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Published on August 14th, 2022 | by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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Shutting Your Eyes Is No Solution

You do not require to shut your eyes. There are so many beautiful girls sitting. I do not require to shut my eyes. If my mind is concentrated on the beauty of Krsna I can see these beautiful girls as Krsna’s gopis. That is another vision. So artificially if I close my eyes and if some beautiful girl is in my imagination even after closing my eyes here, what is the use of closing your eyes?

Bhagavad-gita 5.26-29 — New York, September 1, 1966

Prabhupada: “Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.” So first thing is that suppose somebody speaks of me very harshly. Naturally we become angry. Just like somebody calls me, “You are dog,” or “you are hog.” But if I am self-realized, if I know perfectly well that I am not this body so you call me hog, dog, or king, emperor, majesty, what is that? I am not this body. So either you call me, “Your majesty,” or you call me a dog or a pig, what I have got to do? I am neither his majesty nor a dog nor a cat:nothing of the sort. I am servant of Krsna.

So this requires little training. Actually this is the fact. Suppose I have got some dress, black dress. Somebody calls, “You black dress,” is that cause of anger? Somebody calls you black dress. So this is simply my false identification with the dress that I become angry. Actually if I am self-realized, self-disciplined… Self-discipline means not to identify with this body.
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That is self-discipline. It requires training of course. Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches therefore, trnad api sunicena. That a smaller than the smallest grass. Actually if I realized what is the spiritual dimension, actually my dimension, length and breadth you cannot measure because I am actually a very small spiritual particle. You cannot measure one ten-thousandth part of the tip of your hair. That is my measurement. So if I am smaller than the grass, that’s a fact. I am still smaller, smaller, I do not know how smaller but I am thinking of this body. An elephant is thinking that “I am so big,” or a man is thinking, “I am so big,” ant is thinking, “I am so small.” This smallness, bigness is due to this body. Therefore in Bhagavad-gita you will find, panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]. One who is learned he does not see the small body or big body. He sees the particle of soul, spirit soul, therefore sama-darsinah. He knows that the small particle of spirit is there in the ant and in the elephant. Therefore he sees the elephant and the ant on the same level, on spiritual vision, not on this external vision. This is called self-realization.

Self-realization you have heard so many times. What is that self-realization? Self-realization means I am not this body, I am spirit soul. That is self-realization. So if I am smaller than the grass then if somebody says that “You are lower than the grass,” or “You are smaller than the grass,” that’s a fact. So sometimes this insulting words may come from others but if you are self-realized you know that I am not this body. So let him insult. Let me tolerate. Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches that taror api sahisnuna. Toleration like the tree. Best example. You cannot find any tolerant living entity than a tree because it is standing day and night in scorching heat, in severe cold, there is wind, there is rainfall, it does not not make any protest:standing tolerant. People are taking leaves, flowers, fruits, cutting, and never protests. This is a symbol of toleration. Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommends that you become tolerant than the tree and smaller than the small grass on the street and you give all honor to others and don’t expect any honor. Because people do not know how to honor me. Real honor is that you are servant of Krsna. That is real honor. And if I say, “Your majesty, your honor, your lordship,” they are all false. Real honor is when I call you that you are servant of God or servant of Krsna. That is real honor.

So self-discipline and constantly endeavoring for perfection. This is the perfection. Always be situated in self-realized condition that I am not this body. This is perfection. Actually it is. But due to my ignorance I am identifying with this body, therefore I am now self-realized. So constantly endeavoring. This cannot be attained all of a sudden. One has to practice. It is a fact. But one has to realize this fact by endeavoring. That is Krsna consciousness practice. All the yoga practice or philosophical speculation or anything:all practice targets to one point:that I am spirit soul. Aham brahmasmi, I am Brahman. I am not this matter. This is perfection. A man who has made sufficient progress to this realization is more perfect. This is the way of perfection. And assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future. One has simply… If I am realized then this material composition of this body is disbursed and I am the spirit soul, small particle, I am immediately promoted to the spiritual sky. That is the highest perfection. In the spiritual sky either you remain as a small spark of spirit soul, molecules. Just like there are millions of molecules of shining matter in the sunshine. So if I remain as molecule in the brahmajyoti, that is also possible. The impersonalist wants that. Or if I enter into some spiritual planet and associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead that is also another spiritual existence. Although both of them are spiritual existence, this spiritual existence is impersonal. To remain as molecular part of the Brahman rays or spiritual rays, that is impersonal. And to have a spiritual form just like Krsna and Visnu, that is another spiritual perfection. That is Vaisnava philosophy.

