Swami B. V.

Tripurari
“Joy derived from material objects will never be
everlasting. Why is this so? Material objects are transi-
tory. Like foam on waves, material manifestations, from
our small bodies to gigantic solar systems, appear for
some time and disappear forever. We, on the other hand,
are not the fleeting experience of material joy. We are the
experiencers—consciousness—and possess the power of
experiencing the joy of self.” Joy
of
 Self
Joy of Self
Joy of Self
Swami B. V. Tripurari
ISBN: 1-886069-13-1

© Sri Caitanya Sangha 2011.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy-
ing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Sri Caitanya Sanga.

Printed in the U.S.A.

 Dedication
T o my spiritual master and dearmost friend,
Püjyåpåda A. C. Bhaktivedånta Swåmî Prabhupåda.
 
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................ix
1. In Search of Joy................................................ 1
2. Affectionate Guardian..................................... 9
3. Revealed Sound.............................................. 19
4. Conceptual Orientation................................. 27
5. The Means....................................................... 41
6. The Goal......................................................... 55
 
Introduction
N o one can say that they do not exist. No one can experience
non­existence. There are those, of course, who would argue for
the joy of no self. This book was not written for these think-
ers, other than to suggest that they think again. It was written
primarily for those who sense that our individual existence is
not something to do away with in the name of enlightenment.
Joy of Self is about our identity in transcendence.

ix
x The Joy of Self
Recently a young man asked me about the ego. “If the
ego is so bad,” he queried, “why do we have it in the first
place?” I told him that the ego is not bad, for ego indicates
identity. We all have an identity. We are all individuals.
However, our present sense of individuality is based on
our identification with matter in the form of our bod­
ies, minds, and the extensions of these in all that we call
“ours.” This identity is a false one, a false ego.
All of the major traditions of Eastern spirituality and
many traditions of the West tell us in so many words that
our present individual identity is based in material mis­
identification and is thereby false. What they do not tell us
Introduction xi

is what this book is about. They do not tell us that we have

an individual identity to realize in transcendence once we
have dissolved the false ego.
If the offer of material nature for lasting joy is but false
advertising, seeing through this sham is to see deeply. If
we move from negative numbers to zero, we will feel that
we have progressed. The Buddhist notion of fullness in
emptiness stops at zero. There is no doubt a fullness in re­
alizing the emptiness of material life, but can we progress
from zero to positive numbers? If so, we will have to look
even more deeply into the mystery of our self. So doing,
devotional Vedånta informs us that we can realize the joy
xii The Joy of Self

of self, the pure self, free from the exploitation that is char­
acteristic of the false self born of material identification.
This book is an introduction to the devotional Vedånta
of Çrî Chaitanya, Gau∂îya Vedånta. Çrî Chaitanya, the
fifteenth-century K®ß√a avatåra who personified a life of
divine love, left in writing only eight Sanskrit stanzas. Yet
his immediate followers churned these drops of nectar
into an ocean of literature on divine love. This introduc­
tion draws from their writings and the sacred literature of
spiritual India such that anyone can gain a well-rounded
acquaintance with the foundational philosophical prin­
Introduction xiii

ciples of Gau∂îya Vedånta and thus come to know of the

potential for joy inherent in the self.
 
1. In Search of Joy
G au∂îya Vedånta is a metanarrative that is deeply philosophi-
cal yet readily accessible to even the most common person. It
speaks to us of joy and a life of love that never ends. If we em-
brace it, we will experience this love and never lose it due to
the influence of time.
All living beings are in search of joy. We pursue joy
directly and do so indirectly when we try to avoid distress.
Although one of the four noble truths of the Buddha is that

1
2 Joy of Self

life is about suffering, the Buddha himself teaches how to

end suffering, which is indirectly the pursuit of joy. So also
are the masochists, sadists, and those labeled suicidal in
search of joy. In this search for joy we are all one; we differ,
however, in what our conception of joy is.
In another sense, we do all want the same type of joy:
that which is everlasting. Therefore, it might be more accu-
rate to say that we are looking for the same thing but look-
ing in different places. Yet the joy we find in this world is
fleeting at best.
Joy derived from material objects will never be everlast-
ing. Why is this so? Material objects are transitory. Like
In Search of Joy 3

foam on waves, material manifestations, from our small

bodies to gigantic solar systems, appear for some time and
disappear forever. Where do they go? From whence they
came. We, on the other hand, are not the fleeting experi-
ence of material joy. We are the experiencers. We are con-
sciousness and we possess consciousness, or the power of
experiencing.
We often hear that absence of experience of the soul is
justification for its dismissal. For the Vedåntin, however,
experience itself is the soul. Experience is the function of
consciousness, and consciousness is that which cannot be
dismissed, since dismissal itself is a conscious act. We can
4 Joy of Self

