Four Verses
Last updated
Last updated
When Lord Brahma, bewildered about his purpose, heard the word ‘tapa,’ he immediately sat in meditation and dedicated himself for 1,000 celestial years. While the Sanskrit word ‘tapa’ commonly refers to austerity, it also implies ‘heating’ – the formidable fire of sacrifice and selfless devotion which is the core substance of a dynamic spiritual life.
When Krishna eventually appeared before Brahma, the universal engineer placed four enquiries before Him:
What are the material and spiritual forms of the Lord?
How do the material and spiritual energies of the Lord work?
How does the Lord utilise His different energies?
How may I be instructed to discharge my duties and function?
The four answers he received became known as the catuh-sloki Bhagavatam. The key points are as follows:
and – Sambandha (knowledge of the relationship)
Krishna outlines three aspects of reality – isvara, jiva and prakrti. He explains how the Supreme Lord (isvara) is eternal and causeless. Material nature (prakrti) is periodically manifested from Him, and thus He existed before its creation and continues to exist after its annihilation. The living entities (jiva) are entrapped in the prakrti, unable to see things in connection with the Supreme Lord and thus engaged in the hard struggle for existence.
– Abhideya (cultivation of the relationship)
Yoga is the connecting process which re-establishes the relationship between jiva and isvara. The progressive spiritualist must enquire from qualified persons and learn how exactly to practice this linking process. Having learned these details, one should engage themselves with one-pointed determination, making this effort one’s life and soul, regardless of the periodic distractions of material affairs.
– Prayojana (perfection of the relationship)
The Supreme Lord is within this manifestation and simultaneously beyond this material manifestation, performing His eternal pastimes in the spiritual world. For one who has developed pure love of Krishna, they can directly perceive His presence at every moment, because He is inside and outside of everything. Srila Prabhupada explains further: “The Lord’s name, form, qualities, pastimes, entourage, etc., as they are described in the revealed scriptures or as performed in the Vaikunthalokas, far, far beyond the material cosmic manifestation, are factually being televised in the heart of the devotee.” ()
These three topics (sambandha, abhideya, prayojana) underpin numerous Vaisnava scriptures and map a high-level progression of our spiritual journey. The metaphor of ‘stepping forward’ may be useful in this regard. In material life, we have two feet in the material world and can’t see anything beyond. Preoccupied with the daily demands of life, we live oblivious to the fact that there are deeper truths behind our existence and higher goals to strive for.
At a certain point in the material sojourn, we begin to explore whether there is something beyond our immediate cares and concerns. After contacting genuine spiritual teachings, we come to the stage of sambandha, where we receive information on the spiritual reality and can put our current material life in context. Our feet are still very much in the material world, but now we can see something exciting in the distance. We have formulated an understanding of the bigger picture.
With the association of spiritually minded persons (sadhu-sanga), our faith deepens and inspiration grows. We get the impetus to step forward and move towards that spiritual reality by placing one foot forward. This is known as abhideya, or the point at which we start making a commitment to the spiritual process. In the beginning, the commitment is very basic, just like the front leg which has moved forward but is just grazing the ground, with all the weight remaining on the back leg. As the abhideya matures, more weight is placed on the front foot (of spiritual commitment) and the weight automatically comes off the back foot (of material concern). Now we have one foot in the material world and one foot in the spiritual world
As one advances in the process, along with a deepening of faith is a tangible experience of spiritual feeling which begins with attraction, advances to attachment, deepens into spiritual emotion and culminates in pure love. Here one has made the complete shift, with the back leg coming forward, and the living entity is now practically living in the spiritual world, experiencing complete absorption of mind, body and soul. This is known as prayojana, or the perfection of the relationship.