Cause of all Causes

Cause and Effect are the natural phenomenon in this material world. Every Cause is followed by an Effect and every Effect has a Cause. This phenomenon of cause and effect is explained in Vedic texts as well as in the modern science alike. Newton's law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and similarly in Vedanta Sutra, the Cause and effect phenomenon is explained in great detail. Knowing this truth, we generally tend to look at the cause and effects with our limited vision and blame or praise certain cause for the effects that we may enjoy or suffer during the course of our journey through life. For example, if we obtain something desirable, for instance, if we obtain a promotion, we give the credit to our boss and think that it is because of him alone that we are getting this raise, or some others think that because of their performance alone they are getting this promotion. Similarly when we obtain something undesirable or if someone has broken our heart, we tend to blame the other person of being the cause of this sorrow that we are getting.



It indeed is true that our boss or our performance did play a significant role in getting us the promotion or the person who broke your heart certainly played a vital role in your sorrow. But they are not the causes of it; they merely are instruments through which we receive the so called sorrow or happiness. They are the immediate causes that come to our mind for the effect we are experiencing. Brahma Samihata verse 5.1 explains that the cause of all causes is the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krsna.

isvarah paramam krsna

sac-cid-änanda-vigraha
anädir ädir govinda
sarva-karana-karanam [ B.s. 5.1]

" Krsna who is known as Govinda  is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."

     What does it mean when we say cause of all causes? Cause of all causes means that whatever we see in our purview is emanating from Lord Sri Krsna. So some may ask then what is the cause of Sri Krishna, that is why the verse mentions anadir adir govinda, which means Govinda, or Lord Krsna is the cause of all causes but he has no cause he is svarat or independent. We the living entities have been conditioned by material nature to always think in terms of cause and effect within the limits of time. We do not have the conception of eternality. That is the reason we always think of everything as being born and everything will be destroyed, though this is true in connection to this material world, this is not true to a parallel existence beyond this material world which is called as spiritual world, though the information of the spiritual world is unknown to the modern science, nevertheless descriptions have been mentioned in the Vedic literatures regarding the nature and quality of the spiritual world. Lord Sri Krishna briefly mentions about the spiritual world in the fifteenth chapter of Bhagavad-Gita as,

na tad bhäsayate süryo
na sasanko na pävaka
yad gatvä na nivartante
tad dhäma paramam mama [ B.g. 15.6]

"That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world."

    As per the verse in Brahma Samhita, Lord Sri Krsna is the supreme cause of all causes. That means whatever good or bad we receive in our lives has its root cause coming from Lord Sri Krishna. But of course that should not mean that we blame Krishna of everything that goes wrong in our lives and for whatever good we obtain we praise him a little but within we believe that we are the cause of that. Although the ultimate cause in undoubtedly Lord Krishna, the respective happiness or sorrow which we receive in the material world is not his wish, whatever we received is based on our immediate cause, i.e. our actions. As per the law of Karma we shall reap what we sow, that is sure, but the cause of that law is Lord Krishna, hence the cause of all causes is Lord Sri Krishna.



With a simple example we can explain the above facts. In today’s modern world, advancement of technology and machinery is of a great amazement to common mass of people and often people, who are not well versed with science of God, conclude that man's intelligence surpasses everyone and hence human intelligence can make everything possible, there are attempts to scientifically create life also, although they have not been successful. In short with advancement in technology modern man is trying to compete with God. This foolish proposition is a result of lack of knowledge about the greatness of God and ignorance of the fact that he is the cause of all causes. Even though man has become successful with much advancement in technology and science, but the prime questions is who the cause for developing human intelligence is. Certainly human beings have not developed intelligence in laboratories, moreover when the child is in mothers womb, the developments of the child taking place in mothers body in an organized manner at perfect times without any external assistance should convince any sane man on God's wondrous and perfect workings. Exactly after 8 weeks child’s hands and legs begin to form, after a period of 9 months the baby is intelligent enough to know that it is time for it to come out of the womb and makes attempts to break free. So the question may arise as to who is the cause of this intelligence?



