Practical application of the Gita – MAIL acronym

[Seminar at ISKCON, Scarborough, Toronto, Canada]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. Thank you for coming today afternoon and I will speak on the topic of the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita. So I will give a brief talk and then we can have a question answer session where you can ask questions and we can have some more interaction towards the end.
When we consider the Bhagavad Gita, it is placed at a time when the maximum practical action is called for. It occurs just before a war. We all have to do activity in life but we could say that war is the time when the maximum action is required.
And yet just before the war is about to take place, the narrative of the Mahabharata stops and then it starts talking about how Arjuna has broken down and Arjuna says I can’t fight. So what do I do at that time? So I will talk about, as we move forward in the flow of the Bhagavad Gita, I will talk about four ways in which the Bhagavad Gita can guide us in our day-to-day lives. So I will use an acronym, MAIL.
What we send to a distance. Krishna is mailing his wisdom to us thousands of years down. So M, the first thing the Bhagavad Gita talks about is the mind.
I have been travelling across the world for many years now and one of the things that struck me is across the world everyone is troubled by the mind. If you tell people that you are not the body, that seems very philosophical, okay, that doesn’t seem nearly relevant. But if you can explain to people you are not your mind, that is something which can immediately help us.
So what do we mean by the mind? How does it trouble us? So I will talk about this in three parts. I will talk about this acronym MAIL. So I will talk about each of these in three parts.
First is what is that concept? Second is how it is relevant to us today in terms of how it affects us and how normal solutions to it sometimes don’t work. And then what is the Bhagavad Gita’s guideline that it offers to us? So the mind is a word that we use in common very often. Okay, my mind is saying this, are you out of your mind? So we use the word mind very commonly in different ways.
Now there is a philosopher, there is a modern philosopher, he said I refuse to study the mind because the mind has no locus tendae. That means you don’t know where the mind is. You can pinpoint where the heart is, the biological heart, you can place where the brain is, but where is the mind? Now we may say that the mind has no physical location, but it has a huge effect on our daily life.
So the Bhagavad Gita offers us a model of the self which can help us understand ourselves more holistically. So it says that our existence is three level, body, mind and soul. And it is like in a computer system there is a hardware, software and user.
The hardware is the body, the software is the mind and the soul is the user. And if you consider from this perspective, Arjun who is just about to fight the biggest war of his life, who is prepared lifelong for this war, suddenly he finds himself overwhelmed. Whatever be the specific cause, the point is that Arjuna has to fight a war with his body, with his arrows, with his bows.
But before he can fight that war, he has to fight a war with his mind. And when he is defeated in that war, he puts aside his bow even at a physical level. I can’t fight.
So all of us, when we have to do anything in life, all things, it is said, are created twice. First they are created in the mind. And then after that, that particular idea, that particular concept, that particular vision, then it is manifested externally.
So if something is not created in the mind, somebody has not conceptualised it properly, somebody is not internally committed or confident about doing it, then they will not be able to do it practically. So the mind is where we can lose our battles or we can win our battles. So the mind is what? It is the intermediate between us and the soul.
We are the soul, sorry, the intermediate between us and our body. The body is here, the soul is here. We are the soul and the mind is in between.
And today so many people suffer from mental health problems. Depression, anxiety, resentment, all these are basically problems that originate in the mind. It’s like the software has got corrupted and people are trying to use the hardware.
It just doesn’t work. So Krishna’s message in the Bhagavad Gita, what is it? Krishna tells Arjuna that you are not your mind. You are not your mind.
You are not your body and you are not your mind also. The mind is separate from you. And being separate from you, Krishna talks about this, it is your responsibility.
So elevate yourself with the mind, don’t degrade yourself with the mind. So we could take this as an example for explaining this is that if we had, if somebody is a child, a young student has been given a computer. Now through the computer, they can do research and they can do write their papers and they can do their studies.
Or they can use that computer to surf on the net, can spend time watching movies, they can spend time just reading random news and they can waste their time and their life at large. So just like the computer can be used to study and grow in one’s life or the computer can be used to waste one’s time and waste one’s life also. So similarly, we could say the mind is like that.
Krishna is saying elevate yourself with your mind, don’t degrade yourself. So the mind is a tool. And the mind is a tool which each one of us has to use.
And for using a tool, it is important that we recognise it to be first of all a tool. So if the mind is, if on our computer, we open the computer and say some website is open, say a news website is open, a sports website is open, or some movie website is open. Now just because that website is open doesn’t mean that we have to start watching it.
We can decide, is this what I want to focus on? Or have I come here for something else? So just because some thoughts are there in our mind doesn’t mean we have to dwell on them. So which was some website will be open, but we can choose that do I want to see this? Similarly, there will be some thoughts in our mind, but we have to choose. Do I want to focus on those thoughts? Or do I want to focus on something else? And that is our responsibility.
Krishna is saying, elevate yourself with your mind. The mind can be your enemy and the mind can be your friend. Just like technology.
Technology can be used to do a lot of good. If somebody wants to learn something, somebody wants to do research, write a book or learn about a subject, to do with technology, it’s so easy. You don’t have to go to a library and search for books, you can just find information on the net.
But somebody can get enormously caught and waste hours and hours in their life. So this is, the mind is separate from us and the mind is a tool which each one of us needs to use responsibly. So how do we manage the mind? How do we, even if we understand, okay, the mind is different from me and I have to manage it, how do I go about managing it? For that, I’ll talk about three levels.
The remaining three parts of the talk, before I talk about application of the Bhagavad Gita. So what are the acronym I said? Male. So M was mind.
So A is action. So I’ll talk about mind, action, intelligence and love. So the mind, first thing we understand, it’s a resource, which I need to learn how to use properly.
It’s my responsibility. And no one else can manage my mind for me. Sometimes you can outsource our finances to someone, okay, I’ll give you money, and you take care of where to invest this, where to invest that.
So we can outsource our financial management to others. We can outsource our, sometimes they say both parents are working, they can outsource the childcare to someone else. We can outsource many of our responsibilities to others.
But we can’t outsource managing our mind to anyone. It is each one of us has to do it ourselves. So A is action.
In general, if you see the Bhagavad Gita, as I said, it started with action. So the Bhagavad Gita starts by demonstrating the devastating power of the mind. That a warrior who had prepared for his full life to fight this war, even without the shooting of a single arrow gave it up and said, I can’t fight.
So we spend so much time managing our finances, managing our relationships, creating a good home for ourselves. But all this can be undone if we don’t learn to manage our mind. We may build a big house, we may earn a lot of money.
But if we don’t learn to manage our mind, a big house will simply be a place which will simply give us the privilege of having a lot of space in which to feel lonely and unhappy. It will not give us anything. So managing the mind is vitally important.
