Understanding Sri Krishna: The Ocean of Compassion
Channel: Raja Chandrasekaran
Date: 28/09/2016

Understanding Our Relationship With God: It is a very important science of God, understanding what is God. Of course, in every religion this conception of God is there. Simply by understanding “God is great” is not sufficient. We must have knowledge about our relationship with God. 

It is a very important science of God, understanding what is God. Of course, in every religion this conception of God is there. Simply by understanding “God is great” is not sufficient. We must have knowledge about our relationship with God. Generally, we take it for granted that God is our order-supplier. We take it that God is great because He… That is also not the conception of the atheist class of men. Those who believe in God, generally they approach God in distress, when they’re in need of money, and somebody wants to study what is God out of inquisitiveness, and somebody wants to understand the science of God. There are four classes of men. They are called persons with pious activities on the background. Without pious activities on the background, nobody is interested in the science of God. And those who are unfortunate or impelled by impious activities, they do not believe in God. They never care for God. And this class of men are always known as atheist class of men.

So, so far atheist class of men, it is very difficult for them to understand. But atheist or theist, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is conscious. That is a fact. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or do not believe in God, but you are conscious. As soon as I pinch in any part of your body, you at once protest. You feel that “Somebody is pinching me. I am feeling pain.” This consciousness is there even in the animal or in man and everyone. Now what is this consciousness? The Bhagavad-gita replies what is this consciousness. The Bhagavad-gita says, avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam. That consciousness which is spread all over your body, that is eternal. How it is eternal? That also you can understand by practical experience. Just like in your childhood, there was consciousness. When you were in the womb of your mother, of course, at a certain stage there was consciousness. In your boyhood, there was consciousness. In your youthhood, there is consciousness, and as you make progress, in your old age, there is also consciousness. Now, your body is changing but consciousness is continuing. That you cannot deny.

Therefore the Bhagavad-gita says, avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam. That consciousness is eternal, and that does not vanquish with the destruction of the body. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. Now as soon as this consciousness is over, the body is called dead body. Now what is this consciousness? This consciousness is the symptom of the soul. That is… Just like in a light, in a fire, there is distribution of heat and light. Similarly, the spirit soul being present in your body, the consciousness is spread all over your body. This is the fact. Now this consciousness is being carried.

Just like from your childhood this consciousness is being carried. From childhood body to boyhood body to youthhood body, the consciousness is continuing. Similarly, this consciousness will also carry you in another body, and that transformation or transmigration from one body to another, it is called death. Death means when this body cannot be carried any more, the consciousness has to be transferred to another new body. Just like when your garment is too old, it has to be changed; similarly, when this material body is too old to carry on, then this consciousness is transferred to another body and you begin another life. This is the process of nature.

But unfortunately, in the modern education system, there is no departmental education about this consciousness or spirit soul, although it is the most important factor. Without consciousness, without the soul’s being present, this body is useless. But unfortunately we take care very much for this body, but we have no knowledge of the consciousness or the spirit soul. This is called illusion, ignorance, or maya. We are very much serious about the nonpermanent things, the body which will not exist, which will be vanquished after certain period of years, but we do not take care of the eternal consciousness, which is changing from one body to another. This is the defect of the modern civilization.