Controlling the mind through yoga and bhakti – similarities and differences Gita 06.21
Bhavaita 6.20 to 6.23 is one set of verses.
I'll be talking on 6.21 today. And basically the theme I'll talk about is various stages in controlling the mind. So the verses, these four verses which go together, So Krishna here is describing the perfectional stage of yoga.
And therein he says that tam vidyaad dukkha sanyoga vyoga yoga uchchate There's a, Bhagavad Gita is a poetry. So poetry means there are many poetic forms used over here. So there is the word yoga is used three times.
tam vidyaad dukkha sanyoga vyoga yoga uchchate This is called as yoga. And what is yoga? dukkha sanyoga vyoga Dukkha sanyoga means contact with distress. Vyoga is separation.
So separation of the contact with distress that is called as yoga. A termination of our union with distress. That is yoga.
Now here Krishna is obviously talking about yoga. Not as a yogic exercise, but as a state of consciousness. The state of consciousness when we are freed from distress.
And how is this achieved? That is described in the previous verses here. yatra uparamate chittam niruddham yoga sevaya By continuous practise of yoga. uparamate chittam, the chitta is agitated.
It calms down. niruddham yoga sevaya, niruddha can be restrained, controlled. And niruddha also has a technical meaning which I'll shortly come to.
yatra chaiva atmanatmanam pashyanatmanitushyati There one's consciousness turns inwards. And one looks within and delights within. That is the stage where the outer movement of the mind has stopped.
And the inward contact with the spiritual reality has become firm. And that happens. yatra chaiva atmanatmanam, one is inside one is relishing.
And then only that what happens? yam labdhvacha paramlabham manyate nadhikam tataha One thinks there is no greater happiness than this. And he says that gurunapi na vichalyate Even if there is great distress, one will not be disturbed by the distress. And that state of consciousness essentially where one is beyond hankering and beyond lamenting.
Hankering means I got this but I want something more. Lamenting means oh this didn't work out, that didn't work out, that didn't work out. So when we are free, we go beyond hankering and lamenting.
That is the state when Krishna says you can delight within and you can free from distress. So it's interesting he is not saying that freedom from distress is not the same as absence of distress. They are two different things.
Absence of distress is never possible in the world. Because the world will inevitably give distresses. But freedom from distress doesn't come by absence of distress.
But by absorption in a joy that takes us beyond distress. It's like say if another cricket season is coming up. So now sometimes in the cricket world cup, people go into the stadiums.
And especially if you go to a place like India, a lot of crowd is there. And the stadiums may be hot, crowded, noisy. And physically they are not very comfortable.
But the people are so delighted to be there. Oh I am watching my favourite team, favourite cricketers. They are so absorbed in that that they don't mind the physical inconvenience.
So take that and apply it to a much much greater level. And that is when there is so freedom from distress comes not by absence of distress. But by absorption in something that takes us beyond distress.
And that Krishna says is the state of yoga. So I'll speak this class, this is the explanation of the verse. And I'll speak this in three main parts.
I'll talk about the five stages of mind control as are explained in the Yoga Sutras, in the Yoga tradition. Then I'll talk about how our bhakti practise can take us through those various stages. And lastly, how we can monitor and mentor our mind.
That is the third point. So let's look at the first point that the mind goes through various stages. And here the word is used, Nirodha.
This previous was 6.20. So Nirodha, what it means is that the mind is restrained. So the five stages that are mentioned in the Yoga texts are There is Moodha, Kshiptha, Vikshiptha, Nirodha and Ekagrtha. So even if you don't remember the words, it's simple.
Moodha, you can repeat after me. Moodha means deluded. So just like say, if somebody is just, if you wake somebody up from sleep.
Where did you keep the key? Just deluded, they can't think of anything. Or somebody is intoxicated. And then, they try to drive a car, they try to walk also.
Or they try to talk. I'm okay, I'm not drunk too much. They are so deluded, they can't even understand that they are deluded.
So Moodha is a stage of deluded. It's a state of the mind. And this, we can say broadly, corresponds with which mode of material nature? Yes, Tamas.
So now, in the Moodha stage, one is not able to perceive anything properly. Neither, leave alone spiritual reality, one can't even perceive material reality properly. So can't see properly, can't talk properly.
This is the Moodha stage. And this is the lowest stage. Then above that is the Kshittha stage.
Kshittha is agitated. Kshittha, can you repeat? Kshittha. It's agitated.
That means, I want this, I want that, I want that, I want that. I want a hundred things. The mind is just going on a high speed drive.
This is not working out, this should work out. I want this, I want that. And if we consider our desires.
There is a Bhakti poet who said, Oh Lord, if we made the whole sky into a paper, if we made the whole earth into a pen, if we made all the oceans into ink, and then he started writing the desires of the conditioned souls. The paper, the pen and the ink would get exhausted, but the desires would not get exhausted. So this is the Kshittha stage.
And there are so many desires. आशापाशिषतेर्बद्धा कामक्रोधपरायन हा ईहंतेर्भाकामभोगार्थम अन्यायनार्थसंचयन In 16.12 Krishna says, आशापाशिषतेर्बद्धा We are bound by hundreds and thousands of desires. Nowadays we revolt against the idea of slavery.
How can you keep anyone as a slave? So there is not much physical slavery in the world today. But there is a lot of psychological slavery. Actually addiction is a form of psychological slavery.
An alcoholic may think I can go here, go there, go anywhere. But wherever they go, they are pulled to a bar. Now similarly, there can be other forms of addiction.
