Role of self-confidence in bhakti

[Seminar at ISKCON, Naperville, USA]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
my small service. Thank you, Maharaj, for your time, wisdom.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Thank you for coming today evening and I’ll speak today on the topic of how bhakti relates with self-confidence.
Your confidence in Krishna and how does that relate with confidence in oneself. I was talking with a devotee in America during my last visit and this devotee told that that devotee had some serious mental health problems earlier and then busy became a devotee, started practising bhakti and after that the mental health problems went away. But then after some time, after a few years of practise of bhakti, again the mental health problems started surfacing and then the devotee went to a doctor, a psychologist, a psychotherapist who was considering or consulting earlier and the psychotherapist said that actually your spiritual practises are increasing your mental health problems.
You should decrease these practises. So at that time, now normally if say in the early stages of my bhakti, maybe 5, 10, 15 years ago, if I had heard such a thing, I would have said that psychologist is a demoniac person. He’s against bhakti.
But then I decided I’ll read a little bit about psychology in the last few years. So I talked with that psychologist on phone and I found something very interesting. I talked with the devotee separately.
So here I’ll speak based on the Bhagavatam first canto where in the seventh chapter where the root of the Bhagavatam is given at one level, Vyasadeva sits and meditates and there are four verses which Jiva Swami describes. These verses in the Bhagavatam give the basic vision of what the Bhagavatam is meant to do. And there the last verse is So it says that if the previous verses tell that how Vyasadeva saw that everybody was that all living beings are under maya and maya is under Krishna.
And Jiva is actually meant to be above maya because Jiva is transcendental. But currently because of the desire to enjoy only thing the Jiva is under maya. And then Bhagavatam removes that illusion by which the Jiva comes under maya.
That by the performance of bhakti to Vadhokshaja, and then how can bhakti be performed? We hear about Krishna. We hear about Krishna who is the paramapurusha, who is the supreme person. By this bhakti will arise in the heart of the person.
And when bhakti arises, lamentation, illusion and fear, these three will go away. And Prabhupada says in the purport there that lamentation is about the past, illusion is about the present and fear is about the future. Lamentation, oh this went wrong, that went wrong, this person did like this, so many bad things happened in my life.
That’s all lamentation. Bhaya is about the future. Oh what if this goes wrong? What if that happens? What if that happens? What if that happens? And moha is about the present.
Oh if I do this, I’ll become happy. If only this goes away, my problems will be solved. So basically shoka, moha and bhaya are the unwanted mental tendencies which drain our inner energy.
And if we can practise bhakti, these inner energy drainers will go away. Suppose we say fill fuel in our car and then we drive the car. And we know with this much fuel, the car should go for say 100 miles.
But then in 50 miles the car starts showing it’s empty. What happened? There must be some drainage in where some internally, some wastage internally because of which we are, our car is fuel getting wasted, drained out. So similarly, we can say we have internal energy.
Just like we have physical energy, you also have emotional energy or mental energy. And this energy can also get dissipated. When that energy gets dissipated, then we just feel completely not like doing anything.
There’s an author who said that, you know, I can run for a whole month on one good compliment. So if I’m writing and somebody gives me a compliment, I feel so enlivened I can go on for a month. He’s not talking about physical energy.
Appreciation, encouragement, these give us, energises positively internally. So similarly, we can be de-energised internally. So what the Bhagavatam is telling here is that, if we hear about Krishna, our devotion to Krishna will awaken.
And when the devotion awakens, then these inner energy drainers, lamentation, fear, illusion, they will go away. Now, if somebody is practising bhakti and we find that their lamentation fear is not going away, or to the contrary, if sometimes it happens that somebody is practising bhakti and their lamentation fear seems to be increasing by the practise of bhakti, then what is happening? No, this will not happen because of bhakti. But what if it is happening to somebody? Somebody says, after I start practising bhakti, I’m feeling more depressed, I’m feeling more fearful.
Why should you feel fearful? There can be different kinds of fears that different people may have. So, normally if you understand that Krishna is our lord, Krishna is our protector. By meditating on Krishna, our fear will go away.
That’s how it should be. But suppose, we are practising bhakti and somehow somebody gets some kind of conception of the practise of bhakti by which they become very fearful. Oh, if I make this mistake, I’ll be criticised for this.
If I make this mistake, this will happen. If I make this mistake, this will happen. We talk about how there are different levels at which you can approach God.
There is fear. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says in Chaitanya Shiksha Amrit, the first level at which people may approach God is because of fear. Oh, if I don’t obey God, God will punish me, so let me obey.
But then beyond that is desire. Oh, at least a positive motive, if I please God, then he will give me something good in my life. And beyond that is duty.
Actually, God has given me so much in my life already, I should serve him. And above that is love. So, at the level of love, we serve the Lord because he will give us something, but because we just want to connect with him as an all loving person.
So, now, if somebody is practising bhakti, and that person already has a tendency to be fearful from the past, then that fearful tendency may get projected within devotion also. Just like some people speak softly. Some people speak very loudly.
I know one devotee, whenever he was in class, he says, I don’t need a mic, I have a natural mic. His natural voice is so loud, he just speaks naturally loudly. So, these are just bodily features.
Some people, when they meet each other, they just want to touch and hug. Don’t touch me. So, different people have different natures.
So, like that, just as there are physical natures, we could say, there is also mental natures. And if somebody has had a habit of being fearful, for whatever reason, somebody has a fear of abandonment. Maybe nowadays, especially in the Western world, where families are not stable, children grow up alone with a single parent or whatever, then they grow up fearful that I might be abandoned.
And then when they come to bhakti, in bhakti, there is a positive aspect that we have an eternal relationship with Krishna. But in bhakti, there is also the aspect that all our relationships are temporary. Worldly relations are temporary.
And it is the expertise of the presenter of Krishna bhakti to emphasise the right thing at the right point. If somebody has just lost a loved one, and they are in grief, at that time, if they come to a devotee, they are looking for solace. At that time, the best thing to tell them is that, yes, Krishna is in your heart, and Krishna is in the heart of your loved one who has departed also.
If you pray to Krishna, Krishna will offer blessings to that person wherever they are going. Krishna is their guide, Krishna is your guide. And Krishna will give you strength.
Take shelter of Krishna. And we are meant to also offer them shelter on behalf of Krishna. So, if somebody is afflicted, we are meant to comfort the afflicted.
