Tap the mind dont be trapped by the mind 3 – From shakshi bhava to seva bhava

[Seminar at ISKCON, Seattle, USA]

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Om Nithyanandeshwara Samaarambhaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Nithyanandeshwari Madhyamaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam Asmadaachaarya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam The Bhagavad Gita talks about bhakti throughout, but in the whole 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita, this is the only verse where the compound word bhakti yoga occurs, bhakti comes, bhakti, bhaktya, those words come very often, but bhakti yoga as a compound word is the only place where it comes in the Bhagavad Gita, so Krishna says, bhakti yogena sevate, one who serves me through the practise of bhakti yoga, sagunan samatit yaitan, which is person will fully go beyond the modes, brahma bhuyan kalpate, and attain the brahman platform, the spiritual platform, that means Krishna is telling you over here, that by the practise of bhakti in an uninterrupted way one can transcend the modes, but this raises the question that actually it is the modes that cause the interruption in bhakti, so it is the modes that interrupt the practise of our devotion, and Krishna is saying by practising uninterrupted devotion you will go beyond the modes, so how does it work, another way to put it is, it is a similar paradox, but we could put it in a different way, that there is a lower taste of worldly things, the world promises so many pleasures, and we are attracted to them, and there is a higher taste of attraction to Krishna, so sometimes it is said that we cannot give up the lower taste till we get the higher taste, when we experience some better happiness, then we will give the lower happiness, so parandrishtvani vartate, Krishna says that, when we fix our mind on something higher, then, when we get the higher taste we give up the lower taste, but then Krishna has said about 15 verses, this is 2.59, 15 verses earlier in 2.44 Krishna says, unless you give up the lower taste you cannot get the higher taste, that as long as one is attached to getting more and more wealth, more and more sense enjoyment, till that time one may not have the determination to practise bhakti and one cannot attain samadhi, one cannot become absorbed, so what comes first, do we give up the lower taste first and then get the higher taste, or do we get the higher taste and give up the lower taste, this question seems like the old question philosophy, what came first, the chicken or the egg, so actually whenever such kind of questions come up, we have to understand that either the chicken or the egg came first, Krishna came first, and from Krishna sarva karanakaran, we started, so similarly what starts first, is it giving up the lower taste that starts first or is it getting the higher taste that starts first, it is actually Krishna’s message entering into our life as his mercy that is what starts first, it may come as a class of philosophy we hear, it may be association of devotees, it may even be some recollection from a previous life that we get suddenly, so Gajendra the elephant was living a materialistic way of life, and at that time he faced a great danger and that danger suddenly he remembered, what he practised in the previous life, he remembered that, so essentially when we talk about, what comes first, do we practise bhakti and thereby give up the modes, or do we give up the modes and thereby practise bhakti, so Krishna is saying that if the modes are interrupting me in the practise of bhakti, then how can I practise uninterrupted bhakti to overcome the modes, so when Krishna is talking about bhakti, this uninterrupted refers primarily to intention, not necessarily to execution, what does it mean intention and execution, that a devotee intentionally is determined to serve Krishna, the devotee doesn’t lose the heart to serve Krishna, the interruption will happen because of the modes, but the devotee is determined, so as soon as, ok this interruption happened, as soon as I got off track, come back on track, so the mind can force us to go off track, just like an aeroplane is going straight towards the destination, sometimes the wind comes very fast, it causes the aeroplane to go off course, in terms of execution, the aeroplane is off course, but in terms of intention, the pilot still wants to get to the destination, and as soon as the force of the wind decreases, or the pilot realises this is what happened, the pilot reorients, he comes back on track, so similarly for us, the interruption in the execution of devotion doesn’t have to lead to interruption in the intention for devotion, that means, yes, this happened, I got angry, I felt greedy, I felt depressed, I felt lusty, I felt like this, I felt like that, I shouldn’t have, I felt like that, and that force of emotion came in, but still Krishna, I am determined to serve Krishna, so if our intention to serve Krishna remains steady, then that is what Krishna is talking about, one who keeps serving me is steady, with devotion, we could use another example for this, say, if I am taking some, if I have a disease, and I am taking some medicines, now sometimes, some medicines, because of the disease, can actually, taste very bitter, but you can go even further, sometimes, some medicines are very healthy for the body, they are necessary for the body to recover health, but they can have various kinds of side effects, so now when that happens, it will appear as if my health has become worse, so in terms of executing the routine of taking the treatment, sometimes you take a treatment, but it has a side effect, then at that time, exactly the treatment you normally would take, so we have to wait for the side effect to go down, and then we start the treatment again, so doctor, especially when some serious disease is there, doctors want that we be in the hospital, because we don’t want to just give the treatment, we want to monitor what is the effect of the treatment, because the treatment is meant to have an intended effect, but based on the case history of the person, based on what kind of other problems they may have, it may have some unintended effect, so for the patient and the doctor cooperatively, the intent of taking the treatment is steady, but the execution may sometimes have to be paused, so similarly for us, here it is not so much that the bhakti practise has any side effects, but the point is that sometimes the force and circumstances will be such that you miss freedom, the mind’s conditions are such that they can cause us to get diverted, now when that happens, that’s the effect of the monks, but Krishna says that come back and start practising bhakti, the mind may stray away, but let it not stay away, the mind may stray away, we go here, we go there, but as soon as it is gone, ask for it back, bring it back and focus on Krishna, usually sometimes devotees ask, even I have this problem, when we are chanting, the mind starts wandering, so what to do, so actually we have to understand that we are not chanting, the lips are chanting, the mind is wandering and the soul is thinking which of the two to do, soul is thinking should I go along with the tongue and chant or should I wander with the mind, so whichever we identify with, we get carried away with it, so there is chanting that is outside in and chanting that is inside out, outside in means that we are not really feeling the mood of chanting, we are not feeling the connection with Krishna, but at least the external action is going on, when the external action goes on persistently, gradually the sound goes inside and then the connection with Krishna happens, so quite often our chanting is outside in, of course it is outside, at least it should come in, otherwise this is the outside, it doesn’t come in, from the tongue it disappears into the ether, it is going to come inside us, but when it comes from outside in, then gradually I have the connection with Krishna, yes Krishna is my lord, I want to love him, I want to serve him, he is manifesting in the holy name and then the heart starts chanting, then internally we start chanting, so that is inside out chanting, so of course better than no chanting is outside in chanting and better than outside in chanting is inside out chanting, so similarly for us, going back to that point, of what is the other vicharya in this context, Krishna is saying that even if there is some interruption in terms of execution, there is no interruption in terms of intention, a devotee tries that okay there is no interruption in terms of emotion, but I will try as much as possible not to have interruption in terms of actions, I will not feel like doing it, but I will do it. There is a 5.11, there is a very interesting verse in the Bhagavad Gita, which different acharyas explain in somewhat different ways. kāyena manasa buddhya, kevalair indriyai rapi, yoginah karma kurvanti, sangam tyaktvā viśuddhaye, so Krishna says kāyena, with the body, manasa, with the mind, kāyena manasa buddhya, with the intelligence, kevalair indriyai rapi, even with the senses, yoginah karma kurvanti, the yogi works for what purpose, sangam tyaktvā, giving up attachment, ātma śuddhaye, for the purpose of purification.
