KRISHNA HAS CREATED PERFECT CULTURE FOR PERFECT ENJOYMENT

Secondary creation, that's where you are actually dealing with the material
world, that's where things are actually functioning. So this is where you have
to make the connection. Means, the origin is always on the other side of the
Viraja river, but the connection is always on this side. Philosophy, it goes
straight through it, you can connect it in any point. But when you are
connecting the material subject matters, which means anything other than
philosophy, any other branch of Vedic knowledge other than philosophy is
considered material, arts or sciences, those all connect on this side, though
they originate on that side. But they manifest to us on this side. But what's
manifest on this side is a reflection of an original on that side. Means, all
these shastras that we are dealing with, in the spiritual realm they talk about
them, they refer to them, they quote from them, they are just part of the
culture that Krishna has created.

Means, Krishna has created this culture to enjoy Rasa. And so then He has
brought those different aspects that are there, everything that He considers
as valuable for Rasa has then been created in the spiritual realm, because
the spiritual realm is Purnam, it's complete. Om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udacyate purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. So
this "idam" means "this", and then "adah" means "that". There are some
other technical points we can find out from that, but the Vedas, the
Upanishads are always referring to "this" and "that". "This" meaning the
material world, "that" meaning the spiritual world. So this aspect of
comparing it to the spiritual world, that's actually what we want. We want to
be able to see a subject's origin in the spiritual world. So that principle is
what we are trying to get to, we are trying to see that, then makes operating
it so much easier. There is always going to be a difference, because there it is
based on the pure love of the devotees, while here it's not, here it's based
basically on piety why it goes on. But the devotees use it, because it's the
same basic medium that the devotees in the spiritual world use for Rasa.

Like mother Yashoda's duties as a mother, they happen spontaneously, and

that is her medium for expressing her love for Krishna. Those become
reflected into the material world that for a trained mother then exactly the
same things that mother Yashoda does for her child, the mothers of this world
will do for their children. But the difference is, in the spiritual world, mother
Yashoda is doing it to please Krishna, not for her own purpose, and Krishna is
God. But in the material world, the mother thinks she is God and the child
thinks they are God, and so then each one is trying to enjoy that relationship,
rather than serve through it. So it appears as service, that's why it's called
pious. Piety means, you are actually in the mood of service. Whatever are the
moods of the spiritual world, no attachment, mundane attachment, always in
the mood of service, never trying to control, never trying to enjoy, all those
different moods that are there, when they are manifest here, then it's called
piety. But the problem is is people here will use that piety for their own
purpose. Their own purpose is to control and enjoy the material energy and
those living entities that fall into their purview of existence that they can deal
with.

So now, what the devotee is doing is, he is not approaching all this Vedic
knowledge from the point that the Vedic knowledge itself is special and good,
just because it's Vedic. No, it's special and good, because it is the reflection of
the original Vedic. The actual Vedic is what goes on in the spiritual realm.
Then to give opportunities for the living entities to take part in that Vedic,
that Vedic is brought here. Does that make some sense? Vedic means, it
comes from Veda, so whatever is going on in the spiritual realm, those
principles will come down through the Veda, and then through all the
expansions of the Veda, all the different branches of Sruti and Smrti, like this.
So then when those come through here, the Vaishnavas see that this is the
form of culture that they use in the spiritual realm. So therefore naturally you
would use it. You wouldn't use something else, why would you use something
else? If this is how mother Yashoda deals, why we shouldn't deal? If this is
how Radharani deals, why we shouldn't deal? If this is how the friends deal
or..., means, that's all, the kings there, they deal, the vaishyas, they deal.
Like Nanda Maharaja and that, they take care of cows, so they milk the cows,
and the bulls plow the field, so they do krsi-go-raksya. They farm and they
take care of cows. From that, they pay their taxes from their dairy products
and from their grains. And because they are are vaishya community, then
excess then they trade. You always hear of them going to the market with
extra yoghurt and other things like that. So they do trade. You don't hear of
banking so much. Though there is a story of mukta carita, that Krishna wants
to borrow pearls and they don't want to give. And then He grows His own, He
decides to grow pearl plants, so then He takes mother Yashoda's pearls and
grows these pearls, and they are so much more fabulous than the ordinary
pearls, and then all the gopis think,"Hey!" So then they take all their pearls
and plant them off, and where Krishna had these fabulous creepers of pearls,
that gave these amazing pearls, they just grew thorn bushes, the gopis. So
they put all their pearls in the ground, they took all their parents' pearls and
all their pearls and everything and planted them, and they only got thorn
bushes. So then they are really in a big problem, so they went to Krishna and
they wanted to buy some of His, but they don't have money, so they want to
get it on credit. So then you do get the whole thing of banking there.

