Krishna Dharma's Blog

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: A Summary Study of Srimad-Bhagavatam’s Tenth Canto by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For most of us the term ‘Supreme Personality of Godhead’ is somewhat unusual. I know when I first encountered it I was bemused, wondering just who or what is a ‘Godhead’? Why not just God? Consulting the dictionary I discovered that Godhead means the ‘essential being of God’. This is precisely what Prabhupada intended to convey with his use of the term. There may be many names and forms of God, but Krishna is the original. He is the Supreme Being, the source of all other beings and indeed everything else in existence. One might take issue with this assertion, but a careful analysis of the facts should put the mind at rest. The Sanskrit word Krishna (Krsna) simply means ‘all attractive’, which surely must be God’s main attribute. All beauty, power, wealth, knowledge, wisdom and whatever else we find attractive have their source in him. This is what it means to be great, which most people will agree is the right word to apply to God.

Prabhupada’s book ‘Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead’ shows that greatness in all of its splendour. A summary of the tenth canto of the Bhagavata Purana, it chronicles the activities of Krishna when he appeared on earth 5000 years ago. From his mystical ‘birth’ in the sacred township of Mathura, to his life in the celestial city of Dvaraka lying within the ocean, we hear of his many wondrous deeds. Great demons are slain, barbarian armies of millions are destroyed, and the hand of many a beautiful princess is won. But over and above all of this are the divine displays of love between Krishna and his devotees. It is said that God will reciprocate with us in whatever way we desire, and this is demonstrated by Krishna as he takes on his various roles. Whether acting as a delightful infant, a perfect son, a dear friend, a dashing lover or a mighty hero, Krishna’s focus is always on pleasing his devotees. Although he is God he makes it clear that nothing gives him more pleasure than to serve his own servants. In these accounts we discover that God is not some old bearded man sitting in heaven, passing judgment on us sinful wretches. Far from it, he is eternally youthful, the very essence of grace and beauty, of gentility, humility, kindness, sweetness and love. Of course, he can also be pretty fierce and unassailable. It all depends on how one approaches him. He is ready for anything. Those who want to fight with him will get the opportunity. Krishna will go along with that quite happily, but don’t expect your head to remain on your shoulders for very long. God’s greatness includes very great power.

I have read this book many times and found something new each time. Deep, transcendental knowledge fills every page. I won’t say it is not a challenging read. Prabhupada laces the narrative with much philosophy to help us understand the profound significance of Krishna’s activities. Really Krishna has no interest in material enjoyment or politics or anything else that generally moves us mortals. His only interest is divine love, giving it to us and receiving it back. This is the secret of understanding Krishna. Each of us are meant for that love and we can begin to experience it as we turn these pages. Gradually our envy of God is dispelled as we realise that better than trying to take his place is to become his loving servant. Then he gives himself to us. It is true that God cannot be conquered by any power, but he agrees to be conquered by love, the greatest power.

This is a truly wonderful work, but to better understand the philosophical concepts it espouses I would also recommend that you read Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Then you can dive deeply into the divine ocean of Krishna’s transcendental pastimes, and leave behind this mundane sphere of struggle and pain.

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1)

namamisvaram sac-cid-ananda-rupam

lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

yasoda-bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam

paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya

I bow down to Damodara, the form of full joy,

eternity and wisdom, within Vrindavan.

Whose shining earrings swung as he so swiftly ran

from mother Yashoda who caught that naughty boy.

(2)

rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam

karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram

muhuh svasa-kampa-trirekhanka-kantha-

sthita-graivam damodaram bhakti-baddham

Captured by Yashoda, crying repeatedly,

he rubs his reddish eyes with his trembling hands.

On his conchlike neck his necklace shakes as he pants.

I bow down to Damodara, bound but by bhakti

(3)

itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde

sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam

punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

Thus bathing Gokula in a great lake of bliss;

he shows love defeats him, devoid of reverence.

Conquered only by those in complete confidence,

I offer him unlimited loving praises.

(4)

varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va

na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha

idam te vapur natha gopala-balam

sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih

I beg not from you Lord, who can grant any boon,

even liberation or life in your abode.

Let memories of Gopala be ever bestowed,

for what other favour offers such great fortune?