dismiss all, from our own bodies to the entire universe, in

our search for enduring joy, for all material manifestations
will vanish. If, therefore, we are to be successful in our
search for joy, we must look not to matter, but to the very
consciousness of which we are constituted. To experience
joy, we must find ourselves in the maze of matter.
The search for joy is in reality the search for self. It is
only because we project our own self into material objects
that we seem to derive pleasure from them. When we con-
ceive of material objects as “mine,” we in effect “enter”
those objects and seem to derive pleasure from them. In
reality, however, it is our self that has entered those objects,
In Search of Joy 5

and it is the same self that is the basis of the joy we experi-
ence in relation to those objects. Thus close scrutiny reveals
that it is consciousness alone in which pleasure is found,
and we are a unit of consciousness. Yet how can we find
ourselves and from whence do we come? These are the im-
portant questions for human society.
As human beings, we have the capacity to reason. In
one sense the universal human language is that of reason-
ing. Unfortunately, all in human dress do not speak it. If
we learn the language of reasoning and are thus directed
by intelligence, we will reach the conclusion that logic itself
is limited. It can lead us to the self, yet it cannot reveal the
6 Joy of Self

self, for intelligence is but a subtle material manifestation

and is thus inferior to consciousness. Consciousness, the
self, animates body, mind, and intelligence. It brings these
gross and subtle material manifestations to life by lending
itself to them. How then can intelligence be the guide of the
soul? Our guide must possess greater knowledge than us.
Thus intelligence cannot reveal the soul any more than a
candle can shed light upon the sun. Intelligence can, how-
ever, point us in the self’s direction, just as in darkness a
candle can lead us to light.
As a ray of sun is separated from the sun by a cloud,
we are apparently separated from our source by the cloud
In Search of Joy 7

of illusion. The supreme sun—eternal joy and conscious-

ness personified—is the source of both its own rays and
the cloud of illusion. Thus, as rays of consciousness now
illusioned by the cloud of ignorance, we must connect
ourselves with our source and thus overcome the material
illusion. In our search for joy we must find the reservoir of
consciousness, with whom we are one, yet at the same time
different. To comprehend our inconceivable nature we re-
quire help from beyond the limits of logic. We require more
than human effort. We require grace, divine grace.
Although it may not be popular to advocate our depen-
dence upon another, when we understand this principle phil-
8 Joy of Self
osophically through the metanarrative of Gau∂îya Vedånta,
we will realize the extent to which true independence is
realized in divine dependence. Unlike Buddhism, monistic
Vedånta, and other popular Oriental paths to perfec­tion,
Gau∂îya Vedånta is a devotional path with emphasis upon
grace. Gau∂îya Vedånta as exemplified by Çrî Chaitanya of-
fers much to we who are in search of joy. He and his sub-
sequent followers have presented a doctrine of divine love
well reasoned and easily accessible to all. In our search for
joy we would do well to consider its principal tenets.
 
2. Affectionate Guardian
G odhead alone can guide us in our search, yet he chooses to
do so through a particular agent. God is our guru, and yet our
guru is not God. Although this may sound contradictory at
first, Gau∂îya Vedånta makes clear this apparent contradiction,
revealing a most charming notion of eternal guidance that can
dispel all human apprehension.
In the modern world, we have seen a good number
of totalitarian regimes and less-than-spiritual religious

9
10 Joy of Self
leaders. From politicians to popes, gestapos to gurus, we
have learned to be cautious about claims of absolute knowl-
edge. It is no wonder then that we are hesitant when Gau-
∂îya Vedånta speaks of the necessity and utter dependence
upon the guru.
Who will mediate between humanity and divinity?
Don’t all souls have the potential for a personal relationship
with God, without the need of a chaperone? In the language
of love, “Three is a crowd.” Furthermore, dependence upon
another, it would seem, hinders one from standing on one’s
own two feet. Can we not think for ourselves? Do the en-
lightened themselves have gurus? If they had any necessity
Affectionate Guardian 11

at some point in their eternal progress, it would seem at

best that such necessity was a relative one, rendering the
principle of guru dispensable at some point. All of these
doubts and misconceptions regarding the principle of guru
must be cleared up if we are to be successful in our search,
for the guru is an eternal necessity for all souls.
Gurus are, in the simplest of terms, teachers. What do
they teach? They teach how to serve God. To do so, they
themselves must be servants of the Godhead. If they teach
service to God, what have we to fear from them? If, on the
other hand, they teach service to themselves and take the
position of being the enjoyers of all of our service, there
12 Joy of Self
is good cause for reservation. If they teach that they are
God, they are not gurus.
Those who posit absolute monism teach that all individ-
uality is illusion. For such monists, all is ultimately “one”
and there is no other. In place of this doctrine of absolute
monism, Joy of Self suggests a more nuanced understanding
of ultimate reality that finds room for individuality without
compromising unity. The text posits a form of devotional
Vedanta—a doctrine of wise love—in which the individual
self unites in love with its source, experiencing a unity of
will with the Absolute: a oneness in purpose but a nuanced
ontological difference in identity.
Affectionate Guardian 13

