IDEA acronym – The Bhagavad-gita in essence

[Evening program at New Hillsborough, USA]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you very much. So I thank all of you for coming here today evening.
I’m grateful to be here amongst all of you. And I was told that I’ll be speaking on the subject of the Bhagavad Gita in essence, the Bhagavad Gita in summary. So I’ll take this in three parts.
I’ll look at the context of the Bhagavad Gita. Then I’ll look at briefly at the concepts in the Bhagavad Gita. And then I’ll look at the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita.
And I’ll talk about this, especially in terms of relevance to us. So if you look at the context, the Bhagavad Gita is the most dramatically set book in any theology or philosophy. There’s a war about to take place.
And just before the war starts, the main protagonist, the main hero, the person or no, the fate of the good party depends, just loses nerve and then decides I can’t write. The Bhagavad Gita’s context is, if we consider the first chapter, 46th verse, Arjuna says, it is said about Arjuna, विस्रुज्य सशरं जापं शोक सम्वीग्न मान सहा That he said, विस्रुज्य सशरं जापं, he puts aside his bow, शोक सम्वीग्न मान सहा He is overwhelmed by grief. Second chapter says that, specifically, न योथ सेति गोविद्धम I will not fight.
So Arjuna has put aside his bow, saying I cannot fight. The Bhagavad Gita is a historical book. Along with that, it has universal implications.
So Arjuna’s Gandiva bow represents his will to fight. His determination to act, to do the call of duty and his putting aside his bow represents his losing heart. And this is something which we all face in our life.
Sometimes life presents us with such complexities, such perplexities, that we lose heart. I can’t do it. I give up.
I quit. We feel it’s like putting aside everything, just abandoning it. That is what happens to Arjuna.
And what is the conclusion? At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, in the last verse it is described, यत्र योगेश्वर कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः तत्र श्रीर विजयो भूतिर ध्रुवानी तिर्म तिर्मम So it is said that wherever there is Krishna, the supreme mystic, and wherever there is Arjuna, the great archer, there will be victory. So the point is, Arjuna is described as धनुर्धरः, one who has picked up his bow, one who is the wielder of the bow. That means that Arjuna had put aside his bow, has picked up his bow in readiness to fight.
So just as Arjuna’s morale was restored by hearing the Bhagavad Gita, his determination came back. Similarly for us also, by our practise, by our understanding the message of the Gita, we may have lost heart, life may have thwarted us, frustrated us, but we can gain back our morale. So this is the universal relevance of the Bhagavad Gita, that it can help us amidst discouragement, again to get back home.
It can help us get back confidence. It can help us get back determination. So hope, confidence and determination, they’re three different things.
Hope is about something which is going to happen. Confidence is our capacity to do things, our ability to do things. And determination is our willingness to persevere to make some things happen.
So whenever we have to achieve something in life, people say I should think positive. What is positive thinking? There are three aspects to it. Hope means, yes, things are difficult now, but things will improve in future.
That is hope usually refers to something, hope usually refers to those things which are not in our control, but we want them to turn out right. Confidence refers to our own capacity to do the right things. And the determination refers to the capacity to persevere.
Things may not be right right now, or they may not become right immediately, but I will persevere. So for a positive attitude in life, we need this hope, confidence and determination. And let us see how the Bhagavad Gita offers this.
This is the context of the Bhagavad Gita, which in itself is universal. Now let us look at the concepts of the Gita. So the Bhagavad Gita starts with an ethical crisis for Arjuna, an ethical dilemma for Arjuna.
A dilemma is a situation when there are two courses of action and which to choose is very difficult for us to decide. There are different kinds of dilemmas. There is moral dilemma and there is ethical dilemma.
Now moral dilemma is a situation where one option is moral and the other option is immoral. So in such a situation, such a situation when one option is moral and the other is immoral, it is easy to at least know what is right. Although it may require some strength of character to do the right thing.
It is easy to know what is right and what is wrong. But when there is an ethical dilemma, actually it is much more difficult to know even what is right. And that was a situation which Arjuna faced.
Arjuna had two duties which called him to do two different things. He was a warrior and as a warrior, he was expected to fight and protect those who were attacked by the unscrupulous. So a duty, a Kshatriya is a Martian guardian of society.
And as Kshatriyas, they are expected to protect society from aggressors. So the opponents were aggressors. They had tried to burn the Pandavas.
They tried to poison them. They had stolen their property. They had dishonoured their wife.
So now because they were aggressors and because they had shown no sign of repentance or reformation, so they deserve to be punished. So as a Martian guardian of society, his duty was to actually punish them. But he also had another duty.
He was Kuru Nandana. He was a member of the Kuru dynasty. He had Kshatriya Dharma which required him to fight.
And he had his Kula Dharma. Kula Dharma is his duty as a member of a particular dynasty. Normally, if we have relatives who are in trouble, we help them.
We are expected to. So here he was naturally expected that how can he fight against his relatives? So his one duty, Kshatriya Dharma told him, you should fight. His Kula Dharma told him, you cannot fight.
And it’s not just your cousins, your elders are also there. How can you fight against them? And Arjuna was conflicted. So we all have different roles in our life.
So we may be a mother and a professional. We may be a husband and a professional. And sometimes our job requires us to go somewhere.
Our family responsibilities require us to be at another place. So there are two things which are demanded of us at the same time. Or the two things, these two roles demand opposite things from us.
What do we do at such a time? Now, when Arjuna asks a question, he doesn’t ask simply, Krishna, should I fight or should I not fight? His question is much more fundamental and universal. I ask you, in 2.7, he states, Dharma, I ask you, what is Dharma? I am the leader. So now, Dharma is a very profound concept.
Sometimes the word Dharma is translated as religion. But essentially, the word Dharma refers to innate nature. That which makes us who we are.
So there is an order to things in the world. And when we understand that order, we can harmonise with it. To the extent we harmonise with the innate order of things, to that extent, we can ourselves be happy.
To the extent we are disharmonised, to that extent, we create a mess for ourselves. So a simple example to illustrate this. If I go to a hospital and there I am being treated for some disease.
And when it is lunchtime, I order a 11-course meal. And if they don’t give me, what a stupid hospital, why are they not providing me? Well, if you want a meal, if I want a meal, I have to go to a hotel. In a hospital, my role is as a patient.
So when I understand what I am part of, what I am here for, then I modulate, I adjust my expectations accordingly. If I go into a hospital expecting the culinary delights of a hotel, I’ll set myself up for frustration. So there is a larger order in the hospital.
If I don’t understand that order, the order of the hospital is for the sake of treating people. And the food that is provided is a part of the treatment. So now if I don’t understand that order, and I try to do things on my own account, expect things on my own account, I get frustrated.
So the Bhagavad Gita’s question is, and Bhagavad Gita is about dharma. Dharma refers to that activity. So dharma at one level refers to, as I said, our innate nature.
At another level, it refers to the activities that harmonise us with the larger order of the universe. That are in harmony with our nature. So how does the Bhagavad Gita answer Arjuna s question? What is dharma? What should I be doing? So I’ll address this in terms of an acronym, IDEA, I-D-E-A, four steps.
The first thing that the Bhagavad Gita teaches us, I is identity. Now all of us have many different functional identities. Functionally, in this world, some of us may be Indians, some of us may be Americans, some of us may be Indian-Americans.
So we all have different identities. Some of us may be, say, if you’re working in a software job, you may identify as a software engineer. If we change our career and take up some other job, we identify ourselves as something else.
So now these identities are important. When we interact with each other, we’ll identify ourselves. Okay, you are so and so, you are so and so gender, so and so nationality, so and so profession, so and so educational background.
These are functional identities. But the Bhagavad Gita goes deeper, below this functional identity, to our fundamental identity. Our fundamental identity is that which never changes.
And when we are rooted in that fundamental identity, then we are not, we are, we can resolve ethical dilemmas better. So the Bhagavad Gita explains that at our core, we are spiritual beings. Our identity is that we are souls.
And the soul is not limited by any of our functional identities. So I may be an Indian, I may be a female, I may be a male, I may be a child. These particular identities, they, they, we can act in particular ways, and we can’t act in particular ways.
Like if I’m an Indian in America, I can’t vote in America, in the election. So our functional identities limit us, but our fundamental identity is different. So Krishna tells Arjuna, when you have to act, don’t think, should I act like a Kshatriya or should I act like a Kuru Nandan? Understand that you are a soul.