But unfortunately, the normal way of looking at life doesn’t talk much about it. It’s like everybody is busy trying to improve the hardware. But nobody is bothering, the software is getting corrupted.
There are so many viruses in the software. So first, the Bhagavad Gita demonstrates that it’s vitally important to manage the mind. If we don’t do it, everything that we have done can become undone.
Sometimes people in one moment of frustration or anger or whatever, they do try to do something, they fail in that and they get frustrated and somebody may commit suicide. Now suicide is the ultimate act of the mind being such an enemy that the mind ends up killing the body. In suicide, it’s very rare that the people are in such physical pain that they can’t live.
It’s more that the mind is aggravating. So the power of the mind, recognising that and recognising the importance of managing the mind is the first and vital lesson of the Bhagavad Gita. Then if you go forwards, A is action.
So Arjun is about to fight the war and suddenly he realises I can’t fight. He feels I can’t fight and he gives up. But Arjun doesn’t just give up and go away.
Arjun, he stops fighting but he turns towards Krishna and he learns from Krishna. And he hears the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna. At the end of it, what does Arjun say? It’s 18.73. I will do your will.
So the Bhagavad Gita doesn’t tell us to give up action. It just tells us to change the vision with which we’re doing our action. Now what do we mean by change the vision with which we do our action? See most of us think that our actions alone are the cause of the results and when our action doesn’t produce the result.
So for example, we cook food and then the food turns out to be delicious. So oh this person is very good cook, made the food so nicely. So somebody paints and some people paint so nicely that if they paint a horse, people are ready to pay a fortune to buy that painting of a horse.
And some people paint a horse and people ask what is this? Some people aren’t even able to recognise it. So for all of us, we do action. Normally we think that our action is the cause of the result.
I did this, so this happened. And in some cases, it is true that our action produces the result. But it’s not always like that.
There’s a well known verse in the Bhagavad Gita. At one level, this verse can seem totally pointless. That you work, but don’t be attached to the result.
Most of the times we work because we want the result. If you work in a company, this is the deadline, the target you have to make, this is the goal you have to make. And so many self-help books tell us, envision your goal clearly.
And then you’ll be able to work hard, inspire yourself. And then you’ll achieve the result. So what is the Bhagavad Gita telling over here? Don’t be attached to the results.
So if we see, the Bhagavad Gita is not telling don’t do your work or don’t, it’s not saying don’t care for the result. It’s saying don’t be attached to the result. Why not? Because do not think that you produce the result.
You are the cause of the result. Why is it that we are not the cause of the result? Because there are multiple factors involved in getting the result. There is karma, daiva and kala.
All three come together to produce the further. When we do a particular activity, our action is karma. So if we envision, we normally think this action produces this result.
I cook and the food gets cooked. But sometimes I may cook and I cook it seems exactly the same way I cooked yesterday. But yesterday it came out delicious.
Today it’s not tasting that good. What happened? Or sometimes we may study for exam. Last exam I got very good marks.
This exam, I don’t know what happened. So our action is important. But along with our action there are other factors which also play a role in this.
Daiva is destiny. Kala is time. And then phala is the result that we want.
So normally we think karma leads to phala. So simple, we take food and then we feel energy. So we think eating is the cause of the energy.
It is, but it is not the sole cause. Because in between the food has to be digested. If the digestive system is not working properly, eating the food will not lead to energy.
It will only lead to be feeling burdened, be feeling bloated, be feeling exhausted even after eating. So in every result that we get, there are some things in our control and some things beyond our control. And in some situations, what is beyond our control is very small.
And what is in our control is very large. In some cases, what is in our control is just 1%. What is out of our control is 99%.
In some cases, it may be that what is in our control is what is visible to us. And what is not in our control, we don’t even think about it. Like our digestion.
The only time we usually think about our digestion is when it doesn’t work. Otherwise, we hardly ever think about it. So when the Bhagavad Gita is telling us that when does our mind create a lot of problems for us? The mind creates problems for us when we expect and demand a particular phala, things to work out in a particular way.
And they don’t work out that way. I want that this person should do like this. I want this should work like this.
I want this should work like this. And when it doesn’t work out like that, that is the time when our mind gets agitated. We want a particular phala, it doesn’t come.
So now what the Bhagavad Gita is telling us that you learn to see the karma and phala as two different things. Do your action without dependence on the expectation of the phala. So to the extent we think that my action has to produce this result, when the result doesn’t come, we’ll become wild, we’ll become agitated.
Why didn’t this happen? We’ll try to blame someone or we may start blaming ourselves. In today’s world, people identify themselves by the phala so much. So often people equate their self-worth with their net worth.
They equate their self-worth with their net worth. So if I’m earning more than you, I’m better than you. And I’m a someone special.
If you earn better than me, oh, then I’m no one. So I was just at Ivy League University in America. I spoke at Stanford and a couple of other places.
So one psychologist has done study of the Ivy League students. And they said that one student said that he was suffering from severe depression. And then he said that when I’m in Princeton, half of the time I feel good because I see that I’m better than others.
And half of the time I feel utterly miserable because I see everyone else is better than me. I see others are better than me. So what happens? We attach ourselves to the result.
Okay, these are my marks. I get this many marks, this much grade, then I’m someone special. Otherwise, I’m someone useless.
So Krishna says, do the karma not with attachment to the falla. Recognise that the falla, we naturally want the falla. But we understand that our action alone doesn’t produce the result.
So do action as a matter of duty. The action, if it doesn’t produce the result now, it will produce the result in due course. This understanding can actually be liberating.
Naturally, we want the results and we will try our best to get the results. No doubt, we should try our best. After hearing the Bhagavad Gita, Arjun fought the war.
When he fought the war, he fought it wholeheartedly. And he set goals also. So there’s nothing wrong in setting goals.
The difference between setting goals and seeking results is that goals are what we set before we do the activity. And they inspire us to do the activity well. But results are what we get after the activity is done.
And the results are not in our control. Before we are preparing for an exam, say, at that time, before an exam, we are preparing for it, set a goal. I want to get this much marks.
That’s wonderful. Set the goal, work as hard as possible. But after the exam is over, then how much results we get, that is not in our control.
So Krishna is not saying don’t set goals. Krishna is saying don’t be attached to the results. We understand that in the getting of results, our actions play one part.
They are not the sole part. So by this understanding, if the result comes, we don’t become too proud. And the result doesn’t come, we don’t become too disheartened.
One big problem with when we identify ourselves with the results too much, if we get it, we get so proud. And we don’t get it, we get so depressed. There’s a kind of psychological disorder called manic depressive.
Manic depressive means sometimes these people are super active. When they think I’m going to get the result, they’re hyperactive. And when they feel I’m not going to get the result, it’s difficult to get them out of their bed also.
I’m just lying, completely depressed. So this happens when we so becoming hyperactive is Rajoguna. Becoming totally lethargic and active is Tamoguna.
