One example

often given is that of the caterpillar that thinks of becoming a butterfly and so
is transformed into a butterfly in the same life. Similarly, if we constantly
think of Ka, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same
bodily constitution as Ka.

The example can be given of a

high-court judge sitting on his bench. By his order so many things are
happeningsomeone is being hanged, someone is being put into jail, someone
is awarded a huge amount of wealthbut still he is neutral. He has nothing to
do with all that gain and loss. Similarly, the Lord is always neutral, although
He has His hand in every sphere of activity.

This example is given in the

smti: when there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched
by the smelling power of the person, yet the smelling and the flower are
Copyright 1998 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Int'l. All Rights Reserved.
detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the
material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead;

For example, if
there is a possibility of going to the top of a building by the help of an
elevator,
why should one go by the staircase, step by step? Everything is resting on
Kas energy; therefore without Kas shelter nothing can exist

For example, one may be engaged in business, but to transform that

activity into Ka consciousness, one has to do business for Ka. If Ka is
the proprietor of the business, then Ka should enjoy the profit of the
business. If a businessman is in possession of thousands and thousands of
dollars, and if he has to offer all this to Ka, he can do it. This is work for
Ka. Instead of constructing a big building for his sense gratification, he can
construct a nice temple for Ka, and he can install the Deity of Ka and
arrange for the Deitys service, as is outlined in the authorized books of
devotional service. This is all ka-karma. One should not be attached to the
result of his work, but the result should be offered to Ka, and one should
accept as prasdam the remnants of offerings to Ka. If one constructs a very
big building for Ka and installs the Deity of Ka, one is not prohibited
from living there, but it is understood that the proprietor of the building is
Ka. That is called Ka consciousness. If, however, one is not able to
construct a temple for Ka, one can engage himself in cleansing the temple
of Ka; that is also ka-karma. One can cultivate a garden. Anyone who
has landin India, at least, any poor man has a certain amount of landcan
Copyright 1998 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Int'l. All Rights Reserved.
utilize that for Ka by growing flowers to offer Him. One can sow tulas
plants, because tulas leaves are very important and Ka has recommended
this in Bhagavad-gt. Patra pupa phala toyam. Ka desires that one
offer Him either a leaf, or a flower, or fruit, or a little waterand by such an
offering He is satisfied. This leaf especially refers to the tulas. So one can sow
tulas and pour water on the plant. Thus, even the poorest man can engage in
the service of Ka. These a

A crude example may be given here. We may find some mailboxes on the
street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their
destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an imitation which we may
find somewhere but which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the
work.
For example, constructing a big building requires great
energy, and a devotee does not take to such business if it does not benefit him
by advancing his devotional service. He may construct a temple for the Lord,
and for that he may take all kinds of anxiety, but he does not construct a big
Copyright 1998 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Int'l. All Rights Reserved.
house for his personal relations.

Birds flying together

The example is given of

the sun: The sun, at the meridian, is situated in its place. But if one goes for
five thousand miles in all directions and asks, Where is the sun? everyone
will say that it is shining on his head. In the Vedic literature this example is
given to show that although He is undivided, He is situated as if divided.

The best example is here: Arjuna is hearing the

science of God from Ka. The living entity, if he submits to this hearing
process, will lose his long-cherished desire to dominate material nature, and
gradually and proportionately, as he reduces his long desire to dominate, he
comes to enjoy spiritual happiness.

As the sun is situated in one

place but is illuminating the whole universe, so a small particle of spirit soul,
although situated in the heart of this body, is illuminating the whole body by
consciousness. Thus consciousness is the proof of the presence of the soul, as
sunshine or light is the proof of the presence of the sun. When the soul is
present in the body, there is consciousness all over the body, and as soon as the
soul has passed from the body there is no more consciousness

A very nice example is given herein. Although fire is pure, still there is
smoke. Yet smoke does not make the fire impure. Even though there is smoke
in the fire, fire is still considered to be the purest of all elements. If one
prefers
to give up the work of a katriya and take up the occupation of a brhmaa, he
is not assured that in the occupation of a brhmaa there are no unpleasant
duties.

This example of
fire and smoke is very appropriate in this connection. When in wintertime one
takes a stone from the fire, sometimes smoke disturbs the eyes and other parts
of the body, but still one must make use of the fire despite disturbing
conditions. Similarly, one should not give up his natural occupation because
there are some disturbing elements. Rather, one should be determined to serve
the Supreme Lord by his occupational duty in Ka consciousness.