The philosophy of monism posits that atomic particles

of consciousness are but an appearance, an illusion. This
philosophy has been thoroughly dealt with in the many
writings of Gau∂îya Vedånta’s self-realized åcåryas, or spiri-
tual masters. It would be prudent for the serious spiritual
aspirant to go through both these åcåryas’ commentaries on
sacred literature, such as Bhagavad-gîtå and Çrîmad Bhågava-
tam, as well as the books they themselves have authored. It
should suffice herein to underscore the tenet of the Gau∂îya
Vaiß√avas that the atomic soul is not an illusion, while at the
same time in material life the soul is absorbed in an illusory
identity. Removing this illusory identity in the context of the
14 Joy of Self
culture of devotional Vedanta, one realizes one’s likeness to
the Godhead but not that we ourselves are the entirety of the
Absolute. In the latter conception, both God and atomic soul
ultimately cease to have any relevance, as does any means
of such realization. In later chapters these important points
will be dealt with in greater detail.
Although gurus are not God, neither are they to be
considered as merely atomic souls bound in the net of mate-
rial illusion. Gurus are servants of God as are all souls, yet
they are servants who have realized the truth of their eter-
nal servanthood. With regard to service, it should be noted
that service in itself is not a bad thing. The value of service
Affectionate Guardian 15

depends on who is served. If it is indeed God whom we are

taught to serve, such service is in no way demeaning, for
the Godhead is the perfect object of love. Service reposed
in God through the agency of guru is the most dignified
engagement for all souls. Those who conceive of themselves
as nothing more than eternal servants of the Godhead rep-
resented in their own guru are fit to serve in the capacity of
guru themselves.
Gurus are those souls who have emptied themselves
of all selfish considerations arising from material mis­
identification. As such, they are filled with the spiritual
çakti, energy of God­head, to do God’s work in this world.
16 Joy of Self
As the ambassador of the United States is highly regarded
in a foreign country, similarly the guru, although not God
himself, should nonetheless be highly honored, for it is God
alone whom the guru represents. Moreover, gurus represent
Godhead in the manner in which God chooses to interact
with humanity. Thus in one sense gurus are more important
to us than God himself, yet they never think themselves so.
Real gurus have no disciples, though many see them-
selves as such, and gurus honor their vision, inspired as it is
by the Godhead. Their own angle of vision is that they are
servants of all, for all are but parts and parcels of God. They
do not see others independently of their relationship with
Affectionate Guardian 17

the Absolute. Their task is thus to share this vision with all
whom they encounter.
Gurus are our bright spiritual prospect appearing before
us to instruct us through both precept and practice. Their
affection for the bound souls is itself without bounds. They
never tire of revealing the spiritual reality. Thus genuine
spiritual aspirants are forced not by ordinary law but by all
reason and ultimately love and affection to submit to the
guru’s instruction and to love çrî guru eternally, for who
could have shown us greater love?
How shall we find such an affectionate guardian? Be-
cause the path of devotion and transcendence has been
18 Joy of Self
traversed by others, a map has been charted and left for us
to follow. On that map, first and foremost we are directed
to the information counter. Sacred literature charts our
course, and in doing so, points us in the direction of çrî
guru, the captain of our ship. From sacred literature we can
learn the qualifications of the agent of the Absolute, and
therein we are implored to take the guru’s shelter. With
these two, map and guide, scripture and guru, on the boat
of our human birth, fueled by the wind of our own sincer-
ity, we are well equipped to cross the ocean of material
suffering and reach the shore of eternal joy.
 
3. Revealed Sound
T he concept of scripture is no less difficult for modern society
to embrace than that of çrî guru. Yet it is as inseparable from
the eternal guide as is the sun from our eyes in our attempt to
see. If the guru and saint are our eyes, scripture is the sun. If
all three are in place, we can see.
From the scripture we learn the qualifications of the
guru, whose every word must be backed by scriptural ref-
erence for it to have spiritual standing. This is so because

