Developing Vaishnava qualities
So I was asked to speak today on the topic of the Vaishnava qualities and this is based on a list given in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit.
I think somewhere covered yesterday. So, कृपालू अकृदोः सत्यसारसम निधोष्य वदान्यम् रदुष्वची यतिञ्चन सर्वोपकारक शान्त कृष्णयिक शरण अकाम अनीहस्तिर विजदशद्गुण मितभुक अप्रमत्त मानद अमानी गंभीर करुण मैत्र कवी दक्षमोणी In the scriptures at many places we have a list of qualities that are mentioned. Now such lists can be seen as both descriptive and prescriptive.
Descriptive means that they describe the character of advanced devotees. Those advanced devotees have these qualities. By the same time they are also prescriptive.
Prescriptive means that by developing these qualities we will also advance. So they are like a prescription for us and they serve both these purposes. So broadly speaking if you compare that there is there are stars high up in the sky and you would like to reach those stars.
Now the stars are way way high up. But suppose there were some stairs which led up right up to the stars. Then the stars are up there, the stairs are up here.
Just take small small steps forward and gradually rise to higher and higher heights. So like that these qualities sometimes they may seem so lofty that they are like stars up there in the sky and they may seem not very practical. At the same time there is also the aspect of stairs in them.
That means from wherever we are we take one step up and try to rise towards these qualities towards developing our consciousness in this direction. So they can refer both to the destination and the direction. That is where we need to go.
But this is the path that we follow to go towards it. So the 10th quality in this list is Sarva Upakaraka. Sarva Upakaraka is one who does welfare for everyone.
One of the characteristics of today's age is that many people want to be activists. Environmental activists, social activists. Many people feel especially they want to do something which will have a positive impact, which will make some constructive change.
And when we practise Krishna Bhakti some people feel that what are you doing practically for society. You are just doing your chanting, you are doing your own personal spiritual practises and just cutting yourself off from the world. What is it that you are doing practically? Actually, yes, there is an aspect of Krishna Consciousness that is otherworldly.
However, the point of Krishna Consciousness is actually to look beyond the surface. So yes, we may look at, today there are so many people who are having food shortage, people who are starving. Yes, it's sad, it's very sad to see people who are starving.
But at the same time, why are they starving? That is not just because they don't have food, it's also because there is mismanagement of food resources. There is so much land that is used for growing feed for animals instead of using it for growing grains for human beings. In fact, if all the land on the earth, this is a Food and Agriculture Association organisation, FAO statement, that if all the irrigable land was there in the world, instead of using it for making animal feed, if it were used to make crops for human beings, we could support nine times the present population of the world.
So basically, the problem is not so much shortage of resources as mismanagement of resources. And this mismanagement of resources is primarily because of misdirection of desires. So whenever people become activists for any cause, usually the cause that they become activists for, that cause works against some other cause.
Because all causes in this world are finite. So some people become, say, animal rights activists and they want to protect animals from being killed. In India, just a month ago, there was a big agitation, there was a rare species of elephants, which the animal activists wanted to save.
But that elephant was going on a rampage and was killing villagers in the nearby vicinity. So now do you save the elephant or do you save the villagers? So any level of activism that we do in this world, there's always the challenge that we benefit one set of people, but then we end up hurting another set of people. So when we practise Krishna consciousness, we are watering the root of the tree.
When we try to serve Krishna, when we try to please Krishna, when we connect with Krishna, that purifies us. When we become purified of lust, we become purified of anger, we become purified of greed, then we are able to actually become channels for Krishna's compassion. Several times in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, sarva-bhuta-hite rataha, that the devotees work for the welfare of all living beings.
And just by being conscious of Krishna, just by chanting Krishna's names, we actually become a part of the solution. Actually Prabhupada once asked that, when we take prasad, there are germs in our stomach. So what happens to those germs? So Prabhupada said by coming in contact with prasad, they also get purified.
So he said that by taking prasad, we are doing social service. Of course, that is not the only way to do social service. We can also distribute prasad, we can distribute spiritual knowledge.
But the point is that there is activism at the external level, which is important, but even more important is activism at the inner level, where we purify ourselves of the forces that cause disruption, that make people do disruptive things. So in that sense, by connecting us, so Krishna is here, we are here, all of us are parts of Krishna, and if we become channels of Krishna's compassion, then we become agents for Krishna, then Krishna will use us for doing the best good for everyone. And because Krishna loves everyone, Krishna cares for everyone.
Swaroodam sarva bhootaanami, the well-wisher of all living beings. So when we serve Krishna, it is not that we are serving him between us and him, that's all. No, when we serve Krishna, we act on Krishna's behalf in this world.
And when we act on behalf of Krishna in this world, we actually offer the best welfare work for the whole world. But when we are not connected with Krishna, then we become covered over by various kinds of forces, which are self-centred. And by that, even if we do some good to some people, we end up hurting some other people.
