Anyone who is interested in Krsna Consciousness and has access to the internet is probably familiar with the ritvik philosophy. According to it, the last instruction of Srila Prabhupada was that he should remain the only initiating spiritual master and anyone can take a posthumous initiation from him thoroughly a priest, who chants on his beads and does the other rites in front of a picture. There are different versions of the ritvik philosophy, but they are all centered around interpretations of two tapes recorded in the last days of Srila Prabhupada.
Since this idea is widely propagated, many may have doubts about it in the back of their minds. The fear of maybe not be doing the right thing in accepting a spiritual master or the fear of being cheated may hamper one in his spiritual progress. This is an essay that I hope can help to put these doubts to rest. Just like Krsna killed the demon Madhu, I aspire this can help to dispel any doubts you may have on this subject.
The last five days of the month of Kartika are traditionally known as the Bhishma Panchaka. We observe it in honor of Grandfather Bhisma, who fasted in the last stage of his life, preparing to give up his life. In the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, it is said that if one is capable, one should observe fasting on the Bhishma-panchaka for the pleasure of the Lord. The fast should begin by remembering Bhismadeva on the day of the Utthana Ekadasi and should end on Purnima (the full moon]), which comes four days later (five days in total, including the Ekadasi), breaking the fasting in the late afternoon of the 5th day, after the appearance of the moon. The Padma Purana says that one pleases the Lord and makes spiritual advancement by such austerities.
The Padma Purana gives the following instructions on the observance of the Bhisma Panchaka, which were included by Srila Sanatana Goswami in the Hari Bhakti Vilasa:
The verse mentions that starting from the Ekadasi day (arabhya ekadashīm), one should observe a vow of austerity for five days (pañca dināni vratam-icaret) as an act of devotion to please the Lord (bhagavat-prītaye) in honor of the five days of Bhisma (bhishma panchakam). The verse adds that one should do it if able (yadi shaknuyāt), and Srila Sanatana Goswami adds the words kamyatvamiti dik (if one has the desire), emphasizing that this is an optional vow that one can observe or not according to his desire, although it is strongly recommended in the sense that one can obtain great merit by observing it since these days are so dear to the Lord. These five days are considered extremely auspicious to free us from our past karma and increase our devotion to Krsna.
This is the first part of a special module inside of our Bhagavatam course, going deep into the Sankhya Philosophy of Lord Kapila described in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
As Prabhupada explains in his purports there are two versions of the Sankhya Philosophy, the atheistic Sankhya, propounded by the impostor Kapila in the last Dvapara-yuga, and the real, devotional Sankhya Philosophy taught by Lord Kapila, the son of Devahuti.
What makes Sankhya philosophy special is that it describes both the workings of this material world, including the creation of the material universe, the structure of the material elements, how the soul becomes entrapped in matter, etc., and the process of devotional service that helps us to become free of it. This makes Sankhya a very fascinating study for all inquisitive minds because it answers our questions on both aspects.
This is a detailed study, where we will go deep into all the details of the explanations of Lord Kapila, according to the conclusions of Srila Prabhupada. This is the first part:
A common question for newlyweds and young devotees considering getting married: Can couples in our movement remain without children, or are children obligatory in family life? This is at the same time a very simple and very complicated question.
On the one hand, children are the normal thing to do in family life. Couples have been begetting children since the beginning of creation and we don’t see people regretting it. Quite the opposite, children are always seen as a source of happiness for the couple and everyone around them. On the other hand, there are many passages of the scriptures that speak negatively about family life and attachment for children. And this may cause many doubts.
In this context, it is important to understand that these passages were written for renunciants who, after completing their duties in family life, are preparing themselves to leave this world. Srila Prabhupada explains that his books are like a drugstore, where we can find the cures for all diseases. However, we need to be wise enough to select the proper medicine and use it in the proper dose. Just like the wrong medicine in the wrong dose can put one’s life at risk, the wrong instructions at the wrong time can cause serious problems on one’s spiritual path. The scriptures offer different processes for different people in different ways and stages of life. We should remember that there are four varnas and four asramas, apart from the outcasts and other groups, and the scriptures include instructions for all of them. There are even instructions for the ones who want to drink liquor or eat meat! The right instructions to follow will be dependent not only on one’s situation but on one’s mentality and spiritual life. What is medicine for one can be poison to the other.
The body is temporary; it is always changing. We become attracted to a certain image, a certain form, and we suffer when it changes or when we eventually lose it. If we ask any old woman if she would like to be 18 again, not many of them would answer no.
If the body is temporary, why do we become so attached to it? And how to free ourselves of this identification?
Verse 2.16 of the Bhagavad-Gita is probably one of the most overlooked verses in the book. Krishna speaks this verse right at the beginning of His explanation about the soul. Prabhupada translates it as:
“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.”
The story of Indra and Vrtrasura, narrated in the 6th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam is quite interesting. It describes the fight between a pure devotee and a demon. However, contrary to what one could think by looking at the painting, Vrtrasura is playing the part of the pure devotee, while Indra is playing the part of the demon! How it can be so?
