2.

Changing our vision from material outlook to spiritual outlook

[1] Learning to see spiritually

Varying Perceptions
- Different people perceive same thing differently.
- Donkey parents have taught donkey “any paper you see, simply eat.” incl Rs.500/- note.
Painter sees Rs.500 note and observes picture on it.
Printer ………………………………..thickness of paper.
- from mundane point of view, even Radha Krsna picture is simply picture (a donkey sight).

True Vision towards Deity

- However as intelligent person understands Rs.500/- note as authorized by govt., similarly devotee sees the
deity form as authorized by scriptures. Eg. authorization of post box by govt.

[2] Stop Seeing Spiritual items materially………..

- Things connected to Lord are very very special.
Eg. dress, bhoga, garland, tulasi etc.
Eg. Vrindavan, Kuruksetra,
- we discuss of Kurukshetra war, not Panipat war. Presense of Krsna makes it divine, like iron in fire.

- our senses are incapable to see such spiritual nature. Senses will always perceive in mundane way.
Thus we should have faith based on Guru, Sadhu and Sastra.
- as we spend rendering devotional service (`atha sri krsna naamaadi na bhavet grahyam indriyaih, sevon
mukhe hi jihvaadau Swayam eva sphurati adha’) our vision changes from ordinary vision to spiritual vision
(`premanjana churita bhakti vilocanena’) with the increase in faith.
- BSST would not go very close to see Lord, rather aspired Lord to see him.

Perception towards devotees

- We see devotee boys as engineers, or as branch mate etc. we don’t tend to see them as vaisnavas, beings
from spiritual world.
- Because we see them materially, it leads to offences. Eg. He is tall, fair, cute, ugly, intelligent, muff,
educated etc. are material identity.
- We should see them as devotees of Krsna.
- devotees are like visnudutas because they have loving attraction for Krsna, tendency to serve Krsna,
bringing people close to Krsna, and they see devotees different from common populace.
- If we appreciate Lord’s spiritual nature, then devotee’s spiritual nature can also be visualised.
- among all things connected to Lord, devotees are most important. Eg. aradhananam sarvesam, ………..
- Those who claim to be my devotees, are not my devotees, but those who are devotee of my devotee are my
devotees. Thus we should give due respect to devotees.

[3] Rising above Mundane vision & seeing with Spiritual Vision

ärcye viñëau çilä-dhér guruñu nara-matir vaiñëave jäti-buddhir

viñëor vä vaiñëavänäà kali-mala-mathane päda-térthe ’mbu-buddhiù
çré-viñëor nämni mantre sakala-kaluña-he çabda-sämanya-buddhir
viñëau sarveçvareçe tad-itara-sama-dhér yasya vä näraké saù

SYNONYMs
arcye—worshipable deity; viñëau—of Lord Viñëu; çilä—as stone; dhéù—the conception; guruñu—to
the spiritual masters; nara—of being an ordinary man; matiù—the conception; vaiñëave—to the

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Vaiñëavas; jäti—of birth; buddhiù—the conception; viñëoù—of Lord Viñëu; vä—or; vaiñëavänäm—
of the Vaiñëavas; kali—of Kali-yuga; mala—of the impurity; mathane—in the destruction; päda—of
the feet; térthe—in the pilgrimage place; ambu—of water; buddhiù—the conception; çré-viñëoù—of
Lord Viñëu; nämni—in the name; mantre—a mantra; sakala—all; kaluña—impurities; he—
destroying; çabda—a sound; sämanya—ordinary; buddhiù—the conception; viñëau—to Lord Viñëu;
sarva—of all; éçvara—the masters; éçe—the master; tat—than Him; itara—others; sama—equal;
dhiù—the conception; yasya—of whom; vä—or; näraké—a resident of hell; saù—he.