19
20 Joy of Self
the scripture is the eternal reality manifest in sound to the
seers and written down by them to uplift us. As such, scrip-
ture is eternal. It manifests and at times is unmanifest, as is
the world itself.
The many now interested in what has been called “East-
ern mysticism” are wrong in construing that such teachings
are mystical rather than rational and based on the scripture.
Christianity has been long and accurately portrayed as a ratio-
nal, scripturally based doctrine, but no less so is the theism of
the Orient. Outside of atheistic doctrines such as Buddhism
and Jainism, practically all branches of Indian philosophy
draw heavily from sacred literature, the Vedas and Purå√as.
Revealed Sound 21
Although there is a similarity between the sacred litera-
ture of the Orient and the Christian Bible, the Jewish Torah,
and the Islamic Koran, there is considerable difference as
well. The difference lies primarily in the Oriental notion of
the eternality of the Veda. While the Bible, Torah, and Ko-
ran all have a beginning in time, the Veda is held to be be-
ginningless. The fact that it is written down by human hand
does not compromise its eternality.
The Veda is Brahman, the Absolute, in sound. It is the
Absolute extending itself to humanity, perfection speaking
to the imperfect. By imperfect means, we who are steeped
in imperfection stand little chance of knowing that which is
22 Joy of Self
perfect. Both our sense perception by which we “know” and
the logic that extends our knowledge beyond that which we
can perceive with the senses are imperfect instruments.
Sense perception is as flawed as are the senses them-
selves. With our eyes alone we will never know the size
and nearness of the full moon at night. Yet with the help of
reasoning we can understand that it is large, its apparent
smallness owing to its being situated at a great distance. Yet
as sense perception is faulty, so is reasoning lacking. This is
so because unless we can validate that our reasoning is true
in all circumstances, that it has universal concomitance, we
cannot say that it is absolutely true. Demonstrating this uni-
Revealed Sound 23
versal concomitance is virtually impossible for practically
any logical inference.
How then can we know for certain? How can we arrive
at perfect knowledge and thus be perfectly happy? Only
if perfect knowledge cares to reveal itself to we who are
imperfect. The finite soul can never know the infinite save
and except if the infinite, out of its infinite capacity, chooses
to reveal itself to the finite. Perfect knowledge is just that,
perfect, and therefore it is worshippable by those steeped
in imperfection. We will never be successful in attempts to
arrest perfect knowledge and imprison it within the jail cell
of our human embodiment, for its own agenda is to liberate
24 Joy of Self
us from our finite conception. It makes this agenda known
to us through the Veda, which is etymologically derived
from the Sanskrit root vid, which means to know as well as
to make known. The Veda is thus that which makes itself
known and by which all can know conclusively.
The Veda does not claim that by studying its words with
our intellect we will know the truth. It does not attempt to
establish that which is eternally self-established. It is the
self-established truth imploring us to take up the means
of experiencing the truth ourselves. By this alone shall we
know, yet hearing from those who have themselves seen is
tantamount to seeing oneself. The Veda, eternal sound, is
Revealed Sound 25
experienced by the seers beyond the confines of time and
space. Returning to time and space, they share their vision
with us, thus serving as first-hand witnesses to the truth.
Without them and without the Veda, we will never know
the truth, for from those who have seen we derive the nec-
essary inspiration to see for ourselves. They also give us
a proper conceptual orientation, the systematic means of
pursuit, and information regarding the goal. These three,
known as sambhanda, abidheya, and prayojana, are the essen-
tial elements of sacred literature, and a brief explanation of
these elements comprises the balance of this short book.
 
4. Conceptual Orientation
T he term sambandha literally means “relationship.” In the
context of Gau∂îya Vedånta, it represents knowledge of the
relationship between the world and God, God and the atomic
souls, the atomic souls and the world, and so on. In the
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam, the essence of the Veda, all knowledge
that concerns the nature of the Absolute and his energies as
well as the activities of those energies is considered sambandha-
jñåna.