And nirvana, nirvana, the Buddha philosophy is just above the material conditional life but on the margin of spiritual existence. That is… Nirvana means void of material existence. Nirvana, this impersonal conception is also nirvana. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that this impersonal philosophy is another phase of the void philosophy. Veda… Covered void philosophy. Impersonalism is covered void philosophy. They are all the same. Sankara’s philosophy of impersonalism and Lord Buddha’s philosophy void is almost the same.
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Real life, real spiritual life is this Vaisnava philosophy. Vaisnava philosophy, to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like we are sitting here face to face. We are talking, you are hearing. You can have this perfection. That is personal conception of spiritual perfection. Go on.

Devotee: Verses 27 and 28. “Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils:thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.”

Prabhupada: Now here is a hint of the yoga practice, shutting out the external sense objects. This is another process. But the bhakti-yoga process is automatically yoga process. Here it is said, “shutting out all external sense objects.” Sense object, what is that sense object? Just like I want to see some beautiful woman or beautiful man. I want to smell some nice flower or scent. The flower is the sense object, woman is the sense object. There are so many sense objects. We have got five senses and there are five objects also. Otherwise what is the use of sense? Now this yoga practice is to withdraw the senses from the sense object. But the bhakti-yoga process is that if I do not like to see artificially the beauty of woman or man, if I try to see the beauty of Krsna, naturally my, this propensity of seeing beautiful man or woman becomes extinguished. You do not require to shut your eyes. There are so many beautiful girls sitting. I do not require to shut my eyes. If my mind is concentrated on the beauty of Krsna I can see these beautiful girls as Krsna’s gopis. That is another vision. So artificially if I close my eyes and if some beautiful girl is in my imagination even after closing my eyes here, what is the use of closing your eyes?

So by force you cannot control the senses. That is not… This is… There are many instances. Even great yogis they have failed. This is artificial way of controlling the senses. The real sense control is that you purify your sense in the activities of Krsna consciousness. That is real sense control. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Hrsika means senses and hrsikesa means Krsna. When you apply your senses for satisfaction of Krsna, then it is called bhakti. And when your senses are engaged in the service of Krsna it cannot be engaged otherwise. Otherwise the sense will be engaged in the sense objects. Therefore there is failure. Those who are not engaged in Krsna consciousness, simply artificially trying, they fail. Visvamitra Muni, Durvasa Muni, there are many great instances. These are artificial. But that is a process recommended. We may be successful to a certain extent but in this age it is very difficult to practice such things. Nobody can practice how to control the senses from the sense object.

So you have to employ your senses in the service of the owner of the senses. Krsna is the owner of the…, Hrsikesa, the lord of the senses. That people they do not know. I am thinking that this is my eye, these are my eyes. But actually these are explained in the Upanisads. Just like the sunshine. When the sun sees you, you can see the sun. Now at night the sun does not see you so you cannot see the sun. You cannot see the sun, you cannot see anything because the sun does not see you. Similarly the Upanisad says when Krsna sees you or Krsna sees, then you can see. Just like I have got these spectacles. The spectacle is not seeing, my eyes are seeing, therefore spectacle is seeing. Similarly, actually all the senses are acting because Krsna is acting. As soon as Krsna desires that these senses will not work, it will not work. So in spite of your claim that this is my hand, this is my eyes, this is my mouth, it will not work.

So the people they do not know. The bhakti-yoga practice says hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. When you employ your senses in the service of the proprietor of the senses, that is called bhakti. That is called bhakti. So that is real yoga, bhakti-yoga. Otherwise artificially if you try, one or two may be successful but mostly they will fail. Go on.

Devotee: “Verse 29: The sages, knowing me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

Prabhupada: Yes, this is the summary that the sages… Sages means those who have undergone austerities, penance, and many tribulation for attaining perfection, they are called sages. “The sages knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of sacrifice.” Now if you perform austerities and penances that is a kind of sacrifice. But yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find these are explained that yad icchantah. Simply by desiring to go back to home, back to Godhead one is supposed to follow the vow of brahmacari.

Brahmacari, to live the life of celibacy, this is called brahmacari. So it has got so nice effect that if anyone from the birth to the death simply observe this life of celibacy he is sure to go back to home. Simply by observing one rule: yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti. It is so nice, brahmacarya. So this is sacrifice. Sacrifice means my senses dictate that “You enjoy,” but I am not enjoying. I am not enjoying. This is sacrifice.

