34 THE PATH OF PERFECTION Learning How to See God 35

know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if
He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-
hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to
do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord,
unconditionally.’’ That is the sentiment of one who is established
In pure love of God. When we attain that stage of love of God, we
will find that everything is full of pleasure; God is full of pleasure,
and we also are full of pleasure.

“The supreme occupation (dharma) for all humanity is that by
which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the tran-
scendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and
uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.’’ Cultivation of love
of God: that is the definition of first-class religion. Just as there are
three gunas, or three qualities, in the material world, there are
various religions, each situated in one of the three modes. We are
not, however, concerned with analyzing these religious concep-
tions. For us, the purpose of religion is to understand God and to
learn how to love God. That is the real purpose of any first-class
religious system. If a religion does not teach love of God, it is use-
less. One may follow his religious principles very carefully, but if
one does not possess love of God, his religion is null and void. Ac-
cording to Srimad-Bhdgavatam (1.2.6) real religion must be
ahaituki and apratihata: without selfish motivation and without
impediment. By practicing such a religion, we will become happy
in all respects.

Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje. Another
name for God is adhoksaja, which means ‘‘one who cannot be
seen by materialistic attempts.’ That is to say that God conquers
all our attempts to see Him materially. The word aksaja refers to
experimental knowledge, and adhah means ‘‘unreachable.”’ So
‘God cannot be reached through experimental knowledge. We
have to learn to contact Him in a different way: through sub-
missive hearing and the rendering of transcendental loving
service.

True religion teaches causeless love of God. It does not say, ‘‘I
love God because He supplies me nice objects for my sense grati-
fication.’’ That is not love. God is great, God is our eternal father,
and it is our duty to love Him. There is no question of barter or ex-
change. We should not think, ‘‘Oh, God gives me my daily bread;
therefore I love God.’’ God gives daily bread even to the cats and
dogs. Since He is the father of everyone, He is supplying everyone
food. So loving God for daily bread is not love. Love is without
reason. Even if God does not supply us our daily bread, we should
love Him. That is true love. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, dslisya
va pada-ratam pinastu mam adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va: ‘‘]

suhrn-mitrary-udasina-
madhyastha-dvesya-bandhusu

sadhusv api ca papesu
sama-buddhir visisyate

‘“*A person is said to be still further advanced when he regards
all—the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the
pious, the sinner, and those who are indifferent and impartial—
with an equal mind.’’ (Bg. 6.9) This is a sign of real spiritual ad-
vancement. In this material world we are considering people
friends and enemies on the bodily platform—that is, on the basis
of sense gratification. If one gratifies our senses, he is our friend,
and if he doesn’t, he is our enemy. However, once we have
tealized God, or the Absolute Truth, there are no such material
considerations.

In this material world, all conditioned souls are under illusion.
A doctor treats all patients, and although a patient may be
delirious and insult the doctor, the doctor does not refuse to treat
him. He still administers the medicine that is required. As Lord
Jesus Christ said, we should hate the sin, not the sinner. That is a
very nice statement, because the sinner is under illusion. He is
mad. If we hate him, how can we deliver him? Therefore, those
who are advanced devotees, who are really servants of God, do
not hate anyone. When Lord Jesus Christ was being crucified, he
said, ‘‘My God, forgive them. They know not what they do.”’ This
Is the proper attitude of an advanced devotee. He understands that
the conditioned souls cannot be hated, because they have become
mad due to their materialistic way of thinking. In this Krsna

