Counter the inner negative conversation of doubt and desire

Youth meeting in the Middle East

So thank all of you for coming here today evening and I will speak on the topic based on the bhagavad gita about the mind specifically about directing our inner conversation directing our inner conversation what does this mean if we observe ourselves internally it means we always observe ourselves ok how do I look how are people looking at me what am I doing we observe ourselves externally in relationship with the world and if somebody speaks to us we observe not only what they are speaking but how they are speaking somebody may appreciate us but they may appreciate us in a way that is sarcastic or you are so clever or somebody may say you know two people in a relationship a girl may say to a boy you don't love me I love you so the words are saying one thing but the tone is saying something entirely different when someone is outside and from outside that person speaks something to us you know we observe what is this person saying how is this person saying it and we evaluate what is going on in this person's mind now quite often there is a voice which speaks inside us also so for example many people if they have to speak for the first time in public a survey done and it said that the fear of speaking in public ranks equal to the fear of death for many people now actually if you think about it when we are speaking in public it is not that people there are going to eat us up the audience is also on our side on our side in what sense not necessarily that the audience is going to agree with what we are saying but the audience wants us to give a good presentation they have spent their time to come and hear so what we want to say they would like us to speak it well when we make our case well then they can evaluate properly whether they agree with the case or not but if we don't make our case well itself then in a sense their time gets wasted so the audience is on our side in the sense that the audience wants us to make a good presentation but inside us there is a voice that is against us so when we go in front of others and start speaking something inside us says you are going to forget everything you are going to make a fool of yourself you are going to become a laughing stock and this voice just keeps speaking, speaking, speaking, speaking and by the effect of this voice we become weakened we become paralysed and this voice is constantly speaking so for example whenever we see someone we meet someone based on the way we have interacted with them we often form some perception about them so as soon as we see someone there is a voice inside us lazy person this person short tempered this person picky whatever it is we pass comments about them actually there is something inside us which passes comments about them and in this way inside us there is a voice which shapes our take on things now this voice is actually not our voice how can we say it is not our voice many times we do some things and then afterwards we regret it why did I do that sometimes we may just resolve I will not get angry and then somebody tells us I am not angry I am not angry now the new year is coming so many people make new resolutions and there was one survey done about the content of new year resolutions and they found that 90% of the new year resolutions are not new people had made the same resolution the previous year but they could not keep it and now again they are making the resolution so now what is it that sabotages our resolutions but then something else comes in and say if there is a plane the take off at one place tomorrow I am going from Abu Dhabi back to Mumbai so the plane takes off from Abu Dhabi and lands in Mumbai but something comes in the way and the plane lands so like that our resolutions there is a take off and there is a landing we start off I am going to do this but before we land on our destination we end up somewhere else so what is it that sabotages our resolutions that is actually the voice of the mind and there is a constant inner conversation which is going on inside us and this inner conversation is actually less of a conversation and more of a monologue conversation means two people are discussing monologue is just one person is speaking so the mind keeps speaking say tomorrow I have an exam and I have to study right now but then the mind says what if what if something comes out of the syllabus or what if something comes which you are not studying what if you forget what you are studying what if while going to the exam you have an accident what if and then instead of studying over there we end up paralysed by worry worry is the interest we pay on loans we haven't yet taken worry is the interest we pay on loans we haven't yet taken some of you like your students sometimes some students take education loans and pay it back later but if somebody is very worried I don't know how I am going to pay back my loan which is this loan when did you take it no I haven't taken it what why are you worrying about it so if we think about the situations in future they may occur they may not occur but whenever there is any uncertainty any situation where things are we don't know how they will work out so there is some voice inside us which shows us a free horror movie a free horror movie in this horror movie we are not the spectators we are the victims so we see some small thing somewhere wrong and then imagine maybe there is a small swelling on the hand what if this is a tumour what if this tumour is cancerous what if this is malignant what if this is terminal what if I have only one month oh no I have only one month what will happen just like the swelling and maybe one day the swelling goes away if we actually look back at the things that we worry about we will find that more than 95% of the things that we worry about they never actually exist yes we do need to prepare for the future but there is a big difference between preparing for the future and worrying about the future in worrying about the future basically there is this dystopian voice most of you have heard of the word utopia utopia means unrealistic positive world or wonderful future the opposite of utopia is dystopia dystopia means everything will go wrong this will go wrong that will go wrong so this dystopian voice when it starts speaking from within then it completely disempowers us and when this happens the problem which may not even be a problem we start making it a big in fact there is a problem called delusional paracetamosis actually what does this mean there are people who imagine that there is a parasite inside their body this is a real life case from India there is a woman who thought there is a frog inside my belly and she will go to the doctor and say doctor I can feel it this frog is moving around in my stomach please do something doctor will say no there is no frog stay inside the body no no I can feel the frog doctor will do sonography there is nothing there no you don't understand you didn't detect properly there is a frog there I can feel it she went to one doctor, two doctors, three doctors a dozen doctors she went and all the doctors said there is nothing there when she went to thirteen doctors and she told all those doctors I had gone to all these doctors so the doctor understood this problem is not physical it is mental so he decided to play her game and then he did a test actually you are right there is a frog inside and we will have to do surgery to remove it doctor thank you, when can you do it whenever you want, do it right away we will have to give anaesthesia and then they gave her anaesthesia and he did a small nominal incision on her belly and then he told her nurse to go and get a frog from the nearby lake now after she came back to consciousness he told her the doctor told her see this is the frog oh thank you doctor you saved my life now I am feeling so peaceful and she went away profusely grateful and all the doctors and the medical staff thought its a very good solution the patient is happy and the problem is solved and a fortnight later she came back again frantic with anxiety doctor doctor the frog had babies this is delusional paracetamol its a delusion there is no parasite in the body but its a delusion so the mind is such a thing that once it latches on to some idea like a crocodile may catch on to a prey doesn't let go, the mind is like that so this mind is something which is constantly speaking within us and if we don't understand that this is actually something different from me this is speaking to me the mind becomes like our inner critic, it becomes like our inner pessimist it becomes our inner enemy and this the mind is speaking and if we simply passively hear it sometimes we may fail in life, we may give an exam we may give an interview we may try a relationship and it fails and then what happens? and that happens the mind transmits failure from an event into a person into a personality trait it is not okay, I failed in this but instead of that you are a failure you are good for nothing, you will never be able to do anything you are fragile you are lost so when all this voice is going on inside it is speaking and if we don't counter it then we get paralysed we get disempowered so constantly there is a voice speaking inside us sometimes it speaks loudly sometimes it just whispers sometimes it may allow us to do our things also sometimes it can completely lock us up now why is this voice there inside us? what made this voice? actually the mind is essentially shaped by our own patterns of thinking and living the mind is like a software programme if we consider body, mind, soul, our existence is three dimensional, there is a body, mind and soul the body is like the hardware the mind is like the software and the soul, who we really are that is the user so now these three are levels at which we exist, there is a body, the mind and the soul and if I am using a particular software so say if I go on Google and I visit a particular site regularly say I go to Kalki read the news if I keep reading it repeatedly if I keep going to Kalki news and after sometime either my browser or Google they figure it out and as soon as I type G and auto complete now I may want to read something on the Guardian but I may type G, immediately I type U, still Kalki news comes I type A, still something keeps coming so I should type the full thing if I am not alert, I just type D, G, U and immediately I may go to Kalki news so why is it going to Kalki news that is the way I have functioned in the past so the software nowadays many softwares have learning modules inside them, they learn the behaviour of the user and they customise themselves so our mind catches our behaviour the way we have acted in the past based on that our mind's patterns are shaped if we have surrounded ourselves with pessimistic people people who always find faults then the mind internalises that one of my main services