Purification means that sensual contemplation stops determination means that we stop sensual contem

Transcript

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contemplation stops. Determination means that we stop sensual contemplation.
If we want to grow spiritually or even live meaningfully, we can’t afford to waste our time and energy pandering to trivial temptations. And to avoid such indulgence, we need to begin in the beginning by not contemplating those temptations. However, despite our best intentions, sensual contemplation seems to go on within us.
This may discourage us and make us feel that we might as well succumb, give in to the temptation. But we don’t have to do that if we understand what exactly is happening inside us. Actually, each one of us is on an inner journey.
And in that journey, we’re all gradually getting purified and there are landmarks. So based on where we are, we can understand what we can expect. So what we can expect.
So let’s understand two of the landmarks, purification and determination. When we are at the stage of purification, that means there are no longer any impurities within us. And that’s why even when we perceive tempting objects, we don’t feel allured by them.
Our consciousness is enriched by the presence of all pure Krishna. And he is oceanic. And when our consciousness becomes oceanic, we no longer, we are no longer agitated by sense perception.
The inflow of sensual stimuli doesn’t trigger an outflow of sensual cravings and sensual contemplation. Bhagavad Gita talks about this in 270. The next verse states, but what if we are not at the stage of purification, then we need determination.
So at this stage, impurities are still there within us. That’s why we feel attracted to various tempting objects. And when we perceive them, that triggers contemplation on them and the contemplation can go so intensely and indiscriminately that it can impel us to indulgence.
At such times, we need determination to consciously and conscientiously redirect our thoughts from the tempting objects to something more constructive, ultimately to all pure Krishna. So by such determination, essentially means that we consciously, that we use our free will constructively using our intelligence guided by scripture. So by thus understanding the these two landmarks on our inner journey, we can avoid unrealistically expecting that there’ll be no sensual contemplation within us.
And we can avoid unnecessarily succumb, giving up, by thinking that because the sensual contemplation, we might as well indulge. No, we can determinately redirect our thoughts from those sense objects to Krishna. And as we become increasingly absorbed in him, we’ll become purified and we too will attain inner enrichment.
The Bhagavad Gita talks about this progressive inner journey when it says, raga-dvesha-vimukthaisthu, vishayanindriyaiścaraṇātmavasyairvidehātmā prasādamati gacchati. Thus, by determined discipline practice, we all can become purified. Thank you.
Hare Krishna.