorify her further, he reviewed some of her noteworthy features, such as her relation to the sacred earth in Tirahuta. And just as that land is worshipable, so is Sita.

In Closing:

When Supreme Lord walks on the land,

Earth same as Him understand.

The same for His holy names go,

Thus the devotees chant them feverishly so.

God’s wife to arrive in Janaka’s family chose,

From sacred earth of Tirahuta she arose.

To protect her as daughter Janaka avowed,

Gave her the name Sita, new father proud.

When Hanuman saw her in the Ashoka grove,

Her divine vision to that history drove.

Known By Her Qualities

“This is Sita, who is firmly dedicated to her husband and is the daughter of the great soul Janaka, who is the King of Mithila and strictly adherent to religious principles.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 16.15)

iyam sā dharma śīlasya janakasya mahātmanaḥ |
sutā maithilarājasya sītā bhartṛdṛḍha vratā ||

For those who are not familiar with the Ramayana and its characters, who are real-life historical personalities, from this verse they can learn about one of them: Sita Devi. The ancient scriptural texts of India were composed by sages out of a desire to spread the glories of the Supreme Lord to others. The act itself is known as kirtanam, or describing, and it is a way to simultaneously realize God at the personal level. Due to the influence of Kali Yuga, the dark age of quarrel and hypocrisy, fools and cheaters give their own interpretations to the texts while ignoring the authentic message. Here Shri Hanuman gives us another definitive truth from the Ramayana, leaving no room for doubt.

What are some of the misinterpretations?

The Ramayana gets its name from the lead character, Shri Rama. As a Sanskrit word, His name means one who gives transcendental pleasure or one who holds all transcendental pleasure. This word Rama is one way to address God, and Shri Rama the historical figure is a non-different expansion of the Supreme Lord. These facts aren’t concocted by the author. They are presented clearly in the Ramayana itself. Indeed, we only know of Rama’s existence from the Vedic texts, which all speak to His being God. Any other interpretation of Rama is therefore incorrect.

One of the bogus interpretations says that the Ramayana refers to the “Rama” within all of us. Following that, Sita, Rama’s wife, represents something else about us, and Lakshmana, Rama’s younger brother, again something else. Shri Hanuman, the greatest servant of the trio, represents another personal aspect. This is the result of mental speculation, as nowhere in the Ramayana is any of this said, and indeed all the verses speak to real personalities, who travelled to real places that one can locate to this day inside of India and neighboring areas. In other Vedic texts the same pastimes are described in varying levels of detail, and in all of those texts Rama’s divinity is confirmed.

In this verse from the Ramayana Shri Hanuman confirms to himself that he has spotted Sita. Hanuman is in a grove of Ashoka trees inside of the kingdom of Lanka, which was presided over at the time by the Rakshasa king Ravana. Hanuman doesn’t say that he has found the material body or the “Sita” within. He refers to Sita by her identifiable features, which are perceivable and understandable to the sober person who has no intention of twisting the truth to suit their personal needs.

It was custom in ancient times for a person to be identified by their parents. Today when someone asks for identification, they look at a government approved card that has our picture on it. The driver’s license and passport have our picture, our address, and our name. They also have our date of birth. The relationship to the parents is not required; as the approved form of id is enough for the authenticating party to verify identity.

In times past, the form of identification was the relationship to the parents. In this instance, Sita is identified through her relation to Janaka. And who is Janaka? Hanuman says that Janaka is a great-soul, or mahatma. The word “mahatma” is a compound word consisting of “maha” and “atma”. “Maha” means great and “atma” means soul. Atma can also mean body or mind, but in this context it means soul. Of course we can say that anyone is a great soul. No one has any real authority in this matter, as what we call someone else is completely up to us.

Hanuman gives evidence for why Janaka is a mahatma. Hanuman says that Janaka is strictly adherent to religious principles, or dharma. The material and subtle bodies are maintained through action in dharma, or religious principles, for the purpose of reaching the pinnacle of action, which is devotional service. Every soul’s constitutional position is lover of God, but in the conditioned state one is unaware of this fact. As Lord Krishna, the same Rama but in His original form, says in the Bhagavad-gita [7.19], it takes many, many lifetimes for a person to finally surrender to God in earnest and become a devotee.

