Pleasure And Pain

Pleasure is a general term which is applied to any feeling of satisfaction which is agreeable to the living entity. This feeling may range from a sense of bodily gratification to a positive sense of spiritual happiness. In psychoanalysis "the pleasure principle" maintains that the living entity automatically adjusts his mental and physical activities to secure pleasure and to avoid pain. Pain is the sensation one feels when hurt mentally or physically. It can be manifest due to a physical wound, distress, great anxiety, suffering, anguish, grief and so on, or it can be caused by the body being attacked, or loved ones being lost, or by disappointments, etc. As far as pleasure is concerned, the position of the conditioned living entity is difficult because he is dwelling in the abode of pain and suffering, the body, which lives in the land of suffering-the material universe. Deluded, the living entity tries to lord it over objects in the material universe but is ultimately always frustrated. It is like a man trying to enjoy a picnic in the middle of a blazing forest fire. In His famous "Fire Sermon," Lord Buddha paints a vivid picture of the situation: "The ear is on fire; sounds are on fire; the tongue is on fire; tastes are on fire; the body is on fire; things tangible are on fire; the mind is on fire; ideas are on fire; mind-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the mind are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the mind, that also is on fire. And with what are these on fire? With the fire of passion, say I, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation; with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief and despair are they on fire."

Ignoring this mighty conflagration, man tries desperately to enjoy himself in this world. He does not seek a Guru who, like a rain cloud, can extinguish this fire. Rather, he throws fuel on it by flocking to cities to seek pleasure on all fronts, and despite continual frustration he tries again and again to gratify his desires which are infinite and insatiable. Not only men, but all organisms seek pleasure. The pleasure principle is universal. It extends from microscopic beings in the lowest states of life to the great demigods in the heavenly planets.

This principle is not unnatural. Mundane pleasure is but a reflection of the infinite pleasure which exists in the spiritual worlds. Lord Krishna has been called the Reservoir of all pleasure-satchitananda-Knowledge-Being-Bliss-Absolute. The pleasure that the conditioned being is seeking is really there in Krishna in the spiritual life, but due to a poor fund of knowledge he seeks pleasure in other things. Lord Krishna is called Govinda, the Enlivener of senses, for He gives total pleasure to the total senses of all created beings. Once in contact with Him, the soul becomes satisfied. Otherwise it is always hankering after more and more pleasure. In the material worlds the highest pleasure is derived from sex, or, some may argue, from a psychedelic mental inebriation. But, in either case, sex or inebriation are temporary. The happiness derived from them cannot satisfy because they exist external to the human being and are therefore subject to being used up. Consequently one is always looking for more sex partners or more drugs. Real pleasure is not relative, is not dependent on exteriors, but is inherent constitutionally within the soul. Real pleasure is experienced by the soul when it is in contact with the Super Soul, Sri Krishna. That is an interior pleasure which is eternal. The soul is automatically in contact with Krishna when one chants Hare Krishna, for by dint of the omnipotency and omnipresence of the Divine, the word "Krishna" and Krishna Himself are non-different. So when one chants Hare Krishna, he has Krishna dancing on his tongue, and this is the supreme pleasure. This vibration is eternal, and the soul can partake of it apart from the body, for it is vibrated eternally in the spiritual spheres.

Therefore pleasure or happiness should always be derived from that which is favorable to the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, Krishna consciousness. And that which is painful is that which is unfavorable for the cultivation of such knowledge.

Birth and death here refer to the birth and death of the body, for the soul, being eternally situated, being unborn, is not subject to birth and death, though he may be entangled in them. Lord Krishna establishes this fact in the very beginning of Bhagavad-gita. "For the soul there is neither birth nor death. Nor having once been does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." (Gita, 2.20)

The jiva soul, though unborn, struggles very hard in the tree of the material body. Under delusion he thinks himself that tree. And in order to enlighten him, his constant companion, the Super Soul, sings the Bhagavad-gita to him. In the Svetasvataro Upanishad it is said that two birds are sitting in the same tree. One of the birds, the individual soul, eats the fruit of the tree, and the other bird, the Super Soul, simply witnesses. The bird who is eating the fruit is so intent on enjoying the tree that he has forgotten his loving relationship with the other bird. The whole purpose of Bhagavad-gita is to awaken the materially absorbed soul to that relationship. As long as he is interested in enjoying the fruits of the tree, he will be entangled in birth and death.

By revival of our relationship with the Super Soul, all desire for enjoying the fruits of the tree of material life is vanquished. Then we are able to enter into our eternal relationship with Krishna in the spiritual world which is the realm of eternality beyond time and pure existence beyond birth and death. The quickest and simplest method for reviving this relationship and attaining this state is the chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna.

