When the higher taste doesn’t seem higher

[Congregation program at Portland, USA]

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. Wonderful talking with you.
Thank you, Prabhu. I’ll speak on the Bhagavad Gita 2.61. I’ll speak on the topic of, the Bhagavad Gita talks about the higher taste. So, the topic I’ll speak on is, why the higher taste doesn’t seem higher to us? Why is it that the lower pleasures of this world seem more attractive? So, 2.61 in the Gita says that, So, Krishna is saying that in this way, if you focus all your senses and control all the senses and focus them on me, then you will control the senses, you’ll conquer the senses.
And that is when you’ll be situated in steady intelligence. The background is, Krishna is being asked by Arjuna, what are the characteristics of a self-realized person? That’s what he asked in 2.53. And 2.54 to 2.72 is being answered in the question. So, two verses later, Krishna says that, Since we may give it up, but still the desire will remain.
And we will not be able to give it up unless we get a higher taste. Now, in the world we live in, so many different temptations. There’s a British playwright, Mark Twain, he said, So, I have given up smoking, but smoking has not given me up.
So, even if we are not spiritually minded, still we face situations in our life where we are pulled towards doing things which we know are not good for us. So, even if we want to study for our exams and we are sitting in front of a computer and we are studying and suddenly a notification comes up on Facebook or some email comes up, some message comes up and something comes up, I want to see that, I want to read that. So, we always face choices.
And the idea in today’s world is that, actually, we just need to have more and more choices. Then we will have freedom. If you happen more, like in the past, there might be a television with two, three channels.
But now, hundreds of channels and now with internet available, we can stream in from anywhere. So, now we say we are progressing, we have so many options. However, our freedom is not increased just by increasing the choices available to us.
Our freedom is actually increased when our capacity to choose wisely is increased. There are two different things. I am here, there are options in front of me.
So, sometimes I may feel I just don’t have enough options. And so, my freedom is restricted. I want to buy a new house, but I don’t have enough money to buy a house.
So, by my finances, my options are restricted. So, today the idea is that, if you can just have more and more options, then you will have more and more freedom. But sometimes, just having more options, it doesn’t free us.
It simply burdens us. Why burdens us? Suppose I go to a shop and I want to buy a toothpaste. And there are 100 brands of toothpastes.
Now, which one do I buy? If I start looking at all the brands to see what are the ingredients, what are the components. I will be in the shopping mall till next day, I have to brush my teeth. Is it? So, just having too many options can simply burden us.
And sometimes, having too many options without having the necessary capacity to discern between the options, that can actually lead to waste of time. And we may end up with more and more wrong options or less than the best options. That’s why, the world and its progress today is largely in terms of providing us more and more options in everything.
If you want to buy a phone, there are literally hundreds of models of smartphones available. And now to select among all these smartphones, we really have to be very smart. Otherwise, we have this one, this one, this one, this one.
We just go on and on. So, this whole principle that we will have to choose between various options that is there in every aspect of our life. And when the Bhagavad Gita talks about higher taste and lower taste, param drishtva nivartate, we become peaceful when we experience the higher taste.
What it means is that among the choices that we have to make in life, some choices are better than others. But it’s not that those better choices are more palatable. In some cases, like say amongst choosing smartphones, it may not be necessarily that this is a bad choice and this is a good choice.
This could be a good choice, this is a better choice. But say in between the smoking and not smoking, smoking is a bad choice, not smoking is a good choice. So, we will have different degrees of variations between different choices.
One may be a rank bad choice, say somebody is driving a car and they go above the speed limit, that’s a bad choice. But if somebody is driving a car and that time they start texting on the phone, that’s an even worse choice, isn’t it? If somebody is driving a car and before driving they are drunk alcohol, that’s an even worse choice, you could say. So, there can be degrees of choices which we may make.
Some may be good, some may be bad. But their goodness and badness may vary. However, most important thing is that for us to exercise our freedom properly, more than the amount of choices available to us, our capacity to choose, our ability to choose widely, that is more important.
So, if somebody is hungry and there will be some carrots which you can eat or some celery and there is some carob halwa. Now, for us, something which is sweet and delicious, this is very good, this is not good. Now, if I have got diabetes and I cannot eat that sweet, then I will say, okay, I have to eat this.
But you know, this doesn’t taste good, but still I have to take it. Whereas, this tastes really good, but you know, I’m not allowed to take it. What to do? So, many times in our life, the good choices that we have to make, they appear like carrot or celery.
And the bad choices appear to be like a delicious sweet, a delicious item. Oh, you know, I would love to choose that, but I have to choose this. And as long as this conception is there, making the right choice seems always to be an austerity.
Making the right choice seems as if we are losing something. Oh, you know, actually, this is so nice, but I have to choose this. So, we start practicing spiritual life and in spiritual life, we have to avoid these things and do these things.
Many other things which we are told to avoid, they can seem to be so enjoyable. Oh, I have to give them up. And this, okay, I have to do it.
