Varnasrama College Online

Holistic Thinking and

Spiritual science – Part 2
Based on the teachings of HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami
and
HDG Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Presented by Dhira Nitai das

 Course structure

Part 1

- Module 1: System Thinking

- Module 2: System Thinking and
7 purposes of ISKCON
- Module 3: Holistic Thinking
 Answers to Bhakta Prafullakumar
Q2) How come the 5th or 6th purpose of
ISKCON are attributed only to Varnasrama ?
Why can't the focus continue to be on the
temples and try to increase the congregation
through them?
A: Cities are for preaching, villages and farms
for living.
 Answers Bhakta Prafullakumar
Q3) What are the roles of farm communities in
Varnasrama, Does the shift in lifestyle
recommended for a devotee from city to farms?
Nectar of Instruction, Vers 2 Purport:
„Collecting and eating more than necessary
also causes prayāsa, or unnecessary endeavor.
By God’s arrangement, anyone in any part of
the world can live very peacefully if he has
some land and a milk cow.“
 Homework Bhakta Dhiraj
1. To systematically propagate spiritual
knowledge to society at large and to educate all
people in the techniques of spiritual life in
order to check the imbalance of values in life
and to achieve real unity and peace in the
world.

SP: Varṇāśrama System Must Be Introduced

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/77021
4r2may
 Homework Bhakta Dhiraj
1. As per your own experience, do you think that it is
simple/cheap to become a Vaishnava?
2. Lord Krishna in BG 4.13 talks about the divisions he
has created in human society as per the three modes
of material nature. Do you think that ISKCON can
educate ALL PEOPLE in techniques of spiritual life
by implementing only the Sankirtana movement?
3. Can ISKCON achieve Real (World) Unity and
Peace, without creating an all-encompassing system
that will support people in every walk of life
(including the rural areas)?
 Answers Bhakta Dhiraj
1. It is not simple/cheap to become a Vaishnava.

In Visnu dharma, Lord Visnu says:

Srutih smrtih mamaivajna yasyam ullanghya vartate
ajnacchedi mama drohi madbhaktopi na vaisnavah
„The vedas and the treatises thereunder, that is,
smrtis, convey My commands. Whoever violates
them, commits treason. Even if he be My
devotee/bhakta, he is by no means a Vaisnava.“
 Homework Bhakta Dhiraj
2. Can ISKCON educate ALL PEOPLE in
techniques of spiritual life by implementing only the
Sankirtana movement?
3. Can ISKCON achieve Real (World) Unity and
Peace, without creating an all-encompassing system
that will support people in every walk of life
(including the rural areas)?
 Homework Bhakta Dhiraj
Systems are a method of enforcing behavior by
using a collection of processes. Each system has its
own interaction (set of required inputs and set of
expected outputs) with the external environment.
Systems thinking can be defined as an approach to
problem solving, by viewing "problems" as parts of
an overall system, rather than reacting to specific
part, outcomes or events.
 Homework Bhakta Dhiraj
I found Bhakti Vriksha to be a well oiled system that
is self-sustaining.
What happens if we did not have a Bhakti Vriksha
system:
1. How to get new devotees to ISKCON without
crossing the line of sounding like a cult?
2. How to make each new member feel cared for and
feel as a part of a bigger ISKCON family?
3. How to keep growing the community organically,
without the need of any external support?
 Course structure

Part 2

- Module 4: Holistic Systems vs.

Reductionist Systems
- Module 5: Spiritual Science
- Module 6: Spiritual systems in
sanatana-dharma & ISKCON
 Course objectives

Understanding:
1. System thinking & holistic thinking
2. The system of 7 purposes of
ISKCON
3. Holistic system of Sankirtana
movement
 Course objectives

Understanding:
4. Spiritual science and systems
Application:
5. Of system thinking and holistic
thinking for training and
improvement in ISKCON
 Course objectives

Achieving:
6. Seven purposes of ISKCON
 System vs. holistic thinking
System thinking means how to choose the right
system and constantly improve it to achieve a goal.
How to optimize a process of achieving the goal.
Holistic thinking means to understand the problem
from holistic perspective (seeing the big picture, not
only one small problem and seeing the
interconnectedness of all things. It is about
relationships between different systems and how one
system is influencing or supporting the others). With
system thinking you get the micro focus. With
holistic thinking you get the macro focus.
 Module 4:
Holistic Systems vs.
Reductionist Systems
 Holistic approach means
seeing unity in diversity.

