Seeing the Lord (Sankhya #13)
The process of meditation is described in detail by Lord Kapila, and it is extremely useful for us because it teaches us the process of meditating in the form of the deity.
« SANKHYA, The Philosophy of Lord Kapila
Seeing the Lord
Advanced yogis are able to see the form of the Lord inside the heart. The process is to meditate on each part of the Lord's form, visualizing each detail, without losing track of the form as a whole. This process of meditation is described in detail by Lord Kapila, and it is extremely useful for us because it teaches us the process of meditating in the form of the deity. For an astanga-yogi, the object of meditation is the form of the Lord inside the heart, but for a bhakti-yogi, the Lord appears personally in a visible form, as the deity. Again, we can see that the process is similar, but in bhakti-yoga, it's much easier and more effective. A yogi has to practice for many years asana and prāṇāyāma before being able to even start the process of actual meditation. A devotee however can see the personal form of the Lord from the first day, although the proper process of concentration as described in the following verses may take a little more time to develop.
Apart from receiving the darshan of the deity, a devotee can personally serve and worship the deity. Deity worship is essential because it counteracts the natural tendency of the conditioned soul to impersonalism. This false conception is deeply rooted in our consciousness, and the process of seeing the Lord in the form of the deity, deeply meditating in each detail of His personal form, developing a personal relationship with Him, serving Him, chanting His glories, remembering His pastimes, etc. is the best way of counteracting this. Without this meditation on the form of the Lord, we risk falling into some kind of quasi-impersonalism, where we study the philosophy of Krsna consciousness and chant the holy names, but are still not capable of really seeing the Lord as a person.
"When the mind is perfectly purified by this practice of yoga, one should concentrate on the tip of the nose with half-closed eyes and see the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has a cheerful, lotuslike countenance with ruddy eyes like the interior of a lotus, and a swarthy body like the petals of a blue lotus. He bears a conch, discus and mace in three of His hands.
His loins are covered by a shining cloth, yellowish like the filaments of a lotus. On His breast He bears the mark of Śrīvatsa, a curl of white hair. The brilliant Kaustubha gem is suspended from His neck.
He also wears around His neck a garland of attractive sylvan flowers, and a swarm of bees, intoxicated by its delicious fragrance, hums about the garland. He is further superbly adorned with a pearl necklace, a crown and pairs of armlets, bracelets and anklets.
His loins and hips encircled by a girdle, He stands on the lotus of His devotee’s heart. He is most charming to look at, and His serene aspect gladdens the eyes and souls of the devotees who behold Him." (SB 3.28.12-16)
In the second canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, it is described how after serving the Lord for the first half of his life, Lord Brahma had the opportunity of receiving the personal darshan of the Lord. Lord Brahma is certainly the most qualified of all mortal beings, being the creator of the universe and the son of Lord Vishnu. He is the oldest of all living beings in the universe, and the original preceptor of Vedic knowledge. On top of that, He is the one who had direct experience, being able to personally see the Lord, as well as his eternal abode, just like we can see each other. Brahma then recorded his account of this meeting in the Brahma-samhita, where he described:
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids. I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jeweled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of Śyāmasundara is eternally manifest. I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane. (BS 5.29-32)
Considering that the most qualified being in the universe, who had first-hand experience gives us such a description, is simply ludicrous that mental speculators who have imperfect senses, and imperfect intelligence, who are propense to be illusioned, to commit mistakes and to cheat, and who have no experience outside of this small planet where we live may claim that the absolute truth is anything different. As Prabhupada argues, this is simply due to their poor fund of knowledge.
The Lord not only has an eternal, blissful form, but has unlimited qualities, opulences, associates, and pastimes. Although this Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, never leaves His Supreme abode, He is simultaneously present everywhere in the spiritual and material creations through his unlimited expansions.
As Lord Brahma explains: "The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various manifestations." (BS 5.46)
A candle can be used to light many other candles, and each of the other candles will exhibit the same illumination, although the first candle is still the original. Similarly, the Lord is the same in all of His transcendental forms, but at the same time his form as Govinda in Vrindavana is the original and Supreme absolute truth. A devotee may worship any form he is attracted to, and the Lord is prepared to reciprocate in the very same form the devotee is attached to. After attaining the service of the Lord in any kind of relationship, the devotee becomes fully satisfied. Even the simple vision of the form of the Lord is sufficient to make one completely lose the taste for anything material.
As Prabhupada explains in his purport: "The word darśanīyatamam, which is used in this verse, means that the Lord is so beautiful that the devotee-yogī does not wish to see anything else. His desire to see beautiful objects is completely satisfied by the sight of the Lord. In the material world, we want to see beauty, but the desire is never satisfied. Because of material contamination, all the propensities we feel in the material world are ever unsatisfied. But when our desires to see, hear, touch, etc., are dovetailed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are on the level of the topmost perfection."
The glories and pastimes of the Lord
"The Lord is eternally very beautiful, and He is worshipable by all the inhabitants of every planet. He is ever youthful and always eager to bestow His blessing upon His devotees.
The glory of the Lord is always worth singing, for His glories enhance the glories of His devotees. One should therefore meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead and upon His devotees. One should meditate on the eternal form of the Lord until the mind becomes fixed.
Thus always merged in devotional service, the yogī visualizes the Lord standing, moving, lying down or sitting within him, for the pastimes of the Supreme Lord are always beautiful and attractive." (SB 3.28.17-19)
In the Brahma-samhita, Lord Brahma prays: "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love." (BS 5.38)
Prabhupada explains that when a devotee develops pure love for the Lord, and has his eyes smeared with the balm of transcendental loving exchanges, he always sees the Lord within his heart. Just like a yogi can see the Lord as Paramatma anywhere he goes, by just practicing meditation, the pure devotee can see the Lord anywhere he looks. This level may not be attained very quickly, but this is the supreme goal for all of us. This process of hearing, chanting, serving, and meditating on the form of the deity should continue until our mind becomes fully concentrated on the Lord.
