BENGALURU: The all pervading Super-soul is also dependent on the supreme aspect of Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the basis of everything in the entire cosmic manifestation.
Many times, we have heard that one should take shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. We cannot understand what it means unless we understand the personal form of the Lord in His supreme aspect as Bhagavan. Bhagavan means the Lord who is full of all opulences, the supreme controller of everyone and everything. To take shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter at the lotus feet of His pure devotees; to follow their instructions after having surrendered to them.
It makes us fearless because the entire material creation is resting under it. The Supreme Lord is able to award liberation from material existence to anyone who desires. This material existence is described in the Bhagavatam as - bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad isad apetasya viparyayo ‘smrtih - bhaya - fear is simply because of our forgetfulness of Krishna. The Lord has spiritual energy and material energy. Our normal condition is to be under the protection of the spiritual potency of the Lord but if we turn away from the Lord, we become Krishna bahirmukha - we forget the Lord, then immediately we come under the shelter of the material energy and that is the cause for fear.
It is not true that we completely forget the Lord because always we are dependent on Him - eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman - all our necessities are fulfilled by the Supreme Lord. In the material world, the Lord arranges for our necessities through the demigods but they are also dependent on the Lord in supplying our needs. The Supreme Lord will fulfill all our needs, simply if we take shelter under Him. Under the influence of illusion, we consider ourselves independent. To understand our actual position as dependent on the Supreme Lord, we have to come out of this illusion.
The consciousness is covered by the false ego, by the physical body. Making some adjustment to the level of body, mind or intelligence is not going to work. The consciousness which is conditioned by the association with the material energy has to be changed. We may wrongly think that there is some big change happening which will lead to getting out of this material entanglement. But that is just a false hope that is always there in this material world.
Prahlada Maharaj describes this as durasaya, the hope that I will solve all my problems by making some adjustment at the level of body, mind or intelligence. One has to come in contact with Krishna and for that one has to approach His pure devotees. Krishna also directs us that - You approach My pure devotee. Tad vidhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya - describes the different types of sacrifices for freedom from material bondage.
The soul must perform yajna or sacrifice to get out of material bondage and though it may take different forms, ultimately all sacrifices culminate in transcendental knowledge. We must approach a bonafide spiritual master who will direct us. Such pure devotees of the Lord are completely under the shelter of Krishna’s internal potency - daivim prakrtim. Any conditioned soul however advanced he may be in terms of material estimation, like the demigods, the yogis, etc., - they themselves are bound in this material world. They may give us knowledge, some mystic power, material opulence, but they cannot help us get out of material bondage. Only the liberated souls who have completely taken shelter of Krishna’s internal potency are called mahatmas.
Only pure devotees completely free from the influence of illusory energy are competent to give shelter to others also. They are situated at the lotus feet of the Lord and they are protected by the Lord.
Krishna does not easily award Himself to any person even though one may perform severe austerities. A prospective candidate who is interested in getting out of material existence, only then Krishna will give shelter. Krishna may award liberation, give material opulence, power, or anything a person may desire by directly approaching but Krishna will not give shelter at His lotus feet.
Even Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur says if you please the pure devotee of the Lord then very easily Krishna becomes pleased otherwise it is very difficult to approach the Supreme Lord, you cannot make progress on the path of ultimate liberation.