4 ways to the knowledge that brings peace Bhagavad Gita 4.38 Sydney Chaitanya Charan

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Hare Krishna Delighted to be here with all of you today evening Thank you for coming on a weekday The way we will discuss the session is The way we will discuss today is that I'll request Some of you to read one one paragraph and then we'll discuss based on that So broadly We often think of the Bhagavad-Gita as a philosophical book and that is true. It is a philosophical book But just like the Bhagavatam there is wisdom in it But in Bhadrapuri Maharaj other times we also do worship of the Bhagavatam, we do aarti of the Bhagavatam So like that the Gita is non-different from Krishna and While Krishna gives If you consider Krishna is here and we are here Krishna has given us the Gita That is the wisdom he has given But from this wisdom the we can offer prayers we can offer prayers for Clarity to understand What is it that is to be done What is this? What is actually Krishna teaching so we can based on these because Krishna's words They give us clarity so we can pray for clarity We can offer prayers for maturity It is often our mind which keeps us immature And ultimately we can pray for purity. There are many things we can pray for like that.

So Krishna the words that he has spoken Please help me to see how they relate with my life and please help me to apply them and grow spiritually So that is the mode in which this book is Written so let's look at First paragraph. Do we have a second mic? my chance Which is not a large room. So whoever has a mic in their throat Who would like to read my first paragraph? My God, the ultimate potency of wisdom is not just in acting as a fire destroying my ignorance or as a boat delivering me across the ocean of material existence Ultimately wisdom is meant to bring me in touch with the joy that resides within me at my core Yes, so now before this the two verses gave this to metaphors that it is hamsa samidho agni vasmasad kurde arjuna and vijinam santarishyasi That through knowledge The ignorance within us is destroyed and through knowledge.

We go beyond this Ocean of material existence and attain Krishna So now that is all there. It is true. But what is the purpose of knowledge? There are many different kinds of knowledges in the world and every knowledge has some purpose so if We now AI is coming up and now prompt engineering has become a big field in itself So now what has happened? We learn something so that we can do something Generally knowledge is associated some purpose Now we have we have gyanendriyas and then we have karmendriyas so in general Gyan and karma related we acquire some gyana So that we can do some karma so if Somebody says that I know you can study this for six years and after that you won't get the job You think I am a mad man to study like this? Either you think I have come from a mental asylum or you have come from a mental asylum Why should I study? Somebody say I have a hobby I have curiosity That is also interest.

It is okay. I get some pleasure in doing this Then I enjoy doing this Gyana is always associated with some karma So when we talk about spiritual knowledge, what is the purpose of that spiritual knowledge? So that is described in the Vedas that deep within us, at our core, there is a great joy that exists. And in the Bhagavatam there is a metaphors given like a musk deer is searching all over for fragments.

But the fragments is inside his own body and doesn't know it. We are like that. So, there is joy deep within us.

But it is buried deep right. The purpose of knowledge in that sense, if we consider, it's like, some places there is gold mine. So, I was in California 3 months ago and at one time in California there was a huge gold rush.

I don't know here gold post, is it because there is gold over there? Gold is used metaphorically over there. But the idea is that, if there is gold somewhere, then what is the idea? First I need to know there is gold. Then I need to know where exactly is the gold.

Then I need to know how can I get to the gold, isn't it? So, like that, spiritual growth in one sense is like a gold exploration. It's like a gold digging. Now the word gold digger has got a negative connotation.

Like somebody who develops a relationship just so that the wealthy person can become wealthy. That is a negative connotation. But the idea is that we are mining for gold.

And that is what spirituality is. We want to go deep in words to find the treasure inside us. And the knowledge that we are seeking is for that purpose.

So, let's look at this. Next paragraph, who would like to read? After all, my lord, it is you who are present forever in my innermost core. Wisdom culminates in recognizing your inner presence and your universal benevolence.

Bless me, O lord, to diligently practice the yoga that makes wisdom realized. So, what is there at our core? The Atma is there. But beyond the Atma, there is the Paramatma.

The idea is that if we consider the self, the self is multilevel. At the outermost level, there is the body. In the body, there are senses with which we look at the outer world and function in the outer world.

Then there is the mind, which is like the mirror or it's like a screen depending on how it is. Then there is the soul. Now beyond this, there is the super soul.

So, when we go into this inner topography, most of us, our consciousness is going outwards. Consciousness is Chetana. So, if I consider a phone, the phone has a flashlight.

And with that flashlight, what happens, a beam of light is moving outwards. So, when the beam of light moves outwards, the source of light is like the soul. And the beam of light is the consciousness of the soul.

So, Atma and Chetana. Now, we look outward to find something that is pleasurable. It means attractive sense objects or powerful things, position, prestige.

We look outwards and we try to gain knowledge. Okay, how can I gain more power, more pleasure, more position. So, that is there as a natural thing that we all do.

So, can you see this flashlight now? So, now if you imagine, can you see the flashlight now? So, this pipe through which it's coming out, that's like the mind. Now, through the mind, the consciousness comes outwards. So, the mind can act like a window.

Window through which we see outwards. However, the mind is also meant to act. The mind is multifunctional.

And just as it acts as a window, it can also act as a mirror. Cheto darpana marjanam. So, darpana is a mirror.

