1 Six characteristics of bhakti – Basics of relationships

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Then Krishna says, it is not that you will attain me in the future, it is, he says, you have already attained me. You are really in me, Krishna says. So, that is 12.8. And then, if that is not possible, Krishna gives 12.9 and 12.10 as individual steps.

He says, here, this is the stage of absorption in Krishna. If that absorption is not possible, then Krishna says, there can be cultivation. Practice.

If we can't absorb in him, then we can do repetition for the purpose of cultivation. So, repeated practice, abhyasa means repetition, but it is for cultivation. If we can't do that also, then Krishna says that, abhyasa kesamato si matkarampare moksham.

So, then you can contribute. You can do some service. So, that means, naturally the mind is absorbed in Krishna.

If the mind is not naturally absorbed in Krishna, then try to focus it on Krishna. If we can't focus it on Krishna, then try to serve Krishna. So, you could say this is like the arc of bhakti.

So, absorption is the highest. If absorption is not possible, repetition. So, in one sense, at the level of absorption, our heart, our entire being is given to Krishna.

At the level of repetition, it is like our mind. We call it repetition or it is more of recollection. Repetition of what? It is repetition of remembrance.

So, here we are trying to give our mind to Krishna. And contribution is, we try to give our body to Krishna. So, we use our body in Krishna's service.

So, heart here refers to our entire being. Completely give our essence to Krishna. So, it is an incremental process.

In fact, Krishna goes one level below and in the third level he says, If you cannot serve me, then at least serve some higher cause. At least be selfless. So, in fact, he says, selflessness you can cultivate.

That means, if you can come and do some service, for example, do prasad, serve prasad, or do some other thing, if you can't do that, then do some kind of service. You can do something for poor people. Basically, think of something beyond ourselves.

That's the idea. I will depict this in another way. You can say that, if this is a person, so, most of the time, our consciousness is centered on ourselves.

So, this is self-centered consciousness. So, most people nowadays have followed the western way of living. And while there are positives and negatives, in the west, especially when people went to America, America is a culture of individualism.

It is a rubber individualist. I go alone, I go to the frontiers, I fight against the world, I expand civilization. So, individualism itself is not a bad thing.

But from there, it gets degenerated. Then it becomes, not just, okay, I am an individual, I want to do what I want to do, but I don't care for anyone else. So, people become I-specialists.

Not I-specialists, but I-specialists. So, from that individualism comes narcissism. Narcissism is where I become the sole center of the universe.

And we don't care for anyone else. So, from that being self-centered, Krishna is saying, I'll explain this whole process of how pure emotional service comes. So, from here, we start becoming concerned for someone else.

It could be our family, it could be our community. So, this is a slightly expanded consciousness. So, the consciousness is expanded where we are thinking of somebody else.

These people are from my country, so I should connect with them, care for them. These people are from my community. These people are from my tenure.

These people are from my educational background. So, some sense of commonality comes on. So, then we want to care for them.

We want to serve them. So, this is the expansion of consciousness which Krishna talks about in 12-11. Now, we think of someone beyond ourselves.

And at one level, this is good to think about others. But then, above us all is Krishna. So, if we care for Krishna, then actually, we connect with others at a deeper level.

So, when our consciousness doesn't just arise, spread horizontally, but also spreads vertically. Then, so here it was more like a horizontal spread. Here it is a holistic spread.

That is, that's positive and negative. So, this is where emotional service begins. And then that becomes more and more selfless.

So, if you say, this is the first stage, this is the second stage, this is the third stage. So, like a small baby is self-centered, not because the baby is selfish, but because the baby is just not aware of anything else. Whenever the baby is sleeping, the baby starts crying.

Baby, how much are you going to start crying? That's just because the baby does not have the cognitive capacity to be aware of anything else. But, if somebody is an adult, an adult starts crying over some small problems, complaining and angry, then after all, don't be a baby. Isn't it? A baby crying actually inspires others to comfort the baby.

But, an adult person who is self-centered all about my problems and my problems and my problems and my desires and my cares, it just seems annoying. It's not very attractive. So, our consciousness is naturally meant to expand.

So, it's a gradual expansion. So, in 12.10, let me say 12.11, Krishna is talking about this. And then, as we move forward, 12.10, 12.9, 12.8, we are all increasing the stages of this elevation of one, that as our relationship with Krishna develops.

So, pure emotional surveys, means that we have a relationship with Krishna. Now, relationships can be of two broad different types. Generally, what happens is, when two people interact with each other, let me just say, I do something for you, and you do something for me.

And that's just natural. But, this interaction, this reciprocation, can happen in two different ways. One is, this reciprocation can be transactional.

Transactional means, okay, it's like you go to a shop, we do a transaction. Can I pay some money? I have a product. That's transactional.

But the other is, it can be transformational. Transformational means, that interaction actually transforms us. So, when, say, parents interact with the child, now that is transformational.

In caring for the child, the parents themselves have to become more mature. They have to become more responsible, more thoughtful. And by the care of the parents, the child grows up.

The child becomes more mature. The child becomes more responsible. So, a transactional relationship is very different from a transformational relationship.

