Lessons From Nature Bring Light To The Soul

I recently had the privilege to attend a virtual seminar on a sublime spiritual book titled Light of the Bhāgavata. The experience powerfully reminded me of the incredible wonder of nature’s divine design, and how it relates to our spiritual purpose in this lifetime. With its beautiful metaphors from nature, Light of the Bhāgavata brings light to the soul in the darkness of this age of strife and quarrel.

The book is a unique spiritual text written in 1961 for a presentation at a world conference of the Congress of Cultivating the Human Spirit, held in Japan. At the time, the author, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, was living in a small, sparsely furnished room in the humble village of Vrindavan, India, where Lord Krishna had appeared 5,000 years ago.

The swami received an invitation to participate as a speaker at the conference and thus conceived Light of the Bhagavata for this purpose. Within just a few months, he wrote an inspired manuscript based on the timeless teachings of the Srimad Bhagawatam. Written over 5,000 years ago, the original Bhagavatam is a voluminous book composed of 18,000 verses.

The swami realized that it would not be practical for him to try and share all of its teachings with the conference attendees in one presentation. He therefore decided to only focus on the tenth canto, twentieth chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam for his presentation, drawing spiritual lessons of life from nature. The twentieth chapter is a description of the autumn season in Vrindavan, the place of Lord Krishna’s appearance. He composed 48 commentaries to accompany each of the verses of that chapter.

The order and patterns which we see set about in nature are intentionally designed to illustrate spiritual truths. Indeed, the very existence of nature and its intricate balance is proof for any honest man of the existence of the Supreme Being ~ The Publishers, Light of the Bhagawata

Sadly, the swami was unable to secure the necessary funds to publish the book, nor was he able to afford the airfare to the conference. But years later, after he departed this life, the swami’s manuscript was posthumously published by his loving disciples. Today, Light of the Bhagavata features beautiful artwork commissioned of Madame Li Yun Sheng, who was celebrated for her sensitivity in the Chinese Gongbi style. Together with the poeticism of the verses and commentary, the complete experience of Light of the Bhagavata is designed to lift the human spirit.

The book begins by depicting the arrival of the autumn clouds, thunder, and lightning, which bring hope for a new way of life after the scorching heat of summer. The sky is compared to the Absolute Truth. The clouds represent the ignorance that covers the soul’s remembrance of its real nature, which is in truth pure like the clear sky. The thunder echoes the false sense of “I “and “mine,” which arises from forgetfulness of the soul’s connection with the Absolute Truth. And the lightning carries the only ray of hope, illuminating the sky of the heart with the mode of goodness that leads to the path of spiritual knowledge.

Because materialists cannot understand Krishna spiritually, they are advised to concentrate the mind on physical things and try to see how Krishna is manifested by physical representations ~ A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Just as rain pours in the monsoon season to bring relief and sustenance after the long summer’s drought, so the grace of God showers upon us as after a life-season of dire necessity, at the very moment when we need it the most. The heavy rains make the land lush and green again, but only for some time, like the temporary abundance of worldly gains. Those who are spiritually attracted to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, know how to utilize this temporary grace of God for lasting spiritual benefit, like the animals and aquatics know how to revive themselves by drinking and bathing in the new fallen rain.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York City in 1966.