When our sadhana oscillates because of material ups and downs what can we do?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, when a sadhana goes up, am I audible there? So, when a sadhana goes up and down, like a sine curve, because of our material circumstances, how do we handle that? Yes, the material world itself is a place of change. And because it is a place of change, external change will also cause internal change.
So, it’s natural that things will go up and down. We can’t expect that everything will stay static. So, the important thing is the reorientation.
It’s like, even when yesterday morning I came from Houston. So, any flight, if we consider, no flight goes in a literal straight line from the starting point to the ending point. Because of the wind, because of the atmosphere, the flight always gets off course.
And then, in fact, pilots say that the flight is off course almost 90% of the time. But then how does it get to the destination? Because the pilot reorients it. So, like that, going off course in our spiritual life, sine wave means sometimes we just don’t feel inspired, we feel de-energized.
That is like going off course. That is inevitable to some extent. But we need reorientation.
So, just like a pilot, as soon as the pilot recognizes, oh, the plane has gone off track, bring it back on track. So, we have to find out for ourselves two things. What are the things that disorient us and what are the things that can reorient us.
Sometimes some disorienting things are just unavoidable. In the course of life, some things are just sometimes we have family issues, health issues, financial issues. So, these are inevitable.
But if we know certain situations are likely to disorient us, we may plan and prepare in advance if we know. But even if that doesn’t happen, if we get disoriented, distracted, and if we have certain things we know, okay, if I do this, if I hear some classes, if I read a book, or if I just attend some, just go to temple and attend some fiefdom or whatever, whatever it is for us that can reorient us back, we find that. And as soon as we realize that I’ve got disoriented, we try to plan and do the reorientation.
So, the important point for our spiritual growth is the purpose. If we remember the purpose and keep coming back on purpose, there is, we can’t, at least in our stage, we can’t expect ourselves to be consistent. It is, we can try, we should try, but it’s not always possible to be consistent.
But we can try to be resilient. Consistent means always the same. That is difficult, but resilient means that, okay, even if I go down, even if I’m knocked down, I rise again.
Whenever I’m knocked down, I rise again. So, we’ll all have our good days and bad days. And as long as we keep persevering over a period of time, we find that we are able to do something worthwhile, that there is a tangible transformation that happens.
This is from our perspective, from the practical perspective. From the devotional perspective, we should know that Krishna sees not just our feelings, He also sees our feelings about our feelings. That means, our feelings about our feelings means, sometimes because of the external world, because of inner impressions, we might just get some thoughts and desires, which are anti-devotional.
But, when those desires come, how do we respond to them? Do we just accept those desires and start, those feelings and start acting accordingly or, we pray, Krishna, I don’t want to feel like this. Now, please help me become free of this feeling. So, Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 14th chapter, 21st verse, He says that, 21st verse, Arjuna asks a question about how to overcome the modes.
At 22nd verse, He answers that, So, Krishna says, sometimes we’ll feel illuminated, Prakashyam. Sometimes we’ll feel passionate, I want to do something. Moha, sometimes we’ll feel, what is the use of doing anything, just leave everything.
These feelings will come upon us at different times. But, the wise person doesn’t identify with those feelings. This feeling has come, this feeling will go.
So, rather than identifying with the feeling, we become an observer of the feelings. And if we become an observer, it’s like if we are living in a city, sometimes some people, different kinds of people will come in the city and they’ll pass by the city. So, everything that comes in our mind, we don’t have to identify it as our feelings.
It just arises because of some circumstance. It stays there for some time. If we focus on them, if we dwell on them, they grow.
If we identify with them, we act on them. But then, if we don’t identify with them, they stay there for some time and then they will go away. So, that way, what Krishna sees is not just the feelings, but he also sees our feelings about the feelings.
That means, some feelings arise because of external stimuli or some internal impression. But, how do we respond to them? So, if our attitude is, Krishna, I don’t want to feel like this. Krishna, please free me from this feeling.
That prayer itself may make us take more shelter of Krishna. Although, we do not have exactly a devotional disposition at that time, but even the intention for devotion can help us move closer to Krishna. And in that way, by having that… First, I talk about resilience.
Even if we don’t have consistency, we can be resilient. Second time, if we have vigilance, we are observing. Okay, this feeling is coming.
I won’t identify with it. It will go away. Then, by that resilience and vigilance, we can keep reorienting ourselves as we become more and more purified.
Then, over a period of time, we will see that the sine waves, their frequency and their amplitude will decrease. Still, there will be ups and downs, but the ups and downs will not be that bad or the downs will not be that bad. But, their amplitude will decrease, their frequency will decrease and will become more and more steady.
The Bhakti Rasaam with Sindhu says that eventually, we come to a stage called sthaai bhaav. Sthaai bhaav is steady attraction towards Krishna. And that is the point when bhakti becomes joyful.
Because you are always connected with Krishna, then it is su-sukham kartumam dayam. Then it becomes joyful to practice. Okay.
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