Why we cannot see God

Every person, theist or agnostic or atheist has a desire to see God.  But only a very few people in this world have claimed to have "ACTUALLY" seen God.

So why is that?

Is it that we have to become extremely exalted devotees of God in order to see Him?

Yes and no.

The very first example of seeing God comes in the form of the Bhagavad Gita itself.  Arjuna who was the constant companion of Krsna and was regularly seeing him nearly every day, failed to see that Krsna was the Supreme Lord!  Only after hearing the words of the Bhagavad Gita and Krsna displaying his Supreme form by giving Arjuna "spiritual vision" was Arjuna able to truly recognize that Krsna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead!

Therefore, even though Krsna had personally descended to Earth to see his devotees, his close friends and companions could STILL not see Him!! 

So what does this mean?  It means that we must "see the forest for the trees".  When Krsna descended to this Earth, both non-devotees and devotees alike were able to view Krsna's material form!  Krsna was so merciful that even demonic personalities such as Kamsa and Duryodhana could easily see Krsna on a regular basis with no special powers of vision or perception.  Even though Krsna exists in this material planet, it is up to us for us to recognize Him.  For the extremely fortunate, Krsna reveals Himself to them by providing them with spiritual vision, but many other can perceive Him with their very own material eyes/vision!

The same thing happened once again when Lord Caitanya appeared on Earth a few hundred years ago.  Only a very few people could recognize Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Now that we have been given this information, are there any other obstacles or roadblocks in our path that prevent us from seeing God?

Of course!  Even when we see Him manifest his power, we refuse to believe that we are worthy of receiving His mercy and attention!  In some cases, we even outright deny that such a thing is possible!

Bhakti Sundar Swami narrates a story whereby a nightclub owner wishes to expand his property and despite protests from the nearby church is successfully able to build out and extend his nightclub.  During this time, the churchgoers are vehemently praying to the Lord to not allow this to occur.  Finally, when the nightclub is completely built out, a series of natural disasters completely destroy the extension!  When the nightclub owner then takes the church to court and they are asked by the nightclub owner and the judge as to whether or not they prayed to the Lord to allow this to happen, the churchgoers once again vehemently deny that their prayers could have allowed this to occur!!

In this instance, a seemingly atheistic person believes in the power of prayer while the theistic churchgoers deny the power of prayer!

This occurs throughout the world.  People regularly witness the power of the Lord, but always deny their observations.  Nevertheless, we see terminology arise to describe this phenomenon such as chain reaction, domino effect and more meaningfully--butterfly effect.

In the example given above, the butterfly effect was triggered by the power of prayer which led to the eventual set of natural disasters that destroyed the nightclub owner's extended property!

 An even more tangible example of why we cannot see the Lord is because we cannot see the Creator in His creations.

When someone holds an iPhone or an iPad, nearly everyone on the planet can identify this device as the creation of Apple or Steve Jobs.  If someone uses a Windows PC, they identify this OS as a creation of Bill Gates.

However, how many people in the world have met or seen Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?

Only a select few people in the world have seen or met these individuals.  We may have seen them in pictures or on some websites or on television, but that is sufficient for us to believe that they exist.  Why does nobody deny that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates exist or existed?  Steve Jobs is now dead but how many people will deny that Steve Jobs ever lived?  History books are full of people that have lived in the past and we regularly unassumingly accept that these historical figures have lived and existed.

When it comes to material creations, we can readily accept and see the creators in the creations.  However, when it comes to God, we cannot do the same.  We see pictures and illustrations of Krsna all over the world, yet we do not believe He exists.  We regularly see all of the living beings Krsna has created, we see and learn about the vastness of the Universe and the planetary systems.  We even see Him answer our prayers!  So, why cannot we apply this same tenet to all of our beliefs rather than applying this knowledge one-sidedly?

When it comes to experiences related by others, we often accept the experiences of others without question.  If someone states that they injured a limb or broke a bone, we simply nod our head in agreement.  Yet, when someone has a religious experience such as a paranormal dream or a witness of events that seemingly defy common experiences and scientific knowledge, we are quick to dismiss these experiences.  We only believe what we can personally see or experience when it comes to God.

Perhaps this is because we know that our senses can deceive us and therefore we inwardly lack faith in them.  Many people have experienced mirages while driving on the road and seeing a non-existent puddle of water.  In addition, hallucinations provide us with sensory perceptions which we know do not exist.  If someone see or hears something that others cannot see or hear, the person is readily labeled mad or insane.

Even if we decide to discount a single user's religious experience, it becomes nearly impossible to deny similar religious experiences that occur throughout the planet for people of all different religious beliefs.  If it is an isolated incident, it becomes easier to dismiss, but if it occurs time and time again throughout history, it becomes more indicative of an underlying thread of commonality that hints at the power of the Supreme Lord.