But sometimes spiritual life can seem like having carrots and celery. It will seem not at all pleasant. So, now when the scriptures tell us that this is the higher taste, but within us, for our perception, the higher taste doesn’t seem to be higher.
It seems as if the lower taste, lower taste is worldly pleasures, they seem much more attractive. So, I’ll talk about three things over here. There is a physical situation, there is the mental conception, and there is the spiritual perception.
So, whenever we perceive anything, how do we perceive? There is a situation out there. So, for example, say if a person is going through a desert and there is a mirage. Now, the physical situation is that there is simply sand over there.
But the mental conception is that, oh, there appears to be water over there. I want to go and get that water. Now, beyond that, we perceive.
So, to understand these three levels, there is the actual reality, there is the reality outside, there is the mind’s conception, and there is the soul who perceives. So, let’s do a simple thought exercise to understand this. So, all of you can close your eyes and take three deep breaths.
Now, look at what you see in front of you. When your eyes are closed, you cannot see what is outside. But that does not mean you see something inside.
There is, as if there is an inner screen on which you may see maybe this room, it may be, you may see your loved one, you may see your car, you may see, if you are tired, you may see your bed and think, I will just go and sleep over there. You’re hungry, you may see a nice plate of prasad. And on this inner screen, now you may see a parade of images going on, one after another after another.
Or sometimes you may just see a, just a dull screen with a few vague colors on it. But you can see something inside you on an inner screen. Now, as you’re observing this, try to take a step back and see who is the inner seer.
You’re looking at the inner screen, but take a step back and try to look at the inner seer who’s observing this inner screen. If you take a step back, what happens is the inner seer steps back with you. Even if you take another step back, you can see the screen, but you cannot see the seer of that screen.
Try once again, take a step back. You can see the screen, but you cannot see the seer of the screen. What we are looking for is what we are looking with.
So, the inner seer is the soul, and the inner screen is the mind. The inner screen is the mind, the inner seer is the soul. You can take three deep breaths, and then you can open your eyes.
One, two, three. You can open your eyes now. So here, whenever we perceive, normally there has to be this connecting link between the three.
The inner seer, the inner screen, and the outer scene. So, when you’re looking at me, or when I’m looking at you. So, it’s only when the three are in line, the inner seer, the inner screen, and the outer scene, then perception happens.
If, say, our mind goes somewhere else, we think of home, we think about office, then on the inner screen, what is there on the outer scene doesn’t flash. Something else flashes. So, the inner screen is meant to act like a window, which shows what is there outside.
But the inner screen sometimes acts like a TV screen, and it shows something else entirely. That’s how, when we get absent-minded, we start daydreaming. So, why is this relevant? I was talking about pleasure and our conception of pleasure.
So, if you consider a mirage, the physical situation is there’s only sand over there. But the mental conception is that there is water. And the inner seer, the soul perceives, oh, there is water.
I want to go there and get that. Go there and get the water. We touch it, and there’s no water.
There’s only hot sand over there. So, what has happened here? The mental conception has misled us. The physical situation is one thing, but the mental conception is different.
And because of that, we get misled. Our actions are largely determined, not by the physical situation, but by the mental conception of the physical situation. When I go there, oh, there’s water.
My action is not determined by what the physical situation is. My action is determined by my mental conception of the physical situation. Now, see, I’m sitting here, and suddenly somebody comes up, raising their fist, charging towards me.
I don’t think this person will come to attack me. And I may raise my hand to defend myself or to counterattack. And then as I’m just raising, they just go by me and bang, they hit someone behind.
So, they saw that there was someone behind me who was about to attack me. And they came to attack me. They came to save me, attack the person behind.
So, the physical situation was, the person was actually my protector. But my mental conception is, the person is attacking me. And I will respond, not based on what the reality is, but I’ll respond based on what my conceptual reality is.
So, for us to be able to act properly, our conception of reality has to be in harmony with the reality. And illusion, when we say maya, that which is not. What is illusion? Illusion essentially means that our conception of reality is at variance with the reality.
That is what is maya. So, when I see a mirage, my conception of reality is at variance from the reality. And that is me.
That means I’m an illusion. So, when we start practicing bhakti, we look at the world. There are so many pleasures in the world.
There are movies, there are TV shows, there’s this, that. I feel this is so enjoyable. And this bhakti, okay, it’s also good.
So, when we are practicing bhakti, we will not say that this is bad. But what the mind says is, this is good. Krishna is good.
But maya is also not bad. This is good. This is also good.
And right now, this is better than this. The mind slowly shifts our priorities, shifts our perceptions. And in that way, we start getting attracted away from Krishna towards worldly things.
So, it’s not that, say, when a person becomes an alcoholic, it’s not that they go out thinking, I’ll become alcoholic. What happens is, maybe they just hang out with their friends, and their friends say, let’s have a drink. And they take one drink.