In a transformational relationship, essentially, both people grow, both people become better by that. It is parents make children, but children also make parents. Biologically, somebody can become a parent, but having a child forces the parent to psychologically become a parent, to take responsibility, to grow.

So, basically, if you say, that the two people, they not only become better, but they also come closer to each other. So, that is a transformational relationship. They become better and they come closer to each other.

That is one of the purposes of the Krishna Consciousness Movement that Sri Aurobindo Prabhupada mentions. It is to bring all people closer to each other and closer to Krishna, in the prime time. So, this is the basic principle of a relationship, that a relationship, especially that is a close relationship, that it is meant to be a close relationship, that it should be transformational.

Now, the same dynamic applies in our relationship with Krishna. When we are connected with Krishna, of course, we can say Krishna is already perfect. Om Namo Namah.

So, in that sense, Krishna doesn't become better. But in our interaction with Krishna, it is we become better. We come closer to Krishna and we become better.

So, our relationship with Krishna can also have either of these characteristics. It can be transactional or it can be transformational. So, what does transactional mean? When I was introduced to Bhakti about 30 years ago, so, I started sharing the knowledge about Bhakti with my friends, my relatives.

So, one of my uncles, he told me, Ya, I believe in God. He is happy there, I am happy here. So, the idea is that there is no need for any transaction.

He is there, he is doing his business there, I am doing my business here. And then, sometimes, if there is some trouble, then we feel, okay, I need to go to God. And that time, go to God, please, please help me.

And then we offer our prayers. And if God helps us, then, thank you, bye bye. So, it becomes a transactional approach.

Like, I give you some worship, I give you some prayers, I give you some donations, I offer some austerity, and then you do some business. Now, that is also not a bad thing. At least there is a relationship with Krishna.

So, that is a good thing. If you see in the 7th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, from 7.16 to 7.19, Krishna talks about the evolution of devotion. So, right now, before we are going to the characteristics of pure emotional service, I am explaining what pure emotional service itself means, in the background for it.

So, pure emotional service is primarily a relationship, that is, transformation. So, in 7.16, Krishna talks about how there are four kinds of people who come to him. Does anyone know these four kinds of people? Artho, Ardhati, Kriyasu, Excellent! So, there are these four kinds of people.

And Shri Goswami explains that these four can also refer to the four Varanas. That those who are Artho, those who are distressed, they broadly correlate with the Shudra. Like that Ardhati, Kriyasu, Jnani, they correspond with the four Varanas.

But the idea is, at this point, when people come to Krishna, most of them, they come because they need something from Krishna. And they get that and that's all. And that's fun.

But Krishna, he says, somebody comes to Krishna for some reason. Now, we will use different metaphors to understand this principle of a relationship with Krishna. So, when we approach Krishna for whatever reason, is Krishna happy or is Krishna unhappy? He is happy.

He is happy that we have come to him. In fact, he says that, if you look at this verse, 7.18, I'll explain the verse and then you can recite it. Krishna says, Udara.

Udara is broad-minded, charitable, generous. Udadintyamete. Sarva evante.

All of them Krishna says. Udara sarva evante. Udara sarva evante.

Jnani. So, when he is saying, among these four categories, Jnani tvat atmaivame. Among these is, the Jnani I consider to be just like myself.

Jnani tvat atmaivame matam. Jnani tvat atmaivame. So, Krishna is saying, all of them are Udara, but Jnani is special.

Still, this word Udara is very significant. Ramacharya, in his commentary, raises this question, whenever there is any kind of reciprocation, say, there is a donor and there is a receiver. So, normally, if we were to use the adjective charitable, who would we consider charitable? Donor, isn't it? This is how we would normally describe.

This is how we would normally use it. You give some special charity to this person, they are so kind. But, in this verse, 7.18, Krishna is using the word Udara to refer to the receiver of charity.

Whose Udara is he? Those people who come to me to ask for something. They are Udara. So, how can the receiver of charity be considered charitable? The receiver of charity is dependent on the giver of charity.

So, it is explained that actually, Krishna knows for our demotion. One of the characteristics of what we described here, to ask even Krishna. Krishna So, Krishna is hungry and thirsty for our demotion.

And when we offer demotion to Krishna whatever be the reason for the demotion, but if we offer demotion, he is pleased by that. It's like saying, a parrot has a parrot. The child has somehow gone away to the parrot for whatever reason.

And after a long time, the child is in trouble. The child approaches the parrot. The child is young, well situated but the child is in trouble.

When the parrots come to know how much trouble the child is in, and the child comes and asks for help, will the parrot say, it's only when you had trouble you remembered me? No. The parrot will say, if you had so much trouble, why did it take so long for you to come to me? What did you gain from it now? So, that Krishna refers to even those who come to me for their own purposes as idadraha, this actually shows Krishna's love for us. That Krishna cares for us so much that our interest is not primarily in Krishna.

Our interest is in what Krishna will give us. Like the child may be in trouble and may ask the parrots to give him some money or tell him to do this, tell him to do that. So, even though the child has come to the parrots for not the parrot's sake but for what they can give, still the parrots are happy that we come.

