3 Characteristics of God's Love

Recently while speaking to my eight-year-old cousin, I asked her what prayers they recite in their morning assembly. She sang many prayers, one of which was a Christian nursery rhyme that I found interesting. It said:

God’s Love is so wonderful,

So high you can’t get over it,

So deep you can’t get under it,

So wide you can’t get around it,

Oh! Wonderful love!

This song mentions three characteristics of God’s love. Let us discuss each of them separately.

“So high you can’t get over it”: Our existence is a mystery that philosophers and scientists have been trying to resolve for centuries. The more we have delved into this subject the more the true understanding has receded from us. Our physical reality with its complex components like the brain, our psychological reality and our metaphysical reality have all intrigued us. How did we fit and exist in a universe? So many parameters have to synchronize for life to be possible. Amazingly they are all synchronized. It is certainly the merciful hand of God that has expertly designed our habitat.

                Çréla Prabhupäda writes in the Kåñëa book (chapter 87): “The cosmic manifestation has been made possible by the entrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Mahä-Viñëu within the material world. The total material energy is agitated by the glance of Mahä-Viñëu, and only then does the interaction of three material qualities begin. Therefore it should be concluded that whatever material facilities that we are trying to enjoy are available only due to the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The Vaiñëava philosophy, however, reveals a sobering realization that although we rebelled against God, He did not thrash our plans for independent enjoyment by depriving us of our independence. Rather, He gave us the chance to try our whims in the material world. We may tend to believe that we have trampled upon the love of God to find something higher, but the reality is that since Lord loves us we are able to exercise our search for the so-called higher independent enjoyment. Thus, love of God is so high we can’t get over it.

“So deep you can’t get under it”: Lord Kåñëa is known as bhakta-vatsala, or the lover of His devotees. He takes pleasure in being chastised, rebuked, defeated, and ordered by devotees and in serving His devotees. The Lord chooses to forget His own supremacy to deeply relish such exchanges. His accepting the position of a charioteer of Arjuna, His pastime of dämodara-lélä, His dealings with Sudämä brähmaëa, and several others show that Kåñëa is conquered by the love of His devotees.

So wide you can’t get around it: This means that God’s love is disseminated in so many forms that we can’t help but encounter it. And once we receive it, we may not understand the depth and the value of this great treasure. Krsna’s love and His concern that we should go back to Him for exchanging loving pastimes is unfathomable. For this purpose He expands himself as the Supersoul in the heart of every living entity, eagerly waiting for the living entities to take steps towards Him. He manifests himself in multifarious and easily accessible forms: the Deities, His confidential devotees, scriptures like Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and the holy name, the most potent form of incarnation in this Age of Kali. The material nature is so designed that our experience in the material world goads us to take shelter of the Lord.

Why the Lord deals with a devotee in a certain way may be incomprehensible for anyone without devotion. Whereas the usual description of love of God is given in terms of how He provides for our immediate material well being or how His apparently unfavorable act lay the seeds for long run material well being, Vaiñëava philosophy describes that Lord orchestrates the life of the devotee in a way that helps him extricate himself from the material world and go back to Godhead. The devotee on His own cannot understand the plan of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord gives him the intelligence to deduce the plan and sometimes the Lord Himself dictates the plan to His sincere devotee. All we need to do is keep faith that whatever happens, happens for the best.

    God’s love is thus high because he does not fail to love us even if we do not reciprocate. It is deep because it goes beyond awe and reverence to intimate exchanges wherein the devotees forget the supremacy of the Lord. It is wide because it is manifest in multifarious forms. It is indeed futile to search for happiness in the love of things and people of this world which distracts us from the wonderful love of God available for us through the simple process of bhakti-yoga.

From Confusion to Clarity: Gita's coherent world view

Most people would agree that our lives are a constant struggle to dispel confusion and to propel ourselves to clarity. This is effected by way of education, social interactions, media, parentage and many other agents. Although the perpetual struggle to dispel the dark cloud of confusion, it persists or returns back, thicker.

