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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
pūjā , or worship, is allowed on the night of the dark moon, which means once a month. There are also certain  mantras  to be chanted when the goat is sacrificed. The goat is told, "Your life is being sacrificed before the goddess Kālī; you will therefore be immediately promoted to the human form." Generally, in order to attain the human form, a living entity has to pass through many species of life on the evolutionary scale, but if a goat is sacrificed to the goddess Kālī, he is immediately promoted to the human form. The  mantra  also says, "You have the right to kill this man who is sacrificing you." The word  māmsa  indicates that in his next birth, the goat will eat the flesh of the man who is presently sacrificing him. This in itself should bring the goat-eater to his senses. He should consider, "Why am I eating this flesh? Why am I doing this? I'll have to repay with my own flesh in another life." The whole idea is to discourage one from eating meat.
Thus, because there are different types of men, there are eighteen  Purāṇas  to guide them. The Vedic literatures are meant to redeem all men, not just a few. It is not that those who are meat-eaters or drunkards are rejected. A doctor accepts all patients, and he prescribes different medicines according to the disease. It is not that he gives the same medicine for all diseases or that he treats just one disease. No, he offers a specific type of medicine to whomever comes, and the patient receives gradual treatment. However, the sattvic  Purāṇas  like the  Padma Purāṇa  are meant for those in the mode of goodness, for those who immediately are capable of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In  Brahma-saṁhitā  it is stated,  iśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ : "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa, who has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body." This is the Vedic pronouncement, and we thus accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord. Those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance attempt to imagine the form of God, and when they are confused, they say, "Oh, there is no personal God. God is impersonal, or void." This is just the result of frustration. Actually, God has His form. And why not? According to the  Vedānta-sūtra ,  janmādy asya yataḥ : "The Supreme Absolute Truth is He from whom everything emanates." It is easy to see that we have different types of bodies, dif-
Learning How to See God
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ferent types of forms. We must consider where these forms are coming from. Where have these forms originated? We have to use a little common sense. If God is not a person, how can His sons be persons? If your father is just a void, if he is not a person, how can you be a person? If your father has no form, how can you have form? This is not very difficult; it is just a commonsense question. Unfortunately, because people are frustrated, they try to imagine some form, or they conclude that because this material form is temporary and troublesome, God must be formless. Indeed, because all forms in this material world must perish, God, of necessity, must be formless.
Brahma-saṁhitā  specifically states that this conception is a mistake.  Iśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ . God has form, but His form is  sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha .  Sat  means "eternal,"  cit  means "knowledge," and  ānanda  means "pleasure." God has form, but His form is eternal and is full of knowledge and pleasure. We cannot compare His form to our form. Our form is neither eternal, full of pleasure, nor full of knowledge; therefore God's form is different.
As soon as we speak of form, we think that form must be like ours, and we therefore conclude that the eternal, all-knowing, and all-blissful God must be without form. This is not knowledge but the result of imperfect speculation. According to  Padma Purāṇa ,  ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ : "One cannot understand the form, name, quality, or paraphernalia of God with one's material senses." Since our senses are imperfect, we cannot speculate on Him who is supremely perfect. That is not possible.
Then how is it possible to understand Him?  Sevonmukhe hi Jhvādau . By training and purifying our senses, we may come to understand and see God. Presently we are attempting to understand God with impure, imperfect senses. It is like someone with cataracts trying to see. Just because one has cataracts, he should not conclude that there is nothing to be seen. Similarly, we cannot presently conceive of God's form, but once our cataracts are removed, we can see. According to  Brahma-saṁhitā ,  premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti : "The devotees whose eyes are anointed with the ointment of love