The Spiritual Process

In our small compass, we can hardly treat this subject fully and exhaustively. We therefore leave this point to our readers with these words: Give up the shackles of matter slowly. Cultivate your spirit inwards. Give up prejudices which you have acquired from the so-called rational thinkers who deny the existence of spirit. Be humble in yourself and learn to respect those who work towards spiritual attainments. Do these with your heart, mind and strength in the company of spiritual people alone, and you will see Krishna in no time.

Krishna is not an imaginary Being, nor have you a right to think that He is a material phenomenon fancied to be the Supreme Being by fools. Krishna is not understood by the process of distinguishing the subjective from the objective, nor is He to be accepted as an imposition on the people set up by designing men. Krishna is eternal, spiritually true, reflected on the human soul when it is relieved of all pressure of gross matter, and He is the subject of love which proceeds from the soul. Accept Him as such and you will see Him in your soul's eye.

Words fail to describe that Transcendental Being. The highest, best and most spiritual ideal of the Divinity is in Krishna. To bring arguments against Him is simply to deceive oneself and deprive oneself of the blessings that God has kept in store for man. Hence, all descriptions of His Name, person, attributes and Lila should be accepted spiritually, giving up the material portion which words must necessarily convey.

2. Hari is always vested with infinite powers. By infinite powers must be meant powers which know no bounds either in space or in time, as His powers alone created space and time. His powers are identified with His person. In material objects, there is a difference between the person and the powers, between the thing and its attributes, its name, its form and action: but it is a spiritual truth that in spirit the thing is identical with its name, form, attributes and action. This truth cannot be subjected to dry reason which deals with gross matter alone.

Krishna is supreme will in Himself, and He exercises His supreme power at His pleasure, which submits to no law, because all law has proceeded from His will and power.

Power is known from its exercise. In this world we have experience of only three of the attributes of Krishna's power. We see the material phenomena and we understand that His power has the attribute to create matter. This attribute is styled in the Vedas as "Mayashakti." We see man and we understand that the Supreme Power has the attribute to produce limited and imperfect souls. The Shastras [scriptures] call that attribute "Jiva-shakti." We conceive of One Who is Spiritual and Supreme in His realm of eternal spirits. We understand that His power has an attribute to exhibit perfectly spiritual existences. The Vedas call that attribute by the name of "Atma-shakti," or "Chit-shakti."

All these attributes together form one Supreme Power which the Vedas call "Para-shakti." In fact that power (shakti) is not distinguishable from the person of that Being. Still, the powers are separately exhibited in their separate actions. This is styled "Achintya-Vedaved-prakash," or the inconceivable simultaneous existence of distinction and non-distinction. Hari being will above law, He exercises His infinite powers, while He Himself remains unaffected. This is not understood, but felt in the soul as intuitive truth.