So much of our confusion in deciding what to do, it arises from a mistaken sense of identity. So the first step he says is, you are a soul. Now this is actually not just some religious belief.
Actually speaking, researchers have tried to find out where does our sense of I-ness come from. If we consider our body, every cell in the body is changing constantly. Scientists earlier used to think that the brain cells don’t change.
We have a certain amount of brain cells once, and then as we grow old, they start dying. But research has shown that even the brain cells, there is regeneration. Not only do they die, they are also recreated.
So therefore, the implication is that actually there is nothing in this world which is unchanging. And yet through it all, we feel as if I am the same. There is an American comedian, Woody Allen.
He said that I am not afraid of death. It is just that I don’t want to be there when it happens. Now it is not going to work out like that.
Now death is something which is going to happen to us. So just as we may say we were small children at a particular time, and then we had a birthday celebration. So although a lot about us has changed, but still we were the same.
So similarly, when we grow old, when we are on the verge of death, a lot about us will change, but still something about us will remain the same. It is we who will be experiencing that. Just as we experienced a birthday in childhood, just as we are experiencing something right now, similarly we will experience many things in future.
So what is that unchanging core? If we were simply creatures made of matter, and matter is always changing, then where does our sense of unchanging identity come from? As a materialist philosophers, they say that actually our sense of unchanging identity is an illusion. There is nothing unchanging at all. But even if it is an illusion, there is some locus of that illusion.
There has to be something unchanging that feels this is unchanging. It’s like they use the example that like a candle, this flame. Now the flame is constantly changing.
There is nothing constant actually. It is only an illusion to think that the flame is constant. Yes, that’s true.
But the question here is not whether the flame is constant or not. The point is that there is somebody who perceives the flame to be constant. Isn’t it? The flame may be changing and to think that it is unchanging is an illusion.
But there is someone apart from the flame who is perceiving it and is thinking that it is unchanging. So, even if there is a, even if our sense of I-ness, our sense of unchanging identity were an illusion, there is someone unchanging who experiences an illusion. Otherwise, there would be, even the illusion would not be possible.
So, therefore, there has to be something unchanging. There is a philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, he says, materialism is the philosophy that in which the philosopher forgets to account for the self. We account for this, account for that, we just forget the self.
So, our identity is at our core non-material. That is so. Einstein himself was very conflicted by the implications of materialism.
Einstein was a, he was a conflicted person. From his scientific analysis, he concluded that science works according to the laws of physics or material world works according to the laws of physics. And yet, he says, there is an aspect to our human personality which is beyond it.
So, he said that, you know, gravity can explain the falling of apples or this mic, I won’t make it fall, but gravity can explain the falling of apples. But gravity can’t explain people’s falling in love with each other. There is something more to human life.
So, if we were simply creatures of matter, then matter simply works according to laws. And matter itself has no free will, this object, whether it will fall or not, it has no free will. So, now we all have free will.
So, if we just accepted materialism, that there is nothing non-material to our identity, it would imply that we had no free will. And the implications of that would be very disturbing. Say, the Nazis who killed millions of Jews during the Holocaust in the Second World War time, it would mean that the Nazis are not responsible because they had no free will.
That’s how their brain works. That’s how their programming was. And that’s what they did.
Now, this is completely counterintuitive. If I suddenly come to one of you, I slap you. Why did you slap me? My brain programming told me to slap you.
And you slap me back. Since my brain programming told me to slap you. You know, all relationships, all systems of justice, all forms of accountability depend on the presumption that people have the capacity to choose.
So, we all have free will. And this sense of free will, where does it come from? That materialism can’t explain. So, our identity at our core is non-material.
That non-material source of our sense of I-ness, that is the Atma, that is the soul. Now, D, I was talking about idea, the acronym. As the Bhagavad Gita in the second chapter talks about our identity, that is, we as souls.
Then D is divinity, that we are parts of a cosmic whole. And now there are different conceptions or attitudes towards God. One idea is there is no God, that is atheism.
Then another idea, there are many gods, that is polytheism. Another idea is that there is one God, that is monotheism. The bhakti understanding is not just there is one God.
Bhakti understanding is actually still higher. It is, there is only God, there is only God. That means, Vasudeva Sarvamiti, Samatma Sudurlabha.
In 7.19, the Bhagavad Gita says, the wise person, after many lifetimes, when one comes to the understanding, that actually everything is, that God is everything. Actually, there is one more stage before that. There is no God, there are many gods.
There is one God. And after that, there is another idea, that is, I am God. And beyond that is, there is only God.
Now, I am God is a very titillating idea for the ego. One saw in a college, some student had, there is some t-shirt, they had written, I was an atheist till I discovered that I was God. So, now the idea that I am God is actually very, it’s completely unsustainable from the point of logic as well as experience.
God is the supreme controller. What can we control? So, but what does it mean when I say there is only God? That means that, what do you, does it mean that I don’t exist, you don’t exist? It actually means that we all exist as parts of God. So, it is not that God is somewhere up there and I am here all alone.
Yes, we are parts of God. What, how we are parts, that we’ll discuss later. But we are, everything is interconnected to the whole.
And we are parts of the whole. So, the Bhagavad Gita’s conception of divinity is not just a God who exists somewhere far away. Yes, God does exist far away in his own abode.
But God is not limited there. God exists there. God exists up there.
And God exists in here also. God exists everywhere. Ito narsimha, parato narsimha, yato yato yami, tato narsimha.
Lord Narasimha is here, Lord Narasimha is there. Wherever I go, He is there. So, that way, the conception of divinity that the Bhagavad Gita gives is, is very deep.
Sometimes there is this, this idea that how can you believe in a God? People say, how can you believe in God? So, the point is that often people have a particular conception of God. They may look at an image in the temple. They may look at a, they may look at some historical character.
Say, how can you believe this is God? How can you believe in such a God? But the point is that if we are to understand God, we need to begin from definition, not from depiction. No, yes, there is a depiction of God, but we need to begin from definition. So, by definition means, what is the understanding of God? Last year, I was in Cambridge University.
And there, I was giving a talk on science and spirituality. So, one student asked what an atheist is called the ultimate question to defeat theists. So, if God created everything, who created God? Now, this question is actually an irrational question.
It’s like asking the question who created God is like asking who made a circle circular. A circle by definition is circular. You know, nobody has to make a circle circular.
The very definition of circle is its circularity. So, similarly, if you understand the definition of God, the definition of God is Sarva Karana Karana, the cause of all causes. Now, even from the point of view of simple logic, the cause of all causes can’t have a cause.
If the cause of all causes had a cause, then that cause of all causes is the cause of all causes. So, the cause of that cause of the cause of all causes is actually the cause of all causes. So, wherever this chain of causation stops, that point is God.
Now, we have two alternatives. That everything came from something or everything came from nothing. Means that source of everything from something.
There are only two alternatives. Everything came from something or everything came from nothing. Now, atheists try to argue you religious people, you believe in this blind, this ritual, that ritual, how irrational you are.
But if you look at the atheistic story of the universe, what will be the story of the universe? Nothing existed because of nothing. Nothing exploded because of nothing and gave rise to everything. Nothing existed because of nothing.
Nothing exploded because of nothing and gave rise to everything. What is the rationality in that? So, if we look back, we don’t see anywhere in the world something coming from nothing. Something always comes from something else.
So, if we go backward, backward, backward, the source of everything should be something. And that something should have the potentiality to produce everything. So, in this world, we see matter.
In this world, we see consciousness. This is a table, it is material. All of you, all of us are conscious.
So, there is matter and there is consciousness. So, that source of other thing should also have matter as aspect to it and should also have consciousness. So, the specific nature of that source, we can’t arrive at by inference.
For that, we need revelation. We need to turn towards scripture. But the inference that something extraordinary is the source of everything, that is a perfectly rational inference.
So, the Bhagavad Gita says that that absolute truth is the source of everything, that divinity. That divinity is, it exists at many different levels. Actually, the Bhagavad Gita talks about manifestations of the divine and it actually talks about 10 levels of manifestation of the divine.
That is an entirely different talk. But suffice it to say that the Bhagavad Gita is not just talking about some God whom you see as an image or some God who came some thousands of years ago. Yes, God can manifest himself as an image.
God did descend thousands of years ago. If we start from that particular depiction or that particular historical personage, we will not understand God properly. We have to start with definition, then come to depiction.
So, from definition, the Bhagavad Gita’s conception of divinity is actually very profound. 10.8 Krishna says that I am the source from which everything comes about. Same point, the cause of all causes.
