(Click to enlarge image of Srila Prabhupada's original Srimad-Bhagavatam cover of 1962.)
One of the first books that I read by Srila Prabhupada was Easy Journey to Other Planets. At the time UFO's were a big thing. Television programs like Star Trek, The Outer Limits and Twilight Zone were all the rage. Everyone was talking about the latest sightings of flying saucers in their part of the country. As a youngster my imagination ran wild. I used to wonder what it would be like to transfer myself to another planet or dimension. It seemed within the realm of possibility.
Over the years humankind has made numerous attempts to reach the far galaxies and try to discover what lies beyond. According to Srila Prabhupada this is quite natural. In his purport to the first verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam he states:
"It is natural that a philosophical mind wants to know about the origin of creation. At night he sees the stars in the sky, and he naturally speculates about their inhabitants. Such inquiries are natural for man because man has a developed consciousness which is higher than that of the animals."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.1, Purport)
Are we the only living beings in the universe? This is a nagging question that never seems to go away. As of yet we haven't reached a definitive conclusion, but we keep on trying to find out. Perhaps we'll never know for certain in this lifetime (or for many generations) if we rely solely on the efforts of imperfect human beings. But in the Vedic tradition there is another way of receiving knowledge -- not through sense perception, but through the process of hearing from spiritual authority.
"There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is beyond manifestation and nonmanifestation. But how will you know that there is a sky where the planets and inhabitants are eternal? All this knowledge is there, but how will you make experiments? It is not possible. Therefore you have to take the assistance of the Vedas. This is called Vedic knowledge."
(Sri Isopanisad, Introduction)
Our material senses are imperfect and so anything created by our senses -- including spacecraft -- are also imperfect. Everything within the material atmosphere is conditional or dependent on other material arrangements. If one piece or element should fail then the entire whole is prone to collapse. Nothing here is indestructible. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna describes this world as duhkhalayam (a place of miseries), asasvatam (temporary) and as a world of death (martyaloka).
Fuelled in part by the realization that life here is fleeting and miserable, many young people during the '60s and '70s were seeking a permanent solution to life's problems. The search for the fountain of youth was raging in full force. Eastern religions and philosophy were in vogue due to their promise of a life after death. So I distinctly recall the joy in my heart when I first laid eyes on Prabhupada's small book, Easy Journey to Other Planets. There on the front cover was a mystic yogi immersed in trance, floating in a cornucopia of stars and planets. On the first page of the Preface, Srila Prabhupada wrote the following:
"The latest desire man has developed is the desire to travel to other planets. This is also quite natural, because he has the constitutional right to go to any part of the material or spiritual skies. Such travel is very tempting and exciting because these skies are full of unlimited globes of varying qualities, and they are occupied by all types of living entities. The desire to travel there can be fulfilled by the process of yoga, which serves as a means by which one can transfer himself to whatever planet he likes -- possibly to planets where life is not only eternal and blissful, but where there are multiple varieties of enjoyable energies. Anyone who can attain the freedom of the spiritual planets need never return to this miserable land of birth, old age, disease and death."
(Easy Journey to Other Planets, Preface)
When I read these words I knew that I had found what I was looking for. Srila Prabhupada spoke with the gravity, surety and authority which I had been seeking for so long. Star Trek was fun, but it was only guesswork and imaginative. Science fiction abounded, but it was only that -- fiction. On the contrary, Srila Prabhupada represents a chain of spiritual masters which dates back thousands and even millions of years. Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gita: "I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku." (BG 4.1) Now who can rival that? Yet surprisingly the Vedic system of interplanetary space travel doesn't require a flight on a dangerous man-made spaceship. Neither does one have to join an exclusive club or pay a large membership fee. Srila Prabhupada explains:
"One can attain this stage of perfection very easily by his individual effort. He can simply follow, in his own home, the prescribed method of bhakti-yoga. This method, under proper guidance, is simple and enjoyable. An attempt is made herein to give information to the people in general, and to philosophers and religionists in particular, as to how one can transfer oneself to other planets by this process of bhakti-yoga -- the highest of all yogic processes."
(Easy Journey to Other Planets, Preface)
It's interesting to note that people are still seeking answers through space travel and science fiction. Star Trek continues in one incarnation or another, and so do manned space flights regardless of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003. Man's thirst for information about other planets and life forms is unceasing. It's only when we discover the true source of knowledge that our imaginations will be fully satisfied. The Vedic literatures are replete with information and descriptions of other planets, both material and spiritual. Therefore it behooves us all to take advantage of such timeless wisdom and make a permanent solution to the problems of the material world. Srila Prabhupada spent his life trying to disseminate this ancient Vedic knowledge for the benefit of humankind. As a bona fide representative of Srila Vyasadeva (the original author of the Vedas), Prabhupada's message is unadulterated and pure. His books are therefore a treasury of spiritual knowledge through which we can safely and easily satisfy our innermost longings for intergalactic space travel and timelessness.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Pd
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