So in the spiritual realm these principles, because they are there, then there
is a variety of pastimes that can take place. Means, if one is thinking
generally kind-of from the impersonal background, one thinks that it's just
sitting there and experiencing the mood, the bhava, and that's it, you are not
actually doing something. You go out in the forest and just experience it,
something you are using, you just experience it. But experience means that
the verb is not doing anything, it's just showing existence, emotions, feelings,
qualities, but they are not doing anything. It's doing nothing. The book is
read. So a read book exists, that's what's going on, ok, nice. But there is
nothing happening. So that already is going on when Krishna is in His form of
Atmarama. Before the creation, He is Atmarama. So He is already
experiencing the creation and living entities and Rasa, everything within
Himself, just being, but not doing. So it's nice, but for someone who is
actually a Rasika, who is a real taster of Rasa, which is Krishna, because He is
Rasa, so then He decides to expand and create activity, create interaction. So
this interaction, that is what is important, so then if you want to perform
transcendental pastimes unlimitedly, eternally, then there has to be some
fields from which you are going to get variety. So Krishna has perfectly
chosen each aspect of the culture that in itself it's perfect.

He has picked seven notes for music. And those seven notes, you can go on
writing music eternally and never exactly do the same thing twice, because
you have the notes, then He has created so many different taals, the meters,
then within those then the notes will form together particular patterns that
express a particular emotion or a particular season, or a particular time,
which all are connected, they are still all emotions. Particular time creates
emotion, season creates emotion. So therefore it's all still Rasa, but He has
done that with seven notes. So like that, everything He has chosen is perfect.
The laws, they just deal with a few things, really. They deal with four varnas
and four ashramas and then what's outside of that. And then, within that then
you have basically depending on how you put it together, Manu here deals
with ten, then Narada Muni deals with thirty basic qualities that are there,
your respect, your humility, sense control, knowledge, charity, all these
different kinds of things, kindness, because charity is only if there is kindness.
So all these basic qualities, and that creates a cultured interaction. Then
within that, then you have your music, then you have your dance, then you
have your cooking, then you have your dressing. It's just like you have a flat
piece of cloth, and you put some colors on it, some few designs and borders.
But you never see one woman

in the same sari as another, there is millions of women, so the same flat
piece of cloth, they have created unlimited designs. You see rugs, it's
different, you see woodwork, it's always different, there is always something
different about it. Your architecture, every building there is something
different. There may be a genre of buildings, but it's different still, it's not
exactly the same. Unless, of course, you go to San Francisco. But other than
that, then they are different. Does that make sense?

So this way then Krishna has created a complete situation in which Rasa can
be tasted. And not only that, then within those Rasas, when all that complete
is there, then He has put emphasis on the different moods. So Vrindavana it's
on spontaneity, Vaikuntha then it's on rules and regulations, and Dvaraka, it's
the origin of Vaikuntha, but it still has some elements of spontaneity there, all
the five Rasas are manifest, while in Vaikuntha basically only servitorship is
there. Conjugal is there, Lakshmi is there, but nothing is going on there, He is
just with His consort, just like all the residents of Vaikuntha with their wives.
But the whole mood is masculine servant. You go to Ayodhya, and there is
that Maryada, the proper noble, virtuous, everything done perfectly according
to the rules and all that, and nothing outside of that. Because in Dvaraka,
Krishna many times bends the rules. He kills Karna when he is unarmed, He
kills Drona when he is in meditation, so many times He does many things. It's
another topic, of course you can discuss and show how they actually deserve
that. but the point is is that Krishna will take pleasure in creating all these
things when things don't go right. But from that He establishes the ultimate
rightness, that transcendental love. So then there is a difference betweeen
the two, though they are both ksatriya moods. Vaikuntha is also a ksatriya
mood. But in Vrindavan, then it's vaishya mood.

