Dhruva pastime analysis (3)

Transcription :

Transcribed by : Muralidhar Prabhu

Dhruv Pastime Analysis – DHRUV

DISTRESS & DIRECTION:
Everyone faces distress, the fortunate find the right direction; given truth that this place is a place of misery; self-evident factor; no one is an exception and everybody suffers; the form of distress is different; all premodern views accept this truth that this place is a place of suffering; the difference modern and pre modern world is – this world or the other world; thru technology the illusion of comfort is created; we start thinking that everyone is happy and I alone am unhappy; this notion increases our unhappiness manifold; misery loves company is not what we are talking here; misery is the biggest democracy; democracy of misery; technology is the art of distancing ourselves from reality; Direction when Distress comes Decides our Destiny.
Bhakti has two aspects- world transcending aspect and world transforming aspect; Dhruva went for world transforming aspect but chose the world transcending aspect;
As devotees when distress comes we must take practical steps to reduce or eliminate the distress and simultaneously depend on the Lord.
Distresses will keep coming and going; but thru each distress our consciousness will keep rising towards Krishna; the direction we take during the distress will not only transform the situation but transform ourselves;
Pain can be a component of our consciousness; but if pain becomes the container of our consciousness then we cannot live peacefully.
Distress can be solved horizontally and vertically.

HUMILITY & HONESTY
How does one go about finding the right way? Recognise that we are ultimately not in control; Krishna has a vision for our spiritual journey; the important thing is not whether the path is genuine or not; the important thing is whether we are genuine or not; if we are sincere Krishna will guide us; Krishna is the well wisher of everyone; He reciprocates with us; Dhruva was sincere desire; some things are under our control and some are not under our control; in no aspect of our life do we have certainty of success; we used our best knowledge and made a choice; the leap of faith is taken in every aspect of our life; risk is inherent in all major decisions of life; if we play safe by being materialistic and not pursuing a spiritual path, we are sure to loose because material path will end in death for sure; but if we choose a spiritual path there is a chance that we will overcome birth and death, if the path we chose was correct; BG4.10 – these attitudes are obstaces to spiritual life – attachments, fear, and frustrated; doubter and cynic- doubter hopes there is an answer and a cynic hopes there is no answer; Dhruva had faith that there is a higher power by which he can get his material desire fulfilled; he just went to the forest with that faith; by that higher arrangement Narada Muni came to him; spirituality is not a shock absorber in their journey along their material path; then we are under utilising spirituality; spirituality is a goal transformer; transforms the purpose of our life; all that Dhruv had was a burning desire; the supersoul guided Dhruv to Narada Muni; must be HONEST: DO I REALLY WANT TO KNOW;
in material life we focus on what is under control and take risk on those things which are not under our control; in spiritual life we worry too much about things which are not under our control and we stop doing things which are under our control;
HUMILITY of Dhruva comes out when he tells Narad Muni to give him an instruction that matches his level of consciousness; he is not ready to go home as instructed by Narada Muni; please give me an instruction which I can follow; in BG12.8 to 12.11 Krishna gives different options for following bhakti depending on the level of the person; Life Member of ISKCON; Practice bhakti at a level which we can sustainably do;
The sense of honour makes one stick to one’s promises and take their word seriously – honour, pride and arrogance;

Summary:
a) the journey to Vaikunta began with humility and honesty;
b) People who want to start spirituality will wonder how will I know which path to take; the important thing is whether we are honest and not which path is right;
c) spirituality is not a shock absorber but meant to be a goal transformer
d)even if one comes with a different purpose eventually the purpose will change if they are honest
e) Dhruv initially did not know where Vishnu is but Vishnu knew where Dhruv is and Vishnu arranged for Narada Muni
f) In everthing in life there are always things which are not under our control; we make a reasonable analysis and then take a leap of faith; similarly with spirituality;
g) When Dhruv was told to tolerate, Dhruv was honest and said I cannot tolerate; SP allowed devotees to practice bhakti at various levels; in India engaged the people become life members and serve at their level;
h) BG12.8 to 12.12
i) Not rationalising but being honest, in our current capacity

Zeal was in the past; it is lacking now; there is apathy; though there is scope for outreach:
a) people have different natures- most people are not missionaries; the zeal is present in some and not present in some; the people with the zeal will be in a minority;
b) SP attracted revolutionaries; reformers – gradual change, order and structure; revolutionaries – dramatic change;
c) Pushing Parampara- SP
d) Training for outreach preaching – equip the outreach preachers with QA skills
e) Recalibrate in the context of Grahastha driven movement compared to monastic driven movement.
Best way to get absorbed in Krishna is by taking some responsibility and creating a commitment in whatever service is possible. Secondly, find out activities where our interest and the service opportunities interact the most.

