FRom http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22885 ( Part 1)
Part 2 available at http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22936
Excerpt below from Part 1
5 levels of consciousness
Okay, so now if we want to look at what we’re dealing with in the culture in the form of rules and regulations. This is very important to understand what. Basically the living entity has 5 levels of consciousness (annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya) that they can function on. They can function on sensual platform, which is called annamaya. They can also function on the extended sensual platform which is called manomaya. Say if we’re working on our own senses then you don’t need much structure in society. Basically you work on the logic of the fish “ whoever is the biggest wins”. Like you see the animals. There is something to eat whichever is the bigger animal they get to eat it like that. Very simple and you don’t need a whole lot of cultural structure. But if you want to recognize: “Ok, I want to eat, you want to eat”. Then we need some rules. So then you have your platform of justice, your economics. In other words we cooperate together for economic development. And then if someone doesn’t follow this you have justice. And then you have your basic principles of morality: “don’t steal because it’s not nice. Someone else has it than you respect his right to have things. He shouldn’t steal from me either”. Like this, so that’s called pranamaya, or accepting life, accepting others. Then you have the next platform higher than that and is called manomaya or it’s also known as jnanamaya. Sometimes it’s misunderstood that they’re two different things. Manomaya and Jnanamaya are the same. Because Jnana means you have only an intellectual understanding and the mind has accepted that. The intelligence can say so many things but you can’t work with it until the mind accepts it. You know this is right. I’ve thought about it in so many ways but I can’t accept it. So you don’t actually have that knowledge. Until the minds takes it so therefore it’s called Manomaya or Jnanamaya meaning that the knowledge is there – means intellectual understanding only. So then on this platform you have 3 categories that fit into there. That is the religious codes given by God, means directly the Vedic codes – (varnasrama) and all those codes that goes with that. Then the second will be none Vedic religions and religious principles that are there that are coming down in some way through God. Then you have mental speculation it’s when someone makes up their own philosophies.
Then the next level above that is the platform of intelligence, where we understand we’re not the body that we’re the soul. That’s vijnana-maya. On that platform then we have basically the understanding, “ I am Brahman” and one who will act within that culture. But we don’t have understanding of the supreme Lord. So this is the platform the impersonalist. Then the top platform is called anandamaya. Anandamaya means the platform of relationship with the Lord. And relationship then gives happiness. This is very important to understand. So we become attached then on these levels. So the whole philosophy of Krishna consciousness and the Vedic literature can be a boiled down into this point. It’s all attachment and relationship. Everything ultimately goes back to this as we mention first there is the devotees affection for Krishna that’s their attachment and that creates the Rasa the relationship so based on your kind of Rati or attachment you have a relationship with Krishna. So the same principle comes down into the material sphere. It’s your attachment. Are you attached to the senses- annamaya, extended self gratification- Pranamaya, religious principles – Manomaya or the understanding I am Brahman – vijnana-maya?! That’s your attachment and based on that you’re going to act. And you’re going to try to get your taste from that your Rasa from that. That’s the principle. Now within this these 5 levels of consciousness you have a 3 basically pure situations of attachment. You have the spiritual which is the Anandamaya, you have the emotional or mental which is the middle of manomaya, the third level and you have the attachment to the senses Annamaya and those in between this second and fourth the Pranamaya and the Jnanamaya. These are just junctions between. They have qualities of both that which is above and below them so they’re like a a ah junction between them. So it is explained that the living entity has these 3 platforms then which they can get Rasa which they can get exchange between themselves and others. So if one understands this science then one can actually get oneself out of this material world at the same time being as satisfied as possible in relationships in the material world. And if one doesn’t understand this science it’s practically impossible to get out. Because we will not attain that. Krishna says in the Gita, that you perform your prescribed duties and perform them for him. And he has given details of prescribed duties done to the smallest little detail. Even how you brush your teeth, so you can connect it to Krishna. One may ask how do I connect it to Krishna. First is that, you can remember Krishna while you’re brushing your teeth. If you can’t do that at least you brush your teeth because Krishna said I should brush my teeth. So either from the side of ritual or from the side of remembrance one can remember or one follows that so that they can teach it to others. But in this way it’s connected to Krishna. So Krishna in 11 Canto tells Udhuva,” I’ve dictated so many rules just so everything that you do you can connect to Me”. So that is what the rules are for. This is the body of literature. So now we have to understand that those rules and the whole Vedic culture that is platform of Manomaya and that is platform of emotion proper material, pure material emotion. Pure emotion isn’t experienced on the platform on the senses. It’s just a sense with the sense object and we know that just like they’re saying, “one man’s food is another man’s poison”. So it’s how you perceive it . How your mind perceives it, if it is good or bad. Just like you go outside it’s cold. Somebody goes, “hah fresh brisk nice” and they’re very inspired to walk around and breath the fresh air. Someone else walks out saying, “oh it’s cold” and goes back inside. The same sense with the same sense objects have come in contact but because how the mind perceives it there’s something different. So we see that the senses are actually part of the platform of the mind. Then, also there’s another we may think will this middle level the Pranamaya or the platform of morality and all that is the real platform of Rasa. But there is actually just extending the sense gratification. I want facilities you want facilities let’s share these facilities. And we make rules how it should be shared, like there must be legislation there must be justice to see that it is being legislated. And in this way we try to become happy but still what is a yard stick. That’s the thing. There has to be a yard stick by which you measure morals.