is writing so I read about writing and how writing actually reveals a lot about human psychology so in Wisconsin University I was just there last month in Wisconsin also so at that time a study was done there was a group of humanities students and they wanted to they were in writing they were in a course where they wanted to learn writing so the boys, they formed a group and they said we all want to improve our writing so whatever we write we'll form a group of 10-15 students and whatever we write others will point out faults in that, based on that we'll learn how to improve now when the girls came to know that there was a group like this they decided we'll also form a group but the girls said we want to show we are different so we'll do the opposite of that so whatever we write, we'll point out the good in that boys are pointing out the faults we'll point out the good and then the survey they followed them 15 years down the line and among the boys when they they found that not one of that group of 15 had become a professional writer and remaining 10 of them they were below average writers and for the last 3 whenever they had to write anything more than just a simple message they would feel fearful so what had happened was, the continuous finding of faults by others, that had so crippled them that as soon as they would start writing, they would think something may be wrong here something may be wrong here and they just practically stopped writing and then among the girls, they had made a resolution that whatever is written we'll find the good in it and out of those 15 girls 5 had become published and professional writers and the remaining 10 were known to be good writers among their social circles although they were not professional writers but they were known to be articulate writers so what happened over here it's not that the girls were more talented than the boys it's just that there was a conducive environment there was an encouraging environment so we all need encouragement and if there is some person among us who is always discouraging us whatever we do this person always finds some faults then we find that person in the society discouraging and we keep away from that person the mind is like that always fault finding person but the problem is because the mind is inside us we can't speak we can't go away from it so what we need to do the mind, we can't silence it it's going to speak but rather than letting it have a monopoly on our inner conversation it's speaking and we are hearing it is speaking and we are hearing we need to break its monopoly when the mind starts speaking something we need to counter we need to first of all evaluate what is the mind saying sometimes it may be right see the mind is not always bad sometimes the mind can give good ideas also but those ideas need to be evaluated it's like somebody comes and gives us some feedback now we will evaluate it doesn't really make sense it's negative feedback naturally we feel hurt but then we will evaluate maybe this person is coming from this background maybe this person is irritable today and that's why they spoke like this but this person makes sense we can take feedback but we need to evaluate it so same way whenever voice starts speaking inside us we have to understand that just because some voice is there inside me that does not mean it is my voice just like to understand this point sometimes if we are visiting some website to read some page at that time some window may pop up over there the window pops up just because that link has popped up over there that does not and it has popped up on our computer but that does not mean that it is our desire to go and read that page it has come up on our computer it has come while I was reading something but that does not necessarily mean it is what I want to read so I evaluate this link has popped up do I really want to read it? I evaluate it and then I decide I will give you another example nowadays on whatsapp people share a lot of stuff so if somebody sends us a link now it is not that as soon as we send the link immediately we will click on it and read it we will evaluate who is this person who sent this link we will look at the link but we will also look at the sender of the link we will think ok what kind of messages does this person send some people just almost like spam others just keep sending messages keep sending messages now if we know that this person does not send very serious messages then we decide not to read but if you know somebody is thoughtful and they send really useful stuff then we will read it so just as we do not uncritically click on any link that is sent to us or that pops up even if it is on our phone or our computer but we evaluate so what we do to our device we need to do with our mind also just because some thought pops up in our mind just because some some voice says something in our mind that does not necessarily mean we have to follow look at the mind before you look with the mind look at the mind that means when some voice starts coming in look there think of it like that look at the mind doesn't really make sense yeah in every situation there are dangers things can go wrong but if you only start thinking about all that can go wrong in worrying about what all can go wrong we go wrong because if I am thinking about all that can go wrong how will I ever be able to do anything right so now earlier I said there is a difference between worrying about the future and preparing for the future what is the difference between the two the difference is primarily that who is in control of our inner conversation when I am worrying about the future the mind is simply showing me a horror movie and when I think like that then the more I think this can also go wrong the more we feel fearful, the more we feel powerless the more we become overwhelmed actually this is what happened to Arjuna at the start of the Gita his mind started showing him your grandfather may die your teacher may die and they will not just die, you will kill them this will happen, that will happen and if all the people in the society die all the leaders of the society die who will protect the vulnerable sections of the society they will all be destroyed they will all be polluted you will be the cause of it all and therefore you will go to hell and Arjuna said I can't fight, I can't vishrujya sasaram chaapam shokasam vignamanasaham shokasam vignamanasaham see that last verse in the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita 1.46 it is very symbolic, what does Arjuna do vishrujya puts aside, sasaram chaapam he puts aside his bow and arrow shokasam vignamanasaham 1.46, he says my mind is filled with shock with grief, with lamentation then in 2.10 he says nayot seti govindam uptvatu shri babho aham nayot seti govindam I cannot fight a govinda inside so the Bhagavad Gita is a historical book it describes a historical event that happened thousands of years ago along with that the Bhagavad Gita is also symbolic Arjuna's Gandiva bow represents our determination in the battle of life we all need determination to fight to march forward to take on whatever challenges we are facing in our life but when we let our mind monopolise our conversation this will go wrong then he says Arjuna put aside his bow he put aside his bow I can't do this sometimes especially in sports sometimes when a big match is there, so for example in cricket there is a team which is called as the chokers whenever big matches come up although the team is well defended but whenever big matches come up they always collapse under pressure even from a winning situation they end up losing so they are creative losers creatively they find out because their mind sabotages them and they end up losing so like that in our case also if the mind dominates our inner conversation we will lose our determination we will lose our confidence and just like Arjuna gave up the bow even before starting the war sometimes if a war is fought fiercely and then a warrior understands that I can't win then they may put their hands up put down your guns so they may put down their weapons at the end when they realise that I can't win but in the case of Arjuna he put down his bow even before the war started so the mind can make us lose the war even before the war begins now what happened at the end of the Bhagavad Gita the last verse of the Bhagavad Gita 18.78 is so it is said Arjuna he is it is not just a generic describer of Arjuna who carries the bow Sanjay is conveying that Arjuna has now picked up the bow the same bow which he had put down at the start of the Gita he picks it up at the end of the Gita and it is before that five verses earlier 18.78 and 18.73 he states he says that actually my doubt and illusion is all gone I am now firmly situated and I will do your will I will do your will so that means Arjuna has become determined so the Bhagavad Gita changed the direction of Arjuna's inner conversation whereas at the start of the Gita not only had the upper hand the mind had practically knocked down Arjuna Arjuna put aside his bow I can't fight but by the end of the Bhagavad Gita the odds had reversed Arjuna had got the upper hand he said I will fight so he actually won the inner conversation now the inner discussion that was going on he got the upper hand and if you look at the Bhagavad Gita it is spoken on a war field but after describing the setting say the first chapter and then to some extent in the eleventh chapter when Krishna describes the Vishwaroopa apart from these two chapters the Bhagavad Gita hardly ever refers to the war normally if two warriors are discussing before a war then normally you would expect them to discuss about the war, discuss about war strategies discuss about the enemies and how to defeat which enemy but there is no such discussion at all no war strategies are mentioned and several times when Krishna talks about a war, Krishna talks about enemies he doesn't talk about outrings in 3.36 Krishna tells Arjuna, know this to be your enemy and what is it? it is lust, it is anger lust refers to sexual desire it refers to selfish desire in general of any kind so Krishna is saying this is your enemy so what this means is that it is on the war field but Krishna is not pointing to say Karuna or Duryodhana and saying they are your enemies, Krishna is saying this is your own selfish desires, your own lower desires they are your enemies in just one chapter later this was 3.36 in 4.42 Krishna tells Arjuna to rise and to fight Tasmatam Tishtam Tasmatam Tishtam therefore Arjuna you should rise and what does he tell? how should you rise? he says that Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam Tasmatam with this war of knowledge you fight what should you do? Tasmatam that with the enemy of doubt which is situated in your heart Tasmatam Tasmatam so basically there are two inner enemies one is doubt and the other is desire. So I talked elaborately about doubt.