So, now, this, as I said, the Bhagavad Gita’s conception is we are all parts of God. We are his parts eternally. So, God is the only reality and we are all realities within that meta-reality.
So, now, E, third part is identity, divinity. Third E is eternality. The fundamental question that people get whenever they have one question about God, often it is not so much philosophical.
It is more of experiential. The question is, if God is good, why is there so much suffering in this world? So, this is called in philosophy as the problem of evil and it has perplexed people for millennia. So, it is definitely there is so much suffering in this world.
It can often be heartbreaking when we see people going through suffering. At the same time, we have to perceive things from the context which they are meant for. I will explain.
Once, a devotee went to a doctor. This doctor happened to be an atheist. And this doctor said, you believe in God? So, of course.
How can there be God? He said, you can see there are so many people, there are earthquakes here, there are famines there, so many people suffering, so many people dying. You know, where is God? There is no God at all. A devotee was silent.
After that, the devotee left. And then after a few minutes, the devotee rushed back. He said, there are no doctors in the city.
What do you mean? What do you mean? He said, I am a doctor. He says, come out. He took him out.
Outside the clinic, on the footpath, there was a beggar. He was sitting and coughing piteously. Coughing, coughing, coughing.
Since the fact that he is sick proves that there are no doctors in the city. He says, are you crazy? He says, he is suffering because he is not coming to me. He said, exactly.
People are suffering because they are not coming to God. The existence of disease does not disprove the existence of the doctor. All that it proves is a disconnect between the doctor and the patient.
Similarly, the existence of suffering does not prove the non-existence of God. All that it proves is there is a disconnect between the two. So, when we consider this world and we consider the sufferings of life in this world, if we approach God from a material perspective, a material perspective means that we want to see God’s existence.
We want to see God’s benevolence, God’s kindness and God’s love in material terms alone. Then we will always feel that God doesn’t exist or God doesn’t care. Because the material perspective is a limited perspective.
It is a short-term perspective. Just like, say, you have a child and the child goes to a shopping mall and the child sees a nice toy. I want that toy.
The parent says, no, not now. I want this toy. No, not now.
I want this toy. And then, no, not now. And the child starts crying through the tantrum and says, you don’t love me.
You don’t love me. Now the parents are doing hundreds of other things for the child. But the child reduces the love of the parents to that one thing, the toy.
And the toy is not given. Then the child says, you don’t love me. So now what has happened, because of the infatuation of the child with that toy, the child is not able to see anything beyond that infatuation.
And that’s why the child feels, it’s not that the child is simply saying, the child actually feels, you don’t love me. But it is not that the parents don’t love. It is that the child’s vision is limited by the attachment.
Similarly, when we perceive things from the temporary perspective of this material world, and some things, we want something, and then we pray to Krishna and they don’t work out. Then they feel, oh, Krishna doesn’t exist. Krishna doesn’t care.
Krishna, you don’t love me. So what is happening is, we have limited our perception. Rather, our attachments have limited our perception.
And we are seeing God’s love only through the window of our attachments. And this is a very reductive window. It doesn’t give at all a complete vision.
So sometimes the child may be sick, and the mother takes the child to a doctor, and the doctor gives an injection. And the child starts to complain, you know, you are hurting me. You know, what kind of love is this? You’re hurting me.
So from the short term point of view, it is a hurt. But from the long term point of view, it is meant for healing. So similarly, in life, there are sometimes things in the short term which hurt us.
But in the long term, they are for our good. So if we have not an eternal perspective, if we have a temporal perspective, then we will always stay insecure in our relationship with Krishna. We will always feel, oh, Krishna doesn’t care about me.
And the Bhagavad Gita, what it does is that it expands Arjuna’s vision. It says, Arjuna, don’t just see Vishwapitamaha as your grandson. Understand that he’s also a soul.
And as a soul, he has his own spiritual destiny. And although at a physical level, you may be attacking him, at a physical level, you will be hurting him, you will be killing him. But at a spiritual level, you will be liberating him.
So that way, the vision of eternality changes our perception of things. And the Bhagavad Gita tells us that actually this world is a place of misery. It says in 8.15 that this world is a place of misery.
Now, this is actually the opposite, exact opposite of what the movies and the novels tell us. Most romantic movies and novels end with happily ever after. It’s the exact opposite.
Ever after, temporary. Happily, Dukkhalayam is a place of misery. Now, some people say this is so pessimistic.
Actually, if you look at it, it’s not pessimistic. If you look at the thrust of this verse in the Gita, the fact that this world is Dukkhalayam Shashvatam is just a passing reference. The thrust of this verse is those who worship me, they do not return to this world which is a temporary and miserable place, but they attain my eternal abode.
The point of this verse is to stress the potency of bhakti in raising us above misery. The point of this verse is not to sentence us to pessimism. Pessimism would be when somebody says this is miserable and you stay miserable.
It’s not like that. You know, if the Bhagavad Gita’s philosophy is that this world is a miserable place, you stay miserable. Then Krishna didn’t even have to speak the Bhagavad Gita.
Arjuna was already miserable. So, we see that the message of the Bhagavad Gita, what happened, Arjuna was in tears. tam tatha krupaya vishtam ashru-purnako lekshnam Arjuna was in tears at the start of the Gita.
But by hearing the Gita, what happened? He says, nashto mohasmati labdha tad prasadam may achyuta sitosmigata sandeha karishe vacinam tava So, he says that actually sitosmi, I have become well situated. My doubts have gone. I have regained my composure.
So, Arjuna, who was distressed, became free from distress by hearing the Bhagavad Gita. So, the misery is a fact of the world. But misery is not the purpose of the world.
There’s a difference. Again, going back earlier to the example of a hospital. In a hospital, there is going to be pain.
Somebody may have a fracture. Somebody may have a heart disease. Somebody may have this problem, that problem.
Pain is a fact of the hospital. But pain is not the purpose of the hospital. A hospital is not a torture chamber.
A hospital is set up in a way by which people can be cured. So, similarly, this world, misery is simply a fact of life. Fact of the world.
But it is not the purpose of the world. The purpose of the world, like the purpose of the hospital, is to help us become free from misery. And when we see from the perspective of eternality, our whole vision will change.
Sometimes, so we may say, I am practising bhakti and there are so many problems in my life. Why are these problems not going away? What is Krishna doing? You may think like this. That’s a natural human reaction.
But it is not a philosophically informed reaction. What is a devotee’s reaction? A devotee thinks that when misery comes, misery does not create a doubt about Krishna’s love. Rather, misery increases faith in Krishna’s words.
That Krishna said this world is a place of misery. Now I’m experiencing this world as a place of misery. So, now sometimes the misery may come from friends, loved ones, some our own body, you know, the environment.
And sometimes they start blaming. Okay, why did he do like that? Why did she do like that? Why did this happen? But if you go beyond the specifics to the universal principle, that this world is a place of misery. And now I am realising it.
You know, in many Hindu functions, we have this Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, three times we say Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Now, why three times? Because there are three glaciers which make us Ashant. So, the soul is encased in three shells, we could say.
There is a bodily shell, there is a social shell, and there is an environmental shell. And all these three shells, all these three circles can cause misery. The body causes misery that is called as Adi Atmic Klesh.
The society causes misery that is the Adi Bhautic Klesh. And nature causes misery that is the Adi Daivic Klesh. So, the idea is when you say Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, it is Om Adi Atmic Klesh Shanti.
Om Adi Bhautic Klesh Shanti. Om Adi Daivic Klesh Shanti. So, all this is making me Ashant, let there be Shanti over there.
So, for a devotee, if we keep getting caught in specific causes of misery, you know, he did like that because of which I have problem, she did like that because of which I have problem, they did like that, then we are not seeing with Shastra Chakshu. We are not seeing with philosophical vision. The philosophical vision is to see ultimately whatever be the specific channel.
Through all these channels, the scriptural teaching that this world is a place of misery is being conformed. So, misery actually reinforces a devotee’s faith. Krishna said this world is a place of misery, now I am experiencing it.
But what Krishna also says is that by taking shelter of him, we can tolerate and transcend misery. We can rise above misery. So, let me, a devotee feels, I have experienced one part of Krishna’s teaching as true, that this world is a place of misery.
Now, let me try to experience the other part of Krishna’s teaching and see whether it is true, that by taking shelter of Krishna, can I rise beyond misery. So, that way, the occurrence of misery does not dishearten a devotee’s devotion, it intensifies a devotee’s devotion. And thus, we can actually move onwards towards Krishna.