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

In the meantime, the principles of dharma allow one to progress to that rare state of love for God in full surrender. The king is the upholder of dharma; he maintains adherence to religious principles in society by first following them himself. His occupational duties as a kshatriya, or one in the royal order, include protecting the innocent against aggressors, following the advice of the priestly class, and collecting taxes in order to maintain a good government. Janaka was known throughout the world as a king who followed dharma. He ruled over the kingdom of Mithila, a factual area that still exists to this day.

Sita is the daughter of that great-soul, giving us one way to identify her. The relationship to Janaka is one based on body, and next Hanuman identifies Sita based on action. She is unswerving in her devotion to her husband. This has double significance here. For a woman who follows Vedic principles, her primary duty in adult life is to serve her husband with dedication. This is her dharma, which is just below devotional service. Following dharma for the sake of abiding by duty is action in the mode of goodness, which eventually turns into bhakti, or love for God, when the attachment to the results is discarded. When lacking bhakti, the wife’s fate is tied to the husband; she goes wherever he goes in the afterlife.
In Sita’s case, however, the husband was the Supreme Lord. This automatically made her dharma fall into the category of bhakti. In devotional service, the end result is always association with God in some way. Sita is always with Rama, though the two might not always be within the same physical proximity. In this case Sita was separated from Rama, and Hanuman was sent to find her on Rama’s behalf. Upon first sight Hanuman accurately identified her for both himself and the future generations who would delight in the sacred nonfictional tale that is the Ramayana.
In Closing:

From Hanuman’s words get a feel,

For Sita, character from Ramayana real.

Not a figment of the imagination,

Or aspect of body representation.

By relationship to father Janaka she is identified,

With respect for dharma over kingdom he did preside.

Also known as Shri Rama’s beloved wife,

Service to Him her dharma in life.

From the speculating cheaters stay away,

And instead listen to what Hanuman does say.

Living In Separation

“This divine lady’s mind is situated in His and His in hers. It is for this reason alone that she and that righteous-souled man are able to live for even a moment.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.52)

asyā devyā manaḥ tasminḥ tasya ca asyām pratiṣṭhitam |
tena iyam sa ca dharma ātmā muhūrtam api jīvati ||

It is described in the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, that the living entities are spirit souls at the core who travel through a process of transmigration, wherein their bodies constantly change. To the perceivable memory the changes start at the time of birth and then continue all the way up until the time of death. This is visible to the knowledgeable observer, but what isn’t seen is that the transmigration continues on into the next life. Moreover, there were changes prior to the current birth. The transmigration operates for as long as desire and work dictate, and so once those are shifted to the proper area, the process stops and a return to the permanent abode is granted.

The required shift also reveals the cause of the initial condition. It is said that the spirit soul is blissful, knowledgeable and eternal. There is also a higher spirit soul, which lives within the individual body, but it is of a different nature. Think of the cable or satellite television feed that comes into your home. You may be watching a certain program in your bedroom through this feed, but the feed is not exclusive to you. It is directed into many other homes simultaneously. The channel represents a kind of energy, and it is more powerful than you because you can only diffuse your influence to the local realm. The more powerful force has a higher range of influence.

In the same way, the individual soul has only a localized consciousness. We can feel, think and will, but nobody else is privy to this. We may tell them about our experiences and they may guess what we are feeling based on human tendencies, but the experience of life within our body is still unique to us. The superior soul, however, is conscious within all beings. He is thus considered all-knowing and all-pervading. He never leaves the individual, but in the conditioned state, wherein reincarnation constantly applies, there is forgetfulness of both the superior’s presence and His influence.

That forgetfulness is the root cause of the descent from the higher realm. In the spiritual plane there is constant remembrance of the Supreme Soul, and so there is no need to change bodies. Therefore how to return to the spiritual realm is quite simple: think of the Supreme Soul always. That higher spiritual force is commonly referred to as God, and all the major religions of the world seek to connect with Him in some way or another. The common thread in all the rituals and regulations is remembrance, wherein there is an unbroken link in thought to the Supreme, a state known as God consciousness.

