Half a century ago, on the sacred banks of the Ganges River in the village of Mayapur, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Goswami Maharaj shared the core principles of Gaudiya Philosophy.
He was a revered saint and guardian of Vedic spiritual wisdom, with deep knowledge of both Western and Eastern philosophies. From the simplicity of a modest abode, he imparted this wisdom. Thankfully, these rare and valuable discourses were recorded, allowing us to explore them today.
In his words, we can find answers to some of life’s biggest questions: Who am I? What is my purpose? Where should I go in life? What should I aim for, and what should I expect?
In this discourse, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj masterfully blends the ancient wisdom of the Vedas with Western philosophy. He demonstrates how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Gaudiya Philosophy not only accepts the boldest ideas of humanity’s most brilliant minds but also transforms them to new heights.
His explanations offer a profound and comprehensive understanding of spiritual reality, providing valuable insights into the ultimate goal of human life and the path to achieving it.
Three Planes of Existence
Please listen carefully. I will try to explain this subject scientifically and directly without referencing any religious concepts.
First, it is important to understand that there are three levels of existence or states of consciousness:
- The plane of worldly enjoyment
- The plane of renunciation
- The plane of dedication
The Plane of Enjoyment
The plane of enjoyment is where we are now, more or less. Wordly enjoyment means exploitation; no one can live in this plane without exploiting others:
“Those without arms serve as food for those with arms; plants serve as food for four-legged animals; larger creatures feed on smaller ones.”
— Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.13.47
Everything around us is alive: grass, trees, and other plants are living beings. However, sustaining oneself in this world is impossible without consuming others.
This is the plane of exploitation, and, as Newton’s third law states, there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action. By exploiting others, we incur a debt; to repay it, we must sink below those we owe.
In this way, countless souls rise and fall1, driven by the force of action and reaction according to the law of exploitation. In society, exploitation has been taken to the extreme; everywhere, we see attempts to live at the expense of others. It is simply impossible to live here any other way—such is the nature of this world: the plane of exploitation.
The Plane of Renunciation
Buddhists, Jains, followers of Shankara, and many others try to free themselves from the bonds of exploitation and achieve a life without violence, action and reaction.
To avoid action and reaction, they seek to escape from the world and pursue a state similar to deep, dreamless sleep—the idea of samadhi: having wholly detached themselves from the objective plane; they aim to remain in the subjective. Not allowing themselves to experience emotions, they keep consciousness within themselves—something akin to deep sleep.
The Plane of Dedication
In contrast, Gaudiya Vaishnavas believe that there is another plane, the plane of dedication, devotion, or surrender. Dedication is the very opposite of exploitation. In the mundane plan, every particle wants to exploit its environment, but in the plane of dedication, every particle is filled with the desire to serve its surroundings. Moreover, service to the Center, who is Bhagavan2, is the key to life in that plane of existence. We are all living particles of a single whole, in which every tiny particle must be faithful to the one Center.
Everything in the universe, from atoms to solar systems, moves around its center. In this solar system image, satellites orbit planets, and planets orbit the sun, reflecting the perfect creation design. However, when man try to place themselves at the center, it disrupts this harmony, leading to crises and conflicts. Bhagavan is the Absolute Center around which all existence revolves.
Find the Center and You Will Find Everything
The Vedas say: “Strive to find Him, knowing Whom you will know everything. He is the Center of everything; to know Him is to know everything. Having found Him, to attain Him is to attain everything.” This is the essence of all Vedic instructions: strive to find the Center. Search for Him.
At first, such a statement may seem absurd to some: “Knowing one thing—and you know everything, attaining something—and you have attained everything: what is this? Only a madman can say such things.”
Therefore, Srimad Bhagavatam uses the analogy of a tree’s root3: by watering the root, you nourish the whole tree; by sending food to the stomach, you nourish the entire body. Similarly, by serving the Center, you serve everything.
It is possible, and accepting such a life means entering the plane of dedication. Avoid both exploitation and renunciation and try to enter the plane of dedication. As spirit soul—atma—you belong to the plane of dedication, the real world. It is the ultimate reality, while this material world is nothing more than a distorted reflection.
In the real world, every particle serves the whole, with everything revolving around the Center. Like a healthy organism, every atom works for the entire body’s benefit. If an atom works only for itself, its acquisitiveness becomes extreme, and the baseness of such local efforts for private interests is obvious. Every part of the body and every atom should work for the benefit of the whole organism. There is a Center, and everything will work out harmoniously under its direction.