So some acharyas explain this as that the process of yoga is so inclusive that even the senses can be engaged in the pursuit of purification. Normally we think that the senses cause the entanglement, we have to give up the senses, that’s why yogis go to the forest and they renounce the world, they don’t want to see anything attractive, they eat only kathamun, just tasteless food, they want to cut off the senses from their normal paths to sense enjoyment. But bhakti actually is sensory spirituality.
The senses can become pathways to Krishna. With our time we chant Krishna’s name, with our ears we hear Krishna’s name, with our eyes we behold the deities. And in this way even the senses can be engaged for purification.
So kevalair indriyai can mean even the senses. But kevalair indriyai can also mean, as the acharyas say, only the senses. That means sometimes the intelligence, the mind, they just don’t get involved.
I just don’t feel like chanting. So then at least at the level of the senses, let it go on. So inside out is the best, but if inside out is not there, at least outside in is better.
Sometimes we may feel, if I just don’t feel like chanting, if I don’t feel like practising bhakti, then isn’t it that I am being a hypocrite continuing this? Isn’t it better that if I don’t have bhava, I will not chant? When I get the bhava, I will chant. At one level it may appear like that. But we have to understand that Krishna is a very understanding God.
And if our feelings are obstructing us in our practise of bhakti, Krishna understands that. Just like say if it is very cold and say we have body chills which fall sick when it’s cold. So if at that time still we wake up, for somebody else waking up is very easy.
For us waking up is difficult. So now Krishna knows that. Krishna appreciates that we are still having the determination to wake up and try to practise bhakti.
And even if we are not able to wake up as easily, as joyfully, as early as others, we do it according to our level, Krishna is pleased by that. So Krishna understands our situation. So the advancement in bhakti is not simply based on how effectively we do the experience.
Externals are important, no doubt. But bhakti is very subtle. So suppose sometimes your mind is not disturbed at all.
And I am chanting very clearly, very attentively, pronouncing clearly, hearing attentively. But I don’t feel any need for Krishna. Because if my mind is calm, I chant it.
And then I look at everyone else and let everyone know what a serious sadhaka I am. See how clearly I am chanting. So then that chanting may not lead to much advancement.
Although I am chanting clearly and I am even hearing attentively. On the other hand, sometimes my mind may be wandering everywhere. And I am desperately praying to Krishna.
I am not feeling like chanting at all. I pray to Krishna. Krishna, I want to chant your holy names.
Please help me. So Krishna sees not just our feelings. He sees our feelings about our needs.
I told you earlier, kama kami. The desire coming in and the desire going out. So sometimes the feeling of boredom, tiredness, tastelessness.
It just comes within us. Now when that feeling comes in, we didn’t cause it. It just came in the consciousness somehow.
So then what is our feeling about it? Krishna, I don’t feel like chanting. I just want to get it over with and move on to other things. Is that my feeling? Krishna, I want to chant.
I am sorry, I don’t feel like chanting. Please help me. So sometimes our chanting may be very inattentive and tasteless.
But if that makes us call out to Krishna, then through that inattentive chanting, if we are feeling the need for Krishna, we can actually make more advancement than somebody who is chanting attentively but is not feeling the need for Krishna. So bhakti is very subtle. Our attention in chanting is important.
But even more important is our attitude. Sometimes attention just does not feel uncontrolled. The mind will just wander so much here, there and everywhere.
But our attitude is important. What is my attitude? My attitude is that I want to serve Krishna. So once Tamal Krishna Maharaj came to Srila Prabhupada when the Juhu project was going on and there was a politician who was trying to steal the land of the temple from the devotees.
And the devotees had to go through various land So Tamal Krishna Maharaj came to Srila Prabhupada and said that, Prabhupada, because of all these land dealings, my mind is so disturbed that my chanting of Japa is also very disturbed. So Prabhupada looked at him and said, my Japa is also very disturbed. He said, we know what to say.
And Srila Prabhupada said, your anxiety for serving Krishna will take you to Krishna. So yes, we want to chant attentively. But ultimately, chanting is not just one isolated activity.
Chanting is the fulcrum, the central point of our relationship with Krishna. And in the relationship, we have the whole gamut of emotions. If something is important for Krishna, then making sure that it is done well, that is a part of a committed relationship with Krishna.
So our, this is again, your anxiety will take you back to Krishna. What does that mean? That means our attitude. Are we committed to our relationship with Krishna? If we are committed in that way, then even if the situation is difficult, still we will move onwards towards Krishna.
That is the meaning of avyabhijayani bhakti. Avyabhijayani bhakti doesn’t mean that at the emotional level or the practical level, there is no interruption. Sometimes at the emotional level, the wind may wind us.
Sometimes at the practical level, the force of our conditioning may push us away from Krishna. But at the level of intention, I am determined to serve Krishna. My attitude is, Krishna you are my lord, I am your servant.
No matter whatever happens, I am going to serve you. If that intention is there, that means we are consistently taking the medicine of Krishna bhakti. And sometimes the disease symptoms may go up, sometimes they may go down.
But if we are consistently taking the medicine, then gradually the disease will decrease. And in that way, Brahma bhuvaya kalpate we will come to the stage of life. So for us as devotees, the service attitude, the seva bhava, Krishna I am your servant, you are my lord, that is vital.
If we can somehow maintain that seva bhava, then whatever happens, we will continue in our bhakti. And ultimately, the modes and the distracting nature of the mind is to be overcome, not just by the sakshi bhava. Oh, this emotion is coming.
I used to distance myself from it. That is fine. Distancing ourselves from our emotions is good.
But what do we do after that? Like I said earlier, if there is an unwanted person in a gallery where I am, I am not going to look at that person. Ok, I need to have somewhere else to look too. I need to have something else to do.
So if I have something very important to do, I have some other important person to meet, then I just move towards that person. And then, I forget, sometimes I get engaged in a conversation with that person, I forget this person is there also. So like that, for us, the sakshi bhava is important to identify whenever some unwanted emotions are coming.
But to overcome them, the seva bhava is important. Krishna, I am your servant. No matter what happens, I am going to serve you.
Now, for us to have that service attitude, what does it mean practically? We should have a service attitude. How does it translate practically in day-to-day life? So, one thing is, I will talk about it at three levels. In terms of identity, in terms of mentality, and in terms of activity.
In terms of identity, a devotee has to be convinced that I am a servant of Krishna. We have many different identities in this world. We may have an identity that, okay, I am a software engineer, I am a project manager, I am a husband, I am a wife, I am a mother, I am a son, I am a daughter.
All these identities are important, but they are not our core identity. Our core identity is that, I am a servant of Krishna. And with that fundamental identity, I act according to my functional identity.
Fundamental identity, I am a servant of Krishna. My functional identities can be many. So, we use our functional identities and the roles and responsibilities of those identities to serve Krishna.
If we consider there is a river, the standard example, which the Vaishnavas use, Kuntibharan also uses this that, just as the Ganga flows towards the ocean, let my consciousness flow towards you. In 1.8.42, Kuntibharan says that, oh my dear lord, just as the Ganga flows towards the ocean, let my consciousness always flow towards you. Now, what does this mean practically? Ganga always finds some way to move towards Krishna.
So, we can say that, our consciousness also is going to move towards Krishna. And the various roles and responsibilities that we have, they are channels by which our consciousness moves towards Krishna. So, we may have a service in the temple.
That is, service is one channel through which our consciousness moves towards Krishna. We study Shastra. By studying Shastra, it is another channel through which our consciousness moves towards Krishna.