In the Vedic tradition, God is assigned thousands of names to highlight His features. Krishna is considered the best name because it says that God is all-attractive. The highest state of thought can therefore be referred to as Krishna consciousness. Krishna has personal incarnations and expansions, but there is still only one God. Rama is one of His famous incarnations, and He is the same Krishna. To think of Rama is no different than to think of Krishna, and that thinking keeps one situated in transcendence.

What does it mean to be on a higher plane of consciousness? The body is not your identity; it is simply a temporary covering that is ideally used to help further Krishna consciousness. In the higher state, the body’s influence is secondary; the external surroundings are also transcended. We can look to the example of Sita Devi in Lanka to see how this works. She was in the most terrifying circumstance, separated from her dearly beloved due to no fault of her own. She couldn’t just sit quietly in peace either. She was asked to give in to the evil king of Lanka, Ravana, the fiend who had taken her away from her husband’s side through a backhanded plot. She refused to even look at him, and so the king ordered some of his assistants to harass her day and night.

Why continue living? Why go on in such a pitiable state? Why not just quit the body and be done with the misery? From the above referenced verse from the Ramayana, Shri Hanuman tells us how Sita was able to survive. Just from seeing her from afar, the spy sent to Lanka to look for Sita could tell that her mind was firmly situated in her husband’s. This meant that she only thought of Him, and since He was God, the process was akin to yoga, or the linking of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. That link is known to help one transcend the effects of the body. The terrifying circumstances couldn’t harm Sita when she remembered Rama.

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.30)

Hanuman also notes that Rama, who is a righteous soul, or dharma-atma, has His mind firmly fixed in Sita’s. This is a truth we are kindly reminded of in the Bhagavad-gita, the famous scripture of the Vedic tradition spoken by Shri Krishna Himself many years later. In that work the Lord says that the devotees are never lost to Him, since they see Him everywhere. It is not that He ignores the non-devotees, but if someone doesn’t want to connect with Him, the Lord will not force Himself upon them. This means that only in bhakti-yoga, divine connection in love, is there aid from the superior party. All other kinds of transcendentalism are thus more difficult because the burden for success is on the individual, who is known to be flawed based on the fact that they took birth from a womb. Any birth, whether in an animal or human species, indicates that in the previous existence there was a failure to think of God at the time of death.

Rama is God, so He does not die. He can survive in any situation, but since Sita was His beloved, He made sure to show signs of distress when she went missing. This is a most endearing quality, as Rama shows that He is the most compassionate. This trait is passed on to devoted servants like Hanuman, who only continued in his difficult journey because of his love for Sita and Rama. Up until this time Hanuman had never met Sita, but due to her relation to Rama he automatically held her in high esteem.

Reincarnation brings travels through difficult circumstances, so there is constant turmoil, distress, fear, doubt and lamentation over past failures. But know that in any situation, just by thinking of God we can be in a better place. Though we may not be in His direct company, thinking of Him is as effective as personal contact. Sita and Rama showed this during their time on earth, which is documented in the Ramayana poem of Valmiki. Therefore hearing from the Ramayana is one way to think of both Sita and Rama. It also allows us to think of Hanuman, who continues to live blissfully in separation to this day, always singing the glories of the divine couple.

In Closing:

Janaki to live in husband’s mind,

And He in hers in kind.

For this reason her life not to depart,

Though she and husband far apart.

Hanuman knew this from Sita’s face,

Troubles her thoughts of Rama to erase.

Devotees require not God by their side,

For in their hearts He always resides.