But instead of comforting the afflicted, if we afflict the afflicted, if somebody has lost a loved one, and we tell them, actually, you have lost this loved one, soon you will lose your other loved ones also. All relationships are temporary. That would be violence.
Isn’t it? That would be violence, if you speak something like this to them. So, on the other hand, if somebody is very comfortable in life, oh, life is going on, everything is wonderful in my life, I got a good job, good family, good health. Then Prabhupada would give the example that, in America, they had the president, JFK.
He was young, popular, handsome, poor, aware, very well to do. And then, in one moment, he was shot dead. Prabhupada said, everything can be lost in one moment.
So, when somebody is comfortable, we have to afflict the comforted. That, afflict the comforted means, you think everything is all right? No. Things are not all that all right.
Things can go wrong at any moment. Be aware and give due time for your spiritual growth. Now, if somebody is comforted and we make them comforted further.
Oh, everything is all right? Yes, everything is all right. Yes, continue on with your life. Therefore, we are also not doing a service at that time.
So, in sharing Krishna Bhakti, understanding the person is very important to share the appropriate Bhakti principle at that time. So, if somebody has a very great fear, then we have to be very careful, or at least that person has to be careful and their guides also have to be careful, of that, that aspect of Krishna Bhakti has to be presented to them by which their fear will be decreased. One time, I was in Australia and one devotee, Mataji came to me and she told me a similar thing that she had many of her relatives, she had seen them die in front of her.
Like uncle got a heart attack in front of her when she was a five-year-old girl. And at that time, she was in an accident and everybody else in the accident, she survived. So, she had a great fear of death.
And then she came to a class and she was, she was, she was counselled and she got over the fear of death and she came to a class. And in that class, the devotee spoke everything about how we can die at any moment. The whole class was on top of that, he had got some YouTube video which showed people, somebody just talking with someone at one moment and suddenly they die.
And like that 10-15 videos, 15 instances were shown. And then it became such a terrible day for this devotee. So, now she went, she started getting all this fear of death, fear of death, fear of death.
And at that time, she again, she went to the psychologist, she had to go back to a psychotherapist and said that these kind of classes will be psychologically damaging for you, don’t hear them. Now, she asked me that, is it that the Bhagavad Gita is psychologically damaging? I told her, the Bhagavad Gita is not psychologically damaging, but it is, if we are already psychologically damaged, it’s not a value judgement, it’s just that all of us are damaged in particular ways. Then we have to be careful what aspect of the philosophy we expose ourselves to.
So, yes, we can speak about the temporariness of death. But more than that, we have to speak about the eternality of Krishna. We have to speak about the eternal security that comes in Krishna Bhakti.
The third canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is said that, that person who travels across the world, assuring people of fearlessness in Krishna, that person is very dear to Krishna and is a benefactor of everyone. So, the purpose of sharing Krishna Bhakti is not to create fear in people. Yes, the middle world is a fearful place and sometimes we may have to afflict the comforted.
But the focus is on connecting people with Krishna so that they can experience spiritual fearlessness there. So, the point which I started this class with was that we may ourselves have from the past certain mental health issues. We may, some of us may have.
Now, for example, somebody may have some physical health issues. Say, somebody may have some back problems because of which they have slipped or something. So, they cannot lift weights.
Then we understand that they can do many other services, but this service they should not do. So, this is also a service to Krishna. Yes, it is a service to Krishna, but it is a service which you cannot do.
So, at a physical level, just as we understand very easily, look at this service, this person can’t do. So, similarly, at a mental level also, all of us may have certain vulnerabilities and each of us has to take care, has to be careful so that we don’t aggravate that unwittingly. Sometimes we may think chanting Hare Krishna will solve all problems.
So, if you have mental health problems, chant Hare Krishna, all your problems will go away. Yes, chanting Hare Krishna will solve all problems. That is ultimately.
If chanting Hare Krishna is going to solve all problems at a practical level also, then why do we, the same Vedic tradition, why does it have a whole branch of medicine called Ayurveda? Why have medicine at all? Chant Hare Krishna, your disease will get cured. No, if you consider the Bhagavad Gita itself, is it that Arjuna won the Kurukshetra war by the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita that Krishna gave him? Or is it that Arjuna won the Kurukshetra war by the knowledge of archery that he had learned from Drona and that he had practised throughout his life? What do you think? Which knowledge? Both. Second one.
Yes, I would say both answers are correct. Yes, at a practical level, it was the archery skill that has enabled him to win the war. What the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita gave him? The direction how to use the archery skills.
It is not that the Bhagavad Gita gave him the knowledge of archery skills. The Bhagavad Gita gave him the knowledge about the purpose of life and how to achieve that purpose. And that the particular skills he had, he used those skills.
So similarly, when we say that the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna Consciousness or Chanting Hare Krishna will solve all problems, that is in terms of giving us the consciousness by which we will be able to apply the appropriate material solutions effectively. What to speak of solving the world’s problems? One of the last instructions actually Prabhupada gave about how Krishna Consciousness, the Krishna Consciousness movement will spread across the world. He said it will spread by organisation and intentions.
By organisation, he did not mean structured organisation with rigid control. He meant that you have to plan properly. You have to use your intelligence.
So Prabhupada did not say that by chanting Hare Krishna, even the Krishna Consciousness movement will spread all over the world. Yes, chanting Hare Krishna is important. But Prabhupada could have chanted Hare Krishna in India.
Would Krishna Consciousness spread all over the world? Prabhupada came to America and he risked his life coming through Jaladuta which was a cargo ship. So that means that the spiritual knowledge is not a substitute for the material knowledge. The spiritual knowledge is the director of the material knowledge.
It gives us direction about how to use material knowledge. In the material, there are two levels of reality. There is the physical reality and there is the mental reality.
There is physical, mental and spiritual. So the spiritual knowledge can help us to direct things at the physical level. Similarly, spiritual knowledge can help us to direct things at the mental level.
So at the mental level, just as if at a physical level, we have certain limitations. If we cannot lift weights, then we do other services. Similarly, at the mental level, if we have certain weaknesses or vulnerabilities, then it is important for us to practise bhakti in a way that is compatible with our particular mental constitution.
So this means that if somebody has had fear, it is not that bhakti practise will increase the fear. But it is not necessary that immediately bhakti practise will remove the fear also. There are some fears which can be removed by philosophical understanding.