Doubt means this will go wrong, that will go wrong, that will go wrong. This is one enemy. So when we are worrying and when we are preparing.

In worrying the mind is in control and the mind just this will go wrong, this will go wrong and we end up feeling disempowered. But when we are preparing for the future at that time we are in control. Means we consciously direct our thoughts.

Okay if this happens what can I do? If this happens one, two, three. This is what I can do, this is what I can do, this is what I can do. If this happens I can do this, I can do this.

If this happens I can try this, I can try this, I can try this. So basically when we prepare for the future we are in control and we consciously take our thoughts towards the future and analyse possible scenarios and prepare for the new thing. So when we do this then we actually feel more confident.

When we worry we feel less and less confident. When we prepare that means we are in control, we are in charge of our inner conversation. The mind says hey you know this can happen.

Yes okay if that happens what can we do? If this happens one, two, three I can try this. What if this happens? If we are not in charge of the inner conversation the mind says what if this happens? Hey if this happens this can happen, that can happen and everything will be lost. So we need to take charge of our inner conversation.

One inner disempowerer is doubt. The other is desire. As Krishna talks about Arjuna you have to fight and defeat the enemy of doubt and he also says fight and defeat the enemy of desire.

Now what do we mean by desire or desire as an enemy? Desire is actually the characteristic of the living condition. To be alive means to have desires. We actually have desires.

So and the more develop the consciousness the more evolve the desires. A small blade of grass exists and its only desire practically is to just grow and grow in this one vertical level. I just want to become a toddler, little toddler.

That's all. It's just not capable of any other desires but we can have so many desires. However the problem is that many of our desires are not our desires.

They are desires that have been planted in us by others with vested interests. Others who want to exploit us, who want to manipulate us they plant desires inside us and such desires are our enemies. So when we talk about dealing with fighting with the enemy of desire that doesn't mean rejection of desire.

It means selection of desire. We have to select which desire is important and focus on that. Which desire really matters for us but often there's a lot of desires which are imposed in us.

In the 1930s, early 1930s, the cigarette companies found that their market had more or less reached a plateau because all the young men who had enough money to smoke they were already smoking and this was America primarily and at that time the harmful effects of smoking were not so much known. So it was a glamorous thing to do and many people, many young people were smoking and then they felt that okay if everybody who has the money to buy a cigarette and smoke a smoke, how will we expand our market? At that time they got an idea. Actually we are not at 50% of the market.

Why? Women don't smoke. How can you get women to smoke? And then in the 1929 Independence Day parade that they had on the Broadway in America they got some of the most popular female icons of that time. Got all of them special customised thin cigarettes made for them and at the most visible points in that march we got all of them very stylishly, flip out a cigarette, light it and start smoking.

And all the photographs were clicking. TV was just in the scene. Shooting was happening.

TV was just in the budding stage at that time and they asked, what are you doing? All these icons were paid to give identical answers. We are lighting the torches of freedom. We are lighting the torches of freedom.

Now at that time the idea was so much there that oh women have been, women have been exploited, women have been suppressed for so long and now women are resulting their rights. They are becoming free. So when they just associated the idea of smoking with the imagery of freedom, then literally thousands of women started smoking and as they swept away by this desire, by this propaganda, practically no one asked the question, how does smoking lead to freedom? How is lighting a smoke, lighting a cigarette, actually lighting a torch of freedom? So this question was not asked because that is the power of desire.

It is not just about women. Men are also equally vulnerable. Everybody is vulnerable actually.

Once the desires come in, desires can drag us away and when desires like this are planted inside us. There was one advertiser and he was a professional advertiser. He could just make campaigns and he just manipulated people for several decades and finally he had an attack of conscience.

He felt, no, I am not doing the right thing. So then he wrote a book about how the advertising industry works and he wrote a book, you know, Trust Me, I Am Lying. The title of the book is Trust Me, I Am Lying.

That means when advertisements come, at the back of our mind we do know, you know, these people are not my well-wishers. These are not the people who want to do some good to me. But still the way they present it is such that we get carried away.

So quite often we find our consciousness crowded with so many desires. I want this, I want that, I want that, I want that. We want so many things that if we evaluate those things, today I may say, I want this, you know, okay, I want this maybe new dress, I want this new mobile, I want this new thing.

And if you look at it after 2-3 months, you know, somebody will say, you got this new mobile? Yeah, I got this new mobile, I forgot about it also. That thing which forgot means, no, I forgot that this was new. It just became family.

So Oscar Wilde said that fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to change it every 6 months. What is fashionable today, after a few months, it not only doesn't stay fashionable, it becomes old fashion. And for a person who wants to be fashionable, there is no insult more painful than old fashion.

You wear old fashion stuff. Old fashion, no. Same stuff which is perfectly wearable, it becomes untouchable.

Because we are driven by fashions. So if you look at our desires, many of our desires are actually impositions from outside. Impositions from outside.