Krishna says come to sattva. Understand that you are a part of the process which will produce the result. And you do your part well.
But don’t be attached to the result. This can actually free us, this understanding can free us from a lot of psychological problems. If we understand that I have to play my part.
And the results will come in their due course. At one level, it requires a little detachment. How can I work without considering the results? No, we consider the results, but we also consider that we alone don’t produce the results.
So by that understanding, what happens? If the results come or don’t come, we don’t go jumping up and down too much. We just do our duty and we keep moving forwards in our duty, in our service to Krishna. That service to Krishna part I’ll come later.
But this art of working with detachment can actually save us from irritation. The mind becomes attached when we want things to work out in a particular way. And when we are attached to them working out in a particular way.
Now, of course, as I said, expectation is natural. But attachment to expectation is the problem. So I will explain this further now.
So I, I talked about I was intelligence. Now intelligence is something which say today’s society measures by say IQ scores. Now IQ scores are fine.
As far as measuring mathematical ability is concerned, some amount of linguistic ability is concerned. Information processing, that is fine for IQ scores. But intelligence is much more than IQ scores.
Intelligence is ultimately about doing the right kind of action. Somebody might have a brilliant IQ score and that person may be an alcoholic. Somebody might be a brilliant, maybe a member of Mensa, top IQ group, that person will be addicted to some terrible habits.
So they are not necessarily intelligent in their actions. So Krishna says what exactly is intelligence? He defines in the 18th chapter, intelligence means to be able to see the consequences of our actions. Pravrttin cha nivrttin cha karya karye bhaya bhaye, bandham moksham jaya vetti, buddhi sa partha santviki.
Krishna says that when we understand that we are, that which action will lead to bondage, which action will lead to liberation, which action will elevate us, which action will degrade us. That is primarily intelligence. So this intelligence the Bhagavad Gita gives us.
The Bhagavad Gita gives us an intelligence which no other form of education can give us. We can all have intelligence in particular fields and that intelligence is valuable. But the Bhagavad Gita gives us intelligence for broad life at large.
Now what is this intelligence? That what I talk about action and mind. This understanding always also requires intelligence. That sometimes the actions that I am doing they alone do not produce a result.
Let us consider this point of expectation as I said. How do we understand the intelligence? Suppose somebody is driving, somebody has learned rowing and their plan was that they wanted to row a boat and demonstrate the rowing skills to all their family members and friends. So they call all of them, I have learned rowing now, I am going to row, please come.
And they come and everybody is there with photos, about to take a photo of this person gracefully rowing and they have that image. That is their dream. You know, oh my photos will come, it will be on my Facebook, everywhere else and everybody will appreciate how nicely you are rowing.
And as they are about to row, at that time they start rowing and suddenly a monster wave comes along. And the monster wave knocks over the boat and now there is no boat and there are no oars in their hands. The oars have also been snatched out of their hands.
And now that person is in the water and they still keep rowing. What will happen? They drown. Now the reality has changed so much.
So we are here, our expectations are here, the reality is here. Our expectations can sometimes help us to shape reality. I want this room to be clean.
So that is my expectation. Then we work to, we clean it, we get somebody else to clean it. That is our expectation.
So our expectations can help us to shape reality. But sometimes the reality is completely different from the expectation. The reality turns out to be entirely different way.
And if we waste our energy in the expectation, why is it not like this? If this person says, oh, I wanted to row the boat and I will be, I will keep rowing. Well, there is no boat, there are no oars, now you cannot row. You will drown.
So sometimes our expectations can come in the way of our dealing with reality. When that happens, then all the time and energy and the emotion that we spend in dealing with the expectation, that is simply wasted. So if the reality has turned out to be different from our expectations, intelligence means we need, the word for it is psychological flexibility.
Without intelligence, what we have is psychological rigidity. This is how it should be. And if it is not like that, my mind goes wild.
But psychological flexibility means, okay, I wanted it to be like this, but it is like this now. So how will I deal with it now? So this capacity to understand when our expectations can make things better, and when our expectations end up making things worse. Now, when we are parenting our children also, naturally parents have expectations from their children.
Now, expectations can inspire the children to perform nicely, or sometimes the expectations can become a burden on the children. And that parenting, that careful balance has to be there. Yes, I expect this from you, but even if you do not do this, I still love you, I still care for you.
So that, that intelligence means that we have to understand which actions will elevate us, which actions will make things better, which actions will make things worse. And that is the intelligence that the Bhagavad Gita provides Arjun. Arjun is thinking, oh, fighting is going to make things worse, all our family members will be killed.
And not fighting will at least keep the peace. But Krishna tells Arjun that actually not fighting, it will not keep the peace. You have not started the war.
The opposite party has been antagonising you. Just because you give up the war, that doesn’t mean, you decide I’ll not fight, it doesn’t mean that they will stop antagonising you. The Pandavas never began the aggression against the Kauravas.
The Kauravas began it. The Kauravas have always been persecuting. So don’t think that by not fighting, matey sangus lokal, not be attached to, not doing activity.
Because by not fighting, you’re not going to keep the peace. They want to attack you, they will kill you. And then they will spread Adharma everywhere.
So then you will also die and you will also be responsible for not having your done your duty of trying to protect Dharma. So Kshatriya, you’re meant to do that. So intelligence to look at our, as I said, this is all progressive.
So I talked about the mind. Then I talked about actions. Now I’m talking about intelligence.
So basically, when we look at the world, we come with a particular set of expectations in every situation we have. So we need to learn to have that psychological flexibility. Okay, things are not working this way, then how do I deal with the situation? So once I had gone to a programme in India, it was an interfaith programme organised by a Christian group on addiction and spirituality.
Something like that. No, it was AIDS and spirituality. So I was asked to go there and then I went there and I found that I had prepared a full presentation in English and I went there and I found nobody knew English over there.
It was all Bishop Paul and Bishop Harris and Bishop John and Bishop so and so. And all of them were pakka Maharashtrians. And all of them had been converted to Christianity.
And what had happened was that that particular church had a policy that if in your village, if you convert 15 people, you will be the church, that church will build a church for you and make you the bishop of the church. So all of them were heads. Now, when I started speaking English, nobody would understand.
So that church had organised this programme simply as a PR exercise. We are also doing some social, we are doing some interfaith work. Their purpose was only to convert.
So then at that time, I went with a particular expectation, but I had to recalibrate. If our expectations work out, they help to shape the reality, then we can celebrate. But if the expectations come in the way of reality, we have to recalibrate.
So recalibrate means that, okay, then I realised that I can’t speak in English. Then I asked them which language you prefer, Hindi or Marathi. So then I spoke in Hindi to them.