But beyond that, different people have different natures. There are some people who love adventure and there are some people who love order. Order, planning, structure, that is how they can function the best.
And some people just like to explore new things. Now those who love adventure and exploration and challenge and danger, they, to people who love adventure, love order and structure, they will say, these people are so reckless. Just do anything.
But for those people who love adventure, they will say, order, you don’t do anything special. Just do the same thing again and again. But both have their natures and both will serve Krishna accordingly.
So in Krishna bhakti, it is so accommodating that different people, according to their particular nature, can be engaged in service. So if somebody likes order, structure, planning, then they might flourish best in pujari services. Just giving one example, where this time you do this, this time you do this, be in time for this, take care of this, this way, do it this way, do it this way.
For somebody who likes adventure and exploration and newness, they may find pujari service, I want to do something new. Yes, Krishna is there, but I want to do something else. So they may want to go on book distribution, they may want to go on Sankirtan, they may want to do such things, and that’s where they get their taste.
So now, for each one of us, this is, I talk about positives. Now, the need for order or the liking order or liking adventure, these are just the nature, we can’t change that. So for somebody who loves adventure, they need a little balance, don’t be so adventurous, have a little caution also.
And somebody who loves order, don’t be so stuck with order also, be a little open to some new things also. So these are basic psychological dispositions, and these can’t be changed. And bhakti is broad enough to accommodate this, that each devotee can serve according to the kind of the body and the mind that we have.
So we don’t work, and here I will use the, for simplicity, I’ll use the word body to refer to both the gross body and the subtle body. That means the body and the mind, they’re together, they’re the coverings of the soul. So I’ll refer to that as the body.
So we don’t work for the body, that means we don’t just fulfil whatever desire the body has. But we don’t work against the body. We work with the body for Krishna.
We don’t work for the body means, oh, I like to do this, I’ll just keep doing this and not do anything else. Even if it’s Krishna conscious, even if it’s devotional or non-devotional. Work against the body means, oh, I like order, then I will do all the things where there is no order, this adventure.
That adventure will soon become a misadventure. It does not work. So we don’t work against the body, we work with the body for Krishna.
And similarly, we don’t work for the mind, we don’t work against the mind, we work with the mind for Krishna. So work for the mind means whatever idea comes up in the mind, just keep doing that. Again, without considering whether it’s devotional or non-devotional.
Work against the mind means whatever troubles us at a mental level, that’s what we try to do. That will just torture us. But we work with the mind for Krishna.
So sometimes when people practise bhakti, so somebody may be having a lot of fear or loneliness or self-pity or whatever all kinds of negative thought patterns might be there and they start practising bhakti and they practise it very seriously. They come for the morning programme, they chant 16 rounds, they chant 64 rounds, they chant 100 rounds and they seem to be very very serious devotees. And then for them it appears that the intense practise of bhakti, all their mental problems seem to go away.
But I have met many devotees, they say after 10, 15, 20 years of the practise of bhakti, I find that the old me is now coming back again. The pre-devotional me is coming. Is it my conditionings are coming back again? It’s not that the conditionings are coming back.
It is just that when the newness of bhakti is there, in the newness we just deny who we are. See bhakti is not about rejecting our, it is not about depersonalising ourselves. It is about spiritualising ourselves.
So that means that in spiritual life, if we think from the ultimate perspective, I talked about this in yesterday’s class also, that there are painkillers and there are medicines. So we are in a diseased condition material existence and we need painkillers and we need the curative medicines. So the painkilling medicines, they deal with things at a practical immediate level.
So most of our material needs are like painkilling needs. When we are hungry, we need food. Once in a while when we are fasting, we may chant Hare Krishna and tolerate the hunger.
But we can’t use chanting Hare Krishna as a standard replacement for food. That is not going to work. Yes, we chant Hare Krishna and we take food also.
But if somebody thinks I’ll only take food and I’ll not worry about chanting. Well, that is not going to work. So, some people say that in Hindi they are saying that with empty stomach you cannot worship Hari.
Okay, that is true. How many people whose stomachs are full are actually doing worship of Hari? So we are not telling anyone that you starve and worship Hari. So that is simply an excuse that people are using.
So it’s true that if somebody is starving, yes, they should take food. We can also offer prasadam. But the point is that we have to chant Hare Krishna.
These two are not competitors. When they say that the hungry stomach and the devotion to Hari are competitors. But they are not.
They are serving two different meals at two different levels. So eating food is a functional necessity of the body and that has to be taken care of. Earning money is a functional necessity for living in the world and that has to be taken care of.
We need relationships in our lives and those relationships is again a functional emotional need which we have, it has to be taken care of. But these alone don’t serve our ultimate need. Our ultimate need is that we have to connect with Krishna.
And that means both of these can go parallelly. So just as we understand very clearly that I need food and chanting Hare Krishna is not a replacement for my food. Similarly, if I have some emotional needs, then chanting Hare Krishna is not a replacement for my emotional needs.
If I am feeling lonely all the time, then it is my responsibility to find out how to develop relationships. To find out people with whom I can connect nicely and I can open my heart and can feel connected. I can get a sense of belonging.
So now some people may not have that sense of loneliness. Everybody needs relationships. But how much one needs relationships, how much one depends on relationships, that can vary from person to person.
And for a person whom loneliness is a very great fear, then for them relationships with devotees, they will serve the ultimate purpose of growing in bhakti, but they will also serve an immediate purpose of acting as painkillers. The painkilling medicine, bhakti acts as the ultimate curative medicine. But just bhakti, the same lingam of bhakti, like chanting Hare Krishna, is the ultimate curative medicine.
Remembrance of Krishna is the ultimate curative medicine. But we also need connection with people over here. So that is a human need which we have, that is an emotional need which, the intensity of which will vary from different people.
And that person has to take the responsibility to get that need fulfilled. So some people feel a sense of belonging when they can spend time with others and talk with others, they ask how are you doing and just spending quality time, that’s what gives them a sense of belonging. For some people, it’s working together.
You do this, I do this, we’ll do these things together. We’ll make this together. That gives them a sense of belonging.
For some people, the sense of belonging comes when somebody is there to guide them. Whenever I have some problem, I have somebody to guide me. That person understands me and guides me.
So it’s like just a friendship, guidance, or functioning together. How we get our sense of belonging, that will also vary from person to person. And it is for us to get our need fulfilled.