Then the next level above that is the platform of intelligence, where we understand we’re not the body that we’re the soul. That’s vijnana-maya. On that platform then we have basically the understanding, “ I am Brahman” and one who will act within that culture. But we don’t have understanding of the supreme Lord. So this is the platform the impersonalist. Then the top platform is called anandamaya. Anandamaya means the platform of relationship with the Lord. And relationship then gives happiness. This is very important to understand. So we become attached then on these levels. So the whole philosophy of Krishna consciousness and the Vedic literature can be a boiled down into this point. It’s all attachment and relationship. Everything ultimately goes back to this as we mention first there is the devotees affection for Krishna that’s their attachment and that creates the Rasa the relationship so based on your kind of Rati or attachment you have a relationship with Krishna. So the same principle comes down into the material sphere. It’s your attachment. Are you attached to the senses- annamaya, extended self gratification- Pranamaya, religious principles – Manomaya or the understanding I am Brahman – vijnana-maya?! That’s your attachment and based on that you’re going to act. And you’re going to try to get your taste from that your Rasa from that. That’s the principle. Now within this these 5 levels of consciousness you have a 3 basically pure situations of attachment. You have the spiritual which is the Anandamaya, you have the emotional or mental which is the middle of manomaya, the third level and you have the attachment to the senses Annamaya and those in between this second and fourth the Pranamaya and the Jnanamaya. These are just junctions between. They have qualities of both that which is above and below them so they’re like a a ah junction between them. So it is explained that the living entity has these 3 platforms then which they can get Rasa which they can get exchange between themselves and others. So if one understands this science then one can actually get oneself out of this material world at the same time being as satisfied as possible in relationships in the material world. And if one doesn’t understand this science it’s practically impossible to get out. Because we will not attain that. Krishna says in the Gita, that you perform your prescribed duties and perform them for him. And he has given details of prescribed duties done to the smallest little detail. Even how you brush your teeth, so you can connect it to Krishna. One may ask how do I connect it to Krishna. First is that, you can remember Krishna while you’re brushing your teeth. If you can’t do that at least you brush your teeth because Krishna said I should brush my teeth. So either from the side of ritual or from the side of remembrance one can remember or one follows that so that they can teach it to others. But in this way it’s connected to Krishna. So Krishna in 11 Canto tells Udhuva,” I’ve dictated so many rules just so everything that you do you can connect to Me”. So that is what the rules are for. This is the body of literature. So now we have to understand that those rules and the whole Vedic culture that is platform of Manomaya and that is platform of emotion proper material, pure material emotion. Pure emotion isn’t experienced on the platform on the senses. It’s just a sense with the sense object and we know that just like they’re saying, “one man’s food is another man’s poison”. So it’s how you perceive it . How your mind perceives it, if it is good or bad. Just like you go outside it’s cold. Somebody goes, “hah fresh brisk nice” and they’re very inspired to walk around and breath the fresh air. Someone else walks out saying, “oh it’s cold” and goes back inside. The same sense with the same sense objects have come in contact but because how the mind perceives it there’s something different. So we see that the senses are actually part of the platform of the mind. Then, also there’s another we may think will this middle level the Pranamaya or the platform of morality and all that is the real platform of Rasa. But there is actually just extending the sense gratification. I want facilities you want facilities let’s share these facilities. And we make rules how it should be shared, like there must be legislation there must be justice to see that it is being legislated. And in this way we try to become happy but still what is a yard stick. That’s the thing. There has to be a yard stick by which you measure morals.