So, that brings us to the last part, activity. What kind of activity should we do? This also brings us to the conclusion of the Gita. And our concepts of the Gita is four, or we could say broadly the concepts of the Gita.
The conclusion is, Sarva-dharman-parityajya, maam ekam sharanam vraja. So, I was at a Hindu programme, and there they were reciting the Bhagavad Gita. And they recited, Sarva-adharman-parityajya, maam ekam sharanam vraja.
So, they changed the word, they said Sarva-adharman-parityajya. Give up all dharma and surrender to Krishna. And I asked them, why are they reciting like that? So, they said, actually, Krishna has come to establish dharma.
Dharma samsthaapanartha hai. So, how can he tell us to give up dharma? So, this is probably when the Bhagavad Gita was written down, somebody forgot to put a uh over there. So, we are adding the uh.
Now, the problem with that understanding is that, actually, two problems, many problems, but two main problems. First is that, if we consider the student to whom it was being spoken, for him, adharma was not an option at all. He was not thinking of doing anything sinful.
For him, the conflict was between two dharmas. It was not a conflict between dharma and adharma. It was a conflict between two dharmas.
So, the Bhagavad Gita is telling Arjuna that sarva-dharmaan parityajya. Give up all varieties of religions and what should you do? maam ekam saranam bhajan. Surrender to me.
Surrender to me means, now Krishna is not telling Arjuna, give up dharma and become adharmic. So, Prabhupada says in one lecture that, actually, even the hippies had done sarva-dharmaan parityajya. The hippies had given up their duty to their family, to their career, to their nation, to their own bodies also.
They are not even taking bath, taking care of their bodies. They are doing nothing. But then, Prabhupada said, I came and taught them maam ekam saranam bhajan.
So, actually, the thrust of the Gita is not to give up dharma. The thrust of the Gita is to take shelter of Krishna. And for taking shelter of Krishna, if some dharma has to be given up, be ready to give up that also.
And by giving up the dharma, what if some sinful activity happens, some sinful reaction comes? Krishna says, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshe shami. I will free you. Maa shuchi harbi.
Not free her. So, the idea is, Krishna, sorry, Arjuna has a kula-dharma and a kshatriya-dharma. And Krishna tells, do that dharma or rather give up that dharma, which prevents you from doing maam ekam saranam bhajan.
Then when we surrender to Krishna, that time also we have to do some activity. Arjuna, what does he do? He does his kshatriya-dharma. He fights the war.
But it is significant that when Arjuna ascends, this is 18.66 and 18.73, Arjuna ascends. But when Arjuna agrees, Arjuna doesn’t say, I will fight. He says, karishye vachinantava, I will do your will.
That means Arjuna is not identifying himself as a kshatriya fighting a war. He identifies himself as a devotee doing Krishna’s will. And at that particular time, for Arjuna, doing Krishna’s will meant fighting a war.
So our activity that Bhagavad Gita urges us to do is to surrender to Krishna, to serve Krishna. Surrender has many forms. Quite often we may think of, which is the image that comes in our mind whenever we think of surrender? Okay, but from a scriptural, white flag is from today’s military perspective.
But from the bhakti perspective, standard image of surrender? Bowing down. Bowing down. Okay, that’s true.
That is more of worship. Surrender. Gopis? Yes.
Yes, Draupadi, isn’t it? Draupadi surrendered to Krishna. All these Vaishnavas, devotees you talked about, they all surrendered. But a common image of surrender is Draupadi.
She raises her hands in helplessness and surrenders to Krishna. That is one way to surrender. That is not the only way.
If we see Krishna tells Arjuna, surrender to me. Arjuna says, yes, I will do your will. That means I will surrender.
But Arjuna does not raise his hands in surrender. Arjuna raises his bow. So surrender can take many forms.
Sometimes it can be in helpless dependence. And sometimes self-surrender can be as determined readiness. So the point of surrender is to connect with the Lord.
To serve the Lord. So at that point for Draupadi, nobody could help her. She couldn’t help herself, nobody could help her.
So she just surrendered. Now for Arjuna, at that particular point, he is a Kshatriya. The way he surrendered to Krishna was by raising his bow in readiness to fight.
So surrender is not passivity. Surrender is actually activity. Activity by which we connect with Krishna.
And we have to be careful. Accept that which is favourable, reject that which is unfavourable. So in every situation that we are in, we can, suppose we face a problem.
Now we can just overwhelm ourselves by the why question. Why did this happen? Why did this happen? And the why question often causes our mental computer to hang. When the computer hangs, essentially what happens is one particular process goes into an infinite loop.
And it takes all the computer’s processor and it doesn’t allow other programmes to function and it doesn’t itself also function. So like that, when we get into the mode of resentment, why did this happen? Why did he do that? Why did she do that? Why did that happen? And why question leads to frustration. It leads to resentment.
So now Arjuna was such a virtuous person. He was so dharmic throughout his life. And yet, why was he put in a situation where he had to fight against his grandchild? Why was he put in a situation where he had to fight against his own teacher? The why question.
Life is very complex. We can talk about karma and to some extent we can get some answer in terms of principles. In terms of specifics.
You know, who knows what karma, who has done, because of which, what is happening. So the why question has no answers. And the whole mood of a devotee, the mood of surrender is to change the question.
So when a computer is hanging, what we need to do is reboot it. Start it again. So it’s like that, we need to reboot.
The resolution to Arjuna’s perplexity, how can I fight against my relatives? Why is the situation there? Why is this happening to me? The question is changed, rebooted. Change the question from why to how. Not, why is this happening to me? But how can I serve you, O Lord? How can I serve you? And once we ask this question, that question is actually very empowering.
Because when we ask the why question and we don’t get any answer, we feel like there is darkness all around. This has gone wrong, that has gone wrong, this is going wrong. We feel darkness all around.
And we feel powerless. But as soon as we ask the how question, how can I serve now? There’s always something that we can do. Maybe a small step.
That how question becomes like a flashlight. It turns on, it shows us one step forward. Yeah, maybe I can do this.
Maybe I can do that. And as we keep taking one step forward, one step forward, one step forward, we find that we can cover a significant distance. So how can Krishna, how can I serve you? When he was asked, what is the best prayer that you can offer to Krishna? So Prabhupada said, pray to Krishna, give me the strength to serve you.
If you pray for this, Krishna, please give me the strength to serve you. Then that activity of service is something which we can always do. We may not be able to serve in particular forms.
If we are not healthy, we may not be able to do a particular service. If we are not wealthy, we may not be able to do a particular service. If we are not talented in a particular way, we may not be able to do a particular service.
But there is the principle of service that we can always follow. Some way we can find to keep serving. And that way when we do, we become enlivened by the principle that no matter how many problems are there in my life, Krishna still exists.
Krishna still loves me. Krishna still makes himself accessible to me through service. So let me serve him in whatever way I can.
Now service doesn’t only mean direct devotional activities. Even our worldly duties we can do in a mode of service. And that way, rather than thinking why is this person like this? Why is this happening? Okay, this has happened.
This person is acting like this. How can I serve in this situation? It actually gives us empowerment. We shift the focus.
Okay, thinking like this is not favourable for me, I’ll put it aside. Asking the why question is unfavourable. Put it aside.
Asking the how question is favourable, focus on it. And that way, no matter how terrible the perplexity that is troubling us, by focussing on the how question, how can I serve you, Krishna? We can take small steps forward. And we keep taking small steps forward, small steps forward.
The flashlight, it cannot show the full room. It’s only one step forward. One step forward.
And gradually, we’ll find that the lights will come back. Things will become alright. So the Bhagavad Gita is an eminently practical book.
It is philosophical, very conclusive, very practical. Arjuna took up his bow and was ready to fight. Similarly, its conception of surrender is accept that which is favourable, avoid that which is unfavourable, and continue acting in a mood of service.
So when I started giving classes for the first time, we were given some public speaking guidelines. And the last guideline was, depend on Krishna. But in bracket, after you have prepared.
So the idea is that we shouldn’t think that dependence of Krishna means that we don’t have to do anything. Rather, we do our part and we leave the rest to Krishna. Do our part, be prepared.
So in every situation, there is something which is in our control. I’ll conclude with this point. That the Bhagavad Gita’s vision is that that when things are going wrong, when things are going wrong, actually, we have to understand that they may be going wrong from our perspective.
But there is another perspective. It is not that everything that happens is good. Sometimes bad things happen.