After a few days, they take two drinks, and three drinks, and four drinks. And gradually, what happens? The sober life seems, eh, that’s not cool. This life, it’s cool.
Actually, it’s not cool to think that it’s cool means they are a fool. But they start thinking like that. So, the mental conception is shaped, in this case, by their association.
Friends say, come on, be cool, enjoy, drink like this. And they start drinking. And although they may suffer because of that.
They may get a hangover. They may get some disease. They may lose a lot of money.
They may behave in a disgraceful way sometimes. So many complications may happen. But once they become habituated to drinking, at that time, when the urge to drink comes, everything else is forgotten.
When a person becomes very attached to something, then when the desire comes in, you just forget everything. Sarva dharman parityajya, mayam ekam sharanam vraja. At that time, when a person becomes attached, just forget all duty, all responsibility, all morality, and just surrender to the illusion.
And how does this happen? This happens because the mental conception has become distorted. Sometimes, say, if we are wearing spectacles, but the spectacles are not proper, say, it’s not matching our number, then we don’t see accurately. So similarly, when our mind’s conceptions become distorted, then it gives us a distorted perception of reality.
So sober life is better than an addicted life, an alcoholic’s life. But for the alcoholic, the sober life doesn’t appear better. Then the sober life appears austere, too much trouble.
Now, it’s not that nobody is born drinking alcohol. Nobody is born an addict. So it’s not that their perception was wrong from the beginning, but somehow their perception changed.
So for us, our actions are largely shaped not by reality, our actions are shaped by our conception of reality. And that conception is shaped by what is present in the mind. What is present in the mind? Say, there is an Indian who’s from South India.
Now, if they are hungry and they want delicious food, then the food is common, all people will eat it. But if you ask for delicious food, ask a South Indian, say, oh, idli sambhar, masala dosa, that’s what will, nice food. If you ask a Punjabi, oh, parathas, that’s good.
Now, if you ask a Gujarati, dhokla, something like that. Now, there are different people who like different items. Now, what is happening over here, food is meant to serve the need of hunger, that is common.
But which food appears attractive is shaped not just by the taste of the food. Paratha is also delicious, dhokla is also delicious, idli sambhar may also be delicious. But still, which food appears delicious? All foods may be tasty, but for a particular person, a particular food appears tasty.
Why? That is based on the mind and the impressions within the mind. The impressions in the mind shape our, how we perceive the outer reality. So, for an alcoholic, alcohol is an acquired taste.
By repeatedly drinking, drinking, drinking, what happens is, the mind starts perceiving this as not just, I feel nice, I feel irresistibly nice, I need it, I want it, I can’t live without it. So, the mental conceptions are what are going to largely determine our actions. And as long as our mental conceptions are inaccurate, if we tell an alcoholic, don’t drink, it’s bad.
He will say it is bad, but actually when they want to drink it, their urge comes, it’s not all that bad. So, the mind is what determines our actions, much more in the outer situations. So, the whole process of making wise choices is based on changing our mind.
Changing our mind means changing the conceptions in the mind. In the modern world, or we could say that there’s a western world and there’s an eastern world. And these two worlds have two distinct focuses.
What is to be centrally done? Bhakta Siddhanta Siddhartha Thakur, in one of the first books that he wrote, he wrote in Bengali called Bangale Samajikta, Sociality in Bengal. That was a time when the western influence was coming more and more in India. And some of the Britishers were criticizing India, they were so passive.
We don’t do anything at all, just see how much we are progressing. So, Bhakta Siddhanta Thakur says that broadly speaking, there are two different conceptions of progress. He said that the soul interacts with the world in two ways.
There are Jnana Indriyas, the senses with which we acquire knowledge. We take information from them and we try to understand. And there are Karma Indriyas, we act with our senses.
So, we perceive the world with Jnana Indriyas, we act in the world with Karma Indriyas. So, he says that in the western civilization, progress is measured in terms of Karma Indriyas. Now, how much we act in the world and how much we change things in the outer world.
Whereas, in the eastern world, he is talking about India, but this applies to China also, eastern world in general. Actually, the focus is on the Jnana Indriyas. How we perceive reality and how we better understand reality.
So, one is the western world’s focus is on changing the outer world. Whereas, in the eastern world, the focus is on changing the inner world. Whether we change the, so in B, nowadays, whereas the whole world is becoming westernized.
So, in this world, we overestimate the power of changing the world. And we underestimate the power of changing the mind. That means, we think that if I want to become happy, I just change outer things.
I get a bigger house, I get a bigger car, I get a bigger job, if I do this, I’ll become happy. So, we focus on changing the outer world and we think this is what is required for becoming happy. And on the other hand, we underestimate the power of changing the mind.
You know, okay, my attitude, my ideas, my capacity, okay, that is all right. And that’s important, but we’ll deal with it later. Right now, I have to do this.
