Q: Swamiji, what does Krishna mean when He says, 'Follow Me, I am the supreme Godhead?'
If you don't follow the master, you will follow your sa¼sk¢ras; you will follow your ego. Be very clear, when THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM say follow THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM or follow Krishna, it does not mean that THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM am asking you to follow the six-foot THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM or the dark-complexioned Krishna. It means, follow the universal Krishna, or the nity¢nanda which means eternal bliss, or the universal consciousness.
A group of Krishna devotees visited our ashram in Bharat. During THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's discourse, they asked questions, 'In the Gita, Krishna says He is the supreme personality. How can you say that you are on the same plane as Krishna?' These people call themselves Krishna devotees and claim to have read the Gita many times; however the whole essence of Krishna's words is lost in their understanding. They are stuck in the physical form of Krishna. They are stuck in the names and words. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM tell people, when Krishna and Jesus meet, they will hug each other; however the cows of Krishna and the sheep of Jesus will fight with each other!
Anyhow, people who miss the living enlightened masters are fools according to Krishna. If they let their ego decide, they will miss a wonderful opportunity. They will fall back into the cycle of birth and death.
One more thing, if someone chants 'Rama, Rama, Rama' a million times, it does not mean he will be liberated. So many people chant some mantras. They feel proud that they do it. They read Vishnu Sahasranama that contains 1008 names of Vishnu. They tell people, 'I read this; I read that.' However, when someone gossips beside them, one ear listens to the gossip while chanting! They chant the mantra, yet the ears listen to the gossip. Their mind and body are totally disconnected. Some people stop between chants and add their valuable suggestions to the gossip as well!
If someone follows Krishna or Rama in that way, there is no point. If there is no awareness of our actions, there is no point in doing those rituals. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM tell people that only when we add spirit to a ritual, it becomes spiritual.
One more important thing, if we do prayers and rituals with ego, we fall back into the cycle of life and death. The villain of Ramayana (the Hindu epic), Ravana, was a great king. He was devout and prayed to Shiva. He was devoted to Shiva; however he had ideas about Sita, the wife of Rama. He was a great ruler. Lanka had castles of gold. It was a prosperous country. People were happy with the king but what is the use? Ravana prayed to Shiva with the ego that he is doing all that. He was deluded by his illusion, by his ego. He did not know who Rama was. He did not see the enlightenment in Rama. Soon he was killed by Rama.
This is what Krishna says in these verses. You see, even if we do all kinds of pūjā or prayer, as long as our ego comes in the way, all our activities towards God are useless. Please be very clear, we may pray ten times a day, we may think of God one hundred times a day. However we must analyze how we approach God. It should be out of gratitude rather than ego. When we take God's name to show off to people, we do nothing but waste time.
People think they can reach heaven by donating thousands of rupees to temples. They build temples with selfish ideas. Be very clear, nobody waits at the gates of heaven keeping notes of our activities. Nobody is going to take us to God because we donated money to God. We can build temples and we can donate money to temples. When we do that, do it with devotion; do it with gratitude. We should not do it to get our names engraved on the temple walls. Do not let ego take over.
Krishna does not ask us to follow His form. He asks us to follow His energy. He wants us to imbibe Him, internalize Him and follow Him.
When Buddha said, 'Buddham sharanam gacchāmi,' it was not in reference to the physical form of Buddha; it was about the enlightened energy of Buddha. This energy can only be followed by adhering to His teachings, the dhamma, and working on His mission, the sangha.
Follow Krishna by understanding Krishna consciousness, not by following what you imagine to be your understanding of the form of Krishna. Krishna consciousness is the same as Shiva consciousness or Buddha consciousness or Christ consciousness or THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM consciousness. There is no difference.
That is why Krishna says, 'These fools mock at Me when I come in human form. Don't mock the form, follow the consciousness. You will no longer be a fool. You will be in eternal bliss!'
Part 2: Bhagavad Gita, Commentary by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM - Chapter 9 - Secret of Secrets