So, when it's a mirror, when we look at the mirror, we don't see through the mirror. We don't see through the mirror, we see ourselves through the mirror. We see through a window and we see ourselves through a mirror.

So, our mind is multifunctional. Most of the time it is acting like a window. Actually, the mind is a very different big topic.

Sometimes the mind doesn't even act like a window. It just becomes like a TV screen and starts showing a movie that nothing is happening out there. But the mind is meant to act like a mirror so that we can look at ourselves.

And in order to look at ourselves, we are looking outwards. I am looking at you. I am searching for some close friend.

But that friend is right here behind me. But I am not looking at that friend. So, like that Krishna is with us, within us, but we are not looking at Krishna.

So, the whole process of spirituality at one level, when we look inward, we look inward to reach the soul. And then beyond the soul, the super soul. So, how does this happen? Basically, right now the consciousness is going outwards.

But then eventually with the passage of time, same soul is here. The soul is here. The mind is here.

And the super soul is here. So, what happens? So, now what will happen is, the consciousness goes here and if it's a mirror, then the consciousness comes back. Let's keep it simple.

The consciousness comes here and then comes back. And then we see ourselves. The consciousness comes here and goes backwards and then we see Krishna.

So, cheto darpana marjanam. Consciousness is meant to become like a mirror by which we can see inward. Now, all this may seem a bit mysterious, but let's move forward and we will try to see what it means from a practical perspective.

So, when we understand Krishna's inner presence, we understand that Krishna is not just there, Krishna is there for my good. Universal benevolence. Surudham sarva-bhutana.

Krishna doesn't say that I am surudham mad-bhaktana. He doesn't say surudham mad-shuddha-bhaktana. I am only the rendition of my pure devotees.

No. He is sarva-bhutana. Krishna loves and cares for everyone.

Yeah. You would like to read? The line of wisdom, my lord, reveals everything. Not in the sense of making me omniscient, but in the sense of helping me see how you, my omnipotent, omniscient lord, are always orchestrating my life for my ultimate welfare.

Wow. Very tough words in that. Very good job.

I orchestrated this for the toughest passage to come to you. You passed successfully. Flying colours.

So now, when we turn inwards, for us, ultimately, when we look at life, so many things happen in life. This person is doing like this and that person is doing like that. And many times things seem to be going wrong.

I did like this, this person did like that. And all that is natural. There are lots of things that go wrong in life.

But beyond what is going wrong, when we understand that Krishna is in charge, that Krishna is orchestrating things for our ultimate good, that what happens in the short run may be bad, but it's not intrinsically or permanently bad. If we consider our life journey, if we consider our life journey, so sometimes something bad happens to us. So at that time we feel this happened to me.

Oh, you know, why did this person betray me like this? Why did I lose that job? Why did I fail in this interview? Why did that relationship go south? Why did this happen? This happened to me. Now, that is true, unfortunately, but if we keep moving forward in our life, then in time, we may realize that actually what happened to me, it actually happened for me. It didn't happen to me, it happened for me.

Now what does it mean? That means it was not just something terrible that in this chaotic or cruel world, it just came upon me. But through this, Krishna was working. Now that does not mean that if we could have avoided it, we should not have avoided it.

But we look at Prabhupada's life. He was trying to share Krishna Bhakti for 30-40 years in India and nothing worked out. Now Prabhupada, if you read his books, it's not that when he was going on America, he had some secret book in which he found some secret points and those points were spoken in America and Americans became convinced.

Like sometime, you know, Prabhupada came up with a new example. He told a new story and that new story was like a knock-out story. Now, if you read Prabhupada's writings, before his first canto Bhagavatam was published, before he went to America.

His Isha Upanishad was written before he went to America. Now if you read his books before he went to America and after he went to America, it is not that there is anything dramatically new in his writings. It is, of course, as he went to America, he observed, he understood and he gave some contemporary examples.

For example, he used phrases like stay high forever and adopted those phrases. But beyond that, it was not that suddenly Prabhupada had to give some new insight which transformed his approach. It was that Prabhupada was consistently giving the same message.

But at one particular point, the impact was dramatically increased. So, eventually when Prabhupada went to America and he succeeded and then he came back to India, the result was that this Swami, Indian Swami, nobody knew about this Swami and he went to America all alone and he was so spectacularly successful. So, Prabhupada's lack of success in India made his success in America even more astonishing.

Even more eyeball popping. Even more mind-bobbling. And in that sense, what happened to him happened for him.

So, Krishna is orchestrating life. And now we could say if Prabhupada had succeeded in India, he could have had followers, he could have had financial support. Maybe he would have succeeded more in America if he had already had some success in India.

Now, what ifs are just an entertaining pastime. But by pastime I don't mean Leela. It's time pass.

So, it's okay. What ifs are not very helpful in life. If this had happened, if that had happened.

But what happened to me happened for me. So, now actually this journey that we need to cross, this distance that we need to cross, it is this distance for which we need faith. That to push on in the intermediate when what happened to me, how it has happened for me is not yet revealed.

Faith is meant to give us that patience to push on. And that patience, now how does it come about? Now that faith can come at least to some level from wisdom. That when we have the wisdom, when we study the books like the Bhagavad Gita and understand Krishna's plan there, or understand how Krishna is in charge, how Krishna is the well-wisher of everyone, then that wisdom enables us to take the leap of faith.