Satisfying Every Condition

“Everyone is engaged in material sense gratification, but people have no plan for making an ultimate solution to their real problems, namely, birth, disease, old age and death. These four material miseries are called bhava-roga, or material diseases. They can be cured only by Krishna consciousness. Therefore Krishna consciousness is the greatest benediction for human society.”  (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 3.97 Purport) The principles of bhakti-yoga cut so to the core of the individual that they satisfy the worker in whatever condition they may be. Young or old, wealthy or impoverished, content or hankering, married or unmarried - these opposites are of no concern when trying to connect with the reservoir of pleasure. In any other area of endeavor the benefit is checked based on the condition of the living entity, thereby proving its inferiority and also its irrelevance. “But how is it irrelevant? If I follow a system that works for me, is not that applicability at least relevant to me? For instance, if I eat on time, consuming small meals throughout the day, that helps to maintain my weight. I steer clear of the bloated feeling that accompanies too much eating. No more am I lethargic after a heavy meal and no more do I feel weighed down by what I’m eating. Therefore there is a practical relevance for me.” The irrelevance comes into play based on the temporary condition achieved. A fit external body is but only a single component of a much higher ideal goal. The thief can have a fit body, but does that do anything to really benefit them or anyone else? If my aim is to take property that belongs to others without them knowing about it, is the system of eating that works for me important in the larger scheme? The limitation exists in the opposite direction as well. Even if I am not a thief, the reward of a temporary condition that is pleasurable has no bearing in the long run if other aspects are not taken care of. It’s something like washing the car that has no gasoline in it. Without fuel in the gas tank, the car cannot be driven. This means that no matter how clean the exterior is, the car’s true value is not utilized. Bhakti-yoga reaches into the depths of the soul and extracts the true potential for action. Within that enlivened state, the ancillary concerns are accounted for automatically. To use the previous example again, with an identified objective of a fit body, I automatically tweak my daily routine. I may or may not know how to eat properly in the beginning, but with trial and error and an evaluation of the results with respect to the final goal, I can decide which procedures work and which ones don’t. If my goal is not worthwhile to every single person, there is a limiting factor to the procedures that I adopt. Bhakti addresses the needs of the spirit soul, which represents the identity of every individual. Without the soul’s satisfaction, no system of maintenance can be universally applicable. Take the issue of sense gratification. For someone who is attached only to the temporary body, the desire is to have as much fun as possible. Without knowledge of the soul, “fun” is defined as anything that will satisfy the senses. Therefore the natural result is to eat, sleep, and drink as much as possible. Eat meat, gamble, drink alcohol, and try to find sexual connections that are illicit to derive happiness. We know from the conditions of modern society that these pursuits don’t bring lasting happiness. These four behaviors are rampant and even encouraged in a godless civilization, yet everyone remains unhappy. There is constant worry over the future, over what will become of the temporary body. There is also excessive lamentation for others, even though every one of us is in the same condition. It is easy for a human being to pity others, but each person is worthy of lamentation due to the fragile nature of the body. “Whom are you lamenting for when you yourself are pitiable? Why do you pity the poor when you yourself have now been made poor? While in this body that is like a bubble, how can anyone look at anyone else as being worthy of lamentation?” (Hanuman speaking to Tara, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 21.3) We must also incorporate the fact that the life of hedonism is not appealing to someone who knows the nature of the soul and how to connect with the reservoir of pleasure. From this fact alone we get a limitation to the atheist’s motto of “do whatever you want, whenever you want.” But when you flip things around, you see that bhakti-yoga brings happiness even to the atheist, in spite of their initial reluctance to practice it. So what are the principles of bhakti? At its core bhakti-yoga is about love established in an unbreakable link to the divine. Yoga is the connection of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul, and when you throw bhakti into the mix, you’re basically connecting your consciousness to God. There is no selfish motive in pure bhakti, as desire is made pure. To desire is to live, so in this sense hankerings never cease. When the worries relate to the Supreme Lord’s interests and the ability to serve them, however, the mood is considered truly unselfish. The atheist is obviously looking for happiness. If they take to the foundational principles of bhakti, which involve chanting and hearing, there is automatic renunciation from behavior that is not worthwhile. We know that we should fall asleep at a certain time at night in order to be fully rested for the next day, but the tendency is to stay up late and not worry about restricting deadlines. But if we can force ourselves into a worthwhile habit, we find happiness anyway, despite our urge in the opposite direction. In a similar manner, if one dedicates some time to regularly chanting the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and hearing from sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, at least that portion of their day is spent in a localized transcendental realm, with the positive and away from the negative. For the serious yogi in bhakti, the chanting routine is extended to a fixed minimum number of daily recitations of the maha-mantra on a set of japa beads. There is also a prohibition on meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. What is considered bitter in the beginning turns into sweet nectar, whereas with sense gratification in ignorance the situation is reversed. The person in bhakti feels the pleasure of connecting with God, which in turn makes them more anxious to continue that service going forward. The person who despises God or ignores His existence at least with bhakti finds a peaceful routine and a way to steer clear of activities that are so harmful. In this way both sets of participants benefit. As the devotee and staunch atheist represent the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum, every type of condition in between is accounted for as well. As bhakti-yoga is the superior discipline, its proponents and original teacher must be given proper credit. The staunchest advocates are the spiritual masters of the Vaishnava tradition, and the original teacher is their object of worship, Lord Krishna. His direct instructions are provided in the Bhagavad-gita, and the saintly class which follows bhakti knows how to explain those instructions to the society of the time. Thus humbly approaching such kind-hearted souls proves to be auspicious, a meeting to change one’s life for the better. The eligibility for that fortunate meeting is not limited to any section of society, and the spark of life can be invigorated in any condition, even seconds before one quits their body, showing once again that Krishna’s discipline of bhakti is the sweetest of them all. In Closing: Dharma is followed by even a thief, Though their theft causes others grief. Atheists at all costs senses to satisfy, Rules of propriety they willfully defy. But this won’t bring pleasure to those who are pure, Of the divine principles’ effectiveness they are sure. Bhakti in any condition benefits to bring. Sweetness after regulation’s initial sting. Both devotee and atheist from bhakti do gain, Of no other process can we say the same.