The astonishing achievements in technology and machinery requires lot of material things, like computers require iron, plastic etc. we get all these from nature and nature is one of the energies of God as mentioned by Lord Sri Krishna himself in the Bhagavad-Gita . Hence the ultimate cause is Sri Krishna.

mayädhyaksena prakåti
süyate sa-caräcaram

hetunänena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate [B.g. 9.10]


" This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunté, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."


     So if one gets a promotion or if someone breaks your heart, one must remember, that the person who has become an instrument in these effects is not the ultimate cause, though we appreciate their contribution, we must always remember the cause of all causes is Lord Sri Krishna. The so called happiness or sorrow that one receives in this world is result of our own activities, but it is comes to us in different ways and through different mediums, And if one remembers always that Lord Sri Krishna is the enjoyer, proprietor and a very compassionate friend of all, one can understand that so called temporary happiness and sorrow of this world has no meaning. With the firm belief and trust on the judgment of the most compassionate friend Lord Sri Krishna, a person surrendered to the Lord takes every event of his life as a lesson knowing that God, will always want good for him. Lord Sri Krishna Himself mentions this in the 5th chapter of Bhagavad-Gita



bhoktäram yajna-tapasäm
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrd sarva-bhütänäm
jnatva mäm santim racchati [ B.g. 5.29]

" A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries."


Further He concludes,

sarva-dharmän parityajya
mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja
aham tväm sarva-päpebhyo
moksayisyämi mä sucau [ B.g. 18.66]

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."


      Like a concerned father in asks his sons and daughters to take shelter of him unconditionally in love and he will save his devotee from all the dangers, and in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Sri Krishna Himself descended on this material world 500 years ago to show the people in general who had misunderstood his instruction in Bhagavad-Gita, on how to surrender to Krishna. To make things easy for the current fallen Age of Kali, he inaugurated the simplest form of process to surrender in love by chanting the holy names of God Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, which is joyfully performed by any kind of human being irrespective of caste, creed, sex, nationality, birth or status.

Arjuna's Bewilderment

It seems every Indian thinks the most important thing Krishna stresses in the Bhagavad-gita is that “You should do your duty.” Krishna's instructing Arjuna to do his duty as a ksatriya and fight in the battle is certainly a very strong theme in Bhagavad-gita:


tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ

"Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt." (Bg. 8.7)

Arjuna is a ksatriya, a fighter, and therefore his duty is to fight. All political avenues have been explored and there is no alternative to the fight. Therefore it is Arjuna’s duty to fight. And Krishna is instructing him to fight. The situation is quite difficult for him however because practically speaking all the soldiers on the battlefield on both sides are Arjuna's friends and family members. Therefore in the beginning Arjuna becomes bewildered.

Although Arjuna knows it is his duty to fight, when he is seated on the chariot in the middle of the two armies, Pandavas on one side and Kurus on the other side Arjuna looks everywhere on both sides and sees only friends and family members and his teachers. Everyone is related to him in some way. So he thinks that if they fight this will be a great disaster and even if he is victorious in the battle because so many friends and family members will be killed on both sides. Arjuna is feeling that his life would not be worth living, even though he may be victorious in the battle. So he decides, “Krishna I shall not fight.” And he proposes going to the forest and living under a tree as if he give up the fight his reputation as a great fighter would be spoiled as everyone would think that he fled from the battlefield in fear of being killed after seen the very strong army of the Kurus.

In this position Arjuna is completely bewildered and he does not know what to do. So he surrenders to his friend Krishna. The relationship between Krishna and Arjuna changes at this moment. In the beginning of the discussion they were friends, but Arjuna becomes bewildered and does not know what to do so he accepts his friend Krishna as his spiritual master, as his guru and surrenders to Him.

kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ
yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi tan me
śiṣyas te ‘haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam

"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me." (Bhagavad-gītā 2.7)

So you see what has happened here. Krishna has instructed Arjuna that he should do his duty as a Ksatriya and fight. But Arjuna realized that if he does that then it will be disastrous for his friends and family who will mostly all get killed. So Arjuna is thinking that it would be better for everyone if he did not do his duty. Then the battle would not take place and his family members would not be killed.

