The Secret behind living an infinite life!
Author — Vikram Mishra, Futurist, Spiritualist, Coach - Director for Strategic Sourcing and Operations for Asia at Mars, Incorporated
Something that is highly celebrated in today’s life is Freedom
Everyone of us wants to live an infinite life, free of all restrictions and bondages that limit us.
We all aspire to become free, a life where we apparently get to do and act as we wish to.
But how much of that desire translates into reality?
Is anyone actually living such a life? Or is such a life actually possible?
Let us dive a bit deeper into this
Are we free or governed?
We might think ourselves as an independent thinker. I am shy, I am intelligent, I am extrovert and so on. But then why is it that one person is a certain way and another completely different?
Krishna tells in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 27
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāniguṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmākartāham iti manyate
One thinks of himself as the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
We live in a material world. What makes material is it is bound by time. We are governed by the laws of material nature. Who we are is given by the modes of material nature. Not just us, every living entity, from an ant to an elephant, is under the modes of material nature. The three modes of material nature are goodness, passion and ignorance. Everything from our thoughts, actions, dreams, desires, fragrance, types of food and fruits to the time of the day is governed by three modes
Goodness is characterised by knowledge and peace
Passion is characterised by hankering, endeavor, desire to possess and enjoy
Ignorance is characterised by inactivity, laziness and lethargy
Look into your life and reflect on how these modes govern all aspects of your life. Our profession, the kind of clothes we wear, our likings etc., all of them are governed by the three modes.
So are we really independent?
We are limited or in the other words, we are finite, constrained by the boundaries of the 3 modes. It’s like we are in a box whose sides are the three modes.
rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata
rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā
Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. (BG 14.10)
We play in this box our whole life. We gather many experiences but what have we gained in the end?
We get influenced by society, experiences, education etc. and may play in one dimension more than the other but in reality, we remain inside the box!
And then we die. And as Krishna points out in Bhagavad-Gita, we go from one body to another and continue the cycle of birth and death and continue to play inside the box. .
But in all of this, we are playing within the box only. Interestingly, human birth provides an opportunity to understand that we are in a box. An opportunity to understand that we are part and parcel of infinite God.
Do these three modes control everyone?
Not everyone.
There is a living entity who is above the three modes. He is the Supreme Lord, who is Apaurusheya, naistrai gunaya (transcendental to the three modes). He is the Creator of the three modes.
Everything in this nature is working under His direction.
From the taste of water to the sweetness of mango, to the marigold flower, we can see His intelligence everywhere in the nature.
But we become so proud when we get a promotion, or great marks in a school exam, that ‘I’ am so good, ‘I’ did this etc.
That is illusion!
This illusion keeps us running after achievements, and titles and possessions, and it keeps us trapped in the box!
Is There Any Way to Get Out?
Yes, there is a way for us to live an infinite life!
But that can be possible through external help. We can’t do it by ourselves.
Srila Prabhupada, the Founder Acharya of ISKCON gives the example that a man who has fallen in quicksand can’t come out by himself. Only when a rope is thrown by someone outside, then he can come out.
By taking help of Krishna, who is the Creator of the box, we can help rise above the modes, out of the box. That rope is the process of Bhakti Yoga.
Krishna explains this in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 26
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.
When we connect to Krishna, we transcend the boundaries of the material nature.
Will directly connecting to Krishna solve our problems?
It is not so easy for us to have direct access to Krishna. We have to do the sadhna in order to qualify. We need to first know about Krishna and then to know how to connect with Krishna.
Just like to excel in any field, we need guidance, mentoring from an expert of that field. To learn physics we go to a physics professor, who has the knowledge and the wisdom to teach us physics, similarly to learn the teachings of Krishna, we need to go to a bona fide spiritual master who is connected to Krishna through a disciplic succession..
Krishna delineates a simple way out in Chapter 4, Verse 34
tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
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.
We have to find that representative of Krishna who is directly following Him, who can instruct us on His behalf. And we then walk the path that Krishna has shown in the Bhagavad-Gita.
That is the beginning of our Infinite life.
Once Krishna is present in our life, miracles start to show up. The connection with Krishna takes us above body, mind and intellect, into the realm of spirituality
How to tap that Infinite life?
There are three ways to connect with Krishna sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam to hear about Krishna, to chant krishna’s name and think of Krishna
We are limited. But Krishna is unlimited.
HE is the all primeval Lord who is omnipresent across all planets, stars, galaxies, and universes!
Just like an iron rod when in constant touch with fire becomes fire, similarly by connecting with Krishna (through the Spiritual coach), we can also get access to living that infinite life.
Surrendering to Krishna means not working to satisfy our own desires but working to please Krishna, working as per the instructions given by Him in the Bhagavad-Gita. He wants all of us to live an infinite life, that’s why He spoke the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the manual on How to lead an infinite life.
Krishna can use us for causes we can’t imagine. He gives us the desires and the strength and intellect to fulfill those desires.
For example, Arjuna didn’t want to fight the Kurukshetra war. But Krishna had a plan. He wanted to establish the righteous king Yudhisthira on the throne and kill all the demoniac kings.
Only when Arjuna accepted the will of the Lord, did he get this credit and was hailed as the Hero of the war.
How can I be benefitted?
Krishna has unlimited plans for us.
He just wants us to align our thought and actions with His.
When we thus, dedicate our actions and thoughts to Krishna and follow the instructions of a spiritual coach. we can live that infinite life we have always imagined to live..