But, Krishna is so expert that he can bring good even out of the bad. He can bring good even out of the bad. But he needs our cooperation for that.
If we become resentful, if we become hopeless, if we become atheistic, then we don’t let Krishna’s plan act through us. In the Bhagavad Gita’s mood is that what is the activity we do? Whatever happens, we keep serving Krishna. And if we keep serving Krishna, then Krishna will take us through whatever situation we come.
I write these articles in the Gita. I mention Gita daily. Sometimes I try to condense the Gita verses in small sentences.
So, the way 18.66, Krishna says, I will protect you from all sinful reactions. So, one way of understanding it is that whatever karma may get us to, Krishna will get us through. So, our activity is to just keep serving Krishna.
Keep serving Krishna by our karma we may face many problems. But Krishna will get us through all of them. And that is the vision of hope.
That is the vision of confidence. That is the vision of determination. The hope that Arjuna has is, by understanding the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna loves me always.
And Krishna can bring good even out of the bad. The confidence is that we all have something in our control. Something we can do.
Let me do what I can. The determination is that even if things appear to be going wrong, everything is temporary. So, from the vision of eternity, the perceiver, the negative will end, the positive will come.
From the material consciousness, I will rise to the spiritual consciousness. And therein, I will find lasting satisfaction. Through this whole process of perceiving in a mode of service, we rise from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness.
And in spiritual consciousness, in absorption in Krishna, we find the ultimate satisfaction. In this life, as well as beyond this life, in Krishna’s eternal abode. So, I’ll summarise.
I spoke about the essence of the Bhagavad Gita in terms of the context, concept and conclusion. In context, we see that Arjuna lost heart because of the ethical dilemma. And then, the Bhagavad Gita’s message helped him to regain his heart.
Like that, Arjuna’s Gandiva bow represents our determination. We lose it because of life’s perplexities. But hearing the Gita’s message can restore our morale.
So, restoring our morale has three parts. Hope, confidence and determination. Hope that whatever is not in my control, that will work out fine.
Confidence that I can do my part. And determination that I will persevere. And then, we discussed the concept of the Gita.
The concept is Arjuna is caught between two dharmas. Kula dharma says, he should punish the aggressors. Kula dharma says, he should protect his relatives.
What to do if the aggressors are relatives? So, Arjuna asks, what is dharma? And dharma is our innate nature. The activity that restores us to our innate nature. That is dharma.
And this question about what is dharma, the Bhagavad Gita answers progressively. So, we took it in terms of an acronym. What was it? Idea.
Identity. So, we have many functional identities. Male, female, Indian, American.
And sometimes these identities can pull us in different directions. But if you go to our fundamental identity, we are souls. We are parts of God.
So, we discussed how the sense of I-ness, the unchanging sense of I-ness that we have, that has no material explanation. It has to come from a non-material self. Somebody says that even that sense of I-ness is an illusion but there is some unchanging core who is experiencing that illusion.
It’s like a candle flame may be changing but somebody experiencing the candle flame as unchanging. So, that unchanging core is the soul. D was? Divinity.
So, the Bhagavad Gita explains that God is the cause of all causes. That’s why to ask who created God is an irrational question. It’s like asking what makes a circle circular? It is definition.
So, to understand God, rather than looking at historical or pictorial depiction, we need to look at philosophical definition. And from philosophical definition’s perspective, the atheist idea of the universe is irrational. Nothing existed because of nothing, nothing exploded because of nothing and gave rise to everything.
So, the theistic understanding that here there is matter and consciousness. So, the source must also have material aspect to it and ultimately source must be conscious. That is a much more rational explanation.
So, we discuss progressive conceptions, progressive attitude toward God. There is no God. There are many Gods.
There is one God. I am God and there is only God. So, the Bhagavad Gita’s understanding is Vasudeva Sarvamiti.
That there is God but he is not someone far away existing. He exists right in here and we are all his parts. And E was eternality.
That means if you ask if God is good and why is there suffering in this world? So, we need to see from the perspective of eternality, not temporariness. The existence of sickness does not disprove the existence of a doctor. It simply points to the disconnect between the patient and the doctor.
Like that the existence of suffering in this world does not disprove the existence of God. It simply points to the disconnect between us and God. And if we have too material conception of our life and God’s blessings then we will not be able to see God’s love.
Just like a child who is infatuated with a toy doesn’t see the parent’s love which is coming in so many other ways. So, when a devotee faces suffering the devotee sees that as a not as a doubting of Krishna’s existence but as a confirmation of Krishna’s words. So, Krishna has said that this world is a place of suffering and now I am confirming that.
So, misery is a fact of life but it is not the purpose of life. It’s like a hospital. So, A, the devotee thinks, okay, I have experienced one part of Krishna’s teaching as true, now let me experience the other part.
Let me take shelter of Krishna and let me see if I can rise above misery. And that led to the last part. A was activity.
So, the Bhagavad Gita’s conclusion of all its concepts is surrender. But surrender is not just raising our hands in helplessness. It is also like Arjuna raising one’s arm in readiness to fight.
So, surrender is basically activity. The activity of service. So, perplexity comes when we start asking the why question.
Why question causes our mental computer to hang because of resentment, because of incomprehension. But the how question turns on the light when there is darkness. How can I serve now? I can do this.
So, the why question shifts our vision to that which is not in our control. The how question shifts our vision to that which is in our control. How can I serve now? And with that attitude, we actually always find that I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.
And with that flashlight on, you can take small small steps and eventually the big lights will also come back on. So, Krishna can bring good even out of the bad. We talked about that that gives us hope.
Krishna’s benevolence gives us hope. Our confidence comes from understanding that I am a part of Krishna. Whatever I am going to go through, Krishna will help me to go through it.
Determination comes by understanding that actually Krishna is with us. Whatever karma may get us through, Krishna will get us through. Thank you very much.
Are there any questions or comments? In the starting, you said about, mentioned about Arjuna’s weakness of heart may be the reason. So, how can we understand in our practical situations that yes, whatever is coming up is because of the weakness of our heart and then how we can overcome it? How can you understand that whatever is coming to us is because of the weakness of our heart and how can we overcome it? See, it is not that whatever is happening is because of our weakness of heart. It is our inability to respond appropriately is because of the weakness of our heart.
It is not that the Kauravas’ aggression, the Kauravas’ hatefulness was because of Arjuna’s weakness of heart. That was because of their own evil character. So, it’s not that what is happening to us is because of our weakness.
It is our inability to respond to it that is our weakness. So, that weakness we can overcome if we just open ourselves. Sometimes we think faith refers to certainty.
If I have faith in Krishna, I have confidence that Krishna will protect me. Faith means things are like this. Krishna is God and that is the reality.
So, faith has one aspect of certainty. But faith also has another aspect. Faith is openness to possibility.
Openness to possibility means that we understand that Krishna can help in many different ways. So, let me be open to answers. So, weakness means we think this is the problem and this is the solution.
But this solution is not working. So, I am helpless. That is the weakness.
But, if we have there is openness to possibility. This is the problem. I need a solution.
I think this is the solution. But if this is not, Krishna there is some other solution. Whatever is your plan, help me.
So, sometimes we will be hungry and we go to a orchard, a place where the fruits are cultivated and then we see a mango tree and we start shaking the mango tree. Oh Krishna, please let a mango fall. I am hungry.
And we keep shaking, keep shaking and a mango doesn’t fall. And then we keep shaking and we get frustrated. Why is the mango not falling? But in the meanwhile, from the neighbouring tree an apple has fallen.
Now, if I am too caught, why is that mango not falling? I miss out on seeing that the apple has already fallen without my doing anything. So, there is a desire and there is a need. The need is hunger.
I need food. I had a specific desire. I want a mango.
The mango did not come, but the apple came and the basic need was served. So, like that sometimes we may face a problem, we may have a need and if we the weakness of heart is basically we become attached to one particular solution alone and think this has to work this way. But if you just become open to possibility, Krishna this is what I think is a solution, but if this is not, please guide me what is the solution.
Then we will find that Krishna can answer our prayers. Krishna can help us in many different ways. Very different from what we might have thought.
So, therefore that by shifting our focus from one particular solution or even one particular problem simply from that we shift the focus to serving Krishna. Then we find that weakness which is overwhelming us, we can overcome it. Because basically weakness comes when we feel as if we are powerless.
See, whenever we feel there is nothing in my control, then I lose heart. What can I do? But if I feel there is something in my control this is something which I can do and then that gives you some strength. So, we can always surrender to Krishna.