Maturity means to understand that no one is obliged to fulfil our needs. Maturity means, not that we deny our needs, but we understand that the responsibility for fulfilling my needs is on me. That no one is obliged to fulfil my needs.
Like a small child, a baby just cries and the mother, the caretakers all run to feed the child. But if as adults we start crying, nobody will run to feed us. That doesn’t mean our hunger is not a genuine need.
But the fact that we are grown up means we will take the initiative. We understand that no one is obliged to feed me. I have to cook the food or I have to go to someone who will provide me the food.
I go back home or whatever. I have to take the initiative for that. Just as this applies for physical needs, it also applies for our emotional needs.
And if somebody has, I started this by talking about how bhakti relates with confidence. So, this last part of the talk I will have on this and then we can have some question answers. That when we talk about humility, humility is a central tenet of bhakti.
He said, Be humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, offering respect to others, expecting no respect for ourselves. By this we can constantly become absorbed in the glorification of the Lord. Now, this is a standard of humility that we aspire for.
At the same time, what do we mean by humility? Can a devotee have humility and also have self-confidence? Or is the concept of self-confidence against the principle of bhakti? Not at all. Actually, our self-confidence comes not so much from who we are as from whose we are. Not so much from who we are.
I am so good. I am this talented. I can do this.
I can do that. That is confidence that comes from who we are. But our self-confidence comes from whose we are.
We are all Krishna’s parts. Krishna says that all living beings are my eternal parts. Now, what does this mean practically? When I say our confidence comes from whose we are, not who we are, this doesn’t mean that we deny who we are.
It just means that our basis of confidence is not just on our abilities. It is on Krishna’s potency. Let us look at the example of Shri Prabhupada himself.
He obviously had a huge amount of self-confidence by which he could go all the way to America from India alone at an old age to share Krishna bhakti to people who had never heard about Krishna. I was at a devotee’s place and he showed me a Christian book and he said that this Christian pastor did a survey of what is the strangest thing that you have heard in your life. And there he said that several people, he did a poll among his congregation, and it’s a big church, mainstream church in America.
And several of his congregation members said that the strangest thing in our life was a Hare Krishna devotee approaching us and telling us a bluish black cowherd boy is God. So, the point I am making through this is that at that time people knew nothing about Krishna. When first time the devotees, when they were in lower east side, at that time they decided to please Prabhupada and they went to a local Indian store and got some pictures which looked like Indian pictures.
And one of the pictures was of Hanuman. And Prabhupada saw that, Prabhupada was very pleased. Oh, this is beautiful.
And then he went, Prabhupada, what is this? Is this a cat? They had no idea who Hanuman was. So, I am giving these two as examples of the level of lack of knowledge that Prabhupada had and lack of knowledge that Prabhupada’s potential audience had. So, then Prabhupada, when he came to such people to talk about Krishna, he had some amount of, certainly a huge amount of self-confidence.
And we say his confidence was not in himself. We can say his confidence was in the spiritual master. His confidence was in Krishna.
Yes, that is true, definitely. His confidence was in Krishna, his confidence was in the spiritual master who gave instruction. But still, he needed a certain level of confidence that my spiritual master or Krishna will act through me.
That spiritual master can act through anyone. And if you think like that, oh, you know, we need to do this service. As Krishna wants to do this service, Krishna can do this service through anyone.
So, if I am going to take up the initiative to do that service, that means I need to have a certain amount of confidence that Krishna will act through me. Now, is this based on my purity? Do I have to be a pure devotee so that Krishna will act through me? No, it need not be just my purity. It could just be my desire to serve my spiritual master and Krishna may act through that.
And it is not just the desire to serve the spiritual master. It is also one’s own ability. Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit writes that I am lower than a worm in the stool.
I am more sinful than Jagai and Madai. So, I was in Mumbai and I was giving a class. So, after our devotee asked me this question, does humility have to come at the cost of honesty? I said, what do you mean? He says, obviously Jagai and Madai are not more… Sorry, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami is a great bhakta saint.
He is the author of the Chaitanya Charita Amrit. He is not more sinful than Jagai and Madai obviously. So, why is he saying like this? Does it mean humility means we have to speak something which is not true? No.
So, I explained over there that actually when such expressions of humility come, they come from a very different scale of reference. What is their scale? What do I mean by scale of reference? Scale of reference means that we all have a perspective within which we see things. If we are on the earth and we look at the sky and there we see an aeroplane moving, we will see it moving very fast.
If we are an aeroplane which is coming to the ground and then we will see as it is landing and we will see that it is moving so fast. It is just moving and we will see trees and buildings and other planes just whizzing by. But if we are high up in the sky and if we are high up in the sky and say if we are sitting next to the plane and we look out of the window because the sky is so symmetrical, if you look out of the window, you will feel as if your plane is not moving at all.
It is like the plane is going on a morning walk in the sky. It is casually strolling through the sky. The plane may be moving at 500 miles per hour but because there the reference point is the vast sky.
So, in terms of that reference point, the plane’s super fast motion also appears to be nothing. But when we are on the earth and when we see buildings which are small relatively speaking to the sky and in terms of them when we see zoom, the plane is moving super fast. So, if somebody says from the sky’s perspective when they are in the sky, this plane is not moving at all.
It is moving so slowly. And somebody from the ground says this plane is moving so fast. What is the reality? The reality is the plane is moving fast.
That is true but from the observer’s in the plane’s perspective, the plane does not seem to be moving at all. So, our scale of reference will determine how we perceive things. So, when great devotees say, I am so sinful, I am so fallen, I am so useless.
They are, so Krishna’s Krishna’s love is experiencing Krishna’s love constantly and he feels Krishna loves me so much. And as compared to Krishna’s love for me, what have I done in return? He says Jagai Madhai, they committed so many sinful activities but as soon as they experienced Lord Chaitanya’s mercy, they gave up everything and transformed themselves. But although I had practised bhakti, I knew about Lord Chaitanya’s mercy for so long, my heart has not been transformed.
That means he feels that as compared to how much the Lord has done for me, I have not reciprocated adequately. And therefore, he feels I have not done enough, Jagai Madhai better than me. So, that humility comes by awareness of God’s greatness.
The basis of that, the scale of reference for that humility is not a sense of inferiority. His scale of reference is not at the material level, who is more virtuous? Am I more virtuous or Jagai Madhai is more virtuous? Obviously, he is much more virtuous. But his scale of reference is not from the ground level.