Arjuna says here that he is confused about his duty. So the real point here is that Arjuna does not know what his duty is so is surrendering to Krishna and saying to Krishna “Please instruct me.” Arjuna is now Krishna's disciple, a soul surrenderd to Krishna and he will now do whatever Krishna tells him to do.

So the actual central point of the Bhagavad-gita, is really to surrender to Krishna in the mood of Arjuna, “Please instruct me.”

At this point it does not matter what Arjuna thinks is his duty. Actually at this point Arjuna is completely confused about his duty. On one hand he knows that he has the duty as a ksatriya and he should fight but on the other hand he has another duty to his friends and family and does not want to see them killed. So Arjuna is confused about his duty. So Bhagavad-gita is not actually about “doing your duty.” Arjuna does not even know what his duty is, so how can he do his duty? Many of us are also in the same position. We are confused about our duty.

The message of Bhagavad-gita is surrender to Krishna and get Krishna to instruct us, “please instruct me,” to let Krishna claify to us what is our duty.

It is not that we know what our duty is and Bhagavad-gita is telling us that we must do that. No. Bhagavad-gita is telling us to surrender to Krishna and let Krishna instruct us as at to what our duty is. Of course in Arjuna's case he was speaking with Krishna directly, but for us Krishna advises that we approach Him through His bona fide spiritual master and the spiritual master can let us know what we should do, what is actually our duty. Of course we can also hear from Krishna and from Sirla Prabhupada and from a careful study of Bhagavad-gita a thoughtful person can conclude what is his duty. Krishna will speak to him and Prabhuapda will speak to him...

These things can be discussed very elaborately and for a long time but really the Indian idea that Krishna is telling Arjuna to do his duty is a very superficial understanding of the Gita. It is true of course. Because when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna Krishna does instruct him to fight. But Krishna could have also instructed Arjuna to leave the battlefield and Arjuna would have done that also if that is what Krishna wanted him to do. The point is Arjuna accepted Krishna as His spiritual master and agreed to do whatever Krishna instructed him to do. Arjuna surrenderd to Krishna.

So the real point of Bhagavad-gita is surrender to Krishna. Not doing one’s duty. Actually one's duty is to surrender to Krishna and Krishna actually concludes His instructions to Arjuna in the Gita by saying exactly this:

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66)

This is a very radical way really for Krishna to conclude His instructions in the Bhagavad-gita with. In India and all over the world they have invented so many dharmas, or occupations, or religions and Krishna is concluding here that Arjuna should give up all these dharmas or religions and simply surrender unto Him. So this is Krishna's real message, the real conclusion of Bhagavad-gita. Surrender to Krishna. This is the main message.

This is adapted from Srila Prabhuapda's Bhagavad-gita As It Is. If you do not have the book please get it and read it from:
http://krishnastore.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-with-bonus-dvd-h-krishna-407.html

If you have questions and comments on this email then rather than replying to the email directly please post them on the article at:
http://krishna.org/arjunas-bewilderment/
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
http://www.krishnastore.com/

Blind Man carrying the Lame Man

The Founder Acarya of International Society for Krsna Consciousness, His Divine Grace A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, used to often give this example of a Blind Man Carrying the Lame Man to stress on topic of co-operation. A man who is blind cannot see and a lame man cannot walk. So if both of them combine and the Blind Man carries the Lame man on his shoulders, the Lame man can show him the direction by which both of them can use what they have and become successful in achieving what they lack. Srila Prabhupada used to site this example in connection with combining the efforts of materially advanced nation like United States of America and spiritually advanced nation like India. If both of them utilize their expertise in helping each other they can combine to become a very powerful force in the world.

Lord Krishna informs us in Bhagavad-Gita that the material body is the covering of the soul which is moving the material body.

väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya

naväni gåhëäti naro 'paräëi

tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny

anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé [B.g. 2.22]

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones".