Now, wisdom itself is not faith. They are two separate things. Like if I am sick and I have tried many treatments and nothing is working and then I hear about some new experimental drug or experimental treatment, I read about it.

It seems to make sense. The studies seem to be promising. That reading, that understanding enables me to, okay, let me try it out.

That's why I may put in faith. So, the knowledge is what enables us to choose to have faith. Knowledge does not produce faith.

But knowledge makes the choice of faith easier. So, now what the Gita is doing for Arjuna is this. The Gita is giving Arjuna knowledge so that he will make a choice.

For him he is feeling, what a terrible thing. I have to fight against Bhishma and Drona. This is the stuff of nightmares.

Why is it the stuff of nightmares? Bhishma and Drona are not just his elders. These are the elders from whom he learned Arjuna. These are the elders for whose pleasure he learned Arjuna.

And now, these are the elders whom he has to kill with that same Arjuna. A more cruel nightmare is difficult to imagine for somebody who is a respectful student, for somebody who is a respectful subordinate. Why is this happening to me? Actually Arjuna has this question.

How am I to respond in this situation? So, Krishna's knowledge in the Bhagavad Gita helps him to I will do your will. So, the treasure within is, when you say I try to look for gold within, what is that treasure? The treasure is the realization that Krishna is present within me. Krishna cares for me.

Krishna wants the best for me. And I just need to cooperate with Krishna. Let's move to the next paragraph.

Any other questions? Please, O Lord, until I reach that state, until the light of wisdom reveals your inexhaustible love, guide me through the dark night of the soul. Help me, my Lord, to hold on to you even in those moments of trial when I do not see or feel that you are holding on to me. Yes.

So, there is, we often use the word shelter. Take shelter of Krishna. Now, the shelter of Krishna is somewhat mysterious.

For example, it's raining. We find a tree, we find a house, we find a shed. So, there we feel the protection from the rains.

We feel the relief from the rains. So, now how does shelter work? It's like if I am here and there is a lot of rain coming, then I go over here, maybe there is some kind of house over here with a door. As you can see, my drawing is great.

So, you go inside and you get shelter. So, what happens is we feel the shelter. Okay, the rain has gone.

But with respect to Krishna, sometimes we don't feel the shelter. We feel like I am trying to hold on. But is there something really out there that I am holding on to? Or is it just my own imagination, hallucination? So, sometimes we feel like we are calling out into the vast emptiness.

We feel like that. So, how do we feel? So, here, this is where knowledge helps. I am looking back to the starting point.

How do we experience the shelter of Krishna? This is my consciousness. Now, initially, Krishna is one component in my consciousness. Let me say, right now, you are hearing this talk.

So, you are hearing this talk, that means, now you are aware that, okay, you are sitting in this house. You are aware that your body is tired. You are aware that you are bored with the class.

You are aware that you have to go home and do quite a few things. You are aware that you have a busy day tomorrow. There are many things in the consciousness.

Now, hopefully, one of the things is, what is going on in this class? Now, when that happens, so, if it is at least one of the things, this is, we are giving attention. That means, we give entrance. We give entrance to Krishna.

Now, when we give entrance to Krishna into our consciousness, at that time, Krishna might seem to be just one among hundred other things in our consciousness. Oh, I have my job, I have my family, I have my health and all these things, Krishna is also one of them. So, at that time, we may not feel any physical.

And especially, there are so many other things in our consciousness, then trying to even give attention to Krishna is difficult. So, letting Krishna be even one component in our consciousness is difficult. But, if we do that, if we do that, gradually what happens is magical.

This is our consciousness. And, if we give entrance to Krishna, gradually, Krishna reveals Himself to be much bigger. And then, as we experience Krishna to be much bigger, then actually it is we who gain entrance.

Now, gain entrance is not in the sense of merging, but it is in the sense of immersion. We realize Krishna is a much bigger reality, and my consciousness gets immersed in Krishna. It becomes absorbed in Krishna.

Now, this stage, it comes and we have all experienced it at times. Sometimes, when we become absorbed in Krishna, it's as if the whole world doesn't exist. Like, sometimes a very transportative kirtan is there, or sometimes a very divine darshan is there, or sometimes a very absorbing leela or katha is going on, and we feel as if we have forgotten the whole world.

That transportational experience we have all had at times. What has happened over there is, Krishna is revealed to be such a bigger reality, that whatever are the problems in our life, we feel as if we just moved away from there. So, our consciousness becomes absorbed in something bigger.

This is the experience of the shelter of Krishna. But this is the stage where we are trying to hold on to Krishna. Why hold on? Because there are so many things in our consciousness, there are so many things in the world around us, that may demand our attention, or that may seduce our attention, and among those, somehow, we are trying to hold on to Krishna.

But when we do this, this is the time eventually we realize, actually Krishna is holding on to me. So, this realization, that Krishna is holding on to me, will come. But it won't come immediately.