As Prabhupada explains, the same purpose fulfilled by the yogi by successfully meditating on the form of the Lord inside the heart is served when a devotee visits the temple and worships the deity. To worship doesn't mean to just perform arati. Worship means to fix our attention on the Lord, which may be done by serving, chanting, hearing, or simply meditating in the form of the deity. The form of the Lord may be manifested in clay, wood, stone, jewels, or metal. The Lord can be also manifested in the form of a painting, in a temporary drawing on sand, or simply contemplated inside one's mind. There are certain peculiarities in the process of worship of different forms (a form made out of metal may be bathed, while a painting not, for example), but all these forms are of the same value.
There is also no difference between serving the Lord in the temple, or meditating on the form of the Lord because the form of the Lord is the same whether He appears within the mind or in some concrete element. However, it's easier to see the form of the Lord in the temple, especially at the beginning of our devotional life, therefore this process should not be neglected. We should not fall into the same trap as some impersonalists, saying that the Lord is everywhere but at the same time negating his presence in the temple. Even Lord Caitanya Himself was daily visiting the temple of Jagannatha Puri to see the Lord.
Another point is that the Lord and His pure devotees share the same spiritual quality and in this sense are non-different. In the same way, we become purified by chanting the name of the Lord, we also become purified by chanting the name of His pure devotees, as well as remembering their activities, and so on.
As Prabhupada explains: "The beauty of the Lord is that the devotees who are connected with His activities are also glorified. Arjuna, Prahlāda, Janaka Mahārāja, Bali Mahārāja and many other devotees were not even in the renounced order of life, but were householders. Some of them, such as Prahlāda Mahārāja and Bali Mahārāja, were born of demoniac families. Prahlāda Mahārāja’s father was a demon, and Bali Mahārāja was the grandson of Prahlāda Mahārāja, but still they have become famous because of their association with the Lord. Anyone who is eternally associated with the Lord is glorified with the Lord."
The lotus feet of the Lord
Now Lord Kapila describes the practical process of meditation in the form of the Lord. This same process applies to the yogi seeing the Lord inside the heart and to the devotee seeing the Lord in the temple:
"In fixing his mind on the eternal form of the Lord, the yogī should not take a collective view of all His limbs, but should fix the mind on each individual limb of the Lord.
The devotee should first concentrate his mind on the Lord’s lotus feet, which are adorned with the marks of a thunderbolt, a goad, a banner and a lotus. The splendor of their beautiful ruby nails resembles the orb of the moon and dispels the thick gloom of one’s heart.
The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.
The yogī should fix in his heart the activities of Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, who is worshiped by all demigods and is the mother of the supreme person, Brahmā. She can always be found massaging the legs and thighs of the transcendental Lord, very carefully serving Him in this way." (SB 3.28.20-23)
This process of meditating on each part of the transcendental body of the Lord separately counters the tendency we have to see the Lord just like we would see some tourist attraction, and not exactly as a person. When we go to the temple, do we notice the clothes the Lord is wearing? Did we see the same articles before, or is something new? What about the ornaments the Lord is using? How do they increase the natural beauty of the limbs of the Lord? Or maybe it's the opposite, is it the Lord who increases the beauty of the ornaments? What about his garlands? Do we notice the delicate lines in the feet of the Lord, or His beautiful fingers and nails? Can we remember some of the pastimes connected with each limb of the Lord, like when He cracked the coverings of the universe with His lotus feet or used his lotus hand to wipe away the drops of sweat in the foreheads of the Gopis after the rasa dance? What is the expression on the face of the Lord today? Does He look satisfied with the arrangements made by His devotees? Is there any service we can offer to improve His worship?
Lord Kapila especially recommends meditating in the lotus feet of the Lord. This is the process of approaching the Lord respectfully we learn from the Srimad Bhagavatam. We should not be sahajiyas, taking the association of the Lord as something cheap. First, we should approach the Lord very respectfully, contemplating His transcendental form starting from His lotus feet, and then gradually progressing to His lotus face. In this way, we can see all the details of his transcendental form and ornaments, and remember His pastimes and associates on the way.
Prabhupada explains this point in his purport to SB 1.8.22: "One should begin to see the Lord from His lotus feet, gradually rising to the thighs, waist, chest, and face. One should not try to look at the face of the Lord without being accustomed to seeing the lotus feet of the Lord."
The process of meditating on the form of the Lord is recommended for all types of devotees, from the first day all the way to perfection. However, as Prabhupada explains, to render some practical service is also important. At first one may just visit the temple and see the deity, but the idea is that as he progresses he will gradually become inclined to offer some service to the Lord, and this offering of service is the basis of the process of Bhakti-yoga. To just see the Lord without ever performing any service is similar to the process practiced by munis, who just try to understand the Lord using their minds, without developing a propensity for service.
This point about meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord is also emphasized by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to text 22:
"Another significant point of this verse is that the mind of the conditioned soul, on account of its association with the material energy from time immemorial, contains heaps of dirt in the form of desires to lord it over material nature. This dirt is like a mountain, but a mountain can be shattered when hit by a thunderbolt. Meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord acts like a thunderbolt on the mountain of dirt in the mind of the yogī. If a yogī wants to shatter the mountain of dirt in his mind, he should concentrate on the lotus feet of the Lord and not imagine something void or impersonal. Because the dirt has accumulated like a solid mountain, one must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for quite a long time. For one who is accustomed to thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord constantly, however, it is a different matter. The devotees are so fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord that they do not think of anything else. Those who practice the yoga system must meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time after following the regulative principles and thereby controlling the senses."