There can be compulsive TV watching. Compulsive net surfing. So many kids nowadays have what is called as screen addiction.
So this is, I want to read this, I want to watch this, I want to do this, I want to do that. So this is the क्षिप्त stage. Where the mind is forcefully pulled.
When we say the mind is agitated, what does it mean? Agitated means when it is so forcefully pulled in certain directions that we just can't resist it. So this will correspond to which mode? Passion, yes, रजस. So क्षिप्त is the stage when we are in रजस.
Then the third is विक्षिप्त. Now विक्षिप्त doesn't necessarily mean, वी is a prefix. So it's just like we have valuable.
And when you put a prefix इन over there. It means invaluable. Now English is such that sometimes, say if you take substantial and insubstantial.
Here when you put the prefix इन, it means opposite. That is substantial, it is not at all substantial. But valuable when you put the prefix इन, what it means is even more valuable.
Invaluable, it's valuable and invaluable. So the वी prefix can sometimes emphasise in a positive way or a negative way. So here विक्षिप्त means, so विक्षिप्त, what is the word? विक्षिप्त.
विक्षिप्त means here distracted. So what is the difference between agitated and distracted? It's one sense same, but in distracted, we are trying to concentrate, but we are not able to concentrate. In विक्षिप्त, in शिप्त, we are not even trying to concentrate.
It's the mind is going here, there, and we are going along with it. Say a child is watching, a young boy is say, watching this channel, playing this video game, looking at this news, just going along wherever the screen is taking. But विक्षिप्त means, see, it's trying to study.
Okay, I got an exam tomorrow. I have to study. They're trying to study, but they're not able to study.
What about this match? Oh, no, I don't want to think about it. I want to study. There's an endeavour to control.
At least the endeavour is there, but there's not much success. So this, where will this be? In the most? Yeah. Yes, very good.
So we are moving from रजस towards सत्त्व. So most of the times when we are doing जपः, we are in, where are we? If it's विक्षिप्त, it is good actually. Most of the time we might be विक्षिप्त or मूड also.
Half asleep, just like numbed completely. But at least if you're trying to do our जपः nicely, but we are getting agitated. So that is विक्षिप्त.
So then beyond that, is the stage which is mentioned in this Bhagavad Gita words, निरोद्ध. निरोद्ध means, it's निरोद्ध. Can you repeat? निरोद्ध.
निरोद्ध means restrained. So that is agitated, distracted, and then restrained. Restrained is, where is it? It is in सत्व and teaching towards, in transcendence.
So basically, technically निरोद्ध means, there is the cessation of material thoughts. So the mind has become like, silent. There is no material agitation.
Sometimes you might go, to maybe a serene place, where there is beautiful forest, there is a nice river moving, and you feel the wind, you hear the birds, and you find, all the craving in the mind goes out. You get a glimpse of निरोद्ध. So निरोद्ध, is where, the mind's material movement has stopped.
That doesn't necessarily mean, any spiritual movement has begun. It just means, the material movement has stopped. So, it's just peaceful.
It's in some ways, a person who is in तमस, and a person in सत्व, can look similar. A person in सत्व, might be sitting down peacefully, a person in तमस, might also be sitting down peacefully. But, two people in a class, one is in सत्व, one is in तमस.
Both are sitting, but for the person in तमस, they are so distracted, their mind is showing them a movie, and they are watching the movie. Wherever it goes, that should go on. But in सत्व, they are sitting, but they are focused, focused, on something constructive.
And that, from निरोधः, comes the next stage, that is एकाग्रत. एकाग्रत is what? एकाग्रत. एकाग्रत, can you repeat? एकाग्रत.
एकाग्रत is concentrated. Krishna uses this word, in the last words that he speaks, in the Bhagavad Gita, in 18.72, he says, कचिदेत शुतं बार्थ, तो एकाग्रेन चेत से, कचिद अज्ञान समोह, प्यो नष्टस्ते धनन्जय, Oh Arjun, have you heard this attentively? Have you heard with concentration, attention, एकाग्रत? But एकाग्रत, can also be a state that we strive for, but एकाग्रत is also a state that comes with purification. So the implication is, if we hear the Bhagavad Gita regularly, if we recite the Bhagavad Gita regularly, our consciousness will steadily rise to the level of एकाग्रत.
So now, now sometimes, this एकाग्रत and निरोध, they are inverted. Because why it is? In the yogic path, especially those who are impersonalist yogis, they have, they think that ultimately there is no object to concentrate on. So what they think is, एकाग्रत comes first and निरोध will come afterwards.
Because first you concentrate, their idea is, you concentrate on some object. Concentrate on a candle, concentrate on some, some orb form, something. And then, they say, first you concentrate on an object and then, after you concentrate on an object, then you go beyond that and just become, become.
There is, normally in conscious experience, say for example, if I am looking at you, you are looking at me. So there are three things. There is the subject of consciousness, there is the object of consciousness and there is the stream of consciousness in between.
So if I am looking at you, I am the subject, you are the object and in between is the stream. So what the, what the monists, the impersonalists think is, that the pure consciousness is where the subject and the object both disappear and only the stream remains. So that's why there is actually nothing to be conscious of.
No one to be conscious of. There is only consciousness. However, consciousness means, you are conscious, someone is conscious, you are conscious of something.
So, in that understanding, sometimes it is said that ekagrata will come first, first you concentrate on something and then you go beyond it to nirodhra. Just stop all perceptions. There is a flow of consciousness but no perception, no perceiver.