Some of them were not from Maharashtra also. And then when I was quoting Gita verses, they were quoting Gita verses back again. And many of them said that we knew the Gita, but nobody told us that the Gita is applied like this.
So after that, two of them, they actually came to the temple with me afterwards. And one of them has become now a Hare Krishna devotee who is teaching Bhagavad Gita now. So I realised at that time, if I had been attached to speaking in English, I would have spoken in English and nobody would have understood anything.
And I would have come back. Why did you send me to a programme? I’m much more comfortable speaking in English than I am in Hindi. I can speak in Hindi, of course, but I’m more comfortable.
At least we are mentally prepared with all the concepts, all the thoughts in a particular language. Suddenly to change is difficult. So there are times when we have to recalibrate.
So that intelligence means to recognise when our expectations are helping us to improve the reality and when our expectations are coming in the way of our dealing with reality. So that intelligence comes by studying the Bhagavad Gita. And the last part of it is L is Love.
Love means that we all naturally have a heart that longs to love. We all long to love and to be loved. Arjun loved his family members.
Arjun loved his elders, Bhishma and Drona on the opposite side. He loved them. And that love is natural.
So what does the Bhagavad Gita tell? Arjun, we know this well-known verse about going to a guru, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadek shantite jnanam jnaninas tat padarshinah. That we should go to a spiritual master and learn from the spiritual master. It’s interesting the Gita uses te.
Te is plural. Jnaninas. Not jnani, but jnaninas.
There’s not one guru, but many gurus. We learn from our deeksha guru, but also from our shiksha gurus. We learn from many, many sources.
But in the next verse, Krishna tells, what is it that we learn? If you understand this knowledge from the spiritual masters, the result of that will be, you will not fall under illusion as you have fallen now. And what is the state of not being in illusion? You will not be in illusion, Krishna says. Then without illusion, you will see, you will see all living beings to be spiritual and all living beings to be mine.
Mine means to be Krishna’s. Arjuna is thinking that I have to, I can do good to Bhishma and Drona and Duryodhana by not fighting this war. Krishna is telling Arjuna that they are all my parts.
So I am their well-wisher more than even you are. If you do your will, you might be able to do some little good for them. But if you do my will, my will is not just for your good, my will is for everyone’s good.
And you will be able to do the best good to everyone. So basically, we could put this this way that we have two kinds of loving relationships in the world. One is horizontal and the other is vertical.
The horizontal relationships are with others, our friends, our family members, our social circles. And then we have a vertical relationship with Krishna. And the horizontal relationships are important for us.
But they are not eternal. They are temporary. Relationship that is eternal.
As long as we define ourselves in terms of any horizontal relationship, we set ourselves up for insecurity and misery. If I define myself as, if we define ourselves as the mother of someone, the father of someone, the husband of someone, the wife of someone, the sister of someone, the son of someone, all these relationships that we have, they are important relationships. They do define a part of us.
But if we define ourselves in terms of those relationships, then if something does not work out for us, if something goes wrong in that relationship, we start thinking that my life itself is worthless. We start feeling that everything has gone waste. We start seeing that relational failure as a personal failure.
And then we overreact. We overreact, try to control that person too much, or we overreact and lose hope on ourselves, thinking that there must be something wrong with me only. And neither reaction works.
But if you understand that my defining relationship is with Krishna. Yes, all my other relationships are roles. I am first and foremost a part of Krishna.
I am a servant of Krishna. As a servant of Krishna, I am the mother of someone, I am the father of someone, I am the son of someone, I am the daughter of someone. Then we act in these roles responsibly.
Because all these roles are services to Krishna. But we don’t get consumed by them. We learn to see them as a service.
If some service works out, good. If some service doesn’t work out, we move onwards. It’s like a river.
When the river is moving towards the ocean, it has different paths. Some part of the water may move, some part of the river may move by this path, some by this path, some by this path. And if one particular path gets blocked, and the river doesn’t get blocked, the river finds some other way to move on.
So similarly, Krishna tells us that if we direct our love primarily or exclusively towards anyone in this world, when we direct our love towards any one person in this world, that means we define ourselves in terms of that person alone. Then if something goes wrong in that, our love will get blocked, our life will get blocked. But if you understand that all these relationships that we have, they are channels by which our consciousness can move towards Krishna.
And sometimes some channels may get blocked temporarily, or sometimes permanently. But that doesn’t mean we have to become blocked. We move on in our life seeing that okay, this is not working.
Let me move forward this. Let me move forward with this. That way, Krishna tells Arjuna that you had a relationship with Bhishma, you had a relationship with Drona.
But now they have chosen to fight on the side of Adharma. And if you let your affection for them, you let your love for them block you in your doing Dharma, then it will only make things worse for you, it will make things worse for them. But understand that you are my, you are my servant.
As a service to me, you had various relationships. Sometimes the relationship is not working out, you continue your service to me. Since Bhishma and Drona are also souls, and they too will be animate based on their Karma, if you do your Dharma.
And thus, Krishna helps Arjuna to get this detachment. By which, by how does he get detachment, not by hard heartedness. Not that I don’t care for anything.
That is not detachment. Detachment actually means we learn what is the primary object of our attachment and what are secondary objects of attachment. So Krishna is the primary object of attachment.
And we don’t give up the secondary objects. But we, the secondary objects of attachment are put in harmony with the primary object. So whenever, when in a relationship, we start facing severe trouble, instead of getting agitated or consumed or disheartened, we see that this is Krishna is with me always.
And Krishna, how can I serve you in this situation? We have this mood, Krishna, I want to serve you, how can I serve you? Then that service attitude will help us. This channel is blocked. Let me take this channel.
Let me move forward. This doesn’t work. Let me take this.
Move forward. So whatever situation we may face, if we turn towards Krishna and take shelter of Krishna, then he will help us to find a path ahead through all situations. If our love gets caught with someone else, with anything else, then that love can get parted.
That love can get frustrated and we can get frustrated with it. But if our love is directed primarily towards Krishna, then whichever path it may get parted, we’ll be able to move forwards, finding a way ahead. So this is how Arjun, at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, becomes enlivened to fight the war.
Despite whatever situation he may have been facing, whatever difficulty came to him, he was able to overcome it. That Arjun who had put aside his bow, saying I can’t fight, he picked up his bow in readiness to fight. That is the power of the Bhagavad Gita.
We all may be discouraged, disheartened by difficulties in our life. Arjun’s bow represents our determination, our enthusiasm. Arjun put aside his bow saying, I can’t fight.
He also said, I give up. I can’t do this. But if we understand the Bhagavad Gita’s message, we will pick up our bow, we will regain our determination and we’ll move forward in our life with the confidence that Krishna is with us.
So I’ll summarise. I spoke on the theme of the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita. I talked in terms of an acronym.
What was it? May. Thank you. M was? Mind.