So sarva-upakaraka, benefiting everyone, that is the characteristic of a devotee. So for devotees, when people are having problems, they usually preach the same thing, chant, listen, associate. And I see that sometimes we get caught up in the mind.
And I see that sometimes it just takes a little bit of psychology for the person to be able to clear the mind a little bit and then go back to the chanting and keep going. But I feel that those are two conflicting thoughts. When you approach a devotee with psychology or when you approach them with the same preaching, chant, listen, associate.
Okay, good question. So if some devotees face some problems, should they try to solve the problem simply by the standard process of bhakti or should they be given some guidance based on psychology by which they can help to solve the problem. Yeah, it's not a matter of this or that.
Both can work. Because we don't see Krishna Consciousness as an isolated activity. Krishna Consciousness is actually being conscious of Krishna.
And when we are conscious of Krishna, then at that time we see that if we are using devotional activities, if we are using principles of psychology, then what are we doing? We are actually using the insights that ultimately have been got by some psychologists. But how did they get them? Krishna says, I am the intelligence of the intelligent. Psychologists have also got insights because the super soul in their hearts, God in their hearts has given them that intelligence.
So where something has come from is important. But more important is where that thing is taking us. So just like say for example right now we are speaking in English.
Now English is not a language in which the scriptures were originally written. The scriptures are written in Sanskrit or Bengali. But English is a means for communication.
And to communicate effectively in English, we learn English. Now in English, so much other literature is also there. There is so much maybe mundane literature, obscene literature.
We could very well use English to read that, compose that, share that, but we are not doing that. So just like English is a tool for communication, which can be used for Krishna's service. And it's not that just because something is being spoken in English, that means it is false or it is maya, it is illusion.
No, if the message that is spoken in English is taking people closer to Krishna, then why not? The whole principle of bhakti is based on seeing the connection of everything with Krishna. We adopt the principle of yukta-vairagya. Yukta-vairagya means that everything can be used in Krishna's service.
So some principle of psychology can be used in Krishna's service to help devotees, to deal with maybe their emotional issues better, to manage some things better. Then that can be done. The challenge comes when whatever psychological analysis or principles, instead of seeing them as connected with Krishna and as taking us towards Krishna, we start seeing them as competitors to Krishna.
This is helping me to solve my problems. Why do I need to chant Hare Krishna? Why do I need to practise Krishna bhakti? So yes, they may help us to deal with our problems, but that's temporary. They may help us to do pacification of our emotions, pacification of our agitations, but they won't bring about purification.
So we can use these if it's required. So normally we have to be basically fighting a war. Fighting a war against the forces of illusion, fighting a war against the mind.
And while fighting this war against the mind, what do we do? We have to use whichever weapon works. If I go into a war with a sword, but if the enemy is shooting me with bows and arrows, before my sword can reach them, I will be killed. Isn't it? So I may have gone into plan of the sword, but if I find that bow and arrow is required, that's what I have to use.
So we have to be pragmatic in terms of doing whatever works. So there are the processes of psychology and there are the purposes of psychology. We may use some practises, some of the tips, some of the strategies, that's fine.
But most of psychology, like most of science, is non-theistic. It may not be atheistic. Some of it is explicitly atheistic.
But it is non-theistic. So we don't want to get caught in that trap. That's why if we are cautious and that's why if we do this in the guidance of some devotees, then this is a skill that can be used in Krishna's service.
And we can use it to become better for serving Krishna just as if our health is not good. And we could try some traditional system of medicines like Ayurveda. Or we could try some contemporary system of medicine like allopathy.
We may try something like yogic exercises for building our health. Or we may try some modern physiotherapy or modern bodybuilding exercises. We go to modern gym.
That's just a tool. So whichever tool I use for strengthening my body, that's fine. The important thing is what am I using the body for.
If I go to gym and I start looking at this attractive figure. I want to have a figure like that. And I make that the goal of my life.
And I forget Krishna. Then that's lost. Then I am lost.
So similarly, as far as the body is concerned, we may use whatever tool is required. Similarly, the mind also. To make the mind steady, if some tool is required, we use it.
But we don't let it become the purpose. Or let it distract us from the purpose of learning to love and serve Krishna. Did I answer your question? Thank you.
So let's move on. So now I will look at the other qualities. So we are looking at the 26 qualities of a Vaishnava.
So the 12th quality, the 10th quality which I discussed was Sarvopkaraka. The 11th quality is Shanta. Shanta is peaceful.
Now there are different levels of peace. There is, Mishra Prabhupada was in the early days in America. He was talking at a time when the Vietnam war was going on.
And there was lot of peace activism that this war is unnecessary, we should not fight. And in that context, Mishra Prabhupada spoke about the Bhagavad Gita. And how Arjuna did not want to fight and Krishna was telling Arjuna to fight.