So, that is the way Krishna's love is seen. Now, we will talk about the giver relationship. We can give the parent-child relationship as an example.

And from that, it is Krishna's love for us. But, we need another diagram. Say, if there is a man who proposes to the woman, please marry me.

And the woman asks, why do you want to marry me? And the man replies, because no one else is ready to marry me. Now, if the girl agrees to marry the boy, that shows her love for him, not his love for her. And she wants to be with him.

That's why she is accepting his proposal. Later on, even if this boy's situation improves, he has other options, and that time he still stays with that girl. That will show his love for her.

Similarly, when we come to Krishna, many times people praise him. I have tried everything, nothing else works. Oh God, you are my last resort.

Please help me. So, we may think that we are expressing our desperation, our intensity, and that is true. But, it is like saying, Krishna, you are my last option.

I have tried everything else, nothing works. But Krishna accepts us. That is his love for us.

But later on, when other things start seeming to work for us, that, okay yaar, maybe our health is not already recovered, we have lost our wealth, relationships are not working, job is an issue. Those problems get solved. At that time, do we still stay with Krishna? Do we still stay connected with Krishna? That will show our love for Krishna.

So, in that sense, I would like to talk about the difference between devotional service and pure emotional service. So, devotional service means that we come to Krishna but we may come to Krishna for our interests. And, if those interests are fulfilled, fine.

We may not easily stay connected with Krishna. But we come to Krishna even when we have other options in our life. Even when other things are working in our life, at that time we understand that Krishna, you are still the most important person for me.

So that is where we come to Krishna either for our interests or Krishna becomes our interest. We don't come to Krishna for our interests but Krishna becomes our interest. Like if you forget everything from this class, this one figure illustrates this point.

Generally, for most of us, there are three broad factors in existence. There are we, the soul, then there is the world and then there is Krishna. So, for us, in the, we could say, when we are largely materialistic, we may be practicing bhakti but we are materialistic.

Then the world is very big for us and Krishna is small. That means I want fame, I want wealth, I want power. That's what is more important.

And if God can help me to get that, that's good. I am good for all. So God is not very important for us.

But when we become devoted to Krishna, then the dynamic changes. The world becomes small and Krishna becomes big for us. So, this is a stage of where we are going towards pure devotional service.

That Krishna becomes the bigger reality. We see this in the songs of the Vaishnavas, where they say that sampadhe vipadhe prosperity or adversity. There is shito shankar kesh dha maana ho maana ho The dualities of this world will come and they will go.

But Krishna, you are the anchor of my life. You are the most important reality for me. So we want to come to this level.

And this level, where Krishna becomes the bigger reality, that is the level of realization where we can practice pure devotional service. Now what does it mean when we say Krishna becomes the bigger reality? Isn't Krishna already the bigger reality? Isn't Krishna already the biggest reality? What do you think? So then what does it mean if Krishna is already the biggest reality? There is no one bigger than me. Then what does it mean to say Krishna becomes the bigger reality? By realization.

It is in terms of our priority. How important do we consider Krishna? Krishna is always the biggest reality and Krishna even showed Duryodhana his Vishwaroopa. How? He is the biggest reality.

And what happened to Duryodhana? Nothing. It's amazing how the mind can come up with reasons to continue to believe what we want to believe. So when later on Duryodhana was reminded Krishna is God, Krishna showed the Vishwaroopa.

Did you see that? He said actually Krishna lived in a village in his childhood. He had no work to do. That's why he performed some Tapasya and he could show some magical forms.

So if I didn't have so much responsibility as a prince while growing up I could also have done Tapasya and I could have shown a form bigger than Krishna's. So he didn't even after seeing that form Krishna did not become the biggest reality. It is in terms of our prioritization.

So we want Krishna to become the biggest reality for us. And it's not just that. It's one more difference.

It is that initially for us Krishna is the means and the world is the ends. That means I worship Krishna so that I can get good marks in the exam. So that I can get a good life partner.

So that I help everyone. All those things. Now again this is not a bad thing.

It is good that we are worshipping Krishna for whatever reason. But it is not the best. However when we grow here the world becomes the means and Krishna becomes the ends.

That means if a devotee gets fame, a devotee will use that to make Krishna famous. If a devotee gets wealth, a devotee will use that wealth to help build a beautiful temple for Krishna. To make a beautiful temple of Krishna in their own home.

If a devotee has some ability, the devotee will try to find how can I use this ability to serve Krishna. So in this way the dynamic changes. So when we are talking about pure emotional service what does it mean? It means, from what we discussed, three things.

That pure emotional service means our relationship with Krishna is it is not transactional. It is transformational. That we are connecting with Krishna not just to get something from him but actually to change ourselves for the better.

The second is that for us Krishna becomes bigger than the world. And the third is that Krishna becomes the ends for us. And the world is not just a means but it is a means whatever we get from the world that is okay.

So Sudama, even when we had very little he brought some just broken rice to offer to the Lord. So whatever means he had let me make some offering. This is the idea of pure emotional service.