But in bhakti, we understand that ekagrata is higher because when our consciousness becomes fixed on Krishna. So, nirodhra is where the material activity, the material agitation, oh I want to eat this, I want to watch this, I want to touch this, all that stops. And after that, the consciousness becomes fixed on Krishna.
That is ekagrata. So, now, for devotees, this comes, it's a devotional absorption, it's a devotional trance. So, basically, this is the first point I made, that there are various stages and as we become purified, whether it is by yoga practise, by ashtanga yoga practise or by bhakti yoga practise, whichever practise, we are meant to raise our consciousness from mudha, ikshita, vikshita, nirodha, ekagrata or ekagrata nirodha, whichever way you want to look at it.
But, now this is what the yoga practise aims for. Now, the second point I will discuss is how bhakti yoga achieves this. There are broadly two conceptions of spiritual advancement.
One focusses on detachment and the other focusses on attachment. Normally people think that we are here in this material world because we are too attached to the material world and we need to grow detachment. That is true at one level but in bhakti, the understanding is our problem is not that we are attached to the world.
Our problem is that we are detached from Krishna. So, our problem, real problem is not attachment but detachment. Detachment from Krishna.
And the solution is not just to develop detachment from the world. If we simply develop detachment from the world, we can become hard hearted, we can become irresponsible, we can become insensitive. That's not what we want to do.
Our purpose is to develop attachment to Krishna. So, now, on the yoga path, it's done as a two step process. First, develop detachment.
Everything that is attractive in the world, understand it is temporary. Understand it is illusory. And then, after you understand it is temporary and illusory, then become detached.
And in that way, when we become detached, we come to a state of peace, of equanimity. And then, after that, yogis will start perceiving, or pursuing first, and then perceiving. What is there beyond that? So, if we consider, say there is a y-axis, there is a negative side of the y-axis, there is a positive side of the y-axis.
And in between is the zero point. So, on the path of, on many spiritual paths, which focus primarily on detachment, the idea is, you move from the negative axis to the zero. And the focus is on reaching zero.
Now, in bhakti, the focus is not so much on reaching zero, but on starting the positive, on trying to go to the positive axis. So, it's like, say there is a glass over here. Now, suppose I pour out all the water from here, I won't pour out, suppose I pour out all the water, and now there is air in the glass.
And I want, that there should not be any air present in the glass. So, then I may get a vacuum machine, and I can pull out all the air, and create vacuum over there. Now, when I create vacuum, it can be there, but even a slight shaking.
I have to keep it completely air-proof, a little shaking, and air will rush in. So, to create vacuum is very difficult. As it is nature abhors a vacuum.
But if my goal is primarily to remove air from the glass, if I just fill the glass with water, air will automatically go. So, rikta-matayo tad anuraga. The Bhagavatam says, that there is one path of spiritualists, who try to empty their mind, rikta-matayo.
They understand the mind is filled with so many material desires, and all these material desires will entangle us. So, let's get out all these material desires. So, they focus on emptying the mind.
It's possible, but it's difficult. Yogas chitta vritti nirodha. The same word nirodha, which we talked over here, that comes in the Yoga Sutra also.
Yogas chitta vritti nirodha. The moment of the mind, the moment of the consciousness, stops. There is no perceiver, there is no perceived, there is just consciousness.
So, that is one conception. That's like emptying the glass. But bhakti focusses, in the same six chapters, will end in the verse 6.47. Among all the yogis, the topmost yogis, are those who fix their mind on you.
So, instead of simply trying to empty the glass, of our mind, we fill the glass with the spiritual, with Krishna. So, the process of bhakti centres, not on cultivating detachment, primarily, but primarily cultivating attachment. And the more we become attached to Krishna, the more our consciousness becomes filled with Krishna, illusion, temptation, vice, all will go out.
Then we learn to delight in the lotus feet of Krishna. and all the residual attachments are there, will get uprooted. TADVAN NARIKTA MATAYO YATAYO NURAGAT SROTO GANASTA MARANAM BHAJAVASUDEVAM The Bhagavatam says that, those who try to empty their mind, they may succeed.
But the Bhagavatam gives the example, that material desires rise like waves. Imagine if you are on the coast, and we try to make the coast dry. Now, you have to make the coast dry, but next time when the high tide comes, it will all become wet.
So simply trying to cultivate detachment, is like trying to make the coast dry, and we may succeed, as long as the tide is low. But as soon as the tide rises, all our hard work will become undone. So now, what Bhakti Yoga does is, it also takes us along this path upwards.
But it does it, not by negation, not by rejection, but by connection. So in Bhakti we focus not so much on, what we have to give up, but on what we can take up. Not that I should not do this, I should not do this, I should not do this, but what can I do? Srila Prabhupada, was defined primarily by the fact that, he took up his spiritual master's mission, to share Krishna Consciousness all over the world.
And by that he was able to do such enormous service, that now we have Krishna temples all over the world. So Bhakti is defined, not by what we give up, but by what we take up. And through this taking up, even if we are in mudha stage, but somehow say we wake up, when we are sleeping, and still we are deluded.
But at that time, we start hearing some, some mangal aarti, or some shlokas, or some kirtan, some sweet sound vibration. What will happen? That will help us to overcome, that tamas faster. Might ourselves put some water and overcome tamas, that's also good.
But by exposing ourselves to spiritual sound vibrations, we will be able to, overcome that faster. So Bhakti, also takes us up. Now the advantage in Bhakti is, that first of all, it's the process of filling, not emptying, which is easier, natural.