His scale of reference is, oh, they got mercy and they reciprocated so dramatically. I have got mercy, I have not reciprocated like that. So, the scale of reference is very different.
So, when we are said we should have humility, the central purpose of that humility is to focus on Krishna and on Krishna’s greatness. And to become absorbed in Krishna and as compared to Krishna, even if we are relatively better than others, or we are relatively worse than others, it does not make that much difference. Krishna is so great that even if I am the best in the world, as compared to Krishna’s greatness, my greatness is nothing.
So, the spiritual humility comes from spiritual absorption in Krishna’s greatness. If we compare with others and we feel, oh, I do not have this ability, this devotee has this ability, I cannot do this, this person can do this. And then we feel by thinking like this, I am becoming humble.
That is not humility. That is simply a sense of inferiority. And if you do not understand this clear difference, we may think in the name of humility, we may think, oh, having no confidence in myself, oh, I am so fallen, I cannot do anything.
Well, okay, we are all fallen, but we all can do something in Krishna’s service. So, humility, if somebody equates humility with lack of self-confidence, that is a complete misunderstanding. Lack of self-confidence comes when we have the world as a reference point.
And in the world, we see, oh, this person can do this, that person can do this, that person can do this, oh, I cannot do this. Therefore, I do not have confidence. So, as long as our world is a reference point, then the negativity towards ourselves that we develop, that is not humility.
So, for us, when we want to practise bhakti, for us, as when I said, our self-confidence comes, our self-confidence comes not from who we are, but whose we are. That means that we understand that whatever situation I am in my life, whatever kind of body, whatever kind of mind I have, this is by Krishna’s plan. And whatever is needed for my spiritual growth, Krishna will provide.
What we are is Krishna’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to Krishna. What we are, we all have certain abilities, certain situations we are in, that is Krishna’s gift to us.
But using those situations, what we become is our gift to Krishna. It is our offering to Krishna. It is the expression of our devotion to Krishna.
So, rather than resenting what we are right now, oh, you know, I am so fallen, I have this condition, I have that, I have that problem, I have that problem. Yes, this may be there. But we have to understand that by Krishna’s plan, his plan can work even in the present situation that we are in.
With whatever set of abilities and weaknesses we have, Krishna can use us to serve him. And rather than looking at our, looking at our weaknesses and developing an inferiority complex, or looking at our gifts and developing a superiority complex, both are complex. And for bhakti, we want to be simple.
So, simple means, yes, we acknowledge these are my strengths, these are my weaknesses, but we focus, how can I serve Krishna? And if we focus on serving Krishna, yes, for every one of us, the world, if we look from the material perspective, it’s a very competitive place. Oh, this is here, this is here, this is here, this is here. But if you look from the spiritual perspective, actually speaking, there is place for everyone in Krishna’s movement and Krishna’s work.
It is not that we have to fight to get that place. Krishna has a role for every one of us in his service in this world and beyond this world. Krishna has a plan for our growth.
So, as devotees who are trying to practise bhakti, we understand that Krishna is with us, within us. And he knows our strengths, he knows our weaknesses, and he wants us to serve him. So, we strive our best to serve him without letting any kind of negativity affect us.
If we have certain weaknesses, yes, they are there. But that doesn’t mean that they are going to stop us from serving Krishna. We have certain strengths, they are there.
But that doesn’t automatically make us advanced in bhakti. We have to use our strengths and we have to manage our weaknesses. Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, Therefore, Arjuna arrives in an infantry.
My arrangement, they are already killed. But, you Arjuna have to become the instrument. That means, it is interesting, Krishna says, Arjuna, you are already an ambidextrous warrior.
You are a very expert archer and use your archery skills to become an instrument in my service. This is a call not just to Arjuna, but to every one of us. At whatever be the situation we are in, whatever be the particular contribution that we can make in our situation, Krishna wants us to offer our best to him and to not just offer our best to him, but to thereby become our best.
We offer our best in terms of contribution, but we become our best in terms of the transformation, the purification. And our faith in our capacity for contribution or transformation comes not from who we are, but from whose we are. Suppose, say a sports player, a young boy, a teenager is thinking, I will become a cricketer in future.
And he has some lack of confidence. Maybe I can become a cricketer, maybe I can’t become a cricketer. But there is a champion coach.
The champion coach has many cricket champions. And the champion coach tells him, you have got great talent, just work on this. Now, that coach, that player may not have much confidence in his own abilities or her own ability.
But the champion coach has confidence. Do you have confidence? I will work. I will work.
So, similarly for us, we have to see that Krishna is present in our heart. And Krishna has faith in our potential. If Krishna did not have faith in our potential, why would he be present as a Paramatma in our heart for guiding us? Why would he speak the Bhagavad Gita? Why would he descend to the world? Krishna has faith in our potential.
And we have weaknesses, but Krishna has the capacity to help us overcome that weaknesses. Krishna has the capacity to help us deal with whatever negativities we may have. So, Krishna has faith in our potential.
Let us have faith in his potency. His potency is such that he can use us from wherever we are. Krishna has faith in our potential.
Let us have faith in his potency. So, Prabhupada’s disciple, Mahavishnu Maharaj, two Mahavishnu Maharajs, this is the second. So, he told us once a story that he was in London and Prabhupada told him he should preach.
He said, but Prabhupada, I have no confidence to preach. Prabhupada said, do you have confidence in me? He said, yes. He said, I have confidence in you.
I have confidence in you. You preach. So, he said that was what gave him the impetus.
So, for us, the very fact that we have come to Krishna’s lotus feet, the very fact that we have an opportunity to serve Krishna, that means Krishna has faith in our potential to grow spiritually. So, for us, when Krishna has faith in our potential, let us have faith in his potency and practise bhakti wholeheartedly. So, I’ll summarise.
I spoke about the role of self-confidence in bhakti. And I started by talking about how sometimes some devotees may, it may appear to them that they practise bhakti and their mental health problems seem to increase. Somebody has fear of death and their fear of death increases somehow.
So, bhakti, we say, I talked about the four verses, four verses from the first canto, which say that by hearing about Krishna, our shoka moha bhaya, our negative mental tendencies will go away. So, if these don’t go away, or they seem to increase, then what is exactly happening? So, then I talked about there is the physical, mental and spiritual level of reality. And bhakti is the ultimate solution in the sense that it takes us to the spiritual level of reality.