What is the position of the Center? In the conclusion of Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Krishna Bhagavan explains it: “Let go of all duties and surrender to Me alone4.”
Two Qualities of the Center: Hegel’s View
Now, I would like to present this idea from another angle.
The German philosopher Hegel proposed the following idea: the Absolute—the Primary Cause of all existence—is defined by two unchangeable qualities. Which ones? It must be by itself and for itself.
‘By itself’ means that the Absolute is His own cause. No one creates Him: if anything has created Him, his creator would be of primary importance. Therefore, to be the Absolute, He must be anadi—eternally existing and not created by anything. The Absolute cannot be otherwise.
The next definition: the Absolute Truth is ‘for itself.’ He exists for His own satisfaction, not to please others. If His existence were to please someone else, He would be secondary, and those for whose satisfaction He lived would take the primary position.
From this, we can see that these two definitions are immutable for the Absolute: He is His own cause and exists only for His own satisfaction and interests. The Absolute is by itself and for itself. Even the swaying of a blade of grass is obedient to the plan of the Absolute. Whatever happens, whatever occurs, everything serves His satisfaction. Therefore, His pastimes—lila—are the true flow of reality.
However, we are carried away by our private interests: family, social, national, humanitarian, or otherwise, but before the infinite, it is all only an insignificant part, and we are only busy pursuing such small goals. Countless separate interests clash, and therefore, there is suffering.
Dedication to the Center Over Personal Gain
We must leave our so-called private interests, come into the light from the darkness of ignorance, and try to fulfill our destiny as a particle occupied for the sake of the whole.
“In the organic whole, everyone is united by a dedication to the Center, and dedication to the Center is a dedication to the whole.”
Therefore, Krishna says, “sarva-dharma parityajya: give up everything you consider as your duty, and mam ekam saranam vraja: surrender unto Me; aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksayisyamima sucah: I will deliver you from all possible and inconceivable evils.”
In other words, always remember your allegiance to the Center. At present, you see your duty as satisfying private interests, but stop identifying your necessity with the private and become one with the interests of the whole.
If a police officer pockets even one dollar, he faces punishment, but if he kills a few dozen people in the interest of the country, he might receive an award. Similarly, anything done for the benefit of the whole is considered good. However, if you do something just for yourself or for a friend, you might face consequences.
In industry, we have no right to take bribes, but we also have no right to declare a strike, to stop the production process, for then the economy would be destroyed. Neither exploitation nor renunciation is good. The harm of exploitation is obvious, and since we have no right to declare a strike, renunciation is no better.
In the organic whole, everyone is united by a dedication to the Center, which is a dedication to the whole. If we put food in the stomach, it will distribute it in the right quantities to all body parts. This is the essence of Gaudiya Philosophy, and living this way is what Gaudiya Vaishnavism is all about.
There is an organic whole, and we are a part of that. Each of us has a duty to contribute to it properly. It’s not useful to put food into the eye, nose, or ear; we put it into the stomach. Only then will all the body parts get what they need in the right amount, keeping the whole body healthy.
We are all parts of the universal whole, and we must work for the benefit of the whole. This is what dedication, or devotion, is all about. How do we know this? The Vedas and many saints—messengers of the plane of dedication—guide us. They come into our plane of exploitation to lead us to the realm of harmony, the world of devotion.
Back Home, Back to Godhead: The Gaudiya Vision
The highest harmony has been given by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who explained dedication on the basis of Srimad Bhagavatam, a book recognized as the actual conclusion of all Vedic wisdom.
Chaitanya explained that power is not the highest thing; knowledge is above it. Knowledge can control power and bring about beneficial results. However, on a higher plane, even knowledge takes a lower position. Above knowledge is love and affection, and that is the highest. Neither knowledge nor power, but only love, can give us the fulfillment of life.
Mercy is higher than justice. Justice exists only where there is a need for laws, rules, etc., but in the kingdom where the justice of the Absolute Autocrat reigns, who is the absolute good, who will fear His arbitrariness? He is the absolute good, and the absolute good is absolute love and affection, and this is our home! Back Home, Back to Godhead.