But another big advantage in Bhakti, is also that, in the process of yoga, we are trying to push ourselves up. But in Bhakti we connect with Krishna, and Krishna pulls us up. Krishna lifts us up.
Why? Because, He is person who is merciful. teśā mahaṁ samuddhataṁ mṛtyu-saṁsāre sāgarāt bhavāminacchirāt pārtha mayi āveśita cetasā Krishna says, if you fix your mind on me, I will lift you out of the ocean of material existence. So in that sense, Krishna is not just a, passive object of concentration.
He is a active, fount of benediction. So in yoga what are we trying to do? We are trying to get an object, and fix the mind on that. So Krishna is not just a, passive object of concentration.
Yes, we are trying to concentrate our mind on Krishna, but, He is also, an active, fount, fount means a reservoir, a source, like a fountain. A fount of benediction, of attraction. So when we try to fix the mind on Him, He reciprocates, by enabling us to fix the mind on Him, faster.
And that's how, we move upwards in this journey. So that is the, second point. And the third point I'll speak is that, how, we can make sure, that we are moving upwards.
So, this is a journey of consciousness, and we want to move upwards. I was in, what is the sin city of America? Las Vegas, yeah. So I was in Las Vegas.
So, so I was in Las Vegas, and, it's interesting that, there, Las Vegas, has the, citizens of Las Vegas, have the, least, entanglement, in gambling. They have people all over the world coming and gambling, but the, parents and adults, they educate everyone, gambling is very dangerous. So let the world come and gamble, we will not gamble.
It's like that. They run the gambling casinos, but they don't gamble so much. And, it's seen, Las Vegas also has one of the least, crime rates in America.
It's like, there is organised, official crime, you could say. Official plundering of people's wealth. But anyway, so I was there, and, I gave a class over there, on the topic of spiritual, but not religious.
Because that is the kind of crowd, who hangs about there. We don't want to be associated with religion. So there was one person, who came, he says, I have been to Krishna, or Krishna temples.
And he said, I find Krishna temples, a perfect example, of being religious, but not spiritual. Now, I said, what made you feel that? So then, first of all, I asked him, what do you mean by religious, and what do you mean by spiritual? So, basically, when people say, many people identify themselves, as this group called, SBNR. I am spiritual, but not religious.
It's like that. So their idea is, religious, being religious, is being narrow minded, being dogmatic, being intolerant, being violent, and I don't want to be involved in all this. Or, at best, being ritualistic, being empty minded, whereas, being spiritual, means being open minded, being open, being eager to explore new things in life, being open to meditation, practising yoga.
So spiritual, is considered cool. Religious, is considered, not so cool. So now, if this is the idea, that somebody wants to be open minded, not narrow minded, certainly, we also agree with that.
We don't say, that we are narrow minded. We don't want to be narrow minded also. So the, example, this same point, I said that, the journey of consciousness, from mudha, to ekagrata.
If we conceive of it, like a mountain, the bottom of the mountain, is material consciousness, the top of the mountain, is spiritual consciousness. And we want to go, up this mountain. Now there can be, different paths, up the mountain.
There is, various different religions, can be like different paths, up the mountain. And, intolerance means, somebody thinks that, my path is the only path, up the mountain. And sometimes, people are intolerant, what they do is, they go around, at the bottom of the mountain, and anybody is going, by any other path, they pull them down.
Don't go up from there. So, now that, is not at all healthy. So if we consider, going up the mountain, up the top of the mountain, is spiritual consciousness.
So, the, spiritual, is a state, which we want to achieve. Now the path, that we take, to go up the mountain, that, is our religion. So religion, is not just a set of rituals.
Religion, is a set of practises, that raise our consciousness, from the material level, to the spiritual level. Now there can be different practises, and different traditions. And different people, may raise their consciousness, in different ways.
But the idea, if somebody says, I'll be spiritual, but not religious. Now, if you want to say that, you want to be open minded, not closed minded, that's perfectly good. That's good.
But, if somebody says, that okay, I won't practise anything, but I'll be spiritual. Then how will you become spiritual? It's like saying, I won't take any path, but I'll go to the top of the mountain. How are you going to get to the top? So, when people say spiritual, but not religious, they often basically mean, that, we don't want to be closed minded.
And we agree with that. Now, there could be, so, another extreme is, religious, but not spiritual. What that means is, that people, are doing the religious activities, but their consciousness is not rising.
And then they are doing the religious activities, simply as a ritual, without even, being concerned, whether the consciousness is rising or not. There was once a, Bhagavatam speaker, and he gave a Bhagavat katha. And in that Bhagavat katha, he spoke elaborately, about the evils of potatoes.
How potato causes this problem, that problem, that health problem, that health problem. Many Bhagavat kathakars, what they do is, they don't just speak, spiritual subject matters, they also bring in health, they also bring in some social advice, social issues and everything. So he spoke, how potatoes are terrible.
And then after that, the katha got over, there was prasad. And the prasad, that day they had cooked, potato sabji. So, now, those who are serving, serving the speaker also, we thought you know, actually, at least I should not, I should not serve potato sabji, to the speaker.
And then he passed by, and he served the potato sabji, to everyone, everybody was enjoying the potato sabji. And the speaker said, give me also. He said, no just now you told, about how bad potato is.
He says, that is the potato for the vyasasana. This is the potato for the prasadam. That means, sometimes, some people, do certain practises, but they are not at all, concerned also, whether their consciousness, is getting transformed.
They do that, simply as a ritual. Rituals, are also required in life, but rituals are meant, to serve a purpose. Bhakti is not just about, doing a ritual.