27
28 Joy of Self
Although the Absolute as described in the Bhågavata is
one without a second, he is not without energy. The exis-
tence of the Absolute is a dynamic affair on account of his
being possessed of various energies. Just as we are all pos-
sessed of energy by which we conduct our affairs, so the
Absolute is replete with energies. The oneness of the Abso-
lute, however, is not compromised by its possessing energy,
for although we can speak of energetic and energy as differ-
ent, they are at the same time inseparable.
In the monistic schools of Vedånta, the Absolute is
portrayed as devoid of energy. Monists conceive of the
Godhead as such because they cannot understand how an
Conceptual Orientation 29
Absolute replete with energy can at the same time be singu-
lar. The unfortunate result of pursuing this line of reasoning
is, among other things, that all that we see and experience,
including the sense of our own individuality, is rendered an
illusion. Moreover, the material experience is considered an
illusion that has no logical explanation. The material experi-
ence is false knowledge purported to have no knower and
no known.
Gau∂îya Vedånta can save us from this confusion. Ex­
plaining the Absolute as presented in the Bhågavata, Gau-
∂îya Vedånta posits an absolute that is singular in principle
yet plural in terms of experience. The Godhead’s experience
30 Joy of Self
of himself is made possible by his inherent energies. Be-
cause these energies have no independent existence from
the God­­head, they are in this sense one with him. The
happy result of this conception is that a logical explanation
of the world of our present experience follows. The mate-
rial world is understood to be the external energy of the
Godhead. Furthermore, our own sense of individuality is
validated, we being an atomic particle of the Godhead’s
marginal energy.
In touch with the external energy, the marginal energy
brings about the world as we know it. While matter is in-
sentient, sentient beings bring matter to life. The atomic
Conceptual Orientation 31
souls animate the material world, which like a movie has
a beginning and an end. Although the movie ends, karmic
reruns play endlessly with the same actors in new roles.
As atomic souls reincarnate life after life due to their mis­
identification with matter, they are unaware of their predic-
ament due to the deluding influence of the external power
of Godhead. Material nature rules over the atomic souls,
even though her capacity to do so is initially dependent on
her being animated by them. The relationship between the
marginal and external powers of Godhead can be compared
to a person in the modern world turning on the insentient
television only to have it then take over his life.
32 Joy of Self
In this life of material despair, we may misconstrue that
we are happy. Yet time tells us that the happier we are,
based on material security, possessions, friends, and family,
the more miserable we will be when they all slip through
our fingers, and our own attachment to temporary things
forces us to remain in a temporal plane in search of eter-
nity. Birth and death are not friends of those in quest of the
fountain of youth. Yet it is these two whom we must con-
tend with as long as we insist upon the kingdom of God
without God.
In conjunction with the external energy, the activities
of the atomic souls, parts and parcels of the Godhead’s
marginal energy, are illusory, however profoundly we may
Conceptual Orientation 33
speak of them. Although units of eternity and joy, conscious
atomic souls such as ourselves are trapped in a network of
illusion. Identifying with the external energy of Godhead,
we repeatedly experience the tribulations of birth and
death. The solution to our plight lies first in knowledge, not
only of this predicament, but even more so in knowledge of
the Godhead himself.
The Godhead has his own primary energy by which he
conducts his affairs aloof from the material atmosphere.
These affairs are termed lîlå in the Bhågavata. They are un-
touched by the external energy and are thus never subject
to the misery that we experience due to such touch. Because
we are constituted of the marginal energy, we can live
34 Joy of Self
either under the influence of the external energy of God­
head or under the influence of his primary energy. The for-
mer is the life of misery we are now experiencing, the latter
the life of joy we are in search of.
Who is this Godhead possessed of primary, external,
and marginal powers? The Bhågavata tells us that it is K®-
ß√a. K®ß√a means “all attractive,” “irresistible.” K®ß√a is joy
him­self. Because he is so, he also is known in terms of his
cognitive and existential features, as Brahman and Param-
åtmå respectively.
For one to exist, one need not be cognizant. If, however,
one is cognizant, one must exist as well. One can exist and
be cognizant without being joyful. But if one is joyful in
Conceptual Orientation 35
nature, one must exist and be cognizant as well. Because
K®ß√a is nothing short of joy itself, out of necessity this sin-
gular, absolute person is also known in two other features.
As cognizance he is known as Brahman, and as existence,
Paramåtmå. In his Paramåtmå feature, he manifests and
presides over the material world and enters the heart of ev-
ery atomic soul as a witness to all. In his Brahman feature,
he brings material existence to life.
These two features of K®ß√a are realized by those who
tread the paths of yoga and knowledge (jñåna) respectively.
Those who tread the path of devotion know him as Bha-
gavån, or he who possesses all attractiveness. These de-
voted transcendentalists know this ultimate feature of the
36 Joy of Self
Absolute in two ways, either through devotion steeped in
awe and reverence (vaidhî-bhakti) as the majestic Godhead
appearing in innumerable incarnations or through passion-
ate love (rågånugå-bhakti) as K®ß√a, the charming human-
like lover.
K®ß√a, the charming humanlike Godhead, is the ulti-
mate object of love, depicted by the Gau∂îya Vedåntins as
an eternal youth, the rural cowherder of dark complexion
resembling a rain cloud. As the cloud is pregnant with rain,
K®ß√a is full in himself yet showering love in all directions
and celebrating his fullness, and in this way nourishing
all. K®ß√a is the God of the Vedånta of aesthetics, not a dry
Conceptual Orientation 37
philosophical principle but the ultimate person—infinitely
beautiful, charming, soft-hearted, yet strong willed. He has
innumerable transcendental qualities and engages in pas-
times with his eternal retinue. Flute-bearing, he charms his
devotees with passionate spiritual love free from material
contamination.
He is the perfect object of love because all potential for
love in transcendence can be realized in him. When K®ß√a
becomes the object of one’s love, one can realize not only
love steeped in a reverence that is appropriate for the great-
est of persons, but love in friendship, the filial love one feels
for one’s child, and, in the optimum, passionate love for
38 Joy of Self
God. K®ß√a is thus the supreme Godhead, the acme of the-
ism and transcendental realization, in that it is love that we
all seek in eternity. Being the perfect object of love, K®ß√a is
thus objectively supreme through an analysis of love.
K®ß√a is surrounded by his primary energy appearing
as his own family, friends, abode, and paraphernalia. This
primary energy ultimately personifies the potency of plea-
sure, hlådinî. Known also as Rådhå, K®ß√a’s eternal consort,
she is the shelter of ultimate love. The object of love, Çrî
K®ß√a, and the shelter of love, Çrî Rådhå, together constitute
the Godhead as complimentary features of the Absolute.
There is no meaning to K®ß√a without Rådhå and no mean-
Conceptual Orientation 39
ing to Rådhå without K®ß√a. In the eternal drama of their
transcendental lives, we can play a small yet infinitely im-
portant part.
The conceptual orientation presented in the Bhågavata
offers great hope to suffering humanity. It tells us that we
can experience eternal love in relation to K®ß√a, the object
of perfect love. Love for K®ß√a stands as a perfect example
of the highest love. The reality of Rådhå-K®ß√a speaks
sweetly, assuring us of all that we aspire for, should we but
turn in the right direction. To live in perfect love and joy is
possible when we repose our loving propensity in Rådhå-
K®ß√a. All other attempts for love are futile, for they are
40 Joy of Self
off-center at best. Time tells us that nothing belongs to us.
Gau∂îya Vedånta tells us that everything belongs to K®ß√a.
Loving K®ß√a enables us to transcend the false proprietor-
ship that has imprisoned us within time and space, leaving
self-centered material consciousness forever and entering
the land of love.
 