Reductionist approach means

seeing only unity or only diversity.
The materialistic western view of the world
attempts to break every subject down into
component parts in order to understand and
control its causes more effectively. However,
this is not an invariably successful approach.
Indeed, contemporary events are demonstrating
its shortcomings. For example, if any lesson
emerges from the spectacular failure of Western
medicine to eradicate disease, it is that disease
cannot be reduced to a single cause, nor can it
be explained within prevailing linear, scientific
parameters. In other words, complexity is the
hallmark of disease. - Bhakti Tirtha Swami
Some scientists, especially physicists, tell us
that we live in a holistic universe, meaning
that the study of one piece or part contains
the essence of the whole. Quantum physics
also looks more at an almost spiritual
conception of interconnectedness in which
we are all influenced by a certain cosmic
consciousness or energy. One thing is
always affecting another.
People are beginning to understand
through modern technology that one event
in the world affects another, but many still
do not understand the actual profundity
of this truth. It just shows how the universe
is so intense and systematic. It reinforces
the fact that everything affects something
else, and every person influences another in
some way. We are in a holistic existence.
Since people themselves have such little integrity or
wholeness, their lives are fragmented into political
lives, cultural lives, institutional or business lives,
social lives and religious lives. By the end of the day,
they are often confused about their actual identity.
They have different standards of conduct in all their
different roles. It is no wonder that so many people
today are having mental breakdowns.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami in Leadership 2
Each person is a wholistic being who has a
material aspect and a metaphysical aspect, but
who is the soul. The problems of the world are so
great that they cannot be addressed by looking at
just one aspect of our existence. There must be
an appropriate marriage between the material, the
metaphysical, and the spiritual. This is not only
healthy but it is imperative and necessary for
survival. - Bhakti Tirtha Swami
Please study Transhumanism
Science and spirituality can complement each
other. The point of "spiritual technology" is to
apply the scientific method of observation,
experimentation and proof to the knowledge
contained in the scriptures. As we apply these
ancient principles in our lives and discover the
wisdom behind them, we develop strong faith
based on our own experiences.
Two requirements for science:
1. Based on theoretical framework. If you do A,
then B will come out. What is the cause and
effect? Science is a theory of causation. This
cause will produce that result.
2. Theory should be tested and verifyed.

The outcomes of tested and verifyed theories

are called protocols.
Our reductionistic worldview needs to accept a
holistic model and a way of living that is more
spontaneous, pluralistic, joyful, integrative,
constructive and life-sustaining. We need a
cosmology that helps us view the big picture and
be aware of the context of every problem. Our
solutions must become holistic, transnational,
transgenerational and hopefully transcendental in
focus.
People who recognize their role in creation
and allow everything to unfold in its natural
rhythm will enhance the quality of life for
themselves and for others. But if human beings
continue to act in an unconscious and erratic
manner, they will produce frivolous, superficial
or destructive results. By being more in
harmony with nature instead of interfering and
creating unnecessary confusion, people can
improve themselves and benefit the world.
Systems without soul or spirituality will
mutate to engender dangerous, narrow
systems of control. If we do not recognize
that the dual need for interconnectedness
between people and between person and
God is a deep hunger, those who may start
their struggles in response to valid grievances
will very quickly be usurped by the seduction of
the economies of greed, manipulation, and
repression: the economy of war.
In wholesome cultures, a person finds
fulfillment when they can add value to
community. It is about doing God’s thing. It
is about your involvement in family,
community, and society. Existence is
meaningful because we are part of a
community, part of a cosmos, and part of a
holistic scheme that we are accountable to.
Wholesome culture helps us express our
personalities and individual creativity to our
highest potential (varnasrama).
We ultimately access healthy culture
through spirituality. Although we have a
material body, if we know how to access
our higher nature, we can become
metaphysically endowed and spiritually
competent.
 Western reductionist approach
Steems from trying to invent so many shortcuts.
But they produce only more complex problems
and lead to dead ends.

Main characteristics:
Oportunistic, pragmatic, ready made,
uniformed, „one size fits all“
 Eastern holistic approach
Paradoxical, blending seemingly incompatible
concepts together.
Example: Yukta vairagya (Nectar of devotion)
„Connected detachment“
Being detached, but using everything for
Krishna.
„Nothing belongs to me, but I am using
everything for Krishna.“
Eastern holistic approach
One size does not fit all.
Individual approach.
Tailored approach.
 Definition of paradox
Seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or
proposition which when investigated may
prove to be well founded or true. ‘the
uncertainty principle leads to all sorts of
paradoxes, like the particles being in two
places at once’.
 How to achieve holistic thinking
1. Mindfulness, full awareness (first become
conscious, then Krishna conscious)
2. Fearless („Devotee is humble but bold“
- BT Swami)
3. Playing with paradoxes (studying, analyzing,
creative thinking) while being free of fear
4. Changing perspectives
How to achieve holistic/perfect results
Perfect/holistic knowledge