So that went very much against the mood of the people at that time. So then, one person asked Prabhupada that, Swamiji but isn't war bad? Isn't peace good? So Prabhupada said, what is your definition of peace? He said, yeah, it's simple. If there is no war, there is peace.
Prabhupada said, no, even if there is no war, there are hundreds of other things that will take away your peace. Isn't it? You know, we may have financial anxiety, we may have environmental threat, we may have relational issues, we may have health issues. So war might be a very graphic disruption of peace.
But even if there is no war, how many people in the world today can claim to be peaceful? In the last few years, we can say there have not been many major wars like World War I, World War II. But people are not peaceful. People are agitated.
So there can be, we can talk about peace at various levels. There can be political peace in terms of there are no political wars happening. But still there can be individual agitation.
There can be political peace, there can be communal peace, there can be physical peace. Sometimes some people may just be, there were two people who were in a very scenic spot near nature, maybe on top of mountain. Now one of them may be very peaceful and the other may have come to the mountain top to jump down and commit suicide.
Other may be very agitated. So just by being in an externally peaceful situation, there is no guarantee that one will be internally peaceful. So the peace that bhakti provides us is not just the peace of the body, or peace at the physical level, not even peace at the mental level, that will also come.
But this is the innermost peace. This is peace at the level of the soul. When the soul comes in harmony with the supreme soul, when we learn to live in harmony with Krishna, then that brings the deepest peace.
Because that is peace which can never be taken away. At the level of the mind, relatively speaking, if we consider when we are non-devotees and when we become devotees, we will see that our peacefulness increases. With respect to say anxieties, when we are non-spiritual, when we are materialistic, the sheer level of anxieties are so much.
People are sometimes paranoid because of anxiety. But when we start practising bhakti, as we understand that I am indestructible soul, understand that Krishna is in control, that brings some peace. That brings a substantial amount of relief from anxiety.
Still, the nature of the world is that there will be ups and downs. And our mind, its movement will be like a sine wave, up and down, up and down. Sometimes there will be peace, sometimes there will be agitation.
But a devotee has something deeper than the mind, a level of reality at which one lives. And that is the level of the soul. So, if we are in an ocean, there are going to be waves.
Now, if I am in the ocean and I am just floating in the ocean and the waves will toss me a lot. If I am in the ocean and I am in a boat, then the waves will shake me much lesser. If I am in the ocean but I am in a boat and the boat is anchored, then the shaking will be much, much, much lesser.
So, the same way, when we are just living an unregulated life, we are like right in the ocean of material existence. And the dualities will toss us up and down incessantly. The agitations will be enormous.
But when we start practising bhakti, when we come in the association of devotees, when we start following the principles of bhakti, that is like coming in a boat. And that boat itself shelters us significantly. So, the agitation of the mind decreases.
The ups and downs of life keep coming but the ups don't make us go too much up. Now the downs make us go too much down. We stay relatively calm.
And especially when the waves come, if we are anchored. So, one is externally being in the process of bhakti. Second, that is like being in the boat.
But being anchored is specifically taking shelter of Krishna. That means when the mind gets agitated, at that time we turn towards Krishna and we try to fix our consciousness on Krishna. The mind is agitated, the waves are there.
But when we are anchored, then we become peaceful. So, the anchor is what we all need. To the extent we have this anchor, to that extent we will find that we will be calm.
To that extent we are not connected with the anchor, to the extent that we are not sheltered in Krishna, there will be agitation. And gradually, as we keep practising bhakti more and more, our connection with the anchor becomes stronger and stronger. Ultimately, of course, we go out of this ocean to the shore of eternity, to the spiritual world.
This world is called Kunta, place of anxiety. The spiritual world is called Vaikunta, the place free from anxiety. So, in this way, in Shanti, this deep peacefulness comes at multiple levels.
At the innermost level, at the level of the soul, it comes when we live in harmony with Krishna. When we take shelter of Krishna. So, the mind may get agitated, but we won't get agitated with the mind.
There is a disturbing thought in the mind, but the more we dwell on it, the more we get disturbed. But if we don't dwell on it, it is there, and it stays for some time, it goes away. That's why it's important for us that we don't dwell on agitating thoughts.
We turn our consciousness towards Krishna and then we will experience the sublime peacefulness that comes by the practise of bhakti. So, if there are any questions, please feel free to let me know. Now, the next quality which we will discuss is, Krishna eka sharanam, Krishna eka, only Krishna sharanam, to take shelter of.
Devotion is not just an abstract conception. Devotion is a relationship. It's not like the sky is up there and I look at the sky and feel somehow.
So, devotion can seem sometimes like an abstract emotion like that. But devotion is a personal relationship with Krishna. And that's why when a devotee is in trouble, a devotee takes shelter of Krishna alone.
