Krishna Consciousness

Bhakti Yoga
ISKCON

The Vedas measure cosmic time. Four great ‘yugas’ - Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali - rotate in cycles, lasting millions of years. Kali-yuga is the last and ‘worst’ of the four, characterised by an overall rise in vice and a degradation of virtue. The current Kali-yuga began around 3200 BCE. These are the symptoms of ‘Kali-yuga’ (each of the four ‘yugas’ have their special traits), as stated by Sukdeva Goswami to Maharaj Pariksit, from ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ (1221): Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day, because of the powerful influence of this Kali-yuga.

‘Dharma’ indicates a respect for higher authority. That is what leads one to obey religious principles and that is precisely what is being diminished in Kal-yuga; ‘Kshyma’, Forgiveness, is diminishing because there is no practical method by which people can purify themselves and thus become free of envy; ‘Satyam’, Truthfulness, is diminishing because people don’t know the absolute truth…and are depending on hypothetical truths that are at the level of their own mind.

There is existential oneness and eternal connection of all human beings, through their common participation in the Devotional service to one great personality of ‘God head’. If that is not there then people are not inclined to be merciful to one another.

People do not realise that their self-interest lies in promoting the welfare of other living beings. 

Five thousand years ago, in the previous yuga, human beings, animals and plants were larger and stronger. In Kali-yuga the physical stature and strength have diminished.

‘Smriti’, Memory, is weakening. In the previous age, essential information and abiding wisdom were preserved without recourse to writing. (S.B. 1226) - while technology and bureaucracy predominate in Kali-yuga. 

In Kali-yuga a person is judged unholy if he does not have money. He is considered noble by the size of his wealth. Hypocrisy is judged as virtue. Marriage is arranged by simply a verbal agreement, forgetting its spiritual purpose. Sex is misunderstood; lusty men and women directly engage in sexual pursuits, without the formality and responsibility of a legal relationship. A child needs to be cared for by both his parents, and therefore it is natural for sex to be accompanied by a permanent marriage arrangement - so that a child may have the same loving father and mother throughout its life. Marriage is a fundamental human institution for the raising of a child. The purpose of human life is spiritual liberation, and marriage and child raising should be dedicated to that great objective. 

In Kali-yuga, man is considered a Brahmin just by his wearing a holy thread – the ‘janeu sutra’. Man thinks himself clean by just having a bath. Success in business depends on deceit. People are more busy making wealth than spending time on spiritual pursuits. Display of Spiritual symbols, like the wearing of a ‘tilak’, is disappearing. These are signs of increasing ‘atheism’.

How will you tackle the problems of Kali-yuga?

Krishna is the Vedic name for the Supreme Person, the source of all existence and the source of all pleasure. Krishna means ‘the all attractive’, as also ‘He who stops the repetition of birth
and death’. The practices of ‘Bhakti Yoga’ are meant to free us from the  root cause of all anxiety, by re-awakenIng our natural eternal Spiritual happiness. Vedas have prescribed Mantra-meditation for Kali-yuga. ‘Man-tra’ is a tool, to control and free the mind from anxiety. The Maha mantra, ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama...’ means ‘O all attractive, all pleasing One, O energy of the Lord. please engage me in your devotional service’. ‘Kirtan’  in Sanskrit means ‘to chant or glorify the name of God’. Kirtan is congregational; Japa is individual chanting. Mantra Meditation must engage the five senses....by gazing at the Krishna deity, verbalising Mantra, listening to the sound of Mantra, and moving the Chanting beads with a ‘mudra’ of the fingers and thumb. Worshipping the deity of Krishna is not idol worship. Since God is absolute, there is no difference between Krishna, his name and his form. Every human being must have a Guru, a spiritual teacher. When the student is ready, Krishna gives him a teacher; then the teacher leads him to Krishna. Finding the right Guru is serious business. Krishna speaks of himself in the Bhagavat Gita: ‘I am spread all over the universe in my impersonal self. But I am separate from everything. This is the philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference - heat is the energy of fire but it is not fire. Identifying with the body and material existence is considered as false ego. A materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Krishna. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his ‘nescience’  (darkness of ignorance). We try to achieve happiness with the help of the body and mind. Miseries are created by one’s mind and other entities, and natural disasters. By meditating on the name, form & activities of Krishna, one is freed from miseries of ‘maya’, the material world. Devotional service is done without any hope for gains or rewards. The goal is to be Krishna Conscious; the practice is to always stay conscious of Krishna. Krishna Consciousness means clear consciousness. Forgetfulness of the eternal relationship to God is the beginning of hazy consciousness. Krishna Consciousness. or Bhakti Yoga, is the culmination of all types of yoga: ‘Karma Yoga, Gyan Yoga and Dhyan Yoga’. Karma Yoga is ritualistic of the senses, Gyan Yoga is philosophical or speculative practices. Bhakti Yoga is pure devotional service, without speculation or the ritualistic. All ‘ fruitive ‘activities are ultimately rewarded by Krishna only. Hanuman is the ideal Icon for ‘Dasa Bhakti’, devotional service to Lord Rama. Once he had surrendered and offered himself to Rama, he remained in service to him for the rest of his life. Arjuna is ‘Sakha Bhakti’ - he remained a true friend and companion to Krishna. One is assured by the great sage Vyasadeva that one can realise the supreme personality of God directly by hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam. Krishna says in  Bhagvada Gita 1515” ‘By all the Vedas I am to be known, indeed I am the compiler of the Vedas and I am the knower of the Vedas’. The Vedas give us direction by which to understand Krishna. Self-realisation is the spiritual realisation of the soul, understanding Krishna and one’s eternal relationship with Krishna.  Vedic literature is meant to encourage gradual development of self-realisation. It is not possible for the common man in this age to follow all the rules & regulations of the Vedic rituals; they require much time, knowledge and resources. The best purpose of Vedic culture is served by chanting the holy name of the Lord. The best purpose of the Vedanta philosophy is also best served by inoffensively chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is the reservoir of ecstatic love!

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