So the mind has huge practical consequences. Arjun who was about to do the biggest practical activity of his life, fight a war, suddenly lost his will to fight because of the mind attacking him internally. Today so many people face mental health problems.
So I talk about the modern science or modern philosophy doesn’t even understand what the mind is very clearly. But the Bhagavad Gita helps us understand that the mind is the interface between us souls and the body. It’s like the software which the user uses for operating the hardware.
So when the software gets corrupted, then it has to be corrected. So we understand that I am different from the mind and we have to take the responsibility to elevate ourselves with the mind, not degrade ourselves. So the mind is like the TV or the computer may display many different sides, but it is our responsibility to choose which sides to visit and what to focus on.
Like that the mind gives many thoughts, but we choose which thoughts we focus on. Now how do we do that? When the mind starts going wild with other directions, how do we control it? Talk about A was? Action. So Bhagavad Gita tells us that we should do our action and not make the action dependent on the result.
How can we do that? By understanding that our actions alone don’t produce results. What are the three factors in producing the result? Karma, Kala. So our action, destiny and time, all three together combine to produce a result.
So sometimes we see the connection between action and result immediately and we think I did the action that’s why the result came. We may eat and we get energy, but sometimes we may eat and we may not get energy because in between the digestion, that is not in our control. So when we identify ourselves with the result, say whether our marks in school or our salary in our job, when we equate our self-worth with our net worth, then when something goes wrong with that, we feel devastated.
But we understand that the results will come in their own due course. My part is to do my action. Then when we don’t tie ourselves to the result so much, then we can actually keep our mind calm.
When we tie ourselves to the results, when we get the results, we become elated. The mind goes up in one direction and then the mind goes down in the other direction, we don’t get the results. And to do this, Krishna tells us that we can set goals for ourselves, but we don’t be attached to the results.
Setting goals is what inspires us to do our best. But results are what are beyond us. And then for doing this, for learning to act without tying the action to the result, there is I. What is I? Intelligence.
Intelligence means to know which action will help us, which lift us up, which action will drag us down. And for that kind of action, I discussed that we all have expectations. Sometimes our expectations help us to shape reality.
Sometimes our expectations come in the way of reality, are dealing with reality. So, if I have no, if somebody has no boat and no oars, then still moving the hands as if they are rowing is useless. It is suicidal.
So, intelligence helps us to develop psychological flexibility. So that when our expectations are helping us shape reality, we direct our consciousness to expectations. But when they are coming in the way of our dealing with reality, we put the expectation aside and deal with reality as it is.
And last L was? Love. So, love means that we have a horizontal relationship with others and vertical relationship with Krishna. If our love gets consumed in any horizontal relationship, then when things go wrong in that relationship, we feel our life is useless and our mind will go wild.
But if you understand, my defining relationship is with Krishna. And all my other relationships are roles that I am playing. I play those roles responsibly, but they are roles.
So, then we won’t feel so threatened or shattered when any problem comes in the relationship. We can see all the roles as channels for the river of our consciousness to move towards Krishna. If one channel gets blocked, we find another channel and we move on.
And when we practise Bhakti Yoga to direct our love towards Krishna, then that will give us the security by which we will be able to face the life’s ups and downs, which would otherwise cause enormous agitation of the mind. We will be able to face those ups and downs with maturity. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. So, are there any questions or comments? Yeah. So, how do we correct the corrupted mind? I said three things.
I said action, intelligence and love. All these three are ways in which we can correct the mind. You could call the action as Karma Yoga.
Intelligence is Gyan Yoga. Love is Bhakti Yoga. All these are means by which we learn to correct the mind.
Now, Bhakti actually involves all these three things also. Bhakti Yoga is not just love. Bhakti Yoga also involves action.
It also involves developing intelligence. It also involves directing our love. So, how does this apply practically? Sometimes when we are too caught inside our head, just starting some action can get us out of our head.
Psychologists have found what are the times when people worry the most. It’s not a particular time of the day, maybe 7 to 7.15 p.m. in the night. No.
Nobody has a allotted daily worry time. But they found people worry the most when they are not doing anything tangible. The time when you want to relax.
Now I want to relax. During our idle time, our mind works overtime. So, when the mind starts creating trouble for us, just get out of the head.
Start doing something practical. It could be something as simple as just go for a walk. Sometimes just start breathing deeply.
So, the mind is carrying our consciousness away. Do some action. Just say that the mind takes us on a horror movie across the world.
Then we will become miserable. But if you start doing something practical, which is not just practical, which requires us to invest our consciousness. If we are doing things mechanically, then we will be acting, but the mind is still acting also and still creating trouble.
But something which forces us to direct our consciousness. So, we start consciously taking deep breaths and not consciously breathing deeply, but consciously breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Do that.
That interrupts the mind’s chain of thoughts. So, basically, at that time, the mind is starting a chain of thoughts, which is going to agitate us. Be interrupted by some action.
Start doing something, some action which requires attention. Second is intelligence. Intelligence means that we learn to identify the mind instead of identifying with the mind.
So, if you look at the way the mind tricks us or troubles us, it is not that there are unlimited ways by which the mind does it. There may be, there are all of us have certain ways. Sometimes the mind starts feeling if somebody doesn’t do something for us, somebody promises something and fails to do it, then the mind may start getting angry.
This person like this, this person like this, this person like this. Or sometimes the mind starts feeling sorry for us. Nobody cares for you.
You are doing so much, but nobody values you. Nobody cares for you. So, if we identify the typical patterns in which the mind tricks us and then with our intelligence, we give it a name.
That is the anger story starting now. Or that is the self-pity story starting now. Or that is the craving story starting now.
Identify that. And once we identify it, a simple way to distance ourselves from it, I am feeling angry. Instead of that, just say, the mind is saying I am feeling angry.
So, with our intelligence, whatever thought, whatever emotion we are getting, we say that the mind is saying. As soon as we put this, the mind is saying. That doesn’t mean I have to neglect it.
But I can distance myself and then I can evaluate it. Like treat the mind as another person. Suppose somebody comes and tells you, I am feeling very depressed.
Now, we won’t just say don’t feel depressed. But we won’t answer we are depressed because of that. Okay, what happened? And we help them to process the depression so that they can deal with it.
So, like that intelligence helps us to identify the mind and then deal with it. So, it is important for us to identify the typical ways in which the mind tricks us beforehand. And then when that story starts coming up, identify it.
I am feeling so lonely. The mind is saying I am feeling lonely. As soon as we put the mind is feeling okay, then what can I do? I know I have this friend, maybe I can contact this friend.
I have this thing which I can do. So many things we can if we start learning using our intelligence to counsel the mind. Then we can find so many ways to deal with the situation.