Now why should we actually adopt this pure emotional service? So when we talk about any relationship, so till now we talked about what does this relationship mean? Now we all may have different reasons. Say if you want to build a relationship with someone you want to build a good relationship with our boss you say okay then my boss my job will be secured. If we want to build a relationship with our extended family so that if there is some trouble they can support me in some way.

Or we could have various reasons. So when we say that we are talking about pure emotional service so understanding the glory of pure emotional service can inspire us to practice pure emotional service. So when we talk about pure emotional service there are two ways of understanding this or other characteristics.

What does it mean that these are these are what can inspire us. These can inspire us to practice pure emotional service. But secondly it can we aspire towards those things.

That means in pure emotional service means that oh this actually attracts Krishna also. Therefore I aspire to come to the level of purity by which Krishna becomes attracted. So we will come to this difference later.

If this difference is not clear don't worry the difference does not make so much difference. At least at this stage. It's almost like inspiration is something that comes to us.

Aspiration is something that we cultivate. Like I aspire for something. I am inspired by something.

So there is a slight difference between them. But it's not a major difference. So at this point are there any questions? Because I would like to clarify the concept of pure emotional service before we go into its characteristics.

Are there any questions at this point? I would just like to know how many questions are there. 1 2 So I will just introduce the characteristics of pure emotional service. We will take 1 or 2 and then we will have questions then.

So should we go to 10.30 or 10.45? So I will talk for 15 minutes more. So now the characteristics of pure emotional service are often described if we have like a flower. They are described in terms of sets of petals.

So these come in sets of 2 to each. So the first 2, does anyone remember these characteristics? Yeah. So, Clation Wing.

Clation Wing is remover, removes distress. Then Shubhda. Shubhda is it brings auspiciousness.

So I will explain why these come in this kind of sets. They are considered like a couplet. So it removes distress, it brings auspiciousness in our life.

This is more in terms of this set is it's more in terms of effect on us. How it affects us. So that is it removes distress from our life, it will bring auspiciousness.

Now there is slight difference between auspiciousness and happiness. We will talk about the difference. It's similar but not exactly the same.

Then what are the next 2 characteristics? Moksha Laghuta Atruta. So Moksha Laghuta Atruta means it makes liberation seem insignificant. Generally in the for those who are, who know something about spirituality.

For them Moksha is considered to be life's highest goal. But Bhakti, especially pure service is so glorious that even Moksha seems not so great. There is something greater.

And the other, this is Moksha Laghuta Atruta and the other is Sudurga. It is very very deep. So now we can say Moksha itself is where and that is true.

Moksha Laghuta Atruta. It makes it Laghut, very Laghut is tiny, small. So Moksha Laghuta makes Moksha itself small.

So here it is more in terms of the this is the it is more like the nature of Bhakti itself. One is its effect on us. But these 2 is more of that it is such that it makes something else which is glorious seem not so glorious.

So that is Moksha. And what are the last 2? Yeah this is a little more difficult. Samrananda Visheshastra.

I will explain this later. And the last is Krishnakarshini. So it makes Krishnakarshini.

It makes actually Krishna attracted to us. Krishna Karshini. So I will explain this.

These are more soul and Krishna centered. Samrananda Visheshastra means it is filled with concentrated bliss. So we will focus more on these last 2 characteristics we will talk briefly.

But we will focus primarily on the first 2 characteristics. Because those are what are related with us. So these 6 characteristics it's the way this is described it's a very interesting description that it's like it's not just the characteristic of Krishna.

It's not the characteristic of the soul. It is the characteristic of the relationship itself. Normally we don't think of a relationship as something different from the people in the relationship.

It's like you say I have a good relationship with that person. If you think I have a good relationship with him that means you are in a good relationship. So the idea is we don't think of relationship itself having any characteristics.

It's like when I say I have a good relationship what it means is that that person's disposition towards me is good. My disposition towards that person is good. We don't think of relationship itself generally speaking as having some characteristics to itself.

We think of the people in the relationship and what kind of disposition they have. So if there are 2 people in any kind of relationship so then what does it mean to say the characteristics of the relationship itself. So here the idea is that it certainly depends on the 2 people in any relationship but certain relationships themselves have certain characteristics.

Say for example if you consider parent-child relationship Now there are many different relationships in the world but one characteristic of the parent-child relationship is that it brings a sense of responsibility. You can say responsibility is there in every relationship but in a husband-wife relationship there are other dynamics. Responsibility is not the primary thing that comes up.

So this idea that relationships themselves have characteristics. So for example there is in the western world now a days there is a lot of intermixing among the genders. Every culture has had some gender boundaries but what exactly the gender boundaries would be that has changed with the passing of the culture.

So now often people ask this question can a man and a woman be friends? So what is the difference between say a friendly relationship and a romantic relationship? Now there is in the male-female dynamic there is something intrinsic to the relationship. Now we can say yes a man and a woman can be friends. They don't have to be enemies.

In that sense they can be friends. But the difference between a friendship and say a romantic relationship in that in friendship it's more like the two people share an interest. It's like generally the vision of friendship is two people are together looking at something.

Whereas in a romance they are each other's interest. So like romance means two people are looking at each other. So what happens in friendship it doesn't mean that we are not interested in the other person.

