Traffic and Transcendence: How to accelerate towards pure devotional service!

They say that a spiritual or mystic realization can happen to anyone, at any place and any time. But merely knowing fact is not enough unless it actually happens to you. The ecstasy lies in experiencing it yourself!

 It was just another day on my way to office. I had managed to complete my daily quota of Japa just in time, and was in a real hurry to reach my desk on time. It was the same route, the same bike, and the same bustling traffic of good old Pune! The heat of the sun and the suffocating smoke of sulphur made matters even worse. To add insult to injury, I got stuck right in the middle of a huge traffic jam, which showed no signs of clearing out. I parked my bike on the road side and stood on the divider to see if there is even the slightest hint of a "light at the end of the tunnel" (in this case the tunnel extended ahead of me as well as behind me!). But all hopes led to eventual frustration.
Ultimately the traffic did start moving, although at a snail's pace. People all around me became restless and impatient. Everyone wanted to get ahead as soon as possible. Every conceivable corner, every possible space between two cars was deftly maneuvered by bikers in a desperate bid to break free from this helpless bondage. People were furiously honking their horns, signaling the people ahead of them to move out of their way. They were symbolically expressing an acute lack of patience, a miserly poverty of respect for fellow humans, and a self-centered rush to get ahead at any cost. They were silent externally. But their body language and actions (honking) spoke louder than what words could have possibly expressed. I could decode the cacophony around me, I could actually "see" them speak loud and clear:

"Get out of my way you insignificant fool. I am the all important person on this road. To hell with you and your time. My time is important. My work is important. My family, my office , my colleagues are important." 

 In the midst of all this confusion, I decided to simply sit back and wait for the traffic to clear out. The noise and negativity around me was certainly unnerving, but I had had enough experience of it to know better. Suddenly, a thought flashed on the screen of my mind. It was one of those moments when the subconscious transmits a spark of realization, when you are in a relaxed yet alert mood: not endeavoring to think hard, yet cognizant of your thoughts and the surroundings. In that very moment, I saw the connection between this external situation and the internal situation of our minds, especially when we try to move ahead on the path of devotional service.

Most of us started on this sublime path, after getting in touch with a magnanimous soul: a devotee distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, a preacher who preached in our college or a sibling who was connected to the mission. Before we came in contact with them, we were hankering intensely for some mundane goal at best, or meandering aimlessly at worse. But by their compassionate endeavors, we were somehow able to steer ourselves on the correct path back to Krishna. But what next? Merely starting on the path does not guarantee that you are on an express highway back to Krishna. Definitely not for most of us, who have a baggage full of previous conditionings and anarthas, blocking our way at each step. All of us want to get ahead as soon as possible. The philosophy is too enchanting:  “I am a soul, I am not this mortal bag of flesh and bones. The spiritual world is full of mirth and joy. Krishna and His cowherd friends are waiting for me with open arms, eager to accept me back among them.”  Who will not be eager to shed off this perishable dress and unite again with the all-attractive Lord? Who will not want to be with Him as soon as possible?

But inevitably, despite our well meaning efforts, we find ourselves stuck in a huge traffic jam at some point of our progressive devotional service. Why? Because we are still within the labyrinth of material creation! We are still not liberated from the matrix of our own mind, which constantly thrives on material thoughts and desires. There is a constant traffic of various thoughts streaming into our consciousness from all possible directions. And our real self (soul) is trapped exactly in the middle of these opposing forces. Some thoughts pull us in one direction, while other thoughts are simultaneously dragging us on another path. We get confused and bewildered. Which way to go? Which thought to act upon? What will be the result of this action? Will it cause bondage, or will it lead to Krishna?

Some of these thoughts fight for our attention by "honking" loudly. These are the thoughts of instant self-gratification. They allure us and tempt us with all their power. We are almost forced act upon them without thinking about the consequences. Especially in the initial phases of devotional service, when our faith and conviction has not matured sufficiently, we are susceptible to these temptations presented by the Lord’s external potency: “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” (Bhagavad Gita, 7.14)

In such situations, we need to be aware that it is only our mind which is conditioned due to previous habits and desires. The confusion arises due to lack of guidance and the absence of an unchanging supreme goal. As prescribed by the Lord Himself, the solution is to simply surrender to Him by controlling the impetuous senses, tolerating their desires, engaging them in His service, and making Him the supreme goal of life. Simply controlling the senses may be not be very effective, because “the senses are so strong that they forcefully drag even a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them” (Bhagvad Gita, 2.60). What we really need is a positive engagement of senses in higher activities of Krishna consciousness (Hearing and chanting of Lord’s glories and names). The entire system of Sadhana Bhakti or Vaidhi Bhakti, has been designed by our previous Acaryas to help us overcome these obstacles and develop unalloyed love for Krishna. They instruct us to systematically engage all the senses in Krishna’s service, who is also known as Hrishikesha, the master of senses. Srila Prabhupada, in his preface to “The Nectar of Instruction” or Upadesamrita , has given us the following realization:

“In all spiritual affairs, one's first duty is to control his mind and senses. Unless one controls his mind and senses, one cannot make any advancement in spiritual life. Everyone within this material world is engrossed in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness, sattva-guṇa, by following the instructions of Rūpa Gosvāmī, and then everything concerning how to make further progress will be revealed.”

Following these instructions may be compared to following the rules and regulations of the traffic police. If everyone follows the rules correctly, then there is minimum chance of a “Traffic jam”, simply because the traffic authorities have the foresight to anticipate problems. Because they can “see” the problems even before they occur, their rules and regulations are meant precisely to prevent any tough situations. As they say: “Prevention is better than cure” Similarly, our highly elevated Acaryas had the foresight to see the problems that we will face in this iron age of quarrel and duplicity. And hence they were kind enough to lay out a systematic plan of Sadhana-Bhakti for us to follow. If we simply surrender to their instructions as given in The Nectar of Instruction and purports of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, then we also can avoid difficult situations in our life, and accelerate towards our supreme goal. The sequence of progress on this path has been beautifully described by Srila Rupa Goswami in his Nectar of Devotion:

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kåñëa consciousness, which is matured in bhäva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.”

Through a consistent practice of regulative principles, we can be situated in perfect consciousness suitable for pure devotional service: “One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence.” (Bhagavad Gita, 2.61).Being situated in this pure consciousness, we can constantly render devotional service unto the transcendent Lord, and reach the ultimate stage of pure devotional service. The highest and purest form of this service demands that it should not be mixed with any unnecessary tinge of desire for material profit through fruitive activites, or philosophical speculation: “When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kåñëa favorably, as Kåñëa desires.” (Cc., Madhya, 19.167). Our hankering soul can be completely satisfied only when we reach this sublime stage of pure loving service unto the Lord.

The practical formula for transforming a “Traffic Jam” into an expressway towards Krishna is well within our reach: Simply surrender to Krishna, by following the instructions of previous Acaryas as our heart and soul!