(5)

idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair

vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais ca gopya

muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me

manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih

Your dark, crimson hued curls encircle your face,

lovely like a lotus, with lips of ruby red;

kissed by Yashoda; within my mind be seated.

A billion other boons could not grant such grace

(6)

namo deva damodarananta visno

prasida prabho duhkha-jalabdhi-magnam

krpa-drsti-vrstyati-dinam batanu

grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah

O Damodara, Ananta, O almighty Vishnu,

I fall down prostrate, pray be pleased upon me.

Blinded and sinking in a sea of misery,

grace me with your glance that I shall ever see you.

(7)

kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat

tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca

tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha

na mokse graho me ‘sti damodareha

Dear Damodara, the sons of Kuvera you saved,

while a baby, by breaking the trees they became.

As you granted them prema, pray grant me the same,

I want not salvation, your love alone I crave.

(8)

namas te ‘stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne

tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne

namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai

namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

I bow down to the bright rope that binds your belly,

within which the cosmos is completely contained.

To your beloved Radha I bow yet again,

and to you the hero who plays wonderfully.

Perhaps one of the most poignant sufferings in society is the failure of human relationships. Recent government statistics reveal that some fifty percent of marriages are ending in divorce. Every day four thousand children call the charity Childline for help. All around us we can all see so many examples of strained and collapsed relationships, possibly even in our own lives. We so much want to enjoy our relationships, but so often they become instead the cause of our greatest pain.

What is the solution? Is it just an inevitable sign of the times; times when selfishness and materialism seem to be more and more vaunted in the media? We all have different interests, so in any relationship where both parties are self-interested there will surely be a clash sooner or later.

The desire for relationship is intrinsic to our nature. The Vedas explain that every living being has an eternal relationship with God. When we forget that we search elsewhere to satisfy our need to relate. But our love is really meant for God. We cannot be satisfied if we offer our love to someone else. Only the Lord, sitting in our hearts, knows how to fully reciprocate our love. How often in any relationship do we feel that the other person simply does not understand us?

Offering our love to God does not mean we cannot love other people. Indeed it means the very opposite. With God at the centre of our relationships they can become truly successful. And according to Vedic wisdom if we do not relate in this way then our so-called love for each other is really not love at all. It is simply mutual exploitation to fulfill selfish needs.

Take a conjugal relationship, for example. It may seem selfless, especially in the beginning when are very accommodating of our partner’s desires, but what is its basis? Why do we form such relationships in the first place? Simple, because we like each other. In some way or another our partner pleases us. But when that happy situation ends, the relationship will very likely go the same way. The very selfishness that brought us together will break us apart.

The same can be said of all relationships, if we examine them carefully. Even parent and child, perhaps the most selfless of all, has selfishness at its root. It begins with a desire to enjoy the pleasure of having children, but when child and parent disagree there is separation and heartbreak.

We may say no, this is not true, that I would sacrifice everything for my loved ones. Maybe, but what about someone else’s loved ones? Would I do the same for them? Probably not, because after all they are not mine. So really it is mine and thus ultimately me that matters most.

By placing God first in a relationship it will work. Then it is truly devoid of selfish exploitation. By loving God we develop love for all beings, as we are all part of the Lord. Love of God is the only pure and selfless emotion, and if we can centre our human relationships on this spiritual emotion they will become sublime and deeply rewarding.

As only God can ultimately satisfy us, by always trying to bring our loved ones closer to the Lord we show them the greatest love. By pleasing him in this way we will become pleased. But if we try to please ourselves or others separate from God we will only become frustrated. No amount of selfish sensual pleasure ever satisfies the soul.

The family that prays together stays together. By coming together for daily spiritual practises and helping each other on our spiritual paths we will grow closer and closer. As our love for the Lord increases so will our love for each other. Instead of competing together for our own self-interests we put the Lord’s interests at the centre. In this way we co-operate without conflict. With a common centre we can draw so many circles and they will not cut across each other. But with different centres even two circles will conflict.

So let’s find the love we are really looking for by loving the Lord together. Then so many social problems will be solved.

I reviewed the Sunday papers on the BBC this morning.