But generally friendship okay you know we like sports, we are interested in politics, we would like to do cis service. So we have some shared interests and from that we also become interested in each other. But the primary thing in friendship is that there is something to talk about, something some shared interest.

So but whereas so that's why a romantic relationship or a friendly relationship the difference is that we can have many friends. But a romantic relationship becomes more exclusive. Like in Facebook nowadays you have this you know people are you single are you married are you don't want to mention whatever options come up.

So if somebody says okay I am married I am married. Then they ask who are you married to? Oh no I am married in Jandru. Laughter There is no such thing as marriage in Jandru.

Marriage is in particular. Isn't it? So the idea is that again what I am talking about over here is that relationships themselves have certain intrinsic characteristics. So similarly the relationship with Krishna also has certain intrinsic characteristics.

And those characteristics the more we understand and appreciate them the more we can become inspired and transformed. So now what those characteristics are and how we can better understand them that I will discuss in tomorrow's session. We will be having this four part series tomorrow morning and then Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Sorry Sunday and Monday evenings. Sorry morning Sunday and Monday morning. So tomorrow all four morning? Tomorrow morning and Sunday and Monday evening.

Okay Sunday and Monday evening actually. Tomorrow evening we have separate class. So let me summarize what we discussed today.

Today we are talking about the topic of the characteristics of pure devotional service. I talked about first what is pure devotional service. The concept of pure devotional service.

So first we discussed about how that the relationship itself it can be either transactional or transformational. So we discussed how for most people say the relationship initially might be self centered. Then from being self centered it grows towards we start caring for someone else.

That's like the more like a horizontal expansion of consciousness. But as we grow we don't just care for others. We also start caring for Krishna.

And then when that happens it's like a holistic expansion of consciousness. So it's horizontal and vertical both. So this is where we start connecting with Krishna.

So we talked about the sequence from 12.8 to 12.11. The arcs. We discussed. What is this arcs? Anyone remembers? Aspiration.

It's not aspiration. What is it? Absorption. That the highest level is absorbing Krishna.

Otherwise we try to remember Krishna. So recollection and repetition of the recollection. So this level we are offering the heart to Krishna.

Here we are offering our mind. We are trying to focus our mind on Krishna. Heart basically refers to our entire being we offer to Krishna.

Then C was? Contribution. Here it is contribution. It means we do some seva.

Here we offer our body to Krishna. And otherwise we at least cultivate some selflessness. That means at some level something for something beyond us.

We do something for someone beyond us. See nowadays there is lot of environmental activism is there. Or there is concern for social justice.

People want to be a part of something bigger. So this is the sequence from 12.8 to 12.11 Krishna talks about. So we talked about the characteristic of how relationships themselves are dynamic.

And then we talk about the Krishna-Soul relationship. We talked about metaphors over there. How that the parent-child relationship how Krishna he is happy that we come to him for any reason.

In 7.18 he says that he calls us Udara. And that shows Krishna's love for us. That whatever reason we come to him he is happy.

But then the boy-girl relationship that relationship metaphor that shows do we want to be with Krishna even when things are working for us. That shows our love for Krishna. So we discussed how initially the world is big and Krishna is small.

But eventually for us the world becomes big and Krishna becomes the world becomes small and Krishna becomes big. And through this we discussed how not just that Krishna becomes initially he is the means but eventually he becomes the ends for us. And then lastly we discussed the idea of the characteristic of relationship itself.

Not just characteristic of the relationship but just like a parent-child relationship brings responsibility. So a romantic relationship brings a certain level of exclusivity. A friendly relationship has some kind of shared interests.

So like that relationship itself can have characteristics. And the six characteristics that are intrinsic to the relationship with Krishna itself we will be discussing over the next sessions. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Yes, any questions? You have the mic. I have a question.

You told that Krishna is hungry for our devotional service and he is poor and also completely useless. Many times we hear in the lecture that Krishna does not need our service. We are not required for the Krishna, for his service.

And it's our benefit to practice Krishna Maharshi's name. Yes. So Krishna he doesn't need us.

But he wants us. You know we need Krishna but we don't want Krishna. That is the situation.

See need means that actually that person can't survive you. It's not like that for Krishna. Krishna is self-satisfied.

Krishna is enriched. But Krishna wants us. Eko bahusya.

Krishna wants to share his love with us. See the example is somebody has lot of food. More than what they can eat.

There they want to go to their neighbors, they go call some friends. So they want to share the food with others. They don't need anyone over there because they have enough food for themselves.

But they want to share that food with others. So that is Krishna is so complete in himself that he wants to actually share with others. Whereas suppose somebody has no food at all.

Then even if they have a neighbor that they don't like still okay I don't have the food. I'll just go to that neighbor or go to that relative and ask them if they have any food. So like that that is when we have no food, we actually need Krishna.

We cannot exist without Krishna's mercy. Our very right capacity to speak, your capacity to understand it all comes from Krishna. Our existence itself it is based on Krishna.

Many times people say I don't work I don't put food on the table. He's got to go and provide the food. And even if you work and put food on the table we don't even have the capacity to digest our food.