When we speak about “demon” we may think about some creature with horns and tail, but actually, asura, or demon, in the context of the Vedas, means materialist. Many demons are very beautiful, materially pious, and learned in the scriptures, but despite these good qualities they are materialists who just use religion to achieve their materialistic goals. In the process, they don’t hesitate to fight and kill others.
A pure devotee on the other hand is someone who doesn’t want anything from this world. He just wanted to serve Krsna. A pure devotee still may execute his duties in society, according to his position in life, therefore his external actions are not always a reliable way to understand his position. The story of Vrtrasura is very revealing in this regard.
Yesterday I posted the news about the AI “Prabhupada’s servant” I designed as a custom ChatGPT that answers based on the teachings of Prabhupada. There are many possible uses for this platform (as long as you understand it is propense to mistakes and don’t accept what it says as absolute truth). One of them is to use it as a learning tool on how to debate with proponents of different philosophies. You just need to instruct it on what you need to debate, and what should be its approach to the debate (should it just be stubborn, or should it yield when defeated, for example?)
Here is an example of the AI playing the role of the Mayavadi. You can see the arguments it gives and the arguments I used to counter it. It has a basic understanding of different philosophies from the general base, and can relate it to Vaishnava philosophy from the teachings of Prabhupada.
One very important point for the success of our spiritual practice is to understand that devotional service can be practiced under the influence of the three material modes. Understanding this is essential not only for our own spiritual practice, understanding where we are, and being able to progress, but also in dealing with other devotees. Most of us have experiences with devotees acting in less-than-ideal ways, and we also have experience of how discouraging this can be to our spiritual life, especially when such less-than-ideal devotees perform such actions from positions of leadership.
Being able to identify devotees who are performing devotional service under the material modes of passion and ignorance is thus essential to understanding such cases, as well as minimizing their effect. If we can understand the mentality of a person and understand how he or she tends to act, we can protect ourselves against such negative actions.
This information is not something coming out of my mind, it is described very scientifically by Lord Kapila in the third canto of Srimad Bhagavatam:
“Lord Kapila, the Personality of Godhead, replied: O noble lady, there are multifarious paths of devotional service in terms of the different qualities of the executor. Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness. The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion. When a devotee worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offers the results of his activities in order to free himself from the inebrieties of fruitive activities, his devotion is in the mode of goodness.” (SB 3.29.7-10)
A devotee contaminated by the mode of ignorance will show qualities such as pride, anger, and violence. Such a person is defined by Lord Kapila as a separatist because his desires are not dovetailed with the Lord. In other words, the Lord desires one thing and he desires another. Even though he becomes somehow or other attracted to the practice of devotional service and the association of devotees, his practical actions are contrary to the desires of the Lord. He may act in inconsiderate, dismissive, offensive or even violent ways against other devotees and people in general, engage in dishonest activities, tell lies, spread rumours, and so on.
Both Vidhura and Dhṛtarāṣṭra were brothers of Pandu, the father of the Pandavas. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the eldest son, but he couldn’t become the King because he had been blind since birth. Vidhura also couldn’t because the was the son of a maidservant, therefore Pandu became the King.
When Pandu passed away, the crown passed to Yudhisthira, the eldest son. However, Dhṛtarāṣṭra became resentful, desiring that his son Duryodhana would become the king instead. This led him to conspire with Duryodhana, Duḥśāsana, Sakuni, and others, first trying to kill the Pandavas by different means, and later taking the kingdom and sending them into exile by cheating on the dice game. In the process, they also seriously offended Draupadi.
Although Yudhisthira was defeated unfairly in the game, he honored his word and went into exile with his brothers. However, when the time came to get the kingdom back, Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana refused. They remained adamant even after many attempts to negotiate the situation, including a personal visit of Krsna to the assembly. With this, the battle of Kuruksetra became inevitable.
Although spiritually blind, Dhṛtarāṣṭra had some trust in his brother Vidhura and thus asked him for advice. Vidhura spoke directly to the point:
Prabhupada explains that life in this material world is like a dream. In a dream, we travel to many places and see many illusory situations, while at the same time never leaving our room. Similarly, the soul somehow becomes entrapped in this material world, although never leaving his original position. This means we are here, living in a material body, but at the same time with Krsna in the spiritual world. How is this possible?
This very intricate point of our philosophy is explained by Lord Kapila in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
On SB 3.27.11-13 he explains the example of the reflection in the dark room, which is central to understanding the relationship of the soul and the material world:
“A liberated soul realizes the Absolute Personality of Godhead, who is transcendental and who is manifest as a reflection even in the false ego. He is the support of the material cause and He enters into everything. He is absolute, one without a second, and He is the eyes of the illusory energy. The presence of the Supreme Lord can be realized just as the sun is realized first as a reflection on water, and again as a second reflection on the wall of a room, although the sun itself is situated in the sky. The self-realized soul is thus reflected first in the threefold ego and then in the body, senses and mind.” (SB 3.27.11-13)
These three verses give a very deep explanation of the nature of our material, conditioned consciousness, the presence of the Lord, and the vision of a pure devotee.