TRANSLATION
One who thinks that the worshipable Deity form of Lord Viñëu is a stone, that the bona fide spiritual
master is an ordinary man, that the Vaiñëava belongs to a caste in the varëäçrama system, that the
water which has washed the feet of Lord Viñëu or the Vaiñëavas, and that actually removes the sins of
the Kali-yuga, is ordinary water, that the name of Lord Viñëu, which is a sacred mantra that removes
all sin, is an ordinary sound, or that the Supreme Lord Viñëu is the same as other persons, is a resident
of hell.
—Çré Padyavali,(Bhagavad Dharma tattvam)

[4] Examples of conditioned soul

Seeing spiritual items with material outlook

Eg. Deity as stone & Vaishnava as belonging to lower caste

EXAMPLE 1 : DEITY FORM of Lord is Spiritual

TRANSLATION : Çré Gopälajé then smiled and said, ”My dear brähmaëa, just listen to Me. I shall
walk behind you, and in this way I shall go with you.” [CC Madhya 5.97]
PURPORT
The conversation between Lord Çré Kåñëa and the brähmaëa is proof that the Lord in His arcä-mürti,
or form made of material elements, is not material, for those elements, although separated from the
Lord, are also a part of the Lord’s energy, as stated in the Bhagavad-gétä. Because the elements are the
Lord’s own energy and because there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, the Lord
can appear through any element. Just as the sun can act through the sunshine and thus distribute its
heat and light, so Kåñëa, by His inconceivable power, can appear in His original spiritual form in any
material element, including stone, wood, paint, gold, silver and jewels, because the material elements
are all His energy. The çästras warn, arcye viñëau çilä-dhéù . . . näraké saù: one should never think of
the arcä-mürti, the Deity within the temple, as stone, wood or any other material element. Because of
his advanced devotional position, the younger brähmaëa knew that although the Deity of Gopäla
appeared to be stone, He was not stone. He was the son of Nanda Mahäräja, Vrajendra-nandana
Himself. As such, the Deity could act exactly as the Lord does in His original form as Kåñëa.
Lord Kåñëa was talking to the young brähmaëa just to test his knowledge about the arcä-vigraha. In
other words, those who have understood the science of Kåñëa—Kåñëa’s name, form, qualities and so
forth—can also talk with the Deity. To an ordinary person, however, the Deity will appear to be made
of stone, wood or some other material. In the higher sense, since all material elements ultimately
emanate from the supreme spiritual entity, nothing is really material. Being omnipotent, omnipresent
and omniscient, Kåñëa can deal with His devotee in any form without difficulty. By the mercy of the
Lord, the devotee knows perfectly well about the Lord’s dealings. Indeed, he can talk face to face with
the Lord.

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EXAMPLE 2 : BODY OF A VAISHNAVA is Spiritual

Even though a pure devotee may not be born in a brähmaëa or gosvämé family, if he is engaged in the
service of the Lord he should not be neglected. In actuality there cannot be a family of gosvämés based
on material considerations, caste or heredity. The gosvämé title is actually the monopoly of the pure
devotees; thus we speak of the Six Gosvämés, headed by Rüpa Gosvämé and Sanätana Gosvämé. Rüpa
Gosvämé and Sanätana Gosvämé had practically become Mohammedans and had therefore changed
their names to Dabira Khäsa and Säkara Mallika, but Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu Himself made them
gosvämés. Therefore the gosvämé title is not hereditary. The word gosvämé refers to one who can
control his senses, who is master of the senses. A devotee is not controlled by the senses, but is the
controller of the senses. Consequently he should be called svämé or gosvämé, even though he may not
be born in a gosvämé family.