Actually digestion itself is a very complex mechanism. And we have medical science advancing a lot. We have prosthetic limbs.

We have dialysis units. We have pacemakers. We will not be able to create an artificial digesting machine.

It is just way too complicated. The only time we think of our digestion is when it doesn't work. But actually Krishna gives and forgives.

We get and forget. So we need Krishna but we don't want him. That's why the dynamic is complicated.

Thank you. Yes. You very nicely explained about the horizontal and vertical expansion of ourselves.

And we get inclined to Krishna. But what about the inclination? Krishna consciousness and specifically in this country we are trying to practice Krishna consciousness by spreading the message of Krishna. But somehow or the other we get stuck into the entry position where we try to incline towards Krishna but our fate and consciousness gets shakes.

Like you know, we want to reach to Krishna but certain situation arises and we can become baffled and we don't want that situation where we do not want Krishna, we want a solution. So how to broadly expand our thought process so that we can reach to Krishna in that situation also. Yes.

First of all life, the question is that sometimes when we want to connect with Krishna but when things become very difficult in our situation in life then the when the faith becomes shaken. We want to connect with Krishna but we are not able to stay connected. So I am talking more about faith in tomorrow evening session and how to maintain our faith and diversity also.

But first thing is that it is natural. We don't have to be too hard on ourselves. That even Draupadi when she meets Krishna after they have been exiled, Krishna comes to see them and Draupadi is upset with Krishna.

She says, Krishna I called you. I needed you. I was desperate for you.

She says, I am your devotee, I am your friend, I am your relative. Why did you not come? How could you not come to my help? Now Krishna actually came and he called her. But contrary to what we see in the Mahabharata televised series.

We often see that Krishna is smiling and Krishna's gaze is in another direction and from there an endless cloth is coming. It is not like that. There just her cloth seemed to be mystically expanded.

And how it happened nobody could understand. Even she didn't see Krishna because her eyes were closed. She had called out to Krishna and the point I am making over here is even she had questions.

So actually speaking that when we go through difficulties in life it is not that we have to repress our emotions in the name of pure emotion. We are feeling disturbed, we are feeling concerned, we are feeling worried, we are feeling hurt, we are feeling angry. All these emotions will naturally come.

They are a part of the relationship and if we have a real relationship with Krishna all those emotions will also come. But there is a difference between it is just like if there is a serious relationship sometimes two people who are in a very serious relationship say parents have a child who is sick and there are two different treatments available and the mother is in favor of one treatment and the father is in favor of another treatment. Both of them may have a very heated discussion about what to do but underlying that anger is actually a deep connection.

They care for each other, they care for their child and that's why they are concerned. So if there is a serious relationship a serious relationship means that relationship is big enough to include negative emotions. Negative emotions could be fear, it could be anger.

If you got angry with me you spoke like that to me I don't care about it. I am in a serious relationship. It's not a very serious relationship.

In any real relationship there are going to be a variety of emotions. So Krishna is big enough to absorb our anger to absorb our fear to absorb our doubts. So it shouldn't be that because of our fear, our doubts, our anger our insecurity it shouldn't be that we don't go towards Krishna.

The opportunity is in Krishna. You didn't come at that time. I am going to talk with you about it.

She spoke her heart out. Sometimes we may feel disappointed about Krishna. I worked so hard for this and it didn't work out.

It could be in our family life it could be even in our emotional life. Sometimes things work out. But the point is that Krishna understands and expresses it.

The natural emotions and just having those emotions doesn't disqualify us from devotions. So devotion is actually a very big relationship. Within that many devotions can also have a space.

So like we say one of the secondary characteristics of devotional bhakti is horror. So now if you are absorbing Krishna how can there be any horror? I don't know. Things can happen in this world.

And a devotee can be horrified by it. So as long as what happens is those emotions they will come and they will go. But underlying that is the steady relationship.

So sometimes while practicing bhakti you will feel very happy. Sometimes you will feel a little unhappy. But that underlying relationship stays steady.

So how do we maintain that faith? I will talk about one principle over here. So first point I will say that emotions going up and down is natural. But at that time when we talk about faith faith is ultimately a matter of choice.

In our life there are things that can strengthen our faith and there are things that can weaken our faith. So we can think of times when by our practice of bhakti things have worked out positively for us. By practicing bhakti things have worked out positively.

And we can think of times when things have not worked out positively. So the nature of this world is that it is a place where sometimes the evidence of the world will support our faith. Sometimes the evidence of the world will not support our faith.

So ultimately it becomes a choice of the evidence. Which evidence will I focus on? Now how do I make sense of the times when say my faith was not supported? That requires some philosophical understanding. But if we shift our focus it's a matter of choice.

What do I dwell on? Then it is up to us to that's how we can make a difference. And those who can help us make that choice when we have our association and the association also some devotees if some devotees say I'm feeling very guilty I'm feeling very hurt I'm having my doubts. Other devotees should not be guilty.

How can you have doubts? You are not supposed to be an ascetic or a devotee or a preacher. How can you have doubts? How is this compared to me? So we need to have the account but look at the history of our own life and see. Right now my faith has been challenged but there is evidence that it has been not just conformed but imposed.

