 Sri Chaitanya Sarawat Math, Nabadwip Dham |
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om tad visnoh paramam padam sada pashyanti surayah diviva
caksuratatam
tad vipraso vipanyavo jagrivamsah samindhate visnor yat paramam padam
-- Rg Veda, Mandala 1, verse 22.20
tad vipraso vipanyavo jagrivamsah samindhate visnor yat paramam padam
-- Rg Veda, Mandala 1, verse 22.20
Lord Vishnu is existing in the ocean of eternity and He is pervading everywhere and everything.
The holy feet of Vishnu, His feet, His lowest part, He is showing to us. The sages (rishis) are always conscious of this fact. This is the real basis of their life. Man is not merely an animal wandering over the earth, mountain or jungle. An Aryan, a real man, is a man who has no desire to live as the animals are living: eating, sleeping, procreating and fighting. A real man feels detached from lust, anger and animalistic behavior. The enlightened sage is situated in the divine consciousness of Sri Vishnu. In the hymns of the sages who wrote the ancient literature of the Veda, the sages addressed their Lord, the Absolute Being, by the name "Sri Vishnu". Those Aryans who founded the ancient civilization of India were always constantly meditating on the Highest Entity.
The awakened man is always conscious of the Lord's feet, which he sees above him. He sees the Lord's feet over his head like the sun in the sky (paramam padam). The devotee is always conscious of that ideal. Is this a vague or intellectual thing that the devotee of Lord Vishnu is thinking? No. The reality of Sri Vishnu is conspicuous and very clear to him (diviva caksur atatam). The reality of Vishnu is as clear and as real as the sun in the sky (sada pasyanti surayah). We should all try to live and move in that consciousness. We are all children of that spiritual, conscious world -- the bright world where Sri Vishnu is residing. But through our misfortune we have all fallen from the sky into this world of birth, death and karma.
There is a spark of life-energy within your heart and that glowing point of light will never die. It is your innermost self, your soul. You are an eternal spiritual being, an immortal soul.
Lifetime after lifetime you have been reincarnating. The wheel of time is turning and the soul is experiencing the pains of birth and death. We experience pleasure and pain which comes to us through our karma.
You can enter a plane that transcends this physical universe. Your consciousness can enter into the dimension of pure spiritual consciousness. You can connect with the highest spiritual reality, the One which is the source of everything.
There is a path to follow to reach that perfect state of fulfillment, wisdom and ecstasy (sat-chit-ananda). In the Sanskrit language of ancient India, that path is called Yoga. There are several different types of Yoga: Hatha Yoga (exercise), Jnana Yoga (philosophical study), Bhakti Yoga (devotional practice) etc., but the aim of all types of Yoga is a common goal: to bring you to the state of full enlightenment, where you can have direct experience of the Divine Consciousness of God.
This present age is known as the Kali Yuga, or Iron Age. The Kali Yuga is an age of quarrel and disharmony. In this age our ability to connect with the spiritual consciousness within ourselves is hampered by the rampant materialism around us. The methods of meditation we practice need to be suited to the life we are experiencing in our present environment, so the sages have recommended that in this age the easiest and most effective type of meditation we can practice is kirtan (group chanting of mantras).
If anyone chants this mantra they will attain perfection and inner satisfaction:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Through group chanting we can attain harmony with the people and the world around us. Mantra meditation is an easier and more effective method of meditation than meditating with the mind focused on your breathing or on concepts such as "loving kindness" or "compassion". And chanting is also a more effective way of focusing the mind than silent meditation.
If you try mantra meditation you will quickly find that you can rise above the endless waves of emotion filling your mind. You will enter into a more profound state of consciousness.
For further information, please contact the devotees at any of the temples of Sri Chaitanya Sasaswat Math:
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at Sri Mandir, Sydney.
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(61 2) 9907 7015