So, freedom means, I started earlier, you know, I should get more options. If a person who doesn’t know how to wisely choose what to watch, if they are given 100 programs to watch, they will spend hours and hours and hours wasting without doing anything constructive. So, for us, the conceptions of the mind and changing them is vital.
If the conceptions of the mind are not changed, then we will misperceive reality. And that’s how we will end up making mistakes. In the Ramayana, there is an amazing incident when Ravana has kidnapped Sita and Hanuman comes to Lanka and he just single-handedly devastates Lanka, penetrates through all of the defenses and burns half of Lanka.
And Hanuman is a Kshatriya, is a warrior. So, warriors, they don’t just fight war. One strategy in fighting war is strike terror into the hearts of your enemies.
An enemy who is scared is an enemy who is half-defeated. So, when Hanuman is about to jump off the wall of Lanka and go back to Ram, to the monkeys with whom he will go back to Ram, he just roars, there his tail is burning, half of Lanka is burning and he shouts to Ravana, Ravana, this is the power of Hanuman. Hanuman is just one servant of Ram.
If you do not return Sita, hundreds of monkeys more powerful than Hanuman will come and destroy you. Ravana is so angry, but all the other people in Lanka, they get scared, what is this? They are really so powerful. So, then Ravana calls a council of war and he says, this is an act of aggression against us.
You have to prepare for fighting. And then he asks advice from everyone. He tells, what should I do, what should I do? So, all the monk, all his commanders, all the generals, they say, actually there is no need to worry.
Now, this Hanuman, he just caught us unprepared. That’s why he was able to devastate us. But if he ever comes again, we are fully ready.
We will destroy him. In fact, some monkeys, some Rakshas said, actually, he has attacked us, we should chase after him and we should punish him now. Ravana said, bad idea, let’s not do this right now.
So, he said, this is our stronghold, let’s wait here. So, at that time, everybody was exalting Ravana, oh, he has nothing to fear. But there was one person who was very sober.
Who was that? Vibhishan. And Vibhishan, he told Ravana that all these generals are misleading. Said that, yes, Hanuman came suddenly, but he was one monkey.
All of you were there together, still, not only did he escape, but he destroyed half of Lanka. He told Ravana that, oh, brother, oh, king, please give up Sita, return Sita and that is how you will do your duty as a king to protect your citizens. And at that time, he uses a very striking example.
First time I read it, I was actually shocked. He says, Sita is like a venomous snake. And, he says, her eyes are like the fangs of that snake, her smile is like the poison bite.
He says, the more you meditate on her smile, the more the poison will enter into your heart and it will kill you. Now, Sita is the goddess of fortune, she is Lakshmidevi, to compare her with a poisonous snake, to compare her smile with poison, it can seem very jarring. But, again, the point is the attitude.
Sita is the goddess of fortune, but she, because Ravana desired to enjoy her, she became the cause of his misfortune. She is giving fortune to everyone, but for him, he, because of his misperception, he saw her as an object for his enjoyment and that became the cause of his misfortune. So, the point I am making here is that Vibhishan, he is a devotee of Ram and he is obviously a devotee of Sita also.
And for him, Sita is the worshipable goddess, but he is telling Ravana, the Sita who is the worshipable goddess, the effect on you is of poison. So, Sita is not a snake or a poisonous or venomous snake, but the effect on you. So, again, going back to the same point that our actions are shaped not by reality, but by our perception of the reality.
So, for us, if we want to make wiser choices, we need to change our perception of reality. And how do we do that? That is where we have to use our intelligence. Our mental conceptions are there and they will make us pursue things in a particular way.
But we have the capacity to not just look with our conceptions, we have the capacity to look at our conceptions. That means, say, I may say, we all have a capacity to label people, you know, people from a particular area, people of a particular nation, people of a particular religion, people of a particular disposition. These people are like this, these people are like that.
But we actually, okay, this is my conception. But then I’m normally looking at people with this conception. Somebody may say that people of this country, they’re all very bad.
They’re all violent people. They’re like this, they’re like that. But then I actually meet a person from that country and I say, he’s a nice person.
I was stereotyping people. I was labeling people. That’s not right.
So what happens over there? I was looking with my conceptions. But then I have the opportunity to look at my conceptions. This is what I was thinking, but this is not right.
And it is only when we learn to look, not with our conceptions, but look at our conceptions. That’s where we can learn. That’s how we can grow.
So normally, with our conditional perception, worldly things will appear very enjoyable. And emotional things, okay, that’s fine. But that’s not that enjoyable.
But when we study from scripture, and when we hear scripture and learn from scripture, scripture says, actually, this is, in bhakti there is so much happiness. In worldly things, there’s not that much happiness. There’s little happiness.
Okay, but how is this true? So when we re-examine our conceptions, in the worldly objects, there is some pleasure. But that pleasure is always limited. Why is it limited? Because our capacity to enjoy itself is limited.