We chant the holy names. That is one channel. Similarly, there are other responsibilities.
If we are parents, our children are also interested towards Krishna. By serving those children, our consciousness might move towards Krishna. We have our professions.
In the profession, Krishna says, sva-karmana tamah pratyah. By your work, worship Him. Many people translate this as, work is worship.
However, that is not what the Bhagavanta is saying. It is not saying, karmani puja. It is saying, sva-karmana tamah pratyah.
If work itself were worship, then the donkey would be the greatest worshipper. The donkey works very hard. Now, work is worship, is fine as an ethical principle.
Yes, all work should have dignity. No person should be looked down because of whatever work they are doing. So, to infuse dignity of labour and dignity for the labour, as an ethical principle, work is worship is fine.
But if you make it into a philosophical principle, that work itself is worship and I don’t need to do anything else, then a thief may say, robbing is my work. Is that my worship? No. Work is not worship.
What Krishna is saying is, sva-karmana tamah pratyah. By your work, worship him. That means, our work is meant to be a channel by which we serve Krishna.
Krishna has given us certain abilities and then these are gifts from him meant to be used in His service. So, what we are is Krishna’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to Krishna.
What we are is Krishna’s gift to us. So, we may have speaking ability, we may have singing ability, we have managing ability, we have writing ability, we have cooking ability, we have dressing ability, decorating ability. So, these are all gifts by Krishna to us.
And we use them, not just to do the activity better. Yes, we want to do the activity better, but what we become by this. We become a better servant of Krishna.
That is our gift to Krishna. So, here, the point I am making is, our work, our profession, the various methods of sadhana, bhakti, they are all channels by which our consciousness is meant to flow towards Krishna. And all this, I am talking in the context of sevabhaav.
How do we translate the sevabhaav into practical action? So, I said, at the level of identity, we identify ourselves as servants of Krishna. And then, during the course of our life, a particular channel may sometimes get interrupted. Sometimes it may happen that, okay, my service is distributing books.
But, I fall down, I get a fracture. I can’t go out of my room. How will I distribute books? That time, that channel will no longer be open.
If I identify myself only as a book distributor, then I may think, my spiritual life is over now. What will I do? But if I understand that I am a servant of Krishna, who is doing the service of distributing books, that is not possible now. I can hear about Krishna.
I can speak about Krishna. I can read about Krishna. Memorise some verses.
So, I can do various things. So, if we identify the functional roles, then we may get blocked. Because it’s like, there is a whole river flowing towards Krishna, but we have reduced the river to only one channel.
And that channel gets blocked. I don’t know what to do. But if I understand there are many channels, and if one channel gets blocked, through the other channels, I’ll keep flowing towards Krishna.
I’ll let my consciousness keep flowing towards Krishna. So, the sevabhava means, at the fundamental level, changing our conception of who we are. Going from our functional identity to our fundamental identity.
I am a servant of Krishna and I am meant to serve Krishna. First, when Krishna Prabhupada’s disciples, they were very attached to Krishna Prabhupada as a person. That’s wonderful.
But when Prabhupada departed, what to do after that? They lost their inspiration. So, not all, many have come back also. But the point is that, they had to see Prabhupada connected with Krishna.
We also need to see our spiritual master connected with Krishna. So, our spiritual master is there to inspire us to serve him. Wonderful.
Spiritual master is not there. Still, we have to keep going towards Krishna. Spiritual master’s instructions are always there.
If we take inspiration from them, then we go on towards Krishna. So, if we can, bhakti is ultimately meant to change our identity. When we get that understanding, then we will always find some channel or the other by which our sevabhava can be maintained.
So, at the level of mentality, at the level of attitude, what does sevabhava mean? Sevabhava means that within the mind, there are different forces. In the mind, some things are favourable to bhakti. Some things are unfavourable to bhakti.
So, if we consider this is circle of Krishna bhakti, and this is circle of what the mind likes, then where there is an intersection between the two, that is the place where we can study and practise Krishna bhakti. So, the whole principle of Varanashram is to engage people according to their nature. And nature means what they naturally like.
A brahmana naturally likes to study. A brahmana who studies scripture, it is scripture. A Vaishya naturally likes to make money.
Make money for Krishna. So, we find out what is the intersection of the circle of bhakti and the circle of our mind’s interest. And situate ourselves in that intersection.
Then we can study and practise bhakti. Of course, we don’t restrict to that. Sometimes, the process of bhakti may require us to do some things which may be something you don’t like also.
For example, taking prasada. Something which you like. So, in the early days of Prabhupada, first time he did janmashtami with all the devotees in 1966.
Prabhupada told that, today janmashtami, and she all passed. One of the devotees went to Prabhupada and said, Prabhupada, you told us prasada is Krishna and we should take as much prasada as we want. He said, why are you telling us to pass? Prabhupada said, I told you to eat as much as you want and now I am telling you to pass.
So, prasada is one channel to Krishna. And usually that is the intersection point for everyone. Yes, I like to take prasada.
At the same time, that is not the only way we serve Krishna. Sometimes we may have to do something in the past. That’s what we don’t like.
But we do it as an austerity. But overall for the steady practise of bhakti, our attitude is that Krishna, I want to serve you and I find out how I can serve you sustainably. So, we have to go against our mind sometimes.
But we don’t let ourselves constantly be battling against every single emotion. We find a way in which we harmoniously serve Krishna. And the last part is about the activity.
Practically, how do we maintain our service attitude? Especially when there are difficult situations. Say, all of us will face difficulties in our life when certain unpalatable situations come up. So, if I am serving in a particular situation, but then things become very difficult for me.
Other people, I just can’t get along with them. Or I am not getting the facilities. Or people are just speaking negatively about me.
So, how do I maintain my service attitude? So, we have to understand that actually, broadly speaking, when we face a difficult situation, an unpleasant situation, we have three alternatives. So, to understand this, let’s consider a theory. Suppose we come to a place which is very cold.
Say, we are living in somewhere like Toronto, freezing cold. And then we have got our job there. Now, what do we do if we have to be there? First is, we try to tolerate it.
I try to get used to it. It’s cold, but I try to be able to tolerate it. If I can’t tolerate it, then I mitigate it.
Mitigate means that I get nice warm clothes, I get nice heat conditioning in my car, in my home. And then, I try to live accordingly. If I can’t do that also, then I emigrate.
I go to some other place. So, broadly speaking, when we face some external difficult situation, we have three options. Tolerate, mitigate or emigrate.
And we see, if you look at the Pandavas, they did all these three things at different times. Initially, when Bhima was poisoned, Yudhisthira told Bhima, this is a family matter, don’t make it public. We will just be more rigid.
But let’s not make it into a big issue. It’s alright. Even when they were burned, attempted to be burned alive in Varanasi, at that time, when eventually they came back after winning the hand of Draupadi, they didn’t accuse the Kauravas.
They split in half. They got their part of the kingdom and they lived in Khandava. They tolerated.
But eventually, when Draupadi was dishonoured, and even after the Pandavas lived in exile and came back, the Kauravas not only did not give their land back, but they did not show even the slightest sign of remorse. In fact, worse than that, in the same assembly, where Draupadi had been dishonoured, the Kauravas tried to dishonour Krishna by arresting him. But then, the Pandavas decided that the limit of tolerance has been crossed.