Mathura is in-between, it also is a mood, but there is a little bit more intimacy
there. But it kind of seems to be very kind-of mystical. Because there is
where the original expansions of Balarama and Maha-Narayana, that's where
They sit. So Maha-Sankarshana, Maha-Narayana sits there, so that's why you
see the pictures of Krishna and Balarama in Mathura, and They are walking
down the street with four arms, but They look just like They did in Vrindavan,
but They have four arms. So there is a slight difference, so you have all the
five Rasas there, and He is not married to all those girls and all that, but at
the same time it's not, it seems just to be a matter of tasting. That's why then
you hear of Vrindavan, and you hear of Dvaraka, and Mathura is something
in-between, because it's too close to Vrindavan, but it's existence seems to
be, it's a kind of mystical aspect, it's not dealt with so much. The pastimes
are there, you know it goes on there, those things are there, but the
prominent realm is Dvaraka. That's where Vaikuntha really starts, because
Mathura, it's hard to actually say it's Vaikuntha, because there is still a
spontaneous mood there. But the spontaneous mood isn't as noble as
Dvaraka, that spontaneity is there, but it doesn't have the same purity that
Dvaraka has. But Vrindavana has even more pure, so therefore it's little bit in-
between. But Maha-Narayana is there, then from there then They expand into
Krishna and Balarama in Dvaraka. And then, from there then They expand
into Vaikuntha, and into Karanodakashayi Vishnu, then Garbhodakashayi
Vishnu, like this, so you get two lines.

That's why you see, you have Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, and then you
have Advaita. Because from Nityananda then you get Maha-Narayana, you
get Krishna and Balarama in Dvaraka, and then you Narayana in Vaikuntha,
because He is God. But when you go down to Karanodakashayi Vishnu, then
it's He is the creator, maintainer and destroyer. Vaikuntha, there is only
maintenance, so two things get added, creation and destruction, therefore
then you have Advaita Acarya, because it's a slightly different mood. Then
you have Gadadhara Pandit Who is Radharani, He is the internal potency,
then the internal potency expands the jivas, and then you have Srivasa
Thakura. So the Panca Tattva, the whole creation in it's

summary form is there, it's complete. With Krishna, you get Vraja, with
Nityananda, then from there that connection all the way out through
Vaikuntha, and then from Him then expands Advaita Acarya and the material
world. And the internal potency expands into the jivas and the material
energy. Everybody comes from Krishna, but the point is the Energetic has
Energy, so we are one of His energies. But we are not a direct expansion, we
are an expansion of the expansion. We are a portion of the internal potency,
so we expand from the Samvit potency. So that's why Samvit means, it's
that's your knowledge and activities. So that's why then it's recommended, if
the jiva wants to purify himself, then he has to perform activities with
knowledge, then he becomes purified of the material, because here he thinks,
it's ignorance, you perform the activities in ignorance, so if you want to
reverse that, perform activities in knowledge, so that's the reason.

So the whole point we are trying to make is that therefore the Vaishnavas
take serious interest in the Vedic culture only because it then gives a broad
range for engaging activities in Krishna's service. See, if one has a very
minimal interest in the material world, one uses very minimal of the Vedic
culture to deal with. Because you only deal with how much you need to of the
reflection. You have all the Rasas reflected here, if you have the emotional
need to deal with all the rasas, then there are the Vedic culture to deal with
that. But if you have no need to deal with all the rasas in your own personal
life, then you only have to deal with how much you have to deal with, so only
that much of the culture you will use. But as a preacher, because you are
dealing with people who need to deal with the broad range, therefore you
know it, you know how to preach it and how to encourage them and get them
to function within those spheres. So therefore one can know the whole culture
by knowing the spiritual culture. By knowing here, you can't know here, but
by knowing there you can understand what's here, because it's just a
reflection of there. You can get an inkling of what's there, the forms of it, but
the moods of it and all that, then one has to be very careful to not throw into
it the mundane. So the Dharma shastra then becomes a very important
aspect, because it is basically the form in which the transcendental culture
functions.

(From HH Bhaktividya Purna Swami Maharaja lecture on Manu Samhita, 9

January 2004, Bhaktivedanta Academy, Sri Mayapur Dhama)