And L is love, as I said. That means within bhakti, if we find some activity which we love to do, and then we keep that activity ready for us. Say for example, it might be hearing some kirtans, or maybe reading a particular pastime of the Lord, taking darshan of a particular form of the Lord, particular darshan of the deities, or it may be hearing a particular devotee’s classes, whatever it is that we like.
There are many things in bhakti which we may say, which I like all of them, that is good. But there are some things which we may naturally connect with Krishna for us, which may naturally connect us with Krishna. So, we shortlist those activities.
And we keep those activities readily accessible for us. So, if some particular shloka inspires us very much, then don’t just memorise the shloka, but also keep it somewhere ready. Maybe in your phone, in a notepad or something like that.
And whenever you start feeling worried, so this becomes an accessible channel by which our consciousness can move towards Krishna. So, even if we say, as I said, first step is that when the mind starts troubling us, start doing something to get out of the mind, some action. Then use the intelligence, the mind is going in this direction, but I don’t have to go in that direction.
This is the mind speaking. But the mind is still speaking that. What do I do with it? Even after I identify it, the mind is still speaking.
But then I have to find something more satisfying, something more relishable for me. So, like I talked about the river getting blocked. So, if in the past we have experienced, along this path, the river flows very smoothly.
So, when I hear kirtans, I feel so peaceful. Or when I read some wisdom quotes based on the Bhagavad Gita, I feel so peaceful. Then I will do that.
So, that way when we connect with Krishna, with our loving propensity, we direct it towards Krishna. Then Rupa Goswami calls this the uddhipan. Uddhipan is spiritual stimulus.
All of us, if we consider our daily lives, we all have certain material stimuli that agitate us, that activate us. So, all of us feel hungry. But when we feel hungry, there are certain foods which may, okay, I will eat them, certain foods will excite us.
So, just as we have particular material stimuli which excite us, similarly, there are certain spiritual stimuli which excite us. So, find that and then use that. So, that way if we use and we can move forwards in correcting the corrupted mind.
We have another half an hour to ask questions. So, the seminar will go on at least till 12 o’clock. So, think of all the questions.
This is the time for us to get all the questions that we have always had. This is a great opportunity to get all the clarification that we need. And also, there are wonderful books that, Prabhu’s books that are there at the back of this hall.
So, please take. So, think of all the questions. This is an opportunity for us to get all the questions answered.
Yes, sir. So, Prabhu, a couple of questions. The first one is, you know, we all find ourselves to be in a stressful situation at some point in time, all the points in time.
There are stresses and problems coming up from all the walks of life. How to, how does Bhagavad Gita, you know, the application of Bhagavad Gita help us? Which way we can either alleviate or we can reduce or we can come out of completely those stressful situations? Okay, when we face stressful situations, how can the Bhagavad Gita help us to deal with it? Generally, stress comes not just from the situation, but also from our mind’s perception of the situation, from our mind’s expectation of the situation, how it should be. So, I use the acronym FEAR.
I am writing a book on this topic also. FEAR, F-E-A-R for dealing with fear. That is, F is focus, E is engage, A is arise, and R is release.
What this means is that when we face a problem, when we face something which is agitating us, alarming us, focus. Focus means what exactly is the problem right now? What happens? Our mind starts, today’s problems are always manageable today. But what the mind does is, on top of today’s problems, it piles yesterday’s problems and tomorrow’s problems.
And then it becomes unbearable. So, focus means what is the exact problem right now? Means the mind is showing us a horror movie, this may go wrong, that may go wrong, that may go wrong. But focus, what is the exact problem right now? By this question, we can shift from, oh, this, this, this, this, this, okay, this is the problem right now.
Well, the problem is, so we need to use our intelligence to focus ourselves. Say, for example, if we are stressed, because there is too much work, and there is a fear that if there is too much stress, and there is a fear that we may lose the job, or something like that. Okay, then what is the exact problem right now? The problem is that the economy is down.
Okay, but what is the exact problem right now? The problem is that so many people have been fired in my office. What is the exact problem right now? Oh, the problem is that my boss may dismiss me. What is the exact problem right now? The exact problem is, oh, I had a work to complete, and I have not yet made the deadline.
So, what happens by this? The mind sometimes creates a mist by which we cannot see anything. So, when we ask the focus, what is the exact problem? We start dissipating the mist. We see the exact problem.
Then E is engage. Engage means what can I do about this right now? What can I do about this right now? So, by this, by these two questions, we get ourselves to deal with the reality as it is. And once we start doing something tangible to deal with the reality, the stress starts decreasing.
Stress is not just caused by the situation. It is caused by our attitude or our perception of the situation. So, once focus and engage we do, then we start dealing with the practical issue at a practical level.
Arise means that we understand that I am a soul. We raise our consciousness to the spiritual level. I am above my situations and I am above my emotions.
So, whatever happens in my situations and emotions, I am separate from them. So, by the practise of Bhakti Yoga, by chanting the holy names, by studying scriptures, actually we raise our consciousness upwards. That is Arise.
And Arise helps us to distance ourselves from whatever situation might be there, so that we will still be concerned about dealing with it, but we won’t be threatened by it. Because I am secure. It’s like if we are in the ocean and the waves are coming and tossing us, we will be scared.
But if somebody from a helicopter above throws a rope and we catch that rope and we rise upwards, then we will still see the waves battering us, but we won’t feel so threatened by it. So, Arise raises our consciousness upwards and R is Release. Release means in every situation something is in our control, some things are not in our control.
So, what is not in our control? Let go. And this is where Bhakti comes into the picture. So, the first focus and Arise get us to Sattva Guna.
Arise gets us to the spiritual level, but Release gets us to the devotional level. It means there are some things in my control, some things are beyond my control. So, whatever is beyond my control, it is not out of control, it is in Krishna’s control.
And Krishna will work things out according to his plan. His plan is ultimately for my goal. So, then when sometimes you feel releasing, it is just I am giving up.
No, it is not giving up. See, the more we hold on to the things that are not in our control, the more our thoughts go out of control. But when we let go of the things that are not in our control, then we can focus on the things in our control and our thoughts can become calm because they can be channelled somewhere constructively.
So, by doing these four things, we can whatever stressful situation we are in, we can manage it. We will come back to you later. We will come back to you if you do not mind.
Anyone else has questions? So, what is it that drives destiny? There are two ways of looking at it. One is destiny is simply a system for administering the world. So, destiny in that sense is mechanical.
So, if I step down from a building, if somebody steps out from a 10-story building down, they may forget gravity, but gravity won’t forget them. They will crash. So, now, does anything drive gravity? Gravity is a law of nature.
So, similarly, daiva is a mechanism within nature by which some actions that we do, they give reactions immediately, some actions give reactions gradually. So, those actions, good and bad, for which we have not got the results till now, those actions are stored as a cumulative, that is daiva. And they come out to us gradually.
