Letters

Changing Channels

Suhotra Swami’s article “Channeling: Extrasensory Deception?” (BTG, Sept./Oct. 1998) is an excellent correction of many common notions about channeling, although by pointing out only the errors of those who channel lower spirits posing as elevated souls, it is clearly one-sided. He asks, “But is it logical to suspect all channeled entities because of the mischief of a few? Can’t we hope that there are some genuine guides out in the ether somewhere?” but answers his excellent question only by further describing lower spirits and quoting one author’s inability “to distinguish truth from falsehood in communications from the next world.” However, from both scriptural and modern experience, we know that God and other higher spiritual beings also communicate to us in various ways, and when it is necessary or most efficient they may utilize a human medium or channel.

There are spiritual principles that such a medium must follow, however, to learn how to distinguish genuine spiritual communications from those of the many “hungry ghosts,” described by Suhotra Swami, who are always so eager to influence anyone open to the subtle realm. Among the most important of these principles are to regularly worship God, chant His holy names, hear scripture, and follow laws of personal purity—especially to remain free from sexual desire and sexual activity, which is so prominent in the cases of “extrasensory deception” in Suhotra Swami’s article.

When, as Suhotra Swami concludes, “we recover our eternal link to the Supreme Person and His pure devotees,” we will gradually learn to remain in pure and ecstatic communion with God and His associates, uninfluenced by lower subtle beings, and then we will be able to act as perfect via media from the higher spiritual realm to the world of confused, conditioned souls. This, indeed, is the meaning of guru, a transcendental position Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted his disciples to achieve.

Amoghalīlā Dāsa Berkeley, California, USA

SUHOTRA SWAMI REPLIES: It is said there is irrationality at the heart of all rational arguments. Irrationality occurs when people argue from assumptions that cannot be proved. We tend to forget in the heat of debate that our assumptions are not self-evident.

It is irrational to suggest that God and other higher spiritual beings transmit messages by way of the pipeline of the trance state, through the mouth of a human channeler. No, I do not mean “irrational” in the sense of “crazy.” But it is by no means self-evident that spiritual beings will receive and answer questions through a channeler. Śrīla Prabhupāda taught that the only evidence that proves itself is śabda-pramāṅa: Vedic evidence. And the disciple can be certain only about Vedic evidence he or she hears from the spiritual master. Śrīla Prabhupāda did not teach his disciples to get answers by way of the trance-pipeline.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 6.137) confirms that śabda-pramāṅa is self-evident. Self-evident scriptural testimony does not require the additional evidence of sensory experimentation (pratyakṣa) or speculative interpretation (anumāna). Nor does it require the evidence of a psychic channel.

The Vedic method of knowledge is the method of darśana revealed by scriptural sound. Darśana means to directly perceive that what is named, for example, by the scriptural sound Kṛṣṅa is Kṛṣṅa Himself. Darśana is self-evident in consciousness that is clear of attachment, fear, and anger, and strengthened by knowledge and austerity. The process of clearing consciousness is objective and scientific and taught by guru, scripture, and self-realized souls. Being self-evident, darśana is exoteric, meaning that when the medium of consciousness is unclouded, no more mysterious an effort is required to see a deep truth than to see an ordinary surface truth—like the sun in the sky, for instance. This is no irrational assumption, since the process—hearing and chanting transcendental sound—is participatory. As many devotees who with purified hearts take part in glorifying Him, to that many Kṛṣṅa reveals Himself simultaneously as the name and the named.

On the other hand, channeling is not participatory. It is demonstrative. The channeler demonstrates his assumed abilities for others, and it is never obvious to the others from where these abilities come or how others can develop them. Channeling is esoteric: deep truths are assumedly fished out of the murk by a psychic “idiot-savant.” By idiot-savant I mean that the channeler’s qualifications—why he or she of all people fishes truths out of the murk, and others not—can’t be rationally explained. The channeler’s qualifications are not the result of an objective, scientific methodology.

Why did Jane Roberts hear messages from an entity claiming to be Seth? Why did Aviva hear messages from an entity claiming to be Filipa? Why would a channeler today hear messages from an entity claiming to be, for example, Śrīla Prabhupāda? In each case, the answer can only be assumed.

Which Forms to Worship?

I have a copy of Bhagavad-gītā by Swami Prabhupāda. I must say that I did not know the depths of the soul, mukti, God, nature, and material existence. It says in the Bhagvad-gītā that we must ask somebody for interpretations who is the master of the Gītā. I do not consider myself a master; I am just seeking guidance from Lord Kṛṣṅa.

When Arjuna asks “What form should I meditate upon to please You?” the Lord replies, “I am the serpent Vāsuki, I am the tree, I am Indra, Śiva, Viṣṅu,” and many other forms. However, in the beginning of Gītā it says we must not worship any other demigods, only the supreme reality of Godhead (Kṛṣṅa). Indra, Śiva, Vāsuki, and Agni are thought to be demigods. Viṣṅu and Rāma, I know, are incarnations of the supreme reality of Godhead. But how is it possible to worship demigods when the Gītā forbids us in the beginning and allows it in a later chapter.

Nitin Ajwani via the Internet

OUR REPLY: Although Lord Kṛṣṅa says that various forms in this world represent Him, He clearly says that love and surrender are meant for Him alone. These other forms display some aspect of Kṛṣṅa's opulence, but ultimately He is much more that any of His creations. He decries demigod worship in a few places in the Gītā, and in the end He asks for surrender to Him alone—mām ekam. Although in one sense Kṛṣṅa and His energies are identical, He is at the same time different from them, being the supreme independent source of everything. We are eternally related with Him as servants, and by realizing that we attain perfection.

Soul Searching

I have recently been searching for the answer to the question “Where does the soul go when we die?” I cannot find a suitable reply to my quest. Someone says we end up in a grain and then go into sperm, to be then transferred to the womb. A devotee told me once that the soul is immediately reincarnated, but how does it happen? What happens when an infant dies or when many people die at once?

Carlo Grimaldi Oxford, England

OUR REPLY: Since every soul is unique, there is no single answer to your question. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṅa explains that one’s mentality at the time of death determines the next birth. One soul may go upward to a heavenly birth among higher beings, another soul may stay in human society, and yet another may descend to a birth as an animal. In each case, the soul’s subtle coverings of mind, senses, and intelligence undergo conditioning appropriate to make the transition to the next life.

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that the Lord directs the soul into its next body according to the karma the soul has accumulated. Even if an infant dies, the soul is still subject to past karma and gains a suitable new body. If a group of people die at once, the Lord is not overworked; He has established the incontrovertible laws of nature to handle unlimited numbers of individual souls coming or going in this world.

Kṛṣṅa advises that rather than trying to untangle the intricacies of karma, we should understand how to escape the cycle of birth and death.

A Ray of Hope

You are doing a wonderful job with BTG. For students like me who are always in the lap of māyā, BTG offers a ray of hope we can cling to. I have been going through the past issues, and they are really wonderful to read every time. You may not be aware, but BTG helps sustain our Kṛṣṅa consciousness through difficult times. Thank you.

Preetesh S. Nair Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

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