Consequently, it is not that Krsna has not "shown" Himself to us, but rather that we have either denied or refused to accept that we have seen Him.  Krsna has been so merciful that he reveals Himself to all people of the world regardless of whether or not they choose to believe in Him.  The only thing that remains is for us to take the leap of faith to understand that we are really observing Him through the course of our normal material human lives.

Hare Krsna!

Why we cannot accept our Karma

In recent years, Karma has become a common term for basically getting your "just desserts" or "what comes around, goes around", "every action causes an equal and opposite reaction", or "as you sow so shall you reap".

The dictionary definition of Karma is: "the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences."

Throughout the Bhagavad Gita, Krsna explains the results of "fruitive activities" and their consequent results.

Therefore, whatever fruitive activities (good or bad) that we have performed in this or past lives, we will now have to reap in this life.  We are getting our "just dues" and meting out our punishment.

If we understand the concept of Karma, why is it so hard for us to accept?

As many parents know, we punish our kids so that they learn their lesson and refrain from performing that activity again.  For example, if a child attempts to put their finger or hand into an open flame, one of 2 things will usually occur:

1. The parent will severely scold the child for attempting to injure himself/herself and perhaps even provide some other form of punishment so that the child does not attempt this again.
2. The child will feel the heat of the flame and immediately draw their hand away after getting burned.  The parent may then react by stating "You have learned your lesson so that you will not do that again." 

In many cases, we will even tell our kids "You have to accept/face your punishment for your bad behavior".  We do not let our children off the hook so easily for violating rules of good behavior.

 As adults, if a person performs a criminal activity, we are very quick to condemn that person before the law and in many cases suggest that the person be given the death penalty for his/her crime.  At this time also, we do not hesitate to recommend punishments for others.

However, as soon as we face that punishment ourselves, we suddenly become forlorn and question why we are receiving that punishment in the form of our Karma.  Why do we not hold ourselves to the same principles by which we examine and treat others?

From a moral perspective, if we do something wrong, many individuals will experience a "guilty conscience" for performing that immoral activity.  If we examine stories such as the "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, we know that sometimes a guilty conscience can be far worse than the immoral activity itself and even lead to madness or insanity!  The character in "The Tell-Tale Heart" would have much rather been punished for his crime than suffer the torture of his guilty conscience!

By examining it in this light, punishment for some act of wrongdoing is far better than facing a guilty conscience that can haunt you for as long as a lifetime.  Since your conscience is constantly with you, it will constantly remind you of your wrongdoing.

Due to this, we often hear the phrase "clear your conscience".  What does that mean, exactly?  To either confess our wrongdoing or face our punishment for our wrongdoing!

Thus, our Karma is Krsna's method of "clearing our conscience"!

Given this information, why is it still so difficult to face and accept our Karma?

The answer is simple: "We do not know what we did wrong"!  Since we are being punished for something which we did in a previous lifetime, we feel unjustly or unfairly treated and will often ask the question "Why me"?

If we punish our children in the same manner, they will always ask "What did I do wrong"?  In the criminal world, people would state that they are being "framed"--an innocent person is being accused or punished for a crime he/she did not commit.  The criminal justice system is very concerned about punishing innocent persons such that the American Criminal Justice System bases its premise on "innocent, until proven guilty".

So our premise for not facing our Karma is that we are basically good and innocent people and as a result, we should not be facing any bad or sinful reactions.

But if we look at it from the perspective of a clear conscience, we can more clearly understand why Krsna has designed our Karma in such a manner that we must face our punishment without knowing our act(s) of wrongdoing.

For example, if we were to remember all of the history of our past lives as well as all of the actions that we performed or committed in our past lives, how would that affect our present lives?  In the story of Jada Bharata from the Srimad Bhagavatam, we clearly know that Jada Bharata immediately regretted his past actions and repented for them by focusing his efforts on remembering and meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jada Bharata led a relatively sinless life in his past life, but we may not have led such sinless lives in our previous/former births.  What if we had been very violent in our past lives by butchering animals or even murdering people?  How would that affect the present life that we are leading?  Would not those memories completely alter our outlook on our present life?  At a bare minimum, we would constantly regret and repent for our actions during the entire course of our lifetimes.  Perhaps these memories would even haunt us throughout our lives and even drive us towards madness just as it did the character in "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

Krsna knows this very well, hence, he has made us "forget" our past births.  So not knowing our previous actions and wrongdoing is a form of Krsna's pure love and mercy.  We must still follow the laws of Karma, but even in facing the laws of Karma, we are benefactors of Krsna's mercy.