If you consider a water tank, in that water tank, say water is going in from one side and coming out on the other side. So, the water that is going in, if we call this the karma tank, the water that is going in is our agami karma, the karma that we are doing right now. And the things that are happening in our life, that is like the past karma that the results that are coming.
Now, inside this water tank, imagine that there are many pipelines. So, when the water tank, water goes inside, sometimes that water just straight comes out. Sometimes that water goes into pipeline, which just goes round by winding and comes after some time.
There is another pipeline, which may go on for a long, long, long time and then it may come out. So, like that, our actions are what comprises all the water that is in the tank. Our actions are the water is going in from here.
But now some action may produce a result immediately. Some action may produce a result after some time. Some action may produce a result after much longer time.
So, karma, daiva is a mechanical system by which the actions that we do, they produce the results in due course. And this is ultimately driven for the purpose of our spiritual evolution. We are all souls and we are going to evolve in wisdom and in love.
We are meant to move towards Krishna. So, whatever takes us towards him, that is what ultimately it is meant for. But immediately that may not be apparent for us.
And above daiva is Krishna. So, Krishna is the lord of daiva. So, we could say that Krishna oversees everything.
But say if a person jumps down from a 10 storey building and falls down, then is it that Krishna caused the person to fall down? Is Krishna driving gravity? No, gravity is just a rule that is there, law that is there. And that person neglected to take it into account and that is why they fell down. So, to blame destiny for our problems, sometimes the problems can be because of destiny, no doubt.
But we cannot blame destiny for problems. It is like, say an aeroplane crashes. And if the authorities ask the aeroplane company or the pilot, what caused the plane crash? Gravity caused it.
You cannot hold gravity responsible for a plane crash. Yes, gravity is definitely always there. But the whole art of driving a plane, flying is that in spite of gravity, we learn to keep the plane afloat.
So, similarly, for all of us, daiva is there. And daiva may cause some problems in our life. But we also have to do our actions so that we can keep moving forward.
Yes. Questioner-Mind there is a tendency to perceive things and assume things many times. Like sometimes you tell me, if I do this, what will the other person say or what will he think about me or how will he react? So, in that situation, how do we stop or avoid from thinking in that way? Dr.Vikram Chauhan-So, the mind has a tendency to think of every action, what will this person say, how will that person react? Intelligence, as I said, means to consider the consequences of our actions.
So, in a sense, to think of how our actions will affect others and how others will respond to it, that is a part of intelligence. But at the same time, there is a peculiarity with respect to thought energy as contrasted with physical energy. Say if you want to push a trolley, then the more energy we apply, the further the trolley will go.
So, we could say the distance covered or the result achieved is proportional to the energy applied. So, it is a linear correlation. But when we are dealing with problems, where we have to analyse and decide what to do, thought energy and desired result, they do not go linearly.
If we do not think about it, it is a problem. If we do not think about something, it is just act impulsive, that is a problem. So, if you consider thought energy versus effective problem solving, effective decision making, initially it goes linear, is the more we think about it, things become clear.
But after some time it comes to a plateau. We keep thinking, keep thinking, nothing emerges. And after some time it starts going down.
The more we think about it, the more the problem seems to become bigger. So, there is a, there are some people who are, where they overthink everything. So, I saw a joke, he says, you know, I was always undecided, but now I am not so sure.
So, essentially it is the same thing. So, basically each one of us has to find out how much thinking about a problem is actually helping us to deal with the situation. And if, say every action that we do, we should consider to some extent how it is going to affect others.
But we cannot predict others reactions and we cannot live our life just worrying about what others are going to think about us. So, we may decide to, if it is a very important decision we are taking, we may decide to consult a few trusted people, inform them, take in their inputs and then take a decision. And if others are going to be affected, going to respond negatively to it, what can we do about it? We just have to move on with our life.
So, that is why we need to learn to think about our thinking. This is the way my thought process works. But when does my thought process work constructively and when does it start working destructively? And if we recognise that ultimately trying to please everyone, it has only one guaranteed result, two guaranteed results actually.
First is that we cannot please everyone. And second is trying to please everyone, one guaranteed result is we make ourselves miserable. So, we decide that these are the people who are important in my life and I will take in their inputs, I will consult them.
But then I move forward, what does it matter? This is important for me, I will do it. So, Vivekta desha sevithum ratir jana samsiddhi. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, one characteristic of those in knowledge is that they stay detached from the general mass of people.
They do not get too influenced by other people’s opinions. So, practically how do we stop it? We, as I said, again the same earlier formula, start doing something, some practical action, analyse the script. This is the mind overthinking now.
Identify it and find some spiritual stimulus which you can direct your consciousness towards. And that way we can minimise that thinking. Yes, Sunil? What is intellect and intelligence? Is there a difference between intellect and intelligence? In English or any language, words are like, words have two different things.
They are terms. There is a verbal term and there is a mental concept. The concept is like a suitcase and the term is like the handle for the suitcase.
So, once I was travelling from one city to another and just as I was about to go for that airport, my suitcase handle broke. So, then we did not have time to fix it. So, devotees gave me another suitcase.
And usually I have some wheelchair assistant who carries my suitcase. So, then when I came to the baggage claim, carousel, I had forgotten what my suitcase looks like. So, I only remember that it had a black handle.
So, then all the suitcases, the black handles were picking up and seeing. Is this my suitcase? Is this my suitcase? Is this my suitcase? So, basically the point is that the same handle or a similar handle might be attached to different suitcases. So, the term is one.
So, we have to understand the term and the concept. So, the concept is the internal in construct, mental construct. The term is the verbal address, verbal label for that concept.
So, whatever be the terms we use, the concepts are important. Intellect and intelligence are English words. In Sanskrit, we have gyan and buddhi, which are broadly translated as knowledge and intelligence.
So, if we look at the dictionary point of view, some people, the two words intellect and intelligence are more or less interchangeable, he used. But some people differentiate and basically intellect is sometimes seen as the information processing ability. And intelligence is seen as a decision making ability.
So, in that sense, now, sometimes some people may use the word in opposite directions also. So, now the word we use the word intellectual. So, intellectual can refer to somebody who has a lot of intellect or it can be somebody who has a lot of intelligence.
It can be either. So, we have to see in with what meaning the person is using that word. But there are two different concepts.
One is information processing ability and the other is decision making ability, the ability to understand which actions are beneficial and which are not. So, everybody who has information processing ability may not have good decision making ability. That is why the decision making ability is like a bigger set within which the information processing ability is a subset.
So, we could say intelligence is a superset and intellect is a subset within that. Yes. Okay.
So, how do we use abhyasa and vairagya to control the mind? Yeah. If you consider, say, I will give you two examples. One is first of a horse.
If somebody is living on a big ranch and they do not have any tractors or anything, they need a horse to go across that ranch. Now, the horse is essential, but the horse is also wild. The horse can knock them down, horse can trample on them.
