88 THE PATH OF PERFECTION Perception of the Supersoul 89
The spiritual platform is called the Brahman platform, and libera- Arjuna!”’ (Bg. 6.32) This is true universal vision. It is not that
tion means being situated on that platform. Being conditioned God is sitting in my heart and not in the heart of a dog, cat, or cow.
souls, we are presently situated on the bodily, or sensual, plat- ' Sarva-bhitanam means that He is sitting in the hearts of all living
form. Those who are a little advanced—speculators, philoso- entities, in the human heart and in the ant’s heart. The only dif-
phers—are situated on the mental platform. Above this is the ference is that cats and dogs cannot realize this. A human being, if
platform of liberation, of Brahman realization. he tries to follow the sankhya-yoga or bhakti-yoga system, is able
That the devotee, always acting in Krsna consciousness, is to understand, and this is the prerogative of human life. If we miss
automatically situated on the liberated platform of Brahman is also this opportunity, we suffer a great loss, for we have undergone the
confirmed in the Narada-pajcaratra: evolutionary process and have passed through more than eight
million species of life in order to get this human form. We should
dik-kalady-anavacchinne therefore be conscious of this and careful not to miss this oppor-
krsne ceto vidhdya ca tunity. We have a good body, the human form, and intelligence
. tan-mayo bhavati ksipram and civilization. We should not live like animals and struggle hard
jivo brahmani yojayet for existence but should utilize our time thinking peacefully and
understanding our relationship with the Supreme Lord. This is the
“By concentrating one’s attention on the transcendental form of instruction of Bhagavad-gita: Don’t lose this opportunity; utilize it
Krsna, who is all-pervading and beyond time and space, one be- properly.
comes absorbed in thinking of Krsna and then attains the happy
state of transcendental association with Him.””
Krsna consciousness is the highest stage of trance in yoga prac-
tice. This very understanding that Krsna is present as Paramatma
in everyone’s heart makes the yogi faultless. The Vedas confirm
this inconceivable potency of the Lord as follows:
eko ‘pi san bahudha yo ’vabhati
aisvaryad rupam ekam ca suryavad bahudheyate
“*Visnu is one, and yet He is certainly all-pervading. By His incon-
ceivable potency, in spite of His one form, He is present every-
where. As the sun, He appears in many places at once.”
atmaupamyena sarvatra
samam pasyati yo ’rjuna
sukham va yadi va duhkham
Sa yogi paramo matah
‘*He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the
true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O |
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