How Krsna Revealed Vaikuntha

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Below is an excerpt from the Krsna Book about how Krsna revealed the

Vaikunta planets to His devotees in Vrindavan.

source:http://www.krsnabook.com/ch28.html

Actually, although Krsna was acting so wonderfully, Maharaja Nanda

and mother Yasoda could not think of Him as the Supreme Personality

of Godhead. Instead, they always accepted Him as their beloved child.

Thus Nanda Maharaja did not accept the fact that Varuna worshiped

Krsna because Krsna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rather he

took it that because Krsna was such a wonderful child He was

respected even by Varuna. The friends of Nanda Maharaja, all the

cowherd men, became eager to know if Krsna were actually the Supreme

Personality and if He were going to give them all salvation. When

they were all thus consulting among themselves, Krsna understood

their minds, and in order to assure them of their destiny in the

spiritual kingdom, He showed them the spiritual sky. Generally,

ordinary persons are engaged simply in working hard in the material

world, and they have no information that there is another kingdom or

another sky, which is known as the spiritual sky, where life is

eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. As it is stated in the

Bhagavad-gita, a person returning to that spiritual sky never returns

to this material world of death and suffering.

 

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always anxious to give

information to the conditioned soul that there is a spiritual sky

far, far beyond this material sky, transcendental to the innumerable

universes created within the total material energy. Krsna is, of

course, always very kind to every conditioned soul, but, as stated in

the Bhagavad-gita, He is especially inclined to the devotees. Hearing

their inquiries, Krsna immediately thought that His devotees in

Vrndavana should be informed of the spiritual sky and the Vaikuntha

planets therein. Within the material world, every conditioned soul is

in the darkness of ignorance. This means that all conditioned souls

are under the concept of this bodily existence.

 

Everyone is under the impression that he is of this material world,

and with this concept of life, everyone is working in ignorance in

different forms of life. The activities of the particular type of

body are called karma, or fruitive action. All conditioned souls

under the impression of the bodily concept are working according to

their particular types of body. These activities are creating their

future conditional life. Because they have very little information of

the spiritual world, they do not generally take to spiritual

activities, which are called bhakti-yoga. Those who successfully

practice bhakti-yoga, after giving up this present body, go directly

to the spiritual world and become situated in one of the Vaikuntha

planets. The inhabitants of Vrndavana are all pure devotees. Their

destination after quitting the body is Krsnaloka. They even surpass

the Vaikunthalokas. The fact is, those who are always engaged in

Krsna consciousness and mature, pure devotional service are given the

chance, after death, to gain Krsna's association in the universes

within the material world. Krsna's pastimes are continually going on,

either in this universe or in another universe. Just as the sun globe

is passing through many places across this earthly planet, so Krsna-

lila, or the transcendental advent and pastimes of Krsna, are also

going on continually, either in this or another universe. The mature

devotees, who have completely executed Krsna consciousness, are

immediately transferred to the universe where Krsna is appearing. In

that universe the devotees get their first opportunity to associate

with Krsna personally and directly. The training goes on, as we see

in the Vrndavana lila of Krsna within this planet. Krsna therefore

revealed the actual feature of the Vaikuntha planets so that the

inhabitants of Vrndavana could know their destination.

 

Thus Krsna showed them the eternal ever-existing spiritual sky which

is unlimited and full of knowledge. Within this material world there

are different gradations of forms, and according to the gradations,

knowledge is proportionately manifested. For example, the knowledge

in the body of a child is not as perfect as the knowledge in the body

of an adult man. Everywhere there are different gradations of living

entities, in aquatic animals, in the plants and trees, in the

reptiles and insects, in birds and beasts and in the civilized and

uncivilized human forms of life. Above the human form of life there

are demigods, Caranas and Siddhas on up to Brahmaloka where Lord

Brahma lives, and among these demigods there are always different

gradations of knowledge. But past this material world, in the

Vaikuntha sky, everyone is in full knowledge. All the living entities

there are engaged in devotional service to the Lord, either in the

Vaikuntha planets or in Krsnaloka.

 

As it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, full knowledge means knowing

Krsna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Vedas and

Bhagavad-gita it is also stated that in the brahmajyoti or spiritual

sky there is no need of sunlight, moonlight, or electricity. All

those planets are self-illuminating, and all of them are eternally

situated. There is no question of creation and annihilation in the

brahmajyoti, spiritual sky. Bhagavad-gita also confirms that beyond

the material sky there is another eternal spiritual sky where

everything is eternally existing. Information of the spiritual sky

can be had only from great sages and saintly persons who have already

surpassed the influence of the three material modes of nature. Unless

one is constantly situated on that transcendental platform, it is not

possible to understand the spiritual nature.

 

Therefore it is recommended that one should take to bhakti-yoga and

keep himself engaged twenty-four hours in Krsna consciousness, which

places one beyond the reach of the modes of material nature. One in

Krsna consciousness can easily understand the nature of the spiritual

sky and Vaikunthaloka. The inhabitants of Vrndavana, being always

engaged in Krsna consciousness, could therefore very easily

understand the transcendental nature of the Vaikunthalokas.

 

Thus Krsna led all the cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, to the

lake where Akrura was later shown the Vaikuntha planetary system.

They took their bath immediately and saw the real nature of the

Vaikunthalokas. After seeing the spiritual sky and the

Vaikunthalokas, all the men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, felt

wonderfully blissful, and coming out of the river, they saw Krsna,

who was being worshiped with excellent prayers.