But to come to the plane of ecstasy, we shall have to dive deep into reality. We must not be satisfied with the formal, the superficial. If we concentrate our attention on the outward form of a thing, neglecting its inner substance, then we shall find that we are looking in the wrong place. When Mahaprabhu would look at the Deity of Jagannathdev, apparently it seemed that His aim was fixed on the same thing we see when we look at the Deity. To our vision, however, the Deity of Jagannath is only a doll made of wood. And yet when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would fix His eye there, He would shed tears of joy, and His tears flowed in an incessant current. Where is His vision of reality connected? What we see as a wooden doll, He sees in a completely different way. And just by looking at that, an incessant current of tears pours from His eyes. Where is His connection with reality located? He is viewing things from the opposite side, from the subjective world.
So, how should we approach the Deity? When we have a look at the Deity, what should be our attitude? The Deity form of the Lord is not a mundane thing, and so we should learn the proper way in which to see the Deity. And more than this, we must try to look at this from the other point of view. As we are trying to see the Deity, He sees us. He has come down to help the fallen souls in this material world, and He has come down in such a way as to take us up to His domain.
Ramanuja has classified the expression of the Supreme Entity in five forms: Para, Vyuha, Vaibhava, Antaryami, and Archa. Para, the central conception of the highest entity; Vyuha, His extended self in different functions, in different figures; Vaibhava, His appearance in this mundane plane as Avatars like Matsya, Kurma, and Varaha; Antaryami, His presence in every heart and every soul, every conscious unit; and Archa, His appearance in the plane of our physical perception as the Deity. In His form as the Deity, I can touch Him, I can see Him, and I can serve Him. In a concrete form, He has come to help our understanding.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu looked at the Deity, and His eyes were flooded with tears. It is not that His eyes were fixed upon the superficial characteristics of wood when He saw the Deity form of Lord Jagannath, but He was connected on a vastly higher level with Krishna consciousness. His thoughts were deep with Krishna consciousness. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu thought, «Lord Jagannath has come here and is making arrangements to deliver millions of fallen souls, especially by extending His own prasadam to one and all in great magnitude. His magnanimous presence has manifested here for the relief of this world.»
And Krishna consciousness is the highest relief work. Our Guru Maharaj used to say that there is a famine of Krishna-katha. There is a famine at present. But is the world suffering from a lack of food? No. The world is suffering from the famine of Krishna consciousness, Krishna talk, Krishna-kirtan. So, we must try to open offices of food distribution so that we may distribute the food of Krishna consciousness to all souls. Mahaprabhu said, «Whoever you come across, talk of Krishna (yare dekha, tare kaha ‘Krishna’-upadesa).» Give them the food of Krishna consciousness, Krishna-katha. The world is filled with famine-stricken people. We must distribute food, give the life and breath of Krishna consciousness to whomever we meet by speaking about Krishna.
That was the feeling of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati, and Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj carried that out in the West. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta used to say, «I do not admit any other conception of famine. The only famine is that of Krishna-katha, Krishna-smrti, Krishna consciousness.» With such seriousness, he conceived of our necessity for Krishna consciousness.
Krishna is of vital importance to our existence. Only Krishna can give us vitality. And as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Krishna Himself distributes Krishna consciousness. Vasudev Ghosa says, therefore, «Sri Gauranga is my life and soul, my only vitality. If Gauranga had not come, how could I live? (yadi Gaura na hata tabe ki ha-ita kemane dharitam de) By His grace I have tasted such valuable food that without this, my life would be completely impossible.»
Krishna consciousness is the vitality of vitality. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad did his best to give Krishna consciousness to the people of India, and Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj distributed that vitality all over the world. It is by their grace and by the grace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself that so many have come to Krishna consciousness. Haridas Thakur once told Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, «By Your chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna, both the animate and inanimate world has been supplied with the food of Krishna consciousness. Whatever position they may occupy, their life is fulfilled. I heard of how, when You traveled through the jungle and chanted and danced, the elephants and tigers also danced and chanted the Holy Name of Krishna. What wonder, then, should there be if I say that the stones and trees have also attained their highest end — Krishna consciousness — when You are chanting. What an intense degree of Krishna consciousness has been produced here by Your chanting!»
But in order to chant the Holy Name of Krishna, something is required from our side also. Amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada Harih. We should resort to kirtan always, but our attitude should be as Mahaprabhu recommends: trnad api sunichena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena. Our attitude should be one of humility, and if we think that we are being done wrong, still we should be patient, and under no circumstances should we work for our own position and prestige; that should not be our aim.
When the lower stands against the higher, offence arises. That tendency should be shunned. Primary education is also education, but that should not compete with higher education; we must be careful about that. At the same time, the differentiation between higher education and lower education must be genuine. Still, primary education must not be thought of as the highest education. That will be dangerous. There is a saying in Bengali, «Alpa vidya bhayankari: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.» We must be careful about that; otherwise, our attitude will be suicidal. The question of offence arises whenever primary education stands against higher education. That sort of assertion is offensive.
Slow and steady wins the race. Our march towards the Infinite is a long journey, not a journey to be finished within a few hours, a few days, or a few years. And we have to adjust accordingly. It is not that we shall run quickly to make progress and then stop and sleep. It is a long way we shall have to go. We will only be successful if we develop humility — trnad api sunichena. We should not create any circumstance that invites resistance. Still, if any resistance unexpectedly approaches us, we should try our best to forbear. And we must always be conscious that our guardian’s eye is always over us, eager to help us in our campaign. We are not alone. We may go on confidently: there is a person above us to redress the wrong that may be shown to us, so we should not take the initiative.
We must not allow any ulterior purpose or temptation to induce us to give up our search for Sri Krishna. Let the satisfaction of Guru, Gauranga, Krishna, and the Vaisnavas be our only objective. Let no other element enter upon our path. Our purity of purpose must always be very scrupulously maintained. We should think, «Alone I shall go on with my duty. I won’t be always searching for someone to come and help me. Let them do their own duty. This is my duty.»
With this attitude we shall go on. With this sort of adjustment our concentration may become more intense, our confidence in Krishna will be increased, and our duty will be pure and clear. We should be conscious that hindrances and obstacles are almost sure to attack us, but we must deal with them with humility and forbearance. So this life is not a life of comfort.