According to this formula, the gosvämés who are descendants of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu and Çré
Advaita Prabhu are certainly devotees, but devotees coming from other families should not be
discriminated against; indeed, whether the devotees come from a family of previous äcäryas or from an
ordinary family, they should be treated equally. One should not think, "Oh, here is an American
gosvämé," and discriminate against him. Nor should one think, "Here is a nityänanda-vaàça-gosvämé."
There is an undercurrent of protest against our awarding the title gosvämé to the American Vaiñëavas
of the Kåñëa consciousness movement. Sometimes people flatly tell the American devotees that their
sannyäsa or title of gosvämé is not bona fide. However, according to the statements of Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé in this verse, an American gosvämé and a gosvämé in a family of äcäryas are nondifferent.
On the other hand, a devotee who has attained the title of gosvämé but is not born of a brähmaëa
father or of a gosvämé in the family of Nityänanda or Advaita Prabhu should not be artificially puffed
up by thinking that he has become a gosvämé. He should always remember that as soon as he becomes
materially puffed up, he immediately falls down. This Kåñëa consciousness movement is a
transcendental science, and there is no room for jealousy. This movement is meant for the
paramahaàsas who are completely free from all jealousy (paramaà nirmatsaräëäm). One should not
be jealous, whether he is born in a family of gosvämés or has the title of gosvämé awarded to him. As
soon as anyone becomes envious, he falls from the platform of paramahaàsa.

If we consider the bodily defects of a Vaiñëava, we should understand that we are committing an
offense at the lotus feet of the Vaiñëava. An offense at the lotus feet of a Vaiñëava is very serious.
Indeed, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has described this offense as häté-mätä, the mad elephant offense. A
mad elephant can create a disaster, especially when it enters into a nicely trimmed garden. One should
therefore be very careful not to commit any offense against a Vaiñëava. Every devotee should be ready
to take instructions from a superior Vaiñëava, and a superior Vaiñëava must be ready to help an
inferior Vaiñëava in all respects. One is superior or inferior according to his spiritual development in
Kåñëa consciousness. One is forbidden to observe the activities of a pure Vaiñëava from a material
point of view. For the neophyte especially, considering a pure devotee from a material point of view is
very injurious. One should therefore avoid observing a pure devotee externally, but should try to see
the internal features and understand how he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the
Lord. In this way one can avoid seeing the pure devotee from a material point of view, and thus one
can gradually become a purified devotee himself.

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[5] Stop Seeing Material items as most worthy………..

In our conditioned stage, we don’t appreciate devotee association or holy name because of mundane
consciousness, but we consider material achievements, material relationships etc as special.
- Similarly we give too much importance to caste, native place etc.

yasyätma-buddhiù kuëape tri-dhätuke

sva-dhéù kalaträdiñu bhauma ijya-dhéù
yat-tértha-buddhiù salile na karhicij
janeñv abhijïeñu sa eva go-kharaù

SYNONYMS
yasya—whose; ätma—as his self; buddhiù—idea; kuëape—in a corpselike body; tri-dhätuke—made of
three basic elements; sva—as his own; dhéù—idea; kalatra-ädiñu—in wife and so on; bhaume—in
earth; ijya—as worshipable; dhéù—idea; yat—whose; tértha—as a place of pilgrimage; buddhiù—idea;
salile—in water; na karhicit—never; janeñu—in men; abhijïeñu—wise; saù—he; eva—indeed; gaù—
a cow; kharaù—or an ass.

TRANSLATION
One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and
family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable,
or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels
kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better
than a cow or an ass. [SB 10.84.13]

VCT Commentary : An imperfect Vaiñëava advancing toward the second-class platform identifies
himself with the sages who have established the true spiritual path, even while he still may have some
inferior material attachments to body, family and so on. Such a devotee of the Lord is not a foolish
cow or stubborn ass like the majority of materialists. But most excellent is the Vaiñëava who has gained
the special mercy of the Lord and broken free from the bondage of illusory attachments altogether.

Practical Examples for Material Vision :

1. Pururava’s attraction to Urvasi

2. Chitraketu’s attachment to Harsa shoka
3. Bharat Maharaja’s attachment to deer
4. Ajamila’s attraction to a Prostitute
5. Dhrtarashtra’s attachment to Kingdom and son

Three types of Vision :

Avidya Chakshu Eg. Saubhari muni, Vishwamithra

Jnana Chakshu Eg. Shukadeva Goswami
Prema Chakshu Eg. Haridas Thakur

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