It’s at roughly 1hour 49mins

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7dj

Pause for Thought, BBC Radio 2, Sun 4th May

Recently I took delivery of a new mobile phone. Quite a complex affair, boasting a range of amazing new features. Being a typical male with a stubborn resistance to being told how to do anything, I tossed aside the instruction manual and set about figuring it all out. Soon I had managed to have a conversation with the phone itself, take a close-up photo of my hand, and record a short film of the clutter on my desk – but had not set up my speed dials, which is what I was attempting. Needless to say I ended up consulting the manual.

Sadly it is not only with phones that I have this problem of ignoring instructions. Although I daily study my scriptures I have to admit that I don’t always do what they say. As they say, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. However, the inevitable result is the same as with my new phone. I end up frustrated. But one lesson I have managed to learn over the years is that such frustration is a good thing, a sign that I am getting something wrong and, not connecting with the divine.

For me that connection is crucial to achieving peace and happiness. In truth we have little control over this world. Things so often don’t work out the way we hoped. We try our best, but ultimately there is a higher power in control. When we recognise and accept that control, life becomes so much easier. Martin Luther King used to say that when he faced a particularly difficult time he would spend an extra hour on his knees in prayer, rather than working longer and harder trying to solve the problems himself.

I see scriptures as divine instruction manuals. They guide us away from excessive materialism with all its attendant stresses and struggles, and toward the peace and happiness of spirituality. The real joy we seek lies within us not without. So in future I think I will try to check my massive male ego and stick to following the manual.

‘Pause for Thought’ broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on April 12

Power is usually seen as a means of control, but in the wrong hands it all too often goes out of control. Jimi Hendrix, that great peacenik of the 60s, said that when the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. Carl Jung also said that one was the shadow of the other, that where power rules love is lacking, and where love prevails there was no real need of power.

That seems to be true. I recall my days many years ago at a rather strict boys’ school, where different styles of class control were in evidence. Some teachers ruled with an iron hand which, in those pre health and safety days, occasionally connected with a recalcitrant ear. Of course, the fear they engendered largely served its purpose and kept us in our place. But in a passive aggressive manner, if only for the sake of our ears, we were always looking for opportunities to give them a hard time. On the other hand, those teachers who showed genuine affection for the students were treated with genuine respect.

The Mahabharata, a great moral teaching from Ancient India, says that power is actually meant to be a part of love; that it is meant only for protecting others, in particular those most in need of protection. It should never be used for any selfish purpose. This makes sense when seen from a spiritual perspective. After all, from where do we get our power? None of us are independently powerful – our power can be taken from us at any time, no matter how much we may have. Our strength, capability and very life itself are not under our control, what to speak of any position of any external power we may hold. There is a superior power above us, which is God.

And God’s power, according to the Mahabharata, is the power of love in action, directing us back to him where we will experience his love in full. So let’s use whatever power we have lovingly in his divine service rather than our own. I think then we will find the peace that Jimi mentioned.

He who listens every day to this oldest epic, composed by the sage Vālmīki, which is calculated to bestow religious merit, renown and longevity, and which lends support to the Vedas, is completely freed of sin. Kings will overcome their enemies and conquer the earth, men will overcome all difficulties and women will be blessed with excellent sons and grandsons. Those listening to this epic will receive from Śrī Rāma all the boons they desire. Through a hearing of this work all the gods are satisfied. One who keeps a copy in his house will find all his obstacles coming to an end. A man offering worship to and reading this historical work is completely rid of all sins and attains a long life; all the gods are thus pleased and one’s ancestors are gratified forever. Those transcribing this work with devotion are guaranteed residence in heaven, while those hearing it will secure the growth of their family and wealth, supreme happiness and the accomplishment of all their objects on earth.

Yuddha Kanda

The gods, Gandharvas, Siddhas and ṛṣis always listen with great pleasure to the Rāmayana in heaven. This legend is the bestower of longevity, the enhancer of fortune and the dispeller of sins. It is the equal of the Vedas. A man reading even a quarter of it is freed from all sins; indeed, even if one sins daily he is released from the reactions if he recites just one verse of the Rāmayana. A man gets the results of one thousand Ashvamedha sacrifices and ten thousand Vajpeya sacrifices merely by hearing this great work. He has visited all the holy shrines and bathed in all the sacred rivers. One who listens to the story of Śrī Rāma with full reverence roots out all sins and goes to the world of Viṣṇu. The Rāmayana is the unsurpassed form of Gayatri. By hearing it with devotion one will undoubtedly achieve liberation, along with many generations of ancestors. The exploits of Śrī Rāma are the bestower of all four of life’s objects—dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Hearing even one line of this work with full devotion guarantees one’s attainment of the world of Brahmā.