A devotee doesn't take shelter of anyone else. Krishna eka sharanam. Now, what does it mean when we take shelter of Krishna alone? Krishna says, sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja, just surrender to me alone.
Now, there are many different voices which counsel us in different ways. So, why don't you do this? Why don't you do that? Why don't you do this? So, we may have different ideas of what we should do. It's not that those ideas are necessarily wrong, but nor are they necessarily right.
But we need to make Krishna's words our first and last guide. In between, we may take guidance from many other sources also. So, broadly speaking, if we look at when we decide things, how do we decide? There are four broad factors.
One is tradition. Why am I doing this? We've already always done like this. We've always done like this.
So, you know, when birthdays are there, people blow candles. Now, why do you blow candle if you ask? Most people don't know. Now, there is some, I did some research on this, there is some Scandinavian myth that, you know, every time on the birthday of a person, some evil spirit enters into that body.
And if you blow a candle, they say that evil spirit will go out. Now, you ask people, why do you blow a candle? We've always blown it like that. So, sometimes we do something because it's a tradition.
We've always done it. Another could be culture. Culture means everyone does it.
So, okay, why do you drink? Why do you smoke? All my friends are doing it, that's why I'm doing it. So, second factor why we do something is that it's culture. Third is mood.
I felt like doing it. Mood, mood. I felt like doing it.
You know, why did you go here? Why did you do this? I felt like doing it. Now, feelings are extremely fickle. Today I feel like doing something and tomorrow I feel like doing the exact opposite of that.
So, it's not that we are meant to suppress or reject our feelings, but it's that we cannot rely on our feelings alone for our decisions. And fourth is logic. You know, I thought my way and this seems a logical thing to do.
Logic is also good. But sometimes logic can also be inadequate. Because logic is based on certain information.
Say, for example, we go to a doctor and doctor says, take this medicine. And normally, from a logical perspective, that medicine could be good. But if that patient in the case history has got some complication, then that medicine for that patient is actually contraindicative, actually harmful.
The doctor didn't know about that and the doctor gave that medicine and the patient could have some harmful effects by that. So logic, we do some logical reasoning, but we don't know for sure. Because we don't have, we don't have complete information.
So all these parameters are fine as guides. But, so what are the four things? Tradition, culture, moods and logic. We may use any of these for making our decisions.
But first and last, it should be scripture, Krishna's words. What Krishna tells us, what is the scriptural take on this? And based on that, as assistance in our decision making, we can take in all these factors also. But they cannot be our sole deciding factors.
So when we Krishna shelter, that means we make our decisions based on what Krishna's guidance is. So as devotees, when we take shelter of Krishna in this way, faith is basically a emotion or a conception. How do I know somebody has faith or not? Faith is expressed through surrender.
When we say Krishna eka sharanam, a simple example to explain this is, that if somebody goes to a doctor, and then the doctor says, okay, take this medicine. But then the patient says, no, no, but I thought that doctor told this. And that doctor said that this is the problem and this medicine may be taken.
The doctor says, just forget what anyone else has told you. Just take this medicine, you'll be cured. So at that time, if the patient is to be cured, the patient has to accept the doctor's authority and take the medicines.
So like that, when we come to Krishna, we take shelter of Krishna. And in that way, we move closer to Krishna. We become spiritually healed.
So then it is, another quality is akama. Akama is desireless. It's interesting that the scriptures say that a devotee is desireless.
But at the same time, if you see, there is another paradox, where the same scriptures also talk about devotees having desires. Say, for example, there are prayers in which the devotees say that, I just want to behold your beautiful form for the rest of eternity. I want to chant your glories.
I want hundreds and thousands of tongues and millions of ears so that I can sing your holy names and hear your holy names. So actually, when we talk about akama and desirelessness, what does it mean? Today morning I was talking about karma and akarma. So karma is action, akarma is inaction.
So similarly, kama is desire, akama is desirelessness. But actually, there is also something called as spiritual karma, spiritual action. And similarly, there is spiritual desire.
So when we say a devotee is desireless, that means a devotee does not have any worldly desires. A devotee's desire is to serve Krishna. And for Krishna's sake, a devotee may desire many things.
Like Prabhupada says, what is the cure for lust? In one lecture he says, lust basically means it's not just sensual desires. That's one aspect of lust. Lust means to desire everything for oneself, for one's own enjoyment.
And Prabhupada says, the cure for that is to desire everything for Krishna. When we see something beautiful, we see there is a magnificent building. Oh, this building could be a temple for Krishna.
How wonderful it would be. You know, in Mumbai we had this very famous fashion designer. This fashion designer designs very expensive clothes for some of the top fashion models and Bollywood movie stars.