In the beginning of Bhagavad Gita we witness Arjuna also faced with a paralyzing puzzle- to fight or not to fight. The outrageous scene of his teachers, like Dronacarya, elders like Bhisma and the Kaurava brothers assembled in all preparation to be killed and to kill, drives him in to a frenzy of discordant thoughts. The trauma he underwent was so severe that the famed Gandiva slipped from his hand; the Gandiva, which he had vowed that if anyone would ask him to put down, he would kill him. Arjuna rushes into the decision that he shall not fight. Krishna- knowing that Arjuna had made this decision under an illusory concept of the self, explains to him the reality of self and urges him to fight on the basis of this reality. In principle Krishna educates Arjuna on the following major topics.

This body is not all in all beyond the body there is the soul: Just as we once had a child's body but rejected that body and acquired a young man's body; we will give up the young man's body and acquire a old man's body, we will give up the old man's body and acquire a new body by entering into the womb of another mother. Therefore it did not behoove a man in knowledge to lament about the destruction of the body because the soul beyond the body is everlasting. Arjuna therefore would not kill his relatives in this fratricidal battle, they would continue to live. By killing them Arjuna would save the masses from the rule of irreligious kings who would distract the masses from the path of self realization to serve their vested interests.

This life is not all in all after this life there is another life: Krishna encourages Arjuna by saying that if he wins the war he would enjoy the kingdom on earth and if he looses and is killed in the battle he would enjoy in the heavens. Thus there is no loss in the discharge of orders of God. Beyond this life there is another life and we are accountable for the activities we perform in this life in our future lives. Therefore we should live our life in such a way that we achieve a higher destination in our next life. Just as we study now to enjoy a successful career later.

This world is not all in all there is another transcendental world: The primary function of human life to extricate oneself from the encagement in the body. The mundane goal of sustenance is accomplished even by the animals. Krishna describes that beyond this manifested and un-manifested world there is an eternal world of unlimited happiness. Seers from across the traditions have accepted the kingdom of God as our original position and going there as the goal of our lives.

We are not all in all there is God who is the Supreme controller:  Further there is a supreme controller who has dominion over everyone. But his dominion is like a concerned king who wants all his citizens to abide by the laws and live happy lives. Therefore God has put adequate mechanisms to make us think about our predicament in the material world. He has also given us holy scriptures and saintly people who can catapult us from our illusions. They can introduce us to powerful forms of Krishna's mercy that it would really be easy to realize all the above mentioned teachings of Gita.

When Arjuna has fully heard and understood the Gita he is clear that the purpose of his life is to execute Krishna's order- that is the purpose of life, that is the way to happiness for one and all.

The Bard of Puri-- Srila Jaydeva Goswami

Today being the dissapearance day of Srila Jaydeva Goswami let us meditate on the contribution of this great poet and devotee of Sri Krishna

by Satyaraja dasa

The poems of Jayadeva so wonderfully describe Lord Krishna’s pastimes that Krishna Himself—as Lord Chaitanya—would swoon on hearing them.
Srila Vyasadeva compiled the Vedic literature some five thousand years ago, and since then many great devotees have created literary works following the conclusions of Vyasadeva’s writings and drawing on their own realizations. One such pure devotee was Jayadeva Goswami, who, in the twelfth century A.D., composed Gita-govinda, one of the greatest Vaishnava classics of all time.

Jayadeva was born in the village of Kenduli, West Bengal. His father’s name was Bhajadeva, and his mother’s Rama. Little is known about his early life, but it is said that he was a Sanskrit scholar at an early age and was inclined toward spiritual life. Some of his contemporaries have described him as “the incarnation of melody.”

As a young man, Jayadeva went to Jagannatha Puri after visiting many holy places. There he married a girl named Padmavati, who was devoted to the Deity of Lord Jagannatha (Krishna, “the Lord of the universe”). Jayadeva also developed deep love for the Lord. Inspired by the beauty of Puri and Lord Jagannatha, he composed Gita-govinda, and it quickly became the joy of the Vaishnava community.

At the time Gajapati Purushottamadev was the provincial king. He was openly envious of Jayadeva and soon posed an ill- fated challenge. The king considered himself a master poet, on a par with Jayadeva, and composed a work entitled Abhinava Gita-govinda. One day, he summoned his advisors and asked them to widely circulate his work, in an attempt to make it more popular than Jayadeva’s. The king’s own men, however, ridiculed his attempt, saying that it is impossible to compare a lamp to the sun.