For instance, a green bird enters a green tree not

to become one with the tree but to enjoy the fruits of the tree. impersonalists
generally give the example of a river flowing into the ocean and merging. This
may be a source of happiness for the impersonalist, but the personalist keeps
his personal individuality like an aquatic in the ocean. We find so many living
entities within the ocean, if we go deep. Surface acquaintance with the ocean
is not sufficient; one must have complete knowledge of the aquatics living in
the ocean depths.
These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun,
which also has three different aspects, namely the sunshine, the suns surface
and the sun planet itself. One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary
student. One who understands the suns surface is further advanced. And one
who can enter into the sun planet is the highest. Ordinary students who are
satisfied by simply understanding the sunshineits universal pervasiveness
and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal naturemay be compared to those
who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth. The student
who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to
knowledge of the Paramtm feature of the Absolute Truth

Take, for example, a big skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it
is dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested and remains as
atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy remains, but in
course of time things are manifested and unmanifestedthat is the difference.
Then what cause is there for lamentation either in the stage of manifestation
or in unmanifestation? Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage,
things are not lost.

The best example, set herein, is the tortoise. The tortoise can at
any moment wind up his senses and exhibit them again at any time for
particular purposes. Similarly, the senses of the Ka conscious persons are
used only for some particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are
withdrawn otherwise.

Also, the example of fire is sometimes given: As

a blazing fire burns everything within a room, Lord Viu, situated in the
heart of the yog, burns up all kinds of impurities. The Yoga-stra also
prescribes meditation on Viu, and not meditation on the void. The so-called
yogs who meditate on something which is not on the Viu platform simply
waste their time in a vain search after some phantasmagoria

example heat, light, water, air, etc.,

For example, the rains are not responsible for

different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such
rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth

For example, a diseased person is recommended to

worship the sun-god; a person wanting education may worship the goddess of
learning, Sarasvat; and a person wanting a beautiful wife may worship the
goddess Um, the wife of Lord iva

The
example of the touchstone is applicable to the theory of emanation. The
touchstone can convert an unlimited quantity of iron into gold, and still
the touchstone remains as it is. Similarly, the Supreme Lord can produce
all manifested worlds by His inconceivable energies, and yet He is full
and unchanged.

The following example will clear that matter more

explicitly. In the prison house there are the prisoners and the managers
of the prison house. Both the managers and the prisoners are bound by the
laws of the king. But even though the king sometimes comes in the prison,
he is not bound by the laws of the prison house. The king is therefore
always transcendental to the laws of the prison house, as the Lord is
always transcendental to the laws of the material world.
The
example of electrical energy is very appropriate in this connection. The
expert electrician can utilize the electrical energy for both heating and
cooling by adjustment only.

The
example of the boat disturbed by whirling wind is suitable in this
respect. The diverted mind of the pantheist can never reach the
perfection of self-realization, due to the disturbed condition of the
selection of object.

For example, a tree

is a complete unit, whereas the leaves and the branches of the tree are
emanated parts and parcels of the tree. The leaves and branches of the
tree are also the tree, but the tree itself is neither the leaves nor the
branches.

For example, modern spacecraft fly in the sky, and when scientists
say that they travel to the other side of the moon, men believe these
stories blindly because they have accepted the modern scientists as
authorities. The authorities speak, and the people in general believe
them. But in the case of Vedic truths, they have been taught not to
believe. Even if they accept them they give a different interpretation.
Each and every man wants a direct perception of Vedic knowledge, but
foolishly they deny it.

The best example of self-sufficiency is the sun. The sun does not
require to be illuminated by any other body. Rather, it is the sun which
helps all other illuminating agents, for in the presence of the sun no
other illuminating agent becomes prominent

just as a gardener helps plants

and orchards to grow by the watering process. The example cited here of
the sun is very appropriate. In the material world the sun is the cause
of all illumination: fire, electricity, the rays of the moon, etc. All
luminaries in the sky are creations of the sun, the sun is the creation
of the brahmajyoti, and the brahmajyoti is the effulgence of the Lord.
Thus the ultimate cause of creation is the Lord.

Misconceiving one thing for another thing is called illusion. For

example, accepting a rope as a snake is illusion, but the rope is not
false. The rope, as it exists in the front of the illusioned person, is
not at all false, but the acceptance is illusory.

For example, the sun controls the power of our

vision, we can see the sun because the sun has its body, and the sunlight
is useful only because we have eyes. Without our having eyes, the
sunlight is useless, and without sunlight the eyes are useless. Thus they
are interdependent, and none of them is independent. Therefore the
natural question arises concerning who made them interdependent

The example of
electrification is quite appropriate. A piece of iron is certainly not
fire, but when the iron is made red-hot, certainly it has the quality of
fire through its burning capacity. Matter is compared to the piece of
iron, and it is electrified or made red-hot by the glance or manipulation
of the supreme consciousness of Visnu. Only by such electrification is
the energy of matter displayed in various actions and reactions.