When it comes to acquiring knowledge, there are two processes.
| The ascending process (?roha-panth?) | The descending process (avaroha-panth?) |
| The ascending process means trying to understand God through philosophizing, meditating, or speculating. |
The descending process means to gain knowledge through Guru, Sadhu and Shashtra. One simply hears from an authority, from the bona fide spiritual master and the scriptures. |
Brahma-samhit? (5.34) states about the ascending process:
panth?s tu ko?i-?ata-vatsara-sampragamyo
v?yor ath?pi manaso muni-pu?gav?n?m
so ‘py asti yat-prapada-s?mny avicintya-tattve
govindam ?di-puru?a? tam aha? bhaj?mi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, only the tips of the toes of whose lotus feet are approached by the yog?s and j??n?s, who travel for billions of years at the speed of the wind or mind.”
We all know how quickly the mind wanders between places and times. We may be in India but as soon as we think of say, New York, our mind instantly travels those thousands and thousands of miles and is in New York. 😯Â
The shloka explains that even if one travels at the speed of mind for billions of years, Krishna will still remain inconceivable. The word muni-pungav?n?m refers to a great thinker, not an ordinary man. Even if such a great thinker travels for millions of years at the speed of mind, he will still find the Supreme Person unknowable.
Yet Krishna is easy to obtain for anyone who never deviates from this path of Krishna consciousness. You may wonder why?
In Bhagavad Git? 8.14, it is said, Nitya-yuktasya yogina?: “Because such a person is constantly engaged in My devotional service, and I cannot forget him.” So this is the process. We have only to become submissive to attract the attention of God.
Srila Bhakti Siddh?nta Saraswati Goswami Mah?r?ja used to say,
“Don’t try to see God, but work in such a way that God will see you. God will take care of you. You don’t have to try to see Him.”
This should be our attitude. We should not think, “I want to see God. O God, please come and stand before me. Be like my servant.” But since God is no one’s servant, we have to oblige Him by our love and service.
We all know how difficult it is to meet the king or president of a country. It is practically impossible for an ordinary man to get an interview with such an important person, to say nothing of having this important person come and stand before us. Yet people are demanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead come and stand before them.
It is our nature to hanker after Krishna because He is the most attractive, most beautiful, most opulent, most powerful, most learned, and most famous person in the universe. Everyone hankers after these qualities, and Krishna is the reservoir of all these qualities, and He possesses them in full. Krishna is the reservoir of everything (raso vai sa?); therefore when we hanker after beauty or power or knowledge or fame, we should just turn our attention to Krishna. Then we will automatically get whatever our hearts desire.
Read The Path of Perfection Chapter 9 Destination After Death hereIntrigued? Want to know more?
Let’s look at some Readers’ Reviews!
The Path of Perfection explains the highest standard for human beings, the practice of the science of self-realization, bhakti-yoga. This book probes deeply the nature of consciousness, meditation, karma, death and reincarnation.Srila Prabhupada prescribes a simple process to purify the mind and elevate our consciousness. It not only assures readers inner peace but also has the power to change the chaotic trend of modern society.Ultimately, he describes in detail the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one can easily purify the mind. We can elevate our consciousness to a state of ultimate peace and happiness.The contemporary, thoughtful reader, weary of the many speculative, simplistic books cluttering the bookstore shelves, offering instant formulas for psychological or spiritual salvation, will find The Path of Perfection a welcome relief.