Still, the king was relentless. A controversy soon arose, and the brahmanas (the king’s priests) decided that the matter would be settled by placing both manuscripts before the Deity of Lord Jagannatha for the night. By morning, they said, the Lord Himself would decide.

When the devotees went to greet the Deity the next day, they found Jayadeva’s Gita-govinda clasped against the Deity’s chest, and the king’s manuscript scattered about the floor. The decision was clear.

Jayadeva’s fame spread across India, his work being recited or sung in every major temple and royal court. So popular was his work that beginning in the fifteenth century, various schools of classical Indian art began to render it more than any other religious text. Gita-govinda was illustrated in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the Punjab hills. Gujarat produced the earliest illustrated manuscript in 1450. The next significant Gita-govinda series was painted in 1590, and it is now on display in Bombay’s Prince of Wales Museum.

The great Mogul emperor Akbar was an admirer of Gita- govinda and commissioned a special illustrated manuscript, one of the most important renditions ever produced. His manuscript was done in Mogul style and showed a fascinating merger of religious and cultural milieus. Radharani, for instance, Lord Krishna’s eternal consort, was depicted in typical Mogul dress.

Later in life, Jayadeva became the court poet of King Lakshmanasena, the king of Bengal for the latter half of the twelfth century. The king’s patronage of Jayadeva added insult to injury for Gajapati Purushottamadev, who soon resigned from his post in Puri.

Jayadeva’s work became more famous as the years passed, and after he left this world, the words of his immortal Gita-govinda were inscribed on the Jaya- Vijaya doorway of the Jagannatha temple in Puri.

The most significant testament to the value of Jayadeva’s work is that it was fully appreciated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who used to have it read to Him nightly. Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself in the role of a perfect devotee. Since God Himself is pleased with Jayadeva’s work, it must be considered consummate.

Consequently, Srila Prabhupada states that Jayadeva should be counted among the mahajanas. the great souls who come to this world on behalf of the Lord to show the proper methods of devotional service. This puts Jayadeva in the company of such exalted personalities as Brahma, Narada, and Prahlada. Jayadeva’s distinct position is revealed in the depth of his work. Gita-govinda deals with the intimate pastimes of Radha and Krishna, the ultimate in spiritual truth. Skillfully weaving pastoral drama with scriptural fact through the medium of Sanskrit melody, Jayadeva brings to life every nuance of spiritual love, in union and in separation.

Still, as the perfect teacher, Jayadeva is careful, for he does not want his readers to mistake the loving pastimes of Radha and Krishna for lusty exchanges. The interaction of Radha and Krishna is the most wholesome spiritual relationship, of which material relationships are but a perverted counterpart.

To prevent misconceptions, great Vaishnava teachers throughout history have recommended the reading of basic spiritual texts, such as the Bhagavad-gita, before one approaches the esoteric pastimes of Radha and Krishna. And even then, one requires the direction of a bonafide spiritual master coming in disciplic succession. Otherwise, one is sure to misinterpret the teachings. Srila Prabhupada, in fact, has written that the esoteric works of Jayadeva and others like him should be read only by liberated souls.

Jayadeva begins his Gita-govinda with a beautiful prayer, entitled Dashavatara Stotra: “The Prayer to the Ten Incarnations.” In this prayer, he reminds his readers of Lord Krishna’s divinity, hoping to allay their possible misinterpretation of the pastimes of the Lord recounted in the book. In the last verse of Dasavatara Stotra, Jayadeva summarizes the activities of ten incarnations of Lord Krishna:

O Lord Krishna, I offer my obeisances unto You, the Supreme Lord. You appear in the form of the following ten incarnations. In the form of Matsya, You rescue the Vedas, and as Kurma, You bear the Mandara Mountain on Your back. As Varaha, You lift the earth with Your tusk, and in the form of Nrsimha, You tear open the chest of the demon Hiranyakashipu. In the form of Vamana, You trick Bali by asking him for only three steps of land, and then You take away the whole universe by expanding Your steps. As Parasurama, You slay all the wicked kings, and as Ramacandra, You conquer the evil king Ravana. In the form of Balarama, You carry a plow, with which You subdue the wicked and draw toward You the river Yamuna. As Lord Buddha, You show compassion to all living beings, and at the end of the present age, Kali- yuga, You appear as Kalki to destroy the lowest among men.