So what the devotees did was, they had this fashion designer design a dress for the deities on Janmashtami. And that, you know, if we just had the deities, nobody, I mean, the temple would just, the newspapers, the main newspapers, they would say, Janmashtami festival is celebrated, it's called somewhere, small news they would give somewhere. But actually, when they had the deities dressed by this prominent fashion designer, they had like almost like one third page photo of the deities, because they said, these deities have been dressed by this fashion designer.
How is the outfit? Oh, it is beautiful. Did you pay a lot of money to give that? I think it was reciprocal. He was from a Gujarati background, so he had some pious inclinations.
They paid him something, not as standard rates, but he also knew that he would get free publicity by that. So basically, as devotees, when we talk about akama means, it's not so much of rejection of desires, as it is elevation of desires. Instead of desiring things for ourselves, we desire things for Krishna.
So, whatever it is, the point of bhakti is not to repress our desires. The point is to recognise that Krishna is supremely desirable. And over a period of time, we will start realising that the same object, if I use it for my enjoyment, it gives me some pleasure.
The same object, if I use it for Krishna's service, that gives far greater fulfilment. That gives far greater fulfilment. I just gone to a devotee jeweller's place today afternoon.
So that time I remembered, when I was in Pune, there was a Mataji, a middle-aged lady. In middle-aged India, in America, it means above 50? Okay, so she was about 35-40, something like that. So she said that she had come to the temple, and she wanted to give a very expensive jewel necklace to Radharani.
And she said that, she just became a devotee. Throughout her life, she said that she, on her birthday she would get a jewel necklace. Very happy about it.
This year, she came and told afterwards to the devotees, and one of the devotees told me afterwards that, actually, on this birthday she gave this jewel necklace to Radharani, and she said, I felt far greater joy in my heart than what I had felt when I would wear the necklace myself. And this requires realisation. But when we get this realisation, we actually realise that in desiring things for Krishna, there is far greater happiness.
So akama is not so much separation of desires as it is purification of desires. So devotees start desiring the desirable objects of this world for Krishna's sake. So Prabhupada, wherever he would go, he would just see whatever was attractive and he wanted to offer it to Krishna.
He wanted to offer the very best of everything to Krishna. And that way, Prabhupada conceived big things for Krishna's service, and he achieved a lot of big things also. So, in devotional circle, it is more of, we give up desires by taking up higher desires.
We become desire-less in the sense of becoming free from self-centred desires by becoming desire-filled, by becoming full of the desires to serve Krishna. Now, Shri Prabhupada, his defining characteristic, or he, Bhaktsananda Thakur had many great disciples. What distinguished Prabhupada was that he had the strongest desire to share Krishna's message all over the world.
And that desire removed all other desires. So we become desire-less by becoming desire-full. We become desire-less of worldly desires by becoming filled with the desire to serve Krishna.
And the desires cannot be driven out of the consciousness. But desires can be crowded out of the consciousness. So when we want somebody to go out of the house, we push that person out, push that person out.
That person may go, may not go. But if so many people come into that room, that person has no space, that person gets squeezed out. So like that, the unwanted desires, if you just say, no, I will not do this, I will not do this, that creates a sense of deprivation within us.
But if we fill our consciousness with desires to serve Krishna, to glorify Krishna, then automatically the self-centred desires go away. And then, Aniha, it is said, indifferent to material acquisitions. A devotee can use even the most impressive material things in Krishna's service.
But the devotee is not excited for one's own sake. And the devotees had a big temple, I think it was in LA or New York. I think New York at one time we had a huge building.
And in that the devotees had a nice large room for Srila Prabhupada. And Prabhupada came to this room and Prabhupada said, this is so nice, this is just like my room in Vrindavan. Now when Prabhupada stayed in Vrindavan in Radha Damodar temple, if you go to that temple, it is actually a very small room.
Now that room which Prabhupada stayed in was maybe how much? May be one third of this room or one fourth of this room. And the room which Prabhupada had in this American temple was huge. And the devotees were very puzzled.
What is this? This is just like my room in Vrindavan? It is not like the room in Vrindavan. It is very different. But Prabhupada was seeing it from the perspective that whether it is Vrindavan or it is America, he is serving Krishna.
So that same purpose is being served wherever a devotee is. So if there are any grand things for the service of Krishna, a devotee gives those grand things. But if there is something simple for the service of Krishna, a devotee is ready to accept even that.
Now for most people, their sense of self-worth is determined by their possessions. You know, if I have a very expensive phone, if I have a really trendy smart phone, then I start thinking I am smart. You know, if I have an old-fashioned phone, I think that, okay, I am not that cool, I am not that smart.
But, so if I have a very good car, then I think, oh, I am a very wealthy person, I am an upwardly mobile person. I have a big house. So we see for all of us, there is a certain sense of inner insecurity that we try to remove by external possessions.