Uttarā Kanda

Find the Ramayana here

One major drawback of today’s IT systems is the de-personalizing of communications. When you are face to face with a person you try to display some decorum even when there are issues at hand. You tend not to vent your spleen in excessively harsh terms, not least because you may elicit a response in kind. However, when you face only a docile screen it becomes all too easy to let loose a tirade of vitriol that you may well regret in calmer moments of reflection. Especially if your acerbic comments have landed you in jail, as was the case recently with a couple of Twitter users found guilty of posting racist and inflammatory tweets.

We have probably all been there. Hitting the send button on an angry e-mail and quickly wishing we hadn’t. The Mahabharata says that ‘wordy arrows’ once released cannot be retracted, and that is particularly true when they are recorded in black and white for all to see, along with the magistrate you may end up facing.

The real problem is anger of course, the ‘enemy with the face of a friend’, as the Mahabharata says. We think that by giving someone a piece of our mind we will feel that much better, but actually we become as disturbed as the person we aim to castigate; especially when we add remorse to the equation. Then there is the pain we mete out to the recipient when we fail to own and express our anger responsibly. The Mahabharata says that, while ordinary arrows cut us once, the arrow of our words ‘burn the heart day and night.’ This is poignantly true when the heated exchange is between near and dear ones, as is so often the case. And sometimes it escalates to much more than a mere exchange of opposing views. The Mahabharata says that a person under the influence of anger can lose all sense and even kill his own father or son.

Harbouring anger in the heart is another problem, as it consumes us with negative thoughts. Lord Buddha said that retaining anger is like ‘holding a live coal intending to throw it at someone else.”

How though do we control the powerful emotion of anger? Perhaps it would help if we understood its causes. The Bhagavad-gita describes the dynamics of anger. It is said to be a corollary of lust, a secondary emotion coming after we are frustrated in some desire. Krishna explains how by contemplating sense pleasure we become attached, then lusty to enjoy what we contemplate, and this inevitably ends in frustration. Either we don’t get what we want, or we do and it fails to satisfy us, as material pleasures always will. This anger then leads to delusion, bewilderment and continued entanglement in Maya and her miseries.

The key then to reducing anger is to reduce our material attachments. The more we have the more often we will be liable to get inflamed. The Gita says that those of demonic mentality are constantly prone to anger due to “insatiable lust” and being “bound by a network of illusions”.

On the other end of the scale is the advanced devotee who does not experience material anger as he has no material attachments. He is also humble and meek and does not take personal offense even when affronted. Like everything else, he uses anger only in Krishna’s service. Srila Prabhupada writes, “A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Viṣhṇu or his devotee is insulted.” Unlike material wrath born of selfish desire, anger used in the Lord’s service is beneficial to all, being pleasing to Krishna.

Most of us are probably somewhere between the demon and the devotee, a work in progress as they say. We therefore need to manage our anger and indeed our attachments. Krishna therefore tells Arjuna how this is achieved. After explaining how anger is transformed lust, he says that lust must be kept in check by ‘regulating the senses.’ He goes on to describe how above the sense is the mind, above that is the intelligence, and above them all is the true self, the spirit soul. Therefore one needs only to engage in the regulated spiritual activities of Krishna consciousness and the senses are automatically controlled. Commenting on this Srila Prabhupada says, “That solves the whole problem.”

Of course, it takes time and practise, but Prabhupada assures us that ‘success is certain for the rigid practitioner.’ So the choice is ours. Become victims of lust and anger, along with all the dangers that this presents, or try our best to rise to the spiritual platform.

And I hope that doesn’t make you angry.

Krishna Dharma

There are now 2.5 million people unemployed in the UK. Those at least are the official figures. Over 7% of the workforce. It’s become a job in itself just looking for a job. Even the most qualified find it hard with one in ten graduates still failing to find a job a full year after graduating.

Economists and politicians will point to a host of possible causes, perhaps one main reason for labour not working might be our ‘labour saving’ technologies. My spiritual teacher Srila Prabhupada once said, “You have created a machine that can do the work of fifty men and now those fifty men are unemployed. Is this progress?”