Don’t Break The Oath

“Understanding that Rama’s beauty, patience, age and ancestry were completely perfect, the king remembered his own oath and thus started to lament.” (Janaki Mangala, 48) rūpa sīla baya baṃsa rāma parisurana | samujhi kaṭhina pana āpana lāga bisūrana || You think long and hard about a difficult decision. You don’t want to mess up because the stakes are high. Rather than make an impulse move, you get advice from the people you trust. This way you gather all sorts of opinions and viewpoints that you may not have considered yourself due to the attachment you have to the particular situation. Finally, you settle upon something, a move that will hopefully satisfy your wishes and alleviate your concerns. If you are a man of honor, this decision represents your vow, something you can’t break. But then later on, after the decision is made, a wildcard enters the equation. If you knew about this beforehand, you never would have made your vow. So now you are in trouble. What to do? This was the situation faced by a famous king many thousands of years ago. He was childless when he found a beautiful baby girl in the ground one day while ploughing a field for a sacrifice. What an odd place to find a young child? How was she still alive? Who had placed her there? These things didn’t matter to King Janaka once he picked her up. Though he was above the influence of the senses, he couldn’t help but harbor affection for this innocent girl, wiping the dust off her face. He wanted to bring her home immediately, but he knew that he shouldn’t take someone else’s property. Then a voice from the sky told the king that the girl was his daughter in all righteousness, or dharma. Dharma was important to Janaka. A king who doesn’t follow dharma isn’t much of a king. To be a good protector, one must be able to govern the citizens in such a way that they all stay happy, regardless of their situation. The only way to make this a reality is to follow the established law codes of scripture, which are presented nicely in the Vedas. If you go on your own whim, others will then have license to do so as well. As desires for personal satisfaction are sure to clash, the result is stiff competition. Man’s actions are then guided by the motto of “win at all costs”. In fact, this is the situation at present, where government leaders operate on the mentality that whoever will provide them the most votes should gain the most favor from government. Never mind that every person is equally a citizen and that the leader should be impartial. Send money to a candidate and you will get a seat at the table of power should they get elected. Janaka’s guiding principle was to defer to dharma, so he was thrilled to hear that this girl was actually his daughter. The higher powers decided he should raise her as his own daughter, that he was worthy of having her and that she would bestow good fortune upon him. The baby girl was Lakshmi Devi appearing on earth to grace the line of Videha kings with the greatest fortune of all, the appearance of the Supreme Lord in their kingdom. Janaka, of course, did not know these things. He had a spontaneous and loving attachment to his daughter. This attachment made arranging for her marriage quite difficult. As Janaka belonged to the royal order, he typically would find a suitable match based on strength. The ability of the prince to protect his daughter would be the overriding factor in determining his eligibility for marriage. The suitable match would also be determined off personal characteristics calculated from the alignment of stars at the time of birth. The problem was that Janaka didn’t know his daughter Sita’s exact date of birth or who her parents were. How then was he going to find a suitable match? Comparing horoscopes using Vedic science takes the guesswork out of these arrangements. Janaka met with his counselors, and they settled upon a compromise. The king would hold a contest. Whoever could lift Lord Shiva’s bow would win Sita’s hand in marriage. First come, first serve. No round robins or heats. Whoever could lift it first would win the contest. The idea was that the bow was too heavy for anyone to lift. Just as Sita had amazingly appeared from the ground, her future husband would have to appear on the scene and miraculously lift the bow. There was another side to this contest that Janaka didn’t immediately realize. If someone should attempt to lift the bow and fail, they would be automatically disqualified from marrying Sita. The focus was on finding someone who could lift the bow, which meant the elimination factor was ignored. But what if someone showed up to Janaka’s city who was perfect in every