5. The Means
I n accordance with our conceptual orientation, sambandha,
we will act. This action is the means, abhidheya, by which
we can achieve our goal. All that the Bhågavata deals with in
terms of achieving its stated goal, as well as that activity which
inhibits us from doing so, falls under the category of abhi­
dheya. The goal is love of K®ß√a, which constitutes the highest
joy, and the means is devotion to K®ß√a. Acts adverse to devo-
tion are those to be avoided.
41
42 Joy of Self

The Bhågavata defines the best means as that which com-

pletely satisfies the Supreme Self. If God is pleased, so will
we, his parts and parcels, be satisfied. Devotion to K®ß√a that
is free from ulterior motive and uninterrupted is that which
satisfies K®ß√a. Devotion in which something other than the
pleasure of the Supreme is desired is called mixed devotion
(miçrå bhakti). Devotion can be mixed with worldly desires
(karma-miçrå bhakti), the desire for liberation (jñåna-miçrå bha-
kti), or the desire for mystic perfection (yoga-miçrå bhakti). All
of these types of bhakti are not pure, or unmotivated. They
bring results to their respective practitioners in the form of
good karma, liberation, and mystic perfection. They do not,
however, afford their practitioners love of Godhead.
The Means 43

The path of karma focuses on material betterment, the

path of knowledge upon liberation. The path of yoga is con-
cerned with liberation, as well as acquiring mystic power.
The path of pure devotion, however, is not about acquiring
anything other than devotion itself. It is thus to be executed
for its own improvement. It is a spiritual and thus eternal
means to a spiritual end.
The Bhågavata speaks of the socio-religious system of
var√åçrama-dharma. This is the religious way of life also
known as the path of karma, whereby we can prosper in this
life and the next. It organizes society in consideration of kar-
mic propensities, both in terms of occupation as well as spiri-
tual pursuit. This conception of dharma is only successfully
44 Joy of Self

executed if as a result of one’s observance of its tenets one

enters the path of pure devotion (çuddha-bhakti).
Although participation in the socio-religious system
requires many prerequisites, this is not the case on the
path of pure devotion. Similarly, other paths aimed at
transcendence of birth and death, such as the paths of yoga
and knowledge, also require that participants meet various
prerequisites. To practice yoga properly, one must observe
celibacy. The path of knowledge requires purity of heart,
renunciation, and equal vision. These are not easy things to
achieve. Pure devotion, however, can be cultivated from the
time one has awakened faith in K®ß√a.
The Means 45