And they litigated. They fought a war to remove the disruptors of Dharma, the Adharmic Kauravas. So here they litigated.
Then eventually, when Krishna departed from the world, as soon as he got the news, they enthroned Parikshit as the ruler and they emigrated. They said, now we have come here to serve Krishna. Krishna has departed.
Our role is over. So tolerate, litigate, emigrate. All these three can be options for us when we are trying to maintain our Seva Mahal.
Prabhupada also did these different things at different times. When Prabhupada, for example, first time came to America, he was living at the house of Gopal and Satya Dharwal and they used to eat meat. And Prabhupada had to keep his bhoga for Krishna in the same fridge where the meat was kept.
Or when Prabhupada was working with the hippies in the early days, he would cook food for them and he would serve the food and they would walk away and Prabhupada would actually pick up their plates and wash their plates. So Prabhupada tolerated that. But then if you consider Sri Prabhupada was, as I said earlier, when in Juhu, there was this politician who tried to steal away the land for Krishna, away from him.
Prabhupada did not. Prabhupada organised, wrote letters to newspapers, wrote letters to local politicians, like a military general, he told the devotees, do this, do this, do this. Now Prabhupada wrote to one life member who was in his abode, he says, you know, dad, he says, I will die but I will not let this mister steal Krishna’s land.
So Prabhupada fought for Krishna. Here he mitigated. And similarly, when Prabhupada was trying to share Krishna Bhakti in India, and somehow at that time Indians were not taking him seriously, what did Prabhupada do? Immigrated.
He came to America. He always was determined to serve Krishna. But how he will serve Krishna, that varied according to time and circumstances.
So if we think that we have only one course of action to follow, then sometimes our seva bhava will get choked. Because if I think I have to tolerate everything, how much can I tolerate? Suppose in one thing, second thing, third thing, fourth thing, fifth thing, how much can I tolerate? Now we have to understand that through tolerance we can grow in bhakti also. But sometimes, some situations can become so provoking that we just can’t do anything about it.
We can’t think about Krishna, we can’t serve Krishna, we are constantly agitated in the mind. Such a thing would happen. Prabhupada would tell, Okay, you serve here.
If two devotees are having lot of difficulties, you serve here, you serve there. The idea was, Immigrate. Can’t work together.
The mood is that if someone can’t work with some devotee very well, it is that we don’t spoil the relationship. We just create a distance. You do your service here, we do our service here.
It’s said that good fences make good neighbours. If there were some nice rose bushes there, I think roses are not worth it. One neighbour says, Hey, this is my rose.
Am I rose? No, this is my property. How do you know? You have to have a fence. So when the fences are clear, the boundaries are marked, then the conflicts can be minimised.
So sometimes what happens, in some relationships, or in some interactions, the boundaries are not very well marked. One person has this much level of expectation of the other person. The other thing is, I only have to do this much.
Why do you expect me to do this much? So then when those expectations are clarified, the boundaries are marked, then things can move forward. So tolerance is a virtue in the sense that it enables us to pursue the path of Krishna Bhakti without letting ourselves get agitated by small things. But tolerance is not necessarily the only way to work.
Sometimes we have to go from toleration to mitigation. Or sometimes an integration is required. Now in general, in the Eastern world, tolerance is the virtue that has been emphasised.
When the famine was there in Bengal, at that time, there were some Britishers who came there, when the Britishers were ruling India, when Prabhupada was there at that time. Some Britishers, when they came to India, they said that, such a famine, such starvation, is bad in our country, people will rebel against it. There will be a violent uprising.
We see in the world history, there is the French Revolution, there is the Russian Revolution, there was the American War of Independence. But in general, in India, there is not a very aggressive way of fighting. There was fighting.
But this fighting was mostly between one king fighting against another fighting king. So even when, say, Shivaji Maharaj fought against the Mughals, he had some followers, but not all citizens were up in arms. That was never the rule.
So generally, in the Eastern world, the virtue is tolerance. Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance. In the Western world, it’s change.
Why should you tolerate? Anything is difficult, just change it. So both have their advantages and disadvantages. Tolerance ensures that we don’t go into endless mutability.
If this doesn’t work, go here. If this doesn’t work, go there. Sometimes we come to a, sometimes we feel that way.
I want to practise bhakti, but I want an ideal community of devotees. Everybody should be very nice over it. They are devotees, they are serving Krishna.
Why are they not nice? They should be nice. Yes, we are all devotees serving Krishna, but we are all sadhakas. We are all conditioned souls who are trying to practise Krishna bhakti.
So if I say, I want an ideal community of devotees to practise Krishna bhakti. First of all, in the material world, nothing is ideal. So we cannot find an ideal community.
And if somehow, we found an ideal community, we would not get admission there. Because we are not ideal. So, the tendency, we, maybe Indians, but we have also been substantially westernised.
So we have a tendency to just change things. So the capacity to tolerate has gone down substantially. And the flip side of this is that when there is low capacity to tolerate, then that means there is a very low capacity to commit.
Because commitment requires tolerance. When I start something, when I start a relationship, I will be attracted to the other person. The other person is attracted to me.
But then after some time, he starts saying that, okay, this person is nice, but this person is not so nice also. And then at that time, we will have to learn to tolerate. If I can’t tolerate, then the relationship will get disrupted.
So when there is the inability to tolerate, then the result is that two people may fight against the whole world and say, a boy and a girl say, I can’t live without him. I can’t live without her. I can’t live without you.
And then, one year later, I can’t live with you. Go to the other extreme entirely. So the result is that there is inability to tolerate.
So in general for us, we can try to increase our capacity to tolerate. But we have to see that I have to maintain my self-certainty. In terms of activity, if this is the service I want to do, then okay, can I tolerate it? Tolerate the situation, continue my service.
But if the situation becomes so difficult that it is agitating my mind so much that I just can’t function, then I may have to mitigate or I may have to neglect. Now all these three can be done with a service attitude or all these three can be done with a negative, resentful attitude. If I am tolerating just because I am helpless, this person is very powerful, I can’t do anything, so I tolerate.
Now, that tolerance will not lead to my spiritual growth. Because that tolerance is simply done out of helplessness and negativity. And it will eventually be burning within you.
Why do I have to tolerate this? When we talk about tolerating for a spiritual purpose, it is unpleasant to tolerate somebody doing something negative. But our focus is not, this person is being like this, but I can’t do anything, what can I do? Okay, this is there, but it’s temporary. Let me move towards Krishna.
Similarly, mitigation can also be done with a service attitude or it can be done with a vengeful attitude. Vengeful attitude means, you did like this, now I’ll show you what I can do. When we act with a vengeful attitude, we just make things endlessly complicated.
So, the Pandavas fought a war, but the Pandavas did not fight for revenge. They fought for justice. They fought for establishing Dharma.
So, while you are fighting is also important. Krishna tells Arjuna, fight, asmat mukti shesho alavasvam. In 11.55 he says, arise and fight.
But just 22 verses later, in the same 11th chapter, in 11.55, Krishna tells Arjuna, mat karmakarun mat paramo mat akta sanga varjita nirvaiyaha sarva bhuteshu yaha samayati pandava He says, those who work without animosity towards all living beings, they will come to me. That means, Krishna tells Arjuna, fight, but do not fight with animosity towards the cowards. Don’t have envy, don’t have hatred towards them.