way? What if their beauty was unmatched and their ancestry sparkling? What if they had tremendous patience and dedication to chivalry? What if they were quite strong and had a charming visage? Then what could the king do? Wouldn’t you know it, this is precisely the predicament that arose. Though princes from around the world came to participate in the contest, two notable warriors didn’t get the invitation. They were away from home at the time, protecting the sadhus from the enemies of the demigods. A sura is known as a demigod or devotee in Sanskrit. Their enemies are the asuras, the negation of the word “sura”. “How can someone be an enemy of a sadhu, a person who has no possessions and who hardly bothers anyone? A demigod is adeity in charge of a particular aspect of creation. Why should they have enemies?” As we know, sometimes the workings of the criminal mind are impossible to figure out. There are bad guys out there, whether we like it or not. Since they do horrible things, someone needs to be there to punish them, to protect the innocent from their influence. Rama and Lakshmana, though very young, were quite able to protect a notable sadhu named Vishvamitra. He was being harassed by night-rangers who fought dirty. In conventional warfare, the participants wear identifiable uniforms and engage in conflict once the other party is ready. It seems strange, but warriors usually follow some sort of standard procedure when engaging in armed conflict. Oh, but not these night-rangers. They would not announce their presence until the moment of attack. Should they be spotted, they could use illusion to disappear from the vision. They would take on another shape to mask their appearance as well. Rama’s first test was to fight against and kill a very wicked female night-ranger named Tataka. Rama was very hesitant to kill her since she was a female. Vishvamitra had to insist a few times to Rama to fight with as much force as possible. The night-ranger would use illusion quite often to try to escape, but no one can live when the Supreme Lord decides that they shouldn’t. Rama was the Supreme Lord appearing on earth in the guise of a human being. The purpose given for His descents is to annihilate the miscreants and defend the pious, but in reality there needn’t be a specific purpose. Whatever makes the Supreme Lord happy, He does. He finally killed Tataka, and Vishvamitra was pleased with Him. He then gave both Rama and Lakshmana secret mantras to be used in fighting. The group subsequently went to Janaka’s kingdom while the contest was going on. The king welcomed them hospitably, and was enamored by the vision of Rama and Lakshmana. As Rama was the elder brother, Janaka wondered if He should maybe participate in the contest. Seeing that Rama was perfect in every way, Janaka became lost in transcendental bliss. He had previously felt brahmasukha, or the pleasure of merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but this new happiness defeated that many times over. After that initial happiness, Janaka remembered his vow. “Oh no! What if Rama tries to lift the bow and fails? Then He can’t marry Sita, though He is perfect for her.” In this way Janaka felt a kind of fear in devotional ecstasy. This emotion is described in more detail in Shrila Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, which is nicely translated and commented on in the book known as The Nectar of Devotion, authored by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In devotional service, or bhakti-yoga, there are different tastes that are available to the devotee. Sometimes fear is an enhancer of delight, as through that trepidation one thinks even more about God. Thus Janaka’s worrying over the contest was on par with his happiness over first seeing Rama. There needn’t be any worry, though. Lord Rama was meant to arrive in Janaka’s kingdom and marry Sita. Only He would be able to lift Mahadeva’s bow and thus prove to the world that Sita could only be His wife. Janaka’s regret would soon disappear, as his vow would further glorify both Sita and Rama, the divine couple who bestow good fortune upon the surrendered souls. In Closing: Daughter Sita to Janaka is very dear, That wrong husband chosen is underlying fear. With announced contest of bow matter considered rectified, Priests, counselors, friends and even king now satisfied. Contest rules simple, first come first serve, Lifting Shiva’s bow meant Sita they did deserve. But if perfect match arrived Janaka did not consider, The case with Rama, but on vow the king must deliver. Thus there was worry that with vow he made a grave mistake, But king relieved when Shiva’s bow in His hand Rama did take.