Pre-requisite for self realization

Krsna in the 6th chapter ( entitled Dhyana Yoga) second verse of Bhagavad Gita emphatically clarifies that there is no question of one becoming a yogi unless one gives up the desires for sense gratification. Although much in the name of yoga that goes on today is simply to augment the physical capacity for sensual exploits. This unfortunately eclipses the very first step in the yoga ladder. The process of yoga prescribed by the legendary teacher Patanjali delineates Yama: abstention from sensual activities, as the first step of yoga.

All genuine seekers of spirituality should test the path they are experimenting with as to how effectively it can effect the detachment from sensual activities and offer inner satisfaction by engagement in the activities of the soul. One should not be deluded by show of material powers that the teacher may show but test ow detached he is from engagement in materialistic activities. This is the criteria laid down by Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna in his most munificent instructions in Gita.  

When love begins to sicken and decay

When love begins to sicken and decay, it uses an enforced ceremony: William Shakespeare

It is no wonder as modern India relegates religious rites to background or cover up activities and plunges head on into a hedonistic western way of life. Propelled by the media boom and westernized education, religious and humane values see unprecedented decline. The reason? Because people have stopped factually loving God. Therefore they see religious rites as social norms or ancestral enforcement, and not as a method connecting to the Supreme.

That love for the Supreme is nourished by a holistic process of bhakti-yoga centered around hearing and chanting of Lord's glories. When this love is developed then the there would be no enforced ceremonies for official, superficial expression of love, but, the ecstasies of love for God would manifest in varied festive ceremonies.
  

ABC of Spiritual Life

The onset of Bhagavad Gita reveals a conflict. Vice pitted against the virtuous. Arjuna a formidable warrior shows sign of feminine weakness at having to kill his guru, grandfather and brothers. What follows is immaculate wisdom issued by the supreme personality of godhead Krishna.

In his discourse to redeem Arjuna's courage to fight Sri Krishna spells out a celebrated monument of philosophy, ethics and self-realization- The Gita. I attempt to put here the very first arguments that Sri Krishna puts forward to Arjuna to prepare ground for his spiritual sojourn.

We are not these bodies, we are the souls: The instruction that we are not the bodies but the spirit soul comes almost like a teaser to Arjuna from Sri Krishna who was lamenting for what was not 'worthy of grief'. Sri Krishna explains that  those who are in knowledge lament neither for the living nor for the dead but engage in activities that are in accordance with religion and instructions of God. Arjuna slaying the opponent kings will not end their existence for they will live again, in some other body somewhere else. For having being killed in the presence of Krishna they will certainly achieve a higher destination. On the other hand if he would not kill them the irreligious leaders would exploit the subjects.
'Just as one passes from childhood to youth to old age; one passes from one body to another. One must not be bewildered by such a change.'[BG 2.13] Just as we have cast away the body of a child and taken on a youthful body, we will cast away the body of the youth and take up an old man's body, then we will cast away this body and and take up a new body, that's death, we should not be bewildered by such a change.

Knowing that we are not these bodies but spirit souls can empower us with the knowledge that can free us from the hook that binds us to the mixed pleasure and pain of a materialistic way of life and provide a cue for cultivating our true self and harness the unadulterated happiness available therein. This knowledge also serves as a constant companion of the spiritual seeker bringing him back on track whenever he sways off.

Happy exploring reality!!

God's Love is so wonderful

God’s love is so wonderful

Recently while speaking to my eight year old cousin, I asked her what prayers do they recite in their morning assembly. She told many prayers, one I found very amusing. It said:

God’s love is so wonderful,

So high, you can’t get over it.

So deep you can’t get under it.

So wide you can’t get around it.

O! wonderful love.

                I tried to contemplate how love of God is high, deep and wide.

So high, you can’t get above it: Our existence is a mystery that philosophers and scientists have been trying to resolve for centuries. The more we have delved into this subject the more the true understanding has receded from us. Our physical reality with its complex components like the brain, our psychological reality and our metaphysical reality have all intrigued us. How did we fit in a universe and are existing. So many parameters have to synchronize for life to be possible. Amazingly they are all synchronized. It is certainly mercy of Krsna who has expertly designed our habitat.