We can always take shelter of Krishna. We can always do something to serve Krishna. That way we can overcome the weakness of heart.
Thank you. Any other questions? Yes. Thank you.
You described faith as openness to possibility and given that Bhagavad Gita is saying to have no fear Is that essentially a call to faith? Because it seems that you can’t really have faith or fear faith when you have fear. Okay. It’s almost like it’s establishing true faith at the end.
If you can give up your fear, if you can surrender, then you will have real faith. Is it the basis for any advancement? Okay. So, is it that Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 18.66 that when we give up our fear then we can actually have faith? The sequence is the opposite.
It is not that we give up fear then we have faith. Rather when we have faith, we give up fear. So, now it can also work this way.
Sometimes our fears may prevent us from having faith also. But sometimes it is by having faith that we overcome our fears. So, for example, when I am sick, what has happened to me, what is going to happen to me, I go to a doctor and the doctor tells me, so, you know, you have got this disease, your stomach is forming because of this, you take this medicine.
Now at that time, you know, we have to put faith in the doctor. So, we take a gulp of faith. Isn’t it? We gulp down the medicine.
That is a gulp of faith actually. So, there sometimes my fear may prevent me from taking the medicine. What if this medicine is wrong? What if that medicine is wrong? So, we have to put faith.
But, if I put faith, this doctor is good, this doctor has cured many people. If I put faith in the doctor, that will help me to get my fear down. So, basically for us, it is not necessary that it is basically attitude should be whatever works.
Sometimes we put aside our fears to have faith. Sometimes we have faith and by that the fear goes away. So, it works both ways.
So, just take a step forward. So, for example, just coming for a programme like this, sometimes people have fear, you know, what is this? If I go for a programme, maybe these people will brainwash me. I don’t want to go there.
So, we may have a fear like that. But then, we have some courage, some exploring spirit and we come there. Prabhupada, in many places, he translates faith simply as favourable curiosity.
Shraddha, tat shraddha dhana munayo jnana vairagya yuktaya. I think it is one point, it is 1.2.13 or 14, 2.12 actually. Tat shraddha dhana munayo jnana vairagya yuktaya.
Pashyantyatmanichyatmanam bhaktya shraddha gruhitaya. So, he says, thus the faithful sage, by practising bhakti, according to scripture, realises the absolute truth. Shraddha dhana.
So, Prabhupada translates the shraddha dhana as seriously inquisitive. So, faith does not necessarily have to mean that I have to believe that Krishna is God. Faith can be something simple as is there something beyond life, beyond what I see? Is there more to life than the material pleasures? Let me explore that.
So, that inquisitiveness can also be a form of faith. sometimes, so, just that inquisitive spirit, where just to enquire also requires a little bit of fearlessness. People have to have some courage to do that.
So, sometimes people argue that those people who are fearful, they can’t face life’s problems. They have faith. They believe in some God by which they can deal with their fears.
Actually, what they don’t understand is, faith is also an act of courage. To have faith requires courage. So, say, just a couple of days ago, I was in Dayton.
That is the place where the Wright brothers first flew the flight. Now, at that time, it is a scientific accomplishment, but it is also an act of faith. Now, we have made this device, and it will fly and will take us safely.
That’s an act of faith, and that faith requires courage. So, actually, it is said that when fear accelerates our imagination, faith serves as the brakes. Sometimes, when we face problems, then fear accelerates the imagination.
So, sometimes the mind starts showing us a free horror movie. So, at that time, the fear starts accelerating the imagination. This will go wrong, this will go wrong.
Faith is the brake. So, whatever is not in our control is in Krishna’s control. And let me have faith in Krishna.
So, basically, we just move forward, sometimes by fighting our fears, sometimes by choosing to have faith. We make sure that we just keep going closer towards Krishna, which comes first, that will vary from situation to situation. Thank you.
Okay, here? Yes. Okay. Okay.
So, how can we know the direction of the Lord when we are facing problems, is the mind speaking, intelligence speaking, super soul speaking? See, the important thing is not to get caught in terms. We can get, actually, the philosophy which is meant to clarify things can confuse things if we get too much caught in technicalities. So, we have to understand the principles.
There is something inside us which drags us down. There is something inside us which also inspires us to rise up. So, the part of us which drags us down is the mind.
It is called as the mind. The part which guides us up is the intelligence. And Krishna can speak to us as the intelligence also.
The dhami buddhi yogam tam. I give you the intelligence by which you can come to me. So, if we see the chariot body metaphor, the chariot is like the body, the horses are like the senses, the mind is like the brains.
And who is the charioteer? Charioteer is like the? Charioteer. Intelligence. And if we see in the Bhagavad Gita setting, who is Arjuna’s charioteer? Krishna.
So, actually, Prabhupada in a lecture, initiation lecture, he says that now you have made Krishna the charioteer of your life. When we surrender to Krishna, when we take initiation, basically, when we accept guidance, then we are making Krishna our charioteer. So, the important thing is that instead of bothering too much where is this voice coming from? Where is this voice coming from? We focus on where is this voice taking me? You know that? If I listen to this, what is going to happen? And how do we know which voice is going to take me? That is from Shastra study.
So, if you study Shastra, Shastra, basically, scripture helps us to understand which actions have which consequences. तस्मात् शास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्य व्यवस्तितों यात्वा शास्त्र विधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुं इहारसी Therefore, act according to Shastra. By Shastra, we know what is right and what is to be done and what is not to be done.
So, broadly, there are things in our life where what is to be done and what is to be done is not clear. But there are things in our life where it is clear. To the extent, we do the right thing when it is clear what is the right thing.
By that, we are showing Krishna that we want to be guided. And to that extent, He will guide us about how to decide when things are fuzzy, when things are unclear. So, that’s the first thing.
If we do the devotional activities nicely, diligently, that itself will create clarity within us. And regular scriptural study also sharpens our, not just our intellectual understanding, it also actually sharpens our moral compass. Because we understand, okay, this is what should be done, this is what should not be done.
And of course, it’s important to consult. If there are major decisions in our life, we should consult senior devotees. Consult our spiritual guides.
And usually when some voice comes from within, the best thing to do is to not act immediately. Neither say yes, nor no, just say pause. Because what happens? An idea comes up, at that time, because the idea has come up, it has a force of newness in it.
And at that time, we just can’t evaluate it with objectivity. Or just, okay, note it down and put it in, as they put it in the park, you know, keep it waiting. And come back to it after a day, come back to it after a week.
This is a good idea, let me do it. Because at that time, what happens? When a new idea comes up, quite often it’s in the mood of passion. We are creating something.
But when we are later in the mood of goodness, sattva guna, there is more objectivity, we can evaluate. And then, that also helps us to decide. So broadly, by studying scripture, to sharpen our moral compass, by doing the right thing, when we know what is the right thing to do, by taking guidance from others, and by not acting impulsively, we can discern where, which voice will take us.
And then we can decide whether to follow a voice or not to follow that voice. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Is there a question here? Yeah, please, yeah.
This world, as a community, is part of this world. Why do we feel so good that we have kids? It makes life worth living. It gives us more purpose to have kids.
Family, friends. Joy. Yes, good question.
In that context, What is the point of misery if it is miserable? Why are we coming to this world? Why is God sending us here in different places? Like, how does God treat the world? What’s the point of it? We are a pointer to the supreme pleasure that is in God. The point of this world is to point beyond this world. The point of this world is to point beyond this world.
That means, the pleasures that we have in this world, they are real. Krishna says, Whatever is attractive in this world, it manifests the spark of my splendour. So, in our relationships, in our hobbies, in our inspirations, we get some pleasure.
That pleasure is a spark. And, that spark also enlivens us, but it is temporary. The spark cannot provide the illumination and the warmth that the sun can provide.
Similarly, we do get pleasure in various things in this world. But, they cannot provide us lasting pleasure. So, we act responsibly in these roles that we have.
If we have a relationship, we act responsibly in those relationships. If we have talents, we act in a dedicated way to develop those talents. Krishna says, But, we don’t think that these things alone will make me happy.
Basically, when we see a spark, we can see that spark as something which can alone give me happiness and I don’t need God. Or, we can take that spark, because I have that spark, I don’t need God and I’ll go away from God. Or, I can see this spark is actually a spark of God, so let it take me towards God.
So, the attractive things of this world, they can take us away from God. Or, they can infatuate us so much that we don’t care about God. We don’t necessarily become atheistic or materialistic, we just become apathetic towards God.
