One cannot escape sin even by living on air alone because one still unknowingly kills countless numbers of germs. Given the nature of the situation, is any escape route possible? In fact, in the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna has shown just such a path.
The terms “violence” and “love” only apply to living beings or those conscious entities (jivas) that experience joy and sorrow. Criminal charges are not brought against those who dissect or cremate dead bodies. One who loves or who is an object of love, and one who commits violence or who is a victim of violence—both are conscious entities. In a universe teeming with life, man accounts for only a small percentage of the total number of living beings. When we speak of violence and love, we generally refer to man and not any other form of life. Since man holds the highest position among all living beings, it is not incorrect to put greater emphasis on thoughts dealing with the welfare of mankind. The hate and violence done to the more evolved creature is more harmful and dangerous than that done to the less evolved being. Thus, it is more sinful to commit violence to a more evolved being. A person who has risen several steps is apt to fall more violently when pushed off a staircase than one who falls after having climbed only one step. Violence breeds more violence, with nothing of benefit to be gained. Those who do not want to invite violence should not commit violence. The Vedas sing, ma himsyat sarvani bhūtani: “Do not harm any living being.” Modern science echoes this verse by stating, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The reactions to the violence of a highly evolved creature will be of a proportionately higher order. The burden of sin becomes heavy if violence is directed toward those living beings that are benevolent and very useful, such as the cow and bull. Of course, it can be argued that without some sort of violence toward other living beings one could not exist, because life feeds on other life for survival:
ahastani sahastanam
apadani catuṣ-padam
phalgūni tatra mahatma
jivo jivasya jivanam
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.13.47)
“Those living beings that are without hands become food for those who have hands, such as man, and those that are without legs, such as trees and plants, become food for the four-legged; small living beings such as fish become food for larger living beings. In this way, one living being is food for another.”
Even vegetarians incur sin by eating plants which most certainly also possess life. However, since plants are not very highly developed and hence are less conscious of their environment, the strength of the sin incurred is less. One cannot escape sin even by living on air alone because one still unknowingly kills countless numbers of germs. Given the nature of the situation, is any escape route possible? In fact, in the Bhagavad-gita (3.13), the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna has shown just such a path:
yajña-siṣṭasinah santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaih
bhuñjate te tv agham papa
ye pacanty atma-karanat
“By taking only the remnants of yajña or sacrifices, the spiritually inclined are absolved of all sinful reactions. Those, however, who prepare foodstuffs intended solely for their own satisfaction partake of sin and sin alone.”
Yajña vai viṣnuriti sruteh: In the sruti-sastra, Viṣnu, the Absolute Truth, is described as Yajña (sacrifice), and one of His names is Yajña. Thus, one can become freed of all sins by partaking of viṣnu-prasada—foodstuffs that have first been offered to Viṣnu as per the scriptural guidelines.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has shown us a path that not only frees us from the sin of committing violence to other living beings, but also brings about their benefit. What exactly is violence? Violence is to attack the self-interest of a living entity. The real self-interest of the living entity is dependent upon identification of the true self of that living entity. The consciousness that manifests a particular identity, the absence of which causes the disappearance of that particular identity, is the true self. In the language of the scriptures, the true self is known as atma or soul. The atma is indestructible:
nainam chindanti sastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na cainam kledayanty apo
na soṣayati marutah
acchedyo ’yam adahyo ’yam
akledyo ’soṣya eva ca
nityah sarva-gatah sthanur
acalo ’yam sanatanah
(Bhagavad-gita 2.23-24)
“The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.”
Although the living entity is conscious, it is not the cause of all consciousness, the Supreme Consciousness. The Supreme Consciousness does not depend upon anyone. On the contrary, all depend upon Him. The consciousness of each living entity is but a spark of that Supreme Consciousness and hence depends on Him. The existence of all living beings is dependent on Sri Bhagavan, Who is the Cause of all causes; Sri Bhagavan’s existence does not depend upon any other living being. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu defined the true nature of all living entities by saying:
jivera ‘svarūpa’ haya kṛṣnera ‘nitya-dasa’
kṛṣnera ‘taṭastha-sakti’ ‘bhedabheda-prakasa’
(Chaitanya-caritamṛta, Madhya-lila 20.108)
“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servitor of Krishna because he is the marginal energy of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord.”
A living entity (jiva) is poised in the middle of two potencies of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna—His internal and external potencies. Thus situated, the jiva possesses the independence to interact with either one potency or the other. Although the jiva is a conscious entity, the minuteness of his atomic existence renders him prone to becoming overwhelmed by the external potency (maya). When the jiva exercises his minute independence, he becomes easily enchanted upon seeing the external world of maya. In this state, he begins to think of himself as the master and enjoyer of maya. This is known as the material ego or jada-abhimana. Due to the jiva’s absorption in the material nature, certain feelings are developed. These are known as mana (mind), and the decisive faculty of the mind is known as buddhi or intellect. The trio of jada-ahaṅkara, buddhi and mana (false ego, intellect and mind) comprise the subtle body (sūkṣma- or liṅga-deha) of the jiva. The desires of this subtle body then gradually crystallise into the elements of the gross body.
The situation of the soul within the gross and subtle bodies can be illustrated by the following example. Suppose a person has acquired some property after having invested a lot of time and effort. Common sense tells us that he has not become the property, but that he is the proprietor of the property. It would not be intelligent to protect the property by harming the proprietor. In a similar manner, it is foolish to neglect the interest of the soul, only to direct one’s attention toward the pampering of the body and mind. The interest of the atma is the true interest of the jiva.