Bhakti is about, making our mind spiritual. Making our consciousness, spiritual. Say somebody says, somebody is religious, but not spiritual.
So, why was this person saying this? He said, that I met some devotees, and all that they were saying is, you have to do, what we are doing. If you are not doing, what we are doing, then you are, you are a materialist, you are a non-devotee, you are lost. So, he said, and, although they were doing, what they were doing, but I found, they were arrogant, they were self-righteous, they were condescending, and, now I talk with him, a little bit more, actually, he had just met, one devotee like that, and before that, he had been, a part of a Christian church, and in that church, he had, had the same approach.
So, he had projected that, on the Hare Krishnas also. So, sometimes what happens, there are some people, who are so, so demanding, this is the way, and this is the only way. I saw, I was in Texas, in America, so there was a person, who had his car, and they put some, bumper stickers.
So, this person put a sticker, Oh God, please, save me, from your preachers. Please, save me, from your preachers. Normally, God saves us, through his preachers.
But, if somebody, if the preachers are condescending, they are arrogant, they are disrespectful, self-righteous, then people get alienated. So, that means, somebody is chanting mantras, but, they are not concerned, about raising their consciousness. Recently, there is a Kumbh Mela in India, big, the world's biggest religious festival is there.
So, one devotee had gone there, and he saw, he saw something spectacular over there. Spectacular, not in a positive sense, in a shocking sense. So, he saw this, sadhu with long beard, and, he was chanting Sanskrit mantras, very, very, beautifully.
He finished chanting those mantras, and then, afterwards, he took out a bidi, and he was actually chanting the mantras, and he was actually like, there is a yajna, which is going on, fire sacrifice is going on. He was chanting the mantras, as the fire sacrifice was going on. And he took out a bidi, and then, he used, the fire of the yajna, to light the bidi.
And he started smoking there itself. Now, this is horrible. That means, okay, you are, you may be expert in reciting the mantras, but, there is no concern for raising consciousness.
And this, will not lead to any spiritual advancement. In fact, it will lead to misrepresentation and alienation, of oneself and of others. So, when we are practising bhakti, our purpose, is not just to chant the mantras.
Our purpose, is not just to come to the temple. Our purpose, is not just, to recite the verses. All this is important.
But all this, has a purpose, of raising our consciousness towards Krishna. So, Krishna himself says, By the practise of sadhana bhakti, what should happen is, our desire for Krishna should increase. Our attraction to Krishna should increase.
If that is happening, then we are growing spiritually. Otherwise, we may not be growing spiritually. We will conclude with that one last point then.
Now, how do we get this desire for Krishna? You see, I am chanting Hare Krishna, I am studying Bhagavad Gita, I am doing worship of deities, but I don't see, feel my attraction to Krishna increasing much. Yes, it increases gradually, but there is one thing which we can do, is, associate with devotees, who have a strong spiritual desire. Generally, we think of our desires, as linear.
Linear means, if somebody says Gulab Jamun, I want to eat it. So, you see the object, and we are here, and we see the object, and we get the desire. So, our desire is like one line, from here to the object.
But not all desires, are linear. Many desires, are also triangular. Now, what do I mean by triangular desires? First time, I had come to Australia, several years ago.
So, at that time, I went to one devotee's house for prasad. And that devotee, told me, for sweets, so he said, we have baklava. Now, how many of you know, what is a baklava? Okay.
Anyone doesn't know? Okay, many of you don't know. Okay, that's good. So, I was also in that category.
So, he said, would you like to have baklava? I had never heard of a baklava. And, the name baklava, also doesn't sound very pleasant. Baklava.
Okay. So, I said, maybe later. And then, there's another devotee, who had also come for prasad.
So, this host, served baklava to that devotee. And then, that devotee, he took the baklava, he took the baklava, and he started eating it. And, as he was eating it, he closed his eyes.
Delicious. So, he took the baklava, and he ate it. Shaking his, nodding his head in appreciation, he closed his eyes.
Delicious. I saw him eating it, and I said, give me also. So, what happened here, seeing the baklava, did not create the desire.
But, seeing someone, eat the baklava, created the desire. So, this is, desire is not just linear, it is triangular. So, not just, when we see something, we feel, I want it.
But, we see somebody else, relishing it. And, we feel, I want it. And, in general, spiritual desires, grow like that.
You might come to a temple, and look at the deities, and say, nice. Deities are nice. But, okay.
There are so many nice images. This is also a nice image. But, we associate with some devotee, who is dedicated to the worship of the deities.
Day after day, month after month, they do puja, they do aarti, they offer bhoga. And, then we associate with them, and see how much attraction they have. Krishna must be really manifesting over here.
We may see a Bhagavad Gita. You know, we have, Prabhupada has written Bhagavad Gita as it is. And, we distribute millions of Bhagavad Gitas.
Now, most people take Bhagavad Gita as it is, and keep it as it is. But, if we associate with some devotee, who loves the Bhagavad Gita, who speaks beautifully on the Bhagavad Gita, who has lots of insights on the Bhagavad Gita, and tell me, if all this is there in this book, I should also read it. So, the desire comes, not just by looking at the deities, or looking at the Bhagavad Gita, but by associating with those devotees, who have that attraction.
So, for us, to control our mind, you can conclude this talk. For us to control our mind, to raise our consciousness from the mudha level to the ekagrata level, the process of bhakti itself is a very powerful propellant. But, within bhakti, the most powerful catalyst for advancing in bhakti is association.