But at the practical level when we function, we have to deal with the physical and the mental appropriately. The same bhakti tradition which says that bhakti solves all problems also has a whole branch of Ayurvedic science for dealing with medical problems. Arjuna had faith in Krishna, surrendered to Krishna, but still he spent a whole lifetime learning archery so that he could serve Krishna effectively.
So, the material and the spiritual are not competitors. The material is not a replacement, the spiritual is not the replacement of the material, the spiritual is the director of the material. So, just as if somebody has back pain, they cannot do any service involving lift huge weights.
So, similarly, all of us may have certain emotional, psychological, mental limitations. Somebody wants to structure an order, they cannot do services which are involved in adventurousness and newness so comfortably. So, then they have to find out appropriate services.
And if somebody has fear of death, then if they keep hearing classes about centred on death, then that is damaging to them. Sharing Krishna bhakti means we need to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted, not afflict the afflicted or comfort the comforted. So, each one of us has to understand our body mind and find out how we can best practise bhakti.
We don’t work for the body, we don’t work against the body, we work with the body for Krishna. So, we all need a sense of belonging. Some of us may get that sense of belonging by doing a lot of services with others, just being busy in a team doing things.
Some of us may get a sense of belonging by spending time talking with people. Some of us may get a sense of belonging by having somebody to whom we are accountable, who gives us guidance. So, maturity means to understand that fulfilling our need is our responsibility, not anyone else’s obligation.
And within bhakti, chanting Hare Krishna will be like the ultimate curative medicine. At the same time, we may all need some pain killing medicine. And that might be just as chanting Hare Krishna is not a replacement for food, we make the arrangement for food.
So, similarly, at an emotional level also, whatever arrangement we need to make, we should make that. And bringing this whole background discussion to self-confidence, humility that we talk about in bhakti is not opposite to self-confidence. Because even a humble devotee has to have the confidence that I can serve Krishna because Krishna will bless me, Krishna will act through me.
And that Krishna can use even me. That is the confidence that a devotee needs to have. And that confidence comes from not from who we are, but whose we are.
So, inferiority complex or lack of confidence come when our scale of reference is the world. And we see others are better than us and we don’t have abilities. But for devotees who have humility, advanced devotees have humility, their scale of reference is Krishna.
I may be better than others, I may be lower than others. But this difference is insignificant because Krishna is so great and I am so small. It’s like a plane moving super fast from a person in the plane looking through the window at the wing of the plane.
The plane hardly appears to be moving. So, we cannot apply the reality which is experienced at a higher scale of reference at a lower scale of reference. So, at our level, what does humility mean? Humility means that Krishna, even if I don’t have the ability, I don’t have the purity, but still you have a plan for me.
You have a space for me. You have a purpose for me. So, we acknowledge our weaknesses, we focus on our strengths and we serve Krishna with what we have.
What we are is not just a set of limitations and problems and weaknesses. What we are is Krishna’s gift to us. That is what we need and what is what is best for our spiritual growth.
What we are is Krishna’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to Krishna. And lastly, I concluded by how an aspiring cricketer may have doubts about whether I will become a good cricketer or not, but if a champion coach, if a great coach has faith, that inspires.
So, similarly, Krishna has faith in our potential. So, let us have faith in his potency and thereby we can practise him wholeheartedly. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Yes, ma’am. Please.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Prabhu, for that. So, you mentioned about people having different levels of physical and mental vulnerabilities and for those of us who engage people in various services, to some degree, you can perceive, you know, what their vulnerabilities are or what their capabilities are and their nature.
I think you made, you touched on a point that the responsibility you put in one’s knees, it is, it is on that first. And many times when you are dealing with so many people in a community, there is no way of disengaging, they have no way of knowing. That’s true.
And so, the responsibility ultimately is on the individual. So, how do we get to that point of engaging our members? Yeah, it’s a good question. So, if somebody is engaging others in the community, so many people that it’s very difficult to know each person’s vulnerability or capability.
So, how can devotees be educated so that they can take up the responsibility for speaking out and telling about their strengths or limitations? Yeah, generally speaking, in the initial few months or few years of our bhakti, it is best that we all do what we are told to do. We learn the basic ethos of submission. But beyond that, if there has to be sustainability in bhakti, then everyone has to be engaged in a way that is harmonious with their psychophysical nature.
There are only two verses in the Bhagavad Gita, which Krishna repeats, not entirely, but almost 80-90%. One is, in 9.34, it is, and in 8.65, it is, this is the verse about practising, one practising wholehearted devotion to Krishna, for practising bhakti yoga. The other verse is, this is 3.35, and 18.47 is, what is in the 48 is, both places Krishna is talking that it is far better, Arjuna, for you to work according to your own nature than to work according to anyone else’s nature.
So, Krishna is also stressing that. So, if, as devotees, we also give importance to Prabhupada’s instruction that Prabhupada wanted that devotees should become independently thoughtful, not independent, but independently thoughtful. That means that we, we think for ourselves how we can best serve Krishna.
And then that ethos will help the devotees to come up with an understanding of their own abilities, their own limitations, and then they will, they will tell. So, if, if devotees, when they come up with some suggestion or some inspiration, if when they come up with it, sometimes it may not be practical immediately to do it. But then if we just appreciate that and tell them that this is the situation right now, and in future we can do this.
If they are not shot down at least, when they come up with something, it’s appreciated that they have come up and then we see how best they can be accommodated. There are different kinds of devotees, in the sense that, broadly speaking, that for some devotees to do some service, they need some facilities. Okay, I want to do this and I need this, this.
And then we may have limited facilities. You see, at this time the facilities, you know, we cannot provide for this. But some devotees, they need not so much facilities, they need freedom.
And they will create the facilities themselves. And they have that energy, they have that initiative. And then they just need the space to do it.
So, if they are given the blessings, then they are given the guidance, the permission, the blessings, then they will do something wonderful in their own way for Krishna. So, generally speaking, those devotees who need facilities primarily, they will not seek and they will not want much freedom also. Okay, what are you telling me to do this? And I will do it with these resources.
But those who want the freedom, then if you tell them, yes, you can do this, but we won’t be able to provide you support for this. And if they understand it clearly, we are not discouraging you. Prabhupada, he at one time in America, he started a political party called In God We Trust.
And then he thought that, he said that as politician, if you become a politician, you have one freedom. You can criticise anyone without restriction. So, Prabhupada started it, and he was very enthusiastic.