And such desires, what to speak of spiritually, even materially, we cannot do things which are important for us if we let stray desires dominate our consciousness. So we need to combat such desires. So the mind says, you know, I want this, you know, I want this new phone, I want this new thing, I want this new thing, I want, I want, I want, I want.

Say, yes, I want it. And then just go around, get to a lot of trouble to get it. See sometimes there are small children, children they start crying, I want this toy, I want this toy, I want this toy.

And then, suppose the toy is very expensive, and the father says, no, you can't afford it. No, I want it, I want it, I want it, they cry. Maybe the father decides okay or the mother decides maybe I'll sell this or I'll take a loan or make some arrangement and get the toy.

And the child gets the toy. Oh, thank you. So happy.

But the child plays with the toy for a few days and afterwards, the child says, I want that toy now. So what happens that the child doesn't understand. Okay, it says, I want this.

But after some time, I want something else. So the mind is like a child. We all have this child.

We may have grown up biologically, but psychologically, that child is still there. The child is there inside us. There is a mind and it gets infatuated.

I want this. I want that. I want that.

And in this way, the desires that we have, they often distract us from that which is important for us. So it's not that we have to give up all desires, but we can't let ourselves get carried away by any and every desire. So when the mind dominates our inner conversation, then it just says, I want this.

I want this. I want it now. Okay, we'll get it.

So we just get carried away in getting this and getting that, and chasing this and chasing that. And that which is important for us is left inside. So how do we change the direction of our inner conversation? Instead of the mind speaking and dominating that conversation, how can we direct that conversation? For that, the first thing is knowledge.

We need to understand that there is something inside me which you can actually mislead. That's why when we study the Bhagavad Gita, it is not just a religious book. Studying is a good thing to do.

Yes, it is a good thing to do, but it's not just a culturally good thing to do. It's actually good for our own inner empowerment. When we study the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita is like a torchlight for our inner territory.

For our inner territory, the Bhagavad Gita acts like a torchlight. Now suppose, say there's a door over there, and everything is dark. Then who is coming in can't leak out.

Now if we hear the door creaking open, or we hear somebody's footsteps over there, we'll become suspenseful. Who's coming up? We'll become a little worried. But if the light is there on, then we'll say, Wow, that's a friend.

Welcome. This looks suspicious. Let me get out.

Let me just close the door. So, what happens is, when our inner territory is dark, we just don't, we can't figure out whether, okay, this thought has come in me, this desire has come in me, whether it is good or whether it is bad. And not being able to evaluate that way, so the Bhagavad Gita is like a torchlight for our inner territory.

sarva-dvāreṣu deheṣu prakāśyam upajāvit jñānaṁ yadādadā vidyā janma-dhaṁ sattva-guṇa The Bhagavad Gita takes us to a higher level of consciousness, to a sattva-guṇa, where we can evaluate what are the kind of ideas, what are the kind of thoughts, what are the kind of desires that are coming inside us. And then we can decide whether they are beneficial for us or whether they are harmful for us. So studying the Bhagavad Gita will help us at least understand that there is this mind inside me and the mind can harm me.

Or just understanding that the mind is there alone is not enough. After we understand the spiritual knowledge, the spiritual knowledge has to be applied. So I'll again talk about those two things, the doubt and the desire, and how to change the inner conversation with respect to doubt and with respect to desire.

And with that I'll continue. So with respect to doubts, this can go wrong, that can go wrong, this may happen, that may happen. So we have to understand that actually many things can go wrong in life, but there's one thing that will never go wrong, and that is Krishna is always in control and Krishna is always our well-wisher.

Krishna is always in control and Krishna is always our well-wisher. These two things are never going to change, they are always going to be there. So no matter, in future, I may have a small problem right now and this problem is solved, but there is a problem and the problem solver should not become a problem.

The problem solver should not become a problem means what? Say suppose I'm going on a road and a snake comes and bites me. I become, you snake, how dare you bit me? I am going to… and the snake is slithering away and I run after the snake, find the snake. Well, I may beat the snake, I may kill the snake also.

But in that process, what is happening? The poison is circulating all over my body and I kill myself. So in this case, my reaction to the problem is actually a bigger problem. My reaction to the problem is making the problem worse.

Worse than what it means to me. So what happens when we study the Bhagavad Gita, when we practise the process of bhakti, then we understand that Krishna is in control. Okay, this problem is there, even if this problem becomes bigger, Krishna is my well-wisher, Krishna will guide me.

So we don't overreact. We don't have knee-jerk reactions. Stay calm.

Let me calm down. What is the best way I can act now? What is the best way I can act now? So if we have this calmness within, the problem is there if we can react, we can intelligently deal with the problem. Not impulsively overreact and make the problem worse.

So the practise of bhakti yoga, especially when we chant the holy names, when we come to the temple, again, these are not just cultural activities. These are spiritual activities which are meant to increase our spiritual awareness. So then whenever things start going wrong, remember this, Krishna is in control.

Krishna is in control. Krishna will take care. Krishna will do his part.

Let me do my part. The same situation, if, say, I have a problem, tomorrow I have an exam, and I don't know, what if I forget in the exam? What if something which I have not studied comes in the exam? All those possibilities are there. See, in every situation that we are in, there is something which is in our control, and there is a lot that is not in our control.

By focussing on that which is not in our control, we subject ourselves to anxiety. By focussing on that which is in our control, we bring intensity. Same situation.

If I think, okay, tomorrow is my exam, that means I have 12 hours now. So let me do my best in these 12 hours. Whatever I have studied, let me revise.

Let me prepare properly. So then, that thought, focussing on that which is in our control, that will bring intensity. Now, how can I focus on that which is in my control? I will be worried, what about the things which are out of my control? What will happen to that? That is where our bhakti comes into the picture.

We understand. Normally, if we are not spiritual, if we are simply materially minded, then for us, there are only two situations, or two possibilities. Things are in my control or things are out of my control.

Things are in control or things are out of control. But bhakti introduces to a third dynamic. Yes, things may not be in my control, but that does not mean they are out of control.

Things may not be in my control, but they are not out of control because they are in Krishna's control. So, that which is not in my control, is in Krishna's control. He will take care of that.

Let me focus on that which is in my control. So, whenever doubts start paralysing us, then our conversation starts, this can go wrong, that can go wrong, this is not going to work, this is not going to work. Okay, what can work right now? What can I do right now? If I focus on that, no matter how dark the situation is, there is always something that I can do.

Let me do one thing, one thing, one thing. And we take one step forward, one step forward, one step forward, we move on. So, if you understand that actually I am a soul, I am a part of God, I am a servant of God, I am meant to serve Krishna.

In this situation, if I think I need to be successful, and there are so many problems, I can't be successful, oh, it's useless. But if I think I am a servant, and I am meant to serve Krishna, I will serve now. Let me take one step forward, take one more step forward.