The difficulty in the modern society
That is the difficulty in the modern society today because they are so much confusion. They have no yardstick. What was freedom of speech hundreds of years ago is different from today. Before freedom of speech mean you say whatever you like but you have to say it in some proper way. You have to behave nicely. You have to be a good moral Christian person and with that in mind say what you need to say. You have a brain. You though something you observe you say it. Nowadays, that’s not there . Just that I have a tongue and I can vibrate it that’s called freedom of speech. Therefore I can say things offend everybody, completely upset the culture completely undermine everybody else’s platform of existence morals and culture. That’s what it called “ freedom of speech”. So this Pranamaya or economics, like you see business means you buy something cheap and you sell it more expensive. That’s business. That’s it. It’s not something else. . I mean there’s many details of course but that’s the fundamental. If you attain that principle you make profit. You don’t then you might as well forget it. So now in that you can either follow the Vedic principles you get things people need sell it at a reasonable price and then in this way live. But now you take things people don’t need because they don’t need it they don’t think about it so you do advertise so they think about it and then charge them an exorbitant price because you made it like something prestige. So this is business so it fits into that Pranamaya. It fits into that level but it has nothing to judge against and so it creates difficulty. I do business but I don’t care for material nature. Then we have the pollution and all things. I do business they don’t care for the culture and therefore billboards can show anything. Do anything. So like this, “people don’t need it, I’ll force them to buy it”. You don’t need you don’t have money to buy a car or buy a house. But I advertise in such a way that you can buy it and then for the rest of your life you’re paying mortgages and this and that. Plus I make a profit off it. So in this way there’s no balance. So there’s this dissatisfaction because there’s no proper way that you can interface with others. Because it’s the Pranamaya platform is still Annamaya. It’s just we’ll work together. . We’ll pleasantly deal with each other. So we don’t offend each other. But the problem is this, there’s no exchange. Real exchange. It’s still selfish. I still have my agenda you have your agenda. We’ll compromise so the both of our agendas have win win. And this is the platform of business management. All the modern management books are dealing with business management. I have my agenda you have yours and we’ll cooperate and I respect you have yours. So he is trying to establish people properly on the platform of Pranamaya. Rather than get into Annamaya. But the real exchange comes on the third platform on the Manomaya platform. That is where actual emotional exchange takes place and it includes the lower. Emotion means you’re going to express your emotion it will be through something. There has to be seen otherwise, I’m experiencing emotion the other can’t feel it. The others experience emotion you can’t feel it. So there has to be a way to exchange that like friends who whack each other on the back or wrestle together or sit down and eat on the same plate or just do things together. That’s the medium through which they express the emotion they’re experiencing like mother with a child, feeding the child or dressing the child. They’re always fussing with the child. And then that is expressed so the senses and the platform of morals are automatically there within this platform of ethics in these rules.
So there Vedic culture is there to establish proper emotional stability in those persons who want to get to the spiritual platform. So by doing this, it establishes this 12 Rasas. There are the 12 Rasas meaning the 5 primary and the 7 secondary. And you follow the rules and regulations so that what you’re doing is very similar to the spiritual culture. Then you can understand Rasa and then it makes it very easy to work with the spiritual principles. But at the same time you must understand. It’s still is perverted. It’s still material. It doesn’t have direct connection. Just like Krishna dancing with the Gopis, there’s nothing to do with material lust. But the principle – you have a boy with the girl, that remains and how they will exchange. How they sit together and smile and all these different things that remains but now it’s a different thing. The modern thing is that everything comes down to the sensual platform. We think boy and girl just together we only think it is sensual aspect. The boy has his senses he wants to please them through the girl. The girl has her senses she wants to please also through the boy. So basically they kind of work together Pranamaya to respect each other, not move too fast until they worked it out: “ This one doesn’t mind this, that one doesn’t mind that” until you find the balance situation then each of them can enjoy their senses. But there’s still no sacrifice. There’s no sacrifice they are still have they agenda, “ Instead of doing it this way I’ll do it that way”. But the platform of Manomaya or religious principles or Varnashrama means sacrifice, for a relationships I must sacrifice. The husband must sacrifice for the family he must bring facility, he must protect. Those things are of a great burden. It’s a sacrifice. Because he does that there’s a taste in that, which is not gotten by just following your own agenda. The children must sacrifice they must behave in certain ways. Parents must sacrifice more. Right? The sacrifice is the greatest on the parent part. That’s why it’s a higher Rasa. That’s why they get more out of it. So in other words when we accept the Vedic principles as given by Acharyas and do them because they’re duty. Not because were attached to them. As what Krishna says, he spends the whole Gita basically telling Krishna do your duty. After telling him, he is a fool for talking about doing duties or running away from duties. Because he’s saying, “do the duty to please Krishna “ that’s reality. Doing a duty just for duty that’s no real meaning. So you do your duty because you’re supposed to do it. I may like it. I may not like it. The men may not like getting in the car and drive down an hour into town and then sitting in this crazy office with all these nonsense people for 5 days a week so he can get money. So he can maintain his house but he does it because of the relationship. It’s his duty. He wants to be a Grihastha. He has to somehow another been able to maintain it. So it’s a duty. So we see the tendency in the modern culture is to give up that sacrifice. Give up that duty so to remove far away from sacrificing for Krishna where I just do things for myself. So we came closer and closer just to the animal culture. Sophisticated, but we must also appreciate it there are very sophisticated animals also. Western culture are used to dogs and cats that are not overly sophisticated. But when you associate with other animals like elephants, parrots and cockatoos. They are quite sophisticated. Swans, they’re very sophisticated in their movements, in their dealings how they eat. So their culture is developing into higher quality animals. If you’re an Afghan, or you’ll Bull Terrier you’re still a dog. So this acceptance of the principles of the Vedic culture and doing it because it’s a duty that what makes sacrifice that makes for relationships. But now as Krishna pointed out, that’s not enough. It has to be done for Krishna. Then it actually becomes a life.
