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Poison & Nector – Why do poison come out first while chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra just like the first product that came out from the churning of milk ocean was Halahala – the poison.? This article will delve into this question philosophically.

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The Churning of the Milk Ocean

Once Bali Maharaj conquered the heavenly planets. The demigods, being defeated approached Lord Vishnu for shelter. The Lord advised the demigods to deal with the demons diplomatically. A truce was agreed upon on the pretext of churning the milk ocean. Mandar mountain was made the churning rod. Vasuki was made the churning rope. The Lord Himself incarnated as Kurma to anchor the great mountain.

To everybody’s dismay, the first product that came out from the churning was Halahala – the poison. As this all devouring poison was about to destroy both demigods and demons, they approached Lord Shiva for shelter. To please Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva accepted this poison and drank it.

Further churning resulted in valuable jewels, nectar, goddess of fortune, apsaras – heavenly damsels, airavata – heavenly elephant and many other things.

The Philosophical Understanding

Samudra manthana means churning of ocean. Ocean is always deep. Churning any subject matter must be meant for deeper understanding. As one churns very deep into one’s persona, one sees dreaded desires lurking within, with many poisonous teeth in many directions. As a devotee, each one of us has this realization. Deep within we see only halahala.

As we start chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra, these poisons manifest at the surface. Lord Chaitanya attributed this to desires for wealth, followers, sex, fame etc. Rupa Goswami termed the same in his Nectar of devotion as Anarthas. Unless we are freed from anarthas, it is not possible to see the nectar in the form of nishtha, ruchi, asakti, bhava and prema.

In fact the human body is a process. It already had billions of incarnations and will have billions of incarnations in the future as well. All these various incarnations, in various species, are just different manifestations of the same poison – forgetfulness of Krishna. When I first came to Krishna consciousness I was informed that I am atma. I have been carrying many bodies from time immemorial. In many of my deep introspective moments, I would feel as if I have all those extended bodies. It is scary, but it is real.

One has to recognize the cause of this body, which is a process extended from time immemorial. Then one must recognize the remedy to annihilate this very strong process that has taken over the soul. In this regard, I would like to take you all to a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam and purport by Srila Prabhupada

How does the poison come out for a devotee?

SB 4.29.69: Krsna consciousness means constantly associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in such a mental state that the devotee can observe the cosmic manifestation exactly as the Supreme Personality of Godhead does. Such observation is not always possible, but it becomes manifest exactly like the dark planet known as Rahu, which is observed in the presence of the full moon.

Purport: It has been explained in the previous verse that all desires on the mental platform become visible one after another. Sometimes, however, by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the whole stockpile can be visible all at one time. In Brahmasamhita (5.54) it is said, karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam. When a person is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness, his stockpile of material desires is minimized. Indeed, the desires no longer fructify in the form of gross bodies. Instead, the stockpile of desires becomes visible on the mental platform by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that a living entity has immense and unlimited desires for material enjoyment, and he has to transmigrate from one gross body to another until these desires are exhausted,

No living entity is free from the cycle of birth and death unless he takes to Krsna consciousness; therefore in this verse it is clearly stated (sattvaika-nisthe) that when one is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness, in one stroke he is freed of past and future mental desires. Then, by the grace of the Supreme Lord, everything becomes simultaneously manifest within the mind. In this regard, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura cites the example of mother Yasoda’s seeing the whole cosmic manifestation within the mouth of Lord Krsna. By the grace of Lord Krsna, mother Yasoda saw all the universes and planets within the mouth of Krsna. Similarly, by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, a Krsna conscious person can see all his dormant desires at one time and finish all his future transmigrations. This facility is especially given to the devotee to make his path clear for returning home, back to Godhead.

Why we see things not experienced in this life is explained herein. That which we see is the future expression of a gross body or is already stocked in our mental stockpile. Because a Krsna conscious person does not have to accept a future gross body, his recorded desires are fulfilled in a dream. We therefore sometimes find things in a dream never experienced in our present life.

Full absorption in Krishna Consciousness thus removes our poison (sin) even through our dreams. Poison must come out — be it through dreams or be it through some kind of suffering. Lord, being kind, helps those surrendered souls (patita tarane rata – Bhaktivindod Thakur in Saranagati ki jani ki bole).

Atman is covered. My love for Krishna is dormant. My external consciousness is filled with poison. As I churn my consciousness with the help of Hare Krishna mahamantra, then these poisons come out. My senses become more agitated. I need to tolerate while being fixed in Krishna Consciousness. This would allow the poison to evaporate and my spiritual identity to be revealed. SB 10.14.8 says:

tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak

Translation: My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

If churning brings in poison, why should I take this ordeal?

This is like an ostrich that buries his head in the sand to avoid predators. It is also like the rabbit philosophy as Srila Prabhupada says that when an enemy comes and a rabbit cannot defend himself, the rabbit closes his eyes and thinks, “My enemy is now gone.”- This is escaping.

We must churn our consciousness with the help of the teachings of Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam and Acharyas. We must endeavor to have a deep peek into our consciousness. We must let all poison come out. Even a shade will keep me bound with this ephemeral world. Otherwise please remember the story of Emperor Bharat. Even being in the state of Bhava, he got attached to a deer at the end of his life.

As a result, he received the body of a dear. Thus we can see that our body is simply a process that assumes various shapes from a king’s body to a dear, from an insect to reptile, and so on. Thus Atma is continually going through this painful process until the poison in the form of forgetfulness of Krishna is completely removed.

We need to remember Krishna’s instruction (BG 8.7) in this regard:

tasmat sarvesu kalesu
mam anusmara yudhya ca
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
mam evaisyasy asamsayah

Translation: Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krsna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

In Bhagavad Gita Krishna talks about poison and nectar in another context:

BG 18.37: That which in the beginning maybe just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.

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Conclusion

Getting up early morning, being punctual and attentive, not resorting to gossip mode, being grave and thoughtful, engaging in Kirtan and other devotional services – all these may appear poison in the beginning, but will ultimately prove to be nectar at the end. Life is a journey and this body is a process. When the process is spiritualized in Krishna Consciousness, Life’s ultimate goal is achieved – Krishna Prema.

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