So look at the evidence. We'll talk more in the morning. Thank you.

Regarding this aspiration. So the aspiration comes from the faith and love for the practice. Where does the aspiration come from? In the Vedanta Sutra.

The first sutra is Tantra Brahmajitya. So the Acharyas, especially Ramacharyanes, Srimad Shankaracharya, almost like a 100 page exclusion. He is actually the first Acharyas.

Where does the Brahmajitya come from? Why do some people have Brahmajitya and others just don't have it? I have a friend from Russia. He told me he was giving a class in Russia. You are not your body.

It's a basic philosophical point of view. And suddenly one person in the audience raised his hand. So I have a question.

You said, I am not my body. If I am not my body, then whose body am I? So the idea of bodily identity is so deep rooted that it's very difficult. So where does Brahmajitya come from? It's a difficult question.

Taking that point further, from generic spiritual inquiry to a specific devotional aspiration. The same principle applies. So there is a lot of analysis but broadly we can say there are human factors and there are divine factors.

So the divine factors of course are Guru Krupa, grace of mercy. Among the human factors are our past karma. Some people may have practiced some bhakti or some spiritual life and that's why Purva, Vihara, Sita, Vrindavan really have a showcase.

They are naturally attracted. It can be a power of breathing. Say the way our parents raised us.

Of course we can extend it forward. It can also be our association. So we come in the association of devotees and then we see them practicing bhakti that inspires us.

And ultimately it is our joys. So our upbringing or our past life's karma, even Krishna's mercy, they can prompt us in particular directions but it is ultimately our choice. So now if you consider Kripa, we don't know when Krishna will give the Kripa.

We can't control that. Our past karma, whatever it is it is what it is. We can't change it.

Our upbringing also it is what it is. But we can say maybe there are two separate factors. Our associations.

Our association is what we can change and that can inspire us to change our choices. So where does the aspiration come from? It depends. So it's like sometimes it can be an outside in process.

Sometimes it can be inside out. What does it mean outside in? Sometimes it means we act our way to emotions. That means I just come in the association of devotees and they are praying.

They are doing kirtan. So I also start doing kirtan. When they are offering me, I also start offering them.

And then by that action the devotion has come. That's more like outside in. Now sometimes it can be inside out.

That means we feel our way to actions. That means someday, okay, I just went to Janmashtami. I feel like going to the temple.

I feel like doing something. Let's see where Lord Krishna Bhagwan will go. I want to go there.

And that's what brings us. So that's more of inside out. So whichever way, that's why the operational principle at our level is ये न के न परकार है न तरकार है न तरकार है.

Somehow it can be outside in, it can be inside out, whatever way it works. And even during the course of our bhakti sometimes it may be we may be driven both from outside and sometimes inside and outside. Both can be one.

Is there some question? Yes, we have a mic here. We are going to explain it later, then I will stop here, otherwise I will get to continue. The thing is, for understanding or to practice the devotional service, inspiration can be the association of devotees or our liking towards the clarity of philosophy or whatever.

And aspiration should be only done for the pleasure of the Lord, so I am doing it. So, can I understand it this way? Inspiration and aspiration. Okay, that is definitely one way to understand it.

In one sense, you could say that it is the same principle of desire that inspiration is when the desire comes to us. Aspiration is when we bring the desire from within. So, in that sense, there is a slight difference.

Now, we could go further and when you talk about aspiration, the aspiration can be at various levels. The inspiration can also be at various levels. You say, if you go to Vrindavan, especially now Govardhan has become very popular.

Lot of people go to Govardhan Parikrama. And I was talking with devotees over there, those who guide people to Govardhan Parikrama. You don't need much guiding.

They told me that for many people who come, Govardhan Parikrama is like a weight loss exercise. It is, you know, it is something pious also. But, you know, it is not very far from Vrindavan, far from Delhi.

So, you come to Vrindavan, it is natural, it is scenic and it is some level of exercise. Now, of course, they don't do it formally, they don't have like a Govardhan Parikrama marathon or something like that. It is not that common.

But the idea is, now people are coming for that reason. So, is that a bad thing? Is it a good thing? It is a good thing. ये न की न प्रकार नहीं है.

So, the aspiration, maybe they could just go to a gym and they could just walk on a treadmill. But they choose it to go on Govardhan Parikrama. Now you may say, Govardhan is not meant for losing weight.

That is true. But the point is that somehow or the other, people connect with Krishna. So, the aspiration can also be at various levels.

And similarly, the inspiration can also be at various levels. So, the inspiration, okay, my friend, he went and did Govardhan Parikrama. Or she went and did Govardhan Parikrama.

So, let me also go and do it. Now, some of them may have done it out of a more devotional purpose. Some of them may have done it for a more health purpose.

That's okay. So, generally speaking, the dynamic of inspiration and aspiration is independent of the level. So, we do want to aspire for pure devotional service.

And then we seek the inspiration that will give us pure devotional service. What happens, even in devotee association, there are different kinds of devotees. Some devotees are very interested in gossip.