If we think that my self-identity and my self-worth and my self-esteem depends on whether I succeed or not, then if I feel I can't succeed, I will become overwhelmed. But if I understand I am a soul, I am part of Krishna, if my sense of self-worth comes from my spiritual knowledge, whatever happens in life, Krishna is still with me, Krishna still loves me, Krishna still will be by my side always. If our sense of self-worth and our self-identity, our inner security comes from our spiritual knowledge, from our spiritual realisation, then we will be able to focus on what can I do now to serve? What is the practical thing I can do in this situation? Instead of worrying this may go wrong, that may go wrong, what can I do now? And that way, we will be able to take steps forward, take tangible steps forward towards improving whatever worrisome situation there might be.

Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, mat-chittah sarva-durgaani mat-prasadah tarishasi mat-chittah, become conscious of me. By this what will happen? sarva-durgaani, all problems. mat-prasadah tarishasi By my mercy, you will be able to cross over all problems.

So essentially Krishna is telling, we do our part, we become conscious. Krishna is in control, I am in control. Then this negative voice that is there, this can go wrong, that can go wrong.

All those things, when they come, I will take care. What can I do right now? Let me do it right now. This way we can take charge of our inner conversation.

When the inner conversation starts going in the direction of doubts, when the other is desires, I want this, I want this, I want this, I want this. So when the inner conversation starts getting dominated by certain desires, at that time, how do we deal with it? Okay, instead of saying I want it, we can turn the question around, turn the question around. If I get it, what will happen? Now I, okay, you know, I want this thing, I want this phone.

Okay, if I get this phone, what will happen? I'll be so happy, I'll show everyone, I got this phone. Okay, what after that? Okay, what after that? What after that? I saw an advertisement once, there's about a car, a young man was driving a car, and a brand new car, and there's a young good looking girl looking at him, admiringly, with big eyes, and the background, there's another young man looking enviously, glaring at him, and the advertisement was, buy this car, and enjoy the envy in your neighbour's eyes. Now, what a pathetic standard of enjoyment, isn't it? It's not even buy this car and enjoy this car, it is buy this car and enjoy the envy in your neighbour's eyes.

So, that means, if I buy this car and there's no envy in my neighbour's eyes, there's no enjoyment. If I buy the car, and I find that my neighbour has bought a better car, then there's no enjoyment, there's misery, actually. Rather than my neighbour will enjoy the envy in my eyes.

So, it's such a pathetic level of enjoyment. So, when the mind starts getting excited, because I want this, I want this, I want this, then we can turn around, okay, imagine you got this, what will happen by that? How much of a difference is this going to make in my life? Now, when we turn the situation around and envision, okay, my desire is fulfilled, what will happen by that? We will realise, if we turn that around and envision the fulfilment of the desire, we'll be able to evaluate whether this desire really matters for me. If we look back at the similar desires in our life, many desires have been fulfilled, many are unfulfilled, but many desires have been fulfilled.

Sometimes you say, how much difference did it make? I mean, I thought, oh, you know, a child thinks I want to get this toy, and the child gets the toy, and after some time the child forgets the toy. So, like that, we also often have a lot of desires, but if we evaluate, this desire, I got it, but afterwards, what? No big deal. No big deal.

Actually, Prabhupada writes in Manaparpur that in material enjoyment, most of the enjoyment is in the anticipation of the enjoyment. Anticipation of the enjoyment. I'll get it.

I'll get it. I'm going to get it. I'm going to get it.

I'm going to get it. I'm so excited about it. But after we get it, okay, we start looking for something else.

It doesn't live up to the hype. So, if we evaluate this way, then we will be able to find out what is really important for us. Now, there are definitely things which are important.

We're not saying that all desires have to be given up. But we have to evaluate our desires to find out which desire is important for us. Now, actually speaking, this kind of evaluation already happens because we are limited beings.

We are finite beings and we cannot fulfil all our desires. So, automatically, there is a processing of our desire that happens. But when we don't consciously do it, then it happens unwittingly.

It happens unconsciously. That means that, say, if there is a multiple choice exam. Now, is it likely that just because among the multiple choice, there is one choice that is given first.

Just because it is coming first, does that necessarily mean that is the right choice? No correlation, actually. The first can be the right choice. The last cannot be the right choice.

The rightness of the choice does not depend on its location. The rightness of the choice depends on its content. That's common sense, isn't it? But unfortunately, when it comes to our desires, whichever desire comes first in our mind, quite often we give priority to that.

This desire has come first. Or this desire is speaking the loudest. I want this, I want this, I want this, I want this.

But just because the desire is speaking the loudest, just the loudest desire is not necessarily the best desire. So we have to evaluate which is my most important desire. Which is my best desire? So for example, say somebody has some musical ability.

And they can practise, they can train, and they can become a good musician. But then they may also have a desire. I want to watch this movie.

I want to watch this, I want to see this sports match. Or I want to do this, I want to eat this, I want to go here, I want to go there. Now, if we consider even in the material field, any person who becomes successful, they prioritise.

If I want to become a good musician, that desire is there within me. But along with that, I have a desire to watch this movie, to see this site, to visit this shopping mall, to go here, go there. Now all those desires, if we act on them, then this desire gets lost in the process.

So even to be materially successful, we have to select our desires. And selecting our desires means to put aside desires that are not important for us. So bhakti, bhakti wisdom tells us that actually what we are is God's gift to us.

What we become is our gift to God. What we are is God's gift to us. We are, we have certain interests, we have certain talents, we have certain abilities.

These are God's gift to us. But talent alone is not enough. Now talent, the journey from talent, say this is talent and this is achievement.

The journey from talent to achievement, the bridge from talent to achievement is built on temperament. The bridge from talent to achievement is built on temperament. So if a person doesn't have the right temperament, some people may be very talented, but if they don't focus, if they don't practise, if they don't develop their talent, they may not be able to achieve anything.

And fourth, the temperament means, temperament essentially means one keeps small things small. If I say in a cricket match, some batsman is a very talented batsman. But sometimes in cricket, sometimes a player starts sledging, you know, they start speaking something and irritate the batsman.

And this batsman gets irritated and he makes a wild swing. I'll show you, I can hit a sixer. He makes a wild swing and instead of hitting a sixer, he gets killed.

So what happened? Here, there might be talent to hit a sixer, but if the temperament is not right, then there is no achievement. So essentially, temperament can have many aspects, but one important aspect of temperament is the capacity to keep small things small. And this applies to our desires also.

Let's say we have a big desire, something really important for us. If we are going to fulfil that, for that, we have to keep small things small. Other desires, we have smaller desires.

They are not important. It's not that I'm depriving myself, but rather, by getting into this, I'm depriving myself of something good. So when desires start coming in our mind, quite often, we'll get dissatisfied if we entertain those desires too much.

So we have to decide what is important for us. And again, the Bhagavad Gita's wisdom helps us to recognise what is truly important for us. The Bhagavad Gita didn't tell Arjuna that, oh, you know, you have to renounce everything.