Fight in a move of self-restraint. See, this fighting has my word. So, our focus is not, this person is so bad, that’s why I am fighting.
If you want to establish the rule of Krishna, in that purpose, this person is coming in the way. Therefore, I have to displace this person. I have to sideline this person.
And I fight for that purpose. So, if our vision is on Krishna, then we can move forward steadily towards him. If we mitigate also, if our mitigation is done with a vengeful attitude, then, even if we succeed in mitigating, after that, how much spiritual advancement do we make? You know, through things like this, I show you, what my power is.
Okay, what after that? The struggle to fix the mind of Krishna is still there. And sometimes you have to emigrate. Now, emigrate can be walking away, or it can be running away.
I run away from a situation because there is so much problem here, this problem, that problem, that problem. And when I run away, my body has gone away, but mind is still there. Oh, this person is so bad.
Why did they learn that? And we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we are feeling hateful about that person. Our mind is still there. When we walk away from a situation, that means, we decide that, this problem is very complicated, and I have better things to do in my life, than getting involved in this.
So, there are better ways in which I can serve Krishna. There are better ways in which I can contribute. So, I move on.
So, if you work in this way, you can emigrate also in an attitude of service. And if we keep that attitude of service with Krishna, and only serve our mind. Now, what should I do? In this situation, I am facing this difficulty.
Should I tolerate, should I mitigate, should I mitigate? That is a decision which you have to take with care, you cannot just take a decision on the spur of the moment. Sometimes I feel, I just can’t do anything about this, I have to quit, I have to give up. But rather than taking a decision on the spur of the moment, it falls.
So, I will speak briefly about how we can take this decision and I will conclude. If I am in a difficult situation, do I tolerate, do I mitigate, do I emigrate? Basically, we all have certain emotions. And our emotions can’t be mistaken.
If somebody is constantly behaving in a hurtful way, we can’t just deny the hurt. Yes, this person is behaving hurtfully, he is troubling me. At the same time, we can’t let the hurt alone determine our course of action.
What do I mean by that? Say, if I am sitting in a particular position and I feel some pain in the back, then I may say, maybe I can sit near the bed or I can lean back. It can help me to avoid the pain or minimise the pain. So, if I can do some adjustment by which I can minimise the pain, that’s fine.
But my purpose is not just to move to a position where I can minimise the pain. My purpose is to get a treatment. And sometimes in getting a treatment, the doctor may tell, stand up, raise your arm, do this exercise.
And sometimes that may cause more pain. But we tolerate that pain because it’s a purpose. So, if our goal is primarily to think that I should be problem-free, it’s like wanting to be painful.
It’s good. But the point is, I don’t want to be painful. I want to be disease-free.
The pain is the symptom of the disease. And sometimes, I can move here, move there, become pain-free. But it’s just temporary.
The disease is there, the pain will come again. Similarly for us, if we simply focus on what is the path of least resistance, what is the path of least inconvenience, where can I have the least pain, then that is like, in a disease, I’m simply looking how can I avoid it. So for us, while going, while practising Bhakti, our focus should not be on seeking a problem-free life.
Our focus should be on seeking a purposeful life. My purpose is to move towards Krishna. And in some cases, the problem is making more.
But if that is helping me to fulfil my purpose, I will do that. Prabhupada, when he was in India, at that time, he was not getting much response in terms of people practising Bhakti. But he was respected.
In India, the culture was, if a sadhu is there, people would open their doors, they would come and stay at their house, they would give him food, they would give him a place to stay. And Prabhupada, in a sense, was more respected in Delhi than when he came to New York. In New York, nobody knew who he was.
Nobody cared for a sadhu. Especially when he lived among the hippies, they thought he was a strange old man. So, in a sense, for Prabhupada, when he came from India to America, his problems increased.
But his purpose was to be fulfilled. His purpose was to share Krishna’s message. And for that purpose, he was ready to take up practise.
So, when we are going to make a decision, our primary focus should be, Okay, what is my purpose? Krishna, how do you want me to serve you? If we have an attitude, that Krishna, I want to serve you, please guide me. If we keep that service attitude clear, then we are going to see, okay, there is something which, this problem is there, but in this problem and situation also, I am able to do my main service well. If I cure this situation, then my service will also go well.
The problem will not be there, but the service will also not be there. So, let me continue. And, if you keep this attitude, Krishna, I want to serve you, please give me the strength to serve you.
Then, लगां पुद्धी योगं ताइ, ये नमां पयांति ते. So, there is a purpose which we have, and there are problems which we have. So, now, the problems in this world will always be there.
But, if we have a strong purpose, which we are pursuing, then they make the problems worth bearing. Just like a student, you know, you like to study a difficult subject. You study and you get good marks, you get a good career, and you feel, okay, all that study was worth it.
Why? Because the purpose that is being fulfilled is important, it’s valuable. So, if we have problems, and we have a purpose. So, sometimes we may say, I don’t want problems, but we will lose our purpose also.
How best can I serve my purpose of serving Krishna? And accordingly, I will decide, this problem is so big, it is interrupting my purpose. So, then I have to mitigate it, or I have to be negative. This problem is small, it is affecting me negatively, but I can still do my purpose, and I move onwards.
So, if we get this broad sense of perspective, if our vision is, Krishna, I am your servant, I want to serve you, please guide me how to do so. Then Krishna will give us the guidance. Sometimes we tell new people, the only problem in the world is a lack of Krishna consciousness.
That is true. You tell that in the class, you tell that in the kilchi, but then they say, the problem in my life is, this devotee is troubling me. The only problem in the world is a lack of Krishna consciousness, but the problem in my life is, this devotee is doing like this to me.
Yeah, the devotee behaving like that is a problem. But, it may be a problem, but I have to understand that, here also there is a lack of Krishna consciousness. Once I was giving a class, and I asked, when we are practising bhakti, we have to tolerate many things.
So, what all do we have to tolerate? So, one devotee very enthusiastically said, yes, what do I tolerate? We have to tolerate devotees. So, I said, yes, it is a good realisation, that, even if we have difficulties, sometimes devotees behave in less than exemplary ways, we should tolerate them. But he said, as we will advance, we will realise, that devotees are also tolerating us.
We all have our idiosyncrasies, we all have our limitations, and sometimes, some people do think, which we have to tolerate, sometimes we do think, which others have to tolerate. So, we move onwards, steadily towards Krishna, by keeping our purpose forefront. And, we keep that purpose in mind, and, when the problem comes, we evaluate the problem in the light of the purpose.
So, if, say, we have written down, why am I practising darshani bhakti, why am I doing this particular service, why am I taking up this responsibility, why am I doing this, something is important for us, we write it down. And then, it is written down for us, the mind says, we look at this, this is so important for me, this problem is manageable. Or, if it is a big problem, then we analyse the problem in the light of the purpose.
Then we may decide, ok, I have to do this to adjust this, or at least for seriousness. So, the more, Krishna says, mat-chitta-sarva-dharmahani, mat-prasada-dharshi, if you become conscious of me, you will pass over all obstacles, by my grace. So, Krishna’s mercy is there for us.
Even if problems are coming in our life, Krishna is there with us, and he will help us to overcome the problems. If we keep focussing on being Krishna conscious, rather than, this person is like this, this situation is like this, Krishna on his own can carry our dreams. Right? We move forward, sir.