The Virat-Rupa

“This virat-rupa of the Lord was especially manifested, not for the benefit of Arjuna, but for that unintelligent class of men who accept anyone and everyone as an incarnation of the Lord and so mislead the general mass of people. For them, the indication is that one should ask the cheap incarnation to exhibit his virat-rupa and thus be established as an incarnation.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.24 Purport) Want to play a quick game of “stump yourself”? Take life’s most pressing questions and try to answer them. “My days repeat on end, and sometimes I am happy and sometimes I am sad, but what does it all mean? Why do we all get up in the morning to go to work and then spend a few hours in the night relaxing just so that we can repeat the same cycle again the next day? Also, why are we training our children to follow in this line? They too will one day be dumbfounded by all of this, especially the sudden departure of a close family member. What does it all mean?” The answers to these questions and many more are given in a short, concise and yet complete discourse known as the Bhagavad-gita. The setting for that talk was quite fitting: a battlefield featuring an expert warrior who was hesitant. He wasn’t worried about how to win. Indeed, he was famous throughout the world for his fighting prowess. He was worried about what would happen should he emerge victorious. The fear of losing is common, so spending too much time on it isn’t necessary. If you’re afraid of failing in your tasks, you just try harder. But what about if you always get what you want? Will all your problems then be solved? Will you be happy? For Arjuna, there would be no pleasure in ruling over a kingdom if victory required killing some of his friends and family fighting for the opposing side. This begs the question of what is the meaning of life. Why did Arjuna as a warrior have to fight? Why couldn’t he just sit back and do nothing, and let everything happen on its own? Why was victory necessary? The subsequent question and answer period flowed smoothly and reached the proper conclusion. This was because both teacher and student were highly qualified. The student had the required submissive attitude and the teacher the highest knowledge. The teacher is the very origin of knowledge, the birthplace of both spirit and matter. From the Bhagavad-gita you get lessons on duty, morality, virtue, sin, vice, lust, greed, birth and death, the true identity of the individual, and most importantly what the individual’s relationship to the higher being is. Despite the profound wisdom found in the verses of this sacred work, the speaker, the supreme teacher, still didn’t want others to mistake Him to be a hack mental speculator. The truths passed on to Arjuna and future generations were not mentally concocted, nor did they arrive as a revelation to the speaker. He knew what He was talking about because He is the origin of knowledge; He is the smartest person based on His inherent characteristics. Arjuna didn’t need convincing of this, but future generations might, so the speaker, Lord Krishna, decided to show His universal form. Known as the virat-rupa, this vision is not exposed to the ordinary eye. Arjuna had to be given the proper set of eyes in order to see this gigantic manifestation of the entire cosmos. Picture all the stuff in the world. If you could put it into one portrait, a single image, that would be the virat-rupa. We sort of get an idea of how this works when we see pictures of the earth taken from outer space. The details aren’t so clear, but nevertheless we are included in those images. We can’t see ourselves, but we know that we are there because we live on the earth. Now take that same wide angle image and expand it to the largest possible scope, with the details included, and you get the amazing virat-rupa. “But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.8) The sight of the universal form is generally a requirement for the asuras, or gross materialists. This seems like a harsh thing to say, but in the absence of a connection to the divine consciousness, the tendency is to be amazed by opulence in terms of greatness. For instance, we give attention to people who have a lot of money. Their greatness comes from their net worth, what they have in the bank. Similarly, a movie star who gives a great performance, an athlete who holds many championship trophies, and an author who has written many popular books are all admired and honored because of their ability to do great