It is noteworthy that efficacy in any of these paths re-

quires a mixture of devotion. Without devotion, the practi-
tioners in these systems will not achieve their desired goals.
It is devotion, therefore, that is the means in all respects.
The paths of karma, yoga, and knowledge are not help-
ful to pure devotion. Before pure devotion has awakened
in the heart, practice borrowed from these paths may be
helpful in the same way that pushing a car whose battery
has died will help to start the car. Once the car is started,
however, of what use will pushing be? Similarly, once pure
devotion has awakened in the heart, it cannot be helped by
anything else. Moreover, only when devotion is free from
46 Joy of Self

the tendencies born of karma, knowledge, and yoga can it be

said to be pure.
Devotional service to K®ß√a can be practiced in all cir-
cumstances, at all times, and by all living entities. This fur-
ther attests to its spiritual nature. The Bhågavatam is ripe with
examples of persons engaging in devotional service to K®ß√a
in even the most adverse circumstances. Prahlåda Mahåråja,
for example, performed bhakti in his mother’s womb.
With regard to time, the Bhågavatam also gives examples
of persons engaging in devotional service from the begin-
ning to the end of time, from creation to annihilation. De-
votional service is even engaged in after liberation by those
The Means 47

who have perfected their devotional culture. Devotional

service, although primarily the prerogative of human so-
ciety, also overflows into animal and plant society. When
devotees engage in devotional service, animals such as
cows whose milk is offered to the deity of K®ß√a also par-
ticipate in bhakti, as do plants when offered to the deity.
Such animals and plants, however, cannot practice yoga or
culture knowledge of the Absolute. One cannot perform
yoga at all times, such as during sleep, nor does the practice
of yoga continue after liberation. Similarly, the culture of
knowledge insists upon many prerequisites and cannot be
performed in all circumstances.
48 Joy of Self

Devotional service to K®ß√a has three divisions: devo-

tional service in practice (sadhana-bhakti), devotional service
in ecstasy (bhåva-bhakti), and devotional service in love of
God (prema-bhakti). Devotion to K®ß√a is also divided into
devotion guided by scriptural injunction (vaidhî-bhakti) and
spontaneous devotion (rågånugå-bhakti).
Çrî Chaitanya has emphasized spontaneous devotion.
His disciples, the legendary six goswåmîs of V®ndåvana,
have demonstrated in their writings based on the Bhågavata
how spiritual aspirants can cultivate spontaneous devotion.
Generally one is required to embrace regulative devotional
service with a view to gradually develop spontaneous
devotion. In the material world the soul is spontaneously
The Means 49

moving in the direction of material pursuit. This spontane-

ity can be harnessed by regulative devotion and through
spiritual practices directed to K®ß√a. Gradually one’s devo-
tion for K®ß√a will be as spontaneous as a young girl’s love
for a young boy.
In devotional service in practice, one follows the guide-
lines of the guru and gradually cleanses one’s heart of
material desire. When the heart is almost free of karmic
influences, one becomes fixed in devotion. One then devel-
ops a taste for devotional practices and gradually begins to
hanker for a particular loving relationship with K®ß√a. One
may like to serve K®ß√a as a servant, friend, well-wisher,
or lover. At this stage one passes from devotional service
50 Joy of Self

in practice to devotional service in ecstasy and experiences

deep spiritual emotions that, when cultivated, bring one to
the perfection of devotional service in love of God.
The principal practice of devotional service is chant-
ing the names of God. This chanting is performed in group
singing (kîrtana) with musical accompaniment. Çrî Chait-
anya accompanied his group chanting with hand cymbals
and a simple clay drum indigenous to West Bengal. These
instruments are considered eternal participants in group
chanting. Other instruments may also be used, yet one
must be careful to distinguish between a musical presenta-
tion and that which is spiritual. Too much emphasis on the
The Means 51

musical and instrumental accompaniment may shift the

focus of the chanting from the mantra to the instruments
and melody, thus rendering it less than spiritual. To avoid
this problem, the chanting should be performed under the
auspices of a pure devotee of K®ß√a.
The pure devotee is the guru who initiates the disciple.
At that time the disciple is given a rosary of 108 beads and
is instructed to chant the K®ß√a mantra on the rosary a pre-
scribed number of times daily. The disciple is also engaged
in ritualistic devotion in the temple of K®ß√a. In this way
the disciple engages throughout the day in hearing and
chanting about K®ß√a and carrying out the instruction of
52 Joy of Self

the guru. This may find a disciple engaged in a wide variety

of services all for the pleasure of K®ß√a. As the disciple’s
consciousness is purified, he or she learns to meditate inter-
nally upon K®ß√a twenty-four hours a day.
Many persons interested in devotional service are not
able to take up the life of devotion described above. They
can, however, accept initiation from the guru. They can
learn to chant K®ß√a’s name in their homes and sacrifice
what time and energy they can for the mission of Çrî Chait-
anya. The guru will give them guidelines to follow in their
home life. As they consciously make sacrifices for K®ß√a
in the form of time and financial support for his mission,
their hearts become gradually purified of the false notion
The Means 53

of proprietorship. As they realize that everything belongs

to K®ß√a, they too can take up the life of devotion and
eventually attain love of K®ß√a.
 