So there Vedic culture is there to establish proper emotional stability in those persons who want to get to the spiritual platform. So by doing this, it establishes this 12 Rasas. There are the 12 Rasas meaning the 5 primary and the 7 secondary. And you follow the rules and regulations so that what you’re doing is very similar to the spiritual culture. Then you can understand Rasa and then it makes it very easy to work with the spiritual principles. But at the same time you must understand. It’s still is perverted. It’s still material. It doesn’t have direct connection. Just like Krishna dancing with the Gopis, there’s nothing to do with material lust. But the principle – you have a boy with the girl, that remains and how they will exchange. How they sit together and smile and all these different things that remains but now it’s a different thing. The modern thing is that everything comes down to the sensual platform. We think boy and girl just together we only think it is sensual aspect. The boy has his senses he wants to please them through the girl. The girl has her senses she wants to please also through the boy. So basically they kind of work together Pranamaya to respect each other, not move too fast until they worked it out: “ This one doesn’t mind this, that one doesn’t mind that” until you find the balance situation then each of them can enjoy their senses. But there’s still no sacrifice. There’s no sacrifice they are still have they agenda, “ Instead of doing it this way I’ll do it that way”. But the platform of Manomaya or religious principles or Varnashrama means sacrifice, for a relationships I must sacrifice. The husband must sacrifice for the family he must bring facility, he must protect. Those things are of a great burden. It’s a sacrifice. Because he does that there’s a taste in that, which is not gotten by just following your own agenda. The children must sacrifice they must behave in certain ways. Parents must sacrifice more. Right? The sacrifice is the greatest on the parent part. That’s why it’s a higher Rasa. That’s why they get more out of it. So in other words when we accept the Vedic principles as given by Acharyas and do them because they’re duty. Not because were attached to them. As what Krishna says, he spends the whole Gita basically telling Krishna do your duty. After telling him, he is a fool for talking about doing duties or running away from duties. Because he’s saying, “do the duty to please Krishna “ that’s reality. Doing a duty just for duty that’s no real meaning. So you do your duty because you’re supposed to do it. I may like it. I may not like it. The men may not like getting in the car and drive down an hour into town and then sitting in this crazy office with all these nonsense people for 5 days a week so he can get money. So he can maintain his house but he does it because of the relationship. It’s his duty. He wants to be a Grihastha. He has to somehow another been able to maintain it. So it’s a duty. So we see the tendency in the modern culture is to give up that sacrifice. Give up that duty so to remove far away from sacrificing for Krishna where I just do things for myself. So we came closer and closer just to the animal culture. Sophisticated, but we must also appreciate it there are very sophisticated animals also. Western culture are used to dogs and cats that are not overly sophisticated. But when you associate with other animals like elephants, parrots and cockatoos. They are quite sophisticated. Swans, they’re very sophisticated in their movements, in their dealings how they eat. So their culture is developing into higher quality animals. If you’re an Afghan, or you’ll Bull Terrier you’re still a dog. So this acceptance of the principles of the Vedic culture and doing it because it’s a duty that what makes sacrifice that makes for relationships. But now as Krishna pointed out, that’s not enough. It has to be done for Krishna. Then it actually becomes a life.
Follow the Vedic Culture – for spiritual or material result
