Page 60 - THE FOURTH DIMENSION

Frustration and defeat for the doubting soul

Lord Krishna says:

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca / saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ’sti na paro / na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall
down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next. (Bg 4.40)

Everything is relational in the spiritual and material worlds. There are positive and negative relationships with
God. The negative relationships are destined to always end in misery. This is the fate of persons who oppose
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. They believe that sense gratification is the ultimate goal of
life. Their anxiety is endless because the temporary body can never keep up with the pace of their material
desires. They appear to be always lusty with a quick tendency to anger. Faithless persons doubt the following:
life after death, the laws of karma, the existence of a Supreme God who is the witness of all activities and thus
everyone is answerable to Him, the authority of the Vedas, respect for genuine saintly devotees and gurus, the
value of spiritual life and association of devotees.

Reciprocal relationship with Lord Krishna

The following verse and purport in the Bhagavat-gita explains the real nature of the reciprocal relationship
between Lord Krishna and his devotee.

samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu / na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā / mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is
a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him. (Bg 9.29)

One may question here that if Kṛṣṇa is equal to everyone and no one is His special friend, then why does He take
a special interest in the devotees who are always engaged in His transcendental service? But this is not
discrimination; it is natural. Any man in this material world may be very charitably disposed, yet he has a special
interest in his own children. The Lord claims that every living entity – in whatever form – is His son, and so He
provides everyone with a generous supply of the necessities of life. He is just like a cloud which pours rain all
over, regardless of whether it falls on rock or land or water. But for His devotees, He gives specific attention.
Such devotees are mentioned here: they are always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore they are always
transcendentally situated in Kṛṣṇa. The very phrase “Kṛṣṇa consciousness” suggests that those who are in such
consciousness are living transcendentalists, situated in Him. The Lord says here distinctly, mayi te: “They are in
Me.” Naturally, as a result, the Lord is also in them. This is reciprocal. This also explains the words ye yathā māṁ
prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: “Whoever surrenders unto Me, proportionately I take care of him.”
This transcendental reciprocation exists because both the Lord and the devotee are conscious. When a diamond
is set in a golden ring, it looks very nice. The gold is glorified, and at the same time the diamond is glorified. The
Lord and the living entity eternally glitter, and when a living entity becomes inclined to the service of the Supreme
Lord he looks like gold. The Lord is a diamond, and so this combination is very nice. Living entities in a pure state

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