So, to summarise, I spoke about how to move from sakshi-bhava to seva-bhava, in tapping our mind. Then, we want to recognise the modes, we discussed the main question was, in the beginning, Krishna says, to overcome the modes, practise uninterrupted devotion. But then, it is modes which interrupt the devotion.
So, what comes first? It’s like, do we give the higher taste? Do we give the lower taste? Do we give the higher taste? We give the higher taste, then we give the lower taste. What comes in is, Krishna’s mercy in our life. Krishna’s mercy comes as, something which inspires us to turn towards Krishna.
And from there, we begin. So, wherever we are, whatever I can start, I start serving Krishna. And, so, the uninterruptedness is in intention.
It may not be in action. The force of the wind may deriate the plane. The pilot is determined, in intention, to go towards the destination.
The pilot gets the plane back on course. Similarly for us, while chanting, we do not feel like chanting. Krishna sees, not just our feelings, but also our feelings about our feelings.
We may not be attentive, but if our attitude is Krishna, and we want to be attentive, then even through inattentive chanting, we may make more advancement, if you are feeling the need for Krishna, and calling out to Krishna. Then, somebody is chanting attentively, but is feeling no need for Krishna. So, the bhakti can be done outside in, even if it can’t be done inside out.
And as you are doing outside in, it will come inside out eventually. So, uninterrupted intention is, no matter how I feel, I keep serving Krishna. And this sevabhava, if we discuss the level of identity, we identify ourselves as servants of Krishna.
Various functional identities, are like channels for the river of our consciousness, to move towards Krishna. So, even if one channel gets interrupted, we don’t become so disheartened, that we give up ourselves. We find some other channel, and move on towards Krishna.
In terms of mentality, we understand that, we can’t just fight against the mind constantly. The minds, the place where there is intersection between the mind’s emotions, and Krishna bhakti, that is where we start to steward ourselves. And that way we can have the mind, working with us in serving Krishna.
In terms of activity, we discuss that, we may tolerate, mitigate or immigrate, depending on how best, our purpose of serving Krishna can be fulfilled. So, I discussed Pandavas and Prabhupada’s example, of how they did different things at different times. And, in general, our tendency in a westernised world is to, not tolerate, just to change things, quit things, and go to something else.
So, that makes it very difficult to stay committed. But, if we learn to tolerate, seeing that, this will also help us to grow towards Krishna. Then we can proceed.
And which option to choose? If we have a vertical sphere, if we are not simply trying to, choose the path of least problems, we are choosing, like, I am not simply trying to do pain-free, I want to become cured, and for that, if I have to accept pain, in the treatment, I do that also. So, by choosing, if we are simply driven by, which is the least problem filled path, then we will not make the best choices. But, if we are driven by, which helps me to fulfil my purpose the best, then, we will be able to go through a choice, in a determined way, even if there are problems.
And, by maintaining our self-attitude to Krishna, Krishna will say, please guide me. Krishna will give us the intelligence, to find the right path. So, whatever, whatever difficulties we are facing in our life, at one level, they are just because of our karma.
But, whatever, karma may get us through, Krishna will get us through. Whatever, karma may get us through, Krishna will get us through. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. So, is there any, one or two questions? Yes, sir. Yes, please.
Hare Krishna. You said, one can, is it possible for somebody to chant, without disturbance, by not having sincere desire for Krishna? Okay, good question. Is it possible, for someone to chant, without distraction, if they don’t have a sincere desire for Krishna? It depends, on some people, by their past karma, may just be in the mode of goodness.
And then, they may not have a very agitated mind. But that doesn’t mean that they have a mind, which is longing for Krishna. So, they may sit and utter the words, but they may not have a longing for Krishna.
Just like, there are some people, who may not even be devotees, but sometimes, they are just lifelong celibates. They are few, but they are there. So, for most of us, we have to battle against our sensual desires, even when we are practising, even when we are practising bhakti.
But for some people, it may be that just by their past karma, they have a sadhvik disposition, where they don’t have so much sensual cravings. But just the absence of sensual cravings, does not necessarily mean the presence of spiritual advancement. So, for a few people, it may be possible, to not have too strong sensual cravings, even just by their past karma.
Like that, for some people, their mind may be relatively unagitated. So, they may be able to chant, even without having a strong desire for Krishna. Thank you.
First of all, you talked about the detachment from work, detachment from results. In the workplace, we are bound to have goals, and we want certain results by certain time. How do you deal with that situation, because you have to perform, you are working towards the results always.
That’s a good question. So, how can we detach from the results, when in our workplace, we have to set goals and meet the goals. There is a difference between goals and results.
Krishna is telling us, Don’t be attached to the results. The same Krishna, after the Bhagavad Gita was spoken, guided Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war. And, every day in the war, Arjuna was setting goals.
Most famously, on the 14th day, Arjuna set a goal. Before sunset, I am going to kill him. Krishna did not tell Arjuna, Arjuna, you forgot Mahapaleshu Gadachana.
You forgot, you should not be attached to the fruits of work. So, what is going on over here? There is a difference between goals and results. Goals are what we set, before we do the action.
Results are what comes after the action is done. So, the whole mood of that Gita was, Karmanye Vadika Raste Mahapaleshu Gadachana, Ma Karmaphala Hi Turpur Maate Sangostu Karman. The mood of the Gita was, you have a right to do your duty, but do not be attached to the results.
Do not think of yourself as the cause of the result. At the same time, do not be attached to not doing your work. So, the understanding over there is, that we alone are not the cause of the result.
We are there, I have a whole class on this, but in a simple way, there is Karma and Daiva. Both of them have to work together. A farmer has to plough the land, that is Karma.
The rain has to come on time, that is Daiva. And then there is Kaal. The season has to change in the harvest season, and then there is fun.
So, Krishna is saying here, that Arjuna, you alone don’t determine the fun. That’s why don’t be attached to it. You have done your Karma, do it responsibly.
But there are factors beyond you, which will determine the fun. Don’t think that you alone are the doer of the results. You alone are the cause of the results.
So, when we set goals, that can inspire us to do our Karma to the best of our capacity. And in that sense, setting goals is entirely in harmony with the principles of Mahatma. Because we have certain abilities, we have certain things which we can do, and there is some inspiring goal in front of us, and we feel driven to do it.
So, in terms of maximising our contribution, the goal setting is favourable. But, being attached to the results is not favourable. Because now the work is done, after this, I have some other things to do.
If I still stay caught, what is going to happen here, what is going to be happening here, what is going to happen here. A student is given one exam, and next day there is another exam. But a student is worried, how many marks will I get in this exam, how many marks will I get in the next exam.
Then the mind will be so caught in that, they will not be able to prepare for the next exam. So, Mahapaleshu Katha Arjuna. Now you have done your Karma, by higher plan, the follow will be determined.
Don’t be attached to it. Now move on to your next Karma. That’s why Krishna is also saying, Maatei Sangostva Karma.
Otherwise, if we are not to set goals at all, then we will not have any inspiration to work on it. You see. So, we famously, Prabhupada said, when he came to America, he said, I can see the temples.
It’s only time separating us. Chaitanya Maharaj predicted, the Holy Name will spread all over the world. That’s a goal, isn’t it? It’s a prediction, but for the subsequent ashram, because it’s a goal that they saw, we have to fulfil that.
So, goal setting is not the problem. It is attachment to resolve it is the problem. And the whole point is, what is the problem? That our consciousness will get distracted from what we can do, what is in our control, to what is not in our control.