So the ultimate end of, ultimate purpose of sacrifice is Krsna. So one who knows, “The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets…” We are electing president, kings, and so many things, but actually the proprietor is Krsna or God. So one should know it. All demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities. In the Vedas it is said eko bahunam vidadhati kaman. Now the state is arranging for supplying the necessities of the citizens. How many? The human kind only. But does it mean that the human kind is the only living entities in this world? There are many millions and thousands of living entities besides the living, er, human kind. So who is supplying them necessities of life? Therefore well-wisher of all living entities. You can supply food to certain limited number of living entities but Krsna or the Supreme Lord is supplying food to millions and trillions of living entities within the sky, within the water, within the mountain, within the forest. Who is going to supply them? So therefore He is real well-wisher of all living entities. Why not for you?

Therefore those who are actually saintly person they simply depend on Krsna. Why? If Krsna is supplying food to the elephant, beginning from the elephant to the ant, why not to me? I am engaged in His service. He is so ungrateful? If you serve… If you render some service somewhere he pays you, gives you some wages. So if you are engaged in Krsna’s service do you think you will starve? Why? You cannot starve. He is well-wisher of all living entities. Why not for you? This confidence must be there. If He is well-wisher for everyone and I am engaged in His service, He is not my well-wisher? So we should simply depend on Krsna. We shall simply exert our all energies for the service of Krsna, everything will be all right. This is called surrender, this is called confidence.

Krsna will supply everything. Let me engage in His service. Well-wisher. “Attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” And those who are not confident that Krsna will protect me, they are in pangs and “Oh, what shall I eat? Where shall I live? What can I do? How shall I protect?” They are always, because…
Therefore the other day I cited the verse from Yamunacarya. Bhavantam evam ciram nirantaram prasantam nihsesa gato rathan(?)… Just like the child. The child in the lap of the mother is confident that “My comfort, my food, my dress, everything is there. My mother is there.” So natural. Not only human being, even cats and dogs where the mother is there, she is there. It knows that “My protection is there,” confident. As soon as one grows, keeps away from the mother, from the father, the so-called independence. Actually we are dependent on Krsna. He is supplier. He is giving us food, everything. So we must have confidence. That’s all. That is training. That is Krsna conscious. Our only business should be simply to serve Krsna. Then everything is there. Go on.

Devotee: “Purport: The conditioned souls within the clutches of illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material world. But they do not know the formula for peace which is explained in this part of Bhagavad-gita. The peace formula is this: Lord Krsna is the beneficiary in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service of the Lord because He is proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon. Nobody is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of demigods, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Under the spell of illusion living entities are trying to be lords of all they survey but actually they are dominated by the material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of material nature and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of that nature. Unless one understands these bare facts it is not possible to achieve peace in the world either individually or collectively. This is the sense of Krsna consciousness, that Lord Krsna is the supreme predominator and that all living entities, including the great demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect peace only in complete Krsna consciousness.

This Fifth Chapter is a practical explanation of Krsna consciousness, generally known as karma-yoga. The question of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can give liberation is answered herewith. Working in Krsna consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the Lord as the predominator. Such work is not different from transcendental knowledge. Direct Krsna consciousness is bhakti-yoga and jnana-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga. Krsna consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one’s relationship with the Supreme Absolute and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Krsna or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with maya, illusion, due to the desire to lord it over maya and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Krsna consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced the more he is free from the clutches of matter. There is no partiality of the Lord toward anyone.
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Everything depends on one’s own practical performance of duties in Krsna consciousness. This performance in every respect should be to control the senses and conquer the influence of desire and anger and remaining in Krsna consciousness by controlling the above-mentioned passions, one remains factually in the transcendental stage or Brahman nirvana. The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Krsna consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served. There is a gradual elevation in the practice of yama, niyama, asana, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana, pranayama, and samadhi. These preface…”

Prabhupada: These are eight items of yoga practice. Yama means controlling the senses; niyama:following the rules and regulation; asana:practicing the sitting posture; pratyahara: controlling the senses from sense enjoyment; dhyana:then thinking of Krsna or Visnu; dharana:fixed up; pranayama:breathing exercise; and samadhi: being absorbed in Krsna consciousness. So this is yoga practice. So if one is in Krsna consciousness from the very beginning, all these eight items are automatically done. One does not require to practice them separately. Yes, go on.

Devotee: “These preface perfection by devotional service which alone can award peace to the human being and is the highest goal of life. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to the Fifth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita on the subject of karma-yoga or acting in Krsna consciousness.”

Prabhupada: All right. Then we shall… Sankhya-yoga shall I begin today or next day? This is a new chapter, we shall begin next day. (end)

Tags: eyes, renunciation, shut your eyes, Yoga

About the Author

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.

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