And in fact, one of his disciples, Balwan Prabhu, he said, you can become the next president of America. And Prabhupada was very enthusiastic. But then, after Prabhupada actually observed that, it is not just that you field a candidate, actually to promote the candidate requires a huge amount of money.
And then Prabhupada recognised how much financial commitment would be required. He realised that he didn’t want to spend, we wanted to build temples and create direct spiritual facilities. So, then Balwan Prabhu, he was telling this to me once in a meeting, he said that, he went to Prabhupada, you are so enthusiastic about this party, but now you seem to be not enthusiastic at all.
He said, I am still enthusiastic, but don’t ask me for any money. So, and that’s the reason in the politics, we would much rather use the Lakshmi for creating spiritual facility that will last for a long time, rather than to fund a political candidate. So, then, even if it’s a devotee fighting about it.
So, the point is that Prabhupada felt that the, Prabhupada was, Prabhupada did not discourage the idea. But he said, we cannot invest the institutional resources for this. And then those devotees realised that without Prabhupada’s, without some funding, we cannot do this.
Then more or less that idea petered out. But there are other cases, where Tamal Krishna Maharaj was serving Prabhupada in India as a manager for the Juhu project. And after some time just got completely fried out by the management.
In India, things move quite slowly. And he was young, energetic, and he was a mover and shaker. And he felt nothing is happening.
And he said, Prabhupada, I want to go to America. Prabhupada said, no, you can do things over here. He said, no, Prabhupada, I just can’t do it.
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t take up this management on this. He came to America. And actually, when he came to America, he had no service here.
Each temple has its temple president, each area has its own GBC. He travelled around. And he realised this, he could just give some classes.
But he realised there’s no service for him. Then, but he still wanted to preach. Then he himself created the idea of a travelling bus.
And he created the Radha Ramana Vastu party. It’s a phenomenal mode distribution effort. So Prabhupada gave him that freedom.
And then he created the facility on his own. So in that sense, we can encourage devotees that this is the broad vision. And if they can contribute within that vision, that is wonderful.
If they have some ideas which are not exactly in harmony with that vision, that doesn’t mean that they have to be discouraged or rejected. But that doesn’t mean that we will not be able to invest our resources in this. So you can do it and you can take guidance from someone else or do it under someone else’s blessings.
So in general, as a movement, we just don’t have the resources to legislate anyone. We can direct. But it’s up to everybody in our movement is a volunteer.
And therefore, we have to encourage people to practise bhakti. And some people are encouraged by providing them facilities. You come to the temple and chant Hare Krishna.
We’ll build a bigger temple, more people can come and chant Hare Krishna. Yes, we’ll do that. Some people are encouraged by giving them freedom.
And then each person will find their own way to serve Krishna. And some of the greatest successes in our movement, in terms of broad outreach, the one person who actually spread the holy name the most after Sri Prabhupada was George Harrison. And Prabhupada never asked George Harrison to become initiated.
Sometimes the devotees asked Prabhupada. Because George Harrison was a big name at that time, even now he’s a big name. And he was associated with devotees.
So devotees asked Prabhupada, he comes to you and he’s getting inspired by Prabhupada. Everybody knew that. So one devotee asked Prabhupada, Prabhupada, why is he not initiated? Prabhupada is already initiated.
He’s Hari’s son. George Harrison, Hari’s son. So Prabhupada did not mandate that he had to become initiated.
And then by staying in his position, he was able to reach the Hare Krishna to many, many people. Millions of people practically. So Prabhupada gave him that freedom.
Initially Prabhupada told him to write devotional songs. And he started writing devotional songs. But he started writing all devotional songs only.
But then, what happened by that was, he had like a big concert in Broadway. And there he did a completely devotional concert and he told all the people, chant Hare Krishna. And people started booing him.
His popularity started going down completely. And to get a sense of this, what means, why that happened, say in India, I suppose it’s why Indians in America also, so cricket is a very big thing. Say there’s an India-Pakistan cricket match.
And India loses the cricket match. And then after the post-match interview is there. And say the Indian captain, say now it’s Virat Kohli, he has become a devotee.
And suppose he’s asked, you know, what happened, why did India lose this match? Winning, losing is all temporary. Just chant Hare Krishna. Just chant Hare Krishna.
I don’t know, there will be total anti-preaching by that. People will think this chanting is spoiling this person’s cricketing talent and cricket contribution. So then he came and talked with Prabhupada.
And he told him that I feel as if for every one person I’m getting to Krishna, 10 people I’m alienating from Krishna. So what should I do? So then Prabhupada, this is depicted in Prabhupada’s conversation. This is not in the chant Hare Krishna and be happy book.
This is in the Veda base and is also there in a book which Yogeshwar Prabhu wrote about Prabhupada here, about George Harrison, which calls Here Comes the Sun. So then Prabhupada told him, use your common sense. Balance things.
And then after that what he would do is, he would write three, four normal songs, the kind of songs which he was writing earlier. And one or two, one song he would, devotional song. As I’m making normal songs, it involves a little devotional twist.
And by that he was able to maintain his professional stature. At the same time, he was able to also bring some spirituality into the broad cultural musical scene. So he, Prabhupada gave him that freedom.
So as our movement moves more and more from being a temple-based monastic movement, where people are living in the temple, to a congregation movement, where people are having their own homes and their careers and their own lives, then more and more devotees will need that freedom. And then they can serve Krishna in ways which will be harmonious with them. And they will also take Krishna’s message, where the temple directly may not be able to reach their message also.
Thank you. Any other question? We have time? Why the comfort zone? Okay, yeah. Good question.
So if we have to address our needs, then how to ensure that we don’t fall into our comfort zone? The word comfort zone has a very negative connotation today. Don’t be in a comfort zone. Nobody wants to be in a comfort zone.
But the way I put it is that, yes, there is the comfort zone, there is a stretch zone, there is a panic zone. So we need to all stretch ourselves. But even if we do a workout, in workout, we have to stretch ourselves.
If somebody can lift 10 kg weights and if they keep lifting 7-8 kg weights, they will never grow. So they have to lift 10, 11, 12, whatever is their particular capacity. So we all do need to stretch out of our comfort zone.
But we have to find a comfortable way to stretch out of our comfort zone. What that means is that if I start doing an exercise which is causing me constant pain, then that may damage my body. There’s a little pain that is there, but overall that exercise works with my body.