Perfect/holistic process/system/method

Perfect/holistic goal
For example, we have the science of astronomy, but
the interior focus is astrology. We have mathematics,
but the interior focus is numerology. We have physics,
but the interior focus is metaphysics. We have
chemistry, but the interior focus is alchemy. We have
allopathic medicine, but the interior focus is
naturopathy. We have psychology, but the interior
focus is parapsychology. We have religion, but the
interior focus is spirituality.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami in Leadership 2
When we speak of a holistic approach,
Bhaktivinoda Thakura is talking about physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual aspects. New
modalities are constantly being developed, and
old ones are being rediscovered. It is important to
realize, however, that no single approach will work
for everyone. Some diets and remedies will work
in one culture but not in another, or for one type of
body or personality but not another.
 Holistic approach
How to become metaphysically endowed
and spiritually competent?
 Holistic approach
We have to take care about our needs or aspects:

physical – gross body

emotional – subtle mind body

mental – subtle intellectual body

spiritual – spiritual body

All based on sastra

 Holistic approach
We have to take care about:

Health (physical and emotional)

Social life (support from friends/community)

Intelectual life (studying sastra)

Spiritual life (practicing what we have studied)

All based on sastra

 Holistic approach
The sanskrit word Atma can mean:
- body
- mind
- intellect
- ego
- soul
- super soul
 Module 5:
Spiritual Science
 Bhāgavata-tattva vijñānam. It is not that you can
create your Bhagavān by concoction...
https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/711120le-delhi

Therefore the bhagavat-tattva, or Bhagavān, can be

understood only by the paramparā system, the
system of disciplic succession.
“This supreme science was thus received through
the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly
kings understood it in that way. But in course of
time the succession was broken, and therefore the
science as it is appears to be lost.” (Bhagavad-
gītā 4.2)
Formerly the kings (rājās) were great saintly persons.
They were not ordinary people engaged in drinking and
dancing. They were all ṛṣis (sages), up to the time of
Mahārāja Parīkṣit. They were trained in such a way that
they were not ordinary men but were called nara-deva.
Nara-deva refers to Bhagavān in the form of a human
being. The king was worshiped because he was a
rājarṣi, both a king and a sage.
The vedic science system is based upon
paramparā system:
Sastra

Sadhu

Guru
A healthy religion is supported by:

three-way check system of

* bona fide scriptures
* bona fide present-day saints
* bona fide self-realized individuals
of the past and present who
have transcendental contact,
such as sons of God, ascended
masters, saints or gurus
 HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami
When a religion meets all of these
criteria, you can feel secure
about its validity. In addition, each
of the three criteria themselves
should be validated by the other
two.
If we do not understand the essence of all religious
practice and the universal principles, we will honor
only the externals of the tradition and mistake those
externals for the tradition itself. Anyone who studies
his own theology deeply will find that the universal
principles can be shared with anyone else who is
willing to study his theology deeply. To study theology
deeply, however, we must honor sastra, sadhu and
guru, so that all points are constantly validated against
their own check and balance system. - Bhakti Tirtha Swami
 paramparā system
Is a check and balance system.

All points are constantly validated against

their own check and balance system.
 Spiritual process is based on:
1. Sastra-pramana (veda and agama)
2. Apta-pramana (sishtichara or actions of
Avataras and Mahajanas)
3. Atma-pramana – self-verification
process, realized state
4. Saksi-pramana – teaching to others
 Adikaratvam or eligibility to preach
and teach:
Comes only if you scrutinise your
experience (atma-pramana) with sastra and
apta-pramana.
Our own experience may be good for us,
but not for others. If you teach upon your
experience only, some important context
will be lost.
The essence of spiritual science
 The essence of spiritual science
Religion without philosophy is sentimental.
Philosophy without religion is mental speculation.
 The essence of spiritual science
Culture is never religion. Religion is a faith, and
culture is educational or advancement of knowledge.
Starts with varnashrama-dharma and ends with
bhagavata-dharma.
 The essence of spiritual science

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is scientific

movement to understand Krsna. It is not sentimental.
Sentiment must be there, but that is after
understanding (philosophy/tattva). That is spiritual
sentiment or bhava/ecstasy. Sentiments mean
“Where is Krsna?”. And asta-sattvika-bhavas.