So, the Karma Yoga, as discussed earlier, is very pragmatic. Focus on what is in your control, and that’s when set goals. Let go of that which is not in control, we will be detached from the sense.
Okay? Thank you. Okay. Hare Krishna Prabhu.
Many people in town, who work in IT, Microsoft, they have retired early. So, they have gone through school, where teacher told them, study this, get good marks, they went to Microsoft, do this. But after retirement, or kind of chopping work, it is very disorienting, nobody to tell what to do, what purpose, can you say that that portion of life is different from the time of life until then? And it is, it is, so I would appreciate your comments on this.
So, somebody is retired from working in some big company, then it can be very disorienting, because they don’t know what to do now. Till now I was working here, then somebody tells me, do this, do this, do that, now what do I do? Yes, there is, the nature of the mind, that it needs to be engaged. And, more often than not, in the spiritual condition stage, the mind is usually not self-motivated.
That means, I need some support, some push, some target, which has to be given by someone other than me. So, to be self-motivated is not very easy. And that’s why when there is no external pressure, then it is very difficult to commit oneself.
Say, there is an educational system, where there is absolutely no exam at all. Then, you know, the students will have no tension, but the students will have no impetus to study also. Communism and all that, everybody will get the same reward, no matter how much work you do.
But then people start asking, why don’t you work at all? So then, it led to dysfunctionality. So, we have to find out, that if, I don’t have any external motivation now, then I have to create self-motivation. Or I have to come with a group of people, who will give me some motivation.
So, Vishwa Brahmapada says that, generally, it is very difficult to give up something, unless you get something better. So, if I give up one job, why would I give up that job, unless I am getting a better job? But when we come to retirement, we may think, okay, I worked so hard, now it’s my time to relax. But then the point is, that during our relaxation time, the mind works overtime.
And the mind, this is a problem, this is like this, this is like this, this is like this. And the mind can make us miserable. So, therefore, we may have to find some solid engagements for ourselves.
So, in the spiritual understanding of life, the retired order, and thereafter the renounced order, these are meant for more focused connection with Krishna. We did our responsibility in this world, and now we will connect with Krishna. So, we have a thriving community here, there are many services in the temple, which we associate with the devotees regularly, and based on your inspiration, your information, we can take up some solid service, which will engage the mind and will give us a sense of fulfilment.
Yes, I am not just retired, I am doing something constructive. So, on a moment-to-moment basis, it is the mind’s ups and downs will be there, but if we have some overall goal, that this is what I am going to do. So, it can be educational, we have study courses, then you can study the scriptures, and learn the Bhagavad Gita, learn new ideas courses, or you can come and take up some responsibilities in the temple, or whoever is there, who is retired, if there are no external agencies creating goals for us, then we have to create them for ourselves.
And we may have to take help from someone, so that we create it. You may say, now is the time for me to rest. But we live in a very passionate world, and having lived for many years in a passionate world, our mind is still passionate.
So, even if we feel, I want to rest now, the mind will not want to rest. And then, at that time, the mind starts going into negativity. If I am not doing anything constructive, then the mind starts doing something destructive.
The mind may start finding faults with this person, this is like this, this is like this, this is like that, this is like that. So, if I find fault with people around us, with the world around us, so better we engage ourselves in something constructive. Okay? Okay.
Yes, sir. I just have a brief question. One question from my side is, we all work in, what, karmic life, whatever we do, the work, you know, the majority of the time, like six to eight hours we spend in the office, but I always get confused, when you are working in that kind of a, in the atmosphere, how I can remember my service is for Krishna, because I always think that this is for my selfish nature, but I am really confused on that fact, and how I can remember it, because we don’t have an answer, or I can say I don’t have an answer for that.
So, if you are working in a materialistic environment, how can you remember that you are doing it for Krishna? It’s not so much a remembrance, it’s not so much a recollection, it’s not so much a specific recollection as a driving intention. Just like, for example, say, if a householder is working away from their home, and they are working away from their home, they may be doing their business, just dealing with their client, talking with different people, but in their heart they know, I am doing this for my family. My children are there, my family members are there, and through all this I am maintaining them.
So, it’s not that constantly they are remembering their family members. When they have to do their job, they have to do their job. So, when we talk about remembrance, remembering that we are doing this for Krishna, it is not just a specific moment-to-moment recollection.
It is more of an overall driving intention. Why am I doing this? When Arjuna was fighting a war, it was not that, I was looking at him, shooting arrows, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. It was not like that.
He was fighting, he was fighting seriously. And, he used all the knowledge of archery that he had, for fighting the war. But his intention was to serve Krishna.
So, first of all, by our sadhana bhakti, by our study of scriptures, the intention becomes deep-rooted in us. Ultimately, my life’s ultimate goal is Krishna. Then, over a period of time, as we keep practising Krishna bhakti, Krishna enters more and more into our consciousness.
And then, whatever we are specifically doing, we are aware of that, but that goes into the background. And, why we are doing it comes into the foreground. Just like, say, some first time we speak in public.
You know, we are extremely conscious. You know, how are people looking at me? Is my diluxe straight? There are certain things we are conscious of at that time. We are very, very self-conscious.
But then, if we keep speaking, after some time, that self-consciousness goes down, and the substance-consciousness increases. What am I speaking? Not so much how I am looking. You know, have I prepared my content properly? Am I speaking properly? And, beyond that, then, our intent becomes, you know, I am speaking for Krishna.
So, while we are functioning in the material world, we have to be aware of the material situation. But, our consciousness has a foreground awareness and a background awareness. So, initially, the material setting is in the foreground.
And, the spiritual is in the background. A few years ago, the first time I came to America, the man said, Oh, you are in America. You are in America.
The man was saying like that. But, then, after some time, whether I am in India or America or Africa, ultimately, I was speaking about Krishna. That is important.
So, when something is new, the situation stays in the foreground. But, once we become more purposeful, when Krishna becomes internalised in us, then, the setting doesn’t matter so much. It’s the purpose that matters.
So, that’s how, gradually, that I am serving Krishna, will come more in the foreground of our consciousness. It will come more in the centre of our consciousness. And, beyond that, we can also try to, within our schedule, have some spiritual reminding breaks.
Maybe, during lunch, I will give some class. Or, during, if he has some breaks, he has some pictures of Krishna. He has some pictures of Krishna.
So, we try to spiritualise our consciousness as much as possible. So, if we do that, keep our overall intention clear. Get Krishna in the foreground, as soon as possible, over time.
And, then, have the learning reminders, about Krishna. Then, gradually, by then, our consciousness will become spiritualised. So, one last question.
Hare Krishna Mahamudra. Today, in your morning lecture, I was living in my van. Basically, I was dropping my kids.
It was an amazing lecture. And, I was having some trouble, or some problem, basically. After hearing your lecture, it got solved.
And, I am happy to be here. So, So, So, schooling, I taught. And, we have not answered, what we have to do.
So, this was the last lecture, we are going to tell. So, I came here to, like, by thinking that, I will get a lot of solutions. And, I want to concentrate on that one.
And, I was thinking that, it may save my life, too. But, this is the solution, I was looking for, for so many years. I couldn’t find it, like, how mind works, and other things.
So, I came here with the intention that, okay, I want to hear you attentively. Right. But, as the temple, is a dresser temple.