You have to give up everything. Krishna tells Arjuna and Bhagavad Gita that you have to fight. Win the war.

Fight, oh Arjuna. By my arrangement, victory is guaranteed for you. Your enemies are defeated.

Fight and win. But, it is you who have to fight, oh Arjuna. So like that, for us also, if we try to strive with determination, we can achieve wonderful things.

But we can't achieve wonderful things if we don't focus on the important things. So the process of purification, when we chant Hare Krishna and practise Bhakti, we become purified. What does purification mean? Purification means we are able to put aside lower desires so that we can focus on our higher desires.

And this will actually help us to bring out the best in us. The process of Bhakti, there are so many rules. You may feel, hey, can't do this, can't do that, can't do that.

You may think this is too restrictive. But actually, the rules in Bhakti are not meant to restrict us. They are meant to help us become free from the smaller desires so that our best desires can come out.

So if you only focus on, oh, you can't do this, I can't do that, I can't do that. But actually, if you think about it, okay, the thing which I can't do, how important are they for me? How much of a difference is it going to make for me if I'm able to do this or not? We find, as far as the important things in our life are concerned, we will be able to do them better by being freed from the distractions. The process of Bhakti Yoga enables us to focus on the important things in life and bring out the best in us.

So the temperament that is needed for converting talent into achievement, that temperament is developed when we practise Bhakti diligently. Because by the practise of Bhakti, we are able to clearly understand what is important and what is not so important. And thus, we can progress towards achieving what is important in our lives.

Just as Arjuna, at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, he picked up his bow, he fought, and he won the war. Same way, we all have to fight wars in our life. But when we understand the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, we also become empowered, we become determined.

Whatever wars we are fighting, we can march and be victorious in those wars. I'll summarise, then we can have a few question-answers. I spoke about how we need to direct our inner conversations.

Another connection, I spoke about how there is a voice inside us which is always discouraging us, sabotaging us. And this voice sabotages us in two ways. One is through desire and the other is through doubt.

With respect to doubt, we may have a problem and the mind makes a big mountain. It shows a free horror movie. And we become paralysed.

So worry is the interest we pay on loans we haven't yet taken. And to give the example of delusional parasitomosis, all these women started thinking that there is a frog inside me. So how does this happen? What is this inner voice which always talks negative? That is actually the voice of our own mind.

So the mind is like the software that is the interface between the body which is the hardware and the soul which is the user. So the software gets programmed by the way it is used repeatedly. So the software can have default settings or it can learn and make certain settings as default settings.

So like that, based on the way we have thought and lived, the mind acquires certain patterns. Take an example of the writers of the Wisconsin University that the boys who were all, this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong in your writing. They just couldn't write.

The girls who decided, you see, this is good, this is good, this is good. They were encouraging, they became good writers. So there is this inner critic which will, when somebody from outside criticises us, we feel hurt but we evaluate that criticism.

But when the mind criticises us from inside, then because it's inside, we think it's our voice and we accept it and we become disheartened. So Arjuna, he became disheartened in the start of the Bhagavad Gita because his mind showed him a horror movie. Just put aside the force, I can't fight.

Like that, if we let the mind dominate our inner conversations, we will also become overwhelmed. We will become disheartened in the battle of life. So Krishna tells Arjuna, by the message of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna picks up his bow and becomes ready to fight.

Similarly, the Gita's message can change the direction of our inner conversation, give us confidence to fight the battles of life. Although the Gita is spoken on a war field, it doesn't talk about the outer enemies. It talks about the inner enemies.

The enemy of desire and the enemy of doubt. So how is desire an enemy? There are so many superficial desires that are planted inside us. And we become mad, I want this, I want that, I want that.

But then when we get it, it's not all that important. Passion is a form of ugliness, so intolerable that we can't, we have to change it every six months. Talking about the torches of freedom, women were caught into, women were induced to smoke.

Like a toy, child holds a toy, it's crazy for that toy, but after gets it, forgets it. Like that our mind is like a child. So we don't have to, the mind says I want it, I want it, I want it.

We don't have to become like a child and start chasing it. It's not rejection of desire, it's selection of desire. And how does bhakti help us to change the inner conversation? That is when the mind starts giving doubts and worries, then we understand that, okay, things can go wrong, but the two things will never go wrong.

Krishna is always in control and Krishna is always my condition. So Krishna will take care of that which is not in my control. Let me focus on that which is in my control.

The same situation which could have given us anxiety will give us intensity. And that way we can move confidently towards whatever we are trying to do in life without giving in to the negativity of the inner conversation. And the other is with respect to desires.

If we keep saying yes to small desire, we unwittingly say no to the big desires, the important things first. Because we are finite beings, we can only do so much. So just as the first alternative in a multiple choice exam is not necessarily the right one, just as in a class, the one who speaks the loudest is not necessarily the right person.

So similarly, just because some desire comes first or comes loudly in our mind, that does not mean it is necessarily the important desire. Now to evaluate whether desire is important and turn around, I want it, I want it, mind is saying, you can tell, okay, if you get it, what is going to happen to that? How much of a difference will it make in our life? By evaluating that way, we can understand how important that desire is for us. And then what we are is God's gift to us.

What we become is our gift to God. So we have talents, we need to transform them into achievements. For that we need the bridge of temperament.

Temperament can be many things. One important thing is to keep small things small, to not let small desires come in the way of our big desires. So when we start practising bhakti, because the knowledge of bhakti, the practise of bhakti becomes like an inner torch.

And it helps us to understand what is truly important for us. And then we can focus and achieve wonderful things in our life. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna. Does anyone have any questions? Yes, please. Like you said, we have to evaluate our desire.

Most of the time it happens before we evaluate our desire. Okay. So we have to evaluate our desire.

But most of the times, before we evaluate our desire, we are already indulged in it. So what to do? Yes, there are certain things which are becoming great within us. So basically when we talk about habit, there is a habit, there is an addiction.

How does a habit become an addiction? What do we mean basically? See, there is stimulus, there is a response. And there is a gap between the stimulus and the response. That means, say, somebody puts a plate of sweet rice in front of me.

And then I take a bite. Hey, I decided I'm not going to eat sweets. So what happened? The stimulus and the response, there is practically no thought also in between.

That means it has become a very strong habit for us. So now the whole process, the room for willpower is primarily the distance between the stimulus and the response. So the lesser the distance between the two, the lesser is the room for our willpower.

Now, if something has become an instinctive response for us, when we don't even consider, as soon as something comes in front of us, immediately we do it. So then we can do two things about it. First is, try to minimise the exposure to the stimulus.

So, for example, if somebody has become an alcoholic, and then they are trying to recover from their alcoholism, the first thing they are told is, don't go to bars. Don't go to places where you are going to meet people who are going to sit and drink. So that is, because once the stimulus comes, the response becomes like that.