And, not just anyone's association, not just anybody who seems like a devotee, or who acts like a devotee, but especially a devotee who has strong spiritual desires. So, when we associate with a devotee who has strong spiritual desires, their desires start coming to us. By the principle, the triangularity of desires.
And, when we have such association, if we cherish that association, in the scriptures, just a small moment, a fraction of association of a great devotee can lead to perfection. What does that mean? That means, in that few moments, that devotee can inject within us spiritual desire. And, Prabhupada had that potency.
He would meet people for a few moments. And, Prabhupada had so much love for Krishna and he wanted everyone should love Krishna. So, when that desire gets injected, that's how we march forward spiritually.
And, naturally, whatever we desire, we think about it. If somebody desires, say, cricket, then wherever they are, nowadays, when the cricket season will come, we will often see in India, you know, young men walking along the roads, swinging a bat. There is no bat over there.
But, in their mind, there is a bat. They are thinking, I am Tendulkar, or I am Kohli, or someone like that. So, what is happening? Their mind is, they have that desire, so, automatically, the mind goes there.
So, for us, right now, when we try to fix the mind in Krishna, it is conscientious. Mind goes here, it goes there. Conscientiously, we bring it to Krishna.
But, if by the association of devotees, when we get a desire for Krishna, then fixing the mind in Krishna will not be conscientious, it will be spontaneous. So, from conscientious devotion to spontaneous devotion. When we come to spontaneous devotion, then our bhakti will become joyful.
Right now, there is some joy, but, sometimes, there is not that much joy also. Sometimes, when we chant, on a few days, when we are chanting, chanting is so good, I feel so pure, I feel so strong, I want to do japa more and more. Listen, japa should never end.
And, most days, however, we feel, japa never ends. Or, sometimes, we take the beads out of the bead bag, you know, is it? Has somebody changed 108 beads now? Instead of 108, have they put 1008 beads over there? This is just not getting over. So, that happens, because, right now, that desire for Krishna is not there.
But, if we associate with sincere devotees, who have that strong desire for Krishna, we will also get that desire. And, by that desire, we will move from conscientious devotion to spontaneous devotion. And, that is when we will experience su-sukham kartamauvelam.
We become absorbed in Krishna. That is the stage, tam vidya dukkha-sanyoga yoga yoga-sangitam. We will become absorbed in Krishna and absorption in higher happiness, which will raise us beyond the distress of this world.
So, I'll summarise. I spoke on how we can control and absorb our mind through the process of bhakti. I talked about, first, in the yogic process, how there are various stages.
So, there is the mudha, then the kshipta, vikshipta, no-rodha, ekagrata or ekagrata and rodha, whichever way you want to go. So, from tamas towards pure sattva. So, yoga is freedom from distress.
But, freedom from distress is not absence of distress. It is absorption in something higher that raises us above distress. And, that's what happens through the process of yoga where the consciousness rises upwards.
Then, how does bhakti achieve the same raising of consciousness? Bhakti focusses not on cultivating detachment from matter, but on cultivating attachment to Krishna. Not on emptying the glass, on creating a vacuum in the glass so that we can remove air from it, but filling the glass with water so that the air automatically goes out. So, in bhakti, because we have an object to concentrate on, it's relatively easier, something to fill rather than to empty.
And, secondly, that object is not just a passive object of concentration. It's an active fount of attraction, of benediction. So, Krishna also helps us rise.
But, sometimes, the third point was that sometimes, we might just do the rituals of bhakti, but not even be concerned about raising consciousness. Some people may be religious, but not spiritual. That means they are at the bottom of the mountain, and they're going through the motions, but they're not rising up the mountain.
So, if that is the case, then we won't advance no matter how much we go through the rituals. So, spiritual but not religious people, when they say, what they mean is they want to be open-minded, not closed-minded. But, ideally, we should be spiritual and religious.
That means we want to rise to the spiritual level of consciousness, and we follow a path to rise up to that consciousness. So, while practising bhakti, we have to observe whether our practise of bhakti is increasing our attraction for Krishna, increasing our desire for Krishna. And, for that to happen, for bhakti to not be ritualistic, a key thing is to associate with those devotees who have desire for Krishna.
Our desires are not just linear, they're also triangular. And, to the extent we associate with devotees who have strong desire for Krishna, they will infuse us with that desire, and that desire will catalyse our journey from material consciousness towards spiritual consciousness. And, right now, we are practising conscientious devotion, but when we are energised by the desire for Krishna, we'll move towards spontaneous devotion, and that's when we'll experience freedom from distress by absorption in the source of all happiness.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Any questions or comments? Where do you see? Okay, here.
I was wondering. There are some public speakers who are teleprompters. I was thinking you had some telescreen over here.
Yeah. Who is a wise man according to the Bhagavad Gita? Prajahati da kamaan sarvaan partha manohan vataan Aatmanyevaatmanatushita Sita pragya sthita uchchati Sita pragya apatishta In the Bhagavad Gita 2.54 to 2.72, he talks about the characteristic of a person whose intelligence is fixed. And, primarily, Krishna says that one who is detached from outer pleasures and one who is relishing inner joys, that is a person who is truly wise.
Now, we may talk about wise people in various ways in today's world. Somebody's wise in investing money. Somebody's wise in making various decisions in life.
It's all good. It's a practical kind of wisdom. But the ultimate wisdom is because whatever we might achieve in this world is temporary.
So, if you're getting attached to temporary things, that will only set us up for distress in the long run. So, to be one who is detached from externals, not necessarily disconnected from externals, but not dependent on those externals for one's pleasure. One who rejects external desires and focusses on inner happiness, that is a person who is considered wise.