But the soul is eternal, Krishna is eternal, the soul’s contact with Krishna is also eternal. When they come in contact with each other, there can be eternal happiness. Suppose, we are drinking sweet rice, and I say, I have a glass of sweet rice, I am drinking it.
And as I’m drinking it, I’m in samadhi, absorbed. And as I’m drinking it, suppose suddenly, somebody comes and just pushes my mouth out. Hey, what happened? What happened? I was drinking it, what went wrong? So then, the sweet rice is still sweet.
But what has happened? My mouth has moved away. The sweet rice is there, but it’s not going into my mouth, so I can’t taste it. So then, now suppose somebody is pushing my face like this.
And the sweet rice is, I want to drink the sweet rice, but the person pushing my face is very strong. I’m trying to drink, but the pain of the effort in pushing the face back is so great, that that effort seems to be much greater than the taste of the sweet rice. The sweet rice is very tasty, but at that time, for me, because my face is being pushed away, I just can’t taste the sweet rice.
Until I can get my face back, and then I come in contact with the sweet rice. This is so delicious. So similarly for us, Krishna and Krishna bhakti is delicious.
If we can just focus our mind on Krishna, if we can take darshan of Krishna, chant his holy names, if our consciousness is absorbed in Krishna, it’s actually very joyful. But unfortunately, we have our attachments. And our attachment just push our consciousness away from Krishna.
And the force of the attachments is so strong, that we start thinking about other things. What about this? What about that? What about that? And trying to not think of that, and trying to think about Krishna, that requires so much effort, that it appears a big austerity. So if we could just connect with Krishna, the joy is there.
But we are not able to connect with Krishna, because the disconnection happens because of our attachments. So to the extent we have attachments, to that extent, although Krishna is sweet, Krishna bhakti is sweet, we will not be able to taste that sweetness. So just as a person who wants to taste sweet rice, they have to push their face back till their face comes where the sweet rice is.
Then they can drink it and enjoy it. Similarly for us, we need to push against our attachments. And that is where there is difficulty.
Krishna says, यत्तद अग्रे विशमिव परिणामे अम्रतोपमं तत् सुखं सात्विकं प्रोक्तं आत्म बुद्धी प्रसाद जुञ्जे। That which tastes like poison in the beginning, will taste like nectar in the end. 18.37 he says that. So for us, actually, Krishna bhakti is sweet.
But it is our consciousness which is misdirected. And if we just keep practicing bhakti, using our intelligence, then gradually what will happen is, our consciousness will slowly get purified, our attachments will become weaker, and then we will connect with Krishna more and more. And as we connect with Krishna more and more, the taste will become more and more.
So initially, it is true. It’s not that Krishna consciousness is not joyful now. It is joyful even now.
But right now what happens? Our consciousness gets misdirected elsewhere. And because of that, we are not able to taste its sweetness. So what do we do? Actually, Prabhupada told us, chant Hare Krishna and be happy.
Now, chant Hare Krishna and be happy. Is this one state, one instruction or two instructions? One. One instruction, chant Hare Krishna and be happy.
Yes, it is one instruction, but it is also two instructions. That means, by chanting Hare Krishna, we will become happy. But if we are not becoming happy, still be happy.
Why? Because we are on the path to happiness. In Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.22, it is said, Therefore, the wise people, they constantly, they with great joy perform bhakti. What is the nature of that bhakti? To whom do they perform bhakti? Unto that Lord Vasudev.
And what is the result of this bhakti? That which brings great joy to the heart. So, now this interesting paradox over here is said that, so that wise people joyfully perform the bhakti that brings joy. They joyfully perform the bhakti that brings joy.
So, is it that bhakti as a result will give joy? Or bhakti in the process also gives joy? It’s both, but there is a difference. It’s, suppose I am sick, and I’ve got some medicines with which I’m getting cured now. So, although I’m not cured right now, although I’ve not come back to health, but I’m grateful that I have the right medicine.
So, I’m happy, not because I’m healthy right now, I’m happy because I’m on the path back to health. And I will become healthy. Similarly for us, chanting will lead to happiness.
Remembering of Krishna will lead to happiness. But sometimes when that doesn’t seem to happen, when remembrance of Krishna doesn’t seem to make us happy, at that time we are happy, we can cultivate happiness because I’m on the path to happiness. Yes, there’s a patient who’s on the path to recovery.
So, right now I’m not able to taste the sweet rice. Right now all that I’m tasting is the struggle of pushing my face back. But if I just keep doing this struggle, I will be able to taste the sweet rice.
We also get some glimpses of the sweetness of bhakti occasionally. And if we keep practicing bhakti, these glimpses will become more and more. And then bhakti will become more and more joyful.
So, when the mind becomes pure, then the mind becomes peaceful. And when the mind becomes peaceful, bhakti becomes joyful. Bhakti is always joyful, but we don’t perceive it as joyful right now.
But at that time, the mind will become peaceful, it will perceive reality as it is, and then we will become joyful. So, sukham kartum avyayam. In 9.22 in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, at that time bhakti can be joyfully performed.