There is, you know, when does gossip happen? Gossip in our tradition, we call it Prajapa. And generally what happens, two things have to come together for gossip to happen. First is, we hear something we like about someone we don't like.

So, if we like that person, then we won't gossip about them. You know, something bad has happened, something bad has been circulated about them, something negative has been circulated. Then, maybe we will tell that we are going to arrive at someone.

But, we hear something juicy, something masala-y about, you know, everybody thinks this person is such a good person. Now, in public interest, I will tell what this person actually is. So, some devotees come together, but their interest may be more to gossip.

So, it's not that all devotees come to Krishna Consciousness for Krishna Consciousness only. It is like the nature of the mind is such that it is always looking for alternatives to Krishna. So, even in Krishna Consciousness, we start looking for alternatives to Krishna.

So, one alternative, which is a little more namaskar, is we come in the association, and then we start looking for faults, looking for negatives of those in the association. So, our aspiration and inspiration, we would like them to be more elevated. But, it's a dynamic both.

Both are related to the desire, how it rises. So, thank you so much. Do you have a question? Yes, last question.

Did I say karma can never change? When did I say that? In what context? Oh, okay, okay. I'm here. Good observation.

Okay. So, when I see the… Okay. Let's see if I can explain this in a way you can understand.

First, I'll confuse you. Okay. See, words have many different meanings.

So, that's called the multivalence of words. Like in English, the word run has 650 plus meanings. I'm going for a run.

I'm running because my car has stopped running. Because this person is running for president, I'm running away from this country. So, the word run has different meanings.

So, like that, the word karma also has different meanings. So, you are using the word karma in terms of reactions. So, reactions to past actions.

So, yes, the reactions to past actions can be changed by the word. That is, that… But karma can also refer to actions themselves. When Krishna says… So, karma refers to actions.

So, it is a past actions. So, whatever actions we have done in the past. Say, we plan to wake up at 4 o'clock, but we woke up at 6 o'clock.

Now, no matter how seriously we challenge our Krishna, we can't wake up at 4 o'clock today. Isn't it? That past action cannot be changed. So, in that sense, I use the word karma.

Whatever actions we have done in the past, they cannot be changed. By Krishna's mercy, the reactions to them can be changed. Now, karma can also refer to the action-reaction principle.

Like the law of karma. That means actions will lead to reactions. So, that is the third meaning.

Now, karma can also refer to one type of action. Like we have karma, akarma, vikarma. So, it refers to good action.

Now, karma can actually also refer to duty. Actions means any actions. We all need to do our karma.

That means we all need to do our duties. So, the word karma has different meanings. I was referring to it in this sense.

You were referring to it in this sense. Does it make any sense? Yes or no? Yes or no? Yes and no. Okay.

So, suppose we make a mistake. Say, you are giving an exam. And you give a wrong answer in the exam.

Then, the teacher may say that, okay. You need to give the same paper again next time. And you can do better.

So, now that exam, the wrong answer we have given. We cannot change that. But we can have a second chance in which we can do better.

So, sometimes if the teacher is not very helpful or whatever. Say, you gave a wrong answer. We have lost the chance.

We cannot do it again. So, Krishna is merciful in the sense that if you have done some bad actions. And we are meant to get some bad reactions.

So, we are going to lose the chance. But Krishna will give us a chance again. So, in that sense, the reactions to our past karma can be changed.

But the action itself. Once we have done an action, nobody can change that action. That Krishna has arranged the world in such a way that time flows forward.

Time doesn't flow backward. So, once an action is done, we can't undo the action. So, I was talking about that.

Thank you. Very interesting question. Very interesting.

Hi Krishna. So, we are so very grateful to face Chaitanya Chandra for giving us such a wonderful precursor to the subject of pure emotional service. We are very, very excited to know what is the true characteristics or the internal characteristics of pure emotional service itself.

Prabhu's lecture also enlightens me. He himself has summarized the points that he made and I will use again. Prabhu, I just wanted to ask.

Now, if at the moment our relationship with Krishna is transactional. But definitely here in your class today we want to make it transformational. So, the way this journey is achieved is by understanding the glories of pure emotional service which will inspire us to practice pure emotional service and that's our aspiration.

So, we will go through this flow with this lecture and the coming few lectures with Prabhuji. Thank you very much Prabhuji for, how should I say, generally for people who are practicing Krishna consciousness, it's mostly to do with reading on the surface of what the scriptures say and then somehow making some connections here and there. But the way Prabhu presents the Krishna conscious philosophy is that he makes the connection to what Krishna speaks so deeply that there is very little room for us to miss the point.

So, thank you Prabhu for bringing us closer to the teachings of Krishna which actually means bringing us closer to Krishna. Thank you. So, we will have the next session of the series tomorrow at 10 o'clock.

What have we announced? 10 o'clock. Same venue. We request all of you to be present here 10 minutes before the time so that we can continue with this beautiful explanation of the subject of pure devotional service.

And there is one announcement. Deepa Ganesh Kumar Mataji's birthday. She is here.

She is a new member. So, it is her birthday and she has sponsored the prasadam and the sweet to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. So, we request Prabhu to cut the cake.