So then, go to the stimulus. That is a physical restraint. That is not the solution to the problem.

But that is the necessary first step to the solution. If somebody is habituated to surfing on all kinds of undesirable stuff on the net, then a step could be, just have a net filter, which filters out undesirable content. So we have to find out how we can create an obstacle between us and the stimulus.

We can't create a permanent obstacle. We can't remove the stimulus entirely. We live in a world where so many stimuli will come.

But even a small obstacle between us and the stimulus, that can help us in not succumbing immediately. Say somebody has a habit of overeating. Then, one thing that we are told is, don't keep food in close proximity.

Or don't keep fatty food in close proximity. So the urge to eat comes, and then, if I have to eat, or I have to go somewhere, get it. These simple practical steps we can take to minimise the exposure to the stimulus.

Or at least, to make the access to the stimulus a little more difficult for us. That's the first thing. Second thing is, that whenever the desire starts coming, at that time, we try to have some positive spiritual stimulus readily accessible for us.

Among bhakti also there are many stimuli. But some stimuli we might be easily able to connect with. For example, say we like some peer tans.

We like some special darshan. Or we like some quotes from some classes. So keep those things readily accessible.

So when the mind starts getting agitated, we want this. So the mind is going in a particular direction. That means even if the stimulus is not available, the sensual stimulus, the material stimulus is not available, the mind will go towards that stimulus, make us go towards that stimulus.

So at that time, basically the mind agitates us by making us feel that this will give you pleasure, and not having this is causing you so much suffering. But if at that time, we give the mind access to some source of highest pleasure. So we just have some nice sweet kirtan dhun going on.

Just start it immediately. This is so nice. I want pleasure.

Pleasure is available. Why do I need to go there? So that way, by blocking access to worldly stimuli and increasing access to our devotional stimuli, we can actually help ourselves create a greater gap between impulse and response, between stimulus and response. And that way, we can gradually create more and more room for our willpower.

And as we become more and more purified, then we'll be able to resist and reject those desires. Did I answer your question? Very good. Any other questions? Yes.

I have a question. Yes. What was your question? Does it apply to desire? Okay.

I got the question. See the first, when I said the first alternative did not be the best alternative. But sometimes, when we are doing something, sometimes the first thought may well be the best thought.

Otherwise, if we start second-guessing ourselves, and then we become paralysed. Maybe this, maybe that, maybe that. So, how do we understand this? As a writer, I can tell from my experience that in every writer, there is a creative side and there is a critical side.

The creative side comes up with ideas. Maybe we can write on this. Maybe we can do this.

Maybe we can do that. And there is a critical side. This doesn't make sense.

This is not very good. So, now actually, we need both sides. A writer who has a very strong creative side, they will produce a lot of quantity.

But if they don't have a good critical side, they won't be able to produce quality. So, generally speaking, for writers, it is recommended that they separate the two sides. When the creative side has come, just come out with the ideas.

Just write something. But don't think that what I have written is the final. After that, activate the critical side and evaluate it.

And then make a decision. So, this is initially a free write, then we edit. And then we come to a good product.

So, when we are coming up with that, when we are in a creative mood, we are coming up with good ideas, at that time, we can non-judgementally let the ideas come out. And just note them down. And afterwards, evaluate them.

So, when the problem comes, then we let both these processes happen at the same time. So, I try to access my creative side and my critical side both at the same time. This is a good idea.

No, this is not a good idea. No, this is not a good idea. So, then whatever idea comes up, we are shooting it down.

Then it becomes a problem. So, it's best to separate the two phases. Let the creative side come up.

Let's give up ideas. Then don't be judgemental at that time. Afterwards, come and evaluate.

And then find out, this idea is really good. This idea is also good, but not that good. And then you can evaluate.

And then you can decide which to focus on. So, especially if you are working in creative fields, we need to let, give ourselves room for self-expression. But when I was talking about desires, I was talking more about short-term impulses.

Eat this, watch this, touch this, go here. Those are not really helpful for us. But when it comes to ideas, definitely we have to find out the way in which we can work the best.

And quite often the best way to work is to let the creative side express itself and then let the critical side evaluate afterwards. Any other questions? Yes. If any of the Matajis have questions, if you don't want to ask directly, you can send chits also.

Whatever you prefer. Yeah. As you said that the voice that always comes inside talking to us is not our inner voice.

So, can you shed some light in this? Like, what are the individual aspects of mind, intelligence and the inner voice? And is the inner voice actually, in this very initial stage of Bhakti and our sadhana, we can actually hear or we can understand Okay. That is question number one. Question number two.

One question at a time. Okay. So, in our initial stages in Bhakti, can we realise, recognise the inner voice and how do we know which is the voice of the intelligence, which is the voice of the mind? So basically, the mind and the intelligence, these are terms.

So, this is a little complex concept. So, complex point. I will try to make it as simple as possible.

See, there are terms and there are concepts. Terms are verbal. Concepts are intellectual.

So, the two have to be associated together. Say, a term is like a handle. And we could say the concept is like a suitcase.

So, when I have a suitcase, I cannot just carry the suitcase. I need a handle for carrying it. So, now, suppose I have purchased a new suitcase or somebody has gifted us a suitcase.

And, you know, just before travelling, say going by flight, we took the suitcase. And then when the suitcase comes in the carousel when we landed wherever, we have forgotten what the suitcase looks like. We only remember how the handle looks like.

And we pull out, hey, this handle, but sometimes ten suitcases may have the same handle. See, this is not my suitcase. So, what is happening is there is the handle, which is like the term.

And there is the… So, if we just get too caught in the terms, we may get into trouble. Which is the mind? Which is the intelligence? It's all very confusing. So, we don't have to worry too much about this.

The simple point is there is a voice inside us which urges us to a short-term things. Impulsively. Now, come on.

As I said, short-term impulse. Generally, if you want to understand the voice of the mind, the mind always urges us towards eating, sleeping, mating differently. Primarily.

So, it's a short-term voice. So, now, we could say… So, there is a voice which pushes us towards short-term things. And there is a voice which also talks about long-term things.

Be cautious. There is a loop before you leap. Don't do this.

Be cautious. So, now, the voice which urges us towards short-term, impulsive, sensual things, we can say that is the voice of the mind. And the voice which is of caution, which is of long, far-sightedness, that is the voice of the intelligence.

And can we perceive these voices? Certainly, we can. In fact, we can feel it somewhere. I am getting a headache now.

What is the headache? It's just, you know, some voice is speaking again and again and again. Oh, this is going to go wrong. That is going to go wrong.

That is going to go wrong. And that's how we become overwhelmed. So, in such situations, we recognise that actually, it's best to have a plan for our lives.

If I have a plan, this, I am going to do this, I am going to do this, I am going to do this. Then suddenly the voice says, come on, do this. Then we can, okay.

I may do it, but not now. Because when the voice comes, to resist it is very difficult. To evaluate it is also not easy.

