To try to go beyond the walls of obstacles is the nature of all living beings, not only of human beings. To overcome the limitations of bondages, physical strength is not sufficient – psychic and spiritual strength are also equally necessary. In spite of animals having sufficient physical power, they cannot make progress due to their shortage of psychic power, and their complete lack of spiritual power. But by the use of their intellect, even weaker human beings can easily cross lofty mountains, the mere sight of which makes the animals stand in awe. The very fact that human beings can do something which animals cannot in spite of their greater physical strength, proves the power of a developed mind.

Now the question is, has the developed psychic power of human beings come overnight? Certainly not. Their intellectual development has taken place as a result of prolonged clash and cohesion. The human mind and its vehicle, the brain, have been developing continuously, and as the medium for their developed minds and developed brains, humans have evolved more developed bodies which are very different from those of the animals. And this difference in the psychic sphere and the consequent difference in the physical sphere have distinguished humans from non-humans: this is the speciality of human beings.

For instance, when an animal confronts an obstacle, it is ready to overcome that obstacle with its brute force; whereas humans will deeply contemplate and finally overcome the obstacle by inventing various methods with their subtle intellect. It must be borne in mind that these obstacles are not merely physical, or temporal, or spatial, or personal. There are also other major obstacles in the psychic and spiritual spheres.

Of these obstacles, the temporal, spatial and personal ones come within the scope of adhibhaotik obstacles. But the adhidaevik (psycho-spiritual and spiritual) obstacles are something different, something external. It is possible only for human beings to fight against these psycho-spiritual and spiritual obstacles, not for non-humans. Only in the physical sphere can non-human creatures put up a fight.

In the psycho-spiritual sphere, the greatest obstacle is dogma. From their neighbours, from their own families, and from their teachers, unwholesome ideas are injected into people’s minds. People cannot free themselves from these ideas, even when they are mature and highly educated; they simply helplessly surrender themselves to these dogmas. What a tragedy! “I understand something in one way, but I behave otherwise.” Why is it so? It is tragic that I do not have enough moral courage to oppose something which is wrong. I understand that a particular disease should be treated in a particular way, and I also follow that course of treatment – but with a certain degree of hesitation and fear.

People make offerings to certain deities secretly. The psychology behind this sort of ostentatious ritualism is this: if it helps, so be it – if it doesn’t help, never mind. This serious frailty of human beings is called dogma (bhávajad́atá in Saḿskrta). For the welfare of the human society, human beings will have to struggle vigorously against these dogmas, which seek to devour them like cobras with outstretched hoods. Humanity must be liberated from the bondages of smallness, and thus they must transcend the limitations of bondage after bondage. After liberating themselves from one bondage, they will be ensnared by still another one, which they will also have to break; and thus in the process of movement, when they are able to totally and finally smash all these obstacles, that day will be the day of emancipation for them. And for that auspicious day of emancipation, each and every human being will have to actively wait. Yet they must not merely look on passively; they will have to move ahead vigorously.

The final obstacle is that of the spiritual world. For the dissemination of spiritual instruction, how many scriptures and mythologies have been composed, from age to age. And these scriptures, these social treatises and mythologies, have made so many contradictory statements. Each of them has claimed that its own utterance is the most correct and rational and deserves to be accepted, since it is the commandment of God. Now the question is, if all these utterances are the instructions of Parama Puruśa Himself, then why should there be so much mutual contradiction among them? This should not be the case at all. Personally I do not find any difference between one person and another in regard to their fundamental spiritual psychology. There is no mutual contradiction in the case of jaeva dharma (animal dharma) or human dharma, Bhagavad Dharma. All these are the essence of humanity, born out of the deepest human psychology.

In order to achieve success in the struggle against spiritual obstacles, the entire humanity has to be established in Bhagavad Dharma, and then only will human beings be able to breathe the free atmosphere of supreme emancipation, beyond all the insurmountable walls of spiritual obstacles. In this connection the utterance of Lord Krśńa should be mentioned: Mámeva ye prapadyante Mayámetaḿ tarantiite. “Whoever accepts Me as their shelter will be able to cross this ocean of Máyá.” What could be more painful than spiritual bondage, which is the greatest obstacle in the path of human movement, and which leads human beings to forget their humanity and identify themselves with animality? Yet to fight against these obstacles and emerge victorious, and thereby to bring about human emancipation – all these tasks become easier if human beings take the shelter of Parama Puruśa.

Now the question is, what is the source of these obstacles? The answer is that Parama Puruśa has a special power which is known as Mayá. Whose power is this Mayá? The answer is, Shakti sa shivasya shaktih. Mayá is nothing but the immanent force of Parama Puruśa. Now human beings are eager to surmount these obstacles created by Mayá, and for this there is no other way than for them to take the shelter of Parama Puruśa, the Lord of Mayá.