Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 194, What do we mean by "AbsoluteTruth"?

11-08-2006, 10:02 PM

Digest 194, November 14th 2006. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja
You are welcome to send in your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami at
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What do we mean by "Absolute Truth"?
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Q: How can we understand the Absolute nature of Lord Sri Krishna? What do we
mean by "Absolute Truth" and in what sense is Lord Sri Krishna the Absolute
Truth?

This question came to my mind when I overheard someone saying that all
qualities in the material world are relative, i.e. to say someone is tall
doesn't suffice because a person considered tall in India would be considered
average height in USA.

Answer: Just as in the example you have given, everything in this material
world is relative or dependent on something for its existence and definition.
Similarly, conceptions such as darkness, coldness or pain are irrelevant
without the opposite conceptions of light, heat or pleasure -- there is no
absolute pain or absolute pleasure in our experience, it is only a question of
relative perception. Another example: there is no meaning to the word or the
concept of father independent of the existence of the relationship with a
son/daughter and vice versa - therefore it is relative.

In contrast, Absolute Truth is that which does not depend upon anything or
anyone else for Its existence. The definition of Absolute Truth (param satyam)
is given in the first sloka of Srimad Bhagavatam - as the source everything in
creation (janmady asya yatha), as being Completely Independent and fully
Cognizant of everything both directly and indirectly. This Absolute Truth is
Vaasudeva, Krishna and He is beyond the illusion of duality. Another way of
understanding Absolute Truth is that all varieties are included and all
contradictions are resolved within Him.

In this world, there is duality of matter and spirit - matter which is
temporary, a source of misery and full of ignorance, and spirit which is trying
to exploit this material energy. But there is no such duality in Krishna; He is
Absolute Spirit, sat-cit-ananda vigraha. And His abode, the Vaikuntha planets
in the spiritual sky, is also of the same Absolute nature, because there is no
duality of matter and spirit. Everything there is also of the nature of
sac-cid-ananda.

Ques Part 2: In this context, how are things absolute in the spiritual world?
Even in the spiritual realm, the gopis are dearer to Krishna than anyone else,
and even amongst the gopis, Radharani is most dear to Him. So, therefore there
is relativity in the spiritual realm too.

Answer: There is certainly variety in the spiritual world, but not relativity
as we speak of it in the mundane realm. As we have discussed in previous
digests, Absolute is quite so often confused, by beginning transcendentalists,
with some sort of homogeneous entity without any variegatedness, but this is
not so. Those who are impersonalists have difficulty accommodating this because
of their frustrated experience in the material world. Here, variety or
multiplicity almost always brings quarrel, discrimination and misery, and so
out of frustration and a poor fund of knowledge, they conclude that the
Absolute must be devoid of any kind of variety or hierarchy.

But Krishna enjoys varieties of pleasures, and they are all of the same
absolute nature - sat, cit and ananda. There are hierarchies in the spiritual
world, as well - perfect, more perfect, and most perfect; pure, purer, purest,
and even further ever-expanding degrees of purity and intensities of love. But
they are all pure, and in that sense absolute. There is even so-called
separation and lamentation in spiritual world, and even day and night, but
these are all just different varieties of absolute pleasure.

The variegatedness of the Absolute is *VERY DIFFICULT* to understand from our
present conditioned nature, and with a materially conditioned mind, but it is
possible to understand by adopting a humble mood of service to the Absolute
Supreme and by submissively hearing from those who know Him, the
tattva-darshis. (BG 4.34)

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