Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the central point of all relationships, acting in devotional service to Him is one’s real occupation, and the attainment of love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life. These three subject matters are described in the Vedic literature. (CC Madhya 6.178)

So if you are understanding this means He is the central point of all relationships. So any relationship you have He is the center of it. So, therefore, sambandha means the relationship with God. You have others, husband and wife but why is that relationship there?

Means, you look at it from one, there is rules that are there. Who gave those rules? God gave the rules. So, therefore, He is the central point between the husband and wife interacting.

Why is there such a thing as a conjugal rasa, why is there that kind of attraction and need? Who created that? God. So, therefore, He is the center of that.

You are dealing with dead matter, you say it is husband and wife but what are you dealing with, what was married? Were the souls married? No, the gross and subtle bodies were married. So the gross body - that is dead matter so that we won’t even bother with. Then you have the subtle body, which is the mind. Who created the mind? The husband, the wife? No, God created it.

So the mind is the field of where the experiences are gained in any interaction. So dead matter means dead matter, and the mind has some perception of that and then calls this happiness or distress. But where did this emotional platform come from? That has also come from God. Therefore He is the center of it.

Then in that, where does this experience come from? Well, you could say they created it. But the point is, you take two things, a flint and another thing, and you hit them together - you get sparks, but where did that potency of sparks come from? You take two bricks and do that, you don’t get sparks… So, therefore, the concept that this experience could be gained by that thing because you can’t do something else and get it. So you have to follow the rules. So that means the experience itself that potency is also coming from Krsna. So in what way is He not the center of all relationships? Can we actually find something?

So this whole thing that there is this duality that 'I have another life' doesn’t actually exist. It’s an illusion. That’s the Maya. The Maya is that you think there is two lifestyles. There is only one lifestyle. Just there is one lifestyle where you are aware of God consciousness or where you are not aware, where you have knowledge or where you are in ignorance. But otherwise, it is one lifestyle and the same rules.

(From Science of Inquiry Lecture, 17th Oct 2008, Bhaktivedanta Academy, Sridham Mayapur)

Transcription by Uddhava Priya Pr., used with permission

Minor adjustments made by website authors.

Photo credit: Chandan Yatra - Sridham Mayapur