Any other questions? Yes, please. Why is it that we feel we know enough, then suddenly one day, why does that happen? Yeah. I am sometimes full of happiness and we feel we know enough.
Sometimes we just don't feel any happiness. We feel we don't know anything. Yes, that's true.
It's because our mind is very restless. Mind is restless. So, when the mind is relatively clear and pure, when we are in sattva, relatively speaking, at that time, we connect with Krishna.
We feel enriched with wisdom. We feel enriched with joy. But, sometimes, the mind goes down to tamas.
And then, we feel as if, one day we feel, Oh, I am in love with Krishna. I don't care for anything in the world. I am very happy.
Sometime later we feel, does Krishna even exist? I have so many problems. Why is Krishna not doing anything to help me? Does this chanting, does this matter, does this work at all? So, this oscillation is there. Because right now, our mind is affected very much by the moods.
Now, as we become purified, the oscillations may still continue, but their magnitude will decrease. So, instead of going high up and then crashing low down, it will become a little more steadier. And not just steadier, we consider a sine wave.
A sine wave also has a medium point. So, as we keep practising bhakti, the sine wave becomes vertical. It is inclined upwards, not vertical.
So, what will happen? Our moment to moment, we may not be happier always. Moment to moment, we may not be always happy. But overall, our level of happiness will be more than earlier.
Because even now, we will have, even after practising bhakti for 10 years, 15 years, those waves will be there. Sometimes we will feel happy, sometimes we will not feel so happy. But if you practise bhakti steadily, overall if I consider how I was 20 years ago and how I am now, I am definitely happier now.
I am more at peace with myself, I am more at peace with life, I am more at peace with God. So, in that sense, the line of our consciousness, the graph is moving upwards. So, we need to look not so much at the state of happiness as the level of happiness.
State means what am I feeling right now. But what is my overall level of consciousness? If you look at that, we will see we are moving upwards. And that's why if we have a strong sense of commitment to the practise of bhakti, then we will persevere even through those phases.
So, sadhana bhakti means essentially that we act our way to feelings. That means sometimes we may not have devotional feelings, but we act our way to feelings. I don't feel like going to the temple.
But still I will go to the temple, I will offer respects, I will participate in the kirtans. As I participate in the kirtan, slowly I start feeling spiritual. I don't feel like studying shastra, but when I study shastra, I start feeling spiritual gradually.
So, that's how we need to work right now. Does that answer your question? Will we get bliss at the end? Oh yes, definitely. At the end will we get full bliss? Of course, we will because we will get purified.
As this graph moves upwards, the undulations of the waves, the amplitude of the waves will become lesser and lesser. And we are moving towards purification. It's just that the process is evolutionary.
It's like say if you have a child, the child is growing up. You feed the child nicely, and take care of the child's health. The child is growing nicely.
Now, if the child doesn't want to take milk, and you tell him, you take milk, he will become strong. And the child drinks a glass of milk, and then gets a measuring tape. My arm is now growing stronger.
It's not like that. It's incremental. So, the growth is evolutionary.
But, if the child is after 6 months, 1 year, eating healthy food, doing exercises, the child will have grown stronger. So, similarly for us in bhakti, the process is evolutionary, the result is revolutionary. It's revolutionary.
It's a dramatically different result. We will attain Krishna. Thank you.
Any other questions? Yes? You have a question? You can ask. Hare Krishna. Good to see you.
When we are progressing, or we are in between stages, we perform our karma to our level best, and that's what is said about the elephant, and then depend on God for His grace, and for making things which are beyond our control. Now, if we were to train our mind to shift the mindset from depending on God at the start, but taking Him as a partner right from the beginning, we take over of the driver's seat. Obviously, because we have spiritual bent of mind, so we know that whatever we are doing, God is there to take care of it.
But we don't… I am talking about myself. I may say that, yes, I am focussing, and I know that I surrender to God, but that doesn't happen. Deep within me, I know that I am taking a driver's seat.
And until the situation gets to a point when you are completely helpless, is when you sit down and train yourself. So if I were to train my mind to start doing that from the beginning, can you give some pointers, like recently you have given very beautiful pointers on showing respect for Krishna by planning seriously and adoring diligently. So you know, that's really working well.
They are very sharp pointers. Could you please give some advice on this? Yeah, thank you for the thoughtful question. See, we often surrender to Krishna at the end, after we have tried everything, and it didn't work.
So how can we think that Krishna is with us and we are doing it for Krishna, that he is our partner, right from the beginning? First of all, for us, spirituality does not mean giving up our humanity. It doesn't mean giving up our individuality. It is rather raising our individuality to a spiritual level.
So it's not that we are meant to efface or eliminate our individuality. We are always individuals, and we have initiative. And with our initiative, we want to serve Krishna.
In the spiritual world, when the gopis go out, say for Aas Nila or just they go out to be with Krishna, at that time, each gopi dresses and decorates herself in her own way. Now all the gopis have the same desire to please Krishna with their beauty. But every gopi will do her own decoration in her own individual way.
And that individuality also pleases Krishna. So definitely individuality, it's an inherent characteristic of the soul, and we can't give it up. So each of us, when we serve Krishna, we will serve in different ways, according to our nature, according to our individuality.
And the important thing is to serve Krishna. So there is devotional service we want to do. Now service is important.
Even if the devotion is not there, continue the service. Gradually the devotion will come. So just because we don't feel there is a devotional disposition, we feel there is no devotional disposition, just because of that we shouldn't stop the service.