Only things of equal nature can trade or interact with one another. If we analyse the gross body, we find that it is composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, air and space (the ethereal element). These same five elements nourish the body, and the body will eventually dissolve back into them. In the same way, atma requires atma. The atma sustains and nourishes the atma, and the atma finally rests in the atma. That atma, which is required by all atmas, which nourishes them all and which is the final destination for all, is the Paramatma—the Supersoul.
yato va imani bhūtani jayante
yena jatani jivanti
yat prayantyabhisamvisanti
tad vijijñasasva tad eva brahma
(Taittiriya Upaniṣad 3.1.1)
“The Supreme Brahman is the origin and shelter of all living beings. When there is creation, He brings them forth from their original state, and at the time of annihilation, He devours them. After creation, everything rests in His omnipotence, and after annihilation, everything again returns to rest in Him.”
atma va are draṣṭavyah srotavyo mantavyo nididhyasitavyah
(Bṛhad-aranyaka Upaniṣad 4.5.6)
“One should always see, hear about, think of, and meditate on the Supreme Absolute Truth.” If the subtle and gross bodies are thwarted in their desires, subtle and gross forms of hatred and violence arise. One should understand, however, that the worst form of violence, and hence the greatest crime, is to frustrate and deny the true need of the atma.
Since one jivatma is not the cause of another jivatma, the pleasure of one does not lead to the happiness of the other; nourishing one does not lead to the satisfaction of the other. For example, one spark of light cannot sustain the glow of another, but all sparks can be nourished by stoking the flame of their source lamp. Similarly, all living entities—sparks of consciousness—have emanated from the One Supreme Consciousness. Without satisfying the Cause of all causes, Sri Hari, nobody can be satisfied or nourished. By ignoring the roots and watering only the branches, leaves and flowers, can a tree stay alive? In like manner, “watering” or nourishing individuals or even groups of living beings will be in vain if Bhagavan Sri Krishna is excluded. This is the essential mantra of the Vedic teachings: dharma-mūlam hi hari-toṣanam, “The essence of dharma is the satisfaction of Sri Hari.”
priyatam pundarikakṣam
sarva yajñesvara hari
yasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭam
prinite prinitam jagat
In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja, being completely surrendered to the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord Viṣnu, advocated the greatness of the nine-fold path of devotion beginning with hearing the glories of Sri Viṣnu and chanting the Holy Names of Viṣnu, for the pleasure of Lord Viṣnu. The great sages of yore have also advised us to endeavour to please that Absolute Truth. Pure love (prema) is the love of the atma for the Supreme Being. He who is for the Whole is for all the parts of the Whole. That which attempts to hinder love for the Supreme Lord is known as violence. This violence acts against my interest as well as the interest of all. To love someone means to not harm him or his parts in even the slightest way. Thus, one who loves the Supreme Lord has genuine universal love, meaning he loves all living beings. In contrast to this, what some refer to as “universal love” turns out to be just another extended version of lust (kama). The so-called “universal lovers” have, in fact, simply identified their own selfishness with the whole world. This may be understood as being merely an extended form of self-interest. They are ready to harm the rest of the world for the sake of their own selfish idea of the world.
The lover of Sri Bhagavan, however, cannot nurse hatred for anyone under any circumstances. He has equal love for all, but his outward behaviour towards each person will differ, depending on the degree of manifestation of love for Sri Bhagavan in each of these individuals. Violence and non-violence cannot be judged by external behaviour alone. If the father reprimands the son, it is not reasonable to jump to the conclusion that the father hates the son. It is the love of the parent for the child that is the cause of the necessity for discipline. Not disciplining a child would, in fact, be harmful and hateful. The father has love and affection for all of his children, but he acts differently towards each of them according to their particular needs. The father may serve a tasty, rich meal to his healthy child, a gruel made of sago-barley to another, and a bitter extract of medicinal herbs to the child who has an upset stomach. The behaviour of the father differs from son to son, but his affection is the same for all of them. The power of digestion differs from one son to the other. They are served doses of paternal affection according to their individual capacities. Sri Hanumanji was a great devotee of Bhagavan Sri Ramacandra. His action of setting fire to Sri Laṅka, and thus of taking many lives, may apparently seem to be full of violence. Actually, however, there was not a trace of hatred and hence no real violence because Sri Hanuman’s actions were fuelled by love for Sri Ramacandra and nothing else. Ultimately, as a result, Sri Hanuman’s actions led to the true welfare of all. Without being done for the pleasure of Bhagavan Sri Rama, the worldly motives of wealth, women and fame would indeed have stained him with sin. The end justifies the means:
yasya nahaṅkṛto bhavo
buddhir yasya na lipyate
hatvapi sa imal̐ lokan
na hanti na nibadhyate
(Bhagavad-gita 18.17)
“One who has no false ego, whose intellect is not clouded by mundane, material works, may destroy the whole world and yet not cause any actual destruction, or be destroyed.”
Such a person has gone beyond the roles of the destroyer and the destroyed. In social customs, the killing of a human being is a ghastly sin. However, when this killing is done for a great or noble cause in warfare, the killer gets a reward and recognition for killing the enemy. On the other hand, when dealing with the world of petty self-interests, neither the victor not the vanquished gains any benefit. What is achieved from the love of the Whole, or Sri Bhagavan, is conducive to the welfare of the self as well as all others. Thus, it is only by means of bhagavad-prema (love for God) that real non-violence is possible. In ordinary parlance, non-violence indicates less violence, but in actuality, it is impossible to have true non-violence by excluding love for Sri Bhagavan.
Excerpted from lectures delivered by Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj between 1965-1966 in Kolkata; recorded in Sri Chaitanya Vani, 6th year, Volume VII.
