My Spiritual Glasses

Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy

Mayapur. I walk out of the ISKON compound on to the main road. I close my eyes  and massage them for a few seconds to soothe them. They are allergic to something in Mayapur.

I hail a ricksha. Haggle with the driver over the fare. Then drive north for about twenty minutes till I come to the Chaitanya Math, an institution composed of a few buildings decorated in colorful Bengali style. I go inside.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, the spiritual master of my own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, founded the Chaitanya Math in 1918. He left this world in  December of 1936.

I amble into a room where I see Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s wheelchair and a pair of glasses. He had not actually used those glasses, a friend once told me. His disciples had the glasses made after his departure, with lenses ground according to the original prescription.

I wonder, Did the great teacher really need glasses? Even without  them he could see things that I cannot.

I close my eyes and soothe them with my hand. “Allergic conjunctivitis,” the doctor had told me.

“Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati could see the spiritual world,” I think, “ but I cannot. I’m the one who needs glasses. But what kind of glasses?”

Wait. I’ll ask  Sri Brahma, the builder of our universe. The name “Brahma” means “the greatest,” and many people mistake him for the Supreme Lord. But Brahma knows better. He admits that someone else surpasses him.

How can I see that greater person?   What I need, says Brahma, is not glasses but ointment:

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Syamasundara, Krishna Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love. (Brahma Samhita 5.38)

It sounds easy enough, but where will I find that salve of love? Not at Walmart. Not at an Indian market. Not at the eye doctor’s. Where then?

My eyes itch. I rub them.

Well if I  can’t find Brahma’s solution, maybe I should go directly to Lord Krishna. It’s worth a try. I open my Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.

First, Krishna tells Arjuna about what won’t work. So I won’t  try these:

The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am. (11.53)

Now Krishna doesn’t say that I should not study the scriptures or perform austerities. But I must consider another element. I read on:

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.(11.54)

Devotional service? Yes.

I have read about the great souls who attained Krishna through devotional service. But could I ever do what they did?

King Pariksit attained perfection by the service known as sravanam, hearing about Krishna.  He cast aside his royal robes for a loincloth, then sat  on the bank of the River Yamuna, and listened to Srimad Bhagavatam for seven days and nights without stopping.

Sukadeva Goswami  left home at the age of seventeen to live in the forest as an ascetic. He attained perfection by reciting Srimad Bhagavatam while King Pariksit listened.

Could I follow either one of them? I can’t even make it through the day without my afternoon nap.

Prahlad Maharaj, a boy of just five, meditated constantly on Krishna even while his demonic father threw him under the feet of an elephant,  threw him off a cliff, and surrounded him with deadly snakes.

Me? As soon as I have the littlest problem, my mind forgets Krishna and turns to thoughts of sense gratification.

What hope do I have? Will I ever find my glasses?

Wait. I have an idea.Let me go earlier in the Bhagavad-Gita, where Krishna tells me where to look:

Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. (Bhagavad-gita 4.34)

Well if I ain’t a dumbbell! I should have gone to Srila Prabhupada first.

Prabhupada writes: