The long process of understanding Prabhupada's books

One interesting peculiarity of reading the Srimad Bhagavatam and other Prabhupada's books is that every time we re-read it, it appears to be something new. How does it work?

One interesting peculiarity of reading the Srimad Bhagavatam (as well as all other books from Srila Prabhupada) is that every time we re-read it, it appears to be something new. I have been reading these books for more than 30 years now, but still, when I read I often find details that I don't remember have seen before.

How to understand this mystery? There are two points.

The first is the sheer volume of information contained in the Srimad Bhagavatam and other books. Because the knowledge Prabhupada shares in his books is so extensive, we end up catching just a subset of the information every time we read, according to what our mind is focused on at the time. Each time we read the same books we capture a little more, but because the knowledge is so detailed, we never really capture everything, even in the smaller books.

Another point, however, is that is realization grows every time we read, and thus our very capacity of understand the text deepens. Understanding transcendental literature is not just about understanding the words, but the be able to perceive the spiritual reality the author is trying to share. When we read the Srimad Bhagavatam, we may see it as just a set of information, or as a description of different pastimes of philosophical points, but when Sukadeva Goswami heard it from Srila Vyasadeva, he could direct experience all the pastimes described, and them describe the same to Pariksit Maharaja based not in mere memorization of verses, but by describing his direct perception. Of course, we may never be able to reach the same level, but as our level of spiritual realization grows, we are able to experience more of what is in the text.

Burijana Prabhu comments in his study guide of the Bhagavad-Gita how he has been studying the Bhagavad-Gita for all his life, and still every time he takes time to study it again, his knowledge of the intricacies of the book deepens. As we progress in our understanding of the philosophy, we are not only able to catch more information each time we read, but also to connect this information with other points we already understood, which, in turn, deepens our knowledge. This is a process that not only goes on for our entire lives but in fact, continues eternally. No one can fully understand Krsna. Even Lord Ananta, with his thousands of heads, is busy since time immemorial trying to describe His glories, but up to now, He was not able to find an end to it. Life in the spiritual world in an eternal search for a better understanding of Krsna and deepening our relationship with Him.

One passage that caught my attention recently was a paragraph about the purport of SB 3.9.11. In this purport, Srila Prabhupada explains how devotees become attached to different forms of the Lord, and the Lord reciprocates by presenting Himself to His devotee in the particular form the devotee desires to serve. In this way, Srila Prabhupada describes the secret dealings between the Lord and His devotee. What is surprising is what comes immediately afterward:

"This attachment of the devotee to a particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination. Each and every living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord. Lord Caitanya says that the living entity is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, every living entity has a particular type of service relationship with the Lord, eternally. This particular attachment is invoked by practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord, and thus the devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who is already eternally attached. This attachment for a particular form of the Lord is called svarūpa-siddhi." (SB 3.9.11p)

This paragraph can be broken down in the following ideas:

1- The attachment of the devotee to a particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination.

2- Each and every living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord.

3- Lord Caitanya says that the living entity is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

4- Every living entity has a particular type of service relationship with the Lord, eternally.

5- This particular attachment (which is already existent) is invoked by the practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord.

6- By practicing devotional service, the devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who is already eternally attached (once the soul goes back to Godhead, there is no difference from the souls who were previously in the material world and the eternal associates of the Lord).

7- This attachment for a particular form of the Lord is called svarūpa-siddhi (the eternal, perfect identity of the soul)

This is possibly one of the most direct purports of Srila Prabhupada in the constitutional position of the soul I can remember. It doesn't explain how exactly the soul comes to the material world (a question that is ultimately futile as I tried to explain in another article) but emphasizes the central point repeated in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, that every soul has an eternal relationship with Krsna, an eternal spiritual form, that is natural, already established and does not need to be gained from an external source. As Mahaprabhu Himself explains, this eternal relationship just needs to be uncovered.

This contrasts with the idea defended by many lines of Vaishnavas in Vrindavana, that defend that the soul doesn't have an innate relationship with Krsna and that such relationship needs to be established through the process of siddha-pranali, a process that was rejected (at least in the form is popularly practiced nowadays) by both Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

The fall of the jiva becomes an incredibly difficult philosophical topic when we focus on the inexplicable detail of how exactly the jiva can fall into the material world (no one falls from the spiritual world, but still we are here). This is the part Srila Prabhupada warned us against speculating on since any conclusion one can reach with his imperfect material intelligence will be invariably incorrect. Many very intelligent devotees tried in the past and they just created havoc with their incorrect assumptions.

However, when we focus on the important points, which are our eternal relationship with Krsna and how to go back, the question becomes extremely simple. These are the points Srila Prabhupada explains hundreds of times throughout his purports. One who reads the books of Srila Prabhupada starting from this assumption will see that everything easily fits together.