Well, that’s how most of us see it. I guess it depends upon your paradigm. If you believe life to be about bodily enjoyment then you will likely view work as a bit of a problem. You want to free up time to relax and do things you enjoy, which is not usually work. Then there is the all important profit motive. If a machine is cheaper than manpower then that manpower will find itself added to the jobless stats. And so it is that a great welter of machinery has come into being, along with an equally huge mass of idle persons.

But has it made us happier? This is surely the critical question. For those in the dole queues the answer is not likely to be yes. ‘Unemployment depression’ is a recognised condition. And where work is scarce many of us are forced to do jobs we detest; again hardly a formula for a happy life or indeed a better society. Mark Twain observed that “the fellows who groan and sweat under the weary load of toil they bear never can hope to do anything great. How can they when their souls are in a ferment of revolt against the employment of their hands and brains? The product of slavery, intellectual or physical, can never be great.”

It is not only the direct misery of having no work or work you hate that is problematic; there is also the question of how to support those millions of out of work people. It certainly doesn’t make for easy economics. Still more social issues arise from the old idiom that an ‘idle mind is the devil’s playground’. With increasing numbers of unengaged and bored young persons hanging around on our streets, trouble is sure to follow. Especially when they become desperate for the cash they cannot earn.

The Vedic paradigm works on the assumption that human life has a higher spiritual purpose; that we are meant for self realisation. Actual happiness is derived from this direction, from inner contact with the spiritual, rather than from external sense pleasure. With such a paradigm and its attendant culture there is far less need to advance technology in order to increase material comfort. Those who are happy within themselves are less concerned with their worldly situation. Srila Prabhupada called this ‘simple living and high thinking.’

The simple life of Vedic society means one closer to the land; an agrarian lifestyle where most people grow their own food within local economies. We can easily produce everything we need in this way. The basic requirements of the body are analysed as eating, sleeping, mating and security, and these can be obtained without excessive hard work. Prabhupada would often point out that the animals have no industry and technology but still they obtain all the same necessities as us simply by nature’s arrangement. Life used to be like that everywhere, with everything produced more or less locally by local farms and traders. In many parts of rural India still one will find such a lifestyle where people hardly travel beyond the few villages in their immediate locality. And they certainly seem happy enough.

But human society is fast moving away from this kind of life. Local economies are being swallowed in the engulfing tide of globalisation. Great corporations and conglomerates are producing all our necessities, as well as a whole heap of not so necessaries, and all we can do is try to get a job with them so we can get the money to buy all that stuff. We find ourselves completely at their mercy in so many ways, dependent on fragile infrastructures and supply chains, along with volatile market forces controlled by cash hungry investors.

All this so called progress over the centuries has been driven by the belief that we can somehow improve our material sense pleasure. Atheism and a failure of religion to give people a real spiritual taste lies at its heart. It has been the march of ‘civilisation’ which Prabhupada simply dismissed as “sophisticated animal life”. Virtually all human endeavour now is about advancing material facilities. The idea that life is meant for self and God realisation is all but gone, along with the wonderful experience of pure spiritual happiness, far superior to any worldly joy. But only when we rediscover this spiritual pleasure can we reverse the materialistic trend that appears headed for disaster.

And it surely does seem that disaster looms. Unemployment with its attendant difficulties is just one of many social problems we have created. A host of environmental issues coming out of our new technologies now threaten our happy lifestyle, which is anyway not that happy with those pesky depression figures heading ever upward. In the UK, child and mental health service caseloads have risen over 40% over the last three years. One in ten 1 – 15 year olds has a mental health disorder and the UK has one of the highest levels of self harm in Europe. This has contributed to more and more alcohol and substance abuse and dependence. In Britain this alone costs around £39 billion per year. Then there is global poverty and starvation due to one side of the world exploiting the other for its resources. Meanwhile, in the bloated and spoiled developed world another burgeoning problem is family breakdown. In its report ‘Every Family Matters’, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) stated that one in three children born in the UK today will experience parental divorce. Which of course leads to so many other issues. And so it goes.

There is a crisis on our streets. In a recent speech to the Charities Parliament, the chairman of the CSJ, Iain Duncan-Smith said, “You are working in communities without hope. It is not that they have even known hope and had it taken away. Rather, the people in the communities you work with are quite literally without hope: they are hopeless.”

