Why are we pulled around by Māyā so easily?
Once, Śrīla Prabhupāda was walking with his disciples on the coast, and he saw a big ocean liner being pulled by a smaller boat. He asked his disciples why. He wanted to make a point out of it.
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Once, Śrīla Prabhupāda was walking with his disciples on the coast, and he saw a big ocean liner being pulled by a smaller boat. He asked his disciples why. Naturally, this was not just out of curiosity; Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to make a philosophical point out of it.
At first, no one knew what to say, but eventually, a brave disciple said that the ocean liner was “weak”, which is why the small boat could pull it. Śrīla Prabhupāda was not satisfied: “Why is it weak?” Another brave disciple offered that it must be because its engine is turned off. This gave the hook Śrīla Prabhupāda was looking for.
He started to explain that in normal circumstances, it’s not possible for a small boat like this to pull a huge ocean liner, which is much more powerful than it is. However, because the engine of the ocean liner is turned off, even a small boat can pull it whenever it wants.
Similarly, he said, the spirit soul is superior to matter, being part and parcel of Krsna. By nature, the soul is not only eternal, but full of knowledge and bliss. The soul is powerful, being full of mystical potencies, like a minute version of Krsna. An infinitesimal part of the infinite may be smaller than the complete whole, but it is still incalculable. Matter, in comparison, is dull and lifeless.
However, when we are disconnected from Krsna, our “engine” is turned off. It happens because we are not powerful, blissful, and full of knowledge out of our own potency, but out of our connection with Krsna, just like a spark inside a big fire. As soon as the spark leaves the fire, it is quickly extinguished. Similarly, as soon as we turn our backs on Krsna and leave His association, our blissful nature becomes covered, and we can easily be attracted by material bodies and material objects, just like the tiny boat pulling the powerless ship.
We then hear about our original spiritual nature, about the qualities of Krsna, and our eternal relationship with Him. This awakens some desire in our heart, some preliminary desire of following the spiritual process and reviving this original spiritual identity.
However, following all the principles and regulations of spiritual life while we still don’t have a higher taste can be challenging. As long as we remain weak in our connection with Krsna, our attention continues to flow into material objects like cars and phones, as well as different material desires and mundane relationships. Repression may work to some extent, but without reconnecting with Kṛṣṇa, we are constantly fighting an uphill battle against our mind and senses, a battle that often leaves us tired, frustrated, or discouraged.
The real solution is not just to repress desires, but to turn our engine back on, to revive our relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
In the beginning, it may be difficult to follow the principles of spiritual life because we lack the necessary spiritual strength. To wake up early to chant may seem too hard, following the four principles may feel restrictive, studying the philosophy may feel dry and complicated, and even serving other devotees may appear inconvenient or too demanding. Why does it feel so difficult? Because we are trying to operate a ship with the engine off.
If we somehow continue, even if it feels difficult, waking up early to chant, hearing about Krsna, trying to offer some service to other devotees, gradually our consciousness becomes purified. Step by step, our connection with Krsna is reestablished, and our engine starts working again. Suddenly, the same activities that felt so difficult in the beginning start to feel blissful. This is a sign that we are approaching the stage of liberation: our spiritual engine is starting to pick up speed.
From there, the real treasure of spiritual life begins to unfold. Love for Kṛṣṇa is not something artificial that we take from outside. It is the natural condition of the soul. It is intrinsic and can’t ever be lost. However, this love can be temporarily forgotten due to contact with the material energy. The chanting of the mahā-mantra and the other limbs of our spiritual practice is the process to awaken it.
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.107) explains that pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally present in the hearts of all living beings; it is not obtained from any external source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa, this dormant love naturally awakens.
“Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (CC Madhya 22.107).
When we feel weak or overwhelmed, we can remember this image of the ocean liner pulled by the little boat noticed by Śrīla Prabhupāda. The problem is not that Māyā is too strong or that we are weak; the question is that our engine is off.
Our hope, therefore, is not so much the negative process of heroic repression as it is in the positive process of sincere reconnection with the Lord. The most powerful way to achieve it is to just chant feelingly, call for Him regularly, and let the miracle happen.
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