                Krsna is like the loving parent who provides for the facilities of a wayward son. For factually all the living entities in the material world are wayward sons of God. Although we rebelled against Him, Krsna has made a complete arrangement for our existence in this material world. Srila Prabhupada narrates in the Ksna book, ‘Prayers by the Personified Vedas’: “Cosmic manifestation has been made possible by the entrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Maha-Vishnu within the material world. The total material energy is agitated by the glance of Maha-Vishnu, and only then does the interaction of three material qualities begin.Therefore it should be concluded that whatever material facilities that we are trying to enjoy are available only due to the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So many mechanisms are in place to ensure that we are conveniently in place. The CO₂  symbiosis between the plants and animals, the rain that are showered in regions away from the coast, the sunlight, the ozone layers and other critical and amazing mechanisms. We certainly cannot make such arrangements on our own. We are blessed by the Lord, in all respects. So, literally we can’t get above the love of God, as we have to take help of the Lord at every step. We are fortunate that God indeed loves us.

So deep you can’t get under it: It is not that God is just like a father who takes pleasure in maintaining its off springs, or a king who likes to maintain his subjects. But God’s love goes much deeper than that. God takes pleasure in becoming subordinate to His devotees. This is illustrated in many incidences given in the vedic literatures. During the war of Mahabharat, Krsna accepted the menial position of the chariot driver of Arjuna because of Arjuna’s immense devotion towards Him. He agreed to be bound up by the ropes of mother Yasoda, as revealed in the damodarastaka that Krsna is bhaktair jittatvam, he is conquered by the devotees alone. Krsna gets defeated in fights with his cowherd boyfriends. Krsna often makes His devotees feel awkward when Krsna expresses His love towards them. When Sudama brahmana visited Krsna on pretext for asking help from Him: “Even from a considerable distance He (Krsna) could see the brahmana coming to His home, and He could recognize him as His friend. Lord Krsna immediately left His seat and came forward to receive His brahmana friend and, upon reaching him, embraced the brahmana with His two arms. Lord Krsna is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure, yet He Himself felt great pleasure upon embracing the poor brahmana because He was meeting His very dear friend. Lord Krsna had him seated on His own bedstead and personally brought all kinds of fruits and drinks to offer him, as is proper in receiving a worshipable guest. Lord Śrī Krsna is the supreme pure, but because He was playing the role of an ordinary human being, He immediately washed the brahmana’s feet and, for His own purification, sprinkled the water onto His head. After this the Lord smeared the body of the brahmana with different kinds of scented pulp, such as sandalwood, aguru and saffron. He immediately burned several kinds of scented incense and, as is usual, offered him ārati with burning lamps. After thus offering him an adequate welcome and after the brahmana had taken food and drink, Lord Krsna said, “My dear friend, it is a great fortune that you have come here.”

                All the humility and service attitude that the devotees have are a part and parcel of Krsna’s humility and service attitude.

So wide you can’t get around it: Krsna’s love and His concern that we should go back to Him for exchanging loving pastimes is unfathomable. For this purpose he expands himself as the Supersoul in the heart of every living entity, eagerly waiting for the living entities to take steps towards Him. He manifests himself in multifarious and easily accessible forms: the deities, devotees, bhagavatam and the holy name. Krsna has expertly designed the material nature such that our experience in the material world goads us to take shelter of the Lord. Krsna also mercifully sends his empowered representatives who radiate the deep compassion of Krsna in untiringly redeeming the lost souls. One graphic example of such an empowered servant of God is Narada muni. His disciples occur across a wide spectrum. From hunters to kings, from demigods to sages, he has guided innumerable souls in their journey Back to Godhead. Following in the footsteps His Divine Grace A. C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada spread the message of God in the most atheistic and hedonistic parts of the world. SrilaPrabhupada introduced RathaYatra festivals wherein the Lord comes out to distribute His mercy to all and sundry. Krsna tells very easy methods how to remember Him. Krsna tells that He is the taste of water. None of us can do without drinking. We should remember that the satisfying taste of water is Krsna. So multifariously has Lord exhibited His mercy that it is factually impossible to ignore, go around it!