It's like, when a baby is crying, initially the baby is just aware, okay, my stomach is paining, I am hungry, and, sometimes you give the baby some milk, if the baby is too restless, the baby will throw the milk away also. If the baby is so restless, it is caught in its own pain, or whatever, it doesn't notice. But somehow, when that milk is given, and that comfort is experienced then, but that transition phase is there, where you have to push on.

So, for each one of us, this journey, where we are trying to give attention to Krishna, but that attention has not yet led to absorption, that is a difficult phase. That is the phase when we need, at a basic level, knowledge and faith. Knowledge that Krishna is the bigger reality.

Faith that I will experience a bigger reality. I will experience shelter. I will experience inner peace.

I will experience sublime joy. I will experience that. So, this knowledge and faith, in that sense, go together.

Who would like to read the last part? Please, oh Lord, let me understand. The staying true to my faith, during such moments, will bring me closer to you faster. Let that truth inspire me to hold fast to you, my Lord, always.

Yes. So, there are routine moments in our life. And there are extraordinary moments in our life.

Every day a student goes to school is important. But then there is an exam. That is especially important.

Every day we are working on a project, that's important. But that project has to be released. Based on the project, the product has to be released.

That's especially important. So, while all moments are important, some moments are especially important. And for us, those moments are tests.

When what has happened to me, it is not yet revealed how it has happened for me. During those times, that's the time of the test. And that's the time we need to be taking shelter of Krishna.

So, that is the time when we need the knowledge that will give us the conviction to put our faith. It's like, if I'm taking a treatment and the treatment is actually healing me, then I need faith but not so much it's working. But if I'm taking a treatment and it doesn't seem to be working, should I keep taking it or not? That's an important decision to make.

So, but if it is a predicted phase, initially for some time it doesn't work, then we have to push on through the treatment. So, this knowledge, so the theme which we are discussing is knowledge leads to faith and the faith leads to the shelter. So, we want knowledge.

From knowledge will come faith. It's not a natural step but it's a logical step. Knowledge enables us to have faith.

And then faith will lead us to the experience of shelter. It will take time but the experience of shelter will come. So, let's talk about how this knowledge can be cultivated.

So, in the Bhagavad Gita, so our topic was four ways of gaining knowledge. So, Kaas is starting right now. No, not really.

Concluding, I wanted to, I'm not going to talk elaborately about the four ways because we know the four ways but I wanted to give a context to it to understand how it works. So, one level Krishna says in 4.34, what does he say? Tad viddhi pradipate. So, how do we get knowledge? It is from the Gurus.

It's interesting, the word that is used over here is a plural word, not a singular word. Gyaani na sattva darshi. So, it is not just one Guru.

We can have many shiksha Gurus. We can learn from many. So, those who have sattva darshi, those who have got some realization of the truth, hearing from them, learning from them, that is one primary way.

Now, another Krishna says is sattvaat sanjayate gyanam. So, sattva, cultivating a lifestyle of sattva is very important. He talks about it in 14th chapter and 14.9. See, what the Guru teaches is important but how will we be able to implement that knowledge? So, cultivate sattva to some extent at least.

Say, right now, while you are sitting and hearing this class, now sometimes when we are hearing a class online, we might be cooking, we might be cleaning, we might be doing other things. You can also hear at that time. It can't be that attentive.

But if we are in a marketplace, there is noise all around. It's much more difficult to hear. Now, imagine it's not just noise all around.

If we are hearing and then we are yelling at someone. So, the noise is coming not from outside in, it's going from inside out. Then can we hear something? Not much, isn't it? So, in Rajoguna and Tamoguna, there is a lot of noise inside us.

There is mental chatter and mental clutter. So, in Rajas and Tamas, because of chatter means constantly something is going on, clutter means there are so many things inside, we don't even know what is inside. So, Sattva enables us to actually internalize that knowledge.

Sattva is a stage where relatively the mental clutter and chatter. Clutter is all kinds of scattered thoughts are there and chatter is all kinds of voices are there. So, both of these, they decrease.

When they are reduced to Sattva, then there is a greater chance that we can hear. So, Sattva could mean something as simple as we try to sleep early, we wake up early, we try to eat our food at regulated times. Sattva could mean we try to allot some time for Saptic activities.

So, what are the specific ways in which we can bring Sattva in our life? That's something which we have to decide. Because everybody is in different situation in their life. But even a little increase in Sattva will find that the knowledge will start having more impact in our life.

So, we are hearing. Now, again, Sattva is good, but ultimately we have to put faith. Sattva Sanjayati Jnanam.

Now, the third thing Krishna says is something which is much more direct and personal. He says, dadami buddhi yogam tam. Krishna says, teshaam adhati uktana bhajatam priti purvakam.

So, it is when there is favorable devotion. Devotion is devotional practice or devotional service. When we go to, when we, when we do some seva to Krishna, we go to the temple cheerfully, we are happy to do some service.

We are happy to come for some programs. So, when we are doing favorable devotional practice, this is, this is beyond the normal. It is Krishna who is intervening in our life.

This Krishna says that, I will give you the knowledge. Teshaam sattva uktana bhajatam priti purvakam. So, this is a very special kind of knowledge and elaborate on that sort.

Buddhi yogam tam. The buddhi by which we can do yoga. Yoga is connection with Krishna.

Ultimately. And in Bhagavad Gita it is said, kaale aatmali vindatatsvaya yoga samsiddha. When we become perfected in yoga.