So, I’ll summarize what I spoke. Then if you have any questions, we can discuss. So, I spoke today about why the higher taste doesn’t seem higher.
So, we are told that we can speak, find higher happiness and give up lower pleasures. But somehow, the lower pleasures would appear lower, they appear better than the higher pleasures. So, what do we do about it? Why does this happen? I use several examples.
In day-to-day life, even if somebody is not spiritual, we always have to make choices. And we feel as if an alcoholic may feel that drinking alcohol is better than being sober. Person may think, oh, there are so many TV channels, let me just watch them, I’ll enjoy over there.
So, the Western world’s illusion is that if we have more options, then we’ll become happy. But actually, we need to have better discretion to choose. That’s what will make us happy.
That’s what will actually help us to become truly free. So, the Western civilization’s progress is based on karma indriyas. Change the world and we’ll become happy.
The Eastern civilization is change the mind and that’s how we’ll become happy. So, I talked about the physical situation, there’s a mental conception and there’s a spiritual perception. We discussed the thought experiment of the outer scene, the inner screen and the inner seer.
So, our actions are shaped not just by the outer situation, our actions are shaped by our mental conception. In a desert, there is no water. The outer situation is there’s only sand.
But the mental conception is there is water. That’s a mirage issue. But we will run after it because our actions are shaped by our mental conceptions.
So, at present, our mental conceptions are shaped by our past actions, our past impurities. Because of which, whatever we have indulged in repeatedly, that’s what appears pleasurable. Just like there may be many delicious food items.
But those who have eaten a particular food repeatedly, Punjabis have eaten paratha repeatedly, that’s what they think is delicious. South Indians think it is ambar is delicious. Now, both are delicious.
But which appears delicious is shaped by the conceptions in the mind. And we need to change the conceptions in the mind so that we will be able to perceive reality as it is. So, Krishna is eternal.
We as souls are eternal. The contact between the soul and Krishna can be eternal. That’s why this is the way to eternal happiness.
Worldly objects are temporary. Our capacity to enjoy them is limited. That’s why that is never going to give us abundant happiness and certainly never unlimited happiness.
This is the reality. But our mind’s conceptions are distorted. So, what do we do? We need to correct the conception of the mind.
Not look with the conception, but look at the conception. And this is where scriptural study is very important. That will change, that will help us evaluate our conceptions and change them when required.
And while doing this, bhakti will be an austerity. Give the example, I’m drinking sweet rice, but somebody pushes my face away. And I can’t taste the sweet rice.
So, similarly, we will be practicing bhakti, but suddenly our attachments push our consciousness away to worldly things. We can’t taste the sweetness of bhakti. And then if somebody is forcefully pushing my face away, then I have to exert to get my face back.
And that exertion can sometimes be painful. So, similarly, our consciousness is misdirected. To get that consciousness back to Krishna is an austerity.
And that’s why initially bhakti can taste like poison. But if you continue persevering, then bhakti will taste like nectar because we will connect with the sweetness of bhakti. So, chant Hare Krishna and be happy.
This is both one instruction and two instructions. Chanting will make us happy, but if it doesn’t make us happy right now, we are happy that we are on the path to happiness. Just like a person who is being treated, not yet healthy, but they’re happy that they have got the medicine which will make them healthy.
So, when we practice bhakti with perseverance, then we will become purified, then our inner screen will become like a window. Not like a TV screen which misdirects, but a window which will show us the reality of how Krishna is all attractive and how Krishna bhakti is joyful. When the mind becomes peaceful, our bhakti practice will become joyful.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Are there any questions or comments? I agree with what you said, that try to change the external reality.
Correct. And that’s become even Eastern philosophy. Correct.
And when that’s kind of happening more on the Eastern philosophy, it might look like we are swimming against the water. In addition to chanting, what else could we do? For? Swimming against the current. Okay, I got the question.
So, if everybody wants to change the outer situations, if we want to go against the current and focus on changing ourselves internally, then what gives us the strength to swim against the current? Basically, there are three things by which we can change our tendencies. One is our intelligence. Second is our association.
And third is our intention. That means, the world may be going in a particular direction. But if we use our intelligence, and intelligence is not just something which we can use one time.
We have to repeatedly sharpen it. It’s like if somebody is using a knife to cut or axe to cut, the axe gets blunt. So, regularly hearing scripture keeps the axe of our intelligence sharp.
And then we can cut through the illusion. So, regularly hearing is vitally important. Secondly, we need to associate with people who are focusing on changing the inner world.
We are very much affected by our association. So, if people around us are doing a particular course of action, we by default go towards that action. So, associating with spiritually minded people is important.
And third is that our intention. In terms of that we, we have to make specific points. This is what I want to do, this is what I want to do, this is what I want to do.