So, what do they have to do? They have to train, tame the horse. So, our mind is like that. We need the mind for functioning.
The mind is the interface between us and the body. So, we cannot function without the mind. At the same time, the mind can work against us also, just as the horse can work against us.
So, abhyasa and vairagya refers to multiple things. One is abhyasa is practise, diligence, we can say. So, we have to, the horse trainers, they have to diligently train the horse.
Even if the horse does not listen once, twice, thrice, four times, keep doing it diligently. The detachment can refer to two different things. One is it can refer to that whatever the mind is attached to, do not be attached to that.
Learn to be detached from it. If we do not challenge our attachments, controlling the mind will be very difficult. Now, what do I mean by attachment? Attachment is our conception that something is enjoyable.
So, we need to challenge that with our intelligence. Is this really enjoyable? Suppose somebody thinks that this particular cricket match or movies or this particular thing is very enjoyable. And they have to study for their exam or they have to do some important thing.
I will not watch this cricket match. I will not do this. I will not do that.
The mind is going to go wild. So, what is happening? They are trying to, as long as they are attached to it, that means they think it is enjoyable, but I am not meant to do it. I should not do it.
That is like fighting a war while we are still shackled. If somebody’s hands and legs are shackled, then how much can they fight? So, our attachments are like our shackles. And as long as we are shackled, we cannot really fight very well.
So, detachment means distance yourself from the conception of what we think is enjoyable. At least use the intelligence to evaluate. I think this is so enjoyable.
I have done it so many times. How much have I got enjoyment? Not really got that much enjoyment. It is not that big.
Let me be open to something more in my life. Another meaning of detachment can also be that we are detached from the expectation of immediate success in controlling the mind. So, when we are trying to control the horse, we can’t train the horse overnight.
So, we also need to learn that our efforts may take a lot of time to succeed. If we can’t succeed in Krishna Consciousness, then we can fail in Krishna Consciousness. We don’t have to fail out of Krishna Consciousness.
What is the difference between the two? That means, say, if we decide, say, today is Ekadashi. I want to fast on Ekadashi. And then we find that we feel extremely tired, extremely hungry.
We feel tormented by hunger. We start feeling weak. We start feeling as if we’re going to be sick.
And then we think, I’ll take some food. And then once we start taking food, anyway, I’ve broken the fast. I’m not fasting now.
So, then we take not just a little food, but we compensate with interest for all the fasting that we’ve done. And we eat a lot and lot and lot and lot. Anyway, I can’t fast.
What is the use? No, we can, instead, we can fail in Krishna Consciousness. That means what? With Krishna, I tried to fast. I couldn’t.
But still, I want to serve you. So, I’ll take this food and continue my service. So, we are chanting, we are hearing, we are doing some practise of bhakti.
Whatever we are doing, we, except Krishna, I couldn’t control myself in this particular activity. But still, I am your servant. I want to serve you.
So, if we, just say, there can be attachment to sense objects. Similarly, there can be attachment to sense control also. And just as attachment to sense objects can distract us from bhakti, attachment to sense control can also distract us from bhakti.
That means I’m so attached to sense control, if I can’t control my senses, that agitates my mind. Why couldn’t I do this? Why couldn’t I do this? Why couldn’t I do this? Say, suppose somebody has decided, I’m going to do a lot of japa. I’m going to chant a lot of rounds on Ekadashi.
And they’re chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. And the mind is saying, food, food, food, Hare Krishna, food, food, Hare Krishna, good, good, food, food. And then, somehow, given, we eat food.
And then after that, what happens? We feel so angry with ourselves. Hare Krishna, food, food, food. Why did we eat the food? Hare Krishna, food, food, food.
You are us, you are a sense gratifier, useless, you have no self-control. Well, in both cases, we are not conscious of Krishna. First, we are conscious of food.
And then we are conscious of our lack of self-control. So what is the use of that? It’s important that, okay, I had to take food, let me take food. And let me practise bhakti.
So if the detachment means detachment also from our expectation of being sense controlled at a particular level of being renounced at a particular level of the expectation of immediate results in our effort to control the mind. So even if we can’t control the mind fully, okay, we let the mind go off a little bit, as much as we can control. The 11th Canto of the Bhagavad Gita gives the example.
If we control the horse too much, and the horse feels tormented, and then it rebels, just give the horse a little leeway, and then again bring it back under control. So like that, sometimes, if we do not become too attached to our own expectations of how we should be in control of ourselves, then that can also help us to calm the mind. So anyone last question? Yeah, so it’s understanding and battling with the body and the mind.
It takes so much energy and to go beyond that and to understand that I’m the soul part of Krishna. How do we do this? Yeah, firstly, it’s not so much about battling the body and the mind. It is utilising the body and the mind.
Now we don’t work for the body. We don’t work for the mind. But we don’t work against the body or we don’t work against the mind also.
We work with the body and the mind for Krishna. If we treat our own body and mind as our enemy, that is the only resource we have. We don’t have any other body with which we can work.
We don’t have any other mind with which we can work. This is the only resource we have. So we cannot be for long in an adversarial relationship with our body and mind.
It’s very important. If we start becoming, start seeing our body and mind as our adversaries, adversaries means enemies, then our energy will get dissipated internally so much. This is the body and the mind I have.
And with this body and mind, how can I serve Krishna? The whole principle of Varanashram is not so much to divide society into castes. The purpose of Varanashram is to harmonise the body and the mind with the pursuit of the soul. That this is your body’s psychophysical nature as a Kshatriya.
Psychophysical means related to the body and mind. So your psychophysical nature is Kshatriya. Then as a Kshatriya, you do Dharma.
As a Kshatriya, you serve Krishna. Your psychophysical nature is a Brahmana, then you serve accordingly. So we have to work with our body and with our mind.
And negation that I am not the body, I am the mind or I am not the mind, that is required when the body and the mind start working against the soul. That means when the force of our body and mind starts taking us away from Krishna, that no, no, I am not going to go in this direction. That time we have to check ourselves.
But it is not that constantly we have to keep thinking I am not the body, I am not the mind. That negating any particular identity is very difficult. The affirming a higher identity is easier.
That I am a servant of Krishna and I am meant to serve Krishna. And these are the resources that I have for serving Krishna. And I use them.
Now it is not that every time a devotee has to be conscious, I am not the body and the soul. It’s we have, we could say, a limited mental space. We have to do our service to the best of our capacity with that.
And by that service, purification will come. By that service, realisation will come. And when that happens, then we will grow in our bhakti.
And then as we grow in our bhakti, then automatically the greater distancing from our body and mind will come. So, let’s focus on serving Krishna with what we have. One definition of surrender is that surrender means to do what we can with what we have now.
So, thank you very much. Shila Prabhupada.