So, even a small amount of service that we do, whatever, in the bhakti tradition, seva is emphasized so much. The reason is that seva is, it pleases Krishna. Whatever we do, we do seva.

So, seva might not seem like a very intellectual activity. It's important. No doubt.

I'll talk about intellectual activity also later. As a last part. But, what it is is, when we do service, it is the Krishna factor starts intervening in our life much more.

We are showing Krishna, please intervene. The same thing is talked about in Bhagavatam, that shushu shoddha dhanasya, Vasudeva datharuchi. Syanmahat sevayavipra punyateetam shivarat.

That Vasudeva datharuchi, that attraction towards Krishna, that attraction. When we hear about Krishna, what happens? There are so many wonderful pastimes about Krishna, that naturally leads to increase in our faith. That leads naturally to an increase in the transformational experiences that we get.

This is the practice of bhakti. Now, the last thing that Krishna says, is in 1863, or rather 1863, he says, vimarshan. Vimarshan is contemplation.

Vimrishaitat asheshena yathe jistha kuru. At the end of the Gita, Krishna says, now you deliberate. Deliberate and do as you desire.

So that is, that means, before we take any decision, Krishna is saying, deliberate. Now, deliberation is basically contemplation, analysis, using our knowledge that we have, and then putting it together. There are many things that we know.

Now, deliberation is something like sattva guna, but it is slightly different from sattva guna. Sattva guna is more like cultivating a lifestyle. We try to make lifestyle changes by which our mind becomes more peaceful and we become more receptive to wisdom.

But vimarshan, the way Krishna is describing is, just develop a habit of taking a pause. Pause to pray. Pause to think.

Pause to collect answers. So, now, for many of us, we have impulses inside us. There are many times, certain things pop up inside us and, hey, why did I do that? Now, we may know I should not be doing it, but I do it.

When I was growing up, one of my hobbies was learning English words. I just loved picking up English and memorizing words. And I developed quite a good vocabulary.

Now, when I was growing up, I also had a bit of a temper. Now, having a bad temper is a problem. But, having a bad temper and a good vocabulary is a far bigger problem.

Most people, when they get angry, they may yell at someone, but they just become incoherent. Most people, what is this person speaking? This person has gone off the rails. We just tune off from that person.

That person is speaking crazy things. But, if somebody is articulate, and they get angry, they can be very sarcastic. They can be very biting.

They can be very cutting. So, I was a nice person. At least, I thought I was a nice person.

But, there are these moments when I would just speak viciously. And, I would hurt other people a lot. And, this was 1990.

So, there was not much technology there. But, one of my friends, one day, he just got some recorder. The recorder was not small like that.

It was big. He got a suitcase. And, I got angry.

And, he recorded what I had spoken. And then, now, I don't know if any of you remember, the first time you hear your voice on a recording, it's not easy to recognize your voice. That's my voice.

So, then, he just played the recording. And, my first comment was, what a nasty person. How can someone speak like this? And then, he told me, do you know who that nasty person is? He decided to have a little fun with me.

I said, no, who is it? He is here in the room right now. Okay, I started looking all around. Oh, he is very close to us.

I started looking at our neighbors who were sitting over there. You know, he is actually very close to me right now. I said, okay, who is that? You fool, it's you.

So, finally. I was shocked. Did I realize that? I couldn't believe it.

But, then, he played it and then he reminded me. I said, is this really what I had spoken? I don't want to be like this. It's like there is something inside us that just pops up and it just erases all our knowledge.

What I know, it's the knowledge that we have. We remember it when we have to instruct others. And we forget it when we have to apply it.

I said, I cannot do this. So, at that time, I talked with my mother. And she told me that you just learn to pause.

There is a small thing. Just when you feel angry, just pause. It was very difficult to pause at that time.

And pausing, some people say, count till five. So, there was one kid who was very short tempered. His mother told him, when you get angry, count till five.

And, one day, he came back home with all bruises on his face. What happened? She said, I told you, count till five. Yeah.

But, you know, the other kid, his mother told him to count only the three. So, sometimes what happens, that just trying to put a… stuff our emotions inside, it does not work. But the idea is, what do we do in a pause? So, Krishna is not just telling us to pause.

Pause to reflect. This last point about knowledge. To conclude with this is that, see, for all of us, we may hear many, many things.

And it's good. Even if we forget, all those things doesn't matter. See, shravanam and smaranam, both of them are independent limbs of mind.

And if we have done shravanam, that itself is purifying. Even if there is no smaranam after shravanam, we just heard, that much time we have given to Krishna, that much attention we have given to Krishna, and that is purifying. That is going to be beneficial for us.

Of course, the benefit will be much more if there can be smaranam. But we cannot remember everything. So, from what we hear, if we take one point, from any class that we have taken, one point, and, okay, this, this struck me.

Now, I like this point. Don't just think I like this point. Try to go deeper.

Try to do some immersion. Why did I like this point? Now, what about this point that struck me? Maybe I had heard something before, or maybe this helped me to see my experience in new light. So, immersion, as in contemplation, or deliberation, I talk about two steps in this, and then we conclude this class.