Prabhupada once said that in modern society we first of all put ourselves into anxiety and then we struggle to get out of it. “That is your heroism”, he said.

In a properly functioning Vedic society, examples of which are now very hard to locate, everyone is engaged according to their particular qualities, doing what they enjoy and can do well. There is no jostling for promotion and ever increasing salaries. People are satisfied due to their spiritual practise and they understand life’s goal, which is not ephemeral material pleasure and security, but eternal spiritual happiness. A house built upon rock rather than sand, as one Jesus Christ advised a long time ago.

It is a simple formula. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, “Grow food, worship me and work for my pleasure. Thus you will be happy in this life and the next.” It is time we put it to the test.

The Middle East has been receiving much Western attention of late. Now of course it is Syria, but not long ago it was Egypt where a similar furore arose during the much touted ‘Arab Spring’.

In the wake of that particular disturbance the Foreign Secretary William Hague did the diplomatic rounds of Arab nations. While there he made the usual Western calls for more human rights with some fine sounding rhetoric. “Freedom of assembly, the rule of law, freedom of speech, and free and fair elections – these are inalienable rights that are the building blocks of free and open societies.”

Well spoken sir. I guess we have all that here in our green and pleasant land, although some may argue, and most of us would no doubt hold that it needs to be diffused more widely across the globe, particularly in some eastern quarters.

I think I would also have to agree that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, based upon which such calls are made, could do with being a bit more universal in its application. Especially when it comes for example to statements like the first article, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

A spirit of brotherhood has been notably absent from too many places in recent years. Unless it means the kind of brothers who like to knock hell out of each other.

Which brings us to the next article. “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” Fair enough, but what exactly does that mean? Is it ever really achievable? Preservation of the body, even in those states where it is taken seriously, is never guaranteed. Our right to life is somewhat tenuous in this world with death our constant companion.

As for liberty, just what does that entail? We may be free to walk the streets and say our piece, and I for one am grateful for that, but are we liberated from the many miseries that afflict the body? We all face disease, anxiety, old age and all kinds of pain as we struggle to keep body and soul together. Okay, we have our health systems and hospitals and the like, but these are never going to eradicate the ills and tribulations of this life.

Our security of person is subject to powers over which we have very little control. We want to peacefully get on with life and suddenly civil war erupts around us, or maybe a neighbouring state or different ethnic group decides it is time we ceased to exist, and we are plunged into a living nightmare. Or perhaps an earthquake, tsunami or typhoon suddenly rears it awful head. Or a loved one dies, or maybe just good old cancer gets its malignant grip on us. We are surrounded by dark possibilities.

Hence we are forever plagued by anxiety – ‘what will happen?’ The Vedas say this is rooted in the fact that we are eternal beings in a temporary world. Everything is always changing and under threat. The very fact that we need a declaration of rights demonstrates that they are not assured; we have to fight for them. That may just be by going out to work every day to achieve some kind of secure existence, or it might mean a whole lot more, but without some kind of endeavour we will soon lose everything. But despite whatever we may attempt, lose it we must, sooner or later.

Unless that is, we discover the real meaning of our human rights. All of us have the intrinsic right to eternal life, freedom from death and suffering, and the everlasting security of divine shelter. This has been declared by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita. “The living being in this world is an immortal part of the Supreme Spirit. Only due to illusion does he struggle in material existence.”

Really our demand for rights is about happiness. We don’t want anyone to impinge upon our ability to enjoy life. But the most serious impingement arises from our own ignorance, from not knowing who we really are, where we belong and how to get there. Even if we do finally succeed in establishing the ideal of fairness and universal rights throughout the world, it is still not our real home and as long as we remain here we will be obliged to undergo constant agonies of one sort or another.

We therefore have to strive for actual liberation, which means freedom from material bondage, or in other words illusion. The pains of this world are no more real than those seen in a dream. Everyone has the right to realise this truth and the right to be established in undying happiness which is the intrinsic nature of the soul. That is freedom.

Until we achieve pure transcendental consciousness, no longer identifying with the temporary body and all its attachments, we are not free. And that consciousness means reaching the kingdom of God, as Krishna declares in the Gita. “One who attains my eternal abode never again experiences suffering.”

Perhaps someone should tell our well meaning leaders.