Knowing that, does that make facing our Karma that much easier to bear?  It certainly does, but, it may not be enough for neophyte devotees just coming to Krsna Consciousness.

Krsna is so merciful that he offers even more consolation to his devotees in the form of his advice to King Yudhisthira.

The conversation proceeds as follows:

King Yudhisthira: Those who propitiate Shiva easily enjoyed the pleasure of prosperity while the devotees of Vishnu have a life of struggle.  The two deities Shiva and Vishnu are diametrically opposed to each other.  Shiva is the god of destruction while Vishnu is the protector but their favors on their devotees are contrary to their character.  Why is it so?

Krsna:  Brahma and Shiva, the creative and destructive powers of the world have a highly volatile temper which can be emotionally manipulated favorable or otherwise without much effort.  Whatever be their reaction to the actions of the devotees, it is only in relation to worldly matters.  The boons thus received, in particular from Shiva, lead to more entanglement in actions and increase the possibility of subjecting us to their anger or pleasure.  A boon or curse cannot be retrieved or made ineffective.

I confer favors in an entirely different manner.  My efforts are aimed at drawing my devotees away from any kind of involvement with the material world.  My devotees go through great difficulties before they succeed to attain dispassionate attitude.  In the process of distancing themselves from the transient attachments, they experience a superficial sense of loss and suffering.

When once the mind is cultivated and trained towards detachment, the aspirant realizes the insignificance of emotional gratification or disappointment.  Once these prove to be meaningless, mental cravings become non-existent.  They attain absolute bliss.

Relatives and friends are only fair weather friends.  They would offer no consolation or encouragement at times of need.  Besides, they would prefer keeping away from any obligation.  Association with pious people will stand in good stead and help one to rise above the apparent changes in circumstances dispassionately.  There will be spiritual bliss, transporting you to the highest abode free from rebirth.

Based on Krsna's reply, we can begin to understand that our Karma as devotees of Krsna is to achieve "true" and ultimate happiness.  In this world, we are constantly trading or exchanging things for something better.  We may trade-in an old car for a new one, an old smartphone for a new one or quitting an old job for a better one.

In this case, Krsna is once again exhibiting his mercy by trading our material happiness for lasting spiritual happiness.

Our Karma is just a bump in the road on the highway to happiness.  We may not enjoy experiencing our Karma while it lasts but knowing that the situation is only temporary and will lead us to something much better softens the blow.  

Therefore, the light at the end of the tunnel for people/devotees facing their Karma, is "just be patient, something better is coming along"!

Developing attachment to Krsna

Many people in the modern-day world, may know or not know about Krsna, but once they learn about Krsna, how does one develop attachment for Krsna?

Before taking a closer examination at developing attachment to Krsna, how does one develop attachment to anything in this material world?

It brings some sort of happiness, joy, peace of mind or satisfaction in us.

We can develop attachment to not only material objects and people, but also activities as well as beliefs.

It is not uncommon for people across the world to be attached to homes, cars, wealth, relatives, friends, attending social events or even choosing not to believe in Krsna!

Therefore, it is extremely easy for us to develop attachments in the material world, but why is it so difficult to develop attachment for Krsna?

The answer is very simple-we are not aware of our relationship with Krsna.

Once we realize and recognize our relationship with Krsna, we will begin developing that attachment for Krsna.

So how does one come to realize our relationship with Krsna?

Of course, there are many religious practices that can help us come to realize our constitutional relationship with Krsna, but how does one awaken that understanding of our relationship with Krsna to someone who is still learning about Krsna and not ready to begin these practices?

Most people already know the answer, but neglect to recognize how readily obvious the answer really is to them!

The English language provides so many words that readily describes our relationship with Krsna: coincidence, serendipity, fortuity, happenstance and phenomenon are just a few of them.

There are also even more obvious words such as: providence, fate, divine intervention, deja vu and miracle.

If you ask any person about his/her experiences in life, chances are that you will hear about 1 or more occurrences in that person's life which was unusual and might be dubbed a coincidence.

For any person learning about Krsna and coming to Krsna Consciousness, one must simply recognize and accept that those "coincidences" were actually divine intervention!

It is not uncommon for numerous people to have encountered a situation whereby they were prevented from being seriously injured or even dying!  Despite these events, they continue to survive in many cases completely uninjured or with very minor injuries!

So why is that?

For a Krna Conscious devotee, the answer is readily obvious--Krsna was protecting that person.

The tendency for people across the world, whether they be theistic, agnostic or atheistic, is to attempt to find material or scientific explanations for the events in their lives.

However, there are no such explanations for these seeming coincidences other than Krsna.