things. Since we have this tendency already, Krishna shows us that He is the greatest of the greatest. In terms of a collection of matter, nothing can be greater than the virat-rupa. “Why are only the asuras enamored by the universal form? Is there another perspective?” Krishna’s supremacy travels in both directions, the large and the small. The deluded consciousness that doesn’t see the difference between spirit and matter only thinks of greatness in terms of abundance, but the devotee knows that Krishna can be smaller than the smallest as well. While He is the virat-rupa, He is also the Supersoul within every creature. The tiny ant and the large elephant both have Krishna residing within them. Moreover, the fragments of spirit that emanate from Krishna are also infinitesimally small in size and yet can do great things on their own. Hence the greatness we see around us lies not in the size of a collection of matter, but rather in the intrinsic properties of spirit, of which Krishna is the origin. More amazing than Krishna’s abilities to be large and small is His kindness bestowed upon the devoted souls. Even the non-devoted are beneficiaries of Krishna’s generosity, as they are allowed to continue in a state of ignorance for as long as they desire. The Bhagavad-gita is the discourse to consult when the choice is made in favor of true knowledge. The profound truths of that text cannot be found anywhere else, and though the knowledge should be good enough to accept on an initial extension of faith, the virat-rupa confirms that the speaker is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. If you think about it, any person can offer some profound truths, receive adoration, and then claim to be God. Just read the Gita, accept some of the important facts, and then try to imitate Krishna. There are a few problems with this method, however. For starters, Krishna did not disclose His true identity to everyone. If you are the Supreme Lord, you have no need for adoration or reverential worship. Krishna’s favoritism to Arjuna was in the mood of friendship, which Arjuna preferred. The Bhagavad-gita, its profound truths, and the unveiling of the universal form were not for Arjuna’s direct benefit, though they were presented in that way. Arjuna was already in the devotional consciousness, so only through a temporary fall from the highest state of consciousness purposefully orchestrated by Krishna did the need for the discourse come about. The charlatan posing to be God can be exposed just from their claim. Nevertheless, if others require more proof they can insist on seeing the virat-rupa. If you really are God, you should be able to show everything, the entire universe of stuff, to any person. If not, you are just a pretender, a cheater who exploits the valuable gem of Vedic wisdom for your own benefit. Krishna gives the transcendental wisdom of the Gita and the accompanying discipline of bhakti-yoga for the benefit of the worthy recipients, knowing full well that the soul is happiest when engaged in divine service. The implementation of that discipline is fine tuned through the association of the saints, and the ultimate arbiter of success or failure is Shri Krishna Himself, who looks at sincerity more than ability. To let Him know that we’re serious about making the most out of the rare human birth, we can chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Know that the virat-rupa only remains an amazing vision for as long as the concept of duality exists, where we think that we are different from Krishna and that a large collection of matter is meaningful. In the devotional consciousness, the oneness shared in the relationship to the Supreme Lord - wherein He is the benevolent master and we are the humble servant - is considered more valuable, and the divine sport of the Supreme Personality, such as His roaming around Vrindavana as a naughty child who steals butter, delights the heart. In Closing: When ignorance pertaining to matter in Arjuna had grown, To him the virat-rupa, universal manifestation, was shown. The battlefield of Kurukshetra was for this the perfect setting, For afraid of highest material success Arjuna was getting. Fear over failure quite easy to analyze, But more interesting worry over opulence’s rise. Krishna gave talk and to settle any doubts, Showed supreme vision that an equal is without. If fake incarnations their stature try to grow, Ask them also the universal form to show. Devotee goes beyond gross matter’s collection, Takes higher pleasure in Krishna contemplation.