So, when we change the inner world, it can appear very abstract and intangible. But changing our inner world can also be done through tangible actions. Okay, now I’ll read scripture, I’ll do this service, I’ll chant the holy names, I’ll do this particular, I will maybe worship the deities.
So, when we make specific plans of how to translate the intention into actions, then those intentions, we get a sense of satisfaction. Yes, I was able to do this. I was not able to do this.
Okay, then I need to do this course correction. So, if it’s amorphous, it’s vague. This is okay, I’m just going to change the inner world.
But how am I going to change the inner world? Okay, this is what I’m going to do for this. And it is not that bhakti is not about changing the outer world at all. Krishna told Arjuna to fight a war.
And what can be more aggressive than fighting a war to change the outer world? So, when required, we make outer changes also. But the priority is to first focus on the consciousness. And then focus on the externals.
So, sometimes we may need to change the externals also. Shri Prabhupada was spreading Krishna consciousness in India, but he decided to come to America. So, he changed the external situation.
But he was doing it, not thinking that just changing the external will lead to improvement. It is the service to Krishna and the connection with Krishna that will lead to improvement. So, his focus was on that.
Similarly, if our focus is on serving Krishna, then how best we can serve Krishna, whether it is by changing our internal situations alone, internal consciousness alone, or it is by changing our internal consciousness plus the external situation, that we will be guided from within. Okay, any other questions? I just have a comment. He actually not only says about Sita, but he tells to Ramana that when you see other’s wife in a bad way, then they are like a poisonous snake.
Yeah. That’s how you have to see other’s wife. That’s correct.
When you are seeing in a wrong way. Yes. Thank you.
Thank you. Any other comments or questions? I just wanted to combine my takeaway from what you said, though you gave a very nice summary at the end. Please correct me if I missed something important.
Yeah. In terms of implementing in our life is to change the way Krishna be happy. I got that two and one instruction there.
And strengthening our resolve or staying on the course by reading scriptures and associating with those who are like minded. Yes. Perfect.
Thank you. So you got the practical action part very clear. The purpose of all this is that we change our conceptions.
So then our conceptions will agree with reality and will harmonize with reality and then we will be able to act effectively. Thank you. Yes.
Sometimes they feel that our day of life is very great principles and more than that, that even our diet is quite different from a normal person’s diet. How do we, I mean, we want to show them that how tasty this sweet rice will be, but they just get, some people just get, you know, no, this is not for me. This is just too hard.
I don’t know how you guys live your life. And how do we approach them? We cannot say we cannot dilute what we are doing. This is how it is.
I’m going to live my life because I have some faith. But how do we give that faith? How do we hand hold them that, you know, the sweet rice is very, very tasty? Yeah. So when people feel that our, that the bhakti practices are too demanding and they feel that there is, this is not for me.
So how do we give them the conviction or the inspiration to perceive it themselves, taste the sweetness of bhakti? Yeah. In general, we can only help others in three ways. We can provide knowledge.
We can provide facilities. And we can set an example. We provide inspiration in that sense.
Okay. This is the path which leads here. This is the path which leads here.
This path, that is knowledge. Okay, you want to go along this path? Okay, the path is difficult. The thorns over there.
I’ll provide you the shoes in the facility. And then set an example. Yes, it’s a difficult path, but I’m also going along this path.
Please come along. So now these three things, knowledge, facility, and inspiration or example, you can say, all these three are required. But for some people, some are required more than others.
Some people are more analytical. Unless they’re intellectually convinced about something, they will not take it up. Some people, they may come from a pious, cultural culture, traditional background.
It’s a good way of life. So for them, say for many Indians, when they come to America, they may be introduced to Krishna Bhakti in India. But after coming to America, they become more serious about Krishna Bhakti.
Because they feel that this culture is very different. I can’t become like that. And they want a cultural home.
And then Krishna Bhakti provides them like a cultural home. So for them, the philosophy is good. But they already had that inclination to live piously.
But now they get the association, they get temple, they get deities. So for them, what they needed primarily was the facility. For some people, they’re very rational, very analytical.
No, this doesn’t make sense. Unless, okay, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? So for them, the way to the heart is through the head. So unless they will be intellectually convinced, they will not be able to take it up.
And for some people, the knowledge, the facility, that’s all fine. But they want to see people who are doing it. And they actually meet various people who are actually doing it and they’re happy.
Sometimes some people think that, okay, this is spiritual business. This is for people who are just, who are either not successful materially or who are just too otherworldly. It’s not for me.
But if they meet people who are just like them, just like them means people who are professionals like them in similar economic bracket, similar social situation, maybe similar cultural background, similar geographical area, then they say, oh, these people like me are also doing this. So when we are trying to share Krishna Bhakti with others, we have to find out what is it that is holding them back. Is it lack of knowledge? Is it lack of facility? Or is it lack of pertinent examples? Lack of example that they feel relevant to them.
So when we get to know them a little bit better, then we’ll be able to find out, okay, this is what is holding them back. If they feel these rules are very difficult, then again, in that specific case also we have to see, what is it? Is it that they don’t have enough knowledge? For many people, Bhakti is piety. It is not spirituality.