- parahrasing Srila Prabhupada´s address to Indian

Society in Columbus
 Spiritual holistic system includes

1. Philosophy
2. Religion / dharma / understanding and obeying
God´s laws
3. Spiritual science of rasa-tattva or transcendental
sentiments for Krsna in different mellows of
dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya
 Spiritual holistic science

Is a combination of exoteric vedic (philosophy

and religion) and esoteric Gaudiya vaishnava
systems
(raganuga-bhakti, bhava-bhakti and prema-bhakti)

Vedic system is ruled by vidhis.

Raga-marga is ruled by bhakti or rati and is
spontaneous.
Sometimes we see that a spiritual teacher
recommends something different than the
present-day saints, or different from the
scriptural teachings, and when we look closer,
we see that he is not actually in line with
authentic spiritual principles. Great spiritual
teachers come to fulfill scriptural dictates and
shed more light on what previous teachers have
taught. If we notice something unclear or even
wrong in the theology taught by a particular
teacher, we will usually find that the teaching
does not actually line up with sastra and sadhu.
- Bhakti Tirtha Swami
 Module 6:
Spiritual systems of
sanatana-dharma & Gaudiya
Vaishnava/ISKCON
 Vedic Systems/Principles of spiritual
advancement
1. sāṅkhya, or empirical philosophy for the analytical
study of material conditions
2. yoga, or mysticism for liberation of the pure soul
from material bondage
3. vairāgya, the acceptance of complete detachment
from material enjoyment in life to elevate oneself to
the highest spiritual understanding
4. tapas, or the various kinds of voluntary austerities
performed for spiritual perfection - SB 3.12.3
purport
Gaudiya Vaisnava Theological System
Sambandha – Theory
Abhidheya – Application
Prayojana – Goal/result/product
 Gaudiya Vaisnava System of Tattva
Sambandha – atma-tattva (soul) /bhagavata-
tattva (God)
Abhidheya – Sadhana (spiritual practice)
and seva (spiritual engagement or service)
Prayojana – Krsna/Radha/Gaura Prema
(spiritually perfect body according to rasa
in which we want to serve)
 Gaudiya Vaisnava System of Tattva
Sambandha-tattva – vedic education
beginns with atma-tattva (understanding of
the soul) and ends with bhagavata-tattva or
vishnu-tattva (understanding of God)
 Gaudiya Vaisnava System of Tattva
Abhidheya-tattva – Vaidhi-Sadhana and
Raganuga-sadhana. Regulated vs.
spontaneous
Prayojana-tattva – Krsna/Radha/Gaura
bhava and prema
 Gaudiya Vaisnava System of Tattva
Sambandha-tattva – Sanatana Goswami and
Radha Madhana Mohana
Abhidheya-tattva – Rupa Goswami and
Radha Govinda Deva
Prayojana-tattva – Ragunatha dasa
Goswami and Radha Gopinatha
Vaishnava Systems from Bhaktivinoda
1. Daivi Varnasrama dharma – exoteric
2. Pancaratra (Vaishnava agama) dharma –
exoteric/esoteric
3. Bhagavata-dharma – esoteric

They all have their

sambandha/abhidheya/prayojana
 Systems of Visnu/Krsna worship
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Instructions on the Process
of Deity Worship
ŚB 11.27.7
One should carefully worship Me by
selecting one of the three methods by
which I receive sacrifice:
Vedic, tantric or mixed.
 1. System of varna and ashrama
- Starts with upanayanam initiation into
Vedic Brahma/Savitri Gayatri
- allows to study the four Vedas, chant
Vedic mantras, worship the deity
according to vedic system of
Vaikhanasam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikhanasas
#Vaikhanasam
 1. System of varna and ashrama
- Regular/asuric: to attain dharma-arta-
kama-moksha
- Daivi varnashrama – to please Lord
Vishnu/Narayana
 1. Daivi varnasrama system
“One can worship the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by proper
discharge of the principles of varṇa and
āśrama. There is no alternative to
pacifying the Lord by execution of the
principles of the varṇāśrama system.”
Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9)
 Bhakta Prafullkumar
Q1) What is the difference between "having
Vishnu as the centre of Varnasrama" and
"having Krishna as the centre of
Varnasrama"?
A: no difference in tattva, but difference in
rasa and in method to achieve the goal
(Vaikuntha rasa vs. Vrindavana rasa)
 Bhakta Prafullkumar
„Worship“ against „Pure Love“
1. You worship because you „must“
(psychologically or because you want to
achieve the results offered). It is imposed.
2. You „want to“, because you „feel to“. It
is self-motivated through specific taste.
 Bhakta Prafullkumar
A: the rules and practices of varnasrama and
pancaratra systems that are conducive for
particular rasa will be adopted. Other will
be abandoned.