We don't have a secure sense of self-worth. And do I really count? Do I matter? That insecurity we try to remove by having impressive possessions. And when a big house or a big gadgets or whatever, then we feel, oh, I am someone.
Yeah, recognition. But the recognition comes by having something external. And that's why when people lose possessions, it's not just a loss of the possession for them.
It's a loss of their own sense of self-identity. It's a loss of their own sense of self-worth. You know, if I have defined myself as the owner of a mansion and suddenly I become bankrupt and I lose the mansion.
And who am I? For them it becomes an existential crisis. But a devotee is not dependent like this. Because a devotee's self-worth comes from one's relationship with Krishna.
A devotee knows, even if I have nothing in this world, still Krishna accepts me, Krishna loves me. I am secure in my identity as a loving servant of Krishna, as a beloved part of Krishna. And with that sense of self-worth internally, a devotee can function externally with whatever one has.
So if the devotee has a lot, the devotee uses that in Krishna's service. The devotee has little, the devotee uses that in Krishna's service. The important thing is that a devotee is fixed in the service of Krishna.
And to the extent we become similarly fixed in our internal relationship with Krishna, to that extent, the external positions won't define us. That doesn't mean we don't care for the external positions. We do care.
Because if they can be used in Krishna's service, that's wonderful. Srila Prabhupada would sometimes fly in a plane to go from one place to another. But when he was travelling in India, sometimes he would travel in bullock carts.
Now whether he was travelling in a bullock cart or travelling in a plane, the important thing is not how one is travelling, but why one is travelling. Where he was going, he was going to share Krishna's glories, to make people become more aware of their connection with Krishna. So in this way, whenever there is indifference, he said here, indifference to material acquisitions, that indifference is not because of apathy.
It is not because of lethargy. Some people just don't care. Okay, I lost something.
I don't care. That's simply irresponsibility. To not care for something is irresponsibility.
But a devotee has something higher to care for. And because of that, something higher to care for, a devotee is not emotionally captured, emotionally consumed by worldly possessions. Now if a worldly possession is required for the service of Krishna, the devotee may take meticulous care of that.
There is a beautiful incident in Srila Prabhupada's Neelamrith, the book that describes his life story. There is a verse in the Bhagavad Gita which says, Samalosh Trashmakanchana, that advanced spiritualists use stone and pebbles and gold equally. So Srila Prabhupada wanted to construct a temple in Vrindavan.
And somehow at that time, the devotees were not able to get cement at all. They were able to construct the temple but cement was in short supply because of some circumstances over there. And the temple construction was getting delayed, delayed.
And finally Srila Prabhupada himself intervened and he contacted some patrons and he asked them to provide cement. And finally when cement came, now Prabhupada himself asked, okay, how many consignments have come, how many sacks have come? And Prabhupada told the devotees, you stand there and make sure that nobody steals the cement. You lock it carefully and count it and keep inventory very carefully.
So the devotees there said, Prabhupada was treating that cement as if it were gold. With that much care. Why? The devotee doesn't care for gold also if it is irrelevant.
But cement is required for the service of Krishna, devotees may value cement also. So indifference to material possessions is not apathy or responsibility. Indifference means that one's self-worth is not invested in that.
One is not emotionally consumed by that. So one is connected with Krishna, one is fixed in the identity of serving Krishna and then for that, whatever is required, we are ready to do that. So, if there are any questions, let me know.
So move on, if there are none. So devotee is fixed, sthira. Now sthira, as I already talked about, when we are anchored in Krishna, we become steady.
So steadiness is actually a very important quality for being able to move forwards in a consistent way. There are some people who are very enthusiastic, but they are sporadic. One day they are enthusiastic and the next day it's as if somebody else has come in their place.
So what happened? All their energy has disappeared. It's so pathetic, so lethargic. So in the long run, yes, we will all have our moods, but we have to go beyond our moods.
When something is important for us, we are consistent. So that consistency can come in various ways, but a devotee, because of the connection with Krishna, becomes steady. So sometimes we all will face setbacks, sometimes obstacles, sometimes reversals, but we don't give up.
We persevere. So just as the example is given in the scriptures that when a river is flowing towards the ocean, say when the Ganga river, Ganges river flows towards the ocean, at that time it meets with many obstacles. So if there is some big boulder in between, the river may go below it, may go above it, may go by the left, may go by the right, or it will just keep flowing, keep flowing and gradually it will erode that stone and it will move on.
So like that, a devotee's consciousness keeps moving towards Krishna. Sometimes there may be obstacles and when the obstacles are there, at that time the devotee finds some way ahead. So it may not be that the same way will work for everyone.
All of us have different conditionings. So if we consider the flow of our consciousness to be like a river, on that river of our consciousness, all of us have different kinds of boulders. Some of us may have the boulder of physical health, some of us may have the boulder of too much fearfulness, some of us may have the boulder of some insecurity in some relationship, some of us may have the boulder of financial insecurity.
