Inner Fulfillment

· Part 6: Homeward Bound ·

Devotion is above all. Saranagati, surrender is the highest property of everyone. Surrender to Him, and He may graciously make His name known to us, and we will be able to know Him.

In the Upanisads, it is said, yam evaisa vinute tena labhyah: whoever He chooses to make Himself known to, can know Him. Otherwise, no one can know Him against His will. He has reserved all the right of not being exposed to the senses of anyone and everyone. He is so high, He can do that. If He does not wish to make Himself known, no one can know Him—whenever He wishes to make Himself known to someone, they can know Him. This is His position.

On the order of his Gurudev Devarsi Narada, the scripture Srimad-Bhagavatam was given by Vedavyasa as the conclusion of his teachings. After giving the Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-gita, etc., the last gift of Vedavyasa in the world of scriptures was Srimad-Bhagavatam. And the message of the Bhagavatam is that beauty is above all—not knowledge or justice. Mercy is above justice. Affection, love, beauty, charm, harmony—these are above all, and this absolute conception of the ultimate reality is in the Krsna conception.

Beauty is above knowledge and power. Knowledge is above power, and above knowledge is beauty, charm, love. That is the supreme. Srimad-Bhagavatam has declared, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam: the Krsna conception of Godhead is the most original conception of the Absolute. This is the prime declaration of the Bhagavatam: the Lord, as Beauty, is above all. And below Him is awe, reverence, power, etc.

And Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanyadev pointed out, "Go to the beautiful—Reality the Beautiful—He is your highest attainment. Hanker neither for power nor knowledge, but hanker for service of the Beautiful, and thereby, you will be taken in and given entrance into the land of the Beautiful." This is the highest realization. Don't waste your energy by engaging yourself in any other pursuits, but go straight—jnana-sunya-bhakti. By the help of sadhu-sanga (associating with saintly persons), take the name of the Lord and try to march straight onwards to the Krsna conception of Godhead. Krsna consciousness is our highest achievement, and this is given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended, "Don't waste your energy for anything else. Utilize your energy for the Krsna conception of Godhead."

So we try to make our progress in this line, and at the same time we also ask our friends to try to embrace this life. The fulfillment of life for every particle of existence in this world can be found here.

March towards universal good. Wherever and whoever you are, it does not matter. Take your course towards Krsna consciousness. This is the highest fulfillment of the life for everyone. You are only to turn your face towards Him and march, and the Sweet Absolute, Sri Krsna, will welcome you. This is the campaign of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas.

Srila Rupa Goswami described Krsna in a scientific way: akhila-rasamrta-murttih. Our hearts are hankering for satisfaction and happiness of different types, but He is the emporium of all such rasas, flavors of ecstasy. All types of rasas are in Krsna and He is the personification of them all, so everyone can find his corresponding place in Him alone, and nowhere else. He is Krsna—akhila-rasamrta-murttih. All our necessary satisfaction is personified in Him. So only He can say, "Give up everything and come to Me, and you won't have to repent. You will find your highest satisfaction." No one else has ever said such a thing in any place. Only Krsna has said this, and Mahaprabhu pointed it out. "Go directly to that side and don't go any other way. March straight for the Krsna conception—that is your home.”

It is easy—it is difficult. Easy, because it is our inborn tendency. It is home. But now, we are far from home. It is home, my own, so there is hope that I may reach there one day. It is my home and I won't find satisfaction anywhere else, so I must go there, but I am far away from that home comfort. There is the difficulty—I have lost that land.

Simplicity is the first qualification. If you are really sincere, then automatically you cannot but come under the divine feet of Mahaprabhu, Sri Chaitanyadev. It is so plain and so unartificial. Love is a plain truth that should attract everyone. Even more than general love, Divine Love will attract all normal persons, it cannot but be. It is only necessary to be sincere and unprejudiced. The antithesis is the only thing drawing us back from God, otherwise it will be found to be the plane of universal love. And 'universe' does not mean to a particular part of the universe, but the whole. Love is coming from the Absolute.

"Is there such a fool in the midst of mortality in this world who will not worship He who even the immortal worship? It is a great wonder that there can be such a person who will avoid such worship just to undergo all the mortal sufferings."

Acintya-bhedabheda. Everything is His will, and it is the greatest adventure to search for Krsna, to search for the root of the whole infinite. It needs sufficient courage and preparedness to face the risk. To go to discover the North Pole or the highest peak of the Himalayas needs so much courage and involves risk, what to speak then of the courage necessary to find out the Absolute Cause of the Whole. Internal courage—spiritual courage—is necessary. We are to have soul's courage and have the confidence of deep faith. We are to understand the noble character of the faith within us. Without electricity we cannot have connection with the moon and other planets. Our hands and eyes cannot contact there. Faith can connect us with the farthest things. All other methods fail. Faith is substantial, it is not part of an illusion of the mind. The whole mind is a concocted thing: it is a source of forgery. Faith is not to be found there. Faith is a function of the soul.

We cannot even see what is within our own body without the help of some apparatus. Through faith, sraddha,the soul can approach and see the higher world.

By faith we can approach the highest, noblest thing, not by our hand or by the help of any mundane elements.

CONTENTS:

Preface

Part 1:
Searching for the Solution

Part 2:
The Vision of Goodness

Part 3:
Happiness in Higher Thought

Part 4:
The Happiest Form of Life

Part 5:
A Labour of Love

Part 6:
Homeward Bound

Part 7:
The Land of Beauty

Epilogue:
The Key to it All