Or, we can see the attractive things as pointers towards God and they can inspire us to move towards God. So, when we get fulfilment in the relationships in this world, we can see, okay, this relationship, although it is temporary, it is giving so much fulfilment. So, in eternal relationship, how much more fulfilment it will give.
So, the point of this world is to point beyond this world. So, the world is like a bridge for us to redirect our love from the temporary to the eternal. From the things in this world to the source of those things.
And that way the world serves its purpose. A theist can point to how there are so many things right in this world. If you consider how rains come, the whole mechanism by which we get rains is very complex.
How the sun evaporates water and clouds are formed and then the water falls and we get rains. So, the theist can look at the world and say that there is so much right in this world. Therefore, God exists.
A theist can look at the world and say there is so much wrong in this world. The same rain, it causes floods, it causes famines, it causes suffering, it causes death. Where is God? The point is that if you look at the material level alone, we see there is, we see order, order in terms of the way rains come, there is order.
But we also see distress. So, where is the place where we have both order and distress? If we look at order alone, we say God exists. If we say distress alone, we say God doesn’t exist.
But if you look at order and distress, both are present in a hospital. In a hospital, there is distress, there is pain, but there is also order. Okay, this person has got a heart attack, go do this, this.
This person has got high blood pressure, do this, this, this. So, the point of the hospital is that both are there. Misery is also there, there is also order over there.
The point of the hospital is to cure the patient. So, this world’s point is not to deny the pleasures of this world, but to deny those pleasures the right to monopolise our heart. We don’t think that these pleasures alone will make me happy and we don’t let them displace God from our heart.
Rather, we let them point us towards God. This is so attractive. How much more will Krishna be attracted? Let me become attracted to Krishna.
Does it answer your question? There is one question here. So, you explained about when we get mental blocks, like we carry on with some life question or probably some situation, some distress, and we get so much entangled into it that we need to do a reboot or get some peace and that. But at a physical level, if we are distressed in physical pain, probably some sort of accident or something, at that point, it could be like somebody who is very familiar to you, somebody who has changed his whole life in devotional service.
At that point, he is in a very physically distressed condition. Or it could be somebody who has totally nothing to do with devotional life. How do we actually bring an understanding at that point in terms of the realisation, the dual realisation of our relationship with him? Or is it just pointless because we did not prepare for it and at this point it is pointless? So how do we actually handle that kind of situation? If I perceive myself and if I see somebody, how do I perceive it? So if we see somebody who has practised bhakti for a long time and they face great distress, physical distress or somebody who is entirely new, in those situations, how does the spiritual growth take place or what is the point of it all? The world is made in such a way that it is said that the believers need no reasons, the non-believers accept no reasons.
That means that based on our attitude, the same situation can take us towards God, the same situation can take us away from God. Same problem, the approach can be very different. Now if you see, spiritualists will tell us, you know, if you are young, you are healthy, he says, youth is temporary, focus on bhakti, focus on spiritual life.
Materialistic people tell you, youth is temporary, enjoy before you lose your youth. So the facts are the same. But one’s worldview, one’s conceptions determine how one responds to the facts.
That way distress is a fact of life. Whether a person is spiritually very advanced or a person is spiritually in the neophyte stage. No, Krishna doesn’t say that just because somebody starts chanting Hare Krishna, the world’s nature is going to change.
Even devotees will grow old, even devotees will get deceased. They will also ultimately die. And just as in this world, there can be different ways.
Some people may die in an accident, some people may die by a heart attack. So that whatever happens in mortal nature will also happen to devotees. That’s in the external level.
At the internal level, things are different. So for a devotee especially, that Krishna is there internally to help them. If a person just takes shelter of Krishna, tries to remember Krishna.
Now physically we may not be able to do things. But remembrance of Krishna is always possible. He is remembering Krishna.
Remembrance of Krishna acts like a shock absorber. The distress comes, but it doesn’t distress us so much. So at one level we understand that whatever sufferings we are going through, we are exhausting our karma.
So consider a situation where say there is a child under a very strict teacher. And the child doesn’t do homework. The teacher is going to beat the child.
The teacher is going to beat the child on the hand. Now the mother knows today, my child has not done the homework. Now the mother doesn’t want the child to be beaten.
At the same time, the mother also wants the child to learn the discipline, to learn to do one’s studies. So when the child is going to school, what the mother does is, she calls her child and before the child goes to school, the mother puts a nice thick glow on her hand. And the child goes to school.
And the school teacher asks, have you done your homework? No. Come here. Show your hand.
And the teacher still comes. It hits. A big noise happens.
But because the glow is there, there is very little hurt. So like that, Krishna is like the mother. Material nature is like the teacher.
And we are like the parent child. So Krishna doesn’t want us to suffer. But still Krishna also wants us to learn the lessons.
So what Krishna does is, when by our own karma some distress comes in our life, now Krishna gives us the glow. That glow is Krishna consciousness. It’s remembrance of Krishna.
If we absorb ourselves in Krishna, whatever distress is there, it will come externally. And if a devotee is in pain, a materialistic person just calls, a materialistic person calls and screams in pain. A devotee calls out Krishna.
And through that, a devotee connects with Krishna. A devotee remembers Krishna. A devotee gets shelter of Krishna.
And so that glow of remembrance of Krishna is there, what sheaths a devotee from worldly miseries. Krishna says, if you become conscious of me, you will pass over all obstacles by my grace. That means he’s not saying the obstacles will not come.
My grace will help you to pass over the obstacles. So we see that whatever obstacles are coming, they are an opportunity to take shelter of Krishna. Now if a child before going to school thinks, why am I carrying this glow? Let me throw away this glow.
Child throws away the glow and the glow is there. So like that, if we neglect the shelter of Krishna, then the material distresses will trouble us a lot. If we take shelter of Krishna, no matter what distresses come, we will be sheltered from that.
And that will grow through that. Because we’ll see that this Krishna consciousness is for real. This problem, it would have crushed me otherwise.
But because I am remembering Krishna, because I am practising Krishna bhakti, I am able to tolerate this. So we can see, actually, the problems as an opportunity to discover how tough Krishna consciousness can make us. We might think, I am very fragile.
I just crumble under pressure. It may be like that. That’s how we may be alone on our own.
But with Krishna, we find that we are far tougher than what we thought we were. And that increases our faith in the reality and the potency of Krishna consciousness. And that is a far greater gain than just a problem-free life.
Because life will have problems. Problems will come. Problems will go.
But if we have keen conviction in the reality and the potency of Krishna’s shelter, that will help us to face through all problems and ultimately go beyond this problem-filled world to Krishna’s abode. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Stop here? Okay.
So this is related to the parents and the kids. Most of the parents are born and brought up in India. And the kids are born and brought up in America.
And there is a lot of disconnection between their understanding and because of that, a lot of pressure is coming, growing in the community. And how do we handle that? Who has to change? What? To make them have a peaceful relationship. Okay.
Because this is actually… Many parents are trying to progress in the spiritual path, but they are not happy, because the kids are not following. But the kids are thinking like in the other way. I mean, I don’t know who is right or who is wrong.
Yeah, okay. So… I’ll say that parents are born and brought up in India. Kids are born and brought up here.
So because of that, there is a different set of expectations. And the parents are practising bhakti and they expect the children to… But the children don’t want to practise. Our children have different ideas.
So what to do in such a situation? See, there are basically… To influence anyone else, there are only three things which we can do for them. We can give knowledge, we can provide facilities, we can set an example. Ultimately, everybody is a free individual.
We cannot force anyone to do anything. But these are three ways, very powerful ways, in which we can influence others. First is, provide knowledge.
As you know, this action has this consequence. This action has this consequence. We often provide knowledge in terms of academic education, but this knowledge of moral and spiritual knowledge about actions and their consequences, that is one thing which we can do.
Second is, we can provide facilities. Facilities means, we can’t expect our children to be reincarnations of Prahlad Maharaj. So, before we can expect anything like that, we have to ask, are we devotees of that calibre ourselves? So, we shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations.
Children will basically be children. And each children, they will be influenced by their culture, by their generation. But within their own way, we can provide facilities for them to practise bhakti.
That means, we can’t expect, say, children to come and hear classes for adults. So, we may have some children’s school for them. We may have some kids’ programme, dramas, music.
Many children, I found, they like children’s. So, we have to facilitate them in their bhakti. So, if they get a like-minded association, like-minded, not exactly, their age group, then they can comfortably practise over there.