Different boulders may be there. But whatever be the specific boulder, the devotee always tries to find some way to keep moving towards Krishna. And if we keep trying, gradually we find a way.
So the steadiness is something that comes by understanding that Krishna is the ultimate reality. This boulder is there, but obstacles like this will come and they will go. My eternal function does not change.
Whatever happens, I am a servant of Krishna. I am a part of Krishna and I am going to serve Him. So Prabhupada explains that a devotee is not disturbed by ups and downs.
And why does that happen? Because the devotee is connected with something higher than the ups and downs. If I have a 5 dollar note which somebody is stealing from me, or somebody is giving me a 5 dollar note, if that is the only currency I have, I will get excited. But if I have 5 million dollars, then 5 dollars, whether there is loss or there is gain, I won't get too agitated by that.
I won't risk chasing after the 5 dollar and losing the 5 million dollars. The devotee sees that the connection with Krishna is like that 5 million dollars. And the worldly ups and downs are like 5 dollar gain, 5 dollar loss.
So you don't get so agitated by them. We keep persevering in our connection with Krishna. You want me to complete till 18? So 16th is self-control, Vijita Sadghuna.
So actually there are the six inner enemies. Lust, Anger, Greed, Envy, Pride and Illusion. Now these inner enemies, they misdirect us internally.
That means, let us say there is a war going on and the enemy is attacking from outside. And there is a fort by which the enemy's attacks are checked. But if one of the guards inside has been corrupted, has been bribed and the guard opens the door and the enemy just comes inside and the enemy destroys the person, destroys the fort, has the whole city fall because of that.
So yes, there are many alluring objects in the outer world. But actually it is the vulnerabilities inside us. It is the Lust, Anger, Greed which actually allow those external objects to attack us.
So a devotee tries to overcome these internally. And this takes time, it may take sometimes many lifetimes also to become free from this. But then there are levels at which there is freedom.
There is, there can be mental agitation but there is no physical indulgence. So for example, if I am inside a room and I know that I have a jewel here, a very precious jewel and I know there is a thief outside, just waiting to come in. Then I will lock and bolt the door and never open the door.
So the thief cannot come inside. But if by chance the door is left open, what's going to happen? Bang! The thief is going to bang with full force on the door, try to blast the door open so that they can come inside. And when they try to blast the door open like that, what do we do? Oh, I left the door open.
And just let the thief come in and steal? No. What do we do at that time? We push the door from inside. We try to close it.
So that the thief, or the thief is pushing the door from outside in, we push it back from inside and try to shut the door. So we try to push the thief out so that the jewel is not stolen. So similarly, if you consider our consciousness to be like this room and in that our Krishna Bhakti is like the jewel.
And outside, just outside this consciousness is a thief of illusion. Now, keeping the door locked means keeping our mind busy in constructive activities. In Krishna's service, when we keep our mind busy, the mind does not get any scope to get agitated.
The thief has not gone away. The thief is still there. But we don't give any time for the thief to capture us.
But somehow, if we let ourselves be distracted, we stay unengaged, we keep some time idle, we fool around and then that's like leaving the door open. The thief just bangs and comes inside. So our mind gets agitated at that time.
So now, even when the mind gets agitated, that does not necessarily mean that we have to act at the level of the senses. So acting at the level of the senses means we allow the thief to come inside and steal the jewel, steal the precious stone. But if the thief is banging and pushing the door to open it, we push it back and close it.
That is basically control of the senses. So it's best to control the mind and not let ourselves get agitated. We will see that if we keep ourselves constructively engaged, if we keep ourselves busy, then the mind doesn't get so agitated by worldly desires.
But the time when we are not busy, the time when we think, I'll relax, I'll enjoy, that's it. Immediately the mind starts getting agitated. So then, if at all the mind gets agitated, then we at least have sense control.
If I have mind control, then there is no agitation at all. If I can't have control of the mind, I have at least control of the senses. So that even if the mind is agitated, I won't act on it.
And gradually, that means I push the thief back, I can lock the door. And then that desire will subside. What if we live in a bad neighbourhood with lots of thieves? What if we live in a neighbourhood with lots of thieves? Yes, then we need a lot of security.
So we need to be more vigilant. And of course, when we are talking about not letting the jewel of Krishna Bhakti be stolen by thieves, we also have to choose our battles. See, not all desires are damaging at the same level.
See, the desire to eat a little bit more or desire to sleep a little bit more, it's a bodily desire, but it's not that damaging a desire. There are certain desires which may be far more damaging. So if we try to reject all our desires, we try to combat against all our desires, it's like fighting against too many enemies at the same time.
We will become overwhelmed. So we choose our battles. And we may decide, I have this weakness, I have this weakness, I have this weakness.
