Love Is Our Life

Once we begin spiritual life, we can find real enjoyment. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has explained that our real life is love of Godhead. Love is our life; everyone wants to love. Everyone is hankering to love someone. But we do not know where to place our love. Krsna, however, is the ultimate object of love. We are trying to maintain this body, but the body is not actually the proper object of our love. Rather, it is the life within the body that is the real object of love. Similarly, the central point is Krsna. As soon as we somehow or other place our love with Krsna, our path of happiness, eternity and bliss opens. If we gradually make progress, then we actually reach the platform of love, and then other symptoms of love become manifested. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has explained how love in the pure transcendental stage of life develops with Krsna, and He has divided it into five relationships: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya.

These categories differ according to progressive affection for God, but the basic principle of all of them is love of God. Santa means the neutral position. This is the sublime position of knowing that God is great. When there is appreciation of God but there is no activity, that is called the neutral stage, santa-rasa. But when activity is added, one concludes, "God is the greatest, so let me render some service to the greatest." It is quite natural. Suppose one is with a person who is one's superior. Naturally one says, "Mr. Such and Such, can I do something for you?" This offering of service is natural. Whenever one finds some superior, one will naturally offer one's service.

Simply understanding that God is great is the principle of all religious scriptures, whether Christian or Jewish or Hindu or Muslim. The common conception of all religion is that God is very great. The Muslims say, "Allah agavat." The Christians say, "God is great." The Hindus say, "Satyam param brahman." When Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gita and understood Krsna also, he addressed Krsna as param brahman, the greatest spiritual identity. The acceptance of the greatness of God is called santa-rasa. It is also peaceful realization: "I have realized the greatest." This is called brahma-bhūta. "I am qualitatively one with the Supreme. I am Brahman, and the Lord is also Brahman." Suppose a very big man is our very nearest and dearest relative. Are we not proud of it? For example, wouldn't you feel proud to know that the President were your uncle? Similarly, as soon as one understands that he is Brahman or that Krsna is Param Brahman, he will feel ecstasy. That is called santa-rasa.

The next stage is when one feels, "Why not render some service to the President? I want to do something for him." A great man has a great field of activities; if one offers some service to the Supreme Lord, one has an unlimited field. One can worship the Supreme Lord by one's talent. Everyone has some specific talent; even birds and beasts have specific talents. When Lord Ramacandra was constructing a bridge over the Indian Ocean to approach the kingdom of Ravana, Hanuman and the other big monkeys were bringing big stones, and a spider also concluded, "Why not serve Ramacandra?" They were trying to construct a bridge, and the spider thought, "What can I do?" So he started rubbing his legs in the dust and throwing bits of dust into the ocean. Hanuman said, "What nonsense are you doing?" The spider replied, "I am doing some service." And Ramacandra said, "He is doing as good as you are. You are throwing big stones, but he has no power to bring big stones. He is doing whatever he has the power to do, so he is doing as well as you." This shows that God does not require any service from us. He is complete, but He wants to see our existence engaged in giving pleasure to the Supreme.

Many people ask, "Why did God create us?" The answer is that God created us for enjoyment. Why does a father create so many children? For enjoyment. Otherwise, what is the use of taking so much responsibility for a family? Nowadays people don't want to take any responsibility, but people try to evade it. It is a fact, however, that by not being family men they are unhappy. Everyone should be responsible; no scripture disallows family life. Anyone can serve the Supreme Lord.