If our conditionings keep popping up what can we do?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, if we have certain conditionings which we are trying to overcome, but then, they keep popping up again and again. We think we have overcome them, but then, after some time, suddenly, they come up.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Especially, when we lower our guard, then, they pop up again.
So, They are quite unexpected, actually. Yeah, I think there are different kinds of conditionings. So, for example, say, somebody might have been drinking tea or eating meat.
You know, most of people, once they start practicing bhakti, just give it up. Don’t look back at it. It’s not difficult.
See, some of the desires, the process of bhakti gives such a high rate that they get cleansed away very quickly. And they don’t come back at all. But some others may be there which may keep coming back.
So, the first thing is, by looking at those conditionings which have disappeared, we can gain faith in the process of bhakti. The process of bhakti works. See, when we find our conditionings relapsing, we can either lose our faith in the process of bhakti or we can lose faith in our capacity to practice bhakti.
But by seeing the thing that has changed in our life, we can actually maintain that faith that, yes, bhakti works and it works even for me. So now, having this faith from that meditation, we can then evaluate what exactly is happening over here. Some conditionings may be very deep-rooted for some people.
So, yes, we do need to prepare, but we have to know that the focus in bhakti should be the war for devotion, not the battle against temptation. The two are different. All the two are related but they are different.
Sometimes we focus too much on what we should not be doing. I should not be doing this. I should not be doing this.
Then that is not a very encouraging thing to meditate on. It is actually draining. I should not be doing this.
I should not be doing this. It is draining. We focus on what we should be doing.
And that actually is a positive focus to us. So, when we think that way, for example, when we are interacting with others, with whom we tend to, say, get irritated, then if we focus in that relationship, what should I be doing? Maybe I can try to be thinking, how can I serve this person? What is it that they will appreciate right now? See, one thing is that there is a time for speaking and there is a time for not speaking. We don’t have to think that every situation is a moment for philosophical education.
It depends on people’s nature. Some people are philosophically minded and just within 30 seconds you can connect deeply and start having a deep philosophical discussion. For other people, as soon as they start discussing philosophy, they start looking here and there.
They just start thinking that we are just showing off our knowledge. For them, philosophy is not what they are comfortable with. So there is a time for correction.
There is a time for just leaving things as they are. It is not that every misconception that anyone has, assuming that they actually have misconception and our understanding is correct, even assuming that, you don’t have to necessarily correct it immediately. There is an appropriate forum for correcting it, appropriate time for correcting it.
And our focus should be that when we are relating to others, people should be comfortable. So, how can I contribute in this discussion? How can I serve in this discussion? So that people feel more comfortable. People feel more at home.
When philosophy is our home territory and philosophy is not the home territory of somebody else, then it becomes somewhat of a mismatch. If we understand what people’s interests are and try to keep the discussion in their interests, then we can avoid this tendency. So rather than thinking about what I should not do, we can think about what I should do.
Within the circle of bhakti, what does this devotee like to discuss? Whenever I meet this devotee, what can I talk about? If we try to find it that way, our focus will be on what I should be doing, not what I should not be doing. And then we will also understand that devotee better. We will connect with them better.
And sometimes if we don’t even understand, we can ask them directly also or indirectly, what is it that interests you? And that way we learn and we keep the discussion in that area. And in appropriate forums, in-appropriate, not in-appropriate, in the appropriate forums or on the appropriate occasions, we can talk about the philosophical issue and have it addressed. There are many cases when Prabhupada actually did not correct even his disciples.
There are, I think in that 7th volume of the Lahamrut, there is a discussion and the devotees actually one day they young devotees, they had gone to Vrindavan and then they came back and they made they saw the Rashtrila being enacted in Vrindavan and they came and enacted Rashtrila. And they made one of them devotee into Krishna and another devotee into Radha and everybody was offering obeisance and doing aarti to them. And Prabhupada was also very peaceful.
It was evening in the garden they had a drama. Prabhupada attended that. Prabhupada did not speak anything at that.
The next morning in the Bhagavatam class, Prabhupada talked about sahajiyas and said we should not be sahajiyas. We should not do this. So actually at that time when the devotees, they had actually sincerely worked hard to please Prabhupada.
If Prabhupada said that, then this is sahajiya. It really demoralized them. So if a spiritual master can choose when to act, then what to speak of us when we are mostly with our people who are equals or just a little younger to us or a little senior to us.
We have to be very careful. So that way by focusing on what we should be doing rather than what we should not be doing, we can create a more positive focus. And if this conditioning relapse, then we don’t have to worry too much about it.
Because they are like spikes. They will come, they will go. They will come, they will go.
If we observe ourselves more… No, don’t pay too much. Because what happens is, we may try to… No, when it comes when it comes the important thing is to not obsess over it. Because what happens, after it comes and we did something wrong, why did I do that, why did I do that, why did I do that? And what is happening by that? Actually we are not conscious of Krishna.
The same mind first made us, do it, do it, do it. And the same mind now, first the mind makes us a criminal and then the mind becomes a judge who punishes the criminal. Do it, do it, Why did you do it? Don’t you ever learn? What a fool you are! In both cases, we are simply mind conscious.
We are not Krishna conscious. So, okay, that spike, that sudden, that conditioning shot up made me do something which was not so good. But after that, let me focus on Krishna.
Let me focus on constructively connecting with Krishna. And by that over a period of time, I’ll find that I’ll become stronger, I’ll become purer. And next time when the spike comes, I’ll be able to deal with it.
So, it is more the focus on the overall connection with Krishna that will help us to deal with the specific anartha, rather than just obsessing over that anartha. Now, when we are relatively calm, at that time we can also observe the patterns. So, when is it that this particular anartha pops up? Is it in particular circumstances? So, then we can anticipate that.
Just like say, in India, suppose we are traveling in a car, sometimes there are potholes in the road. So, if I know there are potholes, then in advance only I plan, okay, I’ll take the car like this. Or I’ll slow down over there.
So, like that, if not at the moment after the relapse has happened, but afterwards when we are relatively calm, after practicing some bhakti, connecting with Krishna, when we are in sattva guna, then we can observe, okay, in what circumstances does this happen? And that’s like noticing, okay, this pothole is over here. Then we can avoid that. Actually.
Any other questions? Yeah.