So that means that whatever service we do for Krishna, if we take it up, even if I say I like this service, that’s why I’m doing it. But that also we have to take it up in a committed way. And the nature of this world is even if we like a service, even in that service also difficulties will come up.
And that is where our commitment will be tested. So one of my main services is writing. I love to write most of the times.
There are times when I get tired and I get absorbed. But there’s an author who wrote that writing is very easy. Just sit in front of a computer and glare at the screen till drops of blood form on your forehead.
Sometimes you write and you just don’t get ideas what to do. So any service that we do, sometimes somebody would love to manage. But then some situations are unmanageable.
Why did I do this? Everybody will face that. But overall, if we have the basic ability, we have the basic inclination, we have the basic inspiration, for doing the service, then that means we should commit to that service. And by committing to whatever service we take up, we will be able to stretch out of our comfort zone.
If we leave it to our mind, oh, you know, this service, is this service according to my nature? Is this service serving my needs? Is this service I should do? So if we ask our mind, what is the service that is according to your nature? According to my nature? The mind will give one answer. Whatever service you are doing right now, that is not according to your nature. And the mind will not let us do anything at all.
So actually speaking, if we keep doing whatever we like, there is a difference between doing what we like and doing whatever we like. Doing what we like means I like it, and I’ll commit myself to doing it. Doing whatever I like means, okay, I like this, I’ll do it.
I don’t like this, I’ll do that. It’s like, say, if somebody is on the internet, I’m going to read one article. Complete the article, you’ll get some knowledge from it.
Are you reading half article? Not so interesting. Maybe click on another link. Click on another link, click on another link, click on another link.
Not get anything by that. So actually, if we keep doing whatever we like, we will end up disliking ourselves. We’ll end up disliking ourselves because we think we will have wasted our time, we’ll have not done anything effective.
We’ll become unhappy with ourselves. It’s like food. If we just keep eating whatever we like, then we’ll become sick, we’ll become unhealthily obese, and then we’ll feel disgusted with ourselves.
So in that sense, if we have been given a particular service, just do it in a committed way for a planned period of time. Say, for the next six months, this is my service, I’m going to do this. And even if I feel along the way it’s not my nature, maybe I can note it down why I feel it is not according to my nature, but I won’t just give it up because of that feeling.
After I do it for six months, or whatever time I’ve decided, then I can take stock. Okay, I’ve completed this project. Now, is this what I can do best? Okay, this is what I am good at, this is not what I’m good at.
Maybe I can do that service better. So whenever we take up any service, we take it up with commitment. And when we do it with commitment, we also do self-observation.
And by that self-observation, we’ll gradually gravitate towards the service, which is best for us. So we want to address our needs, but we also want to make a contribution. And as long as we are not in the mode of goodness, it is very difficult to clearly understand what our needs are also.
That’s why we also have to recognise that just doing the service that I’m doing right now in a committed way, that will bring me purification. And once the purification comes, then sattva sanjayate jnanam. Sattva guna will bring goodness, will bring knowledge, sattva will bring knowledge, and I’ll be able to understand myself better.
And then I can do the service, which would be the best for me. Does that answer your question? Shall we stop? Okay. One last question.
Prabhuji, the session started with fear and how to combat that fear. My question is, what is the origin of fear? Even if I do not feel a relationship with Krishna, how can I still combat fear? Even if I do not feel a relationship with Krishna, how can I still combat fear? Okay, what is the origin of fear? And how can we combat fear? At one level, fear is just unavoidable in this material world. Because the world is a place of uncertainty, and uncertainty causes anxiety.
If I have to catch a flight, and I’m not sure whether I’ll reach in time or not, that will cause anxiety. There are… So, in our life, there are certain things in our control, and there are many things that are not in our control. And yet the things that are not in our control also shape our future, even our present.
And that’s why anxiety is just natural. But, there is fear and there is fearfulness. That is, or you could say, healthy fear and unhealthy fear.
Healthy fear is where fear makes us more cautious. Unhealthy fear is what makes us paranoid, makes us paralysed. So, I’m driving, if I’m careless, reckless, fearless, I might just make a mistake and meet an accident.
But if I’m cautious, then I can drive carefully. So, fear is unavoidable in the world, but we don’t have to be dominated by fear. And to do that, I would only talk about a four-point formula, chronic fear.
This is a whole class and stuff, but quickly I’ll mention it. Whenever we start feeling fear, first thing is focus. Focus means what exactly is the problem right now? Oh, this may go wrong, this may go wrong, this may go wrong, this may go wrong.
Fear creates like a mist in front of us. But what exactly is the problem? Say I go to my office and my boss gives me a strange look. I start thinking, is my boss trying to fire me? I become fearful.
Now, okay, what exactly is the problem right now? My boss may fire me. Okay, what exactly is the problem right now? Okay, the problem is that last two times I have not met the deadline. Okay, and right now also I’m not sure that I’ve met the deadline or not.
So, when we focus, we get what exactly is the problem right now. Then E is engage. Engage means what can I do about it right now? The soul is here, the mind is here, the body is here.
So, in the mind, fear creates a lot of imagination and drives us here and there. By focus and engage, we get down to the physical level. We come to the present.
As soon as we start doing something, okay, I can start doing my work right now. One, two, three, four, five. And as soon as we get busy doing the work, the fear will go down.
So, focus and engage, get our consciousness down to tangibles. Fear flourishes in the intangible area. This may happen, that may happen, that may happen.
When we start doing something tangible, the fear goes down. Then A is arise. Arise means raise your consciousness.
Understand that I’m a soul. No matter what goes wrong in my life, I as a soul still remain spiritual and indestructible. And just remembering our spirituality that can help us to gain some security.
I talk about how there are two things, something in our control, something not in our control. So, focus and engage gets us to act on the things that are in our control. Arise helps us to understand that we ourselves are secure.
And R is release. Release means that which is not in our control, let it go. That’s in Krishna’s control.
Let Krishna take care of that. So, we focus on doing what we can and leave the rest to Krishna. Release, let go.
When we release the things that are not in our control, we can better grasp the things that are in our control and act effectively. So, whenever we find fear overwhelming us, if we just ask ourselves these four questions, which are related focus, engage, arise and release, we’ll be able to combat the fear. Thank you very much.
Gaur Premanand. Hare Krishna. So, for those of you who want…