Piety means, yes, it is a good thing to do. Bhaktivinoda Thakur talks about this, that such pious materialists, that’s the word he uses, pious materialists, for them, life has many enjoyable things. And Bhakti is one of those enjoyable things.
So, and they feel that, okay, there are 50 enjoyable things in life’s menu, and this is one more, 51st. But for this 51st, I have to give up any of the other 50. That’s too much of a price.
So for them, they don’t see Bhakti as spirituality at all. They see this is, okay, this is what my parents did, my grandparents did, their generation. Now, okay, and people want me to do it.
If it is not trouble for me, I’ll do it. This trouble, forget it. So then actually their conception has to be changed, where they see that this is actually spiritual.
That means, we are not the body, we are souls. And real happiness is found at the level of the soul. So sometimes they may need philosophical understanding, by which they change their conception.
So as long as they’re thinking it’s piety, it’s just one optional part of life, then they feel it’s too much a price to pay for this. But once they philosophically understand, yeah, this world is ultimately a place of misery, that the soul is longing for eternal life, and Bhakti is the path to eternal life. Then maybe that intellectual rationale is what they need.
For some people, they may say that, yeah, maybe this is very difficult, but the difficulty may be primarily the lack of vicinity. If they are simply associating with all materialistic people alone. No.
So then for them to give it up is going to be extremely difficult. So then maybe they need to just come more in the association of devotees. And association of devotees also needn’t be very pushy.
Just come, experience. Not that we have pushed them to do this, do that. They’ll gradually take it up.
But basically, a facility is what they need. And if that facility may be association, that facility may be, okay, if somebody wants to take prasadam, how do I get prasadam? Okay, you can do this, this, this. So facilities are provided.
If that is what is required, and if you can somehow provide them that, then that helps. And sometimes the obstacle for people to come to Krishna is that they don’t have, they’ve not met the right person in Krishna Bhakti also. Now when 20-25 years ago, I was just introduced to Krishna Bhakti.
I asked one of our senior sannyasis, how do I help my parents to become devotees? So he told me, by letting anyone except you preach to them. Because their relationship with me is, we grew him up, we knew him, he’s our son. What can he teach us? But somebody of their age group, somebody of their way of thinking, connect with them, then they take up over there.
So sometimes it may happen that, we want people to come to Krishna, but we may be the obstacle for them to come to Krishna. Not necessarily that we are being hostile, but just they need to see Krishna Bhakti through somebody other than us. So if we can just introduce them to other people somehow, then they will take it up.
And if that doesn’t happen, then also we need to know that all souls are on a multi-life journey of spiritual evolution. And for some souls, they may just not be ready right now. So we need to, even if they don’t take it up, we need to end the interaction on a positive note.
So if they feel, I met a nice person, I don’t want to do what they’re doing, but a nice person, then eventually, when the right moment will come, when they may go through some difficulties, when they have some experiences, this is what I want to do, they’ll come to Krishna. So basically our purpose is that, we open the door to Krishna Bhakti for them. And then we open the door to Krishna Bhakti, and when they want to walk, it’s up to them.
Sometimes they may walk immediately, sometimes they may take some time. So if some people feel it’s too difficult for them, that’s okay, that’s their conception. And if we can find out what is causing that conception, we can try to adjust that.
But sometimes it may be that we may provide knowledge facility example, still they may not take it up. That means that they have to, something is going on between them and Krishna, and Krishna will arrive at the right time for them. Okay, thank you.
Hare Krishna. So, any other questions? Shall we stop here? Will you be successful with your parents? Oh, yes, in some ways. In the sense that, my brother is here in America, he’s very favourable to Krishna Bhakti, my father is also very favourable.
Many of my relatives have, they needed, their obstacle I realised afterwards was that, it was that their fear was that, I was wasting my life. By becoming a Brahmachari. But when they saw that I was doing something productive, then their whole attitude changed.
So, when I write articles in newspaper, when I first wrote an article in newspaper, my father made 200 copies and sent it to all his acquaintances. So, they had to basically see things in their perspective. So, they’re very favourable.
I wouldn’t say that they have become devotees, but they become very, very favourable as compared to earlier. When I joined the temple, my father came and he met the temple president and he said that, you know, he took money out of his pocket, he threw, he said, how much money do you want? Take as much money as you want, give my son back to me. So, from there, now, whenever he stays in Nasik, whenever I go to Nasik and I have a program, he sponsors a Sunday feast for the program.
So, that way, there has been a significant change. Thank you. So, thank you very much.
Shri Prabhupada ki Jai! Gaur Bhakta Vrindaki Jai! Tai Gaur Prema Vrindai Jai! Shri Chaturvedi Prabhupada ki Jai! Shri Prabhupada ki Jai! Thank you so much, Prabhuji, for a wonderful class.