Repeatedly in the Gita Lord Krishna says that He is the Super Soul, Paramatma, seated in the hearts of all. "One who sees the Super Soul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and understands that neither the soul nor the Super Soul is ever destroyed, actually sees." (Gita, 13.27) Factually knowing the identity of all living entities to be unified in Krishna, the person in Krishna consciousness does not commit violence against others. "He is a perfect yogi who, knowing that the Self dwells in all, sees the equality of all living entities, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna!" (Gita, 6.32) Non-violence does not simply extend to injuring another person physically. One who is non-violent does not put another into misery or confusion. The human body is meant for spiritual realization, and one who does not further this end or who impedes this end actually commits violence on the body. Of course in this Age of Kali the whole world is fraught with violence. Violence arises out of anger, and anger arises when one's lust is frustrated. Therefore non-violence will automatically come when we control our senses and learn to tolerate the comings and goings of lust and desire.

Mahatma Gandhi tried to show that Bhagavad-gita is a treatise on non-violence in order to serve his own political ends, and to do this he had to force an allegorical interpretation on this Scripture. Somehow or other he had to answer for the fact that the Bhagavad-gita was spoken on the battlefield and that Krishna specifically told Arjuna to kill Drona, Bhisma and every other enemy he could get his hands on. In his attempt, Gandhi stated that the Battlefield of Kurukshetra is only a symbol for the human body where the spiritual war between good and evil is waged and that Krishna simply represents the Divine voice in man and Arjuna the mortal voice. The triumph of the Gita then is that the Divine voice wins out. Somehow or other Gandhi ignored the fact that Kurukshetra was a real battlefield and that it is presently existing in India under the same name. Also, in relegating the Bhagavad-gita to mere symbolism he relegates the entire Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam as well, for if Krishna is only a character in a fable, then these literatures are no more important than fairy tales. In order for Bhagavad-gita to make sense we must understand that it was not spoken by an ordinary man and that Krishna is not just another ordinary character in fiction. We must come to the understanding that the Speaker of the Gita is the omnipresent eternal Reality who is the very Light of the light by which we presently read His Divine instructions.

Now, should one conclude that just because Krishna told Arjuna to go out and fight that we have license to kill at our whim or at the whims of unscrupulous politicians? Arjuna was a kshatriya. The word kshatriya denotes one who protects others from harm. This is the duty of the kshatriya. It is not that he attacks innocent men and women; rather, he fights for a higher cause against other kshatriyas who are capable of defending themselves. Nor is it that he stays in the back lines and sends his men out to be killed. In the Dwapara yuga, when Arjuna was a kshatriya, the head of the state would fight in the very front line, and at his death the war would cease. Who could imagine today's presidents, premiers and prime ministers personally engaged in battle? Besides, Lord Krishna is very specific that Arjuna should fight, not for his own sense gratification, but for the sake of the Supreme. "Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; so there is no need for hesitation. O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets. If, however, you do not fight this religious war, then you will certainly incur sin for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter." (Gita, 2.31-33) Therefore Arjuna should fight because Krishna desires the battle. For one in Krishna consciousness there is no consideration for personal happiness, profit or gain, victory or defeat. Everything is performed for Krishna as a matter of devotional service.

Today there are no kshatriyas, no specific class of fighters. Men are simply drafted out of society from all walks of life and inducted en masse into the armed forces where they are trained to spray napalm on innocent civilians, including children, and even on defenseless soldiers, and to drop atomic bombs to annihilate the population of entire cities. This is not in the kshatriya spirit. Perhaps the only kshatriyas in the West were the knights of the Crusades, for they at least fought in hand to hand combat against other soldiers for religious principles. Certainly the large global wars of this century are demonically inspired and demonically waged.

One who is in Krishna consciousness is certainly non-violent. He knows that he does not have the right to kill even an ant, for he knows that the Super Soul is dwelling in all living entities. He will fight in battle only if he is a kshatriya and only if Krishna or the Spiritual Master tells him to. Nor is it that one imagines Krishna to give instructions according to one's own desires. It is standard practice to claim that God is "on our side" and that we are fighting for God, when in actuality we are only fighting for our own stomachs or a vague concept. No. The best course in the Age of Kali is renunciation of violence because no war is being waged on religious principles. Therefore Lord Chaitanya, Lord Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha, all Kali yuga avatars, advocate non-violence as the best course in this age.

Non-violence does not mean that I will sit idly by and let someone kill me. Why should I permit another person to commit violence against a body that is in Krishna's service? If I am devoting my life to spreading Krishna's message, then I should defend it. Self-defense is not considered violence, and according to the Vedas one is allowed to kill the following aggressors: one who attacks suddenly with a deadly weapon, a house-burner, a poison giver, a plunderer or an agricultural usurper and an enticer of one's wife.

Non-violence, then, does not mean that we become as passive as stones, nor that we wage war for some vaporous cause such as "freedom now" or "down with the Communist or fascist pigs," nor for any other political or ideological concept or slogan. Non-violence means that we benefit others by spreading the message of Krishna consciousness and that we protect ourselves and others from senseless violence.