Just like a car is moving because of the presence of a driver, similarly the body is animated because of the soul within the body. The presence of the soul can be perceived by the presence of Consciousness all over the body, In other words the body is conscious because of the soul. This can be validated by studying the dead body, all the organs in a dead body are same as that of a living body, but since the soul has left the body there is no consciousness in a dead body. The presence of soul in a body is debated and some accept it and other don't, but as far as Bhagavad-Gita is concerned, it is clearly stated that, soul is the primary cause of consciousness and that is our real identity. The soul is a part and parcel of God and it cannot be destroyed by any means.

na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin
näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù

ajo nityaù çäçvato 'yaà puräëo

na hanyate hanyamäne çarére [B.g 2.20]

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."

So our real identity is that we are spirit souls and part and parcel of God and not the material bodies. Even the dimensions of the soul have been mentioned in various other Vedic texts


bälägra-çata-bhägasya
çatadhä kalpitasya ca
bhägo jévaù sa vijïeyaù
sa cänantyäya kalpate [Svetasvara Upanishad 5.9]

"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul."

If one is real researcher and wants to know the truth and studies these Vedic literatures with an unbiased mind, he or she will find out very interesting facts about life and which will drastically change the perspective of an individual about life and things around him or her.

So coming back to the topic, modern civilizations are highly advanced in technology, which is primarily meant to provide comfort to the material body, it is good to have these facilities indeed and the progress done in this regard is truly appreciable. The material body as mentioned in Bhagavad-Gita as a covering of the soul and is a machine which helps the soul to conduct itself in this world, but by making the machine comfortable will not make the soul happy. Just like polishing the cage nicely and decorating it with flowers but neglecting the bird within the cage and not feeding it will eventually lead to the death of the bird and without the bird the nicely decorated cage has no value. Similarly, as per the Vedic Literatures, Spirit soul within the material body is the actual self and not the body, our misidentification with the body and only taking care of the body, will soon lead to dissatisfaction of the soul leading to its unhappiness. This is the reason why in today's world, we find materially developed countries , even though they have ample of money have one of the highest rates of suicides and mental disorders like depressions and that is the major cause of many deaths. One who neglects the interest of the soul and only cares for the body is a Blind man. Hence it is very important for every human being to inquire about the soul with open mind and try to understand the science behind it, in order to see properly.

On the other hand, developing countries, like India, though they have the required spiritual knowledge struggle economically. If the body is not fit to work, the soul cannot work properly; hence it is also important to take care of the body sufficiently. Though body is less important than the soul, but it has to be maintained for the soul to carry out its business in this world. Hence such a person who is hampered materially is a Lame Man, who cannot walk properly. Vedic culture in India, has answers to all the problems in the world and can guide the whole world, to peaceful situation, with its advanced spiritual science and knowledge on the other hand developed nations with advanced material science can join hands to explore and research the truths embedded in these ancient texts using the latest technologies to educate the people all over the world. Such a co-operative spirit will surely bring peace to the world. Thus if the Blind man (materially advanced nations) carry the Lame man, like India on their shoulders, both of them will be benefited.

Some efforts have been made in this direction and institutions like ISKCON are practical examples of this co-operation, however, the number is very small. Unfortunately, in this age of quarrel know as Kali Yuga, people are more inclined towards material advancement rather than spiritual knowledge. This is evident from the fact, that even though India has got a wealth of spiritual knowledge, now a days, the leaders are inclined more towards, material prosperity, trying to follow in the footsteps of materially advanced nations, the young generation of this country is slowly forgetting the spiritual heritage and taking to modern ways, in short, the lame man is trying to become blind also. Hence there is a great need for everyone to understand the importance of spiritual knowledge and study Vedic literatures, like Bhagavad-Gita, with an unbiased mind, from a bonafide teacher to understand the intricacies of life and its purpose. With the purified mind one must try to understand the spiritual self and make his or her life successful and in this age of Kali the best way to purify as mentioned in the scriptures is to chant the holy names of God, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare.

harer näma harer näma
harer nämaiva kevalam
kalau nästy eva nästy eva
nästy eva gatir anyathä [C.c. Adi, 17.21]

“‘In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.’