6. The Goal
T he fruit of devotional service is love of K®ß√a. As such, all
sections of the Bhågavatam that deal directly with the experi-
ence of love of God, as well as those sections that deal with
the fruits of religion (dharma), economic development (artha),
sense enjoyment (kåma), and liberation (mokßa), constitute
direct and indirect descriptions of the goal (prayojana).
In describing the fruits of activities other than pure
devotion, the Bhågavatam seeks to point out indirectly the

55
56 Joy of Self

glory of love of K®ß√a, for the fruits of religion, economic

development, sense gratification, and even liberation from
the cycle of birth and death are paltry in comparison.
Joy is our stated goal of life. The joy derived from love
of K®ß√a is the highest kind of joy. It is joy that is derived
from making the perfect object of love one’s loving repose.
This joy is the opposite of material joy, in which one makes
one’s own joy the goal, misconstruing oneself to be the
body and mind. In transcendental love, the satisfaction of
K®ß√a’s transcendental senses is the only thought of the
perfect devotees. They do not seek joy independent of the
joy of the Absolute. While material joy is selfish and self-
The Goal 57

centered, the joy derived from love of K®ß√a is based on

sacrifice, giving, and the self-forgetfulness that true love
calls for, and thus it constitutes the highest love.
The question arises, however, as to how it is that the
Absolute is in need of anything. How does Çrî K®ß√a derive
pleasure from those who love him? Is he not full in himself
to begin with? He is indeed, yet as we have seen, he is sur-
rounded by his own inner energy (svarüpa-çakti), with whom
he eternally consorts. His inner power manifests as eternal
associates in five primary moods with whom he eternally
enjoys the bliss of his own nature. The five primary moods
are known as bhakti-rasa, aesthetic rapture in transcendence.
58 Joy of Self

The Bhågavatam describes the Absolute philosophically

as well as through aesthetic analysis. According to the In-
dian discipline of aesthetics, the soul of aesthetic experience
is termed rasa. In the Upanißads the Absolute is also de-
scribed by this term, raso vai sa˙, “The Absolute is aesthetic
experience.” The Bhågavatam develops this concept. It is
thus both a book of Vedånta philosophy and one concerned
with aesthetics. It is a philosophy of beauty, the truth that is
beauty. It directs us to K®ß√a and the possibility of entering
a transcendental relationship with the Absolute, the possi-
bility of experiencing rasa.
Bhakti rasa develops in the atomic soul in the course of
cultivating one of five primary emotions directed to the
The Goal 59

perfect object of love, K®ß√a. These primary K®ß√a-centered

emotions are the essence of K®ß√a’s eternal associates (pårßa-
das), who are constituted of his inner power. Thus atomic
souls can enter into the eternal love affair of the Absolute
by taking shelter of Çrî K®ß√a’s inner power, manifest as his
eternal associates.
The five primary rasas are neutrality (çånta), servitor-
ship (dåsya), friendship (sakhya), parental love (våtsalya),
and conjugal love (mådhurya). Thus one can love K®ß√a
in neutrality, as a servant, as a friend, as his well-wisher,
and as his lover. Çrî Chaitanya has revealed that conju-
gal love for K®ß√a is the best amongst transcendental
achievements.
60 Joy of Self

K®ß√a’s consorts thus exemplify to the fullest extent the

life of transcendental love. All of the other transcendental
rasas in effect serve as a necessary background for the eter-
nal drama of conjugal love of Godhead enacted between
Rådhå and K®ß√a. This drama takes place in the guise of
humanity, as Çrî K®ß√a, the Supreme Truth, comes so close
to his part and parcels that the affair at a glance seems no
more than the love of a young village boy and girl. How-
ever, it is much more than this and is certainly free from all
material inebriety. The land, water, trees, animals, birds,
and people in this transcendental drama (lîlå) are all supra-
mundane. Nothing there is touched by material illusion,
The Goal 61

and one can realize this dimension of consciousness and ex-

perience the highest joy only when one is free from the self-
ishness that makes for a material life of unhappiness. While
selfishness is the basis of the material plane of conscious-
ness, selflessness forms the basis of the spiritual dimension
of consciousness—K®ß√a consciousness. This is our highest
prospect, within which lies the joy of self.
 About the author:
Swåmî B. V. Tripuråri is a renowned
writer, speaker, and spiritual teach-
er. A monk in the renounced order
of life since 1972, he received his
training from some of the most ac-
complished masters in the Gau∂îya
tradition. He is the founder of Çrî
Caitanya Sangha, which has monasteries in Northern California
and Costa Rica.