How do we contemplate or deliberate? So, the first step is, that if something has, something has struck us, oh, I like this point. So, ask ourselves the question, why? Why did it strike me? Now, we may not always get an answer, but just ask this question. I like this point, wonderful.

But why did I like this point? Okay, you know, maybe I like this particular thing. Okay, that's nice. Or maybe, as I said, when we think about the why question, it helps us to explore a bit more.

Try to see more connections. Okay, this will help me in this situation in my life. Or, sometimes, oh, I like this point very much.

I'll do what he was doing. Why? You know, that other devotee doesn't listen to me. Now, this point I can use to make him listen to me.

Okay, that's the external use. Not bad. But, okay, that's why I like it.

So, why did I like it? Ask yourself the question, why? And, that will itself create more mental tracks within us. That will be easier to recollect it. And the second step is, for contemplation, is that, how can I reconnect it? How can I make it more accessible? So, why did it connect with me? And how can I reconnect with it? In future.

So, maybe, reconnecting could be that we, on our phone, we have a notepad and we write down that point over there. If we have anger, we have insecurity, we have jealousy, we have greed, whatever the particular challenge that is troubling us, that seems to cause our brain to freeze. That's like a virus which just wipes out the knowledge that we have.

So, what is it that some insight that can help us counter that? And we focus on that. Okay, note down those points. One, two, three.

If we note down those points and keep them with us, then, in that pause, we will have something to reflect on. And then, that knowledge will awaken. So, this is, you remember what I was talking about, we have to give attention, we have to give entrance, and then we will gain entrance.

So now, there could be many things we can give entrance to. But if there is something which we have already been attracted to, if you have already found striking, then it will be easier to give attention to that. It will be easier to move from that stage to the stage where we become absorbed.

So, in this way, the knowledge can be internalized. ज्ञानं लब्द्वा परांशान्ति अचिरेण आधिगच्छिति Krishna says, that soon, with that knowledge, we will come to a sublime peace. अचिरेण आधिगच्छिति So, I'll summarize what we discussed today.

Our broad topic was the power of knowledge and how to tap the power of knowledge. So, how to tap the power of spiritual knowledge. The first, I discussed this broadly in three parts.

The first part was, I discussed about this theme of what is knowledge, that we go inwards. There is the self and there is the body, the mind, the soul and the super-soul. So, normally, our consciousness is going outwards.

So, from here, super-soul, soul, mind, body. Now, we want our consciousness, when it goes outwards, whenever we get some ज्ञान, that ज्ञान is for some कर्म. We want to do something with the knowledge.

So, when we look for spiritual knowledge, what is it that we want to do with it? This knowledge is helped to find inner gold. That inner gold is our connection with Krishna. The idea is, with this knowledge, when we gain this knowledge, then the soul becomes, rather the mind becomes like a mirror.

When the mind becomes like a mirror, then we can perceive ourselves and we can perceive Krishna. So, चेतो दर्पणमारजिनम्. Now, how does the mind become a mirror? So, the knowledge we are seeking is to go towards that inner treasure.

And in that connection, we discussed that when we are trying to gain this knowledge, when we are trying to go inwards. So, going inwards is difficult because there are so many stimuli in the outer world that are catching our attention. So, this is my consciousness.

Then, initially, Krishna, or the wisdom of Krishna, has to be at least one component. This is where we give entrance. And when we give entrance, gradually what happens from there? We gain entrance.

Krishna is revealed to be a much bigger reality. And when Krishna is revealed to be a much bigger reality, then that's when we gain entrance. So, this journey from giving entrance, Oh, this is Krishna.

Does Krishna even matter? Does Krishna even care? All those questions might be there. Why should I focus on Krishna? So, this is where we are trying to hold on and then we are trying to hold on. And here, Krishna is holding on to us.

So, to go on this journey, what we need is, I talked about, what is faith? Faith is broadly the persistence. This distance from the time when what happened to me, time will reveal that it happened for me. So, now, to push on during that time, for that, we need faith.

So, we discussed how faith can come from knowledge. From knowledge comes faith. If I have knowledge, how a medicine works, I'll keep taking the medicine.

And from that, we will get the shelter. Not just shelter, but the experience of shelter. And then I discussed about how do we acquire this knowledge.

This is the last part. So, what are the four things we discussed? One was the gurus. We hear from the gurus.

Second is, we try to cultivate some level of sattva. That will help us to have some level of calmness, some level of clarity by which things can be internalized. We do some seva.

We have the buddhi yoga. Krishna's intervention is there in our life. And then there is the vimarshan.

Vimarshan is the contemplation. So, when we deliberate, when we contemplate, that instant when our knowledge seems to be wiped out, that vimarshan can help us to avoid that. So, 4.34, 14.9, 10.10, and 18.62. So, vimarshan, how do we do this? I discussed two steps.

First is, that why? Ask ourselves, if at some point, any striking point is there for us, we can't contemplate on everything. We try to contemplate on everything, we get exhausted, we contemplate on nothing. So, take one point, any striking point, why? Why did it connect with me? So, try to understand.

And then, second is, how? How can I reconnect with it? So, how can I keep it accessible for myself? How can I maybe speak it to others, share with someone, put it in my own words. And this way, when we learn to cultivate knowledge, for us, Krishna, then we experience the bigger reality. And our capacity to face life's challenges will become much stronger.