Where is the homeland, where is our home? It is there where all around us are concerned about our welfare. There, we need not worry about ourselves—so many will surround us with their care, not just many—everything around us and the whole atmosphere will take care of us. This is our home. Such is the abode of the Absolute, and we can enter into His service, the highest position, and thereby see the affection, love, harmony, and beauty that exists there. All these qualities are related, and they constitute the nature of the Prime Cause, the Prime Good. There lies our path.
We have gone astray by misusing our free will, but now we hear—we are being called: “Come back home, back to Godhead, to the motherland, to the land of love.”
This is the brief idea, the very essence of which I have tried to show you: the Absolute Truth, represented as Krishna, is a concept from Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Chaitanya, the founder of the Gaudiya Philosophy, brought it. He gives us this concept of Divine Love. This idea—the preaching of the entire Gaudiya Mission—is: “On the way to the Center of everything! Use this life to devote yourself entirely to Him—and that Center is incomparably superior to justice: He is all-merciful, He is full of tenderness and love, He is beautiful.”
Conclusion: The Essence of Gaudiya Philosophy
This is a general background of the Gaudiya Philosophy, of Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, and a brief overview of all conceptions of life—that is, exploitation, renunciation and dedication, and the soul inherently belongs to the plane of dedication. Everyone has this tendency by nature, but by misusing their limited freedom, these souls have entered the plane of exploitation.
Buddha, the Jains, and others have offered ways to break free from this world, providing means for complete self-withdrawal from the bonds of exploitation, action, and reaction. They taught that by renouncing exploitation, we can live happily and peacefully. However, in reality, detachment doesn’t guarantee that we won’t fall into temptation and end up trapped by exploitation again.
In the realm of dedication, though, we can see what creates harmony among them and allows them to remain forever on this plane of existence. Everyone on this plan works for the sake of the whole, and the whole is represented by a single Absolute Good.
“On the way to the Center of everything! Use this life to devote yourself entirely to Him—and that Center is incomparably superior to justice: He is all-merciful, He is full of tenderness and love, He is beautiful.”
All this is so important—that makes human life valuable, allowing us to hear about and understand it. By connecting our lives with saints—messengers of the plane of dedication—we can free ourselves from all unnecessary attachments and enter the land of devotion, care, and love.
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footnotes /
- Rise and Fall
In this context, “rise and fall” refers to the cyclical process we undergo as we experience the consequences of our actions, both within this life and beyond.
This cycle is governed by the “law of exploitation,” which implies that as long as a soul acts out of self-interest or exploitation, it will be caught in this cycle of ups and downs, birth and death, driven by the forces of action (karma) and its consequences.
- Three Aspects of the Absolute
Learned transcendentalists, who have realized the Absolute Truth, expound on its three aspects: Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.
Brahman represents the all-pervading aspect of the Absolute, while Paramatma embodies the localized aspect residing within our hearts, providing inner guidance. Bhagavan represents the supreme manifestation of the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality, encompassing His name, forms, qualities, pastimes, and potencies.
According to Vedic literature, the term Bhagavan is defined as follows,
aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva
sannam bhaga itinganaHe, who possesses the six inconceivable qualities—wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation—is known as Bhagavan.
(Visnu-purana, 6.5.47) - The Root of Everything
The conclusion of the 4th Canto of Srimad Bhagavata describes how the sage Narada speaks with the Prachetas, who had left their homes and families and were undergoing severe austerities to attain perfect spiritual knowledge.
Highlighting the importance of serving the Center and the futility of practices that do not lead to realizing our connection with the Absolute, Narada said the following:
yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejyaBy watering the root of a tree, one automatically nourishes the branches and everything else, and by supplying food to the stomach, all the body’s limbs are satisfied. Similarly, by rendering service to the Absolute Center, we are not only satisfying our own needs but also contributing to the well-being of the entire world.
(Srimad Bhagavatam, 4.31.14) - What does it mean?
In the final chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita (18.66), Krishna gives one of His final instructions: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja…
It is crucial to understand these words correctly. When Krishna says we should give up all duties and surrender to Him alone, it does not mean neglecting our responsibilities to our family, society, or others. Instead, it means that whatever we do—family duties or responsibilities to society, our city, country, or the world—we should continue doing them, but with the higher center in mind. We should focus on the well-being of the Center, which ultimately means the well-being of everyone. If we do not, conflicts are bound to happen—whether on a personal level or within neighborhoods, cities, or countries.