Page 7 - History of Tirupathi Balaji and comparison of Sri Vaishnava

mystic powers. They may attempt to speculate philosophically to arrive at
knowledge of the Lord. But, they will fail because of the four fundamental
defects of every living entity: mistakes, illusion, imperfect senses and a cheating
propensity. They may arrive by their intellectual efforts to understand the
impersonal concept of God by negating all the positive manifest temporary
qualities of the material world. They say that the absolute truth cannot be this or
that and thus negate everything that is not the truth in their estimation because
of its temporary nature. By the process of illimitation the Buddhists believe that
ultimate truth is a void or an absolute inertial state and the Mayavadi followers
of Sankaracharya clamis that the ultimate state is the impersonal Brahman
effulgence. Other speculators imagine someone ordinary to be the absolute.
All of these conclusions are the product of mental speculation that is always
imperfect.
How to understand the inconceivable Godhead
To understand Lord Krishna one must give up mental speculation and adopt
the path of pure service and devotion for the Lord rendered without any material
motive. The only desire should be to please Lord Krishna. This is described by
the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita, My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional
service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who
works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living
being — he certainly comes to Me.(Bg 11.55)
Being purifi ed by his intelligence and controlling the mind with determination, giving
up the objects of sense gratifi cation, being freed from attachment and hatred, one who lives
in a secluded place, who eats little, who controls his body, mind and power of speech, who is
always in trance and who is detached, free from false ego, false strength, false pride, lust,
anger, and acceptance of material things, free from false proprietorship, and peaceful —
such a person is certainly elevated to the position of self-realization.(Bg. 18.51-53)
One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and
becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed
toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.(Bg
18.54)
One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by
devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter
into the kingdom of God.(Bg 18.55)
We can begin to understand Krishna by studying His words in the
Bhagavad-gita. The Personality of Godhead cannot be conceived unless one
is in the transcendental position free of the infl uence of material desires, lust,
greed and completely free of previous karmic reaction to sinful acts. One can be
gradually elevated to the transcendental position by engagement in devotional
activities under the guidance of genuine spiritual teachers.
Spiritual knowledge is not achieved by academic study. It is revealed to
one who sincerely surrenders to the will of God through service and love. Lord
Krishna says, “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I
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