Let us conclude by repeating the prayer once again. Grant me the wisdom, grant me the wisdom, O Lord, that reveals, that reveals, your endless love. your endless love.

Are there any quick questions or comments? Hare Krishna Prabhu, that was really phenomenal how you drew everything up for each section and then at the end you summarised by drawing the same things smaller, like we zoomed out. You redrew them, really phenomenal. My question was around Happened to me and then happen for me, in my limited experience what I've seen is that it tends to be very anthropomorphic.

Both that happened to me obviously, but that happened for me also. So it's like we use our own intelligence to give labels to, Oh, Krishna did this for me because this had to happen. But that is through our understanding, based on our thing.

It's not that somehow Krishna has appeared and told us. So often I find it to be a bit of a, I don't have a word for it, but it's kind of like, you know, because Krishna has to do something in my life, therefore I'm going to say this is what Krishna did. We find some positive and we say this is why Krishna did this for me.

Yeah, good point. So we don't know for sure that something happened for us and that Krishna did it. So isn't it that we are anthropomorphizing, that means we are trying to make it, putting ourselves at the center of the universe and thinking that the universe is working for me.

Well, there are two ways of looking at it. One is that there is a certain level of mystery in the universe that we humans can never know for sure why things happen. In fact, in many ways, as we grow in our life, it's not just that we learn new things, but as we grow, we also learn that what I thought I knew, I don't know.

So there is in life, in our life journey, as we are moving forward, there will always be an element of uncertainty that what is happening? Why is it happening? How am I meant to make the best out of it? Now, this uncertainty can lead us in two ways. Negative, it can lead us to insecurity. Oh, anything bad can happen.

What if a terrible thing happens? And then that insecurity can lead us to paranoia and paralysis and all those things. Now, the other way to look at it is that uncertainty can lead us to curiosity. अथा तो ब्रह्म जिख्यासा Now, ब्रह्म जिख्यासा is not just starting a tourism for people who are just materialistic.

ब्रह्म जिख्यासा is a guiding principle for everyone throughout their spiritual life. You know, how is the spiritual acting in my life? What is actually going on in my life? So, with curiosity, we work. Now, what is the idea of curiosity? That is, I don't know, but I'm eager to.

In one sense, curiosity is an admission of ignorance. When I say I'm curious to know, that means I'm admitting I don't know. But curiosity is not the same as insecurity.

Oh, I don't know, I'm fearful. It's like curiosity, it's a very interesting emotion. There is what I know and there is what I don't know.

Now, in the difference between curiosity and insecurity, in one sense, in both, we are looking at what I don't know. But in insecurity, there is a devaluation of what I don't know. Whereas in curiosity, there is valuation.

I value what I know and I want to know more. So, with this first understanding, for us, curiosity is a key principle. That even those who are enlightened, आहम् सर्वस्य प्रभो मत्ता सर्वन्प्रवर्तिते इति मत्वावचिन्ते मा भूधा भावसमुद्या भूधा They are enlightened.

But what are the enlightened doing? मचित्ता मज़ता प्राणा बोधयन्ता परस्वर्म कतयन्तश्यमा मित्यम् किष्यति जिरम् Even the enlightened are enlightening. Why? Because Krishna is so unlimited. Krishna's ways of working are unlimited.

In many ways, some of the Bhagavatams are actually between the enlightened souls. Vishwa is the enlightened soul, Yudhishthira is the enlightened soul. So, बोधयन्ता परस्वर्म is the enlightened are enlightening each other.

There is always so much to know about Krishna. But, they are not, is there uncertainty? Yes. Is there anxiety? Maybe there is a little bit of anxiety.

But, there is insecurity in the sense of existential chaos in life. Everything is disorderly. It's not like that.

That kind of angst that leads to depression and suicidal ideas. That is not there. Because, there is a foundation.

That, yes, I have practiced, I have lived a spiritual life. I have experienced something in my life. And based on that, I have some foundation, I have some conviction.

So, for us, we move with curiosity. Now, one important thing which she brought up is that we can never have certainty. That's why I said that if Prabhupada had got lot of success in India and then he had got to America, might he have been much more successful, much more influential? It's possible.

If Prabhupada had stayed on for 5-10 years, instead of departing in 1977, so much more could also happen. We don't know. So, when we say this happened to me and this happened for me, is that our analysis of specific events, can we have categorical certainty about that? I don't think so.

When Prabhupada goes to America, Prabhupada is saying, when he is on the coast of America, Krishna, you must have some purpose for me. I guess that. I guess you must have some purpose.

Prabhupada is making an inference. And what is the basis of that inference? Otherwise, why would you bring me here? Why would you bring me here means what? For Prabhupada at that age, to get to America itself was no short of a miracle. The specific means by which he went to America might not have been miraculous.

He went by a ship, not like Hanuman, flew across the ocean. But still, that Prabhupada got there was extraordinary. And it's a very unlikely journey for Prabhupada to survive to heart attacks, for Prabhupada to be able to get the sponsorship, make all the arrangements.

And then that also, Ugrasthani. Here Prabhupada had been living in Vrindavan. So, it's like going from the capital of devotion to the capital of illusion.

