Devahuti asks more questions (Sankhya #15)
For us to be able to become free from material contaminations, the first step is to understand them. That's the next step in the detailed explanations given by Lord Kapila.
« SANKHYA, The Philosophy of Lord Kapila
Devahuti asks more questions
In the previous chapters, Lord Kapila already described the creation and structure of the material world and how the soul becomes entrapped in it, as well as the process of devotional service by which we can become free. Just as material life starts when the soul's consciousness becomes focused on the material world, liberation comes when our consciousness is transferred back to Krsna. This original, transcendental consciousness of the soul is what Srila Prabhupada defines as Krsna consciousness. That's what we have to regain somehow or another.
Full Krsna consciousness, however, is not something we attain overnight. In some cases, it may be so due to some causeless mercy, but in general, it is something we develop gradually by following the process of sadhana-bhakti. This means that between the contaminated state (when we are fully immersed in material life), and the fully liberated state (when our spiritual consciousness is fully restored), there are many intermediate stages where we are trying to practice devotional service while still acting under the three modes of material nature.
Although devotional service is transcendental, it can be executed under the material modes. Just like the light of the sun when passed through a blue, red, or yellow glass assumes these different colors, devotional service when executed by a person conditioned by the three material modes may be expressed through these three modes, and thus the practical actions of the devotee may show qualities that are not exactly transcendental.
For us to be able to become free from these contaminations, the first step is to understand them. That's the next step in the detailed explanations given by Lord Kapila. He then proceeds in describing other practical details of the practice of devotional service.
"Devahūti inquired: My dear Lord, You have already very scientifically described the symptoms of the total material nature and the characteristics of the spirit according to the Sānkhya system of philosophy. Now I shall request You to explain the path of devotional service, which is the ultimate end of all philosophical systems.
Devahūti continued: My dear Lord, please also describe in detail, both for me and for people in general, the continual process of birth and death, for by hearing of such calamities we may become detached from the activities of this material world.
Please also describe eternal time, which is a representation of Your form and by whose influence people in general engage in the performance of pious activities.
My dear Lord, You are just like the sun, for You illuminate the darkness of the conditional life of the living entities. Because their eyes of knowledge are not open, they are sleeping eternally in that darkness without Your shelter, and therefore they are falsely engaged by the actions and reactions of their material activities, and they appear to be very fatigued.” (SB 3.29.1-5)
As Prabhupada explains, the Sankhya philosophy of Lord Kapila is a study of all existence, including both the spiritual and material realities. The basic meaning of the word "Maya" is "that which is not". We misunderstand this world and our relationship with it, and as a result, we remain conditioned in the material reality, without finding a way out. Sankhya philosophy means to properly understand the nature of this world, our own nature as spirit souls, the nature of the Supreme Lord and His abode, and our relationship with Him. By understanding all these components, we can find our way out of material existence.
After hearing the previous explanations, Devahuti asks:
a) Explain more about the path of devotional service, which is the ultimate yoga system.
b) Describe the influence of time, that makes everyone involved in material activities and ultimately brings everything that is material to an end.
c) Describe in detail the process of birth and death in this material world, in a way that one may become detached from material life.
All that we do in this material world, as well as everything that happens to us, happens under the influence of time. Birth and death, as well as all material activities (both pious and impious) happen inside this purview. Therefore, the essence of the last two questions is the nature of kala, or time.
Apart from being the very energy of the Lord that makes the material manifestation possible, time is the potency that reminds us that this material world is not our real home. Due to the influence of time, at every step we have to deal with anxiety about what we lack, fear of losing what we have, and the terrible realization that no matter what we do, we all have to face death, and everything we care about will eventually be destroyed. All the sorrow and anxiety created by the changing nature of this world have the potential to eventually bring a person to question material existence, inquire about his eternal nature beyond the body and become free from material activities. Devahuti implies this with the sentence "yad-dhetoḥ kuśalam janāḥ", time ultimately brings auspiciousness to all people.
However, action is part of the nature of the soul. As Krsna explains in the Gita, no one can become inactive, even for a moment. Mayavadis consider all activities to be Maya, and thus they attempt to renounce all action. This is however a very unnatural process. In the end, they just end up getting involved in some different type of material activities, such as philanthropy.
Devotees, however, understand that activities also exist in the spiritual plane. Our goal is thus not to stop activity, but to reconnect ourselves with our original activities connected with Krsna. That is the path of devotional service that Devahuti asks Lord Kapila to describe in more detail.
As discussed by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his Govinda-Bhasya, all the verses of the scriptures speak about devotional service to the Lord. This is not only the goal but actually the only topic discussed in the Vedas. All the verses of the scriptures describe topics that are connected with devotional service, or that have the aim of elevating a person to the platform of devotional service. Every verse should thus be interpreted in this light.
Bhakti is the basic principle of all systems of philosophy discussed in the Vedas, and everything else has the sole goal of gradually elevating a person to the platform of bhakti. Any interpretation of the Vedas that doesn't bring us to this conclusion is just mental speculation without any real value. Cultivating knowledge without coming to the platform of bhakti is compared to beating the husk of wheat grains after the grains have already been removed. In other words, it is just useless labor that doesn't give any benefit.
On the other hand, bhakti should be practiced with a solid philosophical foundation. As Prabhupada mentions, bhakti-yoga with no philosophical basis is more or less just sentiment. Therefore, the teachings of Lord Kapila have these two basic components:
a) To describe the material world as a means of elevating us to the platform of devotional service to the Lord.
b) To explain the process of devotional service in detail, helping us progress in the path, avoid mistakes and reach the ultimate goal.