From the Bhagavad Gita, Krsna tells us that he resides in every living being.  Therefore, he has an intricate knowledge of that person and accompanies that person wherever he/she goes.

Nevertheless, people fail to recognize the presence of Krsna as an acting agent in their lives.

Why is that?

The common misconception is that Krsna is only available to the extraordinary devotees and not to the general masses.  People feel that they are "unworthy" of receiving Krsna's protection, care and guidance.

But, Krsna is all-merciful and therefore is readily available to everyone that is willing and ready to accept Him into their hearts.  It is only up to that person to develop that recognition.

Once again, a Krsna Conscious devotee knows that through the power of association, those learning about Krsna can come to realize that they already have a relationship with Krsna but they have only failed to see that relationship earlier in their lives.  Krsna provided that person with a human birth and protected them until this point in time so that he/she could be elevated to the platform of Krsna consciousness and go back to the spiritual world to be united with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

Finally, once we awaken that recognition of our relationship with Krsna, what is a person's natural response?  Gratitude.

Whenever we express gratitude to others in the material world to others, we say "thank you" or we offer our help or services in exchange for whatever we received.

So how do we reciprocate with Krsna?  By performing all the religious activities outlined in the scriptures.  From that gratitude for Krsna, the processes of reading, chanting, praying, offering obeisances, offering and eating prasadam etc. will naturally commence of their own accord.

As long as that individual remembers that he/she has ALWAYS had this relationship with Krsna, the process of serving Krsna in this manner will continue throughout his/her life thus elevating that person to the platform of Krsna Consciousness. 

A Krsna Conscious perspective on Atheism

If you have ever spoken to an atheist before about Krsna/God, you may have heard him/her ask "Where is your proof?"

The definition of an atheist is the following: "a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods."

If you look at the definition of an agnostic, it is the following: "a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God."

However, if you try to understand the atheistic philosophy and the atheist's point-of-view, you will really discover that they are not atheists at all but actually agnostics!!

A TRUE atheist would not require any proof since they would simply be content in believing that there is no God and therefore not require or demand any proof.  From their perspective, they would "know" there is no God.  However, most atheists always DEMAND proof!  Why?  Because they are not truly atheists but agnostics seeking an answer to finding and realizing God!!

Atheists (and agnostics) will argue that everything in this material world can be perceived through our senses and that all things that can be created by man can be known.

However, the MAJOR GAPING hole in the atheists/agnostic's philosophy is that Nature (nor the Universe) is not man-made!  From a scientific and logical perspective, if everything that is man-made has a Creator, then Nature and the Universe must also have a Creator!

To think that Nature and the Universe just magically appeared into existence is not only illogical and unreasonable, but complete madness!

An atheist claiming to believe that his/her beliefs rely on sound scientific principles automatically crumbles under the notion that the entire world exists outside of man-made creation and existence!  To believe that the entire world is based on scientific and logical principles, but then state that those same scientific and logical principles do not apply to the entire Universe is nothing but utter nonsense!

If you reply by asking "Where is your proof that there is NO Creator?", they will have no proof!

Hypotheses and theories are simply "guesses" as to the Absolute Truth.  Hypotheses and theories are constantly disproved, thus making even basic scientific principles an unsteady platform.  Instead, scientific principles are merely a means to "approach" the Absolute Truth but never fully reach/attain that absolute truth just like many mathematical curves.  The Absolute Truth can only be fully attained by understanding and realizing God.  

Therefore, for an atheist demanding proof of the existence of God, one can use a "material phenomenon" experience to counter any arguments he/she may have regarding seeing or perceiving God.

We know that a dog-whistle can only be heard by dogs because the sound of the whistle is specifically tuned to a frequency which only dogs can hear.  Humans can blow the whistle but cannot hear the underlying sound.

Therefore, does it not make logical sense that a "God whistle" is a whistle that can only be perceived by the pure, unwavering devotees of God who are specifically attuned to the frequency of his messages?  Therefore, an atheist/agnostic who is not listening to that frequency will ultimately not be able to perceive these messages from God!

Saying that non-devotees should be able to just as easily perceive God as a pure devotee of the Lord is equivalent to saying that humans should be able to hear every sound regardless of its frequency!  Are humans able to physically change our constitution to accomplish this even with modern-day scientific methods?  Absolutely not!

Consequently, an atheist/agnostic really does not have a stable platform of logic and reason on which to base his/her beliefs.  Instead, they are simply in a state of "disbelief" because they have not found a satisfying theistic platform such as Krsna Consciousness in which to develop their religious beliefs and devotion.

By understanding the atheist's/agnostic's point of view, a Krsna Conscious devotee will be able to better preach the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness even to those individuals who claim they do not believe in God or that God does not exist!