So, rather than saying yes or no, we can just press a pause button. Later. Later, when we are in a calmer frame of mind, then we can evaluate.

Yeah, this is a good idea. I will do this. Good, I didn't do that.

That is not such a good idea. So, basically, we can, if we have a plan for our life overall, then that plan is made using our intelligence. And then if some ideas come up, we can do them, but not immediately.

That way, we give time for our intelligence to evaluate and then decide what to add. Is it answering the question? Okay. Yeah, any other questions? Thank you.

Okay. So, what if someone has a habit of overthinking about every small matter? Yes. See, there is thinking and there is overthinking.

What is the main difference between the two? There is thinking as the preparation for action. And there is thinking as a substitute for action. That means, I just keep thinking, thinking, thinking and I don't know anything at all.

So, that is overthinking. That is undesired. So, for example, if I have some disease and I go to a doctor and the doctor tells me, okay, this is your problem.

Now, I am saying, okay, but you know, this diagnosis can be long. Maybe I should go to a second doctor. I take a second opinion.

And I go to a third doctor. Now, if I go to ten doctors and take their diagnosis, but don't take any prescription at all, I will never be cured. Now, it is possible that a particular doctor's diagnosis can be wrong.

But then, if I don't take the diagnosis, I will not even know it is wrong. So, at some point, I go to a doctor, I evaluate, I give the diagnosis. If it makes sense, then I take the medicine.

And after I take the medicine, if it doesn't work, if I decide to take it for one week, if it doesn't work, I go to some other doctor. So, just as in treatment, we use our intelligence to evaluate, but afterwards we act. So, same way, in our life, whenever we face some situation, sometimes we may learn even by making a mistake.

So, if certain situation, we find that in certain situation, we just don't make any decisions, then better to make a decision. And we shouldn't think of life as just make or break with every decision. Or rather, it's not in every situation.

Life is always, our decisions are always in terms of right and wrong. Sometimes decisions may be not right or wrong in terms of digital logic, but then more like analogue, analogue decisions, you know. Something is more right, something is less right.

So, for example, if I am going from here to here, I take a road, but then I find this road is not going here, it is going this way. Oh, I have got enough time, then I come back one track. So, it's not that at that time I have to come back here.

I can actually move like this, and I can come back. So, same way, it's not that on every decision that we make, our life is dependent. So, we are finite beings and we work with finite resources.

So, based on what we know, we do, we act. And after we act, we find, okay, this is not working out, then we change it. So, actually, surrender means, surrender can have many meanings.

One meaning of surrender is, surrender means to do what we can with what we have now. Surrender means to do what we can with what we have now. Okay, I have to make a decision in this situation.

This is the knowledge that I have. This is the ability that I have. This is what I need.

And if that works out, well, fine. If it doesn't work out, fine. We always learn and move forward.

So, overthinking means that we are, instead of acting, so there is thought and there is action. So, actually, there is sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. In the mode of goodness, thought comes first, action comes later.

In rajo guna, action comes first, thought comes later. In tamo guna, neither thought nor action. There is only illusion.

Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. Some people wonder what happened.

So, we shouldn't be left in that category, wonder what happened. We should make, we should do things. And sometimes they will work out right, sometimes they will not work out right.

Fine, we learn and we move onwards in our life. So, one last question. You had a second question.

It's a complex question. Okay. So, how has the Prabhupada brings both sadhana bhakti and rajo guna bhakti together in parallel? Basically, at our stage, if we get too much into technicalities of these things, we will unnecessarily confuse ourselves.

So, keeps things simple. Simple thing is that bhakti is a process of developing a relationship with Krishna. And how does any relationship develop? If we want to develop a relationship with someone, we find out what they like.

We do that. And we avoid the things that they don't like. It's as simple as that.

So, similarly, in bhakti, we learn about Krishna. We learn about the things that Krishna likes. We do those things.

And we avoid the things that Krishna does not like. If we do this, we try to do what we can to please Krishna, then we will move closer to Krishna. Now, for moving closer to Krishna, there is a process given.

That process is given in the scripture. That process is elaborated by the acharyas. And that process centres primarily on associating with those who love Krishna.

Because Krishna, when we want to love someone in this world, that person is there in front of us. We can see them. We can talk with them.

And affection can develop. Of course, sometimes aversion can also develop. But whatever it is.

Krishna is not that easily accessible for us. So, therefore, for developing love for Krishna, we need to connect with those for whom Krishna is more accessible than he is for us. Those who are more spiritually advanced.

Those whose consciousness is more pure. Krishna is more accessible to them. So, now, in sadhana bhakti, basically, there are two kinds of sadhana.

Vaidhi bhakti and there is Raga Anuradha bhakti. So, now, what does Vaidhi bhakti mean? This is the instruction. The spiritual master has told you.

The shastra has told you. Do this. Now, by doing this, gradually, the affection develops for Krishna.

Just like, initially, when a person tries to play music, I'll play some harmonium. I'll play some violin. Okay, just press this button.

Press this button. Press this button. Or if somebody wants to learn some harmonium, you can move your fingers like this.

Initially, there is no mesthetic sense. But just they trim their fingers. By doing the mechanical activity, gradually, their hands become comfortable on the keys.

And then the musical sense evolves. And then they start developing a taste for music. So, the artistic comes later.

First, the mechanical functionality one has to do. And then the artistic will emerge gradually. So, like that, there are certain activities that we do mechanically in bhakti.

That means, okay, this is what I've been told to do. I do it. I chant the holy names.

I worship the deities. I study scripture. Even if this doesn't immediately lead to the bhava for Krishna.

And by doing this, gradually, the bhava will come. So, now the point is, some people may do some things only as rules. And by doing it as rules, they may not actually look at the devotional element at all.

They may not try to connect with Krishna. So, such people are told, just mechanically doing the thing is not enough. The point is, you have to have some raag for Krishna.

You have to have some attraction towards Krishna. And that means, you associate with those who are attracted to Krishna and try to develop their mood. So, the essential difference between vaidya bhakti and raga bhakti is that whether the impetus for doing the devotional activities is coming from instruction or whether it is coming from affection.

So, now, of course, apart from this difference in the origin, there is also a difference in specifics of how the bhakti is practised. But the important thing is that when we are practising bhakti right now, Shri Pramopada is a bhakta who is at that raga bhakti. He is spontaneously attracted to Krishna.

And we are doing bhakti on his instruction. So, although we can say our bhakti is vaidya bhakti right now, but along with that, we are associating with somebody who spontaneously loves Krishna. And by this spontaneous love for Krishna, our spontaneous love for Krishna will also come.

So, by focussing on the principles, rather than getting caught in academic analogies, we can tap the opportunity for bhakti that Shri Prabhupada has provided us and we can march towards Krishna. So, thank you very much. Shri Prabhupada ki… Jai! Jai! Jai! Jai! Jai!