So, it’s important for when a community is growing to create facilities customised for children. So, there are many communities where devotees may even do either homeschooling or start a school for devotees. They’re big projects, but basically, we have to provide facilities for them.
We can’t expect them to fit into the existing structure. They’re different from us. So, often, if we see whatever talents they have and see how those talents can be connected in bhakti, their musical talent, their acting talent, their speaking talent, whatever it is, we try to channel them, channel that in bhakti.
So, provide facilities. And even their programmes have separate programmes for children. So, basically, the facilities are meant to help children actively participate in bhakti.
They see bhakti not just as a set of rituals, oh, I wake up in the morning, I bow to the deities, I do this chanting, but they see it as a variety filled joyful activities. That’s how they can get connected to Krishna, provide facilities. And third is set an example.
So, if we ourselves are practising bhakti, and that itself sets a very powerful example. Now, often, much of the principles that develop character, they are more caught than taught. Taught means you tell them, do this, don’t do this.
Caught means they’re seen in action and people catch them. So, in general, if we are practising bhakti diligently, then they will see that. Now, when we are practising bhakti diligently, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think that our bhakti practises rationalise or neglecting our children.
Now, if we are devotees, then we see our children also as gifts of Krishna, and we take due care of them. So, if we are setting a good example as devotees, good example as parents. Now, good again doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, but we just do the best that we can.
Then, if you’re doing these three things, over a period of time, they will find their way to Krishna. So, what we can do is by these three things, we are opening a door towards Krishna for them. Now, it is for them to walk through that door.
Now, of course, in their early childhood, you can tell them, do this, don’t do this. But over a period of time, we also need to help them to get attracted. Because if you force them too much, and by the time they come to the teenage years, then they start longing for freedom.
And then once they get some, once they maybe go to hostel, they start working, then they will just completely give up, if they feel too restricted. So, basically, we shouldn’t make, we should know that the children, they are souls on their own right. And they are in their own journey, and they are at their own stage in their spiritual evolution.
So, it is not that they can, they may not be ready as souls to practise bhakti at the level at which we want them to. That doesn’t make them bad, and that doesn’t make us bad. Sometimes, when we don’t, when our children don’t practise bhakti, you know, we feel as if I am a bad parent.
And that is one possibility, but that is not the necessity. Because they are individual souls on their own. So, we see there are many examples in our tradition itself.
Advaita Acharya is, you know, he is an intimate associate of Lord Chaitanya, among the Panchatapur. One of his sons did not become a devotee. In fact, he became a Mayavadi.
He became a person. Now, does that mean Advaita Acharya is not a great devotee? No, it’s not necessarily like that. See, we have our duty, and our duty is to help the children in whatever way is possible for us.
But even Krishna can’t control everyone. See, Krishna himself went to Duryodhana. As Shantidutta and Duryodhana refused.
So, even God cannot force anyone to do anything. So, what to speak of us? Therefore, we shouldn’t make our children’s practise of bhakti into our ego issue. You know, if my children don’t practise bhakti, then I am a failure.
If I am a failure, what will people think about me? No, you should see that. They are souls at their stage in their spiritual evolution, and they will come towards Krishna at their time. If we have provided them spiritual impressions in their childhood, those impressions are very deep-rooted.
And those impressions will get them back to Krishna. We should never make… If they are doing some choices, making some choices which we feel are not good, which we feel are bad, you know, we don’t have to make it into an ego issue. You know, if you are wrong, and you are arrogant to not accept what I am saying, and now you are going, one day you will come back crawling on your feet, crawling on your knees, admitting that I was right and you were wrong.
If you do it like that, even when they realise they are wrong, their ego will not let them come back. So, our love for them should not be conditional to their practise of bhakti. As parents, we love them whether they practise bhakti or not.
Naturally, we will be happier if they practise bhakti, but they are souls in their own right. And many times it happens that in their teenage years, they experience, they want to experience some things. See, what happens, I was introduced to Krishnamoorthy at the age of 20, 21, 22, roughly something like that.
So, in teenage years, for many of us, those who started practising bhakti, you know, we rebelled against others to practise bhakti. People feel, oh, you practise bhakti, but, you know, maybe in the morning chant a few times. I was chanting 16 rounds, I was chanting so much.
So, often what happened for us, for us, the society was telling us to do something, but we went against it, and we practised bhakti. So, there is, especially in youth, there is a natural sense of rebellion. So, for us, that rebellion, we went against the materialism of society and practised bhakti.
But for them, their rebellion, their natural youthful rebellion, it takes them in the opposite direction. They were practising bhakti in their childhood, and youth is the time, teenage and youth is the time when, you know, we just want to go against authority. So, that is just a normal process of growing.
But after that, what happens? The higher taste of bhakti remains. I remember one devotee in India, in Pune. His parents are wonderful devotees.
Their congregation, their counsellors, their preachers, their elder daughter, she also became a very wonderful devotee. God initiated at a very young age, and very nicely practising. But their son, he went through a phase of rebellion.
So, he went through a phase of exploring various kinds of materialism. And the parents were distressed. But they did not impose anything on him.
And then, one day, there was a famous American musician who had come to India. I think it was Michael Jackson, first time came to India, many years ago. At the big concert.
So, he said, I want to go for this concert. And then, you have to pay a lot of money, take a ticket in black, go through crowds, traffic jam, everything. Finally, he got there.
And then, the kirtan started. It was not a kirtan. The concert started.
And it was just going on. And suddenly, he told me, after I came back, you know, I just felt, it was just noise. It was all bang, bang, boom, boom, boom.
It was just noise. You know, the simple kirtan in a temple, it is so much sweeter. Now, at that time, he had done nothing.
It was not that, that day, he had chanted his own name and gone to that concert. Nothing like that. You know, Krishna is working.
And, you know, he was at that particular time, which is receptive. So, everybody is at different stages in their spiritual evolution. And, you know, their spiritual life is not between us and them.
It is between them and Krishna. So, sometimes, we may not be able to work. Like I said, there is surrender in different ways.
Like Arjuna’s readiness. So, like providing facilities, giving knowledge, setting example. At that time, our surrender is like Arjuna.
He is doing all that we can. But when the children come into their teenage years, sometimes our surrender is like Draupadi. We can’t do anything at that time.
They have their own life. And, we can’t force them. But we have to know that they have a relationship with Krishna.
And when we are not able to do anything, Krishna can still do for them. So, what happened at that time, that was the right time when Krishna gave that realisation. And then, his life took a radical turn after that.
And he became a serious devotee. Now, he has become a preacher. And he preaches more than his parents now.
So, everybody is going through their own spiritual evolution. Our purpose is to open doors for people to walk through. So, sometimes we become so attached to people walking through, that if they don’t walk through, we bang the door in their face.
We don’t do that. We open the door and leave it open. So, when they want to walk through, when they are ready, they will walk through.
So, that way, if we have that attitude, we are there for our children, we offer them the facilities to practise Bhakti, we provide them the knowledge, we set the example, they may go through a phase when they explore some things. But eventually, the higher taste of Krishna Bhakti will bring them back. And they will find their way.
We can’t impose too much. We can try to facilitate them, so they can practise. But we don’t have to become too paranoid about it.
We don’t have to let the Bhakti, see our Bhakti is meant to bring each other closer to each other. Our Bhakti is meant to make us more understanding of each other. Sometimes, unfortunately, our Bhakti philosophy, it makes us more judgemental of each other.
It shouldn’t be like that. We have to understand that they also have their mind and senses, and just as we at our level struggle with our mind and senses, they are struggling with their mind and senses. Just as, you know, we have our anarthas, because of which we know this is the right thing to do, but we are not able to do it.
Like that, they have their mind and senses and that is preventing them from doing this. So, we shouldn’t see it as you know, we versus them. It is rather, we and them versus the forces of illusion.
And, how they fight it, that is up to them, but we can be there to assist them. And sometimes, they may take up immediately, sometimes they may take up gradually, but we keep the door open for them. Does that answer the question? Thank you very much.
Shri Prabhupada Ki! Shri Prabhupada Ki! Great! Thank you so much Shri Niranjan Prabhu, that was wonderful, like the entire knowledge of Bhagavad Gita, which is like, you know, people normally take lifetimes to actually understand, and Prabhu has actually presented the entire thing in such a succinct and such a clear understanding. It’s just so wonderful, so thank you so much for this. And on behalf of the entire congregation, we request you next time you are here, please do visit us again, and we hope we can spend more days, we can have nice seminars with you, so please do visit us again.
Thank you. Thank you.