Now, why would Krishna get? Now, Prabhupada tried of course, but it succeeded. So, why would Krishna get in that? So, he is saying that Krishna, you must have some plan. Otherwise, why would you do that? So, what does that mean for us? If we look at our own life, we all can think of things that have gone wrong in our life.

But each one of us can also think of things that have gone right in our life. If we are just alive, that means there is more right than wrong in our life. Whatever be our age, we probably know so many people who have not lived up to our age.

Now, I started reconnecting with my school friends and college friends. When I was in school, in the same class, almost 40 of us were in the same class. 10 of those have passed away.

And I am not a very old person. Actually, I don't think I am very old. But the thing is that we are alive.

There is more right than wrong in our life. So, if we just have a basic level of faith in Krishna, and we accept that God exists and God cares, then Krishna has not brought me this far to abandon me. If Krishna had wanted to abandon me, he could have abandoned me long ago.

If there are many dangers which I have gone through and many dangers have been painful, but there are many dangers which I have survived and I have moved on. And I can say that I worked hard and I was creative, I was determined. But there are so many other things which also worked out well for me to survive that.

So, it's a reasonable inference that you make. When I say what happened to me, happened for me. So, that's why we cannot have a categorical certainty.

But the point is Krishna can bring good out of the bad. That is the principle. Now, exactly from what bad, what good he will bring out, that we can't know for sure.

And that is not given to us. I was giving a talk in Singapore. So, one devotee asked, Krishna wants us to follow his plan.

But then, Krishna doesn't reveal his plan. So, how can we follow his plan if he doesn't reveal his plan? I told him, it is a part of Krishna's plan that we do not know Krishna's plan. What we mean by that, it's not just a joke.

The point is that Krishna does not want us to be like programmed robots. This is my program for you to follow it. Krishna wants each one of us to be individual.

And he wants us to make individual choices. In the spiritual world, when the Gopis are cooking for Krishna, it is not that Krishna everyday gives a menu and a recipe. Cook this and cook only this way.

No. The Gopis know what Krishna likes. The Gopis see what they feel inspired to do.

And Krishna is going to surprise you. So, Krishna has not given us our individuality to take it away in the name of following some plan of his. Krishna's overall plan is more like a direction than a specific lean.

Krishna wants us to grow in spiritual wisdom, to grow in spiritual attraction, to realize the futility of material things. So, it's like if I am here and Krishna is here. So, Krishna's broad plan is that I come towards him.

But within that, whether I take this particular lean or I take this particular lean or I take which particular lean I take, that is not programmed to that extent. So, one part of that openness that is there, that also means that the inferences that we make in particular situations, they may not necessarily be exactly right. But they can be in the right direction.

It's like when we study scripture and we come up with some realization. You know, this word is correct, this word is correct, this word. And this verse can be this.

Now, did Krishna exactly intend to mean that when he spoke those words? We don't know. But if that particular analysis, that link between words, that link between verses, helps us to get a deeper appreciation for Krishna's wisdom. It is uncool for our bhakti.

If it is uncool, then it is cool. If it is pretty cool, then it is not cool. So, the idea is that there is a certain level of uncertainty.

And that's a part of bhakti. That's what makes bhakti adventures. So, we can see the curiosity.

This is what can make bhakti as an adventure for us. So, it is not anthropomorphism because we are not ascribing certainty. We are with human technology and we don't know for sure.

But we have a positive attitude towards life. That what is happening, there is some higher plan, higher purpose behind it. Thank you.

So, I think we will stop here. Thank you so much. Brahmapada ki jai.

So, we have the other book also? Yes, sir. Okay, shall we copy this? So, this is Prayers inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. There are 122 prayers in this book.

And basically, as you have seen, many devotees told me that reading one mantra before chanting has helped them to calm and centre their mind. And there are deities from various temples in India. And this is based on the first six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita, 122 prayers.

And we are having two more books like this so that we have 366 prayers for the entire Gita. There is a very accessible table of contents. So, there are prayers when we feel lonely or we feel misunderstood.

There are prayers when we feel directionless or lost in life. There are prayers when we feel as if our heart has become very dry and Krishna is far away. There are prayers when our desires are running wild and we just feel we can't control them.

So, there are prayers for various occasions. And you can read the book one by one verses or whichever prayer connects with your emotional mood, you can read that. And this is Gita for the CEO.

Nowadays, there is lot of interest in traditional wisdom systems and what they offer for today's world. From Japan, Higigaya has become popular. From Greece, Stoicism has become popular.

So, HarperCollins is one of the biggest publishers in the world. So, they wanted me to present the Gita from a contemporary leadership perspective. This is a national bestseller in India.

And I have presented this as a conversation between two people. Gita itself is a conversation. So, like some simple diagram and sketches I was doing.

Like the diagram and sketches over here. So, basically, there are ten principles from the Gita that I have taken and presented. How can we, when life knocks us down, how can we be more resilient? How can we manage our minds, emotions and stay regulated? How can we understand our own nature and how best we can contribute in our life? So, like that, there are ten practical principles.

And it is not just for CEOs. It is for anyone. Ultimately, everyone is meant to be a CEO of their own life.

So, both these books are available. And then if you want, I will be here for some time and the books will answer your further questions. Thank you very much.