I can't combat all of it. So I will focus on one. Maybe I decide for one week or one fortnight or one month, I will work on this weakness.
I will work so that I can chant nicely for one week or one fortnight. Next week I may decide that this week I am going to focus on studying scripture next week. Another week I may decide, I will try to behave very gently, sensitively with devotees.
I will not offend anyone. So we can decide whichever is our weakness and we can decide to focus on that for a particular amount of time. If we try to fight too many battles, we end up not fighting any battle.
Because we just get overwhelmed. I have to work on this also, I have to work on this also, I have to work, I can't do that. So even if we feel that we have too many enemies with whom we have to fight, we can using our God-given intelligence and we can also consult some senior devotees if it's appropriate.
I can ask them, what are the things I need to work on the most important. And I start on them. And as we start working on one, two things and we start seeing that we do improve, that gives us confidence.
And then that confidence can help us to fight other battles also. Okay. I need to have some kind of dedication.
I'll eat a bar of chocolate or whatever it is. And then we think, oh, well that wasn't so bad. Then I'll just do one more thing.
And then I'll just do one more thing. And so it could go in the other direction too. Yeah, I agree.
So then how do we, how do we simultaneously not take on too many battles but at the same time not be like given too much… Okay, agreed. Yeah, that's a valid point. So if we decide that we need some amount of gratification and then one indulgence will lead to another and to another and that can also lead to unregulated indulgence.
Yes, that's why when, even when we are conceding some ground, now that, that shouldn't be just impulsive. See, broadly speaking we function, we can function in these three modes, goodness, passion or ignorance. And when we function in ignorance, that means there is no thought at all.
It's whatever. Whatever happens, let it happen. It's apathy is there.
In the mode of passion, there is impulsiveness. Whatever I feel like, I will do. In the mode of goodness, there is thoughtfulness.
Out of thoughtful deliberation, there is action based on that. So generally speaking, we need to have some broad plans for our life which are formulated in the mode of goodness. So for example, I may decide that I want to wake up early in the morning.
But then, if I have services which require me to stay awake late at night, then I cannot squeeze myself both ways. Then I may decide, okay, on the days when I have this service which keeps me awake late, on that day I may not be able to wake up early. Other days I may wake up early.
So these sort of decisions, if we make them in the mode of goodness, when we are calm and we plan accordingly, then they will be thoughtfully done. They won't be impulsively done. But if at the moment only I decide, okay, come on, I'll do this also.
Come on, I'll do this also. Then what you're saying is likely to happen, that one indulgence leads to another, to another, to another. And then we just get completely overwhelmed.
So we need to make this kind of decisions about strategies. You know, which battle I'm going to fight, which battle I'm not going to fight, or which battle I'm going to fight, how much. We do that in the mode of goodness when we are calm, not just in the heat of the moment.
Then, and it's not that once we have made a decision, we have to necessarily stick to it lifelong. We can decide, okay, this is what I think I'll do for, I'll try to do this for one week or 15 days, and then I will check how difficult is it, how easy it is, how fruitful it is. And we can always revise.
So there's nothing wrong in revising our plans, but that revision should be based, done thoughtfully, not just impulsively. Then we will be able to, we will make the revision in such a way that it helps us to grow. Does that answer your question? How long should we focus on? Focus on? Yeah, okay.
Yeah, I think this is, so how long should we focus on battling, fighting a particular battle? Firstly, it depends on what kind of battle it is. Say if I'm fasting nirjal, then probably I can fast for one day like that. If I decide, am I going to fast without water, I can't fast for two days, three days, one week, ten days.
If I decide I'm just not going to take some sweets, that I'm able to do for some more time. So it depends on what battle it is. The duration will be determined by that.
But another aspect is it has to be somewhat tangible. So, for example, if I decide I want to read a book, there are so many things I can read, so many things I can hear. So if I decide that I want to, I want to read the Bhagavatam every day for the next one month.
And then afterwards I may decide, okay, should I read some other book? Or, yes, the Bhagavatam, I made substantial progress in this one month, so I'll keep reading now. Or I may decide, yes, Bhagavatam is good, but right now I'm doing this course in which I need to read the Bhagavad Gita, or I need to read some other book. You may decide that.
So we ourselves can, by observing our particular situation, decide what will be the optimum duration for doing something. But generally if it is very small or if it is very long, then it just, if it's very small, it appears as if it's insubstantial. What will I do with this? If I decide I'm going to do this for the next two or three days only, then what am I going to do in three days? We feel like that.
But if I decide for the next one year I'm going to do this, then one year is too long a period. So basically something like one week, fortnight, one month, maybe two months, something which is tangible, but it doesn't seem unmanageable. So by working like that, we can inspire ourselves to do something for some time, and then we can decide whether I want to continue this or I want to do something else in the next phase of time.
So thank you very much. So in the key, I go with Bhagavan.