Continue the service and gradually the devotion will seep in. That's the first point. Having said that, we can do three things, broadly speaking.
First is before doing the service, pray to Krishna. Krishna, I want to do this for you. I want to do this in a mood of service.
Say, when we have class, usually before the class we offer some prayers. When we read scripture also, we can try to offer some prayers before that. So generally before doing anything, it can be either explicit prayer or it can be implicit prayer.
But generally the implicit prayer may not come. So having some explicit prayer, maybe when we start a day also, Krishna, whatever I do in this day, I want to do it for you. So start with prayer.
And then at the end of the day, you can just mentally go over things, and Krishna, I offer this to you. Whatever I did, good, bad, I tried what I could, and I offer this to you. All this is for you.
Narayanayati Samarpayami, has a famous prayer there, that I offer all this to Narayan. And having said that, in between also, if we could schedule some breaks, say, during the course of the day, maybe we pause for a few minutes, and then at that time try to spiritualise our consciousness, maybe read some quotes, which are spiritual, maybe hear some kirtan, or just keep a picture of Krishna, and pray to Krishna. So that reminds us of that, I am connected with Krishna, I am doing all this for Krishna.
So, broadly the beginning, in the middle some breaks, and at the end if we do it, that is at our stage good enough. Because we also are functioning in this world, and the world requires our attention. So, if thinking about Krishna, distracts us from being attentive in doing what we are doing, that is not so favourable also.
We want to do the best in whatever we are doing. When Arjuna was shooting arrows, it is not that he was shooting arrows, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. He may not have been chanting Hare Krishna at that time.
His focus was on shooting the arrow the best he can. So, it is said that, when you are working, work as if everything depends on you. When you are praying, pray as if everything depends on God.
So, often we do the opposite. When we are praying, we think, Oh, I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to do that, when will I do it? When we are chanting, we think, I have to do this work, this work, this work. So, when we are praying, we are thinking of the work.
And when we are working, Oh, all this work is mundane. I am not thinking about Krishna. I am not praying to Krishna.
What is the use of all this temporary work? No. So, when you are working, work as if everything depends on you. Just do it wholeheartedly.
And when you are praying, pray as if everything depends on Krishna. So, that way if you do it, gradually what will happen is, if we are doing our sadhana also nicely, we are having quality time for connecting with Krishna directly, by that, Krishna will become a more and more prominent presence in our consciousness. See, right now, say you are sitting in this temple, now you are hearing me speak, but also you are aware that you are not sitting in the temple, there are other people around you, in the left, right, but that is in the background.
So, our consciousness often has something in the foreground, something in the background. Now, for us, most of the time, the world is in the foreground, and Krishna is somewhere in the background. But as we keep practising bhakti, gradually, Krishna will become a more and more prominent presence in our consciousness.
And then Krishna will come in the foreground, and the world will be aware, but the world will be in the background. Background doesn't mean we will be inattentive, but we won't be consumed by the world. And the first time I left India, I travelled across the world.
So, many of my relatives were very excited about it. I went to America and came back, and many of my relatives, who had been very disappointed when I got a job, when I got a university offer in America, I didn't go to America for studies, they said, your life is wasted. But when I went to America, they said, now your life has become successful.
So, anyway, the point I was making is, the first time I went abroad, I was very conscious, oh, now I am in Australia, now I am in America, I am in London, I am in Canada. But after I have been there for a few times, I am more focused, okay, I am speaking Krishna, what kind of questions people are asking. So, initially, the country where I was in, that was very exciting.
But now, it is, speaking about Krishna, that is more stimulating, more exciting. So, gradually, as we keep practising Bhakti, Krishna will come more and more to the forefront of our consciousness. We cannot artificially do that.
So, just do your best right now, before, during and after, if possible. Before, after and during, if possible. But overall, if we keep doing Sadhana Bhakti, Krishna will come in prominence in our consciousness.
Okay? Thank you. Hare Krishna. So, apart from associating, is there anything else we can do, if, say, association is not practically possible for us? See, nowadays, association is available to us in many different ways.
So, you can hear online also. Sometimes devotees have this conflict, is, say, hearing a class online, same as actually physically attending the class, is taking darshan online, same as coming to the temple and taking darshan. Well, you can't really compare the two.
But ultimately, we have to see the effect. It is, somebody might come to the temple, and, you know, many times in India, we have this, we have a Juhu temple, which is very close to, the place where many Bollywood stars stay. So, sometimes it must have been many of these stars come.
Now, some of them might come with religious feelings. But many of them, they come, they come to temple, and then they put it on their Facebook, on their Instagram, and thousands of people like it. Oh, you are such a nice person, you are to Krishna temple.
So, whether they are coming to take darshan, or to give darshan. Who knows, isn't it? So, sometimes, somebody might be coming to the temple, but they might not be absorbing Krishna. And somebody might be taking darshan online, through the computer camera, and they might actually have more desire, more absorption in Krishna.
So, certainly if you can come physically, that's great. But ultimately, it is the effect that matters. So, I would say that if practically it is not possible somehow, then we connect with Krishna in whatever way we can.
So, one of the advantages and disadvantages of technology is, technology makes illusion also very widely available, and enlightenment also widely available. So, we have to work with whatever situation we are in. And Krishna is Bhavagrahi.
Krishna is, he looks at our consciousness, at our emotions, at our devotion. So, if we have the devotional disposition, we will grow in whatever situation we are in. Okay? Thank you.
Swamala, you had a question here? Okay, so thank you very much. Hare Krishna.