Okay. So, we sent our kids to the lecture, like, you are giving right now. Go and sit in the front.
And, you are seeing, what is happening here, right now. Kids, small kids are there, they are disturbing. Parents are sitting in the back.
And, it’s not with, some kids, it might be gargles, does the same thing. They don’t listen. Parents keep quiet.
And, it’s a disturbance. So, I feel that the offence. Somebody wants to listen, and nobody is stopping them.
And, it’s not like, it’s happening in this lecture. It’s happening in all the lectures. I don’t understand.
Like, we devotees, we can’t realise this thing. We are trying to understand Krishna. And, we are not able to realise this thing at all.
Where we are forwarding, I don’t know. I have heard many times, in Prabhupada’s lecture, he used to strictly say that, sit nicely, don’t talk, take the child out, take that dog out. So, how? So, now this lecture is about tolerating, mitigating, migrating.
So, how? Yeah, okay. I got it. So, you know, there are kids sitting right in front of the class.
But, they are, they are distracted, and they are distracting us. Then, how can, what should we do at that time? Why should this be allowed to go on? Why can’t something be done about it? Every one of us has to find out the best way we can serve Krishna. Suppose, say, we come together for chanting.
Now, some devotees chant very loudly. Now, they chant so loudly that everybody else has to give their chanting and they don’t chant it. So, when this happens, what do you do? Sometimes, it may happen that that devotee doesn’t have the intention of disturbing others.
But, that is the level where they chant, they can be attentive. So, the best chanting is we chant at a level where we are attentive to ourselves, and we let others be attentive to their chanting. But, if that is not happening, then we can move away.
Let’s move to some other place. Or, we may tell that person, can you please chant softly? Sometimes, they may listen to us. Sometimes, they may not listen to us.
So, what do we do at that time? If they listen to us, fine. If they don’t listen to us, then we move aside. So, in the particular situation, we have to find the best way to move towards it.
Now, if that devotee is regularly coming and daily they are chanting loudly, it’s a daily issue, then we may tell them or tell some senior devotee and then that devotee can chant softly or may be chant at a distance from others or whatever. Some practical solution we have to work out. So, similarly, now, for some people, they just absorb in their chanting.
That devotee’s loud chanting may be disturbing me, but it may not be disturbing someone else. They absorb in their chanting. That means there are three things over there.
There is whatever is the action that is happening, there is the effect of that action on a particular person, and there is the response of that person. So, some speakers, when they are giving class, they just when little noise is there, they say, no, no. Prabhupada is sitting with child out.
Or they would be sitting this way, sitting that way. They would be very particular about particular things. So, now, each speaker has their own emphasis, has their own mood.
We are all following Prabhupada. But we are all individuals. Prabhupada, for example, he loved kachoris.
Does that mean all followers of Prabhupada have to love kachoris? We have our individual nature, we have our individual tastes. On Prabhupada’s last day, he would offer a kachori. I will take that also, but that may not be our favourite food.
So, we follow Prabhupada in his purpose. But in specific practises, it will mean, no speaker would like to have distraction in the classes, that’s understandable. But specifically, how to deal with something, that’s up to person to perceive.
So, in general, Prabhupada would sit properly, but then Prabhupada would also not give very long classes. Prabhupada’s classes are 20-25-30-40 minutes at the most. 20-25 minutes on average, not much, maybe 40 minutes sometimes.
Prabhupada would not give long classes. In Prabhupada’s classes also, there would not be long question-answers. So, we may find if there are long question-answers, then if we really want to sit in a particular way, we want to relax a little bit, that’s fine.
So, there is a particular situation, there is the effect of the situation on us, and there is our response. So, now that same situation may disturb one person and not disturb another person. The effect will be different depending on the particular person.
So, if I find that it is distracting me, then I have to find the right response. Now, for some parents, they may feel that, you know, if my child is sitting right in front, even if the child is not attentive, at least the spiritual sound vibration is going in, and they are hearing something over there, some purification is happening, some benefit is there by that. Even if the child is not attentive, still, the fact that they are willing to come and sit and not just want to go and play, that is also part of it.
It’s not that every child can do that. So, I would say that, rather than making things in black and white, that this is right and this is wrong, you have to see that everything has its pluses and minuses. So, sometimes Prabhupada will also take that attitude that, when he will give you classes in Hindi, but still, he would ask his western disciples to sit in here and say, the sound vibration is purifying.
But then sometimes, Prabhupada would say that, because my western disciples are there, they don’t understand Hindi, so I am going to speak in English. And he would ask someone else to translate. So, Prabhupada would adjust upon that circumstance.
Sometimes understanding is important, sometimes just listening, signing up, sound vibration is important. So, yes, most places, especially, for example, Sundays, when the class is going on, there is a separate arrangement for taking care of the children. So, there are special classes or special engagement for the children given.
But, when other classes are there, creating some separate engagement for children is not always possible. You know, devotees also want to get classes and then somebody who wants to, somebody who has to take care of the children, they can’t get to get classes then. So, specific arrangement is not practically possible in particular situations.
Then, what we need to do is, within that situation, how best can I hear about Krishna? So, if there is some distraction, then maybe I move a little bit away from the distraction and try to hear. And the next time, I can plan. So, now you have all this concern, other devotees are also there, they also heard about it, they will think about it and they may do something practical about it.
That means that the basic attitude is that Krishna, whatever happens, I want to serve. So, if there is a situation of distraction, even then I try to hear as much as possible. But, it’s also my responsibility to try to see if the situation of distraction can be avoided.
Sometimes it can be avoided, sometimes it can’t be avoided. So, if we let the situation get to us too much, then we will not be able to do our service to Krishna. So, our service to Krishna is that we want to hear about him.
Sometimes we want to speak about him. So, we all have to learn to tolerate different distractions at different times. So, first time when I came to America, I was going to a college programme.
Normally, we are used to, I’m coming from India, Brahmacharya is used to people sitting in here. And in this college programme, there were boys and girls sitting next to each other. And the boy was haunting the girl.
And the girl was haunting the boy. And they were both of them sitting right in front of me. So, I couldn’t even look anywhere else.
You can’t look somewhere else. So, then, another devotee told me, I thought this is a very difficult situation I went through. Then another devotee told me that he was going for a college programme.
And when he was going, at that time, there was only one boy and a girl there coming. And they came on the condition that the girl will sit on the lap of the boy. Now, what is the point? So, he said, I went for this programme 2-3 times.
I thought, let me go. But they said, they did not pay any attention to me. They decided that I’ll do a programme somewhere else.
The point is that sometimes, we are put in situations where there is some distraction. And then, we do the best service we can in that situation. Afterwards, we decide whether being in that situation is worth it or we can do something else.
So, normally, you sit in front, you won’t attend him. But if you find that sitting in front is distracting, you sit a little behind or make some adjustment. But when we are in a particular situation and there is nothing we can do to change the situation, then rather than resentment get in the way, we just accept and try to do what we can in that situation.
At one level, we want the best facilities for serving Krishna. At another level, surrendering to Krishna means we do what we can with what we have now. So, this is the facility I have.
This is the level of attention, calm surroundings I have, distracted surroundings. I do what I can with what I have now. So, that’s how we serve Krishna.
And certainly, we can try to create better facilities. But rather than resenting the present, we just try to connect with Krishna as best as we can in that situation. Thank you very much.