“Without satsanga, it is not possible to hear Hari-katha. Without Hari-katha, it is not possible to be free from delusion. Without being freed from delusion, it is not possible to have determined devotion to the lotus feet of Shri Rama.” (Dohavali, 132)

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बिनु सतसंग न हरिकथा तेहिं बिनु मोह न भाग।
मोह गएँ बिनु रामपद होइ न दृढ अनुराग ॥

binu satasaṃga na harikathā tehiṃ binu moha na bhāga।
moha gae~ binu rāmapada hoi na dṛḍha anurāga ॥

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada asks the question, as a way to introduce the issue of impersonal versus personal realization of the Absolute Truth. If we had to ask, which is more important, the sunshine or the sun?

1. The sunshine is more important

“The sunshine is everything. I cannot overestimate its importance. It really makes or breaks a given day. Every year, when winter finally ends, I feel like I am entering a new place. It feels as if this is the first time we are getting steady sunshine, that it was always cold before.

“I want that sunshine every day. I want to soak it in. I want to accept its energy. You ask about the sun itself? I have no idea what it is like. You cannot even approach it. What kind of object is that? At least the sunshine helps me. The sun behaves as if it is too good for everyone.”

2. The sun is more important

“Have you people lost your mind? If you appreciate the sunshine, it means that you appreciate the sun. Where do you think the sunshine comes from? What do you think is the source? Do you not care? Like the spoiled child who thinks mommy and daddy have an endless supply of money, you will just enjoy the sunshine by ignoring the sun?

“Without the sun, you have nothing! Did you hear me? Are the words resonating? The sun is more important. You can’t have sunshine without the sun. Get it through your head.

…

In the same light, when realizing the Absolute Truth, the impersonal feature is subordinate. It cannot be the end, the final word, or the ultimate conclusion, Vedanta. The source of Vedanta is a person, as explicitly stated in Bhagavad-gita.

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो
मत्तः स्मृतिर् ज्ञानम् अपोहनं च
वेदैश् च सर्वैर् अहम् एव वेद्यो
वेदान्त-कृद् वेद-विद् एव चाहम्

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

We might use the impersonal to get to where we need to go. Just as we might not be able to comprehend the concept of a sun, a singular luminous object to light the world, our understanding begins with the indirect effects.

The sunshine is one way to understand the sun. It is non-different from the sun, but at the same time also different. If we are within the sunshine, we cannot say that we have captured the sun. We cannot say that we are with the sun or even close to it in proximity.

The impersonal is a way for understanding the Absolute Truth. It is still a distinct object or concept, known as a murti. The Sanskrit description is avyakta-murtina. The original, personal Truth manages to distribute its influence everywhere. He is in everything, but everything is not in Him.

The personal is always more important, since without the personal you cannot have the impersonal. Without the cause, there is no effect. The personal is the cause of all causes, sarva karana-karanam.

It is for this reason that followers of the Vaishnava tradition of the sanatana-dharma culture place emphasis on worship of the personal. Appreciate the source right now. There is no need to neglect. We may not understand everything sufficiently. We might have a difficult time acknowledging the attractiveness, youthful appearance, kind disposition, and causeless mercy of this personal aspect.

The difficulty has no bearing on the reality. There is a singular controller. There is a corresponding vyakta-murtina. The fortunate, through sadhu-sanga and the removal of delusion, are able to see this form and stay connected in determined devotion.

In Closing:

For the personal choosing,
For association not losing.

Because everything from it coming,
Not spontaneously becoming.

Despite changes of time’s course,
Always a singular source.

Through sanga and katha Hari hearing,
And my delusion finally clearing.

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Tags: hare krishna, hari katha, nature, poem, poems, poetry, rama, sunlight