Vaikuntha – „generic“. Rasas are santa

and dasya
Vrindavana - „tailored“ & spontaneous
process
 1. Varnasrama-dharma
Varṇāśrama-dharma is the systematic
institution for advancing in worship of
Viṣṇu.
 1. Varnasrama-dharma
Varna is a system of social order.
Ashrama is a system of spiritual order.

So all these processes are meant for

pleasing Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu.
 1. Varnasrama-dharma
No division of varṇas = varna-sankara

Varna-sankara – mixed, undefined, polluted

varna, chaotic division.
Atheists and demons. A burden for the
Earth.
 2. Pancaratrika-vidhi/marga/dharma
Vidhi – rules Marga – path
Path of the rules from Pancaratra or Agama scriptures
(Hari Bhakti Vilasa for Gaudiya Vaishnavas, ISKCON
Arcana Paddhati, ISKCON Pancaratra Pradipa).

Vaisnava diksa process. Vaisnava brahmanism.

 2. Agamas
Vedas give ultimate truth. Agamas are applied science
of the Vedas. Agamas are user friendly, practical
manuals for all castes and even for animals. They are
available in greater quantity than the Vedas.

Saiva, sakta (tantra) and vaishnava agamas

(pancaratra).
 2. Pancaratrika-vidhi/marga/dharma
Starts with Vaishnava diksa or initiation with panca-
Samskara and Vaishnava diksa mantras/gayatris.

Adhikara to worship Vishnu/Krsna in the temple -

Arcanam. The mood of Lakshmi-Narayana / Vaikuntha

Vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti – proces of regulated

devotional service according to rules and regulations of
parampara-system
 3. Bhagavata-vidhi/marga/dharma
Pusti-marga / Raga-marga
Pure unalloyed devotional service.
Starts with the chanting of the Holy Names and
continuous with Harinama initiation into the chanting.

Process of spontaneous devotional service of

sravanam-kirtanam-visno smaranam

It does not depend on initiation into any system.

 3. Bhagavata-vidhi/marga/dharma
Pusti-marga / Raga-marga
Adhikara to worship Radha Krsna in Vrindavana
Gauranga in Navadvipa

Raganuga-sadhana-bhakti – process of spontaneous

devotional service according to personal taste and
attachment (ruci and rati). Culminating in bhava and
prema-bhakti
 The essence of spiritual science

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is not

sentimental... If one wants to understand this
saṅkīrtana movement through philosophy and learning
and logic, oh, there is ample opportunity.
https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/690511ad-
columbus
Conclusion
In order to have better organizations, communities or
institutions, we must not only look for, but demand,
higher performance from our leaders. The best way to
do this is for people to work on their own character.
As they develop, they will naturally both demand and
engender caretakers of a higher caliber. How can
people work on their own character in a society filled
with unhealthy materialism and so many other
problems? They themselves must lead from the
inside out.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami in Leadership 2
As we look at management systems, we want to
become leaders who are wise and able to make
decisions. We want to build teams, define
cooperative roles, achieve as much as we can,
and set high goals. We especially want to be
concerned with the whole person by connecting
with timeless principles that direct us more and
more to the interior.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami in Leadership 2
 Questions for final assessment
I have argued that purposes no. 3 and 6 are related to
daivi varnasrama system. 2 purposes out of 7 would
make 29% of all purposes. Srila Prabhupada said that
establishing varnasrama dharma is 50% of his
mission.

1. Please find the rest of 21% purposes related to

daivi varnasrama system in any of 7 purposes.
2. Highlight the wordings or expressions in any of
the purposes that are related to daivi varnasrama
system.
 Questions for final assessment
2. Analyze if ISKCON can educate ALL PEOPLE in
techniques of spiritual life by implementing only the
Sankirtana movement? Short essay up to 500 words.
Provide quotes/references from sastra or SP.
3. Analyze if ISKCON can achieve Real (World)
Unity and Peace, without creating an all-
encompassing system that will support people in
every walk of life (including the rural areas)? Short
essay up to 500 words. Provide quotes/references
from sastra, SP or from course material.
 Questions for final assessment
4. Discuss the relationship between varnasrama
system and sankirtana system in achieving the 7
purposes of ISKCON. Short essay up to 500 words.
Provide quotes/references from sastra, SP or course
material.
 Thank you for participation!
Please join my next course:
Understanding and Preserving Srila
Prabhupada's Teachings

https://varnasramacollege.com/course/understanding-and