REALISATION & RECONCILIATION:
Self-effulgence and Selflessness are the two characteristics of the spiritual world; those who attain the spiritual world are concerned about others; spiritual world is not a matter of physical location but one of disposition- elevation of consciousness; it is a different level of reality; we cannot immigrate but have to be invited to the spiritual world; Krishna’s mercy makes us qualified; we need spiritual consciousness; the simple way to understand material and spiritual consciousness is who is the centre? Am I the centre or Krishna is the centre; what can this person do for me is material consciousness; what can I do for him is spiritual consciousness; reciprocation is there but the thrust is in giving; that sense of service is manifested in this world and that is thru compassion; we share Krishna bhakti with others; this is the result of growth in spirituality; this happens even in the life of Dhruv.

REALISATION AND RECONCILITATION: when Dhruv gets the darshan of the Lord; Realisation means that which is a reality we accept it as a reality; we experience it as a reality; bhakti para esa anubha……….; the purpose of spirituality is just not to experience spirituality but to be situated at the spiritual level of reality; not a sudden experience but it is something where we reside; there is a process for going there and that process is bhakti yoga; the test whether we have experienced Krishna is when we have detachment from other things – external symptoms; why do I need anything eles?; internal symptom is they are satisfied and are happy; rich experience within themselves; Sanjaya’s verse in Bg; this is what happened to Dhruv Maharaj; though devotees do not want anything, Krishna wants the devotees to be glorified; Dhruv did not want to retaliate when he went back home; no feeling of revenge when the equations changed; Love does not keep a scoreboard of wrongs; impede our capacity to grown internally;

When we are in material consciousness material gains and losses seem to be big; when we are in spiritual consciousness, because Krishna is so big and fulfilling, He dwarfs, that everything else seems small; if small things are disturbing us then we must ask ourselves whether we are conscious of Krishna or we are conscious of our ego; Reconciliation means keep small things small;

Our consciousness tends towards our attachments and not towards our values; our mind pushes us towards our attachments; intelligence pushes us towards our values; when we are provoked the first response comes from our mind and hence our first response is not the best response;

God is the foundation of all existence; who created God? it reflects ignorance of the definition of God; God is by definition the source of everything; novel the author is outside the book; He exist beyond the chain of cause and effect; what we are experiencing now is one level of reality; God is realer than reality;

UPHEAVAL: the world is a place of upheaval for ugliness even for those who have given up everything; Dhruv when he heard that his brother was killed he went on to kill all the snakes; the nature of this world is that kama, krodha, can come but it is only temporary; soon the KC will come back thru the Supersoul or guidance from outside will come and we will take the guidance; Bhagavatam does not idealise the characters and describes them in a human situation; emotions will come even to an advanced devotee but those emotions do not determine our devotion; a devotee may be perplexed but not discouraged; only Krishna is omnisicent; the material is incidental to the purpose of a devotee- the purpose is to serve & remember Krishna;

VICTORY & VAIKUNTA: how does he go to the spiritual world; the transcendental planes come for him and his mother; if the devotee pursues his KC lifelong, then it is Krishna’s part; for us Krishna is not just a destination; videha mukti and jivan mukti; fully serving Krishna in this world that it is as good as liberated; liberation is only a matter of time; we can be with Krishna right now; spiritual world is a level of consciousness to attain; Krishna is very close to us; Krishna is just one thought away; if we direct our thought towards Him, He is with us; we just have to take care of the PRESENT MOMENT; take the present moment and offer it to Krishna;
how death occurs is not so important; how we live is more important; if we live in a devotional way however we die we will go to Krishna; before we die if our love for Krishna is greater than our love for this world, then Krishna will take us out of this world and take us to His eternal abode.

Summary:
Realisation and Reconciliation
Internal test of realisation of Krishna
External test of realisation of Krishna
Not to get even with those who hurt us
Grudge is not there when we are happy in KC; small things small
Vaikunta is a disposition and not a location

QA:
When and How did Dhruv change from being selfish to selfless? What is the role of endeavour and grace in our progress in bhakti?
a) Somehow fix the mind on Krishna; the initial starting purpose does not matter so much if we are ready to change the purpose afterwards; the dramatic change happened for Dhruv when he had darshan of Vishnu; higher taste; selfishness and selflessness can be both dispositions and decisions; Pururva did not take a decision in favour of Vishnu even when Vishnu came in front of him; however the darshan did not go in vain but later on when he got frustrated he took a decision in favour of Vishnu; we start the practice with whatever level of selflessness we have; some cross roads will come and at that time what we choose is important; the sun rise is a gradual event but suddenly we realise at one moment that the sun has risen;
b) We must endeavour to the extent that we can, to show Krishna that we are eager to offer Him the results; the Lord reciprocation – our endeavour shows to Krishna that we are eager