While choosing how can we know which desire is coming from external influences and which from internal inspiration?

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Transcript

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So, when we have to make choices, we may get totally conflicted and we may not be sure whether whatever we are thinking of doing, that that is coming from external materialistic influences or that is coming from our own inner inspiration, our inner spiritual core. Yes, as I said, the main difference between material and spiritual is the material is temporary, the spiritual is eternal. So, by the extension of the same principle, that which is material, that keeps changing very rapidly.
That which is spiritual, that lasts much longer. So, that means that generally when we have to make a decision, we always think of yes or no. But sometimes it’s a major decision, best thing is not yes, not no, but pause, wait.
Wait, not just wait passively, but wait and observe. So, for example, right now, we have to make a decision, then we use our intelligence and write down our thoughts. Let’s write down our thoughts in a journal.
Okay, this is the pros and cons of all this. Write it down. Now, what happens as soon as we write things down, the thoughts when they come out of the head, we can evaluate them more objectively.
As long as they are inside, just keep going round and round and round and they create congestion. Get them out, there’s more objectivity that comes. And then after that, say, we decide, okay, I will, instead of constantly thinking, should I do this, should I not do this, should I not do this, we just get the thoughts out, keep them there.
And if afterwards, every day, every week, every day or every week, depending on what the nature of the decision is, we devote some time, okay, I’ll add something over here, I’ll remove something from here. If some new thoughts come in, we keep adding to that. And we keep expanding that.
And if we find that after a month or after three months, after six months, if our overall thoughts are staying the same, then that means it’s a steady inclination. It’s not just a fleeting infatuation. So, basically, when we get our thoughts out, that is like a snapshot of our mind.
When we get a snapshot of the mind, and we find, okay, now my mind was like this, but then sometimes we get angry with someone and we just, you know, I’m going to break up things with him or her, whatever it is. And then after one, two, three, it’s a small thing. Why did I make such a big thing about it? So, what happens sometimes, we see our feelings have changed completely.
Sometimes we find our feelings are just as it is. So, based on that, are significantly the same. So, based on that, if you have a snapshot of the mind, if you find that things are changing rapidly, then we understand this is not something which I should make a major decision based on because it’s an infatuation, it’s coming and going.
But if it stays, it endures, then we can make a decision. Another important point is that when we are caught in the conflict, often we need to raise our consciousness. So, prayer, meditation, exposing ourselves to spiritual vibrations.
What happens by that is our consciousness rises upwards. And when our consciousness rises upwards, then we can see with greater clarity, we can see with greater perspective. And then we will also understand things that we didn’t understand earlier.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that, in 14.11, he says that when we come in the mode of goodness, that means when we become more peaceful, more composed, then the doors of the body are illumined. Now, it is a metaphorical way of saying, it is not that for enlightened people, light comes off their eyes or ears or something like that. What it means is that if this door is illumined, if this door is dark, then who is coming in, who is going out, I cannot know.
Or who should be allowed to come in, who should not be allowed to come in, I can’t decide, because I can’t see anything. But if there is light over the door, I can see, this is a friend, welcome. This is a strange looking person, we are on guard.
Now, this looks like a criminal, close the door. We can select because the light is there. So, like that, when we are in the mode of goodness, which thoughts to accept, which thoughts to reject, which thoughts to keep a pause and evaluate, we are able to do all that because we are internally illuminated.
So, the process of scriptural study, the process of meditation, the process of worshipping the deities, all this raises our consciousness of this. There is one thing, I talk about journaling as a way of doing a specific decision in a long term way. But along with that, as a foundation for making decisions, we need to elevate our consciousness.
So, we will find that if we are doing spiritual practices regularly, then we will be having much more clearer thinking by which we can make decisions. Does it answer your question? Thank you. Yes.
So, when we talk about keeping all the doors